New TV Show by Zennie62's On BART and Oscar Grant

 

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On Saturday, May 2nd, my new television show starts. It's called "The Blog Report With Zennie62" and features the use of my video blogs in a weekly 30-minute format broadcast and co-produced by CoLoursTV in Denver and on Channel 9407 nationwide on the DISH Network, but it's on Comcast in Florida, and Fox and Insight cable systems. The start time is 3:30 PM Pacific Time, 6:30 PM Eastern Time and the show is replayed at 11:30 PM and 2:30 PM respecfully.

If you don't have a TV you can see the live stream at CoLoursTV.org. or Zennie62.com

This first show focused on selected events that occured after the shooting of Oscar Grant by BART Officer Johannes Mesherle on New Year's Day. It opens with my walk through a riot-ravaged downtown Oakland where I talked with many people about what happened, including a group of kids who were some of the rioters and that was eye-opening. Then we focus on the words of "DaveyD", America's foremost hiphop reporter and voice of the street, who shares his observations of how Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums handled the situation. And finally we hear from Mayor Dellums himself. This is not the last time I will visit this issue, but it's a good place to start the show.

The standard format is to present politics, news, sports, and tech in some combination for each show. Sometimes it's me talking about an issue; other times it's me talking to someone else, and with this show we will feature the work of other video-bloggers. It's a vloggers' playground.

The show will have a deliberate vlogger feel. Videos that you see on my channels at YouTube, Blip.tv, and other places make up the show. There's no studio; the camcorder is the star instrument. That means we can go anywhere at anytime and quickly make a video. It also means I can share what's happening in the news on the blogsphere in video form and show it on "The Blog Report". A lot of ground we can cover considering I never dreamed of having my own television show, but this whole road I've taken has been totally unplanned by me.

"The Blog Report" all started last year when I met Art Thomas who's the Executive Vice President with CoLoursTV at a media walk-through for the Democratic National Convention in Denver. He lived in Oakland before moving to Denver and so we had a lot to talk about. I was looking for a sponsor for our show at the time, so I sent a proposal to Thomas. That exchange turned into an idea for placing our videos on CoLoursTV and that became the concept called "The Blog Report With Zennie62".

Our first concern was how to get the videos up on television without a loss of at least the quality that is seen on Blip.tv and Viddler, which have the sharpest video uploads (that written, I love YouTube and the quality's really improved over time such that it's competitive with the two, but YouTube's best system is the website design and its "viral" nature as well as The YouTube Partner program.) I think we solved that problem and I understand the TV version looks even better than what you're going to see here.

I look forward to your feedback and questions. We're seeking sponsors and there are some organizations we simply want to establish strategic partnerships with, so please contact me. The possibilities for this are many and should serve as an example for a possble future for newspapers as well.

If you're a video-blogger located anywhere in the World and have material that's not longer than 4 minutes tops, notify me via email at zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com and we'll go from there. I prefer the video is already uploaded on some site, Brightcove, Blip.tv, YouTube, etc, so I can see it.

I wish to thank Art Thomas, Damon Purdy, and Tracy Winchester of CoLours TV, as well as Steve and Bernard and Michaa who made me look good in the promo. I also wish to thank Google / YouTube for their support and encouragement and specifically Chad, Emily, and Hunter. A big loud shot-out to the iReport team at CNN: Lila, Henry, Rachel, David, Nicole Saldi, and the rest. And thanks to the team at CNN Special Projects, Errol and Jessica, and to Roland Martin and his staff at CNN for discovering me.

Finally, thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle for seeing the value in how I do what I'm doing and providing a platform. To the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell, Greg Aiello, and Frank Supovitz ("Mr. Super Bowl"). And thanks to my good friends Beth Schnitzer, Randy Gordon, Bill Boyd, Lars Frykman, Dana Santa Cruz, Phil Tagami, Ted Tagami, Chris De Benedetti, Molly Fuller, and at WISE and others (And you know who you are!) and to Bill Chackhes who's my New York connection and taught me all the Yiddish I know! To Michael Bean and Will Glass-Hussain at Forio Business Simulations for just being there and getting after me when I needed to be gotten after! To my political friends, Dawn, Ashley, and Tom and everyone that's not mentioned but in my heart!

