Obama Primetime- American Stories, American Solutions

Tiddy Bear

Thank God they invented this. My shoulder strap on my seat belt always irritated my crotch. Umm....wait....according to this, the strap goes....

Bush and Palin on SNL

Recommendations for Ray Manukay

To read more about Ray Manukay visit the page About Ray Manukay!

“Ray is one of the hardest working, intelligent and considerate people I've ever worked with. He has my highest recommendation based on his dedication and ability.” October 23, 2008

-Jason Calacanis, CEO & Founder, Mahalo.com Inc.
managed Ray at Mahalo

"People like Ray are the reason companies succeed. He is dedicated, passionate and has an incredible work ethic. At Ayzenberg, he has done social media engagement for our biggest clients including EA, Yahoo and more. He is an expert at understanding how to use social media to engage brand customers and advocates in meaningful conversations and ensure their experience with the brand is second to none. He has been a huge asset to our team for more than 2 1/2 years and I would highly recommend him for any social media engagement or community management position."

- Rebecca Markarian Social Media Marketing and Communications Specialist at Ayzenberg Group

"Ray is a born leader. Both the community and the other staff just 'want' to work with him and for him. I was extremely fortunate to have a truly passionate leader like Ray on such important community assignments. I'll absolutely look to Ray again if given the opportunity."

-Keith Pape Social & Emerging Media Digital Agency Executive, Speaker, Writer


“Ray was a truly amazing employee. Again and again he surpassed impossible goals. 'Above and beyond' does not even do justice to the effort that Ray put into his job. One of the truly great and incredible people I have had the rare privilege to work with. Anyone who gets him gets a huge and very serious winner. Ray was one of the heroes of Mahalo. I was personally very sorry to see him go. I would hire him back again in a heartbeat.” October 23, 2008


-Mark Jeffrey, CTO, Mahalo.com, Inc.
managed Ray indirectly at Mahalo

" I have been Ray's immediate supervisor for several years. I found him to be consistently pleasant, tackling all assignments with dedication and a smile.
Besides being a joy to work with, Ray is a hard charging and reliable employee, he is dependable and always willing to help and take on assignments. He has successfully developed several social marketing plans for our company that have resulted in increased brand visibility. During his tenure, we saw an increase in Facebook, Twitter and other social media branding that is directly attributed to Ray. Though he was an asset to our social marketing efforts, Ray was also extraordinarily helpful in other areas of the company. He was our main blogger, he maintained the company corporate blog, and he also selected content and helped maintain many of our websites. I highly recommend Ray for employment. He is a team player and would make a great asset to any organization. "

- Matthew Campos, IT & Operations Manager, Kingdom WWW Operations, Inc


“Ray Manukay is a hard-working and dedicated person. During my time as Editorial Director of Mahalo, Ray was one of the most prolific Guides reporting to me, producing more pages per day than anyone else on staff. In the early days of Mahalo, he was the first employee to build over 1,000 pages on the site and, if I remember correctly, he hit that record when we were only 12,000 pages strong. Ray is adept at internet research, keeps his head down, avoids distraction, and knocks out good work fast.” October 23, 2008

-C.K. Sample III, Editorial Director, Mahalo.com, Inc
managed Ray at Mahalo

“Ray is the hardest-working person I have ever met. He is a dedicated and intensely loyal employee. If he's given a new, more difficult goal to achieve, he'll do it - quietly and subtly. He's not a glory-hound, and he's not one of those people who flaunts how much they're working to try to score points. He's unobtrusive about his hard work, but it shows in his amazing productivity. He's the epitome of the strong, silent type, a rock that you can build a team around.” October 22, 2008

-Nicole Gustas, Lead Guide, Mahalo
worked directly with Ray at Mahalo

“Ray is one of the best mannered and hardest working people in our organization, which would be a feat in itself, except that Ray also manages to do this while being the most liked person in our organization. Truly a rare and special talent. I would recommend Ray to any friend, family, colleague, etc wholeheartedly and without reservation. Ray is the kind of person who when he wins employee of the month, everyone cheers.” October 22, 2008

-Tyler Crowley, Director of Marketing and Strategy, Mahalo
managed Ray indirectly at Mahalo


