The Richard III Special

The Richard III Special broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK will be on Monday, February 4th at 9pm there, which means 4pm EST, 3pm CST, 2pm MST, and 1pm PST.

There are ways for people who are not in the UK to watch. This is mostly done via something called a VPN (Virtual Private Network). You can read more about them here. I’ve been using these for a couple of years for business and especially when I travel. Occasionally I’ve had to actually access local wifi (McDonald’s unfortunately sometimes), but I try to avoid that.

For the uninitiated, this is also how people can easily fake an ip. I wasn’t going to talk about this, but some of you enjoying the details of Statcounter need to know that an IP log is not entirely reliable.

I would put up a picture, but how many times can I post Richard III or a manipulation of Richard Armitage? Okay, never mind I asked that. :D

How about this below? So it’s not Richard III related. Use your imagination. I see Richard Armitage on his way to somewhere great.

pod0302

Photo courtesy of RichardArmitageNet.com, and it’s the Picture of the Day for February 3rd.

February 3, 2013
Categories: Geek, Movies, Richard III . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 5 Comments

“Getting Down to Business”

Yep, Todd Garner is doing some business on our heads.

Bring it, Todd. I love it!

https://twitter.com/Todd_Garner/status/291237097258504192

I know we have all been inhaling The Hobbit as often as sanity will allow, but is anyone ready to see Richard Armitage’s next piece? Feel free to gush.

Note: this post is for all of you who are still not on Twitter. You need to know that not everything interesting going on there becomes a post in RA universe, so what are you waiting for? The idea that it’s mindless? Or it’s intimidating? Some of it is mindless but surprisingly there is a lot that’s not. And if you never tackled something intimidating, think how bored you would be. Plus, there are several of us who are very willing to help you get acclimated.

January 15, 2013
Categories: Black Sky (Into the Storm), Geek, Movies . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 5 Comments

Now Do You Believe Me About Being a Make-up Artist?

79-RAandTamiLane

See. Being a make-up artist can be rewarding on lots of levels. :D So far I’ve only covered some of the personal rewards. But for Tami Lane, who received an Oscar nomination for her work on The Hobbit, it has transcended the personal, and it’s not her first time. She was nominated and won an Academy Award in 2006 for her work on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

But working on The Hobbit was a far different experience for Ms. Lane when considering the unforgiving eye of 48fps:

Since the 3D movie was being filmed in 48 frames per second instead of the normal 24, their work had to be flawless, she said. Each set of dwarf eyebrows, which are not reusable after removal, had to be re-created daily to look exactly the same – for all 266 days of shooting.

“All the old tricks we use for film had to be thrown out the window. Shooting like this makes you a better artist,” Lane wrote by email.

Read the article here

The 48fps aspect of this film just gets more interesting. Could dealing with near ten times the normal frame rate be any more daunting in its rendering of reality? I wonder. 48fps seems pretty tough.

And now a must:

Dear Ms. Lane,

You did a marvelous job. I think it’s safe to speak for other fans to say how much we appreciate the time and care you took to make RA look so spectacularly Thorinesque. [is that a word? if not, it should be. Then again, I suppose it’s okay if it’s hyphenated — Thorin-esque. Hmm. I can make anything a word if I hyphenate it. Can’t I? :D]

All the best and at the Oscars as well!

Signed,
One of Richard’s crazy fans who sometimes covets your job for all the Richard-esque moments you got to witness. ;-) Yeah, it’s lame, but I need coffee, and it is my first time to make up somethin’. At least I didn’t say Armitage-esque. I’m outta here!

P.S. Wait. One more thing. I hope you can chuckle at all those shallow girls in high school who didn’t think it would pay to be a geek. Oh, how wrong they were. Look at your life, and the fantastic views you see. Damn! I need to start this letter over, but I don’t have time. Best o’ luck!

After I drink some coffee, I may be back with some other words that you’ve never seen. :D

January 11, 2013
Categories: Geek, Interviews, Movies, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 16 Comments

Connecting the Dots or Establishing an Identity on the Web — Part 2

October 17, 2012

A couple of days ago I retweeted Part 1 of this series and got lots of questions. I’m only covering two here.

Number 1 Question: What’s the big deal about having all these profiles?

You don’t have to have “all these profiles.” It really depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you have no interest in directing people to specific places when they see your presence somewhere on the Web, this post is not for you. Keep doing what you’re doing, and don’t read what I’m about to say.

