jpmblog.com

No longer are bloggers tied to their desktop computers and Modems.

There are now many ways that a blogger can write articles whilst on the move.

Wifi is becoming more readily available, from homes to libraries to coffee shops, so any wifi equipped device from Laptop to iPod touch can be used to go on line and blog.

So what happens if you haven’t got access to Wifi but want to blog, well there’s the 3g mobile networks.

Most modern mobile phones include an Internet browser which can be used to write blog posts and some will even provide dedicated blogging apps, but for longer posts the lack of  a dedicated keyboard can be a problem.

The Mobile Internet can be provided to laptops or netbooks through 3g usb dongles,  where a true Internet experience at a respectable speed can be achieved for a reasonable cost, but this only allows one device to connect a once, and the device needs to be a computer.

Another option is to get a 3g to wifi router like the 3 Mifi. Theses devices provide access to the 3g data networks through a portable wifi router, so any wifi enabled device can access the net and be used for blogging. These devices also allow multiple devices to connect at the same time.

So never feel that you can only blog from home, there are many options that allow you to blog from anywhere.

R.U.S.E may have been delayed but the anticipation is still high for it.

To see my other posts on R.U.S.E. click here.

In this new video we are talked through the game play….and it’s looking good.

If you ever had any doubt that the cast of Glee can actually sing, they were recently asked to sing the American National Anthem before the 3rd game of the Baseball World Series.

Led by Amber Riley putting on a powerful soulful performance all the main cast members take part.

The results are quite impressive and are shown in the video below.

Recently Philos have taken time out from their busy Schedule to take part in a quick Question and Answer Session with jpmblog.com

jpmblog: Who were your musical idols growing up?

Philos: The great thing about our band is that we all have different idols and musical influences. When we come together and work on stuff, we’re really pulling from a vast history of music. In no particular order, our idols were: The Beatles, The Normals, Gin Blossoms, Dave Matthews Band, Derek Webb, Third Eye Blind, Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Foo Fighters, Tonic

jpmblog: If each of you had to pick a favourite song that inspire you, what would it be?

Vince – One of my most inspirational songs, Jimmy Eat World’s “For Me This is Heaven” I just love the melody and the lyrics, and the way it builds and builds. Just beautiful.

Kenny – Oh geez.. Really? One song? Ever? You’re killing me… Ummm.. I’ll have to go with the first one that pops up.. How about “If You’re Gonna Leave” by Emerson Hart?

Michael – This is never an answerable question, but today, I’ll go for “Two Of You” by Jackson Browne.

jpmblog: If you had to compare yourself to any other group, band or artist, who would it be?

Philos: We get a mix of “Switchfoot, Third Eye Blind, Dashboard Confessional” (but better… haha!)

jpmblog: Where did you guys meet and when did you first decide to form a band?

Philos: We all met while attending Belmont University in Nashville, TN. We met in 2003. We were roommates in a few different houses until 2007. While living together, we’d always write and play music with and for each other…The band started as a joke, in all honesty in 2008. We wanted to see if we could play a show as a band, and have fun. We had 150+ people to our first show, and from then on, we’ve been Philos.

jpmblog: You have just released your version of the Wicked hit Defying Gravity, what made you pick that song for release, and why does it standout for you, and how cool is it that you have a song available on iTunes?

Philos: Vince saw the musical in Chicago, and walked away from it singing the song to his sister. As they’re walking through the streets of Chicago to catch a train, he, a drummer, started air drumming to the song and told her, “Defying Gravity needs to be a pop tune”. She halfheartedly agreed, mainly just to please him. When Vince got back to Nashville, he worked on a rough track of the song before he showed it to his roommate and lead singer, Kenny. Kenny had seen the show. Vince played the rough, then the original for Kenny. Something truly came over them as they listened to the lyrics this time. They knew the song had to be recorded. The message in the song is perfect for what we, as 20-somethings and musicians trying to make it in a very difficult industry, want to say. But beyond that, It relates to everyone…That’s why the song is such a great success. The lyric transcends the Broadway/musical-theater genre, and resonates with anyone that hears it. As far as we know, we’re the only male fronted version of the song. (We don’t count the guy from Glee. Yes, he’s a male, but his vocal range is insanely high).