“I had the privilege of working in the same office space with Ray during his time at Mahalo, and being able to see him work firsthand. To say that he was hardworking and reliable doesn't do him justice. There was rarely something going on that Ray wasn't involved in and supporting. He helped grow Mahalo, especially during the crucial first year, to immense heights. Ray is an extremely valuable commodity to anyone looking for someone they can rely on, and not have to worry about whether or not the job is getting done.” October 22, 2008

-Ryan Budke, Programming Manager, AOL
was with another company when working with Ray at Mahalo

“Ray was always a blast to work with, he tirelessly produces high quality work no matter how challenging the work environment may be. Once he told me how he rushed into a burning building to save a family, on a scale of 1 to 10, he is certainly a 7 or better, hell he is a 11.” October 23, 2008

-Sean Percival , Social Media and Technology Guide , Mahalo
worked directly with Ray at Mahalo

“Ray Manukay is one of the most efficient workers I have ever met. He is very focused and capable of adapting to constantly changing goals. If I ever find myself looking for employees, Ray will be one of the first people I contact.” October 28, 2008

-Mike Rhoads , Guide , Mahalo.com Inc
worked directly with Ray at Mahalo

“I worked with Ray at Mahalo for nearly two years. During that time his dedication never flagged, his work was of the highest quality, and everyone in the office enjoyed working with him. Any company would be fortunate to have him on their team.” October 26, 2008

-Sara Kettler , How To Writer , Mahalo
worked with Ray at Mahalo

“I can't even begin to say enough about Ray, so I won't even try (there isn't enough room on this page). I would like to second everything that has been said in his recommendations. Not only was Ray THE MOST productive person at Mahalo over its first year of existence, his work was consistently high quality and his professional demeanor and ethic was impeccable. If there is any justice in this world, Ray will be running this country in eight years. Mark my words.” October 25, 2008

-Andrew Kaufman , Editorial Director , Mahalo.com
worked with Ray at Mahalo

Laid Off from Mahalo

I was laid off from my full-time, in-house position at Mahalo.com on Tuesday.

The reasons for this can be found here.

Basically the culprit is the well publicized problems with the economy.

It's hard to fault the business sense behind this decision, but obviously this was a devastating development for me and my family.

The security of a salaried position with benefits is something that a person and their family can't truly, truly appreciate...until it's lost.

The past several days I've experienced a wide variety of emotions, such as sadness, disappointment, regret, depression and of course anger.

But after several days, I think back to my nearly two years at Mahalo and many great memories come to mind. The camaraderie, respect and friendships that develops with a group of hard working, talented people in the trenches of an immense and ambitious project is an experience that I will cherish forever.

The accomplishments we made as a group, especially in the early days were awe inspiring.

The elation I felt winning employee of the month, literally brought me to tears.

The fact that I was singled out, above such a hard working and talented group of people was an accomplishment I will carry with me for my lifetime.

It's something that still makes me smile, even in the midst of such a dark time professionally for me.

But as much as I take this personally, I know that my story is a very similar tale to others out there suffering similar fates at this time.

Especially my fellow, talented, co-workers, who also lost their jobs after dedicating their lives to the great product we have today.

All is not lost however, even though I am no longer an in-house guide, I've accepted a gracious opportunity to work as a remote guide on contract. The opportunity allows me to keep working for the site, while trying to find another full-time job with benefits.

It's a position that I can hopefully keep, even when I do find another job.

That's how passionate I feel and how much I believe in Mahalo.

So I now look forward to the next chapter in my life and to the exciting opportunities which will inevitably come my way.



Recommendations for Ray Manukay's services can be found here.

New Watchmen Trailer

A new trailer for the Watchmen was released at the Spike Awards.

It's basically the original trailer, with new scenes and images sprinkled throughout the clip.



I have to say the footage looks cool, but I'm still wondering if they are selling the movie as something that it's not...especially the uninitiated, non-comic book fans.

The Watchmen is a mystery and a drama, with some action....actually not as much as one would think in a comic book film. The book is basically a lot of guys in outlandish suits sitting or standing around and talking.

If it's anything like the novel, the trailer sets up the film to be something it's not.

An excellent article by Dan Doodswen on Empire Online makes the same point.

I'm just hoping for a good movie, still hard for me to imagine the filmmakers telling that story in less than two hours.

Jose Canseco apologizes for naming names

I'm not sure how sincere he is, or if he is just taking advantage of the publicity he's getting on his new A&E documentary "Jose Canseco: The Last Shot" but... for the record... Jose Canseco has officially apologized for writing his tell all book "Juiced".




