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by Bridget Petrella

It has been eight long years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.

Early in The Dark Knight Rises, director Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to his Batman trilogy, the ever-loyal Alfred Pennyworth confronts a crippled, withdrawn Bruce Wayne who has been living like a recluse in Wayne Manor since he gave up the Bat cape eight years earlier. “You’re not living,” Alfred says to him emotionally. “You’re just waiting for something bad to happen.” Then something bad— unbelievably bad— does happen in the form of the brutal and sadistic Bane who has come to a peaceful Gotham City to lead his own devious, evil version of the Occupy Movement, a revolution against the city’s wealthy and powerful. Oh, and by the way he’s brought an entire army of vicious killers, mindless terrorists and mercenaries with him. Alfred’s worst fear comes true: the Batman will return to the streets for what, given the power of Bane… this may be his last battle.

Make no mistake about it, The Dark Knight Rises is a spectacular film, especially when one stops to consider the unprecedented performance of Heath Ledger as The Joker [The Dark Knight] looming over the film’s success. But I believe that Nolan is a genius when it comes to telling a story and in The Dark Knight Rises, he DOES NOT disappoint. The visuals are extraordinary. The action sequences are dazzling, especially so since Nolan is “old school” and uses very little CGI— but relies instead on good old-fashioned stunt work. It will be hard to shake some of the images, whether it’s the stunning midair plane hijacking that opens the film, Batman tooling through Gotham on his exceedingly spectacular “toys”… or Bane blowing up a stadium during an NFL game. Kudos to ex-Steeler Hines Ward who makes the scene shockingly frightening as he runs for his very life.

But the real power of this final chapter is just how intelligently it melds references to and commentary on modern concerns while staying true to his comic book/graphic novel roots and including those touches and subtle nuances that die-hards love… like the addition of Selina Kyle (the Catwoman, although she’s never called that) to the cast of characters. Nolan and his brother Jonathan, a frequent collaborator, have written an audacious take on the Batman myth that draws from elements of Frank Miller’s 1986 graphic novel, Dark Knight, and from the Bane-driven Knightfall series from the mid-1990s without copying them. They touch on several real world fears of terrorism, collapsing economies and… of course… domestic extremism. Underlying the whole script is the greatest terror of all: that, someday, everything in our lives will spin completely out of control. “There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne,” Kyle purrs at one point. “You and your friends better batten down the hatches, ’cause when it hits, you’re gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”

To lay out the story line in too much detail dances on the edge of spoiler, given the significant number of twists, turns and surprises Nolan tosses in along the way. He never cheats, including enough clues to what’s coming that nothing really comes completely out of left field. While I must say once again… there is no performance quite as wondrous as the late Heath Ledger’s as the Joker— the cast’s work is sterling from the A-List stars to the even the barely credited actors/actresses. Christian Bale was great as the Batman in the first two films but if it is at all humanly possible [and it obviously is]— he is even better in this film, adding nuance and shading that wasn’t there before. Anne Hathaway provides some badly-needed zest and sarcastic wit (she gets most of the good lines) as Kyle. “Dark Knight” veterans Gary Oldman (Commissioner Gordon), Morgan Freeman (Lucien Fox) and Michael Caine (Alfred) are at the top of their games as one would expect.


Tom Hardy has the most difficult role as Bane since he was asked to speak all of his lines through a mask that makes him sound like Darth Vader without the heavy breathing. Even with this hurdle, he still manages to project a feeling that Bane may not be the completely mindless brute he appears to be. Keep an eye on the luminous Marion Cotillard (Inception, Midnight In Paris) who provides just the right measure of allure, smarts and mystery as wealthy philanthropist Miranda Tate. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a wonderful performance as young police officer John Blake, who plays a massive role in the film. Clocking in at two hours and forty-five minutes— it is an extremely emotionally and intellectually draining film and you may find yourself yearning for an oxygen mask… but even the ride doesn’t keep Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises from being a superb bit of work from a truly visionary filmmaker and a marvelous final installment on a grand retelling of the Batman saga. What a masterpiece Nolan has created… see it on July 20th in iMAX theaters. If you don’t, trust me, the thrill of the experience will be lost on DVD/Blu-ray.


 
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by Bridget Petrella


Los Angeles punk band Angels Heart will give away free digital downloads of their brand new album, Tattoos & Cigarettes, using a unique fan-friendly application. Screaming guitars, classic cars, tattoos, and cigarettes— Los Angeles-based outfit Angels Heart has taken the punk rock tradition and crafted something entirely original. Amplified by founder and frontman Bryan Joseph (Vocals, Guitar, Songwriting) and Jeff Ott (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals), the band has commanded attention not only in their home state of California, but across the nation. Their first album, Sixty-Eight Cutlass, has enjoyed huge success among punk followers, and fans now have a chance to download the new full-length record, Tattoos & Cigarettes, for free.

