Sorry for the delay since my last post – I promise to start bloggin again, just as soon as I get my eBay stuff up and running – a summer with my two daughters, ages 15 and 20, and a busy fall with a new high schooler kept me occupied, as well as various health concerns with which I will not bore you – how’s that for bad grammar? Be back soon, with some great stuff. Thanks for reading and keeping it active.
K – the house ai
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This is the final installment in the boxed sets section of the Ultimate DVD collection. The movies are for the most part covered under my earlier posts on Sci-Fi movie night, and I will post the lesser known ones, those on VHS and any boxed sets that escaped my notice, in a later post, as well as one on Paranormal/Fantasy. Enjoy! I only wish I could win the lottery! But then I’d have to play first…
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Amazon Customer Review
“This purchase was only a matter of time for me as I have always known The Pretender is the best series ever made! The acting is superb, the storylines complex and in-depth, and the scripting witty and fresh. This is an exciting time in Pretender fandom as the masses eagerly await the promised third movie or fifth series to continue this very special show [...]. I recommend this series to people from all walks of life who will all be able to enjoy and relate to its underpinning messages of the importance of family, friendship, love, and freedom. With its mystery, suspense, comedy, and romance, find out for yourself why this show did better than ER and Grey’s Anatomy!”
The Pretender 2001 / The Pretender – Island of the Haunted
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Editorial Reviews
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Disc 1 Side A: PRETENDER 2001 (Full Screen) Picking up where the television series left off, Jarod reunites with two old friends and unleashes some powerful Centre revelations. This film opens with a sequence that will allow it to be enjoyed by individuals who have not yet seen the TV series.
Disc 1 Side B: PRETENDER: ISLAND OF THE HAUNTED (Widescreen) Through a series of bizarre circumstances, Jarod and Miss Parker find themselves trapped together on a strange island in a life and death situation, out of which come some of the most important revelations about their pasts.
Eureka – Season One Eureka – Season Two (available 7/15/08)
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Some of the government’s best-kept secrets are waiting to be uncovered as Eureka:Season One arrives on DVD! Step into the quirky and seemingly perfect small town of Eureka, where the hidden work of America’s brightest scientists can lead to innovation or utter chaos. Making sense of the mysteries is Sheriff Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson), a former U.S. marshal who is stranded in the surreal small town after a random car accident. Now fans can get in on his entertaining adventures with this 3-disc set packed with over 10 hours of bonus features and innovatively packaged in eco-friendly materials that were “Made in Eureka.” Nothing is as it seems in the brilliant and witty new series critics are calling “the most original new drams” (The Courier-Journal).
The Dresden Files – The Complete First Season
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Dresden Files is about a wizard named Harry. “Good marketing,” a cynical observer notes in one episode from the Sci-Fi Channel’s one-season wonder based on the books by Jim Butcher. “Couldn’t you come up with something a little more original?” Actually, this series manages to be plenty original despite echoes of The X-Files and the 1970s cult classic The Night Stalker. Paul Blackthorne stars as Harry Dresden, a scruffy Chicago private eye whose gift comes in handy for children menaced by skinwalkers, or for offering Lt. Murphy (Valerie Cruz) of the Chicago police “an unconventional point of view” concerning grisly, bizarre cases involving werewolves, vampires, and other decidedly unfriendly spirits. The Dresden Files is a paranormal noir (para-noir?) that deftly balances genuine scares, hard-boiled moxie, and tongue-in-cheek humor, delivered with panache by “Bob” (Terrance Mann), an ancient English spirit who resides in a skull and gives.Harry supernatural assistance. Harry’s backstory–magician father, wizard mother, treacherous uncle–is revealed over the course of these 12 episodes. The eighth broadcast episode, “Things That Go Bump,” was reportedly intended as the series pilot, and may be the best place to start. But Harry’s world-weary voice-over in the classic tradition (“If you’re a wizard and you fail, people can end up dead”) keeps viewers oriented. Low ratings made The Dresden Files disappear, making this DVD set welcome for the series’ hardcore fans who mounted the ultimately unsuccessful letter-writing campaign to save Dresden from the “Brilliant, but Cancelled” files. But even those who are unfamiliar with Butcher’s books or are not on the Sci-Fi Channel’s wavelength will be charmed. –Donald Liebenson
Product Description
Based on Jim Butcher’s best-selling novels, “The Dresden Files” chronicles the cases of no ordinary detective. Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) is a wizard, the only one listed in the Chicago phone book. He’s got a handle on the crimes that can’t be solved by anyone else. Paranormal? No problem. Dresden deals in all matters of supernatural threats. If you need a little hocus pocus or some other worldly advice, Dresden’s your man.
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Fans disappointed by the demise of the Stargate SG-1 television series after ten fruitful seasons will delight in The Ark of Truth, the first full-length movie to follow in the show’s wake. In fact, some will be more than pleased–they’ll be relieved. For not only does the 102-minute film offer an opportunity to enjoy the same likable characters, reliable effects work, superior writing, and other elements that made the series so appealing, but after season upon season in which viewers were left wondering how everything turned out, The Ark finally brings at least one cliffhanger to a conclusion: the storyline involving the villains known as the Ori, who dominated SG-1’s final two years. Our heroes (including Ben Browder as fearless leader Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, Amanda Tapping as the intrepid Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, Christopher Judge as the implacable alien Teal’c, Michael Shanks as the ever-resourceful Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Claudia Black as the irreverent Vala) have long known that the Ori are perhaps the most irresistible force they’ve ever encountered, in part because they are “ascended” beings who don’t exist in recognizable physical form (their spaceships do, and they’re huge). But now the team faces an even greater threat: the Ori have set their sights on good ol’ Planet Earth. That’s where the Ark comes in; if the good guys can just get their hands on it, they hope this ancient artifact will effectively put the big, bad Ori, their minions, and their entire religion (known as “Origin”) out of business. Of course, it ain’t easy. Both collectively and individually, the team will be severely tested, their task complicated not only by the Ori but by an arrogant, clueless government official whose meddling results in the return of the metallic, insect-like Replicators. There’s little doubt about how it will all turn out–after all, there’s at least one more movie already in the pipeline–but it’s all about the ride, and despite a few flaws (as was sometimes the case with the series, the script leans a bit too hard on exposition and techno babble), this one is lots of fun. Bonus features include commentary by writer-director Robert Cooper and others, a lengthy “making of,” and a helpful “prelude” to bring the uninitiated up to speed. –Sam Graham
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Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter Dr. Daniel Jackson Vala Mal Doran and the alien Tealc all members of the elite Stargate SG-1 team travel to the ruins of Dakara in hopes of finding the fabled Ark of Truth. Built by the Alterans (builders of the stargates) millions of years before this ancient artifact may be the sole means remaining to defeat the Ori armies who have thus far proven unstoppable in their quest to conquer the universe in the name of their religion Origin.
Stargate – Continuum (Available 7/29/08)
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Amazon.com
Arguably the most talked-about television show of the 2006-2007 season, the Emmy-nominated fantasy Heroes gives viewers blends comic book-style adventure with plotting and characters as rich and layered as any graphic novel or drama series. Creator Tim Kring’s premise is deceptively simple – ordinary individuals in locations around the globe discover that they have, for lack of a better term, super powers, and wrestle with this reality while facing challenges both global (the destruction of New York City, for one) and personal (indestructible cheerleader Hayden Panetierre has family issues – serious ones, as the true identity of her adoptive father reveals; Milo Ventimiglia’s Peter Petrelli, who absorbs other powers, must overcome his own insecurities). Add to this mix a terrific villain – Zachary Quinto’s Sylar, who hunts and kills people with extraordinary powers like our heroes – and viewers have a riveting series that exhibits an almost-perfect balance of cliffhanger thrills (the action and special effects are truly impressive for a network program) and genuine drama that sets the show apart from most speculative fiction (save, perhaps, the revived Battlestar Galactica, which it compares too favorably). The seven-disc set of Heroes: Season One offers a wealth of extras for fans, who may be familiar with some of them through the NBC.com website, especially the cast commentaries, which are featured on half of the episodes. Kring is featured on the 73-minute uncut pilot episode, which for some viewers, may be even better than the network version; the main difference is the degree of character development, including an entire storyline for D.L. Hawkins that isn’t featured in the broadcast version. Also on deck are some 50 deleted scenes from the episodes, several by-the-books making-of featurettes, including coverage of the special effects and stunt work, and a profile of artist Tim Sale, whose illustrations are used for Isaac Mendez’s prophetic artwork. Prospective buyers should note that while all of these supplemental features are included on the HD-DVD version of this set, the special Web-connectivity elements are not available here. – Paul Gaita
Product Description
Discover the phenomenon that is sweeping audiences everywhere as Heroes: Season 1 comes to DVD! Experience the suspense, mystery, and electrifying twists as this astonishing series follows seemingly unconnected, ordinary people around the globe who discover they have extraordinary powers. As they come to terms with their unique abilities, their risky decisions will affect the futures of everyone around them …and the world. Join their epic journey in this seven-disc set packed with hours of fascinating and revealing bonus features, including the never-before-aired series premiere from show creator Tim Kring.
Torchwood – The Complete First Season
Torchwood – The Complete Second Season (Available 9/16/08)
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Amazon.com
More than a spin-off of the Russell T. Davies incarnation of Doctor Who, the BBC series Torchwood is a wholly enjoyable blend of drama, science-fiction thrills, and mature subject matter that never fails to deliver its main purpose: to entertain on a weekly basis. John Barrowman, who captured the imagination of Who fans during the Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant eras as 51st-century adventurer Capt. Jack Harkness, returns as the dashing, immortal time traveler; here, he’s the head of Torchwood, a covert organization that investigates extraterrestrial and supernatural events on Earth without the help of the British government or United Nations. Eve Myles is a police constable who joins the team after discovering them in the middle of bringing a stabbing victim back to life (in the debut episode, “Everything Changes”), and she brings a decidedly human touch to the Torchwood team’s tech-driven investigations. Among the mysteries encountered over the course of the 13-episode series: an alien gas that absorbs humans during sex (“Day One”); a half-human, half-Cyberman female with a connection to Torchwood support man Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) in “Cyberwoman”; a rash of cannibalistic murders (“Countrycide”); a very different kind of fairies than the ones of legend (“Small Worlds”); and most impressively of all, a skyscraper-sized demon that threatens to plunge the Torchwood team–and the world itself–into chaos (“End of Days,” which features an off-screen cameo by a certain Time Lord). What separates Torchwood from the most modern television science fiction (save, say,
Heroes and Battlestar Galactica) is the frankly adult tone of the series: The violence is plentiful and occasionally graphic, and there are frequent bedroom couplings between the team members and supporting players. There’s also a maturity to the relationships that exceeds the usual scope of sci-fi, most notably in the affecting “Captain Jack Harkness,” which sends him back to the London Blitz, where he meets and falls in love with a handsome American pilot who happens to share his name. Their love affair, like the majority of Torchwood’s “grown-up” storylines, is handled with taste and real emotion. Extras on the First Series are remarkably plentiful; six of the seven discs include entirely new behind-the-scenes featurettes that explore the main characters and their major story arcs, location shooting, the impressive SUV that the team drives, and the show’s extensive special effects and alien creations. Barrowman also contributes a very funny “Captain’s Log,” which invites viewers to join him on one of the final shooting days of the series. The entire seventh disc is given over to Torchwood Declassified, the 13-part program which explored each episode on BBC Three and the BBC’s Torchwood website. Commentaries are offered for all 13 episodes, with Davies, Barrowman, Myles, Burn Gorman (who plays Torchwood’s medical officer, Owen Harper), David-Lloyd, producers Richard Stokes and Julie Gardner, and various episode writers, directors, and producers all lending their voices. A small battery of deleted scenes and outtakes, as well as previews for DVD releases of other BBC programs, including Doctor Who and MI-5, round out this impressive set. –Paul Gaita
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Separate from the government, outside the police, beyond the United Nations, Torchwood sets its own rules. Led by the enigmatic, ever watchful Captain Jack Harkness, the Torchwood team delves into the unknown and fights the impossible. Everyone who works for Torchwood is young. Some say that’s because it’s a new science. Others say it’s because they die young.
Doctor Who – The Complete First and Second Seasons
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First Season:
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Amazon.com
The venerable science fiction program Doctor Who returned to British televisions in 2005 after a 15-year absence and delighted the majority of fans and critics with its adherence to the adventure and charm of the original series while making admissions for a new generation of viewers (hipper editing and score, CGI effects). Thirteen episodes were generated, all starring Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor and pop-singer-turned-actress Billie Piper as his companion Rose; acclaimed writer/producer Russell T. Davies (Touching Evil, Queer as Folk) oversaw the show as chief writer and executive producer. The new series proved so popular that the BBC agreed to revive the program for second and third seasons–though without Eccleston, who has since been replaced by David Tennant. This six-disc set comes with all 13 episodes plus the battery of supplemental features now customary to all Doctor Who DVD releases.
Eccleston is very engaging in the title role, bringing a manic curiosity tempered by occasional bouts of gravity (which befit a personality with a long and dramatic a lifespan as the Doctor’s) that hew closely to the (arguably) most popular Doctor, Tom Baker. Piper is equally adept as department store clerk Rose–she’s afforded more of a back story than most of the Doctor’s sidekicks have received in the past, and she more than handles her own alongside Eccleston. Highlights among the 13 episodes include the season opener, “Rose” (which sees the return of an old foe, the Autons, and their controlling force, the Nestene Consciousness); the revamped Daleks in “Dalek” and the two-parter “Bad Wolf” and “The Parting of the Ways”; a trip to Victorian England to aid Charles Dickens in “The Unquiet Dead,” and of course, the arrival of the tenth Doctor at the conclusion of the action-packed “Parting of the Ways.” The episodes strike the right blend of quirk, excitement, and imagination, thanks largely to the engaging performances and the guidance of Davies, whose admiration for the show and its history is evident throughout.
Supplemental features–and there are many–including commentary on all 13 episodes by members of the cast and crew, including Piper and Davies; numerous making-of featurettes, including a profile of Davies; a video diary by Piper; an interview with Eccleston, and best of all, a glimpse at the 60-minute Christmas special, “The Christmas Invasion,” which picks up where the series concludes. Who fans won’t be disappointed. –Paul Gaita
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Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor is wise and funny cheeky and brave. An alien and a loner his detached logic gives him a vital edge when the world’s in danger. But when it comes to human relationships he can be found wanting. That’s why he needs Rose. From the moment they meet the Doctor and Rose understand and complement each other. As they travel together through time encountering new adversaries the Doctor shows her things beyond imagination.Running Time: 585 min.
Second Season:
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Christopher Eccleston’s tenure as the time-traveling title hero in the venerable UK sci-fi series Doctor Who lasted just 13 episodes, but he left enough of a impression on fans to make some wonder how his replacement, veteran television performer David Tennant, might fare in the role. As this second-series boxed set proves, the answer is: he’s a near-perfect Doctor who combines the eccentricities of earlier incarnations (most notably Tom Baker) with a fresh and youthful interpretation of his own, and even brings a healthy dash of romantic chemistry with his sidekick, Rose Tyler (the equally charming Billie Piper). And their adventures retain the solid blend of thoughtful speculative fiction, pulp action, and quirky humor that typified the series at its best. Among the 15 terrific stories contained in the six-disc set are the “Children in Need” (a.k.a. “Pudsey Cutaway”) mini-episode from the 2005 Children in Need telethon that showed Eccleston’s transformation into Tennant; “School Reunion,” in which Elisabeth Sladen returns as Sarah Jane Smith; “The Girl in the Fireplace,” which draws together robots in 18th century France with a derelict space station in the distant future; and the season finale, “Army of Ghosts/Doomsday,” which not only revives the series’ most popular villains, the robotic Daleks, in a head-to-head struggle against the Cybermen, but also marks the final appearance of another series regular. For fans and first-time visitors to the TARDIS alike, the Second Series is simply thrilling sci-fi TV.
As with the First Series set, the supplemental features are plentiful here; commentary by the show’s cast and crew is provided on each episode, and four feature picture-in-picture commentary tracks; deleted scenes and outtakes are also included, as are video diaries by Tennant and Piper, and a lengthy featurette, “Doctor Who Confidential,” which covers nearly every aspect of the series’ production, including the introduction of the Torchwood Institute and the return of Sarah Jane, both of which would be featured in their own respective spin-off series (the first in Doctor Who’s long history) in 2007. – Paul Gaita
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Can Rose trust a man with a new face? David Tennant (Viva Blackpool Harry Potter) steps into the role of the Doctor now his 10th incarnation. Following on from the phenomenal success of the first series the second series is full of more thrills more laughs more heartbreak and some terrifying new aliens and old acquaintances. The Doctor and Rose meet Queen Victoria an evil race of Cat Women K9 and Sarah Jane and the dreaded Cybermen.Running Time: 645 min.
Doctor Who – The Complete Third Series
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Doctor Who fans concerned that the departure of popular companion Rose (Billie Piper) at the end of the second season might spell an end to the venerable UK science fiction series’ revival were soon reassured by the program’s third series, which is compiled in its entirety in this six-disc set. Not only did Freema Agyeman (as Earth doctor Martha Jones) prove to be more than a worthwhile replacement for Rose, but the quality of the series’ 14 episodes maintained–and in many cases surpassed–the blend of wit, excitement and drama brought by head writer Russell T. Jones when he revived the program in 2003. Highlights from the third series include the Christmas special “The Runaway Bride” (starring comedian Catherine Tate as a temporary companion to the Doctor as he mourns the loss of Rose), “Gridlock” (the Face of Boe summons the Doctor and Martha to a future New York City to stop an invasion by his old enemy the Macra), “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood” (a two-part serial in which the Doctor changes his biological form to escape the clutches of an alien brood who seek his immortality), and the three-part “Utopia,” “The Sound of Drums” and “The Last of the Time Lords,” which not only revives the Doctor’s greatest adversary, The Master (played by Derek Jacobi in “Utopia” and John Simm in “Drums” and “Time Lords”) but also revives Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and introduces his new position with the Torchwood team. Supplemental features are included on each of the six discs in the set; chief among them are commentary by Jones, Tennant, Agyeman, producer Phil Collinson, and members of the writing and production team (in various permutations) on each of the 14 episodes. The Doctor Who Confidential series, which aired on BBC Three and offered behind-the-scenes looks at elements from each episode, is included in its 15-minute “cut down” version (as well as an hour-long episode that covered a live performance of music from the show by the National Orchestra of Wales and hosted by Tennant), as are several video diaries shot by Tennant, who proves as engaging behind the camera as he is on the show. A smattering of deleted scenes, outtakes (mostly featuring Tennant reacting good-naturedly to his own blown lines), BBC promos for all 13 episodes (including the amusing “Vote Saxon” spot, which offers Sharon Osbourne and UK pop stars McFly throwing their support behind the Master’s disguise as a human MP in the series’ final two episodes), and trailers for other BBC series like Jekyll, Torchwood, and MI-5, round out this terrific set. – Paul Gaita
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The third installment of Doctor Who is full of new thrills new laughs new heartbreak and some terrifying new monsters. From the moment the Doctor walks into the life of medical student Martha Jones he changes it forever. In Elizabethan London they meet William Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre while back in present day London 76-year-old Professor Lazarus recaptures his youth with consequences that threaten Martha’s entire family. And the Doctor’s sworn enemies the Daleks who have been hiding in 1930’s New York return with a terrifying plan for humanity.
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Surface lasted one season on NBC before cancellation, but Surface: The Complete Series on DVD will keep the show’s exciting, Spielbergian suspense around for a long while. The primetime drama, involving several characters–in different parts of the world–all having similar brushes with fantastic creatures, instantly draws comparisons to Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Add a government conspiracy (complete with a cover story to force one community’s evacuation) to prevent the public from learning of the existence of a previously unknown life form, and the parallels with Close Encounters grow thick. But it’s not a problem: the many twists and turns in Surface’s far-ranging storyline, and the nature of the species that slowly becomes a factor in the survival of the human race, are compelling on their own terms.
Created by twin brothers and television writers-producers-directors Josh and Jonas Pate (L.A. Dragnet), Surface stars rangy beauty Lake Bell as oceanographer and single mom Dr. Laura “Dee” Daughtery. While doing some research in a submersible at the bottom of the sea, Dee discovers a seemingly bottomless pit leading to astonishing depths in the Earth. But she also bumps into a sea monster that emanates electrical charges strong enough to wreak havoc with her vessel. Meanwhile, a Louisiana-based insurance salesman, Rich (Jay R. Ferguson), is traumatized when he sees his brother dragged away by a similar creature, and a 14-year-old boy, Miles (Carter Jenkins), raises one of the beasts after it hatches from an egg. Throughout all this, a scientist (Rade Sherbedgia) and a heavy-handed national security agent (Ian Anthony Dale) are trying to unlock the mystery of the species, which appears to be growing in number at the same time strange forces are affecting the oceans. Naturally, there’s a story behind the story–government and corporate shenanigans and all that. That stuff gets a little tedious and, truth be told, a couple of the show’s protagonists are among the most unlikable people seen in series television in a long while. But despite its premature end after a mere 15 episodes, Surface finally offers an original, unsettling, and even surreal vision of the world going through apocalyptic transformations. The final image of the final show lingers in the imagination a long time. –Tom Keogh
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Something new is lurking in the Earth s oceans, and now you can be part of the mystery as all 15 Season One episodes of the spectacular series, Surface, emerge on to DVD for the first time ever! When young oceanographer Laura Daughtery (Lake Bell) discovers a massive underwater creature, her obsession to uncover the origins of this dangerous unidentified species will lead her and others on a mysterious adventure through the darkest, deepest parts of the sea and the most sinister and shady places on Earth. The fate of the world is in their hands – they just don t know it. Including deleted scenes and phenomenal special effects, the amazing series that People magazine calls a show with some Spielbergian tricks of suspense is now the must-own DVD set for every fan.
Invasion – The Complete Series
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Following the success of Lost, Invasion was one of numerous sci-fi-themed shows that debuted in the fall of 2005. But unlike Threshold and Surface, Invasion had the distinct advantage of airing in ABC’s slot right after Lost, at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays. Created and produced by Shaun Cassidy (yes, the former teen idol who also produced American Gothic), the series starts in a flurry with a devastating hurricane threatening a Florida city and a 21st-century family happens to be in the middle of it. There’s park ranger Russell Groves (Eddie Cibrian) and his wife, Larkin (Lisa Sheridan), who’s an inquisitive television reporter. Living with them is Larkin’s no-account brother, Dave (Tyler Labine), who blogs about conspiracy theories and aliens while between jobs. Also living with them some of the time are Russell’s kids, Rose (Ariel Gade) and Jesse (Evan Peters), who also spend time with their mother, doctor Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett), who has also remarried, to the town’s sinister sheriff, Tom (William Fichtner). Tom also has a child from a previous marriage, sexy teen Kira (Alexis Dziena). Amid the chaos of the hurricane, little Rose is the only one to notice a group of strange lights dropping from the sky into the water, then Mariel disappears only to turn up in a swamp the next morning, seemingly unharmed but now with a strange affinity for water. Not so lucky is Dave, whose investigation of Rose’s colored lights leads to the discovery that those lights have a pretty fierce set of teeth. And what does the sheriff have to hide? Parts of Invasion feel like The X-Files or 24, and obviously the central concept isn’t new, but it has enough revelations and spooky chills to keep the viewer coming back for more. Unfortunately, even the plum slot following Lost wasn’t enough to keep Invasion from being canceled after its first season. The problem is that the season–and the series–ends in a whopping cliffhanger, which may never be resolved. So before you invest yourself into a full season of Invasion, be warned. –David Horiuchi
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From famed writer/producer Shaun Cassidy comes a suspenseful tale of a blended family trying to recover from a devastating hurricane and its mysterious aftermath For park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian), a divorced father of two who is expecting a third child with his new wife, the hurricane proves to be merely the beginning of a long journey into the unknown. As the tiny town of Homestead, Florida struggles to rebuild itself, Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner) – who is married to Russell’s ex-wife – suspiciously orders the entire area quarantined. Russell starts to investigate the strange goings on and unknowingly begins a fight for the survival of his family, his community, and what might ultimately be the whole human race.
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Home video is our own little time tunnel, instantly transporting us back to dimly-remembered TV shows of our youth. The only thing more fun than re-encountering a show one hasn’t thought about in years is the happy discovery that it holds up relatively well. In The Time Tunnel, James Darrin and Robert Colbert star as intrepid scientists Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, who are studying the feasibility of time travel (“potentially the most valuable treasure the world will ever find”) as part of the top secret Project Tic Toc. The government, though, considers it a billion-dollar boondoggle and threatens to shut it down. Tony impetuously enters the untested Time Tunnel, and, on his inaugural adventure in “Rendezvous with Yesterday,” finds himself on a New York-bound ocean liner. It remains one of the great TV moments when a life preserver reveals that he is, in fact, on the Titanic. Doug will join him shortly after, and together they will hurtle backward and forward through time, usually arriving on the eve of some pivotal historic event. Meanwhile, back at Project Tic-Toc, the other scientists (including Lee “Catwoman” Meriwether’s Dr. Ann MacGregor) follow their progress and try to bring them home.
This four-double-sided-disc set contains the short-lived series’ first 15 episodes, complete with the freeze-frame cliffhangers that found the duo on some “fantastic new adventure.” Among the most memorable is “The Day the Sky Fell In,” in which Tony and Doug find themselves at Pearl Harbor the day before the Japanese attack, and Tony has a Field of Dreams moment that allows him the opportunity to find out what happened to his father, who stationed there at the time. In “Massacre,” Tony and Doug try to head off the battle at Little Big Horn. In “Invasion,” the pair land in France in advance of the D-Day invasion, and Doug is captured and brainwashed by the Gestapo. Notable guest stars include Michael Rennie (The Day the Earth Stood Still) as the captain of the Titanic, and Carroll O’Connor as a War of 1812 colonel and his modern-day descendant in “The Last Patrol.” The Time Tunnel was one of three shows that cult fave sci-fi/fantasy producer Irwin Allen had on the air in 1966 (the other two were Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Sure, the science and history are pure hooey, but The Time Tunnel’s cheesy charms (such as the pre-psychodelic time travel light shows) are, well, timeless. –Donald Liebenson
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THE CONTROL OF TIME IS POTENTIALLY THE MOST VALUABLE TREASURE THAT MAN WILL EVER FIND. Or so believe the scientists of Project Tic Toc. Located beneath the Arizona desert, the ten-year project?s focus is the feasibility of time travel. But when the government reconsiders the project, the scientists have only 24 hours to prove their untested ?Time Tunnel? will actually work. Determined to save the project, Dr. Tony Newman and Dr. Doug Phillips go through the tunnel?and quickly find themselves catapulted from one historical event to another, barely escaping with their lives as their colleagues back in Arizona race to figure out a way to bring them back home.
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Note, this only ran for one season, but the DVD is in two parts.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea – Seasons 1 – 3
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Product Description – Season 1
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the brainchild of Writer/Producer/Director Irwin Allen… the “Master of Disaster.”It ran on ABC 1964-1968 and was for its four years of some of the best and most exciting science fiction on TV at the time. The classic adventures aboard the “SSRN Seaview” will captivate you today, as much as they did in the 60s.
Amazon.com – Season 2
Bolstered by its first-season success, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea returned on September 19, 1965, with a second season full of surprises. Now in full color, the continuing adventures of Adm. Nelson (Richard Basehart), Capt. Crane (David Hedison) and the intrepid crew of the nuclear sub Seaview were no longer limited to the ocean depths; the advent of the “Flying Sub” (officially dubbed “FS-1″), enabled Nelson and crew to expand the horizons of their top-secret service, flying at super-sonic speed or plunging into the ocean with the push of a joystick. The manta-shaped FS-1 quickly became a staple of nearly every episode, routinely deployed from its launch-bay on the newly upgraded Seaview, still the most elegant submarine of fact or fiction. Cold-war conspiracies and power-hungry villains remain common in these 13 episodes, all set in the “near future” of the 1970s, and spiced up with science-fiction scenarios familiar to any fan of producer Irwin Allen’s other ’60s SF shows like Land of the Giants and The Time Tunnel. And while the show’s occasional monsters (in episodes like “Jonah and the Whale,” “Leviathan” and “The Monster from Outer Space”) are laughably cheesy by modern standards, they’re balanced out by intelligent plots (many written by William Welch) involving espionage, sabotage, nuclear threats, and high-tech weaponry.
These are the plot elements that dominate most of these well-written episodes, capably handled by directors like Sobey Martin, Leo Penn (father of Sean), Nathan Juran (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) and others. And while Basehart and Hedison were never the most dynamic performers, they set a solid foundation for the series, holding their own with such prominent guest stars as Gia Scala (“Jonah and the Whale”), Victor Buono (“The Cyborg”), future indie-film pioneer John Cassavetes (“The Peacemaker”), soon-to-be-”Sulu” George Takei (“The Silent Saboteurs”), and many other ’60s TV stalwarts. Voyage never wavered from its stodgy pacing, flat humor, and occasional lapses in logic (like having divers talk while their mouths are stuffed with oxygen regulators, etc.), but despite occasional gaps in credibility, it remained a slick, smart adventure series rooted in the political reality of the cold war. As with previous Voyage DVD sets, these episodes are so crisp and clean that you can easily see the guide-wires used to “fly” the Flying Sub (on a “Lydecker” rig, named after special effects pioneer Howard Lydecker), and loyal fans will enjoy the mid-season shift to “sonar-screen” opening credits, economical recycling of sets and stock footage, and the lively contributions of supporting cast members Bob Dowdell (as “Chip” Morton), Terry Becker (Chief Sharkey), Allen Hunt (“Stu” Riley), and Del Monroe (Kowalski). Bonus features are minimal but worthwhile, especially for fans: There’s over 20 minutes of raw special effects footage (mostly redundant, but of interest to TV and FX historians), and photo galleries consisting of concept art, episode photos, behind-the-scenes photos and publicity stills. Best of all–and not mentioned on the DVD packaging–is the inclusion of “Voyage to See What’s on the Bottom,” a MAD magazine TV parody from 1966, viewable on-screen in its hilarious entirety. Nostalgic fun for seasoned fans, and likely to gain a new following on DVD, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is still entertaining after all these years. –Jeff Shannon
Product Description
JOURNEY TO A BREATHTAKING WORLD OF DANGER AND SUSPENSE.
The SSRN Seaview, the world’s most technologically advanced submarine, is back and more powerful than ever! Come aboard with Admiral Nelson, Captain Crane, and their crew as they brave hostile waters and explore uncharted depths, keeping the world safe from the enemies of mankind.
Season Two is full of innovative series firsts: it’s the first season to be shot in color, and the Seaview has been masterfully redesigned to house the spectacular Flying Sub! Filled with espionage, action, sci-fi and suspense, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a true TV classic!
Editorial Reviews – Season 3
Amazon.com
In its second season, Irwin Allen’s science-fiction-adventure series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea shifted its tone from a mostly serious program based around stories of Cold War intrigue to an out-and-out fantasy show, complete with monsters, ghosts, and time travel. By the launch of its third season (1966-67), that format was firmly in place (solidified, no doubt, by the success of Allen’s similarly themed Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel, which were also running at the same time), and the crew of the Seaview battled all manner of bizarre creatures over the course of the 13 episodes compiled in this three-disc set, including werewolves, radioactive plant creatures, dinosaurs, scores of aliens, and even a spook or two. Critics and first-season Voyage fans have decried these episodes for decades, but there’s no denying that their child-like charms remain intact, even as the special effects age most ungracefully; highlights, such as they were, for the first half of season 3 include “Werewolf” (Richard Basehart’s Admiral Nelson contracts a virus that turns him into a wolfman; this storyline was picked up in the second half of season 3 in “Brand of the Beast”), “Deadly Waters” (Kowalski’s brother is trapped in a sub, but the crewman cannot save him), “The Lost Bomb” (the Seaview must deactivate a bomb on the ocean floor before an enemy sub reaches it), and the truly ludicrous “The Plant Man” (evil scientist wants to create an army of leafy green soldiers) and “The Terrible Toys” (aliens use toys to destroy the Seaview). Season 3, Volume 1 is rich with campy fun, and should carry considerable appeal to viewers who remember Voyage fondly from afternoon reruns. The set includes several extras, including interviews with star David Hedison (including an audio-only chat from 1966), galleries of publicity and episode shots (and a glimpse at the Voyage comic book), fan letters, and more. –Paul Gaita
Product Description
Join the crew of the Seaview aboard their super high-tech submarine, where no mission is too dangerous and no threat is too deadly, be it enemy agents, mad scientists, deadly sea creatures, or impending nuclear disaster.
Thunderbirds 40th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Megaset
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Review
DVD Features: Production Stills Photo Galleries; Behind the Scenes Featurettes
Bonus Disc Features:The Brains Behind Thunderbirds; The Making of Thunderbirds; Pop-Up Episode Pit of Peril ; Gerry Speaks – An Inside Look at Anderson s 7 Favorite Series –A&E Home Video
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Blast off into classic sci-fi adventure with the daring International Rescue team! Made up of fearless former astronaut Jeff Tracy and his courageous sons, the team protects against disaster in the year 2065.
When danger arises, the team springs into action, rushing to the scene in their futuristic Thunderbirds vehicles and facing trouble head-on with their high-tech devices. Working together to pull off amazing rescues and astonishing heroic feats, the Thunderbirds are Earth’s best defense against catastrophe and sabotage.
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Thunderbirds Are Go followed the remarkable success of the Thunderbirds television series, bringing the three-dimensional puppet animation adventures of International Rescue to the big screen. Set in the 21st century, there is no attempt to explain the background story: as in the TV show International Rescue is a private family organization who uses high-tech craft to rescue anyone in peril. Here it’s the first manned flight to Mars that’s in danger, as International Rescue foils a sabotage attempt at the launch, then race to avert disaster when the spaceship returns to earth. What could have made a 50-minute TV episode is expanded to feature length with Martian “rock monsters” and a surreal dream-sequence involving Alan Tracy, Lady Penelope, and “Cliff Richard Jnr” & the Shadows, with a new song performed by the real Cliff and the Shadows. In the theaters, Thunderbirds Are Go was competing against another British children’s TV sci-fi spin-off, the equally colorful Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150AD, and would be followed by Thunderbird 6 (1968). Yet apart from more complex model work, a bigger orchestra, and even bigger explosions, on TV this plays like a widescreen double-length episode.
