Keepingitreal

Album review: Ludacris' 'Theater of the Mind'

EXCERPT FROM LA TIMES -- With recent roles in movies including “Max Payne,”“RocknRolla” and, of course, best picture Oscar winner "Crash," Chris Bridges, a.k.a. Ludacris, has an enviable film career by any standard but especially among typecast-prone rappers. "Theater of the Mind," his sixth album, proves that the rapper-actor-restaurateur has mastered Hollywood's most abiding lesson: Stick to formula. Each song plays like a scene in a movie, a motif that makes for richly visual storytelling but many a familiar situation. While Bridges the actor hasn't suffered from undue typecasting, the album's marquee cast sometimes pays that price. Luda at least tears into the playbook with passion and a high roller's aplomb, without losing the laid-back clowning that's made him appealing to Hollywood. With scores from Scott Storch, Swizz Beatz and other bright minds of the business, glitzy soundscapes abound. Some of those help smooth over a few of Ludacris' crass rhymes that recall a rare misstep earlier this year, his pro-Obama song that took cheap shots at Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton. When it comes to Luda's all-star guest cast, each member appears as persona status quo. T.I. is sleazy and seductive on "Wish You Would," and Rick Ross hoarsely raps straight out of some dank Miami lair. Even DJ Premier's elegant minimalism fails to challenge on "MVP." In short, everyone plays exactly to character. SOURCE:LATIMES.COM

10th S.F. Hip Hop DanceFest locks, pops, spins

BY Rachel Howard, Chronicle Dance Correspondent -- The San Francisco Hip Hop DanceFest's audience isn't shy about its predilections: The mob screams for a fat beat, claps along when a crew breaks out old-school James Brown or vintage '80s Janet Jackson and shouts "work it out!" when a dancer starts slamming. But like any crowd that knows how to have a good time, the festival's fans rarely err in taste - and neither does founder, director and producer Micaya. I wasn't able to catch the 10th anniversary festival's Program A on Friday at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, but that was surely my loss, because Saturday's Program B was sick, buck, dope, stupid - insert whatever other hip-hop accolade you wish - the best of the eight editions of the festival I've been fortunate enough to witness through the years. Just when we thought Micaya's international scouting had shown us everything possible in hip-hop, along comes Indiana's Breaksk8 Dance Crew. These five guys dance on roller skates, and this ain't no roller derby. They do tight, hard-hitting moves that most crews would kill to pull off with their feet on the ground. Then they do more, throwing themselves into b-boy spins, scissoring their legs in handstands. Also on the novel side was Philadelphia's MopTop Music and Movement, led by Buddha Stretch, a repeat visitor to the festival. For "HipHop/Beebob" he took a Charleston-grooving song by Common and staged a 1920s speakeasy bash. You haven't seen street tough redefined until you've seen B-girl Bounce whirl through a corkscrew in a flapper dress and heels. But some crews didn't need a gimmick, just a good booty-shaking. Oakland's young company Diamond/Sparkle took the prize for fierceness, relentlessly ripping into the limb-flailing choreography by Corey Action, Teela Shine-Ross and Eddie E. Action is already a hip-hop dance celebrity in these parts, known for his infectious work with New Style Motherlode. Diamond/Sparkle (it appears to be a combination of two troupes, the older Diamond crew and the junior Sparkle) has a lot of very young boys with very flexible legs, and Action put them to work with their feet up by their ears, or bouncing to the beat in side splits. A special shout out to Jalen Preston of the incredible noodle-like back. Funkanometry SF Dance Company was the most modern-dance-influenced of the crews, with the most slickly rehearsed, all-around-well-trained ensemble. San Jose's DS Players made their mark with the night's cleverest mix, stepping like mad to bluegrass banjo, to huge comic effect. Like any party, Saturday's show had its lulls, and usually they came when a crew tried to substitute artsy concepts and props for high quality dancing. Vancouver's Over the Influence had big panels with portraits of hip-hop stars and lots of costumes, but few memorable steps; Eric Fenn's Loose Change staged a gloomy and, for long stretches, dance-less hubbub of soulless corporate commuters. Human Creature tried something more original in their symbiotic partnering between Derek Harris and Meegan Hertensteiner, but their act could use a lot more popping - and the two should be better at it. CONTINUE READING...

Black Friday Deals "Leaked" to Bloggers

It's holiday hurting season for retailers, but store owners have been teasing up shopper interest by "leaking" bloggers ads for Black Friday doorbuster deals on their awesome merchandise. "People will shop for gifts this year...at just how low a rate remains to be seen," says BloggingStocks (which lists bargains like $10 sweaters at Target). Gizmodo says Toys R Us will have 50 percent more "doorbuster" deals than last year, a total of 150 from 5am to 1pm on November 28th. Kotaku presents an early edition of GameStop's BF circular ($199 for an Xbox 360 bundle!) CrunchGear shows two different Staples BF circulars as if they are unearthed ancient scrolls. Cult of Mac is interested in cheapo mini-laptop netbooks that can be tweaked to run OS X. Nike apparently is launching a limited-edition Black Friday sneaker, Nice Kicks reports. Meanwhile, Blackfriday.fm and blackfriday.info are rounding up the deals from all the usual suspects. Still says TechSlant, "I'm not seeing any deals that are really making me want to wake up at 4am.... I mean, where's the $150 Blu-ray player?" Continue Reading Story »

Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers list: Who's missing?

