Tuesday, October 27, 2009

My take on The Time Traveler's Wife

The Book = A romantic adventure, inspiring and reflective. A great love story that has passion, depth and a tremendous sense of longing. 

You Know, things that you feel when you're painfully in love.      

The Movie = A rushed and uninspired piece of crap.  

So Kristn and I went to see "The Time Traveler's Wife" at the $3.00 movie theater in Tamarac this past Sunday.  We were adivised not to see it but I enjoyed the book so much that I just couldn't help my self. I wanted to see the charectors come to life on the screen.

From the very 1st scene the movie is all wrong.  I don't understand why it is that when screenwriters, directors and producers set out to make an adaptation of a book they more often than not suck the life out of it and deliver a mangled cliff notes version of the story.  At what point do you start cutting for time at the expense of actually delivering a finished product that's worth watching.

Don't get me wrong, you can't bring every word off the page and on to the screen, but if your goal is to make a love story with a fantastic premise such as a girl who 1st meets her future husband at age 6 while he's 39 because he's traveling through time unwillingly, then don't you think you might want to give the story a little breathing room so that the audience might have some time to get attached to the charectors and to possibly give a shit as to what might happen to them? Just Sayin'.

It's truly a shame. There was an opertunity there to turn this film Into a Titanic sized love story. There was so much depth left out that could've made this such a great film, Instead what was made was this steaming pile of turd that requires such a leap of faith to make it work that you really just can't buy into it. You just don't give a shit about anyone in this film, it truly plays out like an extended postcard of a sunny beach that's says "Wish you were here!" when it should say "I wish you were here becuase life sucks so much with out you that even the sun just dosen't shine as bright as It once did when you stood next to me." 

I think you get me. I'm dissapointed. I wasn't expecting much, but I was expecting better. You had Brad Pitt as one of the Producers, Bruce Joel Rubin, the same screen writer who wrote the screen play for "Ghost", and Rachel McAdams... Hello! The Notebook! WTF! Then again it was directed by Robert Schwentke who directed "Flightplan"... yeah I didn't see it either so maybe that's part of the problem.

Bottom line, don't see this movie, remove it from your netflix cue, head over to Amazon, your Kindle or your nearest B&N or Borders and buy the book and enjoy. 

Joe

Posted via email from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

Monday, October 26, 2009

Michael Lavine Photography · Books · Grunge ·

If this book ended up on my coffee table come December 25th, 2009 I would not be disappointed.

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9 Weirdest-Looking Animals You Didn't Know Existed (PHOTOS)

From newly-discovered deep sea crustaceans to rodent-resembling primates, nature has brought us some outright weird-looking creatures. Check out these animals that just seem out-of-this world and vote for the one you think is the weirdest of them all!

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/9-weirdest-looking-animal_n_317907.html?slidenumber=0#slide_image

Posted via web from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Point!

Joe Shockley
Sent from my iPhone

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The Rosebuds - Push It (Salt N' Peppa Cover)

Push It by The Rosebuds  
Download now or listen on posterous
Push It.mp3 (4889 KB)

While preparing playlists for my wedding reception brunch thing tomorrow morning I stumbled upon this gem. I debated wether or not to add it to the mix but then on her drive home from dinner tonight Kristen heard the original and was inspired, thus it's made the cut. It should go well with the cover of "Bust A Move" that Kristen's brother does. No Joke.

The scoop on this cover is that The Rosebuds did it just for fun and used it to promote a few tour dates. And It's just another reason why Kristen and I love them so much. Most bands have a sense of humor, but few show it. I love a band that can write dark moody songs and cut loose and smile from time to time. Just as long as it's not all the time.

Joe

Posted via email from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Rosebuds - Push it (Salt N' Peppa Cover)

Push It by The Rosebuds  
Download now or listen on posterous
Push It.mp3 (4889 KB)

While preparing playlists for my wedding reception brunch thing tomorrow morning I stumbled upon this gem. I debated wether or not to add it to the mix but then on her drive home from dinner tonight Kristen heard the original and was inspired, thus it's made the cut. It should go well with the cover of "Bust A Move" that Kristen's brother does. No Joke.