Thunderbird 6 revolved around a new addition to the lineup of International Rescue’s five emergency craft. The plot sees Lady Penelope, Alan, Tin-Tin, and Parker as the only passengers on the maiden, round-the-world flight of a futuristic airship, which is hijacked in a bid to capture Thunderbirds 1 and 2. From the moment Alan arrives on a Bond-style jetpack, the film veers away from the TV show into espionage adventure territory, and while the only people International Rescue rescues are their own members, they kill a fair number of bad guys. The global tour means there are more locations than ever, and though the story takes a long time developing, the Die Hard-on-an-airship finale delivers the most explosive set piece of Gerry Anderson’s career. As for Thunderbird 6, opinion remains divided as to whether it’s an ingenious twist or a disappointing gimmick, but the movie’s blend of model and live-action footage results in two superbly staged stunt sequences. The Andersons would make one further feature film, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969). –Gary S. Dalkin
Product Description
THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
Blast off into interplanetary adventure with the first feature-length film starring the International Rescue team: millionaire ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, his five stalwart sons, the fabulous secret agent Lady Penelope and, of course, their incredibly futuristic fleet of Thunderbird rescue ships! When the mighty spaceship Zero X is sabotaged on its first takeoff for Mars, International Rescue is summoned to provide security for the second launch attempt. But after the ship successfully reaches its destination, it is attacked by rampaging alien life forms! Once again, the brave and resourceful International Rescue team is called into action. Can the team help the damaged ship re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and prevent a crash-landing with devastating consequences?
THUNDERBIRD 6
The Tracy team are back in action in another riveting adventure! This time it will take all of their combined effort – and the cunning wit of their colleague Lady Penelope – to defeat an international ring of terrorists who’ve targeted International Rescue for destruction! While on the maiden voyage of the fabulous new passenger vessel “Skyship One,” Lady Penelope is shocked to discover that the original crew has been killed and replaced with a ruthless gang of hijackers who want to use her to obtain classified information about the International Rescue team! As the hijacked super-plane circles the globe on a collision course with catastrophe, Penelope must outwit her captors and send an urgent SOS to get help from her fearless cohorts…before it’s too late!
Beyond Reality – The First Season
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Beyond Reality chronicles the unique lives of two adventuresome university professors who delve into the mysterious world of the paranormal.
Shari Belafonte stars as Laura Wingate, a parapsychologist who has traveled the world studying different cultures, religions and strange occurrences. As the open-minded, witty and outspoken head of a private university’s Parapsychology Department, Laura devotes her time to teaching but is constantly distracted investigating paranormal events.
Carl Marotte plays J.J. Stillman, a clinical psychologist who has been trained in the traditional sciences. He is inquisitive, responsible and often overly analytical.
Together, Laura and J.J. apply their combined expertise, curiosity and compassion to investigate the fascinating, extraordinary, but completely plausible world of the paranormal.
The Omega Factor: The Complete Series (3DVD)
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Amazon.com
“The Omega Factor” refers to the limitless potential of the human mind, which is explored in often-terrifying detail in this short-lived cult BBC series from 1979. The late James Hazeldine stars as a journalist who discovers that he possesses extraordinary psychic gifts; his talents bring him in contact with Department 7, a shadowy government bureau that investigates paranormal phenomena. Over the course of the series’ ten-episode run, Hazeldine, his friend and fellow Department 7 member Anne (Louise Jameson, Leela from the Tom Baker-era Doctor Who), and his somewhat sinister superior Dr. Martindale (John Carlisle) encounter haunted houses (“Visitations”), secret military experiments (“Night Games”), cases of apparent possession (“Powers of Darkness”), and all manner of psychic abilities, as well as a secret organization called Omega that plans world domination through mind control. Deftly handled by a host of TV veterans (many of whom also worked on Doctor Who, including producer George Gallaccio, director Paddy Russell, and writer Anthony Read, who also wrote the acclaimed U.K. sci-fi series Chocky and its sequels, which starred Hazeldine), The Omega Factor tackles its supernatural/conspiracy subject matter in a serious manner without sacrificing its inherent creepiness, much as The X-Files would 30 years later (the pleasing chemistry between Hazeldine and Jameson is also a forerunner to the Mulder-Scully relationship). Unfortunately, hysterical controversy from watchdog groups led to its early demise and enduring cult status. The three-DVD set includes the entire series, as well as a featurette of interviews with Gallaccio, Read, and co-producer/creator Jack Gershon; all three are featured on a commentary for the infamous “Powers of Darkness” episode (which garnered much of the public outcry during the series’ broadcast), for which they’re joined by director Eric Davidson. –Paul Gaita
Product Description
Over 10 episodes this BBC television drama explored mysterious occurrences and strange phenomena, with a journalist, Tom Crane (James Hazeldine), using his psychic powers to inform the government of supernatural forces at work. Similar to THE X-FILES, THE OMEGA FACTOR preceded it, and appears to have exerted quite an influence over its creators.
The Tomorrow People: The Complete Series
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Amazon.com
Thames Television’s The Tomorrow People (1973-79) was a fondly remembered U.K. science fiction TV series that drew in teen and adult audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with its thought-provoking premise and cliffhanger stories; the show’s first two seasons make their American DVD debut in an impressive four-disc collection. For any kid struggling with growing pains, the show provided an irresistible hook: Stephen Jameson (Peter Vaughn-Clarke) discovers that he is no average teen, but one of the “Tomorrow People,” a select group of youths with extraordinary powers who protect Earth from a host of threats from space and time.
Series creator Roger Price (later the man behind You Can’t Do That on Television and other Canadian programming shown on Nickelodeon, where the Tomorrow People also aired in the ’80s) penned the six serialized stories compiled here (three are co-written with Brian Finch), which pit the Tomorrow People against a shape-shifting robot (“Slaves of Jedikiah” and “The Medusa Strain,” the latter featuring an appearance by David “Darth Vader” Prowse), an evil military organization (“The Doomsday Men”), and a villain who attempts to change the course of history (“A Rift in Time”). Modern teens might guffaw over the show’s primitive special effects, but the stories are engaging and exciting enough to win over even diehard CGI fans; older viewers should appreciate the care with which this program has been preserved on DVD. All 26 episodes of the first and second season are presented here, with cast members Vaughn-Clarke, Nicholas Young (who played John), and Sammie Winmill (Carol) contributing commentary on “Slaves of Jedikiah.” Bios for the cast round out the extras on this entertaining collection. –Paul Gaita
Product Description
Welcome to the next stage of human evolution. Not your everyday Homo sapiens, the Tomorrow People are Homo superiors, children with amazing powers–here in our world TODAY. Originally broadcast in the 1970s, THE TOMORROW PEOPLE introduced British television viewers to an instant cult classic in Sci-Fi adventuring. Imagine young Stephen’s surprise when he learns he is actually one of the Tomorrow People, teenagers with powers of telekinesis, teleportation (called jaunting), and telepathy. Headquartered in a secret underground Lab and protected by the supercomputer Tim, the Tomorrow People look for the emergence of more of their kind and battle evil forces from the farthest reaches of space and time. Thought provoking, action packed, and creatively produced, this edition of THE TOMORROW PEOPLE contains all twenty-six episodes from the series’ first two seasons on DVD for the first time. DVD Features: Commentary with Stars Nicholas Young, Peter Vaughn-Clarke, and Sammie Winmill on “The Slaves of Jedikiah”; Cast Biographies; Interactive Menu; Scene Selection
Sapphire and Steel – The Complete Series
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Amazon.com
One of the oddest shows ever mounted for mainstream British television, Sapphire & Steel was one of ITV’s many short-lived attempts at grabbing the sci-fi cult status of the BBC’s Doctor Who. Ex-Man from U.N.C.L.E. David McCallum and ex-Avenger Joanna Lumley play human-looking incarnations of the eponymous substances, mysterious investigators working at the behest of an apparent God of Order and zipping about TARDIS-like to cope with anomalies in the time-stream that manifest as apparent supernatural forces in remote English locales like an isolated farmhouse (Adventure One), a deserted rural railway station (Adventure Two) and a high-rise block of flats (Adventure Three).
McCallum and Lumley play their “medium atomic weights” with blank style and a few touches of baffled humor, not to mention visual flair in the case of Lumley’s blue fashions and occasional glowing eyes. But the lengthy serial format, strictly limited guest casts, and claustrophobic confinement to studio sets tend to mean individual serials straggle on with a great deal of repetition, as six- or eight-part stories seem to take forever to get moving and then resolve. Shot on video, with a few strange 1970s effects (evil follow-spots, floating pillows), this remains prime cult material, though it’s hard to sit still for more than one episode at a time. –Kim Newman
Product Description
The spiritual precursor to The X-Files, SAPPHIRE & STEEL is one of the most atmospheric, mysterious and compelling television programs ever made. Joanna Lumley (Ab Fab, Cold Comfort Farm) and David McCallum (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) star as alien investigators sent to earth to monitor and police ruptures in time. Defying convention at every turn, SAPPHIRE & STEEL spread six adventures over 34 episodes, keeping viewers constantly in suspense and heightening the tension with its distinctively claustrophobic sets (only one tale used any location footage), stark lighting and ethereal music. Combined with the deeply ambiguous stories, this created a distinctly unsettling and riveting experience. Now, SAPPHIRE & STEEL is ready to capture the minds of a new generation of fans with this comprehensive DVD collection, which features every moody minute of the revolutionary show.
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Timeslip is a suspenseful, mysterious, brain-puzzling British serial from 1970 suitable for kids and adults. Told in four suites of stories, each comprised of six two-part episodes, Timeslip concerns the adventures of a pair of teenage friends, Liz (Cheryl Burfield) and Simon (Spencer Banks), who stumble across an invisible portal to the past and future at the edge of an old navy base. In their first experience, “The Wrong End of Time,” Liz and Simon arrive inside the secure navy base as it was during World War II. There they are captured and interrogated by none other than Liz’s future father, Frank (Derek Benfield), and his commander, an enigmatic physicist named Traynor (Denis Quilley). By coincidence–or not–the kids have turned up on the night the base was temporarily overtaken by Germans in search for the truth behind Traynor’s alleged research into radar. Making things even more puzzling, Liz and Simon just happen to have found the portal on the same 1970 night when an older Traynor has appeared in town greatly curious to see how Liz and Simon make out on their visit to the past.
The second suite, “The Time of the Ice Box” is a much weirder story set in the kids’ then-future: 1990. Traveling through the portal, Liz and Simon turn up by a research station at the South Pole, where they are mistaken for human guinea pigs set to participate in some extreme and top-secret bio-engineering experiments conducted by a barely human yet brilliant scientist. “The Year of the Burn Up” anticipates global warming in a tale finding Liz and Simon once again exploring the future and discovering that England is now a jungle. Just as strange is the appearance of a rather mad Traynor in this scenario, as well as an adult version of Simon–a man with a number for a name. (Liz meets her own grown-up self in “The Time of the Ice Box.”) Finally, “The Day of the Clone” has Simon searching for a secret government research center five years in the past, where he encounters yet another variation on Traynor. Even in some of its sillier moments (characters standing around talking about taking action instead of actually taking it), Timeslip is irresistible good fun and hard to stop watching. It’s a pleasure to set aside a day or two just to plow through it with minimal breaks, enjoying every time-travel paradox along the way. –Tom Keogh
Product Description
Have you ever had the feeling you’ve been here before? Or you know what will happen next? Perhaps you’re experiencing a TIMESLIP, where past and future are just a blink of an eye away. A TIMESLIP is exactly what fifteen-year-olds Simon Randall and Liz Skinner stumble through while on vacation. In search of a missing girl, the intrepid teens pass through an invisible time barrier that takes them back to World War II. Soon, though it could be later, the two find themselves traveling to 1990s Antarctica, a tropical jungle that turns out to be England, and a secret research institute in the mid sixties. Guiding the Skinners is the enigmatic Traynor, who appears in different forms throughout their fantastic adventures. Ahead of its time when it premiered in 1970, TIMESLIP tackled topics like anti-aging drugs, global warming and cloning that are part of today’s headlines. Ambitious, superbly acted and thought provoking, this first-time DVD edition features all 26 original episodes. DVD Features: “Beyond the Barrier” Documentary; Timeslip Intro; Selected Biographies; Interactive Map; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection
Jeremiah – The Complete First Season
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Amazon.com
Jeremiah fans have been clamoring for the release of the show on DVD (it originally aired on Showtime), and with 19 episodes and a passel of special features spread out over six discs and totaling nearly 15 hours, they are unlikely to be disappointed.
Based on a series of graphic novels by Hermann Huppen, the show takes place on an Earth where, some 15 years earlier, a hormonal virus killed everyone who was past puberty. It’s an intriguing premise, but one that creator J. Michael Straczynski (best known for his work on “Babylon 5″) and his team haven’t exploited to its fullest. The slow-moving, 90-minute pilot episode explains little of the internal logic of this post-apocalyptic world; how, for instance, did these young folks, the oldest of whom were only 12 or 13 when “the Big Death” wiped out six billion people, manage to survive, educate themselves, and learn skills and trades without any adult influence in a society that’s in shambles? It would be fun to know more.
Still, the show’s ideas are provocative, and the work of co-stars and TV stalwarts Luke Perry as the title character, a hero with a conscience, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner as his more cynical sidekick, is good. Jeremiah, to its credit, doesn’t rely on special effects, production design, costumes, or sets to carry it. That means the burden is on the ongoing themes (Jeremiah’s guilt over his younger brother’s death and his search for the maybe-mythic “Valhalla Sector”; the threat of the plague returning in an even more virulent form; the attempts to rebuild civilization) and individual stories, which are frequently compelling and smart (especially “Things Left Unsaid,” the two-part season finale, a cliffhanger that offers many possibilities for future seasons), even while favoring talk over action.
The special features occupy disc 1, along with the pilot, and include deleted scenes, production sketches, and commentary on the pilot by Perry (who also executive produced) and Warner. If you’re looking for superior sci-fi escapism, however, try Farscape or Stargate SG-1, to name just two. –Sam Graham
Product Description
A stunning sci-fi epic that re-envisions the future of mankind, this top-rated, action-packed original series is “intriguing” (Associated Press), “fascinating” (Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel) and “deep and intense” (Science Fiction Weekly)! Luke Perry (“Beverly Hills 90210,” “Oz”) stars as Jeremiah, one of the many young survivors of the “Big Death” that claimed the lives of every adult in the world 15 years ago. Now forging his way through a bleak wilderness fraught with danger and conspiracy, Jeremiah and his most trusted friend, Kurdy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), are plunged into thrilling adventures that test every facet of their humanity…and ultimately the fate of the human race itself!
Odyssey 5 – The Complete Series
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Amazon.com
While flying under the ratings radar on Showtime, Odyssey 5 drew loyal fans with a premise that could have yielded fascinating developments beyond its 19-episode run. Before taking show-runner jobs on UPN’s ill-fated Star Trek: Enterprise and Fox’s 24, creator-writer-producer Manny Coto dreamed up this provocative pastiche of sci-fi ideas, connecting an end-of-the-world scenario with a time-travel twist and an alien invasion plot with X-Files overtones. You could argue that Coto’s reach exceeded his grasp, since none of these elements combine to form a fully satisfying whole (especially since the series was cancelled before it reached its intended conclusion), but there’s something to be said for the show’s entertaining tangents and unexpected complications. It all begins when the five-member crew of the space shuttle Odyssey witnesses the shocking implosion of the Earth, leaving them stranded and doomed to suffocate when their air supply is depleted. Instead, they are rescued by the Seeker (John Neville), a crystalline alien in human form, who sends them (or at least, their mental and spiritual essence) five years back in time, reunited with their physical bodies with a mission to discover what went wrong and save Earth from oblivion.
Peter Weller stars as the brash, foul-mouthed Commander Chuck Taggart, a seasoned flyboy whose 22-year-old computer-whiz son Neil (Christopher Gorham) must now cope with being physically 17 again, reliving high-school (including his first serious relationship) while investigating possible causes of Earth’s destruction. Along with geneticist Kurt Mendel (Sebastian Roché), shuttle pilot Angela Perry (Tamara Craig Thomas), and TV news reporter Sarah Forbes (Leslie Silva), their quest leads to the discovery of sentient nano-bots, synthetic humans, and a far-reaching conspiracy masterminded by a NASA splinter group secretly known as “the Cadre.” In his pilot episode commentary recorded with Weller in 2005, Coto outlines some of the ideas he would’ve developed had the series run longer, and these 19 episodes serve up plenty of surprises that hint at the series’ untapped potential. That makes Odyssey 5 both fun and frustrating–we’re left dangling with an unresolved cliffhanger–but the ensemble cast makes it worthwhile. While the writing skews toward juvenile silliness on some occasions (and veers into full-on comedy with guest star Ted Raimi in the entertaining episode “The Trouble with Harry”), it’s clear that Odyssey 5 was pushing conventional boundaries of TV science fiction. For that reason alone, it’s a shame it lacked the audience that would’ve warranted additional episodes. –Jeff Shannon
Miracles – The Complete Series
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Amazon.com
ABC’s Miracles had a sizable viewership during its brief 2002-2003 primetime run, but the network’s coverage of the Iraq war broke the show’s momentum, resulting in cancellation after a mere six episodes. Those half-dozen shows and seven more unaired stories are included in this boxed set, which certainly underscores the series’ unfulfilled promise as a kind of spiritually based version of The X-Files. Skeet Ulrich (Scream) stars as Paul Callan, an investigator of miracles for the Catholic Church. Demoralized and confused about his purpose in life, Paul takes a hiatus from his job, but is soon asked to check out claims about a dying young boy, Tommy Ferguson (Jacob Smith), with the power to heal. During his research, Paul has apocalyptic visions and is himself saved from death by Tommy, but the effort kills the latter. Tommy becomes a ghost who intermittently appears throughout the series with cryptic warnings about a coming “darkness.” Paul grapples with the meaning of that, as well as the significance of a phenomenon in which his own, spilled blood formed the words, “God Is Now Here.”
Enter Alva Keel (Angus Macfadyen, who played Robert the Bruce in Braveheart), a paranormal researcher convinced that scattered miracles recently occurring around the world point to a “large event” coming. Paul warily joins Alva’s team, which includes a former cop named Evelyn Santos (Marisa Ramirez). Together they investigate such supernatural oddities as the momentary disappearance of a commercial jet (the passengers subsequently live out their dreams), the possession of a paralysis victim by an entity, the spectral appearance of a dead girl prior to several disasters, and the co-existence of a Civil War-era past and present in a small town. The final episode, “Paul Is Dead,” is a particularly spooky tale (with an unexpected twist) in which our hero reaches into the afterlife to help, and be helped, by Tommy after Evelyn’s son goes missing. The series’ storylines are fairly comparable to the adventures of Mulder and Scully, with a lot of recognizable human pain and anguish dovetailing with the fantastic. Some of the elements of Miracles hadn’t quite come together by the 13th program–Alva, Paul and Evelyn never really feel like a cohesive unit–but the potential was certainly there and the writing was unusually strong. If Miracles is finally yet another lost opportunity on network television, at least there remains the strong showing represented in this set. –Tom Keogh
Product Description
The ABC network drama finally comes to DVD! Includes 7 Episodes Never Before Aired in the U.S.!
Paul Callan (Skeet Ulrich) is an investigator of modern miracles whose own faith becomes tested with each new mundane explanation. Then something happens that changes everything. A young boy with the power to heal saves Paul’s life — and pays for it with his own. But before the boy dies, they both see the words “God Is Now Here” written in Paul’s blood, launching Paul on an odyssey of paranormal investigation and spiritual awakening.
Paul finds a kindred spirit in a former Harvard professor turned investigator of the occult (Angus Macfadyen), who opens Paul’s eyes to the growing number of “strange occurrences” that may signal a much more sinister revelation. Teaming up with a former police officer (Marisa Ramirez), these investigators explore the unexplained and try to find a solution to the coming “darkness” before it’s too late.
Special Features include:
-Interview & Commentaries
-Deleted Scenes
-5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Jason of Star Command – The Complete Series
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“The time: the distant future. Man has reached the farther stars, but has also uncovered dark, mysterious galaxies. And, as Star Command heads into the unknown, danger lies in wait.”
Originally broadcast in the wake of the “Star Wars” phenomenon as a 15-minute live action segment of CBS’s “Tarzan and the Super 7″ show during the 1978-1979 season, “Jason of Command” had proved to be so popular (and the most expensive Filmation series) it became a separate half-hour Saturday morning show a season later.
Set in the 22nd century, the “Space Academy” spinoff (utilizing the sets, costumes and props) featured Craig Littler as Jason, the Han Solo-esque space explorer vital to Star Command’s defense against the Dragonship attacks of deliciously evil “Master of the Cosmos” Dragos played by Sid Haig. Star Command itself was actually a special ops division of the Space Academy.
The supporting cast includes Susan O’Hanlon (“All My Children”) as computer expert Capt. Nicole Davidoff; James Doohan (TV’s “Star Trek”) as Season One Commander Canarvin; Charlie Dell as inventor Professor E.J. Parsafoot; Tamara Dobson (“Cleopatra Jones”) as Season Two super-strong alien telepath Samantha (replacing Nicole); and John Russell (“Pale Rider”) as Season Two blue-skinned Commander Stone (replacing Canarvin); plus outer space-ready pocket droid “Wiki” (W1K1), and Peepo the robot.
Though obviously inspired by Star Wars and Ray Harryhausen model animated epics, Jason of Star Command most closely resembled the sci-fi serials of the 1930s and 40s, with a single-storied overall first season told in 16 chapters. Unlike previous Filmation shows, the stories focused more on action (non-violent, of course) than education. Nonetheless, “Jason” still commands respect among those who fondly remember it as arguably Saturday morning’s most ambitious live action series this side of Battlestar Galactica.
Jason of Star Command – The Complete Series is 3-disc set featuring all 28 episodes in Full Frame (1.33:1) Video. BCI Eclipse even tracked down Jason himself Craig Littler, and got him to do commentary for the set! Special Features include:
* The all-new half-hour documentary, “The Adventures of Jason of Star Command,” featuring interviews with the producer, stars, and visual effects artists.
* Two commentary tracks for Season One episodes “Attack of the Dragonship” and “The Disappearing Man” hosted by Andy Mangels with executive producer Lou Scheimer, and actors Craig Littler and John Berwick.
* Special effects commentary track for Season Two episode “Beyond the Stars!” hosted by Andy Mangels with visual effects supervisor Chuck Comisky, stop motion animator Jim Aupperle, and live action creature effects artist John Carl Beuchler.
* Jason of Star Command special effects demo reel
* Extensive gallery of promotional photos
* Extensive gallery of behind the scenes photos
* Gallery of cast & crew renunion photos
* Art gallery style guide for proposed “Jason of Star Command” animated series
* Booklet with episode guide and trivia
* DVD-ROM scripts from the series
* Easter eggs
* More previews from Ink & Paint
Season One:
1. Attack of the Dragonship
2. Prisoner of Dragos
3. Escape from the Dragons
4. A Cry for Help
5. Wiki to the Rescue
6. Planet of the Lost
7. Marooned in Time
8. Attack of the Dragons
9. Peepo’s Last Chance
10. The Disappearing Man
11. The Haunted Planet
12. Escape from Kesh
13. Return of the Creature
14. Peepo on Trial
15. The Trojan Horse
16. The Victory of Star Command
Season Two:
1. Mission to the Stars
2. Frozen in Space
3. Web of the Star Witch
4. Beyond the Stars!
5. Secret of the Ancients
6. The Power of the Star Disk
7. Through the Stargate
8. Face to Face
9. Phantom Force
10. Little Girl Lost
11. Mimi’s Secret
12. Battle for Freedom”
Jupiter Moon: New Frontier (4pc)
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Editorial Reviews
Product Description
In the year 2050, mankind has reached out into the vastness of space, exploring the mysteries and dangers of the solar system. But to the teen and twenty-something students and staff on board the university space station Ilea, the wonders and perils of deep space must compete with the ups and downs of relationships and young romance. Collect all 150 interstellar episodes of this celebrated sci-fi series, each one more astronomically addictive than the next!
In This Collection: Episodes 1-36
Preparing for the big New Year’s party, life aboard the Ilea suddenly takes a dark turn when the crew discovers a black void racing through space, threatening to engulf the entire ship. Meanwhile, fear spreads when a student shows signs of a deadly virus and a harrowing rumor begins to spread that the ship is being attacked by a dreaded “Space Serpent.”
Jupiter Moon: Ghost in the Machine
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World – Season One
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Determined to prove the existence of The Lost World, dashing adventurer and scholar Professor Edward Challenger mounts a British expedition team consisting of a mismatched group of enthusiasts, all with less than selfless reasons for making the journey. Traveling through the uncharted Amazon jungle to this prehistoric plateau, the group encounters incredible adventures: tribal headhunters, vicious ape men, giant crocodiles, and terrifying dinosaurs! This thrilling spectacle from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, brings cliffhanging action into your home with this special box set! 22 action-packed, one-hour episodes the entire first season of this exciting TV hit! As seen on WGN and in National Syndication Still a Viewer Favorite from Coast to Coast! Dinosaurs Are Huge Business! Market to fans of the Jurassic Park series and Walking with Dinosaurs From Executive Producer John Landis, Creator of An American Werewolf in London and National Lampoon’s Animal House Eye-Catching Deluxe Slimcase Packaging with Collectible Artwork! Each DVD case highlights a different personality from the TV program. Episodes include: The Journey Begins, Stranded, More than Human, Nectar, Cave of Fear, Salvation, Blood Lust, Out of Time, Paradise Found, The Beast Within, Creatures of the Dark, Tribute, Absolute Power, Camelot, Unnatural Selection, Time After Time, Prodigal Father, Birthright, Resurrection, Prophecy, The Chosen One, Barbarians at the Gate.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World – Season Two
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World – Season Three
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Amazon Customer Reviews
All those who missed the adventure and humor of the fun serials and “B” pictures of the 1930’s embraced this wonderful show from the very beginning and remained loyal until its final episode. Tia Carrere was wonderful as the college professor who spent more time chasing down lost artifacts than she did in the classroom.
While it would have been easy to go too far with a female lead in what would decades ago have surely been a male role, Hawaiin native Carrere always managed to remain feminine while getting the best of others after the same object, or in some cases, Sydney herself. There was a terrific if small supporting cast we came to really like just as much as Sydney.
Christien Anholt’s character, Nigel Bailey, always brought charm and humor to the role of Sydney Fox’s assistant. And Lindy Booth was fabulous as the daffy blonde secretary, Claudia, you loved in spite of her unorthodox mind. Though Booth was missed by fans when she left the show, Tanja Reichert grew into her role as Karen Petrusky, the voluptuous and not so daffy secretary who seemed to have a spark with Nigel.
Whether it was caves or jungles or rickety old planes and snakes, it was fun each week to escape for an hour with old and likable friends. It was what television is supposed to be but seldom is anymore. It bordered on camp at times but never crossed the line.
While it is true that not everything we fans would like to have been included on this set has been, it is still sweet that it is available at all. While every network show under the sun seems to be released on DVD as of late, many fine syndicated shows such as “One West Waikiki” have been completely ignored. We can just be grateful to have a little time with Sydney and the gang thanks to its availability.
Those looking for serial and “B” movie type adventure will find as much here as they can handle. A fun and delightful show.
RELIC HUNTER EPISODES IN PROPER ORDER
SEASON ONE
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH-DISC TWO
ETCHED IN STONE-DISC THREE
THE BOOK OF LOVE-DISC THREE
A GOOD YEAR-DISC FOUR
THE LAST KNIGHT-DISC FOUR
LOVE LETTER-DISC FOUR
POSSESSED-DISC FIVE
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH-DISC FOUR
MEMORIES OF MONTMARTE-DISC FIVE
SEASON TWO
LAST OF THE MOHICAS-DISC ONE
THE LEGEND OF THE LOST-DISC ONE
FERTILE GROUND-DISC ONE
GYPSY JIGSAW-DISC ONE
THREE RIVERS TO CROSS-DISC ONE
ROMAN HOLIDAY-DISC TWO
CROSS OF VOODOO-DISC TWO
LOST CONTACT-DISC TWO
THE REEL THING-DISC TWO
M.I.A.-DISC FOUR
OUT OF THE PAST-DISC THREE
EYES OF THE TOKLAMANEE-DISC THREE
RUN SYDNEY RUN-DISC THREE
Note: This is apparently NOT the entire show – it’s a pick of the best so to speak.
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Join one of TV’s most stunning breakout heroines as the action-packed series Bionic Woman leaps into DVD! From executive producer David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) comes this gripping re-imagining of the universally beloved character.
Jamie Sommers is a hard-working woman struggling to take care of her younger sister. But after a serious, life-threatening accident, Jamie is saved by a top-secret procedure that makes her much more than just an ordinary woman…it makes her superhumanly bionic. Starring hot newcomer Michelle Ryan, as well as Miguel Ferrer (Crossing Jordan), Molly Price (Third Watch), Will Yun Lee (Witchblade), Lucy Kate Hale (How I Met Your Mother), and guest stars Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), it’s a non-stop thrill ride unlike anything you’ve seen before!
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The sensational sci-fi series that has to be seen to be believed, The Invisible Man is now available on DVD for the first time ever! Join con man-turned-covert-op-specialist Darien Fawkes (Vincent Ventresca) in 23 gripping Season One episodes, including the two-hour TV-length pilot, as he undergoes a top-secret invisibility experiment by the “Agency.” As he takes on spy networks, assassins and lethal weapons cases, Darien must come to terms with the “Quicksilver madness” and physical outbursts that are unexpected side effects of his special abilities. Co-starring Paul Ben-Victor (Entourage) and Shannon Kenny (7th Heaven), this suspenseful action series has intrigue, humor and futuristic weaponry that you’ll want to “see” again and again!
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Kristanna Loken of Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines and Bloodrayne stars as Jane Vasco, a tough-yet-sexy DEA agent recruited by a covert government unit to hunt superhuman neurological aberrations known as Neuros who can do dangerous things with their minds. But when Jane discovers that she herself can
rapidly heal from any injury, she begins to investigate her own disturbing background. In this sole season of the Sci Fi Channel series, Jane and her team
battle assassins, arsonists, time loops, prison breaks, mythical beasts, undead armies, killer hallucinations and more, all in a bullet-riddled world of the very near future where nothing may be what it seems …and pain is always a bitch.
Painkiller Is A Thriller!
Kristanna Loken Kicks Ass!
StuffMagazine.com
The Invaders – The First Season
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Amazon Customer Review
“When I was a kid, this show truly terrified me and DID give me nightmares – but I loved it anyway! Now, at long last, the original, iconic Sci-Fi TV Classic “The Invaders” is being released on DVD in boxed season sets. The first 17 episodes have been gathered in the initial DVD release.
The Invaders, which premiered on ABC in 1967, starred Roy Thinnes. It was a mid-season replacement show that was an hour-long, full-color science fiction thriller that sadly lasted only 43 episodes. Families across the country truly gathered around their TV sets when the series aired on Tuesday’s at 8:30 p.m. to see what happened next.
The show opened with an unforgettable and chilling narration: “The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production starring Roy Thinnes as architect David Vincent. The Invaders – alien beings from a dying planet. Their destination – the Earth. Their purpose: to make it `their’ world. David Vincent has seen them. For him, it began one lost night on a lonely country road, looking for a shortcut that he never found. It began with a closed, deserted diner, and a man too long without sleep to continue his journey. It began with the landing of a craft from another galaxy. Now, David Vincent knows that the Invaders are here; that they have taken human form. Somehow, he must convince a disbelieving world, that the nightmare has already begun…”
Voice talents were Hank Simms, who was the introductory narrator, and William Woodson who was episode narrator for the entire series.
In the first episode, Vincent is driving home at night after working a long, tiring day. He turns onto what he believes is a shortcut, then down the dark, isolated road. Unexpectedly, he ends up at Bud’s Cafe, situated in a ghost town. Exhausted, he decides to park to rest for a while before continuing home. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, something wakes him: a strange glowing object is “landing” in front of his eyes.
Leaving his car and edging forward, he sees the advance army of what he learns is an alien invasion. From that moment forward, he tries to warn a skeptical world that there are aliens in their midst masquerading as humans. At the same time, he struggles to stay alive – because not only had he seen the aliens, but they had seen him!
While the premise seems simple in this day and age, the series had such great production values, flawless acting by Thinnes, fantastically creepy music by Dominic Frontiere, use of creative and intentionally distorted camera work, and even weird title credits by Wayne Fitzgerald, that it really did scare the wits out of legions of fans. In addition, the true form of the Invaders was never shown, so viewers’ imaginations were encouraged to run wild, an effective creative device that has been sadly abandoned in this “show everything no matter what” Internet age.
As the series progressed, Vincent was able to identify some Invaders through certain characteristics, and he also learned that their human forms were unstable and had to be “regenerated” occasionally, or they would perish.
In 1995, there was a feeble attempt to resurrect the show in a mini-series starring Scott Bakula as Nolan Wood, with an appearance by Thinnes.
“The Invaders” remains so popular that in 2004 the character of David Vincent was ranked No. 6 in TV Guide’s list of the Twenty-Five Greatest Sci-Fi Legends.
It may not be coincidental that The Invaders seems an intriguing mix of the Sci-Fi film masterpiece “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and the TV Classic drama “The Fugitive,” which was also produced by the brilliant Quinn Martin, who also produced The Untouchables, and The Streets of San Francisco, to name a few.
