Month: January 2010

General Larry Platt – Get your pants off the ground

General Larry Platt – Get your pants off the ground

When I ranted on this before, I told young men to pull their pants up.  Recently, General Larry Platt told young men to get your pants off the ground because you are looking like a fool. He also told them to straighten up their baseball caps. He wrote a simple but catchy little tune and then went to try out on American Idol and it has been a hit!  I am sure the producers of American Idol are going to make the most of this “celebrity” and his catchy little tune.

According to other sites, the General is not really a general but he is an activist.  He walked with Martin Luther King, has been honored by the city of Atlanta, and the Georgia legislature has honored the man. September 4, 2001 was designated as Larry Platt Day in Atlanta.

From the Georgia General Assembly:

05 LC 98 0343
House Resolution 286
By: Representatives Morgan of the 39th, Brooks of the 63rd, Thomas of the 55th, Abdul-Salaam of the 74th, Orrock of the 58th, and others

A RESOLUTION

Commending Larry Platt for his priceless and immeasurable contributions to society; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, for the past 40 years, Larry Platt has given of himself in service to the people of the City of Atlanta, the State of Georgia, and the nation; and

WHEREAS, Larry Platt merits the highest recognition for his many valuable contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and his dedication to the struggle for equality and human rights; and

WHEREAS, beginning in 1963, Larry Platt worked diligently with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was established to help organize student sit-ins and to fight segregation in restaurants and other public places; and

WHEREAS, Larry Platt, a student of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., experienced raw violence when he was beaten while attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery on Bloody Sunday; and

WHEREAS, Larry Platt’s leadership and dedication was again clearly reflected in his faithful and loyal commitment to the United Youth Adult Conference search efforts, which organized volunteers to search for missing and murdered children in the Metropolitan Atlanta area; and

WHEREAS, September 4, 2001, was proclaimed “Larry Platt Day” in the City of Atlanta, and it is highly fitting and proper that this body recognize the significant contributions of this esteemed man.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body join in commending Larry Platt for his great energy and

commitment to equality and the protection of the innocent and for his outstanding service to the Atlanta community and the citizens of Georgia.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Mr. Larry Platt.

What is easy isn’t always what is right…

What is easy isn’t always what is right…

Scott McKain, an adviser to many on how to more effectively run a business, just did a great article on how NBC screwed up with this Leno at 10 problem.

What Scott doesn’t point out in his advice is that the change is not always necessary for the good of the company.  In this case, Conan was getting his butt kicked by the more experienced (and more entertaining) Letterman.

Scott’s article is excellent.  Jump over and read it.  Here is some of his advice:

1) Don’t EVER make the assumption that ANY productive employee is ready to be put out to pasture. We work for many reasons, and only ONE of them is money. Zucker’s assumption that Leno was wealthy enough and would want to ride off in the sunset started the disastrous chain of events.

2) Sometimes we have to allow good colleagues to depart. If NBC would have just allowed Conan to move on, instead of trying to sacrifice its business plan to keep him, they would have been in much better shape.

3) We must look to make the decisions that are best for the long-term…what fixes a short-term challenge may create lasting problems. That’s what happened here.

NBC to move Leno?

NBC to move Leno?

I am not a bit surprised that Leno is in trouble at NBC. Moving that format to 10P in the 21st century was foolish. It may have been okay in the 50s or 60s but that show was doomed the day that Jay Leno walked on to the stage.

Of course, it doesn’t help that Conan is a flop in the 11:30 time slot.

The executives that put this together should be fired. It should be the first thing that Comcast does now that they have control of the company from GE. Fire the buffoons that did this. Talk about destroying a valuable commodity! Warren Buffet says that you should only invest in companies that can be profitable even if idiots run them. I don’t know if I agree with that advice but I definitely don’t think you should invest in companies that are run by buffoons!