Timing Could Be BetterSo much for synergy.The...
Timing Could Be Better
So much for synergy.
The cover of Sony Corp.’s just-published annual report for the year ended March 31, 1993, pictures an example of “the synergy of electronics and entertainment.”
The cover features a worker using high-definition video systems and other technologies at the Sony Pictures High Definition Center to produce a promotional film for one of Sony’s many stars.
And which star is it?
Turns out to be embattled pop star Michael Jackson, currently embroiled in a highly publicized investigation involving sex-abuse allegations. (No charges have been filed against him, and police sources have said no physical evidence has surfaced of alleged molestation.)
The caption shows the employee working on a film for Jackson’s “Dangerous” album. Jackson’s eyes are visible on a number of screens on the worker’s electronic console.
Stephanonsense
Back in April, one of California’s newest ventures was mentioned here: a newsletter and fan club operation based in Stanford glorifying youthful Clinton Administration assistant George Stephanopoulos.
Now the group, which costs $10 a year to join, has published its first “Stephanopouletter.”
The six-page newsletter--part serious, part satirical in tone--features a quiz to test your “Stephanopouknowledge.” (Sample: When did George graduate from Columbia University? . . . 1982.)
Also included is a fictional “Dream Date with George” essay contest as well as a list of people the newsletter considers are “George’s enemies.” Included on that list is longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas, former Bush campaign officer Mary Matalin and U.S. trade czar Mickey Kantor.
The newsletter also asks its readers to write to President Clinton and their local papers to express “respect and admiration for George Stephanopoulos.”
Corporate Fossil?
The Los Angeles County Natural History Museum has been promoting a new dinosaur exhibit.
One can’t help but notice that the display is made possible by a grant from IBM. The troubled computer giant itself is working hard these days to avoid extinction.
Briefly . . .
For those who are lonesome at night: the Los Angeles-based Infomercial Marketing Report says test runs are about to begin on an infomercial called “Elvis, the Early Years.” . . . UCLA career adviser June Millet, who pens a career advice column in Working World magazine, advises a reader who can’t stand a fellow worker’s body odor and frequent belching to “let those who are trained in human relations take the lead in this case.” . . . A San Bernardino business conference next month called “Future 2000 Business-to-Business Extravaganza” touts itself as “America’s Most Prestigious and Life-Improving Business Event.” . . . A survey by the Plus ATM network on whose face should appear on U.S. currency turned up conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, Canadian-born hockey star Mario Lemieux and Santa Claus.
