CNN is partnering with Microsoft and using their Photosynth technology to create a 3-D version of what they are calling “The Moment.” Users are asked to take a photo at Noon when Obama takes the Oath of office. CNN will then stitch the photos together using the “synth” technology to create the 3-D recreation. [Lost Remote]
President-elect Barack Obama told CNN he thinks he may be able to “hang onto” his blackberry after all.
“I think we’re going to be able to hang onto one of these. Now, my working assumption, and this is not new, is that everything I write on e-mail could end up being on CNN. So I make sure that — to think before I press ‘send.’”
What if all of our leaders understood that everything they say an do “could end up being on CNN” and they had to think before pressing send?
I love that O wants to keep his Blackberry, even if he can only use it for personal communication. The man wants to stay connected.
The inauguration of President Barack Obama is just a couple of weeks away and it’s looking more and more like Barb and I will be in D.C. for the historic event. We’re told we have tickets. A friend of Barb’s has graciously provided a place to stay. And we have two insanely expensive airline tickets.
Given that our tickets are two of 250,000, we have no illusions about this adventure and are approaching it like Woodstock: cold, muddy and a lot of fun. No, I wasn’t there.
But now there’s some talk of tickets to one of the many Inaugural Balls. In for a penny, in for a pound. In the event we do get tickets to a ball, yesterday I got fitted for my first tuxedo since my high school prom.
There was some discussion of showing up in a powder blue number but the Sean Connery model (From Russia with Love) won out. All Barb would say about her new dress was, “It’s sparkly.”
Stay tuned as this story unfolds.
“How much is it worth to someone who is coming to town for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration in January and needs a place to stay? One three-bedroom house in suburban Virginia is said to have gone for $57,000 for inauguration week. A week at a four-bedroom in suburban Maryland was listed at $60,000, though that, like other offerings, may be wishful thinking.” — NYTimes.com.
One more from the Barbara Walters interview:
WALTERS: I have one final, very important question. I, Mrs. Obama, I sent you a picture of my dog, Cha Cha
MICHELLE OBAMA: Uh-huh.
WALTERS: Who is a Havanese, and a very perfect dog, and
BARACK OBAMA: Cha Cha?
WALTERS: Cha Cha. Cha Cha is a dog, he's a Havanese, he's from Havana… name is "Cha-cha-cha."
BARACK OBAMA: Cha-cha-cha.
WALTERS: Yeah. (overlap)
BARACK OBAMA What is a Havanese?
WALTERS: Oh, it's like a little.. it's like a little terrier. And they're non-allergenic, and they're the sweetest dogs in the world.
BARACK OBAMA: But, but it's a… it's like a little yappy dog.
WALTERS: Yeah, you don't want (overlap)
MICHELLE OBAMA: Don't criticize.
BARACK OBAMA: Yeah, it like sits in your lap and things?
MICHELLE OBAMA: (Overlap) Yes, it's a cute dog. (Laughs)
BARACK OBAMA: It sounds kind of like a… a girly dog.
MICHELLE OBAMA: We're girls. We have a house full of girls.
WALTERS: We know… we… what about whatever you were saying?
MICHELLE OBAMA: (Laughs)
BARACK OBAMA: Well, well, we're gonna have a big, rambunctious dog.
“I’m negotiating to figure out how can I get information from outside of the 10 or 12 people who surround my office in the White House. Because, one of the worst things I think that could happen to a president is losing touch with what people are going through day to day.”
— Barbara Walters interview
I don't like crowds. And I don't like waiting in line. But if Our Source comes through with tickets, Barb and I plan to attend the inauguration of President Obama on January 20. Barb has a friend who has graciously invited us to stay with her (no hotel rooms for miles and miles).
I really don't expect to see much. Or even as much as we could see on TV. But it's one of those historic events that even I can't pass up, given the opportunity. Should be a blog-rich environment. And the experience might make all future airport check-in's seem like a walk in the park.
"People attending the ceremony and parade can expect to be searched by machines, security personnel or both. Precautions will range from the routine — magnetometers like those used at airports — to counter-snipers trained to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away. Plus undercover officers, bomb sniffing dogs and air patrols.
The Secret Service — the agency coordinating the security — also has assigned trained officials to identify and prevent cyber security risks. And, as it does at every inauguration, the service has mapped out escape routes for the 44th president.
