So, today's blog is more a request to go watch a video. And yes, I am in it, but unlike the music video for The Boxing Lesson, I am fully dressed and more a talking head than anything else. The real deal in the short video is my dear friend David who was diagnosed with ALS two years ago this month. David is a DJ, but now he is one who can really only use his eyes to communicate with the world. But despite the ravages of this awful &(@&*#@ing disease, David is going to to get a dance floor moving and shaking -- and "only" with his eyes.

Please take the 10 minutes to watch this. If you are moved to share this video or to donate to assist making this dream happen, better still.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2112412404/1-blink-yes-an-eye-controlled-and-created-dj-set

EDM artist David Anderson records a live New Years Eve set using just his eyes. Did we mention that's all he can move? He has ALS :)

 

• Launched: Oct 24, 2012
• Funding ends: Nov 23, 2012
• Remind Me

Produce 1 Blink = YES a music DVD from the DJ David Anderson

David Anderson is a Minneapolis based DJ known for his genre spanning music that aligns around the single purpose of getting a dance floor to move, and to move like it never has before.  Having spun music for the greater part of 10 years - from Seattle to NYC to Burning Man, and lots of places in between - David has yet to formally record and release one of his live sets.

This Kickstarter project will enable David to perform a New Year's set this December and record that set for production into a special release CD and DVD.  Sounds simple right?  Well...read on...

Getting David to perform this New Year's Eve and produce a live set is a bit more challenging because he is in the later stages of ALS. This degenerative nerve disorder has left him without the ability to meaningfully move any part of his body except his eyes and has confined him 24/7 to a hospital bed with a ventilator to assist with breathing.  While David has access to some great eye tracking hardware, the complexity of integrating it with DJ software and enabling the scenarios to DJ live are not for the faint of heart. To support this crazy idea of getting David to lay down a live DJ set for NYE, and to have it recorded and cut into a CD/DVD, a team of software and hardware experts, hackers, engineers, musicians, videographers, project managers and other talented individuals have banded together to produce this live set and ultimately the CD/DVD that follows.

Work has already begun on building the necessary software bridges between the eye-tracking hardware and David’s software DJ platforms of choice. The custom code and hardware hacks will be documented and eventually open sourced.  The mods and hacks are accounted for in the budget. All of this experience will inform a follow-on project where the team takes what we learn and generalize it to a broader, more dynamic communication platform for David and others.

Even before ALS encroached on David's life, his music and his message was one of inspiration and hope and love.  Watching him make music with just his eyes amplifies that power, and capturing a live set will take it to a whole other level.

Budget

Our current operating budget for this project is allocated as:

• Hardware acquisition and hacking mods:  $3000  
• Software licenses:  $500.  We anticipate needing to acquire a few pieces of software for both testing, operations and coding.  
• Middleware and client side programming:  $1000.  While most of the coding hours will be donated, we do anticipate needing to hire some specialized engineering work.  We will beg to have it donated but we can't count on it.
• Video Support:  $1000.  For the DVD portion of the set
• New Year's Eve Party Support.  $1500.  This line item includes a small amount of budgetary support for the party.  The largest line here is for medical support for David to attend the party and DJ the set live.
• Post Production Work:  $3500
• CD/DVD Production:  $2500
• Kickstarter Reward fulfillment:  Much of the monetary value of the rewards are being donated, but we anticipate an outlay of $1500 to cover shipping and other related production costs.
• Cost overruns:  $500

Closing

Our project is laser focused on creating an amazing CD/DVD of some inspiring and beautiful music.  But as you have seen in the video there are some other "softer" goals as well.  The team is embarking on a multi-phase, ambitious project to knit together the necessary pieces of hardware and software to create this event and this music - this Kickstarter is the first phase.  We are visionary forward thinkers and in many ways we see this project as the first step in a process of rethinking and redesigning how people with mobility limited to their eyes can have more effective and expressive ways of communicating.  Rest assured, that any money above and beyond what we raise will serve this goal.  In fact, as we stated above, this project will directly inform and lead into a future project to build better technology for David and others with ALS, MS and other situations where eye movement is the primary mode of communication.  The technology is there - we just need some super smart people to knit it all together :)

FAQ

Q.  Why is this whole thing written in the third person?

A.  The artist, David, is deeply and daily involved in this project.  But, as it stand now, typing out a long and detailed kickstarter description with his eyes is a pretty laborious.  Instead, the team has worked with David to author this description and we chose to use the third person for convenience.  Great question, btw.

Q.  Why a live set?

A.  While David's music is central to this project, the other key piece is capturing the audience vibe, reaction and energy when the DJ plays his set with just his eyes from his hospital bed.  We believe that the exchange between David and the audience is just as important to capture as the music itself.  In fact, we expect the audience at the party (as well as everyone who watches the DVD after the fact) to be profoundly moved by the experience.  An obvious interpretation of this project would be "what a great thing for David", but David (and his team) see this the opposite as just as important - "what a great thing for the world - to see connect with someone DJing with just their eyes".  David's gifts are enormous and his presence with ALS has only amplified those - he has a lot to say and to tell us.  We are creating the forum for that. 

Q.  There seems to be a lot of engineering work required to pull this off.  Can you do it in time?

A.  Although we have just launched our Kickstarter, the planning for this CD/DVD has been underway for several months and we are hitting all of our planned milestones and deliverables.  We see little execution risk at this point.

Q.  You are putting a lot of work in to create just one event/CD/DVD.  Is there a plan to reuse all this work?

A. Absolutely.   While this Kickstarter is about creating the CD/DVD, we are approaching the entire scenario as a learning opportunity to figure out the best ways to enable David to communicate with just his eyes.  Our long term goal is to take this project of enabling him to DJ again and roll that out into a more general communication platform for anyone who wants to use their eyes as the primary input into their devices.

Q.  Have you seen this?  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/571943958/tempt1-and-eyewriter-art-by-eyes

A.  YES!  this was a huge inspiration to us.  And if you know these people please tell them to get in touch with us....we've tried to reach them!  Since the time of that project, eye tracking hardware has come super far.  There are really cool companies like Grinbath and others making super affordable, high quality eye tracking hardware.  What's missing is the software side of the house.  Part of our project will involve a deep dive into the hardware side of the equation.

Q.  I don't have money to pledge right now, but I want to particiapte!

A.  yes!  we need you.  Don't be shy - reach out to us.  We need volunteers for the party in Minneapolis.  We need software geeks and hardware hackers.  We need creative minds and awesome problems solves.  And we could always use more project management help.  let us know you want to help and we can figure it out.

Q.  Is there more information?

A.  We have a little web site at www.1blinkequalsyes.org as well as a Facebook page www.facebook.com/1blinkequalsyes with some more information on this project and our larger goals

Q.  Enough already with all this "technology this, ALS that"....what about this party!?  give me the details!

A.  The specific details of the New Year's Eve Party are still being worked out. But, it will be in Minneapolis and it will be New Year's Eve.  Stay tuned for more details on that.

RISKS AND CHALLENGESLearn about accountability on Kickstarter

We are already well underway in the technical implementations required to enable David to produce music. We are knitting together the hardware and software and have prototypes working.

The greatest risk comes from the day to day situation of David's health and the chance that on the day of New Year's Eve he may not be able to physically attend the party. We have already developed back up technology to allow a live link from his house to the party to allow him to DJ regardless of where he is.

Thanks so much.

Brian

Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.

So, it's been 2 full weeks since last I have posted here. It's also been 2 full weeks of a seriously painful lower back issue that has kept me from spending much time hunched over this machine. Such is life. Still not better, but a few adjustments and a whole load of cracking have notched the pain and discomfort down a few clicks.

Speaking of pain, the Yankees got trounced by Detroit - again - and were swept out of the ALCS with nary a battle. It's funny how the game can change and then swing right back at you, something like the pit and the pendulum. The Yanks were down 4-zip in the 9th of game 1 when a sudden surge off the bats of Ichiro and Raul Ibanez and the seemingly-dead Bombers tied the score. Had they won it out right before extra innnings who knows how the series could have turned out.

But the game went into extra innings, Derek Jeter busted his leg trying to make a play and outside of the 9th inning 2 games later against the mighty Verlander, New York barely raised its voice. The pitching, which always seems like the suspect link, was stellar despite pitching with backs against the wall all the time as the bats went cold as ice. Had the Yanks gotten a hit with runners on base here or there things could have been better. But when the heart of your line-up, the guys you trust day in and day out to put up good at-bats and drive in some runs just looked tired and over-matched all series long (the ALDS vs. the O's was similar, but the bats squeeked out just enough to take that series in 5) and it wasn't just A-Rod (who makes himself a lightening rod) but Cano was awful, Swish failed to show again in what should prove to be his last chance in pinstripes alas, Tex hit okay for average but wasn't a run producer.

All in all, an ugly showing by the Yankees again in the post-season and had Mr. Steinbrenner still been alive there would be the apology to the fans and then heads would roll, but more in more this team seems constructed for April-September and not to go the distance.

So what does that leave us for the World Series? The Tigers have been sitting back and waiting, perhaps getting rusty. But the Tigers who snuck up and grabbed the AL-Central from the lackluster Chisox weren't a great team this year despite Cabrera and his Triple Crown (by the way, perhaps Prince Fielder is the best protection any hitter could hope to have; ask Ryan Braun) and Verlander if Detroit was in either the AL-East or West they would have finished in 4th place. They get to play the awful Twins, below par Royals and the weak Tribe so many times you'd expect better.

The NLCS wraps up tonight in a do or die game 7 in San Francisco. Both teams have shown amazing resilency this post-season, coming back from huge holes in the divison series, but tonight one of them goes home. The Cards, who still reek from Tony LaRussa, are impossible to root for and the idea of an all Mid-Western World Series seems off, so go Giants, I guess...

Next post I'll bring up some of the screenwriting stuff that's bubbling around...

Cheers,
B.

Well, I am now available to perform wedding ceremonies: no joke. Baptisms, too if you're hearty. Could I say it went off without a hitch? Well, no, but 48 hours later the happy couple is still married so there's that. Also my back is still out having popped about 45 minutes before go-time-- it was even hard to put my socks on. But my shaking - which was apparently so apparent and so pronounced that some in the audience wondered if I had the palsy - made the groom feel better about his own shaking so that is yet another service I can offer.

But the nearly-weds wanted "short and sweet" and that is what I gave them. I won't say there wasn't a dry eye in the house, but it was over and out in five minutes flat and that was what they ordered so -- go team!

Speaking of teams, being here in the Bay Area this weekend did nothing to help the local teams in their playoff series: the A's and Giants both on the brink of elimination rather quickly. But what matters is that the Yankees took down the O's last night on the road behind 8 2/3rds solid innings from their big man, CC Sabathia. And although the final score of 7-2 belies how close this contest actually was. It was tied at 2 in the 8th when a lead-off double put the game in jeopardy as Baltimore's closer, Jim Johnson, lead the world in saves this past season.

But CC got out of trouble and Russell Martin lead off the 9th with a homerun to put the Yanks up 3-2 and then opened the flood gates against their closer who had to be yanked. The strong showing by the Yankee Ace covered up most of the game's worth of lack of clutch-hitting as well as Ichiro making a base running blunder in the top of the 1st, getting nailed in an attempt to steal third base with no outs. Seemingly he was the 2nd run in the 1st, but it wasn't to be.

Tonight I will be on an airplane when the game is played -- even if like last night there's a lengthy rain delay (which nearly messed up my viewing plans and forced me to listen to the lousy O's radio announcers for a couple innings in the car) so anyone even thinking of sending me any spoilers will be shot on sight. I think the MLB package will let me watch the whole broadcast in its entirety when I get back to the Twin Cities later tonight/

I am not even going to mention that I missed both Chuck Prophet AND Lucero this past weekend at Hardly Strictly BlueGrass-- nope not gonna mention that at all...

Andy Pettitte - the best #2 starter in the history of post-season baseball - tries to put the Yanks up 2-zip tonight in Camden Yards.

Cheers
Brian

If the past week was the World Series, than I would have to be satisfied with going 4-3. It's nail-biting for sure, but that barely above .500 winning percentage put the 28th trophy in the Yankees' case. But, going 4-3 down the stretch drive, with the &(@&#(ing Orioles not only hanging tough, but looking like they're enjoying this -- they are not supposed to be here and even they know that -- and against the dregs of the AL: the Twins and the Blue Jays left the Bombers in a less than enviable position (okay, they still are in first place) as the last three games of the 2012 season get played out over the next few days.

The Yankees, Rangers and Orioles secured their playoff spots last night. The Oakland A's are about to out the Angels out of their misery, but it's not a foregone conclusion, nor is anything much else for the coming week. The Yanks and O's could very well wind up tied for the AL-East leading to a 1-game playoff game on Thursday at Camden Yards even before the scheduled 1-game playoff for the Wild Card.

This guy breaks down the possibilities really well here. Read it.

How bad are the deadsox? They could't win a single game this weekend against Baltimore despite the fact that every Yankee fan was rooting for them. That turns tonight as Bobby V "leads" his squad into the Bronx for the last regular series of the season. Couldn't come soon enough for the nation, but you know that the only thing that could make them feel alright it making things hard on the Yankees. But rooting didn't seem to work this week for New York very well. You have to think there are an awful number of people rooting against Michael Vick and yet his Ergles did in the Giants last night, too.


There are a lot of bands - both national and local - playing in the Twin Cities on Wednesday night, but anyone attending any show other than seeing Two Gallants is going to be at the wrong place in my less than humble opinion. Been waiting rather desperately for a few years now to be in the same city at the same time as these dudes, so pretty psyched.

Could turn into an amazing week for live music should I be able to get to see Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express at Hardly Strictly BlueGrass on Friday afternoon in Golden Gate Park. I'm flying into the Bay Area the day before for a wedding on Saturday (more on that afterwards: I'm performing my first wedding ceremony as officiant) but with the early set time (12:30! Thanks CP!) I may be able to slot that in there.

That is all...

Cheers
Brian