Turntable Izm Freestyle Session
Last night on the Turntable Izm show a ton of emcees tore it down for the weekly cypher. You may recognize a few people. One of the best yet.
Add comment November 25th, 2010 Logrithmic
Archive for November, 2010
Zediva – Rent DVDs Online
You must be thinking, “Isn’t this late? Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon, etc, all stream movies already”. Well, Zediva is a start-up that rather then stream a movie digitally actually streams a remote personal DVD player. Think of it as the internet being a long video cable from a DVD player to your home. This way you circumvent all legal issues associated with Netflix, etc. You control the DVD player via on-screen controls…similar to Slingbox. You can “rent” a new release and watch it instantly. No Netflix wait period. It’s an interesting idea. I tried it out and the quality is DVD quality. Zediva doesn’t have a large selection yet nor a polished system like Netflix but they do stream movies in their correct aspect ratio! This is huge! No one else does this. I’ll probably never use this service until it goes HD but it’s a nice idea.
1 comment November 25th, 2010 Logrithmic
Theophilus London – Flying Overseas [ft Solange Knowles]
Theophilus London [ft Solange Knowles & Devonte Hynes]
Flying Overseas
Directed by Tim Nackashi
Datamoshing effect on Malibu beach similar to what Nackashi used for his OK GO video. Awesomeness. I filmed Theophilus a few years ago live and have since checked his stuff. Awesome song and video inspired by Mighty Sparrow.
Add comment November 24th, 2010 Logrithmic
Kanye West – That’s My Bitch [ft Jay-Z & La Roux]
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Kanye West [ft Jay-Z & La Roux]
That’s My Bitch
Produced by Q-Tip
Remember when Kanye hopped in the studio with Jay-Z this past summer? That resulted in a few tracks including “So Appalled” and “Monster” off the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy LP and this one. I was angry that Q-Tip’s “Chain Heavy” didn’t make it but now I’m not.
Add comment November 23rd, 2010 Logrithmic
Why Apple’s AirPlay Sucks
Harsh title? Remember when I wrote about AirPlay earlier this year?
You gotta give it to Apple for “stealing” stuff and making it proprietary. DLNA was founded in 2003 and is now found in most of your devices…even your Apple devices. DLNA is a standard which a large group of brands agreed upon to allow devices to communicate wirelessly and seamlessly to transfer media such as photos, music, and video.
Apple’s AirPlay is a way of “streaming” content from your Apple devices to your AirPlay enabled devices such as an Apple TV or an Airplay enabled home component. So, if you’re home and watching a movie on your 3-inch phone screen instead of your giant Apple TV television, you can instantly “stream” it there. Or if you’re watching a YouTube video on your iPad you could “stream” it to your Apple TV television. Now, I put stream in quotes because it doesn’t look like streaming to me. I’m not sure people understand how AirPlay works. There’s a reason you can’t “stream” your iPhone-shot videos. Only videos that are in iTunes can be “streamed”. The truth is, and please correct me if I’m wrong, Apple is only sending metadata through the “air” such as video filename and time address to your device which is simply playing it from iTunes. You’re not streaming from your iPhone…it’s more like emailing.
However, doesn’t this seem awfully similar to Samsung’s AllShare? That’s because it is except AllShare isn’t tied to iTunes. AllShare is tied to Samsung televisions, blu-ray players, etc and uses Android phones. This has been available since early 2010.
So, if you’re an iPhone user who has an Apple TV and uses iTunes but wasn’t literate enough to figure out DLNA, AirPlay is for you.
If you want to truly stream from your phone to your TV/computer/etc, I use the DLNA-certified Android App Twonky. There are a few DLNA apps but this one works best for me. I can stream movies, pictures, and photos to my television/blu-ray/PS3/Popox including the ones actually shot on my phone.
UPDATE 11.26.2010:
Erica Sadun figured out how to enable AirPlay in other apps. As you know, AirVideo is my favorite Apple App and Sadun has created a AirVideoEnabler app for your jailbroken devices. Kudos.
6 comments November 22nd, 2010 Logrithmic
Homeboy Sandman – Strange Planet
Homeboy Sandman
Strange Planet
Directed by Nicolas Heller
Another video off the classic “The Good Sun” LP. Again not a big fan of Heller but it sure does help when you have banging songs. The 5D wide open f/1.2 faux black and wide stuff just doesn’t do it for me. As in the past, I will continue to post any Homeboy Sand videos that drop.
Add comment November 22nd, 2010 Logrithmic
David Fincher talks Editing on The Social Network [Video]
One thing that annoys me in a movie/show is when you have an over-the-shoulder two-shot where the nearer speaker’s audio is out of sync. In the video above you can see how The Social Network addresses this thus revealing why you see it more in television than anything else.
Also, the bonus disc on the Social Network blu-ray has some well-put-together pieces on the making of the movie. Unfortunately, being a few years into filmmaking, I didn’t learn much. What I did learn is how repulsive Fincher is as a person.
1 comment November 22nd, 2010 Logrithmic
Elus – The Free Hit [ft Pete.Colon]
Elus [ft Pete.Colon]
The Free Hit
Directed by Logrithmic
I shot, directed and edited this video with Elus and Pete.Colon. We shot it in one day in the Bronx. It was way too much fun with these guys. I hope to have some behind-the-scenes stuff soon because there was so much I didn’t use. Check it!
I used the Canon 7D.
