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Tiger Woods update - police search warrant request is legal stalking

2009-11-30T01:44:00.000-08:00

OK, this to me is now beyond silly at this point. According to TMZ.com, the Florida Highway Patrol is seeking a search warrant so that they can enter Tiger Woods home and investigate his wounds to determine if they were the result of an auto accident or a butt whoppin given to Woods by his wife Elin Nordegren.

TMZ explains:

One big piece of evidence showing probable cause ... sources tell us Tiger's wife, Elin Nordegren told FHP troopers she went looking for Tiger in a golf cart, came upon the accident and then used a golf club to break the window to gain entry. That's a very different story from what she first told Windemere cops shortly after the accident -- she never mentioned a golf cart. Nordegren told Windemere police she had walked out of her house, saw the crash, went back inside to get a golf club and returned to the vehicle.

Yeah, her story doesn't add up. OK she kicked his butt for the whole alleged affair talk. But I think both Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have learned valuable lessons and this matter should be put to rest.

The Florida Highway Patrol should not be granted a search warrant. To me, it reads like the FHP are staging an attempt at legal stalking into the private lives of a celebrity interracial couple. Hell, why bother? The speculation's enough punishment and far more media fun anyway. The Florida Highway Patrol should be out busting drug dealers, not screwing around with this matter.

This has gone too far.

What if they find that Elin Nordegren hit Tiger Woods? Are the FHP going to arrest her? I'm just afraid they will take this whole deal too far. I do not subscribe to "the book" and think its used all too often as a reason to pry into the private lives of the rich and famous. Can't the FHP just give this a rest?

Moreover, isn't this out of their bounds? As I read what the FHP can and can't do, they're charged with maintaining the safety of the highway and state roads. They're not the Florida State Police, and as such don't have the powers of what the Florida Constitution says is the job of the chief law enforcement officer - the sheriff.

So what the hell is the Florida Highway Patrol doing? Why are they sticking their collective nose so far into this matter? And if the FHP staff involved are Civilian Community Service Officers, which are unarmed and without arrest authority , they have no business trying to get a search warrant for a minor traffic crash. And if they're not Civilian Community Service Officers, why not?

Something's fishy here.

OK, you may be saying that Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren should be treated like any other couple. I cry foul on that. The simple fact you say that means they aren't like any other couple. Most couples don't get their private lives speculated on by the public let alone have to deal with the emotional pain that results from it - that should be considered as punishment by law enforcement. In fact, it's a more lasting sentence than jail time as it carries on through the rest of their lives.

They're not a normal couple, so the book does not apply to them. Sorry, but that's a fact. Save the search warrant for a drug arrest, not for this. Otherwise it looks like legal stalking into much ado about nothing.

Oakland video Oakland b Mine a nice slice of life

2009-11-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

I happened to make a cyber trip over to the Oakland blog 38thNotes.com, where the posts are always interesting, if off-beat. This one on a video called "Oakland b Mine" is certainly that.

Reportedly the video was created to be shown at the baggage claim at Oakland Airport. It's in the perfect place for out-of-town visitors to get an immediate idea of what Oakland's all about: diversity.

The video features a man who appears to be Latino chasing after an attractive African American woman he sees in Oakland's airport. While he goes through lengths that are extraordinary to say the least, it's a cute video. I would classify it of the "don't try this at home" variety. You know?

The camera takes us through many familiar spots in Oakland, including the Lake Merritt Farmer's Market, which means it was created on a Saturday.

The video is cool for the cinematography and the music. Check it out, and pass it on!

Lakewood Police Shooting - Four police officers shot in coffee shop

2009-11-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

This report of the Lakewood Police Shooting where four officers - Sergeant Mark Renninger and officers Tina Griswold, Greg Richards, and Ronald Owens - were shot as they were working in a coffee shop is just shocking. The "person of interest" - but not a suspect as of this writing - is Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons was known for run-ins with law enforcement in the past.

The shooting is somewhat like the murder of four Oakland offices by Lovell Mixon earlier this year and the ambush murder of two officers in Pittsburgh in April. But in total view, I can't recall a more dangerous year for police officers around the country than 2009.

Tiger Woods mistress not Rachel Uchitel hires Feminist Lawyer Gloria Allred

2009-11-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

In the latest news, Tiger Woods mistress not Rachel Uchitel hires Gloria Alred and leaves New York City. Just who Gloria Allred is deserves this special blog post but first the details.

Gloria Allred

Embattled nightclub executive Rachel Uchitel left her home in New York City' Meatpacking District (which strangely and I kid-you-not was the home of Alex, the character played by Glen Close in Fatal Attraction) at 5:45 AM only to be greeted by media representing TMZ.com and the New York Daily News. They peppered her with questions from "So you're seeing Gloria Allred", to "How do you feel about Tiger Wood's wife", and also "You know, you're pretty."

I'm serious.

Here's TMZ's video:

Then she boarded a plane bound for LAX where she was greeted by famed lawyer Gloria Alred. This meeting, too, was captured by TMZ:

But who is Gloria Allred?

Allred's is a founding partner of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, and a self-described "Feminist Lawyer" who built her career by taking up legal cases for seemingly defenseless women against male-dominated organizations. The legal battle that made her name was a lawsuit agaist the then-all-male Friars Club in Beverly Hills, where she became its first female member. Later she represented Paula Jones in the sexual harassment case she lost to Bill Clinton.

Allred is known as a very outspoken, combative, liberal counselor, who's a much sought-after media pundit, appearing regularly on shows like Larry King Live. In short, Allred's someone you hire when you feel you're rights as a woman or minority have been violated at a high-profile level.

By hiring Allred, Rachel Uchitel is sending a powerful message that she means business in defending her name in the Tiger Woods scandal. I can't help but think her ultimate target is The National Enquirer, but given that publications love for big spotlight battles to protect its stories, this could be a heck of a war.

