Hi Lianne,

Thanks for verifying your identity.

After investigating this further, it looks like we suspended your
account by mistake. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience. You should now
be able to log in. If you have any issues getting back into your
account, please let me know.

Thanks,

Harvey

User Operations

Facebook

Even though my account is back – I still want to know why it was suspended in the first place.

—————————————-

The other day while I was casually using Facebook, I got a popup stating “Your session has expired, please login to continue.” which I did.  When I logged in, I was asked to verify my DOB and email…which I also did.  Then I was forwarded to the following url….http://www.facebook.com/checkpoint with a  message on the page that simply stated.  “Thank You.  You should receive an email from us soon. We appreciate your patience as we complete this process.“  Then for 48 hours….NOTHING.

Then last night, I get this email:

We apologize for any inconvenience, but the only way we will be able to reopen this account is if you submit a color image of your government-issued photo ID confirming your full name and date of birth.

If you do not have a government-issued photo ID, we will accept a copy of a photo ID (ex: work or school ID) and a copy of a government-issued document verifying your name and age (ex: a birth certificate). We will permanently delete these documents after we resolve your issue.

Please visit www.facebook.com from a computer and log into your account. You will then be asked to submit your ID.

Thanks

Now….having been in the internet industry for several years this means two things to me… 1) I’ve probably been hacked or my account was compromised in some way and  2) Facebook is holding my account hostage and demanding to see my personal information to reinstate it.  The worst thing?? I have no choice in the matter and NO WAY of knowing if and when they will delete any information I send them or if they will ever reinstate me if I do so. I love my Facebook account (as many of you do as well…), it’s how I stay in touch with my family and friends, read interesting articles and sometimes see funny stuff.  It has become a part of my life and I’m definitely upset that it’s apparently gone.

The bigger issue here might be the fraudulent capture of people’s government issued ID’s by a free website.  I looked all over the internet when Facebook hadn’t contacted me and there were SEVERAL people who had the same issues as I did (some had a dual problem with their connected Instagram account) and this all occurred between January 19 – 21.  If Facebook had an issue with someone hacking a group of accounts then why wasn’t anyone notified?  Why isn’t there something on the news? Why is it legal for Facebook to ask you for ANYTHING – especially a government issued ID to verify something that is already yours? In addition, what if I NEVER get reinstated?  What happens to all of my information, photos etc. that Facebook (and the newly acquired Instagram by the way) tells me I will always retain ownership of? How can I retain ownership of these items if I am not allowed access to them? Doesn’t Facebook now OWN my property since I can’t access it? What if there is some unscrupulous Facebook employee that is running around with everyone else’s personal information creating false identities?? Now that they have my color photo, all they would need is an x-acto knife and some glue and they would be off to the races.

Facebook is increasingly part of the landscape of our lives. We use it to connect to other accounts – such as Disqus, Digg and major websites like Mashable and CNN.  We use it to login for everything all over the web (I even use it for signing in on several of my sites).  Statistics show that the site is over 175 million strong and, Facebook says, growing at the astounding rate of about five million new users a week, making it a rare bright spot in a somewhat dismal economy [CNN Money]. This is proof that social media has become and integral part of our daily lives. What with users (including myself) uploading an average of 300 million photos per day, its servers contain more than 100 billion photos. And that’s not counting third-party applications that also hold photos, such as the recently-acquired Instagram [PC World].

So let’s get back to that privacy thing.  Should Facebook have access to so much of your personal information?  And if they deem it necessary, should they be able to demand that you provide the most personal thing of all, your government issued photo ID to them with no explanation as to why?  My feeling is that if a company is going to ask you to verify your identity at some point – then it should be done right up front rather than further down the road.  Facebook does not require you to provide a government issued photo ID to sign up for an account.  In fact, I signed MY child up for one when he was 13 without an ID (ironically he is still on Facebook and the account that I no longer have access to is listed on his page under family – funny right?).  Last year, writer Thomas Beller wrote an account of how he had been “Exiled From the Kingdom of Me” [New Yorker].  He was randomly locked out of his Facebook account, then asked a series of questions about his friends every time he tried to login (that would drive me nuts) and when he was not allowed back in….eventually, he gave up.  I don’t want to give up.  I want my account and all of the business pages that I manage back right now (oh yeah, I forgot to tell you…..add loss of income to the list of things wrong with this picture).

