Sandra Bullock wins SAG Best Actress Award for The Blind Side

Sandra Bullock just won the SAG Best Actress Award for her role in The Blind Side. It was her first SAG Award, and led to a very deep and heartfelt explanation that she thanked her friends for sticking with her during a time when she quit acting and elected to go back and start all over again. She auditioned for Crash and was nominated for her role in it.

The Blind Side is an amazing departure for an actress once known for ditzy, pretty woman roles. The Blind Side is the story of now-Baltimore Ravens Offensive Lineman Michael Oher, and the family that takes the homeless Oher in, led by Leigh Anne Tuohy, played by Sandra Bullock.

Bullock won the Golden Globes Best Actress Award last Sunday.

Here's Sandra Bullock, in The Blind Side:



Stay tuned.

Saints v. Vikings: NFC Championship game preview

The 2010 NFC Championship Game is the Saints v. Viking on Sunday. The Minnesota Vikings visit the New Orleans Saints in this battle to determine which team will represent the NFL's National Football Conference in the Super Bowl in Miami. The game will be a battle of quarterbacks: The Vikings' Brett Favre v. The Saints' Drew Brees.

Brett Favre is coming off what many are saying is the best year in his history. Brett Favre's thrown 4,202 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Drew Brees has thrown for 4,388 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Both offenses are potent, but the Saint's Offense is the league's 3rd best; the Vikings have the league's 2nd best defense.

The Saints Offense is indeed potent, but the key is not just in Drew Brees' passing, but the game planning and play calling of Head Coach Sean Payton. Coach Payton has not only developed an offense that consists of a plays that he uses as tools to attack a defense' weaknesses in formation structure, he and his staff do a great job of changing their game plan to adjust to a defenses approach.

The Saints did this in their game against The Dallas Cowboys in 2009, when, down 24 to 7 in the third quarter, the Saints went to a hybrid four-receiver set to march back, only to lose 24 to 7. The the one factor of that contest which also works in the Vikings favor is the rush of the Cowboys' front four when they used a four-man rush, which harassed and hurried Brees all evening long.

The Vikings led the NFL in sacks with 48, and have a defensive line paced by Defensive End Jarod Allen, which is every bit as physical as that of the Cowboys. Look for the Saints to use more play-action against the Vikings, but if the Vikings scout well and pass rush and blitz when the Saints line up in single back sets, it could be a long day for Drew Brees.

The Vikings Offense consist of Favre, second-year Runing Back Adrian Peterson, and a set of excellent wide receivers paced by Sidney Rice (with 1,312 yards on 83 catches, and 8 touchdowns). But Percy Harvin, who was not expected to play, practiced with the team Saturday. Harvin has 790 yards on six touchdowns and 60 receptions. Percy Harvin is the Vikings weapon, used in reverses, and even as a running back.

Adrian Peterson is incomparable. He's good for 4.4 yard a carry, has 1,383 yards and 18 touchdowns. But Adrian Peterson hasn't had a breakout 100-yard game since earlier this year when he went crazy against the Cleveland Browns. Adrian Peterson is the key in this entire game; if the Saints can't stop him, they'll lose.

The other factor here is the emerging talent that is the Saints' Reggie Bush. The man who should have been drafted by the Houston Texans in 2006, is finally seeing the field and as a result has become a better running back. His pair of long-distance touchdown runs against the Arizona Cardinals helped them when their NFC Divisional Playoff game 45 to 14.

But that was against Arizona. The Vikings have a better defense. The one question is their ability to craft an offensive game plan that takes the pressure off Brett Favre and keeps the Saints Offense off the field. The key is Adrian Peterson. The Saints' Defense is ranked 25th in the NFL and has given up 400 yards in six games this season.

The other key is the desire of New Orleans itself to escape the shadow of Katrina. That's hard to quantify.

Score: Vikings 24, Saints 21, OT.

16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards tonight

The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild is tonight at 7:30 PM / 6:30 PM CST, and presents an interesting battle between Jeff Bridges from Crazy Heart and George Clooney who starred in Up in the Air. Jeff Bridges won for Best Actor at The Golden Globe Awards last Sunday, so he's seen as having the edge over the often-decorated George Clooney. The winner of the award has the inside track to Best Actor at The Oscars, although there have been some exceptions to this in the past.

Best Actress has Golden Globes winner Meryl Streep from Julie & Julia up against Sandra Bullock's against-type performance in The Blind Side, and Gabourey Sidibe, the first-time actress who took the World by storm in Precious.

A Big Party

Lori Bergamotto of People Magazine describes the behind the scenes effort needed to bring the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild / People Magazine after party to life:



Betty White is the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Here's we spend a moment with Betty White as she answers questions from fans who submitted questions on the SAG website:



Here's the full list of SAG Nominees from The Screen Actors Guild:

MOVIES

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
Mo'Nique, Precious

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Precious

TELEVISION

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
The Closer
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men
True Blood

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Glee
Modern Family
The Office

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance
Cuba Gooding, Jr., Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
Jeremy Irons, Georgia O'Keeffe
Kevin Kline, Great Performances: Cyrano de Bergerac
Tom Wilkinson, A Number

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Joan Allen, Georgia O'Keeffe
Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens
Ruby Dee, America
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens
Sigourney Weaver, Prayers for Bobby

STUNT ENSEMBLES

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Public Enemies
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES
24
The Closer
Dexter
Heroes
The Unit

Hope for Haiti Now raised estimated $9.5 million so far

According to this new report, the concert Hope for Haiti Now raised an estimated $9.5 million. According to the Daily World Buzz, the concert telethon established by George Clooney with MTV and what became perhaps the most televised and media exposed event in history, there were several country-based versions of the telecast: $9.4 million came from English based Canada for Haiti and French-based Ensemble for Haiti gave another $6.8 million.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada would match the Hope for Haiti Telethon "dollar for dollar."

There's no word on the donations from the U.S. based telecast as of this writing because they're still accepting donation. The site is Hope For Haiti.org.

Haiti Earthquake update: cardboard communities, man rescued

In this Haiti Earthquake update, The Christian Science Monitor reports that Haitians are building new homes after the earthquake with little more than cardboard and plastic in refugee camps. It's estimated that there are 250 such camps in existence.

The rich have left Haiti's capital city of Port-Au-Prince, leaving the poor to fend for themselves. Haiti Earthquake relief efforts are building, but with 3 million people in need of aide and a crumbled infrastructure, it's a challenge.

Meanwhile, a man was rescued from rubble by an international rescue team after being trapped for 11 days after the Haiti Earthquake. The 23-year old man was under the remains of a crumpled hotel in Port-Au-Prince.

But all of the news is not bad, Haitians have lined up as private banks have reopened. Security forces have been on hand, and bank customers have been allowed to draw a limit of the equivalent of $2,500 to prevent a run on the banks.

And click here for more on the Hope for Haiti Now concert from Friday night.

Stay tuned.

Hope for Haiti Now concert performances and update

Last night's Hope for Haiti Now concert featured 19 performances from artists like Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Shakira, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, U2, Wyclef Jean, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, and Kid Rock Jennifer Hudson, Emeline Michel, The Edge, Dave Matthews and Neil Young.

Here's the AP's video summary:



And Hope for Haiti Now attracted stars who worked the phones like Colin Farrell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts, Jack Nicholson, Charlize Theron, Steven Spielberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Robert Pattinson, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Clint Eastwood, Halle Berry, and Ben Stiller.

