My 92 year old grandmother Louise A. Vogelsang who we all affectionately call "Divi."

She and my grandfather ran a small gourmet foods store called VOGELSANG'S MARKET in Chicago and then later in Hollywood. People would come from all over to get my grandfather's meats and my grandmother's fruit and vegetables. They treated their customers as if they were family. Their store was their art and it came from their heart.

APPLE PHOTO BOOTH FUN.

The DGA Quarterly, Fall 2007 edition just came out. There's an article entitled "The New School" which is about the digital, new media think tank our DGA Independent Directors Committee created awhile back. I am sort of the outspoken maverick of the group. I believe it is really important for old school directors to embrace the new technology, to learn how to tell stories in multi-platform, multi-tasking, inter-active new media. If we don't evolve, future generations won't get the past generations' classic story telling ability. They will get a lot more of the "it's safer to hide behind the avatar than to deal with our fellow man" form of entertainment, which just adds to our Human Spirit disconnect. I also believe that the new media opens doors for everybody and we should all seize the day and respect the gift. Old School Hollywood tends to make you feel inferior if you don't have a theatrical, if you aren't a somebody, it is very exclusive...the DGA is no exception to this. Frankly, I get very tired of the stuffiness in some of these meetings and prefer being on the road talking to "everyday people" about their lives and helping them share their stories with the rest of the world in a meaningful, more focused Youtube kind of way...hence PAH: PROJECT ACCESSIBLE HOLLYWOOD, instead of continuing the more standard PEH: Project Exclusive Hollywood. Anyhow, I found in this article that I sort of came off as the "Moonbeam" member of the IDC think tank. I don't mind, I like Jerry Brown.

DGA QUARTERLY "THE NEW SCHOOL" EXCERPTS:

The question of how new media could help bring dollars to filmmakers was raised repeatedly. "The idea that indie filmmakers are to put their movies up on a Web site and have people download them, and that's going to be a viable business--I just don't see it," opined Stephen Soderbergh. "That's not true for the youth," countered Christopher Coppola. "They're used to downloading things and they will eventually be the largest market out there. iTunes has been very successful. My 11-year old son goes on it to download short movies, and you're going to see that evolve." Soderbergh held fast to a harsher view."But are they out there in sizable numbers? It's brutal out there," he said. "And if we're talking about Apple Mac as a format, that's just 7 percent of the market. The kind of numbers we need to generate a career are not going to be there."

Okay, here's my problem. iTunes is an incredibly viable business model, it put Apple back on the map in a big way and the stock is still rising. And, it is not just an AppleMac format--it is available for PC which means it is available to everyone who has a computer and access to the internet. That's a helluva lot more than 7 percent of the market, is it not? And remember, I am talking about Independent films here (it is the IDC for crying out loud), not big Hollywood Studio films like "Oceans 13."

SMASH CUT:

I just pulled this out of the Daily Variety-- Ed Burns movie going direct to iTunes
Ed Burns' new dramedy, Purple Violets, will be the first feature to release
directly to iTunes--bypassing the theater, video store, or TV options for its premiere.

Burns is exploring the new iTunes release option because of the challenge he
has faced in getting audiences into the theater, saying "My style of
filmmaking is dying on the vine."

Purple Violets, which stars Burns, Selma Blair, Debra Messing, and Patrick
Wilson, will be available for iTunes download on Nov. 20 for $14.99, and
will move to other platforms later.

________________________

And, so it begins.

My son wanted me to post this. He thought it was very important and I agree with him.


Children are the living messages we send to a time we will never see.

--Neil Postman

In Italy at the Moto Guzzi plant.

A man who spends his whole life, just as his father and grandfather did, testing and preparing the world's best Italian cheeses and hams for sale.

This is only a small taste of this extremely proud and passionate man. You will be able to see more of Dominic the Cheese and Ham Specialist at the superb fine foods shop EATALY on the Italian American Network and their webpage.

Apple Photo Booth Fun.

I just got back from Italy where I was helping the up and coming Italian American Network promote the beautiful Piedmont region. We shot over 30 hours of video which will be cut down to 3-5 minute "Video Snacks" to be screened on the internet and cell phones. As our attention spans become more limited due to the total information bombardment craze, we have to find other ways to get someone's attention even if it is just for a brief moment especially when the content has human depth and inspires us. Remember, we are what we eat.

