How To Create Free Ringtones for IPhones.

So for my brother's birthday, My family and I decided to give him an Iphone and since I was adding him to my current phone line, I needed to upgrade my phone line so I got an Iphone as well

Once I activated my Iphone, I decided to see about getting some ringtones and I found out that not only do you have to pay for the song ($0.99) you also have to pay to create a ringtone ($0.99).
Well after searching around the internet, i came across several websites on how to create your own ringtones for free.

I also have several colleagues who own Iphones that didn't know this was possible so I created this cheat sheet to help them and anyone else who is interested in creating their own ringtones.

How to create ringtones for the Iphone

• Add the song to itunes.
  
• Right-click the song and select “Get info”
  
• Click the “Options” tab.
  
• Select the start time and end time (song can only be between 30 & 40 seconds long) and click ok.
  
• Right-click on the song again and select “Convert Selection to AAC”.
  
• Create a folder on the desktop called “Ringtones”.
  
• Copy the song and place it on the “Ringtones” folder.
  
• Go to the “Ringtones” folder and click Tools > Folder Options and click the “View” tab.
  
• Uncheck the box titled "Hide extensions for known file types".
  
• Right-click the song and select “Rename”, replace the "m4a" extension of your ringtone with "m4r".
  
• Confirm when the dialog asks if you really want to make the change.
  
• Double-click the ringtone or add the file to itunes.
  
• Sync your Iphone and select ringtone tab to select which ringtones you want.
  
• Done.
  
  Hope this can work out as best for you that it did for me.
  - Highlighted part you only have to do this one time.

Summer Reading Week 6

With the release date of volume 2 quickly approaching and the volume 1 hardcover out in a few days (Oct 22,2008), I properly introduce you to The Umbrella Academy.

The Umbrella Academy vol 1 : The Apocalypse Suite written by Gerald Way with art by Gabriel Ba' and Covers by James Jean

For those who is not familiar with the writer, his main occupation is lead singer of My Chemical Romance, but don't let that push you away if you are not a fan of his music.
With his first publish work, Way knock it out of the park, The story centers around a group of superheroes who are reunites after the death of their adoptive father who collected them shortly after birth and trained them to save the world from any threats.

The beautiful art is done by Gabriel Ba' who with his brother Fabian Moon are become big names in the comic industry and are by far one of my favorite artists
he just brings out the characters and puts us right in the action.



This series was a big surprised to everyone but it is a really great read, and just this past summer the umbrella academy was awarded an Eisner(which is an equivalent to an Oscars) for "Best Finite Series/Limited Series".

Summer Reading week 5

With Fall TV Schedule in full effect and old shows are coming back for new seasons I'm ecstatic to bring to you a continuation of a TV Series that may be better than the series that was on TV.

This week I introduce you to Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Season 8

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Season 8 - The long Way Home written by Joss Whedon with art by Georges Jeanty

For fans of : Buffy(of course), Horror.

Written by the series creator Joss Whedon, The Long Way Home brings us in a 1 1/2 after season 7.
The story sets us up as Buffy and the rest of the crew are stationed in Scotland at a slayer training ground, with the world more dangerous the group has expanded to over 500 slayers.



the writers of the series really capture the tone and the voices of the each characters, and one would think that having to draw actors would be a breeze, but it is actually really hard but the artist Jeanty pulls it off beautifully.



If you were ever a fan of the show or you were interested but never got a chance to watch the show, I greatly recommend trying this out.

Summer Reading week 4

This week let's put a serious tone on our reading, coming out of one of my favorite independent comic companies, Onipress comes a book about espionage, political thrillers and personal struggles.

Queen and Country : The Definitive Collection Vol. 1
Written by Greg Rucka, Illustrated by Steve Rolston, Brian Hurtt, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Christine Norrie and Leandro Fernández.



Queen and Country : The Definitive Collection Vol. 2
Written by Greg Rucka, Illustrated by Jason Alexander, Carla Speed McNeil, and Mike Hawthorne.



For Fans of : James Bond, The West Wing

Now I have been a huge fan of Greg Rucka before reading these and I never thought of picking this up even after reading the two novels based on the main character.I have also heard on plenty of podcasts (Ifanboy, Around Comics, etc) that this was a great series and I could wait any longer to pick this up.

