David Vs Goliath, Internet vs TV, Kutcher Vs Industry Exec. Round One

Apparently CBS picked up a show, produced by Ashton Kutcher, called "The Beautiful Life." They made six episodes but dumped the show before it could garner a cable audience, airing only two episodes.

Ashton Kutcher, arguably one of the most influencial figures in genX pop-culture, believed in his show enough to take it elsewhere. He got HP to sponsor a youtube channel. All five episodes, including those never aired, have now found a home online - and an audience clamouring for more.

I watched a few episodes myself, and I was quite impressed - if not with the cheesy plot-lines, with the dept and complexity of the characters. This was a show with the potential of evolving into another "sex in the city" type series, which some people love and others like to hate.

The parallels with the trajectory of the newpaper industry is stunning. First you start putting out mostly trash - replacing scripted shows with reality television - then you start losing talent to alternative new age media outlets. If Kutcher pulls this off, if HP finances the production of the entire series, this will be the begining of the end for the networks too.

Distributed via YouTube, marketed via tweeter. Check it out - http://www.youtube.com/user/TBL

Reason Enough to Buy a HP? Maybe!

There's Something About This Man

Obama really believes in what he is doing. That's great to see. I think I have missed his unequivocal determination to get things done the right way since he has been in office; as President he has been far too mellow and in willing to compromise. I needed this reminder that the fire was still there

Let Us Bear Witness

In the most poignant merger of W.B. Yeats, voice and image - Mike Scott captures the essence of our role in the Iranian Green Revolution. All over the world, people online have been called to bear witness...and we have.



Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan

Kramer VS Stewart

I have been on a quasi blogging hiatus, mostly because despite the plethora of controversial issues I needed to do a lot of reading to wrap my mind around the moving parts of the narrative and the reality of this downturn. While I am sure Obama might get a thing or two wrong - my only comeback for the naysayers is that I sleep better at night knowing it's Obama in charge. Can you imagine McCain getting a handle on this economy, or to really make it a nightmare - Putin head spotting Palin?

That said, some people did some heavy cheer leading for the guys that got us into this situation. A point left to comedian Jon Stewart to point out after Rick Santeli got upset about Obama bailing out homeowners:




This lead to an all out counter from CNBC's Cramer and a strong comeback from Jon. He might be simply a comedian, but he's no wuss - and being right about this he wasn't about to back down.



So now it's all out war CNBC and all NBC affiliates versus Stewart including Joe Scarborough:



To end this week long war was a Cramer-Stewart sit down. Enjoy.





Topping it off, oh yes - white house responds!

Our First Family

Young kids in the white house again; beautiful, adorable young ladies. It will be a pleasure to watch this family reshape the cultural landscape and our conscious image of an African American family.

Inauguration!

My first thought is that the writer of the inauguration poem needs a lesson in poetry from Lowery.

This was the Non-Obama moment highlight of the event.


My favorite bit of Obama's speech:

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.

Obama captures essence of the United States and fountain of my great love for this nation, my adopted home. Idealism is derided as the naive tug of youth yet this is a nation founded on that principle. Ideals that it has not always lived up to, but astonishes the world with its honest, unassuming yet always ambitious journey forward in the quest for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. Americans seem to take particular glee in proving naysayers wrong in a reflexive defiance of those that would doubt that: Yes We Can!

Republican (Re)Start : 08=80

The Republicans held a debate amongst the candidates for RNC Chairman. In order words, they are in search of a standard bearer for a much needed political revival.

I grabbed the short video recap from TPM.com to make my point. The montage captures the complete nothingness that was talked about.

If Republicans really wanted someone palatable to the general public, the obvious pick would be Michael Steele. My guess is they will go with one of the southern white guys.*boring* (seriously, watch the video!)

That said, even Steele's great idea to reach out to Blacks and Minorities is way too late. With a President Obama on January 20th, the Democratic party will have an extended lock on the minority vote, especially the immigrant vote. One can always count on loud mouthed racists spouting anti-Obama nonsense under a Republican banner to boost minority allegiance to the Democrats.

Lastly, enough with Reagan already! I was seven years old when he left office - and I don't count as the youth vote anymore. How does invoking Reagan help us deal with a plethora of 21st century circumstances he never had to grapple with? Ultimately one has to apply history's lessons to the present and generate new ideas, not constantly attempt to re-live the past. Republicans can twitter, 'youtube' and 'facebook' all they want - if all they have to say is "check out Reagan" - they will have no luck connecting with my generation.

NB: Memo to Republicans, youtube and facebook aren't verbs. Not yet ;-)

War of Choice

There is absolutely no justification for the targeted expenditure of innocent men, women and children.

It is wrong when it is perpetuated by Palestinians and other Arabs against Israel. It is equally wrong when it is done by Israel.

Just as I support Israel, and their right to live free from terror, so also does my heart cry out at the injustice currently being perpetuated against my fellow human beings. Israel is losing the PR battle because they are showing the world that they too have blood on their hands, with acts of belligerence not even staunch allies can acquiesce.

Israel has always gotten from me and many others, the benefit of the doubt - No more! And I am not alone.

Happy Holidays from Michelle Obama

If you are on Obama's ten million e-mail list then you probably just received an e-mail from Michelle wishing you Happy Holidays.

The notable thing is her request not for political donations but that:

...you join me in supporting your favorite charity or contributing to causes that are especially meaningful....