If this has happened to any of you PLEASE share your story with me.  I love Facebook (I’m actually a  little verklempt and astonished at how much I miss it not having been active for the past few days, except for a few autotweets).  At the very least, I’d love to see some changes in the way that Facebook identifies you and in the way they collect that information.  Since my VA driver’s license is not in color (note in that email above, they asked for a COLOR ID…sheesh) I uploaded my passport with all information other than my name and DOB blurred (which is what you should do by the way if you are ever asked so you can avoid the whole identity theft thing) and I am now patiently waiting the re-instatement and release of the personal account of my life over the past 5 years.

Exiled from the kingdom of me indeed…..

Let’s take a look back shall we?  Back in 1962, screen siren Marilyn Monroe died of “acute barbiturate poisoning” with both Pentobarbital (AKA Nembutal) and chloral hydrate (sleeping pills) in her system.  Although her death was listed as a probable suicide, it’s entirely possible that her death was accidental as she routinely took both of those drugs excessively. She was only 36.  In 1965, the legendary actress Dorothy Dandridge died from “acute drug intoxication.” Her death was originally ruled a suicide but changed to an accidental overdose.  She had Tofranil in her system, an antidepressant that she took for what today might be diagnosed as bipolar disorder. It was widely claimed that she died from combining the Tofranil with pain medication she was taking for a broken ankle she sustained. She was only 42. Again, both were probably accidental and a result of drug combining that seems to be so prevalent and at the same time entirely preventable with proper education.  Remember, Monroe and Dandridge’s deaths were back in the 60′s when prescription drugs were commonplace.  Before the disco era and the rise in illegal drug use.

These days, stars don’t want to get caught with anything illegal (remember what happened to Robert Downey, Jr???) so they seek out the next best thing….their doctors.  More recently, stars like Lindsay Lohan have had issues with illegal and prescription drugs and escaped with nothing but their reputation in tatters.  Others have not been so lucky. Most notably, former Playboy model and personality Anna Nicole Smith who was able to obtain thousands of prescription pills from at least two different doctors.  Two of the doctors and her companion Howard K. Stern were eventually charged but never convicted of the serious charges.  On the other hand, Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray was recently sentenced to 4 years in prison for that fatal dose of the drug Propofol which is used by anesthesiologists to put patients under for surgery.  The drug was administered for Jackson as a sleep aid.

As for Whitney, it will be several weeks before toxicology results reveal the medications and quantities, if any, that were in her system when she died. The Grammy winner’s history of substance abuse has added to the speculation that her death may have been caused by prescription drugs or a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.  Even Whitney admitted to Diane Sawyer and then more candidly to Oprah in televised interviews that she had issues with substance abuse.

One thing is clear, the prescription drug epidemic in this country is overwhelmingly out of control.  Prescription drug abuse is the Nation’s fastest-growing drug problem, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified prescription drug abuse as an an epidemic. While there has been a marked decrease in the use of some illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that nearly one-third of people aged 12 and over who used drugs for the first time in 2009 began by using a prescription drug non-medically. [Whitehouse.gov]  LEGAL drugs like oxycodone and other opioids were responsible for 15,000 deaths in 2008, compared with 4,000 deaths in 1998. [MSNBC].

Prescription drug abuse presents a unique predicament to lawmakers because, as anyone who has had an injury or lives with chronic pain can attest, painkillers can be incredibly useful if used in the proper manner. But the metoric rise in the abuse of these drugs calls for some big changes in the way they are prescribed and how they are obtained.  Prescribers and physicians alike should be subject to mandatory education and training on proper prescription practices (for example, methadone and oxycodone are very different drugs, yet they are often prescribed interchangeably, leading to unintentional overdoses). Prescribers should be required by law to actively use their state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, an electronic database which collects designated data on substances dispensed in the state. Yet in many cases they are not. In some states, they aren’t monitored at all.

Our governments must be more involved with education regarding this problem as well. That means more investments in community-based drug prevention and treatment  They must also ensure that these monitoring programs operate smoothly across state lines.  This is one of the more glaring problems as most don’t always work the way they should.  In Anna Nicole Smith’s case, she was able to obtain multiple prescriptions in both California and Florida.  So who knows how many states Whitney had doctors in as she had residences in both Atlanta and New Jersey.

