ABC and The Academy Extend Oscar Telecast Agreement

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just issued a press release announcing the extension of their TV agreement with the ABC Television Network . Here's the AMPAS release, in full:

The ABC Television Network's contract to carry the annual Academy Awards presentations has been extended for six more years, though 2020, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ President Tom Sherak and Anne Sweeney, President of the Disney/ABC Television Group, announced today.

"This contract ensures that the Oscar show will be an ABC tradition for 45 consecutive years," said Sherak. "ABC is absolutely the very best place for the Academy Awards, a television event that is beloved and watched by millions of movie lovers all over the world."

"ABC has been home to the Oscars for many years, having aired a total of 46 of the annual telecasts, so we’re thrilled to announce that this tradition will continue," said Sweeney. "During that time, we’ve enjoyed a tremendous partnership with the Academy, pairing the best in movies with the best in television, and look forward to a long and successful collaboration in the years to come."

Academy Executive Director Bruce Davis added, "The Oscars remain the most-watched non-sports program in America, and we’re delighted that ABC will continue to be the setting for that jewel. The network has consistently demonstrated an understanding of what makes us unique, and has energetically supported those qualities."

The new agreement for the domestic broadcasts of the Academy Awards adds six years to the existing contract, which was scheduled to expire in 2014. International rights are covered by a separate agreement with Walt Disney International which runs through 2014.

The 83rd Academy Awards, which will air live on Sunday, February 27, will be the 36th consecutive ceremony to air on ABC.

Be sure to catch full Oscars coverage at Zennie62.com, ramping up on Friday!

NASA Discovery's Final Space Shuttle Launch

CNN reports that NASA's shuttle Discovery will launch its final mission today as the program comes to an end:

Taken from Reuters

Parking lots, batches of grass on the side of the road and parks with a view of the Kennedy Space Center are filled with people hoping to witness a spectacular launch. More than 60,000 people are expected at the Kennedy Space Center said NASA to witness the launch and that doesn't include the tens of thousands of spectators along the Indian River.

Hundreds have been packing into Space View Park in Titusville, Florida, where memorials to previous space programs are displayed.

NASA's web site gives the specific schedule in technical terms:

"Date: Feb. 24
Mission: STS-133
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 4:50 p.m. EST
Landing Date and Time: March 7, 12:44 p.m. EST
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
STS-133 Description: Space shuttle Discovery will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-4 (ELC-4), a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) and critical spare components to the International Space Station on an 11 day mission. "

There are sure to be more updates.
Ways in which you can watch it live include Citizen-Times.com.

Lincoln Tunnel Accident, New York: 61 Injured, 2 Buses Crash

This horrible news comes from New York City. There are reports of now up to 61 people hurt in a massive accident in the Lincoln Tunnel that involved two buses and a motorcyclist.

According to NJ.com, two buses crashed into a motorcycle in the tunnel earlier this morning. The motorcyclist was between the buses when the front one stopped for traffic and the bus behind rammed into the cycle.

The rider was severely injured and taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with a fractured femur and shoulder.

A total of at first 52 reported, and now 61 people were injured; 13 of them taken to Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

NJ transit added seven trains from Secaucus to New York to help stranded passengers.

More later.

from Wisconsin: "Mubarak for Governor" signs

According to the Associated Press, the legislators in the "Wisconsin Assembly have agreed to a deal that will limit further debate on a bill taking away collective bargaining rights for public workers and lead to a vote on the measure later Thursday," possibly as early as noon.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Police in Madison is asking the governor to explain "troubling" and "unsettling" statements the loose-lipped rookie Governor made while he thought he was on the phone with billionaire David Koch.

"I find it very unsettling and troubling that anyone would consider creating safety risks for our citizens and law enforcement officers. Our department works hard dialoging with those who are exercising their First Amendment right, those from both sides of the issue, to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure they can demonstrate safely."

Police Chief Noble Wray
Madison, WI
Wisconsin State Journal, 24 Feb 2011

"There are a lot of folks out there who say, ‘It doesn't impact me, I'm not a union guy, I'm not a teacher, I'm not a civil servant.' Let me tell you how it does matter to you. Wages are going down in this country for everybody. When you destroy unions there will be no standard at all, nobody left to negotiate decent jobs for the middle class..."

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
Statement, 23 Feb 2011

"I would like to hear more of an explanation from Governor Walker as to what exactly was being considered, and to what degree it was discussed by his cabinet members."

Police Chief Noble Wray
Madison, WI
Wisconsin State Journal, 24 Feb 2011

The Chief has some legitimate questions, and the rest of the cheeseheads are coming up with some really great signs at the Madison protests, don't you think?

