Back In Oakland After A Trip To The Red Carpet On Oscar Eve!

Yep. I'm back on Saturday night editing video material from my one-day, first time trip to the site of the Academy Awards and to give you an idea of what it's like to be on The Red Carpet.


It was a total blast! For some reason getting used to this BlackBerry after swearing by an iPhone only to be the victim of a massive fraud scheme by AT&T, and that's what it is, I haven't used the phone's camera or video capabilities. It's just that the iPhone syncs really well with the Macintoch in a way that no other phone can match.


Or can it?


Anyway, I needed the trip. I spent most of the weekend with my Mom in Georgia and I love spending time with her. There's something to be said about family and the importance of maintaining your roota and knowing people who know and appreciate you. That's Mom. At 74 I don't know how much time I've got with her, so I'm going to take as much as I reasonably can.


The reason for the trip was that I was having a hard time dealing with death. My friend Mike McGuire was toppled by a massive heart attack that I think was trigger not just by his weight and diet, but his depression. The second was Ralph Grant, my step-brother-and-law, and both funerals were just seven days apart.


Seven days.


So I had some soul searching to do. And the week in a way gave me time to do it. I had a good time just working from Mom's home - and it's good to get away from Oakland because the city has a negative vibe that it can't seem to shake, although the Fox Theater Opening did a good job of changing that state of affairs. It's not enough.


So the last week featured Mom, then my ColoursTV promo shoot, and the one-day Oscar work, which I just returned from.


And my batteries are, I would say, 80 percent recharged.

Zennie Abraham's Travel Problem Focus of CNN Live Appearance Today

I had the pleasure of sharing my iReport story with CNN's anchor Richard Lui who's a fellow Cal Berkeley graduate like myself. The original video on CNN is below and I told my story live today at CNN Headquarters. Thanks to Henry Hanks of the CNN iReport team and to the producers at CNN. 

Original video:

Sitting At Gate B56 At Denver International Airport - Flight Delayed

If you're on Twitter you may have noticed - or may not have seen -- that I just landed in Denver.  But here I am after having caught a flight from Oakland to this hub with the intent of catching another flight to Atlanta.  That flight, UAL 7515, which was to leave at about 7 PM, was delayed to 9:19 PM, giving me time to catch up on stuff like blogging.  


I think this is the fourth time I've been at DIA this year, the other three trips courtesy of my work at the Democratic National Convention.  But regardless of the city -- Denver, New York, Chicago, Atlanta -- I love to fly.  To me, since air travel became so accessible to so many people due to low fares, one can gain the measure of America in an airport: fashion, concerns, and overall mood.  


The mood I would describe as "mellow".  It certainly feels like the holiday season but it's almost like people are going through the motion of traveling but don't have a lot of gifts to give.  I don't see a lot of gift bags or bags that look like they've got gifts in them.   


I see a lot of kids and families and college students traveling alone, presumably to see their parents.  And of course there's an occasional single person, like me.  

Atlanta MARTA Transit warns of big fare hikes, major cuts | ajc.com

MARTA warns of big fare hikes, major cuts | ajc.com: “MARTA’s top administrator on Monday warned of steep fare hikes and drastic cuts in passenger services if the transit agency cannot find more revenue sources to make up for a projected $60 million revenue shortfall.

“We are talking about a Draconian — unbelievably Draconian — reduction in service,” said MARTA general manager Beverly Scott. “There is not enough stuff that one can touch where you can, in fact, wind up making up those kinds of sharp decreases.”

Scott’s remarks followed a MARTA board meeting during which the panel approved a series of proposals to alleviate the crisis.

The agency began its fiscal year in July expecting a $30 million shortfall. In September, the Georgia State Economic Forecasting Center projected that MARTA was facing an additional $30 million revenue shortfall by the end of the current fiscal year in July 2009, and a $634 million shortfall over the next decade.”

Greta Van Susteren Goes Off On CNN Layoffs - Gretawire

Blood Bath at CNN ? No “heroes” in management there! « GretaWire: “They did it again! CNN fires people just in time for Christmas!  Make you sick?

People often ask why I left CNN…..I didn’t like management.  I liked my colleagues in the news gathering but the corporate culture that seized management when AOL came in (Steve Case and Gerry Levin) was disgusting.  Everything changed.  Don’t get me wrong - I like corporate organization and a corporation should make money - what I don’t like is a mean spirited selfish management that, despite not doing its job of efficiently running the company, lines it pockets.  And then the topper? because the management didn’t run the company well,  CNN fires loyal people to meet some bottom line the management failed to meet.  Blame the little guy not the way the company is run?  Go figure! Well….CNN management did not disappoint me yesterday…meaning, it met my low expectations.”

