Facebook

I think we should go back to calling it TheFacebook. It sounds a lot more authoritative, bordering on controlling.

Q: What should I do this weekend?

A (in robot voice): TheFacebook has invited you to hug a ginger, talk like a pirate, or carry a towel.

Q: How popular am I really?

A: TheFacebook says you have 18 friends, you loser!

… moving on.

Twitter

I definitely wasn’t signed up to Twitter at this stage.

Gmail

When 1000 megabytes  for email storage was a lot.

I’m hoping to buy a Samsung i8910 HD when it comes out and will certainly make more videos.

Disclaimer: I work as part of the Samsung Blog team (samsungblog.co.za).

Here’s my current list of some of the musicians I love who are on Twitter (will update regularly):

• ?uestlove (of The Roots) – @questlove
• 4Hero – @4hero
• Akil Dasan – @akildasan
• Ali Shaheed Muhammad – @AliShaheed
• Amanda Diva – @amandadiva
• Amel Larrieux – @amellarrieux
• Anthony David – @aceduece
• Carmen Rodgers – @carmenrodgers
• Chrisette Michele – @epiphanygirl
• Common – @common
• D.A. Wallach (of Chester French) – @DAChesterFrench
• DJ Jazzy Jeff – @djjazzyjeff215
• Eric Benet – @ebenet
• Eric Roberson – @MusicFanFirst
• Erykah Badu – @fatbellybella
• Geno Young – @Genoyoung
• James Poyser – @jamespoyser
• King Britt – @kingbritt
• Lalah Hathaway – @lalahhathaway
• Goapele – @Goapele
• Darien Brockington – @Dbrock914
• Havana – @havana_
• J. Rawls – @J_Rawls
• Jaguar Wright – @jaguarwright
• Janelle Monae – @janellemonae
• Kirk Whalum – @KirkWhalum
• Krucial – @Krucial
• Marsha Ambrosius – @marshaambrosius
• Maxwell – @_Maxwell_
• MC Lyte – @mclyte
• Mos Def – @mosdef
• Ms Dynamite – @msdynamitee
• Muhsinah – @Muhsinah
• Musiq Soulchild – @MusiqSoulchild
• Nicolay – @nicolaymusic
• Q-Tip – @QtipTheAbstract
• RJ Benjamin – @RJBenjamin
• Ryan Leslie – @ryan_leslie
• Sheila E – @nanere
• Solange Knowles – @solangeknowles
• Sy Smith – @Syberspace
• Talib Kweli – @RealTalibKweli
• Vikter Duplaix- @Duplaix
• Yahzarah – @Yahzarah

Twitter has not only meant that I get first-hand information from the artists themselves but that I can also get to communicate with them directly should I wish to do so (well, not always). I figure this may even lessen the influence (and imaginative ‘truth’) of celebrity gossip blogs. It’s just so cool to get a feel of their personalities beyond what their publicists would have you think of them. Oh and they sometimes provide links to download tracks for free, w00t w00t!

Btw, I’m @palesa08 on Twitter. See you there!

Rick Rolling on the net is basically tricking people through linking them to a tasty topic only for them to be presented with a Rick Astley video of his hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. The most interesting time that I fell victim to this was at the height of talks about Sarah Palin. I was just trying to see her latest faux pas on Youtube when out of nowhere this dated song starts playing. I was a little irritated at first but eventually appreciated the joke. There are other ways that people Rick Roll such as on images or text messages but haven’t been tricked like that…yet.

If you want to know a bit more more about the infamous Rick Roll, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT–CsBh5TM (not a Rick Roll, I promise).

• WP doesn’t require as much attention (read: time) to setup and maintain. It’s the king of one-person blogging without frills.
• Drupal is very powerful and would have been overkill in my case for what I have planned for the blog.
• I use Drupal on many other projects and thought it wise to learn something else as well.

I hope to present my own custom theme in the next few weeks as a challenge to myself but for now it’s mighty fun to trawl through WP’s themes by thousands of contributors.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that I’m a lazy blogger; well on my own blog, anyway :/

Marcus Miller Jazz Bass

I’ve owned quite a few musical instruments, many of which I don’t own today (guitars, amps, basses, etc.). As much as I would have liked to keep them, it was near impossible to buy a new one without trading another to get the cash. Right now at the top my wishlist is a 4-string Fender Jazz bass (US or Japan, I’m not choosy). If you’ve ever held one of these babies you’ll understand my desire for this fine piece of craftsmanship.

Before I’d tried out the Fender I was adamant that I wanted a Lakland (apparently this is pronounced “Lakeland”) after trying it out at Andy McGibbon’s Guitar World. Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Concord Nkabinde and Pino Palladino play these so yeah, artist endorsements work wonders The price tag quickly put me off the Laklands but they sure do make mighty fine instruments. Actually, the Fenders aren’t that much cheaper but I think that they have a good range from the Squires to artist signature models.

