Actions speak louder than words

Whether or not you know it, the non-verbal cues of politicians plays a large role in shaping your perception of them. I'm not just talking about the obvious instances: Richard Nixon sweating during the first nationally televised debate, Howard Dean's unforgettable fist pumps in 2004, or even some of the funny faces cooked up by W. It's the little things that politicians do, whether it's to make a point, defend themselves, or show emotion during a speech.

This article in ADWEEK (sorry, subscription needed) has strategists, pollsters and consultants weigh in on the importance of non-verbal cues in politicians' communications. I love this YouTube clip of Hillary impersonator Rosemary Watson preparing for an upcoming speech that the article starts off with.

You can't absorb someone's policy position in two seconds, but you can get your instinctual reaction to them. And you can get that on a non-conscious, nonverbal basis. - Dan Hill, President of Sensory Logic


Now I know it's a bit late in this election to form first impressions, but I found this article to be very interesting. The idea that your gut feeling about a politician, or anyone for that matter, can be based on something that you may not even be aware you're paying attention to? I guess there are some qualities in a candidate that just can't be measured by polling, policies or voting records. Let's not let those things fall by the wayside, however. That's how you end up with a President that people voted for because he was someone they'd like to get a beer with.

To boo or not to boo?

Last night I attended the inaugural game at Nationals Park, for the regular season opener against the Atlanta Braves. Not only was I excited to be at the opening game of the season (not to mention the first regular season game at a gorgeous new stadium), but President Bush was scheduled to throw out the first pitch.

For those who had somehow forgotten that Bush would be at the game, it was easy to remember coming off the Metro, as we were greeted by life-size bobbleheads of Bush and Condoleezza Rice dressed in jail stripes, surrounded by groups of protesters with "Boo Bush" and "War Criminals" signs. Helicopters hovered above the stadium, snipers patrolled the roofs of the parking complex, and we waited in line airport-style to pass through metal detectors and have our bags rummaged through by homeland security officers.

As the opening pitch drew nearer, I began to wonder how Bush would be received by the ultra-liberal Washington, D.C. crowd. Sure, I overheard people before the game talking about their dislike for W, but come on, are you really going to boo the President? Yes. Apparently they are.

Now I'm no Socialist - I firmly believe in (and very often celebrate) freedom of speech. But this simply rubbed me the wrong way. I believe that our President, no matter who he or she is, and what they and their administration may have done, should be granted at the very least a modicum of respect, especially during a ceremonial outing. To me, the booing took away from this shining achievement for baseball, a game that, among other things, helps to take our collective minds off of other issues.

Call me happy-go-lucky, but I was hoping that people would be able to put aside their differences for the night and celebrate an amazing moment in baseball.

- Only three years ago did Washington, D.C. get baseball back, marking 45 years since the Senators had left.
- A brand-new $600M green baseball stadium was just built.
- It's the start of the 2008 season.
- The President is throwing out the first pitch.

That's pretty damn cool. But for me, the loud boos for Bush put a damper on the magic of it all.

Did I boo? No. Did I cheer? No. I was way too busy trying to take a picture.

What do you think - is it OK to boo the President?

Do policy makers use Facebook?

The Illinois House is currently considering a bill to legalize civil unions between same-sex couples, granting them the same legal rights given to married couples. And students who care are trying to get their voices heard.

Over 8,000 students have joined the "Students for the Illinois Marriage Equality Bill" Facebook group created by Lake Forest sophomore Phil Miatkowski in February. But pledging their support in their profiles isn't all.

The students have also formed CivilUnionsIllinois.org, which allows visitors to get background on the bill, find local events near them, and easily send a message to their local representative to pledge their support for the bill. In order to increase word-of-mouth awareness of the bill, a visitor can also plug in the e-mail addresses of up to ten friends to send information to.

Bill supporter Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) reached out to Miatkowski to thank him for the additional support of the Facebook group, and his letter of thanks is posted on the group's 'Recent News' section. It is unclear when the bill will be called before the House for a vote; will the 8,000+ students voices be heard?

O'Doyle: Mortal Kombat for the Sega Genesis is the best game ever made.
Billy Madison: I disagree. It's a very good game, but I think Donkey Kong is better.
O'Doyle: Donkey Kong sucks!
Billy Madison: Wanna know somethin'? You suck!

Sorry Billy, but according to Rankopedia, you both suck.

Say it ain't so, Spitzer





Eliot Spitzer has been offered an opportunity to pose nude for playgirl. What's sad is that as much as his name has now been dragged through the mud, it doesn't seem like much of a stretch. In other news, what happened to Spitzer's lips? He looks like the love child of Bill Cowher and the Sophia from the Golden Girls.

Happy (almost) Easter

A disturbingly well-produced look at our favorite Easter confection: the chocolate bunny.

Your favorite sports team is rumored to be moving to Fremont, CA. Quick! What do you do?

