postgraduationhaze

So...this morning on my way to work I couldn't help but notice the police officers adorning the entrances/exits of the subway stations.

And it got me thinking which also usually gets me reading...and I read about how NYC police officers are now randomly searching people's bags in the subway stations.

My friend Sarah posed this question: how much do you value your right to privacy over your right to life? Or something along those lines.

And...this is what I think. I know that everyone writes their own feelings ad nauseum (blogs, news outlets, commentators, etc.) but it got me thinking about a column that Ramsin wrote re: how he's pro-privacy. (as a side note, he is one of the smartest and articluate people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing).

For individual policing units in cities around the nation to assume the task of random bag searches to ensure transporation safety from "terrorism" is simply another indication that our intelligence, nationally, and all of the costly Homeland Security measures, aren't succeeeding. Perhaps these searches are giving the allusion that national security is trying. I can't recall a good rational for subjecting individual Americans to such an invasion of privacy, individual Americans who by in large have no say in what national political motivations and policies, which have spurred our terrorism target status.

We all recall how the intelligence was "skewed" for this war in Iraq but the American people really seem to be scared by the attacks fron 9/11 and also from what is happening in the UK. Patriot ACt measures are being made permanent and a conservative (and who really thought it wouldn't be?) nominee for the Supreme Court is mounting the plate all the while, the American population bears a majority support for such actions.

What I fail to understand is how people are so confused about how terrorists can do what they do. Historically its been happening forever...wasn't it in rome where instigators would commit a crime to a roman soldier to send a message, knowingly accepting that he would be killed on spot? And historically the US has been weilding its terror status in various countries for economic power (as well as to continually secure it us as a "superpower"--only in a country like the us could that status be a driving force) for ages. People who live in the middle east see terror from the US every day. Certainly "evil" dictators like Sadaam Hussein are to be stopped, but I remember a time when the UN was more appropriate for measures such as that. People who live in the Sudan right now, particularly women and children, are being subjected to mass genocide every day. Africa itself is a country that has been at war with one another, with terrorist militias (rebel groups) terorizing innocents for years. Yet where has the US been? I don't remember it being on one of the countries to bring our "stop terrorism" cruisade to.

This information is out there. The American people simply need to be reminded that as our freedoms and civil liberties are being widdled away out of fear, that these changes to our "rights" are in no way helping the terrorism problem in a real or global sense. Providing a false sense of security, sure. But that, to use a cliche, is merely a band aid for a bullet wound.

Posted by * at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Eddie finally agreed that he and this gentlemen look eerily alike, but as Eddie put it "he looks more white." awesome answer.

Posted by * at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

In keeping with the laugh a thon, or more like the incredible idiocies of the world, below read about something I saw advertised in Newsweek. Over the internet. An actual certificate. Insane.

Certificate in Homeland Security

Program Goals
Offered only via web-based distance education, the Certificate in Homeland Security (CHLS) provides graduate education opportunities to homeland security professionals and future leaders in a flexible format that accommodates the needs of working professionals. The program coursework gives students a broad understanding of homeland security issues and strategies at the national level with an in-depth analysis of key security issues affecting federal, state, and local government, as well as private business.

Target Audience
Intended for the next generation of national, state, community and business leaders who need to understand the new security environment as part of their management and supervisory duties, the CHLS will complement but not overlap the many first responder programs being developed nationwide. Students and professionals from a broad range of disciplines will find this graduate program useful as the issues of homeland security touch virtually all professions. The Bush School welcomes law enforcement and military professionals, who will bring an added dimension to the courses as well. Students may already be part of another graduate program, may intend to use the CHLS as an entry point for additional education, or may use the program to be a stand-alone addition to their qualifications. If you intend to transfer courses from the CHLS into another graduate program, then please check with your MA program of choice, to determine its specific policies on transferring graduate credit.

Program Description
The CHLS is available totally and only online. It has no residency requirements, and students may be located in the US or abroad. Following the Texas A&M academic calendar, students may begin their studies in the fall, spring, or 10-week summer semester. Courses are built around three main components: readings, recorded lectures with Power Point slides, and interactivity. Research papers, essays, exams, case studies, and Power Point briefings are common assignments, depending on the course and instructor. New material is released each week, but within weekly time frames, students may complete their objectives as their individual schedules allow. Attending a one-hour, live, weekly online seminar with the professor is recommended but not required. All course elements are designed to work on a 56K modem connection, and students are not required to purchase any software or hardware. A standard, reasonably up-to-date computer and a consistent internet connection are the basic technological requirements.

The CHLS consists of 15 graduate credit hours (5 courses), beginning with a fundamentals course and combining a broad understanding of homeland security issues and strategies at the national level with an in-depth analysis of key security issues affecting federal, state, and local government, as well as private business. Students choose three elective courses from a menu of selections to then tailor the program to their interests. Following the fundamentals course and the three electives, each student will complete a final three-credit capstone research project, a semester-long independent study for which the student is paired with an appropriate professor/mentor.

Course List
The core list of courses for the new CHLS is below. As enrollment grows, additional courses will be added:

BUSH 656: Homeland Security Fundamentals*
BUSH 657: Terrorism in Today's World
BUSH 689: WMD: Response & Recovery
BUSH 689: Critical Infrastructure Protection
BUSH 689: Government & Homeland Security
BUSH 689: Business & Homeland Security
BUSH 689: Independent Study (Capstone Research Project)*
*Required of all students.

This list is subject to change at any time.

Students may take as little as one course per year or as many as several courses per semester. The Fundamentals course must be taken in the student's first semester. Each course can be expected to take about nine hours of reading, interaction, and work time per week. Students new to graduate education are encouraged to take one course their first semester, to get a feel for the level of work required.

Admission Requirements & Costs
The certificate program requires a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university. To be admitted without taking the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), the applicant's overall grade point average must be 3.0 in his or her undergraduate major field of study or during his or her last 60 credit hours of undergraduate education. Certificate program admission processes differ for students already admitted to Texas A&M University for the purpose of graduate study. For more information on the application process, please see the Bush School application page.

Cost per course will vary, depending on whether you are a Texas resident or not. Costs also fluctuate slightly each year, based on tuition and fee adjustments. Overall, the Bush School's distance education courses are several hundred dollars more expensive than in-residence graduate classes in order to pay for the staffing and development required in an online program. For more information on costs per course for both in-state and out-of-state students, please see the CHLS admission and cost page on the Bush School web site.

For more information about the Bush School's Certificate in Homeland Security, please contact:
Ms. Nancy Small
Director of Distance Education

George Bush School of Government and Public Service
1051 Allen Building
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4220

Email: nsmall@bushschool.tamu.edu
Fax: (979)-845-4155

Posted by * at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

Okay so in College I sent in a tape for the real world. I am totally embarassed about it now that I such a highclass adult, lol, but anyway. I was going through my old yahoo account and found the email they sent me after they called to tell me I had made it through prelims. I literally didn't fill out this be/c, well, just read it. Seeing the ridiculousness of the Real World in print discouraged me. The best part is the "draw a self portrait" question. Seriously. I started to fill it out on the Metra back from the city but got so frustrated with the length and the nature of the questions that I tossed it. I sorta wish I had filled it out with just insanely false answers.


Its amusing nonetheless.

____________

SIBLINGS (Names and Ages):
ARE YOU CURRENTLY MARRIED? _______ HAVE YOU EVER BEEN? (If so, please describe)

DO YOU HAVE ANY CHILDREN? (Names, ages, and do they live with you?)

WHAT IS YOUR ETHNIC BACKGROUND?:

ARE YOU OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A MEMBER OF SAG/AFTRA?

HAVE YOU EVER ACTED OR PERFORMED OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL?

