Michael Janairo

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Month: March 2012

  • Is Game of Thrones the best TV show today?

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    Here’s a video primer of Season 1, with some teasers of Season 2 of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” which returns to the cable channel on Sunday night.

    I’ve had the chance to watch the first four episodes of the new season. If you saw the first season, then you’ll be happy to know that Season 2 is even better so far. If you’ve never seen the show, perhaps you’ll want to join in.

    Sure, some people are turned off by the very notion of fantasy, even if it is an HBO-style Soprano-esque hard-hitting cut-throat adult kind of fantasy (with nudity and sex thrown in). But what makes the story work is not only the hard-hitting politics, but the great development of multiple characters, especially the clear-headed (and hedonistic) Tyrion Lannister, a role played by Peter Dinklage who won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal.

  • Pinterest updates terms of service

    In recent weeks, lots of people have joined Pinterest. That includes the Times Union at http://www.pinterest.com/timesunion. But the sites terms of service had people scared about content ownership, copyrights and legal ramifications.

    Now Pinterest has announced it is changing its TOS, especially by eliminating the part that said it could sell your content. That should make users happy.

    Here’s the text of the email:

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  • David Malachowski remembers Ernie Williams

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    Ernie Williams and I were separated by a generation or two, but we both enjoyed fishing, took to music early and loved the blues the most.

    We grew up in very different worlds.

    Much of his world wasn’t pretty. Every now and then, he’d talk about how it was years ago, “When black was black and white was white,” as he said, when races didn’t mix. When coaxed, he would tell harrowing stories, but they aren’t worth retelling now except to say that even though Ernie was someone who experienced the hatred of racism, he wasn’t a bitter person.
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  • ‘Tethered 24/7’ post-discussion wrap up

    Tweets and more from the Times Union-College of Saint Rose panel discussion “Tethered 24/7: Staying Human with Today’s Technology”
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  • Proctors announces 2012-13 Broadway series

    Cast members from the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet perform during Proctors 2012-13 Broadway season anouncement in Schenectady, NY Tuesday March 20, 2012. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is the new smash-hit musical inspired by the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time.( Michael P. Farrell/Times Union )

    Members of the Broadway cast of “Million Dollar Quartet,” one of the five announced shows, showed up Tuesday night at Proctors to perform selections from the musical to help the venue launch its next season.

    “Million Dollar Quartet” tells the story of one legendary night – Dec. 4, 1956, when Sam Phillips brought Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins together for a recording session. The jukebox musical includes songs such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Great Balls of Fire” and is slated to run for one week, Jan. 22-27.
    The other four musicals are:

    • “Mary Poppins,” Oct. 2 – 7, based on the children’s books and classic Disney film;
    • “Wicked,” Nov. 7 – 25, based on the novel by the Capital Region’s Gregory Maguire and whichi last played Proctors in 2009;
    • “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” Feb. 12 – 17, based on the Academy Award-winning film from 1994 about three friends – two drag queens and a transsexual — searching for love and friendship in the Australian outback; and,
    • “Les Miserables,” April 30 – May 5, 2013, the 25th anniversary production of the international blockbuster about love, revolution, crime and punishment in early 19th-century France.

    Subscriptions to the Broadway series are now available. Contact Proctors for more information at 346-6204 or visit http://www.proctors.org.

    What do you think of the season?

  • Which Broadway shows do you think Proctors will announce Tuesday?

    On Tuesday night, Proctors will announce its 2012-13 Broadway series, the big money-maker for the Schenectady venue.

    Back in January, I took a stab at guessing which five shows would hit the boards in the old Vaudeville house.

    Here are my guesses (the first three will be beginning their first U.S. tours later this year):

    • “War Horse,”
    • “Anything Goes,”
    • “The Book of Mormon,”
    • “Fela!” and
    • “American Idiot.”

    I chose “Fela!” and “American Idiot” because they seem like fun shows that are now touring but haven’t played Proctors, yet. Other shows in that category include “Billy Elliot,” “Les Miserables” (the 25th anniversary edition), “Mary Poppins” and “Million Dollar Quartet.”

    What would you like Proctors to announce tomorrow night?

  • How do you stay human with today’s 24/7 technology?

    Once upon a time, there were two different things called “work” and “life,” and the two were separated by distance and time. You went to work or you went home. You started work at a specific time, and you ended at a later, but just as specific time.

    Perhaps that time was mythical — didn’t people think about work when they were away from it? — but with new tools, especially smartphones, the lines have blurred. Work can be in you pocket. It could be the first thing — or the last thing — you do each day, while still in bed at home.

    At least, that’s true for me, with an iPhone and iPad that I can carry with me pretty much everywhere, and a laptop at home, as well as a computer at work.

    Recently, I was in a hotel room in Rome, Italy, on vacation, but checking my email so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed when I returned, and I was approving blog comments on this blog. My work followed me across the Atlantic. So I either have a problem, or I’m a dedicated worker.

    Next week, I’ll be panelist at a talk at The College of Saint Rose called “Tethered 24/7: Staying Human with Today’s Technology.” You can attend the event for free. It’s at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, 2012, at The College of Saint Rose, Touhey Forum, Lally Building, 1009 Madison Ave., Albany. You just need to register online.

    Beforehand, though, I want to know your stories about today’s technology. Was there a single event when you realized you were too tethered? And what have you done about it to try to achieve a better balance between work and life?