EXCERPT FROM EW.COM -- Any "Best Whatever of All Time" list is certain to -- perhaps is actually designed to -- rile people up. Why is so-and-so ranked above such-and-such? How could you leave off [INSERT PERSONAL FAVORITE]? What idiots would pick so-and-so as the No. 1 of all-time? Rolling Stone's greatest 100 singers is no different, of course, though given that initial caveat that these lists are all impossible to do without receiving criticism, really, they did a pretty solid job. First off, the list was compiled based on votes from artists, journalists, and "industry insiders," so the Stone staff has sort of passed the buck on any gripes. But methodology aside, it's hard to argue with Aretha Franklin at No. 1. (You really want to tussle with the Queen of Soul?) Also, merely defining the "Greatest Singers" is from the outset a subject of great debate (even here at EW.com). Do you mean vocal ability? If so, Mariah Carey (No. 79) should be up higher and Bob Dylan (No. 7) much lower. Are we talking about emotion and lyrical interpretation? If so, the Dylan-Carey ranking is pretty spot on. Performance? Then Prince (No. 30) and Michael Jackson (No. 25) need to be up higher. (Somewhere, John Lennon is smiling that he was placed above Paul McCartney.)All that said, off the top of my head, I think leaving off Paul Simon is a mistake, and I would've liked to have seen Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, or Eddie Vedder join Kurt Cobain (No. 45) in representing the fine vocal work from Seattle's early-1990s hard rock scene. Women also seem to be underrepresented. Yes, Aretha was No. 1, but Tina Turner is the only other female in the top 20. And where's Sarah McLaughlin? P.J. Harvey? Ann Wilson? Joan Jett? Given that votes determined the outcome here, perhaps that is indicative of an unfortunate male-centric prevailing attitude in today's music biz. What do you think of the list, PopWatchers? Who was left off? And what are the criteria that make a "great singer?" SOURCE:EW.COM

2008 American Music Awards: The Best and Worst

EXCERPT FROM EW.COM -- Kudos to this year's American Medley Music Awards for showcasing as diverse a field of artists as possible within the inevitable limits arising whenever anything is controlled largely by the voting public/record sales, and putting everyone's best foot forward in the process! The winners of the actual super-stabby crystal trophies of death can be found after the jump, but in my opinion tonight's real victor was the music business itself, as singer after singer took the mic and, with a couple glaring exceptions, proved themselves worthy of the airtime. I'm more than a bit of a naysayer when it comes to the chart-topperz of the day, and when they said this was to be the youngest AMAs in history, I must admit I shuddered with dread. But the evening flowed smoothly -- in part thanks to the complacent consistency of host and noted Kanye West enthusiast Jimmy Kimmel, in part just thanks to the breakneck pace they had to maintain to get everyone on stage -- and if there was embarrassment to be had, it was mostly claimed by the 30-and-older set. (Note to Jamie Foxx, Scott Weiland, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Aerosmith: don't forget to tip your servers.) We didn't get a song from newly anointed Artist of the Year Chris Brown (pictured), although I can think of at least one act out of the 19 that did appear who could have been excised to make room for him. Still, there's less than I thought there would be to complain about, and my only overriding quibble is with the fact that no one took the time to thank their choreographer. Keep reading for my three bests and three worsts of the night, "three" being an arbitrary number chosen by my editors to keep me from nattering on like I did after the CMAs. It's really just as well. CONTINUE READING..

2008 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARD WINNERS

POP/ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist: Chris Brown
Favorite Female Artist: Rihanna
Favorite Band, Duo, or Group: Daughtry
Favorite Album: Alicia Keys, As I Am

COUNTRY MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist: Brad Paisley
Favorite Female Artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo, or Group: Rascal Flatts
Favorite Album: Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride

RAP/HIP-HOP MUSIC
Favorite Male Artist: Kanye West
Favorite Band, Duo, or Group: Three 6 Mafia
Favorite Album: Kanye West, Graduation

SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES
Favorite Male Artist: Chris Brown
Favorite Female Artist: Rihanna
Favorite Album: Alicia Keys, As I Am

T-MOBILE BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST
Jonas Brothers

INSPIRATIONAL
Favorite Artist: Third Day

ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC
Favorite Artist: Linkin Park

ADULT CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Favorite Artist: Jordin Sparks

