Perez Hilton v. Wil.I.Am, Black Eyed Peas: Hilton melts down

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Perez Hilton lost it on video Monday.

On Monday morning the famous blogger went to an after-party (who came up with that term?) to celebrate the winners of the MuchMusic Awards in Toronto, Canada. But Hilton has a history of insulting celebrities and one of them, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, has been his favorite to criticize, even though they're reportedly friends. Here's an example of what Hilton's written about Fergie:

Oh, Fugly!

Why??????

The usually sometimes fashionably dressed singer was spotted in London with the Black Eyed Peas attending a BBC Radio One interview.

And it was nice to see Fergie wasn't a total diva and even took time to sign autographs for her fans.

She was sporting a "unique"-looking braided ponytail. The 34-year-old also opted to wear some futuristic, mirror-inspired sunglasses.

There are other pages on Hilton's site that are filled with not-so-flattering comments about Fergie. So it's understandable that Fergie would approach Hilton at the first party at one club and which led to Wil.I.Am approaching Hilton at another venue, the Cobra nightclub early Monday morning. Hilton called the rapper a variation of the "F-word" that has the Gay Community upset with him.

Polo Molina, the band's tour manager would eventually punch Hilton outside the club.

While Hilton says he was with Lady Gaga (who has a massively cool website to go with her hit "LoveGame"), there's no mention of the incident on her site or her Twitter page or her Facebook fan page. So when Hilton tweets:

@iamtherealwill There are multiple witnesses. You can deny all you want. The truth is the truth and I am telling the truth.

I wonder who Hilton expects to step forward to take up for him, even with Molina's surrender to police. From this it's clear Hilton's on his own here; Lady Gaga's not issuing any kind of statement to indicate she was a witness to the matter. And given Hilton's actions, captured and presented on video by TMZ.com, Molina could claim he was acting to defend a friend who was being attacked by Hilton; that friend would be Wil.I.Am.

We have in the video above, both sides of the story: Wil.I.Am's video posted this morning and Perez "meltdown" video posted around noon Pacific Standard Time. Both videos explain what happened, with one main difference: Wil.I.Am said "a fan" "got into Perez' face" and Hilton said it was Molina who hit him in his video.

But Perez Hiton Twittered that Wil.I.Am struck him, which is completely false. I suppose Molina's turning himself in to the Toronto Police makes the matter moot, but pointing a finger at Wil.I.Am for the purpose of gaining more attention to the story is really pathetic. And even more so is Hilton's total meltdown in his video, which you can see above.

 Perez Hilton's meltdown may signal the end of ambush journalism

As the video plays, Hilton first speaks calmly if angrily, but toward the end starts crying and yelling, saying some really vile things about Fergie and The Black Eyed Peas; a performance which essentially confirms their claims that he has something against them. Hilton's performance has done little to win him fans on Twitter or anywhere else. Shockingly, a small percentage of people openly express that they're happy he was beaten up and that view was shared on Twitter and message board and my YouTube video comment page. He even acknowledges this on his Twitter page:

@johncmayer And people DO want to see me hurt. That's what I've been reading over and over again. But it's cool. I'll be back 2 normal tomm.

And look at the way he insulted actress Kirstie Alley on Twitter just two hours ago:

@kirstiealley I'm 31 years old. You're 58. But it seems like you have the mental maturity of a 13 year old. Way to go! about 2 hours ago from web in reply to kirstiealley

And Hilton wonders why he gets all the bad Karma! It's not right that Molina hit him, but it's also very wrong that Hilton uses words as fists in part because its legal to do so, or so he thinks. In my view, this event is one more nail in the coffin of true free speech; a law will be passed at some point to curb this behavior. One can't go around pushing buttons just for kicks or for news.


Hilton's approach may have met its waterloo

For five years Hilton's built and cultivated an image as a blogger who picks on people to generate web traffic with the objective of then drawing paying sponsors, even calling himself the "Gossip Gangsta,"; this fight in Toronto was the classic example as Hilton was the aggressive player, verbally abusing Fergie and Wil.I.Am, and even stating in his meltdown video that there's no law against talking about someone in the fashion he's mastered.

