The Cohenside

Work In Progress #1 - Tree Bark

2010-05-03T12:15:00.005-04:00

Tree Bark by Lon S. Cohen. Pastel on paper. 19 3/4" x 25 1/2".

This is part 1 in a Work In Progress.

This is a work in progress. I'm tackling a pretty complex piece (at least for me). It's going to be a close up of tree bark that will fill the entire paper. There's lots of details and color changes. At this first step I'm sketching out the small sections of bark. There's a lot of detail. I know I'm going to use the sketch as a guide only. I want to get a feel for the transitions between sections of bark and how it flows on the tree. I'll probably cover most of this with the underpainting of pastel but I like to have this as a guide to where the color changes will be.

In the printouts of bark I did from my online research and from observations I made on trees in my backyard I am starting to envision that there will be a lot of color in this painting. There's gray, green, blue and pink in the bark. While most people will think of brown for tree bark I'm trying to do more with the color. In the end, there will definitely be a lot of brown, no doubt, but I want to bring out lots of other natural colors that emerge.

We will see. It's a pretty complicated design and I'm already kicking myself for attempting it. At some point, I will probably want to quit in frustration but I will have to push through to see it to the end. With a project like this there will be a lot of working at it, reworking when something is not coming out and then ultimately complete satisfaction when I suddenly resolve a problem that seems difficult and daunting. That's one of the joys in the process and it's well worth tackling a piece that pushes you out of your comfort level.

If it doesn't turn out exactly as I envisioned, that's OK too. I will have learned something and probably improved my technique. Every painting is an opportunity to learn, even if in the end you're not totally happy with the results, you can use that experience in the next project.

Stay tuned.

Pastel Painting Of A Lion

2010-04-28T12:24:00.006-04:00

Lion by Lon S. Cohen. Pastel on paper. 19 3/4" x 25 1/2" 2010.

I did this one from my usual source, a book that is basically an encyclopedia about animals. I love leafing through the big book for ideas on my next animal to paint. I usually support the image with others I find on the internet or pictures of my own that I've taken at the zoo.

Available for sale.

Contact: lcgd@optonline.net
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Drawing From Almost Nothing.

2010-03-26T09:45:00.003-04:00

Imagine having to sketch a creature by description only or worse yet by fossil evidence and a best guess. A very hard thing to do. That's what scientists have asked a couple of artists to do, draw what might have been based on some old bones and genetic leftovers. It's one thing to let your mind play when creating fantastical creatures that are amalgams of real life animals that you can visit or see in a book or on the web but it's another to be commissioned to draw a thing that hasn't lived in millions of years and no one knows what it looks like.

A New York Times article, "Artists Mine Scientific Clues to Paint Intricate Portraits of the Past," describes just that. Scientists enlisted artists to give life to their discoveries, helping to communicate visually what they have discovered scientifically. A good read.

Arrggghhh!

2010-03-22T16:09:00.003-04:00

Anyone who knows me or has read one of my many rants on Twitter or on my blogs about this subject knows it's near and dear to my heart. The New York Times ran an article about legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby's family suing Disney and Marvel for rights (and profits) from his artistic output. You know, little known characters like Iron Man, Hulk, Fanatstic Four and X-Men who have made a little money for the Marvel entertainment recently. (Perhaps you've heard of them?) Anyway, Disney's huge purchase of Marvel Entertainment meant that Kirby's lawyer sprang into action. He's the same lawyer who sued DC for the Shuster and Speigel families for rights (and money) from their iconic creation, Superman.

It's my pet peeve: Artists who are not fairly compensated for their work especially by big corporations making $billions off said artwork.

Read the article here.

Thirty Something Curators Are Helping To Define Art For A New Generation

2010-03-22T09:37:00.009-04:00

A good multimedia article on The New York Times website highlights four young curtators who speak about their careers and the influences in upcoming shows. Of course, my favorite is Rejendra Roy, curator for the Museum of Modern Art talking about his Tim Burton exhibit. Anyone who knows me knows I think Burton is a genius designer and movie maker. But the point of the story is that these curators, in their thirties are now influencing the way New Yorkers view art through their lens. There's a special magazine section story that goes along with the short audio and slide show. What I like most is to see people of my generation now affecting how millions view art from a not so standard background and defining art for the next generation of viewers.

The Last Days of Animal Man – Issue #6

2010-03-12T09:55:00.005-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

Spoiler Warning: In this series of posts on “The Last Days of Animal Man” limited series comic book, there will be periodical spoilers. If you haven’t read the series and intend to, please be advised that I will discuss plot points and surprises.

This is an ongoing review of the series in six parts. Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.

A leaf coyly covers up the born date on Animal Man’s grave marker. An orange and blue suit flaps in the breeze, draped over the top of the stone marker clearly marked with the death date of 2014. The shadow of Buddy Baker seems to be turning away, walking away, leaving behind the role of Animal Man forever may he rest in peace. Everything on the cover is rendered in a sparse black, gray and morbid green except Animal Man’s empty discarded costume. Even the title of the book has been altered to show that this book means business. As if there were any doubt the letter “s” in the word “Days” in the title, “The Last Days of Animal Man” has been crossed out. It’s a promise of finality as if the 6 of 6 issue numbering wasn’t telling enough. This isn’t only the last issue of the series but the last time we’ll see Buddy Baker as his famous costumed hero.

Here’s the thing. This book has been a good ride. It’s a psychological profile of the downfall of a hero. It defines the man behind the mask and the people who were behind the man behind the mask. It explores the complexities of relationships between a superhero and his cohorts; a superhero and the very man that he was before he became a meta human; the man in the costume with his family as if being a superhero were a civil servant’s job like any other fireman, soldier or police officer. What happened when it’s time to retire? When you’re not fit for duty for whatever reason? How does a man who played at being a demigod with all the strange and wonderful things that come with it just give it all up and become a regular Joe again? Can he?

One thing that Buddy learns in this series is that his family suffered a big price for his powers. The times he was away instead of helping his kids with their homework or attending a little league game made his kids both pragmatic and disillusioned. His son seeks to emulate his father, though without his powers by putting himself fully into his work as a lawyer fighting for the conservation of the environment – like his father fought for animal rights as Animal Man. His daughter matter-of-factly tells him point-blank that he just wasn’t there for her and after a certain point, she just stopped caring that he wasn’t going to be a big part of her life. His wife remained ever faithful but the toll on her is obvious and she’s none too sad that Buddy’s Animal Man powers are fading. She tries to remind him time and again that he was a man before he was Animal Man and that counts more than all the meta human powers in the universe.

Ultimately, this is what Buddy learns. From his memories of his father’s point of view on life and manhood, to his lost powers to his duty to continue on as a superhero without his powers he learns that the man is much more important than the super man. From this he draws the strength to attempt a rescue of his fellow Justice Titan Leaguers (or whatever new hybrid futuristic group Conway dreamed up for this series) ending up at the mercy of two super powered psychos high above Times Square, beaten and defeated.

In a scene that may be just symbolic, a dream or an actual encounter, Buddy faces the aliens who gave him his power. They try to answer the question that Buddy has been asking all along, “Why?” In a short but poignant conversation the aliens tell him that in defeat and death all living things are equal yet it is how they face defeat that makes them special. “Face death and live,” one alien tells him.

So the theme has been defined. Eventually all of us, every single person who ever lived and ever will live will have to cope with defeat. We all face the ultimate truth that “existence struggles with nonexistence,” as the aliens put it. Buddy’s father also told him that you can’t chose how you die but you can chose how you live. He finally gets it in the end with the last breath of power to tap into the morphogenetic field of energy created by all living creatures. He will face this end of Animal Man as he has every single other defeat in his career as a superhero: Never give up living.

Animal Man may be defeated but Buddy Baker lives. He beats the bad guys and ends up in a good place with his family. As he says in the final panel, life is a choice and he chooses to life.

The Last Days of Animal Man is a limited series published by DC Comics.

The Last Days of Animal Man – Issue #5

2010-03-09T12:29:00.007-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

Spoiler Warning: In this series of posts on “The Last Days of Animal Man” limited series comic book, there will be periodical spoilers. If you haven’t read the series and intend to, please be advised that I will discuss plot points and surprises.

This is an ongoing review of the series in six parts. Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.

Empire Strikes Back was the best movie of all of the Star Wars films. Know why? Because the good guys get their asses kicked and they’re mad, defeated and on the brink of total annihilation. Issue #5 of The Last Days of Animal Man has that kind of feel. From the cover image you kind of get the point. Animal Man has pretty much lost all of his powers and he’s in vigilante mode taking up a baseball bat and motorcycle helmet for defense. It’s not exactly Batman gear but it’ll have to do on short notice, especially since he’s got one last Ace up his sleeve.

One curiosity that runs through out the entire series so far is the inconstancy and utter uselessness of the Justice League/Teen Titan hybrid group that Gerry Conway has dreamed up. They seem only to serve as props to further the story along instead of characters. Even Starfire serves to show how far down Animal Man has gone and that his mind is not in the right place, rather than a fellow superhero. It’s big flaw in the writing of a series that show a high level of storytelling and creativity. But I forgive Conway because I know as a writer myself that sometimes you just have to rely on a crutch in order to keep the story moving forward.

Back to the cover. Another great job by Brian Bolland. It’s imposing and in your face style is perfect for the issue inside. There’s some great detail in the drawing once again. For some reason I found myself admiring the wrinkles in the jacket as Animal Man holds the bat up to his shoulder. Little details like getting those crinkles right really add to the power of the image. The slickness of the gloves holding onto the bat also caught my eye, but that may be a function of the inking job, which looks almost airbrushed to make the gloves from his uniform especially shiny. The best detail over all is on the tip of the bat where there are little blood splatters. It tells a little of the story with that one small detail. Obviously Animal Man had already taken a swing, struck true and is on his next head bashing.

In the opening, Superman and Power Girl fly into headquarters answering an emergency signal call. Power Girl looks hot as always in the capable hands of Chris Batista but her bust (let’s face it, Power Girl is all about the bust!) and the action doesn’t distract from Animal Man’s inner monologue telling us a little more about the character of his father.

It might be an understatement to say that things are complicated for Animal Man these days. He waxes nostalgic about how his father’s generation was one defined by quiet servitude, a sense of place in society and work ethics. People were very much more comfortable with the roles they played and the work they were destined to do and went about it without all the whining, crying and much of the medications we need today just to get through this thing called life. Asking his father on his deathbed if he had any regrets, Animal Man found this to be quite a foreign question for someone of his father’s generation. People didn’t regret, they just did. This bit of memory and his subsequent reunion with his family make Animal Man realize that it wasn’t necessarily the powers that made him the hero it was the man underneath the costume.

Back to superheroes getting their butts handed to them. Mirror Mistress and Bloodrage manage to subdue the heroes of the Justice Titan amalgam and things look dire. Starfire is still unconscious and Animal Man has all but lost his powers, not to mention he looks like hell. Someone has to do something and despite everything Animal Man’s family asks him what he’s going to do since it seems he’s the only hero in a one hundred mile radius who’s conscious and knows what the heck is going on.

Animal Man remembers a final bit of wisdom imparted by his father when he was dying. A man can’t choose how he dies. But he can choose how he lives. With this in mind, he kisses his family good bye and seemingly goes off – geared up in the old school vigilante style hinted at on the cover of the issue – to serve notice on the creeps who have been plaguing him ever since page one of the first issue. One thing I noticed is that on the cover, Animal Man sports a baseball bat and inside his weapon of choice is a crowbar. A minor distraction but one worth noting. There may be great debate in the vigilante world between the effectiveness of a baseball bat versus a crowbar but to me that’s splitting hair, really.

As I said, things don’t turn out so well and by the end of the issue Animal Man is hovering over Times Square with the villainous duo about to dispose of his body in a very public way so that the people of Earth make no mistake about their intentions, and their scheme to extort millions of dollars from the government for the release of the superheroes that Mirror Mistress happened to be holding in some crystal tubes back at HQ.

That’s the Empire Strikes Back moment. The bad guys have won. The good guys doing what good guys always do have rushed into a trap and gotten themselves all frozen in carbonite, er, crystal test tubes. All is lost… or is it? Well, of course it’s not. I mentioned that Animal Man has an Ace up his sleeve. It has something to do with a secret laboratory and a cryptic statement by Animal Man to the lab boys that he just wanted to see a dangerous biological sample to see if he could hear it sing.

To be concluded.

The Last Days of Animal Man is a limited series published by DC Comics.

I Miss The Ewok Song... :(

2010-03-03T22:30:00.003-05:00

And so do these guys:

If you'd like to sing along here's the lyrics.

Is There A Difference Between Truth And Honesty In Art?

2010-03-02T14:54:00.006-05:00

There is a certain elusive quality that makes an artist great. Sometimes it’s pure luck. Other times it’s a great benefactor or perhaps great training. All these things contribute to the success of an artist, to be sure. But none can make an average artist rise to greatness. One of the most important factors in producing really great art is honesty.

The difference between being truthful and honest is not always so easy to parse out. It’s a personal thing so let me use my personal example to show what I mean.

Truth.

When I first started painting with pastels I tried to make compositions that reflected not what was truly inside me but what it was that I wanted people to perceive me as. My paintings had thick layers color and the subjects were otherworldly looking creatures. I very much felt that they represented both my feelings at the time and a stretching of my imagination. I was very satisfied with the work I was producing but in a sense there was little honesty in them. Yes they were a reflection of me but I knew that deep down I could be more than just a painter of gothic-type images.

Like wearing a certain style of clothing or a particular hairstyle my artwork was a façade. It was a style that I tried on. The techniques I learned about my chosen medium during that time are invaluable to this day but the actual work I was producing was nothing more than a passing fancy. I can look back now and see this through the lenses of many years and experiences.

I know that deep down I wasn’t working in a direction that I knew I wanted to go. I sacrificed honesty for truth. I thought that I needed to tell a truth about Lon S. Cohen through my artwork but I wasn’t being honest with myself. It came to a point when my art was nothing more than a fashion statement. I became stuck. This is what contributed most to giving up carving out time in my life for my art. I felt that I couldn’t go on with such a frivolous endeavor.

Inside of me was a voice nagging at me that there was something else that I could do with my artwork. I refused to listen or even acknowledge it. Why did I turn a deaf ear to my inner artistic voice? There were many reasons.

One was that I wasn’t mature enough to admit my destiny was elsewhere. I wanted to believe that the truth I dabbled in in my youth was going to be my truth forever. The fact is that we grow and change over the years. I somehow suppressed the growth and evolution of my art for what I thought was the truth.

The second reason I can think of was that since the exact art I was producing wasn’t being received professionally I thought that perhaps my art in general (or perhaps my talent) was never going to be good enough. This might still turn out to be true. You know the cliché: It wasn’t for a lack of trying? Yet I can’t say that. I stopped trying. I gave up.

Honesty.

So while I was being true, I was not being totally honest. The fact is that at a certain point I knew that I needed to produce a different kind of art based on a wholly different style and subject matter. Once in a while I would try to bring a little bit more honesty into my paintings but it was not enough to sustain me. The artwork I was making, while technically fine, was uninteresting to me beyond the page and thus uninteresting to anyone else.

It represented me but aside from a very few people, who cared? What I really wanted to do was use my artwork as a reflection of the world. I wanted to draw again like I did when I was a kid. I wanted to cast aside the façade and just make art that people could appreciate.

When I went to an art show and saw how a simple landscape or a city scene could invoke such strong reactions within me, I didn’t see that for what it was: My disappointment in my own art. My jealousy of those who could produce simply honest paintings. The falling short of the work I produced. I refused to recognize it.

The paintings I produced were not making a connection with a wider audience. Sure, one could say that you make artwork for yourself but in reality most artists want to have their art affect others in ways that supercedes his own self satisfaction and self interest. I knew the type of paintings I wanted to produce deep down. They were ones I really loved to go and see in museums and in books. The same ones that my inner audience was telling me it wanted.

Fear.

There are many reasons why I personally didn’t pursue the honest path in my art. One of the biggest emotional obstacles we have to overcome as artists is fear.

It’s hard to put onto a canvas all your hopes, emotions, and skill out there to be judged by others who had no idea of your creative process or motivation. In art school we used to have to put our creations up in front of a classroom of our peers to be critiqued. As much as you think you can handle criticism, nothing compares to your friends and classmates all looking at your artwork, unveiled before them in all its stark nakedness to be then ripped apart. Professors wanted students to overcome the reluctance to criticize other people’s work (for fear of their own being harshly judged) so they encouraged them to say something they didn’t like about the piece before they said something positive. I remember the feeling to this day. You think you have thick skin? Try a critique class.

Of course some professors were better at making a comfortable atmosphere for critique than others but at the end of the day, I am a better artist for having had my artwork reviewed in this way. But even though I had gone through the process a few times a week or more over four years of school, we humans revert back to our most comfortable ground state and avoid that type of public critique whenever possible (at least those of us who aren’t masochists!)

In this way, I avoided my raw honesty for fear of being judged by others on my real work. If I continued with a façade then it didn’t hurt as much to be rejected because it’s like being criticized for the color you wear, it’s all a matter of taste. And while it’s true that art is very subjective it doesn’t always necessarily feel that way to the artists. Fear can stifle honesty in the worst way.

Evolution.

I was truthful but not necessarily honest. I was afraid to be honest because of how it might reflect on me. I’m older now so it doesn’t make as much of a difference. I am more confident in myself thus I care a little less of what others think of me and can better take criticism when it’s truly constructive. I can also let unconstructive criticism roll off my back better than before.

As an aside, I’d encourage anyone who seeks to criticize the art of a friend or relative to study up on just what true constructive criticism entails rather than pure opinion because it’s not the same thing. For example, exclaiming, “Who would hang that in their house?” is not constructive criticism. For the record it’s actually the exact opposite of constructive criticism.

The most important thing is that I can pursue artwork that I feel is honest to myself. Not just art that I want people to look at and see my personality or world view in but art that better reflects the world at large, the world that is around me and that comments on it in a way that people can appreciate. (Warning: This may be the exact opposite of your own version of artistic honesty.)

Also, I am not afraid to tackle a challenge. Where before I stuck safely in my comfort zone, I now try to expand my painting and drawing, my composition and arranging, and my vision to places I never thought I could ever take it before. It’s exciting to think my way out of a problem and find the solution. The process is much more fun now and my confidence in my skills helps me use my creativity to work my way through a difficult situation.

The Last Days of Animal Man – Issue #4

2010-02-19T09:57:00.004-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

Spoiler Warning: In this series of posts on “The Last Days of Animal Man” limited series comic book, there will be periodical spoilers. If you haven’t read the series and intend to, please be advised that I will discuss plot points and surprises.

This is an ongoing review of the series in six parts. Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.

Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. Brian Bolland captures the anxiety and conflict that runs throughout this issue. The shattered image of Animal Man into shards of mirror-like pieces by the hand of Mirror Mistress while he desperately holds Starfire’s inert body in his arms perfectly encapsulates the chapter of this tale. Ultimately it’s about breaking Animal Man down and finding out what he’s made of. As a side note on the cover illustration, I like how detailed Starfire’s hair is as is flows upside down. It must have taken a long time to get all those curls in there.

If you read issue three then you already know the shocker at the end. We open with Animal Man in the enviable position of being lip locked with Starfire. Now I don’t care who you are or the color of your skin or even your gender, if you ain’t in lust with Starfire, check your pulse. Of course the act is entirely forgivable. I checked with my wife and she said that she would absolutely forgive me if I ever cheated on her with Princess Koriand’r. (Of course I also told her that the same went for her if she ever found herself in that situation with Starfire – but she said that she prefers Wolverine. Hey, we all have to make concessions in life.)

Immediately Animal Man is faced with guilt and regret and it’s a long road he takes until he hits absolute bottom by the end of this issue. He questions everything. His fatherhood. His manhood and his herohood (I made that word up.) Gerry Conway has a quirky storytelling style that I happen to love. How many comic writers insert a double page spread flashback into a scene where a super hero is getting his ass kicked. In his painful euphoria, Animal Man confronts the ghosts of his memory to come to a stunning conclusion: Despite the fact that he is losing his powers, he’s still a man, with the emotions, desires and ultimately, choices that every man has. It’s this revelation that saves him and Starfire, but just barely.

The issue sees the return of Bloodrage and Mirror Mistress, both of whom give Starfire and Animal Man a run for their money, both villains equally matched to the heroes’ weaknesses, Mirror Mistress with her ability to control the power for light (including Starfire’s star power) and Bloodrage with brute force against Animal Man’s fading abilities.

There’s not much traveling in physical space for this issue, in fact it almost entirely takes place on the League of Titan’s island HQ off of Manhattan and inside Animal Man’s own mind. All the action takes place in one spot but of course the tension and angst provide enough power to drive the plot along, including some kick-butt fight scenes rendered in stark and classic comic style by Chris Batista. I like the way Batista has developed the facial expressions for the characters. They are expressive and telling, which is a good thing because Conway is long on dialogue and inner thought in his writing. The layout of the text verses the illustration is balanced and flows very well throughout the story. I have never written or drawn a comic (although one day I hope to do both) but I imagine there is a lot of planning that has to go into such a complex mechanism relying on a writer to limit his pen so it fits into little boxes and panels and the penciller’s ability to translate a writer’s instructions into panels and renderings that blend perfectly while not drawing (pun!) too much attention away from the story.

I absolutely love the comic illustrations of Alex Ross but I find that I gaze longingly at the rich, realistic renderings of heroes more than I pay attention to the story line. In Batista’s case, his drawings are very detailed and expressive but not too modeled and not too flat. Like Goldilocks – just right, making this a very enjoyable read. Not that his penciling is too mundane at all. In fact like I mentioned, the characters are very well drawn and consistently illustrated. The layouts make the story move along at a god pace and I really enjoy some of the decisions they have made in how to integrate scenes including the way the flashback sequence works.

