Framing Hanley have certainly come a long way in a very short time. First formed in 2005, the band posted some song demos that they recorded on a Macintosh on MySpace.com. Then in November of 2006, these demos were discovered by Brett Hestla, former Creed bassist and frontman of Dark New Day.

Hestla helped the young Nashville based quintet record a 2 song demo in his Florida studio which captured the attention of Jeff Hanson (Creed, Sevendust, Paramore) and his record label Silent Majority Group. Framing Hanley’s debut LP The Moment was released August 2007.

We had the good fortune to get some time with Framing Hanley’s frontman Nixon. This young star has a very intense voice reminiscent of Chester from Linkin Park. Listen to the breakdown in “Hear Me Now” to get an idea of what I’m referring to.

Interview: Framing Hanley vocalist Kenneth Nixon

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Have you been “Rickrolled” yet?

1980s pop star Rick Astley is now making headlines again after years in obscurity thanks to millions of Web surfers being Rickrolled by pranksters. Webmasters and bloggers are purposely redirecting unsuspecting Internet users to a video of Astley performing his hit “Never Gonna Give You Up”.

How does a Rickroll work? It’s basically a bait and switch. Let’s say I make a link that says Sexy Paris Hilton Video and you click on it. Instead of actually seeing Paris Hilton, you’d be directed to a Rick Astley music video. That’s a “Rick Roll”.

Tuesday YouTube decided to get in on the joke. Several links on the YouTube homepage purposely “Rick Rolled” users. Why? Tuesday just happened to be April Fools’ Day.

The act of Rickrolling has even evolved beyond cyberspace. Pawl Fisher, a student at Eastern Washington University (EWU), recently “Rick Rolled” a March basketball game at his school. Here’s the clip:

So what has this done to Astley’s record sales? They are way up. Even his iTunes sales are up. His record label is trying to get a re-release of Astley greatest hits album out not only to keep up with demand but to obviously cash in on the Rickrolling craze. Astley recently spoke to the LA Times and called the phenomena “bizarre” and only hopes that his daughter receives no embarrassment over it.

Personally I think it’s one of greatest phenomena ever to sweep the Internet. By the way, the error page for MethodShop is a “Rickroll”.

So the next time you randomly click on a link and see a short guy with red hair wearing a black shirt and a tan trench-coat singing… congratulations, you’ve been Rickrolled.

methodshop | youtube

april fools day, rickrolled, rickrolling, rick astley

Olivia Munn, the foxy geek hostess from Attack of the Show (G4 TV) and Playboy Magazine (Feb 2007), is in a new viral YouTube video for Dell Computer called “IT Through The Decades.”

The clip helps promote Dell’s servers by poking fun at all the poor IT related decisions companies have made the past few decades (1978-2008). In the clip, Mike the IT guy suggests “new” technologies like databases and bar codes and gets made fun of by his colleagues.

Olivia doesn’t have a ton of lines but she definitely adds some sex appeal to the YouTube clip. Warning: It’s a little long (especially for a “viral” clip). Olivia fans will also probably get a kick out of seeing her dressed up in retro 70’s and 80’s outfits. You can save this clip off YouTube by following these instructions.

If you’re looking for more Olivia Munn, just Google search her name. YouTube is full of clips of her doing things like riding a Hawaii Chair, seductively eating hotdogs and recovering from a baby oil slip. Too bad she’s dating that turd biscuit Bryan Greenberg from One Tree Hill.

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attack of the show, baby oil, bryan greenberg, olivia munn, one tree hill, playboy magazine

The Evolution of Dance is the most-viewed YouTube video ever. In the video, Judson Laipply, a motivational speaker, dances to a soundtrack that plays through various popular songs ranging from Elvis Presley to MC Hammer and Michael Jackson. As of February 2008, The Evolution of Dance has over 76 million views on YouTube, and is the most viewed video on the site.

Here’s a parody of The Evolution of Dance performed by Optimus Prime from The Transformers called “The Evolution of Dance With Optimus Prime.” Keep your eyes peeled for the subtle robotic crotch thrusts during YMCA. It might not be appropriate for younger Decepticons.

Gotta love the ending. Optimus Prime doesn’t like the Macarena. He transforms and leaves the stage.

Surprisingly, this clip is not from the popular stop-animation comedy show Robotic Chicken. The guy who made it is named Patrick Boivin. Seth Green should give him a job.

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evolution of dance, macarena, optimus prime, seth green, transformers, youtube

The biggest American reality show on TV has finally joined the iTunes platform. Fox Broadcasting, Fox Interactive Media and FremantleMedia signed an exclusive deal with Apple to bring American Idol audio and video performances to iTunes as single song-sized snippets available the day after they premiere on air.

Audio performances of the top 24 contenders run 99¢ per song, and videos of the top 12 finalists performances will be priced $1.99/each from March 11.

