The University of California Men's Basketball Team advances to play the hated UCLA Bruins tonight at 6:30 PM. Yesterday, Cal made easy work of Oregon, 90 to 76, as Senior guard and Pac-10 player of the year Jerome Randle scored 22 points in the first half. UCLA beat Arizona 75-69.
In the video below, UCLA coach Ben Howland and senior guard Michael Roll talk after the Arizona win about playing Cal tonight. Michael Roll says "We're going to do everything we can to win."
Everything? Like what? Throw elbows? Knee someone?
All this blogger can say is "GO BEARS" Meanwhile, Washington plays Stanford at 8:40 PM PST. Washington beat Oregon State 59 to 52 Wednesday. Stanford shocked second-seeded Arizona State 70 to 61. Arizona State swept the Cardinal during the regular season.
Stay tuned.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Lebron James to return Friday; is Shaquille O'Neal making a difference?
Lebron James is set to return to The Cleveland Caveliers today, Friday. The NBA star some call Superman was out with an ankle injury for two games and was relegated to cheering his team on from the bench.
If Lebron James's is on steroids, they sure didn't help him from an injury. Personally, the talk that James is on steriods, is really awful. The real conversation should be about Shaquille O'Neal.
is Shaq making a difference?
When Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Caveliers, the move was hailed in this space as the one that could bring a ring to Lebron James and Cleveland.
Now, Shaq's out for almost two months because he had surgery on his injured right thumb Monday. It was hit when The Boston Celtics Glen Davis blocked Shaq's shot on February 25th.
But before that point, Shaq averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games according to ESPN. It's not far off, really just a small amount, below his career averages. For a person who's played for 17 years, Shaquille O'Neal's size and shot techniques still make him a formidable player. He gives Cavs coach Mike Brown the ability to work in a big lineup, and provides a much needed enforcer...when he's healthy. The Cavs record is 50 and 15 as of this writing.
Shaquille O'Neal told Cavs GM Danny Ferry that he would be back in time for the playoffs. If he's ready, Mike Brown should have Shaq play longer than his 23 minute average. Coach Brown's not getting enough out of a Shaq who's fully into the tempo of the game.
If Lebron James's is on steroids, they sure didn't help him from an injury. Personally, the talk that James is on steriods, is really awful. The real conversation should be about Shaquille O'Neal.
is Shaq making a difference?
When Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Cleveland Caveliers, the move was hailed in this space as the one that could bring a ring to Lebron James and Cleveland.
Now, Shaq's out for almost two months because he had surgery on his injured right thumb Monday. It was hit when The Boston Celtics Glen Davis blocked Shaq's shot on February 25th.
But before that point, Shaq averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds in 53 games according to ESPN. It's not far off, really just a small amount, below his career averages. For a person who's played for 17 years, Shaquille O'Neal's size and shot techniques still make him a formidable player. He gives Cavs coach Mike Brown the ability to work in a big lineup, and provides a much needed enforcer...when he's healthy. The Cavs record is 50 and 15 as of this writing.
Shaquille O'Neal told Cavs GM Danny Ferry that he would be back in time for the playoffs. If he's ready, Mike Brown should have Shaq play longer than his 23 minute average. Coach Brown's not getting enough out of a Shaq who's fully into the tempo of the game.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Merlin Olsen died of cancer at 69 - NFL and NBC star
Olsen sued NBC Studios, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, Sherwin Williams, Lennox Industries and other companies, according to TMZ.com.
Merlin Olsen is the model for success in the transition from football to regular life. He became a great actor, starring on Little House on The Prairie and Father Murphy. And of course, he was a terrific NBC football analyst.
When this blogger thinks of Merlin Olsen, the word "smooth" comes to mind. In his speech and movement. A quite giant who I met after the 1993 Cal and Stanford Big Game, when his son Nate Olson played for Bill Walsh at Stanford.
Merlin Olsen played defensive end as part of the Los Angeles Rams "Fearsome Foursome" of Rosey Greier, Deacon Jones, and Lamar Lundy in their 4-3 defense.
Jason Ritter and Marianna Palka talk about Good Dick The Film
Jason Ritter and Marianna Palka, the co-creators of Morning Knight, Inc., were at the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Party on Oscar Sunday. Jason Ritter, the son of John Ritter, opened the video talking about his role in an NBC pilot called The Event.
But Ritter and Palka were also interested in pushing attention toward their 2008 film called Good Dick. The website's synopsis of the movie is here:
Good Dick is a modern fairy tale about a troubled, reclusive young woman and the persistent video clerk who draws her out of her claustrophobic world by starting up a unique courtship with her. As they become closer, her sexual antipathy is met with his unflinching optimism, until finally her aggressive defenses overwhelm them both and the relationship bursts apart. Profoundly affected by his presence in her life, she finds that she has the courage to face her past.
Good Dick was a 2008 Sundance Film Festival Award Winner that is independently distributed as of this writing on DVD. The film's written and directed by Marianna Palka and from the looks of this trailer...
Is an entertaining film.
Because of the "assembly line" of celebrities, there wasn't enough time to get more in depth about the movie itself. But more on it later; visit the website Good Dick The Film.
Stay tuned.
Days of Our Lives David Leisure talks about fame - after The Oscars
At the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Gala last Sunday at The Beverly Hills Hotel, actor, comedian, and Days of Our Lives star David Leisure talked about fame. Or when he knew he was famous. It was connected with his iconic role as "Joe Isuzu" 25 years ago. Then, the snarky spokesperson for The Isuzu brand started to be recognized by "people he didn't know" and after a while it got "creepy". But he's used to it all now.
David Leisure played Charley Dietz in the series Empty Nest to 1995 and today he's "D.A. Woods" on the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. I later ran into him at the Beverly Hills Polo Lounge just before the whole Alec Baldwin episode unfolded.
Stay tuned.
Corey Haim had enlarged heart and water in his lungs
The LA County Corner's Office (who's had a very busy last three months with the deaths of Brittany Murphy, Casey Johnson, and now Corey Haim), reports that Actor Corey Haim had "pulmonary congestion, an enlarged heart and water in his lungs" as reported by TMZ.com.
But with that, the LA County Corner's Office has not determined that was the cause of Corey Haim's death. Several prescription medications were found in Corey Haim's apartment, including Valium, Vicodin and Soma.
RadarOnline reports that Corey Haim's mother said Haim was helping her on her battle against breast cancer.
That battle's all too familiar to me. My Mom battled breast cancer and was declared cancer-free April 17th, 2005. She takes a drug called Femara that has really worked wonders.
Stay tuned.
But with that, the LA County Corner's Office has not determined that was the cause of Corey Haim's death. Several prescription medications were found in Corey Haim's apartment, including Valium, Vicodin and Soma.
RadarOnline reports that Corey Haim's mother said Haim was helping her on her battle against breast cancer.
That battle's all too familiar to me. My Mom battled breast cancer and was declared cancer-free April 17th, 2005. She takes a drug called Femara that has really worked wonders.
Stay tuned.
Amanda Knox cleared by Mario Alessi confession - CBS News
According to CBS Online via YouTube, Amanda Knox, who's currently serving time in an Italian prison for the alleged murder of Meredith Kercher, did not kill Meredith Kercher.
Amanda Knox, the former University of Washington student and her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito were said to have worked with Rudy Hermann Guede to kill Meredith Kercher in a sex-play gone wrong. But this video taped confession by Guede's prison-mate Mario Alessi clears Amanda Knox of any wrong-doing:
In the video, Alessi says that Guede told him that he and a friend of Guede's went to Meredith Kercher's house that night. They had met a few days earlier in a club; they went to Meredith Kercher's house but "it was not planned." She was surprised to see them, but invited them into the house.
Rudy himself had asked if she wanted to have a threesome, which she did not want to do. Rudy went to the bathroom for about 15 minutes, then came back and found a "completely different scenario." He found the girl with her back on the ground and the guy holding her in his arms. They then went into a kind of dry humping threesome that Alessi describes in detail in the video.
The guy, unnamed, took out a pocket knife and basically killed her with it, according to Alessi. It started as an accidental stabbing that Rudy wanted to heel, but "the guy" wanted to "finish the prostitute off" according to the video. He did so and then left. Rudy stayed behind, but eventually exited the house as well.
Rudy Guede wrote a letter saying that Mario Alessi's claims were not true. But since Alessi's claims would work against him and Alessi was his prison mate, Alessi's claims ring true.
Amanda Knox was nowhere to be seen when Meredith Kercher was murdered.
Stay tuned.
Amanda Knox, the former University of Washington student and her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito were said to have worked with Rudy Hermann Guede to kill Meredith Kercher in a sex-play gone wrong. But this video taped confession by Guede's prison-mate Mario Alessi clears Amanda Knox of any wrong-doing:
In the video, Alessi says that Guede told him that he and a friend of Guede's went to Meredith Kercher's house that night. They had met a few days earlier in a club; they went to Meredith Kercher's house but "it was not planned." She was surprised to see them, but invited them into the house.
Rudy himself had asked if she wanted to have a threesome, which she did not want to do. Rudy went to the bathroom for about 15 minutes, then came back and found a "completely different scenario." He found the girl with her back on the ground and the guy holding her in his arms. They then went into a kind of dry humping threesome that Alessi describes in detail in the video.
The guy, unnamed, took out a pocket knife and basically killed her with it, according to Alessi. It started as an accidental stabbing that Rudy wanted to heel, but "the guy" wanted to "finish the prostitute off" according to the video. He did so and then left. Rudy stayed behind, but eventually exited the house as well.
Rudy Guede wrote a letter saying that Mario Alessi's claims were not true. But since Alessi's claims would work against him and Alessi was his prison mate, Alessi's claims ring true.
Amanda Knox was nowhere to be seen when Meredith Kercher was murdered.
Stay tuned.
Chevron Ecuador issue: Chevron wins court victory against Ecuador
In the ongoing court battle between Chevron and the Country of Ecuador, Chevron won a court victory against Ecuador today. According to Reuters, A U.S. District Court Judge in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, granted Chevron the right to pursue an order to have via Ecuador to complete environmental cleanup work it and the state-run Petroecuador Oil Company were to have done when it took over oil production from Chevron-Texaco in 1992. Chevron will seek to have this done under the "U.S. - Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty."
