In a wild hunt for ratings, CNN embarks on a poll question just one year into the four-year term of President Barack Obama asking if Obama deserves a second term. The fact that the poll was created during a period of high unemployment coupled with a still-new President Obama would tell a politically-aware ten-year-old that President Obama wasn't going to come out looking to good in such a poll: 52 percent said no; 44 percent said yes.
But CNN ran the poll with that predictable outcome anyway. All the better for stupid buzz; CNN got it. That CNN ran such a poll is totally intellectually irresponsible. It is so because they knew what the outcome would be. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that people polled will be unhappy with both President Obama and The Congress given the state of the economy. It also is equally irresponsible to poll just 1,023 Americans, and of that, only 923 registered voters. The poll sample size is too small to be taken seriously.
This blogger could have gotten a bigger sample size himself. Many of the polls ran in this space have drawn over 2,000 responses. For CNN to run a poll of just 1,023 people given their broadcast reach is, again, irresponsible.
CNN's embarked on what appears to be a really bizarre quest to discredit President Obama. Their main man in this effort in front of the camera has been David Gergen, advisor to a number of past Presidents and currently head of the Public Leadership Project at the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government.
CNN's Gergen regularly issues baseless evaluations of President Obama that include not-well-veiled political desires. For example, David Gergen mentions dropping the "Public Option" in the Health Care Reform proposal, rather than proving he's a really good student of politics by explaining how Obama could get a Public Option passed by Congress and discussing the problems with pushing a Public Option.
That's just one example. David Gergen's gotten so bad, this blogger changes the TV channel whenever he appears.
And that's often.
Of late, Gergen's on an "anti-Obama" kick that from this view has totally destroyed his credibility. As he's part of what appears to be an overall effort on CNN's part, it's only logical ro report that CNN's political credibility is equally low. Not the best place for the self-proclaimed "trusted news source" to be.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
AC Transit Bus Fight near Lake Merritt, Oakland, on YouTube video
A AC Transit Bus Fight near Lake Merritt, in Oakland, California was captured on video and from two different perspectives. The AC Transit Bus Fight, which this blogger recognizes as starting on the AC Transit "N" route that serves the heart of Oakland into downtown Oakland, caused the bus to stop at the corner of Harrison and Webster Street, just one long block away from Lake Merritt and at the Kaiser Center's shopping mall area.
The first AC Transit Bus Fight video below shows an at first, seemingly harmless and rather misguided and silly conversation apparently about what someone would do based on their race. One young man, black, said the older man white, should get "yo ass back up in there", meaning the front of the bus. Apparently the older white man came to the back of the bus to confront the younger black man. "Why you being so hostile man", was what the older white man said to him.
Then the older white man went back to the front of the bus as the young black man was on his way to his seat at the back of the bus.
Here's the first video:
Then words were exchanged and after the young black man was on his way to the back of the bus. But when the older white man said "I can kick your ass", the young black man turned and went back to the front of the bus where the older white man was.
In the AC Transit Bus Fight, it's hard to tell exactly what happened for the first two seconds, but then it was obvious the two traded slap-punches. The older white man did get in one good left hook, and that was enough to drop the young black man.
The older white man said "See, you mess with me" as the younger black man was on the floor. (And the back of his shirt reads "I AM..a motherfucker")
Then, as the young black man was collecting himself at the back of the bus, and the camcorder operator was talking to him, the older white man had started to just "go off" on a weird rant at the corner of Harrison and Webster.
This is that video:
What does this AC Transit Bus Fight prove? Well, it proves why cars and taxi cabs are a more desirable form of transportation than AC Transit buses in Oakland.
This is why Oaklanders rail against those who support higher parking fees, heavy-handed parking enforcement tactics, and tow-happy city administrators. It's also why some Oaklanders, like this blogger, support a BART Airport Connector rather than being forced on to AC Transit. For all of its woes, BART at least has an active police force.