Thanks to my co-founders at SBS: Dan, Mark, Lloyd, and Kristin! Thanks to the Oakland Mayor's Office, and to the Oakland Police Department. And thanks to Sierra Choi for being a good friend to crazy me. And of course, thanks to my Mom and my relatives in Oakland, Chicago and Tennessee.

With that, enjoy the show.

Oh and if you're wondering how we made the promo, here's that video:

Susan Boyle v. Hollie Steel? Boyle Should Quit BGT Now!

 

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The Worldwide sensation Susan Boyle, who was discovered to rave reviews on the show Britains' Got Talent is now faced with her second "big challenger" in as many weeks on the show, 10-year-old Hollie Steel and a process that threatens to dampen Boyle's chance for real success. The small girl from Britain wowed the crowd last Saturday on yet another show.

Steel makes the second talent to emerge as a possible challenge to Boyle for the winner of the competition in as many weeks, as we were introduced to 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargholi just the weekend before, and calls into question the ability of Boyle to maintain the high level frenzy that catapulted her to stardome. What I fear is that as BGT rolls out new challengers, Boyle's ability to capture a high dollar record deal will be impacted. The only solution for Boyle is to drop out of Britains' Got Talent, and sign a record deal before the end of May.

Why the end of May?  It's simple. 

Because to date this entire affair has been engineered by the producers of BGT, who taped the show in January and are engineering the release of auditions and information on all of the talent that appeared, including Susan Boyle. With each passing week that a new talent is trotted out, two things happen: 1) the appetite people have to see her online lessens, and 2) the new talent draws the attention of the people who were hungry for more of Susan's voice, but weren't getting it.

By quiting BGT, Boyle takes the PR control away from that show's producers and puts it into her lap. She can take advantage of this by recording one or who "teaser" songs and putting them on YouTube and other video distribution channels, and working on a record deal that will fetch more money now that one two months from now.

I think Ms. Boyle's brother is right on. Susan Boyle, while you're out on that date with BGT Judge Piers Morgan, talk to him about getting you out of BGT (after all, he just said you would not win it) and into a record deal so we can hear more of you before it's too late and the system eats what it created.

Ah, that's you.

Susan Boyle v. Shaheen Jafargholi With Simon Cowell's Help

 

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Susan Boyle, who wowed the World with her performance on Britains' Got Talent over a week ago, is now the target of some news outlets who want to diminish her fame to make room for someone else.

In this case, the media outlet CNN is doing the work of advancing the name of Shaheen Jafargholi, a 12-year-old "Welsh boy" as he's described by CNN.com. I checked his performance on YouTube and this video sums up what I saw:



YouTube, MySpace, Metacafe, Blip.tv, Sclipo and Howcast


Now, unlike Susan Boyle, Simon Cowell, one of the judges on Britain's Got Talent (and who recently announced he may leave American Idol) seemed prejudiced toward Jafargholi (photo below), even to the point of ordering a change to a song that better fits his voice.

Jafargholi starts by singing "Valerie" (which has been performed by Amy Winehouse), but then Cowell stops the effort saying "You've got this really wrong," and so Jafargholi sings "Who's Loving You", written by Smokey Robinson and peformed by Michael Jackson when he was but a kid with the Jackson Five!

I have a massive problem with that action by Cowell because it creates an uneven playing field for Susan Boyle. No one helped Ms. Boyle at all - not that she needed it -- so why help someone else?

Am I the only one who has a problem with this?

I feel sorry for Susan Boyle because, look, talented Shaheen is but he's 12 and has a life ahead of him. Susan Boyle is 48, extremely talented, and just getting noticed when it should have happened 10 years ago.

I can't help but wonder if all of this was staged. It seems too perfect an arrangement and logical in it's development.

It makes sense that Cowell would be the one to engineer a great outcome (if he did) for a young teen with talent, and why Cowell would make a scoffing expression toward Boyle -- the kid is "cute" and marketable; Boyle is far outside the "box" Cowell's used to and thus threatening to the standard rules of the entertainment game.

Get over it Simon, Boyle's better.

Zennie62 On Susan Boyle Fan Site

 

A friend sent an email that my video "Who Is Susan Boyle" is featured on a new Susan Boyle fan site. Here it is > Susan Boyle Fan Site.

And on the matter of "Crazy Right-Wing Extremists, here's my video response:

Visit "The Alley" On Grand Avenue

I just went around Oakland to really get out of the house, which means heading to places like Luka's, Cafe Van Kleef, and other venues. It's to socialize -- some of my best blog story tips have come in this way. But it's also to support the local businesses. In this case, the crowds generated by the successful appearance of Green Day at the Fox went away and downtown Oakland and the Lake was largely full of locals. So I dropped into The Alley really to get a copy of their menu, and the walked over to a drinkery called Smitty's two doors away.

Now I am not comfortable with Smitty's at all. Sorry but some of the clientele look like they're going to take hostages! Hey, I'm serious -- some rough-looking folks hang there. Not that I would not help raise money for an event there, but geez. I've had it with this "We're Oakland and so it's ok not to excel or be ambitious, in fact we'd prefer it if you want to be a loser."

Whatever.

That's why I'm happy for places like Pican and Flora, where you feel good for liking nice places and preferring to be around people who can dress appropriately!

Geez.

Getting Out Late In Oakland After Too Much Work: A Brief Report

This phase of work, work, work is not done (and this is part of it) but not yet taking its toll. To make sure that doens't happen, I did two things: 1) I went to the gym and 2), I went out to just relax. The first thing, the gym, I do every day, or try too. I'm working to keep by weight below 200 pounds. I find I feel best at less than 196. Yesterday I was at 198.

The second act was just plain going out. I wound up, as they say, at Luka's and ran into my neighbors and their friend who can dance up a storm. So, for the first time in a a while, I danced to some combination of "house" and reggae. Then, once enough sweat was produced to make think of my desire not to sweat a lot, I stopped, and fortunately so did they, and left. That was fun. It's also a blast to do it with people from your hood.

Then I wound up at another place called Mua and ran into a couple I generally see at Cafe Ven Kleef. They had a friend in West Oakland who had a story tip for me so they brought me over to her and we talked for a long time. To give the short version, it seems there's this company that specializes in cleaning up after a homicide. Now, according to my new friend, that firm, called "Crime Scene Cleanup", reportedly has been telling West Oakand residents that they "own the neighborhood" and plan to buy distressed property. For what reason, I do not know.

But the company has been -- according to my new friend -- active around West Oakland. Now remember they clean up after, say, a murder. And that, from what I've read today, is not a pretty thing. It's mostly maggots, and other disgusting stuff.

My friend then sent this message:

What we do know: they are moving into a property that touches a restaurant, is surrounded by residential properties and a half a block away from a school.

When my neighbors went over there in good faith - in fact excited to meet these guys because they had heard about them and thought that their van was really cool - they were instantly met with hostility and intimidation.

The questions we in the neighborhood have are:
- why hasn't this business notified residents that they are moving in, as they are supposed to do?
- what is their waste disposal procedure? Their safety measures must be excellent, since they were approved to operate right next door to so many families with children.
- how will this affect our neighborhood activities, such as our planned community garden, National Night Out block parties, etc?
- why is the business hostile to the community it plans to join?
- and finally, as a matter of curiosity, what kind of homework did they do that led them to choose a property right next door to two large loft developments (some of the oldest ones in West Oakland), a school, and lots of residential?

The main question is, are the employees of Crime Scene Cleanup doing any illegal waste dumping and with a sense of entitlement, which would explain the exchange I reported above? I understand Councilmember Nancy Nadel's aware of this so I'm going to do some digging. More soon.

At any rate, it was fun and even though I was the only person not "coupled" -- hey I could have gone to a fundraiser with a woman friend of mine but I had too much work to do (she' pissed at me now) and the woman I've been dating recently has a job that keeps her on a plane, overseas for months at a time. So you can imagine what I'm thinking.

So, perhaps taking pity on me, the women teased me mercilessly while their boy friends laughed in approval. Life is so fun, especially when your surrounded by great pairs of legs. There was a "film at 11" but to protect the identity of my source, it will not see the whites of your eyes.

Work. Work. Work. One Tired Guy I Am.

I've got a lot of work to do which is good, but it's taking a lot of hours. The absence of a good work partner is the problem. Really, I need someone who will write proposals and blog for a small compensation but a percentage of revenue of work secured. That person also needs to be someone I can count on and is credible -- I can truat their word.

Zennie62.com - The Facebook Page

Now, Zennie62.com is on Facebook! Here is the page: Zennie62 on Facebook   Become a fan!