The series is centered on Tara Chace, an operative of the Special Operations Section of SIS or the "Secret intelligence Service" of United Kingdom, known as the Minders.
It shows us the ins and outs of the Agency with all the bureaucracy and politics and the occasional missions of the spy genre.

I recommend these books to anyone who is interested in a smart, exciting character like Tara and stories filled with action, adventure and intrigue.

Welcome to the 1st Annual Windy City Comicon

Chicago has always been a comic book town, Chicago has hosted one of the largest show in the Midwest, even before it was purchased by Wizard Entertainment.

But truth be told, Wizard world Chicago is kind of a False Advertisement with not actually being in Chicago, WW Chicago has been running in Rosemont for several years, even joked about in many podcasts.

So When I got a newsletter from one of my Favorite Podcast, Around Comics telling me that they are sponsoring the 1st Annual Windy City Comicon is coming this October, i couldn't to write about how excited I am for this.



So far the list of creators is starting to look very promising...

Special Guests are:

Gene Ha
Gene is best known for his work on Top 10 and Top 10: The Forty-Niners, the Batman graphic novel Fortunate Son, The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, Global Frequency and his many Wizard Magazine and Marvel covers.



Jason Howard
After years of drawing pictures for a variety of independent comic publishers, Jason Howard met up with writer Robert Kirkman in 2005. Together they created The Astounding Wolf-Man. Launched on Free Comic Book Day 2007.



Chris Burnham
Don't let the smile and the beard fool you, Chris was not a member of the folk rock group, America. He has however worked on Nixon's Pals, X-Men Divided We Stand 2, Fear Agent and Elephantmen.



Mike Norton
In February 2007, Mike signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics and has worked on the All New Atom, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Countdown to Final Crisis, Blue Beetle and DC's weekly series, Trinity.



Skottie Young
Skottie is best known for his work on New Warriors, Human Torch, Spider-Man Legend of the Spider Clan and New X-Men. He's currently working on an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for Marvel Illustrated.



And Many More...

If anyone is interested you can go to The Windy City Comicon website, and I hope to see everyone there, I will be the one with the cheesiest smile.

P.S.

I forgot to mention that it's only $5 to get in.

Summer Reading Week 3

Since there was a delay in my summer reading blog post, with this blog I offer you TWO First Volumes trades to read and hopefully enjoy. The two trades are Y: The Last Man Vol.1 & The Walking Dead Vol. 1




The first trade is Y: The Last Man Vol. 1 - Unmanned written by Brian K Vaughan with art by Pia Guerra, first volume was released in Sept 2002.

The story is about the only man to survive the mysterious simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth. It starts on July 17,2002 where every mammal with the Y-chromosome is simultaneously killed except for a young escape artist slacker named Yorick Brown and his monkey Ampersand.

The story continues for several years as we try to find out how "the Plague" came about all the while we follow Yorick to Australia to find his girlfriend Beth. Along the way we meet allot of interesting characters like the ultra feminist group calling themselves The Amazons and Agent 355 who was sent by a mysterious US agency to keep Yorick alive to find out why he was the last man.

The Story just recently finished with issue #60 and with all 10 volumes out on trades and I can assure you that once you read the first trades, you will not stop until you read the whole series.

Also, they are releasing the whole Y: The Last Man in 6 Hardcovers volumes The first one will be out in 10/28/2008 you can pre-order it here.
------o------

The second Trade is The Walking Dead Vol.1 - Days Gone Bye written by Robert Kirkman with art by Tony Moore

The Story is about a police officer named Rick Grimes who wakes up from a coma to find that a plague of the dead has swept through all civilization and the living dead walk the earth now. With ammunition and a squad car, he heads to Atlanta to look for his Wife Lori and his son Carl only to find that most of the major cities has been overrun by zombies.

We follow the stories of Rick and the survivors he comes across trying to live and survive in this new world, The story has always been about survival, we never find out was causes "the plague" but in the end, that doesn't matter because as rick says
in the end of volume #4 by making the assertion that they, not the zombies outside, are the Walking Dead.

the story is an ongoing series with the 8th volume(Made to Suffer) just came out in June of '08 with the rest of the trades coming out about every 6 months.

Hope you guys can enjoy these series as much as i have.

Summer Reading Week 2

This week in honor of the amazing success of the Dark Knight, I will be bring you the critically acclaim graphic novel, The Killing Joke.

