Back in the 1950s, when product reviews were limited to the disgruntled rantings of family gatherings, there was no way to share your feedback with other consumers about popular convenience foods. There was no social media, and certainly no Martha Stewart to save you from risking your money and your health on culinary disasters that roamed the depths of your…
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Four Scores and Countless Metaphors Abraham Lincoln’s New Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln wrote and delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the American Civil War. The speech was intended to honor the soldiers who had died in the Battle of Gettysburg and to reaffirm the principles of liberty and equality that the United States was founded upon.…
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Riddles and Enigmas Deciphering the World of Job Interview Questions
“If you were a tree, what kind would you be?” – Anonymous question from “The Dating Game” The air is thick with the scent of Old Spice and cigarette smoke. Yet, there I am, decked out in my polyester best, ready to embark on the most bewildering challenge of my life – my first job interview. In the late 1960s,…
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Recycled Slogans The New Frontier in Advertising
In the realm of advertising, a powerful slogan is timeless. From Finger-Lickin’ Good to Just Do It, catchy phrases have not only defined brands but also embedded themselves in our cultural fabric. Many of the original patents for beloved product slogans have recently expired leaving thousands of them “up for grabs.” This presents a problem for some and a new…
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Those Good Old Time Diseases Why nobody gets Dry Bellyache or Bucket Fever these days
I was a first-grader at Van Nuys Elementary School the first time I came into contact with the medical system and its old time diseases. As a healthy child, the only thing that slowed me down was the occasional off-color weenie on “Hot Dog Friday.” None of the hair-netted ladies behind the steam table thought for a minute that I…