Angels Heart will be giving away free high resolution digital downloads of the new 14-song unreleased record, Tattoos & Cigarettes. Here’s how it works: fans enter the "daily deal" contest via the band’s Facebook page before September 4th, 2012. When entries total 10,000, those who have signed up will get free access to the high-res new release. Additionally, the band is formally releasing Sixty-Eight Cutlass at one song per week until September 4th, building up to the Tattoos & Cigarettes giveaway. Having forged a dedicated following and audience respect from early demos and touring, the newest batch of songs from the band is a highly anticipated collection that will not disappoint current and new fans of the music project. For listeners interested in a preview, the first single from Tattoos & Cigarettes, Under the Black Light, is currently available for preview and immediate download atwww.angelsheart.com

Tattoos & Cigarettes features guest appearances from punk rock icon Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion (Drums) and Gregg Sartiano (Bass, Production). Keeping the do-it-yourself work ethic and soul of punk music alive and well, the entire project is masterminded by pioneer of rock music education, Bryan Joseph. Beyond his musical accomplishments, Joseph was the creator and founder of the first national rock and roll summer camp Power Chord Academy (PCA).

Angels Heart creates and performs energetic, quality music steeped in an entrepreneurial spirit. They’re bringing some excitement back to the often-stale online music distribution method. Like PCA, Angels Heart is not only about creating, it’s about inspiring other people to create and express themselves. Angels Heart is not asking people to "like" their page and listen to one-way communication; they are rewarding people for participating in the growth of the band with the intimate gift of their art and talent. The band does not shun social media and the new face of the music industry— instead, they are forging it into a more fan-friendly platform that reflects their progressive views of harnessing technology and forming relationships with listeners.

Punk music has always been about rebellion. By carving their own niche and creating an original fan-driven format for music distribution, Angels Heart has already made their mark and will continue to lead. Today’s music business is largely uncharted waters. Bands that understand the changing nature of the industry, and proactively innovate rather than complain, are those who will rise to the top.

To learn more about Angels Heart, download free music, and sign up for the "daily deal," visit:

http://www.angelsheart.comhttp://bit.ly/NALZ3A 
and follow them on Twitter athttp://www.twitter.com/angelsheartrock


 
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by Andy Marken, CEO, Marken Communications

"He owns Pan-Am. He owns Congress. He owns the Civil Aeronautics Board. But he does not own the sky."
—Howard Hughes, "The Aviator," Warner Bros, 2004

One of the biggest frustrations in working at Xerox's PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) or Bell Labs had to be having out-of-focus images of what new ideas, technologies, products were going to be here in 10 to 20 years while working with materials that were introduced five years ago. At the same time, the board of directors and stockholders were constantly hammering on you to instantly deliver the next breakthrough innovation NOW! The stress has been even worse the last few years because budgets were cut across the board and everyone was forced to do more with less. The funny thing is though, the approach/process management had for developing new ideas and turning them into products/services didn't change that much during the financial crisis.

You could be depressed with where we are, where we're going and how we're going to get there. It takes events like the TED (Technology Entertainment, Design) conference to give you a sanity check and renew your optimism. The great thing is you can catch the best of TED online such as Peter Diamandis' Abundance presentation this year.  

Suddenly you realize "Hey! We've made quite a bit of progress and we CAN meet tomorrow's challenges!" It makes you proud to be in the technology industry. It makes you want to go out and innovate… something. Despite giving technology changes a whole lot of lip-service, the challenges still exist— finding the right talent, encouraging risk-taking/collaboration, organizing innovation. [We're not completely certain that it's actually possible]. 

The one thing that has returned is our investment in advancing technology and making true innovation a part of the company's strategic planning activities is correlation. Research and development spending rose 9.3 percent in 2010 and promises continued growth in the years ahead. The financial crunch in 2008 and 2009 had a decided impact on research and development investments and the results that appeared recently. Because new products are the fuel for company growth, many companies cut other areas before research and development, like staffing and marketing. [source— Booz & Company www.booz.com/] We've gotten over that business phase of growing by "buying" into new markets with mergers and acquisitions focusing more and more on producing organic growth with new products/services and new customers in existing markets.  

What we've seen in recent years is that simply throwing money at research and development doesn't produce innovation. In fact, the consistent innovators spent less on research and development and more on developing/managing the process:

The big difference, according to people who study these sorts of things— Booze, McKinsey and others, is that there was a clear set of strategic corporate goals  clearly articulated, focused direction. The first priority on every company's goals list is a solid gold hit. The big difference is true innovators want a clearly superior product in terms of performance and quality. Low on the priority list are cheap goods or the volume of new products [source— Booz & Company www.booz.com/]. You'll notice that few organizations placed having the cheapest product, getting there first or making very sure it was going to be a successful product at the top of their lists.

This sounds simple enough, but the true test is when senior management only gives lip-service to the first four of their "goals" and holds the innovators accountable/responsible for the goals at the bottom of the list. You know, "Yes…but..."