Ever since the NYT turned anti-England, I’ve been pro-monarchy. My stroke prevented me from keeping up with the funeral, and so I missed this short speech by Charles III, the new king. His language is a bit strong (caveat lector), but I am completely in favor of his plans and his sentiment. Take that, NYT lovers!
Watch it here.
A good deal of the satisfaction we have with aesthetic experience is anticipation – i.e., whether the experience meets or exceeds our expectations. Those expectations are often set by critiques we’ve read or heard before. But sometimes they are established by the performance itself – how it introduces itself. Here’s a good example of how to wow your audience by purposefully establishing modest initial expectations.
On a lighter note…
For the last several years, much to K’s chagrin, my political and social views have become more conservative. Whenever I voice such an opinion, she dismisses it by insisting that I must have an undetected brain tumor. Thus, it was inevitable, when surgery was scheduled and our moods lifted, that the subject was mentioned. K explained “the problem” and her diagnosis to Dr. Hope and asked if he could, while clearing the plaque from my artery, clear out whatever else was in the neighborhood that was causing it. Dr. Hope, unaccustomed perhaps to this depth of black humor, bowed his head and laughed noiselessly for a minute before looking up and saying, “I’ve never had such a request, but I’ll do the best I can.”
Funniest Pet Photos of the Year
In times like these, we need something, anything, to pick up our spirits. So, for your uplifting pleasure, I present Gizmodo’s finalists from this year’s Comedy Pet Photograph awards. Click here.
An interesting conversation about copywriting and the direct marketing biz (the industry I work in) by two smart Englishmen. (Pay special attention to the question they try to answer at 16:20!)
It’s easy to have a political, social, or business opinion about something when you don’t have any skin in the game. This TED Talk is about an experiment that demonstrates why that’s true…
Another short, little gem from Omeleto…
On May 27, I mentioned how much I enjoyed The Offer, the docudrama about the making of The Godfather. Here’s an interesting discussion with the producer, Al Ruddy, that fills in some of the details from his perspective…
This little clip sent in by JS – made nearly 30 years ago – reminds me of someone. But I can’t figure out who…