There was an excellent piece posted over the weekend in CrunchGear by Devin Coldewey entitled Real time, real discussion, real reporting: choose two

“The truth is that there is no old media. And no new media. There is only the present media, its aspect as confused and shifting as any compound creature from legend.”

The “take away” from the article being today’s media is a Triumvirate of Real Reporting, Real Time, Real Discussion that can be expressed, for example, as The New York Times, CNN and Twitter.

What I found interesting was simply this. Given all the recent interest in the Murdoch “Walled Garden” why wasn’t Google part of the equation?

After all, as Erick Schonfeld’s piece Twitter Doesn’t Track The Zeitgeist. Only 2 Percent Of Tweets Overlap With Search Trends highlighted over the weekend:

“… popular search terms can tell you a lot about what’s on people’s minds”

The other thing I found interesting in the piece was the idea that Print and Television still held meaning to the emerging generation of influencers and innovators. As I pointed out in last weekend News junkie or the future of journalism?. Twitter has become the dominant, if not sole then at least primary, news channel for the audience of the future.

This of course is one the primary messages I am trying to reiterate with this blog. It is the audience and not the media that will define the future of the mass media.  and the audience of the future are more interested in doing than receiving.

If there is a MobCon triumvirate that is the future of media then it will be this: find me, find you, let’s exchange.

The MobCon Triumvirate

This is the MobCon trinity that drives Facebook, it is the MobCon trinity that drives Twitter and it will be the MobCon trinity that drives the future of search (Which is currently limited to find you). The future will be dominated by whoever is capable of owning all three simultaneously.

At the moment Google owns Find You. Twitter and Facebook dominate Find me while eBay owns the exchange.

As I said in my earlier post Find me if you can. 

Tomorrow the question on every marketers lips will not be “How do I use Google to build a brand online?” but “who or what do I know today that will put me in touch with these people tomorrow?”

As I said in Imagine all the people, living a Mobile Life.

It’s time to work out how you are going to plug into your customer’s Mobile Life. Otherwise it may not be you who is profiting in the future from the everyday discoveries, transactions and exchanges of their increasingly fragmented mobile lives.

Let me explain why eBay, Google and Facebook are now infinitely more important to the future of media than TV and Newspapers.

You may recall a post from a couple of weeks ago called The changing shaping of the MobCon landscape here in Australia. In that post was a link to an interactive history of the Australian Internet since 2001 that has been published by IC, AIMIA and Nielsen Online.

As I said in one of my very first posts Below the Radar. The MobCon in Action “Down Under” I like to use Australia as a case study because it represents an excellent micro-study of what is happen elsewhere in the real world.

In the IC, AIMIA and Nielsen Online history map you’ll see some interesting metrics. For example Australians spend 6.4 hours a month on Facebook and 3 hours on eBay but only 1.18 hours on the News Corp web sites. In fact Australia’s spend as much time Banking online as they do reading Rupert Murdoch’s online news service. They also spend as much time with Google and Youtube as they do with News Corp. The only difference is Google’s audience is 6 times bigger. Now doesn’t that put the “Paywall” in new perspective?

In fact Australian’s spend more time checking the weather than reading News Corp’s online news each month.

Needless to say the big three are Google, Facebook and eBay. Find you, Find me and the Exchange. It’s all very simple. So let’s give it a name. How about the Theory of MobCon Media? or MobCon Theory for short

TENNESSEE.
______

A Severe Battle at Franklin, Tenn.
________

HOOD DEFEATED BY THOMAS.
________

The Rebels Desperately Assault Our Works.
________

They are Repulsed with Fearful Carnage.
__________

Six Thousand Rebels Killed and Wounded.
_________

TWELVE HUNDRED PRISONERS CAPTURED
____________

Our Loss Less Than One Thousand.
____________

MAGNIFICENT BEHAVIOR OF OUR TROOPS
__________

Full and Graphic Account from Our Special Correspondent.
__________

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
__________
Washington, Thursday, Dec.1.