For those who do want to direct people somewhere specific, whether it be a blog or a social media app for hanging out online, you need to give enough information about your whereabouts to help them find that place. For instance, if you have a Twitter, Facebook or Google+ id (to name a few) and you also want people to read your blog, you’re shooting yourself in the foot if a link to your blog is not in your profile. Putting the link in your updates is too much work for someone just discovering you. Don’t make people work to find your blog. Make it easy to find or many will not bother to find it.

Number 2 question: What is Gravatar?

I’m so glad you asked. Gravatar is a profile used by some major sites to help people establish an identity on the Web. The cool thing about Gravatar is you can comment on sites run by WordPress or using Disqus (a comment app), and someone curious about you can click the avatar left with your comment in order to find out what you want them to know and where you want them to go. Here’s mine. If you looked at my Gravatar profile, you noticed there is a list of places to find me. I list them because some people are more comfortable in some places than others. Some people contact me only via Twitter or only via YouTube or only via Facebook. Instead of trying to make the initial contact point my blog, I give them several points of contact. But wherever they interact with me, I ensure one thing is obvious — I have a blog. That’s where I spend most of my time, so if people know where it is, then there’s a good chance they can find it. :D Too often those who “like” my blog posts or comment on them, do not have anything on their Gravatar profiles. It’s a dead end. I hate that. Of course I realize some people don’t want to lead others somewhere, but I know many of you do hence this post.

Gravatar is not the only “universal” identity profile on the Web, but it’s significant enough, you should probably have one. If you have a WordPress blog, you already have a Gravatar, but that doesn’t mean the profile is complete. What’s in it is entirely up to you. As for other profiles that may be of interest in establishing your presence on the Web, of course Google is prominent, but the avatar does not move outside of Google products unless a particular site owner using Blogger as their platform has installed Disqus. Okay, that’s as technical as I’m going to get on that. Net: I’ve found more people use my Gravatar than my Google id to find out who I am. Another identity profile to be aware of is MyOpenId. This site is not user friendly, but best to grab your id now in case this profile becomes pervasive on the Web. I have my doubts about this, but I have an id just in case.

I feel the urge to write about the differences between WordPress and Google, but I’ll spare you that today. Maybe another post. I still need to publish the post about filtering tweets. ;P But just to make this fun, a photo of the founder of Gravatar and WordPress, the smilin’ Matt Mullenweg:

I had to post this pic since Matt is a Texan. Oh, you’re not fond of Texans? Uh oh, you may not always like this place.

Every time I see a picture of these young entrepreneurs, I have this urge to say, “I know a very intelligent, good looking blonde who is unattached.” Actually, I know two, and their mother would make a fantastic mother-in-law. ;-)

I hesitate to include Richard Armitage in this, but well, he is a geek, so he fits. No pictures though. Your imagination will have to suffice.

October 17, 2012
Categories: Geek, Tangents . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 3 Comments

Twitter and Richard Armitage — A Year or So Later

I was looking at the landscape on Twitter this morning and thought back to how it looked a little more than a year ago. Many Richard Armitage fans were not on Twitter at that time, and now there is a plethora by comparison. My curious gene is wondering how you all are liking it for intel and not just about Richard Armitage and also if you have realized I wasn’t lying when I said it won’t lower your IQ.

By the way, I will be making a post this weekend about how to filter tweets. This will be in time for the group discussion of Sunne in Splendour on Sunday. Not that everyone shouldn’t want to read and discuss it! :D But realistically, not everyone has time nor wants to read our tweets on the matter. So I’ll come with some tips.

In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts about Twitter.

If you want to read more of my thoughts on Twitter, they’re found either by hitting the ‘twitter’ tag or you can go to the pieces of any great note here and here and maybe here.

For those of you not on Twitter yet, what are you waiting for? It’s free, and it could blow your mind with its power.

And no, our guy is still not on Twitter — at least that he’s made himself known. Doesn’t matter; it’s still a great tool.

September 28, 2012
Categories: Fandom, Geek . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 9 Comments

Tangent — The Dirty Secret about iTunes, etc.

I listen to music in iTunes and own a few iPods, but I’m careful about how I handle what I buy there or Amazon mp3, etc., and for good reason.

Who inherits your iTunes library?
Why your digital books and music may go to the grave

Many of us will accumulate vast libraries of digital books and music over the course of our lifetimes. But when we die, our collections of words and music may expire with us.

Someone who owned 10,000 hardcover books and the same number of vinyl records could bequeath them to descendants, but legal experts say passing on iTunes and Kindle libraries would be much more complicated.

read the rest here

So much for the music industry being ripped off.

