President Obama Dines With Bay Area Tech Execs; Anyone Black?

Several interesting points to note in the photo from the Technology Business Leaders dinner at Tech Venture Capitalist John Doerr's home in Woodside, California - and placed for media use by the White House at Flickr:

1. Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is sitting on the right of President Obama.
2. Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs is on the left of President Obama.
2. Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz is wearing red and at the background. (No word on if she slipped and used the F-word.)
3. From the looks of things, they're raising a toast to President Obama.
4. Obama is not the only African American at the table; he's joined by Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, but there are no tech business leaders of color.

On that note, it's not as if there was no one to call; Symantic Chairman John W. Thompson's right there in the Bay Area (pictured at left), and has served on a number of panels of service to government.  Mr. Thompson should have been there.

What's sadder still is that no other media organization reporting on this photo pointed to the lack of a black tech CEO at the dinner table.  

These are some of the same outlets that complain about bloggers.  Well, the reasons why bloggers like me complain about them, is because of the myopia they demonstrate on more than one occasion.  This is one.

But I digress.

What was actually talked about in the room has not been reported, and perhaps never will be.  One sure thing is two of the attendees came away with the President's cell phone number.

Seriously.  

Dave Duerson: 85 Bears Safety Dies Unexpectedly In Miami

O'Hare Airport, Chicago - For reasons not given as of this writing, Dave Duerson, the famous member of the 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl Champion Defense, the 1990 New York Giants Super Bowl Champion Defense, and Notre Dame grad, died at 50 years of age.

According to NESN.com, Dave was found dead in his Miami home.

While the cause of death is not known, this blogger can personally express sadness because Duerson was one ND alum who was on hand at Mike Ditka's on the Thursday before the amazing 2005 USC at Notre Dame game that Saturday. Duerson was part of a raging ND party that went on to 2 AM in the morning. No wild antics; just a lot of laughs, great food and people, and Paul Hornung.

The reason I know all about it, is I happened to visit the establishment and to have a cigar in honor of my father, who I'd just laid to rest that day. Someone at Ditka's thought I was Dave Duerson.   The result was a lot of smiles, jokes, and free drinks.

Oh.  In case you're wondering, Duerson was bigger than me by a little bit.

Stay tuned for more on this. Why someone who was described as "looking like he could still play" passed away so mysteriously and so young is strange to say the least.

Oscars Season 2011: Play Along

Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 8 p.m. on ABC will be the 83rd year of the Oscars. The award show ceremony has always been a favorite for millions of movie lovers who watch and see which of their movie nominations win.

This year on the site users are able to go through each individual category and view the nominees - afterwards the site users may choose which of the nominated he or she believes will win or which one he or she wants to win.

The opportunity to be involved and help predict which movies and stars will go home with an award is a great way to get fans excited and ensure that they will be tuning in in 11 days to see who wins.

Body Transformation By 21

There have been circumstances beyond my control that have made changes including environmental and situational that have made it so the 30-day-detox could not go as planned. The new plan is to begin with the detox and see how much consistency that can have & then add with that a set of exercises and after the detox adding a diet to abide by and soon it will just become second nature. This is to be completed by June 7, 2011 - the day when I will turn 21. More information will be provided within future blog post, but Debby Kaplan is continuing to help and we will be talking more with one another and finding a way to bring healthiness and a healthier lifestyle to this busy college student.

Debby's web site is http://yourfitday.com

Government of the fat-cats, by the fat-cats, and for the fat-cats?

This is the United States of America, founded on the principle that there's both a wrong way and a "more perfect" way for government to act.

We have regulations controlling immigration, restricting tobacco and alcohol sales, establishing speed limits, and prohibiting the use of dangerous materials such as lead paint. We embrace regulations about what can’t be in our drinking water, and insuring we have the freedom to practice religion unfettered by the preferences of government agencies or the whims of men.

Not every decision is clear and simple. Our constitution was built deliberately to allow for clarifications and changes over time by wise men who had some notion of the limits on their own forecasting abilities. We've been trying to make good laws - good government regulations - and improve the bad ones ever since.

We have laws about everything from voter registration to verifying the safety & efficacy of drugs because we know we can’t simply trust everybody to do the right thing if there’s no judge or referee. Somehow the GOP has been persuaded to slow down the process of reforming Wall Street’s greedy, self-serving behaviors.

We know what happened when we let them call the shots; deregulation served a few very well indeed, while what trickled down to the rest of us was unemployment, foreclosures, and the destruction of the value of the largest asset most working Americans have, their home -- after we'd been encouraged to use it as a way to get credit to fuel corporate profits.

GOP strategists are now stalling reforms in the Senate, by asserting that we need economic analysis before "rushed rule-making." Where were they before the financial crisis in the late summer of 2008 and the resulting recession? I can tell you one thing, they weren't listening to the then-junior Senator from Illinois, who had written letters to the powers that be about what he saw as the looming mortgage lending crisis, but their hindsight may have factored that in.

