JacobNahin, Freelance Journalist

Note: Recently, I met up with @HardlyNormal, aka Mark Horvath, founder of Invisiblepeople.tv, a man for whom I have developed a deep level of respect. Mark doesn’t just talk, he acts. When people hurt, he helps. When children starve, he feeds, he clothes. Now, Mark would be the first to tell you that this mission is not about him, but I felt that revealing his rough past under a bright light through a profile-piece would be the best way to, as Mark would say, open blind eyes to the epidemic of homelessness.

Wm. Marc Salsberry (left) and Mark Horvath (right)

Thank you to Mark Horvath for his time, meeting me at the Hollywood and Highlands Center. Also, many thanks to Ann-Marie Welsh (@padschicago), William Marc Salsberry (@wmmarc), and Pastor Matthew Barnett (@matthewbarnett) for lending their voices to this piece. May they be heard by all who read it.

For publications interested in running this article, please Contact Me. All photos were taken by Wm. Marc Salsberry.

With that, here is…

“The Untold Story of @HardlyNormal”

He stands on the matte black stage of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif., surrounded by fans and followers seated in padded, red seats, a guest and lauded speaker. It’s Oct. 27.  The event: a Twitter conference called 140 Characters, is casual in nature and stands in sharp contrast to the Academy Awards. Dressed in blue jeans and a cream-colored collared shirt with black pin-stripes, this 6-foot, gray-haired, green-eyed man loaded with charisma stands straight and seems well-fitted to the building where celebrities like Jack Nicolson and Will Smith pass out gold-plated statues each year.

But this theater, next to famous landmarks like Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the “Hollywood Walk of Fame,” is not that unfamiliar to the man on the stage. More than 14 years ago, Mark Horvath called the loud, dirty street of Hollywood Boulevard home.

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Thinking about getting into voice-acting?
Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting up with two of LA’s most talented voice actors, Yuri Lowenthal and Tara Platt. Each of their resumes is pretty extensive. Yuri’s played big characters like Superman while most gamers who’ve played Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe have probably heard Tara’s voice. She played Wonder Woman.

Now the two voice-masters (who are married by the way) have teamed up and written a book to teach the rest of us their ways.

After the break, check out the video with info on their book as well as a couple of tips for future voice actors.

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This past week, like many Southern Californians, I experienced something rare for the dry state: rain, little droplets of it splashing on sidewalks, side streets, and freeways. I even witnessed two, simultaneous accidents on the 405 while on my way to Orange County.

In a similar manner, I also experienced a #CloudFail of a different kind. Continue reading

Recently, Google released yet another app: Google Wave. There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this app. EBay invites to join the preview program have hovered around $70 each, yet the funny thing is very few people even know what Google Wave does or was supposed to do.

According to Google’s website for the app, “Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.”

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Yes, it’s been a long time since I have posted, but let’s get down to business.

The proposed FTC regulations which could potentially fine bloggers who take pay-offs (of one kind or another) for products they write about without disclosure, is a potentially good idea with a few flaws. I cannot say how many times I have heard of people doing so-called “research” on the Internet for products. Oftentimes, these people will read blogs as testimonials of how awesome or not awesome a certain product is and will consume that information as an unbiased opinion. Little do these consumers know that some bloggers are receiving what more-or-less amount to bribes. Even if the blogger receives something indirectly, the blogger feels obligated to give a positive review in order to continue receiving preferential treatment.

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(Disclaimer: I am a student at Cal State Northridge)

To take a break from tech for a moment:

The CSU education system is in the midst of a budget crisis, potentially losing more than half-a-billion dollars in state funding.The result: faculty members are forced into furloughs, resulting in less availability to students and fewer classes.Students, already strapped for cash and buried under heavy debt obligations, must pay higher tuition. Canceled classes add insult to injury, lengthening the amount of time it takes a student to graduate.
In a state that was once the 5th largest world economy, this is ridiculous.

The following letter is republished with permission from an English professor at Cal State, Northridge, Charles Hatfield, unedited, and is representative of a plethura of emails that will be sent to students through this week and the next.

I’ll let it do the rest of the talking:

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Comic-Con, mecca for all things hyper-geek. Jerusalem for nerds. We met last week for the first time, and you wowed me with web-swingers and light-saber slashers. I loved your movie trailers and TV-show panels. Then I realized something: Comic-Con isn’t about the comics, and that made me sad.

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Web TV. So young, yet you’ve come so far. Millions of eyeballs scour your content and lift a special few to somewhat of a celebrity status. But who are these people? Where is that E! angle?

Enter: The Web Files, a web series hosted by Kristyn Burtt and directed and produced by Sandra Payne, puts the spotlight on web celebs and gives them the star treatment. The show is all quality and class. No pot-shots, no paparazzi, just admiration for those whom the mainstream media has considered second-rate stars.

This isn’t a gut-punch to mainstream media;  they have to aim their lens at the big stars who draw the most views. It’s a money game. With The Web Files, it’s all about appreciation and information. I, for one, didn’t know the origin of Tay Zonday’s name or that he didn’t eat cupcakes. What a shame; cupcakes are my favorite, but oh well.

According to a tweet by @TheWebFiles, the show’s first video has already seen more than 1,000 hits. The next episode, set to be released sometime next week, will feature the cast and crew of The Crew.

Clap, clap, Burtt and Payne, well done.

A while back, I put up a post on Redbox, that oh-so-easy-but-inexpensive dvd rental kiosk that can be found at the local Albertsons. In the post, I commented on an article from Newteevee which reported that Netflix’s No.1 competitor would be the redbox dvd kiosks.

I laughed. Who would use redbox? The latest films available for only a buck a-piece? Here’s what I said:

As for the kiosks themselves, they sure have great profit potential. I’m not sure what their margins or start-up costs are, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t bring in a good return. As for the kiosks actually beating Netflix? Not a chance.

I was wrong. These guys will not only destroy what is left of brick-and-mortar dvd rentals, but will probably make Netflix move those discs out a little faster. What brought about this sudden epiphany? A long line of people standing in front of a Redbox kiosk … I was last in line. Let’s face it, when it comes to impulse buys and on-the-fly rentals, Netflix can’t hold a candle to Redbox, especially with new releases.

According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune (which, unfortunately is no longer available, but can be found Google-cached :::sigh:::), Redbox has around 15,400 kiosks. That’s a lot of coverage. The article also mentioned that Blockbuster plans to roll-out 10,000 of its own kiosks by 2010. A little late to the game?

Some might say Netflix’s free “watch instantly” streaming-video is more than a match for redbox’s grab n’ go rental service, but when I wanted to watch Taken, Netflix lost.

Both services are phenomenal entertainment deals. Thousands of movies and 1-at-a-time unlimited DVDs still puts Netflix in the lead for me, but by no means is this battle of disc-rentals been settled. Maybe there will be a place for both to exist. Netflix certainly does a marvelous job serving up television box-sets for rent. One thing is for sure: these two services will probably deliver the finishing-move to Blockbuster. Fatality, flawless victory.

Everyone from kids to adults use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. We’re talking millions and millions of eyeballs, many of which walk by your business everyday.

They access their social media from home, from work, and from their cell-phones. The best part: many big-name competitors still don’t have a social media strategy, giving you, the small business owner, the opportunity to capture some of that cash while pleasing your customers.

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