It’s no secret in Italy that the underdog candidate for prime minister, Walter Veltroni, likes Barack Obama — and likes him a lot.

Veltroni’s campaign motto “Si può fare” is a literal translation of Obama’s “Yes we can”, and his campaign mantra of change seems to take a page straight out of the Obama playbook. His party has sought to highlight their similarities, even quoting George Clooney saying Veltroni and Obama “are the most responsible people I have ever met”.

Veltroni acknowledges he’s looking to Obama for inspiration, and his supporters are increasingly looking across the Atlantic as well.

One good example is the music video that Veltroni’s celebrity fans put together that they acknowledge was modelled after the one that Black Eyed Peas did for Obama with the help of Scarlett Johansson.

What does Veltroni’s rival have to say about this? Silvio Berlusconi, a conservative media mogul who is ahead in the polls, has pounced on Veltroni, calling him an Obama-wanna be. Berlusconi also has criticised Obama for taking sides in the U.S. election, asking what will Veltroni do should Hillary Clinton or John McCain become the next president.

News flash! Newspapers are in trouble!

Just in case you didn’t know that, credit agency rating company Fitch released a nice, long refresher course on one of the United States’s favorite dying-yet-profitable business.

Titled “U.S. Newspaper Outlook Update - Still Negative,” Fitch sought and caught the hook that reporters use to freshen up the story: Things aren’t just bad, they’re worse than we thought!

Excerpts:

• Gannett Co, Inc. (Not Rated): Ad pages down 17% at the USA Today and pro forma real estate classifieds at community newspapers down 20%.
• Tribune Company (rated ‘B+’, Rating Watch Negative by Fitch): Classifieds down 18% driven by real estate down 24% and employment classifieds down 19%.
• The McClatchy Company (’BB+’, Stable Outlook): Real estate down 26%, Automotive down 20% and National down 19%.
• Dow Jones (’BBB+’, Rating Watch Negative): Ad volume down 20% driven by a 75% decline in technology related ads. Classifieds down 14%.

And then there’s this:

Stock prices have been down for several years, but with the turbulent credit markets, Fitch believes that companies that did not already pursue highly leveraged acquisitions or leveraged recapitalizations are less likely to pursue those types of transactions in this funding environment.

Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Appert released a similar assessment on Monday in a research note: “Our message is consistent and (sadly) unchanged: Business is lousy, with no signs of near-term improvement.”

This just goes to disprove the old saying that no news is good news.

If there was any lingering doubt that billboard, park bench and every other sort of outdoor advertising are hot, well, just check out the latest figures.

In the first half of this year, outdoor advertising revenue rose about 8 percent to almost $3.8 billion in the United States, according to an industry trade group. That puts it on pace to match the increases seen in 2005 and 2006.

 Outside the Internet, those growth figures are tough to beat.

Here’s a breakdown of the top categories from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America:
    1. Misc. Services and Amusements $581 million
    2. Insurance and Real Estate $382 million
    3. Public Transportation, Hotels and Resorts $326 million
    4. Communications $311 million
    5. Media and Advertising $307 million
    6. Retail $296 million
    7. Restaurants $232 million
    8. Financial $217 million
    9. Automotive Dealers and Services $199 million 
  10. Automotive Equipment $180 million

Quick quiz: the guy in this photo is…

a) another guy confused by those Heinz Ketchup upside-down squeeze bottles
b) a dude who ran with the bulls in Pamplona, but not quite fast enough
c) some below average med student’s first surgery - the one that doesn’t go on their permanent record
d) Tony Soprano, if that scene had gone on just a little longer

For the correct answer, see the slideshow and the video:

More Oddly Enough Blog

A reveler lies in tomato pulp during the annual “Tomatina” (tomato fight) in the Mediterranean village of Bunol, Spain, near Valencia, August 29, 2007. REUTERS/Andrea Comas

Well, here’s one of my recurring nightmares. Not getting married - that was great - but standing out on the ledge of a tall building. I’d rather ride in a gyrocopter, or visit that new Grand Canyon skywalk.

Anyway, these two people both work as exterior cleaners of tall buildings, so they decided to incorporate rappelling into their ceremony, because like they don’t get enough of that on regular days. You’ll note in the caption below we’re careful to mention that the groom is the one on the right, just in case you’re confused about which is which.

Anyway, I’ve avoided using most of the tempting references - marriage is a big step, they don’t rappel each other, and so on, so feel free to use those in your comments.

More Oddly Enough Blog

Jiang Dezhang (R), 27, kisses his bride Tie Guangju, 26, while rappelling from a building during their wedding ceremony in Kunming, China, August 28, 2007. REUTERS

Welcome to Blogs.reuters-sports.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

This one may have a struggle before it catches on. Some guy is developing a spray-on condom, the benefit apparently being that one-size fits all sizes and shapes. What could possibly go wrong here?  Let’s see.

– Carrying a big spray can in the pocket of your suede jacket on a date could be uncool
– Couples may want to apply this spritz in the dark, and other things also come in a spray can, like mace, windshield de-icer and abrasive oven cleaner.
– Who’s going to want to be the first to try ripping one of those things off?

Here is the story:

Jan Vinzenz Krause of the Institute for Condom Consultancy poses with a prototype of a spray-on condom, in Singen December 5, 2006. REUTERS/Miro Kuzmanovic

Can’t decide which satellite radio service to pick? Torn between exclusive options at either Sirius or XM such as NFL football versus Major League Baseball? Do you go for Opie and Anthony or Howard Stern? Martha Stewart or Oprah Winfrey? 

Now the U.S. satellite TV rivalry has escalated to, er, holy proportions.

Sirius Satellite Radio this year launched the Catholic channel which “focuses on Catholicism in the 21st Century” and will feature everything from “His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York” to Lino Rulli, whose show is called “The Catholic Guy.”

XM counters later this month with “Radio Hanukkah” which claims to be the “first-ever national broadcast channel devoted exclusively to Jewish culture” from December 15-23.

XM says that fans of the channel, which will feature the likes of Al Franken, Kinky Friedman, Neil Sedaka, Larry Miller and other “Jewish celebrities” can ”enjoy an extended free trial of Radio Hanukkah and the entire XM Radio Online lineup.” Listeners will need to enter the promotional code “TheChosen” when signing up on XM’s web site.

And if you just cant get enough holiday radio, Sirius also has continuous Christmas music  broadcast on two of its other channels through Christmas Day – StarLite, which will play  play traditional and contemporary Christmas holiday music, and The Roadhouse, which will feature holiday country music.

Not to be out-jollied or out-merried, XM has some 6 holiday channels on its system, including “Special XMAS” which XM says is “the soundtrack to your dysfunctional family holiday.”

Read Orbitcast’s coverage of the holiday music battle here.

So does any of these choices make you want to pay $13 a month for satellite radio?

(THIS JUST IN: American Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu will bring Hanukkah to Sirius from Dec. 15 through Dec. 23! Ziggy Marley will celebrate Kwanzaa to Sirius! SATELLITE RADIO WAR PARITY REACHED.)

Broadway bloggers are weighing in some unexpected casting news: Tony Danza will portray Max Bialystock in the Broadway production of “The Producers” later this month.

Danza’s comedic timing is well known. He starred in two long-running sitcoms, “Who’s the Boss?” and “Taxi”, and his cabaret act has garnered some decent reviews in New York. Yet playing Bialystock seems a bit of a stretch for some. The character is a bombastic know-it-all usually played by bigger-than-life actors such as Nathan Lane, who won a Tony Award for his portrayal.

As Rotel1026 says on talkinbroadway.com: ”Is it just me or does anyone else think he’d actually fit the role of Leo Bloom (the nebbish accountant played originally by Matthew Broderick ) better?”
Chazwaza labels his posting on talkinbroadway.com: “I can’t think of anyone less right for his part.”

“This sounds like a true disaster,” says Rantaynyc on talkinbroadway.com.

On Broadwayworld.com, the postings were a little kinder. NathanLaneStalker and AudreyTwoTwo say, “Cool!” But mrSweetNAwful says, “Surefire sign this show is floundering.” 

“Seems like PRODUCERS is becoming the new CHICAGO–bring in B grade actors and the aufdiences will come!” says Zelgo on talkin.broadway.com

Casting celebrities in aging Broadway shows has paid off in the past. The smash-hit revival of “Chicago” has been running for a record-breaking 10 years with no signs of slowing down after welcoming such diverse performers as Huey Lewis, Rita Wilson, Usher, Brooke Shields and Melanie Griffith to its cast throughout the years.  

“The Producers” backers must be hoping for some of the same. The week of Nov. 20-26 was a record-breaking one for the Broadway box office but “The Producers” only filled about 60 percent of its theater capacity. The show broke all box-office records when it debuted five years ago – tickets were virtually impossible to come by.

Danza will join the production Dec. 19 for a 12-week run. Let’s see how ticket sales react. (Pictured left: Grand Magazine Feb/Mar 2006 issue featuring Tony Danza/handout. Pictured right: Matthew Broderick (R) and Nathan Lane in Times Square September 28, 2001/REUTERS)

Dear Blog Guy,
What do you suppose life would be like without television? What would we do with our time, if we didn’t have “America’s Next Top Model” and “Veronica Mars” and stuff like that?
Curious

Well, Curious, I think we would spend our time cultivating grotesque growths.  We might even invent a club called The Union of Distinctive Egyptian Moustaches.  I think it would go something like this: