IDM Mailing Archive

On 8 Jan 2004 at 8:25, andrewduke@canada.com wrote:

quoted 3 lines Heck, maybe in the promo for a future release, I should include a

> Heck, maybe in the promo for a future release, I should include a > sticker on the outside of the package that says "purchasing this album > might reduce your cholesterol and may reduce heart disease"!

Not even completely out of line... if your music is relaxing it may reduce blood pressure and thus delay the onset of heart related problems - so, all's fair and honest! I * --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

quoted 21 lines has anyone noticed the influx of the words "may" and

> has anyone noticed the influx of the words "may" and > "might" in tv commercials lately? ie "...may reduce > your cholesterol" or "...might reduce heart disease". > On one hand I find this hilarious that this is > happening (see later), but on the other I hope people > don't get sucked in by this new form of marketing > thinking "may" or "might"= "does". On another hand > (the third hand :)), I'm surprised that it has taken > companies this long to try this new angle. The > opportunities are hilarious for others to run with > this; examples that came to mind: "(insert your fave > musician/food/activity/whatever here) may reduce your > cholestrol and might reduce heart disease". picture > this court scene: judge "why did you do that?" accused: > "well, your honor, I had read that doing so might lower > my cholesterol and might lessen my chances of heart > disease." Heck, maybe in the promo for a future > release, I should include a sticker on the outside of > the package that says "purchasing this album might > reduce your cholesterol and may reduce heart disease"! > Just a random thought. Andrew Duke

I worked in technical support for 2 or 3 years. As a result, I am not fluent in jargon. This is a standard construction in jargon, because there's always some idiot out there where things DON'T work, and they want to get uppity about it. See also the overuse of "should". --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

The FDA is weird about discussing "off-label" uses for a product. That's a fancy way of saying that if a company (i.e. Bayer Aspirin) hasn't spent the money on a research project they can't say that Bayer Aspirin reduces the risk of heart disease. They're trying to get around product claims that someone can come back and sue them over if the claims turn out to be unfounded. Back to the Bayer example, if research shows that aspirin does nothing for preventing heart disease, a few families are likely to sue Bayer Aspirin and blame them for claiming their aspirin will keep someone alive. Everything's being sold according to its secondary uses so the product claims need to be more vague. Special K is just a cereal and their only legit claim is that it will fill you up for breakfast. But people want to eat a breakfast that will lower their cholesterol, boost their energy, etc. -----Original Message----- From: andrewduke@canada.com [mailto:andrewduke@canada.com] Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 8:26 AM To: idm@hyperreal.org Subject: [idm] (ot) the words "may" and "might" has anyone noticed the influx of the words "may" and "might" in tv commercials lately? ie "...may reduce your cholesterol" or "...might reduce heart disease". On one hand I find this hilarious that this is happening (see later), but on the other I hope people don't get sucked in by this new form of marketing thinking "may" or "might"= "does". On another hand (the third hand :)), I'm surprised that it has taken companies this long to try this new angle. The opportunities are hilarious for others to run with this; examples that came to mind: "(insert your fave musician/food/activity/whatever here) may reduce your cholestrol and might reduce heart disease". picture this court scene: judge "why did you do that?" accused: "well, your honor, I had read that doing so might lower my cholesterol and might lessen my chances of heart disease." Heck, maybe in the promo for a future release, I should include a sticker on the outside of the package that says "purchasing this album might reduce your cholesterol and may reduce heart disease"! Just a random thought. Andrew Duke Jason Trenholm was born 31 August 1969 and died 1 January 2004. We met when we were 5 years old; he was my best friend for the next 29 years.***** Andrew Duke releases out now: Take Nothing For Granted http://cognitionaudioworks.com Environmental Politics http://and-oar.org Sprung http://bip-hop.com http://warprecords.com/mart/music/release.php? cat=BLEEP12&fc_type=CD *Canadian electronica album of the year nominee* More Destructive Than Organized http://staalplaat.com Highest Common Denominator http://pieheadrecords.com Physical and Mental Health http://dialrecords.com 74'02 (split with Hypo) http://tsunami-addiction.com http://cognitionaudioworks.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

From: "Nelson, Mark" Special K is just a cereal and their only legit claim is that it will fill you up for breakfast. But people want to eat a breakfast that will lower their cholesterol, boost their energy, etc. ______________________________________________ Special K: ~just~ a cereal??!! It's not ~just~ a cereal: it's the breakfast of champions and John Lilly. seek np: Stewart Walker - live @ Liquid Room, Tokyo, 9.14.02 --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

Well, it may have been the breakfast (and lunch, and dinner...) of John Lilly, but it's certainly NOT the BOC (Breakfast of Champions). That would be Wheaties. Quoting seeklektek <eclectics@comcast.net>:

quoted 8 lines Special K: ~just~ a cereal??!!

> Special K: ~just~ a cereal??!! > It's not ~just~ a cereal: it's the > breakfast of champions and John Lilly. > > seek > > np: Stewart Walker - live @ Liquid Room, Tokyo, 9.14.02 >

--------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

From: "Alan R. Lucas"

quoted 3 lines Well, it may have been the breakfast (and lunch, and dinner...) of John

> Well, it may have been the breakfast (and lunch, and dinner...) of John > Lilly, but it's certainly NOT the BOC (Breakfast of Champions). That would > be Wheaties.

