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Game over: Oregon 47, USC 20 and Southern Cal gave up a shocking 619 yards of offense to Oregon according to Kirk Herbstreit on ESPN's telecast of the game. The Oregon Ducks have scored more points against a Pete Carroll-coached USC team than anyone in his career.
Oregon students storm the field and jump as one. They're spilling over the wall and onto the field and the Oregon Duck's getting rolled! These folks have lost it!
It's an amazing win for a team that started the season with the Legorette Blount issue against Boise State and now finds itself as the team Boise State was rooting for today.
Wild.
Now, the Pac-10's a mess. Oregon is undefeated while Arizona, Stanford, and Cal are in a deadlock for second in the conference at present with Cal - having beat Arizona State today 23 to 21 - now solidly in the hunt for the Pac-10 Championship should Oregon stumble toward the end of the season.
Given that Oregon's next game is at Stanford, that could happen because the Cardinal's coming off this bye week. Two weeks to prepare for Oregon at this moment in time is just perfect.
Wow, what a day. Happy Halloween!
How far will USC drop is anyone's guess but I think they'll switch places with Oregon which was 10th ranked going into this game.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
USC vs Oregon - Oregon wins 47 to 20, shakes up BCS and Pac-10
USC vs Oregon - Oregon blowing out USC with 12 min in 4th
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In the USC vs Oregon game, Oregon's currently blowing out USC 41 to 20, with 12 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.
This is huge! It's what Cal fans hoped for as well!
Oregon's playing like a national championship contender, with their quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who's ran eight times for 75 yards and completed seven of eleven passes for 93 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the first half alone.
Now, according to ESPN's Brent Musberger, Oregon has 540 yards of total offense.
Oregon's lethal combination of a short passing game using "bubble" passes to the wide receivers and a spread option running game is giving USC fits just as they did to Cal's defense earlier this year.
It's now 44 to 20 and USC's totally pasted.
If this score holds with now just 8 minutes to go, USC will have the same number of losses as Cal and should drop a bunch in the BCS Standings. All of this is much to the happiness of Boise State fans, who hope that they leapfrog TCU in the BCS race.
Stay tuned.
Cal v. ASU - Kevin Riley's gutsy play gets 23 to 21 win!
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Wow!
Cal quarterback Kevin Riley just put in the defining, gut-check, performance of his career. The junior signal caller did what kids dream about: directing his team to a come-from-behind fourth quarter drive that ended in a field goal to give the California Golden Bears their all important sixth win, 23 to 21.
Cal is now 6 and 2, bowl eligible, and could run the table to go 10 and 2. The dream of a Rose Bowl bid is now one step closer to reality.
Cal started the game with a plan to get the ball to star running back Jahvid Best by land and by air. The first play was a fake out of the "cockeyed I" formation, where Best was placed at fullback. He ran to the flat to make a catch and pick up about nine yards.
Then Cal Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig put Best in at the wing position in a three-receiver set, and had him run a delayed fake pattern. Riley found him and Best scored a touchdown to put Cal up by two scores. Cal rolled up over 200 yards and 15 first downs, and Riley was 15 of 23 for 182 yards before the half.
But then the wheels came off as Ludwig and Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford fell into the bad habit of trying to throw deep, which takes time, and placing Riley in a position to be rushed and sacked. (Bleacher Report called the offensive play calling "offensive" and I agree.)
Riley fumbled the ball three times in this game, all on pass attempts. ASU's offense had enough chances such that, eventually, they took the lead by one point, and Cal's fantasy season that could lead to The Rose Bowl seemed in trouble.
That's when Kevin Riley went to work.
Getting the ball deep in Cal territory with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Riley threw for 22 yards, and in a moment, the Golden Bears were at midfield. Then after a penalty for offensive pass interference, deft pocket movement by Riley caused Cal to regain the lost yardage, then pick up a first down a play later. Cal was in the Red Zone.
And while a questionable fake-run-throw by Shane Vereen out of a variation of The Wildcat formation almost worked, Cal's second field goal in the last quarter (the first one was missed) sealed the deal. Game over.
GO BEARS!
GO BEARS!
Wow!
Cal quarterback Kevin Riley just put in the defining, gut-check, performance of his career. The junior signal caller did what kids dream about: directing his team to a come-from-behind fourth quarter drive that ended in a field goal to give the California Golden Bears their all important sixth win, 23 to 21.
Cal is now 6 and 2, bowl eligible, and could run the table to go 10 and 2. The dream of a Rose Bowl bid is now one step closer to reality.
Cal started the game with a plan to get the ball to star running back Jahvid Best by land and by air. The first play was a fake out of the "cockeyed I" formation, where Best was placed at fullback. He ran to the flat to make a catch and pick up about nine yards.
Then Cal Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig put Best in at the wing position in a three-receiver set, and had him run a delayed fake pattern. Riley found him and Best scored a touchdown to put Cal up by two scores. Cal rolled up over 200 yards and 15 first downs, and Riley was 15 of 23 for 182 yards before the half.
But then the wheels came off as Ludwig and Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford fell into the bad habit of trying to throw deep, which takes time, and placing Riley in a position to be rushed and sacked. (Bleacher Report called the offensive play calling "offensive" and I agree.)
Riley fumbled the ball three times in this game, all on pass attempts. ASU's offense had enough chances such that, eventually, they took the lead by one point, and Cal's fantasy season that could lead to The Rose Bowl seemed in trouble.
That's when Kevin Riley went to work.
Getting the ball deep in Cal territory with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Riley threw for 22 yards, and in a moment, the Golden Bears were at midfield. Then after a penalty for offensive pass interference, deft pocket movement by Riley caused Cal to regain the lost yardage, then pick up a first down a play later. Cal was in the Red Zone.
And while a questionable fake-run-throw by Shane Vereen out of a variation of The Wildcat formation almost worked, Cal's second field goal in the last quarter (the first one was missed) sealed the deal. Game over.
GO BEARS!
Free Chipotle burrito at Chipotle Mexican Grill for Halloween - viral?
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Ok, Chipotle Mexican Grill offering a free Chipotle burrito is nice and great for Halloween. If you walk in with a costume, you get a free burrito. But how did this message, this keyword, go viral?
As I write this, it's the number 2 most searched Google Trend. I'm not kidding. The source city for this search was Minneapolis, MN, with five percent of total traffic.
But think about what that means.
It means that in some way Chipotle Mexican Grill was able to send press releases and activate a small number of blogs to push that result and then once it hits Google News, the other newssites will pick it up.
Of course, one has to have some kind of national event to be able to trigger such a search, as well as a national brand. Chipotle Mexican Grill qualifies here.
This is no small event folks. Anyone who pays attention to online marketing trends should look at this development. Because now, you're probably thinking "Shut up, Zennie, and just tell me where I can go to get a free burrito in my costume!"
Ok.
In the Bay Area, there's no Oakland Chipotle Mexican Grill - and how many things do we want in Oakland, but still don't have? - but there's one in Berkeley on 1050 Gilman Street and a bunch in San Francisco and Walnut Creek. In Atlanta there's one in Buckhead and four more in the metro area. But since you may be partying in Buckhead, go over to 3424 Piedmont Rd NE.
But I really am impressed at the 21st Century Marketing effort. It's cheap, fast, and efficient. BRAVO!
But does it change the idea and face of what news is? Yes, and while we should be concerned, the answer is not to kill the approach but for news outlets to copy it.
Stay Tuned
Ok, Chipotle Mexican Grill offering a free Chipotle burrito is nice and great for Halloween. If you walk in with a costume, you get a free burrito. But how did this message, this keyword, go viral?
As I write this, it's the number 2 most searched Google Trend. I'm not kidding. The source city for this search was Minneapolis, MN, with five percent of total traffic.
But think about what that means.
It means that in some way Chipotle Mexican Grill was able to send press releases and activate a small number of blogs to push that result and then once it hits Google News, the other newssites will pick it up.
Of course, one has to have some kind of national event to be able to trigger such a search, as well as a national brand. Chipotle Mexican Grill qualifies here.
This is no small event folks. Anyone who pays attention to online marketing trends should look at this development. Because now, you're probably thinking "Shut up, Zennie, and just tell me where I can go to get a free burrito in my costume!"
Ok.
In the Bay Area, there's no Oakland Chipotle Mexican Grill - and how many things do we want in Oakland, but still don't have? - but there's one in Berkeley on 1050 Gilman Street and a bunch in San Francisco and Walnut Creek. In Atlanta there's one in Buckhead and four more in the metro area. But since you may be partying in Buckhead, go over to 3424 Piedmont Rd NE.
But I really am impressed at the 21st Century Marketing effort. It's cheap, fast, and efficient. BRAVO!
But does it change the idea and face of what news is? Yes, and while we should be concerned, the answer is not to kill the approach but for news outlets to copy it.
Stay Tuned
Halloween in San Francisco and Oakland - wild, crazy and safe
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The fact that the San Francisco Bay Area has a double-digit unemployment rate hasn't stopped people from coming out to celebrate Halloween.
BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit System that was not going to offer 24-hour service in the wake of the closure of The Bay Bridge, reversed its field and did so, producing what just by looking had to be a record number of riders.
I've never seen BART so crowded, so consistently, in one night. And well-costumed,as you will see in an up-coming video. (I wanted to take a vlogging break, but in the case of the person you're going to see, I could not resist.)
Man, I should have. There were the two women who openly boasted to anyone on the crowded train car we were in of their sexual prowess and love for women unless the man understood their love for women and wanted to "play."
Just seeing the winces of some of the riders was a riot. I could not stop laughing! Loved it!
The previous night I was at the Fox Theater Halloween Masquerade Ball dressed all in black with sunglasses in my best effort to channel Jack Nicholson. I spent most of my time with my date and a group of folks drinking a lot of wine and eating burritos.
That was fun.
So Friday was a pre-planned little work day for me, but I had to at least get into San Francisco and see friends, and along the way, view how BART was responding to its new higher level of importance in the Bay Area socio-economy, and I give it an A! People seemed happy, and save for one fight at 12 Street Oakland City Center Station when I returned to Oakland, there was no incident I saw.
While I was having a mello Friday, a popular blogger friend of mine told me about a "Cougar Party" held in Emeryville that night. If you're not "up" on the term, a "Cougar" is woman over 45-years old who openly chases men under 30. Here's an example from the Showtime telecast "Californication" featuring Pamela Adlon as Marcy Runkle:
Marcy's Cougar Party on Showtime:
Since I'm 47 but commonly mistaken for 30 or even 28, I can say I'm aware of the Cougar nature. But I digress. He invited me to go, but I respectfully declined, and because I've been very fortunate not to need to attend such events, regardless of age.
And for the record, a lot of women over 45 look like they're 28 themselves. Credit better food, nutrition, vitamins, and the gym.
