Will Covid-19 variant omicron impact CES 2022?

Just as tech companies are gearing up for CES 2022, a scary new variant of Covid-19 threatens to hang over the annual consumer electronics show.
The Consumer Technology Association is returning to Las Vegas for an in-person CES conference in early January after canceling this year’s physical show because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
CES 2021 was an all-digital event. CES 2022 will be a hybrid event with an in-person show plus a digital component for industry professionals and media who can’t or won’t attend the show.
On Friday, the World Health Organization designated the omicron strain of the coronavirus a “variant of concern.” South African scientists said the variant is behind a recent spike in Covid-19 infections in the country’s most populous province, according to the Associated Press.
The conference industry has struggled to return to normal since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020.
On Nov. 1-4, about 40,000 people attended the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. Last year’s event was held online because of the pandemic. (See articles by DW and Fast Company.)
However, on Nov. 23, broadcasting technology show IBC canceled its December in-person event as the Covid-19 situation worsened in the Netherlands. The event was due to take place at the RAI in Amsterdam Dec. 3-6. (See articles by Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.)
CES organizers have signed up over 1,700 exhibitors for the 2022 show and “tens of thousands” of registered attendees so far. The last in-person CES, in 2020, attracted 4,419 exhibitors and 171,268 attendees.
CES 2022 will take place Jan. 5-8 with pre-show media events starting Jan. 3. Attendees must have proof of Covid-19 vaccination. They also likely will have to wear masks inside and on public transportation.

Related articles:

CES 2022 will be half the usual size, but at least it’s in person (VentureBeat; Nov. 24, 2021)

CES 2022 to Have Smaller Footprint, Fewer Attendees (Media Play News; Nov. 18, 2021)

Digital CES Component Here to Stay as ‘Almost a CES Bonus’ (Consumer Electronics Daily; Nov. 15, 2021)

CES 2022 will be a rebuilding year (Tech-media-tainment; Oct. 30, 2021)

Will Covid-19 pandemic loom over CES 2022? (Tech-media-tainment; Oct. 9, 2021)

Photo: The anchor desk from the all-digital CES 2021. (Consumer Technology Association)

Pat Benatar tops my picks for Rock Hall induction once again

Now that the 2021 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been enshrined, it’s time to start thinking about the next class.
At the Oct. 30 ceremony in Cleveland, the hall inducted 12 groups and individual artists. That’s double the six performers inducted in 2020. (The hall also inducted one non-performer this year: music industry executive Clarence Avant. That makes a total of 13 inductees.)
Artist inductees this year included Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Kraftwerk, LL Cool J and Todd Rundgren. The hall also inducted session musician Billy Preston, heavy-metal guitarist Randy Rhoads, “Father of the Delta Blues” Charley Patton and soul-jazz performer Gil Scott-Heron.
I’m hopeful that the Rock Hall will pick another large class of inductees in 2022 to deal with its growing backlog of worthy artists.
For the third year in a row, I’m promoting powerhouse singer Pat Benatar, who dominated the early MTV music television era, as my top pick for induction. She paved the way for such modern artists as Pink and Hayley Williams of Paramore.
After Benatar is in, we can talk about other worthy female artists. Here I would include Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow and Cyndi Lauper.
The only female artists that I wouldn’t mind getting the nod before Benatar would be Carly Simon and Kate Bush, both very deserving as well.
Here’s my current list, in order of preference, for induction into the Rock Hall. The first year of eligibility is in parentheses, based on data from Future Rock Legends.

1. Pat Benatar (2000)
2. Joy Division/New Order (2004/2007)
3. Phil Collins (2007)
4. INXS (2006)
5. Carly Simon (1997)
6. Kate Bush (2004)
7. Siouxsie & the Banshees (2004)
8. Duran Duran (2007)
9. The Smiths (2009)
10. Smashing Pumpkins (2016)

Related reading:

Tina Turner and The Go-Go’s Enlisted A Secret Weapon To Finally Gain Entrance To The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame: The Music Documentary (Decider; May 17, 2021)

Metal Snubs: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 10 Worst Omissions (Ultimate Classic Rock; May 19, 2021)

Eminem’s potential Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2022 would be a polarizing game-changer (Cleveland.com; Aug. 4, 2021)

Lessons from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2021 (Tech-media-tainment; Aug. 16, 2021)

Taylor Swift, Dave Chappelle and more can’t-miss moments from HBO’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (USA Today; Nov. 19, 2021)

Photo: Cover of Pat Benatar’s second album, “Crimes of Passion” (1980)

Metaverse: Is there a porn app for that?

