Urban Eola

Roddick? I'll take it
Sunday, April 30, 2006

Uber-cool site. Upload a photo of yourself and your face is recognized and compared to 3,200 influential people and celebrity faces for the closest look-a-like. You have to sign up for the site but it’s free and only takes a minute. My Heritage face recognition

UE update :: in my 26+ years, no one has ever told me I look like the 6'4" tall, stud tennis player Andy Roddick. But according to My Heritage, I look like him in two different pictures. I got some bounce in my step.

Labels:


posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:13 PM | |

Cribs, part due

If you like MTV's Cribs, check out AT&T's See How They Live, which is basically an internet version of Cribs. NBA funnyman and former player himself, Kenny Smith is the host. For now, three NBA players have had the cameras in their house. Other sports like tennis, soccer, football, and baseball are expected to have athletes soon. If you can avoid the shameless AT&T plugs, you'll enjoy the show. Damn, Elton Brand has a money pad.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 10:45 AM | |

YouTube TV

If you haven't been to YouTube.com, you gotta check it out. Read this interesting article (Your Tube, Whose Dime?) It has been tabbed THE hot internet start-up of this year. Supposedly about 35,000 new videos are uploaded daily and 30 million clips watched daily.

There's some pretty cool stuff on there. Just browse around and treat it as your own personalized entertainment station. Urban Eola will be posting the "best of" from time to time.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:07 AM | |

Who still uses a land line?
Friday, April 28, 2006

With Skype growing to 100 million users (AP story) and internet usage at an all-time high in the U.S. (AP) why would people waste their money on a land telephone line?


posted by Michael Tavani @ 3:05 PM | |

$60,000 worth of iPods

UE take :: Thanks to YouTube for this highly-talked about video. Urban Eola will be posting many more videos right into the blog, just like this one.



posted by Michael Tavani @ 2:54 PM | |

Baby Jordan

This story broke a couple years back, but nontheless the video is still amazing.

Little Mark Walker can make shots. Probably more than most grown men. Watch this video of a 3-year-old kid who makes 18 straight shots on an 8-foot basketball goal. Video and Articles - (1) Reebok robs the cradle - Slate, (2) Reebok signs talented kid up - USA Today


posted by Michael Tavani @ 10:49 AM | |

Lots O' Blogs
Thursday, April 27, 2006

In my research for my paper on copyright in blogs, I found many interesting sites on blogging. One of the sites I found contained a list of 262 blogs written by law students. In fact, Urban Eola was just added and is prominently displayed at the top (thanks to the B in Barry). If you want to get inside the minds of 262 future lawyers' minds, view the law student blogger directory.

UE Note :: Not all the blogs are about law school. That would be really boring and UE would never link to that list. Some are like Urban Eola (ie: interesting and having nothing to do with law school.)


posted by Michael Tavani @ 7:04 PM | |

Life: defined by Lou
Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Great quote from a great mind. (Lou Holtz)

Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.
- Lou Holtz


posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:00 PM | |

Vespa, Vespa

Just like UE said in it's second ever post, Europe is ahead of the U.S. in popular trends. Now mopeds, or Vespas, are taking off in the U.S. as a result of the $3.00 gas prices. These things have been hot in Europe forever. Read the article. High gas prices propel a new 'moped madness'


posted by Michael Tavani @ 7:32 AM | |

Blog on!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006

UE's blogs have hit a slight not-so-fresh streak recently, but that is due in large part to... blogs. I just completed a 30-page paper for a legal research class at Barry University School of Law on the copyright implications of blogging titled, Blog On: A Copyright Analysis of the Blogging Phenomenon. My findings were very interesting. Here's a quick clip:
As of yet, large companies, major websites, and the mainstream media have yet to make a concerted effort to go after bloggers for copyright infringement, much as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has pursued unlawful downloaders of music files. The courts, albeit slowly, are beginning to establish the framework of the legal landscape for blogs. Will it change the blogosphere? Who knows, but the capitalistic nature of society tends to have a resourceful way of innovating new technologies, regardless of the law.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:16 PM | |

College football helmet map
Monday, April 24, 2006

Very cool map to satisfy all those college football fanatics in the off-season. Can't wait until toe meets leather in August.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:32 PM | |

Being a young entrepreneur

Solid article on young people starting on their own. Young Entrepreneurs Skip Corporate Arena - Startup Journal


posted by Michael Tavani @ 10:30 AM | |

What do you do online?
Sunday, April 23, 2006

Web activities that internet users say they engage in frequently (from The Gallup Organization):