In a statement sent to this blogger, Chevron said...
The court ruling has huge implications for Ecuador's oil production strategy. First, Ecuador has pursued a course of oil nationalization since 1990, but during that time has failed to make timely improvements in oil production facilities or adequately clean up oil spills. There have been over 100 oil spills in the Amazon Delta region since 1992.
Ecuador has embarked on a systemic removal of American oil companies. The most recent major example being Occidental Petroleum in 2007, where Ecuador literally kicked out Occidental from its property siting a breach of contract. Ecuadorians then had fist fights over the left over luxury cars.
When Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa came to power in January of 2007, he had pressures from two sides. First, Ecuador's environmental activists wanted more attention to cleanup of the Amazon, but state officials wanted to continue the nationalization of petroleum production. Correa crafted the perfect head-fake strategy: ask for money from oil companies to clean up the impacted areas of Ecuador, but continue and expand state oil production. Causing Chevron to pay billions for a cleanup project it was only partially responsible for was part of the strategy. The U.S. Court's decision has wrecked that approach.
Much of the opposition to Correa from activists has been muted by Ecuador's horrible treatment of the press. Teleamazonas, a TV station that reported that a natural gas exploitation on Puna Island could cause the suspension of fishing for up to six months, was shut down in December of 2009 for three days, according to The Committee to Protect Journalists. In 2008, a local journalist working to point to corruption in the judicial system was jailed for 10-months.
Ecuador has worked to keep quiet its mishandling of oil production and the resultant environmental damage, while encouraging the media and using the courts to force American and foreign oil companies to pay for the oil-related mess Ecuador caused, and fooling American activists groups into helping Ecuador's government nationalize its oil production. Today's ruling will have a major impact in altering that course of behavior.
Stay tuned.
In a statement sent to this blogger, Chevron said...
Chevron is pleased that the Bilateral Investment Treaty arbitration can proceed. Chevron is seeking to hold Ecuador and its government owned oil company, PetroEcuador, to the promise they made to complete the environmental cleanup of the Amazon. Texaco Petroleum did its share of the cleanup as promised, and PetroEcuador now needs to own up to its promises and address the environmental problems wrongly being blamed on Chevron. Only the international arbitration panel can bring Ecuador to the table and compel PetroEcuador to do the right thing and clean up its oil fields. With today's decision, we are one step closer to making that a reality
The court ruling has huge implications for Ecuador's oil production strategy. First, Ecuador has pursued a course of oil nationalization since 1990, but during that time has failed to make timely improvements in oil production facilities or adequately clean up oil spills. There have been over 100 oil spills in the Amazon Delta region since 1992.
Ecuador has embarked on a systemic removal of American oil companies. The most recent major example being Occidental Petroleum in 2007, where Ecuador literally kicked out Occidental from its property siting a breach of contract. Ecuadorians then had fist fights over the left over luxury cars.
When Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa came to power in January of 2007, he had pressures from two sides. First, Ecuador's environmental activists wanted more attention to cleanup of the Amazon, but state officials wanted to continue the nationalization of petroleum production. Correa crafted the perfect head-fake strategy: ask for money from oil companies to clean up the impacted areas of Ecuador, but continue and expand state oil production. Causing Chevron to pay billions for a cleanup project it was only partially responsible for was part of the strategy. The U.S. Court's decision has wrecked that approach.
Much of the opposition to Correa from activists has been muted by Ecuador's horrible treatment of the press. Teleamazonas, a TV station that reported that a natural gas exploitation on Puna Island could cause the suspension of fishing for up to six months, was shut down in December of 2009 for three days, according to The Committee to Protect Journalists. In 2008, a local journalist working to point to corruption in the judicial system was jailed for 10-months.
Ecuador has worked to keep quiet its mishandling of oil production and the resultant environmental damage, while encouraging the media and using the courts to force American and foreign oil companies to pay for the oil-related mess Ecuador caused, and fooling American activists groups into helping Ecuador's government nationalize its oil production. Today's ruling will have a major impact in altering that course of behavior.
Stay tuned.
Conan O'Brien tour: American Express is the sponsor?
Conan O'Brien is back with a tour sponsored by American Express: Atlanta, San Francisco, Spokane on the list. The tour Conan O'Brien "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" will cover 30 cities in all, starting with Eugene, Oregon on April 12th and ending in Atlanta on June 14th at The Fox Theater. On Twitter, Conan tweeted:
What's interesting to this blogger is American Express, which has financially squeezed its credit card customers (like this blogger) and caused them to give up their Gold Cards because of their practices, and has taken Federal Government bailout money and improved its fiscal position, is the sponsor. Is this supposed to make me reconsider American Express?
Apparently, American Express is healthy enough to get back in the event sponsorship game. Hopefully, it's treating its customers much better than in 2008. If I were Conan O'Brien, I'd have pursued another sponsor. Why not an airline like United Airlines?
At any rate, here's the full list of Conan O'Brien tour dates according to the Kansas City Star:
4/12/10 Eugene, OR Hult Center for the Performing Arts
4/13/10 Vancouver, BC, Canada Orpheum Theatre
4/16/10 Spokane, WA INB Performing Arts Center
4/17/10 Enoch, AB, Canada River Cree Resort & Casino
4/18/10 Seattle, WA Seattle Center – Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
4/22/10 San Francisco, CA Nob Hill Masonic Center
4/24/10 Universal City, CA Gibson Amphitheater
4/29/10 San Diego, CA San Diego Civic Theatre
4/30/10 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
5/1/10 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl Concert Theatre @ The Palms
5/4/10 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
5/5/10 San Jose, Ca San Jose State University Events Center
5/6/10 Sacramento, CA Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
5/9/10 Boulder, CO Mackey Auditorium
5/10/10 Denver, CO Ellie Caulkins Opera House
5/13/10 Dallas, TX McFarlin Memorial Auditorium- SMU Campus
5/14/10 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
5/15/10 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater
5/16/10 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre
5/18/10 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
5/19/10 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
5/22/10 Toronto, ON, Canada Massey Hall
5/30/10 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Spa & Resort – Event Center
6/1/10 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
6/4/10 Boston, MA Wang Theater
6/6/10 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
6/7/10 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre
6/8/10 Washington, DC Constitution Hall
6/11/10 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music Festival
6/14/10 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
Stay tuned.
Hey Internet: I'm headed to your town on a half-assed comedy & music tour. Go to http://TeamCoco.com for tix. I repeat: It's half-assed.
What's interesting to this blogger is American Express, which has financially squeezed its credit card customers (like this blogger) and caused them to give up their Gold Cards because of their practices, and has taken Federal Government bailout money and improved its fiscal position, is the sponsor. Is this supposed to make me reconsider American Express?
Apparently, American Express is healthy enough to get back in the event sponsorship game. Hopefully, it's treating its customers much better than in 2008. If I were Conan O'Brien, I'd have pursued another sponsor. Why not an airline like United Airlines?
4/12/10 Eugene, OR Hult Center for the Performing Arts
4/13/10 Vancouver, BC, Canada Orpheum Theatre
4/16/10 Spokane, WA INB Performing Arts Center
4/17/10 Enoch, AB, Canada River Cree Resort & Casino
4/18/10 Seattle, WA Seattle Center – Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
4/22/10 San Francisco, CA Nob Hill Masonic Center
4/24/10 Universal City, CA Gibson Amphitheater
4/29/10 San Diego, CA San Diego Civic Theatre
4/30/10 Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre
5/1/10 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl Concert Theatre @ The Palms
5/4/10 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Resort & Casino
5/5/10 San Jose, Ca San Jose State University Events Center
5/6/10 Sacramento, CA Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
5/9/10 Boulder, CO Mackey Auditorium
5/10/10 Denver, CO Ellie Caulkins Opera House
5/13/10 Dallas, TX McFarlin Memorial Auditorium- SMU Campus
5/14/10 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
5/15/10 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater
5/16/10 Kansas City, MO Midland Theatre
5/18/10 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
5/19/10 Chicago, IL Chicago Theatre
5/22/10 Toronto, ON, Canada Massey Hall
5/30/10 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Spa & Resort – Event Center
6/1/10 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
6/4/10 Boston, MA Wang Theater
6/6/10 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
6/7/10 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre
6/8/10 Washington, DC Constitution Hall
6/11/10 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music Festival
6/14/10 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
Stay tuned.
The Richest person in the world: Carlos Slim Helu
Mr. Helu, whom the Christian Science Monitor weirdly described as "the portly cigar-smoker", is the first man from a developing country to become Richest Man In The World. That's another way of saying Carlos Slim Helu is the first person of color to top the Forbes billionaire list.
How Carlos Slim Helu got there is by purchasing a controlling interest in Telmex in 1990, along with a group of investors, and used that to leverage the buying of as many telecom companies in Mexico and Latin America as possible. Now, his family owns 90 percent of Mexico's telephone lines and 80 percent of its cellphone. He's used that to finance his business operations around the World.
Carlos Slim Helu owns almost 7 percent of The New York Times and in 2009 gave the Times Company a $250 million loan. He's reportedly happy with his stake in the company and has no plans to increase it.
Stay tuned for updates.
Seattle P.I. has Zennie Abraham, but formatting not his fault
On March 18th The Seattle P.I., the website that was once connected to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, turns one year old.
This month of March, and to the total surprise of this blogger, his work turned up on the "City Brights section" of Seattle P.I.
It's great to at the Seattle P.I. (as it gives me a reason to focus on a city I love, Seattle) and at SFGate.com , and at Examiner.com, and at Zennie62.com, and the 100 blog network we have there, and on Youtube.com , Blip.tv, and five other video sites, and about 30 social networks and bookmarking sites and on CoLoursTV.
The one problem is the Seattle P.I. appears to be using the Zennie62 RSS feed but not formatting the result. Thus, the blog posts come out without paragraph breaks, leaving one long "go" of words all mushed together. The damage is done when it reads "posted by Zennie Abraham" - it wasn't posted by Zennie Abraham.
He's me, as you know.
Thanks, Seattle P.I.; please fix my blog posts!
Stay tuned.
This month of March, and to the total surprise of this blogger, his work turned up on the "City Brights section" of Seattle P.I.
