Amanda UnBoomed

AmandaAcrossAmerica launches on Tuesday. The party last night in NYC was off the chain. We planned it in 48 hours--maybe even less-- and it was a huge success. Thanks so much to paltalk.com for sponsoring the event and blip.tv for hosting the party, and the trip. :) It was super amazing to see everyone... Heather Green, Kevin Chapados, Kenyatta Cheese... I hadn't seen you guys in a while...so awesome to chat... and then THE BIGGEST SURPRISE.... Casey & Rudy and Steve & Carol came all the way down from Montreal and Boston!! I was so shocked!! Thanks also to Joe Cascio for traveling from southeastern CT....you took some great pics, so did Steve Garfield! Check out the ovlov photostream as well.... and the flashmeeting. Thanks to Markus Sandy for setting that up! Dina Kaplan caught part of my announcement, thanks Dina! Here's Steve's take: click on the video below here is the .wmv See you Tuesday on video.

hit it dad... WARNING: do not watch on full stomach... some of the "camera work" is very shaky. wmv flash

We went to see Steely Dan and Michael McDonald. ...the bikes ...the stage ... the vids Mike McDonald opened up for Steely. He is so magically smooth. And Steely rocked the house. As you can see, Mike played with Steely, just like the old days.

I've always liked the little rascals. I love the pseudo-British accent of Buns and the Paris Hilton squeak of Chou Chou. Anyway, when I met the very sweet and charming Daniel McVicar at BlogHer, I just knew that I needed to see what the rabbits thought. So I sent in a request to see their mctake on the McVlog. I recently received this link from them with a short message: "Heya Kid. Your wish is our command." Check it out! Arianna and Lisa make appearances. Watch this week's K-FED episode here. Best ep yet!! K-Fed profiled like never before! Believe me, you wanna see this one. P.S.: I'm still figuring out how to do a screenshot on this mac thingy... or I'd give you a nice image of buns and chou chou.P.P.S.: (I got the link, Steve, thanks!) LATER: The rabbits sent over this cute image!

