Links for Monday October 5th

Baseball: Postseason Schedule
TV: DJ AM Lives on MTV
Fantasy Football: Early Waiver Wire
Music: Lady Gaga Solo Tour
Fantasy Baseball: Tuesday's Game
Economy: Simmons mattress is no more
Sports Business: Final MLB Attendance
Movies: Zombies Rules, Michael Moore drools
Green: Investments Update
Technology: Google Goal is $100 billion

Nation's Unemployment Update

September Jobs Loss 263,000 jobs (up 62,000 from August)
National Unemployment Rate - 9.8% (26 year high)
Unemployment plus undermeployment 17%
15.1 million unemployed Americans
9.2 million Part Time workers who were Full Time
65% of involuntary part time workers are aged 15-24

The data above speaks for itself. Companies are getting more work out of fewer employees. Unemployment should peak at 10.5% and start going down next summer from there. State data isn't out yet for last month but wast 12.2% in August for CA nd MD was a mere 7.2%. The most telling stat not mentioned is the 6 unemployed Americans for every job in America. This will get worse before it gets any better. Next year most of the stimulus money goes out and we'll see the effects then. Keep an eye on the health care and greentech for growth sectors in the new economy.

Movies This Weekend

Zombieland(86% Rotten Tomatoes) - I've never seen a movie so advertised, I think they spent more money on ads than the movie, not a big Woodie Harrelson fan or of zombie fans at all, I'll pass

Whip It (82% Rotten Tomatoes) - Drew Barrymore's directorial debut with everybody's favorite pregnant high schooler (Ellen Page) star in a movie about roller derby, worth a shot

Invention of Lying (58%) - Extras' Rickey Gervais and Jennifer Garner star in a romantic comedy, but to be honest I hate when funny guy like Gervais try be the least bit serious

Toy Story & Toy Story 2 in 3D (100%)- the computer animation that started the craze in 3D, move is the definition of a safety bet for the weekend

More Than A Game (68%)- Story of LeBron's high school team, great soundtrack, but who wants to see a basketball player in a movie, I think Spike Lee's Kobe movie ruined this one for me

Next week, Couples Retreat is coming...

Links for Friday October 2nd

TV: Letterman's Blackmail
Fantasy Baseball: Pitching Prospects for 2010
Music: Jay-Z Pauley and all the onsales
Fantasy Football: Week 4 Rankings
Green: Nissan Leaf Now Taking Orders
Baseball: Horrible Ted Williams Story
Technology: Google vs. Bing
Sports Business: Chicago 2016 Failed Bid
Stocks/Economy: Cash4Gold Banking
Movies: This Weekend At The Movies

Google Wave

This week Google sent out 100,00 copies of it's newest toy Google Wave. Google Wave is "an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation
and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more". I watched the demo on Google's website it looks pretty cool. It's a fun thing for displaced friends, web meetings, and even large company meetings to take place.

I think Google might be onto something but it's to expected from a company who revolutionized pricing models as we know them. It appears to be a very cool way to exchange ideas and is seen as one the biggest Web 3.0 ideas. I'll write further on the Wave once I get my invitation to test out the software. For now all I have to look at it the website here.

Nuclear Energy Institute Signs Deal With Washington Capitals

Big news out of the nation's capital today and it has nothing to do with Barack Obama or health care. Good luck in Copenhagen, bring home the rings please. The Washington Capitals entered into a sponsorship deal with NEI (Nuclear Energy Instituate) for the upcoming season. My first thought was it's a straight-up public lobbying, but good for NEI for doing what very few companies and sports teams are doing. Plus who wants to sponsor the Nats, Orioles, or Redskins right now?

Many environmentalists are unhappy with the deal. Nuclear energy promotes electricity without the emissions of fossil fuels. But nuclear plants can take years to develop, companies can't get ride of waste properly just yet. Nuclear energy will be part of the solution for our country's energy independence. I for one think nuclear power should power neighborhoods.

Compliments to the Capitals on getting a deal done as the only teams I know of with energy sports sponsorships are the Tigers with DTE Energy, Cowboys with Direct Energy, and the Nationals with Exxon Mobil. This is the future of our country's economy and sports sponsorship. Look for companies such as Tesla Motors, Fisker Automotive, Silver Spring Networks, Solyndra, and more to be draping the court, fields, and rinks in the years to come and becoming the it companies that bring our country back to the economic forefront in the world.

DES Links for Thursday October 1st

Baseball: September and Homefield Don't Matter in the Playoffs
TV: Comcast to Buy NBC
Music: Alicia Keys Stays At WME
Fantasy Baseball: Window at 2010
Movies: Big Bottlegging Movie Getting Top Actors
Fantasy Football: Notes for Week 4
Green: Rough Draft For Energy Legislation
Sports Business: Top Sports Reads of 2009
Stocks/Economy: Banks Biting Bullet?
Technology: Google Wave Backlash?

Altcar Expo in Santa Monica This Weekend

More info here

Look at 2010 MLB Fantasy First Round

Matt Kemp - Makes a case for #1 pick at OF due to position scarcity and potential 40/40 next year
Albert Pujols - 9 straight 30 HR, 100 RBI seasons and never injured, 1B depth makes him my #2
Hanley Ramirez - BA title winner this year plus 30/30
Ryan Braun - 30 HR, 100 RBI for 3 years plus 15 steals will fall if Brewers trade Prince
Justin Upton - 26 HR /20 steals at a mere 22
Chase Utley - 2B is stacked next year, but 30 HR-100 RBI in that lineup
Alex Rodriguez - RF porch helps get him 28 HR in 122 games this year
Ian Kinsler - 30/30 up the middle with Hamilton back runs will increase too
Carl Crawford - 15 HR, 60+ steals plus solid BA
David Wright - can't hit HR at Citi but still is great a 4 categories
Prince Fielder - played every game this year and figured out how to hit for average
Mark Reynolds - shocking but power is legit needs to keep steals up to earn 1st round status

New Music Tuesday (sort of)

Live Like Were Dying - Kris Allen
Best version of "heartless" and his first single is upbeat and catchy

3 - Britney Spears
Classic Britney dancetrack about 3 in the the bed (and the little one said)

I Can Transform Ya - Chris Brown
Horrible comeback song, he'll sell (R. Kelly) did just not with this one

I'm Going In - Drake F. Lil Wayne
Southern rap, not a fan

Happy - Leona Lewis
Slow upbeat track off album #2

Pursuit of Happiness - Kid Cudi F. MGMT
Too slow of a dance track, can't wait for remix though

RECOMMEND La La La - LMFAO
Love this track, now it's their new single

I Want To Know What Love Is - Mariah Carey
Girl still has pipes (and curves)

We Weren't Born To Follow - Bon Jovi
"This is our country" for the MLB playoffs, get used to it baseball fans

I Wanna - The All-American Rejects
Solid but I expect more from these guys

Albums dropping:
Paramore
Mariah Carey
Barbra Streisand
Alice in Chains
Breaking Benjamin
Selena Gomez