Monday, May 24, 2010
TechCrunch Day 1: recap: Yahoo CEO blast, Apple iPad vs. Old Media
1) Charlie Rose interviewing Menlo Park Venture Capitalist John Doerr, who explained the iPad's incredible public reception and its role in technical change in this way: "When the Iphone was introduced, it took 74 days for it to reach 1 million in sales. It took the iPad just 28 days to reach that mark." Doerr thinks we haven't seen the zenith of the iPad's popularity because he contends one of its best fields of use is health care. (Part one of that video is uploading and will be available later this evening, below.)
On the matter of the growth of companies that make Facebook-based-and-distributed games, he noted that Zynga is the fastest growing company he's ever funded, and that includes Google.
2) Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz cage-fighting Michael Arrington, getting off S-bombs and F-bombs, and calling his online publishing and tech event company "tiny" and emphasizing her point by bringing her thumb and index finger close together. If you missed that video, it's here:
3. Charlie Rose leaving TechCrunch Disrupt to board a plane to Syria and to interview the President of Syria. An interesting life, Rose leads. I could not help but notice that he didn't have a wedding ring; that's telling. (Not to mention a message for this blogger.)
4. Something called "Startup Battlefield" where startup companies give pitches to a panel of judges that consist of luminaries like former-Google exec, now VC, Chris Sacca, who also sang for the TechCrunch audience in this Robert Scoble video:
5. Some really interesting startups. One called Betterment simplifies the online investment process and makes it accessible to those who may be intimidated by the complicated websites of other more traditional investment companies.
6. New York Times Writer David Carr leading a panel of what he called "ancient white men" and consisted of Angel Investor Ron Conway, Huffington Post CEO Eric Hippeau, and Bloomberg Chief Content Editor Norman Pearlstine about the iPad and asking an Asian woman who worked for the New York Times to join the panel to "balance the demographic."
The panel revealed that while traditional media's working on applications for the iPad, and New Media company Huffington Post has a new one coming out in two weeks, what they're offering is not much different from what one gets if they just visit Google News.
Day two will be equally interesting with more of a focus on media and advertisers.
Stay tuned. Off to a party!
Death of Simon Monjack- related to the bereavement process? by Dr. Christina Villarreal
Just five months after the tragically sudden death of his Hollywood actress wife Brittany Murphy, 39 year old British screenwriter Simon Monjack (also known as Con-jack) was found dead by firefighters at his Los Angeles home late Sunday. Monjack was candid about his grief following Murphy's passing in December of 2009. He described how he had lost his "best friend and soul mate" and that his "world was destroyed" after his wife's death. How do professionals in mental health delineate the process of grieving after a loved one dies? Could the sudden death of Simon Monjack be related to the recent death of his young wife? As more details emerge of the circumstances surrounding his death, we can begin to understand the psychological process Monjack may have been experiencing at the time of his passing.
Grief and Bereavement Issues and Recovery
Grief and bereavement can significantly threaten a person’s mental functioning. Although most of us are familiar with the emotional response to loss, bereavement also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions. It is imperative that a bereaved person secure adequate support and/or professional treatment following their loss. Without it, life-threatening situations could emerge if a bereaved person remains isolated and without appropriate treatment such as grief counseling.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D. (July 8, 1926 – August 24, 2004) was a Swiss-born psychiatrist and pioneer in describing bereavement. She is the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying (1969), where she first discussed what is now known as the Kübler-Ross model. This seminal 5 stage theory continues to be widely adopted by other authors and applied to many other situations where someone suffers a loss or change in social identity.
1. Denial. When a person comes to find out about the death of loved one, their mind and body often goes into a state of shock. "This can't be real. This isn't happening." are common thoughts that run through the mind of the newly bereaved. The person is flooded with sensations of disorientation, and even simple tasks seem overwhelming. Many people describe going into a dream-like state, and experience feelings of disconnection with the events and people around him.
2. Anger. As the body and mind begins to take in the loss, strong emotional feelings such as anger begin to emerge. "This is so unfair!" "How could this be happening to me?" "Who is responsible for this?" are thoughts that persist in the mind of the bereaved, as a person protests their tragic loss.
