Fiction author Alexander McCall Smith writes a compelling piece on the front page of WSJ’s Weekend Journal about the sometimes testy relationship between author and reader. Read the full piece here.
I’m sure you’ve read some novels that didn’t end like you thought they should, or dealt with characters in a way that left you frustrated, but hey–it’s just a story, right?
Well, it seems that some people don’t see it that way. Political correctness has forced its way into the weekend novel-reader’s psyche–and Smith has had a spate of readers complain bitterly about his character’s treatments of certain subjects–even demanding public appologies to the so-called offended parties. Whuh??
These people are complaining about characters in a fiction story, mind you–which are not the author’s opinions. But to the dim-witted and easily offended, the line between what is real and what is made up becomes fuzzy.
Heaven help us! Are we headed to a place where “thought police” will be lining up fiction authors to be shot over ”offensive” character treatments?
Tell me what you think.
![[Post to Twitter]](http://aparcher.com/wp/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter-micro4.png)
Looks like the FDA is flexing its muscles again and going after pharmaceutical companies over their brief search engine ads on engines such as Google. Even though these PPC ads are so brief there isn’t much room for more than a headline and a few characters of lead, the FDA in its infinite wisdom is complaining that these sponsored links are “misleading because they don’t include risk information.” Oh come on!
It doesn’t seem to matter that the PPC ads are linked to the pharma company’s web site which DOES list all risk information required by the Feds–warning letters are flowing out faster than one can say “click here.”
So far, 14 drug makers have received warning letters–big names such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly & Co, among others. Rather than incur the wrath of the society for “lets-protect-idiots-from-themselves,” the pharmas are grabbing their ankles and taking it with a smile.
My crystal ball is fogging up–it’s only a matter of time before Big Brother reaches out to squelch PPC ads by nutritional supplement companies as well–so the only thing you’ll be able to say is:
Forget About It
This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or…
www.hamstrungnutritionals.com
Read the WSJ article in April 4 Weekend Edition Corporate News
I read an article in the “Weekend Journal” of WSJ that set my teeth on edge–about an audio cable company (Monster Cable) in California that somehow thinks it has a right to trademark the word “Monster” and sue anyone who uses it in their business name–including small mini-golf franchises, energy drink and glue manufacturers–even slot machine makers.
Heck…they even sued Walt Disney Co. over products tied to the film “Monsters Inc.”
But after spending almost $100,000 in legal bills and enduring mediation that went nowhere, one of the little guys (Monster Mini Golf) fought back . The small mom & pop launched a non-stop, around-the-clock blogging campaign for weeks, sold slices of “Justice” on e-Bay for a buck to help raise money for mounting legal expenses, and even sent the founder of the cable company a DVD of the animated film, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Pounded by a barrage of angry consumer complaints, Monster Cable finally decided to play nice, dropping the lawsuit and withdrawing its opposition to Monster Mini Golf’s trademark applications–even paying most of Monster Mini’s legal expenses.
Guess it wasn’t worth the bad press–but shame on the Trademark Bully for throwing their weight around in the sandbox over a common word (not a brand) in the first place.
Read the full article in WSJ here.
