OMG! The future is here and now and is hanging on my wall in the form of a Panasonic television screen equipped with VieraCast! What, you ask? High def viewing combined with the power of the Internet, wild sound, a camera and the likes of SKYPE, Twitter, Netflix, Amazon Movies (did you even know they had a competitive service to Netflix??), Weather.com, Pandora radio, Picasa photos, assorted channels from Germany (yes, Germany, although I am in Pasadena, California) and all of my 500 channels from AT&T/U-verse. All this on the clearest, crispest plasma screen I've ever seen!
I am wowed. I can't wait to see what other services they have in store for us that are "coming soon."
All you need is an electric connection, Internet access and either your digital box for free television channels or a connection to a programming distribution service. VieraCast is a smart TV platform brought to us by Panasonic that makes it possible to stream multimedia content from the Internet directly into select televisions. Maybe this is the return of family viewing. The return of families sitting around the TV, together.
My husband and I did something we haven't done in years -- we actually danced and sang the night away, in our living room. We went to Pandora and set up our favorite, personal radio stations, choosing our favorite songs so that Pandora's computer software could psycho-select our stations for us! It reminded me of so many nights my sisters and I would put on records and dance while my parents watched, shaking their heads but inwardly appreciating the beat as we moved our hips and threw up our arms like chimps and had a great, shared time.
If you haven't yet gotten all your holiday gifts, this is one to consider! Ours cost us under $800 and has already given us hours of fun.
Happy Holidays to all!
VOTE for MY Blog Please!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Feeling Empty or Full This Year?
As we approach the end of 2010, we bid adieu to our first decade of this, the twenty-first century. And guess what, folks? WE MADE IT! I guess that goes into the “full” category. My husband and I met ten years ago this month, so the magic of this past decade has not been lost on us. We made it this far. Yippee!
In no order of importance, this year has had its ups, downs and wacky turnarounds.
We remain in our town of South Pasadena, the home of the South Pas Tigers. Ten minutes from downtown LA. Thirty minutes from the Pacific. Fifteen minutes to the San Gabriel Mountains. Former home of the Ostrich Farm, where strippers from the 20s to 40s could find their plumes for coverage.
Our youngest, Michael, now a Senator at his elementary school, turns eight in January and is more convinced than ever that the elections of 2044 will be his year to get to the White House. It’s not too early to put your contributions aside for the first Jewish-Greek-American President. We’ll be counting on you. We know where you live.
Alex, our twenty-something son, has moved to hip Atwater Village where he and the lovely Andrea share a one-bedroom apartment that combines mid-century kitsch (think bobble heads of The Monkees on a shelf in a room with an Eames-like chair) with up to date electronics and very powerful speakers. He remains happily employed with thoughts of academia a fading memory from his past.
I, on the other hand, am thinking of turning to academia more and more. Professor Davis has a nice ring…But maybe not, as I have just gotten notice that I now qualify for my fourth (yes fourth!) federal extension to receive unemployment benefits, approved by President Obama. It was automatically filed on my behalf, as it was for the other millions of folks who have been downsized, marginalized, penalized and otherwise life-jeopardized since 2008. I can’t afford a low-paying job like teaching, when the Federal government continues to bail me out.
My better half, Nick, who began the year thinking we would be ending it in Prague, where he would be running a division of Europe’s fastest growing IPTV provider, is scheduled to have his thirty-fifth interview with the same company tomorrow. But he can only make it if the oil & gas company in Aberdeen can re-schedule his SKYPE interview for a COO position and if the Reuters IT team can put off the launch of the new system he has headed and if the non-profit stops calling to ask for his help with their website and if the darn Cub Scouts would only postpone their Den meeting…
This year, we lost our beloved Betta, Chester, who lasted three years longer than the average fish. We lost relatives and close friends. Cancer, homelessness, unemployment have hit those we love. The riots in Greece have put us on edge.
And yet…
We can’t help feeling full with a roof over our heads, a smile on our kids’ faces, fragrant lemons for picking all over town, the mountains beckoning and our friends calling from around the world. My book series The Jelly Bean Chronicles continues to entertain kids and their parents.
All in all, we’ve felt empty and we’ve felt full this year. But one thing is for sure: our glass has not yet been dry. May 2011 be a year of comebacks. Heck, Sarah Palin came back. Eliot Spitzer has his own show on CNN. Even the iPhone 4 came back with a better version.
Wishing you and yours a very happy New Year.
In no order of importance, this year has had its ups, downs and wacky turnarounds.
We remain in our town of South Pasadena, the home of the South Pas Tigers. Ten minutes from downtown LA. Thirty minutes from the Pacific. Fifteen minutes to the San Gabriel Mountains. Former home of the Ostrich Farm, where strippers from the 20s to 40s could find their plumes for coverage.
Our youngest, Michael, now a Senator at his elementary school, turns eight in January and is more convinced than ever that the elections of 2044 will be his year to get to the White House. It’s not too early to put your contributions aside for the first Jewish-Greek-American President. We’ll be counting on you. We know where you live.
Alex, our twenty-something son, has moved to hip Atwater Village where he and the lovely Andrea share a one-bedroom apartment that combines mid-century kitsch (think bobble heads of The Monkees on a shelf in a room with an Eames-like chair) with up to date electronics and very powerful speakers. He remains happily employed with thoughts of academia a fading memory from his past.
I, on the other hand, am thinking of turning to academia more and more. Professor Davis has a nice ring…But maybe not, as I have just gotten notice that I now qualify for my fourth (yes fourth!) federal extension to receive unemployment benefits, approved by President Obama. It was automatically filed on my behalf, as it was for the other millions of folks who have been downsized, marginalized, penalized and otherwise life-jeopardized since 2008. I can’t afford a low-paying job like teaching, when the Federal government continues to bail me out.
My better half, Nick, who began the year thinking we would be ending it in Prague, where he would be running a division of Europe’s fastest growing IPTV provider, is scheduled to have his thirty-fifth interview with the same company tomorrow. But he can only make it if the oil & gas company in Aberdeen can re-schedule his SKYPE interview for a COO position and if the Reuters IT team can put off the launch of the new system he has headed and if the non-profit stops calling to ask for his help with their website and if the darn Cub Scouts would only postpone their Den meeting…
This year, we lost our beloved Betta, Chester, who lasted three years longer than the average fish. We lost relatives and close friends. Cancer, homelessness, unemployment have hit those we love. The riots in Greece have put us on edge.
And yet…
We can’t help feeling full with a roof over our heads, a smile on our kids’ faces, fragrant lemons for picking all over town, the mountains beckoning and our friends calling from around the world. My book series The Jelly Bean Chronicles continues to entertain kids and their parents.
All in all, we’ve felt empty and we’ve felt full this year. But one thing is for sure: our glass has not yet been dry. May 2011 be a year of comebacks. Heck, Sarah Palin came back. Eliot Spitzer has his own show on CNN. Even the iPhone 4 came back with a better version.
Wishing you and yours a very happy New Year.
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