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All rights reserved. webmaster@world-of-newave.com (Webmaster) Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:25:28 GMT Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:25:28 GMT Newave Lisa XML Engine v1.0 - http://www.world-of-newave.info/about.htm 60 http://www.world-of-newave.info/images/wi8831.gif World-of-Newave.info - Knowledge and Informational Database http://www.world-of-newave.info/ 88 31 {ENTERTAINMENT > PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA} - Hollywood Has Finally Figured Out How to Make Web Video Pay http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/entertainment/publications-and-media/hollywood-has-finally-figured-out-how-to-make-web-20080737334.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/entertainment/publications-and-media/hollywood-has-finally-figured-out-how-to-make-web-20080737334.htm Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:00:00 GMT It's a quintessential Hollywood moment: a star on a soundstage, the focal point of every person and every piece of equipment in the room. The star on this particular January day is Rosario Dawson, the 29-year-old actress who earned her cred as an Uzi-wielding prostitute in Sin City. She's being filmed against a greenscreen in extreme close-up, highlighting her sculpted cheekbones and olive skin. "We've got this joke in vice," she murmurs in a voice that's uncommonly sultry for a police detective. "Love costs 10 bucks. True love costs 20." In her studded black tunic and high-heeled boots, Dawson is apparently Tinseltown's idea of how to clean up the streets. "She looks like she can kick some ass," observes Brent Friedman, the chief screenwriter, who's watching on a nearby monitor. But even though we're in a Hollywood zip code, this is no film or television shoot. The rented space looks more like an oversize garage than a studio soundstage. Instead of the usual army of grips and gaffers, the production is staffed by a skeleton crew. And the parking lot outside? Barely big enough for 20 cars. All of which can mean only one thing: another Web production. Two years after the success of Lonelygirl15 — the groundbreaking YouTube serial that turned out to be not the DIY diary of a 16-year-old girl but the work of three wannabe auteurs in Beverly Hills — Web video has finally captured Hollywood's imagination. Last year, former Disney chief Michael Eisner launched Prom Queen, a daily 90-second teen drama; Judd Apatow has joined Will Ferrell on Funny or Die, a sort of YouTube for comedy; producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz had a modest success with Quarterlife, a Web show about self-obsessed twentysomethings, only to see it flop on TV. But Gemini Division, the sci-fi serial Dawson is shooting today, will be the first Web series to feature a bona fide Hollywood star. Sure, the YouTube explosion was fueled by amateurs, but it will be showbiz professionals who cash in on Web video. That's because most big corporate advertisers want a safe, predictable environment — not the latest YouTube one-off, no matter how viral. Once the major brands get on board, millions of ad dollars will follow. Which is why when the writers' strike idled most of Hollywood last winter, talent agents fielded calls from clients eager to try their hand. At the same time, the fact that a three-minute clip can be shot for as little as $2,000 means Web video will be more open to ambitious neophytes than television ever was — witness the guys behind Lonelygirl15, who now have a second hit Web series called KateModern and a deal to develop more for CBS. So far, however, this is a gold rush without any gold. Nobody knows how the business is supposed to work — what kind of stories to tell, whether to tell them in 90 seconds or 20 minutes, whether to build a destination site or distribute episodes across the Net, how to generate revenue, how to do it all on a shoestring. The Gemini team is betting they can figure it out. "People ask, 'What's your business model?'" says the director, Stan Rogow, during a lull in the shoot. "And I say, 'This morning's or this afternoon's?' It's only partly a joke." A wiry figure who wears his long silver hair brushed straight back, Rogow is dressed in softly faded jeans and an extravagantly collared white shirt open halfway to the waist, a set of aviator glasses tucked neatly into the V. In an earlier life he was "the king of tweens," the producer who made Lizzie McGuire for Disney and turned Hilary Duff into a star. Gemini Division is the first of eight Web serials he has in the works at Electric Farm Entertainment, the production company he's formed with Friedman, the writer, and Jeff Sagansky, a former copresident of Sony Pictures Entertainment and head of CBS Entertainment before that. Right now they need a distributor, and they've been talking with everyone from NBC Universal to MySpace about putting Gemini Division on their sites. Whoever they partner with would sell advertising and maybe even help fund the production. MySpace isn't offering money up front, but it does sell ads and split the revenue with producers. Eisner partnered with MySpace on Prom Queen, as did Herskovitz with Quarterlife, but Rogow is hoping for a more lucrative arrangement — which is why he has spent half the afternoon squiring around a pair of suits from NBC. The deal he's discussing would put Electric Farm well on its way to recouping the $1.75 million or so it will cost to make the 50 three-minute episodes Rogow plans to shoot. But the deal's not done yet. Meanwhile, Rogow has been talking with Cisco and a handful of other companies about another way to make money: product placement. As a Buck Rogers-style serial set "five minutes in the future," the show presents many possibilities for tech companies. Dawson's smartphone, for instance, is the aperture through which we see the entire series. She talks urgently into the device throughout each episode, sending the feed to someone — we don't know whom — and occasionally holding it up to capture what's going on around her. It's a prominent branding opportunity for any handset maker willing to plunk down the money. Like Prom Queen and Lonelygirl15, Gemini Division is essentially a female first-person confessional — in this case, a confessional about biotech run wild. Dawson plays Anna Diaz, a New York City detective having a crazy fling with a guy who's tall, blond, and ripped. By episode 4, the one they're shooting now, he has spirited her off to Paris for a romantic getaway, but she realizes something isn't right. Like, what's with the orange ring he left around the bathtub? "I really do love Nick," Dawson confides to the camera. "But being a cop, you get cynical. And you learn to trust your gut." For the next scene, two crew members wheel a queen-size bed into place. Justin Hartley, the 6'3" Smallville actor who plays Nick, is lolling on the bed in his boxer shorts, sporting six-pack abs and a bright orange belly button. The script calls for Anna to come out in a sexy black negligee and climb into bed with him. The sound man cues up Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." Everybody laughs. Dawson as detective Anna Diaz Screenshot: Courtesy Electric Farm For Anna, romance has given way to suspicion: first the orange tub ring and now, as she settles reluctantly into Nick's arms, his orange navel. If the camera were to pan a little wider, it would also catch two grips crouching behind the headboard to keep the bed from sliding across the set. Rogow smiles ruefully at the amateurishness of it all. "I think we should keep those guys in the background," he quips. "It's a nice touch." Two years ago,when Lonelygirl15 first showed that a scripted Web-only serial could attract a sizable audience, most people in show business thought of the Web as a promotional vehicle — if they thought of it at all. Then a couple of major players caught the bug. Michael Eisner was one; another was Jeff Sagansky, who was investing in small production companies like the one that makes The Tudors for Showtime. Web video was uncharted territory: no rules, limitless potential. "We're at the vanguard of something that can explode," Sagansky declares a few weeks after the January shoot. A trim 56-year-old, he's seated in his elegantly appointed town house on Manhattan's Upper East Side. "You know TV; it's been around in its present form since Hill Street Blues," the '80s ensemble show that's still the template for most drama series. "But this is all new." Fans of Mad Men, Weeds, and Battlestar Galactica may think television has entered a new golden age, but many in the business see a medium in decline. TV programs used to be made by independent production companies. Now, with few exceptions, a handful of giant media conglomerates own the networks that air the shows, the film studios that make the shows, and the shows themselves. Network suits tell the producers what to do, and when it doesn't work — which is most of the time — they cancel the show. The Web puts power back in the hands of the creators: Producers own their shows and answer only to themselves. If they develop spinoffs for television, videogames, or the movies, they're well positioned to retain control when a property migrates to other media. That's why everyone took note of the deal NBC made last year to air Quarterlife in prime time. For the first time in memory, the producers of a TV show got full ownership and creative control. There's a downside, of course. Top writer-producers in television live like pampered pets, the kind that get caviar for breakfast. To succeed online, they'll have to be as entrepreneurial as anyone in Silicon Valley. Instead of pulling in millions a year, they'll be scrambling for nickels and dimes. No surprise, then, that some of them think of Web video as a sort of farm club for TV: Why spend $2 million to make a half-hour pilot when you can shoot some high-quality Web episodes at $10,000 to $30,000 a pop, post them online to build buzz, string them together to make a series, and then port the whole thing back to television, where the real money is? Quarterlife looked like the perfect prototype. Its episodes even happened to be seven to 10 minutes long, the typical interval between commercial breaks on TV. But while it did OK online, garnering some 6 million views after its November launch, its premiere on NBC drew only 3.9 million viewers — an all-time low for the network in that slot. When it was summarily canceled, Herskovitz was stunned. Not Sagansky. "This is a whole new medium," he says. "To think it's going to fix the old medium is a warped way of looking at things." Not that anyone yet has a recipe for success online. "We know that the Internet is about short-form entertainment," Sagansky says. "And most of it is personally narrated," as Lonelygirl15 was. Other people, Eisner among them, will tell you that Web video isn't about Hollywood stars like Dawson, that this medium is for regular people. But the truth is that nobody really knows what form Web video will eventually take. The technology that has made it possible — broadband Internet connections, more-efficient data compression, ever-cheaper storage and servers, hi-res computer and smartphone screens — could seem ludicrously primitive before long. In 1908, movies were 10 minutes long because that's all you could get on a reel of film, and the actors who appeared in them were anonymous. Movies as we know them were still years away. Screenshot: Courtesy Electric Farm Sometimes even Rosario Dawson wonders if people want to see a Hollywood star in a Web serial. "The thing that's succeeded on the Web — besides, obviously, porn — is people themselves," she says over lunch. She's on a break from shooting the DreamWorks thriller Eagle Eye with Shia LaBeouf; soon she'll start rehearsals for Seven Pounds, a Sony film in which she plays a desperately ill heart patient Will Smith falls in love with. "They're putting up their own stuff — really off the cuff, no money involved. So we're taking a huge risk. But it's exciting to be part of something new. Even if we mess it up, we were the first, you know? That's kind of awesome in itself." But if casting Dawson was a break from the nascent conventions of Web video, the format of Gemini Division is not. It isn't just that this is short-attention-span entertainment. It's that, like Lonelygirl15 and Prom Queen and even such TV shows as Lost and Heroes, Gemini Division is designed to involve the audience in ways that more closely resemble videogames than conventional narrative drama. Dawson and director Stan Rogow (far right) on the Gemini Division set.Photo: Roger Deckker That's no coincidence. A seasoned film and television writer, Friedman left Hollywood three years ago for Electronic Arts, where he wrote the best-selling Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and the soon-to-be-released Tiberium. At EA, he had to relearn scriptwriting, because the conventions of TV don't work in interactive media. In a one-hour drama, he explains, "you put the characters together over some beers and let them bring out the plot. It's exposition disguised as dialog." But games dispense with the entire first act, the part that sets the plot in motion. "When the story begins, you're in-world — you have a gun, all hell is breaking loose, and your job as a player is to stay alive and figure out where you are." Web video gets subjected to that same compression algorithm. "We're starting every episode with Anna on the run," Friedman says. "She's already in the second act — the part where everything goes wrong." But Friedman's ambition is to merge television with videogames in a form of storytelling that engages audience members on multiple levels — and not just with the narrative but with each other. So while Anna dodges "sims" (simulated life-forms, with their telltale orange stigmata) and agents from the mysterioso outfit known as Gemini Division, fans will be able to log on to the show's Web site and get transmissions from Anna's partner in the police department. Users will be recruited as Gemini agents themselves, at which point they can talk with other agents — er, users — by webcam. "I think this is where entertainment is heading," he says. "It's where I want entertainment to head, because that's what I want to experience." Rogow and Friedman first tried this approach to storytelling in an earlier Web effort, an animated serial called Afterworld. Developed just after Lonelygirl15 made such a splash, Afterworld was where they met Rosario Dawson. Dawson is a comics geek, and as a favor to a comics writer she knew who was working on Afterworld, she agreed to do a voice-over for one of the characters. Rogow asked her about doing a video series based on Occult Crimes Taskforce, a comic she had helped create. That didn't happen because a film deal was already in the works. But a couple of months later, Rogow called to say they were developing Gemini Division. It had been written for a male lead, but they were thinking of reworking it for her. They would make her a partner in the production and give her a cut of any profits. Dawson had already signed on to play a military investigations officer in Eagle Eye, and her character in Occult Crimes Taskforce is also a detective. "When Stan told me I'd be playing an officer in Gemini Division, I was like, you know, this is going to seem weird." Even so, she liked the idea. She'd been acting for a dozen years, ever since she was discovered on the stoop of her parents' squat on Manhattan's Lower East Side and cast in Larry Clark's Kids. "Normally at this point it