Hollywood, Music & Film
Bassnectar Explains Dubstep (in under 3 minutes)
From the Defcon Hacking Conference Facebook Page: “DJ and electronic music (for lack better terms) are staples for many in the hacker community, and for those who like it but don’t know why, this video breaks it down for ya… it’s about dubstep, but explains other genres as well.” Youtuber KDynamic, who uploaded this video more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Meet Hollywood Rainmaker Kevin Allyn
When celebrities or VIP’s need a rainmaker in Hollywood, Kevin Allyn is the one to call. Starting in his early 20′s, Kevin managed Jack Lalanne, built his product line, executive produced the Jack Lalanne show, and nationally syndicated it. With worldwide syndication, merchandising, branding & licensing success under his belt, Kevin Allyn was just getting started.
Hollywood, Music & Film
Rising Stars Rock the Gibson Acoustic Show in Vegas
Music managers (and long-time friends) Paul Fishkin and Scott Ross came to Las Vegas because their artist, Laura Warshauer, and her band were invited to perform at the Palms in Las Vegas. Tolga and I met them after the soundcheck, then had dinner together where we discussed strategies to use new technology to promote and monetize more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Women Chosen to Write for “Fairly Legal” TV Series
Tawnya Bhattacharya and Ali Laventhol, who we have written about before in the “Smart Women” column, have another achievement to add to their screenwriting resumes. These women have currently secured the coveted position as staff writers for the USA TV series Fairly Legal. The show has been renewed for a second season of 13 episodes, more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Hollywood Roommates
Meet Matt Woosley, Kandice’s new roommate. To his right is Gus, Rambo’s new roommate. (Rambo can be seen blending in with the bottom of the photo.) Notice the chartreuse color of the walls in their not-so-new but ever-so-artsy Hollywood apartment. Matt and Kandice decided to fix the place up. Here’s Kandice using powertools like a [...]
Hollywood, Music & Film
Jerry Mahabub Rocking the World of 3D Audio
Congratulations to Jerry Mahabub, Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO of GenAudio Inc., whose 3D sound technology – AstoundSound – was used in the “We Are the World” 3D video which won the “Best 3D Music Documentary Short Film” at the 3D Film Festival. The new version of the music video was created to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of the award-winning film. It was presented by AEG Network Live and Visa. This is an extraordinary honor for Jerry who has spent 26 years in research and development to create his sound technology that is attracting the Who’s Who of Hollywood.
Hollywood, Music & Film
Woz on Big Bang Theory Thurs. at 8
Tune into the Big Bang Theory, a hilarious sitcom about two quirky Caltech physicists, on CBS this Thursday September 30, 2010. Steve Wozniak and his wife, Janet, will be making a guest appearance you don’t want to miss!
Hollywood, Music & Film
People at NAB
NAB is a big event to people in the broadcasting industry. It’s where the mover, shakers, inventors, suppliers, buyers, broadcasters, content developers, software engineers, video technologists and onlookers converge to network and advance their objectives. Some companies have booths, some executives have to travel far, and some work all year to announce their new product more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Move Over Panasonic: NAB Legend Jerry Labarbera
Video Engineer Jerry Labarbera at NAB The legend might deserve a little shut eye after exhibiting at his 32nd consecutive NAB. His small booth next to Panasonic at NAB is a hub of activity as friends and engineers stop by to talk to this brilliant and renowned innovator. Jerry invents high quality, battery-powered displays, custom more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Tawnya Bhattacharya, Giselle Achecar Write TV Series Optioned by Fox
FOX TV recently optioned a one-hour television pilot GRAND COULEE written by screenwriters Giselle Achecar and Tawnya Bhattacharya. A supernatural family drama steeped in Native American mysticism, GRAND COULEE is one of six scripts accepted into the 2009/10 FOX Diversity Writers Initiative as run by Ron Taylor, the current Vice President of Diverse Programming and more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Next Hollywood It Guy: Nick Risher
He’s tall, dark and handsome. He’s talented, connected, and debonair. He’s a jet-setting, film-festival-attending, gadget-toting 20-something executive that has masterfully combined the art of old-fashioned schmoozing and new-fangled film distribution. We caught Nick Risher in France hacking his iPhone so he could watch the custom digital movie channel he prepared just for his trip. Technorazzi’s more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Madman or Master of Media?