DO YOU SPEAK ANY FOREIGN LANGUAGES? _______ WHICH ONES, AND WITH WHAT LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY?

NAME OF HIGH SCHOOL (AND YEARS COMPLETED):
NAME OF COLLEGE (YEARS COMPLETED AND MAJORS):
OTHER EDUCATION:

WHERE DO YOU WORK? DESCRIBE YOUR JOB HISTORY:

WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE CAREER GOAL?

WHAT KIND OF PRESSURE DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR FUTURE? WHO'S PUTTING THAT PRESSURE ON YOU?

WHAT ARTISTIC TALENTS DO YOU HAVE (MUSIC, ART, DANCE, PERFORMANCE, FILM/VIDEO MAKING, WRITING, ETC.)? HOW SKILLED ARE YOU?

WHAT ABOUT YOU WILL MAKE YOU AN INTERESTING ROOMMATE?

IF YOU'RE LIVING WITH A ROOMMATE, HOW DID YOU HOOK UP WITH HIM OR HER? TELL US ABOUT HIM OR HER AS A PERSON. DO YOU GET ALONG? WHAT'S THE BEST PART ABOUT LIVING WITH THEM? WHAT'S THE HARDEST PART ABOUT IT?

HOW WOULD SOMEONE WHO REALLY KNOWS YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BEST TRAITS?

HOW WOULD SOMEONE WHO REALLY KNOWS YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORST TRAITS?

DESCRIBE YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT IN LIFE:

DO YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND? HOW LONG HAVE YOU TWO BEEN TOGETHER? WHERE DO YOU SEE THE RELATIONSHIP GOING? WHAT DRIVES YOU CRAZY ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON? WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON?


WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU SEEK IN A MATE?

HOW IMPORTANT IS SEX TO YOU? DO YOU HAVE IT ONLY WHEN YOU'RE IN A RELATIONSHIP OR DO YOU SEEK IT OUT AT OTHER TIMES? HOW DID IT COME ABOUT ON THE LAST OCCASION?

DESCRIBE YOUR FANTASY DATE:

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?

DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS? DESCRIBE YOUR ATHLETIC ABILITY:

DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A COMPETITOR:

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE MUSICAL GROUPS/ARTISTS?

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT:

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST SCAM YOU’VE EVER PULLED?

WHAT WAS THE LAST UNUSUAL, EXCITING OR SPONTANEOUS OUTING YOU INSTIGATED FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS?

DO YOU LIKE TRAVELING? DESCRIBE ONE OR TWO OF THE BEST OR WORST TRIPS YOU HAVE TAKEN. WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO TRAVEL?

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS YOU HAVE TREATED SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN IMPORTANT TO YOU THAT YOU ARE PROUD OF?

HAVE YOU EVER TREATED SOMEONE WHO IS IMPORTANT TO YOU IN A WAY THAT YOU NOW REGRET, OR ARE EMBARASSED BY?

OTHER THAN A BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND, WHO IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW? TELL ME ABOUT HIM OR HER:

DESCRIBE YOUR CHILDHOOD:

IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR MOTHER, (OR YOUR STEP-MOTHER, IF YOU LIVED WITH HER MOST OF YOUR LIFE AS A CHILD), BY DIVIDING HER PERSONALITY INTO TWO PARTS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EACH PART?

IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR FATHER, (OR YOUR STEP-FATHER), BY DIVIDING HIS PERSONALITY INTO TWO PARTS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EACH PART?

HOW DID YOUR PARENTS TREAT EACH OTHER? (DID YOUR PARENTS HAVE A GOOD MARRIAGE? WHAT WAS IT LIKE?)

DESCRIBE HOW CONFLICTS WERE HANDLED AT HOME AS YOU WERE GROWING UP (WHO WOULD WIN AND WHO WOULD LOSE, WAS THERE YELLING OR HITTING, ETC.)?

