What’s in a name?
As in the past, students at London, Ontario’s university will receive a degree that says “University of Western Ontario.” But it you receive a letter from the same institution or visit their website, it’s “Western University” (with the exception of their URL…it’s still UWO.ca).
Why the change? In an article from the Globe & Mail, the school’s president believes it will make the institution more recognizable around the world, more friendly to international students.
But what is really in a name? For as long as I can remember, we’ve always called it “Western.” Very rarely did you hear it called “University of Western Ontario.” So what’s the big deal? It’s the same school, with the same programs, and students, alumni, faculty and staff will still feel the same attachment to it.
How do you feel about the name change? Good? Bad? Could you care less? What if they changed the name of the university you attended?
Yoga people aren’t all that open-minded after all
I saw this article this afternoon after my computer crashed at work. I was cruising the Globe & Mail website on my BlackBerry and had to read it, because the title intrigued me (as a good headline always should). Read the article by clicking here.
Let me first say that I do yoga, although not religiously (wait…can I talk about religion and yoga in the same breath?). And, I’ve read Atlas Shrugged.Several times. One of my best
courtesy hughhewitt.com
buddies suggested that I read it about 8 years ago, and I’m glad he did.
What really bugs me is how angry people (read: “yogis”) are getting at Lululemon for creating these shopping bags. Even if Lululemon is a little off on the whole meaning of the book, part of the purpose of putting “Who is John Galt” on the side of their reusable bag (you know, the ones every trendy woman and yogi carries her gym clothes and lunch around in? Yeah, those ones), is to get people to think about how they can make their lives better, to take the bull by the horns and strive to accomplish anything they put their minds to. And to do all this without caring what other people and/or government (aka “the man”) thinks or says. You are your own person, so don’t be afraid to show it.
I especially enjoy the part in the article where the “yogi” claims that the concepts in Atlas Shrugged don’t mesh well with the values of yoga…but doesn’t say what those values are. Was she around when yoga was first practiced hundreds of years ago? How does she know what the values of yoga are, and, more importantly, why doesn’t she explain how they aren’t compatible with what Ayn Rand was writing about more than 50 years ago?
Oh, and her quote about “I don’t want people looking at me with that little logo on my pants or on my hoodie and thinking I’m going home to read Atlas Shrugged after, you know, downward dog…” Can you really judge someone based on the logo that’s on their hoodie? Conservatives, liberals, communists, existentialists, athiests…they’re all wearing Lululemon. I’ll bet John Galt and Ayn Rand would wear a Lululemon hoodie, just because they are so damn comfy! What you decide to read on your own personal time should not have any bearing on the clothes you wear (and vice versa).
(I know this post is really about communications, but it is a rant, so it still fits in a bit. Anyway, I had to get this off my chest because I found it so utterly ridiculous.)
I applaud Lululemon for asking “Who is John Galt” on their shopping bags. Personally, I would be proud to carry my lunch and gym clothes around in that bag. And I would be proud when people asked me about it, because it would get people thinking in a different way, maybe even a scary way. And I encourage everyone to read Atlas Shrugged…just don’t think about getting cozy in your Lululemon attire first.
(To read Lululemon’s blog post about the bags, click here.)
courtesy piccsy.com
Can politics be fashionable?
nothing wrong with a pop of colour
As I was cruising the Globe & Mail site on my BlackBerry last night, I came upon this article, clicking on it because I thought it would be an interesting read. But, I couldn’t get past the picture that was included. EVERYONE is wearing the same colour suit, except for the woman on the right at the front.
I know we are just starting to break free of the “old boys club” mentality here in Alberta, but we have a new premier. She is a woman. And a woman should not be judged by the clothes that she wears to do her job. Does Alison really have to settle for the charcoal grey suit, the same thing every male in the picture is wearing? Could she not add a bit of colour to feminize the outfit a bit more? Alison is a woman ready to take our province to the next level…can she not start by thinking outside the black and white clothing box?
Computer or Human?
courtesy collectiveai.blogspot.com
According to an article in the Globe & Mail this week, “humanized” computers may be closer than we think. Researchers are using AI (artificial intelligence) to train computers how to adapt to situations, much in the same way humans can. However, I think we’re already there. I mean, look at the Windows Vista operation system. You have to train it to accept that you want to perform certain actions and after a period of time, it will stop asking you if you want to continue…right?..it will stop asking me, right guys??…
Compromising critical GPS functionality
I saw this article today – it’s about a company in the States called LightSquared which is building a super-duper broadband network to compete with the likes of AT&T and Verizon. The problem…the power of the new network will interfere with GPS systems. This wouldn’t only affect the little devices everyone and their dog has in their cars nowadays, but the GPS systems for 911 emergency systems, airplane navigation…you know, major stuff.
The FCC (Federal Communications System) in the US originally approved LightSquared plans…until they realized some of the major consequences. My brilliant idea of the day…maybe the US Government should buy out LightSquared and their technology and use it to upgrade their GPS systems for the essential services required in the country.
Airbrushing – stay or go?
According to the Globe and Mail, Panasonic has recently released a camera that allows users to retouch their photos right on the camera. From beauty touch-ups to adding make-up, the camera makes it easier than ever to modify photographs and create the “perfect” picture.
We live in a world where we want everything to be perfect – perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect lighting, perfect weather. If it’s not perfect, we complain. But didn’t our mothers always tell us that it’s the imperfections that make us perfect. The gap in you teeth, your freckles, your cow-lick…isn’t that what makes us, us?
For the last several years, there has been a push in the modelling and magazine industry to use “real” girls and to do less (or no) airbrushing on photographs. The Canadian clothing company Jacob announced last fall that they will be using “real” women and not doing anymore airbrushing in their online catalogues. But has anyone actually compared the past from the present? Do we actually know if the pictures we see in magazines or online are the real deal (outside of the celebrity gossip magazines of course…GASP!! Paris Hilton doesn’t wear makeup all of the time?!? What is the world coming to??)
Tell the truth – would you buy a magazine if the celebrity on the cover did look “real”? If she had zits on her face, her roots were showing, or she had a little bit of a belly or bigger hips, would you pay $5.99 at the supermarket checkout? Aren’t we so over-conditioned to believe that yes, if we buy this magazine, we can look perfect too?
The biggest question I have is why are we blaming the celebrities who appear on the cover of these publications for being airbrushed? Do we think they truly have a say in what that final cover picture is going to look like? It doesn’t matter if their self-esteem is destroyed because a beauty magazine didn’t think they were beautiful enough as they are, despite the endless mantras and “girls rule” articles there may be under the cover. The publications and the clothing companies are out there to make money. Their job is to make us believe that with the right products, shoes and jeans, we can look exactly like the women (or men) in their photographs.
It’s a bad thing to be teaching our children, but I don’t see it changing anytime soon. If the medium is the message, in terms of selling clothing, make up and other beauty products, the medium better look damn good!
Rotating chicken, 24/7
The fireplace channel at Christmas – I get that. An all sunset channel – I get that one too. But chickens rotating on a spit, 24/7? That’s just crazy.
In case you haven’t heard, this is part of Swiss Chalet’s newest marketing initiative. They have purchased time (all day every day until May) on a TV channel in Ontario, that will be all chicken, all the time (check out the Globe and Mail article about it here).
You probably know what I’m talking about, if you’ve ever seen a Swiss Chalet commercial. At the end of the commercial, they show the 2 rows of chickens, rotating on spits in an oven. They look tasty, but you only see it for maybe 5 seconds. Could you actually watch that for a longer period of time, and not start to think it’s disgusting?? Sure, it would be a laugh for 5 minutes, but any longer than that…
Good thing it’s only being aired in Ontario!
How big is the internet?
