BallantinesPR

Move Over George Foreman!
Master Pizza Chef, Theo Kalogeracos, and his Pizza Oven – the Pizza Perfector – are coming to America!

Master Pizza Chef, Theo Kalogeracos The Theo + Co Pizza Perfector Theo’s Chocolate Mud Honey Pizza Theo’s Pisagne Pizza CLICK on the image to view Theo on Australia’s number one national breakfast TV show

Los Angeles, CA, Aug 16, 2010- The 2010 World Pizza Champion, Theo Kalogeracos, is coming to America and he’s bringing his famous pizza oven with him.  Already a huge hit in Australia, Theo Kalogeracos is known in the culinary world as a Master Pizza Chef.  To say Theo is talented and passionate when it comes to pizzas is an understatement. For 15 years he has run a pizzeria, Little Caesars (no relation to the Little Caesars US chain), in the Perth hills suburb of Mundaring, Western Australia - www.littlecaesarspizzeria.com.au, and recently a second pizzeria in the trendy suburb of Leederville.  Customers drive from far and wide to enjoy the award-winning food and atmosphere. His great TV presence has also made him a household name in Australia.

Just like his pizzas, Theo’s journey to becoming a master pizza chef is original. He credits his Greek heritage, his family, evolution as a baker then pastry chef, strong work ethic and Italian mentor, Caesar Saraceni, as influencing the evolution of his award winning pizzas. He has become quite the TV personality in Australia. Some recent award titles include:  2010 World Champion Pizza Maker – Las Vegas Pizza Show, 2006 Las Vegas Italian Chef Wars Winner, 2004 member of Dairy Farmers Team Oz that won the America’s Plate, and 2003 Australian winner of Dairy Farmers Best of the Best.

Theo’s philosophy, when it comes to making pizzas, is about using quality, fresh produce and developing a taste sensation. He is far from being a traditional pizza maker and some of his pizzas are considered a little outside the box.

While his choices are sometimes thought bold – many would turn their noses at putting pasta on a pizza or creating a chocolate pizza – staying true to simple flavor principles and being a perfectionist has lead to the creation of a long list of delicious and award-winning pizzas. A few of those notable pizzas are:

• Pisagne – combination of lasagna on a pizza, bolognaise sauce, pasta sheets and parmesan cheese
• Chocolate Mud Honey – chocolate mud cake, honey, chocolate sauce, white milk and dark chocolate buttons, icing sugar.
• Strawberry Fields – frangipani cake, strawberries, icing sugar, strawberry sauce, ice cream

Creating an ‘authentic’ pizza experience is integral to Theo’s pizzas – similar to a work of art. Theo views the pizza base as a ‘culinary canvas’ and then creates a flavor masterpiece. If he wants to create a Thai satay chicken pizza, it is created using fresh and authentic Thai ingredients.  As well as ensuring the taste is spot on, Theo is also extremely visual when it comes to making pizzas – the pizza needs to look good and toppings need to be balanced.

“We eat with our eyes as well as our taste buds, so the pizza must look great and taste delicious,” says Theo. “When you cut the pizza into slices, each person needs to enjoy the flavors. That’s why balancing the toppings across the pizza is really important.”

Continuing with his passion for everything pizza, Theo will be branching out with his Theo + Co brand with his award winning cookbook and a countertop pizza oven for the U.S. market in the coming months. Theo is excited to be bringing his pizza passion and knowledge to the US.

The 200 page cookbook, Theo + Co – The Search for the Perfect Pizza, is a labor of love and much more than an instructional pizza cookbook. Theo has put his heart, soul and pizza recipes into the book to equip people to make world class pizzas in the comfort of their home. It has been a major success in Australia, first released as a hard-cover, followed soon after by a paperback edition.

The book is published in Australia by UWA Press. It has exceeded all of their expectations and has been their most successful published book to date. The cookbook is currently being updated and converted to the US metric system for release in the United States.

The Theo + Co Pizza Perfector is an easy to use countertop electric pizza oven designed by Theo. With a rotating tray for even cooking; an automatic timer and upper and lower heating elements, it cooks a perfect pizza in 7 – 10 minutes. It also comes with an instructional DVD featuring Theo preparing dough from scratch in real time and tips on how to make the perfect pizza. Theo is working on re-designing the Pizza Perfector for release in the U.S. consumer market.  Expected launch will be in three to six months.

Bringing the cookbook and pizza oven to the U.S. makes perfect sense for a pizza enthusiast like Theo. “While Australians like pizza, Americans LOVE pizza and I am really looking forward to immersing myself in the diverse US pizza culture.”

Theo hopes to share his knowledge about pizza making with American families on a budget. “Using quality, fresh ingredients, the whole family can come together to create their meal and share some quality family time.” He sees a future where kids and their parents can have fun cooking and experimenting together with unique ingredients and toppings.