I can clearly see Rachel Uchitel's concern because she works with a large number of high-profile high rollers and does not want her professional reputation compromised. Now regardless of what's written about her, only Rachel can really explain what's going on and in the process possibly eliminate any inaccuracies about her life. My bet is that's where Gloria Allred comes in.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods hired ex-Casey Anthony criminal lawyer Mark NeJame

2009-11-29T18:26:00.000-08:00

For some reason, Tiger Woods hired Mark NeJame, who is the Florida criminal defense lawyer who quit on Casey Anthony then went public with his reasons.

Mark NeJame

Regarding the Anthony family, NeJame said "My heart goes out to them, but I continue to spend my energy and time addressing things that might not need to be addressed if I had better control of the case,"

He never explained what advice they were not following. But will he quit on Tiger? Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods update: wife went ghetto? Enquirer fights Rachel Uchitel

2009-11-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

In this latest Tiger Woods update, Rachel Uchitel says she's not Tiger Woods mistress and threatens to sue the National Enquirer. Uchitel said she did not know the person who was the source of the affair story, Ashley Samson and that Samson was "paid $25,000" to tell the story to the tabloid.

And just before the Enquirer's bomb today, Tiger Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren cancelled a scheduled 3:30 PM EST interview with the Florida Highway Patrol for the third time in two days.

Meanwhile, TMZ.com reported that Woods said to a friend, Woods wife "went ghetto" on him (a term which strangely attracted the attention of the conservative Free Republic), referring to the allegation that she hit Wood with a golf club during an argument over the tabloid reports of his alleged affair with Uchitel.

Uchitel, in turn, was the focus of the National Enquirer, which dropped a major bomb in response to her lawsuit threat, introducing this photo of her and Ashley Samson obviously partying together:

But what got me was this news set:

First, Tiger Woods issued this statement on his website:

As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore.

This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again.

This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.

This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.

Saying "I'm human and I'm not perfect was like adding gas to the fire. It certainly got the attention of the New York Daily News, and left many wondering just what he meant, not to mention that it seemed to fit with the TMZ-based stories about his wife's golf club "ghetto" style attack and the affair allegations by the National Enquirer.

Who the hell is advising Tiger Woods and his wife?

Second, Rachel Uchitel hired famed L.A. lawyer Gloria Alred, but for what reason I do not know. TMZ was certainly at Rachel's place, along with other photogs camped at her Meatpacking District home at 5:45 AM. Rachel said to a NY Daily News reporter, "You know I would love to speak to you, but you know that I can't. I really wish that I could say something, I really wish I could."

Third, Tiger Woods hired another famous lawyer, Mark NeJame, who was known as the counsel who quit representing Casey Anthony. Let's hope he doesn't quit on Tiger Woods. But why would Woods hire a criminal defense lawyer?

Tiger Woods story is a popular online search

I don't know who told Tiger to fan the flames by saying that the whole deal was a private matter and that he wasn't "perfect". It's true; it is just that and yes, Woods is human, but the reality is he's a public figure and a billion-dollar business. If he uses a particular brand of toilet paper, it's news.

On Google Trends today, the Tiger Woods issue took three of the top ten searches and it could be more by late tonight. On Google Insights for Search, Tiger Woods scores a 100 in search intensity and has been over 70 percent for a few days now.

If Tiger wants this to go away he's got to feed the cultural media: the blogs, news, and photo sites hungry for information, and the advertisers that sponsor them (some of which also represent Woods, like Cadillac.) Absent such an action, this news story will have legs for days, longer and stronger than those of Rachel Uchitel herself.

Stay tuned.

Rachel Uchitel denies Tiger Woods affair - first accident photos

2009-11-28T19:44:00.000-08:00

The latest information in the "Tiger Woods wife golf club scandal" has 34-year-old New Yorker Rachel Uchitel telling the New York Post she was not involved in an affair with Woods. She's also threatened to sue the National Enquirer, which alleged that the affair was real. That story ignited the alleged heated discussion between Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren, who according to TMZ actually struck Woods with a golf club and didn't rescue him with it.

UPDATE: first accident photos here from ABC.

The original story told to the Windemere (Florida) Police Department was that Woods crashed his SUV into a hydrant and then a tree and Elin Nordegren used a golf club to break a window and free him from the vehicle. But as I reported in my previous blog post, Elin Nordegren told a different story to the Florida Highway Patrol. That story has not been made public as of this writing. But the other story made public is one nightclub executive Rachel Uchitel is fighting.

Rachel Uchitel

Uchitel denies the existence of an affair at any time. She told the New York Post...

“Despite it being completely untrue, it still must have certainly caused some problems at home — if I was his wife, I probably would have killed him.”

This is nothing to do with me. We have never had an affair, and the claims we did are completely false. We have never had an affair, talked on the phone or sent any type of text, sexy or not.

“I am really upset about it because I am being portrayed as a homewrecker, when it simply isn’t true.”

Even with this disclosure by Rachel Uchitel, her story has not been the lead title of most articles and blog posts. It should be. Because now it's not appropriate to refer to Rachel Uchitel as even "alleged mistress". Friend? Yes.

Meanwhile Woods and Elin Nordegren are not officially talking to the Florida Highway Patrol. According to TMZ and The New York Post and New York Daily News, the highway patrol are scheduled to return Sunday morning.

Woods turns cops away

Tiger Woods update: wife changes story; Rachel Uchitel pics hot

2009-11-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

In this Tiger Woods update from TMZ.com and other sources, Tiger Woods wife has a new story and there was no blood found on the steering wheel of his SUV, as it was first reported. Meanwhile alleged Woods mistress Rachel Uchitel pics have become the hot search online.

