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Mitt for Veep?
By Dave (Political Machine)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 4:46:00 PM
Filed under: John McCain, Mitt Romney,
2008 President, Veepstakes
Serious rumors are swirling about the
McCain Veepstakes. The GOP number two
slot is a little more important than usual,
since the frontman is 73 (and will be 77 in
2012 let us not forget). And if McCain
loses, the vice presidential candidate will
have name recognition and an edge on the
nomination next time around.
The Bushies are talking up Mitt Romney.
According to two separate reports,
Romney is being talked up as a running
mate by members of the Bush inner circle.
But McCain and his closest advisers have
little regard for their former rival thanks to
the bitter, year-long race waged between
the two Republicans.
Romney says, however, that he thinks the
wounds have healed.
"There are really no hard feelings, I don't
think, on either side of this," he said in the
interview. "There were no pacts and so
forth that make people feel like that we
will never come together. Instead these
campaigns are all coming together. We are
supporting our nominee enthusiastically,
aggressively."
Of course Mitt Romney would accept, but
Another Barack Obama Rumor?
By Mo Rocca (Political Machine)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 5:00:00 PM
Filed under: Democrats, Barack Obama,
2008 President, RaceOf all the rumor
mongering in presidential politics, the most
my first and second gut reactions are bleah
and, not good.
Romney is so popular with the base of the
party that with a telegenic presence, a great
resume and all the resources money could
buy he went absolutely nowhere. So why
does he get the top ticket? To heal the
party? The Bush wing should quit their
meddling, so that John McCain might have
a chance of winning despite their help.
anxiety-provoking are those that deal with
race. Historically one of the most typical
rumors circulated is that a candidate either
is partly black (Warren Harding) or, more
scandalously, has a black child out of
wedlock (Bill Clinton, John McCain,
11/03/08 - 12/03/08
Mitt Romney did manage to gather the
support of some of the conservative
establishment. Hugh Hewitt, National
Review, some of the bigger columnists etc.
But the base of the party, evangelical and
otherwise, said no to Romney again and
again and again.
And now with a Romney/McCain ticket
we would have a maverick and a former
liberal Republican.
Thomas Jefferson ... oh wait, that last one
was true).
Barack Obama has been on the receiving
end of more than his fair share of rumors.
Is there anything people won't believe?
LibertyNewsprint.com U.S.
Immigration: McCain is against the base,
and Romney was very spotty up until
recently.
Abortion: Romney was pro-abort and
McCain is pro-life. Romney claims to have
switched, but in this case, Romney on the
ticket actually dilutes McCain's
conservative message.
Taxes: McCain was against the Bush tax
cuts and Romney is iffy. Not horrible, but
not great either.
The war: Both strong on defense and
fighting terrorism.
So the conclusion is that with
McCain/Romney, you had better hope that
the Evangelical vote will think only about
the war/security issues, and not about
anything else. Romney's not a horrible
choice, he does unite a couple wings of the
party and might further cement
establishment support, but there would still
remain, I fear, a disconnect with the base,
and if that remains until November,
Romney and McCain can heal all they
want and it won't matter.
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Where's Spitzer's
Standing Ovation?
By Abby Tonsing (Political Machine)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:52:00 AM
Filed under: Senate, Republicans, Scandal,
Eliot SpitzerLest we forget (and I'm talking
to you, GOP), fellow whoremonger David
Vitter, Republican Senator from Louisiana,
had some fun with prostitutes and was
named as a client in the D.C. Madam
scandal.
Vitter was not asked to resign. Instead, he
got a standing ovation from the GOP.
From The Young Turks:
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Obama Wins Mississippi
By David Knowles (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 2:14:00 PM
Filed under: Democrats, Barack Obama,
Breaking NewsThe nets call it for Obama.
And CNN finally acknowledges the fact
that Obama won more delegates than
Clinton in Texas, though not all of their
reporters seem to have gotten the memo.
Discuss.
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2 Politics * Tech Gadgets *
Ferraro Replies, Clinton Denies
By Denise Williams (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 2:05:00 PM
Filed under: Hillary Clinton, 2008
President, Gaffes, Race
The Geraldine Ferraro remarks about
Barack Obama that I brought to Political
Machine readers last night has captured the
attention of the media - and not in a
positive way. While some of my dear
readers were taken aback by my remarks,
the overall response to Mrs. Ferraro's
unfortunate comments mirrors my own.
With the exception, of course, of Fox
News. As a Fox News contributor, Ferraro
has a built-in national forum.
It seems Mrs. Ferraro hasn't thought much
of African American candidates for some
time now. Ben Smith from Politico did a
little digging today. From an 1988
Washington Post article, Ferraro claims,
"If Jesse Jackson were not black, he
wouldn't be in the race".
Hillary Clinton today attempted to distance
herself from Ferraro's remarks:
Olbermann Special Comment Tonight: Hillary Clinton
By Tommy Christopher (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:15:00 AM
Filed under: Hillary Clinton, Democrats,
Featured Stories, 2008 President, Media
Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's
"Countdown" and creator of the Special
Comment segment of that show, is set to
deliver his first-ever commentary directed
at a specific Democrat. Reports Huffington
Post:On last night's "Countdown," Keith
Olbermann announced that tonight he'd be
delivering another of his "Special
Comments" - his impassioned, angry
monologues fueled by outrage and usually
Warm up those thumbs, Logitech's diNovo Mini is now shipping
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:13:00 AM
Logitech's diNovo Mini Bluetooth
thumboard is finally ready to rock your
I do not agree with that and you know it's
regrettable that any of our supporters on
both sides say things that veer off into the
personal. We ought to keep this focused on
the issues. That's what this campaign
should be about.
How many more times before the
convention will we have to hear Clinton
distance herself from her surrogates'
comments? At this point, who of a rational
mind can still assume that the Hillary camp
is not actively seeking this divisiveness? It
seems to me to be a coordinated attempt to
minimize Obama as the Black Candidate.
Bill Clinton. Bob Kerrey. Bob Johnson.
Geraldine Ferraro. Howard Fineman from
Newsweek just affirmed this obvious tactic
as well on Countdown.
Click for video:
Aside from the expected response from the
Obama campaign for Clinton to sever all
ties with Ferraro, who serves Clinton's
addressed to President Bush and the Bush
administration. Tonight, his special
comment will be directed at Hillary
Clinton - and, for the first time, his special
comment will be directed exclusively at a
Democrat. Olbermann has become
something of a hero to liberals since
beginning his Special Comments in August
of 2006, as the first mainstream media
figure to give outspoken voice to the
outrage that many in the country were
feeling. Since then, his show has garnered
ever-increasing ratings, and ever-
increasing heat from the right.
living living room with its QWERTY keys,
dashing looks, awkward translucent lid and
unadulterated convenience. You can now
pick it up from your favorite online retailer
for about $150, and use it with your PC,
finance committee, calls for Ferraro to be
removed from the campaign grow.
Ferraro called the paper that interviewed
her originally - Los Angeles' Daily
Breezeto clarify and update:
Any time anybody does anything that in
any way pulls this campaign down and
says let's address reality and the problems
we're facing in this world, you're accused
of being racist, so you have to shut up,"
Ferraro said. "Racism works in two
different directions. I really think they're
attacking me because I'm white. How's
that?
In the Fox News interview below,
Clinton's finance committee member tosses
out a threat at the end. My respect for the
Clinton's and their surrogates wanes daily.
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Reaction to tonight's Special Comment
should be interesting. I expect that the
Clinton campaign will try to paint
PS3 or just for pretend.
Morphing Retreads
By Greg McNeilly (Political Machine)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 1:55:00 PM
Filed under: Ads, John McCain, 2008
PresidentOne of the least creative
approaches to cut-and-paste political ads is
morphing - changing one person's face into
that of another. Hence this inspiring and
creative spot from the Democratic National
Committee (DNC):
Of course, the morphing is simply a visual
portrayal of the ad's message, namely that
John McCain is George W. Bush. Will
anyone in America sincerely draw this
conclusion?
Two problems with this spot.
First, the argument of similarity. In this
regard, the DNC video spot is clearly a
leading contender for most insulting
campaign spot of 2008. It'd be like a
Olbermann with the Chris Matthews brush,
but while he has been critical of her
campaign of late, those criticisms have
been largely substantive. In fact,
Olbermann has defended both Hillary
Clinton and her husband, Bill Clinton, in
previous Special Comments.
Olbermann is expected to use Clinton's
failure to remove Geraldine Ferraro from
her staff due to remarks Ferraro made as a
jumping-off point to review the Clinton
campaign's missteps. It remains to be seen
if he will widen his criticism from there.
A defining characteristic of the
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
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Republican ad saying that because Barack
Obama supports government mandated
health care he's the same as Hugo Chavez.
But what can Democrats really attack John
McCain on? According to The Washington
Post (hardly a liberal enclave), Obama has
the most partisan voting record of
remaining candidates, followed by Hillary
Clinton and John McCain a distant third.
The second, and probably more troubling
aspect of this spot, or Democrats, is that
the DNC fundamentally misunderstands
the "change" spirit of this election. Change
is not about George W. Bush. Durr. That
happens regardless. It's about halting
corruption, overspending and mismanaged
government. And in Washington, D.C.,
these ills are certainly bipartisan.
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administration that Hillary seeks to replace
is an unwillingness to listen to dissenting
views. It will be interesting to see if she
can distinguish herself from George W.
Bush in that way, and perhaps entertain the
possibility that change is something she
can even do on the campaign trail.
Check back tonight for a review of the
Special Comment.
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
Sinbad Refutes Clinton's
Bosnia Claims
By Brandon Barker (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:37:00 AM
Filed under: Hillary Clinton,
Endorsements, Barack Obama, 2008
President, HumorBack in 1996, Sinbad, the
actor and comedian (A Different World,
Jingle All the Way) accompanied then-
First Lady Hillary Clinton on what she is
calling a "harrowing" trip to Bosnia.
According to Sinbad (born David Adkins),
the most "harrowing" part of the trip--
which included foreign-policy
heavyweights Chelsea Clinton and Sheryl
Crow--was figuring out where to eat next.
In an interview with The Sleuth, he said, "I
think the only 'red-phone' moment was:
'Do we eat here or at the next place.'"
Sinbad, an admitted Obama supporter, has
become an unlikely defender of the Illinois
Senator against Senator Clinton's foreign-
policy preparedness claims.
