Sunday, July 29, 2007
Iron Man Movie Debut At San Diego Comic-Con
Wow. This is a movie that can only be done using today's CGI technology. Plus, in casting Robert Downey, Jr. as the modern Tony Stark, they may have just got him right. Check this out:
The CNN Roland Martin Debates Show in NYC - Zennie's Transcript
CNN's just posted the transcript from the CNN Roland Martin Debates Show which was shown on Friday, July 27, 2007. Here's the text below. But some information, first my name is spelled Zennie, not Zenni. That's about it; here it is:
MARTIN: Joining me now, the four people you just saw asking those YouTube questions. Kim Friedrich, a working mom who's battling breast cancer; Lucas Brown Eyes, and award winning film student; Zenni Abraham, CEO of Sports Business Simulations, and Lori Harfenist, a TV producer from New York.
Now Kim, I got to start with you. You got lots of attention worldwide as a result of your question.
FRIEDRICH: Yes, I did.
MARTIN: And a lot of people were shocked when you took your wig off. What led you to say: I need to do this, to get this point across?
FRIEDRICH: Actually it was anger at Senator Edwards and his wife. The day that Mrs. Edwards, that they had that press conference that she had cancer again, I heard one thing out of it. In 48 hours, she went from thinking she had an unrelated problem to cancer, to finding out that she might have cancer to having tests, to having biopsy, to having treatment all in 48 hours. I was home having -- recovering from my biopsy at the time and what took me four months, that's what they did in 48 hours, because I didn't have health insurance.
MARTIN: You know what? We got a lot of questions in this debate dealing with healthcare, and that's really personal to me, because like a lot of folks, in 2000, covered the Democratic National Convention, my appendix ruptured, in the hospital five days, $70,000 and frankly, I ended up having to file for bankruptcy because the healthcare bills were absolutely phenomenal.
Kim, you talked about the anger. Lucas, talk about that, because a lot of folks were angry.
BROWN EYES: Yeah.
MARTIN: In the questions, they were really upset.
BROWN EYES: Well, that's because the people who feel like they're not heard are angry. If you don't feel like you're being heard, you're going to be angry. And YouTube allowed them to speak. So naturally, you're going to get a lot of anger. Like my generation, I'm going to college and a lot of my friends are angry because they can't afford to go to college, so they're going to a college that isn't their first choice, they're going to a community when they can't afford it and they're angry about it, which prompted me to make my video.
ABRAHAM: His anger came out as humor.
(INAUDIBLE)
MARTIN: Now, that was good, that was good. Now Laura, talk about that. This whole issue of this YouTube debate. Has it really advanced the political process? Do you think it really changed anything?
HARFENIST: I think it did because I think it got people really thinking that they can actually make a difference for a change. I know, for myself, before I even voted I felt completely apathetic because politics seems over here, everyone seems the same. This forum really allowed people to, you know, come into more -- all the candidates in a more natural vernacular, they lost the finger pointing a lot, which I really appreciated. Unfortunately it's back, right now.
But, I was happy to see that it made it feel approachable. I think young people are going to start voting a lot more because they feel like, wow, you know what? I can actually make a difference.
MARTIN: And we saw a large spike in terms of the 18-49 demo, really watching, now.
Zenni, let's talk about this debate, took place four days ago.
ABRAHAM: That's right.
MARTIN: People are still talking about it.
ABRAHAM: That's right.
MARTIN: I mean, it's amazing.
ABRAHAM: But you know what's interesting about the debate, it's not just that people are still talking about it, but it's the first that we have had a television debate and an Internet presentation of the debate inform the national conversation. For example, you know about the Senator Obama, Senator Clinton spat.
MARTIN: Yeah, and it's still going on.
ABRAHAM: But something else, though, there have been five different videos that have presented different views that Senator Clinton has given on the same subject and accused her of flip-flopping and so now it's starting to change in a way, such that by next week we're going to have a different conversation and that's because of YouTube and it's fascinating what's happening.
