It’s Coming…
...Right to your home! Panasonic will be putting their 3D products in the market later this fall.
The AG3DA1 is their full HD 3D camcorder selling for $21,000. You can place a $1,000 deposit to reserve your place to buy later this fall. As far as I know, it's the first prosumer HD 3D camera announced to sell this year. I like that it still has the familiarity of the HVX200, except this can shoot 1080p.
Click here to learn more about the AG3DA1!
What adds an extra touch of Panasonic coolness is that they are also releasing a 3D production monitor for field use, the BT-3DL2550. Yes, this means you can be shooting AND watching your camera in action in 3D! It will be coming this September at a price around $9,900.
3D, you better not fail us this year. Don't forget, the world cup will also be broadcasted in 3D!
Fisher & Paykel, You Make Me Hungry
And the beautiful presentations and photography do not help.
Fisher and Paykel catered for a MasterChef premiere in New Zealand. Funny, we have a show called Master Chef coming up on Fox here in the US. I'm interested in making those muffin puffs in the photo on the left. It was their first Our Kitchen catering gig ever 
. Click here to check out the Our Kitchen blog by Fisher and Paykel.
Radiolab: “Lucy”
As I was washing dishes and cleaning up from our Sunday brunch we had today, I was finishing up Radiolab's latest broadcast, "Lucy". (Radiolab is a New York public radio show that provides free podcasts in the style of This American Life, and is distributed by WNYC and NPR.)
Beginning to write this blog entry makes me want to tell the entire story and all my favorite moments. But I really recommend that you go to Radiolab's page right now and download or stream this broadcast from this page. Yes, it's free.
It's the famous story of the chimp, Lucy, who was raised by humans since she was just a couple days old. It was a study raising the question if two species can co-exist together and communicate with each other. Not only did Lucy learn 140 signs in the American Sign Language, she learned to brew tea for guests, liked to look through magazines, became attracted to male humans, and raised a kitten.
This photo was taken when Janis reunited with Lucy on the primitive island, shortly before Lucy walked off and was never seen again.
The other fascinating part about this broadcast is the story of bonobos, specifically one named Kanzi, who was raised in a similar way to Lucy but with his maternal parent. He learned over 600 signs, began to understood verbal sentences and was even able to speak back in English.
So do yourself a favor, download this podcast, and check out the video and links below. If you like this story, you should definitely check out Radiolab's other podcasts. They are all available for free off of iTunes, but do consider donating them something.
New Theme Look
So been looking for a change, searching around online for a new blog theme, tried a couple. Here is one I'm using called LightWord. We'll see how much I like it .
Mutemath and the King Drummer
Oh, beautiful Mutemath, why have you been so far from me?
Mutemath has been touring in Japan. The closest they will come to me is Coachella, which you won't find me at this year.
I heard that their song (my favorite), "Reset", was played during the Olympics. I am frustrated and let down by the young YouTube DVR-ing bootleggers have not uploaded this clip, yet.
I've only seen this band twice. No, I don't find that number anywhere close to enough. I feel like I am in some kind of strange Mutemath crave, really wanting to see them again live. I love their decades style of clothing, use of incandescent bulbs on stage, vintage instruments, the muted color lights piercing through the smoky air, and everything and everyone reacting to the beats of the energy performed by these musicians.
Below, the first video is of their drummer, drumming at 175 beats per minute. And yes, naturally I would pick a video featuring the beautiful Darren King and his duct-taped head. The beat reminds of their song, "Control".
The second video is another one with Darren King, whose drumset is hooked to different lights that each illuminate to a specific part of the drumset. Shot by the wonderful Brandon Goodwin, it's a fun experiment to watch.
Would LOVE to see them upload a performace of "Reset" with the Japanese crowd! I'm sure they will... they're just teasing us with the wait. Be sure to check out their YouTube page. Their live music videos in Japan are worth the watch!