In addition Washington's 5,265 surveillance cameras, spread around the city, are expected to be fed into a multi-agency command center." [Article at RawStory.com]
This could still fall through. Our Source is a Republican big wig and they aren't swinging as much weight as they once did. Stay tuned.
“A week after the election of the nation’s first black president, gun buyers across the country are flocking to gun stores to stock up on assault rifles, handguns and ammunition. Some say they are worried that the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama will attempt to re-impose the ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004. Others fear the loss of their right to own handguns. A few say they are preparing to protect themselves in the event of a race war. — L.A. Times
I support the right to own a deer rifle or a shotgun or a handgun, for that matter. No point in talking about race war or assault weapons. That’s moron country.
But here’s a wager I offered today and I’ll extend it to readers who really believe the new administration is going to take away your right to own a handgun.
You buy a new pistola for, say, $500. If the right to buy or own a handgun is limited in any way by the end of Obama’s first term, I’ll pay you $500. If not, you pay me $500. We’ll give the money to an agreed-upon third party to hold.
What do you say? Here’s your chance to get a free Beretta (or whatever). Hit the comment link and we’ll set it up.
US president-elect Barack Obama is to make the first YouTube address to the nation on Saturday, recording a talk not just on radio but also on video. The weekly radio address will be posted to Change.gov. First time a president/president-elect goes multi-media (or knows what that is?). AP
Not likely, but wouldn’t it be great if O just recorded the video on his MacBook Pro and uploaded himself? Sure, not a good use of his time but talk about going directly to the people.
UPDATE: It’s now Saturday morning, the video is up, and I’ve been thinking some more about this…
I don’t recall which president started the weekly radio address (or when), but I’m pretty sure we aired it occasionally on KBOA back in the 70’s. Strictly filler for a slow Saturday morning.
I always assumed this was a radio address because none of the TV networks were going to air a 15 or 20 minute speech by the president, and radio stations might. Ironically, I don’t ever recall hearing it on the radio (except at KBOA). And the network newscasts frequently feature a few seconds of the audio, usually with a graphic of an ancient microphone or VU meter.
This week’s Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio message will –as noted above– be YouTube’d. I have to wonder for how much longer this will be described as the president’s weekly "radio" address.
One final footnote… Back in August of 2005, the White House began podcasting the president’s weekly radio address. YouTube was created in February of that year but was still too new for anyone to think about using for the weekly address.
I’m working my way through a stack stories and columns examining how the Obama campaign used the web, social networks, email and other online tools. They went so far beyond just “click here to send us some money.” Somebody on the team (some bodies) really understands this space where so many of us choose to live and work.
Here’s a couple of snippets to get started and I’ll update as we go under the category: Obama Online
Washington Post: “The nucleus of that (campaign) effort is an e-mail database of more than 10 million supporters. The list is considered so valuable that the Obama camp briefly offered it as collateral during a cash-flow crunch late in the campaign, though it wound up never needing the loan, senior aides said. At least 3.1 million people on the list donated money to Obama.”
New York Times: “The juxtaposition of a networked, open-source campaign and a historically imperial office will have profound implications and raise significant questions. Special-interest groups and lobbyists will now contend with an environment of transparency and a president who owes them nothing. The news media will now contend with an administration that can take its case directly to its base without even booking time on the networks.
More profoundly, while many people think that President-elect Obama is a gift to the Democratic Party, he could actually hasten its demise. Political parties supply brand, ground troops, money and relationships, all things that Mr. Obama already owns.”
I’ve felt since I first got hooked on Obama’s campaign that my affinity is to this particular man (and his ideas), not the Democratic Party.
An excellent source for this kind of info is techPresident.
NYT/Bits: “Mr. Obama’s campaign took advantage of YouTube for free advertising. (Joe) Trippi argued that those videos were more effective than television ads because viewers chose to watch them or received them from a friend instead of having their television shows interrupted.
“The campaign’s official stuff they created for YouTube was watched for 14.5 million hours,” Mr. Trippi said. “To buy 14.5 million hours on broadcast TV is $47 million.”
There has also been a sea change in fact-checking, with citizens using the Internet to find past speeches that prove a politician wrong and then using the Web to alert their fellow citizens.”