Lessons We Need to Understand–Part 1

It has been a week of extremes. Excitement and disappointment. Sometimes it happens at the same time. I have facts but the interpretation of those facts I’m not sure I can do justice. I can tell you what I have seen and observed.

The ZeFrank Lessons

Once upon a time there was a web series called Le Show with ZeFrank. The two people below are not ZeFrank but part of the community at the time that participated in introducing the show. Roll that tape...


It was before Jon Stewart and Colbert and the show was a mix of whimsy, politics, audience collaboration and what ever can down the road. It lasted a year before Ze pulled the plug.

Last week Ze put out the word on Kickstarer that he wanted to resume the show and was looking for backers to fund it. He is going to, among other things, buy a new camera and hire an editor.

He asked for $50,000. Keep in mind that his show lasted only one year that ended in 2007. There were other sporadic appearances by Ze via Time Magazine and other places but folks had moved on.
As of this writing, Ze has $122,282 with four days to go in the campaign.

Ze has asked his backers what they would like to see in the new show. In full disclosure, I did chip in some cash which makes me a non-Hollywood fractional inconsequential non-power playing mogul.

• Most want him to do what he did before. Exactly the same things.
• Some want him to talk about religion.
• Others emphatically do not want him to talk about religion
• Those that want him to rip into the current political climate of yuck.
• Those that want a respite from the political climate of yuck and want him to make music or design or anything that is happening in the current world.
• And there is a fractional few that says “I trust you enough to let you go you way and see what you come up with.”

This is the creative community "put your money where your support is" type of participatory media. I keep telling folks that what we were raised up on is not how it is always going to be from this point forward.

There is events happening that we can’t continue to pretend it does not have an impact on our lives.  Like a broken record I keep saying this and I need to find a better way of communicating it or shut up.

I have it on good authority I can’t shut up.

Here is the thing. As traditional broadcasters look to restrict access to their content and at the same time create destination portals on the Internet we need to really step up independent content.
I don’t think it needs a Kickstarter campaign but you do what you got to do.  If you are good and people like what you do you will be supported.

We don’t have to be dependent on mainstream content. I’m not saying to totally give it up cuz that new Sherlock Holmes on the BBC has got a bunch of Baker Street Doxies going nuts.

I’ve moved to audio podcasting and video from non-traditional sources to replace television. I do watch traditional shows once in a while on the Internet but they do not fill my needs.

A new model is being established. ZeFrank is not the first person to do this; there are other producers who are doing the same things.We needs to pay attention.

That is all I’m saying.

The Make Up Wonder Woman

Those of use who are nerd/geek girls who read the original comic book have seen Wonder Woman in skirts, shorts, panties and damn near thongs.

Wonder Woman is the icon that made the other female comic super heroes possible. This is advertisement for MAC cosmetics. Diana, Princess of Paradise Island also known as Themyscira has fought many foe but I don't re-call that she used make-up to do it.

The ad was a tie-in to the proposed television series. It appears that NBC has rejected the pilot so the new television show isn't gong to happen for 2011.

This might not be a bad thing.

The Warner Brother Animated Series of Superman, Batman and the Justice League is a wonderful example of animated storytelling. This is a clip from the episode "The Man Who Has Everything" with Supes, Bats and Diana dealing with a very nasty Mongul.

It really was more than a cartoon show. The use of color, design, class-A voice actors and really good scripts took it three levels higher than the pablum fed to today's kids.

There is a generation of folk that have been raised on the later day animated series as their touch point of the characters. A live action series has to rise above this type of visual mythology.

There is not enough commitment, money, scripting or technology to make that happen on a standard live action 22 episode series. The next Wonder Woman series might have to be CGI based or a combination of animation and CGI.

It can't be about the costume or how good she looks in Flame Red #39. After all these years Diana of Themyscira deserves better.

My Inner Child Required This Purchase

I was born with the frugal gene. I come from a long line of women who can indeed stretch a dollar or two. Yes, I have weaknesses but books are more a necessity than an expense.

My point is that I don't spend willing on clothing. Cameras? Yes. Books? Of course. Clothing? Meh.

I'm minding my own business as I am procrastinating up a storm when I see this photo of the t-shirt.


You gotta understand. I had no choice. In the name of Doctors #4, #7, #8 and #9 I had to do it. I can't get to view the tenth or eleventh Dr. Who shows because I don't freaking live in the UK or have access.

