The Music Doesn't STOP in Budapest!

I feel as if I'm about ten, have just come back from music camp and my life is full of endless possibilities. It's as if I fell upon a candy fountain oozing with different vibes and rhythms from around the world, and they're firing out rainbows of melodies, each one asking me to be part of its creation.

This isn't a mash-up and I'm not even online. All day, I wandered the streets of Budapest getting fed, not with food, but with song. The soul is so full after a day of song that it forgets about food, even with plenty of it around.

With Vienna only a couple of hours away, I felt as if I could have been within its walls, the music permeatration was so intense. Yet, it's not Vienna, but -- some would say -- its less cultured cousin, Budapest, split by the Danube River so that Budapest doesn't even call its city its own entirely - one side gets Buda and the other gets Pest. 

My first and only memory of the place was in the mid-eighties and music was first and foremost in my mind, even in an era when East Europe was mostly gray and full of restrictions.  I was very young and had not yet been exposed to composition -- REAL composition that is, despite the fact that both art and music teachers had tried. We were in some traditional old world restaurant eating goose & duck and drinking Cabernet before I knew you could have orgasms on the stuff. Around us swam violin players who played throughout the entire meal, one which lasted six hours long and ended with a $25 bill including several deep, luscious reds.

I remembered the violin because both players were so damn good. Every form of expression, whether it be on the keyboard, or on a blank white canvas, happens for me at a visceral level. Back then however, I wouldn't have known a great violin player from a good one and yet, I was stopped in my tracks.

The musicians forced me to stop eating and pay attention. They forced me to understand composition. They forced me to cry at their nearly perfect musical offering. They forced me to hear their texture, whether I was in the mood or ready to understand it or not.

Exceptional talent forces great things on you when you're ready to listen, which I almost always have been, other shortcomings aside.

Exceptional talent stops you in your tracks and then somehow, you're fundamentally changed because you listened and because you heard what they had to say.

Budapest spoke to me all day, starting with folk music at the top of the hill in some enclave within Buda Castle. It was "okay" (better than average), most definitely 'local' but more than anything else, the musicians were committed. God, I love that word. (it's probably because I live on the west coast of America now where I feel as if I'm swimming among the least committed people I've ever settled down with and that's after spending time "settling" in 11 countries).

After the "okay but very committed" folk music performance, I fell upon traditional music which included the top Hungarian dancers from around the world, each one doing a chosen number within a three hour period. All of them were, yes...you got it, committed.

Each in their native custume attire, they flew out on stage ready to perform, none of them fearful or worried about people shooting them with a still or video camera, none of them caring where their "performance -- their committed performance" would show up.

In the states, where the Internet and social media reign, its amazing how much performers care about the potential publicity a 2 minute clip would lose in revenue despite how much publicity and connection it would generate. Then there's their publicists, agents, handlers and middle men.

The Hungarian performers said "bring it on," as their committed selves showed up and played 200% in front of the camera and when the light was no longer green. I get that Hungarian culture doesn't embrace entrepreneurship and so you could argue that their lack of loving green paper has kept them behind socially and economically.

Having an entrepeneur spirit myself, there's no question when I saw a tent loaded with interesting pottery created by the Secondary Technical-Vocational School of Folk Arts and Secondary Academic Grammar School, that I was annoyed that the art was not for sale when every other tent was collecting money for their 'creations.' Let them sell I, I thought. "Teach them entrepreneurship. Profits from their pottery could go towards a future dream," I said to the late thirty-something very blue-eyed woman who struggled with my response. (Below, their beautiful masterpieces)

I knew she understood some of what I said but also knew that my plea was one that would be noted but not transferred into something actionable in the next 60 days, and so I made my pitch, told her the work was stunning and moved on.

From folk to traditional to guitar (one called the ZITHER, which had me mezmorized in the same way that the Indonesian gamelan does does), to world music and Mbaye Ndiaye & the Afro Magic Band, which has its roots from Senegal but did a nice job blending African, reggae, jazz and global fusion together.

Within the hour, I was up on stage dancing with their lead drummer (solo btw) and shortly thereafter dancing with Gabor stage right, a blue-eyed Russian, who while may have been adorable, had so much alcohol on his breath that I had to politely decline after our first attempt at a cha cha to a slow-ish African jazz number.

