choicez: 2015

Greg has a new book out. I must admit, books that cover current events can be a little difficult. A little bit of loyalty to the writer can help my "stick to it"ivness.

Fortunately I stumbled upon Greg on a crazy late night show that would have otherwise serious journalists and TV news anchors and such acting like they're at a party...."Red Eye". They were tackling razor wit with good music and the kind of banter you'd find in a Manhattan bar after hours, something pretty far removed from my perch here in a beach town in California. So I was getting what I was missing.

There is a frenetic energy like Red Bull thrown into the mix and a loose edge as though a few mistakes made here and there weren't critical, except at half time when the fact checker would chime in to keep some level of accuracy. Greg invited four guests who would tackle a few items of the day with their takes: Think Tony Rose with no pomp.

Around that time I was listening to Dennis Miller on the radio as he had guests on the radio. He had a guy named Andrew Breitbart on the radio one day. Andrew had married the daughter of a Hollywood celebrity and was discussing with Dennis what he was up to. Andrew had a particular interest in righting wrongs as he saw them. Turns out, his way of looking at things ran against the grain of the popular Hollywood mindset and was completely politically incorrect though he'd been Liberal through College, like most of us. Remember that whole "acorn" fiasco about government money financing questionable activities? He was the guy who helped get that story out. He was illuminating activities that "created" jobs in a subversive, uninspirational vein and was showing the double standard where liberals got a pass and conservatives were over zealously hassled to hinder their success. There is a lot to accept on faith here as substantial explanations are missing. That will be in a later entry. For now, sit back and experience the mind of Gutfeld, one of Breitbart's (may he rest in peace) drinking buddies.

The block party of the year rocked Ventura August 29th and 30th as pros competed for sizable awards at The 2015 Throw Down Cornhole Tournament. Superb music with multiple bands both days rocked! The new 360 video helps to make it feel like you're there. After the Awards ceremony the band absolutely nailed "Going Down" and "Red House" to perfection. As the serious contenders wrapped up their activities, hobbyists were able to try their skills. You can jump ahead on the video and use the mouse icon on the right to open a carousel below the video that enables you to look in different direction. You can zoom in with the mouse wheel to compensate for the added overview elevation of the camera source. Zoom out and you get the little planet effect.

BTW The camera is in beta testing. Further improvements are in the firmware pipeline, editing software contrast control and just about anything that will get this HDV content in tune with our expectations. That said, this is a medium in its infancy.