CM PRESS # 455

WE'RE LIKE SNOWFLAKES--NO TWO OF US ARE ALIKE--EVEN IDENTICAL TWINS ARE DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER
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Although the focus of this article is on schizophrenia, the deeper message is that extremely minor differences in the shuffle of our genes can have major effects in the complete organism.
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OKAY, I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE 'HUSBAND'S' FACE IN THE PHOTO BELOW AND I FLASH BACK TO WHEN I WAS AT STELLA ADLER'S ACTING SCHOOL IN NYC AND SOME COMMERCIALS I'VE BEEN IN AND SOME OTHER ACTING I'VE DONE

As you may know, one of the ways a method actor acts like he's been shot--since most actors probably have never really been shot and don't know what their facial expression would be if they were shot--is to imagine that he's just stepped into an ice cold shower.  Yeah, the expression is pretty much same.

So, with that in mind, I can imagine the director in the coffee print ad below first telling the husband to look really loving and eager for the coffee. And, I can imagine the actor saying "Geez, it's just coffee, give me a break." 

Finally, on take 15 or so, the director has an inspiration: "Okay, imagine the woman pouring the coffee is really pretty and she's wearing a skimpy bikini and is giving you a come hither look."

"Yeah, that's it, baby. That's the expression we want.  That's some good coffee and because it's instant we have time for other things!"
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SPEAKING OF POLLS (WHICH WE DO IN THE ARTICLE BELOW THIS ONE)

One of the classic studies in market research (which uses polls and polling techniques) was done by behavioral psychologist Mason Haire back in 1950.

In brief, what happened was that Nestle had come out with Nescafe instant coffee and it wasn't selling as the company thought it should. 

The company couldn't figure out why, because their own direct research indicated that certain key words such as "flavor" should do the trick.

Finally, the company hired Mason Haire to see if he could help.

Haire figured that those being asked direct questions about the product weren't giving answers that reflected their deeper motivations.

So, what Haire did was to take an oblique approach by making up two shopping lists that were identical except one had instant coffee and the other had non-instant coffee.

Then, Haire showed one or the other of the two lists to different groups of women (who do most of the grocery shopping)  and asked them to give him a word picture of the "woman" who had made up the particular shopping list she was shown.

It turned out that the "woman" who had made up the shopping list with instant coffee was seen as lazy and not a good wife of mother.

Nestle then changed its ads to counter that perception and the product sold as the company had hoped.

[Photo at top is a post-Haire ad.  Notice the husband's loving look as his modern wife (the hands tell you that) takes care of his "hunger" by pouring him a cup of coffee.] 
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[UPDATE: Tulchin Research just contacted us and said more data would be released to the public and press on Monday. We'll stay on top of it.]

POLL RESULTS IN DAILY PILOT ABOUT OUTSOURCING
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The CM PRESS has just contacted Tulchin Research to see if we can get a copy of the questions asked and other data.  We'll let you know what happens.

If any readers received a telephone call recently about outsourcing, and if you can remember the call, please send us your comments. 

We'd like to know as much as you can remember. For example: The questions asked.  The order in which they were asked.  The tone of the caller and whether it was a male or female.  How they pre-qualified you for the poll, i.e. did they ask your political affiliation, age, whether you voted in the last election, who you voted for nationally,etc. The time of day of the call.  And anything else you can remember. Minor details aren't always minor in well constructed polls, so don't be shy about telling us anything you remember. We'll sort it out.

Thanks.
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FARRAKHAN VS. OBAMA
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Interesting problem for Obama.  Many Blacks believe he is being controlled by neo-Cons who are anti-Islam, anti-Palestinians and pro-Israel.

If Obama sides with Farrakhan, the neo-Cons will smear him as an anti-Semite.  If he sides with the neo-Cons, many Blacks will consider him an Uncle Tom.

No doubt, Obama's advisors hope that most people won't be able to see clear lines of demarcation.  And, from a PR standpoint they will probably try to keep the lines blurred in people's minds.  One way to do that is to have neo-Con writers attack Farrakhan as a nut.

