Scattered Nuggets of Policy, Wisdom But More Confessional Mode
It pays to be president of the Unitied States of America. We must quickly admit that while the salary of a sitting president may not be more than that--let's say- a baseball, basketball or Football player or a Hollywood/action star, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, any president stands to make lots of money once he leaves office. Now we are not talking about the ego boost that comes from being the top male, alpha male in the world. In a few terms, the office of the president does pay through special speeches, presentations, fund-raising events, book publications and memoirs. Such is the case for the brilliant mind, great speaker former President Bill Clinton.
How many people can receive a $12 million advance on a book way before anything is written? More interestingly is speed at which the same book is made a bestseller list from New York to San Francisco and anywhere else in between.
Clinton's presidency was greatly marked by many years of peace and prosperity. As we look back on the 1990s, we can say that his tenure benefitted from the collapse of the Soviet Union or the end of the Cold War, the economic wealth created by the computer and Internet and the various forms of businesses they spawned. With lots of pressures from his party members and Republicans, the Clinton administration managed to balance the budget and start the welfare reform.
If Clinton was not a politician, he could have been a good marketer. He knows how to gauge the public's needs. He appears to like numbers. Well, let's say with 957 pages, My Life covers lots of interesting topics and events that took place under his guard. One reader of the book even suggested that Clinton may have had time to watch the Oprah Winfrey Show. He knows what the readers want. Just like any American of these times, Clinton knows about the power of the confessional mode. It sells books especially if they are full with tidbits from his personal life indiscretion.
My Life is not a dry book: Clinton accepts the blame for his affair with Monica Lewinsky
(His joke is that the impeachment brought him closer to his wife who had initially sent him to the dog house -couch-). As I go through the various pages of this tome, I get to understand the President's greatness and weaknesses. Look, he'll tell you he's just like us. He can rise and fall all at once. He is not a fool who does not recognize his mistakes.
Clinton is too smart to have written a dry book about policies. He did not want the book to be about setting scores with his opponents in the "Right Wing Conspiracy." Ken Starr and his impeachers are on top of the list. He knew he had to come clean first to his wife and then to the nation. Didn't we see this type of emotional tragedies in the French and English literature and history? He will be greatly sorry for the rift he created in his own family. He admitted that his daughter and his wife became distant. He admitted to being pained by the sorrow and shame of his beloved daughter who was at a crucial time in her own life.
My Life shows Clinton loves himself. He uses the confessional mode to tell his story. It's a form of storytelling popularized mostly by the talk shows of which Oprah champions. He volunteers information that has been in the public domain for years. He also makes some revelations about his mother who was married five times to four men. To connect with the average reader in Middle America, he writes about his hardship growing up in Arkansas in a home where his stepfather and his mother did not always get along. He reveals that man had an alcohol problem. Clinton also writes about his tendency to hide things away from those who love him the most. A man with a good and bad side. A real man. A complete man. In the book, he wants to side with those who defend sexual privacy. He also becomes contrite writing about the details of the affair and its impact on his wife and daughter.
This time, Bill Clinton does not need a poll to tell him that Americans like reading about the intimate details of powerful and famous people. Even if they had heard the story from prosecutor Ken Star and his group, the average American readers want to read the story of the affair from the main actor, the most powerful man of his time.
My Life is an interesting book that will shed more light on the man who is Bill Clinton, his administration and his aspirations. If you thought you knew this intellectual, Bill Clinton, read this book. You'll find out that he does not like to be called "slick bill." Clinton is a survivor. He knows how to turn the misfortunes and defeats of his life into great stories of triumph.
This Sony DSC-P93 is an upgrade of the Sony DSC-P92. It's a 5MP resolution with 3X optical zoom. It comes equipped with enhanced shooting performance and the ability to connect your conversion lenses. You can even capture short videos with its MPEG Movie VX mode and print directly from the camera with PictBridge technology. Get more info by checking Sony. Or you can buy it at amazon.com
American automakers have been paying attention to this Japanese company. They can't take Toyota for granted any longer. It's clear that the Japanese automaker has shushed, hushed the mouths of the naysayers. With its large menu of vehicles, it has made a huge dent in the hearts and pocketbooks of most consumers. The Japanese automaker appears to have been able to meet the demands of each generation of consumers. It goes without saying that the company has been able to match their taste too. This is so true with the super deluxe, all-luxury 2004 Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD 4 door. Shopping with a good friend of mine, I had the opportunity to test drive it recently.