MARTIN: So many folks are logging on and people are really talking about it and that's what's important to me, the fact that we're getting people involved in this campaign, because I'm sick of the media, frankly, folks, my colleagues keep saying, oh, this is so long, you think, like that. This is for the presidency, the commander in chief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
MARTIN: I mean, give me a break. We spend more time picking a car than we do for the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
HARFENIST: I thing that's the country's really sick of the way that everything is. Everyone wants to feel proud of being an American again, and our foreign policy and you know, rally behind the presidency and this is our opportunity to do it, so we should definitely start now.
FRIEDRICH: Yeah well, people are tired of the president just being an automaton, too. Just saying the same things over and over again and it just seems like they don't even mean it anymore. I want to see the real people. I want to see what they really think and what they really believe.
ABRAHAM: You know what's interesting, and this has to be brought out, is that next debate, the Republican debate, you're only going to see two of them. So, I think the Republicans are afraid -- they didn't come to the NAACP convention...
FRIEDRICH: I hope not.
Yeah. I mean, but Kim, how do you feel about that? I mean, you have 10 Republican candidates, only two have said, yeah, I'll be happy to show up. In fact, Mitt Romney even criticized the debate saying, well, he didn't want to get asked a question about a snowman. I mean, as if your question was simply about -- a snowman. As if the other questions were considered to be meaningless. How does that make you feel?
FRIEDRICH: Well, actually, I think it's funny. I think it's funny that a rival network that's a minion of the Republican party, if you can beg that phrase, they accuse the Democrats of being scared because they wouldn't be on their channel. And it seems like the Republicans are running scared of people -- actual, real people. And that's what we are.
ABRAHAM: Especially African-Americans.
MARTIN: Lori.
HARFENIST: Absolutely, it speaks for itself. You know? If you don't want answer questions that real people are putting out there -- you know -- it speaks volumes for...
MARTIN: Would that affect your decision to vote for a Republican candidate if they chose not to show up for the September 17 CNN/YouTube debate?
BROWN EYES: Extremely because YouTube, this whole debate got me into politics. I registered to vote because of this.
MARTIN: I mean, this is your first election? Your first time you vote?
BROWN EYES: This is my first time to vote. I just turned 18. Now, this has got so many of my friends to actually start watching the debates. You know? Everyone's talking about it and if the Republicans don't show up, that's going to be a big, like, what?
ABRAHAM: And you won't vote for them.
BROWN EYES: I won't. I'll be like, what are you so afraid of? Why are you afraid of hearing what we have to say?
MARTIN: I'll tell you what. I certainly appreciate the fact that all of you stepped out there, put your questions out there, and hopefully more people will get engaged, because again, this is the commander in chief and there, frankly, is no more important decision that we can make, than we choose a president of the United States.
I thank all of you. Kim Friedrich, Lori Harfenist, Lucas Brown Eyes, and Zenni Abraham. Thanks a lot.
ABRAHAM: I have the brown eyes.
MARTIN: I appreciate that. Folks, you can catch the CNN/YouTube debate again this weekend Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
MARTIN: Joining me now, the four people you just saw asking those YouTube questions. Kim Friedrich, a working mom who's battling breast cancer; Lucas Brown Eyes, and award winning film student; Zenni Abraham, CEO of Sports Business Simulations, and Lori Harfenist, a TV producer from New York.
Now Kim, I got to start with you. You got lots of attention worldwide as a result of your question.
FRIEDRICH: Yes, I did.
MARTIN: And a lot of people were shocked when you took your wig off. What led you to say: I need to do this, to get this point across?
FRIEDRICH: Actually it was anger at Senator Edwards and his wife. The day that Mrs. Edwards, that they had that press conference that she had cancer again, I heard one thing out of it. In 48 hours, she went from thinking she had an unrelated problem to cancer, to finding out that she might have cancer to having tests, to having biopsy, to having treatment all in 48 hours. I was home having -- recovering from my biopsy at the time and what took me four months, that's what they did in 48 hours, because I didn't have health insurance.
