Hollywood2020

LOOKING BACK THX- 1138 GEORGE LUCAS FILM & WILLIAM SHATNER REVIEW

WOW WHAT A BRILLIANT WAY TO REVITALIZE THE INTEREST IN THX - 1138...have Star Trek's Captain William Shatner review the DVD -- and on June 6 -- Shatner did just that...here's an excerpt from Shatner's review:  George Lucas’s most grown-up piece of work is, oddly enough, his first feature from 1971, the instant classic of dystopic angst,THX 1138, inaugurating a steady reversal of artistic maturity that would culminate in the cartoonish Star Wars sequels; which is maybe where he wanted to end up all along.Slice of Scifi - Science Fiction TV & Movie News, Interviews ...

Bill’s Review

George Lucas’s most grown-up piece of work is, oddly enough, his first .

Some of Shatner's great quotes include:

THX 1138 is an impassioned howl against the dehumanization of modern society.

BLACK VS WHITE: "There’s plenty of subtext percolating beneath the surface, most of which is left to the viewer to figure out. For instance, the only black people seen are performers on crude holographic TV shows (either lasciviously dancing or performing “Amos ‘n Andy”-like routines), while all the workers are white"

"What makes the horror of THX 1138 so all-enveloping is that there is simply no villain..."

"But, decades later, the film’s righteous humanist indignation still shines through as brightly as ever. Sometimes over-laden with influences, from 1984 to The Wizard of Oz, and occasionally simplistic, THX 1138 is nevertheless a film like no other, science fiction as it should be."

LINK TO AMAZON.COM Director's CUT

THX 1138 (The George Lucas Director's Cut Two-Disc Special List Price: $26.98 Price: $19.99 WELL WORTH THE PRICE -- if you know where it can be downloaded online legally will you ping me? This blogger just re-watched the movie...alas...on a hot Friday afternoon prior to July 4 weekend it seemed horribly long....maybe it was seeing it on the small screen....THX-1138 -- I did think it ironic that I was watching and posting about it on Independence weekend when it is really an excercise in denying personal freedom or independence....if you re-watch it -- catch all of the subliminal stuff about consumerism -- still holds up well..js.

LG Refrigerator & TV : Dinner Time & Prime Time

DINNER TIME & PRIME TIME -- a winning duo for the kitchen or family room or maybe anywhere? Who says you have to keep this fabulous addition in the kitchen? Anytime is prime-time when you have the new LG Refrigerator with Build in LCD Screen...

According to smarthome.com: For use with cable or satellite TV, the LG refrigerator with built-in LCD TV has a coaxial cable output behind the right door hinge. An RG-179 cable (67' long) is included for easy installation. The TV refrigerator can also be used with any DVD player or VCR that has a coaxial output.

WOW WHERE HAVE WE BEEN -- we just saw this TV on a FOOD CHANNEL PROMO (where else?) but now we find a press release that says this kewl babe has been out since April 21???

*The LCD screen is 15 inches but that's not the only screen on this wonder -- the sleek side-by-side LG TV Refrigerator now includes a four-inch
WeatherPlus(TM) LCD display located above the dispenser that includes
weather forecasts, a digital photo album, recipe bank and more.

What's that all about?  "The next generation LGTV Refrigerator, one of our key flagship products.In fact, we've even taken it a step further. With this latest nnovation, consumers will receive personalized weather reports for their in real time. There is nothing available like this on the market,"Soon Kwon, president of Digital Appliances for LG Electronics USA, Inc.

OTHER FEATURES: personalized weather forecasts based on a consumer's given area, date/time, calendar with alarm and eight-category recipe bank with 100 pre-loaded recipes.

PLUS --a personal digital photo album. The personal photo album can be uploaded via a USB port in the dispenser area. A child lock function,room temperature display, digital user manual, product controls and warnings are also part of the complete package. The right side features a 15-inch standard definition, cable-ready LCD TV with DVD connection and FM radio for hours of kitchen entertainment.

CES AWARD WINNER

Accolades including the 2006 CES "Innovation Award for Design and Engineering" as the best new product in the appliance category.The LG TV Refrigerator, model LSC27990TT, will be available Q2 2006( AHA blogger note that's why we're just seeing it now-- the sart of the third quarter??) in a titanium finish at a manufacturer's suggested retail price ranging from $3,499 to $3,699.

