Just Go With It Review

The movie Just Go With It starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler was brilliant, but instead of just writing about it - here's a vlog from right after seeing the movie:




The movie was really better than originally expected, but the original expectation was still very high since the two stars in this movie are incredible. It is a family appropriate film as well as a date night movie that will bring laughs. There's one main storyline followed by a completely unexpected situation which leads to a man lifting up a coconut using only his butt.

Vivian Schiller's Resignation

Poynter.com reports that Vivian Schiller of NPR has resigned, and NPR media reporter David Folkenflik posted on Twitter that Schiller was forced out.

This controversy began in October when Juan Williams was fired from NPR. The Wall Street Journal online now poses the question of should the federal funding of NPR, National Public Radio, be discontinued? There are already fights for Public Television's federal and state funding as well.

The Christian Science Monitor writes:

Critics have long complained that NPR is a bunch of effete liberal snobs. On the hidden camera video, Mr. Schiller looks like a caricature of just such a person. He says the Republican Party is “anti-intellectual” and the tea party is “xenophobic,” and implies that conservatives are uneducated. Plus, he himself makes the argument as to why NPR should lose federal funds.


The NPR blogs only give quick links about why their CEO and President has stepped down.

The Associated Press' official report states:

NPR's president and CEO resigned Wednesday in an effort to limit the damage from hidden camera footage of a fellow executive deriding the tea party movement as "seriously racist." Conservatives called the video proof that the network is biased and undeserving of federal funds.

NPR's board had pushed for the resignation of Vivian Schiller, whom conservatives also criticized in October for firing analyst Juan Williams over comments he made about Muslims. She was not in the video, which was posted Tuesday by a conservative activist, but she told The Associated Press that staying on would only hurt NPR's fight for federal money.

SF Public Defender Drops 40 Cases After SF Video Surveillance Scandal

As of the writing of this blog post, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi is in the process of announcing that 40 criminal cases involving officers implicated for conducting illegal searches on suspects in the SFPD surveillance video scandal will be dropped, bringing the total number of cases dropped to 57.

What happened was that recently released video from separate drug busts at two residential hotels shows that the SFPD officers involved allegedly violated search and seizure laws and committed perjury with falsified police reports. This started with claims that San Francisco police broke into homes, then lied about it under oath.

According to KTVU Channel 2 News in Oakland, the FBI is involved in the investigation as well. KTVU got a copy of another video and reports:

On Thursday, KTVU obtained a copy of the new surveillance video from a different narcotics bust in which some of the same officers, who are under investigation on similar charges, raided a similar residential hotel room.

The tape showed San Francisco plainclothes police officers serving a bench warrant after they kicked in the door of a room at the Hotel Royan and arrested a 28-year-old man for possession of crack cocaine.

"It appears that they altered the facts in their report in order to appear they lawfully seized the item," said Qiana Washington of the San Francisco’s Public Defender's office.
The San Francisco’s Public Defender’s office alleged that the officers didn't properly identify themselves and illegally searched the room.

Investigative Conflict Of Interest?

It's reported that the investigation into the SF Video Surveillance Scandal will be led by former SF PD police chief District Attorney George Gascon, who was in charge at the time of the incidents. However, while Mr. Adachi does think it's a conflict of interest to have him involved, he told KTVU "I have spoken to the district attorney and he's assured me that he will conduct an independent investigation."

Stay tuned.

Borders Books Bankruptcy Closes San Francisco Westfield Store And Cafe

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbUPYuY2SpE.

The Borders Books Bankruptcy has a claimed a major casuality. It caused the closure of the San Francisco Westfield Store And Cafe in Union Square, San Francisco. Well, more accurately, it's in the process of closing, with major discounts on books, magazines, and everything else, just to clear the inventory.

Sadly, that means no more Boarders Cafe, (called SBC Cafe) where people would meet, or work, or meet and work or study over a cup of coffee or tea. It's really too bad that the cafe had to go as part of the closure. It was the only Internet Cafe in Union Square - at least the only one that was nice, clean, and comfortable. The best part: the overstuffed chairs. Just like the one's in your living room. (Well, at least mine.)

