Bullshit! We don’t have either of them right, we are not even close.

Overall, Japanese and European cars are superior to ours and [...]]]> I saw a commercial on TV yesterday showing George Washington and his soldiers charging a British firing line while driving muscle cars. The tagline was “Two things we got right — cars and freedom.”

Bullshit! We don’t have either of them right, we are not even close.

Overall, Japanese and European cars are superior to ours and most Europeans enjoy much greater personal freedom than we do. If our cars are so great, then why did the government feel the need to bail out Chrysler and General Motors? American cars are big and haul ass on a straightaway but generally, imports are more fuel efficient, better engineered and better handling.

And if we got freedom right, why is the government regulating damned near every aspect of our lives? Hell, we are constantly asking the government to step in to handle our differences and to protect us from anything that might offend or annoy us. In the world ranking of nations with the most personal freedom, we are not even in the top 20. We talk a lot about freedom but the idea of real freedom scares the shit out of most Americans, particularly those who hold any kind of power over people. The concepts of freedom espoused by our own founding fathers are too radical and frightening to the average American, especially those who hold power.

For what it’s worth…

For instance, there’s the The Bob and Tom Show. I used to enjoy listening but some mornings I just can’t [...]]]> About the only time I listen to the radio is while driving and, on my morning commute, I’m generally unimpressed by what’s coming out of my speakers. I often find it annoying and sometimes downright irritating.

For instance, there’s the The Bob and Tom Show. I used to enjoy listening but some mornings I just can’t tolerate it. It’s the same schtick they’ve been doing for years and it’s getting very stale. Tom Griswold’s rants are getting tiresome. Why do they have to ruin every parody and humorous song with the laugh track? I also can’t stand it when people laugh at their own jokes. If a bit is funny, I’ll know it. I don’t need to be told. If you have to tell people something is funny, then it probably isn’t.

On another station, there’s Bubba the Lovesponge (sounds like a feminine hygiene product). He sounds just like every other talk jock on the radio. I honestly can’t tell them apart either by their voices or their opinions. I’m certain they only exist to piss people off with their ranting and raving about what’s wrong with the world. They got plenty of opinions but no answers. They continually spew their ignorance and bigotry over the airwaves. Anyone who presents an opinion counter to theirs is ridiculed and dismissed as a a commie liberal asshole. If they do any fact checking it’s only for facts that support their biased opinions. I don’t see that talk jocks contribute anything worthwhile to society.

Then there are the commercials. I know advertising is necessary to pay the bills but why do they insist on trying to obtain my patronage by insulting and annoying me?

So many radio and television ads spread the mantra “It’s not your fault.” It’s not your fault you’re fat. It’s not your fault that you’re up to your eyeballs in debt and can’t get a loan. It’s not your fault your life sucks. If it’s not your fault, then who’s fault is it? It’s been my general observation that if your life is totally fucked up, there’s only one person you can blame. Who is that? you ask. If you don’t know, take a look in the mirror.

A lot of ads promise people that they can get the credit, the loan, the car, the computer, etc. that they “deserve.” What kind of bullshit is that? Who told you that you deserved anything? I’ve got some bad news for you. The world doesn’t owe you a fucking thing. If you think the world owes you something then all you deserve is a kick in the ass. If you think you really deserve something, then you need to get off your fat, lazy ass and work for it. It’s a time-honored traditions that has worked for millions of people for thousands of generations. Try it sometime, it may help you appreciate what you do have..

People, it’s time to pull your heads out of your asses and face reality. I don’t mean some kind of contrived television show reality but real life. In the real world, you have to adapt to reality, it doesn’t adapt to you.

For what it’s worth…

Perhaps it was banned because the network executives had their heads up their asses and felt that it hit a little too close to home. That would be my guess. Maybe there’s a [...]]]> Even though I shan’t be watching the Super Bowl today, I thought I’d note the occasion by posting this banned ad:

Perhaps it was banned because the network executives had their heads up their asses and felt that it hit a little too close to home. That would be my guess. Maybe there’s a subtle, subliminal sexual connotation there. There could be very flexible men out there who get a sexual thrill out of placing their head inside their own anus.

There’s a third, much less likely explanation. It may have been banned because it degrading to men. In advertising and sitcoms, men, particularly married men, are usually portrayed as completely clueless idiots. You rarely, if ever, see women portrayed in that manner because if they did, women’s groups would pitch a bitch about it being sexist and degrading to women. Portraying women as stupid and clueless is sexist while portraying men that way is high comedy. Yet men don’t complain. The wife says, “That’s just like my husband.” The husband smiles sheepishly and says, “Yes, Dear. You’re right.” Maybe we are clueless idiots.

For what it’s worth…

Are they nuts? [...]]]> Lately I’ve been hearing an ad on the radio promoting a beauty product that alledgedly makes women look years younger. The ad features “testamonials” that have men saying the product made their wife or girlfriend look 10 or 20 years younger, implying that these men actually made these statements to their significant others.

Are they nuts? Never, ever tell your wife that something makes her look 10 years younger. Such a statement implies that you thought she looked old before she did whatever it was that she did. Worse yet, it may infer to her that you prefer younger women. This is a test you can’t study for. Your best bet is to simply tell her she looks great. However, since I’m a man, there is no way I can predict how a woman will take any comment made by a man so you’re on your own. Good luck. We’re all in this together.