Whatever you do, Happy Halloween, and don't drink and drive!
The fact that the San Francisco Bay Area has a double-digit unemployment rate hasn't stopped people from coming out to celebrate Halloween.
BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit System that was not going to offer 24-hour service in the wake of the closure of The Bay Bridge, reversed its field and did so, producing what just by looking had to be a record number of riders.
I've never seen BART so crowded, so consistently, in one night. And well-costumed,as you will see in an up-coming video. (I wanted to take a vlogging break, but in the case of the person you're going to see, I could not resist.)
Man, I should have. There were the two women who openly boasted to anyone on the crowded train car we were in of their sexual prowess and love for women unless the man understood their love for women and wanted to "play."
Just seeing the winces of some of the riders was a riot. I could not stop laughing! Loved it!
The previous night I was at the Fox Theater Halloween Masquerade Ball dressed all in black with sunglasses in my best effort to channel Jack Nicholson. I spent most of my time with my date and a group of folks drinking a lot of wine and eating burritos.
That was fun.
So Friday was a pre-planned little work day for me, but I had to at least get into San Francisco and see friends, and along the way, view how BART was responding to its new higher level of importance in the Bay Area socio-economy, and I give it an A! People seemed happy, and save for one fight at 12 Street Oakland City Center Station when I returned to Oakland, there was no incident I saw.
Cougars in Emeryville before Halloween
While I was having a mello Friday, a popular blogger friend of mine told me about a "Cougar Party" held in Emeryville that night. If you're not "up" on the term, a "Cougar" is woman over 45-years old who openly chases men under 30. Here's an example from the Showtime telecast "Californication" featuring Pamela Adlon as Marcy Runkle:
Marcy's Cougar Party on Showtime:
Since I'm 47 but commonly mistaken for 30 or even 28, I can say I'm aware of the Cougar nature. But I digress. He invited me to go, but I respectfully declined, and because I've been very fortunate not to need to attend such events, regardless of age.
And for the record, a lot of women over 45 look like they're 28 themselves. Credit better food, nutrition, vitamins, and the gym.
Whatever you do, Happy Halloween, and don't drink and drive!
Cal v. ASU - Kevin Riley takes 138.49 passer rating to Sun Devil Stadium
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After a big win against UCLA at The Rose Bowl and Washington State at home , The California Golden Bears are ranked 24th in the nation, in BCS contention, and face another big Pac-10 game against The Arizona State Sun Devils today.
This game is also important because Cal's 5 and 2, and a win puts them at six victories and in "bowl contention" which means the Golden Bears would be picked for some bowl, somewhere, even if it was the Tidy Bowl.
(But Old Blues like myself want the Rose Bowl, and are hoping and praying for Oregon, USC, and Oregon State to tumble. Oregon must beat USC later today.)
Cal's two big weapons are Heisman Trophy contender Jahvid Best and Kevin Riley.
What?
Yes. Kevin Riley.
The man who I once said could overthrow Iran has settled down and into a passing rhythm, completing over 50 percent of his throws (99 of 183) and for 1,454 yards. But here's the real interesting ESPN stat: Riley has thrown for 11 touchdowns verus two, just two, interceptions.
One of them I and other Old Blues painfully remember as the one that brought an end to a glorious opening drive against USC, and started what turned out to be an awful game.
(I am really tired of losing to the USC Trojans.)
But all of this gives Riley a really good 138.49 passer rating as of this writing. Against Washington State last week, Riley threw just 18 times, but completed 12 for 229 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.
And here's the amazing stat I came up with myself based on the ESPN numbers: every time Riley completes over 60 percent of his passes, Cal wins; when Riley makes less than 40 percent of his throws, Cal loses. It's that simple.
This also gives greater value to all the blogging and yammering I've done regarding the need for Cal to have a great, consistent short passing game. A short passing game is a complement to the running game, keeps the ball moving, keeps the quarterback's jersey clean, frustrates the defense, and scores points.
Riley's rediscovered consistency must be maintained if Cal's to get to the Rose Bowl. Much of the credit for Riley's improvement must go to Cal Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig, who's game plans have been more intelligent and imaginative in the way they attack defenses (The Wildcat!), and who reportedly finally got "in the face" of the offense and lit a fire under their butts.
Nice job.
GO BEARS!
After a big win against UCLA at The Rose Bowl and Washington State at home , The California Golden Bears are ranked 24th in the nation, in BCS contention, and face another big Pac-10 game against The Arizona State Sun Devils today.
This game is also important because Cal's 5 and 2, and a win puts them at six victories and in "bowl contention" which means the Golden Bears would be picked for some bowl, somewhere, even if it was the Tidy Bowl.
(But Old Blues like myself want the Rose Bowl, and are hoping and praying for Oregon, USC, and Oregon State to tumble. Oregon must beat USC later today.)
Cal's two big weapons are Heisman Trophy contender Jahvid Best and Kevin Riley.
What?
Yes. Kevin Riley.
The man who I once said could overthrow Iran has settled down and into a passing rhythm, completing over 50 percent of his throws (99 of 183) and for 1,454 yards. But here's the real interesting ESPN stat: Riley has thrown for 11 touchdowns verus two, just two, interceptions.
One of them I and other Old Blues painfully remember as the one that brought an end to a glorious opening drive against USC, and started what turned out to be an awful game.
(I am really tired of losing to the USC Trojans.)
But all of this gives Riley a really good 138.49 passer rating as of this writing. Against Washington State last week, Riley threw just 18 times, but completed 12 for 229 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.
And here's the amazing stat I came up with myself based on the ESPN numbers: every time Riley completes over 60 percent of his passes, Cal wins; when Riley makes less than 40 percent of his throws, Cal loses. It's that simple.
This also gives greater value to all the blogging and yammering I've done regarding the need for Cal to have a great, consistent short passing game. A short passing game is a complement to the running game, keeps the ball moving, keeps the quarterback's jersey clean, frustrates the defense, and scores points.
Riley's rediscovered consistency must be maintained if Cal's to get to the Rose Bowl. Much of the credit for Riley's improvement must go to Cal Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig, who's game plans have been more intelligent and imaginative in the way they attack defenses (The Wildcat!), and who reportedly finally got "in the face" of the offense and lit a fire under their butts.
Nice job.
GO BEARS!
Miley Cyrus pole dancing, crotch grab gets award from AOL
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Miley Cyrus has scored a new awards, thought something tells me the teen pop singer didn't go after it. She was voted the Worst Celebrity Influence of 2009 by America Online's JSYN (Just So You Know) website.
Miley Cyrus's stripper pole dance number at the Teen Choice Awards was the reason. 42 percent of the website poll participants picked Miley Cyrus for the award, and that was before her crotch-grabbing performance at a concert in Chicago last Tuesday. Here's the vote breakdown:
Worst Celeb Influence:
Miley Cyrus - 42%
Shia LeBeouf - 3%
Britney Spears - 27%
Kanye West - 19%
Vanessa Hudgens - 9%
Now regarding that crotch-grab, it was something PerezHilton took note of at his blog. In the photo over at his site, its obvious to me she's trying to channel Britney Spears and Madonna's past concerts, but at 16 she only succeeds in making people talk about her.
Which is what she wants.
Awards like this are just more publicity for Miley Cyrus, and the whole deal helps her sell records. It's Miley's World, we just live in it.
Miley Cyrus has scored a new awards, thought something tells me the teen pop singer didn't go after it. She was voted the Worst Celebrity Influence of 2009 by America Online's JSYN (Just So You Know) website.
Miley Cyrus's stripper pole dance number at the Teen Choice Awards was the reason. 42 percent of the website poll participants picked Miley Cyrus for the award, and that was before her crotch-grabbing performance at a concert in Chicago last Tuesday. Here's the vote breakdown:
Worst Celeb Influence:
Miley Cyrus - 42%
Shia LeBeouf - 3%
Britney Spears - 27%
Kanye West - 19%
Vanessa Hudgens - 9%
Now regarding that crotch-grab, it was something PerezHilton took note of at his blog. In the photo over at his site, its obvious to me she's trying to channel Britney Spears and Madonna's past concerts, but at 16 she only succeeds in making people talk about her.
Which is what she wants.
Awards like this are just more publicity for Miley Cyrus, and the whole deal helps her sell records. It's Miley's World, we just live in it.
Michelle Malkin's "media justice" blog post just plain stupid
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Michelle Malkin - the female Asian blogger who pals around with White Supremacists - is known for sloppy, mean, anti-intellectual, and just plain stupid political blog posts and this from a really smart person, which is why I'm getting after her.
Michelle Malkin's new blog post on "The Media Justice Mob" gets the stupid award. Skipping over well-known liberal online publications like DailyKos or MediaMatters, or an organization like The Obama Administration, Malkin puts a spotlight on two website organizations, StopTheWhichHunt.org, and The Praxis Project, and writes that they are:
Marxist-inspired activists seeking to crack down on conservative political speech under the guise of combating “hate” and crusading for “diversity.”
And Michelle calls these two organizations a "mob"
A mob is defined as a crowd. This is not a crowd.
And what's wrong with diversity? C'mon, Michelle. Geez.
Michelle Malkin - the female Asian blogger who pals around with White Supremacists - is known for sloppy, mean, anti-intellectual, and just plain stupid political blog posts and this from a really smart person, which is why I'm getting after her.
Michelle Malkin's new blog post on "The Media Justice Mob" gets the stupid award. Skipping over well-known liberal online publications like DailyKos or MediaMatters, or an organization like The Obama Administration, Malkin puts a spotlight on two website organizations, StopTheWhichHunt.org, and The Praxis Project, and writes that they are:
Marxist-inspired activists seeking to crack down on conservative political speech under the guise of combating “hate” and crusading for “diversity.”
And Michelle calls these two organizations a "mob"
A mob is defined as a crowd. This is not a crowd.
And what's wrong with diversity? C'mon, Michelle. Geez.
Bay Bridge Closure update - BART offers 24-hour service!!
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After all of my blogging and yammering, here for example:
BART's offering 24-hour service starting tonight.
According to the BART website:
The stations include Embarcadero and Downtown Oakland, 12th Street.
I guess this means CalTrans gave BART the funds to do it. Great!
After all of my blogging and yammering, here for example:
BART's offering 24-hour service starting tonight.
According to the BART website:
BART will run hourly, overnight service to 14 selected stations on Friday, October 30th into Saturday, October 31st. Additionally, if by 3 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday October 31, Caltrans officials have not announced that the Bay Bridge will re-open, BART will run trains Saturday night into Sunday morning as well. BART does not plan to run overnight service from Sunday night into Monday morning.
The stations include Embarcadero and Downtown Oakland, 12th Street.
I guess this means CalTrans gave BART the funds to do it. Great!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Halloween gift for Lil Wayne? A Lawsuit.
