"How's It Going to End?"

One Year Later - The Book Version of San Diego's Viral Hit Is Still a NY Times Bestseller.

2011-07-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

** UPDATE, September 23, 2011 -- The book above has been #1 for eleven of the last 72 weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers List. The book finally dropped out of the top 25 on September 18, 2011. The CBS Television series, "$#*! My Dad Says," which debuted in September 2010 to mostly poor reviews, was cancelled in May 2011.

** On May 4, 2010, "Sh** My Dad Says," the "R-rated" social media phenomenon that began in August 2009 on Twitter – attracting millions of followers as it moved to Facebook and to other social media platforms around the world – entered the rarefied air of the printed page.

** It Books, an imprint of Harper-Collins, released a 176-page hardcover version of "S*** My Dad Says" – filled with hilarious and sometimes poignant stories - supplemented by only a few of the more than 100 profane, ribald and politically incorrect quips posted on Twitter and uttered by Samuel "Sam" Halpern, the 74-year-old father of Justin Halpern of San Diego.

** The book does NOT replicate nor re-hash what's available online. It is a stand-alone product, a memoir of sorts, filled with short chapters - whereby son Justin provides the "back story" about his relationship with his father. The publisher's marketing notes describe the book as an "all-American tale that unfolds on the Little League field, in Denny's, during excruciating family road trips, and - most frequently - in the Halperns' kitchen over bowls of Grape-Nuts."

** While some of the quips seen on Twitter do re-appear, the book is filled with fresh material. It is an equally hilarious but more fully formed (and surprisingly touching) collection of stories that paint an almost loving picture of what it was like for Justin to grow up in the shadow of his brainy and brutally blunt father.

** Justin's story has been told numerous times – and is available at so many other online venues – (the best, in my view, was published last year in the Los Angeles Times) – that I'm not going to get into an in-depth recap of how he got here today. In short, after being dumped by his girlfriend in Los Angeles, Justin Halpern, now 29, founder of the humor website, "Holy Taco" – and a senior writer for Maxim.com – moved back with his parents in San Diego.

** On August 4, 2009, he began posting a string of outrageous quips spun by his father – some dating back to Justin's own childhood – to a Twitter account, which in turn spread virally, capturing the attention of celebrities, literary agents and entertainment producers.

** Justin's father Sam, who's described as being "like Socrates, but angrier, and with worse hair" – is a retired scientist from the University of California, San Diego. He's not only corrosively blunt – but he's also, according to the Los Angeles Times, reported to be extremely protective of his privacy, refusing all requests for interviews. Whatever else we might want to know about this secretive but sometimes hilariously crude man - can only come through his adoring son - who describes his dad as "awesome."

** "My dad went to medical school," Justin Halpern told the Times in February. He lectured at Harvard. He's [expletive deleted] way smarter than I could ever hope to be."

** Sample quips from Justin's dad:

"Look at that dog's rear. You can tell by the dilation of his a** that he's going to take a s*** soon. See. There it goes."

"Oh please, you practically invented lazy. People should have to call you and ask for the rights to lazy before they use it."

"You ranked the 25 Christmas presents you want, in order of how much you want them? Are you insane? I said tell me what you want for Christmas. I didn't ask you to make a f***** college football poll."

"I'm sitting in one of those TGI Friday's places, and everyone looks like they want to shove a shotgun in their mouth."

"Your brother brought his baby over this morning. He told me it could stand. It couldn't stand for sh**. Just sat there. Big let down."

"Why am I going to pay $200 (for a plane ticket) so a six-year-old can see a wedding? You think that's a moment he cares about? Two years ago he was still sh****** his pants."

"The worst thing you can be is a liar. . . . Okay, fine, yes, the worst thing you can be is a Nazi, but then number two is liar. Nazi one, liar two."

"My flight lands at 9:30 on Sunday...You want to watch what? What the f*** is Mad Men? Well I'm (going to be) a mad man if you don't pick me the hell up."

** The thing most surprising to me as a reader are passages in the book that illustrate the humanity of Justin's Dad. There are numerous "father-to-son" conversations whereby Justin's Dad, almost surreptitiously, dispenses advice based on his own experiences with the business of living and being a parent.

** For example, when Justin forgets to meet his Dad to help tend the garden - and decides instead to have a fun time with pals in Mexico - Dad is at first enraged, screaming that he almost called the cops. Then he calms down, motions Justin over, and in a rare display of open affection, grabs and bear-hugs his son and says, "You dumb s***. I can't wait until you have a kid of your own and you have to worry about what happens to him. You never stop worrying about your children. It sucks. You watch what you (get into), because this is your life, this bulls*** right here."

** More quips from Justin's dad:

(While watching "Schindler's List"): "What do you want? You want me to pass you some candy? They're throwing people in the f****** gas chamber, and you want a Skittles?"

"How the f*** should I know if the food's gone bad? Eat it. You get sick, it wasn't good. You people, you think I got microscopic f****** eyes."

"You're being f****** dramatic. You own a TV and an air mattress. That's not exactly what I'd call "a lot to lose."

"I wanted to see Detroit win. I've been there. It looks like God took a s*** on a parking lot. They deserve some good news."

"Remember how you used to make fun of me for being bald?...No, I'm not gonna make a joke. I'll let your mirror do that."

"Give your mother the front seat...I don't give a s*** if she said you could have it, that's what she's supposed to do, and you're supposed to say, 'No, I insist.' You think I'm gonna drive around with my wife in the backseat and a nine-year-old in the front? You're a crazy son-of-a-b****."

** In my view, the greatest of ironies – one that has been missed by many observers amid the fun and frivolity about a cantankerously funny old man – is this: It's not about how popular Samuel Halpern has become – it's about how we accept and laugh more readily – at off-color remarks coming from a senior citizen.

** My theory is because we enter and exit this world in diapers - we're reflexively more tolerant of people who are very young or very old - than we are of people who are "in the middle." We know this to be true because if Sam Halpern was a 30-year old man, he wouldn't be as funny. It's not just his words that make us howl – it's the fact that they're coming from a 74-year old man – to whom we've given more latitude to say or do whatever he wants. We give him a pass, a badge of wisdom for seeing it all. Conversely, for a toddler, we impart an aura of innocence and cuteness onto a being who's seen very little. In sum, we tend to let the very young and the very old - get away with things - that we'd never allow from others.

** More pearls of "wisdom" from Justin's dad:

"I don't give a s*** how it happened, the window is broken... Wait, why is there syrup everywhere? Okay, you know what? Now I give a s*** how it happened. Let's hear it."

"So he called you a homo. Big deal. There's nothing wrong with being a homosexual. No, I'm not saying you're a homosexual. J*s*s Chr*st, now I'm starting to see why this kid was giving you s***."

"Why the f*** would I want to live to 100? I'm 73 and sh**'s starting to get boring. By the way, there's no money left when I go, just fyi."

"You need to flush the toilet more than once...No, YOU, YOU specifically need to. You know what, use a different toilet. This is my toilet."

"Sometimes life leaves a hundred-dollar bill on your dresser, and you don't realize until later that it's because it f***** you."

"Can we talk later? The news is on... Well, if you have tuberculosis it's not gonna get any worse in the next 30 minutes, J*s*s."

"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one of them wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you've failed."

** Why are we more forgiving of senior citizens delivering off-color remarks? In fact, there are educated answers that go beyond our own sense of intuition.

** Dr. Michael Mantell, a clinical psychologist, author, television correspondent and columnist for San Diego Magazine - and a former chief psychologist for Children's Hospital and Health Center of San Diego and the San Diego Police Department - believes this phenomenon is partially rooted in "a fundamental respect for elders that many still have in society."

** "Those who don't have it," Dr. Mantell says, "are not tolerant of seniors, and are likely not tolerant of people who are younger as well. We tend to equate seniors with our grandparents. And again, for those (of us) who have positive, living relationships - our sense of respect for them continues."

** Even more gems from Justin's dad:

(On finishing last in the 50-yard dash): "It kinda looked like you were being attacked by a bunch of bees or something. Then when I saw the fat kid with the watch who was timing you start laughing... Well, I'll just say it's never a good sign when a fat kid laughs at you."

"You're like a tornado of bulls*** right now. We'll talk again after your bulls*** dies out over someone else's house."

"I need to change clothes? Wow. That's big talk coming from someone who looks like they robbed a Mervyn's."

"If mom calls, tell her I'm sh*****g. Son, marriage is about not having to lie about taking a s***."

"Happy birthday, I didn't get you a present...Oh, mom got you one? Well, that's from me then too, unless it's sh***y."

"Mom is smarter than you...No? Well, ask yourself this; has mom ever unknowingly had toilet paper hanging out of her a**?...Mom 1. You 0."

"No. Tell 'em we're not doing Christmas dinner at a casino. Don't be an a** about it, but tell them why it's a f****** stupid idea."

** Meanwhile, as you read these words, the latest chapter in the saga of "S___ My Dad Says" has come to an end. Justin Halpern, who co-wrote and co-produced the television sit-com version of his Twitter feed (with William Shatner playing Justin's Dad) - was cancelled last month by CBS. The show just wasn't any good.

** Situation comedies featuring curmudgeonly parents have been a television staple for decades. It was too much to ask the television series to defy the stark reality - that there was only so much "funny" - that could be squeezed out of this formula - and more specifically - from Justin's dad.

** So how much longer will the "Sh** My Dad Says" phenomenon last? With the death of the television show, I can't help thinking this is just a passing fad, a bright star that will quickly fade.

** So I'll stop thinking about it for now. We already know few things last forever. We don't know whether Sam Halpern is a passing fad or a potential institutional fixture on the landscape of American humor. So let's just sit back and enjoy the moment, and see how long we can continue to be lifted by our own gales of laughter.

Original Material © 2010-2011 by David Kusumoto.

** BREAKING / EXCLUSIVE - Pat Brown Promoted to Chief Weather Anchor at KGTV 10 (ABC - San Diego).

2011-04-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

** "How's It Going to End?" has learned that nearly 18 months after her return to San Diego television news - Pat Brown has been promoted to chief weather anchor at KGTV Channel 10 (ABC) in San Diego. Although terms were not disclosed, she has signed a multi-year contract and will assume her new post on Monday, April 25, 2011.

** "I'm just jazzed to be back on the air on a regular basis on one of the top stations in San Diego," she said. "There's no place else I'd rather be."

** According to Jay Maloney, multi-platform marketing director for KGTV, Ms. Brown will return to a weekday schedule, delivering weather reports Monday through Friday during Channel 10's 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. news broadcasts. She replaces Byron Miranda, who had been the station's chief weather anchor since May 28, 2009.

** Jeff Block, KGTV vice president and general manager, expressed enthusiasm about Ms. Brown's promotion.

** "We are excited to have one of the most trusted forecasters joining San Diego’s most experienced news team," said Block. "Pat Brown knows and loves San Diego. She understands what it takes to accurately forecast our weather. San Diego trusts Pat Brown to forecast the weather, but she’s also a great person with incredible warmth and personality."

** The pioneering host of the "P.M. Magazine" show on KFMB (CBS) Channel 8 during the 1980s – Ms. Brown, (like KGTV 10's Hal Clement, who also worked at KFMB) - has been a near continuous presence on the landscape of San Diego television. A former state pageant queen from Sheperdstown, West Virginia – Ms. Brown effortlessly re-invented herself into a news reporter and TV personality – before settling into her present incarnation as a weather anchor armed with a consistently sunny disposition.

** In an ironic twist, the man Ms. Brown replaces – Byron Miranda - will leave KGTV Channel 10 San Diego to join KNBC 4 in Los Angeles. According to a press release issued by Vickie Burns, vice president of news and content for NBC - Mr. Miranda will join KNBC on May 2, 2011, helming that station's weekend weather segments at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. - as well as providing "fill-in" work during the weekdays as necessary.

** The changes come nearly two years (late June 2009) after a controversial decision by NBC brass to replace Pat Brown at KNSD (NBC San Diego, formerly NBC 7/39) - with Fritz Coleman, a meteorologist delivering news about San Diego's weather - from a network studio based in Los Angeles (KNBC Channel 4). The decision was controversial not only because it angered Ms. Brown's fan base, but more significantly, it marked the first time in San Diego television news history that the region's weather forecasts were broadcast to local viewers via satellite from Los Angeles. As one journalist noted to me back in 2009, it was a phenomenon that would never occur between NBC network-owned stations in Philadelphia and New York - two cities comparable in distance from each other as San Diego is to Los Angeles – with distinct cultural and demographic differences that can't be dismissed.

** While it's not yet formally known if Mr. Miranda will now go head-to-head during weekends at KNBC 4 Los Angeles against KGTV 10 in San Diego - it's still widely expected that he'll be delivering San Diego's weather on KNSD NBC San Diego - via satellite from KNBC's studios in Los Angeles (Burbank).

** Mr. Miranda has logged many stops in his career, working at stations in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as appearing on CNN and CNN International. Industry sources requesting anonymity pointedly noted that Mr. Miranda's exit comes just before the two-year anniversary of his contract with KGTV Channel 10 - consistent with a long-term desire to return to Los Angeles - even if it means, as it does here, reappearing in a limited role on KNBC Channel 4 - as a stepping stone to "bigger things," i.e., a larger career in news and/or in entertainment - in the nation's second largest media market.

** With the impending departure of Oprah Winfrey's talk show as a lead-in for San Diego CBS affiliate KFMB Channel 8's 5 p.m. news broadcast - the race to be #1 at 5 p.m. appears to be wide open in 2011-2012. Industry observers and advertisers are eager to see whether KFMB - minus Oprah's lead-in audience - will be able to hang onto its ratings lead during the 5 p.m. news hour.

** Meanwhile, KGTV Channel 10 News Director Joel Davis said Pat Brown's return to the station's weekday broadcasts on April 25 will be seamless.

** "Pat Brown fits right in with Kim (Kimberly Hunt), Steve (Atkinson), Hal (Clement) and the entire 10News team," he said. "Anyone who lives here knows it’s not always 70 degrees and sunny. You want someone who's been here and has the experience to understand San Diego's weather. And that’s Pat Brown."

** Ms. Brown, who has been doing fill-in work for KGTV (ABC) Channel 10 since November 2009, said she is overjoyed to return to a weekday schedule.

** "I'm never planning to leave San Diego and this is a wonderful opportunity for me to do what I love to do," she said. "I want to continue to re-connect with the fans and viewers who have followed me through the years. I've missed them and I hope they've missed me."

** This column's last story about Pat Brown - posted on November 4, 2009 - appears below.

(Original material © 2011 by David Kusumoto.)

* * * * *WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009

** BREAKING / EXCLUSIVE – Pat Brown Returns to San Diego Television News.

** "How's It Going to End?" has learned that four months after leaving KNSD (NBC) Channel 7/39 – long-time San Diego news and weather anchor Pat Brown – has a new weekend gig.

** She will join ABC-affiliate KGTV Channel 10 as a weather anchor beginning this Sunday, November 8, 2009, at 6pm and at 11pm. She will work Saturdays and Sundays through the end of January, 2010.

** Pat Brown declined to comment about her status other than to say she is "happy" to be returning to San Diego television.

** However, Joel Davis, news director for KGTV Channel 10 – confirmed that Ms. Brown will fill in for weathercaster Kerstin Lindquist, who is on maternity leave.

** “We’re thrilled that since KNSD (NBC Channel 7/39) has farmed out their weather duties to Los Angeles, that we have the opportunity to bring someone of Pat’s stature and popularity to the 10 News weather team," Davis said. "It reinforces our commitment to bring San Diegans important local weather information – with the best weathercasters and the most advanced technology.”

** This development means Pat Brown will have worked at all three major network affiliates – KFMB CBS Channel 8, KNSD NBC 7/39 and KGTV ABC Channel 10 – since the late 1980s. Sources say she'll spend her weekdays continuing to serve the community as a tour guide for DayTrippers, a San Diego-based travel firm.

** My original story, posted on July 27, 2009, appears below.

* * * * *MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009
One Month Later -- What does Pat Brown's departure mean for local TV news?

** On Friday, June 26, 2009, Pat Brown gave her last weather report on NBC-owned KNSD 39 (Cable Channel 7) in San Diego.

** The pioneering host of the groundbreaking "P.M. Magazine" show on KFMB Channel 8 during the 1980s – Ms. Brown had a near continuous presence on the San Diego television news landscape. The former state pageant queen from Sheperdstown, West Virginia (1977), moved west – and effortlessly re-invented herself into a beauty-with-brains TV personality and news reporter – before settling into her last incarnation as a weather anchor armed with an effervescently sunny on-air disposition. In an industry never known for stability, Ms. Brown's admirers knew her to be just that – a consistently productive and positive force for San Diego television programming – and for the community she continues to serve.

** The following Monday, Ms. Brown was replaced by Fritz Coleman, a nearly 30-year veteran of the TV wars from KNBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles, one of NBC's flagship-owned stations (alongside WNBC in New York).

** But that wasn't the headline to some of us. The headline was that the award-winning Mr. Coleman, by all accounts a "nice guy" with broad appeal – is now broadcasting his San Diego weather reports from Los Angeles – on a custom-built set back at KNBC.

** Though such "arrangements" aren't new – the move was the first of its kind involving a network-owned news station in San Diego. It illustrates the dire economic health of local television news – with KNSD NBC 39 (in my view) – probably faring the worst, budget wise, among its competitors. Station managers everywhere have been slashing budgets – first dumping behind-the-scenes staff and "superfluous programming" – while saving their biggest (and most visible) cuts for last.

