Saturday, February 23, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Miracle Whip Creates Celebrity Benefit Song About Not Hating Miracle Whip
Miracle Whip Creates Celebrity Benefit Song About Not Hating Miracle Whip: 
Miracle Whip is spreadable, and so is the Kraft brand's superlative, spot-on sendup of "We Are the World"-style social-benefit music videos, which is approaching 250,000 YouTube views in about two weeks. This new installment of the condiment's "Keep an open mouth" campaign, launched last year by mcgarrybowen, finds a delicious assortment of mostly-has-been C-listers (Z-list in Don Dokken's case) belting out a heartfelt anthem that begins: "In this world there's lots of turkey, but also a lot of fear. People making up their minds, before the facts are clear. And when it's time to make a sandwich, ugly judgment rears its head. If it's tangy, creamy, different, chances are it won't get spread." The inspired silliness succeeds because the performers poke fun at their public personas while, against all odds, actually sounding great together. Wynonna asserts, "Some say country is too twangy, and its lyrics aren't too smart," and the The Village People lament, "Disco's good for dancing, but not considered art." Lance Bass tears up, and Tiffany tears it up on vocals—her pipes almost steal the show, though Susan Boyle shines on the infectious "Open your mind, open your mouth" refrain. The spot's respectful of their faded celebrity, and everyone's in on the joke, so we're laughing with them instead of at them. As for past Miracle Whip booster Lady Gaga, she's still too big a star for such shenanigans—but given fame's fleeting nature, I'm sure her turn will come.
Miracle Whip is spreadable, and so is the Kraft brand's superlative, spot-on sendup of "We Are the World"-style social-benefit music videos, which is approaching 250,000 YouTube views in about two weeks. This new installment of the condiment's "Keep an open mouth" campaign, launched last year by mcgarrybowen, finds a delicious assortment of mostly-has-been C-listers (Z-list in Don Dokken's case) belting out a heartfelt anthem that begins: "In this world there's lots of turkey, but also a lot of fear. People making up their minds, before the facts are clear. And when it's time to make a sandwich, ugly judgment rears its head. If it's tangy, creamy, different, chances are it won't get spread." The inspired silliness succeeds because the performers poke fun at their public personas while, against all odds, actually sounding great together. Wynonna asserts, "Some say country is too twangy, and its lyrics aren't too smart," and the The Village People lament, "Disco's good for dancing, but not considered art." Lance Bass tears up, and Tiffany tears it up on vocals—her pipes almost steal the show, though Susan Boyle shines on the infectious "Open your mind, open your mouth" refrain. The spot's respectful of their faded celebrity, and everyone's in on the joke, so we're laughing with them instead of at them. As for past Miracle Whip booster Lady Gaga, she's still too big a star for such shenanigans—but given fame's fleeting nature, I'm sure her turn will come.
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Thursday, February 21, 2013
URL on Bus Shelter Ad Rewards You With Ride in Lamborghini or Dog Sled
URL on Bus Shelter Ad Rewards You With Ride in Lamborghini or Dog Sled: 
While TNT has set the bar pretty high for interactive stunts in public spaces (in Holland, at least), there's still something charming about this "Best Bus Stop Ever" video from mobile firm Qualcomm. When commuters responded via mobile to a Qualcomm URL advertised on a bus shelter, the site triggered a real-world experience, such as a woman offering a ride in a Lamborghini for those who responded to the ad labeled "In a hurry?" Another ad with the headline "Seen it all?" triggered a dog sled team to arrive, and a response to "Bored?" sent in a bus of circus performers to terrorize entertain the crowd. Hat tip to The Presurfer.
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A Cat-Hater’s Handbook: Irreverent Vintage Gem Illustrated by Tomi Ungerer
A Cat-Hater’s Handbook: Irreverent Vintage Gem Illustrated by Tomi Ungerer:
An ailurophobe’s delight circa 1982.
“If you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work,” Muriel Spark advised, “you should acquire a cat.” But while felines may have found their way into Joyce’s children’s books, Indian folk art, and Hemingway’s heart, their cultural status is quite different from that of dogs, which are in turn celebrated as literary muses, scientific heroes, philosophical stimuli, cartographic data points, and unabashed geniuses. In fact, there might even be a thriving subculture of militant anti-felinists — or so suggests A Cat-Hater’s Handbook (public library), a vintage gem by William Cole and beloved children’s book illustrator Tomi Ungerer, originally conceived in 1963, but not published until 1982. The back cover boasts:
Also included is a selection of “scathing anti-feline poetry and prose” from the likes of William Faulkner, Mark Twain, and Shel Silverstein.
Cole writes in the introductory pages:
What you’ll find, of course, is that underpinning Ungerer’s delightfully irreverent illustrations and Cole’s subversive writing is self-derision rather than cat-derision as this cat-hater’s handbook reveals itself as a cat-lover’s self-conscious and defiant love letter to the messy, unruly, all-consuming, but ultimately deeply fulfilling relationship with one’s loyal feline friend.
A Cat-Hater’s Handbook is, sadly, out of print, but used copies still abound online and, possibly, at your local public library.
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An ailurophobe’s delight circa 1982.
“If you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work,” Muriel Spark advised, “you should acquire a cat.” But while felines may have found their way into Joyce’s children’s books, Indian folk art, and Hemingway’s heart, their cultural status is quite different from that of dogs, which are in turn celebrated as literary muses, scientific heroes, philosophical stimuli, cartographic data points, and unabashed geniuses. In fact, there might even be a thriving subculture of militant anti-felinists — or so suggests A Cat-Hater’s Handbook (public library), a vintage gem by William Cole and beloved children’s book illustrator Tomi Ungerer, originally conceived in 1963, but not published until 1982. The back cover boasts:What’s so cute about an animal that loves absolutely nothing, makes your house smell terrible, and has a brain the size of an under-developed kidney bean? At last, a book that dares to answer these and other feline questions with the sane and sensible answer:
Not a damned thing!
Also included is a selection of “scathing anti-feline poetry and prose” from the likes of William Faulkner, Mark Twain, and Shel Silverstein.
Cole writes in the introductory pages:
Ailurophobia is, dictionarily speaking, a fear of cats. But words have a way of gradually sliding their meanings into something else, and ailurophobia is now accepted as meaning a strong dislike of the animals. Ailurophobes abound. Quiet cat-haters are everywhere. Often, a casual remark that I was doing anti-cat research would bring sparkle to the eyes of strangers. Firm bonds of friendship were immediately established. Mute lips were unsealed, and a delightful flow of long-repressed invective transpired. It was heart warming to find that what I thought would be a lonely crusade is truly a great popular cause.
What you’ll find, of course, is that underpinning Ungerer’s delightfully irreverent illustrations and Cole’s subversive writing is self-derision rather than cat-derision as this cat-hater’s handbook reveals itself as a cat-lover’s self-conscious and defiant love letter to the messy, unruly, all-consuming, but ultimately deeply fulfilling relationship with one’s loyal feline friend.
The intelligence of cats is a subject that arouses the cat-lover to fever pitch. Of course, there are all kinds of intelligences; the intelligence of a dolphin, for example, is particularly dolphinesque — it is suited to his surroundings and must be equated in those terms. Scientists balk at making comparative statements about animal intelligence. I spoke to one at the American Museum of Natural History who said that ‘ a general judgement, from the literature, would put the intelligence of cats below dogs and above rats.’ (Which is the right place for them, anyway.)
On average, each suburban or country cat will kill 10 to 50 birds a year.
A Cat-Hater’s Handbook is, sadly, out of print, but used copies still abound online and, possibly, at your local public library.
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