Thursday, February 11, 2010

Snowing in Dallas, Delaware state of emergency

The snowy winter weather is terrible. According to Twitter, it's snowing in Dallas; meanwhile Delaware is in a state of emergency. The National Weather Service reports this for Dallas, Texas:

Issued by The National Weather Service
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
7:41 am CST, Thu., Feb. 11, 2010

... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... ... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NO LONGER IN EFFECT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN FORT WORTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW... WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

AREAS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ACROSS NORTH TEXAS TODAY AS A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE BY THIS EVENING... WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. THE PRECIPITATION WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST OVERNIGHT.

ROAD CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN SLICK AND HAZARDOUS THROUGH THE DAY AS TEMPERATURES REMAIN NEAR OR JUST BELOW FREEZING AND SNOW CONTINUES TO FALL. SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AFTER THE PRECIPITATION ENDS AND INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AS TEMPERATURES FALL INTO THE UPPER 20S TO AROUND 30.

Dallas is known for many things, including hosting the 2011 Super Bowl, but snow? Moreover, this report calls into question Dallas Super Bowl preparations in case it snows next year. The balmy Florida weather is ideal for getting around Super Bowl parties. But if snow plows are needed for the 2011 Super Bowl, NFL owners will not be happy.

Meanwhile, Delaware is in a state of emergency and has been since Wednesday. Roofs and trees are covered with snow and some roads are almost impassible. It's reported to be the worst snowfall since 1976, with over 21 inches of snow.

Stay tuned.

John Mayer Twitter account silent after Playboy N-word controversy

Singer John Mayer, who's racist, racially and sexually-charged Playboy Interview was posted yesterday and caused a Twitter explosion, has not issued any more tweets as of this writing, beyond those which formed his apology yesterday:

Re: using the 'N word' in an interview: I am sorry that I used the word. And it's such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it,because I realize that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged.
And while I'm using today for looking at myself under harsh light, I think it's time to stop trying to be so raw in interviews...It started as an attempt to not let the waves of criticism get to me, but it's gotten out of hand and I've created somewhat of a monster.

I wanted to be a blues guitar player. And a singer. And a songwriter. Not a shock jock. I don't have the stomach for it. Again, because I don't want anyone to think I'm equivocating: I should have never said the word and I will never say it again. about 2 hours ago from web


It may be a good thing. John Mayer's fans, haters, and observers are calling for him to, as this blogger put it, "keep his mouth shut":

I support relationships and dating and whether you use the terms 'slut' or 'manwhore' I don't care. If someone wishes to use labels, fine. But I am not placing that on John Mayer. I am simply saying keep your mouth shut. I think he is a good guy in his core, but please, leave the gossiping about women for between you and your guy friends in the krav maga locker room, not national publications.


How long will that last with John Mayer? Time will tell; stay tuned.

Iran protests news - Google to be blocked, Twitter next?

In Iran protests news, Iran is hot with the activity of protests against the government. The Tehran rally is led by Opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi. Karroubi was to attend a rally near Saddeqiya Square but his bodyguards were attacked by the Iranian Government's Basij militia.

Meanwhile Iran has stated its intention to block Google mail permanently. How Iran can do this and block every kind of proxy system is a question. Moreover, it's not working perfectly. While an email usage drop has been experienced, Google's network is reported to be working perfectly.

There's no word on Iran's actions against Twitter, if any.

And finally for this Iran news post, the video below shows a poster of Ayatollah Khamenei and Ayatollah Khomeini, (or Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, whom you know as Ayatollah Khomeini) being ripped up during Iran protests:



Stay tuned.

2006 Twitter (Twttr) promotion video by Biz Stone a hoot

In 2006, a then unknown Biz Stone, the founder of Twitter, put on big thick glasses and a kind of professorial get-up to promote what is now called Twitter, only then he called it Twttr.

Now, thanks to Say OMG, that video has been unearthed and presented for view on YouTube. The video is here:



At the time Twitter was pitched by Biz Stone not as a microblogging service but a "social texting" system. But it's interesting that a short, funny video about a new system spawned something that's directly impacted the Iran protests. Wild.

It's always the simple and elegant inventions that are the most effective at cultural change.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

John Mayer Playboy Interview - by Cat

With John Mayer making big waves in the news these days, this blogger thought, why waste more words on him? But no opinion/ news article seems to share my angle on the matter. Sure he talks about himself a lot and made the absolute inexcusable act of using the n word. But what struck me was his blatant, disgusting treatment of women. And not women as in the everyday woman. I’m talking about his treatment of women he supposedly loved and dated.

In the Playboy interview, John Mayer expresses how in his attempt to be so open and funny in interviews, he has become known as a “shock jock”. Sure that’s fine, make your sordid comments on money and how you had zits as a 16 year old. But, as a woman, I have to speak up for the constant stream of ladies that pepper his interviews. Of his ex- girlfriend Jessica Simpson, he said “That girl, for me, is a drug. And drugs aren't good for you if you do lots of them. Yeah, that girl is like crack cocaine to me... Sexually it was crazy. That's all I'll say. It was like napalm, sexual napalm... “

It seems that some semblance of a conscience springs forth when he interrupts the interviewer to express his love of Jen (Jennifer Aniston for those under a rock and are unaware that they dated on and off for the past two years). “Pardon me for interrupting. I love Jen so much that I’m now thinking about how bad I would feel if she read this and was like, “Why are you putting me in an article where you’re talking about someone else? I don’t want to be in your lineage of kiss-and-tells.” But, bare with me, why is he doing this? If she has expressed her unhappiness then why does he continue to do it?

Well, for whatever reason, he is still talking. And the crass comments that he makes about women, specifically women that he has supposedly been in committed relationships with, only adds to why his reputation has taken a downturn in recent years.

I support relationships and dating and whether you use the terms 'slut' or 'manwhore' I don't care. If someone wishes to use labels, fine. But I am not placing that on John Mayer. I am simply saying keep your mouth shut. I think he is a good guy in his core, but please, leave the gossiping about women for between you and your guy friends in the krav maga locker room, not national publications. Now, I have a lot to do and a midnight bedtime to catch.

Written by Cat of SomeRedCat.tumblr.com

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt sue Rupert Murdoch owned paper

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt sue Rupert Murdoch-owned paper News Of The World in the wake of the breakup news that organ published earlier this year.



In a story that ran January 24th, News Of The World had the popular pair called Bran and Angelina or "Brangelina" or "Bradgelina" all but divorced and reported that an agreement to split their wealth, estimated at north of $200 million, was being negotiated.

According to the BBC, the lawuit targets the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of The World. The published allegations were "false and intrusive" and the BBC reports the couple claims the organization failed to meet reasonable demands" for an apology.

For its part, News Of The World has removed the story from its online archives.

The lawyer for "Brangelina" said "The News of the World has failed to meet our clients' reasonable demands for a retraction of and apology for these false and intrusive allegations which have now been widely republished by mainstream news outlets. We have advised them to bring proceedings which they have now done."

Green Party candidate Don MacLeay running for Oakland Mayor



In a day filled with John Mayer, Megan Fox, snow storms in New York and DC, and new 9-11 photos, it's important to stop and take a look at local citizens who want to make Oakland better. Don MacLeay is one, and he's the Green Party candidate for Mayor of Oakland.

In the video above, created two weeks ago, Don and this blogger met at Merritt Station Cafe across from Lake Merritt and talked - really his platform - for 35 minutes, and 21 of that on the video above. What follows is a summary of a long, uncut talk.

Don MacLeay is a computer consultant who does "small office networking" and a volunteer in a number of Oakland government activism activities. It was at that point that Don MacLeay first determined something wasn't right with Oakland, "I decided I was not in tune with where the Oakland Council and Jerry Brown were going," he said.

When Ron Dellums became Mayor of Oakland in 2006, Don MacLeay became concerned again after Dellums said his job wasn't to fix potholes. "I just couldn't disagree more," Don MacLeay said. "I'd like to be a mayor who's interested in potholes. Who's interested in a lot of those details."

Military versus a Civilian


Why should we vote for Don MacLeay, the new person, for Oakland Mayor over Don Perata or Oakland Councilmember Jean Quan (District 4), the two current front runners? For Don MacLeay, it's like the choice between those in the military or a civilian to run the military. (Interesting take.) "Some people treat it sort of like that", Don says. "It's a leadership job." And Don says someone representing the community should be mayor rather than the "military generals" Oakland's had to date.

What would Don do in a situation like that after the Oscar Grant Murder? "We have accountability to the civil society that is immediate. I would start by taking personal responsibility. It doesn't matter whether or not you gave orders or made mistakes or what it is, if you have a leadership job, you've got to get out there and take responsibility."

