My NewStand

RIP Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, a name that is always mentioned - often in a competitive context - alongside Bill Gates has died. He was 56. If you’re one of the millions who has been wowed by - or an owner of - an “i” gadget (iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.,) then you owe your awesome, cool, nifty, convenient and wonderful life to Steve Jobs. As CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc. he was the brains behind these life-changing inventions. Hence, he has been endowed with different titles like “tech messiah”, “today’s Einstein”, “the man who invented our world”, a visionary and a genius. He was also the owner and force behind Pixar - the company that made Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and other computer animated movies - before it was sold to Disney. The world will miss Steve ...though his legacy will live on, some of it in our pants pockets ...:)

The X Factor

Simon Cowell the former "brutally honest judge" on American Idol, has debuted his own X Factor show on Fox. It’s in its second week now and the talent pool in America of singers/entertainers, I must say, is just phenomenal. There’s over a hundred performers (from tens of thousands auditions) who were invited to “boot camp” from which one winner of the $5 million recording contract is picked. Last night, about 80% were amazing and I can imagine the tough job by the judges in gauging the competition. One of the main differences between American Idol and X Factor is that the latter has no specific age limits while the former does.

NBC has its own singing competition Sing Off on Mondays. This is another must watch. The contestants are a-cappella groups. My favorite? Gotta go with Vocal Point, not necessarily because they’re from BYU, but that they are so gooooooood! ...seeeki a!

Also watched “Tuiga” - another movie by the makers of Tautoga Gausia. Somewhat similar storyline with some of the same actors. Still rough otherwise quite representative of typical Samoan socio-political and cultural pandemonium.

Christie will not run
Chris Christie finally made an official announcement that he will not run in the 2012 US Presidential race. It was great news for Romney, who has regained the frontrunner status after Perry’s woeful debate performances and other mischances.  Most of those who had waited on the sidelines for Christie are now supporting Romney.

Sarah Palin (McCain’s running mate in 2008) too will not run. Good! Great! Awesome! Nice!


Obama ma le kakou kama

Apart from struggling to regain his popularity of three years ago, Obama meets OKama! (Kama o Stui.) There certainly is something discrepant, if not weird, seeing Stui standing next to Obama...LOL!

From political punditry perspective, the most notable difference between the two leaders, besides their physical features, is that Tui has been a prime minister for over thirteen years. In other words, based on the US presidential election cycle of 4 years, Stui is presently serving his fourth term.

Obama on the other hand, is barely surviving his first term. So you go and (cue Zipso) fika mai le pese. And I wonder if Obama hadn’t asked Stui if he was a prime minister or a king, since kings enjoy political longevity. I can almost picture Stui saying: “Well I’m a prime minister but my title (Tuilaepa) is that of a king, since the affix/prefix “Tui” - in much of Polynesia - means “king”.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if Obama extruded some winning tips for his re-election campaign from Stui.  LOL!  Imagine this picture in Obama's campaign ads...hehehee  ...with this VO "If this man can be prime minister for over ten years, I'd say "Yes we can! ... let's do four more years"