I’ve tried a lot of different “energy” bars. Many of them have too much sugar, unnatural ingredients, or just don’t taste good. Now I only eat the ones made from whole, natural foods, like nuts and fruits. Larabars are made primarily of dates and nuts and come in many different flavors. My favorite so far is the Apple Pie:

Larabar Apple Pie ingredients: Dates, Walnuts, Unsweetened Apples, Almonds, Raisins, Cinnamon. That’s it! The best part is that it tastes great - just like apple pie! At around 200 calories each, they serve for a large snack or a small meal, and provide plenty of natural vitamins. They’re gluten, dairy, and soy free, which for someone with food intolerances like me, can be very important. The next one I think I’ll try is the Banana Cookie… or maybe Pecan Pie.

I’ve been making quite a bit of progress on my “White Magic” cross stitch piece recently. The image is a picture of two white wolves looking out from among some pine trees on a black background, and the finished stitched area will be about 12.5″ x 9.5″. I’m nearly finished with the area stitches, and then I will add the backstitching (outlining). Check out the most recent progress photos in my Cross Stitch Gallery.

SoundtrackNet has posted a 30+ minute podcast interview with Hans Zimmer. In it he discusses in great detail his work on the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and the other Pirates movies. You can hear clips from the score, and there is also a bit at the end about the new Simpsons movie. Listen to the podcast directly.

It is really fascinating to hear first hand from the composer some of the thought process that goes into producing a full movie score, especially when it spans more than one movie. I’m really looking forward to this soundtrack (more so than the actual movie…). The soundtrack will be released on May 22, just in time for my birthday!

A few other articles of interest at SoundtrackNet:

• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - First Listen - A full preview of the score, including 30 second clips of each track.
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - Pick of the Week - An extensive review.

SyFi Portal reports that Battlestar Galactica will be ending after the upcoming season four in 2008. While this is not “official” news, it sounds pretty likely. The rumors have been floating around for a while now that season four might be the last.

I have mixed feelings about this. It is currently one of my favorite shows on television, and compared to some shows out there, four seasons is not very long. On the other hand, if the alternative is to have it continue and degenerate into crappy writing and plot, I’m not sure I’d want to see that. Simpsons sure would have been better off if it had finished years ago. I still have very fond memories of all seasons of Buffy and Angel, even though I wish they had continued. At least they had a chance to have an actual “end” in the storyline (although in the Whedonverse there is always room for more). I can tell the writers want to see the story come to a conclusion for BSG as well. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

SoundtrackNet has posted a First Listen preview of the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End soundtrack. The preview includes a nice long description of the Hans Zimmer score, including 30 second sound clips of each track.

Where the first film brought us the often-played “He’s a Pirate” theme, this third film brings in a whole new melody - a song called “Hoist the Colours”. Originally written for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, this new pirate shanty is heard throughout the score, uniting all the pirates together under one melody. We’re also taken to Singapore, where Captain Sao Feng (Chow Yun Fat) gets his own Asian theme, as well as to the ends of the earth where not only do Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) get a new love theme, but it’s a super-theme that also encompasses the lost love of Davy Jones and Calypso and is versatile enough to work as a new Jack Sparrow theme as well.

Check out the preview and sound clips on SoundtrackNet.

I use Pandora (internet radio service) occasionally. It is a great way to find new music that you might like. Last week I received the following email from Pandora after a new copyright ruling on internet radio:

Hi, it’s Tim from Pandora,

I’m writing today to ask for your help. The survival of Pandora and all of Internet radio is in jeopardy because of a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC to almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora. The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays, and broadcast radio doesn’t pay these at all. Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora.

In response to these new and unfair fees, we have formed the SaveNetRadio Coalition, a group that includes listeners, artists, labels and webcasters. I hope that you will consider joining us.

Please sign our petition urging your Congressional representative to act to save Internet radio: http://capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/issues/alert/?alertid=9631541

Please feel free to forward this link/email to your friends - the more petitioners we can get, the better.

Understand that we are fully supportive of paying royalties to the artists whose music we play, and have done so since our inception. As a former touring musician myself, I’m no stranger to the challenges facing working musicians. The issue we have with the recent ruling is that it puts the cost of streaming far out of the range of ANY webcaster’s business potential.

I hope you’ll take just a few minutes to sign our petition - it WILL make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.

As always, and now more than ever, thank you for your support.

-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)

While I don’t use Pandora that often since it is a bit lacking in the soundtrack department (so far - they will be adding soundtracks in the future), I fully support the concept of internet radio. I don’t believe Pandora takes away from music sales because there are limitations on what you can play - you can’t just pick and choose the songs you want. Further, it may even boost sales of less well known artists because it is a nice way to hear new music. If I find something I like, I’m more likely to buy the CD.

So I signed the petition, which sent an email to my local senators and representatives. On Monday I received a response from my senator:

Dear (name removed):

Thank you for contacting me regarding copyright protection. I welcome your thoughts and comments on this issue.

Copyright protection has been central to America’s prosperity and job creation. Movies, books, computer software, television, photography and music are among our unique American products and some of our most successful exports. United States industries depending on copyright protection employ nearly 4 million workers and produce over $65 billion of our exports ( more than agriculture and automobile manufacturing.

Protecting content in a high-technology age is a new and daunting problem, and copyright protection is an important challenge as the broadband revolution offers even more far-reaching possibilities and opportunities. With new speed and interactivity, the entire store of movies, music, books, television and raw knowledge can be made widely available. I believe copyright protection is a foundation of innovation, and copyright law should work to ultimately protect the best interests of consumers. Intellectual property is the creative core of the information age, and I agree this is a pivotal issue for Congress to address.

I appreciate hearing from you and hope you will not hesitate to keep in touch on any issue of concern to you.

Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison

While the email is pretty generic, I appreciated receiving a response. I encourage anyone who supports internet radio to sign the petition. Numbers mean a great deal, and even if it doesn’t change the ruling, it can send a message to those creating the laws.

My brilliant sister has put together a music fan mix for the Barack campaign titled Hope: A Barack the Vote Mix. Follow the link to download the music! The track list is as follows:

• When You Believe - Michelle Pfeiffer and Sally Dworsky
• The Hands That Built America - U2
• Wake Up Everybody - Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
• Talkin’ ‘Bout A Revolution - Tracy Chapman
• Hold Hands and Fight - The Rosebuds
• Invincible - Muse
• Believing - The Calling
• Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson
• I Need to Wake Up - Melissa Etheridge
• We Are - Ana Johnsson
• Bomb the World - Spearhead
• Help is Round the Corner - Coldplay
• All Will Be Well - The Gabe Dixon Band
• Tomorrow - Rivers Cuomo
• Have a Little Faith in Me - Joe Cocker
• Dare You to Move - Switchfoot

Tuned In has posted an interview with Battlestar Galactica Executive Producer Ron Moore. The interview was conducted AFTER the season 3 finale aired, and it does answer a few questions raised in the episode. The interview has MAJOR SPOILERS, so don’t read it if you haven’t seen the season 3 finale.

» Interview with Ron Moore

Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica has come to a close with a couple of shockers in the final episode. I have a few thoughts on this season’s finale and some info about what happens next (DVD movie and season 4). This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS, so don’t read on unless you’re caught up!

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Quite a few articles and interviews for Stargate Worlds have appeared on various MMORPG sites in the past few weeks. Joe Ybarra, the VP of Product Development for the game, has done a number of these interviews. Stargate Worlds is being developed by Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, and is still in the internal development phase. Read on for a summary of interesting info from the articles and interviews.

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