SOUNDTRACKS
Favorite Album: Alvin & The Chipmunks

LATIN MUSIC
Favorite Artist: Enrique Iglesias

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Artist of the Year: Chris Brown

iPHONE Daily Blog Buzz 11.24.08

Usher's mother is being investigated by Dekalb County Police after a freelance driver for her Atlanta-based transportation company filed a complaint alleging she stiffed him on a $1,668 paycheck. According to TMZ.com, Jonetta Patton and her company JCarr Transportation are accused of scamming the limo driver while he worked during the recent BET Hip Hop Awards.SOURCE Within two weeks of a Washington Post profile about Eugene Allen, a black man who served as a White House butler for 34 years, Columbia pictures has picked up rights to his life story for a feature film, according to the Hollywood Reporter.SOURCE Organizers of the forthcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial say former President Bill Clinton will help raise funds to complete the project planned for the National Mall. Clinton will be presented the foundation's "Humanitarian Award" and serve as keynote speaker for a Jan. 8 dinner in Miami to help raise money for the project. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will sponsor the dinner, reports the Associated Press. An Unpopular Opinion: Blacks, gays, and Prop. 8 know this might be an unpopular opinion. I know many people in the black gay community, and especially the black heterosexual community, might not want to hear the points in my online exclusive for Advocate.com "An Unpopular Opinion: Blacks, Gays, and Prop. 8." CONTINUE READING...What happens when you marry an $82 million hip-hop brand and an $80 million R&B empire? You get Hollywood’s best-paid power couple. Thanks to a monster year filled with music, movies, fashion and endorsement deals, Jay-Z and his new bride, Beyonce Knowles, collectively raked in $162 million between June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008. The jaw-dropping sum garners them bragging rights atop our first annual ranking of Hollywood’s Top-Earning Couples, a list that also includes A-list pairings Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, David and Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, among others. (Continue Reading…) WORD OF THE DAY: nabob \NAY-bob\, noun: 1. a native ruler in India in the Mogul empire; by extension, a person from India who made a fortune there 2. a very wealthy and prominent person; mogul Finally, some good news! The state Office of the Patient Advocate has released its latest report on the quality of health care at California hospitals and HMOs, and just about every Bay Area group got improved marks. According to the San Francisco Business Times, Kaiser Permanente was singled out for providing "excellent" care, ranking it in the top ten percent for health plans around the country. — Chris Thompson Check out this link. Click on it and then download the MP3 for “Life in Marvelous times” for free!!! Click here to get the mp3 :CHECK OUT THE 100 GREATEST SINGERS OF ALL TIME... Two of Def Jam's biggest hip-hop artists will both be dropping new albums on Monday, (November 24). SOHH recently caught up with Ludacris to find out how he feels about going head to head with Kanye West. Though new albums are typically releasd on Tuesdays, Ludacris' Theater of the Mind and Kanye West's 808's and Heartbreak will both be released on Monday.  "That's the same week as Thanksgiving and on Thursday the stores are closed becasue of the holiday so they just added an extra day for the seven day week," Ludacris explained.CONTINUE READING... Thousands of gay rights supporters waved rainbow flags and homemade signs on Saturday outside California's capitol to protest a voter-approved ban on gay marriage. The protest was the latest of several demonstrations held around the country since Californians adopted Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The initiative overruled a state Supreme Court ruling in May that briefly gave same-sex couples the right to marry. The California Highway Patrol estimated that about 5,000 people gathered for the protest on the steps of the state capitol. Many in the crowd held signs calling for equality ...CONTINUE READING "Twilight" will get its sequel: "New Moon" has been confirmed for a big-screen adaptation.Coming seven years after his bestselling autobiography Q (Doubleday), The Complete Quincy Jones is a stunning visual feast seasoned with just enough text to serve up the next sumptuous spread. Endearingly boisterous  America's Next Top Model judge and walking coach J. Alexander (Miss J to the fans) has sold a book, Follow the Model: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power, to Simon Spotlight Entertainment, to be edited by Patrick Price (Mr. Price was also responsible for the seminal He's Just Not That Into You, not to mention the Lance Bass biography Out of Sync). The book promises to include "inspiring advice, life lessons, and self-esteem coaching for all women," punctuated by Mr. Alexander's "colorful anecdotes." Expect sometime in Fall 2009, possibly alongside his CW pilot Operation Fabulous, which is described as a mix between Top Model and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.  read more »India's National Advisory Council has recommended "100% condom use" as a precaution against the spread of HIV in India. With over a billion residents, more than 5 million of whom are believed to be HIV positive, India is often considered one of the critical battlegrounds in the fight against AIDS. The 10 member NAC's other recommendations included a greater emphasis on rural health care, improving service delivery, and streamlining infectious disease surveillance. The Revelations featuring Tre' Williams seemingly came out of nowhere a few weeks back with their debut single, "I Don't Want to Know," a classic Soul throwback that recalled the days of music greats like Otis Redding. And on their debut seven-song EP, the appropriately titled Deep Soul, which was released in the U.S. on Nov. 18, 2008, the group continues its old school vibe. Although the band's Soul-Blues hybrid sound is still a work in progress, for a first release by a group that hasn't even been together a couple of years yet, this is a solid, enjoyable album filled with strong, passionately sung tunes. For more, check out the full review of The Revelations' Deep Soul. Last night David Beckham was at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas to attend the fight between Ricky Hatton (England) and Paulie Malignaggi. There is another moving out of L.A. rumor! According to the site Goal David Beckham, could be returning to Australia early next year, with the Pan Pacific Tournament potentially moving Down Under in 2009 [Goal] That comes after the announcement of David Beckham returning to Europe for the AC Milan [David & Victoria to start a very long distance relationship] + More news and photos of David Beckham

COPS ACCUSED OF BEATING DONALD DRIVER'S DAD: Family of Green Bay Packers receiver claims Houston police put father in ICU.

