THE NEWS HACK'S CREED:
I know more than you.
I make lots more money than you.
I'm smarter than you.
I'm sexier than you.
I appear on TV all the time.
I work ten minutes a day.
I rule the universe.
I'm going to live forever.
You are an idiot.
THE NEWS HACK'S CREED, No. 2:
A lie isn't a lie when it tells THE TRUTH.
THE NEWS HACK'S CREED, No. 3:
I've come to realize that the looseness of the journalistic life, the seeming laxity of the newsroom, is an illusion. Yes, there's informality and there's humor, but beneath the surface lies something deadly serious. It is a code. Sometimes the code is not even written down, but it is deeply believed in. And, when violated, it is enforced with tribal ferocity.
--JOHN "OMERTA" CARROLL.
THE NEWS HACK'S CREED, No. 4:
News isn't news when we don't report it.
PERMALINKS:
THE NEWS HACKS' DICTIONARY
THE EUGENE DAVID GLOSSARY
AMERICA'S MOST UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY WEB SITE!
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Saturday, May 03, 2008
What is Chris Orr but a male Ms. Travers?
I'm surprised she hasn't gotten down on her hands and knees too.
I'm surprised she hasn't gotten down on her hands and knees too.
Shucks, if only those EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL Republicans wouldn't bring up THE P WORD.
And as two of the three people we interview are Democrats it must have been a good cry.
And as two of the three people we interview are Democrats it must have been a good cry.
Can someone tell me why the same self-important edi-TORS who scratch themselves on their massive backs with awards for lockstep knee-jerk thinking are so exercised about altering photos in women's magazines?
Speaking of THE IMMORTAL:
The Post reported on April 22 that Redstone has privately expressed frustration with CBS' performance, and he has made his thoughts known to Dauman, who is said to be angling to oust Moonves and then merge CBS and Viacom into a single company which he would then run. [!!!!!]
Just one problem: SUMNER's honorary mentor, Adolph Zukor, lived to be 103.
The Post reported on April 22 that Redstone has privately expressed frustration with CBS' performance, and he has made his thoughts known to Dauman, who is said to be angling to oust Moonves and then merge CBS and Viacom into a single company which he would then run. [!!!!!]
Just one problem: SUMNER's honorary mentor, Adolph Zukor, lived to be 103.
Meantime the movie geeks and comic-book fans are excited because their 95% masterwork is doing BETTER THAN EXPECTED!!!!!!!!!! While the old coot SUMNER knows how to massage expectations we tallied up those weekend speculations and they seem to be somewhat behind last year's statistical hooey, meaning (apart from the obvious advantage of not hearing PAUL DRECK speak of RECORDS!!!!!) that maybe -- and God knows we read too much into this -- maybe the Civil War and the Os-CAR® debacle started a small part of the fillum audience into THINKING, and perhaps chipped them away from the popcorn restaurants, however CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED the comic-book movies.
To be sure, the comparisons may be better next week, and there is no guarantee the show-biz sycophant-typists still can't get their way, but the public isn't that stupid, though moviegoers are.
(Via the ultrageeks at HSX.com)
To be sure, the comparisons may be better next week, and there is no guarantee the show-biz sycophant-typists still can't get their way, but the public isn't that stupid, though moviegoers are.
(Via the ultrageeks at HSX.com)
Friday, May 02, 2008
Stale.com, which has suddenly taken an unhealthy interest in horse racing, tells us of some sheikh who supposedly spent a billion trying to win the Derby when for just forty bucks he could have gotten a hat, and the cigar-chewers who will go down to the track until the biz gets it in its head to tear down most of its grandstands, which may cause problems of its own.
Couldn't we take an interest in a sport that's not quite so smelly -- like BRIDGE?
Couldn't we take an interest in a sport that's not quite so smelly -- like BRIDGE?
FCC: Telepictures Productions' TMZ Is a News Program
Pffh-hh-hh hh hh hh hh hh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
Pffh-hh-hh hh hh hh hh hh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to say publicly that he will hold the line against new taxes, his administration is laying the groundwork for a possible tax increase.
