Don’t Diss The Astrophysicist

Music / science

Don’t Diss The Astrophysicist

January 27, 2016

Without physics there’d be no Fashion Channel — there’d be no TV. But w/o fashion, physicists might just be naked. Not good.— Neil deGrasse Tyson

charles i. letbetter - Don't Piss Off The Astrophysicist

All music is appreciated equally in space because there is no sound in a vacuum

“Stupid is as stupid does.” My mother said that long before the movie Forrest Gump made it popular. Typically, she would say that when a particularly troublesome child was behaving exactly like its particularly troubled parents. Mother also said that it is, “difficult to teach children who are willing to believe everything without a second thought.” She encountered plenty of both over the years, like the little girl who was afraid to sit in her chair in the classroom because someone told here there were bugs in the wood waiting to eat her butt. Had the child been three or four, she would have been excused of her naiveté, but by fifth grade such nonsense, on both sides of that situation—the girl and the brat who was being mean—could hardly be tolerated.

Why science denial has been so strongly embraced the past eight years, after decades of great American achievement across all the science fields, has been disconcerting. I fail to understand why people who seem otherwise intelligent can just randomly choose to replace that which is reasonably proven through scientific process with some myth that doesn’t even hold together as it passes from one person to the next. Such willful and blind ignorance leaves me quite concerned not only for the future of our country but for the survival of our species.

I had seen noted in some obscure reference that anti-science groups such as the Flat Earth Society were enjoying a resurgence of interest along with those denying climate change, but I had always assumed that their members were limited to those who ingested a severe amount of paint chips as children. Then, over the weekend, this guy, who allegedly is a rapper and calls himself B.o.B. makes an incredible post about the earth being flat. The Internet proceeded to perform its version of a brain explosion.

Not being the world’s greatest rap fan, I had to Google B.o.B. and see who he really is. Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. from Decatur, GA, a suburban town a few miles South of Atlanta. My first thought was, “Aww shit, I bet this is one of the dudes who tried pushing his CD on me in the parking lot outside Whiskey Peach,” but it couldn’t have been. I was here in Indy by the time someone decided ol’ Bobby knew how to rhyme. Still, I had to roll my eyes. Rappers coming out of Decatur or anywhere on the South side of ATL has become about as cliché as peaches and sweet tea, and not nearly as good. I was all set to just ignore the whole situation, assuming it would go away the next time I refreshed my browser. Such stupidity tends to have an especially short shelf life on the Internet.

But then, something rather wonderful happened. For reasons that are his own, Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson decided to reply to B.o.B.’s tweet about the NYC skyline’s visibility over the horizon:

@bobatl Earth’s curve indeed blocks 150 (not 170) ft of Manhattan. But most buildings in midtown are waaay taller than that.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016

The astrophysicist also attempts to educate the rapper on the way stars move. Bobby got offended, apparently, and one of the things I appreciate about Dr. Tyson is that he goes out of his way to make sure people understand that being bad at science doesn’t make someone a bad person. He posted to Twitter:

@bobatl Duude — to be clear: Being five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn’t mean we all can’t still like your music

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016

The astrophysicist is much more magnanimous than I fear I would be in such a situation. In fact, more than a few people were ready to go to the mat for Dr. Tyson, one of those being his nephew, Steve, who is a “hip-hop MC” and DJ in Philadelphia. Steve didn’t take to kindly to Bobby dissing his uncle, so he put together some music of his own with a track called Flat to Fact. Here, go ahead and take a listen (warning, if your ears are not accustomed to the speed of contemporary rap, you may need to listen multiple times before you actually catch what ol’ Steve is layin’ down):

At least Bobby seems to have the good sense to know when to quit, as he’s gone on to other somewhat less offensive methods of hyping his new album. He seems to have dropped the subject of the earth’s shape for now.

What I think this shows, however, is that the Internet doesn’t take kindly to those who display their science ignorance in ridiculous ways and, even more important, one should never, ever diss the astrophysicist. Ever.

Fashion

Searching For New Designer Labels

January 26, 2016

charles i. letbetter - new designer labels

A designer is like a doctor for a woman. He has a specific job, and if he is doing it well, he will have the gratitude of the woman for the rest of his life.—Oleg Cassini

Big fashion houses of the past have grown boring and the fashion world is screaming for something different

While styles may change a bit from season to season, many of the great Maisons of fashion are quite old. Pringle of Scotland began selling knitwear in 1815. Jeanne Lanvin opened her shop in 1889. Thomas Burberry opened a store in Hampshire, England in 1856. Thierry Hermès first opened his leather shop in 1837. Guccio Gucci came along in 1906, Mario Prada in 1913, and, quite famously, Coco Chanel in 1910. After World War II, there was a flurry of activity in the fashion world that brought us names like Armani, Dior, and Givenchy, among many, many others. Fashion is full of rich and interesting histories and more than a few houses have catalogs that made fashion for decades. Houses may go through one designer after another, but labels stay forever.

So, here we sit in the cusp of another women’s ready-to-wear season and two of the best living designers, Raf Simons, formerly of Dior, and Alber Elbaz, most recently at Lanvin, are free agents. They both left major, storied, and old houses without any other label immediately picking them up. Despite their popularity and brilliant creativity, neither have demonstrated any urgency in signing on with anyone, and that vacuum is more than a little disconcerting.

Vanessa Friedman at the New York Times makes the claim, and a reasonable argument that fashion wants Alber Elbaz to start his own line. As delightful as that idea sounds, though, there are some serious obstacles to a designer, even one with the experience and reputation of Elbaz, starting their own label. The world is a much different place than it was even ten years ago and the entire fashion industry has seen a significant dip in revenue.

One of the reasons older fashion houses don’t go away is because they have the capital, both financially and creatively, to weather the periodic storms within the industry. As global economies change, large labels have the ability to hunker down and scale back production if necessary until the retail landscape is more friendly. Smaller, designer-owned labels rarely have that luxury and if the downturn continues we may see more labels close their doors. Already this week, Giles Deacon has announced he is closing his ready-to-wear business and focusing on couture wear, which allows him to downscale and limit his expenditures. Fashion is definitely not a business for the risk averse.

As Friedman’s article mentions, there are some investors willing to take a chance on new designer-driven fashion labels. Renzo Rosso is probably most prominent among those, with his OTB Group parenting Maison Martin Margiela, Marni, Viktor & Rolf, Diesel, Staff International, and Brave Kid in addition to him personally chairing Diesel. Rosso is said to be encouraging Elbaz to strike out on his own and one has to wonder if OTB Group might back such a venture. Fashion’s largest conglomerate, LVMH, also has a history of picking up struggling designer-owned labels. The problem with a strictly financial-based in

The problem with a strictly financial-based investment is the desire to keep a label going, even after the originating designer departs. While that approach has worked historically, we are now at a point where that attitude results in only one thing: very boring fashion. It has been well over ten years since I saw a fashion season that I felt was as full of originality and creativity as one has a right to expect from fashion. Finance-driven businesses aren’t interested in creative experimentation because one off season can send profits plummeting; they much prefer the safety of the tried and true, resulting in far too many seasons where all we see are recapitulations of the house catalog.

I’m going to make some people hate me, I’m sure, but would it really be all that horrible to start a practice of just letting houses die with their designer? I reeled in horror last season when an aging Roberto Cavalli turned the reigns of his legacy over to Peter Dundas, who absolutely massacred the collection. As much as I love Roberto Cavalli, I would much rather see the doors to the house close rather than become trashed with Dundas’ seasonal disappointment trying to fit his creativity into someone else’s vision. Dundas, too, deserves a chance at his own label, not trying to fit into Cavalli.

We were all shocked when Alexander McQueen committed suicide in 2010, and that act demonstrates just how impossible stressful it is to be a designer. I can understand, given the suddenness of his death, why it was necessary to allow Sarah Burton to continue his work. But should she decide to leave the house, and perhaps go to Dior as was rumored this morning, what would be wrong in allowing McQueen to close? Why not honor him as the creative genius he was, rather than risking having that reputation besmirched by a designer who just doesn’t fit with McQueen’s vision?

At the same time, we need to propel younger designers such as Public School’s Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow. Why should they have to pull double-duty trying to shore up a dying DKNY brand? Why not just put that investment directly into Public School and let DKNY rest in peace? No one is going to bring back khaki jumpers any time soon (I hope).

Fashion is gasping and desperately needs some fresh air. That creative spark is not likely to come from within the creative shackles of a century-old fashion house. We need new designer labels to bring the freshness back into fashion. Elbaz, Simmons, or whomever else is fine with me. Just please, for the love of style, stop re-hashing old catalogs!

PotD

The Virtue of Silence

January 26, 2016

charles i. letbetter - virtue of silence

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.—Khalil Gibran

In silence we hear the whispers of wisdom

Among the list of people whom I can no longer find, and may well be deceased, is an associate professor of music by the name of Robert Woods. Dr. Woods was a rather unassuming individual from my student perspective, but in January of 1982, while teaching a course in electronic music, he taught us a very valuable lesson about the importance of silence. His assignment sounded simple enough: find a place with absolute silence, and see how long you can stand it. Being cocky college students, we laughed. It was J-term and the campus was more than half empty. Finding a quiet spot would be easy.

But Dr. Woods didn’t say find a quiet spot. His instructions were to find a place absolutely void of sound and when class convened the next day we shared our stories of just how difficult it had been to complete the assignment. So difficult, in fact, that I was the only one who had actually found a place of complete silence: the morgue.

I worked part time in a funeral home. After everyone else had left for the evening, I went into the empty embalming room, which was totally sealed, and shut the door. The experience might have been eery had I not been accustomed to being in the room. There was nothing in there that would make a sound without human intervention, or so I thought. As I settled in on a stool, I soon realized that the fluorescent bulbs were humming. One wouldn’t have noticed under normal conditions, but when all other distractions were removed, there it was: a low but distinct hum. There was only one thing to do: turn off the lights.

Yes, sitting along in a sealed embalming room in the dark is eery. Worse than the dark, though, was the complete silence. Not a sound. I not only could hear my own breathing, but my heart beat sounded louder the longer I sat there. I’d shift my weight on the stool and the shuffle of my slacks against the metal was loud. I cracked my knuckles and it sounded like fireworks. With its ceramic tile floor and walls, the acoustics of the room amplified any sound, but the only sound was that of me, being alive. I stayed for what felt like an eternity then felt my way along the wall back to the door. I had been in the room a mere four minutes.

Dr. Woods’ point had been that silence is a necessary part of music and he wanted us to experience silence so we would appreciate the presence of rests amidst a flurry of sound. Music, he explained, finds its life not in the cacophony of notes and sounds as we might layer them together, but in those brief moments of silence, the rests, especially when unexpected, that allow us to catch our breath.

I can’t say I learned a great deal from the remainder of that class. Electronic music was still finding its roots and our resources, which had been borrowed, were painfully limited. Dr. Woods soon left for a teaching position at a university that appreciated his forward thinking and we went on to do other things that had no relationship to our degrees. What stuck, though, was that very important lesson in the virtue of silence.

Life since that moment in 1982 has only gotten increasingly louder. The reason I get up at 4:00 AM every morning to write these articles is because, in relative silence I can think, put words in order, consider what phrasing best communicates an idea, and pull together stories that are, hopefully, worth reading. Outside this morning, the wind is literally howling and the heater is struggling to keep our house warm, but in the absence of children laughing, music playing, or the whole world trying to talk at the same time, there is a peacefulness that gives life amidst the cacophony.

One of the reasons I so dislike presidential election years is the amount of overwhelming noise they generate. Every candidate, especially at this point of the approaching primaries, is shouting as loud as they can, trying to shove their message through the eye of the needle that is our attention span. Add to that all the sports, not just the impending Super Bowl, but all the cricket and the soccer and the basketball going on around the world. There are ads, and movies, and trailers, and … I think someone has a field trip today but I don’t remember which child. Then, there’s laundry and dishes and I suppose I should plan something for dinner because people do need to eat every once in a while. Pictures to schedule and take and edit. Conversations about books and an upcoming deadline and no I’ve not even started that outline. Did I remember to order underwear? I hope so, because I don’t have time to go out and buy more. Rumors that Sarah Burton is leaving Alexander McQueen and going to Dior, are they true? Men’s fashion in Paris, then couture, then, SHOWTIME, a month of ready-to-wear. And …

So. Much. Noise.

Learning the virtuosity of silence doesn’t happen by accident. Too many people ignore the rest signs. We need those quiet places; in our lives, in our thoughts, in our schedules, in our creativity. We need space to take a breath so that we don’t choke on our own lifelong diatribes.

