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New York, 1:42 AM
Fri Nov 27
15 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/12/09
Not an easy job, as you can imagine. But with a budget running to the millions, he seems to have done a fair job. I mean, what can you say? "All the pigs that ate those bodies have long since been sold and consumed, SO NO WORRIES!!!"? #ceaseanddesist
11/12/09
on a loosely related note: did anyone else find scenes of ALF running across the living room terrifying? #ceaseanddesist
11/12/09
Dear Ms. Collins:
I am in receipt of your letter and, in response, request particularization of the charges contained therein.
We believe that that the above slogan is covered under the "fair use" exception as it is very clearly a parody of your client's slogan. Specifically, it references a 1980's situation-comedy called "Alf". The titular character, Alf (which is an acronym for Alien Life Form) hales from a planet where cats are considered a delicacy. There is a continuing joke on this sit-com whereby Alf constantly tries to find a way to capture - and subsequently ingest - cats.
This show was reasonably well received and watched by a substantial portion of those Americans who would fall within the sociological category of "Generation X". It was met with such commercial success that it spawned an animated spinoff which was aired on Saturday mornings and aimed at younger audiences. I refer you to The Wikipedia for further information on "Alf".
Please explain how the use of your client's slogan for clear parody purposes, referencing a beloved 1980's popular culture icon can cause confusion.
Is it the National Pork Board's position that pork products are indistinguishable from catmeat?
Does the National Pork Board or any of its member companies have any ongoing research or upcoming research into preparing pork-type products from cats?
Is it the position of the National Pork Board that its products are in competition with catmeat for taste and nutritional value?
How much money has the National Pork Board or its member companies spent on anti-catmeat advertising, lobbying, or research & development?
Has the National Pork Board or any of its member companies investigated, recorded, compiled, or otherwise published any recipes for the preparation of catmeat?
Does the National Pork Board or any of its member companies market or cause to be marketed catmeat to be sold as a pork-type product?
In which countries, regions, or other geographic areas does the National Pork Board or any of its member companies sell or plan to sell catmeat as a pork-type product?
In which countries, regions, or other geographic areas does the National Pork Board or any of its member companies harvest or plan to harvest catmeat for sale as a pork-type product?
How much revenue does the National Pork Board or any of its member companies derive from the sale of catmeat as a pork-type product?
I await your reply. Thank you for your time and cooperation.
Very truly yours,
OMG! Ponies!
11/12/09
11/12/09
While a parody does intend to make a connection to the famous mark, a good parody also makes sure that it distinguishes itself from the famous mark.
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
Aww... who am I kidding? I can't stay mad at bacon. #ceaseanddesist
10/04/09
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10/04/09
I can see Denton, metaphorically over your shoulder, saying "Hmm, making a mess out of people's lives, nah, still tame. Marty Singer about to f up some children. Hmm, OK, that will get his name on the lawsuit but he's not famous enough on his own, no-one gives an s. Get Kate Gosselin too. "Sleazy", "awful"? Foster, what are you, a pussy? "child-exploiting Kate Gosselin". OK, now we're cooking. Go with that."
10/04/09
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[gawker.com]
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08/26/09
For instance, Krugman points out:
"It’s bad, but it’s not horrific either by historical or international standards. [Federal] debt hit 109% of GDP at the end of World War II...and a number of European countries have hit substantially higher debt levels without crisis."
Not to make light of it, but considering the smoking corpse that the Free Market Fundamentalists left us with at the end of 2008, not unreasonable.
Slash a couple Pentagon programs, get us out of Iraq and return to Reagan's second term taxes on the uber-rich, and we're back on track.
08/26/09
So it comes as no surprise to me that when the Taliban and Al Qaeda create mischief, they know we'll respond with a borderline, and very costly, overreaction — throwing money at the problem to make it go away. If they can keep up the pressure long enough, we'll spend ourselves into ruin (just like the USSR). (Before I get blasted for not supporting the troops — I am a huge supporter of our military, but I think they've been ill-used in this fight.)
They set off a $20 IED. We counter-punch with a $400,000 smart bomb.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are approaching a Trillion dollars on their own — a figure which does not include our involvement in other hotspots around the world and "foreign aid" to keep the quiet in other troublesome countries.
There's no conclusion or snark here (sorry), except to say that the headline of the NY Times on 9-11 was about how to spend the Social Security surplus left by the Clinton administration. I've saved that copy — if only just to remember that a balanced budget was real, once upon a time. I need a drink.