Steve Holden's Blog

Some Music Podcast Recommendations - Interviews, Blues, Rock, Classical, Electronic

I have a pretty wide set of musical tastes that includes more than just the Jersey Boys, and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

There were recently several interesting music related podcasts from San Diego's KPBS These Days:

• The Bird and The Bee
• West Indian Girl
• Oxford American's Southern Music Issue
• Earl Thomas Performs In Studio (Video)
• In Studio Presentation Of A Stradivarius Violin

When I'm in the mood for the blues I always turn to The Roadhouse podcast.

When I'm in the mood for classical music, I find WGBH Classical Performance Podcast to be great.  I also find the classical feed on CBC Radio 2 to be a nice streaming option.

The Magnatune "great pianist" podcast is very good if you want something 'lite' playing in the background.

The Alternative Classix Podcast is a well produced and researched 80s 'new wave' radio show you will not be disappointed with.

For those that like electronica and/or techno ... I highly recommend:

• SomaFM's Grove Salad
• IndieFeed:Electornica
• DJ Amber's iamthedj podcast
• DJ Steve Boy's podrunner
• Radio 538: Tiesto's Club Life

If you want something more mellow but still pretty electronic then check out the Ultima Thule Ambient Music podcast.

I also enjoy the Coverville podcast and the Rock'N'Roll Geek podcast.

Getting - Busy Four Day Weekend Recommendation

This Memorial Holiday weekend in San Diego looks very busy for us.  When things start to look like they might get potentially out of control with the family schedule, I've found I like to have a 'low-tech paper' calendar for the family to look at in the kitchen. 

I usually print out a couple of pages for each day of the weekend using a 'day keeper'  template from DIY Planner.  But since today is an off day from work, it is really a four day weekend, and a four-up Hipster DIY Planner page can get all the information I need on sheet.

I just printed a single page, and add all the stuff I know is suppose to happen. Now when Christy gets back from volunteering at the kids' school, she can get her items on there, and in theory, we should be pretty well scheduled. 

Have a great weekend! You can follow mine via twitter if you want.

Easter 2008 Sunrise Service @ Mount Helix, La Mesa

Our church - Christ Lutheran - is hosting the Easter 2008 Sunrise Service at the top of Mt. Helix starting at 6:30 a.m. on March, 23 2008. If you are an early riser, then please feel invited to join us.  It should be a beautiful morning given the current weather in Southern California.

This is the 91st Sunrise Easter Service held at Mt. Helix, La Mesa, California.

The message from Pastor Richard Burkey will be based on "3:16: The Promise" by Max Lucado

There are complimentary shuttles starting at 5:30 a.m. from Grossmont Center Mall, Brigantine Seafood Restaurant, and Mt. Helix parking lots on Vivera Drive.

In addition, we are hosting Easter services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m at Christ Lutheran Church (619-462-5211), 7929 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, California.

Theatre Review "In This Corner" About Joe Louis & Max Schmeling

Unfortunately, this review is coming after "In This Corner" written by Steven Drukman has finished playing at the San Diego's The Old Globe theater.  But it is such a very good play, that I believe it will produced in other locations, so if you get a chance to see it, you should.

The play was extremely well done, and production was in the Cassius Carter Centre Stage (aka theater-in-the-round) so it was very interactive.

The story is about boxers Joe Louis played by Dion Graham and Max Schmeling played by Rufus Collins.  Both actor's are extremely talented and give outstanding performances.  The time frame for the story is from 1930 - 1970, and the boxing ring stage is supported by several great roles: Announcer, Trainer, Reporter, Nurse, and other Boxers.

As someone who knew very little details about Joe Lewis and Max Schmeling it was great to learn more via the engaging theater experience. 

So, if this show comes to your area or back to San Diego, I highly recommend you attend.

Christmas Party Invite

If you happen to be in the San Diego area on Saturday, December 22, 2007 and are interesting in coming to our annual Christmas Party from 4 p.m. until whenever, then please drop me an email or private message on Twitter.

