Recently in Broadcast Category

When I was a child, journalism was ruthless.  Investigative reporting was in its prime, shining the light of day on corruption, indolence, criminal activity, under the table deal making and the like.  The government hated the media because they showed the American people in very real terms the horrible truth some powerful people wanted hidden:  the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, the extreme police action at Kent State, to name just a few.  60 Minutes did ground-breaking work that defined the standard for journalism.

Today, Clay Shirky and other insightful thinkers state that the expensive and extraordinary work of investigative journalism was funded by the ample profit margins gleaned from media advertising, both television and print.  Now, with the advent of cable media and the internet, advertising to the masses, according to many, has reached its true value.  As a result, profit margins have radically dropped.  As a result, print news media is dying.  The LA Times, for example, is probably 80% advertising and 20% news.  And, some notable sources say the result has been the death of investigative journalism.

During the George W. Bush administration, the Republicans pushed for and got changes to FCC regulations that effectively and significantly reduced the number of news outlets even further, allowing fewer people to have greater ownership and control of media outlets.  From my vantage point, the confluence of these two things (lack of investigative journalism and reducing the number of media outlets) appears to have compromised one of democracies most vitally needed pillars, an informed citizenry.  Have you noticed that an increasing percentage of the news articles across all media outlets have the exact same titles, even the same content?  I seriously wonder who is paying for me to read and hear these "stories?"

I have lamented CNN becoming "the Crime News Network" as they focus so much attention on sensationalizing missing persons and individual murder cases.  (I'm sure this is inexpensive for them.)  And the whole of cable news seems to create an artificial sense of crisis around lack-luster "reporting" to sell their media, creating a 24 cable hour news cycle that amounts to little more than an overdramatized feeding frenzy.  As local papers have died, corruption is going undetected creating an unprecedented environment of bold fraud and theft of tax payer dollars like the Bell, California, city officials who actually thought they could get away with salaries of $8,000,000.

We need a populist movement that will hold government accountable for protecting "We the people..." by providing significant incentives to create a variety of non-partisan media outlets, rather than the current incentives to reduce their ownership to a few wealthy people.  We need to de-centralize news media.  We need to stop attempting to kill funding for public broadcasting.  News media outlets must never be the puppet of a few stunningly wealthy people or any political party.  People need to turn off and unsubscribe to media that is doing a poor job of honest, non-partisan investigative journalism.  Demand unbiased, fact-checked, relevant news!

To allow our current system to continue is to perpetuate a meaningless national conversation focused on polarity, not problem-solving and threatens the very survival of democracy.  [I also suspect that to attack Wikileaks is to attack free speech, but that's a whole different "can of worms."]

Related Posts at tt.us

• We Need a Populist Movement-Part 1: Healthcare
• We Need a Populist Movement-Part 2: Governance
• We Need a Populist Movement-Part 3: Civil Rights
• We Need a Populist Movement-Part 4: Journalism (this post)
• We Need a Populist Movement-Part 5: Faith Practice

Related articles

• The future of news? (maureenholland.wordpress.com)
• US investigative journalism merger (guardian.co.uk)
• Clay Shirky's Nuanced Position on WikiLeaks (boingboing.net)
• Investigative Journalism, RIP (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Defend WikiLeaks or lose free speech - Dan Gillmor - Salon.com (marccooper.com)
• Required Reading: Clay Shirky on WikiLeaks (slog.thestranger.com)

Now, before you think I'm just in a bad mood (though @Verizon certainly has put me in one!), I think Verizon's cell service and Fios service are completely awesome.  But their customer service is the worst of the worst.  In my opinion, the senior level executive in charge of customer service and retail should be fired immediately!

Today I completely wasted about 4 hours dealing with Verizon.  I had a simple objective:  replace the two cable cards in my old Series 3 TiVo with one multi-stream card in my new TiVo Premier XL.  The new TiVo will only accept one cable card, and it must be multi-stream.  Easy.

WRONG!!!!!

I thought all I needed to do was go to the nearest Verizon store and swap the old two for the new one.  When I arrived at the store near my house, I learned that most of the wireless stores have nothing to do with the cable stuff.  I needed to call an 800 number, and they would tell me where the nearest store is that could solve my problem.  How is one supposed to know which stores are which?!

I sort of remembered the location of the Verizon store where I picked up the first cable box when I moved here.  So off I headed in that direction while calling the number.  I waited on hold, to get to an agent, for about 10 - 15 minutes (after wading through their insufferable phone menus—every time I called).  She then asked in what city the store was where I had gone before.  I told her:  Venice Beach.  She said she would "get them on the line."  The ringing began.  After another 15 minutes or so of ringing, AT&T, in its inimitable way, dropped the call.  I called Verizon back and was dropped, after waiting about 10 minutes, before I even got an agent.  At this point I passed the place where the Verizon store had been.

