Busvertising

Most advertising goes by WC without notice. It’s probably adaptive behavior in the 21st Century. But occasionally an ad comes along which grabs even WC’s jaundiced, cynical eye.

Certainly Alaska Airlines’ Salmon Thirty Salmon back in 2005 is an example of an ad that will make you do a double take:

Alaska Airlines' Salmon Thirty Salmon

(This is a promo shot from Alaska Air. Note the clearcuts in background. Oops.)

Sam Ash Music in New York City has a brilliant riff on an articulated bus.

Sam Ash Music Accordion Bus

But for WC, the current champion, eye-catching, double-take ad is this beauty for the Copenhagen Zoo.

Copenhagen Zoo

For more examples of busvertising, try these.

Ice Alaska 2012 Photos

Ice Alaska is moved to its new location, and WC is pleased to report that the sculptures are once again world class. Photos can’t begin to capture the experience. If you are in Alaska, you need to stop by for a few hours, preferably after dark, and see the art.

Butterfly Detail - Single Book Competition, Stan Kolonko and Jerry Berun

This is only a portion of the sculpture, but the detail in the butterfly appealed to WC. Remember, this was carved from a single block of ice.

The next photo is a test. Ready?

It's All About the Boots

No cheating, now. Without looking again, what does this little beauty have on her feet? There was no sign identifying the artist for this excellent piece; if someone knows, please let WC know.

The winner in the multi-block competition was, once again, simply extraordinary.

Junichi Nakamura, Shinichi Sawamura, Satoru Mahoe and Takahiro Sueyoshi combined on Prickly Reception, a leopard stalking a crested porcupine.

Prickly Reception, Full View, Multi-Block Champion

About the only thing to criticize in this sculpture is that it was a real challenge to photograph. This photo simply doesn’t do it justice.

Here’s a detail shot of the crested porcupine, showing the detail in the quills.

Prickly Reception, Detail of Crested Porcupine

And here’s a detail shot of the leopard’s head. Again, note the excellent details in the teeth and whiskers.

Prickly Reception, Detail of Leopard's Head

Bear in mind these are just three sculptures of dozens on display. The selection reflects nothing but WC’s preference for naturalism.

Remember the location has changed. See the map on Ice Alaska’s site for directions. Dress warm. Be prepared to be amazed.

P.T. Barnum Award: December 2011

The P.T. Barnum Award goes irregularly to the most outrageous email WC receives proving Barnum was right, that a sucker is born every minute. This email requires the you to enjoy bidding at auctions to the exclusion of successfully purchasing anything of value at that auction. Oh, and really, really bad customer service.

[Note: you follow any links in messages like this at your peril. WC will not be responsible if you infect your computer with ghastly forms of malware by following these links.]

WC received an email with the following link:

 Brand New MacBooks, iPads  Kindles Under $50! Learn more. <http://server.emiliehairandmakeup.com/02147797891010474178211130195b56579f9a6>  OVERSTOCK CLEARANCE   

Why would Emilie Hair and Makeup be hosting an overstock clearance? When WC clicked on the link, it forwarded through an amazing four other URLs before settling of DealFun. That turns out to be a penny auction site. You purchase the privilege of betting on bids at auctions and, if you are the high bidder, you then pay for what you’ve purchased. Much of what is sold there is of . . . dubious value. There are items like iPads sold as well, but, at least based upon the reviews, you will somehow always get outbid on the good stuff. It’s almost like the bidding is rigged.

Several review sites have unkind things to say about Dealfun. For example, Scambook comments say things like:

Got hooked into this site for 4 items on my wishlist but only “won” small items less than a dollar each. Invested USD 275.22 so far, and no evidence of any real return. Hooks into gambling…

was miss led and demanding my credit card to be credited back ASAP this site is false advertising and a waste of time Im not a computer tech by any means but really Im sure the ones running this…

Yahoo Answers opines:

It’s more like a gambling site. “Bids” (actually a bet that you will win) cost 60 cents. Each bid that a person makes raises the price of the item one cent and resets the bid clock allowing another person time to “bid.” You are basically placing bets, raising and re-raising until someone drops out of the competition. The vig for the house (dealfun) is insane.

Reviewopedia says:

You pay for each bid up front. Even when the clock goes down to 1 second, another bid (probably machine) ups the auction amount at that second and increases the time of bidding on that item (it’s like climbing sisyphus). you’re guaranteed to waste hours of time and, at best, save a couple of dollars on an item you didn’t want or need.

So DealFun – masked through a series of links – wants WC to pay money to bid on mostly junk for the privilege of paying more money for “winning” mostly more junk? At a company with a shipping problem? Thanks, but no thanks.