** Pat Brown's departure wasn't your garden variety "revolving door" personnel change. It was emblematic of something worse that has cast a chill in the rooms and halls of KNSD NBC 39 – and beyond. Wishful-thinking station heads might be blocking out the precedent – and scoffing at satirically minded suggestions that any station that "jobs out" any portion of its local identity to a distant area code – is setting itself up to be wiped out entirely - by a thousand paper cuts afflicted over the next several years. Some TV insiders are quietly saying that "it could've been worse." Well, that's true. Maybe they should be thankful. They believe the tempest surrounding Ms. Brown's departure will "blow over." And likely it will. Fritz Coleman has already won over some skeptics – and I give credit to news director Greg Dawson for trying to manage the ill-smelling winds of anger still blowing after this change.

** But the bigger picture that's unique to KNSD NBC Channel 39 – has less to do with Pat Brown – and more to do with the station itself being owned by NBC. Ms. Brown's departure raised eyebrows, for sure. But what was more ideologically significant to journalists – was that her departure and subsequent replacement by talent based in Los Angeles - was the first blatant evidence of what's been going on for a long time at network-owned stations in markets smaller than San Diego, e.g., the creeping decentralization of news and weather information – led by network executives who work in distant offices. Thus we have a classic instance whereby it's not always good to be OWNED by a network – and why it's sometimes better to be a network affiliate operating with greater independence.

** Since about 2002, TV news stations have been trending toward hiring more versatile reporters and anchors. These so-called "video-journalists" carry their own cameras and edit their own news segments – and sometimes get the privilege to present them live on the anchor desks where their higher-paid colleagues sit. Everyone knows that every "hybrid journalist" invited to the anchor desk to present his or her story – is being "screen tested." Such "hybrids" save big-time dollars for station managers – and equally significant, they can serve as "leverage" when the contracts of highly paid news anchors come up for renewal.

** On the surface, it appears to some that Pat Brown's "Achilles heel" was not being "versatile" enough. If so, you can count on other anchors at NBC 7/39 to be reviewed similarly for "fitness and compatibility" with the network's finance department. Hence the oft-heard advice during the last few years remains sound, e.g., "if you're still in TV news – the faster you can jump on the "hybrid train" the better – thus avoiding obsolescence and/or getting dragged or tossed behind.

** Local news anchors draw salaries that are double, triple or even higher than those working behind the scenes. An anchor's "work" is to bring in ratings. So what's that got to do with Pat Brown? Nothing unless you think she was a drag on ratings. I personally don't. It was all about saving money – but in a way more pernicious because the station is owned by a network - that decreed that news about the weather – does NOT require a local person to deliver it, hence can be pared less painfully than other departments.

** Everyone working in television news sees the handwriting on the wall. But in the past, even when times were good - that handwriting was mostly about being dumped in a budget cut and being replaced by someone cheaper, usually someone younger from a smaller market.

** But at a network-OWNED station – you have the additional fear of watching departments consolidated or phased out in stages, replaced by talent or crews located hundreds of miles away at other stations bigger than your own. It's analogous to newspapers shedding staff while publishing articles by news syndicates or wire services that are written in other states.

** What's unfortunate is despite the acknowledged downturn in local TV news nationwide - (because web-based news keeps siphoning viewers away) – the band-aid patches applied by network-owned-and-operated "suits" can't stop the bleeding. And watering down a station's local news product – under the aegis of saving money during a recession – also risks washing away the higher purpose of targeting audiences and advertisers in a region that will drift further away from KNSD NBC Channel 39 – and toward competing stations that remain committed to San Diego.

** It bears repeating that San Diego is the ninth largest city in the U.S. Yet corporate America and NBC keeps treating San Diego as if it's geographically, demographically and politically identical to Los Angeles. I sense that Mr. Dawson knows this to be true, even if he can't say it. Corporate America has always acted as if San Diego is a suburb of Los Angeles – and even believe its WEATHER is the same – despite San Diego's location on a harbor and Los Angeles's location on a smoggy basin.

** NOTE: Philadelphia is about the same distance to New York (and yet so different in character) - as San Diego is to Los Angeles. But NBC knows that replacing Philly-based weather anchors at WCAU NBC Channel 10 - with their counterparts at WNBC 4 in New York - would be greeted with outrage. Yet network executives continue to have a "blind spot" about San Diego - seeing it as being the same as L.A. - despite the polarizing political and cultural differences that are obvious to viewers in both cities.

** Pat Brown will re-invent herself like she always has – and will turn up soon because of her strong ties to the community. But in my view, intra-state or interstate consolidations – involving network-owned news stations like KNSD Channel 39 in San Diego – are incompatible with efforts to maintain revenues from local advertisers. Magnify that when you consider NBC's prime-time lineup is weak on every evening except Thursday – and that its sports product is limited to golf, NFL Sunday Night Football and the Olympics.

** The final irony amid all these words is this. A visit to KNSD NBC 7/39's website on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 9:45 p.m. Pacific Time – yielded the following banner slogan:

* * * * * *

Why will "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" never go out of print?

2010-12-15T20:19:00.000-08:00

** UPDATED DECEMBER 15, 2010 - (Originally posted on November 29, 2009). Editor's note: The controversial best-selling biography, ""Ayn Rand and the World She Made is now out in paperback.

** On October, 27, 2009, publisher Nan A. Talese (an imprint of Random House) released Anne C. Heller's new book, "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" – about the life of Russian-American author Ayn Rand (1905-1982) – whose 1957 classic, "Atlas Shrugged" – seems eerily clairvoyant today.

** "Atlas Shrugged" is a doomsday novel of heroes, villains, love triangles and politics – set against a backdrop of an American economy in collapse, e.g., gifted innovators disappear, industries merge and close, millions of people are thrown out of work – while the federal government tries to help by subsidizing, bailing out and taking over whole industries – issuing "greater good" directives which pushes the United States closer to socialism.

** Sound familiar?

** So who was Ayn Rand and why is she still relevant today?

** You don't have to be an Ayn Rand follower to get into Anne C. Heller's spectacular new book. You can even be a "cafeteria-fan" like I am - picking and choosing parts of her ideas that are compatible with your own – while still getting tremendous enjoyment reading about what made Rand a larger-than-life figure in American philosophy and literature.

** In my view, what's most impressive – and what makes "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" feel like a book that will never go out of print – is author Heller's even-handed (and easy-to-read) summaries of Rand's complex ideologies about American individualism, capitalism and democracy, along with synopses of ALL of Rand's books and lectures – explained in ways that are sometimes more lucid than Rand's original works, making them more accessible to mainstream readers.

** Don't believe what others say. While it's obvious the author is NOT a Ayn Rand disciple - (which she tells readers up-front) – it's ALSO clear that she is NOT a comprehensive hater of Ayn Rand. Anne C. Heller's book reads like a journalistic strike down the middle of the plate, with no political agendas or axes to grind.

** Ayn Rand's published works are brilliantly controversial – but to many readers, they're also riddled with mind-numbingly dense passages that require a level of concentration so intense – that you feel like your head might explode. Heller tackles this problem by simplifying what's impenetrable – while opening a window onto what Rand was like - as a flesh-and-blood person. The author's work has a story-telling momentum that's unusual compared to other biographies – in that her obligatory chapters about Rand's childhood – aren't those that you'll want to "skip over."

** With the help of researchers digging through archives in Russia and throughout the United States, Anne C. Heller brings Ayn Rand's childhood and adult years excitingly to life – making more clear to mainstream readers why Rand's experiences were critically important to understanding how her ideas against socialism and collectivism were formed – and how she refined them over time. The author further illustrates how Rand integrated these ideas into all of her novels, particularly "The Fountainhead" (1943) and "Atlas Shrugged" (1957) – and how she subsequently became world famous – while carrying a torch of stubborn dismissiveness toward her detractors, all the way to her death in 1982.

** "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" reads more credibly than all previous treatments of Rand's life to date – because author Heller approaches Rand as a critical admirer – and not as a blind-faith fan. Her ability to make Rand's ideas come alive demonstrates her admiration and respect of Rand's intellect. This "closed the sale" for me as a reader – and wipes out criticisms written by some of Rand's followers - who are obsessively parsing every word in Heller's book. Even Cliffs Notes versions of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" are somewhat tainted by being written by authors possessing an over-eager zealotry of her ideas. Not once did I feel Heller was presenting Rand - as being anything more than a tremendously intelligent, charismatic and charming figure - who could also be frighteningly eccentric, petty and cruel.

** Most reviews have been favorable. But while reading a few negative reviews, I detected an undercurrent of resistance to Ms. Heller's work from people, 1) who believe themselves to be more intellectually gifted than Heller to discuss Rand's life and work (hence are perhaps too biased), 2) who are horrified that lurid and less-than-flattering material about Rand's life is included (despite being too compelling to be ignored), 3) who are upset that they weren't contacted for inclusion – or if they were included – that their testimonies weren't published in full, 4) who take issue with the lack of cooperation from the Ayn Rand Institute and Leonard Peikoff, Rand's "intellectual heir," or 5) who hate Rand so much that they feel any book about her should be treated with contempt.

** In my view, these complaints are a by-product of Rand's fans or haters who are dissatisfied with the content and approach of Heller's book. Had the author included comprehensive interviews from peripheral supporters and detractors – "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" would have exceeded the page counts of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" combined. (Yet Heller's book is exhaustively researched, with 151-pages of notes and an index.) The author's positive summations of Rand's complex ideas – mixed with true tales which reflect poorly on her behavior and treatment of others – proves that Heller is neither a Rand follower nor a detractor. This obviously irks rabid fans and haters of Ayn Rand alike.

** The most important figures in Rand's inner circle are included in this book, e.g., those closest to Rand from the late 1930s to the late 1960s, arguably the most critical period of Ayn Rand's adult life. Hence as a reader, it's mildly bizarre to see people dismissing this book because it includes "ex-Rand-followers-who-left-the-fold," which infers their testimony carries no weight today. Nearly ALL the individuals interviewed by Heller – still express joy and sadness – while acknowledging their time with Ms. Rand was the most vigorously enriching and rewarding of their lives.

** Ayn Rand's key journal entries and letters have already been published worldwide and reside in several locations outside of the Ayn Rand Institute. Hence I don't believe there's much left waiting to be discovered that will be earth-shattering. Ms. Heller's success is consolidating Rand's ideas into a marvelously coherent single volume - and finding new, previously untapped sources to construct a more fully formed picture of Rand - that goes beyond what we already know.

** Leonard Peikoff's testimony from the Ayn Rand Institute, while useful had he agreed to cooperate - would have added little that's new – because he himself has already published numerous analyses about Rand's work. Peikoff's contributions to Rand's legacy HAVE been noted by Heller. But in fairness, Peikoff's testimony would have been only relevant, in my view, to those mainstream readers who would've wanted him to ADD to what Ms. Heller has already satisfactorily provided - about Ayn Rand's final months AFTER she stopped making public appearances - before eventually succumbing to cancer.

** In sum, this book is NOT aimed at Ayn Rand intellectuals, and this is NOT a criticism. (Though I believe they will still enjoy reading every page.) "Ayn Rand and the World She Made" feels aimed at mainstream readers seeking an unbiased, all-in-one-reference of Rand's ideas. I do NOT know Anne C. Heller personally, but I believe she has painted a superb image on an enormous canvas – of a controversial genius of titanic and electrifying importance – that will still feel relevant many years from now. If you doubt this, then why are people still talking about Ayn Rand today – nearly 30 years after her death – and more than 50 years after "Atlas Shrugged?"

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

UPDATED - Who's Covering What Beats at the San Diego Union-Tribune?

2010-06-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

** What follows is a revised partial list of reporters, editors and photographers still working at the San Diego Union-Tribune. This list is PRELIMINARY and INCOMPLETE. All information is subject to change without notice as things continue to settle in at the main offices of the U-T in Mission Valley.

** Please check my main story about the changes at the Union-Tribune which were announced on June 17, 2010 by clicking here.

** As a public service to journalism and public relations colleagues in the greater San Diego area - this blog post contains a partial list of staffers assigned by Union-Tribune editor-in-chief Jeff Light. Mr. Light's vision for the paper, expected to be completed by the end of this summer, was previously outlined in his Editor's Note to readers.

** If you have information or corrections, please message me by clicking the "Contact" link located in the upper left corner of this blog or you can e-mail me by clicking here. Your identity is CONFIDENTIAL.

** A comprehensive list of ALL staff assignments at the Union-Tribune - including administrative newsroom personnel - will be provided to long-time PR professional and friend Gayle Lynn Falkenthal - whose website can be reached by clicking here. She in turn will post this list on her website for friends and colleagues - including members of the San Diego Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America - and the San Diego Press Club.

** Note that 13 entry-level reporting positions are marked "OPEN" in the list below. The search for less expensive "junior staff writers" and "associate staff writers" coincides with two (2) job ads that were posted online by the San Diego Union Tribune this month.

** The first ad for entry-level "junior staff writers" appeared on June 17, 2010, the same day more than 34 staffers were laid off by the paper. Successful applicants, the first ad reads, "will research and write news and straight-forward short stories with low level of complexity, analysis and narrative, in accordance with identified style and structure." These staffers, the ad continues, will "compile lists, contribute regularly to blogs during the course of the work day; work with reporters as directed to enhance larger trend stories; may 'fill in' in other areas as assigned when reporters are away from their beats." They may also "use social media to enhance readership and find sources, and assist with daily cops calls." This first ad, which closes July 19, 2010, appears here. No annual salary is listed. After the ad expires, a disabled screen-shot is visible by clicking here or the thumbnail image below.

** A second ad, this time for entry-level "associate staff writers" - to join the paper's "watchdog team" of investigative reporters - appeared a short time later. Successful applicants, the second ad reads, "will fill in doing basic beat work throughout the newsroom, to free up reporters to do deeper investigative stories. Subjects will range from the environment to military affairs to San Diego City Hall. Assignments as a beat fill-in could last two days, two months, or longer. Between assignments, there may be opportunities for associate reporters to assist in investigative work." This second ad, which closes July 28, 2010, appears here. The annual salary for these positions is $35,000. After the ad expires, a disabled screen-shot is visible by clicking here or the thumbnail image below.

** All names and assignments of current staff members of the San Diego Union-Tribune listed below were correct as of June 28, 2010 - yet are subject to change without notice:

