I recently began using Google Voice and I’m hooked. Google has done a great job of making voicemails more manageable, and I’m extremely grateful for that. Feel free to read about my favorite features below (if you’re into tech stuff like me) or scroll on down to the bottom of this post to get to the meat and potatoes.
1. Personalized Greetings: Google Voice allows you to create a personalized message for a specific person or group of contacts. This is really handy because it allows you to record a professional greeting for your business contacts and a casual one for friends and family. You could also use this to screw with people; but that wouldn’t be nice.
2. E-mail Notification: Thanks to Google Voice, you can receive an e-mail notification whenever someone leaves you a voicemail. The cool thing about this is that every e-mail Google Voice sends you includes an MP3 of the caller’s message. Now you can really embarrass your friends if they drunk dial you!
3. Voicemail Transcription: This is by far the coolest feature. Every time someone leaves a message Google Voice can analyze it and can send you a transcript. How cool is that? The only hitch is the transcripts aren’t particularly accurate. But who cares? They’re entertaining! And isn’t that what really counts?
The meat and potatoes: Since I can now manage my messages more easily, I’d like to invite you to leave me one! I think this could be a fun way to make this blog more interactive, and I invite you to use it any way you’d like. Feel free to ring me to comment on an entry, ask a question about life and the universe, or leave me your favorite Jack Handy quote. Whatever makes you happy! I can’t promise that I’ll return your call, but if Google Voice’s transcript looks like a Mad Lib (and trust me some of them can get pretty silly), you can bet that it may find its way into a future post!
To leave me a message, just visit the contact page on our official website, a’tris HQ, click the speech bubble next to my mug, and then enter your name and phone number into the window that appears. When you click connect, Google will automatically call your phone and direct you to my voice box. That’s all there is to it.
What do you think of my idea? I hope to see your thoughts in the comment section or hear them via Google Voice
Hope this finds you feeling healthy!
-Mason
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you may want to check out my entry, Four Ways to Subscribe to Our Blog, for some more tech-centered goodness.
Sunday morning my power went out. I suppose it was only a matter of time until that happened. Virginia received record-setting amounts of snow over the last couple of days and I’m surprised that the weight of it didn’t cause more trees to attack our power lines sooner. Usually, when our juice runs out, the power company is able to dispatch a team pretty quickly to address the issue. It doesn’t work that way in this kind of weather though. The roads are still a mess and I can only imagine what the brave men and women who ventured onto them were confronted by. Thankfully, our electricity was restored yesterday afternoon (just in time for the big game!) so I only had to spend a day and a half wearing six layers of clothes… It was nine degrees outside yesterday. How ridiculous is that? I thought by traveling to the south to work on new material I’d be able to escape this madness. Guess I was wrong. Hey, at least I got to catch the game!
I have to say that I’m really glad the Saints won the superbowl. As I watched the match, I remembered touring through New Orléans during the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina. Even then there were reminders of the devastation wrought by the hurricane everywhere you looked. I vividly recall the first sight I saw as we turned into the city: a parking lot of abandoned cars, overturned and mangled by the vicious winds. There was a thick layer of dirt and grime covering every inch of that place and it gave me a really sinking feeling. But, despite the tragedy, the people there were extremely resilient. We made some great friends in New Orléans and I’m so happy for them and for their team. New Orléans has come a long way since Katrina and I believe this win will mean a lot to her people symbolically.
I wish that I had a digital camera when we were in New Orléans. There are a lot of memories I would have liked to have been able to record. I turned twenty-one while we were there and we played three shows on my birthday. Since I’m a triplet, I thought that was pretty fitting. The guys and I crashed in a record store that night. The couple who owned the place had lost everything but their store to the hurricane but they still generously let us stay. When they learned it was my birthday, they also insisted that I keep a lapel pin they had of a Fleur-de-lis as a gift. That pin has now become a symbol of luck to me and I‘ve worn it at every a’tris show since.