The cafe also gave life to the otherwise sterile place that Westfield Mall can be. It's certainly nice and modern, but it's also a people-mill. Folks go in to get something, then leave. A modern shopping center can and should have places of rest. If you look at it from a business standpoint, it makes the place a destination. Sales of goods and services will certainly improve as a result.

But I digress.

I contend that Boarders could and should have seen the coming of the Internet as a distribution system and altered their business model to use it.

Still, with one empty space comes the opportunity for a new business to fill it. Hopefully Westfield ads a new Internet cafe.

Biggie Smalls Day: Find The Killer Of The Notorious BIG

On this day, 14 years ago, America lost a true cultural icon: Biggie Smalls, known as The Notorious BIG, and by his real name of Christopher George Latore Wallace. He was killed in a crime that remains, to this day, sadly and wildly unresolved. If we can put a man on the Moon, why can't we learn who killed Christopher Wallace and put that person in jail?

That's the question.

Think about it. That person who killed Christopher George Latore Wallace is running around alive, while one of the greatest rappers in history is in Heaven. Looking down on us, and wondering what the hell is going on, and he would be correct to think hell had something to do with it.

On this day, I say, find the person or persons who killed Biggie Smalls and bring them to justice.

That is all.

Chevron Ecuador: Judge Lewis Kaplan Blocks Ecuador; Ecuador Judge Worked In Fear

From one perspective, this action could be seen as the result of pissing off a judge. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, of The Southern District Of New York, granted Chevron's motion for a preliminary injunction, barring the country (not the claimed Ecuador residents but the country itself is a party to the lawsuit) from collecting on a $8 billion Ecuadorian court judgement.

 While Ecuador may choose to ignore the American judge's ruling and go after whatever money it thinks it's owed, it does not mean other jurisdictions will agree with them. Moreover, Judge Kaplan's second opinion, issued just five month after his first one, where he hammered the plaintiffs for a fraudulent presentation, is enough to give any legal system pause.

Why?  The accusations of fraud, as well as the fact that the plaintiff's lawyers have not denied any of Kaplan's claims.  Indeed, the spokesperson points to Ecuadorean Judge Nicolas Zambrano's ruling and opinion. But how can anyone take his work seriously when there's evidence the first judge Nunez was "on the take" and ready to issue a judgement against Chevron in exchange for a taste of the award? And the person who replaced Nunez, Judge Ordonez, was also accused of a lack of impartiality; he was booted, too.

And who replaced him? Nicolas Zambrano.

That's right.

And a man under pressure to get Chevron, and who admitted "I never answer the telephone or my cellphone without seeing a registered incoming number, because it could be anyone calling to insult or threaten me." In other words, this man was working in fear.

Fear.

Can you imagine what would have happened to Zambrano if he ruled for Chevron?

Stay tuned.

Jon Cryer Upsets Charlie Sheen, Who Reaches 2.3 Million Twitter Followers

Jon Cryer, Charlie Sheen's Two And A Half Men co-star, better watch out. He's just pissed-off a media mogul in the making: Charlie Sheen.

In an exclusive to E!, Sheen called Cryer a "turncoat," and said "Like I said: You're with me, or you're with the trolls Obviously he's with the trolls."

Sheen was responding to Jon Cryer's comments on Conan, where Cryer said:

It's always a little weird, because the stuff you hear is just unbelievable," he said when asked about his infamously troublemaking costar. "I'm checking TMZ, just like I do every day, to know if I have to go to work at all...There was a story, they found Charlie's car…at the bottom of a cliff," Jon said. "So, you're thinking, 'Wow, sure hope Charlie's OK.' He comes into work...You're checking for scratches. My mind had come up with this whole thing where he'd crashed the car and climbed his way back up the cliff...I said, 'How ya doing, man?' He said, 'I'm doing OK, except that somebody stole my car and ran it off a cliff last night...And normally you would not believe that from somebody. But from Charlie Sheen, you believe that. Because that happened to him. Twice. That actually happened...Apparently he had been hanging out with a porn star of some renown who had won the 2008 Best Anal...No, if you recall, 2008, that category was very tough. A lot of the ladies were stepping it up that year, and a few of the fellas.

