Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

A Powerful Song

As we approach the New Year, many of us look for meaning in the year almost completed. Others look for hope in the year ahead.

And, in these last few hours, I've discovered a new band of old rockers that have recently released an album of (mostly) Ozzy covers...and one song that just stops me in my tracks.

Partly because the lead singer is Jimmy Barnes (one of my favorite voices ever). But mostly because of the lyrics.

The band is Living Loud, and features Barnes (Cold Chisel), Lee Kerslake (Uriah Heep), Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Kansas) and Bob Daisley (Rainbow, Ozzy). The song is "In the Name of God."

The full-length video is here. Check it out. I guarantee it will move you.

From the Ground Up

Taking on a new destination is a daunting task, even for the experienced DMO pro. So we're always intrigued by unique processes we see. We posted on Brent Lonteen's goal to meet 100 community leaders in 100 days in Peoria. We posted on David DuBois' intent to live in his destination's hotels to get a better feel for his inventory in Ft. Worth as he and his wife looked for a house.

And now, Joe Marinelli pops into Savannah two weeks before taking the CVB reins there to experience the community before anybody recognizes his face or his name.

My favorite in the story from the Savannah Morning News: He meets a great cab driver on the trip in from the airport, gets his card...and plans to call him to have coffee once a month to find out "what he's seeing and hearing out there."

Cool...and something you don't need to be new in town to do.

Nice Touch, Northwest

It's easy to pop the majority of the U.S. air carriers for their beyond clueless treatment of the customer. And because so many are so bad, maybe that's why I'm touched by a holiday card from Northwest.

As they own the majority of the gates here at MSN, Northwest is the carrier I fly most often. Thus, it should come as no surprise that I have earned Elite status. Thus, they know my name and they know my travel schedule.

And, while it is an impersonal card, it's personal enough...because they know how many miles I racked up this year.

"Sit and Stay Awhile. You've Been on the Go All Year. Thank you for flying Northwest Airlines throughout 2006. We truly appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again in the coming year. Enjoy a relaxing Holiday Season."

Nice touch, Northwest. Well played.

The Winner in Low-Cost Airlines

I don't get the day after Thanksgiving. I don't get the day after Christmas.

Millions flood the malls looking for a bargain. Figure in the time spent in check-out lines and in wall-to-wall traffic, is it still a deal? As Macaulay Culkins' Kevin McAllister said in Home Alone," "I don't think so."

Obviously, I'm home on this December 26th...and reading news of a real deal. China's Spring Airlines is being fined by the government for offering December fares from Shanghai to Jinan for 13 cents (US). Traditional fares are usually 1000x that number.

Why the fines? Spring is a Southwest-like start-up competing against three mammoth government-run airlines.

More Holidays. More Presents.

The Seattle Airport dust up over Christmas (er, I mean "Holiday") Trees is just another example of how screwed up this country is. We first saw it in our schools where, to promote inclusion and diversity, they did away with Christmas pagents and Easter Egg hunts.

Hey, you want to promote inclusion and diversity? Let's celebrate ALL of the holidays. Let's take the Southwest Airlines mantra that there's gonna be a party every day at corporate for whatever the reason.

I'm serious as the star here...I want Christmas back in the schools. Along with Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and all the others. Because, you know something? We'd all learn something about one another.

Like most Americans, I celebrate Christmas. But I've always kinda thought that the whole Hanukkah thing was pretty cool (as Adam Sandler sings, "instead of one day of presents, we get eight crazy nights"). Don't know much about Kwanzaa, but I like that fact that at least one gift is always a book.

What got me to thinking (and ranting) about all this is this week's always topical edition of Iconowatch, in which they explain how many Latin American cultures celebrate the Christmas season. Rather than decorating before Halloween, they wait til the 16th...then have nine days of neighborhood celebrations from house to house. They give gifts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...and again on Día de los Reyes (January 6th - Epiphany).

Sounds much cooler than the American version. But most of us would never know it because the schools are busy trying to stuff lumps of coal into kids' heads...instead of what they ought to be doing.

More Holidays. More Parties. More Gifts. More reasons to laugh and love. More opportunities to celebrate life. More chances to reach out to those less fortunate.

More and deeper understanding of the differences between people and cultures...which will produce the profound realization that we are far more alike than we are different.

Here's hoping that your holiday celebrations have all of these...and that there are lots of them!

Greedy Has-Beens that don't Get It

I referenced the very cool website known as Wolfgang's Vault last month in a post about the importance of music in destination marketing. Now they're getting sued.