Houston police officers are being accused of viciously beating the father of Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver following an arrest Wednesday for outstanding traffic warrants, reports CNN. Marvin Driver Jr. was found to be "unresponsive" upon his arrival at jail, CNN reported Thursday. His family members said the arresting officers pulled him behind a gas station, beat him, forced him to swallow something, then told him he was "going to see Jesus.""Mr. Marvin Driver Jr. is now at Hermann Hospital in ICU where he can't even speak," relatives said in a statement. "Doctors say there is some bleeding on his brain from blunt force trauma."The Houston Police Department said in a written statement that it takes the assault allegations "very seriously, and will begin a thorough investigation into the matter." The two officers involved remain on duty pending further investigation, police said. A Driver family spokesperson held a news conference Wednesday and showed reporters pictures of Marvin Driver in the intensive care unit lying in his bed with a tube in his mouth. The family is demanding an investigation.The incident began late Sunday when Driver was dropping his brother, Winston Driver, off after the two had moved furniture. According to the family's written statement, officers pulled over Marvin Driver Jr. in front of his mother's home. An argument broke out between the police and Driver, as well as his relatives, over the language police were using. Police told relatives Driver was being taken to jail for the outstanding warrants, relatives said. "Later, the family found out he never made it to the jail," the statement said.Quanell X, leader of the New Black Panther Nation and family spokesperson said, "They picked him up and took him behind a Valero station by a dark road where he was beaten and forced to swallow something."Apparently, Marvin Driver was able to explain what happened by writing some notes on paper from the hospital. The spokesperson also believes police had it out for Marvin Driver."They made disparaging remarks about family members with whom the officer had a problem with," said Quanell X. "The officer obviously had some envious issues about one particular family member."Meanwhile, Donald Driver has been excused from practice for the next couple of days.

If I Were a Boy: Beyonce

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The making of Van Sant's Harvey Milk biopic

A movie about Harvey Milk was a long time gestating. Back in 1992, when it looked as if Robin Williams would play the martyred San Francisco politician, he joked that he could identify with Milk coming out in San Francisco because "I came out there, too, as a comic." Over the years, Daniel Day-Lewis, Kevin Kline, Richard Gere, Kevin Spacey, James Woods and Steve Carell were all prospective Harvey Milks.The role went to Sean Penn, and the conviction with which he inhabits it diminishes any thought of an alternative Milk. Yet when Penn signed on to star in "Milk" late last year, the possibility still loomed of another biopic - this one based on Randy Shilts' biography "The Mayor of Castro Street" - shooting at the same time and in the same locations.Penn insisted on assurances that the other version would not film at City Hall while he was emoting there."Sean needed that just for clarity," "Milk" director Gus Van Sant said. "It would be like mixing two soups at the same time. The crews would be overlapping, and the Harveys would be running into each other."Penn needn't have worried. Just as "Milk" was blessed with everything quickly falling into place, the other project seemed somehow doomed. Screenwriters had been attempting to adapt Shilts' book for 16 years, resulting in an estimated 20 drafts. The latest one was caught in limbo because of the 2007 writers' strike. Bryan Singer, who was to direct, became busy with "Superman Returns" and "Valkyrie." To make matters worse, Warner Independent Pictures, the boutique film division backing the project, was shut down in May by its parent company, Warner Bros.In his only interview on the subject, Craig Zadan, producer of the at least temporarily moribund "Mayor of Castro Street" project, told the Los Angeles Times, "When it became clear that the other movie was going first, we felt as if Harvey Milk had died again. After spending 16 years living with this story, it was like being in mourning."In its earliest incarnation, the "Mayor of Castro Street" movie was to be a major Hollywood production with a budget set at $40 million, the equivalent of $60 million to $70 million in today's dollars. A very hot Oliver Stone - coming off successes with "Wall Street" and "JFK" - was brought in to direct.Van Sant, who made "Milk" for $20 million, thinks a more hefty budget might have constrained a filmmaker.CONTINUE READING...