Sorry to be a little MIA these last few days... a lot of stuff is going on. Jeesh, I'm sick of saying that. Can't wait until I can spread the word! Until then... I really enjoyed reading this article by Howard Kurtz ...then I thought... Howard Kurtz... how do I know that name.... ah, yes, we met in June, Howard. Anyway, onto the article. I've meditated on it for a few days... actually I don't meditate but I have let it stew. First off, before I begin, let me just say that I am not a Couric fan. Although this is pretty funny: I still prefer Diane. Classy, smart, and warm (oh, and added bonus points for her normal looking mouth, sorry Katie). I do, however, admire how Katie is going about this monster transition. I for one can't wait for September 5th. Below I've documented my reactions to the article. Some responses are thoughtful... and others are downright superficial. :) Up Close And Too Personal Katie Couric, Center of Attention, Says She Just Wants to Do Her Job By Howard KurtzWashington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 15, 2006; Page C01 NEW YORK, Aug. 14She is already the most heavily scrutinized, psychoanalyzed and gossiped-about anchor in network history, and she hasn't yet uttered a single "good evening" on a CBS newscast. Of course, she's a powerful woman ("woman" being the operative word) making a big move. Katie Couric's wardrobe has been analyzed by the Wall Street Journal, her makeup assailed in USA Today, her dating life examined by Parade magazine, her fitness for nightly news duty debated by columnists, cable combatants, bloggers and bloviators. Ummm, yeah? Of course. She's a lady. "Bloviators", eh? I had to look that one up. "I'm really focused on work and trying to tune the other stuff out, because it could potentially drive you absolutely out of your mind," Couric says in a conference room down the hall from the new set being constructed for her Sept. 5 debut. You go girl! Good luck with that. When she takes the helm of the "CBS Evening News," Couric's challenge to NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's Charlie Gibson will mark the first such three-way showdown since Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings initially went at it in the early 1980s. But the media landscape has shifted dramatically since then, leaving this trio fighting for a shrinking slice of the audience and increasingly taking their battle online. I find Brian Williams neither endearing nor sincere. Yes, they will all need to battle online as well as on TV to remain competitive. Somehow I think Katie would do very well with a video blog. She's very connected with her peeps. Who wins in this showdown. I do. We do. We get better news. News that is FORCED to reinvent itself and move the medium of television forward. News that has no choice but to fully integrate itself with a new medium altogether, the internet. Because Couric is both the first woman to serve as a solo nightly news anchor and a big-time celebrity, some are casting her debut as the biggest event of the fall television season. After 15 years as a popular morning personality at NBC, she is armed with some new ideas -- including a regular soapbox segment for advocates and activists-- to jazz up an evening news format that sometimes seems set in concrete.I think it's cool that Katie is adding a segment for advocates. Of course she decides who's worthy enough ... and that's a whole 'nother can of worms... but it's still a step into the right direction. After conducting town meetings in a half-dozen cities last month, Couric concluded that "people are hungry" for more positive stories. She is, for example, working on a piece about an Alexandria foundation that teaches juvenile delinquents how to build boats and helps them get high school equivalency degrees.Of course television news is, for the most part, currently fear driven. It will be interesting to see how and IF Katie can change that. It's hard for me to see how she can do it, but I am hopeful. I just pray it doesn't get too corny and feel-good. It's really a fine line. "Sometimes when you watch the evening news, it's all gloom and doom -- and some of it has to be, because the world is a complicated and pretty scary place right now," says Couric, 49. "But there has to be a place for more hopeful stories."Yes! But, she adds, "it's not going to be smiley-face happy news."We'll see. I hope not. Although some smiling is appreciated. :) What viewers want is a constant topic of discussion among the staffs of the evening newscasts, which still reach a combined 25 million viewers but have seen their share of the total audience gradually decline for nearly three decades. Whether Couric can revive interest in the genre is the focus of considerable debate.Well Katie did an amazing thing even if it doesn't work or doesn't fully represent what the viewers want. She ASKED. She got her little butt out there and asked them! Requesting viewer input by slapping an email address on your site is kinda half-assed. This is the standard network way of doing things. Who reads those emails anyway? Has anyone ever gotten a response?? Katie put in the time to get to know people. Williams, who has occupied first place since succeeding Brokaw at "NBC Nightly News" 21 months ago, calls her a "great communicator" who "brings to the job an already established personal relationship with millions of viewers. She will be formidable competition, no ifs, ands or buts. . . . Like any product launch in the marketing world, an introduction is going to get sampling. I think that dies down rather quickly." Touché. But not if she's good. Then you may find a portion of your audience is gone permanently... and my guess? Katie will find some new fans that don't currently even watch network news-- or at least not regularly. But Williams, 47, sees no need to tinker with his newscast, saying: "We're the established industry leader." Yes. And your numbers are still shrinking along with everyone else in TV news. But your videoblog is pretty cool. Still a little too "internet TV" for me (so very NBC-ish). Gibson, 63, who took over second-place "World News" in June after Bob Woodruff was sidelined by injuries suffered in Iraq and ABC reassigned co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas, has said the showdown should be focused on news, not personalities.I wonder why ever he would think that...hmmm... ;) "I believe competition is good for all of us," says Jon Banner, executive producer of "World News," who calls Couric and Williams tough rivals. "It brings more attention to the evening news, which lots of people determined some time ago was going