Truth - Lies - Love - Killing Turkeys

This blog is a repost from my MySpace blog, Friday, November 24, 2006

げんきー　(Gā N Kī)

- Good/Happy

The above pronunciation has been modified from the proper Romanji to make it easier for non Japanese speakers to pronounce.

So it's the day after the United States holiday called "Thanksgiving".
Businesses close down, airports fill up, turkeys die.

What I love about this day is that it gives an opportunity for friends and family to get together and enjoy each other's company. Since it falls on a Thursday, a lot of people will start travelling on Wednesday, so that they can enjoy an extended weekend with friends or family. Friends and family coming together is always good.

Here's what I don't like about it...we're celebrating a day when the Pilgrims attempted to initiate the total genocide of Native Americans. If we really wanted to celebrate it properly, I guess we'd invite all the people we've been trained to hate, and let them eat with disease infected silverware. I mean, DAMN, how do you turn THIS into a so called "Holy Day"?
Since it's a Holy Day, we should prepare to stop working, end projects, end progress, as soon as possible...because "It's a short week and nobody will get anything done".
Let's not forget that we've also been trained to start our Holy Day Season shopping right after this day. Just in case you didn't spend enough money through the year, now is your chance to go out and pay closer to what you should in the first place, for a bunch of crap you really don't need anyway. Our training has come along so well that we can't even wait until Friday to start our shopping. Some stores open at 5am and some at Midnight.
They invite us to come as soon as possible to get so called "bargains"....but they only have FIVE of the $99 laptop computers in each store. So after enjoying a Holy Day with friends and family, it's time to go out and push and shove and elbow your way past the peasants who are not as worthy as you are of having that $99 laptop. Yes, THIS is how we begin the Holy Day season shopping. Next they put up huge calendars and remind us of how much time we have left to spend as much money as possible "Only X shopping days left" the signs read, and we've been trained to feel guilty if we don't spend more this year than we did last year.
Now don't get me wrong, I like giving and receiving gifts as much as the next person...but my friends and I make a habbit of letting each other know that we love each other as often as possible.
We don't need Halmark or the government to tell us when to shop, when to take time out for each other, or when to waste money and be rude to total strangers.

Break away from the lies, spread the truths, train your children to love people that are different instead of fearing and hating them. Kill fewer turkeys, and make sure Popeyes Fried Chicken is open 365 days a year.


Love thy neighbor...daily....and more often if schedule allows.

peace and love,

- e.

Netflix comes to PS3

ムービー　(Moo Bee)

- Movie

The above pronunciation has been modified from the proper Romanji to make it easier for non Japanese speakers to pronounce.

I'm going to bet that you like movies. I mean, who can be part of the digital age and NOT like movies? Yes, I know...rhetorical question. Well, I like movies a LOT (ask my wife) , but I work a lot (ask my wife), and I like having a lot of choices quickly available (ask my wife). :-)