Have you ever stopped to think about how big the Internet is? Are you like me, and for some reason you thought its size was infinite, and nothing could hold it back? Well, we were both wrong. The internet has actually outgrown its current home, and like a family with a lot of kids, it’s moving to a new home.
Don’t worry, the world of the internet won’t stop, you’ll still be able to access all of the Facebooks, Googles, blogs (thank you!) and email sites out there, but we may have to adapt a little bit in how we get there. It’s really just a few more numbers added on to an IP address. But were you like me when you heard the news, and were a little shocked? I seriously thought there was no limit to the internet as we know it today. Oh well, I can’t be right all the time.
Blue Monday
Apparently today is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year. How are you feeling? Researchers believe this because today is the day that people receive their holiday credit card bills, it’s long enough after the holidays for the bliss and relaxation to have worn off, it’s cold, it’s dark…it just sucks.
Did you know today was the most depressing day of the year? I only knew because it was all over the morning news as I was on the elliptical at the gym this morning, and one of the top headlines as a scanned the Calgary Herald and the Globe and Mail when I got in to work. If no one told you that today was the most depressing day of the year, would you have been depressed? Is it just another one of those make-believe “holidays” that “scientists” create? If it wasn’t all over the news, would it just be a normal day?
I had a pretty good day today…
Redrum, or just plain cool?
First off, I will say that I am obviously not very hip, because I have yet to see this in Calgary. This new concept for bathroom advertising is so cool! AddMirror is using 2-way mirrors and motion-sensor technology to advertise in a whole new way (read the article from the Globe and Mail here).
For years we have been bombarded with the static ads on the back of the bathroom doors, where the only benefit was that you had something to read (a downside – I often wanted to go shopping after I leave the ladies room). Now you have TVs set up in bathrooms, on the stall doors, or even mounted on the wall in the change room at the gym. They have sound and motion pictures – you can watch TV while on the can…isn’t that every man’s dream?
But this new technology is really neat. It’s captivating, interactive, and unexpected. People will leave the loo and tell their friends about it, prompting more people to visit the restroom just to check it out. You have a captive audience (depending on how many drinks they’ve had, ha ha), and can target your message extremely well. I imagine there may be benefits to the businesses who actually have the technology installed in their washroom – people will talk, and people may visit that establishment just to see the cool bathroom (you should ask my mother about how I always had to check out the bathroom at a restaurant when I was a child…).
My next question – can I buy their stock?
Reality TV Gone Too Far?
First off, yes, I will admit I am a Globe & Mail junkie. If you’re going to read this blog, that’s something you will have to deal with 
Now, to get to the real post. I saw this article in, you guessed it, The Globe & Mail. It’s about the Chilean who brought the historical rescue of the 33 trapped miners to the world through our TV sets. To me, it reminds me a lot of that movie The Truman Show – creepy, but fascinating at the same time. Here this guy is, capturing history, imposing cameras and directors and lights and microphones (oh my!) into what should be a very intimate moment for the families and countrymen (and countrywomen) of these miners. Did we really need it? If CNN had set up their camera further back, and weren’t able to catch every tiny detail, would the rescue have been less amazing? And really, what if something HAD gone wrong? Would he have actually turned the cameras off and stopped filming? Or would he have kept them rolling, knowing that somewhere in the footage, would be an Academy Award-winning shot?
Apparently there is already a book coming out on this story. One miner already has offers for a TV deal. I bet that as soon as mid-2011, there will be a movie, and some of the footage from the live broadcast will be used. Is it too soon for people to try to make a buck off of this??
Caving to Peer Pressure
I’m sure you saw it: The Gap revealed a re-design of their logo. Their was outcry (over 2000 comments on the company’s Facebook page). And now they have gone back to their original logo. I wonder if people would have stopped shopping at The Gap just because they changed their logo? Would the world have decided that white t-shirts and kakhi pants were no longer the ultimate uniform, because their favourite clothing company changed their logo? I doubt it…
(Read the Globe & Mail article here)
