Ke$ha, a Los Angeles based singer, moved 610,069 downloads of her first single “Tik Tok” in a week placing her at the number 2 spot for one week downloads ever with Flo Rida’s “Right Round” at number one in one week sales (with Ke$ha as an uncredited singer). That number is remarkably similar to the number of times New Moon was illegally downloaded online during it’s first week of release (610,000). That number pales in comparison to the first week illegal downloads for Avatar which came close to one million illegal downloads.

Illegal online downloads during the theater run doesn’t appear to have much of an impact on the box office numbers, the challenge for the movie industry comes when the films are released to DVD/Blu-Ray. With Netflix and other cost effective (or illegal and free) options for watching movies, it’s become harder and harder to sell DVD/Blu-Ray discs. According to the Wall Street Journal, 2009 was the first year since 2002 that ticket sales out did DVD/Blu-Ray sales, challenging the existing business model of the movie industry. The music industry faced a similar challenge with the appearance of digital downloads but they were able to recover from the disaster that Napster could have been after a little resistance. The did lead to the near death of the compact disc.

The movie industry isn’t quite there. With new release digital movie downloads costing up to the monthly membership at Netflix (and I mean the good membership with 3 movies at a time), what is the movie industry to do in 2010 to turn that around? SmartMoney recently released a list of things not to buy in 2010 and along with newspaper subscriptions, new college text books and CDs was DVDs. Perhaps it’s time the industry lower the cost of a digital download and move the home release date closer to the theatrical release date. This will allow for two money making opportunities for the industry and allow for the movie watcher to choose the type of experience they want and trump the massive amount of illegal downloads. Of course, with Avatar passing $1 billion dollars at the box office, the need for change is not as immediate but as the quality and availability of downloads become a bit easier for the non-techie, that may shift quickly.

We did survive the death of the VHS, I think we can make it through the next shift.

by Brian Solis

One of the most discussed “viral” videos to hit the Web since #baconman was introduced to the world recently and it has much of the nation, at the very least, viewing, sharing, and discussing it at length.

If you take the video at face value, Dan Aykroyd appears as the front man and co-founder of Crystal Head Vodka, a new line of supposedly exquisite vodka bottled in glass skulls as testament to the legendary Crystal Skulls.

It is how he stages the introduction of the vodka that has everyone buzzing about whether or not Dan Aykroyd has lost his mind or whether it’s a clever promotion for either the greenlighted Ghostbusters 3 movie or the upcoming DVD release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

He spends the first half of the eight-minute video making the case for the existence of paranormal phenomena as well as alien life forms…or does he?

Before he officially introduces what’s inside the glass skulls that serve as the backdrop to the video, he prolithically connects the reasons for a glass skull bottle and why it should be filled with liquid joy, “We now have a touchstone in replica, which allows us if we wish, to connect to the message to the Crystal Head’s purpose on earth, the enlightenment of humankind and the spiritual awakening which can occur in allof us and the acceptance that there’s more to life than mere material reality. Hopefully this acceptance will lead to a less violent and more harmonious world as we respect the idea of higher power sources.”

So is it real or fake?

After further research, I’m still not sure.

Dan introduces Phil Powers of Newfoundland Liquor Corporation to discuss the process for making the new vodka. There is indeed a Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation, although I could not find mention of Phil Powers.

Aykroyd also credits Bruni Glass with the creation of the Crystal Head bottles. There just so happens to be such a facility in Europe.

The design of the glass skull is attributed to John Alexander a famous and highly regarded portaitist and landscape artist. Guess what, he’s real too.

Last, but not least, if you look at BevMo, there’s also a placeholder for Crystal Head Vodka.

Thousands of years ago, thirteen crystal heads were scattered across the earth and they are greater and more powerful than anything we have the ability to manufacture today. Their workmanship is perfect: they contain no tool marks and have been cut against the natural axis of the crystal, defying the laws of physics. Some say they are artifacts from the lost civilization of Atlantis, some say they date back to the Mayans, still others say they were created by a higher intelligence.

Brought together, the Crystal Heads are said to contain vast knowledge and enlightenment capable of unlocking our most enigmatic ancient mysteries. Alone, each is believed to house radiant psychic energy, which has magical powers and healing properties.

Dan Aykroyd has been very open about his belief in UFOs and supernatural phenomena and he’s no stranger to the business of another form of spirits. So, it could indeed be very real.

UPDATE: Thanks to our man Geoff who points us to a price list on the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation site, Crystal Head Vodka is indeed on the sheet with an MSRP of $49.99. I guess I’ll be getting that new wine decanter after all!

Update #2: Mystery solved. It’s 100% real. Our good friend Jean sent us pics and decided to write a post about it to share the unboxing experience.

Connect with me on:
Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, or Facebook

by Michelle Lentz

I should probably preface this post with something: I’m addicted to Disney. Not Hannah Montana / Jonas Bros Disney, but Pixar / Disney Animiated Classics type of thing. Pop Disney’s animated Robin Hood into the DVD player, and I’m content.

We recently purchased a Sony PS3 – games for my husband and a Blu-Ray player for me. The first Blu-Ray movie I purchased was Disney/Pixar’s Cars. Not only was it an incredibly pretty viewing experience, I had a blast with the special features that were enabled via Blu-Ray technology.

Disney thinks everyone should get on the Blu-Ray bandwagon. Apparently consumers as a whole see no reason to pay $30 for a Blu-Ray movie and upwards of $250 for a player when their current $45 DVD player works just fine and DVD movies can be as low as $5 at some points.

This makes a lot of sense to me. Our TV (as well as the PS3) upconverts, so we are still using our old region-free DVD player in addition to the PlayStation. Our old movies look pretty spectacular. Because my husband and I are both movie buffs, we have countless movies, very few of which I plan to replace with more expensive Blu-Ray discs.

According to the NY Times, Disney is now releasing 5 of its classic movies on Blu-Ray in special “platinum” editions, to help encourage Blu-Ray adoption: Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia, and Fantasia 2000. The special features sound fairly nifty.

All the DVDs will include unusual features geared toward a generation that embraces interactivity and social networking. Viewers can watch a movie in tandem with friends in other locations, while they chat using a laptop or cellphone (the comments appear on the screen).

Viewers will also be able to compete against others around the world at trivia or send what Disney is calling movie mail, video images of themselves that appear within the context of the movie.

I’m trying to remember how I adapted my music so many years ago. My albums are all in storage, and many of them, I’ve replaced with digital versions. Until recently, I’ve always had a CD player that also had a cassette deck, although I gradually stopped listening to the tunes on tapes. I don’t believe I ever replaced them. However, most of my CDs have been ripped or replaced by digital music at this point.

Are you planning to adopt blu-ray? Will be you replacing or just adding to your collection?

__
Contact Michelle with your news, apps, and events via email, Twitter, Pownce, or FriendFeed. Visit Michelle at Wine-Girl.net and Write Technology.