--- This is a crass move by CNN management. It's the timing. Why the holidays?

Atlanta Slave Grave Site to Landfill Controversy Happened In Baltimore

CNN's Rick Sanchez is thankfully focusing on a story in Atlanta where a slave grave site is planned to be moved to make way for a landfill site for trash.


I'm not kidding.  


And Sanchez is right that this happens more in the South than anywhere else.  For example, I uncovered this story in Baltimore as far back as 1996:

The Sun - Baltimore, Md.
Author:	Sherrie Ruhl
Date:	Feb 11, 1996
Start Page:	2.B
Section:	METRO
Text Word Count:	715
Abstract (Document Summary)
A landfill, with the accompanying rattle of dump trucks, and dust, dirt and debris, would bring the end of the church, Mrs. [Violet Hopkins-Tann] said. "Who is going to want to attend this church or live in this community if there's a landfill here?" The cemetery is adjacent to a 100-foot gravel pit that would be part of the Maryland Reclamation landfill, running west along Gravel Hill from Earlton Road near Havre de Grace. Mrs. Tann said she believes Maryland Reclamation proposed a landfill at the site in part because much of the community is African-American and poor. "They think if they wait long enough, we'll give up. Well, that's not going to happen," she said. Why this happens in the South is anyone's guess.  But it certainly must stop.

"Dancing In The Streets" People Celebrate President Obama

Crooks and Liars Nicole Ball's post shows how Americans were celebrating Barack Obama's election as President of The United States all over the country, in Boston , Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Seattle, just to name some of the cities.  But she forgot about Oakland and San Francisco.  That's OK.  Because I have video from a wild time in San Francisco coming up shortly.

Atlanta Tornado Kills 1; $150 Million In Damage; My Mom Got Out Of Town!

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that one person died and there was $150 million in damage after a tornado whipped through Atlanta and damaged several buildings including the Georgia Dome and the CNN Headquarters.

My Mom lives in suburban Southern Atlanta and got out just fine. She boarded a plane to Chicago for the weekend.

Here's a video of how the tornado effected the play of an NCAA basketball game at the Georgia Dome:

NFL - ATLANTA FALCONS SIGN JAPANESE WR-PR-KR NORIAKI KINOSHITA

From NFL Media.com

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
(212) 450-2000 * FAX (212) 681-7573
WWW.NFLMedia.com
Joe Browne, Executive Vice President-Communications
Greg Aiello, Vice President-Public Relations


FOR USE AS DESIRED
7/5/07

FALCONS SIGN JAPANESE WR-PR-KR NORIAKI KINOSHITA

Kinoshita seeks to become first Japanese player in NFL history

The Atlanta Falcons have signed wide receiver-return specialist NORIAKI KINOSHITA, a native of
Osaka, Japan, the club announced today.

The 24-year old Kinoshita spent the past three seasons playing in the NFL Europa League and was
selected to the All-NFL Europa team as the National return specialist in each of the past two years.
In 2007, Kinoshita led NFL Europa with a 15.9-yard punt-return average and ranked third with a 23.2-
yard kickoff-return average. He also added 23 receptions for 364 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’m excited to see Nori compete in training camp with us,” says Falcons head coach BOBBY
PETRINO. “He has good experience playing in NFL Europa and he deserves a chance to be in an
NFL training camp. We’ve already had stiff competition at the wide receiver position throughout our
minicamps and offseason workouts, and Nori’s presence now adds more to that position. We are
also interesting in seeing his return skills.”

Prior to playing in NFL Europa, Kinoshita played three seasons at Ritsumeikan University and helped
the team win two national championships (2002 and 2003).

“I am very excited to compete at the Falcons’ training camp with other great players,” says Kinoshita,
who hopes to become the first Japanese player in NFL history. “It is exciting as a Japanese player to
compete with American players, and I want to appeal to the fans in Atlanta. At the same time, I want
to show the Japanese people how exciting the great game of football is.”

American football has been played in Japan since 1934. Today more than 100 high schools and 200
universities field tackle football teams and nearly 200,000 youth participate in Flag Football programs
in approximately 2,000 elementary and junior high schools. The X-League, Japan’s corporate league
which was founded in 1985, features 18 teams from around the country.

###

Atlanta's MARTA Buses Glow In The Dark To Sell Ads

MARTA an innovator in advertising
Newest creation: Bus wraps that glow in the dark

By PAUL DONSKY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/13/07

One of the most aggressive advertising innovators in metro Atlanta isn't a Fortune 500 company or a scrappy Internet upstart. It's MARTA, the regional transit system, which is selling space on its buses, trains and rail stations with the gusto of a NASCAR racing team.

