Many of you budding millionaires who use Google AdSense will want a preview of the ads available for (or already showing) on your blog. Authorizing third-party ads on your website is always a crap shoot. Being upset by a link is bad enough, but what worse atrocities lurk at the linked site? 
 
Continue reading “Using The AdSense Preview Tool In Firefox” »

International clamor over Iran’s presidential election has reached deafening proportions. The incendiary struggle is fueled in no small part by Twitter’s dominance as a global “one-to-many” communication tool. Confronted with a media blackout, CNN has relied extensively on tweets and re-tweets (RTs) in the #iranelection and #neda hashtag feed. Even friends of mine who have self-identified as apolitical are showing an interest and lending their supportive voices to the Iranian people. Hooray for Twitter. This historical moment shows technology in its best and brightest light.

But beyond the human struggle, technological triumphs, and media saturation, a nagging familiarity prodded a memory of 2000 and America’s own stolen presidency. 
 
Continue reading “Iran’s Stolen Election? Been There, Done That” »

NBC has been my most watched non-cable network for years. That may soon change. E! Online reported earlier this week that NBC had canceled My Name Is Earl and Medium. This move only compounds the loss of Life and Knight Rider. OK, Knight Rider maybe wasn’t such a surprise but one’s lust for muscle car porn must be sated. 
 
Continue reading “My Name Is Cancelled” »

Continue reading “The Sounds Of Silence” »

I followed the rainbow to its end. It stopped at a 24 hour supermarket. What does that mean?

Yep. That’s the plot machine. Friend to the idea-less. It links to Script Frenzy, a site where members try to complete a 100 page script every April. I’m semi-committed and after NaNoWrimo, not ashamed of my ambivalence. The months that followed after I committed to Wrimo were some of the darkest in my life. If I were superstitious I might infer a connection. I’m not superstitious. But I still have to fit every ambition and stretch goal I have into my “real” life. So this is me, sliding cooly into Frenzy. Win or lose, it’s all good.

Having been thoroughly trounced by NaNoWriMo I still haven’t learned my lesson. I’m flirting with Script Frenzy this year. Yes, I know it’s already begun and the foreplay should be in the rear view mirror by now. But I’m taking a different, more casual path than I took with Wrimo. I have a couple of ideas and I’m developing them a bit before actually diving into that empty pool (or blank screen… pick your metaphor). Stay tuned.

You, dear reader obviously have a lot to learn about blogging. Like knowing the difference between a dormant blog and one that’s resting comfortably. The difference between a blog stifled by it’s own self-important meteoric rise, and one taking the time to contemplate weightier matters in life, such as Naomi Elizabeth.

As much performance artist as musician, Naomi hit my radar a couple of weeks ago. Again, I’m so slow; the embed is over a year old. But the allure is timeless, even through the campiness. Check out the rest of her YouTube and MySpace fare.

He’s driven or flown everywhere he goes. He has armed security 24/7. He “lives” in the White House with (presumably) dozens of staff. Someone else (presumably) checks his mail. Not counting the ever popularly portrayed “nuclear key”, does the President carry any other keys?

Yes, that is Michael Phelps, winner of 14 Olympic Gold Medals bogarting the bong. You have to feel sorry for the poor bastard next in line. But the upside is that this may distract mainstream media long enough to allow Obama to get some work done.

The truth is this photo merely shows how much of a religion sports in general have become. Phelps’ accomplishments are stellar but his swimming prowess should not make him a de facto role model for children. Let’s face it, that’s the real rub. He’s tarnished the role model status foisted upon professional athletes whether they want it or not. Imagine if he’d been caught getting a blowjob! (As if those damned NBA players could spare any).

Here’s the truth. Parents need to be the role model and set the bar for kids. Responsible adults need to place sports back into its proper place as recreation… profitable, yes, but entertainment nonetheless. There’s no better time than Superbowl night to say this. The notion that Phelps has transgressed any worse than the scores of crooked politicians running the country is laughable. Rock on man!

Thanks to Kerry Lauerman of Open Salon for the radar blip, and to News of the World for the photo and 1000+ comments on this story.