Apple will also become one of the show’s premiere sponsors and maintain a branded presence on AmericanIdol.com, where some free streaming performances can be seen.

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american idol, apple, fox broadcasting

How do the corespondents of NBC News stay alert and up all night when covering the U.S. Presidential primaries? Adrenaline? The thrill of being on live TV? Nope. They get all drugged up on caffeine, sugar and gels.

Here’s a video that documents the talent of NBC News and their substance of choice.

Brian Williams (NBC Nightly News)
Power Bars and gels

Ann Curry (Today Show)
12 shots of Starbucks espresso

Tim Russert (Meet The Press)
Diet Coke & licorice

Mara Schiavocampo (NBC News)
gallons of Red Bull

I’m not exactly sure who at NBC News is in charge of scraping an over-caffeinated Ann Curry off the ceiling. Probably a poor intern.

Source: msnbc.com

live tv, msnbc, nbc, nbc news, presidential primaries

UPDATE:Paramount spokeswoman Brenda Ciccone made this statement in response to reports that Paramount is abandoning the HD-DVD format: “Paramount’s current plan is to continue to support the HD-DVD format.” The statement didn’t specify if Paramount would also produce Blu-ray DVDs in addition to HD-DVDs. It will be interesting to see how this story pans out.

I just gave the bad new to one of the guys in the Toshiba booth at CES. He wasn’t happy. Their HD-DVD focused booth looks a little silly now.

According to the Financial Times, Paramount is going to drop their support for Toshiba’s HD-DVD after Warner Brothers pulled out of the HD-DVD camp last Sunday night. This will most likely put the final nail in the coffin of the HD-DVD format and end the biggest home entertainment format war since Betamax vs. VHS.

Why the sudden switch? Why did Paramount go over to Sony’s Blu-ray so quickly? Insiders are saying that a clause in Paramount’s contract allowed the company to drop HD-DVD in the event that Warner Bros decided to back Blu-ray.

Continue Reading>>

blu ray, ces, hd dvd, toshiba, warner bros, warner brothers

According to reports, Apple is close to announcing plans to make Fox and Disney movies available as online rentals via iTunes (US). Apple CEO Steve Jobs is likely saving the official announcement for his Macworld Expo keynote on Jan. 14.

Customers would pay a fee to download titles viewable on computers, iPods and presumably Apple TV devices that would expire after a short window of time. Netflix, Amazon.com and Blockbuster’s Movielink are competitors in this space.

Wal-Mart, however, has thrown in the towel. Wal-Mart.com quietly pulled the plug on its video download service late last month as Hewlett Packard decided to discontinue the back-office technology that powered it. The service, popular with studios because it offered variable pricing, struggled with compatibility issues. Wal-Mart downloads could not be burned to DVDs or watched on video iPods.

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amazon, apple tv, blockbuster, disney, fox, ipods, macworld, movielink, steve jobs

Call me crazy, but when a group of Police officers approach me holding guns and start yelling “Get down on the ground,” I’m gonna listen. This guy… not so much.

Watch this clip first from the popular American TV series “Dateline: To Catch A Predator”, then read my explanation. I’ve analyzed this YouTube clip frame by frame and watched it like 50 times. I think I’ve got it all figured out.

The perp unknowingly shows up at a “Dateline: To Catch A Predator” sting house looking for a sexual encounter with an underage teen he met in a chat room. After Chris Hansen pops out and basically tells him that he’s on national TV, the guy tries to put on his shoes and walk out the front door to freedom. But the cops are outside.

Continue Reading >>

american tv series, dateline to catch a predator, police officers, predator

When considering some of the most extreme environments on the planet, surely Antarctica, one of the coldest, driest and windiest places on earth (average temp of -56º F) comes to mind. Now imagine trying to conduct a live TV broadcast there. Sounds crazy right? My Direct-TV dish can’t even get a clear signal when it’s raining outside let alone an Antarctic blizzard. But on Nov. 5th & 6th the Today show will try when Ann Curry and Matt Lauer report live from Antarctica and the North Pole in a segment the Today Show calls The Ends of the Earth. This will be the first live simultaneous broadcast in history from the top and bottom of the globe.

When facing some of planet’s harshest conditions, how do you even begin to coordinate a live TV shoot? Well, it might not seem like such an insurmountable feat when you consider that there are 1,000-4,000 people living and working in Antarctica on any given day (mostly scientists and their support staff). In fact, there are several year around permanent research stations in Antarctica. According to this article, the Today Show recruited the help of one such research station supported by the National Science Foundation. The NSF’s established base in Antarctica has advanced technological capabilities including a pre-set data circuit that show was able use for transmission. Using this system paired with a software program called Qvidium, there was no need for satellites. So no matter what the weather is like, NBC will still be able to broadcast live.