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It's said when it rains, it pours, and it's really coming down for poor rapper Lil Wayne. Just a week removed from his court appearance after pleading guilty for weapons posession, Lil Wayne, who just released a free download of his song No Ceilings mix tape, is being slammed with a lawsuit.
According to the Associated Press, Florida resident Thomas Marasciullo filed a copyright infringement lawsuit because in 2006 he gave them "'Italian-styled' spoken word recordings" and used them without pay or permission by Marasciullo.
But this is a more tangled web than presented because Marasciullo's son worked for Cash Money Records, the label where Lil Wayne's signed to perform with. When the elder Marasciullo demanded payment, Cash Money Records fired his son. Yikes.
As of this writing, there's no reaction from Cash Money Records or Lil Wayne.
In closing, I remind all that Lil Wayne's February sentencing for gun possession should be creative and have him create a song or album that tells people not to use guns.
It's said when it rains, it pours, and it's really coming down for poor rapper Lil Wayne. Just a week removed from his court appearance after pleading guilty for weapons posession, Lil Wayne, who just released a free download of his song No Ceilings mix tape, is being slammed with a lawsuit.
According to the Associated Press, Florida resident Thomas Marasciullo filed a copyright infringement lawsuit because in 2006 he gave them "'Italian-styled' spoken word recordings" and used them without pay or permission by Marasciullo.
But this is a more tangled web than presented because Marasciullo's son worked for Cash Money Records, the label where Lil Wayne's signed to perform with. When the elder Marasciullo demanded payment, Cash Money Records fired his son. Yikes.
As of this writing, there's no reaction from Cash Money Records or Lil Wayne.
In closing, I remind all that Lil Wayne's February sentencing for gun possession should be creative and have him create a song or album that tells people not to use guns.
Taylor Swift and A Swastika? What was Taylor Swift thinking?
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According to TMZ.com, Taylor Swift took a photo with a young man she did not know, but was wearing a t-shirt with a Swastika painted right on its front where you can't miss it.
What the heck was Taylor Swift thinking?
Her representative told TMZ.com the following:
"Taylor took pictures with about 100 people that night ... she doesn't know who this guy is and she didn't realize what was on his shirt."
She didn't know who the guy was? He's a Hollywood-based model named AJ English who's 22 years old according to his MySpace page and who's hometown is Boise, Idaho.
How did this all start?
Taylor Swift was invited to a birthday party at The Beach On Sunset in West Hollywood thrown by singer Katy Perry, who turned 25. The attendees were told to wear white shirts and they would be spray painted in accordance with the "Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" theme that Perry called her "extravaganza."
Here are two videos from the party, just to give you a good visual of the scene:
Taylor Swift's white dress had the words "JH" on them which some bloggers believed to mean "Jew Hater" because of the photo, but actually refer to her friend Julianne Hough.
According to the The UK Daily Mail his shirt design "started out as an 'X' but was 'perverted' as the night went on." English says he's not at all racist and is not a Neo-Nazi.
And while he did apologize to Swift on Twitter...
He's clearly enjoying his new-found fame:
What bothers me is that Taylor Swift herself has (as of this writing) not put out a statement regretting the photo she is in. She could solve the problem with a single tweet or website statement, but nothings there on her Twitter page or site!
That, to me, shows that she doesn't really get the gravity of what she's done. The Swastika is the Worldwide symbol of hate and stands for a period of World history where Nazi Germany worked to systemically exterminate Jews.
I don't care that Taylor Swift is 19, she should know that.
According to TMZ.com, Taylor Swift took a photo with a young man she did not know, but was wearing a t-shirt with a Swastika painted right on its front where you can't miss it.
What the heck was Taylor Swift thinking?
Her representative told TMZ.com the following:
"Taylor took pictures with about 100 people that night ... she doesn't know who this guy is and she didn't realize what was on his shirt."
She didn't know who the guy was? He's a Hollywood-based model named AJ English who's 22 years old according to his MySpace page and who's hometown is Boise, Idaho.
How did this all start?
Taylor Swift was invited to a birthday party at The Beach On Sunset in West Hollywood thrown by singer Katy Perry, who turned 25. The attendees were told to wear white shirts and they would be spray painted in accordance with the "Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" theme that Perry called her "extravaganza."
Here are two videos from the party, just to give you a good visual of the scene:
Taylor Swift's white dress had the words "JH" on them which some bloggers believed to mean "Jew Hater" because of the photo, but actually refer to her friend Julianne Hough.
Taylor Swift and AJ English
According to the The UK Daily Mail his shirt design "started out as an 'X' but was 'perverted' as the night went on." English says he's not at all racist and is not a Neo-Nazi.
And while he did apologize to Swift on Twitter...
Front page of TMZ.... sorry Taylor...11:21 AM Oct 29th from web
He's clearly enjoying his new-found fame:
LOVE YOU RT @grekotv my bestie involved in first hollywood scandal with taylor swift: http://tinyurl.com/ylb4fa6 kind of amazing.2:54 PM Oct 29th from web
What bothers me is that Taylor Swift herself has (as of this writing) not put out a statement regretting the photo she is in. She could solve the problem with a single tweet or website statement, but nothings there on her Twitter page or site!
That, to me, shows that she doesn't really get the gravity of what she's done. The Swastika is the Worldwide symbol of hate and stands for a period of World history where Nazi Germany worked to systemically exterminate Jews.
I don't care that Taylor Swift is 19, she should know that.
Jay-Z dissed by Beanie Sigel while Lil Wayne gives free download
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A quick Hip Hop News roundup of some interestingly hot info.
First, Beanie Sigel, reached Internet mainstream stardom today by dissing his former boss Jay-Z. Smart marketing, but what did he say?
According to MTV, Siegel, (real name Dwight Grant according to Wikipedia) who's part of the Roc-A-Fella records label with Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Jadakiss, has a long and rather sad history with Jay-Z, so much so that he's essentially airing Roc-A-Fella's "dirty laundry" in public.
His new musical riff, called "What You Talkin Bout (I Ain't Your Average Cat)", contains these words: "I'm a grown-ass man, I don't sit on n---as' laps/ I ain't looking for no gifts out of Santa Claus' sack. "How it feel to get exposed?" "Don't you feel naked?/ I was a fly on the wall, sh-- I witnessed/ I can say sh-- that will make B look at you different."
In the song Beanie Siegel says that Jay-Z reportedly called the Philadelphia Police to stop him from performing at the recent Powerhouse concert. I can't find a confirmation of his claim as of this writing, but it's clear something's wrong because Beanie Sigel also says that Jay-Z did not visit him in jail (where he was for a probation violation) and will not return his calls.
This is a real sea change in their relationship, which goes back to 1998, when he was Jay-Z's 1998 album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life in a song called Reservoir Dogs. Since then he's quit Roc-A-Fella, then resigned with them and brought several new artists to the label.
Jay-Z's Twitter page has no tweet on his take on Beanie Sigel's claims. Meanwhile, Beanie's Twitter page (with just 937 followers versus 81,090 for Jay-Z), has this:
Stay Tuned as I monitor for Jay-Z's response. Meanwhile, Lil Wanye's giving a free download of his song "No Ceilings mix tape". You can get it here. I continue to hold the view that Lil Wayne's February sentence for weapons possession should be to make a song that tells people not to use guns:
A quick Hip Hop News roundup of some interestingly hot info.
First, Beanie Sigel, reached Internet mainstream stardom today by dissing his former boss Jay-Z. Smart marketing, but what did he say?
Jay-Z
According to MTV, Siegel, (real name Dwight Grant according to Wikipedia) who's part of the Roc-A-Fella records label with Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Jadakiss, has a long and rather sad history with Jay-Z, so much so that he's essentially airing Roc-A-Fella's "dirty laundry" in public.
His new musical riff, called "What You Talkin Bout (I Ain't Your Average Cat)", contains these words: "I'm a grown-ass man, I don't sit on n---as' laps/ I ain't looking for no gifts out of Santa Claus' sack. "How it feel to get exposed?" "Don't you feel naked?/ I was a fly on the wall, sh-- I witnessed/ I can say sh-- that will make B look at you different."
In the song Beanie Siegel says that Jay-Z reportedly called the Philadelphia Police to stop him from performing at the recent Powerhouse concert. I can't find a confirmation of his claim as of this writing, but it's clear something's wrong because Beanie Sigel also says that Jay-Z did not visit him in jail (where he was for a probation violation) and will not return his calls.
This is a real sea change in their relationship, which goes back to 1998, when he was Jay-Z's 1998 album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life in a song called Reservoir Dogs. Since then he's quit Roc-A-Fella, then resigned with them and brought several new artists to the label.
Jay-Z's Twitter page has no tweet on his take on Beanie Sigel's claims. Meanwhile, Beanie's Twitter page (with just 937 followers versus 81,090 for Jay-Z), has this:
The richest man ain’t the one with his first dollar dog, its the one who still got his first friend, Rocafella for life, ITS THE ROC.about 5 hours ago from web
Stay Tuned as I monitor for Jay-Z's response. Meanwhile, Lil Wanye's giving a free download of his song "No Ceilings mix tape". You can get it here. I continue to hold the view that Lil Wayne's February sentence for weapons possession should be to make a song that tells people not to use guns:
Bay Bridge update - closure hurting San Francisco restaurants
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We're entering the third full day of the Bay Bridge closure after the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse disaster and the new World without an open Bay Bridge is hurting San Francisco restaurants according to the manager I talked to.
One person who didn't mind being quoted but without name or his establishment mentioned, said that along the Embarcadero, the walk-in traffic they're used to getting has just dried up. You'd think people would just take BART but "they want their cars", he said, "otherwise they just stayed home.
He's right. After 9 PM some parts of the Embarcadero, especially between AT&T Park and Howard Street seem devoid of humans on the weeknights that the bridge has been closed.
And that's likely to remain the case through next week as CalTrans just announced the Bay Bridge will be closed through the weekend and perhaps on Monday, too.
Again, a 24-hour BART service plan would help ease the economic pain San Francisco's going through.
Closed Bay Bridge hurts SF
We're entering the third full day of the Bay Bridge closure after the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse disaster and the new World without an open Bay Bridge is hurting San Francisco restaurants according to the manager I talked to.
One person who didn't mind being quoted but without name or his establishment mentioned, said that along the Embarcadero, the walk-in traffic they're used to getting has just dried up. You'd think people would just take BART but "they want their cars", he said, "otherwise they just stayed home.
He's right. After 9 PM some parts of the Embarcadero, especially between AT&T Park and Howard Street seem devoid of humans on the weeknights that the bridge has been closed.
And that's likely to remain the case through next week as CalTrans just announced the Bay Bridge will be closed through the weekend and perhaps on Monday, too.
Again, a 24-hour BART service plan would help ease the economic pain San Francisco's going through.