Back in December, Sen. Clinton recalled a
"corkscrew" landing in Bosnia and the
threat of sniper fire, to which Sinbad said,
"I never felt that I was in a dangerous
position. I never felt being in a sense of
peril." And refuting her claim that
President Clinton sent her to the area
because it was a dangerous trip, Sinbad
says, "What kind of president would say,
'Hey, man, I can't go 'cause I might get
Spitzer Open Thread
By David Knowles (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 1:20:00 AM
Filed under: Democrats, Featured Stories,
Eliot SpitzerFor you sex-scandal junkies
out there, here's a trove of Political
Machine's coverage of Eliot Spitzer's
comeuppance.
Denise Williams: It's All Silda Spitzer's
shot so I'm going to send my wife...oh, and
take a guitar player and a comedian with
you.'"
But he's mostly hopping mad that Clinton
might consider Obama a small obstacle to
the fulfillment of her destiny, "like he
messed up her plan, like he had no reason
to be there."
Should Sinbad's allegations cause concerns
for the Clinton campaign? You bet: Along
with Gary Busey, expect the inevitable
career comeback.
B. Brandon Barker is the author of the
novel Operation EMU.
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Fault
Dave: Spitzer Toughing it Out?
Faye Anderson: Superdelegate No. 9
Tommy Christopher: Hillary Should
Condemn Spitzer ASAP
Yours Truly: Mrs. Spitzer Stands By Her
Man
It's All Silda Spitzer's Fault
By Denise Williams (Political
Machine)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 4:44:00 PM
Filed under: Scandal, Media, Eliot Spitzer
Or so says crazy-ass Dr. Laura
Schlessinger on the Today Show with
Meredith Vieira this morning.
As if being being the wife of a scuzzbucket
and mother of three teenaged daughters
isn't rough enough under these
circumstances.
(via HuffPo)
VIEIRA: Do you think women play any
role in this, Dr. Laura?
SCHLESSINGER: It's interesting. what
you said about what men need -- men do
need validation. When they come into the
world they're born of a woman. Getting the
validation from mommy is the beginning
of needing it from a woman. When the
wife does not focus in on the needs and the
feelings sexually, personally, to make him
feel like a man, to make him feel like a
success, to make him feel like our hero,
he's very susceptible to the charm of some
other woman making him feel what he
And the latest from AOL News: Spitzer
needs. These days, women don't spend a
lot of time thinking about how they can
give their men what they need.
VIEIRA: Are you saying women should
feel guilty, like they somehow drove the
man to cheat?
SCHLESSINGER: You know what, the
cheating was his decision to repair what's
damaged, and to feed himself where he's
starving. But, yes, I hold women
accountable for tossing out perfectly good
men by not treating them with the love and
kindness and respect and attention they
need.
My heart breaks for Mrs. Spitzer and the
girls.
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Spending Eyed in Sex Scandal
Looks like the ax will fall any minute now.
We want to hear how you feel now that 24
hours have passed. Binge and purge.
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Politics * Business * 3
Google and Microsoft
to face more
advertising competition
By Aaron Katsman (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 8:03:00 AM
Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft
(MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner
(TWX), Marketing and advertising, Media
World, Technology, Israel
Israeli start-up Eyeblaster announced that
it has filed a prospectus for an IPO, and
though not in the filing, it is believed that it
is looking to raise an amount north of $100
million. Eyeblaster operates in the field of
online advertising, developing
technologies to manage online campaigns.
This is a space that saw seen some big
acquisitions recently. Microsoft
(NASDAQ: MSFT) bought aQuantive for
around $6 billion, and Google (NASDAQ:
GOOG), bought DoubleClick for over $3
billion. Eyeblaster has some big customers,
two of them are particularly interesting.
Both Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) and
Time Warner (NYSE: TWX)'s AOL are
customers as well as players in this space.
With online advertising growth rates
slowing, there is a big need to optimize
marketing campaigns, and that is why we
have seen consolidation in the industry.
Everyone is gunning to take market share
from Google and Microsoft. The planned
Eyeblaster IPO will raise the stakes even
higher, as it will use the money raised to
continue to grow both its business and its
product suite. If Eyeblaster succeeds, don't
be surprised to see an AOL or Yahoo
acquisition of Eyeblaster in the near future.
Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio
Manager and Managing Director of
America Israel Investment Associates,
LLC. and Senior Editor of
IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE:
Writer's fund has no position in any stock
mentioned, as of 3/12/08.Read | Permalink
| Email this | Comments
4 Business *
American Airlines (AMR) Icahn no, but Buffett and
dives on sector downgrades WaMu? -- Act IV
By Brent Archer (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:24:00 AM
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst
upgrades and downgrades, Bad news,
Industry, AMR Corp (AMR), Options,
Technical Analysis, OilAMR Corporation
(NYSE: AMR) stock is falling after a JP
Morgan analyst downgraded the stock to
"Underweight" from "Overweight." He
also downgraded six other airlines, saying
record oil prices will hurt profits and could
potentially threaten airlines' credit ratings.
If you think this stock won't be rising too
far in the coming months, then it could be
a good time to look at a bearish hedged
play on AMR.
After hitting a one-year high of $34.25 last
March, the stock has hit a new one-year
low today. This morning, AMR opened at
$10.62. So far today the stock has hit a low
of $9.68 and a high of $10.40. As of 1:00,
AMR is trading at $9.70, down $0.97 (-
Nike (NKE) lifted by analyst comments
going into earnings
By Brent Archer (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:59:00 AM
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst
reports, Good news, NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE),
Options, Technical AnalysisNike Inc.
(NYSE: NKE) shares are rising today after
a Citi analyst reiterated the stock at Buy
ahead of next week's earnings report. Also,
an analyst with HSBC said he prefers
investing in the stock over competitors
Puma and Adidas in European markets. If
you think that the company won't fall by
too much in the coming months, then now
could be a good time to look at a bullish
9.1%). The chart for AMR looks neutral
and improving, while S&P gives the stock
a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I
would consider a May bear-call credit
spread above the $14 range. A bear-call
credit spread is an options position that
combines the purchase and sale of call
options to hedge risk in case the stock
doesn't do what you think but still leverage
nice returns. For this particular trade, we
will make a 7.1% return in two months as
long as AMR is below $14 at May
expiration. AMR would have to rise by
more than 44% before we would start to
lose money.
Continue reading American Airlines
(AMR) dives on sector
downgradesPermalink | Email this |
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hedged trade on NKE.
After hitting a one-year low of $51.37 last
March, the stock hit a one-year high of
$67.93 in December. NKE opened this
morning at $58.00. So far today the stock
has hit a low of $58.00 and a high of
$59.81. As of 12:40, NKE is trading at
$59.80, up $1.88 (3.2%). The chart for
NKE looks bearish and steady, while S&P
gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of
5) buy rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I
would consider a March bull-put credit
spread below the $55 range. A bull-put
credit spread is an options position that
By Sheldon Liber (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:34:00 AM
Filed under: Deals, Rumors, Rants and
raves, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A),
Washington Mutual (WM), Wells Fargo
(WFC)
Yesterday I heard one of many rumors
about what might happen to Washington
Mutual (NYSE: WM) and this one
concerned "my pal Warren" having an
interest in acquiring a position in the bank.
At first I paid no attention but then I
thought about how beautiful that would be.
For Warren Buffett, it would elevate
business to an art form, something he is
admired for the world over.
In a previous post, Icahn should raid
WaMu before Chase or Wells -- Act III, I
had some thoughts about the corporate
raider and value builder and all the
strategic ramifications these intertwined
companies might have; but that was all
business.
For Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha
and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
(NYSE: BRK.A), a merger would surely
be a thing of beauty. You see my fantasy
combines the purchase and sale of put
options to hedge risk in case the stock
doesn't do what you think but still leverage
nice returns. For this particular trade, we
will make a 4.2% return in just one week
as long as NKE is above $55 at March
expiration. Nike would have to fall by
more than 8% before we would start to
lose money.
Continue reading Nike (NKE) lifted by
analyst comments going into
earningsPermalink | Email this | Comments
goes like this: Berkshire acquires shares of
WaMu in the open market, building a
position as Buffett so often does in an
undervalued company until he controls 8%
to 10% of the stock. He then takes a seat
on the board and creates his own merger &
acquisition committee. From there, he
negotiates a buyout with none other than
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) another bank
he holds a major position in, a position that
has been growing.
Continue reading Icahn no, but Buffett and
WaMu? -- Act IVPermalink | Email this |
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Abercrombie & Fitch
hospital donation
catching flak
By Zac Bissonnette
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 8:15:00 AM
Filed under: Marketing and advertising,
Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF)The
Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio is
under fire after accepting a $10 million
donation from Abercrombie & Fitch
(NYSE: ANF) -- and agreeing to christen a
new building The Abercrombie & Fitch
Emergency Department and Trauma
Center.
ABERCROMBIE page 5
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Philips lowers
stake in LG
Display (LPL)
By Brent Archer (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:50:00 AM
Filed under: Major movement, Bad news,
Options, Technical AnalysisLG Display
Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LPL) stock is falling this
morning on news that Philips sold about $1
billion worth of its stake in LPL. The
company sold the shares at a discount of
4.8 to 8.1 percent, according to news
reports, and the deal will reduce Philips
stake in the company to 13.5 percent from
19.9 percent. If you think this stock won't
be rising too far in the coming months,
then it could be a good time to look at a
bearish hedged play on LPL.
After hitting a one-year low of $15.87 last
March, the stock hit a one-year high of
$31.29 in November. This morning, LPL
opened at $23.22. So far today the stock
has hit a low of $21.88 and a high of
$23.44. As of 1:10, LPL is trading at
$22.44, down $2.14 (-8.7%). The chart for
LPL looks neutral and improving, while
S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 Stars (out
of 5) Hold rating.
For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I
would consider an April bear-call credit
spread above the $25 range. A bear-call
credit spread is an options position that
combines the purchase and sale of call
options to hedge risk in case the stock
doesn't do what you think but still leverage
nice returns. For this particular trade, we
will make a 12.4% return in one and a half
months as long as LPL is below $25 at
April expiration. LG Display would have
to rise by more than 11% before we would
start to lose money.
Continue reading Philips lowers stake in
LG Display (LPL)Permalink | Email this |
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
Dairy prices not likely to
mooo-ve much higher
By Beth Gaston Moon
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:22:00 AM
Filed under: Consumer experience,
Commodities, Agriculture, Recession
Oil's at a record peak, transportation costs
are going higher, and grocery prices are
increasing. But there's a great white hope
for fans of frozen yogurt, Gorgonzola, and
chocolate malts, as dairy prices are
supposed to stay relatively steady or even
fall in 2008.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture noted
that while milk prices jumped 12% in
2007, they will be under control this year
thanks to a 1.1% increase in the cow
population and a 1.7% boost in the average
output per cow. Overall milk production is
expected to rise 2.7% in 2008, faster than
the 2.1% growth seen last year.
Declines in wholesale milk prices trickle
down to the consumer and could shave off
prices on the retail end for bottled milk.