Sorry, but you've seen the one reason why this blogger avoids AC Transit whenever possible. Both men were wrong and both should be charged with assault. But the overarching issue is that good working citizens of Oakland should not have their time wasted or their safety threatened by people who act like that. It's better to be able to avoid them.
The discussion about the AC Transit Bus Fight will break down to "Old White Rambo Dude versus Young N-word kid" and few will see the bigger picture. The kid should always respect his elders, regardless of color or behavior of the elder (within reason, of course), and the older man should know better than to go and pick fights because he's unhappy with his own life. And none of us should have to be subjected to their issues.
With that, the YouTune video takes on this are really worth watching:
Video: explaining the AC Transit Bus Fight:
Video: Another take on the AC Transit Bus Fight:
NOTE: In the first video, the young women who filmed the event noted that the older white man left his bag. I hope she returned it to him.
Stay tuned.
The first AC Transit Bus Fight video below shows an at first, seemingly harmless and rather misguided and silly conversation apparently about what someone would do based on their race. One young man, black, said the older man white, should get "yo ass back up in there", meaning the front of the bus. Apparently the older white man came to the back of the bus to confront the younger black man. "Why you being so hostile man", was what the older white man said to him.
Then the older white man went back to the front of the bus as the young black man was on his way to his seat at the back of the bus.
Here's the first video:
Then words were exchanged and after the young black man was on his way to the back of the bus. But when the older white man said "I can kick your ass", the young black man turned and went back to the front of the bus where the older white man was.
In the AC Transit Bus Fight, it's hard to tell exactly what happened for the first two seconds, but then it was obvious the two traded slap-punches. The older white man did get in one good left hook, and that was enough to drop the young black man.
The older white man said "See, you mess with me" as the younger black man was on the floor. (And the back of his shirt reads "I AM..a motherfucker")
Then, as the young black man was collecting himself at the back of the bus, and the camcorder operator was talking to him, the older white man had started to just "go off" on a weird rant at the corner of Harrison and Webster.
This is that video:
What does this AC Transit Bus Fight prove? Well, it proves why cars and taxi cabs are a more desirable form of transportation than AC Transit buses in Oakland.
This is why Oaklanders rail against those who support higher parking fees, heavy-handed parking enforcement tactics, and tow-happy city administrators. It's also why some Oaklanders, like this blogger, support a BART Airport Connector rather than being forced on to AC Transit. For all of its woes, BART at least has an active police force.
Sorry, but you've seen the one reason why this blogger avoids AC Transit whenever possible. Both men were wrong and both should be charged with assault. But the overarching issue is that good working citizens of Oakland should not have their time wasted or their safety threatened by people who act like that. It's better to be able to avoid them.
The discussion about the AC Transit Bus Fight will break down to "Old White Rambo Dude versus Young N-word kid" and few will see the bigger picture. The kid should always respect his elders, regardless of color or behavior of the elder (within reason, of course), and the older man should know better than to go and pick fights because he's unhappy with his own life. And none of us should have to be subjected to their issues.
With that, the YouTune video takes on this are really worth watching:
Video: explaining the AC Transit Bus Fight:
Video: Another take on the AC Transit Bus Fight:
NOTE: In the first video, the young women who filmed the event noted that the older white man left his bag. I hope she returned it to him.
Stay tuned.
Oscar gets an iPhone app before Academy Awards - Twitter next?
AMPAS, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announced that a new Oscars iPhone app (or "Oscars® App") is available just in time before the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.
This is great news for an organization who's social media efforts are far behind where they should be. The question is, when will AMPAS embrace Twitter and develop a fully integrated social media strategy? While you ponder that question, let's read more about the Oscars® App.
According to AMPAS, iPhone and iPod Touch users can get a nominees list for the 24 Academy Awards categories, see trailers from each film, and predict winners in each category. Your predictions will be saved in a database; you cna share them with your friends via email and Twitter.