I have never been one to notice the details of coloring and inking. I’m no professional critic who picks apart every comic detail but I have to say the shading and colors in this book so far are very good. With Batista’s detailed comic illustration style it might be hard to not go overboard with the inking and color choices. The color and ink job is certainly not flat. It’s done with a sense of depth and attention paid to the penciller’s style. Again, I’m no expert on this type of thing but this one seems to be very well matched to the Batista’s style.

Overall this book, as with the entire series so far has far exceeded my expectations.

In the end, Animal Man transports home with Princess Starfire’s unconscious body in his arms narrowly escaping death. A surprise shock to be sure for his family but one I am sure they are used to.

The Last Days of Animal Man is a limited series published by DC Comics.

The Last Days of Animal Man – Issue #3

2010-02-12T00:05:00.006-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

Spoiler Warning: In this series of posts on “The Last Days of Animal Man” limited series comic book, there will be periodical spoilers. If you haven’t read the series and intend to, please be advised that I will discuss plot points and surprises.

This is an ongoing review of the series in six parts. Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.

One of the things I’m still undecided about by the third book is the way Gerry Conway is mucking around in the way the near future of the DCU might look. In this issue it’s revealed that Red Tornado, Superman, Starfire, Power Girl, Nightwing and The Flash are all part of a hybrid super group called The League of Titans. Obviously a melding of the Teen Titans and the Justice League, from which the members were drawn (zing!) While the other heroes seem basically the same, The Flash is now African American, clearly not the Barry Allen or Wally West versions of the Flash.

What I’m getting from these subtle unexplained changes is that Conway wants you to know that this is just enough into the future that things will be different but not so far that we’re going to be meeting the Legion of Superheroes any time soon. (Though I’m only halfway through the series so there’s still time for that!) Things change over the years. It’s inevitable. Sometimes change happens without explanation and most times, it’s not fair. I guess Conway wants us to be clear about that. It’s a central theme to the book.

It’s something that Buddy Baker needs to learn to deal with.

Interestingly, I am just starting to read David McCullough’s “John Adams.” The beginning deals with Adams’ youth. He’s astute, quick, intelligent and verbose. In one part he writes a letter to his cousin about what he perceives of the future of America. In those times, still a young collection of colonies of England, no one but a few “Americans” – as they were starting to call themselves as opposed to “colonists” – could see the greatness of the properties across the ocean from Europe. History tells us that no matter how great a nation that exists it must start from somewhere and in another place a nascent town – or colonies – is growing into the next great nation. “All that part of Creation that lies within our observation,” Adams writes. “Is liable to change.”

So as great nations change, so do great men.

The book mostly follows Animal Man through his painful personal journey while he is seeking a solution to his super power problem. In the meantime, we get a glimpse into what it was like to be stuck on an alien planet together with Adam Strange during the events of the yearlong comic series 52. Oh boy! Don’t get me started on my teenaged fantasies about Starfire during the 1980s when I voraciously read Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s Teen Titan run. By the stars could Perez illustrate hot, orange alien babes with big, um, assets and abilities. I know what I’d be thinking that whole time. “How can I get rid of this square Adam Strange and make time with Kory.” Seems that’s exactly what Baker was thinking. The sexual tension between Kory and Buddy was palatable and surprising to me. I found myself thinking, “Did I just see that?” In the end, Conway makes good on that promise in the panels and proves the point that if you hand a gun over the mantle in Act 1 you should have it go off by the end of the play, which it definitely does in this case.

Over the course of the book, things go from bad to worse for Animal Man. Not only is he losing his powers but Nightwing addresses the elephant in the room by asking, “Does anyone even know what a Morphogenetic field is?” Subsequently Animal Man’s idea to heal himself by taking samples of his children’s DNA proves to be an eye opening experience as both his kids tell him exactly how it is. Again, Conway delivers an emotional punch by addressing the issue that every police detective and noble politician has since the dawn of time. Mainly how do you balance a duty to public service with your commitment to family? In a way the interactions between Baker and his wife and children reminded me a little of Scrooge’s in A Christmas Carol, where he’s confronted by his past, present and future in his daughter, wife and son learning too late that while his business was being a hero he should have made his family his business all along. One scene reflects the classic Harry Chapin song, “Cat’s in the Cradle” that always brings a tear to my eye. When speaking with his son – now an attorney fighting for the rights of environmental groups – he’s confronted with a mirror of himself. The man he was while his son was growing up is the model his son now uses in his own life, too busy saving the world to think about himself or his father’s feelings. Animal Man laments but is he learning from the experience or going right back to the place he was before, in denial of the truth.

This is a comic book after all and so by the end of the story the tension ramps up when his two former nemeses from the first two books now join forces to defeat the Animal Man. Sure kick a man while he’s down.

The Last Days of Animal Man is a limited series published by DC Comics.

The Last Days of Animal Man – Issue #2

2010-02-09T09:23:00.008-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

So we open this issue with Animal Man falling out of the sky contemplating his own demise. Like many of us in this situation (facing death, not losing a super power) his thoughts turn to his family first, his wife and children and regret. If you’re going to write in a deus ex machina, then having it take the form of a Green Lantern who’s a giant whale will make most of us forget that little trick. This Green Lantern (it’s unclear if it’s Earth’s resident Green Lantern or some intergalactic patrolman passing by) saves Animal Man’s life and rids him of his a problem terrorizing him since issue one, a super villain with terrorist proclivities named Bloodrage. The little encounter is a great way for writer Gerry Conway to do his thing, namely making this super hero seem more like a normal guy. His reaction to being saved and the revelation by The Green Lantern that he is loosing his powers is anger, lashing out to the one who saved him. Lashing out at a hard truth. Of course he’s not a total dolt and the Green Lantern’s passivity shows Buddy Baker what a jerk he’s being to this animal-like alien.

Except for a side trip to explain the back story of the villain Mirror Master’s daughter as Prismatik - someone I assume who will be Animal Man’s main antagonist throughout the rest of the series - the entire book’s theme is Baker’s struggle with loosing his power and how he’s able to discover one clue to what’s been happening. I won’t spoil that minor point but when it does happen you get a sense of understanding about both Baker and the character inside the comic and out. What I mean is, the series seems to be addressing parts of Animal Man’s origin, regressing backwards in a way, which I hope will continue.

I do like the banter between the hero and his new villain. Also Animal Man’s thoughts behind his action are well written, feeling true to form for his current situation. He explains once that despite having no powers he teased Prismatik because he was angry and felt it was unfair what was happening to him. A little masochism can go a long way. In this case it helps him clear his head and figure out what’s wrong with his powers. By the last panel, Animal Man’s animal nature comes out while putting down his foe until some major forces show up to stay his hand, in the form of a selection of Justice League and Teen Titan members.

One thing I have to remember is that this series takes place ten years or so in the future so things may be different than they are now. The whale Green Lantern seems to be earth’s protector at the time and the heroes that show up in the last panel may all be part of the Justice League together now or some other group. Future issues will probably hash those details out. I really like the subtle hints of the future that this series throws at us. But more so I like how Conway is constructing his old character, building him up as real as possible for what I fear may be some sort of revelation and ultimately unfortunate ending. Again, it is called “The Last Days of Animal Man.” I like that Conway is getting to play with Animal Man’s character in this story arc – one he helped popularize and redefine twenty years ago. No one really has the knowledge and insight into a character like its creator or one who redefined that character to its modern incarnation. I also liked that the cover announces that Green Lantern is a guest star but the image is of a giant whale, like it’s normal that Green Lantern is a whale in the sky.

On Twitter I was speaking with a fellow comics reader after posting the previous article’s link. He pointed out that Conway had left comics writing to write for television and only recently cam back to comics, a fact I didn’t know. Digging deeper, I found out that Conway was the co-creator of one of my favorite comics characters in one of my favorite comic lines of the 1980s: Firestorm. After Teen Titans and All Star Squadron, Firestorm was probably my third favorite all time title. No wonder. Quirky, second tier characters and good characterization are all traits that Conway brings in full force to his books. I haven’t kept up with Firestorm since I was a kid except to in some of the titles he’s guest starred in but I know the character has changed quite a bit since teenaged Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein inhabited the nuclear man.

The Last Days of Animal Man is a limited series published by DC Comics.

The Last Days of Animal Man – Issue #1

2010-02-08T13:13:00.009-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

Spoiler Warning: In this series of posts on “The Last Days of Animal Man” limited series comic book, there will be periodical spoilers. If you haven’t read the series and intend to, please be advised that I will discuss plot points and surprises.

This is an ongoing review of the series in six parts. Read part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6.

I have to admit, before picking up the first issue of this mini series, I really didn’t know anything about Animal Man. He was a secondary character in the DC Universe in my mind and I had never come across him in any of the adventures I’d ever read in all my years, or at least any that stuck out in my mind.

A Little Behind The Scenes History.

According to Wikipedia, Animal Man’s first appearance was in Strange Adventures #180 in 1965, in a story written by Dave Wood and drawn by Carmine Infantino and George Roussos. He was a very minor character until the late 1980s when Grant Morrison revived him eventually penning an Animal Man title from 1988 and 1990. Animal Man was aligned with animal rights causes in the book. Morrison also experimented with story telling in this book, sometimes breaking the “fourth wall” of reality for the character. Other authors continued to write the series until it ended some time later in 1995.

Animal Man plays a part in the universal story arcs involving many if not all of the DCU characters of Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis , the weekly series 52, Countdown to Final Crisis and Blackest Night.

Origin of Animal Man.

Like all things in the DC Universe, there is a Pre-Crisis and Post Crisis version of the story. With Animal Man, his origins are almost identical in both. The crux of it is that Buddy Baker encounters a crashed spaceship that gives him with his ability to tap into the morphogenetic field of energy created by all living creatures. While doing so, he can gain the powers and abilities (but not the physical form) of any animal in the universe, including aliens.

Buddy Baker is just a regular guy in the DCU. He’s a father of two kids and husband. In his day job he works as a stunt coordinator for movies and he lives in San Diego. He has some normal problems like paying the bills, fighting with his wife and kids, a personal mission to advocate for animals (no surprise there) and a desire to make his name known in the superhero world.

The Last Days of Animal Man – Issue #1.

Like I said, I had not really heard of Animal Man much before this. I read most of the DCU changing titles listed above but his character didn’t stick with me. So why did I start to read a mini series based on what was a third-rate DCU character I only knew in passing? Because I’m a sucker for a well-told story about a minor character. Don’t get me wrong, I love a comics universe shaking story as much as the next guy, but give me a well written, well drawn, personal story and I’m yours.

I’ll also admit I can get burned this way, wasting money on a story that’s pretty blasé. I’m happy to say that the first issue of the series was terrific. It combined some of the best elements I find in a comic book. There’s plenty of great panels to look at, there’s lots of good dialogue and the story line looks to be a major shift in this character’s life. Granted, the title is “Last Days of Animal Man” do I’m expecting something big for Buddy Baker, but the way they launched this one was spot on.

It’s hard to balance great visuals with a good story and dialogue that doesn’t intrude too much into the panels and also keeps my interest. I hated reading plays in high school. They made us read Death of a Salesman, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and I was bored. A good comic book is like a play on paper but with the biggest difference being you get to see the visuals in the dialogue, along with some ass kicking. This titled has real depth and drama so far. Perhaps that’s thanks to Grant Morrison who had done a lot of work with the character in the late 1980s making it easy for the current team of writers to jump off. Still, it’s hard to balance the mundane life of a super hero’s alter ego and the big action of that same hero in conflict with a villain all the while telling a cohesive story and writer Gerry Conway gets it right. The art, by Chris Batista & Dave Meikis, is also a nice balance between words and visuals.

Animal Man is losing his powers. At crucial times his connection to the morphological energy field becomes cut off. His ability to reach out beyond earth’s animals into space is also limited. Obviously this is affecting his abilities as a super hero but it also intrudes on his professional and personal life as well. The story takes place in a near future so it doesn’t affect any of the ongoing DCU story lines.

I’ve collected all 6 issues in the series and have just completed the first issue. I generally do collect a few issues in a title or an entire short series before reading it because from month to month you can lose the thread of a story and I like to read them straight through.

Issue #2, which I already cracked open features a visit by a whale-like alien Green Lantern. Looks to be interesting. Judging from the first in the series, I expect it to be just as good. I’ll check in when I read it for an update.

Notes on the Cover by Brian Bolland.

The cover of the first issue is very cool because it’s a play on the first issue of the Grant Morrison series. Issue #1 of that late 1980s series shows an introductory pose of Animal Man running at the viewer surrounded by various animals. In the “Last Days” cover, Animal Man and all the animals are in a similar pose but they’re skeletons. A foreshadowing? Or just an inventive Easter Egg for astute fans by the cover artist, Brian Bolland? Either way it’s really creative. Bravo to Bolland who did the covers of both the original series and the “Last Days” cover. It just shows how a talented cover artist can make something very interesting out of the mundane.

The Last Days of Animal Man is a limited series published by DC Comics.

Sparks Of Inspiration

2010-01-27T07:30:00.005-05:00

I've been recapturing some of my long lost artistic spirit, you might say spurred by a somewhat unusual source of inspiration.

When I was in college my fellow art students and I were obsessed with a pretty famous art supply store called Pearl Paint. It was not so much that it had superior products or better prices but it had an enormous selection (this was before the days of Michael's, A.C. Moore and other giant Wal-Mart-like craft stores.) There was one sort of close to my school (SUNY Farmingdale) and my friends and I would take frequent "road trips" there, which usually started with a side trip to lunch first and then possibly an afternoon of beer and music in the back parking lot of school where we'd call for a collective canceling of class.

I've always had fascination with art supply stores, possibly because of all those tubes of unused paint, perfect pastel sticks and reams of white, white paper in pads. It was the possibility of creation, the beginning of a project with dreams and expectations of the finished project.

A few years ago I guess Pearl paint decided to leverage some of their fame to compete with the bigger craft shopping centers and they opened a few more stores. Previously to my knowledge there were only two locations. There was one in Nassau County and one on Canal Street in New York City. One store opened by my house and being that I had long since abandoned my art, I sadly never stepped foot in the place.

I’ve always been an artist. Ever since I was a kid I drew all the way through college. I took all the requisite art courses, art history, etc. In college I took a trip to New Mexico with my family and we stayed at Ghost Ranch, known as the place where Georgia O’Keefe painted some of her famous flower paintings. I found the desert an inspirational place and I long to return someday. It was there that I took a weeklong class in pastel painting and it was then I found my medium. We made pastels from scratch with a mortar and pestle and I felt a deep connection to the natural world through my painting with chalk pastels. There was no brush, no other instruments used except for your own hands and fingers. I loved the visceral connection to my creation through my skin. I felt a really personal connection to everything I painted as if it were a true extension of myself through my own hands.

But instead of majoring in fine art in college, I chose advertising art and later graphic design. I tried to keep up my pastel painting for years but left it behind after marrying and starting my family.

It had been about more than ten years since I even held a piece of pastel. One day I decided it was time again to do some art. Maybe it was because of my kids’ own art projects or a need to recapture something that I had lost of myself in there tumultuous times both economically and politically. I don’t know. Somehow I wanted to have something again that felt real and soulful.

So a few weeks ago I walked into that Pearl Paint near my home for the first time to discover that it was closing its doors. They were selling everything at 50% off. I grabbed some simple supplies for my kids and myself. We went home and I had so much fun painting with them that I returned the next weekend to get some more, only this time they were selling everything for 75% off. I bought about $300 worth of supplies for about seventy-five bucks. Included in my purchase were a bunch of pastels and paper.

On a side note, I was going to a friend’s daughter’s birthday party the next day with my kids and I decided to load her up with art supplies for her present. In there I included a small set of pastels for her. I was overjoyed when my wife got a call the next day from our friend saying that her daughter was delighted to find the pastels in her gift bag.

“I know what these are,” she had exclaimed. “They’re pastels.”

It seems that she had just learned all about using pastels in art class in school and was really excited to get her own set. She went on to instruct her little brother all about pastels and how careful he had to be using them.

This serendipitous event gave me a little more confidence in my path, like a little sign from the universe that this was a really good thing and others recognized it as well.

So for the past few weeks I’ve been trying to get in at least three days a week of pastel painting and drawing. I’ve really learned for the first time what it was about pastel painting that made it such a transcendent experience for me. Something I could never really put into words. But the fact that my own kids are now inspired to do their own art projects has been one of the best byproducts. They see Dad sitting down to the kitchen table to do some painting and they immediately jump in too; kids need very little to inspire them to creativity.

The spark of my inspiration was in the deep discounts I found at Pearl Paint, allowing me to totally restock my art supplies on my very limited budget. But something I always learned about creating any kind of art (including my writing) is that the inspiration is nothing but a small flit of one moment. It cannot be sustained and it takes commitment and hard work to keep at your creative process over the long term. I try to find fuel to keep inspiring myself, like continually occurring small bursts of energy, in the world around me. In the kids. In nature. In the visceral connection to my work and of course the pride of a finished project.

Anything can provide that initial jumpstart to get you going. You can continue that by capturing the feeling and finding it in many other places along the way. In this way you can keep the fire burning long passed the initial point of inspiration.

UN opens Biodiversity Year with plea to save world's life-supporting ecosystems

2010-01-01T14:40:00.003-05:00

Kicking off the new year with a little press release from the UN on the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.

1 January 2010 – In a bid to curb the unprecedented loss of the world's species due to human activity – at a rate some experts put at 1,000 times the natural progression – the United Nations is marking 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, with a slew of events highlighting the vital role the phenomenon plays in maintaining the life support system on Planet Earth.

“Humans are part of nature's rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it,” the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which is hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said in summarizing the Year's main message, with its focus on raising awareness to generate public pressure for action by the world's decision makers.

“Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on. Human activity is causing the diversity of life on Earth to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate.

These losses are irreversible, impoverish us all and damage the life support systems we rely on every day. But we can prevent them.

Read the entire UN press release here.

What Will We Call The Last Decade?

2009-12-29T22:51:00.004-05:00

The first decade of the Twenty-First Century is in the bag. We had the pop cultural “-ies” of the 20th Century. (Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, et al.) but is this kind of branding of the decades by the “-ies” over? What are we going to call the last decade? The Aughts? Seriously?

I’ve been thinking about this for more than ten years. It seems just yesterday that it was the last year of The Nineties and we were worrying about Y2K and surfing the web on Lycos or Ask Jeeves. Times have changed. One thing we’ve never really gotten a handle on is what to call this last decade.

On Twitter and Facebook I finally proposed the question. I mean, where else can I get a good feel for what to call this unnamable decade except by crowdsourcing? The results were staggeringly diverse. Some were funny. Some political. Other just clever.

The first response I got on Twitter was from @profnet who asked, “How about The Zilches?” Good one. A contender for the top ten list. @ruthseely chimed in with an interesting term I hadn’t heard yet. “I thought they were called the naughties,” she tweeted. “A term at which I always giggled although I didn't witness much naughtiness.”

“Here is the name for the past decade,” @OneCauseATATime suggested. “Death of Common Sense” Funny, perhaps, depending on which side of the political fence you stand on, but probably not going to make the list by most standards.

Keeping with the political tone, @cpmomcat suggested that the Aughts was actually a good term for the last decade: “The Aughts seems appropriate,” she tweeted. “We aught to have elected Gore or Kerry, we aught to have regulated, etc. I know ought is not spelled with an ‘a’ - but it still works for me.”

A couple of people suggested “the 0’s (ohs not zeros)” which prompted a follow up by @profnet: “I also like the "Uh-Ohs" (play on the Oh-Ohs). :-)”

My Facebook friends were a little more acerbic. A college buddy of mine said: he liked “The ies-less-ies”? A former coworker of mine voted for “The Single Digits.”

No matter what we end up calling this decade my college friend put it best when he said, “Anyone who calls it ‘The Two Thousands’ sounds like a moron!”

Happy New Year!

2010 Wish List

2009-12-22T11:03:00.011-05:00

It's that time of year when people get all starry eyed about the coming year while getting misty eyed about the one that just passed. In the middle are the predicitons and wish lists. Here I present my wish list for 2010:

1) The cure for some deadly disease spurred by stem cell research, specifically ALS because I work for The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. While I realize an outright cure is virtually impossible in the next 12 months the least I can wish for is a breakthough in treatment to help prolong life or raise the quality of life for people with ALS (PALS). I'd also like to see some promising research for a cure on the genetic level.

2) The discovery of an earth-like exoplanet in the "goldilocks" zone" where we find some form of primitive life at least. This year was another banner year for finding exoplantes, especially earth-like ones with water. For most astrophysicists, finding water on any exoplanet in the habitable zone would be the most promising precondition for then finding life of some sort. I doubt we could find Yoda hanging out on Degobah but even some sign of an atmosphere where evidence of life exists on a watery world would be miraculous and astounding.

3) The unveiling of an Apple tablet that kicks a**. I hear the Kindle is a great product. Sadly, I can't afford one because I can't buy something that pretty much only reads books. It has to be multifunctional and technology is passed the point where I'd buy JUST a book reader. Meld my other media passions with book reading and you just might have yourself a winner there buster. And if it came from Apple? Grand Slam. (Books. Music. Movies. Apple!) I'd probably dig deep into the wallet and pull out my credit card for a really useful Apple Tablet. One that I can read Kindle book files on (because I already shop extensively on Amazon) and with ability to play music, watch movies, surf the web, check emails and with at least minimal word processing and photo editing power. I want the iTouch but bigger and better. I'd pay $499 for this device if I could stop lugging around my laptop back and forth to work everyday.