To prepare for his book and pizza oven launch in the US, Theo will be hitting the TV and print circuit and doing cooking demonstrations over the next few months, providing fun and easy cooking tips and great recipes.  Theo hopes you’ll join him on his journey to making great pizzas.

For more information about Theo Kalogeracos or the Theo+Co brand, please go to -http://www.theoandco.net/

To request recipes or book Theo for a show, please contact:

Erika Maya
Ballantines PR
erika@ballantinespr.com
Tel: +1.310.454.3080
Mob: +1.310.850.0309
Fax: +1.310.943.1978
www.ballantinespr.com

NeuroSky’s Brain Computer Interface – Bridging the Gap Between Research, Academia, and the Consumer

NeuroSky’s David Westendorf explains the company’s achievements in bringing technological advances to the masses

NeuroSky’s MindSet David Westendorf, VP of Business Development and Product Marketing NeuroSky’s CEO, Stanley Yang, using the Uncle Milton Star Wars Force Trainer NeuroSky Lab, MATLAB plug in for EEG data collection

San Jose, CA, Aug 11, 2010 – In 2007, U.S. Universities spent more than $48.8 billion dollars on research and earned only $2 billion back in licensing of previous patents developed from their work. While this research is ostensibly available for license, it is somehow not translating into broad commercial use. Leading brain-computer interface technology company, NeuroSky has made it their mission to utilize university neuroscience research and create products to benefit the general public.

At this year’s BCI Meeting in Asilomar, California, NeuroSky’s Vice President of Business Development and Product Marketing, David Westendorf, presented NeuroSky’s commercialization model to a gathering of the top 400 researchers in the BCI industry.

Grounded in over 60 years of medical research, NeuroSky’s technology has taken proven medical EEG (electroencephalograph) technology, and evolved it for application to the mass market in games and toys. Mattel’s MindFlex and Star Wars Force Trainer by Uncle Milton use NeuroSky ThinkGear EEG technology to read the intensity of the wearer’s brainwaves via sensors positioned on the forehead. NeuroSky’s ThinkGear chip is not limited to games, though. Their BCI technology is now being incorporated into products as various as automotive, healthcare, education industries, and more.

At the BCI Meeting, Mr. Westendorf explained how the current consumer markets for BCI technology are rapidly growing and strong, with the brain fitness market expected to grow from $265 million in 2008, to an astounding $5 billion in 2015, and the neuro-stimulation, or drug-free alternatives market, growing from $1.3 billion in 2009 to $2.7 billion in 2015. If the market is so open to these types of products, why then is there this disconnect between the amount of research done and the number of products available to the masses?

The main problem, as Mr. Westendorf made clear, is that consumer manufacturers don’t know BCI, and BCI experts do not know consumer electronics. And that’s where NeuroSky comes in. Under the guidance of CEO Stanley Yang, their MindSet has effectively bridged the gap between academics and consumers, by offering them an incredibly reliable and effective EEG machine for 1/100th of the cost of a full medical EEG.

“Through research and commercialization partnerships with Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Trinity College, University of Wollongong, University of Washington and many others, NeuroSky is helping unlock decades of brainwave research for mass market applications,” said Stanley Yang, NeuroSky CEO. “We look forward to product announcements with these and more partners in the coming years.”

The cost of a typical medical EEG systems, which must be used with gel and assistance from a clinician, can be above $40,000 per unit and takes 15-30 minutes to calibrate, and produces a high degree of accuracy. NeuroSky’s Mindset has a calibration time of only 4-seconds, an accuracy rate of 90%-96%, yet only costs $199. The fact that NeuroSky has been able to offer nearly the full value of a real EEG machine for mass-market consumption is one of the factors that have contributed to the company becoming one of the world’s largest EEG manufacturers.

About NeuroSky
NeuroSky, Inc. is the leader in Brain-Computer Interface technologies for consumer product application. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in San Jose, CA, NeuroSky works with industry partners, developers, and with academic and research institutions, to provide innovative products and solutions across a wide range of areas.

Technological innovations include significant advancements in noise reduction, dry-sensor development (rather than requiring a conductive gel), substantial cost-engineering (reducing the price), and enabling the wearer to use it outside of a lab (without the assistance of a doctor). With such universal innovation, NeuroSky’s games and other applications are sure to have an impact in a variety of arenas in the coming years.

For more information about NeuroSky, please go to www.neurosky.com

For more information on NeuroSky’s University partnerships, please contact:
Tansy Brook
Head of Communications
NeuroSky Brain-Computer Interface Technologies
Office: 408-200-6677
Mobile: 415-215-6519
tansy@neurosky.com

Media Contact:
Erika Maya
Erika@ballantinespr.com
Ballantines PR
Tel: +1.310.454.3080
Mob: +1.310.850.0309
Fax: +1.310.943.1978
www.ballantinespr.com

MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY Named
Exclusive Fine Art Licensing Agency
By Speed Racer Enterprises

Gallery Kicks Off New Partnership with its
2010 Speed Racer™ International Art Competition

Los Angeles, CA, Aug 11, 2010 – MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY, art licensors and gallery of emerging, celebrity talent and properties, is pleased to announce its 2010 Speed Racer™International Art Competition to kick-off its exclusive fine art licensing representation of Speed Racer Classic.

MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY, which will also serve as an official art publisher for Speed Racer art, will launch this exclusive partnership with its 2010 Speed Racer™ International Art Competition on August 10, 2010, accepting submissions through October 31, 2010. Artists of all ages and ranging from emerging to established are invited to submit new works incorporating their visions of the classic Speed Racer art. These original designs may be in the categories of painting, drawing, photography, digital, print (etching, lithograph, silkscreen, linoleum cut, woodcut, monotype, etc.), sculpture and video.

Caradoc Ehrenhalt, MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY Founder and CEO states “We are thrilled to represent such an exciting, original property as Speed Racer. We feel that the 2010 Speed Racer International Art Competition is an excellent preview of how Maximillian Gallery will utilize art licensing and publishing deals to expand consumer access to new and existing Speed Racer art.”

James Rocknowski, President of Speed Racer Enterprises, agrees. “We’re really excited to be driving Speed Racer head-on into the fine art medium. The enthusiasm over at Maximillian Gallery really sets our mind at ease that they are definitely the guys who will help expand the brand into the uniqueness of the art world. We are confident that Caradoc’s passion for art and knowledge of the art and licensing business make Maximillian Gallery the perfect champion for Speed Racer in the art world.”

Judged by a panel of art professionals including Ehrenhalt, winning entries based on the classic Speed Racer cartoon will be eligible for sales representation, publication as a limited edition print, perhaps even be licensed for use on products and apparel. The competition offers valuable exposure for artists and their art. Applicants will be given the opportunity to submit their work for consideration, culminating in a panel, public and founder’s vote. In addition, there are numerous opportunities for all entrants, including unprecedented recognition and exposure to the art world, media and public through MAXIMILLIAN’s website, mention in press releases/coverage, potential inclusion in the Speed Racer exhibition following the competition, and exposure for their existing work as well as the new Speed Racer work created for the competition.

Ehrenhalt continues, “This competition is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for artists to showcase their work and get the chance to expand their influence and profile in the art and art licensing world. Established artists are also invited to participate and create new art based on the amazing Speed Racer cartoon. Ultimately, at Maximillian, we are eager to receive submissions and see what undiscovered talent may emerge and what great new art will be created by emerging and established artists.”

Rocknowski adds, “Speed Racer is loved by tens of millions of fans worldwide, and this official Speed Racer art competition is very exciting to us and sure to be very exciting to the fans. We look forward to seeing the new works artists will create based on Speed Racer.”

The gallery will stage a Speed Racer Exhibition featuring the winners and selected competition entrants following announcement of the winners.

About MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY:

MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY makes connections between those desiring meaningful, cutting edge art – collectors, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers – and celebrity and other modern, contemporary artists. MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY provides art licensing and sales representation for ingenious, emerging fine artists, serving a wide array of creative intellectual property owners, including painters, sculptors, photographers, and illustrators, with new artists being added regularly. The gallery serves collectors in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, and London under the leadership and expertise of its founder Caradoc Ehrenhalt. www.maximilliangallery.com

About Speed Racer:

Speed Racer™ first created by Tatsunoko Productions in 1966 as a Japanese “Manga” entitled Mach Go Go Go. In 1967, the 52 episodes of the cartoon series were dubbed into English by Peter Fernandez and were syndicated nationally on television in America. For nearly 20 years, Speed Racer™ was on TV in the afternoons five days a week. During that time, the world of Speed Racer™ was deeply etched into the memories of millions of youngsters who would run home from school to watch the show. Speed™ later enjoyed a comeback on TV in the 90’s on MTV and then it ran again for almost 5 years on the Cartoon Network. Nearly three full generations have grown up with Speed Racer™ and the Mach 5™. Today, Speed™, Trixie™, Racer X™, Pops™, Sparky™, Spritle™, and Chim Chim™ all hold a warm place in the hearts of 45 million Speed Racer™ fans! www.speedracer.com

Entrants for the MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY 2010 Speed Racer™ International Art Competition may visit www.maximilliangallery.com for the official Terms and Conditions, and submission details.

For more information on MAXIMILLIAN GALLERY or for press inquiries, please contact Cara Morrissey at Ballantines PR.

Cara Morrissey
cara@ballantinespr.com
Ballantines PR
Tel: +1.310.454.3080
Fax: +1.310.943.1978
www.ballantinespr.com