Michael Jackson? CNN, I Will Not Impersonate Michael Jackson

The CNN iReport team came up with this wild idea to ask iReporters to dance like Michael Jackson.  I'm not going to do that.  No way.  I have a reputation to protect.  So as you can see in this video, I protect my image:




Click for CNN iReport version here.

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.

Julia Allison and Gawker's Obsession With The Online Star

Julia Allison's exploits are regularly covered by the online publications Gawker and Valleywag, who complain that she wants attention, then give her the attention in the process. Why? She's a great example of self-promotion.

I wrote about Allison a while back in this tongue-in-cheek take on her search for White Guys at tech parties. In the age of Obama I think she got the hint and started paying attention to men of color too, a good thing. But why is Gawker so taken with her?

Regardless of the reason, Allison is clearly an Internet star and a model of how to cheaply build buzz using online resources available to anyone. Heck, I'm taking notes from Julia.

Cell Phone Guns; Deadly "James Bond" Micro Weapon

The cell phone gun is now in media view after a raid of an Italian Mafia group last fall. A 28-year old man captured had this device, but the the others got away. I fear this weapon - which is in the United States - would wind up in our high schools.

Click here for iReport version.

President Obama's First News Conference: Transcript Of Statement By Obama

President Barack Obama gave his first press conference of his young administration Monday evening. Here's CQPolitics video summary:



Here's the text From WhiteHouse.gov of what he said to open the questions:

OPENING REMARKS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA -- AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
First Presidential Press Conference
East Room, The White House
Monday, February 9th, 2009

Good evening. Before I take your questions tonight, I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible.

I took a trip to Elkhart, Indiana today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7% to 15.3%. Companies that have sustained this community for years are shedding jobs at an alarming speed, and the people who’ve lost them have no idea what to do or who to turn to. They can’t pay their bills and they’ve stopped spending money. And because they’ve stopped spending money, more businesses have been forced to lay off more workers. Local TV stations have started running public service announcements that tell people where to find food banks, even as the food banks don’t have enough to meet the demand.

As we speak, similar scenes are playing out in cities and towns across the country. Last Monday, more than 1,000 men and women stood in line for 35 firefighter jobs in Miami. Last month, our economy lost 598,000 jobs, which is nearly the equivalent of losing every single job in the state of Maine. And if there’s anyone out there who still doesn’t believe this constitutes a full-blown crisis, I suggest speaking to one of the millions of Americans whose lives have been turned upside down because they don’t know where their next paycheck is coming from.

That is why the single most important part of this Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is the fact that it will save or create up to 4 million jobs. Because that is what America needs most right now.

It is absolutely true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life. It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money which leads to even more layoffs. And breaking that cycle is exactly what the plan that’s moving through Congress is designed to do.

When passed, this plan will ensure that Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own can receive greater unemployment benefits and continue their health care coverage. We will also provide a $2,500 tax credit to folks who are struggling to pay the cost of their college tuition, and $1000 worth of badly-needed tax relief to working and middle-class families. These steps will put more money in the pockets of those Americans who are most likely to spend it, and that will help break the cycle and get our economy moving.

But as we learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts alone cannot solve all our economic problems – especially tax cuts that are targeted to the wealthiest few Americans. We have tried that strategy time and time again, and it has only helped lead us to the crisis we face right now.

That is why we have come together around a plan that combines hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the middle-class with direct investments in areas like health care, energy, education, and infrastructure – investments that will save jobs, create new jobs and new businesses, and help our economy grow again – now and in the future.

More than 90% of the jobs created by this plan will be in the private sector. These will not be make-work jobs, but jobs doing the work that America desperately needs done. Jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, and repairing our dangerously deficient dams and levees so that we don’t face another Katrina. They will be jobs building the wind turbines and solar panels and fuel-efficient cars that will lower our dependence on foreign oil, and modernizing a costly health care system that will save us billions of dollars and countless lives. They’ll be jobs creating 21st century classrooms, libraries, and labs for millions of children across America. And they’ll be the jobs of firefighters, teachers, and police officers that would otherwise be eliminated if we do not provide states with some relief.

After many weeks of debate and discussion, the plan that ultimately emerges from Congress must be big enough and bold enough to meet the size of the economic challenge we face right now. It is a plan that is already supported by businesses representing almost every industry in America; by both the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO. It contains input, ideas, and compromises from both Democrats and Republicans. It also contains an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability, so that every American will be able to go online and see where and how we’re spending every dime. What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable.

