Rockosphere.TV Bonus Video on YouTube

I've created a channel on YouTube for posting bonus video's from Rockosphere.TV. Videos that don't fit into the podcast.

http://www.youtube.com/rockosphere

The cool thing is that since ning.com makes it easy for me to embed YouTube videos, I can use YouTube's bandwidth (since ning isn't unlimited). Check it out at http://rockosphere.ning.com

First up, I couldn't fit Fugitive Kind rehearsing into their interview (I try to keep things close to 10 minutes). So here it is:

Bonus video from Rockosphere.TV of the Boston band Fugitive Kind rehearsing. To see an interview with the band visit Rockosphere.TV. For more info on the band visit myspace.com/fugitivekind

I have a lot more bonus video sitting on tapes waiting to be edited and uploaded. Stay tuned!

The best thing you'll see today: John P. Harvard goes Halo (joystiq.com)

The best thing you'll see today: John P. Harvard goes Halo (joystiq.com)

To mark the Halo 3 release, MIT students gifted the John P. Harvard statue in Harvard Yard with a Spartan helmet (with "Master Chief in Training" written on the back) and an assault rifle.

Click link to see picture.

RS-0018 - Fugitive Kind

Click to Play

Members of the Boston band Fugitive Kind talk about their experience in Colorado recording with legendary producer Ed Stasium (The Ramones, Joan Jett, Mick Jagger, The Smithereens). To learn more about the band visit http://www.myspace.com/fugitivekind

Why Microsoft must abandon Vista to save itself (news.com)

Why Microsoft must abandon Vista to save itself (news.com)

While Vista was originally touted by Microsoft as the operating system savior we've all been waiting for, it has turned out to be one of the biggest blunders in technology. With a host of issues that are inexcusable and features that are taken from the Mac OS X and Linux playbook, Microsoft has once again lost sight of what we really want.

The Halo 3 Effect (businessweek.com)

The Halo 3 Effect (businessweek.com)

"Most of the hype over the Sept. 25 release of Halo 3 for Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 console has centered on the sales frenzy it will almost certainly inspire. But with all the fanfare over the title's blockbuster prospects, cutting-edge graphics, and twitch-fast gameplay, one factor has been largely overlooked: the game's radical embrace of social networking and user-generated content."

PodCamp Boston 2

Rockosphere.TV is a sponsor of PodCamp Boston 2, happening at the Boston Convention and Expo Center, October 26 - 28, 2007.

See: http://www.podcampboston.org

We've decided to open up our 10x10 booth to friends of Rockosphere.TV.

If you and your band are interested in stopping by to do an *unpaid* *unplugged* (acoustic) set, let us know. We will also be letting some bands setup, sign and sell a few CD's for limited times during the show.

We also hope to encourage other podcasters to stop by with their cameras and recorders. So your band could do an impromptu interview. We plan to have our own cameras rolling to tape a future episode of Rockosphere.TV

To find out more, contact Mitch Allen here, or through MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/rockosphere .

scriptable.com is going away

I have too many domains, blogs and not to mention wiki's. So one thing I've decided is that it's time to retire scriptable.com. It will disappear over the next month or so. Some of the blogs under there I may migrate over to mitchallen.com - just to save them some place - but I doubt that I'll update them. The domain itself is toast. That will also give me one less ISP to deal with.

The related domain scriptable2 will stay up for a while. I was happy to see the wiki is still working. I tried migrating some of that stuff to a new wiki on mitchallen.com and adding new content - but then it all imploded. So I've decided that I hate maintaining wiki's. At least when you post a blog through blogger it's static. So people won't see MySQL error messages if something goes wrong.

All the stuff I have on Writer / Director will be migrated eventually to http://writerdirector.ning.com. They can worry about the coding, database maintenance and styesheets. I can focus on the content.

An experiment in social networking.

Besides the Writer / Director social network on ning.com, I decided to create a second one:

http://rockosphere.ning.com

For a long time I've wanted to create a place where people can submit video reports for consideration on Rockosphere.TV. But I just don't have the time these days to build a Web portal. Thanks to ning.com I think I've found a solution. A custom social network just for Rockosphere.TV. Using their tool I setup in 5 minutes a place where people can submit videos. Now I need to put some guidelines in the forum area and get out the word.

http://writerdirector.ning.com

I've decided to experiment with ning.com and create a social network. You can find it here:

http://writerdirector.ning.com

Why Writer / Director? Because Rockosphere.TV is just the tip of the iceberg. My long term goal is to create an independent science fiction film and perhaps even a podcast series.

To Quote Darth Vader ...

Someone asked me if there's any conflict with my being both the producer for Rockosphere and the manager for sadbastardgoespop - a band prominently featured on Rockosphere.TV

To quote Darth Vader:

"There is no conflict"

What do you think we are? 60 Minutes? Ha hahah hah ha ha!

It actually happened after I filmed them at Galaxy Park. They approached me about it and I decided to give it a shot. The experience will only help improve the quality of Rockosphere.TV

Besides my goal to use Rockosphere.TV to help showcase bands hasn't changed.

Follow the Band

Yes, you will be seeing more of SBGP on Rockosphere.TV. That's because I have easy access to them and they seem to like being on video. If your band has video and / or would like to grant me access, I'd be more than happy to feature you on the podcast as well. Just send me a note through http://www.myspace.com/rockosphere

One thing I've been thinking about his having a series I informally refer to as "follow the band" - where I don't just check in once with a band for an interview, but come back to them several times for follow up. Sort of like a podcast reality series. If this interestes members of your band, send me a note.

Back from Tahiti

If you've been monitoring the Rockosphere Twitter blog ( http://twitter.com/rockosphere ) you know that I just got back from a few weeks in Tahiti. Actually, I was on a cruise around several islands of French Polynesia. Tahiti was just the starting point. Got some pictures and underwater video. Don't know if I'll ever have time to edit and post them!

Lots to catch up on - but the minor distraction of a full-time job awaits.

In brief:

I will be working on the sadbastardgoespop music video for their song "Shut" this month.

We'll be advertising on CraigsList soon for video interns and an actress for the video (stay tuned!)

I have to catch up with Fugitive Kind and see if they are back from their recording session. I think I said I'd interview them in early October. We did an audio version last year. Now we can follow up with video.

I have to go over the list of several other bands that I asked about interviewing and see if they are ready, willing and able. Please forgive me if you think I forgot about you! It's been a busy summer. The good news is that we can get you on video now that we are "ramped up."