Batman: The Killing Joke
(was written by Alan Moore and drawn by Brian Bolland)



For fans of : The Dark Knight Movie, Batman: The Animated Series and Watchmen.

This original graphic novel (with other notable novels like The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One) help established the "darker" side of Batman.

This original graphic novel published by DC Comics in 1988 and was the first to try and explain the dynamic relationship between the joker.

In this story, the joker tries to push commissioner Gordon to the brink of madness to prove that even the most upstanding citizen is capable of going mad after having "one bad day."
The joker;s origin is told in this book but since the joker is the one narrating, one cannot tell if his is telling the truth or lying to our face as his says in his own words "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice".



This novel has been nominated for several awards and is considered to be the best joker story ever told and is is one of the major influences in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
Enjoy as you emerge yourself in the world of Batman.

Summer Reading week 1

Now to start of this bi-weekly series of graphic novels , I decide to chose a book that is simple but very enjoyable.

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 - Scott vs The world.
(written and drawn by Bryan Lee O'malley)



For Fans of : Video Games, Rock Music, Relationship drama and comedy.

This Book is the first volume of a 6 volume series, this digest size book (which means it's smaller than a regular book) and is drawn in black and white but that shouldn't stop you from picking up this up, it's book that will have you wanting to read it all in one sitting.

the story is about a 23yr old guy bass player in a rock band who meets the girl of his dreams, but a current girlfriend and a slew of evil ex-boyfriends of hers are standing in their way.

Along the way you get to meet an array of characters and locations in Canada where the book takes place.

Volumes 1 through 4 are out now with vol 5 and 6 coming in the near future and with the recent announcement of it being pick up to be made into a movie written and directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz).

See you in two weeks for the next volume of Summer Reading.

No T.V. to watch....read a graphic novel.

With the summer upon us and nothing new to watch on TV, I'm here to introduce you to a new and exciting stories for you to read, i want to introduce you to an amazing medium called Graphic Novels.

Each Week I will be introducing you to a different graphic novel that you will hopefully enjoy, even if you have been reading since you were a kid or picking up a graphic novel for the very first time

But first a little introduction to what is a "graphic novel" or "trades" are for those who may not know.

A graphic novel is a combination of a comic book and a novel it usually has complex storyline and are often aimed at mature audiences. It also encompasses comic short story anthologies, and in some cases bound collections of previously published comic-book series.

Graphic novels are typically bound in longer and more durable formats than comic books, using the same materials and methods as printed books.

My Collection of trades and graphic novels is extensive as you can all see for yourself,





So Join me in the next couple of weeks will we read thru graphic novels as fun as Scott Pilgrim to critically acclaimed novels like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns.

WW Chicago: a Convention, a remembrance and a couple of signatures.

Wizard world Chicago was this past weekend and as always we had a great time,
three days of enjoyment from the world of comics.



Everyone that went with me each had a special moment at the convention, either was meeting one of their favorite creators or getting a awesome sketch by someone famous or even getting a great deal on merchandise.

Before any of that i would like to say something on a sad note,
The convention was saddened on Saturday when the news was announce on the passing of Michael Turner (Aspen founder & Comic Artist),
Michael Turner (age 37) died on Friday night after an 8 year battle with cancer.



I have met Michael Turner several times at past conventions and he was a great person, he was never too tired to say hello or to give a sketch,
he was a wonderful human being and will be missed by his many fans and friends.

This year we were a smaller group that previous years, with some of our friends not being able to either have time go or afford to make it, and one who decided to go to Disney world instead
(your loss, Louie).


My girlfriend Elaine and I Stood in line most of the weekend to get autographs from some of my all-time favorite creators like Brian Michael Bendis, C B Cebulski and Skottie Young.



I was able to get Greg Rucka's (Queen & Country, Checkmate) autograph



and David Petersen's autographs (both on the book and on the figurines of Mouse Guard)



My Brother Tony was able to complete some of his Comic book runs like fantastic four and Exiles



My sister Nancy was around getting anyone and everyone to sketch in her sketchbook with the grand prize being a sketch of Runaways' Molly punching Wolverine by Humberto Ramos



Not to mention all the books I bought and the Awesome Spider-man and batman figures i got .