INTERNET ACCESS?? It’s the ultimate in kitchen technology with a built-in MP3 player for downloading and playing music from the internet, e-mail and video mail using a built-in camera and microphone. It even has full internet access so you can re-stock the refrigerator on-line or check on the latest news and weather .http://www.lginternetfamily.co.uk/fridge.asp

Hmm we saw this link above which gives demos of what it calls GRD-267DTU
Digital Multimedia Side-By-Side Fridge Freezer with LCD Display BUT it's amazingly dated 2002 -- at least the web page says 2002. AND it mentions internet access. This new fridge and the release noted above doesn't mention Internet access...it mentions a USB port?

LOOK AT THE SPECS:

13.1" LCD TV with remote control, cable ready FM Stereo Stereo sound Energy Star rated refrigerator Ice and water without opening the door Premium performance and organization features inside

DANCE THE NIGHT AT VIRTUAL LOUNGE ADS COULD PAY FOR ADMISSION

by Joyce Schwarz, JCOM, www.joycecom.com, author and emerging entertainment consultant, blogging at www.hollywood2020.blogs.com. Unless you've been living in a cave lately, you know that the hottest 'cross-between' (as we call the comparison in Hollywood) is MySpace/YouTube -- now along comes another version of the virtual community experience-- a virtual disco www.pcdmusiclounge.com, The new experience is brought to you by a company called Doppelganger.

In today's SF Chronicle article Doppelganger Chief Executive Officer Andrew Littlefield says, "It's an environment where they can see and be seen."

For more details about PCDmusiclounge.com, link to: Going safely into the night San Francisco Chronicle orDoppelganger Adopts Dance Moves, Boomboxes, 3D Environments

PRODUCT PLACEMENT MODEL?

Most of the articles on the new site list product placement as the ad model.

Revenue, of course, can also be from electronic commerce. Interscope Records

signed up for a trial on the site. BUT Hollywood2020.blogs.com things that

the real model is underwriting and sponsorship of the lounge and events that tie

in with real-world concerts.

Making real money in a virtual world

Doppelganger, A New Online Ad Model? GigaOm

NOTE that the company Doppelganger was formerly called Evil Twin.

Interesting notes here about it's funding and a bit of controversy on the VCs:

MercuryNews.com | 08/12/2005 | VC funding for Q2 2005 

Evil Twin Studios, San Francisco, $2700000, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, VSP Capital, Video games distributorThe three companies – Evil Twin Studios, Truveo Inc. and Umbria Inc. – were quietly ... It had raised more than $25 million in VC funding from firms like ... hosting.mansellgroup.net/enablemail/ ThomsonNewLetter/HostedWires/NewsLetters/Aug5.htm - 39k -

Cached

NEC ROBOT GETS AVATAR PAL TO TALK TO YOUR HOME DEVICES

Personal Robot PaPeRo gets smarter....according to www.pinktentacle.com NEC just announced new tech that enables PaPeRo household robot to connect with personal devices by using a digital avatar that “follows” you ,appears on the screen( on the device) and interacts with you.NEC's PaPeRo robot gets digital . Hollywood2020 wants to know why PaPeRo can't just embed the devices within it's body-- why can't it BE THE TV, BE THE MP3 PLAYER, BE THE CAMCORDER, BE THE DVD PLAYER-- all that metal and no guts? Let's see how smart the avatar can get, previous explanations show that the personal robot is authomomous -- and they show it going to sleep on the couch -- just another couch potato? Most women would not tolerate for another authomomous agent during football games hanging out on the couch! Japanese execs should get a clue! In case you haven't seen the NEC guidelines for their personal robots-- we're reprinting them here-- pretty kewl huh--not unlike guidelines for real people in real relationships -- except the artifact stuff (which I'm sure is really just a language translation goof -- artifacts in our culture go in the attic or are banned to the Goodwill or if worth something-- sold at a yardsale or carried off to the Antiques Roadshow...people generally aren't artifacts? But then some that I know bear a close resemblance to them sometimes! The three principles of the NEC robot

NEC says online: What kinds of things do we want for robots to achieve the "world with personal robots in mind" that we introduced earlier? We present the following 3 items required for robots from the point of view of "interaction with people." 1)To understand one's partner - not with an ID or password, but with a 'natural form'. 2)Having individual characteristics -having and asserting one's sense of values 3)Having specialties (having some things superior to people) -    so as to live as an artifact - (ARTIFACT???? that's sure as clear as MUD comments blogger Joyce Schwarz, Hollywood 2020.blogs.com.