Administration officials are soliciting advice from business groups and other special interests on how to propose billions of dollars in tax hikes that could help close a budget shortfall the governor now says is as large as $20 billion.
Is he still sexy?
Administration officials are soliciting advice from business groups and other special interests on how to propose billions of dollars in tax hikes that could help close a budget shortfall the governor now says is as large as $20 billion.
Is he still sexy?
The bad news for Gekko Kudlows: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL GUVMENT's putting limits on credit-card fees.
The good news for Gekko Kudlows: WHOOPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
The construction and manufacturing sectors continued to shed jobs in April, but less cyclical sectors such as education offset these declines.
Maybe big guvment isn't so bad after all -- if you're Gekko Kudlow.
The good news for Gekko Kudlows: WHOOPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
The construction and manufacturing sectors continued to shed jobs in April, but less cyclical sectors such as education offset these declines.
Maybe big guvment isn't so bad after all -- if you're Gekko Kudlow.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Home Depot to close 15 underperforming US stores
...while opening 55 new ones, meaning Babbittry is safe -- for now.
...while opening 55 new ones, meaning Babbittry is safe -- for now.
AP NEWS ALERT!!!!!
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A jury has acquitted an Army sergeant who shot an Iraqi insurgent.
There is just no getting these COLD-BLOO...these soldiers to pay the price!
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A jury has acquitted an Army sergeant who shot an Iraqi insurgent.
There is just no getting these COLD-BLOO...these soldiers to pay the price!
Barbara Walters reveals affair with senator
We're not surprised: Baba Wawa has romanced her subjects for decades.
We're not surprised: Baba Wawa has romanced her subjects for decades.
Okay: Which will reach idiotic new highs again first because the people who've driven up corn and oil need something else to be psychotic about: Stevedom or the DalaiLamadom?
Obama says public tired of hearing about his former pastor
So are we, but neither pastor nor The Messiah will shut his trap.
So are we, but neither pastor nor The Messiah will shut his trap.
We think we figured why Jut-Jaw needs so many people. Say he has a tech crew of 20 -- cameramen, video people, audio, lighting. A make-up staff of five. His musicians are what, ten? The people who gather the guests, ten. Director, assistants to the director, producer, assistants to the producer, assistants to Jut-Jaw -- we'll say 15. Stage managers and their staff, ten.
JUT-JAW NEEDS 130 WRITERS!
JUT-JAW NEEDS 130 WRITERS!
Time to Hit the Brakes on Bus Cliche? (Home-page link)
No, because this is at least the second article we've seen suggesting this -- and God knows how many, many, MANY more there've been where those came from.
And what news hack can function without his clichés, verbal and otherwise?
No, because this is at least the second article we've seen suggesting this -- and God knows how many, many, MANY more there've been where those came from.
And what news hack can function without his clichés, verbal and otherwise?
"Beautiful Downtown Burbank" is getting lots of super-expensive office space. Why?
The ratio of support staff to the number of people who actually perform in and produce some television shows, for instance, has doubled or even tripled in the last decade, said Muhlstein, an entertainment industry specialist with Cushman & Wakefield who negotiated the NBC deal.
"The typical talk show starring one person, like 'Ellen,' has 150 support staff," Muhlstein said. "Jay Leno has 200."
How many did Jack Paar need?
The ratio of support staff to the number of people who actually perform in and produce some television shows, for instance, has doubled or even tripled in the last decade, said Muhlstein, an entertainment industry specialist with Cushman & Wakefield who negotiated the NBC deal.
"The typical talk show starring one person, like 'Ellen,' has 150 support staff," Muhlstein said. "Jay Leno has 200."
How many did Jack Paar need?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The TWXSTERS, giving the heave-ho to their cable business, celebrate by aping Forbeslist in their FLAGSHIP and adoring 100 allegedly beautiful (Mary J. Blige?!?!?) "stars" (we suppose the former Kingdom of Luce means skin-deep, as ever), and we think we could put together a list of our own 100 most beautiful from the days they still had beauty, and whatever the TWXSTERS' endorsement the pretenders would all slink hopelessly back to the green room.
