The Dilemma Reviewed

The theater had less than a dozen people waiting to watch The Dilemma at the 8:55 showing. Although this movie was already a few weeks old it would be assumed that there would be more people in attendance.

The theater, which shall not be named, had a period of time where the screen was messed up and the top half of the movie was below the bottom half of the movie which became very distracting.

IMDB

The cast seemed brilliant; it was about time that Vince Vaughn and Kevin James got together. It was great to see Winona Ryder, because since Girl, Interrupted the most she has been known for is her alleged thefts. Jennifer Connelly did a great job as Vince Vaughn's girlfriend. Vaughn and James play best friends and business partners for a car company. Vaughn catches James' wife cheating on him with Channing Tatum's character. Vaughn does not know what to do, but in the scene where he confronts Ryder it is also exposed that before James married Ryder there was a sexual experience between Ryder and Vaughn.

The lack of communication and trust between all four of the characters is a bit unsettling, and Tatum's character seems too unrealistic.

The scene in the commercials where a little boy asks his mother, "Why is that man hugging himself?" and the mother says, "Just keep walking." - Well that scene does not happen, because all that is shown is Vaughn hugging himself and the mother saying, "Just keep walking."

The movie ends with an intervention and some big fights and make ups.
The movie deserves a 2 out of 5 stars.

Hearst Corporation Buys 100 Magazines, Needs Innovative Digital Focus

I just read that Hearst Corporation, owner of The San Francisco Chronicle, purchased over 100 magazines, including 102 titles covering 15 countries.

Excellent. It's a good idea to own the high-end magazines as they draw top-dollar revenues from advertisers. But the problem is that ad revenues are falling.

A purchase as large as the near $700 million on made by Hearst Corporation must have an eye toward an all-digital future.

And please, not one only focused on the frigging iPad when there are 75 tablets out there.

The digital strategy must be multi-platform. Moreover, it must consider a planning scenario where print is out of the picture, and have a plan in place.

An all digital approach that has Hearst Corporation owning news websites, blogs, and forums that match the print-originated brands.

That is a future that brings revenues from different brands poised for a solid digital existence.

A good web example to follow is NFL.com, which is a giant collection of sites of each of the 32 teams of the NFL.

 Why not one portal for the websites of the magazine brands of Hearst Corporation, and that links back to the portal from each site?

Stay tuned.

Super Bowl XLV - Accident At Cowboys Stadium

Super Bowl XLV Cowboys Stadium AP Photo, originally uploaded by zennie62.

On The Friday before Super Bowl XVL, six people were injured, by ice that fell from the Cowboys Stadium roof in Arlington, Texas, according to The Associated Press. The Dallas News reports that one photographer, Win McMamee of Getty Images, thought he was "going to die here."

And a local Dallas TV station has a video featuring a dramatic shot of ice and snow as it was falling from the Cowboys Stadium roof. It's a scene topped in scale only by the that seen by millions when the Metrodome Roof collapsed in November of last year.

Here's the video:



In the video, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said the Dallas officials were caught off-guard and didn't plan for the weather. That comment and this incident may put the unfortunate kabosh on any future Super Bowls in The Dallas Ft. Worth area.

The photo of the stadium and its surroundings covered by snow and ice, and that video, as well as this accident and other problems, will not be forgotten.

Given the fact that Texas weather is "tricky" and has produced outcomes like this, but not this bad, in the past, the Host Committee should have had a plan for this in place long ago. Now, sadly, this is starting to look like Super Bowl Atlanta 2000 all over again. D-FW deserves better.

Stay tuned.

Super Bowl XLII NY Giants Greatest Drive In Super Bowl History

It's not often one get the chance to witness history in the making but the third-deck 50-yard line seat at Super Bowl XLII, NY Giants vs. New England Patriots in Glendale, Arizona, presented just that. Why do I call this final drive by the Giants to win "The Greatest Drive In Super Bowl History"?

For several reasons.

First, the New England Patriots were on a roll and would have posted the first undefeated season in NFL History since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. And some of their players were reportedly in the stadium to witness the expected hand-off of greatness.