Ephraim Liebtag, an economist with the
USDA's Economic Research Service, told
CNN/Money that the overall price tag for
dairy goods (including cheese, butter, and
ABERCROMBIE
continued from page 4
Not surprisingly, the Campaign for a
Commercial-Free Childhood is up in arms.
In a press release, the group urged the
hospital to "rescind the naming rights
because of Abercrombie's long history of
using highly sexualized images to market
its brand to teens and preteens and selling
clothing that objectifies and demeans
young people."
They certainly have a point. Given how
sexually charged Abercrombie's
advertising is, an Abercrombie children's
hospital certainly is an interesting
juxtaposition.
yogurt) is expected to rise 3% this year,
slower than last year's 7.5% hike in overall
dairy products. This modest advance
would be relatively good news for
American consumers, who are budgeting
for a 4% hike in food purchased in the
stores or at restaurants.
Continue reading Dairy prices not likely to
mooo-ve much higherRead | Permalink |
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But the truth is that Abercrombie doesn't
really harm children. This isn't like a
hospital building the Philip Morris Cancer
Ward. And if this is a deal with the devil,
it's a deal that will provide $10 million for
helping children.
It would be a lot worse if the hospital
turned down money to help children as a
matter of principal. Abercrombie isn't that
evil.Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
Broker arrested as Societe
Generale plot thickens
By Zac Bissonnette
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:37:00 AM
Filed under: ScandalsWhen the news first
broke that low-level rogue trader Jerome
Kerviel had racked up $7 billion in
unauthorized trading losses, many people
were puzzled. What was his motive? How
had he gotten away with it? Mr. Kerviel
was believed to have acted alone, but did
he really?
Now The New York Times is reporting
that French police have arrested Manuel
Zabraniecki in connection with the case.
We're wondering what his role in this
disaster might have been and, perhaps
more interestingly, what possible motive
he might have had. As bizarre as it was
K-Tron International (KTII):
Shares advancing through positive
trading channel
By Larry Schutts (BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:46:00 AM
Filed under: Earnings reports, Technical
Analysis, Stocks to Buy
K-Tron International (NASDAQ: KTII)
designs and produces material handling
equipment and systems for a variety of
industrial markets. Principal products
include feeders, mass flow meters,
pneumatic conveying equipment and
pressure systems. The company also sells
hammer mills, wood hogs and double roll
crushers, used in the electric utility,
mining, and forest products industries.
Subsidiary K-Tron Electronics produces
that Kerviel had lost $7 billion worth of the
bank's money without profiting personally,
it's even more difficult to fathom a
conspiracy involving more than one person
committing a motive-less financial crime.
In the meantime, you'll be happy to know
that, as of early February, Mr. Kerviel had
not been fired because, The Wall Street
Journal reported, "French law stipulates
that to do that, the bank must first call him
in for a sit-down meeting and explain its
dissatisfaction. He has the right to bring
along a trade-union official, a lawyer or
anyone else he'd like."
I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that
meeting.Permalink | Email this | Comments
electronic assemblies and controller
hardware.
The firm pleased investors last week, when
it said its fourth quarter profit climbed
40%. Earnings rose to $2.18 per share,
compared with $1.57 per share, in the prior
-year period. Quarterly sales grew 33% to
$59.1 million. Annual net income soared
65% to $21.3 million and full-year revenue
increased 36% to $201.7 million.
Continue reading K-Tron International
(KTII): Shares advancing through positive
trading channelPermalink | Email this |
Comments
Business * 5
Will Bank of America
buy Countrywide?
What if it doesn't?
By Zac Bissonnette
(BloggingStocks)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:11:00 AM
Filed under: Deals, Bank of America
(BAC), Countrywide Financial (CFC)With
shares of Countrywide Financial (NYSE:
CFC) trading at a 35% discount to the
price that Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)
has agreed to pay for the company, it
appears that traders have substantial doubt
about the deal's prospects.
Of course, an FBI investigation into the
company's accounting is also doing little to
boost investor confidence. If the
company's financial statements are
misleading, Countrywide's estimates of
default rates could be off. And if they're
off by a lot, the company could be in big
trouble.
One banker warned (subscription required)
the Wall Street Journal that Countrywide's
financial position "isn't a mark-to-market
balance sheet," which make the arguments
of investors like Jon Wood that the
company should be sold for something
closer to its $22 book value irrelevant.
Continue reading Will Bank of America
buy Countrywide? What if it
doesn't?Permalink | Email this | Comments
6 Tech Gadgets * Technology *
Indian Blackberry network to
be shut down unless RIM
allows government snooping
By Nilay Patel (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 8:13:00 AM
Filed under: CellphonesUh-oh, Indian
Blackberry users -- better get ready for
some major disconnection anxiety.
Apparently the Indian government is
demanding that RIM either allow it to
snoop on its encrypted email service (or
worse, drop down to 40-bit encryption), or
shut down the entire Indian Blackberry
network at the end of the month. That'll cut
off an estimated 400,000 subscribers, so
the carriers, RIM, and government officials
are due to meet and try and hammer out a
solution on the 14th, but the issue probably
won't be easy to solve -- ISPs are now
concerned that if RIM complies, all
encrypted wireless data will be open to
spying, which would make things like
ecommerce virtually impossible.
Furthermore, since Blackberry traffic gets
routed to Canadian NOCs first, there are
some thorny international issues at play as
well -- just to put things in perspective,
RIM doesn't even allow the Chinese
government to snoop in this way, although
we're certain there's another backdoor in
Next New Networks - $15 million
From Velocity Interactive Group
And Goldman Sachs
By Michael Arrington (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 8:47:20 AM
Goldman Sachs and Velocity Interactive
Group have put another $15 million into
the online TV site Next New Networks, the
company will announce shortly. The
company, which launched in January 2007,
had previously raised $8 million from
Spark Capital, Saban Media Group, Pilot
Group, and Bob Pittman. All the previous
investors put more money in and Jonathan
Miller from Velocity Capital was already
on the board of the company.
The company says it has had 33 million
video views so far in March across its 12
place. Honestly, though, we'd suffer
through a little CrackBerry withdrawal if it
kept the G-men out of our hair -- let's hope
RIM's got some fight in 'em.
[Via Boy Genius Report]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
video networks, which include Barely
Political (home of Obama Girl), Channel
Frederator (cartoons), ThreadBanger (DIY
fashion), and Veracifier (daily news). Next
New Networks also announced a deal with
AOL today to distribute its videos.
CrunchBase InformationNext New
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Former Polish prime minister
opposes online voting, says Internet
users are all watching porn
By Nilay Patel (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:43:00 AM
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Sure, electronic voting has had its fair
share of troubles, but there's no denying
that it's the wave of the future -- and we're
always intrigued by plans like the one
being floated in Poland right now that
would allow citizens to vote online from
their homes, since that seems like a great
way to increase participation. Of course,
some people are just never going to get it,
and it looks like former Polish prime
minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski is the latest
Luddite curmudgeon to risk your ire,
saying that he's not exactly thrilled with
the idea of a "young person sitting in front
of a computer, watching video clips and
pornography while sipping a bottle of beer
and voting when he feels like it." Kacynski
went on to say that as a whole, Internet
users are "the easiest group to manipulate,
to suggest who to vote for" -- which
probably means that in addition to not
using a cell phone or having a bank
account (true!), he's never actually been on
the Internet either. Tell you what, Minister:
you come in here and successfully
manipulate a Mac vs. PC flamewar, maybe
we'll talk. Deal?
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Northrop Grumman's
laser system passes
second major milestone
By Donald Melanson (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:45:00 AM
Filed under: Misc. GadgetsLast we heard
from Northrop Grumman it was making
some steady progress towards a weapons-
grade laser system, and it now looks like
that's even closer to becoming a reality,
with the company announcing that the
system has passed its second major
milestone with flying colors. According to
the company, the key "laser chain"
component was demonstrated on
December 20th, 2007, and actually
exceeded all target requirements, including
reaching a power of 15.3kW, a good deal
above the 12.7kW they were aiming for.
That component is just one part of the so-
called Joint High-Powered Solid State
Laser Phase 3 Program, which is designed
to combine eight laser chains for a peak
power level of 100kW, otherwise known
as the level deemed necessary for weapons
-grade laser systems. While there's still no
indication as to when that might happen,
Northrop Grumman has gone as far to say
that, with this latest test, "the hardest part
is over," so it looks like it might not be as
far off as you might think.
[Via The Register]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Researchers warn of hacking
risks to heart devices
By Donald Melanson (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 5:48:00 AM
Filed under: Misc. GadgetsWhile it should
hardly come as a surprise given the near
constant stream of hacking fears we hear
about these days, researchers are now
warning about a possible vulnerability to
an especially important bit of technology:
medical devices that control the human
heart. As The Wall Street Journal reports,
the concerns are mostly centered around so
-called "programmers," which are devices
used to wirelessly communicate with the
implanted defibrillator or pacemaker.
Those devices are obviously only sold
directly to physicians by a select group of
companies but, as the researchers warn, it
is at least conceivable that hackers could
transmit the same radio signals using
another device, allowing them to shut
down the defibrillator or deliver a shock,
or possibly even obtain a patient's medical
information. The researchers are quick to
point out, however, that this is "theoretical
risk, not an actual risk," and they're not
Bio-electronic implant seeks to restore partial sight
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:18:00 AM
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
We've seen initiatives all over the globe
created in an attempt to beat blindness, but
researchers based at MIT are feeling fairly
confident that their development is within
a few years of being able to "restore partial
recommending that anyone consider
deferring an implantation or removing a
defibrillator.
[Image courtesy of Medtronic]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
sight to people who have slowly gone
blind because of degenerative diseases of
the retina." The bio-electronic implant,
which is about the size of a pencil eraser,
would actually sit behind the retina at the
back of the eyeball, and images would be
transmitted to the brain "via a connector
the width of a human hair." As it stands, an
FDA grant application is already in the
works, and the scientists are hoping to
Details on Archos 606, SFR 3G+
plan revealed
By Donald Melanson (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 4:57:00 AM
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable
VideoWe'd already heard about Archos'
deal with France's SFR to build 3G+ into
upcoming players, but the folks at PC
INPact have now turned up what appears
to be some of the firmest details yet of
those plans, and the first player to support
'em. That player is supposedly the Archos
606, which is described as being the same
size as the Archos 605, but with a screen 1-
2 centimeters bigger and a casing that's
entirely black (it's also said to boast a
30GB hard drive). Unfortunately, there's
no official pictures of the device just yet,
have it implanted in an animal as early as
this summer. Still, the solution only works
but the folks at Archos Lounge have put
together the mockup above to feed the
speculation in the meantime. As for SFR's
plans, it'll apparently offer three different
subscription options coming in at €14.90,
€19.90, and €29.90 a month ($22 to $46),
each of which will let you purchase the
device for €249, €199, or €149 ($380,
$305, or $230), respectively, or you can
simply the player without a plan for €290,
or about $460.
