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On YouTube.com
In the ongoing gaga of the Parkway and Cerrito theaters in Oakland and El Cerrito respectively we have read or heard the views of many people over the past seven months except two: Catherine and Kyle Fisher, who created both the Parkway Theater in Oakland, California and the Cerrito Theater in El Cerrito, California. I was honored to be given the exclusive first video interview with the Fishers over brunch at the Lakeshore Cafe in Oakland.
They talked with me on video for 19 straight minutes - nothing edited - about what happened that led to the closure of the Oakland Parkway Theater and that led to the current very messy relationship between the Fishers and the El Cerrito Redevelopment Agency (ERA) regarding the Cerrito Theater, a situation which saw the Fishers lose that business too, and watch as the owners of the Rialto stepped in to take over.
First, some house cleaning: this is the Fisher's platform. The interview style was to give them a place to explain what happened in their own words and with comfort. This blog entry is not a text transcript for the video: I'd prefer you watch or listen to the video because how anyone says what they say is as important as what they say. Got that? Lastly, I do have my views on this matter - no surprise there - which I present at the end of this post.
Regarding what happened in El Cerrito, the Fishers said its hard to expand a business and especially do when you can't rely on all of the players involved in that process. Kyle Fisher said that they were approached by the City of El Cerrito in 2001 with the idea of starting a new theater in that town. The Fishers said "no" because they didn't have the financial resources required to open a second location. The agency came back to them in 2002, and had what Kyle Fisher called a "back and forth" such that the Agency said "What if we pay for it?" in other words, the ERA would give the Fisher's money to open what's now called The Cerrito Theater.
The Fishers were excited that the public private partnership served as a template for community centers in America. But the time they spent on the development of the Cerrito hurt the Parkway, and the ERA and City of El Cerrito's promise of money to help them never came through.
The Parkway was always profitable
The popular perception is the Parkway closed because it wasn't making money; not true. "The Parkway was always profitable", Kyle Fisher said. But the Fishers were using money from the Parkway to keep the Cerrito going with the idea that the City of El Cerrito's promise of money to help them with the Cerrito would come through; again, it never did. Because of this, the Parkway was "crippled" as Catherine put it. So the Cerrito's underfunded condition cost the Parkway. If they closed the Cerrito, the Parkway would have survived.
On the Parkway employees and the last minute closure
I said to the Fishers that many Parkway employees felt like they had the rug pulled out from under them. They got the notice that the Parkway would be closing, and they would be losing their jobs, just four days before the March 22nd Sunday it closed. Kyle said "I completely screwed that up, and there's no excuses for that. I misread a notice. I misread a legal notice. I'm an attorney and misread a legal notice. We had fully intended to give our employees a month's notice before closing." Kyle was under the impression the Alameda County Sheriff was coming to evict them but that was not the case. But Kyle admits he made the mistake and did so right on camera. Good for him.
The Parkway was the Fisher's labor of love
The Parkway started in 1996 because the Fishers wanted to have a place where their friends could get together and watch movies over pizza and beer. Then-Councilmember John Russo was one of their earliest supporters. He contacted them because some neighbors were concerned about what their plans were for the building the theater was to be located in. He connected them with the right people and essentially "held their hand" through the process of working with the City of Oakland. As a gift, they gave John what he wanted: a sandwich named after him.
The Parkway was the Fisher's labor of love. They were a young couple when they got involved in making the facility and essentially grew together and had kids - two now - while they were growing the Parkway.
The future of The Cerrito
Now, the Cerrito has a new operator who's currently running it in a conventional fashion. They're the same group that operates the Elmwood Theater. Kyle says that eventually they want to have the "pizza and beer and couches" formula that the Fisher's established. I shared the view that it seems like the City of El Cerrito has stolen their business. Again, that's my personal view. Kyle doesn't see whatever they do as being a speakeasy theater.
Support for the Parkway
The Fishers support whatever the Oakland Redevelopment Agency does with the building that was the Parkway Theater on 1834 Park Blvd near E. 18th. They love the community and the theater and would do anything to help if asked. Catherine says it needs a lot of work and investment, some of it the person or group may not get back. For them the Parkway was an expression of their love for Oakland and the community.
The Thrill Ville
This entire episode has broken up the close relationship between Will Vaharo and the Fishers. Will has been one of the main driving forces behind the planned resurrection of the Parkway. Vaharo and the Fisher's have known each other for 25 years, having worked together at the Berkeley Faculty Club, and before that published a book for him called "Love Storues are Too Violent for Me." According to the Fisher's it was Will who started the "Thrill Ville" on Thursday nights to bring more people in.
The Thrill Ville was a kind of celebration of B-movies that featured a kind of weird and funky movie preview with Will and Kyle. It's also the place where, according to the Fishers in the video, Will met the woman that would become his second wife. (In fact, the Parkway was the scene for a lot of dates and pairings!) A lot of memories, but for reasons we didn't talk about on or off camera, Will and the Fishers are not the friends they used to be. Sad, because it was their collective creative energy that made the Parkway go.
The Fishers' next stop
Right now, the Fishers are living on unemployment, taking care of their kids and trying to deal with the horror that has become the Cerrito issue. After the close of the Parkway, they put materials from that theater into storage at the Cerrito, but they can't get them back for reasons that are not clear to me. One thing is certain just from reading this webpage report of the March 19th 2007 minutes of the City of El Cerrito City Council meeting, the City had a really unrealistic view of what was capable with the Cerrito: they wanted first-run movies. If not getting them was the City Council's reason for not supporting the Cerrito, it was really bad for them to ask for that to begin with.
Ok, it was just plain stupid.
The Fishers speciality was second-run and "B-movies" and getting first run movies calls for number of distribution deals and relationships they weren't set up to do. In my view, the City of El Cerrito should at least take responsibility for bring the Fishers in and making representations that they would give them money to operate.
There's a lot of mess here. The El Cerrito Redevelopment Agency had recently offered to help the Fishers make a business plan for presentation to the City Council, but due to "personalities" that didn't happen. But the ERA did put that in writing. Also, while the ERA expained in a letter dated January 27, 2009 that Downey Street Productions was not paying rent but when businesses are having that kind of problem, where they're saddled with more debt than they can handle, the ERA's job is to step in and help. That didn't happen.
As I stated on camera and will write here, the El Cerrito Redevelopment Agency seems to have engaged in a kind of taking of their business without just compensation for it. That's a serious legal issue the Agency should answer for; the question is will it do so? It would be great for them to do something that at least gets the Fishers out of their current financial situation. After all, it was their business and they say their property is still behind the walls of the Cerrito Theater.
For those who bring up the matter of reported taxes owed by the Fisher's business Downey Street Productions, that too is something the El Cerrito Redevelopment Agency can take care of; it could have forgave (and still can forgive) the tax debt . When I worked for the Oakland Mayor's office, I personally worked to eliminate a $989,000 tax owed to the City of Oakland for a property owner so that person would have enough money to refurbish his building. If I can do that, El Cerrito can certainly handle $200,000. When I look at it, there are more questions I have for the City of El Cerrito and the way they handled this matter, but for the present someone needs to hire the Fishers as theater consultants.
The Parkway Video series:
The last day: March 22, 2009
Save the Parkway meeting of March 29th 2009
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Tonight on the FRO show at 9Pm eastern
Tonight on the Football Reporters Online Show on Blog talk radio: Peter Schwartz of Sirius Radio and former NY Dragons Play by Play voice to discuss what looks like sadly, the end of the AFL as we knew it. Ken Palmer of Giants Insider.com joins us to talk Giants and NFL East Preview. Plus Bill Carroll From Consensus Draft Services helps us finish our Divisional previews..
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters
Twitter attack a national security issue
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A funny thing - well ok, not so funny thing - happened this morning at 6 am while I slept comfortably and soundly: Twitter was down. Something called a "Denial of Service" which resulted in this message according to TechCrunch:
We are defending against a denial of service attack, and will update status again shortly.
As of 8:16 PST Twitter was up again, and seems to be fine now, but they're still defending against the attack! What does all this mean? It signals just how vulnerable these small business private sector Internet systems are, and this is a matter of national security. It's far beyond Twitter Phishing, which I talked about here:
...but it underscores the point that Twitter is the constant focus of some kind of attack.
