RANT: Taylor is not the marketing maven I thought she was

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Personally, I was astonished!

She is supposedly a “marketing maven”.

BUT!

She missed the boat — or someone did — with the Walgreen’s deal.

FIRST, She should have has a “display clause”. “Her” display was messy! Needed to be “straightened”.

SECOND, she should have INSISTED on a higher quality notebook.

(a) the paper used in her notebook was of flimsy quality; (not that I think it has to be great, but it was like tissue paper)

(b) it has no red margin line line normal loose leaf filler; (how much did that add to the bottom line!) AND

(c) I was expecting some “personalization”. (Since her audience is tweens, preteens, and at least one fat old white injineer I would suggest that the “notebooks” should have taken the opportunity to communicate something inspirational to all the young girls who hang on her every word and one fat old white guy injineer who wishes he was 50 years younger.)

If I was a “pop star”, then I hope I would try to “communicate” with my young girl fans?

Do I tell them to: (a) study hard? (b) close your knees and bring about world peace; or (c) figure out what you want to be when you grow up like I did and don’t let anyone distract you from your goal.

****

Taylor Swift, Walgreens, and me

A marketing whore?

That’s a little “hard”.

Is that like a man is assertive and a woman is bitchy?

You have to admire that her net worth reportedly jump about 165M$ in the last year. And, that’s what they know about. Her merchandise sales and tie ins fly under the radar.

She’s really the successor to Reba who succeeded Dolly.

The only question is can she sustain it.

The stuff that I read says that there are 2 year transitions early in the “star career” early between 14 and 21. Then they begin to lengthen until they finally become decades. Cites of successful transitions are Betty White, Liz Taylor, Jodi Foster, and Madona. Cites of unsuccessful are Jenna Elfman, Lindsey, Pink, Barbara Striesand, Jane Fonda, and on and on.

It’s a tough business and the public is fickle.

I’d cite Lady Kazan, who technically had a better voice than her contemporary Babs, but lost out. Judy Collins succeeded over Jody Mitchell but couldn’t make the transition form Folk music to the Beetles.

I feel bad for people with a gift who’s gift for whatever reason can not make the leap. “Starving artist” is a cliche.

At the very least, someone like these people must “make hay while the sunshines” because at any minute the music can stop and they are left without a chair.

I think the thing that I admire most about a Taylor Swift is that she “knew” what she wanted to do so early in life and had the huevos to go for it. She sounded “sad” when she said she wanted to go to college but made a decision to forego it to pursue her career. Her “stones” came out when she passed on the record deal from RCA. (Wonder who, if anyone, got fired for that?) And, she had the chutzpah to sign with a start up record label as their Number One artist.

Amazing.

Shows me the nerve of a cat burglar. The savvy of a NYC three card mote dealer. And the Noblise Oblige of some one who’s living their dream.

Argh!

Sometime beauty makes to weep for what you are not.


ADMINISTRIVIA: Asserting ownership

Monday, December 17, 2012

http://www.blogdash.com/full_profile/?claim_code=49da76499a0c0dd117793bca7d556cc7

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INTERESTING: Is this the “gay gene” that everyone was seeking?uote

Monday, December 17, 2012

 

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/12/11/scientists-may-have-finally-unlocked-puzzle-of-why-people-are-gay

Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay

Lesbians get it from fathers, gay men from mothers?

By JASON KOEBLER

December 11, 2012

*** begin quote ***

Long thought to have some sort of hereditary link, a group of scientists suggested Tuesday that homosexuality is linked to epi-marks — extra layers of information that control how certain genes are expressed. These epi-marks are usually, but not always, “erased” between generations. In homosexuals, these epi-marks aren’t erased — they’re passed from father-to-daughter or mother-to-son, explains William Rice, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California Santa Barbara and lead author of the study.

“There is compelling evidence that epi-marks contribute to both the similarity and dissimilarity of family members, and can therefore feasibly contribute to the observed familial inheritance of homosexuality and its low concordance between [identical] twins,” Rice notes.

