Tag: Popular Culture
Wall Street Vs. Madison Avenue: We Lose
When the #OccupyWallStreet protestors get tired of the financial district, they can always hoof it over to Madison Avenue, where in one of life’s little ironies, Advertising Week is kicking off.
Even as runaway greed is lambasted on Wall Street, festering consumerism is encouraged at the eighth annual seminar/festival/networking event for more than 70,000 advertising professionals and major clients.
As in every past year, multiculturalism in advertising will be applauded yet rarely utilized. One workshop entitled, “Where Are All the Black People?” shows that at ad agencies, things haven’t changed very much since the days of Mad Men. The biggest difference, of course, is that the early Madison Avenue types didn’t have to sit through endless discussion groups about social media “solutions.”
Divorcing ourselves from Wall Street and disconnecting from our mobile devices is in the category called, “Putting the Toothpaste Back in the Tube.”
As the #OccupyWallStreet folks choke on tear gas and wave signs about bailouts and being in the 99 percent, ad industry types, who facilitate the consumer desire that lines Wall Street pockets, will be entertained by Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams of NBC News, along with Steve Harvey, Jennifer Hudson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Justin Timberlake.
The futility of the entire situation might have been unwittingly captured in this tweet from @KYColChad:
Watch This Film
If you haven’t seen this film yet, you should. It puts the third concept touched on in Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food (“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”) into sharp focus. You will change your life if you watch it, and even if you don’t, you’ll still think about it.
FOX Begrudges the Poor Their Refrigerators
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| World of Class Warfare – The Poor’s Free Ride Is Over | ||||
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Here is another brilliant summation from Jon Stewart, this one on Republican attempts to shift more of the taxation burden to the middle and poor classes, and keep the rich fat and happy. Hopefully more people will begin to understand that we are being played like violins by the ultra-rich, who know that as long as we buy into the fiction that it’s us (the struggling middle class) versus them (the struggling poor), the rich win.
How Much Does Rupert Murdoch Own? Too Much
Here’s a handy graphic published by Reuters, which provides a quick reference for all things Murdoch. After looking it over, all I can say is, “Hulu? Who knew?”
First Twitter Town Hall is Today
Kids, don’t forget to log on to America’s first Twitter-hosted* town hall meeting. It takes place today at 2 p.m. Eastern time, and Twitter is going large by having Pres. Obama field questions and comments on how to get the economy going and how to put people back to work.
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) fired a preemptive shot with this tweet:
Republicans #askobama to outline plan #4jobs that doesn’t involve more spending, taxing, regulating http://j.mp/o1bpzE @townhall
Why is it Republicans feel the government should leave everything to the private sector except job creation, the one thing the private sector is best suited to provide? To Republicans, when employment is high, it’s because business is masterful. When employment is low, it’s because government is screwing up. I’m not in the right party to be able to follow this logic.
But to follow the town hall, search for @townhall and use the hashtag, as Speaker Boehner did, #askobama.
* Yes Buck, I know AP style says “host” is not a verb but Twitter itself is calling it that.
Halperin’s “Dick” Comment About Obama Gets Him Suspended
Mark Halperin’s comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable. We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air. Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst.
— MSNBC, in an official statement
I completely agree with everything in MSNBC’s statement about my remark. I believe that the step they are taking in response is totally appropriate. Again, I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President, to my MSNBC colleagues, and to the viewers. My remark was unacceptable, and I deeply regret it.
— Mark Halperin, pundit and regular contributor to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
I thought he was a dick yesterday.
— Mark Halperin, in the original, on-air comment about Pres. Obama that got him suspended from “Morning Joe.” Halperin’s comment was made after full preparation, according to a transcript and video of the show, and was not in any way a slip of the tongue.
Rush, Hannity Ratings Dive
30%
Amount by which Rush Limbaugh’s ratings have slipped since November, according to new Arbitron research. The Sean Hannity Show is also down by 28%.
Why Did Gov. Rick Scott Attend Washington Insider Event?
Much has been made of how the White House Correspondents’ annual dinner has become a celebrity fest. Everyone from Cee Lo Green to Bristol Palin to Paula Abdul attended, along with journalists. But can someone please explain to me why Tea Party Republican Gov. Rick Scott felt he needed to leave Florida to be there? Scott can be clearly seen checking to see if it’s O.K. with Donald to laugh at the Trump jokes, at about 1:40 on the right of the screen. Is this what Florida hired Scott to do?
As a side note, while Trump and Scott certainly share the crazy, their hairstyles offer an interesting contrast. Who says the GOP isn’t full of diversity?