Yo, BBC - how is that subscription smartphone app coming along? You and me can do cash business. We don't need no stinking cable operator to hook up.

I don't have an iPad but if you could make it work on multiple Android phones or soon to be Windows OS tables I think this could be a wise investment on your part. Beeb, just let me know which way to go and we can work out the details later.

My t-shirts arrived today. Yes, I got two. One to sleep in and one as a valuable heirloom.

Geek and Nerd girls unite! May the sonic lipstick or screwdriver be with you.

Update on the PBS and NPR Funding

Most of you know that I am a Contributing Editor at BlogHer. It is a challenge when I have to fit in writing, research and the day job. All this and poetry videos too. In January I wrote a post about do we still need the Public Broadcasting System. So much has happened regarding attacks on PBS and governmental jockeying of resources.

Back in the day our favorite sweater dude, Fred Rogers made a heart felt plea to Congress to fund public television.

Watch the full episode. See more Mister Rogers.

No lie, I miss this dude. I miss what he represented as an adult male public figure. I can't think of a reasonable contemporary successor. There is one but I can't place him at the moment.

Hell, off track again. I do not question the importance of funding public television and National Public Radio. I have benefited and had my world expanded by the programs on both services.

I do wonder if constantly having to go back to a partisan knock down drag out fight each and every year just to ensure survival is the way to go. One of the things that crossed my mind is to perhaps make it similar to the United States Post Office in that it is taken out of the congressional budget, given a dedicated line of funding and allow it to find ways to generate income.

Just a thought.

Those in favor of funding:

• PBS Public Funding Information Page
• Mary Kate Cary US News What Congress Needs to Know
• Ken Burns talks with the SF Chronicle About Public Broadcasting's Value
  

Those in favor of cutting funding:

• The U.S. House of Representatives Vote to Bar Public Funding of NPR
• From 2010 Bill O'Reilly PBS Funding Should Be Cut Too
• ReNew America Blog We Should Have Stopped Funding PBS and NPR A Long Time Ago

It is up to us. I don't have too much faith in a nation that worships coke-a-holics and jewel thieves and rewards them with adulation.

Maybe the world will end in May.*

But if not, what are we going to do?

*Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. There is a religious group that believes that the end time is actually May 2011. Some folks have left their jobs, homes and everything because they anticipating the mothership, chariot or the heavenly night train to make a pick-up around that time.

Hey Roger - If I Viewed TV I'd Watch

I don't care what the name of the show was I watched. Sneak Peak, At the Movies, Siskel and Ebert, Ebert and Roper and all the ones I forgot.

Agree, disagree or whatever this was how folks started talking about movies in the public arena. If you wanted depth you read Film Critic magazine; if you wanted to not finance a turkey of a flick you flipped on the show.

Not that I would have paid cash money for Carnosaur.

Roger Ebert has been through a time and a half of experiences. To say that he is fighting cancer is an understatement. Dude has been honest, transparent and helped more people than he will ever know in his dealings with the death stalker.


So when I saw in my e-mail stream something about Facebook blocking his most recent post about getting a facial prosthetic for his new show I was confused. I go to his Chicago Sun-Times page and first thought that he was rocking a sexy new beard.

I like beards.

But you have to read the complete story. I like the story even better.

A few months ago Roger spoke about his decision not to undergo reconstructive surgery. It was a powerful piece basically saying "I'm not gonna do it, I had enough."

I know what he is talking about. I don't like hospitals. I don't like how powerless they make you feel. When you gotta do it that is one thing. It is your life or your pride. There are limits and each person has to define his or her own as to how much you can take.

There is a new show he is producing with his wife called Eberts Presents At the Movies. My understanding is that he has chosen for his segment of the show to use a new chin prosthetic.

Ok by me either way but not with Facebook. His post was flagged as abusive content.

I suspect this is a techno-glitch or something like that. Because I can't figure out what human would read the post and come up with anything that was offensive about it. There isn't, not one dang thing.

Y'all can romp around Facebook if you want to. I'll visit your pages if they are open to the public. I can not, shall not and for the foreseeable future will not have a Facebook page. If they can't deal with Roger's face then they don't need any part of mine.

Just to be clear, I do not like Facebook's constant disrespect of privacy. I don't like that it will release information at the drop of a programing glitch and then you have to respond quick, fast and in a hurry to keep marketers from harvesting e-mail, phone and other private information.