We’re extremely grateful to be on iTunes. It literally allows us to reach the world. Up until recently, if you were an independent band, it was really difficult for people across the country, nevermind the world, to hear your music. Now, anyone anywhere can find our songs. It’s truly amazing.

jpmblog: How many gigs have you guys performed in?

Philos: a lot. Uh… Combined? Hundreds. We play a lot, but we haven’t started extensive touring yet. We still need to sell more records. (*hint hint*/ahem… readers!!)

jpmblog: What’s been your favourite gig so far and do you have any funny touring stories?

Philos: Favorite gig, hands down…. Playing at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles for the composer of Wicked’s birthday party which was also a benefit for the Actors Guild.

(Photo taken from here)

We got invited to play with a whole slew of Broadway stars to honor Stephen. The LA leads from Wicked were there. The original Belle from Beauty and the Beast… etc. and … us.

We got to open the Wicked portion of the show. We went into the show as the only unknown, and we ended up being the last to leave. So many people wanted to talk to us, and get our story. It was really wonderful.

There are strings of stories about having calendar models sign our bodies, fitting an entire band in a four door sedan, and our guitarists getting in a mix up and knocking each other out with their guitars on stage, but we’ll leave those for a next interview.

jpmblog: If you could pick any song to cover for your next release, which song would it be?

Philos: Well… we’re not really TRYING to be a cover band… so ideally, we’ll get to do originals. HAHA. Vince has always wanted to do “circle of life’ , Kenny’s a fan of “Welcome” by Caleb. Michael likes the song “Maneater” by Hall & Oates.

jpmblog:  Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Philos: Bigger than Coldplay and U2 combined. Naw, really… we dont know. The goal has been, and always will be, to be able to sustain our lives by doing what we love to do. That’s happiness for us.

jpmblog: What’s next for Philos?

Philos: We’re hoping to have our 2nd EP done in the next month or so. We’re going do some little tours, and hopefully we’ll get more wonderful fans like we have now. It’s all about them.

A Big Thanks to Philos for taking the time the answer my questions.

In this Post I described how the TV show Glee was becoming popular. In a move of commercial genius, after each episode has finished, the songs from that show become available on iTunes.

The net affect is that Glee songs are finding their way into the UK music chart. Don’t stop believing has been flying high in the charts for several weeks, and the Glee version of the Queen Hit “Somebody to Love” has also just charted, with good cause it’s a really good version.

Check out the official of the Glee version of Somebody to Love below.

Each Day this week we are sharing more Philos tracks.

Todays Philos Song is their version of the Christmas Carol We Three Kings.

You can either hear the song my watching the video below, or by downloading the MP3 by clicking on the Down load link.

We Three Kings MP3 Download Link.

Each Day this week we are sharing more Philos tracks.

Todays Philos Song is Weight of the World.

You can either hear the song my watching the video below, or by downloading the MP3 by clicking on the Down load link.

Weight of the World MP3 download link

Each Day this week we are sharing more Philos tracks.

Todays Philos Song is Left Me.

You can either hear the song my watching the video below, or by downloading the MP3 by clicking on the Down load link.

Left Me Mp3 Download link

Some Blog Carnivals are run very well and some aren’t. This carnival is an example of one of the better ones:

Have a look at : http://bestblogreview.com/2010/02/family-health-wellness-carnival-2/.

The blog is well presented, contains good articles and the owner has emailed all the contributors to ask then to put a link to the carnival.

Check it out.

Each Day this week we are sharing more Philos tracks.

Todays Philos Song is Difference.

You can either hear the song my watching the video below, or by downloading the MP3 by clicking on the Down load link.

Difference Download MP3

Just a quick follow up on this post, where Philos perform their version of Defying Gravity.

The Band have released an impressive acoustic version onto YouTube to show case their talent.

Check out the video below.

Following on from this article and this article I thought I would see which days are the busiest for Internet traffic to my sight.

Now that Netbook-Experience.com & Techplay-experience.com are becoming more established I thought I would see if there is any pattern appearing.

The results are shown below in a table showing an average on traffic on each day per site:

What the results show, other then Tech Play not doing as well as I would hope, is that Weekends continue to be the busiest days.

Each Day this week we are sharing more Philos tracks.

Todays Philos Song is Come Drive.

