The Trayvon Martin tragedy is a stark reminder that every episode with the potential to grab headlines can be separated into two distinct categories:
1) The Act
2) The Handling of The Situation
At this point, no one is sure of exactly what happened to cause the death of Trayvon Martin. So, the “act” itself is a mystery—and the isolated outcome (in this case, the death of a young man) is irreversible.
What’s abundantly clear is that #2—the Handling of the Situation---has been completely and totally botched by law enforcement. Truly defying belief is that despite the uproar caused by the “non-arrest” of George Zimmerman, there has still been no move to take him into custody-if for nothing else than his own protection.
Fan the flames.
It may be cynical to view such tragedies through the lens of public relations, but the proper handling of this particular powder keg could avert further violence. This elevates mere “public relations” then—to an essential ingredient to keeping the peace. As long as Mr. Zimmerman remains a free man, there is real danger for him, his family and anyone connected to this incident.
The “twin towers” of ambulance chasers for racially charged situations: the Reverends’ Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton—would not be posing for the TV cameras if Mr. Zimmerman had been taken into custody. In fact, most of America wouldn’t even be aware of this tragedy at all.
The latest police video showing Zimmerman arriving at police headquarters—without any apparent injuries—seems to contradict his version of events-namely, that he was bloodied from having his head slammed against the sidewalk in a life or death struggle with Martin.
Conclusive it is not, but the seeming absence of physical injury underscores that fact that something strange indeed has occurred.
Were the alleged perpetrator a celebrity, there might be some justifiable criticism for the police’s failure to arrest him. But, a neighborhood watch guy with no political clout?
For God’s sake, take him in.
Public opinion for both the victim and his killer has swung wildly in every direction. Martin was originally portrayed as a saint—literally martyred on the way home from the store. Zimmerman was cast as a racist with a vendetta.
Another news cycle—and another viewpoint.
Suspended from school, the chinks in Martin’s armor began to show up—and friends of Zimmerman stepped forward with an alternate version of events. Charges of character assassination have been lobbed from both sides.
That the police chief originally involved decided to step down makes little difference if the situation continues to be handled in the same way.
So, how should it have been addressed? My sequence for a better—and safer outcome is as follows:
1) The Act (unfortunately, no change in outcome here)
2) Police arrest Zimmerman pending an investigation
3) Police Chief meets with the media---expresses sadness at the incident and promises the community that a complete and thorough investigation will follow
4) Zimmerman is held in protective custody and protection is extended to his family in the area. Such custody is not termed “protective” to the public
5) If attempts at bail are made, a decision would be made whether or not to charge Zimmerman with—at the least—ignoring instructions NOT to have followed Martin-delivered by the police dispatcher and captured on tape.
A police officer involved in a justifiable shooting is suspended and his weapon is surrendered until a complete investigation is conducted. This is standard procedure, so while officers may not like its parameters, at least they know it is uniformly applied in all situations. The same metric needs to be applied to ANYONE involved in a death, especially when a firearm is used.
Failure to follow the instructions of the police dispatcher to stand down is reason alone to charge this individual with SOMETHING. Unless a strict set of guidelines for neighborhood watchers to adhere to is set forth, a vigilante atmosphere is guaranteed.
What is needed now---late as it may be—is some common sense. Fewer Sharptons and Jacksons. In fact, if the TV cameras would go away, so too would those whose agendas might not be in reality what they are proposed to be.
There is no bringing back Trayvon Martin. The life of George Zimmerman has also been irretrievably altered. He may spend a good chunk of it behind bars. Maybe he deserves it and maybe he doesn’t.
Let’s arrest him and allow the process to begin.
If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@cumulus.com
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Computer Magic In The Movies
Seems like the most popular movies these days fall into the “fantasy” category. The opening of “The Hunger Games” this past weekend is an example. $155 Million dollars for the first weekend of release is not chicken feed! Based on the book of the same name, it falls into the “fantasy” category. “Captain America” is another and so of course are all of the “Harry Potter” movies.
Reality takes a backseat to the flights of imagination that only today’s technology can deliver to the big screen. What’s interesting is that even the most mundane of scenes may be generated by a computer—and you will never know it!
Check out this fascinating video of both ordinary and extraordinary scenes that are virtually created (pardon the pun) on the computer. This is amazing stuff:
http://player.vimeo.com/video/34678075?title=0&
Thanks to good friend Rick Cooper for passing this along. All this time, I though the big epics were creating huge scenes—real sets and real crowds, like they used for movies like “Ben Hur” and “Gone With The Wind”.