It was gone!  The security guard didn't know where they went.  I called Verizon again.  (Menus, Wait, Wait, Wait...) We talked forever.  The agent told me the nearest store that would have the cable card I needed was in San Fernando.  What?!  I would have to go there to exchange the wrong cards for the correct card.  Good grief!  Well, ok, off I went.

When I arrived at the San Fernando Verizon store, you have no idea where to go once inside the store.  It looks worse than security at Southwest Airlines in LAX, literally!  Ropes and barricades everywhere.  But, unlike LAX, not many people.  You have no idea at all where to go in this maze!  Finally, I just walked around the maze of barricades and up to a person that appeared to fain being busy but had no one standing near her.

When I told her what the Verizon guy on the phone had said, she was flabbergasted.  She looked up my record.  Why would they send you here?  We don't have any cards at all of any kind!

What????!!!  You're kidding me!  I drove an hour for nothing?!!!!  She gave me a different 800 number to call saying they would order the card for me.

I went home.  Called.  (Menus, Wait, Wait, Wait...) Was sent to support.  (Wait, Wait, Wait...)  Support only replaces what you have, if it is broken, with what you have.  Support sent me back to customer service.  (Wait, Wait, Wait...)  Customer service then said they didn't understand what I wanted and HUNG UP ON ME!

I called back.  To this point I had been patient, but I was now furious.  This person told me immediately that they didn't have multi-stream cards.  They don't use them.  Their service is incompatible with them.  Instead, I could get one of their DVRs.  I told her that TiVo said, before I ordered the new TiVo, that Verizon Fios did have them.  She said she had had this issue before, had researched it, and that Verizon did not have nor support multi-stream cards.  She didn't know if they ever would.  Verizon only had the old cards that I already have that will not work in the new TiVos.  I asked her why any of the other people I had talked to today at Verizon had not told me this to begin with!

I then called @TiVo support to see if there was a work-around or if I was going to have to return the TiVo.

TiVo customer support rocks my world!!!  They are awesome!

The TiVo dude said Verizon absolutely does have them.  They are required by the FCC to have them.  He said we would have a three-way phone call with Verizon and resolve this.  Suddenly this new Verizon agent couldn't begin to understand why anyone at Verizon would have told me they do not have the multi-stream card.  She set up a day/time when they would come out to the house and take care of it for me.  The TiVo dude documented the Verizon case number and agent's arrangements.

What crap!  Verizon probably wanted me to rent one of their boxes.  This reminds me of back in the day when the cell phone companies would suddenly switch your service without you knowing until you got a bill from another company.  If I knew how to contact the head of Verizon's customer service and the head of their retail stores, I would tell them what a horrible job they are doing.

Related articles

• TiVo Unveils Its Own DVR-Controlling iPad App (gigaom.com)
• TiVo outs iPad remote app for Premiere DVRs (electronista.com)

This tragic, yet true tweet has been circulating:

The Tea Party - thousands of hard-working middle-class FOX viewers fighting to make sure the rich pay less in taxes.

What's with people that watch FOX?  Rupert Murdock, whose company owns FOX, isn't even an American, and he's getting filthy rich (current net worth is $6.3 billion--with a "b") on the backs of hard-working Americans by scaring and lying to them.  He has way too much power and influence.  Why would anyone trust him at all?!

This, pardon my bluntness, imbecile, Pastor Terry Jones, is nothing more than a religious extremist and an opportunist.  That the media gave him any national attention speaks to their lack of professionalism and their contribution to validating his absurd attention-seeking, sensationalist behavior.  Extreme voices that lack credibility should be marginalized not sensationalized. The for-profit based media in the country is once again to blame for making news where none existed and ignoring the issues of substance we face in this nation and abroad.

I suspect that Jones' calling his hate-filled event off has less to do with what he claims and more to do with a quiet visit he received from the FBI earlier today.

From where I sit, Al Qaeda and nut cases like this have a whole lot in common.  They are radical extremists whose causes the whole world should marginalize.

Related articles:

• Obama Decries Quran Burning (blogs.wsj.com)
• "Terry Jones is an attention-seeking moron" and related posts (hammeroftruth.com)
• BREAKING: Pastor Terry Jones Agrees To Cancel Burning Of Korans (joemygod.blogspot.com)

Normally, when I travel, I keep pretty busy.  But this past trip, when I arrived at the hotel, I did a quick digital checkin and then flipped on the TV —a rare thing. I couldn't find anything of interest; so, I left the TV on HBO with some crazy vampire thing, TrueBlood, about to start. I had some passive knowledge that HBO had a series about vampires and thought it ridiculous.

