menus
TREATS | RATS

The Genesis of the Production

To: John Q. Public

In our pursuit to prepare a feast to benefit mankind, we keep coming across the same question in all our business meetings:

"...I don't get it. What exactly are you guys trying to do?"

Hmmmm... that is a hard question to answer. It is almost like asking, "how often do you beat your wife?" For, I'm not certain that we are trying to do anything, except have some fun.

However, I would hasten to add that we appear to be destined to do some things... whether we try or not.

1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
5. Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
6. I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7. To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8. I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
9. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Email back from Al Brodie:

I just looked at Real World's website. (WARNING: this link takes you to a page suspect of using cookies and Flash, and such.) Impressive studios. I do not know of work they do but do know of Peter Gabriel's good works. Funny coincidence, our Jill Towers cd was done at Parr Street Studios owned by Hit & Run (Phil Collins, Genesis). We do have some heavy-hitter contacts in artists, producers, and engineers if that will help.

Al

To: Mr. Caron
Public Relations Director
King Arthur Flour Co.
(America's Oldest Flour Company c. 1790)

dear mr. caron,

pursuant to your letter of january 7, 2000, i believe it may be time for us to talk.

the most important question i will have for you is, "do you try to be a socially responsible company."

if you feel the answer to this question is yes, we should talk.

thank you. i shall await your advice.

sincerely,
daniel

http://kingarthur.com/

Dear Daniel,

Thank you for your reply. I certainly would like to talk more with you about this.

Your question about being a socially responsible company couldn't be a better one for us to answer. We fit this description quite ably, notso much by corporate philosophy or mission statement, but by our actions both on the job and off. A few examples:

 First and foremost, we are an employee-owned company, and quite broadly based, at that. Every full-time employee, regardless of position, earns stock based on wage and hours worked each year. This includes warehouse packers and CSR's, who comprise the bulk of our payroll. Frank and Brinna Sands, whose family has owned the company practically since its origins in 1790, see the ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) as a means of preventing a giant corporation like General Mills from buying us when they retire; Frank and Brinna are in their sixties now and none of their children are taking over the business. The bottom line is that people who do the work are the same people who are sharing the in equity of the company.

 Our company has always had progressive employment policies and thought of the workplace as a place to uphold "Arthurian" values. This stretches back quite a ways. Frank's grandfather went out of his way to hire Irish immigrants because, at the time, many other employers hung signs saying "Irish need not apply." (Company was located in Boston until 1984)

 King Arthur Flour and it's related varieties, (Bread Flour, Pastry Flour, etc), contain no chemicals, unlike most every flour available nationally. This is what we have become known for. The only thing in the flour is the wheat itself. (This, in fact is what led to the name King Arthur in 1896 because the Sands wanted a name to represent strength and purity.

 Due to the growth of our Baker's Catalogue, we had to build a new warehouse two years ago. We chose to build it on the site of a long-abandoned dairy processor, rather than build on a completely new site, although we paid more for the privilege of razing the old building and cleaning the site.

 We offer a program to middle schools called the Life Skill Bread Baking Program, in which we supply an instructor (one of our bakers) and enough two pound bags of flour for every student. The program calls for the kids to make the two-loaf recipe we teach them, then bring one of the loaves back to the school so that the school can bring them all to a food pantry or homeless shelter. This program is completely free to the schools. Since we began the program in 1992, we have taught close to 50,000 students to bake bread. We are able to conduct the program in about 20 schools each year.

 When we built a new office building in 1995, we donated 1,200 square feet to Vermont Public Radio, for their use a regional studio, which they "lease" each year for free. Many of us are big believers in Public Radio, and this was a way of making a lifetime pledge of support.

 Rather than give typical corporate Christmas gifts to our business partners, vendors, etc, we donate $10 in each of their names to the US anti-hunger group Share Our Strength. Each year's donation is between $2,000 and $2,500.

