From Fly to Amazing
From fly white guy, we go to bad a$$ brother who did some “Amazing” work while in Hawaii. Check out Kanye West’s video of Amazing featuring a ton of unreal scenery from the 808.
Passion
Loving My Nike Structure Triax+ 12
My Nike Air Moto 6+ running shoes were already wearing down so I picked up the Nike Structure Triax+ 12 in silver and black.
So far, loving these shoes. Usually, I go for the cushioned ride provided by Air Max technology, but the Structure has responsive Nike Zoom instead. I think the Foot Bridge is giving the stability and comfort I need.
All this tech including the Nike+ iPod integration ain’t helping my runs but the runs ain’t hurting me either so it’s all good.
Who Pushed the LOST and Ace of Cakes Turbo Button?
Wow, who pushed the turbo button? All of a sudden there’s a bunch of hits coming in to Pulpconnection. Hmmm, looks like the topic of the LOST cake created by the Ace of Cakes crew is trending. I haven’t seen last night’s LOST special, but I’m guessing the show talked about the cake made for LOST’s 100th episode?
A picture of the LOST cake is in this post. But the source of these pics is Jorge Garcia himself from his Dispatches from the Island. If you want to read about the Ace of Cakes season finale taping, this is the post you’re looking for.
New Cast Members of New Moon
Did you catch the new cast members joining the Twilight saga in New Moon? No? Then here’s a useful video rundown.
Wanted: Tweetie Groups
The new Mac desktop Twitter client, Tweetie for Mac, is great but has some missing features (it’s only v1.x you know). One feature that I would like to see is the inclusion of groups. As the number of Tweeters you follow grows so does your timeline, and keeping up with the various conversations gets harder and harder. That’s where groups come into the story.
With groups, you can assign users to defined groups to better segment and track conversations. Natively, Twitter doesn’t support groups so third party Twitter clients like TweetDeck have implemented their own groups solution (though Ginx.com has developed a groups solution within the confines of the Twitter API).
Typically, groups in Twitter clients are handled with another column or window for each group. From an UI perspective, I wonder how Tweetie would address groups. The Tweetie interface is single column focused though you can open more windows with tear off searches. Right now, Tweetie color highlights conversations, and I wonder if this technique could apply to groups? Assign users to groups and assign a color to that group. Any conversation from grouped users would be highlighted in your normal timeline.
To augment this color coding, there should be a keyboard shortcut to toggle between only tweets from a group and all tweets in your timeline. Maybe there would be a tiny image graphic in user’s “speech bubble” when double clicked would show only tweets of that group.
Hmmm… what if users belonged to more than one group? Drats, back to the drawing board.
Extra DWTS Videos
Normally, I post only my favorite Dancing with the Stars performance in my weekly recap. This week though, there were several solid performances, so I had to add bonus material.
Here’s Mark Ballas and Shawn Johnson doing a cha cha cha to Michael Jackson’s PYT.
Later on, I’ll post Melissa and Tony’s intricate Argentine Tango. As promised, here is “Maneater” Melissa with an almost perfect routine.
Average Ain’t Good Enough on Dancing with the Stars
With the great talent on Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars, average scores simply ain’t good enough. Even scores of 8 are grounds for elimination. Week 7 of DWTS showcased some serious talent and routines. Let’s begin!
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani started the show with a bar raising Argentine Tango. After a score of 29, I thought the rest of the competition would falter, but not so. LT’s waltz, though okay, was much better than his previous outings.
Yeah, Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough were too conservative this week and need to heed Bruno’s advice of bringing the raunch back.
My favorite performance for this week goes to Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough. Not just because Chuck copped a feel on national television, but because he actually had a dancing breakthrough with a score of 27.
At about the 0:12 mark, check out the squeezy squeezy action.
Even though Ty Murray made a ballroom comeback, I think his appeal is running its course. He scored higher than LT, but I’m thinking Ty’s getting sacked first.
A close favorite is Shawn Johnson’s cha cha cha to Michael Jackson’s PYT. She was definitely in her element with this performance.
Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke closed out the individual dances, but I didn’t care too much for their Viennese Waltz.
So there you have it, another great week of Dancing with the Stars.
My 15-Minute Review of Tweetie for the Mac
After using the just released Twitter desktop client, Tweetie for the Mac, for 15 minutes, here is my review.
Tweetie for the Mac has a default single column layout with different “tabs” that slide you to your Twitter Timeline, mentions, and DM messages much like Twhirl. It’s not a multicolumn beast like Tweetdeck though you can fill your screen with tear away search screens.
As a desktop app, Tweetie for the Mac feels fast. Faster than the Adobe AIR-based Twhirl or Tweetdeck, on par with Nambu, another desktop client.
Tweetie for the Mac supports multiple Twitter account (which Tweetdeck does not do) and again uses various sidebar “tabs” to switch between Twitter accounts. However, different accounts are distinguished primarily by their Twitter avatars. This more or less forces you to customize your avatar (which you’ve done already right?). Otherwise, you’ll only see the default o_O icon which won’t help you figure out which account you’re using. Although when you are composing a tweet, there is a drop down menu letting you pick by name and avatar which account you’re tweeting with.
Some of the additional services supported.
