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My sister's friend is a widow and her recently deceased husband was a musician. She's a little frazzled understandably, and at first my sister and I thought she was asking me to make her a website. So of course I said I would because I'm versed in wordpress, CSS, some php etc. But what she described in person ended up being something like a CD-Rom press kit.

I can easily design a press kit for her but it's slightly unfamiliar territory and I want to get off on the right foot. ( I don't want to start designing in flash and then realize there's *another* perfect program for this project).

Description:

Person puts CD into computer, a splash screen pops up.
There's a logo and below that is the musician's bio (all this will be one image layout)
20 buttons which play songs when clicked. She envisioned the buttons down the sides, 10 each.
I'd prefer the page include a tiny embedded music controller for fast forwarding


Notes:

Compatible with PC and Mac a must. I'm familiar with autoplay scripting on PC but not Mac. This program can be very basic, this isn't too ambitious as there aren't sub menus or pages. Just one splash screen with 20 songs you can play.  She also wants the songs to play in a CD player if possible.


Any suggestions?  Freeware programs?   ( I know people redirect to their websites these days, but this is what she wants...)

Its been a long time coming!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHps2SecuDk

[# 4. Ferris Bueller's Day Off Was All in Cameron's Head]

------begin tongue in cheek------ do not read if you missed Usual Suspects.-------

Cracked published this article which proposes alternate realities for many beloved films.  One of the most interesting proposals is this one:

# 4.   Ferris Bueller's Day Off Was All in Cameron's Head

Cameron creates Ferris in his mind. Ferris is the total opposite of Cameron: he's fun, spontaneous and has a loving family and foxy girlfriend. At the beginning of the film, the imaginary Ferris convinces a bed-ridden Cameron to "borrow" his dad's Ferrari 250 GT California and cruise all over Chicago. Given Cameron's crushing social incompetence, it's likely that Sloane is fictional too and represents a girl that he has a crush on.

Read more...

Let's face reality.  John Hughes is not known for having psychological twists in his movies.   Obviously any evidence you can muster to prove the point "Ferris exists in Cameron's head" was not what the author intended.  

Now that I've made my case I'd like to introduce a radical new theory.  I came up with this theory an hour ago and it is mindblowing.  I've already rewatched this movie 4 times since then and its exploded my brain each time with deeper levels of meaning.

The film the Breakfast Club is about a group of 5 misfits (a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse) who are detained together but only one is left to tell his captor the story.   The theory is this:   Anthony Michael Hall's character is the mastermind.  This mastermind is perceived by his captor as a weakling but in fact he IS the Breakfast Club.  The ENTIRE Breakfast Club.   At the end of the movie his captor reads a note written by him where he admits HE IS THE BREAKFAST CLUB!!  HE WAS ALL OF THEM the whole time!

Tagline for Usual Suspects: "Five Criminals . One Line Up . No Coincidence"

Tagline for Breakfast Club: "Five strangers with nothing in common, except each other."






Remember the ending for Usual Suspects?  Mere coincidence?  Obviously there was only ONE person in detention the entire movie!    And I'm not even sure what movie I'm talking about any more!  

My brother has been visiting town the past few days so I haven't commented on this yet.   But I live 3 minutes away from a Unitarian church that a few of my friends attend.    I used to think about joining the congregation but now I have no choice.    I will be attending Sunday services due to a rather unfortunate set of events.   ( if you don't know I'm an atheist )



National News:  Gunmen Opens Fire on Unitarian Congregation during Children's Performance

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7529450.stm

Of all churches.... Unitarians?   There are thousands and thousands of Baptist churches in the area... but this one shimmering oasis in Knoxville had to be attacked? For their open-minded beliefs?

This man was under economic stress.   For years his disagreements with Liberals, resentment for his ex-wife's involvement with the church, (and most likely the rise of Barack Hussein Obama) fueled his fire to walk into a church where children were performing... and he opened fire with a shotgun.    He shot randomly, killed 2 members of the congregation.  Injured many others.

This church is a refuge for people in Knoxville who don't fit into the status quo here.    Gay men and women are accepted and encouraged to march downtown by the church.   In fact a teenager I knew when he was four years old organized his own parade and might have been the catalyst for this violence.   My other friend is a college professor and served as his mentor - helping him to organize the gay pride parade using the church.   