Whenever a new technology emerges, someone always comes up with a sex application for it.
From video cassette recorders to the internet, the adult entertainment industry has quickly found porn and sex applications for new technologies. More recently, that has included virtual reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, and cryptocurrency.
Lately the biggest buzzword in the technology industry has been the metaverse, with its promise of immersive virtual worlds. Companies like Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, and Microsoft are pouring billions into developing the metaverse.
Adult entertainment companies are already touting their plays on the emerging metaverse.
Several companies are selling digital porn as NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The NFTs are collectibles now but could be integrated into the metaverse at some point.
On Nov. 8, Pokmi announced a “unique 3D Metaverse” NFT, minted in the likeness of brand ambassador Maitland Ward.
The new NFT will not be playable in-game or in the metaverse, but it points to the direction the industry is heading. (See article by Xbiz.)

Previous articles:

Is there a porn app for that? (Jan. 30, 2016)

Blockchain: Is there a porn app for that? (Jan. 20, 2018)

Augmented reality: Is there a porn app for that? (July 30, 2018)

Artificial intelligence in sex technology (Nov. 11, 2018)

Autonomous vehicles as mobile brothels (Nov. 18, 2018)

Photo: 3D metaverse NFT in the likeness of porn star Maitland Ward. (Pokmi)

Lying clickbait is fascinated with celebrity interracial couples

Clickbait purveyors love to tease celebrity relationships that don’t exist. Through deceptive headlines and photos, they imply relationships between people who aren’t couples.
I’ve noted previously how content promoters suggest that some celebrities are gay when they’re not. Examples include Tom Selleck and Erin Burnett.
I’ve also noticed that clickbait companies like to imply that some celebrities are in interracial relationships. Examples include Tom Selleck (again!), Pat Sajak, Denzel Washington, Will Smith with Charlize Theron, and Maria Menounos with Michael Strahan.
More recently, I’ve seen clickbait ads that imply that actor Kevin Costner and Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson are each in interracial relationships.
Outbrain ran an article titled “Kevin Costner celebrates 17th wedding anniversary” that used a photo of Costner with actress Octavia Spencer. The photo was taken at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. The same photo was used with a clickbait article titled “They are still married today.” Well, not to each other at least.

An Outbrain article titled “At 51, this is Tucker Carlson’s better half” used a photo of Carlson with actress Vivica A. Fox. The photo was taken at a “Dancing with the Stars” after-party in November 2016. Snopes even did an article on this false clickbait.

Another clickbait article titled “Troy Aikman stuns fans with new marriage pic” used a photo of the retired NFL quarterback with retired NFL running back Jamal Anderson. The photo was taken at a reception for Super Bowl XL in February 2006 in Detroit.

Elsewhere in internet chum, a Taboola article titled “Shaq’s yacht is intimidating and expensive” used a photos of the Calibre 120M yacht concept from MUB Design. It can’t belong to basketball great Shaquille O’Neal because it doesn’t even exist.

And finally, an Outbrain article titled “Taylor Swift is unrecognizable without makeup” used a Photoshopped image of the singer. The original photo was taken at the SNL 40 event in February 2015. The altered image with the clickbait article gives Swift a much bigger bust.

News media honeymoon over for President Biden, as seen in magazine covers

President Joe Biden enjoyed fawning media coverage after his election victory a year ago over then-President Donald Trump. But the news media honeymoon is over, judging from magazine covers.
The butt-kissing started in earnest last December with Time magazine naming Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as Persons of the Year, even before they took office. Magazine covers that followed portrayed Biden as a tough foreign negotiator and all-around cool guy.
But after the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, worsening border crisis, budget-busting Build Back Better agenda and unpopular Covid vaccine mandates, his fans in the media have turned on him.
You only need to look at the recent covers of Newsweek, The Economist and New York magazine.
But those Biden covers are respectful compared with President Trump’s magazine covers.