 We frequently get together in our test kitchen, or in our own homes, to bake hundreds of loaves of bread or batches of cookies for blood drives, battered women's shelters, school fund raisers, --you name it.

I don't want this to turn into a laundry list of good deeds. I want to somehow give you a glimpse into how we think and behave as a company. We like to be able to stand up and say that we're proud of what our products do and what we do as a business. More than any one example or event above, we're always thinking in that mode.

Well, sorry for the length of this. I can supply you with some copies of press clippings and such to assure you that what I say above is true. If anything, it may give you a more three-dimensional view of us than my e-mail and letter alone. If that's of interest to you, let me know of a postal address to use.

I hope this helps to show you who we are. I believe that we are a good candidate to stand behind the name KingArthur.com, and I'd like to do what I can to assure you of the same.

Sincerely,
Joe Caron

To: Joe

mmmm...

good answer!

tastey, indeed.

thanx

To: Daniel

Hi there, what are you up to these day's?

Anything new in the pipeline?

Update me
All the best
Honey Bane

Honey,

hehehe...funny you should ask

i just stepped down as pres. of my old company... and, we're trying ta put a webgig thingie together for peter gabriel

ouch... watch for falling angels!

hehehehe

ya wanna play?

lemme know,
daniel

To: Daniel

I'm always up for playing... you know back in the early 80's Peter Gabriel recorded a single with a friend of mine Jimmy Pursey at Trident studios in London. I met him at those sessions as I did some backing vocals on it. small world huh? I was struck by what a nice unaffected guy he was.

To: Honey

ya know when i met him back in the 80's, i thought exactly the same thing. now, that i am getting to know more about him... i am not sure if there is a better (living) example of a man?

From: Daniel

Thank you to the people who are signing up at http://kingarthur.com/give.html. Cause without people like you....

From Our New Friend:

Sammy Echeverry

Interests
SCIENCE help = aerospace sciences
THE ARTS help = music
THE ARTS help = multimedia
BUSINESS help = marketing

city = Carrollton
state = TX

Hi Daniel, I just got off the phone with Mike Beaudry and I have to tell ya, this guy is sizzling with excitement. I have known Mike since we were kids... and, I know he's a go getter... and, a hard worker... and, if he believes in something, he will give 110% and make it happen.

I want to be brief and to the point. I'm not clear about the direction of this project but the underlying values behind your concepts are right in line with my personal beliefs. God has given me many talents and opportunities and I want to use them to make a difference. Count me in on anything that I can contribute and let's make this thing bigger than we can imagine!

On the music side of things, I play guitar for the best Latin rock band in the US. And, if a hot shotlawyer or record executive tells me that "yeah, you're great but since you're over 30 we can't help you." We don't need to affiliate ourselves with them. If we can get our material out through new technologies, and give millions of people all over the world a chance to hear our music, we will have accomplished our goal...there's more, much more. e-mail me and let me know how I can help...

To: Mike

I just heard from Sammy. Wow! great.

By the way, did you ever here back from Lynn, at Y100? I was going to give her an exclusive on this. Looks like it's toooooo late now?

Lemme know?

Daniel

dear john (debella),

we are working on a project for peter gabriel... and i thought you we're the guy that used to call 'em 'the patron saint'?

our people are trying to set up a meeting with blahblahblah (sp?) of 94 WYSP

but, it seems like something you might have an interest in as a human?

thank you. please let us know.

sincerely,
daniel

To: Daniel

(His name is spelled) BlaaBlahBlah will be an absolute waste of your time. I'll be surprised if he takes the meeting.

Are you working directly for Peter?
Is this some Peter world wide project or idea.

Keep in mind, Peter was more than the "Patron Saint," he's a friend of mine.

