Subject: Professional Services Sector

• Su®f City

  Because nothing evokes the true spirit of surfing like the smell of lawyers and advertising executives in the morning, we can all rejoice at the news that Huntington Beach is now officially "Surf City USA", in the very real and legally binding sense of those words. According to the L.A. Times, "[The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office] has awarded the city an official registration number, giving it the right to use "Surf City USA" to advertise, market and promote the city, officials said." And wha

  May 13, 2006

• New Lessons for CSU students

  Earlier this month when the governor's budget plan was unveiled, three groups-- poor families with children, teachers, and college students at UC's and CSU's-- were particularly singled out for sacrifice, so the gov. could cling to his no new taxes pledge. CSU students are expect to part with an additional 10% above and beyond than they are paying now. There are many reasons for this proposed increase, and one of the less widely advertised uses for the students' money can be found in this mor

  January 23, 2007

• Another Nguyen, Another Problem

  The campaign of an OC Republican candidate named Nguyen has been caught distributing a clumsy bit of fraud. No, this is not another Tan Nguyen and the "Immigrants Can't Vote Letter" post. From this morning's Times: The campaign of an Orange County supervisorial candidate, whose slogan is "Honesty, Integrity and Leadership," has been caught doctoring a photo so that it places the politician close to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The photo into which Trung Nguyen was inserted appeared over the we

  January 30, 2007

• Anti-Carona Commercial to Air

  Los Angeles County Sheriff's commander Ralph Martin, who is trying to unseat third-term-seeking Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, has apparently made a huge cable television advertising buy so he can broadcast the following campaign commerical (Windows Media) into local homes. The beauty of the ad--which uses as its capper the Weekly's own R. Scott Moxley's dogged reporting of Carona's ties to shady underworld figures (other than Jaramillo and Cavallo)--is that it simply states what's obvious

  May 17, 2006

• The OC Post Death Watch?

  Since the news broke the other day about the Register moving its completely ridiculous faux alt-weekly Squeeze OC to an all-online format as well as laying off several of its staffers, we couldn't help but wonder how long the OC Post, the Reggie's other lame attempt at capturing younger readers, will be around. Really, if the paper has downshifted into full cost-cutting mode, it'd certainly be the most obvious thing to axe. We'd shoot it in the skull based solely on those insulting TV commercia

  August 15, 2007

• Del Taco: Chicken-Checkers

  So I'm cruising over the 241 toll road Monday listening to the Angels-Yankees game on 710, when a Del Taco commercial drifts over the airwaves. There's some blah-blah-blah, and then the ad does exactly what the Lake Forest-based fauxMex chain's marketing department hopes it'll do: It gets my attention with the words "chicken-checkers." As in they check their chicken to make sure it's of high quality (or something like that — I was driving, couldn't take notes). Then the voice-overs keep re

  August 21, 2007

• Mickey Nixes Metal Concert

  Raise your hand if you saw this coming... The powers that be at Walt Disney Properties have pressured concert promoter Live Nation into cancelling tomorrow’s Machine Head show at the House Of Blues, the reason being “violent imagery, undesirable fans and inflammatory lyrics”. The Happiest Place On Earth? Not if you’re a metal fan. Mickey thinks you’re “undesirable”, therefore not welcome in his squeaky clean Magic Kingdom. Censorship? Discrimination? Click here for the full stor

  September 6, 2007

• Crazy-ass Reg letter o' the day!

  (Category: World-Is-Going-To-Hell) SELLING LUST, NOT HAMBURGERS "I am appalled every time I see the new Carl's Jr. ad about 'flat buns.' These ads certainly are helping to destroy our culture. The ads degrade both teachers and students. Please tell Carl's Jr. and the television channels that air the ads, I am ashamed of Carl's Jr." -- Micki Smith, Orange Hey, Micki -- heard those Del Taco radio commercials yet?

  September 12, 2007

• New Developments In Disney Censorship

  Anaheim’s House Of Blues cancellation of the Machine Head show earlier this month was just the beginning in Disney’s slow and steady elimination of all things metal. Immediately after the cancellation, Machine Head released a statement citing the venue’s reasons for canceling the show (with just a 48 hour notice) as “undesirable fans” and “offensive lyrics”. Within days, Orlando’s House Of Blues, also on Disney property, dropped the band’s Sept. 17 date. Rumors started to sw

  September 18, 2007

• Votin' Green follow-up

  I previously posted about all the Green Party primary candidates HERE, but that field has since narrowed. Jared Ball, the professor of African-American studies and hip-hop who most likely would have been my choice, has dropped out of the race, though his name will still appear on the ballot. Ralph Nader or Cynthia McKinney will probably take it based on name recognition alone. But you can still cast a valid vote for actor/filmmaker Jesse Johnson, environmental engineer Kent Mesplay, or Texas-ba