The following official dispatch concerning the report of the victory in Tennessee, has been received at headquarters:

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Wednesday, Nov.30.

Major-Gen. Thomas:

The enemy made a heavy and persistent attack with two corps, commencing at 4 P.M., and lasting till after dark. He was repulsed at all points with heavy loss — probably of five or six thousand men. Our loss is probably not more than one-fourth of that number. We have captured about one thousand prisoners, including one Brigadier-General.

(Signed,) JOHN SCHOFIELD
Major-General.

__________

OUR SPECIAL ACCOUNT.
__________

Special Dispatch to the New-York Times.
FOUR MILES SOUTH OF NASHVILLE.
Thursday, Dec.1.

Gen. SCHOFIELD yesterday fought one of the prettiest fights of the war, resulting most disastrously to the rebels, with little loss to ourselves. After three days’ skirmishing, the rebels crowded our first line of works yesterday afternoon, and at 4 P.M. made a most desperate attack on our right and centre, forcing our lines to our breastworks, which were thrown up from river to river in an open field on the Cumberland Pike, which ran through the centre of the field.

At least half the rebel force engaged endeavored to pierce our centre, and come down viciously on WAGNER’S Division, which, after desperate fighting, fell back, and MANY’S rebel division, of FRANK CHEATAM’S corps, got inside our works and captured two guns. Our centre was not broken, however, and, better still, Gen. WAGNER successfully rallied our troops, who charged on the enemy, recaptured the two guns, and drove the division over the breastworks, capturing one entire brigade and its commander.

At 4:30 o’clock the battle was waged with unabating vigor, the enemy having made during a half hour several attempts to break our centre.

The Federal position was a magnificent one, and the result of these four days’ work were magnificently grand.

All this while the rebels had appeared in front of our right. The plan was to pierce our centre and crush our right wing before dark. A portion of our infantry were engaged three-quarters of an hour firing on the rebel columns who stood their ground like madmen. During the every charge made on our right and centre, volleys of grape and canister were hurled into their lines, and only darkness prevented their sacrifice being more awful. It is said that no canister shot was used by the rebels during the day, but fired shot and shell.

After the first break of WAGNER’S division and its recovery, our line never budged a step. All was quiet after 10 P.M. It was not only one of the prettiest but cleanest battles of the war. The excessive slaughter of the enemy was owing to our wholesale use of canister and grape, and our selection of ground. The battle was fought in an open field, with no trees or undergrowth, or other interruption. The enemy’s loss in killed and wounded approximates 7,000, and we have over 1,200 prisoners, and one general officer and several field officers. The Colonel of the Fifteenth Mississippi, a Northern man, of Illinois, was wounded and taken prisoner. Four-fifths of his regiment were killed, wounded or captured. Our loss does not reach a thousand, hors du cambat. Gen. Bradley, of Illinois, while gallantly leading his troops, was severely wounded in the shoulder. Our loss in field officers is very small. Our troops behaved handsomely. SCHOFIELD commanded on the field, STANLEY on the right, and Cox on the left. Gen. Stanley was wounded slightly in the neck, but remained on the field and is all right to-day.

I have told you all along the programme of Gen. Thomas would electrify you, and this is but the epilogue of the battle to come off.

After our dead, wounded and prisoners were cared for, our army fell back to this point, and are in line of battle while I write. Up to this time, 3 P.M., the enemy has not made his appearance. The Third Corps of Veterans are in readiness, and a battle is expected before daylight to-morrow. All Government work is suspended, and all are under arms, from Gen. DONALDSON down to the unscientific laborers.

The falling back of our troops was accomplished at 8 o’clock this morning, and bridges burned across Harpeth River to retard the transportation of rebel supplies. The cavalry was handled prettily by Gen. WILSON, between Spring Hill and Triune.

A.J. SMITH’s corps is in line of battle, and the situation is particularly grand. Forts Negley, Morton, Cairo and Houston are alive, and the infantry movement perfectly satisfactory. Something must immediately transpire, as Gen. THOMAS is ready to strike no matter how the rebels move.

