If you take a walk I’ll tax your feet

Just one of the 1,736 things that are wrong with the idea being put forth by the music industry that everyone should pay a monthly surcharge on the Internet that would then be paid to the artists go to line music industry coffers is that it would create a precedent I don’t think anyone really wants to.

If the music industry can create a private industry tax on all Internet users then next it will be the movie industry. Then it will be book publishers taxing everyone with a library card. It will just go on and on.

In the face of failing business models the idea is to come up with a better one. Not devise a plan that’s almost singularly focused on punishment of the entire population.

You can read Mike Arrington’s posts on this ludicrous notion here and here.

RIP Wally

I remember listening to Wally Phillips for years and years in my parents car while he was host of the WGN morning show. Truly a unique talent and his passing is a loss not only to his family and friends but the radio industry as a whole.

Words of wisdom in less than 140 characters

From Rex Hammock, in response to a question from Josh Hallett:

If an event wants presentation slides a month in advance, send them something you did a year ago. That’s where the audience is.

“The man ate bacon at every meal. You just can’t do that.”

Via Thrillist Chicago:

Eat: Bottomless Bacon Baskets
Mondays at Whiskey Road; 1935 N Damen Ave, at W Homer St; Bucktown; 773.315.2540
$10 gets you all-you-can-eat, deep-fried bacon (served w/sriracha/hoisin/mayo sauce), plus a double feature on the dive bar’s 8ft projection screen. Next Monday it’s Supersize Me and Grease, or wait ’til April for Stuck On You and Twins, served up with Canadian bacon (the meat, because showing that movie would be gross).

Oh goodness. I’d be so there. Bottomless Bacon Baskets? It’s like dying and going to Heaven, if Heaven meant I could eat all the bacon I wanted and have someone continue to refill my basket.

LOTD 3/25/08

We’ve been a little silent here for a while and for that I apologize. As we ramp back up the OTD engine grab a cup liquid caffeine and enjoy the LOTD while pondering just how hard the new Indiana Jones movie is going to rock. (CT)

• No, social networking and online applications aren’t going to be big income earners. That’s for much the same reason playground parks aren’t big revenue sources. They’re community places.
• This Search Engine Watch post says public relations people have been involved in search engine optimization efforts for five years or so now. Huh. Could have sworn this was a new concept.
• Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li have unveiled a new look to their Groundswell Blog in anticipation of the release of their book of the same name.
• Sarah at RW/W has an interesting post on how to keep up with the conversation as it becomes less centralized on blogs and more diffused to social networks, microblogging and other platforms.
• Geoff Livingston makes the case for a renewed adherence to bottom-line-impact by social media PR specifically and PR in general as well as a way to ride out the tough economic times we’re in for a while.
• The fallout from some blogger relations gone horribly, horribly wrong continues to escalate, with Queen of Spain providing a good recap of the SNAFU.
• While the full usage of Starbucks’ new MyStarbucksIdea community conversation site still remains to be seen, I agree with Mack that it’s a great move in the right direction.
• LinkedIn now lets you create company profiles, which makes so much sense it’s kind of ridiculous.
• Interesting dovetailing between Lee Odden’s post asking what your social media strategy is and Jennifer Slegg’s on why social media marketing is important to your business.
• Yes, reporter blogs make those reporters more human in the eyes of the audience. But they’re real power, I think, is that because of the power of links and comments they also become more conversational, bringing the previously aloof journalist into the community discussion pool.
• At the same time Starbucks is launching an open community to solicit feedback on its stores from customers and others, Chrysler is launching a closed, private online initiative of just a couple thousand people to elicit the same sort of feedback. Both approaches are completely valid depending on the goals. Whatever the case, it’s good to see that listening is the new black.

Fun Star Wars stuff

I’m just not sure which I think is cooler. This picture of Tom’s Jawa iPhone background or this Return of the Jedi Scout Trooper that’s been placed with a bunch of fern branches in a glass jar.

Oh alright, I know it’s the Scout Trooper thing. Mostly because I know that if I did that I’d kind of have to set up similar displays for Stormtrooopers, Snow Troopers and other characters. I just would. It’s like a sickness.

First pic of Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe movie

I’ve been harsh on the developing G.I. Joe movie in the past and still have problems with the direction they seem to be headed in overall, at least based on the stories I’ve read.

That being said, this first picture of Ray Park in full Snake-Eyes costume kind of has me geeking out, like, a lot.

Clearly insane

When Tom first found this site he remarked to me that he’d officially found the end of the Internet.

But then I sent him a post from Matt Griswold pointing to a similar Flickr pool and then he goes and gets all creative.

