Where's Metroknow, and it's Doo Dah Weekend!
I've been pretty quiet on Metroknow for the last week or so, so in case you've been wondering, I wanted to post a quick note on what I've been up to.
Right now (as in, in separate tabs in this very browser session), I've got a bunch of exciting projects brewing that add up to one big pile of Web development - I am actively working on 5 other sites in various stages, including:
* A new technical/programming site (to be announced) with my friend Joe at Codetopia (Joe and I are creating technical content for developers, along with two other published writers). We're also continually working on our game concept for Xbox 360, which is still in early phases of development, but picking up steam.
* A new product/music/cool finder review site with my friend Z over at Birdsfall. Check out his latest blog entry for a sample. We're also teaming up with the guys at Brew Munkey to do some righteous coverage of the state of the Beer nation.
* My own new health and fitness blog that will open a discussion (hopefully) on my own struggles and victories with controlling my diet and exercise habits. Turns out I know a fair bit about the subject of weight loss and general fitness. Who knew?
* A literal frenzy of updates for the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade site, which I operate on a volunteer basis. The folks at Light Bringer, who own and run the Pasadena Doo Dah parade can really use some financial support, so we are trying to give folks options to shower them with cash via the site. The parade is this weekend, and the site is going crazy with traffic. Cool stuff.
* Last but not least, a new Web development venture with a few friends of mine where we're designing and implementing sites for small businesses, similar to the one I did for Tazlab. More info to come.
I'm also working on a site redesign for Metroknow to make it a little easier to read, a little more user-friendly, and all of that good stuff.
Oh, and busily working my day job, working on new music for Beneath the Whale, hosting my sister and then parents' visit this week, and raising two children with my very patient wife.
I am also hunting for a riding lawn mower.
Doo Dah Madness
A little more on the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade - If you happen to be in the L.A. area this weekend, you should definitely check it out. The Doo Dah parade is essentially the cracked-out out-of-the-closet counterpart to the annual stodgy money making machine that is the January 1 Rose Parade. The Rose Parade is steeped in mountains of tradition and Old Money, and it is monetized all the way down to the folding chairs and paper cups.
The Doo Dah Parade, by contrast, consists of a loosely-knit band of volunteers hosting hundreds of wacky folks marching down the street in all of their freakish, strange glory. In fact, it follows part of the same route as the Rose Parade, but in reverse, which is by no means an accident. Doo Dah has been featured on the Travel Channel, many national newspapers and local TV news stations, gets great coverage in the Pasadena Weekly, and has a spot on CNN this weekend. It is an absolute, Freakish Blast.
My wife and I were also the hosts of the Queen Tryouts several years ago at the Zorthian Ranch in Altadena. It was bizarre to say the very, very least...which is why I think we fell in love with the whole idea.
Here are a couple of videos that will be making their way to the site after the parade (running short on bandwidth for this month, which is awesome) - it was one of our favorite annual events in Pasadena when we lived there, and I still create and maintain their sites.