MARTIN: You know what? We got a lot of questions in this debate dealing with healthcare, and that's really personal to me, because like a lot of folks, in 2000, covered the Democratic National Convention, my appendix ruptured, in the hospital five days, $70,000 and frankly, I ended up having to file for bankruptcy because the healthcare bills were absolutely phenomenal.
Kim, you talked about the anger. Lucas, talk about that, because a lot of folks were angry.
BROWN EYES: Yeah.
MARTIN: In the questions, they were really upset.
BROWN EYES: Well, that's because the people who feel like they're not heard are angry. If you don't feel like you're being heard, you're going to be angry. And YouTube allowed them to speak. So naturally, you're going to get a lot of anger. Like my generation, I'm going to college and a lot of my friends are angry because they can't afford to go to college, so they're going to a college that isn't their first choice, they're going to a community when they can't afford it and they're angry about it, which prompted me to make my video.
ABRAHAM: His anger came out as humor.
(INAUDIBLE)
MARTIN: Now, that was good, that was good. Now Laura, talk about that. This whole issue of this YouTube debate. Has it really advanced the political process? Do you think it really changed anything?
HARFENIST: I think it did because I think it got people really thinking that they can actually make a difference for a change. I know, for myself, before I even voted I felt completely apathetic because politics seems over here, everyone seems the same. This forum really allowed people to, you know, come into more -- all the candidates in a more natural vernacular, they lost the finger pointing a lot, which I really appreciated. Unfortunately it's back, right now.
But, I was happy to see that it made it feel approachable. I think young people are going to start voting a lot more because they feel like, wow, you know what? I can actually make a difference.
MARTIN: And we saw a large spike in terms of the 18-49 demo, really watching, now.
Zenni, let's talk about this debate, took place four days ago.
ABRAHAM: That's right.
MARTIN: People are still talking about it.
ABRAHAM: That's right.
MARTIN: I mean, it's amazing.
ABRAHAM: But you know what's interesting about the debate, it's not just that people are still talking about it, but it's the first that we have had a television debate and an Internet presentation of the debate inform the national conversation. For example, you know about the Senator Obama, Senator Clinton spat.
MARTIN: Yeah, and it's still going on.
ABRAHAM: But something else, though, there have been five different videos that have presented different views that Senator Clinton has given on the same subject and accused her of flip-flopping and so now it's starting to change in a way, such that by next week we're going to have a different conversation and that's because of YouTube and it's fascinating what's happening.
MARTIN: So many folks are logging on and people are really talking about it and that's what's important to me, the fact that we're getting people involved in this campaign, because I'm sick of the media, frankly, folks, my colleagues keep saying, oh, this is so long, you think, like that. This is for the presidency, the commander in chief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
MARTIN: I mean, give me a break. We spend more time picking a car than we do for the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
HARFENIST: I thing that's the country's really sick of the way that everything is. Everyone wants to feel proud of being an American again, and our foreign policy and you know, rally behind the presidency and this is our opportunity to do it, so we should definitely start now.
FRIEDRICH: Yeah well, people are tired of the president just being an automaton, too. Just saying the same things over and over again and it just seems like they don't even mean it anymore. I want to see the real people. I want to see what they really think and what they really believe.
ABRAHAM: You know what's interesting, and this has to be brought out, is that next debate, the Republican debate, you're only going to see two of them. So, I think the Republicans are afraid -- they didn't come to the NAACP convention...
FRIEDRICH: I hope not.
Yeah. I mean, but Kim, how do you feel about that? I mean, you have 10 Republican candidates, only two have said, yeah, I'll be happy to show up. In fact, Mitt Romney even criticized the debate saying, well, he didn't want to get asked a question about a snowman. I mean, as if your question was simply about -- a snowman. As if the other questions were considered to be meaningless. How does that make you feel?
FRIEDRICH: Well, actually, I think it's funny. I think it's funny that a rival network that's a minion of the Republican party, if you can beg that phrase, they accuse the Democrats of being scared because they wouldn't be on their channel. And it seems like the Republicans are running scared of people -- actual, real people. And that's what we are.
