Tom McMahon

Jakob Nielsen's Rework of The Betrayal of Images by Magritte

Jakob Nielsen's Rework of The Betrayal of Images by Magritte

Another triumph by Usability Guru Jakob Nielsen!

Dr. Neil Clark Warren of eHarmony.com: Married for 46 Years

Oh, come on, you were wondering about this too. From an NRO interview:

NRO: How did you and Mrs. Warren meet?

Warren: Marylyn and I have been married for 46 years come March 22 of this year. We both attended Pepperdine University, but it wasn't until we graduated that we began to date. I feel like the luckiest man alive to have found Marylyn. We didn't know the first thing about selecting a marriage partner. I often say, only somewhat kiddingly, that all I knew was that I should be taller.

The fact is that so many of our best friends from college have had to suffer the excruciating pain of divorce. Marylyn and I avoided this pain because we had broad based compatibility without even knowing it up front. Others were not nearly so lucky. I got started studying mate selection because I didn't want our three girls to have to rely on the luck that saved our own marriage.

Mugs-A-Plenty: Munster Coat of Arms

Mugs-A-Plenty: Munster Coat of Arms

A lot of people are surprised when they find out that Herman, Lilly, Grandpa, Marilyn, and Eddie were Irish.

The Powers of Persuasion

One of the great ironies of the Blog-O-Sphere is that while its intelligentsia is uniformly of The Left, its great successes thus far have been on The Right. With regard to the Eason Jordan downfall, Anil Dash vents his frustration:

Despite all the hype and triumphalism, any media movement that involves over 10 million people should be having more of an impact than it has already. But blogs have been so polarized and antagonistic (you're just like the media you hate) that they're doing a piss-poor job of persuading.

Persuading? When was the last time you actually persuaded someone to drop their point of view and adopt yours? I can't remember either. Was I successful at getting the bloggers at Grow-A-Brain, J-Walk, Cynical-C, Drikoland, et al, to vote for Bush? My Goodness, no. I couldn't even persuade my Mom and Dad and Brother to vote for Bush, and I'm a lot more eloquent in person (think of Ralphie writing his "Why I Want A BB Gun For Christmas" essay  -- that level of persuasion).

I think maybe this Great Divide over our respective Powers of Persuasion isn't between the Left and the Right, but rather between those who have been Parents of Teenage Children, and those who haven't. The Myth of Instant Persuasion is a Myth of Youth.

The New NBC Logo of 1976

The New NBC Logo of 1976

A story this good, you know it has to come from Mental Floss:

On New Year's Day 1976, NBC proudly unveiled a new, modern "N" logo that had been developed and unveiled at a staggering cost of more than $600,000.

The problem was that many viewers in Nebraska — including NETV program director Ron Hull, watching the Tournament of Roses parade — thought the logo looked just a tad familiar. As it turned out, NBC's big-budget graphics team had come up with a design identical to the logo used by Nebraska's ETV Network. Oddly, not only had NETV paid only $100 to the designer of their logo, but they weren't even particularly happy with it.

They settled this by NBC giving them about $1 million worth of TV equipment. An expensive logo, eh?

To Stop Hillary, Draft Condi

From the always insightful Dick Morris:

The political fact is that a Rice candidacy would destroy the electoral chances of the Democratic Party by undermining its demographic base. John Kerry got 54 percent of his vote from three groups that, together, account for about a third of the American electorate: African-Americans, Hispanics and single white women. Rice would cut deeply into any Democrat’s margin among these three groups and would, most especially, deny Clinton the strong support she would otherwise receive from each of them.

Rice’s credentials for a candidacy are extensive and will grow throughout her tenure at the State Department. As former chancellor of Stanford University, she would have much in common with the pre-political careers of Woodrow Wilson and Dwight Eisenhower, presidents of Princeton and Columbia universities. Her service as national security adviser during a war and her current efforts as secretary of state demonstrate her ability to handle crises and to conduct herself with dignity and impact on the world stage.

Ivy Baker Priest: Treasurer of the United States And Mother of Marilyn Munster

Ivy Baker Priest: Treasurer of the United States And Mother of Marilyn Munster

Her daughter, Pat Priest, played Marilyn Munster on the 1960s sitcom. You might find her signature if you ever run across some old currency.

Paul Ridgeway: Logistics for Dignitary Visits

From Ridgeway International

When Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev visited Minnesota in June 1990, Paul Ridgeway was the mastermind behind the logistics. Ridgeway was only given 15 days to prepare and coordinate the details, involving over 3,000 media and security people. "The task was daunting", said Harvey Mackay, New York Times best-selling author. "Paul Ridgeway and Ridgeway International orchestrated a perfect event. I know, because I was there to witness it firsthand". Economist magazine said the organization of the event was "impeccable".

Since coordinating the visit of President Gorbachev Ridgeway International has handled visits by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Prime Minister Barak of Israel, Pope John Paul II, and numerous other heads of state. Through these visits Ridgeway International has achieved a wealth of experience in dignity protocol, motorcades, security, communication, and international affairs.

I had the opportunity to work with Paul for a week in 1978 preparing for a Walter Mondale campaign visit. I learned more in that one week than in an entire semester of class. It was Paul who taught me the trick of printing prices on things you were going to give away anyway, in order to help establish their value. Many years later when I was a magazine editor for GE, I had them print "$3.95" on each issue even though we gave them all away for free. Our Japanese division never really did understand that.

The Bob Kuban Band: Bridging The Generations

The Bob Kuban Band: Bridging The Generations

Looks like a fun new CD (yes, it includes The Cheater!). A bit of self-indulgent St. Louis nostalgia for J-Walk, my brother Tim, and me. If you're not familiar with the strange story from long ago, it's worth a read.

Update: I called the phone number here to order the CD and guess who answered the phone? Why, Bob Kuban himself! What a great thrill! What a really nice fellow, too. . . .

The Real Story Behind The SpongeBob Squarepants Controversy

You know the Standard Main Stream Media Spin (SMSMS): Those Wacky Christians were accusing SpongeBob Squarepants of promoting homosexuality. What a laugh, eh? Many naive, unsuspecting bloggers fell for this line, unfortunately. But I've learned over the years that there's almost always more to the story than first appears, so thus I've learned to wait before piling on.

David Huntwork explains:

The “We Are Family Foundation” produced a guide entitled Writing for Change coupled with a ‘gateway’ video featuring a myriad of familiar and beloved puppet and cartoon characters singing a rather benign modern rendering of the song ‘We Are Family’.

On the surface this appears to most people as a harmless version of the old Biblical standard of ‘loving thy neighbor’ and that is exactly what the producers of this propaganda video and accompanying teacher’s guide want you to believe. The insidious nature and true motives of this campaign are not immediately obvious but are easily revealed for what they truly are.

For ‘not promoting homosexuality’ the Writing for Change guide spends an amazing amount of time dwelling on the subject and having the teacher discuss with their young captive audience such appropriate and soul searching exercises as:

(Remember these are for elementary school age children)

• Identify ways in which homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality are at work in your daily life.
• Find some examples of compulsory heterosexuality in your daily life.
• How are you affected by compulsory heterosexuality?
• How are you affected by homophobia?
• How would you be affected if your sexual orientation were different than it is now?
• How would others you know – friends, family members, classmates, members in your clubs or organizations – be affected?
• How will understanding these definitions change your thinking about compulsory heterosexuality and homophobia?
• Will this change any of your behaviors? If so, how?

Quite different story now, eh? It always is . . .