Kids are totally welcome, and there will be a pony available for the kids to ride from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Alert San Diego - Add Reverse 911 Notifications To Email, Cell Phone, Etc

Alert San Diego is letting residents and businesses update their contact information for reverse 911 calls to include an email address, cell phone number, VoIP, etc.   That is pretty forward thinking IMHO.

Multi-Topic Update: San Diego Fires, Jersey Boys, Technology

The last week or so has been extremely crazy and busy. 

First up the San Diego Wild Fires (aka FireStorm 2007) have been all consuming, and I'm happy to report that my immediate & extended family, friends, and co-workers in the San Diego area have been spared major hardships.  But our hearts go out to those who lost love ones or their homes.  The fire fighters and public safety folks have been outstanding and they deserve a ton of credit & praise.  Thanks!

The weirdest thing about the fires, was that during the whole time it was going on, Christy and I have been in Jersey Boys heaven.  They have released a new Jersey Boys Book, Frankie Valli has an excellent new album out called "Romancing the 60's", the touring cast is in San Diego, and we traveled to New York City (NYC) / New Jersey (NJ) on Sat. 10/20 returning Tue. 10/23 for the Fan Tribute and to interview Tommy DeVito. And did we mention we've seen the musical three times in six days: Fri. 10/19 (Opening Night in San Diego), Sun. 10/21 (Broadway), and Wed. 10/24 (Cast Talk Back in San Diego).  Yes ... we are crazy.

Lastly a quick update on some technology stuff.  Things are still going on over at TechNewsRadio but a little slower than I'd like.  My fellow FriendsInTech members have put together another new Halloween special called "It's The Great Server Chuck and Kreg."

Other quick tech mentions:

I recently upgraded from a Cingular 8125 to an AT&T Tilt and I'm really loving the new phone with high speed 3G/UMTS/HSDPA connectivity plus Windows Mobile 6 and integrated GPS.  The camera is also a big improvement, as is the keyboard/button interfaces.

A couple of weeks ago I did upgrade my 8-GB 2nd Gen Apple iPod Nano to an 8-GB 3rd Gen Apple iPod Nano.  I have some unboxing pictures posted to Google.  I like the video option a great deal. I used it to watch dozens of video podcasts recently on the trip back to NYC/NJ.  I have also been using it a lot at home sitting in bed or by my computer using a DIY  Lego stand.

I have also picked up a copy of Apple's new OS X via Amazon.  I hope it gets here soon so I can rebuild my old G4 iBook for Christy and finally get her off of Windows XP and spare her the horror of Vista.

Jersey Boys San Diego Ticket & Dining Deal

There is a special deal for folks who are interested in attending Jersey Boys* when it comes to San Diego from Oct. 19 - Nov. 11, 2007:

San Diego Cohn Restaurants' Jersey Boys Ticket & Dining Deal!

This is a deal that I was able to get permission for the Jersey Boys Podcast to promote. This is not a paid advertisement.  It is just one fan helping others get a good deal, and see one of the best musicals I've ever seen.

In semi-related news, Frankie Valli discusses his new album "Romancing the 60's" on the Jersey Boys Podcast #049.

* Authentic, Profane,  Jersey Vocabulary is used in this production.

List Of Sites For Food & Dinning Out Reviews

The following is a list of food & dinning out review sites from an article in the Wall Street Journal published on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007:

• Eater.com: Focus on NYC, LA, and San Francisco
• Chow.com: Includes recipes
• eGullet.org: Includes news
• Yelp.com: Covers many large metro-areas
• Tablehopper.com: Marcia Gagliard's take on San Francisco
• Amateurgourmet.com: Adam Robert's take on New York City
• Restaurantgirl.com: Danyelle Freeman's take on New York City
• Citysearch.com: Nationwide coverage

The other interesting thing from this article was that restaurants are now giving away meals to bloggers in the hopes of a good review. 

So far according to the article it appears to be paying off with good rankings but bloggers that aren't transparent are playing with fire.

Recommendation - Family & Kid Camping In San Diego Area

Yesterday, I went with Conrad's 3rd grade class on a field trip to Indian Hills - a family and kids camp in East San Diego County. 

I took a ton of video and I plan to build them a little DVD scrapbook. 

But I was really impressed with the facilities and the things to do.  Check out the link above if you are interested.