Bill Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, and head of the Bush / Clinton Haiti Fund, gave this speech:



The Hope for Haiti Now concert event was in Los Angeles, New York, and Haiti, where CNN's Anderson Cooper is working to report on the country's effort to recover from the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake. Hope for Haiti Now was organized by Up In The Air star George Clooney, who said to MTV, "I think it's the same message that everybody does, that churches do, that communities do — which is everybody participate, help out, whatever way you can."

Hope For Haiti Now as event planning was put together very rapidly, about the same time as the Haiti Earthquake itself ended. George Clooney explained to MTV how he came to be involved in forming Help For Haiti Now:

"I was in New York the evening it (the Haiti Earthquake) happened. It happened at four or five o'clock, and I got a message from Wyclef that he's gonna go into the Dominican Republic and that it was much worse than what's initially been reported," Clooney explained. "We knew it was bad, but who knew how bad. And he said, 'Is there anything you can do?' So the next morning, I woke up and called (MTV CEO) Judy McGrath at MTV, and Judy said, 'We were thinking about doing something too,' so I said, 'Let's do it.' And I flew back to L.A., and as soon as I landed we got the other networks involved. And now it's every major network, every single one. At some point, it got to a place [when] you couldn't be the network that didn't [join in]."

The list of participating networks was vast: CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino and Canadian networks, including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television and MuchMusic. As of this writing, there's no official estimate of the television viewer count; that should come next week.

Hope for Haiti Now may have been the most media-exposed event in history; it was also streamed online at MTV.com, YouTube.com, VH1, and MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo!, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com and Rhapsody, and on cell phones by way of Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and FloTV.

Hope for Haiti Now

You can still help now by going to www.HopeforHaitinow.org or calling by phone at 877-99-HAITI. You can even text "GIVE" to 50555.

Here are some of the 19 performances from Hope for Haiti Now, Friday night:

Alicia Keys (video link):

Donate Now: 1-877-99-HAITI in US/Canada, or go to www.hopeforhaitinow.org

Stevie Wonder: (video link)

Donate Now: 1-877-99-HAITI in US/Canada, or go to www.hopeforhaitinow.org

Shakira (video link):

Donate Now: 1-877-99-HAITI in US/Canada, or go to www.hopeforhaitinow.org

Coldplay (video link):

Donate Now: 1-877-99-HAITI in US/Canada, or go to www.hopeforhaitinow.org

Taylor Swift (video link)

Donate Now: 1-877-99-HAITI in US/Canada, or go to www.hopeforhaitinow.org

Stay tuned.

Oscar Nominations Ballots due today, Saturday; and note of protest

AMPAS, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that the 5,777 voting members of the Academy are to return their completed Oscar nominations ballots to to PricewaterhouseCoopers not later than 5 PM today, Saturday January 23rd. If they are returned by any time after 5 PM today, they will not be counted.

UPDATE: AMPAS did not state if the 5 PM time was eastern or Pacific in the press release; since it's on the West Coast, Pacific time (PST) should be used.

Apparently the presence of this video-blogger will not be counted either. After being invited by AMPAS to submit a press credential application for the Oscar and Oscar-related events, the result was three successive rejection emails without a reason other than "lack of space".

Again, I was invited. I would think AMPAS understood their space needs ahead of time, before invitations to apply for The Academy Awards were sent out. But even more disturbing is that there's not one set of metrics that's used to determine who gets an invite or who gets admitted.

This kind of 1960s gate keeping in the 21st Century is awful. Below is the email letter of protest of their decision that I wrote to Leslie Unger, the Director of Communications at AMPAS:

Hi

With all due respect, I really must protest AMPAS decision not to grant a press credential to me for The Academy Awards and its related Nominations Events and on a wide scale.

First, I was invited to apply by AMPAS last year and because I'm on the AMPAS press list. Second, I met all of the necessary application document criteria as per AMPAS instructions. Third, I have regularly covered the Oscars and film via my blogs and videos and have an online reach that's better than the vast majority of media outlets you have credentialed (including an average of 26,000 video views a day on YouTube alone). Fourth, my overall reach is much greater than it was even when I was granted an Exterior Pass last year as my blog is on Zennie62.com and I own 100 blogs, and blog at SFGate.com and The Examiner and I'm syndicated by Newstex. Fifth, AMPAS has no - zero - set of metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of media that's asked to apply for credentials before an application is submitted.

That's really not the way to set up a system. By contrast, the Democratic National Committee had a clear set of metrics for the 2008 Democratic National Convention: Technorati authority rating, minimum number of blog posts, minimum number years that the blog was in existence.

I knew what the metrics were and determined that I met them, so I applied. The result was that my blog was one of 124 that was credentialed for the DNC in 2008.

Please note the word "number" - that's the expression of a "metric" or a way of measuring.


See:

http://demconvention.wordpress.com/blogger-credentaling-process/

And this is the list of credentialed blogs (mine is at the bottom of the list):

http://bloggers4obama.com/2008/05/30/dallas-south-credentialed-for-2008-democratic-national-convention/

There were thousands of blog that did not make the cut, but they knew the metrics going in. They could have chosen not to apply if they just looked at where their blog was compared to the metrics, but some people did not do that. But they knew and the process itself was easy. And to help those blogs that did not make the cut, The Daily Kos and YouTube created something called "The Big Tent" at the DNC.

That was and has been missing in the Oscar Press Credential process and it's really unbelievable that an organization like AMPAS would have such loose system. Your system must be numerically based so that people like myself know the rules of the game. That's a rule that's as old as discrimination law itself. Otherwise, how does one know if they're not being discriminated against racially or in any other kind of way?

I am not concerned about AMPAS tradition here; the 21st Century, technology, and American History have changed our culture such that it's a meritocracy. "If I achieve X level or number, then I get Y" is the way now and it's at the center of New Media. AMPAS must reflect the expectations of media in the 21st Century.

All of this has been most upsetting to me because it's not right. Moreover, I'm of the opinion now that AMPAS thinks I'm someone without any reach, say, or influence, thus this treatment. I remain a fan of AMPAS and of OSCAR, so it's in that sprit that I embark on my quest for change.

I understand that your office deals with many people who "want in" and claim to be press. But I am on the press list, was invited to apply for credentials, put a lot of people through their paces to meet the application document requirements, waited for the result because I would then get a sponsor for my trip on that basis, and this.

Basically, AMPAS has harmed my ability to achieve my professional objectives; given how this happened I'm deeply saddened and upset with AMPAS. The only way I know how to explain to the World what's happened is by using New Media. It just happens to be a powerful tool. Maybe then AMPAS will understand and at least work to set criteria or for that matter ask me.

That would be a good idea.

Best,

Zennie Abraham

Stay tuned for my video version.

Scott Brown win upsets Hitler; same as Sarah Palin, Megan Fox news

A couple of days ago, Hitler learned that Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown won, but his reaction was the same as for the news that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin resigned last year. Well, there's one twist: Hitler blames Scott Brown's victory on President Obama. Of course, Hitler gets upset about a lot of things, like Sarah Palin resigning or Megan Fox rejecting him.

At the time of the report on Scott Brown, Hitler was in a meeting explaining he needed 60 votes to pass Health Care Reform.

Then on the news of Scott Brown's win, he gets pissed, saying that Obama was supposed to be a genius, the Republicans were supposed to be finished, "a regional party confined to the South", and he had a Supermajority. "Coakley had a 30-point margin!", Hitler screamed. Hitler became so upset over the news that Scott Brown won, he kicked all of the Blue Dog Democrats out of the room!