Oops:
Highest ever: NYC mtg delinquencies up 74%
Does that include all those fancy-dancy zillion-dollar penthouses?
Highest ever: NYC mtg delinquencies up 74%
Does that include all those fancy-dancy zillion-dollar penthouses?
Cablebzzzzzzzzzztvision gets bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt in the bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt newspaper bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt biz.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!
(Via the usual Romy)
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!
(Via the usual Romy)
"It irritated me," says Cody McDonald, a Judith Basin County commissioner. "When these things were named a hundred years ago, they didn't mean to offend anybody. … And it's a waste of time. Everybody's still going to call it 'Squaw Coulee.'"
It
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
irritates
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
me
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
too.
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
It
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
irritates
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
me
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
too.
KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH! KLUMPH!
Global warming may 'stop' scientists say
Rise in temperatures could halt until 2015 because of natural variations in climate
When do we get global cooling -- again?
Rise in temperatures could halt until 2015 because of natural variations in climate
When do we get global cooling -- again?
An elephant never forgets? George W. Bush's lost e-mails
That elephant sure does look like a flea's underfed nephew.
That elephant sure does look like a flea's underfed nephew.
Our favorite Branson East colyumnist Mike does it again:
Here's an exchange I heard the other day:
Press agent 1: "The reason they're called the Outer Critics is because you want to keep them out of the theater!"
Press agent 2: "Have you seen the one who looks like a 1930s film star?"
Press agent 1: "Oh, that's being too kind."
Press agent 2: "No, I mean it. She looks like Vivien Leigh."
Press agent 1: "She looks like Vivian Vance."
Press agent 2: "How about the one with the crippled husband?"
Press agent 1: "I bet the polio picnic in 'Cry-Baby' went down well with him. No wonder they didn't get nominated."
I'm not even going to try to top this kind of malicious theater talk.
Hey if you Branson East bozos put out shows the way you can exchange put-downs....
Here's an exchange I heard the other day:
Press agent 1: "The reason they're called the Outer Critics is because you want to keep them out of the theater!"
Press agent 2: "Have you seen the one who looks like a 1930s film star?"
Press agent 1: "Oh, that's being too kind."
Press agent 2: "No, I mean it. She looks like Vivien Leigh."
Press agent 1: "She looks like Vivian Vance."
Press agent 2: "How about the one with the crippled husband?"
Press agent 1: "I bet the polio picnic in 'Cry-Baby' went down well with him. No wonder they didn't get nominated."
I'm not even going to try to top this kind of malicious theater talk.
Hey if you Branson East bozos put out shows the way you can exchange put-downs....
The Rockefellers want to remake Standard Oil!
Well, not quite. Can you imagine what wealth it would take to do it? Even ST. WARREN couldn't. Pfffffffffffffffft!
Well, not quite. Can you imagine what wealth it would take to do it? Even ST. WARREN couldn't. Pfffffffffffffffft!
Just now at my neighborhood Mickey D's, here comes FunTimes -- "Celebrating Earth Day in April!" Well, better late than never we say, especially with the suggestions on how to be ecologically correct on the back cover -- like "reuse grocery bags"! And "bring a garbage-free lunch to school"! We won't comment on the latter except to say in fairness to the Mick we recall the clamshells, so Ronny has done better -- although we wonder how much better since He now serves eat-in food in bags.
We may also ask how much better when we see this conveniently hidden away from the content, above and to the right of the legalese:
Printed in Canada on recycled paper.
Now how much more energy did it take to send a recycled FunTimes from Canada then it might have taken to print it here? Or is North America's Most PC Country™ so environmentally correct that nothing we could do could use less energy than Canada?
God knows Ronnie loves shooting Himself in the foot; must remind Him of those delicious McDonald's hamburgers.
EEEEEEEEEEEEvery day should be Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeearth Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
We may also ask how much better when we see this conveniently hidden away from the content, above and to the right of the legalese:
Printed in Canada on recycled paper.Now how much more energy did it take to send a recycled FunTimes from Canada then it might have taken to print it here? Or is North America's Most PC Country™ so environmentally correct that nothing we could do could use less energy than Canada?