Ads are shown on video screens hanging from rail platforms and on televisions bolted inside buses and rail cars. Buses and trains have been wrapped to create rolling billboards touting everything from new condominium towers to bail bondsmen. The transit system was the first in the nation to place ads inside subway tunnels in a way that creates short moving pictures for riders in passing trains.

MARTA has wrapped buses and trains to create rolling billboards touting everything from new condominium towers to bail bondsmen.


John Spink/Staff
(ENLARGE)
Advertising produces about $5 million in annual revenue for MARTA, a small percentage of its $324 million operating budget, but its marketing director thinks itÕs an area poised to grow.

This month, MARTA is pushing the envelope again, becoming the first to wrap buses in ads made from a special material that glows in the dark.

Glowing buses? Subway movies? TVs on trains? Welcome to advertising, 21st century style.

Companies are finding they must try new marketing techniques to stand out in today's ad-saturated world, said Ken Bern-

hardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University.

"The key is how do you get noticed, and doing nontraditional things is a very effective way to get noticed," he said.

Marketers say MARTA is a good vehicle for companies because the transit system's ridership skews young, the most coveted demographic for advertisers. And the 100,000 to 120,000 passengers who ride the system each day are a captive audience, with time to kill whether waiting for a train or riding on a bus.

Of course, MARTA isn't the only nontraditional place ads are showing up. They're being beamed onto TV screens mounted in elevators, posted above urinals in bathrooms and, increasingly, disguised as e-mails from friends and colleagues.

But in MARTA, marketers have found an eager participant in the new advertising game. Until recently, the transit system has been struggling to make ends meet and desperate for new revenue streams. The economic downturn after the Sept. 11 attacks eroded MARTA's primary income stream, sales tax collections, and pushed the system to think outside the box.

Unlike most transit systems, MARTA gets no operating money from the state. Advertising brings in about $5 million a year for MARTA, a relatively small percentage of the transit system's $324 million operating budget. But it's an area poised to grow, said Tony Griffin, MARTA's director of marketing.

"The revenue hasn't been what we hoped it would be, but we hope down the road we've opened up a nice revenue source for the future," Griffin said.

MARTA was the nation's first transit system to put television screens in rail cars, and remains the only system with electronic signs in all rail stations.

"MARTA is a leader in terms of trying stuff," said Wendell Reilly, CEO of Atlanta-based SignPost Networks, which is paying MARTA about $144,000 a year to hang digital display screens throughout the rail system.

MARTA doesn't sell ads, leaving that work to advertising and media companies who pay the transit system for the right to wrap buses and place video screens on trains and in rail stations. MARTA doesn't pay for the equipment but does receive a percentage of ad sales.

Griffin stresses that the video and TV screens do much more than show ads.

The rail station monitors, for instance, provide riders with a steady stream of news, from sports scores to local headlines, sandwiched between short ad spots. At the bottom of the screen, a new feature counts down the minutes until the next train arrives. The bus TVs air local news reports, entertainment programs and MARTA news.

Sidney Daniels, 48, a regular MARTA bus rider, said he likes the feature.

"It's entertainment," he said. "It's convenient to everybody."

Advertising on MARTA has worked well for one small Atlanta company, Free at Last bail bonds, which has been putting its logo on MARTA buses since November 2005.

Business has gone up, prompting the company to sign a second yearlong contract. About half of Free at Last's marketing budget is now spent on MARTA bus ads, said Jennifer Greene-Dallam, the company's CEO.

The ads are successful because it takes little effort to watch a bus rolling by, she said.

"The Yellow Pages, you have to actually open the book," she said. "Hopefully, you've seen our bus running on the streets. It's brand recognition."

Until the 1990s, MARTA took a restrained approach to advertising. Buses completely wrapped in ads didn't become common until just before the 1996 Summer Olympics.

MARTA's advertising thirst does have limits. MARTA has no plans to sell naming rights for a rail station. Liquor ads are not permitted, either.

The subway tunnel ads remain a pilot project. No plans are in the works to make the ads a permanent part of MARTA's arsenal, officials said. The lone subway ad in place, for Lexus, is scheduled to be removed within three months.

At least one MARTA board member, the Rev. Walter Kimbrough, says he'd like to see the system stop wrapping buses.

"If you see a MARTA bus that is wrapped, you don't really know that it's a MARTA bus," he said, noting that suburban bus systems have begun running in downtown and Midtown in recent years. "There will be markings on it, but you really have to look for that. And the uniformity is gone."

Reilly, the SignPost CEO, says the 145 digital screens he's installed in MARTA rail stations reach about 300,000 individual viewers each week — a figure measured by Arbitron, the same agency that monitors radio station listenership. If SignPost was a radio station, Reilly boasts it would rank among the top 10 in metro Atlanta.

