A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via courant)

In: Jason Calacanis. Everyone is talking about Web 2.o, and Jason Calacanis, our old boss from the dearly-beloved Silicon Alley Reporter, who was so responsible for promoting Silicon Alley 1.0, is back in the news again, parallel, curiously, to the starange rise of what may be properly construed as Silicon Alley 2.0. (The Corsair sips a glass of Madeira) It's a perfect storm, of sorts, only this time Jason lives in Santa Monica, is secure under the corporate aegis of AOL, and instead of the quaint sobriquet "Magazine Editor," he is , in this present media incarnation, "Blog King." Says Newsweek:

"Newsweek: You've been through a boom and a bust. Are we in another bubble now?

"Jason: It's frothy. And I'll tell you the thing that makes me nervous. When I hear entrepreneurs talk about how many more pages they have than another group, or how many more connections per user they have in their social network, that's when I realize that they don't have that strength to go farther. The scoreboard for me is always earnings. When I see people basing the scoreboard on something else, I realize that they're not real entrepreneurs.

"Newsweek: You've gotten a lot of criticism during your career for your unabashed hustle. Does this huge deal vindicate you?

"Jason: Where I grew up, the only way you got on the news was if you jumped behind the camera when somebody was doing a stand-up report. Even though I didn't have the home run with Silicon Reporter that most people anticipated, I was in New York Magazine, I got on 'Charlie Rose,' and to my mom and my dad, that was the greatest success you can ever have in the world. For me, it was never about money."

As someone who over the years has got to know Jason somewhat, The Corsair can attest to the fact that he has always been -- especially at the turn of the milennium -- more about creating a viable business, a truly memorable scene, the perfect sushi-infused party, an existential moment in which everyone at the table realizes his or he dreams, than about just making a crisp buck and walking away and living an idle life.

And so, the pendulum swings. Hungry young lions in the digital space emerge once again, this time more mature, more frugal in their enterprises, and more serious about the process as a whole. Jason Calacanis is vindicated from what must have been something of a burden -- the 2000 Alley massacre, of which he was the face. And it couldn't have happened, IMHO, to a nicer guy.



God, I hope my Depends is on-point tonight. (image via ldsmag)

Out: Mike Wallace. Wallace, who embodied and helped create the in-your-face-investigative television-reporter image so familiar to all of us, is leaving CBS News. (The Corsair sparks a Cohiba Robusto) There was a time when, during the 70s, where if you were a VIP engaged in even the most minor sort of malfeasance, and Mike Wallace started, briskly, sprinting in your general direction with a cameraman in tow (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment), well -- you had no choice but to haul ass in the opposite direction. Very, very quickly, we might add. (A considerable pause)

Mike Wallace was that good. Mike Wallace was "The Fourth Estate," that unofficial counterbalancing force that goes unmentioned in The Constitution -- journalism helping out The Little Guy against corporate and governmental predation. According to the Old Gray Lady:

"After serving as a correspondent on '60 Minutes' since its inception in September 1968, Mr. Wallace said today that he had decided to retire this spring, at the end of the current television season. He said that the move had come at his initiative, and that 'CBS is not pushing me.'

"'As I approach my 88th birthday, it's become apparent to me that my eyes and ears, among other appurtenances, aren't quite what they used to be,' said Mr. Wallace, whose birthday is May 9. 'The prospect of long flights to wherever in search of whatever are not quite as appealing.'"

Nor are the prospects of that cold meatloaf with rhubarb and congealed gravy "fixins" on that fateful evening. (Averted Gaze) Still, we will miss Mike Wallace; we are pretty sure, however, corrupt government officials malfunctioning CEOs everywhere are, in a sign of inadvertent resepct, giving a sigh of relief. Mike -- even though he was a prick during the post-pregnancy of Meredith Vieira -- was a pioneer maverick. Prickish, to be sure, but a meverick pioneer as well.



Very good, grasshopper. (image via fusionanomaly)

In: Viral Videos and In2TV. VH1's pathbreaking format -- pioneered by the amiable Michael Hirschorn -- is about to get a vast infusion of symbolic oxygen in the form of In2TV's release of 14,000 "classic" televsion shows. Do you see what The Corsair is getting at? According to paidcontent:

"Its ambitious (some would say irrelevant) online classic TV project In2TV will go live Wednesday (it has been in beta for some time). Plans also were disclosed for additional content providers and a download-to-own option. About 14,000 classic shows drawn from 400 series have been cleared and licensed for viewing on In2TV. Among these are complete uncut episodes of 'Alice,' 'Growing Pains,' 'Kung Fu,' 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,' 'Pinky and the Brain' and more."

