Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Happy New Year with a Twist

Well, when this video was shot it wasn't New Year's Eve, although it sure looks like it was. Part of the family (and a few other guests) were at The Lake Geneva School of Cooking on Tuesday, December 28th for a real treat. We all took a cooking class, prepared a delicious meal and enjoyed the fruits of our labors thanks to Chef John Bogan and his staff. Thomasin and I did the dessert (yeah, it involved chocolate) and others took on more grueling tasks.

Let me tell you this is was a pure delight and well worth the effort and expense. You get to learn something new, meet some new friends, and share in preparing a meal that you're all going to enjoy at the end. We had a blast, the food was fantastic, and the ambience was perfect. Talk about your bread and circuses!

So, why the post now, on New Year's Eve? Well, Chef John called this a New Year's celebration from the get go and we pretended all night that we were heading to that magic countdown. As you can see from the video, he even regaled us with his accordion as we sang Auld Lang Syne. Please keep in mind we were all several sheets to the wind by this point.

So, given that I'm under the weather here tonight on the real New Year's Eve and not planning on much partying, I figured this video was a good substitute.

I hope you and yours have the Happiest of New Years and that this year is the one that makes it all happen for you.

Sign of the Times

Yeah, it is a sign of the digital times we live in.

A Must See: The King's Speech

When our family group left the theatre after viewing The King's Speech tonight I remarked that this was one of the best films I have seen in years. As I think more about it, I think it might actually make my Top 10 list of all time. It's that good. Or at least I think so. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush given incredible performances that are so rich with detail and overflowing with small moments that I didn't want the movie or the scenes between them to every end. I'm sure both will receive Academy Award nominations for their performances. Firth is simply outstanding and has probably just played the role of his career. There are very few false notes in this movie that in many ways is done so small-ly that it becomes gigantic in its scope. How rare to see scenes go on this long with just two actors speaking in today's age. I could go on and on. I won't. You just need to go see this movie. It's brilliant.

Merry Christmas

Wherever you are and however you are celebrating, I hope you have the merriest of Christmases surrounded by the love and warm embrace of family and or friends.

Peace.

Twas The Night Before Christmas Parodies

Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit From St. Nicholas will get read and heard quite a bit today and tonight. And it should. It's a classic that so many of us share, even if most of it call it "The Night Before Christmas."

For those looking for some Christmas Eve parody fun here's a link to a page with quite a few parodies of Moore's classic. There's everything from the Redneck view, to an Earnest Hemingway parody, from Star Trek to the politically correct. Well worth a read and a chuckle.

Enjoy, and happy Christmas Eve!

The Digital Story of the Nativity

So, what would it have been like if Joseph and Mary had access to the social and digital tools we have today? Brilliantly done.

THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

Uploaded by ExcentricPT. - Sitcom, sketch, and standup comedy videos.

Sunday Morning Reading

Some Sunday morning reading to share.

The Wall St. Journal is on it again with an article that says that our Apps are watching us and sending info to third parties as a part of their business model. I'm guessing here that all those new subscribers the News Corp is hoping to gain when Murdoch releases his new "save journalism" App for the iPad and Tablets aren't going to have their data sold to some third party as a part of News Corp's business model they way the do currently. I'm just saying. Can we stop beating that dead horse.

Frank Rich tries to pin a label on the No Label movement. That movement started in an attempt to turn Washington away from the knife fights that currently exist. Rich is correct in that No Labels will not succeed in the end, but he shows that he's just as much a beneficiary of the current farce as everyone else who sucks on the public tit is.

Paul Buchheit further explains his thoughts on the Cloud and why he said Google Chrome will fail. Interesting reading.

MG Seigler says Yahoo killed consumer confidence in themselves and other Cloud services. Nothing is permanent in the Cloud as the name we've all attached to it so metaphorically suggests. And if Yahoo still has enough clout or leadership or respect or whatever to have that kind of effect, the Cloud is dissolving into mist anyway.

The New York Times lists The Words of the Year for 2010. It was a bad year for words.

Cliff Gerrish on copies. Read it. Don't copy it. Or do.

Steve Gillmor on The @Mentions Cloud. The future? Only if Twitter can figure it out before the users do.

Gay men and women in the military can now be asked and are free to tell. That's a good thing because at least on the surface the military no longer undercuts its culture of responsibility by forcing its members to lie. But immigrants who fight for this country can't become citizens. Our cultural homophobia probably didn't go away, but it can now at least dance with our entrenched xenophobia out in the open. And we call this a great country?

There is No App for the 2010 List of Banned Words

Each year the good folks at Lake Superior University puts together a list of words and phrases that are at best overused and at worst should be banned from being used in the future. This year's list is quite a treat and includes:

Shovel-Ready
Transparent/Transparency
Czar
Tweet
App
Sexting
using Friend as a verb
Teachable Moment
In These Economic Times...
Stimulus
Toxic Assets
Too Big to Fail
Bromance
Chillaxin'
Obama-prefix or roots

Time for the Company Party

Looks yummy

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Warner's Posterous

Tis the Season for Some Hallelujah Flash Mobbing

You've probably seen this, but in case you haven't it's worth a look. A flash mob erupts into the Hallelujah Chorus in a mall dining court. Tis the season.