IF YOU HAVE ANY BROTHERS OR SISTERS, ARE YOU CLOSE? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM?

DESCRIBE A MAJOR EVENT OR ISSUE THAT'S AFFECTED YOUR FAMILY:

DESCRIBE A QUALITY/TRAIT THAT RUNS IN YOUR FAMILY:

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OR PROBLEM FACING YOU TODAY ?

IS THERE ANY ISSUE, POLITICAL OR SOCIAL, THAT YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT? HAVE YOU DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

WHO ARE YOUR HEROES AND WHY?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD? ARE YOU RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL? DO YOU ATTEND ANY FORMAL RELIGIOUS SERVICES?

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON:

PEOPLE WHO HAVE A DIFFERENT SEXUAL ORIENTATION THAN YOU?

INTERRACIAL DATING?

THE ENVIRONMENT?

POLITICANS AND PEOPLE RUNNING FOR POLITICAL OFFICE?

THE MILITARY?

GUN CONTROL?

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION?

ANIMAL RIGHTS?

DO YOU HAVE ANY HABITS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

DO YOU HAVE ANY ALLERGIES (i.e. INSECT BITES, PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION)? IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY?

DO YOU: SMOKE CIGARETTES? CIRCLE (YES/NO) DRINK ALCOHOL? (YES/NO) IF YES, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE?

DO YOU SMOKE MARIJUANA OR USE HARD DRUGS? HAVE YOU EVER? PLEASE EXPLAIN:

THE REAL WORLD AND ROAD RULES HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE DRUG POLICY. IF YOU USE DRUGS, CAN YOU GO WITHOUT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS?

ARE YOU ON ANY PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION? IF SO, WHAT, AND FOR HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING IT?

ARE YOU NOW, OR HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A THERAPIST OR PSYCHOLOGIST? IF SO, EXPLAIN.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ARRESTED OR HAD A RESTRAINING ORDER ISSUED AGAINST YOU? (If so, what were the circumstances and what was the outcome?)

WHAT BOTHERS YOU MOST ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE?

DESCRIBE A RECENT MAJOR ARGUMENT YOU HAD WITH SOMEONE. WHO USUALLY WINS ARGUMENTS WITH YOU? WHY?

HAVE YOU EVER HIT ANYONE IN ANGER OR SELF-DEFENSE? IF SO, TELL US ABOUT IT (HOW OLD WERE YOU, WHAT HAPPENED, ETC.)

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CONFLICTS? DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS APPROACH IS EFFECTIVE?

DO YOU EVER FEEL INTIMIDATED BY OTHER PEOPLE? WHY? HOW DO YOU REACT IN THESE MOMENTS?

HAVE YOU EVER INTERVENED TO STOP AN ARGUMENT OR FIGHT? IN YOUR OPINION, WHEN DOES AN ARGUMENT ESCALATE TO THE POINT WHERE IT SHOULD BE STOPPED?

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ANY ONE THING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ANY ONE THING ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?

IF SELECTED, IS THERE ANY PERSON OR PART OF YOUR LIFE YOU WOULD PREFER NOT TO SHARE? IF SO, DESCRIBE, (I.E. FAMILY, FRIENDS, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, OR ACTIVITIES)

IS THERE ANYONE AMONG YOUR FAMILY OR CLOSE FRIENDS WHO WOULD OBJECT TO APPEARING ON CAMERA? IF SO, WHY?

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR (AND WHY)?

IF YOU HAD ALADDIN'S LAMP AND THREE WISHES, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

PLEASE DRAW A SELF-PORTRAIT IN THE SPACE BELOW:


PLEASE COMMENT ON YOUR PREFERENCES FOR THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES:

ACTIVITY: COMMENT:

Read Books

Sleep 8 Hours

Watch Television Daily, which shows?

