Thursday, November 08, 2007

Bill Hicks: Marketing Guru

Posted by Mickey Z on 11/08 at 03:20 PM
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  1. Good article from Mickey that is linked on the front page here today. In it Mick says, “...In the fall of 1994 Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen offered $10,000 to any member of Congress that would read the 500-page treaty and answer ten simple questions to prove it. Senator Hank Brown of Colorado, a Republican who had voted for NAFTA and planned to vote for the WTO, took the bet. He passed the quiz with a perfect score, collected the winnings (for a charity of his choice), and then proceeded to announce that having read the agreement, he felt compelled to vote against it...”

    The problem of legislators voting for bills that they have not read is universal. It happens at the State level too. I have spent a little time observing in Montpelier. The lawmakers are often in committee meetings while a bill is discussed on the floor - a really lousy way to run a government.

    Today, for the first time this year the top of the mountain is white with snow, ice, and frost. It looks picturesque but is a reminder that in New England and all across the northern part of the usa, people will be cold this winter. The price of heating oil is at an all time high, $3.09/gal. There has been a lot of publicity about government subsidies for solar, etc. Don’t believe it. Many people can’t afford solar, even with the subsidy - just another program designed to help the rich while the poor get poorer and colder.

    Posted by RMJ from Mickey Z 4 Prez Hdqts  on  11/08  at  06:45 PM

  2. Hi RMJ. It was 36 degrees when I left the house this morning. Like you, I thought about how tough the winter will be for so many.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  11/08  at  06:47 PM

  3. Hi RMJ and Mickey...Yeah...I’m sad and angry.

    Posted by joe of maine from   on  11/08  at  07:16 PM

  4. Mickey, I’ve been keeping it 55 inside. That’s cold. How many days till Spring?

    joe...I’m sad, angry, and cold.

    I just happened to find this article by Nader. It is the best analysis of the Terri Schiavo case I have read. Very interesting. This has pretty much been my view all along. No one has ever agreed with me but now I see that Nader’s view is similar.
    http://tinyurl.com/2wx3qq

    Posted by RMJ from Mickey Z 4 Prez Hdqts  on  11/08  at  07:28 PM

  5. A man spoke of his experiences while living with some indigenous culture. To keep warm while sleeping, every member of the group laid down against each other. To bad WE can’t do this...[yes I have butt breath]

    Posted by joe of maine from   on  11/08  at  07:34 PM

  6. Another approach for warmth I have found...since I live alone...eating plenty of fresh ginger root and Frank’s Hot Sauce

    Posted by joe of maine from   on  11/08  at  07:56 PM

  7. I had a chance to go to the Battle in Seattle, and even had the plane ticket in hand, but it was a little too much of an expense. I put the ticket on ice (that was when you could do do without paying $200+ for the privilege) and took the runner-up prize of Rage Against The Machine tickets. I knew Seattle was going to be big, but had no idea it would be historic… or that it would remain historic, as whatever gains were made got blown away like chaff on 9/11. (does that make me a conspiracy theorist? Not fair! I mailed in my rent check to Amy Audioevangelist!)

    Frosty Bits: I agree this will be a cold winter, though the jury is still out on snowy. Joe’s wisdom rings true: I’ve got tabasco and a couple quarts of my chili in the icebox, and will dig out the chicken soup recipe. Maybe we could all get together and put some logs and bushes on a big bonfire…

    I’m not a TV watcher, but am heartened by the writers strike. My take is that management is heavily addicted to the crack of free stuff, but in a voracious media environment where the flow of content *cannot* be interrupted, studio heads will swiftly come to their senses. I can see a few weeks going by to save face for the overseers, but once fiscal coffins start being measured at the networks (first the bonuses go away, then idiosyncratic extras and petty empires, then management slots themselves) I think an agreement will be reached. The writers shouldn’t give an inch. (captcha sez ‘money’ - must be a WGA member)

    After the successful blunting of theft and greed, WGA members, let’s talk about socially relevant programming..."Survivor: Newark” or “The Amazing Race To The Bottom.”

    Posted by Zen Prole from Urth  on  11/09  at  11:59 AM

  8. Seattle Notes: that’s ‘do so’, not ‘do do’ (which the airlines do not charge for - yet.)

    Posted by Zen Prole from Urth + Clue  on  11/09  at  12:01 PM

  9. Hey everyone, been a rough several days with constant dental work and lots else-- RMJ, I need a ream of paper for my printer at home-- any suggestions where to take one from?

    Posted by James from Hell's Kitchen  on  11/09  at  03:07 PM

  10. Hello Expendables. It’s been damp and drizzly here all day.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  11/09  at  04:48 PM

  11. hello all

    a musical recommendation…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prcb4bQvK5w

    and a comment that tomorrow is 12 years since ken saro-wiwa was executed.