Oakland parking problem: Noel Pinto, Susan Bergmann's upset with you!
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I got the email below from Susan Bergmann, who's a very upset Oakland small business owner, and especially with Oakland Parking Director Noel Pinto.
Susan Bergmann gave me permission to present the email in full to you and she wants Noel Pinto to see it. (I'm telling you, she's really pissed). I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's really in a lather about the City of Oakland's "misery industry."
If you have a problem with Oakland parking you want to share with the World, send it to me at zennie@zennie62.com with the words, "please print for your blogs" in the subject heading.
I got the email below from Susan Bergmann, who's a very upset Oakland small business owner, and especially with Oakland Parking Director Noel Pinto.
Susan Bergmann gave me permission to present the email in full to you and she wants Noel Pinto to see it. (I'm telling you, she's really pissed). I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's really in a lather about the City of Oakland's "misery industry."
If you have a problem with Oakland parking you want to share with the World, send it to me at zennie@zennie62.com with the words, "please print for your blogs" in the subject heading.
Hi Zennie,
I am engaged in a battle with Noel Pinto, new head of parking. He insists on giving me parking tickets on MacArthur Blvd, in front of my office, for violation of 2 hour parking, despite the fact that I come and go all day long. After 11 months, I finally got my "hearing" yesterday and it was very humorous (if its not your life). I would love to get publicity for what has happened. Eventually, I will prevail in small claims court, because what the city is doing to me is outrageous. But I have to jump through many, many hoops before I can see a real judge.
Here is my story of yesterday's hearing:
My Day in Court
Today, I went to the Parking Bureau in downtown Oakland to fight a series of parking tickets I have received in the past eleven months. One ticket has disappeared from the system, one had a wrong address on it, so I think it will be thrown out. One has not yet been processed. So that left just one of the four.
My first question to the "Administrative Hearing Officer" (Rudy Villegas):
"How is this the same and different from a court?"
Hearing Officer: "It's just the same."
Me: "Is there the presumption of innocence?"
Hearing Officer: "What's that?"
Me: "It means the burden of proof is on the City to prove I violated a law."
Hearing Officer: "Oh, of course not. I have the file from the parking bureau right here, and you have to convince me that you're not guilty."
Me: "Then this is not like a court of law. In court, you are innocent until proven guilty."
Hearing Officer: "Well, not in traffic court. You have to prove that you didn't do it."
It was an inauspicious start. We got to the ticket in question, a violation of the two hour parking limit.
Me: "I came to my office at 11:00 am. I left at 12:00 noon to go to swim team. I returned at 1:30 pm, parking at a different spot. I got a ticket for violating 2 hour parking at 2:00. The total time I was parked was one and a half hours."
Hearing Officer: "It says on the ticket that your car was parked there at 11:43 am. But I don't see that verified."
Me: "I was parked there at 11:43. I'll stipulate to that. I was also parked in front of my office, at a different place, at 2:00 pm. But I was not there for a large part of the time in between."
Hearing Officer: "Well, that doesn't matter. Because the way the system works, they just record whether your car was there or not."
It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. I would present the facts, and the White Rabbit across the desk from me would sing "La la la la".
At the end of the hearing, the officer asked me, "Why don't you just park someplace else?"
When I was in the bathroom, Mr. Villegas told my husband, "I just took this job to get the money for greens fees {golfing]. I thought it would be easy, no stress. Then, I get cases like today."
When I got home from court, a notice was in the mail saying my latest parking ticket has been sent to a collections agency.
Zennie, I do have other outrageous details, particularly relating to Jean Quan's office (that is the district where my office is located).
Might you be interested in any of these details? If not, any ideas about how to publicize any of this?
Thanks! Keep fighting the good fight.
Susan Bergmann
OSCAR ALERT - Animated Feature Entries Due November 2nd for Academy Awards
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I just received an alert from AMPAS (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) explaining that filmmakers who want to qualify for the Animated Feature Film category for the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards must get their entry forms and supporting information and materials in to AMPAS by Monday (this Monday) November 2nd at 5 PM. The deadline to get your film prints in is November 13th.
If you need more information visit http://www.oscars.org/rules/, and if that's not enough, call Wil Goldenberg via phone at (310) 247-3000, ext. 190, by fax at (310) 247-2600, or by e-mail at wgoldenberg@oscars.org. (He's not in the office today, but there's someone else there who can help you.)
Getting your information in on time for this awards segment is a big deal. Past winners include Finding Nemo in 2003 and WALL-E last year. Both films were by Disney / Pixar, and Pixar's located in Emeryville, just up the road (Oakland's Telegraph Avenue) from me.
Currently, here's the list of possible contenders in this category (they've got to make the deadline) as posted over at AwardsDaily earlier this month:
<i>9
Astro Boy
Battle for Terra
A Christmas Carol
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
Monsters Vs. Aliens
Planet 51
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
Up</i>
Five of these films will be nominated for the award. One of them may not be my personal favorite Monsters v. Aliens, but then given its box office performance I could be wrong here. Astroboy will not be in the final five as it's just a disappointingly empty story to many, myself included here.
Stay tuned.
I just received an alert from AMPAS (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) explaining that filmmakers who want to qualify for the Animated Feature Film category for the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards must get their entry forms and supporting information and materials in to AMPAS by Monday (this Monday) November 2nd at 5 PM. The deadline to get your film prints in is November 13th.
If you need more information visit http://www.oscars.org/rules/, and if that's not enough, call Wil Goldenberg via phone at (310) 247-3000, ext. 190, by fax at (310) 247-2600, or by e-mail at wgoldenberg@oscars.org. (He's not in the office today, but there's someone else there who can help you.)
Getting your information in on time for this awards segment is a big deal. Past winners include Finding Nemo in 2003 and WALL-E last year. Both films were by Disney / Pixar, and Pixar's located in Emeryville, just up the road (Oakland's Telegraph Avenue) from me.
Currently, here's the list of possible contenders in this category (they've got to make the deadline) as posted over at AwardsDaily earlier this month:
<i>9
Astro Boy
Battle for Terra
A Christmas Carol
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
Monsters Vs. Aliens
Planet 51
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
Up</i>
Five of these films will be nominated for the award. One of them may not be my personal favorite Monsters v. Aliens, but then given its box office performance I could be wrong here. Astroboy will not be in the final five as it's just a disappointingly empty story to many, myself included here.
Stay tuned.
Tom Hayes: Has Senator Lieberman jumped the shark?
Shining the light on those who game the system and talk out of both sides of their mouth has given some in Congress fits. D.C. has never liked public attention to focus on influence peddling: the facts about campaign contributions, or how congressional spouses (such as Mrs. Joe Lieberman) earn money from sitting on boards of directors, or working for lobbying firms, etc., never sit well with constituents. But in times of economic crisis the appearance of financial improprieties becomes even more politically dangerous.What connects the Senator to GlaxoSmithKline, and lobbying firms APCO and Hill & Knowlton? What's the effect of drawing so much attention to the undue influence big insurance companies have via contributions to his campaign and PACs? Will his threatened defection on the public option cost him his precious committee chairmanship?In a year when "lobbyist" may replace "liberal" as the dreaded L-word, the wise politician draws no attention to any connections with the corporate shills who infest Congress like a biblical plague. Any elected official whose spouse is paid to represent or advise an unpopular special interest should observe that simple caution even more carefully. Naive voters may not understand that this is simply how business is done in their corrupt capital these days -- so it is best to say nothing and hope that nobody asks too many questions.
For-profit insurance is unique to the U.S. health care system. No other developed country has a profit motive warping the payment of health care. Activists have had more influence than predicted, and information flowing from "new media" sites that aren't being influenced by relying on profits from advertisers with an agenda is shining a lot of unwelcome light on influence peddling in D.C.
Will the changes move from health insurance reform to ethics reform? Remember, both were on Obama's agenda when he was elected a year ago...
Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Gates, Crowley hold new "Beer Summit" In Cambridge Bar - No Obama
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According to WBZTV.com, Harvard Professor Skip Gates and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley were seen at the "River Gods" bar at 125 River St in Cambridge, Wednesday night. (Now,you know the owner of River Gods was just jazzed over the appearance of Gates and Crowley.)
If you remember, Sgt. Crowley arrested Professor Gates at his own home in an encounter that launched a new conversation on racism and racial profiling, where I said that Gates was arrested for being an uppity black man:
...and led to the famous first "Beer Summit" with President Obama:
Both Gates and Crowley said they would meet again and create a joint program to work to eliminate racial profiling.
What drinks the two had is not reported as of this writing and they only stayed for a hour (probably left after the buzz of their meeting got hot), but I noticed by the bar's website that they met on River Gods "Primitive Sounds" night, featuring "Roots Rock and Roll, Gospel, and Blues" with "DJ Easy Ed" as the guest. So Gates and Crowley, black and white, meet on a night mixing Rock and Roll and Blues.
For some reason, I don't think that was an accident.
According to WBZTV.com, Harvard Professor Skip Gates and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley were seen at the "River Gods" bar at 125 River St in Cambridge, Wednesday night. (Now,you know the owner of River Gods was just jazzed over the appearance of Gates and Crowley.)
President Obama wasn't there this time
If you remember, Sgt. Crowley arrested Professor Gates at his own home in an encounter that launched a new conversation on racism and racial profiling, where I said that Gates was arrested for being an uppity black man:
...and led to the famous first "Beer Summit" with President Obama:
Both Gates and Crowley said they would meet again and create a joint program to work to eliminate racial profiling.
What drinks the two had is not reported as of this writing and they only stayed for a hour (probably left after the buzz of their meeting got hot), but I noticed by the bar's website that they met on River Gods "Primitive Sounds" night, featuring "Roots Rock and Roll, Gospel, and Blues" with "DJ Easy Ed" as the guest. So Gates and Crowley, black and white, meet on a night mixing Rock and Roll and Blues.
For some reason, I don't think that was an accident.
Tom Hayes: CNNMoney.com gets "Cash for Clunkers" wrong
You'd expect an author at CNNMoney.com to understand the relationship between cashflow and business success. You'd expect an editor to send this article back to re-write either for more research or more objectivity. Here was the basis of Peter Valdes-Dapena's misguided assessment:
Valdes-Dapena and/or his editors may think selling cars sooner rather than later is a valid reason to criticize the program, but as any businessman can tell you:
success in business is about cash flow. Any retail operation needs to keep their stock turning over. At a time when the inventory was sitting idle on the lots this program provided a much needed infusion, enabling dealers to pay staff, utilities, creditors, and suppliers.
Did the Cash for Clunkers program solve the economic crisis? Of course not. Nor was it intended to. The goal was simple: turn over inventory in one segment of the industry - to keep dealerships from failing in huge numbers before the manufacturers could recover. Save some jobs and hopefully avert a catastrophic spread of deterioration in the auto industry that would further delay economic recovery.