These kind of bid purchase penny auction sites seem to be increasing in numbers. Unless you enjoy giving money away – or indulging in a kind of expensive masochism – you’re probably better off shopping Amazon, or if you enjoy auctions, spending your time at eBay. If the prices in the DealFun ads seem too good to be true, it’s because they are.

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Note for pedants and other scholars: WC is aware that Phineas Taylor Barnum probably never said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” WC is also aware of the impressive scholarship devoted to tracking down the real source of the quote. None of which stops WC from calling this the P. T. Barnum Award.

Hypocrisy Sampler: November 2011

Smells Like Hypocrisy

November is a wrap, so it’s again time for the monthly hypocrisy sampler. WC accumulates instances over the course of the month, and had five bullet points by November 10. Another sad bumper crop of steaming hypocrisy, coming right up. Pull on your rubber boots, your elbow height rubber gloves and a gas mask, and we’ll wade into this month’s selection.

Okay, the first through fifth entries (and counting) are no brainers: Herman Cain retires the Bill Clinton Trophy for Serial Hypocrisy About Sex, except that where President Clinton had consensual sex and lied about it, Presidential Wannabe Herman Cain is a serial sexual harrasser and lied about it. If there was an award for clumsy lies, that would go to Mr. Cain as well.

And another nod to Herman Cain, who faces claims by Ms. Ginger White that Cain had a 13 (!) year affair with her. Ms. White provided Fox News with a phone number. Fox News texted to it. It was Herman Cain’s number. Per Fox News, Cain staff said,

Mr. Cain said he “knew Ginger White” and and that she had his number because he was “trying to help her financially.”

Isn’t that what every john is doing? Quite a piece of work, Mr. Cain.

Fellow Presidential Wannabe Newt “He’s Still Around?” Gingrich, who claimed at the November 9 debate that Freddie Mac paid him $300,000 “as a historian” to criticize Freddie Mac; it turns out Eye of Newt was paid as much as $2 million to defend Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and to talk about “what he saw as the benefits of the Freddie Mac business model.” So Freddie Mac was a great idea until it stopped paying him $300,000 a year?

The rioting students of Penn State University, who think it was wrong to fire their football coach for failing to do everything he could in his power to protect children. Let WC put it starkly: Coach JoePa thought it better to sacrifice a series of young kids to a sexual predator, rather than risk damage to his reputation. And students riot? The grand jury report will make you sick to your stomach. The hypocrisy, litigation, blame games and fury surrounding the serial child abuse at PSU will be with us for a long time.

Texas Governor and yet another presidential wannabe, Rick Perry, who claimed high moral dudgeon at the mere existence of three federal agencies, but was unable to name the third one. It was a treat watching him squirm as he tried to think of a federal agency. “Oops” indeed. But it’s still a high moment of hypocrisy as well.

All of the Republican presidential wannabes except Huntsman and Paul get a hypocritical smirk for endorsing torture as an instrument of U.S. policy at the debate on November 13. Here’s a fun fact for neocons: it was President Ronald Reagan who signed the 1984 Convention Against Torture. St. Ronnie said at the time that the U.S. was

[A]gainst torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today.

Fox News’ Greta von Susteren for giving a platform to someone who would say, on national television, that former Penn State Ass’t Coach Jerry Sandusky was a “perverted former assistant coach” and that his actions were “sinfulness” before suggesting that they “hang him from the highest tree” and offering to “bring the rope.” First we getting targeting metaphors; now we get explicit calls for lynching. Ms. Susteren, it’s hypocritical to claim this person is a news source. And it’s hypocritical to give this much hate a platform.

The Republican members of the late, lamented “Supercommittee,” whose refusal to even consider meaningful tax increases doomed the Supercommittee’s efforts. And then the Republicans accused the Democrats of “inflexibility.” Hello?

WC’s gag reflex is starting to cut in. That’s the merest sliver of this month’s hypocrisy, but it’s more than WC can take. There will be more next month.

P.T. Barnum Award, October 2011

The P.T. Barnum Award goes monthly to the most outrageous email WC receives proving Barnum was right, that a sucker is born every minute. This email requires the utter suspension of credulity and invites the recipient to participate in attorney trust account fraud.

[Note: you follow any links in messages like this at your peril. WC will not be responsible if you infect your computer with ghastly forms of malware by following these links.]

REQUEST FOR LEGAL REPRESENTATION.
This is an official request for legal representation on behalf of GIH Electrical-Holdings Berhad. Founded in 1980, our company’s principal activity is to sell and develop electronics components and other peripheral equipment. The Electronic parts division deals in semiconductors and EMS for personal computers, general electronic parts and Cables. The Information equipment division sells personal computers and computer peripheral equipment.