Despite all of this, the plan is not perfect. No plan is. I can’t tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans. My administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion, but because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing too little or nothing at all will result in an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes; and confidence. That is a deficit that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe. And I refuse to let that happen. As long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this country back to work.

I want to thank the members of Congress who’ve worked so hard to move this plan forward, but I also want to urge all members of Congress to act without delay in the coming week to resolve their differences and pass this plan.

We find ourselves in a rare moment where the citizens of our country and all countries are watching and waiting for us to lead. It is a responsibility that this generation did not ask for, but one that we must accept for the sake of our future and our children’s. The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose. That is the test facing the United States of America in this winter of our hardship, and it is our duty as leaders and citizens to stay true to that purpose in the weeks and months ahead. After a day of speaking with and listening to the fundamentally decent men and women who call this nation home, I have full faith and confidence that we can. And with that, I’ll take your questions.

Madoff Client List, Fox Theater, Blog News: Zennie62

This is my experimental multi-show where I broadcast on USTReam, YouTube, and BlogTalk Radio all at the same time. The show is about the just released Madoff Client list and the six Oakland and 43 San Francisco persons who were listed as victims of Madoff.

I also talk about the newly opened Fox Theater which had its Gala event last night -- a success. Funny that the Oakland Tribune website doesn't have a post about it. They swapped their Fox post for something about an animation movie. Who cares?

There's more. I'm going to make the YouTube video another way because I do not like the quality of the quick-capture system. I may wind up using two computers for this. Here's the USTream video...

Video chat rooms at Ustream

And here's the BlogTalkRadio Link: Radio

Zennie Abraham's No-Do-Over-Day: Jerry Brown The Super Bowl and The Email

The iReport team  at CNN wants to know what my do-over-day would be. Well, the one I was thinking of, when I -- as Chairman -- wrote an email to the board of the Oakland Super Bowl Bidding Committee.   It's a day that really I don't want a do-over because it helped me in a lot of ways.

"Crude" Movie Lies - The Movie "Crude" Forgets About Ecuador

There's a new movie out called "Crude" which is a kind of documentary about the Ecuadorian oil spill problem. The trouble is, it forgets about how Petroecuador shirked its responsibility in maintaining the oil production facilities left behind after the transfer from Chevron / Texaco in 1998. I explained that in this video:



And now, there's a new website outlining the lies of "Crude" and called "Crude Movie Lies".

BART SHOOTING: Ron Dellums, Oakland Mayor Speaks at Protest

In the aftermath of the late-night arrest of BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, a planned Oakland City Hall-based protest went ahead as scheduled Sunday but with a less-angry energy than existed last week, when over 100 people were arrested and many downtown Oakland buildings were damaged in a night of rampaging protests against both Officer Mehserle's actions and the overall response of BART and elected officials.


In today's event, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums took the microphone and really talked to the crowd about how their voice led to change. Then I talked with Mayor Dellums about his call for change and if that would lead to reforms within the Oakland Police Department.

Here's the video:

Happy New Year! - Zennie Abraham | Zennie62 On "12Second.tv"

Hey everyone!  I just joined this really cool site called "12Seconds.tv" where you can make a video comment in just, well, 12 seconds.  Here's my first post:


Happy New Year! on 12seconds.tv

12Seconds is a lot like Twitter, but a video version.   The idea is to give video updates of what you're doing or the news, or whatever.  It's push button easy to do and perfect for on-the-go vlogging.  Check out my channel! (Don't know what's up with my photo not appearing, though!) 

Zennie Abraham's Take On Seesmic and Twitter, on Seesmic

My video response to Loic LeMeur's video posted over at Seesmic, where he asserts Seesmic will not be like Twitter!  I am happy because I feared another "go" at the whole "Authority" subject.  Yikes!

Pakistan moves troops toward Indian border | Antiwar Newswire

More at Antiwar Newswire: “Pakistan began moving thousands of troops away from the Afghan border toward India on Friday amid tensions following the Mumbai attacks, intelligence officials said.


The move represents a sharp escalation in the standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbors and will hurt Pakistan's U.S.-backed campaign against al-Qaida and Taliban taking place near Afghanistan's border.

Two intelligence officials said the army's 14th Division was being redeployed to Kasur and Sialkot, close to the Indian border. They said some 20,000 troops were on the move. Earlier Friday, a security official said that all troop leave had been canceled.”