JDB

john,

i dare not speak for peter.

however, i have started a coupla urls for the benefit

http://kingarthur.com/1_start_here.html

(i have not released this url to anyone else yet... but, do plan on taking it "live" at noon today.)

and, http://kingarthur.com/genesis.html seems to be the page that is getting the most hoooopla

but, wadda i know... i am but a fool.

thank you for your time.

sincerely,
daniel

ps. and, a good friday to ya

To: My People

I have not abandoned you.

Love,
God

"The eyes of the world are watching now... WATCHING NOW!"

introducing
The R.A.T.S.ssss (Responsibility Audit Team (Social, Safety, Secuirty, So on....)

The RATS are a thoroughly trained team. In our travels, we are constantly faced with the challenge of having to judge people's and corporations' intentions. How can we take advertisement money from a client who is inhumane to their customers? Or, from a company that pollutes on purpose? Or, from a civil rights group that advocates violence?

So, we have searched the world for the best and brightest. They now form our independent social audit team.

These guys are great! They bring all their own tools to fix any situation.

Click here to see a partial list of projects.

As our head Ferry RAT, can you give me any news on the pending or proposed lawsuits against: LYCOS, Spyglass, AOL, Microsoft, NetNielsen/Nielsen Ratings, the FTC, E-machines, CDNOW, MP3.Com, BMG Entertainment (RCA & Arista Records), Sony (Columbia Records), Time Warner (Warner Brother, Atlantic & Elektra Records), and Universal Music (MCA & Polydor Records).

How about to start with, I give you an exclusive on the filing against MP3.Com and the major record companies? I'm representing: LESTER CHAMBERS d/b/a The Chambers Brothers, CARL GARDNER d/b/a The Coasters, BILL PINKNEY d/b/a The Original Drifters, TONY SILVESTER d/b/a The Main Ingredient, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated.

To: Larry, Esquire

Thanks... though it is a public document... isn't it? (hehehe.)

Anyway, I just got back from this gathering of humans. They all stood up and said, "Jesus is alive". As I've been in conversations with Peter Gabriel about the copyrights to Supper's Ready, it seemed relevant.

If you need any evidence, I saw the Channel 6 News crew was there shooting. Maybe they got some footage?

How long is a copyright good for? The author's life plus fifty years? Do you think that you could find some lawyers who want to help us collect his back royalties... on all the Bibles, etc.?

And, do you think we are talking about a lot of money? We've been authorized to collect it for him. (He has a lot of things to do... including feeding the people. Therefore, it would appear as though time is of the essence? We are allowed to invest his principal, and do what we can to "help out" with the interest, dividends and capital gains. Rumor has it that the "time value of money" has no meaning to him... hehehe. Maybe that is why he is so generous?)

If you think it will be a lot of money, please let me know. Tomorrow, I meet with Commerce Bank about KingArthur.Com's banking. (I think we'll really like banking with Commerce. So far, they've been a dream... but, that is a whole other story.) So, can ya let me know ASAP?

Hmmm... maybe I should prepare them to setup a bank account for every lawsuit? Are we getting money from LYCOS? Or, Spyglass? Cuz' I don't think we should co-mingle all these funds... should we?

ps He would probably like a recall, too. So, that he can correct all the errors. Thanx.

To: Daniel

Little strange to me... . I'm jewish, you know.

Larry, Esquire

To: Larry, Esquire

perfect... so is he.

to: Peter Gabriel

dahehehehe

my side is splittin' open...

i was just gettin' a bit to eat... and, watching that regis dude on tv... "who wanna be a millionaire" show

ya ever hear of it? some sort'a big thing here in the states

anyhoo, regis sayz ta the contestant guy...

in the 198sumpin' movie "say anything", what song does lloyd play outside his girlfriend's window on a boombox... or sumpin' like that.

choices:
a) not right
b) in your eyes
c) bad answer
d) dumb answer

r,r,r... and it's the $64k question.

the guy doesn't know the answer... so, he uses one of his "life lines".

that doesn't work... so, without logic on his side, he just guesses... "a"

waaaaaaaaa

wrong answer!

hehehe

if only he had tried to be your friend....

daniel

ps my wife thinks that question should be worth at least a 100k... she don't think ya should be lumped with no chump change.

