We invite friends and fans around the world to compose a tribute to Mr. Doohan, to honor him on his journey to Earth orbit. Your message will be placed on board the spacecraft for launch in mid December, 2005.
You are also invited to attend a public memorial service...
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Sunday, October 16, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
MSN TV - 2005 Emmy Awards
STARS TO SING IN 'EMMY IDOL' CONTEST
By Lynn Elber
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- The Emmy Awards will be singing a different tune at this month's ceremony, and it could be a classic.
In an "American Idol"-style competition, stars and singers ranging from William Shatner to Donald Trump to Frederica von Stade will perform themes from TV series, with viewers able to pick their favorite song via online or text-message voting.
Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars") will be the only solo performer, with her version of the "Fame" theme, while others will sing duets.
The dynamic duos announced by CBS and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the contest tagged "Emmy Idol":
— William Shatner ("Boston Legal") and opera's von Stade with the theme from Shatner's 1960s series "Star Trek."
— Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace") and Trump ("The Apprentice") with the "Green Acres" tune.
— Gary Dourdan ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") and R&B artist Macy Gray with "Movin' On Up" from "The Jeffersons."
"There are certain television theme songs that are nearly as memorable as the shows connected to them," said Ken Ehrlich, the ceremony's executive producer.
"By jogging memories as well as creating wonderful moments by having them performed on this year's Emmy show, we think we're giving viewers one more reason to tune in and be entertained," Ehrlich said in a statement.
The Sept. 18 ceremony on CBS will open with Earth, Wind & Fire performing its song "September" along with the Black Eyed Peas, the number serving as an accompaniment to clips of memorable moments from the past season.
While music is an integral part of the Academy Awards, which feature nominated movie songs, it's not typically key to the ceremony honoring the best of television.
Musical entertainment in an awards ceremony can be a risky proposition. The best-known example: Rob Lowe and a performer dressed as Snow White dancing in an opening number for the 1995 Oscars was widely panned as dreadful.
Meanwhile, in honor of the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Ehrlich said all Emmy presenters and performers will be given magnolias, the state flower of both Louisiana and Mississippi. In addition, he said information will be provided throughout the three-hour telecast on how viewers can support the massive recovery effort.
Emmy host Ellen DeGeneres, who is a Louisiana native, last week spoke emotionally about losses her family suffered from Katrina. She last hosted the Emmys in 2001, when she was praised for striking just the right tone for the ceremony, which had been delayed twice in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
By Lynn Elber
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- The Emmy Awards will be singing a different tune at this month's ceremony, and it could be a classic.
In an "American Idol"-style competition, stars and singers ranging from William Shatner to Donald Trump to Frederica von Stade will perform themes from TV series, with viewers able to pick their favorite song via online or text-message voting.
Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars") will be the only solo performer, with her version of the "Fame" theme, while others will sing duets.
The dynamic duos announced by CBS and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the contest tagged "Emmy Idol":
— William Shatner ("Boston Legal") and opera's von Stade with the theme from Shatner's 1960s series "Star Trek."
— Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace") and Trump ("The Apprentice") with the "Green Acres" tune.
— Gary Dourdan ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") and R&B artist Macy Gray with "Movin' On Up" from "The Jeffersons."
"There are certain television theme songs that are nearly as memorable as the shows connected to them," said Ken Ehrlich, the ceremony's executive producer.
"By jogging memories as well as creating wonderful moments by having them performed on this year's Emmy show, we think we're giving viewers one more reason to tune in and be entertained," Ehrlich said in a statement.
The Sept. 18 ceremony on CBS will open with Earth, Wind & Fire performing its song "September" along with the Black Eyed Peas, the number serving as an accompaniment to clips of memorable moments from the past season.
While music is an integral part of the Academy Awards, which feature nominated movie songs, it's not typically key to the ceremony honoring the best of television.
Musical entertainment in an awards ceremony can be a risky proposition. The best-known example: Rob Lowe and a performer dressed as Snow White dancing in an opening number for the 1995 Oscars was widely panned as dreadful.
Meanwhile, in honor of the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Ehrlich said all Emmy presenters and performers will be given magnolias, the state flower of both Louisiana and Mississippi. In addition, he said information will be provided throughout the three-hour telecast on how viewers can support the massive recovery effort.
Emmy host Ellen DeGeneres, who is a Louisiana native, last week spoke emotionally about losses her family suffered from Katrina. She last hosted the Emmys in 2001, when she was praised for striking just the right tone for the ceremony, which had been delayed twice in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
TV's favorite ‘little buddy’ Gilligan’ Bob Denver dies at age 70
LOS ANGELES - Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960s television show “Gilligan’s Island,” made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. He was 70.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All
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© 2005 The Associated Press. All
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Monday, August 29, 2005
SIR PAUL M - McCARTNEY + MORISSETTE USE ALIASES TO FOOL PIRATES + THIEVES
SIR PAUL M - McCARTNEY + MORISSETTE USE ALIASES TO FOOL PIRATES + THIEVES: "McCARTNEY + MORISSETTE USE ALIASES TO FOOL PIRATES + THIEVES
SIR PAUL McCARTNEY, FAITH HILL, ALANIS MORISSETTE and DEPECHE MODE are among the huge acts using aliases in a bid to make sure their new albums get to critics at newspapers and magazines.
Music industry bigwigs fear the bigger stars' preview albums are being swiped by interns and pirated weeks before their release dates.
So, McCartney's upcoming album has been credited to PETE MITCHELL, while Hill, Morissette and Depeche Mode are sending out their albums as FERN HOLLOWAY, ARTHUR MOORE and BLACK SWARM respectively, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Publicist MITCH SCHNEIDER, who represents both Morissette and Depeche Mode, says, 'It is really a practical thing for protection when there are people walking by desks wanting to take things.'
But the publicists admit their alias plan is far from flawless - some critics, who are inundated with albums to review, give unknown artists' albums away or discard them.
Geffen Records publicist JIM MERLIS explains, 'You can actually out-clever yourself in these situations.'
29/08/2005 02:46 "
SIR PAUL McCARTNEY, FAITH HILL, ALANIS MORISSETTE and DEPECHE MODE are among the huge acts using aliases in a bid to make sure their new albums get to critics at newspapers and magazines.
Music industry bigwigs fear the bigger stars' preview albums are being swiped by interns and pirated weeks before their release dates.
So, McCartney's upcoming album has been credited to PETE MITCHELL, while Hill, Morissette and Depeche Mode are sending out their albums as FERN HOLLOWAY, ARTHUR MOORE and BLACK SWARM respectively, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Publicist MITCH SCHNEIDER, who represents both Morissette and Depeche Mode, says, 'It is really a practical thing for protection when there are people walking by desks wanting to take things.'
But the publicists admit their alias plan is far from flawless - some critics, who are inundated with albums to review, give unknown artists' albums away or discard them.
Geffen Records publicist JIM MERLIS explains, 'You can actually out-clever yourself in these situations.'
29/08/2005 02:46 "
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Pixar tells story behind 'Toy Story'
Pixar tells story behind 'Toy Story': "Pixar tells story behind 'Toy Story'
C.W. Nevius
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Printable Version
Email This Article
When Hollywood was churning out movies full of explosions and mindless violence a few years ago, Pixar Animation Studios swam against the stream with 'Finding Nemo,' a G-rated feature that received four Academy Award nominations and grossed more than $355 million.
Today, of course, Pixar's filmmaking wisdom is self-evident. Mention the animation studio and everyone nods wisely.
But Monday, as Pixar celebrated the 10th anniversary of 'Toy Story,'' its debut film, the creative minds behind the studio for the first time told the real story of how they almost lost the picture. Not only did the big-money folks at Disney who bankrolled the film not understand the vision of 'Toy Story,'' they hated it so much they shut down production.
Of course, Pixar made the movie, the movie made millions and Disney watched itself dethroned as the king of animation by a company that Steve Jobs started in a Richmond garage.
It is an instructive story on several levels. Pixar, as you have probably heard, has had a stormy relationship with Disney -- and Disney, at this point, looks like the loser. In the 10 years since we met Woody the cowboy, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the 'Toy Story' gang, Pixar has won 16 Academy Awards and grossed over $3 billion.
Disney, once the gold standard of animation, is reeling from flops like 'Treasure Planet.''
Is Pixar the new model for corporate filmmaking? Wouldn't that be nice?
Yesterday's press tour was a rare opportunity to cruise the Emeryville campus, where studio guru John Lasseter can be seen strolling by in one of his trademark Ha"
C.W. Nevius
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Printable Version
Email This Article
When Hollywood was churning out movies full of explosions and mindless violence a few years ago, Pixar Animation Studios swam against the stream with 'Finding Nemo,' a G-rated feature that received four Academy Award nominations and grossed more than $355 million.
Today, of course, Pixar's filmmaking wisdom is self-evident. Mention the animation studio and everyone nods wisely.
But Monday, as Pixar celebrated the 10th anniversary of 'Toy Story,'' its debut film, the creative minds behind the studio for the first time told the real story of how they almost lost the picture. Not only did the big-money folks at Disney who bankrolled the film not understand the vision of 'Toy Story,'' they hated it so much they shut down production.
Of course, Pixar made the movie, the movie made millions and Disney watched itself dethroned as the king of animation by a company that Steve Jobs started in a Richmond garage.
It is an instructive story on several levels. Pixar, as you have probably heard, has had a stormy relationship with Disney -- and Disney, at this point, looks like the loser. In the 10 years since we met Woody the cowboy, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the 'Toy Story' gang, Pixar has won 16 Academy Awards and grossed over $3 billion.
Disney, once the gold standard of animation, is reeling from flops like 'Treasure Planet.''
Is Pixar the new model for corporate filmmaking? Wouldn't that be nice?
Yesterday's press tour was a rare opportunity to cruise the Emeryville campus, where studio guru John Lasseter can be seen strolling by in one of his trademark Ha"
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
The Virginia Quarterly Review - CHURCH ON SATURDAY NIGHT: GARRISON KEILLOR'S A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
The Virginia Quarterly Review - CHURCH ON SATURDAY NIGHT: GARRISON KEILLOR'S A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION: "CHURCH ON SATURDAY NIGHT: GARRISON KEILLOR'S A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
Wolf
CHURCH ON SATURDAY NIGHT: GARRISON KEILLOR'S A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
MICHAEL NELSON
The program begins with music at five o'clock Central Time on Saturday evenings, and music makes up nearly half the two-hour show. The first words to come out of Garrison Keillor's mouth at the start of his weekly public radio program, A Prairie Home Companion, are song lyrics: "It's Saturday an'/the band is playin'/Honey, could you ask for more?" Later Keillor and others will sing a few bluegrass and early rock and roll numbers. As part of the comic illusion that he and singer Lynn Peterson are working up a repertoire of duets suitable for baptisms and funerals, they will perform an old gospel song called "Where Could I Go (But to the Lord)?" Keillor will lead the audience in a sing-along of traditional hymns and patriotic songs. Joined by regular members of the cast, he will perform in several comic skits and commercials. He will tell us, for example, that Powdermilk Biscuits have the power to make shy persons bold. Midway through the show, Keillor will read announcements submitted by members of the audience in St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre: "Congratulations, Brad, from Jay and Disa: You're an uncle now"; "Tim and Kristen say, "Don't worry, Mom, we'll be there for your birthday""; "Happy fifty-fifth anniversary to Mother and Daddy from your children—all eight of us."
There is, in each week's program, the proverbial moment that everyone has been waiting for. It comes about 90 minutes into the show when Keillor says, "Well, it's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, my home town." With no script or prompter before him, Keillor simply talks the 20-minute monologue that follows. The seeming artlessness of his delivery is wonderfully studied: Keillor writes a rough draft of what he wants to say during the week leading up to each show.(Indeed, despite the on-air, tongue-in-cheek credit he gives to writers like Sandy Beach, Sarah Bellum, and Warren Peace, he writes as much as 95 percent of A Prairie Home Companion himself.) Keillor reads through his draft of the week's "News From Lake Wobegon" a couple of times before going on stage, then delivers it as if it were occurring to him on the spot, a perfect blend of spontaneity and careful preparation. The audience wants to believe that "I'm just walking out there and making up stuff for them," Keillor says, "telling them a story that I just thought of." As far as he is concerned, however, "it's not the job of an entertainer to have a moment of revelation on stage, but to create them for other people."
On this show Keillor tells about going to the Minnesota State Fair with his family as a boy, "a loud place with bad food and stink, music and sex blaring—listen, it's gorgeous." One year his Uncle Earl saw an ad for a baking contest at the fair and entered his wife Myrna, who was famous for her chocolate angel food cake.("To call it devil's food would give Satan encouragement, so we didn't.") Earl overcame Myrna's reluctance to cook in front of a lot of people by telling her that the winner would surely be asked to say something, a perfect opportunity "to give that Scripture recipe: "Take four cups of I Corinthians 13 and three cups of Ephesians 4:32...." After the bake-off was over (the judge was drunk and Myrna lost), Keillor rode the ferns wheel. "Every summer I'm a little bigger," he says, "but riding the ferris wheel, I feel the same as ever, I feel eternal.... The wheel carries us up high, high, and stops, and we sit swaying, creaking, in the dark, on the verge of death.... This is my vision: little kids holding on to their daddy's hand, and he is me. He looks down on them with love and buys them another corn dog. They are worried they will lose him, they hang on to his leg with one hand, eat with the other. The vision is unbearably wonderful. We get off and other people get on. Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough."
It's ten minutes until seven now. "News," which sometimes runs long and sometimes runs (a little) short, has hit its 20-minute mark exactly. Some members of the audience, having heard what they came to hear, head for the exits. On stage, there is just enough time left for a mock public service announcement by the American Duct Tape Council, in which a New Age supermodel breathlessly recounts how she hangs long strands of duct tape from her living room ceiling to add "cosmic verticality" and also to catch flies. The program ends with a Keillor-Lynn Peterson duet (this one designed for second marriages) of "When I Dream of You (Maybe Someday You Will Come True)."
II
Sounds like a church service, doesn't it? Protestant, to be sure, and unless one wants to count Powdermilk Biscuits as the bread of communion, noneucharistic as well, but a kind of church service nonetheless. The people assemble weekly both in the hall and around their radios. Musicians on stage take the place of choir and organist, with the audience often invited to join in the singing. The messages and greetings that Keillor reads midway through the program are not unlike church announcements, letting people know how others in the gathered family are doing. All this culminates in good Protestant style with Keillor's sermon, er, monologue, which sounds like it is being born in the pulpit but actually is well prepared and even lasts the prescribed 20 minutes. "All comedy is preaching," Keillor has said, "but it can't show its hand." As for the particular brand of preaching and worship that A Prairie Home Companion represents, "Our show down deep in its heart is a gospel show." Don't even let the late Saturday afternoon starting time throw you: the leading trend in Christian churches today is away from formal, Sunday morning worship and toward loose, contemporary services on Saturday night. And, of course, in churches as in St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre, a lot fewer people are there when the final hymn is sung than during the sermon.
The church-like quality of the program that Garrison Keillor has been doing nationally on public radio since 1980 should come as no surprise. Coming to terms with Christianity—what he believes and how to weave those beliefs into the fabric of his being—has been a great theme, perhaps the great theme of Keillor's life.
III
Keillor was born Gary Edward Keillor in 1942 and grew up during the postwar years in two then-rural, now-suburban Minnesota towns, Anoka and Brooklyn Park, just northwest of Minneapolis. He was the third of Grace and John Keillor's six children. John worked as a railway clerk and a freelance carpenter; Grace did everything at home. Two seeds that would grow into prolifically fruit-bearing trees were planted early in Garrison Keillor's life, one of them by him and the other by his family.
The seed Gary planted, entirely under his own steam and with no encouragement from his parents, was writing. From a very young age, Keillor was a loner who intensely valued his own privacy but was fascinated by other people and coveted their admiration. He started newspapers at both of the elementary schools he attended and wrote most of the articles himself. In junior high he published some poems in his school's literary magazine. This was "at a time when boys didn't write poetry," Keillor says, so he published them under the name Garrison, "a name that means strength and "don't give me a hard time about this."" Soon afterward, he found a copy of The New Yorker at the public library. It struck him as "a fabulous sight, an immense glittering ocean liner off the coast of Minnesota." "I can't imagine a kid who loved to read and had thoughts of writing not looking at this [magazine] in wonder and admiration," he recalled many years later in an interview with Roy Blount, Jr. While other boys hid copies of Playboy in their room between the mattress and the box springs, Keillor smuggled home The New Yorker. "My people weren't much for literature," he says, "and they were dead set against conspicuous wealth, so a magazine in which classy paragraphs marched down the aisle between columns of diamond necklaces and French cognacs was not a magazine they welcomed into their homes." He still has the first copy he ever bought, a 1957 issue with a short story by John Cheever and articles by A.J. Leibling, Richard Rovere, and Wolcott Gibbs.
