Like a Star

"Like A Star"

I believe that song is the best love song ever made. It beautifully relays the good and bad that comes with love.

The past week has been a difficult one. The song has new and poignant meaning. It is a song about the love of a wife to a husband, a person that meant everything. Instead of the song being a constant reminder, it now serves as a testament to what once was. While the love remains, we now deal with what can only be described as completely unfair and heartbreaking.

I encourage you to listen to the lyrics.

Thank you to all who have reached out during this time.

~Justin

3/18/08 - A More Perfect Union

"The relationship may never be perfect, but it can always be perfected..."

- Barack Obama

3/18/08
I believe the speech given today was profound. Unfortunately, I was at home sick this morning, but I was able to watch the speech in its ntirity. I believe it was exceptionally crafted and delivered. I believe it is doing exactly what it was meant to do. People are talking.

People are talking about the obvious - the response to the comments made by his pastor. Responsible coverage is spending time with influential Black minds and talking about the issue at large. The issue that race is still an issue. Watching CNN tonight, I saw that it is being talked about. That, at the very least, is a step in the right direction. At this juncture, it is not taboo to bring it up, not today - 3/18/08. Today, we can discuss it, and let people know that things are not perfect yet. There is still work that needs to be done. Several individuals I heard today said they are amazed that even with the progress we have made, that this very same issue still needs to be discussed. It should not be surprising, but it shows Obama's point that it isn't being talked about. I truly believe that a united country is one that can make significant progress on all fronts. This includes race, health care, education and all other major issues that must be worked through. However, how can we do this if race still divides? How can we do this if politics still divides? The word politics itself implies divisions, or poles. Not to say that there won't be differences, but we do not need to move forward under the direction of division. Why not move forward as one people and work out the differences as we move along?

Amalgamation
As Obama said, the United States is greater than the sum of its parts. As one people, we can move forward toward progress on all fronts.

The speech was exceptional. If you have not seen it in its entirety, I suggest you take some time to view it.
View it Here

~JL

Whois Hulu???

I just discovered a site called Hulu, and it is one of the most impressive things I have seen this year. It is a site that offers video content for free. It is a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp. (owner of FOX). The assumption is that the business itself is currently worth $1 billion. However, at first I could not understand how it intends to make money.

Getting site traffic is always a precursor in being able to generate funds from a site. This site will have no problem generating traffic. Some sort of advertising would need to be introduced. I then learned that the TV shows have commercials, thus implying that this is the main source of revenue. Is this the beginning of a new age television? On Demand programming... anywhere?

It seems a little too good to be true. I began to think of the business implications of this. Recently, Apple and NBC could not come to terms on content pricing (as I understand it). NBC withdrew all its content from the iTunes store. This now looks to be NBC's way of delivering content, and capitalizing on its content - through traditional advertising, instead of charging for the content. Very interesting concept. I honestly did not expect it from them. GE (NBC's parent company) had this in the works a long time ago, as I recall an interview with Jeff Immelt (GE CEO) on Charlie Rose about how he believes content delivery needs to change for today's world. I think this was a step in the right direction.

On to more important matters.... I am the owner of an iPhone. I think this is a defensive play against Apple's road to media dominance. Apple was capitalizing on media that it doesn't produce. The media producers should capitalize on their media... and I think this is where Hulu comes from, and why NBC pulled from the iTunes store. What worries me is that this is going to end up being incompatible with Apple products - when this is exactly what the iPhone needs to have. I believe Hulu was developed to have Apple need them (GE and FOX), instead of the other way around. Very interesting, but still, the iPhone needs to be able to use Hulu.






These need to come together...

~JL

Oklahoma City

Recently came back from a 3 day Oklahoma City trip. It was interesting. I visited the Oklahoma City Memorial site for the first time. It was the first time I realized the magnitude of what really happened that day.

Aside from the sombering moments at the memorial, and work, Oklahoma City was nice. We spent some time in an area called Bricktown. Possibly due to the great weather, it seemed like an excellent place to buy some property. There were some excellent restaurants in the area including where we ate dinne - the Spaghetti Warehouse.

I had my first experience on a Segway. It is surprisingly well designed, and is definitely an experience. You get used to it quickly, and it does not take long for you to want one. At $4700, you end up not wanting it that much...

~JL

Movie Legends

This movie is shortly coming out on DVD. I have to admit that it is definitely my favorite movie of 2007. Never before have I been on the edge of my seat and going through every emotion of the main actor. Will Smith did an excellent job.

I've made the argument before that movies are getting better. The acting is one important aspect, but the imagery and blending of CGI is now at the point where it is very difficult to tell the difference between what is real and what is computer generated.

Will Smith deserves an Oscar for this movie, and should be credited for the success that it was in theaters, and will be on DVD. When asked about whether racism still exists in Hollywood, Jada Pinkett responded that when it comes to Will Smith, executives don't see Black or White... they only see Green.

When I was home in NY for Christmas, I took the family to see this in IMAX. It was absolutely amazing. I almost can't imagine the movie watching experience getting better than that, until I did some research on what is happening with 3D.

There is speculation that the next big thing for movies will be 3D. Some recent children films are including 3D effects. The major downside of course is that glasses are still required. But, i have seen first hand that there are TVs that generate 3D without the use of glasses. I think it is something that needs to be seen to believe, and the technology itself is something to follow.

There was an extended preview for The Dark Knight when I went to see I am Legend in IMAX. I think that will be an amazing movie, and certainly worth seeing in IMAX. I am definitely looking forward to it.

Time for Change

I have been following the primary process very closely. Admittedly and understandably, it has been captivating. I think it says a great deal that we have candidates able to command this sort of attention to the process. At the time of this writing, there is a 100 delegate difference between the Democratic candidates, with Barack Obama in the lead. There is still debate on the best course of action for Florida and Michagan voters. There are questions of a joint ticket.

Only time will tell what happens. I believe we are witnessing and living through truly historic events. I am seeing events unfold that I did not believe I would see in my own lifetime. I am ready for change.

~JL