WEBmikey

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WEBmikey on the web
3.29.2008 6:27 AM \| Link	I've been expressing myself digitally a little more often recently, so here's an update on WEBmikey stuff. First, I finally caved-in and started using Twitter, which is one of those super-popular sites that millions of people are addicted to, and now I'm hooked, too! Twitter is really hard to explain (and people have written essays and even made films trying to get the idea across), but the best explanation I have heard is that it's a way to record and tell the world and your friends what you're doing or thinking when you don't have time to write an official blog post. It's fun to check it, since some of my friends are using it, so it's also a little like instant messaging, too. Anyway, I enjoy it, and it's fun to update it from both my MacBook and my iPhone! Next, I discovered a cool site called Profilactic that combines your online presence into one neat page. The new buzzword for this is "lifestreaming", and I think it's pretty cool. It's fun to see all of my WEBmikey posts, Flickr photos, Twitter posts, Delicious bookmarks, and even songs I'm listening to (since I use Last.fm to record what iTunes is playing) all in one chronological list! Finally, I've been working towards adding labels to all my prior WEBmikey posts, so things like my old poetry posts are getting collected together now (lots of ancient stuff out there!). I've also resurrected my Japanese practice blog, since my tutor Kumiko is giving me some great writing assignments for homework! After we correct them together, it's fun to have a record of what I'm learning online, so I'm sure this collection will keep growing! I'm also finally starting to take some macro toy photos again, which you may have noticed popping up in my Flickr photostream. Labels: life, sites
Photos on Schmap
10.08.2007 7:16 PM \| Link	I think it's so cool that people have found various photos of mine on Flickr and asked if they could use them in various projects. It's just one of the reasons why Flickr is so cool! Anyway, recently a couple of my photos were used on Schmap!, a website with maps and travel information for various places. They wanted to use one of my shots from my Niagara Falls trip (of the famous floral clock), plus a picture I took of the carousel inside Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City (I couldn't believe that one!). They're just a tiny little photos, but it's still fun to see them on the site. You can check them out using these links! Visit site: Schmap Niagara Falls Visit site: Schmap Oklahoma City Labels: photos, sites
Bookmarks mess
4.07.2007 7:04 AM \| Link	I've always wanted to consolidate and organize all my website bookmarks - I've collected way too many over the years from general surfing and blog reading. I really like using Delicious (yes, I know it's really del.icio.us, but that's a pain to type), since I can easily save things I see at home or work, and organizing by tags is so much better than crazy folder structures (even though I still enjoy Safari's bookmark management). Anyway, I decided to try out the new Firefox extension that keeps local bookmarks in sync with Delicious, but I don't like it - I'm just a Safari purist when it comes to the Mac, and I would much rather create my own tags and descriptions rather than relying on an import. So, now I'm deleting over 1,000 links from Delicious (what a mess!), and then over time I'll put all my links there by hand. I want to eventually get all of my "save for someday" links into Delicious, and only keep my "use often" links locally on Safari. That's my bookmarks dream, and someday it will come true! Labels: decluttering, sites
Hello! Waffles
7.21.2006 10:58 PM \| Link	I've been having fun lately watching lots of Morning Musume video, mostly TV shows with interviews, which is great Japanese practice! It's amazing how much is available on the web, and my new favorite site for getting this stuff is DJ Waffles! Of course, there's plenty of low quality stuff on YouTube, and a million things I could try to grab with BitTorrent, but truthfully I'm too lazy and impatient - I just want simple download links. DJ Waffles provides exactly that, and he's got tons of stuff, including recent promotional appearances and older TV shows! I've really been enjoying the Hello Pro Hour, which is like a casual conversation between a couple of Hello! Project artists, along with unplugged versions of a couple songs, making it so obvious that Risa has a fantastic voice and Sayumi definitely does not (but she looks cute trying!). It's also hilarious to see Abe Natsumi embarrassed about her ancient age of 24! Anyway, it's been tons of fun collecting this stuff and it's so cool that it's all available. I promise there has been more to life than Jpop lately, but I'm definitely going through a phase! Labels: jpop, sites
Link thanks
6.19.2006 8:06 PM \| Link	It's time for a quick overdue thank you to Cult of Pop for linking to WEBmikey! I've been mentioned a few times recently in the Sunday Blog Roundup, and it's fun to see some hits from those links. Cult of Pop is a fantastic J-pop site with tons of photos, news, and really great writing - I read it all the time, and if you love J-pop, you should too! Labels: life, sites