UE take :: Interesting list. The 10% downloading music seems to be a little low. What about all those people with iPods? The percentage reading blogs will rise a bunch in the next couple years. The 19% making travel plans seems a bit low too. Do travel agencies still exist? Who isn't going online to book a flight?


posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:53 PM | |

Urban links
Friday, April 21, 2006

If you're into Urban art, music, design, kicks, style, and galleries check out this list of links. Some great-looking sites on there. Creative people. Right up UE's alley. Kobayashi5 urban links list


posted by Michael Tavani @ 8:40 AM | |

Profiting off Duke lax
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Intersting article from Darren Rovell, ESPN's sports business writer. Here's a piece of it.
When the story first hit the news more than a month ago, the average price of a Duke lacrosse item on the online auction site eBay was $7.74. The average price now is $17.04. The pace of transactions has increased, too. In early March, only a handful of Duke lacrosse items changed hands in a week. This past week, 79 items sold. On Monday, T-shirts sold for more than $40 each, with as many as 16 bids on single items.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:19 PM | |

Silicon Slick Tavani Gates

Just when you think you're the biggest balla, balla in your little hood, you lose all your street cred when you spit out your name as "Rich Simon" or "Jim Hill". That's why Player Appreiciate is offering to pimpafy your boring ass handle fo' free. Pimpafy your moniker


posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:53 AM | |

"We're streaking... up through the quad and to the gymnasium"
Tuesday, April 18, 2006

This is pretty hysterical. A streaker runs by live newscast. No reaction from the reporter.

Also, for those Old School fans out there, I found a great site with all the best sound clips. Old School sound clips, including one of the best.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:49 AM | |

Team Hoyt

After watching the 110th running of the Boston Marathon, I want to bring to light one of the most inspirational stories in a long time. The father and son tandem of Dick & Rick Hoyt (Team Hoyt) finished the marathon in 3:43:27. 2006 was their 25th Boston Marathon.

That's pretty impressive when you consider that Dick's 65-years-old and together they averaged 8:30 minute miles over the 26-mile course. It's even more impressive when you consider that the father, Dick had arthriscopic surgery on his knee and wasn't able to run for over a month while training for this race, the most prestigious marathon in the world.

Consider their background: they race 40 times a year and since 1977, Rick and Dick Hoyt have completed more than 900 endurance events around the world, including 64 marathons and eight Ironman triathlons. Their best marathon time is 2:40:47 which is elite and not much off professional status.

Now imagine that Dick, running at an 8:30-per-mile pace, pushes his son Rick a slight 44-year-old quadriplegic in a 27-pound wheelchair. Read the stories above.

Amazing what you can do when you have inspiration.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:11 AM | |

One red paperclip
Monday, April 17, 2006

First the Million Dollar Homepage now the red paperclip story. One red paperclip is the firsthand account of Kyle MacDonald an enterprising Canadian who is trying to make a series of trades to trade up from one red paperclip to a house. Right now, he's got one year of free rent at a house in downtown Phoenix, AZ. He has some pretty sweet offers on the table and is getting major pub (AP, Good Morning America, c/net), so he will almost definitely get the house he wants.

It just goes to show that there are still tons of ripe, entrepreneurial ideas out there for young and creative web-savvy people. Got ideas? Let's collaborate. email UE.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 10:48 AM | |

Google calendar
Sunday, April 16, 2006

Google recently released Google calendar, a logical next step to complement their search, email, photo organizer, Blogger, maps, content aggregators, and other content. Google is pretty much now a one-stop shop for all useful resources on the web.

The calendar lets you publish your own public calendar, or selectively choose which events are available for public viewing or for your eyes only. You can also have group/team calendars, send invitations to events (ala Evite), along with event reminders, and each user can search their calenders with the built-in search tool. One of the most useful features is the built-in maps where you can map and get directions to an event on your calendar in one click.

It's very user-friendly and pretty impressive, so now's the perfect time to organize your schedule. It's definitely worth a look.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 9:34 PM | |

To save the world, you must teach the world
Friday, April 14, 2006

UE has been an active recycler and environmentalist since an ecology class taught by renowned UGA Professor James Porter changed the mindset.

Leonardo DiCaprio is extremely involved in environmental matters and has produced two short must-see films titled Global Warming and the Water Planet.

UE's challenge to the readers of the Urban Eola blog: Take the 5 minutes and watch these two videos. If you are not inspired to help conserve the earth and make a difference then you and UE are not on the same page. Maybe start looking for another blog.

