Monday, August 14, 2006

Upchuckery

1. SLOGANS PERFECT FOR MOTIVATING UPCHUCK

I noticed that item 13 of tonight's board agenda concerns "purchase orders."

Listed among the purchases is a subscription to a magazine called Good Stuff for $28.99. Evidently, it was purchased by the Chancellor, Raghu P. Mathur.

The magazine is published by Progressive Business Publications. On PBP's (incredibly unhelpful) website, someone named John Dawkins is quoted as saying,

Good Stuff is filled with inspirational anecdotes, thought-provoking quotes, life-enriching vignettes and light-hearted stories that make me and everyone I share them with feel better about life in general.

Uh-oh.

"Hippo Direct," a company that sells business mailing lists, describes GS as

packed with heart warming, motivational, and enlightening quotes, stories, and sayings. Managers, especially, find GOOD STUFF filled with useful advice and slogans perfect for motivating their team and boosting morale. Readers are typically interested in acquiring information and products geared toward life and self- improvement. These 'feel-good junkies' pay for a subscription to GOOD STUFF.

Bleccccccccccccch

(See also Raghu's wildfires of inanity & Raghu's inspirational posters.)

2. $1,698.50 FOR TOM

Here are some other items listed:

Women’s Wear Daily ($84)
Elle Magazine ($10)
Cosmo Girl ($12)

Forbes Magazine ($10)
Orange County Business Journal ($89)
Business Week ($39.97)

One curious item lists the vendor as “Thomas A. Fuentes.” The purchase order description is “TFuentes Internet (6/07).”

It’s for $1,698.50

Jeez, what’s that? A ruthlessness seminar?

3. ALMOST ENJOYABLE!

Recently, we noted the district's embrace of Today's Woman magazine, the most recent issue of which features a fluffy cover story about our lovely colleges.

Another magazine one finds laying around campus these days is called OCPC, a "community magazine." Which community? That would be OC's Iranian community.


The latest issue includes an "article" about Glenn R. Roquemore called "Community Star." Evidently, OCPC's editor, Sepideh Danosian, is a big fan of Rocky, from whom, she says, she recently received a letter:

I was excited when I received [an] email ... from Dr. Roquemore--whose wife is Iranian, I must add--commending us on our community magazine!

Ms. Danosian describes the good experience she had as a summer student at IVC:

...[T]he beautiful campus made it almost enjoyable to go to class!

Evidently, Rocky took OCPC's editor on a tour of campus in his golf cart, and that has produced this largely-accurate love note concerning the little-college-in-the-orange-grove (as Rebel Girl likes to call it, in recognition of Rocky & Bullwinkle's manifest hatred for orange trees).

Danosian notes some of IVC's "popular programs":

...the life sciences [pre-med]; writing/literature, with faculty straight from UCI; a chemistry department the same size as Orange Coast College (even though it is a college that has double the amount of students IVC has!)....

I think she means that OCC and IVC's chemistry departments are the same size, not that IVC's Chem Dept. is the same size as OCC.

That's an interesting factoid about IVC's chem department. Hmmm. Raghu used to be the head of Chemistry at IVC.

What do you suppose it all means?

One more thing. I love OCPC's ads. Here's the one that adorns the magazine's last page:

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...