to go away. Charlie's move to the evening and Katie's move to the evening give the lie to that. The only challenge we've had is to make sure they know he's on in the evening now." No one with half a brain really thinks the evening news is going to "go away". That's just a way to spin things to make headlines. You must know that-- you're in this business! You aren't going nowhere, buddy... you're just in a position where you've got to make some changes. Apparently, you know that since you've brought on Katie. TV and the internet will become fully integrated, your numbers will level out to something that accurately represents the public's interest (now that they have other options with the internet) and, in the end, the only thing that will matter will be the content. Public fascination with the anchors has reached the point that Gallup recently polled about them, as if they were presidential candidates. Couric led the trio with a 60 percent approval rating but, with 23 percent disapproving, had the highest negatives as well. Gibson got positive marks from 55 percent of those surveyed and thumbs down from 8 percent, while 47 percent approved of Williams and 7 percent disapproved.Why the high disapproval rating, Katie? Could it again be because you are smart, attractive WOMAN (oh! the horror!). No one disapproves of the others because they are just so damn bland! There is nothing to like or dislike. Or is it just that society finds women easier to hate than men? Hmmm. CBS has done its part to stoke the interest in Couric as she takes the reins from Bob Schieffer, who will return to his Washington job after having boosted the "Evening News" ratings during his 18 months as Rather's interim replacement. The network has launched a promotional campaign and tapped Academy Award-winning composer James Horner to write new theme music for the broadcast.Oh! That's exciting! I love a catchy news jingle. CBS News President Sean McManus says he sees a media "feeding frenzy" over Couric's new role and is surprised by "this unbelievable thirst for information" about her life. "It's a good thing that everyone is talking about the 'CBS Evening News' right now," he says. "The downside is that people are going to be so quick to jump to conclusions after one broadcast. Some things are going to work and others aren't going to work." It'll be rough around the edges, but I'm sure Katie will help make any awkwardness charming. Give us Americans a little faith. We understand you'll be fine tuning things, that it will be CBS Evening News beta for a little while. One of those elements is the new commentary segment, dubbed "Free Speech," which will give a 90-second platform to outsiders -- some prominent, some not -- and will also include a weekly essay by Schieffer.This sounds cool if it doesn't get too hokey. Again, it will largely depend on who Katie and her producers select. "People are sick of the lack of civil discourse," Couric says, with guests "screaming and interrupting each other and trying to stay on message and berating the other person. They want us to get away from sound bites from inside the Beltway and roll up our sleeves and hear from real people."Yes, I would concur. It's cute when Jon Stewart disagrees with someone (he does comedy, c'mon) but it's less than charming when the American public is subjected to the likes of Tucker Carlson-- who is supposed to be a newsman, am I wrong?-- getting his smug on. He needs to bring back the bowties-- his only attraction. And I don't always even disagree with him. He has the rare talent of being able to piss me off even when I agree. On immigration, Couric says, CBS might interview a restaurant owner about illegal immigrants or a recent emigre from Guatemala. "Sometimes in recent years there's been such an effort to bend over backwards to placate both sides of the political aisle, and that on-the-one-hand-this, on-the-other-hand-that approach has left people a little bit cold," she says. "Sometimes they want more analysis and fact-finding and critical thinking."YES! YES! YES! DO IT LADY. Anything to save us from the "on the one hand this, on the other hand that" syndrome all your collegues seem to have... once you do the research take the next step! Make an assessment! I want you to figure it out and tell me what the deal is. Then I will choose to think you are right or not... but at least I will think you are a human being and not some kind of droid. On the other hand . . . one planned segment will also feature author Nora Ephron expounding on plastic surgery, a subject of her new book. "They're not all going to be super-heavy," Couric says.Oh, God no. The one thing America doesn't need is any more shows about plastic surgery. Seriously, the shows out there really seem to cover all the bases and in many cases overlap. Executive Producer Rome Hartman describes the changes as evolutionary. "People watching the first night will know it's a different broadcast, but it's not going to be outside the tradition or form of the 'CBS Evening News,' " he says. "It's not going to be one of these radical remakes."Really? It sounds pretty freaking radical. And to be honest, that is JUST what we need. SOMEONE to just be radical. CBS executives are trying to tamp down expectations of a dramatic boost for their last-place newscast. "The ratings movement might be slow and very gradual," McManus says. "Moving the needle takes a long time, I don't care who your anchor is."Cover your bases! Cover your bases! Just in case it's a flop. ;) Nah, that's true. An anchor needs to become part of someone's routine, and changing routines doesn't happen overnight. This will be an especially slow transition for those who don't typically watch television news at all. These new-to-the-news types (think: young people) and those who have decided to give network news another chance (think: people of all ages who usually get their news elsewhere) will need figure out how to integrate Katie into their schedules-- if they like her.Despite her years of experience interviewing presidents and world leaders on the "Today" show, Couric has faced skepticism rooted in her singing, dancing, cooking and other morning high jinks -- even though press reports about Gibson rarely mention the lighter shtick he did during 19 years on "Good Morning America."The lady thing again, naturally. Men can be multifaceted, women... not so much. Society wants us to be one thing, or another or they cannot process the information. It's not personal. "She's America's cutie pie," says Robert Lichter of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. "She's bringing star power to a job that has been