May you find that moment, if not now, soon, where you can experience the virtue of silence. May you find Peace. And thank you, Dr. Woods, wherever you are.

Advertising

Everyone Wants Your Money

January 25, 2016

Money and women are the most sought after and the least known about of any two things we have.—Will Rogers

By 2017, Millennials will have more buying power than any other generation in the industrialization era

Everyone is after the Millennials and their money. As a group, Millennials have replaced the Baby Boomer generation as being the most attractive to advertisers. They are more likely to have expendable income and both their earning and buying power is just beginning to grow. Brands that lock in Millennials as repeat customers now are likely to enjoy a long purchasing relationship in the future.

The challenge is that Millennials have a very different outlook on the world than did my generation when we were their age. Therefore, they don’t respond to the same form of advertising and marketing campaigns that have worked before. Ad agencies get this because, no big surprise here, a large portion of their creative staffs are Millennials. Convincing their clients of the need to change, however, is not always easy. Some get it, some don’t.

Among those who seem to understand the need to market differently to Millennials is MillerCoors. Sure, it’s no big surprise that Millennials like beer; in many ways they have fueled the craft beer boom almost single-handedly. The traditional big-volume beer sellers have struggled, though, in no large part due to the fact that Millennials don’t like mass-market beer. As a result, we see companies such as MillerCoors looking to smaller agencies like Mekanism to create campaigns tailored specifically to the Millennial, such as this one:

Among the things worth noting about this ad:

it’s short. 16 seconds is all the time it takes to make their point. Millennials tend to not have long attention spans and a 30-second commercial is likely to be overkill.
it’s real. Millennials are hitting their childbearing years and responding to that natural desire. However, these are not super-young 20-something couples; they’re older, more mature, which is common among this and subsequent generations.
it’s not sexy. No girls in bikinis, no buff guys in baby oil. While the couples are reasonably attractive, Millennials don’t respond to over-sexualized images the way that Boomers did.
it shows a reasonable income bracket. No large pool, no large house. Millennials want homes, but haven’t been able to afford them, so showing a smaller house that is more likely a rental is appropriate.

MillerCoors isn’t the only one getting the message. Hilton Worldwide has announced it will be opening a new chain of hotels called Tru that is designed specifically to attract Millennials. The first hotel is scheduled to come online later this year, with approximately 132 facilities planned for cities that are popular among that generation, such as Portland, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver. The hotels will focus on highly personalized service and what they refer to as a “common, youthful look.” Their ads will be, “visually represented through spirited photos with playful and vibrant colors; custom, fun illustrations; circular shapes, not only to invoke our logo, but also to convey that we are different; and the custom vernacular we’ve created for this brand using three-letter words like zip, jam and fit,” according to Alexandra Jaritz, global head, Tru by Hilton.

There’s no question that Millennials like to travel, but even there they’re not doing it in the same way as Boomers. This is evidenced by the very existence of AirBnB, which is counting on Millennials (and Chinese tourists) to help make it profitable. Can Tru by Hilton create an experience-based standardized accommodation that actually competes with staying in someone else’s home? I have to admit, this could be entertaining to watch. I’m just glad I don’t have any money invested with either approach.

For all the places that are at least trying to understand Millennials, however, there are four or five times as many companies who don’t, and those are likely to be some of the major losers over the next few years. Here are some of the sectors I think really need to step up their game if they want to stay solvent once Boomers are no more.

Banking & Finance. Millennials don’t trust banks and they damn sure don’t trust Wall Street with their money. As a result, the climate is right for an alternative to come in and set a genuinely new paradigm in the financial sector. Unfortunately, this also may make Millennials more financially vulnerable in the long-term.
Cable Television. It’s been suggested that there is too much television already. What’s driving this concern is the fact that only 46% of Millennials watch any television programming at all, and the vast majority of that is on mobile devices. Millennials have cut the cord with cable pretty hard and I’m not sure it is remotely possible to convince them to come back.
Transportation. Just as the auto sector is starting to recover from the recession and sales are picking back up, they soon need to begin re-examining their approach to the Millennial market, which, as a group, doesn’t exactly like cars. Even with the new hybrids and promising growth among alternative-fuel vehicles, Millennials would still rather ride their bicycles, take public transportation, or call Uber for a ride. Environmental concerns override money issues on this one. While there are more than enough Boomers still buying cars, and big ones at that as gas prices plummet, automakers need to re-work their approach to a generation that doesn’t have the brand loyalty their grandparents did.
Warehouse Clubs. This one kind of makes sense. Millennials live in smaller places and have limited transportation options that don’t involve carrying around a pack of 46 paper towel rolls. While all the major warehouse clubs have online purchasing options, the positioning, design, and marketing of those options leaves a lot to be desired. If they want to capture Millennials, the folks at Costco and Sam’s Club need to follow Amazon’s example and then improve upon that experience.
Family-related services. This includes anyone involved in health care, children’s services (including clothing and education), and anything to do with weddings. Millennials are totally redefining family. Who and when they marry, when or if they have children, and how they approach health care have significantly different answers than previous generations. A lot of traditions are being left in the dust and will not recover. Those who survive will do so only by completely re-configuring how they do business and how they market to this new generation.

These are not insurmountable issues. For all the challenges some companies may face, there are reasonable answers for most. There’s no time to waste, though. Companies who don’t have a Millennial-focused plan by the end of this year are going to find it increasingly difficult to ever win that business at all. You want Millennials’ money, you’ll have to work for it!

PotD

#MondayMotivation

January 25, 2016

The older you get, the more fragile you understand life to be. I think that’s good motivation for getting out of bed joyfully each day.—Julia Roberts

Does a positive attitude really increase our life span? Does it hurt to try?

Another week is starting and if ever there were a time the hashtag #MondayMotivation was necessary, this would be it. Getting out of bed was rough; there’s rain coming in today and my arthritis has my hands hurting to the point that every letter I type is painful. I can use a little encouragement to get through the next several hours. There’s too much to do to stay in bed.

More than just getting out of bed in a timely manner, though, I’m trying an experiment this morning. It may run a day, or a few hours, or all week. I went to the death clock yesterday for amusement (yeah, I’m that weird) and noticed something interesting. Of all the variants that might make a difference in my longevity, attitude played the biggest role. If I leave all the settings at their default, which is what I’m inclined to do, the death clock has me kicking the bucket at age 73, which is less than 20 years from now. I’m not especially happy with that outcome. However, if I change the “mode” or attitude to “optimistic” the calculator has me living to the ripe old age of 93. Twenty years difference in longevity simply based on attitude. Now there’s some #MondayMotivation for you.

Of course, the calculator is meant for entertainment purposes only and while there’s some lightweight science behind their use of the BMI index, it certainly shouldn’t be taken too terribly seriously. Things happen that we can’t predict. Still, it got me thinking that it probably would make everyone’s life a bit more pleasant if I made more of an effort to be just a touch more optimistic in my attitude, and that certainly applies to how I feel about Mondays. This is rarely my favorite days, and for me, Tuesdays are often worse.

However, none of that replaces the fact that the joints in my fingers are screaming at me this morning. So, rather than type a lot of motivational platitudes at you, I’m going to borrow some from Twitter, which conveniently stores all the #MondayMotivation things in one place. These are totally random, but hopefully they at least give you reason to smile a bit.

Morning all, hope everyone has a good day! #coffee #mondaymotivation pic.twitter.com/Zguu29SCN6

— The Lowry (@The_Lowry) January 25, 2016

@waitrose your delicious Mexican quinoa bowl with feta instead of cheddar! #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/qH4KNkj8Y0

— Izzy Kerr (@izzy__kerr) January 25, 2016

#mondaymotivation #mondaymorning… Eat all your breakfast, can’t work (or play ) on an empty stomach. pic.twitter.com/ZWxMZ9oBCL

— Anna McKann (@AuthorMcKann) January 25, 2016

Good Morning, welcome to the last week in January. Here’s our #MondayMotivation and do enjoy your week. pic.twitter.com/JKpNfGe686

— Investment One (@InvestmentOne) January 25, 2016

Let’s do this … #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/P4k73Js3bt

— Sarah Ellis (@SarahAspire) January 25, 2016

Anyone else daydreaming that Monday was looking like this? #mondaymotivation pic.twitter.com/4Auz8x7pFS

— EA Barbados (@elegantbarbados) January 25, 2016

What more could you want? #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/GhK1vPoRGP

— OPPO Headphones (@OPPOheadphones) January 25, 2016

What will your future self thank you for? #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/oJ1KRah5i4

— Intouch Accounting (@IntouchAcc) January 25, 2016

Our #mondaymotivation ? Pom pom twirling Bugs. #earlyyears pic.twitter.com/emudS3lILa

— Music Bugs HQ (@MusicBugs) January 25, 2016

Music

Steven Tyler: Where Country & Rock Collide

January 24, 2016

charles i. letbetter - Steven Tyler: Country and Rock Collide

The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those that got there first.— Steven Tyler

charles i. letbetter - steven tyler: country & rock collide

Rock and Country music have been getting closer to the same sound for over 30 years

Steven Tyler is an iconic image in the music world. Sometimes referred to as “everyone’s favorite grandmother” because of the striped hair and plethora of flowing scarves, the former Aerosmith frontman presents a character unlike any other in any music genre. I mean, come on, who else would be wandering around New York City in the middle of a blizzard with his daughter, and then take over a CNN live report? The dude may look like a lady from time to time, but he is so totally unique both in sight and in sound as to be instantly recognizable even if he were to try his hand at opera.

While the Met stage may not be currently within his sites, though, Steven Tyler has set his eyes firmly upon the country music market. He announced last year that his next album would be country, but his first single from that album, Love Is Your Name, failed to generate a tremendous amount of excitement. Perhaps the sound was too smooth. Perhaps country fans just weren’t interested. Whatever the reason, response was more of a bored yawn than what typically accompanies the rocker’s new releases.

If at first you don’t succeed, drop a second single, which is exactly what Tyler did this past week. The new single, Red, White & You, certainly sounds more country with a clear taste of fiddle and banjo in the band, but this is still Steven Tyler’s voice. He even starts the song with his signature whoop. So, while the lyrics go on about the Fourth of July and Tom Petty and all those other themes that seem standard in a contemporary country song, the sound one hears still resembles that which we’ve associated with Aerosmith and rock and roll for the past 40 years.

Country music fans are going to be divided, as they have been for quite a while. Traditional country fans more closely identify with what the Grammy’s categorize as “American Roots” music, that acoustic-driven, old-school, nasal-toned, boot-and-stetson-wearing sound of Willie, Waylon, and the boys. There’s is the sound defined by Hank Williams, Sr., Little Jimmy Dickens, and Roy Acuff. Yet, even there we’ve seen some crossover. One of the artists nominated for this year’s Grammy for best American Roots song is none other than the Eagles’ Don Henley singing with country legend Merle Haggard.

Contemporary country has been courting rock music for a while. Think back to Garth Brooks and the controversy his rock-driven sound created some thirty-plus years ago. This week’s Billboard country chart includes artists such as Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, and LoCash whose heavily produced songs don’t sound all that different from 80s and early 90s rock. Even artists once considered staunchly country, such as Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, have more of a pop sound now than anything that might have once been considered anywhere close to old-fashioned country.

Obviously, music genres don’t stay the same forever; they change and evolve just like everything else on the planet. If Steven Tyler wants to call his new album country music, why stop him? After all, Aerosmith fans have grown older; we don’t rock as hard as we did in the 70s and 80s. Country music may be more our speed. At the same time, however, there’s a lot of tradition in country music that could be lost if the genre continues to merge so closely with rock that one has difficulty telling the difference.

I’m not the one to make the final call. I’ll put the link below and let you listen for yourself. Just remember that when one blends Country and Rock, what you get is a Crock, as in: full of …

Current Issues / PotD

Avoiding Bad Blizzard Sex

January 24, 2016

My favorite thing of all time is a New York City weekend when there’s a blizzard. Everything gets really quiet, and everyone goes to the movies and the park.—Idina Menzel

Stop and think: do you really want to be handcuffed to that person if the power goes out?

This has been a crazy weekend, has it not? New York is reporting 26.8 inches of snow, officially; the second largest snowfall since 1869. The #JonasBlizzard logged the most snow ever in Baltimore, second heaviest at Dulles International Airport. In keeping with tradition, no one knows exactly how much snow fell in Washington, D.C., because they’re still arguing over how to measure the white stuff. The good news is that at least the snow has stopped falling. The bad news is that now comes the problem of getting rid of the frozen wonderland. Flooding has already started in New Jersey and several other areas. It could still be several days before the majority of roads are passable and people’s lives are back to normal.