1. Laura Wingard - Topic Editor -
        Public Safety Group Manager
2. Dana Littlefield - Courts
3. Greg Moran - Courts
4. Debbi Baker - Police/fire
5. Kristina Davis - Police/fire
6. Susan Shroder - Police/fire.
7. OPEN (Filled) - Pauline Repard -
        "Associate Staff Writer" - Police/fire.
----
8. Adrian Vore - Topic Editor - North Zone Group Manager
9. Michelle Breier - Associate Staff Writer
10. Logan Jenkins - Columnist
11. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - North Zone
12. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - North Zone
13. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - North Zone
14. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - North Zone
15. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - North Zone
----
16. David Ogul - Topic Editor - San Diego,
        South and East Zones Group Manager
17. Karen Pearlman - Associate Staff Writer - Zone(s)
18. Lisa Deaderick - Associate Staff Writer - Zone(s)
19. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - Zone(s)
20. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - Zone(s)
21. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - Zone(s)
22. OPEN - "Associate Staff Writer" - Zone(s)
----
23. Hieu Tran Phan - Topic Editor - Uniquely San Diego
        Group Manager and Sunday Editor
24. Sandra Dibble - Border
25. Michael Stetz - Downtown & Attractions
26. Steve Schmidt - East County
27. OPEN (Filled) - Sr. Staff Writer - Morgan Lee -
        Immigration & demographics
28. J. Harry Jones - North County
29. Matthew Hall - San Diego
30. Janine Zuniga - South County
31. OPEN - Sr. Staff Writer - North County
----
32. Ricky Young - Topic Editor -
        Investigations & Local Group Manager
33. Jeff McDonald - Investigations
34. Tanya Sierra - Investigations
35. Danielle Cervantes - Investigations
36. Tom Blair - Columnist
36. OPEN - "Junior Staff Writer" - Investigations
37. OPEN - "Junior Staff Writer" - Investigations
38. OPEN - "Junior Staff Writer" - Investigations
----
39. Diana McCabe - Topic Editor - Money Group Manager
40. Dean Calbreath - Economy
41. Roger Showley (interim fill-in) - Real Estate
42. Michael Freeman - Technology
43. Tanya Mannes - Small Business
44. Roger Showley - Growth & Development
45. Onell Soto - Energy & Green Business
46. Lori Weisberg - Tourism & Restaurants
----
47. Michele Parente - Topic Editor - Life & Entertainment -
         Local Group Manager
48. Caroline Dipping - Obituaries & Milestone
49. Blanca Gonzalez - Obituaries & Milestone
50. R. J. Ignelzi - Shopping & Deals
51. Karla Peterson - Everyday Critic
52. Peter Rowe - Sunday/Profiles
53. John Wilkens - Sunday/Profiles
54. Diane Bell - Columnist
----
55. Jennifer Crowshaw - Topic Leader -
        Entertainment Group Manager
56. James Chute - Critic - Classical Music & Arts
57. Keli Dailey - Eating Out & Drinking
58. Nina Garin - Things to Do
59. James Hebert - Critic - Theater
60. George Varga - Critic - Music
61. Cynthia Zanone - Life & Entertainment
----
62. Michael Smolens - Topic Editor -
        Government Group
63. Craig Gustafson - City Hall
64. Michele Clock - County / Politics
65. Patrick Flynn - Higher Education
66. Maureen Magee - Schools
67. Robert J. Hawkins - Transportation
68. Michael Gardner - State Government
----
69. William Osborne - Editorial Editor
70. Stephen Breen - Editorial Cartoonist
71. Christopher Reed - Editorial Writer
72. Don Sevrens - Editorial Writer
73. Joseph Taylor - Letters Editor
----
74. Jim Watters - Topic Editor - Defense & Discovery Group
75. Keith Darcé - Biotech
76. Gretel C. Kovach - Military
77. Jeanette Steele - Military
78. Janet Lavelle - Health Care
79. Mike Lee - Environment
80. Gary Robbins - Science
----
81. Jay Posner - Topic Leader - Sports Group
82. Jess Kearney - Deputy Sports Editor
83. Kevin Acee - Chargers
84. Ed Brown - Sports Group
85. Nick Canepa - Columnist
86. Bill Center - Padres
87. P. K. Daniel - Prep Sports
88. Kevin Gemmell - Sports Group
89. Ralph Honda - Sports Group
90. John Jenkins - Chargers
91. Tod Leonard - Golf
92. Don Norcross - College Sports
93. Brent Schrotenboer - Sports Group
94. Tim Sullivan - Columnist - Sports Group
95. Mark Zeigler - College Sports
96. Ed Zieralski - Outdoors / Horse Racing
----
97. Kristine Viesselman - Managing Editor &
        Creative Director
98. Larry Nista - Page One - Section A Editor
99. Catherine Snapp - Business Section Leader
100. Karen Kucher - In-Depth Reporter - Section A
101. Matthew Tiffany - Sports Section Editor / Leader
102. Lora Cicalo - Quality Editor Leader
103. David Clary - Quality Editor - Section A
104. Andrew Castagnola - Section Leader - Our Region
105. Lisa Sullivan - Section Leader -
          Night & Day / Weekend / Arts
106. John Cannon - Section Leader - Quest / Health / Travel
107. Christine Ross - Section Leader - Smart Living /
          Passages / Food
108. Tom Mallory - Day Homepage Editor -
          Web Desk Digital Group
109. Juliet Hendrix - Night Homepage Editor -
          Web Desk Digital Group
110. Andrew Kleske - Digital Quality Editor -
          Web Desk Digital Group
111. Michael Price - News Design Director &
          Entertainment Designer
112. Peter Nguyen - Features Design &
          Entertainment Designer
113. Anita Arambula - Graphics & Design
114. Christopher Barber - Graphics & Design
115. Cristina Byvik - Graphics & Design
116. Michelle Gilchrist - Graphics & Design
117. Hines Grubb - Graphics & Design
118. Leslie Hackett - Graphics & Design
119. Robert Muldowney - Graphics & Design
120. Gordon Murray - Graphics & Design
121. Gloria Orbegozo - Graphics & Design
122. Matthew Perry - Graphics & Design
123. Michael Rocha - Graphics & Design
124. Kathy Rodondi - Graphics & Design
125. Gregory Schmidt - Graphics & Design
126. Aaron Steckelberg - Graphics & Design
127. Tara Stone - Graphics & Design
128. Anthony Tarantino - Graphics & Design
129. OPEN - Graphics & Design
130. OPEN - Graphics & Design
----
131. Nirmala Bhat - Quality Editor Group
132. Travis Conrads - Quality Editor Group
133. Mark Dodge-Medlin - Quality Editor Group
134. Steven Droessler - Quality Editor Group
135. Ed Ibardolasa - Quality Editor Group
136. John Keller - Quality Editor Group
137. John Kowalczyk - Quality Editor Group
138. Robert Krier - Quality Editor Group
139. Kelly Murphy - Quality Editor Group
140. Kate Nelson - Quality Editor Group
141. Richard Scannell - Quality Editor Group
142. Mitch Weinstock - Quality Editor Group
----
143. Robert York - Director of Photography /
          Executive Sports Editor
144. K. C. Alfred - Photographer
145. Nelvin C. Cepeda - Photographer
146. Alma Cesena - Photographer
147. Eduardo Contreras - Photographer
148. John Gastaldo - Photographer
149. John Gibbins - Photographer
150. Earnie Grafton - Photographer
151. Sean M. Haffey - Photographer
152. Howard Lipin - Photographer
153. Gerald McClard - Photographer
154. John R. McCutchen - Photographer
155. Charlie Neuman - Photographer
156. Peggy Peattie - Photographer
157. James R. Skovmand - Photo Editor
158. David J. Brooks - Videographer
159. OPEN - Videographer
160. OPEN - Videographer
161. OPEN - Videographer

Original Material © 2010 by David Kusumoto.

Tom Blair's Return Overshadowed by More Layoffs at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

2010-06-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

** A constellation of changes impacting the staff of the San Diego Union-Tribune were announced Thursday, June 17, 2010.

** As first speculated on this blog on Monday, June 14, Tom Blair (above), a near-beloved institution on the landscape of San Diego journalism, was among the changes, returning to the venue that first made him famous. Mr. Blair will return to the Union-Tribune as a columnist, with his first write-up expected to be published Sunday, June 27, 2010. His additional responsibilities will include being a multi-media personality and commentator via the web and radio pod-casts - as well as making appearances with the U-T's broadcast news partner - ABC-affiliate KGTV Channel 10 in San Diego.

** At the time of this final update (Friday, June 25, 2010), the jubilant news of Mr. Blair's return was overshadowed by more than 30 layoffs impacting the editorial and support staff of the Union-Tribune. A partial list of confirmed names follows. If there are names of people looking for work who are missing from this list, please e-mail me here. All sources are confidential:

1. Steve Adamek (copy editor)
2. Marc Balanky (multi-media editor)
3. Leslie Berestein (reporter)
4. Michael Burge (reporter)
5. Derrik Chinn (reporter)
6. Leana Dekock (sports desk)
7. Jeff Dillon (web content)
8. Alan Drooz (web content)
9. George Hutti (copy editor)
10. Jose Luis Jiménez (reporter)
11. Anne Krueger (reporter)
12. Tovin Lapan (reporter)
13. Angela Lau (reporter)
14. James Laurin (copy editor)
15. Bruce Lieberman (reporter)
16. Anne Magill (reporter)
17. Marcia Manna (reporter)
18. John Marelius (reporter)
19. Rachel Moore (copy editor)
20. Ruben Navarrette (columnist)
21. Robert Pincus (reporter)
22. Jeff Ristine (reporter)
23. Ozzie Roberts (reporter)
24. Leonel Sanchez (reporter)
25. Basim Shamiyeh (systems editor)
26. Fred Sidhu (reporter)
27. David Gaddis Smith (foreign editor)
28. Ken Stone (web content)
29. Heather Urquhart (copy editor)
30. Nicole Vargas (reporter)
31. Hank Wesch (reporter)
32. Doug Williams (sports editor)
33. Bill Zavestoski (web content producer)
34. Martin Zimmerman (copy editor)

** According to long-time San Diego-based public relations guru Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, prior to last Thursday's layoffs, the management of the San Diego Union-Tribune had composed a list of 34 names to be slashed, 12 of which were to be offered the opportunity to re-join the staff as entry-level reporters. (Another report pegged the expected number of lower-level staff writers at 13, plus 3 new videographers and 2 new graphics reporters/designers.)

** One long-time U-T writer who was laid off posted an update on Facebook about being offered just such an opportunity with a substantial pay cut - OR - to take six-months severance after nearly 30 years of service. At the time of this post, a small number of laid-off reporters are still trying to decide whether to take the demotions to buy themselves more time during the current recession.

** Nevertheless, it is clear the management of the San Diego Union-Tribune had prepared for every possible contingency before executing last week's layoffs. They included composing and posting an online want-ad to recruit entry-level writers -- to replace higher-salaried reporters laid off -- who may choose to reject the paper's offer to be re-hired as lower-paid reporters. (These previously senior-level reporters who decide to stay on will be called "associate staff writers." New hires joining the U-T will be called "junior staff writers.")

** As expected, newsroom executives at the Union Tribune reasserted its mantra to "do more with less," desiring to stay lean and nimble with fewer staff members, while still competing aggressively in the digital age to "be first" with stories breaking in the greater San Diego region. (At the time of this post, a flurry of changes continues, including finalizing a preliminary list of new beat assignments.)

** Jeff Light, the recently appointed editor-in-chief of the San Diego Union-Tribune, outlined his vision for the paper in an "Editor's Note" published last Thursday on the Union-Tribune's website. He declined comment Tuesday, June 15 about the then impending layoffs, citing confidentiality of personnel matters. (Mr. Light formerly helmed The Orange County Register.)

** For nearly 10 years, the San Diego Union-Tribune has been hard hit by job losses impacting every department at its main operations center in Mission Valley and at its bureau offices throughout the San Diego county. However, unlike other papers that have folded without a buyer, e.g., the now defunct Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer - the San Diego Union-Tribune found a buyer in Platinum Equity of Beverly Hills - in March 2009.

** Despite the tremendously somber nature of the layoffs, they underscore renewed confidence by Mr. Light and his bosses about the long-range future of the print edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune, albeit in a continued scaled-back form with its online and broadcast television partners, Sign On San Diego.com and KGTV (ABC) Channel 10.

** KGTV Channel 10 News Director Joel Davis issued the following statement to this blog site about its partnership with the Union-Tribune and its impending relationship with Tom Blair:

** "Our alliance with the Union-Tribune has allowed us to strengthen our brand of major news coverage," Mr. Davis wrote. "If you want to know the major news in San Diego, between 10News and the U-T, viewers can be assured we have it covered. The partnership also allows us to have more fresh content – which means more interesting news stories and less repetition. We’re excited to hear about Tom Blair, too. He has been an institution in San Diego journalism, and his addition strengthens the ability of our partnership to bring viewers and readers the best coverage of major news in San Diego."

** Meanwhile, the return of Mr. Blair (see photo above) to the Union-Tribune, means the 60-year-old San Diego journalism icon will come full circle, returning to the publication where his career started more than 40 years ago at the San Diego Evening-Tribune, which merged with the San Diego Union in 1992. (The San Diego Union was founded in 1868, and remains, in its incarnation as the San Diego Union-Tribune, one of the oldest still-standing daily publications in Southern California.)

** Mr. Blair, who joined San Diego Magazine in 1995, left the monthly publication in April while its owners, CurtCo Media Labs, sought to find a buyer. (The magazine has since been sold to a trio of investors, which includes former owner Jim Fitzpatrick, 64 - who first bought the monthly in 1994 - before selling it to CurtCo in 2005.)

** Mr. Blair's career reads like a page out of an Horatio Alger short story. His career began in 1968 as a resident "gopher" - an unpaid intern - in the newsroom of the San Diego Evening-Tribune - which, like its rival, the morning San Diego Union, was then located in the same office building in downtown San Diego. After graduating from San Diego State University, Blair then became a paid "trainee" - a participant in the paper's editorial training program - and was among those selected to formally join the newsroom staff of the Evening-Tribune during the early 1970s.

** He steadily climbed the newsroom ladder as a reporter, later becoming a ghost writer for columnist Neil Morgan at the Evening-Tribune. He then, in 1982, in good-natured journalistic parlance, "turned traitor" - moving to the rival San Diego Union - and continued writing his stand-alone column after the two papers consolidated their operations in 1992. Three years later, he left to become editor of San Diego Magazine - a monthly lifestyle publication aimed at affluent readers - that has remained in continuous publication since 1948.

** According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, for the six months ending March 31, 2010, the San Diego Union-Tribune is the 23rd most-read daily newspaper in the United States, with a circulation of 249,630, ahead of the San Francisco Chronicle and the Newark Star-Ledger. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, with a circulation of 2.1 million, remains the highest-circulation daily in the United States, and the only newspaper among the top 25 that continues to post gains in the face of an industry-wide downturn in print-based advertising revenue and readership.

Original Material © 2010 by David Kusumoto.

Mind-Blowing Facts About What You're Doing Now - Who Else is Doing It - And Why It's Important.

2010-05-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

(Revised and updated, May 17, 2010.)
** Not a month goes by when I'm asked, "Don't you think Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and blogging will fizzle out?" – or – "How can these sites really grow my business or help me find a job?"

** Let me direct your attention to a spectacularly updated (May 2010) video. While it's impossible to apply a "one-size-fits-all" marketing and PR solution for every person and business on the planet - the short video on this page will hammer away to latecomers - and believe me, there are still many - why their social media train has left the station. (Meanwhile, if you're looking to advance your career - new data shows that 95% of companies now use Linked In to find the best job seekers in America.)

** More than 50% of the world's population is under 30. The all-important 18-34 demographic that's so attractive to advertisers – has blown past the number of Baby Boomers born from 1945-1964. Some of these "Generation Y and Z New Millennials" – (roughly born from 1979 to 1992) – are already in their early 30s with money stuffed in their pockets, ready to buy homes, cars and new gadgets. These people have long abandoned "e-mail" (they prefer texting) -- because e-mail is "so yesterday." Click below.

** Pretty strong stuff. This video was produced by XPLANE, a Portland-, St. Louis- and Madrid-based firm that bills itself as "The Visual Thinking Company" – in conjunction with the release of a new book called "Socialnomics." I've seen some of XPLANE's work and its ability to create films which display facts and figures in a dynamic way - makes Powerpoint animations look positively Jurassic. Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod of XPLANE created this video, using theme music by Fatboy Slim ("Right Here Right Now," 1999).

** Being from the "old school" of news, marketing and public relations – I must confess that for the longest time, I DID think social media was a fad. I thought my methods to advance my career - or to market and publicize my clients - were sufficient. I'm good at it and I've been in news and public relations for more than just a coffee break.

** But since 2007, I've done a complete "180" on social media. It DOES matter, BIG TIME. Individual job seekers and businesses, large and small - that have the best chance of survival - will be those that have figured out how to tame social media, customizing and integrating a sophisticated mix of mainstream and guerrilla marketing and PR techniques - to promote their products, services and skills.

** During the past several months, viral social media campaigns have been at the center of controversies, e.g., BP or British Petroleum's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and Proctor & Gamble's defense of its new disposable diaper - as well as being responsible for happy stories that would've been unthinkable five years ago, e.g., actress Betty White's recent appearance as guest host of "Saturday Night Live" and Justin Halpern's new book about his 74-year-old San Diego dad in "S*** My Dad Says."

** Simply put, traditional media marketing may still matter, but far less so than at any other time during the past 100 years. As noted in the video – and in one of my earlier posts – of the 25 largest newspapers in the U.S. - all but one have dropped circulation. (The exception being the Wall Street Journal.) Does anyone still believe these 24 free-falling papers have a chance to regain subscribers and advertisers – in what still looks like a mostly "jobless recovery?"

** When I first wrote this post last summer, one of Southern California's largest papers, The Orange County Register, declared bankruptcy. Since then, the San Diego Union-Tribune has been sold, the Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post-Intelligencer have folded, Business Week has become Bloomberg Business Week and Newsweek Magazine is up for sale.

** The death spiral of newspapers, magazines, telephone books and the Yellow Pages continues. It began when Amazon, eBay and Craigslist pounded a stake into the hearts of printed classified advertising, creating a domino effect against all traditional forms of advertising - as consumers fled to the Web for rich and "real-time" content. The Web is now the first place people go to research what to buy and to learn what people are saying about any job-seeker, product or service -- because we trust word-of-mouth recommendations WAY more than paid advertising.

** Merchants are spending their ad dollars elsewhere. Movie showtimes - an advertising staple for newspapers - began disappearing in 2009. Regal Entertainment and AMC, the largest movie exhibitors in the U.S., have pulled their ads from selected dailies. As newspaper circulations fall through the floor, patrons are still showing up because they're getting their movie showtimes from the web.

** While I believe customers will continue to make their biggest purchases or hiring decisions in person, most will "kick your tires" online first. Thus if you DON'T have a branding or personal Linked In presence online – and incredibly, many companies and job seekers still DON'T - who's going to take you seriously? More than ever, you risk losing your name and personal brand to competitors who've had an online presence for years.

** Among the leaders in the social media revolution is the guy behind "Socialnomics," a book released recently that was written by Erik Qualman, a 38-year-old Detroit-native who spent most of this decade working for AT&T, Yahoo, Earthlink and Travelzoo – before turning himself into a columnist and author. Qualman's talks and interviews from coast-to-coast - combined with his popular blog - have firmly established his name as one of the top doyens of social media marketing in America.

** Mr. Qualman, and people like him – believe many of the conventional marketing and branding ideologies – pioneered by legendary advertising executive David Ogilvy – are now outdated. Qualman targets his messages about social media at professionals who are still having a tough time getting their arms around it. ("Listen first, then sell," he says -- and not the other way around.) In the process, he's helping individuals and businesses learn the rules of engagement for marketing and PR in the 21st century.

** In the end, traditional advertising in newspapers, magazines, brochures and direct mail – won't be COMPLETELY replaced. But you must remember that a whopping 78 percent of consumers surveyed - still trust word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals about products, services and your own personal marketability - over traditional ads and resumes. (According to Socialnomics, only 14 percent trust traditional ads.) Job seekers and business leaders still operating under old paradigms, failing to grasp the importance of NEW data about NEW media – are taking unnecessary risks. If this updated video doesn't sway the last stalwarts to get off the fence about social media - with greater urgency and conviction – then nothing will.