Keillor's people—his parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins—were Plymouth Brethren, members of a loose affiliation of small congregations that had originated in a rebellion against the pomp and worldliness of the established church in early 19th-century England. Dancing, card-playing, drinking, smoking, and, as soon as they came along, movies and television were forbidden. Radio, for some reason, was okay, which meant that the Keillors spent a lot of time in front of the radio. Because a priesthood of believers took the place of ordained clergy in Brethren congregations, their lengthy Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night meetings consisted of songs, spontaneous prayers, words of inspiration and admonition from whichever of the men felt moved to offer them, and celebration of the Lord's Supper. Keillor did not need to show The New Yorker to his parents to know that they would despise the value it placed on wit and worldly success. They had already told him that his decision to publish his schoolboy poems was "a shame on the family."
Coming-of-age stories like Keillor's typically follow a well-mapped trajectory: the small town Midwestern boy throws off the provincial or fundamentalist (in Keillor's case, provincial and fundamentalist) strictures of his upbringing, heads for the big city, and embraces all things secular and cosmopolitan. Certainly, Keillor listed in that direction. At the University of Minnesota in the 1960's, he grew a beard and long hair, wore granny glasses, worked as a DJ at the campus and public radio stations, and spent almost all of his time writing and editing the university's monthly student literary magazine, the Ivory Tower. He turned the front section of the magazine in a "Talk of the Town"-style direction, complete with a sardonic, all-knowing, first-person-plural narrator—Eustace Tilley goes Mid-western. The first article he wrote as editor of the Ivory Tower berated the university's chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ for bringing in "One of America's Leading Illusionists...the Story of How the Man Who's Never Been Fooled By a Magician Found the Reality in Christianity." What would Campus Crusade's next act of "charlatan Christianity" be, Keillor wondered. How about a child evangelist, or "Bob "Big Gunner" Verrell, Former Major League Baseball Star Who Found Christ in the Outfield of Yankee Stadium"?
In 1966, after graduating with a B. A. in English, Keillor hitchhiked east to interview for jobs at The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker. Although neither panned out, he continued to barrage the editors with submissions. In short order, he connected with both magazines. The Atlantic ran one of Keillor's poems in a "Young Poets" section in 1968. Two years later he placed the first of what would turn out to be dozens of humor pieces in The New Yorker before leaving the magazine in protest when Vanity Fair's Tina Brown was hired as editor in 1992. "Local Family Keeps Son Happy," which ran in the Sept.18, 1970, issue, was a deadpan parody of small-city newspaper feature writing. It chirpily described how "Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shepard of 1417 Swallow Lane" had hired a live-in prostitute named Dorothy in hopes of keeping their teenage son home at night. "In addition to her other duties, Dorothy also cooks breakfast." The article concluded with her recipe for "fancy eggs."
What Keillor never did, however, was turn his back on the faith of his youth. "I believe the same as when I was young," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1985. Asked in an interview for the Wittenberg Door whether he was "born again," he answered: "Absolutely." The seed of faith that his parents and the Brethren had planted took root as firmly as the literary seed he had planted himself. To the extent that Keillor rejected their dour attitudes toward smoking, drinking, dancing, literature, and the joys of this world, he did so because such bans were without Biblical foundation and therefore were unworthy of what fundamentalists profess to believe. What was left of fundamentalism, he felt, was lovely as well as true. "People who didn't grow up in a religious background, it's the strictures that interest them the most," says Keillor. "But that's only part of the story: great love within the group of people who are as closely bound together by faith as the fundamentalists were, and other small religious sects; tremendous affection and a kindness and generosity for other members of the group."
Storytelling was another aspect of the fundamentalist family and community in which Keillor grew up. Absent television, books, newspapers, and movies, "our entertainment was talk." Keillor's great uncle, Lew Powell, was an especially good storyteller: appropriately, Keillor dedicated his audiotape collection News from Lake Wobegon to Uncle Lew rather than one of his written works. So was Keillor's father, whose voice Keillor says sometimes seems to be coming out of his own mouth when he tells stories. Not just the family, but the larger Brethren community was aware that Jesus was the ultimate conveyer of truth through stories. At church and at church suppers, "These people were wonderful storytellers, and the purpose of their stories was to imbue us with compassion."
In the 1960's, Keillor found the Brethren to be as counter-cultural as anyone on the left. "They were sort of subversive in a way," he said. "Most of them did not believe in getting on in the world. Most of them were failures out of Christian principle. Most of them felt that this world, the world in which you "make it, " was not the real world." Keillor was—and still is—especially drawn to the evangelists who would come through town or preach on the radio. In 1985 he went out of his way to heap praise on Jimmy Swaggart, at a time when Swaggart was wildly controversial. "They are the rock-and-rollers of the Church," Keillor told The Door. "Evangelists are supposed to get out there and shake it.... [Their] one simple job is to shake people loose from their illusions...to look us straight in the eye and say, "Whatever you are doing doesn't matter. None of your illusions matter. There is only one thing that matters."" What Keillor can't stand is a liberal clergyman giving "well-crafted sermons" instead of saying "something that the Spirit has put in his heart to say.... We don't go to church to hear lectures on ethical behavior, we go to look at the mysteries."
Yet over the years Keillor, without substantially changing his beliefs, has experienced with appreciation other branches of Christianity. In 1990 he joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church, a mainline Protestant denomination.(Most people assume that Keillor grew up Lutheran, since he talks so much about the Lutherans of Lake Wobegon, They also assume his ancestry is Norwegian—it's Scottish.) He attended Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in New York and found that "when we stood for prayers, bringing slowly to mind the goodness and poverty of our lives, it brought tears to your eyes, the simple way Episcopalians pray." Most conspicuously, he has always viewed Roman Catholics with wide-eyed awe. "Everything we [Brethren] did was plain and simple," he wrote in his 1985 book Lake Wobegon Days, "but they were regal and gorgeous, especially on the Feast Day of St. Francis, which they did right out in the open, a feast for the eyes. Cows, horses, some pigs, right out there on the church lawn. The turmoil, animals bellowing and barking and clucking and cats scheming how to escape.... I wasn't allowed inside Our Lady [of Perpetual Responsibility Catholic Church], of course, but if the Blessing of the Animals on the Feast Day of St. Francis was any indication, Lord, I didn't know but what they had elephants in there and acrobats."
Curiously, not going to church at all was Keillor's response to his rising celebrity during the 1970's and 1980's. Although he has always considered himself "a writer who is temporarily a performer," Keillor has gone from triumph to triumph in radio. From 1969 to 1982, he hosted a variety of public radio programs in Minnesota that gained him a large regional following for their blend of live and recorded music, dramatic serials, comedy skits, mock commercials, and greetings and announcements. He had quickly tired of "what passed for art on radio: cueing up Schubert and pronouncing him "Shoebear."" Toward the end of that period, in 1980, Keillor's Saturday evening program went national. He got the name Prairie Home from a cemetery in Moorhead, Minnesota, and chose it for the show because it suggests that "radio is your companion as we head toward our ultimate prairie home." In 1985, the now clean-shaven Keillor was featured on the cover of Time as "Author and Radio Bard." It was at about this time, he says, that "I stopped going [to church]. I felt like a Pharisee. I felt conspicuous. Most of the people in the congregation knew who I was. They would stare at me and say to themselves, "Oh, look! It's so wonderful—a semi-famous man goes to our church every Sunday.""
Keillor felt eyes staring at him all the time after he became a national figure. The Time cover prompted the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers to treat him like a celebrity. His salary, his ending of a longtime romance, and his marriage to Ulla Skaerved, a Danish exchange student at Keillor's high school whom he fell in love with after their 25th class reunion in 1985—all became fodder for the media. Keillor said the local newspapers covered him as if he were "a cross between Joan Collins and Watergate." Finally, "when I came home and found a picture of my house in the paper, the address and everything, I thought to myself, I can't really live here." Keillor ended the radio show in June 1987 and moved to Denmark with his new wife. "It seems pretty clear...," he wrote in a letter to the St. Paul newspaper, "that the Pioneer Press is going to take an aggressive interest in my personal life as long as I stay here ...so I choose to leave."
Keillor's self-imposed exile did not last long. After less than two years in Denmark, he divorced Skaerved and returned to the United States to live in New York. He wrote Talk of the Town pieces as a staff writer for The New Yorker and launched a new public radio program called the American. Radio Company of the Air. Keillor designed the program to be A Prairie Home Companion with a New York accent, but within a few months it had become a virtual clone of the earlier show. "I started out the first season assuming that listeners wanted to hear me talk about New York," he said at the end of the second season. "Maybe some of them did, but an awful lot of them wrote in to say, "Thank you, that's enough." They wanted Lake Wobegon, so I changed and went back to that." In 1993 he returned home to Minnesota and restored the show's original name.
IV
Lake Wobegon is not Eden before the Fall, although the tag line Keillor always appends to his weekly monologue can mislead the casual listener into thinking it is. "That's the news from Lake Wobegon," he says, "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average," The abundance of the vegetable gardens, the traffic light "which is almost always green," Adams Hill (which Keillor as a young boy thought was where God created Adam), and even the impossibility, because of surveying errors, of finding Lake Wobegon on the map contribute to this illusion. Adam and Eve did not need a calendar in Eden and neither, it often seems, do Myrtle and Florian Krebsbach or the regulars at Wally's Sidetrack Tap. Keillor's first novel, Lake Wobegon Days, is organized cyclically rather than chronologically, like the Christian liturgical year in which every Advent is pretty much like every other Advent. The novel begins in Summer, then runs through Fall, Winter, Spring, and back again to Summer, with incidents from the distant past and the recent past sprinkled throughout its accounts of life in Lake Wobegon during each season.
Look closely, though, and the comparison between Lake Wobegon and prelapsarian Eden becomes more complicated. Indeed, during the first few years of A Prairie Home Companion, before the show went national, Keillor usually portrayed the town as the opposite of paradise. Lake Wobegon was the butt of his satirical gibes at small-town provincialism; by his own account, Keillor saw himself as a kind of latter-day Sinclair Lewis.(Lewis grew up in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, which became Gopher Prairie in Main Street.) Lake Wobegon first appeared on the broadcast in 1974, as the setting for mock commercials advertising an outfit called Jack's Auto Repair. Keillor says he did not know enough about cars to keep the gag going, so he had Jack branch out into Jack's School of Thought, Jack's Dry Goods Emporium, Jack's Scraps for Dogs, Jack's Toast House, and Raul's Warm Car Service from Jack's, among other enterprises. Jack's eventually disappeared from the show, but Keillor has always included segments that play on the humor intrinsic to what Judith Yaross Lee has called "the basic clash between commercial rhetoric and unmarketable products."
In 1976 Keillor began doing ersatz public service announcements about upcoming events in Lake Wobegon. Listeners were invited to "Visitors' Day," for example, but were cautioned to "behave yourselves and not stare at anybody and don't point.'Cause there's a lot of people in Lake Wobegon who don't care for visitors or Visitors' Day—who refer to it as V.D., as a matter of fact." At about the same time he began reading letters to home from Barbara Ann Bunsen, a Lake Wobegonian who had moved to Minneapolis after graduating from high school. The letters mixed weekly reassurances that "Everything is just fine, I am all right, so don't worry, everything is o.k." with disconcerting news about her latest "alternative living experiment." In the course of 70 letters spread over five years, Keillor began to populate Lake Wobegon, starting with Barbara Ann's parents, Clarence and Arlene Bunsen.
During the early 1980's, Keillor made the transition from letters and public service announcements to extended stories about the Bunsens (not just Clarence and Arlene, but brother Clint and his wife Irene), the Tollefsons (including Johnny Tollefson, a sometime stand-in for the young Gary Keillor), the Lutheran church (Pastor Ingqvist) and the Catholic church (Father Emil), the happily antisocial Norwegian bachelor farmers, the Sons of Knute Lodge, the Chatterbox Cafe, Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, and dozens of other characters, places, groups, and rituals in Lake Wobegon. "News" now meant accounts of what was going on in townspeople's lives rather than a schedule of the town's events. At the same time, Keillor's tone shifted from mockery to affection. "I...veered away from satire and started being more interested in sentiment and, to some extent, bathos," he said in 1985. The gentle story of Lake Wobegonians at the state fair—the cake-baking contest and the ferris wheel— exemplifies this turn.
Lovely as Lake Wobegon has become over the course of its quarter-century history on A Prairie Home Companion, Keillor has kept the town dark enough to maintain the tension that comedy requires. The name itself is a mixed message: it has a sort of Native American nobility but is also a homonym of the English word that means "woeful" or "disconsolate." Similar incongruities run through Keillor's description of the town in Lake Wobegon Days. "The sun['s]... shimmering lights across the water" of the lake "would make quite a picture if you had the right lens, which nobody in this town does." Lake Wobegon "has few scenic wonders such as towering pines," but it does have "some fine people of whom some are over six feet tall." The town was founded by pioneers, but they were all peculiar in one way or another: a Unitarian missionary who received a vision to "go west and convert the Indians to Christianity by the means of interpretive dance," a poet whose 648-line epic about Lake Wobegon foundered on desperate rhymes such as "sybilline/ porcupine" and "cereal/immaterial," and a small band of Norwegian fishermen who settled by (and settled for) the lake only after discovering firsthand that their impression of the Dakota Territory as a good place to fish was mistaken. The motto of Lake Wobegon is equally ambiguous: Sumus Quod Sumus, We are what we are.
Nothing conveys the chiaroscuro quality of the town better than the chapter in Lake Wobegon Days called "News." The top half of each page in the 25-page chapter is a light and affectionate account of Lake Wobegon's weekly newspaper, the Herald-Star, which was named by its owner, Harold Starr. The lower half of each page consists of a chapter-long footnote, written by an expatriate who moved to California and consisting of 95 THESES 95 that he had hoped the Herald-Star would publish.(Needless to say, the editor, whose first principle of journalism is "I have to live here, too, you know," chose not to print them.) The theses are a devastating account of Lake Wobegon's boring, trivial, hypocritical, and soul-destroying effect on the lives of at least some of those who grow up there:
3. You have subjected me to endless, boring talk about weather, regularity, back problems, and whether something happened in 1938 or 1939....
4. You have taught me to worship a god who is exactly like you, who shares your thinking exactly, who is going to slap me one if I don't straighten out fast....
16. You have provided me with poor male role models... men who clung to tiny grudges for decades and were devoted to vanity, horsefeathers, small potatoes—not travel but the rites of trunk-loading and map-reading and gas mileage; not faith but the Building Committee; not love but supper....
29. You taught me not to be "unusual" for fear of what the neighbors would say.... We knew they'd talk, because we always talked about them....
75. I wasted years in diametrical opposition, thinking you were completely mistaken, and wound up living a life based more on yours than if I'd stayed home....
V
The stained-glass word for stories is parables. The ones Jesus told were about ordinary people in ordinary situations who lived long ago in a small and remote corner of the world. People have been hearing those stories and seeking meaning in them ever since. Not surprisingly, in view of Keillor's deep knowledge of the Bible and his love of story, some of these parables have found their way into his work. None recurs in more variations than the story of the Prodigal Son.
Keillor is anything but formulaic: in his fiction, he does not tell stories in which a younger son takes his inheritance to the big city, lives dissolutely, returns home begging to be taken back, and is welcomed with open-armed rejoicing by his father but tight-lipped resentment by his elder brother. The closest Keillor comes to transposing Jesus' story directly into modern Lake Wobegon is in the final paragraph of Lake Wobegon Days. An unnamed man, ignoring the pleas of his wife and child, drives into town for cigarettes in a blizzard. On the way back he slides into a ditch, fears that he is doomed, then sees the light of home in the near distance.(The cigarettes, by the way, are on the counter of the bar where he bought them.) "Town was a long way to go in a blizzard for the pleasure of coming back home," he realizes. "But what a lucky man. Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted, but getting what you have... He starts out on the short walk to the house where people love him and will be happy to see his face."
More commonly, Keillor focuses a story on one or two elements of the parable. Earlier in Lake Wobegon Days, Uncle Louie goes to Minneapolis with Aunt Gladys seeking a more lucrative career. On their first night there, a hotel clerk "got snooty" with Louie and offered him a room at the sky-high rate of $15 ("Gladys thought it was the weekly rate"). "I didn't want him to think we were green," says Louie, "so I peeled off a twenty, my only one." Lying awake in the room that night, he realizes that "it was pride talking, worldly pride.... I decided that if Minneapolis could have that effect on me, that I'd rather spend what I didn't have than admit to not having it, then I'd better go back where I belonged, and the next day we did." Not the big city, but the effect that big city values had on Louie threatened to turn him into a prodigal, and home he went.