starts to get stagnant," she says. "You're worrying about looking older, are they going to like you anymore. But I'm more going, what new can I do? I'd rather put myself into the fray than sit back and go, well, I played it safe." On a sunny afternoon in March, Rogow pulls his black Porsche SUV to the curb, collects a ticket from the valet, and walks briskly into the Creative Artists Agency building on LA's Avenue of the Stars. Perfectly framed in an enormous glass wall is the Hollywood sign, 8 miles away. Rogow is here to meet with Anita Lawhon, the Cisco executive in charge of entertainment partnerships. This is crunch time for Gemini Division, the weeks when everything — advertising, distribution, financing, production — must come together. On a table in the vast marble reception zone sits this morning's Daily Variety. "Changes to Biz Give Town the Jitters," reads the front-page headline. Today, Rogow is focused on how to get that business model working. It's going well — so well that Herskovitz recently met with his CAA agents to learn how Electric Farm is doing it. Cisco is key. Those Gemini Division agents are going to wield some pretty cool tech, much of it — thanks to a deal brokered by CAA — actual products from Cisco: a video surveillance system that sends an alert when someone penetrates the wrong sector; digital billboards that can be reprogrammed on the fly; TelePresence, a teleconferencing system with life-size video so hi-def it makes virtual meetings seem almost real. In the past few weeks, similar deals have been cut with Acura, Intel, Microsoft, and UPS. "In a cold business sense," Rogow confides, "this show is a self-financing marketing vehicle." Settling into an all-white conference room, Rogow tells Lawhon they think it would be cool to show TelePresence on a private jet. "You think Rosario's at a table on the plane talking to people," he explains, "and we pull back and reveal they're not there." Lawhon isn't sure — after all, TelePresence isn't being marketed for private jets, and the goal here is to show Cisco's products as they're actually used. She'll check. "But if you could look at other insertion opportunities ..." "Like putting it in an office? Absolutely." Rogow is thrilled with Cisco's digital signs, which can be remotely programmed to display anything you want — like a coded message for Anna. "Which is, I think, why you really invented it: for superspies to get secret messages in malls," he quips. "We think that's real cool." He's equally happy with the surveillance system, which can send Anna a digital alert on her smartphone. "But we want to make sure we've got the Cisco logo in a prominent position," Lawhon points out. The days when product placement meant going full frontal on a Coke can are supposed to be over, but the client still has to get something in exchange for its six-figure fee. "That's why I love being able to see the script," she says. "That's great," Rogow replies. "I'll have script material for you next week." #celeb_table {font-size:95%;} #celeb_table img {width:100px;height:100px;margin:9px 0px;} #celeb_table .img_cell {text-align:center;} #celeb_table .txt_cell {padding:12px 25px;} Prime Time on the Web Some big names in entertainment are turning to Web video. Here's a sneak preview of what to watch for in the coming months. — Frank Rose The Awesomes Can a team of superheroes rebuild after its founder retires? An animated comedy from Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers. Back on Topps Comedians Randy and Jason Sklar, heirs to the Topps baseball card empire, discover that Michael Eisner has taken over the company. Blah, Blah, Blah Ashton Kutcher does an animated gossip show. Live from the bedroom, cohosts Britney, Tiffany, and Krystie scoop the poop. Blood Cell Lonelygirl15's Jessica Rose stars in a thriller about kidnapping and mobile telephony. Eduardo Rodriguez (Curandero) directs. Carpet Bros With David Spade as the carpet king of Rancho Cucamonga, the hapless also-rans of Carpet Galaxy don't stand a chance. Men With Guns: Assassin Oz creator Tom Fontana takes us into a secret organization out to improve society through judicious assassination. The Line Weeks before the premiere of the ultimate sci-fi/fantasy flick, SNL's Bill Hader gets in line with a couple of buddies and a change of clothes. The next day, Friedman is at Electric Farm, in a Santa Monica office park, reworking scripts to integrate the products they've done deals for. There's the Acura TSX, the superspeedy UPS delivery, the search and mapping functions from Microsoft. He's not sure yet what to do with Intel. Maybe slap a powered by intel badge on Dawson's smartphone? "It has to pass the creative smell test," he says, "so we feel we're enhancing the story rather than trying to sell you something." In any case, they'll have to make up a brand for the phone itself: CAA approached several handset manufacturers, but none bit. There's one other way to bring in money: venture capital. Funny or Die was funded by Sequoia Capital, the Silicon Valley venture firm behind YouTube. VCs like the idea that big Hollywood names can break through the clutter. But VCs also want an exit — a sale or stock offering that will net them the kind of payoff Sequoia got with YouTube. And while many would-be Web producers see venture money as manna from heaven, they haven't yet had to report to a frustrated money guy who doesn't know show business. "There's an old joke," Rogow says, trying to explain why Electric Farm hasn't tried this route. "A filmmaker dies and goes to heaven. Saint Peter greets him at the pearly gates. 'Good news!' he says. 'You can make any movie you want! You can get Beethoven to do the score. You can get Shakespeare to write the script.' The filmmaker gets all excited. 'And who can I have to play the girl?' he asks." Long pause. "'Well,' comes the reply, 'God's got a girlfriend ...'" It's a Saturday afternoon in May. Two weeks earlier, NBC announced the formation of NBC Universal Digital Studio, with Gemini Division and Woke Up Dead, another Web series Electric Farm has in the works, as its first offerings. Now Rogow is back on a soundstage with Dawson — but this time the soundstage is bigger and the operation is far more professional. The last shoot, back in January, was almost too bare-bones to work. The camera's shutter speed was set too slow, causing a motion blur so bad that some scenes needed to be reshot. Worse, Dawson's hair wasn't properly styled — it had big, wispy curls that congealed into unsightly blobs once the green backdrop was pulled away. "Hair turds!" cried Duane Loose, the burly EA veteran who's the show's production designer. Nonetheless, they've put together a couple of episodes. A crew member is playing episode 5 on a computer screen in the corner: Anna Diaz in an abandoned factory in Paris, watching openmouthed as a man in a lab coat inserts a steel rod into Nick's orange navel. Seconds later, a pair of agents bursts in. One gets his arm sliced off by the doc's surgical laser. The other pulls out a weapon of his own and reduces Nick to a boiling puddle of goo. Anna screams: The man she loved is dead — and he wasn't even human! Today they're shooting episode 12. Dawson is on the greenscreen with a tall, well-muscled actor who's wielding the same kind of weapon that killed Nick. Anna is caught in a war between the sims — creatures like Nick — and the seemingly all-powerful Gemini Division, which is bent on eradicating them. Muscle Man plays a Gemini agent who's just puddled a sim that was gripping Anna's throat. Now he's turning away, leaving her as mystified as ever. "I want in," Dawson cries, reaching for his arm — in on Gemini Division, in on why they destroyed Nick, in on whatever the hell is going on. On the sidelines, arms folded across his black Che Guevara T-shirt, Friedman nods approvingly. In fits and starts, the world he's imagined is taking shape before him. Not a game world, not a TV world, but something different: a world viewed through the tiny window of Anna's phone. "That's an intimacy you don't get from television," he says. "And our mantra is, we want to do what television doesn't." Contributing editor Frank Rose (frank_rose@wired.com) wrote about alternate reality games in issue 16.01. Wired.Com Hollywood Has Finally Figured Out How to Make Web Video Pay {new window}   Www.Wired.Com - It's a quintessential Hollywood moment: a star on a soundstage, the focal point of every person and every piece of equipment in the room. The star on this particular January day is Rosario Dawson, the 29-year-old actress who earned her cred as an Uzi-wielding prostitute in Sin City. She's being filmed against a greenscreen in extreme close-up, highlighting her sculpted cheekbones and olive skin. "We've got this joke in vice," she murmurs in a voice that's uncommonly sultry for a police detective. "Love costs 10 bucks. True love costs 20." In her studded black tunic and high-heeled boots, Dawson is apparently Tinseltown's idea of how to clean up the streets. "She looks like she can kick some ass," observes Brent Friedman, the chief screenwriter, who's watching on a nearby monitor. But even though we're in a Hollywood zip code, this is no film or television shoot. The rented space looks more like an oversize garage than a studio soundstage. Instead of the usual army of grips and gaffers, the production is staffed by a skeleton crew. And the parking lot outside? Barely big enough for 20 cars. All of which can mean only one thing: another Web production. Two years after the success of Lonelygirl15 — the groundbreaking YouTube serial that turned out to be not the DIY diary of a 16-year-old girl but the work of three wannabe auteurs in Beverly Hills — Web video has finally captured Hollywood's imagination. Last year, former Disney chief Michael Eisner launched Prom Queen, a daily 90-second teen drama; Judd Apatow has joined Will Ferrell on Funny or Die, a sort of YouTube for comedy; producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz had a modest success with Quarterlife, a Web show about self-obsessed twentysomethings, only to see it flop on TV. But Gemini Division, the sci-fi serial Dawson is shooting today, will be the first Web series to feature a bona fide Hollywood star. Sure, the YouTube explosion was fueled by amateurs, but it will be showbiz professionals who cash in on Web video. That's because most big corporate advertisers want a safe, predictable environment — not the latest YouTube one-off, no matter how viral. Once the major brands get on board, millions of ad dollars will follow. Which is why when the writers' strike idled most of Hollywood last winter, talent agents fielded calls from clients eager to try their hand. At the same time, the fact that a three-minute clip can be shot for as little as $2,000 means Web video will be more open to ambitious neophytes than television ever was — witness the guys behind Lonelygirl15, who now have a second hit Web series called KateModern and a deal to develop more for CBS. So far, however, this is a gold rush without any gold. Nobody knows how the business is supposed to work — what kind of stories to tell, whether to tell them in 90 seconds or 20 minutes, whether to build a destination site or distribute episodes across the Net, how to generate revenue, how to do it all on a shoestring. The Gemini team is betting they can figure it out. "People ask, 'What's your business model?'" says the director, Stan Rogow, during a lull in the shoot. "And I say, 'This morning's or this afternoon's?' It's only partly a joke." A wiry figure who wears his long silver hair brushed straight back, Rogow is dressed in softly faded jeans and an extravagantly collared white shirt open halfway to the waist, a set of aviator glasses tucked neatly into the V. In an earlier life he was "the king of tweens," the producer who made Lizzie McGuire for Disney and turned Hilary Duff into a star. Gemini Division is the first of eight Web serials he has in the works at Electric Farm Entertainment, the production company he's formed with Friedman, the writer, and Jeff Sagansky, a former copresident of Sony Pictures Entertainment and head of CBS Entertainment before that. Right now they need a distributor, and they've been talking with everyone from NBC Universal to MySpace about putting Gemini Division on their sites. Whoever they partner with would sell advertising and maybe even help fund the production. MySpace isn't offering money up front, but it does sell ads and split the revenue with producers. Eisner partnered with MySpace on Prom Queen, as did Herskovitz with Quarterlife, but Rogow is hoping for a more lucrative arrangement — which is why he has spent half the afternoon squiring around a pair of suits from NBC. The deal he's discussing would put Electric Farm well on its way to recouping the $1.75 million or so it will cost to make the 50 three-minute episodes Rogow plans to shoot. But the deal's not done yet. Meanwhile, Rogow has been talking with Cisco and a handful of other companies about another way to make money: product placement. As a Buck Rogers-style serial set "five minutes in the future," the show presents many possibilities for tech companies. Dawson's smartphone, for instance, is the aperture through which we see the entire series. She talks urgently into the device throughout each episode, sending the feed to someone — we don't know whom — and occasionally holding it up to capture what's going on around her. It's a prominent branding opportunity for any handset maker willing to plunk down the money. Like Prom Queen and Lonelygirl15, Gemini Division is essentially a female first-person confessional — in this case, a confessional about biotech run wild. Dawson plays Anna Diaz, a New York City detective having a crazy fling with a guy who's tall, blond, and ripped. By episode 4, the one they're shooting now, he has spirited her off to Paris for a romantic getaway, but she realizes something isn't right. Like, what's with the orange ring he left around the bathtub? "I really do love Nick," Dawson confides to the camera. "But being a cop, you get cynical. And you learn to trust your gut." For the next scene, two crew members wheel a queen-size bed into place. Justin Hartley, the 6'3" Smallville actor who plays Nick, is lolling on the bed in his boxer shorts, sporting six-pack abs and a bright orange belly button. The script calls for Anna to come out in a sexy black negligee and climb into bed with him. The sound man cues up Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." Everybody laughs. Dawson as detective Anna Diaz Screenshot: Courtesy Electric Farm For Anna, romance has given way to suspicion: first the orange tub ring and now, as she settles reluctantly into Nick's arms, his orange navel. If the camera were to pan a little wider, it would also catch two grips crouching behind the headboard to keep the bed from sliding across the set. Rogow smiles ruefully at the amateurishness of it all. "I think we should keep those guys in the background," he quips. "It's a nice touch." Two years ago,when Lonelygirl15 first showed that a scripted Web-only serial could attract a sizable audience, most people in show business thought of the Web as a promotional vehicle — if they thought of it at all. Then a couple of major players caught the bug. Michael Eisner was one; another was Jeff Sagansky, who was investing in small production companies like the one that makes The Tudors for Showtime. Web video was uncharted territory: no rules, limitless potential. "We're at the vanguard of something that can explode," Sagansky declares a few weeks after the January