Quips: Quick commentary on politics, technology and life, I think.

Monday, January 27

Aspirations that defy logic

Yes, this just in: Using scantily clad models to help sell beer is a common industry strategy. And it works pretty well, especially on teenagers, says a Colorado State study.

• Hillary Chura, who covers the beer industry for Advertising Age: You don't have fat, ugly people in beer commercials. You want guys to say, for example, 'Hey, if I drink [this brand of beer], I'll get those hot women.' And you want women to think, 'If I drink this beer, I'll look like those hot women.' (From a Westword article, via Morning News)

Yeah. Because which beer you drink affects those things. On the other hand:

• H.L. Mencken: No one in this world, so far as I know ... has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.

Posted by jb, 12:56 AM :: :: #

Thursday, January 23

When in doubt, try the kids

You want your kids to learn how to manipulate money, not Mommy.

So says Jayne Pearl, creator of kidsandmoney.com. But after all, if you get them when they're young and don't understand your marketing pitch and can't really think critically, they just might be a consumer for life.

Posted by jb, 10:37 AM :: :: #

Monday, January 20

Informed electorates, part 2

It appears that the delegates, after thinking about it and discussing it, converged to a greater degree on a particular, nuanced understanding of the Iraq situation.
� Dr. James Fishkin, director of Deliberative Polling at the University of Texas, as quoted in a Detroit Free Press piece

Apparently, PBS is working on a series of specials about America's place in the world and American's thoughts about it. Seems chosen "delegates" gathered, were polled about Iraq, then given some reading, asked questions of experts, discussed it amongst themselves and, lo and behold, changed their minds about some things. Perhaps there is hope for democracy.

Posted by jb, 10:00 PM :: :: #

Friday, January 17

How should we determine 'merit'?

In its last ruling on the topic, the U.S. Supreme Court said race could be a factor in determining admission to an institution of higher education. President Bush said he believes otherwise. Or at least that he believes the University of Michigan's system for taking an applicant's ethnic background into consideration is "race-based."
  Bush -- who while governor got the Texas Legislature to force that state's selective schools (UT and A&M) to accept the top tier of every high school's graduating class, regardless of individual merit or probability of success -- prefers "race-neutral" policies, apparently despite the ruling of the Nine Wise Souls in 1978.
  So how should one "earn" entrance to university? Is it grades, which could be subject to the quality of the high school and its curriculum? Test scores, which have shown to be culturally biased? Can you really reduce a person's potential contribution to a learning community to a single number?

• From a statement by University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman

  "It is unfortunate that the President misunderstands how our admissions process works at the University of Michigan. It is a complex process that takes many factors into account and considers the entire background of each student applicant, just as the President urged. ...
   "In the end our goal is to choose among a pool of well-qualified applicants to enroll a student body that is diverse in a rich variety of ways. ...
   "There is no substitute for the careful consideration of race as one of many factors in a competitive admissions process. No alternatives can achieve the goal of a diverse student body while maintaining the high academic standards for which we strive."

• Howard Kurtz, of the Washington Post: (Of course, the folks who seem most upset by affirmative action don't seem terribly concerned about preferential treatment for children of alumni -- how do you think Dubya got into Yale? -- not to mention star quarterbacks.)
• U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan: Mr. Bush cannot have it both ways. He cannot say he is for diversity while simultaneously attacking the very laws that protect minority representation. The President's comments sent the wrong message to America about discrimination, equality, access and opportunity.
• Ted Shaw, of the NAACP: This is a politically adroit statement that ignores the facts and cynically manipulates white working-class concerns about access to higher education.
• Terry Neal, of the Washington Post, quoting a black conservative: "This doesn't have a damn thing to do with black people. It's all about suburban white women."
• A quote from a senior White House official, from NYT: "We need to try, if at all possible, to promote the broadest amount of diversity without taking race into account."

How do you do that? How do you determine if you're diverse if you ignore one of its components? Perhaps the Court will tell us if we as a society really can celebrate all the qualities that comprise America.

Posted by jb, 2:02 AM :: :: #

Wednesday, January 15

Cats & Trains

It's not that we didn't enjoy opening our gifts or anything. But really — be honest — how many photos of people holding up sweaters do you want to see? So instead we've got a quick collection of the things we did the week after Christmas: watch the cat, the train and the tree (not that it was doing anything, mind you, but it was pretty to look at).

Posted by jb, 10:49 AM :: :: #

Oh, the bane of an informed electorate

The informed public is considerably less hawkish about war with Iraq than the public as a whole. Those who show themselves to be most knowledgeable about the situation are significantly less likely to support military action.

A national poll conducted for Knight Ridder found that Americans are still wary of Bush's drumbeat for war (3 in 5 opposed to unilateral action, but 4 in 5 support with U.N. approval). Of course, half of the survey respondents thought one of the Sept. 11 hijackers was Iraqi. Under that logic, we'd be bombing Saudi Arabia right now.

Posted by jb, 1:01 AM :: :: #

Friday, January 10

Great minds think alike

Or: if we all think alike, they must be great minds...

Since I have taken plenty of grief at work for my geek-like fascination with Apple's new Powerbooks, I'd like to point out that others like them too.

• David Pogue, NYT: But in the 12-inch PowerBook, Apple has found a sweet spot bigger than a sugar plantation. It's worth 128 rounds of applause all by itself.
• Dan Gillmor, SJMN: ...nearly the ideal road-warrior machine. ... I'm sold. This is my next notebook.
• Michael Gartenberg, a Jupiter Research analyst: going to fly off the shelves.

I'm not one of these mobile power users, but I love a computer that will join me in the living room where ever I want.

Posted by jb, 1:01 AM :: :: #

Wednesday, January 8

They just sound identical

It's time to hand out awards in pop culture world. The Grammys kick things off and are also the source of one of those things I've always wondered: Album and Record of the Year. They sound very much alike. Do we need both?
  Well, apparently yes. (Of course, the Grammys have 104 categories this year - official list - so they could afford to prune a bit.) But here's the answer to our bewilderment, thanks to our friends at the LA Times.

• Song: Is actually for songwriting, not the performing artist
• Record: The year's best recorded single
• Album: This is for the whole disc.

There. I can now go on in peace, enlightened even.

Posted by jb, 1:16 AM :: :: #

Tuesday, January 7

Birthday time

Yep, time for another birthday party. And that means pictures. Sure, there was the usual cake cutting and drinking and one frantic call from the office. With these fine images, we give you a glimpse of the evening.

Posted by jb, 1:58 AM :: :: #

Monday, January 6

Portable post

Merely because I can, I'm writing this post on my Visor. Using AvantBlog, this will be posted when I sync. Theoretically, this will encourage me to post more often. Just thought you should know.

Posted by jb, 8:49 PM :: :: #

 More in the archives.

 j b 7 n e t [ a t ] e x c i t e [ d o t ] c o m