|
|
|
Black Holes, Boobles and InVideo
Volume 1, Issue 4, July 1994
Well, it's about time! After decades of speculation and hypothesis, it seems they've finally confirmed the existence of a black hole in a nearby galaxy. A place where the laws of physics cease to exist. Where all bets are off. Where cause and effect are not only unrelated but don't even live in the same zip code.
Of course, all they had to do was take a look in my sock drawer.
To tell the truth, I'm a little skeptical of modern physics and astronomy. In fact, I have a real problem with some basic concepts like gravity. As far as I can tell, we're all stuck here to the planet by a severe case of static cling. One giant tear-off sheet of Bounce fabric softener and we'd all go flying off into space. You tell me how come our feet are stuck to the ground.
So, here's what's going on...
"GIG ALERT"
Dean Friedman Saturday, July 30, 1994 at 8:30pm
West End Gate, NY, NY
2911 Broadway (between 113th & 114th St.); Tickets $15
for info call: 212-666-8687
Sunday, August 14, 1994 at 1:00pm
Riverboat Concert Cruise up the Hudson on the Commander
Riverfront Green Park, Peekskill, NY
Tickets $20 adults $15 kids. Advance sales.
for info call: 914-736-3600
Of course, with everything else going on this month, I'm not sure when I'm gonna find time to rehearse for these gigs. But then I know I can count on my supportive audience to help remind me of a forgotten lyric here and there. (ha! ha!)
People keep asking me to book a NYC gig, so I finally did. The West End Gate is a small friendly venue on the upper west side near Columbia U. If enough of you make advanced reservations, I'll add a late show.
And finally, as you see, I'll be doing another Riverboat Concert Cruise up the Hudson this summer. Those of you who joined me on our previous river excursions know how much fun it was tooling up the Hudson on the Commander, scuttling rowboats in our wake. Food and Bevs will be sold on board or pack a lunch. Seating is limited so order tickets soon.
Other Cool Stuff That's Going On:
InVideo VR Game System Featured at Blockbuster Golf & Games in Sunrise, FL. Virtual Reality for the Whole Family.
It's true! Children in Florida are eating bugs and liking it! And their parents don't seem to mind. Plus, they're learning their letters, numbers and shapes and get to swim underwater tickling fish and soar through the clouds popping balloon. Actually, we just installed one of our virtual reality InVideo games, running "Eat-A-Bug" and other kid's games, in Blockbuster Video's first family entertainment center. So far, everybody likes it a lot. We are very excited and just a little nervous at having one of our InVideo game systems in this pretty important venue. The main thing is kids seem to dig it, and you never know... now that Blockbuster called off the merger with Viacom they should have a few billion laying around. But that's not all...
More Boobles, Honkblatts, Tone Stones and Jingle-Lingle-Lilies - 2 New Music Atriums Under Construction in Peekskill.
In addition to a number of InVideo Systems we've been installing in museums and arcades around the country (The Science Place, Dallas, TX; The Museum of Science, Boston, MA; The Science Center, St. Louis, MO, Tommy Bartlett's Robot World, Wisconsin Dells, WI - no kidding) we're in the midst of producing not one, but two Music Atriums for arcades in the U.S. I know this might be a little hard to follow, but some of you may recall that in 1992 Dean Friedman Productions (me and assorted cohorts) created the Music Atrium "a musical playground for kids" for the Eureka! Children's Museum in England. It's a collection of large, colorful and strange-looking, fun musical instruments - a Booble, a Honkblatt, a Jingle-Lingle-Lily and more. Well, we just got an order for two more systems - one's going into the Milford Amusement Center in CT and the other is going to a new place called X-Site in Memphis, TN. This is pretty neat stuff and kids definitely love to play on it.
Anyway, I'm still not sure what to make of all this activity. Something seems to be happening business-wise between InVideo and the Music Atrium stuff but it's still too early to say exactly what. O.K. well, I could say "exactly what" if I wanted to, but you know what I mean.
Meanwhile, I'd better finish off this newsletter quick because as usual, with everything going on, I've left it to the last minute, and if I'm lucky you'll get it the day before the first gig.
So let me see, did I leave anything out? Oh, gee, well there is some exciting family news: My younger brother Aram and his sweet wife Amy just had a beautiful li'l baby girl named Raisha. We are all delighted that this precious little package arrived safe and sound, and adorable too, and we are especially looking forward to the sight of Mr. Fastidious changing diapers.
So, to summarize: (1) Black holes do exist, which means parallel universes and multiple dimensions are increasingly more likely. (2) InVideo is generating real money selling virtual reality which in and of itself is virtually incredible, but which assumes even more significance in light of other recent developments (3) numerous sightings of Boobles, Jingle-Lingle-Lilies, Tone Stones and Honkblatts and other Music Atrium Instruments have been confirmed here in the U.S. by reliable witnesses. These instruments of unknown origin may, in fact, represent points of intersection between alternate universes, transdimensional fulcrums, inter-universe devices - I.U.D.s! And speaking of conception... (4) Aram and Amy have a baby girl and are living in a small one bedroom apartment that is so crammed full with computers, old '78's and assorted electronic junk - not to mention the cats - that it defies the laws of physics, particularly volume and mass. And finally, (5) I will be playing Saturday, July 30th at the West Gate Cafe and Sunday, August 14th on the Commander Riverboat which raises the valid question of where do songs come from, anyway?
Taken individually, the above facts might seem inconsequential, even trivial (except for the baby) but when considered in juxtaposition with each other an intriguing pattern starts to emerge, connections begin to appear where, once, none existed. Careful observation and deep contemplation reveal the obvious truth: Summer is here and I really need a vacation.
O.K. so I chickened out. Maybe I could have tied it all together with some vague convoluted reference to the super-string theory, you know - black holes, singularities, cosmic guitar strings, umbilical chords... hey that's not bad. I could even throw in some dire warning about the comet array about to smash into Jupiter unleashing unimagined amounts of nuclear energy, maybe starting an atomic chain reaction, send us hurtling out of our present orbit.
I could, but, you know what? I'm feeling too lazy. I'm going to go home and sit in the kiddie pool and cool my tired feet. I suggest you do the same.
See you soon,
Dean
P.S. ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS!!!!! Friends, I really need to whittle down my unwieldly mailing list. I also unwittingly used whittle and unwieldy in the same sentence. The fact remains that if you've received this particular mailing this would tend to indicate that you are about to be dropped from the mailing list unless you request otherwise. So, please, if you would like to continue receiving silly postcards and serious commentary on social and extraterrestrial issues YOU MUST FILL OUT AND SEND IN THE SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL ENTRY ON THE RIVERBOAT ORDER FORM!!! DON'T FORGET! DO IT NOW! HURRY UP! ETC...ETC...