Kiss Our Butt

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Our Butt Is On Fire. Everyone is talking about it.


I don’t know how I got so lucky, but David Carnoy of CNET wrote a “tongue in cheek” tech piece about the Butt.

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David Carnoy is an executive editor at CNET and isinterviewed regularly as a tech expert on radio. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC andother media outlets. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from ColumbiaUniversity. He is the author of the acclaimed thrillers Knife Music, TheBig Exit, and Lucidity, all available from The Overlook Press. His novels have sold over 100,000 copies.


The Butt and its creator. Allen Hirsch, are our clients. If you want to laugh yourself silly, read and watch the video, here.
It’s an amazing piece and now I have to work “my butt off” to make it more famous. This is the kind of article that could make the Butt a national sensation. I’m really sticking my neck out by even discussing this because the odds are against anything happening. But I’m going to put my magic PR energy, that I have been cultivating for 40 years, into trying to make it work.

Allen and me.

This photo of Allen on his SoHo roof, depicts him the best. On his Facebook page he writes, “My Beach, my jungle, my water view.”

Allen Hirsch is the quintessential artist, He created the line of HandL phone cases with its elastic grip because he felt the smartphone should be an extension of our hand. Allen lives in a SoHo loft on Lafayette Street among his art work and paint tools. The place looks like a creative workshop. 

The New York Times recently did a profile on Allen and his beloved monkey, Benjamin. Click here.

This is a developing story.  More details in the coming weeks. 

TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP YOU MEDITATE  

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Check out the Muse Headband. I had no idea that this product existed. I was passing by the Muse booth, last week at CE Week, in NYC, when the headband caught my eye.

I asked one of the executives at the booth, Ben Nachman, head of sales, Muse, Toronto, what this product was all about.  

He said, “Most people don’t know if they are meditating correctly. Even meditation teachers can’t really tell if their students are meditating the proper way.”

Muse is a brain sensing headband. It works with the Calm app. It give users real-time biofeedback of their mental state during practice.  It has 7 sensors, and collects data in 4 channels. It comes with a regular micro-USB cable, and a simple, 10 pages “getting started” manual. The battery lasts for up to 5 hours of use. 

When your mind is calm, you hear calm winds. When your mind is active, the winds blow harder.  The goal is to teach your mind to stay calm. 

Retail price on Amazon is $248.54. 

I have no idea why, but Ben gave me a unit to try out. I’m going to start later this week. Stay tuned.

Thanks Ben  

An Art Gallery Aimed At Seniors   

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If you read the New York Times last week, then you must have seen the story about an art gallery, in the Chelsea area of New York City, that focuses on exhibiting the work of artists over 60 years of age. 

The minute I read the story, I knew that we had to visit the Carter Burden Gallery, at 548 West 28th Street, to see if they would be interested in exhibiting Eliot’s photos. 

Carter Burden was a very wealthy businessman and a New York City Councilman in the early 1970’s. He served as chairman of the committee on health and championed the betterment of health and housing for the elderly.  

The newspaper article said his father was a great-great-grandson of the railroad and shipping magnate Cornelius W. Vanderbilt and a partner in the family investment-banking firm. His mother was Flobelle Fairbanks, a niece of the actor Douglas Fairbanks.

Today, the mission of the Carter Burden Network is to “promote the well-being of seniors, 60 and older, through a continuum of services, advocacy and volunteer programs in NYC oriented to individual, family and community needs. The Network is dedicated to supporting the efforts of older people to live safely and with dignity.” 

We walked around the gallery for a half hour, looked at the art work, checked out the pricing, and talked to the gallerist in charge. Eliot may have a long wait since there are several hundred applicants. 

We are in no rush, so we just may submit Eliot’s photographs in the next few weeks. Check out The NY Times story to learn about the current exhibit and the artists behind the works. 
Thank you to the late Carter Burden for caring so much about the senior sector. 

 

Algorithm Detects Risky Heart Rhythms

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A group of researchers from Stanford University claim they found a more accurate way to diagnose abnormal heart rhythms. This new efficient method could mean the difference between life or death for many millions of Americans a year.

The researchers developed an algorithm that detects 14 types of arrhythmia. The algorithm can quickly detect arrhythmias that requires immediate attention.

The researchers hope the algorithms will be used in wearable devices one day soon to predict signs of stroke, heart failure or cardiac arrest in at-risk patients.

Engadget has a more detailed story on this subject.  Also, watch the above video for more details.

Flying Cars 

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We keep hearing about flying cars but we haven’t seen anyone manufacture them, yet.

Moller International may change all that with the introduction of a prototype M400 Skycar. 

If you have $5 million, you can buy one now on eBay from Moller.

The Skycar comes in fire-engine red. It is the world’s first true VTOL (vertical-takeoff-and-landing) ‘Flying Car.’ However, it doesn’t have government approval, so you’ll need to keep it parked in your driveway.

See what CNET has to say. 

Fake News 

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I posted this earlier today on Facebook. The reaction was overwhelming.

Adam Levine, Maroon 5, stopped by the HandL booth at CE Week to say hello to me. He is such a doll. Wants me to be a judge.


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Retiring On Your Terms 

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Walt Mossberg discusses his career as a technology columnist and why he chose to retire earlier this month. Mossberg was a guest on the Charlie Rose Show. Watch it now.

The View From Our Security Camera 

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We did something different this 4th of July. Instead of having one of our big shindigs, we decided to celebrate the arrival of some friends who migrated from Venezuela. We are thrilled they are safely in this country.

I was so busy chatting with friends of my friends, I forgot to take photos of the night. A few days later, Eliot was checking our Arlo home security system when he discovered that a number of videos were taken for us. We found this pretty amusing. We forget Arlo was on. 

I took photos of the videos to share with you. It’s very reassuring to know that I have some sort of a security system that I can remotely access through my smartphone. It’s also nice to have some memories of that evening. 

Thank you Arlo. 

Tom Hanks Typewriter Movie

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Thanks to Hollywood, typewriters are going to be making a big comeback soon. Tom Hanks and John Mayer recently made a movie discussing their love of typewriters. Called California Typewriter, the movie is a documentary about the antiquated writing machine.

The movie also features comments from historian David McCullough and playwright Sam Shepard. Both men claim the typewriter “is still their go-to writing device.”

Most people don’t know it, but Hanks owns more than 250 different typewriters. He says most of them are in working order.

Hanks passion about typewriters is real.  He recently launched a typewriter app named Hanx Writer which provides the sounds of the keys banging, hard returns and the chimes that sound when you reach the end of a line.  

Hanks, plus millions of other people, miss that.

The movie, California Typewriter, will hit theaters on August 18th. Thank you Rolling Stone for the story.

I can’t wait to see it.

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