The American blues

Feeling blue? Americans reported spending an average of three days a month feeling “sad, blue or depressed,” according to a government survey.

Group warns Europe of new terror attack

"To the European people: only few days remain for you to accept the truce offered by bin Laden. Otherwise you will have nobody but yourself to blame." Excerpt from a statement from the "Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri (al-Qaida)," the group which claimed responsibility for the March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed about 200 people.

Brando is dead

One of the greatest actors of all times, Marlon Brando, died at the the age of 80 years in a Los Angeles-area hospital. What a movie star - but what a f****-up life! We will always miss this pivotal screen legend (biography, filmography, movie quotes). Plus: Reactions from other Hollywood stars.

Hotel for cats - only in L.A.

I knew that the world would end up like this. According to the great trends newsletter Daily Candy cats have now their own "Holiday Hotel". More resort than boarding kennel, the feline-only facility features an unusual open-air courtyard, where guests can mingle with others or just laze about in the sun. There are plenty of things to hide under or climb on, and discreet caging prevents unwanted visitors or escapes. At night they're returned to their spacious kitty condos, which overlook the courtyard. Each boarder is given the five-star royal treatment, and special needs are accommodated, writes Daily Candy. And where can this place be found? Only in L.A. (Steve Harvey's famous column with the same name in the L.A. Times offers more oddities about this city..)

The discovery of weblogs as business opportunity

"If you’re not thinking about how to use blogs in your business, you’re missing a big opportunity", writes MarektingProfs.com. Forward-thinking companies are looking at blogs as simple, self-sustaining Web sites and Intranets. For exemple: DaimlerChrysler is using blog intranets at a few of its US plants. Managers employ them to discuss problems and keep a record of their solutions. American Airlines uses blogs as a way to give employees more channels to management. Only 20% of the company’s highly mobile workforce has corporate email, but all can access the blogs. At IBM, more than 500 employees in 30 countries use a blog Intranet to discuss software development projects and business strategies. Exemples of some great commercial blogs:
- Beta-7 is a marketing blog from ESPN and Sega that is supposed to appear to be the blog of a beta tester for ESPN NFL videogame. It has an active following of gamers and includes lots of video clips, some of which are supposedly commercial out-takes and rejects.
- Scene Embassies brands its hip European fashion label by having 18-28-year-old bloggers around the globe spot trends in their cities and blog about them.
- Fast Company Magazine, once considered extremely hip, is trying to regain its image with its blog where writers give their short takes on news and offer personal opinions that are likely to be edited out of the magazine’s articles.
- Art of Speed is a joint venture of Nike and Gawker Media. It showcases 15 filmmaker's interpretations of speed. While it does not have any direct advertising, Nike's signature swoosh symbols appear in various places. The filmmakers are not amateurs - Speed's roster includes a Sundance Film Festival winner, music video directors, animation experts and filmmakers with museum installations. Gawker's other publications, Wonkette, Gizmodo and Defamer, also link to the Art of Speed site. Gawker Media's publisher Nick Denton says: "Weblogs are now significant for those companies and agencies trying to target influencers and the 18-34 demographic. Where else are you going to find this demographic? They're tuning out of network television, they don’t read print, and it's hard to advertise on videogames."

War is still hell

According to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the conflict in Iraq is screwing with the minds of US troops. Over six thousand soldiers took part in the study, and “the outcomes included major depression, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The London News Review concluded sarcastically: "You do bad things, you have bad dreams. If these guys came back from doing their killing in Iraq and Afghanistan and felt refreshed, happy and content, it would be terrifying. So yes, the good news: war is still hell."

Military call-up result of mismanagement

The U.S. Army plans to summon a new group of about 4,000 reserve soldiers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, taking the total number of additional call-ups announced this week to nearly 10,000. It formally announced plans to involuntarily mobilize 5,674 soldiers from its Individual Ready Reserve, former soldiers who remain eligible to be called to active duty for years after returning to civilian life. Senator John Kerry blasted Bush for the military call-ups. His campaign released a ''fact sheet" and brought forward a retired Air Force chief who campaigned for Bush in 2000 to reinforce its claims. ''The troops are paying the price for arrogant mismanagement and poor planning at the civilian policy level," retired Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrilll ''Tony" McPeak said.

