Like they’ve done for the past nine Septembers, Apple has announced a special event where presumably they’ll announce new iPods. There are plenty of rumors stating that they’ll announce an update to the Apple TV, which hasn’t really changed since they announced it in 2006. While I feel that this is a long shot, judging from the flyer of the event, along with updates to the entire iPod line, they’ll announce an update to the iLife software suite with a major emphasis on Garageband. We’ll have to wait and see on September 1st.

Visit link

Great piece by Marco Arment taking a look at the past three years in mobile technology.

For as much as some people may hate Apple, you can’t deny their impact and influence on any industry it decides to enter.

Visit link

Artist: Saves The Day

Album: Stay What You Are

Release Date: July 10, 2001

This is my first post where I’m doing a re-review of an album which, I feel, has held up well over the years. I’ve mentioned doing this in an earlier post and chose this album to start this series off. When this album came out, it polarized a lot of their existing fans. Through Being Cool was a lot harder and more upbeat than this one, but that doesn’t mean this album is slow and boring. I have more respect for bands/artists who experiment with different styles and musical influences. It’s real easy to write songs that are about the same subject matter, just change a few arrangements, release the album and call it a day. It’s not so easy to try out new ideas and have your fans like what you release. I feel the band successfully changed their sound with this album while keeping their old fans and gaining new ones.

Stay What You Are is widely considered Saves The Day’s breakout album. They got some radio play with their first single “At Your Funeral”. While it’s a great song, the rest of the album deserves recognition. Their second single, “Freakish”, also got some airplay but isn’t one of my favorites. “Nightingale” is a hidden gem on this album. It’s a hopeful song that can be looked at on different levels. I’m sure everyone can relate to this one line in the song, “I’ll do everything I can, to keep you by my side.”

“This Is Not An Exit” is probably one of my top 3 favorite songs of all time. It has all the criteria that, for me, make a song great; a catchy melody and thoughtful lyrics that anyone who’s been in a relationship can relate to. The last verse of the song best describes the most hopeful and bittersweet way anyone would want a relationship to end.

…the actor in this play.
And you walk across the stage,
Take a bow, hear the applause,
And as the curtain falls,
Just know you did it all
The best that you knew how
And you can hear them cheering now.
So let a smile out and show your teeth
cause you know you lived it well.

Stand Out Tracks: At Your Funeral, Nightingale, This Is Not An Exit (iTunes links)

Enjoyed Best: While driving by yourself on a summer Sunday afternoon.

I finally had the chance to see Inception last night and the hype is all real. That movie was probably the best science fiction movie I’ve seen since The Matrix. It’s one of those defining films that sets the bar for special effects and multiple level plot lines. I’m definitely buying the DVD when it’s available and that’s saying a lot from someone who thinks physical media is dead.

I’ll probably be posting a lot of Inception links now that I’m obsessed with it. Here’s an interview with the film’s costume designer. I have to admit, watching that movie makes me want to upgrade my wardrobe. Warning: semi-spoilers ahead.

Inception: Jeffrey Kurland Costume Q&A

Whenever someone asks me if I like a current song, they are usually surprised when I say I haven’t heard it. They are also surprised when I tell them I don’t listen to the radio. I spend my working days listening to AM talk radio. Some might say I’m getting old but I attribute it to the sad state of radio today. That is not to say I’m not a fan of music. I’m a HUGE fan of music. Just not what they play on the radio.

I’ve noticed that even though I keep up with a few of the artists I’m a fan of, the overwhelming majority of the music I listen to now I discovered back when I was in college. I’m constantly going back and listening to a lot of the albums from that time in my life. I thought I’d re-review albums that I loved back then and have held up well over the years. I hope its a nice change from the tech stuff I regularly post here.

With the release of the iPhone 4, a lot of people are making the leap and purchasing an iPhone. After they get it set up and are finished admiring it, now what? What makes the iPhone so great are the thousands of different apps available on the App Store. Here are a couple of apps that I think are must downloads when you first unwrap your shiny new toy.

Facebook

This one is obvious. Not only is it everyone’s favorite social network, it’s actually a very well designed app. It’s logically laid out and it makes it easy to post pictures, look at your news feed and stalk your friends.

Cost: Free

Twitter for iPhone

After Facebook, this is probably the next social network everyone wastes their time on. This app actually started out as Tweetie and I thought it was the best Twitter client on the iPhone by far. Apparently the guys over at Twitter thought so as well and bought atebits, the company that developed the app, to use as their official app on the iPhone. What makes this app so great is that it’s simple enough for the casual Twitterer to understand but has the features a power user needs. It can handle multiple accounts and it supports retweets, geolocation, Twitter lists and uploading pictures and videos to the service of your choice.

Cost: Free

BeejiveIM

It’s a shame Apple doesn’t ship an IM client with the iPhone. Luckily developers have stepped up to fill this void. The best IM client on the iPhone by FAR is BeejiveIM. I’ve tried plenty of solutions, even jailbreak apps from back in the day such as Palringo and ApolloIM, but none of them have the simplicity combined with the options of BeejiveIM. It supports practically all the IM services out there. Of course it keeps you online after you’ve quit the app and pushes new messages to you as you receive them. At $10, it’s not the cheapest app but this is truly a case of “you get what you pay for”. Easily the best app I’ve purchased so far. If you’d like a free client, Meebo is a respectable alternative.

