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• « Tuesday « March 27, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03272007}
     2. {12:15:09 PM}

     content

     1. A Fresh Take on Islamic Finance

         

        (BusinessWeek.com)

         
     2. The basic principle behind Islamic banking -- which is based on Shariah, or Koranic law -- is that people shouldn't be charged interest on loans or be paid interest on investments.
        Wow! This is eye-opening and incredibly fascinating to me: a banking system that doesn't charge interest. So, one from a capitalist system has to ask the obvious question: how, then, do banks make money? I'm ignorant here, but perhaps this line in the article gives a clue: "Islamic credit cards that have users essentially borrowing money from themselves." Borrow from yourself. Now, when you think about a, well, regular (i.e.Western/capitalist) credit card, isn't that how it should work? You buy something you can't afford with cash today, and you pay it off over time. But, of course, in the West, what happens is that the middlemen -- greedy banks -- hit you with loan-shark interest rates so high that it sometimes becomes impossible to pay off. In the Western system, the banks are nothing but mercenary, and yet all they're doing is holding other people's money. I mean, really, what other value does a Western bank add to anything? Whatever it is, it's surely not equal to what they extract from every transaction; they're bloodsuckers. More digging on this novel (to me) banking topic will be required.

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 12:15:09 PM
     3. The basic principle behind Islamic banking — which is based on Shariah, or Koranic law — is that people shouldn't be charged interest on loans or be paid interest on investments...."
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. finance and investment
     3. business

     type

  2. datetime

     1. {03272007}
     2. {09:06:57 AM}

     content

     1. Eddie Griffin wrecks rare $1.5 million Ferrari

         

        (CNN.com)

         
     2. Quote of the Day: "Undercover Brother's good at karate and all the rest of that, but the brother can't drive."
        In the opening scene of Undercover Brother, easily the funniest movie of this decade, Eddie Griffin, in the lead role, is driving around in this fly, pimped-out Caddie, sipping a big Gulp; suddenly, he swerves to avoid hitting a passerby, goes into this balletic, slow-motion, multiple spin turn, slides into a parking space, and cooly utters, "Ain't no thang." No one hurt, and not a drop of his beverage spilled. Well, apparently, art doesn't imitate life. There's a reason why they hire stunt drivers. (Watch the video clip.) BTW, I'm making light of this because Griffin is alright, but the car is totalled.

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 09:06:57 AM
     3. Quote of the Day: "Undercover Brother's good at karate and all the rest of that, but the brother can't drive."..."
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. movies and films
     3. entertainment

     type

   

• « Thursday « March 22, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03222007}
     2. {09:16:11 PM}

     content

     1. Review: 300

         

        (Rotten Tomatoes)

         
     2. 1. 
        2. 
        3. 
        4. 
        5. 
        6. [ c|b ].rating: 2.75/5 stars (55%)
     3. Ticket: $10.25. Food - 1 Dasani bottled water, 1 large bag of popcorn, 2 hot dogs - $18.25. Feeling, after watching this lyric to ultra-violence: Priceless.
        
        Maybe it's me, but when did Hollywood directors forget that the special effects are much better when you wrap a story around them. Or, let me put it another way: there was no one in this movie to really care about. None. Zip. Nada. Sure, the Spartans are being invaded by Xerces and his Persian hordes. But we're never given one clue as to why: A) we should care about the Spartans; and B) why the Persians are so bad for invading in the first place. Just look at current events and consider that with wars, there's always at least two sides to every story. Back to this movie, watching people get beheaded, or gored with arrows and spears is something that starts to get old after, say, 70 or 80 straight minutes. This film is a visual feast, no doubt, but what a poor diet it turns out to be. I want my $30 back.

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 09:16:11 PM
     3. Ticket: $10.25. Food - 1 Dasani bottled water, 1 large bag of popcorn, 2 hot dogs - $18.25. Feeling, after watching this lyric to ultra-violence: Priceless.
        
