While confirmation of the death of Muammar Gaddafi is still pending, there’s no denying he was at least captured and perhaps mortally wounded in the process. The reports of his capture have been confirmed across numerous news outlets, however, his death has not — at this point and time — been officially confirmed as government and media officials are waiting for concrete evidence of his removal.
To further this point, CNN is updating their article page on a live basis, and their latest update, with a time stamp from a few minutes:
[Update 8:56 a.m. ET] Mahmoud Shamman, Libya’s information minister, tells CNN that a press conference will be happening soon about the alleged death of Gadhafi. Shamman said Gadhafi is dead and that is “a great victory” for the Libyan people. CNN’s Dan Rivers spoke to him in Tripoli where crowds are cheering, shooting guns in a celebratory way and honking their horns.
The celebration Rivers speaks of is making its way to YouTube as the citizens who were previously under Gaddafi’s tyrannical rule took to the streets in exaltation, happy to be rid of their despotic leader:
These citizens are also celebrating the capture of Gaddafi’s son, Mo’tassim, which occurred before his father’s downfall.
Al Jazeera’s YouTube channel has some compelling content concerning the perspective of the rebels who were fighting against Gaddafi’s regime, as well as a live feed where Gaddafi’s fate is being discussed. It’s incredibly compelling stuff, all the way around.
Tonight, the Fall Classic resumes as the Texas Rangers and the St Louis Cardinals battle for Major League Baseball supremacy. Naturally, fans of both teams are gearing up for the World Series, and considering the proliferation of sports fans on the Internet, much of these preparations and celebrations are happening online.
Twitter, of course, is one of the primary outlets. Because of the viral celebrity status of the Busch Rally Squirrel and Torty Craig, these two are the dominant voices, at least for St Louis. While there is Texas Rangers stuff, these fans need to step their game up in relation to the squirrel and the tortoise. Speaking of these two fan favorites, they’ve both been quite active as the opening game draws closer:
@BuschSquirrel Busch SquirrelWorld Series Bound means I get to continue my twittering for atleast another week. See you in St Louis Cardinals Nation.2 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto
Meanwhile, Torty is entertaining us with song:
@TortyCraig Torty Craig♫ Cheerin’ crowd, are ya listenin’ ♫ In the stands Buds glisten ♫ A beautiful sight ♫ At Busch tonite ♫ Playin’ in a baseball wonderland ♫16 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@TortyCraig Torty Craig♫ Gone away is the Brewbirds ♫ Here to stay are the Redbirds ♫ We prove experts wrong ♫ As we go along ♫ Playin’ in a baseball wonderland ♫16 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@TortyCraig Torty Craig♫ In the outfield we can play a Berkman ♫ And pretend that he’s a puma ♫ He’ll say: Are we favored? ♫16 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@TortyCraig Torty Craig♫ He’ll say: Are we favored ♫ We’ll say: No mang ♫ But we can win the Series while you’re in town ♫16 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
Clearly, that’s being “sung” to the tune of Winter Wonderland. The World Series as a whole is pretty popular on Twitter as well, with such tidbits like:
@amandarykoff Amanda RykoffFactoid of the day: since 1985, the team with home-field advantage in the World Series is 20-5.1 hour ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto
Which is quite true. Look up the bios for Ron Washington and Tony LaRussa for more on the topics mentioned by The Big Lead. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi decided to be a jerk to Chicago Cubs fans:
Anymore salt you want to rub in those wounds, Kevin? I’m surprised you didn’t invoke Steve Bartman in the process.
As indicated, the chatter from Texas Rangers fans has been fairly muted on Twitter. Thankfully, however, one particular Rangers fan decided to, much like Torty, express herself in song. Let’s hope fan performances don’t determine winners, otherwise, the Rangers could be in trouble:
We will be projecting the game on our big screen, but without corporate sponsors! Commercials will be replaced with other Occupy groups’ livestream! Hopefully we will hear from Occupy Dallas!
Needless to say, at least on conservative pundit — Laura Ingraham — was less-than-impressed, which is quite clear with her belittling response on Facebook:
Seriously? What would be the point of this? The protesters claim they may be doing this for the media attention, but I hardly think camping outside Busch Stadium in St. Louis will garner more attention that slowly taking over downtown Manhattan. Nevertheless, police in St. Louis are preparing for a group of anti-capitalist, anti-personal hygene, pro-dope smoking trust fund babies to camp out at the World Series.
Any other stereotypes you want to throw in there, Laura? Perish the thought of people having a different outlook than your gilded perspective. Of course, it should be noted Ingraham is part of the one percent people are protesting against, something her $15 million a year salary indicates quite nicely.
Of course, there’s the line of thinking that should perhaps question Occupy St Louis’ motivation about rooting for multi-million dollar athletes, but that’s another discussion for another day, apparently.