[Via Archos Lounge, thanks John]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
for folks who "were once able to see and
have partially intact optic nerve cells" --
those who were blind from birth or suffer
from glaucoma are unfortunately ineligible
for the procedure.
[Thanks, Rusty]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tech Gadgets * 7
Samsung's latest
SyncMaster LCD
monitors look mighty fine
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 4:26:00 AM
Filed under: Displays
What's that, you ask? No, it's not a
miniaturized version of Samsung's
LN40650T HDTV. Rather, it's the firm's
19-inch 953BW -- the oh-so-sexy $239
addition to its SyncMaster lineup. Said
monitor boasts a 1,440 x 900 resolution,
300 cd/m2 brightness and a 1,000:1
contrast ratio, and it's joined by the 20-inch
2053BW ($299), 22-inch 2253LW ($319)
and 22-inch 2253BW ($349), all of which
feature a 1,680 x 1,050 resolution and two-
millisecond response time. Each unit also
possesses an HDCP-compliant DVI port,
intelligent MagicColor controls and a
piano-black glossy finish that you'll likely
have a hard time keeping free of dust and
fingerprints. The best news, however, is
that the whole lot is available right now.
[Via Electronista]
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8 Tech Gadgets * Technology *
Intel plots $100 "NetTop" market
with Diamondville
By Paul Miller (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:10:00 AM
Filed under: Desktops
Intel hasn't convinced you yet that its
upcoming Atom processors will be dirt
cheap and pregnant with promise? Well the
company has a new definition on the table
to see if you'll reconsider. Intel is talking
up a new "NetTop" concept of desktop
PCs ranging in price from $100 to $299 --
the desktop counterpart to the Eee PC, if
you will. Naturally, Intel plans for those
Click Forensics Raises $10 Million B Round
By Erick Schonfeld (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 10:01:26 PM
Click fraud is a big business, and so is
detecting it. Click-fraud auditing firm
Click Forensics has raised a $10 million B
round, led by Sierra Ventures. Also
desktops to be powered by its own
Diamondville processor, but also has other
plans like solid state storage, no system
fans or CPU socket, optimized power
supply unit and "cost optimized OS
solutions." The machines will run on Linux
or Windows, and Intel projects 60 million
of 'em will be sold a year by 2011. Those
crazy, cash-addled dreamers.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
participating is Austin Ventures and Shasta
Ventures, who invested in the company’s
$5 million A round last January.
Advertisers and Website can subscribe to
the company’s service, which claims to be
able to identify fraudulent clicks on ads,
and even clicks from competitors. Of
Malwarez project grows virtual 3D
organisms from vicious code
By Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:40:00 AM
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Ever had an urge to really get a visual on
what masterfully written predatory code
would look like if allowed to grow into a
3D organism? Okay, so maybe that hasn't
been on the forefront of your mind
recently, but there's no denying that Alex
Dragulescu's Malwarez project is quite the
source of eye candy. According to its
course, if Google were to ever defeat click
fraud, Click Forensics would be out of
maker, the aforementioned initiative is a
"series of visualization of worms, viruses,
trojans and spyware code," and their
"frequency, density and grouping are
mapped to the inputs of an algorithm that
grows a virtual 3D entity." Who knew
viruses could look so dreamy?
[Thanks, Danger Mouse]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
business. But what is the chance of that
happening?CrunchBase InformationClick
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
Official: AOL
On The Table
For A Deal
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 10:47:56 PM
Time Warner Chief Executive Jeffrey
Bewkes has said that Time Warner is open
for a deal on AOL.
Bewkes acknowledged weakness in the
AOL business and told the Bear Stearns
media conference Tuesday that Time
Warner was open to combining AOL with
another company “whatever configuration
makes it the strongest and the most
valuable.”
These comments follow on from
statements Bewkes made in February
where he said Time Warner would split off
AOL’s dying subscription business from
the online content/ advertising side. Erick
said then that “this is code for a sale or
IPO, or both. Time Warner should sell off
the access business to a private equity shop
and go full-steam ahead with its IPO plans
for Platform A.” Today’s revelations
would indicate that a sale or merger is
definitely on the books.
As the New York Times points out, AOL
is still an appealing company, even if its
glory days are behind it. The company
booked $5.2 billion in revenue in 2007
with AOL properties receiving 112 million
visitors a month.
The only question now is who, and for
how much.CrunchBase
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
YouTube: The Platform
By Erick Schonfeld (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 8:48:23 AM
(Update: Comment from YouTube added
below). In case there was still any doubt
that Google wants to use YouTube to host
all the video on the Web, it’s
announcement earlier today to broaden its
APIs makes it clear that is its goal. Once
again, instead of making it easier to search
videos elsewhere, Google is making it
easier to host videos on YouTube. Except
that the new APis allow people to upload,
watch, search, and comment on the videos
on other Websites. The key here is that the
videos themselves are hosted on Youtube’s
servers. This brings Google back full circle
to the initial strategy for Google Video,
which originally required videos to be
uploaded directly to Google in order to
become indexed. YouTube is gradually
replacing Google Video—that is where
most people upload videos anyway—but
getting as much video from the rest of the
Web onto its servers allows it to do many
more things with it than if it simply
indexed the videos elsewhere. It can search
them better and throw up ads against them.
Specifically, the new APIs allow Web
developers to:
* Upload videos and video responses to
YouTube
* Add/Edit user and video metadata (titles,
descriptions, ratings, comments, favorites,
contacts, etc)
* Fetch localized standard feeds (most
viewed, top rated, etc.) for 18 international
locales
* Perform custom queries optimized for
18 international locales
* Customize player UI and control video
playback (pause, play, stop, etc.) through
software
YouTube is not just white-labeling its
video-hosting infrastructure for other sites,
Yahoo In Discussions To Join Google OpenSocial
By Michael Arrington (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 10:30:27 PM
Yahoo is in late stage discussions with
Google to join their OpenSocial platform,
says a NYTimes story from earlier this
evening. Multiple sources at both Yahoo
and Google confirm to us that discussions
devices, and desktop applications. It is
offering video-hosting for free. This could
prove highly disruptive to other video-
hosting platforms such as Brightcove,
Maven Networks (now part of Yahoo), and
Move Networks. Partners already using the
APIs include Animoto, Casio, Electronic
Arts, Helio, KickApps, Slide, and TiVo.
Yes, you can now watch YouTube on
TiVo.
Of course, it is not exactly free. The videos
will also be available on YouTube, where
Google will make money from any
associated ads. It is not clear how the ad
revenue will be split, or even if it will be.
There is nothing in the API that allows for
a Website to insert their own ads. So that is
a big question mark. (More on that after I
speak with a YouTube exec later in today).
Update: YouTube product manager Jim
Patterson confirms that there is no revenue
-sharing built into the API, although he
also points out that the API is open to
YouTube Partners, who do share in the
advertising dollars. He says:
We are not introducing any fundamentally
new way to monetize. Any video that is
uploaded through our API is treated
exactly as on YouTube.com. In general if a
video is uploaded to YouTube, in some
cases we serve ads into that on
YouTube.com. When people embed those
we reserve rights to serve ads in the future.
It is not a white-label service. We do offer
a hosting service, but it is not a direct
alternative to the companies that you
mention. There are some big differences. It
is a YouTube-branded experience. It is
free. The price you pay for using it is you
must participate in the YouTube
community.
In other words, YouTube feels that for the
most part it is enough to direct traffic to
third-party sites and let them tap into
are happening, but won’t say when an
announcement might be made or even that
a final decision has been made.
This would be a major win for Google,
which has already enticed MySpace and
other big partners to a platform that
launched less than five months ago.
OpenSocial is a defense by Google and it’s
YouTube’s huge audience.
Yesterday, I put up a post asking readers to
guess what YouTube’s announcement was
going to be and offered a free iPod Shuffle
to the first person to guess correctly.
Although a lot of people were hoping for
an announcement of better-quality video or
a partnership with Hulu (that was my
guess), only a handful got it right. Only the
237 comments submitted before YouTube
made its announcement public at midnight
PT were eligible for the prize.
Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley
Insiderpointed to a post of his last week
that hinted at the white-labeling deal. But
he wasn’t the first one with the right
answer to comment on my post. (Sorry,
Dan. No iPod for you, but you do get a
link). Other commenters got parts of the
announcement right—API for third-party
uploads, partnership with TiVo,
incorporating an upload-to-Youtube button
on a a digital camera (Casio), integration
with a video game platform (Spore)—but
not the whole thing. The first commenter
to really nail it, and the winner of the iPod
Shuffle is Blake Machado (aka Balke
Macho), No. 57, whose comment was:
YouTube as a platform. More developer
tools/better APIs to power video on other
sites (channels). Upload from third-party
sites, search within the site, some kind of
monetization model to go with it that will
be announced but not yet released.
We are still waiting to learn about that
monetization part, but everything else is
spot on, and Macho was the first to really
spell out the platform ambitions behind
this announcement.CrunchBase
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partners against the runaway success of
Facebook Platform, itself less than a year
Technology * 9
Anticlimax: YouTube
Announces More Open
API’s
By Duncan Riley (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 1:56:47 AM
Erick got all excited, but in the end it was a
bit of an anticlimax. YouTube’s big
announcement today is more open API’s
that will allow developers to upload videos
and video responses from any where.
our sizable global audience, enabling you
From the YouTube Blog: to generate traffic for your site, visibility
We try really hard to make YouTube as
for your brand, or support for your
open as possible…Nevertheless, we cause….
worried that we weren’t open enough. So,
The number of possible new applications is
we pulled some all-nighters and added endless. Electronic Arts has enabled
some powerful new ways to integrate
gamers to capture videos of fantastical user
YouTube content and community into -generated creatures from their upcoming
other websites, desktop applications, video
game, Spore, and publish these directly
games, mobile devices, televisions, into YouTube. The University of
cameras, and lots more.
California, Berkeley is bringing free
For users, the exciting news is that they educational content to the world,
will be able to actively participate in the
enhancing their open source lecture
YouTube community from just about capture and delivery system to publish
anywhere, including the online
videos automatically into YouTube.
destinations and web communities they Animoto enables its users to create
already love and visit regularly. For
personalized, professional-quality music
partners and developers, YouTube has videos from their own photos and upload
grown into much more than a website. It
them directly to YouTube. Tivo is
has become an open, general purpose, providing its users a rich and highly
video services platform, available for use
participative YouTube viewing experience
by just about any third-party website, on the television.
desktop application, or consumer device.