The performers went out of their way to bring the children on stage and coach them on not just how to dance, but how to move by feeling their way to the rhythm simply by listening. It was fascinating and I loved every minute of it.

I was sorry to see Mbaye Ndiaye pack up...their energy and spirit only made me crave more of it. And so, I meandered over to another area of the massive hill which houses the castle only to discover more folk dancing and guitar, soon to be followed by traditional Gypsy (also spelled Gipsy) music which carried on for another 3 hours.

While it may be hard to dance on uneven cobblestone ground that is well over 500 years old, it was even harder not to try. I ran into a Scientologist who looked like Joseph (yes, Jesus' Joseph) who was selling corn on the cob while simultaneously trying to convert me in VERY broken English, all while tapping his foot to the Gypsy band.

I had already gleefully become ten again and full before I left the castle, when I suddenly fell upon more live music. I was on a search for one of the old world bars, bistros, cafes or restaurants recommended by my host, friends and a bunch of online pals who sent me great suggestions via Twitter and Facebook.

I had crossed the chain bridge, hung a right looking for the decadent chocolate stand on the street (she must only set up on Friday and Saturday nights I quietly cursed), knowing that I had been thinking about that dark chocolate pistachio and cranberry creation for half the day. I asked for directions from a local cafe to two different locations and was told it was a 25 minute walk. 

The backpack was heavy with camera lenses and a fabulous set of hand-painted coasters I picked up with a local artist along the way, yet I was in it for the haul, so re-adjusted my bag and foot bandaids (necessary for any Europe trip where you're wearing sandals and plan to do a lot of walking) and began my journey towards my Hungarian bistro on the other side of town.

And then I heard it. Clapping. Voices. Cello. Violin. The violin...ahhh, it purred. This was no ordinary violinist, something I could tell from four blocks away. I was told to scout down Lakatos and hear him play if he was in town for a performance but little did I know that I'd get a surprise I hadn't anticipated: Zoltan Maga accompanied by the Vac Symphony Orchestra, playing outside the Szent Istvan Bazilika, a church named for Saint Stephen I, the first King of Hungary.

Imagine the scene: a gorgeous, ancient white-stoned church named after a Hungarian King on a warm summer night.

The moon was out, glistening over hundreds of people sitting outside, sprawled on chairs and the ground while an orchestra of cellos, violins, tubas, saxophones and clarinets played. Zoltan Maga's passion was addictive as his talent for the violin led the way, together with the conductor and nothing -- I mean nothing -- could have distracted you from the two hours of musical joy.

What I failed to remember is the influence of Austrian music greats at the time when Hungary used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Because of that, people appreciate classical music and embrace it. The country combines composers (Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn) coming from Austria/Germany with strong Hungarian folk and gypsy blends. 

AND, Hungary has its own greats, the most famous being Liszt, followed by Bartok, two of the all-time greats. Kodaly is probably next followed by Kurtag and Ligeti, who are two of the most prominent classical composers from the last 60 years -- both Hungarian.

To top it off, they have an amazing number of top-rank conductors: Ormandy, Szell, Dorati, Solti, Reiner, Kertesz, and Fischer. And then there's their pianists: Kocsis, Schiff, Fricsay.

Crikey, it's no wonder I felt like ten, that the world has endless possibilities and that incredible talent was following me around the city all day -- and night.

Thanks Budapest for the incredible memories and the musical talent, all of which was infused with so much passion and commitment that it made me dream of practicing piano again and the idea of searching for a saxophone teacher as soon I got home.

Below, Zoltan Krulik and the Makam Band!

Robert Terceck: Reclaim the Power of the Personal Narrative: TEDxMarin

Robert Terceck gives a talk entitled: Reclaiming the Power of the Personal Narrative. In other words, using social media to get your story out there. "Validation is the most important thing," for people he says. Rather than outsource your story or your voice, get out there, be present and be heard. Robert is the former president of Digital Media for the Oprah Winfrey Network and before that a Senior VP of Digital Media at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Below is his TEDxMarin talk.

WOMEX for International Music Scene in Copenhagen

WOMEX is a very cool music event being held in Copenhagen, Denmark this October. The event highlights the most important international professional market of world music of every kind.

Think of it as an international fair, which brings together professionals from the worlds of folk, roots, ethnic and traditional music and also includes concerts, conferences and documentary films. It contributes to networking as an effective means of promoting music and culture of all kinds across frontiers. 