Of course, as Idina mentions above, a little snow doesn’t stop New Yorkers. By the time you’re reading this, New York’s travel ban should be lifted and people will be getting out, making their way to Central Park, and trying to make the best of the situation. Aged rock star Steven Tyler even found a CNN live report to bomb, which may actually be one of the most interesting things to happen in the past 24 hours.

One of the biggest challenges now is avoiding bad sex and keeping yourself from participating in the seemingly inevitable spike in births currently scheduled for late September. Sure, I know we told you to make new friends to help keep you warm, but do you really want these people to hang around all summer, smelling things up, putting their stinky feet on your coffee table, and taking over your life in ways you never imagined? No, of course you don’t. The last thing you want is to encourage your blizzard buddies to linger by having sex with them. Even worse, you definitely don’t want to have bad sex with them and chances are high that any sex you would have at this juncture would not be the best ever. Let’s not make this blizzard any more of a disaster than it already is, okay?

Don’t worry, we’ve got your back, metaphorically speaking. Here are some tips you can use to avoid having bad blizzard sex.

Don’t. Just don’t. For the love of warm bagels and cream cheese, show some restraint for once why don’t you? Do you really want to risk going into the fall with a newborn, or a partner that acts like one? Having sex with someone you didn’t know well before the blizzard destroys any chance for you to have a long and meaningful friendship. Two days in the snow is not enough time for you to really get to know each other, no matter how many secrets you spilled after you were three beers into Friday night. Don’t go there. Don’t. Stop it. Don’t even entertain the idea.
Stay ready for further emergencies. Just because the snow has stopped falling doesn’t mean the worst of this blizzard is over. There will be flooding. Power outages may still happen. You might need to evacuate quickly and without warning. Stop and think for a minute: do you really want to be handcuffed to that person if the power goes out? Would you want first responders breaking down your door and finding you struggling to get back into your footed pajamas? No, that isn’t a risk you dare take. You must remain alert and vigilant until your guest(s) leaves.
Keep all your adult toys well hidden. Despite the weel-long warnings that this was going to be a “blizzard for the ages,” no one really prepared for the thing until late Thursday afternoon. You may not have picked up your stray friend until Friday. Nothing says bad sex like someone discovering your box of sexual indulgences and asking, “What are these?” Even worse is the question, “Can you show me how these work?” Now is not the time for you to take up teaching remedial sex education. Should your temporary body heat buddy come across your stash, pretend they were left by a former roommate and then, for added measure, suggest they could be covered with some STI. That should keep you safe.
Use Netflix to determine their sexual maturity. This one might be a bit complicated for some of you, so pay attention. From within Netflix, enter category number 1402, which takes you to Late Night Comedies. Be sure, there is nothing here that is socially redeemable or actually funny. These are disastrous films made for adolescent minds. So, as you’re scrolling through the list, should your would-be partner give any indication that they’ve not only seen but actually enjoyed any of these movies, you definitely don’t want to have sex with them. If you are unsure, start one of the movies. If they giggle at the first sight of bare boobs, you know you’re in trouble. Kick them out into the snow. Now.
Go for a walk in the snow. This is the real reason you find all those people in Central Park after the city gets socked in. You’ve been cooped up with this person (or these people) since Thursday or Friday. Your decision-making ability is not as strong as it should be. Get out, taking a walk, cool down. The cold air will help you snap to your senses and remind you of all the things that could go wrong if you have sex with this person. Can they even tell the difference between a tube of lube and a tube of toothpaste? What would happen if you had to introduce this person to your mother? Walking in the snow is great for clearing your head, and if you’re lucky maybe the dimwit will get lost in a snowbank and you won’t need to worry any further.

Hopefully, that is enough to engage your creative juices, as opposed to those associated with adult copulation. Obviously, if you are sequestered with someone you already love and cherish, nothing here applies. We still encourage restraint unless you really want a September baby. Maybe you’ll get lucky and your Ob/Gyn will have a half-price sale due to all the volume. One thing for sure, though, is that sex with someone you just brought in from the cold is definitely not going to be good. What happens in your fantasies doesn’t exist in real life.

Perhaps it’s time to warm up another frozen pizza. Good luck.

Advertising

Coke Goes All In With “Taste The Feeling”

January 23, 2016

At the end of the day, if you’re going to buy a can of Coke, you want the real thing.—Richie Sambora

Had the logo been turned just a little more, this 2005 shot would have been perfect for the new Coke campaign

Coca-Cola® is the world’s most recognizable brand. Maintaining that position isn’t easy and there have been some moments over the past year where they’ve seen some slippage. When one sits at the top, there’s always someone challenging, which means Coke has to employ not just one agency of record (Wieden + Kennedy) but multiple agencies around the world constantly producing the wide range of advertising methods required to keep Coke as the top-of-mind beverage. Each piece of a campaign is a big deal.

What Coke did this week, though, was bigger than normal. Instead of releasing the usual spate of seasonal spots, Coke announced that it dumped the “Open Happiness” campaign it’s been using globally the past seven years. In its place is a massive new 25-ad effort called “Taste The Feeling.”

The concept behind the move is that beverage giant may have gotten a bit “too big for its britches,” to use a phrase heard often around downtown Atlanta. Chief marketing officer Marcos de Quinto said, “We’ve found over time that the more we position Coca-Cola as an icon, the smaller we become. The bigness of Coca-Cola resides in the fact that it’s a simple pleasure—so the humbler we are, the bigger we are. We want to help remind people why they love the product as much as they love the brand.”

To achieve this goal, the brand hired Ogilvy & Mather, New York, Mercado-McCann, Santo, and Sra. Rushmore to produce a set of 10 commercials, print and digital ads, and other materials for the initial 25-piece push of the campaign. Wieden + Kennedy and five other agencies will continue the ongoing work. The TV spots, in various languages, can be found on Coke’s YouTube page. One inadvertent attraction is that the ad titled “Under Pressure” has as its soundtrack the David Bowie/Queen song of the same name. Given Bowie’s recent death, the ads feel more timely than Ogilvy & Mather could have anticipated. Take a look:

https://youtu.be/C3B1t9MbDJs

For print, Coke called upon fashion photogs Guy Aroch and Nacho Ricci. The pair created a set of print ads that are definitely of contemporary styling, but still have the old-time appeal that is Coke’s legacy. The fact that they used the 10 oz. glass bottles throughout the set, as well as bright red lipstick (Coke red, to be sure), is certainly part of that look that we notice without realizing we’ve noticed. Here’s a sample:

The ads have been carefully put together, each one targeting a specific demographic that is core to Coke’s ongoing growth, especially among Millennials worldwide, but doesn’t abandon their existing audience, either. When it comes to global brand management, the Coke campaign is a master class full of valuable lessons. Given some of the pushback they’ve had in recent years over health concerns, the campaign centers on reminding us of why we enjoy the soda in the first place. Emotion triumphs over everything.

Score another win for Coca-Cola.

Current Issues / PotD

Everything Eventually Becomes Trivia

January 23, 2016

charles i. letbetter -everything becomes trivia

I think democracy’s undermined when those who own newspapers fill them with trivia rather than real issues.—Ken Livingstone

charles i. letbetter - everything is trivia

As increasing amounts of information are thrust at us, even the things we enjoy risks becoming trivia

News, valid information that people need to know, too easily becomes trivia in our world. I look through the headlines this morning and struggle to choose a topic that is appropriate for this space. It’s not that there isn’t plenty to talk about, but sometimes the volume becomes so much that each additional voice begins to mute the whole.

Granted, I could keep talking about the #Snowmaggedon that is plaguing the East coast. I do genuinely feel sympathetic toward the people who live there. However, to write about an event like that when one is not actually experiencing it at the moment risks turning the whole story into trivia. Our eyes become tired of seeing the subject in headline after headline. We begin to assume that we’ve already consumed all the important information and ignore the rest.

At the same time, because of the sheer volume of information flooding the pipeline, there are a number of stories that become trivial simply because they don’t stand out enough to grab our attention. These stories fall under the category of, “oh yeah, this happened, too, but no one really noticed.” In newspaper terms, it becomes page six fodder. No one reads page six.

So, as I’m going through the headlines this morning, let me share with you some stories that you might have missed but that are probably more important than we realize. I’ll just give you a synopsis and then a link to the full article. These deserve to not be relegated to trivia.

Hidden peanut connection kills Minnesota man. If you’ve ever been around anyone with a peanut allergy, you know how crazy careful they are not only about not eating peanuts themselves, but staying away from anything that has come into contact with peanuts. Peanut allergies are one of those against which the body has limited immunity. Each negative reaction takes away from that immunity and when it’s gone, there’s no replacing it. This young man was being careful, but ate a chocolate from a manufacturer who also processes peanut candies. While none of the chocolates in the box contained peanuts, and he had eaten other chocolates from that box without a problem, the one he grabbed that morning was enough to kill him. Read the story here.

The global refugee crisis hasn’t stopped. One of the dangers of this election year is that when an issue stops being the talking point of the moment, it is promptly forgotten. A couple of weeks ago, the refugee crisis had everyone’s attention, mostly because no one in the US wanted to actually deal with the situation. Now that our political attention is literally stuck in the snow, we’ve stopped talking about the continuing waves of people flooding Greece so heavily that the EU is seriously considering, get this, building a fence around Greece to keep refugees from entering mainland Europe. People are dying on a daily basis. The humanitarian crisis is more severe than ever. What we treat like trivia now will come back to haunt us. Here’s the story from the Washington Post.

There is a superbug waiting to kill you. Getting competing drug manufacturers to agree on anything, especially government involvement, is nearly impossible but that is exactly what happened yesterday. 83 companies, including Pfizer and Merck, signed a declaration urging governments around the world to take action in combating drug-resistant infections. The bug that has them most concerned at the moment is called MCR-1. The bug was found in China late last year and has since popped up in Denmark as well. There is no existing drug to combat it and the potential fatality rate makes last year’s Ebola scare look like a tea party. You know it’s serious when drug makers are asking governments for help. Read up on the matter here.

China is still a horrible totalitarian regime. As trade relations with China have normalized over the past few years, we tend to forget that the Chinese government still has one of the worst records on human rights in the world. Recently, they’ve been rounding up dissidents and human rights attorneys and charging them with “subversion of state power.” People continue to disappear off the streets, and the crackdown isn’t limited to Chinese nationals. A Swedish citizen employed by a human rights NGO has been arrested as well. We have to ask ourselves whether the cheap electronics and fashion knockoffs are worth turning a blind eye to this tragedy. The Wall Street Journal has the story.

Skin cancer is five times more deadly when you’re pregnant. Melanoma is a personal issue for me because my father died of complications from melanoma, even after doctors initially said he had a 95% chance of beating it. Now, a study published this week shows that when melanoma is found in pregnant women, or within a year of pregnancy, they are five times more likely to die. Understand, this isn’t in older women, this is among women under the age of 50, women who are still very much in their childbearing years, women who, under more normal conditions, shouldn’t have to worry about the disease for another 20 years or so. The test group was small, but the results were strong enough to be frightening. Read the story here and then, if you’re pregnant, talk to your doctor.

I’m stopping there because my intent is not to totally depress everyone, but to emphasize just how much information, news we really need, is being missed, relegated to the trivia bin of social media’s short attention span. I understand, sometimes the glut of “bad” news is so heavy that we have to turn it off for a while to prevent our own plunge into depression. The world is not hopeless, though. The more you know, the better equipped you are to do something. Watch labels. Talk to your doctor. Avoid certain Chinese imports. You don’t have to be radical to make a difference. We just need to be aware.

And if you were expecting a trivia game from me this morning, I’m sorry. Maybe we’ll do something fun tomorrow.

Advertising / Fashion

Snowbound Solution: Spring Fashion

January 22, 2016

If you let fear take hold, if you let it own you, your life ceases to be your own. ― Blake Crouch, Snowbound

charles i. letbetter - snowbound solution

from my 2007 book: a Bella Mafia: Looks Can Kill. Fashion by Nikki Blaine.

With snow pounding the East coast of the United States right now, and cold generally being the state of things most everywhere else across North America, we thought this might be a good time to offer up a distraction by looking at some of this Spring’s more promising ad campaigns. Of course, not everything made it through our sensors, but since you may likely be snowbound and possibly not ready to dig into your Netflix cache just yet, we thought we’d at least give you a taste of what’s coming to store shelves once all this white stuff gets out of the way.

Balmain

All hail Olivier Rousteing as he manages to pull off the casting coup of the season, bringing a campaign not littered with blank-eyed 16-year-old, but rather women who set the standard for being a supermodel: Naomi Campbel, Claudia Schiffer, and Cindy Crawford. These ladies continue to demonstrate how modeling is really done and make this, by far, the most visually appealing campaign we’ve seen this season. No one else really comes close.