4) Change. I want change. The change I voted for. Congress seems to miss the point of the 2008 election. People really did want change. We certainly didn't want Republicans (the party of zero ideas) putting the kibosh on every single darn thing the president proposed. We didn't want rude Sentaors shouting "liar" in congress. We didn't want Health Care Reform hijacked by crazies. We didn't want bank lobbyists and CEOs derailing regulation. We wanted America to become number one in the world for economics, research, science, politics, the environment and commerce. How are we going to get there arguing with ourselves looking like fools? We wanted change. Are we getting it? We need to look at 2009 as a benchmark and ask if we're really heading in the direction that we wanted to go.

The above are some ideas I had off the top of my head that I expanded on for this blog post. It came about when someone tweeted about a public Google Wave on imagining 2010. I went there and dashed off a list for the science and technology section. That inspired this post. So a fifth wish would be for much more of that type of stuff. Ideas, conversations and the like extended and shared through innovative web-based software.

So there's my wish list for 2010.

Do you have a wish list? It's probably better than mine. So please feel free to share your wish list in the comments below or link to your own 2010 wish lists on your blog. I'd love to hear them.

Enjoy your holidays and have a Happy New Year.

What is your favorite b-movie villain(s)?

2009-12-01T12:12:00.002-05:00

I was watching the old Mighty Morphin Power Ranger movie with my 7 year old son. He loves this movie. I was always very much too old for this series thinking it silly and childish (unlike my fascination with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which came out when I was in college.) Anyway, what makes this movie watchable (actually there are two things) is the villain, Ivan Ooze. He's a cross between Batman's Joker, a glam rocker and Carl Reiner. He's deliciously evil and deliberately campy. What other evil villain bent on world destruction can hock a luggie that creates an army of evil henchmen?

The other reason the movie is watchable (for the men at least) is Dulcea, master warrior on the planet Phaedos.

So my question is, what other b-movie villains are your favorites?

Post on banking and jobs

2009-11-30T12:15:00.003-05:00

I also have a blog called "Mortgage Maven" where I post about issues in the banking industry to supplement my freelance writing for banking trade magazines and other bank/economic related issues and information.

Read my latest blog post called "Jobs, cash and credit"

MLB.com coverage of the 15th Annual Lou Gehrig Sports Awards Benefit Dinner

2009-11-13T11:40:00.001-05:00

Williams, Gossage honored at ALS benefit
\Yankees legends feted at 15th annual event in NY
By Mark Newman / MLB.com

NEW YORK -- Yankees legends Bernie Williams and Goose Gossage joined the New York Jets' all-time rushing leader, Curtis Martin, and NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins as honorees at the 15th annual Lou Gehrig Sports Award Benefit on Thursday night. The event was put on by the ALS Association's Greater New York Chapter, which raised $700,000 toward the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Click here to read the full story on MLB.com

American Anarchists Bomb Wall Street

2009-11-05T11:35:00.007-05:00

No. That’s not the plot of the next blockbuster movie (though it should be) and it’s not a political statement (though it should be) or a controversial newspaper headline (New York Post, perhaps?). It is a statement of fact (historical fact). Anarchists once blew up a bomb on Wall Street to destabilize the economy and overthrow the capitalist regime. In a note left by the perpetrators they proclaimed: Remember we will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners or it will be sure death for all of you. American Anarchists Fighters.

Everyday I pass the façade of 23 Wall Street on my way to work. Right in front of the area where I get my coffee and where thousands of people pass every day, some with suits and briefcases and others with cameras and “I Love New York” t-shirts is a pockmarked section of stone on what once was the hea dquarters of J.P. Morgan & Co. With all of the construction on the street installing automatic traffic barriers on the newly laid cobblestones you’d think someone would think to fix the deep craters and scattered pits on the stone wall of this historic building. They’re not going to anytime soon and it’s no real secret that the building owners purposely left this evidence of anarchy for all to see almost 90 years ago.

On September 16, 1920 at around lunchtime a horse and wagon was parked across the street from the building at 23 Wall loaded with “100 pounds (45 kg) of dynamite with 500 pounds (230 kg) of heavy, cast-iron sash weights” according to Wikipedia. Set on a timer the explosion blasted the horse and wagon to bits, ultimately killing 38 people and injuring 400, making it the most deadly bombing on US soil up to that time. In an article in L Magazine it was said that some of the largest remains of the exploded horse and wagon included “two charred hooves, which landed in the cemetery at Trinity Church, three blocks west.” The blast also caused about $2 million in property damage, destroying much of the interior of the J.P. Morgan building.

Italian anarchists were blamed for the attack. The FBI stated a few years later "the best evidence and analysis since that fateful day of September 16, 1920, suggests that the Bureau's initial thought was correct—that a small group of Italian Anarchists were to blame. But the mystery remains."

Some say that the bombers were mad about the murder charges brought up against a duo of Italian anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti. The pair was accused of killing a clerk and a security guard during an armed robbery. It seems from historical accounts that Sacco and Vanzetti were guilty by their association to the anarchist organization and that was enough to bring about a conviction and execution. Their trial is infamous for the gross mishandling of the case by the prosecutors, defense and the judge. It was such a well-known debacle of justice and the rule of law that in 1977 Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis declared, "Any stigma and disgrace should be forever removed from the names of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. We are not here to say whether these men are guilty or innocent. We are here to say that the high standards of justice, which we in Massachusetts take such pride in, failed Sacco and Vanzetti."

The 1920 attack brings to mind of course the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers (and elsewhere) by zealots with no less of an objective than the 23 Wall Street bombers to destabilize the capitalist regime as well as take American lives. The great economics commentator, Daniel Gross wrote about this parallel of historical tragedy in an article in TheStreet.com just after the 2001 attacks.

Walking down Wall Street toward the New York Stock Exchange you can see to this day—just east of the corner of Broad and Wall Streets—the historical damage of this 1920 explosion. While tragic and sad, it is another testament of the stoicism of New York City and the important history that pervades this downtown area.

Most people walk by that corner everyday on the way to work without knowing what happened right under their feet almost 90 years ago. When I see the tourists taking pictures of the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall I want to turn them around and march them only a few feet to what must seem now a mundane detail, a piece of a structure that to them must need maintenance but once represented the deep philosophical battle that was waged between anarchists and capitalists on our own city streets in modern times. Sure, it makes for a boring picture, but it’s really a great story.

Review: Mercury by Ben Bova.

2009-10-28T22:24:00.005-04:00

When I first picked up this novel I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had read his book Orion years ago and didn’t really love it even though I had heard it was sort of a classic. But when I came across this paperback book a while ago I thought I’d give him another chance. I was very interested at the time in reading some science fiction in the harder vein. I wanted to stay away from anything that hinted of epic or space opera for a while. This seemed like a nice addition to a universe Bova was creating among the solar system. For science fiction playing in and among the planets of our own solar system seemed downright cozy.

Well, I had the book on the shelf for a while. I picked it up the other day and read it in about four days during my work commute. I was very impressed. This was a solid story told very patiently with enough twists and deep character development to keep it interesting.

Bova takes his time developing the story in such a plainspoken fashion that you practically forget that he’s dealing in millions of miles between the planet Mercury, a space elevator on planet earth, Mars, a moon base and a cargo ship traveling between earth an the asteroid belt. The characters are extremely well drawn, with enough flaws and desires to make you believe in their every intention. The settings are dramatic and involve all the standard science fiction elements of space ships, exotic locales and high technology. The science seems very solid and doesn’t go so far so that it need pages of info dump to explain but when explanation is offered it’s pretty well engrained into the storyline.

There are a few places where Bova has to use fortunate coincidence to move the story along but none where it’s so important to the story that it bothered me for long. The human drama is the center of this story and I have to give it high marks for making the trials and tribulations of the people the centerpiece of the story, including love, mystery and murder.

It’s a good science fiction tale told by what is obviously a master storyteller. I will be picking up his other novels about the planets, including Titan, Saturn, Jupiter and Venus. His bibliography seems to be chock full of good books. I may just have found my newest science fiction author.

Buy Mercury (The Grand Tour)

Guest Post on The Grass Stained Guru

2009-10-28T09:21:00.002-04:00

I'm really very excited about this. I was invited by the amazing Bethe Almeras to write a guest post article on her brilliant blog, The Grass Stained Guru. Please read and share with other:

The Mighty Crayon

What’s the first thing a kid learns to draw with? A crayon. You may think crayons are the mundane stuff of childhood picture projects or the appliqué of refrigerator faire, but they are much more than that. They are the stuff your imagination was first made of. The humble crayon is the most joyful instrument of a child’s mind. It’s blunt enough so as to not require great skill to master yet subtle enough to produce a masterpiece.

Click to read the rest of the post at The Grass Stained Guru.

Main Street Built Wall Street.

2009-10-20T11:13:00.006-04:00

I read this article on the Washington Post website today about how Wall Street bankers are getting obscene paydays but prudent savers around the country are still getting almost zero interest on their savings. The article is titled “Uncle Sam's gift to the prudent saver: Less money” and written by Allan Sloan. Read the article and see below for my response.

Where's the public outcry against this? We've not seen this kind of unbalance in Capitalism between the rich and the poor since the days of the robber barons. This is the conversation we should be having, not shouting matches over fictitious "death panels" and silly congressmen carrying on in sessions of Congress. Seems that the only ones who get riled up when they take a hit to the pocketbook are Wall Street bankers. Then things get done. But let Mom & Pop savers lose 40% of their safe investment income and nobody bats an eye.

I see a lot of people saying that the people who bought houses and used credit cards are getting bailed out. That's not exactly true either. Many people are underwater in their homes because they were advised by mortgage lenders to get into exotic loans to purchase houses that surely would continue to increase in value.

After the market went bust foreclosures are on the rise yet the banker who are supposedly holding the bag on these loans are getting extremely significant bonuses only a year after the bailouts began? Seems the savers and the spenders are being screwed here and the government only put aside enough money to help the big giant banks become zombified yet strangely profitable again. Sure many banks failed and continue to fail but those are the smaller ones, and they may get sold off to bigger "healthier" banks anyway, with the help of the Fed or the FDIC.

So banks are profitable, the Stock Market rallies yet joblessness is at almost 10% across the US. Seems cutting the consumer out of the picture on both sides (workforce and lending) is profitable for corporations, huh?

Obviously banks and business can't cut their way to profitability forever. Funny, I hear all kinds of crying from the right about a "socialist agenda" but I see nothing of that coming to the people of the United States, only the bankers and big businesses.

So much for socialism. I believe the ideal in socialism was for the people to benefit, not businesses. We could use a little of that corporate socialism in health care and jobs for real people please so we can work to live. For some reason our government can't get over the hump of helping companies and get to the work of helping its people.

Main Street is more important than Wall Street any day. Main Street built Wall Street.

Main Street is where the businesses are built that become listed on the stock exchanges of the world. It's the garages and home offices that ideas are hatched and things are still built that become the next big thing. It's where people who go to work everyday pay for the things that fuel our economy. After all our economy is consumer driven and that's not the small percentage of CEOs and executives that get big bonuses, it's regular folks who make modest salaries and buy things like clothes, food, gas, cars and iPods. It's also small business owners who employ people, buy supplies, and service the local economies.

Everyone needs to remember this: Main Street built Wall Street. It continues to build Wall Street and without Main Street, Wall Street will not survive. If we don't start to realize this very soon, things will get worse, much worse.

Buy Wall Street (20th Anniversary Edition)

Wall Street Journey

2009-10-14T08:59:00.008-04:00

My stop on the subway is at Wall Street. It’s a cliché. You know the “Wall Street” type who gets off at the Wall Street stop and goes to work on “Wall Street” with a “Wall Street Journal” tucked under his arm. I’m not that guy. I just get off at Wall Street station. I walk past all the kiosks selling actual newspapers made from dead trees to Broad Street and the New York Stock Exchange. No. The New York Stock Exchange is not really located on Wall Street. The side of the building is but the big front part you see in pictures with the flags is on Broad Street.

The intersection of Broad Street and Wall Street is a pretty historic place. It’s a stone’s throw down Broad Street to Nassau Street to the New York Federal Reserve building, an impressive piece of architecture in its own right. The building looks like a fortress. But the real thrill is standing at the intersection of Wall and Broad where you can see the giant statue of George Washington in front of Federal Hall. The spot is the place where Washington was sworn in as president and served in various capacities for the nascent U.S. Government. Among them were the first Capitol of the United States, the place where the Bill of Rights was passed, and the first United States Customs House. It’s a monument now. Less famously, I was interviewed by Robert Scoble there for his web show on Building 43.

On my way to work, I usually pause to look up at the exterior of the Exchange as I thread my way around the real Wall Street types, the NYPD armed teams (yes, if you go to the Stock Exchange you will see fully armed NYPD, armored police vehicles and K9 patrols) and the tourists taking pictures in front of the Exchange or Federal Hall to see what big company or sometimes which country has sprung for a humungous flag to advertise on the o utside of the building. Otherwise it’s a pretty impressive American Flag. I prefer the patriotic uniformity of the all American Flag motif.

After passing up the Stock Exchange and its security checkpoints to enter the building I take the back way up Exchange Street off of Broad Street up to New Street to my building. Up to the Seventeenth Floor I go where I work as the Director of Online Communications for The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter.

History surrounds my day as I work at a nonprofit helping people with ALS, a disease whose namesake is one of the greatest Yankees to every play baseball, Lou Gehrig.

Some times you get up, go to work and pass by all these great historic places and events and never bat an eye, too busy in your own thoughts or daily routine to notice. Other days you can look up and see that the place where you live and work is surrounded by history. I happen to be lucky to work in one of the greatest cities in the world, whose shape and character constantly evolves over time, but even in the face of great tragedy, we try to both honor the past and look to the future.

The Making of Star Wars: in Concert

2009-10-12T12:16:00.003-04:00

I had the opportunity to preview the half-hour behind the scenes making of Star Wars: in Concert that will broadcast on WLIW21 Saturday, October, 17 at 9:00 p.m. Below is my review:

Star Wars: in Concert promises to be a tour de force (puns intended) of Star Wars music, images and props. WLIW will premier a half-hour behind the scenes look at the creation of the live show. Star Wars: in Concert is like a rock concert for selections of Jon Williams’ music from all six Star Wars films accompanied by specially cut video footage from the movies performed by a full live orchestra and choir. Star Wars theme music has always been a blending of the cool and the classical. Music was as Lucas puts it, “one of the main legs that Star Wars stands on.” In fact, legend says when the first movie was completed—Episode 4 in the maddeningly illogical way Lucas produced the films out of order—the only thing he was really completely happy with was John Williams’ score. Star Wars theme music is instantly familiar to many people, even those who have never watched the movies. (Yes, I know, but they do exist.)

Called by the producer of the event, “a symphonic concert in a rock venue” this traveling show will be narrated by Anthony Daniels himself—what no C3PO suit? Williams chose sixteen selections that he felt identified the thematic musical thread throughout the films. John Williams is arguably one of the most successful and most popular movie theme composers of all time. The list of fantastic and fantastical movie themes you know because of him is long: Star Wars, Jaws, Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter to name a few.

The technical difficulties the producers had to overcome are highlighted in this show. The video editor timed scenes to the music selections and then a 100 piece orchestra and a 30 piece choir had to perform the selections live timed exactly to the film clips. Steve Cohen (no relation even though that's my father's name too), the show producer, points out the difficulty of getting them to “nail rhythmically” the timing live for the video.

In true Hollywood fashion and typical of Lucas productions every detail of the stage has been designed to match the Star Wars visual theme from the conductor’s podium to the laser lights. Star Wars: in Concert was premiered at the O2 Arena in London on April 10 and 11, 2009 and now is on tour.

This special is a good behind the scenes look at the difficulties in bringing together all the components to make the magic happen. To hear the music performed live and see the gigantic images on the screen along with the ability to really come up close to the film props will be an awesome experience and this video will certainly get you hyped up about it. Seems from this video special that it’s going to be an amazing production and I can’t wait to see it performed live.

The Star Wars in Concert half-hour broadcast will air on WLIW21 Saturday, October 17 at 9 p.m. Encore presentations air Saturday, October 17 at 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, October 18 at 8 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

One more thing. In Lucas’ revisionist mentality, there will be a premier during the live shows of a new, digitally created Yoda for the Episode 1 scenes that originally featured a puppet. I’m not attached to the Episode 1 puppet version of Yoda at all but I hope that he doesn’t then decide to go back to the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi to replace Frank Oz’s brilliant original performance of Yoda. They were classic and still hold up surprisingly well, the puppet a well as the voice acting.

The Star Wars in Concert broadcast special also previews the exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, and production artwork -- many of which are leaving Skywalker Ranch for the first time -- that accompanies the concert tour, which will come to Nassau Coliseum on November 21.

Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

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Can't A Guy Just Enjoy His Nobel Prize In Peace?

2009-10-11T23:01:00.002-04:00

So I wrote the above comment on Facebook and as usual a deluge of my Republican friends' responses followed. Most asked what he did to deserve it. I really had to true answer yet. The comment was my usual tongue-in-cheek status updates that takes a political issue and tries to make a joke about it. Not everyone was laughing. So when people started posting on my Facebook page asking what he did to deserve it, I answered truthfully, that I didn't know and they should read the news to find out. A couple of people didn't like my answer, posting "well, excuse me" type of responses. Granted my tone was a little short. I like debating but can't stand all this Obama bashing.

Seriously, people out there are just getting a wee bit outlandish, considering all that America suffered under eight years of Bush. But I had to respond and after a day it hit me why Obama was so different and possibly deserving of this Prize. Time will tell if Obama lives up to the hype and there will be those who never will admit he either succeeded or failed. History will be the judge. In the meantime, below are my thoughts on the subject if you care at all.

I have to apologize. I thought you were being facetious with your comment. Bear with me here while I explain myself.

First, this is a long response. Most people will probably not agree with it. I could be wrong about everything I wrote here but to paraphrase an old song, it's my Facebook page and I'll cry if I want to. So here it goes:

What I mean is that, nobody knows what was going through the minds of the Nobel committee when they gave this honor to Obama, especially since the voting apparently happens in February, meaning less than a month into his presidency they already decided he should get the Peace Prize. I agree that it seems very odd and weirdly anticipatory of them. To see what Obama has accomplished (admittedly even as a Obama supporter, I have to say it’s not very much since he’s been President for less than a year though I give him kudos for the direction he’s been shifting America in since January) you’d have to follow closely in the news of where he’s been and what he’s been doing and what, if anything, he’s gotten done.

That said, I can only speculate on why they gave him the big prize. We are unarguably the most powerful, freest, richest, and greatest country in the world. We have a system that is flawed but works pretty well for what we have to deal with. For the past eight years we had an administration that did what it thought was in the best interest of the United States of America at the expense of the goodwill of most of the rest of the world. It was a mentality that I argue was highly visible satisfying certain very real fears and urges of Americans, but ultimately cost us dearly. We took the eye off the ball and fell from the high moral ground we had been taking.

By 2008 the world blamed us for a devastating war in Iraq, missing opportunities to quell terrorists in Afghanistan, illegal and embarrassing acts of torture, destroying the writ of habeas corpus and degrading the very principles of our own Constitution—what had made this country great and so powerful on the world stage. You can argue the facts but you can’t deny that the rest of the world turned a very dark eye on the United States over the past 7 or 8 years.

What makes this country so great is that, on a dime, we can in fact turn our political course around, which is in fact what we have just done, with no bloodshed, no violence and no subverting of laws. Obama won a clear victory, a mandate, if you will. In the past 8 or 9 months the President has been traveling the world, addressing people, sending his dignitaries out, giving speeches to the Muslim world and the UN with a clear message that the United States wants to be a respected player on the world stage again, not a feared or loathed player and that everyone is expected to do their part and make hard choices. His message is that great things can come if you stand with America and do the work needed to make peace to rebuild communities.

The trust and goodwill that he’s garnered in such a brief time is building political capital in the countries of the world not seen in many, many years. What he does with this goodwill has yet to been seen. Yes, he may fail but he is taking the country on a path to become a mover on the world stage. It’s clear that the Nobel Prize committee feels that by giving Obama this honor they have given a vote of confidence in his administration and the things that they promise to accomplish. It’s also a clear indicator that the world is ready to look to America to lead it out of the many problems plaguing the globe from economics to terrorism to health and human services.

We’ve been given a huge gift by the Nobel Prize committee and we should accept it graciously and humbly. We should see it for what it is, a commitment by a distinguished body that believes that America can be looked up to as an example to the people of the world.

And that’s all I want to say about that.

Are Birthers Vicitms Of "Implicit Social Cognition"?

2009-10-07T13:24:00.004-04:00

I read this article in Scientific American titled "Birth of a Notion: Implicit Social Cognition and the 'Birther' Movement." As you can imagine the comments got heated but not too crazy since nobody broke Godwin's Law and called anyone a Nazi . Oh wait, the writer did mention Nazis in the article so maybe that's a good strategy: mention Nazis in the blog post so no crazies start calling others Nazis.

Read the SA post and then come back to read my response.

The reasoning people in the comments section have expressed against the Lipinski/Kwan example is really flawed. One commenter said that if you rooted against Kwan you were labeled a conservative racist but that's not what the writer implied. The example showed how Kwan was label by a supposedly edited and vetted media outlet as not and American. What could have led to this assumption when the facts are easy to look up? (Watch the Olympics and the flag next to the contestant's name easily shows which country they represent.) The point was that a person named Lipinski vs. a person named Kwan made someone in the news organization assume that Kwan was not an American, thus the headline “American Beats Out Kwan” It did not say if you rooted for Lipinski you hated Asians or if you rooted for Kwan you hated the Polish. It simple showed how this assumption was made. It did not in any way make a judgment in that example as to whether the writer of the headline, fact checker or editor was Republican or racist.