Enough is enough. Wall Street needs reform if it's to create wealth for the nation instead of for itself. Congress may not get the new laws perfect on the first pass, but that's not news. If all the GOP has is questions, if they can't grasp the risks in leaving the system broken, I say let them step back; it's time to stop spouting sound bites while impeding progress and solutions.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, former Congressional Campaign Manager, strategist, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites 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 him as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet

Collective Bargaining Rights

Ohio and Wisconsin are two states that are dealing heavily with collective bargaining rights.

Wisconsin Protestors

The Dayton Daily News online reports that the two states both have Republican governors. Ohio is looking to rein in union labor to battle billions of state budget deficits, and Wisconsin had many rallying (25,000) in opposition to the plan that would eliminate collective bargaining for most public employees.

The Daily News Pulse reports that: "If approved the bill would abolish collective bargaining rights for state employees. It would also affect state agencies, commissions and boards, state institutions of higher educations and set new restrictions on school districts. Additionally, the bill required merit-based pay for most public employees, including teachers, and it removes seniority from decisions regarding reduction in work force for certain public workers."

Some people are even calling this the "anti-union" bill.

Academy Awards: MTV-U 2011 Oscars Correspondent Contest Vote

The Academy Awards is more than just the Oscars, it's Oscar-related events and initiatives. This one, The annual MTV-U Oscars Correspondent Contest, is this blogger's favorite.

 It's a chance for college students to really get an idea of what it's like to be a Red Carpet media correspondent during the Academy Awards. The lucky top three are flown to Hollywood to be a part of pre-Oscars events, and the winning team is actually put to work on The Red Carpet on Oscars Sunday.

This is my video from last year's competition (2010), where Terry Stackhouse and Zach Cusson of Emerson, won over Brandon McCaskill and Kiarra Hart of Florida A&M, and Rachel Berry and Christian Hartnett of Chapman University:



For 2011, out of 10 semifinalists, the top three that got the most votes by February 2nd have emerged. I've cast my vote and while I'm not telling you who I picked, you can vote for your favorite one now and until tomorrow, Friday, February 18th, at 5 PM, PST.

But of course you're going to have to see their videos, and they're placed below. The order is exactly the same as that used by MTV-U, and has no relationship to the team this blogger picked.

After looking at the videos, click on the link at the bottom marked VOTE, scroll down to the middle of the page where the selections appear, then login to the MTV-U community, and make your selection.

Blake Mitchell and David Torcivia - University of Georgia (UGS)



Luz Pena and Philip Robibero - Hofstra University



Sarah Erickson and Joel Kutz - University of Southern California (USC)




Ok. All done? Now cast your VOTE!

Stay tuned to this space for more Academy Awards info and content. Once again, I'll be on the Red Carpet with the winners, but this time with 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. Also, Rachel Berry, from the 2010 Competition, will appear to give her take.

Later!

Jessica Alba Uses Twitter And Facebook To Say "I'm Pregnant"

Now that's a great way to use your 1 million Twitter followers! Actress Jessica Alba @jessicaalba sent out this tweet that originated from her Facebook page to tell all that she and husband Cash Warren are expecting their second child:

jessicaalba Jessica Alba
It's been a while since I've been on FB & I thought I'd drop by to let you all in on some exciting news>Honor is... http://fb.me/RCu1R2wY

And here's her original Facebook message with the news of her new status as "Mother to be, again."

Jessica Alba
It's been a while since I've been on FB & I thought I'd drop by to let you all in on some exciting news>Honor is going to be a Big Sister! Cash and I are thrilled and wanted to share the news directly with you so you didn't hear about it somewhere else. I appreciated all of the love and support you all gave me during my first pregnancy and will definitely appreciate it again this time around. Have a great day! Jess

Why is this news?

Some of you may be asking why this is news, and that's a fair question that should be answered here.

Briefly, it works like this.

Jessica Alba has a recognized name. She's played in a number of movie and TV roles, some touching on American Culture's "hot spots," like when she played "Sue Storm" in the Fantastic Four movie series based on the Marvel Comic books of the same name.

Because of that, and her Twitter-staff assisted generation of over 1 million Twitter followers, including a number of media outlets, she's able to start a buzz with a "milestone tweet." Now, if Alba had tweeted that she was drinking water, that would have went nowhere. But being pregnant's a big deal.

The result is a number of blog posts and webpages write about the news. That, in turn, creates more of what I call "Internet real estate" that, in turn, is being click on. More people then use Google to find out more information, and that causes Google Trends to be impacted. Which, causes even more blog and website posts, including this one.

That's how buzz is generated in the 21st Century.

Congratulations to Jessica Alba for becoming a Mom for the second time, and giving a lesson in how to use social media in the process.