Darren Ewing is one of those rare guys that can do anything and everything in media: write, film, direct, work the camera, fix the camera, lighting, motion graphics; he is dazzling with Maya, Final Cut Pro, PhotoShop, ProTools; he can wire things, rewire things, rig a Foley studio, transform an ADR room, fix a Digidesign more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Screen Magazine Photo
Can you find anyone you know? Hint: I did the brunette thing for a while.
Hollywood, Music & Film
Female Film Power
On the left is the legendary film producer and founder of Chickflicks, Sara Risher – sporting a yellow bag full of literature/film trailers/DVD’s ?? at Cannes Film Festival last spring. (A free Starbucks to anyone who can tell me what was actually in that bag!) In the middle of Sara’s deal-making days on the French more »
Hollywood, Music & Film
Music Guys/Tech Guys
The platinum record on the wall behind them is for the Stevie Nicks album Bella Donna which sold 7+ million copies. She customized this herself. On it she put the words: To Paul Fishkin “Who dreamed with me from the beginning.” And then in her handwriting it says “With love Stevie Nicks.” Wow, that’s mind-blowing. more »
Life With Tolga
Technorazzi Celebrates Wedding Bells
Digital visionary Tolga Katas and his long-time girlfriend, Christine Marie, were married in Las Vegas on 11-11-11. Geeks in attendance were abundant, including famed hacker and best-selling author, Kevin Mitnick; tech analyst Dan Sokol; Filter Foundry CTO Kevin Postal; Java king Kevin Deem; senior software architects Gary Kam and Alex Blazso; Technorazzi’s favorite swing-dancing hacker Trevor Blazso; and more.
Life With Tolga
Tolga and I got engaged. By iPad.
I’ve always had a believing heart. Even so, it was hard for me to believe that Tolga finally proposed…after 9 years! But he did. And I’m counting the days now. Tolga is my rock, visionary, comedian, motivator, genius and best friend. His playfulness and zest for life are contagious. Tolga Katas is the most amazing, talented, more »
Life With Tolga
A Fierce New Year
I can’t remember ever setting a resolution to be more fierce, to stand my ground, to demand respect in business, to cut people out of my life, to use the legal system to fight back, and to fight to win. Ever.
This year, however, is different.
Life With Tolga
Tolga in a World of 3D
Tolga Katas, Jerry Mahabub, Walt Horat and others were doing some male bonding over 3D audio & video at Jerry’s house in Venice Beach. It was the 3D Film Festival last weekend too, so quite an exciting time indeed. (Oddly, cell phones don’t get reception in that little corner of the block. How is this possible more »
Life With Tolga
A Happy Sandwich & A Cup of Horror?
Lunch for Tolga: a grilled cheese with a happy face made of olives, served on a blue elephant plate and delivered to him right at his computer. Lunch was blissful and all was well. Until the day he tried to return the favor.
Life With Tolga
Tolga & Tummy Rumblings
When Tolga woke up the other day, his tummy sounded like a forest full of bears and lions growling at each other. I rested my ear on his belly and listened. It was terrifying. Tolga said he could sense that the nausea waves were moving clockwise, so he started gyrating his midsection counterclockwise “to see more »
Life With Tolga
Christine Marie photos by Tolga Katas
Tolga was practicing lighting and such with his new Canon 7D, and on a whim said, “Let’s go outside and get some pics.” So I grabbed my puppet Zucchini B. Cornbread – and outside we went. No advance planning or makeup job, just Tolga’s skill with a lense and the late afternoon sun. This is [...]