** Consider this. Don't have website or blog? Strike one. Don't have a social media presence? Strike two. Don't have an online presence at all? Strike three.

(Original material © 2009, 2010 by David Kusumoto.)

Nearly 10 Million Views of a Video WITHOUT Shock Tactics.

2010-04-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

** Leave it to the Brits to once again spawn a video about safety -- that has spread virally around the world -- which in large part continues to go unrecognized by traditional sources of news in the United States.

** Last August, the very blog you are reading -- played in integral part in helping virally spread a video made in the township of Gwent (Wales) in the United Kingdom -- that explicitly dramatized the consequences of texting-while-driving. That source video eventually racked up more than three million hits. After exchanging permissions from its makers, e.g., this blog wrote the news summary exploring how it was made at You Tube for its makers, who in turn authorized its separate availability to readers of this blog -- the texting-while-driving video racked up an additional 700,000 views on this site, mostly from readers in the United States.

** Today's entry is about an 88-second video that has quietly logged nearly 10 million hits -- which, while eschewing the shock tactics of last year's texting-while-driving video -- effectively sells its safety message in a way that many people believe has resulted in one of the most poignant and elegant public service spots ever made. (Click below.)

** The spot was made for Sussex County in southeast England and is part of an "Embrace Life" campaign by The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership -- to remind people to wear their seat belts.

** At the video's website, writer-director Daniel Cox says, "The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership was already looking to create a road safety campaign with a more positive message -- and so when I approached Communications Manager Neil Hopkins and his team with ideas for a fresh take on road safety filming, it was evident we were all on the same page in our quest to deliver a powerful message, but in a new way.

** "(What was) key to the film's creation -- was to focus on a message that didn't take a conventional route to shock and scare the audience; rather it was my intention to bring the audience in on the conversation of road safety, specifically seat belts, and the best way to do this was to make a film that could engage the viewer purely visually -- (which) could be seen and understood by all, (regardless of who) they are and wherever they live."

** Working with what its makers say was an undisclosed "small budget," commercial film producer Sarah Alexander said the challenges were huge in that "we needed state of the art camera technology, more lighting than they use on a Hollywood feature film and a team of very experienced people that knew what they were doing and could rig and shoot within the tightest of schedules." High speed cameras were used to capture the film's power in slow motion.

** "I wanted to create a visual metaphor addressing how a single decision in a person's day can greatly influence both their own and their loved ones' lives," director Cox continues on the production video's website. "Choosing to film the story inside the family living room represents the feelings many people equate with their own car, in that it represents a level of safety and protection from the 'outer' world.

** "So to create the emotion of this dramatic moment, I wanted to tell the story using slow motion to allow the audience the time to be drawn into the film's world -- and to let them connect with and project their own feelings onto the scenario playing out before them. I wanted to give the audience the time to breathe, to absorb our message -- and using slow motion was the right technique to allow this to happen." (The video was shot in just two days.)

** But according to producer Sarah Alexander, what was scarier was anticipating how audiences would respond. "Touching people’s emotions is not a science at all," Alexander said. "It is an incredibly difficult thing to do and even after working on it for months you are still not sure how people will react. We always aimed to make something of TV / cinema quality so that is where we launched it. The first time I saw it on a cinema screen in front of an audience of hardened police officers and realized they were touched, I was sure we had succeeded."

** Although the video is primarily an "Internet-only" sensation, plans are in the works to have it screened in cinemas throughout the Sussex area and beyond. The video was originally posted on January 29, 2010 and is being licensed for broadcast around the world. For licensing information visit: Alexander Commercials in the United Kingdom by clicking here. Video © 2010 Sarah Alexander/Daniel Cox/Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.

Original material © 2010 by David Kusumoto.

One Week Later -- Southern California's Great Easter Earthquake.

2010-04-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

** By now, everyone has their own stories about where they were and what they were doing -- during last week's "monster" 7.2 earthquake that began in northeastern Baja California, Mexico -- and rumbled through southern California and Arizona -- shaking hearts and unsecured objects as far north as Santa Barbara. (I'll explain why I put the word, "monster" in quotes in a moment.)

** Other than my irritation with television stations refusing to "cut-away" from their infomercials -- AND with national news outlets initially focusing on the quake's impact in Los Angeles, as if San Diego is still a surburban "afterthought" (which by the way, New York editors wouldn't dare to attempt if the quake was situated in Philadelphia, roughly the same distance as L.A. is to San Diego) -- I heard very few people expressing thanks about stringent building codes in the United States, which played a big part in minimizing casualties and damage.

** While heavy damage was reported in El Centro, Calexico, Mexicali -- and throughout the rest of the Imperial Valley located roughly 100 miles east of San Diego -- the loss of life within the region's municipalities was greater than 1 and less than 10, according to conflicting news reports. Quakes of such magnitude and their subsequent tsunamis have killed thousands of people in other regions of the world, even when their epicenters are 150 to 300 miles away.

** But not here in the U.S. I'm not saying this would hold if last Sunday's quake involved the legendary San Andreas Fault. But a "7.2" is still a "7.2," especially if you're located a mere 100 miles from its epicenter. The post-quake result was a "monster" shaker by every standard measure -- but it turned out to be "merely" one of the "scariest but safest roller coaster rides" in county history. We heard a lot of talk about broken dishes and plate glass windows -- but nothing as traumatic as the evacuations of 500,000 people during the enormous brush fires that hit San Diego county in October 2007.

** Today's blurb collects two of the scores of videos I inspected about the quake that have been posted throughout the Internet. The first is from Sharon Weaver-Anderholt -- whose home is in Brawley, California, located about 130 miles east of San Diego and 20 miles north of El Centro. Mrs. Anderholt, a retired school administrator in the Imperial Valley, consented to my posting her 59-second video on You Tube, which has thus far has recorded more than 100,000 hits. Click below.

** According to Mrs. Anderholt, "We lost 6-7 inches of water out of our pool. We were really rocking and rolling, slow and easy. It was splashing much higher prior to me filming."

** The second video was posted yesterday by Arturo Marin and Adam Lazarin. They were filming an Easter party in progress in Calexico, California -- when the shaker hit. This 108-second video is more frightening because the people in it are clearly panicking. Click below.

** We'd all like to think that we'd be cool and calm under pressure. But the video above, which was closer to the quake's epicenter, shows otherwise. Equally frightening is how long it took for people to just fall to the ground and stay out of harm's way. Despite all the lessons we've been taught about what to do when the "big one" hits, I've heard from many people who confess that they did all the wrong things. They just "rode things out" -- or stayed in dangerous areas of their homes -- not even getting close to their doorways.

** What's unsettling is geologists continue to predict that we're still due for "a big one." Having gone through a shared communal experience, how long will it take before the lessons of the Easter quake of 2010 -- dissipate -- leaving us equally unprepared when the "big one" does hit?

** I know one writer from the San Diego Union-Tribune who said he felt nothing during the quake. He said he was pulling weeds in his backyard when it happened. Why do I feel sorry for him? I'm not sure, but I think it's because he missed experiencing something great, that is, the full power of something that's beyond man's control.

Original material © 2010 by David Kusumoto.

Mighty Mouse 1, Mouse Trap 0 -- When Does Guerrilla Marketing Go "Over the Line?"

2010-04-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

"I thought your mouse commercial was horrifying. I know it went 'viral' and you certainly got your 15 minutes of fame. Shame on you. I actually gasped. It made me sick." - An indignant "Linda," reacting to a guerrilla marketing video that's racked up more than one million views on the Internet.

** When I'm asked, "What's Guerrilla Marketing and PR?," I give myriad answers. It can be considered "outrageous" by one company that has been very conservative with its marketing outreach efforts -- or considered "tame and tepid" by another company already comfortable enough to go beyond the stock tools of the trade, using unconventional methods to stir up the pot or to court controversy with maniacal zeal.

** But the definition of guerrilla marketing is poorly understood. It's a moving target that's evanescent, wispy and subject to constant change. It doesn't take long for something fresh and clever -- to suddenly become "so yesterday" absent the right touch. What's cute and funny the first few times can become tiresome and annoying after repeated viewings.

** Guerrilla marketing is marketing that doesn't follow traditional rules or platforms to get attention, sometimes bypassing research and other tools -- explicitly going after the jugular. It can be something as simple as changing the spin on an event so that it feels like "real news" -- to employing stunt-based methods fraught with great risk.

** The irony is that in most cases, what's being pitched in an offbeat way -- is already part of the mainstream, e.g., beer, fast food, cars, financial services, new homes, etc. Almost everything sold on the market today, regardless of how it's marketed, is mundane. Everything is nauseatingly "revolutionary," "state-of-the-art," "cutting-edge" or "ground-breaking" -- when in fact -- very few things meet such lofty criteria. When I hear such buzz words, I groan and think to myself, "Another opportunity down the drain, buried by string of tired clichés."

** Guerrilla marketing acknowledges what you already know -- that your friends and neighbors -- are already being hammered with too much information. It's like those amusing commercials for Bing, Microsoft's search engine. Standing head and shoulders above an ocean of information competing for your attention sometimes requires drastic action. You must choose which platforms will best suit your products or services -- beyond traditional print and broadcast media. And your choices have become more difficult -- in light of recent studies which show that more than 40 percent of people under 50 -- are now getting their daily content from wireless devices.

** It gets worse. Let's suppose your "iconoclastic" marketing or PR campaign DOES get off the ground and even better, it DOES gets noticed. How will it compel people to reach deep into their pockets to buy your product or services? Nobody, even the so-called "experts" -- can give you much more than an "educated guess" -- because the rules of guerrilla marketing keep changing. What's also worrisome is another study which suggests that even if you're already hip with social media -- and have a dominant presence on Twitter or Facebook -- this doesn't mean your fans are more significantly inclined to buy from you.

** With the stakes so high -- guerrilla marketing and PR have increasingly crept into the minds of marketing chiefs who as recently as five years ago -- swore they'd NEVER let anything in the door that diverts from "tried and true" methods that have worked for years. I'm running into fewer marketing chiefs resistant to guerrilla marketing and PR -- even while they themselves continue to have trouble convincing their OWN bosses of its merits.

** Even before You Tube or Facebook or Twitter, I've used a number of guerrilla PR tactics during the past 10 years on behalf of willing clients, such as purposely putting a negative spin on something that will still generate positive coverage. But my methods still pale in comparison to some of the more outrageous stunts that have back-fired on others. If it works, you're a hero. If it doesn't, you're in the unemployment line.

** So what type of guerrilla marketing is considered "over the line?"

** Well, you're NOT "over the line" if your product or service is truly great enough for you to stand confidently behind it -- and your target audience thinks your campaign is clever. If scores of young customers are buying your stuff as a result of your tactics -- whether it's Axe deodorant, Bud Light, Carl's Jr. hamburgers or new video games -- it doesn't matter if others are on the sidelines wringing their hands about it.

** For example, I've never liked the "against-the-grain," snarky, sexist and messy looking ads put out by Carl's Jr. But I went into a Carl's Jr. for the first time late last year and tried its "Six-Dollar Burger" -- after catching a spot promoting it for four dollars. And guess what? It tasted like a million dollars. Its irritating commercials suddenly became a "best kept secret" for baby boomers born before 1964. Carl's Jr. ads are NOT targeting ME. They are NOT targeting Generation X'ers born from 1964 to 1979 either. No, they're targeting Generations Y and Z, the so-called "New Millennials" born from 1979 to 1992, hip young adults who are in their late teens to early 30s. Until that "Six-Dollars-for-Four" promo, I reflexively switched away from Carl's Jr. commercials. Now I don't. I'm not looking for hip. I'm looking for a good buy and now I know their products are good.

** But that was an unusual case whereby Carl's Jr. got away with guerrilla marketing its burgers in a juvenile way. Its marketing is definitely NOT the same as McDonald's or Wendy's. Carl's Jr. ads are "in-your-face," but they're not grossly offensive. In sum, and this will sound silly to the "suits upstairs," but Guerrilla Marketing Rule #1 is you can get away with being juvenile -- but you CANNOT be offensive.

** A recent example of a "do-it-yourself-guerrilla-marketing-campaign-that-blew-up" -- occurred last October involving the father of a six-year-old Colorado boy who was allegedly "trapped in a runaway balloon." Today we know it was a poorly-thought-out stunt. For all of his efforts, instead of landing a TV reality contract, the boy's father was arrested, earning the scorn of millions. His stunt, which held a nation spellbound for hours, emerged as a cruel and offensive hoax.

** And yet -- during the same four-month window as the runaway balloon hoax -- "quasi-guerrilla-marketing efforts" by -- Michaele Salahi, the glamorous wife who crashed a White House dinner with her husband...

...landed her a reality TV show gig on Bravo ...while 29-year-old Justin Halpern of San Diego, who posted R-rated comments on Twitter uttered by his hilarious 74-year old dad...landed him a book deal with It Books (an imprint of Harper-Collins) and a TV show from CBS...(click on the image below)...

** I describe the two examples above as successful "quasi-guerrilla marketing" efforts because their creators were never assured of positive outcomes -- and their offbeat efforts did not "appear" to be premeditated to garner anything beyond amusing notoriety for themselves and their friends. What they got instead was a bonus -- and that's word-of-mouth buzz that spread virally and explosively on the Internet.

** Thus Guerrilla Marketing Rule #2 is you must strive to create an illusion of against-the-grain attitudinal thinking -- combined with an equally illusory feeling of spontaneity and surprise. In my business, we call this creating a message or a series of events -- that the ultra-competitive media finds too compelling to ignore. The media KNOWS what you're doing and might even hate it. But some producers can't afford to ignore you -- lest their competitors leave them behind in a cloud of dust.

** Case in point is the controversial guerrilla marketing video below featuring our hero, a clever mouse. It mixes pop culture tunes from the Carpenters ("Top of the World"), the Doors ("The End") and Survivor ("Eye of the Tiger") -- with morbid imagery designed to catch viewers in a "joke" that isn't as ghastly as it seems. But what's it trying to sell?

** Since last fall, the video has gone viral, mostly in the United Kingdom where it was created. It has become such a sensation -- that it's been written up in stories "across the pond" -- in the U.K. version of Esquire, the London Daily Star and Tweakerzine. But you have to watch all 88 seconds of the video to get "the joke." Some viewers don't even get there. They are so turned off by what they see, they indeed "tune out" before it ends.

** But viewers who DO react with revulsion -- don't matter to the video's creator. Such viewers are not his "customers." Click below.

** Does the guerrilla marketing video above -- "go over the line?" Only to audiences who don't matter to its creator. People who think of mice as disgusting, disease-carrying creatures -- suddenly recoil in horror at the "thought" of anything bad happening to just ONE of them. He's the video's "hero," we think, this is how he's presented. We ROOT for him. And indeed, at the end, the mouse DOES prevail. You discover you've been punk'd, that this is a "commercial" for a luxury brand of strong cheddar cheese.

** But no, you would be wrong. There is no such thing as Nolan's Cheddar Cheese," which is tagged as being "Seriously Strong" (which itself is the name of a real-life brand made in Scotland). But "Nolan's Cheddar" doesn't exist. The video is a hoax. A little research and you discover it's a faux commercial designed to generate curiosity and traffic for its creator, 29-year-old British animatronic-animator John Nolan.

** John Nolan studied cinematography at the London Film Academy in 2007 -- and earned a degree in Make-Up & Technical Effects for the Performing Arts from the London College of Fashion in 2002. He's worked on several television and film productions, including "Dr. Who," "Clash of the Titans" (2010), two Harry Potter movies ("Prisoner of Azkaban" in 2003 and "The Goblet of Fire" in 2005), "Where the Wild Things Are" (2009), "Hellboy 2" (2007), "The Brother's Grimm" (2003) and commercials for Nestlé tea and T-Mobile (2009).

** Thus we come to Guerrilla Marketing Rule #3. Know your target audience. Of course this sounds like ridiculously simple common sense, but it's excruciatingly true in Mr. Nolan's case, because he is clearly guerrilla marketing himself to TV and film producers. These are his true customers. You, a member of the general public, are just along for the ride. If you find it entertaining, fine. If not, Mr. Nolan doesn't care. How do I know he doesn't care? "Linda's" horrified reaction, whose words are posted at the top of this story -- were also spotlighted on the splash page of Nolan's website. (They were taken down in late March-early April 2010.)

** According to the London Daily Star, Nolan's guerrilla marketing video took two months and $1,000 to create. Not a bad investment considering the type of "payday" he's chasing. Beyond training a real mouse to scurry to the bait, Nolan says the dead mouse is actually an already dead rat he procured elsewhere. He says that rat "was actually a robot I made covered in silicon. It still had its real hair and nails of a dead rat, but I had to punch this in individually into the synthetic skin, a bit like how hair transplants work."

** In sum, guerrilla marketing and PR is anything that compels people to pay attention using iconoclastic methods. They do NOT have to be as extreme as the examples cited here. But you do have to be mindful that everything is a competition for attention. For me, it can be as conservative as doing what I describe as "hard-linking" a client's product or service -- to a much larger issue or problem that's oft overlooked.

** For example, if I alert the media about a bunch of happy kids painting an inner-city school on a weekend -- that's a strong visual. TV might cover it, but it will just be a 15-second "feel good" story. But if I can weave neighborhood crime statistics into the story and prove the event is a way to keep kids off the street, it becomes a bona-fide news story that reaches beyond the kids and into the faces of local and state leaders for a response. The kids become "poster children" for others like themselves -- about an issue that's bigger than themselves. What's "guerrilla" about this tactic -- is taking a random "feel-good" event -- and generating greater "urgency" by placing it contextually against a backdrop of a national problem for which there isn't one exclusive solution.