Favre, Jets hand Titans season's first loss, 34-13

The Tennessee Titans are unbeaten no more. Brett Favre and the New York Jets served notice they will be a factor in the AFC this season.Favre threw two touchdown passes, Leon Washington ran for two scores and the Jets routed the Titans 34-13 on Sunday, snapping the 13-game regular-season winning streak by the NFL's last undefeated team.The Jets (8-3) came in atop the AFC East after a victory over New England at Foxborough. They have won five straight for the first time since October 2004 and seven of their last eight. The win also pulled them within two of Tennessee (10-1) with five to play in the race for home-field advantage through the playoffs.The Titans hadn't lost since Dec. 16, 2007, in becoming only the 11th team since 1970 to win its first 10 games.This time, the NFL's stingiest scoring defense that had been allowing 13.1 points per game had no answer for Favre and the Jets, even with the return of defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch.The Jets spread out Tennessee, Favre threw fast and often, and they wore the Titans' defense down by keeping it on the field for more than 40 minutes. New York overcame two turnovers and two sacks in the first half by outgaining Tennessee on offense 409-281.This was only the third game in NFL history featuring two starting quarterbacks with more than 100,000 yards combined yards passing in Favre and Kerry Collins.Favre threw for 224 yards and had much more help than Collins, whose receivers dropped at least five passes in the first half, including one by Bo Scaife in Jets' territory with room to run. Favre took advantage of a Titans' secondary featuring Chris Carr starting at cornerback in place of Nick Harper, and he was flagged twice on one drive for pass interference.With the win, Favre broke a tie with Dan Marino for victories in the most NFL stadiums by winning in his 32nd at LP Field. CONTINUE READING...  Ashley Lelie and the Oakland Raiders both got even with the Denver Broncos.The deep-threat receiver who forced a trade out of Denver in 2006 after a bitter holdout returned to Invesco Field on Sunday and helped lead the Raiders to a stunning 31-10 win over the Broncos with his best game in years."I've been dreaming for this moment ever since I left here," Lelie said after catching a touchdown pass and setting up another TD with a spectacular 51-yard catch. "It feels good that it was with the Raiders."Lelie, who caught a cosmetic touchdown in Oakland's season-opening 41-14 loss to Denver, languished in Atlanta, San Francisco and even Oakland before he returned to rock the Broncos with four catches for 92 yards, nearly doubling his season totals."Ever since I left, this is what I wanted to do — to come back to Invesco and show I've still got it," Lelie said. "Come back and kind of put it to the people who didn't think I was good enough."At the top of that list was Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who refused to give in to Lelie's contract demands and sent him to the Falcons after a protracted holdout that sparked an ugly grievance over fines."When Ashley was here, he did the same thing, made those big plays," Shanahan said. "When the ball's thrown up in the air, Ashley's always come down with those plays. Didn't surprise me at all. Ashley's got excellent hands. For some reason it didn't work out at other places when he left here. But when he was here, he was pretty productive."Lelie caught 54 passes for 1,084 yards and seven touchdowns during his best NFL season with Denver in 2004, but he hasn't come close to replicating those numbers since then with the Broncos, Falcons, 49ers or Raiders."Just not getting the opportunities," Lelie said. "When I did get an opportunity in San Fran, well, I didn't really get one. Here, they finally gave me the opportunity with Javon (Walker) getting a little nicked up and they put me on the field to give me a chance to do what I can do."Rookie Darren McFadden ran for two 1-yard touchdowns and the Raiders (3-8), who hadn't scored an offensive touchdown in 15 quarters, scored three TDs in an 18-play span to snap a four-game losing streak.They also rectified their thrashing at the hands of the Broncos (6-5) in the opener. In that game, the Broncos repeatedly picked on since-released cornerback DeAngelo Hall, and they went after his replacement, Chris Johnson, with very little success Sunday. CONTINUE READING... The New York Giants were great in Glendale again, especially Eli Manning. Manning threw for three touchdowns in his return to the scene of his Super Bowl MVP performance and the Giants beat Arizona 37-29 to snap the Cardinals' seven-game home winning streak. Jets hand Titans first loss, 34-13 McNabb benched, Eagles routed by Ravens Giants win sixth straight, beat Cards Owens' 213 yards lift Cowboys by 49ers Pats rally 3 times, beat Dolphins 48-28 Turner, Douglas lead Falcons by Panthers Buccaneers rally, drop Lions to 0-11 Vikings start fast, roll by Jags 30-12 Bills hand Chiefs historic loss, 54-31 Bears roll past woeful Rams 27-3.