I choose my friends and who I want contact with; I don't need 70,000 friends. God bless you if you really have that many people in your life.

I don't. I'm okay with that.

The ones I do have know where they can find me.

A Lesson From Rosey Grier

Take from it what you will. It does speak to the times and the challenges of living in truth, honor and living up to the better principles of our natures.

Watch the full episode. See more Pioneers of Television.

I found this at the PBS Pioneers of Television web site. Those of us in Los Angeles will not be able to view the program. If you can get KOCE.tv reception, score.

Even before the digital change my KOCE reception was lousy. We do what we can. But this sucks, I can't even watch the Science Fiction Pioneers of TV episode.

Not a happy camper.

Accidental Love Song on the Finally Friday Freakout

I am going to start with a song cuz this guy has nothing to do with the current cultural angst about getting married. He is a singer. It is his job to sing songs of love, love lost and found again. It is a love song of a young man.

A song that continues the tradition of a line of people crooning you are the one and only with the added kicker of "I'm not about to let you go." This is Andy Kong with Accidental Love Song.

"Accidental Love Song" by Andy Kong from Eugenia Loli-Queru on Vimeo.

Love doesn't seem to have much to do with marriage anymore. Maybe it never did. There is a never ending bar room argument about settling for the kinda sorta man of your not quiet dreams. It is the new imperative of old school thinking of "hold your nose and marry something." Not a person. Not a companion.

A person that meet 77.5% of your marital requirements? Too ambitious. 55% should be enough. Forsake the idea seeking the person with a spirit or soul that resonates with your being. It is being spun to get hitched to an icon cuz you want to be not single.

Oh, yeah. It would help if you knew what I was talking about. There is this book called: Marry Him: The Case for Settling for "Mr. Good Enough." It is based on an Atlantic article from 2008 by the same author, Lori Gottleib.

I feel like the person on the hill trying to talk to the lemmings before they head off the cliff. I should know better. I've been a lemming a time or two.

Here is my short version. Don't marry out of fear. Don't marry because you want to have a child. To marry means to join and if you truly don't care about the person you are about to join with I can't imagine a greater hell.

Really, don't.

I have a story. Once upon a time an older woman met with a few friends to go out and socialize. Kiki met this guy. He seemed ok. They went out a few times. Did the Sealy shimmy, it was assumed, with modest but acceptable performance.

Kiki wanted companionship. She was willing to settle. Kiki fested up that she liked him but did not love him. Few months into Sunday dinners they decided to marry.

Turned out the dude liked having dinner, TV and well, more TV. And not much else. Yep. Kiki married a couch potato. Spuds, in this case spousal duds are not known to be good conversationalists.

That is what you get when you play the percentages. Hurt. You take the good with the bad and the bitter with the sweet. A great song lyric. I can't remember which song it goes to? Wait, I got it, Jackie Moore's Precious, Precious.

Kiki wanted a warm body. He wanted a hot pot roast dinner and some beer. They both got what they wanted. They were miserable. To do extra laundry without any additional benefit other than to keep the stench level down?

Gee, I don't think it is a good idea.

I'm back on the hill. I see the next wave of lemmings coming. Well, you live and hopefully you learn. The lemmings? Let them be. Might make it easier to find the good folks.

Analog Girl - Embracing the Static

Yes, she who loves electronics like some folks crave shoes is doing without digital television. This is my first official day. In actuality the first time in 2009 that I turned the TV on was for the inauguration. But I also had it on my computer via a number of services.

I wasn't taking any chances.

I do use the television to watch my VHS videos. If I ever find the rest of the Disney's The Gargoyles on VHS or DVD I'm good to go for a a little bit. That was more like an animated graphic novel than a traditional Disney cartoon series. I really like well done animation that tells stories. The WB Batman series, primo study in the use of shadows and atmosphere.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. My co-workers at the Salt Mine told me that I could go to Radio Shack and pick up the $20 HD antenna that would allow me to see more than the 1 station I can pick up. Channel 46DT. I have a testimonial that it really does work.

Channel 46DT comes in real clear, except when it pixilates. The fact that it is a Spanish television station is a bonus.

Now I am not hating on Channel 46DT. There were times when if I recognized the movie I would listen and try to resurrect what little Spanish I learned in high school. I choose to do that but I don't want to be forced to do that all the time.

