Smart Mouse

You may have heard that Disney World is offering a free day in '09 on your birthday, so that's where my wife and I headed Saturday. Off the EPCOT ('Every Person Comes Out Tired'). It was her birthday, so we pre-registered for a free admission for her.

I've always been impressed by the personal care offered by Bose and Nordstrom's, but without a doubt king Mickey is best. Disney sent my wife a personalized eGreeting Friday. Not only a nice thought, but also a gentle reminder that tomorrow was THE day to come and spend money. But with a free admission, we were not going to miss it.

We picked up the freebie at Will Call and my wife was given a large "It's My Birthday' button. She timidly put it on and off we went. All day long many, many Disney employees wished her a Happy Birthday by name. She enjoyed each one. And after dinner, our waiter (at the English Restaurant) brought my wife a birthday card personally signed by all the waiters and waitresses. She especially liked this Mickey surprise and still has the card. All in all, she had a great day!

One of the attractions we visited was Spaceship Earth, now co-sponsored by Siemen's. I was curious to changes following the departure of decades long co-sponsor ATT. Well, human communications is still the theme, but the exhibit has been about 80% different (and better).

At the beginning of the ride, you're instructed to look toward a camera. As flashes went off, I first thought they would try to sell us a picture at the end of the ride (frown). As the ride was ending, we were asked to answer a few short questions (via our own video terminal) about how 'tomorrow' would be different for us. Magically (a favorite Disney word), a short cartoon video appeared on our personal ride video screen. With our pictures (smile!) superimposed on stick figures, a short animated cartoon delighted us (watch here).

As we were leaving, a we passed a kioskand, entered our eMail address and the video was on its way to us to view again and again at home (and show family and friends).

Lesson reminder: in a world filled with gadgets, to keep a customer happy after the experience, do the unexpected and PERSONALIZE it.

Gimme A Break

NBC's Andrea Mitchell assert 'Heavens Cry For Teddy'...yea, thanks to Danny:

Also,

Top Gun in Afghan War says the situation is serious, but 'winnable'. Where's Cronkite when we need him. Uncle Walter would pass judgement on whether it's worth it.

Pandora's Cash Box

Pandora's New Box

For some time I have touted Pandora.com as a great service for music listeners. It's an internet music source allowing users to create or 'program' the station they like, playing the genres of music they prefer (see item bwlow). So, word that Pandora may increase the number of audio ads caught my asttention. CEO Joe Kennedy said Thursday that Pandora's audience mirrors that of traditional radio listeners and that increasingly people are listening more outside of the PC environment. Kennedy added “We don’t want you looking at an ad while you’re driving,” he said. “Pandora is not just something you do on the computer; it’s something you listen to on the home stereo, something you listen to in the car, so we will utilize a wide range of advertising forms.” That opens the door to more audio ads.

Fans may say "Wait! Don't Do That! We like the service because it's everything traditional radio isn't." Very few commercials and the listeners has some control over the music they hear.
But let's face it Pandora wants to make money, so the company was looking at introducing additional premium subscription offerings, although it continues to believe that the “vast majority” of Pandora users will access it via a free, advertising-supported model.

Currently, Pandora charges $36 annually for its premium service, which promises zero audio or visual ads. Some 400,000 users tune-in daily on their Blackberries or iPhone. Increasing ads would surely drive more users toward a premium subscription. Do the math.

First Citi Field Streaker

38-year-old Craig Coakley made a bet with his boss that he'd streak across Citi Field with a stuffed monkey jockstrap. He succeeded! Now he's never allowed back to Citi Field again.
Not only is he banned for life from Citi Field, but Coakley also faces up to $5,000 worth of fines and a year in the clink for his semi-nude dash. Coakley, a plumb-ah for Tri-County Plumbing in Floral Park, didn't think he'd get in so much trouble

Race To Watch

Florida for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. Many pundits expect Gov. Charlie crist to be a shoo-in. But there is an anti-Crist giving Repulicans a choice in Florida. It's Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American first elected to serve in the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, at the age of 29, he became Speaker at age 35. Throughout his career, he has promoted a conservative philosophy of limited government. He counts former Gov. Jeb Bush as one of his most important political mentors. Learn more from the National Review.

The Good News (And Bad)
Good: 'Radio' makes it into the Top of the Yahoo Buzz'. Bad: It's not terrestial radio, it's Pandora Radio on the internet. It is good, although I find some irritations with it. The biggest: whenever I click on one of my stations the same songs seem to come up in the first few selections. But you can click on 'rest for a month'. Here's the Buzz List.

Anyone Surprised?

Google's Top News Story this morning..
Obama Moves to Bar Release of Detainee Abuse Photos

At the top of the list on Google's Most Popular Stories (the news most viewed)..

Danny Gokey is booted from 'American Idol'

Sure He's The Prez, But Would You Buy A Car From Obama?

GM, Chrysler to cut up to 3,000 dealers, according to Reuters - General Motors Corp and Chrysler aim to drop as many as 3,000 U.S. dealers and are expected to begin sending notifications as early as Thursday, three people briefed on the still developing plans said.

