Monday, March 8, 2010
Hollywood Goodfella: Globalization has fueled organized crime groups
Portugal v. US: cultural differences
Cruising the news recently, I came across a couple of articles that underlined some cultural differences between my old home and my new one.
First up: dog poop.
In Boise, Idaho, city officials head out once each year to nearby trailheads and plant little red flags next to piles of dog poop, left behind by rude dog owners. The idea is to raise awareness and educate people. A manager for the trails pronounced herself disappointed with this year’s numbers, saying that dog poop “is still a big problem. We need to reach the people who think the Foothills [trailheads] are their dogs’ toilet.”
Photo by Rob
Now, in Portugal, dog poop at trailheads is not a problem. Dog poop on city sidewalks, city streets, stairs, alleys, plazas, courtyards, parks and business entryways is a problem. I have never seen so much dog poop in my entire life as I have seen since moving here. The idea of carrying a baggie to scoop the rose-scented, perfectly darling poop of one’s sweet puppy is completely unheard of. Dogs poop everywhere, without restraint, and the poop remains where it was deposited until Armageddon or eventual erosion by weather, whichever comes first. And it’s very dry here, so you can imagine that the erosion by weather takes a long, long time.
The following is a true story. While visiting my brother-in-law in Lisbon one weekend, I went for a walk in his neighborhood. Lisbon streets resemble a bowl of spaghetti when seen from an aerial view, so walking can be quite an adventure if you’re not intimately familiar with the twists and turns. Near his apartment, after dodging several piles of dog poop, I nearly stepped in a particularly memorable pile, which had been left behind by a dog with obvious gastrointestinal issues. The poop had taken on a unique shape, easily distinguished from the ordinary poops scattered all over.
Being new to the neighborhood, I lost all track of where I was after a few twists and turns. But eventually, I looked down and there it was — the exact same, uniquely shaped dog poop on the sidewalk. And that’s how I knew I was two blocks from my starting point.
My brother-in-law later informed me that in Lisbon, it’s easier just to walk in the street. That’s what everyone does to avoid the dog poop.
So, on this issue: US 1, Portugal 0.
***
Next up: nudity.
In Rahway, New Jersey, a homeowner with a sense of artistic appreciation went outside with her family and created a snow sculpture in her front yard. It was apparently so offensive that a neighbor anonymously complained to the police, and an officer was sent out to ask the homeowner to cover up her sculpture.
Was it a giant, erect penis? A Roman orgy depicted in loving detail? Perhaps some stylized version of a vulva?
None of the above. It was a copy of the Venus de Milo. And it so offended somebody that the family was obliged by the police to cover it up. The homeowner interpreted this order somewhat artistically by giving Venus a bikini top and a sarong. (Seriously, you have to click that link.)
I read this and just laughed. Let me tell you another true story about Portugal. Upon my first visit to a beach here, I was agog at the fact that I had apparently been taken to a nudist beach. There were naked breasts all over! Nor were they limited to women modestly enjoying themselves in the water. Many women were happily acquiring a full-body tan, lying on their towels with their bikini tops stuffed in their beach bags. There were even women strolling contentedly down the beach, tops nowhere to be seen.
My companion laughed when I asked about this. “This isn’t a nudist beach,” she said.
“Oh,” I said, thinking that now I understood. “It’s a topless beach, then.”
She laughed again. “This is Portugal. Every beach is a topless beach.”
Whoever that anonymous neighbor is in Rahway, New Jersey, she or he had better never come to a Portuguese beach. Cardiac arrest would not be far behind.
For this issue: US 0, Portugal 1.
I guess it evens out. Though frankly, I’d trade the nudity for less dog poop.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Infowars Officially Launches Naked Body Scanner Protest Contest
Infowars Officially Launches Naked Body Scanner Protest Contest
Following the runaway success of the Obama Joker poster contest, Infowars is launching a brand new activism contest to spread the word about the naked body scanners now being introduced in airports across the world in response to the false flag Christmas Day underwear bomber incident.
We are offering our biggest ever contest prize fund – $15,000 dollars – spread across three different contests all aimed at attracting media attention to the fact that the naked body scanners represent a massive authoritarian assault on human dignity, freedom, the right to privacy, as well as posing health risks that have not been properly investigated.
The overriding threat of meekly accepting the installation of body scanners in all major airports is the fact that the same technology is being readied to be rolled out on the streets.
Journalists who researched trials of the naked body scanners reported that the images made genitals “eerily visible”.
German Security advisor Hans-Detlef Dau, a representative for a company that sells the scanners, admits that the machines, “show intimate piercings, catheters and the form of breasts and penises”.
Indeed, when they were first being installed, Australian authorities admitted that the machines don’t work properly if sensitive areas of the body are blurred out – and yet the British government still denies that the scanner pictures show details of genitalia – an obvious attempt to skirt child pornography laws which have been violated with the introduction of the scanners.