No, I’m not on an Apple rant this week, or maybe I am.

And nope, not even going to discuss my Kindle.

August 27, 2012
Categories: Geek, Tangents . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 11 Comments

Tangent — Apple’s Win is Not a Win

Certainly the decision in the Apple vs. Samsung suit is a win for Apple and its shareholders. But the sort of strong arming Apple has been doing with patents could inhibit innovation and may make the market ripe for Apple almost completely controlling smartphone sales for several years. Last time I checked, when a company is the only game in town or darn near, it’s not good for the consumer’s pocketbook. Sadly, Apple is doing what others, namely IBM and Microsoft, have done. And if you don’t know, those two companies got some all encompassing anti-trust actions slapped on them. Factor in Apple’s anti-trust situation with the ebook market, and they are begging for more of the same. Unfortunately, anti-trust actions can drag on for years and years. IBM’s lasted for 14 years, Microsoft’s lasted for 16 years.

But something happened in the Apple vs. Samsung verdict that may have made all of that irrelevant. The jury handed the Samsung counsel a great appeal. Oh sure, Samsung and Apple were both prepared for appeal before this thing really got rolling, yet I doubt either was expecting something like the jury provided. This screams for appeal. If you don’t want to read the link, just know that the jury reached their verdict too quickly and bungled some things in the process. You can also Google it since this morning there are plenty of articles. Of course no one really knows the outcome of court cases, appeals included, as this case makes so abundantly clear.

Whatever happens, Apple has already lost, and in a way that no court case can win back for them. They have now screwed themselves with a significant portion of the programming community, and the programming community has been a key to their success. Have you ever wondered why Macs seemed impervious to viruses? Have you ever wondered why Apple products just haven’t seemed beleaguered with the software issues that PC based products experienced for years? Very simple answer, and it’s not that Apple has made such a superior product impregnable by hackers. The hacker part of the programming community has more or less left them alone. And why? Because the majority of the programming community didn’t see Apple as a bully and were busy taking down other bullies such as IBM and Microsoft. Guess who’s the bully now?

Have you noticed how viruses have started creeping into Apple products? Well expect more of that. A large number in the programming community are seething at how Apple is flexing their proprietary muscle to crush the little guy, and programmers love the little guy because they still think of themselves as a collection of the little guys. Apple went so far as to claim it was patent infringement for other companies to make a rectangular phone with rounded edges and they won. Not a little guy anymore. And now they will have to keep one step ahead of the little guys who will make it a goal to bring them down.

Of course I could be wrong about all of this. If nothing else, it will be interesting to watch.

August 26, 2012
Categories: Geek, Tangents . Tags: , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 2 Comments

Tangent: It’s Always Something — Damn DNS Changer

Have you heard about the possible Internet outage for a chunk of folks come Monday morning? You haven’t? Well, it seems the FBI busted some hackers for creating rogue DNS servers, and they have been allowing the servers to run so that a large number of people who are affected could clean up their systems. For the uninitiated, DNS servers are the machines that allow you to access the Internet, and your system may be pointing to a rogue server instead of your ISP’s server, which means on Monday when the rogue servers are gone, your access to the Internet could be gone. Hopefully that’s as technical as I’m going to get since I want you awake for the rest of the post.

So you’re thinking, “I don’t want to be without Internet service on Monday. What do I do? What do I do? What DO I do?!” I’m so glad you asked because I’m going to tell you, and maybe this will get a wee bit more technical. But first, relax. The problem doesn’t affect as many people as the news bulletins imply. There now you can read the rest of this without panic.

The group working with the FBI to provide technical assistance has created help pages. Instructions for checking your system are here. Please note the dns-ok.us page is not always reliable. It’s better to check your server addresses manually. Scroll down on the link to find instructions for your particular operating system. And as far as fixing the problem if you have it? The same group has provided some resources. My advice? Use Kaspersky. I’ve used all the other software companies for general coverage and specific fixes, and they’re not nearly as good. I’m being kind here. If I were really going to tell you what I think, I would say, “DON’T ever use Norton or McAfee for anything ’cause they suck, and if you already use them, uh, you’re not that protected. Do you know how many systems I’ve worked on that were messed up by a false sense of security about those softwares?!! And also be leery of MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) simply because Microsoft shouldn’t have that much power.” But I’m being nice, so I won’t say that. I’ll only say that I’ve tried all of the others and found Kaspersky to be the most consistent in protection. And if you’ve ever had a system infected, you know what a pain in the ass it is, and you usually have to come to someone like me who messes with it and hopefully puts it back to normal for a fee more than the Kaspersky software costs. Note: back up your files before you start any of this. I shouldn’t have to say this, but it’s surprising how many people don’t do it as a matter of routine.

