Color Television
I ran across some interesting things whilst perusing the Sunday paper today. First of all, the color TV has turned 50 and an article celebrating the joys of color was written to mark the momentous occasion. So Americans watch, on average, 70 days per year of TV. That’s all well and good - la dee dah. But, what about this quote from the grandma who wants to keep her grandchild occupied in the car:
“We need to see each other more often, and we need a television for the car so we can accomplish that,” Golanoski explained.
Apparently the absurdity of this quote failed to strike anyone proofing the article. A TV to bring people together? I can see it now, “Hey grandma, since we haven’t seen each other in a long time, let’s get together and watch some TV!” Call me old-fashioned, but what a ridiculous quote.
Another interesting Sunday article read: the evolution of the Cadillac brand into popular culture aka “Cadillac’s wild musical ride”. I hadn’t really considered the pervasiveness of the Cadillac brand in music in the past 50 years, but this is the first soft news article that was well-rounded and well-proved that I have read in a while.
When you think about it, what has happened to Cadillac is remarkable. A brand once desperate for respect and attention is suddenly outpointing Gucci, Courvoisier, Bentley and its German rival Mercedes-Benz in brand awareness among consumers 18 to 24 years old, the mother lode of marketing demographics.
Bet you’ve heard a Cadillac mentioned lately. Werd.
Aha! One more thing from my Sunday morning read: The Evasion-English Dictionary is about why we suck at saying things in a clear, concise, and no-nonsense manner. It’s about eliminating “like” and all of the puzzling ambiguities that go with it. From the article about it:
For example, the boss who approaches you to say, “This is hard for me, I’m going to have to let you go,” raises the question, “Let me go where?” It’s not hard for her, and even if it is, who cares? In an attempt to act concerned, the boss can muster concern only for herself, a classic example of a formulaic phrase that signals the opposite of its true meaning.
Finally, I am still laughing about John’s synopsis of the Douglas Adams book The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. In response to my question “what is it about?” I received the answer “There’s this luxurious restraurant where they sit there and watch the universe explode.” That simply screams for a wallpaper from Digital Blasphemy.