Other of Keillor's stories render no judgment on either the city or the son, but revel instead in the generosity of the father. In Leaving Home, Corinne Ingqvist finds her vocation as a teacher in Minneapolis. She comes home to Lake Wobegon on a visit hoping to borrow $50,000 for a house from Hjalmer, her father. "[H]e and his daughter have had their differences," Keillor writes. "Some of their arguments have made the glasses rattle in the pantry and the family dog cringe behind the couch," including one about the trip to France she took after cashing some bonds he gave her. ""I guess I could try a bank in the Cities, " she offered. "It's too late to take your business elsewhere, " he said. "I'm your father. It's too late to shop for another one." He gave her the check."
Still other stories are about the elder brother. In the parable, the brother's misery at spending his life on his father's farm is palpable. All he can think about is what he deserves in return for all his years of dutiful suffering. Jesus leaves us wondering at the end: will the elder brother put aside his sense of grievance and entitlement and accept his father's invitation to join his brother's welcome-home party?
Darryl Tollerud is an elder brother in Lake Wobegon. He is 42 years old, is married with six children, and lives in the little house on his father's farm while his parents, just the two of them, still live in the big house. His younger brother Gunnar has run off to the city for good—he's "a drunk." Meanwhile, Darryl works for his dad. "Sometimes he gets so mad at the old man he screams at him," Keillor writes. "But always when he's on the tractor in the middle of the field with the motor running." Nothing dramatic happens in this story: no return of the younger brother, no invitation from the father. But Darryl experiences the sort of epiphany that Jesus would wish for every elder brother. "He'd been worried about inheriting the farm, meanwhile God had given him six beautiful children. What happens if you expect the worst and get the best? Thank you, Lord, he thought."
The prodigal who runs off and never comes back is another of Keillor's themes. Virgil Bunsen has a falling out with his father over some cattle. He moves away and leads an unhappy life. The rupture between the two of them is never healed and his father dies. Virgil himself comes home years later only to be buried. At the graveside service, his nephew Clarence offers these words: "Life is short. The Bible says, don't let the sun go down upon your wrath. Settle these things. It isn't true that time heals all wounds, sometimes they get worse if you don't do something about them."
Keillor's most extended variation on the parable of the prodigal son is the story of John Tollefson, whose story begins in Lake Wobegon Days with his teenage years and resumes during middle age in Wobegon Boy, a 1997 novel that is centered on him. As a boy, Johnny itches to leave home. It seems to him that in Lake Wobegon, and especially in his house, child rearing consists of teaching kids that they're not so hot, that they should do without, and that all their opinions are dumb. "If [Johnny] was to say, "I believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, "" Keillor writes, "his dad would say, "A person sure wouldn't know it to look at you." Or he would say, "Don't talk with your mouth full, " or "It's about time, " or maybe he would convert to Unitarianism on the spot ("The trinity? Don't be ridiculous!")." Meanwhile the Flambeaus beckon—Emile, Eileen, and their teenage son Tony, the heroes of a book series that Johnny reads at the town library. The Flambeaus live in a New York City apartment overlooking Central Park. They drink wine, stay up late, have sophisticated conversations in which Tony is treated as a mature person, and solve crimes. Johnny thinks of them as his "secret family."
Getting to New York turns out to be difficult for Johnny. He escapes after high school, but only down the road a few miles to St. Cloud State College, where raucous living entails little more than writing angry poems ("Death Dad" was one) for the college literary magazine under pseudonyms like Ryan Tremaine. To get "experience" so that he will have something to write about when he returns to St. Cloud State for his sophomore year, Johnny gets drunk at the Sidetrack Tap listening to Mr. Berge talk about how much fun the two of them are having. He—John, not Johnny, by now—knocks around in public radio in Minneapolis after college. At age 40, leaving the state to escape a romance gone wrong, he moves to New York—not New York City, but a small college town in upstate New York where he manages a college-owned public radio station. He meets and falls in love with Alida Freeman, a wonderfully appealing woman who is his lawyer's sister and a history professor at Columbia University.
What brings John home to Lake Wobegon is a near-miss encounter with the college librarian while Alida is away on a research trip. The next morning he takes a long shower, sings "Just As I Am" and shouts "Get me out of here" to himself, and books a seat on the first flight to Minnesota. "I committed a sin and I came home to repent," he tells his sister when she asks what he is doing in Lake Wobegon. He and his father are still "skittish around each other, and any conversation was like ice cubes on a hot griddle, full of non sequiturs." But Mom opens her arms wide, and the town does him the great favor of treating him as if his being there "was no big deal. Maybe they hadn't noticed that I left twenty-five years ago. Maybe they thought I was still around but didn't get out of the house so often."
Reconciliation with the town and with his upbringing comes slowly for John, culminating with his father's death. At the wake, Clint Bunsen tells him over the din, "Your dad was so proud of you. He was always talking you up." "I yelled, "I wish he'd told me." "Yes, " says Clint, "so does he."" John proposes marriage to Alida, and she accepts. Wobegon Boy ends with him living happily in New York— the city!—as a house husband.
VI
Jesus leaves us hanging in the parable of the prodigal son. Not only do we not know whether the elder brother will ever come to terms with his father, we also are left to wonder what life will be like for the prodigal the morning after the big party. Keillor's great achievement in the story of John Tollefson is to continue the parable, teaching us in the process that making peace with the home we could not wait to escape is essential to our ever being happy anywhere else.
Perhaps Keillor tells the story so well because it is his story, too, a story of leaving and coming, of rebellion and reconciliation, of restlessness and rootedness. Keillor has quit radio several times, but has always returned. He left Minnesota in anger, but moved back with words of gratitude. "St. Paul is a great city and what makes it so is its power to raise your spirits when you feel discouraged and overworked and misunderstood," he recently wrote in a thank-you letter to the Pioneer Press. Not all the breaches have been healed, at least not yet. Keillor left The New Yorker to protest the hiring of an editor whom he considered unworthy of the magazine's great traditions. One can only hope that he will return now that David Remnick, a serious and excellent journalist, is at the helm.
Reconciliation with church—not an idealized version of Church, but small-c church in all its human frailty—has been one of the greatest dramas of Keillor's life. Remember that brutally satirical article he wrote as a college student when the local chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ brought in a Christian illusionist to attract people to a meeting? Keillor revisited that story decades later in "Gospel Birds," an installment of the "News from Lake Wobegon" that is available on several collections of his recordings. The story tells what happened when Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church decided to solve its Wednesday night attendance problems by booking a series of Christian acts, including the world's tallest evangelist and a former body-builder-gone-wrong named Reverend Duke Peterson. The series concludes with Ernie and Irma Lundeen's Performing Gospel Birds, which at Ernie and Irma's direction play familiar hymns by pecking at bells (fittingly, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow") and enact stories from the Bible in costume.
The church is filled with townspeople who came out of boredom or curiosity or even to scoff, as Keillor had at Campus Crusade's Christian illusionist. Instead, they find themselves awed and moved by both the spectacle and the Lundeens' shining sense of mission. The service ends with Irma asking everyone to close their eyes and "contemplate God's great love for us in our lives. And when one of our birds lands on your shoulder, I want you, if you feel that blessing in your heart, to stand up where you are."
"They were a little nervous," Keillor continues in an intense, hushed voice, "and some people were peeking. But then they got down to the business of meditating, [and] thoughts did come to mind of divine providence in their lives, of a great love that seemed to abide in the world and that upheld them and supported them as if by invisible hands, ...and more than that, a presence of grace that lifts all of us up. And as they sat and meditated, one by one each of them felt a slight weight on the shoulder, as if someone had tapped them, and then they did feel blessed. And one by one they stood up where they were, until everyone was standing. It was a stunning moment. And they all felt very touched by this, and not only touched but filled by this miraculous event: the sound of wings in the room like angels moving amongst them and stirring the air."
Grace and love that lifted him up is what the prodigal found from his father. Keillor's great accomplishment has been not only to find these gifts for himself but to share them through his stories with the rest of us.
Wolf
CHURCH ON SATURDAY NIGHT: GARRISON KEILLOR'S A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
MICHAEL NELSON
The program begins with music at five o'clock Central Time on Saturday evenings, and music makes up nearly half the two-hour show. The first words to come out of Garrison Keillor's mouth at the start of his weekly public radio program, A Prairie Home Companion, are song lyrics: "It's Saturday an'/the band is playin'/Honey, could you ask for more?" Later Keillor and others will sing a few bluegrass and early rock and roll numbers. As part of the comic illusion that he and singer Lynn Peterson are working up a repertoire of duets suitable for baptisms and funerals, they will perform an old gospel song called "Where Could I Go (But to the Lord)?" Keillor will lead the audience in a sing-along of traditional hymns and patriotic songs. Joined by regular members of the cast, he will perform in several comic skits and commercials. He will tell us, for example, that Powdermilk Biscuits have the power to make shy persons bold. Midway through the show, Keillor will read announcements submitted by members of the audience in St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre: "Congratulations, Brad, from Jay and Disa: You're an uncle now"; "Tim and Kristen say, "Don't worry, Mom, we'll be there for your birthday""; "Happy fifty-fifth anniversary to Mother and Daddy from your children—all eight of us."
There is, in each week's program, the proverbial moment that everyone has been waiting for. It comes about 90 minutes into the show when Keillor says, "Well, it's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, my home town." With no script or prompter before him, Keillor simply talks the 20-minute monologue that follows. The seeming artlessness of his delivery is wonderfully studied: Keillor writes a rough draft of what he wants to say during the week leading up to each show.(Indeed, despite the on-air, tongue-in-cheek credit he gives to writers like Sandy Beach, Sarah Bellum, and Warren Peace, he writes as much as 95 percent of A Prairie Home Companion himself.) Keillor reads through his draft of the week's "News From Lake Wobegon" a couple of times before going on stage, then delivers it as if it were occurring to him on the spot, a perfect blend of spontaneity and careful preparation. The audience wants to believe that "I'm just walking out there and making up stuff for them," Keillor says, "telling them a story that I just thought of." As far as he is concerned, however, "it's not the job of an entertainer to have a moment of revelation on stage, but to create them for other people."
On this show Keillor tells about going to the Minnesota State Fair with his family as a boy, "a loud place with bad food and stink, music and sex blaring—listen, it's gorgeous." One year his Uncle Earl saw an ad for a baking contest at the fair and entered his wife Myrna, who was famous for her chocolate angel food cake.("To call it devil's food would give Satan encouragement, so we didn't.") Earl overcame Myrna's reluctance to cook in front of a lot of people by telling her that the winner would surely be asked to say something, a perfect opportunity "to give that Scripture recipe: "Take four cups of I Corinthians 13 and three cups of Ephesians 4:32...." After the bake-off was over (the judge was drunk and Myrna lost), Keillor rode the ferns wheel. "Every summer I'm a little bigger," he says, "but riding the ferris wheel, I feel the same as ever, I feel eternal.... The wheel carries us up high, high, and stops, and we sit swaying, creaking, in the dark, on the verge of death.... This is my vision: little kids holding on to their daddy's hand, and he is me. He looks down on them with love and buys them another corn dog. They are worried they will lose him, they hang on to his leg with one hand, eat with the other. The vision is unbearably wonderful. We get off and other people get on. Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough."
It's ten minutes until seven now. "News," which sometimes runs long and sometimes runs (a little) short, has hit its 20-minute mark exactly. Some members of the audience, having heard what they came to hear, head for the exits. On stage, there is just enough time left for a mock public service announcement by the American Duct Tape Council, in which a New Age supermodel breathlessly recounts how she hangs long strands of duct tape from her living room ceiling to add "cosmic verticality" and also to catch flies. The program ends with a Keillor-Lynn Peterson duet (this one designed for second marriages) of "When I Dream of You (Maybe Someday You Will Come True)."
II
Sounds like a church service, doesn't it? Protestant, to be sure, and unless one wants to count Powdermilk Biscuits as the bread of communion, noneucharistic as well, but a kind of church service nonetheless. The people assemble weekly both in the hall and around their radios. Musicians on stage take the place of choir and organist, with the audience often invited to join in the singing. The messages and greetings that Keillor reads midway through the program are not unlike church announcements, letting people know how others in the gathered family are doing. All this culminates in good Protestant style with Keillor's sermon, er, monologue, which sounds like it is being born in the pulpit but actually is well prepared and even lasts the prescribed 20 minutes. "All comedy is preaching," Keillor has said, "but it can't show its hand." As for the particular brand of preaching and worship that A Prairie Home Companion represents, "Our show down deep in its heart is a gospel show." Don't even let the late Saturday afternoon starting time throw you: the leading trend in Christian churches today is away from formal, Sunday morning worship and toward loose, contemporary services on Saturday night. And, of course, in churches as in St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre, a lot fewer people are there when the final hymn is sung than during the sermon.
The church-like quality of the program that Garrison Keillor has been doing nationally on public radio since 1980 should come as no surprise. Coming to terms with Christianity—what he believes and how to weave those beliefs into the fabric of his being—has been a great theme, perhaps the great theme of Keillor's life.
III
Keillor was born Gary Edward Keillor in 1942 and grew up during the postwar years in two then-rural, now-suburban Minnesota towns, Anoka and Brooklyn Park, just northwest of Minneapolis. He was the third of Grace and John Keillor's six children. John worked as a railway clerk and a freelance carpenter; Grace did everything at home. Two seeds that would grow into prolifically fruit-bearing trees were planted early in Garrison Keillor's life, one of them by him and the other by his family.
The seed Gary planted, entirely under his own steam and with no encouragement from his parents, was writing. From a very young age, Keillor was a loner who intensely valued his own privacy but was fascinated by other people and coveted their admiration. He started newspapers at both of the elementary schools he attended and wrote most of the articles himself. In junior high he published some poems in his school's literary magazine. This was "at a time when boys didn't write poetry," Keillor says, so he published them under the name Garrison, "a name that means strength and "don't give me a hard time about this."" Soon afterward, he found a copy of The New Yorker at the public library. It struck him as "a fabulous sight, an immense glittering ocean liner off the coast of Minnesota." "I can't imagine a kid who loved to read and had thoughts of writing not looking at this [magazine] in wonder and admiration," he recalled many years later in an interview with Roy Blount, Jr. While other boys hid copies of Playboy in their room between the mattress and the box springs, Keillor smuggled home The New Yorker. "My people weren't much for literature," he says, "and they were dead set against conspicuous wealth, so a magazine in which classy paragraphs marched down the aisle between columns of diamond necklaces and French cognacs was not a magazine they welcomed into their homes." He still has the first copy he ever bought, a 1957 issue with a short story by John Cheever and articles by A.J. Leibling, Richard Rovere, and Wolcott Gibbs.
Keillor's people—his parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins—were Plymouth Brethren, members of a loose affiliation of small congregations that had originated in a rebellion against the pomp and worldliness of the established church in early 19th-century England. Dancing, card-playing, drinking, smoking, and, as soon as they came along, movies and television were forbidden. Radio, for some reason, was okay, which meant that the Keillors spent a lot of time in front of the radio. Because a priesthood of believers took the place of ordained clergy in Brethren congregations, their lengthy Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night meetings consisted of songs, spontaneous prayers, words of inspiration and admonition from whichever of the men felt moved to offer them, and celebration of the Lord's Supper. Keillor did not need to show The New Yorker to his parents to know that they would despise the value it placed on wit and worldly success. They had already told him that his decision to publish his schoolboy poems was "a shame on the family."
Coming-of-age stories like Keillor's typically follow a well-mapped trajectory: the small town Midwestern boy throws off the provincial or fundamentalist (in Keillor's case, provincial and fundamentalist) strictures of his upbringing, heads for the big city, and embraces all things secular and cosmopolitan. Certainly, Keillor listed in that direction. At the University of Minnesota in the 1960's, he grew a beard and long hair, wore granny glasses, worked as a DJ at the campus and public radio stations, and spent almost all of his time writing and editing the university's monthly student literary magazine, the Ivory Tower. He turned the front section of the magazine in a "Talk of the Town"-style direction, complete with a sardonic, all-knowing, first-person-plural narrator—Eustace Tilley goes Mid-western. The first article he wrote as editor of the Ivory Tower berated the university's chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ for bringing in "One of America's Leading Illusionists...the Story of How the Man Who's Never Been Fooled By a Magician Found the Reality in Christianity." What would Campus Crusade's next act of "charlatan Christianity" be, Keillor wondered. How about a child evangelist, or "Bob "Big Gunner" Verrell, Former Major League Baseball Star Who Found Christ in the Outfield of Yankee Stadium"?