These are people whose liberties were ATTACKED in America by a man who was under financial stress.   And who hated the liberal movement.    My town is drowning in bigotry and the shadow of this event looms over me when I drive down my street on the way out of my neighborhood.   If there is any good from this, hopefully all the communities involved (Unitarians, gays,  Knoxvillians) will gain strength from this and learn to grow.



More links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVKuteH2BW0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcLcUSsaXCA

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/07/29/tenn_church_shooting_victims_improving/

Couple weeks ago I was making an animated gif of a fictional city.    Just taking skyscrapers from here, there, mixing them together.   Well I thought I'd be googling images for 5 minutes when I ended up on the computer for nearly 3 hours.   Just staring at cities I had never seen before.

Doesn't anybody think we're crazy?    I mean let's talk about what these buildings mean:   Ambition (the race to make the world's tallest skyscraper), Balls (The French Spiderman who scales buildings with his bare hands) and Conspiracies ( 9/11).   I mean with all these big beautiful buildings in a post 9/11 world ..... shouldn't we see them for what they are?   Potential disasters?   Some of them are just too breathtaking to see the possibility of them ever collapsing.   Is it the pilot of the plane that hits the building?   Or the architect in Dubai who says "lets make this one 2000 feet high?"   I don't know, I just really have no idea who is the craziest.

I'm just going to include two cities with my favorite skyscrapers:  Shanghai and Dubai.

Pudong's new view (Shanghai)








google pudong images

Dubai:






googe dubai images

Also the French Spiderman kicks ass.   As soon as I find some youtube videos of him I will paste them here.   This guy scales world record buildings under an hour.... with no safety equipment.   I <3 french spiderman.

[US server 2.]

This is an addictive game so be warned.   If you were about to grab a smoke, or start a semester of summer school..... do not click!!!!!

Travian

This is a browser based MMO that reminds me of the board game Settlers of Kattan.    You start off with a small village with a single building.   Then you ration your resources of Clay, Wood, Iron, and Wheat and try to construct more buildings and eventually an army.

This is not a very graphical game.   You can download graphic packs which change the look of your town, but bear in mind that battles are simply calculated and you never see any of the combat.    Starting off may be tough, because there are alot of folks farming/raiding newbies.   So build up those crannies!

If you do choose to sign up, I would love to have you as my neighbor.   I wouldn't mind some referral gold either.   

I play on the SouthWest /  NorthWest border on US server 2.   My name is Ogleby and my village is Gumble Goat -92, 12.     Message me once you get it started!

If you choose NorthWest or SouthWest  there's a good chance you'll end up somewhere near my village.




Please remember to refer Ogleby!!   I needs the gold to make some Axemen!  ( << sadly addicting)

Despite my best efforts at a witty title, I befuddled the root word "proprietary."  As in "Sony is a bunch of proprietary bastards."   Undeniably there was a day long ago when inventors worried about the competition stealing their own design.   So they built in otherwise redundant features as a sort of safety lock.     As a form of authorship protection.    But today proprietary honestly means "Make the consumer think its broken so he keeps buying more stuff."

These days I find myself buying loads and loads of crap because when a tiny spring breaks - I'm supposed to believe the ENTIRE machine is broken.   There are too many times in my life when I find myself MAN VS. MACHINE.   And I slump away disgusted with myself because the hulking beast that is technology beats me over the head with my own chair.     Most instances are not mechanical failure.   I wish that was the case.  Most cases I am defeated by proprietary concepts.

Case in point:   I own a 3 in 1 printer/fax/scanner made by Canon.    I bought this device as a method of convenience.  Instead of storing a scanner and a printer side by side... I've got them both in one unit.   Sounds logical by anyone's estimation....  Yesterday I wanted to scan an image so I booted up the old machine.    I had forgotten that I had thrown out an empty ink cartridge weeks ago... but who cares?   I'm not printing anything based on this scan anyways.    So I boot the damn machine and it's blinking red.    "Check Ink Cartridge".

Surely, it will let me scan.   This has nothing to do with ink.   "Check Ink Cartridge" it repeats.   "Ah fuck you, I'll just go around you in photoshop and override your controls!"    "Check Ink Cartridge" it repeats.

