2013 NFL Predictions

My guilty pleasure every Labor Day weekend is to make NFL predictions. No one really cares; I don't have early information about the league; there are no interviews with players or other NFL hangers-on. The piece is just about what I think.

NFC East -- Skins repeat. They're healthier than last year, and the Skins D is better than credited. The other divisional teams don't scare anyone. Philly? As Buddy Ryan once said when Jimmy Johnson moved into the pro coaching ranks from Miami, there ain't no East Carolinas on the schedule. Chip Kelly will discover this truth the hard way.
NFC North -- This division will produce a surprise champ. It's easy to forget that the Minnesota Vikings were a playoff team last year. They'll win the division, as long as Adrian Peterson remains healthy. Vikes' D is very good, and underrated. I don't buy the Bears. The loss of Lovie Smith and the ascension of Jay Cutler are a losing formula. Packers don't have a championship D, and Aaron Rodgers can't keep taking a beating. Lions will go 7-9.
NFC South -- Not for the faint of heart, Part One. All four teams can do something well. None of them do everything well. Carolina has a strong front seven, Saints have Payton back, Bucs have Revis, and Atlanta has Julio Jones and a lot to prove. Since every team is roughly equal, I like the team with the best coach. That's the Saints.
NFC West -- Not for the faint of heart, Part Two. Rams will be the team no one wants to play this year. I watched rookie Rams LB Alec Ogletree against Denver in pre-season and he looked like the real deal. Fisher building up a very good roster in St. Louis, a squad that beat the 49ers and Seattle last year. That said, 49ers are the team that has the best shot at winning the Super Bowl. San Francisco's shrewdest move? Signing Anquan Boldin. Seattle will be lucky to go 9-7. Cardinals have a splendid D, but will struggle to score points and win on the road.

AFC East -- Patriots win by default. Bills and Jets stink. Miami will feel loss of Reggie Bush more than supposed.
AFC North -- Not for the faint of heart, Part Three. I have a funny feeling the Ravens make the playoffs, even with a tough sched and defending champ bull's eye on their uniforms. Manning-friendly league insulted Baltimore by forcing Ravens to open its championship defense at Denver. Aging Steelers still look weak on the O-line, which means Big Ben gets hammered again. Bengals have talent but don't have the knack for the playoffs. Browns should be better than last year, but that might only translate to five Ws.
AFC South -- Texans win easily, and that's unfortunate. I don't see Kubiak as a championship coach and I don't see Schaub as in the same class as Brady, either Manning, RGIII, Luck, Kaepernick, Wilson, Rodgers, Brees, or Newton. Indy wins nine, because they get four wins against Tennessee and Jacksonville. (That means they only have to win five of the other 12 games.) Nobody cares about the Jags, and Titans have the feel of a 7-9 team.
AFC West -- The league has done everything possible to help Denver and Manning get into the playoffs and get a bye. Ugh. Raiders and Chargers are lousy. KC might win nine, and AFC will find out just how good Andy Reid's coaching is (very good).

Players to watch: Alex Smith (KC, something to prove), Justin Smith (SF, his walk year), Tom Brady (Pats, his most challenging year), LeSean McCoy (Philly, Kelly's offense favors his style), Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals, as long as Carson Palmer stays healthy), Alec Ogletree (Rams, the next great linebacker, once he learns the pro game).

Whose fans will fill NYC restaurants for the Meadowlands Super Bowl? San Francisco and (I'm sorry to say) Houston. High Tech vs. Big Oil. That means lots and lots of money spent in the City That Never Sleeps, which is the point of this year's Super Bowl.

Florida Governor, Jeb Bush Hold Hush-Hush Meeting About Education

Florida governor Rick Scott

Florida governor Rick Scott provided some curious political acrobatics involving the Sunshine State's education system this week. For starters, he convened a three-day education summit. One might infer that the gov attended the gathering. Au contraire. Governor Scott was a no-show to his own event. However, according to the Miami Herald, he found time to arrange a get-together the day after the summit with none other than Jeb Bush.

Also attending the meeting were the state's Board of Education chairperson and a powerful state senator closely allied to Bush. The three-dozen Florida education leaders who participated in the summit were not invited. The governor's spokesperson had no details to add to the story; Scott's schedule simply indicated "Miami FL."

Did anyone say "transparency?"

Mississippi's "Blues Trail"

Tunica, Mississippi roadside marker
for the great blues musician Son House
(Image: pastblues.com)

From my high school days until now, I've listened to the blues. In the early days of my lifelong infatuation with the sound, I collected some original recordings and understood some of the nuances between regional styles as well as those of individual performers. Over the years, I've visited Tennessee and Louisiana, but never had the opportunity to enjoy any musical tourism. This morning, I read a Financial Times piece on Mississippi's "Blues Trail" and began to consider a trip to visit the home of the Delta Blues. (Yes, the FT is an unlikely venue for this sort of topic.)