This is really a different look for the DKNY, which is to be expected. Much more street, much more in touch with their base audience. This is the first campaign since Donna Karen left the brand and creative directors Dai-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne definitely leave their mark and let it be known that the brand is moving in a very different direction. Not expecting to see any khaki jumpers here anytime soon.

Equipment. Photo by Daria Werbowy

There are so very many campaigns hitting at the same time that it really can be difficult for a lesser-known brand to stand out. Equipment found a way around that little problem by letting models Kate Moss and Daria Werbowy take off for some remote island in the Carribean. They gave them a couple of silk button down shirts, a camera, and … uhm … that was about it. So, of course, we’re guessing there are some outtakes that didn’t make it past the US censors, which is too bad. The campaign is fun, especially since neither model bothers wearing much … makeup.

Givenchy

When I first saw this collection by Ricardo Tisci hit the runway last September, I couldn’t help thinking that there was something slightly familiar about the all-white ensembles. Oh yeah, Nikki Blaine did that back in 2007! Okay, so Tisci’s designs are a little more racy, a lot heavier on the lace, and in some cases may not be suitable for public exposure. Still, what caught my eye in this campaign is the sheer number of models he pulls together. Trust me, I know how very challenging that can be. I counted twelve models through the entire campaign, and will admit that I might have missed a couple. Adding the poems is a nice touch as well. Of course, for those who are snowbound, white may not be your favorite color at the moment.

Kenzo

I’m not really sure whether this campaign is pouring salt in the open wound of every snowbound soul or if it is an accurate description of your desire to be somewhere else. There are only a few of these photos out at the moment, most of them for media use, not paid ads yet. An accompanying film by director Sean Baker (Tangerine) hits February 3 and if you’re still snowbound by then and haven’t completely lost your mind then it might be a respite from looking out at all that white. The old trailer park with the bohemian styling is interesting, to be sure, and splashing “snow bird” across the top of the picture is definitely timely. Yes, we all wish we’d bought tickets for Florida two weeks ago.

Those are the best of what I’ve seen this week. There will be more, I’m sure. For those of you along the East coast, just try to stay away from the windows. Watching the snow fall won’t help your depression any. Think Spring. Think warm. Don’t go out without a coat and boots.

PotD

Snow Survival Essentials

January 22, 2016

Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.—Bill Watterson

charles i. letbetter - snow survival essentials

Winter Masquerade (2012) was a delightful romp in the snow. It can be done.

Those of us sitting here in the heart of the Midwest are feeling rather pleased this morning. Sure, it’s cold, as it always is in January, but this year we’ve gotten off lucky. There is, at most, maybe two-and-a-half inches of snow on the ground with no more in the immediate forecast. By most any comparison, this is proving to be a delightfully mild winter and that makes us very happy.

Our friends along the East coast, from Virginia to Massachusets, are bracing for a blizzard this afternoon that could dump two to three feet worth of snow on them. Boston, of course, home of the everlasting winter, knows how to handle an event like this. After last year’s great snow-in, this storm is practically a cake walk. For our nation’s capitol, though, this snow is an Armageddon. The mayor of Washington D.C. has closed city schools and offices at noon, and is encouraging businesses around the city to do the same. Even underground transit will be closed by Saturday.

Federal offices are closed as well, which is great for all the government employees who actually get things done. Be sure that all the hot air, otherwise known as Congress, has already left the city, which may be one reason so much snow is in the forecast. In a way, though, D.C.’s tragedy is a great advantage for the rest of the country in that, the longer Congress stays away, the longer they can’t do something stupid, like attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 50 gazillionth time. From that perspective, the rest of the country wouldn’t really mind if the city stayed socked in until Spring. Sorry, D.C.

Since we have so very much experience with piles upon piles of snow, I thought this might be a good time to share some of our expertise with those who are about to experience one of nature’s most amazing displays of power. You really have no defense against a storm like this, so it is better to make some last-minute adjustments this morning so you’ll be able to survive until Monday. Not this coming Monday, mind you. We’re thinking the third Monday in April if you’re lucky. Here is our list of essentials.

Rush to the store and buy everything. It doesn’t really matter how much food you already have, you must go buy more. Buy anything edible, just in case it doesn’t stop snowing and this is the beginning of the next ice age and you’ll never see your friends and family unthawed again. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t have enough room in your refrigerator. When it’s this cold, you can store foods right outside your window. Most likely, there’s not much left on the stores now but bad beer and brussel sprouts, but that can keep you alive.
Make new friends and invite them over. This is a perfect time to make lots and lots of new friends. Hang out at the coffee shop (which will be the last place to close) and buy coffee for any prospective new partners. Now’s not the time to stand on morality, though, and it certainly isn’t a good time to be embracing monogamy. The more the marrier, and warmer! You never know but what you might need to help re-populate the city. This also gives you more options should you run out of food.
“Borrow” the Netflix passcodes from four or five additional people. You don’t want to run out of entertainment during the storm, but neither does anyone else, and, sadly, Netflix has limits as to the numbe of devices that can be signed on to a single account simultaneously. Everyone is going to be watching Netflix, which means the passcodes belonging to the most popular people are likely to be ineffective. Stock up. Get the passcode from that little old lady three doors down who has all the cats. Hit up the wino on the second floor. Check around on dating sites. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Refill all your medications. This can be a little tricky if you’re on something that is highly regulated, but the last thing you, or any of us, want is for you to get stuck three days in without your crazy pills. This is a severe danger, because people on anti-depressants are often to depressed to remember their refills, and people on anti-anxiety meds are too jacked up to go by the pharmacy. There are also those regulartions about the number of pills you can have at one time. Lie. Go to multiple pharmacies. Do whatever it takes to make sure you have enough meds to get you through until Spring. Just don’t take them all at once.
Assemble all the candles you can find. I’m not sure there are any Wicks ‘N’ Sticks locations still open (their website is completely gone), but if nothing else this would be a very good time to raid the Dollar Tree. It doesn’t matter if the candles have pictures of the Virgin Mary or Donkey from Shrek, you need all the candles you can find. Power outages are inevitable during a storm like this, and flashlights just don’t cut it because you can’t heat up a can of Dinty Moore over a fucking flashlight. You need candles. Be sure to save the wax as it melts, too, because it’s reusable once your other candles are gone. You can use shoestrings as wicks because you aren’t going anywhere.
Leave instructions for your next of kin. Sadly, not everyone is going to survive this storm. As the days linger on and you grow hungry and delerious, you may post things on social media that would tarnish your sterling reputation. Make sure your next of kin knows your username and password for all your social media accounts so they can delete that shit upon your demise. You want people to remember the good, happy side of you, not the starving, raging, homicidal maniac you are about to become.

That’s about the best advice we have to offer. Those survival steps have kept folks in the Midwest going for almost 200 years now. We wish everyone about to be affected by today’s storm good health and long periods of sanity. For those who don’t make it, we promise to miss you and think of you every time we’re stranded and shivering in the cold. Be careful, stay safe, and, should you survive, keep in touch.

Advertising

Bolder Than Bold: Excessive Celebration

January 21, 2016

Business is about people. It’s about passion. It’s about bold ideas, bold small ideas or bold large ideas.—Tom Peters

charles i. letbetter - bolder than bold: excessive celebration

“Through The Window” Reflection of a colorful celebration at Red Bull’s Big10 event in 2008. Body paint by Pashur

Football likes a good party and none in recent memory is likely to be any bigger than the NFL’s Super Bowl 50 coming up in a couple of weeks. As one might expect, this is bigger than the average Super Bowl, which is one of winter’s biggest parties in the first place. Neither is it surprising that advertisers are going all out for their game-time ads which are costing a rumored $5- to $6 million per 30-second spot. Battles for a share of the attention in what may be the most-watched sporting event all year are bound to be severe. Expect boundaries to be pushed.

To that end, no one may be going further than Nestlé’s Butterfinger brand and their “Bolder Than Bold” campaign. We watched this past December as they started teasing their Super Bowl ad by having a skydiver take a 30,000-foot leap live on Periscope. For the big game, the brand has signed on former NFL running back Terrell Owens for a spot that has yet to be released, but promises a big, bold statement of its own.

Taking “Bolder Than Bold” to whole new levels, though, Butterfinger is, in effect, giving the finger to the NFL with an offer that raises some serious ethical concerns. The candy brand has announced they will pay up to $50,000 in fines any player might receive for incurring an “excessive celebration” penalty during any of the final three games. No, the NFL wasn’t consulted. We’re guessing the folks at Butterfinger assume it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. We have to admit, the move is definitely a bold one.

Encouraging players to deliberately break rules and incur penalties is a very risky proposition, though. The NFL takes all its rules seriously and we’ve seen them hand down fines this year for doing things seemingly as insignificant as handing a ball to a kid in the stands or wearing the wrong colored shoes in support of a specific charity. Some of those fines can easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars and while NFL stars typically pull down several million per season, the penalties can add up quickly for both a team and players.

Even more serious, though, is the fact that excessing celebration penalties can also, at the referee’s discretion, come with yardage penalties. There’s nothing Butterfinger can do to take back a critical 15-yard penalty, no matter how bold they might want to be. A late-game penalty, when emotions are high and the score is likely to be tight, can make the difference between winning and losing.

Butterfinger’s offer challenges team discipline. Obviously, team management and coaches are going to tell their players to ignore Butterfinger’s offer and play by the rules. Will that be enough, though? NFL players can be pretty bold on their own and, as Terrell Owens showed during his heyday, they often don’t mind breaking a few rules, especially in the area of excessive celebration.

While we understand the sentiment made in the Butterfinger offer, this is the first time I can quickly find where an advertiser has outright offered a reward for breaking the rules. Sure, we like to see some celebration, too, but if players take Butterfinger seriously the result could be much more serious than what $50,000 can cover. A wrong move at the wrong place in the game could result in a team losing. Theoretically, the NFL could also ban Butterfinger, or any other Nestlé brand, from advertising during NFL games indefinitely. We have seen the NFL hold some long advertising grudges before.

Of course, all we can do for the moment is wait and watch. The NFL has not responded to Butterfinger’s offer and we’re not sure they will; acknowledging the act might have a backhanded way of encouraging someone to take Butterfinger on the challenge. Are there any players willing to take the bait? If nothing else, Butterfinger has assured that we’ll definitely be paying attention during the games. The challenge may be all they need to win, and that’s pretty damn bold.

Current Issues / PotD

Water You Thinking?

January 21, 2016

When a country wants television more than they want clean water, they’ve lost their grip.—Lewis Black

The United States has grown too accustomed to a constant source of clean drinking water that is no longer sustainable

Ah, coffee. While I can imagine a morning without it, such a tragedy does occasionally happen, I don’t want to even think about such a horrible state. That hot water and a crushed bean could bring so much life and happiness to people is simply amazing. While I’ll admit to being a coffee fanatic, I’m by no means as obsessive about it as some I’ve seen. I like mine black, moderately strong, but not to the point that the acidity upsets my stomach. No sugar. No cream. No foam. Just pure, simple coffee. Those of you who get all upset about half-this, whipped-that are just crazy.

Now, imagine a world without coffee. As horrible a condition as that sounds, it could happen, and it may happen much sooner than anyone would like. Even without any external events involved, the sheer number of people on the planet, well over seven billion now, is beyond the level of sustainability. We’re going to run out of clean water. We’re going to run out of coffee.

The country has been relatively transfixed on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan this past week. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has, justifiably, been on the hot seat and universal condemnation of the city’s poisoned water supply has been laid on his doorstep. And while there is plenty of blame to be spread not only among the Governor’s office but other agencies as well, finding a solution to the problem is much more challenging than first thought. People of Flint are having to deal with the reality of not having a ready supply of clean drinking water, and that reality is quite frightening.

As much as I am sympathetic toward the plight of those stuck living in Flint, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the crisis there might, possibly, be a good thing for the rest of the country. Why? Because the whole reason this issue has gotten national attention is that every city in the country is just as vulnerable as Flint was. What happened there could happen here and the odds of such tragedy are increasing on a daily basis. The situation is not new. We’ve been on the precipice of disaster for several years. The tragedy in Flint, though, has awakened our senses to the issue of clean water like nothing else could.

We’ve had water disasters before. Just this past year, an oil spill into the Yellowstone River threatened drinking water. We, as a nation, yawned. The Environmental Protection Agency, the very people who are supposed to help us keep water clean, took responsibility for a giant waste water dump at Gold King Mine, near Silverton, Colorado. An oil spill along the coastline at Santa Barbara, California affected cities and beaches and even roadways all along the coast. Manure spills put the Green Bay water supply at risk. An ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to pollute waters there will little being done to remedy the problem. All of those things happened, received attention from the press, and the US population, as a whole ignored them.