I did a quick search for Fender basses at the newly talked about ebay.co.za. It’s been useless to me in that none of the listed items are available locally nor do the sellers ship to SA. Even the local Craigslist is pretty bare right now. I guess Bidorbuy and Gumtree need not worry about competition for a while.

Anyway, in the attached picture is the marvel that is the Marcus Miller Jazz Bass. Ain’t it pretty?

Here’s a list of how I still manage to play lots of titles on a budget:

1. Buy on sale. I’m a woman so “Sale” signs immediately ring bells in my mind and I have to look at what I can get cheap, cheap. Ok it’s a terrible generalisation but the fact remains that I’m a bargain hunter (usually for games!). Non-specialist stores are usually the cheapest when they want to get rid of stock. The Xbox Live Marketplace often has good specials but I have yet to buy MSP (Microsoft Points), especially with the deathly exchange rate.
2. Game trading through a retailer. I’ve traded games with complete strangers before and it’s worked out ok but it has safety risks, being Jo’burg and all. Retailers such as Budget Technologies and Zaps eliminate that problem as well as provide you with peace of mind that the game will definitely work and isn’t fake. They also have a great selection of AAA titles. Of course it may cost a little more than what your mate or some guy on the internet would offer but it’s my most preferred option right now.
3. Trade with a friend/group of friends. For me this is by far the cheapest option. I buy great pre-played titles from a retailer which I play, finish (I always finish games!) and use to trade with a friend. Of course friends aren’t always that keen on returning your stuff nor find it important to not scratch or lose your discs. Hasn’t happened to me yet but I think it’s fair that they replace it, no?
4. Only buy good titles. Before I buy any game I do a quick search on Gamespot.com and sometimes IGN (if I have patience to click past those annoying ads!). Even at a sale I fire up my Opera Mini and look for at least 3 reviews. Buying bad titles (like Saints Row I – ghastly!) not only means that I feel like making it meet the wall fast but it also means that I can either not trade it in at all because the store already has a zillion copies or that I get a bad trade-in rate.

If you have any more suggestions I’d be glad to know them. I’ve recently started reading the Budgetgamer blog which is useful if you want to know this kinda stuff.

Handy has released some of the best s60 apps around, many of which I’ve demo’d. I got bored of demoing things on mobile but when that s60.com newsletter popped up in my inbox last week I thought I’d give it a shot. So glad I did!

Handy Shell basically allows you to customise your Today page so you’re able to see a summary of events or shortcuts without having to navigate elsewhere. It also has 2 other standby pages, viz. Contacts and Applications, both of which are organised in an eye-friendly 3×4 grid. In addition to the usual app shortcuts on the Start page you’re able to add phone settings (Bluetooth, messaging, e-mail, etc.) shortcuts, a calendar summary (shows next appointment) and the weather.

The weather functionality is a whole blog post on its own but trust me when I say that it’s very handy (pun intended). One other thing I love is that you can start typing (using T9) a contact’s name, number or app name from any screen and it will automatically do a search until you pin-point what you’re looking for. Very cool feature!

Now all this stuff may make a Windows Mobile users yawn – they’ve had this for…ever! Well Windows Mobile makes me yawn so I’m super glad that the one feature I care about on WM is now on Symbian – no temptation to ever cross over.

Visit s60.com to try it out and see if it does it for you as it does for me.

Everytime there’s a jazzy/soulful artist they seem to get booked for Bassline (in Newtown). When I think of Bassline I think of stifling smoke in a crowded room and city centre/town (it’s close enough). It’s a pity because they book some amazing bands.

And how the hell do bad sound engineers keep getting regular gigs? In some countries, reputation is everything so sound engineers and musicians alike try to maintain a high level of professionalism. Not in Jozi. Sometimes the acoustics of the venue share the blame. If you’ve ever played at Roxy’s you’ll know what I mean.

I really wish that someone would build a venue that is 100% built for live music from the very first brick that is laid.

I guess that would also mean the bands would need to step up their game, too. Not a bad thing.

I love to record things that I find interesting and a few weeks ago while making a beeline for the exit in Sandton City (in my experience, malls are best experienced in short spurts), I saw a tap dancer.

I love tap dancing. Goodness knows I wouldn’t actually start to learn yet another art discipline to quit as soon as I get bored – I’m content with being the audience. Gregory Hines and Savion Glover are well-respected tap dancers whom I regard very highly and have contributed to my deep appreciation of this dance style.

Anyway, I recorded Dinkie Sithole’s performance on my mobile to produce what you see in the attached video. It’s just so refreshing to experience performance art in a most unexpected place and a rare one at that. Kudos to Sandton Central’s Open Street Sessions for bringing raw (can’t use “street” without “raw”, right?) talent to the fore.