By John Y. Brown III, on Mon May 7, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
Derby brush with celebrities…..
OK…yeah, I went to Derby…and, yeah, I tried spotting the celebs. I saw Fred Willard (who is a great comic I have long admired). I saw three people who seemed to be Brad Pitt but none were. I saw two people who appeared to be Cindi Lauper and one was.
For the past few years I’ve watched “The Real Housewives of….(fill in the blank with a city)” with my wife.
Yes, it was my wife’s idea. But only at first. What I didn’t realize is that watching that show was really just preparation for today’s big moment when I met Vicki Gunvalson, Real Housewife of Orange County.
My good friend John Esham (right) and I approached The OC Real Housewife and found her very very approachable and pleasant.
Of course, this picture with Vicki Gunvalson was really just a ruse for John and I to get our picture taken with authentic Louisville celeb and Unbridled Eve impresario, Tonya York Dees.
By Kristen Soltis, on Mon May 7, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
Having weathered the tense, topsy-turvy contest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney now moves into the next chapter of the 2012 campaign. But how that next chapter reads is yet to be determined.
The departure of Rick Santorum from the race has sparked debate about how much Romney will need to “fire up the base” as he moves forward in order to turn out very conservative voters in November. Yet as voters grow increasingly frustrated with both parties, it is disaffected voters and disappointed independents who will be most decisive in this coming election.
The great news for Romney is that, no matter how you slice the electorate into target groups, the economy and jobs are the top issues on voters’ minds.
This is not an election that will be decided on social or cultural issues.
Despite Democrats’ efforts to turn fundamentally economic and fiscal issues into cultural issue wedges, the election will not hinge on issues like free contraception or funding for Planned Parenthood.
The White House will go to the candidate who voters believe truly has a plan to create jobs and grow the economy.
Read the rest of… Kristen Soltis: One Approach, For Two Audiences
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri May 4, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Tech
In a very important ruling New York judge Gary Brown has concluded that IP addresses are not enough to identify people as copyright infringers. [TorrentFreak]
A new study has found that you are more likely to pick up a computer virus form visiting a website based on a religion than from going to a pornographic website. “’It is interesting to note that websites hosting adult/pornographic content are not in the top five, but ranked tenth,’ Symantec said in the report.” [Raw Story]
Harvard and MIT have joined forces to offer free online education courses that could lead to obtaining a “certificate of mastery.” This is exciting news for anyone even slightly interested in continuing education. With the rising costs of post-secondary education in the US anything that is stamped FREE is automatically worth checking out. [NY Times]
A video game project on the Kickstarter website has been exposed as a scam. This is leading many people to wonder is Kickstarter is doing enough to vet projects before letting the public have access to them. [BBC]
ISPs in the UK have been ordered to block The Pirate Bay website from their users. Here is more info. [Telegraph]
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri May 4, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET
Scientists witness a star being “consumed by a black hole. [latimes.com]
Many people look to gardening as a healthy and green activity. But beware that many garden tools have been found to have dangerous chemicals. [cnn.com]
The early warm weather this year is affecting plants much more than models have predicted. [bbc.co.uk]
Indonesia’s Mangroves are disappearing at an alarming rate, and some are trying to save them. [npr.org]
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri May 4, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
I was remembering today when Al Gore explained that he and Tipper were whom the author of the novel and later hit movie Love Story was based on.
The movie starred a young, dashing and quite handsome Ryan O’Neal and the lovely and endearing Ali McGraw. Gore claimed he was played by Ryan O’Neal.
Not Ali McGraw.
The author later disputed that claim… but that’s beside the point. It’s fun to think that a celluloid couple remind you of you and your spouse.
Anyway, it made me wonder if there was a movie that had characters that reminded my wife and me of each other. Both individually and even the way they related to one another.
I wanted to suggest Love Story but knew it wouldn’t pass muster.
We agreed, however, that the couple in Albert Brooks Lost in America was a pretty close parallel to us.