Don MacLeay says that Oakland's crime problem is part media creation and part real. Oakland has 25,000 reported crimes a year, he says, in a city of 400,000 people. "Now that's reported crimes, he says, "Every body who lives in Oakland feels it."

At the time of the interview, MacLeay was just three weeks into being a politician and said he was learning a lot and had "fire in the belly" for the job. He's done a lot of listening to the concerns of Oaklanders.

On the matter of sports stadiums for the Oakland A's and the Oakland Raiders, Don MacLeay reminds us that we're in a recession (technically, two quarters out of one), and while opposed to using general fund money for sports stadiums, feels that redevelopment dollars are the source for such an expenditure but it must be well-considered, first.

What kind of Mayor's staff?


One aspect of being a mayor that's lost in the campaign conversation is what kind of organization the candidate is considering. With Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, the design was to have policy advisors that were a liason between he and the City of Oakland's staff.

When Measure X was passed and Oakland's government went from council-manager to strong mayor, Jerry Brown paired down his staff to just a few people and let the City Administrator's staff serve as his own. Ron Dellums approach was more like Brown's. What will MacLeay have? "I'm very concerned with the day-to-day function of management...there's way too much micromanagement." Don MacLeay thinks the City Council is far too involved in the management decisions of City Staff.

MacLeay observes that Oakland's City Council forced City Attorney John Russo's staff cuts such that Russo had to hire outside lawyers, which are more expensive.

In short Don MacLeay's administration will pay more attention to details, but avoid micromanaging City of Oakland's staffers. The word "attention to detail" came up a lot in our talk. MacLeay is very much interested in being a mayor that makes Oakland government work at the consumer level. Don doesn't want to throw out Oakland employees and start over because he doesn't think it's necessary to do. He wants to work with the staffers to make a better government.

A time for debate


"I see the election as a time where we argue about it. Do you want to do it Jean's way or Don's way or my way?" Don MacLeay says that Quan's policies are more clearly outlined that Perata's and that Perata has not made his direction clear as of this writing.

The race for Mayor of Oakland: a note


Don's website is www.macleay4mayor.org - visit the site and watch the video for more information. And as a note, I'm not backing any candidate as of this writing. Don and I have worked together on an Oakland Parking Initiative, which is where the idea for this video came from after I learned he was running long before any other media news.

Long before I talked to Don, I emailed Councilmember Jean Quan to request an interview and I expressed my desire to interview Don Perata months ago when we talked in public. In Quan's case, she wrote that I had "negative" things to say about her, which isn't true.

The truth is I had negative takes on how Quan handled running for Mayor of Oakland at the time, and believed that if she followed my advise she would be a better candidate. But it wasn't personal. I simply reserve the right to criticize any elected official in a constructive way. If anything, Jean's the front-runner and not because she's got more money than Perata, but because she's a woman and Asian.

Women political candidates are generally more popular than their male counterparts in Oakland.  Plus, Oakland's not had an abundance of Asian female political candidates in its history; it's great to see Jean Quan run for that reason.  

In Don Perata's case, Don's my friend; I've said on video that I believed Don's next political place should be as U.S. Senator and that's not taking anything away from California's Senator Barbara Boxer. It's just a very hard, very cold look at Don's political trajectory, which points to Washington D.C. in my view.

Mayor of Oakland just seems too small for Don Perata.

In the case of Oakland's Mayor Ron Dellums, I simply don't want to see him run and lose. If there are those who believe Oakland needs a "black candidate", they should run themselves rather than waste time with any silly analysis of what are my feelings or picking "the Golden Brother". (Why not a woman?)

Moreover, if those persons are really serious about having blacks in Oakland politics, they should establish an organization that funds political campaigns for Oaklanders of color. That's an idea who's time came long ago and one I would support with all my heart.

John Mayer on Twitter apologizes for N-word use in Playboy

After being silent on Twitter for most of Wednesday, John Mayer took to his Twitter page to issue an apology for using the N-word during his now much talked about Playboy interview. Mayer wrote beyond the 140-character-per-tweet limit, so what appears is segments. Here's what it looks like put together in order and in paragraphs:

Re: using the 'N word' in an interview: I am sorry that I used the word. And it's such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself. It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it,because I realize that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged.

And while I'm using today for looking at myself under harsh light, I think it's time to stop trying to be so raw in interviews...It started as an attempt to not let the waves of criticism get to me, but it's gotten out of hand and I've created somewhat of a monster.

