Google had, by far, the best Superbowl ad last night. For one thing, it wasn’t based around rank hatred of women. For another, it managed to be poignant and touching in the space of 30 seconds.
Ezra Klein at The Washington Postechoes my sentiments exactly. I loved the spot, while — to use an understatement meant to preserve some degree of professionalism — not-loving the others that were compelling enough to commit to memory in the first place.
For those who missed it, the full spot, “Parisian Love,” is after the jump. (Note: It was a minute-long spot, not, as Klein indicates, a 30-second one.)
A battery is a can full of chemicals and metals. The can could contain something as simple as lemon juice along with a copper strip and a zinc strip, although modern batteries tend to be a bit more sophisticated than that. An electrochemical reaction produces voltage and current. If the reaction is reversible, you have a rechargeable battery. If not you have a disposable battery.
A capacitor is a can full of thin metal sheets held very close together but separated by an insulator. You pump electrons in to charge up the plates, and then the capacitor can pump electrons out again to power a circuit.
In spite of the public wailings of some, The Cato Institute went ahead with a series of articles that seeks to debate the moral and political philosophy of Ayn Rand. It reflexively asks: “What, if anything, should we take into the future from Rand’s moral and political thought, and what, if anything, should we leave behind?”
I’ll table writing an actual opinion about Rand’s Objectivism until I’ve re-read Atlas Shrugged and the respective views of the Cato contributors. (So, in a couple months’ time or so.)
I have an opinion. It’s controversial. It’s definitely the minority position. It will undoubtedly subject me to ridicule amongst my peers. And it may even cost me some business. Nevertheless, I can’t shake myself from it.
Et cetera, et cetera. Sure, it’s a blog post about the relative importance of search-engine optimization in marketing plans for law firms, which doesn’t strike me as too controversial. But one could apply the lede as a boilerplate to most pieces of self-published copy. Unless, of course, the copy in question is oriented toward refuting multiple contrarian views of the conventional wisdom.
Which (actually) is what the post linked above does. How meta!
I don’t have a lot of commentary to add to the situation the Supreme Court created in the matter of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which held that companies have the same rights as do humans under the free-speech clause of the First Amendment.
But I can simply observe that already, an organization has asserted its [apparent] Constitutional right to run for office. Not the head of that organization, or even any one person, but rather the organization itself. Public-affairs firm Murray Hill, Inc. said it will file to run on the Republican ticket in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, according to a statement.
The campaign’s designated human, Eric Hensal, will help the corporation conform to antiquated “human only” procedures and sign the necessary voter registration and candidacy paperwork. Hensal is excited by this new opportunity. “We want to get in on the ground floor of the democracy market before the whole store is bought by China.”
Yes, it’s a piece of self-serving spectacle and, yes, it will probably be on the ballot. And, yes, I’ll gladly link to its first campaign video, which appears after the jump.
Media consultant Alan D. Mutter has a worthwhile read on his blog, Reflections of a Newsosaur, about why writers and journalists should stop giving away their content for next-to-nothing. Mutter, perhaps ironically, then gives away a servicey template (right) that freelance writers can use to calculate fees.
On the broader issue of sourcing content, he writes:
Quality journalism takes training, time and tenacity. Although it’s easy to fill space with words, pictures and videos that are produced quickly and on the cheap, down-and-dirty “journalism” is the intellectual equivalent of empty calories.
The more empty calories you consume, the unhealthier you get. It won’t be good for our democracy – let alone our self-esteem as journalists – if we attempt to nourish vital local, state and national conversations with the journalistic equivalent of Ding Dongs and McNuggets.
Of course, he’s absolutely right to stick up for journalists who are exploited by publishers that want good content without having to pay for it.
This isn’t a movie blog, but it’s Friday, so what the hell. Watch the trailer for the Oliver Stone-directed sequel to Wall Street, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and start planning your day for April 23, its alleged release date.
Independent analysis and commentary on the news that should keep people up at night. Mostly focused on global affairs, the environment, progressive politics, and the like.
About The Blogger
Up All Damn Night is the web site and news-driven blog of Andrew Graham (bio, clients), an independent writer and media strategist in New York, NY.
All content, unless otherwise noted or linked, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. In essence, this means if you use my stuff, please be cool and link back to it.
