Starbugs

This week's must-see video on our companion site, www.ampolo.com is a movie pitch. If you know any producers hungry (or thirsty) for the next Jaws or Snakes on a Plane, let us know. The video begs several questions:

1) If you were a Hollywood mucky muck, would you see this as a straight horror movie or more as a campy parody?
2) Title preference: Starbugs or Bugs in Coffee?
3) Who do you see as leading man, leading lady? Must be chemistry.
4) Ingmar Bergman died over ther weekend. Do you think he's already rolling over in his grave? How would he have approached this film?
5) If you ran a coffee shop, could you turn misfortune into fortune by coming up with a creative name for a cup of joe with a bug in it? What would you call it?
Comments, please.

ESPN Personality Poll Finals

Suzy sent Dickie V. to the sidelines. Tony squeaked by Kenny. So it's a battle of the Special Ks for supremacy in our mindless poll to determine ESPN's top personality. Send your choice KOLBER or KORNHEISER to Steve@ampolo.com and we'll see which personality KOs the other. Can't predict a winner, but can assure you there will be no ties. A tie is like getting kissed by Joe Namath. Winner will be posted on Thursday August 2.

This continues to be fun, but for more meaningful subject matter, don't forget to check out www.ampolo.com.

Literary Hall of Fame

Next week diehard baseball fans from around the country will gather in Cooperstown, New York, to watch as Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn are inducted into the Hall of Fame. It’s quite possible that some of these fans and those who visit Cooperstown throughout the year will stop at other halls of fame on their journeys. There are such shrines around the country honoring everything from basketball to barbed wire from racquetball to rock and roll.

Strangely, however, there is no national Literary Hall of Fame. Considering all the heavy hitters in the history of American literature, that’s disappointing…and surprising. You would think some enterprising city would recognize the tourist-drawing potential of such an endeavor. That’s the inspiration for this week’s episode on www.ampolo.com, where we ask: if there were such a hall, what five American writers—living or dead-- would you like to see inducted into its inaugural class? We are getting some interesting responses. So check out the video and post your fab five there...and here on ampolotalk, too.

Four on the Floor

Contrary to reports, there is no, I repeat, NO, evidence that the results of this contest are tainted due to vote fraud. Yes, I have incurred some debt over the last few years due to Fantasy Football League losses, but said debt did not cause my fellow coaches to strong arm me into tinkering with this poll to determine ESPN's most happenin' sports personality--counterprogramming to that network's Who's Now series. By the way, if you have not been watching, you might be interested to learn that ESPN replaced its first round panelists--Michael Wilbon, Keyshawn Johnson, and Kirk Herbstreit--with Mike Greenberg, Jessica Biel, and Kevin James, a veritable Who's Now Who's Who in their own right.

But I digress,here are the results of quarterfinal voting

Keith Olbermann Bracket
CHRIS BERMAN V. DICK VITALE WINNER:VITALE

Melissa Stark Bracket
SUZY KOLBER V. STUART SCOTT WINNER: KOLBER

Craig Kilborn Bracket
PETER GAMMONS V. TONY KORNHEISER WINNER: KORNHEISER

Joe Theismann Bracket
KENNY MAYNE V. MICHAEL WILBON WINNER: MAYNE

So, polls are now open through Thursday, July 26 to vote on semifinals.

VITALE v. KOLBER
KORNHEISER v. MAYNE

Cast your votes by emailing Steve@ampolo.com
And don't forget to view our 2 minute videos at www.ampolo.com

Easy Does It, Riders

Our current Ampolo video, Easy Riders, suggests a way for urban transit systems to increase ridership and revenue--create specialty cars offering speed dating, ESPN, movie trailers, silent reading, and the like for commuters.

My explanation of this idea on a website devoted to those riding the CTA in Chicago elicited several responses, many of them emotional.

Some wondered about the logistics.

*No one is dumb enough or crazy enough to ride the L to watch TV!
And I can't wait to see hundreds of people on the platform trying to figure out which L car to get in to.
The ESPN car, the movie trailer car or the speed dating car.
Or will there be multiple dating cars: separate straight, bi, gay & lesbian cars?

Others wondered about priorities:

*The CTA needs to focus on providing reliable service, not gimmicks.

Others were somewhat open minded:

*It would be ridiculous and intrusive, but if it was a generator of significant revenue -- and I mean VERY significant revenue -- it might be worth it.