Obama testing ways to use Internet to govern

During the campaign, the Obama team showed how new media tools can be used to win the White House. Now, the president-elect's advisers and allies are previewing how they intend to use the power of online organizing to govern.The effort gained national visibility when President-elect Barack Obama started posting YouTube videos of his weekly national address, and it accelerated as the transition team and others solicited supporters' ideas on what to do next with their "movement."Analysts say Obama isn't just trying to make government more transparent by posting online videos of himself or his transition team's doings. He is attempting to organize his campaign supporters into a political force that he can tap in tough times - like when he needs to go around Congress and the mainstream media for direct citizen support."Just like people hadn't used the Internet in campaigning to this extent before, they haven't really used it to govern before," said Peter Daou, Internet strategist for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. "The challenge here is trying to figure out how to use something that was used mostly for campaign advocacy - and use it in a way to advance policy."That's tricky. A campaign runs on an adrenaline rush fueled by a deadline (election day), a person to rally against and the rush of daily polls. Shepherding policy through Washington is not as sexy, and now the candidate is president of all Americans - not just his supporters.So on the grassroots level, the legions of Obama supporters who self-organized on social networking sites are reconvening to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, the incoming administration is trying to figure out how to engage its supporters and solicit their ideas - and continued support."Where they meet in the middle somewhere is where the energy will come from," Daou said.Those efforts intensified last week when Obama campaign manager David Plouffe asked the estimated 11 million members of Obama's e-mail list what new ideas they had for the administration. Before asking supporters to complete a brief survey, Plouffe wrote, "Your hard work built this movement. Now it's up to you to decide how we move forward."The survey asked supporters "how they would like to be engaged" and to rank the importance of "goals for this movement" such as "Helping Barack's administration pass legislation through grassroots efforts" and "training volunteers in the organizing techniques we used to elect Barack."The efforts extend beyond the official Obama organization.On Thursday night, MoveOn.org - whose members supported Obama - held more than 1,200 offline "Fired Up and Ready to Go" parties. The point of the gatherings, according to an invitation from MoveOn: "We'll launch a new campaign to help Barack win big changes - like health care and clean energy." The group will follow Thursday's meetings with a day of personal lobbying on Capitol Hill and in congressional district offices Jan. 21, the day after Obama is sworn in. CONTINUE READING...

The ugly backlash over Proposition 8

A supporter of Proposition 8, fed up with what he believed was the gay community's and "liberal media's" refusal to accept the voters' verdict, fired off a letter to the editor.

"Please show respect for democracy," he wrote, in a letter we published.

What he encountered instead was an utter lack of respect for free speech.

Within hours, the intimidation game was on. Because his real name and city were listed - a condition for publication of letters to The Chronicle - opponents of Prop. 8 used Internet search engines to find the letter writer's small business, his Web site (which included the names of his children and dog), his phone number and his clients. And they posted that information in the "Comments" section of SFGate.com - urging, in ugly language, retribution against the author's business and its identified clients.

"They're intimidating people that don't have the same beliefs as they do ... so they'll be silenced," he told me last week. "It doesn't bode well for the free-speech process. People are going to have to be pretty damn courageous to speak up about anything. Why would anyone want to go through this?"

Let the record show that I absolutely disagree with the letter writer on the substance of Prop. 8. I believe that same-sex couples should have the full rights and responsibilities of marriage. In my view, the discrimination inherent in Prop. 8 is morally and legally indefensible in a society where the concept of equal protection is supposed to safeguard the rights of the minority.

But let me also say that I am disturbed by the vicious, highly personalized attacks against the letter writer and others. Protesters have shouted insults at people headed to worship; temples and churches have been defaced. "Blacklists" of donors who contributed to Yes on 8 are circulating on the Internet, and even small-time donors are being confronted. A Palo Alto dentist lost two patients as a result of his $1,000 donation. The artistic director of the California Musical Theatre resigned to spare the organization from a fast-developing boycott. Scott Eckern, the artistic director of the Sacramento theater group and a Mormon, had given $1,000 to Yes on 8.This out-of-scale attempt to isolate and intimidate decidedly small players in the Yes on 8 campaign is no way to win the issue in a court of law or the court of public opinion.Equally disappointing is the lack of a forceful denunciation from leaders of the honorable cause of bringing marriage equality to California. "We achieve nothing if we isolate the people who did not stand with us in this fight," the No on 8 campaign reminded its coalition in a statement issued after the election.Guess what? Certain advocates of the cause are alienating people - and this approach needs to be called out. Remember, the No on 8 campaign was shouting "blackmail!" at the top of its lungs when the Yes side sent certified letters to major donors threatening to "out" them in a press release unless they also contributed to the marriage ban. Of course, that "threat" had a tinge of absurdity. Corporations such as PG&E, McDonald's and Levi Strauss were not afraid of being "outed" for their association with the marriage-equality cause. They were well aware that their major donations amounted to a public statement that might cause them to lose - and gain - customer goodwill.Opponents of same-sex marriage should not be let off the hook for their post-election tactics. There is already talk of a recall campaign against California Supreme Court justices if they overturn Prop. 8, reminiscent of the unsuccessful attempt to oust Chief Justice Ronald George and Justice Ming Chin after they voted to overturn a law that required parental consent for minors to receive an abortion. The judiciary must not be intimidated in this nation of laws. CONTINUE READING...

Twlight is Here!

