Life With Pho

Pho On The Net: 5-6-12

Patrick — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:00:19 +0000

This weekend I’m back home for Kim’s graduation at UConn and Ryan’s Bachelor party. There’s going to be a lot going on this month between The OBX and The Quarterlife Crisis series- so I thought I’d take a moment today to catch you up on everything else that’s been going on before that all unfolds.

April was a big month for theatre. Besides checking out Monologue Competitions and Improv musicals, I also reviewed a low budget version of Spider Man: Turn Off The Dark and God of Carnage, a play that was recently adapted into a film.

The big theatre story though was the Helen Hayes Awards, ya it’s not White House Correspondents Dinner but the Helen Hayes are my prom. Once again I wrote it up diary style.

The Wizards season comes to an end which means I can concentrate on other things until I get caught up in the NBA again this fall. I also published some Q&A from my fellow Wizards bloggers .

Also did you hear what happened to those guys over at Texts From Hillary?

That’s all for now- til next time I’ll leave you with this little gem/embarrassing moment in my life.

Time To Get Awesome: The OBX Season 5 Trailer

Patrick — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:56 +0000

While a lot of you are happy that’s It’s Gonna Be May, I’m excited that we are now 20 days from my annual trip to The Outer Banks (aka The OBX).

I can’t believe it’s now the sixth year of the trip, can’t even believe I’ve been making videos about it for five. Here’s the teaser for the latest batch of videos, which I did in the style of the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy trailer.

Do You Have A Quarter Life Crisis Story? I Want To Hear It!

Patrick — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:00:18 +0000

Even at the ripe old age of 28 I’m beginning to feel the Quarter Crisis creep up on me more and more as I get closer to another decade of life. I’m really excited though to host the 3rd Annual Quarterlife Crisis Series here on my blog. Once again I’m looking for stories of what the QLC means to you and how you dealt with it or currently dealing with it.

If you are interested in contributing your story feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to share with you some more information.

The Future of Information Is Still Visualization

Patrick — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:00:50 +0000

Infograhpics used to be cool. It used to be awesome to view stats on a topic laid out in various pie, bar, and line graphs. However it quickly got old and overplayed like the first season of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?

However this is a reason we enjoy infographics: it displays information in way that’s easier to understand and read in context. The rise of infographics is also the rise of our need for a better way to understand all the information that’s available out there.

Visualization is still a force will change how we consumer information but it will evolve from simple infographics. The New York Times’ R&D lab has created new tools to visualize how their stories spread in the social space. SmartMoney has a Map of the Market to better understand the day’s trading. While infographics may be a passing news fad, it is a step towards bigger and better ways to digest information.

Welcome To The Curation Age

Patrick — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:00:44 +0000

I wish I could say I read your blog but chances are I don’t- at least not regularly. The photo above is a screenshot of an RSS reader that contains the blogs of all of the people I follow on Twitter and Facebook. As you can see there’s a lot of information out there. Too much for me to comprehend or manage. This is just one example of how inundated we are in today’s age.

It’s not just social media, it’s not just technology. It’s everywhere.

We are bombarded by ads on the TV, over the radio, all over the surfaces we walk, touch, and see every day. When I think of the idea of Information Overload I think of this clip from Minority Report:

Is this the future? No this is how we feel already when we walk down the hallway we call life. We are constantly being stimulated everywhere we go and sometimes we need a break- a retreat from it all.

The idea of social curation stems from the weariness we feel when we seek out information and end up with a mountain of raw data. We want a way to manage, control, and filter what eventually reaches us so it doesn’t consume us whole.

Brian Andreas understands these forces and has taken the idea a step further. Over at Fast Company he makes the claim that social media has become less social as we start to curate content just for our individual needs. I think he’s absolutely right. Sites like Pinterest and apps like Flipboard have made it easier for us to collect and organize content that we want. Sure we share it but are we really helping others by sharing what we like?