It's the modern day version of "The Raven".     This printer will not let me use ANY of its functions if it has an empty ink slot.   Sort of like a hungry baby... until you put food in its mouth don't expect it to listen to you.    And this seems to happen with all modern day appliances. Sony MiniDV cameras MUST have Sony tapes I'm told because every other tape is not properly lubricated and will break the camera.     I can't vent my frustration enough.  Making DVDs would be easy but changing the file format from MPG to AVI costs an arm and a leg..... and about 17 useless trial programs that stick their own watermark on the movie.

As for the printer it's enough that companies make 800 exclusive types of ink cartridges WITHIN their own brand.   So I couldn't buy an HP cartridge let alone any old Canon cartridge.   I'm pigeon holed into buying one specific product anyways BUT YOU MAKE IT WORSE with this buffoonery!

And....and....and..... every time these atrocities happen I seem to never have anyone to talk to.   To tell my anger.   To just let it go up in steam.    Let this be that place.

Death toll rising to 10,000

I think earthquakes are events we have become indifferent to because it seems like there are so many of them.    The last big one I remember was 2005 in Pakistan.  Rescuers had difficulty getting to survivors because of the mountains.  Something like 80,000 people died in Pakistan.   Its magnitude was smaller than the one in China.  (measured at 7.5 -7.7)

Here's the seismic information on the Sichuan quake:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2008/us2008ryan/#maps

8 on the richter scale is HUGE.   The one in China was not 8 and according to this chart there's average 1 per year measured 8.0 - 8.9.

Less than 2.0    About 8,000 per day
2.0-2.9    About 1,000 per day
3.0-3.9    49,000 per year (est.)
4.0-4.9    6,200 per year (est.)
5.0-5.9    800 per year
6.0-6.9    120 per year
7.0-7.9    18 per year
8.0-8.9    1 per year
9.0-9.9    1 per 20 years
10.0+     Never recorded

If you haven't studied the Richter scale you should look into it.   A 5.0 is ten times more powerful than a 4.0.    So 9 or 10 on the Richter scale is unimaginable to you and me.    We have never recorded a 10 but it seems likely we will someday soon.    There was a 9.5 in 1960 and that was only 25 years after the Richter scale was invented.

Luckily I've never experienced anything but the table shaking a little bit.   

[So I've returned & within a day I've voiced out against UFOs and gov. conspiracies.   I apologize.  Wish to make amends.    Hope to lighten up the mood a bit. ]

I gotta tell you.   I've never been a fan of radio talk shows.    The last thing I want to hear in the morning is people squawking about recent events.  So I held out on podcasts for a really really really long time (with exception to Grundislav's great shows a few years back).    But weeks ago a friend directed me to a radio show that I am now absolutely addicted to.   So here's how we're going to do this.   If you have a show that you think people will enjoy write up a "pitch"  to attract listeners.    Separate your pitch from your overall podcast comments and provide a link. (preferably a "greatest hits" sound bite).  This isn't a contest but look, mine is really really funny so it makes me wonder what else is out there!  Grund feel free to go all out.

----------------------------------------------
Pitch:   "Hamish and Andy"

A radio show broadcast in Australia starring two young comedians Hamish Blake and Andy Lee.    They have weekly segments such as "Way Back Wednesdays" where they call up a stranger and convince the person that they are old buddies.    Also, they do a lot of publicity stunts like becoming conjoined twins, adopting kids for a week, invent a new flavor of potato chip, and ask viewers to share stories.  They do perform a few TV skits here and there and do interviews with famous Aussies like Hugh Jackman and Catherine Zeta Jones.   Truly the shining gem of the show is Hamish Blake, an improv comedy genius with a reputation for being a slob and playing XBox too much.

"Hamish and Andy" Sample

"Hamish and Andy" Website
---------------------------------------------------

Seems like every year I get distracted by video cameras or video games and this time its San Andreas: Multiplayer.   I've been playing on a server called "WTFman" for almost two months now so I thought I better own up. 

I warn you it can be addicting, as any MMORPG can be.  I roleplay an attorney for a mafia family known as "Lawless."  I'm currently the mayor's lawyer, with a skill level of 5 in that profession.   Other jobs include: carjacker, gun dealer, taxi driver, news reporter, cop.  etc etc.