Let's not forget that for all of its 44 million visitors last month and its powerful role in the Iran protest, the San Francisco-based company is a small one with just 29 employees, no constant revenue stream, and a bed of venture money. If I told you a company of that size was actually the communications hub for much of America and the industrialized world, you'd laugh at me. But that's the case.
It's also why making sure Twitter consistently works and is impervious to future attacks is a national security issue. Remember how The U.S. State Department contacted Twitter to convince them to change their maintenance schedule as it happened during the Iran protest? Do you have any idea how many people have been saved, helped, or advanced by the existence and operation of Twitter? It's become the modern telephone (ironically one can access it with a phone) for our society.
In my view, Twitter should want, and the U.S. Government should be open to, some level of investment and assistance in creating a powerful backup system and a better method of data protection. I write this because Twitter has had problems with "server stress" in the recent past and even though the link to MG Sigler's Venture Beat post refers to a problem in 2008, there have been others since then.
Then there's the matter of protection of information.
During Easter of this year a teenager attacked Twitter with a worm (a self-copying computer program or "bot"). In July a hacker called "Hacker Croll" broke into the personal accounts of a number of Twitter employees. That led to a "document leak fiaso" where Twitter information was spread around the Internet. TechCrnuch's Michael Arrington was sent copies of a number of emails between Twitter staffers, and while he did an excellent job of sharing his new gift with Twitter, the fact that this information was sent to him means that others may have gotten it too. What kind of information was gotten? According to TechCrunch, basically all that comprises the lives of the Twitter employees who were effected:
1) the complete list of employees
2) their food preferences
3) their credit card numbers
4) some confidential contracts with Nokia, Samsung, Dell, AOL, Microsoft and others
5) direct emails with web and showbizz personalities
6) phone numbers
7) meeting reports (very informative)
8) internal document templates
9) time sheet
10) applicant resumes
11) salary grid
Hacker Croll got a lot of information, which which may have led to today's attack if it was spread around.
Who is Hacker Croll?
According to BlogPirate, Hacker Croll is a Frenchman and that's not his real name; it's his "handle", his fake name. Moreover, he's not the diabolical genius you might think he is, he actually just plain guessed at the answer to a secret question assigned to the account of a single Twitter employee!
Hacker Croll said he didn't want to really harm Twitter or its employees, just show how vulnerable they were. Nice wake up call for Twitter, but I'm not sure Hacker Croll got the job offer he may have been looking for from them!
While it's not clear that what Hacker Croll did directly led to today's "Denial of Service" attack, it's certainly clear that Twitter needs a dramatically beefed-up security system if only to protect the many millions of people who use it. But more important, a country like Iran is certainly looking at these developments with interest and has a reason to like what they see. That's why Twitter's protection is a national security issue of top priority.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
George Sodoni the health club killer hated women
Late last night several cable news stations reported a shooting at the LA Fitness club in Collier Township, Pennsylvania. Reportedly, the man walked into the gym and according to the press conference on CNN shot his guns (he had more than one) 31 times, wounding 10 people and killing three, all women.
Today, it was revealed that the man's name was George Sodoni. No, he was not foreign born. He was not minority. He was a typical-looking Caucasian male but with a huge problem: he hated women. According to reports, Sodoni hated women so much he expressed his views on his own blog, which I can't link to because its being investigated by police. But my point here is to be watchful of anyone who has such an issue with any group of people that they would consistently express hatred or frustration for them online.
In Sodoni's case, he not only hated women but black men because he felt we were getting the white girls he wanted to date and believed to be "his" because he's white.
Oh, brother. For the record, I've openly set up white male friends with black women - I think such concerns as those expressed by Sodoni are just beyond the pale to say the least.
This is what he wrote taken from the PDF document I downloaded through CNN.com:
This is sick. The "exit plan" sodoni refers to is the murder / suicide he committed on August 4th. But it's clear Sodoni had issues with women and black men - so much so that he waited until Obama was elected as America's first black president to carry out his scheme. He also claimed not to have had a girlfrend since 1984 and hated his mother. So at 48 years old, he decided to take that weird and tragic action.
I point to this event for several reasons I will explain but one very upsetting one. Over the weekend I attended the LakeFest along Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland. After a great time on a terrific sun-drenched Saturday I met up with friends and acquaintences at a terrific cool tavern in the location once occupied by "The Fifth Amendment." The men and women I was with at this time, were an interracial group: black men and white women, all just talking about nothing really serious and having a good time. As I left, I overheard a group of men, white, as I passed by talking about our assembly and pointing at me as I left. They weren't friendly.
Then I realized they were talking among themselves and expressing a displeasure with the interracial mixing around them or more specifically white girls talking with black guys.
That mildly concerned me in passing, but in the light of this incident, it now scares me.
As a note, it's not the fault of the establishment; in retrospect it could have been almost anywhere in Oakland that has such a mix of people. Moreover, it's not a reflection of the normal establishment clientele: these guys looked like newbies who didn't live in the area. But it's still scary. It makes me wonder if I'm a potential target for some disgruntled white man who can't meet a woman. I know what I'm writing is harsh, but let's face it, I wrote about young black men in East Oakland and everyone agreed something should be done. I think something needs to be done in this case as well.
Everyone in America has the right constitutional right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Americans of all colors should honor those rights and let other Americans enjoy their lives without fear of harm or ridicule. The kind of racism and sexism that Sodoni expressed must be identified before it leads to murder.
Today, it was revealed that the man's name was George Sodoni. No, he was not foreign born. He was not minority. He was a typical-looking Caucasian male but with a huge problem: he hated women. According to reports, Sodoni hated women so much he expressed his views on his own blog, which I can't link to because its being investigated by police. But my point here is to be watchful of anyone who has such an issue with any group of people that they would consistently express hatred or frustration for them online.
George Sodoni
In Sodoni's case, he not only hated women but black men because he felt we were getting the white girls he wanted to date and believed to be "his" because he's white.
Oh, brother. For the record, I've openly set up white male friends with black women - I think such concerns as those expressed by Sodoni are just beyond the pale to say the least.
This is what he wrote taken from the PDF document I downloaded through CNN.com:
November 5, 2008
"Planned to do this the summer but figured to stick around to see the election outcome. This particular one got so much attention and I was just curious. Not like I give a flying ___ who won, since this exit plan was already planned. Good luck Obama! He will be successful. The liberal media LOVES him. Amerika has chosen The Black Man. Good! In light of this I got ideas outside of Obama's plans for the economy and such. Here it is: Every black man should get a young white girl hoe to hone up on. Kinda a reverse indentured servitude thing. Long ago, many a older white make landowner had a young negro wench girl for his desires. 'Bout time tables are turned on that__ Besides, dem young white hoez dig da bruthrs! LOL. More so than they dig the white dudes! Every daddy know when he sends his little girl to college, she be ___ a burthr real good. I saw it. "Not my little girl, daddy says! (Yeah right!!!) Black dudes have their choice of best white hoez. You do the math, there are enough young white so all the brothers can each have one for 3 or 6 months or so.
This is sick. The "exit plan" sodoni refers to is the murder / suicide he committed on August 4th. But it's clear Sodoni had issues with women and black men - so much so that he waited until Obama was elected as America's first black president to carry out his scheme. He also claimed not to have had a girlfrend since 1984 and hated his mother. So at 48 years old, he decided to take that weird and tragic action.
I point to this event for several reasons I will explain but one very upsetting one. Over the weekend I attended the LakeFest along Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland. After a great time on a terrific sun-drenched Saturday I met up with friends and acquaintences at a terrific cool tavern in the location once occupied by "The Fifth Amendment." The men and women I was with at this time, were an interracial group: black men and white women, all just talking about nothing really serious and having a good time. As I left, I overheard a group of men, white, as I passed by talking about our assembly and pointing at me as I left. They weren't friendly.
Then I realized they were talking among themselves and expressing a displeasure with the interracial mixing around them or more specifically white girls talking with black guys.
That mildly concerned me in passing, but in the light of this incident, it now scares me.
As a note, it's not the fault of the establishment; in retrospect it could have been almost anywhere in Oakland that has such a mix of people. Moreover, it's not a reflection of the normal establishment clientele: these guys looked like newbies who didn't live in the area. But it's still scary. It makes me wonder if I'm a potential target for some disgruntled white man who can't meet a woman. I know what I'm writing is harsh, but let's face it, I wrote about young black men in East Oakland and everyone agreed something should be done. I think something needs to be done in this case as well.
