Always, Alli

I have no idea when it started, but I have a definite obsession with Zach Braff. I know it started after Scrubs started airing, but it has recently been much more intense. There are at least seven opportunities everyday for me to watch Scrubs reruns on TV. I don’t, but I know the opportunity is there.

Don’t worry, I have no plans to head out to California and get all Nurse Betty on Zach. For now.

In case you were not aware, Zach Braff has a blog. It is rarely updated, but I’m fine with that because when he updates, he is the one updating the blog. He does the writing. He doesn’t have a lackey do it. It makes me feel closer.

Mr. Braff updated last week, giving what little information he could about the next season of Scrubs. But the part that was interesting is the next music video he is directing.

Music is one of the things that makes Zach Braff really interesting. He put together an amazing soundtrack for Garden State and The Last Kiss. Most of the artists on those soundtracks I now have in my music library. Zach Braff has directed a Cary Brother’s video, Joshua Radin, Gavin DeGraw, and even the music video for the Scrubs themesong.

The next video he is going to direct is for Jay Clifford. And he needs some help making it:

I came up with this idea to make a music video by cutting together clips of people from all over the world singing the song and shooting the video themselves as though it were their own song. I’ve been talking about doing something collaborative with all of you since I first started writing on here. Well I finally figured out how.

The deadline for submissions is May 30th. Check out the website, download the song, print the lyrics, and film yourself singing.

Or just watch the video for Scrubs:

Technorati Tags: Zach Braff, Jay Clifford, music video, community involvement

Ever since the writer’s strike ended and television started to go back to normal, we have been having a hard time getting our television routine. Or we just got so out of the habit of watching television and sticking to the internet to find our serial comedy/ drama/ family fun!

People who are still waiting for the next season of 24 can turn to the internet to get a quick fix: The Rookie: Day 3 Extraction. Jason Blaine, an American Counter Terrorism agent, is trying to rescue his boss. 24 viewers will notice the similar high-stakes, fast paced style of the webisodes found on YouTube.

Here’s the first one:

The six chapters (ranging from 4 and half to nine minutes long) and the behind the scenes stuff are pretty exciting (I’ve seen them all now and might have to start watching 24 soon). And the series is sponsored by Degree. In celebration of the webisodes, I have 4 sticks of Degree Men to give away. If you are interested in such a prize, please leave a comment. Comments will close Monday at noon. I’ll visit random.org and pick four winners.

Technorati Tags: 24, The Rookie: Day 3 Extraction, Degree, deodorant, give away

Damon and I have been using hulu.com to watch season one of The Riches.

The first time I ever heard of this show, my mom was giving me a very thorough recap of what she had seen on FX. The idea of my mom watching anything other than Masterpiece Theater, HGTV, or the Food Network is cause to sit up and listen. And at the time I was in the car with her, so I listened very carefully. I was pretty interested and thought it would be something Damon and I would get into.

Basically the story is about a family who are travellers/ con-men/ modern day gypsies. There is a whole world of traveler hierarchy we learn about, and this family (a dad played by Eddie Izzard, mom played by Minnie Driver, and three kids) is on the edge of being really involved or getting out in some way. Through a chain of events involving a car accident, two deaths, and some stolen money, they end up taking over the lives of two “buffers” (non-travellers) and trying to “steal the American Dream” while disappearing from the traveler clan they are a part of.

Unfortunately at the time, we did not have FX as part of our cable channel lineup. Now we do, and the recent commercials we kept seeing for the second season of The Riches were kind of getting to us. How could we watch season two when we hadn’t seen season one? Then Damon discovered hulu.com and after poking around, he discovered the entire first season was available for us to watch at our convenience.

We have enjoyed the show so far, having seen six or seven episodes. However, I am starting to tire of the forumlaic device of having the Dad get into some sticky situation he has to give some inspiring speech to get out of. But it isn’t enough to make me stop watching.

The Riches, FX, hulu.com

Technorati Tags: The Riches, FX, hulu.com

My sister is visiting for the weekend. She and I went to the grocery store to pick up dinner stuff, some flowers, and marshmallows for roasting on the firepit. While we were at the store she had the genius idea to pick up some peeps to see how they liked the fire. Turns out roasting peeps isn’t exactly the same as marshmallows. But they still are sticky and sweet.

