Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Easter Treat From iTunes
The iTunes store is giving away an excerpt (Last Supper through Resurrection) from The Bible Experience, an audio-recording of the Bible produced by Zondervan and featuring a cast of A-list celebrities. This freebie features Blair Underwood as Jesus and Cuba Gooding Jr. as Judas Iscariot.
Judas saying "Show me the money!" to the high priests before betraying Christ felt a little off, but otherwise a great recording. (And since Cuba doesn't really say that here, it's an excellent recording without exception.)
Check it out. It's better than Peeps. Honest.
Judas saying "Show me the money!" to the high priests before betraying Christ felt a little off, but otherwise a great recording. (And since Cuba doesn't really say that here, it's an excellent recording without exception.)
Check it out. It's better than Peeps. Honest.
Labels: iTunes
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
What! Another iTunes Post?
Yeah. So?
Look, I know I recommended the Charlotte's Web thing the other day. It's a good deal and you should take advantage of it. But I know your time is important, if to no one else than yourself, so I'm not going to waste it going on about other things at the iTunes store you can spend $5 on (though they have added Sudoku and a set of solitaire games to their offerings).
And even though they're free, I'm not going to go on and on and on about the Christmas songs by Sufjan Stevens and The King's Singers they're giving away. Because your time is important. And I respect that.
Which is why it pains me so -- no, wait ... I've been sitting on a pistachio shell -- to suggest you download the six-hour audiobook of John "I'm a PC" Hodgman's Areas of My Expertise. It's free, though your time is not (nor, possibly, is your employer's bandwidth, so fair warning, right?). Still, the cover proclaims that the recording has been "digitally encoded with 'listen while you sleep' hypnotic suggestion technology for painless edification while unconscious." (I believe that "painless" claim is voided if you sleep on pistachio or other nut shells, or really any non-mattress surface; listening to the audiobook while sleeping and driving also not recommended.) So there you go, you multitasker you.
Of course, how you can sleep through all the laughing you'll be doing I can't imagine. That's a commitment to time management I just don't understand.
Look, I know I recommended the Charlotte's Web thing the other day. It's a good deal and you should take advantage of it. But I know your time is important, if to no one else than yourself, so I'm not going to waste it going on about other things at the iTunes store you can spend $5 on (though they have added Sudoku and a set of solitaire games to their offerings).
And even though they're free, I'm not going to go on and on and on about the Christmas songs by Sufjan Stevens and The King's Singers they're giving away. Because your time is important. And I respect that.
Which is why it pains me so -- no, wait ... I've been sitting on a pistachio shell -- to suggest you download the six-hour audiobook of John "I'm a PC" Hodgman's Areas of My Expertise. It's free, though your time is not (nor, possibly, is your employer's bandwidth, so fair warning, right?). Still, the cover proclaims that the recording has been "digitally encoded with 'listen while you sleep' hypnotic suggestion technology for painless edification while unconscious." (I believe that "painless" claim is voided if you sleep on pistachio or other nut shells, or really any non-mattress surface; listening to the audiobook while sleeping and driving also not recommended.) So there you go, you multitasker you.
Of course, how you can sleep through all the laughing you'll be doing I can't imagine. That's a commitment to time management I just don't understand.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Nifty
Hey, all the formatting options are back in Blogger Beta for Mac Firefox. (Though I'm not the only one cranky over recent "issues." Hi Mir!)
And I found a spiffy feature in Yahoo! Messenger that shows what you're listening to in iTunes instead of the default "Available" message. Yeah, it was real complicated: activate the drop-down menu beside "Available" and choose "Current iTunes Track" from the options.
Now when I'm chatting and the A-Team theme song rolls around I don't have to interrupt the conversation to crow about it. Sure, I probably will anyway, but I don't have to. When it's the Rockford Files theme, though, it's not an option. People will be told -- and jealous, I'm sure. Barney Miller, same deal.
Got a nifty and/or spiffy discovery to brighten a Monday that was mixed clouds and pretty darn cold? Should comments be working again (still?), let me know.
And I found a spiffy feature in Yahoo! Messenger that shows what you're listening to in iTunes instead of the default "Available" message. Yeah, it was real complicated: activate the drop-down menu beside "Available" and choose "Current iTunes Track" from the options.
Now when I'm chatting and the A-Team theme song rolls around I don't have to interrupt the conversation to crow about it. Sure, I probably will anyway, but I don't have to. When it's the Rockford Files theme, though, it's not an option. People will be told -- and jealous, I'm sure. Barney Miller, same deal.
Got a nifty and/or spiffy discovery to brighten a Monday that was mixed clouds and pretty darn cold? Should comments be working again (still?), let me know.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Six Things -- Not Necessarily Sequentially
1: Phil's new shoe size. Went out to get him a new pair of shoes and he's out of the kid sizes already.
2: The Second Season of Babylon 5 is now available at the iTunes store.
3: This week's CFBA pick is the third book in the Landon Snow series: L.S. and the Island of Arcanum. I haven't managed to finish it yet, but what I've read so far is very good. Check out other CFBA members Kevin Lucia and Val Comer, as well as author R.K. Mortenson's website -- landonsnow.com -- for more info. (Val's giving away a copy of the book, and also has a link to a free Landon Snow -- move over, Grinch! -- Christmas short story.) I hope to have a Book Chat with Randy up in the next few days.
11: At 11 o'clock this morning we went to a parent-teacher conference to find out how the boy's doing. In Spinal Tap terms, he's gone all the way to 11 with reading. Math's not far behind. Great job, Phil!
6: Phil has the attention span of a six year old. That and his penmanship were the only things his teacher said he needed to work on.
24: Days left until Christmas. Phil -- have I mentioned he's doing well in school? -- figured this out in his head (what's twenty-five minus one?).