"Health Care was supposed to be done by August!", Hitler screamed. "Now it drags on forever, like Stalingrad!" Then later Hitler says he should have "stuck with Hillary."

Now, for those who have been paying attention, Hitler is supposed to be Nevada Senator and Democratic leader Harry Reid, he of the recent "Obama Negroid" controversy.

Here's the video:



And here's Hitler's response to the Sarah Palin news of last year:



And this is Hitler's reaction over the news that Megan Fox dumped him:



It's not over. We'll hear more about Hitler as 2010 drags on (film clip from the 2004 German film Downfall).

Stay tuned.

Oakland Parking Problem causes Don Macleay for Mayor

The Oakland Parking Problem has a number of Oaklanders upset, yet the City of Oakland just doesn't seem to get it. The Oakland Parking Problem has its second political reaction: Green Party Member Don Macleay is running for Mayor. Don Macleay was one of the first to start working on an Oakland Parking Initiative, but like this blogger feels the City of Oakland just doesn't care.

For example, an Oakland Councilmember with an affinity for cocktails yelled in the year of this blogger at a downtown Oakland restaurant recently only because of the mention of the Oakland Parking Initiative and the desire to lower parking rates to more reasonable and affordable levels.

When this was said, the Oakland Councilmember turned and gestured with the cocktail glass with "IF YOU DON'T EXPLAIN WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO CUT, YOU'RE A LIAR!! A LIAR!!! I'LL CALL YOU THAT TO YOUR FACE!!! LIAR!!!

Yes. Yelling really loud in the establishment , and just as it was wrote.  When the concern for Oakland's unemployed and poor was expressed, there was no response from the Oakland Councilmember.  The name is withheld with the hope that the Oakland Councilmember gets the message and stops that kind of behavior in the future.

Oaklanders should be able to talk about policy differences without yelling at each other. But it's really disheartening to see someone that one supported turn around and yell at them for no reason at all, really.

This blogger never attempted to match the Oakland Councilmember's voice level; listening was the objective. The only concern here is that the Oakland Councilmember forgets that she represents the people of Oakland, first, not the maintenance of City of Oakland salary levels in a recession. Don Macleay says he will not be bound by any special interest:



On his website, currently at OaklandGreens.org, Don Macleay writes:

Oakland deserves a Mayor who works for citizens first. I want a city that serves all citizens with compassion, advocacy, and action.

The email from his supporters reveals Don Macleay as a kind of "working class hero":

Working-class, non-politician Don Macleay announced his intention to run for Mayor of Oakland earlier this week, urging Oakland voters to reject entrenched insider politicians and instead vote for a progressive advocate for people and policies that would serve the real majority in Oakland, not special interests.

Calling his campaign “Integrity and Vision for Progressive Change,” Mr. Macleay is a former machinist, current small business owner, father and progressive community and environmental advocate.

Mr. Macleay said he is an “insider” only to grassroots, community-based Oakland, and will put the “people first.” Mr. Macleay’s goal, as he will outline Monday, is to end the systemic
mediocrity that is Oakland's City government.

Don Macleay has what was reported to be a well-attended campaign kickoff of about 50 people, which isn't bad considering that he's as of this writing unknown. That's certainly about to change.

Oakland's Mayor's Race did not have a Green Party Candidate who officially announced his or her candidacy. Now it does. Give the political unrest both nationally and locally, Don Macleay just may find himself with more support for his mayoral run than he dreamed of.

But where Don Macleay could fail in his run is in the New Media area. Right now, when one types "Don for Mayor" they don't get Don Macleay on the first page of the search result, they get Don Perata. As is true for many people over 40, Don Macleay's misunderstanding of the importance of New Media could be his failure.

Few people read newspapers any more and the Oakland Tribune's parent company filed for bankruptcy protection.

Stay tuned.

Artie Lange predicted Conan O'Brien's NBC demise - 11/11/08

Artie Lange, the great sidekick to Howard Stern, predicted Conan O'Brien's NBC demise when he appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on November 11, 2008.

Artie Lange, who recently survived a suicide attempt and will be back on The Howard Stern Show at a date in the future, made a statement that painted a future Conan O'Brien didn't see coming; but is now upon him:



This is probably my eighteenth appearance and I'm very sentimental about this," Lange said. "You're leavin' You're going out to do The Tonight Show." Conan responded with "I'm going out to Los Angeles, yeah," which ignited Lange's response: "It sucks. What am I supposed to do, have witty conversations with Jimmy Fallon? What the hell.."

Conan: "Yeah. He's very funny. You're gonna love him."

Artie Lange: "I love Jimmy; he's not you. You're a writer..I'll just totally throw you under the bus. Good luck man. I don't know. I think it's a bad move."

Conan: "Well. What are you gonna do.?"

Artie Lange: "I would have rooted for that bobblehead (Jay) Leno to stay (on The Tonight Show) and you could have got, what? $40 million? Right? Wasn't that the deal? You would have got $40 million dollars?

Conan: "No, I don't think so."

Artie Lange: "Yeah"

Conan: "$40 million not to work? Sweet. I gotta look into that. Is that a possibility?"

Artie Lange: "I read it in the TV Guide."

Conan: "You read it in the TV Guide!"

Artie Lange: "Cheers to Conan!"

Conan: "Cheers to Conan."

Artie Lange: Cheers to Conan for taking the $40 million and not working."

Conan: "Let's get that deal!"

The deal that Conan O'Brien agreed to will pay him $45 million, $12 million of which will go to his executive producer and his staff as severance. Artie Lange was right: Conan O'Brien's getting $40 million for not working.

Stay tuned.

All White Basketball Team idea upsets Augusta, Georgia

Two days ago a man by the name of Don “Moose” Lewis announced the formation of an "All White Basketball Team" because he didn't like the recent trend of criminal acts on the part of some black NBS Basketball players like Gilbert Arenas, who brandished a gun in the Washington Wizards' locker room and pointed it at a teammate. The antic cost Arenas his NBA job and may land him in jail.

The fact that white NBA referee Tim Donaghy pled guilty to federal felony conspiracy charges seems to have escaped Don “Moose” Lewis, who says he's not racist.

Lewis has it in his mind that he wants to not only exclude black players, but players of color and even the white European basketball players who's ranks have swelled in the NBA. Don “Moose” Lewis wants a "White American Legue" and for reasons not clear to Augusta, Georgia's residents, has it in his mind that Augusta's the perfect place.

WJBF in Georgia conducted a poll on this matter: of 695 respondents, 53 percent said "No" and 47 percent said "yes". Why that close a vote may very well show why Don “Moose” Lewis picked Augusta in the first place: racism - a massive mental illness - still appears to be a big problem, if the comments below the poll are any gauge of what's happening there:

I believe there should be an all white basketball team.. I mean shoot look at the basketball teams that we have now they are either all black or have 1 white person on the team..I’m not racist by any means I just think its time we got some equality in the sport..We have some what of equality in the other sports yes there are more blacks on the team but who gives a crap right theres whites too…so unless you wanna sit there and do 50%white and 50%black on a basketball team let em have it…

The silliness of the whole idea rests in the fact that the reason there are so many good black basketball players is they work at it. A whole subculture that was the result of blacks being discrminated in so many areas of American life gave rise to the Great Black Athlete. For Don Moose Lewis to not understand that would seem to prove Mr. Lewis does not understand the "Hard facts that created America" as President Lincoln said.

A terrible statement on the South.

Stay tuned.