My J-Pop TV dream
2.23.2006 10:24 PM \| Link	While I'm fresh on the subject of J-Pop videos, I need to mention another incredible way to watch them that I discovered recently! There's a fantastic website/community called Jpopsuki ("I like J-Pop") that has a service they call Jpopsuki TV. It's basically non-stop streaming J-Pop videos, just like watching a music TV channel in Japan (my dream come true)! It uses a new kind of streaming technology called NSV, which was developed by Nullsoft, so right now I can only get the stream to work on my PC using the Winamp player. Hopefully there will be a way to watch it on my Macs someday, but for now I just keep it going on my PC when I'm upstairs. The video and sound quality is pretty great, and I can watch it full-screen, too. I really wish I could pipe it down to my TV set and just be mesmerized for a few hours. I've seen so many great videos, both old classics and new hits! Anyway, Jpopsuki TV is an amazing way to get your J-Pop video fix! Labels: jpop, sites
A cool utility, a cool site
11.23.2005 7:41 PM \| Link	I do most of my computer activities on my iBook downstairs, but I like to be able to print to my shared printer on my Power Mac upstairs, and control iTunes on my iMac upstairs, too. I always leave these machines on, but of course, they go into sleep mode where I can't use them remotely. That's where WakeUp comes in - one of the simplest, yet most useful, utilities I've seen (and I use it just about everyday!). WakeUp uses the hardware address of a remote machine to send it a special signal that will actually wake it from sleep mode (just like if you move the mouse or press a key), so when I want to print, I can just wake up my Power Mac and do it - without dragging myself upstairs! Forty Faces is an interesting website with a single purpose - every time someone posts to their blog, their photo appears on the site. It stays there until 40 other bloggers post, which could be a really short time, but while it's there people can click the photo to visit the blogger's site. I signed up for it soon after it started, and I actually do get a little bit of traffic from it. I like the idea and the clean design, too! If you're lucky (and have good timing) you might see my face there. Labels: mac, sites
Plug for a pal
1.05.2005 10:23 PM \| Link	My pal Tom has been living in Uzbekistan (working with the Peace Corps) for the past two years. During his entire stay he has been keeping up a journal on the web with his experiences and adventures. You can read it all at Tom's WebWorld - everything from culture to TV shows to cotton picking to weird food! (Of course, there's much seriousness, too.) Labels: life, sites
More site plugs
10:21 PM \| Link	Since I just plugged my pal's site, it's time for a quick list of some cool sites I've discovered recently: MasaManiA is an amazing photo-filled look at Japanese culture from a Japanese guy who isn't ashamed to share his opinions on just about anything (definitely adult material - you have been warned!). He creates narrated photo journals which are sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing, but always fascinating. I love his photos of cosplay ("costume play") gatherings - seeing geeks who are proud to be geeks just warms my heart (the cute girls provide some warmth, too). I had tons of book and record sets when I was a kiddie, so I was thrilled to discover Kiddie Records! They plan to release a new set of free vintage audio for each week of the year - these are ancient 78s and 45s, most of which I've never even heard of. I can't wait to listen to them all! As usual, I love finding WEBmikey references and mentioning them, so I'm happy that Thomas Boutell cited WEBmikey in his LiveJournal (which reminded me just how cool the poetry experience of Young-Hae Chang is!). Labels: life, sites
Moon Station Foxtrot
3.02.2004 10:15 PM \| Link	My pal Matt has been hoping to launch his own website since he moved to Japan, and it's finally happened! He's just getting things going, but there's already a ton of fantastic photos of beautiful vistas and close-ups, and of course, Matt & Kumiko frolicking in their happy lives together. I'm looking forward to visiting the ol' Moon Station often and watching it grow! (Hey, Matty! How about a detailed photo essay of KiddieLand?) Visit site Labels: pals, sites
Ultimate Disney
9.01.2003 3:49 PM \| Link	Even though this site is solely devoted to the release of Disney films on DVD, they manage to come up with news and images almost daily! They have fantastic lists of every Disney film, both animated and live action, and when it was released or will be released, so I can stay up to date on what to buy next. Somehow they are able to get cover art way before things come out, which is fun to see and get excited about. It's just an amazing amount of information on what would seem to be a limited subject. I use their animated feature checklist all the time as a cycle through watching the Disney DVDs I own in chronological order, too! Visit site Labels: disney, sites
Animated Movies
