Video credit: Dave DeSantos (The Rescues @ Culture Works in Ashland, OR)

A new Gabriel Mann (C'95, Off the Beat) song is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine...

In the above video, Gabe and his band "The Rescues" perform their new song "You're Not Listening". Listen for Gabe starting at minute 1:03 with some awesome(!) solos.

Sounds like another potential "Grey's Anatomy" song for them...

Per Gabe,

"we're on the road currently, winding up in l.a. for the cd release show this friday night (6/25) at the troubadour. "break me out" is the itunes single of the week (get your free download here), and starting today the album is exclusively available on itunes for 2 weeks, physical copies 2 weeks later and everywhere else digitally as well." 

Catchup: Check out all these great Gabe DT stories over the past couple of years HERE

More Penn alumni musicians HERE



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During this year, I've done posts about Allison Winn Scotch's (C'95) book The Time of My Life and how it was optioned by the Weinstein Brothers, was reviewed in People Magazine, made The Today Show's top 10 books for the fall, and made the New York Times Best Seller List! (#31).

Now news that last week, her book came out in paperback!

The Time of My Life (per Allison) is about an unhappy housewife who has been “whisked seven years back, back to her old life, her old self, back to the moments in which she made decisions that charted her future course. And now that she’s back, she’s faced with the same roadblocks and obstacles, only this time, armed with hindsight, she can choose a different path and finally lay to rest all of her "what ifs.”

Read a full synopsis of The Time of My Life here...+/-

“From the outside view, Jillian Westfield has a pitch-perfect life. Her cherubic 18-month old daughter, her wildly successful investment banker husband, a four-bedroom, five-bath, lemon-scented home with landscaping and neighbors to match. But that doesn’t stop her from mulling over the past, from pushing away the "what ifs" that haunt her when she allows them to seep into her consciousness. What if she hadn’t married Henry? What if she hadn’t abandoned her job at the first sign of pregnancy? What if she’d never broken up with Jackson? What if she answered her mother’s letter? Because underneath the shiny veneer of her life, Jill waddles around in a faltering marriage, brewing resentment, and an air of discontentedness.

But after an ethereal massage in which her therapist releases her blocked chi, she wakes up to discover that she’s been whisked seven years back, back to her old life, her old self, back to the moments in which she made decisions that charted her future course. And now that she’s back, she’s faced with the same roadblocks and obstacles, only this time, armed with hindsight, she can choose a different path and finally lay to rest all of her "what ifs."

Much more than a story about a real life desperate housewife. Instead, it speaks to so many of our tiny, lingering doubts, the same doubts that send us googling old friends and exes or wistfully pulling out pictures of days gone by. And through Jillian’s journey, in which she rediscovers the mother who abandoned her, reacquaints herself with the strengths she once deemed important, and may literally rewrite her future, we all get a chance to peek inside the windows of our own "what ifs," and consider if the path we took was the one that has granted us the most happiness.”

Read Allison's insider's advice on how to become a published novelist

Get The Time of My Life (paperback)

Get Allison’s The Department of Lost and Found

Other Penn authors!

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In late April, I featured a TV News clip of Brian Yanish (C'95, Mask and Wig, Friars) talking about his Scrap Kins children's character property.

For all of you with kids out there and are doing some back to school shopping, Brian's "The Scrap Kins" recycled paper stationery is already on shelves in your neighborhood.  His pocket folders feature "Green Tips" on the back and his spiral themebooks give instructions for a recycled craft project kids can make using recyclables found at home.

Support Brian by choosing "Green" for your back to school supplies.

He has pocket folders ($1.29) and spiral themebooks ($2.49) at these stores nationwide: (Click on each name to locate a locate a store near you.)

• Rite Aid (They're also carrying Brian's soft lunchboxes).
• Albertsons
• ShopKo
  
• Duckwall-Alco

Brian's limited edition stationery is only in stores for a Limited Time through Labor Day, so get these collectibles before they're gone!

And this just in! Scrap Kins Recycled Plush dolls (made from recycled polyester (fabric spun from plastic PET bottles (soda & sports drink bottles) are planned for release in Spring 2010. Congrats Brian!