Since it started, there have been significant milestones including its current state:

• 2,440 delegates and 1,360 companies from 94 countries.


• 850 concert and festival bookers.


• 600 labels, publishers and distributors.


• 700 managers and 350 producers.


• 350 national and international journalists, incl. 170 radio broadcasters.


• A bustling Trade Fair with 260 stands and 650 exhibiting companies.


• 59 Showcase acts with 300 artists from 38 countries on 6 stages.


• More than 60 speakers in 20 Conference Sessions; a Mentoring programme; a new Matchmaking service for publishers and Country Speed-Dating.


• A festive Opening Concert – The Chaosmos of Korean Music: Heaven, Earth and Human – presenting three of the finest bands on the contemporary Korean music scene.

It will be held from October 26-30, 2011 in Copenhagen although check out information on Virtual WOMEX as well.

 

Tom McCarthy's WIN WIN Includes One of My Favorites: Paul Giamatti

I attended the Red Carpet Press Event on March 14, 2011, for the opening premiere of WIN WIN at Austin's Paramount Theatre during the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW).

We had to arrive an hour and a half before the producer, actors and director arrived. During that time, the film publicists checked you in and lined you up in a particular location at the edge of the red carpet, which was set up in an L shape that led into the theatre.

The cast included talent Paul Giamatti, most known for his stunning and humorous performance in Sideways (aka I don't drink Merlot), Amy Ryan and new to the stage Alex Schaffer who was a young boxer who tried out for a part for the first time. Tom McCarthy was the film's Director/Writer. 

Below is a live broadcast interview they did the day before the premiere which I attended as an observer. 

Should you see the film? Absolutely! Here's the storyline: disheartened attorney Mike Flaherty (Giamatti), who moonlights as a high school wrestling coach, stumbles across a star athlete through some questionable business dealings while trying to support his family. Just as it looks like he will get a double payday, the boy's mother shows up fresh from rehab and flat broke, threatening to derail everything. As always Giamatti brings you in for more of his quirky and funny personality regardless of what role he plays. 

Here's a handful of snapshots I took at the Red Carpet Event:

Amy Ryan: warm, engaging, charming and playful 

Paul Giamatti: funny, direct, warm, engaging....wish I had more time

Tom McCarthy: smart, honest, sincere, soive, reflective (also wish I had more time: we seem to have similar roots)

Alex Schaffer: youthful, shy, adorable....shocked to discover that it was his first time in a film role

Below is the video footage I took of the cast and director getting interviewed along the Red Carpet while I largely shot stills:

Here's a review by the Christian Science Monitor. One other note: Tom McCarthy's latest film (The Station Agent & The Visitor) was also a big fan favorite at Sundance. I had a chance to talk to him briefly and in my brief exchange, all I can say is thumbs up.

Miranda July's THE FUTURE: Living in 2 Terrifyingly Vacant & Different Realities

I'd recommend seeing The Future, a film which previewed at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) last week. The film tells the story of a thirty-something couple who, on deciding to adopt a stray cat, change their perspective on life, literally altering the course of time and testing their faith in each other and themselves. Characters Sophie and Jason are strange the way all couples are strange when they’re alone. They live in a small LA apartment, have jobs they hate, and in one month they’ll adopt a stray cat named Paw Paw.

Like a newborn baby, he’ll need around-the-clock care – he may die in six months, or it may take five years. Despite their good intentions, Sophie and Jason are terrified of their looming loss of freedom. So with just one month left, they quit their jobs, and the Internet, to pursue their dreams – Sophie wants to create a dance, Jason wants simply to be guided by fate. But as the month slips away, Sophie becomes increasingly, humiliatingly paralyzed.

In a moment of desperation, she calls a stranger, Marshall – a square, fifty-year-old man who lives in the Valley. In his suburban world she doesn’t have to be herself; as long as she stays there, she’ll never have to try (and fail) again. Living in two terrifyingly vacant and different realities, Sophie and Jason must reunite with time, space and their own souls in order to come home.

Says Director Miranda July: "when I was a kid, I had a folder labeled “ways to go back in time/enter other worlds.” I never actually put anything in it, but I still have the folder, and the feeling that there might be a way. And, meanwhile, moving forward through time, minute by minute, day by day, has turned out to be its own challenge – no less science fictional, and in moments, almost as impossible. This movie is about that. 

