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Obama Wins; Hillary Hits Homer in 9th Inning
By Tommy Christopher
(Political Machine)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 1:00:00 AM
Filed under: Democrats, Barack
Obama, Debates, 2008 PresidentMy
very brief analysis of tonight's
Democratic debate in Texas: Hillary
Clinton missed several golden
opportunities, and Barack Obama
held his own. With her lead in Texas
narrowing, and her struggle to win
delegates increasingly steep, Hillary
Clinton needed a knockout, or needed
Obama to fall on his face. That didn't
happen, so this is a win for Obama.
However, Hillary so badly outclassed
Barack on that final question that it
makes the earlier missed
opportunities that much more glaring.
Worst of all was her invocation of the
bogus plagiarism charge. After
Senator Obama had thoroughly
dismantled the argument, she tried to
launch a sound bite, saying, "That's
not change you can believe in, that's
change you can Xerox."
Not only did the crowd boo her, but
she wasted a chance to blunt the
damage done by a week of negative
campaigning by surrogates. She
should have repudiated the plagiarism
claim, and reinforced her "solutions,
not speeches" argument. It would
have been a classy move that would
CIA Comes Clean on Rendition Flights
By Mark Impomeni (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 9:30:00 AM
Filed under: President Bush, Bush
Administration, Investigations,
TerrorCIA Director Gen. Michael
Hayden admitted in an address to
agency employees Thursday that the
agency did use British territory to
refuel two jets on so-called rendition
flights in 2002. The CIA had
previously told the British
government that it had not used any
British territory, airspace, or landing
site in the controversial program.
Hayden said that that information had
"turned out to be wrong."
Extraordinary rendition is a once
secret program initiated under the
Clinton Administration in which high
-value terrorist or other suspects are
flown aboard government owned
planes to a third country for
interrogation either by the CIA or by
the intelligence services of the
destination country. Critics charge
EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Gunning for Texas Votes
By Mo Rocca (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 10:00:00 AM
Filed under: Hillary ClintonIt's a
21/02/08 - 22/02/08
have allowed her to capitalize on her
later gains.
Her performance on that last
question, however, was so superb,
and so powerful as the last word in
the debate, that she could have gained
real ground if not for the missteps.
This is what I was talking about when
I said, "Let Hillary be Hillary"
Update: Here's the video of that last
question. After the jump, a little more
analysis the morning after.
Neither candidate really answered the
question asked, which was to name a
crisis that had tested them. Obama
gave a meandering autobiography,
and said the whole thing was his test.
Hillary made a relaxed crack about
weathering crises in the first Clinton
era, then spoke very movingly about
wounded veterans, and finished by
saying that whatever she goes
through is nothing compared to the
troubles of ordinary Americans. A
triumph.
The moments that fell flattest were
those that were obviously based on
campaign talking points, like bringing
up Chris Matthews' ambush of Kirk
Watson. It is a shame for Hillary,
because Obama scored lots of points
against McCain, another area Hillary
that, especially since the September
11th attacks, the program has been
used to take captured terrorists to
places where they can be tortured or
otherwise treated in a manner not
consistent with U.S. law. The British
territory now acknowledged to have
been used is the small Indian Ocean
island of Diego Garcia, which is
home to a large British air base that
has seen U.S. bombers take off for
action in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hayden's message to employees was
contrite.
"The refueling, conducted more than
five years ago, lasted just a short
time, but it happened. That we found
this mistake ourselves, and that we
brought it to the attention of the
British government, in no way
changes or excuses the reality that we
were in the wrong. An important
aspect of intelligence work,
inherently urgent, complex, and
uncertain, is to take responsibility for
errors and to learn from them."
Hayden maintained that the CIA did
political reality: Hillary Clinton must
win Texas if she wants the
nomination.
If you don't think Hillary knows this,
LibertyNewsprint.
could have done better on.
Here was Hillary's weakest moment,
her "Xerox" comment.
On the question of earmarks, Hillary
took a novel approach, but Obama
wins the point anyway.
She elects to answer a different
question, a popular technique, but a
missed opportunity given the strength
of Obama's answer. Again, this
answer seems to have been crafted by
strategists rather than emanating from
an authentic place. She needed to
address the earmarks specifically, and
didn't.
Hillary came off really well in areas
where she essentially agreed with
Obama, as with the economy. Her
answer is relaxed and assured, and
she really shines on this one.
In an area where I believe Obama is
weaker, he carries the point by
effectively countering Hillary's
anecdotal flourishes. By the way,
where is her Secret Service detail? It
sounds like people are constantly
grabbing her arm, or clutching her
hand, on the campaign trail.
not hold or interrogate the two
prisoners involved on Diego Garcia.
He further asserted that the two men
were not imprisoned by the CIA in its
formerly secret black sites program.
One of the men is now being held at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, although it
is unclear whether he was transferred
there by the CIA or was picked up
again at a later date.
The revelation is sure to cause some
consternation for the Bush
Administration as the president
returns from his triumphant tour of
Africa. Democrats in Congress have
then check out what she's been doing
the last few days..
Hillary missed a huge opportunity,
almost as huge as the "Xerox"
misstep, with this question.
Her silence on the question of
Obama's readiness was deafening.
She should have started by saying,
"Of course I think he's ready, but I'm
readier, more qualified." She could
have even made a joke about Obama
being ready to be "a heartbeat away."
Although she didn't say he wasn't
ready, which would have been a
major blunder, she could have scored
major class points here.
It seems clear to me that the thing that
tripped her up here was the din of
strategists and talking points in her
ear. It's a shame, because if she picks
up even one of those missed points, I
think it tips this debate in her favor.
I hope that, if Hillary doesn't come
back to win the nomination, that she
ends up on the ticket with Obama. I
also hope that the next time she runs
for office, she gets rid of her current
strategists and hires me. It will be the
easiest paycheck I ever earn. "Let
Hillary be Hillary."
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been pressing the Administration on
its policies in the war on terror, from
wiretapping, to alleged torture, to
Guantanamo Bay detainee rights.
This new information seems like
more grist for the investigations mill,
and some committee or other is sure
to open an inquiry when Congress
returns from its President's Day
recess next week. It may also
complicate Bush Administration
efforts to get an extension of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
passed. That law lapsed last week, as
Democrats in the House refused to
bring a bipartisan Senate bill to the
floor for a vote, despite majority
support for it. With the perception
that the Bush Administration has not
been completely forthcoming about
its activities in fighting terrorism at
home and abroad, Congress will be
loathe to extend it any more powers,
or to validate previously utilized
methods.
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2 Politics *
Debate Live Wire - Dems Face Off in Texas
By Liza Porteus Viana (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 1:30:00 PM
Filed under: Hillary Clinton,
Democrats, Barack Obama, Debates,
2008 PresidentHillary Clinton and
Barack Obama faced off in Texas
tonight for the first of two debates
between the Democratic presidential
hopefuls before the March 4
primaries in two battleground states.
The debate, sponsored by CNN,
Univision and the Texas Democratic
Party, served as a good chance for
Clinton - who has lost the last 11
primaries and caucuses in a row to
Obama - to try to get back some of
her mojo. Obama sputtered a little bit
at first but gained momentum the
second round, exhibiting that
eloquent confidence his supporters
know and love. Clinton stayed strong
and got in the last word, talking about
how her personal struggles show she's
a fighter. There weren't too many
fireworks, but there was a sparkler
here and there.
8:04 p.m.: Clinton - wearing a black
pants suit - is "just delighted" to be
back in Austin, where she registered
voters as a young politico. 350,000
kids in Texas get health care every
month, because she helped start the
Children's Health Insurance Program
- vets do too. A lot's been done, but
she still wants to "take on the tough
issues that face us now."
8:09: Obama - wearing a black suit
with red tie - says he and Clinton
have been "friends before this
campaign started, we'll be friends
after this." Goes through his usual
message, adding that, "Washington is
a place where good ideas go to die"
because of the "stranglehold"
lobbyists and special interests have
on the agenda and political bickering.
So far, the two are playing nice and
not giving each other the evil eye.
8:13: Univision chief Jorge Ramos
kicks off Q&A asking whether, as
president, they would sit down with
the new Cuban president at least
once. "I would be ready to reach out
and work with a new Cuban
government" once it proves it's
willing to change, Clinton says.
Obama (who has previously said he
would meet with leaders of Cuba,
Iran, North Korea), says: "I would
meet without preconditions, but
Senator Clinton is right" in that there
should be preparations made, such as
freeing political prisoners. "I do think
it's important for the United States
not just to talk to its friends, but also
to talk to its enemies."
Some would call that "diplomacy" -
something we could probably use a
little bit more of these days.
Both quote JFK about negotiating in
fear. Clinton says U.S. needs to open
talks with Iran, says "era of
preemption and arrogance" of the
Bush administration is over.
(applause) Obama says meeting with
the American president should not be
a "privilege that has to be earned" by
foreign leaders.
8:22: How do the candidates differ in
their plan to manage the nation's
economy? Obama says you don't
need an economist or the Federal
Reserve to tell the American people
the economy is trouble, they've "been
struggling a long time." End the Bush
tax cuts, shut down tax havens,
implement good trade standards to
prevent toys with lead paint on them
from getting into our kids' mouths.
8:26: How will Clinton be ready to
tackle the economy differently from
Obama on "Day One," if elected?
Well, for one, it's time to take focus
off those upper tax-bracket citizens
and zoom in on the middle class.
"The wealthy and the well connected
for the past seven years, and I think
it's time the rest of America had a
president to work for you." CNN
moderator Campbell Brown has to
cut her off as she tries to forge ahead
to end Bush's "war on science" and
other issues.
So far, Clinton seems to be on a roll,
while Obama isn't showing us
everything he's got.
8:30: Would you put a halt to the
illegal immigration raids going on in
the U.S. if elected? Clinton would
unless an "egregious offense" is
involved. After all, kids shouldn't be
left alone when their illegal
immigrant parents are hauled away.
Promises to introduce path to
legalization within 100 days of taking
office. Obama says those who want to
stay have to pay back taxes and get to
the back of the line. Bush has been
"too obsessed with Iraq" to improve
relations with Mexico.
8:35: Would you commit to speed up
construction of the border fence or
halt it? (Both candidates voted in
favor of the fence.) "There is a smart
way to protect our borders and there
is a dumb way to protect our
borders," Clinton says, and the way
it's going now for sure is the dumb
way, putting the fence through
universities and peoples' yards. Ditto
for Obama, who adds that the U.S.
needs to pass the DREAM Act, which
would allow illegal immigrant
students to pay in-state tuition to state
colleges under certain conditions.
8:42: What about English as the
national language? Clinton says
English should be our "unifying"
language but it's "not appropriate" it
be made the official language. That
somehow discriminates against non-
English speakers. Obama says
everyone should learn English but
American students should learn a
second language.
8:46: Commercial break
8:49: Enough of this polite back-and-
forth. Does Clinton think Obama is
"all hat and no cattle?" Clinton says
she offers "solutions" to voters - just
look at her 35-year record. She was
"somewhat amused" recently when an
Obama supporter couldn't think of an
accomplishment of his (ka-pow!).
"Actions speak louder than words,
and I offer that," she says.
Your Click and Print Newspaper
8:53: Obama, starting to warm up,
fires back in the first interesting
moment of the night (he's left-
handed, by the way, and there's a fan
off-camera somewhere that keeps
blowing his notes everywhere). "I
have acted a lot" in the last 20 years,
passing ethics reform legislation,
provide tax breaks to the needy,
reform the criminal justice system, he
says. Clinton has a "fine record," but
her recent theme of "let's get real"
seems to insinuate his campaign
workers are "somehow delusional" in
thinking their man can win. "The
thinking is somehow they're being
duped," he says, but his string of wins
and endorsements of late prove
otherwise.
8:56: Time to bring up the whole
plagiarism issue we couldn't escape
this week. Clinton's camp accused
Obama of stealing a governor's words
in his speeches without due credit.
This for sure is only an issue because
Obama's stellar oratorical skills seem
to put supporters in some kind of
trance. "This is where we start getting
into silly season of politics," he says,
giving himself a pat on the back for
his "pretty good" speeches. Clinton
has weird-looking big smile on her
face now, which turns into some sort
of a grimace before she responds:
"It's not change you can believe in,
it's change you can Xerox."
9:06: Commercial break
9:10: Clinton is asked a question
about Iraq but won't let the previous
health care question go that Obama
got to answer before commercial. In
support of universal health care,
Clinton touts some ideas of John
Edwards (is that her way of trying to
get his endorsement?) Obama: Me
too! Me too! I wanna talk about
health care more. This goes back and
forth several times.
9:15: What does Clinton mean when
she says Obama doesn't have
experience to be an effective
commander-in-chief and effectively
deal with Iraq? Clinton doesn't want
to talk about him, she wants to talk
about her own experience, and about
how our embassies are being burnt
down around the world. "I am
prepared and ready on Day One." But
duhhh, Obama wouldn't be running if
he didn't think he could wear the
commander-in-chief hat, says he will
end the "poor planning" carried out
by Bush re: Iraq, takes the very
expected swipe at Clinton for giving
Bush the authorization to invade.
9:21: Is Iraq better off now because
of the surge? Clinton says Iraqi
government hasn't moved fast enough
to get on its own feet and take control
of the country while the surge is in
force. She wants plan to begin
withdrawing troops within 60 days of
taking office, stop giving those Iraqis
a "blank check." Obama, who
opposed the surge, says it will be
much easier for the candidate
opposed to invading Iraq in the first
place face off with John McCain in
the general election.
9:26: Commercial break
9:31: We're back. Little bit more
about secrecy, earmarks,
economy...(yawn)
9:35: What if the delegate-based
system produces a different nominee
than who the people want? "I think it
will sort itself out" and the Democrats
will be united heading into their
November victory, Clinton says.
Obama says he and Clinton have been
working their tail off, so the primaries
and caucuses and the will of the
voters should count. Then veers
slightly off topic about how nobody
thinks Washington listens to them.
(Hold it, isn't the writers' strike over?
Does that mean I'm missing new
episodes of "The Office" and "30
Rock" right now?)
9:38: Candidates are asked to
describe a moment of crisis in their
lives when they were the most tested.
Obama's been raised by a single
mom, worked on the South Side of
Chicago, helped further civil-rights
issues - he's a tested uniter. How does
that fare against Clinton's response?
"I think everybody here knows I've
lived through some crises and some
challenging moments in my life."
(Loud cheers, applause at how that
darn philandering husband of hers
brought her world crashing down, yet
she's still standing.) How does she
keep going every day? Those hits
she's taken are nothing to those she
says the average American faces just
to get by every day, or what that
young soldier with half of his face
disfigured from a roadside bomb is
dealing with.
9:42: Obama and Clinton share a
tender moment and shake hands when
Clinton says she's "honored" to be
here with him. Slightly awkward
moment as the candidates get a
standing ovation and appear to not
know if the debate is over. But it is,
and Clinton got the last word.
Chelsea comes out to stand with her
mom.
No big new political points really
scored by either candidate, but the
audience loved both of them. Is there
a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton
ticket in the future?
Meanwhile, a Washington Post-ABC
News poll out today shows Clinton
and Obama running neck-and-neck in
Texas (48-47 percent, respectively)
but gives the New York senator a
slight lead (50-43 percent) over her
opponent in Ohio. Read more
analysis of the poll here. A
CNN/Opinion Research Poll also
shows Clinton and Obama in a
statistical dead heat in Texas, where
193 Democratic delegates are up for
grabs. Politico offers a good story
about the challenges both candidates
face in wooing Hispanic voters there.
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Your Click and Print Newspaper Politics * 3

