Lady Gaga Egg Entrance At Grammys 2011 In Animation

The event: The Lady Gaga Egg entrance At Grammys 2011 is now in animation, and done by the same people who created the now famous animated video of Tiger Woods wooing his mistresses and of his now ex-wife Elin Nordegren chasing his Cadillac SUV with a golf club on that memorable Thanksgiving night 2009, "those crazy Taiwanese animators" (as they call themselves) Next Media Animation.

This video is totally funny and features a giant chicken to start, and ends with Lady Gaga in a chest-burster scene that's a reference to a number of Twitter jokes, and the famous chest-burster scene in Alien.  In Taiwanese, tt has English subtitles at the bottom.

Check out Next Media Animation at: nma.com.tw.

No word on what Lady Gaga thinks about this.

Charlie Sheen Interview On The Dan Patrick Show

With Charlie Sheen, The Dan Patrick Show made a big splash today, moving into territory normally claimed by RadarOnline.com and OK Magazine - they interviewed him at length.

What happened (the LA Times was wrong about it being a "surprise phone call" and where that came from, I don't know) was that "Fritzy," who's known as Todd Fritz in real life, and who normally books on air guests, was upstaged by Paul Pabst, or "Paulie," who happened to have "an old phone number" for Charlie Sheen. So he called and managed to get a hold of the star of Two And A Half Men, who was quite eager to be on the DirecTV Channel 101 sponsored and presented cable and radio show.

Once on, Charlie Sheen did not disappoint. The highlight was Sheen's statement that he tried to go back to the studio for his job as the star of Two And A Half Men on CBS, and no one was there. So he yelled and knocked but "got nothing." He says he's ready to go, even if the producers and execs may not be.

What happened, according to TMZ.com, was that Warner Bros. has cancelled four episodes because of Sheen's absence. The crew was not paid. That may have been the reason there was no one to answer the door when Sheen came knocking a few days ago.

Whatever the case, Sheen says he's clean. But that aside, he did a great job of talking about his roles as a baseball star in Major League and in Eight Men Out and how he coached Todd Zelle to hit a home run on Dodgers Stadium. Dan Patrick invited Sheen to be a co-host on a future show and to even bring on his own guests.

I can't wait for that one.

For the entire account and the recorded interview, click here to visit The Dan Patrick Show website.

(As a closing thought, I bought the Wall Street movie series and could not help but notice that over 20 years or so, Sheen has basically not aged.  It's freaky.)  

Chevron Ecuador: $8 Billion Award In Sham Case No Surprise

The Chevron Ecuador matter reached a new point today when the Ecuadorian court did what this space expected it to do: declare Chevron guilty of alleged environmental damage, even though Chevron has been out of the country in all ways since 1992.



This case has been a sham from the start, and a slap in America's face.

As explained in this space many times over the last three years or more, Ecuador itself has been a key party in this lawsuit. Moreover, lead lawyer Steven Donziger has admitted he expects to become a billionaire from the case. The only organization standing in his way is the Government of Ecuador itself, where its attorney general has said that it, and not Donziger, would collect 90 percent of any damage amount declared.

Meanwhile damage estimates that started at $16 billion then rose to $27 billion, then most recently $113 billion, were all based on a report that the media has sloppily reported as from a "Court appointed researcher" when it was really from a study prepared for the court by (drum roll please) Steven Donziger and his associates.

The misinformation around this case has served to throw a smoke screen around the fact that Ecuador has kicked out American oil companies and made room for foreign oil producers, all the while working to keep oil revenues (they call it nationalization) and float high-minded ideas about helping the poor of Ecuador, but doing nothing.

Meanwhile, President Rafael Correa sits as if he's really trying to alter the state of how oil's produced in Ecuador, when upon study it's obvious that the country's just interested in gaining more dollars for its wealthiest people. Indeed, the President's own brother has been fingered as being the negotiator for $700 million in oil production contracts with companies that would do business with him.

According to Reuters:

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is fighting accusations by a government watchdog that he knew about $700 million in state contracts that the panel says were improperly awarded to his brother.