Follow Brian on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/ScrapKins

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If you recall, last year Gabriel Mann (C'95, Off the Beat) was the voice of Obama in Jib Jab's "Time for Some Campaigning." 

In this new Jib Jab video, Gabe is now the "voice of reason" at the beginning of the piece (the first 20 seconds of the clip).

If you're not familiar with DT favorite Gabriel Mann, click HERE to check out my past posts to learn about this accomplished musician and all the cool things he's done (i.e toured with Alanis Morrisette, been on the grammys, his music in many tv and films!)



Other great Website Wednesday posts

New to DT? 14 easy suggestions to get started!

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Earlier this year I posted about the talented documentary filmmaker Loren Mendell (C'95, Friars) and his film Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene. The film has now been nominated for the Independent Lens Audience Award and he needs your vote!

Watch the trailer above and read more about his film from my previous post HERE

To vote, you don't need to sign in - just click the following link below: 
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/award2009runoff.html

Learn more about Loren's other documentaries!

Click to see what other 1995 Penn grads are up to  

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Move over Terminator, another high tech film is coming out this Fall and it looks really cool.

Last week I posted my review (and photo with Betty White!) of Todd Lieberman's (C'95, Mask and Wig, AEPi) The Proposal premiere. (Incidentally, it opened on Friday...go out and support Todd!)

Now Todd, as well as co-producers Max Handelman (C'95, AEPi) and Elizabeth Banks (C'96) have recently released a trailer for their hot new futuristic film The Surrogates. The story is as follows:

"FBI agents (Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves - fit, good looking remotely controlled machines that ultimately assume their life roles - enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes. The murder spawns a quest for answers: In a world of masks, whos real and who can you trust?"

Connect with DT on

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Executive Film producer Todd Lieberman (C'95, Mask and Wig, AEPi) just released this new very funny viral video to help promote his upcoming film The Proposal, which debuts June 19.

While Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds are very funny in this video, it's the very naughty Betty White who steals the show. Check out the video above to see what I'm talking about!

Todd tells me that "The thing that surprises me most about this movie is not the amount of laughs that are in it but how emotional is plays. It truly is one of those movies where you laugh...and you cry."

Catch up on all the high profile films Todd has done and is doing HERE

More Penn film producers here

Check out my other Funny Friday posts here!

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This past Wednesday night (4/29/09), Penn alumnus Elon Musk (W'95, C’95) appeared on a popular late night TV program and discussed his electric sports car company Tesla Motors.

Find out:

• how much this car costs now(!)
• how the Tesla is environmentally friendly
• more about the electric car movement
• a preview of his sleek new, affordable Model S car which will come out in 2 years

At the end of the interview above, Dave cut Elon off just as Elon was about to make "an important point" about this new car. 

I emailed Elon and he told me that the "point was that the real comparison price for the Model S is under $35k, so it's comparable to a high end Ford Taurus, when you consider that gasoline costs a lot more than electricity."

Elon also did another interview late last week (see video below) with Charles River Venture Partner George Zachary. While this video isn't the best quality, Elon does mention Penn, as well as:

• his motivation behind his interest in cars
• what other transportation related projects Elon is interested in (inlcuding an electric plane!)
  
• more about the 2 companies he co-founded: SpaceX (space transportation company) and PayPal and how he broke into these businesses
• his dislike for firing people
• other CEOs in the Technology space from who he draws inspiration
• how this current political administration will be helping Tesla
• how he manages his time between running SpaceX and Tesla
  

On a related note, if you haven't already seen this movie, check out Who Killed the Electric Car...it's a fascinating documentary on the whole destruction of the electric car movement in the mid 1990s!

Musk was featured in the Nov/Dec issue of The Gazette HERE

Wikipedia info on Musk HERE

Other ways Penn and our alumni are going green HERE

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It's apparent that the producers of "Grey's Anatomy" must really love the music of Gabriel Mann (C'95, Off the Beat) and his group "The Rescues" because the show will be featuring their songs "Break Me Out" and their brand new song, "Stay Over," in back to back episodes starting TONIGHT!