Overall this was a fantastic weekend a little sad to see a great artist pass away before his time,
but we will continue to enjoy his work and the work of many others to come.
Next year Wizard World Chicago will be in August 6-9, 2009
hope to see many more people there.

Wizard World Chicago. . . .Here I Come.

For those who don't know I'm a Huge Comic Fanboy,
("fanboy is a term used to describe an individual who is devoted to a single subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession." according to wikipedia.)
and every year since 1997, Wizard Entertainment has been hosts to four annual comic book conventions in Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Texas.

I have been going since '99 or 2000 and Every year I look more and more forward to it and with most of my friends now reading comics, it has become a big group outing that everyone enjoys.

This year the Convention is in June (june 26-29) instead of late July or early August like previous years, this was done to keep up with having to be so close in dates with San Diego Comic-Con.

The Guest list looks to be very promising with many creators coming for the first time or back again after many years away.

Wizard world Chicago 2008

Guest of Honor

Warren Ellis (Thunderbolts, Astonishing X-men, etc)


Celebrities

Missy Peregrym (Actress – “reaper” Stick it”)

George “The Animal” Steele

Iron Sheik

Honky Tonk Man


Special Guests

Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Powers, ult. Spiderman and Secret Invasion)

Alex Ross (Justice, Avengers/Invaders, Earth X, Kingdom Come)


Comic Creators

Mike Choi – X-men artist

Tony Daniel – Batman artist

Shane Davis – Superman/Batman artist

Adi Granov – Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas artist

Geoff Johns – Green Lantern, Action Comics writer

Alex Maleev – Daredevil: End of Days artist

Marc Silvestri – X-men: Messiah Complex artist, Top Cow Founder

Gail Simone – Bird of Prey, Wonder Woman writer

Arthur Suydam – Marvel Zombies cover artist

Brian Azzarello – 100 bullets, Batman: Gotham Knights writer

Art Baltazar – tiny titans artist

Joe Benitez – Batman, JLA artist

Alan Burnett – Batman: Gotham Knights writer

Mitch Breitweiser – Captain America: The Chosen artist

Jim Calafiore – Gotham: Underground artist

J Scott Campbell – Spider-man artist

C.B. Cebulski – The Loners, Marvel Fairy Tales writer

Olivier Coipel – Thor artist

David Finch – New Avengers artist

Brian J.L.Glass – Mice Templar writer

Greg Horn – Cover artist

Aaron Lopresti – Wonder Woman, Ms. Marvel artist

David Mack – Kabuki artist/writer

Sean Mckeever – Teen Titans writer

Angel Medina – Spider-man Artist

Mike Norton – Green Arrow/Black Canary artist

Mike Perkins - Captain America artist

Humberto Ramos – Uncanny X-men, Runaways artist

Brian Reed – Avengers: Illuminati, Ms Marvel writer

Greg Rucka – Queen & Country, Whiteout, Batman Writer

Billy Tan – Uncanny X-Men Artist

Bruce Timm – Batman: the Animated Series creator

Ethan Van Sciver – Green Lantern artist

Freddie Williams II – Flash, Robin artist

And Many More...

The creators that I most look forward to seeing/meeting are Brian Bendis, Greg Rucka, Humberto ramos and Alex Maleev.

I Can't Wait For the Con to get here and if you go this year,
look for me I will be the one with a huge stack of books in my arms
and a huge smile on my face.

Summer Movies are Here!!!

With Iron Man releasing today (May 02), it is the first movie to kickoff the Summer Blockbuster Movie Season.
There a lot of movies coming out this summer and this just the list is the ones that my friends and I are really looking forward to...

hope you are excited about these movies as I am.



For the Month of May.

MAY 02, 2009

IRON MAN





MAY 09, 2008

SPEED RACER





MAY 16, 2008

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN





MAY 22,2008

NDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL





For the month of June:

JUNE 06,2008

YOU DON'T MESS WITH ZOHAN





JUNE 13

INCREDIBLE HULK & M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN'S THE HAPPENING




JUNE 27, 2008


WALL-E & WANTED




For the month of July:

JULY 02, 2008

HANCOCK



JULY 11, 2008

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY





JULY 18, 2008

THE DARK KNIGHT





JULY 25, 2008

X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE (X-FILES 2)



and many more....

I can't wait for these movies especially The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk and Hellboy 2,

what are you looking forward to???