It's great to at the Seattle P.I. (as it gives me a reason to focus on a city I love, Seattle) and at SFGate.com , and at Examiner.com, and at Zennie62.com, and the 100 blog network we have there, and on Youtube.com , Blip.tv, and five other video sites, and about 30 social networks and bookmarking sites and on CoLoursTV.
The one problem is the Seattle P.I. appears to be using the Zennie62 RSS feed but not formatting the result. Thus, the blog posts come out without paragraph breaks, leaving one long "go" of words all mushed together. The damage is done when it reads "posted by Zennie Abraham" - it wasn't posted by Zennie Abraham.
He's me, as you know.
Thanks, Seattle P.I.; please fix my blog posts!
Stay tuned.
Gabourey Sidibe lands movie role, proves Howard Stern wrong
 |
| Gabourey Sidibe in Yelling To The Sky |
Gabourey Sidibe is in a movie called Yelling To The Sky.
Written and directed by Victoria Mahoney, the description of Yelling To The Sky is this: "In a depraved New York neighborhood, the youngest of three mixed-race sisters named Sweetness O’Hara, spends the better part of being seventeen navigating an identity between the known: a violent life of crime, and the unknown: a life of purpose and meaning."
You can become a fan of the movie at Facebook here: Yelling to The Sky.
To recap, on The Howard Stern Show, Howard Stern ranted that Actress Gabourey Sidibe, who played the lead role in the award-winning movie Precious, and was a Best Actress Nominee for an Oscar at the 2010 Academy Awards, would never get another movie role. Howard Stern referred to Gabourey Sidibe as a "fat black chick" causing this blogger to ask what he skin color has to do with anything?
Again, to make sure the message is sent, Howard Stern was being racist. Period. End of story. Racism is a mental illness. It is the putting down - the rejecting - of a person because of the color of their skin. Howard Stern talked as if being black was something that made Gabourey Sidibe unattractive in his eyes. That's John Mayer-level racism. Racists are not known for thinking; if Howard Stern were thinking he would have never made the statement he did on his show.
Instead, Stern stuck his foot in his mouth.
Now Howard may say, "Oh, c'mom. That's a small independent film." So was Precious.
Stay tuned.
Forbes Rich List has Bill Gates at #2 and Mexican mogul Carlos Slim #1
The 2010 Forbes Rich List is out and for the first time in 15 years, an American is not in the top spot of the top 10. Microsoft co-founder and former-Chairman Bill Gates (or William Gates III) is not number one and neither is Warren Buffett. This year, Bill Gates, the 2009 leader, was replaced by Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim.
On ABC's Nightline Wednesday, much was made of the fact that fewer Americans were in the top-10; in 2005 five of the ten on the list were American. But this should come as no surprise considering the last 30-years of American assistance in the development of the multinational economy. Three decades of "outsourcing" of jobs - sending American jobs to countries like Mexico and India - has created the wealth base in those countries that allows the purchase of goods and services produced by the people who runs the businesses that caused them to reach the Forbes Rich List.
Over the last three decades, America has lost over $976 billion in job-generated wealth; over $400 billion of that in just the last eight years. The reason is America never installed a really coordinated industrial policy to improve and maintain key export industries.
In the case of telecommunications, which is Carlos Slim's area, America was the call center for the World in the 1980s; today call centers are primarily in India, Mexico, Canada, and Asia and over the years those countries have subsidized the growth of the telecom industry.
In the case of France's Bernard Arnault, who's number 7 on the list, French government subsidies helped him acquire a textile company Boussac, which owns Christian Dior. Arnault sold off all assets, save for the luxury Christian Dior brand and the Le Bon Marché department store. The Arnault family only used $15 million of its own money according to Wikipedia.
And the Forbes Rich List Top 10 may one day have no Americans on it; right now there are only three: Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Warren Buffett.
Stay tuned.
On ABC's Nightline Wednesday, much was made of the fact that fewer Americans were in the top-10; in 2005 five of the ten on the list were American. But this should come as no surprise considering the last 30-years of American assistance in the development of the multinational economy. Three decades of "outsourcing" of jobs - sending American jobs to countries like Mexico and India - has created the wealth base in those countries that allows the purchase of goods and services produced by the people who runs the businesses that caused them to reach the Forbes Rich List.
Over the last three decades, America has lost over $976 billion in job-generated wealth; over $400 billion of that in just the last eight years. The reason is America never installed a really coordinated industrial policy to improve and maintain key export industries.
In the case of telecommunications, which is Carlos Slim's area, America was the call center for the World in the 1980s; today call centers are primarily in India, Mexico, Canada, and Asia and over the years those countries have subsidized the growth of the telecom industry.
In the case of France's Bernard Arnault, who's number 7 on the list, French government subsidies helped him acquire a textile company Boussac, which owns Christian Dior. Arnault sold off all assets, save for the luxury Christian Dior brand and the Le Bon Marché department store. The Arnault family only used $15 million of its own money according to Wikipedia.
And the Forbes Rich List Top 10 may one day have no Americans on it; right now there are only three: Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Warren Buffett.
Stay tuned.
Top 10 Social Networking Things to Do by Zennie Abraham
This Top 10 Social Networking Things to Do blog post is an update of an older post from 2009. It contains some refinements in an approach that's worked very well for this blogger.
My friends come to me for advice in this area all the time, so I created this "Top 10" list of actions to take in using social networks to get yourself noticed online. (I'm going to add to this later, with more detail but watch the video for more background.)
The objective here is not just to get yourself noticed, but to also protect your identity. By being everywhere, and with the same name and photo, you create your "look" such that it's harder for anyone else to not only pretend to be you, but to alter your online persona. In other words, by having your name already online, it guards against and overwhelms any other view of you that's posted online. To do this, you have to be on as many platforms as possible.
Top 10 Social Networking Things to Do
1.Figure out your name. (I’m Zennie Abraham, Zenophon Abraham and Zennie62)
2.What do you want to get out of this? (Business? pleasure? Information?
If you’re in the business of pleasure that’s another story.)
3.Figure out your title: CEO? Producer? Party Animal?
4.Develop an email list. Remember, email is still a form of social networking.
5.Find a photo you’re proud of and nothing with you wearing a gorilla suit. (It does work for some but I don’t recommend it.)
6.Business?
a.Join Linkedin
b.Join Ryze (Great small business membership base in the Bay Area.)
c.Join Plaxo
d.Join Facebook and turn off the relationship notifications. (We don't need
know that you're dating Sven Nordgarden.
e. Join H5
f. Join Foursquare.com
g. Join YouTube.com
7.Pleasure?
a.Join MySpace
b.Join Facebook
c.Join FriendFeed
d. Join Brightkite.com
e. Join Foursquare.com
f. Join YouTube.com
8.Information?
a.Join FriendFeed
b.Join Facebook
c.Join Technorati (I recommend creating a blog and then posting it as your website of choice in their system.)
d. If sports-related, join MakeitPro.com
e. Join Brightkite.com
f. Join Foursquare.com
g. Join YouTube.com
Now some of you may find the inclusion of YouTube confusing, but it's a social network, not just a video distribution site. Moreover, it's a powerful identify-protection tool for this purpose, so long as you use your name and don't call yourself "Ardvark".
9.Set up a blog – put your resume in it without your phone number. That’s your free website. I prefer Blogger.com. It’s free. Make the blog title your name. Why? To mark your place with your name on cyberspace. Link to it from your social network profile. The point is to begin to protect your name and identity by having something out there you made about you, not someone else.
10.Use your email signature as the place for your links to your Linkedin Page and Blog page. (Now you have two places pointing at your blog page, which helps with SEO and to have others see your resume.)
A word on Twitter.
Twitter is not a social network, it's a communications system and you need to have something to say to use it. It's volume-based; the more you post the more valued your account because people will follow you looking for interesting posts, or what are called "tweets". I think of Twitter as an accessory to a social network not a replacement for one.
Twitter is very misunderstood by people in business. To continue my current favorite organization to pick on, just because it needs to improve, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) does not have a Twitter account. How could a Twitter account - and a blog - benefit AMPAS? I'll demonstrated via this scenario:
The Academy makes a mistake and leaves out Farrah Fawcett from its Memorial Tribute portion of the 2010 Oscars. To deal with the negative press it does the following:
1) Issues an apology on the AMPAS blog, which because it's connected to the AMPAS Twitter account, also goes out to AMPAS Twitter followers, and because the AMPAS Twitter account is connected to AMPAS on Facebook, it's posted to Facebook too.
2) AMPAS issues a press release based on the blog contents.
3) AMPAS asks its Twitter followers (hopefully over 1 million) to retweet the initial message.
4) AMPAS then makes a video-embeded blog post that's a "Tribute to Farrah Fawcett" and then does one blog post for each of the other actors that were missing. That too goes out via Twitter, one for each performer, and it goes to Facebook.
What will happen is each AMPAS blog post link is heightened by the click rates that will happen from being part of a tweet. That will raise the blog post pages in a search for "Farrah Fawcett and Academy" and thus more people will see the AMPAS apology and the online tribute.
End result: message is efficiently sent and the online tracks are seeded with tributes so that as the issue dies down, a track record that the Academy did something is in place.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Oscars: Alec Baldwin at The Polo Lounge; Stephen Fry was there!
Just a follow-up to the blog post "The Oscars: Alec Baldwin at The Polo Lounge, The Beverly Hills Hotel's power outages." In it, this blogger reported on his brunch at The Polo Lounge..
Well Stephen Fry was kind enough to send a message that it was indeed, him. He was with the British composer Leslie Bricusse and his wife and...Mr. Kirk Douglas was in the corner.
My view was obstructed by another group at a table more in the foreground from Mr. Fry and such that I missed Mr. Douglas. Moreover, I was consumed in The Sunday New York Times' article on the growing Internet culture in New York. Ignorance is bliss.
What's Stephen Fry up to? That wasn't the focus of our Twitter messaging, but Mr. Fry does have a rather interesting social network at The New Adventures of Stephen Fry, and of course he recently finished his 50-state tour of America.
Even more recently, Fry was a special guest at the introduction of the Apple iPad.
With all that, the title "Actor and Presenter" is too limiting for Stephen Fry; renaissance man is more appropriate.
Stay tuned.
