Seizing An Opportunity

By Michael Charles Messineo

On March 17, St. Patrick's day, I woke up with the knowledge that KHOW radio host Peter Boyles, was doing a live remote broadcast in Downtown Denver. Peter is the voice of Colorado and is a nationally known talk show host. The radio add said, join Peter Boyles as he broadcasts live from Fado Restaurant on Wednesday, March 17th, from 5 AM to 9 AM. at 1735 19th St., next to the Denver Chophouse.

I knew that Peter had heart surgery a few years ago, and after his recovery had reevaluated his life and bought a Harley. His reevaluation of his life is the basis of what my book RIGBY'S ROADS characterizes and I knew my book and his life would find a parallel similarity.

So as I debated to whether to go or not, I remembered the words of the song LOSE YOURSELF that won both the Grammy and Academy awards ... If you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it, or just let it slip? ... Those words by Eminem have become sort of a mantra for me. So at 4:40 in the morning I aimed my car for downtown Denver in an effort to push my way into the live broadcast to hand Peter a copy of my book RIGBY'S ROADS along with one of my PR gimmicks - a business card that has a motorcycle wind-chill chart on one side, and the plug for my book on the other side.

I drove behind the restaurant and saw the satellite dish truck with its dish raised high above the building. It was still dark at 5 AM and almost no one was around except for a radio station technician near the communications truck, so I asked him ... I have a book for Peter Boyles, how do I get in there to drop it off? He responded ... follow the cables... and he pointed to the cables from his truck leading into the back of the restaurant. But first I had to sign the book for Peter and of course I was hit with a temporary setback as not one, but two pens ran out of ink within the first two letters I tried to write. Panicking, I got out of the car and I followed the cables from the satellite truck, down the alley, to the back door of the restaurant, inside through the kitchen and finally into the restaurant main area.

I pushed open the swinging doors and Peter was sitting in the corner and had just started his 5 AM broadcast. As I entered, his entire crew turned and looked at me since I was the only person to be there at 5 am. I quickly assumed one of my characters in my book and scouted out the room for the one person who looked like they were in charge of the remote broadcast and walked right up to him. I looked over at Peter while he was ON-THE-AIR and waved to him as if we had been friends forever, then I turned to the guy in charge and said, ... Do you have a pen I could borrow. And he looked at me and then said, ...sure.

I signed the book and waited for Peter's first commercial break, and then walked right up to him and introduced myself and handed him the book. Then I gave him the motorcycle wind chill cards which he loved, and I explained to him how I created them. He asked me to sit down next to him and he pointed to a set of headphones with a microphone, and I became lost in 1,000 thoughts. Was he going to talk to me on air (I wish), what would he ask? What would I say? I was nervous but waited for the chance to talk. I reached for one of my PR cards and had to read my own words on the back to try to get back in focus ... What happens when a mild mannered man, who is about to end his life, gets mixed up with motorcycle gangs, the FBI and a chase for terrorist secrets?... Oh Yeah, now I can cheat if he asks me what my book is about.

It was great to sit right next to Peter and watch him work. His notes and newspapers scattered in front of him, ready if he needed to consult them. Watching Peter working close up and taking calls while he delivered a well rounded and logical response to the callers made me appreciate his knowledge and work ethic. But what I took away from that meeting was that Peter is just an amazing guy, extremely intelligent and who has truly found his nitch in life. At every commercial break and during the news break, we talked about our commonalties of riding, dyslexia, and the discovery of the Harley mystique.

I knew that if I stayed a little longer I would get my chance to be on the air, but I had to get to work. I told him that if he enjoyed the book to let me know, and would he point me to a book reviewer who rides, because they would enjoy the book at a different level than a reviewer who might just be a critic and criticize it. This has always been my plan.

His final words to me were...I can't wait to read your book, I'll call you and we will go riding ...

Now I wait patiently for him to read it and respond.

