Category: Culture

  • A Modest Proposal: just do away with “marriage” as a legal concept altogether

    I support gay marriage unequivocally.  There is no however.  Gay and lesbian couples should have all the same rights as my wife and I do, and it’s a shame on the United States that this still hasn’t happened. Right now, the Supreme Court is dancing on the head of a needle with two different cases…

  • Everybody’s a Muggle in Rowling’s “A Casual Vacancy”

    As I type these words I have reached page 160 of J. K. Rowling’s new novel, “A Casual Vacancy,” so I’m about one third done and have made enough progress to know that I’ll finish the book and that I can draw early conclusions. Note: there are no plot spoilers here past the first five…

  • “Don’t cold call me, Bro” now live on iMedia Connection

    Quick cross-post: I’m pleased to report that my latest post — “Don’t cold call me, Bro” –just went live on iMedia Connection.  Hope it sparks some comment!

  • Short Post: “Newsroom” Annoyances

    Compulsively watchable?  Check. Smug as hell?  Check. Probably not able to hold up in the long run?  Check. But here are things about the new HBO Aaron Sorkin drama “The Newsroom” that are annoying me today: Why are Jim & Maggie the junior varsity version of Will and MacKenzie?  What is that parallel buying the…

  • Why Avengers ROCKS + Top 5 Superhero Movies

    Yesterday my almost-seven-year-old son and I took in a 3D matinee of “The Avengers” and had a blast. We loved it so much that we plan to see it again in iMax. The movie has everything—Joss Whedon directing off a terrific screenplay he co-authored, a huge budget with huge stars, and, startlingly for a popcorn…

  • Mom for a Day. Oy Vey!

    My wife Kathi left to teach in L.A. this morning and so I became the POD (Parent on Duty), also known as “Substitute Mom.” That was less than 12 hours ago & I’m totally frazzled. Unlike most of my posts, this has nothing to do with media– think of it as highly individualized anthropology.  Cue…

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Portland Startups to work with Target, Coca-Cola, Nike, Google, Wieden + Kennedy

    Our industry has relapsed into a high digital startup fever, but this time with a new twist— brands working directly with entrepreneurs in order to find the next hot digital companies at the earliest possible stage and to stay at the sharpest edge of marketing innovation. We’ve seen this elsewhere with the PepsiCo10 in New…

  • Netflix’s Big OOPS– didn’t these guys take Psych 101?

    Topline takeway for this post: Netflix has screwed up, turning unconsidered background choices into front-of-mind considerations. They don’t understand how pleasure and satisfaction work. I’m on vacation and somewhat unplugged, but I was still connected enought to receive a surprising email from Netflix yesterday saying that if I want to retain both unlimited streaming and…

  • Simile Search: Please Help This Writer!

    I’m looking for evocative comparisons that talk about how one thing so automatically comes with another that we take the pairing for granted. Like, “the juice comes with the meat” (except it often doesn’t) or “the warmth that comes with the fire” but preferably less flabby.  Something taste or smell related (for its Proustian oomph)…

  • Short Post: There’s More to the Amazon story than Fast Company conveys

    Kit Eaton over at Fast Company (a must read in general) blogged today about Amazon’s announcement that it now sells more e-Books than physical books.  Here’s a relevant snippet including a link to the Amazon press release: Since April the first, for every 100 print-and-paper books Amazon has sold, it’s also sold 105 e-books, according…