Products Provided:

• Optical & photographic instruments & apparatus

• Electrical machinery, apparatus & parts

• Mechanical machinery, apparatus & parts

• Office machines & computer equipment & parts

• Heating & cooling equipment & parts

• Electronic devices, parts & accessories

• Telecommunications, audio & video equipment and parts

We the directors of GIH Electrical Holdings Berhad would like to employ your service regarding a possible representation in matters concerning GIH Electrical Holdings Berhad and our client in your state. Our legal representative won’t be able to represent us on this case because it is outside their area of jurisdiction. Since our client is in your state, we believe that this case is within your jurisdiction which is why we are requesting your legal services on this matter. We are presently incapacitated due to legal boundaries to exert pressure on our delinquent customers and we request for your services accordingly. We got your contact information from the Online Lawyers Directory as a result of our search for a reliable firm or individual to provide legal services as requested.

After a careful review of your profile as well as your qualification and experience, we are of the opinion that you are capable and qualified to provide the legal services as requested. On behalf of GIH Electrical-Holdings Berhad, Please accept my sincerest appreciation in advance for your willingness to render your services, as we look forward to your prompt response to our request.

Regards,

David Yap Chung
Executive Chairman
GIH Electrical Holdings Bhd
Lot 12A, Persiaran Meranti
Damasara,43000 Kajang
Selangor Malaysia.

And examination the mail header is the first clue that this is a scam:

Return-Path: <joblingnathan@gmail.com>
Received: from psmtp.com (exprod6mx200.postini.com [64.18.1.220])
by [deleted].com (8.13.8/8.13.8) with ESMTP id pA110nji092586
for <deleted@deleted.com>; Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:00:50 -0800 (AKDT)
(envelope-from joblingnathan@gmail.com)

The sender of the mail, probably some poor sot with a zombified computer in China, isn’t anyone associated with GIH Electrical Holdings Bhd.

What it invariably turns out to be is a request to help them collect an account. And very early on, the deadbeat decides to pay, and could WC as a lawyer accept the cashier’s check and put it in his trust account, and then disburse the balance, less WC’s attorneys’ fees, by wire transfer to this account.

If WC is naive enough to agree – after all, how much risk can there be with a cashier’s check? – and wire transfers the money to the off shore account, there will be an unfortunate series of events. First, the cashier’s check will be returned as forged or counterfeit or otherwise worthless. Second, WC will be out of trust; that is, some other client’s money will effectively have been spent. It’s grounds for some very serious sanctions by the Alaska Bar Association.

And if you Google the purported company, sure enough it turns up on lawyerscams.com, a generally reliable if sometimes hacked reference site for this kind of fraud.

Lawyers: email solicitations for work are usually fraudulent. A Nigerian group reportedly scammed $31 million on a variation of this con. Be warned.

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Note for pedants and other scholars: WC is aware that Phineas Taylor Barnum probably never said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” WC is also aware of the impressive scholarship devoted to tracking down the real source of the quote. None of which stops WC from calling this the P. T. Barnum Award.

P.T. Barnum Award, August 2011

The P.T. Barnum Award goes monthly to the most outrageous email WC receives proving Barnum was right, that a sucker is born every minute. This email requires repeal of the laws of thermodynamics and the utter suspension of credulity. And spelling, And grammar. Surely not too great a task for some.

[Note: you follow the links in messages like this at your peril. WC will not be responsible if you infect your computer with ghastly forms of malware by following these links.]

Dear Friend,

Can Water Really Power an Engine?

http://t3ig.com/SimpleWaterFuel

Im sure you already found out the rumours that water might be used to power up a car…

It sounds extremely promissing. But is it true?

Well, I just found out about a website that actually gives you the instructions on how to do this yourself:

http://t3ig.com/SimpleWaterFuel

I read the website, watched the videos, and boy…this stuff really got me all curious. It seems  there are already 10,000s of people who are actually using a device like this.

Anyway, I went ahead and bought their package. I couldnt resisted… It sounds too good to be true, yet if this turns out to be real, then this is BIG.

Im so enthusiasted about this, that I thought to just send you a link so you get to see it for yourself:

To check out this opportunity, please visit:

== http://t3ig.com/SimpleWaterFuel

To bigger gas savings,

Cindy Price

PS: there are many voices that say that this is not working. But I figured that they have a 60-day guarantee, so I might as well give it a shot.

Note for pedants and other scholars: WC is aware that Phineas Taylor Barnum probably never said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” WC is also aware of the impressive scholarship devoted to tracking down the real source of the quote. None of which stops WC from calling this the P. T. Barnum Award.