Short Takes
December 30, 2011
Over-Served: The Total Stupidity of Online Advertising
If you look for a product on the Web — like, for instance, Clark’s Desert Boots — the next 3 trillion times you go to a frequently visited site — like, for instance, Talking Points Memo — an ad for Clark’s Desert Boots will be "served" to you. Marginally dumb, but at least Clark’s is making an investment in a possible sale. But what if you go on, as I did, to buy the Desert Boots? The ads keep on coming! Wasted money for Clark’s. Annoying to the consumer. And so very 1996 — I have to believe Amazon, which pioneered collaborative filtering (and where I bought the shoes), could serve up an ad for some other product, as in "If you bought this, you might also like…" Instead, I’ll be seeing Clark’s ads for…well, certainly long enough to wish I’d bought these shoes on 86th Street, even though they cost $20 more in the real world. Can I be the only one who’s got this gripe?
December 23, 2011
Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristen Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci
Unfair! I wanted to do a new movie version of my almost-favorite novel, Guy de Maupassant’s "Bel-Ami." And now it’s been filmed, with the hunk from "Twilight" in the lead role. It’s out in England in March; the American release date has not been set. Here is the link to the novel, in which a handsome but talent-free young man pretty much sleeps his way to the top. And here, grumble grumble, is the preview.
December 12, 2011
Leaving Omelas
In the short story, "Omelas" is a word made from the reverse of Salem, Oregon. So it’s at least ironic to hear from Fred Leonhardt about it: “Your mention of Omelas struck a nerve: Here in laid-back, hip Portland, the elites of the city — the proverbial pillars of the community — once covered up for the mayor, Neil Goldschmidt, as he repeatedly raped and sodomized a young girl for years, beginning when she was 13. He went on to serve in Jimmy Carter’s cabinet and as governor of Oregon. I was his speechwriter.”
Fred wrote an op-ed for the Portland Register-Guard, using the LeGuin story as the spine. It is..well, just read it.