The article interviews Mississippi officials who have finally grasped the cultural and economic benefits of promoting the state's rich musical heritage. The best line in the story was a quote from Mississippi tourism director Malcolm White:

There's an old line that preservationists use, that poverty is the friend of preservation, which means that if you are so poor you don't tear down your old buildings, you get to use them again.

The larger point of the Financial Times piece was Mississippi's intent to preserve and relay the story of its influential musical patrimony on its own terms. That is a far better choice than a Ken Burns adaptation presented by PBS. As Malcolm White pointed out:

Mississippi has always allowed other people to tell our story and, quite frankly, they always get it wrong. I think that's the story that we have to tell, is that we found a new economy and lo and behold it's the story of who we are. That we don't have to depend totally on someone bringing a factory or some sort of new job to us; that we can create this ourselves and do it by telling our story and inviting people to come and to experience the telling.

Mississippi hopes to extend this cultural assertion by creating trails for country music and for the Civil Rights movement.

Amazon v. IBM: The Redacted Lawsuit Over CIA Contract Publicly Available

When IBM recently persuaded the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the CIA's award of a $600 million cloud computing contract to Amazon, the corporate steam from Jeff Bezos' world headquarters could be felt even in insular Washington, D.C. Amazon did not take the GAO's review of the contract lying down. Amazon legal counsel filed suit against the United States government, of which the GAO is a part, protesting the contract review.

The court papers Amazon filed were released today; a story about Amazon's month-old, hush-hush legal snit appeared in today's Seattle Times.

The most delicious part of the story involved Amazon's assertion that IBM was essentially unworthy of winning any crumb from the CIA data management pie. Why? The sore losers from Seattle claimed that Big Blue should not be permitted to enjoy "the undeserved windfall opportunity to make its otherwise uncompetitive, materially deficient proposal competitive now that it has AWS' price and ratings in hand."

It is ironic that Amazon, which is notoriously secretive and leverages tremendous competitive advantages from its data mining and collection efforts, should complain about another firm's "early information" and ability to undercut its competitor. Mr. Bezos does not apparently like that feeling at all. Don't be surprised if there's some quiet outreach from Seattle to sympathetic ears in the Amazon-friendly Obama Administration.

A Spicy Perspective On Prehistoric Euro Meals

Ancient carvings in Denmark(Image: visitdenmark.com)

Do you like your meals on the spicy side? Well, if that's your preference, you're in tune with the humans who inhabited prehistoric Europe. According to a BBC story, researchers have discovered garlic mustard on pottery remains discovered in the western Baltic region. The approximately 6,000 year-old shards also included "residues from meat and fish" which suggested meals the inhabitants prepared.

It had been thought prehistoric Europeans simply ate what they killed. "Civilized" culinary touches, such as seasoning, was considered a most unlikely direction for European hunting society. Dining on the spicy side, especially if the seasoning was a shared technique, adds intrigue to Europe's mysterious ancestors.

Penelope Casas, Spanish Cuisine Writer -- RIP

Some of Penelope Casas' books
(Image: eater.com)

When Penelope Casas was growing up in Queens, her Greek ethnicity made her an unlikely candidate to write about Spanish cuisine. However, while she was attending Vassar, then-Penelope Fexas took a semester abroad in Spain. She hit the jackpot, finding both her husband and her lifelong affection and understanding of Spanish food there.

Casas, who passed away recently at age 70, became the American writer who introduced a generation of her countrymen and women to genuine Iberian cuisine. As her obituary in The New York Times notes, Casas' books offered literate, observant insights into Spain's many gastronomic regions. They were prepared for the average person, without the self-aggrandizing puffery many of today's insufferable star chefs inflict on the public. Her uncluttered prose made her work enjoyable and informative. I read The Foods and Wines of Spain before my wife and I visited Espana, and returned grateful for having done so.

She also wrote about Spain just as Americans began to shift their travel eyes to this inexpensive, hospitable, and culturally rich Mediterranean nation. Prior to Casas' emergence (helped greatly by The New York Times), few people talked about Spanish food in any serious sort of way. (The interesting food writer Regina Schrambling makes a similar observation in her spot-on eater.com post on Casas.) At that time, French kitchens and Gallic style reigned supreme. Times change; in recent years, Spanish chefs were lionized, while la cuisine francaise tried to locate its culinary compass. Casas was an articulate witness of that evolution, although not an active agent of that change.

She will be missed.

Guantanamo Bay's Prison Library

Gitmo library selection
(Image: The New York Times)

One does not associate the Guantanamo Bay prison with sensitive readings of world literature. Yet, the high-profile incarceration camp does have a library from which its allegedly jihadist-inspired prisoners can withdraw books. The story about the library, its curious book collection, and its regulations, appear in today's Miami Herald.

Some of the donated titles, such as Catcher in the Rye, Little Women, and Frankenstein, seem unlikely to generate interest among Gitmo's incarcerated population. I'm trying to imagine them pondering the prose of Murakami or the poetry of Shakespeare, both of whose works are available to the prisoners. Maybe they'll compare notes on the Bard: one never truly knows. However, I do think a book discussion group is out of the question.

Leanin.Org Suddenly Finds Money For One Paid Internship

Image: npr.org
FYI: NPR has yet to file a report
on the Leanin.org intern story.

This week's public storm over Sheryl Sandberg's Leanin.org's posting of an opportunity to work gratis for the organization has led to some reconsideration of the offer at the women's empowerment nonprofit. Since the story broke, Leanin.org somehow found money to create a paid internship position, according to a piece in today's New York Times.

Times writer Vindu Goel left the best observation for last:

No word yet on how much the new internship will pay, but odds are that it will be less than the $6,000 or so a month that engineering interns at Facebook generally make.

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ICANN Nixes Google Quest for Dotless Domains

Slipping quietly under the radar on a dog day Friday was some interesting tech news. ICANN, a/k/a "The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers," recently voted to turn down Google's request for "dotless domains" that the Mountain View company could introduce and own. The story was reported earlier today in theverge.com.

"Http://cloud" was one domain Google had requested. The intention, in this case, was to direct users to a "user-specified" cloud services platform.

Theverge.com story notes that other firms share Google's lust for control of selected top-level domain names. Amazon, for example, has made its interest known for control of ".book" and ".amazon". It doesn't seem far-fetched to envision famous enterprises such as the Yankees or entertainers such as Jay-Z requesting top-level domain names. Hey, dot-(name your religion), anyone?

Feds Award IBM $1 Billion Cloud Computing Contract

IBM, which howled when Obama Administration-friendly Amazon won a lucrative CIA cloud computing contract, recently won a consolation prize from the federal government. Big Blue won a 10-year, $1 billion deal to provide the Interior Department with cloud computing services. The Interior pie was divided up more or less equally among a number of DC corporate power players, including Lockheed Martin, Verizon, and ATT. The story, originally posted by Bloomberg News, appeared in today's siliconvalley.com.

Why the Interior Department needs a multi-billion dollar, long-term investment in cloud computing was not stated. However, what has become evident is the federal government's role in creating the new millenium's version of the military-industrial complex. This juggernaut requires that tech heavyweights get de facto government subsidies via sweetheart contracts, often generated through corrupt business dealings. As long as Americans remain enthralled with technology and "the promise of tomorrow" (whatever that means), this corrosive situation is unlikely to change.

Sandberg's LeanIn.Org to Its Interns: Work For Free

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg's nonprofit foundation, Leanin.org, recently posted for a part-time intern to assist its editorial guru Jessica Bennett. Apparently, Ms. Sandberg's associate thought free labor was her entitlement: a foundation spokesperson later noted in a statement quoted in a Los Angeles Times story on the contretemps that Leanin.org "has enjoyed the participation of part-time volunteers to help us advance our education and peer support programs."

Keep in mind that Ms. Sandberg recently cashed in over $90 million in Facebook stock. Surely her nonprofit venture, which managed to find a healthy compensation package for Jessica Bennett, could find at least a minimum wage salary for a part-timer.

The moral of the story? Women who "lean in" promptly get "pushed out." Is that the legacy Sandberg wants to create?

Chicago's O'Hare Airport Goes "Animal"

Llama at O'Hare Airport
(Image:redeyechicago.com)

I fly in and out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport every so often. My arrivals and departures are typically uneventful affairs. I certainly don't expect to see llamas near the runway. Yet, according to a story in today's Chicago Tribune, live animals help manicure the airport's grassy areas that humans prudently avoid.

The creatures who feast on O'Hare's apparently fertile grounds include sheep, goats, and burros, as well as llamas. I'll admit that catching a glimpse of an animal associated with the Andes Mountains on the airport's restricted areas seems like a mirage. However, there's a resourcefulness in O'Hare "going animal" that I admire. The alternative -- dull, machine cutting -- hardly seems like an option at all.

"Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" Star Haji -- RIP

Canadian actress Haji
(Image: cbc.ca)

In 1965, movie directors still had the ability to both shock and amuse their audiences. This knack seemed connected to the Ed Wood school of directing; any glimpse into Luis Bunuel's more outrageous montages was purely coincidental. Russ Meyer's circa mid-1960s films fit this profile to a T.

His movies were testaments to comic bad taste and soft core porn. One of his best known features was Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Haji, the actress who played a leading role in the movie, recently passed away; an obit was published in today's online editions of the BBC. However, a much more fun obit, and one more in tune with Meyer's world, appeared in The National Enquirer. The tabloid's piece includes video trailers that capture Haji's screen presence and Meyer's sense of ribald humor. They're great guilty pleasures to watch.

Fukushima Radioactivity Again Reaches "Emergency" Status

Fish Caught Near Fukushima, 2013
(Image: LA Times)

In 2011, nuclear reactors in Fukushima, Japan, became radioactive disaster areas, courtesy of an earthquake and subsequent catastrophic tsunami. The Japanese government and the facility's corporate ownership have tripped over themselves in their desperate flight from their failed Faustian bargain with nuclear energy. The grim scenario has recently become even bleaker, as radioactive groundwater is building up without any obvious exit except one: the Pacific Ocean.

A recent BBC story notes the evident alarm Japanese prime minister Abe's government feels at this most unwelcome turn of events. This environmental disaster continues largely unabated, without any clear solution. It wasn't so long ago when many, including President Obama, were touting nuclear power's promise. That song has changed, hopefully for keeps.

Average Silicon Valley House Costs $1 Million

A story in today's Mercury News notes that the average price of a Santa Clara County home now costs a cool million dollars. The county is the heart of Silicon Valley and its legion of tech zillionaires. The area now rivals the moated areas of Manhattan and Miami Beach as among the country's most expensive residential real estate.

As for the other 99% of Americans, well...there's always $11 per hour jobs "middle class" jobs at Amazon warehouses.

Auction to Feature "Maltese Falcon" Statuette

The "dingus" (a/k/a "The Maltese Falcon"
(image: bonhams.com)

If you're in New York on November 25th and have money needing something to do, see if you can become a bidder for the statuette featured in the movie The Maltese Falcon. Sam Spade's "dingus" will be auctioned, along with other items from motion pictures past and (sometimes) remembered. Bogie's "bird" will be as plain as the creature that served as the dramatic vehicle for the eponymous 1941 film. No diamonds, no precious jewels, no gold will appear on the falcon. Instead, you'll find those items among the prospective buyers at this special event conducted by the auction house Bonham's.

Just don't try to outbid the fat man.

Justice Dept to Apple: Open iPhone and iPad to Amazon.com apps

The Washington Post reported that a recent US District Court ruling against Apple has opened the legal door for the Amazon-friendly Department of Justice and a majority of the nation's state attorneys-general to make commercial demands on the late Steve Jobs' company. The government's brief included demands that Apple open its e-book store to competitors' links. This is supposedly being done so that consumers can have access to "competitive pricing."

However, the Feds' Amazon-friendly lawyers didn't stop there. The demand expands the judge's intent to include any digitial and print content, including video, streaming movies, printed books, and music. It's clear that the DOJ's demand, as Apple attorneys noted, goes well beyond the district court's ruling. The DOJ's broadside's impact obviously benefits Amazon, under the guise of "helping consumers." The Justice Department brief did not mention the data collection Amazon and others would be able to reap as a result of opening Apple's walled shopping garden. There's money -- big money -- in the data, as Amazon has amply demonstrated. I suppose the DOJ was absent from that presentation.

The story, unsurprisingly, was reported on a slow news summer Friday. Most media outlets, including Silicon Valley and Seattle outlets, played down the story's implications, with the The New York Times' ho-hum account of the episode doing the light lifting for many mainstream publications. The irony is that Amazon has experienced a fabulous week with Barack Obama and friends, and no one really wants to ask why.

Here's this week's Obama Administration-Amazon scorecard:

• President Obama visits an Amazon warehouse, touting its $11/hour jobs as an entry point to the middle-class. The story gets national coverage.
• POTUS 44 offers Amazon a one-on-one interview exclusive.
• The interview is available for free via amazon.com as an "Amazon Single". (Does anyone think it's available at Apple or Barnes & Noble?)
• The DOJ hammers Apple's content merchandising advantage and essentially demands that Apple accept becoming a free gateway and data collector for Amazon sales.

If Mitt Romney or George W. Bush had shown such blatant favortism to a corporation, liberals would have screamed. They're notably silent on the Amazon issue, perhaps because they're addicted to shiny Kindles.

Again, I ask the question: Why is President Obama and his administration so tight with Jeff Bezos' Amazon?