If anyone won the iPod, Erick will let you
We now provide a complete set of know in the morning.CrunchBase
(CRUD) capabilities for uploading,
InformationYouTubeInformation provided
managing, searching, and playing back by CrunchBase
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all of the hard work of transcoding and
hosting and streaming and thumbnailing
your videos, and we provide open access to
old. Both platforms allow third parties to announcement always come through this
create applications that will run on group.
OpenSocial partner sites, or Facebook, as Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s
the case may be. time for you to find a new Job2.0
If and when it is announced, look for it to
come through the corporate technology
group (under new CTO Ari Balogh).
Yahoo platform and technical
10 Technology *
MyLoki Lets You Tell the World That You Are Here
By Erick Schonfeld (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:41:23 AM
If you look at my Facebook page you
might think that I’m still in Miami,
although I returned from that trip two
weeks ago. I simply forgot to change my
location status back to New York City. The
problem with most location updates on
Facebook or elsewhere is that they require
you to manually change your status every
time you get on a plane. Finally, though,
there is an easier way to broadcast your
location automatically. It is called MyLoki.
MyLoki is a service offered by Boston-
based SkyHook Wireless, the same
company behind the GPS-like, WiFi-
locating technology in the iPhone.
Skyhook can determine your location
based on the nearest WiFi routers that it
picks up through your laptop or other
computing device.
After first downloading the Loki toolbar
Healthline Partners With Aetna For
Personalized Medical Portal
By Erick Schonfeld (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 10:02:19 PM
While Microsoft and Google want to build
general health portals for consumers
(Microsoft launched HealthVault, and
we’re still waiting for Google Health),
medical search engine Healthline is taking
more of a white-label approach. It is
partnering with Aetna to create a
personalized health portal for insurance
customers called Aetna SmartSource.
Since Aetna already has electronic medical
records for the people it insures,
SmartSource can offer personalized results
for health-related searches. These include
health information about a person’s
specific conditions and maladies, their
medications, local doctors who treat those
diseases, and medical costs. Healthline’s
medical taxonomy matches common health
for your browser, whenever you are in the
vicinity of a WiFi hotspot it should be able
to triangulate your location. You can then
broadcast this information in a number of
ways. You get your own MyLoki page that
shows people your exact location, or you
can embed a constantly updated map with
your position on your blog:
terms with their technical medical
counterparts to provide a guided search
experience. For each search, it provides a
visual map showing all the related
categories, covering diseases, diagnosis,
treatment, and prevention.
By tying into all the data that Aetna
already collects about the people it insures,
Healthline is sidestepping one of the big
hurdles that HealthVault and Google
Health face. Namely, getting personal
medical information into their systems. But
it is a very insurance-centric view of a
person’s health. (There is a lot of emphasis
on showing healthcare costs, even though
that rarely factors into the medical
decisions of most people who are covered
You can add the map as a Facebook app:
You also can create an embeddable badge
and append it to your e-mail signature.
Or you can even create a location feed that
anyone obsessed with your whereabouts
by insurance).
Google’s and Microsoft’s approach draws
on many more sources of medical
information and is designed to help people
monitor and track their own health. For
instance, they let you upload data from
medical monitoring devices such as
glucose or blood pressure meters so you
can keep track of your progress over time.
The Aetna-Healthline portal takes a much
more top-down approach. If it is not a
billable health event, SmartSource won’t
capture it. That part is not so smart.
C r u n c h B a s e
InformationHealthlineInformation
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Your Click and Print Newspaper
can subscribe to. This feed integrates with
any GeoRSS service, such as Google
MyMaps. MyLoki also works with Jaiku
and Yahoo’s Fire Eagle. No Twitter
integration yet, but that is in the works.
MyLoki lets you enable or disable each
broadcast option. For privacy, most only
show what city you are in. The
embeddable map lets you choose between
country, state, city, zipcode or exact
location in revealing where you are. If the
application becomes popular, Skyhook
CEO Ted Morgan thinks that Websites will
want to localize their content (and ads) to
Web surfers with Loki-enabled browsers.
Good thing those privacy settings can be
turned on and off.CrunchBase
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Mixx Gets Credibility Boost From
NYTimes
By Michael Arrington (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 9:26:20 PM
The New York Times tonight added Mixx
bookmarking buttons on its site, which is
an important milestone for the company.
Facebook, Digg and Yahoo Buzz are the
only other third party social bookmarking
services that are offered.
The NYTimes doesn’t include well known
and more established services like
Delicious, Reddit and others on its pages. InformationMixxInformation provided by
And since Mixx is only six months old, so CrunchBase
this is an important sign of confidence in Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over
the young startup. the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
An example is here, just click on the
“share” button to the right of the
a r t i c l e . C r u n c h B a s e
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Yahoo To Join OpenSocial Sazze: Adding a Social Component to
in April, Microsoft Groans. Consumer Product Reviews
By Erick Schonfeld (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 11:04:22 AM
Following previous reports that Yahoo is
talking to Google about joining
OpenSocial, we are now hearing that the
decision has been made and that it will be
announced in April. OpenSocial is
Google’s social-networking platform that
is a response to Facebook. Yahoo has been
sitting on the sidelines of the fight between
Google and Facebook for the hearts and
minds of developers, and with this move it
will place itself firmly in the anti-Facebook
camp.
Becoming part of OpenSocial is in keeping
with Yahoo’s stated commitment to open
itself up more to third-party developers.
(As I’ve noted before, it can always do
better on the openness front). There is
already a lot of support for OpenSocial,
from MySpace to Bebo to Hi5. If
developers are going to start creating
amazing social applications for
OpenSocial, Yahoo should welcome those
applications on its site as well.
But given Microsoft’s takeover bid for
Yahoo, which seems more likely every day
Sprout’s WYSIWYG Flash Editor Now Available to Everyone
By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 4:28:47 AM
Sprout, the WYSIWYG flash editor that
launched a private beta in January at
DEMO, is now available to everyone.
After earning a “DEMOgod” award and
inviting around 5,000 beta testers, the site
is also releasing a handful of new features,
many of which are designed to make the
tool easier to use.
If you read my initial review of Sprout,
you probably noticed how messy my first
stab at creating a widget with the service
was. To address that issue, Sprout has
released a variety of pre-made templates
for building widgets (or “Sprouts” as they
like to call them). In the sample widget
to succeed, joining with Google appears to
also be an attempt to further complicate
any such deal. Microsoft, of course, is a
big investor in Facebook and handles a
large chunk of its advertising. If it ends up
buying Yahoo, OpenSocial may be a deal
Microsoft finds it needs to unwind.
Although, there is nothing stopping big
Websites from supporting both OpenSocial
and the Facebook platform (see Bebo).
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s
time for you to find a new Job2.0
below, I’ve used the “personal Sprout”
template and added a custom tab for my
Twitter feed, but there are also templates
for sports, politics, and causes. The
templates are a great starting point for the
design-impaired like myself, as once you
have the template built, the learning curve
for the rest of the tool is fairly minimal,
especially if you’re familiar with image
editing tools like Photoshop. Additionally,
Sprout plans to allow designers to create
their own templates that can be used by
others.
In addition to the templates, Sprout has
added several new components that can be
added to your Sprouts, most notably
By Paul Glazowski (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 1:50:49 AM
Product review sites are a dime a dozen.
There are those that exist as integrations
with broader online storefronts, like
Amazon. And then there are others which
specialize primarily in cataloging
consumer impressions. Epinions is one
such site. Yelp is another, albeit with a
heavy emphasis on service reviews
(restaurants, stores, etc.).
Now there is another name to add to the
list: Sazze. Its primary focus is the
consumer product market. No real
surprises there. But its aim is to offer more
of a social, well-networked atmosphere for
its users than the average consumer is
likely to encounter through many existing
services.
First, we draw the obvious parallel (Sazze
makes no bones about it, either). On its
face, the company openly considers itself,
at its very core, akin to Yelp. Why?
Because Yelp is quite a cohesive
framework of users. While some Yelp
members offer the casual comment, the
site has a strong body of reviewers that
routinely offer their thoughts on all sorts of
integration with PollDaddy so you can
include polls and surveys. In coming
weeks, Sprout plans to launch components
for Twitter, Seesmic, Ribbit, Dappr, and
others. Along those lines, Sprout is
Technology * Social Net *
items. Which in turn presents site regulars,
or frequent visitors, a better chance at
familiarizing themselves with the loose-
knit network of part-time citizen critics. In
today’s heavily-networked world,
familiarization is quite important for sure.
Therefore, Sazze wants to built a similar
social component to its product pages.
The site, in development for a good half-
year prior to its February ’08 launch as a
closed beta, is presently a wee thing when
compared to more veteran consumer
review sites. Understandably so. When you
place limits, you hit limits. Since the beta’s
initial debut, only some 2000+ reviews
have been published. Yet now that it’s
become a more open platform, things
could pick up significantly.
Of course, success isn’t guaranteed. As
with most Web services today, a business
planning to launch an SDK next month at
the Web 2.0 Expo so that more third-party
services can integrate into Sprout and offer
their features to users. According to Carnet
Williams, CEO of Sprout, their SDK won’t
be completely open at first - it will be more
like that offered by Meebo in that they’ll
be closely working with the partners they
bring in to build components.
While so far Sprout has been mostly
described as a widget creation tool (and
they’ve added more features to support that
usage, such as the ability to publish a
widget to Google Gadgets), the company is
quick to point out that they envision their
tool being used for far more, including the
creation of entire web pages. Williams
pointed me to this example of how The
11
won’t flourish unless its 1) got something
qualitative to offer, or 2) it is riding a
wave. I can’t imagine that there’s a
significant wave of feverish consumer
reviewing happening on the Web, so I’m
going to have to default to scenario #1 in
Sazze’s case.
That being said, though, Sazze might be
able to achieve steady growth due to its use
of the Shopping.com API, giving users a
broad range of product information to
quickly access right out the gate. No real
need to build from scratch there. Just add
lots and lots of interested people.
Who’s to say that Sazze will attract that
critical mass? Commentary on products,
even with the advantage of a social
backbone, isn’t something that’s
particularly exciting, when you really thing
about it. Social networking, after all, is
something most people invest in to
converse with people about things that
interest them. Could reviewing products
interest people enough too contribute to the
Sazze network? Maybe. Maybe not. I
guess we’ll just have to wait and see,
won’t we?
ShareThis
University of Oregon is using Sprout to
power an entire web page. On the whole,
Sprouts created by users during the beta
period received approximately 12 million
views.
As mentioned at the top of this post,
Sprout is now open for everyone to use.