BENJ. C. TRUMAN

Southfield, Mich.

For the students at Med Grow Cannabis College, marijuana is not just for recreational use.

Med Grow is a trade school in a Detroit suburb that caters to students interested in pursuing careers in the medical marijuana industry.

Students at the college are excited because the college provides a new opportunity to make money and earn a degree in something they are interested in. The course runs for six weeks and includes lessons in horticulture, baking, law and the history of marijuana. Students are taught to grow marijuana for medical use.

An article published yesterday in the NY Times details the goings-on at the college.

“This state needs jobs, and we think medical marijuana can stimulate the state economy with hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars,” said Nick Tennant, the 24-year-old founder of the college, which is actually a burgeoning business (no baccalaureates here) operating from a few bare-bones rooms in a Detroit suburb.

The six-week, $485 primer on medical marijuana is a cross between an agricultural extension class covering the growing cycle, nutrients and light requirements (“It’s harvest time when half the trichomes have turned amber and half are white”) and a gathering of serious potheads, sharing stories of their best highs (“Smoke that and you are … medicated!”).

Not only does medical marijuana aid those that are ill, it has the potential to be a big economy booster. Michigan’s medical marijuana program is a patient-caregiver setup that allows a caregiver to grow 12 plants per patient. Each caregiver is allowed five patients. To become an approved caregiver you must register with the state’s Department of Community Health and prove you are not a convicted felon. Each patient may grow up to 12 plants herself if she does not have a caregiver.

Unfortunately, my home state of Florida still has its head in the sand and refuses to acknowledge the potential benefits of a medical marijuana program.

Watch the video the NY Times did about Med Grow Cannabis College:

and below is the list of courses that are taught during the six weeks at Med Grow (descriptions from their website).

Legal 1010
In legal 101 you will learn many the different areas of the law, taught to you by an attorney whose expertise is in medical marijuana. The curriculum for this class includes a legal history of cannabis, overviews of Michigan and federal law, dealing with the law, and many other aspects of how cannabis laws affect patients, caregivers, businesses, and society as a whole. Also offered, one on one consultations with our legal professor.

Care-giving as a Business 1010
Learn what it takes to get started in the care-giving business. Everything is covered from business formation to accounting and legal documents. Maybe you even want to quit your boring day job and start running your own care-giving business? Well, the law allows you to do just that! Learn just what it takes from our business experts and get on the road to success today.

What do you think, readers? Should other states follow suit? Is the caregiver-patient program better than the traditional dispensary program found in California?

Ugh. Just when we’re all full of Thanksgiving food and thankful that we’ve somehow managed to not gain weight, our happy post-Thanksgiving vibe is ruined by the following, from the New York Times:

Serena Williams, the top-ranked player in women’s tennis, will pay a price for her threatening, profanity-laced tirade against a lineswoman during the semifinals of this year’s United States Open. But though she was fined a hefty $175,000 by the Grand Slam committee in a decision announced Monday, it decided against suspending her from next year’s Open or any other Grand Slam event.

Damn it! It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas and then Santa decided in lieu of coal he’d just take a shit in our stockings.

Sure, sure. The fine of $175,000 is hefty, and the other piece of the decision is that Williams is on probation for the next two years. The bad news: If she keeps her big yap shut, doesn’t commit a major offense, and doesn’t threaten to “fucking take this ball and shove it down your fucking throat,” her fine will be reduced to $82,500. Weak.

Because Williams is a total affront to tennis and professional sports, how about the lineswoman gets a couple free shots to Serena’s noggin? Or have Serena threatened at random by someone much bigger than she for no other reason than a perceived faux pas?

Williams, natch, didn’t comment because she’s out of the country on vacation. An anonymous tennis official said something stupid, though.

We’re not talking about a John McEnroe type character here,” the official said.

Exactly. John McEnroe would have owned up to his stupid behavior and made fun of himself later.

