It’s hard to believe Stan Winston has left us for the great VFX studio in the sky. What I always loved about his work was the practical element. He created models, masks, and animatronics you could touch, not merely pixels glowing brightly on an LCD display.

If you’ve seen Aliens you know what I mean about models creating the reality. Compare that with the final scene in Species when pure VFX doesn’t really work. ILM may have perfected the elimination of models in Pirates but for me foam latex will always trump the pixel.

I have seen the future of live performance and U23D is it. Why spend $20 on parking, hundreds of $ on a ticket, and still need a set of binoculars?

Concerts in IMAX are incredible. The sound rumbles your seat as if you were there. Flying cameras give you the most intimate experience you can get without being on stage with the performers.

Let’s hope this is the start of a trend.

It seems as if every 80s band decided to reunite or tour in 2007. Upside is seeing shows I hadn’t seen “back in the day” and downside was the most expensive year ever for tickets.

Roger Waters

By far the best show from a theatrical and performance perspective. Who can beat a flying pig and Dark Side of the Moon?

Genesis

Best show for nostalgia. Phil Collins went up a notch in my book - he’s quite a showman and works the crowd. The set list was excellent spanning all the history of Genesis. It’s been said that Genesis was better without Gabriel and Gabriel was better without Genesis. With the exception of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway I have to agree. Worst part… Rained out at the Hollywood Bowl just before Carpet Crawlers and what’s up with Tony Banks? The guy never looks up from his keyboard. Ever.

Van Halen

Diamond Dave is one of the best frontmen to ever walk on stage. Eddie was top notch, Dave wasn’t overpowered by the amps, and Wolfgang played well. This was the most fun of the shows and even the most diehard VH fan would agree the playlist was excellent.

The Police

The Police can do no wrong in my book but Sting likes to meddle. I think the intention was good - give ‘em some variety - but, come on, we want it the way it was played in the day…period. By far, Stewart Copeland stole the show with Wrapped Around Your Finger and aside from the gray hair and glasses, the same old Stewart. Andy Summers shred in Phoenix and blase in LA. Sting was…well…Sting.

NPR had a story this morning about America’s declining amount of sleep. Apparently our society has developed the idea the less amount of sleep we get the more successful we are in our career.

I’ve met people who take pride in their four hours of sleep and leave you with the feeling you should to the same if you want great things from life. Everyone should have a success plan and work smart regardless of your sleep habits. You can look at sleep in two ways:

1. Your body needs rest; perhaps these sleep-deprived people are the small percentage of the population who never gets sick, doesn’t need to diet, and has low cholesterol while eating fried chicken all day - they’re the exception not the rule
2. Getting insufficient sleep could kill you sooner than your well-rested friends
3. Sleep time is like an overdraft account for your time

Although I’m a night owl I force myself to bed around 11:00 PM. I’m most creative and productive when well rested but if it was crunch time on a project I could go until 2:00 AM or 3:00 AM. I’d get about four hours of sleep before my son wakes up.

The idea behind not sleeping is maximizing your time to get things done. If you use all the hours in the day and still have the urge to get more done…you’re out of time. The mental anguish of wanting to do more and no time to do it would drive me mad. I’d rather get as much done before 11:00 PM and know that I could do more if needed.

Those extra hours for sleep are like “rollover minutes” for squeezing more time out of the day when you need it the most.

The image says it all.

Taken on December 28, 2007 from the Phoenix, AZ web site AZCentral.com.