Video Consumption: Meal or Snack

For your normal video consumption you probably turn to your Television to get a full dose of your television fix, this is considered a "Video Meal". According to statistics and prime time television programming, most TV watchers watch from 7pm until 10pm. On the other hand "Video Snacks" are short 3-5 minute videos that according to recent statistics people consume in the middle of the day, when they are supposed to be working. Fear not, you are not bound by your desktop anymore, you can get your snacks "to go" and your boss won't catch you. Mobile devices are now your video lunch box where you can have all your snacks. With the popularity of "Snacking" the quality of the videos have gone up, not only in production value, but in storytelling as well. The ability to have video content streamed to your phone has prompted this second generation of video bloggers to increase the quality of the videos they put out. This ability to consume, create, and distribute is an awesome power and has network execs very nervous.

Continuing the food analogy: the web is a virtual vending machine for snacks, so if you like salty or sweet snacks, you can find what your looking for and have it sent to your phone. Alternatively you can become the creator and have your own line of tasty snacks for the world to enjoy.

You may have the universe if I may have Italy.

--Giuseppe Verdi

Howlett Smith. Several years ago, I use to like to the Bob Burns steakhouse on Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, California. I'd order my Saphire martini and t-bone steak Pittsburg style and eat at the piano bar. There would be the great Smitty, tickling the ivories and singing great jazz tunes from the 30's thru 50's. There was something very sincere, gentlemanly about his performance style and it always made my day to hear him play.

Bob Burns closed down and I never knew what happened to Smitty. Smash cut many years later, we found him during PAH-FEST:Hollywood purely by coincidence. It turned out he was the main piano man at the Hollywood Studio Bar & grill, a PAH-FEST sponsor, located in the Gower Gulch just down the street from EARSXXI/PlasterCITY on Sunset Blvd.

I still find his interpretation of "Poor Butterfly" one of the best.




For Smitty's schedule of performances check out the Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill web page. It's an intimate jazz club with great music and excellent food.

APPLE PHOTO BOOTH FUN

I'm in Northern Italy, touring the Barolo wine country. There has recently been some bitter fighting over the best way to make this wine. One winery I went to was so strict about keeping their old traditions that have been past down from generation to generation through the centuries that they refuse to use cell phones or internet on their property. Everything is done by hand. The wine was quite good. Another winery was more modernized in the sense that they studied wine making techniques from other very successful wine making regions in the modern world and blended them with the old traditions of their region. This wine was also excellent. The entire Piedmont region is now world famous for their wines and they compete head to head with the great French and California wines. It used to be that these Italian wines were the cheapest imported wines you could get in the states, now they are some of the most expensive. The whole region is booming economically, which has made it easier for the purist wine makers to preserve their old techniques. I don't know what this really has to do with the digital arena, but I do believe there is a good lesson to be learned here about the balance of old school and new school methods working together to rise to the occasion for the overall good of the community. This is something I wish to do with the cyber world and the real world, a focused Youtube like my PAH-FEST that brings people together and elevates the entire Human Community.

WORDS TO DANCE BY

There is a vitality. a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is quite unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. There is not satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.

--Martha Graham said it to Agnes Demille

I'm off to Italy to help promote the Italian American Network.

Since I am currently abroad, I thought I would post this BikerCHEF in Germany memory...it's in two parts. Thanks for watching.

EARSXXI/PAH threw a sponsor/partner mixer for all the nice companies and people helping us build the PAH NATION. It was the first time I heard Douglas Roeglers do his Las Vegas lounge act. He was one cool cat and had a great voice. He definitely was one of the highlights of the evening. To check out more on Mr. Roeglers go his myspace page.

Our judges picked five finalists. Why? To me, five is a symbol of the helping hand.

Now it is up to the public to vote and help us pick the 2007 Digital Amnesty winner. We are looking for the film that best illuminates our collective humanity. Remember, technical proficiency has nothing to do with it, telling a story from the heart to the heart does.

THE FIVE: FISSION, THE SHELL, THE SECRET, MY MUM THE WRESTLER, REFLECTIONS

Please go to the PAH-FEST:HOLLYWOOD screening room and cast your vote. The winner will be contacted via web conferencing on the night of the awards ceremony at the Los Angeles Film School this Saturday, Oct. 13.

Topic: Guardian Angels
length: a minute or less
rules: must be shot on a cell phone, must be done in
one shot with no edits, including no use of the pause button.
location: Los Angeles, CA
deadline: 5 pm, October 10th
e-mail from phone to: zelda@earsxxi.com
or come and bluetooth in person today at our EARSXXI stage at
6500 Sunset Blvd.