        Maybe it's me, but when did Hollywood directors forget that the special effects a..."
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. movies and films
     3. entertainment
     4. tags:
     5. 300
     6. box+office
     7. gladiators

     type

   

• « Thursday « March 15, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03152007}
     2. {08:56:38 PM}

     content

     1. Cardinals blast The Cardinal, 78-58 (ESPN.com) It was ugly. It was pathetic. It was a beat-down. Period. They're a young team. What hurts most is that all the pundits who said Stanford didn't deserve an at-large bid to the NCAA Tourney were right.
        08:56:38 PM

     type

   

• « Sunday « March 11, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03112007}
     2. {04:23:16 PM}

     content

     1. Bracketology

         

        (ESPN.com)

         
     2. It's Selection Sunday, the NCAA Men's brackets come out in a few hours and I'm sitting around watching the last few conference championship games, nervous and worried that my Stanford Cardinal (18-12, RPI 65) will be getting their bubble popped. They had some quality wins this year (UCLA, Oregon, Washington State, USC, Virginia, Texas Tech) but they've also had a bunch of tough losses as well, three of them in overtime. The most troubling thing for the young Cardinal team were the home losses to Gonzaga, Air Force, Santa Clara, Cal, and Arizona. Stanford used to be invincible at Maples. There's too many 20-win teams on the bubble with better RPIs above them. Fingers crossed at 2:15 pm PT.
        
        UPDATE: Stanford got in, South Region, No. 11 seed vs. No. 6 Louisville; tough draw, athletic teams always trouble the Card.

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 04:23:16 PM
     3. It's Selection Sunday, the NCAA Men's brackets come out in a few hours and I'm sitting around watching the last few conference championship games, nervous and worried that my Stanford Cardinal (
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. colleges and universities
     3. sports
     4. tags:
     5. stanford
     6. march+madness

     type

   

• « Friday « March 9, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03092007}
     2. {12:50:28 PM}

     content

     1. Naughty Super Bowl Sparks Beefs To FCC (The Smoking Gun) Super Bowl XXX - teh gay Snickers spot and Prince's phallic guitar top beefs to FCC. (I knew I wasn't the only one who saw Prince being, well, Prince. But come on, what did you expect? Prince's music is all about sex! Duh.)
        12:50:28 PM

     type

   

• « Monday « March 5, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03052007}
     2. {12:59:32 AM}

     content

     1. Japanese Mac vs PC Apple Ad

         

        (YouTube)

         
     2. Those wacky folks at Apple, man, they're all over their brand. The same Mac vs. PC ads we love here in the States, are replicated all over the world, with different actors. Here's a UK twist. Brand globally, act(or) locally.

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 12:59:32 AM
     3. Those wacky folks at Apple, man, they're all over their brand. The same Mac vs. PC ads we love here in the States, are replicated all over the world, with different actors. Here's
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. marketing and advertising
     3. technology

     type

   

• « Sunday « March 4, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03042007}
     2. {08:49:31 PM}

     content

     1. The Wizards of Buzz (WSJ.com) A look at some of the hidden influencers deciding what is popular on the Internet. (Here today, gone this afternoon.)
        08:49:31 PM

     type

  2. datetime

     1. {03042007}
     2. {03:12:08 PM}

     content

     1. Dick Vitale by the Numbers

         

        (The Daily Czabe)

         
     2. Steve Czaban: "As you might have heard recently on my radio show, I have become a Billy Packer fan. Not, I'm not madly, head over remote in love with Packer, it's just that compared to the tired lounge act that is Dick Vitale, Packer has become a true breath of fresh air. You need to listen with a note pad to each guy during a game to see what I am talking about. Or maybe you've already figured it out. Vitale does just about ANYTHING to avoid actually breaking down the game you are watching. Oh sure, he'll make 'comments' about the game. He'll make 'statements' about it. But actual ANALYSIS? Nah. Not his gig."
        Fox Sports Radio jock Czaban, like loose-cannon KC Star columnist Jason Whitlock, is one of those 80/20 sports commentators to me: 80% of the time, I think they're just complete and utter boobs -- extremely lucky fellows who have jobs where they can lecture to millions of people on a daily basis, and have no requirement to be correct about anything they say. But the other 20% of the time, their observations are so spot-on that they appear almost brilliant. With March Madness upon us, you know we're going to get an overdose of college hoops on TV in the next month. It's already started, and you know that you'll be looking live at Dicky V's and Billy Packer's bald mugs on your HD monitor non-stop through April. Czabe's comparison of those two is right on the money.