URL Shortening:
- bit.ly
- TinyURL
- is.gd
- tr.im
- Diggbar
Image Service:
- Twitpic
- yFrog
- Twitgoo
- Posterous
So far, a “hidden” feature I stumbled upon is the inclusion of Twitlonger. If your tweet is longer than the standard 140 characters, Tweetie for the Mac asks if you want to use Twitlonger for your longer tweet. Here’s an example of a Twitlonger tweet. That’s a nice addition.
I also like the behavior of new tweets. Instead of automatically pushing my Timeline location around, Tweetie for the Mac stays put. With Nambu, new tweets would push my Timeline down, making me lose track of where I was – confusing.
Some of the not so good? I can’t find a way of viewing only my tweets. I guess I can search for my own Twitter name, but it would seem easier if there were a “tab” for my tweets. Favorites too, I don’t see an intuitive way to see what tweets I’ve faved. [Update: Ryan Ozawa, aka @hawaii, points out that double clicking your avatar shows your tweets, mentions, faves, and info.]
One minor UI thing I don’t like is the colorless scroll bar. For whatever reason, I have a hard time seeing the handle to scroll up and down my Timeline. I don’t know if it’s the lack of contrast or what, but a few times already, I’ve kinda lost the scroll bar handle and had to look for it. It just didn’t pop out visually.
And oh yeah, I don’t care for the purplish hued icon for Tweetie for the Mac. It’s kinda blasé.
I’m sure there are all kinds of other things to explore and discover with Tweetie for the Mac, and like I said, I only played around with it for 15 minutes. But that’s what is appealing. This app seems simple since it masks the complexity and functionality that is actually there.
Cost is free for a version that includes advertisements. The ad-free version costs $19.95 with a special introductory price of $14.95 until May 4th.
Tweetie for the Mac Now Available
The Twitter desktop client market just got another contender with the introduction of Tweetie for the Mac. Tweetie is already a killer iPhone app, and it’s making a jump to your desktop.
So far so good with version 1.0. It’s one of those simple but powerful applications. You just need to find that feature that’s actually there. One small complaint is the color of the scrollbar, or should I say the lack of color. It’s kinda hard to see the scroll bar since the colors match the rest of the window. Yes, it’s a small thing, but twice already, I had to “hunt” for where I was in the scroll bar
Could I yet again be jumping to a different Twitter client? First Tweetdeck, then Twhirl, some Nambu, and now Tweetie?
The ad-free version costs $14.95 until May 4, 2009.
LOST at Miki’s, Part 2
Did you catch this week’s episode of LOST, titled “Some Like It Hoth?” Remember the scene where Miles was abducted by a van full of strangers? Here’s a refresher.
That scene was filmed at Miki’s on Lehua Avenue in Pearl City. Even though less than a minute, the crew was there for some time, transforming Miki’s into La Vida Tacos.
Interesting to see how this…
transformed into this… (well except for the night time part)
If you need a recap of the episode, be sure to check out The Transmission and this week’s podcast.
New Moon Coverage on ET
Starting April 23, Entertainment Tonight will be showing some exclusive coverage of New Moon, the next chapter in the Twilight saga. Here is ET’s video promotion of their upcoming New Moon specials.
The Strategery of Dancing with the Stars
Week 6 of Dancing with the Stars showcased the strategery of the dancing pros. With eight couples remaining, the competition is ratcheting up, and the separation of the contenders begins. So while there are still a fair share of competitors, you can see the pros taking their partners into new territories to distinguish themselves. The strategery winner this week is Derek Hough and Lil’ Kim.
Their jive was indeed a show with massive kudos to the DWTS wardrobe staff for keeping Lil’ Kim in check. The high octane number was a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen! But Lil’ Kim’s cop uniform held, and the fans were energized. Carrie Ann and Bruno praised the performance with only dancing purist Len Goodman calling Derek and Kim on their over-the-top dance. But now, Derek and Lil’ Kim have to be viewed as serious contenders for the mirror ball trophy.
http://www.youtube.com/v/GdrigVdm1No&hl=en&fs=1
Cheryl Burke wanted to show off her man candy aka Gilles Marini and his serious dancing abilities with a frenetic jive. Yeah, I doubt any other of the celebrity dancers could come close to doing this routine, but it was too hectic. Cheryl’s strategy of highlighting Gilles’ skills didn’t pay off this week.
Tony Dovolani and Melissa Rycroft seem to be plateauing a little bit. They’re still in the top tier of dancers, but their performances feel the same. Mark Ballas and Shawn Johnson are hanging tough, but this week was a challenge with Shawn’s young age of 17. Doing a sensual rumba with a teenager on national television would have backfired so Mark chose a conservative strategy and did an “age appropriate” rumba.
Did Steve-O get a 4 from Len Goodman? Ty Murray may be the one to go though. Seemingly, there are more Jackass fans then bull riding fans. LT, you got bailed out by Warren Sapp. Chuck Wicks, you’re a lucky man.
Update: Apparently, there was a minor wardrobe malfunction for Lil’ Kim at the conclusion of her jive. Those on the live East Coast viewing of DWTS got some exposure before the segment was edited for the West Coast. What did Lil’ Kim have to say about the malfunction?
I don’t know why this happens a lot of the time, but … the girls were tryin’ to come out.