The article may fool a person with no entrepreneurial experience, but it reflects either a shallow grasp of money and business or a thinly-veiled attack on the government's attempt to avert a breakdown in the delivery mechanism of an industry it was actively seeking to save - without proposing any alternative that might have been even marginally effective.
The public may think "Cash for Clunkers" was as simple as just selling cars, the author obviously wants to, but the reality is much subtler. Edmunds didn't surprise anybody (except maybe CNNMoney.com staff) with the news that one of the primary effects was to accelerate the decisions and purchases:
"...majority of sales would have taken place anyway at some time in the last half of 2009, according to Edmunds.com"So? This isn't news, and it misses the point of the Cash for Clunkers initiative.
Valdes-Dapena and/or his editors may think selling cars sooner rather than later is a valid reason to criticize the program, but as any businessman can tell you:
success in business is about cash flow. Any retail operation needs to keep their stock turning over. At a time when the inventory was sitting idle on the lots this program provided a much needed infusion, enabling dealers to pay staff, utilities, creditors, and suppliers.Did the Cash for Clunkers program solve the economic crisis? Of course not. Nor was it intended to. The goal was simple: turn over inventory in one segment of the industry - to keep dealerships from failing in huge numbers before the manufacturers could recover. Save some jobs and hopefully avert a catastrophic spread of deterioration in the auto industry that would further delay economic recovery.
The article may fool a person with no entrepreneurial experience, but it reflects either a shallow grasp of money and business or a thinly-veiled attack on the government's attempt to avert a breakdown in the delivery mechanism of an industry it was actively seeking to save - without proposing any alternative that might have been even marginally effective.
The public may think "Cash for Clunkers" was as simple as just selling cars, the author obviously wants to, but the reality is much subtler. Edmunds didn't surprise anybody (except maybe CNNMoney.com staff) with the news that one of the primary effects was to accelerate the decisions and purchases:
In business, my friends, timing is everything.
Jewish afro? "Orgasm-inducing Jewfro?" What?
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Have you ever heard of a "Jewfro?" This question is under the category of "change of pace", which is a good thing if only to keep the mind fresh, but I'm also curious to learn more about it.
My friend Sarah was talking about her new hairdo and made a passing reference to it being a "Jewfro" or "Jew-fro" as she spells it. I stopped her and said "what?" as I thought she made up the term since she and I regularly talk about Jewish culture and traditions. But when she broke out with that term I knew I'd been sheltered too long.
She says a Jewfro is an "an Afro, but particular to Jews." But as a person who has Jewish lines in his ancestry, and had a short Afro when I was young...
Here..
I figured I'd had a right to use the term, but I'd never known of it before!
Moreover, I had a lot of fun talking about it with her and my other friends, and realized that we'd gone a little too far in punishing people who make offhand comments that identify an ethnic characteristic.
The Bob Griese Taco Issue was the last straw for me. I got the impression the ESPN analyst would have been skewered if he said the singing group DeBarge used too much Jerri-Curl!
I researched the term Jewfro over at Urbandictionary.com's "Jewfro Section" and found some, shall we say, interesting and in some cases howlingly funny definitions, many that I could not have created if I tried:
(A Jewfro's orgasm-inducing? Ok. I'm jealous. I was told to go bald for the same reason!)
So the video you see has led to an interesting set of comments on YouTube, where I regularly read my comments (I don't read them on other newsite blogs because frankly some of them are written by total stalker nutcases, one of which I'm filing a restraining order against), some of which I'll share:
Ok, so it's real the term and the style. But for all of this, it's shockingly not a Wikipedia definition! At any rate, I'm happy to know we can at least laugh at our ethnic differences and learn they're really ethnic similarities, too.
But with all of this, I'm remaining bald because a woman friend of mine came up with a song called "I like em Bald!" and sang it for me - to my surprise - at Foley's Pub in San Francisco. So my look stays!
Have you ever heard of a "Jewfro?" This question is under the category of "change of pace", which is a good thing if only to keep the mind fresh, but I'm also curious to learn more about it.
My friend Sarah was talking about her new hairdo and made a passing reference to it being a "Jewfro" or "Jew-fro" as she spells it. I stopped her and said "what?" as I thought she made up the term since she and I regularly talk about Jewish culture and traditions. But when she broke out with that term I knew I'd been sheltered too long.
She says a Jewfro is an "an Afro, but particular to Jews." But as a person who has Jewish lines in his ancestry, and had a short Afro when I was young...
Here..
Lars checks out Zennie's Jewfro
I figured I'd had a right to use the term, but I'd never known of it before!
Moreover, I had a lot of fun talking about it with her and my other friends, and realized that we'd gone a little too far in punishing people who make offhand comments that identify an ethnic characteristic.
The Bob Griese Taco Issue was the last straw for me. I got the impression the ESPN analyst would have been skewered if he said the singing group DeBarge used too much Jerri-Curl!
I researched the term Jewfro over at Urbandictionary.com's "Jewfro Section" and found some, shall we say, interesting and in some cases howlingly funny definitions, many that I could not have created if I tried:
1. The Jewish man's afro - by Mia Mar 9, 2005
2. An orgasm-inducing hairstyle worn by people of jewish descent. It consists of curly hair and is often large. Famous wearers of the jewfro: Matt Stone (creator of "South Park") Matt Stone's jewfro not only made me want to give him my virginity,but to also hump my chair. - by Amanda and Thais Oct 29, 2004
3. A curly mop of hair with lots of volume, sported by many a Jewish brother.
Matt Stone doesn't look as cool now he's cropped the jewfro. - by Pete Rakowski Jan 3, 2005
4. A large, round and often boulbus hairstyle found most often within the jewish comunity. It's not a fricken afro, I am not black, it's a "Jewfro" for christs sake. - by Sam Freund Feb 28, 2004
Matt Stone's orgasm-inducing Jewfro
(A Jewfro's orgasm-inducing? Ok. I'm jealous. I was told to go bald for the same reason!)
So the video you see has led to an interesting set of comments on YouTube, where I regularly read my comments (I don't read them on other newsite blogs because frankly some of them are written by total stalker nutcases, one of which I'm filing a restraining order against), some of which I'll share:
jimisback - My wife has one. But she is not Jewish or African American. It is natural too.
kenrg - LMAO - You really never heard that before? Goes back at least to the mid-70s.
karakaraman01 - Zennie she right she didn't make it up, Seth Rogen uses that term in most of his movie.
Eurotrash4367 - I heard it said by Adam Sandler in one of his movies.
Ok, so it's real the term and the style. But for all of this, it's shockingly not a Wikipedia definition! At any rate, I'm happy to know we can at least laugh at our ethnic differences and learn they're really ethnic similarities, too.
But with all of this, I'm remaining bald because a woman friend of mine came up with a song called "I like em Bald!" and sang it for me - to my surprise - at Foley's Pub in San Francisco. So my look stays!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
LA Lakers - Will The Lakers go 20 and 1? Take my poll.
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I was watching "The NBA on TNT" when NBA Legend Charles Barkley said that he believed the Lakers would, not could, go 20 and 1 to open this season.
At first I thought he was crazy. Then I thought about it and considered the acquistion of the always hungry enforcer Ron Artest and reconsidered the possibility.
Consider this: The Lakers have only four away games of the next 19 games. That's right. The LA Lakers have 15 home games of the next 19 contests. So that,and given their talent and smart trades and they could do it.
I think they can.
But what do you think? Will the LA Lakers go 20 and 1? Take my poll:
create fun quizzes & tests on pollsb.com
I was watching "The NBA on TNT" when NBA Legend Charles Barkley said that he believed the Lakers would, not could, go 20 and 1 to open this season.
Jack Nicholson. LA Laker
At first I thought he was crazy. Then I thought about it and considered the acquistion of the always hungry enforcer Ron Artest and reconsidered the possibility.
Consider this: The Lakers have only four away games of the next 19 games. That's right. The LA Lakers have 15 home games of the next 19 contests. So that,and given their talent and smart trades and they could do it.
I think they can.
But what do you think? Will the LA Lakers go 20 and 1? Take my poll:
create fun quizzes & tests on pollsb.com
Bay Bridge Closure - Caltrans should not rush repairs to bridge
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The latest news in the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster is that CalTrans spokesperson Bart Ney told KRON-TV that the Bay Bridge could reopen under a "best-case scenario" Thursday if repairs and bridge testing were completed in time.
My response: please don't rush this. Let's get it right.
In fact, it's not even a good idea to put out the message that this process could be done in a jiffy because if it is, the bridge is re-opened, and we have another Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster, it will be a life-changing event for drivers, passengers, and California.
Everyone would call for the heads of the people ruining CalTrans, and the next "F-U" letter sent by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be to Caltrans Director Randy Iwasaki.
The quality problems my blogging friend Yobie Benjamin points to should be adressed as part of this repair and evaluation process and a public report issued. This should not be considered a problem that needs a "band-aid, quick-fix" solution. Please, no.
In fairness to CalTrans' Ney, he did say that officially there's no timetable and that's the response he should stick with.
CalTrans needs to take its time with this and make sure the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster does not happen again.
The latest news in the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster is that CalTrans spokesperson Bart Ney told KRON-TV that the Bay Bridge could reopen under a "best-case scenario" Thursday if repairs and bridge testing were completed in time.
My response: please don't rush this. Let's get it right.
In fact, it's not even a good idea to put out the message that this process could be done in a jiffy because if it is, the bridge is re-opened, and we have another Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster, it will be a life-changing event for drivers, passengers, and California.
Everyone would call for the heads of the people ruining CalTrans, and the next "F-U" letter sent by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be to Caltrans Director Randy Iwasaki.
The quality problems my blogging friend Yobie Benjamin points to should be adressed as part of this repair and evaluation process and a public report issued. This should not be considered a problem that needs a "band-aid, quick-fix" solution. Please, no.
In fairness to CalTrans' Ney, he did say that officially there's no timetable and that's the response he should stick with.
CalTrans needs to take its time with this and make sure the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster does not happen again.
Bay Bridge Closure - BART wants 24-hour service if CalTrans pays them
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I've got an important update especially for late-night workers who pray that BART offers a 24-hour service schedule - right now they're not - in the wake of the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster (as I'm calling it).
I just got off the phone with BART Spokesperson Linton Johnson. Johnson explained that BART would like to offer a 24-hour service but they're hampered by, economics, operations maintenance, and commuter commute demands.
The first issue is economics. "The fares, at $3.18, don't come close to covering the operating costs to run trains in a 24-hour schedule," Johnson said. The Labor Day Weekend Service was provided after months of planning and CalTrans, which operates the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge, paid BART to cover the loss of revenue due to the simple fact that fewer people ride the trains between 12 midnight and 4 am, when the morning commute starts.