One commentator had already thought of the idea:

*The logical conclusion to the AMPOLO idea is casino cars or the politically incorrect smoking car.
Don't hold your breath on specialty cars,I suggested using el cars as mini outposts of museums to entice people to go to the real museums and be more inclined to the C.T.A. I also suggested that a day be designated cheap date night ,where couples would use the C.T.A. to go to inexpensive places[along with a singles night where people could get use public transportation as a place to find dates for cheap date night ,if they didn't have anyone.
Even having libraries or book exchanges[as is widely done in other cities] on the train or in stations is too radical for the C.T.A.

A couple responses were funny:

*For all you fans of gimmicky ideas....

How about designate up to 8 cars on every train as being substantially litter and "scent" free, and arriving at their destinations in a timely manner. ;)

*We already have quick date cars on the CTA. It's called fondling and flashing, and is found throughout the train.


Two thoughts:

1) No one is suggesting that specialty cars be mandatory. If you think showing a movie trailer is too commercial or that running sports highlights would be too intrusive, then you don't have to enter those cars or any specialty car. There will still be the good old fashioned smelly, littered cars you love to hate. (And it seems to me that the cars could be identified on the outside so that riders could quickly determine which one to choose.)

2) The above responses are much appreciated. At www.ampolo.com and on Ampolotalk, we are offering ideas to stimulate conversation and, we hope, action.

So please avail yourself of the comment sections on each of our sites. You have to register to do so at ampolo.com, but it is very easy to do so.

Eight is More than Enough

This just in: Tony Parker bears Roger Federer on ESPN's "Who's Now." They must have been playing on clay in Parker's home country France. No doubt this will be the subject of much water cooler talk and internet mail today, and American commerce will resemble the Iraqi parliament in August.

Here at Ampolotalk, we have a REAL contest going on--the quest to find ESPN's most happen' sports personality. We are down to eight. Voting on the quarterfinalists will be open through Sunday, the 22nd.

Many of you have been sending in great comments with your emailed votes, but haven't been posting those comments. Please do so; it's easy. Otherwise I will post some, but will not give your identity away unless you authorize me to do so.

Send votes to Steve@ampolo.com.

Without further ado, the results. Winners/quarterfinalists are in CAPS.

Keith Olbermann Bracket
1. Stephen A. Smith vs. 3.Chris BERMAN
5.Linda Cohn vs. 7.Dick VITALE

BERMAN V. VITALE

Melissa Stark Bracket
9.Suzy KOLBER vs. 11.Dan Patrick
14. Stuart SCOTT vs.15.Michelle Tafoya

KOLBER V. SCOTT

Craig Kilborn Bracket
18. John Saunders vs.19.Peter GAMMONS
21.Mike Greenberg vs. 24.Tony KORNHEISER

GAMMONS V. KORNHEISER

Joe Theismann Bracket
25.Brent Musburger vs. 27. Kenny MAYNE
29.MichaelWILBON vs. 32.Barry Melrose

MAYNE V. WILBON

Don't forget to visit our companion website www.ampolo.com

Reinventing the Wheels

At Ampolo, we are dedicated to seeing ideas translated into realities. So, inspired by this week’s video, we have sent the following letter to Ron Huberman, the newly installed chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority. We will let you know how he responds. In the meantime send us your ideas for other themed specialty cars. (Here’s one we didn’t include in the video: cars for religious prayer. If there were one for Catholics, that would really be mass transit!)

Dear Mr. Huberman:

Ampolo.com is a video website dedicated to new ideas for products, businesses, services, and ways to make the community a better place. This week we are featuring an idea for improving public transportation by creating specialty El cars that would attract additional riders (and thereby generate more revenues.) These cars might be devoted to sports (with secure televisions showing ESPN), movies (showing trailers), and even speed dating. You can view a brief video of this proposal at www.ampolo.com.

You have indicated that the CTA must come up with creative solutions to its current financial problems. We think specialty cars fit that bill. Ampolo and our viewers would be most interested to hear what you think of this proposal. We look forward to hearing from you.

(signed)

Ampolo.com
*************

At first glance this idea may seem off the wall. But consider the means to which companies now go to market their “brand” and push particular products. Corporations pay millions for the naming rights to sports arenas. 7-eleven has even gone so far as to pay the Chicago White Sox to move the start of their home games from 7:05 to…of course 7:11.

