From muppetcentral.com:
Muppet drummer Animal is the second authentic replica. The Great Gonzo is scheduled to debut by the end of 2007 with Fozzie to follow in 2008.
Anyone have the Kermit one. I want them all, but they’re so expensive.
More info at the link.
From soulshine.ca:
add to del.icio.us
DRM digital rights management software has been a staple of legal music downloads since their inception online, but now EMI Music is kicking off the movement to allow customers the option of buying their songs on a section of iTunes called iTunes Plus for $1.29 each instead of the usual 99 cents where music lovers can purchase digital downloads without the DRM software.
DRM-free versions will be of lesser quality 256kbps instead of the original 128kbps and cost 30 cents more, but Apples CEO Steve Jobs remains confident that consumers will respond positively, “”We expect more than half of the songs on iTunes will be offered in iTunes Plus versions by the end of this year.”
Consumers are even allowed to upgrade previously purchased iTunes songs to DRM-free versions. While EMI will be excluding the DRM-free deal from their Beatles catalogue, several artists such as Coldplay, The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra are all ready to go.
Those who want to purchase the new DRM-free songs option will need to download iTunes 7.2.
www.worldhum.com
In Charlotte, North Carolina today, 88-year-old evangelist Billy Graham celebrates the dedication of the Billy Graham Library, which, according to some observers and Graham fans, is more like a corny theme park than a dignified museum. “Their concerns start just inside the enormous glass cross that forms the door to the 40,000-square-foot museum,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which headlined its story, Billy Graham, tourist attraction. “The lobby is set up like a barn to evoke Graham’s boyhood on a North Carolina dairy farm. Hens cluck on a soundtrack. A stuffed cat heaves a battery-powered sigh. And amid bales of hay, a cow that looks uncannily lifelike begins to sing.”
Graham’s wife reportedly called the place a “circus,” but based on that description, it sounds more like a zoo, or The Enchanted Tiki Room.
add to del.icio.usFrom mouseplanet.com:
Interesting article on possible rides that could close as the Nemo subs open. Click on the link for the entire article. - Mark
add to del.icio.usWhich ride will Disneyland torpedo to offset opening the subs?Thursday, May 31, 2007
David Koenig, staff writerIn the Bad Theme Park Management Hall of Fame, there are certain policies that will live forever in infamy: Run it until it fails. Every facility must generate a profit. Promote shops and restaurants, not attractions. Every guest contact is a sales opportunity.
Most of these brainstorms and their ilk were instituted under Disneylands president in the mid-to-late-1990s, Paul Pressler. But theres one frustrating policy that he cant be blamed for: Every time a new attraction opens, an old one must close.
The rationale behind this practice does make sense, at least financially. Adding a new attraction doesnt just increase overall ride capacity; it also increases the amount of money required to operate the park on a daily basis. You need more ride operators, maintenance crew members, electricity, paint, replacement parts; you even pay higher property taxes. So, one way to keep expenses in check is by closing attractions-assuming the park can do without the increased ride capacity.
From wcbstv.com:
Regal cinemas say you can now silence those interruptions with the Regal Guest Response System — a virtual remote control to mute that annoying patron who’s ruining your silver screen sanity.
“I get enraged, and I often want to tell them to shut up,” moviegoer M. David Levin told CBS 2 HD.
Theatre employees at Battery Park Stadium now handle that duty without patrons missing a second of film. A hand-held pager is given to a random member of the Regal Crown Club Loyalty Program who’s attending each movie.
“If any situation does arise they can just press a button which goes directly to the pager which the manager will have and they’ll signal it and they’ll go right into the theater and handle the situation,” theater manager Heather Dematteis said.
“This device can be used for more than just reporting loud patrons,” Dematteis added. “It also can be used to report problems with the picture, sound and even piracy.”
Evidently this is already installed in a few theaters. Has anyone out there seen or used one?
It seems like a disaster waiting to happen. What if the unruly person turns into the person holding the button? Movies could then be interrupted by employees entering the theater every 10 seconds to scold every other person in the theater. Or perhaps it would start button wars where one person tells on another person for being on the phone, and that person’s friend tells on the original person for coughing too loudly, etc.
add to del.icio.usFrom yahoo.com:
J.K Rowling, who became the worlds first billion dollar author on the back of
Harry Potters success, has given the go-ahead for the creation of a Florida theme park dedicated to the schoolboy wizard.“The plans I have seen look incredibly exciting and I dont think fans of the books or films will be disappointed,” Rowling said of the Orlando park that is scheduled to open in 2009.
The park is a joint venture between Warner Bros Entertainment, whose Potter films have so far grossed more than $3.5 billion worldwide, and Universal Orlando Resort.
In a statement rich in entertainment hyperbole, the builders of “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” said they planned to “create the worlds first immersive Harry Potter themed environment.”
Edit: Alan posted a link to the official page related to this new Harry Potter land at Islands of Adventure: http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/index.html
Personally, I couldn’t care less about the whole thing. I’ve never read a page of a Harry Potter book, nor have I seen a single minute of a Harry Potter film. I’m disappointed to hear that one of my favorite sections of Islands of Adventure will now become themed to a subject that I have no interest in. Hopefully the new “state of the art ride” will make up for it, whatever it is.
add to del.icio.usNOTE: Source Article NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY
After selecting a bottle of Nyquil and my Husband’s favorite brand of ice cream, it was time to check-out. I elected to go through the self check-out lane. However, after I scanned my items, the computer started beeping.
“You have selected an age restricted item. Please wait for a cashier,” it said.
“What the heck?” I mused, “Ice cream and Nyquil is age restricted now?”
A teenager with a lip piercing and bad dye job came rushing over. “Can I see your ID?” she chirped.
“What did I order that needs ID?” I asked.
She looked over my purchases and shrugged. “I guess it’s the Nyquil.”
I sighed deeply and handed her my driver’s license. She glanced at it quickly, typed my birthday into the computer, handed it back, and scurried away. Even though I didn’t show it, I was all kinds of annoyed.
I mean, what kind of nanny state am I living in right now? I can’t even buy cold medicine anymore without the government in my business? Why is my right to privacy being invaded in favor of incompetent police officers who lack the ability to catch drug dealers without spying on the average law abiding citizen?
Then, out of nowhere, I thought, I wonder what would happen if I tried to buy all the Nyquil on the shelf?
Before I knew it, I had a small army of grocery store employees following me around the parking lot. It was surreal. I felt like I was starring in the deleted scenes of one of those Terminator movies.
My theory was that they were waiting until I got into my car so they could write down my license plate number. To me, this was odd, considering the fact that they had my name, address, and phone number written on a slip of paper behind the customer service desk.
Source (Has Profanity)
add to del.icio.usFrom apple.com:
add to del.icio.usApple today announced that it’s bringing the Internet’s most popular originally-created content from YouTube to the living room with Apple TV. Beginning in mid-June, Apple TV will wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube and play them on a user’s widescreen TV. Using Apple TV’s elegant interface and simple Apple Remote, viewers can easily browse, find and watch free videos from YouTube in the comfort of their living room.
“This is the first time users can easily browse, find and watch YouTube videos right from their living room couch, and it’s really, really fun,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “YouTube is a worldwide sensation, and Apple TV is bringing it directly from the Internet onto the widescreen TV in your living room.”
Apple today also announced that it is offering a new Apple TV build-to-order option with a 160GB hard drive. The new larger hard drive offers four times the storage for up to 200 hours of video, 36,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each.
From digitalspy.co.uk:
add to del.icio.us
Sony has accused Disney of “irregularities” in its claims for Pirates of the Caribbean 3s opening-week box office performance.
The movie house has called into question its rivals claims to have set a new record in its first six days release on the world box office.
Disney said it had made $251 million £126.9 million outside North America and $404 million £204.4 million overall.
However, Steve Elzer, corporate communications chief at Sony, rejected the claim in an unusual release to the media.
See link to read more
Here’s another shameless self promotion (not the money kind, just ego).
I’ve posted a lot of videos to my youtube account in the past week. Check it out to see The Haunted Mansion, a parade, a stage show, characters jumping rope on main street, Disney in 1979, Liberty Square Riverboat, The British Invasion singing “brithday”, Country Bears, Figment and a few videos from SeaWorld. On most of the files I have a link in the description to a larger, higher quality version of the videos on Veoh.com.
From youtube.com:
add to del.icio.us
