Something That Happened.

AMPed New Music Weekly number 72 is now available for download, featuring recording artists John Holowach, Talco, Ophelia Hope, Satellite Dub, One Day Remains, Farewell Redemption, MC Karolina, and Gregg Martinez.

If you want to simply go ahead and download the MP3 right away, here you go! If you've got a podcatcher (such as iTunes), the RSS feed for AMPed New Music Weekly is http://feeds.feedburner.com/ampedmp3, or you can click this Phobos link to be taken to AMPed's podcast profile in your iTunes player.

Technorati Tags: AMP, AMPed, Farewell Redemption, Gregg Martinez, John Holowach, MC Karolina, music, podsafe music, music podcasting, Association of Music Podcasting, Satellite Dub, Talco

One thing about working from a public WiFi hotspot: You never know what (performance) you're going to get. I signed up for AT&T's WiFi service at a local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf location yesterday and let me tell you, between the time it's takes for me to finally connect and the moment I really get going -- you know, checking my email, firing up my Instant Messenger apps, surfing the web & stuff -- by the time I'm able to get past AT&T's login screens and on to the real Internet, I'm ready for a second cup of coffee and a cigarette. (And I'm not a smoker, so that should tell you something.)



Hopefully I haven't lost you yet; I'm posting about this particular geekery today because it is what is foremost on my mind at the moment (besides my inability to be generally satisfied with life, the universe, and everything -- but that's another matter and we'll reserve it for a future post). The problem, if you haven't figured it out yet, is with AT&T's WiFi service is the login screen -- the entire login process, really. Truth be told, I use a rather old PowerBook, and my web surfing takes a bit more time using this machine than your typical recent laptop or MacBook. But still -- the length of time it takes to get through an AT&T WiFi connection is ridiculous. It shouldn't take 30 minutes to get logged in and on to a real website! In comparison, it only took 3 minutes to boot and log into an IM client, open my Gmail and open up a website using my mobile phone's Internet service! Yet truly, that's how long it took -- 30 minutes or so -- using AT&T WiFi this morning.



This isn't my typical experience with public WiFi. Using T-Mobile's WiFi at Starbuck's, it usually takes me no longer than 20 minutes to get up and running. (I jest; it usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes -- but a great deal of that time is spent booting up my old PowerBook, a 3-boot/step process I will spare you the details of.) T-Mobile's login process feels like a Porsche in comparison to the 1972 Volkswagen Beetle of AT&T's login screens. It seems that T-Mobile simply has a lighter interface; perhaps it's using a great deal less AJAX-inspired communication between its servers than AT&T. (Okay, if I haven't lost you yet, now I've really lost you.) It is my (Not So) Humble Opinion that AT&T WiFi would serve its customers well by putting its login screen(s) on a diet, leaning up the size of its data transmissions (or something). That way I can get to the information I want, as quickly as possible, without having to check my watch my daily dose of video podcasts using my phone.

Labels: AT and T, Coffee Bean, commentary, connectivity, hotspots, Internet TV, observations, Starbucks, T-Mobile, wifi

No, that's not me - that's Chris Pirillo, delivering a sweet message to his wife and partner, Ponzi. Caught this video on his website - if you enjoyed Chris, maybe you'll catch him broadcasting live at live.pirillo.com.

Labels: activism, Chris Pirillo, commentary, Ponzi, Unitas, webcam video, women, YouTube

There's an Internet TV series called Alive In Baghdad; the following episode was recently presented (including the text that follows).

Click To Play

Labels: activism, Alive In Baghdad, health, Internet TV, Internet video, Iraq, video, videoblog, war

There's this place I've been visiting off and on these past several years, the Un-Urban Coffeehouse in West L.A. (on Pico & Urban). I stopped in yesterday, and like many afternoons, found the place quiet, the atomosphere lending itself to anyone wishing to read or write or work in peace. I purchased a double latte and two muffins -- I don't usually purchase much else besides a straight cup of coffee when I visit my local Starbucks, but I like to go for the gusto when I'm visiting the independent houses -- and asked the barista how business was. Her reply: "Not so great -- at least, not in the daytime." She went on to tell me the space's rent had just gone up several hundred dollars, a sharp increase for this small business. (She also noted that some of the neighboring businesses had recently shut down, probably due to the either the elevating rent and/or lack of interest. For example, a once-popular record store across the street had just closed.)