Correa denied the allegation made by a four-member committee he created in 2009 to examine the business dealings of his older brother and political nemesis, Fabricio, a conservative who has threatened to run against him in 2013.

According to a report handed to state anti-corruption authorities last week by the Citizens Oversight Committee, the older sibling secured a slew of state oil exploration and public works contracts that broke anti-nepotism laws.

Fabricio has denied wrongdoing in the matter.

Correa's brother is at odds with him but remains cordial. However, he's also involved with the same Ecuadorian political movement that includes President Correa's sister, who has also been fingered as the possible recipient of millions from any damage award from a case that would go against Chevron.

All of this came out during the period of time that Ecuador Judge Juan Nunez was accused of taking bribes to rule against Chevron. He was eventually replaced by another judge.

The signs point to Correa's relations and Ecuador trying to work a big payoff from an American oil company 20 years removed while foreign companies and the State-run Petroecuador have polluted the land and waters.

A sham case and a slap in America's face.

Stay tuned.

More Twitter Reaction to Grammys 2011 Last Night

Just got a great email on the Grammys 2011 and Twitter from Julia, part of the folks at Topsy, a very cool real-time search engine that Google has been paying attention to (from what I'm told by others). Here's her message:

Hi Zennie,

I read your article on Twitter complaints around Lady Antebellum’s tribute to Teddy Pendergrass and thought you might like to look at what the Twittersphere thinks about last night’s fashions, winners, performances, etc. In the last couple hours alone, there have been over 4,500K tweets. In the past day, there have been over 70K! http://topsy.com/s/grammy%27s/tweet

Here is a side-by-side comparison of Justin Bieber vs. Lady Gaga from the last day, with Justin overall more popular across the social web than Gaga: http://analytics.topsy.com/?q=lady%20gaga,justin%20bieber&period=1%20day.

Topsy (www.topsy.com), the realtime search leader, has the largest index of Twitter content in the world. Instead of indexing pages, Topsy indexes conversations. Let me know if I can pull any more Twitter data for you on what’s happening around the Grammy’s.

Thanks,
Julia

Julia Stemerman

Of the vast number of tweets, this one was off the charts funny:

Lady Gaga went to the VMA's dressed as meat, now she's at the Grammy's in a egg. Two more red carpets and she could be a Denny's Grand Slam.

That one by @obviouslyben.

There's a lot more Grammys 2011 info, officially making Tospy.com a great time sink!

Grammys: Kanye West Hails Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Mick Jagger, Disses Esperanza

Even though he wasn't at the 2011 Grammys, Kanye West used his considerable Twitter reach (2,394,931 followers, as of this writing) to express his opinion on the winners, thus adding to the overall controversy. It may seem like Kanye's being "contrary" for attention, but his tweets reveal where his music business interests lay.

On Arcade Fire:

kanyewest Kanye West
#ARCADEFIRE!
10 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

To which some on Twitter asked why he was backing Arcade Fire. Now, for Kanye to do that spells one thing: business deal. Searching around brings up this: "Kanye West, Arcade Fire to Headline "MY NEW ALBUM COMING THIS SUMMER. Yep: "Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire to Headline Coachella 2011." (Thanks, Celebfi.com)

So Kanye's rooting for Arcade Fire because their success helps put money in his pocket. That should bring an interesting new twist to this outcry of why Arcade Fire won the Grammys over Lady Gaga.

On Justin Bieber:

kanyewest Kanye West
#PROUDOFJUSTIN
9 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

If you're wondering..Yep. West is in business with Justin Bieber, too. Check this MTV blog post: "Justin Bieber Plans Collabos With Kanye West, Drake, Chris Brown."

Missing from the MTV post is that Drake, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber are all listed artists with Def Jam Records. Chris Brown was close to signing with Def Jam until a merger forced a reduction in staff and the loss of Tina Davis, who was to sign Brown. Instead, she left and became his manager, signing him with Jive Records when Brown was 16. While Brown remains with Jive, he still collaborates with Island Def Jam Artists.