Angel's Story

NBC-TV Fridays airs a documentary that details Farrah Fawcett's cancer struggle. "Farrah's Story," a candid account of her medical treatments and efforts to maintain her dignity, was shown in Beverly Hills on Wednesday night. The former "Charlie's Angel" star wasn't well enough to attend. Fawcett was diagnosed in 2006 with anal cancer that has spread to her liver.
Stewart was a producer on "Farrah's Story," which airs Friday on NBC. O'Neal, who remains close to Fawcett although their long romance ended in the 1990s, said he plans to watch the film with her.

Who's Hot?
House star Olivia Wilde topped Maxim's annual Hot 100 list. The actress admitted that the honor is impressive, explaining, "I'm considered sexy even though I'm wearing a lab coat every day and seen as a doctor on TV. That really says something. Playing someone who is not defined by her looks and being considered hot, that really makes me feel good."
Michelle Obama nabbed a spot on the list at 93 because of "her accomplishments, her fashion sense and her triceps." Classics like Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson came in at 26 and 34, respectively, and although Lauren Conrad dropped off the list, her The Hills co-stars Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port and Heidi Montag all scored spots. The Hot 100 Top 5 are:
1. Olivia Wilde 2. Megan Fox 3. Bar Rafaeli 4. Malin Akerman 5. Mila Kunis.

Go here for complete list

Community Service

First Lady Talks About Changing Her Life
Touting the value of community service, first lady Michelle Obama yesterday (May 12th) spoke about when she left her job at a corporate law firm to take a job in public service. Speaking to about 250 employees of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that manages public service programs, Obama said that at the time her father had just died, and she'd also lost a close friend to cancer. She said, "I had to ask myself whether, if I died tomorrow, would I want this to be my legacy, working in a corporate firm, working for big companies. And when I asked myself the question, the resounding answer was, absolutely not." Obama quit her job and helped establish Chicago's chapter of Public Allies, and AmeriCorps community service program that trained young people for jobs in the nonprofit world. The first lady yesterday urged Americans to get involved with community service, saying, "National and community service is near and dear to my heart. There is nothing more fulfilling. It's an opportunity to put your faith into action in a way that regular jobs don't allow."

No word on whether the First Lady was wearing her $540 sneakers.

Trump: 'You're NOT Fired'
Donald Trump has said Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, can retain her crown. Trump, who owns the Miss USA pageant, made the announcement Tuesday at Trump Tower in New York City. The AP reports the 21-year-old Prejean failed to reveal before last month's Miss USA pageant that she had posed in her underwear as a teenager. Trump says the pageant has determined the photos are "fine."

President Obama, Prejean seem to share same view on marriage..

For Fun!





What IS going on here? For fun (this is PG13 stuff), click here for Awkward Family Photos.com


Quick Shots
Happy Birthday America! The American Family Association is now sponsoring Independence Day tea parties in more than 640 U.S. cities in all 50 states. See story here

D'OH!: Fox News has put together its list of the top 10 TV catch phrases of all time, at the same time as it explains that these catch phrases are disappearing. "It takes flair and attitude to invent a great TV catch phrase," Fox writes, "and with today's audience attention span pulled in so many directions over so many TV channels, the era of the classic catch phrase is fading fast."
Here are its picks:
"No soup for you!" -- The "Soup Nazi" from Seinfeld
"De plane, de plane!" -- Tattoo from Fantasy Island
"Kiss my grits!" -- Flo from Alice
"Oh my God! They killed Kenny!" -- Stan, Kyle and Cartman on South Park
"Up your nose with a rubber hose." -- Vinnie Barbarino from Welcome Back, Kotter
"Good night, John Boy." -- Family members on The Waltons
"D'oh!" -- Homer on The Simpsons
"I love it when a plan comes together." -- Hannibal from The A-Team
"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?" -- Arnold from Diff'rent Strokes
"Is that your final answer?" -- Regis Philbin from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Megan Fox is resentful that her sexuality gets in the way of people taking her seriously. The Transformers 2 star tells June's Esquire that even though she feels like she has to "prove that I'm not a retard," she won't go to the lengths that Scarlett Jonhansson does -- in the respect that "I don't want to have to go on talk shows and pull out every single SAT word I've ever learned to prove, like, 'Take me seriously, I am intelligent, I can speak.'


Check The Dumbest Celebs


Check How to Act Smart


Parting Shot
An WSJ story Tuesday highlighted what went wrong with Google's attempt to sell advertising on radio stations. According to the WSJ: Google misjudged the capacity of its technology to work beyond the Web, and underestimated the human side of the business. Radio stations refused to turn over airtime to a computer algorithm that set prices far lower than their own rates.
Bottom line: Radio realized Google's lowball rates would mean suits wouldn't make their bonuses.

Launches

The Space Shuttle Atlantis blasts off from launch pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center on May 11, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is on a mission to service the Hubble telescope. (NASA Photo)

Another FLA Launch
Florida Governor Charlie Crist's bid for the US Senate seat of 'retiring' Mel Martinez faces a home state hurdle. Namely, restless conservatives. According to an article in Politico, the GOP base is not particularly happy with Crist's embrace of the the Obama stimulus. But, his biggest challenge could come from a fresh face. Read full article here.

New Afghan Warrior
"This is a very big deal," Fred Kaplan writes at Slate of President Obama's plan to replace General David McKiernan, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, with General Stanley McChrystal. "McKiernan's ouster signals a dramatic shift in U.S. strategy for the war in Afghanistan. And it means that the war is now, unequivocally, 'Obama's war.'" Read full article here.