Earlier this month I wrote about the alarming statistic that 90 percent of African American children and half of all children in this country will have received aid in the form of food stamps before they reach adulthood.

Yesterday, the New York Times published a four page article about several first-time recipients of “nutritional aid” (who, by the way, have suddenly seen the light that people who apply for said aid are not lazy people scamming the system) and an accompanying interactive graphic which breaks down recipient numbers as total, black, white, children and change since 2007. The graphic really makes one ponder the true costs of eight years of caring conservatism to regular people in this country.

NY Times reports.

“500.000 new centrifuges will produce 250 to 300 tons of fuel annually”, according to Ahmadinejad. Seems like the trip to Latin America paid off – filling the order books and helping the disastrous Iranian economy.

This past Thanksgiving many have realized how much they have to be thankful for. For example, if you have a job you are lucky, for there are millions who are unemployed and looking for work. If you have a house, you also should be thankful because the market is bad and foreclosures are as common as the cold. So this holiday season wouldn’t it be nice if the government could offer you and me some relief? Well this NY Times article talks about how the Obama Administration will start urging companies to reduce mortgage payments. Those who fail to lower payments will not get money from government. So this may mean relief for many struggling homeowners. Many critics say this will not make much of a difference; I say this is better than nothing. When the government can start thinking about helping the people instead of the banks, I am down. The only question I have, is why wasn’t this done sooner? More needs to be done to protect homeowners and hold mortgage companies accountable. In the meantime, I am very thankful. For in these tough times, me and so many others like me are still surviving.

What do you think about Mortgage Companies? and What else should the government do to help homeowners?

Leave a comment!

By now, most have heard about the so-called “party-crashers” of Tareq and Michaele Salahi at Obama’s State Dinner at the White House.  Mr. and Mrs. Salahi “crashed” the affair with no invite and managed a meet-and-greet with mmm mmm mmm Barack Hussein Obama himself.  The New York Times (ever on the ball as they are) first reported that it was “unclear” whether the couple met Obama or his guests of honor at the State Dinner, but it was in fact VERY clear that the couple did manage a face-to-face – read here and here.

As Obama now asks for an “inquiry” on “how this happened,” leave it to the Canada Free Press to report that Obama’s relationship with the Salahis runs back to his days as an IL Senator.  Read the full story here. (*Hattip to Kosmosnet via Twitter)

Stay tuned folks…there is likely far more to this whole affair than has been reported thus far…

UPDATE: …such as the fact that Tareq Salahi has served as a lobbyist for Mahmoud Abbas (and see here as well).  As Ed Morrissey has queried, are we to really believe these people “crashed” this affair or is it more likely that Barack Hussein Obama wanted them there, but off the “official” guest list?

On Al Jazeera this weekend, a very interesting debate took place hosted by Avi Lewis regarding The Color of Recession.  According to statistics, the unemployment rate for minorities is around 34%, while unemployed white Americans are only at 7.2%, says the NY Times.

The programme featured four panellists who debated the issue of race, including ‘Jesse Jackson of the Rainbow Coalition; Rosa Clemente, an activist and former Green Party Vice Presidential candidate; Linda Chávez, director of the conservative Center for Equal Opportunity and the Reverend Greylan Hagler of the United Church of Christ.’

The discussion focused a great deal on the Obama administration, at times criticizing the new president’s failure to focus on helping minorities, who have been affected more strongly by the economic downturn.  Referring to Obama’s focus as a ‘colour blind approach’, Lewis puts the question to the panellists: Is Obama letting down people of colour?

The answers, surprisingly, are more varied than one might expect.  Rosa Clemente, for example, was dissatisfied with Obama’s actions so far, criticizing that the President has not focused his energies on minority unemployment issues.  Linda Chavez agreed, but also added that Obama is offering the ‘same old solutions’ to the economic crisis.  She believes this will only cause more problems for America in the future.

