I've started this blog as an open forum to discuss current topics in the news in a "Point - Counter Point" manner. By using this method of debate, I seek to encourage all to lend their voices and opinions by weighing in on the current days topics up for discussion. Welcome to POINT - COUNTER POINT.
Ok, am I the only one who's been watching SGU and wondering to myself when will this show get good?
I mean come on. It's been several weeks since it's launch and I'm still as bored as I was with the pilot. Do you mean to tell me that they cancelled Stargate Atlantis for this? And talk about a lousy opening. They did the same thing with Stargate Atlantis in the last two seasons by abbreviating the opening credits. The SGU credits take the cake. Simply SGU. That's it. Gone are the days of the opening title sequence. Or perhaps this is their way of telling us that SGU has an even lesser budget than SGA did in it's final seasons.
One would think that this is the case when you not only look at the simple opening credit and roaster of actors. Add in the set which looks like it could have come from any of the past Stargate franchises and the future of this show looks rather bleak.
I'm a big Stargate fan and I used to stay up on Friday and watch them on Scyfy Channel but now I find myself watching SGU once ever 4 weeks or so. I expected the Pilot episode to be rather slow since it had to set up the story but for the past few weeks I've found myself rooting for the crews quick death as opposed to watching any more of this kind of slop.
You know something is wrong when you a) find yourself rooting for the demise of the entire cast during a crisis b) wish that the ship would just allow them to dial Earth so we could just skip to the end c) wish that the ship and crew would all perish in the hot sun they are going through & d) find yourself watching anything other than what used to be your favorite franchise.
Come on - give us some real good Stargate or shut down the franchise until you can come up with something better!
Earlier this decade, the four major TV networks pretty much gave up on Saturday nights. Outside of the Fox crime block and "48 Hours Mystery" on CBS, the only new network programming you see on Saturday nights is live coverage of sporting events.
Now it appears the networks are about to do the same to Friday nights as well. CBS announced that it is cutting the episode count of Friday night staple "Numb3rs" from 22 to 16 this season - a likely sign that the show will be done after six seasons. Fox has canceled cult fave "Dollhouse," which aired on Friday nights. NBC opted not to air the second season of "Southland," which was scheduled to air on Fridays. And ABC may or may not move "Ugly Betty" to another night after several poor showings on Fridays.
Pretty soon, the Friday night network TV landscape will be made up of cheaply-produced news magazine shows, low-budget "reality" fare, "re-purposing" (fancy term for reruns) of current network fare and first-run scripted shows on their last legs. Sounds a lot like Saturday night, right?
Looking at the numbers, it's easy to understand why the networks appear to be pulling away from Friday nights.
Last week, the top Friday night show on the major networks was the 20-year-old "Law and Order" with 8.4 million viewers. That's almost four million below last week's 20th overall ranked show, "CSI: NY" on CBS. And in the 18-49 target demo that advertisers crave, no network could reach a 2.0 average. Compare that to this past Tuesday, where three of the four major networks reached at least a 3.0 average in the demos.
Can Friday night network TV be saved? Anything is possible, but it is up to the networks to put competitive programming in these slots. Give the viewers something they want to watch, and they will come in droves. Disney Channel, for instance, has had a great deal of success premiering its big movie events on Friday nights - the 2007 premiere of "High School Musical 2" was watched by 17.2 million viewers. Perhaps the networks should look at their cable counterparts for some guidance.
There was a time in the U.S. where Friday night was required network TV viewing. CBS in the 1980s featured "Dallas" and "The Dukes of Hazzard," while NBC ruled the night with "Miami Vice" for a time. ABC could always be counted on with successful family fare like "Full House" and "Mr. Belvedere," while "The X-Files" made Fox the network to watch on Friday nights not too long ago.
Do you think Friday night network television can be saved? And if so, what will the networks need to do?
Google is set to become your new phone company, perhaps reducing your phone bill to zilch in the process. Seriously.
Google has bought Gizmo5, an online phone company that is akin to Skype but based on open protocols and with a lot fewer users. TechCrunch, which broke the news on Monday, reported that Google spent $30 million on the company.
Google announced the Gizmo acquisition on Thursday afternoon Pacific Time. Gizmo5's founder Michael Robertson, a brash serial entrepreneur, will become an Adviser to Google Voice.