Rice and his team created a mathematical model that explains why homosexuality is passed through epi-marks, not genetics. Evolutionarily speaking, if homosexuality was solely a genetic trait, scientists would expect the trait to eventually disappear because homosexuals wouldn’t be expected to reproduce. But because these epi-marks provide an evolutionary advantage for the parents of homosexuals: They protect fathers of homosexuals from underexposure to testosterone and mothers of homosexuals from overexposure to testosterone while they are in gestation.

*** end quote ***

Is this the big breakthrough that allows the human race to move forward?

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INTERESTING: What’s the “jedi religion”?

Sunday, December 16, 2012

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9737886/Jedi-religion-most-popular-alternative-faith.html

‘Jedi’ religion most popular alternative faith

Today’s Census figures show that 176,632 people in England and Wales identify themselves as Jedi Knights, making it the most popular faith in the “Other Religions” category on the Census and the seventh most popular faith overall.

***

You have to be kidding me!

I could understand a lot of the possible answers, but … this one stuns me!

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MONEY: Save all nickels

Saturday, December 15, 2012

http://lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff190.html

Ditching Before the Fiscal Cliff
by Peter Schiff

*** begin quote ***

Turn on the TV and this is what you’ll hear: The US budget is heading for a fiscal cliff. If a deal isn’t reaching in Congress by the end of this year, a combination of automatic tax hikes and budget cuts will sink America into economic depression. There is no escape.

*** and ***

Those buying into physical gold and silver see this inevitability and are getting prepared. We believe there is no sense playing Russian roulette with our savings. Every time Washington raises that debt ceiling or announces another stimulus, it’s like one more click of the trigger.

*** end quote ***

OK, I get it. Everyone thinks I have a tin foil hat.

Talk to anyone who lived through the German pre-WW2 hyperinflation or the Great Depression. Or even the Carter inflation of the 70’s.

I get it. Buying Gold and / or Silver bullion is way out there on the lunatic fringe.

OK, how about accumulating “poor man’s gold”. Nickels?

If you won’t ask for a roll every time you go to your bank, then just don’t spend them when you receive them in change.

I have a couple of boxes on both my nightstands. If during the day, I get nickels in change I put them in my back pocket. When I get home, they go into the box and the “junk” goes into the “recycling bag”. (I take my change often anytime I go to the bank.)

Argh!

So here’s the gist of this money rant: (1) save all nickels; (2) consider buying bullion; but (3) don’t buy what you see advertised on TV. (Someone has to pay for the ads. Guess who? U!)

See you on the other side.

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GUNS: Guns are NOT the problem; the lack of them is!

Friday, December 14, 2012

As a pro-life little Libertarian, I can NOT imagine what these people are going through. And, it’s at times like this that there is an over-reaction to “fix” the problem by restricting law-abiding people’s rights.

http://www.courant.com/news/breaking/hc-police-responding-to-incident-in-newtown-20121214,0,3969911.story

Tragic. But that is what happens when you create a “gun free zone”. In the military, it’s called a target rich environment. Every adult in that school was disarmed and unable to defend themselves or the children.

The Israelis had the same problem with Kibbutz schools being attacked until they started letting armed grandparents volunteer as school security. The killings stopped immediately. Turns out cranky old grandparent are perfect “school security officers”.

Someday we will wise up.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/14/newtown-conn-school-district-had-recently-installed-new-safety-protocols/

 

*** begin quote ***

Dear Members of our Sandy Hook Family,

Our district will be implementing a security system in all elementary schools as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure student safety. As usual, exterior doors will be locked during the day. Every visitor will be required to ring the doorbell at the front entrance and the office staff will use a visual monitoring system to allow entry. Visitors will still be required to report directly to the office and sign in. If our office staff does not recognize you, you will be required to show identification with a picture id. Please understand that with nearly 700 students and over 1000 parents representing 500 SHS families, most parents will be asked to show identification.

Doors will be locked at approximately 9:30 a.m. Any student arriving after that time must be walked into the building and signed in at the office. Before that time our regular drop-off procedures will be in place. I encourage all parents to have their children come to school and return home on the bus and to remain in school for the entire school day. The beginning and ending of our school day are also important instructional times and therefore we want all our students to reap the benefits of full participation in our program.