It's a massively great new development, but where AMPAS can complete the social media job (for now) is by having a Twitter account that would send tweets of Oscar winners to the "Oscars® App" that you should then retweet to your Twitter followers from your iPhone or iPod Touch. Considering the number of AMPAS members who are on Twitter, plus Oscar fans, that would be a great distribution system.
But does AMPAS listen to me? I don't think so.
You can, and really should, get the "Oscars® App" for iPhone and iPod Touch at www.itunes.com/appstore/. Search for "Oscar" under the "Applications" drop down.
This is great news for an organization who's social media efforts are far behind where they should be. The question is, when will AMPAS embrace Twitter and develop a fully integrated social media strategy? While you ponder that question, let's read more about the Oscars® App.
According to AMPAS, iPhone and iPod Touch users can get a nominees list for the 24 Academy Awards categories, see trailers from each film, and predict winners in each category. Your predictions will be saved in a database; you cna share them with your friends via email and Twitter.
It's a massively great new development, but where AMPAS can complete the social media job (for now) is by having a Twitter account that would send tweets of Oscar winners to the "Oscars® App" that you should then retweet to your Twitter followers from your iPhone or iPod Touch. Considering the number of AMPAS members who are on Twitter, plus Oscar fans, that would be a great distribution system.
But does AMPAS listen to me? I don't think so.
You can, and really should, get the "Oscars® App" for iPhone and iPod Touch at www.itunes.com/appstore/. Search for "Oscar" under the "Applications" drop down.
Lady Gaga wins three 2010 Brit Awards
Lady Gaga took home three 2010 Brit Awards last night. The amazing pop-culture super icon that is Lady Gaga won UK music industry's annual Brit Awards prizes for International Breakthrough Act, Best International Female Solo Artist, and Best International Album, according to CNN.
As Lady Gaga rises to obtain the award for International Breakthrough Act, the presenter said "No surprises here. The sheer force of Gaga has been such that you'd really be hard pressed to remember any other international artist even existed. Gaga is no newcomer to Planet Pop. She'd written songs for Britney and The Pussy Cat Dolls before she turned 21."
Lady Gaga thanked her fans, family, and business partners over the screams and cheers of the Brit Awards audience.
As Lady Gaga rises to obtain the award for International Breakthrough Act, the presenter said "No surprises here. The sheer force of Gaga has been such that you'd really be hard pressed to remember any other international artist even existed. Gaga is no newcomer to Planet Pop. She'd written songs for Britney and The Pussy Cat Dolls before she turned 21."
Lady Gaga thanked her fans, family, and business partners over the screams and cheers of the Brit Awards audience.
Roger Ebert: a living legend and American Cultural icon
Roger Ebert is an American Cultural icon. That term is thrown around a lot these days, but it's not without good reason. New Media allows us to enjoy a richer mix of what America's about. But even with all of the blogs, videos, and text - what we call "content" - experience still matters. In all of journalism, perhaps the one area other than investigative reporting that still matters is that of the Film Critic.
Roger Ebert's the kind of person I think of when I think of the Film Critic because after all these years it just seems like it's in his DNA to be just that. Roger Ebert has given thumbs up or down to movies for so long that it's impossible to think of him not doing so.
Yes, in capital letters, Film Critic. The person who can, within a moment, give a view of a film that at once captures what's good and bad about film and makes you think, even when you disagree with the critics view. That's what Roger Ebert does, and that's what he's done. It's not something that can be measured, but it is honed by years of experiences in the culture of film within the fabric of America. That's Roger Ebert's gift.
Roger Ebert deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I hope President Obama sees fit to give him such a prize.
Roger Ebert's the kind of person I think of when I think of the Film Critic because after all these years it just seems like it's in his DNA to be just that. Roger Ebert has given thumbs up or down to movies for so long that it's impossible to think of him not doing so.