Here's a fun video of a rooftop destruction derby.   I'm in the black SUV:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA2Rg1nZ1Ns




Download the client:  http://www.sa-mp.com/
Add WTFman Server IP:  75.126.37.11:6777

Currently ranked 5 overall on game-monitor.com & 2nd in the country.  The player count never drops below forty and usually peaks at 100 on a normal day.  Come check it out and be brutally beaten and driven over by cars.  It's definitely an RP server so I advise you not to DM or attack just anybody you encounter.   It usually comes back to bite you in the ass.  If you can find me and drop me a hint, I'd be more than willing to show you around.   The best advice I can give you is obtain your license and get a job as soon as you can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpBm4KoWsrY


Anyone feel really really really inadequate?   Stop and think about a disaster where you are stuck in darkness with obstacles all around.    This kid could actually save your life by pulling your ass out of there.   Let's send him to Mars!

This isn't a news story but something I want to do.   The domain I really want requires that I live in the european union.    I'm not asking that you let me move in with you.   I really just want a domain and maybe you'd be willing to set it up?    I'm not sure which countries count but the domain is italian.   You don't need to be italian.

Is anybody familiar enough with registering websites and comfy with helping me?  Leave a little note here and I'll PM or email you.   We'll paypal the initial fee, get the login, and then renew ourselves.    You'd just have to be comfy owning our domain.   We'll set up the contact info so that only the registrar ever sees your name and address.

Whatever your faith please take a moment to step into this thread, look around and realize the message I'm putting forth.    I have not been an atheist for long.   In fact when I was a freshman I met a girl who I thought would go to hell,  as in some sort of abyss below the earth.  She was atheist & actually turned out to be the worst person i ever met.   Somehow, years later I found myself looking back at the horrible example of a person she was & realized that she and I were both suffering from the same dilemma.

We had been good Christians for the wrong reasons, &  that world was knocked out from under us.  When I chose atheism, I found myself bashing Christians because the doctrine & followers had led me astray for so many years.   I could not express myself in the open because the majority of Christians feel negative emotions against atheists.    During college I walked past the atheist & agnostic group & thought that they looked like the scum of the earth.     Something about doubt really scared me.   And its that fear over the years that led me straight to atheism.

I'll spare you the story and share with you someone's personal expression of their atheism.  Its a film he made as a tribute to his family  ( who believe in an afterlife )  & its something I've thought about doing.   The problem is that I'm  resentful of my childhood & my own selfish reasons for clinging onto my faith.   I get very negative about other people's faith and I don't want to do that.    Very easily, I could be one of those loud atheists who make the concept look unappealing and scary.   So I still cannot properly express my atheism.   This is the video I wish I had made:

http://www.vilekyle.com/Documentary/Why%20We%20Believe/index.htm

Lately many bad Iranians have been highlighted in the U.S. national news.   It's time that other Iranians such as filmmakers get some airtime too.    I want to host a film series where I live.  Tennessee is a "red state" which is to say that Christianity and conservatism are the only lifestyles not frowned upon.   Hosting an Iranian film series may be dangerous for me personally, but will be advantageous for my country.

So my question is:   Does anyone know of any really good Iranian films?

Read further if you want to know why.   But do not confuse the political message with the subject of Iranian films.    OK.   A new york times article was published which suggested that the white house is considering air strikes or a possible nuclear attack on Iran.  Joe Lieberman is advocating this attack.    Lieberman proposes that bombing Iran will humble them in a way that will be advantageous to the current war in Iraq.   This worries me.  I do not personally know anything about Iran.   But I know launching another "preemptive strike" will paint the United States as the definitive enemy of the world.  I do have a friend who is "persian" that was born in Iran and I like her very much.   I would not like to see her family or anyone she ever knew to be blown up.

My mom emailed her college professor from MIT, Noam Chomsky, and asked him for advice.   Chomsky advises that only wide public protest will do the trick.    The kind of protest we saw in Viet Nam.   Chomsky is a genious, the #1 linguist in the world & a follower of politics, as well as critic.    I trust what he says.

Doing my part:   I want to raise awareness.   I want U.S. citizens to think of the families and lifestyles they will be ignoring if the government bombs Iran.    So I decided with my background that an Iranian film series would be best.   I only thought of it last night, it is still just a possibility.   But obviously the better the programming, the more likely I can find sponsorship.    So, ask around.   What are the best Iranian films?

They held one of those fanboy conventions in my town called "Adventure Con" so I grabbed a camera and tried to film as many lightsabers as possible.

