The Huffington Post

I'm starting to wonder if one of the major, leftist blogs have more staffers than major newspapers. Blogs such as The Huffington Post produce a wider variety of content, and as well as some gossip material. Sure, they don;t even try to be biased. Considering my paper about the decay of good journalism, it's hard for me to follow this site extensively, but i know a couple people that rely on it for their daily news.

Bush: Iraq war not over

How much longer until this isnt news?

Movie review

I found this review of the new disaster movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still," a remake starring Keanu Reeves. The reviewer, Peter Hartlaub, is more entertaining than the movie seems to be. Its not hard news, but creative, intertesting journalism.

WAS interview

This is the interview of We Are Scientists for USFtv Visionz.
I filmed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL5OmhqrVWY

M's trade closer for bag of magic beans.

Your Seattle Mariners traded J.J. Putz to the New York Mets last night, following the last day of the General Manager's winter meetings at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Reliever Sean Green and outfield Jeremy Reed were also traded. In exchange for the three players, the Mariners received several sub-par players, including Franklin Gutierrez and a AA first baseman Mike Carp.

Internet Sex Blogs?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/12/11/violetblue.DTL

I'm not sure an article like this would ever find its way to print. It seems that with the advent of newspaper blogs, online newspapers are becoming more lenient concerning inappropriate material.

Call me old fashioned, but this isn’t something I would like to ready about in the Chronicle, or SFGate.com for that matter.

My bank cuts SF jobs

Here's a link to the Seattle Times article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008417863_webwamu21.html

I believe it was my friend Rohan, an economics major at DePaul University in Chicago, who told me that you should always spread your money around. Don't keep all of your money in the same bank. Previously, I used Chase for my credit and Washington Mutual for my banking. Now, they're the same company: JP Morgan, Chase.

This is cause for concern for most people, if we give our money to the banks, and the banks run out of money to pay their employees, what is happening to my money?
This is also a pertinent local story because Washington Mutual has such a strong presence on the west coast. When I went to school in Chicago, it was much more difficult to find a branch to withdraw money (the one time I did, the ATM machine ate my card).

I suppose one could turn this into a personal interest story. Many different people are effected. Customers who use Washington Mutual as their primary bank. Stock-holders that have a share in WaMu. The employees.

Tough times, especially economically, mean there are a variety of profiles stories about people struggling to "make a living."

On the other hand, I suppose the people at JP Morgan, Chase are having a good time...

Guest Speaker: Robert Jensen

Nov. 6- San Francisco—

Robert Jensen, author of the book “Getting Off,” has sought to change men in this society; he has denounced pornography and its users. Jensen says that pornography contributes to the growing misogynistic attitude that is prevalent in our culture, and pornographic content only manifests this reality. During his November 6th speech at USF Jensen said that the porn industry makes 15-20 billion dollars a year. “The growing number of profits is in large part do to its growing number of consumers,” said Jensen which he says are younger and younger. He claims that younger children, who are exposed to pornographic content before they are old enough to understand its full meaning, seek to recreate what they see on the screen.
This sort of reproduction leads to the demeaning of women, as well as the perpetuation of dangerous circumstances, including rape. According to Jensen, “The porn industry makes over 13,000 films per year, compared to Hollywood, which makes about 600 films per year.” Jensen acknowledged that the numbers were staggering, but said that that the large amount of production illustrates just how large the industry has become.
He spoke to the two different types of pornographic films that were available to the consumer. The first being Feature pornographic films, in which the content appears to be the same as a major motion picture. The second type is gonzo, which is a growing trend in the porn industry. This specific style is stripped of its production value and script, and is more prevalent on the internet. Jensen also spoke to the role of women in wider roles than merely acting in these films.
He spoke about the change in the industry that sees women now directing and producing pornographic films. “Everyone said, ‘this is going to change porn; having women in these roles will change the films.’ When in actuality, the films didn’t change at all. The women realized that their target audience was still men,” he said. Jensen also said that after the conclusion of writing his book, he could no longer watch any pornographic content.

Election 2008

OBAMA WINS! YES WE CAN! WOOOOOO!

Largest AK endorses Obama

As I discovered by reading The Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008314025_apalaskaendorsement.html) The Anchorage Daily News, Alaska's largest newspaper, endorsed Barack Obama and his quest to become the next president of your United States. This is a major slap in the face to the Republican VP candidate, Sarah Palin, who is viewed as a small-town hockey mom who prides herself on being home-grown. Good to see that the Republican strategy of fooling the public into thinking that the VP would be somebody who could have a tupperware party at your house isn't flying with credible news sources. I'M TALKING TO YOU FOX NEWS.

Palin on SNL

Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live on October 18th. I feel this is more shallow publicity. She didnt answer any tough questions (I wouldn't expect any to be asked) but she got her face out there to the mass media audience. Is this ethical? Should a VP candidate become a novelty figure because she is easier to impersonate? When will she answer some questions?

Moderator bias?

I've heard bunch of talk, specifically from Yahoo (wonder if Leah Hitchings knows more) about possible biases from moderators on these debates. I would say given the conservative nature of media conglomorates, this favores the right wing. Sigh. I was not impressed with Obama last week, I felt like he conceeded to much to McCain. It will be interesting to watch the VP debates and how the media covers it. Kerry in '04? Big F'ing sigh.

Palin

Did anyone see that Extra! segment on Sarah Palin's parents? They hunt moose and probably don't own a TV. They're not so much conservative suburbanites as they are rednecks.

Paris

Just a brief note. I spent the weekend in Paris, and couldn't be more excited about going back. Definately more to do in Paris than Lille, especially on the weekend. I was lucky enough to stay at the flat of a former neighbor's, The Gronki's, from Madison Park while they were away in Chicago. I'm thinking about going back this upcoming weekend.

Europe '08

Sure, it may be nearly two months into my trip, but I feel it's about time for my first post. France has been treating me well so far, besides the lack of hot water some mornings (this morning) and NOTHING being open on Sat/Sun and sometimes Mondays... Yes, the people are nice and much more pro-America than I thought. I have befriended a girl named Marine Deroo, who one day told me that French people don't have any national pride unless the World Cup is being played. "You Americans have so much pride for your country, where we don't really like being French." This line almost knocked me off my feet. Maybe its the Left Coast point of view, but it seems that back home all we do is complain about Bush, etc and renounce our nationality. I was also unaware that the French are dissatisfied with theirs as well, seems like she has it backwards... or maybe I do?

Literally just returned from Italy a couple of days ago. I spent 5 nights in Rome with my childhood friend Karel, who knew a ton about the ruins and important sites in Rome. After Rome, spent a night in Cinque Terre, the coastal region, and I recommend it highly. If you're going to Riomaggore (pictured), or any other small village on the coast, go on the weekend. Most of the restaurants are only open then. Spent an evening and night in Pisa, saw the tower, didn't like the rest.

I'm happy to be back in Lille, and looking forward to the next couple of months/weeks before my parents arrive.