Magicians with Syphillis Need Not Apply

The estate of science fiction and film collector Forrest J. Ackerman is being auctioned off this week by LiveAuctioneers.Com, and among the items up for bid tomorrow is a 1926 membership card from the Society of American Magicians signed by Harry Houdini, the president of the organization. The group offered the following "hospital benefit":

If a MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING is compelled to undergo hospital treatment as a result of accident or disease (other than venereal or chronic and incurable) he shall notify the Secretary of the Parent Assembly in New York City; whereupon the society will pay any hospital for a period not exceeding five (5) weeks within one year, a total sum not to exceed thirty-five (35) dollars for such treatment. If any member is obliged to pay in advance for such hospital treatment, he may, by presenting the receipted bill, reclaim one (1) dollar for each day not exceeding thirty-five (35) days within one year, provided such payment has not been made direct to the hospital by the society. This card must bear the signature of the member and all vouchers for payment must be signed by the member and by the hospital physician in the presence of each other. Payments for treatment will be allowed from the date of the postmark on the envelope or card addressed to the Secretary at the New York Headquarters.

The same year this card was issued, Houdini died of perotinitis after his appendix ruptured. He "had apparently been suffering from appendicitis for several days prior and yet refused medical treatment," according to his Wikipedia entry. The society is still around and continues to offer some health assistance to magicians in financial need.

Magic · Health · Insurance · 2009/04/29 · Comment · Link

Virology Blog Offers Level-Headed Take on Swine Flu

If you're looking for solid information on swine flu from sources who haven't lapsed into hysterics, Professor Vincent Racaniello of Columbia University Medical Center, who has studied viruses for 30 years, publishes an excellent Virology Blog that's heavy on facts and short on panic.

Racaniello believes the flu will stop spreading soon in the U.S. for the same reason that ordinary seasonal flus fade every year around this time, but it could come back stronger in the fall:

Flu season is basically over in the US, and with the increasing heat and humidity (over 90° today in NYC) virus transmission should soon stop. However, if A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) takes hold in the southern hemisphere in the coming months - their flu season is still beginning - it is likely to return to the northern hemisphere in the fall. Unfortunately, by then extensive antiviral use in the southern hemisphere is likely to have produced drug-resistant variants.

I wish the media did a better job putting this flu in perspective. Around 250,000 to 500,000 people die each year around the world because of ordinary flus. Some of the deaths and illnesses in Mexico may still prove to be regular flus or other causes for respiratory distress -- Mexico City has extremely polluted air. Racaniello reports that only seven deaths in Mexico have been confirmed to be swine flu cases thus far.

Though this could become a pandemic, the same was true of SARS, bird flu (influenza A virus subtype H5N1) and many other bugs over the 40 years since the last one. Emerging viruses are a fact of life, whether or not the media's losing its collective mind. Wash your hands, get flu shots every fall, see a doctor when you get the flu, and don't be one of those dopes who goes to work or school when you're sick. There's nothing admirable or virtuous about toughing it out and exposing others to contagious illness. The only exception to this rule was game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

Health · Media · Swine Flu · 2009/04/28 · 1 COMMENT · Link

Shooting Victim Ben Teague Reviewed Alleged Killer's Book

George Zinkhan, a University of Georgia marketing professor, is suspected of shooting to death his wife Marie Bruce and two others, Ben Teague and Tom Tanner, at a gathering of the Town and Gown Players theater group in Athens, Georgia, Saturday.

On Teague's web site, he wrote about receiving Zinkhan's Consumers, a textbook he wrote on marketing:

Consumers
by Eric Arnould, Linda Price and George Zinkhan

So George and I were talking about beer and he mentioned Pilsner Urquell. I told him my Pilsner Urquell story:

You have to understand about Atlanta. They have fine landscapes and splendid institutions. Stone Mountain is the biggest extrusive granite monolith in North America, and you can see it from everywhere around. But ask a native what you should see while you're in town, and you'll get one of two answers: the "attractions" at Stone Mountain Park, by which they mean the rides, or "Oh, you must shop at Phipps Plaza." Those are not the only ways in which Atlanta is peculiar, but they'll do for right now.