Add comment November 19th, 2010 Logrithmic
Lens Bracelets
I’ve ordered from this place before. Good stuff.
Lens Bracelets
PhotoJoJo
$10
Add comment November 18th, 2010 Logrithmic
The iXtreamer
It seems like a new set-top box streamer comes out every month. Roku, Boxee, Apple iTV, Popbox, etc. Very few support 1080p streaming. Each one has different strengths and weaknesses.
The iXtremer is a new streaming set-top box that also acts as an Apple dock. You can play movies, music, and photos right off your iPad, iPhone, iPod, etc at full 1080p. The device also has an internal bay with a SATA hard drive for your own media. However, you are not limited to this media. You may also stream media from any of your networked computers in many many formats (including blu-ray ISO’s 
). The iXtremer can be wired or wireless in terms of network access. I own way too many boxes already that have YouTube but this is the first one that lets me play YouTube videos at HD quality. There are a few other “apps” similar to most set-top boxes but one nice possible feature is access to Apple’s apps. The feature is available but depends on Apple. A funny feature on this device is the access to a bunch of searchable live material includes adult oriented stuff.
As with most boxes, there is the option to use your phone as a remote. This is done via your phone’s browser. It might not be as appealing as an app but it’s widely available and any visiting smartphone would be able to control it.
The iXtreamer also comes with the flash-enabled Opera browser to freely surf the web. One feature I don’t see here is Netflix streaming. This may be possible via the Apple App but don’t get your hopes up. This, however, isn’t a big deal for me because Netflix streaming doesn’t stream movies as they were shot. They either crop or stretch to fit your screen. Major no-no for me.
At $235 this isn’t a horrible deal. I’d love to read reviews of this. The gui looks nice and the access to movie posters seems better than the Popbox. It’s available now.
Add comment November 17th, 2010 Logrithmic
Skins [TV Show]
Skins is a UK television show that premiered in 2007. It consists of everything controversial that can happen in a teen’s life. In 2011, MTV will premiere it’s Americanized version of the show. If you plan on watching the U.S. version you may want to check out the UK version first.
Popular Canadian teen TV show Degrassi deals with the same issues and made it’s way to the U.S. in the past decade. These two shows are similar and judging by the style of Skins the U.S. version will be more racy and unpolished. Do you think it’ll be a good watch? Or do you think it’ll be a more modern Degrassi?
1 comment November 16th, 2010 Logrithmic
Kanye West – Chain Heavy
Kanye West [ft Talib Kweli & Consequence]
Chain Heavy
Produced by Q-Tip
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Got damn. Best GOOD Friday track yet.
Add comment November 15th, 2010 Logrithmic
Girl From Washington Heights
I grew up and live in Uptown Manhattan. This young lady does a spot-on impression of what you hear around here.
Add comment November 15th, 2010 Logrithmic
The Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear [Video]
I attended the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear this year. I took some photos and the video above. I wish I had the opportunity to take more but it was a massive rush to get to and from the free Huffington Post buses.
Add comment November 15th, 2010 Logrithmic
Juan Agudelo
I took the above picture during the New York Red Bulls’ final match this year. The 17-year old Colombian/American Juan Agudelo got the call up to the United States Mens National Team for the November 17th exhibition in South Africa. This is good news. He wants to play for us…the United States. I haven’t felt like this about a U.S. player since Charlie Davies. The Joze Altidore parallel is also there because he once bore the NY Red Bulls jersey. Look at him now…
1 comment November 15th, 2010 Logrithmic
Jay Electronica with the Roc
If you were on Twitter or Facebook Friday night, chances are you saw Jay Electronica‘s name in your timeline.
I came across Jay Electronica in 2007 when he dropped “Act 1” which was comprised of Jon Brion sampled beats from the “Eternal Sunshine…” soundtrack. I was pretty mad at the time because I was working on my own “Eternal Sunshine…” themed EP. I definitely hated like “Who is this dude?” and “How is he up in Erykah Badu‘s house with her kids?”. But after listening to the first track I was blown away. It was around that time that I stopped making beats.
Jay Electronica [ft Jay-Z & The Dream]
Shiny Suit Theory
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This past Friday, Jay was signed by Jay-Z to Roc-a-Fella Records. This doesn’t mean much in 2010 but the last producer/emcee he signed in this fashion went on to be Kanye West. J-Cole is also a producer/emcee signed to the rock but I can’t say I’m feeling dude. Let’s see how all these Jay’s fare.
Jay Electronica [ft John F Kennedy]
The Announcement
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Add comment November 15th, 2010 Logrithmic
Netflix on Android Aspect Ratio
I stream Netflix to both my TiVo box and my PS3. On the PS3 the quality is slightly better than the TiVo but that could just be my signal flow. However, for some reason Netflix thought it was okay to stream all movies at the 16:9 aspect ratio regardless of their original aspect ratio. If you know me, you know how much that ratio gets to me. It’s torture. Yes, torture. Even when I watch a movie that I know will be really bad, I would still get quite the experience when observing editing, lighting, composition, grading, etc. But when a movie is cropped that crudely, I am being cheated.
Deep down, I knew this would happen. I knew Netflix streaming was too good to be true. Back to the HTPC round-up.
Also, the Netflix streaming app is coming to Android devices. It is taking some time to develop across many different devices. I don’t know if I’ll still be around when it comes.
Add comment November 15th, 2010 Logrithmic