  February 4, 2008

• OC Register Laying off Five Percent of Workforce

  It's never fun being right about this kind of thing, but apparently the OC Register is laying off 80 to 90 employees, according to a post today on the newspaper's website. Here's about half of the post (it's really short): "... [Publisher Terry] Horne cited Orange County’s sluggish economy, especially in real estate, as affecting the company’s revenues from local retail, automotive and classified advertising for jobs. The company provided no financial details about the decline in adverti

  April 28, 2008

• Upcoming in LA Times Obits: The Sunday Magazine

  Remember those Sunday mornings when the LA Times magazine was something to look forward to? Terrific profiles/color pieces/semi-newsy features—in-depth stuff you went back and read a second time (and, admit it, clipped and filed in your battered ol’ copy of Websters, under the appropriate word)? The ‘90s? Remember how enraged you were in ’99 when it was disclosed that the sleazy bean-counters had cut a secret deal to share magazine ad revenue with Staples Center? How happy you were when

  June 11, 2008

• He Knows the Way to San Jose

  March 29, 2001

• A Naked Chick, Please!

  June 7, 2001

• Tunnel Vision

  September 27, 2001

• Zack and Miri Lose a Title

  You can understand ABC Family, Radio Disney and the Christian Science Monitor lopping off the second half of the title to Kevin Smith's new dramatic comedy or comedic drama Zack and Miri Make a Porno. It doesn't make it any more right, but you can understand it. But for it to be done by Comedy Central, a supposedly edgy network that is home to South Park, The Sarah Silverman Program and formerly That's My Bush? It just happened during a commercial break for The Daily Show, with the film's title

  October 28, 2008

• No More Tickling

  May 29, 2008

• Green Thumb

  April 17, 2008

• Giving Back!

  April 3, 2008

• The Regulatory Disaster That Isnt

  September 15, 2005

• Cox by the Numbers

  June 2, 2005

• Burning Bush

  June 24, 2004

• Represent What?

  The Registers New Campaign

  September 25, 2003

• Total Recall

  September 4, 2003

• Stonewall Rackauckas

  September 4, 2003

• Track Record

  August 7, 2003

• Same as the Old Boss

  February 6, 2003

• Reform-School Congress

  July 25, 2002

• Fonts of Wisdom

  May 23, 2002

• Made in Newport Beach

  March 7, 2002

• Public Display of Affection

  October 18, 2001

• Back to Business

  July 6, 2000

• Browser Beware

  March 2, 2000

• Mega-Connected Firm Wins Anaheim Design Contract

  Whoa! They're moving the Sydney Opera House to Anaheim!Oh wait, no. That's the newly approved design for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, a.k.a. ARTIC.On Tuesday, the Anaheim City Council awarded architecture firm Parsons Brinckerhoff/HOK with the contract to design and lay the groundwork for ARTIC, a regional transportation hub that's been more than 15 years in the making. The dollar total for the job could reach $24.3 million. According to the Register, Parsons Brinckerho

  May 27, 2009

• Irvine-Based Toshiba Presents Boring vs. Normal Deathmatch

  It took a most unusual campaign for advertising/public-relations/brand-identification firm Young & Rubicam Brands to convince fellow Irvine-based company Toshiba U.S. to jump back into advertising via television commercials after being absent from the airwaves for several years. The above ad from the just-launched Toshiba "Breakthrough" Campaign is trippy enough. But for a real dose of strange, check out another component of the campaign that pits the towns of Boring and Normal against one

  August 3, 2009

• Live Nation's Latest Promotion: 'Twitter Scavenger Hunt'

  ​The folks behind Beverly Hills-based concert promoters Live Nation have been promoting the heck out of themselves lately, with the company unleashing a variety of P.T. Barnum-esque stunts to drum up attention for their events in this flagging economy.

  October 6, 2009

• Live Nation and Great Park May Team Up on Amphitheater

  ​When the Orange County Great Park Corporation Board meets Thursday morning at Irvine City Hall, directors will consider a $93,000 "feasibility study funding agreement" with mega concert promoter Live Nation Worldwide, Inc. for an amphitheater at the former El Toro Marines Corps Air Station.Los Angeles-based Live Nation bills itself as "the world's largest live event company" as it owns, operates and/or has booking rights to more than 150 venues worldwide and produces thousands of live events

  September 23, 2009

• Fifty Bucks Gets You Alotta Shows with New Live Nation Deal

  ​Concert promoter Live Nation has a pretty sweet deal on the table. For $49.99, people who purchase something called a "Club Passport" get admission to all shows at a few local venues (including the Anaheim House of Blues) for the remainder of the year. When you consider your average ticket costs $20 and it's the middle of September, this ain't such a bad deal.Supposedly, if a show is sold out and you are a member, you're in. Of course, there are steps one has to take in order to ensure a spot

  September 17, 2009