Google Admits Buzz Flaws
This is written in response to a BBC article by Jonathan Fildes, "Google admits Buzz social network testing flaws".
So I wasn't the only one unhappy with the Google Buzz when it launched in my account. Many people weren't happy with the default-public status and little privacy control. In fact, it was "tens of millions" that were unhappy.
Don't worry, people, Google is to the rescue. My only question, why didn't they see this coming considering how SIMPLE the Buzz turned out to be? Because privacy just isn't in the top of any company's priority list anymore.
One of the things that I don't think Google thought out is that people don't just use email with friends and family, but for work and everything else. Why would you want to socialize with all of them online?
People also didn't like that the list of friends automatically appeared public to other followers. In the BBC news article, it says, "But privacy experts immediately pointed out this could cause problems for journalists, businesses, or even people having an illicit affair."
Thank you, privacy experts, for being so considerate of those being in illicit affairs.
Google also picked up on the hint that people didn't want Buzz to be involved with their Gmail. But I understand when Google said they just wanted the Buzz to be easily accessible to people.
With all that said, I really do appreciate the fact that Google has repeatedly apologized over this and are working on it right now to make it what the users want. Why can't Facebook do the same?!
The Aftermath of Street Food Fest
So yesterday my friends and I attempted to attend the LA Street Food Fest. Problem was that we showed up at 4pm, even though the website said the event would run until 5.
We came just as a large mass of people were leaving. They were turned away, and so were we. I still don't know why they couldn't let us in, since it didn't look that packed inside and vendors looked like they were still selling food. A couple people selling cookies even ran up to the fence to sell some goodies to us outsiders that couldn't get in. And with this event on a blog-based site and Twitter, they could have easily updated the info online for those just leaving home or arriving and checking the info on their phones.
But the event promoters were very apologetic and said they'll "do better next time". So that was a big downer since many people, including me and friends, ventured out to downtown just for this. But there are plus sides to the event and people behind it.
Dave Danhi, president of the Grilled Cheese Truck, distributes sandwiches. (Christina House / For The Times / February 13, 2010)
They encourage taking public transportation or biking (free bike valet). And events like this also bring attention to all the popular and new street vendors out there. I think ever since the downturn of the economy, it's been becoming a trend to start a mobile food truck business. It's also a good time with all the social networking going on because many of these vendors use blog sites and Twitter to announce real-time locations. There's one for Korean bbq tacos, another for grilled cheese, another for ice cream sandwiches, another for pancakes, and so much more. It's hip, it's cheap, it's tasty, and it's making us come out to the street and mingle with others.
Now I'm craving some good street food. Time to stalk up on people's twitters.
LA Street Food Fest
Excited for this! Above are icons of just some of the many street food vendors that will be hitting downtown LA tomorrow. Entry is only $5 at the door and you can count on affordable and plentiful of delicious street eats.
I recognize some of these vendors already that Twitter their locations day to day, often hitting farmers' markets. Looks like Coolhaus will be there as well, the ice cream truck that made yummy delicious ice cream sandwiches that I blogged about recently.
Check out the LA Street Food Fest website for more info!
Craig Stanton’s Magnus Team Wins at Daytona
Congrats to Craig Stanton and his Magnus racing team of Porsche's that won 5th place in Rolex 24!!!
Check out more at Craig Stanton's website (built with Lifeyo.com): www.CraigStanton.com.
Stammering Genes Discovered!
This makes me excited. For years, scientists and neurologists (and myself) believed that stammering was genetic. It is a disorder that I share with my dad, but no one until now has ever pinpointed the specific genes that cause this disorder. A study shared by the New England Journal in Medicine involves cases in Pakistan, US, and the UK.
The great thing about this is that stuttering can be detected in children even earlier, who then can be treated in speech therapy through early intervention. It's recommended to treat this as early as possible so children can pick up fluent speech by the time they are adults, something I wish I had the opportunity of doing in elementary school.