Reverend Jackson, who in many ways represents more traditional ideas about racial inequality, didn’t show any great opposition to President Obama.  Jackson did, however, disapprove of banks investing from the ‘top down’ rather than the ‘bottom up.’

Obama’s only supporter seemed to be Reverend Hagler, who suggested that people support the President rather than holding him to ridiculous standards.   He reminded the audience that Obama is a president, who must answer to and work with other groups such as the legislative branch.  ‘He is not a king,’ said Hagler.

Reparations

Though the discussion centred around the effects of the economic crisis on minorities, there was ultimately an argument about reparations to people of colour.  Should reparations be made?  All but one believed there should be.  Chavez maintained that the generation of minorities existing in America today are so disconnected from those who suffered from racial discrimination that there would be no point to making reparations. 

What was most disturbing about the discussion is that in almost everyway it seemed to undermine what President Obama is trying to do.  And what is Obama’s goal?  Is it simply to get a nation through one of the worse economic crises it has ever experienced?  Is it to end a war, while ensuring that Afghanistan is not left in such a weak state that the Taliban can easily overtake it again?  While all of these goals are no doubt part of Obama’s plans, it becomes clear from his campaign that a loftier goal is in place: Saving a nation from their own short-sidedness in regards to race.

So much of Obama’s presidential campaign appears to have focused on race.  And it seems clear that Obama understood what Europe has known for many years; Race is America’s greatest problem.  The children of oppressors and the oppressed have been taught by their ancestors that race is indeed, a huge subject and should be treated as such.  And while this poses no problem for the American who is accustomed to making race a very big issue, it consistently undermines the great cultural theorists of this generation who wisely maintain that the only way to overcome racism, sexism and the classification of ‘Otherness’ is by giving absolutely no respect to the ideology of classification.  In other words, ignoring the idea of race forces or at least impels others to deal with a person’s humanity rather than their skin colour.  It is a reminder of that which makes us similar, rather than what makes us different.

President Obama is, no doubt, a part of this new school of thought at least to some degree.  While he does not ignore race, he certainly has committed himself to making decisions that do not focus on the race of the American in crisis.  His proposals for healthcare, economic solutions and war will likely not include reparations to any race in particular.

Is this a good plan of action?  It may be more accurate to say that it is a necessary plan of action.  Who among us wants a leader, who makes decisions based on skin colour.  It was morally wrong when it was done by those who formerly held positions of power.  It would be wrong now.  In fact, it might further destroy the task of healing the wounds between races in America.  The ‘what about me’ syndrome exists on both sides.   

People are discriminated against for all sorts of reasons including gender and race.  It is ridiculous to believe that an epoch of racial prejudice has not been passed down to both black and white Americans the way family heirlooms are passed down to grandchildren.  Why would you believe even the most righteous of equality leaders over your own parents unless you were ready to challenge everything you had ever been taught?  Yet, it is equally ridiculous to believe that the consequence of such programming does not also include a fundamental fear and mistrust of anyone who is different.  Even small children teach us this in grade school where the slightest abnormality causes a student to be the focus of ridicule and cruelty.

Beyond Race

Still, what is crucial here is whether or not Obama’s regime of ‘colour blindness’ seeks to be an example by teaching people to function beyond the idea of race.  If the goal of the current administration is to eliminate the need for classification, the very idea of discrimination, therefore, is called into question. After all, is it productive to use classification as a defence?  For example, is it effective for someone to say, ‘He is treating me inappropriately because I am Indian and a woman?’  Or is it more effective to say, ‘He is treating me inappropriately?’  How much more useful would it be to focus on the issue of mistreatment, rather than the issue of race or gender?

There is no doubt that if Obama is a student of the school of thought that seeks to take the focus from classifications, therefore eliminating the power of ‘Otherness’, he has his work cut out for him.  Enticing people from a lifetime of programming is not something that can be done in four or even eight terms of a presidency.  Yet, Obama’s biggest followers have often interpreted his message as one of hope.  And since a minority has managed to obtain the highest position in America, then we can only imagine that change is possible and that perhaps, Americans are on the cusp of that change.