Watch both of Leonardo DiCaprio's movies.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 8:33 PM | |

The best of the Pope captions

Thanks to loyal readers TS, SK, FT, T, CA, and MU for their Pope captions. More un-captioned pictures to come. Here's the best of.
- "Did I put gel in my hair today?" - CA
- "If only my penis could stand up like this" - TS
- "My hair, my hair, my hair is flying away" - SK
- "I'm surrounded by Italians" - FT
- "Don't mess with me" - FT
- "Fire my new hairstylist" - T
- "I'll fight in white trunks and you fight in black" - FT
- "In an effort to appeal to today's youth, the Pope starting spiking his hair" - MU
- "Will the real Pope please stand up" - FT


posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:31 PM | |

50 greatest independent movies

UE take :: Independent movies have recently been much better than the major studio movies. Some people think they are always better than major productions. The arduous, corporate, and excessively expensive process that major studios have to go through before even filming a movie is not conducive to maximum artistic and creative value.

Take a tip and look up a local film festival in your area (they go on more often than you think) and attend it. You will get a much different and often times better feel than after leaving a 100 million dollar film.

In the meantime, check out this list of the 50 greatest independent films of all time.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:13 PM | |

Will work for head
Thursday, April 13, 2006

Check out these entertaining lists and articles from CNN Money on the Best Jobs in America. How does your job stack up? Professional blogger is not listed.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 5:45 PM | |

Forward this to 67 people and have good luck for 7 years
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

"It must be true. I read it on the internet." Read this list of the 10 biggest internet scams. How many have you fallen for? 10 biggest internet hoaxes.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:18 PM | |

Pelvic power lifting

Classic video. Potentially one of the funniest ever. I love the power lifters' coach. The attention to detail is impressive. So is the athleticism. Trojan Games.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:07 PM | |

What do Clubber Lang and the Pope have in common?
Tuesday, April 11, 2006

* Email UE your best caption and we'll post it.
* For those of you that don't know who Clubber Lang is, click here... and start watching Rocky III.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 12:09 PM | |

DJ Urban Eola - Pandora lets you create your own station
Monday, April 10, 2006

Got this tip from PC World's Fabulous Freebies list.

Don't play the same song until you're sick of it. Enter the name of an artist or song you like, and Pandora will create a custom "radio station" for you that plays similar music, right in your browser. This service makes surprisingly good choices, and it uses your feedback to refine them further. And if you get tired of one station, you can just create a new one.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:44 PM | |

Collegiate licensed home designs

Balzer and Associates, Inc., an architectural and engineering firm based in Roanoke, Va. has plans to develop the first ever line of collegiate licensed home plans.

The first line of houses will be modeled after the Virgina Tech campus with plans to expand to other universities. The wide range of house plans include small and large scale homes that incorporate the characteristic “Collegiate Gothic” architectural elements found on most Virginia Tech buildings. All blueprints sold or developed will have the Virginia Tech shield logo and will be a registered “Hokie Home.”


posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:07 PM | |

Cuban's blog
Sunday, April 09, 2006

For a good read, check out Mark Cuban's blog (Blog Maverick). He's one of the best examples of a young, cocky, driven, street savvy entrepreneur you will ever see. He might not be liked by everyone and come out controversial on certain topics (NBA refs included) but his businesses have been hugely successful.

UE particularly liked his "Getting Paid to Learn" post, with excerpts of how Cuban slept on his friend's couch in his early 20's before starting his first company, MicroSolutions.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:03 PM | |

Design any inspiration
Saturday, April 08, 2006

Want to design a shirt for yourself or a friend with a funny quote or saying? CustomInk.com is an awesome site where you can design your own shirts, hats, or anything. They have an online design lab where you can see your shirt, hat, etc. and manually add text and images to it. And you can print as little as one item. Also, very good customer support as UE's dealt with them in the past.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:27 AM | |

FilmLoop
Friday, April 07, 2006

Useful site for people who share photos with others over the internet.

Instead of e-mailing photos to friends & family, or sending people to a web page, FilmLoop allows users to share photos in a "loop", a string of images that scrolls on your desktop screen. You can share a loop with friends & family, then update the photos in the loop -- simultaneously updating the loop for all your friends & family. Also, they can add their photos to your Loop if you want.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:00 PM | |

Are the 90's retro enough?
Thursday, April 06, 2006

Been thinking about this for a while... are the 90's old enough to be considered retro? To throw gas on the fire, Nike designed a "throwback" soccer jersey for the U.S. World Cup team that was modeled after a jersey originally worn in 1995.
In the picture above of Nelly and Jay-Z (at the 2006 NBA All-Star game), Nelly seems to be rockin' 90's gear.