Aunt Gertrude's Facial Hair

By Deborah Russell

Personally, I believe NSA's surveillance of United States citizens started several years ago, long before September 11, without judicial approval or statutory authorization and became a free-for-all, after the Bush claim of "having the authority and right to spy". Then again, I never did take too much stock in government "going ons".

There probably was never a secret about spying, even as children, we knew the government was illegally spying on our citizens. We played spy games, ordered spy merchandise, and even bought cereal that had free spy toys.

Government spying is a tradition in this country. The difference now, from previous illegal government spying is, that this illegal spying is out in the open.

We know our government is spying on us, but we didn't want to think about it and we didn't want to talk about it before, either because we were embarrassed or (more likely) we knew there wasn't a thing we could do to prevent or stop it... not discussing the spying was our "tradition" and we learned to do it well, like not talking about Aunt Gertrude's facial hair, especially that one, long hair, growing out of the little, teeny- tiny, brown mole, on her cheek.

You know its there, so does everyone else, but it takes years for you to learn how to avoid thinking or talking about it and then, it takes years for you to learn how to speak up and admit that you knew it was there all along.

Of course, those of us, who remember reading George Orwell, in junior high school, were aware of government spying, just as we were aware of the political propaganda (meant


to instill a sense of patriotism) through "paid for by the US government films" that most of us, were bright enough to reject, in elementary school and throughout our public education.

In the sixties, when government went Hollywood, it became difficult even for our parents (who served in "the big one") to maintain a patriotic sense, and "pride" for our government - especially when confronted by their flesh and blood, with honest questions that deserved honest answers.

Will Bush and our government agencies continue conducting warrantless surveillance of communications in the United States? Probably, but damn it - we need to believe they won't, because we need that tiny bit of hope that tells us that our democracy can turn around and be a government for and by the people.

But what is the one thing that will make us believe illegal spying will stop??? A big ol lawsuit, that's what and this, by god, is the American way... not God's way - but the American way.

Bush, who maintains, wiretapping is legal and necessary, points to a congressional resolution (passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001) that "authorized" him to use force in the fight against terrorism as allowing him to order the program.

Hmmm, well I'm not a government spy, but I see him, in my mind's eye, wearing Buster Brown shoes, yellow, combed-cotton socks, brown twill short pants and a brown and yellow stripe, short-sleeve cotton jersey shirt, pointing his finger at everyone in the class and blaming the entire second-grade, for putting gum in his seat.

The very next day, he comes to school with dental mirrors taped to his shoes and another one, taped to his number 2 pencil, and he has his secret, folding spy glass, tucked under his peanut butter sandwich, in his new, Tom Mix, lunch box. Now that, is terrorism.

Well, common sense hasn't been shot to hell, Mr. President, but we - we, the people, we do know you... you are the kid who made up rules for every damned board game you played.

You were the boy, who always whined, stomped your feet and stuck out your tongue, if anyone disagreed. You were the one with that funny expression, that isn't so much a smile, as a sneer, every time you got your way. You were the one that made everyone on the bus lose recess, because you kept making those farting noises with your leg, after the bus driver said, "One more time, and..." Yeah, we know you.

You took all the monopoly money and hid it under your legs and shoved the big bills, up your sleeves. You had to be first, first in line, first at the bus stop, first one to get their report card, first one to reach the opposite side of the street, first one to get your Keds, first one to get your milk carton ...

You were always right and always had to win everything: spelling bees, hopscotch, red light, hide and seek, the game of Life and Monopoly, even if it meant thumping the arrow or rolling the dice, ten times in-a-row, so you could land on the finish line.

The news tells me, the suits are filed and the Detroit suit, which names the NSA, was filed by the ACLU, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greenpeace and several individuals...

Well good, that's nice to know... it means that people still believe in rights, and there is a very small hope that most of this country's citizens believe in civil rights as well, but what else, can we possibly believe in, except civil rights?

I think, if they win the case, they should post a list of every person that was deemed "a terror risk". If nothing else, it would make good sit-com material, and, who knows, maybe there is some government funding for producing the film?