They played two episodes back to back. So awesome! I'm now completely hooked! I bought the first two seasons at the iTunes store (Season One, Season Two) and have now caught up.  Unfortunately, HBO has not released any episodes in the current season (three).  Season four has been scheduled for production.

HBO has a brilliant marketing campaign for the series, including bottles of "TrueBlood" that can be purchased. I particularly like this iPhone wallpaper, a special bandage just for vampire bites for "fang bangers." If they sold these, I think I would purchase a box as a conversation starter!

Alan Ball, of American Beauty and Six Feet Under (both of which I loved!) is the creator and producer of the series. I think he also is one of the screenwriters for this series, which is based on the book series by Charlaine Harris. However, a quick internet search reveals that the HBO series includes at least one additional character not found in the novels.

The intro to the HBO series is fantastically evocative and exquisitely sets the tone for the series! The music, with its cajun influence, is awesome.  I bought some of the tracks at the iTunes store.  The small town setting in Louisiana is compelling and authentically done. The symbolism is nothing short of brilliant. The religious overtones are, as they should be, nothing short of disturbing. The set design, lighting, casting, and costume design are flawless. This series is exceptionally well done!

Related articles:

• HBO's 'True Blood': Season 3 Goes 'Twilight' (with a twist) (beliefnet.com)
• How HBO has pushed back the boundaries of modern television (guardian.co.uk)
• HBO Gets More Sookie (observer.com)
• HBO "True Blood" Season 4 (popcrunch.com)

I had no idea that the grandson of the renowned late Jacque Cousteau lives just a few miles up the road in Santa Monica, California. As a child I loved watching his grandfather's expeditions. This interview is so depressing.

I could cut my leg off, I could cut my arm off, I could gouge my eye out, I'd still probably survive, but not very well," Cousteau said. "And that's what we're doing to our oceans.

Pointing to massive annual dead zones off the U.S. coast, Cousteau explained that our oceans are past their tipping point:

The Florida Keys, third longest barrier reef in the world, is a dead zone. Ninety percent of the big fish, the tuna, the sharks, and other things, are already gone in the oceans. There's a dead zone in the Gulf Of Mexico every summer the size of New Jersey, where there's not enough oxygen for things to live. So it's not a question of 'Can the oceans take any more?' The oceans can't take any more. They couldn't take any more fifty years ago. The question is, when are we going to stop?

Source: Phillippe Cousteau To Bill Maher: Even Before Oil Spill, The Oceans Couldn't Take Any More (VIDEO)

He also speaks of the enormous mass of non- biodegradable plastics in the middle of the Pacific ocean larger than the size of the state of Texas! Ironic, isn't it.

Related articles:

• Phillippe Cousteau, Jr. To Bill Maher: Even Before Oil Spill, The Oceans Couldn't Take Any More (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Phillippe Cousteau Joins Bill Maher to Talk Deepwater Disaster (VIDEO) (treehugger.com)
• Philippe Cousteau dives into the Gulf oil spill (theworld.org)
• Behind the Scenes With First Divers To Descend Beneath the Surface of Gulf Oil Spill (Exclusive) (treehugger.com)
• Underwater nightmare: 'What BP does not want you to see.' (thinkprogress.org)
• Cousteau's grandson: "This is a nightmare." (crooksandliars.com)

 

The most brilliant storytelling ever on television. Ever!

Epic. Heart wrenching. Complex. Ever evolving. Captivating. Brilliantly crafted. Flash backs. Flash Forwards. Flash sideways. Convergence.

Ironically, I didn't watched it on TV until the final episode. Even then, I didn't see it live. I saw it on my iPod and my iPad as an iTunes purchase. Another first. Every episode.

I will miss the characters.

Brilliant!

Related articles:

• 'Lost' Finale Explained: Answering the Unanswered Questions (screenrant.com)
• Ending a Series Is Hard to Do (patspapers.com)

I really like my Canon 5DmkII DLSR.  I've grown a lot more comfortable with it and am continuously amazed at what it produces.  Nothing astounds me more than the HD video it shoots.

I'm not a person who watches TV.  I've never watched the TV series House.  But this year's season finale of House is notable because it is the first TV episode to be shot entirely using the Canon 5DmkII.  Take a peek at the teaser.  The image quality is stunning.

