Working from Center
The “Daily Ohm” people sent me this on Friday - which I’m trying to keep my mind on. |
| In the Thick of It When we are “in the thick of it,” overwhelmed by too many things that need our attention, it’s important to remember that we are never given more than we can handle. When life’s challenges make us question this, our best coping mechanism is to follow the reliable and well-known course to our calm center and anchor ourselves there. It is for these times that we have been practicing regularly, so that our mind, body, and spirit will know how to find the peace within. Even in the midst of seeming chaos, a deep breath can help us turn within to find the space to work from, the calm at the center of the storm. |
Reach Out and Cut the Power
The Depeche Mode concert in Santa Barbara had a twist to it.
A few minutes in, there was a power outage on the stage for unknown reasons. It was out for about 10-15 minutes.
When the show got going again, the big screen behind the band was turned off but all the instruments and overhead lights worked fine.
The bowl has a 10 pm cut off for all of the bands, but because of the power glitch, they got to play another 10 minutes and did two encore songs.
Is There a Reason Why Glenn Beck Cries All the Time?
Well maybe this is a reason. I can’t say I’m surprised and I can’t say I’m disappointed. After years of spilling vitriolic hate speech onto the nation’s radio airwaves as well as TV, Glenn Beck is finally getting what he deserves. Here’s a report I found on the TV newsletter called Shoptalk:
“About a dozen companies have withdrawn their commercials from “Glenn Beck,” the Fox News Channel program, after Glenn Beck, the person, said late last month that President Obama was a racist with a “deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.”
The companies that have moved their ads elsewhere in recent days included ConAgra, Geico, Procter & Gamble and the insurance company Progressive. In a statement that echoed the comments of other companies, ConAgra said on Thursday that “we are firmly committed to diversity, and we would like to prevent the potential perception that advertising during this program was an endorsement of the viewpoints shared.”
Top 3 Things I Did with Greg Voakes on His Recent Vacation
Damn what a fun guy Greg Voakes is.
The 21 year-old social media dude from Victoria, British Columbia is an absolute blast and hella laid back. He took a one-way flight to Vegas, where he and I proceeded to crash a bachelorette party, go on a roller coaster drunk and walk miles in our dress shoes while the sun began to rise at 5 a.m. And that’s all just in the first 24 hours or so after meeting him for the first time in person. Although I only met Greg like 3 months ago on chat, he quickly has demonstrated all the aspects of a great person that I want to have around in my life. Greg is @gvoakes on Twitter and the same thing on Digg. Being around the guy has been a non-stop series of adventures, as this short list demonstrates.
My Long Lost Older Brother Hurt by Jackson Coverage
A much taller, possibly slightly goofier, version of myself, Conan O’Brien, is doing very well in his new gig, I think many of us agree. However, there’s small hiccup in recent weeks, in the form of the media coverage surrounding the death of Michael Jackson. One of the recipients of the juicy ratings bonanza has been Nightline. That show, which directly competes against the 6′5″ Conan, has a host by the name of Martin Bashir. The man is well known for his documentary “Living with Michael Jackson,” which famously featured a boy whose family later filed a lawsuit against the singer. That show was seen by 27 million Americans in 2003. Read more…
Will Twitter, YouTube Shape Future of Humanity?
We’re all hearing a lot about how Twitter and YouTube are playing a role in the future of the Middle East. Let’s get a good look at the numbers that back it up so far.
According to social entrepreneurship blogger Nathaniel Whitmore:
2.2 million blog posts have been written about Iran in the past week.
3,000 first-person videos have been uploaded on YouTube
Up to 100,000 messages about Iran are being posted per hour on Twitter.
This is an incredible amount of coverage. It causes me to wonder what these numbers may look like in the future with other movements and revolutions in the world. Some say Twitter is just in its infancy stages. What about Facebook? The Palo Alto company is essentially copying the real-time stream found in Twitter. Facebook also has many times as many users as Twitter. Will Facebook become the dominate form of social media at the vanguard of these revolutions?
By the way, are we going to start to see large numbers of mini revolutions caused or propelled by this type of communication all over our little planet? Will this be the way that the 75% of Americans who want a single payer health care system actually get it in the future? Will we vote someday on Twitter or Facebook?
One Bloody Tweatstream
Oddly enough, I was able to really delve into the Iranian situation for the first time this week, with the help of just one twitter stream.
In my Skype community, one of my friends dropped a link into a conversation: Read more…
Journalists Wonder What’s Better on Twitter - “First” or “Correct”
I just got back from the 140 Conference in New York. I’m enjoying and appreciating the compliments and the comments from friends and colleagues about my talk at the panel there. One of the most recent comments comes from a friend who doesn’t work in the media at all but has certainly consumed her share of news over the years. She had a few good things to say about tweeting as competition between news organizations. Is it more important to be first or to be correct? As a longtime journalist - I know that “correct” is the only response I want to hear. However, I must admit, I am going to try to be “first” as well.
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“That was a good panel you were on. There were some big organizations represented like the NYT. What really stuck in my craw was when you hit on the topic of whether social sites, like Twitter, are a kind of competition for you journalists.
“Maybe I’m old fashioned but I don’t see it as competition. They are a collection of raw and interesting anecdotal stories that can add up to hard news. No scientist would look at anecdotal evidence and write a conclusive paper on it. The data/tweets/whathaveyou must be researched and verified before any conclusion can be made.
“As the moderator said, it is better to be correct than first. Because of the immediacy and quantity of info on social media sites it can seem tempting to claim some victory on reporting “first” but most people do not get their news from such streams. We watch the nightly news, go to a NYT or CNN website, or read the paper. Read more…
Limo Man Leads Cops on High Speed Chase - then Hits Reverse
From TruTV/SmokingGun - After topping speeds of 150 MPH with cops on his tail, a limo driver runs into engine trouble - but then does something nobody expected.
read more | digg story
Sexologist Declares May Masturbation Month
Yes it is true — a country jaded by sit-ins, smoke-outs and Casual Fridays may still not be ready for the idea of officially sanctioned acts of self-pleasuring.
read more | digg story
The Coolest Little House in the City for $700,000
If only this 3-bedroom in Lower Pac Heights were abutted by another tall building on the other side
— then it’d win the award for most “Little House”-like home in San Francisco. Take a look inside the coolest little house in the city.
read more | digg story
