Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

  More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! Unless you live under a rock, you know about the Scottish woman who has taken the industrialized World by storm: Susan Boyle. Ms. Boyle, who appeared on a reality TV show called "Britains' Got Talent" last Saturday, April 11th and wowed a cynical audience and the judges, including the irascible Simon Cowell (also of American Idol) with her powerful performance of "I Dream A Dream" from Les Miserable, has taken the Internet world by storm. What surprised millions - and does not make a great statement about our World industrial culture but is a great example of the power of online video distribution as the video has been seen over 15.9 million times on YouTube (I counted over 10 videso with over 200,000 views) as of this writing - is that someone who looks like her could sing like that . But who Susan Boyle is as a person is a story of a good simple woman winning over a bad, complicated society. Ms. B

  More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! YouTube , MySpace , Metacafe , Blip.tv , Stupid Videos , Sclipo , Viddler and Howcast I just read the news that Simon Cowell, the British entertainment mogul who's terrible bedside temper brings an edge to the popular reality TV show "American Idol" is now considering leaving it . My reaction? YEAH! DO IT! Look, I never really watched American Idol at all -- but I've seen at least once -- and the reason was Cowell. I've got to be honest. I don't like it when people are mean to each other when they're supposed to work together in the real world, and I like it even less on reality TV. Cowell tossed insults at fearful contestants like they're hand grenades then he sits back and watches them cry! Maybe Cowell is the perfect poster child for our fashionably rude society, and if that's the case and his departure would help improve American Culture, then the faster the better. Cowel