For the majority of us who will be watching, thankfully, the World Series is about athletic excellence, and not protesting against an invisible monster no one has any idea how to slay. With all of this in mind, who ya got? The Albert Pujols-led Cardinals or the Rangers, who are powered, in large part, by Josh Hamilton? Let us know what you think.
Let me preface this by dispelling any thought that you might have that I know anything about the quantum physics that makes all of this possible:
I don’t know anything about the Quantum physics that makes this possible.
But I do know something amazing when I see it. And this, my friends, kicks ass.
This demonstration video, courtesy of the Tel-Aviv University and the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), has been making the viral rounds today. In saying that, I mean that I’ve seen dozens of social media shares of the video and it has been sitting on the front page of Reddit all day. Once you see it, you’ll see why.
The demonstration is in something called Quantum Levitation, a phenomenon that results from the fact that superconductors and magnets tend to not like each other.
They start with a crystal “wafer” and coat it with a thin layer of a ceramic material called yttrium barium copper oxide. The thing about that material is that it has no awesome properties on its own – but once you cool it to below -185 degrees Celsius, it becomes a superconductor. So they drop it in liquid nitrogen and there you have it. Here’s where I’ll let the real scientists take over:
Superconductivity and magnetic field do not like each other. When possible, the superconductor will expel all the magnetic field from inside. This is the Meissner effect. In our case, since the superconductor is extremely thin, the magnetic field DOES penetrates. However, it does that in discrete quantities (this is quantum physics after all! ) called flux tubes.
Inside each magnetic flux tube superconductivity is locally destroyed. The superconductor will try to keep the magnetic tubes pinned in weak areas (e.g. grain boundaries). Any spatial movement of the superconductor will cause the flux tubes to move. In order to prevent that the superconductor remains “trapped” in midair.
The term they keep using is “locked in space.” And once you see it move and tilt, you’ll see why –
Here’s a little more in-depth demonstration of the levitation. Look for the dual-levitation at the end for full mind-blowing effect:
Courtesy of Geekologie, here’s a video of what looks to be the same technology, implemented into a hoverboard that can support a human being –
Yeah science!
They say that they are “dedicated to making the amazing physics of superconductors accessible and exciting for young adults through the unique and counter-intuitive phenomena of ‘quantum trapping’ and ‘quantum levitation.”
Apparently, one of the main rules of corporate level lawsuits is if you at first don’t get your way, try, try again until you find a judge that agrees with your constant complaining. Just ask Viacom and YouTube, or, well, just Viacom if you want to be specific, because YouTube is not the catalyst for bringing this story back into the public’s eye.
In case you’ve forgotten, when YouTube started its skyrocket ascent, Viacom was displeased with their content being available — for free — on YouTube’s servers, and so, they filed suit to have their content removed. That is an understandable, if not archaic position, one that becomes even more obtuse when you consider YouTube does indeed have a sufficient advertising model in place.
Because, let’s face it, Viacom’s position is all about getting paid when people view their content.
Digression aside, in 2010, a judge ruled that YouTube was given “safe harbor” protection, which essentially means as long as YouTube removes the offending content, it’s not YouTube’s fault if one of their users is responsible for uploading it, which makes perfect sense in the rational world. Unfortunately, that’s not the world Viacom resides in. No, being a corporate juggernaut, Viacom’s concern is for one thing and one thing only: profit.
Viacom wants the panel to declare that the judge made an error when he stated that the safe harbor protection applies to YouTube. According to lawyers from Jenner & Block, YouTube forfeited its right to the safe harbor because it did not make an honest effort to stop the clips from being uploaded and instead focused on growing its online video business at the expense of content owners.
Viacom is also hoping that the influential Second Circuit will provide a precedent that curtails the scope of safe harbors in general. It believes that the 1998 law has become too expansive…
Apparently, Viacom doesn’t know, or doesn’t care about the amount of content that’s uploaded to YouTube on daily basis. Or maybe Viacom thinks YouTube should be capable of seamlessly inspecting every aspect of the 48 hours worth of video that’s uploaded on a minute-by-minute basis, instead of reacting to it after a complaint has been filed.
Or, maybe Viacom just wants some of that YouTube money.
It’s funny, YouTube is a perfectly acceptable platform for Viacom to take advantage of when they release movies trailers, nor do they seem to mind when Internet properties like ClevverTV exploit Viacom properties for pageviews, like so:
The reason I used both of those trailers is because they both belong to Paramount Pictures, one of Viacom’s stronger properties. However, both of these trailers are featured on ClevverTV’s YouTube channel, meaning they get the page views and not Viacom or Paramount.
For what it’s worth, Clevver is a property that aims to keep teens hip and informed, and unless they are owned by Viacom, a distinct possibility, but it’s not indicated anywhere on Clevver’s about pages, Viacom’s stance appears hypocritical.