I've been thinking for some time now that the UnUrban would be a great place to begin a coworking arrangement of some sort. The place is cozy, dressed like a funky home. You know: Mismatched furniture, colorful walls, bookcases, chinese lamps, rotating ceiling lamps, table lamps of various sizes and shapes, a small stage with an old piano and speakers mounted on the ceiling...There's even a few rows of movie or playhouse seats, perfect for screenings or presentations.



And, of course, good coffee and treats, and free wireless Internet access.



I believe the owner would be willing to make some type of arrangement to allow us to cowork here. This is simply a guess, of course, but I know they've already got some type of arrangement with other groups. For example, they have a 12-Step group come in early every mornings, 7 days of the week. The book bands and art openings on the weekends. So the afternoons: Since business is slow after noon (until the evenings, when they have a long-running Open Mic every night), perhaps we could arrange something for the midday coworking sessions. I believe this place would be a great place to work, or collaborate: Yesterday I was looking for a nice, peaceful, un-Starbuck-like place to settle in the afernoon, and I found just what I was looking for in UnUrban's "living room" environment. There's both dark and light areas in the space, so you can even take a nap or relax in quiet in one room while others hang in the daylight of the other room, where there's lots of open air. I'm not saying it's always quiet -- certainly, the evenings pick up -- but it's usually a calm location during the day, perfectly suitable for getting some work done.



Unfortunately, I fear this place won't be around too much longer if the owner doesn't generate some type of extra income. With some of us looking for a space to hang (and work), the Un-Urban could be just the place for a perfect partnership. So I invite you to open your favorite search engine to dig up a few articles about the place - or better yet, to swing by the coffeehouse sometime, have a cup of Joe or latte, and simply check out the environment. That way you'll get a better feel for the place. The Un-Urban Coffee is just
down the street from (and east of) Santa Monica College, north of Ocean Park, across the street from a Trader Joe's market. The address is 3301 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica (though some may consider it West L.A.), CA, 90045. Phone number: (310) 315-0056



Here's one article about the Un-Urban, just to prove I'm not making this stuff up:



http://www.thelamusicscene.com/clubs/unurban/index.php3

Labels: art, coffeehouses, commentary, coworking, Los Angeles, observations, UnUrban, West L.A., work, worrying, writing

This video grabbed ahold of me this morning.

I want to share it with you:








I'm Autistic! on Vimeo

Eraserhead, Almost



Day 07 of Videoblogging Week 2007.

David Lynch's Eraserhead

is briefly discussed

mentioned, really

in a conversation

of little import.

Labels: conversation, David Lynch, Eraserhead, Flash video, Hipcast.com, Videoblogging Week, Videoblogging Week 2007, webcam video

Action Shot



Video 06 for Videoblogging Week 2007.

Labels: Hipcast.com, observations, tutorials, Videoblogging Week, Videoblogging Week 2007, webcam video

My Fifth Day contribution to Videoblogging Week 2007.



(Thanks, Hipcast!)



Does a (Moving) Picture Say a Thousand Words, or Nothing At All?

Labels: Flash video, Hipcast.com, Internet TV, Internet video, Videoblogging Week, Videoblogging Week 2007, web services, webcam video

So we've reached Day 04 of the web video experiment they call Videoblogging Week 2007, and here's my post for the day, another Vlippin' video:







The service is new, and the embedded player needs work (in my opinion), but you'll find my contribution by clicking the start button and either:




a) waiting for my video to show up



or



b) clicking the next button until I show up

Labels: feedback, Flash video, Internet video, observations, video, Videoblogging Week, Videoblogging Week 2007, Vlip, web services, webcam video, websites

For Day Three of Videoblogging Week 2007, I'm posting my latest Vlip video.

Labels: Flash video, observations, startups, Videoblogging Week, Videoblogging Week 2007, Vlip, web services, webcam video

Response to Response to the YouTube Video Titled Three Years?



This is my response to another YouTuber's response to the video titled Three Years?, in which an invitation is posed for a three-year commitment to a concrete goal. This is also my second video for Videoblogging Week 2007.

Labels: Flash video, goals, insaneshayne, Internet video, jessissinging, video, videoblog, videoblogging, Videoblogging Week, Videoblogging Week 2007, webcam video

The Silent Vlogger



Hi, my name is Harold, and I make silent films. I'm also a vlogger, or videoblogger ("video" + "blogger"). A vlog is alot like a blog, except you use video instead of text.



Here's an example of the kind of vlog post you'd find on my vlog. It's my first video for Videoblogging Week 2007.

Labels: bizarre, comedy, silly, Videoblogging Week, Videoblogging Week 2007, YouTube