Episodes included in this boxed set are: Beachhead; The Experiment; The Mutation; The Leeches; Genesis; Vikor; Nightmare; Doomsday Minus One; Quantity: Unknown; The Innocent; The Ivy Curtain; The Betrayed; Storm; Panic; Moonshot; Wall of Crystal; The Condemned.
Let’s hope the remainder of this fantastic series will be quickly released on DVD.”
Farscape – The Complete First Season
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Amazon.com
Farscape is genre television at its most ambitious, inspired both by the cult appeal of Babylon 5 and the continuing success of the Star Trek franchise, but taking a visual and conceptual leap beyond those shows. Making extensive use of CGI, prosthetics, and state-of-the-art puppetry, courtesy of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the Farscape concept has a freshness that makes it look and feel completely original. Among the first season’s 22 episodes, “Premiere” introduces the characters and the basic premise: American astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) is flung through a wormhole and comes out in the midst of an interstellar prison escape on the other side of the universe. When the galactic cops (called “Peacekeepers”) mark him as the new public enemy number one, Crichton is forced to ally himself with the convicts: hulking warrior D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), blue-skinned priest Zhaan (Virginia Hey), fugitive peacekeeper Aeryn (Claudia Black), exiled king Rygel (Jonathan Hardy), and Pilot, the giant insectlike nerve center of their living ship, Moya.
In the action-packed and stylishly directed “Throne for a Loss,” a race of mercenary criminals called the Tavleks kidnap the imperious Rygel. “PK Tech Girl” and “That Old Black Magic” feature a peek into the pasts of Rygel and Zhaan as they hide from the fleets of Peacekeeper soldiers in the galactic frontier known as the Uncharted Territories. Leading toward the climax of the show’s first season, “Nerve” and “The Hidden Memory” make for a bold two-parter that reunites Crichton with his Peacekeeper Tech girlfriend, Gilina, and introduces the dreaded Scorpius, who uses his Aurora Chair torture device to extract what he mistakenly believes is vital knowledge from Crichton. The final episode, “Family Ties,” ends with a cliffhanger guaranteed to bring viewers back for more, as the duplicitous Rygel plans to turn traitor, which eventually leaves the fates of Crichton and D’Argo up for grabs and Moya’s young offspring under the control of the conflicted villain Crais, among other developments.
Farscape – The Complete Second Season
Farscape – The Complete Third Season
Farscape – The Complete Fourth Season
Farscape – The Peacekeeper Wars
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Created at least in part due to popular demand, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars will provide some closure to fans who were dismayed by the demise of the popular science fiction television show in 2003 and campaigned mightily to bring it back. Indeed, this miniseries (originally broadcast over two nights on the Sci-Fi Channel) will likely appeal primarily to the Farscape faithful, as the somewhat convoluted storyline may prove baffling to the uninitiated.
A brief bit of backstory explains how John Crichton, an astronaut from Earth, went through a wormhole and ended up on Moya, a living spaceship, with a motley group of aliens, including D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), Chiana (Gigi Edgley), various puppet characters (designed by the Jim Henson Company), and Aeryn (Claudia Black), Crichton’s love interest, who’s expecting their first child. As The Peacekeeper Wars begins, our heroes find themselves in the middle of a war-to-end-all-wars between the lizard-like, implacably evil Scarrans and their rivals, the Peacekeepers. Crichton is the lynchpin in all of this, as his knowledge of “wormhole technology” is coveted by all, including his old nemesis Scorpius (Wayne Pygram), who captured and tortured Crichton back in season 1 and with whom Crichton must now form an uneasy alliance against the Scarrans.
Over the course of the three-hour miniseries, we get lots of weird- and cool-looking aliens, some nice sets and special effects, plenty of battles, and lots of portentous talk about the fate of the universe–nothing especially original, but all presented with outstanding production values. There’s drama and action, love and betrayal, tragedy and triumph, war and, ultimately, peace, with a suitably spectacular ending (and a nod to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey). With a 30-minute “making of” documentary among the DVD special features, The Peacekeeper Wars is a fitting way to end the Farscape saga. –Sam Graham
Voyagers DVD – Season 1
DVD SPECS
Video Format: Normal Screen
Special Features: None
Menu’s Yes (Interactive Menu for quick and easy
episode selection)
Commercials: None
Language Tracks: English
Subtitle Tracks: None
Rating: Not Rated
Product Packaging: Standard DVD Cases with
Professional, Full Color Artwork
Region Code: 0 (Region-Free – Plays Worldwide)
DVD Format: Format-Free DVD-R (Plays in both
PAL and NTSC DVD players)
Voyagers was debuted on the 3rd of October 1982 and ended on the 31st of July 1983. The series has only one (1) season and twenty (20) episodes. It follows the exploit of one of the members of time travelers known as Voyagers.
Phineas Bogg portrayed by Jon-Erik Hexum, a twenty-five (25) years old time traveler and help the history along and give it a push when it’s needed. He has done all the jobs with the help of the Omni, a time machine that is a pocket watch sized and with a temporal boundary of as far ahead as 1970 but unfortunately it malfunctioned and he land in an apartment where a little boy named Jeffrey Jones portrayed by Meeno Peluce and his aunt and uncle lived. Jeffrey accidentally fell on the window and Phineas saves him that causes the activation of the Omni and that they travel on a different time. Unfortunately Bogg’s guidebook was grabbed by Jeffrey’s dog and so Jeffrey became his historian guide as he has a lack of knowledge about history. And together they do the job.
→ 2 CommentsCategories: DVD · Sci Fi · Television · fantasy · movies · science fiction
The following books are Newbery Winners. Note that many of these books are required reading in classes or were. Parents may recall some of the older ones. Here are two excellent comments on reading such books:
“As an elementary school librarian, I think it’s informative to read all the reviews found here. It can be summed up that readers either like or dislike … Newbery Award winning book[s]. There is no middle ground.
However, one should pay attention to the many negative reviews by “bored” students. It’s my opinion that these students were probably not sufficiently prepared to read th[ese ... somewhat challenging--stor[ies]. If a teacher just passes this book out, or says, “Go read a Newbery book,” then I don’t blame them for yawning.”
“As for complaints about this book: Note that virtually all of them say that it was a schoolwork book; once again, we have disgruntled students seeking “revenge” on a non-fluff book that they had to read. This is not a book that should be assigned, but a book that should be selected individually. Don’t read it just because it’s a Newbery, read it if you can handle it!”
As for my take, check the story line, the date of publication, and for earlier books, check some reviews – some of the book reflect the times and have racial stereotypes or other offensive things to today’s readers. For those books, give them to mature readers, who can handle the challenge and explain and discuss some of the book’s shortcomings in these areas and why – the books are still deserving and should not be discarded because of attitudes that existed during that time – it is the same as discarding huckleberry Finn – a form of book censorship, in my opinion. But the first one has nothing to complain about – it is a family favorite.
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
Ages 6 and up. “Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the “powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous” nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated “Dear Reader”-style, begins “within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse.” Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon.
The first book of four tells Despereaux’s sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers–Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen’s soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been “clouted” so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.
Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break “never-to-be-broken rules of conduct.” Timothy Basil Ering’s pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo’s extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older).” Amazon [Newbery Winner 2004]
Out Of The Dust by by Karen Hesse
Ages 12 and up. “Like the Oklahoma dust bowl from which she came, 14-year-old narrator Billie Jo writes in sparse, free-floating verse. In this compelling, immediate journal, Billie Jo reveals the grim domestic realities of living during the years of constant dust storms: That hopes–like the crops–blow away in the night like skittering tumbleweeds. That trucks, tractors, even Billie Jo’s beloved piano, can suddenly be buried beneath drifts of dust. Perhaps swallowing all that grit is what gives Billie Jo–our strong, endearing, rough-cut heroine–the stoic courage to face the death of her mother after a hideous accident that also leaves her piano-playing hands in pain and permanently scarred.
Meanwhile, Billie Jo’s silent, windblown father is literally decaying with grief and skin cancer before her very eyes. When she decides to flee the lingering ghosts and dust of her homestead and jump a train west, she discovers a simple but profound truth about herself and her plight. There are no tight, sentimental endings here–just a steady ember of hope that brightens Karen Hesse’s exquisitely written and mournful tale. Hesse won the 1998 Newbery Award for this elegantly crafted, gut-wrenching novel, and her fans won’t want to miss The Music of Dolphins or Letters from Rifka. (Ages 9 and older),” Amazon
The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Ages 12 and up. “Karen Cushman likes to write with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, and her feisty female characters firmly planted in history. In The Midwife’s Apprentice, which earned the 1996 Newbery Medal, this makes a winning combination for children and adult readers alike. Like her award-winning book Catherine, Called Birdy, the story takes place in medieval England. This time our protagonist is Alyce, who rises from the dung heap (literally) of homelessness and namelessness to find a station in life–apprentice to the crotchety, snaggletoothed midwife Jane Sharp. On Alyce’s first solo outing as a midwife, she fails to deliver. Instead of facing her ignorance, Alyce chooses to run from failure–never a good choice. Disappointingly, Cushman does not offer any hardships or internal wrestling to warrant Alyce’s final epiphanies, and one of the book’s climactic insights is when Alyce discovers that lo and behold she is actually pretty! Still, Cushman redeems her writing, as always, with historical accuracy, saucy dialogue, fast-paced action, and plucky, original characters that older readers will eagerly devour. (Ages 12 and older).” Amazon
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Ages 12 and up. “Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle’s mother has disappeared. While tracing her steps on a car trip from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents, Salamanca tells a story to pass the time about a friend named Phoebe Winterbottom whose mother vanished and who received secret messages after her disappearance. One of them read, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.” Despite her father’s warning that she is “fishing in the air,” Salamanca hopes to bring her home. By drawing strength from her Native American ancestry, she is able to face the truth about her mother. Walk Two Moons won the 1995 Newbery Medal.” Amazon
Ages 12 and up. “In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community’s Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.” Amazon
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
Ages 9 and up. “This wonderful book revolves around a few delightfully named characters: Summer, Uncle Ob, Aunt May and Cletus Underwood. After being passed among relatives, Summer joins her aunt and uncle and marvels at the couple’s deep love for one another. But after Aunt May dies, Summer and Uncle Ob are brought together in their struggles to come to terms with the death. Cletus, a neighbor boy, comes along to help provide an answer. This simple and sweet story, which won the Newbery Medal in 1993, is injected with just the right touches of humor and mysticism.” Amazon
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman and Peter Sis
Ages 9-12. “With his flair for persuading readers to believe in the ridiculous, Fleischman scores a hit with his new creation. Sis’s skillful pictures emphasize events in the adventures of the orphan Jemmy, kept in his king’s palace to be thrashed for the offenses committed by the royal heir, known as Prince Brat. It is forbidden to punish Brat, whose tricks multiply until Jemmy is tempted to escape the daily round of flogging. But the prince himself takes off and forces the whipping boy to go with him. As they get into and out of trouble on the outside, Jemmy hears that he has been accused of abducting Brat. When the prince arranges for their return to the palace, poor Jemmy fears the worst, but things turn out for the best at the story’s satisfying close. Colorful types like a thief called Hold-Your-Nose Billy, Betsy and her dancing bear Petunia, et al., increase the fun.” Publishers Weekly [Newbery Winner 1987]
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Ages 9-12. “When, in second grade, Leigh writes to an author to tell him how much he “licked” his book, he never suspects that he’ll still be writing to him four years later. And he never imagines the kinds of things he’ll be writing about:
Dear Mr. Henshaw, I am sorry I was rude in my last letter… Maybe I was mad about other things, like Dad forgetting to send this month’s support payment. Mom tried to phone him at the trailer park where, as Mom says, he hangs his hat.
It’s not easy being the new kid in town, with recently divorced parents, no dog anymore, and a lunch that gets stolen every day (all the “good stuff,” anyway). Writing letters, first to the real Mr. Henshaw, and then in a diary to a pretend Mr. Henshaw, may be just what he needs.
This Newbery Medal-winning book [1984], by the terrifically popular and prolific Beverly Cleary (Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Runaway Ralph), exhibits a subtlety and sensitivity that will be appreciated by any youngster who feels lonely and troubled during the transition into adolescence. Winner of numerous other awards, including two Newbery Honors, Cleary teams up with Caldecott winner Paul O. Zelinsky, who creates a quiet backdrop for the realistic characters. (Ages 8 to 12)
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
Ages 9 and up. “I highly recommend this novel. It deals with difficult, but very real and raw emotions between siblings. The author Katherine Paterson is one of the best story tellers that young people of this generation can read and understand. The story has everything! A tale of family relationships, and rivalry between twins, set in the 1940’s era in the Chesapeake Bay. I enjoyed this book for it’s dramatic intensity, fullness of the characterizations, believability, and honest dealing with many teen issues. Also, it took place in a locale that we don’t usually read about. I will never forget these characters. Paterson is a wonderful writer. I read this book to catch up on children’s lit for the age group I will be teaching this coming school year. Fifth graders on up should really read this book. They will certainly come away enriched. I discovered Paterson after reading her riveting “Bridge to Terabithia”, another must read.” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1981]
The Grey King (The Dark Is Rising Sequence) by Susan Cooper
Ages 9-12. “”The Dark Is Rising” is a hard book to top, but Susan Cooper nearly matches it in “Grey King,” the fourth book of her Dark is Rising Sequence, A stunning, atmospheric Welsh fantasy tinged with Arthurian legend, it also introduces one of the most important and unusual characters in this classic series.
In the aftermath of a nasty case of hepatitis, Will Stanton has temporarily forgotten his mission from the Light: to recover a golden harp, with the help of the “raven boy” and “silver eyes that see the wind.” When his family sends him to Wales to recover from the illness, he regains his memory when he meets an albino boy his own age named Bran — which means “raven.” Bran’s mother “Gwenny” vanished many years before, and his stepfather has devoted himself to religion and penitance. Bran’s only friend is the silver-eyed dog Cafall.
Will acquaints his new friend with more information about the battle with the Dark, while Bran acquaints him with information about Wales that can help Will find the golden harp, and wake the Sleepers under the hill. But the malevolent Grey King is spying on them with magical warestones and trying to wrest the harp from Will. To stop the Grey King, Will must learn the secret of Bran’s past and evade the dangerous farmer Caradog Pritchard…
Atmosphere is thick and enticing in “Grey King” — Cooper has clearly come a long way from the fluffier “Over Sea Under Stone.” This book, unlike “Greenwitch,” does not handle the Drew family, or even much about Merriman: it’s all about Bran and Will, who are given equal parts of the plotline. Though there are many other characters, these two are the core of the story.
Here the Arthurian theme, which has been present in a smaller way throughout the series, becomes more pronounced and integral. Cooper continues interweaving mythic elements into it, such as the Sleepers, Cafall the dog, and the Brenin Llwyd. Fans of mythology and other mythic-themed stories such as the Prydain Chronicles will have a heyday.
Will is very much like he is in “Greenwitch” — sometimes he’s an ordinary preteen boy who starts yelling “Achtung!” at the top of his lungs, and sometimes he is the wise and ancient Old One, with knowledge he learned from the book of Gramarye. Bran is an instantly sympathetic character, a very ordinary boy with an extraordinay past; he, like Will in the second book, gradually grows into a unique and more powerful person. Caradog Pritchard will inspire disgust from his first appearance onward, while the tragic Owen Davies will gain the sympathy of the readers despite his insulated life.
Perhaps the worst thing about reading “Grey King” is the knowledge that there is only one more book in this series. But if that book is half as good as “Grey King,” then it will be quite a ride before the end.” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1976]
Others in the Dark is Rising series:
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Is_Rising_Sequence for more information on this marvelous series
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien and Zena Bernstein
Ages 9-12. “There’s something very strange about the rats living under the rosebush at the Fitzgibbon farm. But Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with a sick child, is in dire straits and must turn to these exceptional creatures for assistance. Soon she finds herself flying on the back of a crow, slipping sleeping powder into a ferocious cat’s dinner dish, and helping 108 brilliant, laboratory-enhanced rats escape to a utopian civilization of their own design, no longer to live “on the edge of somebody else’s, like fleas on a dog’s back.”
This unusual novel, winner of the Newbery Medal (among a host of other accolades) snags the reader on page one and reels in steadily all the way through to the exhilarating conclusion. Robert O’Brien has created a small but complete world in which a mother’s concern for her son overpowers her fear of all her natural enemies and allows her to make some extraordinary discoveries along the way. O’Brien’s incredible tale, along with Zena Bernstein’s appealing ink drawings, ensures that readers will never again look at alley rats and field mice in the same way. (Ages 9 to 12). Amazon [Newbery Winner 1972]
Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
Ages 12 and up. “Sara is a teenage girl with lots of reasons to be angry. Her mother is dead, her father has left her to be raised by her aunt, her older sister seems prettier and more mature, and her younger brother Charlie is mentally retarded. She often feels put upon to look after Charlie when nobody else wants to. On top of all this, she is having the worst summer vacation ever. She learns to see her world with new eyes, though, when Charlie disappears one day.
Author Betsy Byars presents an effective and believable character in Sara and writes convincingly from Charlie’s point of view. Her fine short novel makes the point that the most precious things in our lives are the people we see every day, even though we might believe that they make our lives miserable.” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Medal 1971]
The High King (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander
Ages 8 and up. “Since The Book of Three was first published in 1964, young readers have been enthralled by the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by an engaging cast of characters that includes Eilonwy, the strong-willed and sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and the curmudgeonly Doli–all of whom become involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the legendary land of Prydain.Released over a period of five years, Lloyd Alexander’s beautifully written tales not only captured children’s imaginations but also garnered the highest critical praise.
The Black Cauldron was a Newbery Honor Book, and the final volume in the chronicles, The High King, crowned the series by winning the Newbery Medal for “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. “Henry Holt is proud to present this classic series to a new generation of young readers. Jackets have been handsomely redesigned while retaining the original art of Caldecott Medal-winning artist Evaline Ness. Each retypeset volume now includes a pronunciation guide prepared by Lloyd Alexander. A companion book of short stories, The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain, is also available in hardcover for the first time in twenty years. In their more than thirty years in print, the Chronicles of Prydain have become the standard of excellence in fantasy literature for children.” Book Description [Newbery Winner 1969]
Other in the Chronicles of Prydain series are:
The Foundling: And Other Tales of Prydain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicles_of_Prydain
I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton De Trevino
Ages 12 and up. “Based on “thin threads” of truth, “I, Juan de Pareja” explores the relationship between famous 17th-century Spanish painter Diego Velazquez and his black slave, Juan de Pareja. Written in first person as if Juan is really telling his story, it is the chronicle of much of Juan’s life and and his colorful experiences as apprentice to a master painter.
There are many excellent aspects of this book, yet I think that the “strength” of the character of Juan is the book’s biggest asset. Many books that are simply first person narratives are dry and boring, yet one could never complain of boredom while reading “I, Juan de Pareja.” Juan’s intelligence shines through in every page and his intuitiveness fills the book with detail. Also, his struggle to paint (because Spanish slaves at the time were forbidden to practice the arts) is fascinating, suspenseful, and ultimately inspiring. This book would not be a 5-star read without a strong character like Juan.
Historical detail also adds great richness to the book. Author de Trevino has captured the mood of 17th century Spain perfectly, and her accounts of Juan’s Italian travels fascinate the reader as well. Art facts and descriptions are well-placed, and the reader will find themselves interested in the rich history presented in the book, rather than bored by it.
Furthermore, supporting characters are excellent! The portrayal of Diego Velazquez was well-imagined by the author, and the master painter’s comments ring with insight and truth. The nobles, the painter’s family, the Spanish king, Dutch painter Ruebens…they all come to life in “I, Juan de Pareja.”
Finally, the end of the book is triumphant and fitting. I can’t say much more without spoiling the book, but trust me, it’s one of the most well-done endings you could find. It is hard to find a single flaw in this book. Vibrant history, excellent characters…why aren’t more people reading this book?” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1966]
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Ages 9-12. “I’ve had a beautiful edition of this book sitting on my book shelf for the longest time, continuing to call out to read me, and I finally pulled it down and did, to find a sweet magical tale cloaked around religious allegory. It wasn’t until I was three quarters of the way through that I remembered first seeing it as a child in our church’s library, nestled next to the C.S. Lewis Narnia books, and now I know why. That’s not to say it pounds you over the head with anything. Quite the contrary, aside form a few vague references to God it plays as a simple magic story of a young girl who’s Father has disappeared, and she and her brother and friend go to rescue him after being visited by three spectral old ladies. The book has a dated quality to it, feeling very representative of the psychadelic 60s especially in it’s vivid descriptions of the other worlds they travel to, however that only adds to it’s charms as a classic of children’s literature. And whatever you glean form the story, religious or otherwise, its a sweet tale for children and adults alike.” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1963]
Note: Although this book dates back to 1963, and has some religious allegory, it, like Chronicles of Narnia, has been a perennial favorite of kids for generations. I know my kids loved the series, and they are not religious in the least.
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Ages 14 and up. “I was first introduced to this book in my 8th grade English class. I enjoyed it so much then, I went out and read the author’s other books. I recently picked this one up again and was amazed at how powerful it still was to me.
The story concerns Daniel, a young Jew at the time of Christ. He has an intense hatred of the Romans and lives with in an outlaw band in the hills. When his grandmother dies, he must move to the village to take care of his sister while trying to continue his life’s mission of driving the Romans back to Rome. He is drawn to the miracle worker, but just doesn’t know what he truly thinks about him. Is he the Messiah sent to free them from the Romans? And will his sister ever recover?
Ms. Speare was able to create a complex plot that is simple enough for her target age to understand, but still captivating to adults. I got so caught up in the events when I was rereading that I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this children’s novel to readers of all ages. Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1962]
Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
Ages 9-12. “Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark is a marvelous children’s novel which can be very important reading for children. The beautiful novel certainly earned its Newbery Medal.
The novel is the story of Cusi. He is an Inca boy who has been raised in a remote valley of the Andes mountain range by an old man, Chuto. Cusi is of royal Inca blood, but this is four hundred years after the Spanish conquest. Cusi has been raised in the traditional Inca manner. The plot of the novel concerns Cusi’s search for himself. He has been raised without a “family” (at least in the traditional sense), and he is sent from the valley, with the companionship of his pet llama, to find his path in the world, a task that he sees as finding himself a family. The world Cusi goes into is one which is very different from the one he has been raised in because the Spanish culture has become predominant. Then, Cusi is forced to come to terms with his own way of life and with what his concept of “family” should be.
Secret of the Andes is an amazing book. I think that it can be extremely important in helping children to understand the view-point of Native Americans and helping them to understand Native American literature later in life. I also found that this novel was, in ways, similar to adult novels like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. It aids in this understanding through a fairly simple story of a young, regular boy who can be related to. Ann Nolan Clark really created a masterpiece with Secret of the Andes.” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1953]
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli
Ages 9-15. “A Newbery Award Medal Winner and winner of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, The Door in the Wall is an excellent book about finding your own way.
Robin’s father is off fighting for the king, his mother is lady-in-waiting to the queen and the plague is sweeping through London. Robin finds himself alone and unable to use his legs; he tries to be brave as a knight should be, but he’s scared and feeling bad for himself. When Brother Luke finds him and brings him to the hospice, he tells Robin that if he comes to a wall, and follows the wall far enough, he will find a door. Robin doesn’t understand what this means, but he trusts the friar and learns from him.
Robin’s wall is that he’s unable to walk alone and his worries that he’ll let his father down because he cannot become a knight. With the help of the friars, he finds his door in that wall and becomes stronger, just in time. The castle of Lindsay is under seige and Robin is the only one who can save them all.
The language is old-fashioned and there’s a sentence or two that were difficult for me to make sense of, so that might be a barrier for the young reader. Still, more than worth the time it took to read, even for adults!” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1950]
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
Ages (listed) 9-12. “I hereby nominate Lois Lenski’s 1946 Newbery Award winning book, “Strawberry Girl” for the Most-Misleading-Cover-Art-And-Title Award of the 20th century. Picking up this story, I was fairly certain that this tale would be a cutesy little number about a girl who picks strawberries for fun. On the cover, after all, you see a little blond barefooted child clutching a cache of yummy red fruit as she walks along in her sunbonnet. I was anticipating Strawberry Shortcake. What I got was “Tobacco Road” for kids. An oddly shocking delight.
Lenski prefaces this book with an explanation of Florida “Crackers”. Personally, I’ve never heard this term used as anything but a base insult. Lenski, however, seems to think that the phrase is deserving of pride. Concentrating on the hardworking rural natives of Florida, she gives a little background on the history of these people in an effort to, “present vivid, sympathetic pictures of the real life of different Americans, against authentic backgrounds of diverse localities”. In this case, Lenski interviewed “Crackers” on her own time and used their stories (watered down, as was appropriate) to write this book. The result is a seething concoction of barely contained violence and danger, centered on the lives of two very different Florida Cracker families.
The Boyers have just moved into the old Roddenberry house, and they’ve got big plans. Originally from Marion County, Carolina, the family attempts to settle into their new life and make friends with their neighbors. Unfortunately, those neighbors include Sam Slater. A nasty man with a penchant for drunkenness, Sam’s just the kind of guy who doesn’t mind causing his fellow man a bit of trouble once in a while. When the wild hogs and cows of the Slaters start eating the Boyer family’s crops, tensions begin to rise between the two households. The Boyers are good hardworking people with pride and bright ideas. The Slaters could be categorized as white trash, never lifting a finger to feed their own animals and jealously coveting those nice things their neighbors have. Our hero of the story, Birdie Boyer, has her own problems dealing with Shoestring Slater, a boy roughly her age who’s just as likely to brag or throw a snake on a girl’s hat as he is help keep his father’s pigs out of trouble or lament his own lack of education.
Lenski does an interesting thing with the beginning of this book. She begins it through the point of view of seven-year-old Essie Slater, leading you to believe that she herself will be the heroine of this tale. As you slowly come to the realization that her father is not the usual wise/good/loving pop found in most 1945 children’s books, the text suddenly switches to the point of view of Birdie Boyer and Essie is never heard from again. Lenski’s characters aren’t as cardboard cut-outish as they first appear either. At the start, the Boyers seem good and the Slaters bad. Then odd occurrences make you begin to doubt this assumption. Mr. Boyer, in an attempt to teach Shoestring Slater a lesson, whips the boy harshly in front of his mother and sisters (who, understandably, are frightened and furious by this violence). Mr. Boyer is also prone to killing his neighbor’s pigs if they get in his way, even sometimes cutting off their ears as a sign. He won’t even create a path for Slater’s cattle herd to reach the nearest water source, instead fencing up the area and getting mad when it’s cut down. The Slaters also win your affection at odd moments. Birdie is quick to blame Shoestring for anything he does wrong, but the boy is a good egg in a bad situation. He has to juggle his family’s expectations while figuring out for himself what the right and wrong actions he should take really are.
A lot of this book is enjoyable partly because it goes the “Little House On the Prairie” route and explains the day-to-day goings on of the Boyers’ lives in interesting ways. In what other children’s book will you learn exactly how to grind sugar cane and pull it for fun afterwards? Or the ins and outs of raising strawberries in naturally sandy soil? What other book explains the intricacies of Florida weather in the spring and summer? Or tells you how to create roses out of paraffin? Part of the charm of “Strawberry Girl” is in describing how the old Florida pioneers did it. Less impressive are Lenski’s pictures. It was with a heavy heart that I discovered that Lenski considered herself an artist first and a novelist second. That’s too bad because the illustrations in this tale are particularly poor. I just couldn’t like ‘em and I suspect they’ll easily deter many a prospective boy reader with their girlyness.
For a surprisingly dour and sharpely written novel about roughing it, definitely try “Strawberry Girl”. You might find that the ending suffers from being a little too pat (there’s a happy finish there that jars with the realism of the rest of the text) but all in all it’s still a very interesting read. For a good Florida based kid’s book, both this and Carl Hiaasen’s, “Hoot” are excellent choices. A sobering but enjoyable tale.” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1946]
The White Stag by Kate Seredy
Ages 9 and up. “This book is a classic in my family, who are of mixed Hungarian and Scotch-Irish descent. While it is far from accurate history, it is a beautiful legend of the origins of that curious non-Slavic race called the Magyars. Seredy’s grasp of myth is readily apparent; her prose is simple enough for an eight- or nine-year-old to understand but she never talks down to the reader, since she uses the universal, spare language of the epic poet. This book was richly deserving of the Newbery Medal and remains a must-read for young adults (and old adults) today.” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1938]
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis and William Low
Ages 12 and up. “A classic Newbery Award winner, with an introduction by Katherine Paterson and new illustrations. When Young Fu arrives with his mother in bustling 1920s Chungking, all he has seen of the world is the rural farming village where he has grown up. He knows nothing of city life. But the city, with its wonders and dangers, fascinates the thirteen-year-old boy, and he sets out to make the best of what it has to offer him. First published in 1932, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze was one of the earliest Newbery Medal winners. Although China has changed since that time, Young Fu’s experiences, like making friends, are timeless.” Book Description [Newbery winner 1933]
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Ages 9 and up. “It’s hard to beat this book for all-out imaginative craziness. Oddly enough, other than talking animals, there is very little fantasy in this book, rather, Lofting chose to make Dr. Dolittle and his surroundings a calm place, a place where the animals talk to him, a place where adventures happen, but where there is never any brutal violence, unlike the adventures of Alice in Wonderland or Dorothy in OZ (both of which I like, BTW). What is really nice is that Lofting was able to make this formula WORK!
This edition, pink covers with a credit to Christopher Lofting, has been edited from it’s original issue to remove some now offensive racial stereotypes and illustrations. I’m glad to say that, while I generally do not support this type of editing, in this case it was well done and did not subtract from the entertainment value of the book.
Note: The original Dr. Doolittle books have almost nothing in common with the Eddie Murphy movies, other than talking animals. Don’t get them confused!
Enjoy!” Amazon Customer Review [Newbery Winner 1923]
Some of the other Newbery winners have been covered in other posts, so see the posts “From My Daughter’s Bookshelf…,” etc.
Here is the complete list:
2008
Laura Amy Schlitz
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
2007
Susan Patron
The Higher Power of Lucky
2006
Lynne Rae Perkins
Criss Cross
2004
Kate DiCamillo
The Tale of Despereaux
2003
Avi
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
2002
Linda Sue Park
A Single Shard
2001
Richard Peck
A Year Down Yonder
2000
Christopher Paul Curtis
Bud, Not Buddy
1998
Karen Hesse
Out of the Dust
1997
E. L. Konigsburg
The View from Saturday
1996
Karen Cushman
The Midwife’s Apprentice
1995
Sharon Creech
Walk Two Moons
1992
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Shiloh
1991
Jerry Spinelli
Maniac Magee
1990
Lois Lowry
Number the Stars
1989
Paul Fleischman
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
1988
Russell Freedman
Lincoln: A Photobiography
1987
Sid Fleischman
The Whipping Boy
1986
Patricia MacLachlan
Sarah, Plain and Tall
1985
Robin McKinley
The Hero and the Crown
1984
Beverly Cleary
Dear Mr. Henshaw
1982
Nancy Willard
A Visit to William Blake’s Inn
1981
Katherine Paterson
Jacob Have I Loved
1980
Joan Blos
A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal
1979
Ellen Raskin
The Westing Game
1978
Katherine Paterson
Bridge to Terabithia
1977
Mildred Taylor
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
1975
Virginia Hamilton
M. C. Higgins, the Great
1973
Jean Craighead George
Julie of the Wolves
1972
Robert C. O’Brien
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
1971
Betsy Byars
Summer of the Swans
1970
William H. Armstrong
Sounder
1969
Lloyd Alexander
The High King
1968
E. L. Konigsburg
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
1967
Irene Hunt
Up a Road Slowly
1966
Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
I, Juan de Pareja
1965
Maia Wojciechowska
Shadow of a Bull
1964
Emily Cheney Neville
It’s Like This, Cat
1963
Madeleine L’Engle
A Wrinkle in Time
1962
Elizabeth George Speare
The Bronze Bow
1961
Scott O’Dell
Island of the Blue Dolphins
1959
Elizabeth George Speare
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
1958
Harold Keith
Rifles for Watie
1957
Virginia Sorenson
Miracles on Maple Hill
1956
Jean Lee Latham
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
1955
Meindert DeJong
The Wheel on the School
1954
Joseph Krumgold
…And Now Miguel
1953
Ann Nolan Clark
Secret of the Andes
1951
Elizabeth Yates
Amos Fortune, Free Man
1950
Marguerite de Angeli
The Door in the Wall
1949
Marguerite Henry
King of the Wind
1948
William Pène du Bois
The Twenty-One Balloons
1947
Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
Miss Hickory
1946
Lois Lenski
Strawberry Girl
1944
Esther Forbes
Johnny Tremain
1943
Elizabeth Gray Vining
Adam of the Road
1942
Walter D. Edmonds
The Matchlock Gun
1941
Armstrong Sperry
Call It Courage
1940
James Daugherty
Daniel Boone
1939
Elizabeth Enright
Thimble Summer
1936
Carol Ryrie Brink
Caddie Woodlawn
1934
Cornelia Meigs
Invincible Louisa
1933
Elizabeth Foreman Lewis
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
1932
Laura Adams Armer
Waterless Mountain
1931
Elizabeth Coatsworth
The Cat Who Went to Heaven
1930
Rachel Field
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
1929
Eric P. Kelly
The Trumpeter of Krakow
1928
Dhan Gopal Mukerji
Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon
1927
Will James
Smoky the Cow Horse
1926
Arthur Bowie Chrisman
Shen of the Sea
1925
Charles Finger
Tales from Silver Lands
1924
Charles Hawes
The Dark Frigate
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Award winners · Books · Children · Pre-teen · Teen
Sorry for the lack of blog posts, but health issues have kept my brain on hold 
Here’s my latest review, this time on “Childhood’s End,” the Book of the Month for my SciFi reading group, in honor of Arthur Clarke’s passing.
