PLSN (Projection, Lights and Staging News) has announced that Rush's long-time lighting director Howard Ungerleider will be the recipient of the 2014 Parnelli Visionary Award which will be presented at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on November 22nd, 2014. From the announcement: “Howard is a pioneer who took concert lighting to a new level, leaving everybody else to try to catch up,” says Parnelli Producer/PLSN Publisher Terry Lowe. “His work with Rush has inspired many in this business, and he’s known as one of the nicest, most respected guys in this business, too.” Many companies turned to Ungerleider when developing new products. “A lot of manufacturers would send me their fixtures to break,” he says. One is High End. “Howard Ungerleider is a pioneer in the entertainment industry,” says High End founder and Parnelli Visionary Honoree Richard Belliveau. “For as long as I have known Howard he has strived to provide his clientele with new and innovative ideas. New and innovati

Alex Lifeson has a brief cameo appearance in the new Netflix original program titled Trailer Park Boys: Live in Fu**in' Dublin . Lifeson, who portrays himself, announces the winner of the Rush internet contest to determine Rush's biggest fan. The winner of the contest, Bubbles, along with his cohorts Ricky and Julian, recreated the classic Rush video for Closer to the Heart as their entry for the contest. Alex goes on to congratulate Bubbles for his work on the video, however he also indicates that Ricky's performance really sucked. As part of the winnings, the friends win a trip to Dublin in a private jet to see the band's show there along with a $1000 spending money. Hilarity ensues when they reach Dublin, but I won't give it all away. The closing credits show a side-by-side comparison of both the original Rush video for Closer to the Heart and the Trailer Park Boy's version. To watch the movie (Netflix Streaming Account Required), click HERE . Th

Update (06/12/2014): Both Geddy and Alex have posted video acceptance speeches. You can view them here: ( Geddy | Alex ). Thanks to Donovan Duguay for the links and news. Update (06/12/2014): Rush are scheduled to receive their honorary degrees today, June 12th, at 2:00pm EST. You can watch a stream of the event via this LINK (or now via the embedded viewer below) Nipissing University , located in Ontario, has just announced that each of the members of Rush are to be bestowed with an honorary degree; the university's first honorary "Doctor of Music". From the announcement: “Convocation is the highlight of the year and we are honoured that these extraordinary individuals will help us celebrate our graduates,” said Dr. Mike DeGagné, President and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University. “The nine honourees are remarkable Canadians who have helped make our world better. It is very rewarding that they each recognize the distinct value of Nipissing University and su

June 1st marks the anniversary of when Cygnus-X1.Net was first launched and 2014 marks the site's 10th Anniversary. Ten Years. It's hard to believe I've been at this for so long, and even harder to believe how quickly the time has flown by. One of the most rewarding experiences of running Cygnus-X1.Net has to be the site's evolution and growth over the years. While the 'Star Trek' side of the shop has expanded modestly over the years, the LCARS theme has never really changed since Day 1. But here on the Rush side of the shop, the site has gone through numerous visual changes as well as significant content growth. Back when I first launched the 'Rush Tribute' section of the site, I employed a Sphere Theme which I still look back at fondly all these years later. (Through the magic of the internet's web archive, you can still access that theme via this LINK .) Back then, the site sported about 40 or 50 individual pages on Rush including the