With plans being readied by the Home Office in the UK as well as authorities in Europe to introduce mobile naked scanners as well as street scanners attached to lamp posts, it won’t be long before we are naked body scanned to get into public buildings, shopping malls, sports events, and even minding our own business walking down the street. Naked body scanners are already being used in courthouses across America.
People who were perfectly happy with their naked body being ogled by TSA thugs scorned those who felt body scanners were a violation of privacy. “Don’t fly,” they said and you won’t have to go through it. Next it will be “don’t take a bus,” “don’t visit the shopping mall,” hey just “don’t leave your house,” because stifling airport security procedures are now intruding into our daily lives.
CONTEST NUMBER 1 – BEST PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION AGAINST BODY SCANNERS
The main contest carries a prize of $10,000 dollars for the winning entry. The rules for this contest are simple – we are looking for the best protest against naked body scanners which is filmed and uploaded to You Tube or a similar video website.
This demonstration can take the form of anything you see fit – it could be a political action, a public stunt, something that gets the word out on live TV, or a speech in front of your city council. The most powerful, inspiring, and successful protest will be the winner. After the winner is announced, they will be invited to appear live on The Alex Jones Show to discuss their demonstration.
CONTEST NUMBER 2 – BEST ANTI-BODY SCANNER POSTER
The second contest carries a prize of $3,000 dollars for the winning entry. This is the anti-body scanner poster contest. Our previous contest, the Obama Joker poster campaign, received widespread media attention and undoubtedly woke up masses of people globally to the fraud that was Obama’s promise of “change”. We are looking for anti-body scanner posters that get to the heart of why their introduction represents such a threat to our liberty and how they are being prepared to be rolled out on the streets.
This contest will be judged from three angles – the best poster design, the amount of flyers posted in prominent public locations, and the media attention garnered from the poster campaign. Again, all entries must be videotaped and uploaded to You Tube. You may find it useful to wait for a few days after your poster campaign to see if it receives any media attention before uploading the video, that way you can add examples of media coverage to your video presentation.
CONTEST NUMBER 3 – TBA
There will also be a third contest, the winner of which will receive $2,000 in prize money. The details of this contest will be announced on this page shortly.
REMEMBER – All contest entries must follow local laws – we do not accept responsibility for any criminal behavior or damage to property. Please only post contest flyers in suitable locations where such flyers would reasonably be expected to appear.
We will begin looking at contest entries from March 19th onwards and will publish a closing date for entries once we feel the campaign has generated sufficient media attention around the issue of naked body scanners.
Overall, whether you win a prize or not, everybody wins because we get the word out and educate the people as to why we need to stop naked body scanners now before this tyranny hits the streets and we’re all living in a futuristic nightmare that outstrips anything George Orwell ever committed to print.
Prison Planet.com
Masked Design
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics presented opportunities for various design topics: opening and closing ceremonies, team uniforms, hats, and sweaters. Don’t forget the logo, signs, pins and merchandise. Carefully and meticulously crafted Olympic elements all designed and choreographed to induce the spirit of the games and that of the hosting country. The Vancouver games eloquently achieved the desired effect of oneness, unity, and team building.
USA: Miller Goalie Mask
So, surprisingly, the design element that caught and captured my attention this Olympic season was part of the uniform but not uniform at all… the hockey goalie mask.
Hockey goalie mask art borrows strokes, lines, details, and colors from air brushing, muscle cars, tattoos, and graffiti – art forms initially viewed as anti-establishment. This delightful juxtaposition between team unity and the goalkeeper’s artistic expression of individuality mesmerized and piqued my curiosity. So, here’s what I found:
Sports Illustrated’s Top 10 Goalie Masks of the Decade
Jacques Plante: First goaltending mask in the game.
The Goalie Guild: Definitely a little head over skates for this Airxess Swiss mask!
InGoalie Magazine: Various mask designs photos.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
My Country 'Tis Better Than Thee
There's No "I" In U.S.A.
Greetings citizens of the United States of Trendmerica! How bout those Olympics? Did you enjoy seeing Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn glide down slopes to victory on tape delay? Did watching Apolo Anton Ohno take out two South Korean skaters to capture bronze give you a good old fashion heart attack of patriotism. Was there a tear streaming down your cheek each time you saw the red, white and blue perched high above that first place podium as the instrumental version of the National Anthem blared proudly above an athlete birthed in the lower 48? Well, you’re not alone. From February 12-28th of 2010 there was no better form of escapism from your lack of employment or health care than taking two and a half weeks to engage in the latest friendly trend known as blind nationalism.
Yes, ladies and trend-tleman while other nations may have stronger economies and a better education system, we Americans took comfort knowing that some guy from Illinois executed a triple lutz better than a guy that comes from a country your children can’t locate on a map; not for any personal glory, but just so people from his own nation would be proud of him.
It's All For You
What’s a triple lutz anyway? Who cares? We Americans can do anything we set our minds to unless it involves Ski Jumping or Curling. USA! USA!