Political Correspondent Thomas Hayes is a former Congressional Campaign Manager; he's a journalist, photo/videographer, entrepreneur, and communications consultant who contributes regularly on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community, who incidentally stands in solidarity with the citizens and workers in Wisconsin refusing to let their Governor's self-created budget "crisis" and new spending priorities be re-cast as a reason to undermine contractual obligations and collective bargaining agreements.

You can follow Tom as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet

Yahoo! MyBlogLog To Be Discontinued May 24, 2011

"Yahoo! MyBlogLog To Be Discontinued May 24, 2011." That's the message of a note that just popped up in my email inbox. This one:

Dear MyBlogLog Customer,

You have been identified as a customer of Yahoo! MyBlogLog. We will officially discontinue Yahoo! MyBlogLog effective May 24, 2011. Your agreement with Yahoo!, to the extent that it applies to the Yahoo! MyBlogLog, will terminate on May 24, 2011.

After May 24, 2011 your credit card will no longer be charged for premium services on MyBlogLog. We will refund you the unused portion of your subscription, if any. The refund will appear as a credit via the billing method we have on file for you. To make sure that your billing information is correct and up to date, visit https://billing.yahoo.com.

Questions?
If you have questions about these changes, please visit the Yahoo! MyBlogLog help pages.

We thank you for being a customer on Yahoo! MyBlogLog.

Sincerely,

The Yahoo! My BlogLog Team

Yep.  Come May, it's toast.  

Yahoo acquired MyBlogLog, the blog list social network system, in 2007 for $10 million. Acquiring it was reportedly the idea of Bradley Horowitz, who was a Yahoo exec in charge of strategy. But then, Horowitz smartly bolted Yahoo for Google, where he's over Blogger.com, Google Buzz, and other product initiatives.

But Yahoo killing My BlogLog is just plainly a dumb idea. In the Internet space, real estate is king. My BlogLog offered Yahoo a way to partner with blogs and share Yahoo-produced content. Well, all that's over now, it seems.

I have always liked MyBlogLog's concept of linking blogs and readers. It was ahead of its time, and Yahoo buying it was a smart play in 2007.  The trouble is Yahoo never built off of it.  Yahoo just owned it.  Now, it's getting rid of it.

I'm just waiting to see what Yahoo's next error's going to be.

Stay tuned.

Ongo, NY Times, AP, News Aggregator, Finally Has Price On Website

Well, for those who question the power of a well-placed blog post, take note. Ongo, the new media aggregator this blogger presented in a post on Thursday, February 10th, actually changed its website design in response to an enormous error first identified in this space.

To recap, it was last reported...

Ongo, with Alex Kazim as its CEO, was started with a $12 million first tranche of funding (not bad) from Gannett Company, The New York Times Company, and The Washington Post Company (not VC firms at all), it combines the following established news print media brands: The Associated Press, The Guardian, Slate, The Boston Globe The Miami Herald, USA TODAY, Financial Times, New York Times Picks, The Washington Post, The Indy Star, The Kansas City Star, The Miami Herald, Charlotte Observer, Detroit Free Press, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and other print titles. (not The San Francisco Chronicle as of this writing.)

You have to subscribe to get its information, which is news content from those publications. Ongo is an "inny" or what's called a "closed loop." A system, (1) the existence of which you have to know about as a brand, and then (2) information's sent out to you and (3) only after you pay for it.

As of this writing (in case they fix it), I go to the Ongo website, and right at the top I see three links: "Ongo Is.., How Ongo Works, and in large letters, SUBSCRIBE.

Ok, so I click on SUBSCRIBE expecting to know what the cost to do so is, right? Makes sense. When I click on the link, I'm taken to a page that's just a bunch of simple HTML entry fields, and nothing - not a thing - telling me how much the subscription is, and for how long. According to The Examiner's Romona Paden, it's $6.99 per month, but that must have come from the PR folks, because guess what...it's not listed on the dog-on Ongo website!

Well, since then, Ongo's staff, led by content director Kevin Skaggs, fixed the problem. As of this writing, a visit to the Ongo site reveals a right-side panel that briefly explains what Ongo is about, what it costs to sign up, and an email list subscription field.

That's great.

But since Kevin's obviously in the mode of responding to my observations, here's another: the Ongo site doesn't tease you with content samples right on the front page.  You have to click on "available titles" to see what content is offered.  Even then, the content is not designed such that it contributes to the overall search optimization for the site.  If Ongo represents the "top news sites," it should compete for search placement in the news of the day.

As I've stated, Ongo's major problem is that it's an "inny," which, to reiterate, is what's called a "closed loop." A system, (1) the existence of which you have to know about as a brand, and then (2) information's sent out to you and (3) only after you pay for it.