JAMIE FOXX INTUITION

Clinton Decides to Accept Post at State Dept., Confidants Say

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday. The apparent accord between perhaps the two leading figures in the Democratic Party climaxed a week-long drama that riveted the nation’s capital. Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters on Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but this is the first word from the Clinton camp that she has decided. “She’s ready,” the confidant said, adding that Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Mr. Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week “was so general.” The purpose of the follow-up talk, he noted, was not to extract particular concessions but “just getting comfortable” with the idea of working together. A second Clinton associate confirmed that her camp believes they have a done deal. Senior Obama advisers said Friday morning that the offer had not been formally accepted and no announcement would be made until after Thanksgiving. But they said they were convinced that the nascent alliance was ready to be sealed. Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton fought the most competitive Democratic nomination battle in modern times, one that polarized their party for months and left bitterness in both camps. But in asking Mrs. Clinton to join his Cabinet, Mr. Obama signaled that he wants to turn a rival into a partner, and she concluded that she could have the most influence by accepting the offer. The decision followed days of intense vetting and negotiations intended to clear any potential obstacles to her taking the job due to her husband’s global business and philanthropic activities. Lawyers for Mr. Obama and former President Bill Clinton combed through his finances and drew up a set of guidelines for his future activities intended to avoid any appearances of conflict of interest should she take the job. People close to the vetting said Mr. Clinton turned over the names of 208,000 donors to his foundation and library and agreed to all of the conditions requested by Mr. Obama’s transition team, including restrictions on his future paid speeches and role at his international foundation. SOURCE:NYT.COM

iPHONE Daily Blog Buzz 11.21.08

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Vladimir Radmanovic made all five of his 3-pointers to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past the Phoenix Suns, 105-92 on Thursday night. Bryant shot only 8-of-23, but the Lakers overwhelmed Phoenix with their depth. Six players reached double figures as Los Angeles improved its record to a league-best 9-1.Radmanovic scored 15, Lamar Odom 13, Jordan Farmar 11, and Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza 10 apiece for Los Angeles. Amare Stoudemire scored 21 for Phoenix on 9-for-21 shooting.President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after Thanksgiving, a new milestone for a former first lady and a convergence of two political forces who contested mightily for the presidency. Complete Story...Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality. Complete Story...Playing the main character on CBS' "The Mentalist," Simon Baker smiles. A lot. He grins and smirks and looks as charming as possible, frequently while he's delivering lines that demonstrate his character's acute and surprisingly prophetic powers of observation, which help a team of law enforcement agents solve crimes. Complete Story...Eleven states that once required special consent for HIV testing have changed their laws, a key step to making an HIV test part of the standard battery that patients expect.But HIV specialists meeting Thursday said other barriers include physician confusion about the ease of today's rapid tests, which can cost as little as $15 — although many patients seem to accept them.No more than 100 of the nation's 5,000 emergency rooms routinely test for HIV in patients who aren't critically ill, said Dr. John Bartlett of Johns Hopkins University, who co-chaired the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research meeting. Yet because so many HIV patients are poor or uninsured, ERs are the health-care setting most likely to find them.China acknowledged Friday for the first time that more than 19,000 schoolchildren were among the dead in the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May. Complete Story...

Palo Alto chief to retire amid controversy

(11-20) 21:53 PST Palo Alto -- Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson announced her retirement today, citing the strain of a controversy she sparked nearly a month ago with comments that appeared to endorse racial profiling. Johnson said at an Oct. 30 public meeting at City Hall that she had directed officers to broadly question African American men while searching for suspects in a string of recent street robberies. She later said she had misspoken and had intended to say that officers should focus on men who fit more detailed descriptions and who acted suspiciously in areas where robberies had happened. But Johnson's words - preserved on videotape - prompted broad outrage, and many black men came forward to complain that they had been unfairly treated by Palo Alto police in recent years, a charge Johnson denied. "It's been kind of rough," Johnson said today. "I've always told my staff that when it comes to the time when you don't look forward to getting up and going to work in the morning, it's time to leave," said Johnson, a 58-year-old Fremont resident who became the city's first female chief in 2003 after 28 years in the department. City Manager James Keene said Johnson's last day of work will be on Dec. 19. Assistant Chief Dennis Burns, a 26-year department veteran, will become the acting head of a department with a staff of 170 and a $28 million annual budget. Keene said Johnson, who is white, had not been forced out. "We didn't even get to that point or that conversation," he said. "She's been here for a long time and I think she's earned the right to choose to leave on her own terms. I support her in her decision, but it's a tough day for people in the department and across the city." The Rev. Jeff Moore II, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley branch of the NAACP, said he was not surprised by Johnson's retirement considering the community outrage. He had not called for her ouster, but many others had."But the problem's not going away," Moore said. "She wasn't the one driving around stopping people. It's the troops. The Police Department still needs cultural diversity training. We need a promise from the city manager and the City Council that that'll still happen." CONTINUE READING...