The scoop on this cover is that The Rosebuds did it just for fun and used it to promote a few tour dates. And It's just another reason why Kristen and love them so much. Most bands have a sense of humor, but few show it. I love a band that can write dark moody songs and cut loose and smile from time to time. Just as long as it's not all the time.

Joe

Posted via email from One's posterous

Pre wedding reception booze talk

Listen!

Posted via web from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

Monday, October 12, 2009

Compute This: World’s Oldest Working Computer On Display

Once used to help develop nuclear reactors, The WITCH comes out of being in storage for 30 years to be on display once again.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Up super early on a Saturday, but well worth it.

Upgraded RAM in production MacBook, Listen to The xx, created a new Disk Image of previous production MacBook, listen to some Thom Yorke. Help a customer Migrate select data from a Sunflower iMac to a shiney new 20" Aluminum Iintel iMac. Listened to house keepers of said customer franticly clean and making all efforts to avoid gorgeous, yet gigantic Golden Retriever. I have lots more to do today and It's not even noon yet.

Posted via email from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

Friday, October 09, 2009

It's F***ing Charging!

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9 Successful Techniques for Making Money from Podcasting

onairDavid Spark (@dspark) is the founder of Spark Media Solutions, specialists in building industry voice through storytelling and social media. He blogs at Spark Minute and is a regular on Cranky Geeks and ABC Radio.

For many, creating a podcast is something that’s done solely out of passion. But even among those who do it strictly for the love of podcasting, after awhile, once you’ve built up an audience, there comes a time when you think to yourself, “I can’t keep doing this for free.”

Such was the case with many of the people I interviewed in my 15-part series, “Making Money from Podcasting.” From a $50 donation to cover an afternoon of babysitting to a six figure sponsorship, the people I spoke to have been making anywhere from pocket change to lucrative careers from podcasting.

What follows is a compendium of nine proven money-making techniques for podcasters. All are successful to varying degrees and some podcasters use a combination of methods. This summary provides an explanation of all the techniques, and tips from the podcasters who have pulled them off. For more tips, advice, and to hear the full money making podcast story, make sure to read and listen to each the interviews linked throughout this article.

1. Got audience? We’ll get you sponsors

ssicon_Mevio_Adam_CurryPodcast networks such as Mevio, Podtrac, and Wizzard Media welcome any podcaster that has an audience, because that means they can sell advertising against it. The networks collect shows, categorize them, and sell advertising on a CPM (cost per thousand) or CPA (cost per action) basis. Adam Curry, former MTV VJ, podcasting pioneer, and President of Mevio (interview), is looking for podcast producers that know their audience and can motivate them. Using either their show programming or social media, podcast producers promote show-specific coupon codes for their sponsors. Every time one is used, the podcaster gets paid. Of their network of 15,000 podcasters, Curry said he has three podcasters that will make between $500,000 to $1,000,000 this year.

Kevin Kastner of Alaska HDTV used to be a Mevio customer but left because he was unsatisfied with what he was being offered (he wasn’t willing to make a CPA deal) and the opaqueness of the deals. He had no idea how much Mevio was selling his show to advertisers. Curry said he splits all revenue 50/50 with podcasters.

2. Get your own sponsors

ssicon_Alaska_HDTV_Kevin_KastnerKastner left Mevio (interview) because he believed he and his partner could land their own sponsors and make more money. They did, and in doing so increased revenue 200 to 300 percent, said Kastner. But he admits it has come at a serious cost: his workload has increased more than ten-fold.

ssicon_Wizzard_Media_Rob_WalchWizzard Media offers a hybrid advertising solution for podcasters that want to make more money by landing their own sponsors, yet still need the crutch of an ad network to fill out any unsold inventory. Royce Hildreth, co-producer of Pregtastic, the podcast by and for pregnant women, uses this Wizzard Media hybrid solution. For podcasters that get their own sponsors, Wizzard Media will insert the ads for a flat fee, explained Rob Walch, Wizzard’s VP of Podcaster Relations (interview) and host of the Today in iPhone podcast.