And frankly, I just like Eugene Kaspersky. It’s my infernal gut dictating this. Yes, I admit it. I like the guy, and Euguene, you should keep the long hair!
[click for his Twitter profile]

July 6, 2012
Categories: Geek, Tangents . Tags: , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 7 Comments

Tech is My Boyfriend

Someone mentioned boyfriends.

Tech is one of my passions. Yes, my eye strays from Richard Armitage at times — especially when he pays no attention to me! No pictures or soundbites to drool over! Nothing to fangirl over (absolutely fangirl is a verb. Don’t argue with me; it’s a verb!) But I get a steady stream of cool stuff from tech, which makes me giddy reading about the latest gizmo (can I say gizmo if I’m a techie? I guess I just did). It also makes me feel in ways I never thought I could even in ways Richard has never made me feel. And I love experimenting. Heck, I love breaking things just to see how I can fix them. I have a savior complex which demands I continually fix things. And since I can’t fix Rich, I settle for inanimate objects. No, Rich doesn’t need fixing. At least that I know of, which doesn’t mean I’m ever going to leave him, but if I did leave him, it wouldn’t be for some wild eyed, angst ridden villain who looks good in leather. ;-)

Meanwhile my real boyfriend has been checking out more of Peter Jackson’s works. He recently finished “Heavenly Creatures” which led to quite a discussion of fantasy. He’s also been reading up on the brouhaha over 48fps and launched into a comparison/contrast of Jackson’s and Cameron’s styles including some talk of how it would be fantastic if Jackson could use technology to artistically get inside a character’s head and Cameron doesn’t even know how to get inside a character’s head. This is the quick and dirty since I can’t remember everything SO said, and it’s times like these that make me want to throttle him for not blogging. Countless times I’ve said, “I’ll handle the technical stuff. Just write the pieces!” The man is stubborn.

But back to Richard.

Rich,

I’m starting to get a complex. I mean are you trying to tell me something?! Are my feelings for you wearing you out?! I really will understand if you don’t like my gushing. C’mon, you can tell me. Don’t hold it in until you have to throw a chair out the window. Or are you just saving the good stuff for later? :D

Hopefully, I won’t be so immersed in this that I miss it:


Go ahead; you can click on it.

Signed,
One of your crazy fans who would leave you only for a wild eyed, angst ridden villain who looks REALLY good in leather.

P.S. My real boyfriend knows you’re not a threat, but he is a little concerned about tech.

P.P.S. I suppose we’re not going to get another production vlog anytime soon. Gotta wait for the trailer in July huh?

Notice how I’m completely ignoring the Facebook IPO. May it crash and burn (after some of you have made some money of course :D)

May 19, 2012
Categories: Fandom, Geek, Movies, SO, The Hobbit . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 7 Comments

Finally, Something Good about Internet Explorer

With the recent campaign for IE 9 on YouTube and elsewhere, I found myself continually hitting “skip ad” until my twelve year old said, “Mom, have you heard the Internet Explorer song?” I said, “No, and I don’t really want to.” She said, “Oh, you’re wrong. You’re gonna love it. Listen!”

As it played, I looked at her and she started laughing, “Yeah, it’s good,” and before I could load up Soundhound to find out who it was, she added, “Here’s the whole song!”

A great live version if you’re so inclined.

My first thought on watching that was how much he reminded me of Adele (even down to the style of the video which was reminiscent of “Rolling in the Deep”), and of course how they both sounded like Amy Winehouse. My second thought was why had I never heard of Alex Clare? Then I read this, and it made total sense.

More:

A great Etta James cover:

You can hear all of Alex Clare’s current tracks on his SoundCloud account.

As for IE9, it’s still a no. I checked it out last year, and it was not a good fit for my system running 64-bit. If you’re curious about it, this is a good write-up.

Oh yeah, this gets the Richard Armitage tag. :D

And I put the public service tag on this one because some of you have never heard of Soundhound nor Soundcloud. Both are great resources for music lovers.

May 7, 2012
Categories: Geek, Musicilove . Tags: , , , , , , , . Author: RAFrenzy . Comments: 4 Comments

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