Gadgets Part 2: Amazon Kindle 2

Did I mention I was a gadget freak? Yes? Ok, here’s the second part of my series on gadgets I like, and today’s gadget is the Amazon Kindle 2.

I am an avid reader. Always have at least one book going and sometimes two (although never two fiction or non-fiction at the same time.) After watching Michael Hyatt’s blog post on unboxing the Kindle 2, I had to get one. I read my first book and set it aside for a while. I couldn’t decide if it was the great experience I was hoping it would be. After a little while, I started missing it. And now I can’t put it down. People always say they’ll miss reading books, but this is such a fun and unique way to read.

The best part of the Kindle 2 is the download method. Unlike other eReaders, you don’t have to plug this device into your computer to download new books. Included with your purchase, is free Sprint Whispernet usage which allows Kindle 2 owners to download books over a cell signal in less than a minute.

The Kindle Store currently has over 350,000 books available for download with more being added daily. Most are $9.99 (a fraction of the price of most hardback books), and there is even a section of free books. Free samples are available for all books which allows you to preview a chapter or two of a book you might be interested in reading. The Kindle 2 also offers a “Save for Later” button that does just that. Done reading one book? Visit the titles you’ve saved for later to purchase your next book.

I started using the Kindle 2 as my Bible at church. There is a way to underline and highlight text. This functionality is nice because you can easily access highlighted text through the main menu. Taking notes is also easy.

You know I pledged my allegiance to the iPhone in my previous post. Well guess what? There is a Kindle App that syncs your books to your phone. Very nice!

If you read books, this gadget is for you and will easily become a favorite toy.

Gadgets Part 1

I am a self-proclaimed gadget freak. It’s a good thing I’m now married because I have to ask permission from the boss to buy anything new. You husbands out there know what I’m talking about. It’s ok because it protects me from using a credit card on some new gadget that I think I need.

This post is the first in a three part series on some gadgets I like. Let’s start with the obvious gadget of all gadgets: the iPhone 3GS.

I had been watching the news and rumors on what the new iPhone would be like and when it would be released. I even had to follow the blogs during the Apple developers’ conference. I preordered it and I have to say it was the easiest experience I’ve ever had in activating and setting up. My contacts synced from Outlook in a breeze, music synced simply and calendar dates came over as well. I figured this would take me at least 45 minutes to get going, but it took me less than 5. So cool!

The best part of the phone is the Apps that are available for download. My favorite right now is Dropbox. And to think, there are many, many more to explore. Not only do I have my iPod at my fingertips but also a video camera to record some crazy moments. Posting to YouTube is simple as well.

If I had one complaint, it would be that I was hoping for a camera on the screen side. The blogosphere was all a buzz about that happening. I’m afraid when that does come along, I’ll have to upgrade. Is that ok honey?

New TV…bout time!

Ah, the nip is in the air. The leaves are turning and the Halloween candy is out in stores. That can only mean one thing….no, not football (although that is nice to have around), but the new TV season starts. I watch way too much TV. But that’s ok, the wife enjoys it too. I’m more into sampling a lot of the new shows and weeding down to what I really want to watch. Here is a list of some new shows I’m excited about:

1. FlashForward (debuts Thursday 9/24 at 7 PM on ABC). We jumped on the Lost train after one season. I have a sneaky feeling this one is going to be as good as Lost. Everyone on Earth blacks out for two minutes and 17 seconds. This show tells the story of what happened during the black out. It’s great to have some of our favorite characters from Lost finding a home here (Sonya Walger who is Penny and Dominic Monaghan who was Charlie.)

2. Glee (debuted Wednesday 9/9 and is on at 8 PM on Fox). The pilot debuted last year after American Idol, and is about the resurrection of a glee-club at a high school. I’m always a sucker for high school shows. I think it reminds me how much I enjoyed my high school years. Since we’ve seen two episodes, I can tell you that I’m not sure how long I’ll stay with this one. Last week’s episode was about Will quitting glee-club to start Acafellas. It seemed like this story line belonged in season two. The music is what will keep me around. Any show that can bring back some Color Me Bad, is tops in my book.

3. Trauma (debuts Monday 9/28 at 8 PM on NBC). Is it just another ER on NBC type show? Probably, but I’m sucker for some stuff blowing up. This one has a lot happening in the first episode. Plus, it is exec produced by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights.) For some reason, I’m not for sure this one makes it long, but I’m on board.