READING 10,000 YEARS FROM NOW -- WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION? HOW DO YOU CREATE A SIGN THAT CAN BE READ 10,000 YEARS FROM NOW? A note in Slashdot.org linking to a newspaper story prompts this blogger to ponder -- what is communicaton? Will people read 10,000 years from now? "The Los Angeles Times discusses the problems with trying to leave a message for generations down the line.

MESSAGES TO THE FUTURE FROM THE PAST: 

One of the first thoughts that comes to the mind of this blogger, Joyce Schwarz, emerging media and entertainment consultant at JCOM (www.joycecom.com) is pictographs. Here is a sample of the pictographs used at the 2004 Olympics in Greece:          

Click on thumbnail to see the pictographs designed for the 2004 US Olympics.

PICTOGRAMS IN HISTORY: WHICH SOMEHOW REMINDED ME OF COURSE OF THE UPCOMING MOVIE: DAVINCI CODE:

According to Mesopotamia.co.uk: the earliest writing was based on pictograms. Pictograms were used to communicate basic information about crops and taxes.

The Mesopotamia site notes that, "Over time, the need for writing changed and the signs developed into a script we call cuneiform.   What I find so amazing as a high tech consultant is how much the cuneiform sketch on this site looks like a PDA in a hand! Is that what Apple's Newton used as a prototype?  

The cuneiform evolved over the centuries so that it could be used by various languages to explain not only symbols but sounds of words according to this website.

SYMBOLS: From that site I moved to www.symbols.com and found this symbol which was fascinating

Click on this symbol to see: Swedish hobo sign for here live angry dogs and brutal people

ON TO BARCODES & SHAPES...... Which took me on to the concept of barcodes and physical shapes in this case a zebra courtesy of an HP site in French....

And from the Barcode I linked to a book on text messaging -- reminding me that this is really another language created by the people of the people for the people in this century and in fact in the past decade!

TEXT MESSAGING: courtesy of : www.gillian-cross.co.uk/ images/bewareDH.jpg

: - (	unhappy
I - O	bored/yawning
O-Z-<	man running (whole body figure)
+	knight
:-D	happy
*<):O)	clown
LOL	laugh out loud
: ))	laughing

WHICH IN TURN LINKED ME TO SOCIAL TAGGING concepts...Technorati & beyond...

AND ON TO TAGALAG.com -- which is a mash-up including Google maps....

and on to Google earth-- would a picture convey what we wanted to know-- if you had a picture of what Stonehenge was really symbolizing would you understand it?

google earth-- does a photograph really tell 1000 words?

And on to metatags......

and from metatags I thought about how robots could express emotion and went to an Aibo emotion site.....

AIBO -- DEATH OF AIBO???? which took me to a note that I did not want to see -- it looks like AIBO IS DEAD???? Following the Sony Corporation FY05 3Q announcement, the production of AIBO Entertainment Robots will be discontinued as of end March 2006. As for the sales activity, we will discontinue the sales of AIBO once all remaining stock runs out.

Dear AIBO enthusiast

Thank you very much for your patronage of AIBO and the European AIBO website.

Following the Sony Corporation FY05 3Q announcement, the production of AIBO Entertainment Robots will be discontinued as of end March 2006. As for the sales activity, we will discontinue the sales of AIBO once all remaining stock runs out........The last set of AIBO Custom Datas for AIBO ERS-7M3 will be launched in March 2006. The download service on www.eu.aibo.com will continue after April 2006 for these new downloads as well as all existing AIBO Custom Data and other AIBO software. In addition the user guides library (documents available in PDF format) will also remain available.

Sony Entertainment Robot Europe

*As each AIBO model has a specific production discontinuation date, the service operation will be terminated model by model. Please click here to view a model-by-model breakdown.

Further research shows that: About 150 000 Aibos have been sold since they debuted in 1999. The Aibo had a strong following among fans - some of whom owned whole packs of the machines that retailed for $2 000. According to ZDnet: said in a statement. Alas, belt-tightening at Sony forced the company earlier this year to dispense with its robotics unit.