Technorati Tags: peeps, Easter, fire pit, roasting peeps

Well, I can’t Wii, but I can Touch!

Yesterday I brought a new piece of technology into the home- the iPod Touch. This has been on my list of wants for a while. And even though I was saving my money for a camera, I have had to rethink my goals in that area and decided to go ahead and spend the money on the Touch.

I’ve had an iPod shuffle for a while, and it did well for me. But it lacked any way to search for a specific song, and I realized I would prefer to be able to make playlists for specific experiences (car rides, exercising, bedtime, etc) so I longed for the day I could upgrade to a classic iPod.

Then the iPhone came out and I admit I lusted after it for a while. I didn’t really want the phone part, but I wanted the other stuff- the PDA with internet and MP3 player in one. So imagine how excited I was when the iPod Touch came out.

I had a smartphone for about a year when I was working and I have to admit, I was a bit addicted to it. I loved the access to the internet and calendar.

I’ve been having so much fun playing with the Touch. I named it Sparkle (due to the shiny exterior). I’ve been adding songs for our car trip to Atlanta and experimenting with ripping DVDs to put some of Fuller’s movies on it. I know the calendar will be very useful for our family and I love the clock with timer and stopwatch option. As long as I have the touch with me, I have a timer to use with Fuller!

Damon was very excited when he found out it had wireless access for the internet. Add the movies and music and Sparkle is a new favorite in the house. I’m looking forward to our trip next week when it will get lots of use.

Technorati Tags: ipod touch

I have been wanting a Nintendo Wii for a while, but D says his Xbox is good enough for now. Fine. Whatever. I know the rules. If I want something, I have to earn the money for it or win it in a contest. Which is why this phrase is so inviting: Click Here for a Chance to Win a Nintendo® Wii™!

The deal is, if you are in an area where Charter cable and internet is available (I’m not, phooey) then you can preregister for an auction to win free Charter high speed internet for life. By preregistering you are automatically entered into a drawing to win a Wii. And not just a Wii, but the Wii, a Wii Stand, 5 games ( Bowling, Tennis, Golf, Baseball and Boxing), a remote, a nunchuk Controller, a sensor bar, the Wii AC Adapter, and the Wii AV Cable. From what I understand from friends, you can’t just go and buy a Wii, you have to go and buy all this other stuff too. So, this contest is really awesome because they give you all the other stuff you have to buy.

March 12th the auction for Charter internet for life begins. The starting bid is $10, but I would check the complete rules and terms for details.

And if you win the Wii, let me know so I can come play, please?

Technorati Tags: Charter internet, Wii contest

Courtney and I connected at the airport yesterday morning, managed to get a rental car, and headed over to Downtown Orlando. We wanted to be in downtown because that is where the Izea office is.

Courtney and I have both participated in paid blogging with one of Izea’s products: PayPerPost. In fact, I started doing paid blogging so I could earn money to buy my precious camera. And Courtney and I met at Izea’s conference in Las Vegas (PostieCon). We met a lot of the Izea staff in Las Vegas and we both thought it would be fun to meet up with them again.

While we were there we were happily greeted by Izea staff (in fact we met Ted in the parking garage, which was just a coincidence but still nice to have his escort). Ashley gave us a tour of the office and Courtney walked into a black wall. Next we were given a sneak peek of the next Rock Startup episode. It was very special because it is the episode Fuller and I are in. And just when we thought it would be over, they sprung an Izea specialty- the scavenger hunt.

We were put into two teams (Team Crumley.org and Team Traveling Thoughts) with various Izea staff members. We took pictures, I did a headstand, and we gathered items from about a four block radius of the offices. The points are still being tallied, but we think Courtney’s team won. But my team still had fun!

Alli’s Izea Report from mrscrumley on Vimeo.

Afterwards we went out for a light dinner and drinks with some of the Izea staff. It was a fun time of chatting and getting to know the fun folks behind the scenes of a neat company.

Technorati Tags: Izea, scavenger hunt