Nope.
A nerd with a high-powered computer, graphics card and software can apparently “program” whatever images are needed. This, of course, begs the question:
How in the world do they decide on who wins the Oscar for special effects? It seems like the whole movie is one big running special effect. I am amazed by it all, but confess that a tiny bit of magic has been lost because now, I know.
Will I therefore spend less time getting absorbed in the story and instead try to pick apart what I see, separating the real from the unreal? Most remarkable is the technology distance we have travelled ina relatively short period of time.
Imagine plucking your average early 1930’s movie-goer from their plush seat at the Bijou watching Fred Astaire—and placing them into one of today’s stadium theatres with 3-D, surround sound and ANY one of a thousand films that defy belief. For one thing, you would NOT be looking at the screen. You’d be staring at your time-traveler, soaking in every second of their profound and ongoing amazement.
Now, try to imagine what “movies” will be like in another 50-75 years. My guess is that we will all be IN the movie---not “watching” it per se, but completely immersed-where our vantage point will allow for 360 degree action all around us. It will make 3-D look completely primitive.
I can’t wait!
If you’d like my blog in your e-mail, just let me know: tim.moore@cumulus.com
Reality takes a backseat to the flights of imagination that only today’s technology can deliver to the big screen. What’s interesting is that even the most mundane of scenes may be generated by a computer—and you will never know it!
Check out this fascinating video of both ordinary and extraordinary scenes that are virtually created (pardon the pun) on the computer. This is amazing stuff:
Boardwalk Empire VFX Breakdowns of Season 2 from Brainstorm Digital on Vimeo.
http://player.vimeo.com/video/34678075?title=0&
Thanks to good friend Rick Cooper for passing this along. All this time, I though the big epics were creating huge scenes—real sets and real crowds, like they used for movies like “Ben Hur” and “Gone With The Wind”.
Nope.
A nerd with a high-powered computer, graphics card and software can apparently “program” whatever images are needed. This, of course, begs the question:
How in the world do they decide on who wins the Oscar for special effects? It seems like the whole movie is one big running special effect. I am amazed by it all, but confess that a tiny bit of magic has been lost because now, I know.
Will I therefore spend less time getting absorbed in the story and instead try to pick apart what I see, separating the real from the unreal? Most remarkable is the technology distance we have travelled ina relatively short period of time.
Imagine plucking your average early 1930’s movie-goer from their plush seat at the Bijou watching Fred Astaire—and placing them into one of today’s stadium theatres with 3-D, surround sound and ANY one of a thousand films that defy belief. For one thing, you would NOT be looking at the screen. You’d be staring at your time-traveler, soaking in every second of their profound and ongoing amazement.
Now, try to imagine what “movies” will be like in another 50-75 years. My guess is that we will all be IN the movie---not “watching” it per se, but completely immersed-where our vantage point will allow for 360 degree action all around us. It will make 3-D look completely primitive.
I can’t wait!
If you’d like my blog in your e-mail, just let me know: tim.moore@cumulus.com
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Gingrich = Selfish
I’m no fan of Newt Gingrich to begin with, but his antics in the wake of his drubbing last night in the southern primaries defy belief.
From the start, his Newtness asserted that he alone was the true conservative candidate, that he alone was able to stand up to President Obama in a general election—and that he alone was qualified to become our next President.
Please.
His boastful predictions of a “southern sweep” after his victory in Georgia (his home state) were not apparently shared by voters in Alabama and Mississippi. Rick Santorum, heavily outspent and out-organized by the Romney campaign nonetheless won both contests and is clearly the only one nipping at Mitt’s heels.
After seeing Newt on the campaign trail, his oversize ego and self-righteous attacks on both the President and his Republican rivals have revealed him to be not the patriot he claims. Instead, he is a selfish, self-centered egomaniac whose continued presence in the race confirms this truth.
It never was about America. To Newt, it is, was—and always has been--- all about Newt.
Were Gingrich to gracefully exit and endorse Santorum, it would finally be a horse race between two viable candidates. The delegate gap would narrow considerably. Moreover, voters who, while conservative have voted for Romney out of a sense of “let’s get it over with” inevitability would now have a choice they could confidently believe MIGHT actually turn out to be the nominee.