I was there for some event that was either over or not started yet, and because (as Paul Newman says) a fellow has to be somewhere, I stopped in for a bite to eat at Lenox Square. The Patak Brothers at that time ran a tiny delicatessen where they sold their own incomparable sausages, so I asked what they had for supper. The last slice of country pate and some French bread from that morning, they told me. I got that, a dab of mustard, and a bottle of Pilsner Urquell, and sat in the loud, grimy food court and enjoyed a finer meal than I've ever had in a seventy-dollar restaurant. It's imprinted, permanently I hope, in my memory.

George became excited about the story. He holds an endowed chair in marketing at the university's College of Business, and he knew exactly what I was talking about: remembered consumption. He went to his car, extracted a copy of his book, and inscribed it to me. A generous act, I thought.

Now this is not a review of George's book, just a note about the story and the gift, plus a mention of some fascinating stuff that comes in a late chapter about the "meaning" of consumption. The authors have collected a vast amount of information about what products, and the act of consuming them, mean to people. They show how people interpret everything from wedding cake to blue jeans: in terms of the satisfaction they derive, the messages they send and receive, the ways products go together to form ways of living. Goods can acquire "sacred" meaning—with deference to the endower of George's chair, I suspect Coca-Cola has some sacred qualities to Southerners -- as well as secular meaning through their utility but also through the notions we attach to them. There's a chart on which I can precisely locate my memory of the pate and Pilsner meal: high on the Pleasure axis and moderately far out on the Sleepiness axis, hence in the Contentment region. The meaning of the product then has implications for how you think about marketing the product as well as marketing the act of consuming it.

It's a perspective I would not have gained if George and I hadn't gotten into that conversation. It is good to have this to think about.

The book is a textbook, in fact a heavy textbook, and perhaps won't appeal to a wide nonstudent audience, but it presents some useful insights in an easy-to-absorb way. I don't think I have assigned it any sacred meaning, but in secular terms the gift means a lot.

Crime · News · 2009/04/25 · Comment · Link

Attorney Wants .Pol Top-Level Domain for Politicians

Political law attorney Matthew T. Sanderson believes the Internet needs a new .pol top-level domain because of cybersquatters who grab domain names related to politicians. He cites Meg Whitman's difficulty acquiring domains related to her gubernatorial run in California:

Long before she began forming her campaign for governor of California, Meg Whitman got cybersquatted. Media speculation in early 2008 that the billionaire former chief executive of eBay would seek the state's highest office prompted a Santa Monica man to nab rights to several Web sites that evoke Whitman's name, including WhitmanForGovernor.com and MegWhitman2010.com.

Whitman spent much of last year trying to get those sites back. Her early attempts to negotiate failed, and she lost an Internet arbitration because her extensive business and political activities did not make her name "commercial" enough to warrant protection. She then initiated costly and potentially fruitless litigation that, had events run their course, might have concluded after California's gubernatorial election. In the end, though, Whitman's substantial checkbook solved her problem. She settled with the cybersquatter out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Creating a new namespace for the use of politicians, many of whom don't keep their campaign-related domains after a race is over, would make some money for registrars but do little to discourage people from grabbing domain names related to political candidates. The .com namespace is still coveted no matter how many new top-level domains are introduced, so the ownership of BobDole.pol would not reduce the worth of BobDole.Com when Bob Dole decides that Bob Dole should run for president again in 2012.

Also, many domain names registered in the names of public figures are used for political speech, not cybersquatting. KarlRove.Com, BillKristol.Com and RodBlagojevich.Com are all examples.

Sanderson's proposal is premised on the notion that candidates like Whitman must control all variations of their domain name:

Worse, today's preventive and remedial measures are ill-suited to resolve the underlying issue. A candidate cannot buy in advance all possible site-name variations. Negotiation gives cybersquatters exactly what they want -- a chance to receive an exorbitant sum.