Ayla Brown online hit after Scott Brown says she's "available"

The number two search on Yahoo Buzz at 9:20 PM is for "Ayla Brown" after her father, new Senator-Elect Scott Brown, said that she was available. Now, searches for "Ayla Brown bikini" and "Ayla Brown American Idol" are dominating the Internet.

During his Tuesday night acceptance speech, Senator-Elect Brown said told the country via television his two daughters Arianna Brown and Ayla Brown were "available".

Ayla Brown

Suddenly millions of men (and perhaps some women) were interested in learning all about Ayla Brown, much to the shock of her mother, Gail Huff (who could be heard saying "Oh no" when Brown went on a rant about his daughters.

Ayla Brown is not without some star power. At 17, she was a contestant on American Idol, who auditioned in Boston, and made it to Hollywood, as one of 24 semi-finalists.

Here's the video of Ayla Brown singing "Reflection" by Christina Aguilera in 2006:



American Idol launched her singing career, as Ayla Brown made various singing appearances around Massachusetts, including appearing with The Boston Pops and singing the National Anthem at a Red Sox game.

After American Idol, Ayla Brown continued to pursue her other passion, basketball, and became the highest highest scorer on the Boston College team in the 2006-2007 season.

Ayla Brown the vlogger

Ayla Brown's website is a collection of her social network pages and latest videos on a YouTube channel ran by "Double Deal Records". She made this one to thank her friends and supporters after her father's Massachusetts Senate race win over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley:



After the party, Ayla told the New York post she was mortified over what her father said, and that she was getting requests to go out for coffee or drinks.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods spotted at sex rehab clinic Pine Grove

Tiger Woods was spotted at the sex rehab clinic Pine Grove's "Gentle Path Program" Wednesday. According to the NY Post, Tiger Woods is in Hattiesburg, Miss, at the sex rehab clinic for six weeks, and during what is called "family week" he will reportedly have to undergo seven full weeks of counseling with his wife Elin Nordegren.

In what the NY Post calls "Sexual healing for caged Tiger", the National Inquirer reported that "Disclosure Day" is the time Tiger Woods has to reveal all of this many affairs to his wife. That includes Rachel Uchitel, Jamie Jungers, Mindy Lawton, Cori Rist, and the other seven mistresses Tiger Woods has bedded even since 2001 and before he married Elin.

It's described as kind of a prison, with strict times to rise (5:30 AM) and work therapy hours between 8 AM and 4 PM. The Pine Grove website says:

Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services in Hattiesburg, Mississippi is known as one of the nation’s most comprehensive treatment campuses. Since 1984 Pine Grove has offered a continuum of services ranging from outpatient to inpatient and residential treatment for adults, children and adolescents suffering from psychiatric and addictive diseases. Specialized services include the treatment of addictions, eating disorders, and professionals struggling with interpersonal difficulties. The Pine Grove Mission is to be a leader in healing and changing lives by providing the highest quality behavioral health services.

Gentle Path is a part of the Pine Grove program system. It's mistakenly reported as a separate clinic; a visit to the Pine Grove website will show that Gentle Path is a part of an overall program in Hattiesburg, Mississippi facility.

Stay tuned.

Glenn Beck attacks Scott Brown over "daughters available" remark

The assumed love fest between Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown and Republican Conservative Wingnuts is over. On his radio show Wednesday, Glenn Beck attacked Senator-Elect Scott Brown for mentioning that his daughters Arianna and Ayla were available during Brown's acceptance speech Tuesday night. Here's the video from Glenn Beck's show:



Here's Scott Brown's "my daughters are available" blast, including his basketball challenge to President Obama:



Glenn Beck said "I don't understand the thinking of Scott Brown last night with his two daughters, when he said this: (Plays clip) 'And just in case anybody's watching throughout the country, yes, they're both available." Then Beck said "Speaking of his daughters here. Hey. Hey. Stop. Stop. Stop. Okay. Alright. Bad enough. Bad enough. Hey! My two daughters on a meat market. If this isn't the shoomp and spears coming out of the cave where a guy - I would never have done this. You could see a stupid guy saying something like that, and then goin 'Aw geez. What did I just do'? (Off camera guy) "As a dad, you go the opposite way." (Glenn Beck) "Stop looking at my daughters. Ok. They're standing behind him. He says this. Now you know immediately, my wife would have pieces of my body in a drawer this morning, just on this. My daughters would never have spoken to me ever again, had I said (that). 'Dad! National television! What are you doing?'" (Off camera voice) "Do you know how many psychos there are out there?" (Glenn Beck) "Awww my goosshhh. Alright. Collection of my parts in drawers, scattered throughout my house.

"But he didn't stop there," Beck continued. (Plays clip of Scott Brown talking) "'Only kidding. Only kidding. Arianna definitely is not available. Ayla is.' (Glenn Beck) "And did you see my naked in Cosmo? Listen. I want a chastity belt on this man. I want his every most watched in Washington. I don't trust this guy. I'm just tellin' ya. This one could end with a dead intern."

Glenn Beck is referring to the murder of Chandra Levy, the Washington intern that was sexually abused and murdered while jogging. Levy was intern to U.S. Rep. Gary Condit of California, then later had an affair with Condit. Since Condit was closely and romantically linked to Levy, the story wrecked his political career. A suspect, Ingmar Guandique, was indicted and arraigned in 2009; he pled not guilty.

Since Scott Brown's speech, The Times Online reports that his daughter Ayla has been "inundated with messages from men". On her reaction to her father's quip, Ayla said "My jaw dropped. I was like, that definitely wasn't in the script. I definitely had a talk with my Dad." The New York Post reported that Ayla said "I had about 20 people last night say, 'So, I'd like to take you for a coffee or a drink.' "

Looks like Glenn Beck was right.

Stay tuned.

Will Megan Fox wear the Zennie62.com T-shirt?

After four years of blogging and video-blogging, over 6,500 blog posts, and now several bloggers, Zennie62.com has something it's needed for a long time: a t-shirt. Now, the next objective is to get celebs like Megan Fox and Denzel Washington to wear the soon-to-be-famous t-shirt.

Will Megan Fox wear the Zennie62.com t-shirt? 

The t-shirt's based on the logo design for this blogger's television show "The Blog Report with Zennie62" on CoLoursTV (Saturday at 12:30 PM EST; 9:30 AM PST in January). Local Oakland t-shirt maker Cyrus Phishdad took the original logo and re-created it into a sharper, crisper result.

The black t-shirt celebrates the Zennie62 YouTube channel reaching 11 million viewers; it reads "Zennie62.com. 11 million views, including yours." That t-shirt design will remain until Zennie62 reaches over 20 million views.

The t-shirt is being given to fans who have been supporters of Zennie62, like this one in North Dakota who wrote this YouTube message:

As a means to support you I will always wear it with pride, try to keep it clean, never rob a liqueur store with it on.

I will also try to get a good photo of me wearing it so you will have proof that all the way out in North Dakota you are reaching people with your videos..

also, if I ever get well known and appear on Larry King with you, I will promise to wear it, ...as long as you wear a nice suit and not the "Im with Stupid>" T-shirt you had picked out to wear.

Now if Megan Fox wears it, that's huge. Stay tuned.

Google rankings and video: YouTube Partner Nalts

Kevin Nalts is one of YouTube's most successful partners with over 150,000 subscribers, and generally posts very interesting and entertaining video-blogs, like this one where he tries to scare his kids by wearing a Gorilla costume:



But Nalts also is a full time marketing consultant who has clear views on how to get videos to the top of Google rankings. Some of his views, particularly on the value of videos embeded on other websites, are controversially wrong, but in general his view is quite valuable.

