RANDOM POST 20070430

I recall Bill telling me that he had several meetings with Peter Gabriel about 20 years ago concerning a virtual amusement park (a potential use for Optimax III). I was reminded of those discussions this weekend when I visited Orlando with Cindy (to celebrate our anniversary). We had dinner on Friday night at the House Of Blues at Downtown Disney. About 100 yards from the House Of Blues is Disney Quest - Disney's indoor virtual amusement park.

Here's a rare photo of Bill - with a perm. Below the photo is a little information on Peter Gabriel's latest venture - we7 - a free music service. Finally, to tie everything together, my musical share for today is a track from Peter Gabriel.



DREAM TEAM LAUNCHES NEW AD-FUNDED MUSIC DOWNLOAD SERVICE

Peter Gabriel, tech entrepreneur Steve Purdham and finance guru John Taysom announce We7

Today sees the launch of a new technology and music venture www.We7.com, a download service which offers free ad-funded music that people can share and play on any MP3 player.

Music legend Peter Gabriel has joined forces with technology entrepreneur Steve Purdham and financial authority John Taysom, to launch We7 which is currently in beta, with the dynamic download service launching at the beginning of June.

Click here for more information on we7.

Shaking The Tree

RANDOM POST 20070424

It started to occur to me that I haven't included many pictures of Bill with my Mom & Dad, so here's a picture from what I guess is the mid-1980s. Since it's Tuesday, I'm sharing two songs. Bill did not get a chance to hear the songs and while he might not like the entire CD from either artist, the songs probably would have made one of his "Assorted" collections.


AUGUSTANA: Boston

MAT KEARNEY: Nothing Left To Lose

COMING AT YOU: DUELING 3-D FILMS

(This article - by Lorenza Muñoz - appeared in the LA Times on April 20, 2007. Many thanks to Mike Groob for forwarding it. As Mike wrote: "The headline kinds of grab you, doesn't it?") My music share for today is more of a spoken word recording from the "American Prayer" album, by Jim Morrison - with music by The Doors.


COMING AT YOU: DUELING 3-D FILMS

Fox and DreamWorks fight over a 2009 release date. Theaters are caught in middle.

Movie theaters typically love having two big-budget movies butting heads on a holiday weekend because that will keep cash registers whirring at cinema complexes.

But an abundance of riches has put theaters in a bind for Memorial Day 2009.

Both 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. have chosen that date to release what each hopes will be its first 3-D blockbuster. DreamWorks' "Monsters vs. Aliens" will be up against a potentially scarier creature: "Avatar," a science-fiction thriller from James Cameron, the director of Hollywood's biggest blockbuster, "Titanic."

The nation's largest exhibitors, however, say they won't have room for both. As many as 5,000 screens are expected to be equipped to show 3-D movies by 2009, up from 700 today. But DreamWorks and Fox each want all of them. DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has been campaigning to get theater operators to accelerate the conversion to 3-D, has told people that he needs 6,000 screens for "Monsters vs. Aliens."

"I would not want to be put in the position of choosing one over the other," said Mike Campbell, CEO of Regal Entertainment Group, the nation's largest theater chain. "I want both — just not on the same day."

But Campbell is confident that one of the studios will change its date over the next two years. "It's too early in the game to start panicking," he said. "If we are sitting here in March 2009 having this same conversation, I will be much more concerned. I think it will all get worked out."

Movie studios are increasingly planting their flags further ahead in time to secure the most desirable weekends. That's partly because of the high stakes: Production and marketing costs for the average movie now top $100 million. A movie's opening weekend can account for as much as one-fourth of the box-office take domestically. And Memorial Day traditionally kicks off the lucrative summer season.

But a head-to-head battle could leave both movies with fewer box-office receipts.

"These two pictures will have a tremendous demand," said Michael Patrick, chief executive of Carmike Cinemas Inc., who expects each of his 307 theater complexes to have at least two 3-D-capable screens by 2008. "We will want to play three screens of one movie in each complex. If we need to, you could play both of them, but you would never get as large a gross."

Neither DreamWorks nor Fox would comment, but people close to each studio doubt that each would back away from the date anytime soon.

Katzenberg has been trying to convince theater owners that 3-D technology is a way to grow attendance and keep young audiences weaned on video games interested. When he announced in March that DreamWorks movies would be made only in 3-D, he proclaimed that the technology was the "greatest opportunity for movies … to come along in 30 years."