I hate to break this to him, but it's impossible to own all possible site-name variations related to a politician. Meg Whitman doesn't need WhitmanForGovernor.Com or MegWhitman2010.Com because she owns MegWhitman.Com, the only domain name related to her candidacy that would get any type-in traffic, and she's already one of the top results for her name in Google. The misguided impulse to acquire all variations has led the Whitman campaign to acquire at least 162 domain names:

Join-meg.biz, Join-meg.com, Join-meg.info, Join-meg.net, Join-meg.org, Join-meg.us, Joinmeg.biz, Joinmeg.com, Joinmeg.info, Joinmeg.net, Joinmeg.org, Joinmeg.us, Joinmeg2010.biz, Joinmeg2010.com, Joinmeg2010.info, Joinmeg2010.net, Joinmeg2010.org, Joinmeg2010.us, Joinmegwhitman.biz, Joinmegwhitman.com, Joinmegwhitman.info, Joinmegwhitman.net, Joinmegwhitman.org, Joinmegwhitman.us, Joinmegwhitman2010.biz, Joinmegwhitman2010.com, Joinmegwhitman2010.info, Joinmegwhitman2010.net, Joinmegwhitman2010.org, Joinmegwhitman2010.us, Margaretwhitman.net, Margaretwhitman.org, Margaretwhitman2010.biz, Margaretwhitman2010.com, Margaretwhitman2010.info, Margaretwhitman2010.net, Margaretwhitman2010.org, Margaretwhitman2010.us, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.biz, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.com, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.info, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.net, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.org, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor.us, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.biz, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.com, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.info, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.net, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.org, Margaretwhitmanforgovernor2010.us, Meg2010.biz, Meg2010.com, Meg2010.info, Meg2010.net, Meg2010.org, Meg2010.us, Megforcalifornia.biz, Megforcalifornia.com, Megforcalifornia.info, Megforcalifornia.net, Megforcalifornia.org, Megforcalifornia.us, Megforcalifornia2010.biz, Megforcalifornia2010.com, Megforcalifornia2010.info, Megforcalifornia2010.net, Megforcalifornia2010.org, Megforcalifornia2010.us, Megforgovernor.biz, Megforgovernor.com, Megforgovernor.info, Megforgovernor.net, Megforgovernor.org, Megforgovernor.us, Megforgovernor2010.biz, Megforgovernor2010.com, Megforgovernor2010.info, Megforgovernor2010.net, Megforgovernor2010.org, Megforgovernor2010.us, Megwhitman.com, Megwhitman.info, Megwhitman.net, Megwhitman.org, Megwhitman2010.biz, Megwhitman2010.com, Megwhitman2010.info, Megwhitman2010.net, Megwhitman2010.org, Megwhitman2010.us, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.biz, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.com, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.info, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.net, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.org, Megwhitmanforcalifornia.us, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.biz, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.com, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.info, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.net, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.org, Megwhitmanforcalifornia2010.us, Megwhitmanforgovernor.biz, Megwhitmanforgovernor.com, Megwhitmanforgovernor.info, Megwhitmanforgovernor.net, Megwhitmanforgovernor.org, Megwhitmanforgovernor.us, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.biz, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.com, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.info, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.net, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.org, Megwhitmanforgovernor2010.us, Vote-meg.biz, Vote-meg.com, Vote-meg.info, Vote-meg.net, Vote-meg.org, Vote-meg.us, Votemeg.biz, Votemeg.com, Votemeg.info, Votemeg.net, Votemeg.org, Votemeg.us, Votemeg2010.biz, Votemeg2010.com, Votemeg2010.info, Votemeg2010.net, Votemeg2010.org, Votemeg2010.us, Votemegwhitman.biz, Votemegwhitman.com, Votemegwhitman.info, Votemegwhitman.net, Votemegwhitman.org, Votemegwhitman.us, Votemegwhitman2010.biz, Votemegwhitman2010.com, Votemegwhitman2010.info, Votemegwhitman2010.net, Votemegwhitman2010.org, Votemegwhitman2010.us, Whitman2010.biz, Whitman2010.com, Whitman2010.info, Whitman2010.net, Whitman2010.org, Whitman2010.us, Whitmanforgovernor.biz, Whitmanforgovernor.com, Whitmanforgovernor.info, Whitmanforgovernor.net, Whitmanforgovernor.org, Whitmanforgovernor.us, Whitmanforgovernor2010.biz, Whitmanforgovernor2010.com, Whitmanforgovernor2010.info, Whitmanforgovernor2010.net, Whitmanforgovernor2010.org, Whitmanforgovernor2010.us