TMZ's update reports that their unnamed law enforcement sources explained Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren has told two different stories to two sets of police officials, the Windemere Police Department, and the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Windemere Police Department where the couple lives in Florida, got the first story where Elin Nordegren claimed to have smashed in a window of his 2009 Cadillac SUV with a golf club then pulled Woods out to safety. But the story she told to the Florida Highway Patrol is reportedly dramatically different and does not involve going back into the house to get a golf club and rescue him from the Cadillac. However what the new story is, is not known as of this writing.

Why the different stories? Well what's going on is all of the explanations reported by mainstream media have come from one source: Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren. By contrast, the stories pointing to Elin Nordegren have come from different but indirect sources, like a law enforcement official who talked to (in one case) Woods himself.

I talked to my uncle about this, as he's a retired police officer. He told me that on Friday he could immediately tell that the Windemere Police officers that appeared on CNN knew more than they let on. Now it seems Elin Nordegren's shifting stories may cause what we already know to be officially revealed by police officers if not today then by Monday.

The sad possibility seems to be that maybe, perhaps, Elin Nordegren is concerned about a domestic violence charge and has altered her story because of that chance of such a charge. There's also the 911 call: who made it has not been explained as of this writing and the tapes from it not revealed. Moreover, TMZ.com reports that police tried to visit to ask questions today, but were turned away by Elin Nordegren, who then drove away from the house, as this AP photo shows:

And regarding stories, there's no new report, tweet, or content on what Rachel Uchitel has to say about this. But it's clear that her many photos - some of her in a two-piece bikini - are hotly searched for online today. I'll stick with the photo I presented earlier for now:

Flip statements aside, this whole episode threatens to expose the real lifestyle of Tiger Woods beyond the carefully crafted image we have of him. Even if he wasn't carrying on an affair with Rachel Uchitel, it's clear he knows some of the best nightclub managers and executives in the business. What he does with them when he's not doing anything related to golf is the big question. He's already stated he's away from home and Elin Nordegren and their two kids for long stretches of time. Now what he does during that time may be presented for public consumption.

Tiger Woods car accident: wife uses golf club over Rachel Uchitel

2009-11-28T00:14:00.000-08:00

My Uncle Sampson who's in my first Tiger Woods car accident video (there's another one coming), said "I should go up and type in your blog 'Tiger Woods wife hit him with that club..'" Now just as I thought about writing a speculative blog post, along comes TMZ.com with one of their juicy late-night exclusives.

Apparently Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren did use a golf club, but on Woods and not the window of the Cadillac he was driving, or trying to drive. Here's the meat of the TMZ post:

Tiger has yet to be formally interviewed by the Florida Highway Patrol -- that should happen this afternoon. But we're told Tiger had a conversation Friday -- with a non-law enforcement type -- detailing what went down before his Escalade hit a fire hydrant.

We're told he said his wife had confronted him about reports that he was seeing another woman. The argument got heated and, according to our source, she scratched his face up. We're told it was then Woods beat a hasty retreat for his SUV -- but according to our source, Woods says his wife followed behind with a golf club. As Tiger drove away, she struck the vehicle several times with the club.

We're told Woods became "distracted," thought the vehicle was stopped, and looked to see what had happened. At that point the SUV hit the fire hydrant and then hit a tree.

And that's the only news that explains her aggressive action to Woods as of this writing. The woman they were talking about is Rachel Uchitel. Rachel Uchitel is someone you and I have never heard of until this week and rumored to have been in an affair with Tiger Woods, first by the National Enquirer.

But before I get to that, who the heck is Rachel Uchitel?

BlackBook.com has an extensive description of this smoking hot "prime mover", written in 2008 BT (Before Tiger). 34-year-old Rachel Uchitel is described as a 'Hamptons diva' who is the Director of VIP Services at Pink Elephant in Southampton, NY. Pink Elephant is an expensive, exclusive club known for its Hollywood patrons, celeb sitings, and lounge couches. She says the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai Thailand is her favorite place in the World and is regularly seen at what I call "business social events" like club openings and fundraiders.

Uchitel's a nightclub executive and use to the World of celebs, high rollers, expensive cars and long nights. At the time of the Blackbook.com profile her two favorite men were Ozzy Osbourne and Rudy Giuliani - her dogs, a affenpinscher and a brussels griffin.

In her Blackbook.com profile Rachel claims she doesn't "kiss and tell" about the men she's been linked with and doesn't like her name being "dragged in the mud". But Hollywood Gossip has her in an affair with first David Boreanaz (star of the TV show Bones), then Tiger Woods, both men rich and married with children.

But in the case of Woods, Hollywood Gossip claims she openly admitted to an affair with him, something she didn't do in the case of David Boreanaz.

Sports By Brooks echos the National Enquirer account of Rachel Uchitel either accidentally or intently in Melborne at the same time as Tiger Woods, where he was playing at the Australian Masters.

Whatever the details, the news was apparently enough to send Elin Nordegren into a fit, chasing Woods and ultimately clobbering him with a golf club. Regardless if the affair is real or imagined, it's clear Elin Nordegren's going to kick her husband's ass for just being linked to another woman.

Good for her.

Stay tuned.

Notre Dame beats Stanford; Swarbrick keeps Charlie Weis

2009-11-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame at Stanford's shaped up to be an epic battle. It airs Saturday at 5 PM PST; 8 PM EST on ESPN and has a storyline with more subplots than Gone With The Wind.

In fact that's what Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis will be if The Fighting Irish don't emerge from Stanford Stadium with a win against the Cardinal. Weis' team has lost against UConn and Pittsburgh the weekend before that and are out of the BCS picture. At 6 and 5, a win gives Notre Dame seven victories, which would be a one game improvement over the year before and a shot at a better bowl game.

Charlie Weis and Jimmy Clausen

But beating Stanford would give the Cardinal five losses and the same number as that for Notre Dame. A wild consideration given that just two weeks ago Stanford was in line for the Rose Bowl; Cal's Big Game victory last Saturday ended that possibility.

But Stanford's Jim Harbaugh's already looking at a better contractual future win or lose to Notre Dame; Weis is coaching for his job. In a New York Times interview, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick made a comment that gave me a clue as to the importance of this game as he was talking about former AD Kevin White...

He (White) is part of a group of athletic directors that I lean on and talk to and spend time with. Bowlsby, Wellman, Kevin, Gene DeFilippo at B.C. We’re schools that deal with similar issues. Jimmy Phillips at Northwestern.

"Bowlsby" is Stanford Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby, who will be in the stadium with Swarbrick Saturday. As often as they talk with each other and with their relationship, I just feel that a Weis win on Bowlsby's turf will save Swarbrick's face and Weis job.

I'm sure Weis knows that, and has already said "I'm ready to play Stanford", which means he's going to coach his butt off. Yeah, I could tell you that Notre Dame's got the perfect offensive approach to beat Stanford, but on defense Notre Dame needs to play tight and close to stop the run and Toby Gerhard to really have a chance. I could say Stanford's playing for an eight-win season and a good bowl game, but really they're playing to save face from being beaten by Cal.

I could say all that, and more. But the bottom line is Charlie Weis' coaching future is on the line and he knows it. Until today it seemed as if the media had all but fired Weis; it's Swarbrick's call. Look for Weis to come out swinging at Stanford. Look for Weis to come away with a win.

Tiger Woods car accident ends bad week for golfer

2009-11-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods car accident ends an unfortunate week for the star golfer. According to TMZ.com, Wood was in an accident in his 2009 Cadillac SUV, and ....

in "serious" condition after being involved in a single car crash near his home in Florida early this morning.

The crash occurred at 2:20 AM in Windermere. He was taken to Health Central Hospital with facial lacerations.

Woods struck a fire hydrant and then a tree on a neighbor's property. The fire hydrant is reportedly less than 100 feet from his driveway.

Police say alcohol was not a factor. There were no signs of alcohol on the scene. We're told the police have yet to speak to Tiger.

The latest is that he's released from the hospital.

Additionally, Woods was traveling at less than 33 MPH, according to the Telegraph UK.

UPDATE: The AP reports that Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren used a golf club to smash the window of the car and help him out of it.

It was a hard week for Tiger Woods, who last Saturday was inducted in the Stanford Sports Hall of Fame, then watched as his Stanford Cardinal lost to the Cal Golden Bears, 34 to 28 in "The Big Game."

Then Woods was the focus of an Internet rumor of an affair by the words of one Rachel Uchitel, who the Hollywood Reporter says is basically full of it and has a habit of such claims. Then finally this accident.

Let's hope it gets better for Tiger. Stay tuned.

Adam Lambert meet Elizabeth Lambert: the male/female double standard

2009-11-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

From what I know as of this writing Adam Lambert and Elizabeth Lambert aren't related at all. But the fact that they share the same last name Lambert caused me to wonder if they were kindred sprits. After all, within the past 30 days, both have been the focus of internet chatter on their outrageous behavior.

That Adam Lambert openly kissed his male guitarist and ground one of his performers face into his crotch, then said he had nothing to apologize for, made me wonder what our reaction would have been if Elizabeth Lambert had said "I grabbed hair and punched my opponent to win; I have nothing to apologize for because that's the way the game's played."

I think it would have gone something like this: Lambert would have been suspended but gained a ground-swell of support from both male and female athletes, who then would be countered by their teammates claiming to support "clean play". Lambert would be quickly booked on all of the morning talk shows. On The View Whoppi would challenge Elizabeth to a fight saying "Girl if you ever dreamed of grabbing my hair I'd wipe the field with you," to which Lambert would just smile and flex a bicep.

Elizabeth Lambert

On Larry King Live, Lambert would advocate for female athletes to use "tough, hard, and win-at-all-costs" play tactics and eliminate the idea of the weak, defenseless woman once and for all. Lambert would then reach over and tweek King's suspenders, giving him another YouTube moment on the heels of Carrie Prejean.

Eventually, Elizabeth Lambert would be offered a deals for a book called "Why I Did It" and a reality TV show named "Female Tough: Elizabeth Lambert On Sports". Within two year's Lambert would be rich, a new era of dirty but online-media-ready-play would take over female athletics, and guys all over would be turned on by and drawn to the new, hard, take-no-prisoners attitude of female athletics. Women's sports program deficits would end, recruiting efforts would accelerate, and TV ratings would skyrocket.

And all of that because Elizabeth Lambert dared speak what was on her mind rather than hide behind the socially-acceptable role crafted for women athletes, basically telling the New York Times that person on the field woman-handling BYU wasn't her.

Nuts.

I'm not condoning dirty play in sports, but as I've said before Elizabeth Lambert is the modern female athlete. I just wish we'd accept her as she is and stop trying to control her. Elizabeth, that was you out there, just let go and admit it.

Oakland Barnes and Noble may close Jan. 31, 2010

2009-11-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

According to Sanjiv Handa of the East Bay News Service the enormous Oakland Barnes and Noble bookstore at 98 Broadway in Jack London Square may close Jan. 31, 2010. Barnes and Noble is expected to make an official disclosure next week, baring any intervention from the City of Oakland to persuade them to remain open.

Sanjiv Handa reports that the anticipated closure will cost the City of Oakland's government $125,000 in annual general fund revenue. (He forgot the additional revenue from the predatory parking ticket policy, but admits its harder to quantify.)

The closure of Barnes and Noble is a blow to Oakland but the problem of its low profitability comes as no surprise. Chain bookstores around the Bay Area and around America have closed under the weight of the transition to online sources for news and information and the growth of online booksellers like Amazon.com.