That is true, but if Hilton keeps up "blog thug economics" he may spur a new law to curb such practices in the future. Recording artist John C Mayer has engaged in a lively "discussion" with Hilton on Twitter and while he's trying to get Hilton to clean up his act, Hilton's responses show he has no interest in doing so, but to be honest, Mayor's not really trying to calm him down either, because Mayor's unhappy Hilton made him his Monday target in his website, writing that he was "boring" his father on an outing for Father's Day.

Wow.

Perez Hilton: @johncmayer All I really care about in this world is doing right by my family and my dog, and sharing and listening to music.24 minutes ago from web in reply to johncmayer

John C. Mayor: @perezhilton because today, the fourth wall came crashing down. Mario, you are human. I call upon Twitter to be kind to you. #perezisokbyme17 minutes ago from web

John C. Mayor: @perezhilton now you sit down behind that Tandy computer and you hash out a Doogie diary. Be sure to pause, think, and keep typing.18 minutes ago from web

Perez Hilton: @johncmayer I'm not human! I'm a monster! Good night, John Mayer.14 minutes ago from web in reply to johncmayer

John C Mayor: @PerezHilton Good night Perez, you dumb shit. #perezisokbyme 13 minutes ago from web in reply to PerezHilton

Between Hilton's tactics and the equally questionable actions of TMZ.com, which sends young college students out to point camcorders in the face of stars in LA and ask them stupid questions, we're seeing the future of news: do something to get people to respond then report on the response. Fox News has used this style of "ambush journalism" many times over the past fives years and now other media outlets are using it against them.

Perhaps Hilton's unfortunate beatdown is a road to the end of this practice but given that people like to read about them, it may be the beginning of something new. Sadly, I think it's going to take someone losing their life before this circus is halted for good.

Chris Matthews Attacks Bloggers; My Vlog To Chris Matthews

According to The Huffington Post, MSNBC's Chris Matthews tried to make "Bloggers" a perjorative on his show when he denounced Bloggers as a source for news. This is what was written:

Earlier in the segment Matthews speculated that the 'personal problem' that was given as Kennedy's reason for withdrawing was her marriage to Edwin Schlossberg. But when Benjamin said that the "affair question" was surfacing on blogs, Matthews abruptly cut her off: "Let's stick to journalism. I don't do that here. If it's just blogging let's drop it."

Chris does not understand the term "Blogging" or that journalists can blog to, thus my video:

Barack Obama Issues First Veto Threat To Congress

More from Huff Post: “President-elect Barack Obama made his first veto threat Tuesday in a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats. Obama told his former colleagues that if Congress passes a resolution blocking release of the second half of the financial bailout funds he will veto it, said Sen. Joseph Lieberman after leaving the caucus meeting.”

Golden Globe ratings: worst since '96 - LA Observed

More at LA Observed : “Americans who watch TV don't watch the Golden Globes any more, even if the newspapers, blogs and celebrity cable channels continue to insist they are a big thing. An average of 14.6 million viewers nationwide tuned in over three hours, down 26% from two years ago in the 18-49 niche and the worst audience since NBC took over. The Globes's did a little better than "Desperate Housewives" and "24," but only a little better — and "24" is on Fox.”

1100 Broadway Downtown Oakland Mural Finished: Rocky Rische-Baird

 

After several months of work, the mural at 1100 Broadway in downtown Oakland is finished. 

The work of Oakland artist Rocky Rische-Baird, it is a step back in time as much as it is a celebration of downtown Oakland and a landmark for 1100 Broadway itself. I talked to Rocky Rische-Baird about his new classic work.

Tina Brown And "The Daily Beast": Any Black Folks Around There?

The Daily Beast  is a new website along the lines of The Huffington Post from a content standpoint and started by long-time magazine editor Tina Brown and with an investment by Barry Diller. The rumor has been that $18 million was invested in the site and that the company was burning through $1 million or so in a month. Here in the video, Brown dispells those rumors.

In all, The Daily Beast is certainly an interesting "go" in that Brown is not going to have a set of unpaid bloggers, as The Huff Post does, but all paid writers, In other words a news and content staff.


I think that's a terrible idea because it places a high cost template in the business model and causes a higher level of revenue to be reached. Translation: a constant burn rate. But what's even more alarming to me is this staff photo we see: where the hell's the staff diversity? 

Has Tina ever heard of Black folks at all? Indeed, she wasn't a fan of President-Elect Barack Obama, but one of those who knee-jerk pointed to the "media bias against Hillary Clinton " while walking ignorantly past the dark racism that Obama faced during the campaign.


Regardless, assembling an almost-all-white (one Indian) news staff in an era that prizes diversity is massively irresponsible.  


Partly as a result of this "one-think", The Daily Beast is woefully devoid of any original content at present.  It's a cross between the online version of The New York Daily News, and The Huffington Post.  If "news is advertising" as Brown says in the video, The Beast has terrible ad content.


For some reason I can see this lasting two or three years -- tops.  That's not because of the staffing, but the total package.  There's nothing original here.  

AFP: More online journalists than print journalists behind bars: CPJ

AFP: More online journalists than print journalists behind bars: CPJ: “For the 10th consecutive year, China was the leading jailer of journalists, the CPJ said, followed by Cuba, Myanmar, Eritrea and Uzbekistan.”

How Blogging Is Like An Election Campaign - A Set of Tips 1. You need a story

I saw what is an interesting take on Blogging and how it's like an election campaign, and since we just experienced and participated in one, I thought it was appropriate.  I found it at Problogger and it's by "Trish" of "Ideas for Women."

I disagree that a Blogger should take a break, not that Bloggers should not, but one has to make sure there's a constant churn of information -- posts -- daily.  I read somewhere -- I think here at Technorati -- that the most successful blogs had between four and 30 posts a day.  That's work. 

Here's an excerpt:

I followed this year’s U.S. presidential election pretty closely on T.V. and also volunteered for one of the candidates. Over I time I began to notice some parallels between running a successful campaign and a successful blog.

I don’t plan to ever run for president - but I would like to have a more successful blog. I would also like to share what I learned and hope that it will be helpful to other bloggers.



1. You need a story

Both of the presidential candidates and their running mates had a story. John McCain was a P.O.W., Sarah Palin, a hockey mom. Joe Biden was from Scranton, Pennsylvania and stuttered as kid. Barack Obama’s story is that he is the “son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas”.

The details of the stories don’t really matter. What matters is how they /framed/ their story - their story had to be everyone else’s story - a story people could relate to.

Blogger Was Down For Some Reason...

Now it's up.  Why I could not post, I don't know.  But it's working again. 

Whew!

Joe The Plumber - Palin On SNL - Obama Draws 100,000

This is my blog report on "Joe The Plumber", where I point out that he's actually not part of of the labor force, but a member of the growing underground economy in America.

Then I praise Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's appearance on Saturday Night Live and state that she's got the wrong job -- she should be a political comedian.

Finally I look at what is the largest crowd in American Political history. 100,000 people came out in St. Louis to see Senator Barack Obama.

The Bailout Bill Fails; The Market Falls - Zennie's Blog Report

http://www.zennie62.com - This is The Blog Report for September 29, 2008, or "The Crash of 29" - the day the stock market saw it's largest one-day drop in American History.
On this day, the market reacted to the failure of the U.S. House or Representatives to pass The Bailout Bill, the Emergency Economic Stability Act of 2008.
I discuss the implications of this action and the political fallout behind it. Moreover, I take aim at the unintelligent view of people who claim that government's not in the market and should not be. In point of fact, there's no place where Government isn't in our lives. Thus, we must make sure it works.
I also take on Senator John McCain, who deserves blame for the failure of the bill's pasage as much as he believed his involvement would deliver House Republicans -- that did not happen. Senator Barack Obama was smart enough not to try and out-do Senator McCain, but to let the Congressional House do its job.

See it on CNN - click here.

"The Blog Report With Zennie Abraham" Coming To CoLours TV

http://zennie2005.blogspot.com - This is my presentation of our new show "The Blog Report with Zennie Abraham" coming to the CoLours TV network soon.

CoLours TV is at 9407 on the DISH Network, so if you have Comcast, dump it and get the DISH Network so you can tune in.

The show is in three basic segments: politics, pop-culture, and sports.