Just about five minutes after I was seated at a prime table for seeing people or just being left alone, I saw a great pair of athletic female legs in a killer backless black dress walk elegantly but briskly by me, followed by a man in a dark grey suit with an upright walk and very tightly combed and moused hair. The man turned out to be the legendary actor and author George Hamilton, who I'm told is a regular at The Polo Lounge.
Then Hamilton and his lovely, leggy blonde female companion were seated at a round booth already occupied by a man who looked very much like Stephen Fry, who was also with a female companion. I'd never seen Fry in person before. It just so happens that Fry and I follow each other on Twitter, so I messaged him to confirm this. An update soon, assuming he answers back.
Well Stephen Fry was kind enough to send a message that it was indeed, him. He was with the British composer Leslie Bricusse and his wife and...Mr. Kirk Douglas was in the corner.
 |
| Stephen Fry at The Apple iPad Introduction |
My view was obstructed by another group at a table more in the foreground from Mr. Fry and such that I missed Mr. Douglas. Moreover, I was consumed in The Sunday New York Times' article on the growing Internet culture in New York. Ignorance is bliss.
What's Stephen Fry up to? That wasn't the focus of our Twitter messaging, but Mr. Fry does have a rather interesting social network at The New Adventures of Stephen Fry, and of course he recently finished his 50-state tour of America.
Even more recently, Fry was a special guest at the introduction of the Apple iPad.
With all that, the title "Actor and Presenter" is too limiting for Stephen Fry; renaissance man is more appropriate.
Stay tuned.
Stephen Collins from Star Trek TMP talks Star Trek and The Hurt Locker
Hard core Star Trek fans like this blogger will certainly remember the first Star Trek Movie. Called Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Produced by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, it was released in 1979 and directed by the legendary Robert Wise. It starred Stephen Collins who played Star Fleet Officer Captain Willard Decker, who was set to command the new U.S.S. Enterprise, until Captain James T. Kirk, who was raised to the rank of Admiral, decided he wanted more than his five year mission.
Here's a clip from Star Trek TMP:
31 years later (!) I met Stephen Collins at The Night of 100 Stars Oscar Gala and he was tickled that of all his roles and work, someone remembered that he played Willard Decker. I asked him what he thought of J.J. Abrams' version of Star Trek, which was released 30 years later. "I loved it. This is weird, but I'm not really a Star Trek afficianado, and so I haven't seen a lot of the movies. But the new one, I think is just a terrific movie in every way. It's just a good movie on its own right. You don't have to have ever seen Star Trek to love (this one). I think Chris Pine is a huge find. J.J. Abrams just did an incredible job.
Stephen Collins is an Acedemy Member and shared with me that the email writing micro-campaign that The Hurt Locker Producer Nicolas Chartier launched didn't make a difference to him as a voter and doubted that it made a difference to many of the Academy voters. He was right. The Hurt Locker scored The Best Picture Oscar at the 2010 Academy Awards.
Corey Haim - Corey Feldman issues a statement on Haim's death
Actor Corey Feldman and Corey Haim were good friends over the years and were together as recently as February 18th, according to TMZ.com. Corey Feldman issued this statement on his blog The Feldman Journal:
Corey Haim died of an alleged drug overdose Wednesday morning. It took 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and by the time it did, it was "too late" according to Haim's agent, Mark Heaslip through TMZ.com.
Reportedly, Haim had a fever and had trouble breathing. He reports that Haim was at his mother, Judy Haim's home. At some point, she fell asleep then woke up around midnight. Corey Haim was standing over her and then reportedly collapsed.
RadarOnline.com reports that Corey Feldman's estranged wife Susie Feldman said he's pretty torn up and he’s at home and it’s really sad. It's the second close friend he's lost in eight months or something like that."
R.I.P. COREY IAN HAIM 1971-2009
I was awakened at 8:30 this morning by my brother and sister knocking on my bedroom door. They informed me of the loss of my brother Corey Haim. My eyes weren’t even open all the way when the tears started streaming down my face. I am so sorry for Corey, his mother Judy, his family, my family, all of our fans, and of course my son who I will have to find a way to explain this to when he gets home from school. This is a tragic loss of a wonderful,beautiful,tormented soul, who will always be my brother,family, and best friend. We must all take this as a lesson in how we treat the people we share this world with while they are still here to make a difference. Please respect our families as we struggle and grieve through this difficult time. I hope the art Corey has left behind will be remembered as the passion of that for which he truly lived. ~ Corey
Corey Haim died of an alleged drug overdose Wednesday morning. It took 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and by the time it did, it was "too late" according to Haim's agent, Mark Heaslip through TMZ.com.
Reportedly, Haim had a fever and had trouble breathing. He reports that Haim was at his mother, Judy Haim's home. At some point, she fell asleep then woke up around midnight. Corey Haim was standing over her and then reportedly collapsed.
RadarOnline.com reports that Corey Feldman's estranged wife Susie Feldman said he's pretty torn up and he’s at home and it’s really sad. It's the second close friend he's lost in eight months or something like that."
Howard Stern's slam of Gabourey Sidibe shows Stern's stupidity
There's no doubt that Howard Stern earns his salary by making outrageous statements. But Howard Stern's slam of Gabourey Sidibe from Precious shows Stern's stupidity. On Monday, on The Howard Stern Show, said this:
Now it can be said that Howard Stern's the dumbest man on the planet. First, Howard Stern's comment was made in the context of Gabourey Sidibe already having starred in a movie, that being Precious.
Second, because Howard was so busy being prejudiced against fat women, especially "fat black chicks", he turned his brain off and forgot that the role for Gabourey was already created and she played in an independent film that became a major motion picture, and won a ton of awards.
But Howard was so intent on being nasty, all of that escaped him. Howard Stern proved people who discriminate are not smart, they're stupid.
What's really awful about Stern's blast is that no one accuses him of "playing the race card" in using the term "fat black chick"; but there are those, particularly White Supremacists, who would say this blogger's playing the race card in accusing Stern of being racist.
Howard Stern was being racist.
That one of Stern's sidekicks is a black woman is of no matter. That will not stop Howard from making a racist comment and he did so in this case. What does Gabourey Sidibe's race have to do with her weight? Why did he feel the need to say "fat black chick."
According to The New York Daily News, Sidibe has already landed another role.
In The Big C, Gabourey plays "a smart-alecky student".
It's right to hope that the writers of The Big C write an episode where Gabourey Sidibe's character tells off Howard Stern. Stern can play a role he's very familiar with: loudmouthed, stupid radio talk show host.
Stay tuned.
"There's the most enormous, fat black chick I've ever seen. She is enormous. Everyone's pretending she's a part of show business and she's never going to be in another movie"
Now it can be said that Howard Stern's the dumbest man on the planet. First, Howard Stern's comment was made in the context of Gabourey Sidibe already having starred in a movie, that being Precious.
Second, because Howard was so busy being prejudiced against fat women, especially "fat black chicks", he turned his brain off and forgot that the role for Gabourey was already created and she played in an independent film that became a major motion picture, and won a ton of awards.
But Howard was so intent on being nasty, all of that escaped him. Howard Stern proved people who discriminate are not smart, they're stupid.
What's really awful about Stern's blast is that no one accuses him of "playing the race card" in using the term "fat black chick"; but there are those, particularly White Supremacists, who would say this blogger's playing the race card in accusing Stern of being racist.
Howard Stern was being racist.
That one of Stern's sidekicks is a black woman is of no matter. That will not stop Howard from making a racist comment and he did so in this case. What does Gabourey Sidibe's race have to do with her weight? Why did he feel the need to say "fat black chick."
According to The New York Daily News, Sidibe has already landed another role.
In The Big C, Gabourey plays "a smart-alecky student".
It's right to hope that the writers of The Big C write an episode where Gabourey Sidibe's character tells off Howard Stern. Stern can play a role he's very familiar with: loudmouthed, stupid radio talk show host.
Stay tuned.
Academy Awards' Oscars Farrah Fawcett snub still an issue
And AMPAS Executive Director stepped in to clean up the public relations mess caused when AMPAS' communications head Leslie Unger used the unfortunate words "there are people who just can't be" on Monday.
Davis used words that were easier to digest than those uttered by Unger, but the damage, and the ill-feelings, are apparent and active. While Bruce Davis stands by the decision made to not include Farrah Fawcett, his words were apologetic in tone:
"There's nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all. They tend to be surprised and hurt, and we understand that and we're sorry for it."
AMPAS is also feeling the heat for leaving out legendary actors Gene Barry, Ricardo Montalban, Bea Arthur, and Ed McMahon. But the omission of Farrah Fawcett, reportedly a 40-year Academy member, is causing the biggest stir. Because of Twitter, the media chatter's amplified. Here's three of thousands of tweets on the matter..
miszjazzy90 so the academy issued the most backhanded apology for not including farrah fawcett in the memorium. shut up academy you kno you screwed up!
11 minutes ago from web
CamilaSolivier Sentimos falta: Academia se desculpa por ausência de Farrah Fawcett em homenagem do Oscar http://www.folha.com.br/il704803 #folhaonline
12 minutes ago from web
ElleQCasting Academy Director Explains Farrah Fawcett 'In Memoriam' Omission: The Academy explains why Farrah Fawcett was snub... http://bit.ly/9zLqWx
12 minutes ago from web
Perhaps Bruce Davis' words will cause Farrahgate to die down.
Stay tuned.
Corey Haim follows Michael Bryan and Andrew Koenig in tragic death
Corey Haim of the 1987 vampire flick The Lost Boys, follows Michael Bryan and Andrew Koenig in tragic deaths. Haim, now 38, was found dead in Loa Angeles Wednesday morning and police think it may have been due to a drug overdose. TMZ reports:
Where other celebrity young men Michael Bryan and Andrew Koenig were suffering from depression, TMZ reported Corey Haim was "doing well" and was hanging out with his long-time friend Corey Feldman.
But whatever happened, his Mom discovered him in his LA apartment and called 911. The matter is in the hands of the LA County Corner's Office.
Sad to have to many deaths in so little time in 2010. Real sad.
Corey Haim collapsed in the bedroom of his mother's apartment and four prescription bottles were found nearby ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.
We've learned Corey had been sick the last couple of days with flu-like symptoms. The medications recovered, however, were not related to his illness, sources tell TMZ.
We're told no illicit drugs were found in the apartment.