At his blog Will Video for Food, Nalts offers his advice on getting your video to the top of Google Rankings. What's particularly informative is his finding that confirms what I've told anyone and everyone: buying ads on Google is a waste of money compared to the more time-consuming but rewarding effort of getting to the top of a ranking in Google; what's called a "natural search result."

Nalts reports that our eyes look to the google search results much more than to the right-placed ads.

I will offer this: with "bots" issuing automatic clicks on Google ads, a customer winds up paying for "false traffic" that does not lead to a purchase or even a page impression. New Scientist has a great article on this problem. In it, Will Knight reports:

"It is possible for an attacker to shut down or seriously impair any Google AdWords advertising campaign by artificially inflating the number of times an ad is displayed - but not clicked on."

And that can kill a Google AdWords campaign. The best route is to focus on good SEO and multi-platform exposure. In other words, have a website, a blog, YouTube and Blip.tv channels, and many interconnected social network pages, from Facebook to hi5.

Stay tuned.

Rielle Hunter and John Edwards affair: Andrew Young took the fall

Now that former Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards admitted that he was the father of Rielle Hunter's daughter Quinn, a lot more detail is being released. It reveals that long time John Edwards political aide Andrew Young took the fall for John Edwards.

According to ABC News, Andrew Young, who was at one point reported to have been Rielle Hunter's boyfriend, revealed that it was all a cover-up to protect John Edwards. In an ABC interview to be aired January 28th, Young said:

"Get a doctor to fake the DNA results," Young said Edwards told him. "And he asked me ... to steal a diaper from the baby so he could secretly do a DNA test to find out if this [was] indeed his child."

Since the affair was revealed, John Edwards allegedly went out to attack Andrew Young and smear his reputation, after Young expressed his concerns about the affair and the role he was asked to play in it.

In response, and to clear his name, Andrew Young began to shop a 20-page proposal for a book last June 2009, According to The Daily Beast. In it, Young claimed he was paid to go along with the hoax that he and not John Edwards was the father of Rielle Hunter's baby.

But when Andrew Young wanted to stop playing along he was cut off from John Edwards and reporters suddenly found a history of arrests (for check forgery and burglary) and convictions (for driving while intoxicated) for a person who was previously reported to be clean cut.

In the ABC January 29th interview, Andrew Young is going to offer more details of the story.

John Edwards civilian admits that John Edward politician was lying

As far back as October 2007, this blogger was one of the first to cover the then largely ignored claim that John Edwards was having an affair with Rielle Hunter. In August of 2008, John Edwards admitted to the affair...



But said he's not the father of her child. Still, the admission destroyed John Edwards' political career, just when he was poised to have a key role in the Obama Administration. Now, his campaign all but gone and his Twitter account inactive, John Edwards is a civilian.

John Edwards

Today, John Edwards admitted what was long speculated by The National Enquirer:

“I am Quinn’s father. I will do everything in my power to provide her with the love and support she deserves. I have been able to spend time with her during the past year and trust that future efforts to show her the love and affection she deserves can be done privately and in peace.

It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me. I have been providing financial support for Quinn and have reached an agreement with her mother to continue providing support in the future.

To all those I have disappointed and hurt these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry.”

This ends a long and very sad sex scandal that started in August 2007, when the New York Post Page 6 ran a column reporting that a politician had a girlfriend:

WHICH political candidate enjoys visiting New York because he has a girlfriend who lives downtown? The pol tells her he'll marry her when his current wife is out of the picture.

Then, late 2007, when the National Enquirer first speculated that Edwards was fooling around, and then "progressed" to Edwards being discovered by two National Enquirer writers as he was attempting to visit Rielle Hunter in July of 2008:



This story is a study in how the media can avoid a story both to protect a politician and to just skip over what's considered sensational.

In this case, The Huffington Post's Sam Stein was one of the first to take the National Enquirer story seriously and write a blog post on it but after first being led to it by then then removed-from-the-Internet campaign videos made by Rielle Hunter.

The Daily Kos took Stein to task as John Edwards was then their darling candidate.

Then Sam Stein wrote a full post on the affair speculation that was removed and replaced by a safer and more watered-down version that only pointed to the Enquirer's story and did not offer detail.

The delay in reporting the Edwards scandal, as America was deep into an intense Democratic Presidential campaign, allowed John Edwards to rise in campaign dollars, polls, and expectations from supporters.

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder called it "a trash story". The LA Times removed links to a post on it.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Edwards was being left in the dark. No word on her view of Edwards' statement today. Yet.

Scott Brown is no Sarah Palin; Sarah Palin is no Scott Brown

There's an idea flying around the media and the conservative blogs that Former Alaska Governor and Fox News Commentator Sarah Palin would match well with new Senator-Elect Scott Brown in some kind of dream 2012 President / Vice President matchup.

The idea was even echoed on CNN's Larry King Live Wednesday night by CNN Commentator David Gergen, who's penchant for making questionable statements has risen to alarming proportions of late.

For several reasons that to some are sexist, Senator-Elect Scott Brown is being compared to Sarah Palin. In fact, one blogger called Scott Brown "The Next Sarah Palin". The main reasons are than both are between 40 and 50 years of age, are considered good looking, white, Republican, athletic, and former models. But those comparisons are proving to be "skin deep".

As Joe Weisenthal rather roughly put it in "The Next Sarah Palin"...

Most notably, Sarah Palin is a big loser, and she's no longer the hero, insurgent member of the party. She is seen as having helped lose the 2008 election.

Still, the paring of Sarah Palin and Scott Brown was indirectly ignited by The Wall Street Journals's Washington Wire, which speculated that Scott Brown may be ready to run for President in 2012, of course, forgetting that Brown just got elected, hasn't been seated, and doesn't know Washington.

In reality, Scott Brown has little in common with Sarah Palin. Brown's a lawyer; Palin is not. Palin' claims to be a conservative (or what this blogger calls a "couch potato conservative"); Scott Brown is considered to be a liberal Republican or what he calls a "Scott Brown Conservative."

The Nude Debate



And then there's that nude model issue. Scott Brown posed nude for Cosmopolitan back in the 80s, and it did nothing to harm his political campaign. Sarah Palin was a beauty pageant contestant and she was criticized for it. That difference in treatment has got the attention of  bloggers and not without considerable outrage.

In the NY Daily News on Wednesday, Jeremy Mayer called it "Full Frontal Sexism":

Surely it is not one of the great injustices in America today that women who pose nude are probably ineligible for higher office, while Brown's nude modeling is just an unusual feature on his resume. But it is emblematic of the differing standards we have for women and men in public life.

In RH Reality Check, Nisha Chittal let loose with her anger:

But had a woman candidate done the same, it would have cost her the election. No female politician could hope to make it out of a scandal like that...She was derided as a dumb beauty queen, but he’s praised as a “hunk.”...Monday night on Fox, the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn said that Brown is a "hunk" and the fact that he posed "semi-nude" actually "gave him a huge advantage in terms of the public recognition" and that "It made him a recognizable public figure, which he was not before. A lot of women think he’s really cute." It’s appalling that the media hasn’t shown more outrage over the now Senator-elect Scott Brown’s actions, where we most certainly know they would do so had it been a woman. But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised – this kind of sexism has long been rampant in our media system.