Stocks Drop Sharply and Credit Markets Seize Up

As a new bout of fear gripped the financial markets, stocks fell sharply again on Thursday, continuing a months-long plunge that has wiped out the gains of the last decade. The credit markets seized up as confidence in the nation’s financial system ebbed and people rushed to put money in Treasuries, the safest of investments. Some markets are now back to where they were before Congress approved the $700 billion financial rescue in October. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 445 points, or 5.6 percent. The broad market sank to its lowest level since 1997 — before the dot-com boom, the Nasdaq market bust and the ensuing bull market that drove stocks to record heights. With Thursday’s rout, $8.3 trillion in stock market wealth has been erased in the last 13 months.Investors are growing increasingly worried that big banks like Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which have all received billions of dollars from the government to bolster their finances, are still too weak. The price of Citigroup’s shares plunged 26.4 percent on Thursday and other financial shares fell to fresh lows. Citigroup, which is under pressure from some investors to split itself or sell businesses, plans to hold a meeting on Friday to update executives on the company’s condition.The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 6.7 percent, leaving that benchmark down about 52 percent from its peak in October 2007. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 7,552.29, barely above its low in October 2002 during the depths of the last bear market. The Nasdaq fell 5 percent, to 1,316.12.“This is a response to real fear,” said Marc D. Stern, chief investment officer at Bessemer Trust, an investment firm in New York. “We each have to look inside and say, is the fear warranted?”The fear was reflected in a stampede for the safety of government securities. The Treasury’s benchmark 10-year bill rose 2- 22/32, to 106- 10/32 and the yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, was at 3.01 percent, down from 3.32 percent late Wednesday. The sell-off in equities gathered force over the last several days and brought an abrupt end to what had been a modest improvement in financial markets. After the Federal Reserve began making short-term loans directly to businesses last month, a semblance of normalcy returned to credit markets, and the stock market, although volatile, held above its old lows.But investor confidence, which has been shaky since the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, was dealt a severe blow when the Treasury Department announced last week that it would not buy troubled mortgage assets using the $700 billion that Congress approved in October. Economic reports showing rising unemployment, falling consumer prices and disastrous retail sales compounded the damage. The risk that one or all of the Detroit automakers might go bankrupt added to the gloom. “The profit drag on corporate America is widening and deepening, and this is leading to more layoffs and cutbacks in capital spending, which is extending and deepening the recession,” said Stuart Schweitzer, global markets strategist for J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “We’ve gotten into a full-blown, self-feeding downturn.”More bad economic news arrived on Thursday morning the Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 542,000 last week, the highest level since July 1992. Unemployment is also climbing at a rapid clip in Europe, and the once-sizzling economies in Asia and Latin America are starting to sputter. Early on Friday, Singapore reported that its third-quarter gross domestic product fell at a 6.8 percent annualized pace. In Asian trading early Friday, stocks were down nearly 3 percent in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. On Thursday, most European markets closed down more than 3 percent for the day.CONTINUE READING...

Music review: Usher, the family and ladies' man

 EXCERPT FROM SFGATE.COM -- There were no special effects or elaborate props, not even an opening act Tuesday night at the Warfield - just two fast-paced hours of music and movement by Usher Raymond, contemporary soul music's permanent song-and-dance man. The sold-out show was the 10th stop on his 14-city One Night Stand Ladies Only tour, and although there were a good number of men in attendance, the suave Dallas-born, Chattanooga, Tenn.-bred vocalist played primarily to the throng of screaming women in attendance, changing suits three times before slowly taking off his coat, vest, dress shirt and sleeveless T-shirt to reveal his rippling bodybuilder muscles. At one point, seated at a grand piano, Usher sang his current hit "Trading Places" in high, elastic tenor tones. He attempted to accompany himself with rudimentary treble lines but was interrupted by one of his two female dancers, who removed his shirt and vest and put them on herself. She soon stripped to bra and panties, lay atop the piano, flat on her back at first, then writhed her hips before ending up in the singer's lap. A shirtless Usher kept crooning all the while. It was more tease than strip, however. Once famous for performing bare chested through much of his concerts, Usher's upper body remained naked only for brief moments Tuesday. At age 30, the onetime teen idol is now married, has one kid with another on the way and is projecting a more restrained, albeit still highly seductive, image. The singer repeated the woman-with-piano routine later in the show, with the second of two audience members he invited to the stage for a trivia contest."What was the name of the first record I ever cut?" he asked the first woman, who should have answered "Call Me a Mack" (an obscure song from the 1993 motion picture "Poetic Justice") but didn't."What was the name of my second album?" he asked the second contestant. She got it right with "My Way." "And the grand prize," he announced, "is me.""I hope you're ready for what you're about to experience," he added. "This metaphor is to show how I adore you," he sang as she sat on his lap. He then lifted her in his arms, laid her on the piano top and, between lines of the ballad "Superstar," planted a kiss on her face. Backed by four instrumentalists, one turntablist and three harmony vocalists, and frequently flanked by four dancers, Usher packed 29 songs into his show. They included 14 years' worth of his own hits, from 1994's "Can U Get Wit It" to favorites from such albums as 2004's "Confessions" (with about 10 million copies sold, it remains the most successful R&B disc of the decade) to the current "Here I Stand," along with salutes to Stevie Wonder, Prince and Marvin Gaye. Usher's chest tones have a ringing, Gaye-like quality, and his high head tones suggest Prince's falsetto, but his frequent use of syllable-splitting curlicues owes much to Wonder. Usher is a stronger, more assured singer than he was a decade ago, though the melismas in his lower range sometimes meander off pitch. His falsetto tonality is more on target.CONTINUE READING...

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