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  • Matt 12:46 pm on January 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Blog   

    Blog’s Blog: Great video(s) of Iowa City resident(‘s photography) 

    I recently came across a great set of videos on MediaStorm featuring the work of photojournalist and Iowa City resident Danny Wilcox Frazier.

    I really connected with a lot of the things he had to say about Iowa in the videos, particularly his “love-hate” relationship with the state. At times, I find myself totally content living in Iowa for the rest of my life, then I take a trip anywhere that isn’t Iowa (excluding Nebraska) and start questioning myself as to why the hell I still live here. I guess that is the easiest way for me to put it.
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    • Jen 5:22 pm on January 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I only watched the first three videos and then I wasn’t able to watch anymore because they were so depressing. Honestly, I feel like the way he’s portraying Iowans is that we’re all a bunch of hicks (most of whom were drunk in the second and third clips). I was hoping some positive things about Iowa would be mentioned, or maybe I would be able to relate to something in the films, but I didn’t connect with anything that was said in the clips that I watched.

    • Matt 8:25 pm on January 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Yeah I didn’t watch any of the other videos yet. I only watched the epilogue with the interview with the photographer.

    • Jen 5:30 pm on January 18, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I decided to watch the epilogue (part of it) today after reading your comment and it was a lot better than the other videos I watched. It was interesting to hear his perspective on the people he interviewed, and I also looked at the photo exhibit. I really like some of the photos, they have sort of a haunting quality about them.

  • Matt 8:00 am on December 13, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    My favorite holiday songs 

    Since we got our first major snow last week, I have spent a lot of time lately looking for some good holiday music.  I think one of the best parts of this time of the year is the music, so below are a few of my favorite songs performed by a variety of artists.  (I embedded a playlist with all of the songs, plus a few extra not listed in this post at the bottom of the page)

    Little Drummer Boy

    Also know as “Carol of the Drum,” Little Drummer Boy is a song about a poor boy who plays his drum as a gift to baby Jesus .  (I didn’t even have to look that up!)  I found a ton of variations of this song and many of them I  really liked.  Below is an eclectic mix of a few full-length samples.

    Classic Versions:

    These versions really never get old and I find are best to listen to pretty much anytime between black Friday and Christmas Eve (which, according to the rules of Christmas music, is the only time you can legally listen to these tunes).  I think my favorite of the two is the Burl Ives version.  He rolls his R’s and it makes the pa rum pum pum pum really pop.

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    • Adam 9:31 pm on December 14, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      When it comes to Christmas music, Id have to say Trans-Siberian Orchestra is my favorite band. Jackson 5′s Christmas album is pretty awesome too… if only Michael would have made one in his older days.

    • Brandon Scott 2:26 am on August 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      andrea bocelli is really a gifted man and he has the best sounding voice ever *

  • Matt 2:39 pm on November 9, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Technology   

    The Great Debate: Kindle vs. Nook 

    kindleSince the debut of the Kindle in 2007, hundreds of newspapers across the country have closed their doors and waved goodbye as they watched their advertisers move from print to the Internet.  While consumers and advertisers continue to turn to the Internet, publishers are left trying to find ways to keep their circulation up.  Enter the eBook.

    For the past two years, Amazon has been in control of the eBook market.  According to NPR, Amazon recently announced a 70 percent increase in third-quarter profits, due mainly to the release of the new and updated Kindle. (Note: that is an affiliate link, so if you buy it from this link, I make a small commission)

    Even though a majority of people are still not sold on the idea of an eBook, I think it is safe to say that in a few years, most of us will be using one, or something similar like a ‘netbook’ or a tablet computer.  I think students have the most to benefit from these devices and I would love to see these devices put textbook buy-back businesses out-of-business.  You know, the ones that offer to buy your $100 text book back for $7 at the end of the semester, then pay you with $2 bills and $1 Sacagawea coins, then resell it for $89.

    Set to release in late November December, the Barnes & Noble Nook looks to be the Kindle’s first real competitor. I took a long look at the information available on both of them, and here’s what I found.
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    • Jen 8:57 am on November 10, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Josh’s sister and her husband have one of the Kindles and they said it’s actually pretty handy. She likes it because she is a big reader and instead of dragging 5 books with her to get her thru a week long vacation, she can just bring the Kindle instead. Her husband said he likes it because he can download the newspaper before getting on the plane (he travels a lot for business) and it is a lot easier and more convenient. I think it would be nice to have, but I wish the price would come down more.

    • Jen 7:07 am on December 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Kind of related – I just read in the paper today that the Iowa City public library now has downloadable ebooks but it’s only compatible with the Sony Reader at the moment.

    • Cheyenne 12:23 pm on December 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply

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