The point is that Scott Brown got away with just what did Sarah Palin in: being "expressive". But while Brown did use his looks to his advantage, and the media played along with it save for this blogger, no one has accused him of being uninformed on policy; a charge that dogs Sarah Palin to this day.

Lastly, Scott Brown did not seek Sarah Palin's endorsement and has yet to appear with her at a campaign-related event. Scott Brown did not seek Sarah Palin's endorsement. Scott Brown is more supportive of abortion rights than Sarah Palin will ever be. Scott Brown is no Sarah Palin; Sarah Palin is no Scott Brown.

Let's hope for his sake that he's no John Edwards.

GNA 1.0 - Glenview Neighborhood Association, Oakland

(Glenview street banners, courtesy of Maja Brugos Design: www.brugosdesign.com)

Yesterday's clouds dumped another inch of rain onto Oakland. More t-storms may be in the stars for the Bay today, with more precip. into next week.

Some of the banners along Park Boulevard have buckled in the harsh weather, flapping in the high winds and in some places, coming loose from their streetlight mounts. Below them runs the garden median; the city nearly shut off its drip water system last year due to budget cuts. Today it's soaked. Water brims, then runs down the Glenview slope and into the sea.

Next spring, the Glenview Neighborhood Association (GNA) plans to host a gardening party on the median. But while winter still reigns in Oakland, they've been busy with a little virtual refurbishment.

Yesterday the GNA launched a new Web site, and invite you to tour their virtual home today: GlenviewNeighbors.com.

Visit your GlenviewNeighbors online and consider making a donation. Your membeship will go to feed the plants on the median; they will fund online projects with the neighborhood youth. It could also purchase new flags for the Glenview—a nice distraction from the potholes on Park.

Conan O'Brien out at NBC; Libby Schaaf in at Oakland City Hall

At first, Conan O'Brien and Libby Schaaf may seem as far apart as NBC and The City of Oakland. But as New Media brings the worlds of politics and entertainment closer together, it's appropriate to look at two events unfolding at the same time, and involving two people who are going in different directions but similar, still.

Libby Schaaf

Conan O'Brien is leaving NBC. The victim of NBC and Jay Leno's decision to return Leno to his host spot on The Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien said he was just days closer to going on his greatest "drinking binge" ever. Rightly so; Conan was pushed out and there's no guarantee that Jay Leno will fare any better as the (new) The Tonight Show host, as the juggernaut that is The Late Show With David Letterman chugs on.

Meanwhile, Libby Schaaf is a new entry into the public eye, and this blog post is specifically designed to introduce her to a much larger audience than the common, pro-forma, locally centered, boring, self-serving blog post would accomplish. And it's for a very good reason: Libby Schaaf, even if she does not know it, is poised to take over Oakland Politics.

Let's look at Libby Schaaf before we turn our attention back to Conan O'Brien.

First, to clear decks, Libby is a personal friend of this blogger, and has been since 1991. For all of those years Libby has been one thing: passionate about Oakland. Ms. Schaaf worked hard to help Oakland School Board members get elected and in some cases re-elected. She was a fixture as a volunteer at the Oakland Festival at The Lake. And Libby has been involved with many non-profits, like Oakland CARES when it was active, and the Oakland Symphony; in fact, the list is too long to mention even from memory.

Libby has always concerned herself with how to make Oakland better. And she's passionate (that word again) about helping women get connected and employed in business and of helping those less fortunate than she. Libby walks her talk.

Currently, Libby lives in the Montclair District and is planning to run for the City Council seat currently held by Jean Quan, who's running for Mayor of Oakland. To that end, after talking with a number of people, Libby hired locally-known campaign consultant Doug Linney as her campaign manager. She has a "kitchen cabinet" as well. She's ready, although this blogger is concerned she's running an all too conventional campaign, one not appropriate for her aura - for who she is.

Libby's plan has been to run because Jean Quan's not running for her City Council seat. If Jean changes her mind, then Libby would have to decide if she really wants to drop out of the race.

If Jean Quan elects to go back to her current seat (which she should not do as she would be a good candidate for Mayor), Libby should challenge her for the District Four City Council Seat.

Libby would beat her.

Why?

Libby Schaaf has Conan O'Brien's stage presence, good looks, ability to connect with people, and genuine passion for Oakland and for life that just comes through. What can serve her well is to realize that she must run as Libby Schaaf and not as "Libby Schaaf who's held this or that position with the City of Oakland and worked for Oakland City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente." Nothing against De La Fuente (District 5 - Central East Oakland, Fruitvale) at all, but Libby's much bigger than Ignacio, she just doesn't know it.

Libby has an incredible star power that has been diminished by the lesser ambitions of a number of people she's chosen to surround herself with. (Oakland is full of these types; very intimidated by anyone with high ambition and willing to cut down any person that has it.) Libby belongs on stage...as a guest on Conan O'Brien' show and representing the City of Oakland.

Seriously.

In fact, now that Conan O'Brien will be out at NBC and richer for it,he reportedly has the time and money to come to Northern California and help Libby get her campaign off the ground.

With Conan O'Brien involved, Libby Schaaf would see her possible future, work to achieve it, and do so.

Stay tuned.

Nine Foreign Language Films remain in Oscar race

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science announced that nine foreign language films advanced in competition for the category of best Foreign Language Film. The original list consisted of 65 films in this category.

Here's the list of films in alphabetical order, by country:

Argentina, El Secreto de Sus Ojos Juan Jose Campanella, director;
Australia, Samson & Delilah Warwick Thornton, director;
Bulgaria, The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner Stephan Komandarev, director;
France, Un Prophète Jacques Audiard, director;
Germany, The White Ribbon Michael Haneke, director;
Israel, Ajami Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, directors;
Kazakhstan, Kelin Ermek Tursunov, director;
The Netherlands, Winter in Wartime Martin Koolhoven, director;
Peru, The Milk of Sorrow Claudia Llosa, director.

The Academy reports that the short list is determined in "two phases":

The Phase I committee, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based members, screened the 65 eligible films between mid-October and January 16. The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist.

The shortlist will be winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. They will spend Friday, January 29, through Sunday, January 31, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots.

The nominees will be announced February 2nd at 5:30 a.m at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The Oscar telecast will be Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at Hollywood and Highland and telecast on ABC.

Conan O'Brien on Fox Twitter account a hoax, suspended

The much-reported Conan O'Brien on Fox Twitter account - http://www.twitter.com/ConanonFox - has been suspended. The account was discovered two days ago leading to reports that Conan O'Brien was headed over to Fox after losing his 11:30 PM late night spot to Jay Leno after his 10 PM show failed to draw profitable ratings.

Now it has been reported that the Twitter account was a hoax; still the fact is that Conan's leaving NBC.

As for the fake Conan on Fox Twitter account, TMZ reports it was reportedly created by Red Sox fans, perhaps some of the same ones angry with Martha Coakley in her race against now Senator Scott Brown. But there was a real account in its place; that one was switched with tweet, "Triumph means so many things to so many people SoSH." And...

The SoSH can be traced back to a Boston Red Sox fan forum called "Sons of Sam Horn." TMZ contacted one of the site's moderators who told us one of their faithful members, "on his own ... recreated the Conan on FOX Twitter site and referenced SoSH."

The new show, or any new Conan show, could not start until after September 2010, according to Celebridoodle.com, because Conan's NBC contract prohibits his appearance on any other network until that time.

Stay tuned for more on Conan's planned drinking binge.

