some fiction is true

truth, however, is a matter of perspective

...



...

LEST I BE JUDGED FOR THIS
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MINI POSTS
[brief and frequently-posted messages]

AUDIO AND VIDEO
[audio and video streams and downloads]

MOBILE POSTS
[content posted from a mobile phone]

PODCAST FEED
[for podcasts only -- no text]

RSS FEED
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ARCHIVE
[past posts]

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mini updates:
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    dear reader/listener/viewer/enjoyer/co-conspirator:
    lest i be judged for it, i inform you now that this project continues to be a scratch pad, a space for experimentation

    in other words, enjoy what you find here, and feel free to participate, but try not to take anything personal, and don't believe that this project presents an accurate view of me or my life

    this is a window, certainly, but one that hasn't been cleaned in quite some time

    your view may be foggy, obscure...you may see things that aren't really there...

    --harold

    want some background music?
    please consider downloading my most recent music podcast.

    and yes, i love my mom and my dad;
    they've always been good to me, no matter what impression you may have received here

    they never locked me in a cellar or anything

     
    archived stories, or something that happened in the past:

    December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 November 2007 February 2008 March 2008

    i am a member of the

    association of music podcasting

    musicpodcasting.org

    along with these fine music podcasters:

    all florida indies - bing futch
    audio gumshoe - rich palmer
    audio popcorn - krash coarse
    aural icebergs music cast - tiffany rapplean
    capital rock show - bucket aka jason
    darkhorse radio - alan carr
    ears to hear - jill lawton
    eclectic mix - george l smyth
    homegrown podcast - nic treadwell
    indiefeed - chris macdonald
    le jazz affair - sal calfa
    rubyfruit radio - heather smith
    sober cafe podcast - gracie hollombe
    sundown lounge - larry winfield
    tempo of the down - harold (that's me!)
    the darkcompass podcast - rowland cutler
    the fabrications podcast - matt macfarlane
    the phill(er) - phill ramey
    the radiozoom podcast - john bollwitt
    thepillarcast.com - jon tucker
    uc radio podshow - michael yusi
    zaldor's world - les zaldor


    this is...

    something that happened

    stories by harold j. johnson, in various formats - including text, audio, video, and podcasts
     

     
    Monday, April 30, 2007  

    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.

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    4/30/2007 02:07:00 PM (0) comments





    Friday, April 27, 2007  

    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.

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    4/27/2007 10:50:00 AM (0) comments





    Wednesday, April 25, 2007  





    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.

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    4/25/2007 05:23:00 PM (0) comments





    Monday, April 23, 2007  

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




    Diseases and sicknesses of all kinds are gaining ground in Iraq. Activists, doctors, and the media are quick to discuss the potential ramifications of Depleted Uranium, which many argue is still highly radioactive after use. There are many other diseases, some commonplace, such as dysentery and typhoid which were virtually unheard of in Iraq before the Gulf War in 1991, but under the sanctions and instability of the current war, have greatly increased.

    The prevalence of these and other diseases is rarely discussed in the press or at antiwar rallies. The collapse of Iraq's infrastructure, as well as the exodus of doctors from the country, has further exacerbated Iraq's medical difficulties. This after instability caused by the invasion prevented many children from obtaining their regular cancer treatments, necessary to retard further growth of the cancer.

    Alive in Baghdad has produced several shows examining these difficulties. Although primarily focused on the potential impact of depleted uranium, particularly in children, we have also interviewed a doctor, medical students,and a father whose daughter has a strange and unexplained illness.

    We plan to continue looking at these stories and other issues under-represented in the press. Please consider making a donation to continue our work, and feel free to suggest story ideas or submit any questions this or other shows may raise. There are some valuable resources for researching issues of a medical nature in Iraq. We suggest you check these outlets for more information:

    IRIN, the UN's "humanitarian news and analysis" service

    The Lancet

    British Medical Journal

    BBC News' Middle East reporting

    For general in-depth reporting on Iraq please check out the insightful Institute for War and Peace Reporting's Iraq Crisis Report.

    Articles cited in this week's show:
    http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1510710,00.html
    http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70920
    http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=71005
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6479997.stm

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    4/23/2007 11:46:00 AM (0) comments





    Friday, April 20, 2007  

    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




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    4/20/2007 02:41:00 PM (0) comments





    Thursday, April 12, 2007  

    This video grabbed ahold of me this morning.

    I want to share it with you:








    I'm Autistic! on Vimeo
    4/12/2007 02:53:00 PM (0) comments





    Saturday, April 07, 2007  

    Eraserhead, Almost



    Day 07 of Videoblogging Week 2007.

    David Lynch's Eraserhead

    is briefly discussed

    mentioned, really

    in a conversation

    of little import.







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    4/07/2007 11:39:00 PM (0) comments





    Friday, April 06, 2007  

    Action Shot



    Video 06 for Videoblogging Week 2007.







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    4/06/2007 09:56:00 PM (0) comments





    Thursday, April 05, 2007  

    My Fifth Day contribution to Videoblogging Week 2007.



    (Thanks, Hipcast!)



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



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    4/05/2007 09:15:00 PM (0) comments





    Wednesday, April 04, 2007  

    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



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    4/04/2007 08:07:00 PM (0) comments





    Tuesday, April 03, 2007  

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













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    4/03/2007 09:17:00 AM (0) comments





    Monday, April 02, 2007  

    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.








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    4/02/2007 10:45:00 AM (0) comments





    Sunday, April 01, 2007  

    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.








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    4/01/2007 11:01:00 PM (0) comments





     
     

    powdered fresh and frequently by blogger.
    lance anderson tells really good stories, and seems like a nice guy, too.

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