Everyone in America has the right constitutional right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Americans of all colors should honor those rights and let other Americans enjoy their lives without fear of harm or ridicule. The kind of racism and sexism that Sodoni expressed must be identified before it leads to murder.
Matt Leinart's Twitter account: if fake, should be removed
Earlier today I wrote a blog post regarding "Matt Leinart's tweet" where he supposedly wrote that Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner was "kinda old". The tweet was written on February 1st during the time of the Super Bowl where the Cards took on the Steelers in Tampa.
Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.
Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.
Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.
Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.
Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.
Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.
Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.
Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.
Matt Leinart's Twitter account: if fake, should be removed
Earlier today I wrote a blog post regarding "Matt Leinart's tweet" where he supposedly wrote that Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner was "kinda old". The tweet was written on February 1st during the time of the Super Bowl where the Cards took on the Steelers in Tampa.
Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.
Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.
Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.
Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.
Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.
Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.
Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.
Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.
Matt Leinart thinks Kurt Warner's "old" - a Twitter fake
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Matt Leinart at the 2006 NFL Draft:
Special Note: It's said that Matt Leinart does not Twitter, but this account I report on below with his tweets on it back in February is still up and active. I wrote a new blog post about Matt's Twitter problem and the importance of online reputation management. Below is what I originally reported. It remains as a cautionary example of how not to handle one's digital identity. Hopefully Leinart takes the steps to remove the Twitter account, as should have been done months ago.
I happened to see the New York Times article focusing on NFL Coaches prohibiting players from using Twitter in meetings and during training camp. I had to chuckle because the Twitter frenzy is already alive with funny and controversial tweets all over the place. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who tweeted this (as of this writing):
Locked and loaded, ready to make history if Kurt goes down. That Steeler D is mean, and Kurt's kinda old...9:46 AM Feb 1st from web
Wow, "Kurt's kinda old?" Matt. C'mom, man! This is the guy who beat you out for the starting job in Arizona. A guy who was brought to the Cardinals to "tutor" you in the ways of the NFL, and ended up showing you by example. Why share that you think he's old on Twitter? Did you think someone wouldn't see it?
No one saw the tweet
Apparently no one saw the tweet to even make a big deal about it at the time: February 1st. And given Twitters incredible growth in visitors since that time, I can assert that it wasn't even in the mindset of media types to look at Leinart's Twitter page, let alone report what he put on it.
"Kurt's kinda old?"
As we march toward the 2009 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals Leinart, who thinks "Kurt's kinda old" is now battling for the number two spot behind that old man against unknown journeyman signal-caller Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre was drafted in 2003 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Cardinals.
By contrast, Leinart was drafted in 2006 amid much fanfare and anticipation. But it seems, starting from his being drafted 10th by the Cardinals rather than 3rd by the Tennessee Titans (who picked Texas quarterback Vince Young), Leinart's NFL ride would be a bumpy one. At the 2006 NFL Draft Leinart had to deal with questions about his fall from the being the expected first or third pick to being the 10th selection. Now, he's got to deal with questions about his inability to beat a couple of old guys.
Since Warner and St. Pierre are both older than Leinart, it seems those elderly gents are eating his lunch. If St. Pierre wins the number two spot over Leinart, I guess we should look for Matt to tweet "Brian's kinda old" at some point in the season. Or maybe Leinart will switch to cornerback:
Maybe I'll switch to corner next year -- jk10:15 PM Feb 1st from web
Well, he was just kidding there.
Watch what you tweet
The lesson here is simple: watch what you tweet. Matt, of all people, should know better. He's a two-time All American National Champion out of USC, and so successful that Cal fans all over both respect and hate him. Personally, I root for Matt, always have, but sometimes that dude does things that make me cringe, this tweet is one of them.
"Kurt's kinda old?"
Matt, you should pray to be in the league as long as Kurt has and achieve Warner's success over that time. But right now, the only "old man" you should concern yourself with is Brian St. Pierre. I know you're up to the challenge he presents. I know you can win the number two job - just go out and do it, because if you don't a lot of people will be disappointed in you. At that point, the idea that the NFL means "Not For Long" will come up in conversations about your career.
Matt Leinart thinks Kurt Warner's "old" - a Twitter fake
More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com
Matt Leinart at the 2006 NFL Draft:
Special Note: It's said that Matt Leinart does not use Twitter, but this account I report on below with his tweets on it back in February is still up and active. I wrote a new blog post about Matt's Twitter problem and the importance of online reputation management. Below is what I originally reported. It remains as a cautionary example of how not to handle one's digital identity. Hopefully Leinart takes the steps to remove the Twitter account, as should have been done months ago.
I happened to see the New York Times article focusing on NFL Coaches prohibiting players from using Twitter in meetings and during training camp. I had to chuckle because the Twitter frenzy is already alive with funny and controversial tweets all over the place. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who tweeted this (as of this writing):
Locked and loaded, ready to make history if Kurt goes down. That Steeler D is mean, and Kurt's kinda old...9:46 AM Feb 1st from web
Wow, "Kurt's kinda old?" Matt. C'mom, man! This is the guy who beat you out for the starting job in Arizona. A guy who was brought to the Cardinals to "tutor" you in the ways of the NFL, and ended up showing you by example. Why share that you think he's old on Twitter? Did you think someone wouldn't see it?
No one saw the tweet
Apparently no one saw the tweet to even make a big deal about it at the time: February 1st. And given Twitters incredible growth in visitors since that time, I can assert that it wasn't even in the mindset of media types to look at Leinart's Twitter page, let alone report what he put on it.
"Kurt's kinda old?"
As we march toward the 2009 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals Leinart, who thinks "Kurt's kinda old" is now battling for the number two spot behind that old man against unknown journeyman signal-caller Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre was drafted in 2003 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Cardinals.
By contrast, Leinart was drafted in 2006 amid much fanfare and anticipation. But it seems, starting from his being drafted 10th by the Cardinals rather than 3rd by the Tennessee Titans (who picked Texas quarterback Vince Young), Leinart's NFL ride would be a bumpy one. At the 2006 NFL Draft Leinart had to deal with questions about his fall from the being the expected first or third pick to being the 10th selection. Now, he's got to deal with questions about his inability to beat a couple of old guys.
Since Warner and St. Pierre are both older than Leinart, it seems those elderly gents are eating his lunch. If St. Pierre wins the number two spot over Leinart, I guess we should look for Matt to tweet "Brian's kinda old" at some point in the season. Or maybe Leinart will switch to cornerback:
Maybe I'll switch to corner next year -- jk10:15 PM Feb 1st from web
Well, he was just kidding there.
Watch what you tweet
The lesson here is simple: watch what you tweet. Matt, of all people, should know better. He's a two-time All American National Champion out of USC, and so successful that Cal fans all over both respect and hate him. Personally, I root for Matt, always have, but sometimes that dude does things that make me cringe, this tweet is one of them.
"Kurt's kinda old?"
Matt, you should pray to be in the league as long as Kurt has and achieve Warner's success over that time. But right now, the only "old man" you should concern yourself with is Brian St. Pierre. I know you're up to the challenge he presents. I know you can win the number two job - just go out and do it, because if you don't a lot of people will be disappointed in you. At that point, the idea that the NFL means "Not For Long" will come up in conversations about your career.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Change in NFL Draft: Draft moves to Three Day format with first round on Thursday Night in Primetime.
Change in NFL Draft: Draft moves to Three Day format with first round on Thursday Night in Primetime.
The NFL might have done the smartest thing ever in the eyes of real draft fans when they announced a change ton the format of the draft broadcast a short time ago. By moving the draft's first round to thursday night's prime time slot you draw even more viewers and even more of the "casual" football fans then ever before. you also cut a few days of late hype off of the week leading up to the start of the draft because you have the actual first round selections taking place on a weeknight. Then Rounds 2-4 on Friday and 5-7 on Saturday.
What this does for the fan is to also involve them more in the broadcast. For the People working for the teams and the media this gives them(us) an extra Day off/travel day in Sunday, so that people can file their monday stories sooner and grab some relaxation before returning to the grind. In fact, anyone looking for the draft to be shortened should be happy with the reduction in time per pick on 2008 and the format change for 2010. Even if it means one more day of coverage, it's less time on each day.
The big winners here are ESPN and NFLNetwork, because they get to add an extra day of broadcasting to their schedules. So we get an extra Day of Mel Kiper proclaiming that some other front office doesn't know how to handle their business or another chance to hear some more drivel about what some player is going to do with his bonus money instead of real football journalism like "Why did that team pass on that Runningback and take the guy who looks like he'll be packing bags at walmart next month" or how horrible that owner really is, instead of what we really want to know.
The NFL might have done the smartest thing ever in the eyes of real draft fans when they announced a change ton the format of the draft broadcast a short time ago. By moving the draft's first round to thursday night's prime time slot you draw even more viewers and even more of the "casual" football fans then ever before. you also cut a few days of late hype off of the week leading up to the start of the draft because you have the actual first round selections taking place on a weeknight. Then Rounds 2-4 on Friday and 5-7 on Saturday.
What this does for the fan is to also involve them more in the broadcast. For the People working for the teams and the media this gives them(us) an extra Day off/travel day in Sunday, so that people can file their monday stories sooner and grab some relaxation before returning to the grind. In fact, anyone looking for the draft to be shortened should be happy with the reduction in time per pick on 2008 and the format change for 2010. Even if it means one more day of coverage, it's less time on each day.
The big winners here are ESPN and NFLNetwork, because they get to add an extra day of broadcasting to their schedules. So we get an extra Day of Mel Kiper proclaiming that some other front office doesn't know how to handle their business or another chance to hear some more drivel about what some player is going to do with his bonus money instead of real football journalism like "Why did that team pass on that Runningback and take the guy who looks like he'll be packing bags at walmart next month" or how horrible that owner really is, instead of what we really want to know.
President Obama it's your birthday; mine too!
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President Obama, it's August 4th, the day you were born in 1961 in Hawaii. Happy Birthday. It's also my birthday and I'm one year behind you. I didn't know that when we met at the Mark Hopkins on St. Patrick's Day of 2007, but when I realized we had that in common it made me reevaluate a lot of events in my life. On my birthday, I wish to share my thoughts with you and everyone.
For a long time I told people that because I was that one year behind you, I was always one year away from greatness. But I don't think that anymore. I'm great, just in a different way. You see, that you are president makes it ok for me to be who I've fought to be for most of my life: smart, confident, arrogant, caring, intellectual, nerdy, caring, a trekker, a vlogger, a blogger, and other adjectives - positive ones.
I fought to be me because I never wanted to be a stereotype. I have known black men who said they had two languages: "Black English" and English". One way of talking for us, the other way for everyone else. Me? I just had one way: standard English. And I worked to be articulate because I wanted to be arrogant - no it's not a good thing but it was a weapon. It was my shield from anyone regardless of color who would dare try and put me in a "box". I made sure they knew I didn't fit, even if I had to be intellectually intimidating. But around my friends, a group that formed because of our love for "Star Trek: The Original Series", even to the point of forming a Star Trek Club, I wasn't that way.
Well, one reason was because they were just like me, so I didn't have to use myself as a weapon, I could be me and be liked. It's no wonder they're still my friends to this day, and yes, all white or Asian save for two people. Didn't matter. They were and are my touchstone. If anyone wonders what good Star Trek TOS did for America here's my answer: it gave folks like me a "place to be".
But my "place to be" expanded far beyond Star Trek a long time ago. It did for a number of reasons, but most of all, the growth of our generation. As we, you and I, came of age, there were black men like us who were fighting the same fight but we didn't know each other until we reached adulthood. I could name a lot of names, but you know who they are and so do I. Our collective growth and the overall mainstreaming of elements of black culture, specifically "Hip Hop", really made it ok for me to be me and for you to become president.
Now, Hip Hop drew in teenage whites and with so many non-white girls enjoying the music, set the stage for interracial dating and for meeting black men who while they liked the music, didn't fit the black male stereotype. In fact, with both black and white men enjoying the music, all of us realized that we had not just the music in common but other activities as well. This really rapid social integration, something seldom talked about, is Hip Hop's gift to America.
America has melded, grown, and changed because of Hip Hop, and because of people like Bernard Shaw, CNN's amazing former anchor and someone many called "The Black Walter Cronkite". Your speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention marked the first time people of every stripe realized that we could have a black man as president. It was the first time people saw one of us on a national stage and accepted that person as something that person wanted to be - leader of the free world - and not a stereotype.
And now you're POTUS, and a good one at that.
So I say, Happy Birthday, Barack.
And thanks.
Tom Hayes - Let's talk about euthanasia and abortion
Abortion is a proven "wedge" issue, in the finest tradition of Karl Rove's masterful divisive politics, and it's arguably being used that way again right now in the health-care insurance reform debate. The mainstream media is commercial, so they're far from immune from the effects of the money being spent to spin, shape, frame, and control this debate.Most of us, frankly, have "good enough" insurance, and we all get to make the choice to keep our current system. In fact, of the 5 out of 6 covered Americans, fully 3 out of 4 of them say they're mostly satisfied. So let's be clear: this isn't about the majority, this is about the 1 in 6 Americans who aren't covered. 1 in 6 - that's not quite 50 million Americans.
Now, nobody's proposed socialized medicine - if they had the doctors wouldn't be mostly in favor of reform. But it's a tested sound bite that shaves off a few votes. Did you know they need more billing clerks at Duke Medical Center than they have nurses? Does that get through to the opponents of reform at all? No, apparently they're happier with it spun by lobbyists and CEOs than sticking with reality.
They dragged in euthanasia (which then echoed through the media) because "socialized medicine" didn't make as big a dent as they had hoped. So, too, with abortion. It's being dragged into the debate for the express purpose of derailing the whole package - undermining an honest debate about our values, and shaving off a few votes here and there. It's classic Rove/GOP/special interest "divide and conquer" in the face of Obama's attempts to make real improvements.
They hope we'll ignore that the leading cause of personal bankruptcy filings is medical expenses. Never mind that the number of uninsured Americans grows by over 10,000 people each and every day. No, no, don't fret about your neighbors who aren't as well off as you, that's not your problem - just keeping listening to the $pecial interests as they spend millions of dollars per day, raised by bureaucrats at companies who decide your premiums and what they'll cover or not cover, all to influence congress and public opinion. The bureaucrats who control our access to health care right now live rich, lavish lifestyles with no incentive to change the system, let alone to cover those who need it most.More than half of personal bankruptcy filings are triggered by medical costs. Really.
Do you think this is about somebody else? Do you think everybody you know is really covered? Do you mind that most of the raises in the last three decades for low and middle-income earners have gone right into the pockets of health insurance profiteers, because premiums have been rising at triple the rate of inflation?
Lots of special interest money is being thrown at this debate, and it's up to us to keep the truth out there, because when people hear things like abortion, socialized medicine, or alleged euthanasia for senior citizens, many have a visceral reaction and stop thinking, let alone listening. Obviously, profits are at stake or the insurance companies wouldn't be spending all that money that might otherwise be going to control costs.
Are you still thinking?
Twitter should partner with YouTube
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This just in, according to TechCrunch, Twitter now has almost as many monthly unique visitors as Craigslist.
Well, TechCrunch didn't include Craigslist's visitor statistics in its blog report, I did, but the point is at 44 million unique visitors, Twitter is just shy of Craigslist's 50 million as of May 2009. If there was any question how large Twitter has become, or how important, that stat should answer it.
But with all of this traffic, where's the revenue model? Is it just burning venture capital cash or is there a plan? (Spark Capital's Todd Dagres says there's a money-making plan and his firm has pumped $35 million into Twitter with the confidence the approach will work.) As of this writing, Twitter is free of charge and is devoid of ads. While different approaches have been discussed, here's one I've not seen before.
Partner with YouTube.
In the model I envision, Twitter would allow its users to embed videos by YouTube Partners directly on their profiles. In turn, YouTube would pay Twitter a percentage revenue fee from the traffic generated by Twitter-based YouTube videos. It's a way of allowing Twitter users to "jazz up" their profiles with videos, much as they do with photos, which in some cases are corporate logos anyway.
My point is, Twitter's already becoming commercialized because businesses are establishing pages on it. Having a provision to add video isn't really pushing Twitter in a direction it should not go. I think this provision would be a massive hit, especially in cases where the YouTuber has breaking news on video that then goes viral on Twitter. Moreover popular YouTubers are also in demand on Twitter, like iJustine, one of LA's Top Twitterers, so Twitter become a way to expand the YouTube Partner reach.
