I had to do a double take when I spotted The Cy-Fair Chamber of Commerce marketing hand-out touting why “Cy-Fair is a Great Place to Live”.
What caught my eye was that piece used a photo that shows rows and rows of cars with brake lights. There is also a nice table showing traffic counts for various intersections.
The back side of the marketing piece says “Life in Cy-Fair” and Live…Work…Play.
While that might be nice for a business considering to locate in Cy-Fair, I really don’t think it would induce someone to move there. Hard to believe that someone thought the image of cars stuck in traffic would shine a favorable light to promote its community.
For the last several years, airline passengers have been asking themselves, “am I getting larger, or is my seat getting smaller.” It’s been no secret that the airlines have been shrinking the size of personal space on airplanes. After years of losing lots of money and flirting with bankruptcies, the airline companies have turned the corner and have become profitable again, thanks in large part to adding the number of seats on plane along with those little add-on fees like charging for baggage, or extra leg room.
In a wait, say that again moment, Southwest Airlines has announced they will begin to use larger seats in their 737-800s passenger jets beginning in mid-2016 and in the new 737 MAX in 2017. The seats are 0.7 inches wider than those currently used and offers more leg room. They also weigh less resulting in having to use less fuel.
While passengers may be grateful Southwest is expanding their space instead of shrinking it, their motivation may be more than just customer satisfaction. A consumer advisory group set up by the Department of Transportation is worried that shrinking space might be dangerous for passenger’s health and safety.
There is serious concern about the increased danger passengers won’t be able to evacuate fast enough in an emergency situation. One official on the committee ironically noted that the government sets standards for the condition of dogs who fly as cargo, but doesn’t have minimum space standards for us humans.
Another worry is passengers suffering from deep vein thrombosis during long flights which could lead to a blood clot forming. It was noted during a recent hearing that passengers who sit by the window have twice the risk of getting deep vein thrombosis than those sitting in the aisle seats.
So what happens if airlines are forced to add more space for their passengers? The likely scenario is passengers paying more in fares to cover the loss.
The world is a little less funny today. Stan Freberg passed away yesterday at the age of 88. It is almost impossible to put into the words the profound effect he had on the world of media.
Freberg was known as a recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, author and arguable, one of the greatest advertising minds of all time.
Freberg was hired by Warner Brothers in 1944. In his autobiography, It Only Hurts When I Laugh,” he wrote about getting on a bus and asking the driver to let him off in Hollywood. There he found a sign advertising a talent agency, walked in and promptly started working for Warner Brother cartoons after an audition.
Later, Freberg started to release comedy albums on Capitol records. In one bit, Freberg spoofed Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”; having the echo effect go wacky leading Elvis to eventually rip his jeans during the performance.
Following the success of his albums, Freberg landed his own radio show. Known for his biting satire and parody, Freberg was also know for standing up for his principles, refusing to accept alcohol and tobacco companies as sponsors, which killed his radio career after taking over for Jack Benny on CBS Radio.
Doing movies, radio and cartoons would be enough for any person, but his role in reshaping advertising revolutionized the industry. Freberg brought satire to advertising agencies, introducing humor to previously dull and unimaginative commercials. Freberg ended up winning 21 Clio awards for his work.
One of his classic moments involved proving radio was a better than television to advertise on by masterfully using sound effects to create the illusion of draining Lake Michigan and refilling it with hot chocolate, a mountain of whipped cream and dropping a giant maraschino cherry like a bomb by the Royal Canadian Air Force to the cheers of 25,000 extras viewing from the shoreline.
There is much talk among educators on the importance of education, but it appears they should stand to do a little homework of their own.
Senator Rand Paul, who yesterday announced his candidacy for president, posted a “Stand with Rand: Kentucky” video on YouTube. The problem is the video violated copyright law.
YouTube’s Content ID system flagged a John Rich song in the video which the Warner Music Group, which owns the copyright yanked the campaign piece.
A big deal? Probably not, but does demonstrate the adage “the devil’s in the details” and how politicians and their campaigns need to pay attention to the little details, so the big messages does not get lost.
I have often been called a “tool”, but Mary Hammer Menzel, who regularly volunteers to lead the prayer prior to Montgomery County Commissioner Court meetings, took it to another level by declaring that anyone opposed to the proposed transportation bond is “a tool of Satan” during her prayer.
Most of the attendees quickly distanced themselves from those comments, but Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador said Menzel should not be criticized.
“She does a great job when she is called on,” said Meador. “To criticize a personal prayer is wrong; it’s offensive.”
And we certainly don’t want to offend anyone do we?
That’s their problem, not mine,” Menzel said of those offended. “I like to exercise my rights as a Christian.”
County Judge Craig Doyal said he was surprised by Menzel’s prayer. He added that the county may look at a different system to find volunteers for future meetings.
I had to do a double take when I spotted The Cy-Fair Chamber of Commerce marketing hand-out touting why “Cy-Fair is a Great Place to Live”.