Ultimately, there are regular people like you and me dying everyday from prescription drug abuse.  The spotlight is glaring a bit more brightly on the subject these days thanks to a few of our icons that have met with an untimely demise.  If you look clearly though, the signs were always there with all of our fallen stars. Addiction is pretty easy to spot, it’s the enabling that may not always be as visible.  Being as famous as Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston require a MACHINE. That machine requires oil to run….that “oil” is usually riddled with enablers.  The “yes men” that get them what they want when they want it.  The same principal can be applied to real life though, as enablers can take on many different forms.  In the real life case, the money and fame are the only things absent.  If you take away the money and the fame…you are still left with an addict as addiction knows no racial or class lines.  Just the same fundamental issues that cause them to use in the first place. Sad but ultimately preventable.

When Lianne met Amy…..I was a fan of hers from the start.  I hunted her earlier album “Frank” on the internet before it was actually available. I made CD’s for my friends, and I have all the B-sides/unreleased materials.  There was something very much older and wiser in her voice and in the way that she wrote and sang her songs.  Tragic love, broken hearts, sadness and lonliness were the themes in much of her music.  But sometimes she would throw a gem in there like Me and Mr. Jones, a song about wanting her man to take her to a Nas concert after he made her miss the Slick Rick gig.  All in all, an impressive albeit brief body of work.  When Amy sang, she was brilliant and when she failed, it was just as spectacularly.  Her battles with drugs and alcohol were well documented public fodder. The paparazzi hounded her every move (they regularly rang her doorbell), and in the age of the YouTube nation, fans were recording her drunken attempts at singing a set and uploading them onto the internet.  Pretty soon, she started to become known more for her misbehavior than her music. People would go to a show just to see if she would show up hammered so they could record it. There were some bright spots though, she would turn up to a radio station and sing live or she would have some great recoding session. Everyone was hoping Amy would come back, including me. Then she finally DID go to rehab and ended up winning five Grammys that year for her breakout album “Back to Black”, surely that would set her straight…right? Not so much. In fact, I think she got worse. I  realized then, that if she ever did get sober, her music would be very different.  Look at Mary J. Blige…My Life & Share My World are still among my favorite CD’s and they were recorded during the darkest time of her life. Once she got sober, it changed her life for the better. Her music changed too, not saying that I don’t like it, but it’s definitely not the same. Now, I am not advocating that people not get off drugs or alcohol and change their lives if they have a problem…I’m all for that. Nobody deserves a life of addiction. I’m just saying that I think some people aren’t meant to get better. It’s just what is in the cards for them and their life. I don’t think she wanted to get better either and that is a big part of it. You have to WANT to get better. The official reports won’t be back for some time so there is no telling how she actually passed. One thing is for certain though, she was far more troubled than anyone knew and that is why she isn’t with us anymore. As far as her music goes…I liked that it was dark. It was raw, honest, real and in a word…authentic. In the end, she had far more authenticity in her life than anyone could have imagined.  She has inspired a slew of wannabees and left an indelible mark on the music industry and with fans in her passing. I will have Amy on repeat today and try to remember the way I felt when I first heard her sing. I hope that she has found peace after such a troubled life here on earth. Below is one of my favorites, “Love Is a Losing Game”

What makes this SNL clip so hilarious is that they keep showing the footage of Buckwheat getting shot over and over again, different angles, slow motion, interviewing Alfalfa, from the hospital operating room, they just went too far (or what they thought was too far).  There was a public outcry, folks were all pissed off and thought that SNL was making fun of the President getting shot…when they were in fact, lampooning the ridiculous media coverage (brilliant). In the skit, they all were incredibly ridiculous scenarios…but somehow now looking back, they were eerily ahead of their time.  The video is absolutely absurd (and funny as hell) but this is really what life has become.  My business is social media, but even I have to draw the line someplace.  Cameras following celebs, people streaming hookups, and posting pictures of other people’s hookups and/or other personal business online is something that I do not condone one bit.

People’s personal business and privacy are huge issues these days.  If Buckwheat had indeed been shot, do you think his family would have wanted cameras in the emergency room?  It’s far fetched I know, but you can see where I am going with this.  I don’t need to see Lindsay Lohan’s journey into the courtroom or anyplace else for that matter….I don’t need to see Michael Jackson on a stretcher being rushed into the emergency room….and I really don’t need to see Gary Coleman dead in his hospital room with his “wife” mugging for the camera nearby.  I honestly think that we have reached a fever pitch when it comes to this “now culture” with the news media. I’m not sure if it’s because they don’t know what they are doing or what but I’m frankly a bit put off by it.