Well, hey, its a beautiful day in the neighborhood...a beautiful day in the neighborhood...hey...I said, heyyyy....wait, a minute...don't beat around the Bush, give it to me straight, is that a spy cam in my Aspen???

Coming Zune To A Store Near You

Microsoft Bets On A New MP3 Player Experience, But Does The Device Hold Up?

As the holiday sales season approaches, one looming question is whether Microsoft's Zune digital music device and service can successfully stand up to Apple Computer's iPod/iTunes.

But even after Microsoft gave press and analysts an extensive sneak peek at both this past week, the best answer is—maybe. It all depends on whether Microsoft can successfully make it more about the service and less about the device.

The Zune itself, manufactured by partner Toshiba loosely based on its Gigabeat product, proves to be a rather underwhelming affair. It seems like a work-in-progress, similar to the still under-construction campus facility that houses the team developing the project.

The Zune plays music and videos and stores photos. It features a 30GB hard drive and a large, clear color display. It has the standard navigation controls and content organization structure found on most any other MP3 player, with few new features other than the ability to view album art in the navigation pane and the ability to customize the screen background with personal photos.

Physically, the Zune is boxy, bulky, and has a rather cheap look and feel that will prove a significant sales challenge when compared to the sexy, shiny iPod line. Yet Microsoft's goal is to secure a "strong No. 2 position" behind Apple in digital music player market share by June 2007, according to Zune marketing chief Chris Stephenson. To do so, it would have to overtake SanDisk, which today trails only Apple with 10% of the MP3 player market.

Microsoft rests its hopes to achieve this on the only innovation that the Zune brings to the table—Wi-Fi connectivity. With it, Zune owners can connect to other Zune devices and share any music and photos stored on the device, but not yet videos.

But at launch, even that innovation has its limits. The Zune will only be able to connect to one Zune at a time, not to anything else, and only when in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot. In time, other devices will be supported, such as Internet-connected PCs, Xbox 360 videogame consoles and mobile phones running Windows Mobile technology.

Once connected, Zune users can share any song or playlist with other Zune users, but each song can be transferred only once to any individual device. The recipient of the shared song can then play it three times or keep it for three days, whichever comes first, before it disappears.

Users can flag any song that interests them to later download a permanent version, either a la carte or via a subscription plan, once synced with a PC running the Zune software and service.

"We're trying to take away the focus on the device," Stephenson says. "There comes a point when the device becomes less important than the actual service. Over time, connected entertainment is what changes this category."

The challenge is the simple fact that selling an experience is much more difficult than selling a device, something the company readily acknowledges. Yet the Zune still has a shot at making a real dent.

Apple Computer clearly won round one of the digital music fight; competing with an established market leader on existing attributes rarely works. The fact is, there is little left to innovate with a pure music player. So now the battle shifts to new advancements—mobile connectivity, home entertainment system integration and video services and downloads. In these areas, the playing field is a bit flatter, and it is on this ground that Microsoft is introducing Zune.

Additionally, Microsoft will enjoy the support of the music industry and a massive retail distribution base, both fed up with Apple's heavy-handed tactics.

The Zune effort includes an emerging-artist program and other yet-to-be-defined promotional aspects geared to appeal to music executives and artists alike. The Zune facility, for instance, will include a live performance studio for capturing exclusive performances, and Zune is providing "digital media experts" to artists on tour to help manage their road blogs and capture content for their sites.

Consumer electronics chains like Best Buy and Circuit City have every reason to support an iPod competitor as well. The profit margin on an iPod for these retailers is notoriously low since Apple prefers to sell its devices in its own retail stores. In some cases, retailers claim they even lose money on each sale.

Other manufacturers offer better margins, and therefore retailers support them more by featuring their products in their advertising circulars and in-store displays. Analysts speculate that's how SanDisk managed to come out of nowhere and seize the second-largest market share for MP3 players.

But before the Zune's potential can be fully judged, more information is needed—price, availability, units shipped and accessible content. And in the end, it comes down to making the service more important than the device, and Microsoft will need all the allies it can get to pull this off.

By: Bruno, Antony, Billboard