3:36 PM \| Link	This site is definitely on my daily reading list, covering just about all the latest news I'm interested in regarding animation, including Disney theatrical and DVD releases, as well as everything else from Cartoon Network to Warner Bros. and even independent films. There's always lots of articles to read every day, usually with links to other cool sites of related information. They also have a separate page devoted to each major animated film, with tons of trivia and production information, and images, too! They do a great job of posting box office figures for animated releases also, which is pretty fun to keep up with. Visit site Labels: sites
TourGuideMiKE
4.02.2003 4:00 PM \| Link	As you know, one my goals in life is to visit the Disney parks every year. I love to read as much as I can to really plan my time while I'm there, using both the web and various guide books. I recently discovered this amazing site, with hundreds and hundreds of articles written by a former park employee, who now provides professional tours of Walt Disney World. The content is fantastic and exhaustive - I love reading it and finding out tons of details I never knew! You can also pay for the "Automated Vacation Planner" service, which manages your itinerary, tells you when to call for various reservations, and lots more. I'm definitely a fan of TourGuideMiKE! Visit site Labels: disney, sites
WDWIG
9.07.2002 4:06 PM \| Link	This site is officially called Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide, and the title says it all. WDWIG has everything you could ever need to know about Walt Disney World, including things like current menus from all the restaurants! The design of this site is really simple, but it's the text content that makes this a treasure - there's so much to read! I think that WDWIG has the best park hours and rehab schedules (when attractions are going to be closed for refurbishment), so I check them constantly when I'm planning a trip. WDWIG does a great job of keeping track of recent changes in a nice updates page, too. Visit site Labels: disney, sites
MousePlanet
4:05 PM \| Link	Yet another Disney site, but this is one I check everyday! MousePlanet is primarily full of planning information for Walt Disney World, but it does have regular columns by Disneyland experts who visit the park constantly. The two best columns are by David Koenig, author of the Mouse Tales series of books (read my reviews in Last 5) and Al Lutz. I'm not sure what Al's background is, but I'll tell you one thing - he is a major whiner and super negative about every last detail you could imagine when it comes to Disneyland! Still, his writing is entertaining and he does report cool news and rumors. This site has tons of information and photos, and gets updated nearly every weekday! Visit site Labels: disney, sites
Fandango
5.05.2002 4:08 PM \| Link	I really like seeing blockbuster movies on opening day - I actually like the crowds and the feeling of excitement you get from sitting in a theater of cheering viewers. So, buying tickets on the web in advance of the show is one of the best things ever, and Fandango has done it right! The site is very easy to navigate and has lots of extra features like movie reviews, but of course the main feature is ticket purchasing, which is a breeze. At the theater, there are neato kiosks that spit out your tickets as soon as your pop in your credit card. I have managed to get to so many movies that sold out using Fandango (and my pals and I already use it as a verb, like "If you want to go, I'll Fandango the tickets"). Visit site Labels: sites
DDR Freak
4:07 PM \| Link	There are quite a few DDR sites on the web, but DDR Freak is the best of the bunch. I check this site practically every day, mainly to read the latest posts to the forums, which are always busy with the freshest rumors on home mixes, dance pads, arcade tips, and so on. The site also has some great reference material - you can look up the step patterns to any song on any mix if you want to study them, plus find out hidden codes to unlock different modes of the game. They have also sold some great DDR Freak T-shirts (I have them all and wear them proudly)! Visit site Labels: ddr, sites
LaughingPlace
4.25.2002 4:08 PM \| Link	Before my recent trip to LA, I checked out quite a few Disneyland sites on the web (mainly to be sure my favorite rides weren't down for rehab). LaughingPlace was by far the best - it has the most up-to-date information (even more concise than the official Disney site), lots of details about the parks, plus tons of fantastic articles and news about everything Disney. I also listen to LaughingPlace radio - they have themed shows with countdowns and requests, too. LaughingPlace is the best! Visit site Labels: disney, sites
The Disneyland Source
10.12.2001 3:09 PM \| Link	There are hundreds of Disneyland sites on the web, and I've looked at so many of them that I can't remember what cool things I've seen on which site! However, when I want to experience a Disneyland ride to get away from it all, I know I can go to The Disneyland Source. This excellent site has a multilevel map that allows you browse down right to the attraction you want, and then provides video of the complete ride experience (or audio only, if you prefer). They even have movies of some rides that are closed now, plus the Real format movies blow up to full screen nicely! Now everyone can go to the Happiest Place on Earth! Visit site Labels: disney, sites