Ongo's brands aren't strong enough to warrant this approach. Take a page from The Huffington Post: SEO is king.  (And I offered the example of The Huff Post deliberately.  Let's see who takes the bait.)

Stay tuned.

Nikky's Revamped Body Transformation by 21 with Debby Kaplan

I will come up with a cute graphic to use as a header

So instead if just typing it out - here are photos of what is going to be going on the next 3 months. The February detox plan did not work out the way we hoped it would, but trial and error and we learn and we are now able to work even better and harder together. There's a physical folder, a weekly list of goals, debby's e-mails, notes from weekly coaching sessions from debby (phone coaching sessions), there will be soon a video, weekly food log and exercise log. Make sure to visit her web site http://yourfitday.com

It's great that she is working with this college girl and already others have been inspired through this and have been messaging with questions and anticipate seeing this all in action.

So here are the photos of what's to come:

I recorded a video with my camera but I don't know if I'll use the footage. I might just wait until I get Zennie's flipcam

Academy Awards: Dame Helen Mirren, Javier Bardem, McConaughey Presenters

In rapid-fire fashion, AMPAS, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and owners of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, and show producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced today that Dame Helen Mirren, Javier Bardem, and Matthew McConaughey are to be presenters for Sunday's Oscars telecast on ABC.

Mirren, for whom this blogger said shows "that hotness knows no age," has been nominated for an Oscar four time, and won for her Best Actress performance in The Queen. Mirren received an Oscar nomination in 2009 for her leading performance in The Last Station and she received nominations for her supporting performances in 1994 for The Madness of King George and for Gosford Park in 2001.

Javier Bardem is a three-time Oscar nominee, including this year as a Best Actor nominee for Biutiful. He's one an Oscar once, in 2007 for No Country For old Men.

Matthew McConaughey is a veteran actor, current starring in the upcoming The Lincoln Lawyer and Killer Joe. Mr. McConaughey's other film credits include A Time to Kill, Amistad, Ed TV, The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Tropic Thunder.

The Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented this Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide. Catch our coverage at Zennie62.com.

Academy Awards: Night Of 100 Stars Oscar Party

This is the event I'm as excited about as The 83rd Annual Academy Awards. It's Norby Walters 21st Annual Night Of 100 Stars Oscar Viewing Party at The Beverly Hills Hotel. And once again this blogger will be on hand, but this time joined by some friends: a group of very cool video-bloggers: Marla Schulman of Life After Kids TV, Jen Friel of Talk Nerdy To Me Lover, and Milena Merrill.   We're going to bring you coverage starting Saturday, really, but ramping up to the Night Of 100 Stars On Sunday.  Just follow Zennie62.com for the whole thing, but now, let me tell you about the "Night of 100 Stars" party.

And frankly, I could not do better than Hollywood PR Guru Ed Lozzi's terrific press release. Here's a taste of it.

On Oscar Sunday February 27th, the Beverly Hills Hotel's Crystal Ballroom will once again provide the venue for the arrival of approximately 150-200 film and TV stars who will attend the hottest celebrity Awards party in town with even bigger names than last year.

Norby Walters, veteran music agent, reprises his role as Producer and Dinner Chairman.

The formal sit-down dinner viewing party has always included past Oscar winners and nominees who will return to pay tribute to this year's favorite Award nominees. Stars and their guests will be dressed to the nines in Formal fashions represented by the nations finest design houses.

The media has always rated the Night of 100 Stars as one of the top Award parties. The Daily News rated this party as "...the number one Oscar party, just for the sheer number of celebrities attending...". ABC's Good Morning America covers this party from inside and said. " Voting Academy members flock to the Night of 100 Stars and we are here tonight with many former Oscar and Golden Globe winners. Is this an Oscar party or the Golden Globes"?

The Night of 100 Stars Awards Party is sponsored this year by RICHARD MILLE, one of the world's youngest and most expensive luxury watch brands. richard-mille.com

Numerous former Academy Award winners and nominees turned out Sunday during the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Gala..including (150 stars) Richard Dreyfuss, Martin Landau, Fred Willard, James Cromwell, Ron Perlman, Renee Taylor, Jason Ritter, and so many more.