Albert Brooks is no Ryan O’Neal in the looks department but seems to think more like I do. An advertising exec who wants to drop out of society and repeat a motor home version of Easy Rider. And fails miserably at it.
As for the female lead, Ali McGraw is lovely but Julie Haggerty is lovely, too, and is probably a lot sweeter. And even better, Julie Haggerty’s character doesn’t die at the end of the movie.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri May 4, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET
Junior Seau’s family has officially given the OK for this brain to studied for effects of concussions. It’s the right call by them and seemingly one they were always going to make. There is one absolute fact when it comes to studying concussions: progress can only be made if the research centers continue to have concussion-affected brains to study. Junior Seau knew what he was doing when he shot himself in the chest. [ESPN]
So why is MLS and the sport of soccer having so much recent success? Many factors contribute to this formula. Soccer is no longer just for “hipsters” or people who like to be different in the America sports culture. I have seen this up close with the growth of Kansas City’s soccer franchise Sporting KC. A re-brand from the KC Wizards to Sporting KC, as well as the opening of the state of the art, soccer-specificLivestrong Sporting Park has taking soccer in Kansas City to the next level. This is happening all over the country with the number of soccer-specific stadiums being built. Currently 13 of the 19 MLS franchises have soccer-specific stadiums with one more on the way and one being proposed. This has changed the all-around fan experience and made the in stadium intimacy unlike any other in American sport. Throw in supporter and member sections like the Kansas City Cauldron and you have a recipe for a lively experience at every match. The members section in Kansas City is comparable, if not better than, the bleachers atWrigley Field or the student section at a major college football or basketball game. Brett Bates, a founding member of Sporting KC’s Brookside Elite supporters club believes, “No other sports league in America has the supporters culture that MLS does and that’s what sets it apart. The individuals at the top know how important the average Joe is to building a passionate fan base in the city and region.” Not only is this happening in the Midwest, it is also happening in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle Sounders andPortland Timbers have formed a great rivalry very quickly and their supporters sections are incredible. The Seattle Sounders are number one in MLS merchandise sales by a large margin and their attendance issetting records. Have you seen the Portland Timbers Army sing the national anthem on ESPN?
Chilling isn’t it?
Read the rest of… Jason Grill: Not Your Older Brother’s MLS: Soccer Matters America
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu May 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
The Politics of Pigskin
Sad news broke yesterday as future Hall of Fame, former San Diego Charger Junior Seau is dead due to an apparent suicide. It is being reported that Seau died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest ala Dave Duerson. Seau was 43. [CBS Sports]
Here is more on what Seau’s legacy is already shaping up to be. [Sports Illustrated]
Roger Goodell and the league office have officially doled out the punishments stemming from the Saints’ bounty program. They are harsh, especially for linebacker Jonathan Vilma who is now out for the season, but they are harsh in order to send a message. [ESPN]
Now we can get to the fun of grading the drafts of teams around the league following the draft last week. First is USA Today’s ranking of all 32 teams. [USA Today]
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu May 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
What doth it profit a man to reduceth his cholesterol if he CRS?
That’s my dilemma.
I’m in a tiny minority who respond well to statins (reducing my cholesterol levels) but experience significant memory loss on the flip side.
And it’s true with any statin. I’ve tried about 4 different ones.
My doctor, thinking the memory problems were minor, even suggested it may be worth the payoff.
That reducing cholesterol by 80 points is worth struggling to remember an old phone number or friend’s name you hadn’t seen in years was worth the trade off.
So I tried again.
Within 3 days I was leading a conference call with a client and had my boss and several other colleagues on. Three times within 15 minutes I could not remember my boss’ name.
I told my doc, whose name I was fortunate enough to remember, and he said best to look for alternatives to statins….I agree.
Derby brush with celebrities…..
My good friend John Esham (right) and I approached The OC Real Housewife and found her very very approachable and pleasant.
