Alexei Auld is back with a brand new book available 7 Secret Sources of Inspiration: A Snappy Guide for Creative Procrastinators to grill Eugene S. Robinson (who's pushing a GoFundMe to pay for the new Oxbow album) and myself with some PR stumpers from the world of combat sports.
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Today's puzzlers include:
- At 1:00 - You're Dancing with the Stars finalist and MMA fighter Paige VanZant. Fresh from dancing your way into the hearts of the American mainstream, you had offers from the WWE and Hollywood to step away from fighting. But you chose violence. And publicly affirmed your commitment to the UFC. Paigesplain to us the PR behind your decision.
- At 10:15 - You're motivational speaker Tony Robbins. During your "Unleash the Power Within" event in Dallas, you offered firewalking over hot coals which, according to the Austin-American Statesman, allegedly led to over thirty attendees suffering burns to the feet and lower extremities. What PR moves are you unleashing to treat the damage to your brand?
- At 14:04 - You're pro-Leave campaigner and Tory leader front runner Boris Johnson. The Brexit was fun-packed, but is the contract still intact? According to the BBC, your movement is not only scaling back its pre-vote promises, it's delaying executing Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which is required to leave the European Union. Boris, you've gotta let me know. Should we stay or should we go?
- At 22:10 - You're the Red Cross. You wanted to demonstrate proper pool etiquette to children. So you created a poster titled "Be cool, follow the rules". The problem? All of the behavior is race-based. How do you make amends for racially profiling children of color?
- At 27:11 - You're the NRA. A vocal, pro-Second Amendment Texas mother who wrote about gun control in March, "It would be horribly tragic if my ability to protect myself or my family were to be taken away," ended up allegedly murdering her daughters last Friday during a family meeting she organized.I still find it so hard, to say what I need to say. But I'm quite sure that you'll tell me, just how I should feel today.
- At 31:59 - You're CNN. Your decision to hire disgraced former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski sent shockwaves of hate and disgust throughout the media and within your own company. According to Page Six, "CNN is facing a near internal revolt over the Corey hiring...Female reporters and producers especially . . . They are organizing and considering publicly demanding that Lewandowski be let go." What are you doing behind closed doors to make CNN great again?
- At 34:25 - You are an alpha cuck. According to Vice, right-wing republicans have usurped your name to slander liberals, and even worse. Transforming cuck to mean "weak, feminine, politically correct and generally un-Trumplike". How do you fight back and put respek on your name?
- At 38:31 - TEACHABLE MOMENT: You're Abigail Fisher. You didn't graduate in the top 10% of your high school class and weren't admitted into the University of Texas at Austin. Neither were one-hundred and sixty eight black and Latino applicants who had better grades than you. And of the forty-seven students that had lower grades than you and were still admitted? Forty-two of them were white. Yet you claimed you were racially discriminated against and sued. Your case made it to the Supreme Court. And you lost. But you won a new name: "BeckyWithTheBadGrades" based on a Beyonce lyric about one of Jay-Z's jumpoffs: Becky with the good hair. Life gave you lemons and now? You are a bug drowning in someone else's lemonade. What can we learn from your PR purgatory?
- At 48:50 - EUGENE'S LOST BATTALION/PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH
Enjoy!
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