Would we really miss them? Or Joan Rivers. Or Ryan Seacrest. Just think of all the red carpets we could save.
Maybe it is time for all of those insipid award shows to just roll up the carpets and call it a career. Move it all in to storage. Give people hours of their life back.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Vermont and Ted Riehle Hate Billboards.
The State of Vermont is celebrating 40 years of NO BILLBOARDS.
Their revolutionary billboard law (passed in 1968) prohibits outdoor ads in that state to override the bucolc mountains and pristine fauna that gives it the name of ----- The Green Mountain State.
This is a true testament of the work of one dedicated lawmaker -- and how he made a difference.
Ted Riehle, a state legislator, and a very interesting guy -- somehow convinced the state that it could benefit both aesthetically and fiscally by taking billboards down that had already been placed and banning any / all new ones fromm going up.
Riehl died on New Year's Eve 2007 at the age of 83. His obituary can be found at: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801050325
What he accomplished was quite a feat when you stop to consider that (A) he was only in his second year in the Legislature in the late 1960s when he started drumming up support across Vermont to get buy in on his novel idea. His Son said he was fervent about his mission, even when threatened and challenged.
Riehle had a nice run in the State legislature and then went on to work as planning director for Gov. Deane Davis, coordinating the state's first Green Up Day program, which has become a model program for roadside cleanup.
You must also consider that (B) that Vermont had many farmers who made a decent supplemental income from renting their farmlands to billboard companies and that Riehle had to presuade them to let this go for the greater good.
Acccording to Wikipedia: Vermont ranks 45th by total area, and 43rd by land area at 9,250 square miles (24,000 km²), and has a population of 608,827, making it the second least populous state (second only to Wyoming). The only New England state with no coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont is notable for the Green Mountains in the west and Lake Champlain in the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Native American tribes (Abenaki, and Iroquois), the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France but became a British possession after France's defeat in the French and Indian War. For many years, control of the area was disputed by the surrounding colonies, notably between New Hampshire and New York. Settlers who held land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state. Vermont became the 14th state to join the United States, following a 14-year period during and after the Revolutionary War as the independent Vermont Republic.
And, you won't see any billbaords there --- Thanks to Ted Riehle.
Their revolutionary billboard law (passed in 1968) prohibits outdoor ads in that state to override the bucolc mountains and pristine fauna that gives it the name of ----- The Green Mountain State.
This is a true testament of the work of one dedicated lawmaker -- and how he made a difference.
Ted Riehle, a state legislator, and a very interesting guy -- somehow convinced the state that it could benefit both aesthetically and fiscally by taking billboards down that had already been placed and banning any / all new ones fromm going up.
Riehl died on New Year's Eve 2007 at the age of 83. His obituary can be found at: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801050325
What he accomplished was quite a feat when you stop to consider that (A) he was only in his second year in the Legislature in the late 1960s when he started drumming up support across Vermont to get buy in on his novel idea. His Son said he was fervent about his mission, even when threatened and challenged.
Riehle had a nice run in the State legislature and then went on to work as planning director for Gov. Deane Davis, coordinating the state's first Green Up Day program, which has become a model program for roadside cleanup.
You must also consider that (B) that Vermont had many farmers who made a decent supplemental income from renting their farmlands to billboard companies and that Riehle had to presuade them to let this go for the greater good.
Acccording to Wikipedia: Vermont ranks 45th by total area, and 43rd by land area at 9,250 square miles (24,000 km²), and has a population of 608,827, making it the second least populous state (second only to Wyoming). The only New England state with no coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont is notable for the Green Mountains in the west and Lake Champlain in the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Native American tribes (Abenaki, and Iroquois), the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France but became a British possession after France's defeat in the French and Indian War. For many years, control of the area was disputed by the surrounding colonies, notably between New Hampshire and New York. Settlers who held land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state. Vermont became the 14th state to join the United States, following a 14-year period during and after the Revolutionary War as the independent Vermont Republic.
And, you won't see any billbaords there --- Thanks to Ted Riehle.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Sure is Gettin Crowded Out There
First there was a Massachusetts school that sold commercials that ran in school buses as a non traditional revenue stream. That's bad.
Now we learn that McDonald’s has taken this to a new level. With incentives added.
