Al's Morning Meeting

The New York Times absolutely loved it.

I can't wait to see the protests for this one when it hits Main Street America. I wonder which politicians, short on support a few weeks from the election, will jump on it.

Here's a link to the film's Web site, where you can watch the trailers and read more.

The Toronto Film Festival page tried to explain:

"Shortbus" is indeed packed with sex: all kinds of sex, graphically shown. It includes some acts that are familiar, some less so. But the film is not at all titillating. Sex serves as a guiding narrative device; it keeps the plot moving and reveals the intentions and fears of the multiple characters portrayed. [Director John Cameron] Mitchell was clearly not just looking to make something that began and ended with its own controversy.

The New York Times ran a story on the film in 2004, when it was still in development:

John Cameron Mitchell, the creator and star of the drag hit "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," would like your money to make a sex film, please. No, it's not pornography, Mitchell says. It's a comedy with real live sex taking place on camera. There'll be none of those fake encounters found in films like "Monster's Ball" or "In the Cut."

Come on, Mr. Mitchell. You've got to be kidding. What's the difference, really, between this and pornography? He's got an answer: The purpose of pornography is to arouse, whereas here, he said, "the priority is the emotional life of the characters.”

See a story from ABC News and a recent one from The New York Times.

Computer Abuse by Federal Workers

C/Net reports:

They're supposed to be studying rocks and protecting national parkland, but, like the best of us, some of the U.S. Department of the Interior's 80,000 employees are prone to getting a little, well, sidetracked.

That's the conclusion detailed in a 15-page report released this week (click for PDF) by the federal agency's watchdog arm. Its title, "Excessive Indulgences: Personal Use of the Internet at the Department of the Interior" and eye-catching cover -- featuring clip-art of an empty shopping cart, a woman's bare, toned midriff, chess pieces, and slot machine reels -- don't leave much to the imagination.

But here are some numbers shared by the auditors, who collected and analyzed Internet usage logs over a specific seven-day period from six bureaus and offices, including the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service and Minerals Management Service:

• 4,732 log entries related to sexually explicit and gambling Web sites had been accessed by department computers during the week.
• 7,763 computer users spent over 2,004 hours accessing game and auction sites during the same week.
• If one full-time employee works 2,080 hours per year, then that means the equivalent of 50 full-time employees spend all their working hours surfing online gaming and auction sites over the course of a year.
• A number of computer users spent 30 minutes to an hour at porn sites.
• In one egregious case, a single machine had 2,369 log entries at two Internet game sites, indicating 14 hours spent there that week.

You Can Fight City Hall

Al's Morning Meeting reader Joel Campbell, assistant professor of print journalism at Brigham Young University, dropped me a note and a good idea about telling the story of those citizens/gadflies who always turn up at city council, county board, planning and zoning meetings and such. Who are these folks, and what drives them? Joel writes:

In area municipalities, only a handful of residents routinely attend board meetings. But at those meetings, million-dollar budgets are passed, taxes are raised and neighborhoods are rezoned. In every community, there seems to be at least one person who does get involved in local government. And they have made a difference.

Here's a story.

Cause Marketing

This is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so Campbell Soup Co. printed pink labels for its tomato and chicken noodle soup cans. The reaction: Kroger, for one, has more than doubled its orders for the products. So-called "cause marketing" is everywhere. You can buy breast cancer awareness golf clubs and golf balls. (My wife has them.) There have been lipsticks, breath mints, kitchen appliances, cars, clothes and yogurts linked to breast cancer awareness campaigns. Click here to see how much money from these campaigns actually goes to the charitable cause. The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times looked at whether all of these commercial connections have done much of anything to prevent or cure breast cancer.  

Cause marketing is not new. Remember when American Express promised to donate one cent toward the restoration of the Statue of Liberty for each use of its card back in the 1980s? American Express card usage rose 28 percent during that promotion. 

MediaPost's "Marketing Daily" said:

A PRWeek/Barkley Evergreen Cause Survey found that 79 percent of corporate marketers who engage in cause marketing achieved an enhanced relationship with target consumer demographics, 74 percent reported a positive PR result, and 61 percent saw an increase in donations to the non-profit organizations.

What consumers get, though, is a simple sense of helping. "We knew Baby Boomers responded to cause marketing," says Mike Swenson, president of Evergreen Barkley PR in Kansas City, which works with Lee on its Denim Day. "As Gen X and Gen Y come into the arena, cause-branding shows no sign of abating at all," he said. "Things like Lee's Denim Day succeed because everyone wants to say: 'Today, I'm a member of the club.'"

But not everyone is a fan of pink October. Breast Cancer Action last week launched its fifth "Think Before You Pink" campaign, objecting to what it calls "pinkwashing," and urging consumers to ask critical questions about pink ribbon products and promotions.

Deciphering Consumer Labels

BusinessWeek has a neat little consumer piece explaining how consumer labels work. What, for example, is the difference among the "sell by," "best before," "use by" and "best if used by" dates? How do manufacturers arrive at those dates? Do they really mean anything? (Hint: Not much.)

As BusinessWeek explains:

The Food & Drug Administration, which regulates packaged foods and drugs, only requires a use-by, or expiration, date on infant formula. That's because formula must contain a certain quantity of each nutrient that is described on the label. And if formula is stored too long, it loses its nutritional quality, and also separates or form lumps that will clog the bottle nipple.

The Agriculture Deptartment, which regulates fresh produce and meats, only requires labeling of the date when poultry is packed at the farm. However, many manufacturers are allowed to also add sell-by or use-by dates. "Grocery stores that grind their own meat can add their own package labels," says USDA spokesman Steve Cohen.

In fact, both the FDA and the USDA have a pretty laissez-faire attitude when it comes to food shelf-life labeling.

Thunderwear

I saw the other day that a local criminal was wearing ThunderWear when cops shot him.

What the heck is Thunderwear? It is "the original and most widely worn concealed holster in the world." So there.

We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.