    Posted by michael from scotland  on  11/09  at  06:58 PM

  12. Good evening everyone...Zen, I like the bonfire idea.

    I actually feel good today, which is scary, I have no reason to feel okay. Afraid of what tomorrow will bring. My feelings often go up and down like well lubricated pistons...Michael, I don’t know who Ken Saro-Wiwa is? I don’t know who a lot of people are!

    James...that’s a great question, where to take a ream of paper from...(<: I love it!

    Posted by joe of maine from   on  11/09  at  07:27 PM

  13. there are many activists from a long time ago we remember and some from more recent. many are erasedfrom history.

    remember saro-wiwa and remember how we failed to stop it and next time try harder. if you don’t know anyhthing about him then find out..

    http://www.remembersarowiwa.com/

    Posted by michael from scotland  on  11/09  at  07:33 PM

  14. Thanks Michael

    Posted by joe of maine from   on  11/09  at  08:10 PM

  15. In the dark of night, the Senate voted to confirm Mukasey. He was sworn in today in private so no one could see. We now have an Attorney General who knows how to game the legal system so that torture will be permitted. There should be world-wide protesting against this latest usa insult to humanity but there’s hardly been a blip.

    James...I need to think about that and come up with a plan for a midnight requisition.

    joe...Franks Hot Sauce is great on rice and beans. It’s a favorite of mine.

    Hello Zen, michael, Mickey and all… Is everyone signing up for “How to survive waterboarding 101”? I remember the good ol’ days when all that was required was to give name, rank, and serial number. Now all citizens need to know how to survive the latest trend in torture. You gotta love the usa.

    Posted by RMJ from Mickey Z 4 Prez Hdqts  on  11/09  at  08:23 PM

  16. I am not too crazy about most stand-up comedy or mercenary marketing-- but I am a fan of Ralph Nader and this discussion.

    I have a treat for some of you who wish to explore this:

    It is a recording with excerpts from a fascinating talk I heard this past Wednesday evening:

    http://tinyurl.com/2mx3p5 (mp3 about 18 minutes)

    Maybe it is an example of guerrilla promotion-- of ideas which I completely agree with.

    (I am not surprised that our own Dianne Feinstein helped confirm Mukasey-- youtube has some good video of a friend, Jes Richardson being arrested for calling her actions shameful.)

    Posted by Robert B. Livingston from San Francisco, California  on  11/09  at  09:38 PM

  17. Well… I guess that won’t work-- sorry about that.  Stay tuned.

    Posted by Robert B. Livingston from San Francisco, California  on  11/09  at  09:46 PM

  18. Try copying the tinyurl and pasting it in a seperate window-- and it may work.  Let me know.

    Thanx

    Posted by Robert B. Livingston from San Francisco, California  on  11/09  at  09:52 PM

  19. Hello again, everyone. I remember Michele and I were at a talk given by Ralph Nader in Manhattan when they made the announcement that Saro Wiwa was executed. The whole world knew about well in advance but it wasn’t stopped.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  11/09  at  09:53 PM

  20. RMJ...just to see discussion about torture, talk about debate on whether to allow torture, this all makes me feel nuts...and so here we are adapting to these thoughts that are reality. It’s amazing some stories I have read about the U.S. and Iran actually being in bed together more than I suspected it MIGHT be actually happening and for what combination of reasons and who the hell knows the details? I envision a feeding frenzy by madmen.

    Posted by joe of maine from   on  11/09  at  10:00 PM

  21. Hello to all expendables from sunny Daylesford - after having been absent from this great site for 14 (15?) weeks.  I hope you are all well - I’m still ‘adapting’ to Australia although I came back from Germany almost 5 weeks ago, so don’t expect too many comments from me.  To make matters worse, there is an election campaign going on down under - fortunately we only have to put up with all those insane commercials for another two weeks.  I hope for a change of government and the Australian Labor Party leads in all the polls, but one never knows. 

    I wish you, Rosemarie, Mickey, Joe of Maine, Zen Prole, James, Michael from Scotland and Robert B. Livingston a great weekend.  Good to be back among friends ..

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  11/09  at  10:28 PM

  22. Welcome home, Helga. It’s great to have you back.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  11/09  at  10:35 PM

  23. I knew someone important was missing here… welcome back Helga…

    here is another link about a brave marketing concept-- (more my style of comedy-- hopefully this one will work)

    http://tinyurl.com/3bambw

    Posted by Robert B. Livingston from San Francisco, California  on  11/09  at  11:03 PM

  24. I found eating lot of jaggery gives warmth. This is my own experience grin

    Posted by Yogsie from   on  05/21  at  04:47 AM

  25. Is it Fine written. Positive certainly comes short, but read on one breathing. Tnx

    Posted by Sonic from   on  08/25  at  08:46 PM

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