This month’s BIMBOs come from a Republican member of Congress (Sylvster Stallone’s not worried), a celebrity architect, and are rounded out by missed opportunities from World Rugby and the maker of McDonald’s McFlurry machine. Other examples include bad optics of President Biden (hint: history repeats itself because George HW Bush fell into the same trap). Some interesting articles worth a glance and perhaps circulating. And the big news: two new stars to emulate.
THE WINNING BIMBO
“Please don’t call this the Death Star,” appealed celebrity architect Renzo Piano in reference to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Check out the picture. What does it look like? The Death Star! And by pleading to call it something else, it ensures that will be its name.
USA Today, “Tom Hanks-approved and not hiding from history: Academy Museum finally rolls out the red carpet,” Sept. 29, 2021
THE RUNNERS-UP
“There is no reason for us to purposely design our equipment to be confusing or hard to repair or hurt our operators,” said a spokesperson for Taylor Commercial Foodservice LLC the maker of McDonald’s McFlurry machine. The company claims the explanation of error codes are in their machine manual and they are. Here is an example: “ERROR: XSndhUIF LHPR>45F 1HR LPROD too VISC." We’re sure the manual is an engineer’s dream. The spokesperson missed the opportunity to say, “We’re listening to our customers and we look forward to introducing the new, improved, absolutely terrific McFlurry machine!”
The Wall Street Journal, “McDonald’s McFlurry Machine is Broken (Again). Now the FTC Is On It,” Sept. 2, 2021
"I'm not Rambo. I never pretended to be Rambo," Rep. Markwayne Mullin told Fox's Bret Baier of his mysterious international trip, which he acknowledged included an argument with the U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan. The Washington Post first reported on his attempt to get into Afghanistan. As is so often the case, the quote became the headline.
NBC News, “‘I’m not Rambo”: GOP congressman defends attempted Afghanistan trip,” Sept. 3, 2021
An example of a negative comment crowding out a positive one that became the headline and then sailed around the world. The back story is that any player contracted to a club or union cannot play in a competition that is not sanctioned by World Rugby. “That’s correct,” admitted former Ireland star David Humphreys, “and the people involved in the World 12s have always been very, very clear. This isn’t a rebel competition.” He continued, “This is a competition that we very much want aligned to World Rugby, all the unions and the clubs, because we believe it can be for the benefit of the game, both financially for the players but also for the sport.” And predictably, the negative comment became the headline.
The Irish Times, “‘This isn’t a rebel competition’: David Humphreys on how World 12s can change rugby,” Sept. 25, 2021
POOR OPTICS
President Biden was seen looking at his watch multiple times during a transfer ceremony honoring soldiers recently killed in Kabul. Click on the link below to see the video and images. President Biden is one of many presidents who has displayed poor optics and the lessons here are threefold: the camera is always on, the mic is always on and in this case, everyone is always watching. Additionally, USA Today was forced to issue a fact-check correction via a note that appeared at the beginning of the original article reading: “Corrections & Clarifications: This story was updated Sept. 2 to note that Biden checked his watch multiple times at the dignified transfer event, including during the ceremony itself. The rating on this claim has been changed from partly false to missing context.”
The New York Post, “Gold Star families blast Biden for checking watch during ceremony for fallen,” Aug. 31, 2021
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Students of linguistics unite, you’ve heard of ZuckTalk, right? “ZuckTalk is a style of unpolished speech exhibited in contexts where polish is customary. It’s a linguistic hooded sweatshirt in a metaphorical boardroom. It is more than a collection of tics, but its tics are crucial to understanding it.”
The New York Times “The Rise and Fall of ZuckTalk,” Sept. 1, 2021
Budding artist Hunter Biden may be on to something. Enter Danish artist, Jens Haaning who was paid 25,000 kroner, or about $3,900 to recreate two previous installations using actual bank notes. When you add in the actual bank notes that were supposed to be used in the installation, Haaning received a total of nearly $84,000 to complete the project. Haaning instead took the opportunity to protest his perception of low wages by submitting two blank canvasses, keeping the bank notes and titling the pieces, “Take the money and run!” Lasse Andersson, the museum director, said the museum is still going to display the pieces Haaning submitted, but is calling for the artist to return the money from the project. Don’t hold your breath.
Newsweek, “Artist Gets $84K to Use in Project, Delivers Blank Canvases Titled ‘Take the Money and Run,’” Sept.29, 2021
We think he was inspired by an Italian artist earlier this summer who produced – and sold - an “invisible sculpture.” It was literally made of nothing.
Artnet, “An Italian Artists Auctioned Off an ‘Invisible Sculpture’ for $18,300,” June 3, 2021
OLD BUT WE HAD TO INCLUDE IT
We somehow missed this story in July but decided that 2021 would not be complete without this addition. Rumors apparently floated for months about a dirty secret involving Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. Although the incident was alleged to have dated to 1997, diligent trackers repeated the story enough that the prime minister was finally (ex)pressed to address and deny it. It’s a good example for many reasons. First, it demonstrates that if people promote an allegation hard enough, it takes on a life of its own. And you can imagine all the other headlines and tweets (which we can’t reprint)! Second, Morrison handled it the only effective way possible – he laughed at it and, by implication, at himself. Check out the reports. Worth a snort (from either end). Although Morrison maintains the incident is “absolute and total rubbish,” he still evidently found the allegations of pooping his pants quite comical. “Some of the funniest yarns are the ones that aren’t true, and I think that’s one of them,” he quipped.
Cracked, “Australian Prime Minister Denies Pooping His Pants at McDonalds,” July 15, 2021
The BIMBO Memo is a reminder not to repeat and deny a negative word because of how the listener hears words. When you repeat and deny a negative word, the listener is likely to overlook the denial and hear the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say. It’s named for the young woman who was caught with a high profile, but alas married man. She held a press conference and announced, “I am not a BIMBO,” thus causing everyone to think she was.
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