Category Archives: Uncategorized

July 5, 2011 · 4:08 pm

Justin Bieber’s Vanity Fair Lowest Selling Issue in 12 Years

Duh…

As some of you may recall, I questioned this when I got my copy of “Vanity Fair” in the mail.  Justin Bieber is not exactly the type of celebrity that appeals to the “Vanity Fair” audience.

He’s more like “Tiger Beat”.  But apparently even his “Teen Vogue ” cover also tanked…

I guess the ‘tweens and teens are more digital.  Another “Duh…”

I only took one Marketing course in College, but even I remember the concept of “target marketing”.  Justin Bieber just doesn’t appeal to “Vanity Fair’s” target market – or to most educated, discriminating upscale music buyers and listeners.

Massive marketing failure….

Justin Bieber may have more than 10 million Twitter followers, and a hit with his documentary Never Say Never — but that doesn’t translate into newsstand sales for the magazine covers he graces.

The February Vanity Fair that featured the 17-year-old covered in lipstick kisses is on track to become the worst selling issue in 12 years, Women’s Wear Daily reports. It may also become one of the three worst sellers for the magazine since Graydon Carter was named editor in chief in 1992.

“Who knew 12-year-olds didn’t buy magazines?” said a Vanity Fair spokeswoman.

It’s sold 246,000 copies, according to Audit Bureau of Circulation’s’ Rapid Report — which is not yet audited, so numbers could change slightly.

AND

Bieber didn’t only lower numbers for Vanity Fair. His October 2010 Teen Vogue cover sold 121,054 copies, which is about 12 percent below the magazine’s 2010 average, WWD points out.

People’s April 2010 Bieber cover sold 961,762 copies, which was down 25 percent from its annual sales in 2010, and became the third worst seller of the weekly that year.

via Justin Bieber’s Vanity Fair Lowest Selling Issue in 12 Years – The Hollywood Reporter.

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July 2, 2011 · 5:20 pm

Chapter 58: The Wiseman | My Southern Gothic Life

New post up on my other blog, My Southern Gothic Life.  Here is an excerpt and a link to the full post and blog:

We’re going to get really heavy Southern Gothic here.  Just give me time to get there….

Let me start by saying, after 20 years in a Corporate office, I started working from home a couple of weeks ago.  I’m going to like it, but it’s a big change.

I sometimes go days without leaving the house, or at least the neighborhood.  I’ve gone from wearing about $500 worth of Brooks Brothers business casual clothes and Cole Hahn shoes every day  to working every day  in $35 North Face shorts and $4.99 Target T- Shirts.  And $100 Ecco Flip Flops.  I have to maintain some standards.  I only shave every other day to  pay my penance.  It’s quite the adjustment.

I probably didn’t need to put on the Corporate drag so heavily when I had an office, but I was raised to believe “Image is everything.”

Somehow, through all this, I’ve lately been thinking of my late Uncle Wiseman.

via Chapter 58: The Wiseman | My Southern Gothic Life.

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July 2, 2011 · 4:35 pm

Going Populist? Dems Put GOP On Spot Over Tax Benefits For The Super-Rich | TPMDC

It’s really unbelievable the GOP wants to cut Medicaid, kill Medicare and cut Social Security, but they won’t agree to any tax increases for Millionaires and Billionaires.

Even on yachts or private planes.

I don’t see how anyone who isn’t a millionaire can continue to be fooled into voting Republican.

You really ought to click the link and read this article from Talking Points Memo….

 

The Democrats’ response, from the rank and file up to President Obama, has been a political twofer. If Republicans are taking all taxes off the table, then they’re playing reverse Robin Hood — demanding trillions in cuts to social programs while refusing to budge on preferences to unfathomably wealthy special interests. It’s class war, but in tactical sense. If they can make the GOP feel so uncomfortable that they agree to end special tax favors for the ultra-wealthy — even if those favors don’t ultimately cost that much money — then maybe they can break the anti-tax firewall and encroach on $400 billion.

Here’s what they’re focusing on.

via Going Populist? Dems Put GOP On Spot Over Tax Benefits For The Super-Rich | TPMDC.

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July 1, 2011 · 7:00 pm

Lies Become Truths: The Demise of the Newspaper Leaves Americans Dumber, Blinder and Prone to Ideological Manipulation | | AlterNet

Great article on AlterNet.com about the impact of the death of newspapers.