3. Be like public TV, beg for donations

ssicon_Pregtastic_Royce_HildrethPregtastic’s Hildreth (interview) admits that the hybrid sponsorship alone isn’t cutting it, so he’s put up a begware button and instructed podcast hosts to say that the show costs a donation. He and his co-producing wife aren’t making a lot of money from donations, however. It’s usually enough to hire a babysitter for when they have to go to the studio to record another episode.

4. Give some away free, charge for the rest

ssicon_ScreenCastsOnline_Don_McAllisterThis technique comes in multiple variations. One of the innovators of this technique is Don McAllister, host of ScreenCastsOnline (interview), a weekly video podcast of “how to” Mac software tutorials. McAllister gives away every other episode and makes viewers pay for the rest ($57 for the first six months) which includes additional bonus content and hi-res videos.

ssicon_Izzy_Video_Israel_HymanThe formula has become his livelihood for the past three years, and it’s been copied successfully (with McAllister’s blessing) by Israel Hyman host of Izzy Video (interview) and producer of Rolling R’s and Paperclipping.

ssicon_MacOSKen_Ken_RayWhen Hyman and McAllister first produced their podcasts they were completely free. It wasn’t until after a few years and some success that they started charging for some of their shows. Ken Ray, host of Mac OS Ken (interview), a daily podcast about Apple news, didn’t want to start charging for his free podcasts, so he created another show, “Day 6,” which can only be accessed through a paid subscription. Ray said the “Day 6″ show is designed to pay for his daily show.

ssicon_Premiumcast_PaulColliganApple doesn’t allow podcasters to charge for podcasts within iTunes, so if you want to create a paid podcast, you need to use a service such as Premiumcast.com which allows you to create personalized RSS feeds, explained CEO Paul Colligan (interview). Personalized RSS feeds allow for complete control over the podcaster/subscriber relationship, allowing you to serve different content (e.g., PDFs, video, or audio) and time the distribution, plus turn off a feed if someone stops paying.

5. Partial show free, full show paid

ssicon_Never_Not_Funny_Matt_BelknapOne of my favorite podcasts, Never Not Funny, is hosted by a great comedian I knew in Chicago, Jimmy Pardo. The show is 90 minutes long, but only the first 20 minutes is available for free. If you want the rest of the show, you need to become a paid subscriber ($19.99 for a season of 26 episodes in audio, $24.99 for the season in video). Like McAllister, Hyman, and Ray, the Never Not Funny podcast didn’t begin with a paid model. Pardo and his co-host and producer Matt Belknap (interview) created 100 shows for free first, and then switched to the partial show free, full show paid model. It’s paid off. Belknap estimates that 35 percent of their total listeners are paid subscribers.

6. Build your own media network of programming and sell advertising against it

ssicon_Personal_Life_Media_Susan_BrattonLaunching a radio or television network has enormous overhead. A podcast network doesn’t. Personal Life Media is an online network of blogs and podcasts that address personal life issues such as career, love, health, and finance, explained CEO Susan Bratton (interview). Unlike podcast networks such as Mevio and Wizzard Media which are just collecting a mishmash of programming, Personal Life Media behaves like a radio network that controls its programming and its overall brand. With her lineup of forty programs, Bratton can sell advertising packages by specific category that get from 100,000 to 250,000 downloads per month.

ssicon_ESPN_Marc_HorineUnlike Bratton’s Personal Life Media, ESPN didn’t have to start from scratch when creating its podcast network, ESPN Podcenter; they already had a brand and a radio station. When they first began podcasting five years ago, they repurposed some radio content for the web, but soon learned that it was more effective to create original podcast programming. Now with a lineup of more than 100 podcasts, ESPN sells integrated sponsor packages across multiple media that can include advertiser images that appear on the show’s icon within iTunes’ podcast directory, said Marc Horine, VP of Digital Media at ESPN (interview).

