This is a theater known for cult classics and themed sing-a-longs so it didn’t surprise me they were playing it, but I was impressed it would be shown that many times (most films only have one or two nights at best).

I tried to remember the last time I saw this on the big screen, and my mind went right back to 2003, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum showed it as part of their U2 exhibit. It had clearly been too long.

I immediately contacted some U2 friends and made plans to go for opening night (tonight). It did not disappoint.

Though we’d already seen the movie dozens of times, it remained magical on the big screen. We still tapped our feet to “Angel of Harlem” and we still got goose bumps when the wall went red for “Streets.”

If you’re in the Seattle area, I highly recommend you go see it.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Seeing U2 on the Big Screen (Again)

Here’s John’s story:

Twenty years ago Bono bought me a pizza on March 27, 1992, on the Zoo TV tour at the famous “pizzas for everybody” concert at Auburn Hills, near Detroit. The story is legend. After “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” The Fly surfed TV channels, saw an ad for Speedy’s Pizza, and asked if we would like some pizza? Then he made a call: “Hello? Is this Speedy Pizza? I’d like to order 10.000 pizzas for Detroit. We’re at the Palace, you know the Palace? Yeah, I am serious, I’m very serious! You can’t make 10.000? Just make as many as you can OK? What? My name is Bono … .” We laughed.

But then, just before the encore, pizzas appeared. Reports were that 100 pizzas actually arrived and were passed out to fans. My son and I were six rows from the stage, Edge-side. Yeah, they had rows of seats back then. Pizzas boxes were moving quickly from fan to fan as they took slices of pepperoni. When the box got to me there were two slices left, which my son and I enjoyed. And I kept the empty box.

I always thought it would be good to have the box autographed by the band and then framed – or give to Larry for his collection of odds and ends. I haven’t tried. For the past 20 years though, it has given me great joy.

I’m a college professor. In one of my courses I take in a suitcase full of meaningful things from my life. I share and then ask students what they would like to have in their suitcases. I always take the pizza box out of the suitcase and just say, “Good pizza. Bono bought it for me.”

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Bono Bought Me A Pizza, Box Offered To Museum

The Spidey case study is just six pages in the book. The authors conclude:

Yes, Spider-Man struggled, and the press told that story. But the story that’s not being told is the one about inspiring persistence and shrewd planning, about never giving up, about digging deeper when the chips are down, and about having the guts to implement a plan and goals that may not be easy but are necessary for survival and success.

This table neatly shows the “Chronology of Spider-Man’s Turnaround.” Pow!

(Click on the image for a bigger, readable view).

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Broadway Spidey Saved By A “Team Turnaround”

This new non-fiction work will be released on Oct. 16 and is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. Carter will appear on CBS This Morning that same day to promote the book.

There will also be a book signing/reading party at the Half King Bar on Oct. 16.

The author is known to U2 fans as the man responsible for creating the satellite links between U2 and Sarajevo during the Bosnian siege. He is also the director of the award-winning film, Miss Sarajevo.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

A New Book from Bill Carter

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Gatsby Gets “Blindness”

The film chronicles the life of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her amazing marriage to her British husband in light of the separation she endured from her family during years of house arrest.

U2′s “Walk On” was written about her, and brought awareness of her imprisonment during various tributes at U2′s live shows in recent years.

In the film, “When Love Comes to Town” appears in a joyful scene, and the couple’s son Kim is seen wearing a Joshua Tree T-shirt. There is other U2 music later in the movie.

Today, the leader is enjoying her landslide win in an election that was held just a few days ago. It seems peace may finally prevail.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

U2 Music in The Lady

AIDS has killed more than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007. Despite recent and improved access to antiretroviral treatments in many regions of the world, AIDS still claimed 2 million lives in 2007 (270,000 were children). It seems cold to “crunch” some numbers here, but it really does hit hard when you read it.

December 1, 2011 marks World AIDS Day which has been occurring since 1988. It was originally conceived in August, 1987 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, public health officers for the Global Program on AIDS (now known as UNAIDS), at the World Health Organization in Geneva , Switzerland.

Each year has featured a theme with 2011′s being “Getting To Zero by 2015.” The hope is to have zero deaths, (not zero funding which had steadily decreased in recent years) , zero new infections, and finally zero discrimination of those who suffer with it. There will be many events worldwide that will focus on many aspects of the disease including new treatments. No one will be more vocal about how devastating it would be to lose more funding for these antiretroviral drugs that have saved so many lives than Bono. He has worked tirelessly for this cause for many years and this year is no exception. You can find him on television shows like The Daily Show (November 30), Good Morning America and The Ellen Show (December 1) speaking about AIDS, how far we’ve come, and how far we have yet to go.

Bono will be the first to say that he is not the hero in this fight. Though he has done so much through his ONE organization, DATA and Product (RED), he has been quoted that the real heroes are in the trenches  fighting this devastating disease each and every day. One of those warriors is his friend , Ugandan nurse and AIDS activist, Agnes Nyamayarwo who was our guest speaker at the first U2 Conference held in North Carolina in 2009. For some who may not be aware, Bono was so taken by Agnes’ work to educate people about AIDS in the villages around her while she herself was HIV positive and not healthy. He paid for her and a number of women in her hometown of Kampala to get on the ARV drug treatments. The ladies got healthy and formed the Mulago Positive Women’s Network. The MPWN’s mission is to assist women in coping with the ramifications of HIV/AIDS in their lives. It works to empower its members by providing them with essential information on their health status and by helping them to obtain marketable job skills to support their families.

The main source of income for the women of the MPWN is the traditional African craft items they make and sell at their modest store in Kampala and through their website. I made a personal decision a few years ago to honor World AIDS Day by selling the crafts at a local holiday fair and sending 100 percent of the proceeds back to Agnes and the women. Among the many items I sell are dolls, paper bead jewelry, and even wooden animal statues carved by the children. Two very special items that I featured this year were the beaded Bono bracelets and small friendship baskets. The ladies made the bracelet in honor of the man that literally saved their lives.  The small basket (pictured on the website) is often used for storing coffee beans and rice in Africa, but I actually use it to hold my wedding ring. It has a side by side color pattern which represents how two friends walk side by side and support each other. It is a lovely sentiment and both items truly represent the deep and meaningful connection they have with their friend, Bono. If you would like to purchase these or any of the items to support the women and their families especially during this holiday season of giving, please go to their website or get more information by contacting info@mpwn-uganda.org.

I now have a special connection with Agnes and the women of the MPWN. It has made the “numbers” become real faces just as Bono wanted to do when he took Agnes on the Heart of America Tour to launch the ONE campaign in 2002. He , too, made those numbers become real people. AIDS does not discriminate. It takes men, women, and children of all races, creeds, and countries. We are all the faces of AIDS.

It is my wish for Christmas to have an AIDS free generation by 2015. I want to be a part of the generation that makes it happen. I chose to do an event for Agnes in honor of two of my family members who lost their lives to this disease before there were ARV treatments. Now that it is available, it is my hope that it continues to be made accessible to all those who suffer. There are many ways to observe this day. Bono is using his platform while Agnes will remain in the “trenches” fighting the good fight as only Agnes can. I chose to support Agnes and the MPWN by selling their crafts. Others may visit the final resting place of those lost. Some may visit those who are suffering with the disease right now. Some may sign a petition for ONE telling legislators it is not ok to cut funding that is saving millions of lives. Still others may simply buy a cup of coffee at Starbuck’s , one of the many supporters of (RED). Those few dollars will buy a vaccine that will save a life. Every contribution matters. We don’t have to be celebrities to make a difference and end this disease that has been taking lives for over 30 years.

Peace and love to all of you this holiday season and in 2012.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

World AIDS Day 2011

For those who may not know, Elsha has a form of Muscular Dystrophy. When she was born, her parents were told that she would probably not be able to do anything. Though unable to walk, Elsha has proved those doctors wrong. She graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA and is a talented and award winning artist. She devotes her time to many important causes including ONE’s campaign to make poverty history and the African Well Fund which helps bring clean water to those who so desperately need it.

U2 is near and dear to Elsha’s heart. In fact, she has met the the band on a number of occasions.  I do believe she holds a special place in their hearts as well.

Since 2006, Elsha has used her talent to design holiday cards which she sells and gives part of the proceeds to the African Well Fund.  She recently  revealed her new card design for 2011.  She has now decided to call them “hEArt” cards (art with a heart)  as some of them can be used for any occasion. You will notice a certain U2 reference here and there too! Purchasing the cards are a wonderful way of giving back to those in need this holiday season or any time of the year.

Here is more information on the card designs and how to order, her favorite charitable organizations , and the story of her remarkable life.

I wish you love and peace (or else!) this holiday season.  May all your dreams be realized in 2012.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Holiday Cards From Elsha’s Heart

…from day one, the iPod hasn’t had any serious competition as the best digital music player on the market. But specs and aesthetics aside, the iPod’s rise to ubiquity was crucially aided by those brilliant black-silhouettes-with-white-earbuds TV commercials, which Apple and U2 more or less invented with the 2004 spot for “Vertigo.”

Read the rest of the article here.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

U2′s influence on iPod ads

If you went to any of the 360 shows this last leg in the United States  and Canada, you may have run into one of our forum members lovingly known to all of us as EdgeFest. If you don’t know her by name then you may have seen her with her signature black Edge hat on most often in the GA line. She attended 11 shows on this part of the  tour and gave U2 fans worldwide a live feed from the Winnipeg show. Lori-Jo (real name!) spent time taking some full color photos in East Lansing, Toronto and Montreal and she has chosen to feature them in a 2012 calendar.  The calendars cost 30 Canadian dollars plus shipping and handling with profits ranging from $4.50-5.00 (price varies slightly based on location). One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to her guitar hero’s organization, Music Rising in honor of Edge’s 50th birthday. For those who may not know, Music Rising was started by Edge to help musicians in the New Orleans area after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. It is something very near and dear to his heart and to Lori-Jo’s as well. She hopes to sell 100 calendars for a $500  donation,  but the sky is the limit!  She will update fans on her progress on her Twitter account @EdgeFest.

Many more details can be found here.

I wish her the very best of luck. I plan to order mine as a Christmas gift to myself! She hopes to do something special every year on his birthday. It is a wonderful way to honor The Edge and the work of Music Rising.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Edge’s Biggest Fan Gives Back