Shop

Go Out/Party

Spend Times With Friends

Spend Time Alone

Balance Work/Study

Talk On The Phone

Cook

Clean

Write/E-mail

Read Newspapers (which sections?)

Play With Animals

State Opinions

Ask Opinions

Confide In Your Parents

Volunteer

Procrastinate

Eat

Get Drunk

Diet

Vote

Cry

Laugh

Instigate

Cinema

Theatre

Concerts

Clubs

Parties

Surf the Web

My Favorite websites are:

LIST 4 PEOPLE WHO HAVE KNOWN YOU FOR A LONG TIME AND WILL TELL US WHAT A GREAT PERSON YOU ARE, (EXCLUDING RELATIVES) PLEASE INCLUDE TWO ADULTS AND TWO OF YOUR FRIENDS.

Please help us get in touch with you. If you have other people (roommates, boyfriend/girlfriend, boss, relatives etc.) who frequently know where you are and how to get in touch with you, please list them below. As we cast on a short schedule, getting in touch with you quickly helps everyone.

NAME: RELATION: PHONE:

HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH “THE REAL WORLD” AND “ROAD RULES”?

HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT OUR CASTING SEARCH?

I acknowledge that everything stated in this application is true. I understand that any falsely submitted answers can and will be grounds for removal from the application process and from my subsequent participation in the final series. I further acknowledge and accept that this application form and the video tape I previously submitted to MTV will become property of MTV and will not be returned. By signing below, I grant rights for MTVN/Bunim-Murray Productions (BMP) to use any biographical information contained in this application, my home video or taped interview, and to record use and publicize my home video tape or taped interview, voice, actions, likeness and appearance in any manner in connection with THE REAL WORLD and/or ROAD RULES.

__________________________________ _____________

SIGNATURE DATE


Please remember to staple a photocopy of your driver’s license or passport to this packet. When faxing, do not include the photocopy. Thank you for your time and effort in completing this form.

Posted by * at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

The "But you're like, really pretty. - thanks - So you agree, you think you're really pretty" Entry


haha.

Last night I took my friend Will out to dinner. He just lost his job. Its a good thing over all but the shadiest is part is that everyone but him seemed to knwo it was coming and no one said anything. Definitely no loyalties over there anymore.

In other news, I watched some of The Firm the other night and actually tolerated Tom Cruise. I swear HBO is cramming the schedule full of Tom Cruise (Top Gun was on as well) be/c of the tomkat hype (and i hate that now celebrities when they date/breed have these weird combination names that just dont' do the disgusting nature justice). The worst is that I somehow know about all of this almost by osmosis. I don't voluntarily read alot of it myself...although defamer is a guilty pleasure from time to time. Anyway.

Work is hectic. I walked in and someone else was crying. At like 930 in the morning. I don't know anymore.

Posted by * at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

This puppy is free and adorable. Its owner left it when she moved. Heartless. I'd take it if my building allowed pups but sadly that is not the case. Boo.

Posted by * at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

The" I wonder what Billy Corgan thinks " Entry


Seems like myspace should perhaps change its name as it seems a tad ironic now.

News Corp. to Acquire MySpace
Seeking Web ad dollars, the media giant agrees to buy the parent of the social-networking site.

By Chris Gaither and Sallie Hofmeister, LA Times Staff Writers

MySpace.com, a website that's the flavor of the moment for teenagers and young hipsters, has attracted a new kind of fan: a 74-year-old billionaire.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. agreed Monday to acquire Los Angeles-based Intermix Media Inc., the parent company of MySpace, for $580 million in cash. The deal continues the rush of old-media giants snapping up fast-growing Internet ventures in the pursuit of the advertising dollars flowing onto the Web.

With the acquisition, expected to close in the fourth quarter, News Corp. expects to triple its Web traffic, vaulting it into the ranks of the Internet's five most visited sites from its current place in the 40s, said company President Peter Chernin.