Now, how does Cryer know about the "2008 Best Anal," and why does he care?  Conan should have asked him about that line.   But I digress.  It's obvious Cryer's not a friend, and more of a co-worker, or former co-worker.  But in fairness to Jon, his paycheck was interrupted by Charlie's behavior, so why should the man care not to say anything?

While Conan got a nice bit of pub from Jon Cryer's comments, ironically enough, so did Charlie Sheen. What people don't get is is the more society talks about Sheen, the more powerful a media presence he becomes. Now, Sheen's reached 2.3 million Twitter Followers @Charliesheen, and up from 1.3 million just last Thursday.  And even though Sheen's overall ranking of 82,848 has not improved - it's down from the 80,000 of last week - he shows signs of improving that as well.

The simple reason for the poor ranking is Sheen's not issuing a lot of retweetable updates. He's too in the habit of tweeting without links to other sites or videos. But with that, Sheen is starting to do just that, and he's learning to retweet more often, too.

But the real deal is he's got a massive following that's growing to ever larger proportions. It looks like my projection of 6 million Twitter followers over the next month or so is on schedule.

(And help me catch Charlie Sheen and reach 1 million Twitter Followers! Follow me on Twitter at @zennie62.)

Stay tuned.

Employers and Unemployed: Please Don’t Waste My Time

These days I want to scream to both Employers and the Unemployed: “Please Don’t Waste My Time!”

There is a great deal of energy being wasted in America today by millions of citizens desperately looking for work. The potential employers waste our time, the temp agencies waste our time and the politicians also waste our time, as they do nothing to correct but further deepen the chasm between the Haves and the Have Nots! We have all come to expect these energy vampires in our lives and it seems to be the exception rather than the rule just to get a confirmation from an employer or a politician, informing you they received your application/correspondence.

The type of time and energy wasting I have grown to resent the most recently has got to be the endless parade of useless petitions generated by those who feel this type of civil protest will actually do something. I am sick to death of the multitudes of petitions from 99ers and other jobless that do little more than waste what precious time and energy I for one have left for this fight.

The politicians love for us to occupy ourselves with such useless and inane endeavors as they are easy to ignore and gives the multitudes a false sense that they are doing something. Well, I for one am fed up with methods that give the masses false comfort and allow them to justify the smallest of effort as “doing their part” when in fact - they are NOT!

Effective action is what is required not useless self delusion. Ask yourselves: “What if the Wisconsin 14 and all the protestors had instead drafted a petition to fight the disgusting Union Busting by Gov. Walker?” Yes, you guessed it - NOTHING - No media coverage, no sit-ins at the Capitol and the bill would already be law by now.

Mark Twain had a very interesting and apropos saying about worry that I believe is also applicable in the case of public petitions in this day and age: “Worrying is like a Rocking chair...It will keep you busy, make you think you are doing something but it won't get you anywhere” .... neither will signing the hundreds of petitions out there specifically intended to address/resolve the 99er and related unemployment issues in America today. There is simply NO SUBSTITUTE for taking real action by getting OUT THERE and being seen constantly!

If you want to do something productive then you MUST get off of your butts and do something. Find a protest (any protest) and bring YOUR SIGN! Join in and when the media is there - do not be too shy or ashamed of your situation to talk to the press. Get on your local news and in your local papers. Let’s face it, 2011 is the Global year of the protest! People are fed up with oppression everywhere but it seems that the USA is the only country where we sit home and gripe online, sign useless petitions and expect others to take to the streets for us. We make excuses like:

I cannot get to Washington DC

I am afraid someone will recognize me if I march/appear on TV

I am too busy looking for work to get involved

I don’t want to be the only one that shows up for a rally

I get too nervous when talking to the media

NEWS FLASH: These are all just lame excuses for being either too lazy or too afraid to take responsibility for your own salvation.

Cannot get to Washington DC? THEN MARCH CLOSE TO HOME: Washington DC has millions of protestors every year - they are numb to such things there. How many marches have there been in your home town this year? That is NEWS!

Too busy looking for work to get involved? BULL! I doubt one afternoon or devoting a few hours to make a difference close to home will interfere with looking for jobs that are simply NOT THERE ANYWAY!