Where other celebrity young men Michael Bryan and Andrew Koenig were suffering from depression, TMZ reported Corey Haim was "doing well" and was hanging out with his long-time friend Corey Feldman.
But whatever happened, his Mom discovered him in his LA apartment and called 911. The matter is in the hands of the LA County Corner's Office.
Sad to have to many deaths in so little time in 2010. Real sad.
Terrell Owens to join Chad Ochocinco and Cincinnati Bengals?
Related searches: Cincinnati Bengals, nfl free agents, free agency nfl, terrell owens bengals, Chad Ochocinco and t.o., nfl news
The news that Terrell Owens may join Chad Ochocinco Johnson and Cincinnati Bengals is enough to sell Bengals season tickets. Terrell Owens still has it, and someone at ESPN and The Associated Press can't read stats, because they reported Owens production went down. It did not.
Terrell Owens had almost exactly the same average receiving yards with the Buffalo Bills as he did with the Dallas Cowboys at 15 yards per catch. While the Buffalo Bills threw to Terrell Owens less, at 55 catches versus 69 with the Cowboys, he had his longest gain with the Bills, a 98-yard touchdown catch and run. T.O. still has it at 36 years old and it looks like the Cincinnati Bengals are set to sign him.
According Terrell Owens' Twitter account, he's making the meetings with the Bengals that someone who's about to be signed would make. Witness these Tweets:
And this latest one:
Stay tuned.
The news that Terrell Owens may join Chad Ochocinco Johnson and Cincinnati Bengals is enough to sell Bengals season tickets. Terrell Owens still has it, and someone at ESPN and The Associated Press can't read stats, because they reported Owens production went down. It did not.
Terrell Owens had almost exactly the same average receiving yards with the Buffalo Bills as he did with the Dallas Cowboys at 15 yards per catch. While the Buffalo Bills threw to Terrell Owens less, at 55 catches versus 69 with the Cowboys, he had his longest gain with the Bills, a 98-yard touchdown catch and run. T.O. still has it at 36 years old and it looks like the Cincinnati Bengals are set to sign him.
According Terrell Owens' Twitter account, he's making the meetings with the Bengals that someone who's about to be signed would make. Witness these Tweets:
@OGOchoCinco Holy macadamian nuts Robin or Roker!! I got a meet & greet 2morr w/the owner, wr coach & OC. My days starts @ 745am Roker!
about 11 hours ago via web in reply to OGOchoCinco
@OGOchoCinco yo 85! just finished dinner w/coach lewis about an hr ago, ate @ jeff ruby's, coach had a steak & i had sea bass. :-)
about 11 hours ago via web
And this latest one:
@OGOchoCinco Holy dancing shoes Robin/Roker!! How's the rehearsals goin out there? Should i call u Robin, Roker or Ochocinco?
about 11 hours ago via web in reply to OGOchoCinco
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Stephanie Birkitt, David Letterman, and Joe Halderman in the news
Last fall Stephanie Birkitt, David Letterman, and Joe Halderman were in the news. If you recall, David Letterman was threatened with black mail by former CBS News producer Joe Halderman.
Halderman claimed that Letterman was having an affair with his assistant Stephanie Birkitt. Moreover, Halderman alleged that Letterman was known for having affairs with his female aides and was going to write a screenplay about it unless Letterman paid him $2 million.
Rather than run away from or knuckle under to Joe Halderman's black mail threat, David Letterman called the Manhattan District Attorney's office and then, in a funny, mater-of-fact, yet dramatic fashion that's now one of the classic moments of television, David Letterman gave this on-air confession starting with "I have a story to tell you..":
For a time after David's historic confession, he was trashed by some in the media and providing a better-than, hollier-than-thou; not here...
...but the public quickly warmed to Letterman's honesty, and very soon he regained his reputation and respect.
Meanwhile, Stephanie Birkitt became a hot internet search and Joe Halderman declined from respected news journalist to a person labeled an extortionist.
Today, Joe Halderman pled guilty to blackmailing David Letterman. The plea carries a sentence of four-and-a-half years in prison and 1,000 hours of community service. Here's Halderman:
Will David Letterman get a Tuesday rating boost from this news? Will he talk about it tonight? Stay tuned.
Halderman claimed that Letterman was having an affair with his assistant Stephanie Birkitt. Moreover, Halderman alleged that Letterman was known for having affairs with his female aides and was going to write a screenplay about it unless Letterman paid him $2 million.
Rather than run away from or knuckle under to Joe Halderman's black mail threat, David Letterman called the Manhattan District Attorney's office and then, in a funny, mater-of-fact, yet dramatic fashion that's now one of the classic moments of television, David Letterman gave this on-air confession starting with "I have a story to tell you..":
For a time after David's historic confession, he was trashed by some in the media and providing a better-than, hollier-than-thou; not here...
...but the public quickly warmed to Letterman's honesty, and very soon he regained his reputation and respect.
Meanwhile, Stephanie Birkitt became a hot internet search and Joe Halderman declined from respected news journalist to a person labeled an extortionist.
Today, Joe Halderman pled guilty to blackmailing David Letterman. The plea carries a sentence of four-and-a-half years in prison and 1,000 hours of community service. Here's Halderman:
Will David Letterman get a Tuesday rating boost from this news? Will he talk about it tonight? Stay tuned.
Layla Grace on Twitter, passes at 2-years-old from Neuroblastoma
Layla Grace Marsh, a lovely little girl who's life was literally posted on Twitter at @LaylaGrace,, passed away at 2-years-old from Neuroblastoma on Tuesday.
First, what is Neuroblastoma? According to Google Health, it is...
Layla Grace Marsh's parents used Twitter to track their daughter progress in dealing with the cancer and to gain additional help, medical and psychological.
It's more than sad to lose a child, but to lose your child in public view is a pain unimaginable. The Marsh's feel obligated to share their loss and pain with all of us, which can be comforting, but draining as well.
One example of this is in the constant crashing of the server hosting Layla Grace's website at LaylaGrace.org. It happened twice last week, so Layla's father had to go in and repair and upgrade the server for the onslaught of traffic.
But technical issues aside, the main question some are asking is, is sharing a death on Twitter the "new norm". If one's at least half-way tech savvy and communicative there's no way to avoid the desire to share a loss. I've observed that the public sharing of a family death falls into two main camps: those who do and those who don't.
Personally, it's more cathartic to share the news but that's me.
May Layla Grace Marsh rest in peace.
Layla went to play with the angels early this morning. Rest in peace precious Layla. 11/26/2007 - 3/9/2010
about 6 hours ago via web
First, what is Neuroblastoma? According to Google Health, it is...
is a malignant (cancerous) tumor that develops from nerve tissue. It occurs in infants and children.
Layla Grace Marsh's parents used Twitter to track their daughter progress in dealing with the cancer and to gain additional help, medical and psychological.
One example of this is in the constant crashing of the server hosting Layla Grace's website at LaylaGrace.org. It happened twice last week, so Layla's father had to go in and repair and upgrade the server for the onslaught of traffic.
Daddy had to upgrade the web server to handle all of the traffic. Lots of love for Layla!!! Site is back up now. http://laylagrace.org
2:37 PM Mar 7th via Tweetie
But technical issues aside, the main question some are asking is, is sharing a death on Twitter the "new norm". If one's at least half-way tech savvy and communicative there's no way to avoid the desire to share a loss. I've observed that the public sharing of a family death falls into two main camps: those who do and those who don't.
Personally, it's more cathartic to share the news but that's me.
May Layla Grace Marsh rest in peace.
Ohio State shooting - Nathaniel Brown is the new Amy Bishop
In an incident that's very much like that surrounding University of Alabama - Huntsville Professor Amy Bishop, Nathaniel Brown is the focus of Tuesday morning's Ohio State shooting. According to the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal, two people who were co-workers were killed by Nate Brown.
Nathaniel Brown is reportedly a custodial worker who, according to Ohio State University Police Chief Paul Denton, was allegedly upset over a poor job performance evaluation. The 51-year old Brown died at Ohio State University Medical Center after self-inflicted gun shot wounds.
Brown killed Ohio State building-services manager Larry Wallington; operations manager Henry Butler is in stable condition as of this writing.
This is the second university related, job-related shooting in as many months. Amy Bishop opened fire in a meeting at the University of Alabama - Huntsville and killed co-workers Gopi K. Podila, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson. Reportedly, Amy Bishop was concerned she would lose her battle for tenure, which was the case.
Also in February, Joe Stack snapped and burned his own home down with his wife and daughter in it (they were rescued) and crashed a plane into the IRS Building in Austin, Texas. The reason was job-related stress in that Stack, while self employed, was not making ends meet to his comfort and railed against the Federal Tax system.
Stay tuned.
Nathaniel Brown is reportedly a custodial worker who, according to Ohio State University Police Chief Paul Denton, was allegedly upset over a poor job performance evaluation. The 51-year old Brown died at Ohio State University Medical Center after self-inflicted gun shot wounds.
Brown killed Ohio State building-services manager Larry Wallington; operations manager Henry Butler is in stable condition as of this writing.
This is the second university related, job-related shooting in as many months. Amy Bishop opened fire in a meeting at the University of Alabama - Huntsville and killed co-workers Gopi K. Podila, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson. Reportedly, Amy Bishop was concerned she would lose her battle for tenure, which was the case.
Also in February, Joe Stack snapped and burned his own home down with his wife and daughter in it (they were rescued) and crashed a plane into the IRS Building in Austin, Texas. The reason was job-related stress in that Stack, while self employed, was not making ends meet to his comfort and railed against the Federal Tax system.
Stay tuned.
Academy Awards' words on Oscars Farrah Fawcett snub were horrible
Related searches: The Oscars, Ryan O'Neal, Farrah Fawcett, Farrah Fawcett tribute Oscars, Leslie Unger, EOnline
The Internet's abuzz with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences snub of Farrah Fawcett, who passed away last year. In the Memoriam segment at the 2010 Oscars, Farrah Fawcett, who's film credits span 19 movies, including The Cannonball Run, and Logan's Run, was not included.
According to EOnline, Leslie Unger, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Director of Communications, said this about Oscar's Farrah Fawcett snub:
"I would not say that it was an oversight. No matter how carefully and how conscientiously people address who is included, there are people who just simply can't be."