I found, after reading it, that I am more fond of his short stories than his novels for the most part. The exceptions being “Rendezvous With Rama,” which remains the penultimate First Encounter book, IMO, and “Ghost From the Grand Banks,” written later in life, about the Titanic. This one was written early in his writing career, and to me it shows.
I came to the book, though as if it were newly written, in order to accurately review the book, without sentimentality or excuses. I wrote this review in the form of “notes” which I jotted down as they came to me. The book on the whole is written in a choppy style, skipping from fifty years to fifty years, to other places, even within a single chapter.
So here goes:
One word of warning to those of you who have older editions. I have both. The editions printed before 1990 have a different first chapter. He has a foreward explaining it all, and some nice background stuff. Because of the way things progressed in real time, he decided to change it up a bit. But only the first short chapter.
The upshot is the same, just the details were changed completely.
Wiki cites this about “Childhood’s End”: “In Clarke’s authorized biography, Neil McAleer writes that: “many readers and critics still consider [Childhood's End] Arthur C. Clarke’s best novel.” What do YOU think? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke
Earlier I posted on the “new” opening chapter (editions after 1990) and the foreward he wrote, explaining about the changes in it. How he changed it from an incipient Moon flight to a Mars one, since we had already conquered the moon. He also made disclaimers in the foreward about his new attitudes debunked psi phenomena, which he had earlier been quite interested in – supposedly the book deals a lot with that
subject, but at about 1/2 through, so far, there’s been little mention of psi stuff.
It’s tone is slightly dated to me, anachronistic in terms (ice-box, or is that British?), and the use of the “N” word as something that was now accepted. Sort of un-PC from how we tend to view things. “The convenient word “n*&” was no longer taboo in polite society, but was used without embarrassment by everyone. It had no more emotional, content than such labels as republican or Methodist, conservative or liberal.”
Somehow I can’t see a civilization, however changed, making he “n” word acceptable in 50 years, if ever. Some words, with racial slurs behind them, will never, IMO, make it into mainstream acceptance. Methodist is a far cry from “N”. Perhaps “Negro” which he uses, but not the other.
So far, it jumps from character to character – and they are just dropped. Of course 50 years have passed, but it was a very quick, glossed over 50 years. I would have liked to see more emphasis on the changes that happened, rather than just 2 pages explaining all the changes in science, arts, humanity, society, etc. That’s a lot of eggs to swallow in 2 pages.
On pg. 75 in my version he talks about the loss of religion, due to a device that allowed people to see into the past. “Beneath the fierce and passionless light of truth, faiths that had sustained millions for twice a thousand years vanished like morning dew. All the good and all the evil they had wrought were suddenly swept into the past, and could touch the minds of man no more.”
He seems to have a duality about religion – he seems to almost condemn it in those sentences, yet his two most famous short stories, “The Star” and “The Nine Billion Names of God” are both about religion, and
“The Star”, while questioning faith, is powerful enough to touch both believers and non-believers, IMO. And for his funeral he stated: “Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral.” Which indicates a man who abhorred religion. So, looking at “The Star” and “The Nine Billion Names of God” does that reflect some early duality back then, or just a couple of great stories, FICTION?
One of my favorite things he did was: “Clarke attempted to write a six-word story as part of a Wired Magazine article but wrote ten words instead. (“God said, ‘Cancel Program GENESIS.’ The universe ceased to
exist.”) He refused to lower the word count.” So how does that reflect his attitude towards religion? That small 10-word story seems to infer that God does exist, and has the power to make the world go away, as does “Nine Billion…” in some ways. FICTION again? To me “The Star” shows his questioning of faith and the basis of Christianity.
If anyone knows more about eh evolution back in the ’40s and ’50s of his religious views, I’m be curious to get the links, hear it, etc. Most deal with his later views, which were atheist. But it would be hard, IMHO, to write “The Star” without something behind it, although it is said that: “Near the very end of that same episode [a three-day interview described as "a dialogue on man and his world" with Alan Watts], the last segment of which covered the Star of Bethlehem, he stated that his favourite theory was that it might be a pulsar. Given that pulsars were discovered in the interval between his writing the short story, The Star (1955), and making Mysterious World (1980), and given the more recent discovery of pulsar PSR B1913+16, he said, ‘How romantic, if even now, we can hear the dying voice of a star, which heralded the Christian era.’” So was that all “The Star” was, or was it the dying breath of a crisis of faith for him? Anyone know?
Moving on:
On pg. 79, he has a great line from a wife, upon seeing her husband looking at another, very beautiful woman: “It was such a nuisance that men were fundamentally polygamous. On the other hand, if they weren’t … Yes, perhaps it was better this way, after all.”
I love how he subtly puts down marriage and it’s attendant obligations and martial framework. Nice touch of humor.
Despite his reworking of the first chapter to reflect a Mars mission, rather than the moon, he never changed the rest of it, deliberately he said, so that subtle inconsistencies arise. One in particular I like his old-style turn of phrase, although it’s moon thing sort of detracts from it, because you recall the Mars change, but was a nice piece: “A century before [yes, we seem to have jumped ahead again another 50 years, despite two chapters before starting out with ...50 years is ample time...], Man had set foot upon the ladder that could lead him to the stars. At that very moment – could it be coincidence? – the door to the planets had been slammed in his face.” A nice turn of phrase, but he refers to Moon trips, when we’ve already been there, done that, which is why he rewrote the first chapter. Why do that, and not make smaller changes in the rest? pg.92
He has an older, more colorful turn of phrase – more flowery, more full of imagery. Current SF doesn’t read like this. And that is what dates it, to me. I’ve seen it before, in some of my favorite novelists from that time, and it hasn’t bothered me before. Maybe because it’s sciend fiction this time, which is dupposed to be tomorrow’s technology, etc.? It’s the style of writing – the more descriptive, allusitory way, that seems to date, more than technology, etc.
At one point, he talks about the Overlords’ Stardrive. They know nothing about it, and one character is sitting watching a ship leave, and knows that the generally accepted theory of the light he was seeing was merely a gravitational distortion of space caused by the “immense acceleration of the Stardrive.” “What Jan was seeing, he knew, was nothing less than the light of distant stars, collected and focused into his eye whenever conditions were favorable along the track of the ship. It was a visible proof of relativity – the bending of light in the presence of a colossal gravitational field.” pg. 94
One thing that struck me was the, to me, curiously passive attitude of the people. Yes, the Overlords proved their power, etc., and yes, there were splinter groups against them, but all in all, the people just sat back and let it all fall around them – losing their drive, their science, their art, their sense of adventure. Are we so shallow as a species? Do you think this is what would happen in 50 years, in the presence of a vastly, so it seems, superior race? Do we just give up, and enjoy our little Utopia, even though Clarke says that Utopia =
boredom. I know it’s a cautionary tale, but it still seems a flimsy premise. Of course, as Clarke himself would say, it’s a work or FICTION!
And what about what Wiki says about him:
“Clarke’s work is marked by an optimistic view of science empowering mankind’s exploration of the solar system. His early published stories would usually feature the extrapolation of a technological innovation
or scientific breakthrough into the underlying decadence of his own society.” What do you think of that statement? Accurate? or not?
I also like the idea behind his 2nd law, a lesser know one than his 3rd: “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” See: http://groups.google.com.au/group/rec.arts.sf.misc/msg/e4185210a85826fc for a nice overview of the history behind the laws.
So, those are just my thoughts so far. Anachronistic in style, tone and certain things, and so far, 1/2 way through, not really “giving” me anything to look forward to – to hang my hat on. Not much in the way of questions, thoughts, etc. for me. For many books, by this time I would have pages of comments, not just these pitiful ones.
Are there others, like me, who have not returned to the classics very much, and when they do, have discovered certain things about them, that perhaps “glare” in the light of today? And I read authors from
the 50s, but for me, it doesn’t fit in SF. Because of my “gap?”
Despite the detractions I listed, I am still enjoying a trip to the past and the Golden Age, one that is 25 years in the past for me, not 50+.
I found my older version of “Childhood’s End” with the orig. publishing date of 1953, 48th printing 1984, before he changed the first chapter and added the foreward. On the cover, with a nice UFO shining over a city, is a review quote from The New York Times:
“A first rate tour de force that is well worth the attention of every thoughtful citizen in this age of anxiety.”
Now, I wonder, given my earlier thoughts, is it really that important a book? I wondered about what we were anxious about (the quote wasn’t dated), so I did some digging and it came from a 1953 review: http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/clarke-childhood.html
So I’m assuming it was the beginning of the Cold War? Or was that later? Before my time, and my 20th century history is very sketchy (a product of 70s liberal/innovative education in Minnesota, the ultra
liberal state). Interestingly, it’s labeled as a “Books of the Times”, and the reviewer stresses it’s relevance to society at that time.
But there is an interesting twist – the reviewer attempts to “pretend” it’s not SF:
“It must be said at the outset that Mr. Clarke’s publishers have offered his novel as science-fiction, a label that too many readers still associate with Captain Video, rocket-ship sagas and invasions of super-gremlins from universes other than our own. It is quite true that “Childhood’s End” contains some of these standard ingredients, but Mr. Clarke has mixed them with a master’s hand.”
And to end this rather self-important, prosy review (an earlier incarnation of me???):
“This review can only hint at the stimulation Mr. Clark’s novel offers. Above all, it must be emphasized that this is not a gloomy book, despite its holocausts. It is true that the invaders from outer space manage to steal the big scenes. But homo sapiens fights back to the end with resourcefulness and wit. What’s more, he rarely allows himself to be upstaged, even when he is faced with his own extinction.”
PART II
I just finished Childhood’s End, before the end of “Clarke Month,” and below are my comments on the last half:
After the seance, when the overloads are discussing Jean’s fainting upon hearing the star notation for their home planet, they make reference to her being a too old to be a prime contact (later explained obliquely), and to “transfer her to Category Purple” which was never explained – what that meant, or the significance of the categories – no other “category” was ever mentioned. pg. 103
He makes his famous statement that “the stars are not for Man,” when the Overlord makes some announcements about why the skies are closed after Jan is discovered as a stowaway. That statement is repeated, but in many ways, as is later shown in the book, the stars ARE for man, just in a new and supposedly improved version. And Clarke’s explanations for this are not satisfactory to me: he talks about how vast the galaxy is (he uses galaxy and universe interchangeably at times, which is annoying to me), but only when he gets to the metaphysical “bridge” thing does he sort of make a case. What is wrong with man colonizing his star system, and growing along the way? I just never got that part. pg. 137.
The island where the Greggson’s move to, New Athens, reminds me in many ways of the concept for Greg Egan’s Distress – it’s almost as if he borrowed the whole thing, lock stock and barrel, except for the
man-made part. pg. 144-45 (see my earlier review of that book).
The way the island was set up reminded me of the TV show “Numb3rs,” in how they used mathematics in so many ways to compute all the various optimal structuring. Pg.140, 146
He did do a nice job of foreshadowing some of society’s and technology’s trends – i.e. he talked about movies/entertainment that would make you feel like you were part of it – and take part – sort of
a VR? Pg. 148.
As I’ve said before, his writing is very prosy, almost poetical at times: “He had no wish to face whatever lurked in the unknown darkness, just beyond the little circle of light cast by the light of Science.” That, more that technology or ideas, to me, dates the book. I don’t recall if all his books were like this, or just the earlier ones – say contrast it with “Ghost from the Grand Banks.” pg. 151
I also don’t really like any of the characters, perhaps except for the first major one – Stormgren, the Secretary-General. The Greggson’s were annoying – he was always talking “plaintively” and she was way
too submissive, and they were flat, one-dimensional – nothing showing their motivations, beyond a brief reference to his artistic side. Nothing to give them flesh and blood, so that later events – the “ascendancy” or mass evolution of their children and others should move them – indeed, they were quite passive, and accepting, and never seemed to really regret or care about anything. And their marriage was described in very dull, unloving terms – he had stopped loving her, etc. Perhaps a reflection on Clarke’s own views on marriage? Anyone know?
The characters shallowness made later events seem anti-climatic and they just stood there and let it flow around them, rather than absorbing their loss, and the loss of the future of man as they knew him. Everyone on the planet seemed to always have this resigned acceptance of whatever happened to them, it was okay, they’d just get along with it – only a few were referenced with mild rebellions, or like New Athens, with such a minor revolt of the arts that it was almost ludicrous that they feared the Overlord’s displeasure. pg. 151
After his son’s “encounter” with the tsunami and his miraculous saving, George went out to the site to investigate, and found fused rock, and “knew” that the Overlords had intervened? How was he so sure? Nothing like that had ever been done for a single human – so why would he think that the Overlords had somehow picked HIS son to save, out of everyone on the planet subject to accidents, etc.? pg. 156
All, in all, I was disappointed – the ending was trite to me – and the notion that man must wait for the stars until he was ‘ready” to join at a much higher level – that he must evolve entirely into a “new” species, goes against the main frames of SF to me – that if we strive hard enough, we’ll make the stars our destiny.
I didn’t like how humanity just bowed down and accepted their fate at the end – that they just let themselves die off, without trying to see if a new generation would also evolve, or if that was the only one, etc. It seems in direct violation of all that mankind holds dear – freewill, independence, stubbornness, etc. They did that throughout the book – just accept it, like sheep.
Of course, I’ve never been a big fan of the super evolution themes – that man will suddenly evolve into a consciousness – it seems boring to me – to just be a mind, without substance, even if you have the
universe at your “mind”, it’s not at your fingertips as you have none!
And the very ending, with Karellen and the Overlords stuck in an evolutionary dead-end, and being “slaves” to the Overmind seemed “off.” What is wrong with what they had accomplished, and what they still might accomplish – why is the Overmind or an evolutionary dead-end the only two forks in the road, as Clarke says on pg. 205? Now it may only be a literary device, but it is unsatisfactory to me.
I wanted SO much more from each and every page – more character dimension, more descriptions, more delving into the whys and wherefores – it seems like it should have been two or three times the length to adequately address the subject. It just seemed way too short. And Clarke’s little disclaimer in the 1990 edition, about how when it was first published, readers were baffled by a statement at the beginning that the opinion expressed in the book were not those of the author, is a little lame, IMO. He states (in the later edition ) that this was put in because he had just published his book “The Exploration of Space” and painted an optimistic picture of our future expansion into the Universe. And now he had written a book that “the
stars were not for Man,” and he didn’t want anyone to think he had recanted his just published views.
He then goes on to state that he would change that to cover 99% of the paranormal, so that the books won’t “contribute to the seduction of the gullible, now cynically exploited by the media.” He goes on to say, that although his views on the paranormal have changed, the book still has relevance as “it’s a work of fiction, for goodness sake!”
In his foreward he also talks about how “V” the miniseries is an “impressive variation” of Chapter 2.
So, bottom line – okay reading, but disappointing – 1. flat and featureless – needs fleshing out, IMHO, and 2. trite ending – a quick, descriptionless ascendancy, without any reason how or why. The paranormal pasts, like the seance, and Rupert’s “books” seemed almost an afterthought.
A fellow member had this to say about my “notes”:
” I enjoyed Kristin’s analysis of Clarke’s classic Childhoods End. I’d like to add some points in defense of this book.
First, it was written in 1953. At that time Clarke was 36 years old and had just started publishing. He had a few novels published and some short stories, but was at the beginning of his career. So, we have to give him some slack in character and plot development. If he had written this in 1983 it would have been embarrassing.
Second, I don’t have a problem with the Overlords and their mission to guide humanity to join the Overmind. Assuming that the Overmind is a vast mind that wants to grow, it might recognize that lesser races need guidance to help them join it and designate the Overlords to guide humanity.
In rereading Childhood… I found this sentence in Karellan’s broadcast to the Earth in Chapter 14, “One of my duties has been to protect you from powers and forces that lie among the stars – forces beyond anything you can imagine.”
I don’t know if it was mentioned in the book (perhaps it was in another Clarke novel). but I recall a phrase about how an advanced intelligence could view lesser races, “…and, sometimes, dispassionately weed…” implying advanced races might have to protect the Galaxy against aggressive humans armed with nuclear weapons and a nuclear space drive.”
And my reply was:
Chris is right on all points – I was merely reacting to it as if it were a story newly minted – coming to it with “fresh” eyes. He does touch on the last point of Chris’s in “Childhood’s End”:
On pg. 136-37 (1990 version), he talks about how a stone age man might react to the Victorian age of electricity and steam, and what might happen if a Victorian man tried to tinker with a television set or a
computer. “How long would he have lived if he started to investigate their workings? The gulf between the two technologies can easily become so great that it is – lethal.”
He went on to talk about how our race, in it’s present stage of evolution, cannot face the stupendous challenge of the immensity of space. Then he says “It is a bitter thought, but you must face it. The planets one day you may possess. But the stars are not for Man.” That was after the announcement of the stowaway.
Then while he’s talking to Jan at the end, he discusses, or “pontificates” on the power of psi – that we had begun to investigate it, and while physicists would only have ruined the earth, the paraphysicists could have “spread havoc to the stars.” He says we might have become a telepathic cancer, a malignant mentality which in it’s inevitable dissolution would have poisoned other and greater minds. So they were sent to interrupt our development, guide us, and be our guardians until we were ready.
So it seems to me that at least in this book, the threat from us was not our bombs and such, nor our war-like mentality, but our inability to comprehend the extraordinary vastness of space and it’s cultures,
and that our untrained psi powers could have done much harm, until we were “ready.”
It’s not a bad book to me, just, as Chris sort of said, an untrained one, from a newbie writer, with grandiose ideas, and not yet the pen ready to commit them all to paper fully. It’s sad, because I think it could have been a great book if he had written it later in his career. But to me he was always a master of the short story, more than the novel, with the exception of “Rama,” which as I recall was fascinating at first, then became boring, so much so that I think I stopped reading it and never finished – only a rereading will tell.
But his short stories, like The Star, and such are phenomenal.
The House AI
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Books · Sci Fi · philosophy · science fiction
Tagged: book review, Books, Clarke, first encounter, science fiction, SciFi
Boutique Hotels are the “new” way to stay – elegant, upscale, or just luxurious they offer an interesting alternative to the hotel chain. I’ll start with the two that I have personally stayed in.
The first is The Regis Warwick San Francisco Hotel, located near the theatre district. I was meeting a “special person” there and wanted the most romantic room possible – so I did some research, and found that a few had canopied beds. Further research showed that one, the Warwick, had rooms (Regis Premier), with true four-poster canopied beds, not the crown canopy which just sits at the head of the bed. The rooms have been renovated, but from the photo tour, they seem to be similar in style still. My room was smallish (some of the rooms were teeny, so watch out), but oh, so beautiful. In addition to the huge canopied four-poster bed was an armoire, and a small sitting area, with French provincial old-world styled settees, with a coffee table, end tables, lamps, a writing desk, decadent curtains, and a fireplace! My two requirements were satisfied. I have to note, in the interest of honesty, that when I arrived, after being repeatedly assured on the phone that I was guaranteed one of the four poster rooms, I was shown to a closet sized room, with a plain bed – not the romantic get-away I’d hoped for. I cried, they apologized (it was the bellboy who made things right I think – he saw my distress – full service from him), and moved me to the room of my dreams. As I sit here writing this, over 8 years later, I still recall it vividly, and am wearing one of their signature white cotton waffle wave bathrobes, with the embroidered logo, that I purchased after my stay for the memories. So make sure that you guarantee one of those “special” rooms, ask for it in writing, and then relax, enjoy, and step out onto your little balcony and revel in the city.
490 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA
Tel: +1 415 928 7900 Fax: +1 415 441 8788
res.sf@warwickhotels.com
Warwick San Francisco Hotel, an elegant and popular downtown San Francisco hotel, lies in the heart of San Francisco’s fashionable theatre district, just two blocks west of Union Square and the famed San Francisco cable cars, world-class shopping and dining. Also within easy walking distance from the hotel you will find popular San Francisco travel destinations such as the Moscone Convention Center, Yerba Buena Gardens, Chinatown and San Francisco’s financial district. In fact, the hotel puts you in close touch with almost everyplace you need to visit on your next San Francisco vacation. Warwick San Francisco Hotel is just 13 miles north of San Francisco International Airport.
Featuring some of the most elegant Union Square accommodation facilities, the Warwick San Francisco Hotel offers 74 rooms including 16 suites that are tastefully appointed in the style of Louis XVI. In 2002, the hotel underwent an extensive renovation. The renovation ensured that Warwick San Francisco Hotel’s European elegance and comfort were retained whilst introducing new colour schemes that complement the authentic Louis XVI antique armoires, four-poster and crown-canopied beds and hand-carved headboards. Warwick San Francisco Hotel also added new writing tables as well as wireless Internet and two-line telephones.
Warwick San Francisco Hotel is a touch of Europe in the heart of San Francisco. This elegant San Francisco hotel was originally designed in 1911 by Arthur Brown Jr. the architect of San Francisco’s award-winning City Hall. Today, Warwick San Francisco is one of San Francisco’s most exquisitely accommodating hotels. The hotel building has remained a cherished San Francisco historical landmark since opening in January 1913.
In tune with the best San Francisco dining, Warwick San Francisco Hotel’s La Scene Café & Bar serves Mediterranean cuisine with Californian flair. Enjoy the avant-garde flavors of the Zagat rated La Scene Café and Bar where as our guest you receive a great discount on your savory dinner and enjoy a superb continental breakfast to start your day. Dinner Specialties include: Salad Niçoise with Grilled Ahi Tuna, accented with fresh vegetables, or select our signature entrée: Pan-Roasted Scallops served with Haricots Verts, Mashed Potatoes, Bacon and Chive Fumet.”
Rooms & Suites
Traditional and Euro-American classic in style, the Warwick San Francisco Hotel offers 74 classic rooms which include 16 suites and are tastefully appointed in the style of Louis XVI. Rooms are furnished with hand-carved headboards, antique armoires and a writing table. Guest rooms also include private Italian marble baths, honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, 26” flat screen LCD televisions, equipped with premium cable and pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, a dual-line telephone in each room, voicemail, high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), guest safes, hairdryers, ceiling fan, monogrammed robes and umbrellas.
Room Types
6 Superior Queens
42 Deluxe Queens
6 Deluxe Twins
Suites
6 Deluxe Junior Suites
4 Petite Suites
6 Executive Front Suites
2 Regis Deluxe Rooms
2 Regis Premier Rooms
Superior Queen
Rooms are furnished with crown-canopied queen size beds with hand-carved headboards, antique armoires and a writing table. Guest rooms also include high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), private Italian marble baths, honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fan, premium cable, 26” flat screen LCD television and pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, a dual-line telephone, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 165 sq. feet.
Deluxe Queen
Rooms are furnished with crown-canopied queen size beds with hand-carved headboards, antique armoires and a writing table. Guest rooms also include high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), private Italian marble baths, honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fan, premium cable, 26” flat screen LCD television and pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, a dual-line telephone, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 230 sq. feet.
Deluxe Room 2 Twin Beds
Rooms are furnished with two twin beds with hand-carved headboards, antique armoires and a writing table. Guest rooms also include high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), private Italian marble baths, honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fan, premium cable, 26” flat screen LCD television and pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, a dual-line telephone, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 310 sq. feet.
Deluxe Junior Suites
These charming suites feature locking French doors separating the bedroom from the parlor, a full Italian marble bathroom in the bedroom, as well as, a full bath in the parlor room with a stand-up shower. A crown-canopied queen sized bed in the master bedroom, and the parlor has a queen-sized sofa pullout. Two separate entrances make this room ideal for families. Guest rooms also include high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fans, premium cable, 26” flat screen LCD television and pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, two dual-line telephones, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 418 sq. feet.
Petite Suites
These elegant suites feature an Italian marble bathroom, a crown-canopied queen sized bed in the bedroom, and a parlor with a queen-sized sofa pullout. These suites feature a step out balcony over looking Geary Street. The Petite Suites also include high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), private Italian marble baths, honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fans, premium cable, 26” flat screen LCD television and pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, two dual-line telephones, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 340 sq. feet.
Executive Front Suites
Our largest two-room suites include a crown-canopied queen sized bed in the bedroom, and a queen-sized sofa-pullout in the parlor. Locking French doors separate the bedroom from the parlor, two separate entrances and two full bathrooms make this room ideal for families. These Executive Suites also include high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), private Italian marble baths, honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fans, premium cable, 26” flat screen LCD television and pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, two dual-line telephones, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 485 sq. feet.
Regis Deluxe Rooms
These spacious rooms feature a queen size bed with hand-carved headboards, antique armoires and a writing table. These rooms also have a fireplace with a sitting area, a step out balcony as well as a 42” flat screen LCD Television. Guest rooms also include high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), private Italian marble baths, honour bar refrigerators, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fan, premium cable, pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, a dual-line telephone, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 290-340 sq. feet.
Regis Premier Rooms
Feature a four poster canopied queen size bed with a hand-carved headboard, antique armoire and a writing table. These rooms also have a fireplace with a sitting area as well as a 42” flat screen LCD Television. These Regis Premier rooms also includes high-speed wireless Internet access ($11.95 USD Per Day), private Italian marble bath, honour bar refrigerator, individually controlled thermostats, ceiling fans, premium cable, pay-per-view channels, on-demand movies, a dual-line telephone, voicemail, guest safes, hairdryers, monogrammed robes and umbrellas. 340 sq. feet.
Facilities for Persons with Disabilities
Smoking Policy
1 smoking floor
Pets
Pets are not allowed
http://www.warwicksf.com/default.aspx?pg=home&rp=accommodation
Now this next one I can personally recommend as well. I stayed here back in 2000 when I went to Vancouver for Lasik eye surgery. A close friend and I went; she was there to help me after the surgery, as my eye sight would take a day or two to fully function, and to shop. We stayed in teh King Suite – incrediblly colorful, and upbeat, and funky. The rooms were fabulous – colorful, memorable, and the hotel was in the heart of everything – almost right across the street was a fabulous little French bakery/cafe which served incredible chocolate crepes, etc. I loved it! (La Bretagne The Original Creperie Ltd, 604-688-5989, 795 Jervis Street , Vancouver , BC V6E 2B1)
Located on trendy Robson Street, in downtown Vancouver, the Pacific Palisades hotels South Beach inspired décor reflects a fun, hip, refreshing attitude towards hospitality. With the hotels highly personalized service for both the business and leisure traveler alike, the hotel provides a unique yet comfortable environment in the heart of Vancouver’s shopping district.
Whether you want to relax and unwind in the spa, take advantage of one of the hotels specials or packages, join us for a glass of wine at our hosted evening wine reception or just venture out to explore Vancouver on your own, the Pacific Palisades hotel is your hip connection to the city.
1277 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC
Canada V6E 1C4
T: 604-688-0461
F: 604-688-4374
toll-free: 1-800-663-1815
http://www.pacificpalisadeshotel.com/
Guest Services and Amenities:
HIP SERVICE, NOT LIP SERVICE
Personalized room preferences and welcome amenities for Kimpton InTouch guest loyalty members.
Complimentary evening Wine reception for guests to gather, acquaint and refresh. It’s our treat that tops off the host of other surprises you’ll encounter throughout the hotel.
Health + Wellness
Yoga program
Yoga Kits are available to borrow at no charge for those who are staying at the hotel. Each yoga kit includes one yoga mat, one block, and one strap. Guests can carry out their own preferred yoga routines in the privacy of their rooms or they can turn to a designated channel on their television for a basic yoga instructional video that will be playing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For Yoga Enthusiasts who are interested taking their yoga routine to the next level, the hotel offers Personal Fitness Training services such as Private Yoga and Pilates mat work sessions and Group Yoga and Pilates sessions for conferences… click here
Mind.Body.Spa
Imagine the absolute luxury of having a full-service day spa in the calm and comfort of your Kimpton Hotel room. Our in-room spa services can help you unwind after a day of meetings or a long flight. You can treat yourself to the luxury of massages, manicures, pedicures and a variety of facials in most of our hotels. Don’t think these services are just a gal thing. Our guy guests are starting to use the in-room spa services, too. … click here
MBODY Fitness & Wellness Spa
55ft indoor swimming pool
Steam room
State the art Cybex cardio equipment
Strength and Stretch room
Feet retreat poolside cabana
My 1 st Spa children’s spa services
Spa Services … click here for spa menu
Walk/Run
Vancouver has limitless options for wonderful walks along the water, through forests, trails and parks… click here
V.I.Pets Program
Pet Friendly Pacific Palisades Hotel welcomes furry friends of all kinds
The Pacific Palisades Hotel welcomes furry canine and feline friends with
open arms. Dog biscuits or cat treats, a Pacific Palisades orange Frisbee, a bowl,
pick-up bags and a lot of pet-friendly areas to visit are all available for you and your pet. Additionally, the Pacific Palisades has a designated pet corner in the lobby where water bowls and a personalized welcome board resides.
At the Pacific Palisades Hotel, the following pet policy applies:
. Any type of pet is allowed.
. No fee or deposit is required.
. No limit on number of pets.
. No height or weight restrictions.
. Pets are not restricted to certain floors or rooms.
. A door sign to hang when the pet does not want to be disturbed.
. Guests are requested to notify the hotels in advance when bringing a
pet so that pet preferences can be identified.
Ask about the Pampered Pooch package, a wellness package for your four legged friend which includes a one hour massage for your pet and one for his/her owner too!… click here
Zin Restaurant & Lounge
Zin Restaurant & Lounge offers cuisine beyond borders. Chef Brian Fodor and his culinary team have gathered recipes from around the world to create a style of food that is International and approachable. It’s a balancing act of diverse spices introduced to simple, local, ethically chosen ingredients while playfully presented. Zin Restaurant & Lounge is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, located at 1277 Robson Street. To make a reservation visit www.zin-restaurant.com or call 604-408-1700
http://www.pacificpalisadeshotel.com/guestservices_amenities.html
Executive King View Room
Spacious and modern, the Executive King View Room features a wall of windows that showcase stunning views of the harbour and mountains or the bright city lights. With 350sq ft of living space, each room offers a small sitting area with a single lounge chair and ottoman which is perfect for viewing movies, a large desk with plenty of workspace and a 2-line data port telephone, complimentary high speed internet access, as well as, a convenience kitchenette with fully stocked minibar.
King Suite
The King Suite provides a spacious living room, balcony, dining area for four, efficiency kitchen, minibar and a separate bedroom with a king size bed. The Suite features televisions in both the living room and bedroom, including pay per view movies and video games while the living room offers a sofa pull-out that converts to a comfortable queen size bed, club chair and a writing desk with 2-line data port phone and complimentary high speed internet access.
Queen Suite
The Queen Suite offers a spacious living room, balcony, dining area for four, efficiency kitchen, minibar and a separate bedroom with a queen size bed and walk-in closet. The Suite features televisions in both the living room and bedroom, including pay per view movies and video games. The living room offers a sofa pull-out that converts to a comfortable queen size bed, club chair and a writing desk with 2-line data port phone and complimentary high speed internet access.
Executive King Suite or Executive Queen Suite
Modern and bright in hip citrus shades, each Executive Suite offers a spacious living and dining area, efficiency kitchen, minibar, its own large private balcony with mountain, harbour or city views, as well as, a generous separate bedroom with either a King or Queen sized bed. The large writing desk in the living room offers a great space to work with a 2-line data port telephone and complimentary high speed internet access while the sofa pull-out converts to a comfortable queen size bed. The televisions in both the living room and bedroom offer pay per view movies.
Double Double Room
More spacious than a standard hotel room, the Double Double Room features two double beds, a small sitting area with a single lounge chair with ottoman and a large writing desk with 2-line data port phone and complimentary high speed internet access. Each room has an efficiency kitchen with microwave, minibar, coffee maker and sink.
http://www.pacificpalisadeshotel.com/guestrooms.html
The JW Marriott Hotel is a luxurious hotel located on the District of Columbia`s famous Pennsylvania Avenue. Situated among the most recognizable landmarks in Washington DC, this hotel provides easy access to the renowned DC monuments, museums and other cultural venues around the city like the National Theatre, the Convention Center and the National Portrait Gallery. Additionally, this hotel is near the White House, one block from Washington`s Metro system and 15 minutes from Reagan National Airport.
This downtown Washington DC hotel features more than just a great location. The hotel offers 22 meeting rooms and 37,000 square feet of total meeting space, making it a premier meeting facility in the Washington DC metro area. All of the hotel`s 738 luxurious rooms are equipped with high-speed internet access and 32“ HDTVs with connections for your MP3 player and video camera. The excellent location and amenities at this Pennsylvania Avenue Marriott make it the ideal choice for business and leisure travelers
Public Areas
Guest Rooms
Meeting Rooms
JW Marriott® Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue
1331 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, District Of Columbia 20004 USA
Phone: 1-202-393-2000
Fax: 1-202-626-6991
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wasjw-jw-marriott-hotel-pennsylvania-avenue/
Allergen-free rooms for the nose that knows
Anyone who suffers from allergies, as more than 50 million of us do according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, knows how hard it is to manage their allergies on the road, thanks to ever-changing environments. For the 20.3 million people with asthma, the effects of coming into contact with a trigger substance can be downright deadly. But we have to travel, and to do so we often have to stay in hotels.
Last May I told you about the Hilton O’Hare at Chicago’s airport creating two allergen-free rooms in response to customer requests. The hotel took a wait-and-see approach to the rooms, deciding to let customer demand decide if any more of the special rooms would be created. Well it’s a scant 5 months later, and the hotel is gutting 15 more rooms to create the “ultimate clean” rooms.
Customer demand has been so high, the hotel is committing $8,000 per room to cover the upgrades which include shutters instead of dust-trapping curtains, wood floors instead of mite-full carpets, not to mention air purifiers, scent-free toiletries and non-toxic cleaning products, Hotel Interactive reports.
The hotel’s website now mentions its Environmentally Friendly rooms, and notes you need to call to reserve one. But when I used the site to check availability for Oct. 21, room choices included the allergy-free room at a cost of $159 vs. $139 for a standard king non-smoking room. Personally, I’d pay $20 extra bucks a night just to avoid the nasty smelling cleaning products most hotels use. Here’s hoping Hilton will take the idea chain-wide and other hoteliers will follow suit.