7. Build your brand to sell your services

ssicon_Duct_Tape_Marketing_John_JantschMarketing and digital technology coach John Jantsch is the host of the “Duct Tape Marketing” podcast (interview) which is also the name of his book and his consultancy. In his early days of podcasting, when he was a complete unknown, Jantsch would request interviews from well known social media types like Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin. Having them on his podcast raised his profile. Since, his consulting business has increased 500 percent and is now landing him six-figure sponsorships repeatedly, said Jantsch.

ssicon_Manager_Tools_Mike_AuzenneMike Auzenne, co-host of the Manager Tools podcast (interview), doesn’t charge for his podcast or take any sponsorship money. He just focuses on delivering great advice and actionable tips to be a better manager. The four-year podcast trust building exercise is working. All of Manager Tools’ clients come from hearing him on the podcast first, and as a result business has increased ten-fold, said Auzenne.

8. Sell an iPhone app along with your podcast

ssicon_Elsies_Yoga_Elsie_EscobarElsie Escobar is the host of the podcast Elsie’s Yoga Class Live and Unplugged (interview) which is simply an audio recording of her yoga classes. Though the podcast is distributed completely for free, she’s just starting to make money with a $3.99 iPhone application. The application, developed by Wizzard Media and available to any podcaster on a revenue share basis, lets Escobar and anyone else offer value add content for their podcast. Escobar uses it to add PDFs of routine sequences and quick access to 70 of her past yoga classes. It’s an ideal platform to be on since Wizzard Media’s podcast metrics show that 85 percent of people download podcasts through iTunes. Combine that with the 50 million iPhones and iPod Touches sold and you’ve got yourself a strong podcasting platform, said Wizzard Media’s Rob Walch.

9. Integrate sponsorship with the show’s editorial

ssicon_Slate_Andy_BowersDigital audio book seller Audible is a regular sponsor of many different podcasts. It is natural for them to advertise on podcasts, since their product is usually consumed in the same place: iPods. It was even more appropriate for them to advertise via sponsored editorial placements on Slate’s Culture Gabfest, a group discussion podcast of the week’s arts and entertainment happenings, explained Andy Bowers (interview), Slate’s podcast and video producer. The Culture Gabfest’s hosts were already consumers of Audible’s product and were eager to recommend books or take recommendations from listeners. Book recommendations fit in naturally with the show’s editorial and it also has increased engagement as they continue to track their success through a show-specific promotion code.

This is just a brief summary of all the different ways one can make money from podcasting. For “how to” tips and expert advice on how to make these techniques actually work, make sure you read and listen to the interviews, linked all throughout this article.

More business resources from Mashable:

- 5 Advanced Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
- 4 Ways Social Media is Changing Business
- 6 Must-Follow Steps for Selling in Any Economy
- 5 Easy Social Media Wins for Your Small Business
- HOW TO: Use Twitter Hashtags for Business

Image courtesy of iStockphoto (iStockphoto

), Graffizone

These are all great tips and, depending upon the type of podcast your doing, combing a few of them can obviously yield very positive results. For most though, building your brand through your podcast that lead to other sources of revenue is the best, most unobtrusive way to go. What are your thoughts?

-Joe

Posted via web from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

In a surprise move, Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

"OSLO -- President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation."

Didn't see hat one coming did ya!

Ok so now he has he worlds attention... again. So what's he gonna do with all that love?

I've got a few ideas...

Posted via web from Joe Shockley's Data & Sound

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Fresh Espresso - Live on KEXP

To play mp3s in your browser, you will need to have Javascript turned on and have Flash Player 9 or better installed.