4. Community (debuted Thursday 9/17 at 8:30 PM on NBC). Any show that has Chevy Chase on it, has me at hello. Joel McHale stars as Jeff Winger a lawyer who has to attend community college because his law degree is from Columbia (the country, not the college.) The first show was funny and worth a continued watch. Again, Chevy Chase, enough said.

That’s just a few I’m excited about. There are others, but let’s get past the first few weeks and I’ll add to this list.

Here are a few shows I’m excited to ready to see back on TV:

1. House (Returns Monday 9/21 at 7 PM on Fox). When we last left House, he checked himself into a loony bin. Ah, let the fun begin.

2. 30 Rock (Returns Thursday 10/15 at 8:30 PM on NBC). Possibly the funniest show nobody watches. That honor used to belong to Scrubs.

3. Lie To Me (Returns Monday 9/28 at 8 PM on Fox). Got off to a slow start, but found its groove as the season went along.

4. How I Met Your Mother (Returns Monday 9/21 at 7 PM on CBS). Can we PLEASE find out who the mom is?? We’ve been teased way too many times!

5. The Mentalist (Returns Thursday 9/24 at 9 PM on CBS). Last year’s breakout hit was a lot of fun. Patrick Jane and his crew of crime solvers are great TV.

I’m sure you have some TV shows you’re excited about. What are they? Comment below and let’s discuss.

Fearless

I had barely known the guy 24 hours and he asked me a surprising question that should be reserved for oh I don’t know, year five of a friendship maybe.  Tyler asked, “What are some of your fears?”  Wow, how do I answer this?  I decided to be honest and told him.  I’m not a dad yet, but a fear not of being a good dad.  Another one was fear of dying.  I listed a couple more but that’s enough for this moment of honesty in this blog.  The only way of dealing with these fears for me was to just give them to God, at least that was the Sunday School answer.

When I saw Max Lucado had a new book out called Fearless, I couldn’t wait to read it hoping he would shed new insight into my fears.  And boy did he…and than some.  Let’s take my two fears: parenting and dying.  He covers parenting in a chapter called “My Child Is in Danger: Fear of Not Protecting My Kids.”  In just thinking about having kids, I never thought about them belonging to God before they are given to us.  And even though He’s given them to parents, they still belong to God.  Parents might fret over their child’s health, but God is ultimately in control of them.

In another chapter, “Scared to Death: Fear of Life’s Final Moments”, Lucado addresses my other fear: dying.  He speaks of the words Charles Lindberg wrote that were read at his funeral.  They called death “a new adventure in existence.”  I don’t know about you, but I didn’t think of death in that way till now.  “No need to dread it or ignore it.  Because of Christ, you can face it.”  Max then goes on to tell the story of how he faced the prospect of death in major heart surgery.  I hope I have the same courage he did if this happens in my life.

Max addresses other fears that you might be facing: fear of not mattering, disappointing God, violence and others.  I highly recommend this book.  We all have fears and here is a simple take on how to live our lives fearlessly.

72 Hours of U2

So something happened last week that never happens to me…I had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of an album from the general market.  We always get stuff from CCM artists, but nothing this big.  A friend gave me a copy of the new U2 No Line On The Horizon.  The album comes out Tuesday, March 3.  Since Friday, it is all I’ve listened to.  It’s been on the stereo in the car, at work, and while cleaning the house.  [Ed. note: To anyone working at the label reading this, my legit copy is on order, and to be fair, it’s probably one of your compadre’s fault that I have this copy.]

Let me get this out of the way: I’m a HUGE U2 fan.  I probably couldn’t be too harsh on them if I wanted to. I’m the guy who liked Pop when it came out, and that’s saying a lot.  I also have a rule that I will go see them on every concert tour for the rest of their career.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s discuss the album.  It opens with the title track, a mid-tempo groove that harkens back to the Achtung Baby days.  The second track, “Magnificent”, is hands down my fav (playing as I write this.)  Bono has a way of interchanging the word “love” for “God”, which reminds me of a joke. If God is Love and Love is blind, is Ray Charles God?  But I digress.  In my opinion, “Magnificent” is the most spiritual of the tunes on this disc. Here’s a sample of the lyrics:

I was born to sing for you
I didn’t have a choice to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice from the womb
My first cry it was a joyful noise

The ending is the best… “Just a fact you and I till we die will magnify.” …Great stuff.

I won’t ruin the rest of the album for you, but I will say the band is at their best all the way through the disc.  Bono’s lyrics are fantastic (“White As Snow”); Adam’s driving bass is spot on (“Breathe”); Larry has his most creative drum sounds (“Get On Your Boots”); and The Edge is filling in holes in ways only he can (“Stand Up Comedy”.)

