LMD Productions a fait appel à huit réalisateurs de renom en charge de réaliser chacun un court métrage sur les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement.

A travers des fictions de 8 à 15 minutes, LMD Productions leur a donné carte blanche pour partager leur vision sur les enjeux liés aux OMD :

• Réduire l’extrême pauvreté et la faim (réalisé par ABDERRAHMANE SISSAKO)/assurer l’éducation primaire pour tous (GAEL GARCIA BERNAL)/promouvoir l’égalité des sexes (MIRA NAIR)/réduire la mortalité infantile (GUS VAN SANT)/améliorer la santé maternelle (JAN KOUNEN)/combattre le VIH (GASPAR NOE)/assurer un environnement durable (JANE CAMPION) et un partenariat mondial pour le développement (WIM WENDERS).

Gael Garcia Bernal - "La lettre"

Ces huit réalisateurs se sont mobilisés afin de sensibiliser l’opinion mondiale à la lutte montre la pauvreté.

Attendus avec impatience, les films seront visibles sur les écrans à partir du 5 février 2010.

OMD oder Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark  ist eine britische Popgruppe von der Wirral Halbinsel im Nordwesten Englands, die 1978 von Andy McCluskey und Paul Humphreys gegründet wurde und die eine Fülle von herausragenden Songs geschrieben und gesungen hat, von denen mein absoluter Favorit  das hier vorgestellte “Maid of Orleans” ist.  Der Song wurde zur weltweit meistverkauften Single des Jahres 1982.
Sehen Sie hier das Musikvideo:

The Friends of Meols Park put on a ‘Sparks In The Park’ event for the local and surrounding communities on Sunday 8th November 2009, when Fun & Fireworks were the order of the day. The weather was really kind to us especially as in the days leading up to the event the weather had been horrendous.The fun started off at 2pm with Childrens Fairground Rides,Bouncy Castles , Slides,Swing Boats and Refreshments galore with Chips,Burgers,Hot Dogs,Candy Floss and of course the superb Mulled Wine made by Rachel and John. 7 Waves 92.1 Community Radio set up in the Marquee to keep us entertained with some great music. They set up beside the Beer and Wine tables at the request of Brian.(only joking) Elaine and her helpers were also in the marquee selling chocolate apples and glow in the dark bracelets to raise funds for the Rainbows. The lucky winner who got to activate the VIP plunger was Alan Scott from Meols. We had to delay the start of the Firework Display as it didn’t get completely dark until 5.55pm but it was well worth the wait. Heres to next years display on the 7th November 2010. Don’t miss it!

Friends of Meols Park Wirrals Champion Team of the Year 2009

by Jane Clare, Birkenhead News

OUR very own Wirral community champions joined others from across the North west last Friday when they were toasted as heroes. For the first time the Wirral News was represented in the Scottish Power/Trinity Mirror Your Champions Awards. Community champions gathered for the red carpet treatment at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chester as glowing tributes were paid to those unsung and selfless community stalwarts who have given so much to our region.Young and old heroes from towns, villages, schools and community organisations mingled with local celebrities, MPs, civic dignitories and representatives from Scottish Power and our sister publisher, Trinity Mirror Cheshire.
Carl Wood Trinity Mirror Cheshire publishing director reminded guests that a champion, by definition is “An ardent defender or supporter of a cause or another person.”He added: “We are very proud to be associated with and support this fantastic initiative. It would not be possible without the champions and tonight we are celebrating the achievements of some very special people.

Scottish Power have been proud co-sponsors of the award which has paid tribute to some extraordinary and remarkable characters.Raymond Jack managing director of energy retail for Scottish Power explained: “We are genuinely proud to be associated with this event. The event shines on the vast amount of charitable work being done in the area and the people that make a real difference in the community.”Special guests of the evening included ITV presenter Trevor Green who compered and Snooker Champion and Strictly Come Dancing star Willie Thorne.The snooker star said: “The world today is a very strange place which is why I am so honoured to be here. It’s great to be talking about and listening to champions.”

Doar ce s-a terminat piesa care a facut ca mancarea sa intre bine tare. Ea este una care trebuie sa va faca si voua mancarea la fel de …. gustoasa!

si acum doar ce s-a terminat

6 november 2009, 20u30, sportpaleis antwerpen; de 25e editie van Night of the Proms begint voor de zoveelste keer dit jaar.

Ik ben een trouwe klant bij NotP. Er is altijd ontzettend veel sfeer, de artiesten zijn misschien niet altijd supersuperbekend ( denk maar aan de relatief onbekende virtuozen die ons elk jaar met verstomming slaan), maar elk jaar is het er wel BOENK op!

En voor dit jaar, voor de 25e editie, had ik nog net dat beetje meer verwacht. Een feesteditie, zeg maar.

Met bekende namen als Roxette, OMD, Toots Thielemans en die een van Within Temptation ( Sharon dingske), was de affiche al om van te smullen. Voor oudere mensen. Mensen van 1 à 2 generaties hoger. Niet voor mensen zoals mij.

Begrijp me nu niet verkeerd, ik vond het wel goed! OMD’s liedje Enola Gay is wel een serieuze feesthit en Roxette’s Listen to your heart was een meezingnummer ( of Clouseaumomentje zoals Axl Peleman het zo graag noemt).
Il Novencento vind ik ook geweldig! Die klassieke muziek werkt altijd fantastisch goed bij de modernere nummers. En die Katona-broers; die konden nogal eens tokkelen op hun gitaar zeg! Daar kan ik heus nog wat van leren!

Maar of ik het zo goed vond als anderen jaren? Neen. Er waren geen kippevelmomenten bij zoals vorig jaar, waar Sinead O’Connor zowaar iedereen in het Sportpaleis liet zwijgen en luisteren. Er waren geen explosieve artiesten zoals James Brown en Ike Turner van een paar jaar terug, die iedereen in vuur en vlam zetten.
Enfin. Toch niet naar mijn mening.

Eén ding moet ik wel zeggen. Toots Thielemans is een schatje patatje! 86 à 87 jaar is hij, geloof ik. Maar die man was, naar mijn gevoel, een veel groter kanon dan Roxette of OMD. En dat duet met John Miles, wel, het was af! Misschien wel mijn persoonlijk hoogtepunt..

Volgend jaar zal ik er dus wel terug staan, hoor. Maar gewoon, met iets lagere verwachtingen dan anders. Sorry!

If you were listening to popular music in the 1980s, you’ve probably heard a few of OMD’s pop songs from various soundtracks. But they were oh so much more!! Come find out as THE FA THEMEPARK presents A TRIBUTE TO OMD, now featured on MIXCLOUD. Hear some rare B-Sides, Cover Songs, and the boys themselves during an early 1980s interview.

A Tribute to OMD

Changement climatique – Faits et chiffres – Conférence des Nations Unies sur le Changement Climatique COP15 Copenhague.

Ici en Inde la position n’avolue pas…

“Depuis le début des négociations sur le climat, New Delhi proclame que les pays riches, qui ont la plus grande responsabilité historique dans l’accroissement de l’effet de serre, doivent réduire fortement leurs émissions et transférer des technologies propres aux pays pauvres. Le développement des pays émergents, comme l’Inde, ne devrait pas être contraint par de nouvelles règles sur leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre.”

One of the best movies of the 80’s …. Thanks John Hughes! RIP. Also, thanks to OMD or ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK for the lovely tune. Reminds me of better times…

Film Version

More Information on OMD or Official Web Site

The premiere of the 25th Night of the Proms edition in Antwerp(B), with Roxette, Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation), Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark, Toots Thielemans, Peter and Zoltan Katona, John Miles and more was highly appreciated! There are some very small issues that need some attention, but it was really a great show! Although it was very stress-full sometimes with more than 20 photographers on a small place between the catwalk and the crowd! But hey… that’s part of the job! No?