Billy Dee Williams was there, as was Chewie, Darth Vader, C3PO, the midget from Pirates.... here's the rest:  http://adventurecon.com/guest.html   I missed the first two days and really just walked around for an hour before skipping out.   I didnt feel particularly inspired to talk to anybody because of the huge signs that said "$25 Autograph Picture"  near the celebrities.   

In fact C3PO gave me a nasty look when I snuck a shot of him.   These people are such fatcats!  Some of them were "third ewok from the left"  or "darth maul's chambermaid."    I sure would have liked to have interviewed Jaws from James Bond but here's what I did get.

The voice of Grievous walked up to me and admired my camera.  He's a sound editor for Skywalker Ranch.   He was really awesome, just friendly and forthcoming.   He referred to Lucas as "George."  I have some video.

This thread is a place to reflect experiences with gmail since it began a few years ago.   The reason I pose the topic is this:     today I realized I have hotmail and yahoo accounts.  Haven't checked those in ages!   I log in to hotmail.  My account is deactivated, all messages gone.  I log in to Yahoo.  Same. 

And I don't care!   I had never thought to check the accounts because they were so inferior.  Had redirected everyone (hopefully) a while back.   I'm so happy with gmail threading and every other feature.    Yahoo and Hotmail were so dull and uncompetitive.   Google you don't sell out, and for that I will always love you.

-Jesse

Before you chastise me for my Monkey Island spin-off...  Realize that this is the title of a 1956 film.    http://imdb.com/title/tt0056461/



In the film there is a theme park.   There is an island inhabited by animals who act like people.   And the bad guy is....

See for yourself!!!!!!!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFZ2X6hrk6o

Did Ron Gilbert watch this movie?  I would put the probability at "high."  Does this movie cheapen the implied meaning behind "the Secret of Monkey Island?"  Yes!  Is there a secret at all?   No!  Its just a reference!  Yay, we can put that one to bed, eh?   This might help explain Ron's hesitation to give details away about the "true ending" to MI2.

Hey this is strange.   I was listening on the radio and caught this broadcast. 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6545246

Click the "listen" icon.

Scientists in a Hadron Collider in Switzerland are attempting to create blackholes.   They hope to use these blackholes to create their own universe!    This would answer so many questions about our own existence.  I don't expect them to be successful anytime soon, but has anybody heard of anything like this?   Making a universe out of a watermelon?

"That's Awesome!" stars Zach Anner, a crippled comedic genius who attends college in Austin Texas.  He interviews celebrities and attempts to navigate through the world of television and the many bureacratic assholes in his path.    In this episode Zach invites us to relive the birth  of his show...

Click here to watch Pt. 1

Click here to Watch Pt. 2

"Everything Bad" is a non-fiction book which I only heard about because of a TV interview  (possibly Colbert Report)  When I saw it in the bookstore I compulsively picked it up even though I rarely buy new books.   

Well so I finished the book and I have to hand it to this guy, he makes a convincing argument.  All the crap you hear from Andy Rooney types, and your parents when they see you playing video games...

this guy argues the opposite -  that most of the stuff we like to do (watch TV, play video games, movies, surf the internet)  does not "make us dumber" but rather has very positive effects on our intelligence.  That every few years the TV narratives become more complex (from Hill Street Blues to the Sopranos & 24), and that young people more than ever are learning how to use new software and interfaces, and other seldom mentioned skills.

He uses the example of how most parents laugh at the fact that little Johnny is the only one in the family who knows how to program the VCR.    He says theres a very good reason why!   Well anyways, you're going to have to read the book.  There's great ties into neuroscience in there, as well as the economic market Blah Blah Blah.   He points out that the most successful games (World of Warcraft, Sims, etc ) actually are not all that "fun" when you examine people working 60 hours to collect minerals just to make their armor etc.  (even games like GTA have very tedious goals that reward the player)  People play video games due to built in reward systems in the human brain.  Fascinating stuff!

And what a great gift to give to your most receptive parent!  Especially if you're a kid like me who had to deal with parents bitching for every five minutes I tried to escape to the computer or Playstation.  The old "its rotting your brains" lecture.   

Now let's wait for everyone to read the book so we can begin debating.  Talk about adventure games being a prime example!   I learned to think in such wonderful ways thanks to Monkey Island and its puzzles and inventory logic!