DVD Review – Bee Movie

The plot to Bee Movie is pretty simple. Young bee feels dissatisfied by the endless expanse of his life that’s before him as he prepares to enter the workforce, decides to leave the hive, meets a human woman who agrees to help him sue the human race over their stealing of the bee’s honey and eventually realizes there’s a role we all have to play and rejecting that role endangers everyone.

Like I said, simple.

But it’s executed pretty darn well. The computer animation is good. It’s not great but it’s good. The script is good. It’s not great but it’s good. But it’s the performances, particularly that of star Jerry Seinfeld, that really elevate the movie into pretty darn good territory. Even if it never achieves greatness it’s a completely entertaining movie that contains no shortage of laughs.

A lot of the humor comes from the bee-life parallels to the human world. Barry B. Benson, Seinfeld’s character, is constantly being prodded by his parents to find a nice girl, someone “beeish,” to settle down with. And he feels every bit as lost and overwhelmed by the lifetime of work he’s faced with as any college graduate. Seinfeld sells it with his trademark conversational style and a delivery that never underlines the jokes in the script, something that can’t be said for some of the others in the cast.

I watched Bee Movie with my kids and, while the four year old was a little scared of some of the sequences, both he and my almost seven year old asked to watch it again, something they don’t usually do. While it’s not really a kids movie in the strictest sense of the term (the audience for the script is obviously adults) there’s little that’s actually objectionable in the movie for kids, at least in my opinion.

The “Very Jerry” two-disc DVD comes loaded with lots of material, some new and some carried over from the movie’s marketing campaign.

Disc One has a bunch of “Lost” scenes and a number of “Alternate Endings” that are fully voiced but which appear as storyboard sketches. There’s also a cast featurette and, of course, commentary by Seinfeld on the movie itself.

I’m really glad a number of the items from the marketing campaign were put on the disc as well. Both of the live-action trailers are here, a short feature on the Cannes publicity stunt that had Seinfeld in a big bee costume flying over the city. Finally there are the 16 “TV Juniors” that appeared on NBC and which are really quite funny.

Disc Two is meant more for the kids, with the “We Got the Bee” music video, a bit of information on bees and some games and other interactive features that are definitely more entertaining for kids.

It’s a good movie that doesn’t redefine the goals of animated films or anything but does do a good job of providing 90 minutes or so of solid entertainment. And the DVDs serve as a good archive of some of the promotional materials and other features.

[Spout x-post]

DVD Review – Johnny & the Sprites

The first time I encountered “Johnny & the Sprites” was shortly after it debuted on The Disney Channel (technically Playhouse Disney, the early morning block of shows for younger kids) as a short, four minute or so show between the regular programming. I think I was in the kitchen and not in front of the TV when I heard Johnny start singing. I recognized the voice but thought that instead of singing about friendship or the beauty of nature it should be singing “What Can You Do With a BA in English?”

See Johnny, the star of the show, comes from the Henson Workshop, where he worked on “Sesame Street.” But after leaving there he went on to help create and star in Avenue Q, a Broadway musical that takes a slightly different – and much more adult – look at the lives of puppets living in the big city.

Anyway, “Johnny & the Sprites” has Johnny as a human who moved into a house so he could work on his music, but his house backs up into the magical Grotto’s Grove, the home of the Sprites, little woodland fairy creatures who are in tune with nature and help out and everything else, all while learning valuable lessons from Johnny and involving him in their adventures. But Johnny is the only one who can see the Sprites, leading to some comedy as he tries to hide them from visitors to his house.

Five full-length episodes are included on the Meet the Sprites DVD, the first collection for the show. There are also five of the original shorts, which, I think, kind of work better because the short time forces them to be more creative in their storytelling. The longer episodes (13 minutes or so) almost have too much time to breath and sometimes feel a tad drawn out.

But I’m a big fan of “Johnny & the Sprites.” The music is great and is a little more complex than the typical kids music and actually challenges the listener’s ears with interesting melodies. I’ve never liked the simplistic children’s music since I think if you like simple music you’re going to wind up being a simple person.

 

And Johnny’s enthusiasm and sense of child-like wonder at the magical world of the Sprites is great for kids to watch. Instead of being a simpleton like the sole human on some kid’s shows Johnny is a functioning adult. He’s loving and caring but also sometimes has to be strict. That’s a good character to show kids instead of creating another human character in a sea of make-believe who’s 36 but needs the audience’s help to find his elbow. (I’m looking at you Joe/Donovan.)

If you’ve enjoyed “Sprites” on TV you’re sure to enjoy the DVD. If you haven’t yet checked out the show I’d encourage you to do so if you have young children. It’s one of the strongest on TV right now.