2: The Second Season of Babylon 5 is now available at the iTunes store.
3: This week's CFBA pick is the third book in the Landon Snow series: L.S. and the Island of Arcanum. I haven't managed to finish it yet, but what I've read so far is very good. Check out other CFBA members Kevin Lucia and Val Comer, as well as author R.K. Mortenson's website -- landonsnow.com -- for more info. (Val's giving away a copy of the book, and also has a link to a free Landon Snow -- move over, Grinch! -- Christmas short story.) I hope to have a Book Chat with Randy up in the next few days.
11: At 11 o'clock this morning we went to a parent-teacher conference to find out how the boy's doing. In Spinal Tap terms, he's gone all the way to 11 with reading. Math's not far behind. Great job, Phil!
6: Phil has the attention span of a six year old. That and his penmanship were the only things his teacher said he needed to work on.
24: Days left until Christmas. Phil -- have I mentioned he's doing well in school? -- figured this out in his head (what's twenty-five minus one?).
Labels: CFBA, first grade, iTunes, Television
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Free Jay Leno
No, Jay's not in trouble with the law (so far as I know). The iTunes Music Store is giving away three Tonight Show extras: Headlines, JayWalking All-Stars, and Commercial Parodies.
Go get 'em!
And if you don't already have the Tenacious D freebie, check it out (if, for nothing else, the marquee of the Ford Theater and the iTunes slogan at the end).
Go get 'em!
And if you don't already have the Tenacious D freebie, check it out (if, for nothing else, the marquee of the Ford Theater and the iTunes slogan at the end).
Labels: iTunes
Saturday, October 14, 2006
The Boy's Taste in Music
Phil's been nagging me to download "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects from the iTunes Music Store for a month or so now. He heard it in an ad for a Bioncles/Free the Band promotion -- so, of course, it's the best song ever.
I used one of the free from General Mills codes to get it. Not a bad little number, a little Reliant K-ish (or vice-versa, I don't know from music anymore).
I burned it on a CD so he can play it in his room. (He made me play it three or four times on my PowerBook after I downloaded it.) He's in there now, showing his stuffed animals all his dance moves.
I'm sure one day we won't see eye-to-eye on music, but it's nice he doesn't have entirely bad taste yet. I've got a Tom Jones CD I'm itchin' to crank up on the stereo when that day finally comes; working on some What's Up Pussycat pelvic gyrations, too. No, I won't videotape those, either, so don't ask.
I used one of the free from General Mills codes to get it. Not a bad little number, a little Reliant K-ish (or vice-versa, I don't know from music anymore).
I burned it on a CD so he can play it in his room. (He made me play it three or four times on my PowerBook after I downloaded it.) He's in there now, showing his stuffed animals all his dance moves.
I'm sure one day we won't see eye-to-eye on music, but it's nice he doesn't have entirely bad taste yet. I've got a Tom Jones CD I'm itchin' to crank up on the stereo when that day finally comes; working on some What's Up Pussycat pelvic gyrations, too. No, I won't videotape those, either, so don't ask.
Labels: iTunes
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Losers' Lounge
Posting this early so no one'll think Phil's soccer team lost today's game. Look for an update on that tonight.
No, this Losers' Lounge refers to where the non-winners of Celebrity Poker Showdown go after they've non-won at Texas Hold'em. That's where I'm spending a lot of time with the Texas Hold'em game Apple released last month for the fifth-generation iPod (not the Nano, which I do like the new look of). And I'm lovin' every minute of it (especially since there's no Kathy Griffin lounging in the iPod version).
There are seven tournaments to play in the game. You start in Cupertino (Apple's hometown). I beat that scene frequently. Then you move up to Tournament #2: Macau in Southeast Asia. That's a 2-table tournament. You've got to beat the first table to get to the second and beat that to get to the next tournament. You win $1,000 for beating Cupertino and Macau has a $500 buy-in, so you've got two shots to make it big. I've never made it big (it would be nice if you could use the $3,000 you take from beating the first table and have three shots at the $1,000 second table, but that's not the way it goes). Still, it's a fun game. Clever animations; I'm getting to where I can read some of the players' "tells" (tics that give away whether a player has a good hand or are bluffing). But I'm not heading to Vegas with mad skills any time soon.
At $5 the game's a bargain. And although it's addicting, you can save and step away from the table at any time. Not saying you can quit; you'll be back for sure. There are complimentary Blue Diamond smokehouse-flavored almonds at the Losers' Lounge, after all.
No, this Losers' Lounge refers to where the non-winners of Celebrity Poker Showdown go after they've non-won at Texas Hold'em. That's where I'm spending a lot of time with the Texas Hold'em game Apple released last month for the fifth-generation iPod (not the Nano, which I do like the new look of). And I'm lovin' every minute of it (especially since there's no Kathy Griffin lounging in the iPod version).
There are seven tournaments to play in the game. You start in Cupertino (Apple's hometown). I beat that scene frequently. Then you move up to Tournament #2: Macau in Southeast Asia. That's a 2-table tournament. You've got to beat the first table to get to the second and beat that to get to the next tournament. You win $1,000 for beating Cupertino and Macau has a $500 buy-in, so you've got two shots to make it big. I've never made it big (it would be nice if you could use the $3,000 you take from beating the first table and have three shots at the $1,000 second table, but that's not the way it goes). Still, it's a fun game. Clever animations; I'm getting to where I can read some of the players' "tells" (tics that give away whether a player has a good hand or are bluffing). But I'm not heading to Vegas with mad skills any time soon.
At $5 the game's a bargain. And although it's addicting, you can save and step away from the table at any time. Not saying you can quit; you'll be back for sure. There are complimentary Blue Diamond smokehouse-flavored almonds at the Losers' Lounge, after all.