In the end this article was about "Implicit Social Cognition" of people who believe the birther argument. Most people don't believe it and if you can argue that it's NOT mostly Southern, White, Conservatives who perpetrate this rumor and believe in it, then I'd like to see that evidence. So while, the opinion piece does draw some strong conclusions about racism using some questionable anecdotal examples, it is hard for any reasonable person to dispute that many if not most or all of the birthers are in fact racist. Otherwise they'd just say, I don't agree with the president of the United States, not question the entire legitimacy of his election based on thin rumors.

I definitely don't agree with the people who say that if you replace "birthers" with "truthers" you get the same logical results since the whole point of the piece is that a minority of people still cling to a belief that seems like an absurdity to a majority of people. I also defer to the fact that this minority is very vocal and gets lots of attention (squeaky wheel theory applies here.)

I think that there is scientific merit to this piece and because it addresses issues that are contentious (especially now with the news of how people are acting in town hall meetings and in sessions of Congress) it brings up intense debate.

Why I <3 Star Wars

2009-09-29T15:37:00.005-04:00

Well, that's personal. But since social media is the place for transparency, I'm going to give you this one.

It all started a long time ago in a town on Long Island. (You though I was going to say that other thing, didn't you?) It was 1977. There was a driving rain and my mother along with her friends decided to take the kids to the movies. My mother was a bit of a Trekkie, had tackled an engineering degree at CUNY before getting married to my father. Unfortunately the marriage ended after only a few years leaving me and my sister with my mother in a suburb of Long Island in the mid 1970s. We made our way the best we could. We saw my father frequently but when you're about 6 or 7 years old, there's no replacement for the real thing. Needless to say, it wasn't the happiest of times in my life.

Luckily I had a good imagination. I was an artist and would draw, create, and dream my days away, still as you might expect, there was something missing in my childhood.
That summer in 1977 when my Trekkie mom and her friends took the kids to the movies on one rainy day, they decided on the latest blockbuster movie when summer blockbusters were still something new that Spielberg and Lucas were helping to define. While the other single-mothers weren't so sure (they probably and rightly though that the kids might enjoy a movie more along the lines of Pete's Dragon rather than a strange space movie starring Sir Alec Guinness) my mom convinced them to take us to Star Wars. There I was, waiting in the rain, on a line that wrapped around the one screen movie house, oblivious to that something was about to change my life forever.

Let me digress here to say that before Star Wars came out, there was arguably nothing else like it on the big screen before. I had no real affinity to any movie up to that point. Perhaps there were stories that had captured my imagination, but nothing like the world - no the universe - that was the Star Wars story. I went into that theater a lonely little boy and came out a dreamer, a storyteller, with a world in which the good guys won (well, usually) and the bad guys wore black. A universe so different and so wonderful and so remarkable that it would forever control my destiny.

I was hooked. It was a place I could go to experience extreme joy and happiness to escape the times when real life was, well, not so hot. There were lightsabers to take care of the monsters, beautiful princesses I could help rescue and all types of wondrous creatures to keep my mind occupied for a while at least until the melancholy lifted from my brain. From the cacophony of the orchestra during the opening scroll it was like a revelation, a baptism of special effects and pseudo religious mumbo jumbo set against a universe that was strangely lived in and familiar, yet amazing and technologically superior.

This movie came at exactly the right time in my life. It was like George Lucas told the story just to me. I also felt immediately comfortable with everything from the shapes and sounds to the music and dialogue. It all went directly from the screen into my soul, no need to translate it or figure it out. I just knew. I felt like the characters, the worlds, the ships, the story was my story of a young boy feeling lost and shiftless in his own home, wanting something grander for himself, something where he could become more than just the pieces of his life that were left for picking up after, to be powerful and wield a Force to mold and shape the world around me. I was Luke Skywalker.

The tale only grew in the telling, as more episodes were introduced and in each one no punches were pulled. Darth Vader was Luke’s father – boy and I though I had father issues! Obi Wan lied to Luke about just about everything, manipulating the poor boy for his own endgame. Even Yoda was not entirely trustworthy, withholding the truth from Luke. The universe itself and everyone in it conspired against young Skywalker. But you know what? Despite everything, Luke became master of his own destiny.

It cost him, no doubt. He lost a part of himself, his innocence, most of his family and friends died in the epic journey but he also gained much. He gained ultimate victory, grabbing it from the edge of defeat, throwing away the one weapon that could help defend himself against the Emperor, putting all his faith in humanity of his father, trusting his instincts and feelings that someone who everyone else had written off for dead might come back and redeem himself. Not only for himself but for his son and daughter and the rest of the galaxy.

In the end, it was the boy who triumphed over everyone’s doubts. Luke ended up growing from the innocent farm kid stuck in his mundane life, unable to influence the world to the one with the ultimate power to save the galaxy. Not just brute strength, but faith, understanding, empathy and ultimately love.

How can you NOT love that movie.

Kanye West Was So Wrong

2009-09-14T09:34:00.006-04:00

Kanye West was flat out disrespectful and wrong.

Regardless of whether Beyonce had a better video or not. It happens all the time on the Academy Awards where some movie I think should have won doesn't and you don't see me running up there pontificating on which movie I think is better and should have won. Well, not yet anyway! But one day people will be saying, "Man. That Lon S. Cohen is such an idiot. Star Wars Episode IX is not better than the romantic dramedy, Bosom Buddies - The Movie!

UPDATE#2: As @Thandelike very rightly pointed out to me: "Kanye wasn't just expressing his opinion, he stole someone else's moment. ripped her joy out of her hands in front of millions."

Here are a few facts that may be overlooked in this case:

1) The VMAs are decided by a popular vote. Obviously the other nominees had split the popular vote and with Taylor Swift getting mostly all the country genre vote plus some of the popular vote, that put her over the edge to win.

2) Beyonce's video was much better but that isn't the point.

3) Yes. There really is a Wikipedia page discussing the long rumored Star Wars Sequels XII - IX

4) Bosom Buddies did indeed launch the wildly successful career of Tom Hanks so never rule anyone out.

NEW! 5) The MTV VMA should really be called the MTV VM-less A since they really don't show videos anymore. (That's for the Generation Xers who actually remember when MTV videos were a really huge freakin' deal.)

The video from the 2009 MTV VMA when Kanye made his d**k move:
(Thanks to @therealsb419 for the link to this video.)

What Do I Think Of Socialized Medicine?

2009-09-11T12:24:00.002-04:00

I have a lot of Republican friends for some reason. It might be the area where I live (Suffolk County, NY) which I find to be very conservative. Anyway, I’m always debating politics with friends in an agreeable manner. You can imagine what it was like around November 2008! I enjoy my friendly debates. A conservative friend of mine recently asked me on Facebook the following question that prompted a long response:

“I have been meaning to ask you how you feel about socialized medicine? Are you on board with it?”

My Answer:

I'm not sure what you are asking. If you mean like they have in Canada then I'm not sure if I agree with socialized medicine. I like choices, which is why I like the Obama reform because it keeps choice in place while ensuring that the uninsured and sick can get access to healthcare. As for socialized medicine in the USA, Medicare is an example of socialized medicine we actually have in place now and the people who are on it seem to like it enough and it works so that's a model to follow for a public option. Stressing the option part. (For other examples: Social Security, pensions, organized police, military, firemen, and public schools are also socialized institutions.)

I find "socialized" to be a loaded term and don't use it. But of course health care reform I am all for as are most people I talk to. (Except one guy in my neighborhood and he said that's because he works for a health care insurance company!) We're the strongest and wealthiest country in the world and we can't take care of our sick children? US citizens go to the ER instead of a clinic or doctor because they can't afford to pay! And the hospitals get stuck with the bills, which in turn means higher insurance rates for me. I'm already subsidizing people to get health care but ER visits are expensive and well-care visits are proven to help keep costs down. I hate hearing stories of people who can't work because they are ill and can't get care because they don't have insurance. (Remember, I work for a health care non profit so I see this and we have programs to help subsidized what insurance companies won't pay for or what people w/o insurance can't afford.)

I do think that changing insurers every time I change jobs is bogus and an unnecessary hardship. Read this article, which I found helpful in sorting out what other countries do for healthcare.

Three Science Influences

2009-09-06T13:25:00.014-04:00

Steven Hill from the Testing hypotheses… blog wrote about his three science influences in a post titled, "Science inspirations." Alerted to this post by my one of my Twitter Profs (See my Mashable.com article), Andrew Maynard on Twitter (he's @2020science), I immediately wanted to comment. Although I am not a scientist in any way whatsoever, my deep love of science is evident to many who know me. Below I list the comment I made to his post about my three influences. I can't tell you how many more should be added to this list and I've probably forgotten a few that may or may not deserve to be in the top three besides these but I can annotate the list or do another one in the future.

I'm not a scientist at all but have a deep interest of science in all forms from the sidelines. That said, I was influenced by these three people in my love of science:

1) Carl Sagan - When I was in high school I read Contact and it's still one of my favorite books & I think a decent movie despite the flaws. Then I found out that Sagan was not only an author but a real astronomer and that "Cosmos" guy. It started lifelong love of learning about science that continues to this day.

2) Steven Spielberg - OK. Don't kill me for not picking all scientists for this list. But Spielberg's movies instilled in my a sense of wonder about the natural world. Jaws made me love the ocean animals, both scary and benign. Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial made me wonder what was really out there in the canopy of the stars overhead as a kid. Indiana Jones made me think about cultures, myth and archeology. Fiction may not always get the scientific facts all right, but they do provide a great jumping off point for young minds to go further and find out about the physical world and sciences in real life.

3) My mother - My mom has always taught me the importance of education. She kept the house well-stocked with books that I discovered at appropriate times growing up (including the Carl Sagan book mentioned at #1 on this list.) She also was a bit of a Star Trek and Sci-Fi fan herself so I grew up with a parent who encouraged both critical thinking and fantastical imagining. She influenced me to aspire to many of the things I am today (for better or for worse) but one thing I know is that it is because of my mom that I love to read and learn as much as I do. Both are endeavors that bring bring me great joy and satisfaction no matter what.

Alternate: My high school Marine Biology teacher - This guy was funny and his passion came out in a way that I never expected. He was so into his science that he would crack bad jokes and puns about the subject even if he was the only one to get the joke. Everyone got a good grades in his classes because he really made learning about science fun, not rote.

Photos of the Moon-Venus conjunction

2009-08-18T16:18:00.005-04:00

This morning I had a little extra time so I was able to snap a few digital photos of the "Spectacular Moon-Venus conjunction at break of dawn" that I wrote about yesterday. It was even better this morning, which I was glad for. I also quickly grabbed my binoculars to see if I could tell the phase of Venus through them but I wasn't able to. Binoculars are very unsteady so you have to be sitting or better yet laying down to really be able to spy something as small as a speck of light in the sky with any clarity. (Which is why we use mounted telescopes for sky gazing.) Just wanted to share my photos. I did adjust the colors in Photoshop to make the Moon and Venus stand out better.

One day when I can afford it, I'd invest in a good telescope. For now, I'm in a light polluted area of Long Island, as I mentioned, so I'm in no rush.

Enjoy the photos (Click on them to make them bigger.):

Spectacular Moon-Venus conjunction at break of dawn

2009-08-17T10:09:00.007-04:00

Saw a beautiful sight at about 5:40am this morning going to work. Amazing. Spectacular Moon-Venus conjunction at break of dawn. (No, I'm not in India. It's visible all over the world. Want to take a look? Got to get up early in the morning.)

Wish I had time to get my binoculars. Still a great view with the naked eye. It really is a great way to start the day and I was pleasantly surprised because I had no idea that this was occurring. Had I known, I might have been prepared and taken a few extra minutes in the morning to sit and observe or tried to photograph it. Since I live in a pretty light polluted area on Long Island, I take any unusual sky gazing events that I can get and this is always one I enjoy whether it's at night or early morning.

Why does Venus appear in early morning and evening? Click here to find out.

Nighttime Moon-Venus conjunctions usually happen just before or after sunset. It's most beautiful when you get to see a crescent moon next to a bright Venus. Ironically, we see Venus at its brightest when it is in a crescent phase (Venus has phases like our moon.) When its in full phase Venus is further away, thus dimmer. Watch a cool animation of real photographs capturing Venus going through its phases here on Astronomy Picture of the Day.

The reason we see Venus as such a bright shining object in the sky is because it is covered with clouds that reflect back a lot of light. And it's very close to the Earth. Of course underneath the cover of clouds, there is the nightmare of all enviromentalists, extreme global warming because of a gren house effect as the layer of clouds traps in the heat underneath.

Don't let that information distract you from enjoying the beauty of Venus. The planet is called the evening star or the morning star and used to be thought of as two different planets. A couple of other interesting facts to enhance your viewing pleasure:

1) Venus rotates in the opposite direction from all the other planets. See from the sun's north pole (as compared to Earth's own north pole) all the planets rotate counter-clockwise, but Venus rotates clockwise. If you lived on Venus, the sun would rise in the West and set in the East!

2) Venus is named for the Roman god of love and beauty but it has been observed since prehistoric times.

3) Venus is sometimes called Earth's twin or sister because Earth and Venus are very similar in size (Earth is slightly bigger.)

4) Venus has no moons.

5) The first man-made object to land on another planet was the unmanned Soviet Venera 3 probe in 1966. It crashed on Venus and never gave back any data about the planet.

Star Wars vs. Star Trek

2009-08-05T13:59:00.002-04:00

Wired Magazine is holding a survey: Star Wars vs. Star Trek. Everyone know which side of the fence that I am on. But head on over to the Geek Dad blog to see read the entire post and then offer your two cents.

One note, the image that they have on the blog for Star Wars is a pretty cool collage of Star Wars characters from all six films. I downloaded it as my desktop. It's worth the trip over there just to check it out. IMO, it blows the Star Trek image they have there away.

From @wired:

World peace be damned — it's time to take a stand! Star Trek or Star Wars? Cast your ballot at http://tinyurl.com/n5864v

Does Michael Jackson's Death Usurping Coverage Of Iranian Protests Show Our True Values?

2009-06-27T18:57:00.006-04:00

Neal Jansons who according to his friendfeed profile is a Writer, Web Developer, Geek, New Media Consultant and blogs at http://WriteNewMedia.com asked this question on his friendfeed stream recently: While Iranians suffer systematic oppression, the internet becomes obsessed with the death of a pop icon. Talk about showing your true values.

Many people agreed with his assessment or were sympathetic.

For example one commenter wrote: The news cycle is totally idiotic. There's absolutely no sense of any journalistic prioritization.

I didn’t think that was true. I think there is a priority and it is right in line with what we as Americans would want to see and read about. My comment to Neal's post is below:

I'm sympathetic to your POV on this, Neal but I'd argue that Iran's systematic oppression is not news—it is, in fact, old news to say the state of Iran mistreats its citizens. The protests against the election are the news. Michael Jackson was not much in the news before he died (I didn't even know he was planning a major tour in a month!) but his death is very big news considering his past and the circumstances. These items have a life cycle in the mainstream media and on the minds of Americans (I'm going on the assumption that you are referring to US news not international). Michael Jackson was a uniquely American icon with a uniquely American story. He influenced popular culture in the US for decades.

His death, tragic, as it was, and his life, twisted, sad and unfortunate as it may have been, doesn't belie the point that he had a tremendous role in American life for millions and millions of people for a very, very long time. I'd argue (as other have) that Iran is getting a disportionate amount of media (and social media) attention while similar and even more tragic abuses are occurring all over the world at the same time. It is human nature and the nature of the news cycle that tragic events closer to home (no matter how unbalanced you may think they are) claim more attention to people than events halfway across the world. And as we all know very well, celebrity gossip and news is a huge distraction for us. The lives and deaths of people we see on television, on the big screen and hear on the radio are fascinating to most of the population because we either resent them and glory in their misfortunes or envy their fame and fortune and live vicariously through their every moment.

The actions of the people protesting in Iran are sympathetic, inspiring and important but they are not the cult of personality distraction that Americans (and probably not limited to us but the entire world) love to hear about. Michael Jackson was a true cult of personality (he appointed himself the “King of Pop”) and some of us of a certain generation grew up listening to his music and following the twists and turns his life took over the years. His death became more than the unfortunate end of one man, just as Neda came to symbolize the entire Iranian struggle and epitomize the tragedy of a young, liberalized populace as many others were also dying on the streets.

Two Discussions I Had Recently About Iran On And About Social Media

2009-06-25T13:04:00.003-04:00

Facebook Discussions About Iran

I’ve been discussing Iran and Neda on Facebook with some people who are obviously hardliners about this current Iranian crisis. A person even called Neda a “media darling saying, “The fact is she became a media darling bc so many people want mahmoud out, they will rally around any of his enemies.” He also said that no one knows anything about her – which I pointed out was not true and was very easy to find out.

I posted that, in fact, there’s been a lot of investigation into Neda's life since her death.

“I'd say she's become more of a martyr for the cause than a media darling since she's dead and was randomly shot on the street, when it turns out, she wasn't even protesting.

“She was a young, educated woman from Iran who runs atypical to most people's perception of the average, fanatical, anti-semetic, "death-to"America" shouting, nut ball Iranian that is Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollah. Whether she was protesting or not is actually irrelevant and whether she is being used as a symbol for the opposition is also irrelevant.

“What matters is the people she represents: young, educated, Iranians with hopes and dreams like everyone else who also want at the minimum a voice in their government. People who never occurred to exist in the minds of I'd say 90% of Americans until these protests.”

Twitter And The Green Tinted Avatars

On Ari Herzog’s blog he wrote a post, “Why Twitter Goes Green and Why You Should Too” which inspired a very lively discussion about the tinting of people's avatars in support of the Iranian protesters. I commented in reply to @waynejohn who questioned the motivation and effectiveness of people tinting their avatar green on Twitter in support of Iranian protesters.

In his comment he wrote that he does hope “that they get what they want. In the meantime, I’m keeping my nose well out of that mess. Not my problem, nor any of the people that hopped on the next do-gooder bandwagon.”

He also wrote:

“You’re latching onto a cause that will ultimately mean absolutely nothing to you only because everyone else is doing it.

“How is this more important than our population growth? Or cutting down the Amazon. I’m not a tree hugger, but those seem like bigger issues that we should be….I don’t know , wear brown for?

“Seem silly and elementary to me.”

I replied to him and here it is in full:

"I see your point Wayne, but I disagree. The people in Iran were Twittering and making themselves heard for a reason. That reason is they want solidarity from the world for their cause. When they hear that others are behind them across the globe they may become empowered, realize they are not alone int his fight and institute real change.

"Symbolism is a powerful thing. I personally did not change my avatar. I don’t take up causes very easily but I respect and admire the people who have changed their avatars to green to show the people across the world and in Iran that they (we) are with them in this fight. It is not stupid, silly or worthless. It is powerful and important.

"And thought there are a thousand other causes to get behind some people pick one over another because it touches them in some way. For some it’s hunger. For others it’s the fight against ALS (my company). And still others, it’s standing behind people halfway across the world as they fight against oppression. It may end up that things do not change in Iran tomorrow or next week but if young people over there know that good people are wearing or tinting their avatars green in support, that may have an affect that resonates for years or generations to come.

"Imagine how powerful that one picture of that student standing up to Chinese tanks was 20 years ago. Did that symbolic moment institute wholesale change? Did it inspire people? Also, remember back to a time when you were younger, more idealistic. Didn’t symbolism mean a lot more to you than it does now? It did to me.

"I’m happy people still carry that meaning in their lives despite the problems we have here. I think that the Iranians are inspiring us to be better. And all round, that’s a good thing."

I think the symbolism is important. The green avatars may do nothing substantial in Iran but they do bring light to the cause and hopefully some people in the U.S. with little knowledge or wrong assumptions about Iranians may get an education. I know I did.

It Takes A Community… To Fight A War

2009-06-17T23:33:00.001-04:00

By Lon S. Cohen

Go back a few short years ago. Who knew that people all over the world wanted to share information in a mere 140 characters on Twitter or to gather around Causes as grim as Cancer to ones as lighthearted as “Drinking is Cheaper than Therapy” on Facebook? Apparently just as financial experts misread the dangers of subprime mortgages and credit default swaps, pundits missed the simmering underground of geeks and technophiles creating a powerful means through which a smart candidate might just get millions of people to rally around his vision of change. Barrack Obama (or more accurately David Plouffe) saw this undercurrent not as just a passing fad but as a middle ground where people were crying out to be given a voice on everything from gadgets to politics. His strategy was wildly successful as is evident from his victory in November 2008 at the polls and it legitimized Social Media in the process proving its power. But what was there all along was the fact that people always formed communities, not just inside websites, in forums and chat groups but in real life as well. This is the keen insight that Barack Obama had about the American people.

Barack Obama’s past as a community organizer taught him about the need to bring people together to advance a cause and the power that community can wield once the momentum gets going—for good and for evil. This is why the foundation of that community needs to be strong, educated, moral and most of all led by a person of good character. This what President Obama brought to the table when he spoke in Egypt. It’s what so many past diplomats did not or could not even being to understand.

The previous administration faced one of the most tragic and direct attacks on the United States in modern history. They reacted quickly and with the certainty that what they were doing was right. Putting aside all the missteps and misinformation, what the Bush administration failed most to understand is that when they were framing their campaign as a “War on Terror” they had made a huge strategic mistake. What they should have recognized was that this was not a war on terrorism but a battle with terrorism, for terrorism is merely a symptom of a larger and much more complex problem than routing out the bad guys and brining them to justice. The battle against terrorism has not been won. It has mitigated some of what the terrorists tried to do but at a high premium in blood and money. The war has still yet to be fought.