They’ve done a nice job of opening up the
tool so that you can play around with the
full functionalities of the product before
being required to create an account, so if
you’d like to play around, you can get
started right away.
ShareThis
12 Social Net *
Movable Type Gets Yahoo YouTube Launches New
Fire Eagle Location- Set Of APIs
Sharing Plugin
By Paul Glazowski (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:42:59 AM
Movable Type, SixApart’s installable
publishing platform for the Web, has been
in the news lately, particularly for a stirring
blog entry posted by the company’s vice
president and chief evangelist, Anil Dash,
earlier this week. Well, today company co-
founder Ben Trott, has spoken up about
another topic, though one that is sure to
bring less controversy and animosity to the
table. Today’s memo: Movable Type is
hooking up with Yahoo’s Fire Eagle
location-sharing service through
pluginomics.
We mentioned Fire Eagle in passing
Tuesday when told you of the launch of
MyLoki by Skyhook Wireless. Now it’s
sitting front and center. In order to utilize
Fire Eagle, Movable Type users only need
to install the corresponding plugin. Doing
so will make your profile “location-
aware,” at which point you can configure
the bridge to present a map for blog
readers to see. Furthermore, when
changing location, information can be
TalkShoe Upgrades to the Facebook Platform
By Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins
(Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 5:26:55 PM
TalkShoe today announced the launch of
their Facebook application. As someone
who is fairly familiar and a semi-frequent
user of the TalkShoe system, I can attest
that this is a welcome improvement to the
system. This isn’t to say that dealing with
the website is in any way unpleasant, as
they’ve made a number of usability and
aesthetic improvements to the main
disseminated through the MT Action
Stream. Mr Trott also mentions that other
plugins “can build off the location
(software) to provide additional location-
sensitive features.” He points anyone
interested in the Fire Eagle plugin to visit
the website of David Recordon for an
example of how Fire Eagle can be
employed in MT.
Something to note for all you open API
lovers out there: Yahoo’s Fire Eagle API is
using the new OAuth standard, which is
very kind of them, wouldn’t you agree?
The folks at Movable Type promise to
offer the Perl OAuth library with the next
release of the software package.
Also, do keep in mind that Fire Eagle is
remains an invite-only service. SixApart
advises dabblers to leave comments on the
company blog post. They’ll email access
keys out to those that make requests.
ShareThis
website lately. On the other hand,
TalkShoe, despite extensive partnerships
with whitelabel social network Ning,
hasn’t seen viral and exponential growth of
the service despite employing many viral
marketing tactics.
That could change, though, with the
deployment of the Facebook application,
as it’s very robust in it’s functionality. You
just about everything through the
Facebook application that you can do
through the site. On the user side of things,
you can browse, search, and join
By Sean P. Aune (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 5:27:50 PM
We are already experiencing YouTube in
just about every conceivable way, but that
just isn’t enough yet for most people. To
answer the call of making sure you can see
your favorite videos just about anywhere,
the popular site has announced they are
launching several new APIs that will let
you be even more interactive with their
service from just about anywhere.
The new APIs add a lot to the potential
ways a site can use YouTube, but the most
exciting has to be the new ability to allow
visitors to your site to log into their video
account and upload their new videos
directly, keeping them from ever leaving
your site. You can also now enable what is
called the “chromeless” player; this will be
a stripped down version of the YouTube
player with no controls or chrome around
the outside so you will have full control on
how the video player looks on your site.
The APIs are also now coming in 18
conference calls and live podcasts. On the
host side of things, you can create new
episodes and conference call sessions as
well as perform episode management
tasks.
“The TalkShoe Facebook application lets
me add a whole new dimension to my
social networks because I can easily and
instantly invite both Facebook and non-
languages for all of the countries YouTube
currently supports, so non-English sites
will be able to jump into the fun finally.
In short, the new APIs allow you to do
everything you currently do on the
YouTube home site itself, from any site of
your choosing. Manage your account,
change subscriptions, manage favorites,
etc, all of that can now be done from
anywhere on the web. You can go ahead
and grab the code from the Google Code
site, and watch the video embedded below
to get the explanation directly from the
team behind the new code. (You can also
enjoy the Steve Ballmer joke at the end
involving a bobble head) This is some
really exciting new stuff from the
YouTube team, and it should be amazing
what we see popping up across the web in
the coming weeks.
ShareThis
Facebook users to join my community
calls,” said well known lifecaster and avid
TalkShoe host iJustine.
I’ve been fairly critical of TalkShoe in the
past over various issues, but I see this
upgrade as a definite step in the right
direction, and one that TalkShoe hosts like
Justine and others are quickly going to
notice for the greater ease of integrating
the event invitation process through the
Facebook integration.
ShareThis
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Next New
Networks Secures
$15M Funding
By Paul Glazowski (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 2:44:03 AM
Next New Networks, a company co-
founded by Herb Scannell, a former vice
chairman of MTVN, has just announced
the closure of its Series B round of
funding, reports Peter Kafka of Silicon
Alley Insider. The round, totaling $15
million, was led by Goldman Sachs and
Velocity Interactive Group.
Next New Networks is a management
operation built upon the concept of “micro-
television.” It’s holdings include video
productions like Fast Lane Daily, Barely
Political, ViroPOP, EPIC-FU (formerly
JETSET), Total MMO, and one name that
stands out for this Web video fan more
than any other in its NNN’s portfolio,
Channel Frederator.
The company seems to be aiming its sights
on higher positioning with its current list
of networks. NNN is already claiming to
have garnered a comprehensive view count
of 33 million across all its properties last
month alone, and if financial recompense
on investments is to be attained in the
coming quarters, the company is no doubt
going to have to further distribution -
presently attained through MySpace,
YouTube, Joost, and venues elsewhere - to
compete with other forces.
Right now, it looks like NNN would do
well to heighten the profile of its brands.
Few titles in its repertoire live at or near
the top of the Web video heap. And despite
NNN’s sustainment of a model of content
diversity, which delivers some measure of
stability, superstardom (relatively
speaking) has eluded its grasp. It will have
to boost name recognition significantly to
compete well in an industry largely born of
viral trends.
ShareThis
Your Click and Print Newspaper
KickApps Integrates
YouTube’s New APIs
By Adam Ostrow (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 1:12:11 AM
As we learned last night, YouTube has
released a set of new APIs that allows
other web sites to both grab content and
offer their own users the ability to upload
videos directly to the world’s most popular
video sharing service. This morning,
KickApps has announced that they will be
utilizing those APIs to allow their
customers to offer video uploading to their
communities.
Since KickApp’s provides branded social
networking tools to other web sites, their
implementation is a good example of how
YouTube’s new APIs will be used in the
wild. If you have a KickApps powered
community, you can now automatically
pull in video from YouTube, and in turn,
Specific Media Acquires AdViva
By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 7:20:45 PM
Cnet reports that online advertising
network Specific Media has acquired a
smaller fish in the same pond, UK-based
display ad network AdViva, for an
undisclosed sum. Like most ad networks
today, Specific Media offers demographic,
behavioral, contextual, and geographic ad
targeting; and yes, AdViva shares the same
traits. Specific Media received a huge
round of funding ($100 million) back in
October 2007.
offer more content to your users and keep
them on your site longer. Additionally, if
your site offers uploading to users, those
videos can now automatically be
distributed on YouTube as well, increasing
their reach.
As the far and away leader in online video,
this is an attractive offering to smaller web
publishers looking to offer video content,
especially since it comes with the added
benefit of distribution on YouTube. Earlier
this week, Userplane announced they
would be offering a similar product,
largely as an effort to lure publishers from
VideoEgg, who recently decided to get out
of the services business to focus on video
advertising.
ShareThis
With Google’s recently confirmed
acquisition of DoubleClick, Specific
Media is one of the bigger players that
might get gobbled up by the competition,
which is - unfortunately for them - busy
with their own affairs in the last couple of
months.
ShareThis
Yahoo Plans to Join
OpenSocial Alliance?
By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 9:00:49 PM
NYtimes reports that Yahoo is considering
Google’s OpenSocial alliance, which
would be another huge boost for this
initiative that will enable creation of tools
and service which work across many web
platforms. So far, Google, Friendster, hi5,
imeem, LinkedIn, MySpace, Ning, Oracle,
orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart,
XING and many others are on board. If
Yahoo joins, that would mean practically
everyone is on the OpenSocial team,
except Facebook whose founder Mark
Zuckerberg has been secretive and cryptic
about the issue.
Yahoo’s comment on these rumors has
been mildly positive: “Yahoo has a rich
history of supporting open standards, such
as OpenID and Apache Hadoop, as we
Hulu - Still Not That Fun If You’re In
Europe
By Stan Schroeder (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 11:57:39 PM
I know we’ve said it before. I know it’s
nothing new. But now that it’s officially
launched, I still have to give Hulu one
huge thumbs down simply because none of
the videos on the site work for me. Here’s
a quick visual overview of the entire Hulu
experience from my perspective:
believe industry collaboration is beneficial
to the developer community and the Web
as a whole. While we are evaluating
OpenSocial as an emerging standard, we
do not comment on speculation or
rumors.” With Microsoft’s takeover bid
looming over them, they certainly have a
lot to consider here.
As far as Facebook goes, I’m sure they’d
rather have their own standard, but in the
end they’ll probably have to announce
their support here. Going against the grain
can only take you so far.
ShareThis
And you know what? As a user, I don’t
care what the reasons for this are. I don’t
care about copyright. For me, the site
doesn’t work, and that means it has
absolutely zero value. The Internet knows
no boundaries; if you try to set up artificial
ones you’re going to fail, period.
ShareThis
Social Net * TV * 13
America ranks
the Top 12 (after
they performed)
By Jason Hughes (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:40:00 AM
Filed under: American Idol, Contestants,
Predictions and TrendsWhat a difference a
day makes. After the surprising
performances on last night's Top 12
performance show, AOL's American Idol
poll has shown some significant shifts.
While David Archuleta has been a strong
favorite across most polls, I don't think
anyone can argue that last night he had a
pretty dramatic misstep, forgetting lyrics
and generally turning in a pretty bad
performance.
The question is, will the David A. faithful
continue to flock behind their golden boy,
or is one bad performance enough to knock
him off the top perch. And what about
Chikezie, who turned in his strongest
performance of the competition so far.
Was it enough to bring him up in
America's hearts? I've got two sets of poll
results for you. The first from the week
prior to last night's show, and the second
after last night's performance.
Continue reading America ranks the Top
12 (after they performed)
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
14 TV *
Alicia Silverstone dumps
HIMYM because of Britney
By Anna Johns (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:05:00 AM
Filed under: How I Met Your Mother,
Celebrities, CastingOoooh... juicy gossip!