The math doesn’t favor Santorum, but it is virtually impossible for Newt. If he can’t win the South, he has no hope whatsoever—and he knows it. His rich Vegas financier---clearly endowed with more money than brains---can continue to pour money down the black hole that is Newt, but the House won’t win this bet.
From his entire senior staff quitting on him early in the race to the complete lack of organization of his “campaign” makes it clear that a vote for Newt is like one for Ron Paul—a “statement”, but one with no impact.
Here’s a man who attacks the President for dropping the ball on everything from Iran to the economy—and yet he couldn’t even muster the organization to get his own name on the ballot in his “other” home state of Virginia. If a campaign is truly a microcosm of an Administration, there’s already ample evidence that a Gingrich presidency would be a disaster.
Here’s an example. The rising price of gasoline has given ol’ Newt a political football to toss to the ignorant masses that believe he is smarter than everyone else in the room (which, of course Newt himself agrees with completely). He promises gasoline at $2.50 a gallon, with drilling as the cornerstone. Unfortunately, those in the know say that Mr. Gingrich is full of it.
Experts maintain that the price of gasoline is largely driven by oil speculators—and that these Wall Street traders are largely to blame. Speculation used to be a mechanism utilized by end users to mitigate volatility in the price of commodities. The ratio was about 80-20, with the larger percentage being end users. United Airlines, for instance, might be a speculator for jet fuel to hedge their bets against rising prices. The other twenty percent would be traders.
That percentage has flipped, with about 80 percent of speculators now the traders who make money off this volatility. It’s a profit center.
Of course, the Dodd-Frank legislation that would attempt to regulate this rampant profit-taking on as vital resource as oil is also the same legislation that Gingrich vows to repeal on Day One should he become President.
Alrighty then.
All of the Republicans are accusing the President of “not doing enough”, but tend to go mute when asked exactly what THEY would do. Because the price of oil is, after all, an example of the FREE MARKET AT WORK— anything a President could or would do would represent more “government intrusion” into our lives. No Republican wants to climb into that box.
The industry analysts assert that supply is quite high and demand is relatively low. In fact this year, we have exported more oil than we imported (for the first time in how many years?) So…….DRILLING is not the answer.
Deregulation is not the answer. It is, actually, part of the problem.
But don’t tell that to Newt, because he relies almost totally on what is euphemistically referred to as the “low information voter”.
As former Congressman Alan Grayson remarked: “Newt Gingrich is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person”
If Newt were really smart—and if he REALLY cared about this country, he would get out. To him, the only thing worse than seeing Santorum win the nomination is seeing Romney grab it. Gingrich could go a long way toward insuring that Romney is denied by making his exit.
Maybe he can make a secret deal with Santorum for V.P.
If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@cumulus.com
From the start, his Newtness asserted that he alone was the true conservative candidate, that he alone was able to stand up to President Obama in a general election—and that he alone was qualified to become our next President.
Please.
His boastful predictions of a “southern sweep” after his victory in Georgia (his home state) were not apparently shared by voters in Alabama and Mississippi. Rick Santorum, heavily outspent and out-organized by the Romney campaign nonetheless won both contests and is clearly the only one nipping at Mitt’s heels.
After seeing Newt on the campaign trail, his oversize ego and self-righteous attacks on both the President and his Republican rivals have revealed him to be not the patriot he claims. Instead, he is a selfish, self-centered egomaniac whose continued presence in the race confirms this truth.
It never was about America. To Newt, it is, was—and always has been--- all about Newt.
Were Gingrich to gracefully exit and endorse Santorum, it would finally be a horse race between two viable candidates. The delegate gap would narrow considerably. Moreover, voters who, while conservative have voted for Romney out of a sense of “let’s get it over with” inevitability would now have a choice they could confidently believe MIGHT actually turn out to be the nominee.
The math doesn’t favor Santorum, but it is virtually impossible for Newt. If he can’t win the South, he has no hope whatsoever—and he knows it. His rich Vegas financier---clearly endowed with more money than brains---can continue to pour money down the black hole that is Newt, but the House won’t win this bet.
From his entire senior staff quitting on him early in the race to the complete lack of organization of his “campaign” makes it clear that a vote for Newt is like one for Ron Paul—a “statement”, but one with no impact.
