U2... up close and very personal

I know I promised this earlier so here it is... Everything I've read about U23D: The Movie is right on. "Everything" being rave reviews... giving it five stars... all that. Incredible... awesome... amazing... immersive... Ok, enough with the ambiguous adjectives.

It's not your normal 3D experience where the filmmakers attempt to startle you with hokey gimmicks and corny effects. There's simply a crisp realism in the shots and after the first song or two, you feel as though you are "there." So much so, that at one point I literally moved my head so I could see around some offensive object obstructing my view... The Edge's mic stand. When I caught myself, I had to laugh.

I appreciated the fact that the camera gave equal airtime to all members of the band. One moment you are closeup with Bono or posing with Adam Clayton and the next you are looking over The Edge's shoulder at 80,000 screaming fans. This in itself is a departure from the much smaller arena venues played here in North America and amazingly translates to a relatively small room with a capacity of only 400.

The film was shot entirely during the South America leg of the Vertigo tour and the crowds really brought the concert to life. Bono also played on the fact that he was South of the Equator by singing several lines in Spanish including the entire bridge of Beautiful Day.

Our particular viewing at the Channelside IMAX theatre in Tampa had some real fans. During the show, you could hear people singing along and at times even clapping which seemed completely normal even though we were in a theatre. At one point, my wife even stood up and no one seemed to give attention.

The set is similar to the Chicago DVD with some welcome variations including Bono singing the opera which completely blew me away. I've never really cared much for Atomic Bomb's Love and Peace but this one made me a believer. Some of the visuals during the song were incredible including Bono lightpainting with his finger which appeared to be right in your face.

In short, it's an experience all it's own. It's not a mere concert film and it's not a live experience either. You're all over the place in the stadium. The only complaint I have (if you can call it that) is that I wished the editor would have lingered on some of the shots a bit longer so we could take it all in. The cuts were a bit fast and I found myself really wanting to drink in the entire scope of some of the wider shots. Other than that, it's an outstanding and groundbreaking piece of work. If you are within an hour or two drive, make the effort... it's def worth it. Here's a little teaser I took for you from the iPhone of my favorite member, Adam Clayton... not that it'll do you any good without the glasses.

Food Fight

I've only been in a couple of real food fights in my life. The best one was in Master's in our singlewide (yes, we lived in a singlewide). Something having to do with chocolate cake and... well, I won't go into it. This short film by Stefan Nadelman trumps them all though. The filmmaker presents a brief history of war, from WWII to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict.

Watching brought an internal conflict of my own. This incredibly creative if not disconcerting short is hilarious and yet events portrayed are anything but. As my good friend Steven pointed out... it's food so there's no one to get angry with. I must say that the Cold War buildup was my favorite.

Watch below and see how many countries and conflicts you can identify first. Then head on over to the official site and take a look at the cheat sheet. How'd you do?


Disclaimer #2 for the day: As odd as it sounds being just food and all... this film is a bit graphic so consider yourself warned.

U2 3D: The Movie

So I know this is old news but I'm ramping up for the release on January 23rd. Hit the jump for all the details.

IKEA opens its doors... to Mark.

Mark Malkoff needed a place to stay. His NYC apartment was being fumigated and none of his friends could accommodate him because they all have tiny studios. So, he did what any of us would do... he contacted IKEA. IKEA has been known to open it's doors for an evening so people can "test drive" furniture but this is pushing the envelope... 7 full days. At first, he didn't think they'd oblige but they did. And it's all captured for our viewing pleasure on YouTube of course.

"Mark moved in early morning Monday January 7th to the IKEA in Paramus, New Jersey and will stay for the week through Saturday January 12th. Every day people can watch a video recap of his day. He will be living in IKEA 24/7 and eating all his meals in the restaurant (he may order Domino's take out once or twice). Thankfully they have a shower for him in the back offices. " Hit the jump to watch all the episodes.

Mark currently works as the audience coordinator on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and is also known to have visited all 171 Starbucks located in Manhattan in a single day.

Baby Jams and Lullaby Renditions

I love covers and renditions but this takes the cake... your one-year-old baby's birthday cake that is. Rockabye Baby! offers your favorite bands in lullaby form to get your baby started early with those oh-so-luscious jams you've grown to love. I'm not so sure how healthy it would be, but you could if you wanted to. Believe it or not, they offer lullabies of Tool, Metallica, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails and more. Of course, if you or your baby aren't into the harder stuff you may like my personal favs U2, Coldplay, and a few others that won't require the Exorcist to make a visit.

Rockabye Baby! transforms rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies, sending your little one to a slumberland of sweet dreams.