Here’s an excerpt and a link to the full article:

The great newspapers sustained legendary reporters such as I.F. Stone, Murray Kempton and Homer Bigart who wrote stories that brought down embezzlers, cheats, crooks and liars, who covered wars and conflicts, who told us about famines in Africa and the peculiarities of the French or what it was like to be poor and forgotten in our urban slums or Appalachia. These presses churned out raw lists of data, from sports scores to stock prices. Newspapers took us into parts of the city or the world we would never otherwise have seen or visited. Reporters and critics reviewed movies, books, dance, theater and music and covered sporting events. Newspapers printed the text of presidential addresses, sent reporters to chronicle the inner workings of City Hall and followed the courts and the police. Photographers and reporters raced to cover the lurid and the macabre, from Mafia hits to crimes of passion.

We are losing a peculiar culture and an ethic. This loss is impoverishing our civil discourse and leaving us less and less connected to the city, the nation and the world around us. The death of newsprint represents the end of an era. And news gathering will not be replaced by the Internet. Journalism, at least on the large scale of old newsrooms, is no longer commercially viable. Reporting is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It requires going out and talking to people. It means doing this every day. It means looking constantly for sources, tips, leads, documents, informants, whistle-blowers, new facts and information, untold stories and news. Reporters often spend days finding little or nothing of significance. The work can be tedious and is expensive. And as the budgets of large metropolitan dailies shrink, the very trade of reporting declines. Most city papers at their zenith employed several hundred reporters and editors and had operating budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The steady decline of the news business means we are plunging larger and larger parts of our society into dark holes and opening up greater opportunities for unchecked corruption, disinformation and the abuse of power.

via Lies Become Truths: The Demise of the Newspaper Leaves Americans Dumber, Blinder and Prone to Ideological Manipulation | | AlterNet.

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July 1, 2011 · 5:00 pm

VA Congressman Eric Cantor Could Rake in Windfall If Debt Ceiling Isn’t Raised

Talk about a conflict of interest….

This guy was one of the lead negotiators for the Republicans until he took his toys and went home…

And it seems a just a wee bit unpatriotic to bet against the interests of the U.S.A.  And a little stupid, from a PR and political standpoint, for a sitting U.S. Congressman to make this kind of investment.  But with the GOP, money trumps everything else….

Another reason Eric Cantor tops the very long and competitive list of Republican slimy jerks.

From RawStory.com:

Economists have said that failing to raise the debt ceiling could be catastrophic for the U.S. economy, but at least one lawmaker stands to gain financially if the country defaults on its debts.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) latest financial disclosure statement indicates that he owns up to $15,000 of ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT, a fund that will likely skyrocket as U.S. debt becomes less desirable.

“If the debt ceiling isn’t raised, investors would start fleeing U.S. Treasuries,” Motley Fool’s Matt Koppenheffer told Salon. “Yields would rise, prices would fall, and the Proshares ETF should do very well. It would spike.”

“Cantor’s involvement in the fund and negotiations is not ideal,” he added. “I don’t think someone negotiating the debt ceiling should be invested in this kind of an ultra-short… It looks pretty bad.”

Cantor pulled out of negotiations to raise the debt limit last week saying, “Now is the time for these talks to go into abeyance.”

Since that time, ProShares ETF is up 3.3 percent.

“Cantor’s office claims the investment is simply part of a balanced portfolio,” noted Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen. “It’s hardly a stretch, though, to suggest prominent officials should avoid these kinds of conflicts of interest.”

via Cantor could rake in windfall if debt ceiling isn’t raised | The Raw Story.

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July 1, 2011 · 3:47 pm

John Lennon: Reagan Loving, Closet Republican?

Say it isn’t so!!!!

If it is true, it will probably freak out even more Republicans than Liberals….

From NPR:

The same man who wrote “Imagine;” who dreamed about a world without religion, just a “brotherhood of man;” the man who conducted naked sit-ins in bed to protest the Vietnam War; the long haired, pot smoking, peace loving hippie; the front man of the Beatles—yes that man, John Lennon, might have been a Reagan loving, closeted Republican. Sounds too crazy to be true? It just might be, but a new documentary based on interviews with Lennon’s personal assistant, Fred Seaman, claims that the iconic rock star’s political views had evolved by the end of the 1970’s and that by the time Ronald Reagan was running for office Lennon had morphed into a Republican. As told in the new documentary “Beatles Stories,” the assistant Seaman said, “John, basically, made it very clear that if he were an American he would vote for Reagan because he was really sour on Jimmy Carter.” Could one of the most famous and noteworthy progressive peace activists of all time, John Lennon, have been a secret GOPer?