Here’s a man who attacks the President for dropping the ball on everything from Iran to the economy—and yet he couldn’t even muster the organization to get his own name on the ballot in his “other” home state of Virginia. If a campaign is truly a microcosm of an Administration, there’s already ample evidence that a Gingrich presidency would be a disaster.
Here’s an example. The rising price of gasoline has given ol’ Newt a political football to toss to the ignorant masses that believe he is smarter than everyone else in the room (which, of course Newt himself agrees with completely). He promises gasoline at $2.50 a gallon, with drilling as the cornerstone. Unfortunately, those in the know say that Mr. Gingrich is full of it.
Experts maintain that the price of gasoline is largely driven by oil speculators—and that these Wall Street traders are largely to blame. Speculation used to be a mechanism utilized by end users to mitigate volatility in the price of commodities. The ratio was about 80-20, with the larger percentage being end users. United Airlines, for instance, might be a speculator for jet fuel to hedge their bets against rising prices. The other twenty percent would be traders.
That percentage has flipped, with about 80 percent of speculators now the traders who make money off this volatility. It’s a profit center.
Of course, the Dodd-Frank legislation that would attempt to regulate this rampant profit-taking on as vital resource as oil is also the same legislation that Gingrich vows to repeal on Day One should he become President.
Alrighty then.
All of the Republicans are accusing the President of “not doing enough”, but tend to go mute when asked exactly what THEY would do. Because the price of oil is, after all, an example of the FREE MARKET AT WORK— anything a President could or would do would represent more “government intrusion” into our lives. No Republican wants to climb into that box.
The industry analysts assert that supply is quite high and demand is relatively low. In fact this year, we have exported more oil than we imported (for the first time in how many years?) So…….DRILLING is not the answer.
Deregulation is not the answer. It is, actually, part of the problem.
But don’t tell that to Newt, because he relies almost totally on what is euphemistically referred to as the “low information voter”.
As former Congressman Alan Grayson remarked: “Newt Gingrich is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person”
If Newt were really smart—and if he REALLY cared about this country, he would get out. To him, the only thing worse than seeing Santorum win the nomination is seeing Romney grab it. Gingrich could go a long way toward insuring that Romney is denied by making his exit.
Maybe he can make a secret deal with Santorum for V.P.
If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@cumulus.com
Monday, March 5, 2012
David Copperfield Flying? Really?
One of the greatest illusions out there is that of magician David Copperfield flying. It’s not new, but time has done little to diminish its effect. There you sit, astounded that he’s floating in thin air with seemingly NOTHING there to hold him up.
Of course, that’s not the case—and if you’re one of those people who wants to see the trick WITHOUT knowing how he does it, then you should watch only the first video. It is amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QroJfP31hM&feature=related
If you watch carefully, you can actually see the trace of a wire about a minute and fifty four seconds in, but illusions like the rings, the box and flying an audience member around are all explained in the video below. Again, don’t watch this if you’d prefer to retain the aura of “magic”. In other words, it won’t be my fault if you choose to look behind the curtain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD2i4Mn6nio
OK, so THAT’S how he does it!
Frankly, it is still quite amazing—and the grace and apparent ease of his gliding around the stage makes this illusion still one of the best!
Thanks to Rick Cooper for sharing the original video—and sorry if my posting the second one burst your bubble!
If you’d got a video to share or a topic you’d like to see covered, don’t hesitate to let me know!
Also, if you’d like my blog arriving in your e-mail, just drop me a line: tim.moore@cumulus.com
Of course, that’s not the case—and if you’re one of those people who wants to see the trick WITHOUT knowing how he does it, then you should watch only the first video. It is amazing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QroJfP31hM&feature=related
If you watch carefully, you can actually see the trace of a wire about a minute and fifty four seconds in, but illusions like the rings, the box and flying an audience member around are all explained in the video below. Again, don’t watch this if you’d prefer to retain the aura of “magic”. In other words, it won’t be my fault if you choose to look behind the curtain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD2i4Mn6nio
OK, so THAT’S how he does it!
Frankly, it is still quite amazing—and the grace and apparent ease of his gliding around the stage makes this illusion still one of the best!
Thanks to Rick Cooper for sharing the original video—and sorry if my posting the second one burst your bubble!
If you’d got a video to share or a topic you’d like to see covered, don’t hesitate to let me know!
Also, if you’d like my blog arriving in your e-mail, just drop me a line: tim.moore@cumulus.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