Product placement is increasingly common (and noticeable) in movies and on televisions shows. NBC’s The Office is particularly adept at finding opportunities to mention Staples and to show Hewlett-Packard computers. (Did you notice that I just placed NBC, Staples, and HP? I don’t have a deal with them, but it will be interesting to see if the Google ads on this blog now reflect their names.)

But I’m getting off the track. Given the realities of today’s market, why shouldn’t a transit system desperately in need of revenue make money off of one of its renewable assets: a captive, often bored audience. It’s win, win, win—for the system, the riders, and the entertainment providers.

And then there were 16

Just as ESPN’s Who Cares, I mean “Who’s Now” contest to anoint the most happening sports celebrity rolls along, so, too, does Ampolotalk’s poll to determine the world’s favorite ESPN personality. Each has achieved the buzz of Monday night’s riveting home run derby, or a PGA event without Tiger Woods, or a WNBA game (regular season, of course. Once those playoffs get going….)

We are down to the Sweet Sixteen. Due to an Executive Order, we cannot give you the exact vote totals or percentages, but we can tell you that the closest race was between Erin Andrews and Stuart Scott. That one came out dead even and was actually decided by the toss of a pillow. It landed on the cooler side, so Scott advances and Andrews is sidelined. We can also tell you that Berman, Kolber, Patrick, Gammons, Greenberg, Kornheiser, and Wilbon all won easily, and that Jim Rome elicited the strongest negative reaction from our voters.

Voting on the Sweet Sixteen begins today and continues through Monday, July 16. We’ll announce the Elite Eight on the 17th. Again, indicate each head to head choice by listing his/her number or name and sending your list to steve@ampolo.com

THE BRACKETS

Keith Olbermann Bracket

1. Stephen A. Smith vs. 3.Chris Berman
5.Linda Cohn vs. 7.Dick Vitale

Melissa Stark Bracket

9.Suzy Kolber vs. 11.Dan Patrick
14. Stuart Scott vs.15.Michelle Tafoya

Craig Kilborn Bracket

18. John Saunders vs.19.Peter Gammons
21.Mike Greenberg vs. 24.Tony Kornheiser

Joe Theismann Bracket

25.Brent Musburger vs. 27. Kenny Mayne
29.Michael Wilbon vs. 32.Barry Melrose

The numbers are merely for identification. Not seeding.

Don’t forget to visit our companion site, www.ampolo.com. We hope you’ll view the video there and find something that you’d like take and run with—free of charge.

Freeganomics

If you have watched any of our episodes at www.ampolo.com or read our “About Ampolo” section on that site, you know we are hungry for your ideas.

Hmm. Hungry. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that two of the episodes inspired by viewers have centered around food. The first, BYOF, was sent in by Jim, an attorney, who has an idea for a restaurant that provides everything except the food. You bring that yourself and pay the establishment a fee for the table, the plates and silverware, the service, and the ambiance.

Jim’s idea inspired Mike, a writer and assistant manager of an Apple store, to make and then send us his own video—this week’s Ampolo episode, BYOL.

Mike told us that, “Parody is the sincerest form of flattery.”

BYOL is indeed a parody. But is there also a morsel of meaning in it? On first glance, the idea for a restaurant where you bring your leftovers appears, well, unappetizing. In reality, however, there is a growing movement of anti-consumers who might find BYOL right up their alley. The movement is called Freeganism, and as a recent article in the New York Times explained:

"Freegans are scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism. They forage through supermarket trash and eat the slightly bruised produce or just-expired canned goods that are routinely thrown out, and negotiate gifts of surplus food from sympathetic stores and restaurants. They dress in castoff clothes and furnish their homes with items found on the street; at freecycle.com, where users post unwanted items; and at so-called freemeets, flea markets where no money is exchanged."

Food for thought--which is exactly what we want Ampolo to be.

What do you think? If you were in a grocery story and the manager offered you perfectly good, untouched food that was going to be thrown in the trash, would you accept it? What if that same food were put in a trash bag and left by a dumpster?

You can learn more about freeganism at www.freegan.info and read the full Times article at: http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F00711FF3B5B0C728EDDAF0894DF404482.

We thought every Hilton had a Gideon’s

So a rabbinical student and a pastor go into a blog....Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. New beginning: When I told my wife that I was going to begin blogging, she gave me her unconditional support---except for one condition. “No Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears references,” she insisted.