Those are just the most recent tragedies in an ongoing global crisis that is just now beginning to impact our privileged society. We’ve known about the water crisis in sub-Saharan Africa for decades, but because it’s not right here in our back door we’ve turned a blind eye to the millions of people who lack proper sanitation and clean drinking water. Some might occasionally cut a check to NGOs such as The Water Project, but once the check is in the mail we don’t give the matter a second thought. We think we’ve done our part. We don’t realize the extent to which it is our own overuse, our own over-industrialization, our own lack of careful water use that has contributed to the larger global crisis.

Just how bad is the situation? Consider these facts:

663 million people – 1 in 10 – lack access to safe water
2.4 billion people – 1 in 3 – lack access to a toilet
A review of rural water system sustainability in eight countries in Africa, South Asia, and Central America found an average water project failure rate of 20 – 40 percent
Globally, 1/3 of all schools lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation
In low and middle-income countries, 1/3 of all healthcare facilities lack a safe water source

We haven’t given much thought to the water crisis until now because it has always been “somewhere else.” We’ve been more than content with letting other countries deal with their own problems. The crisis is coming home to roost, though. Last April, California Governor Jerry Brown placed restrictions on water consumption across the entire state. Many complained that the restrictions were too severe, but as the state faces a continuing drought conservationists are concerned that current restrictions may not be enough.

Here’s the thing: our very lifestyles contribute to the severity of the water shortage. Americans waste more clean water every time we flush a toilet than many people see in a month. Our national lack of industrial oversight pollutes our water supply on an ongoing basis and we get extremely upset with any effort to curb such industrial use. States such as Indiana have even fought back against restrictions in the Clean Water Act because “they would prove too expensive to implement.”

Maybe, just maybe, the water crisis in Flint is a good thing. Maybe seeing people there struggle will be the wake-up call we need to realize that our current water habits are killing our water supply.

Imagine life without coffee. If we don’t push for dramatic change, and quickly, that is exactly what is going to happen. Flint is just the beginning.

Advertising

Oreos Flavors With Love For Everyone

January 20, 2016

Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better.—Robert Redford

His mommy was NOT happy when I gave him his first Oreos, but he’s grown up fine.

For all the health food fanatics out there claiming that GMOs and other nasty things in our food are waiting to kill us, the general public isn’t paying a great deal of attention. In fact, sales of what are considered “junk food” have been on the rebound the past two years. Leading the pack is an old-fashioned cookie that has become a national obsession: Oreos.

Introduced by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) in 1912 Oreos almost immediately became a best-seller in the cookie department. Just as quickly, Americans found different ways of eating them: dunked or not dunked, whole or split open, eating the filling first or not. Verbal battles have erupted over what is the correct way to eat Oreos and I’ve even seen cookies thrown in anger because someone didn’t eat their Oreos correctly. I wish I could say that had been a child displaying such behavior, but it wasn’t.

Our national obsession with the brand seems to have reached new levels. CBS Late Show host Stephen Colbert mentioned Oreos, or rather the lack thereof, on one of his first broadcasts last fall and the company hooked him up, complete with a hotline for ordering more should his supply ever run low. In return, Colbert has repeatedly mentioned the brand in his monolog.

Colbert isn’t the only celebrity that has been pulled into the Oreos marketing web, though. Popular musicians such as Kacey Musgraves, Owl City, Tegan and Sara and Chiddy Bang have been part of the brand’s growing Open Up With Oreo campaign that is rolling out to over 50 countries in the first half of this year. Yesterday (January 19) Billboard announced that American Idol alum Adam Lambert had joined the effort as well, with his music backing new 30-second and 15-second animated commercials. Take a look:

https://youtu.be/wN0G9qdMDYI

One of the reasons Oreos are appealing to Lambert and many others is their consistent message of inclusiveness. Oreos are for everyone. Underscoring that position is the habit of constantly rolling out new flavors for the filling. Nabisco (which is owned by Kraft) has been careful to keep supplies of the special flavors limited, which helps both in keeping demand high and preventing flavors from becoming boring. The latest flavor, also announced yesterday, is Cinnamon Bun. The resulting ad, which also brings back the Red Velvet flavor, is called Wonder Vault and hints at many more flavors to come. Whether those are new flavors or simply the return of previous favorites is not yet known. Here’s the ad:

https://youtu.be/Bji57u_NCF4

Company representatives have also hinted that the two flavors are now a permanent part of the Oreo lineup. Take that proclamation with a grain of salt, though. If sales lag, be sure the company will pull a flavor from shelves for a while to be brought back later. Such is the nature of Oreos supply and demand.

What remains consistent, and shows no sign of abating, however, are American’s love for that original cookie. The only person who doesn’t seem to like the cookie is a certain presidential candidate who is upset that parent company Mondelez moved some of its operations not related to Oreos to Mexico. Do we really want to trust the running of the country to someone who doesn’t like Oreos? To paraphrase a previous president from the same party, I don’t think that would be a prudent move at this juncture.

And as for any concerns about the health dangers of eating too many Oreos, I tend to defer to Mark Twain’s approach to the subject:

“Be careful about reading health books.
You may die of a misprint.”

Art / PotD

A Clean Start To The Day

January 20, 2016

I love the big fresh starts, the clean slates like birthdays and new years, but I also really like the idea that we can get up every morning and start over.—Kristin Armstrong

Just as we might start the day with a clean body, our minds and our agendas could use a good scrubbing as well

I like a nice, hot shower first thing in the morning. There is something wonderful about having a few minutes while the coffee is brewing to wash away all the cobwebs, clear my head from whatever nonsense was left by bad dreams, think through the day’s schedule, and set a proper attitude for getting things done. Unfortunately, that’s not typically the way my day starts.

Most mornings, I stumble into the living room in the dark, trying not to wake anyone else while simultaneously doing my best to not step on one of the three cats at my feet. I look at any headlines from overnight, check email and web stats, then start coffee. Coffee takes 20 minutes, but since we do french press it’s not something you can just leave and come back when it’s done. You have to watch the water to make sure it doesn’t boil; 140 degrees is perfect. The beans have to be ground. The press has to be emptied and cleaned. Cups have to be prepared. Twenty minutes later, I can sit down and start working.

Kat will have joined me by this point, which is lovely. She’s not a morning person, but the Marine Corp conditioned her well. She sits with her coffee, looking through Facebook and other correspondence. She shares when she thinks it appropriate, but is careful to not disturb when I’m writing, or especially when I’m not writing because the words just aren’t coming.

We won’t have been up long before one of the children will poke a head out. “Mommy, can I get dressed?” I’m waiting. One of these days I’m sure Kat is going to slip and say, “No! No clothes for you! We’re sending you to school naked.” I’m going to laugh when that happens because the children are still young enough to believe the majority of what Mom tells them. That interaction is my cue to hurry and get to a stopping place because once there are children in the room there’s no peace and quiet until they’re on the bus.

With all that commotion and routine, I rarely get my shower until after Kat leaves. I still enjoy the shower no matter when I get it, but the day doesn’t feel as clean as it does when the shower comes first. Sure, that’s totally a mental wall, but there’s no getting past it. If I want the day to really start clean, I have to put a shower at the very front.

Starting the day clean with a physical shower is one thing, but we have a need to start clean in other ways as well. With all the information overload we get, our minds and our thought patterns too quickly become cluttered with details and news and trivia we just don’t need. Sure, all those cat memes are cute, but they can get in our way. The more clutter, the more time we waste, the less productive we are, and ultimately, the less fulfilled and satisfied we feel.

How one choses to clean their mind of leftover clutter is a highly personal thing. Yoga and meditation is a preference for several friends. Friends more aligned with traditional religions spend time praying. I even know some people who rely on morning sex to get their mind clean and ready for the day.

For me, it’s music. Exactly what changes from day to day. Mozart happens frequently, but then so does my blues playlist. If everything has me a bit down, then old-school gospel does the trick. If I’m pissed at the world, classic rock at full volume is just the cleansing tonic I need. There’s been a lot of classic rock lately.

Everyone’s pattern, routine, and methodology is going to be unique. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for getting your day scrubbed and clean. I know plenty of people for whom clean is a literal thing and everything around them must be spotless. I’m not one of those people. I like my clutter organized, mind you, and I get anxious if the stacks start getting too tall. Still others can step over mounds of trash in the floor and not be bothered. I don’t understand either extreme, but I don’t need to understand anything beyond what works for me.

What’s important is recognizing that starting our day clean isn’t just a soap and water thing. Our minds and our spirits must be just as refreshed and rejuvinated as our bodies. If we overlook this simple matter, we eventually become overshelmed, depressed, and disturbed. We become ineffective, destructive, and unproductive. I firmly believe that much of our attitude toward other people come from the amount of garbage we hold from day to day. The nonsense and the clutter alters our perspective of people and situations, leading us down paths of thought we might not touch if we were thinking with clearer heads.

So, take some time, my dear friends, and clean up. Maybe take a shower. Go for a run. Have a quiet cup of coffee. Whatever works for you, do it now. Don’t let the day continue with yesterday’s grime. You deserve better. Start the day clean and enjoy it.

Fashion

Sleeping Through Men’s Fashion Weeks

January 19, 2016

There’s no such thing as a designer of menswear—it’s only history. The suit around the world is based on the English suit, which began in about 1670.– Hardy Amies

charles i. letbetter - sleeping through men's fashion

No one cares WHO Sam Norris III is wearing, but more how he looks wearing it … in the water

The digital team at Vogue has been doing its damnedest to remind me that men’s fashion weeks are still going on. Here I am wanting to sort through pre-fall collections in preparation for the fall women’s ready-to-wear season, which begins February 11 in New York, and my email inbox is full of pictures of men in suits or jeans or suits with jeans trying to grab my attention. Sorry folks, it’s not working.

I don’t mean to disparage the men’s fashion industry. The sector has seen tremendous growth over the past three years and even men’s fragrances crossed the billion-dollar sales mark last year. Neither can one say that men don’t care about what they wear. Men can be every bit as meticulous about their clothing as are women. I know several who are absolutely, disturbingly, OCD about their wardrobe.

However, men’s fashion still is a long way from having the overwhelming impact of women’s ready-to-wear. Not only do men’s lines not have anywhere near the same sales numbers, they don’t hold men’s interest, and men are not the obsessive fans of specific designers in the same way as women. I’m even going to go out on a limb here and say that 98% of men not only don’t care who made the shirt they’re wearing right now, but they don’t have a clue. Interestingly enough, they’re more likely to know who made their pants (I’m wearing black Levis today) and their shoes than any other garments.

Why are men, generally speaking, not fashion horses like their female counterparts? Why doesn’t men’s fashion hold our interest? There are some distinct reasons and you should know them.

Men are, traditionally, more practical in their wardrobe choices. Playing to traditional gender-oriented stereotypes, men still choose a significant portion of their wardrobe based upon what is appropriate for their occupation. These are the men for whom the term “blue collar” was coined. They need clothes that are sturdy, can stand up to rough conditions, daily washings, and severe stress on the fabric. Pre-torn jeans are of no interest to the man working outdoors in sub-freezing weather. They’d rather drop good money on a solid pair of coveralls that will last them several years than a suit with shiny shoes.
Men don’t desire wide variety in their wardrobe. Have you met me? I wear black. That’s it. I have dress ensembles and casual ensembles, but everything in my closet is designed so that I don’t have to think too hard about what to wear each morning. I recently added a shawl collared cardigan to the collection and chose the design for one specific reason: it goes with everything. Pierre Cardin famously said: “I can go all over the world with just three outfits: a blue blazer and gray flannel pants, a gray flannel suit, and black tie.”
More men are color blind. No, this isn’t a joke. Men really are more likely to be at least partially color blind than women, and the trait is genetic, passed on from father to son. As a result, men are not as likely to respond to colorful designs and patterns with the same enthusiasm as women. In the US, ten percent of men are totally colorblind, versus only 0.4 percent of women. Ethnicity also plays into this problem, with Caucasian men being far more likely to be color blind than Asian (five percent) or African (four percent) men. Eskimo men have the lowest rate, 0.01 percent, but they don’t tend to spend much on high fashion.
Men don’t like to shop for clothes. We’ll spend all day looking at tools, cars, computers, or video games, but pull a man into a department store to look at clothes and expect a groan, at least internally. Even when we know we need new clothes, we would rather walk in, grab the first thing we see that fits, and leave. This plays into another interesting statistic that men are more likely to buy their clothes online. Depending upon which study one considers, men’s online wardrobe shopping outpaces women’s by 20-30 percent! And what do we buy most? Replacements for the things we already have.
Men pay less attention to what’s “in style.” Remember the leisure suits and wide ties of the 70s? As horrible as that style was, it lasted well over half a decade because men, as a group, care less about current fashions. While women anxiously await the new season’s clothes hitting the stores, and are ultimately responsible for the fast-fashion trend that’s driving designers crazy, men are more content continuing to wear the same thing from season to season. Unless a garment is stained or torn or no longer fits, we’re still likely to wear it.