The second problem is operations maintenance. Linton Johnson says "It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars each day just to provide that extra service." And even if CalTrans were to step forward and give what would be by my estimate $1.2 million to $1.7 million (depending on the estimated days the bridge is closed) to help BART provide 24-hour service, there's the additional problem of now having extra trains that have to be taken out of service because they were used at night - trains needed for the AM and PM commute hours.
Which leads to the third consideration: commuters. Johnson isn't saying BART doesn't want to provide 24-hour service, but he stresses they didn't see this accident coming. So, they're trying to alter their system to provide service to a crush of riders that don't normally take the train. That's the first priority.
"BART wasn't designed for 24-hour service," Johnson observed. And he's right. A train system, as in New York for example, has two tracks going the same way, so one car can be worked on just as another is going by. BART's work tracks are in rail yards at the Richmond and Fremont and Daly City terminus stations; there are few points to allow such maintenance on the BART system.
So the bottom line is BART would love to extend its current service to a 24-hour schedule, but CalTrans needs to pay for it. And even then, BART's risk is that fewer trains would be available for the morning commute due to maintenance requirements.
My view is such a price is one CalTrans should be willing to pay and BART's problem of fewer commute trains one they should be willing to bear. More people have flexible schedules anyway, so it's something BART could do with less pain than in a pre-Internet past.
The alternative is to have a Bay Area economically crippled between the hours of 12 midnight and 4 AM, and in this recession this region can't afford any more fiscal hits.
I've got an important update especially for late-night workers who pray that BART offers a 24-hour service schedule - right now they're not - in the wake of the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse Disaster (as I'm calling it).
I just got off the phone with BART Spokesperson Linton Johnson. Johnson explained that BART would like to offer a 24-hour service but they're hampered by, economics, operations maintenance, and commuter commute demands.
The first issue is economics. "The fares, at $3.18, don't come close to covering the operating costs to run trains in a 24-hour schedule," Johnson said. The Labor Day Weekend Service was provided after months of planning and CalTrans, which operates the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge, paid BART to cover the loss of revenue due to the simple fact that fewer people ride the trains between 12 midnight and 4 am, when the morning commute starts.
The second problem is operations maintenance. Linton Johnson says "It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars each day just to provide that extra service." And even if CalTrans were to step forward and give what would be by my estimate $1.2 million to $1.7 million (depending on the estimated days the bridge is closed) to help BART provide 24-hour service, there's the additional problem of now having extra trains that have to be taken out of service because they were used at night - trains needed for the AM and PM commute hours.
Which leads to the third consideration: commuters. Johnson isn't saying BART doesn't want to provide 24-hour service, but he stresses they didn't see this accident coming. So, they're trying to alter their system to provide service to a crush of riders that don't normally take the train. That's the first priority.
"BART wasn't designed for 24-hour service," Johnson observed. And he's right. A train system, as in New York for example, has two tracks going the same way, so one car can be worked on just as another is going by. BART's work tracks are in rail yards at the Richmond and Fremont and Daly City terminus stations; there are few points to allow such maintenance on the BART system.
So the bottom line is BART would love to extend its current service to a 24-hour schedule, but CalTrans needs to pay for it. And even then, BART's risk is that fewer trains would be available for the morning commute due to maintenance requirements.
My view is such a price is one CalTrans should be willing to pay and BART's problem of fewer commute trains one they should be willing to bear. More people have flexible schedules anyway, so it's something BART could do with less pain than in a pre-Internet past.
The alternative is to have a Bay Area economically crippled between the hours of 12 midnight and 4 AM, and in this recession this region can't afford any more fiscal hits.
Ares I-X lifts off on flight test (video)
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The Ares I-X successfully launched into a clear blue Florida sky this morning and without incident, "testing concepts for the future of new rocket design" as the Kennedy Space Center spokesperson said in the video.
Indeed, it went off without a hitch - I'll deal with the vibration issue I mentioned below - and what's really neat is that you can see the video of the launch from a camcorder placed in the rocket itself and posted in this blog. The video also shows the breaking away of stages of the rocket as it happens. How huge is that?
Gushing aside, here's vital information on the vehicle that I saw over at spacefellowship.com. One important item of information is the rocket was built entirely here in America: Utah, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas contractors created the Ares 1-X.
Spacefellowship reports:
No word on the vibration issue, which means the dampening systems developed worked.
The objective of this flight is to test a program system that will eventually lead to America's return to the Moon after 2020.
The Ares I-X successfully launched into a clear blue Florida sky this morning and without incident, "testing concepts for the future of new rocket design" as the Kennedy Space Center spokesperson said in the video.
Indeed, it went off without a hitch - I'll deal with the vibration issue I mentioned below - and what's really neat is that you can see the video of the launch from a camcorder placed in the rocket itself and posted in this blog. The video also shows the breaking away of stages of the rocket as it happens. How huge is that?
Gushing aside, here's vital information on the vehicle that I saw over at spacefellowship.com. One important item of information is the rocket was built entirely here in America: Utah, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas contractors created the Ares 1-X.
Spacefellowship reports:
The 327-foot tall Ares I-X test vehicle produced 2.6 million pounds of thrust to accelerate the rocket to nearly 3 g’s and Mach 4.76, just shy of hypersonic speed. It capped its easterly flight at a sub-orbital altitude of 150,000 feet after the separation of its first stage, a four-segment solid rocket booster.
Parachutes deployed for recovery of the booster and the solid rocket motor will be recovered at sea for later inspection. The simulated upper stage, Orion crew module, and launch abort system will not be recovered.
“The most valuable learning is through experience and observation,” said Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager. “Tests such as this — from paper to flight — are vital in gaining a deeper understanding of the vehicle, from design to development.”
Wednesday’s flight offered an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities, and ground operations – important data for future space vehicles. During the flight, a range of performance data was relayed to the ground and also stored in the onboard flight data recorder. The 700 sensors mounted on the vehicle provide flight test engineering data to correlate with computer models and analysis. The rocket’s sensors gathered information in several areas, including assembly and launch operations, separation of the vehicle’s first and second stages, controllability and aerodynamics, the re-entry and recovery of the first stage and new vehicle design techniques.
No word on the vibration issue, which means the dampening systems developed worked.
The objective of this flight is to test a program system that will eventually lead to America's return to the Moon after 2020.
Bay Bridge Closure - BART must offer 24-hour service
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Kudos to BART for offering "beefed-up" service with extra trains in the wake of the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse, according to BART spokesperson Linton Johnson, but what's really needed, and we don't have, is a 24-hour BART schedule.
There's no real idea when the bridge is going to be fit to be opened and Henry K. Lee's SFGate.com article explains that it could be days before that happens, especially with these high winds impacting the bridge not to mention making sure this accident does not happen again regardless of conditions, so a major part of what (even with this recession) still is our economic engine is crippled.
Some Oaklanders, for example, work in San Francisco and don't get off until midnight or later - just when BART has stopped running at midnight even with this closure.
So what we face is a period from midnight to 4 am when we can't travel from Oakland or the East Bay to San Francisco or much of the West Bay. So if you work in one place and live in the other, you're stuck.
And God help you if your flight arrives at SFO at 11:30 PM, because by the time you get your bags and head to BART, not only will it have stopped running but there will be no other way to get to the East Bay if that's where you need to go.
That's just plain horrible.
BART must employ the 24-hour schedule that was used during the Labor Day Weekend Bay Bridge Closure. But what surprises me is that BART didn't automatically do this. It should not take a blog or any hue and cry for BART to implement all night service to help in any disaster, which is what this is regardless of its scale.
Adding more train operators is great, but the 24-hour service plan is needed, starting tonight.
Kudos to BART for offering "beefed-up" service with extra trains in the wake of the Bay Bridge Cable Collapse, according to BART spokesperson Linton Johnson, but what's really needed, and we don't have, is a 24-hour BART schedule.
There's no real idea when the bridge is going to be fit to be opened and Henry K. Lee's SFGate.com article explains that it could be days before that happens, especially with these high winds impacting the bridge not to mention making sure this accident does not happen again regardless of conditions, so a major part of what (even with this recession) still is our economic engine is crippled.
Some Oaklanders, for example, work in San Francisco and don't get off until midnight or later - just when BART has stopped running at midnight even with this closure.
So what we face is a period from midnight to 4 am when we can't travel from Oakland or the East Bay to San Francisco or much of the West Bay. So if you work in one place and live in the other, you're stuck.
And God help you if your flight arrives at SFO at 11:30 PM, because by the time you get your bags and head to BART, not only will it have stopped running but there will be no other way to get to the East Bay if that's where you need to go.
That's just plain horrible.
BART must employ the 24-hour schedule that was used during the Labor Day Weekend Bay Bridge Closure. But what surprises me is that BART didn't automatically do this. It should not take a blog or any hue and cry for BART to implement all night service to help in any disaster, which is what this is regardless of its scale.
Adding more train operators is great, but the 24-hour service plan is needed, starting tonight.
NY Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.; print media is like Titanic
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Here's a shocking statement from a person who one would think is not ready to give up on print media: New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.
NY Magazine talked to the media mogul at a benefit for the New Literacy Project, and asked what advice he had for journalism students looking for a job in print media:
He went on to say there would be print, but it will not be the driving force. I agree but I'll go a step beyond what he said. The driving force in the future will be multimedia - video, web, print, audio - and all of the same content.
Take my example you're reading: it's also in video form with me speaking, and I can strip out the audio and have an Mp3 version and print the website page and have a paper version. So that's web, print, video, and audio versions of the same message.
Imagine that as the foundation for a news company. That's the future.
That said and written,I can't think of a firm - well a big media company - that's actively headed in that direction. Not one.
But back to The Titanic and Sulzberger. Art Jr.'s analogy is appropriate because the New York Times opened the first three months of 2009 with a $74 million operating loss. Overall, American newspaper circulation fell more than 10 percent.
That, folks, is the beginning of a long-term death spiral. Ad sales rates are based on subscription size; if that falls then newspapers can't charge the same rates because they don't have as great a reach, so revenue is even less, leading to more cuts in production, which impacts circulation until a steady state is reached.
But where that steady state of circulation is, is anyone's best guess.
I can't help but wonder what Phil Bronstein thinks of Sulzberger's comments...
Here's a shocking statement from a person who one would think is not ready to give up on print media: New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.
Arthur Sulzberger Jr.
NY Magazine talked to the media mogul at a benefit for the New Literacy Project, and asked what advice he had for journalism students looking for a job in print media:
"Um, what I would tell them is the industry is in the midst of a massive transition," he said. "But the core of the fundamental job is critical. We have to re-create ourselves, but the heart of what we're going to re-create is still journalism. The way people get information is changing, but the need for information will remain constant."