What's that you say?!? Boards of Canada endorse the liberal use of ketamine???! I intentionally did not capitalize "breakfast of champions", in order to avoid the suggestion of trademark infringement. ;) seek np: Stewart Walker - live Halloween 2002

quoted 5 lines Quoting seeklektek

> Quoting seeklektek > > Special K: ~just~ a cereal??!! > > It's not ~just~ a cereal: it's the > > breakfast of champions and John Lilly. > > seek

--------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

From: <hime@charter.net

quoted 1 line I worked in technical support for 2 or 3 years. As a result, I am not fluent in jargon. Th

> I worked in technical support for 2 or 3 years. As a result, I am not fluent in jargon. This is a

standard construction in jargon, because there's always some idiot out there where things DON'T work, and they want to get uppity about it. See also the overuse of "should". _______________________________________________________________ I'm not bothered by 'may', 'might' and 'should', but I'm totally ticked off by 'like'. ~Everything~ is 'like' this or 'like' that. It's, like, too much like, like, everything else. Like, I don't like it. seek np: like, something like the last time --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

seeklektek said:

quoted 2 lines ~Everything~ is 'like' this or 'like' that. It's, like, too much

> ~Everything~ is 'like' this or 'like' that. It's, like, too much > like, like, everything else. Like, I don't like it.

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man. -- eggytoast.com : eggtastic.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: andrewduke@canada.com Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 08:25:47 -0800 (PST)

quoted 7 lines has anyone noticed the influx of the words "may" and

>has anyone noticed the influx of the words "may" and >"might" in tv commercials lately? ie "...may reduce >your cholesterol" or "...might reduce heart disease". >On one hand I find this hilarious that this is >happening (see later), but on the other I hope people >don't get sucked in by this new form of marketing >thinking "may" or "might"= "does".

unfortunately, that's exactly what the advertisers are banking on, and there are enough gullible people to believe it. d. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

I find the fact that they use "Virtually" a lot also. "It can leave your dishes virtually spotless", or "you can have all this satisfaction with virtually no side effects." or maybe even "you could be driving your new Honda with virtually nothing down". Virtually has very little meaning. Portis ----- Original Message ----- From: andrewduke@canada.com To: idm@hyperreal.org Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 12:55 PM Subject: [idm] (ot) the words "may" and "might" has anyone noticed the influx of the words "may" and "might" in tv commercials lately? ie "...may reduce your cholesterol" or "...might

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004, Portis wrote:

quoted 7 lines I find the fact that they use "Virtually" a lot also. "It can

> I find the fact that they use "Virtually" a lot also. "It can > leave your dishes virtually spotless", or "you can have all this satisfaction > with virtually no side effects." or maybe even "you could be driving your > new Honda with virtually nothing down". > > Virtually has very little meaning. >

It has a particular and precise meaning in computer science; if something is virtual it means that a particular task's implementation is made easier by making some simplifying assumption that isn't actually true. This divides the program into two simpler parts -- one that assumes something to make the problem easier to solve, and another that fools the other half into thinking that it's true. As we know, it's easy to fool someone into beliving something is so, if they want to believe it. That explains the popularity of George W. Bush; people want to believe his lies, because the truth is complicated and scary. In the case of the advertising slogans above, virtually means that they're pretending they can leave your dishes spotless, and inviting you to pretend their product works. They're selling you a fantasy that's more attractive than the reality -- the fact is that if you make cornbread and put the dishes in the dishwasher without rinsing them, they're gonna come out gritty, no matter what you pour in the dishwasher. My favorite ad-speak is a gum commercial from the 70s, that asserted "Of all the best tasting gums, Trident is sugarless." Which is a semantic bucket that carries no water -- the first part of the sentence implies a connection to the second part that doesn't exist.` --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

At 06:29 PM 1/12/2004, you wrote:

quoted 6 lines I find the fact that they use "Virtually" a lot also. "It can leave your

>I find the fact that they use "Virtually" a lot also. "It can leave your >dishes virtually spotless", or "you can have all this satisfaction with >virtually no side effects." or maybe even "you could be driving your new >Honda with virtually nothing down". > >Virtually has very little meaning.

You could say it's virtually meaningless :D derek -- eggytoast.com -- eggtastic.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "Portis" <portis@warp.nfld.net> Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 19:59:47 -0330

quoted 1 line I find the fact that they use "Virtually" a lot also. "It can leave your

>I find the fact that they use "Virtually" a lot also. "It can leave your

dishes virtually spotless", or "you can have all this satisfaction with virtually no side effects." or maybe even "you could be driving your new Honda with virtually nothing down".

quoted 2 lines Virtually has very little meaning.

> >Virtually has very little meaning.

dictionary.com lists: 1. In fact or to all purposes; practically: The city was virtually paralyzed by the transit strike. 2. Almost but not quite; nearly: “Virtually everyone gets a headache now and then” which doesn't mean the word isn't used to make outlandish claims, because it is. d. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org