It's a potent recipe -- take Gizmo5's open standards-based online calling system. Add to it the new ability to route calls on Google's massive network of cheap fiber. Toss in Google Voice's free phone number, which will ring your mobile phone, your home phone and your Gizmo5 client on your laptop.
Meanwhile you can use Gizmo5 to make ultracheap outgoing calls to domestic and international phone numbers, and free calls to Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo and AIM users. You could make and receive calls that bypass the per-minute billing on your smartphone.
Then layer on deluxe phone services like free SMS, voicemail transcription, customized call routing, free conference calls and voicemails sent as recordings to your e-mail account, and you have a phone service that competes with Skype, landlines and the Internet telephone offerings from Vonage and cable companies.
That's not just pie in-the-sky dreaming.
Ask longtime VOIP watcher and consultant Andy Abramson, who introduced the idea of integrating Gizmo5 and Grand Central (now Google Voice), long before Google bought either.
Google is now the the uncommon carrier," Abramson said, punning on the iconic 7-UP commercials and the phrase "common carrier." That refers to phone companies that operate on the traditional publicly switched network -- a status that gives them benefits and obligations.
"If AT&T is Coca-Cola, Google is now 7-UP," Abramson added.
"All of a sudden you have something that offers more than Skype," Abramson said, saying the combo could now put Google in competition with phone and cable companies, IP "telephony" (VOIP) companies and Vonage. "But now you can do everything with Google and pay nothing and have a platform where engineers can build new things."
In fact, Gizmo5 offered a rogue version of that service for $6 a month until last week.
On November 2, Gizmo5 abruptly canceled the two-month old "residential service," which paired the free phone number available through Google Voice with Gizmo's Internet calling service to provide the equivalent of a home-phone replacement like Vonage.
Now, that service has been wiped off the Internet and, more intriguingly, Google's cache of the page disappeared the day after the acquisition was reported.
For $6 a month, Gizmo5 residential users got 300 minutes a month of outbound calling anywhere in the United States, unlimited incoming calls on their home computers or even home phones (using a broadband-to-phone network conversion box) and E911 service (which means 911 calls work like landlines calls do, once you register your home address).
It's not too surprising that offer got taken down.
For one Google is already trying to steer clear of U.S. regulators by making it clear that Google Voice isn't a replacement for a home phone since you have to have phone service from some other company to use it. You can forward calls from a Google Voice number to your Gizmo5 number, but you must have a mobile or landline number as well.
Google doesn't say it, but clearly it hopes that restriction will keep the service from incurring the common carrier obligations attached to the regular phone system (PSTN), and the 911 and wiretapping requirements that apply to Internet telephony and to traditional copper wire phones.
AT&T has already tried to sic federal regulators on Google Voice because Google is blocking outgoing calls to a handful of shady calling services mostly free conference-calling services that exploit federal rules that let rural phone companies charge high fees to connect calls to rural areas.
AT&T itself has sued similar services that play this arbitrage game, and complaining to the feds may have only brought more attention to an issue the FCC has procrastinating fixing for too long.
Gizmo5 will also help save Google money on phone-call termination fees as users start to use computer-based clients to connect to Google Voice. That would allow Google to recoup the purchase price of $30 million in little time, if only it saves even a few dollars per user per year.
Google also gets Michael Robertson, a troublemaker with technical chops. Robertson made millions from MP3.com in the dot-com boom, despite drawing lawsuits from major record labels for creating innovative services. He was later sued by Microsoft for his startup Lindows, which made Linux installations for cheap PCs. And his current music venture, MP3tunes.com, is being sued by EMI.
Though still in invite-only mode, Google Voice has about 580,000 active users and nearly 1.5 million registered users, according to a Google filing with the FCC.
If you are interested in the combination, you might want to sign up for Gizmo5 before the acquisition is formally announced, since Google often freezes new registrations at companies it acquires until it figures out how to integrate the technology.
A Florida man who had run out of cell phone minutes repeatedly called 911 looking for sex. I guess this tops calling 911 because the McDonald's didn't have the happy meal you wanted.
If you think it's tough getting a job during a recession, imagine what it's like for an ex-convict.