The first time I tried Netflix was nearly 10 years ago. DVD was new (and popular) and I couldn't get enough (or so I thought). I subscribed to Netflix, setup my queue, found a lot of rare DVDs that I couldn't find anywhere else, and then waited for them to start coming into my mailbox. The problem was, even though all I had to do was put the viewed DVD back into my mailbox for the postman to pickup, it just never happened. I ended up watching about 1 Netflix film a month. Not a great value for my subscription price. So I dropped it. Fast forward (no pun intended) 6 years, and I'm talking to one of my best friends, Mitchell Norinsky of Backstar Media, and Mitch tells me about this thing called a RoKu box (Roku is Japanese for 6). He says it allows you to watch Netflix digital library on your TV instead of on a computer or waiting for the DVD to arrive. Long story short, I immediately renewed my subscription and ordered a Roku box. The Roku box arrived, I plugged it in, a number came on my TV screen with instructions to key the number into my Netflix account, and bing-bang-boom I was streaming movies to my TV. Thanks to Netflix, I've discovered some really cool TV shows that I would never have bothered watching on broadcast or cable TV, and I've found some really strange movies, many of which I was surprised Netflix would even carry. The really obscure ones, Netflix refers to as "foreign comedies" (it makes my wife smile). ANYWAY, Friday I received a very cool disc for my Sony PS3 (actually I'd ordered it when I heard Netflix would support PS3 for streaming). It's a Blu Ray disc that I pop into my internet connected PS3, and instantly have not only the same functionality as my Roku box, but the ability to add movies from the new release list or from their suggestions based on films I've viewed. VERY KEWL! Now I can move the Roku box into the bedroom...or not. Ok...maybe not. But the good news is that I can eliminate a device from the media room. Our media room has the soon to be vanished Roku, the PS3, 2 Nintendo Wii sets (one US, one Japanese), an HD-DVD player (still great for scaling regular DVDs and playing my obsolete collection of HD-DVDs), 2 different Multi-Region DVD players for testing purposes, an Apple Airport Express for streaming music from any of our iTunes libraries, and of course the TV, surround system, etc. I never thought I'd need a separate router just for the media room. I remember pulling CAT5 cable through the whole house, then going WIFI and thinking it was a waste...NOT! Wish I'd pulled glass (fiber) at the same time.

The moral of this story...Netflix is a VERY KEWL way of getting your entertainment delivered, and now there's no reason to have a dedicated box for streaming it to your TV. Besides the PS3, Netflix works on XBOX 360, and there's promises that it will come to the Wii system someday soon. OH, and for around $99 bucks, you can get a Blu Ray player from Best Buy that has the ability to stream Netflix. VERY cool stuff. VERY addicting.

Point of reference...

こんにちわ (Cone Knee Chi Wa)

- Good afternoon, but often used just to say 'Hello'.

The above pronunciation has been modified from the proper Romanji to make it easier for non Japanese speakers to pronounce.

Before some of you are ready to place your faith in Your Digital Samurai, you probably want to know where you can see some of my work. Here's the link.

http://www.HighLevelProductions.com

ありがと (Ah Ree Ga Toe)

- Thank You

What is a Digital Samurai?

はじめまして (Ha G May Ma She Tay)

- It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time.

The above pronunciation has been modified from the proper Romanji to make it easier for non Japanese speakers to pronounce.

Well, we all know Samurai is the pre-industrial term for a Japanese military mercenary. These warriors were known for both their skill in battle as well as for their allegiance to those they served. So I view a Digital Samurai as an industrialized warrior of sorts, a consultant, a confidant. We're in a constant battle with technology. Notice I said "with" instead of "against." I think "with" is more appropriate because sometimes our battles are alongside the technology we use, and sometimes against the technology that's keeping us from efficiently solving a problem. I don't claim to know everything about everything, but I know a LOT about a LOT of things that are digital. My digital training started around 1983 when I decided I wanted to make music using digital instruments. In the early '80s most people couldn't spell MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) let alone understand how it would change the world. The music I created in the '80s has come to be known as the roots of House Music, and often I've been referred to as "The Godfather of House Music". My passion for new ways to make new music became a quest to find and conquer new technology. For the last 15 years I've focused on technology in the realm of digital video post production, with an emphasis on Apple's professional suite including Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Motion, and Soundtrack Pro. What qualifies me as a Digital Samurai? Well, I'm an Apple Certified Pro and Apple Certified Trainer, I've edited thousands of videos, and hundreds of DVDs. I've created video for the web, for TV, and for mobile devices. My feature film, "The UnUsual Suspects - Once Upon a Time in House Music" is in distribution in the US, Italy, and Japan. I'm also a contributing writer for Post Magazine. Those familiar with me know that I don't rest until I've won the days battle with technology, be it video compression, web/DVD user interfaces, color correction, or the most efficient and entertaining video edit of your content. Today, my quest is to battle with technology on your behalf. I am your humble servant. It is my honor to go into virtual battle on your behalf. I am YOUR Digital Samurai.

よろしく（Yo Roe She Koo)

- With my kindest regards.