Led by manager Bob Melvin, a number of Arizona Diamondbacks sign autographs before the game. Included are Tony Clark, Chad Tracy, Kevin Jarvis and coach Lee Tinsley.
It was a long-anticipated videoblogging event: The Duck Derby at Kiwanis Park in Tempe. And sure it was hot (101) and the race was slow (40 minutes), but the cause (Make A Wish) is a great one, and we had 15 rubber duckies in the race. The winner (which we weren’t) received a new Chevy and even the runner-ups prizes (which we also didn’t win) were good, ranging from airline tickets to an overnight at Casino Arizona. Big kudos to Mark Lewis, a local TV personality who was the emcee and kept everyone entertained in the blazing sun with some funny banter.
After living in Arizona for a number of years, we felt it was our duty to see if the expression “It’s hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk” was true.
A video of baseball Hall of Famer, Willie Mays
Back when I was a kid, there was one blimp--The Goodyear Blimp. You would see it at all sorts of sporting events and other major gatherings. Today, blimps are more commonplace as billboards that hover over the sky delivering a message. Here’s a blimp, with no commercial marketing, that drifting across the sky in San Diego this past weekend.
Here's a "legal busker" at the Leicester Square Tube stop. Being legal means she can legally collect money.
At the Arizona Diamondbacks Fan Fest, 10 singers competed for the chance to sing the national anthem before a Diamondbacks home game. The first nine were women; the last one is the PA announcer at Chase Field.
Who knew what a great food court was available at the Seattle Airport?
Here’s a clip from The Police concert at US Airways Arena. With respect to the band, no segment is longer than 30 seconds to give those on the fence about seeing them during the remaining part of their tour a preview of what awaits them. The show was excellent. By the way, I did not sneak in a video camera. This was shot with my Nokia N93-I mobile phone.
Cuba-Japan game time is two hours away. Here’s a clip of Cuban pitcher Adiel Palma as he signs autographs before last Saturday’s game before the Dominican Republic. In the background, some yutz is yelling “Viva Che.”
The calendar said March, so it’s time for another season on baseball. Our first Cactus League game took us to Phoenix Muni to see the Oakland A’s host the Milwaukee Brewers. Both teams started some of their regulars, but the game quickly turned into a showcase for the group of players hoping to make the final, 40-man roster. These clearly are teams going in opposite directions: the A’s are totally rebuilding while the Brew Crew are hoping to win the National League Central. Featured in this video are a handful of players including Ryan Braun, Matt Parra (Brewers pitching hopeful), Carlos Gonzalez (who came from the D-backs in the trade for Dan Haren), personal favorite Huston Street and former (emphasis on former) great closer Eric Gagne. To say Gagne looked awful is an understatement. Jack Cust, a one-dimensional slugger on the A’s hit two homers. Interesting in light of the fact he was mentioned in the steroids report.
Who would have imagined that Mark Grace (even in bobblehead form) would take the time to stop by and answer a few questions? Sadly, he limited his responses to yes and no.
The Diamondbacks didn’t pick a particularly good year to make the NLCS. (Not that I am complaining). The area in and around Chase Field (nee Bank One Ballpark) is torn up to make way for a rather useless light rail system that will serve a very small portion of The Valley’s growing population. Well, a story for another day. Because the powers that be at MLB and WTBS decided to have the game at 7 p.m. local time on a Friday (instead of 1 p.m. as originally scheduled), getting to the stadium was a logistical nightmare for most folks. Given few, if any people, live within walking distance of Chase Field (unless you are staying at the Hyatt or work at the Arizona Republic), it’s a drive and park gambit. In order to avoid Friday afternoon rush hour traffic and the construction mess near Chase Field, we left our house at 4:30, almost three hours before the National Anthem.
A wonderful farmers market in one of San Diego's up and coming neighborhoods.
Fall in Scottsdale means the beginning of a series of events, fairs, expos, etc.. We went over to the Green Building Expo by the Scottsdale Civic Center with a few goals: get some info on energy/fuel efficient cars, find a garden service that uses organic products and come up with a contractor to help us with an addition to our house that can be done using recycled building materials.
My favorite four-legged athletes dive off a ramp into a large pool of water.
Another World Baseball Classic shocker: Cuba defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1. With all the millionaires dotting the Dominican team—Tejada, Beltre, Pujols, etc..—they didn’t have the heart and spirit to beat a young Cuban team. Cuba out-pitched, out-fielded and out hustled the Dominicans in pulling off yet another major upset. Cuba—with a cheering throng behind it, plays the winner of tonight's Japan-Korea contest.
In addition to having a humongous assortment of free beverages, snacks and munchies, one of the side perks of working at one of the world’s biggest media tech companies is free, on-site haircuts. Check out the mobile haircut wagon.
I admit I was skeptical about making a “Muvee.” I recently spoken to the CEO of the company as well as some others who are creating editing tools to allow consumers to take pictures and video clips and create something snazzy. I scoffed at the idea, but after using it, I have to admit it’s fun and allows some level of art without much pain. The Muvee below is just some loosely assembled pictures from last week’s World Baseball Classic. It also allows you to import video (not MPEG4, however). I was surprised that Muvee let me output to .mov which is perfect for uploading to a social video site or for allowing easy downloads by others. My one issue with the software is that it did not allow me to import mp3 files; I had to convert the music from mp3 to .wma.
One of the highlights of my career was being instrumental in the founding/launching of The Gate. I joined The Chronicle in 1993 in the evolving new media group and was assigned the task of building out an online presence. Long story short, we became the first daily newspaper on the Web in 1994. I have quite a few insider stories (most of which I cannot share). I guess I can say I was there when it all started.
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