ABRAHAM: Especially African-Americans.
MARTIN: Lori.
HARFENIST: Absolutely, it speaks for itself. You know? If you don't want answer questions that real people are putting out there -- you know -- it speaks volumes for...
MARTIN: Would that affect your decision to vote for a Republican candidate if they chose not to show up for the September 17 CNN/YouTube debate?
BROWN EYES: Extremely because YouTube, this whole debate got me into politics. I registered to vote because of this.
MARTIN: I mean, this is your first election? Your first time you vote?
BROWN EYES: This is my first time to vote. I just turned 18. Now, this has got so many of my friends to actually start watching the debates. You know? Everyone's talking about it and if the Republicans don't show up, that's going to be a big, like, what?
ABRAHAM: And you won't vote for them.
BROWN EYES: I won't. I'll be like, what are you so afraid of? Why are you afraid of hearing what we have to say?
MARTIN: I'll tell you what. I certainly appreciate the fact that all of you stepped out there, put your questions out there, and hopefully more people will get engaged, because again, this is the commander in chief and there, frankly, is no more important decision that we can make, than we choose a president of the United States.
I thank all of you. Kim Friedrich, Lori Harfenist, Lucas Brown Eyes, and Zenni Abraham. Thanks a lot.
ABRAHAM: I have the brown eyes.
MARTIN: I appreciate that. Folks, you can catch the CNN/YouTube debate again this weekend Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Oakland Raiders Broke? JaMarcus Russell Deal May Be Five Years Due To Revenue Problems - Profootballtalk.com
I figured the Oakland Raiders may have problems signing a quaterback on time, even with the new CBA. They're still playing in the Oakland Coliseum, which needs to be re-designed to generate more revenue.
RUSSELL DEAL COULD BE FOR FIVE YEARS - Rumor from Profootballtalk.com
A league source tells us that the negotiation of a contract between the Raiders and No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell has been and will continue to be a difficult process, and that the Raiders might end up signing Russell a five-year deal.
Per the source, there are whispers of cash issues in Oakland that could prevent the team from funding a six-year package. Though we don't know whether that's a certainty, there's definitely some wisdom in scaling the contract back by a year, since no one knows at this point whether Russell will be a Peyton Manning or a Ryan Leaf. If it's the latter, the team has less money at risk.
Russell is represented by the firm of Metz, Lock, and Malinovic. They also represent receiver Dwayne Bowe. The No. 23 overall selection is a holdout in Kansas City. Said the source about the situation in Oakland, "It will be a long holdout unless the agents take a bad deal."
CNN / YouTube Debates - Send The Republican Presidential Candidates A Message
Many in the YouTube community are very upset that several Republican candidates -- Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney, and Tom Tancredo as of this writing -- have refused to participate in the Republican CNN / YouTube Presidential Debates. My idea is to simply send each one a video message. For more information, click on the video!
1-18-08 -New Cloverfield Photo / Clue - J.J. Abrams' Slusho Movie
Ok. Here's yet another clue for the upcoming but still officially untitled "Cloverfield" monster movie due for release 1-18-08. It's the fifth photo in the moving set of what's becoming a mess over at the 1-18-08.com website. It's more cryptic than the fourth Cloverfield clue , which had a military guy holding a gun, indicating something big was -- litterally -- up.
Everyone Likes CNN's Paula Zahn - Even The Limo Drivers!
I'm still in New York City, having appeared on CNN's Roland Martin Debates to talk about the CNN / YouTube Debates program and its impact on society. But during this trip, what impressed me was the impact CNN's now departed Paula Zahn had on everyone around her.
People love her.
This was made clear to me by the limo driver who picked me up at JFK. He said "Paula, she was great. Most people (CNN anchors and contributors) just get in (the car) and don't say much. Paula, she asks you about your family, and how you're doing."