Andreas says, “Today’s social platforms are innately self-centered because that is how they have been conditioned to be over time and more often than not people are just blindly pushing out content, not actually sharing what we like, bought, saw, need, want with others.”

However there is room for collaboration and there are places where it is happening. When I did VEDA last summer, I discovered entire channels that are collaborative. The content is created by a group of vloggers who share the channel and the duty of vlogging for it. Other tools like Google Docs has made it easier for others to work together and share information.

Not everything about social media is centered on the self but what has changed is the way we consume information. It has now become easier to just read what you want to read and watch what you want to watch.

The question is how do we get ourselves to read the news we need to know and not just the news we want to know?

Did Gen-Y Grow Up On Royal Jelly?

Patrick — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:00:44 +0000

I recently listened to an ESPN NBA Today podcast where host Henry Abbott and David Thorpe discussed the idea of “Royal Jelly” and basketball players. Royal Jelly is a special substance that worker bees feed to larvae in order to raise Queen Bees. The larvae are also moved into cells larger than the others. Abbott and Thorpe discussed the theory in regards to player coaching- that barring a few exceptions, all basketball players are similar in athleticism and that making one believe that he is truly great will raise his performance.

Upon hearing this I took it a step further. Can’t you say an entire generation was raised on Royal Jelly? That’s what some could say when they look at the Millennial Generation. We are a product of being fed the same Royal Jelly- the dream and conviction that anything is possible.

We can talk about how this idea has lead to the stereotype that Gen-Y is entitled and if this SNL sketch says anything- it’s that perhaps a Royal Jelly upbringing wasn’t the best idea. However I like to think that growing up feeling empowered to do what we want shouldn’t lead to becoming a spoiled brat or overly naive in your abilities- but confident to take risks and figure out ultimately what you are good at and live life to your true potential.

Do you think Gen-Y Grew Up On Royal Jelly? How do you think that will affect how we set out into the world?

No related posts.

Pho On The Net: 3-25-12

Patrick — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:00:50 +0000

Earlier this month I rented a Glidecam to test out for a wedding I’m filming next month. The Glidecam is a camera stabilizer that allows for smooth movement while walking and running. The above video was my first real test of the device and it didn’t come out as I wanted. However after a day of playing around with it I got better results with my second try:

What else have I been up to?

Well I got called out by Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards, when he tried to criticize the Wizards bloggers coverage of a west coast game. The team is still an enigma in the second half of the NBA season, losing a game to Orlando yet winning one against the Lakers. At the trade deadline the Wizards did make a key move in trading away some of the knuckleheads for an all-star caliber center.

Next month will be exciting now that the Helen Hayes Nominees were announced, starting the countdown to Drama Prom 2K12. Already lined up a hot date.

Included among the many shows I reviewed in the past month is a show about people that don’t speak English, a play starring a pig that turns into a human, a stage version of Monty Python and The Holy Grail, and a show about a show featuring a kid who sneaks into a brothel.

Oh ya I also went to the circus. It was pretty cool, even though the opening number is stuck in my head:

Why Traditional Press Is Fighting For Their Life

Patrick — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:00:58 +0000

I had the immense honor of speaking to students at the National Defense University last week. To call these men and women students is a misnomer. The class was made up of veteran military and civilian officers who are studying the changing world of communications and its effects on National Security. When I sat down with the class I was instantly put in my place as the members of the class introduced themselves and their affiliations. I was invited along with a couple of local reporters to discuss the changing landscape of news media and what that meant for the future of newspapers and what we now call “Old Media”.

While I won’t present my entire presentation here, I wanted to leave you guys with a couple of ideas from that presentation. Giving credit where credit is due, a lot of my thinking comes from the work I did with Dan McGinn over the years- he’s forever changed the way I view the world.

Asymmetrical Threats: a term used by the military to describe the changing landscape of war. In World War II countries fought other countries, today countries are fighting small factions that are spread out throughout the world. Who you thought was your enemy before is now totally different. This idea can also be used to describe the changing business landscape. Mike Daisey created controversy when his monologue illustrating the dangerous working conditions at the factories of Apple’s suppliers turned out to be highly exaggerated/fabricated.