2011 Celebrity List to Follow - A Partial List of last year's Attendees - many expected this year
Tom Sizemore, Ron Perlman, Billie Burke(Twilight), Peter Facinelli(Twilight), Kevin McKidd (Grey's Anatomy), Jennie Garth, Michael Nouri, Traci Lords, Armand Asante, Bo Derek, John Corbett, Michael Clark Duncan, Joey Pantoliano, Tia Carrere, Robert Carradine, Annie Wersching(star of "24") and Gloria Allred with client Veronica Siwik-Daniels aka Joslyn James-(Tiger Woods girlfriend) ....expected is Sean Astin, Krista Allen, Ed Asner, Jason Alexander, Powers Boothe, Daniel Baldwin, Jermain Jackson, Timothy Busfield, Joe Bologna, Susan Blakely, John Corbet, Keith Carradine, David Hasselhoff, James Cromwell, Stephen Collins, Michael Chiklis, David Carradine, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Dreyfuss, Kevin Dillon, Lolita Davidovich, Robert Davi, Bruce Davison, Lou & Carla Ferrigno, Frances Fisher, Dave Foley, Peter Fonda, Jon Favreau, Joley Fisher, Robert Forster, Jeff Garlin, James Darren, Carla Gugino, Dominick Dunne(in memorium), Lou Gossett Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Dule Hill, Cheryl Hines, Monty Hall, Harry Hamlin, Marilu Henner, Ken Howard, Jack Klugman, Richard Karn, Martin Landau, Ron Livingston, Hal Linden, Richard Lewis, Sharon Lawrence, Michael Lerner, Matthew Modine, Chris McDonald, Camryn Manheim, Dylan McDermott, Jesse Metcalfe, Ming-Na, Judd Nelson, Kevin Nealon, Danielle Panabaker, Kevin Pollak, Stephanie Powers, Michelle Phillips, Lou Diamond Phillips, Freddie Rodriguez, Jason Ritter, Brande Roderick, Adam Rodriguez, Pat Richardson, George Segal, Fred Savage, John Schneider, Tony Shaloub, Kevin Sorbo, Rob Schneider, Amber Tamblyn, Jennifer Tilly, the GEICO Caveman, and over 100 more are expected. In an ongoing tribute to our friend Anna Nicole Smith, who attended our party regularly, Norby Walters has invited over 75 Playboy Playmates and Playboy models . Last year over 30 of the Playmates and 20 Playboy models attended.

Almost 60 Academy Award Winners and Nominees have previously attended and many are expected including: Jamie Foxx, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Danny Aiello, Jennifer Tilly, Linda Blair, Michael Lerner, Sally Kirkland, Gary Busey, Bruce Davison, , Richard Dreyfuss, Cathy Moriarty, Kathleen Quinlan, Eric Roberts, Lynn Redgrave, Robert Forster, Diane Ladd, Caroll Baker, Rip Torn, Charles Durning, Dean Stockwell, Robert Stack, Theodore Bikel, Don Murray, Cliff Robertson, William H. Macy, Samantha Eggar, Kevin McCarthy, Glynis Johns, Terry Moore, Burt Young, Karen Black, Eddie Albert, George Chakiris, James Cromwell, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Franciosa, Shirley Jones, Elliott Gould, Tony Curtis, Martin Landau, David Paymer, Robert Loggia, Renee Taylor, Joe Bologna, Rod Steiger, Brenda Vaccaro, Shirley Knight, James Whitmore, Shelley Winters, Pat Morita, Patricia Neal, Stuart Whitman, Carrie Snodgrass, Seymour Cassel, Lesley Ann Warren, Russ Tamblyn, Maximillian Schell, Sally Kellerman and Mickey Rooney.

In other words, it's a pretty big deal of an Oscar party.  But really, it's a lot of fun.  It's also a chance to talk to some stars who've had a major impact on American Culture.  One of them is my favorite, Actress Sean Young (DUNE, No Way Out, Blade Runner, Stripes, Wall Street), who, in this video from last year's party, talked about Hollywood and women:



Also, Actor Stephen Collins, who this Trekker remembers from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, stopped by to talk about J.J. Abrams take on Star Trek and about The Hurt Locker. Currently, Collins plays Dr. Dayton King in the TV series No Ordinary Family. Here's Mr. Collins:



I also met Jason Ritter and his girlfriend, Actress Marianna Palka, at the Night Party 2010. Then, they were pushing her movie Good Dick The Movie. Now, Ritter's "Mark Cyr" on Parenthood and "Sean Walker" on The Event. Marianna Palka's just finished Restive and Modern Romance, both of which are in post production. Here's Jason and Marianna:



This year's Night of 100 Stars Oscar party will be just as fun, and afterward we'll all go down to the Beverly Hills Hotel Polo Lounge for drinks.

Stay tuned!

Gold's Gym Oakland: Kortney Olson FBB Workout (Call Her KO)

Ever wonder what a hard-core fitness workout looks like? If so, you've come to the right place.

In this 21 minute video, you are taken through a fitness workout session with my friend Kortney Olson, a Northern California-based certified personal trainer, model, female bodybuilder, and strong woman who's changing how people think about women in fitness.

Oakland Gold's Gym in Oakland, at 600 Grand Avenue, was the venue for Kortney's workout, which she does with an eye for giving women viewers tips for their own workouts. I've been a member of Gold's for about 15 years now, and back to when it was called The Lake Merritt Fitness Club. Located at 600 Grand Avenue and managed by Norris Lewis and Cory Cheatham, Gold's is a full-service gym for both hard-core bodybuilders, and people just trying to stay in shape.

We're joined by my friend, female bodybuilder and personal trainer Megan Avalon as well, who really just happened to be working out that day, much to our surprise and luck. Both Megan and Kortney are training for upcoming bodybuilding contests, but both also train clients. Moreover, Megan and Kortney, or "KO" as she likes to be called, are part of a growing number of "TV-ready" women fitness professionals who want to have their own fitness shows. As you can see, they're both ready for prime time.

Here, Korney Olsen shows you how to use the stairmaster not just to workout your legs, but your abs, too. Then, we go upstairs where she shows us how to effectively work on our biceps using a weight machine, but then also free weights, using a bench to sit on. Finally, KO takes us through a yoga-style stretching routine that's hard to do, but once mastered will keep you in shape.

All of this is done at Gold's Gym Oakland. It's one the best neighborhood fitness facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area. And all of this is due to the attention Norris and his staff give to members.

(I also must point out that this Gold's Gym is also not going to be that in about a year - yep, it's leaving the brand - and in protest to national Gold's Gym's CEO Robert Rowling's actions in giving to the anti-Gay organization American Crossroads.  Gold's Gym Oakland has put out a statement that it's not in support of the national Gold's Gym owners giving to anti-Gay politicians and is a place that is welcome, open, and friendly to all.)

Check out Gold's Gym at 600 Grand Avenue, next to Lake Merritt in the Adams Point District of Oakland.

The Truth About WI Teacher's Pay

The data on how much is spent on teacher's pay isn't hard to find, but the truth may bother WI's Governor in his bid to blame unions and collective bargaining for his budget priorities:

The average teacher's salary across all Wisconsin districts is $48,267.  According to the Census Bureau’s Median Household Income by State – Single-Year Estimates the average household income in Wisconsin is $51,237 -- a difference of $2,970/year which would amount to a 6% raise if teachers were just brought up to the average.

Collective bargaining hasn't made Wisconsin teachers rich, it hasn't even brought them level with the rest of their state, but their new Governor wants to impose a new regulation restricting their rights.  If you ask me, that's new government regulations when the GOP has been telling us job creation is their priority.

Actions speak louder than words.

If you want to dig deeper, or verify the data on teacher pay, check the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction link: "Statistical Information Center - School Staff and Salary Data." It's all there: the low salary, high salary, average salary, average fringe, average local experience, average total experience for staff in each public school district, and more, in spreadsheets you can download.

If Governor Scott Walker hasn't blocked access, that is.

Political Correspondent Thomas Hayes is a former Congressional Campaign Manager; he's a journalist, photo/videographer, entrepreneur, and communications consultant who contributes regularly on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community, who incidentally stands in solidarity with the citizens and workers in Wisconsin refusing to let their Governor's self-created budget "crisis" and new spending priorities be re-cast as a reason to undermine contractual obligations and collective bargaining agreements.

You can follow Tom as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet

Science you want to know: Epigenetic research explains what makes us human

So much of science promises a lot...and then never delivers. It's enough to make you sigh and roll your eyes every time you see a screaming headline about a new type of research. That's why so many of us don't really want to dig in and try to understand some of the newer developments in basic science. It's hard to argue with an I'll Just Wait Until Something Real Appears approach. Well, epigenetics is an area whose time has come. Whether you're an investor looking at potential therapeutic developments, or a social justice activist fascinated by the intersection of environment and health, or a passionate animal-lover (are you out there, Ken White?) wondering exactly what it is that makes us human, or an armchair social scientist pondering how people's lives are affected by their choices (and visa versa), epigenetics is something you want to delve into. But where do you start?

In fact, once the horse is already out of the barn (and high school biology is a dim traumatic memory), how do you get your head around something that sounds as complex as "epigenetics"? Well here's your chance for a user-friendly explanation with a clear-headed look at epigenetic's promise and limitations. Check it out. Then pass it on to colleagues, friends, and your buddies who like to argue down at the pub.

"Epigenetics is now the hottest topic in biosciences," began our California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship's keynote address by Randy Jirtle of Duke University. More....