Michael Ausiello over at TV Guide.com
has some good dish about How I Met Your
Mother that he swears is true.
Apparently Alicia Silverstone has canceled
her guest appearance on the show due to
Britney Spears' upcoming cameo. As Joel
recently reported, Spears pitched the idea
herself. She will play a wacky receptionist
in a doctor's office--the doctor was
supposed to be played by Silverstone, and
she was to appear in a "multi-episode arc".
According to Ausiello, Silverstone quit the
gig because she was worried that her
performance would be over-shadowed by
Britney's appearance. OK, that's a
legitimate concern. She's probably right.
Although, I think Britney was only going
to be on one episode and Silverstone was
slated for several.
Sarah Chalke, who plays Dr. Eliot Reed on
Scrubs, will take Silverstone's place. The
Big Brother 9: PoV Competition #4
By JJ Hawkins (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/11/2008 5:03:00 PM
Filed under: OpEd, Big Brother (US),
Episode Reviews
(S09E13) Take a look at this face ladies
and gentlemen, because it was the catalyst
for all the madness that went down in the
house tonight.
The funny thing is, she didn't plan any of
Super Skank Wednesday: Megan Hauserman, operation focus, & more dos and don'ts
By Kristin Sample (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:23:00 AM
Filed under: Other Reality Shows,
OpEdWelcome to Super Skank
Wednesday. This is where I celebrate the
episode in question is the third new
episode after the writers' strike. HIMYM
begins new episodes on Monday, but an air
date for the Britney episode is not yet
confirmed.
Update: E! Online is reporting the same
information.
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
it. She has no real strategy in this game.
She doesn't think more than ten minutes
into the future as far posturing goes. And
awesomely skanky people on the following
shows: Rock of Love, Flavor of Love, I
Love New York (or whatever show
Tiffany Pollard is making next), The
Surreal Life, and Charm School. Basically,
I'll discuss the shows that make VH1 the
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Mariah Carey to replace Janet
Jackson on SNL
By Anna Johns (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 8:04:00 AM
Filed under: Saturday Night Live,
CelebritiesIn case you were tuning in to
Saturday Night Live this weekend for the
music and not the...ahem...comedy, there's
been a change in the schedule. Janet
Jackson is evidently ill and has canceled
her appearance. She spent some time at
Cedars Sinai hospital earlier this week due
to a particularly nasty case of the flu.
Mariah Carey will take her place.
This makes me wonder whether people
tune in to SNL for the musical acts. I have Ladies perform and that's about it. Oh, and
to admit that I usually fast-forward through Beck is always pretty rad when he's on.
the musical performances. Maybe there is
something about the sound on that stage, Does anybody watch SNL just for the
but performers rarely sound good. Or music?
maybe it's just the performers themselves
who only sound good on an album. I think Permalink | Email this | | Comments
I've tuned in to SNL to see Barenaked
Gilligan gal caught with a joint or two
By Allison Waldman (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 2:09:00 AM
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows,
CelebritiesSo, the celebrity you would
least expect to be caught with a doobie in
she thinks there are 27 letters in the
her car got caught. Okay, maybe not, but it
alphabet. Enough said. Natalie is playing was still a stunner to read that Dawn
this game with love goggles on and, for Wells, who made sweet Mary Ann on
better or worse, her undying obsession
with Mattie has caused the biggest Gilligan's Island her own, was busted for
commotion in the Big Brother 9 house all dope.
season and I'm elated.
Continue reading Big Brother 9: PoV Here's what happened: in Driggs, Idaho, on and asked her if she had marijuana.
October 18, 2007, Dawn was driving back Continue reading Gilligan gal caught with
Competition #4 from a birthday party (for her) when the
a joint or two
Permalink | Email this | | Comments cops pulled her over for questionable
driving -- swerving and speeding up then Permalink | Email this | | Comments
slowing down. When the officer
approached, he noticed the distinct smell
Continue reading Super Skank
After the jump I have some Fun Facts on Wednesday: Megan Hauserman, operation
Megan Hauserman: Serial Reality Star, focus, & more dos and don'ts
Operation Focus: Thing 1 and Thing 2's
Masterplan, and TheDos and Don'ts of Permalink | Email this | | Comments
network it is today. Telling a Flav Bedtime Story
Your Click and Print Newspaper
Jericho: Termination for Cause
By Paul Goebel (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 1:44:00 AM
Filed under: Jericho, Episode Reviews
(S02E05) "I think we have a problem." -
Goetz, master of understatement
Well, I guess if anyone had doubts about
the evilness of Goetz, those doubts should
be erased as of this episode. I actually got
chills thinking about Mimi recovering and
telling the truth about what happened at the
farm.
Goetz already lost four men and taking a
hospital full of deputies is considerably
more difficult than taking out one little girl
with a shotgun. Goetz either really wants
Mimi dead, has some Hawkins-sized
stones or both.
The Daily Show: March 11, 2008 -
VIDEO
By Annie Wu (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 1:29:00 AM
Filed under: OpEd, The Daily Show,
Episode Reviews"Gubernatorial
Malfeasance": As if to let the jokes really
ripen, Jon and the gang left coverage of the
Eliot Spitzer scandal for this night.
Actually, maybe they just wanted the full
effect of the media completely crapping
themselves with joy, as demonstrated by
Jon's Spitzer bib. Senior Legal Analyst
Rob Riggle jumped in for what was, like,
the shortest correspondent contribution
ever, just to drop the joke that Spitzer's
link to the prostitution ring was his penis.
Come on.
Billy Bob Heads Back to the Directorial Chair
By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:32:00 AM
Filed under: Drama, Deals,
RumorMongerIt seems like a lifetime or
two has passed since Billy Bob Thornton
wrote, directed, and starred in Sling Blade.
There's been a marriage to Angelina Jolie,
teamed with super-romantic blood vials,
and a whole slew of acting gigs from A
Simple Plan to The Astronaut Farmer. He
also had two other directing stints -- All
Continue reading Jericho: Termination for
Cause
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Continue reading The Daily Show: March
11, 2008 - VIDEO
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
the Pretty Horses in 2000 and Daddy and
Them in 2001.
Now Cinema Blend reports that he's
getting back to the director's chair with two
new projects, and explained why it has
taken him so long to do so. It seems that
Billy Bob did not enjoy working with ol'
Harvey Weinstein on Horses, and that
experience has kept him from getting back
behind the camera. But now, with deals
contingent upon him retaining total control
Untraditional autumn set for ABC
By Allison Waldman (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 4:01:00 AM
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry,
Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Pushing
Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy
Money, WGA StrikeAutumn may not look
the same way it usually does on ABC in
2008. The network is seriously considering
opening the new season sans new drama
series. There will still be returning shows,
including the dramas from 2007 which
have been deemed successes by the ABC
brass, including Pushing Daisies, Private
Practiceand Dirty Sexy Money -- but no
new pilots.
Law & Order enters the game market
By Allison Waldman (TV Squad)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 1:12:00 AM
Filed under: Law and OrderYou like
games? You want to play games? I'll give
you a game! In fact, NBC's Law & Order
is serious about gaming. The TV series
mainstay has a new incarnation and it's not
another spin-off drama. This time it'll be a
mobile game geared toward women who
love the crime show. Law & Order:
Celebrity Betrayal is the name of the cell
phone game developed by LimeLife, NBC
Universal's mobile department and L&O's
creator Dick Wolf with co-executive
producer Peter Jankowski.
of both projects, he's trying again. He says
one is locked, and the other is close to a
Continue reading Untraditional autumn set
for ABC
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
Continue reading Law & Order enters the
game market
Permalink | Email this | | Comments
deal.
The first is some book adaptation that he
didn't say much about, but the second idea
focuses on Floyd Collins. It's a pretty wild
story about a caver in the '20s who was
trapped in some underground caves and
became the first world-wide media
sensation, well before the days of Jessica
McClure, or reality TV. Thornton says:
"the reason I want to make the movie is I
want to make the movie about human
TV * Movies 15
Live from SXSW: 101
Comedies That Kirk
Honeycutt Needs to See
By Scott Weinberg (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 4:32:00 AM
Filed under: Comedy, SXSW, Festival
Reports
To: The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk
Honeycutt
Regarding your quote: "The Promotion
must be one of the unfunniest comedies
ever."
Subject: Your New Netflix Queue
2001: A Space Travesty, The Adventures
of Pluto Nash, Amos & Andrew, Are We
Done Yet?, Baby Geniuses 2, B*A*P*S,
Because I Said So, The Benchwarmers,
Big Momma's House 2, Black Knight,
Blue Streak, Boat Trip, Bratz, Bringing
Down the House, Caddyshack 2, Celtic
Pride, Chairman of the Board, Christmas
with the Kranks, The Comebacks,Cop and
a Half, Daddy Day Camp, Date Movie,
Deck the Halls, Delta Farce, Deuce
Bigalow: European Gigolo, Eight Crazy
Nights, Employee of the Month, Evan
Almighty, The Ex, Exit to Eden, Dirty
nature. It's human nature to want to see
other people suffer for entertainment.
That's why we have reality television.
That's why every time there's somebody
trapped in a hole, everybody's interested." I
just wonder if it will detail the creepy stuff
later -- like displaying the poor dude's
body at the cave.Read | Permalink | Email
this | Comments
16 Movies
New Trailer for 'The
Strangers'
By Jessica Barnes (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 6:02:00 AM
Filed under: Horror, Universal, Movie
Marketing, Trailers and Clips
I had almost completely forgotten about
Liv Tyler's horror flick The Strangers, until
the new trailer popped up on the net
(there's a larger version on the official
site). Last August, an R-rated trailer was
released, but by then, the initial release
date had been scrapped with only the
vague promise that the film would be in
theaters some time in '08. The movie is
now scheduled to hit theaters this May, so
it will be almost one full year late to the
party.
The Strangers centers on a young couple
who are inexplicably targeted by masked
psycho-killers for a night of terror. It looks
like it's going to be your usual fight to the
SXSW Review: Natural Causes
By Peter Martin (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:32:00 AM
Filed under: Drama, Independent,
Romance, SXSW, Theatrical Reviews,
Cinematical Indie
I'm not a fan of modern romantic comedies
that are filled with contrivances and
frustratingly stupid "obstacles" intended to
keep the couple apart until the final close-
up. Likewise, it's hard to think of a
romantic drama in which we see the
relationship run its course in a way that
death as the couple try to make it out alive.
The Strangers was written and directed by
Bryan Bertino, a first time writer and
director. Joining Tyler is Scott Speedman
(Underworld) as Liv's better half, and
Gemma Ward as one of the masked
maniacs.