You can either hear the song my watching the video below, or by downloading the MP3 by clicking on the Down load link.

Come Drive MP3 Download link.

Todays Philos Song is Angels We have Heard on High.

Angels We have Heard on High is a well known Christmas Carol, which Philos perform here in there own style.

You can either hear the song my watching the video below, or by downloading the MP3 by clicking on the Down load link.

MP3 Download Link

X-Factor stars Jedward (Jonathan & Edward) have released their version of Under Pressure as a single, and at the time of writing the song was the second most popular single purchased on iTunes.

What’s really interesting though is the reviews and scores given by the people who have purchased the single. The marks are split almost 50/50 between 1 star and 5 stars, with no one scoring in between. I’ve never seen that before and it sums up Jedward and their appeal perfectly.

You either love them or hate them

It’s always interesting to see how different people interpret and perform the same piece of music in completely different ways.

In previous posts I’ve written about the song Defying Gravity from the hit musical Wicked, performed in the original Broadway style, in a rock style by Kerry Ellis, and in a Glee Mash up.

And now the group Philos have released their version of Defying Gravity, and again it’s completely different to the other versions as the band have really stamped their own style onto the song. Check them out in the video below.

This (Picture Left) is the view that most people associate with Crewe, as most of us have been there whilst waiting for train, but is there anything else in Crewe to see and do?

First a note about it’s famous Train Station. The Station which was opened in 1837, has a total of 12 platforms, has a minimum of 22 trains pass through each hour and was built in the fields near Crewe Hall.

Crewe Hall which is now a hotel was completed in 1636 and has 497 acres of parkland attached to it, the hotel has an associated health club and tennis courts.

Crewe’s  local football team is Crewe Alexandra, nicknamed the railwaymen and currently playing in Football League two, play at the Alexandra Stadium.

If you fancy taking in a film or two then check out the Reel Cinema with its 5 screens, and then afterwards have a game of ten pin bowling at Lakeside Bowling or get a bite to eat at Pizza Hut.

You can learn more about Crewe’s history at The Crewe Heritage Centre, which includes much information about it’s steam Heritage and History as well as the background story of the town.

If you fancy a bit of fun and excitement and enjoy slot machines then check out the Quicksilver Amusement & Slot Machine arcade, before checking out the Coffee bars in the modern shopping precinct.

So Crewe isn’t all trains, there is something to keep most of us entertained.

In this post I discussed a method of automatically re-posting old posts on Twitter.

I’ve implemented this system on Jpmblog.com, Netbook-experience.com & Techplay-experience.com along with a link that appears on the end of each post which provides the link for visitors to start following me on Twitter.

Has it been successful? I think so. I’ve picked up 15 extra followers on Twitter, so that’s 15 extra people that everyday see a link to an article from each of my Blogs, and in addition all 3 blogs are getting traffic back from Twitter.

The great thing is that as it’s an automated process it’s not taking any extra of my time.

Fresh from their success in the recent X-Factor TV series, Jonathan and Edward were asked to perform at the National Television Awards. The boys performed their version of the Queen Hit ”Under Pressure”. The audience seemed to enjoy the performance - especially when they were joined on stage by Vanilla Ice.

They may not be the best singers in the world but they certainly have the enthuthiasm

For those of us that wear eyeglasses it can be an expensive chore when it comes to the time to replace a pair or pick up a second pair of glasses. Even the most basic or pairs can set you back over $100.

There are alternatives though, and I have come across a review of ZENNI eyeglasses at the Examiner.com website.
Zenni sell proper prescription sunglasses and their prices are significantly lower then what you are used too. Their ranges start at the low price of $8 and go up to about $40, there is a slight additional price if you require f you want bifocals or thick lenses, and an extra $4.99 for ant-glare coating, although this would set you back over $50 in other stores.

Zenni produce and manufacturer their glasses in a lab in China so they are able to offer the glases at low prices, and there is a price of $4.95 for shipping, no matter how many pairs you order in a shipment.

When you order from Zenni you will need to provide your pupilary distance number. Which is the distance between the rear of your eyes and it’s used to work out how large your the frames for your glasses need to be. Zenni will tell you how to do this yourself, but you pay to contact your eye doctor and ask for your PD number if in doubt.

It IS possible to get quality eyeglasses for a low cost