On Mick Jagger:

kanyewest Kanye West
Mick Jagger is crazy fresh!!! #OGSWAG
12 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Kanye's right on here. Having attended several Rolling Stones concerts, it was just freaking amazing to see Mick rockin' it again. Jagger's energy was incredible; he stole the show. And if you're looking for a pick-me-up here he is again, courtesy of The Grammys and YouTube:



On Esperanza Spalding As "Best New Artist," who surprisingly beat out Drake, leading to another Twitter chorus of "who?"

kanyewest Kanye West
Damn... I can't find the words to explain how I feel about the best new artist award... Don't wanna say the wrong thing
12 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Well, that's because Drake is signed with Def Jam Records, which also features Kanye West. So, again, as in the case of Arcade Fire, these Grammys wins are good for Kanye West's pocket book.  

Not bad.

It also brings another perspective to the race issue and The Grammys: more and more blacks like Usher, Kanye West, and P Diddy are as much behind the assent of new white artists, like Arcade Fire, as much as they're behind new black artists like Drake.

Increasingly in the 21st Century, when money, talent, creativity, and true entrepreneurial sprit get together, race goes out the window.  As it should be. A very cool development that's worth exploring in greater depth.  

Where's the legendary Davey D when I need him?

Stay tuned.

Tomorrow PLEASE JOIN 99ers Aid Twitter Event February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST.

Tomorrow PLEASE JOIN 99ers Aid Twitter Event February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST.

******DO NOT FORGET:

99ers Aid Twitter Event February 15, 2011 8PM EST

On Tuesday February 15, 2011 at 8PM EST join us for #99erAID, a twitter chat designed to bring 99ers, 99er advocates, and journalists together to discuss the latest 99er news and strategy ideas for the growing, peaceful movement."

The event will be moderated by @99erAID (Examiner.com’s Jason Tabrys) and all who participate are asked to use the hash-tag #99erAID in their tweets.

The hope is to trend on Twitter of course but more important than that, to inform, inspire,discuss and strategize the means to have a real positive impact and influence real solutions to this growing problem.

Solutions like this H.R. 589 which now has over 60 Co-Sponsors.

And do not miss The Ed Show at 10 PM tonight on MSNBS, as American 99er Union member and 99er advocate Gerry DePietro will be interviewed tonight. To those who are not familiar with Gerry, Ed spoke about her last week (Gerry had to sell the ring her deceased husband gave her for $20).

Check out and post this video everywhere:
God I love the lyrics to the song in this Video by lessions4u2learn & CUZ4Concern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BReEXn0tAik&feature=uploademail




[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!]

Grammys 2011: Arcade Fire Beats Lady Gaga And Eminem

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
In honor of Arcade Fire's big win, I am killing myself. #Grammys
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

That was the most hilarious Twitter tweet of a large number of them in the wake of the conclusion of the 53rd Grammy Awards.

They're still talking about it on Twitter: that an obscure Canadian indy rock band called Arcade Fire could beat Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster and Eminem's Recovery for Album of the Year. Many people had never heard of Arcade Fire, and while The Dan Patrick Show, or more to the point just Dan Patrick, had been promoting the band, this blogger thought it was some kind of paid sponsorship.

Arcade Fire sounds like your typical indy bar cover band. Their music is largely bland and certainly not the soulful, heartfelt music that Eminem and Rihanna created or with the massive dose of creativity of Lady Gaga.

Because The Grammys are just wrapping up on The West Coast, we still have Twitter tweets of shock and anger coming in:

ciruelas_rojas ciruelas by delirie
#EminemGotRobbed #Grammys
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

cturnip Christy Turnipseed
Wow #Grammys you really had us, for @arcadefire to play, accept album of the year, then close out the show #thiswasagiven #suckitmainstream
6 minutes ago

VoodooDahl Anders Dahl
Hopefully it will be awhile before we have to hear Lady Antebellum again #grammys
6 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

And Andy Borowitz of The Borowitz Report posted several classic tweets, in addition to the one used to open this blog post:

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
I don't see why we'd give a Grammy to a shitty Canadian band when there are so many shitty American ones. #Grammys
3 hours ago

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
Good night, everyone. I'm going to go out and shout "Fire" in a crowded arcade. #Grammys
3 hours ago

BorowitzReport Andy Borowitz
BREAKING: Muse Announces Plan to Start Ripping Off Arcade Fire Instead of Radiohead #Grammys
3 hours ago

On top of Arcade Fire, that Lady Antebellum could take Record Of The Year over Eminem and Rihanna was a joke to many, but my 76-year old Mom called it.  She said, in observing a constant stream of white singers placed in position to sing black songs - and in one case with Lady Antebellum screwing up a tribute to Teddy Pendergrass, who died last year at the age of 59 - that The Grammys seemed to want to show whites far more than blacks.

It was an observation I resisted with vigor, but then, after a time of watching that culminated with Mom's epic assertion that "Lady Antebellum" was going to win because they were a country white band and that's what The Grammys wanted - and they won and the Twitterverse erupted - I agreed with.

It's a sad statement on American society that race-biases have to be pushed on the public.  The U.S.A. is far less interested in "which color group wins" than in having the best one get The Grammy.  There's an overwhelming sentiment that didn't happen this year.   Moreover, some in the Grammys may have the perception that the music World is still black vs. white, but that's not so for the country at all.  It's no wonder so many people are unhappy with the Grammys in 2011.

Andy Borowitz has a good point: the Grammys look more Canadian than American. Looking back, it's not the first time The Grammys had a racist look; but can't it stop in the future?

And if you doubt that a number of people think The Grammys is racist, go to Twitter and do a search for "#grammys and racist" and see what you get.

Stay tuned.

Gwyneth Paltrow And Cee Lo Rock Grammys After Bad Teddy Pendergrass Tribute

Actress and (now) singer Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee Lo just rocked The Grammys with a soulful, spiritual duet, and just on the heels of a epically awful tribute to the late Teddy Pendergrass by Lady Antebellum.

Whatever The Grammys producers were thinking, Twitter's complaining about the result.

jbphebus Jason
by 6sixnine9
teddy pendergrass will have his revenge on lady antebellum
8 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

FuquaManuel FuquaManuel
by JulianaPache
Whoever thought "Lady Antebellum" was a good band name clearly did not form their band with the intention of having black fans. #CivilWar
13 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

And there were other tweets even worse than that one!

Look, there's no question that Lady Antebellum is an excellent country rock band. But asking them to do the tribute for Teddy Pendergrass was a mistake.

The massively soulful voice of the legendary Pendergrass wasn't even partially evident in a segment that Lady Antebellum sang as if they were eager to get through it to sing their own music.

If there's justice in the World, Lady Antebellum should either ask for a do-over, or just apologize.

Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cee Lo burned down the house.

Thank you, Gwyneth and Cee Lo for saving us.

Lady Gaga Egg Wows Grammys 2011

The moment everyone was waiting for came and left, and it's still talked about online. Lady Gaga, never one for boring entrances at big events, didn't disappoint at the 53rd Grammy Awards, the Lady Gaga Egg wowed's Grammys 2011. And even the Grammy producers are asking you to rate the event, which you can do with a click here.

As for the Lady Gaga Egg (in this Plixi.com photo by Billboard), she was said to be "incubating" in it before the show, according to her creative director, Lori Ann Gibson, as told to Ryan Seacrest. She was not to be "born" until this evening and the Grammys, in this "womb" designed by the London fashion designed Hussein Chalayan.

Who?

Hussein Chalayan is an internationally celebrated fashion designer who, until tonight, was known more to those who paid constant attention to the fashio scene. Not anymore. The Hussein Chalayan is swamped, and website Designboom.com, which includes more information about the designer, has crashed as of this writing, all thanks to Lady Gaga.

Wow.

The 53rd Annual Grammys continue now, with a duet featuring Justin Bieber and Usher.

