« December 2005 | Main | February 2006 »

January 30, 2006

"ONE OF OUR OWN IS DOWN" -- LET THE LOVEFEST AND INAPPROPRIATE COVERAGE BEGIN

Yesterday's news was swift, accurate, and as is unfortunately always the case when one of their own goes down, inappropriate and over done. ABC's World New Tonight co-anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt were seriously injured in a roadside explosion in Taji, Iraq Sunday. Both are now listed in "serious condition" and are being treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl/Kirchberg, Germany.

As is so often the case when a celebrity or high profile member of a network news team goes down, the entire network--from its local affiliates and national evening news team, to its national morning news show and cable counterparts--kicks into high gear to tell us all about the situation and how wonderful a person so-and-so was or still is. Case in point: Peter Jennings.

When Jennings, the foreign news correspondent and anchor of ABC's World News Tonight died last August of complications associated with lung cancer at age 67, ABC News devoted enormous amounts of on-air time to tell us everything there ever was to know about this quintessential career newsman's life and career. But what was even more astonishing and deplorable (in my opinion) than the time ABC spent on this non-story, was the fact that every other leading national and cable network--from CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox, and even ESPN--had their anchors and morning show hosts' put on dark suits to report the same thing, day after day, adnausium.

According to the Tyndall Report, which monitors the American television networks' weekday nightly newscasts, Jennings death received 56 minutes worth of coverage out of the 285 total minutes in which national evening news--excluding commercials--was aired on all three major networks for the week of August 8-12, 2005. Now, you might be saying to yourself that 56 minutes doesn't seem like a lot of air time, especially when compared to the total number of minutes in which actual news aired (285). But I would argue that when one looks at those 56 minutes Jennings' death received as a percentage of the total time allotted for all news--it turns out to be nearly twenty percent (20%)--that the amount of time devoted to his death was significantly disproportionate to what matters and what should be considered newsworthy in the lives of ABC's and the other networks viewers. Throw into the mix the amount of time Good Morning America focused on Jennings death, and you'd easily have on your hands a network--ABC--that devoted nearly forty percent (40%) of news for the week ending August 12, 2005, on the death of one person... a person, mind you, who worked for the very network broadcasting the 'news.'

During this morning's second hour of ABC's Good Morning America, co-host Charlie Gibson (who by the way goes by "Charles" Gibson when he fills in on ABC World News Tonight) said, "We are all very aware that every death or injury in Iraq is a deeply personal experience for the families of those killed or injured, but this one just happens to have happened in our family, so that's why we're devoting so much time to it." Talk about over-the-top belly-button gazing. ABC News, and indeed all of the networks, would be better served by focusing time, attention, and resources on gathering and reporting news that demands to be reported, rather than focusing the news on their own personnel or on things that just don't matter.

For example, did you know that during the month of June, 2005, ABC News ran 10 segments covering government-backed genocide that unfolded in the Darfur region of the Sudan, verses 45 segments discussing the "Runaway Bride" and 468 segments covering Michael Jackson's trial? It's true, and ABC's track record on Darfur isn't even the worst of the lot. Over at NBC and CBS, the numbers are worse: 0 stories on the Sudan, 38 on the Runaway Bride, and 614 on Michael Jackson (for NBC), while CBS weighed in with 5 on Darfur, 85 on the Runaway Bride, and 526 on Michael Jackson. (These figures, by the way, come straight from the American Progress Action Fund's www.BeAWitness.org, just in case anyone's interested.)

My point in sharing all of this is to point out the serious problem our leading news gathering sources have with gathering and reporting what's newsworthy. All across the globe, and right here in our own backyards, more pressing issues loom than the health and well-being of one particular journalist and cameraman who intentionally put themselves in harms way. Here in Indianapolis, as is the case in thousands other towns across the United State of America and the rest of the world, the causes and cures for domestic violence, homelessness, child abuse, and fraud against seniors often gets overlooked by news gathering organizations who seemingly care more about ratings and satisfying their own urges than they do about reporting on the types of issues we really need to know about.

It's high time for the fraternity that is ABC, NBC, and CBS to step up to the plate and do as good a job or better at reporting the news as they do when they choose to focus inwardly and report on themselves.

That's what I think. How about you?

Posted by Mikal at 10:32 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 27, 2006

FOUR FOR FRIDAY

Q1 - Moving: According to a recent report on American Public Mediaís ëMarketplace,í in New York City, landlords and developers are paying big money (in some cases upwards of six figures and more) to convince renters to vacate their rent-controlled apartments. The practice, which makes way for property owners to then raise rents or build luxury condos, is now commonplace in many cities where rent-controlled housing still exists. Do you like your home or apartment? If so, what would it take to get you to agree to move?

Q2 - You Choose: Which is more important to you... Liberty or Security?

Q3 - Drinking: If you could drink anything right now--alcoholic or otherwise--what and how much of it would you drink?

Q4 - Counting: How many light bulbs are in your home, and when was the last time you had to change one?

Posted by Mikal at 1:02 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

January 23, 2006

I've put t-shirts on backwards, jackets on inside-out, shoes on the wrong feet, and underwear on inside out-ass-backwards, but it took me 40-years, 4 months, and 4 days to do this:

If it's not abundantly clear--the above picture, that is--earlier this morning I put toothpaste on the bottom side of the head of my toothbrush, and didn't notice until the toothbrush itself was less than an inch from my mouth. I swear, while some days aren't even worth getting out of bed for (kidding), today's not one of them.

I happen to be one of the rare few that actually likes Mondays. From a business perspective, my brain never shuts off, and the weekends are no exception. Take this past weekend for example... while it was the GF's birthday Saturday, she'd probably be aghast to hear that in between the celebrating, I had no less than three new business ideas pop into my head, which means come Monday morning (that's today for those of you not following along), I get to hop online and do some investigating--in between other stuff, of course, like looking for a full-time job.

Other things I'm excited about this Monday morning:

Granola: Yes, I said Granola. A few weekends ago I was flipping channels and landed on a Food Network episode of 'Recipe For Success.' Has anyone watched this show? If not, here's a quick overview. In each episode, host Eric McLendon profiles people who swallowed their fears to undertake a somewhat risky food-related career makeover. The show tracks budding businesses from the ground up, starting with the idea all the way up to opening day. Well, the episode I watched was all about two 20-somethings from Connecticut who launched their own line of granola called Bear Naked. I was so intrigued by the product that I went out and bought some. Two weeks later and I've already munched my way thru four bags of Bear Naked's Banana Nut Granola (I power-mix the stuff in with my morning and afternoon meal replacement shakes--YUMMY). Anyway, Bear Naked is pretty expensive stuff. One 12 oz. bag costs $4.50 at Wild Oats, which is an expensive habit to feed. So this past weekend, instead of buying more Bear Naked Granola, I picked up some Raspberry Granola from Wild Oats' bulk section, which was on sale for $2.59 lb. In a few minutes, after wrapping up this post, I'm going to try some in my morning shake, and that's why I'm excited about Granola on a Monday morning.

Josh Bernstein's Digging For The Truth: Some readers may remember my previous posts about a friend / former colleague who landed his own television show on The History Channel (click here and here for a couple of those entries). Well, Josh is back for a second season (and why not... according to the cable channel's own executives, the first season of Digging For The Truth was the highest-rated original series in the history of The History Channel). The second season of Josh's show debuts tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern / 8:00 p.m. central, which prompted a friend and fellow blogger--Luke, who also knows Josh from our days together back in Boulder--to send the following picture, which he took himself during a morning train ride into work in downtown Chicago:

That's a cartoon'ish image of Josh tied to a poll on the left side of the photo, right next to an advertisement pumping Dr. Phil's latest book. Suffice to say, another reason to look forward to Mondays... the GF and I get to see a former friend and colleague strutting his historical acumen on cable television. Congratulations, Josh. Keep up the good work!

Happy Monday, everyone!

January 20, 2006

Q1 - Teachers: The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is about to become the largest public school district in the United States to tie teachers' pay to their students' standardized test scores. How do you feel about this? Do you feel HISD and other school districts around the country should be able to tie teacher pay to student performance, or should merit or something else aside from student performance figure into the equation?

Q2 - Osama: Do you honestly think Osama bin Laden will ever be captured or killed by U.S. troops?

Q3 - Emotion: When and why was the last time you screamed at the top of your lungs?

Q4 - Your Bed: Is your bed really comfortable, or do you live with poor sleep caused by the quality of your bedding?

January 14, 2006

In less than 40 hours, nearly fifty (50) of the entertainment industry's most highly paid performers will receive approximately $65,000.00 worth of gifts just for serving as presenters at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards. From a two-week Antarctic Peninsula Adventure for two valued at over $20,000.00, to a Saeco Italia espresso machine valued at nearly $700.00, Hollywoodís elite will receive an array of lavish items... none of which anyone in their right mind can possibly feel are either deserved or warranted in exchange for the time, effort and skills on display come this Monday evening on NBC.

You know, it's not enough that the Barrymore's, Eastwood's, and Paltrow's of this world get paid millions upon millions of dollars just to act; now we have sit by while they receive gifts which they can easily afford with just a blink of an eye.

What businesses like Research In Motion (owners of the Blackberry brand), Marble Slab Creamery, Nintendo, Altoids and others fail to realize is that they literally insult the rest of us when they give their products and services away for free to the people who need them the least. Sure, I know why they do it--I get that a celebrities' use of so-and-so's product or service is akin to an endorsement--but that doesn't excuse the excessive tone with which its done for actors and entertainers who already receive free publicty by just showing up to present at an awards ceremony with a worldwide audience of millions.

It's high time that consumers--you, me, and our friends and colleagues--stop awarding our hard earned dollars to companies that choose to pander to celebrities rather than award their charity to worthy causes.

Click Here for a complete accounting of the nearly $65,000.00 worth of gifts that Jessica Alba, Pamela Anderson, Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Mariah Carey, Penelope Cruz, Catherine Deneuve, Leonardo DiCaprio, Josh Duhamel, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Jamie Foxx, Melanie Griffith, Queen Latifah, Evangeline Lilly, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, Tim McGraw, Ian McShane, Gwyneth Paltrow, William Petersen, Natalie Portman, Dennis Quaid, Tim Robbins, Chris Rock, Emmy Rossum, Nicollette Sheridan, Hilary Swank, Emma Thompson, John Travolta, Denzel Washington, Paul Walker, Luke Wilson, Renee Zellweger, and the entire cast of ìWill and Graceî will receive for just showing up and saying a few words at the 2006 Golden Globe awards.

2006 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS PRESENTER BOXS: LIST OF ITEMS

Quark Expeditions VIP Trip For Two: Leave on a two-week excursion for an Antarctic Peninsula Adventure to Tasmania, Antarctica and New Zealand on a 54-cabin ship to see the wildlife of the artic. This package includes airfare for two to Argentina, hotel accommodations the night before the expedition begins, all meals and expeditions, plus artic gear to wear during the journey. Value: $22,000.00

Rare in Nature: Diamonds of the Canadian Arctic Trip For Two: This Northwest Territories Diamond Experience includes airfare for two, luxurious hotel accommodations, professional diamond cutting and polishing lessons, a private tour of top-security facilities where diamonds are crafted and certified for quality and origin, a personally engraved government certified Canadian diamond mounted in a pendant designed by top Canadian designer Paul Hardy and crafted in New York by Moshe Namdar & Co., plus a luxurious shawl made of Qiviuk fiber harvested from the Arctic Musk Ox. Value: $15,000

Lumineers by Cerinate Gift Certificate: Lumineers whitens and brightens and gives you that Hollywood smile. Value: $4,000.00

Six-Month bi-coastal Membership to The Sports Club: Complete with a personal trainer. Value: $4,000.00

Auberge du Soleil-Napa Valley: Get-a-way package including two-night stay, dinner for two, spa for two and amenities. Value: $3,000.00

Chopard Golden Diamond Ring: Value: $2,000.00

Denim For Immortality Jeans: Jeans exclusively designed for Golden Globes presenters with diamond button by jeweler Sol Raphael. Value: $1,250.00

Hugo Boss Fashions Inc.: Gift certificate for an outfit from the Spring/Summer 2006 BOSS Black or BOSS Orange Menswear or Womanswear collections. Value: $1,200.00

Charlie Lapson: Italian leather handbag. Value: $800.00

WalkStyles Inc.: Fitness monitor, Dash Trak faceplates, $500 certificate for WalkStyles Walk Wear clothing, plus one year subscription to the WalkStyles web site. Value: $730.00

Saeco USA: Italia espresso machine. Value: $695

Philip Stein Teslar: Uni-sex watch with black band helps reinforce the body's energy field. Value: $585.00

The Container Store: In home organization makeover. Value: $500.00

Frey Wille: Men's leather belt. Value: $500.00

Point de Vue Salon: Kerastase hair care and spa services. Value: $500.00

Jackrocketwear Couture: Dog couture outfit, carrying case with canine blanket, delicacies and spa products. Value: $500.00

Research in Motion: Blackberry 8700c personal communcation / organization PDA. Value: $500.00

Crane & Co.: Nieman Marcus Black Label Custom Stationary Set. Value: $500.00

Taryn Rose: Gift certificate for Taryn Rose men's shoes. Value: $400.00

White + Warren: Pure cashmere tipped travel blanket. Value: $395.00

Salt Optics Sunglasses: Value: $375.00

Things Remembered: Men's gift set, including men's leather duffle bag, shave kit, wallet, humidor, card and bar sets. Value: $310.00

Marble Slab Creamery: Custom made quarts of homemade ice cream. Value: $300.00

Vax USA: VAX USA X5 vacuum cleaner. Value: $300.00

Nonnie Wallers: Truffles. Value: $250.00

dean.: Chocolate leather vertical uni-sex messenger bag. Value: $250.00

"The Woman In White": 2 Broadway theater tickets & CD box set by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Value: $250.00

Nintendo of America: 20th Anniversary Edition Game Boy Micro with " Dr. Mario/Puzzle League" game. Value: $250.00

Zoe Oliver: Fashion and Spiritual Jewelry -- Gold necklace with two faceted citrine stones. Value: $250.00

Kiehl's : 20 gift bags for the presenter's own next party. Value: $250.00

Mudroom Halloran Trunk: Custom trunk with plaid fabric to hold all items. Value: $250.00

January 13, 2006

Q1 - You: What one person, out of all the people you know, knows you the best and knows the most about you?

Q2 - Alongside You: If you were recovering from major surgery in a hospital and could have any person, from any era, recovering in the bed next to you, who would it be?

Q3 - Your Computer: Is your computer's home page set to an Internet Service Provider, news/newspaper site, blog, search engine or portal such as Google or Yahoo, or something else? ow often do you change your hompage setting?

Q4 - Your Work: Would you be willing to take a fifty percent (50%) cut in pay to pursue a career or job you were one hundred percent (100%) more passionate about than your current one? If not, what percent cut in pay would you be willing to take?

January 11, 2006

While there's no way I'd be able to sum up everything that happened in my life in 2005 (that's what the Archives section of this site is for), here are five (5) things I'm proud to share:

1. I continued attending weekly 'fat classes' in 2005, which I credit for encouraging me to stay on track with my many health and weight management goals. Without going into much detail, in September of 2003 I started on a quest to lose 40 lbs. by the time I turned 40. Dubbed the "40 x 40" plan, I hit the mark a lot sooner than I or anyone else thought I would, but more remarkably, I managed to keep 40+ pounds off up until and way beyond my 40th birthday, which occurred last September!

2. While I no longer work for John Wiley & Sons, I am proud of the fact that two of the books I conceptualized, acquired, and saw through to publication, were highlighted in Wiley's third quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While Reverse Mortgages For Dummies and Tour de France For Dummies were just two the 20+ titles I was responsible for publishing last year, they were two of only four consumer For Dummies titles highlighted for their content and sales performance by the company's significantly overpaid CEO in an SEC filing (the "Form 10-Q" filing to be exact) which reported quarterly revenue of $236.7 million (an increase of 4 percent from the $226.9 million the company earned in the same quarter one year earlier). And if that wasn't enough, Reverse Mortgages For Dummies was named by noted syndicated real estate columnist Robert J. Bruss one of the 10 BEST real estate books to be published in all of 2005. Bruss' accolades, along with Wiley's own nod to both books, are validation, I feel, that I was a good acquisition editor!

3. In 2005 I came to realization that 'home' is less a "place" and more a set of actions involving certain people and feelings. Those of you who choose to read this blog are a part of my home, and if you read between the lines, you've noticed how often I talk about how much I miss one town in particular. In 2005, I realized that many of the people who live in Boulder, Colorado (my former 'hometown') and it's surrounding burbs, are still part of my home, as is the strong sense of community and freshness I felt while living there. My Mother and Brother in Vermont, along with the GF's family in another state, are also a part of my home, despite being nearly 1,000 miles away. In 2005 I learned that the trick to feeling comfortable with your home,i.e., where I live today, is to be willing to commit not to any one town, i.e., in my case, Boulder, but to moments that contain the opportunity to be exactly where I am, not where I may think I want to be!

4. Another highlight in 2005 was watching friends and colleagues advance on both personal and professional levels. Many of the people I'm fortunate enough to call my friends made significant advancements in 2005, including Ford, Matt, Joe, Mike, Roman, Bryan, Renee, Ian, Kenny, Elizabeth, Hanna, Ret, Scott, Paul, Bob, Christina, Jerry, Missy, Jozet, Danna, Sheila, Deb, Kristin, JJ, Erika, Chrissy, Sarah, Jeremy, Shantanu, Kevin, Dave, Elaine, Zoe, Erin, Kate, Stefan, Jay, Angela, Susan, Luke, Pat, and my Mom, just to name a few. I'm always in awe of the people who just-keep-on-keepin'-on, no matter what they're faced with, no matter what the cost, and no matter who is or is not watching!

5. But perhaps most of all, I'm proud to share that in mid-2005, the GF moved in, and seven-plus months later, she's still here!

Here's wishing everyone a great 2006!

January 6, 2006

Q1 - You and Reality TV: If you were to star in your own reality television show/series, what would the title of your show be, and what would the show focus on?

Q2 - Christmas Cards: Did you mail out any Christmas/Holiday cards in 2005? If so, approximately how many did you send verses receive?

Q3 - Terrorism and Air Travel: Do you feel more vulnerable to terrorism now that Cigar Cutters, Corkscrews, Cuticle Cutters, Eyeglass Repair Tools (including screwdrivers), Eyelash Curlers, Knitting and Crochet Needles, Nail Clippers, Nail Files, Personal care or toiletries with aerosols in limited quantities (such as hairspray), Scissors (plastic or metal with blunt tips only), Toy Transformer Robots, Toy Weapons (if not realistic replicas), Tweezers, Umbrellas and Walking Canes (allowed in carry-on baggage once they have been inspected to ensure that prohibited items are not concealed), and Wrenches and Pliers (seven inches or less in length) are allowed back on domestic flights along with carry-on luggage?

Q4 - Going to the Movies: When searching for a movie or show time at a local theatre, do you refer to a daily newspaper, look it up online, or call the theatre directly?