And another thing …
X marks the end of the boomers: As generation gaps go, this is a pretty big one. Hotels have long catered to the baby-boomer crowd, that enormous group of folks born from 1946-1964. Boomers have held sway over the industry with their purchasing power and large incomes. But that is slowly changing, thanks to the inevitable passing of time and a rising group of upstarts known as Generation X. PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts this will be the first year the Gen Xers spend more on business travel than baby boomers do, reports The International Herald Tribune. And that can only lead to a shift in which group hotels will cater to.
Based on quotes in The IHT, it seems baby boomers like warm, comfortable settings; Gen Xers by and large want more out of the hotel socially; a great bar, comfortable lobby. Eventually, the shift will be clear as boomers retire and Gen Xers find greater purchasing power through established careers, but for now, the line is blurred. I think this is already showing up in the niche, boutique hotels that are everywhere and also at the “older” chain hoteliers that have returned to comfort and personalization as main selling points. Sure, some established chains are looking to get hip, and some boutique hotels aren’t edgy and hip, but more and more, I think you’ll see a delineation of the clientele. To each his own.
Name dropping: If you’re a fan of the Millennium Biltmore in Los Angeles (if you’ve stayed there, you know what I mean) try and catch the episode of Alias that will run on Oct. 20. A bunch of scenes from the Jennifer Garner action series were filmed at the historic property. The hotel was built in 1923 and is a member of Historic Hotels of America.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/hotsheet/2005-10-11-hotsheet_x.htm
Everything you would expect from a luxury hotel in a small space. Located uniquely inside the airport terminal buildings at London Heathrow’s Terminal 4 and London Gatwick’s South Terminal. Just moments walk from check in, arrivals and minutes from the other terminals. YOTEL opens at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam in early 2008.
You can choose between Premium (double) and Standard (large single) cabins with en suite bathrooms, flat screen TV’s, free WiFi and 24 hour in cabin service.
Book exactly what you want when you want it – from just a few hours day or night to 24 or more.
Premium cabin:
The double bed 2m x 1.3m deploys to a couch arrangement at the touch of a button (think first class airline cabins), a hand layered organic coir, latex and lambswool mattress for the best sleep ever with percale cotton sheets pillows and duvet and a huge cushion for lounging.
Bedside tables are designed to accommodate hand luggage with stowage below.
Bedside charging points, personal lighting, dimming control and bed deployment switch allows you to work or relax without moving from the comfort of your bed
The luxury bathroom includes overhead rain shower, a hand shower, revitalising all in one body wash, heated mirror and soft towels .
A retractable storage area below the bed for suitcases.
The study desk folds out of the techno wall with its own stow able chair and a complete range of power and connectivity including free internet access and cosy local lighting. Suit and dress hanging and storage for everything from your smalls to the loose change provide a place for everything and everything a place.
A 23”flat screen TV system with huge choice of films, TV, radio, and internet.
Order from a cabin service menu on screen or visit the galley where your cabin crew are on duty 24 hours a day.
Have fun – there’s as much in these 10 square metres as you’d find in most 4 star hotels.
Want to see more? Have a look at our 360° virtual cabin tours.
The double bed 2m x 1.3m deploys to a couch arrangement at the touch of a button (think first class airline cabins), a hand layered organic coir, latex and lambswool mattress for the best sleep ever with percale cotton sheets pillows and duvet and a huge cushion for lounging.
Bedside tables are designed to accommodate hand luggage with stowage below.
Bedside charging points, personal lighting, dimming control and bed deployment switch allows you to work or relax without moving from the comfort of your bed
The luxury bathroom includes overhead rain shower, a hand shower, revitalising all in one body wash, heated mirror and soft towels .
A retractable storage area below the bed for suitcases.
The study desk folds out of the techno wall with its own stow able chair and a complete range of power and connectivity including free internet access and cosy local lighting. Suit and dress hanging and storage for everything from your smalls to the loose change provide a place for everything and everything a place.
A 23”flat screen TV system with huge choice of films, TV, radio, and internet.
Order from a cabin service menu on screen or visit the galley where your cabin crew are on duty 24 hours a day.
Have fun – there’s as much in these 10 square metres as you’d find in most 4 star hotels.
Want to see more? Have a look at our 360° virtual cabin tours.
Standard cabin:
These rooms over lap to create upper and lower cabins We like them both the most!
The large single bed 2m x1m (large enough for a cosy 2) with full sitting height, a hand layered organic coir, latex and lambswool mattress for the best sleep ever with percale cotton sheets pillows and duvet.
The bathroom includes a shower, revitalising all in one body wash, heated mirror and soft towels.
The fold out work desk and stool, doubles for unpacking and there is overhead hand luggage stowage, suit bag hanging and storage areas for small pieces. A complete range of power and connectivity including free internet access and cosy local lighting.
A 20” flat screen TV system with huge choice of films, TV, radio and games & internet
Order from a cabin service menu on screen or go to the galley where your cabin crew are on duty 24 hours a day.
Have fun – there’s as much in these 7 square metres as you’d find in most 4 star hotels.
Want to see more? Have a look at our 360° virtual cabin tours.
Comfort is not sacrificed for the sake of style at Nine Zero Hotel. All 190 sumptuously appointed guestrooms invite guests to relax. Custom-designed beds (our guests often tell us they’ve never slept better), billowy down comforters, and a wide selection of pillows complement the beautiful furnishings, plush fabrics, soothing color scheme and elegant lighting throughout.
To complete your stay at our 4 star Boston hotel, all of our guestrooms and suites feature the following services and amenities:
Our five suites will make you believe you’re staying in your very own stylish urban apartment. Each suite features a living room, dining room and huge bathroom (decorated with thoughtful and whimsical touches of home). The windows allow abundant natural light and afford spectacular views of Boston. For entertaining clients or friends, our suites provide the perfect environment. 
Cloud Nine
Located on the nineteenth floor of our boutique hotel, our penthouse suite floats dramatically above Boston with floor-to-ceiling windows and breathtaking views. Electronic drapes, a viewing telescope, plasma screen television with surround sound, a steam shower, and Jacuzzi complete this heavenly cosmopolitan getaway.
Please contact us directly at 617.772.5800 to book specific suites at our Boston boutique hotel.
http://www.ninezero.com/nnz-rooms/index.html
With personalized service that leaves no detail overlooked, each guest at our Boston luxury hotel is approached with genuine concern, unmatched care and attentiveness to ultimate comfort with a creative flair.
The moment guests arrive at Nine Zero Hotel, they find themselves surrounded by sophisticated style, elegant furnishings and beautiful colors. Our hotel furthers this luxury boutique hotel experience with the perfect balance of must-have and indulgent services and amenities. Whether traveling for business or leisure, enjoy the effortlessness of staying at our luxury hotel in downtown Boston.
In keeping with the exemplary level of services and amenities at Nine Zero Hotel, guests enjoy:
http://www.ninezero.com/nnz-services/index.html
Nine Zero Hotel Keeps You Out of the Doghouse.
Nine Zero Hotel, a pet-friendly Boston hotel right in the heart of downtown, makes certain you won’t have to leave your favorite friend at home. Complimentary to all our four-legged guests, our “IN the Doghouse” pet package includes:
Our hotel is located across from Boston Common, Boston’s pet-friendly 50-acre public park.
http://www.ninezero.com/nnz-petfriendly/index.html
Earthcare: Our Eco Program:
Our hotel supports Kimpton’s mission to be a leader in the hospitality industry in supporting a sustainable world, while continuing to deliver a premium guest experience with non-intrusive, high quality, eco-friendly products and services.
We Take Our EarthCare Commitment Seriously. Very Seriously. Every person who works at Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants is part of a genuine effort to reduce our impact on the environment. This is a life-long corporate commitment that is carried out in each hotel by every individual who works there. Being environmentally responsible is a job that takes awareness and work, every minute of every day. So we’re proud to be recognized by environmental organizations and our industry as one of the leaders in eco-standards in the hospitality industry.
Our hotel uses non-intrusive, high quality eco-friendly practices and products that are making our world a cleaner, healthier place to live. We are protecting both the environment and the sublimely comfortable, memorable experiences our guests have come to know and love.
We are proud to meet the standard set for all Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants throughout the United States. Every day, we see the power of this effort, as we get comments and encouragement from our guests, suppliers and partners and as we continue to see tremendous interest in what we are doing.
By choosing to be our guest, you are part of something truly meaningful.
Click here to see more about how Kimpton EarthCare works:
Bring a special guest to your meetings: the Planet.
See how EarthCare can be integrated into your events and meetings…
Our awards and recognition:
http://www.ninezero.com/nnz-services/green-hotel.html
TWELVE is the premier all-suite boutique hotel in the heart of ATLANTIC STATION®, where you will find fantastic shopping, legendary dining and great entertainment options right outside the door. Its chic, contemporary décor, midtown Atlanta setting and unsurpassed amenities give guests a sophisticated urban experience.
Our new guest service concept will make you rethink your notion of a hotel. Whether you’re visiting Atlanta for business, pleasure or require a distinctive destination for clients or associates, any of our 101 large one and two-bedroom suites at TWELVE will exceed your expectations.
Our red-hot restaurant and bar, Lobby at TWELVE, ground-breaking GHOSTSM desktop application, private guest lounge, outdoor pool, fitness center, ballroom and business center are only a few of the reasons you will love TWELVE. At TWELVE, the choice is yours.
http://www.twelvehotels.com/AtlanticStation/HotelHome.do
Accommodations
The suites at TWELVE offer the casual comforts of home: a full-size kitchen equipped with stainless steel appliances and separate living room area, in a suite design unique to TWELVE. Convertible sofas are available in select suites. Whether you are visiting Atlanta for a short business trip, extended stay or traveling with your family for a special occasion, we offer a suite to meet your needs.
One-Bedroom
Visiting for one night or for a special occasion? Our One-Bedroom Suite is Perfect for business or leisure.
Our One-Bedroom Suite is the perfect introduction to Life Simpli_fied. Along with large, floor-to-ceiling windows to dominate your suite’s interior, we have included stainless steel appliances in the full-size kitchen; complimented by a microwave, toaster and coffee maker. Each suite also touts a streamlined LCD television in both the living and sleeping areas. Our One-Bedroom Suites upgrade the ordinary hotel room, with 690-825 square feet of space. Clearly extra_ordinary .
Deluxe One-Bedroom
Need more space?
The Deluxe One-Bedroom Suite offers all the conveniences of our One-Bedroom Suite and it includes a full balcony to take in Atlanta’s skyline. This expansive suite also ranges in size from 700-825 square feet, with convertible sofas available in select suites.
Deluxe Two-Bedroom
An ideal suite for an extended stay, corporate relocation or family get-away.
Simplify your next business trip or family vacation with a home-away-from-home Two-Bedroom Suite. This is our most generous space ranging in size from 1,030-1,200 square feet. Options abound with this room choice; you may select from a suite with king beds in the sleeping rooms, double beds or a combination. At TWELVE, the choice is yours.
Twelve Highlight:
Your Room. Your Car. Your Style.
TWELVE Atlantic Station and Hank Aaron BMW have engineered the ultimate get away for you. Our new Bed & Beemer Package includes a deluxe one-bedroom suite with luxury amenities, plus the use of a new BMW with unlimited mileage for your entire stay (including valet parking) for only $319 USD per night.
BMW X5
BMW 325ci
MINI Cooper
Only TWELVE lets you Stay in Style & Go in Style.
http://www.twelvehotels.com/AtlanticStation/accommodations/Accommodations.do
Amenities:
TWELVE ATLANTIC STATION offers our guests choices while ensuring the comforts of home are easily accessible, either by telephone or just a mouse click away. Our variable-touch service lets you decide what you need and when.
The technology at TWELVE has been designed with our guests’ needs in mind. Our goal is to ensure our guests are as efficient on the road as they are in their offices or homes.
Great care has been given to selecting our In-Suite Amenities to ensure these items make guests feel at home by using recognizable name brands.
To experience the remarkable, you only need to step into your suite. But thoughtfully, TWELVE provided much more.
http://www.twelvehotels.com/AtlanticStation/amenities/Amenities.do
HOTEL METROPOLIS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Vivid Colors and Modern Materials – Indulge Yourself in the Wilder Side of the Color Wheel.
Indulge yourself and stay at Hotel Metropolis on your next visit to San Francisco. With the vivid colors that envelop each room throughout the hotel, you’ll feel like you’ve entered paradise! The design of the Metropolis gently balances earth, wind, fire, and water from the sophisticated lobby and directly to your guest room. In addition to the vivid design of Hotel Metropolis, you will be delighted with its convenient location in San Francisco’s famous Union Square. Located just north of Market Street and one block west of the Powell Street Cable Car line, the Metropolis is just steps away from Union Square shopping. While indulging yourself at Hotel Metropolis, you can enjoy fine dining and theaters, as well as the Moscone Convention Center and Yerba Buena Gardens. We guarantee superior hotel specials and packages,and a vivid experience for your stay in San Francisco.
http://www.hotelmetropolis.com/
Hotel Metropolis Rooms
Each floor of this 105 room, ten story hotel, reflects either earth, wind, fire or water. The image is carefully created with symbolic color, design, graphics and artwork. Rich fabrics and custom furniture complete the picture.
All rooms, one and two bedroom suites and the “Zen Kid’s Suite” have refrigerators, 2-line phones with dataports and voice mail, remote control television with Nintendo plus pay-per-view movies, hairdryers, irons and boards and desks.
Casegoods constructed in African limba with stainless steel hardware, maple framed chairs upholstered in richly colored chenille, and drum shade lighting with turned wooden bases all contribute to an original look that is both striking and refreshing.
http://www.hotelmetropolis.com/html/m_rooms.html
Hotel Metropolis Amenities and Services
Our Professional and Friendly Staff are dedicated to excellence.
The Concierge Staff pride themselves on arranging entire itineraries from transportation to dinner reservations and theatre tickets.
Other amenities include:
http://www.hotelmetropolis.com/html/m_amen.html
Hotel Metropolis Kids Suite:
Besides bouncing on the beds, most children find hotel rooms boring. But, the one-of-a-kind Urban Explorers Kids Suite at Hotel Metropolis with pint-sized furniture, bunk beds, an emac computer, a chalkboard wall, toys and rubber ducky decor in the bathroom is a huge hit with families. The three-room family suite sleeps up to six adults and three children. In addition to the kids’ room, there is connecting guestroom with two queen beds and custom furnishings for the adults, as well as a living room area with a refrigerator, wet bar and pull-out sofa for only $369 per night, excluding tax and subject to availability.
http://www.hotelmetropolis.com/html/kids.html
In 1991, nine San Francisco artists put their heads and hearts together with a singleness of purpose. Their collaborative genius created the inspirational Hotel Triton, a 140-room wonderland like no other.
Inspired by the original creators’ imagination, our San Francisco boutique hotel continues to evolve, always staying at the forefront of all things visionary and distinct. Step inside our lobby and check out a fantastic mural that tells the story of San Francisco’s growing and ever-changing art scene. Discover stunning photos in the hallways instead of uninspiring art you’ve learned to tune out. We’ve even designed a collection of celebrity hotel suites, joining forces with some of the most dynamic names in the entertainment industry.
The Hotel Triton, a Kimpton Hotel, is also an inspiration and pioneer in environmentally friendly: Our entire Union Square hotel is cleaned with “green” products, our eco-friendly rooms and eco-celebrity suites are hugely popular, and we’ve partnered up with The Trust for Public Land, donating a percentage of room revenue to this visionary organization.
Best of all, just two blocks from Union Square, Hotel Triton is right in the center of the scene that drives San Francisco. Across the street from the Chinatown Gates, our boutique hotel is conveniently located five blocks from Moscone Center. Hotel Triton is just a short walk to Little Italy, a quick complimentary towncar ride Monday through Friday 7-9 a.m. to the Financial District, or a smooth stroll to historic Nob Hill.
It’s no wonder Harper’s Bazaar singled out the Hotel Triton as the best hotel in San Francisco, calling it “a happening and unique escape from the mundane.”
http://www.hoteltriton.com/index.html
Wake up and dream at the Hotel Triton, a San Francisco boutique hotel:
Open the door to your guestroom and you’ll happily discover the inspiration doesn’t stop. Guestrooms run the gamut: Choose one that has walls the color of tomato soup or hand-painted with big blue diamonds… Adopt a signature Hotel Triton rubber ducky for bath time… Ooh and aah over the curvy custom-designed furniture that’s comfortable too (tumble into an outrageously sinkable pillow top mattress, sure to inspire a good night’s sleep)… Spoil yourself with eco-friendly bath products (that smell good too) or one of the yummy treats found in the fully-stocked honor bars.
All of this isn’t just form without function. Inspiring among San Francisco boutique hotels, the Hotel Triton pampers guests with rejuvenating guestrooms, fabulous amenities, and a soothing art-inspired ambience:
Celebrity Eco Suites
The Hotel Triton, one of Kimpton’s boutique hotels and an inspiring example, actively creates partnerships and relationships with those also invested in environmental causes. In addition to the eco-friendly products we use and the eco-conscious programs we put into place throughout the hotel, we created these really great Eco Suites.
Zen Dens
Experience the quiet calm and inspiring comfort of Zen with a stay in one of the Hotel Triton’s new Zen Dens. Ideal for the solo traveler looking to find solace, these cozy guestrooms feature a uniquely stylized full sized daybed that also serves as a couch. Each room features incense, the Book of Buddha, mechanical wind chimes, your very own bamboo plant to nurture during your stay, and a picture of a Goddess Tara to watch over you and offer abundance.http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/RoomsSuites.html
Designer Celebrity Suites in the Inspiring Boutique Hotel Triton, San Francisco
If you’ve dreamed of rubbing elbows and mingling with celebrities, turn those dreams into inspired reality — wine and dine among the beautiful people at the Hotel Triton in San Francisco. A chance encounter in the elevator or a random seating during wine hour may put you in the fabled catbird seat.
Extend your “fifteen minutes” with a stay in one of our inspirational Celebrity Suites. Designed personally by some of today’s biggest and brightest entertainers, these hotel suites offer the moon and the stars.
The Häagen-Dazs “Sweet Suite”
The luxurious Häagen-Dazs “Sweet Suite” offers hotel guests a unique and whimsical escape, indulging the senses in flavor and style. Bathed in vanilla and caramel colors, the true artistry of the “Sweet Suite” is in the details, from “flavored” candles in chocolate, vanilla and dulce de leche, to the bed’s handcrafted headboard shaped like the Häagen-Dazs cartouche, to a waffle-textured bed throw, to a specially made plush Häagen-Dazs bath robe.
The room’s main attraction is the “Sweet Spot,” a custom designed ice cream cabinet filled with both classic Häagen-Dazs ice cream flavors, ice cream bars and new releases such as the Haagen-Dazs Reserve Series. The cabinet is stocked with bowls, scoops and spoons and, best of all, guests can enjoy as many complimentary pints as they desire.
A portion of each “Sweet Suite” guest’s tab will be donated to the Häagen-Dazs ice cream charity of choice, Delancey Street Foundation.
The Suite was designed by local Bay Area interior design firm Marsh & Clark Design.
Kathy Griffin’s D-List
Hotel Triton’s latest Celebrity Suite combines sleek elegance and chic sensibility with a touch of sex appeal for the guest who desires life’s finer pleasures. In a recent episode of Kathy’s hit series, “My Life on the D-List,” Ms. Griffin and Mike Nielsen (known to viewers as her ‘Gay Visionary’) traveled to San Francisco to design an inspired suite at the Hotel Triton.
The making of this luxurious hotel suite into a reality was the subject for an entire episode in the show’s second season. Kathy and Mike began with wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling white suede drapes and took it from there. If you’re looking to find inner peace or feel like a million bucks, Kathy’s suite is a good move. With a color palate ranging from pearl to chocolate to sage green, this suite is a fabulous vehicle for sheer indulgence from Kathy Griffin and the Hotel Triton.
The Black Magic Bedroom by Carlos Santana
The art, music and vision of legendary guitarist Carlos Santana are imbued in every detail of this serene and subtle designer suite. Textile artist Michael Rios created a Technicolor tapestry of Santana’s most heartfelt and intense imagery, bringing vitality and a sense of Latin heritage to both bed and bath. At once otherworldly and earthbound, the Black Magic Bedroom inspires a peaceful, yet invigorating energy, much like the man himself.
The J. Garcia Suite by Jerry Garcia
Get into a groove in the J. Garcia Suite. Created by the late, great Grateful Dead lead man Jerry Garcia, this suite pulses with good vibrations. The same luxurious silk fabrics used in the J. Garcia fashion line flow over onto our upholstery and the sinfully indulgent duvet bedcover. The self-portrait hanging among his many original watercolors and the autographed wall add a personal touch that is inspired Jerry. The J. Garcia Suite is a must for the Deadhead in your life.
The Wyland Suite by Wyland
Prominent ocean artist Wyland wanted to give Triton guests a truly inspired experience by guiding them into an undersea escape of real and rendered sea life. This charismatic and prolific artist hand-picked lithographs and furniture from his private collection. They’re recast here at the Hotel Triton in liquid blues, soft greens and fluid violets in order to offer a celestial visit to the deep. Wyland’s suite completes the connection to Mother Nature and Father Neptune with the same earth-conscious amenities found throughout the hotel, such as air and water conservation and filtration systems, biodegradable soap and shampoo, all natural cotton linens and energy efficient lighting.
King Triton Suite
Designed by King Triton, in honor of his kingdom, Atlantis, shimmering underwater blues, silvers, and greens abound in this luxuriously inspiring setting. Part the silver bead curtain to find yourself in the grooviest Jacuzzi tub in San Francisco, complete with a secret television you can watch while you soak. A beautiful king bed with fabric beach ball pillows and magic reading lights await, and the sitting area is ideal for entertaining a small group of friends.
http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/Suites.html
Eco Friendly Hotel Triton
The days of sacrificing style and comfort to be environmentally conscious are long gone. Hotel Triton is a pioneer and an inspiration, leading the hospitality industry in its efforts to preserve the planet. It all started with Hotel Triton’s one of a kind Eco-Floor™ launched in conjunction with Earth Day in the 1990s. In 2003, the hotel spread its eco-practices to all floors and fostered alliances with organizations such as Trust for Public Land, Green Fusion, Collage Foundation and Happy Planet. Hotel Triton has integrated practices such as a sophisticated waste recycling program, biodegradable cleaning products, recycled paper, and organic coffee. Hotel Triton’s environmental efforts became the inspiration and blueprint for Kimpton Hotel’s eco-program in 2005, which is now being implemented at all Kimpton Hotels nationwide.
Just a few of the ways we’re eco-friendly at the Hotel Triton:
http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/ecorooms.html
The inspired amenities at our San Francisco boutique hotel are as unique as our guests
Zany and energetic, the boutique Hotel Triton is a delightful San Francisco accommodation poised on the edge without being swallowed by serious business or touristy kitsch. An inspired entrance graced by dramatic floor-to-ceiling “Laughing Pillars” of gold, teal and purple, a lobby adorned by a dreamy hand-painted mythological mural in blues, aquamarine, mauve and plum. Elevators filled with music open to serene hallways full of rotating art exhibits.
Hotel Triton makes excursionists feel they’ve arrived home at last. Inspired to leave the mundane behind at our vibrant San Francisco hotel, where guests delight in expecting the unexpected.
Exciting and refreshing surprises at the San Francisco Hotel Triton:
ARTworkSF Gallery has supported the efforts of local Bay area artists for 15 years through its exhibits program, bringing a fresh approach to the art gallery world by taking fine art out of the conventional gallery space and into the community.
The ARTworkSF Gallery in Union Square (San Francisco) is the hub of over 28 venues and presents over 100 artists annually and features monthly thematic exhibits in addition to solo shows. Together, ARTworkSF and Hotel Triton mount 3 month long thematic shows, building community, and contributing to the culture and beauty of San Francisco.
Kimpton InTouch
The Hotel Triton keeps detailed records of each guest’s favorite form of inspiration in San Francisco such as artists, museums, galleries, theaters, bands, music venues, and places of worship. The staff will ask guests “what inspires you most about San Francisco?” or “What inspires you at Hotel Triton?” We use this information to customize the guest’s next stay.
There’s nothing ordinary about San Francisco, California; Hotel Triton is an extraordinary destination in the heart of our beautiful, exciting city.
http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/ServicesAmenities.html
Hotel Triton – A Pet Friendly Hotel in Downtown San Francisco
We are constantly inspired by our guests, especially the four-legged ones. The Hotel Triton, a Kimpton Hotel, not only caters to the people, but to the animals as well. Consistently listed among the top pet friendly hotels in San Francisco and across the US, we offer special pet packages as well as beds, bowls and treats.
Please note: Pets are not allowed on the Eco-Floor or in Suites. This is to offer an allergy free/pet free zone to our guests preferring such, and in the case of the Celebrity Suites, to protect the invaluable celebrity paraphernalia we have been gifted.
http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/petfriendly.html
KimptonKids
We love guests of all shapes and sizes – but especially kids. No kidding!! Our program, KimptonKids, makes it easier for families to travel by already having on hand the items you dislike packing, plus recommendations for kid-oriented activities and services in our respective cities. We know travel is exciting and we aim to make each young guest feel special while grant them fond memories of their adventures on the road.
We offer the following amenities and services to make your family vacation stress-free:
For Babies
For Kids
For All Kids:
Concierge or front desk staff can make arrangements for the following services:
http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/kimpton-kids.html
For some incredible photos, check out this page:
http://www.hoteltriton.com/html/virtualtour.html#
I especially love the pink room!
Hotel Monaco
501 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
· MAP OF HOTEL
· AMENITIES
· AVAILABILITY
· PHOTOS
Hotel Description:
The 201 room Hotel Monaco has been carefully designed to offer the best of all worlds to the savvy traveler- a rare combination of high style, sophistication, and exemplary service, all at a value for the guest. The story of the Hotel Monaco is “Sophisticated World Travel”. The Hotel Monaco main lobby is characterized by high ceilings, graced by impressive two-story French inglenook fireplace and hand painted ceiling domes that feature a colorful compass-rose design. The registration desk is playfully patterned after a classically styled steamer trunk. Our grand staircase leads from our reception area to the second floor and lower lobby area. All 201 guest rooms including 35 suites are lushly appointed with pattern/texture and light interiors by noted Los Angeles designer Cheryl Rowley. 24 hours prior to local hotel time of 6pm. Guests who do not cancel prior to 24 hours before local hotel time of 6pm will be charged a one night’s room plus tax. Cancellation policy is subject to change. An early departure fee in an amount up to one night’s room and tax may apply.
Location Description
Just one block away from nearby theatres/American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) and the Curran Theatre and two blocks west from Union Square. A short walk to Chinatown, Moscone Convention Center Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA), Financial District.
Photos:
Lobby
Lobby
Lobby
Standard Room
Standard Room
Standard Room
Number of floors: 7
Number of rooms: 201
Time zone: PST
Areas served: San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland
Hotel Amenities
Area Attractions:
Area Info. -Just one block away from nearby theatres, American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) and the Curran Theatre -Two blocks west from Union Square the center for the city’s finest retail shopping, dining, and entertainment. -Two blocks from the Powell Street Cable Car Line which travels to Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, and Ghirardelli Square. -Walking distance to Chinatown, Westfield Shopping Center, Moscone Convention Center, art museums, the Embarcadero, and the financial district.
Restaurants:
Restaurants: Grand Cafe, a French-California brasserie featuring contemporary French cuisine influenced by earthy seasonal flavors and wonderful local ingredients. The menu’s diverse array of fresh seafood, roasted meats, and theatrical desserts satisfies every appetite. Set in an architecturally restored, turn-of-the-century ballroom with 30 foot high ceilings, the cafe reflects the grandeur of old Europe with touches of art nouveau and deco and exciting collections of commissioned murals, fanciful sculptures, decorative art and faux finishes from a variety of local artists. The adjoining Petit Cafe with a lamp-lit cherry-wood bar, wood burning oven and original pen and ink drawings along the walls, provides the perfect backdrop for a casual meal or cocktail, before or after the theater. Grand Caf
Recreation:
Health Club and Spa Facilities: Fitness Facility – Complimentary use of fitness center including stationary bicycles, stairmaster, weight training stations and free weights. Hours of operation – 6am to 10pm The concierge would be happy to arrange for all guests activity needs: spa/salon, tennis/racquetball, running routes, hiking, bike trips, and golf tee times around San Francisco. There is no pool in the hotel but there is an 8 person whirlpool spa.
Sports and Recreation: 4 miles away from a public course. Baseball: AT&T Park home of the San Francisco Giants is 1 mile SE. Cisco Field home of the Oakland A’s is 10 miles east. Football: Monster Park Home of the San Francisco 49ers is 4 miles south. McAfee Coliseum home of the Oakland Raiders is 10 miles east. Basketball: Oracle Coliseum home of the Golden State Warriors is 10 miles west Sailing: 2 miles north are the piers launching sailboats, yachts, catamarans and cruise ships. Whale watching excursions, deep sea fishing expeditions, bay tours and sailing courses are all available nearby. Golden Gate Park offers stables, polo grounds, an archery range, and bike-skate-walk paths. Swimming pools are available within 3 blocks of the hotel – see concierge Sand beaches are less than 5 miles W or a trip to Angel Island is a 45 minute ferry boat adventure. Windsurfing and kiteboarding are incredibly popular sports in the bay. Windsurfing rentals and lessons are available at the piers 2 miles north. To surf some of the best breakers in northern California go west 5 miles or try some intermediate waves in Bolinas 25 miles NW on the coast. Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz boast excellent surfing for both beginning and advanced boarders 70 miles to the south. Extensive hiking and biking trails are located 10 miles to the northeast.
Room Info:
Queen Canopy -200 sq. ft. with 1 four poster canopy queen bed -Smaller than the other room types-considered the most intimate, romantic and dramatically decorated room with yellow and green striped wallpaper. Accommodates 2 people and does not fit a rollaway. Inside courtyard location with window shutters, room does not connect.
Queen Deluxe -234 sq. ft. with 1 queen bed and gray and white striped wall coverings. Accommodates 2 people and does not accommodate rollaway. Exterior and interior rooms – interior rooms have shutters – Some rooms connect to a:
Deluxe Suite Double Double Deluxe -250 sq. ft. with 2 double beds – some of the best pajama parties have been held in these rooms! Rooms feature yellow and green striped wall coverings. Some are handicapped accessible with roll-in showers. Accommodates 2 people and does not accommodate rollaway. Exterior side location with street views *some rooms connect to a:
DBDX King Deluxe -250 sq. ft. with 1 king bed. Rooms have great personality and award-winning decor, and feature yellow & green striped wall covering. Accommodates 2 people and does not accommodate rollaway. Exterior location with street view, does not connect to any other rooms.
Junior Suite -330-380 sq. ft. with king bed in oversized bedroom. Oversized rooms with sitting area and queen pullout sofa bed within room. Rooms feature yellow and green striped wall coverings. Some are handicapped accessible with lower shelves in the closet, bars in the bathrooms, sitting showers -no bathtubs. Accommodates 4 people and does not accommodate rollaway. Exterior location with view of Geary Street, does not connect to any rooms
Deluxe Suite -330-380 sq. ft. with king bed. Separate parlor area with living room -Accommodates 4 people. Suite does not have a view *some rooms connect to a:
Queen Deluxe Room Parlor Suite -500 sq. ft. with a king bed or Murphy bed in the oversized room, which also has sofa and table with 4 chairs in the sitting area. Accommodates 2 people and does not fit a rollaway. Views of Geary Street or the interior light well (no view in 1 suite).
1 PLST connects to a QNDX and can be sold as a two-room suite.
1 PLST – room 224 – has a 6-foot whirlpool Jacuzzi tub. The other 2 PLSTs have standard bathtubs. Monte Carlo suite with one king bed -450-525 sq. ft. with a king bed in bedroom -beautiful and elegant accommodations with award-winning detail.
Meeting Facilities:
Meeting Facilities: Conference Banquet Facilities/Meeting Rooms – -8,340 square feet of space includes 9 total meeting rooms. -Two 1575 square foot meeting rooms each divisible into two and one breakout room of 100 square feet accommodating 12 to 15 people. -Two meeting rooms with high ballroom ceilings totaling 2300 square feet combining the two rooms can accommodate up to 250 people theatre style or 150 for a sit down dinner. – Two executive board rooms both 400 square feet each. One is furnished with an oak conference table accommodating 12 people and the other which accommodates up to 20 people. — Full conference/private dining facilities and support services. Private dining up to 180/receptions up to 250. Meeting and groups for up to 120. http://www.ihsadvantage.com/h/hotelinfo/san_francisco/ca/us/23848/?pfs=343#trafficLogID=507208170&visited=true
San Francisco California
501 Geary Street San Francisco California 94102
Romantic Getaway!
With its warm, elegant decor, the Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton Hotel, is a uniquely romantic San Francisco hotel. Whether it’s for a week or a romantic weekend getaway, the Hotel Monaco makes a memorable vacation destination.
Property Description:
A glamorous luxury hotel in San Francisco, the Hotel Monaco offers style and comfort for the most discerning of travelers. With its French–inspired architecture and sensually rich décor, the Hotel Monaco, a Kimpton Hotel, will seduce and pamper you, allow you to indulge your senses.
Check out this website for more around the world:
http://www.greatsmallhotels.com/gsh/eng/home.jsp
Voted ‘Best of the Best’
One of the World’s Top 100 Hotels
- Condé Nast Traveler 2005 Magazine
Voted one of the Best 500 Hotels in the World
- Travel and Leisure Magazine 2006
One of Vancouver’s coolest hangouts.
- Wallpaper* Magazine
Uniquely stylish and always fresh, Opus Hotel Vancouver redefines the boutique hotel experience, blending contemporary design with warmth and intuitive service. Located in fashionable Yaletown, Opus Hotel is steps from the inner harbour, outdoor recreation and Vancouver’s best restaurants, spas and shops. The business and entertainment districts, Stanley Park, beaches and the Alaska cruise ship terminal are only a few minutes away.
