For those of you who are curious, I’m still in Shreveport, taking care of my Dad. Not much more to report. I’ll be back – and back writing, when I can.
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Where I’ve been.
For those of you that are regular readers of this blog, you might wonder, “Where’s Captain Digital?” The answer is, I’ve been busy, taking care of family stuff. And unfortunately, I’m not yet done.
I’d love to tell you all about it, and someday, perhaps I will. Suffice it to say that family’s gotta come first. Of course it didn’t help that I expected to have web access here, and that didn’t happen until late last night/early this morning.
I’ll be back sometime soon, I hope. In the meantime, please forgive me if I’m not able to post as often as I’d like.
Talk to you soon.
Michael Jackson and web traffic.
I gotta say I’m floored.
I write two blogs – one on marketing (blog.grokmedia.com) and this one on politics, pop culture, and whatever else interests me. The other day, I wrote a post on the phenomenon surrounding the death of Michael Jackson. Let me just say that I’ve NEVER seen anything like the kinds of numbers I’m getting on my visitor logs like I’ve seen since Jackson’s death. I’ve seen – and I’m NOT exaggerating – an uptick of approximately 1,000 times more hits.
That’s insane.
And I’m not alone – Google originally thought that the search hits they were getting on “Michael Jackson” was a coordinated denial of service (DoS) attack. Nope. Just millions of people, searching for anything and everything they could find on the subject of Michael Jackson. My question is, “why”? I mean, sure, Jackson was a pop superstar (emphasis on the word “was”), but are you seriously telling me that he’s THAT popular now? Here are the possible reasons I can fathom for the current fascination with Jackson: [Read more…] about Michael Jackson and web traffic.
Hell to the Veep.
Back in the day, I had a college professor for Freshman English who’s favorite assignment was for us to “compare and contrast.” (Beowulf versus Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was his favorite smackdown.) I thought about him today when I read yet another story about Joe Biden, our illustrious Vice President, putting his foot in his mouth yet again. (Are his shoes orthopedic or orthodontic?) Think back several administrations ago, when Bush the First was in office. Back then, the media’s favorite sport was lying in wait for then-Vice President Dan Quayle to say something – anything – that they could pounce on. Remember the big brouhaha about “Potatoe”? How about his comment about unwed mothers? As I recall, nothing Quayle did or said even remotely approached the idiocy of what our current Veep comes out with on a more-or-less regular basis. And while we do get to hear about what Biden says (thanks to FOX News and conservative Talk Radio), nobody in the mainstream press seems to be able to muster up more than a “that’s just ol’ crazy Uncle Joe…gotta love him” kind of riff. No outrage. No “off with his head frothing at the mouth.” No “get this guy a muzzle, stat!” panic from the members of the fourth estate. No, they saved all that for Danforth “Full Dinner Jacket” Quayle. Nope. Nary a peep outta the media over Biden, even as virtually every Republican I know is suddenly praying fervently for the continued health of Obama. [Read more…] about Hell to the Veep.
Social Networking Gone Bad.
I’m a fan of social networking sites. I’m not big on Facebook and Twitter and MySpace – but I have a presence there, largely because they’ve each reached critical mass. They are useful for keeping track of old friends. That’s all well and good, but I’m far more interested in business-oriented sites. Keeping in touch with business contacts and former co-workers is a networker’s dream. It’s something that’s really useful, especially when you’re looking for a job, or seeking a way into a company to grab and account. [Read more…] about Social Networking Gone Bad.
An Open Letter to the British PM.
Dear Prime Minister Brown:
I noted, with interest, the reception provided you by President and Mrs. Obama upon the occasion of your first State visit to our shores. As a private citizen who has never held elective office, I usually leave maters of State to the State Department and the Executive branch. However, due to recent events, I feel I must express myself regarding your treatment by our new President.