Just listened to the these cats from Seattle. They're on the underground Hip Hop Tip with a bit of an Indie/Electro flare.  The tune 'Right Here' is smooth and 'Lazer Beams' has some cool live vocoder action, Aside from that it's just two guys rapping to a laptop, But man is that laptop is working it!

Enjoy!

Joe

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Gnarls Barkley cover Radiohead's 'Reckoner'

Reckoner (Radiohead Cover) by Gnarls Barkley  
Download now or listen on posterous
17 Reckoner (Radiohead Cover).mp3 (5192 KB)

Stumbled upon this cover this morning, it comes from a performance recorded Live @ Astoria 2, London in August of 2008. Cee-Lo's vocals lay the soul on pretty thick, almost a gospel howl of sorts, while the rest of the band does a rather accurate rendition of the song. Good find! The MP3 features a bit more of Cee-Lo introducing the song and some banter afterward.

Posted via email from Joe Shockley

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Monday, October 05, 2009

Ouch! Loud noise!

Listen!

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

U.S. Mac Ownership Grows, But Nearly 85% of Mac Households Also Own Windows PCs

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/10/05/npd-u-s-mac-ownership-grows-but-nearly-85-of-mac-households-also-own-windows-pcs

I find this to be true with about 80% of my customers. Many of whom are switchers thanks to the iPhone or simply tired of dealing with Windows virus issues.

Another interesting note: Of my 80% of Mixed enviroment house holds almost half of them continue to use Windows on their Mac via Bootcamp, Parallels or VMWare Fusion. And of that 50% I'd say nearly 90% of them do so because they are in Realestate or Finance.

Posted via email from Joe Shockley

Life 0-30 in Pictures.

Dead on except life at 30, my life was way better at 30.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Saturday, October 03, 2009

The Death of Multitasking and Rebirth of Unitasking

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/10/death-of-multitasking-and-rebirth-of.html

You mean having Tweetie, iChat, Mail, Safari and iTunes open while I'm building a FileMaker DB is less productive? Damn!

I'be been saying this for a while now, nice to have some science backing me up. What we need is focus not the constant flow of mlutiple activites and tasks.

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Friday, October 02, 2009

Florence & The Machine - You've Got The Love (The xx Remix)

You've Got The Love (The Xx Remix) by Florence And The Machine  
Download now or listen on posterous
You've Got the Love (The xx Remix).mp3 (6773 KB)

It's more of a cover really. Injecting a Two Step vibe with Romy and Oliver sparing on vocals and making this track their own. Love it.

Enjoy!

Joe

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Thursday, October 01, 2009

5-year-old boy plays "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash

Cute. Take that Yo Gabba Gabba!

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

Ableton - Novation Launchpad - Pretty Slick Device!

It's confusing to watch this in action with this tailored version of Live, but I'm curious to get my hands on it.

Posted via web from Joe Shockley

The Sky Drops - Truth Is

"The Sky Drops are gaze-grunge duo Rob Montejo and Monika Bullette. This Delaware twosome unearths an ocean-size of sound -- a superforce of guitar, drums and vocals. "What a Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine kicking Elliot Smith from his grave would sound like (with a twist of lemon)." - Andrew - fan of The Sky Drops"

That sums it up.  I stumbled upon this duo yesterday and immediately found them to be familiar and fresh at the same time. Takes me back to the mid 90's but keeps me present with their stripped down duo sound and straight ahead drive. The vocals are really the key, they help to lift up the overall mood of the songs, they could've easily and lazily gone a more sludgy direction. They have a 5 Song EP which has another stellar song called 'Now Would Be' that is well worth checking out.

'Truth is' comes off their debut Long player "Bourgeois Beat".

Truth Is by The Sky Drops  
Download now or listen on posterous
06 Truth Is.mp3 (8043 KB)

Enjoy!

Posted via email from Joe Shockley