Conan O'Brien and NBC to reach settlement deal tonight

Late Night Talk Show Host Conan O'Brien and NBC are close to a settlement deal that would net Conan O'Brien with $8.1 million for his staff, a full $600,000 over the original deal.

According to TMZ.com, NBC will pay $7.5 million to his staff, and while his executive producer will make $4.5 million, it's in addition to the $7.5 million to staff as a whole.

NBC thinks they will make money if Conan walks and Jay Leno takes his spot on The Tonight Show. The reason for this is Jay Leno makes $45 million while Conan would lose $5 million.

Meanwhile, all signs point to a Friday farewell for Conan, according to Forbes, which reports Conan saying:

"Hi, I'm Conan O'Brien, and I'm just three days away from the biggest drinking binge in history."

Stay tuned.

Tornado warning in Santa Cruz, San Jose, Bay Area

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for San Jose and The Bay Area, today, Wednesday. The NWS issued a tornado warning for parts of Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. This happened after wind gusts as fast as 85 mph were reported today.

This blogger has never heard of a tornado warning in The San Francisco Bay Area until today. In Santa Cruz County, California, 36,000 people lost power. Yesterday, Oakland was battered by hail storms. Rain has pelted the San Francisco Bay Area all day long.

According to SFGate.com and the National Weather Service' Dan Reynolds, what we're experiencing is called an El Niño, where thunderstorms over warm weather over the Pacific Ocean shoves clouds across the Pacific and into the West Coast. Since there's no high pressure system to crowd-out the El Niño, it dominates the weather.

So get an umbrella, if you must go outside.

Stay tuned.

Is All White Basketball League a good idea?

Other than the death of Jennifer Lyon, Senator Scott Brown, and Heidi Montag, one of the more controversial topics is the attempt to develop an All White Basketball League. According to Associated Content, a man named Don Moose Lewis is pushing the idea because, as he put it,..

"There's nothing hatred about what we're doing. I don't hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now. Here's a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like. Would you want to go to the game and worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch? That's the culture today, and in a free country we should have the right to move ourselves in a better direction."

But is this, an All White Basketball League, that better direction?

The plan is for the league to be based out of Atlanta, Georgia with all teams owned under a single entity. A $10,000 licensee fee is required to establish an organization in any one of 11 additional cities.

The response to an All White Basketball League has been anything but favorable. Ryan Christopher DeVault wrote:

This just seems like a bad idea all around, and something that won't find as much support as Don Moose Lewis is hoping that it will. While claiming that he isn't racist, isn't it racist in itself to create a league that won't allow people of color to play?

Don "Moose" Lewis is trying to drum up support for his league idea in Augusta, Georgia, where Tiger Woods became the first person of color to win The Masters. Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver thinks the idea is not in the sprit of inclusiveness:

"As a sports enthusiast, I have always supported bringing more sporting activities to Augusta," he said. "However, in this instance I could not support in good conscience bringing in a team that did not fit with the spirit of inclusiveness that I, along with many others, have worked so hard to foster in our city."

What's interesting is Moose" Lewis says he's not racist, but says he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball, and not "street-ball" played by "people of color." In this, "Moose" Lewis failed to mention the number of white players who have mastered the same "street-ball" he says only people of color play.

The other issue is the reverse racism Don Moose Lewis shows by stating that whites essentially don't play basketball well and have to be shielded from black and minority players. But what's more disturbing is Lewis is showing the same segregation active in the 1960s.

The problem with his league idea is that in the diverse 21st Century, players on his all-white league will eventually want to play with black, minority, and European players just to see how good they are. That dynamic alone will cause the league to fail.

Right now, the league is without a place to play. Given the looks of things, it may never get one.

Stay tuned.

Massachusetts Senate Race: Scott Brown won for Brown, not GOP

The Massachusetts Senate Race saw Scott Brown's win the US Senate seat that was occupied by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, but the victory a win for Scott Brown, not for the GOP. Only a charismatic, relatively young, youthful, cocky, and properous-looking white guy could get away with opposing aide to 9-11 volunteer workers and posing nude in Cosmo, yet still fill a seat occupied by the late, legendary Senator Ted Kennedy.

Senator-Elect Scott Brown (R) Mass.

Scott Brown looks like and carries himself like this blogger's good friend and Cal-Berkeley buddy Greg Haywood (who's a Democrat), who also has the great knack for endearing himself to people, sometimes saying ridiculous things, and yet coming away smelling like a rose. CNN's David Gergen is wrong (as usual) because President Barack Obama does not need to "back off" of anything, including health care.

(As a momentary aside, CNN's David Gergen's great at painting a broad-brush concept, yet not filling in the blanks. For example, he says that President Obama must now "Govern from the center". What does that mean? What's the center? How does that square with our economy's structural problems? Gergen doesn't say. But the people on CNN who listen to him come away thinking he's said something smart, whereas this blogger comes away thinking he doesn't really understand the nature of what he's saying.)

Scott Brown said "The independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken." Note, he said nothing at all about the "Republican voice". Why? Because there's is none.

In his acceptance speech, Senator-elect Brown never once referred to the Republican agenda, nor did he use the term "conservative" and that's not by accident.



Scott Brown's cocky, self-assured delivery is what's attractive about him and it has nothing to do with the GOP, and it has more to do with the generation he's part of: The Obama Generation.

It is for that reason President Obama can be more aggressive and yes, run Health Care Reform through Congress, full steam ahead.  Scott Brown is Obama's cattle-prod. His reminder that he serves at the will of the people and not the Democratic Party.

What Obama can use is essentially what will be Scott Brown's downfall: his cocky nature. It's going to rub a lot of people the wrong way and Brown will find himself alone out there if he keeps it up.  But it's that same nature that is a trademark of Obama's rise, so Obama's certainly interested in getting to know someone who is of like minds.

The best move is to give Senator-elect Scott Brown his chance. After all, he won. Moreover, what will happen is this: Senator Scott Brown will save President Barack Obama. Senator Brown will allow President Obama to be more populist, not centrist. There's a school of thought that perhaps President Obama was trapped by his own party - by Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. Obama and Brown are cut from the same generational cloth and that will serve to bind them in a way few predicted.

The key here is basketball. Where problems were once solved in a smoke filled room, now they're settled on the basketball court. That "two-on-two" Senator Brown talked about playing with President Obama - that laughable line - is a foreshadowing of things to come.

The GOP has every reason to fear a new alliance between Obama and Brown, just as the old-line Democrats should be concerned as well. The real change is generational, not political.

Stay tuned.

Haiti Earthquake update: death toll at 70,000 and rising

The latest Haiti Earthquake news has the official death toll at over 70,000 and rising. One week after the 7.0 Haiti Earthquake hit ten miles away from and six miles below the capital city of Port-Au-Prince, Haitians and people from around the World have worked to rescue people trapped below the rubble of collapsed buildings.

In an email to those on The Clinton Foundation email list, Former President Bill Clinton reported:

I wish you could have seen what I saw. Haitians were performing surgeries at night, without lights, with no anesthesia, using vodka to sterilize equipment. It's astonishing what they've been able to accomplish in such devastating conditions.

Many corporations and foundations have donated over $200 million to the Haiti Earthquake Relief effort as of this writing. Around the country, from San Francisco to New York, groups, organizations, and people have established efforts to collect money, food, and clothing to send to Haiti; and more help is on the way.

Operation USA has collected 2 million water purification tablets - almost one for the estimated 3 million who need water. And they plan an airlift of medical supplies scheduled to leave next Tuesday. U.S Troops arrived in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti " in dramatic style", landing on the lawn of the badly damaged Presidential Palace.

The question is how long will it take to rebuild Haiti? The level of destruction and death is on a scale that's just awfully incredible. The question - for which there's not yet an answer - is just how long and how much will it cost to bring Haiti back to health.

Stay tuned.

U.S Unemployment and Underemployment rate at 17 percent

A 17 percent unemployment and underemployment rate. The real problem behind President Barack Obama's surprisingly dropping approval rating and what could be a factor in the Massachusetts Senate Race is a not-so-surprising reason; the combined U.S. unemployment and underemployment rate.

According to Portal Seven and based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the U6 Unemployment Rate is:

The U6 unemployment rate counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U-3 rate), but also counts "marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons."

Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U-3 could be working as little as an hour a week.

And the "marginally attached workers" include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work.

The age considered for this calculation is 16 years and over

The incredible 17 percent rate translates to almost one in five people either working part time or not at all. While the $787 billion Economic Stimulus program has kept America from plunging deeper into a Depression, it has not helped to stop the seemingly chronic high rate of underemployment and unemployment. It's too small.

The problem is that at the time the Stimulus bill was past, it represented at best two to three percent of Gross Domestic Product. But GDP was falling at a projected rate of eight percent per year at the time. While the Stimulus has worked to slow that to a halt, the rate of growth required to make up for the fall, at 3 percent last quarter, is not large enough to counter the economy's collapse. In other words, we still have not enough new jobs for the people who need them.

One solution is to do what some have suggested and that's to give American taxpayers under $100,000 $5,000 each or as one GOP Congressman suggested a $20,000 tax credit. The idea is to stimulate consumption which then causes business growth and employment.

Whatever the case, a taxpayer bailout has not been done, and the economy is not improving. If something's not done, and soon, Democrats will lose more than a few seats in the House and Senate.

Bill name Chan Gailey coach over Leslie Frazier; why?

The Buffalo Bills took Chan Gailey as their new head coach and to replace the fired Dick Jauron. Chan Gailey brings an 18 win, 14 loss NFL record to Buffalo, and a reputation of being a conservative offensive coordinator.



The hiring of Chan Gailey is shocking in the wake of the way Minnesota Vikings Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier's "minority token interview" by the Seattle Seahawks and now apparently The Buffalo Bills.

The NFL now must answer for The Rooney Rule, because it appears NFL owners outside of a few, have a desire to limit the number of coaches in the league who happen to be black. Chan Gailey is not a proven winner; his selection as head coach is questionable. ESPN's John Clayton writes that the Bills wanted "An offensive mind" with "head coaching experience."

Leslie Frazier has a better record with the Vikings as assistant head coach than Chan Gailey does at 18 and 14, and the Vikings 34 to 3 NFC First Round Divisional Playoff win just helps his credentials. Chan Gailey is seen by many NFL fans as "conservative", take this commenter over at the Chicago Sun-Times blog who wrote this before Gailey was selected by the Bills:

Well at least the (Chicago) Bears are looking at Chan Gailey, one of the most conservative coordinators ever. He is highly mediocre, but suits the role of coordinator who only gets one or two year contracts before he is fired. By that criteria he meets every qulification that Lovie is looking for. Mediocre, Conservative, Doesn't last long with a team, easy to fire, easy to hire, attacks a defense by not attacking a defense. But most think Gailey will end up with the Bills.

With this evaluation, the Buffalo Bills must explain to their fans why Chan Gailey really was their choice. If it was to escape a "Rooney Rule" hire, as Leslie Frazier would have been, then "The Rooney Rule" itself is to be reevaluated. Moreover, it appears something is going on here.

While Sports Illustrated's Peter King mentioned the Chan Gailey hire is "easy to knock" because of his "conservative" offense, he failed to mention The Rooney Rule issue, or even a single African American NFL coach that the Bills could have interviewed. King says that Gailey "took a team in decline and staved it off for as long as he could" - that's called being a "coach killer". A "coach killer" is good enough to field a competitive team, but not good enough to build a championship team.

Stay tuned.

Scott Brown for Senate supporters accused of sexism

The Massachusetts Senate Race between Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley and State Senator Scott Brown has taken an ugly turn according to The Boston Globe. In an article by Joan Vennochi, Scott Brown's supporters are shown as displaying a large degree of sexism.

In talking about Coakley, a Brown supporter yelled "Shove a curling iron up her butt", regarding a controversial sex abuse case. But Brown is reported to have said "We can do this" in response. This video, circulating the Internet features Scott Brown making the statement:



While Scott Brown does say that, and it may be just a cry to supporters that they can win, there's no evidence that he took time to say "We're not going to do that."

The "curling iron rape remark", as the NY Daily News called it, has gathered steam and could sink Scott Brown's campaign.

Stay tuned.

Mayor Ron Dellums and Port of Oakland - Michael Lighty tie breaker?

[Aimee Allison - OaklandSeen] Mayor Dellums is finally using his city-chartered right to break a council tie by casting a vote for his appointee Michael Lighty to the Port Commission. The Mayor, who recently brokered a deal with port truckers and the state over tighter emissions regulations, is finally playing his hand at strong mayor.

The Port Commission is one of the most powerful groups in city politics, and plays a key role in approving development project like the BART extension and housing, environmental fights as in the ongoing stand-off between truckers and the port, and jobs - as in whether local people are going to get the 6,000 jobs that will be created by the project at the old army base.

More from Sanjiv Handa, East Bay News Service:

Mayor Ron Dellums is still planning on attending the Oakland City Council
meeting Tuesday, Jan. 19, to cast the tie-breaking vote approving the nomination
of Michael Lighty to the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Oakland.It has
been so long since a mayoral tie-breaking vote was cast that many, including
some Council members, are rusty on the process.

Pursuant to the new
rules of procedure adopted effective May 1, 2003, mayoral tie-breakers appear on
the non-consent portion of the Council agenda — which cannot be called prior to
7 p.m.

Tuesday's Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. with open forum,
consent calendar items, closed session report, and ceremonial items. Four
ceremonial presentations, including two lengthy retirement honors, will be heard
during the 6 p.m. portion.

Deputy Police Chief Dave Kozicki and Chief
Technology Officer Bob Glaze are scheduled to be recognized for their long
careers with the city. Both retired as of Dec. 2009.

Councilmember Larry
Reid was quoted in local media as saying he might change his vote. Two local
blogs also indicated changes in the voting lineup, without citing names,

The official meeting agenda states:

Rule 29 [of City Council
Rules of Procedure] provides the following regarding the procedure: "Council and
public discussion is permitted on the item to be voted on by the Mayor; however,
Council members cannot change their vote unless the item has been properly
noticed for reconsideration. The Mayor must appear at the Council meeting to
cast his vote."
If the Mayor does not cast the tie breaking vote, the motion
fails.

The votes, according to draft minutes of the Jan. 5, 2010,
Council meeting was:

4 AYES — Kaplan; Kernighan; Nadel; Quan
4 NOES
— Brooks; De La Fuente; Reid; Brunner

Many speakers are expected to sign
up for the item. It is likely speaker time will be reduced to one minute per
person.

Upon approval, Lighty can take the oath of office on the spot if
he makes arrangements with the City Clerk's Office — or the next day in the
Clerk's office during regular business hours.

The Port has cancelled its
Jan. 20 Audit, Budget and Finance Committee meeting, which is chaired by Tony
Batarse, whom Lighty would replace. The next Port Commission meeting is not
scheduled until Feb. 2.