The first cell phone was made in 1973, its weight was measured in pounds, not ounces, and you needed a briefcase , backpack, or large handbag to lug it around. To quote George Costanza, over the next 4 decades, cell technology was all about, well, shrinkage.
iPhone 11 Pro to iPhone 13 mini: Is it an upgrade or downgrade? — TECH GUY ERIC
Available wherever fine podcasts are sold: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in whatever podcast playing app you prefer. Just search for “Fake Presidents,” we should be there!
I first planned to write about using tech to improve your TV/movie pitches over Zoom back in May, but then I asked myself “how useful will this post be in a month?” and I didn’t wind up writing it. Now here we are in July and, well…I should’ve written it then.
So here’s the basic gist — I actually don’t think you should be relying too much on technical gimmickry to gussy up your pitches. You don’t need on-screen graphics or green screen effects in a Zoom pitch any more than you need them in an in-person pitch, and the more tech you incorporate, the more things can go wrong. What you do want: The best possible presentation of you and your voice.
Continue reading “Pitching over Zoom? Try using an external camera to improve the image quality”The New York Times “Room for Debate” section is talking about football today. They asked me to give voice to the former fans who can no longer stomach the sport. Here’s a link.
This is a little something I made with my daughter last February. We rushed to get a version online before the Oscars. Here’s a better cut of it.
If you’re in Santa Monica and want to get some work done in a surprisingly accommodating space, head to the Krispy Kreme. The ambiance is intentionally designed to evoke a bygone era (think later seasons Mad Men) but not in a particularly classy or thoughtful way. The tile on the walls and the yellow/greenish color scheme has a very clinical feel to it.
What it lacks in style, though, it more than makes up in other areas for laptop slaves like me — ample seating with access to power outlets, free wifi, and, of course, a wide selection of freshly baked Krispy Kreme doughnuts — an uncommon sight in the L.A. area (and one that is largely unappreciated by the lifelong residents of surrounding Santa Monica). This location also has a Coffee Bean counter offering most (if not all) of the Coffee Bean drink menu.
Delicious doughnuts + Good caffeinated beverages + laptop-friendly seating = A decent place to kill some time and get some work done.
Krispy Kreme Santa Monica
1231 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
A few months ago the Corner Bakery Cafe in the Beverly Connection underwent a drastic renovation — so drastic they actually moved the entire restaurant 150 feet.
The new location is surprisingly well thought out for laptop users. The whole restaurant is lined with intimate, two-person booths, all equipped with power outlets (and there’s a bar with outlets, too). It’s spacious enough that even during the lunch rush, seating is easy to be found. The wi-fi is decent. And the menu has recently been given a once-over (and much improved in my opinion). If you’re not in the mood for a meal, the staff doesn’t mind if you just buy a drink and set-up shop either.
If you’re near the border of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, you could do a lot worse than the new Corner Bakery. It’s one of my go-to spots now.
My daughter totally could’ve nailed the Miles Teller part in Whiplash…
(FYI: You’ll want to stay tuned for at least 15 seconds. Trust me.)
This is the Coffee Bean across from The Palazzo at Park La Brea (near the Grove). It’s nothing special. There’s ample outdoor seating. Very little indoors. It’s the kind of place the 45,000 people who live at Park La Brea probably frequent, but otherwise there’s no reason why you’d ever need to step foot in this place.
The coffee shop itself had no working wifi, and the free wifi from the neighboring motel was so bad, I couldn’t even post this short review from there.
Now, for a bigger rant about Coffee Bean overall — their smartphone app sucks. It’ll log you out right when you’re ready to pay (slowing down what should be a quick process). It works by flashing a numerical code on the screen that the barista needs to manually enter into their register. How quaint. Oh, and the app took 17 dollars from me. 17 bucks just vanished from my account. The people at CB corporate were nice enough to look into it and refund the missing money, but the manager on duty when the money actually disappeared — it happened while I was standing at the register, the barista even confirmed that the money was there, before it mysteriously disappeared — was pretty unsympathetic about the whole thing.
If you like CB’s drinks, keep going. I just can’t recommend using their app. Oh, and their rewards program is terrible. Unlike Starbucks, where any 12 drinks equals a free purchase, the CB’s reward system is point based. Every dollar spent is supposed to equal 1 point. Except it doesn’t, because they round down to the nearest dollar during each transaction. In other words, if you spend $3.95, you only get three points, and those 95 cents never get counted, ever. To get those 40 points, you’ll have to spend a lot more than $40.
Next time: I’ll review the absolute best place to get some work done if you’re near Beverly Hills/West Hollywood.
None of your favorite shows would have existed in an “à la carte” cable world
(It’s about how the bundling of cable channels actually has a positive effect on show quality.)
buchnotes 