Thinking about Katrina makes me really grateful for what I have and reminds me of how fortunate I am. Even though I’m surrounded by a wall of snow, I have it pretty good. Kevin from Eleetmusic wrote a great piece recently called Our Problems Pale in Comparison. I’d encourage you to check it out by clicking here. Kevin’s made it really easy for you to make a donation to support relief efforts in Haiti. It goes without saying that the people there really need our help. I hope that, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll consider kicking in.
This may be old news to some of you, but I just learned that Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson’s song, “We are the World,” is being rerecorded to support relief efforts in Haiti. ABC News has the story:
I couldn’t agree more with the idea behind covering this song. It’s really cool to see some of today’s biggest stars lending their support to raise money for Haiti. But I have a bone to pick with how this thing is being packaged. Avatar is doing beacoup bucks in the box office and it’s in 3-D right? (See my entry, Meet The Playlist: The Sweet Spot Where Music and Film Converge for some funny commentary on this) And the Grammy’s viewership has sucked lately so they broadcasted a tribute to Michael Jackson in 3-D right? (See my entry, Are the Grammys Still Relevant?). So obviously we can all conclude that, to get people to spend money on art, we need to somehow present it in 3-D… right? NO! Seriously people; did the “We are the World” music video really need to be shot in 3-D?
Don’t get me wrong, there have been some awesome 3-D movies. Pixar’s UP was incredible in 3-D, Henry Selick’s Coraline was also pretty fantastic, and a couple of people (myself included) liked Avatar well enough. But these films were created with the format in mind. Now according to The Playlist: The Clash of The Titans (a 2-D film) may be turned into 3-D using some new technology. And the same process has already been confirmed for the upcoming Harry Potter movies. Is it just me or is this pretty lame? I would pay to own a DVD or to download a digital file of my favorite musicians collaborating to record a new version of “We are the World” because I love to see artists in their element and I think it’s really great to see the proceeds of their work going to relief efforts. This 3-D marketing ploy just rubs me the wrong way though. To me, it turns would could be a genuinely good project into a cheap advertisement for today’s latest pop stars. What do you think? Maybe it’s just me; but at least if we buy into this 3-D thing our money will go to a good cause.
Ranting aside, Wikipedia has a great wiki onthe original “We are the World” recording along with some info on the cover here. I really enjoyed reading about how the project came together but couldn’t help but think how it’s a shame that MJ couldn’t be with us to reintroduce his song to the world. You’ll find his picture in the image below. Along with Michael, the picture on the left of your screen includes many of the original artists whose collaboration made “We are the World” such a huge success. The picture on your right features the roster for the new version. Enjoy!
Which cast do you prefer? Can you name all of the artists? I guessed most of the folks in the leftmost picture but I only knew about half in the right. Am I out of touch?
Yesterday got off to a rough start for me. I woke up with an upset stomach and couldn’t keep any food down. I’d intended to record a few station Ids and return some messages bright and early but immediately resigned myself to go back to bed in the hopes that I could sleep things off. Unfortunately, while I was successful in that regard, I dozed a little too long and, thus, found myself rushing out to a dentist appointment with an empty stomach only to have a hole bored into one of my teeth. Thankfully though, I was out just in time to do dinner with Decker; which brings me to the point of this post.