People who just simply can't be? Those are horrible words to chose to issue. Ms. Unger should issue a quick note of apology - better yet a YouTube video - for that statement.
Consider that Leslie Unger issued a statement about a person who died who said that person "just simply can't be."
And Leslie Unger did not make it any better, as EOnline reports, she said:
"In any given year there will always be some people that other people think should have been included and that there's more justification for one person versus another. It is impossible to include everybody."
This blogger wonders if Unger's in over her head. The word around town in Hollywood and Beverly Hills is that Unger's "difficult" to work with and worse words were issued to this blogger.
The Farrah Fawcett episode does not help for one who's casual style - Unger was sporting a very cool tie-dye t-shirt on Oscar Sunday morning - is endearing to this space. But Unger's got to really sit down, think carefully and intelligently and take a new path before the town unloads on her. What she said and its insensitivity gives fuel to those who make the kinds of claims about Unger that have been issued.
Hopefully for Unger the Oscars Farrah Fawcett snub isn't the straw that broke the camel's back.
Stay tuned.
Marie Osmond son Michael Bryan's funeral after suicide
Related searches: marie osmond sons funeral, michael bryan, marie osmond son s death, osmond funeral, michael bryan osmond
Marie Osmond son Michael Bryan's (michael Blosil) funeral was held Monday after his suicide attempt, falling from his LA apartment building on February 26th.
"Thank you for those beautiful 18 years," Osmond said according to EOnline. Marie Osmond was joined by her brothers Donny, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Wayne and Jimmy and their older brothers, Tom and Virl.
Reportedly, Michael Bryan took his life over the same depression problems faced by 41-year-old Andrew Koenig, who took his own life just a week earlier.
Marie Osmond son Michael Bryan's (michael Blosil) funeral was held Monday after his suicide attempt, falling from his LA apartment building on February 26th.
"Thank you for those beautiful 18 years," Osmond said according to EOnline. Marie Osmond was joined by her brothers Donny, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Wayne and Jimmy and their older brothers, Tom and Virl.
Reportedly, Michael Bryan took his life over the same depression problems faced by 41-year-old Andrew Koenig, who took his own life just a week earlier.
Monday, March 08, 2010
Academy Awards 2010 Oscar winners list
Finally, the Academy Awards 2010 Oscar winners list. The 2010 Academy Awards is history, in more ways than one, but before we focus on the many historic events that took place on and before Oscar Sunday, below is a video recap of some of Oscar's best moments, followed by the full list of winners, listed by category with the winner in bold.
Performance by an actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Performance by an actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Performance by an actress in a supporting role: Mo'Nique in Precious
Best animated feature film of the year: Disney / Pixar's UP
Achievement in art direction: Avatar
Achievement in cinematography: Avatar
Achievement in costume design: The Young Victoria
Achievement in directing: The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
Best documentary feature: The Cove
Best documentary short subject: Music by Prudence
Achievement in film editing: The Hurt Locker
Best foreign language film of the year: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
Achievement in makeup: Star Trek
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score): Up
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song): “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)”
Best motion picture of the year: The Hurt Locker
Best animated short film: Logorama
Best live action short film: The New Tenants
Achievement in sound editing: The Hurt Locker
Achievement in sound mixing: The Hurt Locker
Achievement in visual effects: Avatar
Adapted screenplay: Precious
Original screenplay: The Hurt Locker
Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin Opening The 2010 Oscars:
Sandra Bullock's Acceptance Speech for Best Actress:
Mo'nique's Acceptance Speech for Best Supporting Actress:
Jeff Bridges' Acceptance Speech for Best Actor:
Performance by an actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Performance by an actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Performance by an actress in a supporting role: Mo'Nique in Precious
Best animated feature film of the year: Disney / Pixar's UP
Achievement in art direction: Avatar
Achievement in cinematography: Avatar
Achievement in costume design: The Young Victoria
Achievement in directing: The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
Best documentary feature: The Cove
Best documentary short subject: Music by Prudence
Achievement in film editing: The Hurt Locker
Best foreign language film of the year: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)
Achievement in makeup: Star Trek
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score): Up
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song): “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)”
Best motion picture of the year: The Hurt Locker
Best animated short film: Logorama
Best live action short film: The New Tenants
Achievement in sound editing: The Hurt Locker
Achievement in sound mixing: The Hurt Locker
Achievement in visual effects: Avatar
Adapted screenplay: Precious
Original screenplay: The Hurt Locker
The Oscars: Alec Baldwin at The Polo Lounge, The Beverly Hills Hotel's power outages
Beverly Hills, CA - If there's one rule in life this blogger learned this Oscar weekend in Hollywood and Beverly Hills, it's to do normal in your life path and you will get the extraordinary for better or worse. "Worse" already came in the form of my head injury; I was ready for something better.
After blogging, tweeting, and making videos about Oscar winners The Hurt Locker for Best Picture and Katheryn Bigelow for Best Director, at the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Party, and closing down the media section, being almost the last person to leave, relaxation was in order. The Beverly Hills Hotel's Polo Lounge was the destination.
The famous Polo Lounge is described by the hotel as "favorite breakfast spot and watering hole for generations of stars and Hollywood deal-makers" and it does live up to that claim. Before the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Party started, I made a bee line for The Polo Lounge for lunch.
Just about five minutes after I was seated at a prime table for seeing people or just being left alone, I saw a great pair of athletic female legs in a killer backless black dress walk elegantly but briskly by me, followed by a man in a dark grey suit with an upright walk and very tightly combed and moused hair. The man turned out to be the legendary actor and author George Hamilton, who I'm told is a regular at The Polo Lounge.
Then Hamilton and his lovely, leggy blonde female companion were seated at a round booth already occupied by a man who looked very much like Stephen Fry, who was also with a female companion. I'd never seen Fry in person before. It just so happens that Fry and I follow each other on Twitter, so I messaged him to confirm this. An update soon, assuming he answers back.
Just five minutes after that small celebrity event, and the arrival of my Ahi Tuna appetizer, I overheard someone behind me talking about what food orders their friends wanted. The voice was so close I had to turn my head to see who it was. It's was a casually dressed Byron Allen.
Byron Allen is best known as a television talk show host who most recently had a show I remember called The American Athlete but I don't know what he's up to now. To find out for this blog post, I did some quick internet poking about and learned he's head of a very interesting new media company called Entertainment Studios. The company produces shows like Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen. From what I've read Allen's fought to build an entertainment business on his own terms; it seems like he's finally found something that works for him.
There may have been other celebrities in my vision that I didn't know, but frankly I was starving and only had so much time before I had to get ready for the event. The food at The Polo Lounge is decent; nothing to really rave about but fills the bill. I enjoyed my salmon and scrambled eggs with a Mimosa, water, and coffee, and a copy of The Sunday New York Times provided by the restaurant. After the brunch offerings were consumed, I went to get ready for the event.
Fast forward to after The Night of 100 Stars Party. I went back to the same Polo Lounge and wound up having a lively conversation with two people - one is a woman who's such the regular at The Polo Lounge they call her "Miss" in a familiar way. (To explain, the staff calls everyone Mr. or Miss, but in her case one could tell she's a regular.) That was confirmed as she and I talked and she invited me to join her for dinner at a table not far from the bar.
The bar scene at The Polo Lounge last night was wild, and one that's best viewed with someone who knows the run of the joint; that was my female companion. There were any number of women in short, short skirts and dresses, some from the "Night" party, others who came in from other Oscar-related events, and some who are hotel guests or live nearby.
There was the tall, blonde Jennifer Aniston look-alike with the booming voice who could not keep her dress from hiking up over her thighs talking to an obviously toasted man at the bar. Another quartet of women at a table next to us that my female friend saw looking at a photo of two women in an interesting position. The women at that table were joined by two well-dressed men, both white, and then another man who, in a t-shirt, was just out of place in the establishment. "Oh, look" my female friend said, "They're trying to make that t-shirt guy leave. Drama's developing." Whatever was said, the furor died down and he stayed.
Just as that matter was over, the lights went off. All of them. It was totally black. That was the third time that happened that evening. I don't know why. But what was funny was what I saw when the lights came up: one woman with her legs wrapped around some guy hugging him, who immediately got off him when the lights came up. Too funny.
Just as we were eating our appetizers, Mr. Alec Baldwin walked in like the conquering hero from a war, in this case, hosting the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Alec Baldwin looked over to our area, apparently knew someone not me, and waved. I thought it polite to give a wave and nod back, and did so. My female companion said "No. Now, he'll never walk over here." I shrugged indifferently. Baldwin looked like he was on his way to another place in the hotel anyway, and I was just happy he walked by.
On the matter of walking, an aside. Alec Baldwin reminds me of my good friend Phil Tagami, who lives in Oakland and rebuilt the Fox Theater and The Rotunda. Phil and Alec both talk alike, walk alike and are built alike. They have that walk where their bodies are constantly leaning slightly forward. Phil Tagami and Alec Baldwin at the same table would be a hoot.
After we finished out meal, which was at closing time for The Polo Lounge, my female companion had some wine-fueled idea of going to what she believed was Alec Baldwin's party. I tagged along thinking she knew someone and having no idea what I was getting into.
So my female companion led me downstairs to another restaurant that had a large diner-like round table. In it was Alec Baldwin and a bunch of people I didn't recognize; I was along for the ride anyway. But just fast as the man who opened the door for us let us in and we sat down, the same guy came over and said "There's a problem because there's one bill and they are only buying food for their group." That was cool with me as I expected to pay for my own meal anyway. But he said they had no way of dividing the tab, and I didn't complain and I was just plain tired anyway.
But my female companion fell into tears.
So I had to explain that it wasn't the end of the World and we could go elsewhere. "No," she whispered, "they let us sit here and that's embarrassing to ask us to leave." But I got her to agree to leave and go upstairs. "OK," she said, "talk me down from this." So we sat down and I explained that being in or out of a room with Alec Baldwin or anyone else is not a measure of one's worth. The bottom line is we didn't know them. Period. "But did you see the woman from Vogue was in there?" she said. I didn't notice. The question is, I told my friend, "do they know us?"