• "Break Me Out" will be heard in episode 19 (season 5), which airs this Thursday April 23rd at 9pm (TONIGHT) and will be the 3rd appearance of Rescues music on the show already this season. (the song is featured in minute 39:54 at abc.com)
• Next week, on Thursday April 30th, the show will debut the Rescues’ song "Stay Over" from the upcoming album "Let Loose The Horses." (the song is featured in minute 19:45 at abc.com)

Listen to the group's music (and watch the actual scenes) from their first and second appearances in "Grey's Anatomy".

Get a preview of the music below:

Get the songs on iTunes:

The Rescues - Crazy Ever After - Break Me Out 2.0


The Rescues - Stay Over - Single - Stay Over

My past posts about Gabe HERE

Other Penn musicians here

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Eco-advocate and illustrator, Brian Yanish (C'95, Mask and Wig, Friars) has combined his talents and passions to create The Scrap Kins, animated characters that live in a recycling center and build their world out of the things people throw away.

Over the past 2 years DT has been following Brian as he has been developing out the Scrap Kins and we are happy to report that he has not only had successful meeting with some major publishers, but his his characters will be on children's notebooks and folders in Rite Aid stores across the country in over 4900 stores!

In the recent Los Angeles news segment from above, Brian shows us how he teaches kids to use their imagination and turn household scraps into crafts.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Visit Brian's website HERE

Follow Brian on his Twitter page HERE

More from my "Pinching PENNies" series

Find out HERE how Penn has been going green!

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Some Hollywood bits and pieces from our Alumni this week:

• New sci-fi film being produced.
• New reality TV show debuting in May.
• New music featured on a TV show.
• New TV guest appearances on 2 popular shows (one tonight!).

Dig into the details HERE.

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Reality honcho Mark Cronin (ENG'86), debuts his next VH1 reality show, "New York Goes to Work"

More details here
My past posts about Mark and all his reality shows here

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Todd Lieberman (C'95) will produce the film (based on the book) Grandma's Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast. Per Variety, "The story revolves around a boy who goes to visit his hippie grandmother for the first time and discovers that her inn caters to vacationing aliens, a secret that she has been able to keep from her small town."

My past posts about Todd and his films here

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Actor Roy Vongtama (C'96) will appear on tonight's "Dollhouse" (April 3) at 9 pm (playing a yoga instructor)!

Roy will also be recurring on "Days of Our Lives" starting April 21st and 22nd on NBC at 1pm as Doctor Richman! As you may recall from my earlier posts, Roy is actually a doctor in real life. How great is that!

My past posts about Roy here

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Matt Kap's (C'97) band's (The Moving Picture Show) song "The Boy Who Lives Backwards" was featured this season in minute 10 of "The Real World: Brooklyn" episode above.

Listen to "The Boy Who Lives Backwards" here:



The story behind the song?   Per Matt:

"The Boy Who Lives Backwards" basically came out of a regret. I was going to take some summer classes at NYU and met a girl the first day in the dorm through a friend. She'd had a bad day and her friend wasn't around so I decided to try and cheer her up. We had a really incredible night but I was so shy at the time and thought she had a boyfriend so I didn't ask her out. Years later I thought of that while singing a melody and began thinking about regrets we have in life - the person we didn't kiss, the bully on the playground we didn't stand up to, the clever comebacks that we wished we'd said in an argument and that's what the song is about. It also really reminds me of New York City in the fall which is my favorite time of year."

Check out Matt's performance at our very own Pennfest 2007:

My past posts about Matt here

More about The Moving Picture Show

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Past "DT Hollywood Bits and Pieces" posts here

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Tom Heller (C’95, Connaissance, Community Service Learning Living Program) executive produced Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, a film that not only was the Sundance Film Festival winner, but was since also acquired by Lionsgate.

"Push" revolves around an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem who's about to give birth to her second child when she is accepted into an alternative school.

Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry will team to promote the film.

Tom is also currently in production on a film called Mother and Child, starring Naomi Watts, Samuel L. Jackson, Annette Bening and Kerry Washington.

Get in touch with Tom here:
theller@firstvisionent.com

Find out how Tom got his start in the entertainment industry here!

Other Penn Producers

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From documentaries about oil spills to prison baseball teams, filmmaker Loren Mendell (C'95, Friars) documentary which was featured in this year's Slamdance is now on TV this week.

Loren's latest film Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene tells the unlikely story of America's first shock jock Petey Greene and features Howard Stern, Marion Barry, Sugar Ray Leonard and James Brown among others.

Per Loren, "America’s original shock-jock, Petey Greene, overcame poverty, drug addiction and prison-time to “tell it like it is,” shocking and entertaining everyone from the ghetto to the White House. During an era of civil unrest in our nation’s capital, Petey used taboo words and ideas, forcing people to confront their own prejudices on his raw, uncensored TV and radio shows. His explosive language and brash style unsettled the establishment as Petey battled both the system and his own demons on the journey to becoming a leading activist during some of our country’s most turbulent years. Don Cheadle, who portrayed Petey in the feature Talk To Me, narrates this documentary featuring a face-off between Petey and an up and coming deejay named Howard Stern."

"This documentary presents rarely seen footage of Petey Greene. It’s a must for anyone who wants to know what made Petey Greene such an incredibly charismatic person, or whomever wants to know where Howard Stern got his gusto from.”
- Sarah Diamond, Programmer

Below please find a list of cities/states with corresponding dates/times for availability in your area. If you don't see your station below, please click on the link (also found below), enter your zipcode, and you'll be able to see when it airs in your area.

Expand to see if your city is listed below...+/-

ALABAMA/APT:
Wednesday Feb. 4 @ 12am
Thursday Feb. 5 @ 2am
Sunday Feb. 8 @ 2am

ARIZONA/PBS 8
Tuesday Feb 3 @ 10pm

ARIZONA/TUCSON KUAT:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 11pm
Wednesday Feb. 4 @ 4am

AUSTIN/KLRU:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 9pm

BATON ROUGE/LPB:
Thursday Feb. 5 @ 2am
Sunday Feb. 8 @ 2am
Sunday Feb. 8 @ 10pm

BOSTON/WGBH:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm

CHICAGO/WTTW:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm
Thursday Feb. 5 @ 3:30am

DALLAS/KERA:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm

DENVER/Rocky Mountain PBS/KRMA:
Saturday Feb 7 @ 11pm

GEORGIA/GPB Channel 8:
Wednesday Feb. 4 @ 12am
Saturday Feb. 7 @ 1am

HOUSTON/KUHT:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm

KANSAS CITY/KCPT
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10Pm
Thursday Feb. 5 @ 2am

LAS VEGAS PBS
Thursday Feb 5 @ 3am
Sunday Fe. 8 @ 3am
Sunday Feb. 8 @ 11pm

LOS ANGELES/KCET:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm

MARYLAND/MPT
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 1am

MICHIGAN/East Lansing/WKAR:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm
Thursday Feb. 5 @ 3am
Sunday Feb. 8 @ 3am

MICHIGAN/Detroit/WTVS:
Sunday Feb. 8 @ 11pm

NEW ORLEANS/WYES:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 9pm
Thursday Feb. 5 @ 2am
Sunday Feb. 8 @ 2am

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY/WNET 13:
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm
Saturday Feb. 7 @ 3am

PHILADELPHIA/WHYY:
Thursday Feb. 5 @ 9pm

SACRAMENTO/KVIE
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 11pm
Thursday Feb. 5 @1:30am

SAN DIEGO/KPBS:
Sunday February 8 at 11pm

SAN FRANCISCO/KQED:
Tuesday February 3 at 11pm

WASHINGTON D.C./WETA
Tuesday Feb. 3 @ 10pm
Friday Feb. 6 @ 10:30pm
Saturday Feb. 7 @ 4am

WASHINGTON D.C./WHUT
Saturday Feb. 7 @ 8pm

Click HERE if your city/station is not listed

Learn more about Loren's other documentaries!

Click to see what other 1995 Penn grads are up to  

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