Mickey D's bought advertising on kid's report cards in a Seminole County, Florida school system of over 25,000 students. The students who received A's were recognized and were offered free food from the Golden Arches.
I realize public school districts are tight on available budgets, but is this really the right way to get more money?
Oh, it also adds to the incredible clutter factor that all advertising faces, and could cause young people to pay even less attention to ads.
Now we learn that McDonald’s has taken this to a new level. With incentives added.
Mickey D's bought advertising on kid's report cards in a Seminole County, Florida school system of over 25,000 students. The students who received A's were recognized and were offered free food from the Golden Arches.
I realize public school districts are tight on available budgets, but is this really the right way to get more money?
Oh, it also adds to the incredible clutter factor that all advertising faces, and could cause young people to pay even less attention to ads.
Brevity................
Consider that The Gettysburg Address contains a total of 272 words. Total.
By comparison......
Words on a bag of Lay's potato chips = 401
Words on current IRS Form 1040 EZ = 418
Words in average cover story of USA Today = 1,200
By comparison......
Words on a bag of Lay's potato chips = 401
Words on current IRS Form 1040 EZ = 418
Words in average cover story of USA Today = 1,200
Monday, December 31, 2007
The End of The Innocence...........
Please let this be the end of all those expected end of the year Top Ten lists of "best", "worse", "new", "different", etc. etc. etc. You won't find one here.
Why does December 31st always bring out lists upon lists of mundane occurences and random brain droppings from an overly stuffed file cabinet or in box? Why? Because it's both easy and expected, and appeals to the lowest common denominator of reader/viewer/subscriber. And it give sthe talking heads something to talk about during a slow news week.
It's a conversation starter, sure. So are sports scores and celebrity meltdowns ----- doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Too often, "Journalists" just choose to take the easy way out and throw together lists and rankings and predictions for the sake of cheap and easy reads. It's so predicatble, and so wrong. Let's just do away with it all. Now. Before the end of the year.
And why we're at it, can we do away withe New Year's Resolutions?
Why does December 31st always bring out lists upon lists of mundane occurences and random brain droppings from an overly stuffed file cabinet or in box? Why? Because it's both easy and expected, and appeals to the lowest common denominator of reader/viewer/subscriber. And it give sthe talking heads something to talk about during a slow news week.
It's a conversation starter, sure. So are sports scores and celebrity meltdowns ----- doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Too often, "Journalists" just choose to take the easy way out and throw together lists and rankings and predictions for the sake of cheap and easy reads. It's so predicatble, and so wrong. Let's just do away with it all. Now. Before the end of the year.
And why we're at it, can we do away withe New Year's Resolutions?
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Ramblings from a week of travel.
Whatever line you get in will slow down almost immediately.
TSA Agents at airports are sometimes a little too serious about their roles and responsibilities. That 85 year old gentleman does not need to be shaken down as if he's headed off to Alcatraz and that 6 year old girl has nothing of interest in her Dora the Explorer backpack.
You seldom see a motorcycle parked outside of a psychiatrist's office.
How often do you think they clean the carpets at airport gates?
The avearge pencil is 7 inches long, but the eraser is only half an inch.
"The price of light is less than the cost of darkness" - Arthur C. Neilsen
TSA Agents at airports are sometimes a little too serious about their roles and responsibilities. That 85 year old gentleman does not need to be shaken down as if he's headed off to Alcatraz and that 6 year old girl has nothing of interest in her Dora the Explorer backpack.
You seldom see a motorcycle parked outside of a psychiatrist's office.
How often do you think they clean the carpets at airport gates?
The avearge pencil is 7 inches long, but the eraser is only half an inch.
"The price of light is less than the cost of darkness" - Arthur C. Neilsen
Monday, November 19, 2007
Out..................All The Way Out!
San Paulo, Brazil is a city of over 11 million people. It is a beautiful place. It is experiencing dramatic growth throughout the region. The people who run San Paulo have become fed up with the thousands of outdoor billboards that are popping up all over the scenic city. They have taken steps to ban any and all outdoor billboards from this day on. In overly commercial USA -- San Francisco, Austin and other cities are watching closely and considering outdoor advertising bans as well. There are currently four USA states that have some sort of outdoor advertising ban ---- they are Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont.
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