What are the 2004 Toyotal Land Cruiser's Competitors?
Believe it or not, this great piece of engineering has its competitors on the market. If you find yourself having to compare the 2004 Toyota with any of the following vehicles, then you'll know for sure that this truck is in its own league. Some of the competitors are: 2004 Chevrolet Surburban K1500 4 door Sport Utility, 2004 Cadillac Escalade AWD 4 door Sport Utility, 2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4 wheel drive 4 door Sport Utility, 2004 GMC Yukon Yukon Denali AWD 4 door Sport Utility, 2004 Hummer H2 4 door Sport Utility. I have test-driven most of these trucks. I have found them to be nothing that can be compared with the Toyotal Land Cruiser. Either some of them are too stiff or others are too bulky with no sense of aesthetics. Well, let me just add that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
What to expect on the 2004 Toyota Land Cruiser?
Once I completed the regular formalities of the dealership, I was well on my way for the spin around the city. Fortunately, there are lots of freeways around. I found the Toyota Land Cruiser to be very responsive. Once I pressed on the accelerator, I could feel how the truck was ready to power itself in the lane. With a 4.7 engine, 235 horsepower @4800 rpm, this toyota is the new beast on the road. Yet, it drives smooth. That's what pleases a female friend of mine who also test-drove the vehicle. There's no sweating in steering it at all. The only drawback would the 13/16 MPG. We can agree with the fact that this V8 truck equipped with the latest equipment and technological gadgets compensates for any deficiencies.
What are some of the features you will find?
Expect to find vehicle stability control, traction control, and dual multi-stage airbags, front and rear automatic climate control,driver and front-passenger, power tilt, telescoping steering wheel and many more equipments. It's worth noting that the toyota comes equipped with DVD and backup camera etc.
I enjoyed my test-driving experience. I would recommend it to anybody who is on the market for a new luxuy vehicle.
4.1 MP Sony Cyber Shop Digital Camera Topic: DigiCams/Memory_Stick What To Remember About The DSC-P41: It starts fast, takes less time between shots, less lag between pressing the shutter button and the picture taking and Real Imaging Processor etc.
Once again, Sony has come to define point-and-shoot digital photography with the 4.1 Cyber-shot Camera. Packed with neat little features, it has been the favorite of a large group of users. From casual enthusiasts to passionate or serious photographers, the ease with which this camera comes helps make it a top present.
The new Sony Cyber-Shot camera is all you need to stay in touch with your family members scattered upon the surface of the earth. With the push and pull factors that cause a lot of families to relocate to various corners of the continental United States, it becomes important to stay in touch with the loved ones. Besides the traditional phone call, an e-mail and pictures of the things that matter to the family members are the next best thing. What I like about this camera is its portability. It's easy to carry around. It captures great shots which will surprise your picture viewers. All you need to do is to set your mode, choose your target, point and shoot. I have been quite satisfied with the photo outputs. The shutter lag is very negligible. I found this camera to be at the same level of a normal film camera when it comes to the speed with which you can shoot.
The Cyber shot comes equipped with 3.6X smart digital zoom and 1.5" color LCD. It also captures video with audio in MPEG movie mode. Now depending on the amount of memory you have, you can shoot several video clips which you can send to colleagues, friends, family members and businesses. A friend of mine who is an investigator always carries this camera. It greatly simplifies his work. Another friend who is an auto appraiser uses the features of this camera to prepare his estimates. He works with insurance companies and individuals who were involved in accidents. Depending on what you want to do, you can use this little cute camera to take digital stills or shoot movie or video clips. This is where it becomes crucial that you upgrade your memory. Anything lower than 32 MB will cause you to be frustrated over the lack of memory. Imagine you are about to shoot a great picture when the sound and message pop up on the screen. You can always make do by downloading to your computer, but on these occasions, you are hardly close to any place where you can have access to your computer.