MORE:   John Lennon: Reagan loving, closet Republican? | 89.3 KPCC.

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June 27, 2011 · 8:01 pm

Cost of Air Conditioning for U.S. Troops in MidEast More Than Entire NASA Budget

This is amazing….

It’s time to end these wars and bring these folks home…

This is getting too ridiculous on too many levels…

From RawStory.com:

The United States spends $20.2 billion annually on air conditioning for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan — more than NASA’s entire budget, NPR reported.

In fact, the same amount of money that keeps soldiers cool is the amount the G-8 has committed to helping the fledgling democracies in Tunisia and Egypt.

The necessary cooling costs so much because of the remote locations and danger involved in delivery equipment and fuel, Steven Anderson, a retired logistician who served under Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq.

“When you consider the cost to deliver the fuel to some of the most isolated places in the world — escorting, command and control, medevac support — when you throw all that infrastructure in, we’re talking over $20 billion,” Anderson told NPR. “You’ve got risks that are associated with moving the fuel almost every mile of the way.”

And it’s a long way to move the fuel: 800 miles of “improved goat trails” separate Karachi, where the fuel is shipped in, to Afghanistan. The transport takes 18 days.

By embracing green practices, Anderson said, money and soldiers’ lives could be saved: more than 1,000 troops have died while transporting fuel. Their trucks are a popular target, and commanders have to stop their operations to leave and go on fuel runs. When they’re gone, he said, the insurgents know they’re gone, and the U.S. troops lose ground in their missions.

Experiments have been conducted using polyurethane foam insulation in the tents to shield soldiers from the 125-degree heat of the Middle East, cutting energy use by 92 percent. However, nobody is enthusiastic about taking initiative to green the military.

“A simple policy signed by the secretary of defense — a one- or two-page memo, saying we will no longer build anything other than energy-efficient structures in Iraq and Afghanistan — would have a profound impact,” Anderson said.

via Cost of air conditioning for U.S. troops in MidEast more than NASA budget | The Raw Story.

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June 25, 2011 · 6:50 pm

Majority Of U.S. Babies Are Non-White For First Time

This is great news.

Old White People have done enough.  We can thank them for the Republican House of Representatives, Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell.

They can go now….they all just need to sit down, watch Fox News and let the younger folks take us forward…

I’m looking forward to seeing how the new multi-racial, multi-cultural U.S. shapes up politically….

If we can just get through the next few years…

From The Huffington Post:

 

For the first time, minorities make up a majority of babies in the U.S., part of a sweeping race change and growing age divide between mostly white, older Americans and predominantly minority youths that could reshape government policies.

Preliminary census estimates also show the share of African-American households headed by women – made up of mostly single mothers – now exceeds African-American households with married couples, a sign of declining U.S. marriages overall but also continuing challenges for black youths without involved fathers.

The findings, based on the latest government data, offer a preview of final 2010 census results being released this summer that provide detailed breakdowns by age, race and householder relationships such as same-sex couples.

Demographers say the numbers provide the clearest confirmation yet of a changing social order, one in which racial and ethnic minorities will become the U.S. majority by midcentury.

“We’re moving toward an acknowledgment that we’re living in a different world than the 1950s, where married or two-parent heterosexual couples are now no longer the norm for a lot of kids, especially kids of color,” said Laura Speer, coordinator of the Kids Count project for the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.

“It’s clear the younger generation is very demographically different from the elderly, something to keep in mind as politics plays out on how programs for the elderly get supported,” she said. “It’s critical that children are able to grow to compete internationally and keep state economies rolling.”

Currently, non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of all children 3 years old, which is the youngest age group shown in the Census Bureau’s October 2009 annual survey, its most recent. In 1990, more than 60 percent of children in that age group were white.

William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed the data, said figures in the 2009 survey can sometimes be inexact compared with the 2010 census, which queries the entire nation. But he said when factoring in the 2010 data released so far, minorities outnumber whites among babies under age 2.

via Majority Of U.S. Babies Are Non-White For First Time, Census Finds.

