Interactive music video offers personalized trip down memory lane

Looking for a fun interactive mashup of technology, music and personal history?

A site called The Wilderness Downtown is showing off the power of Google's Chrome browser, Google Earth and Street View; and personalization using The Arcade Fire song "We Used to Wait" as a powerful trip down memory lane.

Background on the fun can be found at lemondrop.com but here's a quick how-to:

First, you MUST use the Google Chrome browser. Once equipped so, fire up The Wilderness Downtown site, type in the address of the home(s) you grew up in, then sit back and watch the magic of technology personalizing a music video by one of the hottest bands going. Smaller browser windows pop up here and there as the storyline progresses and your home shows up first in Google Earth, then Street View. Toward the end, you can type or draw in a personal postcard of your memories growing up in the house.

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Sage life and business lessons from Gary Vee

If you're not familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk (aka Gary Vee), you're in for a treat. He's raw, in an F-bomb kinda way, but the business and life messages he delivers through the web, books and speaking engagements are spot on.

His backstory is an immigrant who reshaped his family business, flipped the stuffy wine trade on its head by launching an "honest" wine channel online. (Sample quote from a recent webisode of Wine Library TV, a blind taste test of three wines: "These three wines are awful. All of these should be on your "Do Not Drink" list. Please never, never, ever put them in your mouth."). Vaynerchuk's success with Wine Library led to the world of business advice and consulting. In addition to Wine Libary, he has a popular Twitter feed, a best-selling book and what appears to be a successful consulting business.

He's energetic beyond belief and delivers sharp insight on things big and small. The core of his mission is to "do the right thing." For most people, that's a hackneyed, empty expression, but when GV says it and lays out all the benefits of being a good human, you want to fall in line (if you're not already).

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Celebrating a good life

It's been nearly a week since my dad passed away peacefully at age 88. I actually drafted something to post here but didn't because I figured he wouldn't have wanted the attention. I never heard him brag and he did little to draw attention to himself. But he had a fanbase.

The formal Fresno Bee obit offers a quick overview of Dad's life, and is a good place to share your thoughts and memories. There also are various threads on Facebook and a lot of great comments in The Fresno Beehive in response to a post from Bee editorial page editor Jim Boren.