To attract viewers, SignPost broadcasts news and information in 10-minute loops and developed the "next train" feature, what Reilly calls his "killer app." Short ads are shown every 10 to 20 minutes. The information's providers include CNN, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Reuters. SignPost gets the information free, while the content providers are able to spread their brand name to MARTA riders.

"What we're trying to do is give the MARTA rider the same thing that the automobile rider has, which is a radio," Reilly said. "It's visual radio."

Michael Vick, The TSA's Gertrude Joseph, AirTrans, and The Water Bottle

Why in heck would Gertrude Joseph, a TSA screener, feel it necessary to dig through trash -- trash -- to smell a water bottle? Several reasons: first, she knew it was Michael Vick; second, he complained; third, and most important, she's black and he's black and some of us don't like others of us who have achieved any level of success. So she takes jock-sniffing to a new level -- water bottle sniffing -- in the process of trying to bring down the brother.

Why did she go through the effort, when people complain about the TSA liquid regulations all the time. She's certainly used to it. She hears complaints about this all the time. You think she digs through every trash can and sticks her nose in perfume bottles, cosmetics, and old medici bottles? I doubt it.

As for Vick, with the money he makes, why the hell is he flying AirTrans? He should take one of those private jet timeshares!

Geez.


Here's the story below...

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
NFL star's water bottle draws suspicion at MIA
Security screeners at Miami International Airport called police after Michael Vick left a water bottle that smelled of marijuana.
By EVAN S. BENN
ebenn@MiamiHerald.com

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was reluctant to throw away his water bottle at a Miami International Airport security checkpoint Wednesday morning.

The reason, police say: The 20-ounce plastic bottle had a secret compartment that had a dark residue and a pungent odor of marijuana. Vick boarded his 8:20 a.m. AirTran flight to Atlanta before screeners called police. Now, Miami-Dade police are examining the bottle and could charge him if it tests positive for drugs.

Police notified the National Football League about the investigation, Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4 reported. Joel Segal, Vick's agent, declined to comment late Wednesday.

According to a Miami-Dade police report, here's what happened:

Vick, 26, balked when security at the Concourse G checkpoint asked him to surrender his water bottle, which had an Aquafina label. Security regulations prohibit travelers from carrying bottles with more than 3 ounces of liquid through checkpoints.

Eventually, Vick left the bottle behind and went to his gate. But his initial reluctance aroused the suspicion of Transportation Security Administration screener Gertrude Joseph. She pulled the bottle out of a recycle bin and notified her supervisor when she discovered its hidden compartment.

Screeners told police they recognized Vick as the pro football player, and they were certain it was his water bottle because they saw him throw it away and it was the only water bottle in the recycle bin.

Miami-Dade police reviewed surveillance video from the checkpoint and said it corroborated the screeners' version of events. They also confirmed Vick was a passenger on AirTran Flight 338 from Miami to Atlanta.

The bottle had a clear partition in the middle, separating the bottle into two compartments. An online spy-equipment retailer lists an Aquafina Water Bottle Diversion Safe for $15. ''It has room for more than just water,'' according to metrospysupply.com. ``Twist and pull the bottle in half to reveal a hidden compartment.''

In his report, Miami-Dade Det. Kevin Kozak wrote: ``The concealed compartment contained a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana. The top half contained a small amount of clear liquid. When held upright the bottle appeared to be half full of water.''

Vick, the top NFL draft pick in 2001, is the older brother of Miami Dolphins wide receiver Marcus Vick and second cousin of Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks.

Vick is known for his ability to elude defenders and make dazzling runs. He is third on the NFL's all-time rushing list for quarterbacks, running for more than 1,000 yards this past season.

Vick is two years into a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Falcons.

Vick made headlines when he flipped his middle finger to booing fans after a Nov. 26 home loss to the New Orleans Saints. The league fined him $10,000, and he agreed to give another $10,000 to charity.

Miami Herald staff writers Armando Salguero and Gladys Amador, and Brian Andrews, a reporter with Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4, contributed to this report.

Ray Anderson Eyes A Rum Cake At The NFL Holiday Office Party

Ray (my boss) and Keenan (in blue sweater) - looking over the rum cake, originally uploaded by kriscuz.

Ray Anderson, the NFL's Senior Vice President Of Football Operations and formerly of the Atlanta Falcons, is seen at the right (white shirt) in this photo from the NFL Holiday Open House eyeing a particularly tasty - looking rum cake.

The other person is "Keenan" who I don't know but works with the person who took the photo. On the other hand I met Ray at the Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party in Houston in 2004.