First, allow me, on behalf of the American people, to apologize to you, your wife, and your country. Because of the way democracies work (and remember, we learned most of what we know of democracies from your ancestors), we periodically elect a new leader. He or she is chosen to not only lead our country, but to represent our country to other countries and other visiting dignitaries. I wish I could claim that Mr. Obama, being new to the job, and all, is just having some first-100-days jitters. I fear this is not the case. I am deeply concerned that he and his administration are tone-deaf, when it comes to foreign policy, and are confusing the ways you treat friends with the way you treat foes. I’m afraid that President and Mrs. Obama insulted you. Even worse, I’m afraid that they might have done so out of a boorish sense of disdain for your country, our shared history, and your country’s support of our mutual efforts to fight Islamic Fundamentalism. Regardless of their motives and their feelings, Great Britain is our oldest, most loyal, and most treasured ally. You deserve our respect, our gratitude, our admiration, and our friendship. By their rude behavior, I’m afraid that you and the British people may believe Americans are ungrateful, spoiled, and boorish. Please let me assure you that the President’s behavior does not reflect the sentiments of the United States of America. And I hope that you will not allow his slight to drive a wedge between our two great nations. [Read more…] about An Open Letter to the British PM.
Handicapping the Oscars.
Do you love movies? I used to. Hooray for Hollywood and all that. It used to be our best export – American culture via movies was the original nation-building exercise. Even countries that hate us loved our entertainment. Today, things are different. I’m ashamed of most of the America-bashing, far-Left ideology-spewing, self-absorbed naval gazing, crapalicious dreck coming out of Hollywood nowadays. And I’m not alone. Movie attendance is way, way down in the so-called “Red States,” and the number-one with a car bomb objection raised by Islamic fundamentalist nutjobs is the “decadent” entertainment designed to break down traditional cultures – like theres. I used to enjoy watching the Oscar ceremony, pulling for my favorite movies, directors, actors and actresses. Not anymore. I haven’t watched – or cared about – the Oscars in years. Between Hollywood nominating a bunch of movies I wouldn’t see on a bet (movies that mock my values, like Brokeback Mountain) and nominating a bunch of actors and actresses with little talent, less common sense, willing to loudly bray their opinions about George Bush, the Right, and how everything wrong with the world is Halliburton’s and Chenney’s fault. After a while it gets old.
Then I realized that I had the perfect formula to predict who would win the Oscars. [Read more…] about Handicapping the Oscars.
The Annointed One’s Disciples.
Well, it looks like being one of The Chosen One’s Disciples (a.k.a. Obama’s Cabinet Secretaries) is not the kind of gig that either everybody wants or everybody is qualified to take. Keeping score? So far we’ve had one flameout due to a criminal investigation (Sect. of Commerce), two flameouts for taxes (Health & Human Services, Government Efficiency Czar) and another tax cheat who made it through comfirmation to head the Treasury (including, ironically, the IRS) and one flameout today, for an inability to violate his own beliefs in order to get behind Obamas.
What’s a poor Savior to do? [Read more…] about The Annointed One’s Disciples.
Television’s Global Village.
It’s that time of year. Super Bowl Sunday. The one time of year that just about everybody in the country stops what they are doing, to do the same thing. Watch TV. Some watch it because their teams are in it. Some watch because they love football, and are but one game away from going cold-turkey ’til the summer rolls around. Some watch it for the commercials. And some watch it just because it’s the thing to do.
Some (like me) watch it from the comfort of their homes – largely, for me anyway, because I hate cigarette smoke. Some host Super Bowl parties. Some watch from sports bars or other public places. The important thing, though, is that it gives us all a commonality of purpose and experience. [Read more…] about Television’s Global Village.
Getting Malled.
Most guys hate shopping. I don’t mind it. I actually kind of enjoy going to the mall, watching the teeming masses, yearing to shop free. I’ve never been a big fan of the overpriced food court offerings, nor do I flock with the other lemmings to signs that scream “SALE!” or “EVERYTHING MUST GO!” Not my thing. I prefer to walk the mall and look for cool stuff that catches my eye. Sadly, there’s a trend in the shopping malls across this country that threatens my enjoyment of a visit, and is driving me to shun the mall in favor of online or WalMart.
I call it “Assault of the Immigrant Kiosk Sales Staff.”
It’s kinda like “Night of the Living Dead,” without the R rating, the cleavage, and the gore. But I digress. [Read more…] about Getting Malled.