3. Bargaining. In instances when a person or loved one is facing death, they begin having thoughts of negotiation with a higher power in hopes of somehow postponing or delaying death. "Just let me see my family before I go" "If my loved one could live just a few more months, I promise to give up/change anything."
4. Depression. As the reality of a person's loss begins to feel more permanent, the bereaved experience commons symptoms of a major depressive episode such as weight loss, disrupted sleep, hopelessness, uncontrolled worry, frequent tearfulness and sadness or irritability. A person in this stage may refuse visitors and spend much of the time crying and grieving. However, this is often when the bereaved need the most support, as remaining in this stage in isolation can lead to tragic and possibly permanent negative consequences for the life of the bereaved.
5. Acceptance. In this last stage, a bereaved person begins to come to terms with their mortality or that of their loved one. While they continue to feel sadness and loss, they are on the path to healing, and can begin to finding meaningful ways to commemorate their loved one's life.
Respectfully submitted by Dr. Christina Villarreal, Clinical Psychologist in Oakland, CA
Yahoo!'s CEO Carol Bartz tells Michael Arrington to F-off (video)
Arrington and Carol Bartz |
But even with that, one doesn't actually expect a person to live up to a Twitter persona created by someone else. Not the case with Carol Bartz; she did.
Bartz, who's taken a beating from a very critical Michael Arrington in TechCrunch, walked into what TechCrunch Co-Editor Eric Shoenfeld called "the lion's den" and talked with Michael for 25 minutes.
While we have the entire 25 minute interview, this exchange on video was the talk of TechCrunch Disrupt and served to solidify Carol Bartz' combative reputation.
To set the stage, Arrington was pressing Bartz on the idea that the best companies are often "single-revenue-source" producers, and was implying that Yahoo, by getting away from search to his view, was moving away from what could work for the company. While asserting that Yahoo! is still a search company, Bartz disagreed, pointing to successful firms that were conglomerates.
Then Bartz seemed to think that Arrington was saying that because Yahoo! had not created a device they were not innovative and lacked direction. Bartz then focused on his "tiny company," saying that even with a firm as small as his, he didn't always know what direction he was going in. "So don't give me crap about what the fine people of Yahoo! are supposed to do, so F-off."
That brought the house down and it was Bartz open attempt at a knockout punch to Arrington. From all accounts she scored.
But I'm not sure what this is going to do to Yahoo! stock price.
Stay tuned.
Foresquare-type startups? Robert Scoble at TechCrunch Disrupt
John Doerr with Charlie Rose |
TechCrunch Disrupt is a wonderful, dizzying array of people, companies, tech, and ideas. We're in a huge office space that was once used as a Merill Lynch Trading facility. TechCrunch Editor Michael Arrington made the point that the space and what it's now used for is an example of the kind of "third wave" of tech change that the World is facing - even if it doesn't know it.
The idea of TechCrunch Disrupt is to bring together media, tech, and advertising industry representatives. So far, the idea is working very well. It even produces controversy: Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz, let loose with an F-bomb and an S-bomb, in the former case telling Michael Arrington to F-off.
But Carol Bartz and Yahoo! aside, for a moment, the interesting aspect of TechCrunch Disrupt are the sheer number of "Geo-based" social networks along the lines of Foursquare. That's what I talked with tech blogger Robert Scoble about in the video.
If you're not familiar with Foursquare, it's a mobile based software application that allows you to essentially tell the world (that's on Foursquare) where you are, be it a restaurant, an airport, or a football game. You can also locate other users at the same location or other places.
There are some really interesting startups that are variations on that theme. One of them, DeHood is designed for you to report, say, a crime being committed in your neighborhood in real time.
So as much as the buzz here is about Facebook, and something called "Zuckerberg's law of information" (after Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's determination that the rate of information flow between people has doubled in something like five years), the real interest is not in the next Facebook, but in the next Foursquare.
So far, Arringon's interviewed TV interview legend Charlie Rose, who in turn had a great talk with Venture Capitalist John Doerr. Doerr reported that Zynga, the startup famous for the Farmville game, is the fastest growing company his firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has ever funded, and that includes Google.