** After spending years on a newsroom desk, being on the business end of a lot of inane PR pitches, I've gotten a better feel for what media types are looking for to preserve and enhance the value of their OWN jobs. In sum, it's not about you. It's about everybody else. So as you sand down the rough edges of commercialism so prevalent in your outreach efforts today -- if possible, you should strive to ensure that ALL of your guerrilla marketing and PR efforts are framed in a way that's funny or clever, that educates, amuses and entertains -- OR addresses a concern that's relatable to all.

Original material © 2010 by David Kusumoto.

Nearly 7,000,000 Views Later - The Triumphant Return Of The Piano-Playing Elderly Couple.

2010-03-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

(Story © 2010 by David Kusumoto.)

** On February 24, 2010, a piano-playing elderly couple from the small town of Ankeny, Iowa, north of Des Moines – returned triumphantly to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota – to re-visit the piano that made them world famous – thanks to a video posted almost 18 months earlier on the Internet.

** This time, television cameras and newspaper photographers were everywhere, including an audience of hundreds – who came to see the "return engagement" of 91-year-old Marlow Cowan and his 85-year-old wife Frances – who unknowingly thrilled millions of people back in September 2008 when their impromptu piano-duet of "Put on Your Ole Gray Bonnet" was captured by cancer patient Sharon Turner of West Virginia – and subsequently posted on You Tube by Turner's daughter Jodi Hume of Baltimore.

** How did this all begin? The original September 2008 video wasn't "staged." It was an extemporaneous event captured by a patient, a bystander. It was not a promotional stunt designed to make money nor to bring fame to its subject or to its makers. In my view, most people who "stage" a video with hopes it will be watched and spread by millions, fail miserably unless their material is fall-down funny or poignant in an original way.

** Conversely, a happy accident occurred after the Cowans – who were visiting the Mayo Clinic to enable Mr. Cowan to undergo a comprehensive health exam – discovered a piano in the Gonda building's atrium. What they did next was captured on video by Sharon Turner and posted by Jodi Hume – and it had all the makings of a viral success written over it. The video was funny, engaging and charming. (See original viral posting below.) In my view, had the Cowans been younger, it would not have been as popular. Its appeal had everything to do with their age (they've been married 63 years), their joy while playing – and their "novelty" as performers. In fact, the Mr. and Mrs. Cowan call themselves "The Noveliers" – and they're hardly entertainment rookies.

ORIGINAL VIRAL POSTING, SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

** According to reporter Marc Hansen of the Des Moines Register, the couple has spent nearly 30 years touring the world, giving lessons and attending recitals, while directing the Des Moines YMCA Boys Chorus and two musical bell-ringing clubs. Some elements of their act are inspired by the late Victor Borge, the classic pianist whose signature was to interrupt performances with jokes, malapropisms and other pranks. Today, the Cowans "touring circuit" consists of "schools, churches, service clubs and retirement homes," which writer Hansen noted, "is interesting, seeing as they're older than most of their audience members."

** The original September 2008 video was shot at the end of a euphoric day for cancer patient Sharon Turner, who has spent three decades in chronic pain related to several jaw reconstructions. She bit into her first sandwich in 25 years and she and her daughter Jodi Hume were already in a festive mood.

** "And then we heard the piano and the laughter," wrote Ms. Hume on the Mayo Clinic's blog site in April 2009. "From the balcony, we could see an older couple sitting side-by-side at the piano playing together and entertaining a host of people. Some were in wheelchairs, others were sitting with canes beside them or standing. Everyone was smiling with all burdens forgotten for the moment. The joy was absolutely indescribable." A video of mother Sharon Turner and daughter Jodi Hume – relating their experiences at the Mayo Clinic – was shot in April 2009 and can be viewed by clicking here.

** Within days after Ms. Hume posted her mother's video – it went viral – and has captured nearly seven million views thus far on You Tube. It has led to scores of news interviews, more concert appearances and an invitation from ABC's "Good Morning America." "They flew us out to New York," Marlow Cowan told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "Imagine: Traveling that far just to play the piano."

** The Cowan's reaction? Happily astounded and dumb-struck. "We had no idea it was going to mushroom like this," Marlow Cowan told the Des Moines Register. Moreover, the Cowans had never heard of You Tube. "We didn't even know what a Web site was," wife Frances added. "We're still not sure."

** The video interview below was conducted by Lee Aase, manager for Syndications and Social Media for the Mayo Clinic – and Chancellor of Social Media University, Global -- in May 2009.

MAYO CLINIC INTERVIEW WITH THE COWANS.

THE COWANS (BELOW) REPRISE
"PUT ON YOUR OLE GRAY BONNET."

** Last week, Marlow and Frances Cowan returned to the Mayo Clinic with a full set of numbers, closing with the standing duet that made them famous, "Put on Your Ole Gray Bonnet" (which he jokingly re-named, "She Was Only the Bootlegger's Daughter, But I Love Her Still") whereby at various intervals, the couple swaps places and taps each other's bottoms – just as they were seen in the original 2008 video. (Click below.)

** In my view, the best compilation video of the Cowan's "return engagement" was captured by photographer Jerry Olson of the Rochester Post-Bulletin. © 2010, Jerry Olson, Rochester Post-Bulletin (click below).

** According to the Rochester Post-Bulletin, at the end of their mini-concert, Marlow Cowan told his audience, "Keep a song in your heart, keep singing and God bless you all."

** Their reaction to all the fuss? "We think they're crazy!," Frances Cowan told the Post-Bulletin, "because we're nothing special. We just have fun. I guess people just need to have some joy and fun and clean entertainment."

** Meanwhile, over at You Tube, the Cowan's "return engagement" video has been broken into seven parts by the Mayo Clinic. (Just the first part appears below.) For more information about the Mayo Clinic's support services, click here.
==================
RETURN VISIT TO THE MAYO CLINIC
FEBRUARY 24, 2010
PART 1 OF 7 BELOW
(Remaining six parts have been posted at You Tube;
search "Cowan Concert at Mayo Clinic.")

(Original material © 2010 by David Kusumoto.)

How to Lose Your Job Using Facebook in One Easy Step

2010-02-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

** (RE-POSTED FROM AUGUST 14, 2009) **

** Today's stupefying entry originates from the United Kingdom -- and it's a welcome reminder for everyone caught up in the frenzy of what is, in my view -- the occasionally free-wheeling narcissism of social networking via blogs, Facebook, My Space, etc.

** My thanks to Matthew Glover, who runs a company that makes vinyl-framed windows, doors and conservatories in Wakefield -- a mid-sized city of 80,000 in West Yorkshire, England -- about 200 miles north of London. (And my thanks to U.K. buzz marketer Dean Hunt for posting this as a small blurb that got my attention on his popular website.)

** On Monday, August 10, 2009, Mr. Glover posted on his commercial website -- a screen shot of a Facebook exchange between a young woman and her boss.

** One problem. Her boss wasn't meant to see it. (The boss was NOT Mr. Glover.) The cyberworld hasn't yet identified the two names and the U.K. company involved -- but it's my kind of funny -- a mild form of Schadenfreude, e.g., my finding dark amusement in the mistakes of others, especially a mistake that's so BLATANTLY awful.

** Mr. Glover, in an e-mail reply to this column said, "I found the image on Digg.com and included it on my blog. I also thought it was funny, but wasn’t sure if it was more (compatible with) a ‘British’ sense of humour. My friend Dean Hunt then picked it up, but I guess the image will be elsewhere now with the power of the Internet."

** Researching and tracking the Internet backward, I learned the screen shot had been "pooled" at Digg.com -- which in turn had pulled it from an August 9 posting at a career management site called Applicant.com. In my view, these four sites -- Applicant.com, Digg.com, Matthew's site and Dean Hunt's site -- are most responsible for sling-shooting this public/private exchange around the world.

** Matthew Glover sets up the exchange by simply stating the following: "Personally, I’ve been trying to avoid having too many of my employees as friends on Facebook (apart from a few carefully selected ones). I can see the potential problems, not least the fact that my staff will realise what a strange life I lead. It can be useful, though -- for helping you sack those not fully on your side."

** And Applicant.com sets everything up with this: "If you aren’t on the web, at times it’s almost impossible to secure a job. However, some people seem to keep forgetting that social media -- if not utilized properly -- can hurt your job search and can lead to a job loss. We came across one and had to share it."

** (The "PG-RATED" screen shot below is slightly enlarged and re-formatted to fit onto this page, but it's still hard to read. CLICK here or anywhere on the screen shot below to see an easier-to-read, UNCENSORED version.)

** A "P45" in the United Kingdom is equivalent to a "pink slip" in the United States.

** Obviously the lesson here is to "pause" before posting anything "too crazy" at a social networking site. It doesn't matter if you're a loose free spirit -- or if you're tight as a rusted bolt on an old tractor. Most of your friends, your boss or your customers might already know your quirks and mannerisms -- heck, they might even think they're endearing.

** But some won't. You can't please everybody. I'm not advocating self-censorship. But remember that some of your friends -- (or friends of friends) -- won't like everything you write. You alone are responsible for every word. The outburst above is an extreme example of self-immolation by a young woman who chose to throw the person who signs her paychecks under the bus. And if you think "sticking it to the man" is fashionable or defensible under certain circumstances -- ask yourself this: If you're the boss, how would you yourself respond to a public flogging of your character by anyone, let alone by one of your workers? Would you turn the other cheek and say, "well, everyone is entitled to their opinion." Maybe. But I doubt it.

** Many employers block access to places like Facebook for good reason. There are liability concerns, as well as the acknowledgement that some sites are like chat-rooms, major time-gougers that are a drain on productivity in the middle of the workday. It's too bad, but the young woman who got caught "freely expressing herself" -- left her brain in the freezer when she wrote this. The upside is her experience is very instructive and amusing for the rest of us.

** (You can see the original screen shot as it appeared on the Applicant.com site at: http://bit.ly/kl8gN -- and how it appeared on Mr. Glover's site at: http://bit.ly/SZDf8.)

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

** BREAKING / EXCLUSIVE – Pat Brown Returns to San Diego Television News.

2009-11-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

** "How's It Going to End?" has learned that four months after leaving KNSD (NBC) Channel 7/39 – long-time San Diego news and weather anchor Pat Brown – has a new weekend gig.

** She will join ABC-affiliate KGTV Channel 10 as a weather anchor beginning this Sunday, November 8, 2009, at 6pm and at 11pm. She will work Saturdays and Sundays through the end of January, 2010.

** Pat Brown declined to comment about her status other than to say she is "happy" to be returning to San Diego television.

** However, Joel Davis, news director for KGTV Channel 10 – confirmed that Ms. Brown will fill in for weathercaster Kerstin Lindquist, who is on maternity leave.

** “We’re thrilled that since KNSD (NBC Channel 7/39) has farmed out their weather duties to Los Angeles, that we have the opportunity to bring someone of Pat’s stature and popularity to the 10 News weather team," Davis said. "It reinforces our commitment to bring San Diegans important local weather information – with the best weathercasters and the most advanced technology.”

** This development means Pat Brown will have worked at all three major network affiliates – KFMB CBS Channel 8, KNSD NBC 7/39 and KGTV ABC Channel 10 – since the late 1980s. Sources say she'll spend her weekdays continuing to serve the community as a tour guide for DayTrippers, a San Diego-based travel firm.

** My original story, posted on July 27, 2009, appears below.

* * * * *MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009
One Month Later -- What does Pat Brown's departure mean for local TV news?

** On Friday, June 26, 2009, Pat Brown gave her last weather report on NBC-owned KNSD 39 (Cable Channel 7) in San Diego.

** The pioneering host of the groundbreaking "P.M. Magazine" show on KFMB Channel 8 during the 1980s – Ms. Brown had a near continuous presence on the San Diego television news landscape. The former state pageant queen from Sheperdstown, West Virginia (1977), moved west – and effortlessly re-invented herself into a beauty-with-brains TV personality and news reporter – before settling into her last incarnation as a weather anchor armed with an effervescently sunny on-air disposition. In an industry never known for stability, Ms. Brown's admirers knew her to be just that – a consistently productive and positive force for San Diego television programming – and for the community she continues to serve.

** The following Monday, Ms. Brown was replaced by Fritz Coleman, a nearly 30-year veteran of the TV wars from KNBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles, one of NBC's flagship-owned stations (alongside WNBC in New York).

** But that wasn't the headline to some of us. The headline was that the award-winning Mr. Coleman, by all accounts a "nice guy" with broad appeal – is now broadcasting his San Diego weather reports from Los Angeles – on a custom-built set back at KNBC.

** Though such "arrangements" aren't new – the move was the first of its kind involving a network-owned news station in San Diego. It illustrates the dire economic health of local television news – with KNSD NBC 39 (in my view) – probably faring the worst, budget wise, among its competitors. Station managers everywhere have been slashing budgets – first dumping behind-the-scenes staff and "superfluous programming" – while saving their biggest (and most visible) cuts for last.

** Pat Brown's departure wasn't your garden variety "revolving door" personnel change. It was emblematic of something worse that has cast a chill in the rooms and halls of KNSD NBC 39 – and beyond. Wishful-thinking station heads might be blocking out the precedent – and scoffing at satirically minded suggestions that any station that "jobs out" any portion of its local identity to a distant area code – is setting itself up to be wiped out entirely - by a thousand paper cuts afflicted over the next several years. Some TV insiders are quietly saying that "it could've been worse." Well, that's true. Maybe they should be thankful. They believe the tempest surrounding Ms. Brown's departure will "blow over." And likely it will. Fritz Coleman has already won over some skeptics – and I give credit to news director Greg Dawson for trying to manage the ill-smelling winds of anger still blowing after this change.

** But the bigger picture that's unique to KNSD NBC Channel 39 – has less to do with Pat Brown – and more to do with the station itself being owned by NBC. Ms. Brown's departure raised eyebrows, for sure. But what was more ideologically significant to journalists – was that her departure and subsequent replacement by talent based in Los Angeles - was the first blatant evidence of what's been going on for a long time at network-owned stations in markets smaller than San Diego, e.g., the creeping decentralization of news and weather information – led by network executives who work in distant offices. Thus we have a classic instance whereby it's not always good to be OWNED by a network – and why it's sometimes better to be a network affiliate operating with greater independence.

** Since about 2002, TV news stations have been trending toward hiring more versatile reporters and anchors. These so-called "video-journalists" carry their own cameras and edit their own news segments – and sometimes get the privilege to present them live on the anchor desks where their higher-paid colleagues sit. Everyone knows that every "hybrid journalist" invited to the anchor desk to present his or her story – is being "screen tested." Such "hybrids" save big-time dollars for station managers – and equally significant, they can serve as "leverage" when the contracts of highly paid news anchors come up for renewal.

** On the surface, it appears to some that Pat Brown's "Achilles heel" was not being "versatile" enough. If so, you can count on other anchors at NBC 7/39 to be reviewed similarly for "fitness and compatibility" with the network's finance department. Hence the oft-heard advice during the last few years remains sound, e.g., "if you're still in TV news – the faster you can jump on the "hybrid train" the better – thus avoiding obsolescence and/or getting dragged or tossed behind.

** Local news anchors draw salaries that are double, triple or even higher than those working behind the scenes. An anchor's "work" is to bring in ratings. So what's that got to do with Pat Brown? Nothing unless you think she was a drag on ratings. I personally don't. It was all about saving money – but in a way more pernicious because the station is owned by a network - that decreed that news about the weather – does NOT require a local person to deliver it, hence can be pared less painfully than other departments.

** Everyone working in television news sees the handwriting on the wall. But in the past, even when times were good - that handwriting was mostly about being dumped in a budget cut and being replaced by someone cheaper, usually someone younger from a smaller market.

** But at a network-OWNED station – you have the additional fear of watching departments consolidated or phased out in stages, replaced by talent or crews located hundreds of miles away at other stations bigger than your own. It's analogous to newspapers shedding staff while publishing articles by news syndicates or wire services that are written in other states.

** What's unfortunate is despite the acknowledged downturn in local TV news nationwide - (because web-based news keeps siphoning viewers away) – the band-aid patches applied by network-owned-and-operated "suits" can't stop the bleeding. And watering down a station's local news product – under the aegis of saving money during a recession – also risks washing away the higher purpose of targeting audiences and advertisers in a region that will drift further away from KNSD NBC Channel 39 – and toward competing stations that remain committed to San Diego.

** It bears repeating that San Diego is the ninth largest city in the U.S. Yet corporate America and NBC keeps treating San Diego as if it's geographically, demographically and politically identical to Los Angeles. I sense that Mr. Dawson knows this to be true, even if he can't say it. Corporate America has always acted as if San Diego is a suburb of Los Angeles – and even believe its WEATHER is the same – despite San Diego's location on a harbor and Los Angeles's location on a smoggy basin.

** NOTE: Philadelphia is about the same distance to New York (and yet so different in character) - as San Diego is to Los Angeles. But NBC knows that replacing Philly-based weather anchors at WCAU NBC Channel 10 - with their counterparts at WNBC 4 in New York - would be greeted with outrage. Yet network executives continue to have a "blind spot" about San Diego - seeing it as being the same as L.A. - despite the polarizing political and cultural differences that are obvious to viewers in both cities.