a black hole in terms of losing viewers. She's a devil to people who think TV news is losing its soul, and an angel to people who think TV news needs shaking up."Yes, she will perform CPR on television news, and, one way or another, will certainly shake things up. Couric's presence will be felt beyond the anchor desk that, as press reports frequently note, was once occupied by Walter Cronkite. She is already working on two pieces for "60 Minutes," one of which is related to Sept. 11. She will host a prime-time documentary on the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks the night after her debut. She plans to appear daily on CBS Radio and blog at least once a week for the network's Web site, fielding questions "if people have a beef with us. It just adds to the transparency we're trying to promote. We just want to let viewers in a little bit on the process of how a newscast is put together and what decisions we make."A blog is good. More frequency would of course be better... but my hope is that with some encouragement, she'll ease into it. Of course, I want video. I think if Katie can master the videoblog she could change everything. Bring an entirely different dimension and depth to formal news reporting. That's not to say there isn't a time and place for a buttoned up newscast... but it would be nice to see a different side of her online. And! my guess is that it would help her newscasting too... it would train her to relate to the camera (and thus her viewers) in a whole new way. In that regard, CBS is a step behind NBC, where Williams has been writing a daily blog since last year, and ABC, where Gibson anchors a 15-minute afternoon webcast that was downloaded nearly 8 million times in June. CBS recently cut a deal with the online site WebMD to contribute to medical segments.Yeah, CBS really needs to kick it up a notch. My guess is that they need to focus on Katie now and further online integration efforts will come next. With the average age of evening news watchers about 60, and the total number of viewers having dropped by half since 1980, network executives see the Internet as a new forum for reaching younger people accustomed to watching news and video online.Uh, yeah. "It's easy for people our age to dismiss a generation with a broad brush," Couric says. But, she adds, it would be nice if more younger viewers knew "as much about the state of the country as they know about the state of Britney Spears's marriage."Ok, this I find insulting. Now I've read the surveys which say that young people are totally uninformed about the world around them... and I sure as hell know ALL about the state of Britney and K-Fed's marriage... what godloving ;) American citizen doesn't? But this unforunate statement by Katie ignores all the young (and old) people who just choose to get their news elsewhere. People don't NEED to watch TV to get news, clearly. And she is not going to win us over by acting like we're all like dumbasses. Come to us with a compelling program and speak to us like we're smart and informed. If you relate to people like they're smart and informed, they'll either love you because you aren't talking down to them or will be encouraged by you to *become* smart-- or at least informed-- because you've set the bar high. Couric's life may not draw as much attention as Spears's marriage, but it is surely dissected more fervently than those of most journalists. That is in part because of her celebrity status and in part because she often shared personal experiences with the "Today" audience -- particularly after the 1998 death of her husband, Jay Monahan, turned Couric into a crusader and fundraiser for cancer-related causes. With a salary of $15 million a year, she moves easily among Manhattan's jet set.I've said it before and I'll say it again. This woman needs a videoblog. Couric, who has two teenage daughters, sparked a debate after saying in May that as a single mother she might not be willing to travel with U.S. forces in Iraq. The entertainment show "Access Hollywood" later recycled the quote, erroneously, as applying to whether Couric would have gone to Israel to cover its war with Hezbollah. She says such matters would have to be decided on a case-by-case basis, but she is not apologetic about hesitating to parachute into any war zone."I'm not saying I'm going to be totally blowing off my family," says Couric. "That's a very important role in my life, that I'm a mother."Asked why her comments generated so much attention, she says: "Probably there's still a lot of consternation in this country about people trying to balance work and family. . . . It's a sticky wicket. People applauded the fact that I was going to put my [foot] down at some point and say no.I think it's terrific that she said no. She isn't just going to go for all the publicity. "If it's going to advance the story -- if I get an interview with an important figure in said hot spot -- obviously I want to go. Do I want to go just to put on a flak jacket and front a news show? Not necessarily. Viewers are smart. They understand when someone really needs to be there and when it's more of a show."Again, good for Katie for not going just to go... for refusing to play the part. I think it is actually bad form and in poor taste for reporters to jet off to wherever the trouble is carte blanche and slap on some khaki. It very often minimizes the very real danger of the situation. When it's just for show, it shows. Katie's right. Couric, who left "Today" at the end of May, sounds a bit impatient to get on with it, telling reporters on a conference call Monday: "It's been an out-of-body experience to watch these major news events unfold in my pajamas." Haha. Sounds like my life. But in the interview in the first-floor conference room, she cautions against the idea of a personal transformation. "I don't want to lose who I am, in terms of how I communicate with people," she says. "I'm not going to become a different person. The downside of all the attention is to suggest I'm going to single-handedly save anything. I'm just going to try to be a contributor with a great group of people who are already in place." And so I root for Katie and her efforts to "advance the story". Maybe she will answer the question of What Will Happen to Network News. Or maybe not... but she will, undoubtedly, and, yes, *single-handedly* (because ultimately it was her decision and her decision alone to take this challenge) change the landscape of media forever. I'll read her blog and will certainly be tuning in on September 5th. Good night, Katie, and good luck. Oh gosh, what a cheeseball! I couldn't resist.

