The Conference, Ted Turner & iTunes

It is good to be home and to be back in the office today. The conference went well; I only had about 100 e-mails to respond to this a.m., our press conference was postponed until tomorrow, and we have some fun project ideas that we are "borrowing" from other organizations.

Last Week I Would Have Posted About. . .
#1 The 1 Billionth iTunes Downloader
Last week Apple enticed iTunes addicts with a shot at becoming the lucky one-billionth purchaser of iTunes music. As the ticker approached within seconds of the 1 billion mark, more than a million purchases were made. The big opportunity to win a new iMac, 10 iPods and the much-desired $10,000 iTunes gift card sailed away to suburban Detroit, where a Coldplay fan scored the one-billionth song --“Speed of Sound.” The winning buy occurred around 1 a.m. CST on Feb. 23. Click here to see a list of the winner and those who just missed out. . .

#2 Ted Turner Says 'Peace Out' to AOL TIMEWarner
On the heels of a sale of its regional Turner South network to Fox Cable Networks, Turner South founder, Ted Turner, said he would step down from the Time Warner board of directors. Mr. Turner has been a critic of Time Warner since it merged with AOL. He stepped down as vice chairman in May 2003 and will officially leave the board in May 2006. Maybe this monoploy of a broadcasting corporation is preparing to be three or four sepearate companies. . .

#3 Mommy-Wars
'Self' Magazine hosted a lunch and panel discussion Feb. 13 to celebrate the Random House publication of 'Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families.' PLEASE, I love that people can happily gather at a cocktail party to discuss this ever-so-pressing issue. . .humans are crazy creatures some times.

Fun Closing Thoughts
Ryan and I saw The General, a 1927 silent film by Buster Keaton, at Bass Hall Friday night after I got home. I had never seen a silent film before and I absolutely loved the atmosphere of watching a film with a live orchestra! One element of the film that struck both Ryan and I was the appearance of the actors. Although they were not ugly people, I highly doubt they would have been as successful in film today as they were in the early 20th century. It was very entertaining and enjoyable to watch people perform who obviously had a natural talent in performing arts. I would highly reccomend the experience of watching a silent film with live orchestration!