willpollock.com

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A Simple Message: 'It Gets Better'

Considering how bullying continues to be a problem in our schools, here’s a message for today’s teens who think there is no hope - courtesy of my pal (and ARTvision Artist) Ed Tillman:

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How Do You Experience Your Loved Ones, Friends, Co-workers?

From the Royal Society for the Arts and ForaTV:

“We are soft-wired to experience another’s plight as if we were experiencing it ourselves.”

Fascinating piece from Jeremy Rifkin, “The Empathic Civilization” - an animated example of why I’m writing “EIQ: Everyman’s Guide to Developing Emotional Fortitude” Because, in many cases, we as men act against what we’re born, bred and conditioned to do, to be.

According to the piece, “...we are wired not for aggression, violence, self-interest or utilitarianism - but for sociability, attachment, affection and companionship.

“The first drive is to actually belong,” he says in the piece. We ought to “extend our identities to think of the human race as fellow sojourners. ...We need to rethink our institutions of society and lay the groundwork for an empathic civilization.”

Make time to watch this groundbreaking video,
here.
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'F**k You' - A Casual Study In Standing Up For Oneself

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"Housekeeping??" A Laugh For Your Job Search

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Usually A Throwaway, This Final SNL Skit Killed

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More Like 'They'll Be There' - Comprehensive MJ With A Capella Style

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'Can I Cook, Or Can't I?'

Family Guy has a bold ode to Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Awesome!

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Bruce: Unsung Hero Of Family Guy

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Rates Are Going Up All Over... Even Behind Bars


Prison Economy Spirals As Price Of Pack Of Cigarettes Surpasses Two Hand Jobs
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Happy Birthday To The Planet's Finest Hag

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Why Obama, Pt. III: 'Transformational Figure' Will End Us Vs. Them

(ATLANTA :: 3 Nov. 2008) This race is not just about race.

Underlying threads of an "Us vs. Them" mentality have been poisoning our politics, our daily lives actually, for decades. In the words of Colin Powell, we need a "transformational figure" to dismantle and permanently dissolve that ideology:



Barack Obama is just that person to bring about dramatic change in our country. Yes, he's only one person and yes, he's just a politician... with the same shortcomings as any of us.

But as I told my relatives out West, it's not just about what he represents - it's about whom he'd surround himself with; the potential pool of those sharp, astute policy wonks - people who can problem solve and not wag fingers (that is, when they're not sitting on their hands). That made the difference for me. We need expert leadership in as many positions in government as possible, and now here's our chance.

Even
Andrew Sullivan, a conservative writer and pundit, someone I watch intently, has been blogging about why Obama is the best choice. Thanks to Musty for passing along his post about an essay in the Times of London, talking about how Obama is the sensible salve for "profound national demoralization."

This is not about party affiliation or loyalty for me - this is about who presents the better solutions for our social (Supreme Court), economic (broken credit markets) and other woes.

I've already voted Obama and
Jim Martin to defeat Saxby Chambliss, and will be volunteering tomorrow on Election Day. I will bring my camera along with me and record anything of interest.

As I said before... can you imagine intellectual curiosity in the White House again?

We're one more day away from restoring it.

# # #
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Can You Imagine A President With 'Intellectual Curiosity' Again?

Amidst so many conservative defections to the Obama side, I've seen no better, more lucid and more compelling endorsement that that of Colin Powell.

Take a look.


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SNL Becomes More Brilliant And Astute By The Week

Shout out to Jason Sudeikis and Queen Latifah for nailing it along with Tina Fey once again.


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You Raised $3,590 For Obama... Triscuit For Vice President!

Thanks ("...but no theeeanks!") and gratitude for all attendees of "Turning the Page: Atlantans Rally for Obama." Take a look at the pictures below... I loved seeing new and familiar (not old!) faces.

Thanks to Michael Baker of Positive Impact and Edmund Thornton of Georgia Pride for helping make this event so memorable.

