Marketing Gome Awry
Flicking on the TV a minute or so before “Jeopardy,” I came across an ad for a home air filter called “The Barnacle.”
Having spent essentially my entire adult life dedicated to the task of making the world fall in love with my clients’ brands, I had one primary principal: associate that brand with something that is already well-known and liked in the prospect’s mind.
Of course, the average American’s vocabulary is a fraction of what it was 30 years ago, but really? The Barnacle? A parasite? An invasive species?
From the AI summary: Barnacles need to be removed from ships because they increase drag, which reduces fuel efficiency by up to 40%, increase pollution, and can eventually damage the hull. They are a major source of biofouling that slows ships down, costing billions of dollars annually, notes National Defense Magazine and NOAA. Barnacles also pose a risk to marine life, such as sea turtles, by adding weight, impeding movement, or even causing infection from burrowing species
I wish I had been in the boardroom when this subject was under discussion. Did someone suggest “The Disease?” “The Plague?” “The Cancer?”
Of course. Stuff like this happens all the time.
As part of our modern lives, most Americans have been able to visit our nation’s major cities. We’ve been to places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and even much smaller Portland, Oregon–urban areas that the Trump administration has targeted with federal troops, ostensibly to stop crime and halt the flow of drugs.
All literate English-speaking people have a great deal of respect for Isaac Asimov, but it’s hard to understand his and so many others’ disdain for education as it is delivered in our schools. And some have been so much more cutting in their remarks.
Here’s a 
For people wishing to understand stoicism, here’s the core tenet from ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus.
Re: the cartoon here, a reader notes: The tide is slowly starting to turn against Trump. But I’m not holding my breath. It can spring back any minute.
I’m happy to report that during my K-12 years (1960 – 1973), I never heard a teacher mention anything that could be construed as “patriotic.” For example, we learned U.S. history, but it was not twisted to imply that the United States was “the greatest country on Earth.”
The irony here is that all Trump wanted was absolute power. Dividing the nation between educated/kind people and hateful morons was just a means to that end.
When we look back at the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, the dichotomy of science and religion actually made sense. The content of the Book of Genesis actually is in conflict with the theory of evolution.
