Family Guy breaks Windows

If you have seen the show Family Guy, and at this point that would be most anyone from age 45 and down, you know what you are going to get. The jokes are hardly tame, the show is about as close to All in the Family as Archie was open-minded. But there is no question that this is all a given.

That's why advertisers love this show. Most of the time. Because they can reach their target audience, plus other people equally flush with cash. And almost every product can fit into the theme of any episode. It's just that sometimes the advertisers just can't handle an episode or a dozen.

Microsoft is the latest of advertisers to balk at the content. After making major plans, and potentially a lot of money, to have Seth MacFarlane hawk Windows 7 in the upcoming Family Guy special Microsoft lost their nerve. Either that, or the execs that loved the demographics of the show never bothered to watch a single episode before they made the deal.

But once they did get to watch a special taping of what they would be involved with, well the deal broke. It seems that deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest are all topics that Microsoft can't find humor in. Not that any of these things are new subjects for this television program to tackle. I suppose they really would have lost their minds if it included the recurring BDSM themes of the show (or maybe they would have liked that??)

Honestly this makes me wonder only one thing. How stupid can the brains at Microsoft be? All they had to do is watch less than 30 minutes of television and they would have known if this was the right kind of show for them. A quick Google search (or MSN if they want to lie) and they would have found no end to the topics that some object to on Family Guy. Instead they look dumb, snobbish, and insincere.

Somehow I think Microsoft will get a bit of advertising in the end. It may not be this episode (though I think it will be) but I think that Seth MacFarlane will trash talk the computer giant - with references to broken windows or more directly to the landmine that was Vista. Somehow I don't think Microsoft will like the attention, and I'm sure it won't add to their bottom line. But it will probably be very funny.

So I look forward to seeing that in Family Guy.

Oh, for Microsoft. I have advertising space available for you on my blogs, if you can handle what I say. Give me a call.

Inspiration and a World Record deserves media coverage - 6.27.2007.1

With all the negative media that hits the airwaves it’s great to hear something positive from time to time. Pay attention because you may not notice this being covered by the cable news networks.


Mr. Barrington Irving has just set a new world record, actually 2 of them. The records are for being the youngest to fly solo around the world. This young pilot, only 23, has just finished his world hopping flight after starting 93 days ago. He is also the first African American to make the trip.

Mr. Irving is a senior majoring in aerospace at Florida Memorial University, who started to learn to fly when he was just 16. His motivation to take on and create this world record?

“…inspire other young people to resist the negative influences of the streets and work toward their dreams.”

Mr. Irving did it, and he is no rich celebrity. He went to a community college with a partial Florida Bright Future Scholarship before his work and dedication prompted community leaders to provide him joint Air Force/Florida Memorial University Flight Awareness Scholarship to further his education and flight training. He has earned his Private, Commercial Pilot, and Flight Instructor licenses. In addition he founded a nonprofit organization, Experience Aviation, Inc.

I, for one, and truly impressed and filled with respect for Mr. Irving. His plane, called Inspiration, was built from donated parts he collected. He had Chevron donate the fuel for his trip, Microsoft donated free Flight Simulator software to students of Experience Aviation, 2 satellite companies provided tracking software so people could follow him on his trip, and a software development company is making a flight simulator based on him.

All this came to Mr. Barrington Irving, who was born in Jamaica and raised in the inner-city of Miami, because he went for it. This is a story that needs to be covered more. Kids in cities can succeed. Black men can be more than a rapper, athlete, or drug-dealing pimp. Education, dreams and a will for more, when coupled with hard work can get you wherever you want to go. Don’t believe that because I said so, know it because Mr. Barrington Irving did it.

This is what I think, what do you think?

Videoholics, the new addiction du jour - 6.15.2007.1

So you have heard of alcoholics, chocoholics, and recently sexsomniacs. Well get ready for videoholics. What would that be? People who are addicted to the internet and/or video games. Yes, the American Medical Association is currently trying to decide if that is a legitimate mental disorder.

Now while I do play video games, and I’m on the ‘net everyday I hardly consider it an addiction. I work on the ‘net, and own businesses there, does that make me mentally unstable? I own several video games, and on occasion I play a MMO (massively multiplayer online game) for an entire weekend. But is that the same as drinking bottles of gin til I pass out? I think not.

This is stupid. For a group of smart people this sounds quite dumb. I mean I can see alcohol, nicotine, even chocolate. They are all capable of having direct chemical changes in the brain. The sexsomnia I spoke about previously. This just doesn’t make sense. Maybe there will be an addiction to television that will be up for consideration soon. Most of America will fall under that one.

What says that like the sexsomnia situation this is a ploy for a legal case?

“I speculated that the research being done in October was a precursor to some legal case an attorney was preparing for. Lo and behold I was not wrong. On the 23rd of May, Mr. Scott Axelburg used this defense to justify placing his hands down the pants of a 16-year-old babysitter.”

How long until someone sues Playstation or Microsoft, or asks the government for disability pay on this?

This is what I think, what do you think?