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GooseBook’s fortunes fall on news of PIFF 2013 shutout

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GooseBook Logo

GooseBook’s fortunes fell on Friday after Thursday morning’s announcement that cackle-enabled devices will not be lent to filmgoers this year nor will they even be allowed inside the Park Cinema during PIFF 2013’s Noon Nuttiness screenings.

The social network site, which is the parent company of cackle (as well as peck), stood to add to its financial base through a group of private investors who had planned to support the company in its new endeavours. But after Thursday’s announcement by PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot, the group withdrew its offer of support, a spokesAnimal for the investors told The Mammalian Daily.

“The group [of investors] does not feel that the time is right for them to invest in GooseBook. Unfortunately, Park Animals continue to associate the company with the violence that broke out during the 2012 Noon Nuttiness screenings, even though the company was not involved in any way and publicly condemned the violence. Although the group is supportive of GooseBook, it has decided to hold off allying itself with the company until such time as GooseBook is able to repair its relationship with the public,” the spokesAnimal said.

Although some financial experts regard the loss of these private investors as “sounding the death knell” for GooseBook, the company’s CEO and President, Lester C. Gander said in a statement today that he is confident the company will find the support it needs “from both the public and investors.”

GooseBook was the brainchild of the late Cesar Emilio Gander, who founded the site while a student at the University of West Terrier. After his untimely death in 2009, as a result of a collision with a passenger aircraft, Lester Gander assumed the position of CEO and President. With Gander at the helm, the company has grown and the membership of all three social media sites has tripled in the past year.

Beasts of Burden unveil poster for upcoming music festival

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Beats of Burden logo

The Beasts of Burden commissioned this poster for the 1st annual BEATS OF BURDEN Music Festival

THE BEATS GET CLOSER

In a short ceremony yesterday afternoon, The Beasts of Burden unveiled the poster that they commissioned for the first annual Beats of Burden Music Festival.

The Beasts’ lead singer Alfredo Ox said in a short speech that the poster is meant to express two things: the joy that Animals feel when making music and the diversity of music makers in The Park. He declined to name the artist responsible for the poster, saying only that that Animal wished to remain anonymous.

The Beats of Burden Music Festival will be held September 14-16. All proceeds from the Festival will go toward assisting The Park’s refugees.

New rules: PIFF lays down the law before announcing films

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Park Interspecial Film FestivalTwo days before announcing the roster of films that will screen at the 9th annual Park Interspecial Fllm Festival, PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot convened an early morning press conference to announce what she calls “the new rules.”

Exhibiting a no-nonsense attitude, Ocelot read from a prepared statement and then took questions from the media.

In the statement, she confirmed that PIFF 2013 would include a number of items that were introduced last year. Most notable of these was “Noon Nuttiness,” the name given to the practice of screening comedies only between the hours of 12:00 and 2:00 pm at the Park Cinema.

The difference this year, Ocelot said, is that patrons will not be allowed to bring any technological devices into the cinema. Last year, a riot broke out during a Noon Nuttiness screening, when angry protesters stormed the cinema and demanded that patrons hand over their cackle-enabled devices. The devices had been lent to the patrons by cackle’s parent company, GooseBook, so that filmgoers could share their favourite moments with friends.

“We cannot allow the Festival to be overtaken by theft and violence,” Ocelot said this morning. “And as a result, we decided not to renew the device-lending agreement with GooseBook at this time. We will be reviewing this option every year and making our decisions on a year-to-year basis,” she said.

Also returning in 2013 are PIFF Pockets, or pocket films, which are films that do not exceed three minutes in length and that have been made specifically for the Festival. Both pocket documentary and pocket fiction films will be screened at this year’s event, Ocelot said.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of submissions of pocket films this year. The popularity of this category exceeded our wildest expectations,” she said.

Once again, documentaries will make up a significant portion of the Festival’s offerings and, as an aside, Ocelot mentioned that she thought the Hot Dogs documentary category this year was “spectacular.”

The full lineup of films for the 9th annual film festival will be announced on Friday, August 16.  The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.

Park ART Walk: A week…and a world away

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PAW logo

 

 

 

The organizers of the 7th annual Park ART Walk (PAW) request the honour of your presence at the following event:

Park ART Walk
Saturday, August 17, 2013
10:00 am – 7:00 pm

The Park ART Walk is a one-day, juried art exhibition that showcases the artistic expression of Park residents. PAW showings will take place at participating art galleries, retail establishments, and at the Ancient, Open-Air Theatre.

For more information on this year’s event, please see: Take Root

————————————————————————————-

The Park ART Walk wishes to thank its sponsors:

 

Founding Families

Founding Families Financial Corporation

 

                  

tallulahstoilettage  The Nut Bar       LeTwiggery    

 

  The Tabby Club
You’ve Earned Your Stripes™                                                                                                              Amoltrud's Aesthetics

Amoltrud’s Aesthetics   


The Park’s Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations

“Shoot the Messenger” to open PIFF 2013

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Park Interspecial Film FestivalGeorge Angus Doo’s controversial and arresting film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) on October 1.

The announcement was made this morning in a statement released by PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot.

“We are thrilled to announce that George Doo’s award-winning film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival. The Festival is very grateful to him for giving us the chance to screen his great film,” the statement read.

The film, which received the 2013 Winkie Award, explores the relationship between Humans and Doo’s own species, the Pigeon.

This is the first film in which Doo has put his own species at the centre. His previous films dealt mostly with underwater crises and desert themes. In an interview last spring with film critic Hernando Gorrión of The Avian Messenger, Doo said he was at first reluctant to use his own species as the subject of a film because he thought the issues were too close for him to be able to see them clearly.

“There is so much conflict, so many emotions on both sides. In many ways, it is a relationship of mutual respect and dependence, yet we have seen too many misunderstandings and far too many deaths,” he said.

Shoot the Messenger will screen at The Park Cinema on the Festival’s opening night, and again on Oct 4.

The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.

Jargonhead signs on to rap at Beats of Burden music fest

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Jargonhead

Legendary Park rapper Jargonhead announced today that he has signed on to rap at the Beats of Burden music festival in September

Legendary Park rapper Jargonhead announced today that he has signed on to rap at the Beats of Burden Music Festival this September.

“I’m all in,” he said in a statement released by his manager this morning.

The rapper, who embarked on his Ducks in a Row tour last Winter has been performing outside The Park for several months. On his return last week, he was advised of the upcoming festival.

“He was so impressed by what the Beasts had done to set this thing up. He called them right away and just about begged them to let him participate,” said his manager Jukka Ankka.

“He said to me, ‘I love the way they think outside the box. They’re really pushing the envelope here and I want to be involved. IMHO, I think this is going to be a game changer,'” Ankka said.

The Beats of Burden Music Festival will take place September 14-16. All proceeds from the festival will go toward assisting The Park’s refugees.

Autochthonous art to take root at Park ART Walk 2013

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PAW logoThe 2013 Park ART Walk will highlight the art of The Park’s autochthonous Animals, it was announced today.

In a joint statement released this morning, the organizers of the annual Park ART Walk (PAW), the Society of Autochthonous Artists (SAA), The Park’s Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations, and the Founding Families Financial Corporation, confirmed the theme of The Park’s 7th annual Park ART Walk.

“We are extremely pleased that we have been able to work together to bring this focus to the 2013 Park ART Walk,” the statement began.

“While The Park is extremely proud of its immigrants and values the contributions in all areas that they have made and continue to make, we believe that it is time to shine a light on the artistic endeavours, both past and present, of our autochthonous population. These are the Animals without whom there would be no zoocracy and no Park as we know it, the Animals who foraged here first, then forged out of this place a society for others to live in peacefully, based on the values that we all have come to share,” the statement concluded.

Underwritten in part by the Founding Families Financial Corporation, The Park-wide exhibition will be entitled, “From the Ground Up.”

This is only the second time in its history that the Park ART Walk has had a distinct theme. Last year, thanks to a one-time gift from The Archons’ Initiative Fund, the event showcased art as it related to the theme, “INtegration through ART.” The stated goal of that themed exhibition was to “encourage Animals to learn more about species other than their own, so that we can understand our differences and our similarities.”

The 2013 theme, however, appears to have a much less ambitious goal.

“Our exhibit of autochthonous art has no goal beyond appreciation,” says Aintza Kanariar, Director of Public Relations for The Park’s Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations.

The Park ART Walk (PAW) is a one-day, juried art exhibition that showcases the artistic expression of Park residents. The 7th annual Park ART Walk will take place on Saturday, August 17, 2013 between the hours of 10:00 am and 7:00 pm. Showings will take place at participating art galleries, retail establishments, and at the Ancient, Open-Air Theatre. This year’s jury will include curators from the Ewe and Moo and Knochen Kunst Galleries.

Beasts of Burden unveil new song for upcoming music fest

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Beasts of Burden new song

Last night, in a rare appearance at their own pub, the Beasts of Burden unveiled their newest song, “Llego Con Tres Juguetes” (“I Arrive With Three Toys”). The band has dedicated the song to the victims of enforced domestication.

Last night, in a rare appearance at their own pub, The Beasts of Burden unveiled their newest song.

As he ascended the makeshift stage at The Draft, lead singer Alfredo Ox motioned to the crowd and asked for silence. Then he took the microphone and made a short speech in which he said he’d dedicated his new song to the survivors of enforced domestication.

“I was moved by the many stories I read about Animals who escaped enforced domestication,” he said. “They’re a different kind of refugee, one that maybe doesn’t get as much attention as others. But since we established our new music festival, the Beats of Burden, to aid all Park refugees, I thought it was appropriate that I write a song about their struggles.”

Then, joined by the other band members, Ox sang “Llego Con Tres Juguetes” (“I Arrive With Three Toys”):

Llego con tres juguetes (I arrive with three toys)
Un muñeco de peluche (A stuffed toy)
Una pelota  (A ball)
Un hueso falso (A fake bone)

The song is the story of a Canine refugee who arrives in The Park with no food, family, or friends. His only possessions are the three toys his captors gave him: a stuffed toy, a ball, and a bone.

When the band was done, the cheering crowd clamoured for an encore. But Ox said they couldn’t oblige.

“We’re saving the rest for the fest,” he said, leaving the band’s manager, Ignatius Herder, to reassure the crowd.

“They’ll be back…just not tonight,” said Herder.

Herder also confirmed that all proceeds from the song’s sales will go to charities that assist The Park’s refugees.

Museum confirms addition of library to building complex

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Park MuseumThe Park Museum will house a library within its building complex, it has been confirmed.

In a statement released today, the Board of Governors of The Park Museum announced that after “extensive consultations” with the Museum’s architects, Fleck + Stone, they were able to alter the original plans for the Museum to include a library that will house books, manuscripts, and musical scores.

In what amounts to an admission of error on their part, the Board of Governors expressed their gratitude to the architects for allowing them the opportunity to “correct an oversight” and to reaffirm their commitment to making the project a comprehensive one.

No mention of extra cost was made in the statement, nor was the matter of further delay addressed.

The Park Museum is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

New “Beats of Burden”music fest will aid Park refugees

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What a difference a letter makes!

Despite having decided months before that their comeback would include an annual charity concert in aid of The Park’s refugees, the Beasts of Burden found themselves putting off an official announcement. Stopped dead in their tracks by their inability to find an appropriate name for the event, they even considered shelving the project, worthy though they thought it was.

“I understood the problem, but I couldn’t help. They didn’t just want to put their name on it and call it ‘The Annual Beasts of Burden Charity Concert.’ They wanted the name to have more meaning than that,” said the band’s manager, Ignatius Herder.

“So, we had a meeting at The Draft (the band’s pub) to strategize. Alfredo (Ox, the band’s lead singer) started filling out some forms that we needed and then Haimo (Maultier) noticed he’d left a letter out of the word ‘Beasts,’ so it read, ‘Beats of Burden.’ We all laughed, then we looked at each other and we knew we were all thinking the same thing.”

And that is how the annual “Beats of Burden” Music Festival was born.

“It was pure genius and one hundred per cent serendipitous,” laughs Ox. “If I’d been more careful, we’d still be sitting there planning, instead of announcing the biggest charity music festival ever in The Park.”

With almost every Park band and singer signed on to the event, the new festival promises to be something truly out of the ordinary.

“A concert can only do so much, but a festival, with all sorts of different music and events and other things tied in…we can really make a difference to the lives of The Park’s refugees,” says an excited Ox.

The festival, which is scheduled to begin at sunrise on September 14 will go on for three days, with the music expected to last late into each night.

“The way I see it, they’re [the audience] going to have to ask us to go home. We’re not going to want to stop playing. Nobody is,” says Maultier.

Just the facts

What:    The Beats of Burden Music Festival
When:   Every year from now on; September 14-16 inclusive, sunrise to whenever
Where:  At venues across The Park; expect more details in the coming weeks
Why:     To raise funds in aid of The Park’s refugees
Who:     Almost all Park bands and singers; expect some “surprises” as well

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Margaret Atwood tweets Noreen

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