shoot. A trim 56-year-old, he's seated in his elegantly appointed town house on Manhattan's Upper East Side. "You know TV; it's been around in its present form since Hill Street Blues," the '80s ensemble show that's still the template for most drama series. "But this is all new." Fans of Mad Men, Weeds, and Battlestar Galactica may think television has entered a new golden age, but many in the business see a medium in decline. TV programs used to be made by independent production companies. Now, with few exceptions, a handful of giant media conglomerates own the networks that air the shows, the film studios that make the shows, and the shows themselves. Network suits tell the producers what to do, and when it doesn't work — which is most of the time — they cancel the show. The Web puts power back in the hands of the creators: Producers own their shows and answer only to themselves. If they develop spinoffs for television, videogames, or the movies, they're well positioned to retain control when a property migrates to other media. That's why everyone took note of the deal NBC made last year to air Quarterlife in prime time. For the first time in memory, the producers of a TV show got full ownership and creative control. There's a downside, of course. Top writer-producers in television live like pampered pets, the kind that get caviar for breakfast. To succeed online, they'll have to be as entrepreneurial as anyone in Silicon Valley. Instead of pulling in millions a year, they'll be scrambling for nickels and dimes. No surprise, then, that some of them think of Web video as a sort of farm club for TV: Why spend $2 million to make a half-hour pilot when you can shoot some high-quality Web episodes at $10,000 to $30,000 a pop, post them online to build buzz, string them together to make a series, and then port the whole thing back to television, where the real money is? Quarterlife looked like the perfect prototype. Its episodes even happened to be seven to 10 minutes long, the typical interval between commercial breaks on TV. But while it did OK online, garnering some 6 million views after its November launch, its premiere on NBC drew only 3.9 million viewers — an all-time low for the network in that slot. When it was summarily canceled, Herskovitz was stunned. Not Sagansky. "This is a whole new medium," he says. "To think it's going to fix the old medium is a warped way of looking at things." Not that anyone yet has a recipe for success online. "We know that the Internet is about short-form entertainment," Sagansky says. "And most of it is personally narrated," as Lonelygirl15 was. Other people, Eisner among them, will tell you that Web video isn't about Hollywood stars like Dawson, that this medium is for regular people. But the truth is that nobody really knows what form Web video will eventually take. The technology that has made it possible — broadband Internet connections, more-efficient data compression, ever-cheaper storage and servers, hi-res computer and smartphone screens — could seem ludicrously primitive before long. In 1908, movies were 10 minutes long because that's all you could get on a reel of film, and the actors who appeared in them were anonymous. Movies as we know them were still years away. Screenshot: Courtesy Electric Farm Sometimes even Rosario Dawson wonders if people want to see a Hollywood star in a Web serial. "The thing that's succeeded on the Web — besides, obviously, porn — is people themselves," she says over lunch. She's on a break from shooting the DreamWorks thriller Eagle Eye with Shia LaBeouf; soon she'll start rehearsals for Seven Pounds, a Sony film in which she plays a desperately ill heart patient Will Smith falls in love with. "They're putting up their own stuff — really off the cuff, no money involved. So we're taking a huge risk. But it's exciting to be part of something new. Even if we mess it up, we were the first, you know? That's kind of awesome in itself." But if casting Dawson was a break from the nascent conventions of Web video, the format of Gemini Division is not. It isn't just that this is short-attention-span entertainment. It's that, like Lonelygirl15 and Prom Queen and even such TV shows as Lost and Heroes, Gemini Division is designed to involve the audience in ways that more closely resemble videogames than conventional narrative drama. Dawson and director Stan Rogow (far right) on the Gemini Division set.Photo: Roger Deckker That's no coincidence. A seasoned film and television writer, Friedman left Hollywood three years ago for Electronic Arts, where he wrote the best-selling Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and the soon-to-be-released Tiberium. At EA, he had to relearn scriptwriting, because the conventions of TV don't work in interactive media. In a one-hour drama, he explains, "you put the characters together over some beers and let them bring out the plot. It's exposition disguised as dialog." But games dispense with the entire first act, the part that sets the plot in motion. "When the story begins, you're in-world — you have a gun, all hell is breaking loose, and your job as a player is to stay alive and figure out where you are." Web video gets subjected to that same compression algorithm. "We're starting every episode with Anna on the run," Friedman says. "She's already in the second act — the part where everything goes wrong." But Friedman's ambition is to merge television with videogames in a form of storytelling that engages audience members on multiple levels — and not just with the narrative but with each other. So while Anna dodges "sims" (simulated life-forms, with their telltale orange stigmata) and agents from the mysterioso outfit known as Gemini Division, fans will be able to log on to the show's Web site and get transmissions from Anna's partner in the police department. Users will be recruited as Gemini agents themselves, at which point they can talk with other agents — er, users — by webcam. "I think this is where entertainment is heading," he says. "It's where I want entertainment to head, because that's what I want to experience." Rogow and Friedman first tried this approach to storytelling in an earlier Web effort, an animated serial called Afterworld. Developed just after Lonelygirl15 made such a splash, Afterworld was where they met Rosario Dawson. Dawson is a comics geek, and as a favor to a comics writer she knew who was working on Afterworld, she agreed to do a voice-over for one of the characters. Rogow asked her about doing a video series based on Occult Crimes Taskforce, a comic she had helped create. That didn't happen because a film deal was already in the works. But a couple of months later, Rogow called to say they were developing Gemini Division. It had been written for a male lead, but they were thinking of reworking it for her. They would make her a partner in the production and give her a cut of any profits. Dawson had already signed on to play a military investigations officer in Eagle Eye, and her character in Occult Crimes Taskforce is also a detective. "When Stan told me I'd be playing an officer in Gemini Division, I was like, you know, this is going to seem weird." Even so, she liked the idea. She'd been acting for a dozen years, ever since she was discovered on the stoop of her parents' squat on Manhattan's Lower East Side and cast in Larry Clark's Kids. "Normally at this point it starts to get stagnant," she says. "You're worrying about looking older, are they going to like you anymore. But I'm more going, what new can I do? I'd rather put myself into the fray than sit back and go, well, I played it safe." On a sunny afternoon in March, Rogow pulls his black Porsche SUV to the curb, collects a ticket from the valet, and walks briskly into the Creative Artists Agency building on LA's Avenue of the Stars. Perfectly framed in an enormous glass wall is the Hollywood sign, 8 miles away. Rogow is here to meet with Anita Lawhon, the Cisco executive in charge of entertainment partnerships. This is crunch time for Gemini Division, the weeks when everything — advertising, distribution, financing, production — must come together. On a table in the vast marble reception zone sits this morning's Daily Variety. "Changes to Biz Give Town the Jitters," reads the front-page headline. Today, Rogow is focused on how to get that business model working. It's going well — so well that Herskovitz recently met with his CAA agents to learn how Electric Farm is doing it. Cisco is key. Those Gemini Division agents are going to wield some pretty cool tech, much of it — thanks to a deal brokered by CAA — actual products from Cisco: a video surveillance system that sends an alert when someone penetrates the wrong sector; digital billboards that can be reprogrammed on the fly; TelePresence, a teleconferencing system with life-size video so hi-def it makes virtual meetings seem almost real. In the past few weeks, similar deals have been cut with Acura, Intel, Microsoft, and UPS. "In a cold business sense," Rogow confides, "this show is a self-financing marketing vehicle." Settling into an all-white conference room, Rogow tells Lawhon they think it would be cool to show TelePresence on a private jet. "You think Rosario's at a table on the plane talking to people," he explains, "and we pull back and reveal they're not there." Lawhon isn't sure — after all, TelePresence isn't being marketed for private jets, and the goal here is to show Cisco's products as they're actually used. She'll check. "But if you could look at other insertion opportunities ..." "Like putting it in an office? Absolutely." Rogow is thrilled with Cisco's digital signs, which can be remotely programmed to display anything you want — like a coded message for Anna. "Which is, I think, why you really invented it: for superspies to get secret messages in malls," he quips. "We think that's real cool." He's equally happy with the surveillance system, which can send Anna a digital alert on her smartphone. "But we want to make sure we've got the Cisco logo in a prominent position," Lawhon points out. The days when product placement meant going full frontal on a Coke can are supposed to be over, but the client still has to get something in exchange for its six-figure fee. "That's why I love being able to see the script," she says. "That's great," Rogow replies. "I'll have script material for you next week." #celeb_table {font-size:95%;} #celeb_table img {width:100px;height:100px;margin:9px 0px;} #celeb_table .img_cell {text-align:center;} #celeb_table .txt_cell {padding:12px 25px;} Prime Time on the Web Some big names in entertainment are turning to Web video. Here's a sneak preview of what to watch for in the coming months. — Frank Rose The Awesomes Can a team of superheroes rebuild after its founder retires? An animated comedy from Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers. Back on Topps Comedians Randy and Jason Sklar, heirs to the Topps baseball card empire, discover that Michael Eisner has taken over the company. Blah, Blah, Blah Ashton Kutcher does an animated gossip show. Live from the bedroom, cohosts Britney, Tiffany, and Krystie scoop the poop. Blood Cell Lonelygirl15's Jessica Rose stars in a thriller about kidnapping and mobile telephony. Eduardo Rodriguez (Curandero) directs. Carpet Bros With David Spade as the carpet king of Rancho Cucamonga, the hapless also-rans of Carpet Galaxy don't stand a chance. Men With Guns: Assassin Oz creator Tom Fontana takes us into a secret organization out to improve society through judicious assassination. The Line Weeks before the premiere of the ultimate sci-fi/fantasy flick, SNL's Bill Hader gets in line with a couple of buddies and a change of clothes. The next day, Friedman is at Electric Farm, in a Santa Monica office park, reworking scripts to integrate the products they've done deals for. There's the Acura TSX, the superspeedy UPS delivery, the search and mapping functions from Microsoft. He's not sure yet what to do with Intel. Maybe slap a powered by intel badge on Dawson's smartphone? "It has to pass the creative smell test," he says, "so we feel we're enhancing the story rather than trying to sell you something." In any case, they'll have to make up a brand for the phone itself: CAA approached several handset manufacturers, but none bit. There's one other way to bring in money: venture capital. Funny or Die was funded by Sequoia Capital, the Silicon Valley venture firm behind YouTube. VCs like the idea that big Hollywood names can break through the clutter. But VCs also want an exit — a sale or stock offering that will net them the kind of payoff Sequoia got with YouTube. And while many would-be Web producers see venture money as manna from heaven, they haven't yet had to report to a frustrated money guy who doesn't know show business. "There's an old joke," Rogow says, trying to explain why Electric Farm hasn't tried this route. "A filmmaker dies and goes to heaven. Saint Peter greets him at the pearly gates. 'Good news!' he says. 'You can make any movie you want! You can get Beethoven to do the score. You can get Shakespeare to write the script.' The filmmaker gets all excited. 'And who can I have to play the girl?' he asks." Long pause. "'Well,' comes the reply, 'God's got a girlfriend ...'" It's a Saturday afternoon in May. Two weeks earlier, NBC announced the formation of NBC Universal Digital Studio, with Gemini Division and Woke Up Dead, another Web series Electric Farm has in the works, as its first offerings. Now Rogow is back on a soundstage with Dawson — but this time the soundstage is bigger and the operation is far more professional. The last shoot, back in January, was almost too bare-bones to work. The camera's shutter speed was set too slow, causing a motion blur so bad that some scenes needed to be reshot. Worse, Dawson's hair wasn't properly styled — it had big, wispy curls that congealed into unsightly blobs once the green backdrop was pulled away. "Hair turds!" cried Duane Loose, the burly EA veteran who's the show's production designer. Nonetheless, they've put together a couple of episodes. A crew member is playing episode 5 on a computer screen in the corner: Anna Diaz in an abandoned factory in Paris, watching openmouthed as a man in a lab coat inserts a steel rod into Nick's orange navel. Seconds later, a pair of agents bursts in. One gets his arm sliced off by the doc's surgical laser. The other pulls out a weapon of his own and reduces Nick to a boiling puddle of goo. Anna screams: The man she loved is dead — and he wasn't even human! Today they're shooting episode 12. Dawson is on the greenscreen with a tall, well-muscled actor who's wielding the same kind of weapon that killed Nick. Anna is caught in a war between the sims — creatures like Nick — and the seemingly all-powerful Gemini Division, which is bent on eradicating them. Muscle Man plays a Gemini agent who's just puddled a sim that was gripping Anna's throat. Now he's turning away, leaving her as mystified as ever. "I want in," Dawson cries, reaching for his arm — in on Gemini Division, in on why they destroyed Nick, in on whatever the hell is going on. On the sidelines, arms folded across his black Che Guevara T-shirt, Friedman nods approvingly. In fits and starts, the world he's imagined is taking shape before him. Not a game world, not a TV world, but something different: a world viewed through the tiny window of Anna's phone. "That's an intimacy you don't get from television," he says. "And our mantra is, we want to do what television doesn't." Contributing editor Frank Rose (frank_rose@wired.com) wrote about alternate reality games in issue 16.01.