APPLE PHOTO BOOTH FUN.

Yesterday was the kick off for PAH-FEST:Hollywood. Besides Nicolas Paine doing an excellent job explaining what PAH and the upcoming week is all about, Lollie Ragana, a prominent mythologist and teacher, shared a very insightful lecture on the history of storytelling and the importance of the Creative Process. We will have her lecture available for your viewing pleasure on the PAH NATION web page shortly. I also launched the first Sprint sponsored CIRCUS VISION, a smart phone for smart kids video treasure hunt challenge. Each kid, 14 and under, got a video enabled smart phone and a list of symbolic circus ingredients to find and shoot.

CIRCUS VISION DIRECTIONS

1. IT MUST BE EXACTLY 1 MINUTE, 30 SECONDS.
2. SHOOT AN INTRO
a. WHO ARE YOU?
b, WHAT SCHOOL DO YOU GO TO?
c. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A REAL CIRCUS, AND WHAT
DID YOU SEE?

3. FIND AND CAPTURE ALL THESE CIRCUS INGREDIENTS.
THEY MUST BE IN THIS EXACT ORDER.
a. RINGS
b. ANIMALS
c. FLYING
d. BALANCE
e. COLORS
f. FUNNY
g. OPPOSITES



What was really cool was that I was able to hook up the smart phone to a 2k HD Christie projector and show the kids their work on the big screen right from the phone. The image wasn't that bad. One day the image will be great. I can see it now, special "For the People Walk-in Theaters" where you can plug in your cell phone and screen your stories to a large audience filled with your family and friends.

To me, a leader is a servant, somebody that makes themselves available to the group. They offer whatever experiences that they've experienced to them in hopes of them becoming better ballplayers, better men, better fathers, better husbands, whatever the case happens to be.
--Tony Clark, team leader of the 2007 Arizona Diamondbacks

Some enchanted evening...when Wendell Phillips and his Golden West Opera Theater group performed at the PAH-FEST/STAR fundraiser on Tuesday night. Poised against the backdrop of a 20 story building in semi-demolition while standing in the middle of the quaint courtyard at Fabiolus on Sunset boulevard, 3 voices spun their spell over the audience and the Los Angeles night sky: the tenor Matthew A. Kessell, soprano Carol Lande and mezzo soprano Lyria Pegrem. Allen Andrews' piano accompaniment was perfectly understated. Fabio, the owner of the restaurant, enjoyed it so much he wants to invite the group back every weekend. Check out their web site at: www.goldenwestoperatheater.com

Below is an experimental Apple iMovie tribute to Wendell and his Golden West Opera Theater. Thanks for the magic, Wendell.

The story submission process is over for PAH-FEST:Hollywood. We received over 200 submissions. Thank you. The EARSXXI team will now read each one and vote on a scale of 0-5 with these factors in mind:

1. Is the story from and about the Los Angeles community?
2. Is the story sincere and meaningful?
3. Did the submitter follow the application guidelines accurately? 255 words or less. Four person team, etc.
4. Is it doable within the parameters of the festival time, budget and equipment restrictions (no helicopters or elephants).
5. Does the story illuminate, inspire and/or celebrate our humanity? In other words, does it reflect what PAH is all about?

We will announce the 8 finalists tomorrow morning. We will also let you know which STAR affiliated school helped to get the most submissions. So stay tuned!

speaks at the NEW MEDIA EXPO 2007.

Just in case you didn't know, I want to reiterate that the school which helps PAH get story submissions from all the diverse Los Angeles communities will be awarded a 1000 dollar donation. Right now, Gardner Elementary and Rosewood Elementary are neck and neck with eight hours to go. I think it is great how the students from both schools have felt motivated to gather stories to help their schools. No matter who gets the donation, the creative process of doing this is what makes them all winners.

Today, October 1st at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time, PAH will shut the doors for all 2007 PAH-FEST:Hollywood and Digital Amnesty submissions. We will announce the mobiflick finalists the morning of October 3rd. The EARSXXI team will vote on all the Digital Amnesty submissions based more on heartful, timeless story telling than technical proficiency. We will also pick those that best represent what EARSXXI and PAH stand for. We will choose three contenders and put them up on our screening room for the public and our esteemed judges to vote on. The winner will be announced at the closing ceremony on Oct. 13. We will attempt to hook up a live web conference with the winner for all to see.