We need your help and cooperation for our system to work effectively. Our office staff is handling multiple tasks. Though they will work diligently to help you into the building as quickly as possible, there may be a short delay until someone can view you on the handset and allow you to come in electronically. There are times during the day when office personnel are on the telephone, addressing student concerns, or in the copy room; there are other times when only one person is in the front office. Please help our staff by identifying yourself and provide your child’s name.

Keep in mind we will be following our district guidelines which may need revision once we test the system.

Please know your involvement continues to be critical to our school’s effectiveness and your child’s success. We continue to encourage and value your presence in our classrooms and are counting on your cooperation with the implementation of this safety initiative.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hochsprung

*** end quote ***

Guess the “new security regime” didn’t work so well. But, I am sure it did give the parents a false sense of security.

Argh!

Gooferment is rarely the answer and is often the source of the problem.

In most of these shootings, the teachers and staff are unarmed. The maintenance people are unarmed. The cafeteria people are unarmed.

(Never mind that the children are unarmed. In Israeli, mature children are packing heat. I’d trust youngsters to protect themselves. Too bad there wasn’t a drug gang in this school; they could have protected the children. Argh!)

The bad guy, or guys, always seems to have a equipment malfunction, stop to reload, or turn in a different direction. We all saw that video in Florida of the old coot when the robber turned away, pulled out a pop gun (small caliber pocket pistol) and started blazing away. Did convince the thug to head for the hills.

We allow the school maintenance person to walk around the school with knives, saws, and power tools. What’s wrong with one more tool? “Hey, Mike or Michelle, bring your Colt 45 to work and if you see any two legged varmints shoot at kids, take them out. We’ll reimburse you for the bullets.” Argh!!!

We saw the one teacher pulling a kid into her class room. I’d trust her with a tool. She could put all the children in a corner and she covers the door. Anything coming through that looks like a threat; empty. Reload and repeat. Mother Bears defend their cubs better than we as a species do!

Why do we have Gofferment Skrules again?

These training grounds just teach everyone to be sheep. SOOOooo let’s sprinkle a few sheepdogs in the herd. Make it exciting to be a criminal. Wonder how they’ll react to some return fire. Bet they’ll move on to easier targets. Like police stations. We all know that cops are terrible shots.

OH, and by the way, we have to indemnify all these volunteers against lawsuits by criminals. Stupid system, criminal breaks the law and can sue the victim for resisting. Where’s Judge Judy applying the “clean hands” doctrine?

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POLITICAL: The Lincoln Movie

Friday, December 14, 2012

http://lewrockwell.com/thornton/thornton53.1.html

The Lincoln Movie
by Mark Thornton

*** begin quote *** 

Steven Spielberg’s epic movie Lincoln is truly a masterpiece. As an historical drama it portrays Lincoln in the final months of his life and the final months of the Civil War. More than anything, it shows Lincoln attempting – against all odds – to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery.

*** and ***

With Lincoln, of course Abraham Lincoln was president during the American Civil War, Mary Todd Lincoln was the first lady, they had sons, etc. All the supporting cast did exist including all the politicians, cabinet members, generals, etc. The 13th amendment to the Constitution banning slavery did pass, Lincoln was assassinated, and the Union did defeat the Confederacy.

It is also true that Lincoln did work to promote the passage of the 13th amendment. However, as Thomas DiLorenzo has shown, Lincoln worked for the passage of the 13th amendment in 1861 That 13th amendment would have banned the federal government from interfering with states that permitted slavery if it has been ratified. Furthermore, he shows that there is no hard evidence that Lincoln worked for the passage of the 13th amendment in 1865 which prohibited slavery in all states.

As you can see, the real version of events would not have made for a good movie. In fact, the real Lincoln would not make for any kind of pleasant movie. He was a loser politician married to a crazy woman, who unexpectedly found success because the nation splintered into four political parties, handing him the election.

Lincoln was famous for telling people what they wanted to hear. He would often claim to support one position on an issue to one group of people and claim to support the opposite position to another group of people. He was the classic flip-flopper often supporting numerous positions on an issue over his political career. No good material for a movie here.

*** end quote ***

Wow, who would have thought a politician is a flip flopper telling people what they want to hear?

Lincoln is far and away on the top of my worst President list. No one in the second tier is even close.