In 1966, after graduating with a B. A. in English, Keillor hitchhiked east to interview for jobs at The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker. Although neither panned out, he continued to barrage the editors with submissions. In short order, he connected with both magazines. The Atlantic ran one of Keillor's poems in a "Young Poets" section in 1968. Two years later he placed the first of what would turn out to be dozens of humor pieces in The New Yorker before leaving the magazine in protest when Vanity Fair's Tina Brown was hired as editor in 1992. "Local Family Keeps Son Happy," which ran in the Sept.18, 1970, issue, was a deadpan parody of small-city newspaper feature writing. It chirpily described how "Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shepard of 1417 Swallow Lane" had hired a live-in prostitute named Dorothy in hopes of keeping their teenage son home at night. "In addition to her other duties, Dorothy also cooks breakfast." The article concluded with her recipe for "fancy eggs."
What Keillor never did, however, was turn his back on the faith of his youth. "I believe the same as when I was young," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1985. Asked in an interview for the Wittenberg Door whether he was "born again," he answered: "Absolutely." The seed of faith that his parents and the Brethren had planted took root as firmly as the literary seed he had planted himself. To the extent that Keillor rejected their dour attitudes toward smoking, drinking, dancing, literature, and the joys of this world, he did so because such bans were without Biblical foundation and therefore were unworthy of what fundamentalists profess to believe. What was left of fundamentalism, he felt, was lovely as well as true. "People who didn't grow up in a religious background, it's the strictures that interest them the most," says Keillor. "But that's only part of the story: great love within the group of people who are as closely bound together by faith as the fundamentalists were, and other small religious sects; tremendous affection and a kindness and generosity for other members of the group."
Storytelling was another aspect of the fundamentalist family and community in which Keillor grew up. Absent television, books, newspapers, and movies, "our entertainment was talk." Keillor's great uncle, Lew Powell, was an especially good storyteller: appropriately, Keillor dedicated his audiotape collection News from Lake Wobegon to Uncle Lew rather than one of his written works. So was Keillor's father, whose voice Keillor says sometimes seems to be coming out of his own mouth when he tells stories. Not just the family, but the larger Brethren community was aware that Jesus was the ultimate conveyer of truth through stories. At church and at church suppers, "These people were wonderful storytellers, and the purpose of their stories was to imbue us with compassion."
In the 1960's, Keillor found the Brethren to be as counter-cultural as anyone on the left. "They were sort of subversive in a way," he said. "Most of them did not believe in getting on in the world. Most of them were failures out of Christian principle. Most of them felt that this world, the world in which you "make it, " was not the real world." Keillor was—and still is—especially drawn to the evangelists who would come through town or preach on the radio. In 1985 he went out of his way to heap praise on Jimmy Swaggart, at a time when Swaggart was wildly controversial. "They are the rock-and-rollers of the Church," Keillor told The Door. "Evangelists are supposed to get out there and shake it.... [Their] one simple job is to shake people loose from their illusions...to look us straight in the eye and say, "Whatever you are doing doesn't matter. None of your illusions matter. There is only one thing that matters."" What Keillor can't stand is a liberal clergyman giving "well-crafted sermons" instead of saying "something that the Spirit has put in his heart to say.... We don't go to church to hear lectures on ethical behavior, we go to look at the mysteries."
Yet over the years Keillor, without substantially changing his beliefs, has experienced with appreciation other branches of Christianity. In 1990 he joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church, a mainline Protestant denomination.(Most people assume that Keillor grew up Lutheran, since he talks so much about the Lutherans of Lake Wobegon, They also assume his ancestry is Norwegian—it's Scottish.) He attended Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in New York and found that "when we stood for prayers, bringing slowly to mind the goodness and poverty of our lives, it brought tears to your eyes, the simple way Episcopalians pray." Most conspicuously, he has always viewed Roman Catholics with wide-eyed awe. "Everything we [Brethren] did was plain and simple," he wrote in his 1985 book Lake Wobegon Days, "but they were regal and gorgeous, especially on the Feast Day of St. Francis, which they did right out in the open, a feast for the eyes. Cows, horses, some pigs, right out there on the church lawn. The turmoil, animals bellowing and barking and clucking and cats scheming how to escape.... I wasn't allowed inside Our Lady [of Perpetual Responsibility Catholic Church], of course, but if the Blessing of the Animals on the Feast Day of St. Francis was any indication, Lord, I didn't know but what they had elephants in there and acrobats."
Curiously, not going to church at all was Keillor's response to his rising celebrity during the 1970's and 1980's. Although he has always considered himself "a writer who is temporarily a performer," Keillor has gone from triumph to triumph in radio. From 1969 to 1982, he hosted a variety of public radio programs in Minnesota that gained him a large regional following for their blend of live and recorded music, dramatic serials, comedy skits, mock commercials, and greetings and announcements. He had quickly tired of "what passed for art on radio: cueing up Schubert and pronouncing him "Shoebear."" Toward the end of that period, in 1980, Keillor's Saturday evening program went national. He got the name Prairie Home from a cemetery in Moorhead, Minnesota, and chose it for the show because it suggests that "radio is your companion as we head toward our ultimate prairie home." In 1985, the now clean-shaven Keillor was featured on the cover of Time as "Author and Radio Bard." It was at about this time, he says, that "I stopped going [to church]. I felt like a Pharisee. I felt conspicuous. Most of the people in the congregation knew who I was. They would stare at me and say to themselves, "Oh, look! It's so wonderful—a semi-famous man goes to our church every Sunday.""
Keillor felt eyes staring at him all the time after he became a national figure. The Time cover prompted the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers to treat him like a celebrity. His salary, his ending of a longtime romance, and his marriage to Ulla Skaerved, a Danish exchange student at Keillor's high school whom he fell in love with after their 25th class reunion in 1985—all became fodder for the media. Keillor said the local newspapers covered him as if he were "a cross between Joan Collins and Watergate." Finally, "when I came home and found a picture of my house in the paper, the address and everything, I thought to myself, I can't really live here." Keillor ended the radio show in June 1987 and moved to Denmark with his new wife. "It seems pretty clear...," he wrote in a letter to the St. Paul newspaper, "that the Pioneer Press is going to take an aggressive interest in my personal life as long as I stay here ...so I choose to leave."
Keillor's self-imposed exile did not last long. After less than two years in Denmark, he divorced Skaerved and returned to the United States to live in New York. He wrote Talk of the Town pieces as a staff writer for The New Yorker and launched a new public radio program called the American. Radio Company of the Air. Keillor designed the program to be A Prairie Home Companion with a New York accent, but within a few months it had become a virtual clone of the earlier show. "I started out the first season assuming that listeners wanted to hear me talk about New York," he said at the end of the second season. "Maybe some of them did, but an awful lot of them wrote in to say, "Thank you, that's enough." They wanted Lake Wobegon, so I changed and went back to that." In 1993 he returned home to Minnesota and restored the show's original name.
IV
Lake Wobegon is not Eden before the Fall, although the tag line Keillor always appends to his weekly monologue can mislead the casual listener into thinking it is. "That's the news from Lake Wobegon," he says, "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average," The abundance of the vegetable gardens, the traffic light "which is almost always green," Adams Hill (which Keillor as a young boy thought was where God created Adam), and even the impossibility, because of surveying errors, of finding Lake Wobegon on the map contribute to this illusion. Adam and Eve did not need a calendar in Eden and neither, it often seems, do Myrtle and Florian Krebsbach or the regulars at Wally's Sidetrack Tap. Keillor's first novel, Lake Wobegon Days, is organized cyclically rather than chronologically, like the Christian liturgical year in which every Advent is pretty much like every other Advent. The novel begins in Summer, then runs through Fall, Winter, Spring, and back again to Summer, with incidents from the distant past and the recent past sprinkled throughout its accounts of life in Lake Wobegon during each season.
Look closely, though, and the comparison between Lake Wobegon and prelapsarian Eden becomes more complicated. Indeed, during the first few years of A Prairie Home Companion, before the show went national, Keillor usually portrayed the town as the opposite of paradise. Lake Wobegon was the butt of his satirical gibes at small-town provincialism; by his own account, Keillor saw himself as a kind of latter-day Sinclair Lewis.(Lewis grew up in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, which became Gopher Prairie in Main Street.) Lake Wobegon first appeared on the broadcast in 1974, as the setting for mock commercials advertising an outfit called Jack's Auto Repair. Keillor says he did not know enough about cars to keep the gag going, so he had Jack branch out into Jack's School of Thought, Jack's Dry Goods Emporium, Jack's Scraps for Dogs, Jack's Toast House, and Raul's Warm Car Service from Jack's, among other enterprises. Jack's eventually disappeared from the show, but Keillor has always included segments that play on the humor intrinsic to what Judith Yaross Lee has called "the basic clash between commercial rhetoric and unmarketable products."
In 1976 Keillor began doing ersatz public service announcements about upcoming events in Lake Wobegon. Listeners were invited to "Visitors' Day," for example, but were cautioned to "behave yourselves and not stare at anybody and don't point.'Cause there's a lot of people in Lake Wobegon who don't care for visitors or Visitors' Day—who refer to it as V.D., as a matter of fact." At about the same time he began reading letters to home from Barbara Ann Bunsen, a Lake Wobegonian who had moved to Minneapolis after graduating from high school. The letters mixed weekly reassurances that "Everything is just fine, I am all right, so don't worry, everything is o.k." with disconcerting news about her latest "alternative living experiment." In the course of 70 letters spread over five years, Keillor began to populate Lake Wobegon, starting with Barbara Ann's parents, Clarence and Arlene Bunsen.
During the early 1980's, Keillor made the transition from letters and public service announcements to extended stories about the Bunsens (not just Clarence and Arlene, but brother Clint and his wife Irene), the Tollefsons (including Johnny Tollefson, a sometime stand-in for the young Gary Keillor), the Lutheran church (Pastor Ingqvist) and the Catholic church (Father Emil), the happily antisocial Norwegian bachelor farmers, the Sons of Knute Lodge, the Chatterbox Cafe, Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery, and dozens of other characters, places, groups, and rituals in Lake Wobegon. "News" now meant accounts of what was going on in townspeople's lives rather than a schedule of the town's events. At the same time, Keillor's tone shifted from mockery to affection. "I...veered away from satire and started being more interested in sentiment and, to some extent, bathos," he said in 1985. The gentle story of Lake Wobegonians at the state fair—the cake-baking contest and the ferris wheel— exemplifies this turn.
Lovely as Lake Wobegon has become over the course of its quarter-century history on A Prairie Home Companion, Keillor has kept the town dark enough to maintain the tension that comedy requires. The name itself is a mixed message: it has a sort of Native American nobility but is also a homonym of the English word that means "woeful" or "disconsolate." Similar incongruities run through Keillor's description of the town in Lake Wobegon Days. "The sun['s]... shimmering lights across the water" of the lake "would make quite a picture if you had the right lens, which nobody in this town does." Lake Wobegon "has few scenic wonders such as towering pines," but it does have "some fine people of whom some are over six feet tall." The town was founded by pioneers, but they were all peculiar in one way or another: a Unitarian missionary who received a vision to "go west and convert the Indians to Christianity by the means of interpretive dance," a poet whose 648-line epic about Lake Wobegon foundered on desperate rhymes such as "sybilline/ porcupine" and "cereal/immaterial," and a small band of Norwegian fishermen who settled by (and settled for) the lake only after discovering firsthand that their impression of the Dakota Territory as a good place to fish was mistaken. The motto of Lake Wobegon is equally ambiguous: Sumus Quod Sumus, We are what we are.
Nothing conveys the chiaroscuro quality of the town better than the chapter in Lake Wobegon Days called "News." The top half of each page in the 25-page chapter is a light and affectionate account of Lake Wobegon's weekly newspaper, the Herald-Star, which was named by its owner, Harold Starr. The lower half of each page consists of a chapter-long footnote, written by an expatriate who moved to California and consisting of 95 THESES 95 that he had hoped the Herald-Star would publish.(Needless to say, the editor, whose first principle of journalism is "I have to live here, too, you know," chose not to print them.) The theses are a devastating account of Lake Wobegon's boring, trivial, hypocritical, and soul-destroying effect on the lives of at least some of those who grow up there:
3. You have subjected me to endless, boring talk about weather, regularity, back problems, and whether something happened in 1938 or 1939....
4. You have taught me to worship a god who is exactly like you, who shares your thinking exactly, who is going to slap me one if I don't straighten out fast....
16. You have provided me with poor male role models... men who clung to tiny grudges for decades and were devoted to vanity, horsefeathers, small potatoes—not travel but the rites of trunk-loading and map-reading and gas mileage; not faith but the Building Committee; not love but supper....
29. You taught me not to be "unusual" for fear of what the neighbors would say.... We knew they'd talk, because we always talked about them....
75. I wasted years in diametrical opposition, thinking you were completely mistaken, and wound up living a life based more on yours than if I'd stayed home....
V
The stained-glass word for stories is parables. The ones Jesus told were about ordinary people in ordinary situations who lived long ago in a small and remote corner of the world. People have been hearing those stories and seeking meaning in them ever since. Not surprisingly, in view of Keillor's deep knowledge of the Bible and his love of story, some of these parables have found their way into his work. None recurs in more variations than the story of the Prodigal Son.
Keillor is anything but formulaic: in his fiction, he does not tell stories in which a younger son takes his inheritance to the big city, lives dissolutely, returns home begging to be taken back, and is welcomed with open-armed rejoicing by his father but tight-lipped resentment by his elder brother. The closest Keillor comes to transposing Jesus' story directly into modern Lake Wobegon is in the final paragraph of Lake Wobegon Days. An unnamed man, ignoring the pleas of his wife and child, drives into town for cigarettes in a blizzard. On the way back he slides into a ditch, fears that he is doomed, then sees the light of home in the near distance.(The cigarettes, by the way, are on the counter of the bar where he bought them.) "Town was a long way to go in a blizzard for the pleasure of coming back home," he realizes. "But what a lucky man. Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted, but getting what you have... He starts out on the short walk to the house where people love him and will be happy to see his face."
More commonly, Keillor focuses a story on one or two elements of the parable. Earlier in Lake Wobegon Days, Uncle Louie goes to Minneapolis with Aunt Gladys seeking a more lucrative career. On their first night there, a hotel clerk "got snooty" with Louie and offered him a room at the sky-high rate of $15 ("Gladys thought it was the weekly rate"). "I didn't want him to think we were green," says Louie, "so I peeled off a twenty, my only one." Lying awake in the room that night, he realizes that "it was pride talking, worldly pride.... I decided that if Minneapolis could have that effect on me, that I'd rather spend what I didn't have than admit to not having it, then I'd better go back where I belonged, and the next day we did." Not the big city, but the effect that big city values had on Louie threatened to turn him into a prodigal, and home he went.
Other of Keillor's stories render no judgment on either the city or the son, but revel instead in the generosity of the father. In Leaving Home, Corinne Ingqvist finds her vocation as a teacher in Minneapolis. She comes home to Lake Wobegon on a visit hoping to borrow $50,000 for a house from Hjalmer, her father. "[H]e and his daughter have had their differences," Keillor writes. "Some of their arguments have made the glasses rattle in the pantry and the family dog cringe behind the couch," including one about the trip to France she took after cashing some bonds he gave her. ""I guess I could try a bank in the Cities, " she offered. "It's too late to take your business elsewhere, " he said. "I'm your father. It's too late to shop for another one." He gave her the check."
Still other stories are about the elder brother. In the parable, the brother's misery at spending his life on his father's farm is palpable. All he can think about is what he deserves in return for all his years of dutiful suffering. Jesus leaves us wondering at the end: will the elder brother put aside his sense of grievance and entitlement and accept his father's invitation to join his brother's welcome-home party?
Darryl Tollerud is an elder brother in Lake Wobegon. He is 42 years old, is married with six children, and lives in the little house on his father's farm while his parents, just the two of them, still live in the big house. His younger brother Gunnar has run off to the city for good—he's "a drunk." Meanwhile, Darryl works for his dad. "Sometimes he gets so mad at the old man he screams at him," Keillor writes. "But always when he's on the tractor in the middle of the field with the motor running." Nothing dramatic happens in this story: no return of the younger brother, no invitation from the father. But Darryl experiences the sort of epiphany that Jesus would wish for every elder brother. "He'd been worried about inheriting the farm, meanwhile God had given him six beautiful children. What happens if you expect the worst and get the best? Thank you, Lord, he thought."
The prodigal who runs off and never comes back is another of Keillor's themes. Virgil Bunsen has a falling out with his father over some cattle. He moves away and leads an unhappy life. The rupture between the two of them is never healed and his father dies. Virgil himself comes home years later only to be buried. At the graveside service, his nephew Clarence offers these words: "Life is short. The Bible says, don't let the sun go down upon your wrath. Settle these things. It isn't true that time heals all wounds, sometimes they get worse if you don't do something about them."