Please let me emphasize, again, that these are generalizations. We all know people who are exceptions and those people are absolutely wonderful. However, for fashion to be viable it has to appeal to masses, not individuals, and men’s fashion has yet to achieve that desirable goal. So, dear friends at Vogue, please stop filling my inbox with photos of today’s DSquared² runway. I’ll catch up with the brilliant Caten brothers in a month when they’re showing women’s wear.

Until then, I think I have some napping to do.

Music / PotD

If Musicians Would Stop Dying

January 19, 2016

Like family, we are tied to each other. This is what all good musicians understand.—Billy Joel

Beautiful music is timeless, but the musicians creating that music are not

Tuesdays are beginning to annoy me. Traditionally, major music labels drop new songs and new albums on Tuesday, so that is how I plan my day’s soundtrack. Some weeks I hear some really great stuff, others not so much, but that’s part of the joy. This year, however, this 2016, is upsetting that plan. Last week, instead of music dropped that day, I, along with nearly everyone else on the planet, was still listening to David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar. We even wrote about it. Now, this morning, I’m postponing new music once again to listen to Glenn Frey’s last album After Hours (2012). If musicians would stop dying for a couple of weeks, I would be most appreciative.

There are some musicians whose deaths are not quite so surprising. Country crooner Mel Tillis has been in critical condition in a Nashville hospital for several days. Had it been his obituary in my newsfeed, I would have been sad, but not surprised. There are several others, rock stars whose lives in the 70s should have dictated early deaths but didn’t, who I suspect are one good bout of pneumonia away from the grave. But Glenn Frey, man, I wasn’t ready.

What’s frightening, is that Glenn wasn’t the only musician to pass yesterday. Within 24 hours, we also lost Blowfly, musician/songwriter/producer whose work many found offensive; Dale Griffin, drummer for Mott The Hoople, one of those bands you didn’t know you knew; Mic Gillette, brass player with Tower Of Power, a band that helped define the sound of the early 70s; and Gary Loizzo, lead singer for American Breed, whose Bend Me, Shape Me put them on the charts in 1967. Loizzo was also the sound engineer for Styx, who recorded many of their hits in Loizzo’s studio.

Of course, musicians aren’t the only ones who seem to be dying at a heavier rate than usual. If you were paying attention, just this past Sunday I wrote about the high number of notable deaths just last week. What makes a difference with musicians is that we connect them so strongly with their music and their music is so strongly connected to our lives. Music is not just something to keep our ears occupied. Music defines places, memories, and even relationships. Is there anyone from my generation who doesn’t have some memory connected to Hotel California, or Take It Easy? When musicians die, we lose more than a person, we lose a connection to a specific time and place.

One might think music fans would be somewhat accustomed to the unexpected and even untimely deaths of the musicians they honor. After all, the 27 Club, musicians who died young at the age of 27, is legendary; from Jesse Belvin in 1960, to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin in ’70, Kurt Cobain in ’94 to Amy Winehouse in 2011. The list of club members is long enough that every musician should make a big deal of making it to their 28th birthday.

Even when they don’t die young, we lose dozens of musicians each year. Last year saw the passing of greats like B.B. King, Lemmy Kilmister, Scott Weiland, Alan Toussaint, Cory Wells, and about 60-something others. Each year, we can be sure that the “In Memoriam” reel at all the awards shows won’t be too short. Death happens.

Yet, when they seemingly happen one right after another we’re left wondering just what’s wrong with the world. Music gives our frayed world some sense of sanity. As we lose those who give us music, our world feels a little less assembled. Critical pieces are missing. Sure, we still have the recordings and are thankful for them, but knowing the people who gave us those recordings are gone, that there will be no new albums or concerts coming, creates an abscess we don’t know how to fill.

So, here we go with another Tuesday emersed in memories. Glenn Frey left us more than enough to fill the day and enjoy every minute. We are thankful for everything he gave us.

But seriously, musicians need to take a break from dying for a while. Please.

Current Issues / PotD

Still Chasing A Dream

January 18, 2016

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Despite all the advances, racism is still just as alive and well in America as it was in 1964

I hardly know where to start this morning. I have been thinking for the past week about what I would write this morning, and all that has done is left me angry that I should need to write anything specific at all. Here we are at yet another Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and I would be hard pressed to define any substantial way in which matters of racism have improved. There are days when I wonder if we’ve actually moved backward.

When President Obama took office in 2009, it was widely assumed that we had entered a post-racial era; we must be beyond racism for us to elect a black president. What the past eight years has shown us, though, is a very different picture. The hate and animosity hurled toward the president, not just in secret but openly and defiantly, has been unprecedented. Over the past eight years, we have seen more public demonstrations of hate toward people of color, any color, than since the civil rights movements of the 1960s.

Over the past eight years, we have come to realize that not only are our cities and our schools still segregated in very real ways, but that the playing field of opportunity is tilted against people of color. There is, in far too many cities and states, a different system of justice for people of color than what exists for whites. The Ku Klux Klan has been allowed to return and the prevalence of armed neo-nazi groups has been steadily on the rise.

There is no justification for such blatant racism. There is no excuse. I’m tired of hearing people start a sentence with “I’m not racist,” and then turn right around and follow that with some form of slander against people of color. I’m weary of having people tell me they’re reluctant to go into certain parts of town because of the number of blacks present. I’m exhausted from seeing white people, especially white people of affluence, go out of their way to avoid coming into contact not only with those whose skin is a different color,but whose religion requires a different manner of dress.

One of the most public, and disgusting slights came just this past week when the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for their annual awards; you know, the ones most commonly referred to as the Oscars. While the Academy is just fine having a black person host the show (Chris Rock), and utilizing people of color as presenters, for the second year in a row every last one of the nominees for major awards is white. There are no blacks up for best actor or actress. There is no one of Asian ancestry nominated in a supporting role. There is no one of Hispanic or Persian heritage anywhere on the list.

What frustrates me the most is that white people just don’t seem to understand how very racist they are. Bring up the subject and they are quick to say something like, “I have black friends,” or “my next-door neighbor is black,” or “I have black employees.” Apparently, too many white people fail to see how condescending their actions are, how they speak to and treat people of color differently than they do other white people.

Racism isn’t something we can just legislate away. Racism is an attitude, a belief system built upon the principle that one group of people are better than another simply because of the pigmentation of their skin. Eliminating racism means doing away with that belief system that has been ingrained within the human race for millennia.

Here’s the rub: scientifically, there is no such thing as race. There is no differentiation of species that make humans from the African continent any different from humans in Asia. Humans in South America are exactly the same as those in North America. Any difference in pigmentation is an adaptive trait based upon the climate and has absolutely no bearing on the species at all. From a scientific perspective, race doesn’t exist; it is all in our stupid little heads.

Yet, here we are, more than 50 years after the fact, still chasing a dream that is rooted in common sense and plain decency. We like to tout our progress while completely ignoring our many failings. We have set aside today to celebrate a dream, but we refuse to allow that dream to become reality. How can we call today a holiday when the person for whom it is named is just as likely to be arrested on false charges today as he was in 1964? This is no dream. This is a nightmare.

Don’t ask me for a solution when the solution is you. The solution is each of us. I can only work on myself. I might try to hold immediate members of my family accountable, but ultimately the decision is one we each make for ourselves. Racism isn’t an accident and until we universally adjust our attitudes the dream can never become reality.

Current Issues / Published

Google Me, If You Dare

January 17, 2016

Why bother with Google when I have a wife who knows everything about everything!—Akshay Kumar

We don’t control the information visible when someone searches for our name

I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to the nonsense surrounding presidential politics because I’ve already decided for whom I will vote and, beyond that, the rest is little more than a poorly-put-together entertainment spectacle. No one could write television as bad as the debates and keep their job. Yet, those debates keep happening and the amount of bovine excrement from them continues to mount.

There was one brief moment of hilarity this past week, though, when a certain former senator from Pennsylvania suggested that people, “Google me.” I’m not going to mention the candidate by name, because I want nothing to do with furthering his infamy. However, those who have watched the former senator’s nonsense for a while immediately burst out laughing, then picked up their smartphones and started tweeting. Google him? Unfortunately, we already had.

The candidate, you see, has a Google problem. He made some enemies back in 2003 due to an anti-gay statement he made. Since then, those offended by the statement have made sure the former senator’s name is associated with, “The frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.” Multiple websites were purchased containing the candidate’s last name and before long the entire Internet associated that name with this definition. The former senator, or more likely his staff, has gone to great lengths to make sure that searches on his full name bring up the more desirable response of his campaign website. However, if one looks only for his last name, the results are not suitable for viewing with children in the room. Google is clearly not this candidate’s friend.

While, in this case, the punishment would seem appropriate to the crime, it’s not so funny when the rest of us do a search on our name, or worse—your parents do a search on your name, and the results come back less than flattering. This happens often and frequently there is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent those results from coming up time and time again.

Without getting too terribly technical, there are a number of reasons for why you can’t control this problem.

There’s no controlling the Internet, no matter what you’ve heard.
There are almost certainly people other than you with the same name, or one similar which can be just as bad.
You can’t prevent other people from using your name in online conversation.
The Internet never forgets, even if you do. That dating file you had before you met your spouse? It’s still out there.

All of this can amount to some very embarrassing moments. I’ve had a few of my own. Probably the most disturbing was when someone purchased a domain similar to mine. The contents of that hastily constructed site were false and unflattering. Had it stayed up, it might have severely damaged my reputation. Fortunately, there are laws and rules against such things and it only took one letter to the correct people for the site to be taken down. Still, that result continued for come up in search results for several months.

We can try to control our names as much as possible, but even when one has one as relatively unique as mine, there are still other people in the universe with the same name and, in my case, one poor soul with the same name and the same occupation. I go to a lot of trouble to make sure this website comes up at or near the top of most search engine results, but before getting to the bottom of the first page, one might be directed to a page or article that has absolutely nothing to do with me.

Even more confusing is the fact that different search engines have different formulas for displaying information. If one Googles my name, without the middle initial, the results, in order, are:

this website
my tumblr
my Twitter
my Facebook
my About.Me profile
a sample of photographs
my LinkedIn
my rarely-used Saatchi Art profile
a spam-filled white pages search

Nothing I can do about the white pages nonsense; that’s going to show up everywhere. Do the same search on Bing, though, and in addition to the same information, you get a link to the top 25 LinkedIn profiles for Charles Ledbetter. Note the difference in the spelling of the last name. None of those results are going to be me. Search Yahoo! and the first result is an ad for Charles Schwab, which is definitely not me. If you use Ask.com, the first result is my Model Mayhem profile. Fortunately, all the top results actually do link to pages I control in some form or fashion, so any content is of my own doing. Still, the speed with which the results point to someone else is rather unsettling.

On the other end of the spectrum, if one searches for Kat, one gets — nothing. Sure, it displays some results, but either they’re not her, or they’re spam phishing information off public records. In one case, the link is to a social media account abandoned by someone in Canada with the same name. Kat has been diligent about keeping her social media accounts locked down for security reasons, and those efforts have paid off. The one link that does actually contain information about her is the link to this website, and that is always more than half-way down the page.

Now, we could cause some major embarrassment for other people. I have taken pictures of a lot of people in various stages of undress, or sometimes worse, badly dressed. Over the past few years, we’ve stopped mentioning those people’s names in conjunction with their photos not merely to prevent embarrassment (which wouldn’t bother most), but also to prevent stalking, which is another serious online issue. Not only do we not credit nude models on the website, we do not share their names with anyone unless they have specifically asked us to do so. We appreciate the people who pose for us and do not want to place them in any danger.

Since you’re not doing anything today (don’t lie), you might take a moment to Google yourself, then check the other search engines as well. You might be surprised by what you find.

PotD / Social Commentary

When The Fairy Tale Ends

January 17, 2016

Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.—Alexandre Dumas

Not every day is a good one, nor should we ever expect them to be.