Read about the latest Entertainment News on Wired.com, including art, technology, films, animation, music, web video, tv, podcasts, and blogs. {...}
Published: July 31, 2008, 5:00 am - Indexed: August 6, 2008, 11:40 pm - Page Size: 56KB
Category: Arts > Entertainment > Publications and Media

]]> Arts > Entertainment > Publications and Media {ISSUES > BIAS AND BALANCE} - Fox's Henneberg did not challenge Swift Boat member Bud Day's false claim that Clark served in Vietnam for only one month http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/fox-s-henneberg-did-not-challenge-swift-boat-member-2008072295.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/society/issues/business/media/bias-and-balance/fox-s-henneberg-did-not-challenge-swift-boat-member-2008072295.htm Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:07:42 GMT On the June 30 edition of Fox News' Special Report, news correspondent Molly Henneberg uncritically reported retired Air Force Col. George E. "Bud" Day's assertion that retired Gen. Wesley Clark "spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated, and that was his Vietnam experience." Day, a member of what Sen. John McCain has dubbed his "Truth Squad," was responding to Clark's June 29 comments on CBS' Face the Nation. According to Henneberg, Day was "incensed" by Clark's comments and, on a McCain campaign conference call, said, "General Clark spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated, and that was his Vietnam experience. I'd say let's hold the two of them up and see who's most qualified to talk about their experience as a combat officer." In fact, Clark served at least six months in Vietnam, first as a 1st Infantry Division staff officer (assistant G-3) from July 1969 until January 1970, and then as an infantry company commander from January 1970 until he was wounded in combat on February 19, 1970. Military documents posted on the website of Clark's 2004 presidential campaign document his service in Vietnam, beginning with his September 10, 1969 Officer Efficiency Report identifies him as "an Assistant G-3 of the 1st Infantry Division," and his superior states in that report that he has used Clark as "a Special Projects Officer." His October 21, 1969, Army Officer Efficiency Report states that he was the G-3 "Research and Evaluation Officer" "[e]ngaged in counterinsurgency operations in Vietnam," and his January 4, 1970, Army Officer Efficiency Report states that Clark was "the chief of the research and evaluation division of the G-3 section." Clark's Officer Evaluation Report for January 5 to February 22, 1970 identifies his position as "[c]ommanding [o]fficer" and states that he "has commanded a mechanized rifle infantry company in combat in a truly outstanding manner." Clark was wounded in combat on February 19, 1970, and a week later, was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on that day. Clark described his arrival in Vietnam in his 2007 autobiography, A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country (Palgrave Macmillan): Gert was four months pregnant when I left for Vietnam in July 1969, and we were able to set her up to live with another waiting wife. I would leave behind Gert as well as my mother and stepfather, and I could imagine what they felt. But I tried not to think about that too much, I just kissed Gert goodbye at JFK airport and walked away. I wrote, and we talked, and I loved her, but Vietnam was what I felt called to do. It was time for me to go. In July 1969, I stepped off the chartered Boeing 707 and into the bright sunshine of Vietnam, carrying the mixed baggage of homesickness, hard determination and a lot of suppressed excitement. This was it. I had arrived, one of more than 500,000 American soldiers and Marines inside Vietnam that day, one of the more than two million who would serve on the ground in that war. [Page 85] [...] After a couple of days I got word that I would be assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. The Big Red One, whose main base camp was at Di An, a few miles north of Saigon. It took less than an hour to get there and as soon as I had disposed of my duffel bags, I reported in to the headquarters. I was hoping, of course, to be given command of a company in combat, though I didn't know what my chances of getting such an assignment were. But they had long known I was coming, and my duties had already been decided for me. [Page 86] [...] Early the next morning, I got the summons: "Captain Clark, get your gear. You're leaving early." But instead of heading into combat to lead an infantry company, I was being sent to the division headquarters, another thirty miles north in Lai Khe. I was going to be placed on the division staff, as one of several hundred officers associated with the headquarters. I was rear-area duty. No patrols. No air assaults. No leadership. [Page 86] [...] I went in [to the briefing] with shined boots and freshly pressed jungle fatigues, and I was lucky if I came out in one piece, since the division's senior officers had been out flying around all day, visiting units, checking activities, and getting a sense for what was happening, knowing that at every moment their men's lives were on the line. Occasionally an enemy rocket would land in the headquarters area, which meant we weren't exactly safe. And I habitually slept with a loaded M-16 in my bunk on the base's perimeter. Still, it was definitely rear-area duty. [Page 88] As Media Matters for America has noted, Day was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an organization that promoted false and baseless smears about Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) military service during the 2004 presidential campaign. From the June 30 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume: [begin video clip] HENNEBERG: McCain's plane was shot down over North Vietnam in October 1967. He was then held and tortured as a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half years. Today, Obama's campaign says Obama rejects General Clark's comments. The candidate also tried to separate himself from his surrogate when talking about sacrificing for one's country. OBAMA: For those like John McCain, who have endured physical torment in service to our country, no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary. Let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign. HENNEBERG: Not enough for McCain's military surrogates, including two of his fellow POWs, who, on a conference call, were incensed by Clark's remarks. DAY: General Clark spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated, and that was his Vietnam experience. I'd say let's hold the two of them up and see who's most qualified to talk about their experience as a combat officer. LT. COL. ORSON SWINDLE, USMC (RET.): I just recall very vividly that Senator Obama said he was running -- he was going to run a civil campaign. This is not a civil campaign. HENNEBERG: McCain suggested this type of attack may be a coordinated effort by the Obama campaign. McCAIN: I know that many -- that General Clark is not an isolated incident, but I have no way of knowing how much involvement Senator Obama has in that issue. [end video clip] HENNEBERG: The McCain people point to earlier comments by two Democratic senators -- Jay Rockefeller and Tom Harkin. Rockefeller, who endorsed Obama in February, criticized McCain in April for not knowing what happened on the ground after his plane dropped bombs in Vietnam. Harkin said in May, a couple of weeks before he endorsed Obama, that McCain is, quote, "trapped in a world view shaped by the military," and that, Harkin said, quote, "can be pretty dangerous" -- Brit. BRIT HUME (host): Molly, thank you. From the June 30 conference call with the McCain "Truth Squad": REPORTER: Greetings, thanks for having us. What do you expect there Senator [Barack] Obama to do? Are you asking him to criticize General Clark's remarks, and I just -- also I want to ask if you would comment on Senator Obama today is giving a big speech on what patriot, you know -- patriotism today. In light of what you folks are complaining about, can you comment on that as well? [...] DAY: This is Colonel Bud Day. Let me just add one remark here. As I said, John McCain served some 65 months in a Vietnamese POW camp, plus some additional time that he served on the previous ship. Things were very difficult. He was horribly wounded in all of his extremities, questionable if he would ever live through that experience. He set a high standard for himself because the Vietnamese tried to release him, wanted him to go home early. He showed the character that every military officer would hope that he had by refusing anything like that to come about. We had the opportunity also to watch a president in office -- a Democrat -- who was extremely ineffective during those years. He learned a huge amount from that. So, I'm saying that some five-and-a-half years of experience in Vietnam was extremely important -- he learned an awful lot of lessons. Now, General Clark spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated -- and that was his Vietnam experience. I'd say let's hold the two of them up and see who's most qualified to talk about their experience as a combat officer. Mediamatters.Org Fox's Henneberg did not challenge Swift Boat member Bud Day's false claim that Clark served in Vietnam for only one month {new window}   Mediamatters.Org - On the June 30 edition of Fox News' Special Report, news correspondent Molly Henneberg uncritically reported retired Air Force Col. George E. "Bud" Day's assertion that retired Gen. Wesley Clark "spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated, and that was his Vietnam experience." Day, a member of what Sen. John McCain has dubbed his "Truth Squad," was responding to Clark's June 29 comments on CBS' Face the Nation. According to Henneberg, Day was "incensed" by Clark's comments and, on a McCain campaign conference call, said, "General Clark spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated, and that was his Vietnam experience. I'd say let's hold the two of them up and see who's most qualified to talk about their experience as a combat officer." In fact, Clark served at least six months in Vietnam, first as a 1st Infantry Division staff officer (assistant G-3) from July 1969 until January 1970, and then as an infantry company commander from January 1970 until he was wounded in combat on February 19, 1970. Military documents posted on the website of Clark's 2004 presidential campaign document his service in Vietnam, beginning with his September 10, 1969 Officer Efficiency Report identifies him as "an Assistant G-3 of the 1st Infantry Division," and his superior states in that report that he has used Clark as "a Special Projects Officer." His October 21, 1969, Army Officer Efficiency Report states that he was the G-3 "Research and Evaluation Officer" "[e]ngaged in counterinsurgency operations in Vietnam," and his January 4, 1970, Army Officer Efficiency Report states that Clark was "the chief of the research and evaluation division of the G-3 section." Clark's Officer Evaluation Report for January 5 to February 22, 1970 identifies his position as "[c]ommanding [o]fficer" and states that he "has commanded a mechanized rifle infantry company in combat in a truly outstanding manner." Clark was wounded in combat on February 19, 1970, and a week later, was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on that day. Clark described his arrival in Vietnam in his 2007 autobiography, A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country (Palgrave Macmillan): Gert was four months pregnant when I left for Vietnam in July 1969, and we were able to set her up to live with another waiting wife. I would leave behind Gert as well as my mother and stepfather, and I could imagine what they felt. But I tried not to think about that too much, I just kissed Gert goodbye at JFK airport and walked away. I wrote, and we talked, and I loved her, but Vietnam was what I felt called to do. It was time for me to go. In July 1969, I stepped off the chartered Boeing 707 and into the bright sunshine of Vietnam, carrying the mixed baggage of homesickness, hard determination and a lot of suppressed excitement. This was it. I had arrived, one of more than 500,000 American soldiers and Marines inside Vietnam that day, one of the more than two million who would serve on the ground in that war. [Page 85] [...] After a couple of days I got word that I would be assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. The Big Red One, whose main base camp was at Di An, a few miles north of Saigon. It took less than an hour to get there and as soon as I had disposed of my duffel bags, I reported in to the headquarters. I was hoping, of course, to be given command of a company in combat, though I didn't know what my chances of getting such an assignment were. But they had long known I was coming, and my duties had already been decided for me. [Page 86] [...] Early the next morning, I got the summons: "Captain Clark, get your gear. You're leaving early." But instead of heading into combat to lead an infantry company, I was being sent to the division headquarters, another thirty miles north in Lai Khe. I was going to be placed on the division staff, as one of several hundred officers associated with the headquarters. I was rear-area duty. No patrols. No air assaults. No leadership. [Page 86] [...] I went in [to the briefing] with shined boots and freshly pressed jungle fatigues, and I was lucky if I came out in one piece, since the division's senior officers had been out flying around all day, visiting units, checking activities, and getting a sense for what was happening, knowing that at every moment their men's lives were on the line. Occasionally an enemy rocket would land in the headquarters area, which meant we weren't exactly safe. And I habitually slept with a loaded M-16 in my bunk on the base's perimeter. Still, it was definitely rear-area duty. [Page 88] As Media Matters for America has noted, Day was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, an organization that promoted false and baseless smears about Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) military service during the 2004 presidential campaign. From the June 30 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume: [begin video clip] HENNEBERG: McCain's plane was shot down over North Vietnam in October 1967. He was then held and tortured as a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half years. Today, Obama's campaign says Obama rejects General Clark's comments. The candidate also tried to separate himself from his surrogate when talking about sacrificing for one's country. OBAMA: For those like John McCain, who have endured physical torment in service to our country, no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary. Let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign. HENNEBERG: Not enough for McCain's military surrogates, including two of his fellow POWs, who, on a conference call, were incensed by Clark's remarks. DAY: General Clark spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated, and that was his Vietnam experience. I'd say let's hold the two of them up and see who's most qualified to talk about their experience as a combat officer. LT. COL. ORSON SWINDLE, USMC (RET.): I just recall very vividly that Senator Obama said he was running -- he was going to run a civil campaign. This is not a civil campaign. HENNEBERG: McCain suggested this type of attack may be a coordinated effort by the Obama campaign. McCAIN: I know that many -- that General Clark is not an isolated incident, but I have no way of knowing how much involvement Senator Obama has in that issue. [end video clip] HENNEBERG: The McCain people point to earlier comments by two Democratic senators -- Jay Rockefeller and Tom Harkin. Rockefeller, who endorsed Obama in February, criticized McCain in April for not knowing what happened on the ground after his plane dropped bombs in Vietnam. Harkin said in May, a couple of weeks before he endorsed Obama, that McCain is, quote, "trapped in a world view shaped by the military," and that, Harkin said, quote, "can be pretty dangerous" -- Brit. BRIT HUME (host): Molly, thank you. From the June 30 conference call with the McCain "Truth Squad": REPORTER: Greetings, thanks for having us. What do you expect there Senator [Barack] Obama to do? Are you asking him to criticize General Clark's remarks, and I just -- also I want to ask if you would comment on Senator Obama today is giving a big speech on what patriot, you know -- patriotism today. In light of what you folks are complaining about, can you comment on that as well? [...] DAY: This is Colonel Bud Day. Let me just add one remark here. As I said, John McCain served some 65 months in a Vietnamese POW camp, plus some additional time that he served on the previous ship. Things were very difficult. He was horribly wounded in all of his extremities, questionable if he would ever live through that experience. He set a high standard for himself because the Vietnamese tried to release him, wanted him to go home early. He showed the character that every military officer would hope that he had by refusing anything like that to come about. We had the opportunity also to watch a president in office -- a Democrat -- who was extremely ineffective during those years. He learned a huge amount from that. So, I'm saying that some five-and-a-half years of experience in Vietnam was extremely important -- he learned an awful lot of lessons. Now, General Clark spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated -- and that was his Vietnam experience. I'd say let's hold the two of them up and see who's most qualified to talk about their experience as a combat officer.
Media Matters - Fox's Henneberg did not challenge Swift Boat member Bud Day's false claim that Clark served in Vietnam for only one month {...} Fox News' Molly Henneberg uncritically reported the assertion by Bud Day, a member of the then-named Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, that Wesley Clark "spent a month in Vietnam, got badly wounded, evacuated, and that was his Vietnam experience." In fact, according to documents posted on the website for Clark's 2004 presidential campaign, Clark served at least six months in Vietnam -- first as a 1st Infantry Division staff officer, then as an infantry company commander -- before he was wounded. {...}
Published: July 3, 2008, 2:07 am - Indexed: July 4, 2008, 6:23 pm - Page Size: 29KB
Category: Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance

]]> Society > Issues > Business > Media > Bias and Balance {EUROPE > COMPUTERS AND INTERNET} - GooTube cheers online gay porn ruling http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/business-and-economy/computers-and-internet/gootube-cheers-online-gay-porn-ruling-20080885536.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/business-and-economy/computers-and-internet/gootube-cheers-online-gay-porn-ruling-20080885536.htm Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:36:22 GMT Court boots Veoh suit, steels DMCA Much to Google's delight, a federal judge has dismissed a porn infringement suit brought against online video site Veoh.com.? Theregister.Co.Uk GooTube cheers online gay porn ruling {new window}   Www.Theregister.Co.Uk - Court boots Veoh suit, steels DMCA Much to Google's delight, a federal judge has dismissed a porn infringement suit brought against online video site Veoh.com.?
GooTube cheers online gay porn ruling | The Register {...}
Published: August 28, 2008, 10:36 pm - Indexed: August 29, 2008, 2:31 pm - Page Size: 25KB
Category: Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Business and Economy > Computers and Internet

]]> Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Business and Economy > Computers and Internet {NORTH AMERICA > LODGING} - Indian Summer of MT TAM+Muir Woods+BoRidgelCoast Trail NYT Hike+WiFi (NYT mention-Best Rates-Stinson Beach+HBO) $75 1bd http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/california/metro-areas/san-francisco-bay-area/travel-and-tourism/lodging/indian-summer-of-mt-tam-muir-woods-boridgelcoast-20080835226.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/north-america/united-states/california/metro-areas/san-francisco-bay-area/travel-and-tourism/lodging/indian-summer-of-mt-tam-muir-woods-boridgelcoast-20080835226.htm Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:29:50 GMT Announcing, awestmarintaxi service by request, A/P Marin/SFO+Oak Airports/SF Bay Area/Flat and Metered Rates. Office Dispatch 415 868-1330, cell 415 497-6656.. NYTimes Travel Report-7 day Hike-Redwood Coast Trail to MT TAM+Muir Coastal Trail-MT TAM-Muir Woods-BoRidge-Clean Air 7 day NYTimes Hike. See, www.stinson-beach.com for pics, of rooms, take advantage of Specials, $55. for a single, Sun. -Thurs., $250. + 10% Tax, for a single, 5 Days in either the Redwood or White Rooms, at the World at Peace Redwoods Haus-Beach, Bed & Breakfast Inn in Stinson Beach 94970. Complimentary King Sized Breakfast, Condiments+Bread+Salad+Potatoes+Rice+Pasta for Potluck B.B.Q's, Queen Sized Bed, Cable T.V./HBO/VHS/200+Video Library, WiFi/Computer/Phones/Piano Onsite, Public Transportation by way of the Marin Stagecoachor A West Marin Taxi, 415 868-1330, Taxi by Request, A/P West or Greater Marin, SFO + Oak Airports. Or go green, hike the redwood trails, both So. & No. to Destination, Redwoods Haus. Now read on, the writers account of Trailblazing on the Redwoods Coast Trails, as well as a brief description of The Great Blue Heron/Egret & Snowy Egret Sanctuary, the Audubon Canyon Ranch, Way out West in West Marin.. The New York Times Wednesday, February 6, 2008 Travel Section Explorer/Marin county, Calif. A Wild Ramble, Near the Golden Gate By Gregory Dicum Edited/Abridged/Added to by the SBCCommerce, www.stinson-beach.org, Minister of Info. MARIN COUNTY, just north of San Francisco, cradles wealthy bedroom communities in picturesque bays. But nearly half of the county’s 520 square miles is protected open space — bucolic and wild, its tiny towns separated by forested mountains. The Rambling Trails of Marin County, California It is the kind of landscape, with miles of well-maintained trails, that people travel across the globe to traverse — to Wales, say, or the Cinque Terre. But Marin, particularly its western reaches, offers something for anyone spry enough to walk a mile or two, on any budget. One Friday afternoon last fall, my wife, Nina, and I rode the Golden Gate Transit{www.goldengatetransit.org}to the San Rafael Bus Transit Hub, across the Golden Gate Bridge out of San Francisco with the hordes of commuters. We planned to spend the next three days hiking back to the city. While our route may have been ambitious — covering as many as 20 miles a day — it’s easy to choose shorter routes, or make connections by car or bus if you want to do it in less time. We got off in Olema[by way of the West Marin Stagecoach, www. marin-stagecoach.org, which we transferred to in San Rafael], a crossroads in a long valley formed by the San Andreas fault. We already felt a world away in the eucalyptus-scented darkness before the understated wooden form of the Point Reyes Seashore Lodge, where we had booked a room. In the morning, we headed out into a dazzling fog, climbing east toward the Bolinas Ridge. Ghostly white deer — descendants of fallow deer imported in the last century — looked down on us through dripping stalks of fennel. The air smelled like a cool herbal balm, and our boots grew dark with dew. At the ridge, fog was pouring in from a neighboring valley like heavy cream. Tomales Bay, where the fault reaches the sea, shone in the distance. All about us was mad morning chirping and grass bejeweled in the sun. Heading south along the ridge, we met our first human beings at noon. Bolinas Artist, Peter Lee Brownlee{wayne.browningstreet.net/bio/peterbrownlee" & BoBo Troubador Stu Art Chapman, www.flickr.com/photos/bbraasch/251709196/, were on a northward walk markedly better organized than our own, to a vantage point to paint the Sunset through the trees, a hidden spot on the Ridge, that Peter wished to reduce to canvas. Having rambled & sailed throughout Europe, Western Hemisphere, Asia and Africa, individually, they settled in West Marin, in the Coastal Village of Bolinas, continuing their artistic pursuits, where they popularized their individual art forms, meshing with the local variegate 60's Haight Ashbury Dead Head Counterculture. We chatted for a bit and serenaded by Stu Art, were inspired by his Bo Counter Culture Ballad, " Way out West in West Marin". As we parted, Mr. Brownlee turned and called back in his gruff, New York/South Seas/Bo/Long John Silver Merchant Marine Accent, “ I am 87 years old, by the way!” “So,” Nina said as we watched them proceed jauntily toward Olema, “46 more years of this for us?” Soon, we joined the Coastal Trail, which follows the shoreline at a distance, atop a ridge. In the late afternoon, it broke onto rolling, golden hills and our first view of the Pacific. Hawks and vultures romped in the updrafts, swooping close to the shaggy-maned hills, while paragliders sought to imitate them from a promontory, atop Mt. Tamalpais, up ahead. We were above the Bolinas Lagoon Preserve, part of the Audubon Canyon Ranch[See , Sieze the Day, below] and one of the first places in the county to be protected — a reminder that these hills are not unspoiled by accident. Freeways and subdivisions planned in the 1960s were blocked by local activism. Instead of sprawl on its slopes, West Marin County has salmon in its streams. As the sun lowered, the ocean became a molten blaze punctuated only by the Farallon Islands near the horizon. The surf whispered from Stinson Beach below us, and we turned toward it. The woods soon gave way to streets of bougainvillea and Monterey cypress around ’60s-era beach houses with BMWs and surfboards out front. We were quickly in the center of Stinson Beach: a green, some shops and cars tooling up and down the Shoreline Highway. We made the beach just in time to see the perfect ball of evening fire quench itself across Bolinas Bay off Duxbury Point. The hills we had marked with our footprints seemed improbable pink confections. “It feels like another country,” said Nina, even though we had been on that beach many times before. We stayed that night at the World at Peace Redwood Haus Inn, www.stinson-beach.com, 415 868-9828, 868-1034, a bed-and-breakfast Inn that harked back to West Marins Spanish/Pioneer/Seafaring/60's flower child days. In the welcoming breakfast/potluck dinner room, we listened to the owners’ tales of life in San Francisco(spanning the Eisenhower Beatnik Years, to the Flower Child 60's), nibbled set out appetizers & tea on the buffet table. Then we went upstairs and slept like logs, the surf sighing through our open window. We woke at dawn to murmuring in the dovecote by the longboards and the smell of frying potatoes and eggs. We eagerly, joined in the Buffet Style BreakFeast, set out for all, took our laden plates to the the Biergarten, surrounded by a Rainforest of Succulents, Fruit trees and Redwoods on a patio of bricks and cobblestones in a Buddhist Zen atmosphere. After Breakfast and the camaraderie of international and domestic guests/new friends and discussion covering interesting topics, from Global Warming, Crises of Leadership in the World Politic, Health and the need for Peace in the World, as well as trail tips & directions to, off the beaten path; Red Rock Beach Sulphur Hot Springs; Pacific Plate Wildcat Beach, Bass Lake & Alamarin Falls. We ascended the staircase to our room, with nostalgic VCR Tapes from the 200+ Video Library & the Wi-Fi Passcode for our laptops. Noontime, Mourning Doves, in the branches of trees, that paralleled our windows, chortled, "Surfs up". We slipped into provided wet suits & boogie boards & set out to challenge the waves of the Pacific breaking on the white sands of Stinson Beach. Afterwards, showered away dried salt and sand, used the Haus Computer Fax & Copier, scanned RH Proprietor Handwritten Maps of the Bo Palomarin Trailhead & Red Rock Beach Goat Trail. Made calls to the Times, most cell phones don't get service on the Coast, luckily for guests, there is a provided Long Distance Land Line at the Redwoods Haus. Saying Goodbye to our New Friends and Family, we shouldered our packs and headed off into the fog along the Dipsea Trail. We ascended through fantastical, gnarled woods into open, misty heath. Quails, rabbits and an elegant buck — in the mist all the same carob color as the trail—granted us room to pass into a dense redwood forest. As we climbed, sunbeams pierced the brume to pick out pools of water in bowls of polished rock and carpets of glistening, emerald ferns. Big trees lay over the narrow ravine, their backs covered in moss. As we rambled higher still, blue sky tinted the fog and, suddenly, we were in warm sun on the golden flanks of Mount Tamalpais. The Sacred Miwok Mount is beloved in the Bay Area, and as we approached the Pantoll Ranger Station, the headquarters of Mount Tamalpais State Park, the trails became crowded. Hikers, bikers, campers, walkers, runners and others swarmed the routes to the mountain’s peak. But a friendly ranger directed us to a trail, Troop 80, that even on a sunny Sunday, was quiet and lovely. Even better, when we emerged at the Mountain Home Inn, we were able to get a table for lunch on the deck right away. We sat overlooking Mill Valley, and beyond it the bustling Bay Area, while Mount Tam’s green mass loomed behind us. . “This beats sitting on a rock with a PowerBar,” observed Nina, sipping a tall glass of iced tea mixed with lemonade. Truth be told, anything tastes good after a few miles on the trail, West Marin is an area, that is home to many artisanal food enterprises, such as Tomales Bay Croat Founded, Tonys Seafood, Vladimir's of Inverness, Rancho Nicasio, Bolinas Coast Cafe, Stinson Parkside & Sandollar. Still, with full bellies we were glad to be heading downhill. Now that we were more than 30 miles from Olema, people we met found our ramble enchanting: many who know these trails well had not considered linking them together, and surprisingly few take multiday walks there. A trail as steep as a ski slope deposited us into the Muir Woods National Monument. A grove of truly gigantic redwoods, Muir Woods, declared a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt 100 years ago, has long been a popular tourist excursion from San Francisco. The trails at its heart are paved, and visitors are separated from the monstrous trunks by split-rail fences. Children with tall ice cream cones gathered around a friendly, dapper ranger who explained the circumstances behind the latest fallen tree (nobody was around, he told them, so it didn’t make a sound). We soon found ourselves walking past tour buses in the parking lot. But a few more steps and we were alone again, hiking through meadows and scented alders along a river. Evening fog gathered in the last mile, restoring the air’s coastal quality. Then we smelled wood smoke, and came out in front of the Tudor confection of that day’s destination: the Pelican Inn. We walked right into a cheerful scene of dark wood beams, roaring fires, darts, and fish and chips. As guests at the inn, we repaired to the snug private drawing room off the pub with a couple of pints and, sloughing off our boots, propped our feet by the fire to toast the 15 miles we had walked that day. Part of West Marin’s appeal is its diversity of enclaves. Shortly after leaving the Pelican Inn the next morning, we were walking through fields of organic greens at Green Gulch, a Zen retreat and organic farm. Wool-clad Zen students nodded to us as we passed them at work cutting chard. Visitors looking for the deeply contemplative experience of dawn zazen and Japanese tea ceremonies can stay there, but we had just begun our day and were soon climbing out of the valley. On the ridge, we turned and looked back. Below us, Muir Beach sat fast like a pleasant Hobbitown. Beyond it, the Pacific was glowering slightly, and low, ominous streaks of rain splattered the sky. A drizzle set in, and by midday we came to a fog-shrouded eucalyptus copse where two paths diverged. One led down to Sausalito and the ferry home. “Come on, let’s go,” said Nina. So we took the other path, rambling on along the ridge down to the Golden Gate Bridge, into the city and right to our doorstep . FIRST STEPS OF MANY GETTING THERE Marin is an easy drive from San Francisco. Bus service is also available from Golden Gate Transit (415-455-2000; www.goldengate.org) and Marin Transit (415-499-6099; www.marintransit.org); the latter’s West Marin Stagecoach (415-526-3239) serves the small towns of West Marin. Call 511, for up to date, changes in scheduling, of local bus routes. WHATS NEXT in Stinson Beach The Strip, Commercial sector bordering Hwy. #1, beginning with the World at Peace Redwoods Haus, including the Sandollar and Stinson Beach Grill Restaurants, as well as the Stinson Beach Market and Meristem Florists, Many Villages Pacific Rim Indigenous Talismans & Emporia-White Light Sage & Seer, Osheno. Further on, the Cycle Race Pack loses its cohesiveness as it passes the Stinson Beach Fitness Center, Donnies Surfboard/Kayak Rental & the Video Odyssey, [the three have excellent provided seating & vantage points for photo pics]. WHERE TO STAY There are many options, but they all fill up fast, so make reservations. In Olema, the Olema Inn (10000 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard; 415-663-9559; www.theolemainn.com; rooms start at $185) and the Point Reyes Seashore Lodge (10021 Coastal Highway 1; 415-663-9000; www.pointreyesseashorelodge.com; starting at $135) are both central and comfortable. Stinson Beach has many vacation rentals, but few nightly options. One is the World at Peace Redwood Haus Inn, #1 Belvedere and Redwoods Highway #1; 415-868-1034; www.stinson-beach.com; the five rooms start at $55. for a single person on weekdays, $440. for a weekstay in either the Redwood or White Room, includes Texan/German Style King Sized Breakfast, WiFi/Computer/L.D.Phone on Site, VCR/VCR Library, HBO/Cable T.V., Biergarten, B.B.Q. Facilities, Boogie Boards/Wet Suits). Bus Service, is direct by the West Marin StageCoach, bicycle friendly, just tell the driver, "The Redwoods Haus", he will drop you off right in front, Coast Hwy. #1 and #1 Belvedere. In Muir Beach, the Pelican Inn (10 Pacific Way; 415-383-6000; www.pelicaninn.com) has rooms from $190, while at the very different Green Gulch Farm Zen Center (1601 Shoreline Highway; 415-383-3134; www.sfzc.org/ggf) doubles start at $145 with three meals a day. You can always, take part in the functions at the Green Gulch Zen Center, commute, from the coed lodging of the World at Peace Redwoods Haus. Stinson Beach Chamber of Commerce, www.stinson-beach.org, 415 868-1330. Up to date, rental listings, list of B&Bs, hotels and motels in the SW Marin Area-Bolinas, Stinson & Muir Beach. MAPS We found the “Rambler’s Guide to the Trails of Mt. Tamalpais, Muir Woods and the Marin Headlands” (Olmstead & Bros.; 510-658-6534; $8) indispensable, even though most trails are well marked. It is a detailed trail map that not only is printed on waterproof material, but also includes a reassuring guarantee from the publisher, Gerald Olmstead: “If you’re lost out in the woods somewhere, please note that my phone number is on the map. Just call me up.” Farther north, we used the “Point Reyes National Seashore and West Marin Parklands” map from Wilderness Press (800-443-7227; www.wildernesspress.com; $9.95). Wilderness also publishes the helpful “North Bay Trails,” by David Weintraub ($16.95). The Proprietors of the World at Peace Redwoods Haus (circa 1910), provide up to date info., on: trail accessibility; out of the way places; day/night concerts at restaurants/community centers; hidden beaches/lakes/streams/waterfalls/hot springs in West Marin. Also Provided, hard to find services in West Marin: WiFi/Computers w FAX, Scanner & Copier/Long Distance Free Calling Onsite; VCRS w 200+VCR Library; Breakfast-Dinner Potlucks-BBQ; BBQ [we show you how]Tomales Bay Oysters; Boogie Boards & Wetsuits; 2nd & 3rd story view decks & rooms, w views of Stinson Beach Village/MTTAM/Bolinas/Pacific Views & Decks ORGANIZED TRIPS Wine Country Trekking (888-287-8735; www.winecountrytrekking.com) offers a variety of supported rambles through West Marin that also include things like kayaking excursions and wine tastings. The Sierra Club runs numerous outings through West Marin as well, some with features like meditation, birding, painting and nature study (415-977-5522; www.sierraclub.org/outings). The World at Peace Redwoods Haus, www.stinson-beach.com, 415 868-1034 or 868-9828, supplies up to date info. on Hikes & Foot races hosted by local internationally recognized Enviro Sports, www.envirosports.com, & other recognized local hiking/foot race event organizers. There are spontaneous hikes, volleyball games, cookouts, campfires that occur at the RWH daily and nightly, amongst the guests inspired by the freedom of opportunity, freshness of the sea breeze mixed with the Scent of the surrounding Redwoods Forest & blossoming Rain Forest of the RWH. There are also, birding expeditions, both organized & spontaneous by those interested in the Audobon Canyon Ranch Activities or their own individual forays to the Bo Lagoon, to catch glimpses of the Blue Herons, Pelicans, Egrets & migrating Aquatic Fowl that visit the Lagoon. Not to mention, Tule Elk, Elephant Seal & Whale Watching, maps/directions via the RWH. Wading in Duxbury Reef, Red Rock Hot Springs, Bass Lake, Esteros of Sir Francis Drake Bay…Discover the Paradise of the Coast of Marin, www.stinson-beach.com, 415 868-9828 or 868-1034.. The Places to Explore We offer information on all of the local natural viewing locations of interest where you can see Whales, Seal and Elephant Seal colonies, Egrets, Herons, Pelicans, and the Tule Elk. Visit the Sulphur Hot Springs at Red Rock Beach , 4-5 days a month during negative tide periods of the Full Moon, the Ocean rolls back, giving 2 hrs., to enjoy the 110 degree heated Seawater, in a open pool of rock, by the edge of the Ocean. Walk into the tide pools of Duxbury Reef during minus tide, study close up the indigenous sea life of the Reef: Sea Anemones; Clams; Mussels; Starfish;Crabs;Coral; and the reef fishes in small pools of water. On Visitors Days of the Week, walk down the 300 steps leading to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, on the Point Reyes Peninsula, see the interior and the antique beacon light of French Manufacture, dating back over a 100 yrs. Kayak with Point Reyes Outdoors www.pointreyesoutdoors.com, 415 663-8192 Sea Kayaking Tours & Classes Guided Nature Hikes Mesa Road in Bolinas: Visit the Point Reyes Bird Observatory and take part in banding expeditions of migratory birds as well as study statistics of their numbers and sightings; Hike to Bass Lake on the Panoramic Trail head, from the parking lot at the end of Mesa Road ; See Agate Beach, where all the rocks are green agate. Hike the many trails that abound in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, Mt. Tamalpais and Tomales State Parks , as well as the Point Reyes National Seashore: Matt Davis-Steep Ravine-Dipsea-Lake Lagunitas-Kent & Nicasio Lakes. Gather Mussels in Season, for ethnic & old fashioned soups/stews. Dance at Smiley's Schooner Saloon & dance/dine at Rancho Nicasio, Sat. Nights to live music. Eat at your pick of 3 art bedecked and fine food dining establishments here in Stinson & two in Bolinas. Rent/Ride Horseback at Five Brooks Stable, Horse Rental, Open Year Round in Olema. 415 663-1570, Fax 415 663-8766, www.fivebrooks.com Workout Regimen, Beach Accessories, Kayaks, Surfboards: At the Stinson Beach Health Club, open daily, 7a.m.-9p.m.,415 868-8801, 3605 Shoreline Hwy.#1 , full range gym, offers weight sets, stationary bikes, Pilates studio, w views of Easkoot Creek in a Polynesian Village Natural Setting Ambiance. Stinson Beach Surf and Kayak Co., same location, Rent and Sell Beach Accessories, Full Range of Kayaks & Client friendly surfboards, Donny 415 868-8801, cell 415 257-1831. Los Banos Surf & Adventure Camp- Coach Dave Lich, certified lifeguard, 415 847-2221 or 415 380-8900, www.stinsonbeachsurfcamp.com, Surf School Classes beginning 6/11, all ages welcome. Free shuttle from Mill Valley. "Bringing the beach to the kids of Marin & Fellow Travelers." BoBo Bikes located in Bolinas, 6 Wharf Rd., 415 450-0621, Bike & Surfboard Impresario Sports Czar Terrence, Proprietor. High Tech State of the Art Bikes, Surboards, Skates from the Czar of Sports Gear. Every detail of hardware can be found as well as Terrence's Extensive Knowledge of what sports gear, is right for you. Bring your equipment in for troubleshooting & maximal gain for high performance on the roadway or surf. Visit/Shop: Claudia Chaplines Art Gallery, Annies Bookstore for Hiking/Biking Maps/Postcards, SurfGear/Beach Wear, Live Water Surf Shop. Many Villages, 2264 Hwy. #1, where you can select from a vast emporium of indigenous jewelry, buddhist artifacts, sacred totems, folk art of Bali, Handmade Oracles Mystical Talismans from the Island Jungles of Thailand and the floating Villages of Indochina. Astute World Expert/Time Traveler of White Light, Oshen, 415 868-1419. Experience: The Museum of Miwok Native American Artifacts at Slide Ranch; Nicasios Russian Orthodox Church, dating back to the Russian Colonial Period at Fort Ross; Smileys Schooner Saloon, an English Pub imported in 1850, oldest functioning alcohol establishment in California; Bodega Schoolhouse made famous in Alfred Hithcocks, "The Birds"; Muir Woods Trail, the setting for Hitchcocks "VERTIGO", where Jimmy Stewart followed Kim Novak into Muir Woods,on the Matt Davis Trailhead, beginning at Belvedere in Stinson(Right up from the Redwoods, #1 Belvedere]; Skywalker Ranch, East of Nicasio, creative brainchild of George Lucas; Peak of Sacred Mount Tamalpais-from which the viewer can experience 360 degree panorama views, of the Greater S.F. Bay Area & the City, Mt. Diablo, the Farollone Islands of the Pacific Ocean. These and many more view spots as well as Treasures of Wild West Architecture in West Marin Towns, will be addressed, directions will be given & an itinerary for all points of interest in Marin, Sonoma and the S.F. Greater Bay Area. AWESTMARINTAXI + Public Transportation: For all points in the SF Bay Area, awestmarintaxi@gmail.com, taxi by request, 415 868-1330, cell 415 497-6656, SFO+Oak Airports, Tours of West Marin/Greater Marin, itinerary for travelers and visitors to West Marin/Sonoma County. Use the Transit Planner site, www.511.org From San Francisco , take #70 or #80 Golden Gate Transit, to Marin City Transfer to West Marin Stage Coach, website for schedule is: www.marintransit.org, call for info., M-F, 8 a.m.-5 a.m., 415 526-3239 Important Phone No.s Stinson Beach Lifeguard Tower-415 868-0942 Stinson Beach Visitor Center- 415 388-2596 Driving Directions to Stinson Beach From Highway 101 Exit Highway 1/Stinson Beach (there will be a sign for Muir Woods/ Mt. Tamalpais at this exit) Drive about .5 miles. At the stoplight, turn left. You now have two options, both about the same distance, both on winding steep roads. Shoreline Hwy. 1 takes you along the Pacific Ocean, through Muir Beach, to Stinson Beach. Panoramic Highway take you up and over Mt Tamalpais, w breathtaking panorama views of the City, East Bay, Sonoma County, to within one block of the Redwood Haus in Stinson Beach. To get to Panoramic from Hwy. 101, Drive 3 miles on Shoreline Hwy. #1. At the top of the hill, turn right onto the Panoramic Highway. From Panoramic access, Muir Woods/Mount Tamalpais and Stinson Beach. Or Continue straight on Shoreline Highway #1 about 12 miles to Stinson Beach. When traveling South to North on Hwy.#1, upon entering Stinson Beach, Make a right at the Firehouse, onto Belvedere, a u turn and park alongside fence, at #1 Belvedere and Hwy. #1, the Redwoods Haus, On Street Parking. Olema intersection and Sir Francis Drake Blvd.