My friends, we had a typo in yesterday's script. Jimi Hendrix closed, not opened Woodstock with his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.
First of all, thank you to the viewers who spotted this and dropped me an email. Since I'm the man behind the slide, I'm the man who made the typo.
Despite the fact that there was a typo, and per the official rules, I've decided that since the other 3 didn't play the Star Spangled Banner (and Eddie Van Halen didn't even perform, and probably wasn't in the audience) - the decision is to move forward with Jimi Hendrix as the correct answer.
In addition, this choice did not seem to lend much confusion to our viewers, as the percentage of total correct answers was 92%, way above the approximate 77% daily average of correct answers.
Rachel's shirt today is courtesy of our new pals over at MOFO, based in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia...Mofo is a t-shirt brand rooted in a certain era of L.A...a city exposed to the film industry at the time of blaxploitation and b-movies...think Robert Blake meets Traci Lords meets Grand Master Flash...
The sent us a bunch of shirts with some great designs, most for Blaine - so keep your eyes open for them in future episodes...
There's been a blackout for a few blocks around 88SLIDE HQ (aka my apartment)...SO, I packed up the 88SLIDE operation (G5, monitor and camera) into the car and I'm heading to a friend's place...THE SHOW MUST GO ON!
I so need a laptop.
My sentence gets cut off the end, but I'm basically saying that I'm heading to a friend's house to set up shop. Also, I meant to say EAST of Fairfax re: the blackout. You get the gist.
This Thursday's Prize: LINKSYS SKYPE CORDLESS PHONE
This Thursday, we'll be giving away a LINKSYS SKYPE CORDLESS PHONE, courtesy of our new pals over at ThinkGeek.com
If you haven't been to ThinkGeek.com before, make sure to check 'em out...and here's a little heads up. This FRIDAY (July 28, 2006) is Sysadmin Appreciation Day. If you're not familiar with that phrase, the SYSADMIN (system adminstrator) is traditionally the employee responsible for a company's computer network.
Here's the plan...if you bought your SYSADMIN a little bribe, er gift from ThinkGeek.com, they'll be forever indebted to you. You'll most likely get preferential treatment when you're trying to print out that resume for your next job, and the printer isn't working. It's a nice gesture too, so go for it.
As for the SKYPE phone, how great is this prize? The phone is very sleek looking, and a friend of mine who has one says it works flawlessly. Good luck!
Breakfast with Rachel, Testing the Amp'd Mobile video...
Rachel and I met up for breakfast this morning to discuss the future of 88SLIDE...
I was showing her our presence on Amp'd Mobile, and we did a little test of the video messaging functionality. I uploaded this directly to YouTube (which is why its a little grainy b/c of the flash conversion from 3GP)...
We're going to start integrating video messaging functionality into the show...the possibilities are endless!
Oh yeah, for those of you keeping track at home...I had 2 eggs over medium with bacon and dry rye roast. Rachel had eggs benedict.
WHERE I WATCH 88SLIDE: At home in front of my G4 iBook
Below is a picture of John from 2004 as during his solo canoe trip from the most western part of Ontario (Caribou Falls) up the English River system to Ear Falls. This is an ancient fur trader route (about 500 miles north of Lake Superior). From Ear Falls, he canoed Lac Soeul to Souix Lookout. This trip is part of his upcoming book entitled "Voyageaur Nouveau"
Thanks John! We appreciate your 60 seconds, daily - and are happy to have you as part of our family!
If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming VIEWER SPOTLIGHT, drop us an email!
"...Plus, you take a look at shows like 88SLIDE - where they are replicating the game show format, including prize giveaways and sponsors - it is a good place to get early adopters, and get in early as the field continues to grow."
Koichi Suzuki from Funabashi, Japan says he watches 88SLIDE to learn more about US culture and to improve his English.
Welcome Koichi! He lives with his wife and 2 daughters in the Chiba prefecture.
"Although The Daily One Minute Trivia Challenge is not trivial at all for me but it is useful and valuable for me learning English and the US culture. Besides it is fun!"