I'm sure at some level he is sincere.

They say the hardest thing for an athlete to do is admit when it's over...and to walk away from the sport that they love. For an outspoken, celebrity craving, athlete like Canseco, I'm sure it was especially difficult to walk away...or to be pushed out, as he puts it.

No word yet on if the players named as steroid users in his book will accept his apology....I doubt it though.

Ref Tackles QB

Bizarre yet funny play during the LSU South Carolina game where the referee tackled the South Carolina QB.


Ouch.

I'd be pissed if I was a South Carolina fan.

But I'm sure the play was unintentional....I think....hopefully.

Mark Wahlberg on SNL

So it looks like Mark Wahlberg has a sense of humor after all.

After threatening to punch Adam Samberg in his nose, for the infamous SNL Skit, it turns out it was all a set up for his appearance on Saturday Night Live....which also happens to coincide with the release of his movie Max Payne.

The guy knows what he's doing.

Hopefully all the gossip blogs, will take back all the negative things they said about him after his Jimmy Kimmel appearance.

Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds...

From AICN

Ain't It Cool News posted the first pic from the movie Inglorious Basterds, (not sure how they are finally going to spell it), showing Brad Pitt in what looks like a promotional pic.

I'm really looking forward to the movie, I've purposely avoided a lot of the buzz surrounding the project. I know the script is floating around the net, but I think I'll hold off and not spoil the experience for myself.

A part of me worries that Pitt will drop out, he's a strong personality...and Tarantino has had creative differences with people with strong personalities in the past, such as Warren Beatty in Kill Bill and Mickey Rourke in Deathproof.

Hopefully it'll all work out.

Can't wait.

Boston Strikes back...

I rarely....ever... give the Red Sox kudos....and I'll be caught dead before I ever cheer for them but as a baseball fan, last night's win was pretty impressive. With the Sox down 7 runs going into the bottom of the 7th inning things sure looked dire.



Too bad they are only delaying the inevitable.

It'll be pretty difficult to take two in Tampa from rabid fans looking for the first World Series appearance for the Cinderella Rays.

In unrelated Boston news...Mark Wahlberg has finally responded to the "Mark Wahlberg Talks to the Animals" SNL skit.



Something tells me he's serious...and Sandberg should probably hire a bodyguard.

Hayden Panettiere Endorses McCain

Not Really...





McCain Tongue Fail

New Star Trek Pics hit the net....

From MTV

Pics from the new Star Trek movie have peppered the net and I have to say I'm pretty impressed.

Of course like most Trekkers, I do have some reservations, but I'd say that what I've seen so far looks good and the franchise is in capable hands with J.J. Abrams.


From AICN
Interesting...er...I mean "fascinating" that Spock looks so angry here.





From UGO
A look at most of the cast....and some of the production design.




From JoBLO
Bana as the bad guy....perfect. Romulan maybe?



From IGN
Kirk in the ice...climbing away from an escape pod maybe.



From Trek Movie.com
Looks like a starship is in trouble.

Still looking forward to seeing Old School Spock....maybe soon?

Devin Harris Schooled...

Fun video of UK streetball player Stuart Tanner "hustling" New Jersey Nets player Devin Harris.




Let's be realistic, it's only a couple of plays and doesn't really prove anything, but it is fun to see an NBA player's surprised face when seeing an unknown talent display genuine skill.

JCVD Trailer

Just saw the JCVD Trailer.

I think it's an excellent move by Van Damme.

Hopefully he has injected a lot of his true personal problems into the script and it's not just a straight parody.



I think it has the potential to be really interesting.

Better yet, how about a real documentary on the guy?

Maybe this movie will lead to that, god knows the guy has experienced big peaks and valleys in his career and has had lots of personal struggles in his life.

Sarah Palin Booed at Flyers Game

Ouch.

Let's at least be respectful folks....

McCain Doing the Right Thing....finally.

In the midst of a particularly negative campaign run by John McCain, the Republican candidate has taken the awkward but necessary step of defending Barack Obama.



Although, I give McCain kudos for doing the honorable thing, I can't help but think that McCain brought this upon himself.

During the campaign McCain has used absurd innuendos and half truths trying to tie Obama to Muslim extremists, terrorists and various shady figures in a desperate attempt to steal the votes of the less educated people of America.



Perhaps McCain's camp finally came to the obvious conclusion that win or lose, McCain will eventually HAVE to work with Obama.