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 03:12:08 PM
     3. Steve Czaban: "As you might have heard recently on my radio show, I have become a Billy Packer fan. Not, I'm not madly, head over remote in love with Packer, it's just that compared to the tired lounge act that is Dick Vitale, Packer has become a true br..."
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. television
     3. sports

     type

  3. datetime

     1. {03042007}
     2. {02:47:47 PM}

     content

     1. Pro Football Grooms 3 Legs, With the Goal of a Billion Eyes

         

        (New York Times)

         
     2. The plan was devised by the N.F.L. to penetrate China, that fertile untapped market, by giving Chinese sports fans someone in a helmet and shoulder pads they can readily connect with.
        There you go: if you get a couple of real Chinese into the NFL, you can guarantee that a nation of 1.5 billion will start to pay attention to this provincial sport called "American Football." Brilliant. Since it would take decades to develop native-born Chinese who really knew the game, carving out roster spots for field goal kickers would be a quick way seed the process.
        
        b/w: black china hand

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 02:47:47 PM
     3. The plan was devised by the N.F.L. to penetrate China, that fertile untapped market, by giving Chinese sports fans someone in a helmet and shoulder pads they can readily connect with...."
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. global economy
     3. sports
     4. tags:
     5. nfl

     type

  4. datetime

     1. {03042007}
     2. {02:02:24 PM}

     content

     1. Black Sheep

         
     2. The violence of the lambs ...with fava beans and a nice chianti. Funniest movie premise I've seen in a while. LOL
        
        b/w: prometheus6

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 02:02:24 PM
     3. The violence of the lambs ...with fava beans and a nice chianti. Funniest movie premise I've seen in a while. LOL..."
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. movies and films
     3. entertainment

     type

  5. datetime

     1. {03042007}
     2. {01:43:50 PM}

     content

     1. Who Reads Blog? Apparently, Almost No One (Mark Evans blog) Fine by me. But shouldn't the question be, since people read less books, magazines, and papers: who reads anything these days? Don't put this all on blogs when society is becoming more illiterate by the second.
        01:43:50 PM

     type

   

• « Friday « March 2, 2007

  1. datetime

     1. {03022007}
     2. {10:01:46 AM}

     content

     1. NFL seeks to trademark 'Big Game' phrase

         

        (Los Angeles Times)

         
     2. But a college football rivalry that began in 1902 might have something to say about that. Stanford and California, whose annual showdown is known as 'Big Game,' have taken initial steps to oppose the trademark through Collegiate Licensing Co[mpany], and have obtained a three-month extension to mull their next move. Whereas the NFL says it merely wants to protect its prized mega-event, and the sponsors who pay millions to legitimately attach their names to it, some observers are accusing the league of arrogance. Said Ted Robinson, Stanford's play-by-play announcer, "How sad that a league as successful as the NFL would try to trademark such an extraordinarily common phrase."
        I agree with Robinson. Corporate arrogance run amok. Eventually, if unchecked, the suits will destroy everything enjoyable about the game. As long as I'm a Stanford alum, which will be, like, forever, I'm going to call the annual football game against Cal, The Big Game. Someone needs to tell the League to chill out. No one is confusing a college football game on the West Coast that occurs every November with the biggest football game on the planet. It's not diluting the brand, and if they think it is, then the League really doesn't understand branding at all.

     metadata

     1. 
     2. 10:01:46 AM
     3. But a college football rivalry that began in 1902 might have something to say about that. Stanford and California, whose annual showdown is known as 'Big Game,' have taken initial steps to oppose the trademark through Collegiate Licensing Co[mpany], and..."
     4. 

     categories

     1. keywords:
     2. marketing and advertising
     3. sports
     4. tags:
     5. nfl
     6. stanford
     7. college
     8. football

     type

   

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