Don’t want to be the only one that shows up for a rally? THEN GET INVOLVED NETWORKING in U-CUBED! It costs NOTHING but a little time and effort to join the action group U-Cubed and connect with fellow unemployed in your own state to take action - but not even one state so far has even reached the 1,000 member threshold. PATHETIC!

It is unacceptable how with a minimum of 6 million UI exhaustees suffering so in this country that a FREE Union designed for the specific purpose of Strength and Unity to speak in ONE LOUD VOICE that Washington cannot ignore - has a membership of less that 5,000 - and that is not the worst of it.

Yesterday, Rick Sloan (U-Cubed Executive Director) revealed a troubling reality that equates to the typical lack of involvement of the jobless American today. From his email titled One Truly Is The Loneliest Number:

Dear UCubed Leaders and Activists:

One truly is the loneliest number. Only one UCubed member stepped up to run for UCubed State Director in exactly one state. Consequently, the scheduled 2011 elections must be cancelled.

Perhaps, by this time next year, UCubed will have sufficient mass -- and sufficient intensity and drive -- to elect its own leadership. Until then, we will build our organizational infrastructure by appointing activists who will aggressively represent the Union of Unemployed and its members at the state and regional levels.

Here at the Union of Unemployed, just like in your personal lives, each obstacle is simply another challenge to be met… as we continue our fight for the jobless.

What an exiguous, disappointing commentary on the American jobless response to an epidemic of distain from politicians and suppression of our undeclared birth rights as citizens of this great country by the rich who continue to assure they have all the power and privilege. I wonder exactly when we are going to realize that what the wealthy really FEAR is an uprising of the millions of minions - who out number them substantially.

As long as you continue to self-delude into believing you are making a difference simply by making a few calls to Washington, sending the occasional fax and signing the latest petition that comes along, YOU ARE PLAYING RIGHT INTO the System of SILENCE that is killing AMERICA.

Perhaps you are content to sit on the sidelines and say “What can one person do to make a difference anyway?” BUT unless you yourself are willing to be one of those who can make a difference in your own little corner of America - PLEASE DO NOT WASTE MY TIME sending me anymore worthless petitions on Facebook, Twitter, Change.org, Care2, Popvox or any other complete waste of my time as I am uninterested to the point of nausea!

I prefer instead to focus my energies on personal visits to lawmakers in my area, protesting with any group gathering for whatever cause that gets media attention (bringing my own 99ers sign) and working together with like minded active individuals who wish to do more that click a few computer keys a few times per month and claim to be ACTIVE in the cause. We must BOMBARD our elected officials in mass with one single message: WE ARE ANGRY AND WANT ACTION NOW to help NOT further HARM the American jobless and working poor.

Get out there and meet with real activists. Find them locally in groups like U-Cubed, on College Campus bulletin boards (computer), contact MOVE-ON.org and USUncut. Get out there and get ‘er DONE!

[The donation button below is for Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

99ers: Latest Employment, Interview Tips

The World's Most Admired Companies of 2011

CNNMoney / FORTUNE released their annual list of the World's Most Admired Companies last week. If you're looking for a job, then you're in luck--these companies are also doing some major hiring.

Here are this year's top 5 most admired companies:

1. Apple
2. Google
3. Berkshire Hathaway
4. Southwest Airlines
5. Procter & Gamble

Find a job at one of the World's Most Admired Companies!

Interview Question: "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

Whether you're a new graduate or someone with a few years of experience under your belt, you might come across interview questions about where you'd like to go in your career during your job search. One of the more common versions of this question is, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?". Although it may not be the most creative question, it's an important question to ask yourself anyway, and you should have a response prepared for the interview.

Read how to answer the question, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?".

Job Searching with a Criminal Background

We've had a few job seekers write in, asking how to deal with questions about having a criminal background. It's a question that comes up for nearly every job search, and it's usually not an easy subject to discuss. Employers have an obligation to do due diligence in the hiring process, so that they don't hire an employee that will harm others or the business. On the other hand, if an ex-offender answers truthfully, they risk not getting the job. If they lie, they risk being terminated once their record is discovered.