Stay tuned.
BP: Big Profits & Big Pollution
BP said on Monday the oil collected by the mile-long siphon tube was at times as low as 1,360 barrels of oil per day in the six days to May 23 with the tube capturing an average 2,010 barrels per day in the time period.
The average figure is less than half the 5,000 barrels per day the company estimates is leaking into the sea and comes after it said it was managing to siphon off around 5,000 barrels per day a few days ago.
Of course, some experts have made significantly higher estimates for the size of the leak than BP provided, too. That's not surprising, BP has a profit motive, not a truth motive.
You know what is surprising, though? It got hard to find this story on the Reuters website, almost immediately. It's amazing BP can't even get the measurement where they're collecting some of the oil. You don't think Reuters is under pressure from BP or investors, do you?
Meanwhile, comparisons to the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster are growing almost as fast as the pressure on the Obama administration to act. BP may have created jobs, but few who have seen the massive and spreading disaster think their response has been adequate, and we all know it will fall to the government not only to hold BP accountable, but ultimately to clean up the mess, too.
Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, political staffer, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Zennie62 now in New York for TechCrunch Disrupt, by Christine Smith Contractors
Onward.
Zennie62's trip is sponsored by Christine Smith Associates, Inc., the Premier Female Contractor in NYC. But frankly it's a miracle of God that Zennie62, uh, me, is here.
The whole deal started at 7:32 AM EST which used to be a late start, but is now an early one. Too early. After making sure the house in Georgia was secure, we headed to Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport and I ended up waiting and being bumped from flight after United Airlines flight.
Veterans to this space know this blogger flies standby and at times winds up with some cool seat assignments. Take this video on Sandra Bullock and Jesse James:
This time this blogger was at the ATL Airport from 11 to 5 PM and finally got on a plane to Chicago. I was worried that I would get into New York at something like 4 am, but no. Once at O'Hare, the departure screen reported the New York LaGuardia flight was delayed. I got in at 6:04 and it was to leave at 6:29. So hauling ass was in order; arrived at gate B5 in record time for a guy who needs to drop 12 pounds.
OK, 15 pounds.
Would you believe the agent got me on that damn flight? Can you say 'blessed?' So, after a Super Shuttle Tour of Manhattan that I have to say was really cool and with an equally cool driver named Mario, I'm blogging to you.
TechCrunch Disrupt is in the morning. I can't sleep, so I'm drinking a vodka and lemon to wipe me out; it's only half-working. Well, maybe 60 percent.
Closing thoughts.
New York City at night is beautiful. Period. Atlanta's more diverse, "modern", and fun than I'd thought, and I came to that conclusion after my Flying Biscuit Breakfast of Saturday. I now really like Atlanta, and I have to say blacks and whites mix better there than in the San Francisco / Oakland Bay Area. United Airlines' merger with Continental should make for better service out of Atlanta. Those small Brazilian planes have to go!
Stay tuned.
SoHo Journal Teflon Mike DOB Violations - Suzannah B. Troy
Tila Tequila heads to rehab -- by Nikky Raney
TMZ, Gossip Cop, NY Daily News, and an assortment of other sites have reported that Tila Tequila will be on the next season of VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. As of right now there is not a definite cast, but if they are able to get a cast together this show will be filmed.
"I am not involved at all with the casting but checked with VH1and apparently production for CR4 is on track... rumors inaccurate." -- DR. DREW
I was surprised to find that Tila Tequila had not posted this herself. On her gossip blog every other post is either a photo of her, a diary entry of her, some "exclusive" news about her, posts about her haters (an entire entry dedicated to Livejournal gossip blog OH NO THEY DIDN'T), Lindsay Lohan or some "news" that she stole from other blogs which in turn leads to photos of her.
She recently reported that Simon Cowell was leaving American Idol in one of her "exclusive" blog entries. Unfortunately for Miss Tila, the rest of us have known that since January (that's 5 months ago).
The irony of this all is that every couple of posts Tila will write her personal and heartfelt letters of hope and advice to Lindsay Lohan. Tila explains that Lindsay needs to get real help, and these letters make it sound like Tila was once Lindsay's best friend, but I have not witnessed anything that would prove Lindsay has ever acknowledged TIla's existence.
