Life imitating O&M

[Zylo]

I was reading the paper Friday and saw <a href='http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjourn ... ndssc.html' target='_blank'>this article</a> in my local newspaper. This reminded me immidiately of two O&M strips (<a href='http://www.ozyandmillie.net/2001/om20010912.html' target='_blank'>Throwing good money after bad sports</a>) and (<a href='http://www.ozyandmillie.net/2001/om20010316.html' target='_blank'>Using educational space for commercial purposes</a>). If you don't care to read the whole article, in my state, there's hell being raised over soda placement in schools. A district recently accepted a deal that will make them over $80,000 a year; money, which apparently is desparately needed. Guess what that money is going to be used for? I'm not kidding--artificial turf for their football stadium.<br><br><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... s/wall.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><br><br>Yea, that's about my reaction. Not only is this seriously compromising the educational message, it's showing right where the school's priorities are (oh, their football team isn't that great. They haven't been to the finals in a <i>very</i> long time). I just thought it was interesting that something so absurd that it was fodder for a comic strip punchline actually happened. Also, there was an opinion column on the issue today that said that making a deal with one company shoves a single brand down the throats of kids for 12 years--isn't that taking away freedom to choose? For the whole column, <a href='http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjourn ... 12004.html' target='_blank'>click here.</a><br><br>Of the 19 school districts in Delaware, 15 have known deals with Coke or Pepsi. My district is one of 3 that have stated no deal (there's one other who hasn't said anything). My school has only 3 vending machines that are accessable to students--a Coke machine in a hallway and 2 Gatorade machines outside a gym. The rest are staff-only and are of no specific brand. The Coke machine is only open before and after school. I know some schools have over a dozen vending machines open during the whole school day. I find that appauling(sp?). I hope my school doesn't sell out. I can't imagine my school plastered with ads.<br><br>Anyway, I just found it so ironic that life imitated O&M so perfectly. I never thought something to absurd would happen, but, hey, I guess things are just that messed up. Honestly, football turf...

[Doctor Fred]

Comic strips often depict real life, but it's usually exaderated. I remember an episode of Daria that was the spitting image of that article. Soda ads were hung everywhere and they had their football team theamed after the soda.<br><br>Edit: 600 posts! Wooya!

[Henohenomoheji]

darn it, my computer disconnected right when I was about to post... darn.<br><br>well, to shorten things a bit, i was doubting Dr. fred's story until i realized it was a TV show, and then I went into a speech saying "don't eat or drink anything you find at school. on the off chance that it is food, it's probably unhealthy/tastes bad/poisoned anyway".<br><br>oh yeah... and how did you make that smiley banging it's head against the wall?

[Zylo]

The smiley is one I took from another IPB forum I visit. Why do some forums have more smilies than others? Is it due to the membership on the forum (more members=more smilies?) Do we just not have that many smilies uploaded? I want more smilies.

[Doctor Fred]

Eh, I don't use them too often. There's enough here for me.

[Elscire]

Well, i think it is more a case of O&M imitating the problems with life, but it is always fun to read somthing like that and be reminded of it.<br>If anything, having the knowledge of O&M in the back of your brain may make you consider it more.<br><br>And on the topic of emoticons, it isn't really the number that matters to me, but the quality!<br><br>I mean, I would like a <!--emo&:P--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo--> smilie which looks sarcastic, and a <!--emo&:rolleyes:--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... lleyes.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rolleyes.gif' /><!--endemo--> one which actually looks exasperated. Then i'd be happy <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... s/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->

[Zylo]

Yea, I just want real cool emoticons. Here are some good ones from another forum I frequent:<br><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... /pizza.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... itting.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... oapbox.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... s/poke.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... t%20me.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... uahaha.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... ns/lol.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... s/help.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... s/grrr.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><img src='http://www.marchingbandplanet.com/html/ ... elloff.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /><br>

[Burning Sheep Productions]

I think there's a whole load of them at some resource page in the Invision Boards main site.

[Foxchild]

OTG, i echo that for so many reasons.... granted, anything i've experience has not been on such a great scale, nor completely directly felt. $80, 000? *sigh*

[dobbs]

Back in my days of middle school (1995?), my school had three vending machines in the lunch area, only available during lunch period. One for Coke, one for Pepsi and one for fruit juice/sports drinks. Exclusive rights in a school are just wrong, as explained in the second linked strip.

[ShadOtterdan]

My school had a deal with pepsi that recently expired, but all that meant was that the two soda vending machines and the school store could only sell pepsi products, they didn't slather advertising all over the place, at least I don't have to worry about my school using the money for astroturf, we don't have a field because we get to use the local stadium.

[Elscire]

I don't have any experience with companies having sole rights at my place of education, so I can't really comment on whether i would be bothered by it.<br><br>I suspect I'd be more bothered by the actual <i>idea</i> of it, the concept, than by any problems with the contract actually being in place.

[Lindentree]

I attend a University which has a contract, so you cannot find a single Pepsi product anywhere on campus. Let me explain... this is at least 10 city blocks of campus... my residence alone houses 20 000 students, and nowhere can you find Pepsi. Personally I didn't even notice, but now it bugs me.

[Sabre]

We've got coke machines at my school but they seem to always be stocked wrong, so I just buy a bottle of cheaper generic cola on they way to school.<br><br>

[Miles E Traysandor]

<!--QuoteBegin-Lindentree+Jan 13 2004, 10:24 PM--> <table border='0' align='center' width='95%' ><tr><td class='quotetop'><b>Quote:</b> (Lindentree @ Jan 13 2004, 10:24 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quotebody'> I attend a University which has a contract, so you cannot find a single Pepsi product anywhere on campus. Let me explain... this is at least 10 city blocks of campus... my residence alone houses 20 000 students, and nowhere can you find Pepsi. Personally I didn't even notice, but now it bugs me. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table> <!--QuoteEEnd--><br> Wow... ten city blocks! And I thought the University that I used to attend was big...<br><br>Hmm... now that I think about it, our University had a contract with Pepsi... of course it wasn't blazenly advertised like Kablammo Cola (and the other produts) was in the O&M strips...