No more words… just enjoy the pictures… maybe you can hear the music already!

And off course many thanks to Bernard!

A OMD Soluções para Ouvidorias realizou nos dias 14 a 16 de outubro de 2009, em Florianópolis-SC, a décima edição do Curso de Capacitação e Certificação em Ouvidoria, em parceria com a Associação Brasileira de Ouvidores – Secção Santa Catarina (ABO-SC).

Em cinco anos de parceria mais de 500 profissionais já foram capacitados, com mais de 200 instituições participantes das áreas pública e privada de todos os estados do país.

O evento reuniu 32 ouvidores de organizações públicas e privadas procedentes de 11 unidades da federação, permitindo uma ampla troca de experiências entre os participantes. O curso abordou assuntos pertinentes ao dia-a-dia das ouvidorias com o objetivo de preparar o ouvidor e sua equipe para os desafios no desempenho desta função, entre eles:

- Motivação, atendimento e virtudes profissionais
- A excelência no atendimento e a fala do Ouvidor
- A Ouvidoria a serviço da melhoria da gestão das organizações
- Ética, mediação e solução de conflitos em Ouvidoria
- Os direitos e a defesa dos consumidores no âmbito público e privado   

A equipe de ministrantes é formada por especialistas, mestres e doutores com formação específica nas áreas de conhecimento objeto do curso.  Ao final do evento foi aplicado o exame de certificação, cujo conteúdo atende às exigências do Banco Central do Brasil para certificação de ouvidores de instituições financeiras e afins. Os certificados foram expedidos e registrados pela Associação Brasileira de Ouvidores (ABO/SC) e OMD Soluções para Ouvidorias, entidades de reconhecida capacidade técnica e atuação exclusiva na área de ouvidoria.

INSTITUIÇÕES PARTICIPANTES:
Banco CNH Capital SA
Caixa de Assistência dos Servidores do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul – CASSEMS
Centrais Elétricas do Norte do Brasil S/A – ELETRONORTE
Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais do Rio de Janeiro
Concessionária Nascentes das Gerais
Conseg Administradora de Consórcios Ltda.
Conselho Regional de Engenharia, Arquitetura e Agronomia de Minas Gerais – CREA-MG
Departamento Estadual de Trânsito do Mato Grosso do Sul – DETRAN/MS
Empresa Brasileira de Infra-Estrutura Aeroportuária – INFRAERO
Fundação do Meio Ambiente de Santa Catarina – FATMA
Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre – RS
Instituto de Metrologia de Santa Catarina – INMETRO/SC
Instituto de Previdência e Assistência dos Servidores do Estado do Espírito Santo – IPAJM
Kredilig S/A Crédito, Financiamento e Investimento
Ouvidoria Geral do Estado do Espírito Santo
Prefeitura Municipal de Araxá – MG
Prefeitura Municipal de Itu – SP
Prefeitura Municipal de Palhoça – SC
Prefeitura Municipal de São José dos Pinhais – PR
Prefeitura Municipal de Taboão da Serra – SP
Secretaria de Estado da Mulher do Maranhão
Secretaria de Estado do Desenvolvimento Regional da Grande Florianópolis
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS
Universidade Positivo – UP
Universidade Tiradentes – UNIT

fonte: http://www.omd.com.br/index.php?page=noticia&id=352

“This next band…doesn’t have a drummer!!” So intoned a breathless Dick Clark in 1984 during a broadcast of his American hot 100 countdown radio show. We were transfixed. What could that mean? To a 13 year old who was just discovering music and for whom pop or rock music meant a guitar, a bass, drums, a singer and maybe a keyboard. What was this non-drummer lunacy?? As it turned out he was talking about Depeche Mode who were enjoying their first North American mainstream success with “People are People”. Clark was positively verkempt at the notion. To young teen Softsynth’s ears it sure sounded like they had drums in there, perhaps Clark was simply insane. It seemed a reasonable conclusion.