Keillor's most extended variation on the parable of the prodigal son is the story of John Tollefson, whose story begins in Lake Wobegon Days with his teenage years and resumes during middle age in Wobegon Boy, a 1997 novel that is centered on him. As a boy, Johnny itches to leave home. It seems to him that in Lake Wobegon, and especially in his house, child rearing consists of teaching kids that they're not so hot, that they should do without, and that all their opinions are dumb. "If [Johnny] was to say, "I believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, "" Keillor writes, "his dad would say, "A person sure wouldn't know it to look at you." Or he would say, "Don't talk with your mouth full, " or "It's about time, " or maybe he would convert to Unitarianism on the spot ("The trinity? Don't be ridiculous!")." Meanwhile the Flambeaus beckon—Emile, Eileen, and their teenage son Tony, the heroes of a book series that Johnny reads at the town library. The Flambeaus live in a New York City apartment overlooking Central Park. They drink wine, stay up late, have sophisticated conversations in which Tony is treated as a mature person, and solve crimes. Johnny thinks of them as his "secret family."
Getting to New York turns out to be difficult for Johnny. He escapes after high school, but only down the road a few miles to St. Cloud State College, where raucous living entails little more than writing angry poems ("Death Dad" was one) for the college literary magazine under pseudonyms like Ryan Tremaine. To get "experience" so that he will have something to write about when he returns to St. Cloud State for his sophomore year, Johnny gets drunk at the Sidetrack Tap listening to Mr. Berge talk about how much fun the two of them are having. He—John, not Johnny, by now—knocks around in public radio in Minneapolis after college. At age 40, leaving the state to escape a romance gone wrong, he moves to New York—not New York City, but a small college town in upstate New York where he manages a college-owned public radio station. He meets and falls in love with Alida Freeman, a wonderfully appealing woman who is his lawyer's sister and a history professor at Columbia University.
What brings John home to Lake Wobegon is a near-miss encounter with the college librarian while Alida is away on a research trip. The next morning he takes a long shower, sings "Just As I Am" and shouts "Get me out of here" to himself, and books a seat on the first flight to Minnesota. "I committed a sin and I came home to repent," he tells his sister when she asks what he is doing in Lake Wobegon. He and his father are still "skittish around each other, and any conversation was like ice cubes on a hot griddle, full of non sequiturs." But Mom opens her arms wide, and the town does him the great favor of treating him as if his being there "was no big deal. Maybe they hadn't noticed that I left twenty-five years ago. Maybe they thought I was still around but didn't get out of the house so often."
Reconciliation with the town and with his upbringing comes slowly for John, culminating with his father's death. At the wake, Clint Bunsen tells him over the din, "Your dad was so proud of you. He was always talking you up." "I yelled, "I wish he'd told me." "Yes, " says Clint, "so does he."" John proposes marriage to Alida, and she accepts. Wobegon Boy ends with him living happily in New York— the city!—as a house husband.
VI
Jesus leaves us hanging in the parable of the prodigal son. Not only do we not know whether the elder brother will ever come to terms with his father, we also are left to wonder what life will be like for the prodigal the morning after the big party. Keillor's great achievement in the story of John Tollefson is to continue the parable, teaching us in the process that making peace with the home we could not wait to escape is essential to our ever being happy anywhere else.
Perhaps Keillor tells the story so well because it is his story, too, a story of leaving and coming, of rebellion and reconciliation, of restlessness and rootedness. Keillor has quit radio several times, but has always returned. He left Minnesota in anger, but moved back with words of gratitude. "St. Paul is a great city and what makes it so is its power to raise your spirits when you feel discouraged and overworked and misunderstood," he recently wrote in a thank-you letter to the Pioneer Press. Not all the breaches have been healed, at least not yet. Keillor left The New Yorker to protest the hiring of an editor whom he considered unworthy of the magazine's great traditions. One can only hope that he will return now that David Remnick, a serious and excellent journalist, is at the helm.
Reconciliation with church—not an idealized version of Church, but small-c church in all its human frailty—has been one of the greatest dramas of Keillor's life. Remember that brutally satirical article he wrote as a college student when the local chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ brought in a Christian illusionist to attract people to a meeting? Keillor revisited that story decades later in "Gospel Birds," an installment of the "News from Lake Wobegon" that is available on several collections of his recordings. The story tells what happened when Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church decided to solve its Wednesday night attendance problems by booking a series of Christian acts, including the world's tallest evangelist and a former body-builder-gone-wrong named Reverend Duke Peterson. The series concludes with Ernie and Irma Lundeen's Performing Gospel Birds, which at Ernie and Irma's direction play familiar hymns by pecking at bells (fittingly, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow") and enact stories from the Bible in costume.
The church is filled with townspeople who came out of boredom or curiosity or even to scoff, as Keillor had at Campus Crusade's Christian illusionist. Instead, they find themselves awed and moved by both the spectacle and the Lundeens' shining sense of mission. The service ends with Irma asking everyone to close their eyes and "contemplate God's great love for us in our lives. And when one of our birds lands on your shoulder, I want you, if you feel that blessing in your heart, to stand up where you are."
"They were a little nervous," Keillor continues in an intense, hushed voice, "and some people were peeking. But then they got down to the business of meditating, [and] thoughts did come to mind of divine providence in their lives, of a great love that seemed to abide in the world and that upheld them and supported them as if by invisible hands, ...and more than that, a presence of grace that lifts all of us up. And as they sat and meditated, one by one each of them felt a slight weight on the shoulder, as if someone had tapped them, and then they did feel blessed. And one by one they stood up where they were, until everyone was standing. It was a stunning moment. And they all felt very touched by this, and not only touched but filled by this miraculous event: the sound of wings in the room like angels moving amongst them and stirring the air."
Grace and love that lifted him up is what the prodigal found from his father. Keillor's great accomplishment has been not only to find these gifts for himself but to share them through his stories with the rest of us.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Nvu - The Complete Web Authoring System for Linux, Macintosh and Windows
Nvu - The Complete Web Authoring System for Linux, Macintosh and Windows
Finally! A complete Web Authoring System for Linux Desktop users as well as Microsoft Windows and Macintosh users to rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver.
Nvu (pronounced N-view, for a "new view") makes managing a web site a snap. Now anyone can create web pages and manage a website with no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML.
Finally! A complete Web Authoring System for Linux Desktop users as well as Microsoft Windows and Macintosh users to rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver.
Nvu (pronounced N-view, for a "new view") makes managing a web site a snap. Now anyone can create web pages and manage a website with no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
The Poor Man's Raid Array
The Poor Man's Raid Array: "
What self-respecting geek doesn't get the warm fuzzies at the mere mention of the RAID. With the rising GB to Dollar ratio, we felt it was a good time to feature a project that takes Pure Geekieness(TM) and mixes in a good helping of do it your self. Where else are you going to store all those MP3s (legally obtained, of course)? On a single 200 GB Drive? Or a RAID 5 Array? Take you pick, I know where I will be storing mine.
cost: 249.82
difficulty: novice
time : 3 hours
coolness : very cool
geek score: 7.5
"
What self-respecting geek doesn't get the warm fuzzies at the mere mention of the RAID. With the rising GB to Dollar ratio, we felt it was a good time to feature a project that takes Pure Geekieness(TM) and mixes in a good helping of do it your self. Where else are you going to store all those MP3s (legally obtained, of course)? On a single 200 GB Drive? Or a RAID 5 Array? Take you pick, I know where I will be storing mine.
cost: 249.82
difficulty: novice
time : 3 hours
coolness : very cool
geek score: 7.5
"
Saturday, June 25, 2005
It's a rental, it's disposable, but this camcorder isn't complicated
Last update: June 24, 2005 at 10:52 PM
It's a rental, it's disposable, but this camcorder isn't complicated
Steve Alexander, Star Tribune
June 25, 2005
Can there be a "disposable" video camera?
A $400 digital camcorder is hardly something you'd throw away, but this week a $29.99 simplified digital camcorder debuts at 10 Twin Cities CVS drugstores and is reportedly being test-marketed by Target Corp. in Philadelphia.
In an attempt to appeal to a mass market of people who already buy disposable film cameras, Rhode Island-based CVS hopes consumers will flock to a "one-time-use video camcorder" that you buy, use to film a 20-minute movie and then return to the store.
CVS charges an additional $12.99 to put your movie on a DVD that can be viewed on a TV, a computer or the Internet. The video quality is said to be similar to VHS videotape.
After the camcorder is returned, CVS sells it to someone else, which makes the camcorder essentially a rental. But if the camcorder can't be returned -- either because you dropped it in the lake or got it full of sand at the beach -- there is no security deposit for you to lose and no penalty to pay. You're out only your $30 purchase cost. That makes it a disposable camera in at least one sense.
To prevent anyone from keeping such an inexpensive camcorder, its manufacturer, Pure Digital Technologies of San Francisco, has severely limited its capabilities. The recorded video is encrypted on a flash memory chip inside the camcorder, and the only way to retrieve the movie is to dock the camcorder with a CVS computer server.
CVS said the camcorder would give consumers "a rich, worry-free home moviemaking experience with an affordable single-use camcorder that easily fits in a pocket or purse."
The new camcorder's four-button controls emphasize simplicity at a time when analysts say digital camera sales are on the verge of a slowdown, perhaps because the units are too difficult to use.
CVS, which will offer the camcorders at 4,500 stores nationwide by June 26, has exclusive marketing rights through the end of the summer, after which the videocameras will be available through other retailers, said Simon Fleming-Wood, marketing vice president at Pure Digital Technologies.
Target has just begun its test-marketing of Pure Digital's new camcorder and its still digital camera that was introduced two years ago, Fleming-Wood said. A Target spokeswoman did not return a phone call about the test-marketing effort.
"We expect to sell 1 million of the disposable video cameras in the first 12 months," Fleming-Wood said. Even if 20 percent of the cameras aren't returned, Pure Digital can still make money from camera sales, picture processing fees and sales of the special computer servers that CVS and other retailers need to process the pictures, he said.
Pure Digital's "disposable" still digital camera has sold nearly 1 million units in the past two years, he said. The still cameras cost $15 to $19 at retailers such as CVS, Wolf Camera, Ritz Camera, Longs Drugs and Rite Aid Corp., another drugstore chain. Processing of 25 digital still pictures costs $7 to $10.
To make the digital camcorder attractive to a broad audience more interested in preserving memories than becoming videocam hobbyists, Pure Digital simplified the camcorder so that it has only four control buttons: record, playback, delete and the on-off switch.
"All our research shows that people love video as a medium but find video products very inconvenient to use," Fleming-Wood said. "'To make a DVD disk with most video cameras, you must hook the camera to a computer. Then you need a strong knowledge of computers, DVD authoring software and video file formats. A very small percentage of people know how to do that."
The Pure Digital camcorder hides that complexity, Fleming-Wood said. Consumers never need to know that their DVDs are recorded in three different video formats so the video will play equally well in a DVD player, on a computer or over the Internet. Nor do they need to understand that software on the DVD will upload the video to a Pure Digital website, where a customer's friends and relatives can view it with their computers.
"We're not trying to dumb down digital camcorders so much as keep them simple to meet the needs of people who already use single-use film cameras but want the benefits of digital," such as the ability to create a family DVD movie, Fleming-Wood said.
The introduction of Pure Digital's easy-to-use digital camcorder follows some gloomy analyst predictions about a near-term slowdown in sales of digital still cameras, as well as a current slowdown in sales of digital camcorders.
Analysts contend that digital still cameras will never completely replace their film counterparts because they are too difficult to use. Digital camcorders are even more complex, analysts said.
Worldwide digital camcorder sales revenue is declining this year, following last year's slowdown in unit sales growth, said Chris Crotty, an analyst at iSuppli Corp., a research firm in El Segundo, Calif. The average digital camcorder will cost $414 this year, nearly twice the average $216 price for a digital still camera, he said.
As a result, Pure Digital's strategy of simplifying digital camcorders to stimulate mass-market sales draws praise from analysts.
"Today's video cameras are absolutely too techie for most people," said Chris Chute, an analyst at research firm IDC in Framingham, Mass. "This novel idea of a one-time-use videocamera, combined with burning your movie on a DVD, might resonate with people. But I think the $43 cost is still a little high."
But, simple or not, a one-time-use digital camcorder isn't likely to be as popular as a disposable film camera, said Ross Rubin, an analyst at the NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.
"The disposable film camera is really a mass market product that is embraced by all levels of consumers," Rubin said. "But there are fewer consumers who occasionally want to capture a birthday, a holiday or a vacation on video but haven't already bought their own video camera."
It's a rental, it's disposable, but this camcorder isn't complicated
Steve Alexander, Star Tribune
June 25, 2005
Can there be a "disposable" video camera?
A $400 digital camcorder is hardly something you'd throw away, but this week a $29.99 simplified digital camcorder debuts at 10 Twin Cities CVS drugstores and is reportedly being test-marketed by Target Corp. in Philadelphia.
In an attempt to appeal to a mass market of people who already buy disposable film cameras, Rhode Island-based CVS hopes consumers will flock to a "one-time-use video camcorder" that you buy, use to film a 20-minute movie and then return to the store.
CVS charges an additional $12.99 to put your movie on a DVD that can be viewed on a TV, a computer or the Internet. The video quality is said to be similar to VHS videotape.
After the camcorder is returned, CVS sells it to someone else, which makes the camcorder essentially a rental. But if the camcorder can't be returned -- either because you dropped it in the lake or got it full of sand at the beach -- there is no security deposit for you to lose and no penalty to pay. You're out only your $30 purchase cost. That makes it a disposable camera in at least one sense.
To prevent anyone from keeping such an inexpensive camcorder, its manufacturer, Pure Digital Technologies of San Francisco, has severely limited its capabilities. The recorded video is encrypted on a flash memory chip inside the camcorder, and the only way to retrieve the movie is to dock the camcorder with a CVS computer server.
CVS said the camcorder would give consumers "a rich, worry-free home moviemaking experience with an affordable single-use camcorder that easily fits in a pocket or purse."
The new camcorder's four-button controls emphasize simplicity at a time when analysts say digital camera sales are on the verge of a slowdown, perhaps because the units are too difficult to use.
CVS, which will offer the camcorders at 4,500 stores nationwide by June 26, has exclusive marketing rights through the end of the summer, after which the videocameras will be available through other retailers, said Simon Fleming-Wood, marketing vice president at Pure Digital Technologies.
Target has just begun its test-marketing of Pure Digital's new camcorder and its still digital camera that was introduced two years ago, Fleming-Wood said. A Target spokeswoman did not return a phone call about the test-marketing effort.
"We expect to sell 1 million of the disposable video cameras in the first 12 months," Fleming-Wood said. Even if 20 percent of the cameras aren't returned, Pure Digital can still make money from camera sales, picture processing fees and sales of the special computer servers that CVS and other retailers need to process the pictures, he said.
Pure Digital's "disposable" still digital camera has sold nearly 1 million units in the past two years, he said. The still cameras cost $15 to $19 at retailers such as CVS, Wolf Camera, Ritz Camera, Longs Drugs and Rite Aid Corp., another drugstore chain. Processing of 25 digital still pictures costs $7 to $10.
To make the digital camcorder attractive to a broad audience more interested in preserving memories than becoming videocam hobbyists, Pure Digital simplified the camcorder so that it has only four control buttons: record, playback, delete and the on-off switch.
"All our research shows that people love video as a medium but find video products very inconvenient to use," Fleming-Wood said. "'To make a DVD disk with most video cameras, you must hook the camera to a computer. Then you need a strong knowledge of computers, DVD authoring software and video file formats. A very small percentage of people know how to do that."
The Pure Digital camcorder hides that complexity, Fleming-Wood said. Consumers never need to know that their DVDs are recorded in three different video formats so the video will play equally well in a DVD player, on a computer or over the Internet. Nor do they need to understand that software on the DVD will upload the video to a Pure Digital website, where a customer's friends and relatives can view it with their computers.
"We're not trying to dumb down digital camcorders so much as keep them simple to meet the needs of people who already use single-use film cameras but want the benefits of digital," such as the ability to create a family DVD movie, Fleming-Wood said.
The introduction of Pure Digital's easy-to-use digital camcorder follows some gloomy analyst predictions about a near-term slowdown in sales of digital still cameras, as well as a current slowdown in sales of digital camcorders.
Analysts contend that digital still cameras will never completely replace their film counterparts because they are too difficult to use. Digital camcorders are even more complex, analysts said.
Worldwide digital camcorder sales revenue is declining this year, following last year's slowdown in unit sales growth, said Chris Crotty, an analyst at iSuppli Corp., a research firm in El Segundo, Calif. The average digital camcorder will cost $414 this year, nearly twice the average $216 price for a digital still camera, he said.
As a result, Pure Digital's strategy of simplifying digital camcorders to stimulate mass-market sales draws praise from analysts.
"Today's video cameras are absolutely too techie for most people," said Chris Chute, an analyst at research firm IDC in Framingham, Mass. "This novel idea of a one-time-use videocamera, combined with burning your movie on a DVD, might resonate with people. But I think the $43 cost is still a little high."