Starbucks goes music

I finally checked out the Hear Music Coffeehouse which opened on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica last March. What a great idea! The first-of-its-kind record store combines a Starbucks coffeehouse with a music listening bar including dozens of interactive Tablet PC-based listening stations. The store has a huge digital library with hundreds of thousands of songs to to chose from with a wide range of music styles (including a great world music section). I could totally relax listening to overhead music while sipping on my double espresso con panne. Later on I went to the store’s CD burning service, compiled an eclectic list with my new favorite songs and walked out with my personal Summer hits 2004 CD. That was fun! Although the Apple music store remains my favorite shopping destination...
According to a great story in Fast Company, Starbucks plans to have 100 coffee shops across the country enabled with Hear Music CD-burning stations by next Christmas, and more than 1,000 locations up and running by the end of 2005. Plus: Starbucks founder Howard Schultz aims to transform the record industry. Plus: Starbucks want to become a "cultural concierge" for customers.

Bremer: from grilling Iraqis to grilling steaks

Gosh! That was fast! Today Paul Bremer, the chief administrator of Iraq for the past 14 months, signed over political control of the country to the interim Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi, and then quietly slipped away on a plane. Only six people participated in the secret handover, which occurred two days before the much-trumpeted date of 30 June. There were no flags. No bands. No cheering crowds. No marching troops. No hoopla. Nothing at all. And two hours later, Bremer disapeared in an airplane - heading home. What is Bremer going to do now, we wonder. Apparently the guy is completey worn out from annoying the Iraqi people and controlling their oil reserves. He told Time magazine that he plans to leave public life, and take some cooking classes. He already enrolled at the Academy of Cuisine in Washington.

New trend: Trade in your wife

Screw family values, network TV wants Mom and Dad to shack up with the neighbors, E Online observes. Spouse-swapping is a big trend among reality series this season as the TV stations ABC and Fox race to broadcast their respective shows, "Wife Swap" and "Trading Spouses", that feature moms switching households. And of course - for justice' sake - there are also new reality shows in development called "Husband Swap" and "Boss Swap". Hello! Isn't there one TV project missing?? I am voting for new reality show called "Cats Swap" and have convincing suggestions who should star in it...

The most successful documentary - ever

Amazing!! Michael Moore's anti-Bush "Fahrenheit 9/11" became the highest-grossing documentary of all time on its first weekend in release, taking in $21.8 million as it packed theaters across the United States and Canada this weekend. It earned more in its first three days of release than his previous record-breaking movie "Bowling for Columbine" did in its entire run. The great news: it's a movie which apparently appeals to everybody. According to the distribution company, "Fahrenheit 9/11" played strongly in big cities and small towns, in Democrat and Republican states, Theater owners in large cities and smaller towns reported sellout crowds over the weekend, with numerous theaters declaring house records.

The original: “Fahrenheit 451"

For those who don't know: Moore lifted the title for his documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11” from the classic science-fiction novel "Fahrenheit 451" by American author Ray Bradbury. The 1953 book (synopsis), widely considered Bradbury's masterpiece, portrays an ugly futuristic society in which firemen burn homes and libraries in order to destroy the books inside and keep people from thinking independently.
Francois Truffaut (filmography, life story, fan website), one of the best filmmakers of all times and co-founder of the French “Nouvelle Vague”, turned Bradbury’s novel into a fascinating movie (pictures) in 1966. Plus: “Fahrenheit 451” author Bradbury claims that Michael Moore stole his title - and wants it back.

Hollywood’s remake of “Fahrenheit”

Not surprising at all! 40 years after Francois Truffaut's film version of Bradbury's bestseller novel "Fahrenheit 451" Hollywood plans the big-budget remake. Warner Bros. originally wanted Mel Gibson to direct and star in the movie, but Gibson felt that he wasn't young enough to play the lead of Guy Montag. Other actors considered in this project's long development were Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The British site Ananova reported already in March that Joseph Fiennes (pictures, for Les) and Charlize Theron might be in talks to star. The International Movie Database lists Frank Darabont ("Mission Impossible 3", "Frankenstein", "The Blob") as the current director of the project which apparently will be released in 2005.