** Pat Brown will re-invent herself like she always has – and will turn up soon because of her strong ties to the community. But in my view, intra-state or interstate consolidations – involving network-owned news stations like KNSD Channel 39 in San Diego – are incompatible with efforts to maintain revenues from local advertisers. Magnify that when you consider NBC's prime-time lineup is weak on every evening except Thursday – and that its sports product is limited to golf, NFL Sunday Night Football and the Olympics.

** The final irony amid all these words is this. A visit to KNSD NBC 7/39's website on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 9:45 p.m. Pacific Time – yielded the following banner slogan:

* * * * * *

Why is the WSJ the #1 Newspaper in America? (It's not because of its politics.)

2009-11-03T17:29:00.000-08:00

** On October 26, 2009, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) finally reached the top of the newspaper world.

** As expected, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), announced that the WSJ is now the highest circulation daily newspaper in the United States with 2,024,269 readers. Of America's top 25 papers, the WSJ is the only publication that is gaining readers. The other 24 papers continue to drop circulation at alarming rates. You can read the results by clicking here. (My own hometown paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, dropped 18,548 readers since the ABC's April 27, 2009 survey, but climbed up one spot to #24 out of 25 dailies.)

** If you're reading these words now, you are responsible for the death of your local daily newspaper. Every minute you spend on the web – is a minute you've taken away from reading a newspaper or magazine. Millions have done the same. You've fled to the web to get news and information more quickly. Advertisers have likewise fled, tanking revenues at many news organizations, leading to scores of layoffs and consolidations. The reasons for the slow death of newspapers have been well documented.

** But the bigger question is this: "Why is the Wall Street Journal an exception?" Why is it defying gravity? Why is the Journal's popularity climbing?

** If you're reading this – and you DO NOT read the Wall Street Journal – what image pops into your head?

** Here's what the WSJ looked like almost 10 years ago:

** Here's what the WSJ looks like today:

** Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal – and executive editor of the Wall Street Journal Online – declined to comment, react or to speculate about the constellation of reasons responsible for the Journal's success – and what role, if any, does Rupert Murdoch play. (Murdoch's News Corporation took ownership of the WSJ after a shareholder vote in December 2007.)

** Thus I'm going it alone.

** Some political partisans want you to believe that the WSJ's conservative political positions are responsible for its success.

** I say baloney.

** Some political partisans also want you to believe that Rupert Murdoch, a known political conservative who owns the WSJ through his News Corporation – is becoming financially enriched because of his positions against the Democratic Party and President Barack Obama.

** Again, I say baloney.

** Meanwhile, some political partisans believe that only money-grubbing fat-cats – who are in love with Republicans – read the WSJ. Some of these same partisans say Murdoch is a fascist pig who runs a fascist paper. (Honest, this is how a few left-wing pals of mine view the WSJ. One even told me publicly on Facebook that "decent people don't read fascist rags" like the WSJ.)

** Again, I say baloney.

** My response is this: My life is filled with much more important things to worry about – than to think about Rupert Murdoch. I don't have an opinion about him one way or another. I do believe, however, that if Murdoch is becoming financially enriched from the WSJ – it's NOT because of any antipathy toward Democrats or President Obama. I say this because most people DON'T read the editorial pages of any paper, let alone the WSJ's.

** In my view, the WSJ is now the nation's largest circulation daily for one reason, and it has less to do with Murdoch and more to do with what the WSJ has become since 2000. And that's an entertaining paper that's no longer just covering financial news.

** Anyone who has a job – or doesn't have a job – from CEOs down to the lowest rung of a company's ladder -- has discovered, especially during this recession, that the WSJ's "no-polemics" rule while covering breaking news or business trends – to be much more valuable than whatever is published on its editorial pages.

** Career Journal, which features job tips every week, Walt Mossberg's columns about computers and software, Sue Shellenbarger's Home and Family Mailbox – and the WSJ's Weekend Journal – the latter featuring arts, entertainment and sports news laid out in rich color – have become the most popular features in the Journal's recent history.

** Among the writers on the WSJ's editorial pages – only one conservative is considered widely read – and that's Peggy Noonan, who came out against GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin in 2008. In fact, it is the WSJ's "guest editorial writers" – and NOT editorials written by the Journal's own staff – who have caused more indigestion with political partisans.

** Conversely, the New York Times has dropped 150,000 PAID readers since March 2008 – and its better-known anti-Republican columnists who are still on the Times payroll include Frank Rich, Paul Krugman and the always enjoyable (to me) Maureen Dowd. Over the same period, the WSJ GAINED circulation. Why?

** The Democratic Party presently holds the greatest power and influence in all branches of the United States government since 1964. Barack Obama is only the 3rd Democrat to capture the White House over that period – and he's the first Democrat since 1976 to earn a majority vote. So why are the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times – two papers which cater to liberal Democrats – failing?

** The answers to both questions are NOT related to politics. In my view, partisan politics isn't a significant factor. The destruction of metropolitan dailies in the United States are a reflection of what's happening everywhere in publishing. Advertisers and readers have fled to the Internet, because that’s where readers are getting content.

** Pick any one of the 25 papers listed in the latest ABC Circulation report – and I'll wager that NOT one has lost readers because of its editorials. Twenty-four of those 25 are simply not providing content that's "perceived" to be as timely, as useful or as relevant to readers – compared to their online counterparts. Meanwhile, the WSJ – while not a "hometown" paper – is perceived to be instantly providing everything – without giving away everything for free. People are actually PAYING to access the Journal's content (more on that in a minute).

** Most Wall Street Journal readers, myself included, don't always care about what's on its editorial pages. We're sticking with it because since about 2000, the WSJ has embraced a more inclusive view of daily content. Financial news, once the signature bread and butter of the WSJ – that filled page after page of stock quotes and other facts and figures printed in mouse type – has given way to news about large and small businesses, careers, computers, fashion, movies, arts, television – the whole nine yards.

** Competing papers offer the same, but the Journal hammers people with news people can use now, instantly – from finding the right job, navigating office politics, buying the best car, selecting the best wardrobe and patronizing the best hotels, restaurants and stores. Gone forever is the WSJ's image as a stuffy, 19th-century-looking, black-and-white broadsheet with ridiculously narrow columns and stories set in tiny type.

** More significantly, I believe the Wall Street Journal continues to "lead the way" with the most important news of the day, setting the news agendas of some of its competitors. It was the first paper to break the sub-prime mortgage and other financial scandals during the last 3 years, causing a "piggy-back" effect with competing editors in print and television. It's a rare day, for example, when a tabloid story about a balloon hoax – or a faux pas committed by a celebrity – will find its way onto the WSJ's front pages.

** So while the aforementioned represents the biggest reasons – in my view – for its success – the more spectacular phenomenon associated with the WSJ is this:

** At a time when almost everything online is FREE, the circulation for the ONLINE-ONLY version of the WSJ is through the roof – with more than 360,000 PAID subscribers – which beats everyone else in this category by a country mile. Major "day of publication" stories are free – but the WSJ charges people for its content. Why are people reaching into their pockets to pay for content that other news organizations are giving away for free? I believe the answer is that they view WSJ-content differently from what's found in other papers.

** In sum, during this most trying of economic times – in my view, subscribers believe the WSJ's stories are more relevant and more immediate to their personal and professional lives – and thus worth paying for.

** It's not about politics.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Why Not a National Day of Rest for Cell Phones?

2009-09-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

** When was the moment you realized your cell phone had become permanently attached to your body? Seriously.

** I've been thinking about this for several years, most recently after leaving my house for what seemed like the 50th time in five years without my cell phone. You know the drill. Five minutes after you pull out your driveway (or maybe longer) - you realize you don't have it. You spend 20 seconds worrying about whether it's as important as your purse or wallet - before you ultimately cave in - making that dreaded U-turn back to your home.

** We all know the safety reasons associated with having a cell phone within reach -- but at what point did it become a stand-in for your very existence? I don't mean "I think, therefore, I am." I mean, when did it become, "I have a cell phone, therefore I am?" When did the cellphone become freighted with such titanic meaning?

** Our love-hate relationship with wireless phones turns mostly into hate when we see the lengths people will go - to make bogus excuses to be "unavailable" - despite the fact that wireless technology has made us more reachable than at any other time in history. Turned another way, friendships have gone bad when we feel accountable to respond to every cotton-picking voice mail and inane text message that's left on our phones. (I'm dating myself, but I remember getting my first land-line phone installed in my teenage bedroom, complete with its own seven-digit number. It was a thrill. But I wasn't tied to it like a ball-and-chain. Its cord was short and I couldn't carry it into another room.)

** Conversely, our cell phones have indeed become a metaphorical ball-and-chain, leaving us with fewer excuses to be "unreachable." You tell your friends, "I'm going on vacation and I'm not bringing my cell phone, so I won't be reachable, bla-bla-bla." Trust me, they don't believe you. They further don't believe you - (even when you're telling the truth) - when you say after-the-fact, "oh, I didn't get your message, I must have run into some bad reception."

** You Verizon customers know what I'm talking about. Your company's marketing mantra is, "can you hear me now?" So if your friends know your carrier is Verizon, expect to see a raised brow (or a rolling of the eyes) if you tell them, "gee, some places in my house have bad reception, with walls made of lead where no signals (or man) can reach." Huh-huh.

** And then there's texting, which is quickly replacing e-mail. You text when: 1) you can't reach a person on the phone, 2) you don't want to bother a person with a call, 3) you DON'T want to talk to a person "live" to avoid the long give-and-take that can eat up a lot of time. Texting comes in handy, but in my view, it has single-handedly replaced whole conversations - and dumbed down the literacy level of the world.

** Texting means purposely using abbreviations and misspelled words that have become a second language. In some cases, you need another book to decode them. For example, I'm not bothered when pals use the acronym "LOL" in messages that THEY send to ME. That's an easy one to figure out. Still, the day I use the term, "LOL" in any of my OWN communiqués - will be the day you are welcome to grab a pair of pliers and pry off one of my fingernails. [Strangely though, acronyms such as "LFMAO" (laughing my a** off) or "ROTFL" ("rolling on the floor laughing") seem OK because the imagery is so vivid.] But when was the last time you found yourself "rolling on the floor laughing?" Seems pretty rare to me.

** Which leads me to ask, have you EVER gone a whole day without your cell phone to avoid being reached? I'm not asking if you've ever turned your cell phone OFF for an entire day. I'm asking if you've ever PURPOSELY left your cell phone behind, out of reach, at home, at the office, wherever. How did you feel? Liberated? Or did you get all sweaty, worried about missed calls and messages? Did you shrug and say to yourself, "well, if people REALLY NEED to get a hold of me in an emergency - they'll find a way."

** Folks, I call that last one "the passive-aggressive method of being unreachable," e.g., putting the burden of being found onto your boss, friends and family. But it's a moot point because again, nobody believes you when you say you're unreachable. Or here's an excuse people don't believe (unless you're over 90): "I don't own a cell phone." Translation: Some people can get still reach me, just not you.

** I confess I've never ditched my phone on purpose because I'm always worried about getting into an accident - or not being able to get my car started in the middle of a dangerous neighborhood...at night...alone.

** Hence we come to the proposal for a "national day of rest" for cell phones. Ironically, this would have to be spread virally first over millions of cell phones -- to get more people involved. So far, it's not gaining much traction. Why not? Make it happen on a weekend when more people are at home. With all the "green talk" that's become so fashionable these days, someone at Greenpeace or at the NRDC should come up with a list of scientific reasons to endorse a cellphone-free day that would have a positive - however negligble - impact on Planet Earth.

** Of course we'd have to make a few exemptions for true emergencies. But otherwise, what would be so bad about having a national "sleep day" for wireless phones? Make it a national holiday to free ourselves from the yoke of responsibility that comes with our cell phones. Going through a whole day without hearing someone else's obnoxiously loud and silly ring-tones would be wonderful. (BTW, why is it always somebody else's ring tones that sound narcissistically stupid - while your own ring tones sparkle with originality?) Speaking for me, myself - I prefer a ring-tone that sounds like a real phone - and not a jukebox spitting out the first four bars of an atrocious melody.

** Please, let's get on this right away. Until then, I leave you with a video that displays a pipe dream. It's a 2009 Corona Beer TV commercial. It's a pipe dream because I don't know anyone on earth who's had the courage - (or more dollars than sense) - to do what you see in the 30-second spot below.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Men vs. Women -- and Their Material Things

2009-09-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

** Bringing back an "oldie" – just because it was a hit before. (The real reason is it will give me more time to outline and finish my next news post.) Until then...

** I don't usually comment on the quality of television commercials, but ten months have gone by and I'm still laughing. The Heineken spot below is fantastic, because it illustrates in a dynamic and humorous way -- the different values men and women place on material things. The commercial is entirely in Dutch (except for the end logo) and has aired unaltered on American television -- and is often seen on ESPN and during sporting events.

** Since its original debut in late 2008, its viral version on You Tube has been viewed nearly 3 million times. It has spawned two "sequels" by Heineken itself -- as well as a number of "knock-offs."

** A simple English translation of what the woman in the black dress says to her girlfriends touring her new home is: "Now this is the living room....and over here is the bedroom....(pause)...with...."

And everyone starts screaming.

** Does it make people buy more beer? I can't say because I'm biased. I've been in love with the Heineken brand since our first visit to Amsterdam many years ago. But in my view, this is already one of the funniest beer commercials of all time. (To be fair, if this commercial was "flipped," it could show men's unending fascination with gadgets and power tools.)

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Why are some dog-loving atheists choking up over a two-minute cartoon?

2009-09-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

** On August 4, 2009, Wendy Francisco, a 54-year-old artist-musician-animal breeder from Del Mar, California (north of San Diego) – who now lives "somewhere in the mountains of Colorado" – uploaded a 1 minute, 58 second music video on You Tube.

** Her lyrics are so simple that a child can understand them. That makes sense. Mrs. Francisco is an editor of children's books.

** Her melody is so simple that it seems mined from an old nursery tune pulled from the public domain. It's not. It's original. Mrs. Francisco learned guitar at age 8, had a record deal by age 24 and has toured the country "and beyond," giving concerts for decades.

** Her hand-drawn images are so simple that they seem almost primitive. But Mrs. Francisco has been a self-taught artist since she was a child. In sum, she's not a novice.

** But what's NOT so simple - is explaining the explosion of emotions that have poured forth from hundreds of thousands of people who have seen "GoD and DoG" since its debut on August 4.

** I know what some of you are thinking. Being a secular sort of fellow, I thought the same thing. I told myself, "I'm not going to watch some sappy tribute about dogs and religion." A pal forwarded it to me by e-mail and I dismissed it. I don't even own a dog, even though my love for canines is well known. If you've ever owned a dog (or still own one), you know what I mean. They ARE family.

** Then another friend forwarded the video. Full disclosure: I dislike some (not all) "pay it forward" inspirational notes, because some feel like canned chain letters sent by people who let greeting cards carry messages - that they themselves – cannot articulate. Sincerity doesn't require perfect sentences or phrasing inspired by great poets. All that's required in my book – are words from the heart, fractured, imperfect, incomplete but real. Nevertheless, I clicked on the video.

** In less than two minutes, using a child's grasp of melody, lyrics and images – Wendy Francisco builds a case about the relationship between a higher being – and the co-existence of dogs and man. She doesn't cite scripture, she makes no references to Christianity – and she avoids conventional, confrontational and controversial dogma.

** In otherwords, Wendy Francisco delivers a message with such deceptive simplicity that it appears purposely designed to avoid trouble. She sings softly with an acoustic guitar, amid a montage of scribbled images and stock fonts which push her lyrics forward. She wrote, recorded and animated everything in about three days. She says her work was inspired by her dog, "Caspian." (See picture above.) This snow-white creature is described as being "3/4 Great Pyrenees and 1/4 Anatolian Shepherd Cross." Dog breeders will know what that means. I don't, but it doesn't matter. Nor apparently do you have to believe in a deity - to still be moved – by what Mrs. Francisco has to say.

** If you want to watch this video with with a higher quality image, click here. Otherwise, click below.

** "Religion masks the character of God," Francisco says on her website. Perhaps she means this: the ceremonial trappings of organized religion have stripped away the power and emotion associated with being in the presence of a higher being and of all living things. Mrs. Francisco admits she "struggles with modern day religion" because it "limits most people...women in particular."

** Ironically, I think it's the "religion" part that may stall the "mainstream media" from writing lengthy stories about Wendy Francisco, at least not until her view count at You Tube goes over 2 million hits. And I predict it will within the next two months. (As I write this, it's sitting around 860,000 views). While the evangelical press has fully embraced this work (no surprise), I found only two glancing references thus far in news stories on the Web (one in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the other in Atlanta for the Examiner group of newspapers).

** In my view, Mrs. Francisco has smartly taken a path of least resistance to get her message across. Mucking her work up with provocative language and complicated dogma would have stunted the video's reach beyond the church choir. Take away just ONE of the four elements in her music video: her lyrics, her melody, her calm singing voice or her hand-drawn images – and the power of her work goes from extraordinary to ordinary. Her message is NOT the analytical think piece you're reading now. Just read the comments that have been left behind. Many viewers say they cried or were deeply moved. Believers have expressed their thanks. And I believe many non-believers will acknowledge the video's emotional power, even if their views remain unchanged.

** While the video is unlikely to convert atheists – it does capture their deep appreciation for dogs. I will go further and say it may cause many dog-loving atheists to yearn to believe, that is, to want to believe – (even if it's no more than wishful thinking as from a child) – that a higher being "of some sort" is indeed responsible for putting dogs on Earth – for the express purpose of meeting man's instinctual need for companionship.

