Got an iPad? Get These Apps

A friend asked me how I like my iPad, and which apps he should get when he buys his own. I've had this magical device, which I didn't actually know that I needed until I bought it, for about six months now. And this is what I like:

If you read magazines, get Zinio. You can subscribe to magazines on it. Sporting News Today is awesome. I also subscribe to Rolling Stone and Spin on it.

Reeder is perfect if you have a Google Reader account, which is an RSS feeder that allows you to bring all your web sites to one page so you don't have to try and remember checking them all the time. Reeder also allows you to bypass the New York Times' new paywall, because there's a "Readability" button that brings up the entire article within the Reeder app without having to go to the Times website.

Kindle is obviously key for reading books. It's much better on iPad than on the actual Kindle.

I checked out The Daily for a bit. I believe there's still a 14-day free trial available. It's a cool iPad only daily newspaper, but it's published by Rupurt Murdock and I just eventually couldn't take its dumb and slightly conservative leanings. Great idea though.

Read It Later is good, and allows you to save any long articles online for later so you can read them offline whenever you like (which is especially good for long-form journalism in magazines like Vanity Fair and The New Yorker).

Twitter and Friended are good for social media. StumbleUpon is fun for discovering interesting corners of the Internet. Netflix is amazing for streaming movies instantly if you have an account.

Remote is really nice, as it turns your iPad into a remote control for your iTunes account and stereos.

Ultimate Guitar allows you to see and save the guitar tabs and lyrics to just about any song. I've actually been learning other people's songs (instead of always just writing my own songs) for the first time because of this app.

And, finally, I haven't checked it out yet, but apparently all the old Atari games are available now through one, single app. Whenever I find some downtime, I'm going to be all over that.

Apple's Most Ingenius iPhone App Yet

OK, the iPhone is amazing and there are lots of great applications.

Who can argue with News Fuse (which offers dozens of newspapers in one app, although I still prefer just getting my news through Google Reader on the Safari app), FourTrack (for my big-studio recording sessions any time my mind comes up with a song-snippet idea), and BlogWriter (which allows me to post photos and stories on my blog from anywhere in the world)?

But I've discovered the most ingenious app of all. Created by Apple, Remote is a remote control on your iPhone for your iTunes library from anywhere within wireless range of the computer where your library resides.

Unlike some apps, this one works flawlessly and takes about 30 seconds to set up. No more constant opening of your laptop or running back to your computer desk to change tunes. I was sitting on my front porch the other day and flipping from song to song as the music flowed out the front door.

Remote also creates great mixes from you library and allows you to rate songs from your iPhone. The information on the app is completely synched with you iTunes homebase.

Just another reason I will probably always remain a Mac man.

Sarah Silverman Conquers Another Medium: Books

For those who think The Sarah Silverman Program is among the funniest TV shows of the last decade (along with The Daily Show, Arrested Development, Modern Family, 30 Rock, The Office, The Colbert Report, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Scrubs, and Chappelle's Show), then The Bedwetter is your book.

I'm (obviously, see the above list, which is indeed my own) included in this bunch. Sure, Silverman's show is laced with juvenile doodie jokes, but the cleverness and originality are cutting-edge and adorable. This autobiography (don't call it a diary, which is a form of writing the author determines should be either abolished or improved by about a thousandfold) is a personal history of her 39 years rather than a joke book.

But it is often hilarious and frequently biting, especially when it comes to FOX News, the right-wing media, and the Media Action Network for Asian Americans.

Silverman impressively bares all about super-personal issues. She doesn't drink alcohol but apparently smokes gobs of marijuana. She frequently goes through bouts of depression, and mostly keeps it together these days because of her Zoloft intake. She doesn't stop there. Plenty of text is given to her hairy arms and upper lip. As if that weren't enough to cripple her early confidences growing up in New Hampshire, her bedwetting well into her teens would have sealed the deal for most weaker people.

She makes some allusions to quitting the comedy game soon, but let's hope not. She is carrying on the traditions of Steve Martin, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase in fine form. The depth of her material will hopefully sustain our comedy needs for a long time to come.