Related articles:

• House Season Finale Shot Entirely on a Canon 5D Mark II [Photography] (gizmodo.com)
• Watch House? Like gadgets? Tonight's episode was the one shot on a 5D mk II (crunchgear.com)
• Season finale of 'House' filmed with Canon DSLR (macworld.com)
• Canon 5D Mark II used to shoot entire House season finale, director says it's 'the future' (engadget.com)

The extreme, religious right-wing conservatives have won yet another significant victory in their efforts to force their world view down the throats of unsuspecting Americans. I personally don't care what they choose to believe. But I take HUGE issue with their feverish evangelical approach to forcing everyone else in the nation live by their narrow belief system. In fact, I resent the hell out of anyone, right or left, forcing their beliefs on me, let alone forcing them on unsuspecting children to whom they didn't give birth!

Knowing they could never pull this off in California, the conservative movement targeted Texas, the state that gave the nation George W. Bush. In a 10 - 5 vote along party lines, the Texas Board of Education voted to approve the following conservative tenets being taught in their state's Social Studies curriculum and supported by the state-adopted textbooks:

• stress the superiority of American capitalism
• question the founding fathers commitment to a purely secular government
• present Republican political ideologies in a more positive light

Make no mistake, this is a carefully planned, well executed strategy by the ultra conservative think tanks. They have turned their initial claims of their own personal religious persecution into the wholesale religious persecution of the entire nation.  The end result will be religious tyranny, a return to the middle ages.

This decision in Texas has enormous ramifications for the entire nation—hence why it was targeted. The school textbook industry sells more textbooks in California, but too many people here have diverse thinking. But Texas is ripe for the picking. The good people of Texas think conservatively—very, ultra conservatively. Texas has the second largest textbook purchasing power in the nation. This is significant.

Now, the textbook industry will rewrite the Social Studies textbooks so they can sell them in Texas. This means the remainder of the nation will be forced to buy the drivel with which the ultra conservatives want their children in Texas indoctrinated. Mark my words:  This is a political victory of the highest order with long term ramifications of the most serious kind.

The extreme right-wing conservative think tanks have taken the minds of many unsuspecting Americans with their ownership of FOX so-called "news."  They have taken ownership of the conservative Republican party of which I was once a part. They have manipulated to control the highest court in the land. Now they are seeking the minds of the nation's children.  This is serious!  My country is actually under assault!

These extremists have quietly and patiently executed their strategy well under the banner of traditional values, heritage, and the homeland for decades.  The only way I think Americans can fight this momentous trend to force the nation to live by a narrowly-defined, prescriptive set of religious values that divest diversity, deep thinking, critical analysis, social justice, economic opportunity for all, open mindedness, tolerance, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of faith practice, et. al., is to support countervailing strategies that are just as well planned and executed.  As I've said, people who have divergent opinions and thoughts are the carefully selected target.

And as I've said before, I've become increasingly disgusted with what my nation is rapidly becoming, where the will of the few is increasingly being inflicted on the many in wealth aggregation, religious practice, legal policy, and now school curriculum. The extremist conservatives are well funded and organized at the grassroots level. It's time to stand up to them in an equally well funded grass roots effort.  The problem:  unlike the radical conservative thinkers of their movement who can manipulate their masses with a highly defined, carefully crafted agenda of fear, open minded people who think critically lack a central focus around which to organize.

We have lacked a motivating rallying cry around which to centralize our efforts.  Let this be it:  preserving our true American heritage from those extremist conservatives who are rapidly redefining it and marginalizing everyone who thinks differently from them!

Where are all of the libertarians that want the freedom to live their lives as they personally define the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness?!

Tim is so not happy!

Related articles

• Texas Textbook MASSACRE: 'Ultraconservatives' Approve Radical Changes To State Education Curriculum (huffingtonpost.com)
• Texas Approves Conservative Curriculum (politics.slashdot.org)
• Texas conservatives rewrite history | Richard Adams (guardian.co.uk)
• Texas Becomes Laughingstock Once Again: State Board of Ed Determines History Is a Liberal Conspiracy (schoolsmatter.info)
• Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards (nytimes.com)
• Texas ed board adopts social studies standards (sfgate.com)

Yesterday was an interesting day for me—most days are, actually. But the planets seemed to be especially aligned, or maybe yesterday was a "rip, a hole in the time/space continuum" that "take us thru the event horizon." *

1. I got an email invitation to connect with another Tim Tyson on a social network site. What was particularly interesting is that I've been receiving emails for over a year, maybe two, intended for this guy. Apparently our email addresses at a particular email service provider are very similar, and people would type his incorrectly. Since we both have the same name, it's understandable.

