Macgirl Media Pick of the Week: thewellspoint.com

This month I'm focusing on photography.  One resource site I really like, is  thewellspoint.com 

This site is a great resource for photographers at all levels.  David H. Wells is a professional photographer with loads of insight and knowledge of the business to share with aspiring photographers, students, and other pros.  I've picked up nuggets of helpful info on his blog, and his student galleries include some stunning work. 

Macgirl Media Pick of the Week: Lynda.com

Lynda.com software training video tutorials.

Ok, so it's not a groud-breaking, cutting edge pick.  But over the years, I have come to love and rely on the good folks who contribute to Lynda.  The trainings are short, focused, and many of the creatives are actually pretty good instructors!  Having just spent 10 hours of my life going through a module on PhotoshopCS5, I feel like a re-charged Photoshop user.  The new features I thought I was taking advantage of already, now truly feel like magic at my fingertips.  So, if you haven't already, stop by the site and check it out.  If you're a designer, video editor, or any other creative type, you can benefit from the trainings on Lynda.  They offer great trainings on business programs, as well. 

Macgirl's Media Pick of the Week: Farscape Flashback

I'm going way back for this favorite TV show, to the turn of the century...the year 2000.  Just moved into a new apartment, this one with cable included!  Sc-fi junky that I was, the commercials for the new show Farscape had me hooked. I was thrilled to have the Sci-Fi Channel, and watching Farscape was a can't miss event each week.

Airing in the US on the Sci-Fi Channel (now sy-fy...sigh), this creative space-journey TV series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon.   Produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark, the show featured Henson Muppets as key characters.  The main plot point revolves around a US astronaut from our time (John Crichton) who gets sucked through a wormhole near Earth and is ejected into the middle of an epic space battle.  He clips a passing ship as he arrives, leading to a death and a brother's revenge plot.  After being rescued by a rouge group of escapees flying in a living space craft (Moya), each show is formed around a mini-arch for the episode, and follows the overall arch of Crichton being pursued by multiple baddies, and his trying to get back to the wormhole.  It may sound a bit hokey, but the set design, acting and writing are compelling and just plain entertaining.

All 4 seasons and the concluding mini-series are available on netflix, or through iTunes (links below).

Farscape, Season 1 - Farscape

Farscape, Season 2 - Farscape

Farscape, Season 3 - Farscape

Farscape, Season 4 - Farscape

Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars

Macgirl's Holiday Media Picks

It's here!  Christmas week is upon us.  Between the shopping and visiting and running errands and getting last-minute work projects done, try to take some time to enjoy the holiday classics. 

Links are to iTunes or independent sources if available.

Music:

John Lennon, Happy Xmas (War is Over)

Burl Ives, The Very Best of Burl Ives

Bing Crosby, White Christmas

Performance:

Great Performances:Dance in America: San Francisco Ballet's `Nutcracker' (linked to your local PBS station to check for air times)

White Christmas (playing at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia)

Movies:

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Elf

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Shows:

 Prep and Landing (on ABC Family, check local listings)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (on ABC, stream it on their site anytime) 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Macgirl's Media Pick: A Thanksgiving Tradition

Jelly of the Month Club??!!

When it's the holiday season, things get crazy for most families. Above the yelling, and the leftovers, and the football on Thanksgiving there's one seasonal favorite that can bring everyone together: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  This movie manages to entertain and bring together a very diverse group of individuals, from the granola-crunching vegetarian to the enjoys-seeing-spine-crushing football fanatic, and we can all laugh in harmony as the Griswold family runs for their lives from the rabid squirrel.  Thank goodness for Chevy Chase.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, available on iTunes and in constant rotation on basic cable TV all season.