But, simple or not, a one-time-use digital camcorder isn't likely to be as popular as a disposable film camera, said Ross Rubin, an analyst at the NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.
"The disposable film camera is really a mass market product that is embraced by all levels of consumers," Rubin said. "But there are fewer consumers who occasionally want to capture a birthday, a holiday or a vacation on video but haven't already bought their own video camera."
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Amazon.com: Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player: Explore similar items
Amazon.com: Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player: Explore similar items: "Rebel Without a Crew
by Robert Rodriguez
Average Customer Review:
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Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details.
Need it today? Available for in-store pickup from $15.00 . Price may vary based on availability. To check availability in your area, enter your ZIP Code
List Price: $15.00
Price: $10.20
You Save: $4.80 (32%"
by Robert Rodriguez
Average Customer Review:
Usually ships in 24 hours
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details.
Need it today? Available for in-store pickup from $15.00 . Price may vary based on availability. To check availability in your area, enter your ZIP Code
List Price: $15.00
Price: $10.20
You Save: $4.80 (32%"
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
EO Newsroom: New Images - Sunset on Mars: A Moment Frozen in Time
EO Newsroom: New Images - Sunset on Mars: A Moment Frozen in Time: "Sunset on Mars: A Moment Frozen in Time Click here to view full image (85 kb)
On May 19th, 2005, NASA�s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view of the Sun sinking below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera (Pancam) mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover�s 489th Martian day, or sol. Spirit was commanded to stay awake briefly after sending that sol�s data to the Mars Odyssey orbiter just before sunset. This small panorama of the western sky was obtained using Pancam�s 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters. This filter combination generates false-color images that are similar to what a human would see, but with the colors slightly exaggerated.
In this image, the bluish glow in the sky above the Sun would be visible to us if we were there, but an artifact of the Pancam�s infrared imaging capabilities is that with this filter combination, the redness of the sky farther from the sunset is exaggerated compared to the daytime colors of the Martian sky.
Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth. The terrain in the foreground is the rock outcrop �Jibsheet�, a feature that Spirit has been investigating for several weeks. The floor of Gusev crater is visible in the distance, and the Sun is setting behind the wall of Gusev some 80 kilometers (50 miles) in the distance.
This mosaic is yet another example from the rover of a beautiful Martian scene that also captures some important scientific information. Specifically, sunset and twilight images are occasionally acquired by the science team to determine how high into the atmosphere the Martian dust ext"
On May 19th, 2005, NASA�s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view of the Sun sinking below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera (Pancam) mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover�s 489th Martian day, or sol. Spirit was commanded to stay awake briefly after sending that sol�s data to the Mars Odyssey orbiter just before sunset. This small panorama of the western sky was obtained using Pancam�s 750-nanometer, 530-nanometer and 430-nanometer color filters. This filter combination generates false-color images that are similar to what a human would see, but with the colors slightly exaggerated.
In this image, the bluish glow in the sky above the Sun would be visible to us if we were there, but an artifact of the Pancam�s infrared imaging capabilities is that with this filter combination, the redness of the sky farther from the sunset is exaggerated compared to the daytime colors of the Martian sky.
Because Mars is farther from the Sun than the Earth is, the Sun appears only about two-thirds the size that it appears in a sunset seen from the Earth. The terrain in the foreground is the rock outcrop �Jibsheet�, a feature that Spirit has been investigating for several weeks. The floor of Gusev crater is visible in the distance, and the Sun is setting behind the wall of Gusev some 80 kilometers (50 miles) in the distance.
This mosaic is yet another example from the rover of a beautiful Martian scene that also captures some important scientific information. Specifically, sunset and twilight images are occasionally acquired by the science team to determine how high into the atmosphere the Martian dust ext"
How to configure your router to allow fast BitTorrent downloads - The Peer-to-Peer Weblog - p2p.weblogsinc.com _
How to configure your router to allow fast BitTorrent downloads - The Peer-to-Peer Weblog - p2p.weblogsinc.com _: "How to configure your router to allow fast BitTorrent downloads"
Numa Numa Dance
Numa Numa Dance
Comments by the Author(s) of Numa Numa Dance
(Rated 3.87/5.00 by our users).
Holy crap!!! 1 million views!!!
You people are crazy! Just to let you all know, yes, this is the original location of the Numa Numa Dance... right here on NG. The internet sent it around like crazy, and it's wound up on over 80 websites that I could find, with an appearance on CNN, and just now on VH1's Best Week Ever. I've recieved tons of e-mail's and hits to my website, and I just want to thank you for all the feedback that you've given me.
For people who still don't know, yes that is me in the video, and the song is entitled "Dragostea Din Tea" by the Romanian pop band "O-Zone".
This is the special version where you can turn the subtitles on and off, and play it without the pictures in-between.
Comments by the Author(s) of Numa Numa Dance
(Rated 3.87/5.00 by our users).
Holy crap!!! 1 million views!!!
You people are crazy! Just to let you all know, yes, this is the original location of the Numa Numa Dance... right here on NG. The internet sent it around like crazy, and it's wound up on over 80 websites that I could find, with an appearance on CNN, and just now on VH1's Best Week Ever. I've recieved tons of e-mail's and hits to my website, and I just want to thank you for all the feedback that you've given me.
For people who still don't know, yes that is me in the video, and the song is entitled "Dragostea Din Tea" by the Romanian pop band "O-Zone".
This is the special version where you can turn the subtitles on and off, and play it without the pictures in-between.
Original Numa Numa Dance
Original Numa Numa Dance: "Description:
This is the original video of the Numa Numa dance without all the edited cuts. Its amazing how one person and a webcam can reach so many millions of people. If you havent seen this one yet it is a must see. This guy is awesome and this is probably the most popular video to hit the internet ever. This one goes out to Amanda and her friends at Neuqua High School who are as big of fans of Gary as we are.
This is the original video of the Numa Numa dance without all the edited cuts. Its amazing how one person and a webcam can reach so many millions of people. If you havent seen this one yet it is a must see. This guy is awesome and this is probably the most popular video to hit the internet ever. This one goes out to Amanda and her friends at Neuqua High School who are as big of fans of Gary as we are.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Sysinternals Freeware - RootkitRevealer
Sysinternals Freeware - RootkitRevealer
RootkitRevealer is an advanced patent-pending root kit detection utility. It runs on Windows NT 4 and higher and its output lists Registry and file system API discrepancies that may indicate the presence of a user-mode or kernel-mode rootkit. RootkitRevealer successfully detects all persistent rootkits published at www.rootkit.com, including AFX, Vanquish and HackerDefender (note: RootkitRevealer is not intended to detect rootkits like Fu that don't attempt to hide their files or registry keys). If you use it to identify the presence of a rootkit please let us know!
The reason that there is no longer a command-line version is that malware authors have started targetting RootkitRevealer's scan by using its executable name. We've therefore updated RootkitRevealer to execute its scan from a randomly named copy of itself that runs as a Windows service. This type of execution is not conducive to a command-line interface. Note that you can use command-line options to execute an automatic scan with results logged to a file, which is the equivalent of the command-line version's behavior.
RootkitRevealer is an advanced patent-pending root kit detection utility. It runs on Windows NT 4 and higher and its output lists Registry and file system API discrepancies that may indicate the presence of a user-mode or kernel-mode rootkit. RootkitRevealer successfully detects all persistent rootkits published at www.rootkit.com, including AFX, Vanquish and HackerDefender (note: RootkitRevealer is not intended to detect rootkits like Fu that don't attempt to hide their files or registry keys). If you use it to identify the presence of a rootkit please let us know!
The reason that there is no longer a command-line version is that malware authors have started targetting RootkitRevealer's scan by using its executable name. We've therefore updated RootkitRevealer to execute its scan from a randomly named copy of itself that runs as a Windows service. This type of execution is not conducive to a command-line interface. Note that you can use command-line options to execute an automatic scan with results logged to a file, which is the equivalent of the command-line version's behavior.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Restoration - user opinions at SnapFiles
Restoration - user opinions at SnapFiles: "User opinions for Restoration
Restoration is an easy to use and straight forward tool to undelete files that were removed from the recycle bin or directly deleted from within Windows, and we were also able to recover photos from"
Restoration is an easy to use and straight forward tool to undelete files that were removed from the recycle bin or directly deleted from within Windows, and we were also able to recover photos from"
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Saturday, June 04, 2005
"Dad, I made $69,000 online by 11 a.m. Why go to college?"
The golden-haired entrepreneur with a knack for computers was taking in $2 million a month by the time he was 25, enough to buy a string of luxury cars, including a Ferrari, a BMW and four Mercedes-Benzes, and to move into a $1.1 million house......took in $18 million this year.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
A web of trouble
Last update: June 4, 2005 at 7:16 PM
A web of trouble
Warren Wolfe, Star Tribune
In 1998, a few months after Chris Smith dropped out of Lakeville High School, his concerned father talked to him about the benefits of college -- and was startled by his son's reply.
"Dad, I made $69,000 online by 11 a.m. Why go to college?"
Over the next seven years, Christopher William Smith became known as a notorious Internet spammer nicknamed "Rizler," who, the FBI says, graduated to selling addictive drugs online and over the phone.
The golden-haired entrepreneur with a knack for computers was taking in $2 million a month by the time he was 25, enough to buy a string of luxury cars, including a Ferrari, a BMW and four Mercedes-Benzes, and to move into a $1.1 million house in Burnsville, court papers say.
For him, the Internet bubble of the late 1990s just kept expanding. At first he used the Internet to find leads for insurance companies, then filled e-mail boxes with billions of spam pitches for penis-enhancement products, cable television decoders and other products, the documents say.
Smith also leaped into the lucrative prescription drug market, selling addictive drugs such as Vicodin through his online pharmacy and a staff of 85 telemarketers, court papers say.
The bubble may finally have burst in May when federal agents raided his Burnsville company, Xpress Pharmacy Direct, shutting it down and seizing $4.2 million in assets. Court documents accuse Smith of fraud and money laundering, but no one has been charged with a crime.
From his start at age 10 selling popcorn and cotton candy at church fairs, Chris Smith has done well in business.
"I remember Chris sitting on my lap when he was one year old, trying to feed a floppy disk into my old Apple computer," said his father, Scott Smith, 55, of Lakeville.
He described his son as "brilliant but bored" by school. "Chris was raised knowing he could figure things out, knowing he could accomplish a lot with hard work," his father said.
"Chris is kind of like me, only smarter," said Smith, who has made and lost several million dollars himself.
In the 1970s and '80s, Scott Smith was a part owner of Minneapolis night clubs Scotties on Seventh, Graffitti's and Schiek's Cafe. He lost it all after he was critically injured in a car accident in 1985. Smith was divorced soon after that. He now owns Diaper Deck, a Lakeville company that is mainly responsible for introducing diaper-changing stations in public bathrooms.
Chris grew up splitting his time between his father's house on Lake Minnetonka and his mother's house on Crystal Lake in Burnsville, his father said. Chris Smith attended the Academy of Holy Angels, a Catholic high school in Richfield, but began skipping school, his father said.
Father and son then moved to Lakeville, where Chris switched to public school in January 1998 for his senior year. He didn't graduate.
He soon moved to Cannon Falls, Minn., where his dad had a Diaper Deck plant. Chris started a small business installing radios and other electronic equipment in cars, and soon discovered a new business, using Internet ads to seek out potential customers for insurance companies, his father said.
"He found he could do pretty well ... finding people who were looking for insurance and selling their names to insurance companies," his father said. "I was amazed. [The insurers] paid him $35 for a potential customer."
Chris Smith then turned to other Internet ventures -- and trouble was not far behind.
Web-based enemies
By March 2001, private investigators were staking out Chris' business in Cannon Falls. They worked for Time Warner, the cable television giant, which alleged that Chris Smith's new venture, Blast Marketing, sold cable TV decoders on the Internet to customers in New York City. The devices allow people to receive cable TV channels without paying for them.
Federal marshals seized Blast's business records and decoders in June 2001 under a court order obtained by Time Warner. The company alleged that Smith's decoder sales brought in $385,000 in the first half of 2001. When lawyers questioned Smith about selling decoders, he declined to answer, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, court papers say.
A federal judge in Minneapolis told Smith to stop selling cable decoders and ordered him to pay $60,000 in damages to Time Warner. Smith went on to other Internet ventures.
Anti-spam groups began to allege in 2002 that he was hijacking websites of other companies -- in effect taking control of their Internet addresses -- to send out unauthorized e-mails for a variety of products.
Across the Web, Chris Smith made enemies. An anonymous operator of one anti-spam website posted copies of what supposedly are Smith's passport and other documents. The Web page also describes Smith's online activities and lists his home and business addresses. A headline in large, red letters on the Web page says "BEWARE!!!"
An FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis last month said that Smith "appears to be notorious throughout the Internet world for illegal or questionable conduct since at least 2001... [selling] cable descramblers, fake college degrees, eBay auctions, human growth hormones, male enhancement drugs and hair growth products."
Through his father, Chris Smith declined to be interviewed for this article. His father spoke about his son's life, but said little about allegations in government documents that he helped his son disguise profits from the Internet drug business.
"I love my son. I'm proud of him. I know he didn't do anything illegal," he said. "That spamming stuff they talk about, sometimes Chris may have been a middle man helping other business people, but he never broke the law. I'm sure of it."
Smith's attorney, William Michael, said the FBI affidavit and other court documents distort the work of a legitimate businessman.
Operations offshore
America Online disagrees. In March, the Internet service provider sued Smith, alleging that he violated anti-spamming laws through a company called Advistech SA that he established in Costa Rica.
Like the Web, Smith's operation was not limited by national borders.
Some of Advistech's computer operations were based in New York City in 2003, at times operating under a fictitious name, according to the AOL lawsuit filed against Smith and others. Smith authorized wire transfers from a Costa Rica bank to finance some elements of the operation, the suit says.
Day after day, Advistech's computers spat out e-mails that directed potential customers to the operation's websites, court documents say. The e-mails offered generic Viagra, diplomas from Trinity Southern University based on person's "life experience," X-rated images of "the youngest girls on the net" and the Maximum X10 "all-in-one male sexual enhancement breakthrough," according to the AOL lawsuit.
During seven months in early 2003, Smith and his associates transmitted more than 1 billion spam e-mails to or through AOL's computer system, using Internet addresses that had been hijacked from a Delaware company, the lawsuit alleges.
Smith used several aliases, according to the lawsuit, including Dieter W. Doneit-Schmitz, Eric Smith and Bruce Jonson. The suit also alleged that he submitted false information to obtain a Minnesota driver's license under an alias. On the Internet, he created websites with the Rizler name.
Calling to complain
By 2003, Smith was advertising prescription drugs on the Internet, former employees said. He added a call center in Burnsville in August 2004.
"I worked night and day, 60 or 70 hours a week, and Chris expected people to work hard," said Sara Seikkula of St. Paul, who became customer service manager in January.
Seikkula said Smith's operation had 12 websites, but they all linked to Xpress Pharmacy Direct. Employees were told the businesses operated legally. The operation also used telemarketers who called potential prescription drug customers, she added.
"I don't know where the lists came from," said Seikkula, but business "went through the roof" after Smith obtained the customer names.
Some people got multiple calls, making them so angry that they called back to complain, Seikkula said.
Telemarketers could earn $1,000 or more per week, partly through commissions, she said. Chris Smith also pushed them to make calls, she added.
"Chris was basically a nice guy, but he expected you to work, keep making calls. He'd come up with ideas, and he'd expect you to go with it. You didn't say no," she said.
Complaints by some customers and former employees late last year led to the investigation by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, court documents say.
Xpress Pharmacy Direct allegedly offered a wide range of prescription medications, including addictive drugs, court papers say. Smith had neither a state pharmacist license nor a separate federal license required for narcotic medications.
Customers often paid inflated prices, court papers say. A 90-pill supply of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax cost government investigators $349.99, more than twice the price charged by a well-known Internet pharmacy.
The FBI estimates that Smith took in $18 million this year.
Xpress Pharmacy Direct didn't require customers to have prescriptions. Instead, a New Jersey doctor was paid $7 per prescription to sign at least 22,000 prescriptions, including many for hydrocodone, the narcotic ingredient in Vicodin, an FBI affidavit says. Orders based on these prescriptions were filled by two pharmacies in California and Oregon and sent to Xpress Pharmacy customers, the affidavit said.
Smith's attorney bristles at government descriptions of Smith's firm. Xpress Pharmacy merely "facilitated doctor-patient relationships and doctor-pharmacy situations in order to help patients. It was not a pharmacy," broke no laws and did not need a license, Michael said.
Smith's father said Chris ran a fast-growing, legitimate business. "Are those investigators after Chris just because he's successful, because he's made good money?" he asked. "Chris is too smart to make the kind of mistakes they say he made. He's just too brilliant."
Anita and the FBI
That's essentially what Chris' wife, Anita, told FBI agents when they arrived at the family's home on May 10, the same day his office was shut down, Scott Smith said.