Anonymous Internet Trolls Sued By Yale Women

I learned of this from TechCrunch , where Michael Arrington wrote "Although the case may well turn into an argument in relation to free speech online, it’s difficult to sympathize with the trolls. Free speech does need to be defended but it must be respected; with any power comes responsibility. Slandering people anonymously, particularly where that slander has direct consequences is a step too far."

I totally agree, yet there are people who pose as Anonymous Internet Trolls and lurk on sites like The Daily Kos , and seem to delight in trying to be insulting and hurful, and they do so behind a fake name and generally with no other website to track them down at.

I call them cowards who would not say what they write to anyone in public, and be considered pretty fucked up if they did.

As a Barack Obama supporter, I've got some weird comments; so many that after the last one, I elected to disallow comments from all but registered Blogger users.

According to Reuters,.. after facing lewd comments and threats by posters, two women at Yale Law School filed a suit on June 8 in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut, that includes subpoenas for 28 anonymous users of the site, which has generated more than 7 million posts since 2004.

According to court documents, a user on the site named "STANFORDtroll" began a thread in 2005 seeking to warn Yale students about one of the women in the suit, entitled "Stupid Bitch to Enter Yale Law." Another threatened to rape and sodomize her, the documents said.

The plaintiff, a respected Stanford University graduate identified only as "Doe I" in the lawsuit, learned of the Internet attack in the summer of 2005 before moving to Yale in Connecticut. The posts gradually became more menacing.

Some posts made false claims about her academic record and urged users to warn law firms, or accused her of bribing Yale officials to gain admission and of forming a lesbian relationship with a Yale administrator, the court papers said.

This news certainly should come as welcome to bloggers like Kathy Sierra, who was the target of death threats by Anonymous Internet Trolls, some of which took to wildly insulting and scary methods of hurting her with words and pictures, and for no reason -- no good reason that is.

I for one do no allow Anonymous Internet Trolls to write on this blog save for the occasional person who's trying to make money by adding a link to some program they sponsor. I'm fine with that. But in other cases, forget it. I want names. I want you to be known so we can have the authorities track you down.

Now, someone reading that last sentence might cringe, thinking about the many politically motivated blogs that need to protect their writers. Hey, I've got no problem with protecting righfully subversive political figures, but that's where a need for a community of people who really protect these figures is needed. Look, if a government wants to find even a "blogger in hiding" it can do it; a system -- a social system to keep these change-agents protected, even if it means getting them out of the country itself and to America, is needed.

My point is that we have so many Anonymous Internet Trolls running around they've spoiled the soup for the nice and respectful bloggers. Perhaps we have to remove the good with the bad as the community does not seem to want to police itself.

We've got to do it for them.

Back In Action After A Mistaken Blogger Bot Block

That's right. This great blog system was the victim of a massive and mistaken block by Googlebots, thinking these were spam blogs. They're not. What Google must do is adjust it's bots so that they "see" mutliple writers and photos in posts.

Also, they should explain in detail what's triggering such behavior from the bots. As more and more of our economic activity moves online, it will be important for Google to make sure these errors occur less and less, if at all.

Big Apple Bullies Tiny Paul O'Brien, A Blogger Who Posted iPone GUI

Yep. Apple. Never happy with any aspect of its environment it can't control, took its giant foot and stepped on a small blogger this week. Paul O'Brien dared to -- well, he didn't know it was going to be a problem if he posted an image of Apple's iPhone in a converted version for Pocket PC users. All he did..well here's the story:

Apple legal throw their weight around...
Sat, 13/01/2007 - 08:58 — Paul
Can you believe it... yesterday, in this topic, I posted a link to a post on XDA-Developers, where an enterprising member had created a Pocket PC today screen to mimic the Apple iPhone.

It's worth pointing out I just posted a link and a screenshot... NOT the actual files required to DO the installation.

Well, this morning in my mailbox I find a letter from Apple's legal team (O’Melveny & Myers LLP, San Francisco) entitled 'Unauthorized Dissemination of Apple Computer Copyrighted Material by MoDaCo' demanding I remove the said link and the screenshot. Crazy or what? Unfortunately the mail was marked 'NOT FOR POSTING', exactly how bound I am by that i'm not sure.

A bit excessive IMHO... and although I can accept that they can get upset over the screenshot, can they really demand I remove the link too? :-S