Apparently, it’s fine to promote their products in the form of trailers and television previews, just don’t upload video from properties Viacom makes money from. It’s also OK if the Clevver brand establishes its popularity via Viacom-owned trailers and other promotional content, however, if they upload a non-promotional clip from MTV’s Teen Wolf, then Viacom wants YouTube to be liable.
Does that make even make sense? To Viacom’s legal team, apparently so. Is it YouTube’s fault if these videos exist, even though no one has apparently filed the appropriate infringement notice?
Perhaps Viacom should be more concerned with policing their properties instead of relying on others to do it for them. If they filed the proper infringement paperwork, it’s safe to say YouTube would remove these offending clips, but instead of doing that, Viacom is once again going the litigious route.
It was a big deal when Sesame Street came to YouTube (it came to Hulu and iTunes at the same time). These online channels provide worldwide access for children everywhere to enjoy Sesame Street content that many of us grown-ups enjoyed when we were young, only on a variety of devices. As the father of a young child who always wants to play with my smartphone, I can certainly appreciate this.
Luckily, we didn’t visit the Sesame Street YouTube channel yesterday, as we may have had to have a conversation I’m not ready to have yet.
The channel was hacked, and the videos of muppets teaching things were replaced by apparently hardcore porn. Classy, hackers. Classy.
According to TheNextWeb, which broke the news, it was about 22 minutes before Google pulled the content. With YouTube being the second largest search engine (as Google often likes to remind us), I’m guessing that was more than enough time for some children to see some stuff.
Last night, the SesameWorkshop Twitter account tweeted out the following:
We apologize for any inconvenience our audience may have experienced today on ourSesame Street YouTube channel. Our channel was compromised and we are presently working with YouTube/Google to restore our original content. We always strive to provide age-appropriate content for our viewers and hope to resolve this problem quickly.
Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley shows a screenshot of what the channel’s profile info was changed to. This includes the user name: Mredxwx. This is a real YouTube user, who has since uploaded this video claiming it was not him:
The hacked profile info also included the message: “WHO DOESN’T LOVE PORN KIDS? RIGHT! EVERYONE LOVES IT! IM MREDXWX AND MY PARTNER MRSUICIDER91 ARE HERE TO BRING YOU MANY NICE CONTENT! PLEASE DON’T LET SESAME STREET TO GET THIS ACCOUNT BACK KIDS 🙁 PLEASE…LET ME AND MRSUICIDER91 HAVE IT AND WE GONNA MAKE ALL THE AMERICA HAPPY!”
According to the @Android Twitter account, we can expect a chocolatey, creamy Ice Cream Sandwich in our near future.
The Android account tweeted for the first time Thursday afternoon, even though the account itself has existed since September 29th. In that short time, they have already amassed over 53,000 followers and their count is growing rapidly. Here’s how they announced themselves to the world:
Their Ice Cream Sandwich tweet confirms what we just learned – that the big Google / Samsung event has been rescheduled for October 19th in Hong Kong. It will broadcast live on Android’s YouTube Channel (at 10 pm EST on October 18th). That event was supposed to go down on October 11th but was postponed out of respect for the late Steve Jobs.
The above link is to a video of the erection of a big Ice Cream Sandwich Android statue at Google headquarters. It joins other statues of previous OS’ like the giant Gingerbread man and the Honeycomb.
Are you excited about Ice Cream Sandwich? Let us know in the comments.
The much-loved and frequently quoted Samuel L. Jackson has officially brought his voice to Twitter, and we should all rejoice.
Here’s a man who doesn’t just say the word motherf**ker, he owns the word. Samuel L. Jackson has graced some of my favorite movies of all time – Pulp Fiction, Menace II Society, Jurassic Park, Jackie Brown – the list could go on. And for that, he deserves a follow.
It appears that quite a few Twitters agree with me, as after just under 24 hours on the service and 11 tweets in, Mr. Jackson has already amassed nearly 90,000 followers. It appears that his particular brand of salty language is a welcome addition to the Twitterverse.
If at first you thought this might be a fake Twitter account, you aren’t alone. But it has already been verified by Twitter.
In honor of Sam joining Twitter, I’ve compiled some of his best and most memorable scenes from the big screen. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that they are most definitely NSFW:
From Pulp Fiction, Jules reacts to Vincent shooting Marvin in the face –
From Jurassic Park, He hates this hacker crap –
From Menace II Society, He just wants his money –
From Jackie Brown, discussing chicks with guns –
From A Time to Kill, yes they deserve to die and he hopes they burn in hell –
From Snakes on a Plane – he really is tired of all the snakes –
From Pulp Fiction, “They speak English in What?” –
From Coming To America, he’s quite the inept McDowell’s robber –
Finally, the final scene of the (only) great Shyamalan movie Unbreakable. Spoiler alert (obviously) –
What’s your favorite clip? Will you follow Samuel L. Jackson on Twitter? Let us know in the comments
Whether or not you agree with the principals of professional sports — grown men being paid exorbitant amounts of money to play a game — you have to admit there’s something pure about the emotion winning teams display, especially when it comes from a team that’s not necessarily used to advancing in the postseason. Take the Milwaukee Brewers, for example. After they eliminated the Arizona Diamondbacks to advance to the NLCS (National League Championship Series) with an opportunity to advance to World Series, the Brewers players were absolutely ecstatic.