** But this is all mushy stuff. This is NOT the language of atheists. Atheists tend to be educated. I don't even have to look it up. They just are. Religion may have once worked at some level, perhaps at an early age. Or maybe it never worked at all. But the video is tantalizing because it conveys an abstract meaning (feelings) – and an appreciation of something beyond the reach of words.

** Most educated people, myself included, get visibly uncomfortable about things that can't be broken down into parts that can be objectively analyzed. "An 'A' equals an 'A' and that's that," we say. So why then, do our tear ducts squeeze a little while we're watching this video? What's that all about? If I knew the answer, I wouldn't be writing this.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Artistic Genius Doesn't Equal Brains -- How Did Annie Leibovitz Get Stupid?

2009-09-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

** UPDATE: September 11, 2009 - Annie Leibovitz has won a temporary reprieve. Ula Ilnytzky of the Associated Press posted the following this afternoon: "Annie Leibovitz has won an extension on a $24 million loan in a financial dispute that threatened her rights to her famous images, the two sides said in a joint statement. Leibovitz and the company, Art Capital Group, said the 59-year-old photographer had been given more time to repay the loan. The loan's deadline passed on Tuesday, but both parties had continued to work to try to resolve the dispute. Neither party would specify the length of the extension."

* * * *
** It's astounding coming across the number of artistic or athletic superstars worth millions – who can't handle their own money – or pick the right people to protect it.

** Joining the list is famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. The combined worth of her spectacular art portfolio -- AND her real estate holdings -- is about $80 million. And she's about to lose most of it very soon.

** Stating the obvious: the idea of any artist losing the copyrights to their life's work – is not only astonishing – but too often feels like the culmination of a series of bone-headed, self-inflicted wounds.

** Worse, many observers, including struggling artists who've worshipped her for decades – will find it very difficult - after reading the accounts below, to sympathize with her fate - (not that she's looking for it).

** Of all the news stories and opinion pieces about Leibovitz's troubles during the past month, in my view, the two best were written by Allen Salkin of the New York Times -- and by fellow-blogger David Eubank.

** "She partied too much and developed a pattern of financial mismanagement," wrote Eubank back on August 3, 2009. "Just because a person is an artistic genius, does not make them good with money or debt management. Leibovitz’s ability to make money through her work - offset her inability to manage her money and debt - until now."

** In fairness, Salkin of the New York Times said of Leibovitz back on July 31, "A recent series of personal issues has made navigating her already complex life more difficult, close associates said. In the last five years, Ms. Leibovitz lost her father, her mother and her companion, Susan Sontag; added two children to her family and oversaw the costly and controversial renovation of three properties in Greenwich Village."

** Salkin also wrote that Leibovitz's own friends told him that despite her success, she "has been shadowed by a long history of less than careful financial dealings." Even Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter remarked, "The mind that can take these extraordinary pictures is not necessarily the same mind that is a perfect money manager."

** Meanwhile, the story below was published Saturday, September 5, 2009. It was written by Ula Ilnytzky of the Associated Press.

- - - - - - - - - - Debts closing in on photographer Annie Leibovitz

     NEW YORK (AP) - Annie Leibovitz's artsy, provocative portraits of celebrities regularly grace the covers of Vanity Fair and Vogue, images that have made her as famous as her subjects and earned her millions.
     Now Leibovitz risks losing the copyright to the images - and her entire life's work - if she doesn't pay back a $24 million loan by Tuesday.
     Art Capital Group (ACG), a New York company that issues short-term loans against fine and decorative arts and real estate, sued her in late July for breach of contract.

"We have clear contractual rights and will protect them in any scenario," said ACG spokesman Montieth Illingworth on Friday. "Our preference is for this to be resolved."

     Some experts say filing for bankruptcy reorganization could be the best option for Leibovitz, 59, who has put up as collateral her three historic Greenwich Village townhouses, an upstate property and work.
     She bought two of the townhouses in 2002, embarking on extensive renovations to combine them into one property. That spurred protests from historic preservationists and a $15 million lawsuit by a neighbor.
     "Based on the magnitude of her obligations and the facts as they are publicly known, (bankruptcy) would be the best option," said art lawyer Peter Stern.

     Leibovitz's images of musicians, presidents and Hollywood glitterati are cultural touchstones. One of her earliest photos is of John Lennon curled up naked in a fetal position with Yoko Ono, taken just hours before he was assassinated in 1980.
     So to many, her decision to gamble the rights to her work seems inexplicable. "Jaw-dropping," Stern said.
     Her editorial agent, Contact Press Images, has declined to comment on the case, saying it is a private matter.
     Her spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, has accused ACG of harassment. "There has been tension and dispute since the beginning...For now, her attention remains on her photography and on continuing to organize her finances," Hiltzik said.
     A reorganization filing would suspend all litigation against Leibovitz and place her finances under the protection of a federal judge, said bankruptcy lawyer Paul Silverman, who works with Stern. Neither attorney is involved in the case.

     Last year, Leibovitz put up her homes and the copyright to every picture she has ever taken - or will take - as collateral to secure the loan to pay off her mounting debt: unpaid bills, mortgage payments and tax liens, ACG said.
     While no one has suggested publicly how Leibovitz got into such desperate financial straits, the mortgage debt on all her properties - including the townhouses in Greenwich Village and a sprawling estate in Rhinebeck, N.Y. - totaled about $15 million.
     This includes the $1.2 million loan she took out on two of the townhouses, and another $2.2 million three years later, according to New York magazine.
     In addition to her mortgages, court records show that she piled up years of federal, state and city liens and judgments from vendors for unpaid bills - all presumably now satisfied with the $24 million she borrowed.
     Federal records show that Leibovitz owed a total of $2.1 million in unpaid taxes for tax years 2004, 2006 and 2007. She also had New York state tax liens of $247,980 for six years, including $135,915 in 2007.
     In 2008, a design firm that did work on one of her Greenwich Village properties claimed that she owed it $51,000.
     Leibovitz was also accused that year of refusing to pay $386,000 to a photo stylist during a 2007 shoot Leibovitz did for the Disney Company in 2007.

     Her spokesman, Hiltzik, declined Thursday to discuss her finances. "Annie is working to resolve the situation so it would be inappropriate to comment," Hiltzik said.
     Art Capital Group, which consolidated all her loans in September 2008, charged in its lawsuit that Leibovitz breached the contract by refusing to allow real estate experts into her homes to appraise their value and by blocking ACG from selling her photographs.
     ACG has estimated the value of the Leibovitz portfolio at $40 million; (separately), real estate brokers say her New York properties are worth about (another) $40 million.
     Leibovitz also owned an apartment in Paris, which she bought for her longtime companion, writer and feminist Susan Sontag.
     ACG, with art gallery-like offices on Madison Avenue, is in effect a high-end pawn shop. And just like pawn shops, is would be just as happy to see a default, according to art and money experts. Under the sales agreement with Leibovitz, Illingworth said, the company would get 10 percent commission on the sale of Leibovitz' real estate - and 15 percent on the sale of her portfolio.
     Leibovitz would get the rest after paying off the $24 million loan, interest and other fees, he said. If she defaults, the company would get a net 12 percent commission, after paying approximately 13 percent for costs and fees.

     Leibovitz, 6 feet tall with long blond tresses, joined Vanity Fair in 1983. Over the years, her lens has captured the rich and famous: Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II and Bruce Springsteen among them. She gave the world its first glimpse of baby Suri, newborn daughter of Hollywood's superstar couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, on the cover of Vanity Fair.
     Her Vanity Fair salary has been reported to be about $2 million, according to New York magazine. She also has done work for Louis Vuitton and American Express; she charges $100,000 for private portraits.
     A meticulous and demanding artist designated a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, Leibovitz makes her photo shoots lavish, sometimes theatrical affairs.  For a portrait of Kristin Dunst as Marie Antoinette, she flew the actress and a crew to Paris for a shoot at the Versailles. She put Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub of warm milk.  Many of her images are provocative and controversial, including those last year of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus exposing bare shoulders and back, and a portrait of a very pregnant and nude Demi Moore in 1991. Leibovitz gave birth at the age of 51 to her daughter Sara in 2001, and has twins, who were born to a surrogate in 2005.
     Her financial problems escalated in 2003, during the renovation of her Greenwich Village townhouses. A neighbor sued her for $15 million after a common wall between their buildings was damaged. Leibovitz eventually settled by buying the neighbor's property for $1.9 million.
     Silverman, a past president of the New York State Bar Association bankruptcy committee, is not familiar with Leibovitz's case. But he said a bankruptcy reorganization filing would give her control of what assets need to be sold and which to keep. "It would allow her to decide the manner and method of the disposition," he said.
- - - - - - - - - -

** The New York Times's account of Leibovitz's troubles on July 31, 2009, can be read by clicking here. David Eubank's analysis of the same on August 3, 2009 can be read by clicking here.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Why are millions so easily duped? Michael Jackson "alive" video hoax exposed.

2009-09-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

** I admit that I'm probably one of the few people who – while recognizing Michael Jackson's talent and global impact – is tired of reading about him. Thus I kind of chuckled when I found out about a fake video that surfaced last week of Jackson, seemingly emerging "alive" - from the back of a Los Angeles County coroner's van - fooling millions of fans.

** More than two months after his death, the thirst for information of ANY KIND about the King of Pop is unquenchable - so much so that many wishful thinkers desperately want to believe that Jackson is still alive – even though the perpetrators of this video hoax put it out there ON PURPOSE. They wanted to demonstrate how some people will believe anything they see posted on the Internet.

** The video I've posted below is split in two parts.

** The first part shows Jackson "emerging alive from a Los Angeles County coroner's van." It came from "LosAngelesCot24" at http://bit.ly/7YSNZ. He says he got it from "a trustworthy source" that he's known for years - and that he's "sure it's real - and that Michael is alive." His version got more than 1 million hits.

** The second part is in German. It shows how the hoax was created by RTL, a German television company – using phony decals and stickers on a "coroner's van" – and getting a young actor to put on make up and a wig to "stand-in" as Michael Jackson. The video was shot in a garage near Cologne, Germany. It came from "MUZIKfactory2," at http://bit.ly/hucT5.

** RTL told the Associated Press (full story below) that it took the video down after one day, knowing that it would be copied and circulated worldwide on the Internet.

** Here's the full story as it appeared today. It was written by Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Jake Coyle in New York:

     BERLIN (AP) - A hoax video purportedly showing Michael Jackson emerging from a coroner's van was an experiment aimed at showing how quickly misinformation and conspiracy theories can race across the Internet, German broadcaster RTL said Tuesday.
     The video was posted by RTL on YouTube for a single day a week ago and received 880,000 hits. The broadcaster has since removed the video from YouTube, but it has been picked up by other Web sites around the world.
     "We wanted to show how easily users can be manipulated on the Internet with hoax videos," spokesman Heike Schultz of Cologne-based RTL told The Associated Press. "Therefore, we created this video of Michael Jackson being alive, even though everybody knows by now that he is dead - and the response was breathtaking."
     Jackson died June 25 in Los Angeles.
     The video - posted under an "anonymous source" - shows a coroner's van entering what seems like a parking garage and the King of Pop getting out of the back with another person. The lighting is bad, the sound muffled and the footage appears amateurish.
     "Unfortunately, many people believed it was true," Schultz said. "Even though we tried to create the video in a way that every normal user can see right away that it is a fake."
     He said the video was shot near Cologne - "definitely not in the U.S." The van in the video had the word "CORONER" printed in English, suggesting it had been recorded in America.
     RTL admitted to the hoax in an Aug. 26 report on its daily news show Explosiv.
     Hoaxes and rumors commonly spread like wildfire on the Internet. Videos of flying saucers and impossible stunts routinely are among the most-viewed on video-sharing sites, though purported evidence of the deceased being alive is less common than false rumors of someone's death.
     The rise of Twitter and its real-time microblogging has quickened the pace. American actor Patrick Swayze, who is battling pancreatic cancer, had to declare that he is still alive this year after thousands of Twitter users spread news that he was dead. Actor Jeff Goldblum had to do the same.
     The RTL spokesman said some Jackson fans were upset by the German broadcaster's actions.
     "We didn't want to dishonor Michael Jackson, but we needed a strong name to get this experiment going," Schultz said. "Had we used Britney Spears, then the fans of Britney would have complained."

** People who fall for such stuff remind me of the poor things who are habitually attracted to conspiracy theories. They don't believe in anything that's "official," that authorities have plenty to hide, that too many holes exist in their accounts of "what really happened," e.g., Elvis Presley is still alive, Walt Disney's body was frozen so he can be revived after a cure for cancer is found - and that 9/11 was an inside job - created or allowed to happen by George W. Bush.

** In an age where non-stop reality TV has blurred the lines between what's bogus and what's real - I believe every parent should use this video as a way to demonstrate to their children - that not everything they see on the Internet is true.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

WARNING: Are you still yapping or texting from your cell phone?

2009-08-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

** UPDATE (10:25 p.m., Pacific Time, Thursday, August 27, 2009): Please scroll down to near the bottom of this post for more information about the creators of the "driving while texting video" that has become an Internet sensation.

** WARNING – THE ABOVE CARTOON IS DARKLY FUNNY -- (Portland, Oregon-based cartoonist Shannon Wheeler is a fabulous talent who inspires humor and thought-provoking topics for discussion) – BUT THE IMAGES BELOW are screen shots take from a SERIOUS and GRAPHIC public service film from the United Kingdom.

** On July 1, 2008, California's ban against using cell phones while driving went into effect.

** More than one year later, while the law has created a greater awareness about the dangers of using cell phones while driving – the sad truth is it will probably take more accidents – and more tickets – to get more people in line. (Full disclosure: I haven't invested in hands-free technology, but I don't use my phone while driving.)

** Try this: The next time you're at a red light, count the number of cars going by with drivers using cell phones in broad daylight. I've done this several times and admittedly, it's not scientific, but about 3 cars for every 10 – contain drivers yapping away on their phones. (I've even seen drivers dropping/tilting their heads a little bit to avoid getting caught.)
** Almost 14 months later, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has issued 112,000 tickets against lawbreakers throughout the state. And when you include tickets issued by city and county police officers, that number balloons to about 250,000 citations. The average fine is about $120, depending upon where you live.

** And most of those tickets were for yapping. It's harder to catch people texting in their cars – which many believe is a greater scourge. Texting while driving is equivalent to an idiot using his thumbs to write a message – while at the wheel of a 2,000-pound killer clocked at 50-miles per hour.

** According to a release issued this month by the U.S. Department of Transportation, several deadly accidents involving texting behind the wheel have raised the possibility of even tougher laws and penalties. In 2008, a commuter train in Los Angeles -- whose driver was texting on a cell phone -- led to accident that killed 25 people and injured 135 others.

** "In another incident, a Florida truck driver admitted to texting moments before a collision with a school bus that killed a student," the release noted. And last month, "a 17-year-old high school student from Peoria, Illinois was killed when she drove off the road while texting with friends."

** And this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's hard to tell which accidents are caused by cell phone use and which aren't – because drivers who survive them won't admit using their phones – and it's hard to prove in the aftermath of cleaning wreckage from a crash.

** In the United Kingdom, a graphic public service film depicting the ravages of using cell phones in cars has spread virally on the Internet. The four-minute sequence involves British actors and creative talent – and is part of a larger 30-minute drama produced and directed by Peter Watkins-Hughes -- an award winning, former BBC TV producer with 15 years experience in documentary, animation, comedy and drama -- with credits in every genre from melodramas to gardening shows.

** Moreover, Mr. Watkins-Hughes is also a lecturer for the Documentary Film and Television department at the Newport School of Art, Media and Design in Wales. He enlisted his own students to work on the film, which was made for - and with - the Gwent Police Department, located about 150 miles west of London. Mr. Watkins-Hughes says the longer-version of this film will be shown at schools this year, to be incorporated within what's called the Personal and Social Education (PSE) curriculum. And he's now in talks with the BBC to have the film, presently entitled "COW" – to be broadcast later this year throughout the U.K.

** WARNING – the graphic, four-minute video clip below is professionally staged -- but appears very realistic and does a fine job hammering its message home. In my view, every parent should see it. It should be imported and licensed from Mr. Watkins-Hughes for broadcast throughout the United States. His contact information is available by clicking here.

** The clip above is part of a longer drama called "COW." According to its representatives, the film's synopsis is as follows: "It's all about Cassie Cowan, a nice girl from a Gwent valley's family who kills four people on the road because she used her mobile and lost her concentration for a few seconds. Gwent police is proud to have helped Brynmawr filmmaker Peter Watkins-Hughes in the production, which stars local drama students Jenny Davies as Cassie, and Amy Ingram and Laura Quantick as her friends, Emm and Jules." More credit information is available at the bottom of this post below.

** Many years ago I remember getting ticketed for not wearing a seat belt. At the time, the motor cop was almost embarrassed to hit me with a ticket for something other than a gross moving violation. Those days are gone. Today the state's seat belt law is vigorously enforced – and police officers no longer apologize. The combination of seat belts and air bags have dramatically lowered fatalities. You don't even have to look it up. Traffic accidents are still abundant, but lives are being saved. Most "higher-thinking primates" feel buckling up is an automatic reflex. So why then, are people still using their cell phones while driving?

