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Thursday, December 30, 2004
MoveOn's Call For More US Aide to Tsunami Area
For those of you who want to get involved via The Internet, there's a rising swell of compaints regarding the President's initial offer of $15 million. Even though it was increased to $35 million, the call is for more money. Damage estimates are well into the billions. My personal feeling is that the one best fiscal solution will be something like a Global Marshall Plan.
But for the present, there's MoveOne.Org
Visit their site's call to action at: http://www.moveon.org/tsunamirelief/
But for the present, there's MoveOne.Org
Visit their site's call to action at: http://www.moveon.org/tsunamirelief/
Tsunami Death Toll at 116,000
This is unbelievable. Let's put this number in perspective: 116,000 is more people than the population of Berkeley, CA (110,000); more people than the total attendance for 2004's Michigan v. Notre Dame game (105,000). It's larger than all rural towns. And the scary part about this, is the death toll continues to grow.
People try to place The Disaster in biblical perspective. My parents think that some of the countries are being punished for something. I still think that it's the price we pay as a Global community for the misapplication of technology. We lack a global warning system for these occurences, and it's not as if there hasn't been a good reason to have one. It's just that no one cared to push for the development of one.
Why in the heck do we have to be so stupid as a people? We seem to do "what's right" only after a crisis. And isn't it interesting that doing "what's right" involves saving the lives of many people?
Can I get an Amen?
I hope. I pray. I wish that this is the last time we permit such scenarios to develop. I'll bet there's some computer modeler / policy analysis somewhere sitting back and saying "You should have listened to me." As a person who's one of them, I can tell you that politicians in general don't listen well, and society itself is not far ahead of them.
Wake up!
People try to place The Disaster in biblical perspective. My parents think that some of the countries are being punished for something. I still think that it's the price we pay as a Global community for the misapplication of technology. We lack a global warning system for these occurences, and it's not as if there hasn't been a good reason to have one. It's just that no one cared to push for the development of one.
Why in the heck do we have to be so stupid as a people? We seem to do "what's right" only after a crisis. And isn't it interesting that doing "what's right" involves saving the lives of many people?
Can I get an Amen?
I hope. I pray. I wish that this is the last time we permit such scenarios to develop. I'll bet there's some computer modeler / policy analysis somewhere sitting back and saying "You should have listened to me." As a person who's one of them, I can tell you that politicians in general don't listen well, and society itself is not far ahead of them.
Wake up!
The Zennie (A Libation)
OK. About just over a month ago we created a libation called "The Zennie" as part of an experiemental online promotion for The Zennie Band.
I write "experimental" because if the overall strategy didn't work, I was going to analyze the heck out of it and try it again. But it worked. The band actually made about $500 that night (not subtracting the $50 Peter Van Kleef took for "door help") and someone -- actually many people -- saw the Zennie idea and actually ordered it.
Then one person, Florence, sent me a nice e-mail stating that she like the libation and the band rocked.
Folks, I did all this from Atlanta; Cafe Van Kleef is in downtown Oakland, California. Cafe Van Kleef became an Internet-famous bar because of my strategy, which I will not yet reveal.
Anyway, it's a damn good libation, which consists of equal parts of:
1. Orange Juice
2. Tequila
3. Coca Cola
4. Malibu Rum
Go to your favorite bar and ask for "The Zennie"
I write "experimental" because if the overall strategy didn't work, I was going to analyze the heck out of it and try it again. But it worked. The band actually made about $500 that night (not subtracting the $50 Peter Van Kleef took for "door help") and someone -- actually many people -- saw the Zennie idea and actually ordered it.
Then one person, Florence, sent me a nice e-mail stating that she like the libation and the band rocked.
Folks, I did all this from Atlanta; Cafe Van Kleef is in downtown Oakland, California. Cafe Van Kleef became an Internet-famous bar because of my strategy, which I will not yet reveal.