This includes the outspoken Nyger Morgan, who provided the game-winning RBI. Needless to say, Morgan was beside himself with excitement, so much so, in fact, his exuberance took a decided turn towards profanity, and some of it was caught by the TBS cameras, without benefit of editing. While I’m completely comfortable with such outbursts, seeing them on live television like that is still a surprise.
Take a look for yourself, thanks to the power of YouTube and its many sport-loving members. The fun starts around the one minute mark:
Now that’s what I call exuberance, but in this day and age, a time when we’ve already been “scarred” by wardrobe malfunctions and other overreaction nonsense, it’s pretty surprising to see Morgan’s exuberance make it past the censors. For those of you asking looking for an apology from Morgan, ask yourself one thing, is it his fault the TBS cameras were in his face while he was enjoying the moment with Brewers fans?
Hardly.
It should be noted that, like most athletes, Morgan has a Twitter account. The difference being, Morgan uses his “TPlush” alter ego. His celebration carried over there, too, but this time, the f-bombs were left out:
Needless to say, Morgan’s exuberance was well received by the Twitter crowd, although, not everyone agreed:
@ChadReuter Chad ReuterT-Plush to Bob Uecker through headphones on radio post-game: “You hear me, bro? F**kin’ A!!” Uecker: “I hear ya, ‘bro’”13 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
But if Bob Uecker agrees, you’ve done something right.
@tonybalogna Tone CaponeI’d like to thank TBS for spending billions in covering the #MLB playoffs and not having any money left for a delay. Nyger Morgan13 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto
Rabbit ears or a valid complaint? It’s obviously not the first time an athlete has been caught on camera expressing themselves beyond a PG-13 rating, but that’s what happens when you want unfiltered access to athletes who put so much effort into their craft, and the success that sometimes comes with it. If you’re wanting a “good game/both teams played hard” response, there’s always the Little League post game handshake.
YouTube has had movies available for a long time, but for quite a while, it was mostly just old stuff that wasn’t too much in demand, but then in May, they announced that they were doubling their movie offerings, and including new releases, which it would charge users for. Essentially, YouTube entered the movie rental business.
Later, they added the service in Canada.
Google announced today that over 1,000 full-length feature films are now available on YouTube in the UK as well.
“We’ve got some cracking films to keep everyone entertained through the upcoming winter months and beyond,” says YouTube Business Product Manager Matteo Vallone. “From blockbusters like The Dark Knight and Reservoir Dogs, to new releases such as Hanna, Fast Five, and Red Riding Hood, and even British classics like Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.”
“There’s always more to explore on YouTube,” Vallone adds. “Many movie pages also feature YouTube Movie Extras with free behind-the-scenes videos, cast interviews, parodies, clips and remixes from YouTube’s unique community of content creators. Over time we’ll also be adding additional videos and features to YouTube Movie Extras so that you can get even more into movies on YouTube.”
According to recent reports, Google is spending about $100 million to develop new original content for YouTube.
Lots of people are sharing their thoughts about Steve Jobs in the wake of his passing, and some websites are also honoring the memory of the former Apple CEO. We’ve already told you about Apple, and Google, YouTube has just added an entire “spotlight” section up on their site entitled Honoring Steve Jobs. They also offer the following statement:
“Visionary, revolutionary, transformative, innovative, pioneering — some of the many words used to describe the incredible life and career of Steve Jobs. Steve – we salute you.”
Along with the statement, they’ve also these four videos:
As is the case with most anticipated pieces of content — be it movies, television shows or music — when the time comes for the desired item to make its debut, the social media networks begin to jump with anticipation. Such is the case American Horror Story, the new show that’s starting its run on the FX Network this evening.
The anticipation for the new show, courtesy of the creators of Glee and Nip/Tuck, is indeed high. So much so, in fact, the show itself is a hopping Twitter trend, and while it’s fallen down the list some, while working on this article, there have been over 600 updates as people are gearing themselves up to hopefully be scared later this evening. Granted, much of this content is of the “Yay, American Horror Story starts tonight, but if you worked for FX and/or the creative team behind the show, you couldn’t help but be pumped from the anticipatory reaction.
Based on that, the premiere episode should have a respectable viewer count. It’s up to the creators, however, to ensure their popularity isn’t of the “flash in the pan” variety.
In order to capitalize on their buzz, the site features a social tab, and embedded within that are links to a tweets page, featuring feedback from Twitter users who use the #ahsfx hashtag. Other links include one to the Social Horror Story page, which shows fans how to keep up with the show on, you guessed it, various social networking platforms.
In case you aren’t sure why the buzz is as high as it is, keep in mind the marketing push the show has been enjoying. Couple that with the viral reaction, and bam, you have the makings of a hit — provided the creative team comes through. Here’s one of the trailers just in case you have no clue about what’s going on:
If that’s piqued your interest and you can’t wait until tonight, there’s also an American Horror Story YouTube page, with even more video for you to consume. As for the reaction, there’s a great deal of “can’t wait,” but there’s also some reviews popping up, and some of these are not quite as high as the current buzz level is:
@televisionary Jace LacobAmerican Horror Story does have some genuine frights, but it’s more the frightening lack of genuine characters, plot, and narrative editing.2 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
Aside from the editorials, the majority of the reaction is, as indicated, of they “yay, it’s finally starting” variety, with a healthy mix of “hey, look, there’s a Twitter trend I can respond to, even though I don’t know what it’s about” posts thrown in for good measure. Oh, yeah, there’s also a American Horror Story drinking game, too.
Hmm. Does something like that take the wind out of your anticipation sails or is this a “critics be damned” type of show? I’ll save my reaction for after I watch it tonight.
It’s safe to say that Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event failed to please a large majority of Apple users, as the internet has been buzzing for the last 24 hours about the iPhone 4S announcement – mainly that it’s not the iPhone 5.
Of course, a name is only a name, but for much of the displeased masses, the fact that the new iPhone is not being called the “5” isn’t the troubling part. Some users seem to think that the iPhone 4S is not a significant update of the iPhone 4 – at least not significant enough to warrant all the hype surrounding the event.
The iPhone 4S is an improvement on the iPhone 4, however. It sports a new A5 chip that basically doubles the phone’s processing speed. Apple has put a much better camera into the 4S and it is now capable of 1080p HD recording. The iPhone 4S will run Siri, an assistant program that will supposedly transcribe text messages, schedule appointments and perform basic web browsing functions – all through the power of your voice.
But it looks exactly the same. It’s not thinner, or teardrop shaped like many expected – and the screen isn’t the 4+ inches that people had hoped.
To be fair, it is the 4S – not the 5. When the 5 rolls around (some analysts say Spring 2012, with LTE capabilities), who is to say that it won’t be the phone of the Apple-lover’s dreams?
But until then, all we are left with is the hate and the humor that comes from all of that hate and frustration on the internet. Here is a wrap-up or sorts of all the internet reaction to the iPhone 4S reveal:
First up is Hitler. Hitler always has something to say about any major event, and the iPhone 4S unveiling is no exception:
Next, Reddit has been cluttered with iPhone reactions –
Finally, here are some of the best Twitter reactions to the announcement –
@TheSixFaces Ashwin ArumugamWould I buy the iPhone 4S? Only if Siri tells me when the iPhone 5 is coming out.3 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@Justin_Stangel Justin StangelApple announced #iPhone4s. Not much different from my current iPhone4. Nothing really that special. Can’t wait to get it15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@DamienFahey Damien FaheyNow that the new iPhone comes with a built-in personal assistant, how will Naomi Campbell throw her phone at it?21 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
As a final note, whenever I see people complaining about technology, whether it be disappointment in an iPhone upgrade or the changes to the Facebook news feed or whatever, I think of this brilliant bit by Louis C.K. Enjoy –
Last month, Sony announced a new campaign called “Long Live Play,” which asked avid PS3 gamers to submit photos of themselves holding their PS3 controllers “in the environment you love to game in.” Players were also asked to submit 30 words or less detailing why they are the ultimate PS3 gamer.
Today, they have announced the fruit of that campaign. The culmination is “Michael,” a two minute advert that, according to Sony, “honors gamers from all walks of life and recognizes [them] for making PlayStation who they are today.”
After weeks of anticipation, I can finally reveal the complete ambition behind Long Live Play. I’m delighted to announce that we’ve painstakingly reviewed each submission and selected a dozen or so die-hard gamers to represent the PlayStation Nation in a brand new Long Live Play campaign that will air on national TV starting October 5th. We think this film provides an insider’s look into what it’s like to be immersed in our universe and why it’s so compelling to game on the PS3.
Full Disclosure: I’m not a PS3 guy. But it doesn’t matter, because this ad is amazing. Check it out –
I’m sure you recognize many of the characters from your favorite games. The PlayStation blog says that the “experience” is loaded with PlayStation easter eggs so it requires repeat viewing. Michael was the chosen gamer that got the salute, but at the end of the clip you will see that the walls and ceiling are adorned with other pictures that were submitted by PS3 gamers.
The ad is simple: You are the hero. Will it help to sell more PS3s? On YouTube user commented “*throws money at Sony* Don’t even give me a PS3 in return, just…take it.”