** According to the June 2009 issue of Governing Magazine, what's more astonishing is "while 29 states have passed some kind of limit on cell-phone use...none has gone so far as to enact a total ban on drivers’ phone conversations." This means millions of people are still yapping and texting away, in spite of, the Los Angeles Times reports, a "growing body of studies which show that texting, conversing on hand-held phones or even chatting hands-free...makes us dangerous drivers, as likely to get into an accident as if we were legally drunk."

** The news isn't all bleak. According to Steven Bloch of the Automobile Club of Southern California, cell phone use in cars is down about 60 percent since the law went into effect. But not in New York. "In New York State, where a 'hands-free cell phones law' took effect in 2001, almost no effect of the law was found a year later," said Bloch.

** What's being done? Beyond the video above that should be licensed and imported for schools in the United States – there's a bill in the U.S. Senate (the ALERT Drivers Act) – which would punish states without laws against texting -- by cutting off millions of federal dollars for transportation. And U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has also called for a summit late next month -- to further investigate texting and other driving distractions.

** Mr. Bloch of the Automobile Club reports that since the cell phone ban in California, the 112,000 citations issued by the CHP alone – represents about 6 percent of all moving violation citations. "Hand-held cell phone use appears to have crept up slowly over the months, but contrary to a general perception of much higher usage, it's still far lower than it was before the law took effect a year ago..."

** Well OK, then. But I still see a lot of people using their cell phones, inviting an accident to happen. Obviously if you catch someone doing this, get as far away from them as possible.

** Or honk like hell.

** UPDATE (10:25 p.m., Pacific Time, Thursday, August 27, 2009): After posting this video Sunday, August 23, 2009 at You Tube -- click here, the bandwidth on my news site exploded. Thousands of viewers seeking the full context of the video's creation -- came over here, blowing past the standard settings on my photo-hosting account, temporarily knocking down many images. This problem has now been permanently resolved.

** I wish to make clear that I was NOT the first person to post this video. Others have uploaded it. The major difference between the videos is that most (not all) -- do NOT provide sufficient background information about how the film came to be. Many production artists and creative talents in the U.K. who deserve due credit for its creation, have rightly expressed irritation about "losing control" of their film to the Internet. I wish to correct some of that now.

** This 30-minute drama is available in additional snippets which have been largely ignored -- (compared to the video of the crash itself)-- but can be seen by visiting the work posted by film editor Richard Jon Micklewright, who worked on this production with producer-director Peter Watkins-Hughes -- and goes by the handle, "richardjonm" at You Tube. I encourage you to visit his video channel, where you will find the crash video clip, production credits and his contact information. (Parenthetically, it also also features my own verbatim introductory words and phrasing with my permission, presented in my standard news summary format).

** You will also find a series of "tasters" (which are equivalent to the word "teasers" in the United States) -- from the drama that surrounds the four-minute crash video clip. My only role was to frame the video's titanic importance for the very news column you're reading -- in order to point out the woeful lack of comprehensive bans against the use of cell phones in cars in many states here in the U.S. My intent is to call attention to a problem that, when corrected, will serve the greater good.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Why is getting published in the New Yorker a career-changing event?

2009-08-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

** The following was written and drawn by Portland, Oregon-based cartoonist Shannon Wheeler -- and appears in the August, 10, 2009 issue of The New Yorker.

** No further information is required to get the joke above, but it's worth noting that many people subscribe to the New Yorker -- just for its cartoons alone. According to figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), this seemingly "recession-proof" magazine still boasts a weekly circulation of 1.05 million copies.

** Shannon Wheeler is better known for his previous efforts, e.g., his alternative comic-strip series, "Too Much Coffee, Man" (which will soon be re-printed in book format) -- and for his Postage Stamp Funnies in the satirical publication, "The Onion." His cartoon collections have also been published by Dark Horse.

** But many believe Mr. Wheeler's career will soon shoot into the stratosphere -- because the New Yorker Magazine only began publishing his cartoons this year.

** "My age is 'old,'" wrote Mr. Wheeler in an e-mail reply to this column, "though when I met another New Yorker cartoonist, he recently called me a 'young cartoonist.' I'm 42 -- a very nice 'meaning of life' age to start getting published in the New Yorker."

** Nevertheless, getting published in The New Yorker remains a dream achievement for many budding artists and writers. It's believed to carry an instant stamp of acceptance by higher literary and artistic circles in the United States -- even though there are no guarantees that a creative talent will subsequently achieve long-term commercial success. Still, imagine what it means to an artist to get paid to do what he or she already loves -- with near complete freedom to "color outside the lines."

** No matter how agreeable or disagreeable one might feel about the New Yorker Magazine's politics, its cartoons are univerally admired for their dry wit. From the legendary James Thurber, Peter Arno and Charles Addams -- to today's Roz Chast and Leo Cullum -- the magazine's cartoonists have consistently entertained millions of readers for more than 80 years. (The New Yorker's first issue was published in February 1925. The cartoon below was drawn by Ward Sutton and appeared in the July 21, 2008 issue of the magazine.)

One Month Later -- What does Pat Brown's departure mean for local TV news?

2009-07-27T15:29:00.000-07:00

** On Friday, June 26, 2009, Pat Brown gave her last weather report on NBC-owned KNSD 39 (Cable Channel 7) in San Diego.

** The pioneering host of the groundbreaking "P.M. Magazine" show on KFMB Channel 8 during the 1980s – Ms. Brown had a near continuous presence on the San Diego television news landscape. The former state pageant queen from Sheperdstown, West Virginia (1977), moved west – and effortlessly re-invented herself into a beauty-with-brains TV personality and news reporter – before settling into her last incarnation as a weather anchor armed with an effervescently sunny on-air disposition. In an industry never known for stability, Ms. Brown's admirers knew her to be just that – a consistently productive and positive force for San Diego television programming – and for the community she continues to serve.

** The following Monday, Ms. Brown was replaced by Fritz Coleman, a nearly 30-year veteran of the TV wars from KNBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles, one of NBC's flagship-owned stations (alongside WNBC in New York).

** But that wasn't the headline to some of us. The headline was that the award-winning Mr. Coleman, by all accounts a "nice guy" with broad appeal – is now broadcasting his San Diego weather reports from Los Angeles – on a custom-built set back at KNBC.

** Though such "arrangements" aren't new – the move was the first of its kind involving a network-owned news station in San Diego. It illustrates the dire economic health of local television news – with KNSD NBC 39 (in my view) – probably faring the worst, budget wise, among its competitors. Station managers everywhere have been slashing budgets – first dumping behind-the-scenes staff and "superfluous programming" – while saving their biggest (and most visible) cuts for last.

** Pat Brown's departure wasn't your garden variety "revolving door" personnel change. It was emblematic of something worse that has cast a chill in the rooms and halls of KNSD NBC 39 – and beyond. Wishful-thinking station heads might be blocking out the precedent – and scoffing at satirically minded suggestions that any station that "jobs out" any portion of its local identity to a distant area code – is setting itself up to be wiped out entirely - by a thousand paper cuts afflicted over the next several years. Some TV insiders are quietly saying that "it could've been worse." Well, that's true. Maybe they should be thankful. They believe the tempest surrounding Ms. Brown's departure will "blow over." And likely it will. Fritz Coleman has already won over some skeptics – and I give credit to news director Greg Dawson for trying to manage the ill-smelling winds of anger still blowing after this change.

** But the bigger picture that's unique to KNSD NBC Channel 39 – has less to do with Pat Brown – and more to do with the station itself being owned by NBC. Ms. Brown's departure raised eyebrows, for sure. But what was more ideologically significant to journalists – was that her departure and subsequent replacement by talent based in Los Angeles - was the first blatant evidence of what's been going on for a long time at network-owned stations in markets smaller than San Diego, e.g., the creeping decentralization of news and weather information – led by network executives who work in distant offices. Thus we have a classic instance whereby it's not always good to be OWNED by a network – and why it's sometimes better to be a network affiliate operating with greater independence.

** Since about 2002, TV news stations have been trending toward hiring more versatile reporters and anchors. These so-called "video-journalists" carry their own cameras and edit their own news segments – and sometimes get the privilege to present them live on the anchor desks where their higher-paid colleagues sit. Everyone knows that every "hybrid journalist" invited to the anchor desk to present his or her story – is being "screen tested." Such "hybrids" save big-time dollars for station managers – and equally significant, they can serve as "leverage" when the contracts of highly paid news anchors come up for renewal.

** On the surface, it appears to some that Pat Brown's "Achilles heel" was not being "versatile" enough. If so, you can count on other anchors at NBC 7/39 to be reviewed similarly for "fitness and compatibility" with the network's finance department. Hence the oft-heard advice during the last few years remains sound, e.g., "if you're still in TV news – the faster you can jump on the "hybrid train" the better – thus avoiding obsolescence and/or getting dragged or tossed behind.

** Local news anchors draw salaries that are double, triple or even higher than those working behind the scenes. An anchor's "work" is to bring in ratings. So what's that got to do with Pat Brown? Nothing unless you think she was a drag on ratings. I personally don't. It was all about saving money – but in a way more pernicious because the station is owned by a network - that decreed that news about the weather – does NOT require a local person to deliver it, hence can be pared less painfully than other departments.

** Everyone working in television news sees the handwriting on the wall. But in the past, even when times were good - that handwriting was mostly about being dumped in a budget cut and being replaced by someone cheaper, usually someone younger from a smaller market.

** But at a network-OWNED station – you have the additional fear of watching departments consolidated or phased out in stages, replaced by talent or crews located hundreds of miles away at other stations bigger than your own. It's analogous to newspapers shedding staff while publishing articles by news syndicates or wire services that are written in other states.

** What's unfortunate is despite the acknowledged downturn in local TV news nationwide - (because web-based news keeps siphoning viewers away) – the band-aid patches applied by network-owned-and-operated "suits" can't stop the bleeding. And watering down a station's local news product – under the aegis of saving money during a recession – also risks washing away the higher purpose of targeting audiences and advertisers in a region that will drift further away from KNSD NBC Channel 39 – and toward competing stations that remain committed to San Diego.

** It bears repeating that San Diego is the ninth largest city in the U.S. Yet corporate America and NBC keeps treating San Diego as if it's geographically, demographically and politically identical to Los Angeles. I sense that Mr. Dawson knows this to be true, even if he can't say it. Corporate America has always acted as if San Diego is a suburb of Los Angeles – and even believe its WEATHER is the same – despite San Diego's location on a harbor and Los Angeles's location on a smoggy basin.

** NOTE: Philadelphia is about the same distance to New York (and yet so different in character) - as San Diego is to Los Angeles. But NBC knows that replacing Philly-based weather anchors at WCAU NBC Channel 10 - with their counterparts at WNBC 4 in New York - would be greeted with outrage. Yet network executives continue to have a "blind spot" about San Diego - seeing it as being the same as L.A. - despite the polarizing political and cultural differences that are obvious to viewers in both cities.

** Pat Brown will re-invent herself like she always has – and will turn up soon because of her strong ties to the community. But in my view, intra-state or interstate consolidations – involving network-owned news stations like KNSD Channel 39 in San Diego – are incompatible with efforts to maintain revenues from local advertisers. Magnify that when you consider NBC's prime-time lineup is weak on every evening except Thursday – and that its sports product is limited to golf, NFL Sunday Night Football and the Olympics.

** The final irony amid all these words is this. A visit to KNSD NBC 7/39's website on Monday, July 27, 2009 at 9:45 p.m. Pacific Time – yielded the following banner slogan:

* * * * * *

Hitler Gets Slammed by Housing Meltdown

2009-07-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

** Michelle Miller Slingerland, a former colleague in real estate marketing, sent this to me today and it's a knock-out.

** The parody below consists of new subtitles placed over Hitler's dialogue -- (portrayed by Swiss actor Bruno Ganz) -- ruminating about the adverse effects of the housing crash.

** Its creator is a contributor who goes by the name, "Jamnospam" -- and he or she has assembled what I believe to be the best of the parodies taken from the critically acclaimed German drama, "Downfall" ("Der Untergang," 2004) -- director Oliver Hirschbiegel's take on the final days of Adolph Hitler.

** The parody (and "knock-offs" like it) -- draw from the same climactic scene, which show Hitler going on a tirade, railing against his officers. All have been somewhat controversial, generating protests from Holocaust groups -- as well as objections from Constantin Film Production, which distributed the film. According to news reports, Constantin has even called on YouTube to remove many of the videos, citing copyright infringement.

** However, YouTube left this version alone because its creator skillfully inserted a title card, citing (with a link) fair-use law and its relationship to parodies protected by the First Amendment.

** As Mel Brooks says about his parodies of Nazi Germany -- beyond punishing Nazis for their crimes, an equally effective way to "get back" at Adolph Hitler is to mock him, to make fun of him, to humiliate him, etc. This is how he defended his work on "The Producers" in 1968 -- and again when the Broadway stage version of his film won a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards in 2001.

** While "knock-offs" of this parody have addressed pop culture phenomena -- none, in my view, have the sparkling clarity and wit as this version, e.g., Hitler's whining references to "flipping properties for profit," missing his "granite countertops," and the presumed safety of his 401(k). He even takes out his rage against the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

** The popularity of this parody is uncontested, generating nearly 2 million hits since its debut in November 2008.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Sorry if you're missing out on the Cash for Clunkers Program.

2009-07-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

** Only a brief single entry today, just to make sure you're awake.

** My vote for the week's best topical e-card is below. It again comes from my favorite alternative e-cards site -- (I should get paid for continuing to shill this company):

** See my entry from July 1, 2009 to learn more about the crazy people responsible for these witty-as-heck little cards.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Surprise rooftop concert attracts thousands in NYC.

2009-07-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

** Just finished watching an astounding web-only video of a true legend -- former Beatle Paul McCartney performing a seven-song, 30-minute set late yesterday afternoon/evening on top of the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC, attracting thousands on the streets near Broadway and 53rd.

** CBS/Viacom/Worldwide Pants have since taken down the 22-minute video which showed five songs that never aired on network television. The other two songs ("Get Back" and "Sing the Changes") -- were integrated into the Letterman show itself, where he was last night's solo guest -- in conjunction with a summer concert tour throughout the U.S. to promote his "Electric Arguments" album (released last year).

** Although just one video remains ("Get Back"), what's striking about it is: 1) the crowd reaction, filled with a mix of young and old, many watching from the windows of nearby high-rises and, 2) at age 67, Sir Paul still has a vigorous ability to churn out "lesser tunes" from his legendary songbook -- in a way that's entertainingly RAW, away from the antiseptic effects of a recording studio.

** Coming full circle with the Beatles in 1964 at the Ed Sullivan Theater -- and then back to the same theater in 2009 -- is pretty amazing. The other five songs in the seven-song set that McCartney played: "Coming Up" (1980), "Band on the Run" (1973), "Let Me Roll It" (1973), "Helter Skelter" (1968) and "Back in the USSR" (1968).

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)

Bad Drywall, Bad PR -- Making the Best Out of a Smelly Mess.

2009-07-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

** My favorite business writer for the Wall Street Journal, James Hagerty, has written a short update about the bad drywall from China that was used by some builders in the United States.

** The upshot is Miami-based Lennar Homes -- the largest major builder to publicly come clean about the drywall -- has set aside tens of millions of dollars to get it replaced in hundreds of homes in Florida.

** Unless you've been in a cave -- most of us who remain interested in the travails of the home building industry already know that the Chinese drywall has been implicated in hundreds of reports in more than 20 states (mostly in the Southeast) -- from homeowners complaining about bad smells, irritated throats and eyes and visible evidence of metal corrosion.

** In my view, too many builders fearful of present and future liability/litigation have been hidebound about this issue -- or at the very least, have been too careful when called upon to respond publicly to questions about bad drywall.

** So while I think it's laudable that Lennar has decided to tackle the issue head-on, the cynic in me is bummed that the WSJ had to find out about Lennar's actions in a mandatory filing with the SEC on July 10, a Friday before the weekend.

** PR pros already know that "end of week" filings always looks suspicious to news editors accustomed to companies trying to bury a controversial issue. But companies keep doing it, even though their timing is almost universally viewed as damage control, e.g., an effort to minimize public and investor relations exposure a company might otherwise receive -- from a similar "splash" appearing on a routine business day. If Lennar was truly interested in improving public and customer relations -- it could've issued a press release about it -- even if it meant using the same legally-vetted language in its securities filing. (A check of Lennar's investor relations website indicates the company did not issue a press release about this.)

** Having once worked for more than a decade inside the walls of a publicly traded Fortune 500 company, there's little doubt to me -- that a discussion took place about the ramifications of any announcement related to the bad drywall -- between Lennar's finance and legal departments -- with or without input from its marketing and public relations teams.

** I strongly believe the level of candor imbedded in a company's corporate culture -- is the pivot point, the deciding factor if you will -- that determines whether damaging information reported in a securities filing -- will be concurrently reported in a news release -- that goes independently to customers via the media.

** I'm curious about what other marketing and PR experts think about the balancing act required in cases like this -- whereby a company attempts to minimize exposure to liability -- while still appearing sensitive and forthcoming to customers. Most of us still hold Johnson & Johnson's proactive handling of Tylenol in 1982 (tampered bottles discovered laced with cyanide) -- and in 2009 (FDA committee recommends banning Percocet and Vicodin and stronger warnings about acetaminophen causing liver damage in high doses) -- as the gold standard of public relations/marketing/crisis communications.

** You can read the WSJ story in its entirety by clicking here or on the image above.

(Original material © 2009 by David Kusumoto.)