Selling Product and Goodwill

Here's a great ad by a foreign beer company that does a wonderful job of selling the product, while developing a theme of social acceptance for all. It's also a wonderful example of a persuasive advertising strategy we discuss in Introduction to Mass Communication called the Bandwagon Effect.

In my Introduction to Mass Communication class we discuss the Federal Trade Commission's role in policing deceptive advertising. Here's the latest example of what can happen to a business found "guilty."

Kindle Fire

As an owner of a Kindle, Amazon's e-book reader, I was intrigued by the announcement of the new product called Kindle Fire to be released on November 15.
 

Obviously, a continuation of the digitization of media content.  I think I'll be getting one.

Going Long-oria

In what was one of the most exciting conclusions to the end of Major League Baseball's regular season ever, the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals concluded an improbable September with victories that cemented their place in the 2011 playoffs.

Both teams were seemingly out of the wild-card hunts at the beginning of the month, only to have historic collapses by the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox help them back into the National League and American League Wild-card races.

The Cardinals' 8-0 win over the Astros Wednesday was boring compared to Tampa's come-from-behind win against the Yankees.  Trailing 7-0 at one point and down to their last strike in the bottom of the ninth, the Rays used two home runs by Evan Longoria and one from Dan Johnson to beat the Yankees 8-7 in extra innings.

Baseball fans can only hope the playoff and World Series matchups showcase similar thrilling finishes.

When Spellers Go Bad

It's good to know there's people to keep track of the most commonly misspelled words.  This graphic is quite helpful and a good thing to have next to your computer when typing.  Still, no matter how difficult some words are to spell, misspelling words is usually caused by laziness.  Proofreading.  Is it a lost art or the difference between a professional and an amateur?

More Proof I'm Getting Old

My favorite band was popular in the early 90s?  Check.

My bones ache after a day of physical activity?  Check.

I go home at night and enjoy reading the newspaper?  Check.

I put two spaces after a period?  Check.

Regarding that last one, I have NEVER even considered not putting two spaces after a period. It turns out, though,  the two-space rule is a thing of the typewriter age and went out the window with word processors. Since humans are creatures of habit, re-training myself will definitely take some time.

Am I stubborn enough to resist change?  Check.