Yes, in capital letters, Film Critic. The person who can, within a moment, give a view of a film that at once captures what's good and bad about film and makes you think, even when you disagree with the critics view. That's what Roger Ebert does, and that's what he's done. It's not something that can be measured, but it is honed by years of experiences in the culture of film within the fabric of America. That's Roger Ebert's gift.
Roger Ebert deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I hope President Obama sees fit to give him such a prize.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Megan Fox Armani Commercial 2010 - Megan Fox gets kudos
The latest 2010 Megan Fox Armani Commercial is out today, Tuesday. Megan Fox is drawing rave reviews for the Armani commercial, where the stunning actress from Jennifer's Body and The Transformers movie series puts on Emporio Armani and becomes the face and body of Armani.
Splash News observed that Megan Fox "teases", while, Mail Online UK gushes...
The Transformers star, shot in black and white, pouts seductively at the camera as it pans up and down her enviable figure that has made her an international sex symbol.
The commercial is a 30-second-long trip along the semi-nude body of Megan Fox more than an commercial for Armani. To this blogger, it's playful, sexy, seductive, and just a tad boring. Not Megan Fox, the Armani commercial. Make no mistake about it, Megan Fox is a classically beautiful woman. But there's something about the Armani commercial that's missing and it's action.
Megan Fox in stiletto heeled sexy shoes and walking near-nude in the same Emporio Armani underwear would have sent the Internet into tilt. If the Emporio Armani commercial emphasized her legs as much as it does her face and abs, and her walking motion timed with that music, it would be timeless. Here's Megan Fox's legs on display in the Rolling Stones Interview of last year:
Over at Fashionising.com, Daniel P. Dykes says that women "hate Megan Fox" but men don't. I think the idea is for men to ask women to wear the Megan Fox Emporio Armani underwear (as it will come to be called) for them.
Let's see if the strategy works.
David Letterman calls Olympics officials hypocrites after luge death
On his Monday show, David Letterman let loose on Olympics officials, calling them hypocrites for their statements and actions in the wake of the death of luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili last week.
At a pre-Olympics training run at Nodar Kumaritashvili's luge took the final turn high, then as it came down and into the straight portion of the track, slammed into a wall, and bounced from it to the opposite wall, where Kumaritashvili was thrown over it and to his death. Olympics officials said their was nothing wrong with the track and said the reason for Kumaritashvili's death was "athlete error."
This blogger was one of the first to call the Olympics officials claims completely wrong and blame Kumaritashvili's death on the design of the track. The track was redesigned before the start of the first official Olympics luge contest. Heres my video:
Again, the course should have been designed in such a way as to have the luge come into a curved straight portion of the course; no right angles should have been part of the design. It's poor engineering. If the track were designed in that way, the luge times would have been faster than what we have now, but with a built-in safety behavior. If the luger's to crash, this would keep the racer on the course, not force the racer off of it.
David Letterman's right; Nodar Kumaritashvili's death was not his fault. It was the fault of the design of the track on the course.
Stay tuned.
At a pre-Olympics training run at Nodar Kumaritashvili's luge took the final turn high, then as it came down and into the straight portion of the track, slammed into a wall, and bounced from it to the opposite wall, where Kumaritashvili was thrown over it and to his death. Olympics officials said their was nothing wrong with the track and said the reason for Kumaritashvili's death was "athlete error."
This blogger was one of the first to call the Olympics officials claims completely wrong and blame Kumaritashvili's death on the design of the track. The track was redesigned before the start of the first official Olympics luge contest. Heres my video:
Again, the course should have been designed in such a way as to have the luge come into a curved straight portion of the course; no right angles should have been part of the design. It's poor engineering. If the track were designed in that way, the luge times would have been faster than what we have now, but with a built-in safety behavior. If the luger's to crash, this would keep the racer on the course, not force the racer off of it.
David Letterman's right; Nodar Kumaritashvili's death was not his fault. It was the fault of the design of the track on the course.
Stay tuned.
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