Cost: $9.99

Remote

This Apple developed app is very underrated and I always use it to demo what you can do with an iPhone, iTunes and/or an Apple TV. Once you link up the app to your iTunes library, you have an iPod like interface to control your music library. It’s even more impressive when you have your computer connected to speakers or have an Apple TV with a home theater system. It’s dead simple but still impresses people whenever I show them for the first time.

Cost: Free

Pandora

Everyone has heard of Pandora but it reaches its full potential on the iPhone with the arrival of background audio and multitasking in iOS4. You can, of course, load your own music and listen to it through the iPod app but sometimes I don’t want to search through my library to find something to listen to. When I’m feeling lazy, I launch Pandora and just choose a station I’ve created. What’s great about Pandora is that it will play music from an artist you choose but also plays music from similar artists. I’ve discovered new artists and rediscovered old favorites via Pandora.

Cost: Free

Michael Rosenberg on the difference between LeBron James and Michael Jordan:

But Jordan had a different kind of ego. LeBron needs the adoration. Jordan needed to dominate. When Jordan ended his baseball career and returned to the NBA, he did not go on Larry King or feed speculation for months. He put out a two-word press release: “I’m back.” He knew that was enough. He knew that what the world really wanted was Jordan on a basketball court, not Jordan in an hour-long TV special.

I understand the hype of LeBron James’ decision on where he will play next. He has the potential to be the next great player of his generation. I do NOT appreciate the “Look at me” attitude he’s doing this with; joining Twitter and asking ESPN to set up an hour long event to announce which team he signs with (regardless if this is benefitting the Boys and Girls Club of America). He hasn’t accomplished what is considered the pinnacle of an NBA career which is winning a championship. Until he does that, he should focus solely on winning rather than call unnecessary attention to himself.

T-Mobile kills off current Sidekick

The Sidekick was way ahead of its time. It had an email client, AIM client, push capabilities, a (functional for its time) web browser and an app store. Aside from the iPhone, the Sidekick 3 was the best cellphone I’ve ever owned.

I was inspired by Kevin Rose’s list so I decided to make a “products I can’t live without” list.

• GMail
• Google Reader
• Google Chat and Beejive
• Facebook
• Tweetie and Twitter
• Netflix
• Dropbox
• TiVo
• iPhone 3GS
• MacBook Pro
• iTunes

Did I miss anything? Care to add your own?

Two weeks ago I ran the San Diego Rock N Roll marathon. Being my first marathon, I had no idea what to expect. I was anxious and nervous because this was the largest physical undertaking I had ever attempted. I was excited because I was running this race with my friend Nolan, my brother Mikey and a few of my cousins. I’m proud to say that I finished the marathon in 5:41:35.

Since I participated with Team in Training all of our accommodations in San Diego were taken care of. If you have a chance, I HIGHLY recommend at least doing one event with TNT. The experience is a very rewarding one and you are doing it all for a great cause. I met a lot of great people along the way. My only regret is that I wished I participated in more practices. My knee kept me from running the majority of this spring season.

The morning of the marathon started when some people are calling it a night. We met at the lobby of our hotel at 3:45 AM. I’ve had nights end later than that. From the hotel they shuttled us over to the starting area where we waited for about 2 hours before the race started. Once we lined up, it seemed like forever before our corral was let loose. Once we were let go it was on! The first 3-5 miles I was worried about my knee. I could feel it tighten up ever so slightly but once I got the jitters out of me and got warmed up, it felt fine. From miles 6 to about 9 or 10, Nolan and I hit a pretty good groove. We had a nice steady pace going and we spaced out a couple of walking breaks. Once the course took us on to the 163 freeway, trouble started. Part of the course took us from downtown San Diego to Mission Valley along the 163. If you’re familiar with this stretch of freeway it is all uphill for about 4 miles and goes downhill from Washington St. all the way to Friars Rd. Not only that but the freeway is banked so you’re also trying to compensate for the slope of the freeway. This, along with weather that was hotter and more humid than usual, contributed to severe cramping in my legs. I’ve never felt cramping like that since my days of playing high school basketball. So from about mile 11 until the end of the marathon, I had to alternate between running, walking and stretching out my cramping legs.

Once we crossed 20 miles, I totally felt like I wanted to chop off my legs because they were hurting so bad. No amount of sports drink, water, GU or salt could take the pain away so we just had to finish. Once we made the final turn toward the finish line, the sound of the crowd made me forget all about the pain in my legs. I knew I had friends and family waiting for me at the finish line and I couldn’t wait to see them. I still don’t think it’s fully hit me that I’ve completed a full marathon.

After running my first marathon, I can definitely say I will remember the experience the rest of my life, especially with my involvement with Team In Training. I thanked everyone in a previous post but I’ll do it again because I don’t think I was able to do it with all of your support. I’m already thinking about doing my next event, the inaugural LA Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I brought my camera along with me and you can check out the pictures here.