Archive for August, 2010 | Monthly archive page
Godwin’s Law (again)
Godwin’s Law strikes again… What an arse, sorry, billionaire investor arse.
Hyperbole and puffery — that’s your DEFENCE?
Lawyers for fuel giant Shell facing misleading advertising charges have told a court in Wellington that claims in their advertisement for petrol containing an additive ‘designed to take you further’ were “hyperbole and puffery” and they didn’t expect anyone to believe them. (Source: Radio NZ News) RNZ Court reporter summarising Shell’s statement of defence: “The […]
Plagiarism as a business model
What’s coming up for discussion with the new media/old media/social media/internet marketing debate is: how important is ‘original material’? It’s an issue not just for the Rupert Murdochs of the world: original, quality content for news media — actually any media — is expensive to produce on anything like an ongoing and quality basis. It […]
The escape of exnzpat, Part 3
Lincoln In my dream I saw a man. It was me. And I remember this… “…I can feel the walls closing in on me: banks, brokers, lenders, wives, children, and dogs — especially dogs! Where was Lincoln? “That Bad Dog!” There… there he was on the dining room floor. The floor I spent hours sanding […]
In a nutshell: a matter of trust
This small comment, in the middle of an article discussing Facebook privacy, explains what’s actually lost when certain spruikers (you know who I mean) expand their hyperbole and ‘puffery’ into potentially misleading claims … and then their offerings disappoint repeatedly, as in the case of some whose activities I have highlighted here. “They’ve lost the […]
Re-framing World War II as a facebook profile page…
OK, I know I may be WAY behind on this, but if you haven’t seen it — Bwahahaha…it’s hilarious! Thanks to Brett Roberts.
An apology? … Oh, that’s all right then.
Here’s how Bob Jones’s publishers handled incorrect information asserted as fact … … which is a bit different to how Gareth Morgan handled ‘a mistake in the book that must be corrected’ in the first edition of his After The Panic. I occasionally ask readers to clarify any matters of fact that may be inadvertently […]
Let’s head ’em off at the pass!
Even more on ad-blockers I was reading over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog, about a new extension for the Safari web browser which ‘cleans’ a lot of the extraneous material from around You Tube videos. Naturally, I’m not the only one annoyed by the ‘creativity’ You Tube’s owner/operators Google engage to interrupt my viewing pleasure. […]
Originality
Creativity — There are these AMAZING shoes… … which I read about in the New York Times: [Italian architect and designer Gaetano] Pesce’s new shoe for the Brazilian company Melissa — an ankle bootie composed of interconnected PVC circles, whose form can change at the whim of its owner with a swift slice of the […]
Another reason to speak up now
Speak up! Tell your truth — Do the right thing NOW. You may not always have the opportunity … As someone said elsewhere: “I am not perfect or lily white and try never to claim to be.” … but we do our best, right? (This art just resonated for some reason.)
Tall poppy syndrome: last refuge of the scoundrel?
Is a claim of ‘tall poppy syndrome’ the last refuge of the scoundrel? (Yes, I know that’s supposed to be patriotism. But how about it? Or perhaps it could be claims of religious virtue?) Here’s a typical definition of the ‘syndrome’ … Tall poppy syndrome: a social phenomenon in which people of genuine merit are […]
I had to laugh …
One of my key research tools as a writer is a very flexible archiving system called DEVONThink … which its brilliant creators describe as an Information Manager with Built-in Artificial Intelligence I’ve been using it for five years (almost to the day: I bought my first version on 9 August 2005) and the artificial intelligence […]
Kieran Trass: “I was lied to by ‘locusts’ ”
Judging by his latest informercial/newsletter, Property Guru/Property Genie Kieran Trass is not a happy camper … in fact he now says he ‘strongly regrets’ his involvement in a Spruiker Express-type seminar, presumably NZ Property Gurus which we discussed here earlier this year. It’s an interesting read, as you’ll see. I’ve left this extensive quote out […]
Why to believe in others
Here’s a wonderful short clip of Viktor Frankl, author of the seminal book, Man’s Search for Meaning, on the topic of our need to have meaning in our lives … to aim high … and to see the best in people whom we’re trying to help or encourage … “…If we take man as he really […]