I don't know what the overall revenue impact would be on the Twitter, but its certainly a win-win: Twitter doesn't have to worry about additional traffic weight to its servers, and YouTube makes more money from the additional traffic from Twitter that it then shares with Twitter.
So, if you notice Twitter pages having YouTube videos embeded, you know where the idea came from.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Lou Dobbs home to "birthers" and white supremacists
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On YouTube.com
After years of ducking complaints about his occasionally offensive coverage, Lou Dobbs, host of CNN's Lou Dobbs show, may finally see either the end of his days of pretty much getting away with whatever "fact" he puts out, or the end of his show altogether. As one who went on a video attack regarding his economic views a while back - see below - I'm glad to see it. But Lou's idiotic views on the economy pale in comparison to his use of story angles from white supremacists groups, even to the point of using websites representing such views as sources. Indeed, one Newsvine blogger SkeeterVT links the current "birther" movement and Dobbs coverage of it to white supremacists groups, but it's not Dobbs first time helping such wingnuts. More after my "Lou Dobbs in an idiot on the economy" video:
Dobbs is friend to white supremacists
Google "Lou Dobbs white supremacist" and one sees over 23,000 results, the vast majority related to his series of stories on illegal aliens. In fact, it was an every day constant drum beat from Lou well through 2008. But Bill Scher of the Huff Post reports that as far back as 2006, Dobbs story source was the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group that was pointed to as having a "white supremacy" ideology according to the Anti-Defamation League. What was Dobbs talking about? The supposed "Mexican campaign to recapture the Southwest", an idea that was slammed by many as completely, well, idiotic.
And the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), another anti-racism watchdog group, has pointed specifically to Dobbs for hosting white supremacists as far back as 2004. One of them, Glen Spencer, has spoken at least twice to the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens, which has described blacks (like me I guess) as "a retrograde species of humanity." And the SPLC explains that Dobbs never mentioned the affiliation of Spencer or for that matter Joe McCutchen who was famous for writing anti-Semitic "letters to the editor" to various publications.
Virginia Abernathy was another Dobbs guest with ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens, in her case as an editorial adviser according to Commondreams.org and other sources.
CNN offered an explanation for the Dobbs connection to the Council of Conservative Citizens in an email to onepeoplesproject.com as presented by LaLuchaSigue:
A freelance field producer in Los Angeles searched the web for Aztlan maps and grabbed the Council of Conservative Citizens map without knowing the nature of the organization. The graphic was a late inclusion in the script and, regrettably, was missed in the vetting process.
Oh c'mon! Blaming this on one field producer doesn't even touch the question of who booked this cast of characters to be on Dobbs show!
Dobbs, white supremacists and the birther movement
And just when I though Lou had returned to more credible reporting, he sits with white supremacists once again in giving a platform to the birthers. As I explained above, Newsvine's SkeeterVT's blog post today connects Andy Martin, a well-known white supremacist and friend of and guest of Fox News Sean Hannity, is now associated with Dobbs as one who's actions are given credibility by Dobbs' coverage. Forget Alan Keyes, who's a fake conservative searching for votes, attention, and money, people like Martin should be feared and not given a platform, even indirectly, by people like Dobbs.
CNN should be ashamed
CNN is a better organization than the way they're allowing Dobbs to present them. There's a wealth of evidence that Lou Dobbs is providing a home for white supremacist views and opinions. Dobbs even went so far as to go out and by "Obama Waffles" and CNN did nothing. Why? And why has CNN not made an issue of this until now?
Ratings.
When Lou was hammering Mexicans and hosting white supremacists, the ratings were terrific - as much as 816,000 daily viewers in 2006 and a 33 percent increase over 2005 - and CNN came to his defense. But now, Dobbs ratings are down 15 percent as of this writing and during his coverage of the birther movement; its the ratings fall that makes Dobbs suddenly expendable to CNN. While CNN's defended Dobbs recently, there are behind the scenes rumblings that his show may have met its end.
Thank God!
Making money off race hate may have worked in the pre-Obama America, but in an America with its first African American President Obama and first Latino treasurer in Rosie Rios, to offer but two examples of our ever diversifying USA, the racist media party is over.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Iron Girl, Title IX, and the strong woman movement
I just returned from my monthly visit to Georgia, where my Mom's living. I always enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the semi-rural town she lives in outside Atlanta, but I can't help noticing one thing: all of the fat people, especially the women. Suburban Georgia seems to have missed the "strong woman" movement, which is what the "Iron Girl" competition is all about. Ironically, Iron Girl's held today in Atlanta! (Now, when I refer to strong woman I'm not limiting the term to women who engage in powerliting or feats of strength. That's on the extreme end but the same lifting techniques and equipment used by extremely strong women are employed on a normal basis by many women today. I'm exploring the growth of that practice and women in athletics, like the members of the U.S. Olympic Women's Synchronized Swim Team who talked about the torch issue in my video .)
Iron Girl: for women only
According to its website, Iron Girl started with just two events in 2004 and now has 10 around America: Clearwater, FL, Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta, Del Mar, Syracuse, Tempe, Bloomington, Seattle, Columbia MD, and Del Mar. Considering how the strong woman movement - as I call it - arguably started in California, it's shocking that there's only one event in the state, and none in Northern California. (Oakland would be the perfect place for an Iron Girl event.
But why are events like Iron Girl growing? And why is it suddenly it seems normal for women to be strong and look strong?
Why it's now normal for women to show muscle
I can remember a time when a woman flexing was considered not "ladylike" but not anymore. Frankly, I think a woman with muscle is just plain sexy, and have for most of my life, but now the industrialized world has caught up to me. The reason for this can be directly attributed to the success of Title IX, the national legislation which tackled school sex discrimination in athletics. The preamble to the law reads: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any programs or activity receiving federal financial assistance." That covers every public and most private school athletic programs in America. Before Title IX, called the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, the most commonly accepted ways for a woman to participate in athletics were cheerleading and square dancing. A woman playing, for example, Tennis, was fine that racket sport was looked upon as something mainly for men' for women it wasn't ok to be a jock.
Then came Bill Jean King.
I remember the circus around her then-anticipated match against blowhard Bobby Riggs. Everyone I knew as a small boy wanted to see King, who was made fun of by a number of people on television before the event, kick his arrogant butt, especially my Mom. O Sept. 20, 1973 in Houston, King beat Riggs in three straight sets; the match was seen by 50 million people. One of those people was Pasty Mink, the force behind Title IX.
Even before King's hammering of Riggs, Mink had successfully wrote and caused the passage of Title IX in 1972. She was spurred to do so after being denied admission to medical school because she was a woman. While Mink's intent was to open access to education for women, it had a dramatic impact on the growth of women's athletics because of King and coaches like Billy Lynn, who's Sui Ross State University (Texas) women's volleyball team was the first to win a national championship. But it took cable television, the Internet, and the constant increase in media outlets to produce the hunger for sports-related content that accelerated the growth of women's athletics. By 1990, television featured all kinds of women's sports, from tennis and track to something new: bodybuilding. After years of women being told to cover up their muscles, they were showing them and getting paid to do it.
At that point, the idea that a woman could be strong and sexy was introduced to American Culture. Since 1990, media's expansion has led to the constant propagation of the image of the strong woman. Add to that the heath and fitness craze, the wellness movement, and the "sexualization" of women with muscle (where now its considered sexy for a woman to have muscle) and we have America's evolution to a point where the first lady, Michelle Obama, is praised for her toned arms as much as she is for her charm.
The future of the strong woman?
As we move toward the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, look for more women to participate in such activities as "fitness bootcamps" where a trainer puts her "subjects" through a battery of activities involving intense weight lifting and running. Women-only athletic events like Iron Girl are common. And in fashion, clothes like the sleveless blouse are popular in the US and the UK because of Mrs. Obama's style, and guys like me say "More, more!" There's nothing to suggest that the propagation of the image of the strong woman is under attack anywhere in America...except suburban Atlanta.
Iron Girl: for women only
According to its website, Iron Girl started with just two events in 2004 and now has 10 around America: Clearwater, FL, Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta, Del Mar, Syracuse, Tempe, Bloomington, Seattle, Columbia MD, and Del Mar. Considering how the strong woman movement - as I call it - arguably started in California, it's shocking that there's only one event in the state, and none in Northern California. (Oakland would be the perfect place for an Iron Girl event.