WHICH LEADS ME TO OF COURSE ONE OF MY FAVORITE BLOG POSTS -- PIXELCHIX -- don't ask just believe it -- Pixelchix is proabably Holywood2020's favorite blog post ever in one year of posting!   And can a 3d sculpture really convey concepts-- not unlike the pictogram is it? and so it goes...from writing to symbols to signs.....and shapes....will anyone read in the future...to be continued.

GIRLFRIEND X -- ONLINE CUPID TRACKS A GUY'S "CHICK Q"

GIRLFRIENDX JUST MIGHT BE THE PERFECT VDAY GIFT FOR GEEKS TO TRACK THEIR CHICK Q....

Ever dreamed of software that helps you win a woman's heart by sending her notes and remembering the little things, while graphing out her suitability? A computer "geek" calls it a reality, according to Douglas Brown, DENVER POST staff writer. 

In a recent article interviewing the founder of GIRLFRIEND X reporter Brown quotes GirlfriendX creator Rick Pierce who urges us to "Think of GirlFriendX.com as a personal assistant, one schooled in the art of romance and the science of the female condition, whispering in your ear as you navigate the dating world."

THE article on GIRLFRIENDXDenverPost.com - LIFESTYLES was so popular it got syndicated in Dayton, Ohio Newspapers and as far away as Arkansas. Here are some links to some of the other articles about GirlfriendX: So, mister, is that software in your pocket? and Dear (type in name), I love you.

WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT GIRLFRIENDX?  Reporter Brown explains "While the Internet offers a banquet of romance-related technologies, from ubiquitous dating Web sites to advice bloggers to programs that will store pertinent information about the women in mens' lives, GirlFriendX, it appears, is the first to tie it all together. Services even include calls to cell phones during dates in case you're not enjoying yourself and need an "out," and a "yield calculator." The calculator crunches numbers about various investments, her "maintenance" levels, sexual encounters and the degree to which you care about her, and comes up with a bar graph illustrating how the woman measures up, relationship-wise."

BOYFRIEND Y SET TO LAUNCH SOON....I caught up with Pierce during CES (Consumer Electronics Show) where he was swamped with press interviews including PLAYBOY, CANADIAN TELEVISION, NY TIMES and scads of radio. I asked Pierce about the debut of a Boyfriend X and he chuckled explaining no it will be Boyfriend Y (as in Y chromosone and x chromosone). Anyway, he promises that this blogger Joyce Schwarz can test out the Boyfriend Y software soon to hit the net. Meanwhile, I guess lots of Geeks will be able to test out GirlfriendX and sharpen up their "Chick Q" maybe in time for next Valentines Day!

VALENTINE 411 -- all of you guys can check out the details at GirlfriendX.com and after reading sign up for $19.95 per month. Who knows maybe you'll even throw out that little black book. Gals, it's a perfect gift for your favorite computer repair geek!  Check it out at www.girlfriendx.com and read more at www.gfxmag.com.  Personally, I think the concept is awesome, maybe a bit chauvinstic but then I can't wait to get my hands on the Boyfriend Y beta. Who knows maybe Hollywood will come knocking on Pierce's door and turn GirlfriendX and BoyfriendY into a reel-life reality show! But then again, maybe it's really the ultimate quiz show...what do you know about your lovers?

Camarsaurus Dinosaur Comes to Life: IS IT ANOTHER FURBY?

By Joyce Schwarz, author & Hollywood columnist, www.joycecom.com

MEET PLEO  ....a superb example of 'organic robotics' revealed at Demo 2006 www.demo.com.

See more about Pleo -- at www.ugobe.com or see it "live" at www.demo.com  Could it be the next FURBY...or is it really just the perfect house-broken pet to take to work?

Modeled after a week old Camarsaurus dinosaur, Pleo's chief inventor was also co-inventor of FURBY -- you remember that little fluffy, talk-bot that took the world by storm in 1998 and toted up more than $50 million in sales not so many holidays ago.

PLEO VS REAL DINOSAUR

Surprising, when this blogger Joyce Schwarz looked up info on Camarsaurus dinosaurs on www.enchantedlearning.com (one of our favorite sites for this kind of research) we found that they say: "Camarasaurus was a sauropod, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was the among the lowest of the dinosaurs". In fact, on the chart that Enchanted Learning shows the Camarsaurus is below the crocodile in his/her EQ.

AUTONOMOUS EMOTIONS.....

But that's not the case with PLEO who according to creator Chung is the world's first autonomous life-form (note lifeform NOT TOY) who is capable of autonomous emotions that allow personal engagement. Is it a he/she? Bloggers keep calling Pleo "he" but I called up Julie Crabill, one of Pleo's PR flacks and she says there are no identifiable biological factors that determine if Pleo is a girl or a boy. AND there's no real reason for the name PLEO either. Julie mentioned that there is a dinosaur type with that name but actually when I looked it up it's spelled Pliosaur meaning near reptile.

PLEO FACTS AND TRIVIA: See him at www.ugobe.com According to their website, UGOBE's designers and engineers recreated Pleo's physiology from the fossils of the original. His height and weight are consistent with that of a one-week old infant camarasuarus. The site goes on to explain Pleo is an authentic Life Form. Treat him gently like any other living thing. Your Pleo will let you know how he feels at any moment. That's because he is capable of actual emotions including joy, aggression, sorrow, and fear. He can also yawn, sigh, sniff, sniffle, snore, cough, hiccup, and sneeze. Note UGOBE is pronounced "you go be" -- as in you can go and be what you want....hinting at what might come from this company in the future perhaps?

PLEO -- Sleeps and dreams....

When Pleo grows tired, lay him down and attach his 'dream cord' so he can sleep, dream, and gather energy for more exploration. BLOGGER NOTE -- hmm maybe they can sell dream cords for kids -- to encourage bed-time!!!

PLEO has its own REGENERATION BED so that it can sleep and dream...reminds this blogger of a little bit like a Borg rejuvenation chamber! Star Trek is calling Pleo!

PLEO IS DEMOgod and INNY WINNER

UGOBE was awarded the honor of DEMOgod and was also bestowed an INNY award at the DEMO 2006 conference this week in Phoenix. The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose honors the INNY Awards to DEMO innovations that will impact people's lives and reinforce The Tech's mission to inspire the innovator in everyone.

SO WHO AND WHAT IS UGOBE? MAYBE THE QUESTION TO ASK IS WHO IS UGOBE?

Who is UGOBE is fascinating.  According to the press release, UGOBE's multidisciplinary team of robotics experts, animators, technologists, scientists, biologists and programmers are led by polymath toy inventor and Furby co-creator, Caleb Chung. Check out who's on the Board of Directors, it includes: Gordon Radley, former President of (what else) LucasFilms and Chauncey Shey, CEO/Softbank China Venture Capital and co-founder UTStarcom.

UGOBE'S ADVISORY BOARD: The Advisory board is equally as impressive-- it includes: Stephen Mayer, co-founder Atari Computer and Activision, Curtis Sasaki, VP Sun Microsystems and Phil Schlein, Partenr/US Venture Partners (USVP) and former president of Macy's California.

UGOBE -- NURSERY NOT A FACTORY.... according to Ugobe's press kit, they want us to think of the company's lab as a nursery for new life forms not a factory-- the firm is located in Emeryville and they say in their press materials that they are outside of San Francisco.

WHAT"S NEXT FOR PLEO? I saw somewhere that Pleo is going to do a debut at the San Francisco Zoo. Chances are the "life form" or at least his creators will show up at TOY FAIR opening next week. Pleo is set to retail at $199 about the same price as the Robosapien and other robotic wonders-- but I know Pleo is a LIFE FORM not a robot!!!

PALS FOR PLEO AT TOY FAIR? According to an Associated Press reports, lifelike robotic toys will be all the rage at the American International Toy Fair beginning Sunday in New York. The lineup includes a life-sized miniature pony that responds to touch, a Barbie doll that follows a child's dance moves and a robot made from a Lego building set that can be programmed.

Microchips have come down in price, so toy makers are able to make more advanced toys that are still affordable. At least 75 percent of the toys at this year's event will have some sort of microchip in them.

PLEO ON TV, BOOKS & MERCHANDISE? we saw no info on any licensing deals for Pleo --for TV, Books, movies etc-- but with board members and advisors from such firms as Sun, Macy's and Lucas Films -- Pleo may soon make his REEL debut not just his REAL premier.