Learn more about job searching with a criminal background.

Findings from the February Job Trends Report

Last week, Simply Hired released its February job trends report, which found that hiring across the nation continued its slow start in the second month of the year. Job openings increased 3.8% from January 2011, with a year-over-year improvement of 49.7% from February 2010. Several industries had substantial growth in February, with Military (22.7%), Travel (20.9%) and Agriculture (20.0%) leading in increases.

See more from our February Job Trends Report

Daniel Craig (James Bond) In Drag, Dame Judy Dench On International Women's Day

Daniel Craig, who plays James Bond 007, and "M" well-represented by Dame Judy Dench, team up once again to make this effective video for International Women's Day, and WeAreEquals.org.

According to We Are Equals: "The two-minute short, specially commissioned for International Women's Day, sees 007 star Daniel Craig undergo a dramatic makeover as he puts himself, quite literally, in a woman's shoes."

This video, directed by Nowhere Boy Director and Conceptual Artist Sam Taylor-Wood, written by Jane Goldman from Kick Ass is the first James Bond movie or video to be directed by a woman.

In the video, Bond walks into an interrogation room under one light, as M starts peppering him with a series of questions on everything from pay inequality for women to domestic violence. Then M asks "For someone with such a fondness for women, I wonder if you’ve ever considered what it means to be one?"

Bond then walks off camera, then comes back into the interrogation room dressed as a blonde woman in drag. As M continues her questions, Bond wipes away a tear, and takes off his wig.

"Bond is challenged by M to think about gender inequality, says Sam Taylor-Wood, "and I hope that the film encourages viewers to do the same. Despite great advances in women's rights, statistics show that when it comes to the balance of power between the sexes, equality is far from being a global reality. As M reminds Bond, facing up to gender issues and the sometimes covert nature of sexism in the 21st century is something that we all have to recognise, confront and challenge."

Outstanding.

Frankly, I wish society would tackle Racism with the same gusto.

Meantime, hats off to Daniel Craig, Dame Judy Dench, Sam Wood-Taylor, Jane Goldman, and Barbara Broccoli, the producer of James Bond, and "Equals," the campaign for awareness.

Oakland's Larry Reid Wrongly Called Cannabis University Graduate

Like his Oakland City Council colleague Councilmember Desley Brooks (District 6 - Central East Oakland), Oakland City Council President Larry Reid (District 7 - East Oakland) also supposedly received a "Diploma of Certified Seedling," last year, and from the Oakland-based institution called UniCann.

Or did he?

The video's title - "Councilmember Larry Reid University of Cannabis graduate" - is just plain wrong. There's no video evidence of Councilmember Reid receiving the kind of diploma Brooks got last year. The video just has Larry expressing his gratitude for the location of the University of Cannabis facility in his District 7. Reid just says "Congratulations. Welcome to Oakland."

Here's the video:



It's no wonder the video's not being pushed via Twitter the way the video with Councilmember Brooks has been (and by members of the local and regional pot growing industry with Twitter accounts at @GroMaster, @M24Cabbage, and @calpotnews) - it's not accurate at all with respect to its title.

I'll bet Larry's going to bust a gut when he sees this.  And he should; they misrepresented him.

Larry Reid almost hates to be on video, or at least he consistently ducks doing a video interview with this blogger, so to see this video - like the Brooks videos, not touched by the general media until this space found them - is a surprise. But it's also a window into why Reid is careful to do videos of any kind - this video was title to by misleading and it is.    The Thinking Pot - the YouTube channel that uploaded the video, should change its title.

Indeed, that wasn't very thoughtful of them.

Charlie Sheen Fired; Will Smith Most Bankable Actor In Hollywood

While Charlie Sheen falls, Will Smith rises.

According to James Ulmer of The Ulmer Scale, a 100-factor list that tracks who's hot and who's not (also called a "bankability score") in the entertainment industry, as of this writing, Will Smith, best known as one part of the rap duo D.J. Jassy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, and for the TV show The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, and movies like Ali, and Independence Day, and Legend, is the most bankable star at the top of The Ulmer Scale.