Today is my friend Jeremy's birthday. We were born exactly one week apart. Jeremy and I have known each other since freshman year of high school and I remember the days when he was a dork. Now he is like some sexy indy rocker tooling around the Manhattan underground indie rock scene with his band, Murder Mystery. His sister Laura is the band's extremely talented drummer. And sorry but who's gunna tell me that girl drummer doesn't = hot. Jer's friend Adam is on bass. From left to right: Jeremy, Laura, Adam. Check out their music here. Check out more photos here.

Here's a little video Mario and I made for Zadi and Steve... I tried to do my best "voiceover" voice... hehe. The icky power lines kinda suck though, ah well. If you look hard, you can see Andrew Congdon's foot which made a cameo. You guys have such a bright future ahead! wmv version is here.

experiments + comedy + love + videoblog = ov lov credits: mario librandi, ze frank, james congdon, sandra congdon, andrew congdon, and me. music: moonspider - dark star psystamp - dreams nonstop ehma - l'arrivée Please do not upload my videos to YouTube or any other video hosting site. Thanks.

My oldest friend got married about a week ago: Isn't she beautiful? They both are... on the inside and out. I was one of her bridesmaids. She is Baha'i and in their religion the bride and groom marry each other-- no middleman. Just when you thought you were safe, new media has infiltrated the wedding process... well, no, not really... the Baha'i faith is a couple hundred years old... but, I like to think of it that way. It was a very intense ceremony to watch, and certainly the most moving wedding that I've ever been to by far. Then there was the reception later on...Oh my lord. This video is incriminating. It's of me dancing with my dad, white person style. I thought I'd put it out there before it somehow gets leaked. ;) WARNING: white people on the internet are closer than they appear on television... ipod version

My best friend just started a new show. It's unbelievable. Make sure to watch till the end. It just gets better and better...

CNET The AP (covered in The Washington Post and on CNN.com among many others) BusinessWeek Online New York Times New York Times #2 Time.com Wired.com My appearance on MSNBC's Scarborough Country I am told should air tonight... but you know how the news is... things get moved around. That's the latest word anyway. UPDATE!! .mov version now available thanks to eggzakt. You rock man! Now the suckfest that is IE cannot control our viewing pleasure (or displeasure for that matter) any longer! Hi res version HERE.

large .mov small .mov .mp4 iPod .m4v Thanks to blip.tv for the gracious hosting!

The Amanda Dinner and A Website Kit has proven to be quite a hit! I didn't expect so many great mashups. We showed two on the show today and provided links to tons more. Just goes to show how so many of us are creating, not just consuming these days. Check out my favorite:

This blog is trying to die but I just won't let it. It WILL live on... and will continue to live up to its non-existant reputation. I see Nicole Richie everywhere. She is on every magazine cover, she's all over the press, she haunts my TV in reruns of The Simple Life. But before she was "Nicole Richie" she was "Paris's fat friend" or "the daughter of that singer from the 80s". Now she's everywhere!! And although many people would say "oh she's famous for nothing"... I disagree. She's really funny. And pretty and all that. But why NOW... WAYYYYYYYYYYY after her big breakout on The Simple Life when, to be quite honest, she appears to be doing NOTHING is she so BIG? Good publicist? Yes. She's got that. But I chalk up her recent rise to super stardom TooOOOoooOOOooOOoO...... her anorexia. Downgrade. She is popular because she is skinny. SICKLY skinny. She was always pretty and she was always funny. BUT NOW SHE'S DEATHLY ILL. Time to celebrate and put her on the cover of every major fashion mag. Right next to Lindsay Lohan. Now this is a worn out question... but I have yet to receive a sufficient answer. How can America's young women learn to respect their bodies if they are constantly being bombarded with images of the ill masquarading as healthy, vibrant women? It's insanity!!! I see no end in sight and no solutions. I find it twisted and perverse that fashion magazines have cover stories like "53 Reasons Why Your Body is Perfect" when really, their choice to display Nicole on the cover communicates just the opposite. Talk about mixed signals. Thin may always be "in".... but how can we help make sickly OUT? Yep, I'm mad about it. I understand the importance of keeping a nice figure when you are in the public eye. And I am all for keeping thin and fit. But unhealthy woman should not be lauded for their unhealthiness. It's just sick. Ok, so this has just about become the most random blog ever. I leave for three months and then come back bitching about Nicole Richie of all people.... Check this link for some more Nicole Richie fun.

Hola!! Today Andrew and I are in Mexico City meeting with Intel and Spanish media mogul, Televisa. We recorded today's Rocketboom ep as well as tomorrow's early so we could come down. This is my first time in this city, and I must say it really is so much fun. I had heard some horror stories about it before coming... but the city is really beautiful and the people are lovely. Televisa is so forward thinking... it's amazing... they really "get it". Together with Intel they are launching a videoblogging contest for the entire Spanish-speaking world in order to encourage more people to vlog! Yay!! That's one of the reasons we came down, to help promote this fab contest. The winner receives a top of the line laptop, video camera, and web hosting for an entire year. There are also 2nd and 3rd place prizes. I will post a link to more info about the contest when one becomes available.

Ok, so I know what you are thinking. Amanda, where are the videos!?! Well, turns out, your friend Amanda is a shit editor. But I do love writing, so I’m kinda turning this into a blog. Not saying I won’t post videos ever again, maybe I’ll put up some unedited footage now and again… but I’m not going to force myself to only post videos on this blog, otherwise, I’ll just never update it ;) I am just loving videoblogs more and more these days... which ones you ask? There is one videoblog that I never fail to miss an episode of... it's just that amazing. It's called The Richard Show. It's this vlog about a cute, funny guy named Richard, his lovely wife, Maureen (who he jokingly refers to as "Richard's Wife"), and their life in the Ozarks. Last night it finally dawned on me what it was I like most about their show. They have the ultimate love story! Not the Hollywood love story, but true love. And guess what? True love isn't boring. Their love is much more interesting to me than anything I've ever seen on TV or in the movies. That's the best part. Another videoblog I stumbled across in the last few days is this sweet show called Help My Patients. The idea is that there is this psychiatrist who has totally given up on his patients, because they are utterly helpless. He has videotaped their sessions and posts them so the viewers can suggest how to treat them. It’s fiction, of course. It comes from the same people who make BathTubYoga, which isn't really my taste (although I did appreciate their 4th episode), but this new show is simply brilliant. Hilarious premise, nice execution. I am totally hooked. Maybe my obsession with Dr. Katz makes me somewhat biased, but still. My favorite patient is Gary who comes in to the office every Friday. Yay for quality videoblog shows coming down the pipeline! Lastly, if you haven't heard of TikiBarTV I don't know what kind of rock you've been living under, but check it out. I just LOOOOOOOOOOOVE Dr. Tiki--so funny, especially the eyebrow moves--and Johnny, Johnny’s rapid fire changes in topic and neck snaps (I can’t help but wonder if they speed him up in editing?) can’t be beat. Oh, and his little hat—hot! Lala is just, well, captivating... and not just because she's a babe (which is undeniable) but also because she's just … contagious. I think it's that Cameron Diaz laugh. ;)