My running total for my non-functioning conversion to Digital Television:

• Got coupon and like a dope only asked for one coupon. Value $40
• Get converter, cost 59.99, my cost 19.99+tax
• Converter not play nice with TV which has only a coaxial outie and VHS/DVD player. Can't hook up antenna and VHS/DVD player. Back to the store.
• Buy RF Modulator that allows me to hook up TV, Combo Player and Antenna. $29.95, total spent is now $49.95
• DVD/VHS combo breaks, have to get a new unit. Find cheap one at $69.95 Total $119.95
• Hook everything up. Run auto-scan. Can only get Channel 46DT. Run manual scan. Same blasted thing.
• I say forget this, I've got DVD, VHS and Hulu. Ah but as I plop in my Dick Tracy video, the old one where Boris Karloff plays a wicked villain, there is a grinding in the DVD unit. It won't open. It won't play. I press buttons, power up and down and in a fit of anger I pull on the DVD drive. I pull the cheap plastic drive holder all the way out. I now have half a functional combo unit.
  

Now I've seen the videos for building your own DTV antenna and I think I can do that cuz I do have wire coat hangers but I don't have wire cutters and the other stuff. Take a look:


Coat Hanger HDTV Antenna: Better Than Store Bought! AMAZING! - Click here for more home videos


I still have two huge apartments next to me and I will tell anyone who will hear me, I am not climbing on my roof for the current TV season.

Damion, I love you in Life but unless your show continues to post on Hulu we will have a parting of the ways. I'm watching Battlestar Gallactica's last season. I can wait 8 days between shows. They ain't fooling, the last season is ripping traditional television a new one every week. Hey Josh Whedon, you and your girls should watch a few episodes for inspiration. They're be scripting and acting over there Arrrgh...

I do have options. I can continue to watch TV via my computer. It does have advantages and disadvantages. I hear there is a laptop antenna conversion kit that can pull DTV signals. That would be another $50-$70 bucks but I could hook it up and watch TV on the laptop in bed.

Or I can break down and buy a digital TV converter card for my computer. If I do that then I should also think about getting a new monitor.

Do you see the pattern? Money. Each option cost money that I am unwilling to spend for something that hasn't served my needs in years. I'm still sleeping to mighty fine podcasts. I don't need disengaged local and national television any more.

They don't want me either. So it will be a while before I make a decision to spend more money on Channel 46DT or 63 other channels that I may or may not see. No worries, I have love and books to keep me warm.

Now if I could just find my electric blanket.

I Have Entered the Electronics of Hell Zone

Crummy electronics be danged and double danged! 32 days after I could have returned the combo VCR/DVD player the DVD drive breaks. No fooling.

I put in my DVD copy of Long John Silver. No, not that guy! This was a movie and then a TV show from the 1950's. It was on sale at the beloved 99.99 cents only store and arrhh he and his crew is yar!



The machine just sat there. Nothing. No purple screen saying loading. No churning, chugging or chaginga chaginga. Drive door will not open. Turning it off and on gets me zilch. I just bought the dang thing 32 days which is 2 days past the take it back date.

20 minutes I spend trying to engage the drive into functioning. I get mad. I gentle pry open the drive to get the DVD out and the whole drive holding unit thingy comes out. I got a gaping hole where the drive cover use to be.

On the positive side the VHS side works great. No problems, Gargoyles never looked better.

In two months I have replaced a computer, a prior VCR, a prior DVD recorder that went bad after a year of limited use and purchased updates for software.

Oh yeah, let's not forget the digital converter that only picks up 1 channel and it is a Spanish language channel that I can't connect to the TV and combo unit at the same time. I had to buy an RF modulator and that kinda sorta solved my problem but not with the converter. I have great analog static on the TV.

That didn't bother me cuz I stopped watching regular TV anyway. Which is why I was digging the VHS and DVD player. I ain't digging it anymore.

I still have to buy stuff to transfer data from SATA drive and IDE drives and my DSL modem is getting finicky. Look, I'm all for stimulating the economy but this stuff is adding up.

32 freaking days? And what am I to do with all the electronic waste that I do have? I know not to throw it in the trash but I have no way of getting it to the recycling places. I want to be green conscious but at the same time this junk is piling up.

Sigh. Well, I'm waiting until after January 2nd for any further non-necessary electronic purchases. I will research the heck out of the next combo unit that I buy and me and Consumer Reports are going to be skin tight in agreement before I plunk down another cent for something I plug in.

