Lexicon. Comes from Robert Klein’s comedy album, Child of the Fifties.
I was watching TV this morning, when I saw an ad for a Budweiser product. It had the slug line, “100% Hard Seltzer. 0% Beer.” So at least they know their beer has a perception problem, and a product having nothing to do with their beer is an attractive feature.
But once you hear Klein, you’ll understand why the desperation of the ad (and a great deal of ads by many other people as well) reminded me of the bit.
“And that’s what’s wrong with publishing today.”
Lexicon. Mild reworking of a bit William Goldman has in his foreword to Morgenstern’s The Princess Bride:
WHEN I WAS twenty-six, my first novel, The Temple of Gold, was published by Alfred A. Knopf. (Which is now part of Random House which is now part of R.C.A. which is just part of what’s wrong with publishing in America today which is not part of this story.)
Usually used to illustrate something being overly intricate:
”That restaurant is run by Fussmucker, but it’s owned by Muckenfuss, which is really a part of Gilded Octopus, LLC.”
”And that’s what’s wrong with publishing today.”
The title says it all: “How Zyzzyx Road only grossed $30.00.”
TL;DR —
Zyzzyx ran for seven days at Dallas’ Highland Park Village Theater, with a single screening each day at noon. When it closed, exactly six people had gone to see it, for a total gross of, yes, $30.
I was talking to a friend who works intricately in entertainment, and they say this wouldn’t be regarded as “released” today (unlike its 2006 run) as one now needs a minimum of 10 theaters. Possibly because of this film. So it’s unlikely ever to be… well, “surpassed” seems the wrong word. “Displaced”? — from this curious record.
It’s been two years now since Angie’s List renamed itself Angi. This was done because, allegedly, “(W)e’re not just a list anymore. Customers were confined and constrained by the literal nature of the name.”
But both their TV ads and their website all but scream, “We used to be Angie’s List!” If you’re still encountering so much resistance from your customers after two years, perhaps it’s time to concede they’re comfortable with being confined and constrained.