Say it Better

Curt Schilling's Heartfelt Half Apology

He’s sorry he criticized Barry Bonds on a radio interview, not necessarily because he doesn’t believe his characterizations were wrong, it seems, (as he never says that in a lengthy, heart-felt apology) but because his words hurt other people. He hit a hot button with 553 comments on his post as of now. The comments alone are a raw and candid parade of the cultural views on sports, steroids, race and the media. PR blogger, Steve Rubel is more enthusiastic about the blogged apology than I am or the three men who wrote to me about it. Still it was impressive writing and a quick, thoughtful response.

After “Wag the Dog”

Not since he co-wrote the screenplay for “Wag the Dog” has David Mamet tackled (attacked?) the scene of presidential political yet in January, 2008, he returns with what promises to be another biting (yep, bad pun) look in a play called November.

Writes Campbell Robertson of the New York Times, “It is a contemporary comedy about a president named Charles Smith and is set a few days before the election, in which he is running as an incumbent. The action unfolds over one day and involves, according to a synopsis provided by the producers, ‘civil marriage, gambling casinos, lesbians, American Indians, presidential libraries, questionable pardons and campaign contributions.’”

While Mamet is often better at creating multi-faceted male characters his current TV show, “The Unit” co-created with The Shield show’s Sean Ryan has extraordinarily varied female characters. They, too, have many sides, showing bravery and fraility, well acted and often moving me to tears. Although it is a show about a Delta Force-styled “unit” the stories of the wives on the homefront are as prominent and realistic as those of men on secret missions. The life of secrecy affects them all.

Robertson reports that, “Wags have dubbed the series 'Desperate Housewives Meet G.I Joe.' The quip draws a measured response from Mamet.

'Maybe. It gets pretty desperate on both sides,'” he said.

The “housewives” on The Unit are admirable women of character and nuance that I’ve not seen on Desperate Housewives. Even in their most frightening moments I doubt that the women characters on The Unit would make the “desperate” choices made on the other show. Mamet’s ear for dialogue - and his ability to attract remarkable talent makes this show indicative of how an ongoing story on TV can often have shining moments not possible in a movie. Just like Friday Night Lights.

Non-Stop "Triple Threat"

news coverage reflects a "sea change" for professional journalists who are lucky enough to cover history-making events, yet have little time to sleep. As Poynter's Chip Scanlon asks, "how do reporters juggle new responsibilities while feeding the insatiable maw of the news machine?" Especially when a diligent and talented reporter like Carol Leonnig gets follow the complex, high-stakes Lewis "Scooter" Libby trial.
She's in the courtroom, writing multiple updates for the Washington Post during the day, then being interviewed by Jim Lehrer in the evening. Read this fascinating interview about her thoughts on working as a reporter, responding to the evolving multi-media platform of today.

“What happens here

matters there -- and vice versa” may not be Las Vegas’ slogan yet it is the motto of this highly readable magazine. With its current articles, “21 Solutions to Save the World”, “Seven Questions: Between God and Atatürk” and “Top Secret! Memo From Paul Wolfowitz to Bank Staff“ you’ll never find a better time to catch up with the world than now at the succinct, balanced and fascinating Foreign Policy, with editor Moises Naim.

Limbaugh's Not Learned the Imus Lesson

Will he really get away with this so-called parody?

PrisonStud. A Success Story.

Getting out of the joint with the usual $200 in your pocket means you are lucky to get a $7 an hour job sorting through junk to re-cycle. Unless you are extremely entrepreneurial and want to go straight, even if some of the clients you now serve are not.

Read the rest of “Steve’s” inspiring story in the new “On the Job” column by Chris Colin over at SF Gate.

Then read about Ted, “who left the field of suicide research to become a stand-up comic.” That’s in Shifting Careers, Marci Alboher’s debut column at the New York Times.

Continuing on the subject of quirky yet quite succcessful takes on careers and work, see how Tim Ferriss has crafted a life of Brazilian tango contests, “Geek to Freak body re-building and, well, generally become “Indiana Jones for the digital age.”

Jump into any these links – just because the writing is captivating at the deep end.

Not ready for the big leap in your world of work? Then think of more involving ways to describe your current occupation, with ”this” or “that” examples from Scott Allen:

"I'm a tile installer" or "I make beautiful bathrooms"?

"I'm a comedian" or "I make people laugh for a living"?

"I'm an exterminator" or "Everyone kills bugs - I get paid to"?

"I'm a commercial construction contractor" or "I build skyscrapers"?

My how times have changed, eh Mr Bolles?
But, then so have the opportunities.