Trying to change cultural norms is what social engineering is all about. What gives a minority the right to try to manipulate the norms of the majority in that way?

Does a minority have the right to try to manipulate the cultural norms of the majority? I don't know but isn't nearly all social change brought about by some minority attempting to change existing cultural norms? How about women's suffrage, civil rights, gay rights, to name a few changed cultural norms? Have majorities throughout history had epiphanies and just decided that commoners should be able to own land, women should be able to vote, blacks should have equal rights, and gays should be accepted?

Social engineering occurs all the time. Sometimes it's called public relations, sometimes advertising, sometimes entertainment, and sometimes it's not quite so subtle. Whatever you call it, it boils down to social engineering. Governments, corporations, religions, and special interest groups all engage in it. Apparently this commenter feels it's OK for the majority or those who represent (or claim to represent) the majority to use social engineering but forbid a minority from doing the same.

The majority generally has no vested interest in changing cultural norms. Their vested interest is in maintaining the status quo.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever has!" — Margaret Meade

In this ad, a teen-aged boy is expecting a couple of girls to come over and study. His mom comments about how his room stinks, as if she hasn’t ventured in there in quite a while. Does [...]]]> Most television commercials bother me to some degree but the Fabreze ad that’s currently running kinda grinds my gears.

In this ad, a teen-aged boy is expecting a couple of girls to come over and study. His mom comments about how his room stinks, as if she hasn’t ventured in there in quite a while. Does she tell him to clean his room? No. She hands him a bottle of Fabreze so he can spray everything down and make it smell nice.

The apparent message here is that it’s easier to (and therefore better) to cover up the mess than to actually clean it up. That seems to be endemic in our society. Cover up the problems with some cosmetic façade or give it some kind of politically correct spin to make it sound positive instead of actually dealing with it and solving the root problem.

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
Aldous Huxley

For what it’s worth…

Today’s Quote: “Diabetes unfortunately is the price you pay for progress.” — Dr. A. Ramachandran, managing director of the M. V. Hospital for Diabetes in Chennai, India.

You’ve probably noticed the ads that [...]]]> The Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman

Today’s Quote: “Diabetes unfortunately is the price you pay for progress.” — Dr. A. Ramachandran, managing director of the M. V. Hospital for Diabetes in Chennai, India.

And You Thought Pop-Up Ads Were Annoying
From the desktop of John Sheesley, Senior Editor, Techproguild

You’ve probably noticed the ads that we have running on TechRepublic. (At least our advertisers hope you have.) Likewise, almost every site on the Internet employs some form of banner or graphical ad unit to help pay the bills and keep the data bits flowing. Clearly the most annoying form of advertising is the infamous pop-up ad which gets in your face and insists you clear it before you can continue doing what you’re doing.

But, recently I’ve noticed a type of ad which is even more annoying and irritating than the pop-up ad. And, for a change, it’s not online.

What I’m talking about are roaming billboards. These are rotating ads that are mounted on the trailer area of panel trucks. They’re motoring equivalent of the old sandwich board ads that people used to use to tell you to “Eat At Joe’s.”

There used to just be one in town, but today I noticed another one. It was painted an obnoxious tree-frog green with rolling ads. Don’t ask me what the ads were for, because I was too annoyed with the concept.

Advertising has its place. I might be a bit biased, but contextual advertising like we do here on TechRepublic can actually be useful. If you’re reading about VoIP in an article online, it can be helpful to jump to an advertiser’s site to see some of the products they have. But when I’m driving down the road, I don’t need a truck in front of me with a spinning picture of the local ambulance chaser. The only reason I’d need that is if I happen to get rear-ended by the person behind me who’s also distracted by the thing.

I’m not a tree hugger by any means, but I find rolling billboards on the backs of trucks belching fumes and consuming hundreds of gallons of diesel at three dollars a gallon as being socially irresponsible. About the only use I find for them is to figure out the vendors NOT to purchase from. I’m not going to patronize and encourage anyone to use such an advertising technique.

What’s next? Are we all someday going to be driving down the roads in cars that look like they’ve just driven off of a NASCAR track?

I haven’t seen any of these rolling ads yet but it sounds annoying. It annoys me that every major sporting event and facility must now include the name of at least on major sponsor in its name. I’m sure this sort of advertising will continue to grow. Soon we’ll that the Doctor Scholl’s Yourtown 4th of July Parade. Advertisements will soon be plastered everywhere we look. It’s already happening. Look at how many people wear clothes with some corporate logo emblazoned on them. Some people are willing, for a modest amount of cash, to have corporate names tattooed on their bodies.

Is the master plan of advertising to gain my patronage by annoying me into submission? Like the guy said, annoying and insulting advertisements only tell me whose products and services I don’t want to patronize. For the life of me, I can’t understand how name recognition without accompanying sales generates profits. Maybe, unlike me, other people actually enjoy being annoyed and insulted.

Today’s Quote: “On the fourth day of telecommuting, I realized that clothes are totally unnecessary.” — Dilbert