New York Times has written many pieces about the story including one titled, “Theater, Disguised as Real Journalism”

Think about that headline for a moment. Art interpreted as Journalism.

If you are a news agency, who are you competing against? Five or ten years ago you might say the folks over at Nightline or the New York Times- not a solo actor who decided to fly to China on his own dime.

Competition is now coming from places you wouldn’t have imagined.

The Changing Face of Success: What defines success in journalism? Is it reporting a story in a fair and balanced way? Is it breaking news before anybody else? Is it telling a tale so compelling it wins a Pulitzer?

In today’s crowded media landscape there is a new measure of success.

This is Gawker Media’s “Big Board” it is a real-time leader board of what posts across all of their sites is getting the most page views. It can be found in all Gawker offices and meeting rooms. For them the measure of success is simple: eyeballs, impressions, clicks. Read some of the headlines on the pages of Lifehacker, Jezebel, and Gizmodo and you shouldn’t be surprised.

We are changing from a world of quality content to a world of magnetic content. What does that mean for journalists writer the un-sexy stories that informed citizens should know?

Cutting Out The Middleman: Twitter has not only let us interact directly with personalities, but it has also empowered them to break their own news directly to the public. Shaq retired via 15 second video clip. Billy Crystal announced he was hosting the Oscars over Twitter. Deion Sanders told people he was getting a divorce through Facebook.

With great power comes great responsibility. You can break news via social media or you can make news via social media.

Personalities and organizations have the power to control and make news, taking editorial control away from the press.

Theses are just some of my ideas on the changing media world- I’d love to hear your thoughts. How do you think news is changing today?

Which Hipster Frames Should I Choose?

Patrick — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 02:50:32 +0000

I am in the mood for a new pair of glasses and I’ve been really digging the styles I’ve seen over at Warby Parker. They have this really cool program where you can have up to five pairs of frames sent to your home for you to try one and check out before you buy- all for free! This past week I’ve been playing around with different pairs around town and I’m almost ready to make a decision but I wanted to get the opinions of all of my Internet friends and family.

Watch my latest vlog and let me know which frames you think I should get. You can voice your opinion in the comments of the YouTube page or in the comments here.

UPDATE: The folks at Warby Parker saw my video and had this to say:

Oscar Watch: My Oscar Picks For The 84th Academy Awards

Patrick — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 07:28:55 +0000

After watching close to 75% of the nominated films, here are my predictions for the Academy Awards this year. Read my post over at We Love DC for more details on my picks.

BEST ACTOR

Will win: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

Might win: George Clooney (The Descendants)

BEST ACTRESS

Will win: Viola Davis (The Help)

Might win: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

Should win: Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Will win: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Will win: Octavia Spencer (The Help)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Will win: The Descendants

Might win: Moneyball

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Will win: Midnight in Paris

Might win: The Artist

Should win: Margin Call

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Will win: Rango

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

Will win: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Might win: Undefeated

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Will win: A Separation

BEST ART DIRECTION

Will win: Hugo

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Will win: Tree of Life

Might win: The Artist

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Will win: The Artist

Might win: Hugo

BEST FILM EDITING

Will win: The Artist

BEST MAKEUP

Will win: The Iron Lady

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Will win: The Artist

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Will win: The Muppets

BEST SOUND EDITING

Will win: Hugo

Might win: War Horse

BEST SOUND MIXING

Will win: Hugo

Might win: War Horse

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Will win: Rise of the Planets of the Apes

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Will win: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Might win: A Morning Stroll

BEST SHORT FILM (DOCUMENTARY)

Will win: Saving Face

Might win: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Will win: Tuba Atlantic

Might win: The Shore

Should win: Pentecost

BEST DIRECTOR

Will win: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

BEST PICTURE

Will win: The Artist