How Can 99ers Effect Change / Get Benefits Until They TAKE ACTION?

Exactly how can the 99ers ever effect change or get the benefits they need unless or until they TAKE ACTION consistently? This is the burning question.

The answer is far more complicated than one can imagine. There will always be the few who do not engage in any of the lobbying efforts to persuade Washington to take action to save the longest term unemployed in America. Still with millions of UI exhaustees and millions more about to hit the UI threshold for their own states - one would think every petition, call/fax or email campaign and certainly a Twitter event to assist the 99er cause would be flooded with willing participants - but it does not appear to be true. Even the campaign to email resumes to Congress called for my Jesse Jackson Jr. (D - IL) in 5 weeks time generated less than 100,000 responses by the public at large. What is wrong with this picture?

Everyday 99ers lose their internet and places to live, which accounts for a great deal of those MIAs for the “cause” - but there are thousands of UI exhaustees in the same boat who still manage to get to the public library to help in this epic fight, so motivation may be lacking in many. This is in part a common side effect of the inevitable depression most struggle with during long bouts of unemployment.

Whatever the reason, the 99er Nation simply MUST find a way to get the word out and unite behind One Goal: Get HR 589 to the House Floor and passed. This is the only way to start the ball rolling to get this genuine extension of extra weeks of UI for all eventually signed into law.

Tuesday’s #99erAID Twitter Event was good, but we never even trended in the USA and that is something it should not be difficult to accomplish if we just had enthusiastic participation.

I hear a lot of “If I only had money I would march in Washington DC” - well I really doubt that! If you are not on Twitter yet and are serious about doing whatever you can do to help the cause then get with the program - NO EXCUSES. If you did not participate in the February 15th event - GOOD NEWS - You will have another chance to do so next Tuesday, February 22nd at 8PM EST. It is free and can be done from a cell phone. (George Washington would be proud)

According to the Trenches Worldreport.com article 99ers HR 589 Unemployment Legislation Shot Down In Flames

“HR 589 is shot down this morning. Apparently the House Resolution violated a rule which says any legislation that changes existing law or creates new law cannot be added as an amendment. Unbeknownst to us Barbara Lee tried to attach HR 589 to the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Budget Resolution, a stopgap measure that will continue to fund the federal government.

The point of order was initiated by Congressman Denny Rehberg, a Republican from Montana.

The only way the bill can go forward now is through overwhelming support which would require republican support, which is not going to happen. It is disturbing to find out that our greatest advocate Barbara Lee evidently either does not know the House rules or somehow thought she was exempt from them.”

And offered this commentary: “Maybe the proponents of the 99ers will now see that they will never accomplish anything unless they break outside the status quo and the insider buddy buddy system and attack next time with a united 99er force, not only backing them, but participating in the process.”

So 99er Nation - I ask you again: HOW BAD DO YOU WANT THIS?

Do you want it bad enough to take a page from residents of Wisconsin? (see the video below)

Demonstrators gathered in large numbers at the Wisconsin state Capitol on Tuesday, to protest Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal to help close the state's shortfall by removing nearly all collective bargaining rights for public employees.

As the Wisconsin State Journal reports, over 10,000 protestors gathered at the state Capitol building Tuesday, with thousands also crowded inside the building itself.



You do NOT need to get to Washington DC to make this happen. U-Cubed in their unique “local cube” modeling is designed to build a movement from the local level and grow out - to gather the masses required to get our message directly out to the “Powers that be” in terms they cannot ignore! Yet U-Cubed has not yet reached 5,000 members. WTF?

If you want the strength of union membership behind you (like they have in Wisconsin) then the MILLIONS of 99ers need to get off their butts and do what it takes to effect the change they say they need and want.

If you are not yet engaged in U-Cubed Please DO SO TODAY:
U-Cubed on:
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ucubed
TWITTER: @U_Cubed
WEBSITE: http://www.unionofunemployed.com

In addition to “Getting Out There” ...
READ the Nation’s January article: Mobilizing the Jobless

AND - You must contact every Republican member of the House

ESPECIALLY: Speaker Boehner
Majority Leader Eric Cantor
Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy

and demand Speaker Boehner bring this to the floor immediately! Keep fighting as this IS a battle we CAN and MUST WIN!

******** Egypt CAN happen here. Listen to this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-charles-rangel/egypt-and-joblessness_b_822072.html?ref=tw

So let's get going - post this article everywhere, send it to all of your contacts with a message: OK How bad do you want this?

[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!]

SI Swimsuit Model Kate Upton Candid Las Vegas Photo

Here's a lesson in how to generate some publicity for a model who wasn't selected as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model for 2011 - that honor goes to Angelina Jolie look-alike Irina Shayk - but is basking in the dimly-lit glow of being a runner-up.