The Vault is a site that sells rock memorabilia from the late rock promoter Bill Graham's extensive collection. As part of their site, they offer streaming recordings from Graham-promoted concerts from acts like Springsteen, Hendrix, Cream, Bowie, etc., all chronicling the incredible Fillmore and Winterland scenes of the 70s.

Now, the Grateful Dead, Doors, Led Zeppelin and Santana have sued the site's owner, claiming he is using their work to sell classic posters, photos and other collectibles.

Oh Puleeeze. I love you guys...but you owe a ton of your current fortune to Bill Graham. Had he not taken a chance on your sorry butts early in your career, you wouldn't be the rock gods you are today. Those concerts created part of your legend. You allowed these recordings to be made of these early shows because you hoped something would come of it.

And now, the man that bought the rights to Graham's Vault can't share them? What...are you worried that we'll download 'em and then not buy your "Best Of" CDs? Sorry, without a significant hack, these can't be downloaded...they are only available to be enjoyed while on the site. And, frankly, the quality of many of them aren't worth downloading (even if it was easy)...but they are worth listening to as a window into an incredible era in music and culture.

I'm sorry...I don't see the foul here. Wouldn't you dig having VH1 show one of your Winterland concerts because a few people might then buy a CD? Why is this any different?

You guys smell money. You should be thanking Wolfgang's Vault for making you relevant again.

Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned on Star Trek

In my presentations on Future Trends, I often suggest that we saw most of today's technology on the very first iteration of Star Trek. Mobile Phones, Bluetooth, PDAs and Laptops, Virtual Reality...everything but that beaming up thing has kinda come true.

I was catching up on the Flow blog and came upon a post from this past summer in which the University of Michigan's Amanda Lotz opined that the word "grup" has begun to slip into the lexicon.

For those that don't remember, "grup" was a term used for "grown-up" in an episode in which Kirk and the gang visited a world in which the onset of puberty would quickly kill the victim. Of course, that raises a completely different set of questions...

Anyway, Amanda notes that the term was dropped into a recent episode of the Gilmore Girls...and then, a few days later, showed up in a New York Magazine article talking about what Gen Xers have suddently become.

Grups, indeed.

Just Today? Really?

This weekend, we took in the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre's sensational version of "A Christmas Carol," starring the incomparable Lee Ernst (along with APT faves Mark Corkins and Jonathan Smoots). If you're within reach of Milwaukee...treat yourself to the finest version of this holiday classic that I've ever seen (and I've seen a bunch).

During half-time, as I made my way through the crowds that stood in line to get an intermission drink, I saw a sign that made me crack up.

"Today Only," it screamed, "Bloody Marys - Five Bucks."

Today Only? I'm sorry...if it was today only, you wouldn't have gone to the trouble to produce such a nice, professional looking sign (I mean, look at it!). If it was really today only, you would have used chalk and a chalkboard...or a Sharpie on an Absolut poster. You wouldn't have blown that kinda money on a sign you were gonna use for two performances.

Betcha just about anything that sign has been used before...and will be again. Of course, most of their patrons won't go back to see the same show night after night. Thus, they'll be none the wiser.

But, "Today Only?" Please...

I Feel Much Safer Now

Now that the FAA has issued its first rules for Space Travel, I realize just how freakin' lucky we all are to have them on our side.

In issuing the first-ever rules, FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey proclaimed, "In an environment where some level of risk will always be present, this action underscores the FAA's firm commitment to public safety."

The first rule?

Passengers must be informed, in writing, of the potential serious risks (including death) of blasting into space...and promise not to sue the government if something goes wrong.

A firm commitment to public safety...or the all too common interest in covering one's ass?

You da Person

Part of me thinks that Time magazine has grown weary of their annual "Person of the Year" process. And, that same part of me thinks they just threw up their hands this year and said, "screw it, let's just say it's everybody."

Which is exactly what they did. But, for a different reason (they say).

This year, the "Person of the Year" is YOU...because the user has taken control of everything. YouTube, Blogs, Podcasts, TripAdvisor, Wikipedia...it's all about us. We don't care what "the man" has to say...we only care about what each other has to say.

A pretty chilling time for Marketers, when you get right down to it.

Chilled or not, the magazine cover could be cool. On the Time website, it looks like it might feature a mirror-like foil so that we can all see ourselves, kinda like Uriah Heep's Look at Yourself LP cover back in the '70s.