It's about time that the McCain campaign injected some class into the proceedings. Before somebody does something really stupid and the election gets unnecessarily violent.

Maverick...This!!!

The real, true Mavericks...as in the actual Maverick Family is pissed off at John McCain for using their name for political purposes.

Can't blame them, judging from the recent polls, not a lot of people want to be associated with him either.

Troublemaker Video by Weezer

Another classic music video by Weezer.

Troublemaker

Welcome to the world!!!

My good friend J.B. Ingels is now a daddy.

Welcome to the world baby Bowie Elizabeth Ingels-Moss.

Born October 6, 2008, 9:30 A.M. 6 pounds 1 ounce.

Take On Me...Literally

A different take on the classic 80's video, "Take On Me: by A-Ha.

Angels Heartbreaker...

There's a lot of ways to lose a baseball game. But tonight's game was especially painful.

Lots of what if's....

What if Kendrick handles the double play ball in the fifth?

What if Scioscia didn't call for a bunt in the ninth?



What if Aybar actually lays down the bunt?

What if Willits plays the pop ball for a single instead of diving for the ball in the ninth?



What if Gary Matthews Jr. is in right field instead of Reggie Willits in the ninth?

But when it all comes down to it....the Red Sox were the better team.

The Angels should've been able to overcome all that adversity.

The Angels were out-played, out-coached and overwhelmed.

It's especially painful for the young players. There's little doubt that they carry the most blame for the team's poor play in this series.

Howie Kendrick was horrible, simply horrible, defensively and offensively.




He honestly didn't deserve to be on the field. He looked overwhelmed by the experience. It was the kind of performance that can destroy an entire career.

Hopefully he can overcome it.

Erick Aybar was only slightly better, his blown bunt killed the season for the Angels. It's a burden he will sadly carry for a long, long time...until he can one day, possibly, redeem himself.

I feel horrible for those guys. It's going to be a long off season for them.




Mike Scioscia over-coached the team at times, and under-coached in others.

Not his finest hour...at all.

His really poor showing, in all honesty puts him in the hot seat.

This team did not look prepared. They looked nervous, tight, and overwhelmed.

As much as I like Scioscia...I don't know who else to blame for that poor showing.

Very sad. Heartbreaking.

All I can say...with a heavy, heavy, heart...is wait until next year...again.

Not Tonight...

"We're not getting eliminated tonight." - Mike Scioscia

Angels 5, Red Sox 4

Kimbo Slice loses bout...EliteXC loses much more

Kimbo Slice lost a nationally televised fight against unknown fighter Seth Petruzelli today.

Petruzelli was a late scratch for Ken Shamrock, who dropped out when he suffered a cut to his eye during training.



Ouch.

Usually the "Rocky" type story is an inspiring tale.

But in this case, this victory by Petruzelli could doom EliteXC.

Kimbo Slice was the face of the company.

The question is... now what?

Nobody is going to watch a fight on CBS with some unknown MMA fighter headlining. Never mind that Slice was probably not a true mixed martial artist, at least not yet.

He was interesting though.

EliteXC was obviously bringing him along slowly, letting him face over-the-hill recognizable fighters, so he could get some exposure and more experience.

Now they're screwed.

Even Petruzelli was in damage control by stating, "He didn't train for me, I didn't train for him. That's what happens."

For what it's worth...it does look like Slice was caught by a punch that an uneducated fight fan might call "lucky".

Maybe they could build on that.

Doubtful though.

Angels Playoff Frustration

This is probably not a good time to write a post about my feelings right now.

There is a good possibility I'll write something I'll regret and an even greater possibility I'll write something stupid.

But I think one of the reasons to have a website is to record one's own feelings at a specific period of time.

What I'm feeling right now are frustration and anger at unbearable levels.

After the Angels 7-5 playoff loss tonight, the team is at the brink of another lost season.

Not only that...but by another sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.

Pathetic.

I'm going to do something I'll probably regret.

I feel the need to irrationally vent.

Someone needs to pay.

I know it's not productive to lay blame at a specific person's feet.

So I'm going to choose a few.

Since I'm in a highly frustrated mood...let's go ahead and do that tonight.

Without the benefit of a clear head and good night's sleep.

What the hell...maybe it'll make me feel better.

Keep in mind that my opinion is hardly educated, or respected and is quite frankly emotionally driven.

