DogsOfWar

548 posts
Dogs of War was born in a crossfire hurricane. He wrestles alligators in the pouring rain.

Chris Dodd Will Now Censor Your Movies

After deciding not to run again because of being on the receiving end of some shady mortgage deals from Countrywide, Chris Dodd (D-CT) has a cushy new job as the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). He will replace Bob Pisano who is the acting CEO.  Pisano is a Hollywood insider who spent time at SAG, MGM and Paramount, whereas Dodd is certain that he’s seen movies but is outraged by the price of popcorn and the lack of wide parking spots.

The MPAA is the organization that determines what rating a film will receive based on how many instances of boobs, butts, peens, dirty words, violence, sex and Mel Gibson are in the film.  They don’t tell you what you can’t have in your film, but if you want it to get a R or below you know what you have to do.

Photo here.  Source: The Hill.

Simple Rules: Commenting

165 comments

These rules for commenting should help everyone have a fun, productive and enlightening time on Crasstalk. To make this clear, yes, we are oppressing you and trampling your freedoms just by having these rules.

  • Be respectful of other commenters and authors.
  • No personal attacks.
  • No promotion of illegal activities.
  • Good grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization are expected.  Yes, we all make mistakes, but that’s different than purposely ignoring the rules. Capslackers have been warned.
  • Don’t be needlessly argumentative. Going out of your way to argue with others for no reason creates a bad atmosphere and makes people not want to come back.
  • Arguments about the decisions of the moderators or admins about these rules will not be indulged.
  • Animated GIFS in the Open Thread posts go in the reply (ITR).
  • Images of bugs, snakes, etc. go in the reply (ITR).
  • No more than 2 images, or 1 image and 1 video, in top-level (OP) comments.
Any commenter who violates these guidelines will be moderated and/or receive at a minimum a 24 hour suspension from the site. We reserve the right to permanently ban anyone who, in the opinion of the site moderators and admins, doesn’t contribute positively to the overall experience of using Crasstalk.com. All decisions of the moderators and site admins are final.

Simple Rules: Winning at LinkedIn

64 comments

In this installment of the DoW’s simple rules we look at how to win at LinkedIn.

Rule 1:  You can’t win if you don’t play

  • Open an account.  Some of you may be resisting because you’re the same kind of people who are too cool for Facebook.  Get over yourself, this is for your own good.

Rule 2: Be a connector

  • Don’t wait for people to connect to you.  Initiate contact.
  • First build up your connections with people you know well.
  • Next move on to auxiliary contacts.

Rule 3: Connect early and often

  • When you meet someone send them a request shortly after your meeting.  You will be fresh in their mind and your relationship will be obvious to them.

Rule 4:  Connect with recruiters

  • LinkedIn is swarming with recruiters.  If you don’t know any ask some of your connections.  They’ll give you a list that’s appropriate to your field.
  • When a recruiter reaches out to you always respond even if you’re not interested.  You never know when you might need their help.

Rule 5:  Be complete

  • Fill out your profile with as much information as possible and use a professional looking picture.
  • Ask for recommendations and recommend others.

Those are the basics.  Sound off with your own suggestions in the comments.

Nepotism Can’t Buy You Love

8 comments

Two of Rupert Murdoch’s many problems are that nobody knows who will take over News Corp when he’s called down by the dark lord and that his daughter runs a media company that he doesn’t own.

In an attempt to solve both problems at one time, News Corp is in the final stages of talks to acquire Elisabeth Murdoch’s European television company Shine Group for somewhere around $700M.  Elisabeth is reported to have the kind of drive that the old man is looking for.  His other kids are getting passed over, though something tells me they can still live comfortably.

LA Times

It Began With a…

22 comments

Do you know how some of the companies that you use everyday got their start?

Visa – 60,000 cards were mailed by Bank of America to people in Fresno, CA.  Visa allowed other banks to issue cards and eventually turned over control in 1970 to a consortium.  In 2008 Visa was the largest IPO in US history ($17.9 billion).

UPS – UPS started as small delivery service and grew to be a package delivery company in Seattle when shoppers at Nordstrom and The Bon Marché wanted an easier way to get their purchases home.

Starbucks – You all know they got their start in a small store at the Pike Place market in Seattle.  It was just a couple people who thought coffee desered better than the swill that the WWII vets were used to.  And those better beans originally came from the Berkeley, CA coffee copmnay Peet’s Coffee and Tea.  Peet is still pissed.

Williams-Sonoma –  It was started by Charles Williams in Sonoma, CA.  I’m still now sure how they got their name though.

All of this to say that big things often start in very small ways.

Viva La Revolucion!