Little did we know we were already in love with the sound of the drum machine. The Eurythmics’ “Here Comes the Rain Again” was driven by the most awesome drum sounds we had yet heard. Thomson Twins’ “Wish You Were Here” was similarly driven forward by a soft, metronome-like beat that sounded somehow…cooler than traditional drums.

Shortly after that we purchased O.M.D.’s 1980 self titled debut and it started to make more sense. (Bear in mind this was 1984 – we didn’t have the interwebs to consult for quick answers to the questions of the day…). This, clearly was not a set of drums keeping the beat. This was something…other.

In 2009 the drum machine (by which we also refer beats rendered by softsynths and programmed drums in general) is, perhaps more than ever looked upon as something alien, something “less” than. Even electronic bands who use programmed drums in the studio, often to great effect, feel the need for “real” drums for live shows (see: Depeche Mode, MESH, De/Vision, Goldfrapp, Lady GaGa, many others). Why has it gotten a bad rap? Are drums sacrosanct? Is it the need for the drum solo to denote a real rock show? Are electronic drum pads just so uncool that only a big-ass full set of skins that would do Rush proud will suffice in this age?

The main reason Softsynth is a fan of the drum machine is the sound one can get from it. While a traditional kit can produce awesome fills, solos, and other imperfections that lend a realness to a song one may not be able to get from a programmed sequence, it can produce one essential sound. Now that sound can be adjusted with dampeners, with using different snares or toms, and other manipulations but ultimately it’s one core sound. Programmed percussion can produce any sound in the world built into a beat (Imogen Heap does this beautifully often using voice samples as a percussive device) and that is wonderfully freeing. It can produce a sound truly unique and can colour the outer edges of a song in a way one can 0nly get using this tool. And even with that freedom to experiment with sound the inherent sound of the drum machine is something magical in itself. One cannot help but hear a classic Kraftwerk song and not feel transported back in time by the sound collage they were able to create, even with the rudimentary technology available. In a book on Depeche Mode published in the mid 80’s the percussive sound they achieved on their early material was describes as “the resonance of a pencil eraser tapping against headphones”, which is ridiculously evocative and accurate and yet that’s not a bad thing. That is a sound so associated with that era that many bands like Nothern Kind and Venus Hum work hard to emulate even in 2009. It’s a sound of an era. A sound that kept perfect time with a soft padding or a tinny echo and one that is unmistakenly electronic.

The notion of programmed drums has come a long way from the 1930’s when the Rhythmicon and later the thematic programmed beats (bossa nova, swing, etc) which eventually accompanied most popular organs by the 60’s were the order of the day. From the late 60’s Roland adaptations on the concept, used by Can on Tago Mago in the early 70’s,  to the programmable samplers of the 80’s, to MIDI later that decade the drum machine has played a key role in the development of modern music. It’s an instrument onto itself, no longer content to be seen as a replacement instrument. It’s not a sub for a drum kit, it is what it is, a fully realized part of the musicscape itself. Without it there would be no hip hop as we know it, no dance music, no true electronic music, no trip hop movement, and no Kills. We would be the worse for it.

Softsynth celebrates this key component to the electronic scene and says to the electro bands of the day, “let your MIDI hang out! No one’s judging.”

Online radio industry magazine Radio Business Report recently polled key network radio supervisors around the country to get their perspective on the 2010 upfront. RBR’s Carl Marcucci asked each person to discuss their ad spends on streaming/digital media as well, and those answers were very upbeat.

Horizon’s Maja Mijatovic, who spends for Geico as well as other clients, gave the most positive feedback, saying her agency’s spend will be “much stronger than 2009.  Sellers have been working diligently in providing interesting solutions which in turn peaked agency/clients’ interest.  Overall bringing more accountability to the overall audio buy.  Excellent job on the part of the sellers.” OMD’s Natalie Swed Stone noted that dollars from that shop will increase as it (Internet radio) “becomes more mainstream.” Kim Vasey of MediaEdge and Eileen Casey of Zenith both indicated that spending levels will increase to match a growing audience and more digital offerings.

I contacted Brian Benedik of Katz360, one of the firms responsible for developing Internet radio dollars at these agencies, to get his perspective on network radio dollars moving to Internet radio. He said they’re definitely seeing a move to invest more dollars into online radio. “They have seen the growth on the consumer side,… the emerging mobile audio consumption… It’s become more mainstream and they want their clients aligned with it,” says Benedik, adding that some network buyers who have been reluctant to put dollars into Internet radio earlier are influenced by what others are doing as well as by their clients’ interest.

Satellite radio and HD Radio did not fare so well in Marcucci’s poll. While some indicated that spends on satellite radio will remain the same next year, no one showed much interest in investing in HD Radio, with Swed Stone noting that it “hasn’t achieved critical mass.”

Internet radio has taken several giant steps this year, including arriving at a uniform standard for audience measurement that makes it easier for agencies to recommend it. At the same time, the medium benefited from the leap of streaming radio to mobile devices such as iPhone and Blackberry, increasing public awareness and interest, and grabbing the attention of advertisers and their agencies. Combined with years of groundwork, these factors have provided momentum that should help grow the flow of dollars to Internet radio.

BBC4 in the UK recently aired the documentary SYNTH BRITANNIA and it was quite good. Here’s what the press release says…

In the late Seventies small pockets of electronic artists such as The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle were inspired by Kraftwerk and J G Ballard to dream of the sound of the future against the backdrop of bleak, high-rise Britain.

Gary Numan’s 1979 appearance on Top Of The Pops heralded the invention of synthpop, which would provide the soundtrack as Britain entered a new, ruthless era in the Eighties.

Depeche Mode, four lads from Basildon, came to embody the new sound, while post-punk bands such as Ultravox, Soft Cell, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and Yazoo took the synth from the pages of the NME and onto the front cover of Smash Hits.

By 1983 the Pet Shop Boys and New Order were pointing to where the future of electronic music lay – in dance.

Contributors to Synth Britannia include Philip Oakey, Vince Clarke, Martin Gore, Bernard Sumner, Gary Numan and Neil Tennant.

Featured music and bands in the documentary…
Depeche Mode — New Life
Wendy Carlos — William Tell
Wendy Carlos — Clockwork Orange Main Title
Kraftwerk — Autobahn
The Clash — White Riot
he Normal — Tvod
The Normal — Warm Leatherette
The Future — 4 Jg
The Human League — Being Boiled
Donna Summer — I Feel Love
Cabaret Voltaire — Seconds Too Late
Cabaret Voltaire — Nag Nag Nag
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Messages
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Enola Gay
Joy Division — Atmosphere
John Foxx — Underpass
Throbbing Gristle — Still Walking
Throbbing Gristle — Hot on the Heals of Love
Fad Gadget — Back to Nature
Silicon Teens — Memphis Tennessee
Gary Numan — Are Friends Electric?
Gary Numan — Cars
Visage — Fade to Grey
The Flying Lizards — Money
Depeche Mode — New Life
Depeche Mode — Just Can’t Get Enough
The Human League — Don’t You Want Me
Heaven 17 — Penthouse & Pavement
Cabaret Voltaire — Landslide
Soft Cell — Tainted Love
Yazoo — Only You
Yazoo — Don’t Go
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Maid of Orleans
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams
Ultravox — Vienna
Kraftwerk — The Model
Depeche Mode — Everything Counts
Depeche Mode — Master and Servant
Pet Shop Boys — West End Girls
New Order — Ceremony
New Order — Blue Monday
Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder — Together in Electric Dreams

Also, after the doc, BBC4 aired a collection of concert songs (most look to be from the UK show The Old Grey Whistle Test).

Here is a run down of the songs shown….
Roxy Music – Do the Strand
Tubeway Army – Are ‘Friends’ Electric-
Sparks – Beat the Clock
The Human League – The Path of Least Resistance
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Messages
Ultravox – Vienna
Depeche Mode – New Life
New Order – Temptation
Soft Cell – Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
Japan – Ghosts
Yazoo – Don’t Go
Tears for Fears – Mad World
Eurythmics – Love is a Stranger
Heaven 17 – Temptation
Howard Jones – What Is Love?
Pet Shop Boys – Opportunities

Those of you in the UK can view the show via the BBC’s player on their site. Those of us outside the UK will have to find alternative ways to view it.

I’m in Glasgow, Scotland, and I just had the opportunity to watch the debut screening of Synth Britannia on BBC Four tonight!

It’s very well done and utterly brilliant. It’s a well financed, respectful film that traces the evolution of its subject matter in a full 90 minutes, starting really from the scene created by The Human League and Cabaret Voltaire in 1978 to the debut of the Pet Shop Boys in 1984. It stretches a little earlier to mark some of the influences widely respected by UK synth bands, particularly the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange, the bands Kraftwerk and Roxy Music (to a lesser extent), and the novel Crash by JG Ballard.

From there, it kicks off a wonderfully told interweaving of separate pockets of synthpop or synth-driven bands across the United Kingdom popping up in the late ’70s. The major narrators and thus characters of the piece quickly become Phil Oakey of The Human League, Martyn Ware of Heaven 17, Gary Numan, Andy McCluskey of OMD, and Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode and Yazoo–with Richard Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire serving as sort of a dark contrast to a lot of the work the other bands were doing.

Along the way, we also have great conversations with the likes of Bernard Sumner of New Order, John Foxx and Midge Ure (both about Ultravox and their other work), Andrew Fletcher of Depeche Mode, David Ball of Soft Cell, and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys as well as Daniel Miller of Mute Records and others.

Two things that really stand out in my mind at the moment is the mad respect the document gives to OMD, who were incredibly prolific and generated a massive amount of catchy and terrific tunes. McCluskey is a great storyteller and you really warm to his anecdotes and pontifications on the times. (Regarding, the misinformed concept that synthesizers made making music easy from critical music journalists “If there were a hit single button the thing, I would have pressed it every opportunity that I could.”)

You also really get the impact of what an amazing bolt of enlightening Gary Numan represented, breaking through from a punk band to a full-blown synth sensation with “Are Friends Electric?”, demonstrating that synthesizers could make hit records and putting everyone inside and outside of the music world on notice. Detractors ravaged Numan so badly in his early years that it contributed to an early retirement for the crimes of actually wanting to be a pop star and wanting to make great synthpop. (Thankfully, his retirement was short but unfortunately he never fully embraced synthesizers as much again.)

My brief criticisms? The Eurythmics are mentioned only briefly with a reference to the success of “Sweet Dreams Are Made of These.” And they totally avoided New Romanticism, leaving zero mention of great synth-driven bands like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet and only the briefest mention of Visage and their hit “Fade to Grey.”

All in all, Synth Britannia was an amazing piece of work by the BBC. Bravo!

Tesco is in talks with agencies ahead of a review of its £80 million UK media planning and buying account.  The supermarket giant has approached several networks regarding its media arrangements, with a formal pitch expected to start after the Christmas period.  Tesco signed a contract with its 20-year incumbent, Initiative, in November last year after a fraught period that saw the retailer meet with agencies understood to include MediaCom, OMD, ZenithOptimedia and Arena BLM.

However, a formal pitch was never called. At the time, Initiative declined to reveal how long the new contract would last. Tesco’s recent UK ad campaigns, created by The Red Brick Road, have featured the former Cold Feet star Fay Ripley waiting outside Tesco for a lift from her husband who arrived not by car, but by hot-air balloon.