-16 miles South to Stinson Beach. Point Reyes Station. So. to Stinson Beach-18 miles So. to Stinson Beach. Barbeque in the Bier-garten: Bring your own fish/chicken/duck/lamb/meat cuts/zucchini/corn/beverages and b.b.q. coals for barbeque, we provide potatoes, rice, onions, bread, condiments & b.b.q. coals or mesquite. Oysters for Redwoods barbeque[Redwoods Chef gives instructions on preparation] must be obtained beforehand at: the Tomales Bay Oyster Farm, located on Shoreline Hwy. #1, 4 miles No. of Point Reyes Station; the Hog Island Oyster Co. in Marshall; the Johnsons Oyster Farm on the Point Reyes Peninsula. Gesucht: Deutscher Schreiner oder Zimmermann fuer Renovierungs- und Reparaturarbeiten fuer Redwood Haus fuer flexible Zeit. Keine Arbeitserlaubnis noetig. Kommen Sie zu uns an die traumhafte Pazifikkueste. Sagen Sie dies all Ihren Freunden. Siehe unsere Internetseite: www.stinson-beach.de Kontakt: 415 868-1330 info@stinson-beach.com Please check our websites for our pricing and service, www.stinson-beach.com, in German, www.stinson-beach.de, 415 868-9828 or 868-1034. You will soon be convinced that we indeed have the BEST & most EQUITABLE lodging service in the entire SF Bay Area! Seize the Day Bird Lovers flock to Stinson's Audobon Canyon Ranch The Audobon Canyon Ranch, founded in 1962, one of the largest nesting sites on the West Coast, offers sanctuary & a birds-eye-view of the graceful ballet-of ritual courtship, nest-building, egg-turning, chick-rearing & first flight of the Great Blue Herons, Great & Snowy Egrets in Picher Canyon. Males gather sticks for nest building, then females arrange them just so, in the closest coastal redwoods to a 24-hour food supply in Bolinas Lagoon. Eight miles of redwoods, Douglas Fir & Bay, coastal scrub & chaparral, grassland, pond, stream & marsh trails cover 1K ares. Spring wildflowers display in dense greenery. At the Redwoods Haus, located 2 miles from the Ranch, receive trail maps & a itinerary for the folks & kids, of the many other offerings afforded visitors & birdwatchers of this Pearl of the Coast. Sfbay.Craigslist.Org Indian Summer of MT TAM+Muir Woods+BoRidgelCoast Trail NYT Hike+WiFi (NYT mention-Best Rates-Stinson Beach+HBO) $75 1bd {new window}   Sfbay.Craigslist.Org - Announcing, awestmarintaxi service by request, A/P Marin/SFO+Oak Airports/SF Bay Area/Flat and Metered Rates. Office Dispatch 415 868-1330, cell 415 497-6656.. NYTimes Travel Report-7 day Hike-Redwood Coast Trail to MT TAM+Muir Coastal Trail-MT TAM-Muir Woods-BoRidge-Clean Air 7 day NYTimes Hike. See, www.stinson-beach.com for pics, of rooms, take advantage of Specials, $55. for a single, Sun. -Thurs., $250. + 10% Tax, for a single, 5 Days in either the Redwood or White Rooms, at the World at Peace Redwoods Haus-Beach, Bed & Breakfast Inn in Stinson Beach 94970. Complimentary King Sized Breakfast, Condiments+Bread+Salad+Potatoes+Rice+Pasta for Potluck B.B.Q's, Queen Sized Bed, Cable T.V./HBO/VHS/200+Video Library, WiFi/Computer/Phones/Piano Onsite, Public Transportation by way of the Marin Stagecoachor A West Marin Taxi, 415 868-1330, Taxi by Request, A/P West or Greater Marin, SFO + Oak Airports. Or go green, hike the redwood trails, both So. & No. to Destination, Redwoods Haus. Now read on, the writers account of Trailblazing on the Redwoods Coast Trails, as well as a brief description of The Great Blue Heron/Egret & Snowy Egret Sanctuary, the Audubon Canyon Ranch, Way out West in West Marin.. The New York Times Wednesday, February 6, 2008 Travel Section Explorer/Marin county, Calif. A Wild Ramble, Near the Golden Gate By Gregory Dicum Edited/Abridged/Added to by the SBCCommerce, www.stinson-beach.org, Minister of Info. MARIN COUNTY, just north of San Francisco, cradles wealthy bedroom communities in picturesque bays. But nearly half of the county’s 520 square miles is protected open space — bucolic and wild, its tiny towns separated by forested mountains. The Rambling Trails of Marin County, California It is the kind of landscape, with miles of well-maintained trails, that people travel across the globe to traverse — to Wales, say, or the Cinque Terre. But Marin, particularly its western reaches, offers something for anyone spry enough to walk a mile or two, on any budget. One Friday afternoon last fall, my wife, Nina, and I rode the Golden Gate Transit{www.goldengatetransit.org}to the San Rafael Bus Transit Hub, across the Golden Gate Bridge out of San Francisco with the hordes of commuters. We planned to spend the next three days hiking back to the city. While our route may have been ambitious — covering as many as 20 miles a day — it’s easy to choose shorter routes, or make connections by car or bus if you want to do it in less time. We got off in Olema[by way of the West Marin Stagecoach, www. marin-stagecoach.org, which we transferred to in San Rafael], a crossroads in a long valley formed by the San Andreas fault. We already felt a world away in the eucalyptus-scented darkness before the understated wooden form of the Point Reyes Seashore Lodge, where we had booked a room. In the morning, we headed out into a dazzling fog, climbing east toward the Bolinas Ridge. Ghostly white deer — descendants of fallow deer imported in the last century — looked down on us through dripping stalks of fennel. The air smelled like a cool herbal balm, and our boots grew dark with dew. At the ridge, fog was pouring in from a neighboring valley like heavy cream. Tomales Bay, where the fault reaches the sea, shone in the distance. All about us was mad morning chirping and grass bejeweled in the sun. Heading south along the ridge, we met our first human beings at noon. Bolinas Artist, Peter Lee Brownlee{wayne.browningstreet.net/bio/peterbrownlee" & BoBo Troubador Stu Art Chapman, www.flickr.com/photos/bbraasch/251709196/, were on a northward walk markedly better organized than our own, to a vantage point to paint the Sunset through the trees, a hidden spot on the Ridge, that Peter wished to reduce to canvas. Having rambled & sailed throughout Europe, Western Hemisphere, Asia and Africa, individually, they settled in West Marin, in the Coastal Village of Bolinas, continuing their artistic pursuits, where they popularized their individual art forms, meshing with the local variegate 60's Haight Ashbury Dead Head Counterculture. We chatted for a bit and serenaded by Stu Art, were inspired by his Bo Counter Culture Ballad, " Way out West in West Marin". As we parted, Mr. Brownlee turned and called back in his gruff, New York/South Seas/Bo/Long John Silver Merchant Marine Accent, “ I am 87 years old, by the way!” “So,” Nina said as we watched them proceed jauntily toward Olema, “46 more years of this for us?” Soon, we joined the Coastal Trail, which follows the shoreline at a distance, atop a ridge. In the late afternoon, it broke onto rolling, golden hills and our first view of the Pacific. Hawks and vultures romped in the updrafts, swooping close to the shaggy-maned hills, while paragliders sought to imitate them from a promontory, atop Mt. Tamalpais, up ahead. We were above the Bolinas Lagoon Preserve, part of the Audubon Canyon Ranch[See , Sieze the Day, below] and one of the first places in the county to be protected — a reminder that these hills are not unspoiled by accident. Freeways and subdivisions planned in the 1960s were blocked by local activism. Instead of sprawl on its slopes, West Marin County has salmon in its streams. As the sun lowered, the ocean became a molten blaze punctuated only by the Farallon Islands near the horizon. The surf whispered from Stinson Beach below us, and we turned toward it. The woods soon gave way to streets of bougainvillea and Monterey cypress around ’60s-era beach houses with BMWs and surfboards out front. We were quickly in the center of Stinson Beach: a green, some shops and cars tooling up and down the Shoreline Highway. We made the beach just in time to see the perfect ball of evening fire quench itself across Bolinas Bay off Duxbury Point. The hills we had marked with our footprints seemed improbable pink confections. “It feels like another country,” said Nina, even though we had been on that beach many times before. We stayed that night at the World at Peace Redwood Haus Inn, www.stinson-beach.com, 415 868-9828, 868-1034, a bed-and-breakfast Inn that harked back to West Marins Spanish/Pioneer/Seafaring/60's flower child days. In the welcoming breakfast/potluck dinner room, we listened to the owners’ tales of life in San Francisco(spanning the Eisenhower Beatnik Years, to the Flower Child 60's), nibbled set out appetizers & tea on the buffet table. Then we went upstairs and slept like logs, the surf sighing through our open window. We woke at dawn to murmuring in the dovecote by the longboards and the smell of frying potatoes and eggs. We eagerly, joined in the Buffet Style BreakFeast, set out for all, took our laden plates to the the Biergarten, surrounded by a Rainforest of Succulents, Fruit trees and Redwoods on a patio of bricks and cobblestones in a Buddhist Zen atmosphere. After Breakfast and the camaraderie of international and domestic guests/new friends and discussion covering interesting topics, from Global Warming, Crises of Leadership in the World Politic, Health and the need for Peace in the World, as well as trail tips & directions to, off the beaten path; Red Rock Beach Sulphur Hot Springs; Pacific Plate Wildcat Beach, Bass Lake & Alamarin Falls. We ascended the staircase to our room, with nostalgic VCR Tapes from the 200+ Video Library & the Wi-Fi Passcode for our laptops. Noontime, Mourning Doves, in the branches of trees, that paralleled our windows, chortled, "Surfs up". We slipped into provided wet suits & boogie boards & set out to challenge the waves of the Pacific breaking on the white sands of Stinson Beach. Afterwards, showered away dried salt and sand, used the Haus Computer Fax & Copier, scanned RH Proprietor Handwritten Maps of the Bo Palomarin Trailhead & Red Rock Beach Goat Trail. Made calls to the Times, most cell phones don't get service on the Coast, luckily for guests, there is a provided Long Distance Land Line at the Redwoods Haus. Saying Goodbye to our New Friends and Family, we shouldered our packs and headed off into the fog along the Dipsea Trail. We ascended through fantastical, gnarled woods into open, misty heath. Quails, rabbits and an elegant buck — in the mist all the same carob color as the trail—granted us room to pass into a dense redwood forest. As we climbed, sunbeams pierced the brume to pick out pools of water in bowls of polished rock and carpets of glistening, emerald ferns. Big trees lay over the narrow ravine, their backs covered in moss. As we rambled higher still, blue sky tinted the fog and, suddenly, we were in warm sun on the golden flanks of Mount Tamalpais. The Sacred Miwok Mount is beloved in the Bay Area, and as we approached the Pantoll Ranger Station, the headquarters of Mount Tamalpais State Park, the trails became crowded. Hikers, bikers, campers, walkers, runners and others swarmed the routes to the mountain’s peak. But a friendly ranger directed us to a trail, Troop 80, that even on a sunny Sunday, was quiet and lovely. Even better, when we emerged at the Mountain Home Inn, we were able to get a table for lunch on the deck right away. We sat overlooking Mill Valley, and beyond it the bustling Bay Area, while Mount Tam’s green mass loomed behind us. . “This beats sitting on a rock with a PowerBar,” observed Nina, sipping a tall glass of iced tea mixed with lemonade. Truth be told, anything tastes good after a few miles on the trail, West Marin is an area, that is home to many artisanal food enterprises, such as Tomales Bay Croat Founded, Tonys Seafood, Vladimir's of Inverness, Rancho Nicasio, Bolinas Coast Cafe, Stinson Parkside & Sandollar. Still, with full bellies we were glad to be heading downhill. Now that we were more than 30 miles from Olema, people we met found our ramble enchanting: many who know these trails well had not considered linking them together, and surprisingly few take multiday walks there. A trail as steep as a ski slope deposited us into the Muir Woods National Monument. A grove of truly gigantic redwoods, Muir Woods, declared a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt 100 years ago, has long been a popular tourist excursion from San Francisco. The trails at its heart are paved, and visitors are separated from the monstrous trunks by split-rail fences. Children with tall ice cream cones gathered around a friendly, dapper ranger who explained the circumstances behind the latest fallen tree (nobody was around, he told them, so it didn’t make a sound). We soon found ourselves walking past tour buses in the parking lot. But a few more steps and we were alone again, hiking through meadows and scented alders along a river. Evening fog gathered in the last mile, restoring the air’s coastal quality. Then we smelled wood smoke, and came out in front of the Tudor confection of that day’s destination: the Pelican Inn. We walked right into a cheerful scene of dark wood beams, roaring fires, darts, and fish and chips. As guests at the inn, we repaired to the snug private drawing room off the pub with a couple of pints and, sloughing off our boots, propped our feet by the fire to toast the 15 miles we had walked that day. Part of West Marin’s appeal is its diversity of enclaves. Shortly after leaving the Pelican Inn the next morning, we were walking through fields of organic greens at Green Gulch, a Zen retreat and organic farm. Wool-clad Zen students nodded to us as we passed them at work cutting chard. Visitors looking for the deeply contemplative experience of dawn zazen and Japanese tea ceremonies can stay there, but we had just begun our day and were soon climbing out of the valley. On the ridge, we turned and looked back. Below us, Muir Beach sat fast like a pleasant Hobbitown. Beyond it, the Pacific was glowering slightly, and low, ominous streaks of rain splattered the sky. A drizzle set in, and by midday we came to a fog-shrouded eucalyptus copse where two paths diverged. One led down to Sausalito and the ferry home. “Come on, let’s go,” said Nina. So we took the other path, rambling on along the ridge down to the Golden Gate Bridge, into the city and right to our doorstep . FIRST STEPS OF MANY GETTING THERE Marin is an easy drive from San Francisco. Bus service is also available from Golden Gate Transit (415-455-2000; www.goldengate.org) and Marin Transit (415-499-6099; www.marintransit.org); the latter’s West Marin Stagecoach (415-526-3239) serves the small towns of West Marin. Call 511, for