Take Rutgers college student Tyler Clementi, his suicide started a firestorm over privacy issues and the internet. His room-mate not only videotaped him in a private sexual encounter once but then used his twitter account to invite his followers to view it or another encounter again at a later date.  The public at large needs to understand this: We are not just consumers of media, we are creators of it.  We’re all reporters and journalists today. We’re all content generators. In this context, the tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi isn’t as much surprising as it is inevitable. [AOL].  In this new hyper-charged “gotta have it now” society that we live in, what is and where do we draw the line?  Through my work,  my life for the most part is spent online…that is my choice.  However, you will never see me write or talk about anything extremely personal.  I would never write about death, funerals, money problems, life problems, guy problems, girl problems, breakups, friendships ending (the list goes on and on).  Those are things that are in my opinion TOO PERSONAL and I think unnecessary to share with my 8,000 plus Twitter/Facebook followers.  Why would you need to know all of the intimate details of my life?  Which brings me to the next point, drunk tweeting…just stop it.  It’s not funny or interesting. I also rarely post pictures of me with drinks in my hand, why?  Because I am controlling my public perception online.  I post pics of drinks that I like, but they are never in my hand.

All of this being said, I would never…EVER post anything about ANYONE ELSE online without their expressed approval.  I even check with people before I post a Twitpic just to make sure they are okay with it.  Your online persona should be just that YOURS.  You have no right to post anything about anyone else without their permission.  For all intents and purposes, my twitter/facebook timelines are about me and my life, or the portion of my life that I choose to let you see.  My privacy, although some may think this is a skewed opinion or may not agree….is protected because I am in control of the content. When you don’t control the content that is displayed or exercise lack of control by revealing too much information you risk loss of your privacy BOTTOM LINE.  Anything that you post on the internet stays out there.  So if you go on and on on twitter, facebook or even on a blog about how your ex-husband is an asshole because he never pays child support…there is a pretty good chance that your kids will see that one day if they google you or him.  Think about it.

I think that the news media and society at large really needs to think about how they are using social media and control it with more skill or even bias if you will.  We are all stars in our own little movies, some have more interesting plot lines than others but we are still writing the script. I think when people start to look at it that way then maybe privacy won’t be so much of an issue.  Andy Warhol, said in 1968, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” that quote is more relevant now than ever.

One thing I have noticed the most is that I am asked by my clients more now than ever, to monitor their brand reputation online.  Brand reputation is big business these days, you know why?  Because of two things, the sheer power of social media and the insane amount of inaccurate reporting and comments regarding the effectiveness, wearability etc. of brands ans products.  When I started using Twitter back in 2007 people looked at me sideways.  A friend of mine said to me, “That is SO stupid, It will NEVER take off.“  (He’s on twitter now by the way…and totally addicted) Brands were renouncing it as silly and now EVERYONE wants a Facebook FanPage and a Twitter account because what they failed to realize is the potential for free word of mouth marketing.  Who doesn’t want that, right??  Now, with that instantaneous word of mouth marketing comes a whole new set of issues that nobody was prepared for, namely the inaccurate reporting and power of social media to create change.

As far as inaccurate reporting goes, let me give you an example.  There is a popular hair straightening treatment called “Keratin”, there are several brands out there and it’s fairly new to the market.  That being said, it is used in several high profile hair salons.  It’s more expensive than a chemical relaxer but is less damaging to your hair because hair is made of keratin.  It also contains a fairly small amount of formaldehyde used as a preservative but there are formaldehyde free versions available if you prefer that.  Now knowing that basic information that I have just given you, go google “keratin safety” and you will see over 1,840,000 results some of which may or may not be accurate information regarding the safety of this beauty treatment.  Alternatively, chemical relaxers have been around for years, have enough lye and other chemicals which have been proven to be damaging to hair.  But, used properly can be extremely effective.  Having said all that, there isn’t the same furor over the chemical relaxers because it’s not an item that has a new reputation to the beauty world.  You kinda know what your signing up for, doesn’t make the new thing any more or less frightening than the older thing it’s basically just the fear of the unknown that stops people and sends them to the internet to research. So now, imagine if you are researching this product and you see the same amount of positive vs negative reviews or maybe even more negative than positive.  As a consumer you are confused and as a brand you have your work cut out for you.