God knows Ronnie loves shooting Himself in the foot; must remind Him of those delicious McDonald's hamburgers.
EEEEEEEEEEEEvery day should be Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeearth Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
THE FUTURE OF MEDIA: We remain dubious that people will want to watch tiny TV on a computer for very long, though we've done it ourselves, with no little frustration. The day will come for a full-screen, full-fidelity picture, but until then BigMedia will waste a lot of money on it, which gets us smiling because bad news for BigMedia is good news for us.
We also admit to being dubious about advertiser-supported music, especially after our visit to We7; when we clicked on a album (Cult TV Themes by Laurie Johnson) for every track got the message, "Track unavailable[:] We are sorry, but this track is currently unavailable in your region (United States)". We know a few kinks must be worked out in beta (and We7 is definitely beta) but we wonder if such sites are nothing but kinks.
(Both links via the usual ArtsJournal)
We also admit to being dubious about advertiser-supported music, especially after our visit to We7; when we clicked on a album (Cult TV Themes by Laurie Johnson) for every track got the message, "Track unavailable[:] We are sorry, but this track is currently unavailable in your region (United States)". We know a few kinks must be worked out in beta (and We7 is definitely beta) but we wonder if such sites are nothing but kinks.
(Both links via the usual ArtsJournal)
ALL THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Inflatable pig lost after Roger Waters' Coachella set
We could provide some jokes, but the ASSPress has already provided the punchline.
Inflatable pig lost after Roger Waters' Coachella set
We could provide some jokes, but the ASSPress has already provided the punchline.
EXPLAINER
Life in an Austrian Dungeon
What 24 years in a windowless basement will do to your health.
I don't know, but I can guess what such baldly chortling teases can do to your Web site: there is not A SINGLE AD on Stale.com's home page. How long can St. Warren continue the philanthropy, especially now that He has a multi-billion-dollar sweet tooth?
Life in an Austrian Dungeon
What 24 years in a windowless basement will do to your health.
I don't know, but I can guess what such baldly chortling teases can do to your Web site: there is not A SINGLE AD on Stale.com's home page. How long can St. Warren continue the philanthropy, especially now that He has a multi-billion-dollar sweet tooth?
The new holy word in the Wall Street Casino: DILUTION.
Uh, boys, sell more stock to plug a leaking piggy bank and the existing shareholders may NOT be pleased.
Uh, boys, sell more stock to plug a leaking piggy bank and the existing shareholders may NOT be pleased.
Bush Blames Democrats for Sliding Economy
But of course -- evil Democrats passed the ethanol legislation that's helping to drive food and gas prices up!
Which Democratic president wanted the Democratic congress to pass the ethanol legislation?
GEKKO KUDLOW must be ticked. He still thinks the economy isn't sliding.
But of course -- evil Democrats passed the ethanol legislation that's helping to drive food and gas prices up!
Which Democratic president wanted the Democratic congress to pass the ethanol legislation?
GEKKO KUDLOW must be ticked. He still thinks the economy isn't sliding.
The signal similarity of the sad tales of The Messiah and the 15-year-old dolt is that whom the Media Gods create They would also destroy -- reluctantly. They knew The Messiah stood for truth and justice, more so out of the mouth of His sainted Mentor; They knew the dolt was like a free breakfast, lunch and dinner every day once They could get Their synergistic hands on her. Alas, Their heroes had feet of clay and brains of lead, and now thus they must turn on them -- reluctantly, but vicariously.
Which presidential candidate does Woodster the Perv support?
We can guess which one would go to his movies -- out of allegiance to the cause.
Woodrow Who? indeed.
P. S.
At least Schnozzola and Ethel were willing to be seen.
We can guess which one would go to his movies -- out of allegiance to the cause.
Woodrow Who? indeed.
P. S.
At least Schnozzola and Ethel were willing to be seen.
Mel "I ♥ JEWS!!!!!" Gibson and Aaron "Dilbert" Brown remind us of the Shuberts' (or FDR's, or whomever's) alleged maxim: he may be an SOB, but he's our SOB.
Pelosi: At News Conference This Morning, President Should Agree to Work with Congress to Help the American Economy
MY WAY!
And yes, if it were the other way around we'd say the same thing.
MY WAY!
And yes, if it were the other way around we'd say the same thing.
An ultrageek -- a LINUX programmer, developer of "the ReiserFS filesystem"! (sic) -- has been found guilty of first-degree murder, the sort of thing we puzzle doesn't happen more often.
(Via -- where else? -- Slashdot)
(Via -- where else? -- Slashdot)
Hmmm, this is interesting: The New York Sun's Web site went back to its previous (and more user-friendly) design.
Do you suppose these changes for change's sake are all they're cracked up to be?
Do you suppose these changes for change's sake are all they're cracked up to be?
When Nukeman's assistants make fun of the Barbie doll, the first impulse is to snicker. The snickering should stop when we comprehend the NUKES.
Iranian markets have been inundated with smuggled Western toys in recent years partly due to a dramatic rise in purchasing power as a result of increased oil revenues.
And part of the solution is for DWIGHTs to stop sending the price of oil to $100,000 a barrel -- as if.
I wonder -- what does Nukeman's crew think of Hello Kitty?
Iranian markets have been inundated with smuggled Western toys in recent years partly due to a dramatic rise in purchasing power as a result of increased oil revenues.
And part of the solution is for DWIGHTs to stop sending the price of oil to $100,000 a barrel -- as if.
I wonder -- what does Nukeman's crew think of Hello Kitty?
This, given the source, we may suppose to be a form of satire:
Carey was engaged in a rivalry nearly as fierce as Biggie and Tupac's: a yearslong cutting contest with Whitney Houston, whom she matched melisma for melisma, bromide for bromide.
Unfortunately, we know Stale.com, and we know Jody is chiseling a statue with words, creating another immortality in Eight-Octave, which is why we don't pay as much attention to Michael "Lehrer" Kinsley's snark as we used to.
Carey was engaged in a rivalry nearly as fierce as Biggie and Tupac's: a yearslong cutting contest with Whitney Houston, whom she matched melisma for melisma, bromide for bromide.
Unfortunately, we know Stale.com, and we know Jody is chiseling a statue with words, creating another immortality in Eight-Octave, which is why we don't pay as much attention to Michael "Lehrer" Kinsley's snark as we used to.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour yesterday said that he is too conservative to be John McCain's running mate....
Too conservative? Too sleazy.
Too conservative? Too sleazy.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Guenther Platter, the Austrian Interior Minister, said: "We are being confronted with an unfathomable crime. Everything that has happened here goes beyond one's imagination."
Don't boast -- you gave the world HITLER.
Don't boast -- you gave the world HITLER.
So much for that fawning Forbeslist fool the eighty-something Mr. Brady: The Drunken Slob has lost a chunk of his Noo Yawk audience from his predecessors -- and he badly trails BOOMER ESIASON!
Calling all sycophants! Calling Jeff "MENSA" Greenfield! Calling the staff of Zeitgeist! Calling Sen. Morals and Sen. Boobs McKeating! Drunk needs help! STAT!
Calling all sycophants! Calling Jeff "MENSA" Greenfield! Calling the staff of Zeitgeist! Calling Sen. Morals and Sen. Boobs McKeating! Drunk needs help! STAT!
God knows how many ways ASSPress can slant a poll, but what if PILLHEAD gets his way -- and he loses?
Be careful what you wish for; it might cut your audience in half.
Be careful what you wish for; it might cut your audience in half.
Republican U.S. presidential candidate John McCain accused North Carolina's Republican Party of being "out of touch with reality" over its refusal to pull an advertisement criticizing Democrat Barack Obama.
FLIP...
Days after denouncing fellow Republicans for producing a television advertisement linking Senator Obama to polarizing comments made by his former pastor, Senator McCain is softening his opposition to political use of the issue and is even stoking the story by publicly condemning newly published inflammatory remarks from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr.
FLOP!
FLIP...
Days after denouncing fellow Republicans for producing a television advertisement linking Senator Obama to polarizing comments made by his former pastor, Senator McCain is softening his opposition to political use of the issue and is even stoking the story by publicly condemning newly published inflammatory remarks from the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr.
FLOP!
[O]ur analysis of more than 24,000 deals between 1996 and 2006 reveals that companies that acquired through the last downturn (2001 to 2002) generated almost triple the excess returns of companies that made acquisitions during prior boom years.
St. Warren is more than a mere God, He is -- the universe!
St. Warren is more than a mere God, He is -- the universe!
And in other worlds of megalomania:
...minimal progress....
Please -- let there be more minimal progress!
...minimal progress....
Please -- let there be more minimal progress!
What is St. Warren up to? Is He trying to create another Kraft Foods? Or is He trying to build a Unilever from scratch? Either way it sounds like another chronic underachiever. We would like to know what's in it for Him, other than more Holy Warren Empire building.
P. S. With $10 billion in debt we may wonder how long Mars Inc. will remain the world's most secretive corporation.
P. S. With $10 billion in debt we may wonder how long Mars Inc. will remain the world's most secretive corporation.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
If it's Sunday, it must be Big Double-A-Scribble Time:
1. New GM Brand Czars Will Influence Product
Quartet Empowered With 'Voice' in Incentives, Vehicle Development
And how many times has the big GM rearranged the deck chairs on its leaky boat?
2. Let's see: Newspapers took in 39 percent of all U. S. ad spending in 1940, but only 15 percent today. That looks REAL BAD until you think that radio hardly ran any ads at all compared to today, and TV didn't exist, and the Web didn't exist, and you didn't have MARKETERS plastering ads on sidewalks and urinals and ballparks and school buses, so we'd bet these masters of the half-truth are taking in considerably more than they took in 68 years ago, even with the "decrease" -- and the "death watch".
3. Whither Wendy's Under Nelson Peltz
Here's whither, if we had to guess: It'll spend lots more money on stupid, condescending, annoying, irritating, junk-financing TV ADS while neglecting the product. Such has always been the fate of the second tier moping behind Mickey D. These money-juggling entrepreneurs wouldn't have it otherwise.
1. New GM Brand Czars Will Influence Product
Quartet Empowered With 'Voice' in Incentives, Vehicle Development
And how many times has the big GM rearranged the deck chairs on its leaky boat?
2. Let's see: Newspapers took in 39 percent of all U. S. ad spending in 1940, but only 15 percent today. That looks REAL BAD until you think that radio hardly ran any ads at all compared to today, and TV didn't exist, and the Web didn't exist, and you didn't have MARKETERS plastering ads on sidewalks and urinals and ballparks and school buses, so we'd bet these masters of the half-truth are taking in considerably more than they took in 68 years ago, even with the "decrease" -- and the "death watch".
3. Whither Wendy's Under Nelson Peltz
Here's whither, if we had to guess: It'll spend lots more money on stupid, condescending, annoying, irritating, junk-financing TV ADS while neglecting the product. Such has always been the fate of the second tier moping behind Mickey D. These money-juggling entrepreneurs wouldn't have it otherwise.
Jay of the WaPost writes:
Our real problem is the bottom 30 percent of U.S. schools, those in urban and rural communities full of low-income children. We have seen enough successful schools in such areas to know that many of those children are just as capable of being great scientists, doctors, and executives as suburban children are.
In the name of counterintuition we get silly, stupid writing. What constitutes a "great" scientist? Or a "great" doctor? Or especially a "great" executive? See, but hacks don't have to think, they can just write. Education must be about creating more technocrats. Dubya decreed it. Jay believes it. Getting the bottom 30 percent of U. S. schools up to par merely means more technocrats. And not everyone has the cranial wherewithal to be "great". Using "great" is just as bad as the self-serving inflated numbers of new-minted Chinese and Indian technocrats this typist complains about. Dammit, we have enough Steve Greers. Modern America lacks a soul; factory-producing millions who are supersmart in school and become "GREAT" technocrats is the answer to the wrong question.
I expect better from The Wilson Quarterly; I guess we can stop expecting.
Our real problem is the bottom 30 percent of U.S. schools, those in urban and rural communities full of low-income children. We have seen enough successful schools in such areas to know that many of those children are just as capable of being great scientists, doctors, and executives as suburban children are.
In the name of counterintuition we get silly, stupid writing. What constitutes a "great" scientist? Or a "great" doctor? Or especially a "great" executive? See, but hacks don't have to think, they can just write. Education must be about creating more technocrats. Dubya decreed it. Jay believes it. Getting the bottom 30 percent of U. S. schools up to par merely means more technocrats. And not everyone has the cranial wherewithal to be "great". Using "great" is just as bad as the self-serving inflated numbers of new-minted Chinese and Indian technocrats this typist complains about. Dammit, we have enough Steve Greers. Modern America lacks a soul; factory-producing millions who are supersmart in school and become "GREAT" technocrats is the answer to the wrong question.
I expect better from The Wilson Quarterly; I guess we can stop expecting.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
To ease some of the pain, studios have again enlisted the help of Madison Avenue firms, whose client brands will pony up considerable coin -- mostly overseas -- to tie in with tentpoles.
For example, partners like General Mills, Target, Mattel, Lego, Esurance and Puma are shelling out more than $80 million in promo support for WB's "Speed Racer."
Similarly, "Iron Man" has its own shopping list of brands, including Audi and LG Electronics, while "The Dark Knight" has Nokia, Domino's, General Mills and Microsoft's Xbox on board. M&Ms, Dr. Pepper, Expedia and Kraft Lunchables will shill for "Indiana Jones." And naturally, brand-friendly "Sex and the City" isn't left out, with Mercedes-Benz, Skyy vodka, Coty fragrances and Glaceau Vitaminwater.
Brands with multiple movie pacts include Burger King, which is cooking up promos for "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk" and "Indiana Jones," while 7-Eleven is also supporting "Iron Man" and "Hulk."
All have ads planned to roll out weeks before the pics unspool with in-store and in-theater ads and displays, TV, print, radio, direct mail, sweepstakes and online campaigns.
Alas, this enthusiasm is followed with a question:
The studio marketing machine may be working overtime to get its messaging across to moviegoers. But is it too much?
Nothing is too much for any CEO who wants to live forever.
The only thing these TENTPOLES are missing are commercial breaks.
P. S. from March 16:
"It's part of Americana," Steve Greer, Big G's global equity and events director, said of the franchise. "It's a classic that will always be part of a kid's and a family's world."
We wonder why more of these people with six-figure do-nothing jobs in consumer products don't run for Congress. They don't merely mouth clichés, they live them.
To ease some of the pain, studios have again enlisted the help of Madison Avenue firms, whose client brands will pony up considerable coin -- mostly overseas -- to tie in with tentpoles.
For example, partners like General Mills, Target, Mattel, Lego, Esurance and Puma are shelling out more than $80 million in promo support for WB's "Speed Racer."
Similarly, "Iron Man" has its own shopping list of brands, including Audi and LG Electronics, while "The Dark Knight" has Nokia, Domino's, General Mills and Microsoft's Xbox on board. M&Ms, Dr. Pepper, Expedia and Kraft Lunchables will shill for "Indiana Jones." And naturally, brand-friendly "Sex and the City" isn't left out, with Mercedes-Benz, Skyy vodka, Coty fragrances and Glaceau Vitaminwater.
Brands with multiple movie pacts include Burger King, which is cooking up promos for "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk" and "Indiana Jones," while 7-Eleven is also supporting "Iron Man" and "Hulk."
All have ads planned to roll out weeks before the pics unspool with in-store and in-theater ads and displays, TV, print, radio, direct mail, sweepstakes and online campaigns.
Alas, this enthusiasm is followed with a question:
The studio marketing machine may be working overtime to get its messaging across to moviegoers. But is it too much?
Nothing is too much for any CEO who wants to live forever.
The only thing these TENTPOLES are missing are commercial breaks.
P. S. from March 16:
"It's part of Americana," Steve Greer, Big G's global equity and events director, said of the franchise. "It's a classic that will always be part of a kid's and a family's world."
We wonder why more of these people with six-figure do-nothing jobs in consumer products don't run for Congress. They don't merely mouth clichés, they live them.