Gregory Headley, 29, knows exactly what it's like. The Harlem resident was released from prison in July after serving two years and eight months for the criminal sale of a firearm. Now that he's out, he said, the conviction is dogging his attempts to land a full-time job.
"There's no nice way of saying, 'I sold a gun,' " Headley said recently as he headed to his part-time job cleaning sidewalks.
Headley was placed in the temporary, minimum-wage job by the Center for Employment Opportunities, a nonprofit organization in Manhattan that helps ex-convicts transition into law-abiding lifestyles.
"I'm not going to lie: $40 a day hurts," said Headley, feeling the squeeze of the $28,000 in child support debt that he accumulated in prison. "But what I need to do is stay on the path I'm on, try to get used to the struggle instead of trying to beat the odds."
Terrence Mason, assistant director of participant services at the employment center, described Headley as a "good guy" and a "go-getter." But he acknowledged that many employers will look no further than his rap sheet.
"His conviction is a tough sell to employers," said Mason.
At the back of the line
For everyone right now, the job market is tough. The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 10.2% in October, its highest level in more than 26 years, according to the Labor Department. Nationwide, 15.7 million people are out of work.
That is really bad news for the hundreds of thousands of ex-convicts who are released from prison every year.
"They're always at the back of the line, and the line just got a lot longer," said Glenn Martin, vice president of the Fortune Society in Queens, a nonprofit that trains ex-convicts in job hunting skills. "On top of that, our folks are losing jobs just like anyone else, but it's more difficult to replace those jobs, because of the stigma of criminal conviction. Our folks can't get through the door these days."
In the most recent available figures from the U.S. Department of Justice, 713,473 prisoners were released from incarceration in 2006. There are no nationwide numbers reflecting unemployment rates among ex-convicts. But up to 60% of the formerly incarcerated in New York state are unemployed after one year of their release, according to a study from the Independent Committee on Reentry and Employment, of which Martin is a member. The number is even higher for parole violators, at 89%.
The temptations of the street can be overwhelming during a recession, said Martin, who was released from prison in 2000 after a six-year sentence for armed robbery. He said that his first post-prison job paid $16,000 a year, which paled compared to his ill-gotten gains.
"I used to make $16,000 a day when I was on the street," Martin said. "I used to rob jewelry stores for a living. Obviously, it would have been a lot easier for me to go back to the street to do what I was doing. But the idea is to move away from instant gratification."
Michael B. Jackson, an ex-convict and author of "How to Do Good After Prison: A Handbook for Successful Reentry," said the risks of recidivism during a recession cannot be overstated.
"Formerly incarcerated people and drug addicts, we don't need a lot of excuse to go back to what we were doing before," he said. "In these hard times, when ex-offenders can't get jobs ... they're going to be robbing people."
The conviction question During a two-week job-hunting class at the Fortune Society in Queens, employment specialist Mitchell McClinton grilled 19 ex-convicts in a series of mock interviews. After coaching his students on how to present themselves, market their job skills and answer the dreaded "conviction question," he posed as an employer and put them in the hot seat.
"I noticed that you checked 'yes' on the conviction," he said to one of the ex-convicts. "Explain."
"Basically, I learned from the mistakes of my past, [that they] jeopardize my present and my future," replied the interviewee.
McClinton moved on to the next ex-convict, but she mumbled through the interview and wouldn't speak up until he threatened to skip over her. When she finally opened her mouth to speak, McClinton saw something he didn't like.
"Is that a tongue ring in your mouth?" he said. "You can't wear a tongue ring to an interview."
Many of the ex-convicts are seeking cleaning jobs, based on the skills they outlined in the interviews, and some of them are working towards their high school equivalency degrees.
Headley, during his citywide clean-up rounds, said his heart is set on college and eventually an office job at the Center for Employment Opportunities, where he could help other ex-convicts transition into the job market.
But for the short term, he said he's gratified to be a sidewalk sweeper.
"I'll take making minimum wage any day over prison or death," said Headley. "Now I can walk the streets more freely, without having to watch my back. Now, I consider myself a productive member of society. I'm not contributing to the city's downfall."
Sears and Kmart are taking holiday promotions to a whole new level, starting Black Friday Now with door buster quality deals each weekend through Christmas.