We’re only in February, but this record will be my number one record of the year.  Something spectacular would have to release to beat it and I don’t see that happening.  While Rolling Stone gave the new Springsteen 5 stars (as they did this release), it is nothing compared to No Line On The Horizon. I’ll go one step further to say this will be the best record of the decade. Big words I know, but these boys are playing for keeps.  It’s worth a listen!

Different versions available for purchase:
CD – No Line On The Horizon
Boxset – No Line On The Horizon [Box Set] [Limited Edition] [CD/Poster/Book/DVD]
Digi pack – No Line On The Horizon [Digi-pack] [Limited Edition] [CD/Poster/Film Download]
Magazine Edition – No Line On The Horizon [Magazine] [Limited Edition] [CD/Magazine/Film Download]
Vinyl – No Line On The Horizon [180 Gram Vinyl] [2 LP]

Sprint…A company I like

First a little history. Caron LOVES pink. It’s her favorite color. If she could, I think she would paint the house pink…which brings to mind a Mellencamp song, but I digress.

So now to the real reason for the post. Back in December, we moved her to Sprint so we would be on the same wireless carrier. Got a killer deal for the Samsung Instinct Phone, Black (Sprint) on Amazon for her: phone is $99 with a $100 mail in rebate. You can’t beat that! Sunday, I was poking around Sprint’s website and found that they had introduced a pink version of the phone. I’m thinking to myself, “Crap. If we would have known that, we would have waited a month.” And then a thought runs through my brain that I should tell her about this just so she knows first hand from me. And of course we have to figure out a way to get her one of these.

That evening, I picked up the phone and called Sprint to see if there was anything I could do to get her the phone without paying an insane price for the phone. Well, the CSR (Sergio) was very nice and told me there was nothing he could do except sell me the phone for $450. Boy, did I lay down the sob story with him about how I would be a hero with my wife and by extension he would too. Matter of fact, the first thing I asked him was if he was married. I’m thinking if he is he’ll understand the situation. Well, he wasn’t. Dang it! I told him we couldn’t afford the $450 and thanks for his help. As I was about to hang up, he said “Hang on Mr. Johnson. Let me make one more call to our sales department.” He comes back on the line and says they can sell us the phone at $199 with $100 mail in rebate. So I said let’s do it and the phone was delivered on Tuesday. Getting it programmed tonight. Sprint made us really happy this week!

Some more back story. Late last week, I was looking at getting a Samsung Instinct for myself on eBay. Changed my mind because I just didn’t want to spend the money. Well, guess who is getting the one she’s carrying? That’s right…ME!

This whole thing is something I like…A LOT! Thanks Sprint! And by the way, in my humble opinion, Sprint’s service plans are the best in the business.

Sitcoms I Like

I like comedies. For some reason network TV doesn’t feel the same way. But in this economic climate and the craziness going on in the world, it’s nice to free your mind up and just veg. Of the roughly 21 hours of programming each network airs each week, only CBS dedicates any time to comedy. And if you think about it, TV was really founded on the sitcom (“Leave It to Beaver” and “I Love Lucy” come to mind.)

Here are a few I like:
•“Scrubs” (ABC Tuesdays at 9/8c) got a stay of execution by moving over to ABC. It might have passed its creative peak, but it’s still funny stuff. Set in the fictional hospital Sacred Heart, the show follows main doctors JD (John Doran), Elliot, Dr. Cox and Turk as they go about their day. The Janitor jumps in every episode with his crazy antics toward JD.

Check out previous seasons on DVD here: Scrubs – The Complete First Season, Scrubs – The Complete Second Season, Scrubs – The Complete Third Season, Scrubs – The Complete Fourth Season, Scrubs – The Complete Fifth Season, Scrubs – The Complete Sixth Season and Scrubs: The Complete Seventh Season.

•“How I Met Your Mother” (CBS Mondays at 8:30/7:30c) reminds me a lot of “Friends”, which I miss by the way. In the middle of its 4th season, the show is the story of Ted telling his children how he met their mother. In between, we hear the exploits of his best friend, Marshall; Marshall’s longtime girlfriend, Lily; and their two other friends Robin and Barney (played by Neil Patrick Harris from “Doggie Hosier” fame). Harris definitely steals the show, but this is the finest ensemble on TV right now.

Check out previous seasons on DVD here: How I Met Your Mother – Season 1, How I Met Your Mother – Season Two and How I Met Your Mother – Season Three.

•“Worst Week” (CBS Mondays at 9:30/8:30c) is “Meet the Parents” for the small screen. The show follows Sam and Melanie as they start their life together. Currently, they had to move back into her parents’ house. Needless to say, hi jinx ensues. Melanie’s dad, Dick (played by Kurtwood Smith from “That ‘70s Show fame), is the standout in this cast.

•“Samantha Who?” (ABC Mondays at 9:30/8:30c) features Christina Applegate as Samantha (obviously). Sam was the victim of a hit-and-run accident that left her in a coma and retrograde amnesia. Since the accident has happened, she has been trying to find her way in this world. Jennifer Esposito’s Andrea character is fantastic. And you’re really wanting Samantha to get back together with her ex-boyfriend Todd, played by Barry Watson. Worth a look for sure.

Check out the previous season on DVD here: Samantha Who?: The Complete First Season.

•“30 Rock” (NBC Thursdays at) is a behind the scenes look at “The Girlie Show”, a rip off of “Saturday Night Live” starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. This is by far Tina’s show to shine and she does a fantastic job of playing Liz Lemon. The rest of the cast, made up of Jane Krakowski, Tracy Jordan, Jack McBrayer and others is good. Since critics love this show and winning awards like crazy, it seems to get a lot of guest starts. Oprah recently appeared in a great episode were Liz was having hallucinations. It’s a little quirky by nature, but, to me, the funniest of the lot.

Check out previous seasons on DVD here: 30 Rock – Season 1 and 30 Rock: Season 2.

Honorable mentions: “Gary Unmarried” (CBS Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c), “Rules of Engagement” (returning in March to CBS) and until this season “My Name is Earl” (NBC Thursdays at 8/7c).

More TV I like to come.

Foster and Chase

One of the coolest things about working in the music business is that you get a nice winter break between Christmas and New Year’s as most offices are closed.  I usually try to read a couple of books during the break.  This year I did something a little different and read a couple of non-fiction books.  BTW-For some strange reason, I’ve been gravitating to non-fiction books for the last four months.  Wish I could explain why.  The books this break were Hitman: Forty Years Making Music, Topping the Charts, and Winning Grammys by David Foster (the producer) and I’m Chevy Chase… and You’re Not: Revised & Updated by Rena Fruchter. 

 

Hitman is a very interesting read for music lovers.  Foster has produced hits for Chicago, Natalie Cole, Toni Braxton and many more.  He also discovered Celine Dion, Josh Groban and Michael Bublé.  He tells stories of working with these artists and others, including Madonna.  In very candid details he shares his experiences with Madonna.  While working on songs for her best of, she stopped singing in the middle of recording the song.  He walked in to find out why and found her on the floor in a very Zen like pose.  She told him she just needed a man, a real man.  Her openness surprised me as she always appears to have this kick butt, tough exterior.

 

Foster likes his tennis.  Celine was at his studio very early in her recording career working on vocals.  He found out the resurfacing on his tennis courts was complete, so Foster and his engineer (Humberto Gatica) went out to hit a few balls.  They returned forty-five minutes later to find Celine still standing behind the microphone with her headphones on waiting patiently to finish recording. 

 

When we see comedians on the big screen, we expect them to be as funny in real life.  That’s NOT Chevy Chase.  I’m Chevy Chase…and You’re Not discusses the abuse Chase suffered as a kid at the hands of his mother and step-father.  The abuse continued into his high school years until he took a stand against it.  Chevy started his career at writing for National Lampoon’s Lemmings and eventually found his way to writing for TV.  It was this that lead to Lorne Michaels hiring him to write for Saturday Night Live.  He was the only person on the staff with a one year contract.  It was that contract that allowed him to walk after the first season (in 1975) to be in movies. 

 

The book tells few stories of the movies.  This was a let down for me because I jumped on the Chevy train during this phase of his career.  I remember seeing National Lampoon’s Vacation and Caddyshack for the first time.  But two of his movies are on my all time favorite list: Fletch and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (who doesn’t watch Christmas Vacation every Christmas).  In the movie chapters, the author included a synopsis of each movie.  That was a bit much, especially when these were in the back of the book.  Those could have been replaced with more stories.

 

Chevy’s latter years have been spent working for different humanitarian causes as well as being politically active.

 

We’re just getting started.  More books that I like to come.

First post

So this is my first post.  The overall idea for this blog is to discuss the things I like.  What do I like?  Great question.  I enjoy a good TV show, movie, CD or book (fiction or non-fiction.)  I plan to discuss those with you here.  Check back as there will be weekly updates.  And please comment on what you like as this is a discussion platform.  Enjoy!