Opus is a Vancouver hotel with ninety-six luxury guestrooms featuring vibrant colours, spa bathrooms and five lifestyle-inspired décor schemes. Guestrooms feature five unique décor schemes ranging from modern and minimalist to artful and eclectic, with comfort and style as the unifying elements.
Opus, a Vancouver hotel, provides the service and amenities of a luxury hotel within a stylish and intimate environment. This Vancouver hotel is home to bistro moderne Elixir and the dramatic Opus Bar. Opus was voted Best of the Best, one of the world’s top 100 hotels by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine.
OPUS Hotel is found in the stylish Yaletown district of downtown Vancouver, an eight square block heritage preservation zone within walking distance of the city’s financial and retail centres. Locals and visitors alike are attracted here to some of downtown Vancouver’s finest restaurants, lounges, spas and fashion boutiques.
Enjoy a stroll, or go for a jog along the 15 km (9.3 mi) of waterfront seawall ringing nearby False Creek Inlet. Or take a short water taxi ride past marinas, parks, and waterfront dwellings to neighbouring Granville Island, a unique urban market.
Check out this link for information and amenities in a number of different types of rooms:
http://www.opushotel.com/rooms_suites.html
Opus Deluxe Garden Terrace Room:
Executive Suite Living Room:
Opus Penthouse Bedroom:
TM
Introducing Lifestyle ConciergeTM by Opus
What’s a girl (or guy) to do in Vancouver? Just ask one of our Lifestyle Concierges.
At our Vancouver Hotel we know that the tastes and lifestyles of our guests are diverse. That’s why we offer five unique guestroom dŽcor schemes to choose from. Now, with our innovative new Lifestyle ConciergeTM program, we offer a choice of five fictional guides to help you make the most of your stay in Vancouver.
Inspired by our five guestroom dŽcor schemes, these guides represent a spectrum of lifestyles ranging from old school to avant-garde. Into the arts & culture scene? Check out Bob & Carol’s recommendations. Feel like taking a walk on the wild side? Billy’s your man. Whatever your scene, Opus has a recommendation just right for you. Simply click on the photos or drop-down menu to find your match, and your guide will share their favourite things to do in Vancouver.
Need a reservation or more recommendations? Scroll down to email your concierge directly, and he or she will respond within 24 hours. For general information visit the Basics section. Most recommendations are within walking distance from Opus or a short ride away in our luxury 7 series BMW.
General
Dining & Refreshment
Transportation
Entertainment & Activities
Business
Personal
http://www.opushotel.com/opus.html
Now I hoped you enjoyed this little tour of just a few of the boutique hotels available here and in Canada – they are all around the world, and many aren’t much more than their chain cousins, and much more fun, funky, romantic, or whatever you want – so bring the kids, your pets, or a “friend” and enjoy yourself!
→ 1 CommentCategories: Boutique Hotels · Hotel Amenities · Hotels
Tagged: Boutique Hotels, Hotel Amenities, Hotels, Travel, Travel with Pets/Kids
You’re Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins
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I’m having trouble getting the videos to load properly, so I’ll work on that, or if necessary, in the future, move the blog. I like having videos, and since they changed the dashboard of WordPress, the videos and other things are very different, and some things don’t work. So bear with me in this time of change please : )
The videos are as follows:
Trace Adkins:
You’re Gonna Miss This
Songs About Me
I Got My Game On,
and check this one out (not in the post):
Swing by Trace Adkins
And:
Our Song by Taylor Swift
And for Toby Keith:
Who’s Your Daddy?
I Wanna Talk About Me
How Do You Like Me Now?
(Whiskey for My Men and) Beer For My Horses, with Willie Nelson
I first heard this song on The Celebrity Apprentice, when Trace sang it in the finale. The song spoke to me – I have two daughters ages 19 and 14, and both can’t wait to grow up and away. Although they love me, they want to keep moving ahead, and my 14 yr old has her life mapped out in infinite detail, down to the continent she plans to do her volunteer work on for the Peace Corps, and where she wants to put her wildlife conservation area. So I emailed the video and lyrics to both of them.
This song is available for purchase, lyrics, and the video at http://music.yahoo.com/track/52029467
Here’s the lyrics to “You’re Gonna Miss This”:
You’re Gonna Miss This
She was starin’ out the window of their SUV
Complainin’, sayin’, “I can’t wait to turn eighteen”
She said, “I’ll make my own money and I’ll make my own rules
Momma, put the car in park out there in front of the school”
And she kissed her head, and said, “I was just like you”
You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days
Hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this
Before she knows it she’s a brand new bride
In her one bedroom apartment and her daddy stops by
He tells her it’s a nice place, she says, “It’ll do for now”
Starts talkin’ about babies and buyin’ a house
Daddy shakes his head and says, “Baby, just slow down”
Cuz’ you’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days
Hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this
Five years later there’s a plumber
Workin’ on the water heater
Dog’s barkin’, phone’s ringin’
One kid’s cryin’ and one kid’s screamin’
And she keeps apologizin’
He says, “They don’t bother me
I’ve got two babies of my own
One’s thirty-six, one’s twenty-three”
Huh, it’s hard to believe
But you’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days
Hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna miss this
Yeah, you’re gonna miss this
© SONGS OF COMBUSTION MUSIC©
MUSIC OF WINDSWEPT©
EMI BLACKWOOD MUSIC INC.© NOAH’S LITTLE BOAT MUSIC
Lyrics courtesy of Gracenote
There are some other videos available ( afew below my him and two others) as well. I had never heard of Trace before the show, as I don’t follow country music, but something about his demeanor, and quiet intelligence that came out exactly when needed, were intriguing, although I sensed that he wasn’t always that quiet. Then when I heard the song, and his voice (it’s a low deep country voice), I had to share it. I don’t usually inflict my music tastes on others (other than my little Sonific Songspot widget), but this was more than a song – it was a message for all teens in too big a hurry to grow up. As I approach my 51st birthday, I look back, and wonder at where my life has gone, and ended up, and wish I was 17 again, with the whole world and choices available to me. And I figured out why I collect 70’s kitsch – I want to go back to those times when I was happy and relatively uncomplicated, with the only decisions to make were what I should spend my savings on during my trip out west, and whether to go to Mount Holyoke, a women’s ivy league school out east, or stay at home and go to the University of Minnesota, majoring in Honors Classics.
One thing I learned about country music is that the videos tell a story – much more so than in rock or pop (except for the fabulous Thriller!), and that watching them makes the song come alive. This next video explains the populist appeal of country music, far beyond it’s geographic borders:
And this one, well, it speaks for itself. It’s about fun and “you got game”:
And one last one about baseball and women:
Swing
And I found this little one on the same page, by a singer I hadn’t heard of, but it’s cute, and is SO young love:
Our Song, by Taylor Swift
And this little video is from a favorite of mine. Even though I listen to very little country music, I adore Toby Keith – he makes no apologies for who he is, or what he believes in, and I can admire that. This one’s a gem – fun and unapologetically male:
Who’s Your Daddy? by Toby Keith
And this one, well, it says it all. It’s a poke fun at yourself video:
And for all of you, men AND women, who found high school a little hard, and have since left it behind and gone on to bigger and better things, this one’s for you:
How Do You Like Me Now, by Toby Keith
And for the ultimate one, although a rather odd “take” on the genre, here’s a duet with Willie Nelson:
(Whiskey for My Men and) Beer For my Horses, with Willie Nelson
Hope you enjoy this sampling of a genre you may not be familiar with. It’s worth a look – try Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks (his album “Sevens” and Bob Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline” got me through my divorce), Carrie Underwood, and Willie Nelson, among others.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Country Music · Music videos · music
Tagged: Country Music, music, Music videos
And for more info, here’s part of an article on the above, and germs. Having not yet survived a very nasty upper respiratory infection, including laryngitis, bronchitis and sinusitis, and two rounds of antibiotics (and you know what that means – carton after carton of yogurt!), that’s still hanging around, I begin to think maybe, just maybe, there’s something to this:
Published November 5, 2006
“Georgia-Pacific, the paper goods company, began receiving field reports about mysterious collections of used paper towels near bathroom exits. Further investigation found bathroom users were carrying towels to the door to cover the knob and then discarding them on the floor (because the trash cans were far away).
In the summer the company introduced Safe-T-Gard, a combination dispenser of doorknob-size tissues and a trash receptacle to be mounted on the wall next to doors.
Consumer fear of unclean environments has developed significantly over the
last five years, said Bill Sleeper, the general manager of Georgia-Pacific’s commercial tissue and towel category. “All of the issues of nosocomial infections in hospitals, the risk of bird flu, the cruise ship outbreaks, there’s just more and more awareness of health issues,” he said.
But some of the resulting behavior makes no sense, Mr. Sleeper said. The company’s studies have found bathroom users covering their fingers in toilet paper before flushing and using more tissue to open stall doors, even though there is almost no health reason to do so, because their next stop is the sink to wash their hands with soap and water.
Another company, Fulkerson, in Cumming, Ga., is attacking doorknobs differently. Its SanitGrasp, introduced in May at the National Restaurant Association convention in Chicago, replaces traditional pull handles with a large U-shape device, which allows a door to be opened with a forearm.
At the grass roots, antigerm innovation is furious:
• Sandra Barbor, 60, of Sandwich, Ill., was always bothered by having to grasp the handles of shopping carts, and when her husband was found to have myelodysplastic syndrome, which compromised his immune system, she was driven to invent the Sani-Shopping Cover, a $3.49 strip of protective vinyl that adheres to cart handles. Ms. Barbor, a retired marketer, has sold about 1,000 covers online.”
Page 2 of the article:
“• Hotel guests, concerned that bedspreads are not washed as frequently as sheets, have taken to whisking them off the bed on arrival and throwing them, bottom side up, into a corner. Marriott hotels responded last year with a bedding concept called Revive. Comforters are encased in white cotton covers, which are washed with the bedsheets. [more on this one later]
City Year New York
A portable personal subway strap.
• On the Internet frequent travelers caution about the dirtiness of hotel television remotes (suggestions include carrying a plastic bag to sheathe these button-covered germ magnets) and room coffee mugs. (Maids, the discussion-board wisdom goes, do not replace them with properly washed ones but use the towels they used to clean the toilet to swab dirty cups.)
FREQUENTERS of such message boards insist their fears are reasonable.
One of them, Julie Zagars, 34, a consultant to the food and beverage industry, said by phone, “I am a frequent traveler, and I simply don’t have time to get sick.”
When Ms. Zagars boards planes, she first slips around her neck the Air Supply Ionic Personal Air Purifier, which the company promises will repel allergens and viruses. Next she wipes the armrests, headrest and tray table with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, and finally she pulls out her own cotton travel blanket.
Some antigerm sentiment could be stemming from the increasing pressure not to miss days at work, said Allison Janse, an author of “The Germ Freak’s Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu: Guerrilla Tactics to Keep Yourself Healthy at Home, at Work and in the World.”
The task of transmuting fear into cheer is left to marketers. Probably the first wave of modern germ consciousness began in 1997, with the consumer introduction of Purell, the hand-sanitizing gel (around since 1988 for the medical profession). Pfizer, its maker, has updated the product as the new wave of germ-fighting gadgets arrives. The company has introduced a multicolor line of the sanitizer, Purell-2-Go, which comes in small bottles with rubber rings to attach to backpacks, lunchboxes and key chains. “We tried to make it fun,” said Erica Johnson, a Pfizer spokeswoman.
A children’s book by Elizabeth Verdick published this year by Free Spirit titled “Germs Are Not for Sharing” has illustrations of children playing together without touching. “When germs get on your hands,” the text reads, “they can spread to other people. When you hold hands or play games or give each other high fives.”
“I kind of doubt kids will stop giving each other high fives,” said Dr. Michael Bell, the associate director for infection control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While Dr. Bell recommends teaching children about hygiene, washing one’s hands after using the bathroom and making sure to clean kitchen surfaces carefully is as much as most people need do, he said.
There is no hard scientific evidence that any of the air filters, nose sprays or personal sterile headrest covers for travelers help prevent infections.
But facts are not standing in the way of the antigerm marketplace, where style is becoming increasingly important. In 2001, Hydro-Photon of Blue Hill, Me., introduced SteriPEN, a portable but somewhat clunky ultraviolet device to disinfect drinking water for adventure travelers. The device is being used not only by back-country campers but also by urban Americans wanting to take extra precautions.
They want to carry the pen in their pockets, said Ed Volkwein, the company president. He expects to have a sleeker line of $130 SteriPENs, colored silver and black, in stores by Christmas.
Big-city living is a minefield for the germ-conscious. Emily Beck, the inventor of City Mitts, nonslip antibacterial gloves that commuters can wear to grasp subway handholds, has developed a prototype of a product to keep potentially infectious strangers even farther at bay.
The Excuse Me flag is a little yellow banner mounted on a lightweight pole, which is attached to one’s waist so it swings back and forth in front of the wearer during walking. Any other pedestrian who walks too close will be slapped in the face by the pole or the yellow flag, which reads “Excuse Me.”
“It generates a cubic yard of free walking space between you and a sneezer,” Ms Beck, a former New Yorker, said from her home in Delaware. “It makes it so you don’t have to touch anybody or talk to anybody in New York.” “
From Crave.cnet.com (all of the following):
Dec 11 2007
Attention, parents of school-age children. Are you worried about a growing Purell addiction? CleanWell has the hand sanitizer for you.
The San Francisco-based company has come out with an alcohol-free, all-natural hand sanitizer. I got some samples at the ThinkGreen conference last week and my hands have been free of epidemic-causing bacteria ever since.
Need a sanitizing spritz?
(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com)
The company claims it kills Listeria monocytogenes, Candida (we can make it together) albicans, Streptococcus pygenes, and Salmonella enterica. You can’t spray it on chicken, but the salmonella killing would be great for kitchen sanitizing. Spray CleanWell on your hands and it kills over 99 percent of these germs in 15 seconds, according to the company.
The active ingredient is called Ingenium. It’s not from the Periodic Table of the Elements. Instead, it’s a mix of essential oils that kill germs in concert. The product literature is great. It shows a kid hugging a deer. Most people would think: “cute.” To moms, that deer is just a rat with horns.
The 1-ounce spray bottle pictured here costs $7.99 and is good for 225 sprays. (That’s a lot of deer hugging.) The company also sells wipes and other products.
Posted in: Green tech
Sep 24 2007
(Credit: Tersano)
It’s already shaping up to be a banner day for the germaphobes here at Crave. Just after posting an item about the latest OCD vacuum cleaner, we came across another gadget to sanitize our food as well.
The “Lotus Sanitizing System” uses “super-oxygen” infused water to pulverize bacteria and other unsavory elements from pretty much whatever will fit in its “multi-purpose sanitizing bowl,” according to Shiny Shiny. (You can watch a video of it in action here.)
Granted, it’s not the first food sanitizer on the market–there are even gadgets out there designed to make meat squeaky clean. But at $170, it’s far cheaper than other models we’ve seen. Besides, when it comes to ingestion (and digestion), the true germaphobe never skimps.
Jul 17 2007
(Credit: Amazon)
Talk about the world turned upside-down. The last thing we thought we’d ever see is people clamoring to make their bathrooms more like public loos, but that’s apparently what’s happening in our increasingly fixture-fixated consumer market.
We knew the trend had become mainstream (no pun, honest) after witnessing the overwhelming popularity of Dyson’s “Airblade” hand-drying machine. But that product is aimed at the business market–we think. The “EZ Touchless Infrared Sensor Faucet,” however, is clearly destined for the household at $50, according to GadgetGrid.
And why not? It’s at the perfect intersection with yet another hot trend, products targeted at the germaphobe community.
Posted in: Home
Jul 11 2007
(Credit: Hammacher Schlemmer)
Some months ago–on Jan. 1, as a matter of fact–we reported what we then thought was the “ultimate germaphobe gadget,” perhaps our way of ushering in a bacteria-free 2007. Barely halfway through the year, however, that item appears to have already been eclipsed.
Not only does the “Wide Coverage Germ-Eliminating Wand” claim to eradicate “99 percent of bacteria, viruses, mold, and dust mites,” but it can do so in broader areas with a 6-inch ultraviolet lightbulb. All the germaphobic head of the household needs to do is hold the wand 3 inches over a suspect surface for 20 seconds, according to Hammacher Schlemmer, and it can be programmed in 5- or 60-minute intervals.
We haven’t heard from him lately, but we’re certain that the “OCD Action Figure” will be pleased.
Posted in: Lifestyle
Jul 2 2007
Dropping your iPhone in the toilet might actually be an improvement.
(Credit: iSkin)
iSkin’s latest antibacterial case made for Apple’s iPhone reminds us that a product’s coolness is no defense against deadly bacteria. In fact, studies have shown that cell phones happen to be one of the filthiest objects imaginable–dirtier than a toilet seat, computer keyboard, or the bottom of a shoe. There’s just something magical about the combination of spittle and your text-crazy hands that make mobile phones a germ’s best friend. The antibacterial iSkin Revo case for the iPhone is due out this month with a price of $39. Until then, think twice before passing your iPhone around at a party.
Posted in: Phones, Science, Music
Mar 1 2007
(Credit: Appliancist)
A USB air purifier is fine when you’re on the road, but at home you need something more powerful for a fully sterilized bubble. That’s when you might want to consider the “Airfree Platinum 2000.”
Its name may sound like something out of RoboCop, but the purifier claims to eliminate 99.99 percent of all germs. The secret weapon is a ceramic core that reaches 400 degrees, a temperature where no micro-organism can build their germ villages, according to Appliancist. (Airfree claims that it functions at these levels without burning down the house. Glad they mentioned that.)
We’ve seen–and tried–our share of miracle air cleaners, so forgive us for withholding judgment on Airfree’s claims. But even if it doesn’t pan out, you can always turn it into a futuristic Trojan helmet.
Feb 26 2007
(Credit: Fareastgizmos)
It’s been a banner week for germaphobes. Just the other day we pointed to a device that purifies water with UV rays, and now we get word of a product that filters out airborne germs from the air within its immediate vicinity.
The “Ionic USB Air Purifier,” according to Fareastgizmos, “discharges negative ions to absorb second-hand smoke, odors, clean airborne dust, and eliminate bacteria, germs, viruses.” The device circulates air silently without a fan and needs no filters. All you need, apparently, is faith.
Posted in: Lifestyle, Peripherals, Science
Feb 23 2007
(Credit: Broadband Media)
Good news, fellow germaphobes. We’ve seen all manner of gadgets that sterilize surfaces but none that address what we ingest. Until now.
The “SteriPEN UV Light Water Purifier” treats H2O with a germicidal lamp, supposedly rendering it bacteria-free with no chemical aftertaste and “99.99 percent safe to drink,” according to Mobile Magazine. With our luck, we’ll probably be among the remaining 0.01 percent.
Jan 1 2007
(Credit: Hammacher Schlemmer)
‘Tis the season to get sick, and Crave wants to do its part to help keep you healthy. We could list various types of bacteria-resistant and washable equipment on the market, but we’ve learned of another gadget that claims to detect and zap germs even before touching a piece of potentially infected hardware.
Hammacher Schlemmer says its “Handheld Germ-Eliminating Light” can “eliminate 99.99% of E-Coli, staphylococcus, salmonella, and germs that cause the flu and the common cold.” The miracle gadget supposedly works with the same type of ultraviolet light and nanotechnology used to sterilize surgical instruments in hospitals.
If you’re considering one of these as a belated holiday gift, we suggest personalizing it with an OCD action figure to show how much you really care.
Dec 25 2006
(Credit: Unotron)
The timing for this is perfect, as parents all over the world face the prospect of sticky-fingered kids running amok on sugar highs from an oversupply of holiday treats.
The mere thought of grubby little mitts everywhere is enough incentive for some of us to leave Christmas dinner early just so we can order one of Unotron’s wired or unwired washable keyboards, which SCI FI Tech says “can be sprayed over and over with disinfectants, submersed in cleaning fluid, rinsed under a faucet and then blow-dried.” It’s an ideal alternative for kids playing on the computer while the Legos are in the dishwasher.
http://crave.cnet.com/8300-1_105-1-0.html?keyword=germs
So, using all of the above – will it keep you safe and healthy and free from the nasty germs around this season? That’s the $64,000 question, isn’t it?
→ 1 CommentCategories: Colds · Germs · Health · Tech · Technology
Tagged: Colds, Germs, Health, Tech, Technology
Being a lover of fine sheets and bedding (I insist on at least 600 thread count, Egyptian cotton sateen sheets at home), and/or silk quilts/shams, I found these following articles to be of great interest. I haven’t traveled in a while, and I was tired of scratchy, stiff sheets, and flat, lumpy pillows. I always had to ask for at least two or three extra pillows just for me. I have about ten one my own bed, and several quilts/duvets. I also have a very luxurious pillow top mattress from Ethan Allen, courtesy of my ex-mother-in-law, which she gave me after the divorce, along with some bed toppers and puffy mattress pads. Apparently though, hotels have figured this out, and upgraded their wares, although not perhaps to my home standards, but maybe enough for comfort while away from home. Now, if only a lucky fairy would come and deposit some money or a free trip in my lap – preferably to Bora Bora…
First up: My favorite destination, and where I lived for two years from 2000-2002, Hawaii!
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
By Allison Schaefers
aschaefers@starbulletin.com
The latest salvo in the hotel industry’s long-running bed wars is being heard in Hawaii, as Marriott International Inc.’s chainwide swapout of 628,000 beds reaches the islands.
The company’s $190 million global overhaul is using 30 million yards of soft, plushy fabric, or enough to stretch more than two-thirds of the way around the world.
The industry’s bed wars began in 1999, with the introduction of the Heavenly Bed by Westin Hotels and Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
The thick, plush mattresses were an instant hit with hotel guests, long used to sleeping on the kinds of wholesale beds that make a person glad to get home.
Then, the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed, the Hilton Serenity and Suite Dreams beds and a host of other dream beds came forward.
“A good night’s sleep has become the foundation of selling hotel rooms,” said Joe McInerney, president and chief executive officer of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Marriott went undercover with their market research to find out what consumers wanted in a bed. The company used labs to help determine the formula to give consumers better sleep than most would find at home.
From the dreams of consumers, Marriott fashioned its Revive bed — a downy confection complete with 300-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, seven feathery pillows, a white duvet and a colorful bed scarf.
The Revive bed roll-out, which began in 2005 and will become complete this summer, is more about substance than fluff for the hotel chain which operates approximately 2,400 hotels worldwide under eight different brands.
Each will introduce an upgraded bed, although the extent of its luxury will vary with the brand.
Guests at the Waikiki Beach Marriott, where the Egyptian cotton and feather pillow dressed bed became available earlier this year, already have boosted customer satisfaction surveys by seven points, said Ed Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott International.
“We set out to find out what our customers wanted and that’s what we have delivered,” Fuller said.
Hotel chains have been installing luxurious new beds over the past few years in an effort to lure guests. Above, new double beds in rooms at the Waikiki Beach Marriott in Waikiki.
The new Marriott bed is beyond fantasy, said Amy Terada, vice president of marketing for Pleasant Holidays LLC, Hawaii’s largest wholesaler.
“I slept in it last night,” Terada said. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful bed. It looks so inviting and comfortable that you just want to jump in and bury yourself.”
If there’s an active bed war, Terada said she’d proclaim Marriott’s new offering the winner.
“I’ve slept in the Heavenly bed and the Sweet Sleeper bed and I prefer Marriott’s new bed,” she said.
Despite wide variations in consumer preference, Starwood and Sheraton can handle the competition, said Keith Vieira, a senior vice president with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
The Westin Heavenly Bed and the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Beds, which will be in every Hawaii Starwood hotel room by next year, have been so successful with consumers that many have elected to take them home.
“We sell about 200 of these beds a week to guests,” Vieira said.
Business at Westin, Starwood and Sheraton is unlikely to change as a result of Marriott’s decision to join the bed wars.
“We aren’t worried about Marriott’s newest bed,” Vieira said. “It just validates that we had a good idea and you know any good idea will be copied.”
Due to the massive costs in bedding upgrades, Marriott’s Revive bed might just be the last of the cycle.
“We’ve seen the end of the changing of the beds for a considerable period because it isn’t cheap,” McInerney said, adding that he doesn’t expect any more major bed wars for the next four to five years.
When it comes to national brands, the bed wars might be over — but they’re just beginning for boutique and off-brand properties, said Mike Paulin, president of Aqua Hotels and Resorts. That chain is in the process of renovating and changing the bedding at four out of eight of their properties.
“The emphasis on bedding in Waikiki has changed dramatically over the last 20 years,” Paulin said. “People spend a third of their time sleeping and they want a cozy experience.”
Aqua has invested in top-of- the-line commercial bedding for all of its properties, Paulin said.
“That’s what our customers want, and we have to give it to them or be satisfied with losing some of our occupancy or settling for lower rates,” he said.
http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/03/business/story01.html
Although, gasp!, not everyone is apparently of a like mind:
By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
Published: January 31, 2006
THE hotel “bed wars” are over. But are business travelers the winners?
Most frequent travelers would probably say they are, citing the remarkable evolution of hotel beds from the no-nonsense affairs of the late 1990’s — just mattresses, sheets and bedspreads — to the superpremium sleep “experiences” of today.
Harley R. Myler, an engineering professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Tex., is not among them. When he checked into the Marriott University Park in Tucson for a recent academic conference, he decided the bed wars had gone too far.
“There were several pillows and bedspreads,” he said. “I didn’t know what they were for. I didn’t know what to do with them.”
He added, “I would much prefer that they offered free high-speed Internet.”
Marriott International, like virtually every other hotel chain, recently upgraded its bedding — one of the final salvos in the bed wars that began in 1999 with the introduction of the Heavenly Bed by Westin Hotels and Resorts, a unit of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. The Marriott beds feature 300-thread-count sheets, a feathered mattress topper, stylish pillow shams, a decorative bed scarf and extra pillows.
Perhaps the last salvo in the bed wars was fired earlier this month, when Hilton Hotels announced a $1 billion effort that included the addition of its branded Serenity Bed to many of its properties, with its signature mattress pads, down pillows, linens, decorative bed pillows and bolsters. Hilton has offered its own branded bed since 2001.
Most hotel executives concede that the war is now over. That is to say, every hotel chain that believed it could benefit from upgrading its bedding has probably done so.
The question now is, Have their most frequent customers also benefited?
Mr. Myler does not think so. He sent a letter shortly after his stay in Tucson to that Marriott hotel’s general manager, Joe Armbrust, complaining about the surplus pillows. Mr. Armbrust agreed that the pillows “seem to be overkill,” but he said that customers had “expressed a desire to have the room similar to what they have at home.” In other words, the guests made Marriott do it.
But Mr. Myler maintains he never asked for the beds, and Westin, which started the bed wars, says its customers didn’t, either.
“We wanted to differentiate ourselves from the competition,” said Sue A. Brush, Westin’s senior vice president, who was the vice president of marketing when the Heavenly Bed was introduced. “It wasn’t anything that came through in the research.”
Roger G. Hill II, the chief executive of the Gettys Group, an interior design company specializing in the hospitality industry, agreed that customers had not clamored for new beds, nor had they asked for some of the more frivolous amenities that many properties now offer. “I’ve never seen a survey where guests said, ‘I want four pillows instead of two,’ ” he said, adding that some of the recent bedding packages were, in his opinion, “over the top.”
The argument that hotel guests, in general, and business travelers, in particular, demanded bigger and more luxurious beds is difficult to sustain. A much easier argument to make is that the hotel marketing departments were eager to join the bed wars, and that once they did, many of their customers approved of the changes.
By the time Marriott got around to remaking its beds last year, it had ample evidence that its customers would go along with the improvements. The company’s customer research confirmed that the new beds were better than the old. “We also had a chance to one-up Westin,” said Michael E. Jannini, executive vice president for brand management at Marriott. “And I think we did.”
The bed wars, it turns out, were a sound investment for the hotel industry. Not only have guests endorsed the changes by rewarding better-bedded hotels with their business, but last year, Westin sold $10 million in bedding accessories to its customers. Hilton opened a new online store, hiltontohome.com, where guests can buy things like linens or clock radios. Hilton would not reveal its sales figures, but Bill Brooks, its vice president for product development, said the site had done better than expected. He said he thought consumers were the winners in the bed wars.
Some lodging analysts say that is a commonly held belief in the hotel business. “Most travelers seem to be extremely positive about the improved quality of beds and bedding,” said Bjorn Hanson, an industry analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers. In fact, the bedding revolution has led to changes in the way people sleep at home, with guests modernizing their bedrooms after sleeping in hotel beds.
Mr. Hansen knows that not all guests are pleased. “Some travelers do not like duvet-style bedding or very high or low beds.”
I am not one of those people. Five years ago, when Hilton introduced its new bed, I bought one (strictly for research purposes), which persuaded me that the bed wars were a positive development.
But like Mr. Myler, I am concerned about the excesses of the conflict — the unnecessary pillows and bedspreads. Business travelers may not be victims of a bed war, as he suggests, but they are also not the obvious winners. That designation belongs to the hotels with upgraded bedding, which are now finding that a room that offers a better night’s sleep can also command a higher rate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/business/31soff.html
Four Points by Sheraton Turns up the Heat in Hotel Bed Wars; Investing $13 million to Roll Out its Four Comfort Bed(SM) to 100-plus Properties in North America
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Oct. 14, 2004 — Let the feathers fly! Five years after Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) spurred a hotel bedding revolution with the introduction of the now iconic Westin Heavenly Bed, the hotel giant is betting on a bedding battle in the mid-scale arena. Four Points by Sheraton, Starwood’s moderately priced brand, is investing $13 million to roll out its new Four Comfort Bed(SM) to all of its 100-plus properties in North America by July, 2005. The Four Points by Sheraton Four Comfort Bed, already in hotels in New York, Denver and Portland, is the first new branded bed in its class.
Following in the footsteps of the Westin Heavenly Bed(R) and sister brand Sheraton’s popular Sweet Sleeper Bed(R), the Four Comfort Bed is a multi-layered, cozy cocoon designed to pamper guests. The four key comfort points of the Four Comfort Bed are: a deluxe 11.5″ Sealy Posturepedic(R) Plush Top Sleep System featuring a 9-inch high Shock Abzzorber(R) foundation; four large luxurious pillows including two feather/down and two Euro Square lounging pillows; a decorative and inviting cushioned duvet; and, crisp cotton blend sheets. The duvet features an attractive plaid design available in a rich palette of colors to match each hotel’s decor. Additional bed accoutrements include a bed skirt, mattress pad, plush blanket, and a decorative pillow featuring the brand’s signature compass logo.
Five years and three beds later….it’s the bed, stupid!
Though the hospitality industry is in the business of selling sleep, hotels were notorious for cutting corners on beds, committing a multitude of bedding sins from foam mattresses to cheap pillows to polyester bedspreads in shades of eggplant. Then in 1998, Starwood issued a wake up call to the industry when it launched the luxurious, all-white Westin Heavenly Bed. The bed was so popular, guests insisted on taking it home, and a retail business was born. Today, Westin has sold some 30,000 Heavenly pillows, sheets, duvets and beds. The success of the Heavenly Bed spawned the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, introduced in 2003. Both brands have experienced significant improvements in Guest Satisfaction Scores and higher average daily rates since introducing the beds, and Sheraton and Westin continue to earn market share from their competitors.
“Our sister brands have enjoyed terrific success with their new beds, and Four Points by Sheraton plans to replicate this success in the moderately priced hotel segment,” said Hoyt Harper II, the brand’s senior vice president. “The Four Comfort Bed is a real competitive advantage in our class, and we think one that will inspire guests to check out of our competitors, and into Four Points by Sheraton.”
Four Points by Sheraton – On a Roll!
Four Points by Sheraton continues to aggressively expand with new hotel openings and conversions in choice urban, resort and suburban locations such as New York City, Hyannis and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Four Comfort Beds can be found in several of the brand’s newest properties including the 158-room Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan Chelsea, the 595-room Four Points by Sheraton Denver Southeast and the 150-room Four Points by Sheraton Meriden, CT. In late 2003, a new enhanced amenity program was introduced, featuring free high-speed Internet access in all guestrooms, complimentary bottled water, and upgraded bathroom products.
Four Points by Sheraton, with more than 136 properties in 17 countries, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and is consistently rated as a top performer in the mid-priced category by Business Travel News’ “Annual U.S. Hotel Chain Survey.” Four Points by Sheraton hotels are located at airports, in mid-sized cities, leisure destinations, and business and commercial centers. Our hotels cater to business and leisure travelers as well as meeting planners seeking a quality, mid-priced and value-oriented product. In addition to the high-speed Internet access services, key features include an on-premise restaurant serving cooked-to-order breakfast, complimentary bottled water, room service with a 30-minute delivery guarantee, swimming pools, fitness facilities, business services and meeting space with catering facilities.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 110,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2004_4th/Oct04_FourPointsBeds.html
Barry Sternlicht’s Bedding Revolution Continues;
Sheraton Hotel Owners Investing More Than $75 Million in New Beds – The Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Sept. 23, 2003 — Sleeping on the job is usually a no-no, but executives at Sheraton Hotels & Resorts have slumbered on hundreds of mattresses, pillows and bed linens to develop the brand’s newest signature: the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed(sm). The hotel giant and its owners and franchisees are spending more than $75 million to put 110,000 new beds in 200 hotels in North America.
The Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed
Some may say that Barry Sternlicht is obsessed with helping people get a good night’s sleep. The Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), Sheraton’s parent, has spent the last five years upgrading the beds in his hotel rooms. In 1998 when he launched W Hotels he modeled the brand’s bed after his own bed at home. In 1999, Sternlicht started a bedding revolution when he threw out all the old beds at Westin Hotels and introduced the now iconic Westin Heavenly Bed(R). Now he’s tackled Starwood’s most global and oldest brand, Sheraton, and developed a luxurious multi-layered custom designed bed that features an 11.5 inch thick, high coil count Sealy Posturepedic(R) Plush Top mattress, down and allergy sensitive pillows and crisp cotton sheets. In a nod to Sheraton’s classic aesthetic, the beds feature a selection of duvet patterns inspired by timeless tattersall checks, hound’s-tooth and pinstripe patterns in rich color tones.