If you read my previous entry about my first book review, you’ll know how much I enjoyed Shawn Decker’s book, My Pet Virus [Official, Borders, Barnes & Noble]. So I was really stoked to have the opportunity to meet with him last night to talk about what he’s doing. I was a little bummed that my jaw felt like ass and my lip was all swollen up, but it was really cool to sit down with Shawn, his wife, Gwenn, and his cousin, (my best friend and favorite photographer) Bonnie Moses. Over the course of the evening we talked a lot about how he and Gwenn got into the lecture circuit where I was first introduced to them, and what it’s like for them to live on the road. Shawn gave me some insight into the publishing world and I learned that Gwenn manages a kick-ass band called Bella Morte [Official, Facebook, Myspace] and is also really tight with Lauren Hoffman [Official, Myspace] whose song, “Interplanetary Traveler” has been stuck in my head for days. How cool is that? It also turns out that Shawn and Gwen recently got the latest Super Mario Bros. game for Wii so we might have to reconnect for some goomba-stomping action soon. It’s nice to know that super awesome artists and educators, like Shawn and Gwenn have a little Nintendo fanboy in them too
Here‘s a picture that Bonnie took of Shawn and me last night. Please don’t mind my swollen face. Shawn posted this on his Decker’s Daily Coffee Flickr page with this super kind caption:
“Tonight’s Coffee Sponsor: Mason Taylor of the band, a’tris, who totally rock. And I’m not saying that because Mason hooked me up with a tall cool one, either. The band has a sound so refreshing that it makes my iced mocha jealous. Check out the a’tris song, “Automatic Doors”, and watch them do their thing: vimeo.com/3438892. Support indie artists who support iced mocha fiends with HIV, and buy the song, “Automatic Doors” on iTunes so bands like this don’t go away. Hell, buy their whole album, entitled Lensing.”
Shawn also had some super kind thing to say about what the guys and I are doing in his blog post, Decker’s Daily Band of the Month: a’tris. In it he writes that we are the “first ever Decker’s Daily Band of the Month” so we’re pretty stoked about that. It’s not every day that one of my favorite writers blogs about a’tris! Feel free to check out what he had to say on his official blog or on Poz Magazine’s website. Yesterday turned out to be a pretty awesome day after all.
Okay so Albemarle, VA isn’t technically my hometown, but I grew up in the city of Charlottesville which is surrounded by the county of Albemarle so I’d say that’s close enough. Anyway, imagine my surprise when a friend told me that Albemarle had made the front page of CNN.com! Surely something really cool or super bad had happened and, since this is Albemarle we’re talking about here, I automatically assumed the former. Well, it turns out that it was a little of column A and a little of column B. The good news: our police force made the front page because of their efforts to raise money for the Virginia special olympics. The bad: They decided to do it in their underwear. That’s right; they didn’t call it the first annual “copsicle“ event for nothin‘!
It’s a proud day to be from Charlottesville. Now, when people ask me what puts my hometown on the map, I can say Thomas Jefferson, Dave Matthews, and scantily clad police officers. If you want to watch Albemarle’s “finest” run around in their skivvies, the above image will take you to all the action. It’s your funeral.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted some still images from our Dark Lotus collaborator‘s latest music video in my entry, The Art of Reza Dolatabadi. Today I’m pleased to share the video with you in all of its glory after the jump!
In Reza’s short film, Khoda, every single frame was a painting. While Burn and Rise is a live-action film, I think that you’ll agree after watching it that every frame is no less a work of art. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
For more information on Reza Dolatabadi, and the artist, Panic Girl, please visit RezaArt.com and panic-girl.com.
According to Stereogum, nineteen million viewers tuned in to catch the Grammys last year. By comparison, about fifty-eight million people watched Thriller dominate in ‘84. Why is that? I‘m sure many people will blame technology. After all, in 1984, there were no DVRS, and the internet certainly didn’t exist as we know it today. While I don’t personally own a Tivo or comparable video recorder, I am definitely guilty of watching most of my favorite television shows and movies on streaming websites like Hulu, so it comes as no surprise that TV viewership is eroding. But, with that said, I always felt like that Grammys were to music what the Superbowl is to sports. And, despite todays viewership trends, in six days, six hours and 30 minutes (at the time of this writing), I think there will be a handful more than 19 million sports fans gathered around their TVs.
So why did the Grammys resort to trying to entice audiences with cheap 3-D glasses this year? Here’s what Trent Reznor had to say:
What are your thoughts? Did you enjoy last night’s performances? I have to say, I thought Elton John’s team up with lady Ga Ga was pretty sweet! In case you didn’t catch it, I’ve posted it below for your viewing pleasure. That is, until the old guard pulls it off Youtube
Hope this finds you feeling healthy!
-Mason
P.S. If you still have those 3-D glasses kicking around from the Grammys, you can get more mileage out of them by checking out the trailer for Attack of the 50ft Robot! which I included in my post, Travis Scores Video Game.
