Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
That great satirist Peter Cook was once asked if he thought that satire had a political effect. He said:
Absolutely. The greatest satire of the twentieth century was the Weimar cabaret, and they stopped Hitler in his tracks.
Attributed to Stephen Colbert, in a Rolling Stone interview, thanks to Blog Them Out of the Stone Age.
Microsoft was already well into their keep-the-customers-confused strategy with at least five different versions of Windows Vista rather than the two of XP. But does the world _really_ need — I kid you not — Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate UPGRADE Limited Numbered Signature Edition?
Most businesses are incapable of communicating clearly. They’re almost paranoid in the way they avoid short, direct statements.
Compare these two “positioning statements” from British companies, both in the business of writing.
Metia is a global provider of integrated marketing services and technology-based marketing solutions. We deliver services, programs and solutions that are relevant, smart and repeatable — and that generate measurable value for our customers.
And:
Our passion is communication. We help businesses talk about technology.
The second is from Articulate Marketing. Who would you pick to work on your communication?
I discovered this thanks to Matthew Stibbe, proprietor of Articulate Marketing. His blog Bad Language (“writing about business, technology and marketing”) is extremely readable.
In 2003, British solider Lance-Corporal Matty Hull was killed in Iraq and a colleague injured when an American A-10 aircraft opened fire on his vehicle. The cockpit video from the A-10 was leaked, and the transcript has been published.
I watched the video.
I cried.
By all rights, The Greens’ candidate for Marrickville in the forthcoming NSW state election should be a shoe-in. This is The Greens heartland, and Fiona Byrne is a local councillor and presumably knows her patch. Labor incumbent Carmel Tebbutt, the Princess of Marrickville (so-called because her husband Anthony Albanese, the Prince of Marrickville, is the Federal ALP member for the equivalent district, Grayndler) has to dissuade us from thoughts that the NSW ALP government is rotten to the core. And environmental issues are at the top of the agenda.
But it won’t happen. And here’s why…
Earlier tonight, my post-gym dinner-and-drinks led me to the Carlisle Castle Hotel. It was a quiet night, and my gym partner and I were almost alone in the front bar until Fiona Byrne and her entourage turned up after a candidates’ forum at the Newtown Community Centre.
This astronaut didn’t have The Right Stuff, it seems. Or maybe she had too much of it. The photo at right is US Navy Captain Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew a shuttle mission to the International Space Station last July.
But on Monday she was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping and other counts, after she allegedly drove 900 miles and donned a disguise to confront a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot.
The ABC story apparently finds it important to mention that “Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers so she wouldn’t have to stop to urinate, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.”
Thanks to Richard for spotting this one!