Kate Upton is one of those models. While she's getting some publicity for being in the current 2011 S.I. Swimsuit Edition, it's always as second fiddle to Shayk, who also happens to have a famous boyfriend in soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, or to Christy Teigen, who's dating singer John Legend. With those two, plus the sheer number of S.I. Swimsuit models, not to mention the red-hot career of Brooklyn Decker (who's movie Just Go With It is this week's highest grossing film), it's no wonder Upton's day in the sun has yet to come.



Well, leave it to Sports Illustrated Assistant Editor M.J. Day to change all that. Armed with just a Blackberry, a small Twitter account @MJDay, and the Twitter-based photo sharing platform called YFrog, May took three photos of the apparently free-sprited Upton and posted them on YFrog for distribution everywhere.

There are three of them.  The one above where Kate's boobs are serving as warmers for a Vegas glass, one of Kate just looking at the Blackberry in a chest-down pose, and one of her sitting legs up in her airplane seat while sporting a really short blue dress.  She looks like she boarded the plane just after a party without changing clothes!

And the best news is you can have one of those photos for your website!  

That's right. You can embed the photos on your website, email them, or use them in a blog or website or video and distribute them for news commentary so long as you say "It came from this Yfrog channel by M.J. Day," and really use it for news - because it is.

Moreover, Imageshack, which owns Yfrog, allows me to use it according to its own rules:

By displaying or publishing ("posting") any Content on or through the ImageShack Services, you hereby grant to ImageShack and other users a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, worldwide, limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce and translate such Content, including without limitation distributing part or all of the Site in any media formats through any media channels, except Content marked "private" will not be distributed outside the ImageShack Services.

So, in plain English, Kate Upton's lovely face and partially-presented boobs are out there for the World to see, and supporting a "Vegas" drinking glass.

A star is born.

Len Lesser, Uncle Leo Of Seinfeld, Passes At 88

Deadline.com reports that Len Lesser, best known as "Uncle Leo" on Seinfeld, has passed away at 88 years of age today.

While Lesser's, who was most recently in an episode of ABC's Castle, is best known as Uncle Leo, he also played with the legendary Clint Eastwood in the cult film Kelly's Heroes, as well as Carl Reiner and of course Jerry Seinfeld. He died of cancer-related pneumonia.

Lesser's recurring appearance on Seinfeld started in the show's second season.  He quickly became known for his snappy, neurotic take on life.  Here's a classic scene focusing on a strange pair of eyebrows Uncle Leo acquired:



In the video below, Lesser talks about what it means to be famous and the recognition he enjoyed to his later years.



Len Lesser, a signpost on the Zeitgeist. May he enjoy his trip to Heaven.

Welcome To Zennie62.com From Twitter!

Hello and welcome to Zennie62.com. If you're on this page, chances are you came here directly from Twitter. With that in mind, here's a brief introduction.

Zennie62.com is an, as of this writing, a seven year old blog which was known as Zennie's Zeitgeist until 2009, when the name and branding were changed to Zennie62.com. Why that name? Well, it's a part of my name, Zennie Abraham, and includes the year I was born, 1962. That places me smack in the middle of perhaps the greatest generational transformation in the history of the industrialized World, all fueled by computerization and digital media.

Zennie62.com is designed to capture the stories of the day - the Zeitgeist. Even though the blog's name has changed, the focus - politics, news, sports, and tech - has not.  We cover what's now, happening, political, techie, and hip.  We love American and World Culture, and sports.  We're smart, provocative, and edgy.

The Growth Of Zennie62 Content

As this has developed, Zennie62 added video and I became a YouTube Partner in 2007, the year before that I was using, and still use, Blip.tv, and now I'm on six different video channels.  Here's one of my most popular videos, Fight At Fillmore Street Festival:



But over the years, Zennie62.com has moved beyond the me to the we.  We have great blog posts from great bloggers like Davey D, Tom Hayes, and our Executive Editor Nikky Raney.    As Zennie's Zeitgeist, this blog was one of 128 credentialed for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and the main provider of video for CNN's iReport initiative, as well as one of their on-site contacts.  Four bloggers, Tom Hayes, David Kaye, Ashley Long (who calls herself AshPolitics) and myself provided coverage.

The NFL Draft and The Oscars

In 2005, I started covering the NFL Draft and then incorporated that content into Zennie62.com starting in 2009.  Today, Bill Chackhes brings his 33 years of NFL Draft expertise to Zennie62.  Already with Zennie62Media's NFL Business Blog,  we're making an even higher stage for the NFL Draft legend, starting at The 2011 NFL Combine.

Over the years, Zennie62 has expanded from this space and to about 40 online platforms, including Twitter, but they all work their way back here.  And around all of this is Zennie62Media.com.

Zennie62Media.com, Inc is a new company that provides one legal home for all of our media content, and one place for sponsors and investors to realize a return on their investments.

Welcome.