This view was echoed by yet another driver with the firm that holds the CNN livery account. And it speaks to the character of the person that will be replaced by Cambell Brown. She's a truly good person, and the best way to know that is when other people say so.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Can The Supreme Court Be Impeached? Too Political For Many Americans
This recent Huf Post blog entry has it that many Americans think the Supreme Court is too conservative and it is. But is it possible to impeach an entire court? Are we and do we really have to be stuck with unreasonable judges placed by a president after that person' impeached?
Well this article doesn't deal with that question.
It should.
Well this article doesn't deal with that question.
It should.
Zennie Abraham's Trip To The CNN Roland Martin Debates Show in NYC
This is a video of my great adventure of a trip to New York City and to be a guest on CNN's "Roland Martin Debates" Show on Friday July 27th 2007. My question submitted for the CNN / YouTube debates opened up a whole new set of doors and emboldened me to use video more effectively to communicate ideas and messages as well as to give others a voice. But that's not what this video's about.
This movie's about my trip.
The video takes the first two days of my trip, from plane ride to after the show itself. It also features the wonderful people I met along the way, from the awesome Zana at the Jumeria Essex Hotel on Central Park South, to Shira and Alexis with CNN and the great CNN Contributors, especially Julie Roginsky, Bill Donohue, and the terrific Irshad Manji.
It also features the CNN / YouTube debate stars, Kim Fredrick, Lucas "Brown Eyes", and Lori Harfenist aka "The Resident." This video's for anyone who wonders how a person comes to be on a TV program and how they're taken care of by a network. It was a great experience. I have a lot of people to thank which I do in the video. Take a look and share it with others.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Cal's Marshawn Lynch Signed By Buffalo - $18.9 million - Profootballtalk.com
LYNCH DEAL DONE
A league source tells us that the Bills have reached an agreement with running back Marshawn Lynch, the No. 12 selection in the 2007 draft. (Adam Schefter of NFL Network was the first to report this.)
Lynch will receive $10,285,000 in guaranteed money, and the total value of the package is $18,935,000 on a five-year deal. (Technically, it's a six-year deal that voids to five if Lynch meets a minimum playing time threshold.)
The key is the duration; Lynch is the fourth player taken in the top 16 who could have been required to sign a six-year deal, but who got in the end a five-year contract.
The former California tailback is expected to step in immediately as the starter, given the offseason trade of Willis McGahee.
A league source tells us that the Bills have reached an agreement with running back Marshawn Lynch, the No. 12 selection in the 2007 draft. (Adam Schefter of NFL Network was the first to report this.)
Lynch will receive $10,285,000 in guaranteed money, and the total value of the package is $18,935,000 on a five-year deal. (Technically, it's a six-year deal that voids to five if Lynch meets a minimum playing time threshold.)
The key is the duration; Lynch is the fourth player taken in the top 16 who could have been required to sign a six-year deal, but who got in the end a five-year contract.
The former California tailback is expected to step in immediately as the starter, given the offseason trade of Willis McGahee.
New York Times Kit Seelye Responds To Zennie's Post
Last night, New York Times online writer Kit Seelye responded to my post on her error in failing to recognize that I was the same person who's video she linked to twice in her article on the CNN / YouTube debates.
I referred to the action as an example of institutional racism, which, while it's generally unintentional has terrible results of stereotyping or exclusion -- both of which happened in this case. In Ms. Seeyle's partial defense, she responded as if she was tired, but still, she's a professional journalist.
The comment exchange is in the blog post here.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
CNN / YouTube Debates - Senator Joe Biden Answers My "In God We Trust" Question
This was my question number 36 in the list of videos presented at the CNN / YouTube Debates:
The cathedral behind me is the perfect backdrop for this question. This quarter reads "United States of America." And when I turn it over, you find that it reads "liberty, in God we trust." What do those words mean to you? Thank you.
The cathedral behind me is the perfect backdrop for this question. This quarter reads "United States of America." And when I turn it over, you find that it reads "liberty, in God we trust." What do those words mean to you? Thank you.
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