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Hanging At the Grove

Posted on January 17, 2012

The Grove in Los Angeles is one of those great, outdoor shopping areas that attracts all manner of people. It’s situated next to the famous Farmer’s Market, which has been a fun hangout for hipsters, and non-hipsters alike, for many years.

I was at the Grove tonight to see a screening of director Steven Soderberg’s latest movie Haywire. It’s an action extravaganza starring MMA sensation Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor and Michael Douglas.

I will be doing a full review later this week for The Flickcast. For now, just enjoy the above picture I took at the Grove this evening.

Yes, it’s actually even nicer than it looks in the picture.

On a related note, we’ve made the decision over at The Flickcast to make the site dark in protest of SOPA and PIPA. We firmly believe in stopping piracy but we don’t want to give up liberty to do it.

For more on how you can get involved, go HERE.

Because of my personal disgust with SOPA and PIPA, i won’t be posting here at all tomorrow either. Be back Thursday.

Have a great day off from me.

By Way of An Apology: Some Notes About This Site

Posted on January 2, 2012

Happy second day of 2012. No, I don’t know how long people are allowed to say “Happy New Year” or what I just said. I’m just going with it, okay?

That kind of statement brings me, in a not so direct way, to this website, blog or whatever you want to call it. I will call it a blog or, more precisely, “The Personal Blog of Chris Ullrich.” See, it even says that up there at the top.

In other words, this is my blog and these are my thoughts, such as they are. They are not to be confused with anyone else’s or with those of anyone or anyplace I have worked, am working now, or will work in the future. These concepts are not that hard to understand so I will rely on you, good readers, to figure these things out. I feel confident you can.

Now that the disclaimer part is over, let’s talk about some other facts. I started this blog in 2004 (here’s a link to the first post ever) and it has been continuously published since that time. It used to have a decent amount of daily readers, but for various reasons, that readership has dwindled.

This is probably mostly due to the neglect it has suffered at my hands. That’s changed and this blog will now be updated regularly again.

Another reason readership has dwindled is due to this blog being moved around and hosted at various places using various hosting software. That is also done. This blog, along with the rest of my sites (including The Flickcast) is now housed permanently on it’s very own virtual server provided by the folks at Media Temple.

This blog is also now permanently run on WordPress. It had previously been on other platforms, including TypePad, but now it’s WordPress all the way.

It’s also been tough to find this blogs RSS feed because I’ve tried several ways to help that out too, including FeedBurner. Now that it is permanently on WordPress, being served off of my own server and is not going to be moved ever again (if I can help it) the RSS feed is not going to change again either.

In case you’re wondering, the RSS feed for this blog is right up there in the top right corner. It’s also right here. Click on either link to subscribe and I will love you forever.

Why am I taking valuable time out of your day to tell you all of this? The answer is simple: I owe you an apology.

I owe you this apology because if you’re reading this blog, and have read this far, I should not have taken you for granted. I say that because people who regularly read a blog are often frustrated when it isn’t there when they go to find it. They are also often frustrated when they go to read a blog and find it hasn’t been updated in a long time.

I’m guilty on both counts, but I can change. In fact, I already have.

If you take a closer look you’ll see I’ve updated this blog more times in the last month than over the last several months. I realize that’s not a foolproof way to tell I’ve changed, but I just wanted you to notice.

I intend to keep writing here. Even though some have pointed out blogging is dying, I actually feel it has helped me immensely. I also feel there’s still an audience for quality (or in my case at least prolific) blogging.

So, I’ll keep doing it and doing it here (as well as various other places like The Flickcast) and if I’m lucky, people will start coming back to this blog and enjoying it. I think it’s possible.

Thanks for reading and feel free to check back here often. I’ll be around.

 

Writing On the iPad

Posted on November 22, 2011

Since the iPad first came out I was hoping it would completely take the place of my laptop for most things. I was especially hoping it would allow me to use it when I go to events like Comic-Con in San Diego and other places I’m covering for The Flickcast that require me to post to the website during the day.  
 
Unfortunately, as an early adopter, I got one of the first iPads released. And although the hardware was darn good, the software, and in particular apps for blogging, left something to be desired.  
 
Cut to today and I’m using the iPad 2 and there are lots more apps out there to do most of the things you want to do on the iPad. Sadly, there’s still a shortage of good blogging apps. Fortunately, all you really need is one.  
 