Four of these domains were acquired after Whitman failed to get them in a UDRP domain-name arbitration. No matter how many domains she acquires from squatters, there will still be more. When I checked my registrar for Meg Whitman domains today, it helpfully informed me that whitmanforgovernor.mobi, megwhitman.tv and megwhitman2010.me are all still available, among countless others. She's trying to corner the market on an infinite resource.

Domains · Udrp · Politics · 2009/04/19 · 9 COMMENTS · Link

It Takes Diff'rent Strokes

Monty Propps, a 36-year-old Brit who creates video mashups, has re-edited the Diff'rent Strokes opening with new music.

The music was composed by Chris Young for the 1982 horror flick The Dorm That Dripped Blood. The mashup is more frightening than the actual trailer for that film.

Television · Film · Music · 2009/04/16 · Comment · Link

Disclosing Paid Placements on a Blog

Mel Cooley: "I didn't come here to be insulted!"

Buddy Sorrell: "Oh, where do you usually go to be insulted?"

Last month I called out Dave Winer for selling a paid placement in Radio UserLand that was never disclosed to his users. This sparked a tempest in a TechMeme in which Mike Arrington dropped the hammer on Winer, declaring that his credibility was permanently shot by the secret deal. I am now obligated, under enemy of my enemy is my friend rules, to extend to Arrington my warm hand of friendship. If we ever share a room at an overbooked Web 3.0 conference and the power goes out during a blizzard caused by climate change and the conservation of body heat becomes a necessity, I am not entirely hostile to spooning.

But I digress.

Winer has posted a public apology for not disclosing the paid placement:

About a month ago, Mike Arrington ran an article at TechCrunch about a deal we did at UserLand in 2002 with Adam Curry, to include his RSS feed in the set of default feeds for Radio 8.0.

Mike, who used to be my friend and my lawyer, and who believe it or not I still feel affection for, said about me: "Credibility = Shot. Permanently."

When I read that I felt like Mike was aiming an ethical bullet at my head. Luckily I was wearing my bullet-proof helmet that day. ;->

I wanted to let the accusations settle in before responding in detail. This really was between me and the users of my product, and possibly people who read my blog. After giving it some thought, I believe we should have disclosed that Adam paid us for inclusion in the OPML file, and we didn't. I apologize for that.

I explained further in a post on FriendFeed, earlier today.

The apology's the proper thing to do, so I'm passing it along. I find it curious that among all the responses on Scripting News and FriendFeed, there isn't a single person who thinks Winer has anything to be sorry for, while on TechCrunch the general consensus is that Winer's back-room shenanigans with a veejay bring shame upon his family for several generations.

If my blog ever became a place where I was universally admired, that would suck all the fun right out of it. Unlike Mel Cooley, I do come here to be insulted.

Blogging · Ethics · Television · Twitter · 2009/04/12 · 9 COMMENTS · Link

Rutgers Breaks World Waldo Record

Rutgers University has broken the world record for the largest gathering of Waldos.

Here's a funny photo of the crowd filling the theater. I hope the students remained in costume that evening for the world's largest drunken Waldo bacchanalia.

Fun · Books · College · 2009/04/04 · 1 COMMENT · Link

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