Riding that Train

It's now two weeks since I joined Nexient Learning on contract. What a crazy few weeks it has been!

This week has been marked by non-stop marketing team meetings as the group has come together for a National level pow-wow. Just today I have had nearly 7 hours of meetings as we have run the range of "The Site Experience" to a meeting with a marketing agency to a deep dive session about new marketing database initiatives.

Also this week I have reignited on my workout program after a couple of weeks of inactivity (Wii not included). On Wednesday I tried out a power cardio class at a nearby gym and yesterday I had a training session with Humberto. I'm really feeling it in my back today!

Liverpool had a great match against Toulouse to advance to the group stages of the Champions League on Tuesday. I am cautiously excited about the mix of the team this season -- there have been a great number of changes since the end of last season. We have strikers! I am still the webmaster for the Toronto LFC Supporters Club, so many LFC related comments I make are found there.

I saw Superbad on the weekend -- really well written, just a riot! Perhaps not a flick for the folks though.

Google Phone in the Works

Rumours around the fabled Google Phone is picking up, suggesting that Google is making a real push to launch something early next year and and is no longer to keep everyone quiet.

Google’s effort is different than the iPhone. They look to be focused mostly on the OS and layering Google applications like Maps and Gmail on top of that, while simultaneously talking to device manufacturers about a number of devices. Apple, instead, took a much more holistic approach in creating the iPhone.

Gonzales Resigns

US Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has resigned. An architect of the Guantanamo terror prison program and Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, his tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.

Mr. Gonzales, who had previously rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said.

Beauty pinpoints Education shortfalls.

US Foreign Policy impeded by lack of maps.

Scarlett Johansson Rockets to #1

>>OK, Scarlett Johansson is now number one on my list.

AP: What about this album you're releasing? It's all Tom Waits covers?

Johansson: I've always been a huge fan of Tom Waits and I had this kind of golden opportunity to make an album however I wanted and it's kind of a dream chance. ... Originally I thought that I would do an album of standards and I wanted to include a Tom Waits song. And I don't know, I thought maybe everybody does standards, and so, I see Tom Waits as being kind of a composer of modern standards and so it seemed appropriate that I could interpret his songs. Obviously, it's not an album where I'm trying to sound like him. It would be impossible. He writes such beautiful songs and incredible melodies and they're so cinematic and kind of open-ended so I felt like it would be something that I could be inspired by.

Richard Branson jumps the shark.

Richard Branson jumped the shark last night on the Colbert Report.

The founder of the Virgin Group was on the Colbert Report last night to promote the new venture "Virgin America". The action was as follows: (1) Colbert asks questions about being a billionaire (2) Branson offers a flurry of lame responses (3) Branson forces plug for service at end of interview (4) Branson throws water on Colbert (5) Colbert gets staffer to get water, then dampens Branson. Some have called it awkward or even a fight. It was just pathetic.

Branson's principal mistake was that he didn't "get" the Colbert Report -- there was never a chance that Colbert was going to let him wax poetically about his new service in the Colbert spotlight. So instead of promoting the Branson cult of personality, the spot was instead a lame reach for a target market by a tired tireless self-promoter.

The Cult of Branson (Member #1: Richard Branson) is getting pretty tired -- it is at least on autopilot. This thought first occurred to me when Branson was on one of the Toronto news stations to promote Virgin Mobile and portable phone numbers. The "be different, yeah, yeah" message was there with the bearded and jeaned Branson, but he knew almost nothing about the new "service".

Where Virgin goes now that it's brand image has lost it's cache will be interesting. It's hard to see how a discounter can continue to play the "stick it to the man" card when Branson himself is getting perilously close to becoming "the man". Hey Virgin Group, do something _really_ different. Impress me.

June Callwood's Remarkable Interview

Life gets easier for Lost ETs

Google has added more than a million astronomical photographs stitched together to give users of Google Maps a deep picture of the sky.

The software will display diagrams of constellations, Hubble telescope pictures of the far reaches of the galaxy, and animated graphics of the planets and other bodies as they move in the sky. The sky portion of Google Earth is also, like the earth, fully searchable.

Tony Wilson funeral today.

Music mogul Anthony Wilson, the man behind bands such as Happy Mondays and New Order, died Aug. 10 from a heart attack. He was also battling kidney cancer. He was 57.

The impresario and TV host is credited with bringing the Manchester music scene to the world. His label, Factory Records, unleashed the sounds of Joy Division, Happy Mondays and New Order, earning him the moniker "Mr. Manchester."

Rove resigns

Top White House aide Karl Rove, seen by many as the brains behind George W Bush's presidency, has said he will resign at the end of August.

'I just think it's time,' Mr Rove said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, adding that he was quitting for the sake of his family. Mr Rove has worked with Mr Bush since 1993 when he ran for Texas governor. As Mr Bush's chief strategist, he is seen as instrumental in delivering election victories in 2000 and 2004.

The decision to step down comes as poll ratings for Mr Bush are at their lowest level since his election in 2000.

Wedding Photos

It's taking me quite a while, but here are the wedding photos.