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June 25, 2011 · 12:47 pm

The Scary Faces of Gay Marriage

Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka To Marry: Gay Marriage Passage Enables Stars To Wed

Good for them!

Is this what the conservatives are so scared of????

From The Huffington Post:

As Americans of all stripes celebrated the passage of marriage equality in the New York State Senate, gay New Yorker couples affirmed their commitments to one another and began the 30-day countdown until they could finally say “I Do.” Amongst them, one of New York’s most famous gay couples jubilantly announced that they were getting married.

Neil Patrick Harris, the “How I Met Your Mother” star and Tonys host, became engaged late Friday night to his longtime partner, actor/chef David Burtka. Earlier in the night, Harris tweeted words of encouragement to the State Senate and said he’d “sure love to get married,” and following the law’s passage, Burtka took to Twitter and announced that the two were getting hitched.

“I’d sure love to get married. Please, NY Senate, vote in favor of marriage equality today. My family would really appreciate it,” Harris wrote before the vote; once it was passed, he tweeted his excitement, saying, “It PASSED! Marriage equality in NY!! Yes!! Progress!! Thank you everyone who worked so hard on this!! A historic night!”

Burtka then gave the big news in a tweet to a fan. “I’ve already purposed, he said yes! Thank god!” he wrote, before adding, “he proposed to me as well. I said yes! Thank god!”

Of course, it only makes sense that the pair should be allowed to marry; together for at least five years, the pair are fathers to fraternal twins, Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, born via surrogate in October 2010.

Congratulations to the happy couple, and all the other loving pairs finally granted equal rights in New York State.

via Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka To Marry: Gay Marriage Passage Enables Stars To Wed.

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June 24, 2011 · 11:38 pm

Gay Marriage Legal in New York State

Thank you , New York!

As Kander and Ebb wrote:  “If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere.  It’s up to you, New York, New York.”

I’m no big believer in marriage- gay or straight.  I’ve often said, my parents had a marriage that made George and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” look like amateurs.

To me, it’s all about legality.  We need to be able to recognize gay relationships and apply the same legal protections that straight marriage automatically provides.  I want Steve to be able to be by my side if I have to go to the hospital and make my medical decisions if I’m incapacitated. I want Steve to inherit my estate- and vice versa- on the same legal grounds as a married couple.  Without having to present some form…

We have been together almost 15 years.  We are totally financially intertwined as far as property and mutual responsibility is concerned.  The laws need to recognize that….

Screw the Church ceremonies and gift registries -although there is a lot of money to be made there….That should be enough alone for America to embrace Gay Marriage.

Just think how much money the Gay community would spend on weddings…

We would probably just call our friend Vanita over to say a few words in the living room with a few close friends.  Then give one hell of a party!

We already have 6 sets of dishes and that is quite enough.

We just need to have our relationship recognized as legally binding so we are protected if and when one of us gets sick or- god forbid- passes on.

I dare anyone to say our 15 years together doesn’t deserve some sort of legal recognition- without having to pay an attorney thousands of dollars to protect the rights straight peope get with one marriage license.

I don’t want to be “married” as much as I want to be legally recognized and protected.  And New York has realized that point.

Call it what you will…Marriage is a legal condition, not a religious one….

This has nothing to do with Religion and everything to do with fairness and equality.

ALBANY – New York made history last night as the State Senate voted “aye” on gay marriage.

Senators passed the bill 33 to 29 as the normally somnolent chambers erupted in a raucous chant of “USA! USA!”

“As I have said many times, this is a very difficult issue and it will be a vote of conscience for every member of the Senate,” said GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau).

New York joined Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and Washington, D.C., in legally recognizing gay marriage.

“I’m verklempt,” said a nervously optimistic Assemblyman Matthew Titone (D-S.I), one of five openly gay state lawmakers prior to the vote. “I’m still in a state of disbelief.”

The Assembly passed the bill last week for the fourth time since 2007.

It was only two years ago that gay marriage was easily defeated in the then Democrat-controlled Senate. Now, the rush to the altar could begin 30 days after Gov. Cuomo, who made gay marriage a priority, signs the bill.

For gay couples, marriage means more than just swapping rings.

For the first time they qualify for the same 1,324 state marriage benefits afforded to straight couples.

via Gay marriage legal in New York State after Senate passes historic bill 33-29.

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