Beauty products are just an example of inaccurate reporting, some of which comes from beauty blogs (not all beauty blogs are written by journalists, beauty experts etc., some are just people who think their opinion trumps anyone else’s), Yelp or just everyday people leaving comments on message boards or in the comments section of blogs.  If a group of people feels strongly about something it can absolutely TANK a brand’s reputation.

That brings me to my second point, the power of social media.  Look at BP, a total public relations nightmare.  How will they EVER recover from the current disaster they are involved in?  The CEO actually was caught on tape saying he wished he could have his life back and that was it.  The “Ban BP” Facebook page was born and the rest is history.  Death By Facebook:  The BP Story is an excellent article that explains the power of social media and branding.  Author David Trahan says, “The same website that fostered a social movement bringing Betty White to Saturday Night Live is now bringing BP to its knees..” and how.  Just an example of how a little thing like leaving a comment someplace on the internet or starting an internet group can turn into a movement if enough people are behind it.

So brands, BE CAREFUL.  Be careful what you say and do online or in the media because consumers are WATCHING and it could make or break your company.  I think it is important to be involved with consumers but remember…the moment something goes wrong the very things that helped you to gain popularity can take it away nearly instantly.

Photo:  Branding Eye

“Daniel Warhol says: MANNNNNN…..if you are gonna go to JAIL..GO TO JAIL! Not JAIL LITE…N*gga did the crime like a non-celebrity, he should be treated as such…F*ck that special request BULLSHIT.”

LOL @ “Jail Lite“.  And you know what?  I couldn’t agree more.  If you don’t know, Lil Wayne, Weezy Lil Weezy….millionaire rapper/pop star has been sentenced to a year at New York’s Rikers Island facility for a gun-possession conviction.  His sentencing was delayed twice, but they finally got him yesterday.  Not before he had some extensive dental work done though (LOL).  Rumor has it that he will have a special escort while doing his time.  Forgive me but, you didn’t need a “special escort” when you pulled that unregistered weapon did you Weezy?  Do you see Jay Z with unregistered weapons? No. Let’s go one step further and use an example of someone that actually night have a gun, how bout Young Jeezy?  (Granted, he probably has people with him that have the guns….but I digress)

These rappers need to wake up, why should we treat him any differently than any other person that does a bid for a gun charge?  He certainly wasn’t thinking about that when he did it.  Or maybe he was and he thought he could skate.  If so, it would be another example of a rapper overestimating his importance within society.  Special food, special circumstances, special escorts.  If he actually manned up and did the time like he should that would be a different story. Now, I’m not saying he deserves to get jumped etc, but clearly he was NOT thinking about that when he had the damn gun.  So until then he’s just a punk ass rapper (a platinum selling one at that, who really has NO business with a gun in the first place) trying to up his street cred.

Punk…….

Another thing was the Album of the Year award, this year it went to Taylor Swift for her CD “Fearless”.  Really??  I mean, I feel bad that Kanye jacked her MTV spotlight but ALBUM OF THE YEAR??  I really feel like they gave that to her in a direct response to what happened at the MTV awards.  Not that she isn’t talented (although her performance that evening suggested otherwise as veteran Stevie Nicks sang her song better than she did) but there were so many other DESERVING albums for that award.

Album Of The Year Award Nominees:
Beyonce – I Am… Sasha Fierce
Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D.
Lady Gaga – The Fame
Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King
Taylor Swift – Fearless

Out of all those nominees, it’s clear that there are other albums that could/should have won the award.  Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce and Lady Gaga all had the biggest singles of the year.  Why not them?  All in all the show was a colossal disappointment (except for The Black Eyed Peas and P!nk’s amazing performances).

What do you think??

So when this baby comes out, I will get one of these and travel with it instead of my MacBook, as it seems an aircard would be a colossal waste of money.  Not only that, this device is a eBook reader, internet surfer and true work horse (iWork apps will be available for $9.99 each).

