Wolfgang's Vault

Sounds a little creepy, huh ... yup, I thought so too, especially when one of my chain-letter addicted friends sent it to me ... so, with an entry begging to be made, I sucked in my belly (it wasn't difficult), held my breath (part of the belly-sucking thing), clenched my teeth, and opened the link.

Cool link. Veddy veddy cool. Wolfgang’s Vault is where live music lives, that's the spiel, and so, I checked it out for truth, and yes, Jimi's 1968 live concert at Winterland is up for the listenin'. I guess it's where all the Bill Graham Archives, the King Biscuit Flower Hour, and the Record Plant (among a dozen other archives) are stored, and the good soul that Wolfgang is, allows you to relive all your cherished (and some that never were) rock moments again. Within the Concert Vault are thousands of carefully restored, legendary concert recordings of the past and the present, yours to stream for free, with hundreds available for download. Concert Vault is also available as a free app on iPhone. Taking the musical fandom experience even further, you can read record reviews and in-depth articles about the greatest performers of yesterday and today in the almighty Crawdaddy!, in its second year as an online webzine. Concert tour info for your favorite performeris available on the site's very own comprehensive show listings site, Mojam.

Since when did rockers become philanthropists? They're not here, and it's okay. The $$ aspect comes with the encouragement to peruse Wolfgang’s Vault to consider and purchase the greatest collection of concert posters, rock photography, vintage t-shirts, retro t-shirts, and treasure trove of extraordinary concert related memorabilia. Okay, NP (no problem).

Nuclear Waste

A friend of mine had lunch today with a lawyer-turned-physicist. Well! If he isn't a beast for punishment ... ! As with some brainiacs, my friend included, it turns out this guy is the real deal - he walked away from a life of the law in search of wild stuff. Middle-aged (that's over 50 to you young 'uns), this friend of my friend works for the prestigious Lawrence Livermore Labs, guardians of our American nation's scientific secrets.

Titillated (no, honey, that is not a dirty word) beyond total control, I had to check out their site ... after all, it's what, almost 2 am and I'm not sleepy. I thought this would do the trick, and dull the life outta this mushy brain. Not so.

What a cool website! Nothing less than the following on the home page:

• Weapons and Complex Integration;
• National Ignition Facility and Photon Science;
• Global Security;
• Science and Technology (uh...duh...this one did not surprise me...);
• Working With Us;
• Community Connections;
• Year in Review (with Annual Reports for 07 and 08, no less!).

Yes, of course I'm impressed - here's why: Without much understanding of scientific tech gobbledygook, I get it, this site has a lot to say about how serious Americans are about Science. A lot. The first two bullets above alone tell me they're working on nuclear energy, nuclear warfare (OMG), smart bombs and the kind of science that Hollywood dreamt up in the 60s. The last three bullets (that's probably not a good word choice here, is it?) are kinda weird in a warm fuzzy way ... like "Yes, we conduct nuclear explosion experiments daily, but we still love you ..." You know what I mean?

Oh well, it turns out my friend's friend who gave up a life of slavery with rapacious legal adversaries (who knows what turned him off, right?) for the pure life of science is actually one of those guys trying to transform nuclear waste into positive energy for our children and grandchildren (I heard the going is so slow, it's like Gaudi's Holy Family Cathedral in Barcelona, we'll only get to enjoy the process...).

The Oscars

On February 22, 2009, the 81st Academy Awards honoring the best in film for 2008, and awarding the famous little gold statue, Oscar, will be held at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Handsome hunk, actor Hugh Jackman will host the ceremony for the first time!
To prepare for the festivities, and get ready for your own Oscar party, check out ABC.com’s 'Road To The Oscars' which covers all Oscar-related events, including the parties and after-parties supporting this event. Road To The Oscars is a daily show featuring daily news and updates, interviews, behind-the-scenes and prep footage. You'll get an insider’s look at what it takes to produce the biggest event in Hollywood, as well as intimate interviews with this year’s nominees, host and producers...and now to the actual nominees and awards...
Can you predict a winner? If you think you can, I challenge you to prove it! Take The Oscars Challenge - Predict the Winners! Voilà, here are the nominees:

• Leading Actor - Richard Jenkins in The Visitor, Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon, Sean Penn in Milk, Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler;
• Leading Actress - Angelina Jolie in ChangelingAnne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, Melissa Leo in Frozen River, Meryl Streep in Doubt, and Kate Winslet in The Reader;
• Supporting Actor - Josh Brolin in Milk, Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, and Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road;
• Supporting Actress - Amy Adams in Doubt, Penélope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Viola Davis in Doubt, Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler;
• Animated feature film - Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, and WALL-E;
• Art direction - Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Duchess, and Revolutionary Road;
• Cinematography - Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire;
• Costume design - Australia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Duchess, Milk, and Revolutionary Road;
  
• Directing - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire;
• Documentary, feature - The Betrayal, Encounters at the End of the World, The Garden, Man on Wire, and Trouble the Water;
• Documentary, short - The Conscience of Nhem En, The Final Inch, Smile Pinki, and The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306;
• Film editing - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Frost/Nixon, Milk, and Slumdog Millionaire;
• Foreign language film - The Baader Meinhof Complex, The Class, Departures, Revanche, and Waltz With Bashir;
• Makeup - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, and Hellboy II: The Golden Army;
• Original musical score - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Defiance, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, and WALL-E;
• Original song - 'Down to Earth' from WALL-E, 'Jai Ho' from Slumdog Millionaire, and 'O Saya' from Slumdog Millionaire;
• Best Picture - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire;
• Animated short film - La Maison en Petits Cubes, Lavatory - Lovestory, Oktapodi, Presto, and This Way Up;
• Live action short film - Auf der Strecke (On the Line), Manon on the Asphalt, New Boy, The Pig, and Spielzeugland (Toyland);
• Sound editing - The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, and Wanted;
• Sound mixing - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, WALL-E, and Wanted;
• Visual effects - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, and Iron Man;
• Adapted screenplay - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire;
• Original screenplay - Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges, Milk, and WALL-E.

