Verbatim
Last week, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam commiserated with the strange confederation of conservative budget hawks and liberal aesthetes who were outraged by the Volunteer State’s remarkably unremarkable new logo.
“I get it,” Haslam was quoted as saying. “That’s something people can understand and say, ‘Why’d you pay $46,000 for something that I could have done at home?'” The governor went on to suggest that critics of the new logo — described by its creators as a “visual identity system” — simply don’t understand. “I think part of the idea is to have a consistent brand across state government,” Haslam continued. “There are some people who might not like that brand, but that becomes a question of choice.”
And he’s right, of course. It becomes a choice to like or not like a somewhat amateurish, relatively cheap logo that brands Tennessee as somewhat amateurish and relatively cheap on state letterhead and government-related websites.
Bad Criminals
Have you ever wanted to roll up a dollar bill and snort something that wouldn’t get you high but would get persistent pet odor out of your sinus cavities? If so, Memphis entrepreneur David Stacks can help you out. Well, when he gets out of jail anyway. Stacks was arrested outside the Westin Hotel downtown after he was apprehended not selling drugs. True, he offered cocaine to potential customers and was holding 26 baggies of white powder at the time of his arrest. But Stacks’ product turned out to be carpet freshener mixed with sugar. He was charged with manufacture and distribution of an “imitation controlled substance.”