Hey manufacturers, want to pull yourself out of a recession? Quit making shoddy product that die within 32 days of use. If you can't make it work at the price point you set then don't sell the piece of crap.

High Fructose Corn Syrup Ads and Evaluating Information

The Corn Refiners Association currently has two TV commercials abut the consumption of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  In this commercial we view a backyard party where two moms get to talking.

You can also view the ads at SweetSurprise.com set that was created to support the ad campaign.

Let me say to the food producers and refiners of American that I am quiet capable of expressing why I chose not to eat certain food products. I tend to use full sentences like “I don’t like the taste.”, “I don’t trust how it is made” or “When I eat that particular food I get a headache.”

The commercials are insulting and really underestimate the growing national concerns about the quality and safety of food products. That is how I feel. However I also need to find the facts to back up my feelings and perceptions.

So what I want to attempt to convey is a simplified way to research and learn about a product I only know from a consumer standpoint.

Questions and Identifying Sources

I start with my questions. My questions might be different from yours; you might know more about HFCS than I do. These are questions that I have from viewing the commercials.

• Is it a natural product? Is eating HFCS harmful?
• Why are they doing this now? HFCS has been on the market since the 1970s.
• How do I eat HFCS products in moderation?

When you start to look for information you want to get as close as you can to the primary source as possible. In this case the primary source happens to be the creator of the commercials.

(Note to Science folks, I know this means something different in your terminology but I’m going for a concept and I’m on the Library/Information Studies side of the fence.)

Now certainly I’m going to review the Sweet Surprise web site. At the FAQ page there is a list of statements made to support their belief that HFCS is a natural product, comparing the refinement to sugar and honey. There is also HFCS Facts.which is more of a trade organization and the actual Corn Refiners Association that gives the actual process in making HFCS:

High fructose corn sweeteners begin with enzymes which isomerize dextrose to produce a 42 percent fructose syrup. By passing 42-HFCS through a column which retains fructose, refiners draw off 90 percent HFCS and blend it with 42-HFCS to make a third syrup, 55-HFCS. Further processing produces crystalline fructose.

Yeah, that sounds like it was just plucked off the tree. I also learn that Americans are consuming at least 42 pounds of HFCS per year according to the Corn Refiners Association Web site.

Secondary Sources

Next I want to find secondary sources that take the information provided and evaluates, support or refute the claims and statements. At this point I’m looking for nutritionists, dietitians, scientists and similar authoritative sources.

• Katherine Zeratsky R.D. from the Mayo Clinic
• Medically Speaking from the University of Maryland Medical Center mp3 audio interview with Mary Beth Soldus
• Karen Collin on Sugar, corn syrup, or calories?
• Radhia Gleis Certified Clinical Nutritionist video called Conspiracy for Fat American and High Fructose Corn Syrup
• American Medical Association – The Health Effects of High Fructose Syrup 

Everybody Into The Pool

In this final stage I’m looking for folks that have a stake about the topic. I’m a little more open so I want to find those people that have health issues such as diabetics, food allergies, or those folks that are required or choice to be on a low carbohydrate diet. Also I want to hear from others that have something to say about the topic.

So I am reading an article from Lazslo Pentek, a Beekeeper  who has an opinion about HFCS.  Ed Brayton over at Scienceblogs on Government Subsidized Obesity, Debra at The Ethicurean on this specific ad campaign, The Organic Consumers Association article on Corn, Used and Abused.

I’m checking in with food bloggers like The Slow Cook who has thoughts about the FDA switch of allowing HFCS to be called natural when it initially said it was not.  Wannabegreen did a count of the number of  HFCS items in the cupboard. Karina’s Kitchen  writes about Sugar Blues and alternatives to Sugar. Marion Nestle on-going posts on high fructose corn syrup.

I could keep going but my fingers are cramping up.  

My point in doing this was to demonstrate that you can get the information that you need to make an informed decision about a topic. A positive from this silly campaign is the recognition that consumers have the power to let food producers know what they will and will not accept. Information, good. Misinformation, bad.

Is High Fructose Corn Syrup bad? From what I have read there isn’t enough legitimate research done to confirm or disprove. I do know that we are being involuntarily fed way too much sugar in products that we don’t expect to be loaded with sugar. But there is not one single reason for Americans packing on the pounds. However there is enought responsibility that both consumers and food producers need to step up and accept.