Life With Tolga
Tolga Tries to be Bob Villa
Tolga’s First DIY Adventure I’ve been encouraging Tolga to take a diversion from computer work every once in a while and do something physical. To my surprise, Tolga watched a DIY video, and then this morning he announced he was going to Home Depot “all by himself.” This was a first for him. He came more »
Life With Tolga
Tolga’s Hot Alien Brain
I read the following article on brain sex. http://www.datingish.com/711212563/have-you-had-brain-sex/ Reading about “brain sex” was interesting. It made me think of Tolga and I. We have a creative, nerdy and entrepreneurial brain connection between us. Well, that’s when my brain is working, anyway. Tolga says his creative endeavors or technical developments flow better when I am near more »
Life With Tolga
Spotlight on Tolga Katas
Tolga Katas was conceived in a palace and was born on June 5, 1966 in Istanbul, Turkey to Erol and Nursal Katas. At the time, Erol was an interior designer for palaces and elite hotels around Europe and the Middle East. To this day he is internationally recognized as the “king of designers” and “designer more »
Life With Tolga
Laptops, iPads, Day Blogging and A Nocturnal Genius
Laptops are glorious. They enable me to blog, work on web sites, and check my online banking to see how empty my account is – from any room in the house. I blog a lot in the sun room. It’s my favorite place to do computer work in the mornings. I prefer the light and more »
Life With Tolga
Saving A Life on Easter
Yesterday I decided to make cupcakes (pink of course) to celebrate Easter. My son Christian helped me like a good son, and while he enjoyed the tradition of watching me decorate eggs and bake cupcakes, he only ate one. He wouldn’t even he take them to his room mates. So I put them out for more »
Life With Tolga
The One Reason Tolga Katas Loves Christine Marie to Dry Laundry
Notice how the On and Start button look like the buttons on a media player. That delighted Tolga. For that reason alone, Tolga feels happy when he hears the dryer on. For a guy who makes 3D, develops streaming video applications, loves reflection, gloss, shine, textures, and makes his own buttons for media players in more »
Life With Tolga
Tolga and I Hosted a Political Soiree
Tolga and I had a party in our home on Las Vegas. We invited two political candidates to hear what they had to say. They were Mike Montandon who is running for the Governor of Nevada, and Gordon Martines, a maverick man with integrity and experience who is running for the Sheriff of Las Vegas. more »
Life With Tolga
Tolga’s Hot Alien Brain
I read the following article on brain sex. http://www.datingish.com/711212563/have-you-had-brain-sex/ Reading about “brain sex” was interesting. It made me think of Tolga and I. There is an apparent creative, nerdy and entrepreneurial brain connection between us. Well, that’s when my brain is working, anyway. Tolga says his creative endeavors or technical developments flow better when I more »
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Geeks & Geniuses
A Geek with a Hat
Swizec Teller is the blogger who wrote “Why Programmers Work at Night,” an article that caused a 5000% spike in his blog traffic. It helped explain and justify why developers keep vampire hours – something most people find abnormal and don’t understand. So geeks shared it. By the 4th day, he had 627 + (likes) on google plus, 550 tweets mentioning the article, 288 new twitter followers, 475 comments on Reddit, 173 comments on his own blog, 89,000 visitors on a single day – compared to his average 30,000 visitors a MONTH. He’s a true geek, he works at night, he hangs out with geeks and he’s finishing his degree in computer science. But there’s more.
Geeks & Geniuses
Have You Read – Why Programmers Work at Night?
“A popular saying goes that programmers are machines that turn caffeine into code. And sure enough, ask a random programmer when they do their best work and there’s a high chance they will admit to a lot of late nights. Some earlier, some later. A popular trend is to get up at 4am and get some work done before the day’s craziness begins. Others like going to bed at 4am.” Have you read the article that’s resonating with geeks worldwide?
Geeks & Geniuses
The Man Behind the “First Intelligent Shopping App”
This holiday season, Technorazzi caught up with Patrick Carter, the visionary and founder of Digital Folio. Digital Folio is a software that tracks prices and comparisons on the fly and it’s hyper-relevant to the shopper’s list. According to Patrick, “for the first time, people are spending more time trying to compare deals and prices online than they are actually going out and shopping in stores.”
