I said in an earlier post that I was only going to use photos that I took myself for the masthead. But when I saw David Sprague’s breath-taking sunrise shots from the Learfield parking lot, I decided to amend my rule to allow use of photos by anyone I know personally. I was so taken with David’s photo I didn’t bother to ask his permission to use it here… so enjoy it while you can.
Fishing where the fish are
From the cover story in the August 8 issue of Fortune: “In 2006 roughly $400 million of Chrysler’s money that used to go into TV, newspaper, and magazine ads will be spent on the Internet.” [RAIN]
Jeff Jarvis on cash cows
Having a cash cow distracts companies from the future. It makes them complacent: ‘Look at all the money (still) rolling in.’ It makes them think that if they just tweak this and that — if they can still get away with raising their rates even as their audience and value are shrinking — they will continue to keep milking cash from that old cow. It makes them overly cautious: ‘Nobody hurt Bessie!’
And politically, the guys in charge of the cow don’t want anybody inside the company competing with them: no new products, no new power centers, no one else to set strategy, no one else to use resources. They win because, of course, they’re the ones bringing in the cash. Nevermind that they’re the ones stopping the company from building for the future. They’ll tell you that’s not their job. They’re there to protect the cow.
Banned for life
Before finally moving smays.com to Typepad, I signed up for hosting with a compnay called AQ Host. Good, affordable service, but not right for me. I’d signed up for 90 days, I think. I emailed them and explained that I wouldn’t be using them after all and asked if I could get a credit for the unused portion of my first 90 days. I made it clear that if this wasn’t an option, I understood. They emailed back and said they would refund my money and –according to their terms of service– I can never use their service again. Ever. Wouldn’t this have been a better reply:
Thanks for taking a look at AQ Host. Sorry it doesn’t meet your current needs. Due to the costs associated with setting up your account, we are unable to refund your money but have cancelled your account with us. Should you need hosting services in the future, we hope you’ll consider AQ Host.
Movie bartenders
If I were making a list of the best movie bartenders, Brian Dennehy would be near the top for his wonderfully understated Donald in the 1979 Dudley Moore film, 10. Someone must have compiled such a list already, but I can’t find it. And I’m having a hard time coming up with names and movies. I think you’d have to include Sascha, the bartender in Casablanca (played by Leonid Kinskey). I would not include Tom Cruise (Cocktail, 1988) or any of the girls in Coyote Ugly. So help me out here. Who would you put on the list?
PS: I found Leonid Kinskey in the Find A Grave database. They claim 25,000 people a day search their 8 million grave records.
Update: Thanks to Terry McVey for Nick (Sheldon Leonard) in It’s a Wonderful Life and Lloyd (Joe Turkel) from The Shining.