Anyway, it's a damn good libation, which consists of equal parts of:
1. Orange Juice
2. Tequila
3. Coca Cola
4. Malibu Rum
Go to your favorite bar and ask for "The Zennie"
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Jerry Orbach - A Great New Yorker
"Law and Order" star Jerry Orbach passed away today, and of the same illness my stepfather is battling: prostate cancer. A real sad loss. When I think of "New York" I think of Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Donald Trump, Joan Rivers, and Jerry Orbach, to name some New Yorkers...
Guys, make sure you get checked for this when you reach your 30s and on. It's all too common.
Guys, make sure you get checked for this when you reach your 30s and on. It's all too common.
The Disaster
The Disaster
Tuesday, December 28th 2004, for me, was a weird mix of emotions. First, I was happy just to be with my Mom and Step dad here in Fayetteville, GA. (I’m also smiling over his feeling better during his battle with cancer.) Second, I did miss Oakland and the Bay Area (and wish my folks moved back). Third, I was very sad over the massive devastation caused by the dramatic post-earthquake swelling in the Indian Ocean.
The count of lost lives seems to increase with each hour, and with no end in site. (But there’s got to be one.) Television and the Internet, and their increasingly convergent use, keep us tied to the unfolding events thousands of miles away, almost as if we were just a few feet away.
Where am I going with this? Good question. Well, my primary interest is in just plain writing out the pain I feel over this massive loss of life. The problem with the rise in the number of deaths is that – to me – every one of the lives represent someone missed by someone else. That’s what’s so sad. It’s also what makes life so special: the bond formed by just plain caring for each other.
I hope that what comes from this, is a refocus on the use of technology for our global community and not for us. It seems the recent trend is to permit us to buy better anti-depressant pills rather than better ways to keep our communities healthy and alive. The chip and the computer have met the "Me Generation" and now serve our individual needs. Today, we turn around and realize we stopped trying to place humans on other planets, let alone predict tidal waves and earthquakes.
It’s not so much that we stopped, as we slowed down. I have a friend whom I’ve known since junior high school. For some time, he was working on the Hubble Space Telescope until the funding for it was cut back. That device, thousands of miles over the earth, helped us to gain a better view of the solar system around us. It permitted us to better map the planets, and such objects as asteroids -- which do run into planets. You see where I’m going with this, right?
We have to start reapplying our technology to the betterment of our understanding of the world and space around us, rather than just to making a better bionic boob. The immediate matter at hand is using our tools to locate missing people in the disaster area. All of us can help. If someone’s reading this, and knows of news of a missing person, or has information on a person they want communicated, post that information here in the comments page for others to see and pass on. Or go to our SBS site at http://www.sbs-world.com and send me an e-mail to pass around (or start here: zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com. The point is that the Internet’s a great giant grapevine, if it’s used that way.
The other thought is that with so many Americans and others possibility over there, especially given that it’s college break, the chance is high that someone there may be connected to someone we know. For example, UC Berkeley has a large Asian immigrant student population, so the chance that people from our university are affected by the disaster is far greater than the American collegiate norm.
We’ve got to help. Someone may be seeking information now. Let’s pass it on. It may seem like a little, but really, it’s a lot.
Tuesday, December 28th 2004, for me, was a weird mix of emotions. First, I was happy just to be with my Mom and Step dad here in Fayetteville, GA. (I’m also smiling over his feeling better during his battle with cancer.) Second, I did miss Oakland and the Bay Area (and wish my folks moved back). Third, I was very sad over the massive devastation caused by the dramatic post-earthquake swelling in the Indian Ocean.
The count of lost lives seems to increase with each hour, and with no end in site. (But there’s got to be one.) Television and the Internet, and their increasingly convergent use, keep us tied to the unfolding events thousands of miles away, almost as if we were just a few feet away.
Where am I going with this? Good question. Well, my primary interest is in just plain writing out the pain I feel over this massive loss of life. The problem with the rise in the number of deaths is that – to me – every one of the lives represent someone missed by someone else. That’s what’s so sad. It’s also what makes life so special: the bond formed by just plain caring for each other.
I hope that what comes from this, is a refocus on the use of technology for our global community and not for us. It seems the recent trend is to permit us to buy better anti-depressant pills rather than better ways to keep our communities healthy and alive. The chip and the computer have met the "Me Generation" and now serve our individual needs. Today, we turn around and realize we stopped trying to place humans on other planets, let alone predict tidal waves and earthquakes.
It’s not so much that we stopped, as we slowed down. I have a friend whom I’ve known since junior high school. For some time, he was working on the Hubble Space Telescope until the funding for it was cut back. That device, thousands of miles over the earth, helped us to gain a better view of the solar system around us. It permitted us to better map the planets, and such objects as asteroids -- which do run into planets. You see where I’m going with this, right?
We have to start reapplying our technology to the betterment of our understanding of the world and space around us, rather than just to making a better bionic boob. The immediate matter at hand is using our tools to locate missing people in the disaster area. All of us can help. If someone’s reading this, and knows of news of a missing person, or has information on a person they want communicated, post that information here in the comments page for others to see and pass on. Or go to our SBS site at http://www.sbs-world.com and send me an e-mail to pass around (or start here: zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com. The point is that the Internet’s a great giant grapevine, if it’s used that way.
The other thought is that with so many Americans and others possibility over there, especially given that it’s college break, the chance is high that someone there may be connected to someone we know. For example, UC Berkeley has a large Asian immigrant student population, so the chance that people from our university are affected by the disaster is far greater than the American collegiate norm.
We’ve got to help. Someone may be seeking information now. Let’s pass it on. It may seem like a little, but really, it’s a lot.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
The Expanding Number of Celebrities
I’m going to throw out these names; chances are you or someone reading this, identifies them as celebrities: Scott Petersen, Larry King, Ronn Owens, Dennis Richmond, Kelly Perdue, Mike Silver, Bill O’Reilly, Rae Hollit, Bill Gates, Jerry Brown, Paula Poundstone, Paris Hilton, Jennifer C, Omarosa, Katie Couric, Petra Nikova, Kevin Bacon, Ashley Simpson, Anne Coulter, Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Rich Isen, Andrea Kramer, Jennifer Griffin, Kenny Witherspoon, Craig Newmark and Jan Wahl.
OK. Some of them you recognize, and others leave you scratching your head. I’ll help you with a few. Petra Nikova is the once unknown "supermodel" whose recent claim to fame is that she was hanging from a tree for eight hours after the Tsunami struck in Thailand. Kenny Witherspoon is a Bay Area Olympian whose face is on a late night commercial pushing a new kind of health candy bar for athletes. Rae Hollit is a female bodybuilder who has been in several feature films. Some of the other you know, but you can tell me whom you recognize.
Kelly Perdue is the most recent winner of "The Apprentice." The reality show concept is the newest form of celebrity-producing TV program. These new celebrities truly walk among us. Remember Andrew Firestone from "The Bachelor"? He’s your typical San Francisco Marina District guy, only now he walks with a baseball cap turned down over his brow. Who’s next?
What’s the point? I’m personally convinced that celebrities surround us and that our culture is creating them at a record pace. I’ve not sat down to calculate the number, but I’ll divide celebrities into these categories: entertainment, news, expert, Internet, business, reality, sports, and commercial.
In my view of this, celebrities can not only come from any of these categories, but also be in more than one of them. For example, Paris Hilton is an Internet celebrity. She’s one of the most searched names online according to Lycos (http://www.lycos.com) and let’s face it, that infamous sex video had something to do with it.
But with her show "The Simple Life" Paris has moved into the entertainment area. So, she’s in both camps, now. Ronn Owens is the host of the number one ranked talk show in The Bay Area (right Ronn?). He’s in the entertainment area. But with just an investment push, I think Ronn could go into the Internet area, he just needs a good blog. (Taking the hint, Ronn?)
Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist. He fits in the Internet area, and if he has his way, he’ll stay there. But can he control this? Already, he’s featured in the most recent Esquire Magazine as a business genius, so guess what? He falls in the business area, too. His "Craig Takes On Hollywood" causes him to flirt with the entertainment category. He will only firmly place himself in that area when he’s discovered dating someone like…Mena Suvari? (The American Pie and American Beauty star is certainly his type…c’mon Craig, chime in, here.)
In a world of not only 500-channel television, but also smaller and smaller video recording devices, and now cameras in cell phone, anyone can be captured doing anything. All it takes is a savvy and determined person to put that something online, and all of a sudden (depending on what they do and if their name’s released) that someone is a celebrity.
If you match this with an increasing hunger for content, you have the next wave of celebrity development. What do I mean? Well, think about Law and Order. The TV show is everywhere. As I recall, it started on the NBC Television Network, but now re-runs can be seen on TNT and other cable networks. There’s Law and Order, Law and Order SVU (for Special Victim’s Unit) and perhaps some other version I’m not aware of. Why so many? Well, demand. (They’re good shows). Also the supply of cable channels willing to buy them. But that’s only part of the answer. The other part lies in the word "content." There are a lot of channels in search of good content, or in some cases, just plain content.
Ever watch late night TV? If so, you have seen the show "Girls Gone Wild," or at least noticed it and turned the channel. The idea of the show is to go into nightclubs with a camera and ask women to do things that the requestor would normally get slapped for. The content of the show is simply, easy, and low cost to produce. If the makers asked the people on the show to give their names, they would become celebrities over night.
I’m not saying this is good or bad. I’m just pointing out a fascinating development in our society. Heck it’s one I want to harness for Sports Business Simulations (http://www.sbs-world.com ) I’m really interested in where this is taking us as a society.
Remember the 11-year old who spoke on behalf of Senator John Kerry? I forgot her name, and while I could look her up here online, I’ll leave you to help me. In fact, that’s the point. Someone will remember her. What she does with this will determine her future, like it or not. I write that because opportunities based on her national exposure will certainly come her way, if they haven’t already.
I think we’re going to evolve into a culture of instant celebrity. PR people will be judged more on their ability to get their clients on TV. Some of them may even create Internet shows for their clients. More and more people will have websites, and by 2020, it will be expected for one to have a website of some kind.
One walk of our culture where this is already the case is that of female bodybuilders and fitness models. (OK, yes, I like them, so let’s get that out of the way.) But what’s real interesting is the enormous number of websites for them. I would bet there are about 1,000 of them at present, and range from simple one-page constructs to multi-page giants with various sections. If one considers the number of ways there are to make websites, and also web-based groups (which I will count in this case) the numbers and growth are staggering. (I must add that the websites I have seen are poorly monetized, and the women are avoiding a great way to generate link-click revenue by using Google Adsense.)
Another place in our culture where this is the case is the personal ad. Each ad is a website for the person that’s featured. This goes for member directories of Internet Service Providers, too. So, from this perspective, we’re already well on our way toward my 2020 prediction.
Where will this take us next? Let me know what you think. And if you see a camera, present a release form for the shooter to sign. I’m semi-serious here. Get used to controlling your image, because someone else will.
OK. Some of them you recognize, and others leave you scratching your head. I’ll help you with a few. Petra Nikova is the once unknown "supermodel" whose recent claim to fame is that she was hanging from a tree for eight hours after the Tsunami struck in Thailand. Kenny Witherspoon is a Bay Area Olympian whose face is on a late night commercial pushing a new kind of health candy bar for athletes. Rae Hollit is a female bodybuilder who has been in several feature films. Some of the other you know, but you can tell me whom you recognize.
Kelly Perdue is the most recent winner of "The Apprentice." The reality show concept is the newest form of celebrity-producing TV program. These new celebrities truly walk among us. Remember Andrew Firestone from "The Bachelor"? He’s your typical San Francisco Marina District guy, only now he walks with a baseball cap turned down over his brow. Who’s next?
What’s the point? I’m personally convinced that celebrities surround us and that our culture is creating them at a record pace. I’ve not sat down to calculate the number, but I’ll divide celebrities into these categories: entertainment, news, expert, Internet, business, reality, sports, and commercial.
In my view of this, celebrities can not only come from any of these categories, but also be in more than one of them. For example, Paris Hilton is an Internet celebrity. She’s one of the most searched names online according to Lycos (http://www.lycos.com) and let’s face it, that infamous sex video had something to do with it.
But with her show "The Simple Life" Paris has moved into the entertainment area. So, she’s in both camps, now. Ronn Owens is the host of the number one ranked talk show in The Bay Area (right Ronn?). He’s in the entertainment area. But with just an investment push, I think Ronn could go into the Internet area, he just needs a good blog. (Taking the hint, Ronn?)
Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist. He fits in the Internet area, and if he has his way, he’ll stay there. But can he control this? Already, he’s featured in the most recent Esquire Magazine as a business genius, so guess what? He falls in the business area, too. His "Craig Takes On Hollywood" causes him to flirt with the entertainment category. He will only firmly place himself in that area when he’s discovered dating someone like…Mena Suvari? (The American Pie and American Beauty star is certainly his type…c’mon Craig, chime in, here.)
In a world of not only 500-channel television, but also smaller and smaller video recording devices, and now cameras in cell phone, anyone can be captured doing anything. All it takes is a savvy and determined person to put that something online, and all of a sudden (depending on what they do and if their name’s released) that someone is a celebrity.
If you match this with an increasing hunger for content, you have the next wave of celebrity development. What do I mean? Well, think about Law and Order. The TV show is everywhere. As I recall, it started on the NBC Television Network, but now re-runs can be seen on TNT and other cable networks. There’s Law and Order, Law and Order SVU (for Special Victim’s Unit) and perhaps some other version I’m not aware of. Why so many? Well, demand. (They’re good shows). Also the supply of cable channels willing to buy them. But that’s only part of the answer. The other part lies in the word "content." There are a lot of channels in search of good content, or in some cases, just plain content.
Ever watch late night TV? If so, you have seen the show "Girls Gone Wild," or at least noticed it and turned the channel. The idea of the show is to go into nightclubs with a camera and ask women to do things that the requestor would normally get slapped for. The content of the show is simply, easy, and low cost to produce. If the makers asked the people on the show to give their names, they would become celebrities over night.
I’m not saying this is good or bad. I’m just pointing out a fascinating development in our society. Heck it’s one I want to harness for Sports Business Simulations (http://www.sbs-world.com ) I’m really interested in where this is taking us as a society.
Remember the 11-year old who spoke on behalf of Senator John Kerry? I forgot her name, and while I could look her up here online, I’ll leave you to help me. In fact, that’s the point. Someone will remember her. What she does with this will determine her future, like it or not. I write that because opportunities based on her national exposure will certainly come her way, if they haven’t already.
I think we’re going to evolve into a culture of instant celebrity. PR people will be judged more on their ability to get their clients on TV. Some of them may even create Internet shows for their clients. More and more people will have websites, and by 2020, it will be expected for one to have a website of some kind.
One walk of our culture where this is already the case is that of female bodybuilders and fitness models. (OK, yes, I like them, so let’s get that out of the way.) But what’s real interesting is the enormous number of websites for them. I would bet there are about 1,000 of them at present, and range from simple one-page constructs to multi-page giants with various sections. If one considers the number of ways there are to make websites, and also web-based groups (which I will count in this case) the numbers and growth are staggering. (I must add that the websites I have seen are poorly monetized, and the women are avoiding a great way to generate link-click revenue by using Google Adsense.)
Another place in our culture where this is the case is the personal ad. Each ad is a website for the person that’s featured. This goes for member directories of Internet Service Providers, too. So, from this perspective, we’re already well on our way toward my 2020 prediction.
Where will this take us next? Let me know what you think. And if you see a camera, present a release form for the shooter to sign. I’m semi-serious here. Get used to controlling your image, because someone else will.
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