San Francisco's Stacey's Book Store on Market Street closed in 2008 for similar reasons.

This would not leave Oakland without a bookstore. The popular independent bookseller Walden Pond Books on 3316 Grand Avenue is still open; no reports of a planned closure. Just keep the Oakand parking attendants from chasing the customers away and it will do fine.

But that aside, the loss of Barnes and Noble would be a blow to the image of Jack London Square as the space the bookstore occupies is so large that it was an major anchor tenant. What will the Port of Oakland do to replace them?

Stay tuned.

OSCAR ALERT - Screen Credits and Music Entry Form Due December 1 for Academy Awards

2009-11-27T06:14:00.000-08:00

OSCAR ALERT. You have until December 1 to get your Screen Credits and Music Entry Forms in to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) if your movie is to be considered for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. From the press release, AMPAS explains:

For a feature film to be considered for the 2009 Awards, the film’s distributor or producer must file an OSC form with the Academy by 5 p.m. PT on December 1. If a feature film is released in 2009 and the completed OSC form is not submitted by the deadline, the film will be ineligible for Academy Awards in any year.

OSC forms may be submitted online only, at http://aiwosc.oscars.org/aiwosc/. Information about submission and feature film eligibility can be obtained by contacting Credits Coordinator Howard Loberfeld at (310) 247-3000, ext. 113, or via e-mail at hloberfeld@oscars.org.

For an achievement to be considered in the Original Score or Original Song category, the principal music writer(s) for a feature film must submit an official music submission form by 5 p.m. PT on December 1.

To request music submission materials, contact Dave Hanson at (310) 247-3000, ext. 151, or via e-mail at dhanson@oscars.org.

While the credits submission deadline is December 1, feature films have until midnight, December 31, to open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days to be eligible for 2009 Oscar® consideration.

Entries in the foreign language, animated feature, documentary, and short film categories are subject to special rules and must meet other qualifying criteria. The entry deadlines in these categories have already passed.

The deadlines have been communicated before; it would be sad to learn that a great film missed being nominated because of paperwork issues. Hopefully those responsible will pay attention to this deadline notice.

Black Friday brings video game violence: Moral Combat

2009-11-26T23:33:00.000-08:00

In just a few hours Black Friday starts, overtaking "Adam Lambert video controversy" in online popularity, and Black Friday sales of all kinds will be available for shoppers, including video game buyers. Some will purchase Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto, Company of Heroes, Ninja Gaiden, or God of War, which happen to be some of the most violent video games ever created. Why? Why are these games made. Why do people buy them in record numbers? What does this issue say about our culture and the game makers themselves?

All of those questions and more are explored in Spencer Halpin's new movie Moral Combat.

Moral Combat is Halpin's first film and took him four years to make. It "takes the pulse of what's happening right now" in the industry, as Halpin said to me.
The film's a lovely mix of video game images and interviews with some of the game development industry's brightest talents. Halpin told me (in the video above) that getting married and becoming a father really impacted how he saw the role of video games in our lives. I saw recently it at a special screening at Yoshi's San Francisco, where it attracted a standing-room-only crowd.

As of this writing Moral Combat has not played the festival circuit, nor is it in line for theatrical release. In my view it's a film everyone in the gaming industry should see at least once. It's a conversation-starter on a subject that should be on the minds of game developers everywhere: violence in video games. That was discussed by industry leaders in the film and at the screening event.

We'll get to meet some of them - like Lorne Laning of OddWorld - in the second blog post on the movie. But for this blog post I have a question: what's the most violent video game available for purchase today?

I'm using a write-in polling system for this blog rather than my standard pollsb website device. I don't want to influence the final poll results by giving pre-set game titles.

Let me know what you think and the new system will tally the results.

Take the poll here.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

2009-11-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Just communicating that is very important to me. In the past I've felt I had to make some profound comment or lengthy statement to mark this annual tradition. But ya know, I'm tired of that, so I'll keep it short.

I'm thankful for my friends everywhere. New Media, and Google and YouTube and CNN and SFGate and the Examiner, and Blip.tv and USTream.tv have opened a whole new World for me.

The YouTube folks are my family, from Chad Hurley to the YouTube Partner Support team they're just some of the most terrific people.

The folks at SFGate.com have been awesome. They really get where New Media can take the Chronicle and make all of the work I've done worth it. I also thank those who have taken time to email with ideas, corrections, and thoughts.

But mostly I'm thankful for my Mom and relatives and a lot of very special people who know who they are.

So if you're reading this today, Thanksgiving Day, take this day to call people who think about you and to just be nice to everyone. Kindness is a blessing.

Michaele Salahi crashes President Obama's State Dinner

2009-11-26T04:41:00.000-08:00

Michaele Salahi is one person who knows how to get into a pre-Thanksgiving Day party. On her Facebook page, she writes:

I was honored to be invited to attend the First State Dinner hosted by President Obama & the First Lady to honor India. In June 2010, the America's Polo Cup will be between INDIA & the UNITED STATES. Please join me in this cultural celebration of politics, diplomacy, fashion, sports, entertainment & family fun.

She even managed to score this cool photo with Vice President Biden:

Trouble is, she wasn't invited.

According to the Guardian UK, Tareq and Michaele Salahi are socialites who managed to, as they described it, "breach security" into the State Dinner.

But to write there was a "breach in security" is really culturally irresponsible. I can speculate with some accuracy how the Salahi's got into the dinner: they knew someone and perhaps Vice President Biden himself.

Look, a little research will show this is a well-connected couple. A November 4, 2008 Washington Post article reveals as much. In an report on a winery sale dispute that involved the Salahi's, the Post reveals...