It seemed to me, a woman in her thirties, that time had suddenly become the protagonist of my life; I was stunned by a new awareness of mortality, of life being finite. I suppose this marks the beginning of adulthood. Or, if you are not quite ready for adulthood, it marks the beginning of a problem. 

She adds, "and, even if you flee your life, I think you still end up in the same place in the end. You still have to be you, you still have to make the dance. It’s just much harder, and some important things are lost along the way. So this story is also told from the point of view of what was lost – a cat, who tells the truth simply and is completely exposed, like someone just born or someone very old. He was the only way I could describe the bittersweet vertigo of true love.......which is the thing that got me thinking about mortality in the first place.

The Internet and the way it affects human relationships are major themes in both of her films. When asked how she deals with the struggle of “constant connectedness” faced by Sophie and Jason in The Future, Miranda with this answer: "Remembering that I can exist at all without being online is a daily challenge. It’s interesting to me because it’s so new. How often is there a brand new daily challenge shared by almost every person you know? But as an artist who has always tried to find new ways to feel intimacy with the audience, it also seems useful.

Part of me will always be the twenty-year-old who tried to create revolutions through fanzines and VHS tapes and the US postal service. So that girl is pretty wowed by the fact that she can write a tweet and get instant responses. And yet (and this is the thing that really dates me) I hate to do anything that might make it even harder to have long thoughts that take a long time to unravel. So I use Twitter, Facebook, and my website in my own slow way, which is not all that effective, from a networking standpoint.

A lot of online culture is about being watched and reacted to, which is something I think women and girls have a special relationship to. Teenage girls often discover their power through being looked at. If you have the usual “mom/dad didn’t really see me” issues, then it’s easy to get pretty caught up in being seen. (Type “me dancing in my room” into a YouTube search and you’ll see what I mean.) Being watched kind of takes away the burden of living; you almost don’t have to exist while you’re being watched.

In the movie I kind of reverse-engineer this aspect of the Internet, bring it back to its origins. Sophie wants to make a YouTube dance before becoming responsible – essentially it is her last chance to be watched like a child. So when she can’t do it, when she’s paralyzed, this is a real crisis. She has to find another way to be watched, and she does. Only when she’s faced with a real child in need does she give up, and giving up allows her to transform into a grown up, through the shirt dance. Did I know all this when I was writing it? Uh, no. But I write from the unconscious, and these were a lot of the issues I was wrestling with after my last movie.

Miranda is a filmmaker, artist, and writer and her videos, performances, and web-based projects have been presented at sites such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and in two Whitney Biennials. July wrote, directed and starred in her first feature-length film, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, including the Caméra d'Or. Here's a link to a write-up in the Indie Wire.

Interactivity and You: Which TRIBE do you BELONG to?

The National Film Board of Canada was at SXSW as part of the IDFA DocLab and unveiled its online interactive web-doc My Tribe Is My Life which was created by Myriam Verreault & Alex Leduc.

The showcase combines documentary storytelling with digital technology. It begs the question: What Tribe Do You Belong to?

Through the eyes of eight style-conscious music fans from My Tribe Is My Life, an interactive web-doc examines their distinctive worlds in a way that allows you the viewer to see the impact of the Internet’s impact on their interpersonal relationships and how they construct their personal identity.

As a player in this interactive experience, you can choose an avatar and find out about the Internet’s impact on you, allowing you to engage in an analysis of virtual networks and to question attitudes about these new social realities. 

You will encounter eight diverse characters and have the opportunity to observe them as they go about their day-to-day activities. Through a series of questions, you will be invited to think about the role of the Internet in your own life. When you create an avatar, you can personalize its style, characteristics, accessories, etc., as well as comment on the film and chat with other participants.

The 8 Characters include: Patrick, a Goth loner who lives in his parents’ basement, and has built up a network on a forum dedicated to “vampire” style; Heythem, who organizes reggae parties, and views Facebook as the post-modern address book; Jimmy, a rapper in Abitibi, and a member of Quebec’s hip hop community; Janis (a.k.a. DJ Monochrome), an insurance broker by day and a passionate player in Quebec’s electro music scene by night; Laurianne from Sayabec in the Gaspé, who refines her Goth ethos in daily forum discussions; Sébastien, a Goth dandy/loli and a great admirer of the Japanese Harajuku culture, who regularly uploads photos of himself in his exquisitely constructed clothing ensembles; Pierre-Luc from St-Félicien, a provocateur through his “public private diary,” which has become his Facebook profile; and Shana, an emo teenager from Maliotenam on the North Shore, who derives her sense of identity through her friends, live chat rooms and a penchant for lip-synching videos. 