Here's a look at the pictures:




And for those of you who missed Triscuit's Sarah Palin hissy fit, here you go:


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Take A Break From Election Hell For A Thrill Ride


Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.
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Happy Birthday To Two Homies: Clark Kirby & Scott Gibson

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I'm Thinking... Next Time? Don't Mess With Letterman

First, John McCain ditches Letterman in favor of an interview with Katie Couric, apparently not being truthful about his reasons for the no-show:





Then, Letterman came back on Day Two with even more zingers - including a snarky comment about inauguration day and Paris Hilton:



Last night, Julia Louis-Dreyfus came on and showed some solidarity:



I wonder what Dave's got on tap tonight.
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I'll Deliver The Muffin Basket To Sarah Palin Myself

Kathy Griffin was in rare form at the Fab Fox this weekend.

Below is one of a bunch of clips from her late-show gig, including a riff on how Sarah Palin has been a boon to comics across the country:

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Let's Kick Off September With A F$##$%ing Reality Check

Double talk, shit shoveling and lies.

But don't take it from me. Take a peek at Jon Stewart's dumbass round-up.

"Hold on lassie. It gets bumpy from here."


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Would Dr. King Have Gone To Starbucks? I'll Have A Venti Elitist


Portrayal Of Obama As Elitist Hailed As Step Forward For African Americans
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HGTV's Ground Breakers Films Final Act

Here's a clip from behind the scenes as Justin Cave and the rest of the Ground Breakers crew shoots the final act of the green renovation at 844:



I was busy filming this and a few other clips before I took my turn in front of the camera.

This experience has been memorable from the start and I'm grateful to the entire HGTV team (not to mention Lynn Saussy for introducing us) for making the project so much fun.

More info to follow about when the episode will air, but I'm thinking it'll be in the fall sometime. They followed us from beginning to end and will likely do quite a bit of morphing and time-lapse photography on some of the elements.

Mary Grace even snapped a shot of me in make-up! Of course, I ended up sweating most of it off...

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This Is Just So Funny That I Had To Re-run It

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Stolen Effexor Slogan Effectively Ends Ineffectual Affect Of The GOP

See more Adam "Ghost Panther" McKay videos at Funny or Die
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Never 'Underestimate' Jennifer Paige. She's Baaaaaaaack

This video basically makes the following important point: if you're gonna be an arrogant douche hole, I'm takin' the credit card.

And the car!


Video, Underestimated Jennifer Paige
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Don't Let The Cuts Fool You. True Journalists Need True Training

The below NBC News report talks about the deep cuts in the newspaper business.

And my alma mater thinks that, since reporting and writing is moving online, graduate schools must train journalists as thoughtless, shallow, promotional whores instead of real reporters.

Well, don't let the deep newspaper attrition fool you: we need good training more than ever. If we want to find the next Frank Rich, the only way to do that is to keep training journalists the old fashioned way - and then fold them in with new media.

In other words, if we don't apply tried-and-true standards to our bold new medium, we'll just become big shipping carriers of information without the depth we so desperately need in a country with a free press.


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'Lead Or Leave': Thomas Friedman Nails Bush's Energy Failure

In today's Times, Thomas Friedman deserves some sort of medal.

His op-ed, in the plainest terms yet, details why our sorry president deserves a failing grade in energy policy.

I was reporting and writing for MarketWatch.com when Bush took office - and when Cheney was crafting energy policy with a board that consisted of a who's who in Corporate Oil.

Since that time,
his failure to act has been widely reported by MSM and blogs, Web sites, focus groups - you name it. The corporatization of energy policy had begun.

Today, Bush is heckling Congress that if they don't act before recess, they've got the blood of $4 per gallon gas on their hands without domestic drilling. Without a formal plan for alternative energy, he's just trying to make his fat-cat buddies even fatter than they were before.

Bush is incompetent. He's an elitist scumbag who thinks he's God's gift (literally, figuratively...), which, as evidenced by the below video, is definitely not true.

It's sad that impeachment is summarily off the table basically because we're so close to him leaving. Just on energy policy alone, his grade is "F".

Of course that's just one reason for our fatigue... Embodied brilliantly by Skeeter and Jimmy Bob, watching from the sidelines, who
could give a rat's ass about Bush's arrival:





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Kids Say The Damndest Things... With Better Memories

NBC has disabled YouTube's embedding function for many of these great, classic Friends bloopers -- but I found one that will make you chuckle...

Watch how Jennifer Anniston and David Schwimmer gain some greater understanding about their lines.


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An Invitation To The Tea Partay, Penned In Cursive

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