Academy Award-Winning Composer and Technology Pioneer Join Forces to Celebrate a...

Academy Award-Winning Composer and Technology Pioneer Join Forces to Celebrate
a Japanese Tradition
Boing Boing TV Celebrates 150th Episode With Unique Documentary and Journey of
the Senses

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Boing Boing TV
(tv.boingboing.net) commemorates its 150th episode with a mini-documentary
featuring internationally recognized technology pioneer, Joi Ito
(joi.ito.com), accompanied by an original score composed by Grammy, Academy
Award, and Golden Globe-winning composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto (sitesakamoto.com).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080520/AQTU085 )
This special episode marries art, music, tradition, cuisine, and community
in an extraordinary tale as told by Joi, an American-educated Japanese
activist, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, who is also the CEO of Creative
Commons (creativecommons.org). Joi is also the founder and CEO of Neoteny, a
venture capital firm focused on personal communications and enabling
technologies. He has created numerous Internet companies including PSINet
Japan, Digital Garage and Infoseek Japan.
The video follows Joi as he sets off in a bamboo forest near his home in
the heart of Japan, in search of a seasonal delicacy, takenoko (bamboo
shoots). The video reveals the secrets on how this ancestral dish has been
prepared and presented in Japan, set to a modern composition by one of today's
most important global musicians. Ryuichi's interest in the story underscores
his passion as an outspoken environmentalist -- his recent initiative, "More
Trees" (www.more-trees.org) supports the planting of more trees to help offset
carbon emissions.
"Technology enables us to communicate and connect in many ways, but
sometimes we get so caught up in the flood of new information, we forget to
stop and appreciate experiences that remind us of our history," said Xeni
Jardin, co-founder and co-host of Boing Boing TV.
"Without technology, the larger public may never have had the opportunity
to take this journey," said Boing Boing founder and Boing Boing TV co-host
Mark Frauenfelder, "It was an honor and a privilege to share this unique and
personal glimpse of tradition with the millions of Boing Boing followers."
Since its debut in October 2007, Boing Boing TV has won the hearts of
fans, as demonstrated by the recent nomination as an "Official Honoree" for
the 2008 Webby Awards, in the Online Film and Video category. Boing Boing
TV's innovative model and premium content has also continually attracted major
brands; including IBM, Dell, BMW, Verizon, Amazon, Adobe, Samsung, SanDisk,
and JCPenney. Boing Boing TV is available on tv.boingboing.net, as well as
Apple iTunes, YouTube, and in the inflight entertainment system on board
Virgin America planes (www.virginamerica.com).
Boing Boing TV is produced in partnership with DECA, a digital
entertainment studio that finances, develops, markets and distributes unique,
high-quality digital entertainment properties including BushLeague.TV
(www.bushleague.tv) and CNET's Dog and Pony Show (www.dogandpony.com).
Boing Boing TV is represented by International Creative Management
(www.icmtalent.com), one of the world's largest talent and literary agencies.
Federated Media Publishing (www.federatedmedia.net) connects marketers
with Boing Boing TV, and has helped the property attract sponsorships that
include in-stream video advertising, pre-show announcements and millions of
blog ad impressions.
About Ryuichi Sakamoto:
Ryuichi Sakamoto (Sakamoto Ryuichi, sitesakamoto.com) is a gifted
composer, musician producer, actor and environmental activist. With multiple
Academy Awards, Grammy nominations and Golden Globes, he is ranked as one of
the top 100 most influential musicians by HMV.
Ryuichi got his start as a session musician, then formed the
internationally successful synthpop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, with Haruomi
Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi.
Ryuichi's talent doesn't stop in the realm of creative arts; he's also an
avid global activist, passionately assisting in the fight against global
warming. His latest project More Trees, which began in 2006, seeks to support
and promote special projects that allow for the planting of trees as a measure
of carbon offsets. The organization has vowed to plant seven billion trees by
2009. To-date, 2 billion trees have been planted mostly through work with
country governments including Turkey, Ethiopia and Mexico.
Ryuichi attended the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music,
where he earned a B.A. in music composition and an M.A. with special emphasis
on both electronic and ethnic music. He is based in New York and Tokyo.
About Boing Boing TV:
Boing Boing TV ("BBtv", tv.boingboing.net) is a daily online video program
featuring eccentric, adventurous, colorful, and provocative glimpses into
undiscovered realms of technology, art, and culture. In addition to
"mini-documentaries" featuring Boing Boing editors online and out in the
world, BBtv has welcomed a diverse roster of guests including Microsoft
co-founder Paul Allen, author John Hodgman, "Matrix" and "Speed Racer" effects
wizard John Gaeta, and a webcam glimpse inside the making of a "South Park"
episode with Matt Stone and Trey Parker. BBtv is licensed under a Creative
Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/).
About Boing Boing:
Boing Boing (www.boingboing.net) is co-edited by Cory Doctorow, Mark
Frauenfelder, Xeni Jardin and David Pescovitz. Boing Boing Gadgets
(gadgets.boingboing.net) is edited by Joel Johnson, Rob Beschizza, and John
Brownlee. BoingBoing.net launched in 2000, and Technorati's list of most
influential blogs -- based on how many other sites link to that blog -- now
places Boing Boing at #1 in popularity and #5 in authority. By Comscore's
measure, Boing Boing is among the five most-visited blogs on the web.
According to Google, more than a million other sites link to Boing Boing.
Forbes voted it "best of the web" among tech blogs, as did BusinessWeek.
AdRants, ad exec Steve Hall's blog, said that if Boing Boing covers your ad
campaign, it's gone viral. It was a 2006 Bloggies winner for Best Group Blog
and Lifetime Achievement and a 2006 and 2007 Webby Awards nominee. In a 2006
article, The New Yorker described Boing Boing as "a technology blog that is
read by geeks the world over."
About DECA:
DECA (www.deca.tv) was founded in 2007 by experienced entertainment and
Internet executives who previously held senior roles at Sony Pictures, ABC,
and Yahoo! Music. DECA uniquely identifies, funds, markets and distributes
next-generation digital entertainment properties, bridging the gap between
Hollywood, Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley. Based in Santa Monica, Calif.,
the company is backed by Mayfield, General Catalyst, and Atomico.
About International Creative Management:
International Creative Management, Inc. (ICM, www.icmtalent.com) is one of
the world's largest talent and literary agencies, with offices in Los Angeles,
New York and London. A cornerstone of the entertainment industry for more than
three decades, ICM represents creative and technical talent in the fields of
motion pictures, television, publishing, music, live performance, commercials
and new media.
About Federated Media:
FM (www.federatedmedia.net) believes great voices attract great audiences,
and supports those voices by connecting them to great marketers, as well as
providing a suite of services that let authors focus on what they do best:
make compelling media. In so doing, FM creates federations of respected voices
that prosper on their own terms. Current federations include Sports,
Technology, Automotive, Business & Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Video
Gaming, Graphics Arts, News 2.0, Mobile, Lifestyle and Parenting.
Media Contact:
Kathy Johnson
Consort Partners
deca@consortpartners.com
Tel: +1 415 823 9566

SOURCE Boing Boing TV

Kathy Johnson of Consort Partners, +1-415-823-9566, deca@consortpartners.com