Times Responds to Iseman-Gate Questions

By Tommy Christopher
(Political Machine)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 9:58:00 AM

Filed under: John McCain, 2008

President, Scandal, MediaThe
implications of the New York Times'
quasi-bombshell of a story from last
night are swirling around the political
world, and The Political Machine,
like the brown part of a vat of
journalistic fudge-ripple. I, like many,
wondered on what ethical grounds
The Times published the anonymous
implication of a perception of a
romantic relationship. I posed my
questions to the New York Times'
editorial staff. More on that later.

I spoke briefly with former Edwards

campaign strategist Joe Trippi earlier
today on an unrelated matter, and he
had some interesting comments on
this story.

After the jump, I'll give you Trippi's

take, a little more background, and I'll
tell you what, if anything, the New
York Times had to say for
themselves.
First off, here's what Joe Trippi had
to say:
TC: If you were running McCain's
campaign, how would you handle this
story?

JT: Well, it doesn't seem like much of

a story. I think they're handling it just
fine. This story is such a 180 from
what the public knows about McCain
that, unless there's a lot of evidence to
back it up, they're not going to
believe it. It's sort of the reverse of
the question-planting thing for
Hillary. That didn't hurt her too much
because it kind of confirmed
something that people already
thought they knew about her.
Of course, if there ends up being
more to this story, if some kind of
proof emerges, then it's over for
McCain.
Meanwhile, (if nothing else comes
out), this could actually help McCain,
with the Republicans saying, "See,
the ultra-liberal NY Times is
smearing our guy." It could rally the
Republicans around McCain, without
hurting him with Democrats or
independents.
This assessment is certainly being
borne out so far, with nearly universal
puzzlement, if not condemnation, of
the Times article's compliance with
basic journalistic principles, and
McCain issuing a complete denial.
Of course, anti-McCain posters on
our message boards are already
conflating this with stories about
McCain's first marriage, which Jay
Allbritton detailed earlier this week.
In fact, in a case of a weird sort of
prescience, on the eve of this story,
The Political Machine ran a story
called, "The Worst You Can Say
About: John McCain", debunking
smears against the candidate, and a
Hot Seat poll entitled, "Is the media
being too soft on John McCain?"
According to Cenk Uygur, the answer
is yes, and the Times held the story
because they're fraidy-cats.
The John McCain-Vicki Iseman story
is not the first article the New York
Times has held back for political
reasons. They have now done this on
at least three occasions:
1. The original FISA story on how the
Bush administration was not getting
warrants for wiretaps inside the
United States.
2. The original story in 2004 that
showed Osama bin Laden was hiding
in Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
3. The McCain-Iseman story.
We had James Risen, the writer of
the first two stories on our show back
in 2005 and he admitted that they
held the Bin Laden story until after
the 2004 election because the New
York Times didn't want to "get
caught up in the politics of it."
Another way of stating that is that
they were afraid of being called the
liberal media by Republicans. After
decades of being chastised for being
liberal, they have become gun-shy. In
this McCain story, they also held off
until they were about to outed by
other news agencies as sitting on the
story.
A review of the Times' own
Confidential News Sources Policy
doesn't provide much cover:
Confidential sources must have direct
knowledge of the information they
are giving us - or they must be the
authorized representatives of an
authority, known to us, who has such
knowledge.
We do not grant anonymity to people
who are engaged in speculation,
unless the very act of speculating is
newsworthy and can be clearly
labeled for what it is.
I don't see how this situation
qualifies. The sources were not
speculating, they were drawing a
conclusion based on facts that they,
or The Times, did not share. Without
a named source, or specific details
corroborated by the 2 unnamed
sources, how can a reader begin to
judge the credibility of their
conclusion?
Here are the questions that I sent to
The New York Times:
I am interested to know the thought
process behind publishing the
anonymous material, which is
basically an allegation of an
allegation.
If the two sources had observed
specific behaviors that led them to
believe there was an affair, why not
print those details?
Did these sources provide those
details?
If the sources did not provide them,
what is your ethical basis for printing
that?
Why did the paper hold the story in
December, and why publish it now?
Conservative bloggers are alleging
that you released the story now to
influence the election. How do you
respond to that?
This just in, a statement from New
York Times Executive Editor Bill
Keller: On the substance, we think
the story speaks for itself. On the
timing, our policy is, we publish
stories when they are ready.
"Ready" means the facts have been
nailed down to our satisfaction, the
subjects have all been given a full and
fair chance to respond, and the
reporting has been written up with all
the proper context and caveats. This
story was no exception. It was a long
time in the works. It reached my desk
late Tuesday afternoon. After a final
edit and a routine check by our
lawyers, we published it. I guess that
all depends on what your definition of
"Ready" is. I'm glad they took the
several hours to mull over my
questions carefully and then send me
the same statement they gave
everyone else today.
Slate's Jack Shafer offers what is, in
my view, a pretty weak, and
somewhat ironic, defense of the
Times. Essentially, he likens the
piece to a sandwich, with the meat
being the story's historical view of
McCain's seeming hypocrisy on
ethics, stuffed inside a thin pita of
poorly-sourced innuendo, but the
meat makes it OK, especially in light
of McCain's self-styled image as the
ethics crusader.
So far, I've yet to encounter a single
critique that faults the article for its
portrayal of McCain's eccentric and
self-serving ideas about political
ethics. McCain thoroughly soiled
himself in the "Keating Five" savings
and loan scandal in the 1980s, which
the article accurately condenses.
Although McCain has devoted much
of his post-Keating career to the
policing of political ethics, the article
notes, he's often strayed from the path
of righteousness. When accused of
skirting ethical standards, he usually
pleads guilty in an embarrassed,
hangdog fashion, as the Times
TIMES page 4
4 Politics * Business * Tech Gadgets * Social Net *
They Liked the Kitty
By Eric Schulzke (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 1:40:00 PM
Filed under: John McCain, 2008
President, ScandalThe Times is
"standing by" its story about the
rumor about the supposition that John
McCain might have crossed the
"appearance of impropriety" line in
the eyes of some of his aides eight
years ago. Seriously. But then, how
could we disprove -- and they disown
-- a story that didn't assert anything. It
had no facts.
I'm listening to NPR this afternoon,
and I learn that the NY Times is
"sticking by it's story." And I'm
thinking, what story? I read that story
this morning over my breakfast and
just laughed. And listening the Times'
editor trying to explain what the story
was about on NPR this afternoon was
no less amusing. The gist of his
response was that even though this
was a nonstory about nonevents and a
nonscandal, we shouldn't let the
absence of facts or substance cloud
the real is issue which, he assures us,
Dallas, We Have a
Problem
By David Knowles (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 4:20:00 AM
Filed under: Democrats, Barack
ObamaThere's one historical
comparison that Barack Obama isn't
eager to have made between himself
and John F. Kennedy. It regards what
happened in Dallas back in 1963,
when the president rode through town
in a convertible. On Wednesday,
Barack Obama was himself in Dallas
for another huge rally. Just as in '63,
security was, let us say, less than
stellar:
Security details at Barack Obama's
rally Wednesday stopped screening
people for weapons at the front gates
more than an hour before the
Democratic presidential candidate
took the state at Reunion Arena. The
order to put down the metal detectors
and stop checking purses and laptop
bags came as a surprise to several
Bust a Move for Freedom
By Christopher Weber (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 1:59:00 PM
Filed under: President Bush, Humor,
Viral VideoWar, ethnic unrest,
scandal, stagflation, a contentious
election ... sometimes the world can
seem like a bleak place. Which is
why every once in a while it's good to
cast off your cares and just...
Wall-E GameCube mod melts our hearts, makes us want
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 1:58:00 AM
Filed under: Gaming
Without question we've seen
GameCube mods more extravagant
than this, but until something even
goes had a much deeper and more
"subtle" meaning .... So deep, so
subtle that he couldn't quite say what
it was -- even for the NPR audience
which, presumably, could handle a
little subtlety, eh?
I was reminded of the Seinfeld
cartoon episode, where Elaine
deconstructs the New Yorker cartoon
for their editor:(Elaine shows him the
cartoon)
MR. ELINOFF: Oh! yeah... That's a
rather clever jab at inter office
politics don't you think.
ELAINE: Ahan, Ahan....yeah...Euh
but, Why is it that the, that the
animals enjoy reading the email?
MR. ELINOFF: Well Miss Benes .
Cartoons are like gossamer and one
doesn't dissect gossamer. heh..hemm..
ELAINE: Well you don't have to
dissect if you can just tell me. Why
this is suppose to be funny?
MR. ELINOFF: Ha! It's merely a
Dallas police officers who said they
believed it was a lapse in security.
So why did the detail drop the ball?
Dallas Deputy police Chief T.W.
Lawrence explains:
"Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if
he was concerned by the great
number of people who had gotten into
the building without being checked.
But, he added the turnout of more
than 17,000 people seemed to be a
"friendly crowd."
Interviewed on 60 Minutes, Michelle
Obama was asked whether she
worried about her husband being
assassinated in the campaign. "I don't
lose sleep over it," she said. Her full
response can be viewed here.
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DANCE! You can take your cue from
President Bush, who was in Liberia
promising U.S. aid to rebuild the war-
torn country. After all the dry
diplomacy, W got his groove on. Call
it the Funky Lame Duck:
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more adorable comes to light, we're
definitely giving the "Most
Heartwarming" badge to this here
creation. The Wall-E GameCube mod
was inspired by the character in
Disney's upcoming film (titled Wall-
E, of all things), and hours upon
hours of TLC were clearly poured
Your Click and Print Newspaper
commentary on contemporary mores.
(slides the magazine to her)
ELAINE: But, what is the comment.
(she slides the magazine back to him)
MR. ELINOFF: It's a slice of life.
ELAINE: No it isn't.
MR. ELINOFF: Pun?
ELAINE: I don,t think so.
MR. ELINOFF: Vorshtein?
ELAINE: That's not a word.....You
have no idea what this means do you?
MR. ELINOFF: No.
ELAINE: Then why did you print it.
MR. ELINOFF: I liked the kitty.
Permalink | Email this | Linking
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TIMES
continued from page 3
anecdote about a political fundraiser
held for his 2000 presidential
campaign points out. That might hold
water with any other publication but
one that calls itself The Paper of
Record. Plus, without the sexy-time
Pita, there isn't much of a current
news angle, is there? What's that
called, when you throw a splashy,
sensational headline on a nothing
story? Amber Transcriptionism?
I am not one to revel in the Times'
misfortune. Most of the media types
Starbucks to cut 600 jobs
By Michael Rainey
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:12:00 AM
Filed under: Starbucks (SBUX),
EmployeesHoward Schultz's effort to
shake up ailing Starbucks (NASDAQ:
SBUX) took an unpleasant turn
today, at least if you're an employee
at the company's headquarters. The
coffee giant announced that it will cut
600 jobs at its headquarters in Seattle
as part of Schultz's "transformation
agenda." About 220 of the job cuts
will involve layoffs, while the
remaining positions will simply go
unfilled.
If you're an investor, this may be a bit
of good news. Investors typically love
layoffs, since they reduce costs and,
perhaps more importantly, send a
signal that management is serious and
in control. However, investor reaction
into this concoction. We know you're
7 Tools For Automatic
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Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:43:19 AM
It doesn’t matter what operating
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throwing stones at the Times are
doing so from within their own Ivory-
reinforced Glass Towers. Journalism
isn't what it used to be. The Times
owes us, and itself, a better
explanation. I look forward to hearing
it.
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has been muted so far, with the stock
trading flat at $17.84 on Friday
morning. It may be that 600 jobs is
not a significant number given the
company's total of over 170,000
workers.
Apparently the news of the layoffs
arrived via email. Schulz has been
sending a series of messages titled
"Howard Schultz Transformation
Agenda Communication," and the job
cuts were announced in part seven in
the series. Previous installments
included plans to eliminate breakfast
sandwiches, close some stores, and
hold a company-wide training session
for all barristas.
Somehow, I doubt that Starbucks
employees are looking forward to the
next email.Read | Permalink | Email
this | Comments
eager for more angles of those eyes,
so hit up the read link to get what
you're after.
[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
Read | Permalink | Email this |
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
Obama's Action Speaks, Too
By David Knowles (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 1:39:00 AM
Filed under: Democrats, Barack
Obama, Featured Stories, 2008
President
"Barack Obama is all talk, no action."
That phrase, and all its many
variations, has become a bumper-
sticker of sorts in our current
campaign. It's meant to forward a
perception of Obama in contrast to
that of his rivals, Hillary Clinton and
John McCain. While the former
writes the songs that make the young
girls cry, the latter two have actually
done things that have helped peoples'
lives. You encounter this sentiment
on message boards across the
country. Obama makes pretty
speeches, the thinking goes, but
doesn't offer real solutions.
An examination of Obama's time in
both the Illinois Legislature and the
Nasdaq (NDAQ) wants to list 'blank
check' companies
By Douglas McIntyre
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:53:00 AM
Filed under: Deals, Launches,
NASDAQ
"Blank check" companies are created
as shells with capital but no operating
business. Their purpose it to shop for
firms that they can buy and operate.
These corporations are also known as
SPAC for special acquisition
companies.
According toThe Wall Street Journal
[subscription required], "Last year,