I get a lot of awesome emails from Rocketboom fans from around the world. I've decided I shouldn't keep them all to myself, but instead, share them. So, I'm going to start posting any email I receive that really strikes me in some way. First up, a letter from Alexis: Dear Amanda, My name is Alexis. I am six and a half years old. My dad and I love your shows. We watch them everyday. My favorite one is the one when you're dancing on RocketBoom's one year old birthday. I love it because it is funny. This is a picture of me in Disney World with my face and lips painted and a picture of me holding a toy snake. Alexis And here is the picture Alexis sent along of herself:

Wow, a lot of drama going on at the yahoo videoblogging group this weekend. Andrew and Michael Verdi seem to be having a bit of a showdown. If people really knew Andrew, they would know he would never say "I think personal videobloggers are valuable" if he didn't mean it. It's not just something he uses to buffer whatever statement he makes next. He truly believes it. As do I. He likes to critique and discuss and push the envelope and sometimes those discussions turn heated and ugly. That's too bad, because it clouds his true intent. It's not a secret that both Andrew and I happen to prefer shows. That's just our taste. That's why we say we'd love to see more of them. There is a difference between what you consider valuable and valid and what you prefer. We recognize, respect, and watch the vlogs of personal videobloggers. What is sad is that not everyone in this community can give us the same respect in return. Even if you don't like us, which is totally fine, just let us do our thing. I don't get why, for whatever reason, there are people on the yahoo list (a small group of people, but an agressive bunch) that have attacked us from Day 1. We came into the group like any other two people new to vlogging, asking for advice and support and we got downright verbally abused by 3-4 of the list's loudest citizens. My only wish is for us all to be able to exist in harmony. Why is that so hard? There are infinite possibilities for vlogs and aren't we lucky that the internet can house them all? Last May I was quoted in this AP Article as saying: "We wanted to have a creative video blog that would be palatable. A lot of the video blogs out there are by someone in their bedroom, half-awake. Mainstream America is not gonna want to watch that. We wanted to get people watching stuff online, to get people interested in this new medium." I standby this statement. I do not believe that most personal vloggers will ever have a large mainstream (mainstream meaning people who don't blog, podcast, videoblog) audience. Maybe it's possible, one day, and I would hope for that, but I don't see it as likely. This DOES NOT mean I believe everyone wants a large audience. That's clearly not the case. And it does not mean I think that everyone should do what we are doing with Rocketboom. Below is my original post from the Yahoo Videoblogging list archives regarding the "palatable" quote: I don't expect mainstream america to be interested in Amanda UnBoomed,at least not right now. I'm not convinced that most of America isinterested in that kind of content-- yet. Amanda UnBoomed is myproject that I work on whenever I have time and for my own amusement. Like Josh said, the audiences for Amanda UnBoomed and Rocketboom areobviously very different. You are talking about two very differentthings. UnBoomed is niche (mainly my viewers are other videobloggersand my friends and family), while Rocketboom is more mainstream. I think personal videoblogs are interesting, Ryan, including yours.But I do feel that mainstream (mainstream meaning people who are notinvolved with all these new forms of expression: blogs, podcasts,vlogs) folks have a difficult time wrapping their heads aroundpersonal videoblogs-- at least at this early point in this medium'sexistence. My hope is that this will change. Rocketboom can help to facilitate that change by bridging the gapbetween TV and videoblogs. It's a starting point for a lot of peoplewhen they first try to get into this medium. And it's a format thatthey are familiar with because of TV. My hope with Rocketboom isthat when people new to videoblogging watch it, it will inspire themto watch all types of other videoblogs. I want people other thanbloggers, podcasters, and other videobloggers to watch videoblogs.

Just got home from shooting Monday's episode of Rocketboom... after a long absence, camera 2 is back! Yipee! Anyway, I wanted to post this fun picture Mario took of me and my friends this past Friday before a night out. The Fantastic Four from left to right are: Martha, Sara, Saima, and me.

