Meg Whitman Oakland Office "surveillance" signs taken down

On Saturday, this space reported that the Oakland Lakeshore / Lake Park campaign office for Meg Whitman, the former eBay Chairman and CEO running for California Governor against Jerry Brown, had a warning sign "surveillance" sign in not one but three places on the front window, and that the word "surveillance" was misspelled.

It looked like Meg Whitman was expressing how afraid she was of Oakland.

Here's the Meg Whitman Oakland Office video:



Well, as of Sunday, the Meg Whitman campaign reps came in and took down the signs. However the action doesn't erase the fact that they did it.

The office has to go beyond just taking down the signs, they have to embrace the Oakland neighborhood they're in. That means being more open and not just hiding behind a card table.

Stay tuned.

True Blood - True Bloodiness by Suzannah B. Troy

Episode 31 was just too bloody and violent for me but of course I can't wait for next week to find out what happens next.

The story line is better this season but I find myself dreading the graphic violence and true bloodiness.  Nothing can gross me out and turn me off as much as the last season yet I always want to tune in and find out what is going to happen.

The acting is sooooo good.  I just wish they could tell the story without all the graphic violence and "true bloodiness".  I want to use my imagination.

Is Bill not the sweet intentioned gentleman "killer" vampire we all thought he was....?  Sookie is starting to respond the way so many of us women have when we find out we have been duped!  We just scream on the inside when we finally realize we have been drained of everything by some guy we could not have been more generous and kind to and still it is never enough.  Sookie we feel your pain.  We have all been there!

I find my self grossed out and closing my eyes tonight...thinking now is a time to floss my teeth...but despite the ick violent graphic factor, I can't wait until next week to find out what happens!

I am hoping Eric gets his revenge finally and I want to find out what Sookie does next with Bill as well what is the real story behind Sookie's gifts.  I read the 1st book and after that I found the stories really lacking.  Alan Ball and his writers have infused the HBO special with something extra special the books lacked.  They are such good story tellers I find my self grossed out and squirming as well as longing for next week and dreading the end of another season that will be over too quickly.  I also want to object to each installment being too short....maybe  just over 45 minutes...bummer.  Tonight I almost turned the channel for the 1st time since last season but I am glad I hung in.

Grossed out but loving True Blood...I can't wait for the next season.  I hope they have it in the can ready to start when this season ends.

Shark Week? See Planet Shark at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta

The Internet buzz is all about Shark Week, today's number one Google Trend. "Shark Week" was coined to bring attention to all of the shark related television shows on The Discovery Channel.

But for me, Shark Week recalls the great time I had at the Georgia Aquarium, the tour led by me friend Hanna, and the Planet Shark exhibit.

The result was one of the most enjoyable videos I've ever made.



If you go to Atlanta, make sure you take time to visit The Georgia Aquarium and take a tour of it with Hanna, who's the best guide there. And yeah, I'm biased, but Hanna's really well-informed and loves her work as a volunteer.

Shark Week equals Planet Shark at The Georgia Aquarium.

Skyline High Reunion was a blast! Tom Hanks and John Landgraf, take note

The 30th reunion of the Skyline High School classes of 1979 and 1980 was a blast. No photos or videos yet, but stay tuned. Tom Hanks should make a movie about our reunion, and John Landgraf, the President of FX Network who graduated with us in the class of 80, missed a great backdrop for a hit TV show by not attending.

Hey John.  You missed a great one! 

First, everyone looked great. Period. For a lot of people, it was impossible to tell they were 47 or 48 years old, as this blogger will be on Wednesday, August 4th.

Second, the turnout was awesome. I'm not sure what the estimated count of people who came to the Sequoyah Country Club was, but I was told there were 100 from the Skyline Class of '80, which is my class, and 30 from the Class of '79, but it seemed like there were more people than just that. Eyeballing everything, I'm confident there 300 people; all acting like they were in their 20s.

Which is the point. Some of us are single, others married, some with kids, some without, and some are grandparents. And of all races, creeds, and colors, as they say. But the one thing we all had in common is we drank like fish and danced are asses off. And those who didn't drink like fish or dance their asses off, talked their mouths off. Talk about a group of people with a zest for life.

At the Friday night "pre-party" at Monahan's, someone mentioned that when we were in high school, the police were a lot easier on you if they caught you with a beer in your car. In fact, the Oakland cops were happy if you shared it with them! I observed that maybe we were the reason all these draconian rules were created! One thing's for certain: it's a different time now.

I can't say the reunion was a time warp. It's not even over because I'm off to the gym and then a reunion picnic. But it was a lesson, for me, in just how great the people I grew up with really were and are. Some of us have passed on, and in most cases due to cancer. But for all of us as a whole, we're the reason that, for all of this country's problems, America, socially, has really become something beautiful.

Skyline High School should be proud. Tom Hanks and John Landgraf, both Skyline High School grads, should make what would be a great new movie or TV show based on our class.

Heck, maybe I'll beat them to it.

Stay tuned.

Consumer Watchdog Running for Congress in MN

Sunday's Saint Paul Pioneer Press gave a black eye to the Minnesota Virtual High School by revealing they recently terminated Shelley Madore, a candidate for Congress, after she reported taxpayer fraud at the charter school. Madore's campaign provided little comment about her charges or the school's reactions, noting the investivation was on-going.

Former MN Representative
Shelley Madore

"When I shared it, I was terminated..."

former MN State Rep. Shelley Madore

Voters in the south Twin Cities Metro area have a choice between the former legislator/watchdog and an unemployed former roofer who "fell into politics" (after falling from a roof) in the upcoming August 10th primary. The winner will challenge incumbent GOP Representative John Kline in the November election.

FEC filings by Madore's opponent Powers have omissions and inconsistencies that might be a story in and of themselves, but what is there reveals he has ample personal assets to loan his campaign $35,000 dollars, giving him the edge in money raised and cash on hand - though both campaigns are struggling to attract donations with so much press attention on other Minnesota races. Twin Cities media has focused on both Tarryl Clark's bid to unseat Michelle Bachmann and the hotly-contested 3-way gubernatorial primary contest, devoting scant coverage to the Congressional primary on the other site of the metro.

The Pioneer Press story characterizes both 2^nd District Democratic campaigns as limping into the primary. The Star Tribue ran a brief article in late July describing Madore's opponent as having a "sketchy résumé" in their first coverage of the primary in months.

"His only income in 2009 was $28,000 in unemployment insurance, according to a financial disclosure report filed in Washington."

from: DFL candidate has sketchy résumé as contractor

24 July 2010

Madore's campaign has made little reference to her opponent's extended unemployment or reliance on his life story rather than policy statements to influence voters, preferring to highlight concrete differences such as Powers failure to hire union workers back when he ran his small business versus her solid voting record as an effective state legislator and endorsements from local and national organizations.

Teacher's unions seem particularly delighted to have a candidate with experience in both the legislature and public education on the ballot: Madore counts endorsements from the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and Education Minnesota among her growing list.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, Democratic Campaign Manager, journalist, and photographer who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Meg Whitman Oakland Office fears Oakland, can't spell "surveillance"

In the "now we've seen everything" department, we have former eBay Chairman and CEO Meg Whitman, running for California Governor against Jerry Brown, opening a campaign office in Oakland that shows she and her staff are passive-agressive in their approach to this heavily minority city.

The Meg Whitman Oakland campaign office, located near the intersection of Lakeshore and Lake Park and not far from Lake Merritt, is staffed by two young white men; I've not seen anyone of color as of this writing.

The gentlemen are nice, but very careful in their communications, almost neurotically so. This reflects Meg Whitman's message to Oaklanders, but even more so is a sign that is placed in three parts of the large bay window. It reads:

"SMILE.
YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA!
24-HOUR VIDEO SURVELLAINCE"

Yep. They misspelled "surveillance."

So, not only is Meg Whitman afraid of Oakland, she's so fearful she can't even spell "surveillance" correctly. It's a terrible sign, no pun intended, to send to a city like Oakland. It reads that Meg Whitman's more afraid of Oakland than interested in Oakland's vote.

Wonder what former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown would say about this?

Stay tuned, and thank to Davey D for the news tip!

Giuseppi Logan Brecht Forum by Suzannah B. Troy

http://brechtforum.org/  Giuseppi Logan will be playing tonight at Brecht Forum.  For those who don't know I discovered him playing on a freezing cold winter day 2 years ago to an empty park. I posted a moving rendition of Begin the Beguine and before I knew it jazz fans and critics were contacting me from all over the world celebrating he was in fact alive.  He was looking for a home, a place to compose music and play music.

I ran home and posted the amazing video footage and immediately found a British film maker's video footage of Giuseppi with a little boy Jaee holding hands in Tompkins -- same park almost 45 years before me!  

Peter Gershon, publisher of Signal to Noise, wrote a stirring piece about Giuseppi Logan and acknowledged my work along with the British film maker; a powerful piece worth checking out.

Since my first YouTube and now there are over 20 tube in my YouTube documentary he has now cut a new CD, the first since his 2 well received ones by ESP in the 1960's.   An angel posing as a human being who works for Salvation Army found him a small space in one the Salvation Army's houses that helps people struggling like Giuseppi which is beyond awesome and his little sliver of a living place filled with instruments donated to him by the Jazz Foundation and given to him by kind people fill his little room. 

He is playing at the Stone  August 15.   I am hoping his son will be back to continue work on his documentary and that down the road a major motion picture will be made to tell Giuseppi Logan's story as well as honoring the tragic loss of GL's grandson, same name as his son Jaee's memory.  Jaee was murdered by a cowardly act of gun violence, several shots to the back of his head at a barbecue  He was an honor student and a football star and like his grandfather, and Dad Jaee he had the musical gift.\

Note: The film would honor jazz but also raise awareness and hopefully raise money for a foundation to help stop gun violence.  Who knows maybe there will be a series of films....

The film like my YouTube documentary would underscore even in the latest chapters of your life you can find some kind of redemption.

You can see my first YouTube discovering Giuseppi Logan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTssjT9rAmQ and I did not know who he was.  As an artist I had a powerful feeling for him -- playing to empty seats....admired his passion and drive at such an old age to get out and play in freezing cold weather.

A friend of his youngest child Jaee and only child from Guiseppi's 2nd marriage told Jaee there is this woman on YouTube filming your Dad!  Jaee did not know his father was still alive and after losing his son he wanted to be reunited with his Dad.

I helped make that happened and captured them reunited for the first time in over 40 years so the little boy in the YouTube I found from so long ago in Tompkins is reunited once again with his Dad thanks to a YouTube miracle that I am honored to be part of!