For NY Times statistics on unemployment in America, please go to http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/06/business/economy/unemployment-lines.html

From the New York Times via AP:

Tiger Woods was seriously injured early Friday when he hit a fire hydrant and a tree near his Florida home, authorities said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the PGA star hit the fire hydrant and tree as he pulled out of his driveway in his 2009 Cadillac sport utility vehicle.

Woods was taken to Health Central Hospital. Officials there did not have record of him as a patient, though the news release said Woods’ injuries were serious.

The highway patrol said the crash is still under investigation, and charges are pending. However, the highway patrol said the crash was not alcohol-related.

Woods, 33, owns a home in the exclusive subdivision of Isleworth near Orlando. Orange County property records indicate his home is valued at $2.4 million.

UPDATE:

Golfer Tiger Woods has been released from hospital after being injured in a car accident in Florida on Friday, a local Florida mayor told CNN.

Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn said he believed Woods had been released. “Basically it was facial lacerations, and as I’m understanding it, nothing that serious,” Bruhn said.

If it is confirmed that Woods is already out of the hospital, it would indicate less serious injuries than earlier reported.

I’m keeping my blogging to a minimum this Thanksgiving week but I couldn’t help but enjoy the following piece in today’s NY Times. The form is what really struck me, but the content is great too.  I don’t know what to call it — a Op-Ed photo journal essay article?

The piece is entitled “Back to the Land – And the Pursuit of Happiness” and is a — I don’t know a “photo essay” — with compelling prose and a fun electronic format.  According to Wikipedia, Maria Kalman, the author, is an “an American illustrator, author, artist, and designer.”  She’s done children’s books, New Yorker covers, and even Strunk and White.

Check it out!

I am late for my hair appointment, so I only have a few seconds to write (I’m really hoping that a new haircut will get things started for me again. I link success and hair very closely). I just read an article about some new stores in the NY Times and I came across this quote from the designers of JF & Son. They have articulated in a few sentences what I have been thinking about a lot lately re: heritage brands, the fetishization of the old and, as my best (and only) regular commenter Lindsay called it, “guy connoisseurship”.

Mr. Boyer believes that a store must also clearly relate to some contemporary need. Not long ago he and Ms. King were in a bar in Williamsburg, where, as Mr. Boyer said, “guys had waxed mustaches and were shaking drinks.”“We were kind of critical of that — this over-fetishization of a past that also included racism and denial of women’s rights. We work with a lot of feminist artists and so we have no real reason to want to put a deer head on a wall.”He paused. “Is there not enough momentum behind new ideas? Are people not thinking about the future? Are we going to start walking around with monocles?”

JF & Son fall/winter 2009

Interesting article here from the NYTimes about what you can learn by analysing the most popular online searches in the run-up to Thanksgiving.

Happy turkey day everyone!  We’ll be posting photos from our London Thanksgiving extravaganza later today or tomorrow, depending on how deep the food coma is.

- Anna

Reprinted from NY Times, Small Business

The Latest Entrepreneurial Fantasy Is Selling Cupcakes

 

Courtesy of Lovely Confections Bakery  Lovely Confections Bakery in Denver has to sell 2,800 cupcakes a month to cover expenses.

Move over restaurants and bed-and-breakfasts. A new fantasy seems to have taken hold for people who long to own their own business: the cupcakery.

You’re the Boss: Are Cupcakes a Viable Business?

There is no Cupcake Manufacturers Association keeping count, but anecdotal evidence indicates that stand-alone cupcake shops have been spreading not just in the acknowledged cupcake meccas of New York and Los Angeles but also in Boston, Denver, Austin, Tex., and lots of smaller places. Nationwide, cupcake sales, according to the market research firm, Mintel, are projected to rise another 20 percent over the next five years at a time when other baked goods are expected to grow in the single digits.

