The Susan Boyle Sensation

"I won't be lonely anymore."
-Susan Boyle,
comment on her sudden fame.

By now many of you have heard the singing sensation who became famous globally within a matter of twenty-four hours after appearing on the British reality talent TV show called "Britain's Got Talent". Her singing debut took place on April 11, 2009. She is already loved by so many all over the world. The expectations were nil as far as a great performance based on her appearance. She blew them away. KUDOS!
Take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRC0V-dvNEg
So what if she's 48 years old, has frizzy brown hair and bushy eyebrows. This self-confessed virgin might easily be the next worldwide superstar.

The Susan Boyle Sensation will likely be the study of future Internet College Courses. The news spread so rapidly and everyone around the world was able to watch her sing via "www.YouTube.com" and other streaming video websites.

The other fascination of the week was made by Ashton Kutcher, the actor. He challenged CNN to become the first one on "www.Twitter.com" with over one million followers. Isn't his M.O. (modus operandi) simply to build his fan base? Most actors are lonely people and they wonder what it's like to be a regular person with "real people" in their lives. They always have the notion that someone likes them for their celebrity status. I believe Ashton Kutcher is an amazing marketing guy. Who else would marry a woman old enough to be his mother? That alone has given him much 'eye-opener' power as being 'different'. His wife, Demi Moore, was born in 1962. He was born in 1978. That's a sixteen year difference.


Now that Kutcher won the battle as the winning "Twitterer' with more than one million followers I expect him to now steal Sally Fields' famous Academy Award line:
"You really like me!"

Perhaps Ashton Kutcher is 'lonely', too, in many ways. We are all humans. We are always searching for more out of life.

I confess that I do my own fair share of tweets. I mostly use it as a place to denote the many quotes I read or hear in books, movies, periodicals and songs. I will share a little something else from time to time but I don't feel it's necessary to share the kind of soap I'm showering with this morning or what my plans are for any given moment. Get real!

The bottom line is that it's a wonderful feeling when you find someone that deserves the recognition. This time 'Susan Boyle' is winning the votes.

Twenty-five years ago today:

April 18, 1984, Wednesday

I was wearing my new gray boots that I purchased from HEADLINES, my black 501 jeans and my new jacket that I just purchased yesterday at MACY's. I looked cool. The material things are one thing but I never let 'things' go to my head.

At 9:30AM I called Chris on my first break. I love it when he's home. It's gratifying to know that he still gets excited when I call, too. It's true. I am quite excited when he answers the phone. We talked about the fun we had yesterday at A&W and the 10th Floor Furniture Department of MACY's. It's the 'just plain being together' part that makes it special.
"Barb made another snide remark about you being conceited," Chris secretly revealed.
"Oh, what did she say?" I asked.
"Oh you know when you said MACY's and then added 'M. A. Sees'," Chris said.
"Big deal!" I exclaimed. "So I'm 'stuck up' now.
We both agreed that Barb is a typical damn "wench" who annoys us after a while. I wonder if Chris is planting a seed for me to be against her. I wonder why.

I did mail a postcard to Barb and I wrote a key verse:
Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light.

I send a postcard to Chris, too. I transcribed these words from a female poet:
Men kick friendship around like a football but it doesn't seem to crack.
Women treat it like glass and it goes to pieces.

I wonder how they'll react to the thoughtfulness of my respective postcards. I do appreciate their friendship and hospitality. I like them both. Chris...even more.

After my sperm donation today I learned that my 'throat culture' test was negative. This means I am 'in the clear'.

I ended up getting a haircut today at "Proper Cuts". There was some dense chick there named, Rose, who cut my hair. I would have rather been clipped by James again. The cashier, Mona, gave me the biggest smile one would NOT believe. I guess I really did look good in my new boots and jacket. Ha...or is it just "moi"?

I ate tacos for dinner tonight. I dropped over at SAFEWAY because I have to bring 'treats' for tomorrow's meeting. I bought some stamps for cards I'm sending to Michael Thoennes, Chris & Barb and 'James The Dog'.

DYNASTY was not on television tonight. That's okay. I can live without it.

Chris is a bit bummed out about his friend, Clay. He is not looking forward to his coming up to Arcata to stay for 30 days!
"If I had to choose between Clay's friendship or yours it would definitely be you," Chris confessed.
That made me feel good in a strange sort of way. Chris makes me feel special and wanted. He's great for my morale boosting.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." Those words are still ringing in my ears. It's true for me, too. He means more and more as time goes by.

Helen asked, "When are you coming for dinner?"
"When I'm invited," I replied.
I kept it quiet that Wednesday evenings is one of my "every-other-night" bicycling nights. It's also the Sperm Bank evening.

I am so happy that payday is tomorrow. I want my IRS refund check, too! Money, Money, Money...I want that rug that I saw at MACY's.

This Friday is Good Friday and I may accompany Helen Wong and Barbara Reynolds to the 1 o'clock mass at the local church. God is with me. I know because I feel like a 'Happy Man' (like the 1981 Greg Kihn song).

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The Innovator

He never said “woman”, always “female” because it sounded more scientific.
-Thomas Mann
In his short story,
VISION, written in 1893

Jules Verne was an avid reader of Edgar Allan Poe. Have you ever read ‘Paris in the Twentieth Century’ by Jules Verne? It was written in 1863 but first published only in 1994, about a young man who lives in a technologically advanced, but culturally backwards future. Often referred to as Verne's "lost" novel, the work, set in August, 1960, paints a grim, miserable view of the future. In this book Verne wrote ‘Nothing happens by itself in this world of ours…you must bear in mind contacts.’

This leads me to a most impressive innovator that I have come in contact with in recent years. I consider him a great friend and one that I admire very much. Innovators are successful, sophisticated, take-charge people with high self-esteem. Because they have such abundant resources, they exhibit all three primary motivations in varying degrees. They are change leaders and are the most receptive to new ideas and technologies. Innovators are very active consumers, and their purchases reflect cultivated tastes for upscale, niche products and services.

Image is important to Innovators, not as evidence of status or power but as an expression of their taste, independence, and personality. Innovators are among the established and emerging leaders in business and government, yet they continue to seek challenges. Their lives are characterized by variety. Their possessions and recreation reflect a cultivated taste for the finer things in life.

My innovator friend is Bob Bressler. He is the only one I know to immediately purchase the second generation Amazon Kindle 2.0. The Amazon Kindle is a software and hardware platform for reading electronic books. Bob is also the only person I know to own the Tesla Roadster, the high-performance “pure” electric sports car.

PHOTO: Bob Bressler with his Telsa sports car

Bob is a graduate from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT is known for its strong emphasis on scientific and technological research. Bob became well known in the Computer Networking Industry. He was also a Chief Networking Scientist at Sun Micro Systems from 1994 to 2004.

During a dinner party in wine country in 2008 I met a Cisco Systems executive and I mentioned Bob Bressler and his work at Sun Micro Systems.
“Oh my God, Bressler is a legend in Silicon Valley,” said the Cisco executive. “You know him?”
I had no idea of his legendary status at the time. I learned that prior to Sun Micro Systems, Bob had held executive positions at other networking companies including:
Chief Technology Officer for Network Equipment Technologies
Chief Technology Officer for 3Com
Senior Vice-President of Development & Engineering at BBN Communications.

While at MIT in 1971, Bob wrote a graduate thesis about how computers talk to each other. He got involved in a Department of Defense project called ARPANET, which for all practical purposes became the Internet.

Bob continues to be my ‘Knight in Shining’ Innovator that I continue to admire for all of his brilliance. His love for Science Fiction and the ‘latest inventions’ continue to keep him in the technological loop. I always know I can count on him for advice and counsel when techno-confusion sets in.

Bob and his wife, Stacey, are successful vintners in the Napa Valley, producing a most luscious Cabernet Sauvignon at Bressler Vineyards. Trust me; it’s scientifically tested by the best “supertasters” around.


Twenty-five years ago today:

March 25, 1984, Sunday

Chris Cordellos came over to my pad. We had planned on breakfast but Chris had no appetite. We eventually made it to Arthur's Coffee Shop and I ate an omelet. We continued our Sunday adventure with a visit to Mervyn's in Alameda where I bought Elisa Berney's baby daughter, Stephanie, a gift. Suddenly someone yelled out my name in the store. It was Kevin, a friend of Bill Helbush and Rick Clark and/or an ex to, Dick, a 'gay' skating rink visitor from Concord, CA.
"I live on Regent Street in Alameda now," Kevin said.
We exchanged a few words. What a very nice guy to take the time to chat.

Chris and I returned to my place after a stroll along the beach. We said our 'goodbyes'. When he left my folks stopped by to visit. Soon after I was on my way to Elisa's Birthday party for her daughter. I saw Nickie Kapellas and recalled our one-week eighth grade mini-romance. The wonders of junior high and 'going steady'. I chatted with Bunny (Elisa's sister) and some other chick who is attending Law School. It was eventful but a trite dull.

I stopped at Nadine's house on my way home. She wasn't home. Rejection #1. I left my business card on her door as proof of my visit.

When I returned home I called 'Patty Paisal'. A girl I barely knew in high-school but liked from a distance. My Dad had mentioned that she worked at the local Harbor Bay Isle Bank.
"I have a boyfriend but I'd still like to go out as friends and see," Patty said.
Rejection #1 1/2. Oh well. Feeling depressed I called Pat Shikuzawa and her telephone number was now non-existent. I called a few other people and no one answered...not even mom.

I decided to go for a Sunday drive to the 'Bench & Bar' for a drink. I browsed at a bookstore on Webster Street on my way home. I felt alone and depressed.

When I was home I found a written message from my brother John.
'Chris called and I've gone skiing.'

I started to take a shower when Salima called. She asked if I would stay at work until 5:30PM on Monday and Wednesday. I agreed.

I telephoned Chris and the Coast Guard did not even notice his absence last Saturday. How lucky is that? I will probably be flying up to Arcata this weekend. I was excited.
.

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This Guy Is No "Flake"

There is a great magazine that my Creative Director friend, Arlene Zapata, recommended called 'Fast Company'. She lives in the Chicago vicinity. The magazine is printed on 100% recycled paper. It keeps me abreast of new, up and coming companies that are breaking ground in innovative ways. It has a slant towards Internet-based technology companies. I just love it.
www.fastcompany.com/

In the November 2008 issue there was an article about "Young Flakenstein". He considers himself the 'Darth Vader' of the Internets. I was quite interested in the technological prowess of this fellow. Gary Flake is his actual name. This web geek is hopeful in making MICROSOFT come alive again.

The CEO, Steve Ballmer, of MICROSOFT, has said that MICROSOFT's future lies in ad sales. Gary Flake, 41, is known to experiment with risk. (That reminds me of that classic Cole Porter song I love called "EXPERIMENT").
www.coleporter.org/cd.html

Gary Flake calls himself "Dr. Flakenstein" on his own blog.
www.flakenstein.net/blog

With MICROSOFT's unparalleled reach (more than a billion computer users worldwide) Flake has foreseen collective power. The more people contribute data to a site, he says, the richer it becomes for each user. MICROSOFT has an advantage.

I feel the same way about Flake's belief after reading the 'FAST COMPANY' magazine article. He believes the Internet is becoming a mirror of the physical world.

Flake is a bit of a mad scientist. He spent three years writing a computer science textbook (The Computational Beauty of Nature). I just might pick up a copy of that one! The book supposedly explores the work of thinkers like Sir Isaac Newton and the 5th Century Greek philosopher, Zeno. The text touches on how neurons process information in the brain and the behavior of ants.

Personally, I bought a giant hardcover book on the behavior of ants about ten years ago. I have thumbed through it but have never read it. I felt a sort of connection with Flake after I learned of his research on ants. Too funny.

I am curious to see if this "Flake" will create the new ideal 'Bride of Flakenstein' after his recent Microsoft Live Labs innovation of PHOTOSYNTH.
http://livelabs.com/photosynth/
We seem to have more and more web wizards lurking in the mist.
Stay tuned...

Twenty-five years ago today

December 31, 1983

It was an early start morning. I was immediately cruising in my car with my bicycle to Suzy Miller's apartment on Shoreline Drive. She was still in her bathrobe and ready to take a shower. So I didn't stay long and we didn't talk very much. I took the bike to JOE's BIKE SHOP for the flat tire repair. Gray wasn't working (the fellow I spoke to over the telephone). There was another guy there who was pretty friendly. I instructed him to fix both flat tires.

I drove to my Mom's house and had a quick breakfast. I was hanging out until my folks dropped me off at South Shore Shopping Center. My folks had accepted a New Years Eve party invitation at my moms' sisters' house (Aunt Lillian) in Castro Valley. I walked to JOE's BIKE SHOP and was riding my bicycle by one o'clock. I rode non-stop until four o'clock that afternoon. I stopped for a quick lunch with Sherri (my future sister-in-law) at Orange Julius. We had a nice chat.

I won twenty-dollars on the 49er-Detroit Lion football game. That was a pleasant surprise. The bike ride for the day was A-1, too.

Helen called and told me that her sister, Geneva, and her boyfriend, Derek, would not be joining us tonight. Geneva was sick. Such is life. Helen and I went on our own. We ate forty-five dollars worth at Horatio's. It was a great dinner. We remained at the Hilton until 12:45-1am or so. It wasn't QUAKE-FM 99 radio night but we had a good time dancing anyway. It was fun talking about whatever and whoever.

My resolutions for the 1984 year are:
1. No more credit card usage
2. See fifty-two flicks/movies
3. Exercise regularly
4. Look into the modeling scene and get a portfolio worked out
5. Take an Art class and expand on my interest in the Art world
6. Keep a careful watch on permiscuous gentleman (and "NOT" deal with them).

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