Here's some footage from this weekend's Meet the Vloggers event shot by Daniel McVicar. Look familiar? You may know Daniel from CBS' The Bold and the Beautiful...and now, he's got me on tape talkin' shop at the Apple Store... Check it out!
Remember to join us all this week at the Happiest Place on Earth, the beautiful 500-acre vacation destination Disneyland Resort in Southern California!
If you'd like to use this promo on your site, simply click on the video above and copy the code from the EMBED box on the right.
Next week, 88SLIDE travels to the Happiest Place on Earth...The 500-acre vacation destination Disneyland Resort in Southern California!
That's right, and YOU are coming along for an UNBELIEVABLE week of fun!
Not only are we gonna check out the new, enhanced Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, but we have some amazing daily prizes courtesy of the Official Disneyland Resort Podcast.
First of all, I love antique audio equipment, especially wirth wood panelling from the 60's and 70's. How sweet is this old reel-to-reel? It's a friend of mine's who let us use it for the shoot. It works perfectly, excepf for the rewind.
I guess I had the most fun listening to some of these Nixon White House tapes to do some research. I must have listened to an hour's worth while doing some work the other day. You have no idea how much footage there is of this guy on the phone!
This is probably one of the most famous, also known as the Smoking Gun Tape:
In it, Haldeman and Nixon discuss the progress of the FBI's investigation especially the tracing of the source of money found on the burglars. They propose having the CIA ask the FBI to halt their investigation of the Watergate break-in by claiming that the break-in was a national security operation.
Here's some more info about Túcume directly from Dave:
Túcume is a great town filled with lots of great people. But like much of Perú, Túcume is stuck in an economic rut. Yeah, things are changing here. And it's really encouraging when you can observe positive economic changes and development. Maybe you've seen your own town go through upturns and downturns. Maybe you know what I'm talking about. Last time I visited my hometown, I was pleasantly surprised at how vital, clean and safe it seemed. That's not what I left 13 years ago when I headed to Seattle.
But please don't be confused.
I doubt that your home town has anything like the 40% - 60% unemployment that the district of Túcume has.
I doubt people in your town measure their net worth on their fingers (as in 6 goats, 2 cows and a pig).
If you've never visited an underdeveloped place, it's hard for me to explain it to you. For me it's something I was exposed to from the age of 9 (in my grandparent's village in the mountains of northern Portugal). And from the age of 9 I have been bent on doing something about it and I've given it a lot of thought in these 33 years.
One of the more interesting projects that Dave is focusing on is the Túcume Wired Project, which he hopes will create economic opportunities for the youth of Túcume by teaching basic and intermediate computer skills.
To learn more about Dave's projects, and how you can help out by contributing to his efforts, click here.
Thanks again Dave, and please keep the 88SLIDE family posted on your work!
Nevertheless, I copied and pasted his text into a German-English translator, and got a kick out of the result:
""88SLIDE is a daily, scarcely one minute long Videocast with the bezaubernden Rachel and that somewhat revved up Blaine, directly out of good old California."
The "bezaubernden Rachel" and "that somewhat revved up Blaine!" HA! I did some research on the word "bezaubernden" because it didn't translate, and I think it means enchanting, or wickedly enchanting. I DREAM OF JEANIE was actually called Bezaubernde Jeannie.
From what I'm reading, Joanna Colan will be taking over responsibilities of hosting Rocketboom. I'm seeing Joanna/Joanne spelled both ways, like Qadaffi/Quadafi or Hannukah/Channukah.
My thoughts on Amanda Congdon's Departure from Rocketboom
I got a few emails and calls today from friends and colleagues regarding Amanda Congdon's departure from Rocketboom.
Let me say this...those two gave me a lot of inspiration for what I'm doing right now. Whether you like Rocketboom or not, that show opened up a lot of doors for 88SLIDE.
Enough vlogosphere B.S....I'd love the opportunity to develop a new format for Amanda under my Rock Creek Park Productions banner (or shingle, if I may) to follow-up with 88SLIDE.