“I have always been somewhat astounded by how little hotel companies invest in their beds considering that our primary product is a good night’s sleep,” said Sternlicht. “When we launched the Heavenly Bed in 1999, other hotel executives thought we were crazy. Four years later Westin’s guest satisfaction scores, market share and global growth are up significantly, and we’re selling our Heavenly Beds everyday to our guests. I am just thrilled to introduce a great new bed to our classic brand and improving the sleeping experience of more travelers.”
By the end of this year, more than 50,000 new beds will be installed in hotels throughout North America – accounting for 70% of Sheraton’s total room inventory here. By the end 2004, all Sheraton hotels will feature the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, totaling more than 70,000 rooms in 200 hotels. New beds will also be installed in London and Latin America.
The Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed is the latest in a series of enhancements designed to elevate the brand to the top of the upscale hotel segment. Since 1998, more than more than $1 billion has been invested in upgrading the Sheraton brand, primarily in renovations. Sheraton’s design team, recruited from Ralph Lauren, Holly Hunt, and Williams-Sonoma has revamped Sheraton’s room design and created a portfolio of five lifestyle guestroom designs that are rolling out around the country.
“During my 30-year career at Sheraton I have never seen the brand in such excellent shape with so much momentum,” says Bob Cotter, Starwood’s Chief Operating Officer. “Just last year we introduced The Sheraton Service Promise, and this year Sheraton rolled out a new ad campaign, a great new room design and tougher brand standards throughout the United States. And now with the roll-out of thousands of Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Beds, there has never been a better time to spend the night with Sheraton and see for yourself.”
The Sheraton Service Promise, promises if you’re not satisfied, just tell us and we’ll take care of it. Here is how the Sheraton Service Promise works: if a guest should happen to have a problem during their stay, they need only tell a hotel associate and they’ll immediately take steps to correct the problem. Plus, the guest will automatically receive compensation for their problem – an extra step to ensure the guest is satisfied. Since the introduction of The Sheraton Service Promise, guest satisfaction scores have reached the highest in the brand’s history, guest complaints have declined and fewer problems are being reported.
“We made a promise to our guests to build upon our commitment to service and provide comfort and style with our new room design,” says Norman MacLeod, Executive Vice President for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. “The Sheraton Sweet Sleeper is just yet another reason for travelers to take a new look at the new Sheraton.”
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 740 properties in more than 80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
http://hotel-online.com/News/PR2003_3rd/Sep03_SheratonBed.html
Although now it looks like since the “bedding wars” are over, new :wars” are shaping up, this time in lobby services, and other extras:
Hotel Bed Wars Giving Way to the Breakfast War;
Doughnuts, Coffee a Thing of the Past
By Glenn Jeffers, Chicago TribuneMcClatchy-Tribune Regional News
Nov. 8, 2007 –Perhaps you noticed a change in how you slept during your last hotel stay. Maybe the mattress was bigger or the sheets softer and smoother.
If you did, then you became an unsuspecting participant in the “Bed Wars,” a years-long, multimillion-dollar race to upgrade bedding in the hotel industry that, at the very least, provided guests with a better night’s sleep.
Now Chicago-area hotels are trying to lure guests to a revamped service: They’re adding organic ingredients to menus and swapping out in-room coffee makers for espresso machines.
They’re building a better breakfast.
“This is the next step to the ‘Bed Wars,’ promoting breakfast as an amenity,” says Joe McInerney, president of the Washington-based American Hotel & Lodging Association. “It gives them something to promote. We gave you a good bed, now we’re going to give you a wholesome breakfast. The customer wins.”
Indeed, many big-name hotel chains in Chicago have upgraded their breakfast options in their restaurants and room service in the last year. The Hyatt Regency Chicago’s “Signature Breakfast” offers French press coffee, a flight of smoothies served in a 2-ounce shot glass and dishes such as poached egg casseroles and chipotle-infused corned beef hash.
In April, the Omni Chicago launched “The Art of Breakfast, swapping out its usual ingredients for cage-free eggs, organic shade-grown Starbucks coffee and all-natural pork that’s free of antibiotics and nitrates.
And around the same time, the Hilton Chicago unveiled the chain’s new “Hilton Breakfast,” a color-coded buffet and menu that labels more than 80 items according to five different categories: “low cholesterol,” “low fat,” “high fiber,” “low calorie” and (for the not-so-health conscious) “indulgence.”
“You can see it in the supermarket. People are starting to read [nutrition] labels, so they really want to know what they’re eating, even from a hotel restaurant,” `says Darren McArdle, director of food and beverage at the Chicago Hilton Towers. “I think we have a unique way of getting that message across, in a format that most people can understand.”
A little competition among the chains is good for the industry, says McInerney, giving hotels another aspect to market other than location. And more promotion means more reservations.
Starwood Hotels and its Westin chain fired the first salvo in the Bed Wars in 1999, with its new standard bed, called the “Heavenly Bed.” Several hotels also began developing their own beds and bedding lines, and last year Marriott and Hilton added their names to the list of hotels upgrading their bedding.
“This is an interesting industry,” McInerney says. “There are no trade secrets. You have a competitive edge for about two days before your competitor puts a different name on it and promotes it.”
But why has the competition spilled onto the breakfast plate? McInerney says that of the three meals one typically eats, guests are more likely to eat breakfast at the hotel.
“Breakfast is 90 percent of what guests eat,” he says. “On a three-day trip, we get them two or three days for breakfast, and then one out of three for dinner. They’re just too many other places to go. So breakfast is important.”
That’s why one local hotel, the Fairmont Chicago, has spent $200,000 to refit all 687 guest rooms with Nespresso Essenza C100 espresso/coffee machines. The machine, which also retails at the hotel for $229, is meant to give guests a memorable experience as they wake up. The Essenza’a sleek, wedge-like shape, mixed with the ease of making an espresso or brewing coffee with a button push, provides a heightened convenience the hotel hopes will be noticed.
“It’s a point of difference,” says Andre Zoloff, the hotel’s general manager. “They’ll remember, ‘When I stayed at the Fairmont Chicago, I had a great cup of coffee.’ And the next time they come to Chicago, maybe they’ll stay at the Fairmont.”
So far, it seems to be working. The hotel has sold about a half-dozen Essenzas in its gift shop since unveiling the program in August.
Another gauntlet thrown. Another war under way.
- — –
They have the technology …
Hotels have rebuilt breakfast. They’ve made it better. Faster. Stronger. OK, it’s not really bionic, but it is more nutritious, elaborate and upscale. Here are a few Chicago hotels that have upgraded their breakfast menus:
–Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive; 312-565-1234
–Omni Chicago, 676 N. Michigan Ave.; 312-944-6664
–Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave.; 312-922-4400
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2007_4th/Nov07_HotelBreakfasts.html
But, what about the housekeeping staff – here’s a take on what happened to them in the “bedding wars”:
Casualties of the Bedding Wars
by Victor Margolin
Hotels today compete for customers with an escalating array of comforts, offering everything from high-speed Internet to 24-hour in-room massage. Key to their identities as sanctuaries for weary travelers are the luxurious sleeping appointments they provide. Engaged in what have come to be known as “bedding wars,” hotel chains like Starwood, Westin, and Kimpton offer thick mattresses with inviting names such as Heavenly Bed, Sweet Sleeper, and Serenity Bed.
But the beds are hardly a sweet dream for the housekeepers who make them. The combined weight of mattress, box spring, and duvet for a king-size hotel bed is 225 pounds. For a queen the total weight is 183 pounds. As a result, housekeepers have been experiencing an increasing number of back and shoulder injuries. A recent survey conducted by Unite Here, a national union representing hotel housekeeping staff, revealed that among 622 workers in various American cities, 91 percent had back or shoulder injuries related to their jobs, 67 percent had visited a doctor because of the pain, and 66 percent took medication to relieve it.
As part of designing the customer’s experience of lotus-eating comfort, hotels provide luxuries such as chocolates on the turned down bed covers and even baskets of fruit as gifts of welcome. Or rather, their staffs do. Besides lifting heavy mattresses and changing three sheets and a half-dozen pillowcases per bed, housekeepers must also take time to stock rooms with all the bath amenities and minibar bottles guests have come to expect. They also have to wash the water glasses, coffee cups and coffee pot. And yet hotel managers have refused to extend the time needed to clean a room. Nor will they allow two housekeepers to work (and hoist mattresses) together, despite ergonomic studies showing that larger and heavier beds impose loads on the lumbar spine that are highly likely to result in back injuries. In August 2005, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich signed a law that would insure two 15-minute paid breaks for hotel housekeepers. The state’s Hotel and Lodging Association challenged the new law in Illinois state court but their appeal was rejected in July, 2006, and the new requirement was finally put into practice in August.
It’s ironic that although at least one chain offers a special slumber-inducing program that includes an eye mask, earplugs, lavender spray to promote relaxation, and a CD with soft music, no hotel manager appears to be losing sleep over the physical strain the bedding wars exert on employees. It’s also ironic that hotel companies plead poverty to forestall boosting the comfort of their working conditions yet have no trouble specifying costly amenities (whose expense they pass on to their guests).
This is bad design, for design goes well beyond an object’s appearance and primary application to embrace all the social consequences of creating something new. Not only does design involve the user’s satisfaction but also the conditions of its production and maintenance. Thanks to Naomi Klein and other activists, consumers are now aware of the horrific working conditions in sweatshops abroad. This has caused the public to think differently about Nike shoes and Old Navy tank tops. Yet under our very noses, hotel workers in America are being exploited to enhance the comfort of hotel guests. Its time to establish federal guidelines for hotel housekeepers just as has been done for workers in other professions where hazardous tasks can result in physical injuries. It will be a fight to get the hotel industry to accept such guidelines. But human rights are at stake. By introducing new tasks for the housekeepers that demand greater physical exertion than in the past, the hotel chains are endangering their employees’ health. If they won’t recognize this on their own and do something about it, then others must step in to protect these workers. A heavy mattress may not be lethal but it can still cause serious harm.
http://www.design-altruism-project.org/?p=31
Bedding Wars
2/10/2006
By Jim Merritt
From A to ZZZZZ: Hotel Interactive’s Jim Merritt goes “undercover” to find the latest bedtime trends at hotels across the nation.
You might call it “The Battle of the Beds 2006.”
This year a number of leading lodging chains are rolling out softer, more luxurious and comfortably-named bed packages. And not only in the upscale markets. Some “mid-priced” brands are getting on the bed bandwagon too.
The battle cry could be: out with bedspreads and old-fashioned comforters, in with high thread-count sheets, and — dare we say it – “up with down.”
The trend apparently dates to 1999, when Westin introduced the “Heavenly Bed.” Westin properties still feature the Heavenly Bed custom-designed pillowtop mattress set by Simmons, a comforter and a crisp white duvet.
More – and softer – bedfellows are in the offing, though.
At Hilton Hotels, Suites & Resorts, the Hilton Suite Dreams bed features a plush-top mattress designed with Serta to provide both “support and luxury.” The new bed package is being introduced after Hilton Hotels Corporation surveyed 1,000 U.S. households and found that 50 percent of respondents reported only six hours or less of sleep per night while traveling — two hours less than the average needed to function at peak performance.
Also after consumer research, Marriott International, Inc. owners and franchisees have invested nearly $190 million in replacing 628,000 beds at approximately 2,400 hotels worldwide. JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts were among the Marriott brands that replaced the traditional bedspread with down comforters nestled inside sheeted duvets.
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts now offer beds with seven pillows, a plush duvet, and luxurious sheets as part of a “Sleep Advantage” program developed with the help of sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus.
USA Today recently noted that the “hotel bed wars” were spreading to lower priced properties too.
Holiday Inn Express is planning an upgrade of its standard bedding package with a $53 million investment to be rolled out to the more than 1,400 North American properties beginning in April, with full implementation expected by September. The Holiday Inn Express SimplySmart program replaces the bedspread with an attractive decorative top sheet, a medium-weight duvet blanket and soft 200 thread-count sheets.
At Hilton’s Hampton Inns, a “super-comfortable” new bedding package will be available in more than 1,300 hotels by June. The new Hampton “Cloud Nine” bed replaces the old-fashioned bedspread with a crisp, white duvet cover enveloping a white comforter. The bed also features three or four pillows and a choice in firmness (some filled with soft down, some with firmer foam)
But what about the conventional wisdom about a firm mattress being good for your back?
That wisdom was debunked in a study several years ago. The American Chiropractic Association reported that mattresses of medium firmness were better at improving lowback pain symptoms than firm mattresses.
The American Chiropractic Association’s Dr. Scott Bautch says, “As we, as a society, have become more full-figured, designs like pillowtop mattresses have become extremely popular… mattresses designed with support and then the addition of a soft top (pillow top) will benefit the majority of people.”
The bottom line, according to Dr. Bautch: ” For the majority of people – including hotel visitors – there needs to be basic support with a soft top.”
Jim Merritt is associate editor of Hotel Interactive.
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/index.asp?page_id=5000&article_id=5560
It’s All About the Bed
Phoebe Eskenazi endured many sleepless nights before checking into the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston for a weekend. The Alexandria, Va., teacher was recovering from a bout of asthmatic bronchitis and just couldn’t get any rest. But when she collapsed into an extra-cushiony Serta bed created just for the hotel chain, she fell into a deep slumber. “It was one of the most comfortable beds I’ve slept on,” she raves. Eskenazi and her husband were so smitten they took a Sonesta bed home – for $1,600, including shipping.
“It is all about the bed,” says Sonesta spokeswoman Deborah Roker. The hotel industry is starting to agree. After all, what good is a mint on your pillow if the pillow resembles a bag of cement? Westin was the first chain to upgrade its bedding, back in 1999. Since then, other upscale hotels have jumped on the bedwagon. Now midscale joints are joining in. Last month, Hampton Inn announced it was spending $80 million to replace mattresses, pillows, and such. Four Points by Sheraton will roll out a “Four Comfort” bed this summer.
Like Eskenazi, guests sometimes want to buy the hotel bed. “It’s found money,” says lodging analyst Robert Mandelbaum, though he guesses that the take represents no more than 1 percent of the industry’s income.
You can probably score a better deal if you do it yourself, but there’s a lot to be said for one-stop shopping, not to mention the fact that you’ll be the only person on your block with a bed fit for the Ritz. The for-sale package typically includes a mattress, box spring, frame, pillows, sheets, and comforter. Prices below, from high-end chains with high-end beds, are for king size; shipping (from the manufacturer) is extra.
Phoebe Eskenazi endured many sleepless nights before checking into the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston for a weekend. The Alexandria, Va., teacher was recovering from a bout of asthmatic bronchitis and just couldn’t get any rest. But when she collapsed into an extra-cushiony Serta bed created just for the hotel chain, she fell into a deep slumber. “It was one of the most comfortable beds I’ve slept on,” she raves. Eskenazi and her husband were so smitten they took a Sonesta bed home – for $1,600, including shipping.
“It is all about the bed,” says Sonesta spokeswoman Deborah Roker. The hotel industry is starting to agree. After all, what good is a mint on your pillow if the pillow resembles a bag of cement? Westin was the first chain to upgrade its bedding, back in 1999. Since then, other upscale hotels have jumped on the bedwagon. Now midscale joints are joining in. Last month, Hampton Inn announced it was spending $80 million to replace mattresses, pillows, and such. Four Points by Sheraton will roll out a “Four Comfort” bed this summer.
Like Eskenazi, guests sometimes want to buy the hotel bed. “It’s found money,” says lodging analyst Robert Mandelbaum, though he guesses that the take represents no more than 1 percent of the industry’s income.
You can probably score a better deal if you do it yourself, but there’s a lot to be said for one-stop shopping, not to mention the fact that you’ll be the only person on your block with a bed fit for the Ritz. The for-sale package typically includes a mattress, box spring, frame, pillows, sheets, and comforter. Prices below, from high-end chains with high-end beds, are for king size; shipping (from the manufacturer) is extra.
Filed under The Travel Critic · February 15th, 2004
http://www.elliott.org/the-travel-critic/its-all-about-the-bed/
And from USA Today’s travel blog, here are some recent entries about upgraded amenities that might be of some interest:
USA Today’s Hotel Hotsheet: Check it out before you check in
Some travelers don’t care what kind of sheets they sleep on, as long as they’re clean. But hotel chains’ push for higher thread counts indicates that lots of us do care.
In addition to upgrading linens, chains are selling sheets online. Upscale Rosewood Hotels & Resorts just opened an online boutique, where you can buy several types of sheets, including 740-thread-count sets starting at $200. Chains including Westin (of Heavenly Bed fame), Holiday Inn Express, Kimpton and Ritz-Carlton also sell linens online.
I’m getting ready to test hotel linens that you can buy to see which ones float my dreamboat. I’ll be rating them for an upcoming USA TODAY article. To steer me in the right direction, I’d love to hear your thoughts on which chains have the best sheets and why. Let me know by commenting below.
Posted at 05:55 AM/ET, November 17, 2006
Multi-tasking TV screens
Here’s an emerging amenity on the hotel scene: TVs that let you split the screen, so you can surf the Web or answer e-mails while keeping an eye on your favorite program.
These multi-taskers are new in the just-remodeled rooms at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C., which are being unveiled this week. Rooms boast 32-inch high-definition TVs that can be hooked up to laptops and music players.
The 767 redone rooms and suites also feature upgraded bedding and ergonomic chairs — seen at more and more JWs. And something else is new at the D.C. JW. It has officially gone non-smoking, as have all North American Marriotts.
So, on this gadget-one-upmanship hotel landscape, which unusual ones have you seen and appreciated?
Posted at 06:10 AM/ET, October 18, 2006 in
Few travelers would take issue with the recent wave of hotel renovations, from upgraded mattresses and bedding to better bathrooms. But in today’s USA TODAY Money section, Barbara De Lollis takes a look at some of the memories that have been lost in the shuffle.
“As in life generally, something’s lost when something’s gained. Gone are the floral, synthetic bedspreads, the sanitizer bands around toilet seats, ashtrays and wake-up calls from real people.
“With that in mind, USA TODAY asked hoteliers, professors and travelers to recall amenities or services that have disappeared or are on the way out.” The demise of windows that open was one gripe. Mine would be getting lost in an electronic maze the first time I try to get my favorite channel on a hotel TV.
Posted at 10:53 AM/ET, October 03, 2006
A few months back I wrote about how Hilton Hotels was experimenting with tub-free rooms. The hotelier had decided that tubs were a thing of the past, and most folks simply wanted a quick shower. Now Marriott Hotels is experimenting with the shower-only room in its new Marriott and Renaissance properties, the Miami Herald reports. Smaller brands are dumping the tub, too: InterContinental Hotels’ Indigo brand is totally sans tubs at its three boutique properties.
Many of you wrote in with your tub vs. shower vote when I first wrote about this, and it turned out to be pretty much a draw. Have times changed? Let’s hear what you want; leave your two-cents in our comments below.
Posted at 01:57 PM/ET, April 10, 2006
Who’s got the best Wi-Fi? And what makes a hotel’s service the best? Availability, reliability and connectivity, for starters. Then the king of all variables: price. For its (almost) annual feature, HotelChatter.com has compiled its list of best and worst of the Wi-Fi offering hotels. Best of the best goes once again to Kimpton Hotels because Wi-Fi in that chain’s properties is simple, free and fast. Hard to top that. On the flip side, Marriott Hotels gets the buzzer from HotelChatter due to its inconsistent offerings across brands and fairly high cost. Both Kimpton and Marriott held the same slots in the last survey, so it seems while more and more hotels are getting on the cordless bandwagon, most offerings are still just middle-of-the-information-superhighway. If you’ve had trouble or a super easy experience getting connected at a hotel, let us hear about it … share your comments below.
Posted at 01:31 PM/ET, April 03, 2006
I’m giving a sorely-in-need-of-a-massage thumbs up to the marketing folks at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, Calif. This super swanky resort is known for its two golf courses and well-visited pools, but now the hotel’s spa has unveiled the Blackberry Hand Massage “in an effort to encourage faster, more comfortable PDA usage,” according to a press release. The 30-minute treatment includes blackberry (the fruit, not the device) balm and an accupressure massage to release the tension so many pda-addicted folks carry in their hands. The treatment is $80, and in less than an hour, you can be zooming through those text messages like you were a teenager. And for what it’s worth, if you’ve never had a hand massage, they’re awesome, and most hotel spas offer them, even if they don’t have blackberry balm.
Posted at 01:48 PM/ET, March 09, 2006
Back in October I told you about how the Hilton Chicago O’Hare turned 17 rooms into allergen-free zones. Today, the hotel began offering a service that allows its guests to check in for their flights using kiosks in the hotel lobby, USA TODAY reports. Hilton plans to unveil the kiosks in 34 more hotels in the next two weeks, but it would seem the O’Hare location is a bit of a test pilot for cool new amenities.
The story notes Holiday Inn, Marriott and Hyatt are also rolling out flight check-in systems, or expanding on existing ones.
Posted at 02:05 PM/ET, March 01, 2006
The spa industry is in a little bit of hot water, it seems. Business is down across the market, possibly because the number of U.S. spas climbed from 5,689 in 2000 to 12,100 in 2004, according to numbers quoted in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). As with the airline industry, overcapacity has created a challenging business environment, so the latest trend is to go after the repeat customer while they’re nice and relaxed. Spas across the country are offering deep discounts for guests who book their next stay before leaving, but what got my attention most is some of the other spa marketing tactics.
The Nob Hill Spa at the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco offers reward points to hotel and spa guests to be used on subsequent visits. Canyon Ranch Spas in Arizona and Massachusetts give room upgrades for repeat bookers, a 15% discount for both patrons if a repeat visitor brings along a first-time visitor and a customized website so you can maintain your healthy new lifestyle at home.
Reward points and discounts are great, and according to the WSJ, seem to be paying off, but I’m going to take issue with one “perk” mentioned in the story. The Golden Door Spa and Resort in Escondido, Calif., has guests write themselves a letter about their goals for the next six months. After you leave, the hotel mails you that letter, then follows up with a personal letter from the manager if you haven’t booked another stay within a year. I understand motivation comes in all forms, and this may be right up someone’s alley, but last thing I want is to be reminded of how I haven’t kept those 10 pounds off or quit eating Oreos.
Posted at 02:11 PM/ET, February 28, 2006
“Hotel points — and airline miles — are the opium of the traveling masses.” I couldn’t agree more with this quote from a Chicago Tribune story on hotel reward programs. But it’s what we get from our frequent stays that really matters to us, even more than the reward points total on that monthly statement. It’s that personal attention, those little details, like which room we like or what newspaper we read that make us want to return. But who’s giving the perks you want? Take a look at the Trib’s story for a breakdown of what hotels hand out to their loyalty program customers.
Posted at 12:09 PM/ET, February 22, 2006
Concierge in your computer
Courtesy Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn’s new virtual concierge: The homepage. To see this and other sample pages larger, click here.
InterContinental Hotels has unveiled a virtual concierge, eHost, in 14 of its Holiday Inn hotels. Before you go thinking “robot with connections to great concert tickets,” the virtual concierge is the HI homepage that comes up when you log in (with your own computer) to the hotel’s free high-speed Internet. I’ve seen a lot of hotel homepages, and I have to say, this one might be worth keeping up while you’re at the hotel. I was sent a link to the test page (which technology won’t allow me to share, sadly) and surfed around on it, and the offerings are pretty cool.
From local shopping, restaurants, weather, events (courtesy of Yahoo! local) to games, hotel events and online room service menus and ordering capability, the site is a decent compendium of things you might need to know when you’re in a strange town. One really nice feature for international visitors is the option to choose the language and currency the page displays. eHost can be found at select Holiday Inns, including Orlando and Cleveland airport locations, with the entire chain rollout due later this year.
None of the features, save the hotel events, amenities and room service menus are items you couldn’t find by surfing the Web on your own. That said, Holiday Inn has created a pleasant, user-friendly way to put a traveler’s needs in easy reach. And here’s to my favorite thing of all: free high-speed Internet!
Posted at 02:37 PM/ET, February 21, 2006
Now that the bedding wars are over, the lobby wars have begun. USA TODAY reports that the hotel industry is slated to spend $5 billion on improvements in 2006 in the hope that “spiffier, livelier lobbies will give a competitive edge.”
Among the improvements are communal Wi-Fi lounges from Sheraton, Marriott’s alcoves to help create “public privacy” and a $300,000 furniture shopping spree from boutique chain Kimpton at San Diego’s Hotel Solamar. Of course there’s a reason beyond aesthetics for this investment: “By drawing guests out of their rooms, hotels hope to generate more food and beverage sales.”
Posted at 04:13 PM/ET, February 15, 2006
Visitors to “the happiest place on Earth” will breathe easier on their next trip. Disney’s three California hotels, the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and the Grand Californian will be 100% non-smoking as of March 1. The Grand Californian had already been a non-smoking property since its opening in 2001, but the other two hotels are just now clearing the air. According to an e-mail from Disney headquarters, the reason for the change is simple supply and demand: The properties have just 35 requests for smoking rooms from now until 2010. The decline in demand had led Disney to reduce its number of smoking rooms over the years. Guests will still be alllowed to light up outside the hotel in designated areas.
Westin Hotels went smoke-free at its 77 properties in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean at the beginning of this year, and the trend just keeps on growing, as USA TODAY recently reported.
Posted at 10:01 AM/ET, February 07, 2006
The bed wars are over. When the whooping and hollering dies down, and you’re done with the iconic kissing between sailors and nurses, you’ll be happy to hear the ending was peaceful. Simply put, there was no one left on the battlefield. It would appear that all hotels that took part in the skirmish have upgraded their bedding, so there is nothing left to fight about. The New York Times (registration required) reports that while customers are mixed on how great the uber-fluffy, over-pillowed beds are, there is no confusion over how the ugrades made hotels the clear victors. From increased room revenues because a) happy customers come back to their favorite beds, and b) they can charge more for the upgraded rooms to the lucrative sales of branded bedding, hotels have made out like sheet-covered bandits.
Posted at 01:34 PM/ET, February 01, 2006
Courtesy Holiday Inn
The iHome iH5, ready to rock your tunes.
Holiday Inn Select hotels is looking to further entice Gen-Xers by appealing to the iPod crowd. Wait. That’s just about everyone, isn’t it? Anyway, the brand is putting the iHome iH5, an all-in-one docking station, charger and clock radio, into its guest rooms.
No more screeching buzz of the alarm or missing a phone call because you have your earbuds in; pop your iPod into the dock and it’s your music, your way. Other hotels that have docking stations have thus far been boutique or higher-end chains, so this is a good development for those who frequent mid-range hotels.
Posted at 10:07 AM/ET, January 11, 2006
If high-tech is your thing, check out the U.K.’s Daily Mail story on the top techno hotels around the globe. Some hotels, like the soon-to-open Yotel in London, will offer gadgets in a small space; Yotel is a semi-capsule hotel that will have a “tech wall” in each room offering a flat screen TV and downloadable movies and music. Other hotels on the list, like Nine Zero Hotel in Boston, get techy on a grander scale; the hotel’s Cloud Nine Suite lets guests use eye scans instead of keys and offers a plasma screen TV with movies and games on-demand. Of course, the grander scale equals grander cost: Yotel plans on a debut room rate of about $123 a night, while the Cloud Nine will set you back about $4,000 each night.
Not on the Daily Mail’s list but a definite contender should be Atlanta’s TWELVE Hotel which opens next month. This hotel looks to have a pretty cool array of high-tech goodies, including an in-room keyboard and flat-panel monitor that will allow guests to order room service, get their car from valet parking and make housekeeping requests, as well as serve as an Internet portal. The rooms will have free high-speed and Wi-Fi access and the hotel has hotspots around the pool and more. VOIP telephone systems and two flat-panel TVs will be offered in the suites. Introductory rates are set at $160 to $215 a night, but the hotel promises discounts for its opening.
Posted at 05:25 PM/ET, January 10, 2006
Starting this week, four Sheraton hotels will get a little Wi-Fi boost from Yahoo!, the Internet search portal. Starwood is testing Yahoo! Link@Sheraton Web access at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, the Sheraton Boston, Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers and the Sheraton Stamford in Connecticut. All four hotels will offer Wi-Fi and wired Internet access, and the San Diego and Boston locations will also have Internet lounges in the hotels’ lobbies. The lounges will offer Internet-connected workstations with both Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections.
Many Sheraton properties already had Wi-Fi, so what’s the deal? The partnership is likely an attempt to drive traffic and customers to Yahoo!. Its ever-growing competitor Google recently opened an Internet lounge in London’s Heathrow airport, and technology site Red Herring notes there are rumors the behemoth search engine would like to expand the service.
Posted at 04:15 PM/ET, January 10, 2006
http://blogs.usatoday.com/hotelhotsheet/amenities/index.html
Hotels hope visitors check out livelier, upgraded lobby
By Roger Yu, USA TODAY
Hotel lobbies aren’t just places to check in any more.
Flush with money from the travel boom, the U.S. hotel industry will spend $5 billion on improvements in 2006, says consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Hotels are channeling much of it into lobbies, making them inviting places to meet, linger and mingle.
They’re betting that spiffier, livelier lobbies will give a competitive edge. And by drawing guests out of their rooms, hotels hope to generate more food and beverage sales:
•Marriott. Its new lobby plan calls for a lounge with intimate tables and wait service. For guests who want to work but don’t want to be cooped up in their rooms, the plan — partly inspired by Starbucks and airlines’ airport clubs — lays out an area of alcoves. Marriott will start with newly constructed and renovated hotels, and eventually incorporate the model throughout the chain. “It’s about public privacy,” says executive Mike Jannini.
•Embassy Suites. The Hilton-owned chain, known for open-air atriums, said last month it will start installing “a European-style” cafe in its hotels. To enlarge the usable space, it will eliminate the front desk and replace it with a set of self-check-in kiosks and podiums manned by staffers.
•Sheraton. In partnership with Web portal Yahoo, Sheraton said in January that it will test a Wi-Fi-enabled communal lobby lounge at some of its hotels, including The Sheraton San Diego. It features desktop computers, a plasma TV, food and comfortable chairs.
•Boutiques. The high-end Kimpton chain spent more than $300,000 on lobby furniture when it opened Hotel Solamar San Diego last July.
Langham Hotel Boston, owned by Hong Kong-based Langham Hotels, will enlarge the lobby and move the bar and restaurant down from the second floor. The goal is to make the hotel, once home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, more contemporary and lively, manager Serge Denis says.
W Hotels kicked off the lobby competition in the late 1990s with its first hotel, which is in New York. Its lobbies, known for buzzing parties, sleek décor and mood lighting, got inspiration from European hotels and cafes, says executive Ross Klein.
Anne Seymour, a Washington, D.C.-based crime victims’ advocate, says she is finding it increasingly convenient to have meetings in hotel lobbies. Says Seymour: “They are larger, cleaner and (have) huge fluffy couches, free magazines and newspapers. Geez, who needs to even get a room anymore?”
Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2006-02-13-lobbies-usat_x.htm
Well, I hope this encourages some of you weary travelers to check out some of the upgraded bedding, and sleep a better, softer sleep. Next up in the travel file will be Boutique Hotels: The BEST choice for travel.
→ 1 CommentCategories: Bedding Wars · Hotel Amenities · Hotels · Travel
Tagged: Bedding Wars, Hotel Amenities, Hotels, Travel
I collected a few items for desktops/cubicle living to while away the hours. Most of these came from ThinkGeek.com. Most were in stock when I put this together, but I’m sure if it’s out of stock, a little googling can find one, if you REALLY have to have it. So have fun, lighten up your life, and think happy….
Bel Occhio by Pablo
by Pablo
The Bel Occhio by Pablo is an outstanding multi-positional and dimmable Halogen spotlight that looks like it’s from another galaxy, particularly when illuminated in a darkened room. The direction of the beam of light from the cylinder is adjusted by repositioning the outer globe on the base. Pablo, founded in 1993 by Venezuelan – born Pablo Pardo, designs and manufactures innovative lighting and home accessories characterized by uncompromising devotion to simplicity and utility.
Compare at $450.00 Our Price: $360.00
Item# as Selected: 20683, Price as Selected: $360.00
http://www.lumens.com/lumens/product.asp?s_id=0&pf_id=PAAAIAGANNNFBKCP
Stonehenge on your desk
August 11th, 2007 Posted by Brown Baron
Published in Misc. Gadgets
Do you have a plain looking desk? Want to dress it up? How about putting Stonehenge on your desk? This do it yourself Stonehenge kit is guaranteed to make your desktop the envy of your officemates. The largest stone is 1.5″ tall, which means the whole set will fit in nicely with all the other junk on your desk. The set comes with 16 stone replicas, a puzzle map/base, and 1 Mini Book.
You know you want one.
http://www.gadgetchamp.com/2007/08/11/desktop-stonehenge/
Mini Megaliths
In the year 10,000 BC, aliens from Uranus landed on Earth. They didn’t find anyone cool to talk to, so they just added graffiti to the countryside and left. That graffiti is Stonehenge. Since that time, druids and scientists have tried to provide meaning to the awe inspiring stones, but have never riddled out the true message. We have. How? We can’t tell you. What does Stonehenge really say? That, we can tell you. It says… “WTF?” in Uranean.
This kit will help you spread the joys of an extraterrestrial WTF? to your home or office. The largest stone is about 1.5″ tall, so that the entire structure can neatly surround your coffee mug. But how will I know which stones go where?, you ask. Simple, we reply with a smile, there is a puzzle/map/Stonehenge base which is included. All the stones are numbered, so it’s real easy to assemble properly. You also get a little book with tons of information on what scientists think Stonehenge was all about – but know you’ll know the truth.
The Set includes: 16 stone replicas, puzzle map/base, and 1 Mini Book. Perfect for Spinal Tap dioramas, too.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/8eed/
In This Office, You’re The Boss
Two new sets: Corporate Zombies and IT Department!
Finally, the drudgery of corporate life has been captured in a play set for adults! Bob, Joe, Ted, and Ann spend eight hours a day, five days a week, at tiny desks in tiny cubicles in a giant room packed with countless similar cubicles in a giant building filled with countless similar rooms.
Bob, Ted, Ann, and Joe each come with one 2-3/4″ posable plastic figure and all the necessary plastic parts to build a classic corporate cube: four walls, desk, chair, file cabinet, in/out box, phone, and computer. Comes with a sticker sheet of decor for your cube, complete with graphs, charts, screens for the computer and pithy office posters. Also includes a job title sticker sheet so you can create a convoluted and meaningless position for your employee (how about Level C Systems Associate? Or Senior Accounting Coordinator?). Each additional set comes with the figures noted, plus character specific accessories.
Choose Between 10 Different Sets! (see additional images for visuals). Build your own corporate labryinth one cube at a time!
The Cubes
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/722a/
USB Webcam Rocket Launcher
Price: $59.99
Awesome-osity:
Shoot while you Chat
Where would we be without Instant Messaging? It lets us stay in contact and chat with friends all over the world (especially delightful during work hours). But sometimes the urge to reach out a shoot someone is unbearable. And that’s where the USB MSN Missile Launcher comes in. Don’t be content with sharing images, jokes, and assorted links with your friends – it’s time to share missiles!
You’ll have your USB MSN Missile Launcher set up within minutes and that’s when the fun begins. For you see, as you chat you and your buddies can control each other’s launcher. And since each USB MSN Missile Launcher has an integrated webcam (which can be used as just a webcam if you haven’t any buddies), you’ll know exactly when you are aimed at your buddy’s head. Then fire away! The only downside is that your buddy can do the same to you! The upside is, you can always retaliate by turning your buddy’s USM MSN Missile Launcher to face the door of his office and peg his boss in the gut when he/she comes to lecture your buddy about using IM for non-work-related matters. Ah the joys of progress . . . and revenge.
USB MSN Missile Launcher
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/a1c2/
Rollerscape – Roller Coaster Construction
Price: $29.99
Customer Action Shot!
A Finely Engineered Desktop Rollercoaster Construction Set!
If at some point in your life you never dreamt of designing roller coasters, then you must be an acrophobe. If you are an acrophobe, then we have the perfect toy for you. If you aren’t an acrophobe, and don’t currently design roller coasters for cash, then we also have the perfect toy for you. Rollerscape – The Marble Rollercoaster! Simply design and build your desktop roller coaster using the included construction pieces, snap on the tracks wherever you like, and then begin the testing phase by taking one of the included marbles for a joy ride. Did the marble make it through without the Fall Of Death (FOD)? If so, you need to make your design more challenging. Try and include some loops and steep drops for impact. The sky is the limit! And so long as your marbles aren’t acrophobes you can safely enjoy their ride.
Your choice of advanced or advanced sets (that is, you have no choice). The advanced set has 194 pieces and is compatible with any other Rollerscape set you might have laying around. The image on this page features a piece that is approximately 22 inches tall.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/6a7c/
Japanese Star Wars Lightsaber Desk Lamp
Price: $19.99
Please Select… Luke Skywalker $19.99 Darth Vader $19.99
May the Force be… with your Stapler
At the ThinkGeek office we mainly prefer to practice the dark side of the force. Hey… don’t judge. The dark side has a lot of advantages. It’s easy to pull-off since you just have to get angry and give-in to your base instincts like revenge and jealousy. We find it handy for offensive attacks during overly-long office meetings. Plus the costumes are just way cooler. However there are some amongst us who prefer the light side of course. Those weak individuals are hard to spot… except Yoda does seem to hang out in those lower employee’s offices quite a bit.
Fortunately we’ve devised a genius way to determine office force alliances for sure. Each employee places one of these nifty glowing Lightsaber Desk Lamps next to their red stapler… those paying allegiance to the powerful dark side can choose the red Vader lamp. While weaklings on their moral high-horses can sport the green Luke lamp. Of course they’re always some employees who have to be obnoxious and swing both ways by placing one of each lightsaber lamp color on their desk. But those nameless employees often find that their mouse has been replaced with Wookie dung while they were busy hitting on Princess Leia.
Product Features
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/97b9/
Hydrodynamic Building Set
Price: $89.99
Awesome-osity:
Let the Water Flow!
Water is everywhere. It covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and composes about 112% of the human body. Gaining control over water would be an awesome super power, but for now we are stuck with using science to master water. Good thing someone invented this Hydrodynamic Building Set. It makes science fun again. But this kit isn’t a simple connect the dots – you have to do some thinking! Why? Read on!
The instruction manual shows you how the girders connect, how to build the various tanks, and some rendered images of completed projects – but not step-by-step. Your entire model gets built up from the bottom of the carrying case, which acts as the water reservoir and also has a special footing to be the structure’s foundation. Level by level, you build your support frame and add your tanks. Then connect all the tubes, add in the valves, and turn on the electric pump. If you’ve done it right, you’ll have an awesome construction everyone will marvel at (a little food coloring helps). Fail and you’re all wet – quite probably literally.
And Kids: Build something with this kit for a Science Fair Project and you are guaranteed to win (this guarantee not guaranteed)!
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/91e4/
Screaming Monkey Slingshot
Price: $6.99
Customer Action Shot!
Super Simian to the Rescue!
Legend tells of a hero not born unto this world, but destined to change forever the course of human existence. A hero so grand that all past legends will turn to dust in the wake of his greatness. This is not that hero. This is, however, the next best thing: a monkey with a cape and a mask. Because nothing says power like a cape and a mask.
This monkey has a secret – there are pockets in the monkey’s hands. Slip your fingers in, pull back his hind legs, and his arms will stretch to a crazy length with the magic of rubber! You can just feel the potential energy coursing through the monkey’s imaginary veins. Let fly and you will be treated to a wondrous sight. The monkey will scream with delight when jolted. So, if the launch is hard enough, you’ll get a scream of power in mid air; or if the landing is hard, you’ll get a scream of protest as gravity does its work. Or, you fling like a master, you’ll get a double-dose of monkey justice (i.e. noise).
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/warfare/8f00/
Marshmallow Assault Rifle
List Price: $39.99
You Save: 62.5%
Our Price: $14.99
Mallow in the Hull!!!
Listen up, maggots. There’s a war going on out there, and it’s a war we plan to win. That’s why we’re outfitting our soldiers (i.e. you) with the confectionery weapon to end all confectionery weapons. This is some serious sugary firepower, so you better listen and listen good. Now, get your Marshmallow Assault Rifle in your hands, you gum-chewing cow patties, and check out the features with us.
First, you’ll notice two different barrels. The bottom barrel shoots mini marshmallows and should be used for cover and strafing fire. It is your main weapon – learn to love it. The magazine holds up to 12 mini marshmallows and is very easy to reload quickly. The top barrel will hold one regular sized marshmallow at a time. It is your grenade launcher, and you’ll know when you need it. With the Marshmallow Assault Rifle, a lotta luck, and some good soldiering you might just survive to fight another day. Oh, and if you get hungry out there in the field, you can just eat your extra ammo.
Dimensions: approx. 18.75″ long. Power blast the big marshmallow 20 feet away while rapid firing the mini marshmallows at closer targets.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/warfare/9bcb/
LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp
Price: $49.99
Customer Action Shot!
Dancing Desktop Jellies
Blackbeard was just about the most ruthless pirate ever. His management style was unique, to say the least. If one of his crew misbehaved, he would drop them in a large tank full of jellyfish and delight as the jewels he kept at the bottom of the tank reflected different colors into the ballet of agony that played out before him. According to the infamous pirate’s diaries, it really calmed his nerves, too. Wow. Well, while we don’t recommend all that for your office, there is something we can take from this story: colorful jellyfish are relaxing.
This desktop tank holds three jellyfish which “swim” around the tank (thanks to a gently contrived current). In the top of the tank are 6 bright LEDs, which let you set the mood. You can either have them blend softly from one color to the next, or stop on your favorite color. Either way, the jellies are happy to frolic in their kaleidoscopic, quiet menace. And if one of your subordinates ever acts up, just remind him or her about the Blackbeard story…and let them know there’s room in your jellyfish tank for a hand or two. Sometimes threats are all you need. Arrrgh.
Note: If you are having any troubles getting your jellies to swim about properly, remember to add just a few drops of liquid dish soap to the water as per the instructions. It’s the part that makes the magic happen. Thanks!
LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/9a8c/
Desktop Carnivorous Plant Set
Price: $22.99
Customer Action Shot!
Little Desktop Of Horrors…
Here at ThinkGeek, we truly understand you have needs. Especially at work where minutes often last hours and hours become days. You need to be entertained, you don’t want your neurons to prematurely atrophy. You crave stimulation. You crave a Carnivorous desktop plant set. Perfect for the casual office worker who delights in watching insects slowly meet their makers as they are painfully digested by an engaging variety of meat-sucking flora. Nothing quite like it.
So what’s our recommendation? Grab a set and grow your own collection of feared and famous carnivorous plants. This deluxe set has seeds from over ten varieties of carnivorous plants! Watch these fascinating plants grow into bug-eating monsters and delight in creating your own authentic bog with the included peat planting mix, blue Swamp Rocks, three Bog Buddies and full color decals. This rare and unusual collection of carnivorous plants will flourish for years in this specially designed terrarium with proper care…
NOTE: Unlike Insta-Pets(TM)like Sea Monkeys or Triops, your carnivorous plant set will take several weeks to get started. But have patience friends, the blood-curdling plant-on-insect action will be worth the wait! We guarantee it or pay us double!
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/76c9/
USB R/C Mini Car w/Garage
Price: $29.99
Make a left at the stapler…
Every morning you do the same thing. You get up, brush your teeth (hopefully), get dressed, and drive to work. You sit looking at the same cars and the same tired faces also participating in the great morning commute. You get to work and sit at your desk, a new day of the same old sh…stuff. Wouldn’t you just love, for once, to drive during the week and not hit traffic? Well, now you can – right on your own desk – with the USB R/C Mini Car w/Garage.
Just plug the garage into your USB port, load up the software, and give the car about 10 minutes to charge (inside its garage). Once it’s done, open the garage door and drive the car out using your keyboard’s arrow keys. And if that pesky coffee mug gets in the way again, hit the space bar to honk your horn. But really, there isn’t any traffic on your desk, so you should enjoy a wonderfully relaxing drive. Take a right at the coffee mug, then a left at the stapler, and cruise on to Funsville (population: you).
USB R/C Mini Car w/Garage
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/966d/
Palmsize R/C Helicopter
Price: $29.99 – $49.99
Save $9.99 on Two Copters
Choose “Red/Silver 2-Pack” from the drop-down to buy two Copters (one of each channel) and fly with a friend.
Choice: Please Select… Silver (Chan 2) $29.99 Red (Chan 1) $29.99 Red/Silver 2-Pack $49.99
Customer Action Shot!
Tiny Copter Attack!
We just can’t seem to get enough of tiny R/C helicopters. They’re taking the ThinkGeek office by storm… swarming and amusing the office dogs. Buzzing delightfully as we procrastinate on our TPS reports. Even the robotic monkeys are impressed at the tiny size and amazing technology. These mini copters can take off from your hand and circle your desk as your co-workers gape in amazement. Full control allows you to hover and turn left or right as your copter moves slowly forward. Two different channels let you to fly with a friend. But practice-up on your aviation skills if you hope to challenge the expert pilots at ThinkGeek.
Important Note
You will have to practice your flying before you can do as well as we do in the video. Keep the following in mind: You can adjust the forward speed of the copter by twisting the tail slightly right or left before flight (see the instructions). Right turns are wider than left turns due to the dynamics of the rotor. Luckily for you the Palmsize R/C Helicopter is forgiving on crashes.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/934c/
Smart Mass Thinking Putty
Price: $9.99
Choice: Please Select… Solar Blue $9.99 Atomic Bronze $9.99 Oil Slick $9.99 Dark Matter $9.99 Atmosphere $9.99 Alien Ooze $9.99 Martian Sea $9.99 Twilight $9.99 Sunburst $9.99
Customer Action Shot!
The Thinking Persons Putty
The Ultimate Stress Reduction office toy is here. Of course you remember playing with putty as a kid. Welp, this ain’t your kids putty. Adult sized, and as feature-rich as your favorite Operating System, the Smart Mass putty from ThinkGeek makes living life fun all over again. Like to fidget while sitting in front of the monitor? Enjoy being the envy of all those who surround you? Trying to make an impression on that new coder down the hall? Smart Mass putty will help…
But ThinkGeek, What Will My Smart Mass Really Do ??
But ThinkGeek, Can I Achieve World Domination With My Smart Mass?
Our Smart Mass putty is just too much fun. Find out for yourselves how magically enticing and addictive playing with putty really is. As you find more and more ways to get creative with your putty, you’ll, well, find more ways to get creative with everything! It’s simply that stimulating!
Your choice of either:
Each tin arrives with an adult sized one fifth of a pound of Smart Mass putty. Wow. The putty is non-toxic and doesn’t leave any gooey residue! Get tins for everybody in the office and at home lest you may find yours missing…
Note: – Your Smart Mass may seem like it has a mind of its own occasionally. That’s because it does. And when not being used, your Smart Mass putty prefers to live in its comfortable tin where it can best plot World Domination Schemes.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/5ac8/
Nabaztag Wifi Smart Rabbit
Price: $179.99
Customer Action Shot!
This bunny likes to nibble on WiFi
Nabaztag/tag with built-in microphone now available…
So you are probably wondering if a rabbit can really be “smart”? Well this bunny can teach you tai chi, read your e-mail, report the weather or stock market, pull RSS feeds and tell you the time. We’d say that’s pretty smart – but he’s also got personality. Nabaztag can move his ears, play music, talk and whistle, and his body can show off hundreds of colors and special patterns of light. Sometimes he will even have his own random things to say, as long as you can put up with his moods!
Okay, so Nabaztag is smart and has personality – but what about interpersonal skills? Can he relate well to you and other rabbits? Well, Nabaztag can marry another rabbit – that’s right – copying the other rabbit’s movements, sounds and lights. Move your Nabaztag’s ears and its spouse’s will too. And as far as friendship, Nabaztag can let you know when you have a new e-mail, read you today’s headlines or give you his opinion of the previous week. But be careful because he is uncompromising – if he thinks that he didn’t receive enough messages he might be unhappy.
And that’s just the beginning, because the world of Nabaztag is expanding all the time. Before long this brainy bunny will be able to receive traffic updates, alert you when you have SMS messages, tell you if your train is running late and broadcast ‘Nabcasts’ from fellow subscribers. The possibilities are truly endless.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/japanfan/8301/
Mini Pet Cactus
Price: $1.99 – $8.99
Customer Action Shot!
Pocket Plant
Virtual pets are fun, but sometimes they can be a virtual pain in the virtual backside. You have to virtually feed them and virtually play with them. And yes, they virtually love you, but it’s just not the same as real love. But one has to admit, most virtual pets are easy to carry around, whereas most real pets either won’t fit in your pocket (like a dog) or wouldn’t survive in your pocket (like a trout). We have the solution: the Mini Pet Cactus.
The Mini Pet Cactus will love you unconditionally. All you have to do it is water it once a month for about a minute (instructions on packaging). Each cactus comes with a strap to attach to your jacket, cell phone, etc., so you can take it with you everywhere. Nothing says fun like talking to your cactus in a public place – until security asks you to leave, that is. Want to display your new pet at home or in the office? Try the Mini Pet Cactus Stand (sold separately). It has an adhesive back to attach to a wall, your monitor, your forehead, etc. The Mini Pet Cactus is waiting to be adopted…by you!
Dimensions: Pet Cactus: 1.75″ tall; Stand Height: 4.5″
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/japanfan/84b2/
AntWorks – Space Age Ant Habitat
Price: $29.99
Choice: Please Select… Blue Gel w/LEDs $29.99 Red Gel w/LED $29.99
Customer Action Shot!
A Space-Age Habitat For Antkind
Fascinating creatures ants. Sure you hate to see them in your socks or making a B-line for that pizza crust crumb you forgot to sweep up at the local LAN party. But let’s give credit where credit is due. Ants are amazing. Ants can lift up to 20x their body weight! They have two stomachs and three eyes! They also have uncanny communication skills and amazing abilities to work together to achieve a common goal.
This miraculous gel, derived from a NASA Space experiment, serves as both habitat and nutrition for your ants – allowing you to watch in awe as they turn a brick of aqua-blue gel into a fascinating colony of tunnels. Never before have you been so capable of watching these awesome creatures at work.
Consider Ants a pest? Think again. As Sun Tzu stated, ‘Know Thy Enemy’. And what better way to know them then in this totally enclosed space age aquarium. Ants are perhaps the most populous creatures on the face of planet earth, with at least ten thousand species and countless trillions of individual ants. Bring them indoors today with Antworks!
Each ‘Antworks’ Includes:
Sanity not included when you choose to knowingly bring Ants into your home. However, observing them in a natural habitat should bring you closer to nature than playing Doom 3.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/6fd6/
The Amazing Desktop Dinosaur Plant
Price: $7.99
Customer Action Shot!
A Pre-historic Evergreen That Just Won’t Die
This one-of-a-kind plant has lived on the Earth for over 290 million years and has the ability to “come back to life” (much like the undead) over and over again for hundreds of years! Simply place this seemingly dead ball of foliage in water and within hours it transforms into a vibrant green blood-sucking evergreen. Ok, we are kidding about the blood-sucking part. It’s still amazing though! It’s also great for lazy folks since you can forget to water your Dinosaur plant whenever you want! It will simply dry up and hibernate for up to fifty years and will spring to life every time it is given water.
Some Interesting Tidbits about your Dinosaur Plant:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/8039/
Atomic Food Containers
Price: $8.99 
Eat and Glow
Do people bully you in the workplace and steal your lunch? Are you tired of losing your food in the communal fridge? Do you forget often how long stuff has been in said fridge? Are you a cool dude(tte)? If your answer to all these questions is 17, have we got a set of food containers for you! Each one is as special as you are (and possibly as radioactive!)
You’ll get three containers of different size (400ml, 600ml, and 1000ml) which each nestle into each other for easy storage. Also, each top has a dial so you can set the date you put the container into the cold wasteland of your office fridge. That way, you will know how old the hairy pasta is, and won’t have to guess. Each dial also has a special setting called “vent” which opens up a little vent to vent ventable gasses (just like our underpants, but that’s a story for another time). Buy them now and safeguard your lunch for years to come.
Each container is microwave and dishwasher safe.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/9468/
Rock Climbing Light
Designed to resemble a rock climbing man (apparently) the design of this light appeals to us as we can imagine a host of them placed in random patterns on a wall with great effect.
Constructed from polished zinc and coming complete with two meters of cable (but without a bulb (!)), this rather funky and somewhat geeky light is sure to add a great ‘designer’ ambience to any room and at diminutive cost.
The Wall Climbing Light retails at £19.99 /$40
http://nexus404.com/Blog/2007/04/27/cool-wall-climbing-light/
1.3 Megapixel USB Digital Microscope
Price: $349.99
Zoom in on stuff – up to 200X
Higher resolution microscope produces fantastic images!
This 1.3 Megapixel Digital Microscope allows you to capture some higher resolution images and video and display them on your PC using a simple USB connection. View specimens collected around the house, backyard, your desk, or the fridge. Look at the micro-printing on a dollar bill or examine the traces on your motherboard. This microscope provides you an easy way to zoom in on a wide variety of objects to satisfy your curiosity of the world around you. Ever wondered what lint looks like or the mold growing on your week-old bagels? Now you can find out.
Simple plug and play operation with included software that allows you to magnify objects and view them on your PC up to 200X and take snapshots and time-lapse movies. You can also manipulate images with drawing and painting tools. The microscope is detachable from the stand to allow you to get closer to large objects.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/9955/
Mandylion Password Manager
Price: $49.99
Single w/ Cradle $49.99
Military-grade password protection!
Unfortunately, we all have to deal with modern life’s little cyber-burden, the password. Some of us do so by simply re-using an old password when the system asks you to change it. Other times we use the same password but just add the month at the end. Some people even resort to keeping their passwords written on yellow stickey notes or in their wallet. None of these options, however, is very effective for protecting your valuable data. Instead, we would like to present a superior solution brought to you compliments of the US Military.
The Mandylion Password Manager is a secure, convenient and cost-effective device built specifically for generating and protecting your passwords. Tested and matured for 3 years in real warfare environments, it is now available for commercial use. Built as a small keyring device, it can securely manage up to 50 logins, safe combinations, security codes, etc. that can be individually generated to meet the composition requirements of any login policy. Passwords can be any length up to 14 characters or namespaces. It can create passwords based on your settings for various criteria (such as length, alpha-numeric, special characters, etc.) and prompt you to change your passwords at preset time intervals (90 days, 1 year, etc.) Also, all data is stored in permanent memory, so it is unaffected by battery life or loss of power. Tamper-resistant features have been employed both inside and out, making the device a superior choice to storing passwords on your PDA, PC or worse, writing them down.
Using the device is very easy. There are 5 buttons used for navigation and data entry. The device is activated by entering a unique button sequence that is user-defined. Totally self-contained and air-gapped from any system, passwords are viewed on the token’s LCD display which has a limited viewing angle to prevent shoulder surfing. There are also user-defined lockout settings, including a self-destruct feature for high risk scenarios. The device will also indicate failed activation attempts (with a “Tampered” message displayed upon successful activation.) Included Policy Master software makes describing the login policy (length, expiration, composition) for each login record and configuring the token a snap. The token does the rest.
This little unit has been designed to meet U.S. Military standards for secure creation and management of passwords (use authorized under Army Regulation 25-2 IA.) This device helps creates a strong security policy for your work environment (so naturally you can brag to the boss about it) and provides cost savings in the form of reduced help desk support and password changing downtime. When used for personal password management the personal password manager eliminates having to remember all those annoying passwords and usernames.
Has these great features.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/91a2/
Glow Brick
Price: $29.99
Please Select… Blue $29.99 Green $29.99
A light bulb with a special glow!
Yep – it’s a glow-in-the-dark light bulb trapped inside a solid acrylic brick. The Glow Brick recharges from energy in natural sunlight during the day and glows at night. Not only that, it is actually made with a real light bulb! That’s right.
The glow-in-the-dark* pigment is trapped inside a real light bulb (just like the ones you have at home). Then the light bulb is encased in a solid block of Acrylic resin. 
The mysterious optical effect is caused by light diffracting in the tiny space between the glass of the light bulb and the resin – this space forms when the resin shrinks by a tiny amount during the production process. The polished surface gives a jewel like quality to the object. In a darkened room, or at night, the Glow Brick comes to life with a tranquil and subtle glow emanating from the pigment inside the light bulb. Size is 3.3″ x 3.3″ x 5″
*The technical term for the glow-in-the-dark is “photoluminescence” this is a process in which energy absorbed by a substance is released relatively slowly in the form of light.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/9b60/
And not necessarily in any way a desktop device, but simply a must-have one:
MySky GPS Star Tracker
Price: $399.99
Twinkle, twinkle, little star. I finally figured out what you are.
Only once in a blue moon* throughout the history of consumer tech comes a product so nifty you are convinced it cannot be real. Then you quickly glance over to your calendar and realize it’s not April 1st. “Damn!” you think to yourself, while reaching for your wallet and mumbling under your breath “Curse you ThinkGeek, curse you!” Packed with the latest in gadgetry including built-in GPS, LCD screen, magnetic north sensors, electronic accelerometers, & complex circuitry,the MySky is far from vaporwear. It’s a hi-tech virtual tour guide to your starry skies. Point, shoot, get smarter.
But ThinkGeek, What Does the MySky Really Do?
Glad you asked. Take the MySky out of its package, plug in some batteries, go outside, preferably at night although even when you can’t see them, the stars are still there during the day. Now let the MySky figure out its location and time via GPS. There are three different basic modes to using the night sky – Identify, Find, & Guided Tour. In ‘Identify’ Mode, the default, you will be presented with a real time LCD view of the night sky, complete with constellations. Simply point it to the object of choice in the real sky, and shoot. It will identify! You can also take a ‘Guided Tour’ of the best objects available to you at the moment based on your location, date & time. Finally, if you want to locate a specific object (planet, comet, galaxy, etc.) – you can navigate through the menus, select the item and your MySky will point out its location in the real sky.
* We probably should have said ‘Blue Giant’ here. Oh well.
** Sorry, this feature is being re-constructed. Don’t blame us, blame the rebel alliance.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/956a/
Sun and Moon Jars
Price: $34.99
Choice: Please Select… Sun Jar $34.99 Moon Jar $34.99
Customer Action Shot!
Jam jars store jam, these jars store sunshine!
Captured inside the Sun and Moon Jars are a highly efficient solar cell, a rechargeable battery and low energy LED lamps. When the jar is placed in direct sunlight the solar cell creates an electrical current that charges the battery over a few hours. This energy is then used at night to power the three LED lamps inside the jar.
The light is diffused by the frosted jar and give the appearance of sunlight emitting from the sun or a cool moon glow (warm colored LED lights are used to give a more natural and warm light). 
You may have noticed that there is no switch on the Sun Jar – in fact there are no visible controls at all – but there is a clever light sensor inside that automatically activates the LEDs when it gets dark or the lights are turned out! (There is an override switch inside the lid to turn off the light at night and conserve battery life.)
Mason jars are not only beautiful but by their very nature they are water tight – so the Sun Jar can happily be left outside in any weather conditions. A perfect garden light or night light for a child’s bedroom. The Sun Jar needs DIRECT sunshine to work! Leave the Sun Jar outside or in a sunny window in direct sunlight for several hours to charge, (electric light indoors is not bright enough!). The Sun and Moon Jars use a standard AA rechargeable battery, which is replaceable.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/994a/
So, happy desktop/cubicle living, as well as a few fun things for the home (office!)
→ 1 CommentCategories: Bio-tech · Fun · Internet · Office · Tech · Technology
Tagged: Bio-tech, Internet, Office, Ofiice Fun, Technology
Inspired by Cities of the Underworld
In January, The History Channel, with sponsors Infiniti and IBM, challenged architects and designers nationwide to compete in City of the Future competitions in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Atlanta.
The competition was fierce with 8 teams in each city vying for the $10,000 Grand Prize and City of the Future title. Teams only had one week to envision what their city might look like in 100 years, a mere 3 hours to construct their models, and just 15 minutes to present their vision to a panel of five esteemed judges. Now it’s your turn! We want you to decide who will walk away with an additional $5,000 and the title of National Champion by casting a vote for your favorite City of the Future.
By casting your vote, you will automatically be entered to win a Home Theater set up, complete with 50-inch flat screen TV and Sony Blu-Ray player.
Voting ends Monday, April 28th and don’t forget to tune-in to the season finale of Cities of the Underworld on May 5th at 9PM EST to find out who wins!
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=55712
Here is the regional winner for Washington, D.C.:
February 2108: The Majority Exocratic party today announced that their goal for making Washington, D.C. the nation’s first entirely self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable city has been realized. The collaborative practice of Beyer Blinder Belle helped create the Capital FORTway (Future Oriented Renewable Technologies) Commission in 2008. Modeled on the city’s historic fort network, the new totemic FORT towers have reengaged the city’s original defense structures, acting as hubs for transportation and the generation and distribution of resources, now feeding the city’s entire population. The FORTway is just one component of a larger planning initiative that includes adding downtown residential density, converting L’Enfant’s diagonal avenues to green space, sustaining cultural and historic resources, restoring natural tidal flows, and adding a new rapid transit network. In addition, a transformed and expanded National Mall connects the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers.
“Recalling the walls, towers, and other fortifications that once protected our cities, this master plan for Washington DC imagines a series of 29 towers that would encircle the city’s borders. Inside the ring, the historic L’Enfant plan, which forms the core of the city, would be kept to a modest height. Outside the towers, the extreme portions of the city and the suburbs would increase in scale, further setting off the city’s historic center. The towers would be multi-functional structures, emphasizing public spaces for the community to gather and incorporating new public transit centers, and implementing far-reaching sustainable strategy with ecological amenities like rainwater harvesting and hydroponic farming. Lasers, anchored to each tower, would serve the city’s defenses, when needed. A vast network of infrastructure would tie these towers together and ensure they worked as a coherent system.”
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=57914&display_order=1&mini_id=55712
And here is the winner for Atlanta:
Even during the second driest year on record, rainfall in Atlanta produced 75 billion gallons of water. The city maintains over 1,900 miles of pipes to collect, combine with wastewater, treat and pipe storm water downstream. Climate change, growth, and sprawling impervious surfaces continue to degrade this outmoded, costly system.
2008 marks “The Dawn of the Restorative Era” by overturning the infrastructure logic of the past. In the City of the Future, stormwater resurfaces to flow naturally across the land. Freed from use, existing underground systems act as aquifiers, preserving scarce water for long term use.
This simple shift underground, in turn, transforms the landscape above. The rigidity of the urban grid yields to swaths of green and waterscapes. Settlements cluster along ridges and water catchments, participating in a sustainable, living system. Corridors of open spaces spread to link communities in an organic form and fully reclaim The City in the Forest.
“The tall towers of Atlanta rise from a canopy of trees. The plan for metro Atlanta builds on that condition and foresees a region repopulated with forests 100 years from now. More than simply green space, these forests serve as the environmental lungs of the city. They filter storm water, which is currently channeled underground, allowing it to percolate through the soil and become usable. They purify the air. They also help to keep the manmade portions of the city the buildings and infrastructure concentrated so that their impact on the environment is minimized. This inclusion will stimulate the vitality of these built areas. Over time, the designers believe the city’s street grid will recede, promoting circulation and resulting in an organic evolution.”
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=57918&display_order=1&sub_display_order=3&mini_id=55712
And my personal favorite, and the one I voted for, as it is every SciFi lover’s dream city, San Francisco:
Symbiotic and multi-scalar, SF HYDRO-NET is an occupiable infrastructure that organizes critical flows of the city. HYDRO-NET provides an underground arterial traffic network for hydrogen-fueled hover-cars, while simultaneously collecting, storing and distributing water and power tapped from existing aquifer and geothermal sources beneath San Francisco. A new aquaculture zone with ponds of algae and forests of sinuous housing towers reoccupy Baylands inundated by rising sea levels. Hydrogen fuel is produced by the algae, and is stored and distributed within the nanotube wall structure of HYDRO-NET’s robotically-drilled tunnels. At key waterfront and neighborhood locales, HYDRO-NET emerges to form linkages between the terrestrial and subterranean worlds. Here new architectures bloom as opportunistic urban caves and outcroppings, fostering new social spaces and densified urban forms, fed by the resources and connectivity provided by HYDRO-NET. These locally responsive and distributed nodes and tendrils facilitate both the preservation and organic evolution of San Francisco.
“The number of urban dwellers is expected to rise sharply in the future.
Addressing this fact, this vision for the future of San Francisco proposes a new network of infrastructure below the surface of the city that will help the region maximize and distribute its resources. Called ‘Hydronet,’ the system will not only provide tunnels for a new generation of hover-cars, but also collection and distribution systems for water and power. The proposal identifies places where drinkable water might be harvested from both the sky and the earth, where heat might be extracted or dissipated deep in the strata below the city, and where new hydrogen based energy might be generated from algae fields. The city’s signature waterfront is repopulated with a series of eco-towers that animate the skyline and are linked to the network of infrastructure.”
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=57915&display_order=1&sub_display_order=2&mini_id=55712
And from Inhabitat, comes more information:
<!––> <!––>
San Francisco is already one of the greenest cities in the US, but check out this wild new concept from IwamotoScott Architects to completely remake the city into an ecotopia by 2108.
The design, which is as visually stunning as it is thought-provoking, recently won the History Channel’s City of the Future competition. It’s a full-scale urban system that combines the most innovative green technologies with San Francisco’s unique microclimate and geologic conditions, to produce a compelling vision for the future. Hydro-Net, as the project is known, will bring the lovely city-by-the-bay (which many Inhabitants call home) squarely into the 22nd Century with algae-harvesting towers, geothermal energy ‘mushrooms’, and fog catchers which distill fresh water from San Francisco’s infamous fog.
Hydro-Net is perhaps the most remarkable, modern and futuristic concept ever envisioned for San Francisco – considering global warming and the hunt for alternative energy sources in the coming century. It is an extensive network of above ground and underground systems that fulfill infrastructural needs for the movement of people, water, hover-cars, and energy throughout the city.
This network would connect water, power collection, and distribution systems across the city, forming one giant super-system that would resemble seaweed and chanterelle mushroom in its form. The aquifer and geothermal sources beneath San Francisco would be utilized as the source of water and power, while ponds and “forests” of algae would produce hydrogen.
The walls of the network would consist of carbon nanotubes walls, which would store and distribute the hydrogen generated by algae. The hydrogen would in turn be used as fuel to run hover-cars in the underground tunnels. The network also includes fog catchers that harvest air moisture, ecotowers, and more. Sound crazy? Designers Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott, the partners of San Francisco-based design firm IwamotoScott, don’t think so, and frankly neither do we. The concept recently won the $10,000 grand prize for their entry in the City of the Future competition, organized by the History Channel.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/03/san-francisco-in-2108-the-hydro-net-vision-of-future/
For more photos, see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/isar/sets/72157603824013896/
So, which do YOU like….
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Architecture · Environment · Tech · Technology · future tech · future visionaries · renewable resources
Tagged: Architecture, City of the Future, Environment, future, future visionaries, Hydro-net, Technology
Squidoo Lenses – Top HardSF authors Sci Fi Wire SF Signal Coming Soon – movies, TV, DVDs Dvice – tech news