Not to mention, probably not coherent or rational in any way.

Anyways, let's begin, first scapegoat...Mickey Hatcher.

If a team is unable to get an extra base hit in two games in the playoffs...who else are you going to blame but the hitting coach?

Of course a hitting coach doesn't hit for the team, but he should be able to get the players in the right frame of mind to do their job. Prepare them for what they might see from a pitcher. This particular team's inability to hit in the post season is inexcusable.

This team won 100 games in the regular season...they had the best record in baseball. They have talented hitters such as Vlad Guerrero, Mark Teixeira, Torii Hunter and Garret Anderson.

Somebody should be able to get an extra base hit.

And yet the only extra base hit by the Angels in the series has been a triple in the EIGHTH inning of tonight's game by Chone Figgins.

It's obvious that this team is not prepared, or doesn't have the confidence to succeed.

Mickey Hatcher is the one to blame for that.

Now I don't think he should get fired, I like the guy, but I do think he should be moved to bench coach and have someone else take over hitting coaching duties.

Because whatever Hatcher is doing, teaching or saying...IT'S NOT WORKING!!!



Scapegoat number two....Howie Kendrick.

I'm not sure where all this talk of one day becoming a batting champ came from. But this kid doesn't have what it takes.

No way...not ever.

He'll be a solid role player...I guess.

He probably won't become an all-star or even a star.

Batting champ? Give me a break.

The guy can't even stay healthy. He has a horrible eye, and his swing is way too long.

To top it all off, for several seasons now we've seen that Kendrick lacks the ability to hit in the clutch when it counts.

This guy only gets meaningless hits, against mediocre talent...in unimportant games.

I'd take Adam Kennedy over this guy any day.

Today's box score for Kendrick, 5 at-bats, 4 strike outs with 6 men left on base....6!!!

Pathetic.

That's not going to get it done.

He is obviously one of the main reasons the team has lost and is in this position.

And if I hear anybody else call him a future batting champ, I'm going to shove my rally monkey down your friggin throat.



Scapegoat number three.... Francisco Rodriguez.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, single season saves record...blah, blah, blah.

I would've traded any one of those saves for just one hold tonight.

When the team needed him most in the ninth inning of game 2 of the ALDS, he couldn't shut the door.

Three outs, that's all the team needed. Momentum had already shifted in the Angels direction. They needed Frankie to shut the door.

Instead he gave it up...two run home run by J.D. Drew.

Epic Fail.

The worst kept secret in baseball is that K-Rod is one of the most over-rated closers in the game.

His lack of production in the post season since 2002 is proof.

Not to mention, his antics after a victory are inexcusable, his pitching choice is sketchy, and to top it all off, speaking from experience, since I've actually had the opportunity to meet the man on several occasions...the guy is a jerk. He's cocky, arrogant and rude to fans.

Goodbye and good riddance.

Have fun pitching for the Mets...thanks for 2002...but you won't be missed... ingrate.



Scapegoat number four....Mike Scioscia.

Scioscia builds a team that depends on small ball, speed and timely hitting, then is shocked when the team fails to execute against excellent pitching.

Why?

Championships depend on the long ball. It's been well documented.

This small ball crap doesn't work.

The team is brain washed into believing in small ball...and when the team needs a home run...they can't execute...cause they don't know how.

This philosophy doesn't work.

I'm sorry, aggressive soft hitters, with poor on base percentages doesn't win championships.

I'm not even sure why he adopted this philosophy, it's certainly not how the team won in 2002.

Furthermore, although I see no shame in losing to a talented Red Sox team, it's become clear that the Angel franchise has no strong leadership.

Whether it's a lack of leadership at the management level, the coaching staff or in the club house, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim do not seem to have the mental preparation, toughness and confidence to compete at the highest level, when it counts most.

Especially against the Red Sox.

I'm not calling for the firing of Mike Scioscia. But I believe he needs to re-evaluate his stubborn, ineffective tactics and take a long look in the mirror.

This team has no excuse to be playing this bad...none.

God, I'm so pissed....another pathetic, heartbreaking season from such a talented team.

What a waste.

Recap.

Who's to blame:
1. Mickey Hatcher
2. Howie Kendrick
3. Francisco Rodriguez
4. Mike Scioscia

For the record, who's not to blame:

1. Mark Teixeira
2. Torii Hunter
3. Vladimir Guerrero
4. Garret Anderson

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