Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time

I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Where's your shame
You've left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can't trace time

Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

Lyrics by David Bowie

The times, they are a changin' and by High Noon today the hope and optimism of a new administration will be a reality. Then, it's time to get to work.

I truly wish President Obama would set the tone by heading right to the Oval Office rather than the full schedule of inaugural balls. That would send the message that there is indeed a leader who will make changes.

One thing is for sure, this Inauguration Day is the most anticipated in my lifetime. It comes after the most important Presidential campaign and Election Day in my lifetime.

Today marks a day of opportunity for a new United States of America. Different from the bungled administrative term of Bush and Chaney and their misfit nominees that brought disgrace to the US of A.

The Inauguration Day ceremonies will be the most talked about, shared, televised, broadcast, blogged, IM'd, SMS'd, Flickr'd, Tumblr'd and everything else in communications history. That is a good thing. The opportunity is upon us.


***
NYT:


The Inauguration Will Be Televised–and Tweeted and Flickr’d
By Jenna Wortham

Barack Obama’s inauguration will be televised. It will also be tweeted, live-streamed and simulated in virtual worlds.

This bodes well for those eager to participate in Tuesday’s festivities without risking frostbite or braving the troubling ratio of port-a-potties available for the millions of political party-goers expected to descend on the nation’s capital Tuesday.

Here at Bits, we’ve compiled a list of some of the inaugural happenings around the Web. Let us know which events we missed in the comments below.

Live Streams: The New York Times will be live-streaming Mr. Obama’s speech from its home page; video Web sites Hulu and Joost are among the other sites broadcasting Tuesday’s events.

Live Tweeting: Similar to its coverage of the presidential debates, Current TV is partnering with micro-blogging site Twitter to showcase inaugural day musings from the Twitter universe, in 140 characters of less. Beginning at 11:30 a.m. E.S.T., the indie media company will hand-pick selected messages, or “tweets,” and integrate the updates into the channel’s broadcast. To prevent network outages, Twitter CEO Biz Stone told The Times that the company is doubling its capacity to gear up for the event.

Flickr: The photo-sharing social network, owned by Yahoo, will be hosting a respite from the packed event at a nearby wine bar. Local and visiting Flickeristas can drop in for a coffee or a glass of wine and check out photographs from election night alongside recently snapped images from the induction ceremony displayed in an exhibition of digital frames.

3-D Panorama: Microsoft is partnering with CNN to release a digital panorama of the event using Photosynth, software that morphs a series photographs into a digital, 3-D panorama. The company is soliciting professional photographs from news outlets as well as user-generated content, snapped from cellphones and digital cameras, for the final product.

DIY Inaugural Balls: Still waiting for an invite to one of Washington’s lavish parties to celebrate the new president? On the off-chance you don’t make it onto a VIP list, you can still attend a party online. Gussy up your avatars and port them into one of the balls happening in Second Life and Wee World. If virtual alter egos aren’t your thing, try your luck finding a nearby shindig using the official Presidential Inaugural Committee’s handy Web tool.

Mobile Applications: UStream.tv, a streaming video site that lets anyone put up a broadcast, like the wriggling brood of Shiba Inu puppies that made headlines late last year. The company recently unveiled plans for an iPhone application that will port any of its streaming broadcasts to the Apple device -– including the inauguration. The service also supplements live streams with a chat function so Ustreamers can chit-chat during the festivities.

In the event that you are traveling to the nation’s capital for the event, the free 2009 Presidential Inauguration Guide iPhone application is a must-have for out-of-towners. The application serves up public transit schedules and details, locations of parking garages, free Wi-Fi zones and a Zagat guide for the Washington area. The nifty application will also map the current distance between the phone’s owner and the steps of the Capitol building.

***

May God Bless President Barack Obama and the talented people he chooses to help lead the United States of America.

To the rest of the world... Please give the United States a chance to redeem itself as a world leader with hopes of peace and better days ahead.

It will take time.

TL