Air France AF 447 announcement

Announcement of a missing plane.

...

Official: It’s missing. We are very worried. The plane disappeared from the screens several hours ago. It could be a transponder problem, but this kind of fault is very rare and the plane didn't land when expected.

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Voiceover

 

Stages in handling news of a disaster: (1)  introduce anxiety first, to pave the way towards the probably inevitable awful denouement, (2) cushion the impending tragedy by noting the rarity of the event (3) highlight steps being taken to cope with the problem (4) extend support to relatives waiting for news (5) finally to soften a very hard landing by acknowledging acceptance.

 

With expressions like these:

 

“AF 447 drops from radar…”

“We are very worried.”

“…this kind of fault is very rare…”

“Air traffic control lost contact with the Airbus A330 at 0600 GMT as it crossed the ocean.”

“Airport authorities have set up a crisis cell at Charles de Gaulle.”

“Brazil air force searching for missing aircraft…”

"Air France shares the emotion and worry of the families concerned."

"We have lost hope for the missing jet.”
“There is a real pessimism at this hour about the fate of the aircraft.”
"We can fear the worst."

Twitterings

Two birds on a wire engaged in metalanguage.

...

Robin: I don’t see any point.

Raven: In?

Robin: Twittering. Tweeting. Call it what you will.

Raven: Tweet and get noticed. Show people where you are and what you’re doing.

Robin: Who would follow my trite tweets?

Raven: The first tweets have already come from space. Fly up there and you’d have an audience.

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Voice-over

If you twitter about your daily doings, the medium (twittering) is more powerful than the message.

If you twitter about unique and unusual activities, the message (e.g space) will be more powerful than the medium.

...

What does Eee stand for?

Greg is accessing email with his Eee while a skeptical Jennifer looks on.

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Greg: It’s an e, e, e.

Jennifer: Triple e? And stands for what?

Greg: Good question.

Jennifer: An obvious question. Hang a string of letters on a product and people will ask. They’ll want to know if the product measures up to their identity.

Greg: I believe the Eee means Easy to to learn, easy to work, easy to play. ASUS advertising slogan…

Jennifer: And does it work for you? I’ve heard they’re a bit underpowered and cramped in the keyboard and still way heavier than an iPhone.

Greg: Yes to all those, but heck, it’ll check email, post a blog, store photos from the camera, and I can fling it in my bag and not even notice I’m carrying it. Well almost.

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Voice-over

 Product names. There is levity in some, brevity in others. Marketing the same product in different cultures? Change the name to suit the customer base.

 

The Canon EOS Kiss as it is called in Japan. Sold in the U.S. as the Rebel 450D. Is the targeted Japanese buyer a young female and in the U.S. a budding male photojourno?

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Security cameras compromised

Another stentorian Skype exchange in an airport lounge…

 ...

Hi Toby, it’s Vince.

I’m in the airport lounge, waiting for a flight.

Couple of months in Laos.

Yeah. Good there. Anyway, what I’m calling about is, well, those new cameras are a little, a little bit, ah, a little bit, BAD…

First, those two cameras in Unit 5, they’re somewhere mounted on an RSJ. There’s a power issue there.

Yeah, that’s a good point.

And then all the new cameras have software problems, for example, the camera on top of the chimney can’t be steered.

Yeah, that’s a good point. Could be an option. So, one thing we could do is use the new cameras but using the old software protocols. Can you see to that?

No, I’m, I’m away. George’ll show you.

Yeah, OK, well, I’ll have to do this a little bit by remote control, might have to do it remotely.

Good luck, have a drink for me, wont be down that way for 6 weeks. Thank you. Cheers. Goodbye.

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Voice-over

If I could get Vince’s name card, his would be a factory that could be an easy target with its defences down for a few days. Especially useful knowing the camera on the chimney can’t be steered!

Exchange opens and closes with where Vince is, and where he is going. He stumbles over how to describe the faulty new equipment… but in the end, blurts it out “a little bit, ah, BAD.”

Fairly clear directives, but marked by typical phone conversation repetitious rephrasings like “…by remote control, might have to do it remotely…”

...

Paradox of thrift

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JM cautions Usall not to be recklessly conservative.

JM: In a recession, everyone becomes more cautious and starts saving more money.

Usall: But surely saving money is a Good Thing?

JM: In moderation. But carried to excess, it can be counterproductive. If everyone stashes their money away, stops spending, demand will fall, consumption will fall, economic growth will fall, banks can fail. That's what I call the paradox of thrift.

Usall: But if I keep my my money under my mattress?

JM: Then you are keeping money out of circulation, and banks will have no loanable funds and they will be out of business. You are not saving money, you are frantically hoarding currency. That's not the same as saving.
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Voice-over

Whether you are an anti- or pro-Keynesian, you have to admire JM's persuasive logic in torpedoing a worthy quality like "thrift" with "paradox". Or turning the laudable act of "saving money" into the socially irresponsible and selfish pursuit of "frantically hoarding".
...