up to date, changes in scheduling, of local bus routes. WHATS NEXT in Stinson Beach The Strip, Commercial sector bordering Hwy. #1, beginning with the World at Peace Redwoods Haus, including the Sandollar and Stinson Beach Grill Restaurants, as well as the Stinson Beach Market and Meristem Florists, Many Villages Pacific Rim Indigenous Talismans & Emporia-White Light Sage & Seer, Osheno. Further on, the Cycle Race Pack loses its cohesiveness as it passes the Stinson Beach Fitness Center, Donnies Surfboard/Kayak Rental & the Video Odyssey, [the three have excellent provided seating & vantage points for photo pics]. WHERE TO STAY There are many options, but they all fill up fast, so make reservations. In Olema, the Olema Inn (10000 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard; 415-663-9559; www.theolemainn.com; rooms start at $185) and the Point Reyes Seashore Lodge (10021 Coastal Highway 1; 415-663-9000; www.pointreyesseashorelodge.com; starting at $135) are both central and comfortable. Stinson Beach has many vacation rentals, but few nightly options. One is the World at Peace Redwood Haus Inn, #1 Belvedere and Redwoods Highway #1; 415-868-1034; www.stinson-beach.com; the five rooms start at $55. for a single person on weekdays, $440. for a weekstay in either the Redwood or White Room, includes Texan/German Style King Sized Breakfast, WiFi/Computer/L.D.Phone on Site, VCR/VCR Library, HBO/Cable T.V., Biergarten, B.B.Q. Facilities, Boogie Boards/Wet Suits). Bus Service, is direct by the West Marin StageCoach, bicycle friendly, just tell the driver, "The Redwoods Haus", he will drop you off right in front, Coast Hwy. #1 and #1 Belvedere. In Muir Beach, the Pelican Inn (10 Pacific Way; 415-383-6000; www.pelicaninn.com) has rooms from $190, while at the very different Green Gulch Farm Zen Center (1601 Shoreline Highway; 415-383-3134; www.sfzc.org/ggf) doubles start at $145 with three meals a day. You can always, take part in the functions at the Green Gulch Zen Center, commute, from the coed lodging of the World at Peace Redwoods Haus. Stinson Beach Chamber of Commerce, www.stinson-beach.org, 415 868-1330. Up to date, rental listings, list of B&Bs, hotels and motels in the SW Marin Area-Bolinas, Stinson & Muir Beach. MAPS We found the “Rambler’s Guide to the Trails of Mt. Tamalpais, Muir Woods and the Marin Headlands” (Olmstead & Bros.; 510-658-6534; $8) indispensable, even though most trails are well marked. It is a detailed trail map that not only is printed on waterproof material, but also includes a reassuring guarantee from the publisher, Gerald Olmstead: “If you’re lost out in the woods somewhere, please note that my phone number is on the map. Just call me up.” Farther north, we used the “Point Reyes National Seashore and West Marin Parklands” map from Wilderness Press (800-443-7227; www.wildernesspress.com; $9.95). Wilderness also publishes the helpful “North Bay Trails,” by David Weintraub ($16.95). The Proprietors of the World at Peace Redwoods Haus (circa 1910), provide up to date info., on: trail accessibility; out of the way places; day/night concerts at restaurants/community centers; hidden beaches/lakes/streams/waterfalls/hot springs in West Marin. Also Provided, hard to find services in West Marin: WiFi/Computers w FAX, Scanner & Copier/Long Distance Free Calling Onsite; VCRS w 200+VCR Library; Breakfast-Dinner Potlucks-BBQ; BBQ [we show you how]Tomales Bay Oysters; Boogie Boards & Wetsuits; 2nd & 3rd story view decks & rooms, w views of Stinson Beach Village/MTTAM/Bolinas/Pacific Views & Decks ORGANIZED TRIPS Wine Country Trekking (888-287-8735; www.winecountrytrekking.com) offers a variety of supported rambles through West Marin that also include things like kayaking excursions and wine tastings. The Sierra Club runs numerous outings through West Marin as well, some with features like meditation, birding, painting and nature study (415-977-5522; www.sierraclub.org/outings). The World at Peace Redwoods Haus, www.stinson-beach.com, 415 868-1034 or 868-9828, supplies up to date info. on Hikes & Foot races hosted by local internationally recognized Enviro Sports, www.envirosports.com, & other recognized local hiking/foot race event organizers. There are spontaneous hikes, volleyball games, cookouts, campfires that occur at the RWH daily and nightly, amongst the guests inspired by the freedom of opportunity, freshness of the sea breeze mixed with the Scent of the surrounding Redwoods Forest & blossoming Rain Forest of the RWH. There are also, birding expeditions, both organized & spontaneous by those interested in the Audobon Canyon Ranch Activities or their own individual forays to the Bo Lagoon, to catch glimpses of the Blue Herons, Pelicans, Egrets & migrating Aquatic Fowl that visit the Lagoon. Not to mention, Tule Elk, Elephant Seal & Whale Watching, maps/directions via the RWH. Wading in Duxbury Reef, Red Rock Hot Springs, Bass Lake, Esteros of Sir Francis Drake Bay…Discover the Paradise of the Coast of Marin, www.stinson-beach.com, 415 868-9828 or 868-1034.. The Places to Explore We offer information on all of the local natural viewing locations of interest where you can see Whales, Seal and Elephant Seal colonies, Egrets, Herons, Pelicans, and the Tule Elk. Visit the Sulphur Hot Springs at Red Rock Beach , 4-5 days a month during negative tide periods of the Full Moon, the Ocean rolls back, giving 2 hrs., to enjoy the 110 degree heated Seawater, in a open pool of rock, by the edge of the Ocean. Walk into the tide pools of Duxbury Reef during minus tide, study close up the indigenous sea life of the Reef: Sea Anemones; Clams; Mussels; Starfish;Crabs;Coral; and the reef fishes in small pools of water. On Visitors Days of the Week, walk down the 300 steps leading to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, on the Point Reyes Peninsula, see the interior and the antique beacon light of French Manufacture, dating back over a 100 yrs. Kayak with Point Reyes Outdoors www.pointreyesoutdoors.com, 415 663-8192 Sea Kayaking Tours & Classes Guided Nature Hikes Mesa Road in Bolinas: Visit the Point Reyes Bird Observatory and take part in banding expeditions of migratory birds as well as study statistics of their numbers and sightings; Hike to Bass Lake on the Panoramic Trail head, from the parking lot at the end of Mesa Road ; See Agate Beach, where all the rocks are green agate. Hike the many trails that abound in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, Mt. Tamalpais and Tomales State Parks , as well as the Point Reyes National Seashore: Matt Davis-Steep Ravine-Dipsea-Lake Lagunitas-Kent & Nicasio Lakes. Gather Mussels in Season, for ethnic & old fashioned soups/stews. Dance at Smiley's Schooner Saloon & dance/dine at Rancho Nicasio, Sat. Nights to live music. Eat at your pick of 3 art bedecked and fine food dining establishments here in Stinson & two in Bolinas. Rent/Ride Horseback at Five Brooks Stable, Horse Rental, Open Year Round in Olema. 415 663-1570, Fax 415 663-8766, www.fivebrooks.com Workout Regimen, Beach Accessories, Kayaks, Surfboards: At the Stinson Beach Health Club, open daily, 7a.m.-9p.m.,415 868-8801, 3605 Shoreline Hwy.#1 , full range gym, offers weight sets, stationary bikes, Pilates studio, w views of Easkoot Creek in a Polynesian Village Natural Setting Ambiance. Stinson Beach Surf and Kayak Co., same location, Rent and Sell Beach Accessories, Full Range of Kayaks & Client friendly surfboards, Donny 415 868-8801, cell 415 257-1831. Los Banos Surf & Adventure Camp- Coach Dave Lich, certified lifeguard, 415 847-2221 or 415 380-8900, www.stinsonbeachsurfcamp.com, Surf School Classes beginning 6/11, all ages welcome. Free shuttle from Mill Valley. "Bringing the beach to the kids of Marin & Fellow Travelers." BoBo Bikes located in Bolinas, 6 Wharf Rd., 415 450-0621, Bike & Surfboard Impresario Sports Czar Terrence, Proprietor. High Tech State of the Art Bikes, Surboards, Skates from the Czar of Sports Gear. Every detail of hardware can be found as well as Terrence's Extensive Knowledge of what sports gear, is right for you. Bring your equipment in for troubleshooting & maximal gain for high performance on the roadway or surf. Visit/Shop: Claudia Chaplines Art Gallery, Annies Bookstore for Hiking/Biking Maps/Postcards, SurfGear/Beach Wear, Live Water Surf Shop. Many Villages, 2264 Hwy. #1, where you can select from a vast emporium of indigenous jewelry, buddhist artifacts, sacred totems, folk art of Bali, Handmade Oracles Mystical Talismans from the Island Jungles of Thailand and the floating Villages of Indochina. Astute World Expert/Time Traveler of White Light, Oshen, 415 868-1419. Experience: The Museum of Miwok Native American Artifacts at Slide Ranch; Nicasios Russian Orthodox Church, dating back to the Russian Colonial Period at Fort Ross; Smileys Schooner Saloon, an English Pub imported in 1850, oldest functioning alcohol establishment in California; Bodega Schoolhouse made famous in Alfred Hithcocks, "The Birds"; Muir Woods Trail, the setting for Hitchcocks "VERTIGO", where Jimmy Stewart followed Kim Novak into Muir Woods,on the Matt Davis Trailhead, beginning at Belvedere in Stinson(Right up from the Redwoods, #1 Belvedere]; Skywalker Ranch, East of Nicasio, creative brainchild of George Lucas; Peak of Sacred Mount Tamalpais-from which the viewer can experience 360 degree panorama views, of the Greater S.F. Bay Area & the City, Mt. Diablo, the Farollone Islands of the Pacific Ocean. These and many more view spots as well as Treasures of Wild West Architecture in West Marin Towns, will be addressed, directions will be given & an itinerary for all points of interest in Marin, Sonoma and the S.F. Greater Bay Area. AWESTMARINTAXI + Public Transportation: For all points in the SF Bay Area, awestmarintaxi@gmail.com, taxi by request, 415 868-1330, cell 415 497-6656, SFO+Oak Airports, Tours of West Marin/Greater Marin, itinerary for travelers and visitors to West Marin/Sonoma County. Use the Transit Planner site, www.511.org From San Francisco , take #70 or #80 Golden Gate Transit, to Marin City Transfer to West Marin Stage Coach, website for schedule is: www.marintransit.org, call for info., M-F, 8 a.m.-5 a.m., 415 526-3239 Important Phone No.s Stinson Beach Lifeguard Tower-415 868-0942 Stinson Beach Visitor Center- 415 388-2596 Driving Directions to Stinson Beach From Highway 101 Exit Highway 1/Stinson Beach (there will be a sign for Muir Woods/ Mt. Tamalpais at this exit) Drive about .5 miles. At the stoplight, turn left. You now have two options, both about the same distance, both on winding steep roads. Shoreline Hwy. 1 takes you along the Pacific Ocean, through Muir Beach, to Stinson Beach. Panoramic Highway take you up and over Mt Tamalpais, w breathtaking panorama views of the City, East Bay, Sonoma County, to within one block of the Redwood Haus in Stinson Beach. To get to Panoramic from Hwy. 101, Drive 3 miles on Shoreline Hwy. #1. At the top of the hill, turn right onto the Panoramic Highway. From Panoramic access, Muir Woods/Mount Tamalpais and Stinson Beach. Or Continue straight on Shoreline Highway #1 about 12 miles to Stinson Beach. When traveling South to North on Hwy.#1, upon entering Stinson Beach, Make a right at the Firehouse, onto Belvedere, a u turn and park alongside fence, at #1 Belvedere and Hwy. #1, the Redwoods Haus, On Street Parking. Olema intersection and Sir Francis Drake Blvd.-16 miles South to Stinson Beach. Point Reyes Station. So. to Stinson Beach-18 miles So. to Stinson Beach. Barbeque in the Bier-garten: Bring your own fish/chicken/duck/lamb/meat cuts/zucchini/corn/beverages and b.b.q. coals for barbeque, we provide potatoes, rice, onions, bread, condiments & b.b.q. coals or mesquite. Oysters for Redwoods barbeque[Redwoods Chef gives instructions on preparation] must be obtained beforehand at: the Tomales Bay Oyster Farm, located on Shoreline Hwy. #1, 4 miles No. of Point Reyes Station; the Hog Island Oyster Co. in Marshall; the Johnsons Oyster Farm on the Point Reyes Peninsula. Gesucht: Deutscher Schreiner oder Zimmermann fuer Renovierungs- und Reparaturarbeiten fuer Redwood Haus fuer flexible Zeit. Keine Arbeitserlaubnis noetig. Kommen Sie zu uns an die traumhafte Pazifikkueste. Sagen Sie dies all Ihren Freunden. Siehe unsere Internetseite: www.stinson-beach.de Kontakt: 415 868-1330 info@stinson-beach.com Please check our websites for our pricing and service, www.stinson-beach.com, in German, www.stinson-beach.de, 415 868-9828 or 868-1034. You will soon be convinced that we indeed have the BEST & most EQUITABLE lodging service in the entire SF Bay Area! Seize the Day Bird Lovers flock to Stinson's Audobon Canyon Ranch The Audobon Canyon Ranch, founded in 1962, one of the largest nesting sites on the West Coast, offers sanctuary & a birds-eye-view of the graceful ballet-of ritual courtship, nest-building, egg-turning, chick-rearing & first flight of the Great Blue Herons, Great & Snowy Egrets in Picher Canyon. Males gather sticks for nest building, then females arrange them just so, in the closest coastal redwoods to a 24-hour food supply in Bolinas Lagoon. Eight miles of redwoods, Douglas Fir & Bay, coastal scrub & chaparral, grassland, pond, stream & marsh trails cover 1K ares. Spring wildflowers display in dense greenery. At the Redwoods Haus, located 2 miles from the Ranch, receive trail maps & a itinerary for the folks & kids, of the many other offerings afforded visitors & birdwatchers of this Pearl of the Coast.
Indian Summer of MT TAM+Muir Woods+BoRidgelCoast Trail NYT Hike+WiFi {...}
Published: August 18, 2008, 8:29 pm - Indexed: August 18, 2008, 9:59 pm - Page Size: 31KB
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