Exploring the neighborhood

I needed to get out of the house. The walls felt like they were closing in. So Saturday I hit the road.

I decided to explore a little of the countryside of the Willamette Valley off the Interstate 5 corridor. So I headed for McMinnville and plugged the iPod into the car stereo. While on my Saturday drive I found myself also exploring a touch of the blues music scene of Portland and the Northwest by listening to a podcast I'd downloaded called PDX Bluescast.

I've long enjoyed blues music, but am far from an expert on the genre. I know enough about it to hear its influences in other musical genres like rock, country, jazz and, of course, R&B. But I don't have an extensive blues collection. And to be honest, other than the Waterfront Blues Festival, which I got a chance to attend a few years ago on a visit back to Oregon from California, I didn't realized that Portland had a major blues scene. I'm just dipping my toe into that water.

One of the things I like about the PDX Bluescast is that on the accompanying Web site, you don't have to write notes about the songs and musician you are hearing, because you can go back to the Web site and get those details. I've already discovered a couple of artists and albums I may want to check out. And I've learned that there is a blues song about the small Eastern Oregon town of Baker City. Who would have guessed?

I don't know if the PDX Bluescast site qualifies as a blog, but I've added it to my Blogroll anyway.
As for what I saw on my little road trip? Well, maybe that's a topic for another post.

iPod
Podcast
Blues music
PDX Bluescast

iTunes exploration continues

In my last post, I mentioned that I downloaded the new NBC TV show, "Conviction" that debuts next week. I ended up watching the show on my iPod later, and was pleasantly surprised with both the picture quality and the show itself.

I could really see some value to downloading TV shows or movies to the iPod when traveling, although watching the video burns through battery power faster than listening to music only.

As for the show, if you are a fan of the show "Law & Order," you will recognize some of the same production qualities in "Conviction" as well, as they are from the same producer, Dick Wolf.

The show features an ensemble cast, and the pilot episode does a pretty good job of introducing you to the characters and some of the demons they may have to wrestle with in future episodes while telling multiple storylines.

I won't intentionally try to keep my Friday nights free so I can watch this show or "Las Vegas," which is also moving to Fridays. But if I'm home, I know I can at least hang out with these two ensemble cast for a couple of hours and pretend I have a life.

I spent some time exploring my iTunes software and the iTunes music store in a little more depth. I found some interesting features, like the fact that I could create my own mix of music on my iTunes, perhaps to convey a certain mood, and share it with others. For example, you could check out my mix, and if you like it, or even some of the song on it, you could buy the tunes for yourself. It's like sharing music across the miles in a fun, and legal, way. Very interesting.

I'm not sure if I will post any of my playlists or not, but who knows. I also like the Essentials feature, where you can look at recommendation on music from various artists, years or genres decide if you want that music for yourself. And if you do, you can buy the music one song at a time or the whole compilation.

I also plan to check out a couple of podcasts, one on the blues music scene in Portland and one on the Portland music scene in general. I like blues music, so that may be a great add. I'm not sure if the other one will fit my tastes or not, but I'm curious to know more about the music scene in this part of the country.

Maybe I'll listen to some of the podcasts this afternoon while enjoying some of the Willamette Valley scene on a little drive.

TV
Conviction
iTunes
Portland, Ore.
Music

Coming to the really small screen

For many years I used to work a swing shift, so prime time episodic televisions was just not my things. Whatever the hot shows were in the early part of this century, I couldn't tell you because I didn't see them because I wasn't home.

Fortunately, that meant I never became part of the whole "Survivor" craze or any of the other plethora of reality TV shows that have become part of our country's pop culture identity. That doesn't mean I haven't seen an episode or two along the way, but I've never seen a whole season.

Thanks to cable and some innovative syndication deals I did become a fan of some shows like "NYPD Blue," "Law & Order" and "West Wing" because they were available at non-prime times on cable networks like A&E and Bravo. I could watch whole batches of seasons in a matter of weeks or months. Of course sometimes I was a season, or two or three behind the curve, but it was all new to me.

Now, I'm working a shift that allows me to be home for prime time viewing, but I my TV viewing habits have not really changed. I still tend to favor cable networks or premium movie channels over broadcast networks. There are some exceptions. I'm still a fan of "West Wing," now in its final season. "Desperate Housewives" has become a favorite. And "Boston Legal" and "Grey's Anatomy" are shows I try not to miss. But I certainly don't plan my week or my life around what's on TV on which days.

So why did I spend part of my evening tonight downloading a TV show to my iPod? I still haven't quite figured that out. When I bought my new iPod just a few short weeks ago I figured I would never use the video feature on the thing. I asked "Why would anyone want to watch a TV show or video on such a tiny screen?" And now here I am downloading a TV show.

But the price was right. It was free. I was tempted to download a few episodes of the classic Saturday morning public service announcements "Schoolhouse Rock." Remember that series? "Conjunction Junction, what's your function? Hooking up words and phrases and clauses." Or "I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill and I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill." But they wanted money for those and I didn't want to see them badly enough again to pay for them.

But NBC is doing something really interesting. They are releasing the pilot for their new series "Conviction" before the show even premieres on TV. You can download the episode for free through iTunes now and show doesn't broadcast until next Friday.

So, it remains to be seen if I will actually watch the episode on the really small screen of my iPod before the show debuts, or even if I will watch the show on the somewhat bigger screen of my television. But but the price was right. And my Friday nights are pretty dull these days. So, you never can tell.

iPod
iTunes
Television
Podcasts