Just as I managed to make her feel better, who comes up the stairs but Alec Baldwin himself, and in a rush. But as he went by, he looked over and again said hello, how are you, but was in stride, followed by six women, one of them dressed in a white bathrobe and slippers! I obviously was paying no attention to what was going on down there, but whatever happened, Baldwin departed as quickly as he came, walking again like Phil Tagami.
My female companion then gave me a tour of the hotel, which is divided into interesting bungalows. Then we bid our good-byes and I left. After one small adventure after another it was time for sleep. For a guy who didn't get an invite to The Vanity Fair Oscar Party, I have a feeling the party came to me.
Stay tuned. I'll post more videos and blogs from the Oscars after I return home today. But this one could not wait.
After blogging, tweeting, and making videos about Oscar winners The Hurt Locker for Best Picture and Katheryn Bigelow for Best Director, at the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Party, and closing down the media section, being almost the last person to leave, relaxation was in order. The Beverly Hills Hotel's Polo Lounge was the destination.
The famous Polo Lounge is described by the hotel as "favorite breakfast spot and watering hole for generations of stars and Hollywood deal-makers" and it does live up to that claim. Before the Night of 100 Stars Oscar Party started, I made a bee line for The Polo Lounge for lunch.
Just about five minutes after I was seated at a prime table for seeing people or just being left alone, I saw a great pair of athletic female legs in a killer backless black dress walk elegantly but briskly by me, followed by a man in a dark grey suit with an upright walk and very tightly combed and moused hair. The man turned out to be the legendary actor and author George Hamilton, who I'm told is a regular at The Polo Lounge.
 |
| George Hamilton |
Then Hamilton and his lovely, leggy blonde female companion were seated at a round booth already occupied by a man who looked very much like Stephen Fry, who was also with a female companion. I'd never seen Fry in person before. It just so happens that Fry and I follow each other on Twitter, so I messaged him to confirm this. An update soon, assuming he answers back.
Just five minutes after that small celebrity event, and the arrival of my Ahi Tuna appetizer, I overheard someone behind me talking about what food orders their friends wanted. The voice was so close I had to turn my head to see who it was. It's was a casually dressed Byron Allen.
Byron Allen is best known as a television talk show host who most recently had a show I remember called The American Athlete but I don't know what he's up to now. To find out for this blog post, I did some quick internet poking about and learned he's head of a very interesting new media company called Entertainment Studios. The company produces shows like Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen. From what I've read Allen's fought to build an entertainment business on his own terms; it seems like he's finally found something that works for him.
There may have been other celebrities in my vision that I didn't know, but frankly I was starving and only had so much time before I had to get ready for the event. The food at The Polo Lounge is decent; nothing to really rave about but fills the bill. I enjoyed my salmon and scrambled eggs with a Mimosa, water, and coffee, and a copy of The Sunday New York Times provided by the restaurant. After the brunch offerings were consumed, I went to get ready for the event.
Fast forward to after The Night of 100 Stars Party. I went back to the same Polo Lounge and wound up having a lively conversation with two people - one is a woman who's such the regular at The Polo Lounge they call her "Miss" in a familiar way. (To explain, the staff calls everyone Mr. or Miss, but in her case one could tell she's a regular.) That was confirmed as she and I talked and she invited me to join her for dinner at a table not far from the bar.
The bar scene at The Polo Lounge last night was wild, and one that's best viewed with someone who knows the run of the joint; that was my female companion. There were any number of women in short, short skirts and dresses, some from the "Night" party, others who came in from other Oscar-related events, and some who are hotel guests or live nearby.
There was the tall, blonde Jennifer Aniston look-alike with the booming voice who could not keep her dress from hiking up over her thighs talking to an obviously toasted man at the bar. Another quartet of women at a table next to us that my female friend saw looking at a photo of two women in an interesting position. The women at that table were joined by two well-dressed men, both white, and then another man who, in a t-shirt, was just out of place in the establishment. "Oh, look" my female friend said, "They're trying to make that t-shirt guy leave. Drama's developing." Whatever was said, the furor died down and he stayed.
Just as that matter was over, the lights went off. All of them. It was totally black. That was the third time that happened that evening. I don't know why. But what was funny was what I saw when the lights came up: one woman with her legs wrapped around some guy hugging him, who immediately got off him when the lights came up. Too funny.
Just as we were eating our appetizers, Mr. Alec Baldwin walked in like the conquering hero from a war, in this case, hosting the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Alec Baldwin looked over to our area, apparently knew someone not me, and waved. I thought it polite to give a wave and nod back, and did so. My female companion said "No. Now, he'll never walk over here." I shrugged indifferently. Baldwin looked like he was on his way to another place in the hotel anyway, and I was just happy he walked by.
On the matter of walking, an aside. Alec Baldwin reminds me of my good friend Phil Tagami, who lives in Oakland and rebuilt the Fox Theater and The Rotunda. Phil and Alec both talk alike, walk alike and are built alike. They have that walk where their bodies are constantly leaning slightly forward. Phil Tagami and Alec Baldwin at the same table would be a hoot.
After we finished out meal, which was at closing time for The Polo Lounge, my female companion had some wine-fueled idea of going to what she believed was Alec Baldwin's party. I tagged along thinking she knew someone and having no idea what I was getting into.
So my female companion led me downstairs to another restaurant that had a large diner-like round table. In it was Alec Baldwin and a bunch of people I didn't recognize; I was along for the ride anyway. But just fast as the man who opened the door for us let us in and we sat down, the same guy came over and said "There's a problem because there's one bill and they are only buying food for their group." That was cool with me as I expected to pay for my own meal anyway. But he said they had no way of dividing the tab, and I didn't complain and I was just plain tired anyway.
But my female companion fell into tears.
So I had to explain that it wasn't the end of the World and we could go elsewhere. "No," she whispered, "they let us sit here and that's embarrassing to ask us to leave." But I got her to agree to leave and go upstairs. "OK," she said, "talk me down from this." So we sat down and I explained that being in or out of a room with Alec Baldwin or anyone else is not a measure of one's worth. The bottom line is we didn't know them. Period. "But did you see the woman from Vogue was in there?" she said. I didn't notice. The question is, I told my friend, "do they know us?"
Just as I managed to make her feel better, who comes up the stairs but Alec Baldwin himself, and in a rush. But as he went by, he looked over and again said hello, how are you, but was in stride, followed by six women, one of them dressed in a white bathrobe and slippers! I obviously was paying no attention to what was going on down there, but whatever happened, Baldwin departed as quickly as he came, walking again like Phil Tagami.
My female companion then gave me a tour of the hotel, which is divided into interesting bungalows. Then we bid our good-byes and I left. After one small adventure after another it was time for sleep. For a guy who didn't get an invite to The Vanity Fair Oscar Party, I have a feeling the party came to me.
Stay tuned. I'll post more videos and blogs from the Oscars after I return home today. But this one could not wait.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Oscar winners 2010 - The Hurt Locker upsets Avatar
The 2010 Academy Awards is history and of the Oscar winners for 2010 the talk is how the The Hurt Locker upset Avatar. And at the Night of 100 Stars Party at The Beverly Hills Hotel, the conversation was thick with why Avatar lost to The Hurt Locker. (It wasn't an upset here. This blogger missed correctly predicting six of the total number of Oscar winner categories, and missed none of the major Oscar awards.)
First some housecleaning: congratulations to Katheryn Bigelow on becoming the first female director to win an Oscar for Best Director for The Hurt Locker, which then went on to win Best Picture. It really is about time.
Second, this issue in brief as they're taking down the light stands and breaking down the media room around this blogger after the Night of 100 Stars Party. The bottom line is that it's easier to make a movie with great special effects more so than it is a timely film with a good story. The Best Picture is the film that's a story that causes one to think about the World around them. The Hurt Locker, in so many ways, was that movie.
Ok. I've got to jam out of here. More videos and blog posts coming from a great Oscar Sunday!
Sean Young on The Hurt Locker and being a woman in Hollywood
Sean Young is not a fan of The Hurt Locker for Oscar's Best Picture award: "I don't like movies that glorify war," she said. Sean Young was a guest at The Night of 100 Stars Oscar Viewing Party, and an amazingly engaging person.
Ms. Young's not shy with her views and is wonderfully refreshing. Aside from the fact that Kathryn Bigelow directed The Hurt Locker, and "she's doing well, Young said, "I'm very opposed to this war in Iraq and have been from the start." So much so that even if some in the military hate The Hurt Locker, she says the fact that the main character goes back to the war after all of his experiences essentially makes war something tolerable.
Interesting.
For someone who told EW.com she "didn't like doing interviews", Sean Young seemed to be enjoying herself. She talked openly about something this blogger did not want to bring up: her being "blacklisted."
Sean Young said she was as a very matter of fact answer to my question "What's your next project." Sean Young said "No, I got drunk at the DGA a couple of years ago. You know they say to Downey, Jr. and Kiefer Sutherland, 'Hey. Go to prison. Come back. You'll be ok. It's a man's business and they're not real kind to women."
Sean Young has a YouTube channel msyPARIAH that I encouraged her to make into a YouTube Partner video channel as a way to launch her comeback in film and media. She thinks it's a good idea.
Stay tuned.
Oscars 2010: Oscar Red Carpet, Sunday morning (video)
This Oscars 2010: Oscar Red Carpet, Sunday morning blog post is being written as this blogger's taking a much needed break from covering The Night of 100 Stars Party at The Beverly Hills Hotel. What's so frustrating and yet fun about this star-studed event is that, even though many of the celebrities are what are called "B" listers, they are a hell of a lot of fun to talk to and to be with. So much so that I've missed the first 35 minutes of The Oscars!
Of all the names, David Leisure, James Cromwell, Sean Young, Stephanie Powers, Stephen Collins, and Jason Ritter, among them, all great people, Ms. Young was the most fun to talk with. Sean Young has been characterized in the media in ways that are not kind. The person I met is amazingly bright, very engaging and a lot of fun. She's open and brutally honest, which I can see may set some people a bit off, but it's endearing.
Earlier in the morning I visited The Red Carpet during the media setup period. While stars had not come through at that time before 11 AM, the place, as you can see in the video, was abuzz with the life of people. From the people in the bleachers to the media representatives on The Red Carpet it was the place to be. Yours truly found the perfect role for his outsized personality: revving up the people in the Kodak-sponsored bleachers area. (That's Tina from Kodak in the video thumbnail photo.)
