Short Week...

The short week is a killer.

Had a really perfect Memorial Day weekend but I've been digging out ever since.

And now there's some kind of a miniature parade marching past on the street below...

I'm determined to post something  this week and maybe I'll find some time over the weekend but for now, I'll just drop a few clues as to what we're up to here at Artgig:

Or rather, what Simon Fisk is up to over at Plunge Records. 

I just got an email from him announcing a two night CD Release party for "Vague Hotels," June 13 & 14.

He's also planning a live HD video streaming event for both shows - you can catch it at Plunge TV on the Plunge website.

Simon's always got something cooking and he's a real innovator, looking to make a real rich media label out of Plunge.

I also dig the art - most of it comes from the talented Kimberly Wieting @ Gritt Media.

Speaking of innovators, we're talking to some folks now about building mobisites - web video delivery for mobile devices. 

Funny, back when were all at Sunburst Technology, big, bad Vivendi-Universal came in and scooped us up and they had a vision for the future - everything on your cell phone. 

That was like seven or eight years ago and we all thought it was just crazy french talk.

Today, the world of mobile video is still the wild west but it's undeniable - it's coming, just a matter of finding the sweet mix of technology and standards and it's right around the corner.

Here in the US, we're a little behind the technology because we've all got home computers.

In emerging countries, they've skipped the computers and gone right for the phones.

The phone is the computer.

All I want to know is where's my 3G iPhone?

Here comes the band again and they've got bagpipes...

I'm outta here.

New CMEpilot Website

Just launched the redesign of our very own CMEpilot website.

CMEpilot is a division of Artgig that is dedicated to custom e-learning delivery of Continuing Medical Education content.

The redesign spotlights the products we've developed over the years: Activity Module, Single Topic Website, and the full-featured e-Learning Portal, to provide a solution for most CME programs. And because we're a custom shop at heart, we can always build it if you don't see it offered.

We've even included a new "Games" category featuring "Bug Assassin" for those interested in something a little, dare I say...fun.

Check it out:

cmepilot.com

Real New York

Just finished watching "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead," a solid New York melodrama by a man who knows the territory, director Sidney Lumet. It's a heavyweight film about a pair of desperate brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) who hatch an ill-fated plan to knock off their parents Westchester jewelery store. I knew it was Westchester before they said it - the locations were spot on. I did some reading after the film and found that they shot the White Plains Hospital as one location. Another "Westchester" location was actually a Bayside, Queens strip mall.
Fooled me.

The "realness" of "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead" got me thinking about "Gone Baby Gone," a solid offering from the brothers Affleck (Ben directing, Casey acting) about a local PI hunting for a kidnapped little girl in the back alleys and dive bars of Boston. This is another film that feels like it nails the real grit of real life. Interestingly, one of the stand-outs in the cast, Amy Ryan, who plays the beyond irresponsible mother of the missing girl, also played Phillip Seymour Hoffman's wife in "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead."

Smile!

I was at a networking breakfast (two words that should never go together) for Westchester business owners earlier this week, and met Marisa Birnbaum, the sister of a brother and sister team, who have a unique business concept - immediate dental crowns from Now! Smile Design.

That's right, no more waiting around for your new pearly whites to arrive and no loose-fitting teeth from a lab in China that leak lead into your body (a true story, I'm told).

Why am I suddenly talking about teeth, you ask?

Because I admire the grass-roots start-up mentality of a couple of young and really smart siblings who saw a niche to fill and decided to go out and get the necessary equipment, put it in a van, and learn what they didn't know - Poof! Instant business.

Good stuff - I wish them well.
Tell your dentist...

Jen Chapin Website Update

Jen contacted us recently with thoughts on a redesign of the website we created for the release of her last album, "Ready."
She's got a new album, "Light of Mine," and she's thinking she needs to change things up and add a store so her fans can purchase right from the site.

I'm a big fan of the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought, and we (Jen included) get a lot of compliments on the look of the site, so we decide to keep the look and instead concentrate on building the store.

Planning to have the store up & running by early June.

Jen has already added the new album and music samples to the site using the CMS.

Check it out!

jenchapin.com

Interactive Moments...

“Interactive moments” – it’s not a soap opera, but the latest CMEpilot promotion aimed at stirring the creative pot to get educators thinking about how they can use interactivity, like games, to engage learners.

We created “Bug Assassin,” a simple shooter game, where users must rely on their lightning quick reflexes to zap the moving germs as they pass through a target. As the user progresses, the level of play becomes increasingly difficult, some might say ridiculously so, but it’s all in the spirit of good fun and learning.

Simple games, like Bug Assassin, incorporated into educational activities underlines key concepts, reinforces learning and keeps your audience interested. The content is entirely up to you – leave it to us to make it fun.

Play Bug Assassin

An Englishman in Pleasantville...

I was sporting my brand new Arsenal jacket on my short walk to work after parking my car this morning and passed exactly one person on the way, who by chance it turns out, is an Arsenal fan who just arrived here from England.

He stops me.
(Insert English accent) "Excuse me, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Are you an Arsenal fan?"
"Yes. Yes I am."
He smiles wide. "Well so am I. I'm just here from England."
"Well isn't that something" I say.
"Yes, isn't that something" he beams.
We stand there for a moment, nodding at this remarkable chance meeting...
"Well, have a fantastic day" he says.
"Yes, you too."
And we went our separate ways.

In other news:
Looks like Fla-money is gone - off to Milan.
Sorry to see him go but the heart/wallet wants what the heart/wallet wants...

Dear Flash...

Dear Flash,

You've been very good to us over the years and we don't want you to think we're ungrateful, but we're kinda wondering if you've heard of the 80/20 rule?

The 80/20 rule can be looked at from many perspectives but essentially boils down to the notion that it takes 80% of the effort to finish the last 20% of the job.

And well, not sure how to put this so I'll just spit it out - seems to us there's a big fat 20% still on the table.

Here's a quick wish list. We'd really appreciate it if you'd do something about the following:

• Finish what you started with the new, better text handling. Static text is so clean and sharp and beautiful but why does dynamic text have to suffer so?
• Now that you and Photoshop and Illustrator are family, can you agree to use the same keyboard shortcuts - please?
• A better de-bugger would be nice - one that finds simple errors like referencing undefined variables because you've got fat fingers and hit two keys when typing.
• I wish you would make me breakfast every morning.

We can probably live without the last one if you can do something about the others.

Thanks.