I think I’ve found that one. Or, at least I’ve found one that’s as close to perfect as I’m going to get right now. What’s the name of this amazing, life changing blogging app? Blogsy.  
 
It does most of what I need it to do in the writing area. I can write a post in either HTML or visual mode, add photos and videos and set it to publish. Combine that with resizing photos using the great iResize app and the iPad has become almost a complete replacement for my Mac laptop.  
 
It does take a bit of time to get used to blogging on the iPad and also, typing on the screen itself is a bit hard on the fingers. Still, for short things like blog posts (just like this one!) it works very well.  
 
I’m going to be using Blogsy more and more and I’m sure I will find things I don’t like about it. Still, it has enough going for it already that I’m very pleased and happy I found it. Also, I’m sure they will improve it over time with updates.  
 
 

What’s Up?

Posted on December 30, 2010

This site feels lonely. In fact, it is. I haven’t been updating it at all during the last few months because I’ve been spending the majority of my time over at The Flickcast and trying to make that the best it can be.

However, all is not lost. Part of my plan for the new year is to start taking more photographs. I’m going to be exploring my photography skills and trying to improve them. I will be posting the results here and, of course, over at my Flickr page.

So, stay tuned for more from this site. I haven’t forgotten it and will get back to it soon enough. Until then, all the best for 2011.

I Am Still Alive and Other Developments

Posted on August 5, 2009

Sad I have to write that headline, but sometimes when you’ve kept a blog for a few years and updated pretty regularly and then stop, people often wonder if something bad has happened to you. Fortunately, that’s not the case. No bad things.

Actually, some good thing have happened, especially where my latest project is concerned. Yes, that’s right, The Flickcast has really taken off and as such, demands a great deal of my time. Not only to I run the site, for the most part, I also have to write for it each and every day. That takes its toll.

Because The Flickcast is such a demanding site and the vast majority of my energy is devoted to it at the moment, that leaves very little left for this site. Once I’ve pretty much said my peace on various issues via the site or the podcast, I’ve pretty much got nothing left to write about here.

When I started this site several years ago my intention was to have a reason and a motivation to write every day (or almost every day, let’s be honest). Now that I’ve got The Flickcast going, I have no choice but to write every day so the impetus to keep a personal blog is not nearly as strong.

I’m not exactly sure what to do about this site. I like having it and I may, on occasion, put something here. But for now, it won’t be a regular thing at all, my other project needs to be the priority — especially if I want it to continue the growth its seen so far.

So, if you’re looking for me and my contributions, head on over to The Flickcast and you can find me there. Also, if you’re looking for any of my other work, there’s some good links at my other website. And, feel free to follow me on Twitter and friend me at Facebook. I promise I won’t bite.

FOIA Reform: Bloggers Are Journalists Too (Part 2)

Posted on December 22, 2007

More on bloggers getting rights and being considered “real” journalists. Now, according to this article, bloggers could have better rights under the Freedom of Information Act. Things are getting even more interesting these days — especially if you happen to be a blogger.

And no, I don’t think this will or should apply to everyone with a WordPress or Blogger page but more to people who actually get paid to write for blogs. Yes, they actually exist. In fact, if you didn’t already know, I happen to be one of those people. So yes, perhaps I’m biased, but still . . .

If you happen to be new here, I have written and/or currently write for several online publications. Among them are LAist, Cinematical, Comic Book Resources and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. You can check out the links to my actual articles by going to my main website at chris ullrich dot net and checking out the “Writing” section.

So yeah, as a person who gets paid to blog I wouldn’t mind being treated more like an actual journalist with the same rights and privileges as someone who works for a more “traditional” news organization.

Yes, that would be nice indeed.

Testing the Ecto Beta

Posted on November 15, 2007

Just a quick post to test out the new Beta of Ecto, my blogging software of choice. So far, so good. Especially considering the last verion of the Beta would not talk to my blog at WordPress. Now, it does. Thanks guys at Ecto for all the hard work. It’s a good program and well worth the 20 bucks so give it a try.

Also, I’ll be back to more frequent writing here and at other places too pretty soon. It’s just taken a bit of time to get back into things. I’m sure you can understand.