One of my dear friends, Jane, whose birthday I missed yesterday and who writes a most wonderful blog, frequently reminds her students that the versions of fairy tales they see presented by Disney and the like are not true. When Hans Christian Anderson wrote The Little Mermaid, he justifiably kills his title character at the end; that’s right, the little mermaid dies. In the original telling of Cinderella, the evil stepsisters have their eyes plucked out. The tales penned by the brothers Grimm were bloody, vicious and violent. Why? Because such stories were meant to be cautionary tales, warnings against dangerous, self-centered, and inappropriate behavior. Life is not fair, the stories warn, and happily ever after is a myth.

This week has been a painful reminder of just how unhappy life can be. People we have admired, who have entertained us, who have sacrificed for us, who saved our lives, have passed on. Not just one or two people, as we are rather accustomed to hearing, but several people of some noteworthiness, have left us. Here’s a partial list, in case you weren’t paying attention:

David Bowie, sing, actor, and creator of worlds
Ernest Yazhe, the last of the WWII Navajo Code Talkers
Noreen Corcoran, an actress best known for her role in the television series Bachelor Father
Alan Rickman, versatile actor of innumerable memorable roles
Dan Haggerty, actor best known for his role on the television series Grizzly Adams
Andrew Smith, Butler University basketball hopeful
René Angélil, who discovered and then married singer Celine Dionne
Lawrence Phillips, promising NFL player caught up in violence
Brian Bedford, Tony award-winning actor known for his productions of Shakespeare
David Margulies, character actor best known for his role as the mayor in the original Ghostbusters movie
Otis Clay, Blues Hall of Fame member and Grammy nominee
Pete Huttlinger, Master guitarist known especially for his work with John Denver
Daniel Dionne, brother of Celine Dionne, died two days after her husband
Michael Galeota, actor best known for his role in the Disney Channel Original Series The Jersey

All those people, gone in the span of seven days. There were more, of course. Many died whose names are not so familiar to us. On Friday, a terrorist attack on a Burkina Faso hotel left at least 28 dead, including an American missionary. All around the world, in every hospital in every city, families gathered as loved ones, some old and suffering, some never really having a chance at life, moved on.

So much for a fairy tale with happy endings. This week seems to have gone out of its way to show us that there is no “happily ever after.” Even the lives that seem the most wonderful and glamorous, those who appear to have everything in the world going their way, still die.

What, then, shall we do when the fairy tale is over? When we have run out of tears to cry and are weary from mourning, how do we face this incredibly cruel world? Any good reader should know the answer to that question. When one fairy tale ends, you start another. Tragedy is the platform upon which the foundation of comedy arises. The ending of one story, or one set of stories, prepares us for the beginning of the next.

Yes, it is true that even the next story likely ends with its main character’s demise, but every story is worth the telling. There are lessons to be learned even in the most heart-breaking situations. We do not stop here. We keep going.

I have been distantly following the continuing saga of Cory and Joey Feek, as have millions of others. I’m not going to sit here anre pretend that I was ever a fan. I’m not big into contemporary country music, and until their lives took a tragic turn I’d not even heard of them. Now, it appears that Joey’s story is nearing its end. When it does, headlines will focus on the love of a mother for her daughter, and a husband for his wife, and many will share in their grief. What’s important is that we realize that there is a story that goes onward. Their daughter, Indiana, is just beginning her story, even as her mother’s is ending.

While it is easy to become emeshed in the stories of others, however, we must remember that we are the ones writing our own stories. While our tales may be entertwined with those of others, we are ultimately the authors of our own fates. Even in circumstances where we might not have control of when or how our story ends, we still decide through the way we live and the decisions we make whether our fairy tale is tragic or happy.

2016 seems to be getting off to a very rough start, but perhaps this is this universe telling us that we need to focus more on the future, not the past; that we should focus less on the lives lost and more on those still living. Not that we don’t remember those who have died, but we realize that their passing is but the end of a chapter, not the whole book. The fairy tale is not over. There is so much more to be written and it is up to you to do the writing.

Advertising / Fashion

When An Editorial Isn’t

January 16, 2016

There is no need for advertisements to look like advertisements. If you make them look like editorial pages, you will attract about 50 percent more readers.—David Ogilvy

Not every editorial is what it seems

Editorial spreads are the meat of any fashion magazine or website. These creative pieces show us the latest fashion and stir our imaginations with romantic and exotic dreams of what life is like when one is wearing clothes from labels such as Armani, Prada, Dior, and others. Editorials are the primary reason people buy fashion magazines in the first place. Even more, fashion labels rely on those editorials to advertise their goods. When we see an editorial that excites us, we’re more likely to buy those styles.

David Ogilvy wasn’t the first advertising executive to think of placing ads that look like an editorial. He was, however, masterful at knowing where to place them. He worked with publishers such as Condé Nast, publisher of such fashion titles as Vogue and Vanity Fair, to not only place editorial-looking ads within the pages of the magazines, but on the covers as well.

Yes, my friends, covers can be bought. They’re not cheap, of course, and publishers are understandably reluctant to admit that what should be an editorial decision is based more upon the size of someone’s checkbook. In fact, it has long been known among advertising insiders that the cover of Vogue comes with a substantial price tag, though publicly the magazine’s editor in chief, Anna Wintour, will adamantly deny such.

At the same time, we all know that tie-ins are crucial to marketing a new movie and the much-anticipated Zoolander2 has the best fashion tie-in potential of any movie since, well, the original. Already, we’ve seen Derek Zoolander and Hansel walk in Valentino’s Fall 2015 runway presentation. That act alone seemed over-the-top and was the talk of fashion week the rest of the season. This week, however, the movie scored the ultimate tie-in when it was announced that Zoolander would appear on the February cover of Vogue, complete with an “editorial” spread shot by Annie Leibovitz.

Vogue

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Zoolander is a lot of fun in an industry deserving more than a little parody. Even more, the success of the first movie enabled actor/producer Ben Stiller to gain the cooperation of almost every designer and fashion editor they approached. As a result, we can expect the second movie to be a veritable who’s who of fashion’s top personalities.

Getting the cover of Vogue, however, is an impressive coup. Ms. Wintour guards the cover of the brand’s flagship publication with no small amount of severity. There is no greater standard for fashion importance than Vogue’s cover. Anyone who thinks there wasn’t some form of deal between Stiller and Wintour is naïve. While it’s doubtful that Stiller simply wrote a check in return for the obvious favor, one can expect the film paid significantly for use of the brand’s name throughout the movie, and any number of other financial considerations may have been applied as well. The options are many.

What the move underscores, is how fashion is not now, nor ever has been, the level playing field some expect. When the Internet first began uncovering the ability of e-commerce to elevate the visibility of smaller brands, some thought it might become the great equalizer, that new, young designers might be able to make a name for themselves without putting in the years of thankless assisting at established houses. That dream has proven to be untrue, however, and this Vogue cover is a perfect example of why there never will be such an equalizer between small and large brands. So long as money and influence can buy editorial space in the most influential of magazines and websites, smaller players don’t stand a chance.

All that being said, I’m looking forward to seeing the movie, which comes out right smack in the middle of the Fall 2016 ready-to-wear runway season. I fully expect to see multiple additional tie-ins, and perhaps even personal appearances, at more shows. Stiller does a great job of poking fun at the industry and we all do well to take ourselves a little less seriously, though.

Let there be no mistake, however, this cover was purchased. Advertising wins.

PotD

#MakeMeThinkIn5Words

January 16, 2016

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.—George S. Patton

Ah, the weekend! You made it and, quite fortunately, you’re still alive! This has been a very emotional week with the deaths of so many prominent people and we’ve all expended an abundance of energy mourning, fussing, remembering, arguing, and various other activities that, in the end, contributed to little more than the grayness of our hair. If all of 2016 is going to be this stressful, we’d just as soon go back to the previous year, please.

After such a difficult week, we thought it was time to have a little Twitter fun again this week. This time, the hashtag we’re playing with is #MakeMeThinkIn5Words, which, interestingly enough, involves six words, not five. The whole premise is to ask mind-challenging questions using only five words. This is interesting because, while the game fits well within Twitter’s 140 character limit, it comes at a time when the executives running the social media app are questioning expanding the limit to 10,000 words. Whatever would we do with all that space? There are advantages in being forced to be succinct.

Nonetheless, five words are our limit. We’ve seen some good ones already, such as, “What if Darth Vader sneezes?” and “What’s another word for thesaurus?” Even our friends at NPR got in on the game with tweets such as this:

Can Animals Think Abstractly? #makemethinkin5words #onebetter https://t.co/3lYz2B75X8

— NPR (@NPR) January 16, 2016

Obviously, we’re going to have to put our thinking caps on for this one! So, let’s see what we can do:

What DO Women Really Want? https://t.co/ThYEXtoZEY #MakeMeThinkIn5Words pic.twitter.com/6cjuGEgy6x

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

(Sorry, couldn’t resist getting that one in early)

Can one win AND lose? #MakeMeThinkIn5Words

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

An old platitude involves the line, “you can win the battle and lose the war.” Maybe winning isn’t always everything. That is a very difficult concept to grasp when we live in such an aggressive that champions winning at all costs. Still, if you’ll give it a moment’s thought, I’m sure you can come up with a scenario in which winning on one level results in losing on another. For example, breaking the record for running the mile, but dying as you cross the finish line.

What If We NEVER Died? #MakeMeThinkIn5Words #CrowdedPlanet

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

No one really wants to die, and medical science is doing a lot to prolong our lives. But if we never died, would that not remove the need to procreate? Would we have to make sex illegal in order to survive? I can imagine life getting quite uncomfortable if we begin living too long.

Does Thinking Affect My Health? #MakeMeThinkIn5Words #GettingTheMunchies

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

I do my most serious thinking and research sitting right here in front of this computer. The more thinking I do, the more sedentary I am. The more sedentary I am, the more likely I am to snack on junk food. Knowing that there is a cherry turnover in the kitchen right now isn’t helping. I tend to consume more coffee and scotch when I’m thinking as well, which leads me to the possible consideration that thinking, ultimately, could kill me.

What’s Wrong With Posing Nude? #MakeMeThinkIn5Words #LookingForModels #photographers

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

Frequent visitors know how I feel about the benefits to posing nude.However, we’ve not written about it yet this year, and we’re getting a lot of new visitors. Maybe we should write about it again. I need a different hook, though, don’t you think? We will need to revisit this question soon.

Is There Reality Without Perception? #MakeMeThinkIn5Words #IsThisTweetReal

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

You know the concept already: If a man says something and no woman is around to hear it, is he still wrong? Or, more commonly, If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? Whether there can be reality without perception has been an arguable point for centuries. One can take sides, but the truth of the matter is that anything that might answer the question would amount to perception in some form, therefore the question is unanswerable. Bloody frustrating.

Can sufficient reason explain evil? #MakeMeThinkIn5Words #IsEverythingGood #Leibniz

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

Another philosophy question because I’ve not seen them asked and they’re so much fun. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 – 1716) proposed that, “We live in the best of all possible worlds.” He based that statement on the concept that, prior to making the world, God must have considered every possible iteration, including one without hate and malice and other forms of evil, and decided that we were better off with them. A world void of evil, he thought, would rob man of free will. However, given that modern science no longer binds us to a mythological view of creation, does Leibniz’s concept still apply? Could the universe have done a better job of evolving?

Is #chocolate the ultimate food? #MakeMeThinkIn5Words #StillHaveThoseMunchies

— charles i. letbetter (@charlesletbette) January 16, 2016

Seriously, chocolate may honestly be the best food ever! Whether eating it by itself, or using it as a layer with other foods, it is difficult to imagine any situation that cannot be enhanced by chocolate. Even when it’s messy, it’s still good. What other food can come close to possibly comparing to the pleasure and satisfaction that chocolate brings? There are many great foods in the world, but none are going to beat chocolate.

I’m going to stop there because I think you fully understand how the game works now and should be able to carry on without my assistance. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@charlesletbetter) and I’ll follow you back. Have a wonderful, thought-filled Saturday!

Music

Piano Lessons From A Pro

January 15, 2016

I started studying music at the age of five and a half. My older sister was taking piano lessons. When her teacher left our apartment, I would get up on the piano bench and start picking out the notes that were part of my sister’s lessons.—Marvin Hamlisch

charles i. letbetter - piano lessons from a pro

Latex Liberace (2010). Model: Carrie Pennington. Body latex: Jennifer Baxter

My story isn’t all that different from Mr. Hamlisch. I was four when I first started picking out hymns on the church piano. My parents waited until I was in first grade before they started letting me take real piano lessons from a real teacher. The piano seemed so very, very big compared to my little hands. When we started that first scale, it took forever for me to master the technique of tucking my thumb under my palm and reaching, stretching, for that fourth note. During that first lesson, I thought I might never be able to play real music because my five-year-old hands were just too small.

Perhaps I should have had Jon Baptiste as my teacher (ignoring the time warp factor given that Jon’s half my age). The bandleader for the Late Show with Stephen Colbert has developed a highly instructional video that teaches anyone to play piano in “Nine Easy Steps.” While his approach may appear overly simplistic, when one stops and thinks about it, he’s actually quite accurate about the whole process. Let’s take a quick look at his nine steps.

Identifying a piano. This is more important than you might think. In this age of digital electronic everything, a lot of people look at a 33-note keyboard and still call it a piano. Nope. If you’re going to play, you need to be able to identify the real thing, to understand why and how it makes the sound that it does, and how it responds to your touch.
Naming your instrument. Personalize what you’re doing. The pianist and the piano must become one in a very zen way, even if you’re not zen yourself or know anything about zen. The piano is to the pianist what a rifle is to a Marine. Just, uhm, don’t try jumping from a helicopter with a piano on your back.
Caring for your piano. “The piano is not a toy.” That seemed like a rather silly statement when my mom said it because she was talking about an instrument that weighed more than our entire family and took four people just to move across the living room. The lesson is much more appropriate today when a number of the things that pass as pianos actually do look like a toy. And as he says in the video, wash your hands. Please. In college, there was nothing much worse than walking into a practice room and finding a piano with greasy keys. Ick.
Know the notes. Too many people are intimidated by the notes. This really is unnecessary. Do you know the first eight letters of the alphabet? Good. You’re set. A-G is all you need. Well, that and knowing how they actually correspond with those symbols on the paper, but that’s really rather easy as well. This is not difficult. You got this! Piano lessons are easy!
Bench work. Sure, Jon makes it sound silly in the video, but how one sits at the piano is a critical matter! I still shudder when I think of the number of times my teacher threatened to put a yardstick down my back if I didn’t stop slouching on the bench. Posture and position has everything to do with how well one plays.
The pedals. This is where my early teachers differed from Jon’s approach. They used a more classical method wherein one was forbidden from touching the pedals at all! The reasoning is that prior to the advent of the Romantic period in the 19th century, pianos didn’t have sustain pedals at all. And yes, I do know what that middle pedal does, but I’m not telling. You can’t handle that level of information right now.
Snack break! Practicing the piano can be exhausting! My general rule is to take some kind of a break, at least stand up and stretch, every thirty minutes. This is actually a good time to pull a few yoga moves because the body tends to tense up when you’re sitting there diligently working out a difficult passage. Do NOT eat at the piano, though, and if you do have a snack, wash your hands before touching the piano!
The Triangle Offense. You think Jon is being silly here, but he’s not. If you want to master the piano, you gotta have a plan with a defined strategy for how to score. A good teacher communicates that strategy and explains why it is important. Otherwise, lessons can seem disjointed and all that stuff about theory and ear training gets lost.
Let’s play piano! Jon might have over-simplified this step just a tiny bit. Still, it’s important that one not be afraid to sit down and play. Unless you’re a child prodigy, don’t necessarily expect dramatic results overnight. You’re going to spend a lot of time practicing and the older you are the more practice it may take. You’re probably going to take a lot of piano lessons. Still, you don’t get any better if you’re not playing at all. So sit down with your Bastien or Thompson method books and play that first lesson like a pro!

See, piano lessons really aren’t that difficult at all! You can learn to play the piano. Why not start this weekend? If you didn’t get all that, here’s Jon’s video to help explain.

Advertising / Photography

War Photography: Now More Than Ever

January 15, 2016

I became a photographer in order to be a war photographer, and a photographer involved in what I thought were critical social issues. From the very beginning this was my goal.—James Nachtwey

charles i. letbetter - war photography: now more than ever

United States Marine Corp Color Guard on parade, Marine Corp Recruit Depot (MCRD), Parris Island, South Carolina

Some jobs are tougher than others. Surgeons, Diesel mechanics, coal miners; those are tough jobs full of stress and hard labor. Generally speaking, when one tells someone that they’re a photographer, people think of a life of fun, beaches, pretty girls, and wild parties. But for some of my colleagues, nothing could be further from the truth. Dodging bullets and improvised explosive devices, risking your life, being considered a burden, and editors demanding more are just a few of the things a war photographer endures on a daily basis. War photography is the most dangerous, but also the most necessary way to wield a camera. Without these pictures, we give ourselves over to despots.

Now, Paris ad agency BETC takes up the cause of war reporters and photographers on behalf of Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders) at a time when both are in short supply and those who are in the field more directly in danger than ever before. The 80-second ad makes a stark comparison between nationalistic propaganda, all pretty and shiny as armies march on parade, versus the harsh realities of war: mass graves, bombed-out buildings, and homes, children crying for lost parents, troops struggling to survive.

The timing of this ad, which is meant as a fundraiser for the non-profit supporting and protecting war correspondents, is important. This is an election year in the United States and of the massive group of presidential contenders, only one, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, has any actual military service. Yet, when the topic of terrorism is raised, out come the verbal swords with Senator Sanders the only one of the group not advocating an over-the-top military response. As someone else has said, it is easy to send troops to war when it’s not the asses of your own children you’re putting on the line. Politicians can make war sound really attractive when all we’re seeing is state-manufactured propaganda.

War photographers, however, keep it real and that is exactly why their work is so very important. They show us the reality of war; the pain, the suffering even for our own troops. Thanks to war photographers, we come closer to understanding the horrors of concentration camps such as Auschwitz. War photographers remind us that war is something to be avoided at all costs, not something to be embraced.

The late photographer and poet Susan Sontag wrote in Regarding The Pain of Others:

“As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb. To acknowledge the existence of the incorrigible. ”

We need war photography, even though they unquestionably risk a society that is increasingly desensitized to pictures of skulls being crushed by tanks or the bullet-ridden bodies of children lying in the streets. And we don’t see the worst. Editors at the Associated Press regularly tag some of the most violent images as “Not for US release.” The thinking is that if we saw war at its most grotesque we might turn away from the images completely.

As a photographer myself, I am also aware of the number of photographers who have been outright murdered by terrorists over the past several years. Few photographers are hired by the military anymore, and they really don’t like embedding them with troops. Many of the images you see are taken by freelancers who willing put themselves at risk in order to tell the truth. They have little protection should they be captured. Governments are rarely willing to risk any resources to save their lives. This is where Reporters Without Borders steps in and does their best to provide mediation and assistance. Their work is invaluable. War photography is critical to keeping us informed of what is really happening around the world.

War photography, in my opinion, is work best left to those who don’t have familial responsibilities here at home. The risks are severe and the lives lost are too many. Part of my admiration for these colleagues is the fact I don’t think I could ever take the pictures they do. The pictures you see here were taken in the relative safety of visiting my Marine son at his graduation from boot camp; downtown Indianapolis is more dangerous. So, take a look at the ad. Notice, especially, the very last image. This is real. This is important. And to all those who risk their lives to keep us informed, thank you.

Advertising

What Women Really Want

January 14, 2016

Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.—Barbara De Angelis

Could a beer company have an answer to one of humanity’s oldest questions?

“What do women want?”

On most days I would respond to that question with a cynical, “Hell if I know,” and keep going. Most intelligent men know better than attempting to answer a question they can never hope to get correct. Every woman is different and, therefore, is going to have different desires and wants than the one sitting next to her. There’s no one desire that is universal to them all. Besides, “you can’t please everyone,” is another platitude with which we are all well aware. We should know the futility of trying to please women.

However, a study of premium beer drinkers between the ages of 21-35 showed that knowing your limit, drinking in moderation rather than getting shit-faced, passed-out drunk has a certain coolness factor. Millenials prefer hanging out with people who don’t let their drink define them. Women, especially, prefer partners who remain sober throughout the evening. So, the good folks over at Publicis Italy, a division of Publicis Worldwide, used that information as the basis for a new ad for a client very involved in the subject of over drinking: Heineken.

This isn’t the first time Heineken has taken on the subject of responsible drinking. Two years ago, their “Drink Less, Dance More,” campaing featuring DJ Armin Van Buren, examined how a DJ that keeps people dancing reduces the amount of drinking in a Miami night club.

Nuno Teles, CMO of Heineken USA told AdWeek, “Responsibility is becoming an active and attractive choice for a motivated generation who want to stay in control.”

This opens up the question of whether millennials are learning from the sins of their parents and correcting their bad habits. While we might like to give the generation some credit for doing better than we did, the numbers aren’t necessarily flattering.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) keeps track of binge drinking. While the problem is not unique to males, nor to millennials, there are some specific challenges needing to be addressed. Consider this list of disturbing facts:

70% of binge drinking episodes involve adults age 26 years and older.
Men are twice as likely to binge drink as are women.
Most people who binge drink are not alcohol dependents, or what we might commonly refer to as “drunks.”
Binge drinking is for the upper middle class and higher, those with over $75,000 in annual income.
Roughly 90% of those under 21 who drink are involved in binge drinking.
Binge drinkers are more likely to drive drunk.
More than half the alcohol consumed in the US is done in the form of binge drinking.

The problem is so significant that a number of colleges and universities now have departments and facilities set up to deal with the issue and some have even banned certain fraternity activities in an attempt to reduce the amount of binge drinking on campus.

With a problem so very big, is one ad enough to make a significant change in the problem? That’s difficult to say. While the campaign started in 30 worldwide markets this week, it would take an immense amount of targeting and a more significant than usual budget to get the ad in front of the right eyes enough times for the message to sink in. The ad uses a soft, subtle visual backed by a popular, pounding soundtrack. Young men are notoriously thick-headed (I know because I’m still that way). We can’t expect them to get the message without seeing the ad several times, possibly in the company of young women who point out the commercial’s purpose.

Still, we have to applaud Publicis Italy and Heineken for at least taking on the issue, especially going into the Super Bowl and Spring Break, both of which are notoriously heavy drinking times for college-age students. Here’s the ad. Feel free to share with someone who might benefit from paying attention.

photography

Without physics there’d be no Fashion Channel — there’d be no TV. But w/o fashion, physicists might just be naked. Not good.— Neil deGrasse Tyson

Share this:

Like this:

A designer is like a doctor for a woman. He has a specific job, and if he is doing it well, he will have the gratitude of the woman for the rest of his life.—Oleg Cassini

Share this:

Like this:

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.—Khalil Gibran

Share this:

Like this:

Money and women are the most sought after and the least known about of any two things we have.—Will Rogers

Share this:

Like this:

The older you get, the more fragile you understand life to be. I think that’s good motivation for getting out of bed joyfully each day.—Julia Roberts

Share this:

Like this:

The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those that got there first.— Steven Tyler

Share this:

Like this:

My favorite thing of all time is a New York City weekend when there’s a blizzard. Everything gets really quiet, and everyone goes to the movies and the park.—Idina Menzel

Share this:

Like this:

At the end of the day, if you’re going to buy a can of Coke, you want the real thing.—Richie Sambora

Share this:

Like this:

I think democracy’s undermined when those who own newspapers fill them with trivia rather than real issues.—Ken Livingstone

Share this:

Like this:

If you let fear take hold, if you let it own you, your life ceases to be your own. ― Blake Crouch, Snowbound

Share this:

Like this:

Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.—Bill Watterson

Share this:

Like this:

Business is about people. It’s about passion. It’s about bold ideas, bold small ideas or bold large ideas.—Tom Peters

Share this:

Like this:

When a country wants television more than they want clean water, they’ve lost their grip.—Lewis Black

Share this:

Like this:

Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better.—Robert Redford

Share this:

Like this:

I love the big fresh starts, the clean slates like birthdays and new years, but I also really like the idea that we can get up every morning and start over.—Kristin Armstrong

Share this:

Like this:

There’s no such thing as a designer of menswear—it’s only history. The suit around the world is based on the English suit, which began in about 1670.– Hardy Amies

Share this:

Like this:

Like family, we are tied to each other. This is what all good musicians understand.—Billy Joel

Share this:

Like this:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Share this:

Like this:

Why bother with Google when I have a wife who knows everything about everything!—Akshay Kumar

Share this:

Like this:

Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.—Alexandre Dumas

Share this:

Like this:

There is no need for advertisements to look like advertisements. If you make them look like editorial pages, you will attract about 50 percent more readers.—David Ogilvy

Share this:

Like this:

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.—George S. Patton

Share this:

Like this:

I started studying music at the age of five and a half. My older sister was taking piano lessons. When her teacher left our apartment, I would get up on the piano bench and start picking out the notes that were part of my sister’s lessons.—Marvin Hamlisch

Share this:

Like this:

I became a photographer in order to be a war photographer, and a photographer involved in what I thought were critical social issues. From the very beginning this was my goal.—James Nachtwey

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Login

Follow Us