Geeks & Geniuses
Andy Hertzfelt Shared This on Google +
My http://folklore.org site is a repository of anecdotes about the development of Apple’s original Macintosh computer. One of my favorite features is the way it displays a relevant quotation under the team photo near the top of the index page. When I was developing the site, I assembled a collection of quotes that reflect on the spirit more »
Geeks & Geniuses
Unallocated Space, Unlimited Possibilities for Hackers
Meet C-P: the hacker with a hacker facility that facilitates other hackers with their hacking. C-P’s new place, called “Unallocated Space,” in Severn, Maryland. Member Who knows what will come out of Unallocated Space with all of its cords and motherboards and boxes? C-P and the other members don’t know and they don’t care. But one thing is for certain: the sky is the limit.
Geeks & Geniuses
A Match Made in (Hacker) Heaven
They met at a Def Con hacker convention nine years ago. They had their first date and first kiss at a Def Con convention a couple years later. They got engaged at another Def Con. They got engaged at another Def Con. After being together for nine years in “an emotional marriage,” Vandal and Eris (their hacker nicknames) made their marriage legal at 3PM at the Royale Riviera Wedding Chapel in the Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, NV. July 28th, 2010, at Def Con 18. Theirs is a rare, eccentric, romantic and geeky love story, the kind that comes about as often as Haley’s comet, or once a century.
Geeks & Geniuses
Hackbus Owners fPenguin and EvilMofo Reveal Secrets
Meet fPenguin and EvilMoFo (their hacker handles). These are the two sterling dudes that bought a 1956 GM 4104 bus in 2007 and courageously named it the Hackbus. It’s primary purpose: transporting hackers to Def Con. fPenguin, left, is a data center operations engineer. EvilMofo, right, is currently a student. They are both from the more »
Geeks & Geniuses
Meet the Techno-Shaman with his Video Dragon and Pickled Electronics
So while I was walking around looking for creative hair, I saw a mop of dreadlocks swinging down way down the hall. Off I went running after them. “Excuse me sir,” I said huffing and puffing. “May I take a picture of your hair from the back?” As if that was a perfectly normal request, more »
Geeks & Geniuses
HP and Woz Party
At the gorgeous Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, HP and Fusion-io had a party, but rather than have this party hosted by female Hollywood starlets, it was hosted by the world-famous co-founder of Apple and pioneer of personal computers – Steve Wozniak. How ubercool is that? Tolga and I attended, with the legendary John Draper more »
Geeks & Geniuses
The Hacker with Flair and a Touch of Fred Astaire
If you were to happen upon him at Disneyland, you might think, “Wow. Disney hired a model that channels a young Val Kilmer and dances like Fred Astaire.” But you would be wrong. He wasn’t hired. He does it for fun. When super geek Trevor Blazso is not hacking to get free Wifi, troubleshooting technical more »
Geeks & Geniuses
Exploited Geniuses
The blurred orange rose with the thorns in front is among the favorite photos I have ever taken. It’s not your everyday rose. It’s different, unique, special and I am dedicating this blurred rose picture to the smartest man I know. To me, this photo is a metaphor of his life. You see, my genius more »
Geeks & Geniuses
Woz and Clark
Teammates Steve Wozniak and George Clark assess their situation in a Segway polo match. Incidentally, the warm-hearted George Clark, a tech genius in his own right, was recently spotted using his math brain at a Smith’s grocery store in Las Vegas. The human calculator helped a damsel-in-distress evaluate which brand of toilet paper would give more »
Geeks & Geniuses
Fixing my iPhone
Brian Ragazzi fixing my iPhone from his iPhone He also made an encoder for the iPhone that wowed me.
Geeks & Geniuses
Adam Powell: One-of-a-Kind
Adam Powell. I always knew he was smart. According to his parents, he was a child genius, playing with computers and programming since he was 6 years old. His brilliant father ran Federated – which was a consumer electronics chain, the “Best Buy” of its day, and his mother, a creative artist extraordinaire. A couple decades more »
Geeks & Geniuses
Proof There is Development in Las Vegas