Reasonable Price
For a little bit over $200.00. you can own a nice camera. With 4.1 MP, that's way above what you need to take and send out pictures of your pets, kids, garden, local band and merchandise. If you are participating in an online auction, you'll need to master the art of digital photography wit this camera.
Our democracy does work! Fahrenheit 9/11 just proves it. A regular Joe, a middle-class man can criticize a sitting president in a time of war without any worry of reprisals. Do the same thing in Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean and anywhere else, you can remain certain that your days are numbered. After watching all the efforts to keep this movie out of the box office, I have realized that censorship may work up to a point. It also shows how some major companies are intimidated or even bullied by the economic deals they are searching in a specific time.
Michael Moore is no stranger to picking on the powerful and famous. It's like David vs. Goliath. He did not hesitate to take on the president of the NRA. The voice of Moses ended up talking to him. He studied the map of Hollywood and found his house. You may sometime wonder who is helping him out. When an insurance company refused to authorize a drug for a dying man, he organized a mock funeral complete with a coffin, pallbearers and bagpiping music. The company had to give in to the request. Call it a victory for the small guy. He took on Roger in "Roger and Me." He also took on the powerful NRA group in the movie "Bowling for Columbine." Moore is a man who has a knack at gauging the deepest and most held sentiments of the American public. He packages them in movie and/or documentary formats and sells them to the populace. He is not always easy on his subjects. That explains why he sometimes can't find a proper distribution channel. The publisher of "Stupid White Men" tried to find excuse not to publish the book after the events of 9-11. A librarian found out about it, went to his chat room to inform his colleagues who started flooding the publisher with e-mail. The next thing that happened is history. The book sat on the bestseller list for months.
Michael Moore: The Male Version of Erin Broccovich?
Is Michael Moore watching out for you? Is Bill O'Reilly watching out for you?
In Fahrenheit 9/11, a clear anti-Bush documentary, Mr. Moore openly criticized the president's immediate response to the attacks on the Twin towers and Pentagon. The tone of the documentary leads to question the president's response during these first minutes. Moore wants to the viewer to believe that the president was out of touch and over his head. In other words, he needed to be prodded to action by some outside forces which may be the CIA, FBI or any advisers. He portrays him as not knowing what to do. The movie fails to show that this was Mr. Bush's way of not alarming the children he was reading to. Mr. Bush wanted to spare them the shock of the atrocities on the rest of the nation for 7 minutes. Depending on which side you are on, you will want to read between the lines. There's a gray between Moore's interpretation of the events and the facts of the day. Also, in clear terms, the movie shows the Bush family's ties to the House of Saud. Moore wants you to believe that this may have impeded the president's jump to action.
Walt Disney Co./Miramax
Despite all the boycott by Miramax (Walt Disney Co.), the movie ends up being released thanks to the quick thinking of Mr. Moore and Miramax movie executives Harvey and Bob Weinstein. With packed theaters, the movie raked in $21.8 million in its opening week-end. One may wonder is whether the movie becomes so popular because of all the publicity attacks against it or because it is truly time for the general public to hear something unbecoming about the current administration.
In the movie, Moore interviews a mother who is grieving the death of his son in Iraq. She asks some tough questions no one had an answer to. It's worth noting the movie is popular in army base towns. Sellout crowds are reported in theaters all over the country. So much for those at Disney who refused to release the documentary.
One may wonder what's next for Michael Moore. Until the public finds out, they'll watch this one while getting ready for the next elections in November, 2004. Whether this documentary will influence the voters' decisions remains to be seen. If any lesson should be learned, it is that those who are searching will find kernels of truth on the road. When all other networks shy away from the hard questions, individuals like Moore and Erin B. will stumble upon opportunities that will make them millionaires.
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Gorgeous Bride Talks to Cameraman
What To Remember About The DSC-P41: It starts fast, takes less time between shots, less lag between pressing the shutter button and the picture taking and Real Imaging Processor etc.