Meanwhile, Two And A Half Men star Charlie Sheen, who was officially fired by Warner Bros today, is "tanking," according to a phone conversation this blogger had with James Ulmer, the list's creator.

Right now, Ulmer says Sheen, is "not bankable," and explains that Hollywood insurance bonding agencies may not be willing to take a chance on him because of the enormous costs associated with losing a day of shooting on a movie set because of, say, an actor's break to enter drug rehab.

What's The Ulmer Scale?

The scale look at "how risky it is to hire actors to make movies," says Ulmer. According to its website, The Ulmer Scale...

"...scores each actor's bankability by three different budget levels. The first is for "art house" movies costing up to $8 million; the second is for mid-range films in the $8 million-$30 million range; and the third level is for studio movies made for more than $30 million...The results of these surveys are then compiled and ranked by a 100-point index. Each actor is assigned four scores next to his or her name. There is one for each of the three different budget levels of a film (up to 100 points per budget level), as well as a total score adding up the previous three (the highest possible being 300 points). These scores are then assembled into The Ulmer Scale's proprietary A+, A, B+, B, C and D lists -- and the closely-watched "Uppers" and "Downers" lists of the biggest gainers and losers in star power.

Does Twitter Help Sheen?

Will Sheen's social media success help? Sheen's set the record time of reaching 1 million followers on Twitter, and has worked to monetize the medium for himself. "Right now," says Ulmer, "Sheen's toxic." Ulmer can't see that money will come pouring out for the son of Martin Sheen. Plus, Ulmer, who's based in Hollywood, says Charlie's not listening to the people who he's formed relationships with.

Hollywood's Not Happy With Sheen

One of those people is Two And A Half Men creator Chuck Lorre, who cancelled production of the last four episodes of the series after Sheen called him by his real name Chime Levine. Since Lorre's real name is Jewish, the comment was seen by some in the Jewish community as Anti-Semetic. But Sheen claims that since some in his family, including his mother, are Jewish, he wasn't being Anti-Semetic. Still, the damage is done. "Hollywood's very sensitive to Anti-Semetism," Ulmer said, "what Charlie said was something you don't do."

Will Smith and Johnny Depp Rise

Meanwhile, Will Smith, who currently commands about $20 million per film, chugs along. He scores 100 the top of a list that includes Johnny Depp with 95 score, Brad Pitt (88), Tom Hanks (87), George Clooney (86), Will Ferrell (85), Reese Witherspoon (85), Nicholas Cage (84)m Leonardo DiCaprio (81), and Russell Crowe (81).

What About The Women?

If you note, there's only one woman in Ulmer's Top 10 List, Reese Witherspoon, and the reasons given for this by Ulmer himself are eyeopening and unfortunate: "Hollywood is sexist," he says. "It's tough for women. And they're viewed as more bankable in ensemble roles." So that's why you don't see a lot of women action heros in movies, and it may be one reason why it's taken so long to get a movie version of "Wonder Woman" off the ground. Ulmer reports that the recession's made it harder for women to land well-monetized roles.

On his website, Ulmer says:

Women sustained the most wide-ranging losses. Former no. 1 female star Julia Roberts slipped 11 points to 12th place overall with 80 points, moving off the A+ list for the first time in 15 years due largely to her reduced workload in the past two years. However, Roberts still managed to come in second among women after top-seated Reese Witherspoon, who scored 85 points to earn 7thth place among all stars in The Ulmer Scale’s global bankability survey of film industry professionals. Witherspoon is the only woman to make the Hot List’s Top 10 List.

Hollywood's Losing Ground To The Web

While Charlie Sheen may not be bankable in Hollywood, one fact provides a ray of hope for the entertainment legend: Ulmer says that the overall larger number of platforms other than movies have damaged the overall value of Hollywood's actors. "Stars’ scores have shrunk because they must increasingly compete for eyeballs with all kinds of screens beyond the silver one," Ulmer reports on his website.

That may provide some comfort to Charlie Sheen. Now that he's fired from his gig on Two And A Half Men, Sheen will have more desire than ever to succeed online. His success could spell the beginning of the end of Hollywood's dominance in providing paid work for actors.

Stay tuned.