But why are events like Iron Girl growing? And why is it suddenly it seems normal for women to be strong and look strong?
Why it's now normal for women to show muscle
I can remember a time when a woman flexing was considered not "ladylike" but not anymore. Frankly, I think a woman with muscle is just plain sexy, and have for most of my life, but now the industrialized world has caught up to me. The reason for this can be directly attributed to the success of Title IX, the national legislation which tackled school sex discrimination in athletics. The preamble to the law reads: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any programs or activity receiving federal financial assistance." That covers every public and most private school athletic programs in America. Before Title IX, called the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, the most commonly accepted ways for a woman to participate in athletics were cheerleading and square dancing. A woman playing, for example, Tennis, was fine that racket sport was looked upon as something mainly for men' for women it wasn't ok to be a jock.
Then came Bill Jean King.
I remember the circus around her then-anticipated match against blowhard Bobby Riggs. Everyone I knew as a small boy wanted to see King, who was made fun of by a number of people on television before the event, kick his arrogant butt, especially my Mom. O Sept. 20, 1973 in Houston, King beat Riggs in three straight sets; the match was seen by 50 million people. One of those people was Pasty Mink, the force behind Title IX.
Even before King's hammering of Riggs, Mink had successfully wrote and caused the passage of Title IX in 1972. She was spurred to do so after being denied admission to medical school because she was a woman. While Mink's intent was to open access to education for women, it had a dramatic impact on the growth of women's athletics because of King and coaches like Billy Lynn, who's Sui Ross State University (Texas) women's volleyball team was the first to win a national championship. But it took cable television, the Internet, and the constant increase in media outlets to produce the hunger for sports-related content that accelerated the growth of women's athletics. By 1990, television featured all kinds of women's sports, from tennis and track to something new: bodybuilding. After years of women being told to cover up their muscles, they were showing them and getting paid to do it.
At that point, the idea that a woman could be strong and sexy was introduced to American Culture. Since 1990, media's expansion has led to the constant propagation of the image of the strong woman. Add to that the heath and fitness craze, the wellness movement, and the "sexualization" of women with muscle (where now its considered sexy for a woman to have muscle) and we have America's evolution to a point where the first lady, Michelle Obama, is praised for her toned arms as much as she is for her charm.
The future of the strong woman?
As we move toward the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, look for more women to participate in such activities as "fitness bootcamps" where a trainer puts her "subjects" through a battery of activities involving intense weight lifting and running. Women-only athletic events like Iron Girl are common. And in fashion, clothes like the sleveless blouse are popular in the US and the UK because of Mrs. Obama's style, and guys like me say "More, more!" There's nothing to suggest that the propagation of the image of the strong woman is under attack anywhere in America...except suburban Atlanta.
CDFL Playoff week(#4)
Today (Sunday 8/2/2009)
We will Broadcast two Games Live on UStream.tv at 5pm (Westchester Nighthawks vs Bergen Bears) and 7pm (Orange Sprit vs Rockland Rattlers) all times eastern. The Games will also be shown on Verizion Fios ch. 32 in most east coast states. On Tuesday night don't forget to catc the CDFL Review and coaches show at www.Blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters at 7:30 pm Eastern
The CDFL Broadcast team is Tammy Prince & John Kelly on Play by Play and Dr. Bill Chachkes on color commentary.
We will Broadcast two Games Live on UStream.tv at 5pm (Westchester Nighthawks vs Bergen Bears) and 7pm (Orange Sprit vs Rockland Rattlers) all times eastern. The Games will also be shown on Verizion Fios ch. 32 in most east coast states. On Tuesday night don't forget to catc the CDFL Review and coaches show at www.Blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters at 7:30 pm Eastern
The CDFL Broadcast team is Tammy Prince & John Kelly on Play by Play and Dr. Bill Chachkes on color commentary.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Valleywag's Ryan Tate hates the term "Fox News Bonehead"
In my multi-part blog entry on Erin Andrews (which included the video above) I ran across an little gem by now-Valleywag Editor Ryan Tate regarding the website activities of one Fox News correspondent Courtney Friel, who was one of the guests of Fox News star blowhard Bill O'Reilly on the matter of the nude video of ESPN's Erin Andrews. I got after Tate for using this title:
Secret Bikini Shots Of Fox News "Bonehead"
Because I was under the impression that Tate was using someone else's quote to about her to channel (a popular term now) his perception of Friel. I was under the impression Tate himself believed Friel to be a "bonehead" because in the blog post he didn't write the text to separate himself from what he wrote. Well, the ever-observant Tate saw my blog post and sparked a great and friendly email exchange (Ryan's cool) where he wrote:
I quoted the term, twice. Why do you quote things you don't
necessarily agree with? Usually because they're interesting. That
doesn't mean you think they're true. In this case, we have an anchor
who has stirred up a lot of critics. I can't say I agree with them,
because I haven't watched her show and never professed to. What do I
have to go on? What I do know is how she's handled the critics, and
what she's said, which is what I wrote about/ Hard to do that without
quoting the critics.
and...
That's because I didn't rail against the term. I'm not saying I knew
it to be wrong; I knew not whether it was correct or incorrect, and
did not pass judgement on it either way. The post you quoted wasn't
about whether she was a bonehead, it was about her removing racy
pictures from her own website, and more broadly how she presented
herself (the "horse dick" video). Her critics are relevant in this
context because it's a possible explanation for her pulling the
images.
This was a far cry from the exchange I had with Kara Swisher of the Wall Street Journal, who employed the same device regarding Twitter in stating that it was "simple", which I disagree with. Where Ryan was cool, Kara was nasty and overbearing, basically ordering me to make a change without explaining why she used someone else's quote about Twitter.
Kudos to Ryan!
As one who's paid to give an opinion, I'm used to those who write or say "I think this" or that, rather than hide behind a quote. But at least Ryan gave me his point of view separate from what he wrote and without the insults and orders Swisher threw at me.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sgt. Lashley's Letter To Prof. Gates: I Am Not An Uncle Tom
From PoliticsNewsPolitics on YouTube:
Sgt. Leon Lashley, the African-American cop on scene when James Crowley arrested Professor Henry Louis Gates, writes a letter saying that he is not an "Uncle Tom" and regrets being known as a "black sergeant." He asks Prof. Gates what he can do to make things better, and let him know if he did anything wrong.
CNN's Don Lemon reads the letter to viewers
Obama "Beer Summit", Crowley Press Conference - history!
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Thursday, President Barack Obama held a "Beer Summit", as some have called it, with Harvard Professor Henry Lewis Gates, Jr., Cambridge Police Sergeant Officer James Crowley, and Vice President Joe Biden, bring an end to an unfortunate but necessary event in American Cultural history, and starting a new chapter in American race relations.
It was the first time in American and world history a sitting president met publicly with a white police officer and the person the officer arrested, a black man. And to add to the moment, the president is African American. I think the teachable moment President Obama referred to was that two gentlemen of seemingly different stripes but of one culture can not only meet, but (as they agreed to do) meet again and again.
Sgt. Crowley assists Prof. Gates as President Obama leads the way
President Obama issued this statement:
"Even before we sat down for the beer, I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them," the president's statement said. "I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode."
And I think everyone did, even if Sapporo, my personal favorite beer, wasn't on the menu, (Obama had a Bud Light, Crowley chose Blue Moon, and Gates had Samuel Adams) it was still gratifying to see the four men sit together and talk. It provides a great example for a country that seems ready to split over differences of opinion. We have to get to the point of communicating openly and often and without fear. While it's hard to know exactly what was said between the men, we can read between the lined in Crowley's press conference - in the video - when he said "We agreed to disagree." It's not hard to determine what they disagreed about.
In the arrest of Gates, basically because Crowley judged him to be disobedient after what turned out to be a case of a mistaken 911 call in since Gates was entering his own home, Crowley said he was "going by the book" or word to that effect. But the whole point of critics of racial profiling is that the "book" argument is used all the time. The "book" is tossed out when an officer uses his or her own personal emphathy, and please don't tell me this isn't done. Water Goldstein over at the Huff Post has a great blog on why white guys like him come away from such encounters gaining the help of an officer, and not handcuffs.