It's worth making the jump and taking a listen... it's actually quite entertaining.

Please Hammer Don't Hurt Us

I love MC Hammer. I still jam to my favorite Hammer hits at full volume and I know every word. Well, Hammer is making his comeback and insists that he still has more hits in him. I couldn't agree more although I don't think I'll be posting up any dance videos of myself on his latest venture... www.dancejam.com. Hammer and his business partners are attempting to take a cut out of YouTube by launching a user-generated video website that focuses on sharing and watching dance videos.

"DanceJam then hopes to make money by grabbing a piece of the rapidly growing Internet advertising market, which is expected to rake in $27.5 billion in 2008, according to eMarketer.

"If the business pans out, DanceJam could help Hammer compensate for losing his fortune when he went bankrupt in 1996 with nearly $14 million in debts."

"Drawing upon the popularity of reality shows like "Dancing With The Stars," DanceJam will stage head-to-head competitions where contestants submit videos that will be judged by viewers."

I'm not so sure about his takeover of Silicon Valley and I'll skip a predictable end-line about him being 2 Legit 2 Quit, but I sure do hope it leads to him cranking out another album soon.

via FOXNews

Where the Wild Things Are... The Movie

Where The Wild Things Are was one of my favorite books as a child. As an adult, the accuracy the book holds is striking. The mix of our imagination in overcoming our worst fears and being "King of the Wild Things" and yet being homesick, lonely and just wanting to eat a hot supper with loved ones. Anyway, I'm excited about Spike Jonze's film adaptation of the book due out in October of this year. I hope it reflects and lives up to all the fond memories I had as a kid "making mischief" and dancing with the wild things. In any case, I'm really looking forward to this one.

The Big Shift in 2008

If you've been reading Danis Linus for very long then you've probably noticed that I'm fascinated with culture shifts. I'm by no means a "futurist" in the sense that I'm able to predict what's coming next but it doesn't take a rocket-scientist to see that the way we receive our digital content is changing... drastically. My brother-in-law, Jon, of Erwin Brother Motion Pictures have an ongoing conversation about media, culture, and especially how technology is changing and shaping the landscape of film. I agree with him that the movie-going experience won't change all that much since we love the big-screen and our Dolby surround sound. I do think that in 2008 we'll be seeing a huge shift in the way we digest content on a smaller scale.

A few indicators that jump out... The first an incredibly humorous one. A couple weeks ago, the The Royal Monarchy launched their own YouTube channel in order to reach a broader audience. ABC is now streaming full episodes in High Definition through their new media player. And, Apple and Twentieth Century Fox are poised to announce a new deal where iTunes will be carrying movie rentals for download and not just purchase. In addition, communications giant AT&T is launching their new U-Verse interactive, IP-based digital television, internet, and phones in even more markets over the next couple years. Things are changing and the consumer truly is king indeed.

Handbell Hero

In the spirit of Christmas and to spread holiday cheer, I present to you... Handbell Hero. I've only played Guitar Hero a few times and didn't do very well. This proved to be just as challenging. With all the pressures and frenzy of rushing around to buy gifts for your loved ones, take a moment and give it a whirl. It's sure to fill your heart with joyful bliss (or more frustration). It's some good fun except the only thing missing are the scrolling pentagrams.

Wave of Sorrow

In gearing up for the release The Joshua Tree 2007, U2 released this video of Bono talking about and singing Wave of Sorrow, a song that didn't make the cut on the original album. U2.com writes...

Twenty years after its original release, The Joshua Tree has been remastered for release in a series of special formats. As well as a fourteen track bonus-CD of b-sides and rarities, the 2007 release features a live concert DVD from Paris in 1987, liner notes from band and producers and previously unseen photos in a limited edition booklet.

The Killers | Sawdust

I love The Killers. Brandon Flowers' kind of takes me back to the glam-rock of the 80's but their sound is definitely fresh. They just released Sawdust, a b-sides-and-rarities comp that has some different sounds on it. My favs are "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf"...especially the last few measures. And, "All the Pretty Faces." "Where the White Boys Dance" kind of reminds me of Prince for some reason. Anyway... Check it out on Rhapsody...

Aqualung

I'm loving my Keane Channel on Pandora. It's by far my fav because I'm finding all kinds of new music. And by new, I mean new to me of course. One that keeps popping up is Aqualung. I'd heard of him before but never gave it a listen and now I'm loving it. Strange and Beautiful is supposed to retell the story of Aqualung (aka Matt Hales), who had already become a familiar voice in the UK by a popular VW Beetle commercial featuring his song, “Strange and Beautiful,” in 2002.