My visit became a YouTube Partner roundup, as Jamal from Blacktree Media and his team, Cerk from The Young Turks, and me as Zennie62 got together in the middle of The Red Carpet, the future of media.
This future of media had to leave at 11 AM. I got a limousine and headed over to The Beverly Hills Hotel for The Night of 100 Starts event. That's where I am now, happy for Geoffrey Fletcher's win of the Bsst Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Precious.
Stay tuned.
The Oscars 2010 Date and Time, 5 PM PST; 8 PM EST; not in New York
Beverly Hills, CA - Today's Oscar Sunday! The 82nd Annual Academy Awards, or "The Oscars" will start at 3 PM PST and 6 PM EST for coverage of The Red Carpet and 5 PM PST and 8 PM EST for the Oscars.
It's all on ABC Television except for those poor people in the New York City area, you're caught in the middle of the feud between ABC and Cablevision and may not be able to see The Oscars.
The ABC v. Cablevision issue is over monthly customer fees. Reportedly, according to the Wall Street Journal, Disney wanted to charge $1 per subscriber per month, but Disney says it is half that request.
Whatever the case, much of New York will miss the Oscars. But you can catch it online. ABC will have a live show from The Red Carpet here: ABC Live. Also, search around carefully, because some pages that read they have an "Oscars live stream" really don't have it.
It's all on ABC Television except for those poor people in the New York City area, you're caught in the middle of the feud between ABC and Cablevision and may not be able to see The Oscars.
The ABC v. Cablevision issue is over monthly customer fees. Reportedly, according to the Wall Street Journal, Disney wanted to charge $1 per subscriber per month, but Disney says it is half that request.
Whatever the case, much of New York will miss the Oscars. But you can catch it online. ABC will have a live show from The Red Carpet here: ABC Live. Also, search around carefully, because some pages that read they have an "Oscars live stream" really don't have it.
Betty Nguyen leaving CNN for CBS News
Beverly Hills, CA - As we get ready for The Oscars (time at 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST), there's a news that popular and beautiful CNN anchor Betty Nguyen is leaving CNN for CBS News according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Betty Nguyen did confirm that Oscar Sunday will be her last day with CNN on her Twitter page:
Nguyen finished her last week at CNN with an inteview with His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. While Nguyen's leaving for CNN for CBS, the AJC reports Anderson Cooper's staying put.
Stay tuned for more intense Oscar Coverage from Hollywood and Highland and Beverly Hills. Check Zennie62.com for Twitter updates.
Betty Nguyen did confirm that Oscar Sunday will be her last day with CNN on her Twitter page:
Aww. Last morning on the show. I'm really going to miss CNN. My friends & colleagues here are truly top notch.
about 5 hours ago via web
Nguyen finished her last week at CNN with an inteview with His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. While Nguyen's leaving for CNN for CBS, the AJC reports Anderson Cooper's staying put.
Stay tuned for more intense Oscar Coverage from Hollywood and Highland and Beverly Hills. Check Zennie62.com for Twitter updates.
The Oscars predictions - Avatar loses Best Picture to The Hurt Locker
Also: The Oscars, The Hurt Locker, Best Picture, Kathryn Bigelow, 2010 Oscars Predictions, 82nd annual Academy Awards, Avatar director James Cameron
Beverly Hills, CA - The general habit here is to wait until the last possible minute until predictions for The Oscars are made. That's to give this blogger enough time to research how politics has impacted the Oscars race.
The question is annually asked "Did you see every movie?" which has nothing to do with predicting which movie will win what award at The Oscars. Getting one's Oscar predictions correct means taking one's heart out of it, and just using their head. What you have to do is guess how the Academy's going to pick and why.
The Hurt Locker is a dramatically powerful film. So much so that an arguably questionable decision to ban Nicolas Chartier, one of the fllm's producers, from the Oscars on Sunday for an email he wrote to friends in the Academy asking them to vote for his picture, will not hurt its momentum.
The reason is the overwhelming desire to give the Best Director Award to The Hurt Locker's brilliant director Kathryn Bigelow, and make her the first woman in history to win an Oscar for Best Director. The momentum to make this happen is enormous, so much so that I'm going out on a limb and say there's no contest. And The Academy tends to believe that a film can't have the best director and not be the best picture. This powerful desire will override the new-for-2010 preference voting system and give The Hurt Locker the prize.
Now, with that information in place and compared with "precursor" awards, here's Zennie62's Oscar Predictions for 2010:
Performance by an actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Performance by an actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Performance by an actress in a supporting role: Mo'Nique in Precious
Best animated feature film of the year: Disney / Pixar's UP
Achievement in art direction: Avatar
Achievement in cinematography: Avatar
Achievement in costume design: Coco before Chanel
Achievement in directing: The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
Best documentary feature: The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Best documentary short subject: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Achievement in film editing: Avatar
Best foreign language film of the year: The White Ribbon
Achievement in makeup: Star Trek
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score): Up
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song): "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
Best motion picture of the year: The Hurt Locker
Best animated short film: A Matter of Loaf and Death (Nick Park of Aardman)
Best live action short film: The New Tenants
Achievement in sound editing: Star Trek
Achievement in sound mixing: Star Trek
Achievement in visual effects: Avatar
Adapted screenplay: Up in the Air
Original screenplay: The Hurt Locker
Beverly Hills, CA - The general habit here is to wait until the last possible minute until predictions for The Oscars are made. That's to give this blogger enough time to research how politics has impacted the Oscars race.
The question is annually asked "Did you see every movie?" which has nothing to do with predicting which movie will win what award at The Oscars. Getting one's Oscar predictions correct means taking one's heart out of it, and just using their head. What you have to do is guess how the Academy's going to pick and why.
The Hurt Locker is a dramatically powerful film. So much so that an arguably questionable decision to ban Nicolas Chartier, one of the fllm's producers, from the Oscars on Sunday for an email he wrote to friends in the Academy asking them to vote for his picture, will not hurt its momentum.
The reason is the overwhelming desire to give the Best Director Award to The Hurt Locker's brilliant director Kathryn Bigelow, and make her the first woman in history to win an Oscar for Best Director. The momentum to make this happen is enormous, so much so that I'm going out on a limb and say there's no contest. And The Academy tends to believe that a film can't have the best director and not be the best picture. This powerful desire will override the new-for-2010 preference voting system and give The Hurt Locker the prize.
Now, with that information in place and compared with "precursor" awards, here's Zennie62's Oscar Predictions for 2010:
Performance by an actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Performance by an actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Performance by an actress in a supporting role: Mo'Nique in Precious
Best animated feature film of the year: Disney / Pixar's UP
Achievement in art direction: Avatar
Achievement in cinematography: Avatar
Achievement in costume design: Coco before Chanel
Achievement in directing: The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
Best documentary feature: The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Best documentary short subject: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Achievement in film editing: Avatar
Best foreign language film of the year: The White Ribbon
Achievement in makeup: Star Trek
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score): Up
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song): "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
Best motion picture of the year: The Hurt Locker
Best animated short film: A Matter of Loaf and Death (Nick Park of Aardman)
Best live action short film: The New Tenants
Achievement in sound editing: Star Trek
Achievement in sound mixing: Star Trek
Achievement in visual effects: Avatar
Adapted screenplay: Up in the Air
Original screenplay: The Hurt Locker
Saturday, March 06, 2010
The Oscars - The Red Carpet has black version of District 9
Saturday before Oscar Sunday and the 82nd Annual 2010 Academy Awards is setup day on The Red Carpet. Media representing hundreds of outlets are here on The Red Carpet, but what's shocking is that in 2010 - in the 21st Century - The Academy Awards has its own version of District 9. In this case, three African American media outlets are all grouped in one place near the very end of The Red Carpet: BET, TV One, and American Urban Radio.
This came to light during my video interview with Jamal Finkely and Mike Melendy of Blacktree TV. It was Jamal, who's also doing double duty with another media outlet, who brought the issue to my attention. As an aside, Jamal's a YouTube Partner I met at the YouTube Partners Roundtable of last November 2009.
Jamal and his associate Mike Melendy cover entertainment events at Blacktree.tv and at their companion YouTube channel Blacktreemedia. While happy to be on The Red Carpet, the physical placement of the three black media firms together in one remote area was something that had to be mentioned.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), or more accurately someone working for AMPAS and perhaps unchecked, set up the media organization to have what is The Red Carpet's version of the alien ghetto in the 2010 Best Picture nominee movie District 9.
In District 9, aliens from a ship that had become "stuck" in position over Johannesburgh, South Africa, were segregated by the government to one place called "District 9". Hopefully there's not a Latino section or any other kind of racial or ethnic divisions along The Red Carpet for The Oscars. We didn't look from that perspective; the area Jamal pointed to is the one he works in.
AMPAS must end this practice ASAP. It's shocking to think that an organization which has such a large public presence and exists in the 21st Century would segregate media in this way. Moreover, it's terrible that AMPAS' overall media approach is so very antiquated.
If AMPAS is happy with the media coverage it's getting for The Academy Awards, it has no idea of what's possible and what it should expect today. There's no place for bloggers or vloggers and no "Big Tent" for New Media. No collaboration with firms like YouTube, Flickr, or Twitter or Google.
What's going on at AMPAS in this New Media area is the question for this day. If the New Media problem's taken care of, the apparent racial discrimination problem on The Red Carpet will end too. Or it should.
Stay tuned.
Oscar Buzz: American Idol's Ryan Seacrest at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel
Ryan Seacrest, host of American Idol and Executive Producer of "On the Air with Ryan Seacrest, appeared at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel for a what seemed to be a New York minute as this blogger was collecting himself from the Hollywood and Highland slip and fall and making new blog posts.
Still, shaken marbles weren't enough to stop me from having the presence of mind to stop uploading a video and turn the camcorder to capture Seacreast as he was doing "photo-ops" with fans.
The desired focus here is video, so I asked Mr. Seacrest for an interview later rather than throwing my camcorder in his face TMZ-style. Nothing against TMZ, it's just not what's done in this space.
Ryan Seacrest is known as the hardest-working person in Hollywood. He's the host of American Idol. The executive producer of On The Air with Ryan Seacrest, and The Dick Clark New Year's Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest.
Stay tuned.
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