/usr/bin/girl
9.01.2001 4:10 PM \| Link	My pal Scott is a big fan of weblogs, and he sent me this link. Zannah is an amazing Seattle gal that manages to live an interesting life and still maintain daily updates to several websites! She's a fantastic writer and loves anime - where are these girls in Austin? Take a look at /usr/bin/girl - here she basically shares links to fun sites and animations. When you want to get to know her better, you'll find a link to her personal journal here as well. All I can say is, The James is a lucky guy. Visit site Labels: sites
Yesterland
8.01.2001 4:12 PM \| Link	Any WEBmikey reader knows about my love for Disneyland, and thankfully I was able to visit when I was very young and experience some attractions that just don't exist anymore. Where do closed Disneyland attractions go? To Yesterland, of course! This great site includes information and photos of every ride, restaurant, show or anything that has been closed at Disneyland, so now you can lament the loss of Adventure Thru Inner Space or the more recent demise of Submarine Voyage. At least we have our memories! Visit site Labels: disney, sites
Audiogalaxy is cool
7.19.2001 10:07 PM \| Link	Thirtysomething and a glass of wine - three nights in a row. Just the thing for an exhausted mind. Audiogalaxy rocks the shutters off the windows (does anyone have shutters anymore?). I read about it a long time ago as the oasis for former Napster addicts, but I didn't really check it out until my buddy Scott gave me a demo. Nothing like listening to Julianna Hatfield sing Police covers for free! Get your fix before they get sued. I love getting WEBmikey email from folks I don't know (two popped up in my inbox recently). Thanks! (I would really love someone to make use of my Amazon wish lish! See that link on the left?) Labels: sites
Streaming music sites
7.13.2001 2:23 PM \| Link	I listen to streaming music all day - I switch between many different sites, methods, and genres, too. Right now I'm into Spinner. I used to listen to them back in the old days, and I thought they were gone by now, but they seem to have been reborn. They have a cool new player (it's way too huge on my desktop, though) and tons of channels of cool stuff, including TV themes, surf, and other obscure things. When I'm not listening to Spinner, I tend to drift between SonicNet (the celebrity DJ stations are nice), Live365 (for WEBmikey Radio, Takoyaki Radio, or other cool favorites like Music for Hackers, Secret Surfin' Spot, or Silly French Pop), or LAUNCHCast, which used to be really cool until they had to reduce their catalog by 2/3rds because of RIAA pressure. Labels: sites
YH Chang Heavy Industries
7.01.2001 4:14 PM \| Link	I have seen very little of what I would call innovative art on the internet, but YH Chang, a poet/artist in Seoul, Korea, has created something truly innovative. Her works consist of text only Flash animations that present the text of a poem set to an excellent jazz soundtrack. The words are timed to appear and transform right on the beat with amazing accuracy, so what you have is the equivalent of a beatnik coffee house reading presented at a speed that is readable but not speakable. The first work, Lotus Blossom, is by far the best (with the most music synchronization), but all of the works are fascinating. Many of them feature of some explicit lyrics (oh dear), and Half Breed Apache has some of the best sex metaphors I have ever read. (Don't be put off by the plain-jane home page - just sit back and watch the art!) Visit site Labels: sites
Friskit
6.01.2001 4:15 PM \| Link	Quick! Listen to Friskit before they get sued! Friskit is the Napster of streaming music, and wow, it is cool! Friskit somehow scours the net for any and all music streams, and then has them categorized by artist and genre. What this means is that you can pick an artist, say Matthew Sweet, and listen to him all day long while Friskit keeps switching streams from site to site in the background! It's like listening to just what you want without having to dig around - Friskit does it for you. The technology is great, but these boys are gonna get in trouble for re-streaming all this stuff - I was even able to hear audiobook samples from an e-commence site! Visit site Labels: sites
Dublab
5.01.2001 3:15 PM \| Link	I have to thank my work pal Scott for this one. Dublab is a cool music site that features streaming music mixed by live DJs! The interface and look of the site are very cool, and while you are listening to the live mix, you even get a streaming video window where you can watch the DJ in action, spinning the records you're listening to. You can also chat with the DJ to find out what's playing, and listen to archived mixes from your favorite DJs. This site has really opened my eyes to the art of mixing, along with some excellent obscure music that I never would have heard otherwise. Visit site Labels: sites
