Keith B. Darrell's Blog, page 30
November 13, 2015
Quick, My Feelings Have Been Hurt! Call the Thought Police!
They’re at it again. This time, the University of Missouri’s campus cops emailed students urging them to report any “hurtful speech” they encounter on campus. They asked students to describe the offender and encouraged them to photograph the speaker, if possible.
For now, I’ll bypass the obvious question of what hurtful speech is. “Your hair is a mess.” “Are you gaining weight?” “I think we should stop seeing each other.” “You’re a liar.” You get the point. “Hurtful” is by definition a subject...
For now, I’ll bypass the obvious question of what hurtful speech is. “Your hair is a mess.” “Are you gaining weight?” “I think we should stop seeing each other.” “You’re a liar.” You get the point. “Hurtful” is by definition a subject...
November 11, 2015
The Discourteous Professor of Hypocrisy
They just don’t get it. The cognitive dissonance at the University of Missouri School of Journalism is incredible. It posted a statement about yesterday’s incident (which I discussed at length yesterday) on its Website suggesting that it could be a teachable moment. The statement purported to be about the conflict between the First Amendment and “competing interests” but it was rather fuzzy on what those competing interests might actually be. It contrasted the fact that Carnahan Quad &n...
November 10, 2015
Muscle Flexing by an Ass Media Professor
In this Carollian looking glass, bizarro world of 21st century radical liberalism run amok, it should come as no surprise that a college journalism professor attempted to stop a journalist from filming a news event on campus.
Melissa Click, an assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, threatened a student journalist who was filming a campus protest. “You need to get out, you need to get out,” Click yelled at the freelance reporter while trying to rip the camera from his h...
Melissa Click, an assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, threatened a student journalist who was filming a campus protest. “You need to get out, you need to get out,” Click yelled at the freelance reporter while trying to rip the camera from his h...
November 7, 2015
The Internet is a Harsh Mistress
Wow. I’m watching someone on George Takei’s Facebook page attacking Robert Heinlein. Robert Heinlein, the “Dean of Science Fiction” – the man whose books I devoured as a child – being brutally slandered by a smartass whippersnapper. Comments like: “He's a science fiction writer; not an esteemed philosopher or political ideologist. A science fiction writer; and not a very good one at that.” …. “Apparently you think that a photo of Heinlein with his opinion scrawled over it somehow gives...
November 6, 2015
I’d Hate to See Your Pretty Little Bird Get Hurt
An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
They turned, only to find their path blocked by an imposing figure.
“You!” Tucker exclaimed.
The man chuckled. “Now boy, is that any way to greet your pa? Especially after he’s been away for so long.”
Tucker squeezed Brooke’s hand.
“Let’s go, Tucker,” Brooke said. “Your foster parents will be wondering where you are.”
The man grinned. “Aw, ain’t that cute? You done got yourself a little girlfriend while I was ban...
They turned, only to find their path blocked by an imposing figure.
“You!” Tucker exclaimed.
The man chuckled. “Now boy, is that any way to greet your pa? Especially after he’s been away for so long.”
Tucker squeezed Brooke’s hand.
“Let’s go, Tucker,” Brooke said. “Your foster parents will be wondering where you are.”
The man grinned. “Aw, ain’t that cute? You done got yourself a little girlfriend while I was ban...
November 3, 2015
Pepsi Imperfect
Pepsi has officially proven itself to have the most incompetent marketing department on the face of the planet. Twice.
You may recall my earlier post last month about Pepsi’s much touted marketing campaign to release a special edition bottle of Pepsi Perfect – the fictional soft drink in the film Back to the Future II. Pepsi completely botched the rollout due to a number of blunders, all detailed in my previous post. Fortunately for Pepsi, I offered it away to climb out of this marke...
You may recall my earlier post last month about Pepsi’s much touted marketing campaign to release a special edition bottle of Pepsi Perfect – the fictional soft drink in the film Back to the Future II. Pepsi completely botched the rollout due to a number of blunders, all detailed in my previous post. Fortunately for Pepsi, I offered it away to climb out of this marke...
November 2, 2015
The New 2016 Edition of Issues In Internet Law Has Just Been Published!
Want to find out more about how the NSA is spying on American citizens? There's an entire brand new chapter devoted to that topic in the 10th edition of Issues In Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law.
Here's what else is in this edition:The 10th edition of Issues In Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law has been updated for 2016 with the latest cases and trends in Internet Law. The new edition also has an expanded glossary and expanded statute and case indexes.Topi...
October 30, 2015
I Buried It in the Woods
An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
That afternoon, Tucker walked Brooke home from school. He glanced behind his shoulder. “It’s weird. He could be anywhere. My stepfather might be watching me now.”
Brooke grasped his hand. “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare come near you before the trial. And once you tell the court all the terrible things he did to you, they’ll put him away for a long, long time.”
Tucker sighed. “I don’t know if I can. It’s not ea...
That afternoon, Tucker walked Brooke home from school. He glanced behind his shoulder. “It’s weird. He could be anywhere. My stepfather might be watching me now.”
Brooke grasped his hand. “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare come near you before the trial. And once you tell the court all the terrible things he did to you, they’ll put him away for a long, long time.”
Tucker sighed. “I don’t know if I can. It’s not ea...
October 23, 2015
Do You Have Any Idea How Powerful That Watch Makes You?
An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
“Mac, last night he tried to rape her. Margo slept in the woods. She was afraid to go home. She’s terrified. He’s got to be stopped or he’ll try again.”
“Has she told the police?”
Marlene shook her head. “She has no proof to back up her story. He’ll deny it. Besides, the cops can’t guard her every minute.”
Mackenzie pulled out his pocket watch. “I can travel between minutes, but I can’t watch over Margo every m...
“Mac, last night he tried to rape her. Margo slept in the woods. She was afraid to go home. She’s terrified. He’s got to be stopped or he’ll try again.”
“Has she told the police?”
Marlene shook her head. “She has no proof to back up her story. He’ll deny it. Besides, the cops can’t guard her every minute.”
Mackenzie pulled out his pocket watch. “I can travel between minutes, but I can’t watch over Margo every m...
October 21, 2015
Pepsi Perfect – NOT!
Pepsi has just made the biggest marketing blunder since rival Coca-Cola changed its successful 99-year-old formula into the disastrous New Coke in 1985.
This is no small accomplishment. The saga of New Coke has become a legendary example taught in business schools to marketing students of what a company should never, ever do. Until now, no one has been able to top that blunder. Yet Pepsi has managed to live up to its slogan and become the Choice of a New Generation… Of marketing dodos.
Today --...