**** out of ***** stars

North Carolina Pop Culture Interlude

One of my favorite antique shops is down here at the south end of the North Carolina Outer Banks, where I'm vacationing for the week. The Swansboro Antique Centre always has a few good pop-culture kitsch finds.

I bought a handful of weird, pulp, sci-fi classic soft-cover novels for 50 cents each, along with a Saranac beer glass for Rachel and a Mickey Mouse plastic mug for Jackson.

Check out the sideways items in the photo that some lucky customer is soon to love.

How do I get a subscription to Soviet Woman magazine?

Celebrity Sighting Edition: Big Love's Bill Paxton

For some reason, I really know nothing about Bill Paxton. But he's the star of HBO's Big Love, the hit series about Mormon polygamy. It looks like an interesting show. I guess he's one of those people whose face you know more than his name. After all, he's been in tons of great movies, like Stripes, Apollo 13, Weird Science, Club Dread, and Titanic.

While not as thrilling as my recent sighting of Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson, it was still fun to see Paxton and the Big love crew filming today outside the White House among the hunger strikers and other straggling protesters. It was a nice little break in the middle of my 50 state streets ride throughout D.C.

Four Best Pizza Joints in the U.S.

04. Gino's East in Chicago. I'm a thin-crust man, but how can you not include this delicious place? You need a serious appetite to be able to eat any more than one of these pieces, but it's thick with flavor, and if you're lucky, you may get into a quality conversation with one of the locals about Ditka or Da Bearz.

03. Pizza Paradiso in Washington D.C. I've always preferred the Dupont Circle location to the Georgetown one. The district may have a couple of contenders in Red Rocks in Columbia Heights and Roscoe's (see my last post).

02. Imo's Pizza in St. Louis and various other Midwestern locations. I may be biased since I worked here as a deliverer for four years in college, but then again, I've never gotten sick of this thin-crust masterpiece. The secret, believe it or not, is the provel cheese, kinda like how the secret to the Philadelphia cheesesteak at Pat's is Velveeta. The sweet creamy Italian house salad dressing is also phenomenal.

01. Grimaldi's Pizzeria under the Brooklyn Bridge. Thin crust. No need to even add details. Just go there immediately!

Which ones am I missing? Post comments with your recommendations ...

Don't Sweat It: I Love You, Beth Cooper Arrives!

I Love You, Beth Cooper by Simpsons' writer Larry Doyle was the best comedic novel I read in the past year (thanks for the recommendation, Dewey).

And now the trailer is online for the film, set for release in theaters on July 10. Hayden Panetierre of Heroes' fame and Paul Rust play the leads, in what will surely take you back to your cliquish high-school days.

The story involves nerdy class valedictorian Dennis Cooverman proclaiming his love for popular cheerleader Beth Cooper. When Beth actually takes Dennis up on stopping by for Dennis' graduation party at his parents house, a hilarious and unforgettable night ensues.

***** out of ***** stars

Wiener Sausage: The Songs!

Plans are still in the works to carry Wiener Sausage: The Musical! forward to other cities in the U.S. Those plans are predictably coming along slowly by WS's co-creators, myself and Dan Sullivan (pictured left), but they're still coming.

In the meantime, I'll be editing some footage of the Capital Fringe performances from last summer and posting on You Tube.

For starters, here are clips of the songs Not Cash or Check, Baby and Free.

For more songs, stories, and similar nonsense, go to the Wiener Sausage Web site.

You Know You're a Daddy When ...

You go to Disney on Ice. Don't think I'd ever been to one of these things before I accompanied Rachel's family and toddlers Jackson and Julia last night to 1st Mariner Arena (proud home of the indoor soccer Baltimore Blast). Although I can't remember if I actually saw Sesame Street Live on Ice when I was a kid.

Saturday evening's show could have used more of Disney's classic songs. But it was still pretty entertaining, mainly because the kids loved it, even at the probably too-young ages of 2 and 1. The plot was heavy on The Incredibles' family teaming up to find Mickey and Minnie, who have been kidnapped by pirates and others in a Magic Kingdom gone haywire. Or something like that.

But I suppose the plot (and sloppy falls by Dad and Daughter, always my deviously favorite part of ice skating) were beside the point. Disney's stories and characters have a mostly strong record. Call me old school, but my favorites are still Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and The Jungle Book.