On Jelly Telly Going Live...

If you haven't had a chance to check out Phil Vischer's new children's project (Phil is the Veggie Tales guy) you should definately head over to jellytelly.com.  They went live today with a new online children's network, and so far I'm fairly impressed.   The subscription is $2.99 a month (you can have a month free trial) and they plan on making it "pay what you want" as they progress.

The videos are fun and engaging and they are airing the programming in day blocks.  In other words, every day you can go there with your kids and click Monday or Tuesday and see that day's entire block of programming (20 minutes or so?).   There are also fun little flash games to play as well.  I should warn you that this is somewhat of a beta test for them and they will be redisigning and perfecting the technology over the next few months before they do a major launch in the future.   So a bit of patience may be in order especially with the design.

Phil has always had a unique way of programming to kids while not talking down to them and making it fun for adults as well.  My only complaint is that the video is not quite as user friendly as I would like.  For instance, if you watch 10 minutes of the programming and then stop next time you go back you have to watch that 10 minutes again instead of just picking up where you left off.  I'm hoping it's issues like these that get resolved in the next few months.

I plan on introducing my boys to Jelly Telly tonight to see what they think, but I imagine it will be an entertainment hub for them for years to come, and who knows, maybe someday Jelly Telly will compete with Nick and Disney for the eyes of children in the culture at large.

A New Endeavor...

As many of you know, I am a content fiend. I roam the earth to and fro seeking video and audio that I may devour. TV, Movies, Websites, Video Games, and most recently podcasts, free bits of video and audio from anyone who has something to say about anything. Some of my current favorites include ESPN's daily podcasts, Relevant Magazine's weekly podcast, and the Best of You Tube Video cast (I'm a simple man). Well, after years of listening (and watching) random people blathering on about minutia, I had an epiphany. I'm a random person who likes to blather, why shouldn't I have a podcast? (I know you are dying to answer that question for me, but just leave me alone to my delusions for a while ok?)

Today I am proud to announce Skittle Sandwich is available for your podcasting perusal.

Skittle Sandwich is an every other week audio podcast that spends about40 minutes with me and a couple friends (Matt Moore, a local artist and friend who you can check out at mattmooremusic.com, and Sara the Intern, a fellow DJ here at FuseFM who you can hear on the Get up and Go show every morning.) discussing the world of pop culture through our unique lenses.

A couple warnings, before you run out to grab it (Again, leave me to my delusions, please):

- The content may run a bit edgier at times than you might expect from a podcast in the "Christian" section of Itunes. This is not a podcast that is "safe for the little ears" if you will. It's not a profanity thing, just that we wanted the flow to be as free as possible and the discussion to be open and real about the things that make us truly care or even just laugh. I think, as Christians, we often over edit ourselves, and it gives a false impression that we are somehow more (or less) than human. Let's just say there is humanity on display in some of what we have and will be discussing. Whether it be admiring the musicianship of Metallica or Eminem or just laughing that Nintendo named their download section "Wii Ware", we aren't going to bland it down for the many to keep from offending the few.

- This is not an official FuseFM podcast. We won't be talking about it on the air and it is a completely independent project. We mention FuseFM just to say thanks, but the opinions and comments in the podcast should in no way be automatically seen as the views of FuseFM.

So that's the scoop. You can check out Skittle Sandwich at skittlesandwich.com or subscribe to it in Itunes (just search for Skittle Sandwich in the Itunes store). There are two episodes already available and we would LOVE to know any thoughts you have on what we have done, or answer any questions you might have. It would also be immensely appreciated if you left feedback in Itunes about us so that when people search there are comments there as well.

Thanks for continuing to check out Rollin, and I hope Skittle Sandwich will make you smile a bit as well.