So, a new ad campaign launched in DC. It's a ~$40,000 campaign asking people to "be good for goodness sake," asking why they should believe in god, and portraying a black woman in a Santa suit. Some people seem to have been upset by the campaign.
In other words, some atheists just launched an ad to hit every single one of the buttons in the hard-core bible belt: atheism, woman doing things, and black people. Expect to see more about this ad in TV specials named "The War Against Christmas."
Perhaps the best quote on the subject thus far is: "For many Christian groups, the campaign signifies that the cultural war to divorce Christ from Christmas is intensifying."
Jee, thanks Christian Post, because there are totally no other winter holidays that are held by other religions around this time.
So, I'm going to attack the first problem here head on, if you are an atheist and you celebrate Christmas, you have more issues than a billboard is going to solve.
The last problem is: Really?! Really?! You are really going to have issues with a few ads on the busses and trains when there are at least three whole channels devoted to Evangelism? I mean, as a Jew, I don't really get the whole advertising your faith (or lack of it) thing to begin with. But come on, if I can deal with the innumerable ads for who knows how many churches plastered all over TV, public transport, the walls, and Facebook, you can take a few ads by atheists. If they want to blow their money on something that, as far as I can tell, is completely useless, then more power to them.
Frankly, if you have an issue with atheism, these ads are the best thing for you, it takes money out of Dawkins' travel budget. That's not a bad thing, these days even I'm starting to find him a bit annoying.
Anyway, that's my sardonic take on it. What do you think?
Sources: http://livinginthedistrict.com/2008/11/14/be-good-for-goodness-sake/#comment-398
http://christianpost.com/article/20081113/-why-believe-in-a-god-ads-to-hit-u-s-buses.htm
Among the sources who have investigated the deadly oder from Apple's new computer:
French National Centre for Scientific Research - anonymous researcher said to French newspaper Liberation it tested positive for toxins. "The computer emitted fumes which, after a week of use, caused a pronounced irritation of the cornea and respiratory passages," he said.
Greenpeace - Which identified seven "volatile organic contaminants," including styrene, benzene and its derivatives.
And of course, Apple themselves, who has yet to deny any of the accusations. In fact "Posts on Apple's own discussion boards suggest the Mac maker knew about potentially toxic odors being linked to its computers as early as December last year," said The Sydney Morning Herald. "Although officially Apple says it has found no evidence of the toxins, its customer support staff have allegedly told some callers that the company was aware of the problem, which concerned Mac Pro computers built before this year."
Confused? What could the star of consumer service be venting into your body?
For one: "Benzene, a known carcinogen, damages bone marrow and can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to leukemia and other blood cancers."
Styrene can cause "changes in color vision, tiredness, feeling drunk, slowed reaction time, concentration problems, or balance problems." The EPA has classed it as "a suspected carcinogen" and "a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal, kidney, and respiratory systems, among others."
Congrats... your Apple product could be killing you and has a good chance of giving you cancer.
Have fun with that.
Sources:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/rotten-smell-raises-apple-toxin-fears/2008/10/02/1222651250932.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styrene#Health_effects
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=962025&tstart=0
http://www.macworld.com/article/135835/2008/10/macpro_benzene.html
We've been talking lately about short legnth stories in class. I brought up my favorite Hemingway story:
"For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Used"
There was some back and forth and when I stumbled across this video I thought of the argument right away.
Really though, this is an excuse to talk about the Barnes & Noble studio. Until now, I had no idea it existed. I stumbled across it completely by accident, coming off a discussion about Advance Reading Copy free books on Goodreads.
It's really cool. You can see they have not quite got the experience down yet (the italics markup in the title for example) but good ole B&N is really trying its hand at something pretty innovative. I'm not sure who thought that a book store should start posting up a bunch of video podcasts, but it is a good idea. The site features a host of interesting videos and a few other cool little features as well.
I usually don't play fan boy for big book business, but B&N Studios is worth checking out.
If you've been paying attention, I've been covering the initial release of Brave Men Run, a novel which first released "in paperback, five formats of e-book free of digital rights management restrictions, and free podcast audiobook (podiobook) editions." The book was picked up by publishing company Swarm Press and was for sale on Amazon this weekend.
For the novel's release on Sunday, its author Matthew Wayne Selznick held a six hour live streaming video event in which over 100 people joined his USTREAM feed as he read stories from other podiobook authors and followed the progress of his novel in an attempt to drive it up the charts.
Though the novel didn't reach number one on the overall charts, it got very high in the genre fiction and Action and Adventure categories, number one on 'Movers and Shakers,' and as high as #53 overall.
Even without hitting number one, Selznick left many well-known authors and novels in the dust as he shot up the charts. His novel easily sold out (though there are plenty more to come) and, as the participants can tell you, his virtual launch party was a great success, bringing the podiobook community together to really promote one of their own. I was there as well, rooting on Selznick from my BoltBus trip between New York and Washington D.C..
Almost 14 hours past the end of his promotion the novel has dropped slightly on the list, but still resides in the top 100 Amazon sellers, ranked at number 89. This weekend was a very impressive showing, not just for Selznick and Brave Men Run, but also for the podiobook community. At the end of the day, they've shown the Old Media just how powerful New Media can be.
Previous Posts:"The Amazon Climb""New Media, Meet Old"
