endurablegoods

The Evolution of the Rainbow

The rainbow has gone through quite a journey over the last few decades. Before being adopted by the gay/queer community, a rainbow was a neutral symbol of general awesomeness and positivity. It could be used without concern over seeming too "gay" and popped up all over the place in ads, decor and signage.

At one point, it was even tough enough to be the title of heavy metal band. Rainbow.

Rainbow was a big metal band from the mid-70's helmed by the legendary Richie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio. While never as big as their other projects - Black Sabbath or Deep Purple - the band put out some important material and were a big part of the evolution of Metal.

Dio died a few days ago of cancer. As one of the true elder statesmen of Metal, he helped define an entire genre of music and played a critical role in the popularization of heavy metal. He's also credited for really making the whole "devil horns" thing popular, too.

Dio's "Last in Line" was one of the first music videos I remember seeing as a kid on the then-new MTV (Music Television). I was captivated by the world he had created for the video; a comic book-inspired hell, creepy characters, a giant, beckoning Satan and killer video games. (Not "killer" as in, awesome but "killer" in that when you lost, you were electrocuted. So cool!)

I pulled up "Last in Line" and it is as awesome as I remembered. Meeno Peluce!

And I just noticed this! Have a look at the 1:15 mark. Tell me that is not Bobcat Goldthwait presaging his role in Scrooged!

KilRoi Was Here

A quick KilRoi update...

I've settled on a smart and solid partner to take KilRoi forward on the gaming side. Recall from the my last post, KilRoi has a great chance of being more than a straightforward short film. With the right team, the basics of the relationships between graffiti, property owners and snipers can be replicated in a game-world which lives both online and on a smartphone. And with the right Augmented Reality approach, the experience will cross into real life to an extent.

The game will feature virtual goods, location-specific media downloads and a wide variety of social currencies and will be designed for casual and more dedicated users. Expect to see some pretty innovative ideas driven from geo-location tricks, spacial recognition and advanced mapping.

On the film side, the budget has been completed and a rough production schedule built out. I'm still working on the details regarding the production company. I've got a bomber crew already in mind and am confident I'll be able to pick up a super-savvy producer or two. It's a damn good film and I expect it to do well on the festival circuit this fall. Shooting mid-July in the Bay Area.

My partner and I are working on a solid pitch deck so we can present this thing and start raising money. It'll be interesting to see who bites first; a gaming company or a film company.

I bought the url KilRoiWasHere.com and that should be up next week sometime.

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I recently threw up an SF Examiner article where I finally (barely) found a way to weave in John Parr's amazing 80's anthem "Naughty, Naughty".