To push his cause, Katzenberg has visited executives of the country's largest movie theater chains, including Regal and Carmike. DreamWorks, however, has yet to release details about "Monsters vs. Aliens" to whet their appetites.

Today's 3-D technology is light-years ahead of the 1950s, when viewers donned green and red glasses. Exhibitors must shell out $30,000 to $50,000 per screen for new equipment such as digital projectors with 3-D capability and special reflective silver screens. Images are crisper and more lifelike.

DreamWorks chose Memorial Day 2009 first, and movie executives said Katzenberg had little incentive to back away from the date because the dueling 3-D movies would keep the pressure on theaters to continue upgrading with new technology.

Yet few in Hollywood would relish going up against Cameron.

His "Titanic" is the highest-grossing picture ever, having brought in $1.9 billion in worldwide ticket sales and 11 Oscars including best picture. In addition, Cameron has carved out an audience because of his reputation as a technology pioneer. Many in the industry expect "Avatar" to break new ground, just as Cameron's 1991 blockbuster, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," set a standard in special effects.

With an initial budget of $195 million, "Avatar" is set in a world where an alien race with its own language and culture battles human beings. For years, Cameron has been working on developing the technology for this feature while filming documentaries such as the 3-D documentary "Ghosts of the Abyss."

Cameron was unavailable for comment.

Some exhibitors are waiting before they make a commitment to see how some 3-D pictures perform, such as Walt Disney Co.'s "Meet the Robinsons" and Paramount Pictures' upcoming "Beowulf." "Meet the Robinsons" has not been a barnburner, grossing $110 million worldwide since its March 30 release.

Industry executives say supply will create demand. "The more content that is produced for this platform, the broader the marketplace is going to get," said Michael V. Lewis, chief executive of Real D, which has equipped the nation's theaters with the technology.

Jon Landau, head of Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, said the movies would be there. "Three-D drives consumers who may not come to the movies normally," he said, noting that "Avatar" also would be released in 2-D. "They suddenly have a reason to go because they can't get it at home."

Most theater owners agree. "We intend to play a very aggressive role in 3-D," said Thomas Stephenson, CEO of theater chain Rave Motion Pictures, which operates 450 screens across the Midwest and Southeast. "It will permeate the whole entertainment environment."

But Regal's Campbell said exhibitors also should proceed with some caution.

"It's a chicken-and-egg situation," he said. "We want to see more product available before we make the [larger] investment in the technology."

The Movie

IT WAS A YEAR AGO...

Today marks a year since we buried Bill. There have been many difficult days in the past but it seems that the most difficult for me have been in the last few months - days when my eyes well up with tears. I have been trying to disconnect a little bit but it seems that my pain and sadness have increased since my trip to L.A. in December.

Here are a few pictures from the funeral luncheon along with an Elton John song that Bill loved.





Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding

NUGGETS

Last night I came across a music collection called "Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era - 1976-1996", the third entry in the Nuggets series. One of the last music discussions Bill and I had was about the original Nuggets collection (Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era). I told him that I had just gotten the CDs and he told me that he had the original release on vinyl and that he had listened to it many times.

I don't recall if I had the opportunity to send him a copy but I have since acquired "Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond." I know that I would have shared all three with him so I share a song from each collection with you. I have also included a totally unrelated, more than 50 year old photo of Bill.


NUGGETS: The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)


NUGGETS II: The Pretty Things - Midnight To Six Man


CHILDREN OF NUGGETS: Dukes Of The Stratosphere - Vanishing Girl

RANDOM POST 20070417

Last night I came across an advance release of the new Patti Smith CD, "Twelve". The CD contains cover versions of songs by The Stones, Paul Simon, Nirvana, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, etc. It would have definitely been a CD that I shared with Bill so I am sharing The Stones cover with you today. I looked for a picture of Bill that seemed to be from Patti Smith's heyday amd I think this one fits that criteria.


Gimme Shelter

MEET THE ROBINSONS

On Friday night, Cindy, Crystal & I went to see "Meet The Robinsons", in Disney 3-D. If you haven't seen 3-D in a while, go see the movie. The effects were not overblown; for a change, 3-D was used to enhance the movie not to been the focal point. As with the Bill's Optimax system, the glasses seemed to be polarized, yet not as dark. The trailers showed a few other films that will be released in 3-D in the near future. Also, later this year "U2 3D" will hit theaters.

