http://www.pasadenapinotfest.com/Art-Index/PinotFest-Index.jpg

HERE IS SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION
BENEFITTING:
Hillsides Home for Children
940 Avenue 64, Pasadena 91105
323.254.2274
DRESS:
Dress casually, there’s lots to do at the Grand Tasting
LOCATION OF EVENT:
University Club of Pasadena
175 North Oakland Avenue, Pasadena 91101
626.793.5157
TIME:
Doors open at 3:00 PM and will remain open until 5:30 PM, the event ends at 6:00 PM
FOOD:
Chef Claud Beltran of Noir Food & Wine will prepare the cuisine for the event.
He will also setup several tables with cheese & charcuterie from around the world.
WINE:
Over 50 wineries will be representing at the tasting. This is the largest Pasadena Wine Event of
the year with the exception of Family Winemaker’s.
Consider others and drink responsibly.
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SEMINARS:
There will be Seminars by Peter Cargasacchi of Cargasacchi Vineyards & Wes Hagen of Clos
Pepe Vineyards during the event.
You will receive information as to where (University Club) and when they will take place.
TASTING:
Please taste as many wines at the event you want.
We encourage “spitting” the wines to make it possible to taste a greater number of wines.
If you are not familiar with the technique please ask for Jared Hooper, Mike Farwell or Katie
Putterlik, we will be happy to assist you.
PROGRAM:
You will receive an event program listing all participating wineries and other important event
information when you arrive.
VIP TICKET HOLDERS:
If you have purchased a VIP PASS to the event please check in with the VIP table first as early
as 2:45 PM.
CHECK-IN
To avoid long lines and to check everyone in as quickly as possible please make sure you have
your receipt with you and you are in the proper line. If you do not have your online receipt from
PayPal or LocalWineEvents let us know immediately. We will have an alphabetcal list of all
purchased tickets at check in.
Tables with be arranged alphabetically; A-G, H-N, O-U, V-Z
(Note: if there are others in your party that will arrive separately please let us know when you
check in, there will be a representative to assist you.
IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
Please email mike@mikefarwell.com

Michael Farwell
NOIR FOOD & WINE
40 North Mentor Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
(Restaurant) 626.795.7199

avnredcarpet1

Heads turned as the red carpet zig-zagged through the Palms Casino Resort to the Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas on January 10, 2010 for the Adult Video Awards — the Oscars of Porn. Barely clad starlets waved, wiggled and blew kisses to a sea of fans. Our video of RSN’s real walk down the carpet reveals what is like to be inside the velvet ropes. To experience being a Real Star for a while, just click on our video link, walk the red carpet with us, wave to the fans and send your comments! Launch the awards season in style.

It was a night of naughtiness, parody, tears and laughter. The girls were excited and emotional to the extreme. This award celebration is the highlight of the year for most of these young stars where they can celebrate all the long hours and hard work. The pre-parties lasted so long that they couldn’t start the show for over an hour.

The show was hosted by comedian Dave Atell, Digital Playground’s Kayden Kross and Wicked Pictures’ Kirsten Price. Dave kept the audience laughing with raucous humor (like “shaving makes my guy look lonely”) while the flamboyant stars kept the audience ogling. Baby Bash performed.

Tori Black was the biggest winner holding five awards including Performer of the Year. She thanked her producers, friends and “all the people who fu**ed her”. She hopes to do it again. 21-year-old Tori finished with “I’d better stop, I’m going to cry.”

Sasha Grey, the keynote speaker at the Adult Entertainment Expo, also received numerous awards including Crossover Star of the Year (previously held by new mama Jenna Jameson).

The best oral winner commented in a hoarse voice “I must be really good at this.”

Interesting clips were shown from parody porn films like Sex Files (starring the porn versions of Moulder and Skully), Not married with Children XXX, Pirates of the Burning Sea and Not the Crosby’s. The addition in 2009 of the Best Parody category reflects the rapid growth in popularity of mainstream parodies.

“Nominations were culled from submissions by producers of products released between Oct. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2009. We counted 6,897 actual new releases, from a total of 13,056 titles put out on DVD (including comps, amateurs and re-releases) this year,’ said Paul Fishbein, president of AVN Media Network.”

Trophies were awarded in 125 categories, including Best Video Feature, Best Parody, Female Performer of the Year, Best Adult Website and numerous Best Sex Scene awards. The winners included:

And the winners are…

Female Performer of the Year - Tori Black

Best Porn Parody – The Sex Files: A Dark XXX Parody and Not the Cosbys XXX

Best Film – The 8th Day

Best Screenplay - Throat: A Cautionary Tale

Clever Title of the Year - Who’s Nailin’ Paylin?

Best Selling & Renting Title of the Year - Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge

Best Actress - Kimberly Kane, The Sex Files: A Dark XXX Parody

Web Starlet of the Year - Sunny Leone

Best New Starlet - Kagney Linn Karter

Best New Web Starlet - Lexi Belle

MILF/Cougar Performer of the Year - Julia Ann

Male Performer of the Year - Manuel Ferrara

Best Actor - Eric Swiss, Not Married With Children XXX

See http://avnawards.avn.com/winners/ for a complete list of the winners in all 125 categories.

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New Voice on Demand Changes.
by Rob Long and Tara Thompson

Voice on Demand (Vod) technology has come along way since 1992. Today’s consumers increasingly want on-demand services. To keep audiences from shifting to sometimes underground alternatives, broadcasters are employing numerous orchestrated technologies to deliver more “on-demand” experiences.

VoD vendors, SeaChange International (SEAC) and Concurrent Computer (CCUR), are near their 52 week lows while their main competitors have been bought in fire-sales by cable equipment manufacturers. Within the next few years most of the VoD service providers will have replaced or upgraded their VoD systems.

Three emerging technology shifts are slowly rolling out. The most important shift is the separation of hardware and software. VoD vendors are moving away from hardward and toward becoming software-only providers. Software solutions will be more important as VoD will require cheaper hardware along with Linux just to survive in the more competitive environment. Telecom’s advanced TCA hardware platform could also bring costs down.

The second major shift is the migration from proprietary bundled content management to stand alone content delivery network (CDN). CDN content management will enable more rapid content propagation to any device from any location, preferably the nearest source.

The last major shift is the increasing importance of back office support for VoD. Back office systems could very well become the most expensive part of any VoD system.

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Google moves into Cell Phones with the Android Nexus

By Rob Long, Real Star News

Google, the dominate internet-search engine, is extending its reach into mobile phones. Bloggers, partly humorously, call this move part of Google’s world domination plan, as Google has already made inroads into much of Microsoft’s territory, including browsers (Google chrome), data, Google Office and even plans for a- Google operating system to replace windows. The company is ready to formally unveil the “Nexus One,” a phone that has already been given to Google employees and was quickly tagged the“Google phone.” Google plans to sell the smart Android phone directly to consumers rather than through the traditional carrier partner.

Initially, this direct sales business model was considered a game changer, but more recently, critics have pointed out that other phone manufactures have been unsuccessful at selling unlocked phones in the U.S. However, it has been rare to find marketing miscalculations in Google’s seemingly unstoppable expansion. Google’s cellular marketing plan is common outside of the US. In Europe consumers often first select their phone and then choose the service provider. But that’s just not how things usually work in the US. Although unlocked phones of varying quality are widely available online for use on US networks, a Google Phone has the potential to make this much more common. What Google brings to the table is significant advertising power, credibility and a highly desirable phone.

Consumers could use the Nexus One phone on any service that uses GSM technology — that is, runs with a SIM (subscriber identity module) card. Instead of being locked into AT&T, for example, consumers could use their new Google phone to shop other carrier deals and take advantage of typically shorter or nonexistent contracts that companies offer when shoppers bring their own phone.
Providers like Virgin Mobile and Boost are offering unlimited calling and no-contract service plans for around $30 to $50 per month. T-Mobile also now offers a contract-less, no free phone deal with unlimited voice use for around $50. Three of T-mobiles plans offer $10 per month lower rates if you purchase your own phone.
The Nexus phone is being manufactured by HTC for Google, though it won’t be like other Android phones already on the market. Google was deeply involved with the design, making it a more of a “Google Phone” than to a third-party phone that runs Android
It’s not clear yet whether Google will offer multiple versions of the phone for different carriers. The initial Nexus phone will be designed for GSM, which is used by AT&T, T-Mobile and most of the rest of the world. CDMA is used in the US by Verizon and Sprint.
Verizon has already been talking about launching a CDMA-equipped iPhone if it can agree on pricing with Apple. While consumers would benefit from a choice of carriers, a CDMA iPhone still seems like a pipe dream. Verizon will also soon be getting Palm’s webOS phones. With the launch of Google Nexus One, Verizon may not be as interested as it once was in the iPhone.
Apple has launched the iPhone on multiple carriers in many parts of the world, and has noted success in countries where it is available from more than one carrier. However, when the iPhone first launched, Apple had to make a long-term exclusivity deal with AT&T just to get the phone to market. The original deal was for five years, though it is believed that that deal was renegotiated when the iPhone transitioned to a subsidized model for the iPhone. That renegotiated exclusivity is widely believed to expire this year.

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