I Want You to Want Me

Massive touchscreens. Three-dimensional animation. Realistic interaction. Real-time synthesis of expressions of love, longing and loss by real humans looking for love in the ether of the net by interactive designers of rich-media storytelling platforms, Jonathan Harris.

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Sons Of Lwala: A Documentary of Hope

Milton and Fred Ochieng’ are two brothers from Kenya whose village sent them to America to become doctors. But after losing both parents to AIDS they are left with a heartbreaking task: to return home and finish the health clinic their father started before getting sick.

Unable to raise enough money on their own, the brothers are joined by students, politicians, and a rock band who launch a fund raising drive among young people across the United States. Sons of Lwala follows Milton and Fred on their incredible journey as they find a way, despite all odds, to open their village’s first hospital.

From Project Sunshine:

Amid all the stories that have hit the news about Kenya in the recent weeks, the story of the sons of Lwala has to be told, and what a better way to tell this story than through a film. So, for those of you in the Nashville, TN area or in front of a computer, you are welcome to donate and/or buy tickets for a benefit screening of the story of the two young doctors who returned to Lwala to build a hospital after being educated in the United States

How To Take Action

After Fred and Milton completed the hospital, with the help of well wishers and friends, they realised that they needed to keep it open, and created the Lwala Community Alliance to continue funding the initial donation.

Filmmaker Barry Simmons says via the team’s Facebook page:

It’s time (finally!) to celebrate the completion of our little documentary, and more importantly, to gather around Milton and Fred for a blow-out night at TPAC to raise money for their clinic in Lwala! The screening will be in Nashville on Thursday, March 27. Order tickets at www.tpac.org/lwala.

And just in case you are wondering what your donation will do:

So folks, you can watch the trailer here or the trailer below.

Kevin Kelly's True Films 2.0

As a contributor to The Whole Earth Catalog in the early seventies, and as founding editor of WIRED Magazine, Kevin Kelly has been a collector of the cool and the esoteric. We continue to glean precious nuggets from his current on-line catalog, Cool Tools.

True Films 2.0 is the second version of Kevin's reviews of the best documentaries and "factuals" available. This time he reviews 150 of the best true films and list two dozen others which he deems only "good."

For each film Kevin presents 4 or 5 screen shots, and captions, snagged from the film to give you some idea of their texture.

Kevin designed the book in color, but you can buy a black and white softcover version from Lulu.com, where it is the cheapest, or for a bit more from Amazon, where it is the easiest to order. Or you can buy a luxurious 156-page full color softcover version from Lulu. Or you can buy a dirt cheap color version as a PDF download, and get it instantly. In a few weeks you'll be able to get versions for e-book readers and PDAs.

• PDF Download [ $2 via PayPal | $1.88 via Lulu ]
• Black and white softcover book: $10 [ via Lulu ]
• Color softcover book: $30 [ via Lulu ]
  

Visit the official True Films website to see all of Kevin Kelly's reviews at www.truefilms.com.

From Kevin Kelly:

Now here is the thing. In each mode, I make exactly the same profit: $1.50 per book. In an experiment in new publishing I have priced each version $1.50 above my costs. So the different prices merely reflect the different costs of that venue. This means I don't care which edition you choose! Whether you buy the $2 PDF version, or the $30 color Lulu print version, or order from Amazon, I make exactly the same $1.50 per book. As I add other options for purchase the same process will apply: my total markup will be $1.50 above my costs.
Do I need to mention there is the free website version? Not as handy as a book, but updated with my latest additional reviews. However, I'm partial to the book version. It is a great browse, very concentrated and accessible and as it says on the cover "Perfect for Netflix."

-- KK