At first I thought these were all some sort of junk mail. But they followed a pattern. Apparently he is a well respected videographer who travels the world filming special projects. Nice. (Maybe he's really me in another life?--hence my quotation above)

I'm not really sure how he figured out who I am or why he asked me to join his social network, but when I checked out his social network site (which talked about what he does for a living) along with his email address (which is almost identical to mine), I realized the connection. (You realize, of course, that this could only happen in a digital world with palm-sized, time-warping transporter devices, right?)

Even more amazingly, the "other" Tim Tyson recently finished projects with the British Council about Global Schools Partnerships. Amazingly, the last year I was a school principal, the Director of Bilateral Programmes from the British Council came to visit my school. She was interested in setting up partnerships between the UK and my school. And now the other Tim Tyson is shooting video about these projects?! What are the odds, I ask—even demand?!

The multi-year-long bizarre mystery of the Tim Tyson emails has been solved! But I save the best for last...

2. Imagine getting an unexpected email from a former student who writes this sentence: "I have come to realize that doing what is comfortable or popular tends to be far less rewarding than doing what is right." Now, this young man is only 18! He apparently has become somewhat of an activist for issues related to respect and social justice "for historically marginalized groups." His efforts have earned him national recognition, honors, and some significant opportunities.

My first encounter with younger students who felt a moral imperative to act on issues of social justice came during the Ronald Reagan years. (To cut big government spending, Reagan eliminated funding for homeless shelters thereby forcing the homeless to literally live on the streets.) Shortly thereafter, one of my 8th grade students first saw homeless people in downtown Atlanta. He was from an affluent home and had no idea such a thing could exist in our country. He was outraged, and, as an 8th grader, on his own, took it upon himself to launch a letter-writing campaign to the Georgia governor to have the issue addressed.

I've known many such young people since then—all with an inner calling directing their efforts to make the world a better place. I celebrate all of these young people who, at a very early age, feel compelled to act for positive change.

Their lives color the world with hope.

* Yes, I stole that line from a tweet by Miles Kahn, a producer for The Daily Show. That's actually part of what he said about tonight's show. I laughed out loud when I read his tweet.

NPR, CPB, PBS:  all such powerful voices for deep, reflective, critical thinking in a time when we just tend to want some quick affirmation from those who support our current perspective on reality.  I've often, through the years, speculated that this is indeed the very reason these voices come under attack from political forces that feel challenged by dispassionate reason and reflection.

I've always had such great respect for Bill Moyers' work.  He asks deep and difficult questions in a quest for understanding and clarity rather than persuasion and opinion-making.  I stumbled upon, quite by accident, this Bill Moyers' Journla today:  an interview with Ted Olson and David Boies—unlikely legal partners joined to litigate against marriage inequality in California's ongoing battle with Proposition 8.

Having missed the broadcast (I was completely unaware of it.) I listened with interest as these three men had a provocative discussion of the case.  I was most curious how a brilliant, extremely conservative attorney and a brilliant extremely liberal attorney could in any way find common ground on this, of all, issues.  The conversation with Bill is fascinating and illuminating. In typical fashion, Bill asks some very demanding questions of these men.

This video and transcript, along with many other programs, can be found at PBS:  The Bill Moyers' Journal.

Well, as little as I watched it, I shouldn't have a dawg in this fight, oh... that's Randy Jackson's line: "Yo, Dawg, now listen up." But I hated to see Paula Abdul not return to the show. Even though she appeared to be "heavily medicated" at times, for her back pain, I'm sure, she was nice to the contestants--unlike Simon Fuller, whose remarks could be a bit caustic, if not always on the mark.

I will miss classic lines from Paula, like: "I really liked your second performance tonight so much better than your first.", when none of the contestants had sung a second number yet.

But, even with all of her issues, I still liked Paula. In fact, I'm with a friend of mine: I want Paula on my Death Panel.

But Ellen DeGeneres will be a nice replacement for Paula. She's pretty and comes across as kind and sensible. Perhaps she also takes less "medication."

But had some distant, far removed knowledge of what happened. Reflecting back on this now, 30 years later, I am made somber: the loss of reason, the grave consequences of wicked religious ideology, the sickness of delusional thinking ...

The PBS documentary below is sensitive and informative yet deeply disturbing. Will we learn?

Nov 18, 1977 [sic]
To Whomever Finds this Note,

Collect all of the tapes, all the writing, all the history. The story of this movement, this action, must be examined over and over. We did not want this kind of endin'. We wanted to live, to shine, to bring light to a world that is dying for a little bit of love. There's quiet as we leave this world. The sky is gray. People file by us slowly and take the somewhat bitter drink. Many more must drink. A teeny kitten sits next to me watchin'. A dog barks. The birds gather on the telelphone wires. Let all of the story this People's Temple be told. If nobody understands, it matters not. I'm ready to die now. Darkness settles over Jonestown on its last day on earth.

And, from Charles A. Krause's article in today's Washington Post: (Charles was one of the journalists who survived the Nov. 18, 1978 trip to Jonestown with Congressman Ryan)

Many Jonestown survivors and their families believe that the lessons of Jonestown are to remember and guard against demagogues who use religion as a cover for fraud, deception and imposing their own sometimes dangerous social and political beliefs on their naive and unsuspecting followers.

... It was that theme that dominated Tuesday's memorial service at the mass grave in Oakland. In an emotional and highly charged address, the Rev. Amos Brown, bishop at San Francisco's Third Baptist Church and president of the San Francisco NAACP, warned the mourners to beware of religious leaders who claim to have all the answers and insinuate themselves into politics, as Jones did so effectively in San Francisco.

"Good religion elevates folk, it teaches people to think for themselves. Good religion isn't authoritarian. Good religion isn't bigoted," he said. "Open up your eyes, America. America isn't a theocracy, it's a democracy. . . . And that is the lesson we must learn from Jonestown."

Nick Carr has an thought-provoking article on the revival of Marshall McLuhan's media theories on his blog that was also published at The Guardian. It's well worth the read. Especially sobering to me is his citing McLuhan's statement from Understanding Media, explicating his views on commercial exploitation of electric media:

"Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit by taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves, we don't really have any rights left."

The limited ownership of our nation's media, concentrating so much power and influence in the hands of so very few, is of enormous concern to me. If, in the Marxist's opinion, religion was the opiate of the people, in our nation today, the opiate of the people has become a pervasive and continuous diet of media, making the typical American mentally fat, out of shape, and lazy. We have become overweight media slobs.

Thinking isn't dangerous, it's responsible.

be on a rant, but I just returned from Borders Bookstore. The entrance is plastered with 2008 calendars. I don't recall a time in my lifetime (was I just not paying attention?) when so many people were ready to get rid of the president. Five calendars were specific to counting down the days to the end of the Bush administration. Next to these were calendars focused on Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Also at the entrance was a book proporting to be the "inside story" on the Bush administration. In my mind that conjures up the concepts of greed, excess, maximized corporate profit margins, minimized attention to the needs of average Americans, lies, deception, arrogance, deceit, narrow-mindedness, ignorance, and just plain mono-syllabic stupidity.

Contrast that with what appeared next to the Bush book: President Bill Clinton's book, Giving.

From President Clinton's foundation's website:

But the true story of giving is being written everyday with individuals like you. With the power of the internet, everyone has the unprecedented ability to change the world. I look forward to learning your stories and working together to give our children the gift of a brighter tomorrow.

--Bill Clinton

Listen to an inspirational message from President Clinton.

Thinking people go to bookstores, buy books, read, and think. Bookstores market what sells. Don't look to Fox News to tell you that thinking Americans are disgusted beyond any measure. Look inside your local bookstore, and see what's flying off of the shelves.

What a contrast. Night and day. Psst... It's time for a change!

I came across this and loved it! You know, I think that Sally is probably correct!

FOX censored Sally Field's anti-war comments during her acceptance speech at the Emmys.

Some people want to claim it's because she said "god damn", but clearly FOX has no qualms airing "god damn" cause on a recent FOX News program they aired it 5 times in the span of a couple of minutes.

Oh, and the FCC ruled that "goddamn" is perfectly acceptable on broadcast television.

FOX just didn't want you to hear what Sally said, and the majority of Americans already know, that "if mothers ruled the world there'd be no goddamn wars in the first place."

A big thanks to ChrisBG at the Newshounds for remembering this "god damn" segment on FOX News and then actually finding it!

Source: Video: FOX Attacks Goddamn Sally Field

I find my life littered with too much unsolicited advertising as it is. I want all of my visual space less polluted with unsolicited advertising. I want my audio space less polluted with unsolicited advertising--in fact, just less polluted with noise (including the constant beat of what someone else defines as "music") in general. My email box...my mailbox... I want the physical and virtual space I live in to be noise and clutter free! I dream. Sadly, methinks more is to come! Nothing is free--not even space.

It starts with Starbucks - hear a song you like while sipping a latte, connect your iPhone to their wifi, buy it. Take it a step further, and when you walk into a Target, Nordstroms, or Sephora (for example) and get targeted deals sent right to your promiscuous iPhone. Obviously you don’t have to choose to view it, or use the wifi in such stores, but there’s the model! Maybe this Starbucks collaboration will lead to essentially free (ad-driven) wifi in more places. This could really turn the tide as it seems more and more wifi is closing the doors to being offered up for free.

Source: Why Starbucks/Apple Collab is so Interesting

I'm surprised it took this long! But perhaps timing is everythings. Now that the political tides are changing, I hope to see a lot of things "set right."

Dan Rather, the former CBS Evening News anchor, names the network, parent company Viacom Inc. and three of his former bosses in a $70 million suit. Rather, 75, says the network made him a "scapegoat" for a discredited story about President Bush's National Guard service in Texas.

Source: Rather Sues CBS for $70 Million

I have always felt guilty about how little I tag. I see the value of it. I just never think about it when I write. Now tagging goes to a new level pushing the bounds of broadcast technology, making it more interactive.

Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 10:10 PM EDT
Responding to the desire of millions of people who discover music via their favorite local radio broadcasts, Apple, iBiquity Digital, and major radio broadcasting groups unveiled today the result of an industry-wide initiative to create a new, free service called "iTunes Tagging."

iTunes Tagging is designed to make music discovery, purchase and listening even more fun and simple for all. iTunes Tagging enables consumers using HD Radio receivers that have been equipped with a special Tag button, to "tag" songs that they hear on the FM dial for subsequent purchase via iTunes.

"iTunes tagging takes music discovery on the radio to the next level," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod Product Marketing, in the press release. "When a song plays on your HD Radio that you like, a simple push of a button will tag it and later give you the chance to preview, purchase, and enjoy it with iTunes and your iPod."

Source: MacDailyNews - Apple, iBiquity Digital, major radio broadcasters announce iTunes tagging for HD Radio

Technorati Tags: Apple, itunes, media

Can you tell that I am about to launch into some serious production and encoding projects over here?! I know this bores many of my readers out of their minds, but Mark, you probably need the info, and I need to keep track of this as a reference guide.

This article, by Jesse David Hollington over at iLounge, is very informative and a tad lengthy. I am including a few charts from the article here in this post in case their archive doesn't last long. Jesse does an excellent job of illustrating aspect ratios visually and provides data for the video iPod, AppleTV, and iPhone. He also presents detailed information about resolution, bit rate, file size, anamorphic encoding, and then offers some recommended resolutions settings for typical content formats. As the number of formats is growing, this article is very helpful! The link to the article as at the bottom of this post.

... Even today, however, the video formats supported by the iPod, Apple TV, and iPhone are relatively limited compared to the number of formats available on the market. This means that just about any content that you want to view on these devices is going to require some type of conversion process. The advent of these new devices has complicated the landscape even further, since more options are now available for both the viewing and encoding of videos, but with these changes come more considerations about how to encode video for the best possible viewing experience. ...

Source: The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats | iLounge

Everyone seems to want in on the action now that the Apple iPhone device has lived up to all of the hype. But where was Verizon when they were offered the deal with Apple? I don't think this is as easy as everyone wants to make it sound. From what I read in the blogosphere at the time, Verizon wasn't willing to let Apple dictate how the visual voicemail would work. It was about who controls the way the platform works. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But undeniably, the iPhone is making an impact on the way consumers want access. The whole telecommunications industry is scrambling. I think this is just the beginning. Way to go Apple!

But let's get real. AT&T has enough money and political influence (said nicely) to keep their monopoly on the iPhone for at least a while. Oops! Did I use the "M" word?

Jeff Croft wrote this little article that I think is helpful. I want to post for my future reference when working with video projects.

The bottom line is that progressive scan has about about 50% more vertical resolution than interlaced pictures with the same number of lines, and does not show the aliasing artifacts associated with interlaced video.

In marketing materials, progressive and interlaced video are abbreviated p and i respectively. They are usually preceded by a numeral, which is the number of pixels (or lines) tall the image is. Since the typical screen aspect ratio is 16:9, you can figure out the width of the image accordingly.

My high definition series three TiVo, named Sheila, now has a new friend to play with:  a Sony KDL-40V2500.  I had no idea the Discovery channel was so gorgeous in high definition!  It blew my socks off!

In only 10 - 15 minutes, I had everything hooked up and working.  This TV has a gorgeous image, and it fits perfectly inside the armoire--as if it were made for it.  But best of all, it was on sale, almost half the price being charged just before Christmas time!  Something newer, better, and even more delightful must be afoot?

I don't watch it often, but this guy, Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, is so funny. And Comedy Central lets bloggers embed their Flash movies (although the links expire). Here is the link to The Daily Show at the iTunes store.

This is documentation of a hidden feature that forces your TiVo to skip 30 seconds ahead to avoid those annoying commercials:

Press the following keys on the remote:

• Select
• Play
• Select
• 3
• 0
• Select
• Then press the ’skip to next track’ button to jump ahead 30 seconds. That button looks something like this: ->|

Technorati Tags: commercials, TiVo

I just watched this little video clip of Bob Metcalfe, filmed at the opening reception for the Emerging Technologies Conference back in September. He is speaking about the impact of video on the internet and offers these interesting observations:

• The internet started as only upper case text, then added lower case, then added a red and black ribbon; gradually advancing over the past 30 years
• Video is now the next step but requires new technologies (bandwidth pipes, protocols, etc.) which we are in the middle of developing
• The world needs to substitute communication for transportation: an answer to the rising costs of transportation is more pervasive and better communication technologies
• Chris Anderson's notion of The Long Tail is an important component of this emerging technology as well: the costs associated with TV required audiences of millions, but the costs associated with the internet are minimal, affording this medium the opportunity to supply more and more sophisticated multimedia content for just 1, 5 or 10 people in "the long tail"
• We had a now "old notion" that professionals would never sit in front of keyboard and type
• Another truism about to be reversed is that face-to-face communication is essential to the marketplace
• Online video communication will at some point in the future replace face-to-face "pressing the flesh"

I suspect he's right! And I for one can't wait. The internet has without doubt begun a radical restructuring of our concept of "broadcast." I think this fundamental democratization of the world has significant implications for cultural, political, and ethical cohesiveness. Aggregation becomes a fundamentally essential skill: sifting and reshifting--creating a new balance between a broad spectrum of (and even intense display of) diversity and the transcending ideas that diversity represents. The war over ideas is only going to grow more complex and more intense.

And I also think our concept of what an aggregator is will change. Rupert Murdoch was probably brilliant to purchase MySpace: the ultimate aggregator of the younger generation's thinking becomes the ultimate marketing tool?!

Technorati Tags: ideaFactory, communication

I spent several hours yesterday introducing Sheila to the home network. Sheila is the new 300 hour Series 3 High Definition THX certified TiVo that finally arrived last week after several weeks of great anticipation. Connecting her to the network wasn't really all that difficult. The most complex part, which took about 3 hours of trial and error without the correct equipment) was identifying and then plugging that correct port into the router.

When I downloaded the 68 page set of directions I thought I would probably never be able to get this to work. Well, 64 of the 68 pages were about all of the horror Windows users have to experience, but, delightfully also included an entire chapter on troubleshooting. As a Mac user, I had to only do the following:

• download the software
• do a basic Mac software install (just a few clicks to "agree" and then enter your password)
• Launch System Preferences and click on TiVo
• Click to launch the streaming server and enable iPhoto pictures and iTunes music to be shared with the TiVo

It was really easy!

I've never had a TiVo, or for that matter any kind of digital media recorder for television before, and I love this thing. It's like Google for TV! The user interface is really user-friendly, like my mac. So here are some things I've already discovered that it does that I love:

• search the TV shows from my cable subscription for keywords, actors, etc. and record them automatically
• find all instances of a particular program (no matter what channels or times) and record them (what they call Season Pass)
• make recommendations to me based on my viewing habits (limited though they are)
• play my photos (in my iPhoto library) and my music (from my iTunes library and playlists) on the TV over the home network
• allow me to schedule recording via the internet

Now I need a high definition flat panel TV with which to use this, but the really good ones seem so needlessly expensive! And now, as usual, I have already logged onto the TiVo website and made lots of suggestions for features for the next generation TiVo!

The press is suggesting this news has huge implications for Apple: billions in revenue! Since so much money will be involved, I'm sure that matter (litigation) is just beginning.

A recent out-of-court settlement between Apple Computer and a Vermont-based inventor has landed Apple the rights to a prestigious software design patent that may allow the company to seek royalties on a broad spectrum of digital downloads.

Michael Starkweather, a lawyer and author of the 10-year old patent, issued a statement on Thursday calling it a "billion dollar patent" that will have affects on the future of the "cell phone, iPod and PDA" industries.

"I believe that, with this patent in hand, Apple will eventually be after every phone company, film maker, computer maker and video producer to pay royalties on every download of not just music but also movies and videos," he said.

Source: AppleInsider | Apple gains control of critical digital download patent