She continues to post these "celebrity gossip blog entries" of her letters to Lindsay. These include:
Open Letter to Lindsay Lohan from Miss TIla:
"I know we can have a lot of fun together and regardless of what this bullshit media keeps saying about you, I got your back girlfriend!! FUCK THE STUPID MEDIA AND LEAVE LINDSAY ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hit me up Lindz. I got your back and I know that we are all rooting for you. ok? We want the old Lindsay back and I KNOW I can help you get that back! You just need to cut off all these fucktards who are USING you without you knowing! Trust me, I am older than you and I have been there and done that! So anyway, have your people call my people….lol…. love ya girl! THIS IS THE LINDSAY WE WANT BACK!!!!!!!!!! I CAN HELP YOU! CALL ME! MUAH!"
followed by this post
"Anyway if you were smart, you’d hit me up. So Holla at me girl, but do it fast cuz in a few weeks, I have to leave cuz I have to start Filming my own TV show soon that will be airing sometime this year!!!! You see? People always said that “MY 15 MINUTES OF FAME ARE OVER” yet, I am still here, and will be here until the end of time!!!!!!!!!!! POW! Holla at me girl!"
followed by this post
"I guess just be prepared to imagine what life is going to be like in Prison, but hey, at least you get free rent and free meals. Oh and how could I forget? Year long Lesbian sex!!!! SOund good to you Lindz??? ANyway whatever, I’m over talking about Lindz. Get help. That’s it. Enough. God Bless you Child."
followed by her most recent post
"So Lindsay, you just lost a HUGE supporter, not like you care because these days you don’t seem to care about anything. Also the fact the you’re only what, 22 or 23 years old and already all the bloating and the wrinkles are already showing! You look more like a haggard washed up 30 year old when you’re so young!!"
What I don't understand is why does Tila include a photo of herself at the end of every post? And why is she claiming to be running a "celebrity gossip blog" when it's really just "Tila's personal diary."
Tila has been reporting about her new TV show, but how come she has decided to leave this out? She even reports that "Piggy Perez" has "personally" invited her to an event, but Perez hasn't even mentioned her on his blog since Casey's death.
The comments continue to flutter, and Tila posts a voodoo doll that a "hater" made of her. The negative comments are still the ones that get the most thumbs up, and there are many comments that advise Tila to go to rehab. Maybe Tila has finally taken these comments to heart.
I am sure that the Tila Army will show their support soon enough. Maybe they are waiting for a big moment to come and "BAM BAM BOOM POW" and hit us all up with their support.
Until then, I am continuing to check her site for the sole purpose of seeing whether or not she has finally posted the "juicy celebrity gossip" that she bragged to us all about. The secrets that she been excited to release and put all the celebs who were rude to her "on blast."
Although I love reporting about the future of journalism, and my reporting interests are mainly hard news, political, justice, etc. I do enjoy the guilty pleasure celebrity/entertainment blogging that I do for this site.
I would just like it to be known that although I am being critical, I always try to stay as objective as possible. I would like to keep my credibility as a journalist and blogger, so let it be known I always cite the source that I obtained my information from & will make sure to let it be known when it's my opinion.
Post written by Nikky Raney
with any comments, concerns, suggests don't hesitate to e-mail me at nikkyraney@nikkyraney.com
Feel free to follow me on twitter, I always follow back.
NOTE: I am not a "Tila Hater." I am not trying to bash Tila. I am only reporting/blogging the facts in which I include links to show where I obtained the information from.
UPDATE: Tila has posted about Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew:
" JUST JOIN ME ON “CELEBRITY REHAB” SO YOU CAN GET BACK INTO THE STUDIO AND GIVE US MORE OF YOUR GREAT MUSIC! HOW ABOUT IT? I WILL CALL DR. DREW TOMORROW AND REFERR YOU TO HIM. I WOULD TOALLY BE YOUR SUPPORT! HOWEVER UF LINDSAY WAS THERE, I THINK I MAY HAVE TO SLAP HER A FEW TIMES BACK INTO REALITY!!! BITCH YOU ARE WORSE OFF THEN ME!! AT LEAST I STILL GET PAID, BUT YOUR ASS PRANCES AROUND, GETTING BOO’D ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, STEAL HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF JEWLRY! GEEZ GIRL….YOU ARE TOTALLY BEYOND TRAIN WRECK?? WHAT’S WORST THAN A “TRAIN WRECK?” a train wreck that has illusions of grandeur and is an elitist! Girl please. I once was one of your biggest supporters, but now seeing the way you behave and talk as though you’re on coke 24/7…. uh oh…. please I change my mind DR. Drew. DO NOT LET LINDSAY LOHAN GO ON THE SHOW BECAUSE IF SHE DID, I WOULD TOTALLY LOSE MY PATIENCE WITH THAT BROIKE, DRUG ADDICT ELITIST AND STRAIGHT KNOCK THAT BITCH OUT!!!! GOD SHE JUST IS SO PATHETIC TO ME NOW. EVEN I HAVE MORE MONEY THAN SHE DOES… HOW SAD."
It's not just Arizona, my friends.
Springfield, TN City Council Alderman Ken Cherry wants to ban all Hispanics from Springfield's parks because "If they're speaking Spanish, I tend to think they are illegal." That's far from his most extreme position, though.
Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, political staffer, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Real Housewives of New York's Ramona Singer's interior design fight
Ramona Singer |
The NY Daily News, reports that Interior Designer Rona Landman says she reportedly "redecorated some of "The Real Housewives of New York's" Ramona Singer's upper East Side pad — is sick and tired of not getting credit (or enough dough, for that matter)" to quote the publication.
But what some is, is at issue. Moreover, Ramona Singer says she paid Rona Landman around $20,000 and has the invoices to prove it. Frankly that much for the Upper East Side is not a lot of money, especially when contracts can be as much as a million dollars.
Ramona Singer said she wanted to help Rona Landman because her work's terrific. Frankly, Singer should have called Christine Smith Associates (CSA), the premier female interior designer and contractor in New York in this blogger's biased view. CSA is sponsoring the Zennie62 coverage of Tech Crunch Disrupt.
But Ramona Singer can take care of that when she returns to New York; according to The Blackbook, Singer's in Africa with the nonprofit Africa Foundation. Both are seeing the new homes built in an undisclosed part of Africa.
Stay tuned.
Los Angeles Events: Academy (AMPAS) has Monday and Wednesday events
The AMPAS Building |
On Monday, May 24th at 7:30 PM at The Samuel Goldwyn Theater at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, AMPAS continues the series "Oscar Noir: 1940s Writing Nominees from Hollywood's Dark Side," with the 1944 feature Laura.
Laura, a film starring Gene Tierney, was about a police detective who falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating. It will be introduced by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Scott Frank (Out of Sight, Minority Report).
Laura earned five Academy Award nominations, including Actor in a Supporting Role (Clifton Webb), Black - and - White Art Direction (Lyle Wheeler, Leland Fuller; Interior Decoration: Thomas Little) and Directing (Otto Preminger), and took home the Oscar for Black - and - White Cinematography (Joseph LaShelle).
Here's the trailer from Laura:
Tickets for Laura are $5, $3 for Academy Members and students with an ID. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, CA.
On Wednesday, May 26, at 7 p.m, AMPAS has Oscar nominees The Conscience of Nhem En and Standard Operating Procedure showing as part of its' 28th annual "Contemporary Documentaries" series at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.
Admission to all screenings in the series is free.
For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.
Celtics and Lakers? get ready because Orlando Magic look bad
The Boston Celtics are already ahead two games to none, and part of the reason is that the Orlando Magic just don't look like they want the game.
The Boston Celtics probably feel that they were counted out this year; no one gave them a chance. They're correct about that. Indeed, it even looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to end the Celtics playoff run until someone told the Cavs they could actually beat the Celtics, then they collapsed.
On this, the day of the 30th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, it looks like The Force is with the Boston Celtics. But can they sustain it against the Los Angeles Lakers? Personally, while the Lakers should be the favorite, The Boston Celtics will give them a run for their playoff money.