Guns drawn, FBI agents pushed into Smith's posh Burnsville house, searching for evidence that his Internet prescription drug business was violating federal laws.
Scott Smith said that hours after the raid, Anita Smith offered this account of what happened. Chris Smith wasn't there, but Anita sat holding her 3-year-old son as agents searched the house.
An FBI agent asked Anita why she would stay with a man with Smith's history.
"Because I love him, and because he's the smartest man I ever met," Anita Smith said. "He could learn your job in a week."
The agent broke out in laughter.
Warren Wolfe is at wolfe@startribune.com
Star Tribune All rights reserved.
425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488 612) 673-4000
A web of trouble
Warren Wolfe, Star Tribune
In 1998, a few months after Chris Smith dropped out of Lakeville High School, his concerned father talked to him about the benefits of college -- and was startled by his son's reply.
"Dad, I made $69,000 online by 11 a.m. Why go to college?"
Over the next seven years, Christopher William Smith became known as a notorious Internet spammer nicknamed "Rizler," who, the FBI says, graduated to selling addictive drugs online and over the phone.
The golden-haired entrepreneur with a knack for computers was taking in $2 million a month by the time he was 25, enough to buy a string of luxury cars, including a Ferrari, a BMW and four Mercedes-Benzes, and to move into a $1.1 million house in Burnsville, court papers say.
For him, the Internet bubble of the late 1990s just kept expanding. At first he used the Internet to find leads for insurance companies, then filled e-mail boxes with billions of spam pitches for penis-enhancement products, cable television decoders and other products, the documents say.
Smith also leaped into the lucrative prescription drug market, selling addictive drugs such as Vicodin through his online pharmacy and a staff of 85 telemarketers, court papers say.
The bubble may finally have burst in May when federal agents raided his Burnsville company, Xpress Pharmacy Direct, shutting it down and seizing $4.2 million in assets. Court documents accuse Smith of fraud and money laundering, but no one has been charged with a crime.
From his start at age 10 selling popcorn and cotton candy at church fairs, Chris Smith has done well in business.
"I remember Chris sitting on my lap when he was one year old, trying to feed a floppy disk into my old Apple computer," said his father, Scott Smith, 55, of Lakeville.
He described his son as "brilliant but bored" by school. "Chris was raised knowing he could figure things out, knowing he could accomplish a lot with hard work," his father said.
"Chris is kind of like me, only smarter," said Smith, who has made and lost several million dollars himself.
In the 1970s and '80s, Scott Smith was a part owner of Minneapolis night clubs Scotties on Seventh, Graffitti's and Schiek's Cafe. He lost it all after he was critically injured in a car accident in 1985. Smith was divorced soon after that. He now owns Diaper Deck, a Lakeville company that is mainly responsible for introducing diaper-changing stations in public bathrooms.
Chris grew up splitting his time between his father's house on Lake Minnetonka and his mother's house on Crystal Lake in Burnsville, his father said. Chris Smith attended the Academy of Holy Angels, a Catholic high school in Richfield, but began skipping school, his father said.
Father and son then moved to Lakeville, where Chris switched to public school in January 1998 for his senior year. He didn't graduate.
He soon moved to Cannon Falls, Minn., where his dad had a Diaper Deck plant. Chris started a small business installing radios and other electronic equipment in cars, and soon discovered a new business, using Internet ads to seek out potential customers for insurance companies, his father said.
"He found he could do pretty well ... finding people who were looking for insurance and selling their names to insurance companies," his father said. "I was amazed. [The insurers] paid him $35 for a potential customer."
Chris Smith then turned to other Internet ventures -- and trouble was not far behind.
Web-based enemies
By March 2001, private investigators were staking out Chris' business in Cannon Falls. They worked for Time Warner, the cable television giant, which alleged that Chris Smith's new venture, Blast Marketing, sold cable TV decoders on the Internet to customers in New York City. The devices allow people to receive cable TV channels without paying for them.
Federal marshals seized Blast's business records and decoders in June 2001 under a court order obtained by Time Warner. The company alleged that Smith's decoder sales brought in $385,000 in the first half of 2001. When lawyers questioned Smith about selling decoders, he declined to answer, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, court papers say.
A federal judge in Minneapolis told Smith to stop selling cable decoders and ordered him to pay $60,000 in damages to Time Warner. Smith went on to other Internet ventures.
Anti-spam groups began to allege in 2002 that he was hijacking websites of other companies -- in effect taking control of their Internet addresses -- to send out unauthorized e-mails for a variety of products.
Across the Web, Chris Smith made enemies. An anonymous operator of one anti-spam website posted copies of what supposedly are Smith's passport and other documents. The Web page also describes Smith's online activities and lists his home and business addresses. A headline in large, red letters on the Web page says "BEWARE!!!"
An FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis last month said that Smith "appears to be notorious throughout the Internet world for illegal or questionable conduct since at least 2001... [selling] cable descramblers, fake college degrees, eBay auctions, human growth hormones, male enhancement drugs and hair growth products."
Through his father, Chris Smith declined to be interviewed for this article. His father spoke about his son's life, but said little about allegations in government documents that he helped his son disguise profits from the Internet drug business.
"I love my son. I'm proud of him. I know he didn't do anything illegal," he said. "That spamming stuff they talk about, sometimes Chris may have been a middle man helping other business people, but he never broke the law. I'm sure of it."
Smith's attorney, William Michael, said the FBI affidavit and other court documents distort the work of a legitimate businessman.
Operations offshore
America Online disagrees. In March, the Internet service provider sued Smith, alleging that he violated anti-spamming laws through a company called Advistech SA that he established in Costa Rica.
Like the Web, Smith's operation was not limited by national borders.
Some of Advistech's computer operations were based in New York City in 2003, at times operating under a fictitious name, according to the AOL lawsuit filed against Smith and others. Smith authorized wire transfers from a Costa Rica bank to finance some elements of the operation, the suit says.
Day after day, Advistech's computers spat out e-mails that directed potential customers to the operation's websites, court documents say. The e-mails offered generic Viagra, diplomas from Trinity Southern University based on person's "life experience," X-rated images of "the youngest girls on the net" and the Maximum X10 "all-in-one male sexual enhancement breakthrough," according to the AOL lawsuit.
During seven months in early 2003, Smith and his associates transmitted more than 1 billion spam e-mails to or through AOL's computer system, using Internet addresses that had been hijacked from a Delaware company, the lawsuit alleges.
Smith used several aliases, according to the lawsuit, including Dieter W. Doneit-Schmitz, Eric Smith and Bruce Jonson. The suit also alleged that he submitted false information to obtain a Minnesota driver's license under an alias. On the Internet, he created websites with the Rizler name.
Calling to complain
By 2003, Smith was advertising prescription drugs on the Internet, former employees said. He added a call center in Burnsville in August 2004.
"I worked night and day, 60 or 70 hours a week, and Chris expected people to work hard," said Sara Seikkula of St. Paul, who became customer service manager in January.
Seikkula said Smith's operation had 12 websites, but they all linked to Xpress Pharmacy Direct. Employees were told the businesses operated legally. The operation also used telemarketers who called potential prescription drug customers, she added.
"I don't know where the lists came from," said Seikkula, but business "went through the roof" after Smith obtained the customer names.
Some people got multiple calls, making them so angry that they called back to complain, Seikkula said.
Telemarketers could earn $1,000 or more per week, partly through commissions, she said. Chris Smith also pushed them to make calls, she added.
"Chris was basically a nice guy, but he expected you to work, keep making calls. He'd come up with ideas, and he'd expect you to go with it. You didn't say no," she said.
Complaints by some customers and former employees late last year led to the investigation by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, court documents say.
Xpress Pharmacy Direct allegedly offered a wide range of prescription medications, including addictive drugs, court papers say. Smith had neither a state pharmacist license nor a separate federal license required for narcotic medications.
Customers often paid inflated prices, court papers say. A 90-pill supply of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax cost government investigators $349.99, more than twice the price charged by a well-known Internet pharmacy.
The FBI estimates that Smith took in $18 million this year.
Xpress Pharmacy Direct didn't require customers to have prescriptions. Instead, a New Jersey doctor was paid $7 per prescription to sign at least 22,000 prescriptions, including many for hydrocodone, the narcotic ingredient in Vicodin, an FBI affidavit says. Orders based on these prescriptions were filled by two pharmacies in California and Oregon and sent to Xpress Pharmacy customers, the affidavit said.
Smith's attorney bristles at government descriptions of Smith's firm. Xpress Pharmacy merely "facilitated doctor-patient relationships and doctor-pharmacy situations in order to help patients. It was not a pharmacy," broke no laws and did not need a license, Michael said.
Smith's father said Chris ran a fast-growing, legitimate business. "Are those investigators after Chris just because he's successful, because he's made good money?" he asked. "Chris is too smart to make the kind of mistakes they say he made. He's just too brilliant."
Anita and the FBI
That's essentially what Chris' wife, Anita, told FBI agents when they arrived at the family's home on May 10, the same day his office was shut down, Scott Smith said.
Guns drawn, FBI agents pushed into Smith's posh Burnsville house, searching for evidence that his Internet prescription drug business was violating federal laws.
Scott Smith said that hours after the raid, Anita Smith offered this account of what happened. Chris Smith wasn't there, but Anita sat holding her 3-year-old son as agents searched the house.
An FBI agent asked Anita why she would stay with a man with Smith's history.
"Because I love him, and because he's the smartest man I ever met," Anita Smith said. "He could learn your job in a week."
The agent broke out in laughter.
Warren Wolfe is at wolfe@startribune.com
Star Tribune All rights reserved.
425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488 612) 673-4000
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
lg3d-core: Getting started with the Project Looking Glass Developer's Release
lg3d-core: Getting started with the Project Looking Glass Developer's Release: "Getting started with the Project Looking Glass Developer's Release "
Open Source Region Stuttgart
Open Source Region Stuttgart: "
Test Linux Desktop. Now!
You can now test the Linux operating system and desktop environment. It's as easy as ABC"
Test Linux Desktop. Now!
You can now test the Linux operating system and desktop environment. It's as easy as ABC"
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Diskeeper 9.0 Home Edition - vnunet.com
Diskeeper 9.0 Home Edition - vnunet.com: "Diskeeper 9.0 Home Edition"
Server-based computing - Part 1 - vnunet.com
Server-based computing - Part 1 - vnunet.com: "Server-based computing - Part 1
Hosting applications and desktops centrally on a remote server is becoming an increasingly viable option, but what are the benefits? We take a look in this two-part guide."
Hosting applications and desktops centrally on a remote server is becoming an increasingly viable option, but what are the benefits? We take a look in this two-part guide."
Building an Infrared Transmitter for Your PC | Hardware Secrets
Building an Infrared Transmitter for Your PC | Hardware Secrets: "Building an Infrared Transmitter for Your PC "
good page!
good page!
the 5-in-1 network admin's cable
the 5-in-1 network admin's cable: "the 5-in-1 network admin's cable"
IrcSpy & TorrentSpy Forum - Creating Your Own E-Mail Server
IrcSpy & TorrentSpy Forum - Creating Your Own E-Mail Server: "Creating Your Own E-Mail Server"
IRCSpy.com : The Most Advanced IRC Search Engine
IRCSpy.com : The Most Advanced IRC Search Engine: "PhotoShop: Transparent Gifs"
IrcSpy & TorrentSpy Forum - Keyboard Shortcuts
IrcSpy & TorrentSpy Forum - Keyboard Shortcuts: "
Windows= Display the Start menu
Windows + D= Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E= Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F= Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F= Display Search for computer
Windows + F1= Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R= Display Run dialog box
Windows + break= Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M= Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L= Lock the workstation
Windows + U= Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q= Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your PC
Windows key +
� + M = Minimize all open windows
� + Tab = Cycles through all open programs and taskbar buttons. Press ENTER to select.
� + Ctrl + Tab = Cycle through all open apps/games Taskbar buttons, Tray icons, Start Menu and
Quick Launch toolbars (press Right or Left arrows to cycle through Toolbar and Tray items)
� + Pause/Break = Open 'my computer' properties window.
� + Space = Scroll down one page at a time in Internet Explorer
� + Back Space = Scroll up one page at a time in Internet Explorer.
F1=Display Internet Explorer Help, or when in a dialog box, display context Help on an item
F11=Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the browser window
ALT+HOME=Go to your Home page
ALT+RIGHT ARROW=Go to the next page
ALT+LEFT ARROW OR BACKSPACE=Go to the previous page
SHIFT+F10 =Display a shortcut menu for a link
PAGE DOWN =Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments
HOME=BEGINNING OF DOCUMENT
END=END OF DOCUMENT
CTRL+F=Find on this page
CTRL+N=Open a new window
CTRL"
Windows= Display the Start menu
Windows + D= Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E= Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F= Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F= Display Search for computer
Windows + F1= Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R= Display Run dialog box
Windows + break= Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M= Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L= Lock the workstation
Windows + U= Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q= Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your PC
Windows key +
� + M = Minimize all open windows
� + Tab = Cycles through all open programs and taskbar buttons. Press ENTER to select.
� + Ctrl + Tab = Cycle through all open apps/games Taskbar buttons, Tray icons, Start Menu and
Quick Launch toolbars (press Right or Left arrows to cycle through Toolbar and Tray items)
� + Pause/Break = Open 'my computer' properties window.
� + Space = Scroll down one page at a time in Internet Explorer
� + Back Space = Scroll up one page at a time in Internet Explorer.
F1=Display Internet Explorer Help, or when in a dialog box, display context Help on an item
F11=Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the browser window
ALT+HOME=Go to your Home page
ALT+RIGHT ARROW=Go to the next page
ALT+LEFT ARROW OR BACKSPACE=Go to the previous page
SHIFT+F10 =Display a shortcut menu for a link
PAGE DOWN =Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments
HOME=BEGINNING OF DOCUMENT
END=END OF DOCUMENT
CTRL+F=Find on this page
CTRL+N=Open a new window
CTRL"
IrcSpy & TorrentSpy Forum - programs you might need
IrcSpy & TorrentSpy Forum - programs you might need: "(((I am giveing you a link for each website bellow)))
I have been geting people asking what do i need to open downloaded files well here are some of the prgrams you will need.
Alcohol 120%can create up to 31 virtual CD/DVD-ROM drives, allowing the user to play discs without the need for the original. It also allows users to copy CDs & DVDs to CD-R / CD-RW / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD-RAM / DVD+RW.
http://www.alcohol-software.com/
Daemon is like alcohol 120% you can mount the files as is.. http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/portal/portal.php
cue/bin
iso
ccd (CloneCD)
bwt (Blindwrite)
mds (Media Descriptor File)
cdi (Discjuggler)
nrg (Nero)
pdi (Instant CD/DVD)
b5t (BlindWrite)
Isobuster can create up to 31 virtual CD/DVD-ROM drives, allowing the user to play discs without the need for the original. It also allows users to copy CDs & DVDs to CD-R / CD-RW / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD-RAM / DVD+RW
http://www.cd-dvd-recovery.net/isobuster/
Nero
CD/DVD burning suite with a complete set of media tools
All-in-one solution to data, audio, video, photo, and backup
Make a photo CD, slide show, or DVD from home videos
Playback digital media files; archive song collection in MP3
Backup personal data; legally recode DVDs
http://ww2.nero.com/us/index.html
Winrar will extrack the following files
http://www.rarlab.com/
.RAR
.ZIP
.CAB
.ARJ
.LZH
.ACE
.Z-ZIP
.TAR
.GZIP
.UUE
.BZ2
.JAR
.ISO
.Z
There are other programs out there but this is what you should need i only use Winrar ,Isobuster and deam"
I have been geting people asking what do i need to open downloaded files well here are some of the prgrams you will need.
Alcohol 120%can create up to 31 virtual CD/DVD-ROM drives, allowing the user to play discs without the need for the original. It also allows users to copy CDs & DVDs to CD-R / CD-RW / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD-RAM / DVD+RW.
http://www.alcohol-software.com/
Daemon is like alcohol 120% you can mount the files as is.. http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/portal/portal.php
cue/bin
iso
ccd (CloneCD)
bwt (Blindwrite)
mds (Media Descriptor File)
cdi (Discjuggler)
nrg (Nero)
pdi (Instant CD/DVD)
b5t (BlindWrite)
Isobuster can create up to 31 virtual CD/DVD-ROM drives, allowing the user to play discs without the need for the original. It also allows users to copy CDs & DVDs to CD-R / CD-RW / DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD-RAM / DVD+RW
http://www.cd-dvd-recovery.net/isobuster/
Nero
CD/DVD burning suite with a complete set of media tools
All-in-one solution to data, audio, video, photo, and backup
Make a photo CD, slide show, or DVD from home videos
Playback digital media files; archive song collection in MP3
Backup personal data; legally recode DVDs
http://ww2.nero.com/us/index.html
Winrar will extrack the following files
http://www.rarlab.com/
.RAR
.ZIP
.CAB
.ARJ
.LZH
.ACE
.Z-ZIP
.TAR
.GZIP
.UUE
.BZ2
.JAR
.ISO
.Z
There are other programs out there but this is what you should need i only use Winrar ,Isobuster and deam"
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Friday, May 27, 2005
MSN - News - 'Green Acres' Star Eddie Albert Dies
MSN - News - 'Green Acres' Star Eddie Albert Dies: "'Green Acres' Star Eddie Albert Dies
May 27, 4:25 PM EST
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Eddie Albert, the actor best known as the constantly befuddled city slicker-turned-farmer in television's 'Green Acres,' has died. He was 99"
May 27, 4:25 PM EST
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Eddie Albert, the actor best known as the constantly befuddled city slicker-turned-farmer in television's 'Green Acres,' has died. He was 99"
Scott Houston - Play Piano in a Flash Lessons from Scott The Piano Guy Houston
Scott Houston - Play Piano in a Flash Lessons from Scott The Piano Guy Houston: "Lessons from Scott 'The Piano Guy' Houston"
Piano in a Flash
Piano in a Flash:
Piano in a Flash! Or, Play the Piano Without Taking Lessons!
"saw a program recently on PBS called 'Piano in a Flash with Scott the Piano Guy.' This guy made it look easy - and it is!"
Piano in a Flash! Or, Play the Piano Without Taking Lessons!
"saw a program recently on PBS called 'Piano in a Flash with Scott the Piano Guy.' This guy made it look easy - and it is!"
Thursday, May 26, 2005
DivX Digest - Software - Page 4
DivX Digest - Software - Page 4: "software for playing back and making DivX movies"
mini-itx.com - guide - ac3 output on epia
mini-itx.com - guide - ac3 output on epia: "Step by Step: EPIA 5.1 Digital Audio
Posted on March 4, 2003
The EPIA 5000 and 800 motherboards come with a dual purpose RCA Out and S/PDIF socket which can be used to play AC3 5.1 digital audio to a standard Dolby Digital amplifier. Increasingly, DivX and XviD encoded content is provided with AC3 sound. Here's how to get digital sound out of those DivXes and into your amplifier using just a standard phono cable.
1. Enable the RCA / S/PDIF selection jumper J11 on your motherboard to connect pins 3 and 4. This is what it should look like (it's the blue bit):
2. Make sure you have a video codec installed. In most cases this will be from http://www.divx.com.
3. Install the latest version of the open source AC3 filter from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3filter
4. Once installed, select the 'Use Waveout (Reboot Required)' from the AC3Filter program group.
5. Reboot.
6. Open the control panel and view it in classic mode. Double-click the 'AC3 Filter' icon.
7. In the Output section, Choose S/PDIF (the very last option) in the Speakers pull-down menu. Select OK.
(click image to enlarge)
8. Double-click the Speaker icon on the taskbar, if you have one. If you dont have one, enable it in the 'Sounds and Audio Devices' section of the control panel - then go back to this step.
9. Click on 'Advanced'.
10. Ensure 'S/PDIF-Out Enable' is checked.
11. Connect a phono cable between your EPIA and your amp. From here:
Into here... On our amp we used the CD Digital Input.
12. Load up your favourite AC3-enabled DivX player, and marvel at the splendour of 5.1 digital soun"
Posted on March 4, 2003
The EPIA 5000 and 800 motherboards come with a dual purpose RCA Out and S/PDIF socket which can be used to play AC3 5.1 digital audio to a standard Dolby Digital amplifier. Increasingly, DivX and XviD encoded content is provided with AC3 sound. Here's how to get digital sound out of those DivXes and into your amplifier using just a standard phono cable.
1. Enable the RCA / S/PDIF selection jumper J11 on your motherboard to connect pins 3 and 4. This is what it should look like (it's the blue bit):
2. Make sure you have a video codec installed. In most cases this will be from http://www.divx.com.
3. Install the latest version of the open source AC3 filter from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3filter
4. Once installed, select the 'Use Waveout (Reboot Required)' from the AC3Filter program group.
5. Reboot.
6. Open the control panel and view it in classic mode. Double-click the 'AC3 Filter' icon.
7. In the Output section, Choose S/PDIF (the very last option) in the Speakers pull-down menu. Select OK.
(click image to enlarge)
8. Double-click the Speaker icon on the taskbar, if you have one. If you dont have one, enable it in the 'Sounds and Audio Devices' section of the control panel - then go back to this step.
9. Click on 'Advanced'.
10. Ensure 'S/PDIF-Out Enable' is checked.
11. Connect a phono cable between your EPIA and your amp. From here:
Into here... On our amp we used the CD Digital Input.
12. Load up your favourite AC3-enabled DivX player, and marvel at the splendour of 5.1 digital soun"
GarageBand.com
GarageBand.com: "GarageBand Podcast Studio
Record. Mix. Publish. Featuring Bo Bice and 100,000's of podcast-ready mp3 downloads. "
Record. Mix. Publish. Featuring Bo Bice and 100,000's of podcast-ready mp3 downloads. "
Premise Wiring
Premise Wiring: "You�re surrounded. It�s under the floor, above the ceiling, in your walls.
It�s alive with energy, headed straight for your computer, and you probably don�t know a thing about it. Are you ready to wrestle the unseen demon?
Relax. It�s only premise wiring, and it�s nothing to worry about. Or is it?"
It�s alive with energy, headed straight for your computer, and you probably don�t know a thing about it. Are you ready to wrestle the unseen demon?
Relax. It�s only premise wiring, and it�s nothing to worry about. Or is it?"
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
d3 Production's Video Database
d3 Production's Video Database
Kim Delgado
Bob Larson
Life as a House
Year: 2001
Director: Irwin Winkler
Country: USA
Seen:
Length: 2 h 5 min (125 min)
Language: english
Mediatype: DVD
Owner: Jenna
Genres:
Comedy
Drama
Plot:
Unfilled and depressed, 45-year old architect George Monroe has lost sight of his dreams. Living in an inherited shack he had planned on rebuilding years ago, he works tirelessly at his job and remains estranged from his family: ex-wife Robin and maladjusted son Sam. But, in one day, the course of George's life changes forever. He is fired from his job and diagnosed with a terminal illness. Given only four months to live, George vows to accomplish his lifelong dream of building his dream house. He recruits his son's begrudging help for the summer. Over the course of the next few months, George attempts to mend his long-suffering relationship with the brooding and intense 16-year-old as they tear down the ramshackle shack and rebuild a monument to his dreams. The much maligned eyesore is transformed. Meanwhile, next-door neighbor Colleen engages in some free-spirited activities of her own while her daughter Alyssa helps to brighten Sam's summer. Finally, it is Robin who begins to see a change in George and feels herself drawn back into the life of her longtime ex. Together Robin and Sam help George fulfill his goal as he rebuilds his house (and his life) before it is too late.
Kim Delgado
Bob Larson
Life as a House
Year: 2001
Director: Irwin Winkler
Country: USA
Seen:
Length: 2 h 5 min (125 min)
Language: english
Mediatype: DVD
Owner: Jenna
Genres:
Comedy
Drama
Plot:
Unfilled and depressed, 45-year old architect George Monroe has lost sight of his dreams. Living in an inherited shack he had planned on rebuilding years ago, he works tirelessly at his job and remains estranged from his family: ex-wife Robin and maladjusted son Sam. But, in one day, the course of George's life changes forever. He is fired from his job and diagnosed with a terminal illness. Given only four months to live, George vows to accomplish his lifelong dream of building his dream house. He recruits his son's begrudging help for the summer. Over the course of the next few months, George attempts to mend his long-suffering relationship with the brooding and intense 16-year-old as they tear down the ramshackle shack and rebuild a monument to his dreams. The much maligned eyesore is transformed. Meanwhile, next-door neighbor Colleen engages in some free-spirited activities of her own while her daughter Alyssa helps to brighten Sam's summer. Finally, it is Robin who begins to see a change in George and feels herself drawn back into the life of her longtime ex. Together Robin and Sam help George fulfill his goal as he rebuilds his house (and his life) before it is too late.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
View Job Postings - Ext. App.
Job Summary
Requisition #:
210201
Standard Hours:
40.00
Job Title:
Help Desk Anly-Intermed
Location: Benefits:
Full-Time
Mpls - Willow Street
Business Unit: Union Position?:
System Office
N
Department:
I S - Technical Support Svcs
Qualifications
2 yrs college, tech school, or equiv exp in IS. 2 yrs in customer serv or helpdesk. 1 yr using problem mgmt system. Ability to triage, analyze and resolve technical problems over the phone. Ability to log information into prob. mgmt. system during call and navigate knowledgebase. Accuracy in a high call volume environment, utilizing PC and telephone functions.
Pay,Benefits, & Work Schedule
Salary: Minimum: $16.92 per hour Day/Shift/Hours: Every weekend and some weekday shifts
Unstoppable Copier 1.9
Unstoppable Copier 1.9: "Unstoppable Copier 1.9 [ 30 diggs]
This program is great for recovering files from scratched CD's or defective floppy/hard disks. Normally when your computer is unable to copy a file from a damaged disk it will abort and delete the portition of the file it has copied. This program however will continue to copy the file right to the end."
This program is great for recovering files from scratched CD's or defective floppy/hard disks. Normally when your computer is unable to copy a file from a damaged disk it will abort and delete the portition of the file it has copied. This program however will continue to copy the file right to the end."
Welcome to the Python Apocrypha
Welcome to the Python Apocrypha: "You can't always try before you buy, so often the next best thing is to hear from those who have already bought. You can find a Python 2.1 Bible book review here."
PC Assembly Language
"The tutorial has extensive coverage of interfacing assembly and C code and so might be of interest to C programmers who want to learn about how C works under the hood. All the examples use the free NASM (Netwide) assembler."
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Monday, May 23, 2005
Amazon.com: Music: Choose Love
Amazon.com: Music: Choose Love: "Track Listings
1. Fading in Fading Out
2. Give Me Back The Beat
3. Oh My Lord
4. Hard To Be True
5. Some People
6. Wrong All The Time
7. Dont Hang Up
8. Choose Love
9. Me And You
10. Satisfied
11. The Turnaround
12. Free Drinks "
1. Fading in Fading Out
2. Give Me Back The Beat
3. Oh My Lord
4. Hard To Be True
5. Some People
6. Wrong All The Time
7. Dont Hang Up
8. Choose Love
9. Me And You
10. Satisfied
11. The Turnaround
12. Free Drinks "
Amazon.com: Music: Choose Love
Amazon.com: Music: Choose Love:
"Free Stream: Listen to an audio stream of 'Oh My Lord,' 'Hard To Be True,' 'Don't Hang Up,' 'Choose Love,' and 'Free Drinks' Listen now. (Windows Media Player) "
http://images.amazon.com/media/i3d/01/ringo-starr.asx
"Free Stream: Listen to an audio stream of 'Oh My Lord,' 'Hard To Be True,' 'Don't Hang Up,' 'Choose Love,' and 'Free Drinks' Listen now. (Windows Media Player) "
http://images.amazon.com/media/i3d/01/ringo-starr.asx
Karen's Power Tools Site
Karen develops really useful Windows utilities, keeps the older ones update, and makes them free for everyone to download. She also has a great newsletter, I would highly recommend signing up for it.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Kevin Rose Leaves G4
Kevin Rose has just announced via his site: kevinrose.com that he has been released from his contract with G4. Friday, May 27th is his last day! Help Support his their cause!
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, May 19, 2005
My Learning
My Learning:
"My Learning provides information and access to courses that you own"
must be log in passport "d" account
"My Learning provides information and access to courses that you own"
must be log in passport "d" account
How BitTorrent Works?
BitTorrent is a protocol that enables fast downloading of large files using minimum Internet bandwidth. BitTorrent costs nothing to use and includes no spyware or pop-up advertising.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
HOWTO: Save nearly any multimedia file from the web to your hard drive
A helpful guide to make saving those pesky embedded movie files to your hard drive for future playing easier. Spoiler: Firefox's Page Info window
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Denver Post to offer Podcasts of the daily news
You can click every weekday at 7 a.m. for an MP3 audio file of all the day's top headlines, or each day's top headlines by section, and either listen to them right at your computer or download them onto your computer and then to your iPod or other MP3 player. Hopefully more sites will start doing this, it's free for now.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Showtimes at Kerasotes Theatres
Showtimes at Kerasotes Theatres: "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith152 minSRD/DTS
Thurday
12:01 AM
� 12:02 AM
� 12:03 AM
� 12:09 AM
� 12:10 AM
� 12:11 AM
�10:30 AM
� 11:00 AM
� 11:30 AM
� 12:00 PM
� 12:30 PM
� 1:00 PM
� 2:00 PM
� 2:30 PM
� 3:00 PM
� 3:30 PM
� 4:00 PM � 4:30 PM � 5:30 PM � 6:05 PM � 6:30 PM � 7:00 PM � 7:30 PM � 8:00 PM � 9:00 PM � 9:30 PM � 9:45 PM � 10:15 PM � 10:45 PM � 11:15 PM"
Thurday
12:01 AM
� 12:02 AM
� 12:03 AM
� 12:09 AM
� 12:10 AM
� 12:11 AM
�10:30 AM
� 11:00 AM
� 11:30 AM
� 12:00 PM
� 12:30 PM
� 1:00 PM
� 2:00 PM
� 2:30 PM
� 3:00 PM
� 3:30 PM
� 4:00 PM � 4:30 PM � 5:30 PM � 6:05 PM � 6:30 PM � 7:00 PM � 7:30 PM � 8:00 PM � 9:00 PM � 9:30 PM � 9:45 PM � 10:15 PM � 10:45 PM � 11:15 PM"
Intuit Information Technology Solutions: Track-It! Demo Download
Intuit Information Technology Solutions: Track-It! Demo Download:
"Learn more about Intuit Track-It! - the world's leading help desk & IT asset management solution:"
"Learn more about Intuit Track-It! - the world's leading help desk & IT asset management solution:"
Ebert & Roeper, Reviews for the Weekend of May 14 - 15, 2005
Ebert & Roeper, Reviews for the Weekend of May 14 - 15, 2005: "STAR WARS EPISODE III: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH
(early)
Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson"
javascript:popAudio2('050516-star_wars_revenge_sith','STAR WARS EPISODE III: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH');
(early)
Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson"
javascript:popAudio2('050516-star_wars_revenge_sith','STAR WARS EPISODE III: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH');
Free Access to Novell Linux Desktop 9 Learning Center
Novell is offering online linux desktop training modules for free for a limited time. (thru March 2006)
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Domed Computer & PC badges by ScotGold Products.
Domed Computer & PC badges by ScotGold Products.: "Badges, labels and decals which are used by the electronics, computer, automotive and giftware industries to brand products in an inexpensive and distinctive manner.
Personalised merchandise including Linux, Daemon and Debian giftware.
Most of our products can be customised with your logo or message."
Personalised merchandise including Linux, Daemon and Debian giftware.
Most of our products can be customised with your logo or message."
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Absolute Beginner's Video Series to Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions
This video series is designed specifically for individuals who are interested in learning the basics of how to create applications using Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition and Visual C# 2005 Express Edition.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Tater Tot Casserole Kid Friendly | Ground Beef Recipes @ CDKitchen.com :: it's what's cooking online!
Tater Tot Casserole Kid Friendly | Ground Beef Recipes @ CDKitchen.com :: it's what's cooking online!: "1/2 cup Onion -chopped
1 can Cream of Celery Soup -undiluted
1 pound Ground beef
1 (16oz.) package Tater Tots
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a shallow 2qt. baking dish. Brown onion and ground beef. Drain fat. Spread in baking dish. Pour soup over meat. Arrange Tater Tots over top, so that top is completely covered. Bake 35-40 minutes."
1 can Cream of Celery Soup -undiluted
1 pound Ground beef
1 (16oz.) package Tater Tots
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a shallow 2qt. baking dish. Brown onion and ground beef. Drain fat. Spread in baking dish. Pour soup over meat. Arrange Tater Tots over top, so that top is completely covered. Bake 35-40 minutes."
Kraft Catalina Salad Dressing | K - Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes| Salad Dressing Recipes @ CDKitchen.com :: it's what's cooking online!
Kraft Catalina Salad Dressing | K - Copy Cat Restaurant Recipes| Salad Dressing Recipes @ CDKitchen.com :: it's what's cooking online!:
Kraft_Catalina_Salad_Dressing
"1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 onion, grated
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup salad oil
Beat the first 6 ingredients together well. Gradually beat in oil. Refrigerate. "
Kraft_Catalina_Salad_Dressing
"1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 onion, grated
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup salad oil
Beat the first 6 ingredients together well. Gradually beat in oil. Refrigerate. "
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