Tareq Salahi, 39, also a co-owner, and his wife, Michaele, a former Washington Redskins cheerleader who is now a Richmond lobbyist. The son, a member of the Virginia Tourism Authority, is hurrying to team up with investors to buy what he views as his heritage before someone else steps in.

She's a lobbyist and a former Redskins Cheerleader; he's co-owner of a winery. What happened was they knew someone within the chain of people who was assigned to vet who was to come into the event and they got them in.

Once at the State Dinner they were able to see a number of people they knew. In other words, invited or not, they belonged there because their network of informal connections got them in.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. It's also a good lesson for anyone to follow and comes from "How to win friends and influence people". They are in a business where knowing people and maintaining relationships is vital and its obvious they do a great job of keeping ties with a good network of the Washington elite.

Bravo! I say. Excellent.

For anyone who says "They could not have done that if they were black," I disagree. You can't think about what others might do and achieve success. You have to press forward. Make friends and keep contacts and laugh at those who poop on the idea that knowing people isn't important. Without people there would be no parties to crash in the first place.

Police beat UC Berkeley students during protest. Why?

2009-11-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

There are two issues on my mind as we approach Thanksgiving Day. One is why the great University of California at Berkeley would allow police to surround and beat defenseless students? The other is why we seem to applaud police brutality.

I'm chaffing a bit that some local San Francisco Bay Area columnists seem afraid to point out police misconduct, writing instead that in one case - the case of the BART Police officer who slammed the drunk BART rider's face into the window at West Oakland or at least seemed to want to do that - the police officer was "just doing his job".

The job of a police officer is dangerous, we know this. But to allow or expect police violence in that case - or in the more awful example of the police called in at Berkeley for the protest - calls the very values of our society into question.

This video set collected and presented at the blog Millicent and Carla Fran is what got me. The good news is that protesting students were only cited for trespassing but the images of clashes between police and student are jarring.

As reported in the excellent blog post, students were protesting the 32 percent increase in student fees and the custodial firings. UC Berkeley Police arrived to close off the Wheeler Hall and surrounding it. In the second video, Students are attempting to talk with police. In the third video, a female student falls under the yellow police tape, with weird results. In the final video, Professor Robert Dudley, a member of the Department of Integrative Biology at Cal joins the protest and is arrested peacefully:

All of this was happening as Cal Alums like myself who remember a time when students could afford to go to Cal, were playing touch football and just trying to have fun to balance our stressful lives. For us Cal is and has been a source of great joy and accomplishment. We were looking forward to the Big Game and the idea that someone was being harmed by police never entered our minds at the time. But I will say that's not what Cal's about. Even if it's part of Cal University History, it's not something any Cal grad is proud of.

The Cal police certainly have a hard job and have done some incredible public safety work, but it does not mean we can't question what they do when they're obviously wrong. But to put a finer point on it, many of the officer on hand were not Cal police, they were from the City of Oakland and had riot gear.

The problem of this fee increase is not going away. What's next? I hope not another protest like this one. I'm sure Cal Chancellor Robert Birgeneau would agree. He was happy to be able to enjoy the Big Game win Saturday:

In a closing note, one may wonder why I didn't take time to ask the Chancellor Birgeneau about the protest as were celebrating Cal's Big Game win. Well, I did think about it as we were celebrating and talking even though at the time I was unaware of the violence that took place the day before.

But frankly the reason I did not ask the Chancellor about the protest on camera was because he was kind enough to give me his time because I told him I wanted to talk about the win. We were happy and I didn't want to spoil it (in fact, not one bothered him at all). To do anything different would have been dishonest on my part.

That's not how I am.

In the past the Chancellor has been very nice to me and from my experience is a good person. I'm sure he would have liked to see a different outcome on Friday and is as upset about it and how students were treated as anyone of us.

Police brutality is not something to expect or defend. It is to be eliminated as a problem. We don't have to rubber stamp it and think that it's part of the police just 'doing their job.'

Adam Lambert AMA Video controversy - CBS blurs male kiss

2009-11-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, the Adam Lambert AMA video controversy has gone too far. CBS blurred the image of Adam Lambert kissing his male guitarist, but would not blur two women kissing.

Here's CBS' explanation:

"We gave this some real thought. The Madonna image is very familiar and has appeared countless times including many times on morning television. The Adam Lambert image is a subject of great current controversy, has not been nearly as widely disseminated, and for all we know, may still lead to legal consequences."

"Legal consequences"? Like what? Communicating H1N1 via video? Oh, God.

What's all this kiss blurring stuff anyway? Look, I'm a straight black male but I really don't care that two men or two women were kissing on television. CBS' attempt to shield this aspect of society from a new media savvy, video saturated teenage culture (if that was the idea) is just plain nuts.

Perez Hilton is right on in pointing to a double standard I'm shocked to see in action. From where I sit, I thought good old male-to-female kissing was under attack to start with. Plus, as upset as Perez is about this, he should consider that it's almost as rare to see a black man passionately kissing a white woman on television even today. In fact it's more common to see a white man sucking face with a black woman on TV.

CBS - and mainsteam television (not cable) - could do itself a favor and show the World as it is, not as CBS thinks it should be (as if anyone asked them). There's a "straight white male ethic" at work which has a weird pecking order on television and sends this message:

1) Kissing between white men and white women is desired so we will show that to you.
2) While kissing between a white woman and another white woman isn't really that normal or desired, straight white men love it, so we'll show it to you.
3) A white man kissing a black woman or an Asian woman or a Latino woman is less desired than white men kissing white women, but the minorities are becoming the majority, so we'll show that.
4) Two white guys kissing is not desirable but because there are so many gays in power in entertainment, we'll show the scene but blur out the kiss.
5) A black man kissing a white woman is less desired because its threatening to white guys, so we won't show that on television if we can help it; Asian woman? Sure. Latina woman? OK, but dark-skinned. But, if it's Tiger Woods, we'll give him a pass because he's really good at golf. Heidi and Seal's ok because, well, Heidi's just plain hot.

That's the idea communicated on mainstream or Broadcast television today, at least on CBS. But then ABC booted Adam Lambert from Good Morning America, so it too has a long way to go. While Cable TV still has a distance to go in catching Broadcast TV, it's closing the gap; censorship as practiced by CBS may help close it. But even then, one can always turn to YouTube for the real image of 21st Century America.

One day, YouTube might replace both Broadcast and Cable TV. At least I hope so.

Stay tuned.

Members of Congress who voted for the Stupak ban are expressing “buyer’s remorse”

2009-11-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

Members of Congress have been saying in public interviews that they didn’t realize the impact of Stupak's amendment before they voted for this proposal. Now that they have come to fully appreciate the impact of the Stupak ban they're rethinking their positions. Like President Obama, members of the House are indicating that the Stupak amendment went too far.

The Stupak ban would prohibit any coverage of abortion in the new "exchange," or marketplace, established by health reform. This ban would apply to both the proposed public option and to private plans.

Currently, a majority of private health insurance plans cover abortion care - even the one offered to employees of the Republican National Committee. But if your employer obtains your insurance in the future through the new exchange you will lose that coverage.

There is an alternative.

The Capps compromise, worked out by both pro-choice and anti-choice members of Congress, ensures that no federal funding would be used to pay for abortions while also ensuring that women do not lose the benefits they currently have. Under Capps, no federal funds would be used for abortion. The funds would be segregated from private dollars.

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Oakland Taxi Problem due to Friendly Cab monopoly

2009-11-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

Even though I pay attention to national cultural issues, I've not forgot about Oakland. I scanned the blog post on the Oakland Taxi Cab problem with a chuckle because neither the Oakland North newsite or A Better Oakland blog actually hits on the real problem.

(A momentary aside. It's time to call Oakland North what it is, a news website. It's not a blog. A blog contains opinions and adheres to a blogger's code of ethics. Oakland North is a site for journalists. I don't go there to get the views of one of their writers; I go there for the news. What's annoying is that as more journalists and journalism students discover new media, they call whatever they do online a blog. Wrong. I cry foul on this. If you're going to blog, let me know what you think, not what someone else thinks; but if not, then its a news website, period. Ok, back to the issue.)

The City of Oakland let Friendly Cab have a monopoly role in the industry in Oakland. Friendly Cab is the only active cab company in Oakland. It has all of the licenses for the city and has owned them for decades.

Oakland City Attorney John Russo tried to fix the problem 10 years ago when he was a councilmember and got nowhere. The problem still exists and there's zero political will to eliminate it.

The Oakland North blog post really focused on the parking ticket problems (which an initiative can fix) not the cab problems. But the real issue behind Oakland's Cab problems can be solved if the City of Oakland takes several steps:

1. Makes all cab companies lower the daily "gate fee" of $65 to $40 - This is a real problem and yes, I know it's $120 in San Francisco, but the Oakland fee to rent a cab from a company should be fixed by the City of Oakland. A cab driver has to buy gas and then make enough daily money to offset the cost to have the car for a day. At $40, a cab driver only needs to have four passenger pickups at $10 each per day to break even. A ride from Lake Merritt to 19th Street BART is $6.86 per day.

2. Lower the license cost to establish a cab business in Oakland to $10,000 - Why it's at reportedly $40,000 is beyond me and reads like a total racket in my view. The license cost is a barrier to entry into the cab industry at a time when people need to create employment for themselves. What the City of Oakland is doing here is just plain terrible.

3. End the Oakland Parking ticket problem - which can only be done effectively via the initiative process.

The City of Oakland should be working to help cab drivers build their business, not punish them for being in it. A better cab system will hopefully avoid incidents like the one I experienced here:

I understand that At-Large Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan wants to jump in and solve the problem, but she's already behind the eight-ball because the City Council's putting her out there by herself. If she had a group of councilmembers with her, I'd say she's going to fix the problem, but there's no indication of a coalition of Oakland elected officials ready to change the state of affairs.

But it's clear from the number of cab drivers and people I've talked to that there's a perception the City of Oakland's allowed an organized scheme to keep one company - Friendly Cab - active to go too far. I'm not advocating the end of Friendly Cab, just some competition for it. That will lower fare prices and make cabs more abundant in Oakland.

Finally, I'll keep my car, thanks.

Adam Lambert AMA Video YouTube - Lambert "Got Carried Away"

2009-11-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

Adam Lambert likes girls too!

The Adam Lambert AMA Video on YouTube is viral, in fact when you think of all the versions of the video flying around the Internet and not just on YouTube, Adam Lambert's going to give Miley Cyrus a run for her money in the raunch department. Well, OK, he makes Miley Cyrus look like, well, a Disney TV show.

This is Adam Lambert in action in a YouTube video at the AMA:

But remember that woman who stormed the stage when Adam Lambert performed at his high school earlier this year? This scene that I talked about in my video:

I'll bet that woman's wishing she was on stage with Adam Lambert at the AMAs. Which gets to my point: such actions as the one that Adam Lambert performed at the AMA do impact what the audience thinks these artists are "about" and so causes more possible future "rush the stage" actions. If Adam Lambert's fans thinks he's that free and accessible, someone who's not wound tight will try that again or stalk him, or worse.

Look, I hope that does not happen, but again my point is such outlandish public actions don't happen in a closet: they impact society in different ways, some unpredictable.

I can understand Adam getting carried away with, er, himself and others, but it wasn't necessary. Does it get his name out there? Heck, yes! But think about what Adam Lambert just did. In a new media environment with this video going all over the place, Adam Lambert pushed the bar of what's acceptable taste to a higher level.