MySpace, which lets its users watch videos and listen to music on their computers, also would give News Corp. a new young audience for clips from its Fox news, sports and entertainment programs.

"We thought there was a real opportunity to jump-start our entertainment efforts on those demographics," Chernin said in an interview.

News Corp. is the latest major media company to bolster its Web presence, encouraged by the $9.6 billion spent on Web advertising last year.

Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks last month agreed to pay $160 million for Neopets.com, a website that lets children create and care for virtual pets. Pursuing older Web surfers, E.W. Scripps Co., Dow Jones & Co. and New York Times Co. have all bought online companies in recent months, seeking to cash in on ad dollars flowing to the Web as their own growth slows.

"There's a lot of pressure on traditional media," said John Tinker, an analyst with ThinkEquity Partners.

But the deal comes with risks. Intermix has faced criticism for installing spyware on consumers' computers. The company says it agreed to pay New York $7.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the practice and has stopped placing the malevolent programs on PCs.

The centerpiece of the deal, MySpace, also carries its own baggage. School officials have warned parents that children can easily find explicit sexual information on MySpace, in both text ads and postings by other members.

Chernin said News Corp. was sensitive to such concerns and would be vigilant in policing MySpace.

But the anything-goes edginess that made the site so cool to loyalists could prove difficult for an established media company — even the one behind such reality shows as "Married by America" and "Who's Your Daddy?" — to tolerate.

"If they want to sustain the buzz of something like MySpace.com, they're going to have to be in it for the advertising revenue purely, not make it more of a corporate-feeling experience," said Patrick Mahoney, a senior analyst with Yankee Group. "If they do, they risk the problem of discontent."

MySpace also has a limited track record. It is growing by leaps and bounds — its 18 million visitors in June marked a 15-fold increase over the same month last year — but analysts noted that young consumers were fickle. Just as the "it" restaurant in Los Angeles can change in a moment, so can the tastes of young Web surfers.

Yet so far, MySpace has surpassed the other so-called social-networking websites that have sprung up in the last few years. These services, such as that of onetime leader Friendster Inc., persuade Web surfers to create detailed profile pages and invite friends to join them. But only MySpace has discovered a recipe for getting many users to stick around, come back and bring their friends along.

Music is a key ingredient. More than 350,000 bands and solo artists, from the unknown to the famous, have set up pages on the website to let people sample and share songs, exchange e-mail with the bands and see tour dates. Artists such as R.E.M., Weezer and Black Eyed Peas have streamed new albums on MySpace for a week before their records hit stores.

Users also spend hours on the site writing online diaries known as blogs, exchanging e-mail, reading classified and personal ads and playing video games.

MySpace and the more than 30 websites operated by Intermix will be folded into Fox Interactive Media, a division that News Corp. created Friday to oversee websites for Fox Broadcasting, Fox Sports, Fox News Channel and the Fox television stations. News Corp. websites attracted 11.9 million visitors in June, compared with 17.7 million for MySpace and 11.8 million for Intermix, according to ComScore Networks, a research firm.

Only Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. displayed more Web ads than MySpace in May, according to another research firm, Nielsen/NetRatings.

News Corp. had competition for MySpace: MTV and Barry Diller's InterActiveCorp also explored buying the Web service, according to people familiar with the discussions. News Corp. agreed to pay $12 a share for Intermix, a 12% premium over Friday's closing price.

Company insiders say that Murdoch's recent infatuation with all things digital sparked the deal.

The News Corp. chairman shied away from online investments in the late 1990s after a disastrous and costly acquisition in 1993 of Delphi, an early Internet service provider.

His reluctance saved News Corp. pain when the Internet bubble burst, forcing many big media companies to take write-offs that in some cases reached into the billions of dollars. The union of America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. was the biggest of those flops.

But in the last year, as his newspapers and TV stations have been threatened by online advertising, Murdoch has turned his attention to Internet acquisitions. He personally spearheaded the formation last week of the new group created to oversee News Corp.'s online activities, company insiders said.