Gates and Crowley say: "time to move forward"
In the website "The Root", Professor Gates, its editor and chief, wrote:
Sergeant Crowley and I, through an accident of time and place, have been cast together, inextricably, as characters – as metaphors, really – in a thousand narratives about race over which he and I have absolutely no control. Narratives about race are as old as the founding of this great Republic itself, but these new ones have unfolded precisely when Americans signaled to the world our country’s great progress by overcoming centuries of habit and fear, and electing an African American as President. It is incumbent upon Sergeant Crowley and me to utilize the great opportunity that fate has given us to foster greater sympathy among the American public for the daily perils of policing on the one hand, and for the genuine fears of racial profiling on the other hand.
In his press conference held after the "summit", Crowley said that both he and Gates would talk again as soon as next week.
That the two plan to meet and seize the moment to create a lesson for America is really exciting. I really believe God made this happen. It's too good to be true that a professor of Black Studies and a police officer who's also an expert in racial profiling are working together and have this exchange to build from. That's a miracle.
Toward American Culture
I hope people realize from this that we really are one people and there's much that binds us together below the surface. I don't know if it's from reduced education spending, longer work hours, or what, but we seem to be less patient with the idea of study and more willing to just go with our prejudices, but that's countered by the ever-more-well-mixed society we live in. We have extremes like the thoughtless Glen Beck (who said the President was racist in a horrible misuse of the term) and the thoughtful Gates and Crowley right before us. With a little communication we'll have more people like Gates and Crowley and far fewer people like Glen Beck.
NFL Commissioner Press Conference on Michael Vick - full text
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The Michael Vick issue has drawn a variety of views and opinions like mine above, but only one person has the ability to determine his football future and that's NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. A press conference was held Monday in New York where Commissioner Goodell presented his decision regarding the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, but we've only seen bits-and-pieces of text. Here's the full press conference transcript, courtesy of NFLMedia.com
NFL COMMISSIONER ROGER GOODELL
Press Conference – Michael Vick Conditional Reinstatement
July 27, 2009
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: Good afternoon. As all of you are aware, I’ve made my decision regarding Michael Vick and I would be happy totake your questions. But before we do, I would just like to make a couple of points which I hope will be helpful inputting it into context.
First, and most importantly, we all want to recognize that the conduct that Michael engaged in was not only horrific, but it was cruel. And we all certainly recognize that and I believe after meeting with Michael that he recognizes that also. We engaged in a very thorough process. It was very carefully done and very thoroughly done. Multiple members of our staff were engaged as well as me. We went through his court records. We went through evaluations. We went through decisions. We know all the terms of his parole. We went through every detail, including about a four-and-a-half hour meeting with Michael last Wednesday here in the New York area. So we take this as a very serious matter. We’re dealing with a young man’s life. Our process was similarly reflective of the seriousness of that.
As you know, he can sign now with an NFL team. He can practice without delay with an NFL team. He may play in the final two preseason games of this preseason. And once the regular season starts, he can practice if the team so chooses. And I will decide within the first six weeks of the regular season when and whether he will be reinstated to play from there.
He has been very open and fully cooperative as well as his advisers and his counselors. I will say that one of the most important things that we talked about is that nobody gets through life alone. That you always have to have a mentor. That you always have to have somebody who will give you guidance and support at critical moments. Michael needs that right now and I have asked Tony Dungy to play a more formal role on my behalf but also on Michael’s behalf to serve as a mentor to Michael to help him and guide him through some very difficult decisions he’s going to have to make going forward. I do not expect he will be his only mentor,but Tony will be a big part in determining who else will serve as advisers to him. But I know Tony and Michael, who I spoke to earlier today on a conference call, both take it very seriously and are committed to making sure that they work closely together to make better decisions going forward.
I do believe that this transitional approach that we have outlined for Michael is the best thing for him, that it has the best opportunities to lead to success for a young man who has his life ahead of him. Whether he makes it on the field in the NFL is something that will be determined on the field. But he has some big decisions off the field to make in the way he conducts himself. I think he is at a point right now where he is prepared to make those decisions and hopefully conduct himself in a more positive way. I have said repeatedly,and many times before, that playing in the NFL is a privilege, we are held to a higher standard and it is not a right to be an NFL player. I think Michael clearly understands that is his responsibility and I think it is his opportunity now to earn that privilege back again. And that is up to Michael.
But one final point before I take your questions. As I’ve said many times before, I am very proud of NFL players. They do incredible things and exceed the standards that we set for them. And they do that both on and off the field. And I am proud of the things they do off the field. Obviously when you are dealing with 2,000 young men, you are going to have mistakes, bad judgments, and people are going to do things that you are not proud of. Obviously this is one case. But I hope something positive can come out of something that has been a very tragic circumstance and hopefully people will understand that the individual here has the right to earn that opportunity back again. He will be held accountable for that. He will be held accountable for his life management plan that he submitted to me, the things he says he is going to do, and I will make sure that he does that in responsible fashion, as will Tony.
Have any teams expressed an interest in signing him yet?
That’s not something that I would get involved with. I work for all 32 teams. As far as what team signs him, that’s an individual club decision and they’ll have to make that individually with him and negotiate.
On Michael lying:
He was not candid with me. In fact, prior to starting the hearing we spent a few minutes together and it was the first thing he raised with me. That he was disappointed in himself. That he was direct in the fact that he lied about his involvement in dog fighting. And I accept his apology. I understand. I don’t like being lied to like anybody else. But this is something that we have to move forward from. Michael understands that I am judging him on his activities going forward, on the words that he said to me, and on the conduct that hopefully will support the words he expressed to me personally.
What needs to happen in the next 12weeks for him to be reinstated?
A number of things. First he would have to sign a contract with a team. He will have to begin the process of getting re-acclimated into that community and that team. He’ll obviously want to relocate his family. He’s been very clear about that. He will have to get a support system around him. He will continue to go through the programs of his parole and also the programs that the NFL has designed for him. He will work very closely with Tony and me if necessary to make sure that we are providing the support necessary and the guidance. But he has a very difficult transition ahead and we want to support him in that and give him that opportunity. But he recognizes he has to earn that and his actions will have to support that.
Should Vick not sign with any team during the preseason, will the parameters of this reinstatement change? Have you looked into or discussed that possibility, if he doesn’t have the opportunity with a team during preseason?
Well that’s not something I can control. Of course individual clubs and Michael and his team will have to make that decision who he signs with ultimately. I don’t expect I would modify the terms of what I call the transition plan in any marginal way, but I’ll leave that option open if necessary – but I don’t see that as being something that I would engage in.
PETA has said that they had wanted you to have him undergo a psychiatric evaluation to show that he is truly remorseful and that if not they would consider protesting any team that would sign him. Did you have him undergo any evaluations?
Yes, in fact we worked with animal rights activist groups and we are clear: we worked with their medical professionals about the aspects of our evaluations. Michael fully cooperated with all of those tests. Those tests did not indicate there was any reason he couldn’t make a transition forward, but they also recognized that counseling and other aspects of support will be important for him going forward.
You mentioned there’d be an NFL component to his program as well, things he would have to adhere to. Could you elaborate on what that means beyond obviously the probationary things you have asked him to do legally?
Well the primary one is the role of (former Indianapolis Colts Head Coach) Tony Dungy. I believe that Tony is a very successful individual, he is somebody that I respect his judgment, I think he is wise and will give good counsel. I think he is committed to helping Michael asa young man – not as a football player. He’ll try to do what he can to help him reestablish his life and help him move forward. That’s the first thing that has to happen here. All of the conditions which we have outlined in the letter – which we will be happy to provide you with – we will hold Michael accountable for. He will be responsible for fulfilling those,and they will be part of my judgment about how long the period of time is before I’ll allow him to play in regular season games.
Did you feel a sense of urgency to make the decision quickly? Obviously it’s only been a week since he completed his federal term. How much of a relief – I don’t know if relief is the right word – but how much of a relief will it be for you tohave made this decision quickly?
Relief is not a word I would use here. I believe that it was my responsibility to make a thoughtful, clear decision, and to do it on a very timely basis. I am not here to punish anybody; we’re here to extend player’s careers rather than limit player’s careers. That is important for us to do as long as they recognize the standards by which we are going to hold them accountable and everybody in the NFL. I believe Michael understands that. I believe he deserves the opportunity to earn his way back onto the field – but he will have to earn it. It is up to him now, and we will support him the way we have outlined in my decision. I believe that I had the responsibility to make a decision as quickly as possible, one that was fair, and I hope this one is seen as fair – although I fully recognize that some people won’t agree with it.