Now here I am, less than a week into Ampolotalk and I’m already in need of a presidential pardon. I’m assuming that most of you did not see the Larry King interview with Ms. Hilton. I certainly didn’t, but I did see a clip of it on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. (Ferguson, by the way is, along with Stephen Colbert, tv’s best monologist. Tivo him if you can’t stay awake that late).

On the clip in question, Paris said she had read the Bible regularly while in jail. King then asked her to name her favorite passage, and…Silence. She was stumped! Couldn’t even make something up. Uncle Lar let her twist in the wind until she finally said she didn’t have a favorite. You can watch for yourself at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XSSJupKdeA

Well, the Bible says: "Open thy mouth for the dumb, In the cause of all such as are left desolate." (Proverbs 31: 8) Not wanting Paris to feel any dumber or more desolate than she already feels, Ampolotalk asked two friends who know the Bible well to provide Paris with passages she can quote in future interviews.

First up is Lizzi Heydemann, a rabbinic student at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, California:

"Perhaps King David's psalms were among Paris Hilton's favorite passages whilst in the 8 x 12 jail cell she described
to Larry King. Many psalms capture the feelings of loneliness and despair common to people of glamour and fame(particularly when they find themselves in undesirable situations they seem to have brought upon themselves).

"Following the age-old Jewish tradition of reading and reciting King David's psalms, Paris doubtlessly found comfort in David's pleas for divine attention: 'From the depths I call to you, O God. Lord, listen to my voice!' (Ps. 130)

"These words surely reflected her feelings in the depths of her prison term, and perhaps also after the flop of
her 2006 self-titled album, when God appeared to be the only one who might listen.

"Or perhaps she took comfort in Hannah, whose story in Samuel I has inspired Jewish prayer for millennia. The
priest Eli watched as Hannah stood, lips moving with no sound coming out. 'How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Sober up!' he demanded. As Paris must have insisted to the cop who pulled her over for that
second offense, Hannah protested that she wasn't drunk. She was merely praying (SamI 1:12)."

Thank you, Lizzi. Next up is Pastor Ruth of the Wicker Park Lutheran Church in Chicago:

Ruth begins by tipping her hat to a "houseguest/premier historian of the Church of the Brethren who suggests that Paris' favorite passage would be: 'Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.' (Psalm 23:4 -- King James Version)."

Ruth then adds: ("Here are) two very pointed passages that Paris should seriously, but -- not to be judgmental -- probably will not, ponder:

"John 8:7, And Jesus said [to the adulterous woman whom everyone was ready to stone], 'Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.'"

"James 2:18, Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith" and James 2: 20-26:
Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead."

Our pastor adds some, "theological thoughts" of her own for Paris (from the Book of Ruth, so to speak):

"Luther was not fond of James (he called James 'the epistle of straw') because it suggests that good works have something to do with salvation. As long as Paris understands that good works are only a manifestation of faith, she can / should indulge in them to her heart's content.

"At some point after her incarceration, Paris observed that God had a purpose in getting her arrested (and presumably drunk). This kind of predestination is bad theology. Paris got Paris drunk and arrested. Paris should bear in mind what Paul writes to the Galatians. ' Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit." (Galatians 6:7-8)."

Amen.

So people, if your people know Paris's people please pass along Lizzi's and Ruth's suggestions. Also, feel free to post your own suggestions for appropriate Biblical passages for Paris Hilton in the Ampoltalk comment section.

ESPN inspires an Ampolotalk poll

Well, the field of candidates is out there for all to judge. Have you already chosen your man (or woman?) I have. I think it’s going to be a landslide for… Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods? I’m sorry. Did you think I was talking about the 2008 presidential campaign? No, friends, I refer to the selection of the world’s most happening sports celebrity.

Credit for this idea goes to ESPN. As the cable sports network notes on its website: “Throughout July, ‘SportsCenter’ will air ‘Who's Now,’ a daily series in which viewers will help ESPN determine the ultimate sports star by considering both on-field success and off-field buzz.”

Here’s how it works: ESPN selected a field of 32 finalists, seeded them, and then put them into four different brackets for a single elimination fight to the finish. The brackets are named after pioneers who paved the way for today’s heroes: Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali and Billie Jean King. Top seeds are: the NBA’s LeBron James, the NFL’s Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and my guy Tiger. Winners are determined by ESPN panelists and us, the American people.