As the closing credits rolled, tears came to my eyes. While I was proud of my brother's work when "Comin' At Ya!" was released, I was even more proud at that moment. As the current wave of 3-D owes a debt to 1950s 3-D, it also owes a debt to 1980s 3-D. I can't say that without Bill's work in the field there would be no new 3-D movies, but it would seem logical that his work paved the way for better 3-D.

Here's another photo of Bill from the "Comin' At Ya!" set. My music share for today is one of Bill's favorites for Lou Reed's "New York" CD.


Busload Of Faith (LP Version)

3-D IS BACK?

It seems that based on the recent success of Disney's "Meet the Robinsons", 3-D is on the verge of another revival. While the thought is exciting it is also bittersweet; it would have been great if Bill had been able to see it happening. Perhaps he would have been inspired enough to make a comeback of his own...

Here's a photo of Bill on the "Comin' At Ya!" set, the story about the revival and my musical shares for today, Donald Fagen's 'H Gang' (about a comeback) and Steely Dan's 'Peg'. Bill loved the lines:

Then the shutter falls
You see it all in 3-D
It's your favorite foreign movie



MORE MOVIES TO BE OFFERED IN 3-D
By GARY GENTILE
AP Business Writer

By the end of the decade, Darth Vader could be rattling sabers with his enemies above the heads of moviegoers, and Buzz Lightyear could be flying off the screen on his way to infinity and beyond.

For real — or at least the cinematic version of real: 3-D.

A growing number of blockbuster, live-action films and animated movies are expected to be offered in in-your-face 3-D in the next few years, as thousands of theaters are outfitted with the special projectors and screens needed to show the films.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., is so gung-ho about 3-D that he has said his studio might start exclusively releasing movies in the format as early as 2009 with its "Monsters vs. Aliens."

"For Memorial Day weekend 2009, I would like to see 3,800 locations and 6,000 screens that we can put our movie on. And if they are there, then we will be exclusive in 3-D," Katzenberg said at a recent investors conference.

So far, moviegoers have reacted positively to the few 3-D films that have been released in recent years.

"Meet the Robinsons" from The Walt Disney Co. debuted March 30, earning $25.1 million in its opening weekend.

More than a quarter of that revenue came from the 581 screens across the country that showed the film in 3-D, the company said. Those moviegoers were even willing to pay a few extra bucks to don special glasses and watch characters leave the screen.

A number of high-profile filmmakers have 3-D projects in the works, including Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis and James Cameron.

Walt Disney Co. has released 3-D versions of three animated films and recently signed a deal with Zemeckis to produce more. The studio is also rumored to be making the sequel "Toy Story 3" in 3-D, a report the studio declined to confirm.

These days, 3-D films are more than just a gimmick.

For theater owners and studios, the technology could be a lifesaver, luring people back to multiplexes for an experience that cannot be matched by sophisticated home-theater systems or stolen by pirates with hidden camcorders.

The theater industry is also battling competition from video games and other alternative entertainment along with Internet downloads that will soon deliver high-definition films directly to homes.

Film exhibition companies looking to protect their business believe 3-D will boost revenue. Some industry executives think theaters can add as much as 50 percent to the cost of a ticket for a 3-D feature.

"If we can sell 10 percent to 15 percent of our tickets annually at a higher price point, that's a real mover of the needle," Mike Campbell, chief executive of Regal Entertainment Group, the nation's largest theater chain, said at the investors conference.

About 700 theaters across the country are now outfitted with 3-D technology, with thousands of others moving to spend the $17,000 needed to install the equipment.

Moviemakers, meanwhile, estimate that making a movie in 3-D can add as much as $15 million to the cost.

Today's 3-D technology is far more advanced than that used in the 1950s, the heyday of gimmicky 3-D films.

Previous 3-D systems projected two images on the movie screen, one for each eye. That required the use of red and blue lenses or even glasses with mechanized shutters that opened and closed quickly to separate the images.

With newer systems, moviegoers still need to don special glasses but not the cheap cardboard variety with blue and red lenses.

Instead, special polarized lenses will separate the stereo images projected on specially coated screens.

RealD, a Beverly Hills company, is the leader in modern 3-D with systems that will be operating on about 1,000 screens by the end of the year.

Its technology uses a special movie screen painted with a silver oxide to direct more light back to the viewer instead of scattering wavelengths the way normal screens do.

The theaters also use digital projectors that show movies stored in bits on a computer hard disk rather than traditional film.

Dolby Laboratories Inc. recently unveiled plans to market its own 3-D technology that would work with existing movie screens.

"The momentum is gathering, and I think this is probably the most exciting thing from a filmmaking and filmgoing experience that has happened in my time in the business," Katzenberg said. "There's nothing more compelling than this."

H Gang

Peg

RANDOM POST 20070409

Hope you all had a joyous Easter/Passover. My parents and my sister's family celebrated in Delaware, while Cindy and I hosted dinner at our home.

Here's one of my favorite later day photos of Bill along with a Ben Harper song, which might be one of the best Rolling Stones songs that was not written by the Rolling Stones. Give it a listen - I think you'll agree.


Get It Like You Like It

FROM KEITH

Here's a message from Keith posted on www.rollingstones.com, followed by a Nils Lofgren song that served as plea to Keith to not die:

The story currently circulating around the net that Keith snorted his Dad's ashes with some cocaine is totally untrue. To set the record straight, Keith has sent us the following statement:

"The complete story is lost in the usual slanting! The truth of the matter is that I planted a sturdy English Oak . I took the lid off the box of ashes and he is now growing oak trees and would love me for it!!! I was trying to say how tight Bert and I were. That tight!!! I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide."

Keith Don't Go

KEITH WAS JOKING?

A Rolling Stones spokesperson attempted to retract the remark that Keith Richards made concerning snorting his Dad. What would Bill have thought of his hero today? I think he would have been disappointed that Keith would retract such a great story. The Associated Press story follows:

Keith Richards was joking when he claimed to have snorted his father's ashes along with cocaine, a spokesman said Wednesday.

"It was an off-the-cuff remark, a joke, and it is not true. File under April Fool's joke," said Bernard Doherty of LD Communications, which represents the Rolling Stones.

Doherty declined to say any more about why Richards made the statement in an interview with NME, a pop music magazine.

"The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father," the 63-year-old guitarist was quoted as saying.

"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared ... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."

KEITH: I SNORTED MY DAD

Bill would have loved the news that came out yesterday. While I was reading the article, I could almost hear him laugh. Here is the Reuters article so that you can judge for yourself. For my music share today I've selected two Stones songs performed by The New Barbarians (Ron Wood, Keith Richards & Friends). Bill would have been excited to know that at least one of their albums is now available on CD.


Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said in an interview that he snorted his father's ashes during a drugs binge, British media reported late on Tuesday.

The Sun tabloid said the interview appeared in the latest edition of the NME music magazine.

An NME spokeswoman said the story was genuine and not a late April Fool's joke, and that the edition in question would appear on newsstands across the country from Wednesday. She did not have a copy of the interview available late on Tuesday.

"The strangest thing I've tried to snort?" the Sun quoted Richards as saying in its early Wednesday edition.

"My father. I snorted my father.

"He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared.

"It went down pretty well and I'm still alive."

According to the report, Richards' father, Bert, died in 2002 aged 84.

The 63-year-old rocker, who underwent an operation in New Zealand last year after reportedly falling out of a tree when in Fiji, also took a swipe at some of the big musical acts of today.

"Everyone's a load of crap," he said. "They are trying to be somebody else and they ain't being themselves. Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party? Load of crap, load of crap. Posers, rubbish."

Richards said he was proud of his ability to survive despite a legendary rock'n'roll lifestyle.

"I was number one on the 'Who's Likely To Die' list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list.

"Some doctor told me I had six months to live and I went to their funeral."

Richards' publicist in London was not immediately available for comment on the interview.


Before They Make Me Run

Honky Tonk Women

RANDOM POST 20070403

I don't know the story behind the anger that Bill is exhibiting in this photo, but it's most likely related to the scratches, bruises and chipped teeth that he displays in other photos that were taken on the same day. If you know the reason, please let me know. The look on his face made me think of the title of a Guster song, so that's my musical share for today.


One Man Wrecking Machine

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!!!

Today is our nephew Robert's 22nd Birthday. You can see Rob (when he was a little younger) with his brothers, Bill and me in the photo below.

{Left to right: Bill, Joe, Jay, Rob & Phil.}

My music share for today is from Paul Simon's 'Rhythm Of The Saints'. Along with 'Graceland', the CD probably Bill's favorite Paul Simon release.

Born At The Right Time