Here is the rundown (via Temp’td):

• All those great apps you love on your iPhone, you can also run on the iPad. They will either run in a windowed mode, or you can full screen all of the apps you would like. Not to mention the device will also have iPad specific apps being developed.
• The iPad syncs with iTunes just as you iPhone or iPod would, all you have to do is plug it into your MacBook and are good to go.
• iBooks are headed to the iTunes store, putting a large emphasis on the iPad being a terrific eReader. Books will range between $12.99 – $14.99 and the interface looks absolutely gorgeous.
• Screen resolution is 1024×768, from what we have read it looks magnificent and you shouldn’t be disappointed by screen quality.
• The 1GHz A4 processor is fast, in fact it is extremely fast. You won’t find any hiccups when loading and scrolling through your favorite book, or web pages.
• There is no multitasking with the device, just as there is none with the iPhone. You won’t be able to surf the internet or type a paper while listening to music, and this is a giant down side. With a device this nice and powerful there is no reason you shouldn’t be able to push it to the limit.
• There is no camera anywhere on the device, and in order to import pictures from your camera you will have to purchase the camera connectivity package for the iPad.
• It has been seen running iPhone OS 3.2, so there is no full operating system found on the device. As far as UI goes it will be like looking at a 10″ iPhone with no camera or calling and SMS features.

Worried about having to type on an on-screen keyboard the entire time? Apple is releasing a keyboard dock compatible with the iPad in order to turn the device more into a desktop type device. It is also compatible with other bluetooth keyboards in case you happen to have one laying around. Still interested in pick up one of these stunning devices to carry around with you? The WiFi standard models will be released in 30 days, with the 3G models coming 60 days after that. You will certainly be the envy of all your tech savvy friends, and will probably get some head-turns as people walk by seeing you use it.

Sounds amazingly awesome….I know I will be getting one.  How about you??

Now, I have never been a huge fan of Conan’s all that much (not a religious watcher) but I admit he is a helluva writer with some seriously funny stuff under his belt.  Not only that, but he has been a faithful soldier for the NBC network for YEARS.  So you have to admit,  NBC is putting the screws to him but good.  If you are not familiar, here is the scenario:  How would you feel if you:  Got promoted, you knew about it 6 years ahead of time, you accepted the offer, the time came for you to assume your new role, you uprooted your staff and family and moved across the country, then 7 months later through no fault of your own…you have been told by your bosses that they made a poor decision in moving your predecessor to that other position and now your position will be changing to make room for your predecessor to have a piece of your job and if you don’t agree, your fired. Foul, right?  Conan had this to say…

“Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.”

Now after this well thought out statement [CNN], if Jay Leno has ANY decency he will just fade out.  Because although I hadn’t thought of it all that much previously….having the Tonight Show on after midnight effective makes it the Tomorrow Show and that has got to be the stupidest thing ever. I heard that Conan’s contract only states that he would be the host of the “Tonight Show” and it doesn’t stipulate any start time (11:35 vs. 12:05, which may be how NBC would be able to wiggle out of their deal with him).  NBC (incredibly) seems unaware that if this goes down, they would be killing ending the longest running late night show in the history of broadcasting. Why doesn’t the brass at NBC see that?  Ridiculous.  If Leno cares anything about that (which, I suspect he does I think he was waiting to see what Conan was going to do) he will fade and let O’Brien have his turn with the franchise. And poor Jimmy Fallon, he’s just happy to be in the game – truth be told, I like his show better than any of the others but maybe that’s just because I appreciate his humor more.  Now that Conan has made his statement, it will be interesting to see how this will pan out.

Now, onto the story.  It has been dubbed as a love story (James Cameron is famous for making big movies that are actually chick flicks in disguise) and it totally is BUT there is another message behind it.  The films main character Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington [Terminator: Salvation]) is a marine who has no family and figures he has nothing to lose by committing himself to the Avatar project.  But he discovers so much more about himself as a person as he goes through the process.  His leading lady is Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana).  She meets him when he gets separated from his group and is lost in the jungles of the planet Pandora.

She reluctantly agrees to train him in the ways of the Na’Vi after bringing the “sleepwalker” to her father.  There are explosions, big guns, huge scary looking and fascinatingly beautiful creatures everywhere in this film.  Cameron’s attention to detail is painstaking down to the little lights that glow on the native Na’Vi’s faces when they are in warrior mode and the ground lighting up everywhere the Na’Vi step.  This film is truly a glorious visual feast for the eyes.

In the theater, there were all kinds.  Men, women and children old and young were all there…and from all appearances they all really enjoyed the film.  The 2 plus hours FLEW by and this is the first time in forever that an entire audience clapped and cheered when the film was over.