Competition began on July 1 with Tiger easily beating #8 seed Arizona Cardinal quarterback Matt Leinart. You can see the full list of candidates and results at: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whosnow

As someone who prides himself as both an idea man and a sports fan, I confess that I kicked myself for having failed to come up with “Who’s Now?” But in the idea business you learn to move on and ask, “What’s Next?” What’s next for me (and you, I hope) is a competition to determine the world’s favorite ESPN personality.

I have selected my own list of 32 finalists. I have placed them in their respective bracket positions by pulling their names from an Indianapolis Colts hat. Once we get down to our Final 4, I’ll try to line up some celebrity judges, but in the meantime, all head to head matchups will be decided by you.

To get things going, let’s do all 16 first round matches quickly. Voting begins today and continues through Tuesday, the 10th. Next Wednesday we’ll post the remaining Sweet Sixteen and a new round of voting will begin.

Please feel free to comment as well as vote. Voting is simple. Pick the winners of each of the 16 first round matchups (or as many as you wish) and email them to steve@ampolo.com.

You can either send your pick’s name or number. For example, in the Stephen A. Smith vs. Neil Everett contest, if you choose Smith, either send me his name or his number (1), if you choose Everett, send me his name or number (2). Do the same with the next…oh you get it.

THE BRACKETS

Keith Olbermann Bracket

1. Stephen A. Smith vs. 2.Neal Everett
3.Chris Berman vs. 4. Jay Crawford
5.Linda Cohn vs. 6. Mike Golic
7.Dick Vitale vs. 8.Stacey Dales

Melissa Stark Bracket

9.Suzy Kolber vs. 10.Jim Rome
11.Dan Patrick vs. 12.Joe Morgan
13.Erin Andrews vs. 14. Stuart Scott
15.Michelle Tafoya vs. 16.John Kruk

Craig Kilborn Bracket

17.Mel Kiper jr. vs, 18. John Saunders
19.Peter Gammons vs. 20.Tony Reali
21.Mike Greenberg vs. 22.Skip Bayless
23.Sage Steele vs. 24.Tony Kornheiser

Joe Theismann Bracket

25.Brent Musburger vs. 26.Chris McKendry
27. Kenny Mayne vs. 28.Mike Tirico
29.Michael Wilbon vs. 30.Pedro Gomez
31.Dana Jacobson vs. 32.Barry Melrose

The numbers are merely for identification. Not seeding.

Vote early and often and tell your friends. And don’t forget to visit our companion site, www.ampolo.com. We hope you’ll view the video there and find something that you’d like take and run with—free of charge.

Steve

Welcome to Ampolotalk

On June 18, 2007, I helped launch www.ampolo.com, a site devoted to the free exchange of ideas for new products, businesses, and services; ideas for new movies, television shows, and books; and ideas for ways to make the world, or at least the community, a better place. The philosophy behind Ampolo is simple: we all have great ideas, but sometimes we don't have the time or inclination to turn them into realities. But it would be great if there were a place where such ideas could be presented and someone who does have the time and inclination can take them and run with them--free of charge. Isn't that why the Internet was created in the first place: to facilitate the free exchange of ideas?

Each Monday on ampolo.com we present a brief (2 minutes or so), entertaining video featuring an idea with the hope that some viewers(s) will take it and run with it. So far, for example, we've presented an idea to create more civility in Congress, an idea for a children's book, and an idea for a restaurant called BYOF (Bring Your Own Food). The episode posted this Monday, July 2, features an idea for customized DVDs. All of these video episodes can be seen on www.ampolo.com

Ampolotalk, which launches today, is the companion site to ampolo.com--a site where, each Monday, we will discuss the current video, and, we hope, hear what you have to say about it. But wait, there's more! When the spirit or the headlines move me, I will be blogging with other ideas or reactions to the ideas of others. I hope such blogging will provoke spirited conversation with those of you who visit Ampolotalk. Sometimes, I may ask you to participate in a contest; sometimes I might ask you to provide counsel to a celebrity, politician, or public figure. My hope is that this will be entertaining and make some points about popular culture, politics, the media, and commerce.

So, please consider visiting both ampolo and Ampolotalk regularly and participating in the banter. Each site has a simple link to the other.

Finally, in case you are wondering, Ampolo is the word for light bulb in Esperanto, the worldwide language created over a century ago to facilitate international cooperation. There's actually a movie in Esperanto, starring, who else, the ubiquitous William Shatner.

Hope to see you back here soon. We'll keep the light bulb on.

Steve