Ghostride your Volvo, obviously:

Power to the People

I have documented my interest in user-generated ads and products here before, but had never thought about the concept being used in baseball. This Wall Street Journal article tells of fans using their first amendment right to influence their team's scouting, lineups, and even pitch selection (love the shout-out to USS Mariner, my personal favorite Mariners blog).

del.ishli.st

Ever wanted to create a wish list of presents from across the web? Me too. Kudos to lifehacker for this one: del.ishli.st

Movie Quote Quiz

I have to admit, I got this idea from my boss:

Essentially, I'll be taking quotes from my favorite 15 movies, and you need to guess which movies they're from. Thus far I've had very little success in guessing others, so good luck to you:

1. "On the seventh day the Lord rested, but before that he did, he squatted over the side of England and what came out of him... was Ireland. No offense son."

2. "Three tomatoes are walking down the street, poppa tomato, momma tomato, and baby tomato. Baby tomato starts lagging behind. The poppa tomato gets really angry, goes back and squishes him, says: "Ketchup!""

3. "They're bigger! They're stronger! They're faster! They've got more facial hair!"

4. "So what are you saying? When you get divorced you turn in your library card? You get a new license? You stop being Jewish?" "It's all a part of your sick Cynthia thing, man. Taking care of her fucking dog. Going to her fucking synagogue. You're living in the fucking past." "Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax...You're goddamn right I'm living in the fucking past!"

5. "I wasn't like every other kid, you know, who dreams about being an astronaut, I was always more interested in what bark was made out of on a tree. Richard Gere's a real hero of mine. Sting. Sting would be another person who's a hero. The music he's created over the years, I don't really listen to it, but the fact that he's making it, I respect that. I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what product I'm selling? No. Do I know what I'm doing today? No. But I'm here, and I'm gonna give it my best shot."

6. "What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

7. "And why does he hang out with those retarded gorillas, as you called them, because any one of them, if he asked them to, would take a fucking bat to your head, okay? It's called loyalty."

8. "The funny thing is that Steve Rendazo secretly wants me. Jocks like him always want freaky girls. Girls with horn-rimmed glasses and vegan footwear and Goth makeup. Girls who play the cello and wear Converse All-Stars and want to be children’s librarians when they grow up. Oh yeah, jocks eat that shit up. They just won’t admit it, because they’re supposed to be into perfect cheerleaders like Leah. Who,incidentally, is into teacher"

9. "Before we start, I'd just like to say the campers you're about to see suck dick! But nevertheless, please welcome them."

10. "I want to marry you and I'm telling you it's the time." "Well I'm telling you with a hundred certainty that it is not the time. It's not about time, it's not the right time, it's not even quarter to the right time."

11. "Variety's the spice of life. I like a wide selection. Sometimes I'm in the mood for nasty close-ups, sometimes I like them arty and air-brushed. Sometimes it's a spread brown-eye kind of night, sometimes it's girl-on-girl time. Sometimes a steamy letter will do it, sometimes - not often, but sometimes - I like the idea of a chick with a horse."

12. "This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off waiting to worship a rat. What a hype. Well, it used to mean something in this town. They used to pull the hog out, and they used to eat it. You're hypocrites, all of you! You have a problem with what I'm saying, Larry? Untie your tongue, and you come out here and talk, huh? Am I upsetting you, Princess?"

13."When you pull on that jersey, the name on the front is a hell of alot more important than the one on the back."

14. "I knew a man once who said, 'Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.'"

15. "You're a... you're a complex Freudian hallucination having something to do with my mother and I don't know why you have wings, but you have very lovely legs and you're a very nice tiny person and what am I saying, I don't know who my mother was; I'm an orphan and I've never done drugs because I missed the sixties, I was an accountant."

Mindless Friday Humor


I personally enjoyed looking at these, while imagining the captions being read in an Eastern European accent: Lolcats

Sticks and stones may break my bones

But consumer-generated words will never hurt me. Right? Not so fast.



Subway has filed a lawsuit against Quiznos and iFilm for a contest asking consumers to create their own ads depicting Quiznos sandwiches as being superior to Subway's. The New York Times published an article to examine the question underlying this lawsuit: "if Quiznos did not make the insulting submissions, should it be held liable for user-generated content created at its behest?"

This lawsuit makes it clear that while the practice of having consumers generate their own (ads, beverages, pants) has taken off, the rules have some catching up to do.

User-generated soda

DewMocracy.gif

In February 2007 several advertisers embraced the power of user-generated content, soliciting entries from their consumers to create Super Bowl commercials. The efforts that turned out from Doritos and the NFL, among others, were some of the better ads during a lackluster game.

Mountain Dew recently launched a new campaign that takes the user-generated idea to the next level: user-generated products. At DewMocracy.com (gotta love campaign season), users can submit their input for the color, flavor, name, logo, and design of the next Mountain Dew soft drink. Not since the vote for the a new color of M&M's (blue in 1995 and purple in 2002) can I remember having a real voice in the type of product that a manufacturer is putting out.

I for one trust that those who tune in to DewMocracy will create a good product. Are you with me?