By going to the Middle East and presenting himself to the Arab world with a message of understanding President Obama has shown that he knows where the war really is and he has the experience and background to fight. The Arab world suffers from some of the deadliest afflictions known to mankind: lack of education, poverty and oppression. The terrorists know that this where the real war is fought and they’ve been winning, getting stronger and better at it because they have “boots on the ground” in the real battle zone, recruiting form the disenfranchised, exploiting weaknesses, transmogrifying the shield of faith into a sword of vengeance while we fight the terrorists that they produce on the other side of that process to stalemate because there is no lack of resources in the Middle East when it comes to frustrated young men looking to make a mark on this world.

What Obama brings with him is the knowledge that while building a strong community in an American city like Chicago may not be the same as building a strong community in Kabul or the West Bank, the lessons learned and the hopefulness that makes a person better, stronger and smarter when he is part of a community larger than himself is universal. This is where the “War on Terror” will finally be won, not on the battle fiends of Iraq or even in the mountains of Afghanistan but in the community of men.

Is Verne's Nemo Original Steampunk?

2009-05-19T15:44:00.005-04:00

Mike Perschon, a self described "hypercreative scholar, musician, writer, and artist" who also happens to be a fan of steampunk wrote a presentation for the 2009 Eaton Science Fiction Conference. In his blog where he posts the text and images he cites my interview with Bruce Sterling that I did for The British Science Fiction Association's media magazine, The Matrix.

Finding Nemo: Verne's Antihero as Original Steampunk - Eaton SF Conference, 2009

I'm still working on the next of my reports from the Eaton conference. I'm working furiously to do final revisions on my Steam Wars paper (which looks at the Steampunk Star Wars art at CGSociety) for submission to the Journal of Neo-Victorian studies, so updating the blog, as always, is what suffers. Rather than leave the site without content this May long weekend, I'm posting my images and text from the paper presentation I gave at the Eaton conference. Feel free to use the images, so long as you provide me with a link. Thanks again to Art Donovan for the use of his Shiva Mandala images, which provide a visual link to the three identities of Nemo I explore in this paper, and to Greg Medley, who is the visual Nemo of my research. I like him better than Mason and Shaw.

Head over to the Steampunk Scholar blog top read his full dissertation.

WolframAlpha

2009-05-18T12:56:00.005-04:00

The search engine created by Stephen Wolfram author of "A New Kind of Science" has gotten much media attention. It launched on Friday, May 15, 2009. I am still playing around with it to find its utility besides simple curiosity. I am confident I will eventually find a real world use for it.

The website about page says that "Wolfram|Alpha's long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone." Sounds good to me.

Stephen Wolfram is a pretty smart guy so I am sure this website can be put to good use. In the meantime I proposed this question:

"answer to life, the universe and everything"

To which Wolfram|Alpha responded:

"42"

So far, so good.

Star Wars Deserves A High Place In Science Fiction

2009-04-30T21:49:00.007-04:00

Keith Olexa, whose LinkedIn profile says he’s a Managing Editor and Contributing Writer at Starlog. He started a discussion on the Science Fiction readers, writers, and collectors Group. The below is my long winded answer to what he called “a saucy send up.”

A saucy send up: STAR WARS is the farthest thing from Science Fiction...

... and IMHO, has been the most damaging influence on the genre... agree? disagree? Discuss.

And here is my answer:

Star Wars Deserves A High Place In Science Fiction
by Lon S. Cohen

Seems that the bigger a franchise becomes the harder or less reluctant fans and writers are to bring it into our little ghetto of a genre. We Science Fiction fans are a fickle bunch. We bristle at any perceived criticism of our beloved worlds. We try to make geekism an exclusive club only open to those who truly get it. If there is anything that we fans have in common with religion it’s that we’re fanatical in our beliefs sometimes to the point of extremism. The masses don’t truly understand that Science Fiction is not just about laser swords and ray guns and flying rockets. It’s about possibilities and the human condition. What will or might be.

But you have to admit, it’s really cool if it also has an evil sentient computer thrown into the mix, right?

So where does Star Wars fit in? Both vilified and glorified, this little film that almost didn’t get made starts a lot of fights around fandom. In my opinion, Star Wars is Space Opera. It spans an entire galaxy, bringing us to worlds chock full of furry, scaly creatures with any number of eyes, limbs and skin tints. There’s good versus evil. We have all the elements of the classic tales from Sword and Sorcery to Westerns. The characters are archetypical and the themes are grandiose. It has become a behemoth franchise at the box office. Coming on the heels of Jaws it didn’t invent the summer blockbuster so much as put a definition to it. It has become the model for almost every whiz-bang popcorn flick since the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred seventy-seven. It has invaded the culture, the language and even the politics of everyday life. For this reason people tend to want to tamp down its importance, pushing it out of the Science Fiction realm.

Here’s why: Star Wars is dumb.

Don’t get me wrong. I am a true Star Wars geek. I have all the figures stashed away. I can probably recite every line from both the original trilogy as well as the much-maligned prequels. Like every other fanboy, I expected the second coming when Episode I came out and when I didn’t get it I made up excuses why it was going to one day be justified as a true work of genius. Yes. I know I’m wrong. And I don’t care.

Because the reason we fans love Star Wars is not because it’s smart. Not because it says something about mankind and our place in the universe. It doesn’t even pretend to be speculative. We love Star Wars because it’s cool. The themes are simplistic, easy to grasp and uplifting. The story is trite and pedestrian but it’s wrapped in a really rich universe. The characters are sexy, familiar and dangerous. The designs are complex and exciting yet functional. The sounds are bold, exotic and inspiring. The milieu of Star Wars appeals to a wide swath of the public. But in the end, it is not overtly intelligent.

Have you ever sat down to learn the origin myths of some foreign culture and been utterly floored by their simplicity and seeming lack of originality? The world is held on the back of a turtle and was germinated by a woman who fell from the sky in the religion of natives from the northeastern portion of the Americas. God got mad at people so he instructed Noah to build an ark to save two of every animal. This is not high literature worthy of the Nebula, the Pulitzer or even the Mann Booker. These are not stories that strike us as particularly deep or telling of man’s nature. Yet they endured through the centuries, even the millennia. Why? Because they tell a simple story, one that many people can imagine and take something away from without investing too much mental capacity. They are direct and to the point. Does this make them good? Not necessarily. Are they important? Absolutely. Why? Because the people have held onto these stories for a reason. They are simple and they speak to a simple childlike part of our soul.

This is something of what Joseph Campbell was getting at when he wrote his book on comparative mythology, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces.” A simply told tale that speaks to the deepest part of our psyche will always grab the attention of the masses and has throughout time if you look at the myths developed in cultures around the world. It also explains why Star Wars is an important and worthy contribution to Science Fiction.

That is what storytelling is all about. It occurs in every genre. Star Wars has not damaged Science Fiction. Some will always see Star Wars as a screen that hides the true nature and richness of Science Fiction. Because this is what people who don’t like Science Fiction hold up as an example of the generic Science Fiction story. Star Wars has been accused of perpetrating the stereotype of the outsider’s view of SciFi. It has all the elements after all: Lasers, robots, aliens and space travel. But what some people don’t understand is the inclusiveness of the broader genre.

Some people love classic Science Fiction but hate the hard stuff. Others like a good near future tale while others want a story set as far away from planet earth as the universe will allow. What Star Wars does well is resurrect the classic elements of SciFi from days gone by. It is, dare I say, homage to the golden years when pulps and movie reels featured the space explorer du jour for the young ones. (The oft-told tale is that George Lucas wanted to remake the story of Flash Gordon for the screen but stymied by the copyright sought to make his own version. A few years later we ended up with a version featuring a Queen soundtrack—though that’s a story for another day.) Many of those young ones become inspired by these broadly painted themes. With an education in basic plotting, character development and wonder, they are free to take their own Science Fiction story making to the next level.

So the answer to the question of whether Star Wars has been the most damaging influence on Science Fiction is no, it is not. I make my case that it is more likely the inspiration for a whole generation of Science Fiction stories of high quality. Star Wars is also firmly in the realm of the Science Fiction genre.

And anyone who says different is probably a Trekkie. IMHO. ;)

The Heroes of Hopelessness

2009-04-23T23:02:00.007-04:00

I remember Hugh Downs as the former anchor of the ABC news program 20/20. In fact as I say his name in my head I can hear his deep voice announcing that he is Hugh Downs and telling me and the rest of America what was coming up on the program that night. The Museum of Broadcast Communications says this about Downs on its website:

Hugh Downs, a venerable and extremely affable television host, is known for telegraphing intelligence, patience, and decency. The Guinness Book of World Records reports that Downs, among the most familiar figures in the history of the medium, has clocked more hours on television (10,347 through May of 1994) than any other person in U.S. TV history.

He had one of those comforting anchorman voices that America relied upon in the early days of broadcasting, the ones that morphed over the years from genuine to the mock tones of Troy McClure from the Simpsons.

So this is why, when the “TV producer” from a show called Heroes of Hope appeared on my voice mail yesterday morning, telling me that he wanted to speak with my organization about people who make a difference for a documentary that has been featured on some major broadcast channels (he says Public Television and CNN) I was a little excited.

I’m a pessimist. At least that’s what my wife tells me. Whenever our 6-year old son starts exhibiting the same traits as dear old Dad, I laugh and she rolls her eyes in recognition of his future self—very similar to the person she married. I pride myself on my pessimist, which I lovingly correct my wife as “cynicism.” It’s similar to pessimism. It’s in the same family, but they’re not exactly the same. Let’s call them cousins.

At a time like this, my cynicism kicks into high gear. First, I’ve never heard of the program, “Heroes of Hope.” So I hit the Google search bar in Firefox. I get a slew of results but none of them look right. Listening to the message again, I jot down the correct url from the voice mail. A Flash based site comes up. It’s a little vague and some of the language on the description makes me even more cynical. The language talks about donors and marketing. Things you don’t expect to see on a documentary series homepage. Then there’s the fact that I see no direct links to any public television stations that have run the documentaries. In fact, I’m curious of the fact that no public television websites came up with urls for this supposedly fabulous series staring the legendary Hugh Downs and his buttery voice.

I check out their press release. In the “About Heroes of Hope” section they describe themselves as such:

Heroes of Hope is a series on the leading edge of documentary television industry distributed to Public Television nation-wide and is hosted by Mr. Hugh Downs. Utilizing global media outlets and distribution, Heroes of Hope reaches around the globe with stories that are documentary styled, and relevant to specific industries and organizations that are looking for educational information.

The website and this press release reads like a jargon laden sales pitch meant to impress but saying very little. They say “Heroes of Hope is a series on the leading edge of documentary television industry distributed to Public Television nation-wide” but no search results brought up any programming on ANY public television whatsoever. Not PBS not NPR not anything. No reviews, no references from outside sources, nothing but a list of press releases and a few blog entries. My BS antennae are way up now.

I decide to try one other route and look up Hugh Downs. I take Wikipedia entries with a huge grain of salt (cynic over here, remember) but in general I find that they’re extremely useful and mostly accurate. I triple verify everything I find on there and find the references and links to outside webpages immensely useful. Hugh Downs’ Wikipedia entry is pretty comprehensive. It also includes this tidbit:

Downs has made a cameo appearance on Family Guy.

Hey, that’s cool. I love Family Guy. But old establishment MSM guys on a hip cartoon series smacks a little of desperation. Perhaps he’s in need of extra cash? He probably spent all his MSM dough on scotch and betting the ponies. Or he was a big Madoff investor? Who knows?

Wikipedia goes on to explain:

Downs can currently be seen in infomercials for healthsecrets.com and another one for a personal coach. He did an infomercial for Where There's a Will There's an A in 2003. His infomercial work since then has aroused some controversy, with many arguing the products are scams.[1] As of the summer of 2008, Downs can also be seen in regional public service announcements in Arizona, where he currently lives, for that state's motor vehicles division, as well as in many Public TV short form programs as the Host of educational interstitials.[2]

OK. That’s very suspicious. He’s retired but he still wants work. Some guy gets in touch with him after seeing his infomercial work with a get-in-on-the-ground-floor proposition. I can hear the elevator pitch in my head as some guy tries to sell Downs on the idea of using his fame and reputation to sell charities on very highly produced documentaries about their causes. They can then buy time and broadcast the documentaries on major network for one low fee. You can see how charities would love to get this kind of exposure and professional video work done for them, especially with the super famous and sufficiently vanilla Hugh Downs as a backer.

It’s leaning toward a total scam but vague enough that I’m still not sure. Nobody wants to tell his boss not to take a phone call when the potential upside is huge if it’s legit. I go to my secondary source and most reliable resource, Twitter.

@obilon: Anyone ever hear of "Heroes of Hope" hosted by Hugh Downs? What is this about? I can't tell if it's legit or not? Anyone? Thx.

Immediately I got two very good responses:

@bonnerj: I'm not familiar with Heroes of Hope, but it sounds like "pay for play." I'd stay away. More here: http://bit.ly/RaKhi

@angelb123: If it's similiar to group that approached me once (program also hosted by Hugh Downs), then not legit. Will ask you for tons of $.

@angelb123: NYT article about the operation here: http://tinyurl.com/cq2ev8 Be very careful.

The two articles revealed to me without a doubt that this was a scam operation.

Now, selling a charity the ability to produce a documentary about their cause is not in and of itself a scam. There are many, may production companies out there that will do a high quality job of filming a story about your organization for a variety of uses, including for your website, presentations and mailers to potential donors and many other venues. It’s a legitimate business, I’m sure.

But the way “Heroes of Hope” was first presented to my organization and how the production company’s website positions itself as a legitimate media source rather than a pay service is blatant enough that I’m calling BS here. The phone call I received was vague and misleading. I first thought that I was being contacted by a legitimate production company for a news organization.

It Ain't Easy Being Green, But It's Worth It!

2009-04-22T07:04:00.003-04:00

By Lon S. Cohen

This post originally ran in my "Ask Dad" column in Long Island Pulse Magazine's April 2008 issue. It has been edited slightly for a wider audience.

While environmental issues have been talked about ad nauseam since Senator Gaylord Nelson put them squarely onto the nation’s conscious with the first Earth Day celebration in 1970, popular commentary such as Al Gore’s, A Inconvenient Truth, show that we still have a long way to go.

So what’s a parent to do in a world succumbing to the effects of a disastrous global policy toward the earth? Is anything going to work in the face of such a monstrous tidal wave of environmental doom and gloom? Perhaps there are a few strategies we can employ with our kids.

Tu B'Shevat is called the “New Year for trees” in Judaism. It’s frequently used as an opportunity to teach children about the environment by planting a new tree or learning about fruits. Think: Jewish Arbor Day. Religion instills a sense of stewardship over the earth as protectors of God’s creation. If you are raising your child with any religious affinity, try to put environmental lessons in there for good measure.

Expose children to nature, firsthand. Take them out to see what this world has to offer in the way of natural preserves and wilderness; believe it or not, there’s still a lot left around here. Better yet, plan a camping trip with the kids and tech them to live with nature at the basic level. There are plenty of campsites with direct access to woodland trails, waterways, and animals in their natural habitat.

Instruct and inform children on how to be a better environmental citizen. Start by not littering. Even a flick of used chewing gum amounts to wastefulness. Teach that on a personal level it’s a small effort to live by the three R’s of environmentalism and it can go a long way over time.

Lead by example. There are plenty of ways to do this, but here’s one tip: Use eBay. My friend buys lots of good quality toys for her kids from eBay. Not only does it reuse items that might end up in the trash, it reduces the amount of waste because the toy has already gone through the wasteful packaging cycle. And who doesn’t hate opening those little plastic twisty-tie things anyway? Even better, why not consider opening an eBay store yourself to recycle the toys your kids are finished with, instead of throwing them in the trash.

It ain’t easy being Green, but it’s worth it.

My Social Media Grandpa

2009-04-10T13:00:00.003-04:00

My grandpa is now on Facebook.

Let me explain who my grandfather is. He’s a World War II veteran. He plays the horses at the track. He used to be a cab driver in Queens. He’s the biggest Yankee fan you’ve ever seen and has been around for almost every championship they ever played. He taught me how to throw a baseball. He is retired and lives with my grandma in Fort Lauderdale.

He’s also 87 years old.

And, he has a Facebook profile.

Which he uses.

Almost every day.

He is not your typical Facebook demographic. Whenever I overhear conversation between people who still think Facebook is for young people who understand all that computer stuff, I laugh, thinking of an octogenarian in South Florida sitting in his little air-conditioned condo at his laptop messing around with his profile picture.

He’s not a pro. He still uses his status updates to talk to specific individuals like my cousin or my mother. (Yes, my mother is also on Facebook, which brings up a whole slew of Jewish cyber-guilt jokes.) He hasn’t figured out quite how to share links or photos. He’s also not joining any groups or causes anytime soon. But he’s staked his ground. He’s a member.

To my delight, my family has been flocking to Facebook as a means of communication that is quickly replacing many other forms of online sharing. I used to upload the kids pictures to Snapfish so everyone can view their birthday parties. Now they go to Facebook. I used to play games with them on Pogo. Now we play Scrabble on Facebook. I used to email them all the time. Now I post messages to their Wall on Facebook. I used to use AIM to chat with my siblings, now… Yep, Facebook. I used to send evites… Facebook Events Calendar. I used to send links to interesting articles and websites. Facebook.

Many of the things I used to do in a multitude of other applications and website have been replaced by Facebook. Why? It’s much easier, simpler and less time consuming. Besides, everyone is on Facebook. Even grandpa.

You can look at it two ways. One, is that Facebook has become uncool. It’s too big. Like Yogi Berra once said, “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.” Or you can look at it another way. Facebook has replaced my phone book plus email, plus photo sharing, plus chat, etc. It’s a necessary and welcome utility. Imagine, all those years I tried to get people to give up the walled garden of AOL because they were missing out on the bigger world wide web and now all I want to do is corral them all back behind another even more restrictive one.

I for one am glad grandpa is on Facebook. It started out as a bit of a joke. “We have to get grandpa on Facebook,” we’d say. “He’d like it.” But once he was there, it immediately made sense. And despite the fact that he still types in comments in a conversational tone to photos, not knowing millions of people can see it even though he’s asking a particular person who may or may not have a Facebook account a question, he’s doing very well navigating his way around the site.

We think that he may be the oldest active user of Facebook but we’re not sure. All I know is that for me, Facebook has become a better place. With one more person with whom I can share my family pictures and who really, really cares about my status updates like only my grandpa can care.

Image: My grandpa back in the day.

Non-Profit Prepares For Bleak Times

2009-03-31T00:21:00.003-04:00

by Lon S. Cohen

It’s looking bleak out there for non-profits. Last year started with the housing market continuing to crash through the floor, wiping out many a family’s largest personal equity investment, which then dovetailed into an unparalleled economic crisis that rivals one most of us only heard about in the history books and ended with a scandalous ponzi scheme whose perpetrator single-handedly swindled some large non-profits of all their savings not to mention the other tens of billions of dollars in private investments it ate up.

2008 certainly was a year of when big events populated the economic landscape with huge storied corporations like Bears Stearn, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Lehman Brothers and Citigroup all falling victim one after the other.

But, far down the food chain are the lowly, local non-profits, just trying to cut a small swath for themselves out of the ever-dwindling philanthropic dollars given by businesses and private donors every year. Sadly, these are the ones who need the money most when economic times get tough but see the their income stream reduced to a trickle.

In times like these that donations go down but the use of services goes up, like the organization I work for. I’m the Director of Communications for The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. My Chapter provides crucial services like equipment loan programs and support groups to ALS patients and their families. They also provide services for caregivers, information about benefits, seminars and they manage and staff three area ALS clinics, one each in New Jersey, New York City and Long Island. Local patients seek us out to help make up their own shortfalls. We will never refuse a patient of services when we have them to offer, but our resources become stretched at times like these. The ALS Association relies on many volunteers to fill in where they can, using individuals with particular expertise to supplement a very dedicated, but beleaguered, staff.

President Barack Obama’s fundraising campaign relied on millions of what are called micro-donations along with locally formed fundraising campaigns to fill the coffers. This “Obama Effect” did not go unnoticed by the development departments in non-profits. The ALS Association had been working toward that type of online grassroots fundraising all throughout 2008 but has really stepped up their efforts for 2009.

Through a strategic Social Networking campaign along with a greater focus on helping individuals and groups form their own fundraising events. It’s going to be a tough year ahead but with some creative thinking and lots of hard work, we think we can make up for the shortfall in donations this coming year.

Bloggers united against decision to block websites in Bahrain

2009-03-17T16:11:00.002-04:00

This is a couple of months old, but I came across it and thought it still was appropriate to post. Bahrain (which according to Wikipedia is an Arabic island microstate in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa regime) apparently blocked Internet access to its citizens.

Of course Bahrain bloggers reacted. I read many comments over at the Global Voices website but I think the best one is this one below that succinctly summarizes censorship of media in his country. He metaphorically compares his brother who was a “mere idea” a little more than twenty years ago to the phenomenal growth in distribution of information by the world wide web nowadays:

Let me try to paint you a picture:

It is the 1980’s. No internet and no Satellite TV channels and nothing. The only communications we have with the outside world are videotapes, cassettes, books and magazines. In these simpler times, banning something would actually work. If the government says for a reason or another that a film for example is unacceptable and not wanted, the majority of the population, if not all, will not get to see it. Tapes will be easily found and confiscated. And then what? Banning media at that age was quite effective. But that was a long, long, LONG time ago. Just look at my brother, he was a mere idea in ’86 and was born in ’87. Today he is a 186 cm tall man, with a goatee, driving license and a college degree. Media has grown that much too.

Is There A Difference Between Social Media And Social Networking?