Grammys After Party Action At The Alta Club

The Alta Club at 1714 North McCadden Place in Hollywood, CA., is the place for the Grammy Party & CD Release Party for Doug Christie's daughter Chani Christie's new CD Lyrics & Lipstick, which comes out on Valentine's Day. The red carpet starts at 7 PM PST, Confirmed celebrities include: Doug Christie, Chani Christie, & Jackie Christie (Hosts). Also attending are Raven Symone, Madison Leslie, James Pitt, Maegan Stewart, Taya Rayden, Ice Marrow Jr, Harvey Walden, Taylor Parks, Paige Hurd, Austin Anderson, Mikey Reid, Kofi Siriboe, Kwame Boatend, and Alexis Swanstrom. For more information, call (323) 871-2401.

Valentine's Day 2011 In Oakland - Keep Your Money In Oakland

Ok, for all practical purposes, Valentine's Day 2011 is here, (or if you did it on Saturday, gone) even though it's really on Monday. And while I am in suburban Atlanta doing what I'm supposed to do at this stage of life - keeping my Mom company (she's in good health, thanks for asking) I have a life in Oakland, too. For all of my complaints about Oakland, it's a wonderful, beautiful city, that too often takes itself for granted.

So, on Valentine's Day 2011, I ask you to please keep your money in Oakland.  Don't go over to San Francisco, as I often do, or jet off to LA or New York or Chicago or Atlanta.  And it's nothing against SF or LA or New York or Chicago or Atlanta; I go because I know a lot of people there and Mom's here in the ATL.  But the more time you spend in Oakland, the more you realize it's a massively cool place to be.

I got a message from beautiful, dear friend, that she was going to try Miss Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant at 3345 Grand Avenue for the first time, and due in no small way to my video to get the word out about it. This one:



I highly recommend Miss Saigon for Valentine's Day 2011, or any year for that matter.

But maybe pho's not your thing and you want a really nice Valentine's Day experience?

In Oakland, no problem.

Go over to the Lake Chalet at 1520 Lakeside Drive, where you can sit at any one of a number of tables with a great view of the Lake. Here' a video from Lake Chalet's opening day in September of 2009, in case you have no idea what it looks like:



Or...

If you're desire is for a great steak dinner with your sweetie, go to Flora.  It's on the corner of Telegraph and 18th Street in Downtown Oakland across from The Fox Theater, and the Art Deco style is just the right backdrop if you want to make an impression, or just have a good time.

I also have to plug Luka's on Broadway and Grand.  It's for more than just dancing, drinking, and  romancing - the food's really improved.  I recently ordered a steak at Luka's and was out-of-this World surprised.  Since then, I've went back more just to eat.  If Flora's too crowded, go over to Luka's.

If you live in the Oakland Hills, and don't want to drive a long way, go to Crogan's on Mountain Blvd.  That place, for me, goes all the way back to Skyline High School days, but today the food is consistently good and inexpensive.

And if your bent is for something really different, go to Enssaro Ethiopian Restauant at 366 Grand Avenue. It's rare - actually, this is the first time - I recommend a place I've not yet tried - and that's only because of my addiction to steaks - but word of mouth about Enssaro is just insane. The place is getting rave reviews.

And back on steak, The Alley at 3325 Grand Avenue, has a great 20 ounce one that's off the menu.  It's just that Rod Dibble plays the piano on Saturday's so you'll miss him today or Monday.   I love to give Rod support, so make sure you have dinner there when he's playing.

Ok.  Enough from me.  Happy Valentine's Day, Oakland!

Yesha Callahan Was Rep. Chris Lee's Craigslist Valentines Date - Almost

Since the blog Gawker revealed that GOP Representative Chris Lee sent a racy photo of his shirtless self to a woman on Craigslist, thus providing the catalyst for his resignation from Congress, many have wondered who the female was.

On Thursday, we learned her identity.

Her name is Yesha Callahan, a 34-year-old single mother who works for the University of Maryland. For a set of reasons that seem to boil down to just plain boredom, Callahan put out the now-infamous Craigslist post that she was looking for someone who didn't look like a "toad."

What's great is that the fact Lee's white and Callahan's black has gone without conversation, and just may provide evidence that seems to fly in the face of the findings of a U.C. Berkeley study on online dating and race, to be released within weeks.

The study says that "In online dating, blacks more open to romancing whites than vice versa." And the lead author, UC Berkeley psychologist Gerald Mendelsohn, said "Whites more than blacks, women more than men and old more than young participants stated a preference for a partner of the same race." And from his preliminary findings, it's an 80 percent chance that would be the case.

Professor Mendelsohn (who give a nutty reason to back his study's conclusions that blacks are more likely to go after whites online, saying that blacks want to be a part of the "dominant racial group") didn't talk to the Republican Congressman Lee.

It was Lee who went after Callahan via her Craiglist post, which explained that she was an African American woman (and "black / Irish"), so her being black was an attraction for the GOP Conservative white male.

Take that Professor Mendelsohn!

What's so great about this otherwise rather sad story of the rapid downfall of a young Congressman is that it not only defies how some view American society, but fits my observations about how we've changed: a lot of Americans just don't care about race and those that do are more often than not treated as if they're cavepeople - which they are.

Now that we've got the race issue out of the way, - sort of, because it's still worthy of lengthy conversation, we can get back to the issue of Callahan and Lee.

Since Callahan "came out," she's been the focus of more than a little nasty commentary. Over at Gawker, commenters were obsessed with her 34 years of age (and all because she told Gawker she could pass for 24) as if that's a sure ticket to a death sentence. (34 is not "middle-aged and you should read Yesha's great blog post on this issue.)

Meanwhile, the 46-year-old Lee, who stepped down faster than it took LeBron James to announce he was going to The Miami Heat, went into hiding, but his wife is talking.

Michele Lee, 44, (a real looker, which makes you wonder what's going on between them) said they would try and work things out by taking a trip to the Florida Keys. The DailyMail UK reports that she's crushed and his father's "enraged" at the situation and the photo.

(Wait. What's his father got to do with it? Is Dad really just angry that his white congressman son used a popular website to arrange a hook-up with a black woman, and has to talk? Geez."Enraged?" Give me a break!)

The real problem is Chris Lee doesn't seem to have enjoyed his life. Otherwise, he'd not have resigned so quickly. But he did.

Lee was looking for a way out of his current existence, subconciously created an escape hatch, and jumped through it.

Now, he's almost a free man. And the rest is based on to what degree Chris Lee loves and wants to be exclusively with his wife.

Stay tuned.

And keep Dad out of it.

SF News: TransBay Terminal Demolition and Construction Update

As explained in this space before, the new San Francisco Transbay Terminal is under construction. Here's a recap of what happened, followed by a look forward:

Weekend Work (2/5/11 – 2/6/11): This weekend, underground utility work will continue on Howard Street at the intersection of Howard Street and Beale Street on Saturday and Sunday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM.

Demolition activities will take place at the West Terminal building. The Crusher/Conveyors operation at the Center Terminal lot this weekend will be in use between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM on Saturday.

Weekday Work: Weekday work will take place between Monday, February 7, 2011 and Friday, February 11, 2011. All contractors will work between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM. Demolition activity to demolish the East Terminal building basement slab will continue into mid-February.

Demolition activity will continue through February at both the Center Terminal building and West Terminal building.

Demolition activity will take place at the old concrete traffic island on First Street between Mission and Howard Streets.

Underground utilities work will continue and include:

And here's what to expect this Valentine's Day weekend:

Underground utility work will continue on Howard Street between Main and Beale Streets (in front of the Temporary Terminal) between the hours of 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday.

Underground Utility work will continue along Minna Street between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Saturday, February 12, 2011.

Demolition work will continue on Saturday, February 12, 2011 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, at the West Terminal Building. The Crusher/Conveyors will be in operation at the Center Terminal.

And the Transbay Terminal people say "If you have any urgent questions regarding site - specific demolition or construction activities, please call our construction activity number: (415) 409-TJPA (8572)."