He was the ultimate crony capitalist as a “railroad lawyer”.

I find it bemusing that the Black Community reveres him. 

Not that I’m a proponent of slavery, Jim Crow, or racism, but he was the opposite of their image.

Toss in on top that the rest of the world was able to eliminate slavery without a war. Slavery was uneconomic and, ten more so, when the mechanization of America. Human labor is too valuable to waste in slavery. (Ever try and get a human to do something that they don’t want to do? As children, we learn at an early age that no one can make us do ANYTHING ever. Even poop!)

Argh!

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RANT: Celebrities are not, and shouldn’t be, targets

Thursday, December 13, 2012

http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2012/12/11/taylor-swift-stalker-problem-is-worse-than-ever/

Taylor Swift: ‘Stalker problem is worse than ever’

*** begin quote ***

She adds, “There are a lot of them (stalkers). I just try to be safe and be conscious of people around me… It’s something you just have to deal with. It’s the price you pay for getting to do what you love. You can let it take over your life and make you fearful all the time, or you can live your life in spite of it.”

*** end quote ***

Not because she’s “my girl”. (LOL, like she wants a fat old white guy injineer.)

But one of the few LEGITIMATE functions of GOOFERMENT is to protect its citizens.

It would seem, given that Hollywood loves politicians, that there should be some protection.

As a little L libertarian, like my battered spouse suggestion, I’d say if there’s a restraining order and the star’s, or the detail, can see you, they can shoot you. Open season on stalkers.

No debate. No arrests.

But they are responsible for their collateral damage.

Think of it as a line of work for out of work military snipers.

LOL! Only partially!

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MONEY: It’s “too big to fail” is “to big to exist”?

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

http://etfdailynews.com/2012/12/04/the-coming-derivatives-panic-that-will-destroy-global-financial-markets/

The Coming Derivatives Panic That Will Destroy Global Financial Markets

December 4th, 2012

*** begin quote ***

It would have been really nice if we had not allowed these banks to get so large and if we had not allowed them to make trillions of dollars of reckless bets.  But we stood aside and let it happen.  Now these banks are so important to our economic system that their destruction would also destroy the U.S. economy.  It is kind of like when cancer becomes so advanced that killing the cancer would also kill the patient.  That is essentially the situation that we are facing with these banks.

It would be hard to overstate the recklessness of these banks.  The numbers that you are about to see are absolutely jaw-dropping.  According to the Comptroller of the Currency, four of the largest U.S. banks are walking a tightrope of risk,

*** end quote ***

The bottom line is that Big Gooferment likes Big Anything.

More contributions.

More crony faux capitalism. Get money by playing the game; NOT satisfying customers.

Simple solution. Artificially constrain the size by limiting balance sheets. Require excess to be spun back to the owners.

Ever hear of “anti-trust” or “restraint of trade”?

Not going to happen, because they are all in bed with one another.

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RANT: Have we been euphemized?

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

http://lewrockwell.com/peters-e/peters-e271.html

Their Proper Name

by Eric Peters

EricPetersAutos.com

*** begin quote ***

To undo it, there must be a rebirth of what they called in cowboy flicks, straight-talking. Calls things by their proper name – and challenge those who don’t or won’t. Make them say what they mean – openly. If you fail to do so, you’ve accepted their terms.

*** and ***

Most people are innocent victims of verbal (and written) rights-rape. For example, public schools. Well, no – they’re not. Yes, they are “open” to the public – in the sense that the public is forced at gunpoint to send its children to them. Which gives us a clue as to the proper name that ought to be used in every instance of discussion: Government schools. It is what they are, in plain, direct – and thus, honest – language. Nothing less. Which of course is why honest language is not generally used to describe them. Because that might get people thinking along certain lines. “Public” sounds so much… friendlier. Free, almost – a vicious irony if ever there was. You’re not free to decline to pay for them (even if you don’t use them). And most kids are certainly not free to not attend them. Very much what you’d expect of a government school. Because the essential attribute of government is coercion – force. The thing that must never be openly stated – but always euphemized.

*** end quote ***

So don’t let it happen to you.

Insist on clear definitions and meaningful labels.

A rose doesn’t smell as sweet if you call it a “thorny bush”!

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