Listen to my Pandora Keane Channel or sample Aqualung below.

Rolling Stone Interview with Bono

The U2 frontman sits down for Rolling Stone's 40th anniversary to talk about the future, activism, and idealism. You have to hit the jump to hear Bono grapple with the question, "If you could only pursue U2 or activism, which would it be?"

Lightpainting Photos and Video

Steven shot me this earlier today from Behance.net. It's a new photoset and video from LICHTFAKTOR - a three-man lightpainting graffiti team. I've seen this sort of thing before but had no idea how it was accomplished. So of course, I relied on the trusty ol' Wikipedia. It's really some amazingly creative work. Hit the jump for more photos and the video. You can also hit up their Flickr or take a look at another video and interview over at Creative Review.

How Flickr Got It Right...

I usually prefer any Google app over Yahoo. I use iGoogle, Gmail, Google Calendar, of course Blogger, and many of their search features. But, I much prefer Flickr over Picasa any day.

First off, I can email my pics straight from my iPhone and they publish automatically. Below is a list of features that I love...

• The aforementioned email feature
• Batch uploading of photos
• The Organizr - a powerful tool for managing your photos in batches or using sets
• Auto-generated sizes including thumbnails
• The ability to add notes to multiple areas of a pic
• Tags - keywords or labels that you add to a photo
• Groups - If you're a member of a group, add your photo to the group pool
• Sets - a group of photos similar to an album
  
• The map feature to see geographically where pics have been taken
• The amazing amount of great pics from people around the world

The map feature is really cool since you can click on a spot and see all the pics there were taken at that location such as a particular restaurant or landmark. If you don't Flickr, it's easy to sign up. So, share your photos with the world. If you already have a Flickr, hit up the comments and let us know. Or let us know why you use another photo sharing tool like Picasa, Photobucket or Slide.

Also... visit the ClearwaterMC Flickr page for shots of the team in action or life.

Apple to remake YouTube ad

The latest in consumer-generated content comes from Nick Haley, a native of Warwick, England, from the University of Leeds, where he is a “fresher,” or first-year student. An Apple fanatic, he created and uploaded a self-made iPod Touch commercial to YouTube. As of yesterday, it was viewed over 2,100 times. Well, among the viewers were marketing employees at Apple who asked staff members on the Apple account at TBWA/Chiat/Day to get in touch with Mr. Haley about producing a professional version of the commercial. Quoting the New York Times...

“I was sitting on the bus and I got this e-mail on my phone,” Mr. Haley, a native of Warwick, England, said in an interview yesterday from the University of Leeds, where he is a “fresher,” or first-year student.

The message said, ‘We represent Apple and we’ve seen what you have produced and we’d like a chat with you,’ ” Mr. Haley recalled, adding: “This seemed ridiculous and far-fetched. My initial reaction was, someone wanted to steal it.”

He was soon convinced that the message was real and came to Los Angeles this month, in his first visit to the United States, to work on a broadcast-ready version of his spot with creative executives at TBWA/Chiat/Day...

As for how faithful the professional spot is to the amateur version, Mr. Clow said, “we didn’t mess with his content” because “it has a charm to it, a youthful fun.”

The changes include more polished editing and filming the new version in high definition.

“My input was totally respected,” Mr. Haley said, adding that he considered the agency’s commercial “pretty similar” to the original. Speaking of the original... view it below.

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Open Pandora's Box. You'll like it....

If you love music and love discovering new music, then Pandora is for you. I signed up some time ago but forgot how cool of a concept it is. You create your own radio stations based on the criteria you select and it picks music for you. You'll find some obscure bands and sounds that you will absolutely love. It's great to just let play in the background while you work. Read about the music genome project here.

TED Talks

If you're not familiar with TED... you should get familiar with TED. Not the airline or the billionaire news magnate... What's TED you ask? From the site...

"TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader."

The best part of the website are the videos. There's a myriad of topics and speakers. You won't agree with a lot of it, but at least you'll know what's out there and where things are headed. There's a lot of great stuff on there as well that'll inform you and cause you to think differently about the world.

Bravia Ad - Behind the Scenes

I posted up a YouTube video of the new Sony Bravia ad with the Play-doh rabbits. I kind of assumed there was a good bit of CG going on. Check out the Behind the Scenes video. Click the "Watch Our Play-Do Ad" box and you'll see an option to select the Making Of video. It makes watching the commercial even cooler when you see how they pulled it off.

Sony Bravia Ad

Saw this ad on Electro Plankton... Not a huge Sony fan but this Play-doh ad is pretty cool.