Recently I discovered a site called The Playlist and it has quickly become one of my favorite places to read about what’s going on in the film world. The Playlist bills itself as “A place ostensibly dedicated to that sweet spot where movies and music meet but a place to discuss whatever the f we want”, so you can see why I dig it. A quick search for the word music on their main page yields 46 hits. A query for movies nets 24. Isn’t it refreshing to see weight given to the composers and recording artists who breathe life into film?
Maybe I’m biased, but often I feel like it’s easy to overlook a score when watching a movie. Especially these days with our box offices being invaded by blue creatures from a galaxy far far away. Today’s films are extremely bombastic and there is so much eye candy that it’s easy for our thalamus to screw off our temporal lobe in favor of our friskier occipital. Also, maybe it’s just me, but it always seems like the best scores really go unnoticed because they mesh so well with a film. Perhaps, for that reason, I feel like notice a score more if the music doesn’t seem to work in concert with a scene. Que sera? At least it’s really nice to see a site like The Playlist helping to give some credit where it’s due. The only thing the writers there are missing is a spotlight for set builders. Those guys always get shafted.
If you have a moment, I’d highly recommend checking out what The Playlist is doing. Here are a couple of their recent articles I’ve really enjoyed. Happy clicking!
On an Avatar-related note, I couldn’t help but share this piece by Scott Wampler of the Dallas Comedy Examiner with you. I’m just going to leave the video bit of it here…
The awesome folks at Stark Online just shared a track Lissie debuted on yourstru.ly and I couldn’t help but pass it along to you. It’s always great to see an artist as talented as Lissie in her element. Since WordPress won’t let me embed Vimeo clips, I can’t post the song below but you can check it out by visiting yours truly, where you’ll find a letter that Lissie handwrote to her loved ones (a brand new Yours Truly tradition), or by surfing to Stark, where you’ll find a comment I left in reaction to the song. You could also click on the screen cap I’ve included below to go directly to Vimeo. Your choice; but I hope you’ll choose to check out what Stark and Yours Truly are doing
Today Apple finally unveiled their oft-rumored tablet and, as I’m sure many of you have seen already, it’s a big iPhone… which is exactly why I want one. The iPad (as it’s called) boasts an incredibly sensitive multi-touch-enabled screen and I could see an iPad-specific version of an app like Noise.io‘s Pro Synth allowing us to add some seriously cool new elements to our live show.
The guitarist in this picture is now officially the coolest kid in school.
This is a place to celebrate prattle. We hope that you will chime in with your thoughts, opinions, and beliefs. Pontificate as much as you please. This space is yours as much as it is ours and we look forward to your comments!
I recently began using Google Voice and I’m hooked. Google has done a great job of making voicemails more manageable, and I’m extremely grateful for that. Feel free to read about my favorite features below (if you’re into tech stuff like me) or scroll on down to the bottom of this post to get to the meat and potatoes.
1. Personalized Greetings: Google Voice allows you to create a personalized message for a specific person or group of contacts. This is really handy because it allows you to record a professional greeting for your business contacts and a casual one for friends and family. You could also use this to screw with people; but that wouldn’t be nice.
2. E-mail Notification: Thanks to Google Voice, you can receive an e-mail notification whenever someone leaves you a voicemail. The cool thing about this is that every e-mail Google Voice sends you includes an MP3 of the caller’s message. Now you can really embarrass your friends if they drunk dial you!
3. Voicemail Transcription: This is by far the coolest feature. Every time someone leaves a message Google Voice can analyze it and can send you a transcript. How cool is that? The only hitch is the transcripts aren’t particularly accurate. But who cares? They’re entertaining! And isn’t that what really counts?
To leave me a message, just visit the contact page on our official website, a’tris HQ, click the speech bubble next to my mug, and then enter your name and phone number into the window that appears. When you click connect, Google will automatically call your phone and direct you to my voice box. That’s all there is to it.
What do you think of my idea? I hope to see your thoughts in the comment section or hear them via Google Voice 
