Yaicha » Media

I’m Tired of “A Perfect Storm”

Ted Hopton — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:56:45 +0000

OK, I’m going to expose my English-major roots here, not to mention my first career as an English teacher. I am tired of hearing and seeing “a perfect storm” used to describe a rare confluence of factors that produces a negative result. It was a pretty cool phrase when the usage began, inspired by the powerful book and movie, The Perfect Storm. It was a concise and visual way to make a point about, essentially, really bad luck causing a really bad result.

But is *everything* negative that results from multiple factors really worthy of the label, “a perfect storm”? I think not. Instead, it’s a lazy way to explain complicated causal relationships. We don’t have to actually provide any explanation of cause and effect, let alone get bogged down in tedious details to justify a sweeping conclusion. Just call it “a perfect storm” and people will nod in recognition, visualize that monster wave that doomed the fishing boat in the movie, and blithely accept the statement: “Oh, ‘a perfect storm,’ of course — nothing anyone could have done about that!”

Bull. Calling something “a perfect storm” side-steps close examination of culpability. After all, the weather is no one’s fault and a terrible weather event can’t be attributed to any person or group. Poof! Accountability vanishes, drowned like the ship along with careful examination.

I’m sure my little voice won’t “turn the tide” on this, but I hope that soon we’ll reach “the tipping point” (by my reckoning, the previous catchy-I-don’t-want-to-have-to-actually-explain-my-logic phrase) and the lazy use of “a perfect storm” will fade in popularity. Most likely, however, it will only depart when replaced by another, similarly simplistic way of summing complex things up.

OK, if you got this far, thanks for reading and tolerating my English major rant

Head-to-Head Election Speeches

Ted Hopton — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:39:06 +0000

This video, which assembles clips from McCain’s speech in Louisiana and political commentators’ reactions to it, speaks for itself. McCain tried to steal some of Obama’s spotlight by scheduling his own speech on the same night that Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president. What actually resulted was an incredibly obvious — and unfavorable for McCain — comparison between the McCain speech and Obama’s uplifting and inspiring speech on the same night. McCain got his spotlight, but it ended up being a harsh one. Take a look.

Thanks to Talking Points Memo for this video, and Frank Rich for writing about it.

Paul Krugman: Bits, Bands and Books

Ted Hopton — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:50:55 +0000

Paul Krugman’s column makes some points we have certainly heard before, but he also ties in a new perspective that is worth thinking about.

Everything that can be digitized will be digitized, making intellectual property easier to copy and harder to sell for more than a nominal price.

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Elite and Proud of It

Ted Hopton — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:05:48 +0000

It’s sad but true. Anti-intellectualism is rampant. As Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, explains in her NYT column, “Best Is the New Worst,” the word “elite” has been completely distorted for partisan purposes.

The word “elite,” once an accolade, has turned poisonous in American public life, as both the left and the right have twisted it into a code word meaning “not one of us.”

It’s a perverse thing to ridicule the attainment of education and expertise. I really have had a hard time grasping how this shift has happened. I guess I need to read Jacoby’s book. But for a nation that has an inherent (if arrogant) belief that it is the greatest in the world, why do so many of our people resent and distrust those among them who have acquired the knowledge required to make us succeed?
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Blogs Blossom into a Big Business – eMarketer

Ted Hopton — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:23:36 +0000

More interesting stats about blogs’ growth from eMarketer. Nothing terribly new, but the news reinforces the perception that blogs are rapidly growing and should not be ignored in your marketing plans.

Publisher Tested the Waters Online, Then Dove In

Ted Hopton — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:15:24 +0000

The niche publisher I.D.G. has been working out the answers to some big mainstream questions. The biggest: Can print media survive the transition to the Internet?

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Adios, Sound Bites & Fat Cats – Obama is Changing Politics

Ted Hopton — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:49:44 +0000

I’ve been wondering whether Obama is succeeding at changing the rules of the political game, so I found this analysis interesting.

The ecosystem of political media has changed, with sound bites losing their authority. Consumers of news are less easily manipulated by the 24/7 barrage of bites and images (Hillary Clinton doing whiskey shots, Obama bowling), which are dissected endlessly on cable. Voters search for their own context.

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ABC Debate: Shoddy! Tawdry! A Televised Train Wreck!

Ted Hopton — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:37:48 +0000

This is a great rant by Frank Rich — fun reading!

I can’t remember a debate in which the only memorable moment was the audience’s heckling of a moderator. Then again, I can’t remember a debate that became such an instant national gag. . .

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Where Is McCain’s Flag Pin?

Ted Hopton — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:24:40 +0000

I thought it was bad enough that Obama got pinned down in the recent debate by the sniper fire of that idiotic woman’s videotaped question that suggested he was not patriotic because he doesn’t wear a flag pin, but it’s even worse to realize that neither Hillary Clinton nor John McCain wear flag pins, either! So, why pick on Obama and suggest he is unelectable in the fall because of this?

Mark Nickolas does a nice job of tracking down the evidence on McCain, complete with photo fact-checking. This photo is from April 17. Too bad McCain doesn’t realize he could be throwing away the presidency by not pinning a flag on his lapel!

The most egregious hypocrisy concerning this manufactured non-issue is the fact that John McCain (R) does not wear one either.

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Jon Stewart Eviscerates ABC’s Hacktacular Debate

Ted Hopton — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:22:58 +0000

Jon Stewart does what he does best and demolishes ABC debate moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos for the pathetic questions they asked on Wednesday.

This is a funny video clip. Stewart’s best line is the one where he objects to the ABC moderators being sillier than he is: “That’s my job! Stop doing my job! I’m the silly man!”
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