To: Daniel

Yeah, I was in L.A for a couple of days, and I saw who wants to be a bastard :) (joking)

Peter Gabriel

Hehehe... i get it
Daniel

To: Mike

Please pursue a meeting with 94WYSP:

94 WYSP: CBS Radio
101 South Independence Mall East
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 625-9460

Please explain to them that we are working on the benefit, and that we would like them to volunteer for a Social Responsibility Audit:

By the way, KingArthur.Com also made two stock acquisitions this morning:

1. Infinity Broadcasting /DE (NYSE:INF)

   " Infinity Broadcasting Corp operates the radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising business of CBS Corporation. The Company engages in the outdoor advertising business via its wholly owned subsidiary, TDI Worldwide Inc., which sells advertising space on various media including buses, trains, train platforms and terminals throughout commuter rail systems, and on billboards and phone kiosks. TDI al so has sole rights to manage advertising space within the London Underground and on more than 90% of the buses in London and the United Kingdom, has the sole rights to transit advertising in the Republic of Ireland and parts of Northern Ire land, and has a variety of outdoor advertising displays in the Netherlands. The Company also has minority equity investment in Westwood One, through which it manages its CBS Radio Network. Westwood One is a producer and distributor of syndicated and network radio programming in the United States."

2. CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS)

   "CBS Corporation is one of the largest national radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The Corporation operates primarily through its Radio and Outdoor Advertising and Television business segments. The Radio segment consists of 160 AM and FM radio stations and the Corporation's outdoor advertising business. The Television segment consists of the Corporation's 14 owned and operated television stations, the television network and the cable business. During 1998, the Corporation formed Infinity, a new company comprising the Radio segment. Infinity also participates in the outdoor advertising business through its subsidiary, TDI Worldwide, Inc. which sells space on various media, including buses, trains, train platforms and terminals throughout commuter rail systems, and on painted billboards, thirty-sheet billboards, and phone kiosks. Through the CBS New Media division, CBS Corporation offers information and services at its various web sites."

Dear KingArthur.com:

Don't you think your tactics are a little intimidating? Why do you need lawsuits? And, why do you need experts like that on the RATS? Aren't you being socially irresponsible?

Sincerely,
Concerned Citizens

Dear Concerned Citizens,

Please do not fear... we work very hard at making sure all of our people are Good people. However, if you feel anything we do... or anything any of our sponsors does... is unethical, immoral, and/or socially irresponsible please email help@KingArthur.com.

To answer your question about the make-up of the RATS, please consider the case study on 94WYSP.

On the first day of trying to setup a meeting with a potential sponsor (94WYSP), we have already invoked a goodly portion of occupations (such as, financial experts, lawyers, doctors, and nuclear experts.) A financial expert started the day asking question about acquiring stock in 94WYSP's parent company. As it turns out, this was no easy feat. A lawyer was also invoked to try n' figger out who owns who. After some poking and prodding, it appears as though 94WYSP is owned by Infinity Broadcasting, who is owned by CBS, who in turn appears connected to Westinghouse.

Westinghouse has a division called Westinghouse Government Environmental Services Company (WGES).

The Westinghouse Government Environmental Services Company (WGES) provides non-defense-related businesses with necessary environmental and remediation services. WGES is jointly owned by the Westinghouse Government Services Company (60 percent) and BNFL Nuclear Services Inc. (40 percent). WGES manages the Government Technical Services Division, West Valley Nuclear Services Company, the Waste Isolation Division, Westinghouse Anniston, and Safe Sites of Colorado.

So, like you, Concerned Citizen, I too felt afraid. Perhaps the RATS were in over their head?