About how many people played a role? Obviously this is your decision and your name is attached to it, but I know NFL security, probably owners and coaches, players past and present probably played some role in you formulating your final policy.
Well I believe very much in getting a variety of opinions to get a broad perspective. I reached out to a variety of leaders of our country, our society. I’ve talked to a number of current and former players, I’ve talked to a number of current and former coaches, I’ve talked to former and current executives – but I am very cautious about competitive issues here. I would not involve someone that would be involved potentially in Michael’s interest as a football player. I was interested in Michael as an individual and what we could do to help reestablish his life and get him involved in a positive way regardless of if he played football. I do believe very much in getting perspectives, and I believe that has served me very well in making decisions. As you pointed out, ultimately, at the end of the day, I had to go into a room and make a decision. I reached out to a number of people, including DeMaurice Smith (head of the NFL Players Union), former players, and coaches and I believe I had all the perspectives I needed to make this decision.
Did you talk with any of the sponsors of the NFL, any companies and what their reaction would be? Was there anything you would bounce off of them?
I didn’t – I can’t specifically recall contacting people in that context. From time to time I may have spoken to a CEO about how to make decisions like this and what are the important factors even though the circumstances, I presume, would be wildly different. But I never thought about it in the context of the commercial success of the NFL. That’s never been a factor for me from day one. The intent here was to do the right thing with a young man’s life and for the game of football and the NFL, and that’s what I tried to do.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Oakland Shootout and Sideshow - a review
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On YouTube.com
Yesterday I posted a blog entry which contained set of videos from the YouTube channel of "EASTOAKLAND106", and contained scenes that were shocking. One showed two young black men basically exacting an ugly form of "street" justice on a white man in East Oakland. The other videos were created during "The Sideshow", an activity featuring muscle cars revved to full-throttle by their drivers, spinning donuts in the middle of the intersection of 106th and Mac Arthur Blvd. The YouTube channel contained other videos that together gave the viewer a real picture of what was going on (or "going down") in that part of Oakland.
I made the decision to create the blog to get the attention of the normally placid blog reader, tossed a steady diet of texts about celebrities, sports, and Erin Andrews. These videos showing the real life in East Oakland are there, but bloggers generally ignore them. I thought it was time to change that state of affairs, so I did.
The reaction on my blog Oakland Focus was basically normal, one email of concern about what's happening in that part of our city. But on SFGate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle, it was different. At first, some were hostile, angry that I placed such videos up for public view (forgetting that the videos were already up and out in the open on YouTube), others accused me of trying to "glorify" what they saw as "black culture". Still, others said that by installing that blog post I was simply advancing how whites saw blacks. All of these views I take issue with to a degree.
Yes, I know the old saw that "if it bleeds, it leads" but my intent was to poke and prod at a system of local bloggers that has ignored East Oakland. While there's a blog called "Oakland North", which focuses on a part of our town that, considering the Rockridge scene, can be as sexy as it is charming, there's no blog called "Oakland East" or "East Oakland" for that matter, and some of the blogs that certain Oakland Councilmembers read give only one view of Oakland. And SFGate.com and the w Oakland Tribune website only report crimes that happen in East Oakland, but don't give one an idea of what it's like to be there. So, with the help of the SFGate staff, that all changed.
I thank the SFGate's Vlae Kershner for taking the daring leap of giving my post the visibility "above the fold" of the front page and in the face of the visitor. The result - in part because of this and because of Google News and the way I designed the post to trigger it - was 149 comments, and it was gratifying to see the outpouring of emotion, the dissension, and eventually the melding of views and ideas. People who started out far apart were able to find common ground: we agree that some set of policies must be enacted to change East Oakland beyond just "more cops" and even though some don't think anything we try will work, they agree something must be done.
I still favor a return to a manufacturing-based economy in East Oakland. I'm tired of seeing whole states like Alabama work to bring auto plants and steel plants to those areas, while people here who have low-skills struggle to find work while the government tells them to get "retrained" for jobs that others move here to get, and land them. California as a whole has forgotten how to compete for industry, and has become lazy: more willing to build prisons and lock people up than assure the maintenance of a well-funded education system and a great jobs-building economy. The objective should be "a job for everyone" and not "I will arrest you."
All that and we're surprised at what we saw in East Oakland, or for that matter, the riots after the shooting of Oscar Grant? That is us, not the black "us" or the white "us, or the Asian or Latino "us", but us as Americans, or as Oscar Goldman said to "The Six Million Dollar Man", Steve Autin, "This is your arm, Steve." We have to deal with the reality we face and change it.
Some lament the passing of "old media," and I certainly mourn the loss of giants like Walter Cronkite, but new media - open, in your face, connective of everyone, and rapid in motion - is the social mirror we've never had before. We can see who we are, talk about what needs to change, then go out and do it.
Michael Vick - The "Anti-Vick" team list
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After much discussion, polling, and commenting, Michael Vick's back in the NFL. As I mention in my video created two day ago, he has to wait six games (which I called a suspension but as it turns out, it's not). Rather than blast another post about Vick's return, I took a look at the results of my poll (still a small majority favored Vick's return to the NFL this season, including me), and waited for more information. During that time, several NFL teams openly expressed their lack of desire to have the double-threat quarterback join them, but it took my friend Mike Florio of ProFootballtalk.com (the "TMZ.com" of the NFL) to make an "anti-Vick" team list. He updates the list periodically; here's what it looks like as of this writing, and Mike has notes explaining if the teams made their views known before or after Vick was invited back to the NFL by Commissioner Roger Goodell:
Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Pre-reinstatement)
Detroit Lions (Pre-reinstatement)
New York Jets (Pre-reinstatement and last week)
New York Giants (Recently)
San Francisco 49ers (Pre-reinstatement and post-reinstatement)
St. Louis Rams (Pre-reinstatement, and possibly post-reinstatement)
Dallas Cowboys (Pre-reinstatement and recently)
Washington Redskins (Pre-reinstatement and recently)
Houston Texans (Pre-reinstatement)
Indianapolis Colts (Pre-reinstatement)
Seattle Seahawks (Pre-reinstatement)
Buffalo Bills (Post-reinstatement)
Cincinnati Bengals (Post-reinstatement)
Miami Dolphins (Post-reinstatement)
Kansas City Chiefs (Pre-reinstatement and post-reinstatement)
Philadelphia Eagles (Post-reinstatement)
Here are the teams that to my knowledge have not made a statement (if you have new information, please let me know:
Oakland Raiders
Cleveland Browns
Houston Texans
Chicago Bears
Minnesota Vikings (Didn't say "no," but did not say "yes either)
St. Louis Rams
No statement from the Raiders
Now before you scream "The Raiders have said they will pass on Vick", no they didn't say that, a San Francisco Examiner columnist speculated they would do that, and it showed up in Google News. Offically, the Silver and Black have said nothing. Moreover, it's in the Raiders history to give a player like Vick a chance and if he's still able to run as he did two years ago, could give a defense fits in a kind of "Wildcat" formation with running backs Michael Bush and Darren McFadden.
Coach Tony Dungy is Vick's NFL-appointed mentor
Tony Dungy, the legendary Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Indianapolis Colts, is Vick's NFL-appointed mentor. Commissioner Goodell himself asked Dungy to help in this role and he could not have made a better choice. Dungy has taken his time to counsel men in prison and many players and former players look to him for advice. Based on what Dungy wrote, Vick may not be in a hurry to play football In his blog, Dungy explained:
I believe it (allowing Vick to return to the NFL) was the right call and I am glad that Michael is going to get a chance to re-start his football career. But, more than that, I’m happy with the position Michael has taken. I’ve met with him twice and spoken with him on the phone a few other times and I believe he is really focused on putting his life back together. Sure, he would love to play football in the NFL again, but I think he has other priorities. He has missed his family and looks to get those relationships going again, especially with his three children. I think he realizes not only how important they are to him, but also how important he is to their development. He has missed 18 months of that development and he wants his whole family together again.
With that, look for Vick to keep a low public profile and catch up with his family. Football's there but what we all forget is he's been away from society for two long years. He's got a lot of catching up to do. Heck, he's not even on Twitter!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hands On Gourmet- Tip: How to Cut a Cantaloupe Melon
My friends from the great company Hands on Gourmet talk about the proper way to peel a melon. For more go to http://www.handsongourmet.com
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