After watching the trailer, I think that it
still manages to deliver some chills, and it
doesn't give away too much. It's funny if
you think about the fact that no sooner did
the film manage to avoid comparisons to
last year's Vacancy, audiences will
probably be comparing it to Funny
Games.It does look awfully similar. I guess
we'll find out if The Strangers was worth
the wait when the film finally hits theaters
on May 30th.
[via Ace Showbiz]Read | Permalink |
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approaches reality. My resistance is based
in part on my life experience; perhaps if I
met the love of my life at first glance in
high school or was currently involved in a
long-term relationship finally crumbling in
bitterness and recrimination, I'd feel
differently. As it is, I tend to avoid
relationship movies because they ring so
false and hollow to me.
In contrast, Natural Causes, while not
perfect, is composed of so many
identifiably true moments that I fell in love
with the movie.
Michel Gondry and His
'Ice Kings' ... No Wait ...
It's 'Kids'
By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 8:02:00 AM
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Scripts,
NewsstandDarned language barriers! You
might remember that Erik Davis posted
about one of writer/director Michel
Gondry's next films, The Return of the Ice
Kings, back in January, courtesy of MTV.
Well, it seems that there was a bit of a
language barrier, because that's not quite
what the title is. MTV talked with the
director again, and he corrected the
mistake. It is actually called: Return of the
Ice Kids. Yes, Kids, not Kings.
The film is about some teens who invent a
form of water that makes you hear music
when you drink it. How "Return" fits in
remains to be seen. However, Gondry did
describe one of the film's scenes when
clearing up the confusion. At one point,
one of the teen characters talks about his
most embarrassing moment: "He talks
about one day when he was at an exam and
he made some weird noise with his mouth
that sounded like a fart, and everybody
noticed -- so he kept making weird noises
to cover up his nerves. But then it looked
like he was covering up a fart." But it's not
just fiction. Gondry says: "This happened
to me when I went to high school."
David (Jerzy Gwiazdowski) is initially
attracted to Shaina (Shonda Leigh
Oh, but this is Gondry, so it's not all that
straight-forward. There's kids talking about
unimportant things, writing a book of
peace, and even some "completely utopian
scenes." And yet somehow this will all fit
together. Considering the subject matter,
I'm with Erik on the thought that this could
be that project he's working on with his
son. Stay tuned, but in the meantime, Be
Kind Rewind.Read | Permalink | Email this
| Comments
Robbins), while his friend flirts with her
roommate Cara (Leah Goldstein). David
and Shaina end up together that night in
her bedroom. Fade to black; the next time
we see David, he's riding an elevator with
Cara, who is no longer rooming with
Shaina. Cara and David begin talking,
which progresses to flirting, which
progresses to spending the night together.
Continue reading SXSW Review: Natural
CausesPermalink | Email this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
LIVE
continued from page 15
Love, Down to Earth, Dumb & Dumberer:
When Harry Met Lloyd, Envy, Epic
Movie, For Richer or Poorer, Freddy Got
Fingered, Good Luck Chuck, Gold
Diggers, Gone Fishin', Grandma's Boy,
Head of State, The Hottie and the Nottie,
How High, It's Pat!, Jingle All the Way,
Jury Duty, Just My Luck, Juwanna Mann,
Kazaam, Kickin' It Old Skool, King's
Ransom, Krippendorf's Tribe, Kung Pow:
Enter the Fist, Leonard Part 6, Little
Nicky, Let's Go to Prison, License to Wed,
Little Man, Look Who's Talking Too,
Loose Cannons, Love Stinks, The Man,
Man of the Year, Mannequin 2: On the
Move, Marci X, The Master of Disguise,
Meet the Spartans, Meet Wally Sparks,
Monster-in-Law, Mr. Woodcock, Must
Love Dogs, My Baby's Daddy, My Boss's
Daughter, New York Minute, Norbit,
Nothing But Trouble, Police Academy 7:
Mission to Moscow, Ready to Rumble,
Ringmaster, Say It Isn't So, Serving Sara,
Snow Dogs, Son of the Mask, Soul Plane,
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Strange
Wilderness, Stroker Ace, Tomcats,
Uptown Girls, Van Wilder: The Rise of
Taj, The Wash, Weekend at Bernie's 2,
Whipped, Who's Your Caddy, White
Chicks, Wild Hogs, Without a Paddle,
Witless Protection, You, Me & Dupree
From: Your Friends at Cinematical :-
)Permalink | Email this | Comments
Your Click and Print Newspaper
John Lithgow and More
Join 'Shopaholic'
By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 5:32:00 AM
Filed under: Comedy, Romance,
CastingOkay, I don't get it. So we've got
this adaptation of one of Sophie Kinsella's
books coming to the big screen,
Confessions of a Shopaholic. Isla Fisher
stars as Rebecca, this college grad who
gets a sweet gig as a financial journalist in
Manhattan, but struggles with an immense
shopping addiction that makes her bills
increase well beyond what she can afford.
And at some point in all of this, she falls in
love with a successful entrepreneur, and
also throws on a tacky outfit that rivals the
horrors that Carrie Bradshaw has in her
closet.
Is this whole "financial journalist" title just
some sort of catchy job description? Who
hires a spastic shopaholic as a financial
journalist? Well, according to The
Hollywood Reporter, it looks like it is one
of the following -- John Lithgow, Kristin
Scott Thomas, Leslie Bibb, Lynn
Redgrave, and Julie Hagerty. Okay... It's
probably not Bibb, who is a fashion
magazine staffer, nor Hagerty, who plays a
business magazine assistant. However, it
could be Lithgow's publishing magnate,
Thomas' magazine editor, or Redgrave's
"doyenne of a publishing empire."
So far, this sounds more like a fantasy than
any sort of realistic romcom, not to say
that romantic comedies are usually
realistic. I just wish we could have less
"women are terrible with money" crap. I
know I'm not the only one who doesn't
shop myself into debt, or keep credit card
balances with sadistic interest rates.Read |
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New 'Tropic Thunder' Pics!
By Jessica Barnes (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 7:02:00 AM
Filed under: Action, Comedy,
Dreamworks, Movie Marketing, Images
Now that we have all gotten over the initial
shock of seeing Robert Downey Jr. in
'black face,' we can all settle down and
direct our attention to all of the other
reasons why Ben Stiller's action comedy
Tropic Thunder is going to be pretty high
on the list of must-see summer flicks.
Slash Film now has two new pictures from
the comedy with the whole cast in tow.
Stiller came up with the idea of Tropic
Thunder while he was working on Empire
of the Sun with Steven Spielberg. Thunder
centers on a group of spoiled actors
making an expensive Vietnam flick.
Inexplicably, the group find themselves in
the middle of a real war and they are
forced to become real live soldiers. The all
-star comedy cast includes Stiller, Jack
Black, Matthew McConaughey (in a part
originally intended for Owen Wilson), and
Steve Coogan as the wacked-out "Dennis
Hopper in Apocalypse Now" role.
While these photos may not be as much
fun as the teaser that was just released, I'm
sure this is just the first of many media
releases for the film. If you are over 18, I
highly recommend checking out the teaser
-- with possibly the best tag line for an
action film in the history of the movies. If
not, you'll just have to figure out how to
sneak into the theater with the rest of us
when Tropic Thunder lands in theaters on
August 15th.Read | Permalink | Email this |
Comments
Movies 17
New Wall*E
Trailer!
By Elisabeth Rappe (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 5:02:00 AM
Filed under: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy,
Disney, Family Films, Trailers and
ClipsEvery time I watch a Wall·Etrailer, I
weep. I don't know what it is. He's just so
cute, and innocent, so very E.T. that my
heart just breaks when I hear his
"WallEEEE" voice.
And now there is a new one out. For the
first few minutes, I thought the newswire
was mistaken, but this is the Wall·E Trailer
to end all trailers. The last one (which
Empire now says is the international
version) ended with him meeting EVE and
taking that first leap into outer space.
Now, you'll see what lies beyond. And
there's robots galore! Watch it here, in
glorious Quicktime. I cannot wait. I know I
said The Dark Knight will be the movie of
the summer -- and I'm pretty psyched for
it. But Wall·E is like every 80's movie I
ever loved wrapped into one -- and
expanded. I think it's going to be my
favorite film of 2008.
Wall·E is released June 27, 2008. I predict
I'll have the toy sitting on my desk by the
28th.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
18 Movies
Jason Patric and Thomas
Dekker Join 'My Sister's
Keeper'
By Monika Bartyzel (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 4:02:00 AM
Filed under: Drama, CastingLast month,
the Fannings dumpedMy Sister's Keeper,
and paved the way for Abigail Breslin and
Sofia Vassilieva to take over the heavy
fare. Now they've got a dad and boyfriend.
According to The Hollywood Reporter,
Jason Patric and Thomas Dekker are
joining the two girls and momma Cameron
Diaz in the drama (which also stars Alec
Baldwin and Joan Cusack).
Breslin plays a 13-year-old who sues her
parents, former district attorney Diaz (heh)
and fireman husband Patric, for
emancipation because she was "conceived
and underwent several operations" to help
save the life of her cancer-ridden sister
(Vassilieva). Dekker, meanwhile, plays the
boyfriend of the older sister, who has
survived his own fight with cancer.
I guess that they changed the script around
in the last month? A reader pointed out
when the Fannings left that the original
story has the sisters a bit older than Elle
and Dakota. That's not too hard to switch.
However, it's a bit of a jump to add John
Connor as older sis' beau. Perhaps they just
made the boyfriend older (Dekker is 20),
or switched a friend into a boyfriend?
Dakota is mature, but not that mature!
Whatever the case, the playing field is
different now, and the drama is currently
filming in Los Angeles.Read | Permalink |
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Wolfgang Petersen Directing
'Uprising'
By Elisabeth Rappe (Cinematical)
Submitted at 3/12/2008 3:32:00 AM
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy,
Deals, ScriptsSometimes, I wish these
kinds of stories would just stay off the wire
until there was some more meat on them.
Empire has excitedly announced that
Wolfgang Petersen is directing a sci-fi
epic. Apparently, this was in the works
before the writer's strike, but no one
bothered to run it. I think it was because
there's not much to tell -- everyone would
have preferred an Ender's Game update.
All we know about the story of Uprising is
that it is about a group of humans who
band together to fight off an invading alien But do you know the first thought that
force. Yes, when I picture that with popped into my head when I read the story
Petersen's scope, this could be really cool. idea? Battlefield Earth. I don't even know
But then I remember Troy (yeah, I hear the why -- it should have been Vor
director's cut is good, I do need to pick that Independence Day. Now I can't get rid of
up), and think how good that initially the image of alien John Travolta, and the
sounded. Also, it's not like an alien movie is playing in my head. Great.Read |
invasion story is particularly fresh. What's Permalink | Email this | Comments
going to be special about this one?