Whadda'ya think?


posted by Michael Tavani @ 5:15 PM | |

Vintage gear

I stumbled upon this site which is an online magazine for those who grew up in the 90's in urban America. The online magazine covers the lifestyle of the 90's including fashion, music, technology, and culture.

Novel site idea - Vintage Gear Addicts.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 4:57 PM | |

Tag, you're it
Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Do you constantly forget your passwords? Want to just wave your hand instead? No problem. Insert a tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) computer chip into your hand.

RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags, which are about the size of a grain of rice. For example, an RFID tag is used in the plastic electronic toll collectors (examples: Cruise Card-Atlanta, SunPass-Florida, E-Z Pass-New York, I-Pass-Chicago).

An RFID tag is a small object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person. RFID tags contain silicon chips and antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.

+ Interesting read on how a 29-year-old entrepreneur is using this tagging technology - Computer Chips Get Under Your Skin - TechSpot
+ Great article on tagging submitted by loyal reader RW who commented "this kind of freaks me out." - Taggers - The New Yorker


posted by Michael Tavani @ 10:10 PM | |

Funny competition
Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Guy Kawasaki writes a very well-informed blog. He had a post two weeks ago on the concept of competition in business titled "The Art of Driving Your Competition Crazy". Some hilarious excerpts:

Read the full text of Guy's "Competition" post.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 10:11 PM | |

Who thinks of this stuff?

Just after 1 a.m., the time will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

That's two minutes and three seconds after 1 a.m. on April 5, 2006.

It may be the coolest sequence since July 8, 1990, when, for a second, it was 12:34:56 7/8/90.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:52 PM | |

There ain't no student in student-athletes
Monday, April 03, 2006

"Don't be mad at us if we don't do a little homework the next couple weeks." -Joakim Noah

"America wants to see us win not work." -Al Horford

UE take :: Tonights comments by Florida basketball players after their NCAA championship win shines light on the fact that "amateur" college student-athletes are a whole lot closer to being pro athletes than the NCAA makes you think. Do you think these kids will be studying for their ecology test tomorrow? Yet the average Univ. of Florida student staying up into the wee hours of the night partying and celebrating this win will most definitely be responsible for his/her school work (drunk or not).

The key point is that big-time college athletics is professional. Millions of dollars are spent on the sports and very little time is spent in the classroom. UE has no problem with the setup, but the NCAA should then not impose other sanctions on these kids to preserve their "amateur" status.

High school players are amateur athletes. College players don't do homework for a couple weeks after a big win.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:53 PM | |

Nasty as he wants to be

Is the best player from the most popular sport in the world the best athlete in the world? After watching this video it's hard not to say Brazil's Ronaldinho is the best athlete in the world. His moves are the kind of stuff you'd see a college player doing against 10-year-olds at the local YMCA.

Watch Ronaldinho's latest YouTube video.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 10:53 PM | |

Smooth as ice
Sunday, April 02, 2006

Delicious and nutritious smoothies have been everywhere for about the last 10 years, but they are just so healthy, refreshing and tasty that they deserve their own UE blog.

A smoothie is a cold beverage that is made by mixing fruit and juice and sometimes ice in a blender. The use of frozen fruits often replaces the need for ice in the recipe. The most popular smoothie is the relatively simple banana, strawberry, OJ, and honey combo.

Though the term smoothie was coined by a cookbook in the 1960s, the first smoothies, fruit and ice, began with the invention of the blender in the 1930s. The smoothie was popularized in California as a healthy, non-dairy alternative to milkshakes. West coast health stores began popularizing today's versions of smoothies in the 70's and 80's.

The largest smoothie shops in the U.S. today are:
1) Jamba Juice (San Francisco)
2) Planet Smoothie (Atlanta)
3) Smoothie King (New Orleans)

Check out Smoothie-Recipes.Net - the definitive on-line collection of free high-quality smoothie recipes with 100's of smoothie-making tips.

The above smoothie was blended and photographed by UE.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 9:40 PM | |

Design your own flip flops
Saturday, April 01, 2006

Customization of apparel has become more and more common nowadays. Nike has NikeID where you design your own kicks, Timbuk2 allows you to create your own messenger bags, and now American Eagle lets you create your own flip flops online for $14.50.

Finally, an alternative to those everywhere Rainbow Sandals. Be different; design and sport your own style. Just playing around, UE created this pair in about 2 minutes.


posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:44 PM | |



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