The actual equipment in use for this shoot is pretty straightforward. The shoot will be a single camera shot using the Ikegami HLV55 with it’s feed hooked up to a laptop computer that runs the Qvidium software to stream live video. The Qvidium system transports and/or captures live video feeds for IP networks, including High Definition video. It enables this high-quality video transport over unconditioned IP networks, including wireless links and the Internet. It can operate on a single path due to the limitations of bandwidth.

As far as other equipment, goes it was all very standard. Nothing special was used with regard to the microphones, batteries, or the like. It seems as though Antarctica is pretty advanced for a giant desert of ice, especially when considering the fact that NBC’s director of production operations was easily reached on his cell phone down there.

Ironically it looks like the biggest challenge of this shoot won’t be technology, but rather making sure that the production crew stay warm. Also, the Antarctic Boomerang won’t make it an easy trip home.

You can track Ann Curry’s progress online here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/21487444

Brrrr voyage Ann!

[Sources: CaptClicker.com & Wikipedia]

ann curry, Antarctica, Ikegami HLV55, nbc, north pole, qvidium, satellites, south pole, The Ends of the Earth, today show

NBC News anchor Brian Williams tried to give a tour of his new TV studio live on the air but oops…. the studio DOOR WAS LOCKED!!!

I wonder how many people got fired for that? You can see the clip here on YouTube.com.

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brian williams, nbc news, news anchor, tv studio, youtube

With the impending release of The Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson (Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) fans everywhere can get a taste of what’s to come with his short film Hotel Chevalier.

The 13-minute short film is a prequel for Darjeeling stars Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman who play estranged lovers that meet one last time. Hotel Chevalier is a free download on iTunes (US).

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chevalier, darjeeling limited, life aquatic with steve zissou, royal tenenbaums, wes anderson

A tearful Britney Spears fan named Chris Crocker posted a passionate video called Leave Britney Alone! on YouTube after the pop star’s disastrous MTV Awards performance. Crocker’s video has become an instant YouTube hit and has gotten about 4 million views.

In it, Crocker defends Britney’s widely-criticized performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, in which the troubled pop star appeared out of time and out of shape while miming the words to her new song “Gimme More.” It reminded me of Ashlee Simpson’s SNL un-synced disaster.

Crocker berates the media for their treatment of Britney since the awards show and says fans should be thankful she decided to perform. Here’s a transcript of his rant:

“How f**king dare anyone out there make fun of Britney after all she’s been through. She went through a divorce, she had two kids … and now she’s going through a custody battle. All you people care about is readers and making money off of her.

She’s a human. She hasn’t performed on stage in years. Her song is called Gimme More for a reason - because all you people want is more, more, more, more, more … leave her alone. You’re lucky she even performed for you bastards. Leave Britney alone … please.”

Crocker, who has posted other YouTube videos about Britney Spears, said on the Howard Stern Sirius satellite radio show yesterday that he was “not acting” and was “really crying.”

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britney spears fan, mtv awards, mtv video music awards, video music awards, youtube

Good news for Tron fans. According to the Hollywood Reporter, commercial director Joseph Kosinski is in final negotiations to direct a sequel to the 1982 cult movie classic. Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film, has signed on as a producer.

Kosinski, who last month signed on to the remake of “Logan’s Run” for Warner Brothers, will oversee the visual development of the project and have input on the script, which is being written by “Lost” scribes Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Story details are being kept secret.

In case you didn’t see the original film or have forgotten the plot (after all it’s 25 years-old now), Tron was about a computer programmer who gets sucked into a virtual world and forced to fight in his own video games. In 1982, the special effects used in Tron were groundbreaking. It was the first movie to use computer generated images (CGI) in conjunction with live action. Sources also say that visual effects personnel, for many of whom Tron was an inspiration to enter the business, are already are jockeying to work on the film.

Before Disney green lighted Lisberger to make the original film, he had to shot a test reel, financed by the studio, of the deadly Frisbee battle. It looks like Kosinski will have to do the same thing, but this time the studio wants to see a test sequence involving the movie’s Light Cycles. I can see why. The arcade game based on the Light Cycle scene was so popular in the early 1980’s that it earned more money than the movie.

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adam horowitz, computer generated images, light cycles, tron

MTV’s latest reality show - A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila - is built around the dishy, scantily clad singer/model who is reputed to have the most friends in the history of MySpace (2,009,335 at last count).

Tila’s career began at the age of 18 when she was discovered at a shopping mall by a Playboy scout and was offered a chance to model nude for the magazine and did a test shoot. Tila was featured as Playboy’s Cyber Girl of the week on April 22, 2002, and a couple weeks later became Playboy’s first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month.

Besides MySpace and Playboy, Tila is also known for her photo spreads in Stuff, Maxim, and her role as host of the popular Fuse TV show Pants-Off Dance-Off.

MTV ordered 10-episodes of Tila’s elimination-format dating show. It’s slated to premiere on October 9th on MTV (USA).

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cyber girl of the week, fuse tv, maxim, myspace, playboy, reality show, tila tequila