That is a rant for another time.

This post originally appeared on BlogHer.

Bette Midler on The Finally Friday Freakout

I have a book called “What They Said in 1976, The Yearbook of Spoken Opinion”.  It is a book of quotes from the important and the famous. I need to qualify that because back in 1976, for the most, part you actually had to do something for a period of time to be famous.

Anyway, I’m flipping through the book looking for inspiration and I came across this quote from John Denver:

Art can be a song, a poem a movie. Art for me is to create a space for people to realize themselves. I write a song. The song works. The medium of words music, works. I have said what I wanted to. It’s art if someone listens and something happens, something pops up, little pictures, an image. When that picture comes up and you think, “That’s right! That’s true!” - that is art. It is realizing who you are."

John Denver interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle on August 8, 1976 in Aspen, Colorado.

I think John Denver was on the mark. The songs we truly hold dear communicate a connection, a truth or recognition that we are present.

There are performers who not only deliver a song but in the right environment convey a truth that is universal.  This is one such moment from The Divine Miss M herself, Bette Midler a segment from The Fabulous Bette Midler Show that aired June, 1976. This is a story based medley of Strangers in the Night and Do You Want to Dance.

 

For more information on Bette Midler you can visit her website or her page on Wikipedia. If you are interested in her theatrical escapes then you should visit Bette on the Boards.

In Memory of Gospel of Colonus

3/16/09 Update - Had a rough week, needed a little touch-up. The DVD still rocks the house: love the part where Oedipus is trying to sing his way into Colonus.

10/17/2008 Update - Hell must have have froze over because WNET and PBS are releasing the DVD of the Philadelphia performance. By the time you read this I will have pre-ordered my copy from Amazon.com and will be dogging the UPS guy something fierce. Thanks so much to Ivan in Jersey for the head's up.

The following is my original post on the play. Sadly the YouTube link is history but hey, do the right thing and buy the DVD.

PBS Great Performances aired this play twice about 20+ years ago. It was an Off-Broadway play and a recording was made of one of the performances. For those that saw the play it invokes passion. Mr. Morgan Freeman is lyrical to the Nth degree as the Narrator.

Let me repeat this, this is a drama set to music based on the Greek story of Oedipus. It is not a gospel play. But this production had members of the Blind Boys of Alabama, J.J. Farley, Jevetta Steel, Sam Butler, Robert Earl Jones (with that wonderful voice) and a chorus that is just amazing.

In this selection, our man Oedipus has arrived at Colonus. He is petitioning for temporary residency. The locals are hesitant. These are the opening negotiations.



For those of you who have seen any version of the play I'm sorry to tell you that there is no legal DVD or VHS copy available. Even the bootleg action is kinda shaky. Um, not that I would know about that kind of thing.

I don't. Really. I got nothing for you. I checked the Great Performances' web site and in the FAQ they state that due to the cost of paying for clearances for the music and the performers there is no way for them to release it for sale.

PBS has no current plans to re-air the program. And after 20+ years I don't think they are about to budge on this point. Not that it hasn't stopped at bunch of you from asking. Myself included. But seriously, if they want to make some money re-run this at pledge time.

PBS said that a cast album is available on Amazon.com. You can hear other samples from the performance. I'm sure quiet a few folks have it on VHS tape in their closet from the original on air recording. Be very, very nice to those people.

And for the low life SOB that has taken another person's copy and didn't give it back a pox upon your soul.

Other Resources:

• Review of the play at Talkin' Broadway Off-Broadway
• Wikipedia Citation of the Play with a brief description and song list
• IMDB page on the Gospel At Colonus

Musing From the Laundry Mat of Life - Imperfections

I have been struggling to get this out of my head. I had my own perfection issues to deal with.

At the root of the matter is how many messages have I received about my hair, skin, body and profound lack of fashion sense that I have ingested over the course of time.

This is what I have figured out so far and was able to make a small demonstration video of a very big issue. I think if more of us could get a handle of what is being transmitted to our heads and see our true selves we could increase the mental health of this nation by a factor or ten.

This is the 3.79MB Windows Media Version

This is the 3.41MB QuickTime Video

Dove has a new product line that is interesting. Instead of selling anti-aging products lets try selling products that enhance our beauty after we reach a certain age.