Changes and Some Good Kristen Bell and ‘Heroes’ News

Posted on August 20, 2007

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As you can see, there’s been some changes around here. Long story short, I had some trouble with my previous hosting provider (big shock, right?) and have had to move this here blog yet again. Currently, I’m back at good old WordPress dot com and will remain here for the time being. Sorry about all the moving around but I just can’t seem to get a blog to work the way I want it to work and also have it be available when people want to read it.

There was so much downtime at my last host (I won’t mention the name) that I just had to move again. You get what you pay for I guess. Anyway, I will attempt to update frequently here and hopefully this will conclude the moving around portion of our program. Believe me, I don’t like it any more than you do. Actually, I probably like it much less.

Amidst the chaos of moving and getting things to work right again, there was at least one bit of good news today (at least if you’re a fan of Veronica Mars as I am). It looks like Kristen Bell will be joining the cast of Heroes next season. According to Variety, Bell will play Elle “a character described as a sexy, mysterious young lady who has ties to the supposed death of Peter, H.R.G.’s past and the future of Claire. Elle will kick off her arc by committing a serious crime, though it’s unclear whether she’s good or bad.”

Whatever the reason, character or arc, I’m in. As if I really needed another reason to watch Heroes. Its a great show made even better with the inclusion of Bell. This news isn’t quite as good as an announcement of a new season of Veronica Mars, but it’ll do.

I’m Very Important

Posted on June 21, 2007

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Sure, I’m joking with the title of this post. My ego isn’t quite that big. However, I do have some rather good news to share. Well, good for me at least. For the rest of you, it won’t really mean all that much except for the fact that I’m sure you all want to see me happy and doing well. I really appreciate that, btw. So, what is this great bit of news then?

Well, starting this week I’m bringing all of my exhaustive Macintosh and Apple love and knowledge to a new venue: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (aka TUAW). Some of you may already have seen me at this new website as I already started writing there yesterday. But if not, head on over and check out some of my posts — mostly about the iPhone at the moment — but as things progress, I’ll be branching out into all-things Apple.

I’ve secretly (and not so secretly) wanted to write for TUAW for quite some time and as I already work for Cinematical (which is owned by the same company: Weblogs, Inc. / AOL) it was only a matter of time before I managed to work my way into writing for TUAW. And now, all that hard work has paid off and I got what I wanted. So, if you get a minute, head on over and take a look.

The site is good (better now that I’m there of course) and can fulfill your every wish where Apple and Apple-related news, reviews and more are concerned. This is one of the things I was talking about recently that I couldn’t talk about. The other is still hush-hush but should be ready for public consumption sometime soon.

In other news, I’m now back from my travels to Portland and am pretty happy to be back in LA. Although, as I mentioned earlier, i really like Portland and at one time or another, entertained thoughts about moving there. After all, I really love comic books and there are a bunch of people there doing just that so it seems a natural place to go.

In truth, I might make the move if it was just me. But as its not, I need to consider other people’s thoughts and feelings about the situation. Given that, I feel pretty strongly I won’t be leaving LA any time soon. However, you never really know, do you? Life is funny sometimes and once in awhile you actually do get what you want. The trick, of course, is knowing what that is.

Apple won’t sell 10 million iPhones, Secrets and “Mac Chicks”

Posted on June 4, 2007

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I don’t know for sure but it does seem like Lance Davis doesn’t have much love for Apple, Steve Jobs or the iPhone. Or, it could be that he’s just a reserved Brit used to having lowered expectations and settling for less. Or, he’s just not been effected enough by Job’s notorious “reality distortion field.” Whatever the case, his conclusions seem wrong to me. I could tell you why but over at TUAW, David Chartier does it for me (and you) so take a look over there.

Why am I linking to another Apple website instead of commenting myself? Well, I could tell you but its not something I can talk about yet. Yes, another one of those “secrets” I seem to have of late. I know, I hate secrets too. And while we’re on the subject, surprise birthday parties. But rest-assured all will be revealed in short order. As soon as I know something, I will let you know. Until then, enjoy this months latest “Mac Chick of the Month” Mandy Amano over at Macenstein.

Actually, on a bit of a side note, my frequent collaborator Anthony D. and I almost cast Mandy in a project once — right before her now infamous Pepsi Superbowl add aired. Sadly, the project fell through (as they sometime do) and we didn’t have the pleasure of working with Mandy. Maybe next time. Although now, we probably can’t afford her. At least we still have the new photos and the one I took at the casting.

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