I’ve been up to my ears in alligators lately but I decided to take a bit of a break from my research to meet up with a fellow video blogger from Philadelphia last week and have some great craic . We had fun geeking out about Macs, blogs, and politics.

John Coffey, aka Jimmy CraicHead, and his girlfriend Samantha, aka Demanda Diamond, came to Ireland during Easter and visited Galway and the surrounding area for a few days to experience the real Ireland. John rang me when they got into town and we met at my favorite pub, The King’s Head. Jimmy and Samantha interviewed me about living in Galway and produced a wonderful segment titled Galway Craic and Guinness Beer.

This and Jimmy CraicHead’s other videos are professionally produced and edited and look great for a part time blogger. Galway Craic and Guinness Beer features some great shots of the River Corrib, Galway City, Clifden, and Connemara with Irish trad music in the background. Jimmy and Demanda Diamond (a play on Amanda Congdon) are a perfect video blogging duo, traveling the US and the rest of the world in search of interesting people.

JCHTV is not your average video travel blog and Jimmy and Demanda have put together some great segments. I’ve got loads of video footage from my travels here in Ireland as well, but as Jimmy and I discussed it’s difficult to produce a polished segment. JCHTV makes it look easy! Just don’t laugh at my terrible interview skills. Let me know what you think of the video and check out the others at JCHTV.

Here’s to John and Samantha…may your travels take you far. It was great to meet you and the hangover was worth it. Slainte!

I found this video courtesy of Greg Mankiw, one of my favorite blogging economists. I apologize in advance for the nerdy humor, but anyone connected to economics will appreciate the jabs at Mankiw’s 10 Principles of Economics.

I spend a good deal of time on flickr, but wow, someone has loads of time on their hands! Flickr user el frijole has taken the time to break down the iPhone ad shown during the Oscars Sunday night frame by frame in order to identify from which movies or TV shows each character hails. It’s fun to look through the slideshow and relive some great moments from the big and small screen. The Dude from The Big Lebowski is my favorite. Can I get a White Russian please?

If you haven’t watched the ad yet, it’s brilliant marketing that perpetuates the “must-have” brand of the iPod.

While Al Gore was busy preparing his acceptance speech, Apple aired this commercial last night during the Oscars. Watch the video and come back, please?.

Do I still have your attention or were you completely distracted like I was for a few moments? What a great teaser! I’m so in love with this phone. First unveiled this year at Macworld Expo in January, the iPhone has left me and about a million other gadget geeks salivating ever since. Apple’s marketing machine has done it again with a clever, memorable commercial that, like any good movie trailer, captures your attention, plays on your emotions and fills you with anticipation for the release date.

The iPhone, which is about the same dimensions as a full size iPod, features an innovative touch-sensitive screen that fills the entire surface. There is only one physical button on the device, all other input comes by way of touching the icons on the screen. This interface allows for endless possiblities such as a full-blown web browser, contacts, organizer, music, games and movies. Speaking of movies, the other killer feature is the ability to rotate the phone 90 degrees and watch movies or music videos in widescreen format, how cool is that? The phone contains a sensor that is smart enough to detect the orientation and automatically switch to widescreen or normal modes. In wide-mode, album art will appear as covers on a CD rack, just as in the latest version of iTunes. Two models of the phone will be released; a 4 GB capacity model for $499 USD and a 5 GB capacity model for $599 USD. These prices will also require a 2 year contract with AT&T Wireless (formerly Cingular). It remains to be seen what the prices and contract terms will be elsewhere.

The iPhone is due to be released this June in the US and 4th quarter 2007 for most of the rest of the world. Damn, I don’t think I can wait until the fall. Who do you think the provider will be in Ireland/UK: O2? 3? Vodafone? My guess is O2 since their stores already feature several Apple products.

Now that the other billion people watching the Oscars know about the iPhone, you had better hold off upgrading your mobile phone plan and get in the queue behind me for one.

On a related note, check out my favorite track on the soundtrack from the Oscar winning film, Little Miss Sunshine.

Chicago - Sufjan Stevens - Little Miss Sunshine

You may have heard the catchphrase “Web 2.0″ before, but what is it exactly? I don’t believe anyone knows for sure, but this 5 minute video from the Digital Ethnography group is about the best explanation I’ve seen.

Blogging has allowed me to express myself in a unique way to people all over the world in a relatively easy way. I am amazed to see some of the places my readers come from such as Mumbai, Sydney, or Juneau, Alaska. I am still pinpointing a focus for this blog, but on the other hand does it really need a specific focus? In the meantime here’s where I’m at…

My intent with this blog is to connect readers with similar interests to me such as Ireland, economics, environmental policy, to name a few, and create a community with an active dialog of sharing and learning while having a good time. With “Web 2.0″ design elements/features, the world is quickly shrinking place that is connecting people and ideas in amazing new ways. To me, this was the original spirit of the world wide web.

Watch the clip and tell me your thoughts in the comments section after the video…