Tragedy. Up Close and Personal.

Personal for my family and me because my nephew Jonathan is a student at Virginia Tech.

Personal for a legion of people in new ways, because of access to the Internet.

“It’s one thing to hear a list of names on TV, or read them online” The West Virginia Blogger writes yet it is much more personal to see the MySpace pages of those who were killed at Virginia Tech. First-hand images of their daily joys, their dreams, their plans for the future.

We can get to know them in palpable ways that would not have been possible just a couple of years ago.

Reaction was swift from people at ground zero, at the “invent the future” university and among college students and alumnae everywhere, organizing visceral, raw and thoughtful memories and sharing at MySpace, Facebook (over 500 groups popped up for VT) and, of course, YouTube – the de facto “CNN” media site now to find out what’s really going on in near real time – without the distancing gloss of high production values and “tell us how to feel” anchors on broadcast television.

"Thanks to the portability and speed of today's technology, the students' shots are likely to become some of the ‘defining images’ of the tragedy” according to Pew Internet & American Life Project’s Amanda Lenhart.

We are almost accustomed to getting more photos and first-hand news from other people faster than TV and radio can cover it – thus shaping what gets covered now and how.

Viral coverage is the norm now for certain stories that catch the attention of “we the people” with reporting reputations of citizen witnesses and commentators shifting more swiftly as their coverage can be confirmed or challenged by others.

As more people have access to mobile phones and the Internet, the unfolding story will only speed up, spreading faster, with swifter feedback loops to refute and refine what "we" are "covering" about what's happening.

How will that affect our in-the-moment emotions and decisionmaking?

Even Grandma Can Now Create a Web Site

Maybe even me. As I visit my favorite mix of social networks, blogs and web sites I sometimes wish that I, the non-geek, could create my own site in a super easy way. Where I didn’t have to crack a Dummies how-to book or online tutorial - or hire someone.

I also enjoy looking longingly at the original designs and user-friendly functions of sites like StyleHive, Evite, Ideal Bite or zaadz.

Well, with a new service launching May 1st, the results of my - or your web design may not be as elegant or even as user-friendly  - but they can be totally our original creation.

Your personalized webpage.

I’m talking about Zude. It promises to let us wannabe designers create our own multi-media web site in a super easy drag and drop way.

One Zube fan, Adam Ostrow over at mashable reports that Zude CEO Jim McNeil “believes everyone from MySpace addicts to grandmas, "from absolute beginniners to ultimate hackers" can create a web page, for virtually any purpose.”

See why David Berlind calls it, “the Switzerland of the social Web.”

You can start with a blank web page, then move text, photos, video   “even an entire Web page” from other parts of the web onto your Zude page. Then you can rearrange the parts or change their size.  You can do this all for free and accept advertising on your site or skip the ads by paying an annual fee of just $25.

I can see a group of friends gathered for a backyard barbeque here in Sausalito, with a wireless computer sitting safely just inside the back door. My goddaughter, Cynthia, a high schooler might wander over and start our Zude page with photos of her girlfriends horseback riding and studying together. Then her mother might add her own favorites from travel sites. My friend, Bart, the social media guru might adeptly re-mix some of his own photos from other sites. 

Who knows what the 12 of us will come up with after a relaxing afternoon of hamburgers, Napa wine, remixed music  - and remixed media on “our” new site – a keepsake of the time together.

After all, it’s free or just the cost of one moderately good bottle of cabernet to keep it advertising free.

After viewing Zube, Ostrow thinks it may enable you to do more than similar-sounding services from Netvibes, Vox, PageFlakes and a few others.

The Most Potent Backlash Against Imus Came From a Surprising Place

... as I heard from one of my clients. This academic dean was practically chortling on the phone with glee at the demonstrated clout that has hit Don Imus harder than the companies that withdrew advertising.

Read this under-reported angle of the story, told well by Erik Sass today over at Media Post. Don't slur their brand.

Worse Than Stupid Comments

What will you do when (not if) it happens to you?

From the West Coast to the East, the old media (read Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle) and new media (cyberbullying and worse) wrestle with readers’ comments that are far worse than simply stupid.

People on the Washington Post's internal critique board, are clearly “pretty upset.” For example, Tom Lachman asks, "does the post want to be a forum for racist screeds?"

The Law of the Lowest Denominator
There’s no clear answer yet anyone who chooses to offer an opinion or is the subject of others’ views will face this New Normal gauntlet of strangers’ negative comments – visible to the world.

While we fight forour eroding freedom of speech in the U.S. and others fight to get it, each one of us will be seeking models of behavior on how to react when it happens to us or to someone we know.