To each his “tribe:” Goth, emo, reggae, rap, vampire. . . . Music is often more than a simple cultural product; it can be a means of constructing identity. Online social networks allow Web users to share music, information, images and feelings; in seeking out their own “kind,” they can discover a tribe that speaks to them. And, in exchange for expressing themselves through sharing and posting, they hope to receive comments, opinions and gestures of approval, all of which serves to validate their identity. 

The film trailer can be found here.

Photographer Kurt Markus is Visionary Filmmaker Behind It’s About You

Kurt Markus, whose work as a still photographer has put him in the front ranks of contemporary American visual artists, is the visionary filmmaker behind It’s About You.  The film will premiere as one of the featured selections chosen for the 2011 SXSW® Film Conference and Festival at the Alamo Ritz 1 at 6:30 PM on Saturday, March 12, 2011 in Austin, Texas, followed by a Q+A session with the filmmakers and John Mellencamp.

It’s About You, an American Documentary Showcase selection, will be featured at the Nashville Film Festival next month. Nashville screenings are set for Sunday, April 17 at 8 PM and Monday, April 18 at 3 PM, both at the Regal Cinema in Green Hills.

Shot in Super 8 during the course of John Mellencamp’s six-week 2009 summer tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. It’s About You chronicles the recording of No Better Than This, Mellencamp’s T Bone Burnett-produced album at three historic locations utilizing a single microphone and a mono tape recorder more than a half-century-old. This film is far removed from the conventions of standard-issue “rockumentaries” and serves as a think piece about the battering of American society by globalization and greed and the transitory nature of its cultural touchstones. 

Markus was assisted in the project by his son Ian Markus, now a film student at the University of Montana. The filmmakers participating in a panel discussion entitled “The Making of It’s About You, A Super 8 Documentary” at the Austin Convention Center Room 13AB that starts at 5 PM.

 

Father and son followed Mellencamp to 26 cities in 18 states where they documented not only Mellencamp’s musical performances but also the context of these shows as economic upheaval and diaspora have changed American lives and landscapes. The film conjoins Mellencamp’s songs with images of a nation wracked by malaise and decline with contemplative narration written and voiced by the elder Markus.  

It’s worth noting that Mellencamp’s journey is the film's leitmotif but that the artist is never specifically interviewed; there are virtually no “talking heads” seen or heard in the naturalistic piece. This is not a retrospective film with interviews. It is of the moment.

The film visits the nation’s past through the prism of Mellencamp’s historically resonant recording venues: The First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA where runaway slaves were hidden on their journey to Spanish-controlled Florida and to Sun Studio in Memphis where Mellencamp stood where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Howlin’ Wolf had before him. A recording session in Room 414 of San Antonio’s Gunter Hotel with Mellencamp in the same corner of the room where blues legend Robert Johnson had recorded “Come On In My Kitchen” and “Cross Road Blues” among others more than 70 years earlier is another highlight of No Better Than This.

Markus, who was born in Montana and still lives in that state, made his mark in landscape, figure study, celebrity, fashion and travel. The Cowboy Hall of Fame, Hills Gallery, Halsted Gallery, Staley-Wise Gallery, Gallery have mounted exhibitions of his work for Contemporary Photography and Galleria Photology.  Markus published several monographs, including After Barbed Wire, Buckaroo, Dreaming Georgia, Boxers, Cowpuncher, and Dune.

French Filmmaker Previews URBAN WOLF

I had an opportunity to meet URBAN WOLF director LAURENT TOUIL-TARTOUR in Los Angeles this past weekend, a French filmmaker whose new film premiered recently on Sony’s multiplatform website Crackle.

URBAN WOLF is a 15 part international mystery thriller that first premiered at last year’s Comic Con and the AFI Digifest, and won the award for Best Drama at this year’s ITV Festival. The story is told in a cutting-edge visual style with no dialogue. 

