New Owner for the Apprentice Blog.com

I discovered while cruising through the various links that I have on this blog, that one of my favorites has a new owner. That's right. The Apprenticeblog.com is up and running again. There was a period of time during the 5th season where it was simply not being updated. So I actually spent more at the official blog, where Donald Trump essentially published the "tips" that he provides each episode.

Well, the original owner put it up for auction on ebay and the current owner purchased it. He seems like a nice fellow and is seeking to maintain the site.

I liked this particular blog because there was real analysis of each episode but it also cateered to the armchair critic in all of us.

I look forward to visiting the site in September when the Apprentice debuts in LA. (As in Los Angeles, I shudder to think what Mark Burnett would do with the show in Louisiana.)

Survey finds that Japanese workers are exhausted

Kjeld Duits is a journalist that reports about Japanese culture and politics at his website: http://www.ikjeld.com/

Much of his reporting has been particularly insightful since news about Japanese culture usually sways between love of manga, samurai and geisha to hatred and fear of the "yellow menace that was going to wipe us all out in the 1940s" and "the evil yellow menace that work too hard and are killing us in auto production and the sciences.'

Japan is not perfect by any means. It is also not a country that needs to be fixed necessarily by conforming to American culture. So, I appreciate Kjeld for reporting on the good, the bad and the ugly of this nation.

It seems that the Generation X and Y employees in Japan are exhausted and not liking it according to the article to be found here.

Sites that I visit-end of July edition

The African American Environmentalist Association is a blog that I visit from time to time. On a very basic level, it debunks the unspoken conventional wisdom that Blacks are not concerned with environmental issues. I appreciate the effort the author has taken time to provide a blog that is informative and topical.

And though I hate that I feel I need to to say this, but those who are not African American can also get a lot out this blog as well.

You heard it here....

According to AlterNet, the Marines are using MySpace to recruit.

That's right. MySpace.com

The article can be found here: Marines recruiting on MySpace.

You can't say that the Marines don't ignore something that works. MySpace has become, even more than Friendster, the online networking tool of choice, especially among certain demographics-the very demographics that recruiters salivate over. Not only do members become friends of Suzy and Trey, they also add to their friends list record companies, magazines, religious groups, bars, colleges, and social causes. Through blogging, chat and bulletins, like minded friends engage in info sharing and bonding. The perceived safety of this sharing in a place like MySpace, turns this into a marketers' (and recruiters) pot of gold.

The Marines figured out how to recruit using new media and that they have a profile on MySpace, is not something that I find particularly insidious. Again, marketers have already beaten them to the punch with profiles and ads and contests tailored to entice the magical demographic into spending their money (which is often times their parents' money).

My only beef with the recruiters for the Marines-with the armed forces in general-is that they are upfront about what it really means to be a soldier and that you are essentially okay with sacrificing your life whenever it is asked of you. It is not something that you do for 4-6 years and then you get money to go to college. I am not cool with tying service as a soldier with being a "real man" (although that has been around forever).

I am also not cool with what I perceive as the preying upon the poor and the troubled that recruiters engage in. Heck, I welcome them to recruit at Harvard and Stanford and Yale and Berkeley. Why should the poor kids have all the advantages of becoming the pride of their nation and making the noble sacrifice?

I also echo the sentiment that went around in 2003 that those in Congress who support the current war in Iraq, should march their children who are of age down to the armed forces recruitment offices and have them sign up. In case someone comes up with the excuse that they only have daughters, it will please them to know that except for certain combat roles, the military is open to women also.

I would be interested to know what the yield of recuits would be for the Marines from their MySpace site.

Yet another random thought

In my comment to a post about interracial dating, I actually posted the lyrics of "Happiness Is" from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

For me, it says all I think needs to be said about the issue.

MySpace humor

Enough said.

http://www.myspacehumor.com/

What Tarot Card are you....

This was so interesting that I had to post it twice.

You Are The Devil

You don't represent evil, but you do represent the animalistic side of humans. You demonstrate what happens when we listen to our first instincts. At times you tend to be materialistic and hedonistic, giving in to temptation. Admit it, you're guilty of acting first - and forgetting to think later! Your fortune: Right now, you may be having a difficult time as a result of choices you have made. You need to think about what's important in your life, and discover what chains you down. It is the time to acknowledge your faults and take steps to overcome them. It's also the time to let go of any fears or inhibitions that are holding you back.

What Tarot Card Are You?