Second, most, especially New England Patriots fans, expected New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning to screw up. It seems Eli, the younger brother of Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning, could not get out of his brothers skyscraper-high shadow. Plus, few gave him credit for the Giants march to Super Bowl XLII, pointing to the G-Men's defense and running game, more than anything Manning did. Eli was a bit-player, rather than the star.

Third, while the Patriots arguably fooled around with the implementation of an arrogant deep passing game, all but forgetting the short passing game that got them that far, many in the stadium expected the Pats defense to save the day.  The crowd around me - about 70 percent Pats fans - were making fun of Manning almost exclusively, chanting "Eli!  Eli!" and expressing faith in their vaunted defense.

For a while, it looked like they were right.

The Giants were moving toward mid-field, and picking up a key 4th and 1 conversion on the Giants 38 yard line, but they seemed to be flirting with disaster rather than getting a big play.  That changed when, on 3rd down and six yards to go, Manning, seemingly about to be sacked by Defensive End / Linebacker Adalius Thomas, somehow spun away, then rolled to his right, set his feet, and fired a pass toward the deep middle, and to since-retired wide receiver David Tyree.

Tyree, in making a catch that's now part of history, and partially explains why he retired (how can you top that?), held the ball against his helmet as Patriots Safety Rodney Harrison brought him down.

Many call that catch the greatest in Super Bowl History. I agree and I was there to see it.

Obviously.

When the Giants set up shop at the New England Patriots 24 Yard Line, you could actually feel they were about to score, and that feeling was helped by Offensive Coordinator Kevin Glibride's strategy of using his backs in underneath patterns, while the Giants receivers ran deep.

But then Gilbride found the right formation formula to get the Giants best pass-catcher Plaxico Buress one-on-one, and that was the same formation they used when their running back caught the ball out of bounds to set up the 1st down at the Pats 14.

But the difference was the Pats Defense.

On the pass to the running back, the Giants were in what's called "Trips Right," which is three receivers to the right, the running back closest in to the quarterback.  On the opposite side was the wide receiver, Buress.   But Plaxico was double covered by the cornerback and the safety, who moved to cover him, causing Manning to throw to the back (in the photo on the left).

But on 1st and 10 from the 14, the Pats Defense executed a costly change-up.    They put the safety in a pre-snap blitz position and left Plaxico one-on-one against the Pats cornerback Ellis Hobbs (the photo on the right).

Buress took a quick slant-in move, then broke to the corner of the end-zone. Manning spotted him, really before the snap, and threw. The touchdown catch ended the greatest drive in Super Bowl history: 12 plays and 83 yards. And a performance that gave Manning the MVP award.

As you can see in the video, the Pats fans around me were stunned, and I went nuts. I could barely hold my camcorder!

And while the Pats did have time to possibly score, it didn't happen.

The Best Of The NFL

This represents the best of the National Football League, and I thank the NFL for allowing me to present it to you here. This is what The Super Bowl is all about: people doing things you didn't expect them to do on a giant stage.

Bring on Super Bowl XLV!

Paladinette to 99er Nation: "I feel a Boner coming on"

In the latest episode of Jobless Talk, Paladinette ripped weeper of the House Boehner but good, stating through sniffles: "I feel a Boner coming on" - a joke she repeated in this weeks Jobless Talk Rant (seen below).

Actually she/I was attempting to appease the conservative listeners of the show who:

"... may have been offended by my radio show Jobless Talk last week – I apologize as I mean no disrespect to your views and honestly believe unemployment and the 99ers suffering is NOT a partisan issue.

Just so you know, I do not only BASH conservatives or Republicans - I AM an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BASHER."

Paladinette went on to say: "I try to entertain, inspire and inform with my shows. It is nothing personal and look at it like the liberals view Stephen Colbert. We know he is an act – a put-on that HE really just tries to make us laugh. We need much laughter in the 99er Nation today and I am sorry if I offended any of you who clearly have not yet evolved to the stage where humor is universal.

..... So stop being so sensitive ... And if that does not work for you and you still feel the uncontrollable URGE to dictate what gets said on a radio show - MAY I suggest you get off your lazy hyper-critical butts and begin your own show... catering to the stuffy humorless conservatives that cannot stomach my show cuz it hurts their feelings. WHAAAA"

The rant continues with a rather thought-provoking take on why the government is lying about the magical drop in the National UE rate (to the incredulous 9%) when less than 40K jobs were created last month. FEAR!

