Thursday, October 02, 2008

OK, things are moving along swimmingly. New site construction is underway, the 'Thank You' music video has been well received, our research fellow draws a step closer to starting in earnest - life is good. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

arun 8:23 AM

Saturday, September 06, 2008

OK, we've just finished filming the principle footage for the projectHOPE music video. I'll be sending off the raw capture to our video editor today. Before we did the last takes, Danny and I randomly checked out the documentary footage shot by Stanley Kubrick's daughter during the filming of 'The Shining'. Magical stuff, especially with the commentary on. It was on the now defunct HD DVD for the same, but I think you can find the documentary (sans commentary, sadly) online on YouTube.

arun 7:55 AM

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Well, the first ever projectHOPE 'Battle of the Bands' went off without a hitch. I'm pleased to announce that it was a certified crap-ton of fun. Six bands, three judges, a rowdy audience and all the free hotdogs and hamburgers you could eat. I'd like to thank our sponsors, organizers and most importantly the bands that participated in support of the projectHOPE research initiative! A special mention needs to be made to our Battle of the Band Champions, Chiseled Mentality, for absolutely nailing Sabbath's Paranoid! We'll have that video posted soon. In the meantime, check out these pics from the event.

arun 6:10 PM

Friday, August 15, 2008

Twas the night before the projectHOPE Battle of the Bands, and all through the house, not a creature stirred, except for the frikken sweet mice that were rawking out to the 'peppers on Rockband. Speaking of frikken sweet - the developers of Rockband have decided to sign a bunch of our limited edition 'Battle of the Bands' scrubtops. How cool is that? I'm sorry we've been having some trouble with the site lately - let's call it growing pains.

arun 1:40 PM

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Hey all - my apologies for not keeping this blog up to date. There's been a ton of news regarding projectHOPE - so much so, I don't quite no where to begin. My last post detailed some of the issues relating to the installation 23 Xbox360's on one of the pediatric wings of John Hopkins hospital - well, thanks to the ceaseless efforts of the team, that installation can be chalked up as a success - the consoles are in and kids are playing them, yesseriie Bob! We're still working out networking permissions, but with an institution as large as the Hopper, this is understandable. I'm going to drip feed the events of the past few months because one post simply wouldn't do justice. Here are some highlights, tho: new website coming, frikken sweet online graphic novel coming, the mother of all fund-raisers, Comic-Con, and the launch of the HOPE merch store - dewds, this party just got real.

arun 11:47 PM

Saturday, January 19, 2008

HOPE Install - Jan 13-14th 2008

OK team - nice work with the install. We met up at the always impressive John Steven pub in Fells Point in Baltimore (the curried scallops were unreal!) and worked through the logistics of both the coming year in addition to the particulars of the install on the 9th floor of the pediatric floor at Hopkins. Met up the following day with Bill Bohns who proved pivotal with the particulars of the install. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet up with other key individuals that made this install possible - Patrice Brylske, Joe Green, Elizabeth Shaughnessy, Francis Russell, Lisa Huber, Tiffany Button and Steve Sears. Regardless, our gratitude knows no bounds!

For those of you who want the nitty-gritty particulars, we'll be posting the videos of the install shortly!

arun 5:18 PM

Saturday, December 22, 2007

An excerpt from an email from our very own Robert Swain:

I did a walk through of the unit with the nurse manager and the head of physical plant today. The installs are going to begin soon. The first demo room will be set up next Thursday to estimate how long each install is going to take. Carpenters and electricians will be involved in setting up a negative pressure environment, mounting hardware and running cables. I (and Joe if available) will perform an in-service on how to use the basic features of the 360 which will be followed by a more in-depth training on parental control features.

It’s all coming together.

I couldn't have put it better, Roberto.