Sincerely,
Daniel

Dear Doc:

Yipes! I thought we were going to be dealing with a little local radio station. Do we have the necessary experts on the RATS to deal with something like this?

thanx,
daniel

To: Daniel

Hahaha ( said with a hearty belly laugh )... are you kidding me? Where should I start? How about John? Nuclear experrt for years... need I say more?

Doc

To: Doc

Phew! I certainly don't want to misrepresent who and what we are... and, I don't want to tell the world we are taking on a social responsibility audit that we can't handle.

Thank you for putting our minds at ease. As it turns out, CBS and Westinghouse are splitting. Therefore, it shouldn't be an issue.

However, there is a growing concern about CBS/Infinity and "push versus pull" technologies. I will try to keep you posted.

thank you,
daniel

To: Daniel

I still don't have any idea of what you are trying to do?

JDB (John Debella)

john,

hehehe... well, it's funny you should say that.

but, i'm not sure who you mean... what am i trying to do, or what is kingarthur.com trying to do?

hmmm... both share at least one thing in common -- trying to have fun.

but,
if you are asking what kingarthur.com is doing... they are trying to be kind. since kingarthur.com reaches 20 million viewers a month, how would that compare with YSP's audience?

and,
KingArthur.com is going to acquire a piece of each and everyone of YSP's advertisers... with or without the help of YSP. you tell us?

now...
if you are asking what i am trying to do... at the moment i'm working on a song:

-----------------snip-----------------

sam z, (and any other's who are cc'd)

shame on me... i forgot what this is all about.

when i said we are writing songs... that includes you. cuz now you're one of us. yeeeeeha

kingarthur.com is copyrighting some songs.

some are based on the goings'on at kingarthur.com

for example:

on http://KingArthur.com/genesis.html

you can read about the R.A.T.S.

you can also read about 94WYSP

so... when you read the following lyrics, you might want to think of the big ugly giant as 94WYSP... and the rats gnawing at his ankles as the people.

anyhoo... here is a start to some words. ifn' you would like 2 add your too scents, just let it out.

----------------------------------------------

lyrics
(leave out words in parentheses once ya get the gist)

By 7 am

        the RATS start gnawing

Exposing his (big ugly giant) bone up to the knee

But, will he continue to be?

Does he even see?

        ...does he care about lil'o me?

By 9:30

        The (stock) market is open.

As the RATS devour the beast,

        One share at a time.

They begin to become one,
Under the morning sun.

(For, don't they say, "You are what you eat")

------------snip----------------

From: "Peter Gabriel"
To: Daniel
Subject: Re: dag nab it, lets have fun

I am one of you? :) If you like!

The lyrics are good, Old Genesis we see through!

My brain is kind of fried, tired... I'll come back on it later, keep in touch.

PG

-------------snip----------------

To: "Peter Gabriel"
From: Daniel
Subject: DOINK!

... that is the sound of my jaw hittin' da floor. when i carbon copied you on that email, it was ta let ya in on the comradery that is developing among all the new friends.

i couldn't have dreamt a better dream, then to hear you say:

>I am one of you? :) If you like!
>The lyrics are good, Old Genesis we see through!
>My brain is kind of fried, tired... I'll come back on it later, keep in >touch

wow... pinch me... i think i am dreamin'?

--------------snip--------------

does this help?

in any event, we all hope you're havin' fun, too

thanx,
daniel

To: Capn'

KingArthur.com would like to acquire the animations software to get rollin' on the above mentioned music video.

How quickly can we start rendering a big ugly giant... and, RATS gnawing at his ankels??