And which are those meaningful causes

Donating to your local food bank
Giving to Operation USO Care Package

A classy lady, but also further evidence that a politician with a different purpose has arrived. Obama does not merely employ empty platitudes as talking points, he is lending his weight to the promotion of community service. Building the American dream for everyone from ground up.

Lincoln - Obama

Obama is apparently going to use the Lincoln Bible for his inauguration.

Andrew Sullivan says, "It will be the first time it has been used since its original use in 1861. From Lincoln's hand to the first black president's. The arc of history is long ..."

Indeed!

A Rebuke.

Obama's most recent appointment to his team: General Shinseki for Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The General was sidelined for telling congress in the run-up to the Iraq war that to effectively secure Iraq the force required would be in the order of five hundred thousand troops.

The timing was pure Obamapoliticking: on Pearl Harbor day, a Japanese-American honored for lifelong military.

Of course the pick is a stake to the heart of the neocons because the General got it so right while they all got it very wrong. Rumsfeld et al made Gen. Shinseki into a lesson for dissenters by destroying his career, forcing him into early retirement. Obama's pick is both a rebuke of Bushism and a sign of changing times.

The distilled message to the Military brass; it's better to be right than wrong - regardless of the short term downside.

Amazingly the GOP is somehow hoping for Obama screw ups to be their ticket back to power. Good Luck!

Regulation by BANK

Apparently Bank of America has announced a revision to it's policy on mountain top coal mining. The Banking giant that managed to get through the financial crisis intact will now cease lending to companies who engage in environment destroying practices while mining in certain fragile geographic locations.

Gimmick, or Not?

The obvious answer is that it doesn't really matter. If Bank of America does more than merely project the image of environmental consciousness, motive aside the important point remains outcome. In that sense it is definitely not a gimmick; losing access to loans from one of the few banks left to finance anything will have an impact.

Kudos to the BofA Team - what a PR bonanza they put together.

47 Days to Inauguration

Today is December 4th, exactly one month from Obama's huge win on November 4th. I took a break from blogging to absorb the moment and all the postmortems. I will be posting excerpts of my favorite takes, both the 'spot on', the hilarious and the absurd.

The Obama Transition is already underway with a high citizen input format; a review of all Federal agencies, and the appointment of White House staff and Cabinet appointments.

Unlike the prior Bush-Clinton transition that was according to the history logs quite disorderly, this Bush-Obama transition is going almost without a hitch.

It will be fun to follow over the next couple of weeks and into the new year.

Michael Crichton: 1942-2008

The prolific Author of Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain and many other best selling fictional books has passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer.

A Doctor himself, and creator of the ER series on television; news of his death is both a surprise and a shock.

I have personally enjoyed many if not all of his books. And his stories will live on.

Obama WINS!

GO VOTE!

It's a civic duty. It's a right others have fought and bleed to ensure you currently have. It's a privilege of citizenship.

Exercise your right to vote today!

I have faith in the American promise, a faith that will endure regardless of who wins tonight; because I know that eventually change is coming, the young will outlive the bigots. It's almost impossible to imagine that little over 40years ago, Martin Luther King marched for equality.
And because regardless of your particular orientation, it should pain you to see discrimination by the government - Please vote NO on Prop8. If you oppose gay marriage, think about whether you'd like your daughter married to a closeted gay man. Many things transform the institution of marriage into a sham - gay marriage is not one of them. I do not ask that anyone abandon their prejudice, I ask that you vote NO in spite of it - in the words of MLK, 'the arc of history is long, but it always bends towards justice.'

Obama's Grandma Passes

Madelyn Dunham died between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Eastern Time this morning.
Statement from Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng:

It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.

I have never been good at dealing with death. Perhaps because I have to deal with so much of it, there's always a certain distance, a calm acceptance of stated fact (of inevitable fact). Today my sadness overflows. I held on to hope that this one life be spared long enough to bear witness to the outcome of November 4th. What a powerful reminder of our immortality, the irrelevance of even the most important events in the face of death. How cruel of fate to have snatched the last leg off the tripod of Obama's childhood, at the dawn of his big moment. What bitter sweetness tomorrow will bring!
In tribute, to a humble, yet great woman, from a grateful Obama supporter. And in empathy with a grandson who must postpone mourning to redeem a nation.

May it be - that you keep Obama company from afar, through the hard times ahead.
May it be - that you rest in Eternal Peace.

Confederates for Obama?

There has been no shortage of irony in this election season. Forty years ago, when Robby Kennedy declared it was possible we'd see a 'negro' rise to the presidency, who would have thought it would be with the active support of confederate flag flying compatriots? And who could have imagined they would dress up his name in said flag?!

Race to the Finish

On your Mark.
Set.
Go!

Last Call

What a powerful closing argument, and call to action. The positive energy of the crowd is remarkable. What a way to fire up your people as we head into the last week of this hard fought, long and grueling election. Once again instead of trying to tear down his opponent, Obama is focused on actual Americans, their dreams, their aspirations, their hope. It's about a future for everyone, as one nation. What a high note to send out your foot soldiers on.

Don’t believe for a second this election is over. Don’t think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.

In one week, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up.

In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future.

In one week, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.

In one week, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.

That’s what’s at stake. That’s what we’re fighting for. And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me, and make some calls for me, and talk to your neighbors, and convince your friends; if you will stand with me, and fight with me, and give me your vote, then I promise you this – we will not just win Ohio, we will not just win this election, but together, we will change this country and we will change the world. Barack Obama, Canton Ohio 10/27/08