"With what is happening now all over the world and most recently in Egypt - I believe it is no accident that the DOL thought it prudent to lie about the UE rate now, as I feel our Government is more than just a bit scared that this Egypt type of uprising might happen here in the USA!"

"Be afraid Washington DC --- BE VERY AFRAID!! You have worked ever so hard to earn it..."

The RANT continues with discussion on the so-called Internet 'kill switch' bill that was approved by the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee back in December and recently resubmitted by Republican Senator Susan Collins.

[The donation button below is for Paladinette. If you like what I write please donate so I can keep on fighting for the 99ers! Thank You!]

Kenneth Cole Cairo Egypt Twitter Tweet Was No Mistake

Kenneth Cole the famous shoe manufacturer and retailer, had nothing better to do it would seem, so he decided to issue a provocative Twitter tweet, drawing in the Cairo, Egypt protests, to help move his product. This one:

Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo-KC.

And while that URL now leads to a page that doesn't exist, and Kenneth Cole deleted the tweet, the "damage" was done, and to Cole.

Or was it?

Kenneth Cole issued this apology on Facebook:

I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.

Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer

But that didn't stop others from unloading on him on the same page:

Cristian Reatti
You are an asshole! No excuses
on Thursday · Report

Alex Fellas Khater
insensitive
on Thursday · Report

Daniel Machock
bastar-d
on Thursday · Report

Bruce Willke Sr.
I still cant get over how you could even think of making jokes about Egypt/Cairo when people are dying in the streets.
on Thursday · Report

It also didn't stop an employee or manager of the Kenneth Cole Store in the South of Market District (SOMA) in San Francisco from posting the same tweet on a plastic glass surface. Why, I don't know, other than to draw attention, which is the point of it all.

And that's why Kenneth Cole didn't make a mistake. I think he knew his action wasn't going to be well-received, but went ahead and did it because he knows it's a common action today.

In other words a marketer will take an action that's less than kosher to get attention, which satisfies the first level of reach, then apologize for that action, which draws more attention, and then ride off the talk that's generated from the entire episode.

That's what Kenneth Cole's going through. Overall, he's still got a good name and the Internet flamers who jump on him will, in some cases, make themselves look so bad it actually helps Cole.

Meanwhile, Cole was just doing the kind of "hashtag piggybacking" (a term I created) that's common on Twitter.

Hashtag Piggybacking is where a person uses a Twitter hashtag intended to bring attention to one thing as a tool to bring attention to something of their own design. Here's an example using two hashtags that are top Twitter Trend Topics as of this writing: #scariestwordsever and #statefarmwasntthere.

Now the idea is for you to take the hashtag and add some snappy words to it to cause a cool new tweet. But what I did was use it to bring attention to my video-blog on Kenneth Cole's actions.

#scariestwordsever Zennie62 is talking about you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNHG8Hi4Ypw because #statefarmwasntthere

See?

It's a sure thing Cole, or one of his associates, noticed this and decided to try it around the Egypt situation, perhaps thinking there would be a negative backlash but nothing that would really hurt his brand. So, he did it.

What followed was a lot of buzz for his brand and for a certain SOMA store, and 400 new Twitter followers in one day. The angry Internet people? That will pass. Cole's not going to do that again, and he knows it.

Not bad.

American Heart Association: Wear Red Day

The Go Red For Women campaign was created by the American Heart Association in 2004. Today, February 4, 2011 is the annual "wear red" day.

The campaign's mission is to help fight heart disease in women. National Wear Red Day is nationally sponsored by Macy's and Merck.

The donations toward Go Red For Women go toward funding the efforts for breakthrough research and more education of the disease. The site includes testimonials from celebrities such as Jennie Garth and Betty White.

The "going red" campaign is similar to "going green," and since its launch in 2004 has made a huge impact in locations such as Niagara Falls, Empire State Building, Seattle and more. This movement is for companies and individuals alike.

Many will wear red today in hopes to draw attention to heart health for women.