And, that's exactly what we see starting in the first sentence of the above linked article written by Jonathan M. Seidl. "Louis Farrakhan--leader of the Nation Of Islam--is at it again.spewing hate and stands in solidarity with his 'brother' Moammar Gadhafi."

Well, there you have it. You don't have to try to form your own opinion of what Farrakhan has said. Seidl has already told you that Farrakhan is "spewing hate."

A search of other things written by Seidl seems to show more than a few columns in which Muslims are portrayed in a negative light.

Frankly, and this is a position we've had for many years; when someone writes about people of another religion, we think they should give information on which religion, if any, that they follow or were born into.  So, what is Jonathan M. Seidl's religion?  We're not told.
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GIANTS FANS ATTACKED AFTER GAME
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You won't see a racial/ethnic description of the attackers and the victims in this article.  Wonder why?
You know why.
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NUTCASE WOMAN IN WISCONSIN ARRESTED FOR SENDING THREATS TO POLITICIANS
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It wouldn't surprise us if we soon read about similar arrests in Costa Mesa.  And, it also wouldn't surprise us if the people arrested work for the City.
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COSTA MESA $15 MILLION IN THE HOLE--IF WE WANT TO START TACKLING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE
Link to Daily Pilot article.

Most of Costa Mesa's budget is being sucked up by labor costs.  Not much left over to repair streets, sidewalks and the like and there's nothing at all left over to actually begin improving the Westside in ways that will attract young, upwardly mobile families the way Irvine is attracting them.

Hopefully, the new Council will dust off the Westside plans and start putting some money into fixing that area of Costa Mesa--which many of us believe is the key to improving all of Costa Mesa.
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DOWNWARD SPIRAL--AND A CALL FOR MORE INTOLERANCE

Some readers will read what we wrote above and will say that we can't compete with Irvine for young, upwardly mobile families because Irvine has better schools.

Those who say this are simply saying what we've been saying for years, but they may not know it.

The Westside of Costa Mesa has been on a downward spiral and it is hurting all of Costa Mesa.

A downward spiral means when things go wrong in one way, many things go wrong along with it.

This is so, because things are interconnected. 

Costa Mesa's schools--our physical, brick and mortar buildings--and our teachers, are every bit as good as those in Irvine.

Why are Irvine's schools better than those in Costa Mesa?  It is because of the students in those schools.

A school is ranked good or bad based not on the physical buildings or the teachers but on the average student scores on standardized tests.

This begs the question. Why, on the average, are Irvine's students scoring higher on standardized tests? 

The answer is that many of them are from upwardly mobile families.  They're from families that value education and achievement.  They are from families that are often fully engaged in the competition of life. 

These families are awake and not simply sleep walking through life. They demand the best for themselves and their families.  If they see something wrong in their neighborhood, they try to fix it or they complain to the local government.  They don't just walk by drunks lying on the sidewalk wiout complaining.  They don't just see gangs and shut up.

They don't let the city become a skid row. They take personal responsibility for things.

Here's another word to describe them: INTOLERANT.

They are very intolerant of things that will drive down their quality of life.

Costa Mesa needs more of that kind of intolerance.  We need to be intolerant of those things that are keeping the Westside from being one of the best parts of our city.

We need to be intolerant of those people who do nothing but smile and help keep the area downscale with kumbaya talk and charities that are acting as magnets.

You want tolerance?  Visit skid row or slum areas of cities.  You'll find tolerance up the ying yang.

But you may be saying, "Hey, I don't live on the Westside and my neighborhood is fine."

Well, get back to that interconnectedness business.  The Westside is a large geographic part of our city.  If it is allowed to become a skid row, the rot is going to spread and the whole city will get a bad reputation.  This will chase away upwardly mobile families. Then, the school scores will drop lower. This will chase away more families. Gangs  and social dysfunction will thrive.  You get the picture.

It is time for intolerance for downscale conditions and it is time for the City Council to start spending more money not only on repairing our existing infrastructure but on bringing in infrastructure changes to help put us on an upward spiral.
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Those are our opinions.  Thanks for reading them.