Not a lot of time today, but here is what caught my attention –
>>Another Democratic race-baiting ploy goes unnoticed. [Link]
>>Contrary to what the media has been suggesting, the voters that were polled recently want the Clinton/Obama race to continue. [Link]
(Jerry Day’s analysis makes a very strong case that the media is driving this campaign, not voter interests.)
>>But Michelle already said “No!”
Majority of Dems want Clinton to be V.P.
>>The movie “Iron Man” was neat, but if it wasn’t for my kids I would have waited until the DVD. The register at the ticket booth was saying $23, but my mind was thinking $15 for the DVD in Wal-Mart.
>>Just wrong!
911 Operator: ‘I Don’t Give a S***t’
(The reporter for this story really worked up the drama factor with this woman–see video in story)
>>Once McCain starts talking about ceasing our dependency on oil from the middle east by drilling in our own backyard, I’ll take him serious. In the meantime, here is his master plan. [Link]
>>One of my favorite shows is Discovery Science Channel’s “Rise of the Video Game”. Last night they talked about the game Second Life. Personally, it was the first time for me hearing about it, but that is not the case for millions who immerse themselves in this virtual world on a daily basis. At first, I thought is was just a knock-off of The Sims. But as the documentary explained, it is a place where real commerce is taking place. Companies like American Apparel, Sears, Circuit City, Dell, etc. have already staked their claim in this virtual universe. Players are able to buy and sell virtual real estate and make a real profit. One guy actually took a $100k loan on his house, used it in Second Life and was able to make it all back in 8 months.
I guess the main selling point of Second Life is the fact that you can be whatever you want to be. In other words, if you are an overweight, 5′ 6″, balding man, you can present yourself in this virtual world as a 6′ 4″ brown-skinned man with muscles. Add-ons and skins can be purchased from other participants who know how to create them. I think the commerce part is what really intrigues me about this whole thing.
Me? I deal with enough knuckleheads in the real world to have the time to deal with them in the virtual universe. The whole thing sounds like a scary science fiction novel becoming real life. In the meantime, here is a short intro video to the world of Second Life.
I got a feeling that I will be writing about this game again in the future.
>>Worth the read: “Cigarette Bill Treats Menthol With Leniency” NY Times
Here’s an excerpt:
Some public health experts are questioning why menthol, the most widely used cigarette flavoring and the most popular cigarette choice of African-American smokers, is receiving special protection as Congress tries to regulate tobacco for the first time.
The legislation, which would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to oversee tobacco products, would try to reduce smoking’s allure to young people by banning most flavored cigarettes, including clove and cinnamon.
But those new strictures would exempt menthol — even though menthol masks the harsh taste of cigarettes for beginners and may make it harder for the addicted to kick the smoking habit. For years, public health authorities have worried that menthol might be a factor in high cancer rates in African-Americans.
The reason menthol is seen as politically off limits, despite those concerns, is that mentholated brands are so crucial to the American cigarette industry. They make up more than one-fourth of the $70 billion American cigarette market and are becoming increasingly important to the industry leader, Philip Morris USA, without whose lobbying support the legislation might have no chance of passage.
[...]
Even the head of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, a nonprofit group that has been adamantly against menthol, acknowledges that the ingredient needed to be off the bargaining table — for now — because he does not want to imperil the bill’s chances.
“The bottom line is we want the legislation,†said William S. Robinson, the group’s executive director. “But we want to reserve the right to address this issue at some critical point because of the percentage of people of African descent who use mentholated products.†(more…)
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I will have to revisit this article at a later date. Interesting!
>>Here are the topics for tomorrow’s Black Blogger’s segment on NPR’s News and Notes:
- Al Sharpton’s Tax Problems
- MLK Tribute Statue is Too “Confrontational”
- first white man named Valedictorian at Morehouse
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