E! True Hollywood Story: Jar Jar Binks
4.01.2001 3:16 PM \| Link	Finding great parodies is part of the joy of web surfing, and this parody of the typical E! "dig for the dirt" biography featuring "Jared Binklestein" is one of the absolute best (maybe even better than Troops!). This film is pure quality - well shot, well edited, and full of both obvious and inside jokes (haven't you always wanted to see Natalie Portman smoking and yelling "Who's my bitch"?). The impersonators are great, and the guy doing the voices of Jar Jar and Yoda is fantastic! As a bonus, we get to hear Darth Maul speak in his "real" voice. This site will direct you to another site that actually hosts the film - watch it now! Visit site Labels: sites
EX
3.01.2001 4:17 PM \| Link	If you haven't figured it out by keeping up with my Last 5 DVDs, Mikey is a certified otaku (Japanese for "nerd", usually involving anime). I wish I had known about this site a long time ago - it is a fantastic web-zine that is kept up-to-date and edited like a real magazine, with lots of articles, DVD reviews, and news about what's coming up next. Thanks once again to Barron for sending me the link - he found it while searching for pictures of Faye Valentine, the babe from Cowboy Bebop. Visit site Labels: sites
LAUNCHcast
2.01.2001 4:18 PM \| Link	Why am I listening to another internet radio offering after such a glowing review of Echo.com? Because they owe me over $100.00 in Amazon certificates, that's why! Until they pay up, I'm listening to LAUNCHcast, which I must say is the best of breed. From my first day at levelfield, all I heard about from my pal Scott was LAUNCHcast this, LAUNCHcast that, so now I'm part of the club. This site gets smart about what you like to listen to very quickly once you become a "fan" of various artists. Nice quality and excellent design as well - if only they had a rewards program! Visit site Labels: sites
Gotham Girls
1.01.2001 4:19 PM \| Link	Everyone knows that 90% of the appeal of Batman (especially the animated series) can be attributed to the gorgeous babes, both heroes and villains. Of course, the big four are Batgirl, Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and now they have their own site (part of the usual Warner Bros. set of animation sites). Here you can find little Flash movies and info about the girls, and some seriously cool desktop wallpapers to drool over. (I wonder if the attraction to animated women has been codified by the psychiatric community?) Visit site Labels: batman, sites
Atari Historical Society
12.01.2000 4:20 PM \| Link	Since cutting my computer teeth on my Atari 800, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Atari. I remember being excited about seeing the Atari logo in Blade Runner, since that meant the company would be around in the far-flung future. Well, that didn't quite work out, but now you can drink in every last bit of Atari goodness at this site - all about the home games, computers, video games, you name it! Visit site Labels: atari, sites
Echo
11.01.2000 4:22 PM \| Link	Echo is the newest internet radio site with a spin on earning points while you listen. However, unlike some others I've tried, Echo does it right - excellent quality music, a very nice interface with great use of Flash, and the point system is pretty easy - generally one week of listening at work will get you $18 bucks at Amazon.com! The only downside is the beta status - quite often they limit the number of listeners. But it's worth it - I've already earned cash listening to Spice Girls! Visit site Labels: sites
eTour
10.01.2000 4:23 PM \| Link	eTour is cool if you love to find sites you've never been to, based on the kinds of sites you're interested in. Very simple - go to eTour, click Next Site, and you're face to face with something interesting. I've found lots of things I never would have discovered with random surfing. Guess what - this one has a point system, too! It takes a long time to actually earn anything, but it's a cool idea. Visit site Labels: sites
AdCritic
9.01.2000 4:24 PM \| Link	All this site does is post QuickTime movies of just about every new TV commercial to hit the air. It's great if someone says, "Did you see that new commercial about...?" because you can find it here right away. Good quality movies if you have a fast connection. Visit site Labels: sites
Icebox
8.01.2000 4:28 PM \| Link	I found this one through eTour - the latest "offensive Flash cartoon" site. When I first visited Icebox, I was greeted by Mr. Wong, and I couldn't believe how funny and over the top it was! Unfortunately, the other cartoon series aren't half as funny, but go watch Wong anyway! Visit site Labels: sites
NetFlix
7.01.2000 4:32 PM \| Link	There is nothing to say about NetFlix except if you have a DVD player and don't use NetFlix, you are so lame! For $20 bucks a month that you would be spending on buying DVDs or renting anyway, you get unlimited rentals from over 6,000 films. Way too cool. I just heard they are undergoing a site overhaul, too, so they can only get better. Visit site Labels: sites


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