Hmmm... and, do you think we should bring a film crew to our meeting with YSP?

lemme know?

tanx,
Daniel

To: Daniel

the giant we could get started soon...

i'll have to try to dig up a rat template.

yup, lookin' good:

high resolution rat #AN029 RAT
6561 polygons
$95

mechanical rat = $75
#AN025 MECHANICAL RAT
1584 polygons

just say the word,
Capn'

To: CAIS Internet

mark,

pursuant to my conversation with jason, we are in the early stages of a virtual benefit concert.

if your company is socially responsible, and interested in reaching the opinion leaders of major U.S. businesses, please feel free to contact me. there appears to be several opportunities.

my old company services commercial customers, and they are starting to upgrade them to your DSL. perhaps this could be done on a larger scale?

also, we are working with many companies that have multiple locations. perhaps they could benefit from multiple DSL connections? of course, what do I know?

in any event, the project that i'm working on is looking for a bandwidth sponsor. we're taking advertisers on a first come, first serve basis. it is called "a feast to benefit mankind".

mind ya, it is just in the development stages, but the business page is http://KingArthur.com/genesis.html

the last estimate of the "$/day" business eyeballs to this page was $500M/day... but, with this exponential growth, it is hard to say.

is that what you are interested in? commercial accounts?

when it comes to the 20million/people a month that view our sites, we would try to filter only the ones you seek.

please let me know.

thank you,
daniel

wally (sales & marketing for KingArthur.com) wrote:
[note: Wally has always loved the old San Francisco music scene -- bands like, Quicksilver Messenger Service, So, he seized this opportunity.]

steve, you are the man... i mean thanks for continuing to keep one of my guitar heroes alive at the John Cipollina website (http://www.johncipollina.com).

your tribute and dedication to the man is fantastic.

we also are working on a benefit project for a man, in fact all of man, at http://www.kingarthur.com

wasn't john in a band called "Man" at several points

in fact, i have the live "Man" disk with "Cip" called "maximum darkness".

does "Man" still play?

what was john's lifelong ailment exactly?

is there some sort of foundation for this ailment?

i guess there's still no cure...............?

thanks,
wally

Steve wrote:

Hi Wally,

Thanks for writing. John did record and do a brief tour with the band, Man. As far as I know, they are dis-banded.

John died from emphysema... holes in his lungs... from smoking most of his life, and also, being born a twin (she still lives in Mill Valley), his lungs were underdeveloped to begin with.

I put some cool photos on the photo page....do check it out.

Take care,
Steve

walter wrote:

steve,

is there someone in charge of john's estate? do you think they would be interested in immortalizing john in our benefit for mankind?

we're moving and grooving with a big pot of stew at http://kingarthur.com

can you put me in touch with his sister or someone else who can speak for him?

thanks,
wally

Steve wrote:

Hi Wally,

Having been John's manager for the last 7 years of his life, I have continued to be the family spokesman. I am in constant touch with his sister. So, any idea you have, I'd appreciate it if you would run it by me... and, I will let John's sister, as well as his brother and other sister know what's up.

If it's easier to discuss this on the phone, call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Regards,
Steve

walter wrote:

we are doing a benefit thingie with Real World Studios. are you familiar with em? RWS' mission is to bring many world class musicians out to the world (when they cannot afford to come out.) i thought it was appropriate, since John is a large influence on me, that i could put his name in lights here.

... certainly, he fits there being an artist that never received the proper recognition for his achievements.

the Hall of Fame is an awesome honor, but they put it in Cleveland?

heeehehheeehhe

can i get your comments about john in regards to the following points? "Cippy" was....

- a consummate musician

- not a greed monger

- treated like crap by record companies

- an all around great man

thanks,
wally

steve wrote:

Hi Walter,

The family would love to have John's name added to your site.

John was in fact the consummate musician. He played with bands covering various styles from rock to blues to jazz. In the 80's, he was a member of 6 different bands at one time. Sometimes, he'd play a set with one band, then shoot across town to play the 2nd set with another band!

He was very unselfish, and always wanted to be sure that all the musicians on stage got their solos. Very modest person. And, for all the love the world showed him, John never had a chip on his shoulder. He was just a regular guy with a great talent, and always treated everyone as an equal.

Regards,
Steve

Index