Or lowered it depending on your perspective.

Adam Lambert also, perhaps unknowingly, ushered in an era of sexual expression as performance art, but separated by sexual orientation. In other words, I'm waiting for the female performer to grab a male guitarist and push his head "down there".

Lambert said the female artists like Lady GaGa and Janet Jackson get away with actions wilder than his, but I have to totally disagree with him because no woman's ever done anything that tops his act. I've never seen a female singer do what he did at the AMA Awards.

But I'm betting someone will try. The question is who? My money's on Lady GaGa. What say you? Adam Lambert has started a 'sexual stage performance nuclear war' that has no end in sight, except possible the FCC.

But what's the FCC gonna do that stops this indecency battle in its tracks? The Federal Communications Commission hasn't shown the ability to put the breaks on visuals distributed via new media to date; I don't see them getting a handle on it without the help of companies like Google.

Stay tuned.

Ron Artest forgets clothes for Jimmy Kimmel Live

2009-11-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

OK. I've seen a lot of stunts, but other than Adam Lambert on the AMA, this is one of the biggies. LA Lakers new star Ron Artest came on to the Jimmy Kimmel Live show with just his boxer shorts. He claimed he was late arriving to the show and was going to dress on stage.

Artest talks about how he talked to Kobe Bryant about coming to the Lakers, how he introduced Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian, who recently married, and his unique relationship with Lakers fans.

The video has become one of the most viewed on YouTube as of this writing today. Here's videos part one and two of Ron Artest on Jimmy Kimmel Live:

Part One:

Part Two:

And on the matter of YouTube, here's my new video on the YouTube Community Roundtable:

Free Thanksgving Day Luncheon in Oakland at 410 14th Street

2009-11-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

I received an email from Geoffrey Pete (the former owner of "Geoffrey's Inner Circle" Club) reporting that the Oakland Black Caucus is hosting a free Thanksgiving Day Luncheon at 410 14th Street, near Oakland City Hall, in downtown Oakland, California from 12 noon to 2 PM.

NBA stars Derrick Brown from the Charlotte Bobcats and Antonio Davis (who's retired) will be in attendance. Volunteers include Youth Uprising and The Oakland Tech Basketball Team.

The lunch event is for everyone, so come to downtown Oakland on Thanksgiving Day.

A's Owners want to move to San Jose? Run my Oakland Baseball Sim first

2009-11-24T18:49:00.000-08:00

The Oakland Athletics baseball team owners, specifically Lew Wolff, are on record as wanting to move the Oakland A's to San Jose and specifically a new stadium downtown. There are a lot of reasons why this will not work, many of them legal. There are also some reasons why the deal could work, and they are financial.

But the one fact is the Oakland A's owners are - as is common for that group - flying blind without the use of an appropriate tool to help them as they determine what the best steps for the organization are.

I have one tool that they, and you, can use: my Oakland Baseball Simworld.

I created the 2,936-variable, 956-equation simulation in 2002 and based on a system dynamics simulation I created to help John Keriotis, then a limited partner with the Sacramento Kings, see how the Athletics or a professional baseball team in Oakland would perform fiscally in the future.

At the time - 1997 - I was Economic Adviser to Elihu Harris when he was Oakland's Mayor. Mayor Harris assigned me to Coliseum issues and one of those was the possible sale of the Athletics. I helped assemble three "teams" of possible groups, and got one to merge consisting of Frank Robinson and Magic Johnson. Eventually, the sale did not take place but out of it, for me, came a simple 56-variable model of the Oakland Athletics.

After I left the City of Oakland in 2001, I learned a system dynamics simulation programming language called Forio Macro Language (FML), the creation of Forio Business Simulations in San Francisco. FML allows for the development of online sims.

With FML, and Forio's advice, I worked to create two sims: the XFL Simworld, which is still operational, and the Oakland Baseball Simworld, which was delayed for almost a year because I could not figure out an elegant equation model for player contracts.

I finally did that in 2002. I finished the simulation on October 22, 2002 at 6:30 AM (the Tuesday of the week the San Francisco Giants were in The World Series). It received some media notice, both in the Oakland Tribune and in the Sportsbusiness Daily, as well as on the TV show Inside Silicon Valley Business.

Later, I met University of San Francisco sports economics professor Dr. Dan Rascher and together with our Simulation Advisory Board updated the new Oakland Sim.

The idea of the simulation is to have the user understand "baseball business dynamics" and how such actions as building a stadium impact the team's fiscal behavior. It consists of every possible financial combination one may employ to build a stadium. And all of the numbers are "real" and based on information I had to work with at the City of Oakland, then updated annually as the years progressed.

Both sims, and a new beta sim I created called "Buffi The Gym Girl" are the basis of Sports Business Simulations and are used in college classrooms around the country from Memphis to Old Dominion, as I write this. Once students are finished using the Oakland Sim, I'm going to redesign it to specifically include a "San Jose Scenario."

Really, it's already there but encapsulated in a "Move the Team" option called "In Bay Area." But unlike the other options (you can even build a downtown stadium in Oakland) that one doesn't have the stadium costs or public politics entirely built in it. (I'm not going to remove the downtown Oakland option, either.)

There's now enough good information for me to quickly install a set of equations and codes within part of a day and have the sim up and running. I will also update the Oakland Coliseum stadium alternative and other scenarios.

The sim target date: November 30, 2009 at 5 PM.

The sim will have a three-day free trial setting so you can try it yourself.

Do I expect the A's owners to pay attention?

No. Frankly, I'd be surprised if they did; this is for the common people who want to know what is or isn't possible in this whole discussion. In 2006, I personally offered Wolff the opportunity to use a specially designed version of my Oakland sim for free and he never followed up on it, but he did say "Free? I like free."