For me, ConvergeSouth was great because I got to meet so many awesome people in a very relaxed atmosphere. Highlights: meeting Chris Daniel, Dave Slusher, Dave Winer, Ed Cone, and Duncan Black. My session went alright... Sue Polinsky tells me that there was a great response to it... but I wish I had been better prepared for some folks being completely unfamiliar with videoblogs... I just didn't want to do a videoblogging 101 session, but, in retrospect, maybe the medium is too young NOT to do something like that. I think people will be ready for some deeper conversations about video on the web in a year or so from now. I was lucky to have Kevin Howarth in my session, who took some great notes. I have posted the powerpoint slides that accompanied my presentation here.

Like shaky camera hands? Little blond girls with cats? Russia? Then do I have the video for you! I went to Russia with my brother, Andrew (the guy with the white t-shirt and black backpack-- the first human appearing in the video), in August. Here's some of what we saw. I think Andrew might be starting a videoblog of his own, which I am naturally psyched about... get to it Andrew! The music is a bit off tempo, but I kinda like it... On a side note, who saw the Season finale of Curb? OMIGOD, right ;) ? Please, please tell me you watch Curb. When Sasha Baron Cohen appeared, I was like, ok-- that does it, icing on the cake. Links: music by Robert Lazaneo painting by Henri Edmond Cross the hermitage resurrection cathedral summer palace of catherine the great holy trinity monastery

Like shaky camera hands? Little blond girls with cats? Russia? Then do I have the video for you! I went to Russia with my brother, Andrew (the guy with the white t-shirt and black backpack-- the first human appearing in the video), in August. Here's some of what we saw. I think Andrew might be starting a videoblog of his own, which I am naturally psyched about... get to it Andrew! The music is a bit off tempo, but I kinda like it... On a side note, who saw the Season finale of Curb? OMIGOD, right ;) ? Please, please tell me you watch Curb. When Sasha Baron Cohen appeared, I was like, ok-- that does it, icing on the cake. Links: music by Robert Lazaneo painting by Henri Edmond Cross the hermitage resurrection cathedral summer palace of catherine the great holy trinity monastery

So... two months later, I'm finally getting around to posting this... I'm very proud of Mario for graduating from a grueling 5 year program at Pratt Institute, one of the top Architecture schools in the country. Featuring: Sara (my best friend who lives in Vegas), Andrew (my brother), Jim (my dad), and of course Mario!! Oh, and his fam is in there too for a split sec. If your wondering about that Sprint conclusion vid I promised, sorry, I'm never going to make it... just way too OVER the whole thing. The important facts are these: I got my money back and the bad guy got caught. Don't know how Sprint will proceed now that they've found him... it's out of my hands... Anyway, enough yucky stuff! Go watch Mario graduate and Sara do her famous fake singing.

Check out the video to get an overview. For specifics click this link . Didn???t want to post every last detail here and clutter things up. WARNING: This video is a total rant. Cue the violins (music: Beethoven, Romance for Violin):

My agent asked me to create a 3-5 minute audition tape for a Car Show pilot. I'm thinking, "Car Show? I don't know anything about cars?!? And I am NOT a 'car show' type girl." So here is my audition. Might be a little different than what he expected... Music by: The Allman Brothers, "Rambling Man"

Hi everybody, this is Mario, Amanda's boyfriend, you might remember me from such episodes as: "Mattie and My Vlog", "Century 21 Fun" or "My Boys". Well, Amanda thought I should make a video, and I agreed. So, here it is. Enjoy.

I watched Jordan's video on his dad's site earlier this afternoon. It really affected me, so I thought I'd go for a run. I came back and was still thinking about it... here's the vid I made for you Jordan.

Just a mellow evening with my boys...

So... two months later, I'm finally getting around to posting this... Featuring: Sara (my best friend who lives in Vegas), Andrew (my brother), Jim (my dad), and of course Mario!! Oh, and his fam is in there too for a split sec. If your wondering about that Sprint conclusion vid I promised, sorry, I'm never going to make it... just way too OVER the whole thing. The important facts are these: I got my money back and the bad guy got caught. Don't know how Sprint will proceed now that they've found him... it's out of my hands... Anyway, enough yucky stuff! Go watch Mario graduate and Sara do her famous fake singing.

Check out the video to get an overview. For specifics click this link . Didn’t want post every last detail here and clutter things up. WARNING: This video is a total rant. Cue the violins: