If you have a daughter, or niece, or granddaughter who is a huge fan of the character that brought Miley Cyrus to the limelight, you now have a handy-dandy hardcover reference to explain the phenomenon of Hannah Montana.

Book Review: Hannah Montana: The Essential Guide

There is more to “Hannah Montana: The Movie” than just the film experience, and this book tie-in focuses on the pop superstar’s return to her rural hometown, and efforts to keep it from succumbing to “progress.”

Book Review: Hannah Montana: The Movie: Going Home (Disney Early Readers)

Basically a new wrinkle on old favorites, this interactive DVD game — hosted by Lilly in voice-over — is loaded with eleven games for one to four or more players, but ultimately feels like nothing beyond sleep-over material.

DVD Review: Hannah Montana: DVD Game – Sing • Dance • Act • Play

This thirteenth entry in the junior novel series based on the hit Disney Channel show tests Miley’s limits of friendship and humiliation.

Book Review: True Blue (Hannah Montana #13)

More than merely a promotional device for Wal-Mart’s Miley Cyrus & Max Azria clothing line, this mini-album boasts seven songs that serve as a kind of music sampler of where the young songstress has been, and indications of where she’s going.

Music Review: Miley Cyrus, “The Time of Our Lives” EP

Because we know you can’t get enough of Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus, The Trades proudly presents an entire month of the young star, featuring a new review everyday for your greedy consumption.  We’ll start things off with a book aimed at ages 9-12:

Book Review: Miley Mania! Behind the Scenes with Miley Cyrus (Star Scene)

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND (REALLY!) — Comedy superstar Tim Allen, who provides the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Disney*Pixar’s “Toy Story,” “Toy Story 2” and the upcoming “Toy Story 3,” offered an official thumbs up to the space ranger this week for spending more than 15 months in space onboard the International Space Station as part of a NASA-Disney educational outreach collaboration. Buzz returned home aboard Space Shuttle Discovery STS-128 on September 11. He’ll be treated to a ticker-tape parade down Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on Oct. 2, which coincides with the big-screen return of “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2”—this time in a Disney Digital 3D double-feature. The Toy Story celebration culminates in a brand new adventure starring Buzz and Woody: “Toy Story 3”— in theaters June 18, 2010.

ABOUT THE MOVIES

TOY STORY — They’re toys, they talk—at least when people aren’t around—and they’re back… celebrating the return of the “Toy Story” franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D! TOY STORY, the film that started it all, takes moviegoers back to that fantastic fun-filled journey, viewed mostly through the eyes of two rival toys— Woody (voice of TOM HANKS), the lanky, likable cowboy, and Buzz Lightyear (voice of TIM ALLEN), the fearless space ranger. The comically-mismatched duo eventually learn to put aside their differences when circumstances separate them from their owner Andy and they find themselves on a hilarious adventure-filled mission where the only way they can survive is to form an uneasy alliance.

TOY STORY 2 — Disney•Pixar’s TOY STORY 2 picks up as Andy heads off to Cowboy Camp, leaving his toys to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector named Al McWhiggin (voice of WAYNE KNIGHT) kidnaps Woody (voice of TOM HANKS), who discovers that he is a highly valued collectible from a 1950s TV show called “Woody’s Roundup.” He meets the other prized toys from that show – Jessie the cowgirl (voice of JOAN CUSACK), Bullseye the horse and Stinky Pete the Prospector (voice of KELSEY GRAMMER). Back at the scene of the crime, Buzz Lightyear (voice of TIM ALLEN) and the gang – Mr. Potato Head (voice of DON RICKLES), Slinky Dog (voice of the late JIM VARNEY), Rex (voice of WALLACE SHAWN) and Hamm (voice of JOHN RATZENBERGER) – spring into action to rescue their pal from winding up as a museum piece. The toys get into one predicament after another in their daring race to get Woody home before Andy returns.

Andrea Morricone’s Selection by Father Ennio Morricone to Compose “Adesso for Strings” Specifically for Los Angeles Debut Offers Fans Rare Opportunity to Experience Familial Collaboration in Person

 When Ennio Morricone makes his Hollywood Bowl debut entitled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on Sunday October 25, 2009 conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the world-renowned composer will also debut a new piece he commissioned specifically to commemorate the event.  

Andrea Morricone, son of Ennio Morricone has composed “Adesso For Strings”, a six-minute piece that will be among many scores from the elder Morricone’s performance at the Hollywood Bowl. This rare live event is the first live familial musical collaboration between the Morricones. Their professional career began in 1988 when both their music appeared in the classic film Cinema Paradiso. Andrea Morricone wrote “Love Theme” for Cinema Paradiso for which he won England’s BAFTA award while Ennio Morricone scored the film.

 “For anyone to have the opportunity to score a piece of music commissioned by Ennio Morricone is obviously an honor and unique pleasure,” said Composer Andrea Morricone. “What makes this special for me is that my father has never conducted in Los Angeles, the home of American film, and it is truly an honor just being a part of this historic event. We first were able to collaborate together on the film Cinema Paradiso more than twenty years ago. It will be a thrill for both of us to hear my music conducted by my father for the very first time next month.”

Andrea Morricone is one of Italy’s most prominent composers and has become an established global presence in film and concert music. His film soundtracks include the Oscar-nominated and 2003 Sundance Festival winning documentary Capturing The Friedman’s, Barry Levinson’s Liberty Heights, as well as Here on Earth, Due Amici, Raul, Funny Money, The Inquiry, and the documentaries Brando and Huxley on Huxley.

Andrea Morricone began his musical studies under the guidance of his father, the composer Ennio Morricone, who won an Honorary Academy Awarded in 2007.  Andrea received a Baccalaureate and Master’s degrees in composition from Rome’s Accademia di Santa Cecilia. He was awarded a diploma in conducting as a student of Bruno Aprea; Orchestras he has conducted include the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta, Milan’s Guido Cantelli Orchestra, Bulgaria’s Symphony Orchestra of Sofia, Hungary’s Budapest Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Spain’s Bilbao Symphony and Orchestra, and The Czech National Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) Rep. Ceca, Youth Symphonic Orchestra Simon Boliva (Venezuela). Exceptional moments in Andrea’s career include: conducting Yo-Yo Ma and the USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra, winning the Globo D’Oro in 2005 awarded by the Association of International Press and having contemporary pop artist Sting record one of his songs.

While still working part-time in Rome, Andrea Morricone and his wife, actress Alessia Albani, moved to Los Angeles, California in 2003. He has moved into a production suite at the world famous Village Recorder in West Los Angeles where he composes music.

A GIRL CALLED RUSSELL? BELIEVE IT!

(left to right): Graham Russell, Madame Imelda Marcos, Russell Hitchcock, and Danee Samonte

THE PROMOTER OF THE 80’S HITMAKING DUO’S

UPCOMING ASIAN TOUR NAMES HIS DAUGHTER

AFTER RUSSELL (HITCHCOCK) AND (GRAHAM) RUSSELL

Danee Samonte, a longtime music industry fixture in The Philippines, is much more than just the promoter of Air Supply’s upcoming tour to exotic destinations in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The man who used to be known under the DJ radio name ‘Steve O’Neal’ is such a big fan of the 80s hit-making duo that, gender notwithstanding, he named his daughter Russell after Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell.

More than two decades after dominating the pop charts with romantic perennials like “All Out of Love,” “The One That You Love,” “Lost In Love” and “Making Love Out of Nothing At All,” Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply (www.airsupplymusic.com) are still making fans fall in love all over again.

The duo is also making waves with the two recently released indie projects: Free Love and The Singer and the Song. The albums are licensed by Odds On Records, a Las-Vegas based independent label which Air Supply signed a deal with earlier this year. Distributed by E1 Music (formerly Koch) and headed by former Warner Bros. marketing and promotion executive Ted Joseph, the full-service company (www.oddsonrecording.com) plans to release a new Air Supply studio album in 2010, also the group’s 35^th anniversary.

Check out Air Supply’s current 2009 tour schedule:

10/1                  Clark Expo                                            Angeles City, Philippines

10/2                  Lagao Gym                                           General Santos City, Philippines

10/3                  Araneta Coliseum                                  Quezon City, Philippines

10/4                  Arena of Stars                                       Genting, Malaysia

10/6                  The Aryadutha Convention Center           Palembang, Indonesia

10/7                  Sun City Hall/Ballroom                           Jakarta, Indonesia

10/9-10/10         Hoa Binh Theatre                                   Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

10/12                Koronadal Cultural Center                       Koronadal City, Philippines

10/15                Ceremonial Court – Qatar Foundation       Doha, Qatar

10/17-18            The Rose Theatre                                  Brampton, Ont. Canada

10/21                Escenica                                               Monterrey, Mexico

10/22                Coliseo Centenario                                 Torreon, Mexico

10/23                La Velaria Cerretera Mezquital                 Durango, Mexico

10/24                University of Colima Arena                      Colima, Mexico

10/25                University of Jalapa Arena                      Jalapa, Mexico

11/7                  San Cristobal Hotel                               Santiago, Chili

11/13                John A. Walker Community Center         Wilkboro, NC

11/14-15            Harrah’s Cherokee                                 Ashville, NC

11/20                Cher-AE Heights Casino                        Trinidad, CA

11/21                Emerald Queen Casino                          Tacoma, WA

11/27                Avalon Nightclub                                   Santa Clara, CA

11/28                The Canyon Club                                   Agoura, CA

I’ve been away for the last couple of weeks and only picking up on tech news a bit on the side, but as I start catching up on all the editorials and such, I’m starting to realize that Apple’s 9-9-09 “It’s Only Rock and Roll But I Like It” event turned out to be underwhelming, to say the least.

Expectations were as follows:
- New iPod Touch with a camera
- Beatles music on iTunes
- Apple’s new “Cocktail” album format
- *MAYBE* an “iTablet”

Apple had already been talking down a tablet, presumably so they could then “re-invent” the market, but with the upcoming “Crunchpad” and Asus’s just announced tablet, it’s going to be hard for Apple to re-invent something as innovation keeps coming. Both the Crunchpad and the so-called eee-Reader are supposed to be ebook readers meant to compete with Amazon’s Kindle, but both offer color and web access, putting them much closer to the tablets coming out with Windows 7. Regardless, Apple’s tablet had little chance of making it to the stage at this event. There’s still an outside chance Apple will release it before Christmas, but don’t hold your breath. So, where are we on the other predictions?

Beatles music on iTunes was the most likely prediction to come true. Given the date, and the simultaneous release of the remastered Beatles catalog on CD and Beatles: Rock Band, it was a no-brainer for this to finally be the time to announce Beatles music on iTunes. No such luck.

Then what about adding a camera to the iPod Touch? It seemed inevitable. This was the next step in the iPod Touch’s evolution. But no camera was announced. Instead, in a post show interview with David Pogue of the New York Times, Steve Jobs claimed that Apple was positioning the iPod Touch as “a game machine these days.” Pogue swallowed this hook, line, and sinker, or rather knew better than to challenge Jobs and quickly moved on. I suspect the key words in the Jobs quote is “these days”. Rumblings are that the truth behind the missing camera is faulty sensors that prevented inclusion of the device in time for this event. Pogue’s interview of Jobs, in fact, was so complimentary that in resulted in the highly regarded Leo Laporte and the rest of his This Week in Tech panel taking not only Pogue, but the entire New York Times organization to task for their reporting.

So, Cocktail, then? This, we got, under the name of iTunes LP, a part of the new iTunes 9. It looks impressive, but I’m not sure how appealing this will be to mass markets. I’m not even interested enough to explore and explain the details.

What else did we got? The biggest news, by far, was an appearance by Steve Jobs. Looking gaunt – but presumably on his way to mending – Jobs discussed briefly his liver transplant.

We also got an iPod Nano with a camera. This was totally out of the blue. The screen is a bit bigger, yet the Nano remains as slim as ever, with a camera on the back side (inconveniently positioned where you’d prefer to put your finger). Unfortunately, it’s a VGA camera and it can’t take still shots.

So what does all this mean? Well, a good portion of the presentation was spent slamming competitors. Apple couldn’t help but make fun of Microsoft and it’s Zune (much of what was done to the iPod Touch, including a price drop, was directly in response to the forthcoming and highly regarded Zune HD). Apple also tackled Nintendo and Sony for their DS and PSP, trying to convince us that the iPod Touch is a competitor to these devices. Finally, Apple knocked Flip and it’s Mino pocket camera, taking aim at it with the new iPod Nano with camera. What matters here is that in terms of a camera, the Nano is clearly inferior to the Mino. In terms of a gaming device, the iPod Touch may be king for casual gaming, but for real gamers, the DS is master of the domain, and even the PSP beats the Touch. And then there’s the Zune HD, which does a number of things as well or better than the iPod Touch. The App Store still trumps the Zune HD’s app offerings by a country mile, but in terms of video quality and audio playback, and just overall whiz-bang visuals, Microsoft finally has a competitor.

Apple has become a success in recent years by becoming an innovator, a trend setter, and an outright creator of new markets. This event boiled down to just a few minor tweaks and upgrades to existing products. Apple runs the risk of becoming stagnant. Certainly, propping itself up by knocking the other guys is very un-Apple-like.