In Case You Were Wondering What A Triple Lutz Was
While the Olympics is marketed as the ultimate coming together of nations for or a place for international athletes to totally get it on; the folks at home use it as a rallying point to show their superiority even if they live in a country that limits the rights of their minorities by placing bans on the types of clothing they wear, religious symbols they can erect or simply is responsible for giving the world Nickelback. What better way to lose focus on issues that plague ones nation than to pretend they don’t exist for two and a half weeks because someone can move really fast when there is ice beneath them.
How Dare You Canada!
Unfortunately, this friendly trend of completely warranted pride in one’s homeland comes with an expiration date. After the week or so of Olympic medalist talk show appearances, sports fans and people who enjoy seeing the distribution of precious metals to others beneath their flag, have to wait another few years before really feeling good about where they are living or where they were born.
But you know what they say, everything old is new again, and fortunately for our trend-lympians, we know the exact date that blind nationalism will be friendly and trendy yet again. Here’s looking at you London 2012.
“The old wise man died; an entire library burned”
“The old wise man died; an entire library burned”; (Mar. 4, 2010)
African author, Amadou Hampate Ba (1900-91) was born in eastern Mali and had said “In Africa, (verbal culture still strong), when an old wise man dies then an entire library burns with him”. In one of his books he wrote: “Aissata told her son: “Learn to cover the material nudity of man before you cover by word his moral nudity”
Author and poet Wole Soyinka received the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1986. Soyinka was born in western Nigeria from the tribe of Yoruba in 1934. During Nigeria civil war, Soyinka was jailed for two years in secrecy (1968-69); he wrote in jail “This man has died”. In his speech at Stockholm during the Nobel ceremony and titled “Let this past talk to this present” he lambasted the philosophers and thinkers of Europe’s 19th century (such as Voltaire and Hegel) for accepting the principle of slavery. Wole said “All who have the passion for peace must make a choice: Either they include peace in this modern world, bring it to rational situations, and let peace participate in the spirit of human associations or force Blacks in Africa to kneel in abject conditions and deny them human dignity. There is nothing more pressing than suppressing racism and apartheid; their structures have got to be dismantled.”
Historian and Egyptology from Senegal, Cheikh Anata Diop (1923-86) published “Negro Nations and culture, 1954”. He claimed that African civilization precedes Greek civilization that borrowed form and content via Egypt of Antiquity. Colonial powers were ready to admit that the black skinned (from head to toe) and the frizzled hair Egyptians were no proof enough to claim that the civilization of Egypt of Antiquity was necessarily African. This awkward logic was necessary in order to colonize Africa as devoid of civilizations, rational people, and high spiritual capacity. European Egyptology erudite went as far as proclaiming that it was “inadmissible” that Ancient Egypt in Africa was a Black civilization. Diop book was published in several languages and the Blacks in the USA used it for renewal of their civilized roots.
Note: You may refer to my new category “Black culture/Creole” for short biographies and literary samples of Black leaders and intellectuals.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Logo & Packaging Design Makeover | Coors Light
By Dian Hasan | March 1, 2010
Brand Logos and Corporate Identity always fascinate me, especially during the timely event of MAKEOVERS, when companies decide to re-design their brand identity.
The ironic reality is (yes, not many companies will admit this!), that the made over Logo and Corporate Identity, which includes Packaging, often lack the one thing they should be doing more of in a re-branding exercise: RE-THINK everything. The absence of an in-depth thinking often means that the redesign is less communicable, or even worse… sends an entirely wrong brand message to the original brand message that has taken years to send out.
An article in Woman’s Day caught my eye in presenting five US beverage brands that had a recent packaging makeover; Gatorade, Coors Light Beer, Snapple Iced Tea, Pepsi and Tropicana Orange Juice. Here’s a fascinating insight about redesigned packaging. What came out of this exercise was not only the “new look and feel”, but more importantly, customers’ personal relationship with brands.
A case in point, Tropicana Orange Juice’s redesigned packaging, customers were so unenamoured with the new design, saying that is looked too much like a supermarket generic product and lost all its former Brand DNA, that Tropicana reverted back to the original design. Ample proof that Brands should NEVER forget the FUNDAMENTAL BASIC FACT, that everything they do must BEGIN AND END WITH THE CUSTOMER.
And that the basic philosophy of brand-building never changes: A brand is what’s in YOUR CUSTOMER’S MIND, not what’s in yours!
In an attempt to regain sales lost during tough economic times, many companies are spearheading brand redesigns in hopes that a little creativity will go a long way. Putting the theory to work are some of the most famous food and beverage brands out there, including the five shown below. Drawing on everything from individual setbacks, sales goals and competition as additional motivation behind the marketing makeovers, each case is unique in terms of the specific reasons behind the transformation—and the consumer reaction they’ve provoked thus far.
The beer industry is one of constant packaging innovation. Thus, Coors’ upcoming release of cold activated cans (following last year’s release of bottles with same capability) is not a total surprise. The redesigned cans turn the Rocky Mountains in the foreground of the logo blue when the beer is at the optimal drinking temperature, catering to the company’s initiative to stay ahead of the cold beverage curve.
Inspiration: Woman’s Day
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