Aged women are hardly ever mentioned in advertisements. That would be an admission that there are women who are over 25 years of age. Dove seems to be saying there isn't an expiration date on our attractiveness. http://www.doveproage.com Dove also seems to be saying "we don't care how old you are, we have got products to meet your needs."

I like the idea of the commercial. It is still selling a solution to a non-existent problem but it had more people that looked like me than I've seen in ten years of television.

Aging is not a problem. It is a result of successful living. You either increase in age or you are dead. Now at some point you will be dead anyway but I'm thinking later not sooner.

Much, much later.

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My Green Tambourine - Media Literacy

Media literacy is the ability to figure out what the true message is in an advertisement, news article or television program. It is important to develop the skills to go deeper than the surface communication. This is especially true now with new communication pathways being created and old ones coming under constriction.

The journalism 5W's (Who, What, When, Where and How) are still important. Now you also need to know:

*Who produced the material?
*What is their goal or objective?
*What in it for them and for me?

Two places to ramp up to speed about evaluating the validity of web page and, by extension, other media information is Virtual Salt http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm and the critical thinking article at UCLA at
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical

So here is an overview to start your media literacy juice flowing:

Advertorials are commercials for a product or service dressed up like a news or entertainment report. Companies pay for mention in featuring their products in a positive light. In print, they are a little easier to spot. They have a tiny 3-point type label above the story with the words "advertorial or "advertising supplement". On television, it is much sneaker but there is usually a disclaimer at the beginning and ending of the program. But not always.

Press Releases and Video Press Releases contain news and information from companies and non-profit organizations. In the old days, press releases were directed to reporters and editors who made decisions to cover the story or toss it in the trash can as an advertisement in drag. PR News Wire is a distributor for company public relations news for print, radio, television and the Internet -
http://www.prnewswire.com

Video press releases appear in regular local TV news programs. Here is an example. Various published reports cites test that show a high PCB levels in farm raised Salmon.
http://ottawa.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ot_salmon200
30918 or http://www.ewg.org/reports/farmedPCBs/refs_allfoods.php

Sales of farm raised Salmon start to dive. The industry needs to counter those reports. They create a VPR campaign using a nutritionist and Graham Kerr to dispute the validity of the report and to assure viewers that it is safe to eat farm raised Salmon -
http://www.salmonoftheamericas.com/play_kerr.htm

They also cite the VPR as proof that it is okay to eat Salmon -
http://www.wfga.net/news.asp?id=6527 and at
http://xgen.vitalstream.com/mcasx.asx?media=1843177&package=1817918

Video Press Releases (also known at Video News Releases) are delivered to television stations free of charge. You should know that every local station in the nation runs VPR's. There is no mention on air of the source of the VPR. Some stations use only
the visuals and have local talent read from a supplied script.

Using VPR's doesn't always work to the promoters or TV stations advantage. The Medicare VPR designed to look like an actual news story by the Bush administration. It cause a big ole stink because it was perceived as a propaganda piece -
http://www.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/mar04/215698.asp

Amy Gahran has a good article about the use of VPR's on her blog at http://blog.contentious.com/archives/000144.html and the
Poynter Institute has a little something to say about
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=63074

Advocacy News and Entertainment Media

Now VPR's are risky, there is no guarantee that the local TV station will show them. You could try to hook up with Fox News.com where there is a conservative focus to the news of the day - http://www.foxnews.com but that might not be a good match for your needs.

What do you do when you want your message heard but the existing gatekeepers block your message? You could create your own news network.

On the left hand side is Air America, which is positioning itself as a news and entertainment outlet for the politically left and proud. Mainly found on the AM band (never thought I'd say those words again) or on Satellite Radio XM 167 or Sirius Ch 125. If your city doesn't carry Air America you can download live feeds using Real Player. http://www.airamericaradio.com

Being frustrated with the way their organization is presented in traditional media, The National Rifle Association has created an internet video news channel. NRA News.com focuses attention on gun laws, gun safety, Ted Nugent and the electoral process. You
can view video created by the NRA and get more information about the National Rifle Association - http://www.nranews.com

I bring this up because there is a plan to develop long form advertainment (advertisement-entertainment) films and other products using embedded advertising. The New York Times looks at this growing trend at
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/21/business/media/21adco.html
(Subscription to the NYT web site required).

Know what you are looking at - it isn't always what it seems.