The Michael Jackson funeral story is making me sad & angry. His father sold little Michael to Motown as a young boy. He beat him up. The kid was deprived of his childhood and never had a normal life. Now the the King of Pop is dead and Joe Jackson can’t resist to squeeze more money out of his son. The rumors are now for a big farewell concert at the Staples center. This is all about business. Father Jackson is promoting his new record label at a time that should be reserved for mourning the loss of his son. How about some self criticism? How about just a little bit of decency?

Are we really looking at funerals as revenue streams from now on? It is bad enough that wedding pictures are being auctioned away to the press. But a funeral is an entirely different event.

I feel like going to my bank and ask for a pre-funeral payout based on the future revenues of my passing away. The value should be based on my number of Facebook friends, Twitter followers and LinkedIn contacts.

People who are terminally ill have that option. But we might as well open that door to everyone.

A bank can then go to AIG and insure themselves against the case that my online popularity drops.

• Does anyone have some social web b2c showcases with solid numbers to back? It is pretty hard to find anything outside Groundswell… #
• …Of course everyone talks and talks about social media success stories. But it is all soft data. I need something solid for a presentation #
• Louis Vuitton is suing a Red Cross thrift store in Germany for 2600 Euros. A replica handbag was found in the store. How broke are they? #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week

When my ex-wife disclosed to me that she wanted a divorce I was present in the conversation but it took me quite a while to grasp of what is happening. Divorce wasn’t part of my life playbook. I was taken totally off guard. I tried to protect my inner self with (self) denial and false hopes.

The first thing that changed for me was that I lost my ability to analyze, think straight, make decisions and stick with it. If you have been through this process before I am not telling you anything you don’t know.

I experienced the power of my subconscious battling my conscious – pulling me in many different directions over the course of one day. Add some self pity, guilt, anger, fear into the brew and stir it well. I could not believe how irrational I had become. I learned how little control I have about many aspects of my life. I would have provided a field day for any Jungian analyst.

I went back and forth from enjoying the presumed benefits of my new single status to being very depressed due to the tremendous loss in my life numerous times each day.

Our original plan to continue to live together in the same home and co-parent our daughter fell through. We tried hard. But it was simply too challenging to untangle our lives right in front of each other. I felt like an invisible rubber band tied around my waist was constantly holding me back when I tried to move on. On the positive side we managed all the “technical” aspects of our divorce in a peaceful manner.

My fear of loosing my marital relationship prevented me from taking an honest inventory. There was too much at stake. Continue reading Challenges presented by divorce

• Sad NYT article: Preference for boys in certain Asian cultures is being reflected in US census http://twurl.nl/xfgbhc #
• This Ferrari / 2CV car mashup just blows my mind: http://twurl.nl/y77315 That is a real showstopper… #
• Le Bourget this year reminds me a bit of the Detroit Motor Show. Except for the fuel they are burning to show off their planes. It adds up. #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week

• Just had a schnitzel the size of my 17″ Macbook. Supposedly the biggest ones in Cologne. Otherwise I will like Gulliver. Everything is small #
• Jose’ Samarago about Berlusconi: “This thing, this illness, this virus threatens to become the cause of the moral death of Verdi’s country.” #
• Here is a translation of Samarago’s latest article in El Pais: http://twurl.nl/mgv381 #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week

• Did you know there is one Facebook employee for each 275,000 users? Good luck emailing.That is worse than a total of 47 restaurants in Hanoi #
• @tawnypress There should be an 800 number that let’s you choose whom you want to yell at. For Airlines please press 1,for utilities press 2 in reply to tawnypress #
• @tawnypress 1-800-yell-now Maybe the number is already there – try it. Of course mobile carriers and others need to be on there as well. #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week

• I’m wondering how Mr. Berlusconi (age 71) will explain his presumed liaison with an 18 year old this week. How about: She told me she is 19? #
• @LesBain I’d also be interested in the comments his (maybe) future ex-wife had to make. She’d put Al Pacino to shame ;-) in reply to LesBain #
• @fabiosacco Mr. B. is a man who talked himself out of big trouble at least 10,000 times (hard to count). All other schmucks: Watch & learn! in reply to fabiosacco #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week

• Sometimes life just sucks. And this not them time to spend a lot of time on Twitter. Sorry for my “unparticipation” these days. I’ll be back #
• Apparently the engineers at Mercedes can’t figure our how to stick 6000 laptop batteries in car. Therefore Daimler bought 10% of Tesla Motor #
• A principal in Utah tells a 14yr old buy not to wear a kilt.He could be taken for a transvestite.All scottish transvestites are outraged :-) #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week

• The Wall Street Journal plans to charge per article now. I am wondering when they will begin to charge per tweet. We should all do so :-) #
• @citygirlgvl But then isn’t Rupert Murdoch the guarantor for independent quality content himself?He has proved himself over & over again;-) in reply to citygirlgvl #
• @toyotasales No refunds at WSJ. You get to leave a comment for free. Buying a secret bag of goodies is one of the great experiences in life. in reply to toyotasales #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week

• 30 years ago Maggie Thatcher took over as prime minister. Imagine being her husband for second – just don’t get stuck on a horror trip ;-) #
• A group of UN experts is dividing the North Pole: Russia, Canada, USA, Norway, Denmark are the poker players. Who gets Santa’s workshop? #
• Personally I’d give the North Pole to Africa. This way they could send the Robert Mugabe’s of this world up there to have some quality time. #

Continue reading Twitter musings from the past week