by Andy Takakjian

"last of the coppola fur trappers photographed by
brady in 1853...
with the fur trade waning jedediah coppola discovered
the digital holographic daguerreotype film process we
no longer use today"

Damian Montoya and CRC had a meeting with Gordon Bronitsky , a gentleman who is building an international Indigenuous Theater Festival/Market to be based in London. There might be some synergy between this project and PAH.

We are being snowed in...I hope I can make my next three meetings.

Something's wrong with my flash. I'll have to work on that. Here's A,B & C sitting with the world famous Mr. Slipery.

Some of you have asked how my meal came out. It usually comes out very good, but this one was extra special--my timing was better than usual (though the octopus was a tad tough--it was white wine steamed one minute too long) and my little family really helped me a great deal with my juggling pots and pans dance. I also had as a guest for the first time a dear actor friend of mine and my 91 year old grandmother....his name is Rory, but he is better known as Angus Scrim who is world famous in the cult/horror film circles as "The Tall Man" in the wonderfully original Phantasm movies. Mr. Scrim has also been in several of my movies. He is a very erudite gentleman, well versed in music, literature and film. It was a joy having him spend the evening with us. I just received this thank you note from him. It takes one back to another era where graciousness, gratitude and elegant writing were considered an important part of one's character make-up.

12/26/06

Dear Christopher, Adrienne and Bailey,

Your Christmas Eve dinner was a once in a lifetime event for me--the stuff of fables--something I would remember for the rest of my life even if I were now 18 instead of 80--"Babette's Feast" recast with an Italian (and German) American male instead of an expatriate Frenchwoman in Denmark.

Every dish was uniquely delectable, inspired by the artistry of a master chef who is just as savvy and inventive at the stove as he is behind a camera. Far more delicious dishes than any I've experienced on a rare (maybe 2 or 3 times as a generous friend's guest) visit to the restaurants of the much publicized Wolfgang Puck.

And the service staff at your place was equally exceptional--the slim, attractive hostess/sommelier and the hyperenergetic waiter/busboy/tablecleaner who hopped over chairs and other objects like Robert Benigni at the Oscars to be sure every diner had what he/she needed, and simultaneously managed to regale the guests with dinner music on the flute, both remarkable attendants remaining thoughtful, gracious, warmly helpful and bountifully hospitable throughout.

photo by dinner guest Moon Cho

Visiting relatives, crashing in motel room, exhausted.

I will be taking some time off my rigorous daily EARS blog structure that I have set up here. I will post celebratory snap shots from now until January 2, 2007.

I WISH ALL THE EARS AMBASSADORS AND EVERYONE ELSE MUCH LOVE, GOOD HEALTH, GOOD WILL, AND THE CREATIVE SPARK IN LIFE.

I''m not really prepared for this day...the holidays and my Santa business are taking up all my time. I think I will present a big corporate nifty idea. And that would be the filmmaking and filmmakers reality show On The Lot by Burnett, Spielberg and Fox.

Check it out at www.onthelot.com.

APPLE PHOTO BOOTH FUN

No Generation Left Behind:

While Technology keeps getting more advanced the gap between those who have grown-up with cell phones and laptops and those who thought that solar powered calculators were the "bee's knees" widens; the question becomes how do we close the gap? The Samsung Jitterbug Dial is the first phone designed specifically for the elderly. It has a larger design, no complicated multimedia functions, and room to still wear your hearing aid. The phone’s menu asks, in very large font, simple yes and no questions, and the phone even has a dial tone.

Global Community:

CNN did a report last night about Time magazines "Person of the Year". This "Person of the Year" title can be anything or anybody that has changed the course of humanity for good or bad. There was a lot of talk about various political leaders and groups, but someone had suggested the guys from YouTube, and various other viral video sites. In the end Time magazine chooses "YOU", the people of the Internet that post videos and music and blogs. I think they hit it on the head, while a lot of political turmoil has taken place this year, no one can deny the massive impact that Google buying YouTube had. In 2006 the selling of YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars legitimized viral videos. In the future people will look back and say 2006 was the year that viral video was born. Not that even 1% of what is on YouTube is any good, but it made the entertainment industry take a serious look at their own future. Now media is controlled by the masses not by entertainment conglomerates, anyone can be a published author, poet, or blog enthusiast. Anyone can tell a visual story and put it out there in cyberspace, where as a few years ago this wouldn’t have been possible. At the end Time’s editor in chief admitted that this evolution has made Time rethink the way they do business. The Digital revolution is here!

You have touched a lot of people and you will touch many more. Thanks for being you!

You've got to go out on a limb sometimes because that's where the fruit is.
--Will Rogers

I want to wish a very happy anniversary to Dennis and Karen Anderson. Behind every good man there is truly a greater woman. Congratulations to the both of you and may you have many more.

CRC

CRC says...