"This acquisition is a major step for News Corp. as it attempts to improve its competitive positioning in the strategically important online space, an area where the company trails its key rivals," Jessica Reif Cohen, an analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co., wrote in a report to clients.

Intermix has a troubled history. The company was founded by Brad Greenspan in 1999 under the name EUniverse Inc. It began selling music CDs online but quickly shifted strategies and began running entertainment and game sites, the most popular of which is Grab.com.

Greenspan, then chairman, was ousted during a bruising proxy battle after the company was forced to restate two years of earnings results and Nasdaq suspended trading of its stock.

Analysts said the new management at Intermix had largely turned the company around. Its shares, which have soared in recent weeks from as low as $3.60 in May, rose $1.02 to $11.74 on news of the deal. News Corp. slipped 2 cents to $17.45.

Intermix earned $4.5 million on revenue of $79 million during its most recent fiscal year, which ended March 31.

MySpace, which does not disclose its financials, also has dramatically increased its valuation. Last year Intermix sold a 25% stake in the social-networking site to Redpoint Ventures for $11 million, meaning it believed MySpace to be worth $44 million, Greenspan said in an interview Monday.

Intermix said Monday that it had exercised its option to purchase the 47% of MySpace shares it didn't already own for $69 million.

Greenspan, who still owns about 10% of Intermix shares, said he believed the $580-million price was too low.

"I think shareholders should vote against it," he said. "I think management clearly has shown they're not able to understand how to value media assets."

VantagePoint Venture Partners, Intermix's largest shareholder, with a 22.4% stake, has agreed to vote in favor of the acquisition, News Corp. said.

An Intermix spokesman declined to comment.

The rapid changes of fortune at Intermix and MySpace show how tricky betting on Internet companies can be.

Rob Sanderson, a media analyst with American Technology Research, says News Corp. and other companies that acquire new-media ventures are asking themselves, "What can we grow this into?"

"No one really knows," he said. "Even though we have some very mature and proven businesses on the Web, we're still very early in all this."

Posted by * at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

Is anyone going to Lollapalooza?

If so, let me know. I half heartedly want to go but if some interesting people, aka my friends are going, I may be more game to hit up a festival...albeit in Grant Park which I think will be sorta cool but...who knows.

I suppose this will be the test to see if anyone reads this. Please post in the comments section if you are or are not.

Posted by * at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

What bothers me most about the controversy surrounding the racial profiling/traffic stop hysteria is that we seem to have forgotten about another troubling traffic stop not too long ago, this time involving Officer Dozier, and the two individuals he forced to strip, and then urinate at the side of the road.

I don't recall hearing the Mayor speak out about that incident, nor do I recall the police chief going to the couple's home to stroke the fire that has now erupted between races in Chicago, again. In fact, I don't remember anyone talking about race at all in the other incident. To this date, I am unaware if that trooper or the couple were white, black, Hispanic, Arab or Asian.

I would be more apt to pay heed to this if I hadn't heard the Reverend's account of the incident on a local evening newscast, in which he, over and over stated that he was the Reverend Meeks, and also a state senator. Both are roles that he should truly be proud of, and are of course roles that tend to influence public opinion and public relations, but neither should give the auspice of preferential treatment to the individual in those roles, or the people surrounding them.

If politicians and celebrities (and lately the two seem to be synonymous) weren't so quick to assume that a) everyone knows who they are and b) presume that anyone cares, perhaps this issue would just be another crime against every day civilians, just like the couple who were truly humiliated and violated, above.

And did I also mention that officer who made the couple strip also was accused of doing that to another couple a week prior? If we really want to talk about misconduct, the starting point shouldn't be about race, it should be about the officers who violate whatever standards are in place to protect civilians. Continually bringing up the issue of race, or political stature, merely muddy the waters and allow the true issue, which is police misconduct, to get away.

Posted by * at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments