Thursday, July 20, 2006

Stephen Colbert Skewers President Bush On NAACP Visit

Upon learning that President Bush agreed to speak at the annual convention of the National Association For The Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert gave this genius of a presentation on why the NAACP should cut President Bush "some slack."

This is one of his best.

Layne Johnson - A YouTube Watcher Who Bans People; A Case For The FBI

This video is one of the most discussed on YouTube and reveals a person that to me comes off as downright scary.

Given the number of videos on YouTube it's without doubt that he invests too much time in his "banning" practice, but also does so based on his personal view of YouTube rules.

I've not placed any material he's gone after. No reason to do so.

But that written, someone should watch this guy. What if he goes off and tries to harm someone? The FBI should pay attention to this dude.

Rocketboom - Amanda Congdon On Amanda Congdon on MSNBC's "Scarborough Country"

Amanda Congdon -- former Rocketboom host -- appeared on MSNBC's Scarborough Country last week and gave a great interview explaining her side of the story of the breakup of what can now be called "Rocketboom 1.0."

Joe Scarborough, the show's host, played a tape showing Amanda next to the new host Joanna Colan and they look just alike. Then Joe reported Andrew Baron as stating that they could just to the same thing all over again, referring to Rocketboom without Amanda.

Meanwhile, Rocketboom's audience jumped from 200,000 visitors a day to 1.2 million after Amanda's departure and public dispute. While Rocketboom's traffic is better, Amanda still owns 49 percent of it.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Marilyn Monroe - Video: Seven Year Itch

This is the famous scene I referred to; the one from The Seven Year Itch. It's not as racy as the still picts taken and shown in Life Magazine, but it's not bad, either.

Marilyn captured the Zeitgeist, perhaps forever.

Marilyn -- Photos | Marilyn -- JFK Birthday | Marilyn -- Seven Year Itch

Marilyn Monroe - Video Singing Happy Birthday To John F. Kennedy

In my blog ring tribute to Marilyn Monroe, I include this video of the famous moment where she sings "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy.

Marilyn -- Photos | Marilyn -- JFK Birthday | Marilyn -- Seven Year Itch

Marilyn Monroe - Video Of Color Photos By Harold Lloyd

I was watching a wonderful documentary about Marilyn Monroe with my Mom. It was part of the American Masters series on PBS and really very well-done. It reminded me not just of Marilyn's incredible aura, but of how I was introduced to sex, sexuality, and American Culture as a little boy.

My Mother admires Marilyn to this day, and as she said to me "It didn't matter if you were white or black or whatever, you just copied her." In part because my Mom indirectly allowed it -- in other words, she didn't say "Hey, she's white" -- Marilyn Monroe was the first female movie star I was not only aware of but who's form I was just plain gaga for.

But more than that, Marilyn Monroe represents a part of life in America I suppose I've always coveted: theater, wealth, ...the finer things. Cigars. Cocktails. Steak at fine restaurants. Trips overseas. Beautiful women. All of that. I guess it starts somewhere. For me, it was Marilyn. In fact, it was her scene in the Seven Year Itch that made me realize which part of the female body I liked the most.

I found this video of color photos taken of Marilyn by Harold Lloyd, as well as some other clips in posts that I will list in a kind of "ring" below:

Marilyn -- Photos | Marilyn -- JFK Birthday | Marilyn -- Seven Year Itch


SF 49ers To Move To Santa Clara?



This is a more logical move for Santa Clara County, than going after the Oakland A's. The A's are blocked by the Major League Agreement. Whereas the Oakland Raiders are already in the 75 mile zone of the Bay Area as established by the NFL.

Niners discuss move to Santa Clara

NFL.com wire reports

SAN FRANCISCO (July 18, 2006) -- The 49ers would consider moving to Santa Clara if plans for a new San Francisco stadium fall through, team and city officials said.

"If for whatever reason things don't work out in San Francisco, we need to have a backup," said Lisa Lang, vice president of communications for the 49ers.

Team vice president and chief financial officer Larry MacNeil has met twice with Santa Clara city officials in the past month to discuss the option of building a stadium in the parking lot of the Great America amusement park, said Ron Garratt, Santa Clara's assistant city manager.

The 49ers on Monday unveiled an updated design plan for a new stadium at Candlestick Point.

Candlestick Point remains the 49ers' "absolute top choice," Lang said. "We really do feel it's a spectacular site."

But the team has been "very up front" with the city of San Francisco that "it was very important we build a new stadium," she said.

Plans to replace the 46-year-old stadium at Candlestick Point have been under consideration since 1997, when city voters authorized a $100 million bond to help pay for the project.

The team hopes to finance the building of the new San Francisco stadium, estimated to cost between $600 million and $800 million, entirely through private funding.

But acquisition of that funding depends on city approval of a residential, entertainment, and retail complex on vacant land adjacent to the stadium, according to team officials.