To get all the dirt on the nominations, have a look at the Oscar site (click here). Now ... are you up to this?!

Kayak

It used to be the best way to get to your destination was by plane, train, or automobile !

Now it’s the kayak. Kayak is a travel search engine. Which, according to their website, means they search hundreds of travel sites, provide the information to you in an easy-to-use display, and send you directly to the source to make your purchase. They will help you find the perfect flight, hotel, cruise, or rental car. Once your choice is made, Kayak will link to the travel sites to make your purchase, allowing you to choose which site to purchase from– through an online travel agency or consolidator such as Orbitz.com or Airfare.com.Kayak 's search engine can find all kinds of travel products– from flights and hotels to rental cars and cruises. Their fare alerts and fare history help travelers stay on top of ever-changing travel prices.

The recently launched Kayak.com wants to be the über travel search engines. Using a self-professed Google-meets-Amazon approach, Kayak cherry-picks from aggregator sites (like Sidestep and Mobissimo), agencies, and airline sites, and adds a slew of excellent techie tricks and tools. In short, you control of your travel choices - Kayak searches hundreds of travel websites (including online travel agency sites).

Why bother? Well, here are a few reasons:

1. Listings are totally impartial, without the pay-for-placement arrangements with airlines that is a common industry practice;
2. Searching is fast, and you can watch the progress;
3. Defining your search is as easy as moving the price slider up or down, and the info refreshes without forcing you to wait for a reload; and
   
4. Kayak.com also searches Jet Blue (Southwest only does Southwest).

Kayak was started by founders of Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia who believed in a better online travel experience (in other words, folks who know their way around the infuriating, Byzantine world of online reservations). They hired a crack team of geeky engineers who brought expertise from all over the Web, finagled a couple ducats out of General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners. Along the way, Kayak redefined the way people search and purchase travel online.

Go for it! Available online at kayak.com.

Wikipedia Art

Wikipedia Art is art that anyone can edit.

Scott Kildall and Nathaniel Stern posted a new entry on Wikipedia called "Wikipedia Art." The entry is a manifestation of the work of art; alter its composition, and you become a collaborator in the art's formation. The catch is that Wikipedia, the world's free and editable encyclopedia, has enforced standards of quality and verifiability. All Wikipedia articles, and each fact written in them, must cite “credible” external sources: interviews, blogs, or articles in “trustworthy” media institutions.

Wikipedia Art is birthed, survives and transforms itself through public performance and communal intervention. It is continuously reconstituted and redefined in a participant-driven write+cite+edit process that we call "performative citation."

Wikipedia Art MUST BE written about extensively both on- and off-line, and these writings will in turn be included as part of the work, on its Wikipedia page. This serves the dual purpose of verifying the piece - which is considered controversial by those in the Wikipedia community, and may occasionally be removed from the site - as well as transforming it over time.

Here are three ways you can join the collaboration:

(1) Write a text, blog entry, essay or any other form of thoughts about the project

(2) Edit the Wikipedia page itself, citing a published text (even your own!)

(3) Pass along this call for participation to others

Link to the project page

http://www.wikipediaart.org/

Initial interviews and essays

Wikipedia Art — a virtual fireside chat

http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/02/wikipedia-art-virtual-fireside-chat.html

WikiPedia art? -- by Patrick Lichty http://blog.furtherfield.org/?q=node/267

SOFA Chicago 2008

If you're in Chicago this week, you havta go to the Navy Pier for SOFA Chicago 2008! No, it's not a furniture show, silly, it's pretty much the coolest fine art sculpture show in the world. Yes, it's uber posh on opening night, but the following day, until closing, is relaxed-I-don't-really-have-a-hangover, intensely-trying-to-look-casual-like-I-don't-really-care art collecting.

SOFA is the acronym for the Sculpture, Object, and Functional Art exhibition that has been taking place annually for the last 15 years in Chicago. It has a sister show in New York, but this is the one to go to. Lately, a lot of glass sculpture has been the rage (for about the last 15 years!), so, yes, there is a ton of glass sculpture ... and goddammit, it's pretty amazing stuff! Artists and collectors from all over the world come to sniff out the goods - from Argentina, Denmark, Paris, Tokyo, even the wilds of Manhattan and San Francisco!

Why? Well, artworks by such sculpture legends as Bill Morris, Dale Chihuly, David Gilhooly, and Lino Tagliapietra are amongst the attractions. Fabulously lofty works by exciting emerging artists, are the real lure, with newly developed conceptual sculptures in a variety of mediums ranging from glass (natch) to gold to ceramic and thread. Huh? Yes, must see! November 6-9, 2008.