Think About It

I posted a time ago about the Dove commercials. Back then I was sort of thinking, “Cool, Dove let’s you be a normal human being. Dove makes products for ’normal’ women. Maybe the beauty industry is starting to smarten up and become more atune to what’s really going on in today’s world. Maybe the beauty industry is becoming sensitive women’s real needs and the real needs of society. Maybe they are experiencing a sort of ethical moment. ”

In my own little naive way, I was, of course, wrong.

The beauty industry has learned nothing. They are not experiencing (and probably will never experience) any sort of ethical moment.

Look at these two clips from youtube. The first one is the famous Dove evolution commercial (dripping with moral righteousness) and the second one is from Greenpeace.

So is Dove really doing us a favour just because it advertises with middle-aged sagging women?  The whole beauty industry, irrelevant how they advertise, is just plain sick.

Don’t you just get tired of all this? What is wrong with this world that women’s looks can become such a central topic and can cause such unbelievable damage (I won’t even start on animal testing)? I just don’t get it.

Give us a break.

Seen at Ed’s blog.

dove evolution commercial beauty advertising industry greenpeace palm oil

I was out riding with my good friend Justi this morning and we got to talking about our usual topics.
We started talking about horses (naturally) and how incredibly wonderful they are (especially ours) and how unbelievably lucky we are to be able to ride out on such wonderful mounts (sigh) on such a sunny morning (sigh again).
After we killed that subject (it took a while) we got into English and whether the word healthily exists or not (I couldn’t find it in Websters on-line, but I did find it in dictionary.com, and I googled it with lots of references, so it is used, but I don’t think I personally have ever used it. I suppose I would say in a healthy way, or just healthy, and forget the adverb.)
Talking about English lead directly to how hard it is to learn Slovene (which it is) and all the problems associated with body parts and language.

Then we slid directly into the American presidential election and how entertaining it is - much more so than any other presidential election before. But how often do you get a black and a woman running for the oval office. Just too exciting, if you ask me.

I’m sure that most interested Americans and non-Americans alike already have “favorites” in the race. We’ve all compared (more or less) the candidate’s standpoint on the various issues, for example here from your’s truly, or here from CNN, or  here is a summary of the issues for the major candidates Hillary, Obama, Huckabee (sorry, it’s always wikipedia, but it’s so darn quick, even if it’s not always as consistent and correct as we might like - you can find the rest there too, if you’re interested). And we’ve all found that the one or other candidate is closest to our own views.

But will we actually vote for that candidate? Just because he or she holds beliefs that are closest to our own? Oh, I doubt it.

We’ll vote for the candidate we like best - for whatever reason that might be. Accept it. Life’s a popularity contest. When you’re hot, you’re hot. When you’re not, you’re not.

Have you taken the Implicit Association Test yet?

Give it a try, you may prefer a different candidate from the one you actively endorse. Who knows how that will reflect on your voting behaviour, but it’s a great way to waste some time in internet.

I found the link all over the place. Here at Bitch, PhD (who, by the way, is generally an interesting read), and then again at Pandagon (a well-read blog), and yet again here at Blog of the Moderate Left (and for you German speakers, go one post higher and you can see the German word Schadenfreude used in English - so I wasn’t lying when I said that we do that some times) and again at Utne blogs.

I won’t tell you who I prefer, but the test came out like I thought it would - but not like I thought it would 6 months ago.

Hillary Clinton Barack Obama Mike Huckabee Implicit Association Test Presidential election 2008

Several months ago I found a funny video clip here .  Ha ha, I thought to myself. Isn’t that funny. Ha ha.

Well, yes. It is funny.
But not quite as funny today as it was back then. Sigh.

Ain’t that the truth.

Good god, I’m going to be rich.

I was perusing one of my favorite blogs this morning, tea in hand, and I saw this post which really got me thinking. Since the blog is called The Thinking Blog, I also assume that that was the point. But somehow I have the feeling that Craig Kohler had a different goal in mind with this post, being as it has to do with science, cosmology and philosophy.

I think he was hoping to awaken a profound cognitive experience by showing some of the scientific thought experiments which have brought quantum  leaps (excuse the pun) to scientific understanding, including, naturally, Einstein and his oh-so-celebrated-brain (I am not being sarcastic, much to the contrary. We all wish we could get our hands on some of his grey matter.) Not being one-sided, Craig also brought forward several examples of thinking experiments in the area of cosmology and philosophy, hoping (I suppose) to induce productive analytical activity in the grey cells of his readers.

Hmmm. As I read I could hear the rusty wheels creaking to life in my head. Hmmmm. I was having a cognitive experience. I was forming an idea - nay, a plan.

I’m going to be rich.

I’m going to take an active role in scientific thought development. I’m going to help make a difference. I’m going to help answer some age-old questions.

I’m going to make the Cat apply for a job as Schrödinger’s Cat.

Don’t look at me like that. It’s not hard. And it’s about time she takes on an active role in the economic well-being of our household. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, you know. We all have to do our part. The damn Cat just has to sit in a steel chamber, or maybe a bowling-ball bag, and do nothing. The only hard part is not eating the very old Kraft macaroni and cheese. But we all have to test the limits of our abilities at one point, don’t we.

I’m going to be rich - as soon as I can catch that damn Cat …

science cosmology philosophy schrödingers cat

Don’t let your children grow up believing the canned version of beauty. Help them become the truly beautiful persons they were meant to be.

beauty industry dove commercial

Have you been keeping up with the Jammie Thomas music downloading case? She was found guilty of illegally downloading and sharing copyrighted music (24 songs to be exact). She has to pay $ 220,000.00 (!) to six music companies.

I guess the music industry is pretty proud of themselves. That’ll show her and the rest of those music-pirates, won’t it. That’ll scare ‘em.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE, GUYS! Reality calling!

The music industry (who has won this battle but certainly not the war) has some catching up to do. Haven’t they figured out that they can’t stop the exchange of information (or music) through internet? Even if they do make an example of some of those dastardly “perpetrators”.

They’ll have to rearrange their business plans a little bit and come up with new methods of reaping profits. The market ain’t what it used to be (money for nothin’ and chicks for free).

It’s a new game - either change with it or go down in a cloud of dust and insolvency.  This isn’t a question of right and wrong - it’s a question of reality orientation and business saavy. And crying to the courts of justice that they can’t figure out how to make money in this new technological environment isn’t going to keep them afloat for long.

As I see it, the long term prognosis for the music industry is dark indeed if they don’t do some re-thinking, re-planning and new strategy development.

Through the Magnifying Glass 
PC World
ABC News

Jammie Thomas download music copyright

Seems our ex vice-chancellor (Hubert Gorbach, for those who don’t remember who I mean) is looking for new challenges, now that he has none in Austria.

News channels report that he sent a letter to Alistair Darling - looking (or not) for something interesting to do, because … the world in Vorarlberg is too small for him (and for most others too, I’d imagine).

I can almost understand him. Must have been downright exciting being the right hand man of our dear friend JH, and in comparison, it must be pretty boring now, sitting around in that little alpine world, looking for fun and finding none.

Wasn’t a bad idea, either. If you can’t find what you’re looking for at home, then set your sights on more global goals.
Go international!
Put on your traveling shoes and join the world!

Unfortunately for his job prospects, his letter looked like this.

I don’t want to rag on his politics, but his English certainly has room for improvement.

Oh well. Looks like he’s staying in Vorarlberg anyway for the time being.

[hubert gorbach english skills]

If marriage were illegal then only outlaws would have in-laws who, by mere fact of being in-laws, would be outlaws, too.

Think about it.

[outlawed inlaws]

Did you read the news yesterday? Our friend JH wants to ban headscarves here in Austria.

Hey, if he gets that, then I want a couple of things changed around here, too.

For one thing, I want an aboslute ban on socks and sandals. And I don’t care what all you Germans say. It looks stupid.
And while we’re at it, let’s get rid of the nylons-over-unshaven-legs-thing. It’s gross. Especially with white nylons; it’s got to go. 
What about Izods with upturned collars - get over it, you guys. Those days are over and gone!

Why doesn’t anybody ask me what needs to be banned. I’ve got a whole list.

If Jörg gets his headscarves, then I want something done about the sandal thing.

Fair is fair.

headscarves ban jörg haider kopftuch