I wanted to be a blues guitar player. And a singer. And a songwriter. Not a shock jock. I don't have the stomach for it. Again, because I don't want anyone to think I'm equivocating: I should have never said the word and I will never say it again.
about 2 hours ago from web


John Mayer just lost his short-lived Andrew Dice Clay award. Still, it's not clear everyone's fast to forget as these tweets on John Mayer's page show:

@adilla They don't make rehab centers for being an a-hole.
about 1 hour ago from web in reply to adilla
@CRHines17 True. But some mistakes are hard to pinpoint because they happen slowly and over long periods of time...


This is far from over. Stay tuned.

John Mayer drops f-bomb on Perez Hilton Kiss

John Mayer drops f-bomb on Perez Hilton Kiss? In the words of Sarah Palin, "You betcha!" More from John Mayer's Playboy Interview that's causing such a mess, with Meyer's racist comments on blacks, and a homophobic blast on blogger Perez Hilton, that goes back to an encounter that John Meyer himself explains in this video of his standup comic routine at an unreported night club:



And here's the part of the Playboy interview where Meyer gets off his f-bomb on Perez Hilton:

PLAYBOY: Among the things we’ve read about you online is this: You’re gay. Have you ever kissed a man?

MAYER: The only man I’ve kissed is Perez Hilton. It was New Year’s Eve and I decided to go out and destroy myself. I was dating Jessica at the time, and I remember seeing Perez Hilton flitting about this club and acting as though he had just invented homosexuality. All of a sudden I thought, I can outgay this guy right now. I grabbed him and gave him the dirtiest, tongue-iest kiss I have ever put on anybody—almost as if I hated fags. I don’t think my mouth was even touching when I was tongue kissing him, that’s how disgusting this kiss was. I’m a little ashamed. I think it lasted about half a minute. I really think it went on too long.

PLAYBOY: Perez describes you on his site as a womanizer, a word you don’t like. Is it fair to say you have a love-hate relationship with him?

MAYER: I used to. Now I believe we’re fully into fighting with breakaway chairs. I think he’s pretty much inert at this point. Perez is to hating as Richard Simmons is to health and well-being. [laughs] You can print that. Perez is so authentically off his rocker he will not let you finish a sentence. I think he has some dark things in his past. I think he comes from a little bit of hurt, and I say that with an understated tone. At the end of the day I go to his site, but I don’t see him as a threat. The impact of his tone is beginning to wane. I give a lot more credit to Harvey Levin at TMZ.

PLAYBOY: Would you kiss Harvey Levin?

MAYER: I would rim him, probably. I can’t just repeat the kissing trick.


I present this to build the point that John Meyer is the Andrew Dice Clay of the 21st Century. Now, if you're wondering who Andrew Dice Clay is, this video is a small, and tame clue:



Stay tuned.

New 9-11 photos by ABC News show destruction of WTC

Forgetting John Mayer's battle with racist demons for a moment, we turn to the new 9-11 photos by ABC News and which show the destruction of The World Trade Center complex on the morning of September 11 2001.

After ABC News filed a Freedom of Information act order in 2009, the New York Police Department finally released thousands of photos for public view.

The 9-11 photos shown by ABC News are overhead but there are only 13 of the many reportedly released. Here are two of them:


John Mayer's racist comments in Playboy on blacks ignite Twitter

Singer and celeb John Mayer's now branded a racist on blogosphere and on Twitter. Singer John Mayer has over 3 million followers on Twitter; few of them are amused with his partially-scotch-fueled Playboy interview. In the interview, which this blogger read before blogging, Mayer talks with Playboy contributing editor Rob Tannenbaum, who obviously got the real John Mayer because they were talking after Mayer "poured glasses of 16-year-old Lagavulin neat."



If you don't know what Lagavulin is, it's a great brand of scotch also preferred by this blogger. However, not consumed with food, Lagavulin can cause one to say things they want to take back later. It's no wonder that as of this writing, John Mayer's normally active Twitter account is silent today (February 10th, 2010)

John Mayer has set off everyone. And while it's not the first time he's got the "racist" tag applied to him (see below with Kumail Nahjiani), this time the reaction's lot more intense than the "accidental racist" label Nahjiani gave Mayer. Perez Hilton told Mayer to "go to Hell." PopEater accused Mayer of "oversharing" but also used the term racist.

But what did John Mayer say, exactly?

Here are the Playboy interview comments that ignited Twitter and the blogosphere:


PLAYBOY: If you didn’t know you, would you think you’re a douche bag?

MAYER: It depends on what I picked up. My two biggest hits are “Your Body Is a Wonderland” and “Daughters.” If you think those songs are pandering, then you’ll think I’m a douche bag. It’s like I come on very strong. I am a very…I’m just very. V-E-R-Y. And if you can’t handle very, then I’m a douche bag. But I think the world needs a little very. That’s why black people love me.

PLAYBOY: Because you’re very?

MAYER: Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’"

PLAYBOY: It is true; a lot of rappers love you. You recorded with Common and Kanye West, played live with Jay-Z.

MAYER: What is being black? It’s making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that’s seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you’ll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude’s.

PLAYBOY: Do black women throw themselves at you?

MAYER: I don’t think I open myself to it. My dick is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a fuckin’ David Duke cock. I’m going to start dating separately from my dick.


My take on this is it's one thing to be "race aware" - say if Mayer had made a comment about African American's still not sharing the American dream in full. That's ok. But Mayer used the N-word, which I have never allowed, even as a small boy. Then he basically religated blacks to what he sees as a permanent second class status, and calls himself a White Supremacist, even if he was referring to a part of his body.

And Mayer thinks black folks love him.

I don't. But what I do see in the Twitter tweets is that some blacks are just a bit more forgiving of Mayer than we should be as a whole. It's like this: Mayer had scotch and said what was on his mind, which was racist.

 The fact that he did and he's a celebrity entertainer and not Rush Limbaugh makes it OK for some who are black. Moreover because Mayer was bold enough to say it, some blacks think it's OK. Thus, they give him power and maintain whatever second-class status exists for us.

If Jamie Foxx made negative comments about whites there would be a white and black and everyone in between backlash. Foxx may find his business opportunities fewer. Now I use Foxx only as an example, and not to imply anything negative about a great entertainer. But given that Foxx is as well-known as Mayer, and Foxx is black, I think you see the point. People would have said Foxx has a problem, just as they're saying John Mayer has one and Mayer's got a pattern that goes back to Kumail Nahjiani.

In New York Magazine's Vulture section of December 2009, Comedian Kumail Nanjiani was heckled by Mayer at Slipper Room in New York, calling the Pakistan-born Kumail "Kabul" and then saying "he looked like a brown guy but sounded like a white guy."

In this video below, Kumail Nanjiani and Eugene Mirman call Mayer a "racist" and an "accidental racist" at the 4:25 time mark:



To be fair, Mayer felt bad about it, and makes me wonder if he had scotch that night, too.

All of this has to be placed in the view that, in the Playboy interview, John Mayer says he wants to be liked. If that's the case, he must be reviewing what's going on in his head. My advice: watch the scotch, review what you think about people, and date black women.

Stay tuned.

Illinois 4.3 earthquake shakes up Wisconsin, Iowa, and Twitter

The Illinois 4.3 earthquake was felt not just north of Chicago and in Wisconsin and Iowa, but on Twitter. The USGS reports "a magnitude 4.0 eastern U.S. earthquake typically can be felt at many places as far as 60 miles from where it occurred, and it infrequently causes damage near its source. A magnitude 5.5 eastern U.S. earthquake usually can be felt as far as 300 miles from where it occurred, and sometimes causes damage as far away as 25 miles."

Twitter is the place to go to determine how people were impacted. Illinois is one of the top hashtags as of this writing. Here are some selected tweets:

ellenzar Snow, we can live with it..it's only a foot so no closings EARTHQUAKE!?!?!This is Illinois NOT California..woke me up..drove the cats nuts
half a minute ago from web

flubdubs DAMNIT this is the second Illinois earthquake I've slept through.
less than a minute ago from web

lisamarieyonke 4 a.m. earthquake wake anyone up? I thought it was a dream...we're not supposed to have earthquakes in Illinois!!
1 minute ago from web

geraldinecols @nbczoraida hear this... Around the same time of the Illinois earthquake, Ecuador had one of 3.9 magnitude. Crazy. Is the world ending?
2 minutes ago from TweetDeck

DainasaurRoar So it was definitely an earhquake. 4.3 at 4 am. Second one i've felt in illinois recently
2 minutes ago from web

While earthquakes do occur all the time, anecdotally there does seem to be a large number of major quakes within the past month and a half and in Haiti, Argentina, Venezuela, Eureka, CA, and Illinois.

Stay tuned.