So Amanda, if you or any of your "people" are reading this, hit me up. I don't have Calacanis level deep pockets, yet, but I'm confident I could crack this production puzzle too. (p.s. Jason has been very cool with me at Vloggercon and on the phone, but enough vlogosphere air-kissing) The door is open. As long as the format is new, different, and fun to produce - I'm in. It's that simple.
The above picture was taken at Vloggercon in June.
Join Rachel poolside as we celebrate the bikini's birthday! Yup, it was 60 years ago that the bikini was invented - and he/she/it doesn't look a day over 50!
Remember, we'll be giving away a ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to NETFLIX on THURSDAY...courtesy, of Dealhack.com
So you may recognize Matthew Lesko from his late-night infomercials, or perhaps from an SNL or Andy Dick spoof over the years. Nevertheless, Matthew is a real great guy and a pleasure to work with.
I knew I was coming to DC for a few days to see my parents, and I asked an old friend if he had any thoughts for interesting DC characters to join us. As soon as he said "Give Lesko a call" - I knew that was my guy.
I simply picked up the phone and called his PR woman, and within a day - we were good to go. My Dad joined me on the Mall near the Air & Space Museum, and we met Mr. Lesko at around 10:30 AM on Sunday. I had taped Rachel's wrap-around intro/etc before I left. You'll notice that Blaine will be introduced via cell phone on this episode since he's back in LA.
I'm showing Lesko the CRAIG SYVERSON episode on the video iPod to illustrate what we'd be doing together
Lesko has so many signature moves - you'd think he's Italian how he talks with his hands so much...
We taped a few promos as well, and this is Lesko exiting off camera in a hurry...so funny.
Gotta show the product! This is one of his MANY books that he's published over the years, "FREE MONEY TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE!"
Me and the 88SLIDE video camera. You thought it was bigger, huh? The tripod is actually usually smaller, but I didn't bring mine as it was just as easy to use my Dad's. The small camera allows Rachel and me to act like stupid tourists...
Lesko departs on his scooter. What a shoot! Notice the gawking tourists behind him...A DC celebrity sighting!
Thanks again Lesko for your help - let's do it again...
P.S. It so hot in DC, but the (Maryland) crabs tonight were delicious!
I joined up with Matthew on the Mall in DC to tape a segment for 88SLIDE: The Daily One Mintue Trivia Challenge, and he couldn't have been any cooler...I'll post some more behind-the-scenes pics as my Dad joined me on the shoot.
Look for this special episode on Tuesday, and remember - this Thursday we'll be giving away a one year subscription to Netflix, courtesy of Dealhack.com!
So I took the 6 AM flight from LA to DC, with the G5 desktop checked in...basically, everything 88SLIDE is stored on there, not backed up. How professional!
I had a few (4) drinks on the plane...why not, right? I had some extra miles and upgraded...read the paper and fell asleep...
I waited for the computer and my bag to come off the belt at Dulles, and after I got my one bag - I'm waiting anxiously for the computer...nothing, nothing...the conveyor belt stops. My mind is racing as to what I'd do without a computer in DC as I visit my parents for the holiday...I stop by the United baggage office and the woman was like, check the oversized baggage area. Duh. There it was. Phew.
Get back to my parents, and there's just one little thing - I didn't bring the power cord. I thought my Dad had a G5, and I didn't realize that not only did he not have a G5, but the power cord on the later model is different than every other Mac. So I'm calling literally every Apple store around DC, and its not a part they carry. You have to order it from AppleCare and it takes a few days...BUT, the veteran producer inside reminded me to just stay calm, think about options, and figure out a solution.
So, I begged an Apple Store employee to help me out in lending me a cord for 48 hours. I'm ever so grateful, and I visited THREE Apple Stores in a few hours trying to find this thing!
My Dad and I had some good father/son time racing around DC trying to find this coq'a'mayme cord before the stores closed.
TUESDAY: Rachel puts the "DRIVE" in "DRIVE-IN" inside a vintage Corvette!