URBAN WOLF is a prime example of the emergence of digital media as a platform for premium content as well as unique distribution and monetization strategy. URBAN WOLF is creating new models for production, sponsorship and content strategy for media companies and consumer brands.

A few links: 
http://news.tubefilter.tv/2010/05/13/urban-wolf-webs-french-connection-chase-begins

http://www.feoamante.com/Movies/STU/urban_wolf.html

http://www.newteevee.com/2010/05/13/urban-wolf-a-near-perfect-21st-century-thriller/

Charlie Rose interview with Ray Kurzweil, Ptolemy to air March 8 and 9

The postponed Charlie Rose interview with Ray Kurzweil and director Barry Ptolemy regarding the movie Transcendent Man is scheduled to air on PBS Tuesday March 8 (check schedules here for your zip code) and on Bloomberg TV Wednesday March 9 (find showtimes in your area here).

Transcendent Man by Barry Ptolemy focuses on the life and ideas of Ray Kurzweil. It is currently available on iTunes in the United States and Canada and on DVD. Screenings in Washington, D.C. and Boston are sold out, but tickets to London and San Francisco screenings in April are available.

 

JetStreamHD Streams Movies, Music, Photos & Other Digital Content to the Palm of Your Hand

JetStreamHD, the world's first consumer electronics product to stream all of your digital media stored anywhere on a home computer network to the iPad, was announced today at DEMO Spring 2011.

JetStreamHD enables iPad users to instantly access and stream any video, song, or photo from their home network while traveling for business, visiting friends and family, or simply relaxing anywhere – without upfront planning, conversion headaches, download time, sync hassles, or iPad memory limits.

Consumers own an enormous and expanding volume of digital media and are increasingly using mobile devices to enjoy it. Consequently, the market potential for mobile media streaming devices is exploding: according to IDC, the global smartphone market recently surpassed the PC market, with over 100 million units sold in Q4 of 2010 alone. Research firm iSuppli forecasts cumulative sales of iPad and other mobile media tablets to exceed 600 million units by 2015, while a recent InStat survey reports that 50% of US home network users are interested in products that enable video streaming.

Using JetStreamHD, a person at a coffee shop, on the train, a business trip, or at a friend's place, can use their iPad to easily find and instantly play videos, listen to music, or show-off some photos from their home-based media collection – at the highest possible resolution without stuttering.

HOW IT WORKS:

• Plug and play setup in minutes – you simply plug the sleek, quiet JetStreamHD box into your home router and download the free app to your iPad. Within a few minutes, it discovers all of the media that resides in any format, including 1080p HD, on any computer, media server or NAS attached to your network. All of your media is immediately available for viewing on your iPad.
• Easily and quickly find any media with the beautiful iPad app – powerful search, sort and filter controls make it easy to quickly find any item in the largest of libraries. You can quickly sort and filter by movie, genre, rating, date added and much more, and JetStreamHD takes it a step further by automatically adding media cover art, plot summaries and other important data to ensure a rich viewing experience.
• Instant access to your media without any upfront work – as anyone who has worked with digital video knows, video format conversion and streaming is computationally intensive and time consuming. With JetStreamHD, just one touch on the app starts the selected media playing in the best possible resolution without stuttering.
• The best possible mobile viewing experience over any connection – JetStreamHD's powerful hardware takes care of everything automatically as it streams in real-time: converting any format to accommodate your mobile device and adaptively adjusting the streaming bit-rate to make best use of your available Wi-Fi or 3G connection strength. Unlike other solutions, you don't consume one of your home computers to act as the streaming server.
• Support for Apple TV lets you enjoy your JetStreamHD mobile media on the big screen – JetStreamHD streams any video from a home-based media library to any local Apple TV unit using AirPlay, so you can enjoy your media on the iPad or the big screen.
• Multiple iPads, music and photos all at the same time – unlike other solutions, JetStreamHD multitasks as much as you do: more than one iPad user can stream media at the same time or listen to streamed music while also viewing streamed photos or using another iPad app.

JetStreamHD for the iPad, to be priced at $199 USD, is available starting today for pre-order in Canada and the United States at the time-limited special price of $119 USD from the JetStreamHD website (www.JetStreamHD.com). Additional mobile formats will be supported and announced later this year.

Note: I am a consultant to JetStreamHD.