Who knows if others feel this way. One thing’s for sure – if nothing else, it is definitely a damned fine two minutes of gaming nostalgia.
Were you ready for some football last night? Did you miss hearing Hank Williams Jr start off ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast with is familiar “All My Rowdy Friends” theme song? Did you even notice the song was missing? Has you may have heard, the Williams’ opening bit was pulled by ESPN last night for disparaging comments the singer made about President Obama on an episode of “Fox and Friends.”
The comments in question compared President Obama to Adolph Hitler, something ESPN clearly disapproved of, and so, they removed Williams’ opening. The Worldwide Leader even released a statement confirming their decision:
“While Hank Williams, Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize that he is closely linked to our company through the open to Monday Night Football. We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight’s telecast.”
As for the comments in question, someone captured the “Fox and Friends” segment and posted it to YouTube, where the video has already surpassed 700,000 views, even though it’s been live for less than 24 hours:
The story quickly made the football blogs, as well as the social media outlets. On Twitter, the subject is still part of the current batch of Twitter trends, and the reaction is about what you’d expect. Before that, however, did ESPN overstep their boundaries by nixing the opening or is it their right as a company to make such programming adjustments when a affiliated personality potentially offends? Considering the company has already gone through its Rush Limbaugh stage, ultimately parting ways with the outspoken host for statements made about Donovan McNabb.
So maybe this level of consistency I referred to isn’t so consistent after all.
Nevertheless, Hank Williams Jr. is the latest “victim” of ESPN’s politically correct agenda — when it suits them, apparently — and much of the speculation is focused on whether or not Williams’ song will be heard again. Considering Williams’ response, it sounds like the words of a man resigned to his fate, even though the response was prepared by a publicist:
Williams issued a statement through his publicist, saying: “Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme — but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me — how ludicrous that pairing was. They’re polar opposites and it made no sense. They don’t see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the president.”
So did Williams mean to compare Obama to Hitler or not? Seeing how his statement reads like a “taken out of context” reply, who knows? As indicated, the subject is a pretty popular Twitter trend right now, and while there are a lot of responses to the story, a few of them come from established personalities like Scott Ian and Richard Roeper.
@Scott_Ian Scott IanHank Williams Jr,a man utterly incapable of a non-retarded thought makes news for just being good ‘ol Hank. Are you ready for some GENOCIDE!13 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto
Interestingly enough, it takes a person of color to inject a little common sense into a conversation that we probably wouldn’t be having if President Obama wasn’t himself a person of color:
@roywoodjr Jimmy DirtbagYa’ll mad cuz Hank Williams Jr dont like Obama? You know how many of your favorite entertainers dont share your opinion? #Pointless11 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
That, however, does not represent the majority of the Twitter feedback, which hammered Williams for his “Fox and Friends” appearance:
@mrtimlong Tim LongComparing Obama to Hitler is almost as crazy as comparing Hank Williams Jr to his much, much more talented father.15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
@jbigss1965 Jason Biggs@AmandaMarcotte Hank Williams Jr sez working-class ppl r “hurting” yet he supports the very policies & candidates that have caused the pain.45 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto
As of this article’s posting, Speaker Boehner still hasn’t responded Williams’ statements, nor the tweets aimed his direction. Speaking of politics, apparently, Williams is thinking of a bid for the Tennessee senate. Will his haberdashery choice come back to haunt him?
For those of you who missed Williams’ opening song during the Tampa Bay/Indianapolis game last night, here a couple of videos to tide you over, including a behind the scenes look:
What do you think? Have we seen the last of ole Hank on ESPN or was this just a one-time punishment?
In case you haven’t been keeping up, Google confirmed late last week that it launched a new Panda update earlier last week. You can follow our previous coverage here.
Recent data from SearchMetrics indicates that a couple of Google sites – YouTube and Android.com – were among the top winners of search visibility from the update. The timing of this is interesting, considering recent Senate discussions regarding whether or not Google favors its own content. We asked Google for comment on this, and a spokesperson for the company gave us the following statement:
“Our intent is to rank web search results in order to deliver the most relevant answers to users. Each change we make goes through a process of rigorous scientific testing, and if we don’t believe that a change will help users, we won’t launch the change. In particular, last week’s Panda change was a result of bringing more data into our algorithms.”
The Panda update hasn’t even been much of a focus in the Senate discussion. It’s been more about Google’s placement of content from properties like Google Places, Maps, etc.
Aaron Wall at SEOBook uploaded a cartoon, having a little fun with Google on the subject:
This is not the first time Google sites have gained search visibility from Panda. In April, YouTube, Google.com, Google.co.uk, Blogspot.com and Android.com were all named among the top winners (also from SearchMetrics data), though to be fair, a handful of Google’s competitors also saw gains.
Paul Edmondson, CEO of HubPages, which was actually able to count itself among the winners this time around after being previously victimized, has talked extensively in the past about how YouTube has seemed to get a pass in areas where others (like HubPages) have been penalized.
In May, he wrote a guest post for TechCrunch, where he said, “One presumes Google isn’t treating its own affiliated sites differently than any other site, but YouTube’s open publishing environment makes low-quality content as prevalent as on any other moderated open publishing platform. Google shows over 13 million indexed videos on YouTube for lose weight (known spammy area) and over 10 million for forex (another spammy area). Apparently, Google’s Panda update has been punitive only to platforms other than Google’s.”
Google seemed to inadvertently back up Edmondson’s comments when YouTube shared the stat: 30% of all videos account for 99% of views. That doesn’t mean that 30% are spammy, but it does say something about what people actually watch on YouTube.
AMC’s hit zombie series The Walking Dead returns in October and I must say that I’m pretty excited. “Pretty,” because a.) I wasn’t too thrilled with the way the first season ended, although I understand that it was a shortened season and they had to make do, and b.) I’m way too enthralled in the final episodes of Breaking Bad to even think about another TV show right now.
But as soon as Breaking Bad wraps up for the season, I’ll be all-the-way thrilled. Zombie survival scenarios just continue to amuse me, no matter how many I watch or read.
If you are a big Walking Dead fan, you’ll be happy to know that AMC has produced a series of webisodes set to launch two weeks before the season 2 premiere.
According to AMC, the webisodes will tell the story of Hannah, the poor, crawling half-zombie that Rick kills out of pity at the end of the pilot episode. From their blog –
The webisodes will give fans the opportunity to explore the back story of Hannah (Lilli Birdsell), better known as “Bicycle Girl,” the infamous zombie from Season 1, who was shot by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in the pilot episode and who is one of the most celebrated “walkers” from last season. Fans will learn about Hannah’s life before the apocalypse, her struggle to survive and protect her family as the world begins to fall apart, and her ultimate demise into zombie-hood.
The web series will consists of 6 episodes that will all be available at the same time. They will launch on October 3rd at 2 pm EST.
To get you excited, here’s the latest trailer for the upcoming season 2 –
And just for fun, here’s one of the best scenes from season 1. You know how to fool a zombie, right? If you don’t, you’ll know after this (gross as hell) clip –
Season 2 will debut on October 16th at 9 pm EST with a 90-minute episode. Unfortunately, it will be split up into two parts – 6 more episodes following the premiere and then a break, followed by 6 episodes beginning on February 12th.
I have to say this is the first time I’ve seen this happen, and I’ve spent a lot of time on YouTube since I’ve been writing for WebProNews. I’ve had random videos not work, but right now, nothing is working.
The home page is coming up, but when I try to go to a video page, I get the message pictured above or just “Http/1.1 Service Unavailable”.
And it’s not just for us. Here are some complaints from Twitter:
@HOOPmag HOOP MagazineWow, YouTube is down right now. It’s the equivalent of the cable going out from 20 years ago.1 minute ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
@MrNwaezeapu Nnamdi Nwaezeapuits so ridiculous how now that youtube is down i have no idea where to go to watch videos.2 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto
I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come as YouTube becomes a more important player in home entertainment. I wonder how many movie rentals and live streams are being interrupted right now.
It does seem to be working for some people:
@EmWyllie Em WyllieApparently YouTube is down for some people? I’ve been getting errors here or there, but I can still use it…5 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto
If you learn one thing from this video, it’s that Don Draper is a much better pitchman than the notoriously awkward Mark Zuckerberg. Maybe if Zuck put on a slick 60s suit and started chain smoking Lucky Strikes during Facebook events…
Adapted from the hit AMC show Mad Men, this viral vid shows Don Draper making an emotional pitch – for Facebook’s new timeline feature. The Timeline has been receiving a lot of buzz since Zuckerberg announced it at this year’s f8 developers conference.
Timeline will allow users to put their entire lives on the site. Zuckerberg says that you can “tell the whole story of your life on a single page.” You’ll be able to see pictures, events, statuses, and much more basically from your birth up to present time. Facebook thinks that it will revolutionize social sharing. This extremely well-done video shows exactly how Facebook should pitch their new feature (from user EricLeist) –
In the original Mad Men episode, that scene it taken from a pitch that Don Draper makes for the Carousel, a new slide projector from Kodak. The main draw, he argues, is nostalgia.
Is that the selling point of Facebook’s new Timeline? Nostalgia? It sure seems like it. People are already giddy for the ability to track everything they’ve done (most importantly, with photos). Your whole life – all your relationships (good and bad), the birth of your child, the trips with friends, your new house, your first real job – emotional, right?
For Facebook, they get a ton of new information about people and ad opportunities out of the Timeline. But for users, it could be one of the best things to hit social media in a long time. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Watch the original Mad Men clip off which the mash-up is based here.
On Tuesday, CBS announced that the legendary Andy Rooney would be making his last regular appearance on 60 Minutes this upcoming Sunday. Rooney, who is now 92, has spent 33 years with the venerable newsmagazine.
Rooney has held the time slot at the end of 60 Minutes since 1979. There, he has made a name for himself with his musings on life and the changing times. He is known by many for his sometimes strange delivery and odd choice of topics.
And while some of his rants have seemed ridiculous over the years, Rooney is a powerful figure in American journalism. He has been producing TV essays since 1964 and has written 16 books in his career. He has also won four Emmy awards and various Writers Guild awards.
But to most, he will always be remembered as the Andy Rooney of the last two minutes of 60 Minutes. And while occupying that time slot, Rooney has given us some real masterpiece rants.
I’ve decided to compile a Greatest Hits playlist with the help of YouTube – in no particular order.
Andy Rooney doesn’t know who Lady Gaga is –
Andy Rooney hates Bill Gates and Windows –
Andy Rooney can sleep everywhere –
Andy Rooney is a “know-nothing boob” who hates modern art –
Andy Rooney on Christmas catalogs (one of my favorites) –
Andy Rooney Hates Numbers –
Andy Rooney Talks Tools (staple removers are better than staples) –
Remember that breathtaking reverse-action trailer for the zombie survival game Dead Island? It looks like it’s going to be the basis for an upcoming film from Lionsgate studios.
The films was discussed back in February when the now-famous trailer was revealed, but it lost traction. Today’s official announcement comes directly from Lionsgate.
Like the trailer that will serve as its primary creative inspiration, the film DEAD ISLAND will be an innovation of the zombie genre because of its focus on human emotion, family ties and non-linear storytelling.
I guess it’s refreshing to see a studio come out and just say that a trailer will serve as the primary inspiration for the film. It might be the first time a film was developed based on a three minute trailer, though.
The game itself was released back on September 6th to pretty universal acclaim. It’s a first person “shooter” with RPG elements like an experience system and weapons upgrading. The game relies heavily on melee weapons as opposed to guns and is fairly open-world in its progression.
The film wants to tell a “human” zombie story in a non-linear fashion, just like the trailer. Half of the official release today is spent praising the 3 minute reveal trailer –
Told in a stark, non-linear fashion, the wrenching trailer captured worldwide fan attention and unanimous critical praise upon its debut, receiving over one million hits in its first 24 hours online, and nearly 10 million views by two days after its debut. Wired Magazine, College Humor and G4TV all called it the best video game trailer of all time, with G4TV adding “The Dead Island trailer is the best trailer I have ever seen in my life. The best video game trailer. The best movie trailer. The best anything trailer.” The trailer went on to win the Golden Lion in Cannes at the International Festival of Creativity, the advertising industry’s highest honor, and it was featured by Adweek on their annual list of the World’s Best Commercials.
But it will still be a zombie film, even with the focus on “human emotions.” If the game itself is any indication, we will see our fair share of decapitations and spilling of entrails.
To be fair, that trailer is an amazing piece of art. And trust me, studios have relied on far thinner sources of inspiration for feature films.
The producer attached to the project, Sean Daniel, produced films like Tombstone and Dazed and Confused.
Alas, I get to embed the trailer in question –
What do you think? Could Dead Island be the next great zombie flick? The Memento of the zombie genre? Let us know in the comments.
Earlier this year, rumors came out that YouTube was gearing up for a redesign, which would highlight sets of channels around various topics to provide a more TV-like experience. The sources of these rumors were “people familiar with the matter,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal, who said at the time, that YouTube was looking to introduce 20 or so “premium channels” that would feature 5 to 10 hours of professionally-produced programming a week.
It appears that such a scenario may be getting closer to reality, though now the number is a little lower, as the Journal is saying (once again, according to “people familiar with the matter”) that YouTube is finalizing contracts for its first over over a dozen channels.
Along with new 3D conversion and editing tools, YouTube announced last week that it was removing the video time limit for verified accounts. Before, the limit was 15 minutes, but now, if you meet the company’s criteria, you can provide longer content (complete with a new resumable uploads feature). More longer-form content, sounds like a good way to get more out of such a channel selection offering.
Google has also been said to be a suitor for a possible Hulu sale, though recent reports indicate that the sale itself is in jeopardy.
YouTube also greatly expanded its movie offerings this year, adding new release rental into the mix. That along with various live streams of events, including popular concerts, and these new channels really drive home the point that Google is serious about making YouTube a serious media force, and not just a big (really, really big) collection of cat videos and other user-generated content. They want YouTube to compete with your cable and satellite providers.
They certainly have a lot broader selection of content already.
When YouTube celebrated its sixth birthday earlier this year, it said that it exceeded over 48 hours worth of video uploaded per minute (a 100% year-over-year increase). They also said they were getting 3 billion daily views to go along with that.