And, they are leaking each week's deals to Walletpop.
This Saturday, Nov. 14 from 7 a.m. to noon, Sears Black Friday Now items include: $119.99 Kodak 12mp Digital Camera 3X zoom 3.0 (reg. price $149.99) $99.99 Eviant 7-inch Handheld LCD HDTV (reg. price $129.99) $499.99 Kenmore dishwaher 2/Turbo Zone (reg. price $612.99) $129.99 Countertop Microwave (reg. price $199.99) $29.99 4pc Embroidered/Jacquard Comforter Sets (reg. price $79.99) 50% off on Craftsman 302-pc Mechanics Tool Set $99.99 Craftsman 1/2HP Chain Drive GDO (reg. price $139.99) $39.99 DieHard Battery Charger (reg. price $64.99) $39.99 /49.99 Misses Wool coats (reg. price $99.99 /$150) $9.99 Canyon river Blue and ToughSkins (reg. price $15.99-$17.99) $49.99 Mens Covington suit Separates (reg. price $120-$150) 60% off 30 3 pc cold weather access sets for her various Up to 75% off entire stock of Gold Jewelry $349.99 Kingsman 7.5 Pool Table (reg. price $499.99)
Kmart's deals start Friday (6 a.m. to 11 p.m.) and go through Saturday On Friday (6 a.m.-11 p.m.), Nov. 13 and Saturday (7 a.m.-11 p.m.), Nov. 14 Kmart's Better Than Black Friday Deals include: $74.99 Guitar Hero 5 Bundle for Xbox, PS3 and Wii (reg. price $99.99) $21.49 Little Einstein's Pat Pat Rocket (reg. price $42.99) $99.99 7.5-inch Pre-lit Bristol Tree (reg. price $199.99) $14.99 20 Piece Banded Dinnerware Set - Gold and Platinum and 10-Pc Banded wine set - gold and platinum (reg. price $39.99) $7.99 Kids Puffer Jackets (reg. price $9.99) $89.99 Craftsman 154 piece tool set 15-40% off Jaclyn Smith Collection $99.99 Pre-lit Bristol Tree (reg. price $199.99) $9.99 48-inch Holgraphic Lighted Bows $14.99 Licensed Xmas Porch Greeters 50% off on all Aquadoodle $10.00 All kids character athletic styles $15.00 All athletech athletics 7pc Dining Set $149.99 25% off on all Infant/Toddler Licensed Cups Sears and Kmart are rolling out new deals each week. Plan accordingly.
More Black Friday ads have surfaced, this time for Kohl's and Staples, showing additional deals to be had on clothing and technology.
The Kohl's Black Friday ad weighs in at more than 60 pages of deals and Staples' doorbuster deals include some good computer deals and plenty of digital cameras.
Kohl's kicks off its Black Friday with a collection of bargains on toys and clothing to lure in shoppers when the stores open at 4 a.m. on Black Friday. Many of these deals will also be available online, possibly starting on Thanksgiving.
50% off off the entire stock of Fisher Price, PlaySkool, Barbie, Hot Wheels, Tonka, Little Tikes and more. 3.5-inch GPS unit with text to speech for $69.99 (after $20 Visa card MIR). Big discounts on jewelry including extra cuts on sterling silver. 50-60% off of slippers, socks, bras and panties. Savings on home and kitchen items including many accessories starting at $9.99. Too many coats, sweaters, shirts and clothing to list at discounts of 33-60% off. Following what appears to be the standard low price at for Black Friday laptop deals, Staples is rumored to be offering an HP laptop with Windows 7. In all likelihood it will be a Staples specific version of the HP Pavilion G60 which was part of Walmart's pre Black Friday sale last weekend. More details will be available closer to Black Friday, but you can expect a Celeron processor, 2-3 GB of RAM, a 250 GB hard drive and a DVD burner.
Another Black Friday doorbuster at Staples is rumored to be a 21.5-inch monitor for $90 which is a pretty god deal, but not as good as the $145 24-inch monitor Black Friday prediction from Dealnews. Staples is also offering a Garmin GPS unit and an 8GB thumb drive, but the discounts aren't worth standing in line for.