Frankly, as far as the evolution of broadband television distribution this is entirely irrelevant. (Averted Gaze) We can't imagine anyone rushing home to download "Melvin Sharples" -- so perfectly played by the late Vic Tayback -- in a rerun of that significant 70s cultural artifact, "Alice." (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)

But as content for viewer created content, this is some exciting shit. In fact, Corporate brands -- if they are smart -- will invite Generateion X viewers, via contests, to create ads (perhaps even using "Melvin Sharples," or, Kung Fu's "Caine").

Personally, The Corsair is waiting for someone to do some robust "Viewer Generated content" on Looting Lenny of Good Times, and, if possible, Donnie "Disco Dynamite" of What's Happening!



(image via speakout)

Out: Senator Sue Collins' Earmarks. Generally, we love moderate Senator Sue Collins. And, to be sure, her earmarks will earn her kudos in the state of Maine. But in this age of anti-earmarks, record deficits and fiscal restraint in the face of a "long twilight struggle," the perfect Dickensian villain has a point in scoffing at The Senator's absurd earmarks defending the blueberry farmers in her homestate

At the (Senate Republican) luncheon (last) Tuesday, rumors that had been circulating for weeks became official. Sen. Judd Gregg, the conservative and conscientious Budget Committee chairman, announced that there were not enough Senate Republican votes to pass a budget. Therefore, there would be no budget.

"Sen. John Thune, just elected in 2004, questioned that decision. He noted that in unseating then-Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota, he mercilessly assailed his opponent's failure to pass a budget during the two years that Democrats were in the majority. Gregg replied that there simply are not enough Republicans willing to make the hard fiscal decisions.

"That Republican mind-set was demonstrated on the Senate floor the next day with a 75-25 vote to close debate on $1 billion in new spending for home heating. The issue would have slipped by were it not for the hectoring of Sen. Tom Coburn, elected from Oklahoma in 2004 against the wishes of party elders. He told colleagues 'there is very limited authorization in the Constitution for us to be paying the heating bills of people in this country.'

"... Coburn makes it a practice to tell unpleasant truths in the Senate, just as he did in the House in 1995-2000. He noted that sponsors of the heating oil bill, whose states will get $145 million in additional funds, last year earmarked $770 million in special projects back home. For Maine, the figures were $29.4 million in earmarks and $16.3 million in additional heating subsidies.

"Coburn violated senatorial courtesy by reading into the record the Maine earmarks, asking: 'Do we help people who need heat with their homes or do we build the Katahdin Iron Works in Maine?' He asked the same question about $246,000 for lowbush blueberry research, $300,000 for the George and Barbara Bush cultural center at the University of Maine and $600,000 for a new city building in Brewer, Maine.

'''I am very proud of these projects,' a defiant Susan Collins replied on the Senate floor, 'and I will stand here and defend every single one of them.' However, she added that those projects are 'irrelevant to the home oil debate.'"

Come one, guys: Lowbush fucking Blueberry research. (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)



Synergy: Two C-Listers are better than one! (image via hlx)

In: Nicolette Sheridan and Michael Bolton. We eschew Michael Bolton's blues-purloining horsefaced antics; we abhor Nicolette Sheridan's endlessly long reptilian list of fuckbuddies. (Frankly, anyone who fucks Scott Baio is naught else but a sociological curiosity) Together, however, the moist comminglings of these two inveterate C-Listers makes, marginally, for something not uninteresting. According to the 3AMGirls:

"The blonde beauty - who plays Wisteria Lane man-eater Edie Britt - has said yes to former flame Michael, 52, just months after splitting from fiance Niklas Soderblom, we can reveal. She dumped Niklas in October and was then seen in the arms of another ex, convicted drug dealer Simon Main.

"But weeks later the 42-year-old Brit-born star went to Hawaii with Michael, who she dated 14 years ago.

"Our insider spills: 'Nicollette was going through a difficult time after splitting with Nik and the last thing she expected was to get engaged again so soon. But then she and Michael realised how much they have in common.

"'They're absolutely crazy about each other, and when Michael got down on one knee Nicollette did not think twice.' The couple have only told close friends and family so far and want to tie the knot 'as soon as possible.'"

We cannot fail to note that, allegedly, "Nik" met her ex-fiance Niklas Soderblom when she "saved" him from a Great White shark. Or, at least that's what some reports have said.

Professional courtesy between maneaters? (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)