2009-03-03T15:59:00.008-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

I sometimes have trouble when I’m talking to people at work who aren’t savvy with this whole Web 2.0 thing we’ve got going on here. I use the words Social Networking for some instances and Social Media in others. I don’t explain the differences because to most laypeople, there is none and really, when I start to go into my theory, eyes glaze over and my colleagues suddenly find that the coffee truck must be outside the building somewhere and they have to hurry or Bob from accounting is going to take the last corn muffin.

But since this is the bread and butter of many of the people reading this right now, I think it’s safe to assume we can skip the gory details and get right into the meat of things. First, is there a difference between Social Media and Social Networking websites? Yes. And no. And it depends.

There is a big distinction in the terms Social Networking and Social Media. While many use these two terms interchangeably, you can separate them and the websites that represent one or another or even both effectively.

You can parse out the word Social from Media and Networking in each term. Social Media can be called a strategy and an outlet for broadcasting, while Social Networking is a tool and a utility for connecting with others. Essentially, you can lump both terms together under the umbrella of Web 2.0.

They way I do it is by taking the words and separating them into their different meanings. According to the Dictionary.com website, here are the definition listings for each:

Social: 1. pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations: a social club.

Networking: 1. a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest: Working mothers in the community use networking to help themselves manage successfully.

Media: 1. a pl. of medium. (ok that doesn’t help, let’s go to the second definition-L.S.C.) 2. (usually used with a plural verb) the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely: The media are covering the speech tonight.

The difference is not just semantics but in the features and functions put into these websites by their creators which dictates the way they are to be used. There’s also a kind of, which came first, the chicken or the egg kind of argument to be made here. I suspect that Social Networking came first which evolved into Social Media.

First there was Arpanet. Years later, Web 2.0 allowed for user generated content, democratization of information on the web and blah, blah, blah… We all know the history; we’re a part of it, for Tweet’s sake.

Social Networking.

LinkedIn is a good tool for Social Networking. It’s your resume on steroids. Your interests, the companies you’ve worked for, your schools all become links to others who share your same history. Your personal profile even looks like a standard resume format. Visually everything comes across as a line item. It’s terrific for business purposes. It does one thing very, very well and that is to allow people to network in a profession online arena. You can recommend the work of others, search for jobs, and link up with connections of others in your network through introductions. You can crowdsource your connections by asking questions. And you can post or apply for jobs either through a query or through your existing connections. See how it’s all modeled on real like business networking? These are its strengths.

Since it’s formation, LinkedIn has decided it needs to be a little more like Facebook and it’s added interest groups and the ability to publish links to articles you find interesting. In that respect it pales in comparison. LinkedIn is a Social Networking website. Everything about the structure and format screams business utility. Nothing about it screams media. That’s because so much of the personal pages are taken up by business profiles ala the resume format. For a site like LinkedIn to bust out of its stogy Business Networking reputation it needs to totally reformat its look and function. A tiger can’t change its stripes and LinkedIn can’t shake the fact that it is a functional website for hooking up people wanting to do business with each other. LinkedIn is good at what it does and I’d hate to loose it.

Social Media.

YouTube is a really good Social Media website. It’s television on the web with a bazillion channels. I like the exploding Coke bottles, the funny Panda videos, monkeys falling off of logs and people crashing into garbage cans just as much as I like the step-by-step instructions on how to make an origami Millennium Falcon, viral comedy of Matt Koval and educational presentations on the history of the Internet. YouTube is a no-brainer marketing tool for any business that wants to make an impact on the web and provides one of the easiest distribution channels for video since the advent of Betamax. The elephant in the virtual living room is, of course, the Obama administration’s embracing of YouTube to distribute the POTUS fireside chats to the American people.

But if I want to network with friends and business associates, I’m not using YouTube. Sure I can subscribe to other people’s feeds and get updates whenever they post a new video but I’m never going to get the same depth of information that I’d get on LinkedIn. YouTube lets me put up my standard profile, but it’s not where I’m going to go to find my next business hire or even my next date. And I’m definitely not going to find out that my friends are all meeting up at the latest hip bar on the Upper East Side tomorrow night at 6:30. No. YouTube stands firmly in the camp of Social Media.

Social __________?

Twitter and Facebook are Web 2.0 sites with the whole package. They straddle the Social Media and Social Networking divide perfectly.

Facebook’s layout provides ample space for me to broadcast my pictures, my links, my book lists, my blog posts all while finding my first girlfriend who got married and moved to Virginia. The pictures I post act both as media and a networking tool because I can tag my friends and other people can place their own tags on my photos, labeling that hottie I wanted to talk to who just happened to get into the background of the bar I went to last week. For the most part, Facebook is a Networking site but because it devotes so much of its layout to a space where I can pack in my own stuff it is perfect for Media too. The density of information I can project is almost limitless.

Then there’s Twitter. Such a simple tool. By taking out the status update function of MySpace and Facebook and blending it with the idea of the chat room, the creators have developed one of the most versatile sites in all of Web 2.0. Twitter’s is first and foremost about projecting your words within 140 characters. What you do with those words is totally up to you. You can Tweet out a original work of fiction, you can pretend you’re a character from a TV series, you can sell stuff, inform people, link out to other websites, have conversations, piss people off or keep a low profile while taking it all in. But the essential part is connecting to others for whatever reason you want to connect with those people. In so many ways, Twitter’s most useful to distribute small bits of information but it’s the connections that make it all worthwhile. The minimalist functionality of Twitter is probably it’s most powerful feature enabling it to be many things to many people. The debates rage on whether Twitter should be for brands, for celebrities, or just for conversations with real people. The real secret is, it’s for anything you want.

Futility To Utility With Twitter

2009-02-18T14:47:00.003-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

At about 4:30 on a Friday afternoon I was getting ready to leave work when I got a call from our National office. It was our Media Relations Manager. (He’s sitting at a desk in California so I forgave him for missing the fact that I was mentally out the door already.) He told me a reporter from Newsday, one of my local market newspapers, had left him a message wanting information about ALS. The Media Relations Manager provided me with the reporter’s name and phone number. I thanked him and hung up. Cut and dry, right? Turns out, not so much.

Let me interrupt here to explain a little about what I do for a living. I’m a freelance writer (obviously or you wouldn’t be reading this) but my day job is Director of Communications for The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter, a nonprofit that raises awareness, provides comprehensive patient services and funds medical research for ALS. Among my many duties in this role I manage all our website, Social Networking, media relations and PR for our Chapter.

After hanging up with the Media Relations Manager I immediately called the reporter. It became obvious that I had written down the wrong phone number. After confirming that the number I had was actually the same as the one that the Media Relations Manager had, I was a bit dismayed. The opportunity to speak with a reporter doesn’t come along everyday and I didn’t want to miss it. I tried to Google the reporter’s name along with the name of the newspaper but no luck. I couldn’t find him. I was upset, thinking I might miss his deadline and he’d go somewhere else for the information or even worse, get the information wrong.

On Monday I got an email from the Media Relations Manager asking me if I hooked up with the reporter. In the email was the proper spelling of the reporter’s name, explaining why I couldn’t find him online. As an aside, I’m big on email. First you have a record of your correspondences if any inconsistencies show up later. Second, it mitigates the telephone game effect where people jot down names and numbers wrong because they hear something incorrectly.

Anyhow, I now had the correct name and immediately Googled him, finding a bunch of articles he’d written for the newspaper. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any direct contact information for him. But, at least I had a name. It turns out, that’s all I needed.

I went about a few other tasks to let the back of my mind work on the problem while the front of my mind answered emails, checked stats and made to-do lists. Then it struck me. I knew another reporter from that same newspaper and had communicated with her quite often. Technically it was every single day since we followed each other on Twitter.

I sent my Twitter connection a DM asking if she knew the reporter I was looking for. I was amazed at the serendipity of her response. Below I’ve pasted our DM exchange. (I changed the reporter’s name and some other information she shared with me for privacy.)

@obilon: Hi. Do you know a Newsday contributor named John Doe? He called me for comment for @ALSofGNY but call back # was wrong. Thx.

@e2_newsday: yep(…) used to work here. lemme try to dig up an email address...

@obilon: Thanks.

@e2_newsday: hi, don't have his # but his ed happened to be talking to him and John says he'll call you back. hope that works.

Minutes later, my phone rang and I was interviewed by the reporter for a story about a local artist who was still creating even though he had advanced ALS.

@obilon: Thanks for the help. He called me after you let him know I was looking for him. The power of Social Networking!

I can’t say enough about the importance of that connection. When I first hooked up with @e2_newsday on Twitter, I thought of all sorts of ways we could help each other professionally. But never did I think I would use that connection to find another reporter when time was of the essence and I had nothing but a name.

This was a huge lesson and not just for me. I conveyed this story to the Media Relations Manager and our CEO about just how I got the information over to the reporter and made the connection. I believe in Social Media as a major part of my Communication Strategy for my organization. But this episode reinforced for my superiors the utility of Social Networking in getting business done.

This also got me thinking. We sometimes use the terms Social Media and Social Networking interchangeably. But you can parse out the Social from Media and Networking. Social Media might be called a strategy and an outlet while Social Networking is a tool and a utility. A good Web 2.0 website can do one of these very well. LinkedIn is a good tool for Social Networking. YouTube is a really good Social Media website. But Twitter (and I’d put Facebook in there as well) is a great Web 2.0 website because it’s great at both Social Media and Social Networking.

My Twitter Professors

2009-02-17T12:28:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to point everyone who reads my blog (Hi Mom!) to my new article on Mashable.com. It's about how some of the people I follow, I consider my Professors of Twitter and why.

Now stop wasting time and go read it here.

Dreams As Fuel For Your Fire

2009-02-15T23:30:00.002-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

I want to talk about your dreams. I never have the types of dreams that make sense. They’re usually a kind of esoteric, broken up, strange mish-mash of people, dialogue and events that is way too complicated or even too embarrassing to talk about out loud. It’s rare that I have a narrative, logical dream that I can then breakdown and analyze.

I think that’s just how my mind works, never able to just stick to one theme unless I’m concentrating really hard. Otherwise a jumble of thoughts, tangents and threads fly around my head. But it’s like a spider web, there is a pattern forming, I just can’t see it until it’s all done and I reflect on it.

But those are not the types of dreams I want to talk about. I don’t want to talk about the dreams we have in our heads at night, but the ones that we keep in our hearts by day. I woke up the other morning thinking about this. (Usually I wake up feeling like my inner dialogue has been going full steam without or with a random song in my head or both.)

In this economy it’s tough to hold onto the dreams in our hearts. When “they” say that these are the times that try men’s souls, right now, is what they mean.

It may be human nature to give up on our dreams, put them aside or think of them as unachievable because it’s so hard nowadays. You may even think that it’s silly to hold onto the dreams in your heart when you’re struggling to make ends meet. External forces can crush a person’s dreams if they’re not careful. Maybe your dream is falling apart right now. The bank is foreclosing on your dream home. Or your job search is stalled and you are facing the prospect of enduring another year at your dead-end job because the companies in your dream field of work aren’t hiring.

Don’t give up. Now is the time to cultivate your dreams. Do the things you need to do to save them, not give up on them. People start to panic. Understandably, they forsake what they think is superfluous and make a series of short-term decisions because the intensity of the situation calls for it. Try to resist putting aside dreams. Do what you need to do. Cut back on the extras, but your dreams, they don’t cost anything. You can afford to imagine a time when you are back on your dream track again because, well, it’s free to dream. It is the one thing that will keep you going when perhaps you’re burnt out, and feel that this thing is never going to turn around.

But whatever you do, continue to work a little on your dreams. Be creative about it. So many organizations are looking for someone who has the skills you’re developing right now. It may not be the perfect place or the perfect situation but it will keep you moving forward. Someone, somewhere is looking for someone like you and their goals might run parallel to your dreams so seek out opportunities everywhere.

Now more than ever it’s easy to connect with thousands of people on Social Networking websites. Many will also have local groups that meet in real life where you can meet and talk to people who share your dreams. There’s nothing wrong commiserating with others over the sorry state of the world. At least it offers an outlet for frustration and shows you are not alone. You will find that everyone harbors a secret dream that they one day hope to achieve but have to put them off for a while. Even in the best of times, life situations cause people to set their dreams aside for the sake of survival.

Never give up. You don’t know what’s out there. Perhaps you can even make a difference.

Anybody want to buy a Madonna?

2009-02-12T12:12:00.002-05:00

I’m having an existential crisis. I realize that it’s almost absurd but yet it gnaws at my brain. Here is the situation:

We have just moved offices. After 15 years in one place, you tend to compile a lot of stuff, especially as a nonprofit where people hoist all kinds of things upon you to “donate” to the cause, leaving the organization responsible for selling this stuff for a profit. Sure it’s generous thinking but not all this stuff can sell or be seriously translated into donations so some of it sits around on a shelf waiting for the opportunity to be used in the next auction/giveaway/gift basket.

Cleaning out all the nooks and crannies of the office, we cam upon a statue lady Madonna. The Holy Mother. The Virgin. Jesus’ Madre. She’s quite beautiful, I might add.

Here’s the problem. I was the first to find her and proxy bestowed her care upon me. You might think this an honor (and I do really) but have you ever tried to get rid of a statue of the Virgin Mary? I’m Jewish. I don’t know the first thing about this stuff. To add insult to injury, someone from the office mentioned that if it was blessed by holy water, you can't just throw the statue out. Did she want it? I asked. Umm. No.

So I am in my new office with the Virgin Mary benevolently smiling down upon me from her perch atop one of my cabinets. Not that I don’t appreciate her presence. Not that I don’t get the calming glow but, you know, I’m Jewish and really, these things don’t really belong at work. They belong in a garden in the suburbs, under a clamshell or something.

I’m formulating a plan to donate this statue. I might leave her on the steps of an old church on my way to work. I may have to wrap her up in a bow and give her to my Catholic Mother-In-Law (yes I married a shiksa.) For now, I am tormented. Is it right to just give her away unceremoniously? Or am I spending way too much time thinking about this?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Turnstiles

2009-02-11T16:01:00.009-05:00

I was exiting the subway this morning. The turnstiles at my station (Wall Street 4/5) are particularly tight. I was distracted in thought about some of my own problems, probably similar to your own: kids, money, projects at work, etc. when it came my turn in line at the turnstile. Maybe it was because I hadn't eaten my Wheaties or because I was so engrossed in my own thoughts but I found the resistance on the metal bars a little stronger than usual. Half way through, someone else entered and began to push on the bars behind me. (These are similar to revolving doors with bars instead of doors much larger than a typical New York City subway turnstile.) Suddenly, with that little extra help the turnstile was so much easier to push.

It made me think.

With just a little help from someone who was doing almost exactly the same thing I was doing anyway, both our burdens became easier. In fact, I thought that perhaps the person behind me was also so deep in his own mind that he never noticed how easy it was to push through the exit.

We're in a pretty big mess here economically in America. We've got some failed policies and two wars looking at us right in the face. I would not want to be the incoming administration right now, because, realistically, the cards are stacked against President Obama despite the overwhelming goodwill he carried into office with him. This morning, I had a small epiphany. It's not a novel idea that when people work together, a tough job becomes that much easier but it really became apparant to me this morning.

It was a minor feat, pushing through that turnstile, exiting the subway and heading up to the street but I realized that all of us want to go in the same direction in this country, toward recovery. Now is not the time to work against one and other; now is definitely the time to work together.

On the Social Networking sites, I see that wave cresting. It's a great feeling when all of us on these sites all are working together to make this system work. I see people on Twitter sharing links to articles, giving back to society through charity work, helping individuals who are seeking advice, engaging in conversation, challenging ideas and sharing resources. It will get better in this country. Our economy will recover, slowly, but it will start sometime soon.

I know this because I see a lot of people everyday online telling me all the good things they do in the real world and like all of us in those turnstiles, all we have to do is give a small push. It adds up. Believe me.

A Local Non-Profit Prepares For Bleak Times

2009-02-04T22:30:00.002-05:00

It’s looking bleak out there for non-profits. Last year started with the housing market continuing to crash through the floor, wiping out many a family’s largest personal equity investment, which then dovetailed into an unparalleled economic crisis that rivals one most of us only heard about in the history books and ended with a scandalous ponzi scheme whose perpetrator single-handedly swindled some large non-profits of all their savings not to mention the other tens of billions of dollars in private investments it ate up.

2008 certainly was a year of when big events populated the economic landscape with huge storied corporations like Bears Stearn, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Lehman Brothers and Citigroup all falling victim one after the other.

But, far down the food chain are the lowly, local non-profits, just trying to cut a small swath for themselves out of the ever-dwindling philanthropic dollars given by businesses and private donors every year. Sadly, these are the ones who need the money most when economic times get tough but see the their income stream reduced to a trickle.

In times like these that donations go down but the use of services goes up, like the organization I work for. I’m the Director of Communications for The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. My Chapter provides crucial services like equipment loan programs and support groups to ALS patients and their families. They also provide services for caregivers, information about benefits, seminars and they manage and staff three area ALS clinics, one each in New Jersey, New York City and Long Island. Local patients seek us out to help make up their own shortfalls. We will never refuse a patient of services when we have them to offer, but our resources become stretched at times like these. The ALS Association relies on many volunteers to fill in where they can, using individuals with particular expertise to supplement a very dedicated, but beleaguered, staff.

President Barack Obama’s fundraising campaign relied on millions of what are called micro-donations along with locally formed fundraising campaigns to fill the coffers. This “Obama Effect” did not go unnoticed by the development departments in non-profits. The ALS Association had been working toward that type of online grassroots fundraising all throughout 2008 but has really stepped up their efforts for 2009.

Through a strategic Social Networking campaign along with a greater focus on helping individuals and groups form their own fundraising events. It’s going to be a tough year ahead but with some creative thinking and lots of hard work, we think we can make up for the shortfall in donations this coming year.

Dumbness Will Destroy The Republican Party

2009-01-30T12:38:00.004-05:00

Sadly, if they’re not careful, the continuation of highly vocal and unabashedly blatant inaccuracies like those of Republican House Representative from North Carolina, Virginia Foxx, will utterly destroy the G.O.P. Was it not enough that Sarah Palin embarrassed all Americans with her antics while campaigning for one of the two major parties in American politics that have any influence? Lobbing convoluted logic at your political enemy is like coming to a firefight with a dart gun: It seems like you have the right weapon, but to people who know the difference, you just look silly and in the end you’re pretty ineffective.

So I was reading the New York Times story titled, “House Passes Stimulus Plan Despite G.O.P. Opposition” about how the stimulus package passed the House without one single Republican on board. This was a little disturbing to me. It seemed that there was a huge bipartisan message projected from the floor of the House Republicans. It was that they will not be working in any way with this administration, even when Obama comes down personally to appeal for their support. They want to be able to look Democrats and Americans in the eye and when and if this stimulus fails to say, “We told you so.” The Democrats on the other hand made an equally bipartisan statement: “Feh! Who needs you.”

As disturbed as I am on multiple levels that this bill did not appeal to one single Republican, I was more disturbed by the statement made by a Republican Representitive, Virginia Foxx made in the New York Times. If I were a North Carolina resident in her district I would call for this person to be thrown out of office as soon as possible, if not sooner. The naivete and ignorance displayed in this comment should resound through our Capital Building’s halls as the dangers the Republican party faces. Is Foxx vying for Sarah Palin’s role as most ridiculous naïve politician in the party?

My respect for this party diminishes by the day after reading comments like this much more than it is bolstered when I hear a sweet speech by John McCain finally untethered from the pressures and constraints of his awful campaign.

FTA:

“Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, said that former President George Bush’s signature tax cuts in 2001 had created years of growth but that the nation’s problems started when Democrats regained majorities in Congress in the 2006 elections.”

Luckily they were able to get someone who was paying attention to provide a follow up comment. In the interest of fairness I wish it were a Republican showing their wisdom.

“Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland and the majority leader, said that “the economics that got us into this mess” were the Republicans’ policies for the six years that Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress, through 2006.”

Perhaps it’s the bias of the reporting paper to highlight the idiocy in the Republican party. I will give you that. But after the Palin debacle, I fear that this type of one-sided, unreflected, loud mouth, ignorance is a disease that will destroy the Republican party.

It’s clear that only a week or so out from Barack Obama’s inauguration, forces are aligning against him. Unfortunately they aren’t smart. If you’re going to go to battle with one of the most eloquent, intelligent politicians to come around on the American scene in years, you will be flattened if you continue to spout statements like Foxx’s. Please, I beg my Republican friends, do not let Representitive Foxx and FOX news become the mouthpiece of the opposition for the next four years.

I have a great respect for many of the values Repubicans stand for. But to hear it, the values have been dropped from the agenda, to be replaced by the slow decline of intelligent discourse. No wonder Buckley’s son endorsed Obama.

In the end to the piece there were a couple of comments that I was thinking while reading about the bill passing the House without any Republicans voting for it, knowing that there will be changes down the road and that many Republican concerns had been addressed, except a ridiculous alternative that Republicans proposed as a stimulus that consisted entirely of tax cuts, which we’ve already seen does nothing to assist the economy in the short term:

“Not one person felt his or her district needed to have any of this assistance?” Representative Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut, asked of the Republicans. “That can’t be.”

Brad Woodhouse, president of the union-supported, pro-Democratic group Americans United for Change, e-mailed a statement condemning the Republicans’ opposition under the subject line “Political Suicide.”

Defeated by fundamental economics

2009-01-24T17:02:00.002-05:00

I had paid for my WiFi access in my hotel here in California. It was expensive and I didn’t want t do it but I figured I was in a hotel that catered to businesses so I expected that there’d be some extra fees for things that as a regular consumer I’d probably get for free – like the WiFi access in my room. I pressed that “I agree” button on the log in screen and committed myself to about $25 in fees for WiFi. (The cost was $12 and change for each day of access and I was staying for two days.)