“Cupcake Wars,” a series pilot in which four bakers vie to create the most interesting concoctions, will soon have its debut on the Food Network. “Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes” (Clarkson, Potter), a collection of 175 recipes, was published in June, and spent 11 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list. And the most popular of the cupcake blogs, Cupcakestakethecake, is visited by some 9,000 people a day. At least a dozen blogs chronicle each new flavor — from bacon to s’mores — as well as the best frostings, the quirkiest decorations and the newest twists (so far, the meatloaf cupcake with mashed-potato frosting seems to have been contained within Chicago).

New York’s Magnolia Bakery, which helped set off an earlier cupcake craze when its treats appeared in a “Sex and the City” episode, is now expanding operations into Los Angeles, where its $3 red velvets and devil’s foods will compete with the chai lattes and ginger lemons of Sprinkles Cupcakes, which is based in Beverly Hills but has owner-operated shops in six other cities and plans to open in far-flung locales like New York, London and Tokyo.

“Cupcake stores are taking the place of ice cream stores,” said Adam Borden, whose Baltimore-based venture capital firm, Bradmer Foods, specializes in food-focused enterprises. “Cupcakes aren’t seasonal like ice cream, and they appeal to people who want the authentic experience. They have an allure based on nostalgia.”

All of which suggests a couple of questions: How many cupcakes do you have to sell to pay the rent? And are cupcakes a viable business? These are still very early days in the Great Cupcake Rush, but the answers appear to be, respectively, a lot and maybe. (What do you think? Click HERE to leave a comment.)

Thus far, there seem to be four basic cupcake business models:

The Chain

Founded by two married former investment bankers, Charles and Candace Nelson, Sprinkles is looking to grow. The couple spent two years working on their recipes before opening their Beverly Hills location in 2005. “You have to have a great product, brand and location and then it can be very scalable,” said Mr. Nelson.

Sprinkles is slated to open three more stores next year. Seventy percent of its business comes from walk-ins, so location is crucial. Mr. Nelson declined to say whether the individual stores or the company as a whole had achieved profitability, but he did say that Sprinkles had a 20-year business plan and was committed to the long haul.

Click Here to read the entire article.

Well, this article is for the most part structurally well-written. The lead captures all that the article describes. It is unfortunate that the reporter allowed the city and other officials who all believed the same thing to have a clear voice in this article. Where are the voices of teachers? Where are the voices of parents? Where are the voices of students? This article never lets the opposing sides fully voice dissent. Or maybe some teacher agree with the mayor’s opinion that student academic performance should be used in tenure decisions. The most obvious opinion missing is one saying that teachers aren’t the single factor determining student’s performance. There are numerous societal issues that influence students’ performance in school.

So, I was perusing the New York times once again and stumbled upon an article about the growing popularity of hunting classes for urban dwellers. At first I thought it was joke. I mean come on, yuppies hunting? I’m not saying that it’s any worse if someone well off hunts verses someone in a rural environment. Personally, I think it’s a little fucked up to have one’s past time to be to kill things with high powered rifle. And I know plenty of rich people who hunt (ie. Harley-Davidson execs). I’m just not seeing where they are coming from. Most people who hunt live in a culture where they were born with a pistol in their hand. It’s something you have to grow up around to really appreciate, like chitterlings and moonshine. It’s not something you just wake and say “hey, I always wanted to go kill and dress my own meat… I’m sure there’s a class for that!”

Alot of the students in the hunting class cited a love of food for their reason to pursue hunting. They wanted to have a closer connection with their meal as well a reap the benefits of the meat’s freshness. Now, do I think they would be so keen on hunting if they really had to gather food this way to sustain themselves? No way! I mean, having to get food that way is fun when you can always go to Whole Foods the moment you get bored or tired. That’s just BS. One guy mentioned being frustrated with the deers in his backyard eating his flowers. As sadistic as it sounds, I do appreciate his honesty.