In July, the Advertising Standards Authority banned a television ad for the retailer that misleadingly implied all the toys across its stores were included in a half-price sale. Earlier this month, the supermarket giant reported a rise in pre-tax profit for the first half of the year of 1 per cent to £1.42 billion, thanks to an increase in sales of non-food items, premium ranges and organic food. Tesco claims it now has 16 million active Clubcard holders in the UK, compared with  the 11.7 million people who own a Barclaycard. A spokesman for Tesco denied there were plans for a review and said that the supermarket was not in talks with agencies.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/BrandRepublicNews/News/945690/Tesco-poised-80m-UK-media-overhaul/?DCMP=EMC-DailyNewsBulletin

A few posts back, I said that eventually I would post about a band from the US. Not that it matters where you’re from, but most of the bands I’ve been posting about are European and there’s a whole world of music out there. So here is Infernal Devices from Brooklyn.

Infernal Devices

According to the band’s official Web site, their name comes from the 80s steampunk novel Infernal Devices. Very synth, very pop, and some of their tunes remind me of 80s band OMD as well as Gary Numan. Some of the synth sounds even cross over into the realm of bands like The Cars.  I came across Infernal Devices on the blog The Boy With The Thorn In His Side.  It seems that as of late, blogs have become my new hunting grounds for new sounds.  I haven’t yet found a video for Infernal Devices, but there are plenty of great tunes on the band’s official web site and their myspace page, check ‘em out!

Coty, the world’s largest fragrance company, is preparing to launch a global review of its estimated £180m media planning and buying business.  It is the first time the multinational conglomerate has attempted to consolidate its media business and is expected to include the £25m UK account, only retained by Omnicom’s OMD seven months ago.

The shock decision to instigate a global pitch process comes amid a series of local market reviews, including one taking place in its domestic market, France, and another in the US, which was responsible for £70m worth of media spend last year.

The 105-year-old cosmetics giant is home to many of the most popular brands, including Calvin Klein, Cerruti and Marc Jacobs in its Coty Prestige portfolio, and Adidas, David and Victoria Beckham, and Kate Moss in its Coty Beauty range. The review will include the media business across both portfolios operating in 90 countries and is being led by Coty’s senior vice-president, corporate media, Sigrun Graeff. According to local market figures tracked by The Nielsen Company, ad spend has dropped about 20% across the group since the global economic downturn began in 2008.

Despite the tough climate, Coty’s chief executive Bernd Beetz is hoping to achieve annual sales of $5bn in 2010, up from $4bn in 2008. One agency leader called the move “symbolic of the current climate”, but warned the constant drilling down of media value is not a sustainable model for the industry. The decision to run a global media review in spite of a series of local market reviews either recently completed or still underway draws parallels with Vodafone. The UK telecoms incumbent OMD, which snatched the account from Carat after less than a year in August, will be hoping for a similar result with Coty.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/BrandRepublicNews/News/945011/Coty-launch-global-review-its-180m-media-business/?DCMP=EMC-DailyNewsBulletin

Ce mois-ci, deux magazines à ne pas rater, l’un français l’autre britannique

Eldorado #5 - novembre 2009

En plus d’Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros en couverture, Eldorado propose surtout une interview de 5 pages de Social Distorsion.C’est tellement rare et précieux. Mike Ness revient sur la carrière du groupe, sa vie personnelle.
Autre interview : John Fogerty, Kris Kirstofferson, Richard Hawley

I had to put my dog down today. He wasn’t old, and it was completely unexpected. I’m a little lost right now. At least, as Elle has told me, St. Francis can take care of him now. He’s in better hands than I ever could be.

With three HD cameras rolling and a still camera shooting time lapse images we witnessed something remarkable through our viewfinders.

photo courtesy Bruce LeBel

At the River Haven homeless encampment in Ventura, California, we saw nineteen new homes constructed in just one day. The homes are called U-Domes, a product of World Shelters. They are weather worthy, rated to withstand 80 mph winds, fire-retardant, and fully recyclable. They have locking doors, windows and vents.

We’re putting all the material filmed on the construction day into our edit system in San Francisco. Our Los Angeles edit system is handling the timelapse sequences. We hope to have some previews of the timelapse materials up on this site soon. It’s all part of our documentary called SHELTER.

There has been a little drama while building this village.  High winds blew some of the structures off their platforms before they could be properly anchored. The platforms had to be rebuilt because of a design problem. But by Thursday a small crew of workers hopes to finish fixing the platforms, with a move in scheduled next week for twenty five River Haven residents.

Mark Michaels, a resident of River Haven who helps oversee the community, told us that the residents were really looking forward to taking occupancy, now that winter weather is on the way. “We can get some heavy rains here,” he said. “The whole area can turn into a lake.” But with the U-Domes sturdily perched on their wooden platforms, River Haven residents can stay warm and dry. There are six of U-Domes with 200 square feet of space for couples and 13 U-Domes with 120 square feet for singles.

Do projects like this represent the future of pre-fab used in emergency relief situations? Bruce LeBel of World Shelters will find out. In the coming weeks, he will be working with county and city governments to get approval for similar U-Dome installations elsewhere in California. There’s a lot of red tape to cut through and a lot of NIMBY – “Not In My Backyard.” But as Steven Elias, a friend of World Shelters, explained, while a 250-person homeless shelter might meet with resistance in some communities, small twenty five-person communities might answer the needs of the homeless without having a large footprint.

According to the Ventura County 2009 Homeless Count, there are 2,193 homeless people in Ventura County, counting 361 children. 161 families are homeless.

Certainly there’s a need to shelter the homeless, and pre-fab structures like U-Domes could help. Yet U-Domes are just one form of pre-fab. Generally speaking, pre-fabricated manufacturing is a method of constructing homes using manufactured sections that are assembled on site. This method can be “greener” than traditional construction methods because fabrication is centralized and homes can go up more quickly. This brings another advantage – pre-fab can cost less than conventional building.

photo from Florian via Flickr

Companies like LivingHomes offer high-end pre-fab homes. Jennifer Siegal, founder of the Office of Mobile Design, (OMD) has pioneered the construction of prefabricated homes, schools and other buildings. Ms. Siegal is a big fan of portable architecture – like the classic Airstream trailer.

But high-end pre-fab hasn’t always found an audience. One pre-fab pioneer, Michelle Kaufmann, closed her Oakland, California company MK Designs this past May, citing the bad economy and withering housing market. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Blu Homes, of Boston, MA,  purchased the rights to build Kaufmann’s preconfigured designs.

Still, what often comes out of pre-fab projects, even the expensive ones, are “ideas, experimental materials, assembly methods, and good design–which can often translate into lower costs for all housing,” including homes for the homeless, says Richard Neill, director of photography on SHELTER and an executive producer on the project.

Could be that companies like World Shelters, and groups like Architecture for Humanity are looking into the robust future of pre-fab by focusing on disaster relief, temporary housing and housing for the homeless. We’re going to tell their story in SHELTER. Look for production updates here.

Thanks to Panasonic for donating the use of one of the world’s most advanced 1080P HD cameras–Panasonic’s P2 HD Cinema VariCam, and also thanks to Marshall Thompson for additional cinematography.

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This is the ongoing  blog of SHELTER, a movie about innovative solutions to provide housing for everyone.   The film examines everyone’s right to a roof over their head and focuses on inventive methods of building as advanced by such architects as Jennifer Siegal, Whitney Sander, Shigeru Ban and Dean Maltz, design innovators like Buckminster Fuller and activists like Bruce LeBel of World Shelters.  SHELTER is a production of DocuCinema and Adventure Pictures.  Its executive producers are Lee Schneider and Richard Neill.