I figured, hell, if I can live blog from my event, then it would be worth it for myself and for my company. Chances are, if you’re a tech reporter at a national conference you’ve had your woes with inadequate WiFi access in conference rooms because of poor design or a strain on the system by hundreds of others trying to blog, Twitter and email all at the same time some using multiple devices and others hogging up bandwidth streaming live video to boot. Me? I was at the national conference for my employer the ALS Association. We are a non-profit and as everyone knows, we have also felt the pain of the current economic downturn. Most of our employees are not Social Media people. They could care less about having WiFi in the conference room so that option was never taken by the organizers. But I thought, so what, I have my personally bought and paid for WiFi access so I’m safe.

That turned out not to be the case. I assumed, naively it turns out, that my room access would pervade throughout the hotel but the WiFi ironically does not reach all the way to the conference room, although a few steps outside of the door, I get a mostly full signal.

This was going to be my first live blogging/Twittering event. I wanted to push the limits of my communication strategy for my chapter to see if we could incorporate live, up-to-the-minute news on events for our patients, families and employees. See, many ALS patients are very hooked into their computers and on the Internet. They connect via Social Networks like Facebook, MySpace, a site called Patients Like Me and even Twitter. I thought I could start incorporating a live stream to our web presence to give these people the vital information they desire about the state of ALS research, patient services, advocacy and even our newest initiatives in fundraising to support our efforts.

Alas, I was defeated by a little thing called economics. I was forced to grab a pad of lined paper and one of those cheap free pens lying all over the place at these conferences and scribble my notes longhand. Don't get me wrong, I like taking notes. It's how I conduct all my interviews and meetings. I never take notes on my laptop but there was something special about reporting on our newest scientific research in stem cells that just begged to be put out by live blogging or through our Twitter account.

When I expressed my dissatisfaction about my predicament on Twitter, a follower of mine commented, “I hear you. Not surprising, tho. They make a killing in conference rms.” So unlike our patients who are conquered ever so slowly by the failure of their own motor neurons, I was conquered by a more pervasive nemesis: economics.

Thoughts on distribution & Twitter as communication

2009-01-08T13:25:00.001-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

Ever read one of those fanzines?

Fanzines (or just ‘zines) are those cheaply produced magazines, mostly printed by photocopying or other inexpensive printing process and distributed to a small number of subscribers. They’re generally not very slick, professional nor are they meant to be. Quick and dirty is the name of the game here. They’re generally written about a specific topic like a rock band or most notably the science fiction culture. They are always self-published and have little if no promotion. Generally a ‘zine has an underground or indie feel to it.

The problem has been distribution, which for years meant mailing them out, leaving stacks in retail outlets or distributing them on street corners or at public events, etc. Similarly, centuries before ‘zines appeared, people produced their own bills, flyers, newspapers, pamphlets and libels to disseminate a point of view. These most democratic carriers of personal expression could be distributed or sold on the corners of Colonial towns and European cities.

In both cases the distribution of material was very limited. Limited by physical travel times and in the olden days, low literacy rates. But the information could still have a great influence on public opinion. In 1649, English Parliament even instituted the Printing Act, which sought to stem the decadent distribution of libels. A lot of good that did, since one of the most famous of these pamphlets was called, "Common Sense" written by Thomas Paine. "Common Sense" served to incite a little thing called the American Revolution and served as a basis for the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

Nowadays, we have Twitter.

Had Paine been on Twitter he might have written Tweets like, There is something absurd in supposing a continent (American) to perpetually governed by an island (Britain). That would easily have fit within the 140 character limit even if he added the modern IMHO to it. Or perhaps another famous quote from one of his pamphlets, These are times that try men' s souls. FTW!

Spreading beyond the niche appeal of geeks and social networking aficionados, Twitter is gaining popularity in usership and in media exposure – possibly because people in the public relations field and journalism are becoming one of the largest of the second wave of adopters. On Twitter we share links to articles, blogs, pictures and videos. We talk to each other about a multitude of topics and hold public chats. We even talk to customer service representatives and get headlines from our favorite news organizations in our live stream. But many of the companies that try to get into the game, come at it with the same dogmatic approach to marketing they’ve practiced for decades.

Too many companies either go at social networking like a bull in a china closet or a canary in a cave. There seems to be nothing in between. I attribute it to the fact that most companies really don’t understand the nuances of the medium. They don’t take the time to learn. The funny thing is, we're figuring it all out for them for free with these hashtag chats, blog posts, articles, etc. All a company that potentially wants to join the fray needs to do is sit back, watch and learn.

That’s it. Right now, if you're in public relations, advertising, media or are a brand looking to get into social networking all you need to do is poke around and follow/friend the right people and you will get a free education in social networking. Never before in history has it been easier to glean from the knowledge of others who want/will give it away to you for free! Connect, pay attention, be savvy, keep tight lipped and you will learn more than a college education. It's so empowering. And I’m not talking 101 here; I’m talking higher education, Masters level stuff. What I learn from Twitter people alone daily amazes me.

This is probably the most opportune time in the history of communication. It’s happening right now. Now is the time to get into the pool; just make sure you're acclimated. Or in other words, jump in with both feet but make sure you test the water first.

Au Lang Syne. This is only a temporary parting.

2009-01-01T15:38:00.005-05:00

“My Christmas tree is fake,” I tell my friend. “No rush to take it down.”

He’s standing in my kitchen as we share a cup of coffee on New Year’s Day and he’s telling me that he has to go home to take down the decorations because his tree is dying. This is when the post holiday blues hits me. Every season, when it’s time to take down the decorations, put all that festivity into boxes and store them in the dark cold basement for another year, I get a little down. Usually it last only a moment.

I start to think about the year ahead. The season that is still to come, with (hopefully) a few snow days, and then the gentle thaw of spring. I imagine the comfort of the first warm breeze of spring drifting through the open windows of my home. The idea of things reborn and starting anew. How this summer vacation will be the best ever, surrounded by friends and family. Perhaps there’s hope this year for peace, revival and prosperity for everyone around the world. Maybe. Just maybe this is the year we cure some awful disease or a country topples its own dictator or a brand new product is invented that makes everyone’s life a little better.

At that point I’m giddy, thinking of the days and weeks ahead, all the other annual occasions, the work I will do and the times I will have with my wife and kids. I think that my Christmas tree is fake, yes, and there’s is no rush to take it down, but it’s time anyway. To store those holiday memories away for another year because you’re not just putting them away in a box, you’re securing them for the future and the joyful rediscovery of old things as new again. For a time capsule of sorts where we gently place all out traditions, our hope and dreams so that next year when we unwrap them they seem fresh and new, and as beautiful as we remembered, or even more so.

Time to put away the memories of a year past and start off a whole new one. Here’s hoping that this coming year will be better than ever. There will be smiles and tears, pain and happiness, sorrow and joy, but it’s a new year. Let’s make it the best one ever.

Happy New Year.

Lon S. Cohen
www.twitter.com/obilon
lonscohen.com

The Stubborn Persistence of BBS

2008-12-30T12:03:00.002-05:00

I was holding this post back but when I heard Loren Feldman of 1938 Media call Twitter a BBS, I had to post it right away because I thought, "Hey! I thought of that too!"

When a computer protocol was written by Ward Christensen so that one could dial up a Bulletin Board System in 1977, the early precursor of the World Wide Web was born and the sharing of information freely through networked computers residing in the homes and offices of “some other” people became possible.

The World Wide Web really started at CERN (No Al Gore joke here), European research Lab. Tim Berners-Lee set up the first web server. From the CERN website: “The idea was to connect hypertext with the Internet and personal computers, thereby having a single information network to help CERN physicists share all the computer-stored information at the laboratory.” The ability to find, browse, search and create information that can be viewed by anyone with a computer and an Internet connection came to be.

Connecting to others, having conversations and exploring beyond your own physical borders must be ingrained in our collective DNA. We need to share information with other people who may or may not be like-minded. In Twitter we have found yet another way to accomplish this.

Twitter has managed to blend many of the greatest aspects of the Internet as it has evolved and put them into one succinctly designed application that, 1) Connects us to others outside of our physical community and B) Allows us to share information with those people that we find.

So with all this history an over 30 years of innovation what is the best thing we came up with? Twitter. That’s right. We have finally developed a way for people to log in and talk to other people over long distances in 140 characters or less. What does that say about us as a culture?

The Internet started as a means of transmitting scientific and academic information, with the real stress on information. When you look at the evolution of the World Wide Web (I still love calling it that!) it’s all been just a refinement of achieving that objective.

Everything else is just exploding soda bottles and LOLcats.

Lon S. Cohen
@obilon
lonscohen.com

Blogs R Us - A Controversy

2008-12-30T10:19:00.005-05:00

On Business Week’s website, Ben Kunz of Media Associates wrote about the controversy surrounding Chris Brogan’s sponsored blog post for K-Mart in his story titled, “A Modest Blogging Proposal.” I thought it was a good article. Though I think it oversimplifies the controversy. Advertorials are commonplace in publishing. Chris Brogan's blog is a publication as well as an outlet for his personal opinion. K-Mart asked him to write a sponsored post, which was clearly and obviously noted in the piece. He did not shill for K-Mart and wrote what he says are his honest opinions.

I thought Kunz did a great job of satirizing the subject but we’re a long way from sponsored blog posts to sponsored personal opinions. As I mentioned, Chris Brogan’s blog and his personal brand provide a service. He is a publisher. While some blogs are random thoughts and others are filled with reposted items (I am guilty of lazily reposting news items in my blogs too) the blog itself has become elevated to a higher status in many ways. It is a genuine form of publishing adopted by many MSM websites. In that respect, it is open to many different interpretations, and Chris Brogan offered an experiment in one way an advertiser can take advantage of influential bloggers in a non-traditional way. (Traditional being relative here since by traditional I mean sponsored links and banner ads, which themselves are relatively new to the ad game on the whole.)

When the sponsorship is ambiguous or outright hidden and then offered as honest opinion, that’s when a blogger endangers his reputation and trust. In this case, I think it elevated Brogan’s rep because he is, after all, considered a cutting edge marketer and he’d be doing his clients a disservice if he didn’t practice what he preached whenever possible.

That all said, I agree (shudder) with Robert Scoble about devaluing a blogger’s time and posts to marketers. I could make a living writing $500 posts at 500 words all day long if I didn’t have to do any research, or self-promotion or reputation building or pretty much anything else. Unfortunately I have to do all those things and the marketers are not knocking down my door to offer and endless stream of $500 posts to me (or anyone else). That means my time is worth more than $500 per post. A lot more.

Marketers are getting a pretty sweet deal at that price. If I were them, I’d do the same thing any day of the week and get away with it. If Brogan, with all his influence and Internet fame gets five hundred measly bucks for his K-Mart post, then what hope do I have of making a living off my blog?

While a great idea, in theory and one that if done correctly will not devalue the reputation of the individual blogger, the real issue your article raises is the pittance bloggers can expect to get paid if the trend continues. At this rate, I’m going to have pay K-Mart for the privilege of writing about their crappy store. (Hey K-mart. Consider that one, pro bono.)

Lon S. Cohen
Twitter: @obilon
Web: lonscohen.com

I'm Waiting For Web 4.0, DAMMIT!

2008-12-29T15:46:00.001-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

I’m skipping right to Web 4.0. I like Web 2.0 so much that I’m going to wait for Web 4.0 to roll out before I upgrade my stuff. That’s the day when the Internet will ingrain itself into my real world in such a way that it will be virtually inseparable from my environment and approach a certain Artificial Intelligence aspect, the total integration of the Internet into all my appliances.

I want the Web 4.0 house. I want my refrigerator to send me an email when the filter in the water dispenser is low. Better yet, I want to set the preferences on my refrigerator to order me a new filter when it needs to be replaced and then email me an alert to expect the filter to arrive in the mail by UPS and by the way here’s the tracking number and here is where that package is in transit right now. Same for the air filters in my forced hot air system. What about my light bulbs in my recessed lighting? Why the hell am I still counting mileage on my car against a stupid little plastic sticker on my windshield to know when I need an oil change? I want the car to send an email to me: Excuse me master, but my oil needs changing.

If some Luddite finds this disturbing I say get a dog. Dogs are great at having you guess what the heck they want. They’re unpredictable and it takes time to train them. Better yet, have kids. Those are some Web 1.0 little units. They don’t do ANYTHING by themselves, true analogs.

I ask this question of myself all the time: Why do I have to stick my DVD into my computer to access the web content? With WiFi technology and a simple operating system loaded with a browser interface, my DVD player can show me the content right after I watch the movie. (Advertisers are you listening because then you know exactly my tastes by what DVD I was watching and can target those banner ads accordingly.)

Here’s another question I ask myself: Why can’t my stove give me access to the latest recipes when I am feeling inspired to cook like Emeril while watching the show on TV? I can tell my stove to access one of many websites where I can find recipes and then get a list of ingredients emailed to me or better yet WiFi the information to the printer directly. That way I can run out and get exactly what I need. There’s probably a thousand brands out there who would love to be the exclusive sponsor so when my list prints it doesn’t simply say to buy butter but Land O’ Lakes butter.

It’s like movie product placement but in your real life. And when is it too much networking? Does my lamp or my cheese grater really need a WiFi connection?

Probably not, but that would be cool.

To Follow or Not To Follow. A Brand Dilemma.

2008-12-17T13:43:00.007-05:00

By Lon S. Cohen

After my post about brands on Twitter at Mashable.com where I took the position that they should and can thrive there, I got a great follow up question from @amykchulik via Twitter. While I was crafting my reply I found that it was going to take a few more than 140 characters to do the topic justice.

Over multiple Tweets @amykchulik asked about brands on Twitter and the strategy (for lack of a better word) of following back those that follow them:

amykchulik: Hi Lon -Great article on brands using Twitter! I am curious as to your thoughts about brands following followers back on Twitter –

amykchulik: Do you think it's essential and that not following others back, or picking & choosing who they follow back as a non-company-related

amykchulik: person might, is a reflection on their company & a rejection to that person/potential customer? Do they have a greater responsibility

amykchulik: to treat all as a customer/reciprocate? I've love to know your thoughts. Sorry for the long messages. Thanks!

(First, I want to say, Aw shucks! Thanks @amykchulik for the compliment on my article.)

It’s no surprise that I was somewhere in the middle when it came to answering this question and it was more than just a yes or no. Brands come in all shapes and sizes. Some are global behemoths while others are small and locally minded. Some are specific to an industry and others to a particular interest group. Many want to appeal to as many people as possible. I am sorry to say that there is no one size fits all when it comes to following back when you are a brand on Twitter. (For that matter, there is no one size fits all for anyone on Twitter.) I have outlined a few of many ways you can go about this question of whether to follow everyone or not on Twitter and what it means. (Or you can save time, skip down to the end and see where I throw the whole thing out the window.)

Still with me? OK. Here it goes:

The Auto-Follow Variable:

I thought of many instances where a brand might want to strategically follow only a few people, one that comes to mind is the auto-follow feature. If I am auto followed by one of the huge personalities on Twitter then they will start to see my Tweets automatically and may be engaged before they either tune out or block my brand from their stream. So a brand would probably do well to start by following some big names in the Twitterverse.

For whatever reason people like to auto-follow, it is their own choice. Personally I do not. Some people like the huge stream of Tweets and thrive on it. I can’t process information that quickly no matter what tool I use. But luckily, some either auto-follow or manually follow just about everyone that follows them. If you chose the right influencers on Twitter then following them to match your goals on Twitter would be a great idea. (For the record, I have never used auto-follow and apparently it is not even a public feature but one that you have to request.)

The Auto-Follow Caveat:

This would probably be best for smaller brands. Target some very popular Tweeple that match your audience. Follow them. Watch what they do and if a moment comes up, engage like the Enterprise going Warp Factor 5. That said, you can also gain followers by @ replying to people (wisely!) and seeing what happens if you have patience. For big, gigantic brands, this is probably not needed. Just publishing your Twitter Account on your website, company blogs or specific advertising may do the trick.

The Media Equation:

Say you are a Media Company. Now I know that we’re all media companies in one way or another with our blog, Twitter, Delicious and YouTube RSS Feeds but take a large media company like the New York Times. For the most part they want to transmit their content to as many places as possible. Following back people only places false importance on the people you follow since all you are doing is re-feeding your news, videos, pictures, etc. through an auto publisher to your Twitter Account. For large media companies I’d say, don’t get caught up in who to follow and not follow. Following many, many people may not be the best tactic. Keep it simple. Keep it safe. As old Gandalf used to say.

For example, below are two media companies and their follow stats:

Name: The New York Times
Following: 32
Followers: 15,480

Name: CNET News.com
Following: 2
Followers: 9,574

The Media Caveat:

My caveat for the Media Equation is that if you have your official Twitter accounts under different reporters’ names or specific customer service channels, then of course, it’s best to have individual follow strategies as you see fit. But in that case it is a personal choice not one that necessarily reflects on the brand itself.

The Customer Service Calculation:

You are a brand. You have a specific reason for being on Twitter. It’s not to expand your brand’s narrative into a new Social Networking channel to create awareness or seem hip. It’s just to be there when people are looking for you and want help. In this case I’d say go with both guns blazing. Follow everyone whom could possibly be a customer, a potential customer or a customer’s father’s, friend’s brother’s cousin’s former roommate. What does that make you and that customer? Absolutely nothing. But in this case, when a question comes up you can pick and choose out of your own stream to answer questions, head off vicious roomers and make every feel like you are that desperate person who wants to be friends with them, because that’s who you are. You want to know everyone even if they don’t want to know you. Rev the ol’ follow button up to Ludicrous Speed.

For example look at two well-known brands. They follow everyone. Maybe even you too:

Name: Frank Eliason (Comcast Director of Digital Care)
Following: 6,100
Followers: 6,107

Name: Zappos.com CEO
Following: 28,125
Followers: 24,465

Like two big, shaggy dogs, these guys follow everyone who follows them and then some in many cases. Not coincidentally they are both famous for their Customer Service on Twitter.

I’d also say that if you are a retailer with a very wide appeal and especially if your business is on the web (who’s isn’t these days, really) then this is probably a good strategy. My best example: Amazon.com.

The Customer Service Caveat:

None really. Customer Service should follow as many people as it can. But be careful not to abuse that and start thinking you are there to be all their friends and talk to them all, responding to every single Tweet about the weather in Des Mois (Unless you happen to have an office in Des Mois.)

And Finally,

The Specific Brand Axiom:

If you have a brand that is not a big national media company, or a customer service nut (though we all should be customer service nuts—but that’s another story), or an enourmous brand name that’s been around for hundred and fifty years then you may want to craft your own follow strategy. Here’s where it gets iffy. For the most part, everything I read about etiquette on Twitter or Twitterquette says that you should not be too concerned that people aren’t following you back, or answering your @replies right away, or answering them at all, or talking to you. Twitter is not email. It’s not IM. People don’t expect that you are going to engage them and have specific conversations with every single person on there. It’s just not possible and it’s understood.

The Specific Brand Caveat:

Just don’t go insulting people with your Tweets. Don’t tell @obilon that you’re not following @joe_blow because you think his Tweets are blasé. You still are a brand and need to protect your image. There are many Twitterquette articles out there to guide new brands on Twitter in that subject.

The Sum of All Tweets

I could have saved you a lot of time from reading this post by just telling you up front that it just doesn’t matter. In the end, there are multiple ways a brand can attack its follower strategy.This is what I meant when I said in my last article that in a new media space, new media rules still apply. You have to learn the audience and the way people are using Twitter. Brands can’t worry too much on Twitter (or many other Social Media spaces) that they are “insulting” people because they are not being “friends” with them. It doesn’t work like that all the time. You can selectively befriend people on Twitter without risking a backlash of complaints from others. It is a social network. People are connected by degrees of separation to almost everyone else on the network. That’s the point.

There are so many exceptions to my suggestions that this article could have been written from the exact opposite position on every point and there would be plenty of data to prove it. I thought of adding IMHO after every single paragraph but thought it overkill.

Brands on Twitter

2008-12-15T21:34:00.003-05:00

I wrote a response to a post on Mashable.com about brands on Twitter. I disagreed with the writer's POV. Mashable did a fantastic job with my response.

Read it here.

As a supplement, there is a great New York Times article by Randall Stross about the trouble many brands are having marketing on Social Media.

No wonder they're having a problem on Facebook. They don't have any good ideas.

@AdamIss sent out this response to that New York Times article. "I have been saying these things for two years now…no one wants to be a friend of laundry detergent."

Sure if you put it like that, it makes sense. I don't want to be friends with a newspaper either but I am on twitter. And on facebook I'm friends with a dead Cubism artist and a fictional character. People also throw "snowballs" and "80's memorabilia" at me all the time. Too much in fact. So laundry detergent can find SOME way to be relevant, can't it?

Debra Winger Pulls A Fast One On David Letterman (1993)

2008-11-29T00:27:00.002-05:00

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Rickrolled by REAL RICK!

2008-11-27T14:01:00.001-05:00

Rickrolled at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

My First Official Blog Post About Twitter ANd How It's Taking Over Blogging And Social Media

2008-11-18T10:42:00.003-05:00

I read this blog post by Lexy Klain, an Account Manager at Ogilvy PR, titled “Twitter – A Professional Networking Tool.” It’s an older article but I got there in my ever popular and addicting game of Link Frogger where I jump from article to blog post to website from site links inside said articles, blog posts and websites. Usually I forget from where I originally started but when something interesting strikes me I stop hopping and read. I came to Lexy’s article from a post by Brian Giesen, a Digital Influence Specialist at Ogilvy.

While it is true that many, many people do update Twitter with useless bits of info, and in the past it was a bastion of minutiae better left to the ether, if you follow the right people and manage that list correctly while offering your own useful information and links it is a powerful Social Media and Networking tool. Believe it or not there is a learning curve to Twitter. It's best when people post tinyurl links to articles and information, join the discussion and add value rather than tell others what type of salad they are ordering or what color their poo might be.

Good ideas sometimes take time to germinate. Twitter has evolved because the users have made it useful. They have contributed the most value to Twitter, I suspect more than any other Social Networking site and that’s because of Twitter’s simplicity.

I blog less because of Twitter. In fact, I find people (myself included) apologize for blogging or emailing (instead of just replying or Direct Messaging through Twitter) saying that sometimes “140 characters is just not enough.” But it seems that most of the time 140 characters is just right.

Shft in the way we look at genes.

2008-11-15T16:32:00.002-05:00

This is a very interesting way to look at genes. It's not one for one anymore. It's one here and one over there and then another string from over there. Kinda makes you wonder how we don't have more mutations and cancers than we do.

Now: The Rest of the Genome
By CARL ZIMMER
Published: November 10, 2008

Over the summer, Sonja Prohaska decided to try an experiment. She would spend a day without ever saying the word “gene.” Dr. Prohaska is a bioinformatician at the University of Leipzig in Germany. In other words, she spends most of her time gathering, organizing and analyzing information about genes. “It was like having someone tie your hand behind your back,” she said.

But Dr. Prohaska decided this awkward experiment was worth the trouble, because new large-scale studies of DNA are causing her and many of her colleagues to rethink the very nature of genes. They no longer conceive of a typical gene as a single chunk of DNA encoding a single protein. “It cannot work that way,” Dr. Prohaska said. There are simply too many exceptions to the conventional rules for genes.

It turns out, for example, that several different proteins may be produced from a single stretch of DNA. Most of the molecules produced from DNA may not even be proteins, but another chemical known as RNA. The familiar double helix of DNA no longer has a monopoly on heredity. Other molecules clinging to DNA can produce striking differences between two organisms with the same genes. And those molecules can be inherited along with DNA.

The gene, in other words, is in an identity crisis.

Read the rest.

VA Grants Benefits to All Veterans with ALS

2008-11-10T15:15:00.001-05:00

On November 11th America honors the people who fought for our country. When the armistice to end World War I went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 it marked the end of “the war to end all wars.”

read more | digg story

I Can't Believe It Either...

2008-11-07T15:14:00.004-05:00

Once Again Loren from 1938Media gets to the heart of the issue and says aloud what everyone else only dares to think...

Wassup! Old & New...

2008-11-07T09:13:00.000-05:00

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

2008-11-05T12:34:00.003-05:00

My British friend here at work sent me the below email. Since he's currently reading my copy of Watchmen, I can only assume that he was thinking about V For Vendetta when he sent this to me. In any case, I wanted to forward my own recognition of Guy Fawkes Day to all my British friends out there.

I just wanted to wish everybody a happy Guy Fawkes Day, as we celebrate this today in England.

In 1605 Fawkes was involved in the Gunpowder Plot which sought to blow up the Houses of Parliament with the aim of killing King James I. Catholics realized that Spain would be of no help to them in fighting against King James, so some decided to take matters into their own hands.

Fawkes was underneath Parliament surrounded by 1800lbs of gunpowder when he was discovered with a lighted torch, and his hand was removed just before he could light the gunpowder. Fawkes was tortured, found guilty of high treason and was hanged, drawn and quartered.

Still to this day in England we celebrate his capture by setting off fireworks and creating bonfires upon which an effigy of Fawkes is usually burned.

The rhyme associated with this celebration begins as follows:

“Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder, treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.”

Once again, have a happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Very Moving Patient Tribute Video

2008-11-05T10:30:00.000-05:00

Very Moving Patient Tribute Video

Barack Obama - American Stories, American Solutions

2008-10-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Lou Gehrig Sports Awards Benefit

2008-10-29T11:49:00.005-04:00

We had a fundraising dinner on Monday for The ALS Association Greater New York Chapter, where I work. Our benefit, the 14th Annual Lou Gehrig Sports Awards Benefit Dinner is a high profile event in Manhattan where we honor some sports celebrities and someone in business or politics. This year we honored Sandy Koufax, John McEnroe and Denis "DJ" Carey, a prominent Irish-American and activist, who has ALS. Carey's uncle is Hugh Carey former NYS Governor. DJ Carey gave a great acceptance speech making some pretty witty jokes about his diagnosis that helped ease the severity and grimness of his recounting of how doctors eliminated other potential possibilities, such as Lyme’s disease.

Sandy Koufax’s honor was unusual because, according to his agent, he never does these types of appearances. His friend, ALS Poet Laureate, Noah benShia, helped convince him to come out that night in support of ALS. BenShia’s father died of the disease in 1990 and Koufax had a friend who also passed from ALS. It was a rare to have met Sandy Koufax in this capacity, but unfortunately I wasn't able to get his autograph. In the VIP room I had the pleasure of chatting with Mr. Koufax for a few minutes, asked if he needed me to help fend of some unauthorized autograph seekers and even offered to get him a drink. In the end he got the drink himself and he kept signing autographs, almost continually the entire night. As you can imagine someone of Sandy Koufax’s legendary status is much sought after by sports celebrity hounds, especially since he’s a bit of a hermit when it comes to these events.

McEnroe was pretty much like I expected him to be, a little grumpy yet with a pretty good soul and very self-aware about how he comes across. He met some ALS patients at the even, which he said touched him very deeply and put his own persona in perspective. He spontaneously decided to donate a very large sum of money to us and announced the gift at the dinner. I think his wife Patty Smyth (former 80's rocker and front woman of the band, Scandal) had a lot to do with it. Patty and I spoke while I helped arrange the celebs for photos (not an easy task, I might add) and she was a sweetheart. She told me she's "working" on John, meaning trying to tone down his temper. She said he stays in shape by working out for hours everyday, playing tennis and such. Smyth said McEnroe would explode if he didn’t, which I thought she meant that he’d gain weight but she explained that it meant that his intensity is so high he needs a physical outlet for it. Explains a lot about him and imagine if he didn’t have Tennis to direct his energies. We had some laughs and she was totally genuine from as far as I could tell. No I did not geek out and tell her how much I loved Scandal as a kid and make some lame "Goodbye to You" joke when we parted company. (Though I really, really wanted to.) Standing next to her I kept trying to imagine what she looked like in her black gown with the make up from her “Warrior” video on. I amuse myself in this way to help get through the day.

We also honored Chris Chambliss but he couldn’t attend because of a family emergency. His former Yankee teammate, Graig Nettles showed up to accept the honor for him. Among the other celebrities to attend was former Yankee pitcher, Tommy John, who did a fantastic job of running our live auction along with Q104 DJ Ken Dashow, who is a long time and very loyal supporter of our chapter. Former members of many New York teams were on hand including, Dave Herman who played on the Jets, most notably for the 1968 World Championship Team that defeated the Colts to win Superbowl IV. Herman was also gracious enough to come to our Long Island Walk to Defeat ALS this fall, signing autographs to help raise money. Also there was Rod Gilbert, the first NHL New York Ranger to have his number (7) retired, and Howard Cross, who played for the NFL New York Giants and helped them win Superbowl XXV in 1990 against the Buffalo Bills.

Giving out the awards was none other than sports journalist, Bob Costas, honorary Board Member of the ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. Helping to emcee the benefit was author, sports writer and television reporter, Jeremy Schaap, son of award-winning journalist, the late Dick Schaap, a huge supporter of the chapter’s efforts.

Comparing Apples to Apples or ACORN to Acorns.

2008-10-27T13:29:00.000-04:00

I Read this cnn.com article about voter suppression. People were comparing voter suppression to the situation that came up about ACORN and equating them to each other, saying if they are both true, it’s a wash.

Actually that's not true. If voter suppression is taking place, it's much worse than ACORN. What happened with ACORN was that the group was paying people to go out and REGISTER voters. Those fake voters they registered were never going to vote for anybody. It was the people ACORN hired to get the voters registered that falsified the records. If Mickey Mouse and Batman came to the voting booth as registered voters then that might be worse than voter suppression, but it's not happening. In the case of this article, actual legitimate voters (and the article implies that it is registered Democrats that this is happening to) are having their right to vote in this election revoked because of some scrub list and that fraudulent activity is taking place for this to happen. If true then it's disgraceful. But it's probably happening to both Dems and Repubs. Either way, it's a travesty for our nation and Democracy in general.

Read the article.

Fly Them To Mars, And Leave 'Em There, Says Buzz Aldrin

2008-10-24T10:06:00.003-04:00

That's easy for Buzz to say. Wonder how he'd have felt if they said that when they sent him to moon! I think we could eventually put up permanent residence on Mars but there's a lot to contend with first before it becomes a life long adventure. Also, when the Europeans came to America they had something that Mars lacks: Natural Resources and other humans living here first.

Though Aldrin makes a case for it, at this point, we need to concentrate on getting there and establishing a base of operations before we set up an old-astronaut retirement community. Rotating workers into and out of a Mars base would make more sense with tours of duty lasting from 2 – 5 years instead of say, forever.

Though I did agree on one ideological point Aldrin made. While the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) have probably provided some scientific and even commercial value, they “were a disappointment” as the article says.

In the story Aldrin is quoted as saying that the shuttle “has not lived up to its expectations, neither has the space station.”

Agreed.

Read “Mars pioneers should stay there permanently, says Buzz Aldrin” on PHYS.org.

Loren Feldman Yammers About Twitter & Britney Spears

2008-10-23T10:37:00.003-04:00

Gotta love this crotchety old guy with puppets who claims he was born in 1938. You just gotta. Props to the Feld-Man.

My Jewish Mother Now Guilts Me Virtually So I May Write A Book...

2008-10-21T17:07:00.001-04:00

"Virtual nagging," not to be confused with "virtual guilt" or "virtual kvetching."

All this and more is a part of the new New York Times Bestseller, "The Jewish Mother's Guide to the Internet." Jewish Mothers can learn how to nag, kvetch and guilt from anywhere at anytime to any one of her children no matter how far away they move. Learn how to leave emails, text messages and comments on status updates on your children's Facebook page. Long distance nagging is a thing of the past. Rambling kvetch sessions left on answering machines have proven ineffective. If you think the M in IM stands for Mishugaas then you need this book!

No more waiting days or weeks for a response! The internet has become the YENTA-NET.

Listen to what Jewish mothers are saying:

"I read the whole megillah and I didn't understand a word of it." - Sadie from South Beach.

"My son's a mensch but he's a bit nebbish so I hacked into his email account and sent invitations to dinner and a movie out to all the nice Jewish girls in his address book. This computer hacking is a mitzvah!" - Celia from Cedarhurst.

Call now!

Obama & McCain In Elections 2008, A Parody

2008-10-20T17:42:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine just sent this to me. An obvious attempt at marketing a viral video, but it's so funny it just might be as big as 2004's JibJab video of Bush vs. Kerry.

The New Star Trek Movie - New Pics

2008-10-17T14:30:00.000-04:00

I'll watch the new Star Trek movie when it comes out of course, but I am fearful of the pretty boy looks of the cast. Spock and Kirk look kinda, well, gay... And not the good gay with leather and spikes and whips like Rob Halford of Judas Priest type of gay but the fluffy, pretty, boys that Richard Simmons dreams about. Did any men get hired for this movie? Sheesh...

On the other hand Eric Bana looks kick ass as a Romulan named Nero. Can only guess that he has aspirations to conquer the galaxy setting us up for a really epic film or a cliff hanger (which would be awesome!)

My biggest problem with the Trek series of films is that they are never "big" enough. A movie has to go someplace and Trek is notorious for the reset of its episodes on TV. In the Original series it worked because the characters and situations were so original for the time and in TNG, they attempted some character growth and some sort of over arcing stories at times (Q, Borg, etc.) But it still fell a little short. Despite that both TOS and TNG were great TV shows.

When the original cast moved to the big screen (after the first movie which other thought was no-so-great but I thought was pretty OK, even when I saw it originally in elementary school) the biggest problem was that most of the movies were over blown episodes. Wrath of Kahn had a great storyline with major change to the characters and the galaxy but after that they kind of meandered until the Klingon movie, which I liked. Other than those, the movies seem like they'd have done much better as TV shows. And TNG never translated well tot he big screen at all - no matter what my cousin Mike thinks (a true Trekkie if I ever saw one).

I have high hopes for the Star Trek reboot. I always wanted the original characters recast. But I have to saw, if J.J. Abrams doesn't treat this like a MOVIE and not a TV show, with characters and situations that present real danger and growth/change, then the movies will be just as much of a joke as the others. Reboot = Reboot, not a rehashing of the same old thing.

Yet, I have high hopes for this film. I fully expect to boldly go where no Star Trek movie has ever gone before and deal with the personalities (and flaws) of the original characters as they never had before. But in Hollywood they tend to disappoint as a rule and Star Trek has rarely been an exception to that rule.

Check out an interview with the producer of the new Star Trek here.

Robert Sawyer's Flashforward sold to ABC for series development

2008-10-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

I sat in on a group that author Robert J. Sawyer spoke with during the 2001 Philcon (got my copy of Calculating God signed by him there!) and we spoke briefly about Calculating God being a movie. Not sure why we got on the subject but I always had hopes ever since then to see it. Might work as a limited series better. But, this news about Flashforward being sold as a series to ABC is just as exciting. Congrats to Robert and good luck. Can't wait to see it.

Where The Cars Are: Meschutt Beach

2008-10-16T15:34:00.000-04:00

(My article at hamptons.com about Meschutt Beach in Hampton Bays and the classic car enthusiasts who gather there.)

Want to know where the girls are? Sometimes they're on Jobs Lane in Southampton shopping. Sometimes they're having lunch in East Hampton at Cittanuova. And sometimes they're on Meschutt Beach, next to an open hood showing off the engine of a muscle car.

The first time I ever went to spend a Friday night at Meschutt Beach on the canal in Hampton Bays was about three years ago. The beach on the Great Peconic Bay was still packed with families, the Beach Hut was almost standing room only, and the rumble of the engines from what seemed like a hundred classic cars was mixed with the familiar salt air. It was an endless parade of cars from every era, enough to make even the most hardened gear-head salivate, that passed by throughout the evening.

The 6 Ballsiest Scientific Frauds (People Actually Fell For)

2008-10-16T11:06:00.001-04:00

If we can't trust scientists, who can we trust? These are the guys curing our diseases and generally saving the world. But, sadly, even in this field there are those who like to play fast and loose with the truth. And then there are these six guys who are just totally full of shit.

read more | digg story

Tim Burton talks about Johnny Depp, 'Alice in Wonderland'

2008-10-15T23:57:00.001-04:00

I loved Sweeney Todd and was disappointed that more people didn't love it too. It was a much better Tim Burton movie than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was an unnecessary remake of a film that stands as an untouchable classic in the minds of many, many people. Like remaking Star Wars or It's A Wonderful Life. The innocence and naiveté of those films makes them beloved classics. Charlie fell flat in my eyes because the original captured a time when it was made as well as a story. For the most part, a book (children or adult novel both) tend to translate poorly to the screen without major chopping of the story and plot so there’s a reason they gloss over the more complex details and characterization. Novels are a unique format, just like movies, which rely much more on visualization. That said, Burton is the undisputed king of visualization and for as many time that he missed in his remakes (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Sleepy Hollow) he hits big time (Big Fish, Sweeney Todd). His original stuff is extremely creative and classic in their own right and I’d love to see more of Edward Scissorhands and Nightmare Before Christmas. I look forward to Alice In Wonderland but I keep my hopes tamped down a bit when Burton attacks a classic story. That said, he is still a genius. The LA Times story here has an interview with Burton on the set of his new film with Johnny Depp, another talented guy.

read more | digg story

New Star Trek May Boldly Go Where It Has Never Gone Before...

2008-10-15T17:06:00.000-04:00

Posters For The Day The Earth Stood Still & New Australia

2008-10-12T09:05:00.001-04:00

This was on DIGG. While mildly interesting, it was not DIGG-worthy if you ask me. But Jennifer Connelly is smoking so maybe that's the point? Or the point is that Keanu Reeves is a doofus? Or perhaps there's something useful in juxtaposing the films Australia against The Day The Earth Stool Still? I'm confused on this one. How Keanu Reeves gets himself into the company of the likes of Jennifer Connelly, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman is beyond me. The guy's a doofus. (Oh wait! I said that already.)

read more | digg story

NASA Spacecraft Finds the Sun is Not a Perfect Sphere

2008-10-11T21:50:00.001-04:00

Turns out our sun is a blob, not a sphere. Amazing. All this time I've been drawing suns as circles with all these little ray lines coming out of it. Next thing NASA will tell me is that clouds aren't shaped like bubbles all stuck together or birds aren't tiny curved letter M shapes. Sheesh. Is there no end to the madness of this universe. From the article: “The sun is the biggest and therefore smoothest object in the solar system, perfect at the 0.001% level because of its extremely strong gravity,” says study co-author Hugh Hudson of UC Berkeley. “Measuring its exact shape is no easy task.”

read more | digg story

World's Loneliest Bug Discovered in South Africa

2008-10-11T21:41:00.001-04:00

A bug which lives entirely on its own and survives without oxygen in complete darkness underground has been discovered in South Africa. Desulforudis audaxviator, or bold traveller as it is known in English, relies on water, hydrogen and sulphate for its energy.

read more | digg story

Brainwave controlled video game concept unveiled

2008-10-09T00:08:00.001-04:00

NeuroSky, Inc., has demonstrated a brainwave-controlled video game utilizes the company’s MindSet headset, which reads a player’s brainwave information to register the current state of relaxation or concentration of players, allowing them to perform actions within the game.

read more | digg story

President Signs ALS Registry Act!

2008-10-09T00:04:00.001-04:00

President Bush signed the ALS Registry Act into law late today. Our victory is now official! It has been a long difficult fight, and we want to thank everyone who continuously reached out to their Members of Congress throughout the legislative process to make this victory possible.

read more | digg story

Fast Forward 2

2008-10-06T15:51:00.000-04:00

Just got Fast Forward 2 in the mail from PYR. It's a book of short stories edited by my all time favorite SF editor Lou Anders. (Hear that Lou? I may have a SF short story somewhere in here myself...)

I interviewed Lou for the British Science Fiction Association some time ago. You can download the entire interview in PDF format here. Since then I have really gotten to know PYR's line and they do have fantastic books. Check them out.

Also, check out the free short story from Fast Forward 2 by Paul Cornell. On the theme of free stuff to read, you can read the introduction to the book by Lou at SF Signal.

I'm also looking forward to Ian McDonald's Cyberbad Days. I read River of Gods and loved it.

About Fast Forward 2 from the PYR website:

Fast Forward 2 is an anthology of all original, unthemed science fiction works, edited by Lou Anders, published by Pyr, and featuring stories from such names as Paolo Bacigalupi, Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow, Ian McDonald, Mike Resnick & Pat Cadigan, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Karl Schroeder & Tobias S. Buckell.

Scam sites vanish after owners' names, addresses posted

2008-09-30T23:48:00.001-04:00

arstechnica.com writes: Two brothers who ran a plethora of scam sites have been outed online, resulting in the disappearance of the sites they used to run. It's funny what the posting of a few pictures and addresses can do.

read more | digg story

An Actor Whose Baby Blues Came in Many Shades of Gray

2008-09-27T19:30:00.001-04:00

Paul Newman learned to use his flawless face, so we could see the complexities underneath.

read more | digg story

'Sun' Probably Dead

2008-09-27T00:26:00.001-04:00

Rumor has it that conservative newspaper, New York The Sun is dead. The New York Sun—the right-leaning pro-Israel daily newspaper that was more or less doomed by the final, complete death of East Coast intellectual conservatism (thanks, Bush administration!)—will cease publication after all, with a final issue running on Monday. Probably...

read more | digg story

Digg Buries Rumors of Acquisition With $28.7M Investment

2008-09-27T00:20:00.001-04:00

So I guess they aren't looking to get purchased.

read more | digg story

Wachovia in talks with Citi for possible merger

2008-09-26T17:35:00.001-04:00

The retail bank Wachovia is said to be in talks with Citi to merge. While it has a sterling reputation in the retail sector, Wachovia took a big blow with an acquisition that left it holding some unstable Option ARM loans.

read more | digg story

Fuzzy Renaissance

2008-09-26T17:25:00.001-04:00

Disney tries to put some life back into the muppets.

read more | digg story

The Top 15 Hottest Women on Television

2008-09-26T16:56:00.001-04:00

Just look at the pictures. Park is way bootylicious! Who knew?

read more | digg story

Don't Be A Douchebag!

2008-09-26T11:35:00.001-04:00

The Almost-Averted Crisis

2008-09-25T21:52:00.001-04:00

Looks like Democrats put the kibosh on a plan to oversee Fannie and Freddie a few years ago. May have averted some of this crisis. Though not the greater crisis because that was the work of agencies outside of Freddie and Fannie. Without them, the GSEs may have been fine. Maybe not. But this is a very interesting development. I've also read that President Clinton, by expanding Freddie & Fannie led to this entire crisis. A little far fetch since it was during the Bush presidency that the two (and the subprime industry) was allowed to fester and boil over.

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Alan Moore: Hollywood, I spit venom on your 'Watchmen' movie

2008-09-25T13:09:00.001-04:00

Alan Moore Rocks. He's the godfather of all that is black and dark int he goth world. He is the man whom Trent Reznor scared of at nighttime because of his dark genius. And he's got these incredible silver claws. Where does he get those? From the article: "Moore tells LAT that modern filmmaking, "spoon-feeds us, which has the effect of watering down our collective cultural imagination. The 'Watchmen' film sounds like more regurgitated worms. I for one am sick of worms." He also rues the effect of Hollywood's siren call on the contemporary comics scene."

read more | digg story