To be honest, I feel like this is just some macho BS. Can’t these guys just satisfy themselves with massacring people in the boardroom? There is no need to take out their further tension on poor Bambi. And just think, the last time we let pampered, old men get a hold of rifles, Cheney shot a Texas lawyer in the face!! If that’s not reason enough to encourage these guys to stick to the farmer’s market, then what is?

From the New York Times ArtsBeat blog:

A Swiss court on Wednesday granted bail to the filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was being detained as he fights extradition to the United States to face sentencing on child-sex charges.

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court granted Mr. Polanski’s appeal against detention in exchange for 4.5 million Swiss francs, or $4.5 million, together with other guarantees like the surrender of his identity papers to ensure he does not leave the country, the federal tribunal said.

This is a guy who fucked a 13-year-old after giving her a quaalude and then bailed on the sentencing after pleading guilty. And he directed Rosemary’s Baby (what is it with Mia Farrow and creepy short dudes?). We’re not saying the Swiss shouldn’t trust him. We’re just saying there’s a flight/smarmy guy precedent. That’s all.

An interesting article on how some preventative medicine could be helpful to the economy: An Economy in Need of Holistic Medicine

Igual os parece que son demasiados dos post consecutivos en los que la muerte aparezca, pero es que ayer fui a un funeral, el mío. En concreto yo no he muerto, es uno de mis yoes. Si recordáis, hace algunas semanas os hablabla del que creía que era mi otro yo, un tipo que vive en la Gran Manzana, que curra en el NY Times y tal, pero por lo visto no es el único. Precisamente ayer me llamó para darme la noticia, y decirme que él no podría venir al sepelio. Decía que por cuestión de trabajo, pero yo creo que el periódico no debe pagar tan bien como parece.

Mi yo newyorkino, que anteriormente no me había comentado nada, me reveló que las personas podemos tener un número casi ilimitado de yoes. A través del frío del teléfono -la concersación surcó un océano-  hablaba de las posibilidades de multiplicación del ser humano, que si su barrio está lleno de otros yoes, que si historias. No quise preguntarle sobre si tendría más yoes circulando por el mundo, y él tampoco abordó el tema, por lo que supongo que habrá más, y que sus historias no serán muy alentadoras.

La del fiambre. Era multimillonario y ha muerto, o por sobredosis, o suicidio, porque a todo el mundo que pregunté por el asunto en el tanatorio, le salía un lacónico “una muerte trágica”. Por lo visto, nació hace medio año en el veterinario. Recuerdo el día. El veterinario, como para meterme presión para que le pusiera el chip a la perra, me dijo que a un tipo le habían puesto una multa de trescientos euros por ir sin el chip. Me pareció un argumento de peso, y se lo puse. Me costó cincuenta euros y ahí mi otro yo abandonó mis decisiones y se largó sin ponerle el chip. Con ese dinero compró pan de molde, mortadela, queso brie, cocacolalight y una quiniela. Tocó. Quince aciertos, señora, tres millones de euros.

En el tanatorio encontré a los vecinos de un exclusivo bloque de Alonso Martínez, y a un tipo con un perro, que parecía destrozado. Me acerqué con un canapé de crema y salmón entre cuerpo y mente, y escuché parte de su conversación, en la que reconocía que nadie le había puesto ninguna multa por no ponerle el chip a su perro, pero que le mintió al veterinario para sacárselo gratis.

This article updates us well on the current ridiculous situation with the breach in White House security by Michaele and Tareq Salahi. The first half of the article focused on how the Salahis want a large sum of money from the TV network that wants their story. It focused on supporting the lead. The second half of the story focused on giving background information about the Salahis and their enormous debts. The story flowed well but would have been more cohesive if all the information focused on supporting the lead statement. The reporter could have expanded the article with more statements from various TV stations.

I wonder how the reporter got the idea for taking this angle on thanksgiving flights. It’s interesting. In a nutshell, the article talks about how the economic recession–>people taking longer Thanksgiving vacations to avoid high plane ticket prices–>less traffic for the airplanes–>lower chance of general holiday congestion–>better airline services.

I liked the large range of people that this article quoted.