SPACs accounted for nearly a quarter
United States Senate, however, does
not exactly show a man who spends
all of his time writing Manillow-
inspired poetry.
In an earlier piece, I compared the
legislation that both Clinton and
Obama proposed in 2007. Hilzoy,
writing at The Daily Dish, goes even
deeper into what has kept Mr. Obama
busy in Congress. Further
information on Obama's record in the
Senate can be found at
Congresspedia. Indeed, if you
actually take the time to examine
what bills he's worked on, his tenure
in the Senate stacks up favorably in
comparison to that of Clinton and
McCain.
The "empty" words knock on Obama
stems from a phenomenon in politics
known as "attack your oponent's
strength." Because Obama gives
really good speeches, Clinton decided
to try and diminish them with a
of all IPOs in the U.S., according to
Dealogic, and the Amex was the go-
to listing location for nearly all of
them." Now Nasdaq (NASDAQ:
NDAQ) wants a shot at allowing
SPAC listings as well.
SPACs has been put together by
several LBO and investment firms to
be used to make buyouts down the
road. That would allow the operating
companies to be publicly traded right
away. But, trading them on stock
markets before they buy real
businesses is a bad idea even if it
gives the SPAC owners an edge on
getting to the public market.
Politics * Business *
flimsy plagiarism charge. Judging
from the boos in the audience at last
night's democratic debate, that hasn't
gone over too well.
My advice to voters is simple. Go
look up the legislative priorities of
each Senator. The good people at
Project Vote Smart have made it
easy.
Here's Hillary Clinton's record.
Here's Barack Obama's.
And here's John McCain's.
It's a pretty laborious process, which
explains why campaign speeches tend
toward general (and, yes,
inspirational) themes. If you take the
time to slog through the actual record,
I think you'll find three candidates
who are much more than mere words.
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Trading in SPACs is trading in a
phantom. Investors have no way to
know what the SPAC will buy or
even if it will ever buy a real
business, forcing it to return money to
investors. It is a form of gambling
being encouraged by the exchanges.
Hopefully, the Feds won't let the
Nasdaq get into the business. It will
just create one more risky and poorly
understood financial instrument
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at
247wallst.com. Read | Permalink |
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5
Hillary
Downplays
Ohio Stakes
By Dave (Political Machine)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 10:18:00 AM
Filed under: Hillary Clinton,
Democrats, Mike Huckabee, 2008
President
Hillary Clinton was in Columbus and
gave an interview to Joe Hallet of the
Dispatch:
Sen. Hillary Clinton last night said
she does not view Ohio as a must-win
firewall to keep Sen. Barack Obama
from winning the Democratic
presidential nomination.
"I really don't think about it like that,"
Clinton told The Dispatch following a
35-minute speech to 2,600 in Ohio
State University's French Field
House.
You have to admit, that when you've
lost nine out of the last ten primaries
(or is it ten now?) that not thinking in
terms of winning and losing is a great
strategy for keeping your enthusiasm
up.
But someone ought to tell her that she
really should start winning an
election now and then. You never
know when you might need some
delegates at the convention.
In fact I think were close narrowing
in on the point when this "too cool for
school" attitude of hers makes her
into a laughingstock. Oh wait, we've
already passed that point. Yes, it is
indeed time to call Ohio and Texas
what it really is:
Hillary's Alamo.
I got a kick out of another part of the
interview:
"I really think the people of Ohio get
me and get what I'm about," Clinton
said. "We're practical people. I'm
from the Midwest. It's kind of like,
'Show me what you're going to do.'
The best way to tell what somebody
will do is to find out what they have
done. There is a big difference
between speeches and solutions and
talk and action."
No, that would be Missouri, and it's
about two states over. This is the
Buckeye state. But is she a Reds or a
Indians fan, because it's time she
expanded from being both a Yankees
and Cubs fan.
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6 Business *
No buyers for Motorola's Analyst upgrades: WMB,
(MOT) handset business KRC and DVAX
By Douglas McIntyre
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:27:00 AM
Filed under: Deals, Bad news,
Motorola (MOT)
A funny thing happened on Motorola
(NYSE: MOT)'s way to selling its
handset business. No one offered to
buy it [subscription required]. The
logical candidates are firms like LG
and Sony-Ericsson that are already in
the business. Credit markets are
probably keeping private equity
interests away.
Etta Kidron, an analyst at
Oppenheimer & Co, told The Wall
Street Journal, "I think going public
with its intentions hasn't made it
easier to find a solution and has
raised doubts about Motorola's
commitment to the business."
Analyst downgrades: UEIC,
The lack of buyers may leave
Motorola management in the odd
Analyst initiations: GMXR, BMR and AHCI
By Eric Buscemi
GBCI and BRO
By Eric Buscemi
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 4:15:00 AM
Filed under: Analyst initiationsMOST
NOTEWORTHY: GMX Resources,
Glacier Bancorp and Brown and
Brown were today's noteworthy
initiations:
• Jefferies initiated GMX Resources
(NASDAQ: GMXR) with a Buy
rating and $40 target and believes the
company's valuation discount to its
NAV will narrow as management
refocuses its efforts on its base Cotton
Valley development program.
• Glacier Bancorp (NASDAQ:
GBCI) was assumed with a Neutral
rating and $20 target at B. Riley, as
they think bank multiples are unlikely
to rise much further, given the
ongoing problems in the housing
Is Senator Clinton a good
manager?
By Peter Cohan
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:40:00 AM
Filed under: Politics
Senator Clinton has touted herself as
someone who excels at the "prose" of
governing -- not the "poetry" of
campaigning. So as someone who
voted for Barack Obama in the
Massachusetts primary, I was
interested in the New York Times
reports that her use of campaign
funds indicate a pattern of poor
resource allocation. This evidence
undercuts her claims of management
competence.
Here are some notable examples of
mismanagement of the $106 million
Clinton has raised so far:
• $100,000 went for party platters
and groceries before the Iowa
position of having to turn around an
operation that it does not want. The
company's market share in handsets
has dropped from almost 22%
worldwide to 12%. The market is
taking Motorola's stock down further
because it is concerned that fixing the
unit could take years. This is, of
course, if it can be fixed at all.
Motorola's shares, which traded
around $16 in December, are just
over $11 now. If management wants
the stock to recover, it will have to go
to Wall Street with a plan for fixing
the handset operation. The plan may
face long odds and may mean more
quarters of losses, but investors
would at least like to know that the
largest part of Motorola is not adrift.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at
247wallst.com. Read | Permalink |
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market and continued deterioration in
credit quality.
• Brown and Brown (NYSE: BRO)
was initiated with a Buy rating and
$23 at Suntrust. The firm believes
softness in the insurance market is
now reflected in valuation.
OTHER INITIATIONS:
• Stephens assumed Online
Resources (NASDAQ: ORCC) with
an Overweight rating and $13 target.
• W.R. Berkley (NYSE: BER) was
initiated with a Market Perform rating
and $34 target at Keefe Bruyette.
• Morgan Keegan initiated Finisar
(NASDAQ: FNSR) with an
Outperform rating.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
caucuses which Obama won;
• $275,000 to Sunrise
Communications, a South Carolina
firm that was supposed to turn out
black voters for her and collected
nearly $800,000 in total. Obama won
South Carolina;
• $25,000 spent at the Bellagio
luxury hotel in Las Vegas and another
$5,000 the Four Seasons there -- She
won the vote there but received fewer
delegates than Obama; and
• $5 million spent on top consultants
in January, a month of crucial
expenses and tough fund-raising.
Continue reading Is Senator Clinton a
good manager?Permalink | Email this
| Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
By Eric Buscemi
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:50:00 AM
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and
downgradesMOST NOTEWORTHY:
Williams, Kilroy Realty and Dynavax
Tech were today's noteworthy
upgrades:
• RBC upgraded shares of Williams
(NYSE: WMB) to Outperform from
Sector Perform to reflect their
expectation for three years of double-
digit production growth in the
company's E&P business.
• Kilroy Realty (NYSE: KRC) was
upgraded to Outperform from Neutral
as they believe the current valuation
does not reflect the company's pure
asset value.
• Oppenheimer upgraded shares of
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 4:03:00 AM
Filed under: Analyst upgrades and
downgrades, Best Buy (BBY)MOST
NOTEWORTHY: Universal
Electronics, BioMed Realty Trust and
Allied Healthcare were today's
noteworthy downgrades:
• Deutsche Bank downgraded
Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:
UEIC) to Hold from Buy following
the company's disappointing
guidance.
• Baird downgraded shares of
BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE: BMR)
to Neutral from Outperform and
lowered their target to $26 as they
Economist expects China's
2008 inflation to exceed
official 4.8% limit
By Joseph Lazzaro
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:38:00 AM
Filed under: Forecasts, ChinaChina's
government said it hopes to limit
inflation to 4.8% this year, but said it
could have trouble doing so after
January 2008 snowstorms worsened
food shortages, the Associated Press
reported Friday.
The storms, which disrupted food
ships, might keep inflation high in
February 2008, said Zhou Wenjun, an
official of the cabinet's National
Development and Reform
Commission, The AP reported. Prices
increased at annualized rate of 7.1%
Dynavax Tech (NASDAQ: DVAX)
to Outperform from Perform as they
expect positive phase III results for
Heplisav around mid-2008, driving
shares higher.
OTHER UPGRADES:
• UBS raised Linear Tech
(NASDAQ: LLTC) and Nalco
Holding (NYSE: NLC) to Buy from
Neutral.
• JP Morgan raised its rating on
Verenium (NASDAQ: VRNM) to
Neutral from Underweight.
• Discover (NYSE: DFS) was
upgraded to Overweight from
Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
believe shares are fairly valued.
• Allied Healthcare (NASDAQ:
AHCI) was cut to Market Perform
from Outperform at Friedman
Billings following the lower-than-
expected Q1 results.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
• Merrill Lynch downgraded Fannie
Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac
(NYSE: FRE) to Sell from Neutral.
• Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) was cut to
Underweight from Equal Weight at
Morgan Stanley.
• Vital Images (NASDAQ: VTAL)
was downgraded to Hold from Buy at
Deutsche Bank.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
in January 2008.
CPI goal: 'good luck'
Economist David H. Wang told
BloggingStocks Friday that China's
effort is admirable, but structural and
monetary policy factors will make it
nearly impossible to hold inflation to
the government's stated objective.
(Wang lived in China for more than
20 years before moving to the United
States for graduate school; he still
studies China's economy.)
Continue reading Economist expects
China's 2008 inflation to exceed
official 4.8% limitPermalink | Email
this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Intermec (IN): Shares define
bullish 'flag'
By Larry Schutts
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:06:00 AM
Filed under: Earnings reports,
Motorola (MOT), Technical
Analysis, Stocks to Buy
Intermec (NYSE: IN) is engaged in
the design, development, manufacture
and integration of wired and wireless
identification, data collection, mobile
computing, bar code printing, and
labeling products and systems. Its
scanners, readers and sensors are used
by customers involved with
distribution, warehousing,
manufacturing and retailing. The firm
also serves government clients.
Google heads to the moon
By Michael Rainey
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:25:00 AM
Filed under: Launches, Google
(GOOG), Marketing and
advertisingAlready dominating life
here on earth, Google Inc.
(NASDAQ: GOOG) is now making
plans to conquer outer space too.
Google announced the Google Lunar
X Prize yesterday at its headquarters
in Mountain View, California. The
competition offers $30 million in
prizes to anyone who can get a robot
to the moon and send back pictures
and other data.
According to an article in Friday's
GeForce 9 roadmap revealed,
9800 GX2 due March 11th?
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:40:00 AM
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming
The new budget-friendly 9600 GT
(pictured) already has plenty of folks
excited, but that's just the tip of the
iceberg. NVIDIA's new GeForce 9-
series has a top-end 9800 GX2 card
slated for March 11th -- if these
rumors are to be believed -- that is
supposed to best the 8800 Ultra's
performance by a solid 30 percent.
The card is supposed to land for less
than $599, but if that's a bit much for
you, the 9800 GTX should hit for
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is a major
competitor.
Intermec pleased the Street earlier in
the month, when it reported Q4 EPS
of 27 cents and revenues of $253
million. Analysts had been expecting
23 cents and $236.2 million. The
CEO noted that it was a record
revenue quarter, with growth across
all geographic regions. Management
also guided Q1 EPS to 10-13 cents
(10 cent consensus) and Q1 revenues
to $208-$213 million ($203.67M
consensus).
Continue reading Intermec (IN):
Shares define bullish 'flag'Permalink |
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New York Times, 10 teams have
joined the competition. The teams
include robotic experts from
American universities, an Italian
aerospace company, the Aeronautics
and Cosmonautics Romanian
Association, and a group of engineers
who will work together online.
Continue reading Google heads to the
moonRead | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
under $399 in "late March," with the
9800 GT following on April 3rd for
under $299. If all of this is too much
horsepower for you, the 9600 GS,
9500 GT and 9500 GS are slated to
arrive in May, June and July,
respectively, and all should hit at
under the 9600 GT's already friendly
sub-$200 pricepoint. AMD's latest
offerings are pretty dang cheap as
well, and aren't slouching in the
benchmarks, so it's certainly a good
time to be a PC gamer.
Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
Business * Tech Gadgets * Technology *
Optimus Maximus: at
long last, we bring one
home to test
By Ryan Block (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 4:06:00 AM
Filed under: Displays, Features,
Peripherals
It's the damndest thing: years after
seeing the renders we're actually
finally writing this post on our very
own Optimus Maximus. We've had
ours for a few weeks for testing, but
we weren't able to do a whole lot with
it until we got some later firmware
updates. Here's the preliminary
report:
• The OLED displays look really
good, and are bright and colorful, just
like we'd hoped.
• Key changes were instant (or
almost) in Windows mode, but had a
slight delay in Mac mode, where
some key bindings were also little out
of whack. These are known issues,
though, and are being worked on.
• The keyboard itself is friggin
massive, and very sturdy-feeling. The
thing is a tank.
• Typing on it, well, sucks. We kind
of hate to say it, but this thing more
than likely won't replace what ever
keyboard you're writing your novel
on -- it's better off used as an
absurdly configurable swiss army
knife for tasks like gaming,
Photoshop, or just about any other
productivity app that doesn't require a
500 Million Downloads of Firefox
(almost)
By Michael Arrington
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 5:51:38 PM
The Firefox browser has been
downloaded nearly 500 million times,
says their SpreadFirefox website.
Parent organization Mozilla is
celebrating by raising 500 million
grains of rice on FreeRice. That, says
Mozilla, is enough to feed 25,000
people for a day.
Earlier this month we reported that
Firefox 3, beta version 3, had been
released. The browser has around
7
lot of typing.
• Okay, why does typing on the
Optimus suck, you ask? Well,
although the keyboard uses
mechanical switches and a lot of high
quality components (evident when we
pulled off some keys), and there is
some clicky tactility to keypresses, as
a whole it just requires way too much
force to depress keys. And the larger
the key, the more force is required, so
enter is easier than space, but harder
than tab. Let's put it this way, we sit
around and type all day long and this
thing wore us out in about 30 seconds
to a minute. Carpal sufferers, beware.
• The Configurator is everything we
hoped it'd be and more. The ability to
paint directly onto the keyboard maps
with the image editor of your choice
is most excellent. Mapping keyboards
to applications and conditions is
ridiculously easy. Not everything was
working properly though, since we
were testing early beta software.
We'll have some video in a bit. We so
can't wait for people to start getting
their keyboards so we can benefit
from their wacky layouts.
Gallery: Optimus Maximus: at long
last, we bring one home
Permalink | Email this | Comments
17% market share worldwide and 150
million active users.CrunchBase
InformationFirefoxInformation
provided by CrunchBase
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool
over the sexiest new gadgets and
hardware.
8 Tech Gadgets *
When good toys go bad X:
Elmo makes death threats to
toddler
By Joshua Topolsky
(Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:48:00 AM
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Sure, it seemed like after the years of
hard drinking, petty crime, and run-
ins with the law, Elmo had cleaned up
his act -- but a shocking report out of
Tampa Bay, Florida, says otherwise.
A two-year-old's life has been turned
upside down by vicious talk coming
from his favorite toy, Elmo Knows
Your Name. It seems that after a
recent battery change, the PC-
interfacing doll began spouting death
threats of "kill James" at the toddler,
with seemingly no explanation as to
how the new phrase entered his
vocabulary. The situation came to a
Trucker blindly follows GPS,
gets wedged in farm lane
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 1:36:00 AM
Filed under: GPS, Transportation
At first glance, we seriously assumed
that we had mentioned this exact
same story before. Turns out, one
particular Maxi Haulage driver
doesn't tune into Engadget, as he
pulled the exact same trick in
(almost) the same circumstances.
Reportedly, this timber haul was cut
short as the driver followed his
personal GPS system down a "farm
lane" suitable only for (presumably
head when the boy's mother heard her
son repeating the twisted suggestion.
Of course, what she didn't hear was
Elmo's other threat: that he would
"cut anyone who crossed [him] end-to
-end with a Bowie knife," and, "dine
on their internal organs." Fisher Price
says it has a team of experts working
on the case, and enough tranquilizer
darts to put Elmo down, "For good."
[Thanks, Jordan]
Read - Toddler's Elmo Doll Makes
Death Threats, Family Says
Read - Video of Elmo making death
threats
Permalink | Email this | Comments
small) tractors, and needless to say,
the 45-foot vehicle has been wedged
ever since. Additionally, the owner of
the property is quite irate, as the
mishap is forcing her to drive an extra
two miles until rescue arrives. Still,
the motorist did cruise right by a sign
noting that the upcoming road was
unfit for heavy goods vehicles, so at
least the sat nav can't take all of the
blame this go 'round.
[Thanks, Carl H.]
Read | Permalink | Email this |
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
LG's 13.3-inch P300 arrives in
Europe, Americans beg a little
more
By Darren Murph (Engadget) dual-layer DVD writer and a couple
Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:19:00 AM
of USB 2.0 ports to boot. For those
already head over heels for the
Filed under: Laptops design, you can lay down €1,599
($2,350) right now to claim your own
As expected, South Koreans got their -- just don't rub it in too much, okay?
hands around LG's stylish P300 a
good while back, and while [Thanks, Aido]
Americans just knew it was headed
stateside in short order, it looks like
Europe has received the nod for Gallery: LG's 13.3-inch P300 arrives
second dibs. The LED-backlit 13.3- in Europe, Americans beg a little
incher reportedly packs an Intel more
T8300 processor (yeah, that's
Penryn), 3GB of DDR2 RAM, an Read | Permalink | Email this |
NVIDIA graphics set, 802.11n WiFi, Comments
Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera,
LG halts sale of Z1-AE007 laptop,
suspects defective battery
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:01:00 AM
Filed under: LaptopsIt's not like LG
hasn't had issues with its batteries
before, and even after confirming that
they were unquestionably safe just
last week, the firm has suddenly
removed its Z1-AE007 from the
market after suspecting that faulty
batteries may be included.
Reportedly, one of said models
"caught fire" in Seoul and
presumably startled the graduate
student who owned it, but a company
shoving every ounce of blame as far
as humanly possible away from LG.
spokesperson stopped short of
[Via FarEastGizmos]
proclaiming that a recall was in order.
Furthermore, the individual noted that Read | Permalink | Email this |
"the matter should be consulted with Comments
the battery maker," essentially
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Momenta necklace captures
life's best, worst moments
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 1:14:00 AM
Filed under: Wearables
Oh sure, there's a multitude of head-
mounted cameras out there for devout
lifebloggers to snap up and wear, but
we're guessing the world looks a bit
different when you're scaring
everyone off while waltzing down the
street. Granted, the Momenta
necklace isn't a whole lot more
attractive, but at least it's a touch less
noticeable. This concept would
reportedly capture anything and
TN Games' impact-generating FPS Vest
goes on sale
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:22:00 AM
Filed under: Gaming, Wearables
Are you a hardcore gamer? No,
seriously -- a hardcore gamer. If so,
you should have no qualms throwing
down $169 for TN Games' FPS Vest
now that it's available for order. The
entire bundle includes an "impact-
generating" wearable, an air
compressor, USB cable, power
supply and copies of 3rd Space
Incursion and Call of Duty 2 for PC.
Just don't wander too far outside of
your house with this thing on, alright?
Congrats on 500 Million,
Firefox, But Isn’t It Time to
Stop Counting?
By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 12:19:38 AM
SpreadFirefox claims that Firefox has
been downloaded 500 million times;
to celebrate the event, they’re raising
raising 500,000,000 grains of rice to
help feed the world’s poor. It’s all
nice and dandy, and being a long-
time Firefox (and before it, Mozilla)
user, I’ve also been anxiously
following their progress…up to a
point.
Right now, I think they should stop
counting downloads and start talking
everything that happened in front of
the wearer, and when it detects a
sudden jump in heart rate, it'll log
everything that happened five
minutes prior and continue rolling
until you tell it to halt. Kind of
freaky, sure, but capturing the faces
of folks who see you wearing this
thing for the first time would
undoubtedly be worth the price of
admission.
[Via Tech Digest]
Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
[Via CNET]
Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
about market share. Downloads are
pointless at this stage - who knows
how many people are downloading
Firefox for the first time, and how
many are simply downloading the
new version, or installing it on a new
computer? At the beginning, it was a
great measurement of (then brand
new and relatively unknown) the
browser’s popularity, but right now,
they should start celebrating market
share gains - 20, 30, 40%. Yeah, I
know it’s harder.
ShareThis
Tech Gadgets * Technology * Social Net *
Sharp develops "world's smallest"
1seg TV tuner
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:45:00 AM
Filed under: HDTV, Portable Video
Do you ever wonder just how realistic
allthese coin / hand / White House-to-
miniscule item comparison shots are?
We certainly do, and while the ¥1
coin seen above could be the size of a
frisbee for all we know (we jest, we
jest), we suppose we'll believe Sharp
when it says its latest 1seg tuner is
indeed the world's smallest. The
VA3A5JZ922 checks in at just 5.9- x
Cloudo: The Pretty
WebOS Formerly
Known As Xindesk
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 4:02:54 AM
Cloudo is the new Xindesk and looks
like shaping up to be a good looking
WebOS, if and when it launches.
Cloudo was previously part of
Xindesk, a company that was
promising a WebOS and Widget
platform that we’ve mentioned in
passing previously. The widget
platform is now known as “Widget
Plus” with the WebOS taking the
Cloudo name.
Cloudo offers standard fare in terms
of a WebOS, including file hosting,
virtual desktop widgets, applications,
email and contact management and
eventually a full suite of programs
you’d expect from a regular desktop
Operating System. Where it excels is
in appearance; offerings like
AjaxWindows have a touch of ugly
about them, Jooce and EyeOS try to
be original. Cloudo gets the visuals
right first time around, with a high
quality visually appealing standard
layout. Better still, if you don’t like it,
Cloudo comes complete with a big
range of themes, including other
operating systems including various
flavors of Windows, Mac and Linux
so users can make themselves feel
right at home.
9
5.9- x 0.9-millimeters -- about 35-
percent smaller than competitors --
and should cost around ¥20,000
($185) when samples start shipping
out next week. Don't get too excited
just yet, however, as mass production
isn't slated to get going until late
September.
[Via PMPToday]
Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
I remember the first time I saw
Cloudo when it was Xindesk and I
was impressed then, but here in lies
the problem. There was mention of
Xindesk soon launching in the
comments on this post in February
2007. When I first was pitched
Xindesk in the middle of last year I
was told it would be ready by the end
of 2007, early 2008. Cloudo’s current
status: they’re inviting more people
into the alpha this week and its
current release schedule has it being
ready to open its doors in the last
quarter of 2008. This is a product
with potential that if it gets off the
ground could well convert people to
the cloud, however we might all get
significantly older waiting for the
launch, and Cloudo could be passed
function wise and aesthetically by
more nimble competitors while we
are waiting.
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10 Technology *
Extend Your Brain With Evernote (Private Beta
Invites)
By Erick Schonfeld
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 3:11:04 PM
We are all dealing with information
overload. Some of the most useful
Web startups are the ones that help us
deal with the never-ceasing flow of
data washing over us every day.
Evernote is one of those startups. A
Windows version of Evernote has
been around for a few years, but it is
now releasing a Web version in
private beta, as well as a new
Windows client, mobile software
clients for Windows Mobile and
PocketPC phones, and a mobile Web
version. (A Mac client and mobile
clients for Java phones, iPhones, and
Android phones are in the works).
The first 200 TechCrunch readers to
sign up here can try it out before its
more general release in March.
In the words of CEO Phil Libin, “The
main idea of Evernote is to create an
external brain.” Evernote lets you
highlight any portion of a Web page
and clip it, or take a picture with your
camera phone and send it to your PC
or the Web. Each of these digital
“notes” is archived and can be
searched, including any words (even
handwritten ones) visible in those
pictures. For instance, you can search
for “crazy milk sake” and all the
pictures of sake bottles will come up,
with the the word “crazy,” “milk,”
and “sake” highlighted in yellow.
(You can watch a video demo here)
Evernote has raised $9 million all
from angel investors ($6 million in
March 2006, and another $3 million
in September 2007). It is looking to
raise its first venture round of about
$10 million. Tech luminary Esther
Dyson and Slide founder Max
Levchin are board members. The
software is free for up to 5 GB of
storage. The company hopes to make
money by charging for premium
services that will include more
storage and priority access to the
filtering and image-recognition
Gamers, Prepare To Raptr
By Michael Arrington
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 10:56:47 PM
Tomorrow at the Game Developers
Conference in San Francisco,
attendees will get a peak at Dennis
“Thresh” Fong’s newest startup -
Raptr. It’s being demo’d as part of the
Charles River/GDC launchpad event
in the afternoon.
Raptr has both desktop software and
web service components. The client
keeps PC-based games completely up
to date behind the scenes - patches,
updates, etc. are downloaded
automatically. This is very similar to
Steam, which keeps Valve games
updated - although from what we hear
technologies that power the site.
The company was founded by
computer scientist Stepan Pachikov,
who created the handwriting-
recognition software that is in every
Tablet PC. He created an even more
sophisticated handwriting-recognition
system for Evernote. (There is a
Soviet expat connection here—Libin
and Pachikov were born in Russia,
and Levchin was born in the
Ukraine). Levchin tells me what drew
him to the startup:
The cool thing about Evernote is that
as time passes it becomes inevitably
more useful to its users in more than
one dimension. As you age, the
collection of memories not only
grows, it automatically becomes
harder to recall, so Evernote grows in
value both with and without a user’s
active involvement. That, and the
handwriting recognition tech is
awesome.
The handwriting-recognition
capabilities are pretty amazing. Go
try it out on this public Evernote page
I created. Type in “Venetian” and it
will find a photo of Libin holding up
a CES ticket with a Post-it note that
says “Stay at the Venetian” in
cursive. Type in “auto collision” or
“crazy milk sake” and you’ll get other
impressive results. “This image
technology is the only one that can
pull out information from poor
quality incidental images,” claims
Libin.
Once the software is installed on your
phone, you can go around taking
pictures of business cards, name tags,
receipts, signs, hand-written notes,
and it automatically sends it to
Evernote where it all becomes
searchable. You can take pictures of
Raptr will support at least a thousand
games from all different developers
out of the gate. The website, at
Raptr.com, will pull in gaming data
from the Raptr client and will include
a social network around friends, stats,
games, groups and other content. The
website will also include a news feed
of what all your friends are up to.
That’s all I know about the service
for now. I should have more
tomorrow. The launch date is still
months away. The company is also
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people too and other things that don’t
contain words, and Evertnote will
geotag them if your phone supports
that. You can also manually tag any
image or note on Evernote. Says
Libin:
This is a new use case for my camera
phone, anytime I want to remember
something I snap a picture. I wind up
taking pictures of receipts. That is
how I do my expenses.
It is also a new behavior that won’t
come naturally to many people.
People might look at you strangely if
you insist on taking a picture of every
single person in a meeting with your
camera phone and their business
cards. But I’ve seen people do
stranger things in meetings. I could
see Evernote being used incidentally
at first and then the habit growing
over time.
Evernote is not just about your phone.
It is also about things you find on the
Web. The desktop client and Web
app come with a Web clipper that lets
you add a portion of any Web page
by simply highlighting it and clicking
on a button on your browser. Every
note gets stored chronologically, can
be tagged separately, and organized
into different “notebooks.”
Notebooks are private by
default—they are primarily for your
memories, after all—but any
notebook can be made public as a
Website or RSS feed. A widget tool
also will soon be released to make it
easy to syndicate notes and notebooks
across the Web with thumbnails and
image search (Levchin made sure of
that). Facebook and OpenSocial apps
are also coming soon that will let
members share notes with selected
friends and embed widgets on their
personal pages.
rumored to have closed, or be closing,
a significant round of funding.
Dennis Fong, who’s 30, is one of the
world’s top gamers. He cofounded
Xfire, a freeware instant messaging
service targeted at gamers, in 2003. In
2006 it was acquired by Viacom for
$102 million. Fong is also an advisor
to WeGame, which we covered last
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Further down the road, Pachikov is
working on image-recognition
technology that can identify different
image types and facial emotions.
Theoretically, you will be able to
look for a picture of your son in a
happy mood, or your wife in an angry
one. That technology is still an R&D
project, but as Evernote evolves there
will be more and more ways to search
through your memories. There are
other Web clipping services out there
like Kaboodle and other Web-based
organizers of personal data like
Twine, but nothing that quite
approaches the problem the same way
that Evernote does.
The big challenge for Evernote is
whether it can make the jump from
being a desktop note-taking tool to a
true Web-based extension of people’s
memories. The software still feels too
personal, without enough hooks or
APIs to other services. The company
is working on APIs so that other sites
can take advantage of its image
search technology, as well as
integration with blogging platforms to
make it easy to publish notes to your
blog. That is all great. But I have one
more request. It should go the other
way as well. I should be able to
combine my personal and public
memories in one place—my blog
posts, my Flickr photos, my Twitters.
I should be able to store (and search)
all of those in my Evernote. Right
now, the only way you can do that is
by clipping each blog post, Twitter,
or Flickr photo manually. It wouldn’t
be too hard to accept feeds as well.
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Apple Patent For Customized
Podcasts
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 9:13:34 PM
Apple filed a patent January 9 that
describes a method for automatically
creating customized podcast mashups
from various podcasts.
Here’s the Abstract on the Patent
from Apple
Improved techniques to facilitate
generation, management and delivery
of personalized media items for users
are disclosed. Users are able to
influence or control content within a
media item being personalized. In one
embodiment, personalized media
items are podcasts. Users are able to
influence or control the content in or
with a podcast. In other words, a
podcast can be created in accordance
with a user’s needs or specifications
so that the content within a podcast is
customized or personalized for the
user.
What Apple is proposing is allowing
users to sample/ take portions of
multiple podcasts that meet their
interests, and download a combined
podcast that includes the specified
extracts requested. Think like an RSS
reader where you get bits from
Logo War: Red Hat Takes On DataPortability
By Michael Arrington
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 6:10:05 PM
DataPortability WorkGroup is a
project founded in November 2007 to
develop best practices towards letting
users move, share, and control their
identity, photos, videos and all other
forms of personal data stored in social
networks and other web services.
After months of positive news, the
group has had its first hiccup, a cease
and desist letter from RedHat over
their use of the Fedora logo.
RedHat says:
Red Hat, Inc. (”Red Hat”) recently
became aware that on your website,
multiple sites, but in audio.
In the image above, the user would
pick content from a list, and that
content would then be combined in
the single podcast.
From the patent application again:
Besides the predetermined categories
shown in FIG. 4C, the dialog screen
480 includes a custom button 482.
Upon selection of the custom button
482, a user can be assisted with
another dialog screen to create a
category of content, namely, media
content, that is to be included within
the custom podcast. For example, in
the case of sports, the user may desire
to create a category that is specific to
their interests. For example, the user
may request to receive sports
highlights from the weekend during
the NFL season regarding specific
teams or teams in the Eastern
division. As another example, the
user may desire to receive statistics
regarding games played during the
past week in the NFL.
Where it gets more interesting is the
way the data is retrieved. The natural
assumption is that this aggregates
short form podcasts (which it will do
l o c a t e d a t
http://www.dataportability.org, you
are using art work that is identical to
the Fedora Infinity design logo
owned by Red Hat. Specifically, I am
referring to two images on your site:
as well), but the patent talks about
stored podcast characteristics, which
may tie-in with Apple’s patent for
“Podmaps.” A Podmap is not unlike a
sitemap, but obviously for audio, and
would specify what was in a podcast
when. In theory this new patent could
extract audio from a larger podcast
per the specs in the Podmap and place
that audio in a new custom podcast
besides material from other podcasts.
It’s a neat idea, but sampling data
from an audio track would bypass
things like preroll advertising in a
podcast which may undermine the
blossoming podcast advertising
market. That said if this was to take
off, what we would more likely see is
more short form niche content that
includes the ads, and possibly a
downturn in longer podcasts; one
hour long interviews don’t make for
great sampling in a combined
customized podcast as Apple is
proposing with this patent.
(via Apple Insider)
C r u n c h N e t w o r k :
MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and
Applications, Delivered Daily.
the green and white logo, as well as
the blue and white logo.
Both logos contain the symbol for
infinity. They are above are above for
reference.
What’s my opinion? I agree with
Technology * 11
Rambo Facebook
App Lets You Punch
Robert Scoble
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:53:55 AM
Sony Pictures UK has launched a
Rambo Facebook Game as a cross
promotion for the local release of the
new Rambo movie.
John Rambo the Facebook App taps
in to the growing mania for games on
Facebook, complete with scoreboard
and rankings. Users attack other
users, and as they progress through
levels users earn additional weapons.
The app allows you to virtually punch
any of your friends, for example
Robert Scoble*, or kick Scoble, or
shot him with a crossbow at the first
level. Various levels present options
such as shooting Scoble with an
AK47 or even a Rocket Launcher.
Wholesome family fun.
On one hand it’s a clever use of
Facebook to promote a movie, and
yet for some reason I feel like taking
one of the weapons to myself for
having even written this post, because
I just know that I’m going to get even
more “add this %#%^@$ Facebook
app” requests on top of the 999
million I seemingly have in my inbox
every day already. Happy shooting
readers, happy shooting
(*Scoble used for demonstration
purposes only)
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Marc Canter, who writes in an email
to DataPortability cofounder Chris
Saad, “Do NOT spend 0.001% of
your mindshare - time - or energy -
worrying about a LOGO! Get a
different logo.”
The DataPortability Workgroup is an
important step in the evolution of
social networks. The ideas are what’s
important - the logo is irrelevant.
RedHat should have just let it go, but
you guys can’t waste mindshare on
this. Have a contest and let fans
create a new logo for you.
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hardware.
12 Technology * Social Net *
Click Fraud Keeps
Rising, Up 15 percent in
2007
By Erick Schonfeld
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 8:52:32 AM
Click Forensics has some data out on
click fraud (clicks on Internet ads that
are not real) in the fourth quarter of
2007 and for the full year. The
industry-wide average click fraud rate
for the entire year went up 15 percent,
ending the year with 16.6 percent of
all clicks on Web ads being
fraudulent. The click fraud rate for
search engine ad networks alone,
including Google AdSense and
Yahoo Publisher Network, grew even
more. That was up 47 percent in the
fourth quarter, ending the year with a
28.3 percent click fraud rate.
According to this data, nearly one out
of every three clicks on a Google or
Yahoo ad is fraudulent.
While the year-over-year growth is
cause for concern, the click fraud
Pentaho Takes $12 Million
Series C
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 7:10:13 PM
Open source Business Intelligence
firm Pentaho has taken $12 million
Series C in a round led by Benchmark
Capital. Previous investors Index
Ventures and New Enterprise
Associates also participated.
Pentaho offers commercial open
source enterprise reporting, analysis,
dashboard, data mining, workflow
and ETL capabilities for Business
Intelligence needs.
Orlando, Florida based Pentaho was
founded in 2004 and has had three
million lifetime downloads, with
more than 20,000 registered
community members. Pentaho’s
customers include Cox
Communications, Delta Dental,
Apple Seeks to Patent
the Podcast Remix
By Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 10:02:52 PM
As someone who is constantly both
on the hunt for new ideas to write
about and pursue independently, I’m
well aware of the old adage “there is
nothing new under the sun.” This is
generally true on a number of levels,
rates remained pretty steady
compared to the third quarter of 2007,
when the overall click fraud rate was
16.2 percent and the search-engine
click fraud rate was 28.1 percent (see
charts above). One quarter does not
make a trend, but could the click
fraud rate be leveling off? One can
hope. If Google can ever get that rate
to actually go down, maybe its stock
will shoot up again.
Click Forensics also published the
handy heat map below showing the
countries where the most click fraud
is originating. (Red is bad, green is
benign). The biggest sources of click
fraud are India (4.3 percent),
Germany (3.9 percent), and South
Korea (3.7 percent). Mexico is also in
the red.
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Lifetime Networks, Monsanto
Corporation, Savvion, Sun
Microsystems, Terra Industries, U.S.
Naval Air Command, and Wachovia.
The additional funding will be used to
continue Pentaho’s growth in the
business intelligence market,
including R&D and international
expansion.CrunchBase
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but mostly applicable in that working
within the define concepts of
marketable technology, it’s very
difficult to come up with an
innovative and patentable idea that
hasn’t already been done several
times before.
Still, when I see some of the patents
APPLE page 13
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LaunchBoxDigital Startup
Incubator Raises Seed
Round, Taking Applications
By Michael Arrington
(TechCrunch)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 3:43:52 PM
Washington D.C. based
LaunchBoxDigital, a Y Combinator-
like startup incubator that will invest
small amounts of capital in very early
stage startup ideas, is now taking
applications for their first program.
They’ve also raised their own first
round of funding - $250,000 from
Jonathan Miller (former CEO, AOL),
Reed Hundt (former FCC Chairman),
Raul Fernandez (CEO Object Video)
and Chris Schroeder (CEO
HealthCentral).
LaunchBoxDigital says they’ll invest
$15,000 - $30,000 in six to ten
startups, in exchange for 4% to 8% of
the equity. Founding teams must
spend the summer in Washington
D.C. to participate in a twelve week
Microhoo: Sergey Brin
is Annoyed, and
Unnerved
By Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 7:29:15 PM
The Associated Press is reporting
from an event at Google’s Lunar X
Prize headquarters tonight on some
comments co-founder Sergey Brin
made regarding the potential
Microhoo buyout. I was first taken
back a bit by the fact that there’s an
actual headquarters specifically
devoted to the Lunar X Prize project,
but once I got past that, the quote
itself is a bit noteworthy as well.
Brin said that he found Microsoft’s
takeover bid for Yahoo an
“unnerving” maneuver that threatens
innovation on the Internet, and
mentioned that such a merger could
“violate antitrust laws and harm
Internet users.” As someone who
occasionally borders on Google
fanboy-ism, I can overlook a lot of
faux pas from these guys, but even I
have to pause and raise an eyebrow
accompanied by the words “pot”,
“kettle”, and “black.”
I could find the latest write-up we’ve
done of the Comscore, Nielsen or
Compete data we’ve got talking about
exactly how much marketshare
Google has over the competition in
terms of eyeballs, advertisers or any
other number of metrics, but I think
most of you are pretty well aware that
Google is the dominant leader in just
about everything they put an effort
into. For Brin to actually say himself
that this creates anti-trust issues
incubation program. Applications
must be received by March 14, 2008.
The model is based on the much
emulated Y Combinator, which has
now funded dozens of startups.
London based SeedCamp and
Colorado based TechStars have
nearly identical business
m o d e l s . C r u n c h B a s e
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(especially in the midst of an anti-
trust battle themselves) is a bit
hypocritical.
Let me come at it from a slightly
different angle. A few weeks ago, I
was talking to a good friend of mine
who works over at Google. He asks
me if I knew what the driving
strategy was behind the OpenSocial
initiative. I offered my best theory at
the time, which was something like
“as a hedge against the Facebook
Beacon and Developer Program
initiatives?”
“No, it’s actually much simpler than
that,” he replied. “Google’s
marketshare is so large in terms of the
eyeballs that see it, and so
synonymous with the Internet, the
best way to really grow the core
business is to get more eyeballs on
the Internet. The best way to do that
is to make the Internet more easy and
fun to use.”
There are a number of different seeds
of discussion loaded up in that quote,
but for the purposes of this article, the
crux of the matter is that Google is
big. Really really big. For them to
be “unnerved” by another bigness on
the Internet on the basis that it could
violate arbitrary rules of size set by
one government of many is a bit
irrelevant. What Brin actually meant
by this is that Microhoo united could
possibly be more that the nuisance
that Yahoo and Microsoft have
proven to be separately.
ShareThis
Your Click and Print Newspaper
APPLE
continued from page 12
put out there by Microsoft, Amazon
and Apple, I wonder if they even care
if they are intruding upon prior art
with their patent issues, or if they are
legitimately ignorant of the prior art
they are attempting to patent.
I say this because Podcasting News
brought to my attention a patent being
profiled over at Apple Insider today
on something called PodMaps.
“…A subscriber may desire a podcast
that is somewhat different from the
available podcasts,” wrote patent
inventor Ellis Verosub. “In many
cases, a subscriber is not interested in
the entire pre-established podcast but
would prefer to modify the podcast in
some manner. However, there is
currently no way for a subscriber to
alter the content within a podcast. ”
So What is the Solution?
So Verosub suggests a system
somewhat akin to a Google News
search feed for podcasts, where your
interests are input into the system,
and it will assemble for you a podcast
that delivers news segments from
disparate sources and creates a feed
and presumably a playlist for
listening to them altogether.
The patent is written so broadly that it
Open Platforms Good for Malware? Next Up:
Mass Hysteria.
By Kristen Nicole (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 11:47:03 PM
Should the old adage “more money,
more problems” be changed to “more
open, more problems?” An article in
Inforworld this week speaks of a
heightened security risk in which
social networks may be placing
themselves, in part due to their open
platform approach. Especially as
those applications on various
networks don’t always have to be
approved by the networks
themselves, their ability to integrate
into sometimes deep aspects of a
social network’s inner workings is a
danger that we should all pay
attention to.
What’s more, the article in Infoworld
points out that such integration lures
in users in a way that’s not easily
recognizable as malware, given their
ability to connect with users on a very
Joost Suffers Downtime; Did Anyone Notice?
By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 8:09:39 AM
Usually when a popular Web service
goes down, we get a flood of emails
about it. For example, last month,
when 37Signals, Blogger, and
LinkedIn all suffered outages within
the span of a couple days, we got
pinged almost instantly by some of
our readers.
That’s why today, when I saw a
report from Royal Pingdom
indicating that Joost has been
suffering significant downtime this
could mean that data is being brought
in from tagged metadata or from
simply the descriptions on the
podcast, and you end up with a literal
river of data of every episode from
every matching feed. If it’s the latter,
it’s an almost useless service, as
someone can go through and pick the
feeds they want from any number of
podcast directories and subscribe to
them manually.
A Hammer in Search of a Nail
If it’s the former, though, it’s
marginally useful, but certainly not
original. Back when I was actively
working on my BlipMedia project
and doing side programming work for
RantRadio, I created a set of PHP and
ASP scripts that combed through
existing shortform podcasts and
actually mashed the MP3s together
for a segment called New Media
News that played in the early
morning during the station’s
streaming rotation.
That wasn’t even a particularly
original idea. Before there were
podcasts, Shoutcast streaming
stations ruled the net. For hobby and
professional broadcasters, there were
personal level. Such is the case with a
number of Facebook applications,
one of which, Secret Crushes, was
found out and banned by the popular
social network.
When it’s all said and done, what can
we do about it? There will always be
a push and pull effect between
month, I was a bit surprised I hadn’t
heard anything about it, from anyone.
Here’s a snapshot of the report,
indicating more than 5 hours of
downtime so far this month:
The Internet television company was
certainly one of the most hyped of
last year, with $45 million in funding
and a reported 1 million plus beta
users. But where is it now?
According to data from Compete
(which tracks US traffic only), not
very far along:
a host of utilities that automatically
generated clockwheel-based playlists
generated from semantic data. It was
a simple matter to import existing
MP3 based radio shows by an
automated FTP download and have
them incorporated into the playlist
generator.
I’d love to see Apple, or anyone,
really, work to improve upon the
concept of podcasting. There are
certainly ways to do that. I’m not sure
this is it, as aside from being
unoriginal and a bit broad to be
useful, there are real questions raised
in the implementation as to stat
reporting on these types of re-
syndication techniques. How
monetization on these types of
podcasts are determined is usually by
the download numbers. If the
podcasts are being combed and re-
syndicated by a third party server,
then those numbers could be
significantly skewed to the producers’
disadvantage.
ShareThis
spyware and filters against malware
attacks, but is the open direction in
which social networking headed
going to be heavily influenced by
such fear against malware? I think
that while such fear is warranted (it
brings about the innovation necessary
to keep such malware at bay), it
Of course, Joost is a downloadable
application, so, traffic to the web site
isn’t the only metric to look at when
analyzing the company’s
performance. Nonetheless, Joost
certainly doesn’t seem to be setting
the world on fire, and the fact we’ve
heard nothing about the downtime
says quite a bit anecdotally. You may
Social Net * 13
Search Engines Must
Comply With Strict
EU Privacy Rules
By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 6:18:38 AM
What goes in the US doesn’t
necessarily carry over to the
European Union. European data
privacy regulators issued a short
report which says that all internet
search engines, even those based
outside Europe, must comply with
EU privacy rules. Does this include
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo? Yup.
As the EU folks put it, “Search
engines fall under the EU data
SEARCH page 14
should generally be understood that
every new development with online
interaction is going to be piggy-
backed for malicious purposes. It’s
the dark side of human nature, and
it’s part of a market that most would
be ashamed to be associated with.
Just as social networks were used for
spreading malware before open
platforms, and just as people figured
out how to scam poor old lady’s with
typed letters instead of emails,
dealing with malware is par for the
course. The biggest concern at this
point is knowing how to deal with
malware once it shows up. The
biggest difference between then and
now is the ability for malware to
spread faster and further than ever
before, so being prepared for such an
incident will help curb any negative
affect malware may have in the end.
[image via travels of distinction]
ShareThis
recall that Joost also fired their CTO
last month.
On the other hand, maybe you’re
using Joost like mad and just aren’t
telling anyone So, quick reader poll:
How often do you use Joost?
• Regularly
• Sometimes
• Rarely
• Never
View Results
ShareThis
14 Social Net * TV *
Clifford Boro’s Kidzui
Gets Funded
By Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 10:36:44 PM
It isn’t often that I come across a
software or service and think to
myself, “Y’know, my sons might
really like this.” My oldest is six, the
youngest not quite a year old. KidZui,
though, looks like something that
might be up their alley.
The company is led by Clifford Boro,
the chairman of the company
VideoEgg, who has recently made
headlines with their new Pay for
Engagement video advertising model.
Today, though, Clifford makes
headlines with his newly funded
KidZui, the browser for kids aged 3
through 11. The browser works by
essentially only allowing a whitelist
of sites of around 500,000 website
into the system. The approval process
is done by panels parents and
POSTPONED: MashMeet NYC REMIX
By Adam Hirsch (Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 8:44:16 AM
Due to the severe snow and icy
conditions, for the safety of our
guests and staff, we have decided to
postpone tonight’s MashMeet NYC
REMIX. Please help spread the word
to anyone who was coming in case
they don’t see this in time. We hope
everyone gets home safely tonight
and our apologies for any
inconveniences.
To make it up to everyone, we’re
going to make the postponed event
even better, with a larger location and
Internet Brands Adds to their Jericho cast and crew go to
Automotive Community convention, but fans don't
By Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 9:10:32 PM
Internet Brands, the generically
named holding company for several e
-commerce website, announced the
acquisition of eight websites in the
company’s automotive category, and
one in the category of dog loving.
The new auto sites acquired include
6SpeedOnline.com, Rennlist.com,
G35Driver.com, MyG37.com,
My350z.com, ZDriver.com,
NorthAmericanMotoring.com, and
ScoobyNet.com. The one that’s not
quite like others is
PuppyDogWeb.com.
Their purchase strategy is interesting,
and it’s one that’s been fairly
successful, as they’ve grown a
What happens in Vegas...gets cancelled by NBC
By Richard Keller (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 12:08:00 AM
Filed under: Other Drama Shows,
Cancellations
Can you recall last Friday's episode
of NBC's Las Vegas, the one that was
touted as the show's season finale?
Well, the network made a small
grammatical faux pas. You see, they
teachers.
This round of financing was led by
Maveron, the VC firm best known as
being led by Starbucks Chief
Executive Howard Schultz. Other
investors in the La Jolla, Calif. startup
include First Round Capital and
Emergence Capital Partners, with a
launch slated for this Spring. The
financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Hopefully, this weekend, my son will
have a hole in his very busy schedule
and review the experience for us.
More on that story, as it develops.
ShareThis
more surprises.
New Date: Friday, March 14th, 2008
(in between Media Summit NY and
BarCamp NYC3)
collection of communities that they
feel is largest group of automotive
enthusiast sites on the Internet at 35
different communities amassing a
collective 20 million unique page
views each month.
Exactly how lucrative is community
purchase and integration? Well, for
Internet Brands, their last year’s
revenue was pegged at $64.9 million,
down only a smidge from the year
before.
The financial terms of the acquisition
were not disclosed.
ShareThis
really meant to say that it was the
'series-finale-because-we're -
canceling-the-damn-show' finale
instead. You could see where the
confusion was.
Yep, you read right. Straight from the
The One Known As Ausiello we hear
that the casino drama is ending its run
after five years on the air. It's not like
they didn't try to keep the series afloat
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Products
galore...and you
can't avoid them
By Allison Waldman (TV
Squad)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:04:00 AM
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows,
Industry, OpEd, 24, CSI, Daytime,
Cable/Satellite, How I Met Your
Mother, The Office, Psych, Project
Runway, 30 Rock, Friday Night
PRODUCTS page 15
New Venue:The Anchor Bar NYC,
310 Spring Street, NYC
To make it up to people, this
weekend, we will be raffling two
round trip tickets on Virgin America
in a random draw from guests who
purchased tickets to our event. Stay
tuned for details.
However, if you have any problems
making the new event and you
purchased tickets already, please
contact me.
Once again, many apologies and
please travel safely.
ShareThis
By Bob Sassone (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:56:00 AM
Filed under: Industry, Programming,
Jericho, Ratings
Jericho fans, it might be time to grab
your nuts again.
Last weekend, Jericho fans got a
special treat at the Los Angeles
Comic Book and Science Fiction
Convention: a stage filled with the
cast and creators of the CBS drama.
The only problem? Not many fans
showed up at all.
The Showtracker blog at The Los
Angeles Timessays that this might be
because the show is neither sci-fi nor
comic book-ish, but I don't know if
that's a good enough excuse. It has a
certain mystery/action element to it,
and the first season was certainly
enigmatic in a sci-fi sort of way. And
after anchor star James Caan left last
season. Heck, they replaced him with
SEARCH
continued from page 13
protection directive if there are
controllers collecting users’ IP
addresses or search history
information, and therefore have to
comply with relevant provisions.”
These rules include users’ consent to
their data being collected, as well as
giving users the ability to object to or
verify their personal information. The
regulators, known under the “Article
29 Working Party” moniker, are
working on a more detailed report; it
will be interesting how it pans out,
because users, for example, at this
time don’t really have a good way of
making Google change their personal
data.
Reacting to the short report, Google
gave the standard “we’re working
with everyone to improve privacy
online for all users” answer; Yahoo
didn’t comment, while Microsoft said
that companies should remove the IP
address from saved information. The
full report by the Article 29 Working
Party is due in April.
ShareThis
plus we're talking about Los Angeles
here, not a small town in Ohio, so I
would think a lot more people would
have showed up than did. Executive
Producer Jon Turteltaub joked about
the 80 fans in attendance making the
ratings jump, but I don't know if that
was a funny estimate by him or an
accurate number.
Continue reading Jericho cast and
crew go to convention, but fans don't
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
a fairly stoic Tom Selleck as owner of
the Montecito. However, rather than
increasing the ratings, the change led
to a double-digit ratings decline.
Continue reading What happens in
Vegas...gets cancelled by NBC
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper TV * 15

Eli Stone: Wake Me Up PRODUCTS

Before You Go-Go
By Richard Keller (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 5:01:00 PM
Filed under: Other Drama Shows,
OpEd, Episode Reviews
(S01E04) Is James Avery always a
lawyer these days? Every time I see
him he's either a lawyer, or a judge,
or someone involved in law
enforcement. Gosh, even in The
Closer he's a medical examiner. And
in other things he's been a general and
a Chancellor and other characters of
power. Well, I guess if you are going
to be stereotyped in Hollywood it's
best to be stereotyped as a person of
authority.
Anyway, Avery was a guest-star on
this week's Eli Stone as, you guessed
it, a lawyer. But, he wasn't a member
of Eli's firm. He was actually
requesting the services of Jordan
Whethersby to represent him in a case
of same-race discrimination. You
read right -- this was Jordan's case,
continued from page 14
Lights, TiVo, Damages, Lipstick Technology Survey, we learn that six
JungleIs it really a big surprise that
television advertising isn't as effective
out of 10 marketers believe that TV
advertising has become less effective
as it used to be? As TV watchers -- in the past two years. And it's getting
okay, we're uber-watchers -- we worse.
know that with DVRs and TiVos
we're zooming through ads, or we're %Gallery-16657%
channel surfing in between segments Continue reading Products
of our favorite shows, or galore...and you can't avoid them
renting/buying content in formats that
allow us to avoid commercials Permalink | Email this | | Comments
altogether. Now, according to the
Association of National Advertisers
and Forrester Research's TV &
not Eli's. This makes it the first time
in the show's short history that there
was more than one case shown on an
episode.
Continue reading Eli Stone: Wake
Me Up Before You Go-Go
Permalink | Email this | | Comments

American Idol: Top 20 Revealed

By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 2:14:00 PM
Filed under: American Idol,
Reviewcaps, Contestants, Episode
Reviews
(S07E13) Take a last look at that
picture because a year from now you
won't even remember four of their
names. But which four? Tonight was
the first viewer-voted elimination and
we had to say goodbye to the bottom
two boys and the bottom two girls.
It's also the first really live show as
the previous two were pre-recorded
for time considerations.
Do I have to say SPOILER
WARNING after the jump?
%Gallery-16066%
Continue reading American Idol: Top
20 Revealed
Permalink | Email this | | Comments

Survivor Micronesia: I Should Lipstick Jungle: Chapter Three: Pink

Be Carried on the Chariot-Type
Thing!
By Jackie Schnoop (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 3:01:00 PM
Filed under: OpEd, Survivor, Episode
Reviews
(S16E03) We're three episodes into
Survivor Micronesia: Fans vs.
Favorites and I still have trouble
remembering who the one timid-
looking fan is in this image. Oh, yeah.
I know Krazy Kathy. And who could
forget Joel?
I'm up to snuff on my faves tribe,
though. But as I watched tonight's
show, I happened to walk away from
the set for a minute and it all came
back to me. Jonathan Penner has
totally stolen Alan Alda's voice. I
remember it now from his season, but
it's still evident. How did he do that?
And, what does Alan Alda think
about Jonathan Penner stealing his
voice?
%Gallery-16641%
Continue reading Survivor
Micronesia: I Should Be Carried on
the Chariot-Type Thing!
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Poison
By Isabelle Carreau (TV
Squad)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 5:41:00 PM
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews,
Lipstick Jungle(S01E03) "I could do
a lot worse." - Madeleine about
Wendy being her mother.
Indeed, Madeleine could do a lot
worse. Wendy may not be a model
mother but she is human and tries to
make ends meet as best as she can. %Gallery-15649%
This week we saw more of how a Continue reading Lipstick Jungle:
scandalous book can affect someone Chapter Three: Pink Poison
and the control damage needed to
smooth things over. Good thing that Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Wendy has a very good friend who is
not afraid to play dirty!

Supernatural: Jus In Bello

By Brett Love (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 12:37:00 AM
Filed under: Supernatural, Episode
Reviews
(S03E12) There's no way that Kripke
and the team over at Supernatural HQ
could have foreseen the strike, only
completing 12 episodes, and an
extended break after episode 12. Had
they been able to do that though, it's
hard to imagine a better send off as
we head into the break than what we
saw in "Jus In Bello." The return of
Henricksen and the introduction of
%Gallery-8324%
Continue reading Supernatural: Jus In
Bello
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Lilith made for a great mid (3/4)
season intermission.
16 TV * Movies
Lost: Eggtown
By Erin Martell (TV Squad)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 5:33:00 PM
Filed under: OpEd, Lost, Episode
Reviews
(S04E04) "Eggtown" gave us more
answers and another shocking ending;
I could really get used to this. This
week, we got a closer look at Team
Locke's life at the Barracks, caught a
glimpse of Kate's future off the
Today to host classic TV cast
reunions
By Allison Waldman (TV
Squad)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 4:02:00 AM
Filed under: Other Drama Shows,
Other Comedy Shows, Daytime,
CelebritiesReunions are hot, you
know? On February 12, for example,
Oprah reunited (most of) the kids
from The Cosby Show, with Bill
appearing via satellite. Well, never
one to let a good idea go to waste,
NBC jumped on the theme. They
recently had a Family Ties reunion on
Today, so now the morning show is
commencing tomorrow with a series
of more "Together Again" features.
Sony Snaps Up Roland Emmerich's
'2012'
By Jessica Barnes
(Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:02:00 AM
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi &
Fantasy, Deals, Sony,
DistributionOnly one short day ago,
talk surfaced of a bidding war that
was taking place over Roland
Emmerich's latest flick, 2012.
Emmerich had presented the flick to
various studio bosses and let's just
say they liked what they saw. Cut to
one day later and Varietyreports that
Sony has emerged victorious, and
they are now the proud new owners
of Emmerich's apocalyptic flick.
2012 was inspired by the Mayan
doomsday prophecy that some
unspecified 'change' was afoot and as
a result, the world would come to an
end in 2012. Emmerich wasn't the
first person to come up with the idea
island, and got to catch up with the
survivors on the beach--remember
them? Not many shows could mix
topics like blackmail, grenades, and
motherhood into one episode, but
Lostpulled it off.
%Gallery-16615%
Continue reading Lost: Eggtown
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Tune into 8:00 a.m. hour each day so
you don't miss a thing!
Continue reading Today to host
classic TV cast reunions
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
of making a movie out of this story.
Michael Bay had also made some
moves towards his own flick based on
a book by Communion scribe,
Whitley Strieber. Heck, even
Nickelodeon got in on the action and
pitched a kiddie version of the end of
the world story. But we haven't heard
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Jessica Simpson Movie
Tops Ukraine Box
Office
By Christopher Campbell
(Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 1:32:00 PM
Filed under: Comedy, Foreign
Language, Box OfficeI could have
stolen the more dubious headline
from Fark.com, but I'd rather just
acknowledge that site's ever-hilarious
subbys. Plus, I wanted to get straight
to the point. The Ukrainians love
Jessica Simpson! Either that or they
love Luke Wilson, Penelope Ann
Miller or Andy Dick. All of these
people star in the movie Blonde
Ambition, which opened this past
weekend in the Eastern European
nation and shockingly claimed the #1
spot at the box office. With a gross of
$253,008, it actually beat out also- Hey, he's right! I can't find any listing
opener Definitely, Maybe and has for No Country for Old Men grosses
already out-done the Ukraine releases in the Ukraine, but Russia and the
of Atonement, which has only made CIS (Commonwealth of Independent
$237,481 in 5 weeks, and Alvin and States) do actually like Blonde
the Chipmunks, which has brought in Ambition a teeny bit better.. The
$235,158 in 9 weeks. People
magazine got a quote from Box
Coen Bros. movie only took in
$286,387 in its first weekend while
Office Mojo editor-in-chief Conor
Bresnan regarding the news: ""The
Blonde Ambition grossed $302,531
during its opening. All of this is
former Soviet nations have a sweet pretty amazing, considering the
tooth for straight-up comedies. When Simpson movie barely even received
these comedies have big name a theatrical release in the States, and
celebrities like Jessica Simpson's, even then it only had a per-screen
that's all that's needed to sell the average of $48. I won't go as far as
movie. Russian and Ukrainian imply that the Ukraine is weak -- as a
audiences have an even bigger urge Fark.com commenter did by linking
for escapism than Americans. So, to this Seinfeld clip -- but it can't be
films like Blonde Ambition will gross denied that they've got an interesting
more than No Country for Old Men." taste in movies.Read | Permalink |
Email this | Comments
a peep out of those projects, so it
looks like Emmerich's film might be
the only one left standing, especially
since Bay is hard at work on
Transformers 2.
So despite what you might think of
some of his earlier endeavors,
Emmerich does have the distinction
of being one of the few filmmakers
that can finance a film on his own
terms before even approaching the
studios. This is probably what makes
him so very popular with the bosses.
Bret Easton Ellis
2012 is still a long way off (it will hit
during the summer of 2009), so if you
Heads to
can't wait to watch Emmerich blow
something up, at least you can look 'Downers Grove'
forward to March 7th when 10,000 By Monika Bartyzel
B.C hits theaters. (Cinematical)
Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:32:00 AM
Filed under: Drama, Deals, ScriptsIf
anyone has made a successful jump
from novels to film, it's Bret Easton
Ellis. Half of his films have been
BRET page 17
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Hugo Weaving Tracks
Down 'The Wolfman'
By Elisabeth Rappe
(Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 1:32:00 AM
Filed under: Classics, Sci-Fi &
Fantasy, Casting, Mystery &
Suspense, Universal, Remakes and
SequelsThere are casting
announcements that make you howl
with despair (I'm looking at you,
Wolverine) and there are ones that
restore your faith in the magic of
movies. This is one of those.
Variety has announced that Hugo
Weaving will be bringing his deep
and scary voice to Universal's
upcoming remake of The Wolfman,
and taking on the role of Detective
Aberline. (Cue all the Matrix,
"Evening, Mr. Talbot" jokes as
Aberline hunts Talbot across the
moors.)
Weaving rounds out an already
impressive cast of Benicio Del Toro,
Emily Blunt, and Anthony Hopkins. I
know for many, the thought of
touching those classic monster
movies is complete sacrilege, but if
you are going to do a remake, it
doesn't get any better than this.
Hopefully, Mark Romanek's
departure is the only calamity to
befall this production and it make a
BRET
continued from page 16
adapted -- Less Than Zero, American
Psycho, and The Rules of Attraction.
The other half are either in
development or just wrapping
production -- The Informers,
Glamorama, and Lunar Park. Topping
all that off, he's also been writing
other scripts. The Frog King, with
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is still on the
go, and now The Hollywood Reporter
posts that he'll adapt Michael
Hornburg's novel called Downers
Grove.
Methinks Mangrove Entertainment,
who are financing the project, are
looking for some Juno fame of their
own. The book focuses on Crystal
Methedrine Swanson, a youthful
wisecracker with a "relentlessly
vernacular teenage voice." But unlike
Juno, this flick is darker.
THR describes her as "a paranoid
painless transformation (ha ha) to the
big screen.
The only flaw remaining is that
February release date. I'm glad
studios are now realizing people like
to see good films in all the months of
the year, but The Wolfman really
ought to command an October or
November release. The atmosphere is
just ripe for some Gothic horror. And
some of us don't want to see the 25th
Saw installment.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
high school senior for whom
graduating has become a matter of
life or death." That sounds kind of
goofy, but her reasoning makes things
interesting. She's about to graduate
from a school with a "curse" --
someone in the senior class always
dies. When some jerks try to rape her,
she beats up a jock and starts getting
harassed by him and his buddies -- to
the lengths that they "strew dead dogs
on her lawn." Not surprisingly, this
young girl becomes paranoid that
she'll be the next senior to die.
There's a long way to go before they
get a director and some stars, but I
wonder if they can find someone
other than Ellen Page to be the
snarky, tough teen?Read | Permalink |
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Movies 17
'Wolverine' Cast Expands
Again: Daniel Henney
Joins As Agent Zero
By Elisabeth Rappe
(Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 12:02:00 AM
Filed under: Casting, 20th Century
Fox, Comic/Superhero/GeekThe X-
Men Origins: Wolverine roster grows
bigger.
Varietyhas confirmed the addition of
Dominic Monaghan we reported
earlier and added a new face to the
mix: Daniel Henney as Agent Zero.
The addition of this character
confirms that Wolverine will deal
with a Team X storyline, and possibly like the writers made a list of Marvel
gives away what Deadpool is doing characters Wolverine talked to once,
here. Agent Zero, who has the power attached it to a board, and threw darts
of absorbing kinetic energy through at it. It is pretty hard to make an
impact, was one of the mutant origin story more convoluted than the
operatives that Weapon X one Wolverine already boasts, but it
experimented on. Thankfully, his really looks like the filmmakers are
stories were a little cooler, as he took going to try. Should we just be glad
on East Germans and Russian super that they're skipping Wolverine:
soldiers alongside Wolverine and Origin where he was re-imagined as a
Sabretooth. (And speaking of Russian Bronte character?
super soldiers -- who wants to take Continue reading 'Wolverine' Cast
bets Omega Red is cast by next Expands Again: Daniel Henney Joins
week?) As Agent ZeroPermalink | Email this |
Comments
This still fails to explain what Gambit
is doing in Wolverine. And Beak? It's
Lindsay Lohan Gets with
Jack Black
By Erik Davis (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 4:02:00 AM
Filed under: Comedy, Casting, Deals,
RumorMonger, Fandom, Newsstand
If someone came to me and asked,
"Erik, if you could pick any two
actors to appear opposite one another
on screen, who would it be?" -- I'd
probably tell them Kermit the Frog
and Javier Bardem. But my second
choice would most certainly be
Lindsay Lohan and Jack Black. E!
News reports that Lohan has decided
to get back to work, and she'll do so
by starring in the comedy Ye Olde the spotlight. Earlier in the week, her
Times, opposite everyone's favorite nude photo spread for New York
slightly overweight funnyman, Jack Magazine was revealed, and while
Black. The film follows "two rival I'm not sure which step on the 12-step
Renaissance Faire troupes as they program includes nude photos for a
make their way through the prominent magazine, I'm sure it's
competitive circuit." Currently, probably toward the latter end. Ye
there's no word on whether Lohan Olde Times, which will be directed
will be competing with Black or by R.A. White, also stars Cary Elwes,
against him, but regardless this film Matthew Lillard, David Arquette and
just hit my "Must See When Orlando Jones. The film will most
Intoxicated" list. likely hit at some point this
Lohan, who recently left rehab to year.Permalink | Email this |
shoot the tango flick Dare to Love Comments
Me, seems keen to hop right back into
18 Movies Your Click and Print Newspaper

Oscar Predictions: Jette's Review: Charlie Bartlett

By Jette Kernion (Cinematical) dumb things that get him kicked out
Fanboy Brother Strikes Submitted at 2/22/2008 2:02:00 AM

Filed under: Comedy, New Releases,

of a progression of private schools,
like making amazingly realistic fake
IDs. As a result, his dippy but sweet
Again Theatrical Reviews

Charlie Bartlett is Juno's dorkier,

By Jette Kernion (Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/21/2008 2:02:00 PM
Filed under: Awards, Oscar Watch
For the third year in a row, I'm
turning to my favorite Oscar predictor
of all: my kid brother Stephen. He's
not really a kid anymore (he's 25
now), but he still has the funniest
Oscar picks around. He's also not a
very accurate predictor, since only
two of his picks from last year were
correct. But that doesn't matter -- I
like his rants about the films that
weren't nominated and should win
even better than the picks he makes
that are limited to actual nominations.
How many other people have you
heard complaining that Michelle
Pfeiffer and Josh Brolin were robbed
... and in the case of Brolin, not for
No Country for Old Men, either.
The Full Trailer for 'Sex
I managed to get Stephen on the
phone for more than five minutes
running, which is a difficult feat, and
we had a lively discussion about this
year's Oscar nominees, as well as the
films and talent who weren't
recognized by the Academy this year.
My only disappointment is that I can't
get him very interested in
documentaries -- with one notable
exception, as you'll see. I'm not good
at predicting Oscars, but before I got
Stephen on the phone, I predicted
which nominees he would pick for
Oscars this year, and I was right in
every non-actress category (he's
extremely particular about actresses).
Continue reading Oscar Predictions:
Jette's Fanboy Brother Strikes
AgainPermalink | Email this |
Comments
needier cousin, the one who's
watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off too
many times. Am I talking about the
teenage title characters or the films
themselves? Both, to a certain extent.
Charlie Bartlett is a standard coming-
of-age comedy with some amusing
quirks, but as with Juno, I found
myself enjoying the company of the
older characters in the film far more
than the teen leads.
Poor little rich kid Charlie Bartlett
(Anton Yelchin) wants nothing more
than to see all his high-school peers
look up to him. So he does crazy
John Leguizamo to Direct
'Tar Beach'
By Monika Bartyzel
(Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 1:02:00 AM
mom (Hope Davis) sends him to
public high school, where his private-
school ways make him an instant
pariah. But he's determined to fit in
and tries to find a niche to fill.
Charlie eventually ends up pulling
more crazy stunts, but settles down to
helping kids with his bathroom
psychiatry gig. Still, his antics aren't
going over at all well with Principal
Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.),
especially since Charlie seems
interested in Gardner's daughter
Susan (Kat Dennings).
Continue reading Review: Charlie
BartlettPermalink | Email this |
Comments

Filed under: Drama, DealsThis just

and the City' is Released
By Monika Bartyzel
(Cinematical)
Submitted at 2/22/2008 3:32:00 AM
Filed under: Comedy, Drama,
Romance, Trailers and Clips
Wow -- talk about shoving an entire
season's worth of drama and
storylines into one movie, and then
covering it all in the trailer! Okay, up
there, you can see the new trailer for
Sex and the City. This isn't some
vague teaser, but rather a full-blown
trailer to finally give us something
substantial, rather than rumors of
false scenes and fan confusion. I hate
to say -- it looks like that god-awful
wedding dress was not a spoof, but
then again, what is Carrie if not a
smart woman who a ridiculously
stupid sense of fashion?
But that's not all. According to this
trailer, things don't wrap up smoothly,
even if the series finale ended in
happiness... Carrie is having a HUGE
wedding. Big isn't happy. Rather,
scratch that -- John James Preston. It
looks like she gets stood up at the
wedding -- I'm thinking for the way
they made Sarah Jessica Parker look.
Carrie finds her personal assistant,
who has a really tacky reason for
being in the city. Steve proves he's an
ass -- a perfect cherry to my "Down
with Brady" campaign. Charlotte
increases her family. Samantha's eye
wanders.
And, well, there you have it folks.
You can find out what happens (if
you have any doubt), when the trailer
hits screens May 30.Permalink |
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comes from a wee little blurb over at
Variety, but it should be good news
for any of you John Leguizamo fans
out there. It seems that three
companies -- Willoughby Pictures,
Savandra Pictures, and Mission
Launch -- have come together to
produce an upcoming feature called
Tar Beach -- and they're in talks with
Leguizamo to helm it. This would
mark his second directorial gig, but
has a book coming out about her
hopefully one with a better response. story, or if someone else penned the
His first was 2003's Undefeated,
account. (It's not Faith Ringgold's
which was a sports drama about a novel.) However, it does seem that
boxer, and didn't go over well with
Joe Anderson is attached for a role in
the people who did see it. the film. You might have caught him
in one of his 2007 bunch of films --
Tar Beach, on the other hand, is a Across the Universe, Control, and
drama based on the true story of
Becoming Jane. Stay tuned --
Carol Boyd -- "a young woman hopefully we'll have more solid news
saddled with caring for her alcoholic
soon.
stepfather and paroled stepsister." Permalink | Email this | Comments
There is no word on who wrote the
script -- whether it is Ms. Boyd, if she