When I was little my father and others would say that it looked like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders all the time. He liked watching me run, because I could run fast and long even though it looked like I was being crushed by the sky. I did have a difficult childhood and often did feel like I was being crushed. But, we all have different paths to lead as we find ourselves. We all are dealt a hand of cards and need to learn how to play them the best we can. Why I am saying all this? Because I have a deep affinity with my Native American friends. I wear a ton of their jewelry, especially bear claws and thunderbirds. I don't know why. It makes me feel good. I remember being a judge at a New Mexico Music Festival. I was all decked out in real bear claw jewelry. A man came up to me. He was Native American. He looked at me and the jewelry and said, "Man, that bear claw stuff is some heavy power and mojo. Don't you feel it?" I said I do feel something intense and weighty, but I like it. He smiled and nodded and told me that I wear it well. Maybe, carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders as a lad was good for something after all.

Anyhow, today I am presenting the Chrisjohn family. A wonderful Native American family of fine artists and silversmiths. They are very dear friends of mine and my families. A lot of what I wear is theirs, including my wolf fringe jacket, my man bag and my leather do-rags. So enjoy this video shot and editing by Damian Montoya (Chachi) with the help of Mr. Slipery on the Masterful Chrisjohn family.

The first OTL Summit will be live at 4:30 pm Pacific Standard Time. You will be able to comment via chat room during the first OTL Summit. It will also be conveniently recorded for those who want to view at a later time. Thank you.

There's still a chance we might go LIVE! with the first OTL Summitat 4:30 pm Pacific Standard Time. So stay tuned.

EARSXXI will be hosting the first OTL Summit web conference today at 11:30 pm Pacific Standard Time. Stay tuned! The Summit will be saved so you will be able to look at it at your convenience.

Christoph Terstiege wins miniPAH-FEST:Bremen for his "Inverse Nature" cell art piece. The topic was "Das Tier in Mier", "The Animal Inside You." Congratulations, Christoph! Enjoy the Coppola wine. Thank you to all our Bremen friends for taking part in PAH. Check out Christoph's piece at our PAHFEST Online Theater.

APPLE PHOTO BOOTH/ADOBE PHOTOSHOP FUN

First let me congratulate Anna Pacheco for getting into the Cinemas Albuquerque Latino Film Festival. She was a contestant at our first PAH-FEST in Grants, NM. Her short is called "Matanza"...it's about a little girl's First Holly Communion and the celebration of the mysteries of life. I liked it very much.

How small?

As electronic devices get smaller and smaller, some ask how small will this devices get. Well MIT says that the limit is going to be met soon because of the limitations of silicon. Fear not, they how found a composite material called indium gallium arsenide which can carry 2.5 times the amount of current than the latest silicon devices. Just think how small they will make the next ipods.

The next generation laptops:

HP and Cingular have come together to get you on the Internet easier. The Compaq nc6400 uses WWAN (wireless wide-area network) to connect vs. the normal WLAN (wireless local-area network). This means that you connect using cell towers, giving you more range.  Most computer manufacturers are moving toward this type of connectivity.

Life without wires (wouldn't that be great):

Oh wait that day is here. I said it before and I'll say it again, soon the integration of your PC, TV, and Internet will be complete. Neosonik is part of the wave to have your entertainment center completely wireless. You can have the TV up to 200 feet away and still receive a HiDef signal from your PC. This technology is still in the works, they are able to transmit at 3Gbps but to watch true 1080p (the best picture quality) you need at least 5Gbps. Next year will be an interesting one.

Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for i was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes as they must live together like one being...Black Elk said the mountain he stood upon in his vision was Harney Peak in the Black Hills. "But anywhere is the center of the world, " he added.

--excerpt from BLACK ELK SPEAKS

CRC says...

My son the poet. I can't help it. I am very proud of him.

VETERAN'S DAY POEM

Freedom is a simple word
Or is it?
Some countries don't know
how it feels.

It feels like a warm pillow with
your head sinking into it.
It feels like thinking out loud
in public.
It feels like water curling slowly across your foot.
It feels like happiness.

--Bailey Coppola

APPLE PHOTO BOOTH FUN/CRC is the sad Mr. Tapir Man.

DigiVangelist on assignment: "DigiDisaster"

On my recent trip to Albuquerque I dropped my Sony Cyber Shot and broke it. I was able to improvise and use my TREO 650 cell phone as a camera to get my footage with the honorable Mayor Jackson of Rio Rancho. Having phantom pains due to loosing my mini Mpeg4 camcorder, I tried to find a replacement, but found that there was nowhere in Albuquerque that sold Mpeg4 recorders. So I acquired a JVC Mpeg2 camera and got my shots of the DBL awards.

In comparison:
I have become very accustom to the Cyber Shot interface so I maybe bias, but I found the JVC Mpeg2 camera functionality to be hard to navigate. The video quality between the Mpeg4 and Mpeg2 was slightly noticeable. In a pinch you have to think on your feet so as far as a hasty decision I think the JVC Mpeg2 was a decent compromise. All in all everything worked out but keep your fingers crossed for my travel companion while he visits the hospital.


In other news:
Finally, the patent office made public Apple's plan to release an iPod-like media player with mobile phone features. Apple is known for it secretiveness about product launches but rumors have it that the iPhone will come out early next year. I was wondering when they would come out with a phone.

iPhone

If I shoot at the sun I may hit a star.
-- P.T. Barnum

CRC says...

A very Happy Birthday to DBL...Doug Bocaz-Larson, our PAH colleague and deserved winner of the first Bugsy Kahn Award. You're an awesome teacher and bright light to the people of Grants.