So far it’s not impressive. Sloppy. Best commercial so far is from just before kickoff – a monkey walks around his enclosure at the zoo with a banana to the side of his head and talking into it – imitating the Verizon “can you hear me now?” guy. Cute. Most touching – an Anheuser-Busch add featuring soldiers walking though an airport and being applauded by the people in the terminal. My son has been in Baghdad for close to a year, and we’re anxious for him to get home, obviously. He related that kind of experience as he returned to…
Mixed Signals?
CNNSI’s Michael Ventre brings up some interesting points. CBS was fine over a half-million dollars over a one second flash of Janet Jackson’s breast. ‘The Best Damn Sports Show Period’ removes ‘Damn’ from its title for their Superbowl pregame show. But we have TV commercials that talk about what to do if your medication-induced erection lasts for more than four hours. Thank goodness it doesn’t induce rectal bleeding or I’d have to explain to my daughter what that is.
One Week To The Inaugural Hawaiian Grammy.
Both the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser offer in-depth previews of the awarding of inaugural Hawaiian Grammy, and interviews with the nominees. The most interesting statistic is found at the bottom of the Star-Bulletin article: 17,000 Recording Academy members; Hawai’i-based voting members: about 90. One NARAS trustee estimated that about 10% of members vote in the Folk category; that’s about 1,700 voters. I wonder how many people will cast their vote for an artist they have never heard but only know by name. For this reason, I’m making no predicitons, however, if the voting was restricted to Hawai’i voters,…
Anthony McCann’s ‘Beyond The Commons’ is one of the most amazing works I’ve ever read.
It talks about the expansion and consolidation of power within the Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) from 1995 through 2000. IMRO is similar to ASCAP and BMI in the U.S. in that it administers and licenses the musical compositions of its members. It went from being reviled to broad acceptance in a relatively short period of time through some very saavy negotiations and licensing agreements.
Trackback Spam?
I was a good boy and kept my mouth (and keyboard) shut about not being the target of comment spam. I guess my humble, low-traffic blog wasn’t worth the effort. But now I’m getting spam in my trackbacks, mostly for online gambling. Thanks to Userland for the ability to quickly delete them. If it gets to be a pain in the butt I’ll simply disable trackback.
O’ahu median home price tops $500,000!
This figure is up over $100,000 from last year. How in the heck are our children supposed to be able to afford to live here anymore? Here’s a question for the financial gurus out there: How may people working at McJob salaries does it take to afford a half-million dollar mortgage? The Board of Realtor’s president called it a “robust start.” I could call it something else.
A Waste Of Cyberspace?
[ From the Ottawa Citizen via Scripting News ] “”Without visiting all 37 million sites coughed up by Internet search engines, it is safe to assume that most blogs are not worth the cyberspace they occupy.” Who cares? Does the presence of this or any other blog prevent a more worthy entry from occupying its cyberspace? Why not rant on the billions of junk mail solicitations (the paper variety) that are sent out each year and end up in our rubbish dumps? I blog here because it helps my thought processes and (hopefully) my writing. If someone finds it interesting…
Beyond The Commons.
I came across this website while wandering the web in search of something to stimulate my brain and assist in identifying potential Ph.d. research topics. Its editor, Dr. Anthony McCann, and I seem to share some common interests, and he is also a lecturer in ethnomusicology at the University of Sheffield, where I will be presenting my MA research this summer. I downloaded and printed out his Ph.d. dissertation, and hope to start reading it this weekend. It discusses the evolution of the Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) and the incredible shift in its public perception in regards to Irish…
Why Bush is coy about his Irish links.
[ From The Guardian ] ‘Tapestry artist reveals ancestors of US president as murderous bunch.’ Hmm….
I won’t say Jack Shafer doesn’t get it, but his comparison of blogging and Shamberger’s ‘Guerrilla Television’ misses the target.
One huge difference is the availability of pipes – amateur videographers had no vehicle for getting their creations to a mass audience. The web gives bloggers equal access to the same audience as the Times. The trick is getting people to find you – no small feat.