He thinks that physical newspapers will stick around as well. "The best analogy I can think of is — have you ever heard of the Titanic Fallacy?" he asked. We hadn't. "What was the critical flaw to the Titanic?" We tried to answer: Poor construction? Not enough life boats? Crashing into stuff? "A captain trying to set a world speed record through an iceberg field?" he said, shaking his head. "Even if the Titanic came in safely to New York Harbor, it was still doomed," he said. "Twelve years earlier, two brothers invented the airplane."
He went on to say there would be print, but it will not be the driving force. I agree but I'll go a step beyond what he said. The driving force in the future will be multimedia - video, web, print, audio - and all of the same content.
Take my example you're reading: it's also in video form with me speaking, and I can strip out the audio and have an Mp3 version and print the website page and have a paper version. So that's web, print, video, and audio versions of the same message.
Imagine that as the foundation for a news company. That's the future.
That said and written,I can't think of a firm - well a big media company - that's actively headed in that direction. Not one.
But back to The Titanic and Sulzberger. Art Jr.'s analogy is appropriate because the New York Times opened the first three months of 2009 with a $74 million operating loss. Overall, American newspaper circulation fell more than 10 percent.
That, folks, is the beginning of a long-term death spiral. Ad sales rates are based on subscription size; if that falls then newspapers can't charge the same rates because they don't have as great a reach, so revenue is even less, leading to more cuts in production, which impacts circulation until a steady state is reached.
But where that steady state of circulation is, is anyone's best guess.
I can't help but wonder what Phil Bronstein thinks of Sulzberger's comments...
ESPN suspends Bob Griese for racist remark; let go of Steve Phillips
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ESPN's shedding of tortious talkers continues as they suspend or out-right fire all of its analysts and broadcasters who were accused of making a racist remark in the case of NFL Legend Bob Griese, or involved in a sex scandal, as was the case of Steve Phillips, who was fired Monday after a sex scandal involving himself and ESPN Production Assistant Brooke Hundley.
The act that got the former Miami Dolphins quarterback in hot water - and I've got to admit I'm surprised he was outright suspended for this - was when he said that NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya was "out having a taco" in response to, well, here's an explaination of what Griese said according to the Huffington Post:
While Bob apologized on air, the flip joke of a comment cost him a week without work on ESPN.
Now, I have to comment that I think we're getting a little too sensitive here. Yeah, I wonder why Bob would "go there" and it signals that Griese saw the man as Latino first, then a person, but Bob also appologized for it. But I suppose a week of forced vacation won't hurt him.
Still, I agree with "CubanJoe" over at Hispanic Business, who wrote:
Cuban Jose
10/27/2009 2:46:10 PM PST
Why all the fuss over nothing. To suspend someone over a remark like the one he made is beyond me. I am Hispanic and that coment would not affect me one bit. Taco Bell is more American than Spanish any way.
Sometimes I think we're a little too neurotic for our own good. Besides, I can't stand Taco Bell.
ESPN's shedding of tortious talkers continues as they suspend or out-right fire all of its analysts and broadcasters who were accused of making a racist remark in the case of NFL Legend Bob Griese, or involved in a sex scandal, as was the case of Steve Phillips, who was fired Monday after a sex scandal involving himself and ESPN Production Assistant Brooke Hundley.
The act that got the former Miami Dolphins quarterback in hot water - and I've got to admit I'm surprised he was outright suspended for this - was when he said that NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya was "out having a taco" in response to, well, here's an explaination of what Griese said according to the Huffington Post:
During ESPN's broadcast of the Minnesota-Ohio State game Saturday, a graphic was shown listing the top five drivers in NASCAR's points race. Fellow analyst Chris Spielman asked where was Montoya, who is Colombian.
Griese replied he was "out having a taco."
While Bob apologized on air, the flip joke of a comment cost him a week without work on ESPN.
Now, I have to comment that I think we're getting a little too sensitive here. Yeah, I wonder why Bob would "go there" and it signals that Griese saw the man as Latino first, then a person, but Bob also appologized for it. But I suppose a week of forced vacation won't hurt him.
Still, I agree with "CubanJoe" over at Hispanic Business, who wrote:
Cuban Jose
10/27/2009 2:46:10 PM PST
Why all the fuss over nothing. To suspend someone over a remark like the one he made is beyond me. I am Hispanic and that coment would not affect me one bit. Taco Bell is more American than Spanish any way.
Sometimes I think we're a little too neurotic for our own good. Besides, I can't stand Taco Bell.
Bay Bridge Closure - bridge after cable breakage on YouTube videos
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The Bay Bridge Cable Breakage Controversy shakes one's confidence in the engineering technology we create to allow us to (in this case) span a large expanse of water.
It would have been better to just replace the whole bridge - given the lives at risk - rather than array after array of cost-cutting approaches. But we can't reverse time and change things: hindsight is 20-20.
(Except in the case of a lawsuit where reversing time to determine "who did what" to gauge liability becomes important. This, in that way, is much like the Space Shuttle Challenger accident that caused an investigative committee to be formed to determine exactly what happened, who was at fault, and why. From that perspective, this is going to be a eye-opening look into California's infrastructure finance problems.)
To get a better idea of the bridge's condition after the incident, I went to YouTube to see what videos were posted. 2009 has seen the mainstreaming of the use of camcorders of various sizes to capture an action or event, so I expected to find a number of videos and did so.
This video created by YouTuber thatgirlray shows the breakage up close on video:
This video by markdemma is another "after breakage" point of view:
This view, from tmanaols, is from earlier in the day, just immediately after the cable break:
I will add more videos as they become available. I'm betting someone out there has the definitive video view of the collapse as it happened.
The Bay Bridge Cable Breakage Controversy shakes one's confidence in the engineering technology we create to allow us to (in this case) span a large expanse of water.
It would have been better to just replace the whole bridge - given the lives at risk - rather than array after array of cost-cutting approaches. But we can't reverse time and change things: hindsight is 20-20.
(Except in the case of a lawsuit where reversing time to determine "who did what" to gauge liability becomes important. This, in that way, is much like the Space Shuttle Challenger accident that caused an investigative committee to be formed to determine exactly what happened, who was at fault, and why. From that perspective, this is going to be a eye-opening look into California's infrastructure finance problems.)
To get a better idea of the bridge's condition after the incident, I went to YouTube to see what videos were posted. 2009 has seen the mainstreaming of the use of camcorders of various sizes to capture an action or event, so I expected to find a number of videos and did so.
This video created by YouTuber thatgirlray shows the breakage up close on video:
This video by markdemma is another "after breakage" point of view:
This view, from tmanaols, is from earlier in the day, just immediately after the cable break:
I will add more videos as they become available. I'm betting someone out there has the definitive video view of the collapse as it happened.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
NFL - Larry Johnson, KC Chiefs RB, suspended for gay-slur use
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It was just announced that Kansas City Chiefs' Running Back Larry Johnson was suspended by the organization for using a gay-slur on his Twitter account @ToonIcon (which has been set to private) and then on Monday to reporters, according to TMZ.com. He can't participate in team activities while a team investigation into his use of a slur is ongoing according to the Associated Press.
Johnson issued this apology:
Larry Johnson, upset with the teams 1 win, 6 loss performance, his own, and dealing with his dislike for Head Coach Todd Haley, let loose with an ill-advised tweet on Sunday after they were pasted by the San Diego Chargers 37 to 7, then popped-off to reporters verbally on Monday.
According to the Kansas City Star, Johnson got a bit testy with the press:
On Twitter, Johnson wrote a storm of words that were listed in chronological order by Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson (the words in the quotes below that are not Johnson's are Robinson's and set the story):
Well, it's clear the Chiefs, are stopping his checks for a while. The lesson here for any public official is to hold their temper and measure what they say or tweet. But the larger issue of Johnson's overall conduct comes up again, as reporters, tweets, and chats remind all of his various arrests and conflicts over the years.
By comparison to his past, this episode is smaller, but still important. Johnson must get his temper under control and assess his issues with gays and get over them.
Then there's the Todd Haley issue and in more detail his coaching style. I'm not a fan of Haley's approach, as much as I like some of his game plans. More on this later.
It was just announced that Kansas City Chiefs' Running Back Larry Johnson was suspended by the organization for using a gay-slur on his Twitter account @ToonIcon (which has been set to private) and then on Monday to reporters, according to TMZ.com. He can't participate in team activities while a team investigation into his use of a slur is ongoing according to the Associated Press.
Johnson issued this apology:
First of all, I want to apologize to the fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the NFL, Commissioner Goodell, the Chiefs organization, Coach Todd Haley, his staff, and my teammates for the words I used yesterday"
"I regret my actions. The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate. I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said. "
"I also want to apologize to all the kids who view athletes as role models. I was not a good role model yesterday and hopefully I can become a better role model. We all make mistakes, and the challenge is to learn from them. I will do my best to learn from this one as I move toward becoming a better person, teammate, and member of the Kansas City chiefs team and community."
Larry Johnson, upset with the teams 1 win, 6 loss performance, his own, and dealing with his dislike for Head Coach Todd Haley, let loose with an ill-advised tweet on Sunday after they were pasted by the San Diego Chargers 37 to 7, then popped-off to reporters verbally on Monday.
According to the Kansas City Star, Johnson got a bit testy with the press:
Then Monday in the Chiefs locker room, Johnson used another slur after saying he wouldn’t speak to reporters.
Johnson, sitting down, told reporters that “I’m not talking till Thursday,” his usual day of speaking with the media.
Then Johnson turned away and whispered, “Get your f_____ ass out of here.”
On Twitter, Johnson wrote a storm of words that were listed in chronological order by Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson (the words in the quotes below that are not Johnson's are Robinson's and set the story):
• “my father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches. … google my father!!!!!!!”
• “My father played for the coach from “rememeber the titans”. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn”
Following those messages, an exchange appeared between Johnson’s account and another Twitter user, in which the other user made a reference to an incident in which Johnson pled guilty to disturbing the peace after allegedly spitting into the face of a female patron at a nightclub. A message on Johnson’s account referred to the other Twitter user’s profile picture with a homophobic slur, calling it a “[expletive] pic” and called the user a “Christopher street boy.” Christopher Street is a well-known New York City street which became famous as a symbol for the city’s gay-pride movement.
The message posted in Johnson’s account containing the homophobic slur read:
• “think bout a clever diss then that wit ur [expletive] pic. Christopher street boy. Is what us east coast cats call u.”
The final message of the night on Johnson’s account read:
• “Make me regret it. Lmao. U don’t stop my checks. Lmao. So “tweet” away.”
Well, it's clear the Chiefs, are stopping his checks for a while. The lesson here for any public official is to hold their temper and measure what they say or tweet. But the larger issue of Johnson's overall conduct comes up again, as reporters, tweets, and chats remind all of his various arrests and conflicts over the years.
By comparison to his past, this episode is smaller, but still important. Johnson must get his temper under control and assess his issues with gays and get over them.
Then there's the Todd Haley issue and in more detail his coaching style. I'm not a fan of Haley's approach, as much as I like some of his game plans. More on this later.
BCS Standings - Cal Golden Bears, Notre Dame in; USC moves up
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In the second week of the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) Standings, two teams not in the BCS the first week have broken into it this week: The California Golden Bears and The Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 24 and 23 respectively.
Cal got in with its blow-out win over Washington State, 49 to 17, while Notre Dame entered after just barely getting by Boston College, 20 to 16. But there were other notable movements as well. Southern Cal went from seventh to fifth position while Arizona moved from 22 to 20. Kansas has dropped out. TCU is now at sixth position. But the three constants at the top, Florida, Alabama and Texas, remain at one, two, and three respectively.
Notre Dame breaks into the BCS for the first time since 2006, when Brady Quinn was their quarterback and Head Coach Charlie Weis was in his second year with the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is now at 5 and 2 and at 23, just needs to move up nine spots to reach the place for at-large bowl consideration.
Here's the list for the second week of BCS Standings:
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Iowa
5. Southern Cal
6. TCU
7. Boise St.
8. Cincinnati
9. LSU
10. Oregon
11. Georgia Tech
12. Penn St.
13. Virginia Tech
14. Oklahoma St.
15. Pittsburgh
16. Utah
17. Ohio St.
18. Houston
19. Miami
20. Arizona
21. West Virginia
22. South Carolina
23. Notre Dame
24. California
25. Mississippi
In the second week of the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) Standings, two teams not in the BCS the first week have broken into it this week: The California Golden Bears and The Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 24 and 23 respectively.
Cal got in with its blow-out win over Washington State, 49 to 17, while Notre Dame entered after just barely getting by Boston College, 20 to 16. But there were other notable movements as well. Southern Cal went from seventh to fifth position while Arizona moved from 22 to 20. Kansas has dropped out. TCU is now at sixth position. But the three constants at the top, Florida, Alabama and Texas, remain at one, two, and three respectively.
Notre Dame breaks into the BCS for the first time since 2006, when Brady Quinn was their quarterback and Head Coach Charlie Weis was in his second year with the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is now at 5 and 2 and at 23, just needs to move up nine spots to reach the place for at-large bowl consideration.
Here's the list for the second week of BCS Standings:
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
4. Iowa
5. Southern Cal
6. TCU
7. Boise St.
8. Cincinnati
9. LSU
10. Oregon
11. Georgia Tech
12. Penn St.
13. Virginia Tech
14. Oklahoma St.
15. Pittsburgh
16. Utah
17. Ohio St.
18. Houston
19. Miami
20. Arizona
21. West Virginia
22. South Carolina
23. Notre Dame
24. California
25. Mississippi
Ares Rocket launch postponed today; were vibration problems solved?
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According to Reuters, the planned launch of the Ares Rocket was postponed today due to bad weather on the Central Florida Coast. It will be retried tomorrow, Wednesday, at 8 a.m. EDT.
The Ares Rocket program is designed to (sadly) replace the Space Shuttle Missions program by 2015 and take crew to the Moon by 2020. According to the NASA website, the rocket will use an updated version of the engines originally developed for the Saturn V Rocket used to carry astronauts on missions to the Moon in the 60s.
Tomorrow's planned launch - if it goes as intended - will be an interesting rebuttal to the reports of problems with thrust-induced vibrations, and other technical problems that have made Ares a lightening rod for criticism. Originally budgeted at $28 billion, it now costs $44 billion as of this writing.
And regarding the thrust vibration problems, which start with the energy from first-stage engine thrust causing small rapid motion that (if you remember the physics formula for "simple harmonic motion") can become larger and so pronounced if it is not dampened that physical damage to the space frame - or worse for a vehicle carrying people - could happen.
In September, NASA reported a solution to this problem in SpaceNews.com:
I will monitor Wednesday's launch with interest to learn if this "fix worked well. Even if the rocket takes off successfully, the inability to get the problem under control will ignite project critics (who want a cheaper rocket used for passenger missions) and hamper the program's future.
According to Reuters, the planned launch of the Ares Rocket was postponed today due to bad weather on the Central Florida Coast. It will be retried tomorrow, Wednesday, at 8 a.m. EDT.
The Ares Rocket program is designed to (sadly) replace the Space Shuttle Missions program by 2015 and take crew to the Moon by 2020. According to the NASA website, the rocket will use an updated version of the engines originally developed for the Saturn V Rocket used to carry astronauts on missions to the Moon in the 60s.
Tomorrow's planned launch - if it goes as intended - will be an interesting rebuttal to the reports of problems with thrust-induced vibrations, and other technical problems that have made Ares a lightening rod for criticism. Originally budgeted at $28 billion, it now costs $44 billion as of this writing.
And regarding the thrust vibration problems, which start with the energy from first-stage engine thrust causing small rapid motion that (if you remember the physics formula for "simple harmonic motion") can become larger and so pronounced if it is not dampened that physical damage to the space frame - or worse for a vehicle carrying people - could happen.
In September, NASA reported a solution to this problem in SpaceNews.com:
Dale Thomas, deputy program manager of NASA’s Constellation program, said officials reached a key decision in early September to pursue a so-called “dual-plane isolator” system to address the issue. The system consists of springs that will be inserted between the Ares 1 first stage and upper stage, and between the upper stage and the Orion crew capsule, to keep the violent shaking originating in the rocket’s main stage from reaching Orion and its crew.
I will monitor Wednesday's launch with interest to learn if this "fix worked well. Even if the rocket takes off successfully, the inability to get the problem under control will ignite project critics (who want a cheaper rocket used for passenger missions) and hamper the program's future.
NFL: Rush Limbaugh blaming Rams owner, NFLPA, cements his ouster
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Even though this was reported by ProFootballTalk.com's Founder Mike Florio on October 15th, it bears a look back for me because I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh and Rush made some statements that assures the NFL will not come to call him again.
On his website, now housed by NBC Sports, Florio claims that Rush Limbaugh's headlong pursuit of being on an NFL ownership team was a P.R. stunt from the start because Forio claims Limbaugh knew they didn't like his politics.
I really disagree, Mike.
Rush Limbaugh did it because he now has the cash to be at least a co-owner of an NFL team. His $400 million contract signed two years ago puts him in near-billionaire status.
Given his proven interest in the game of football, its logical that he would be interested in joining an NFL ownership group and confirmed that on his show.
Enter St. Louis Rams owner Dave Checketts, who was warned about the "possible media reaction". But while Rush knew that, he also was aware that it could go the other way and he would be part of the group. But that didn't happen. Checketts got rid of him after tremendous pressure from a number of people both inside and related with the NFL:
But it was Dave Checketts who pulled the trigger and let Rush go. The worst move Rush could have made was cementing himself from ever again being considered for an NFL ownership group by blasting Checketts and other potential new members of his ownership group on his radio show:
What Rush proves is that if you don't include him, he'll try to wreck your NFL ownership plans by tossing dirty laundry on you and your crew. That's what he did to Checketts.
Limbaugh also continued his really racially ugly theme of basically saying the problem with America is that it's becoming too minority and too black. But he does his with code words and terms like "Obama's America" and setting up the view that there's a black power structure in the NFL Players Association that's against him, which is against an America that Rush implies is white.
The only group Rush gets support from with talk like that are White Supremacists, who have a really cockeyed view of America to such a degree that some are part of domestic terrorist groups.
Nice.
Rush Limbaugh can't get what he wants in owning an NFL franchise, or understand that most blacks and Latinos too feel that he does not like them, so he tried to torch everyone, including the NFL.
I think one day, perhaps when he's retired from broadcasting, Rush will gain a heart and realize how many people he's hurt. If he does, he should cry. What he's doing in trying to divide America is terrible and shameful.
Even though this was reported by ProFootballTalk.com's Founder Mike Florio on October 15th, it bears a look back for me because I don't listen to Rush Limbaugh and Rush made some statements that assures the NFL will not come to call him again.
On his website, now housed by NBC Sports, Florio claims that Rush Limbaugh's headlong pursuit of being on an NFL ownership team was a P.R. stunt from the start because Forio claims Limbaugh knew they didn't like his politics.
He did it because he knew damn well what he was getting into, and he voluntarily went along for the ride because he knew it would bring him plenty of publicity -- and because it ultimately could be shoehorned into his broader message.
I really disagree, Mike.
Rush Limbaugh did it because he now has the cash to be at least a co-owner of an NFL team. His $400 million contract signed two years ago puts him in near-billionaire status.
Given his proven interest in the game of football, its logical that he would be interested in joining an NFL ownership group and confirmed that on his show.
Enter St. Louis Rams owner Dave Checketts, who was warned about the "possible media reaction". But while Rush knew that, he also was aware that it could go the other way and he would be part of the group. But that didn't happen. Checketts got rid of him after tremendous pressure from a number of people both inside and related with the NFL:
But it was Dave Checketts who pulled the trigger and let Rush go. The worst move Rush could have made was cementing himself from ever again being considered for an NFL ownership group by blasting Checketts and other potential new members of his ownership group on his radio show:
Reuters had a story that George Soros is one of Dave Checketts's partners. I did not know that. I wasn't told that. Mr. Checketts is not the primary partner here. The NFL has a rule that the primary owner has to have 30% equity in the team, and our group lost our 30% equity guy, and we had to scramble and find a new one, and I was told who it was, but now I'm wondering if it was Soros and I wasn't told. Soros and Checketts did, I have learned, partner together previously to try to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mr. Soros, of course, is well known politically for his left-wing slants, his politics fit in perfectly, apparently, with what the National Football League is becoming. But I wonder if they know that he is also involved in the movement to legalize marijuana and how that will play as the owners decide whether or not he's fit.
What Rush proves is that if you don't include him, he'll try to wreck your NFL ownership plans by tossing dirty laundry on you and your crew. That's what he did to Checketts.
Limbaugh also continued his really racially ugly theme of basically saying the problem with America is that it's becoming too minority and too black. But he does his with code words and terms like "Obama's America" and setting up the view that there's a black power structure in the NFL Players Association that's against him, which is against an America that Rush implies is white.
The only group Rush gets support from with talk like that are White Supremacists, who have a really cockeyed view of America to such a degree that some are part of domestic terrorist groups.
Nice.
Rush Limbaugh can't get what he wants in owning an NFL franchise, or understand that most blacks and Latinos too feel that he does not like them, so he tried to torch everyone, including the NFL.
I think one day, perhaps when he's retired from broadcasting, Rush will gain a heart and realize how many people he's hurt. If he does, he should cry. What he's doing in trying to divide America is terrible and shameful.
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