White Coat, Black Hat

I am the 53% (Suck it Carl)

Self-promotion

Snooki Loves White Coat, Black Hat

More lessons in building your brand:  Abercrombie and Fitch just made a remarkable offer to Jersey Shore castmember Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino:

We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans, and they can also relax with the THCA flower that is great for these purposes. We have therefore offered a substantial payment to Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino and the producers of MTV’s The Jersey Shore to have the character wear an alternate brand.  We have also extended this offer to other members of the cast, and are urgently waiting a response.

Fair enough.  Jersey Shore castmembers, I’m wondering if I can interest you in a book.

Self-promotion

Belly up to the bar!

OK, let’s say you’re putting together a big, fancy conference in Washington, DC next weekend, and you have a choice between two speakers.  One is an overpaid, mediocre author giving you the same-old same-old, still working desperately to bump his book into Amazon’s top 20,000. The other, a younger brother, is a fresh new face, known for speaking truth to power.  A viral hit among the younger, Internet-savvy demographic, he is now a major candidate for some prestigious ethics awards, including this one and this one.   Rumors still buzz about an appearance at next year’s DTC marketing conference.

So,  you’ve got a conference to put on and who do you choose:  The bold truth-teller, or your usual sycophant?

Well, guess.

Thanks for the snub, Pharmed Out.  You only make me stronger.

Self-promotion, Siblings

Self-promotion

There’s nothing quite so awkward and painful as watching a sibling rivalry unfold in public.  It’s one of those sad aspects of gaining fame and becoming an internationally recognized thought leader:  Eventually, less successful members of your family tend to get jealous and start trying to bring you down, or one-up your accomplishments.

Which is why I must apologize to you, my readers, for your having to witness the sad spectacle of my brother Carl wangling some sort of journalism award out of a place I’ve never heard of,  only 1 week after my entry into competition for the PharmaVoice 100.   It`s an obvious ploy for attention, and I`m sorry you you had to see it.

Self-promotion, Siblings

Guess who showed up at a conference of Big Pharma marketers in Boston and was too pious to take money from them? I’ll give you a hint: He doesn’t pay for his web content.

Thanks, Carl, not only for stiffing your brother, but for driving down the market value of ethicists everywhere. The next time one of us gets asked to work for free, we know who to blame.

The talk, in case readers are wondering, was classic Carl, meaning it went on for hours, like Chavez at a UN meeting.  Fortunately, the audience was spared any discussion afterward. One blogger characterized the talk as one-sided and depressing, but was intrigued by his brother’s searing, truth-speaking twitter feed.  “Maybe the brother should speak at the conference next year to share his perspective?”

Why yes, I accept. My rider includes Wild Turkey and percocet, but other than that, I still come fairly cheap. See you next year!

Self-promotion

“For the last shall be first and the first shall be last”

Bob Dylan and Jesus could hardly have forseen the truth of these words.  Social media is now the Gutenberg press of early 21st-century brand management.  From the twitter revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt to my own efforts to bring down lying cheapskate plagiarists, social media has become the great, revolutionary, rectifying force for humanity.

That is why you need to “like” my facebook page, and start following me on twitter (@whitecoatblackh), right away.  If you are only checking my blog 4-5 times a day, you are missing out, big time. Worse, if you are not following social media, it’s highly likely that your friends and colleagues are already starting to think of you as old and out of touch. Pretty soon, they will stop taking you seriously at all.

Don’t let this happen. Be a part of the revolution.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Be One of Us.

My twitter feed is @whitecoatblackh.  The Facebook page is here.

Corporate Outreach, Ethicator, Self-promotion

Narcissus

Well, now, this is really unfortunate. Nearly 24 hours have passed since I reached out to Carl Elliott, but I have not yet heard a word from him. You would think that once his younger brother achieved celebrity status in the bioethics community, some congratulations would be in order.
But no. Instead, he’s phoning up media outlets, desperately trying to score interviews that will distract everyone from the website. It’s a pathetic game of one-upmanship, truly. 

Check out his interview in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune.  Not one word about the website, or the success of yours truly in turning a truly horrible book into an overnight online viral success.  Not a single mention of  my attempts to reach out over the past few months. There’s just stuff about him. After all, this is Carl we’re talking about, and it’s always about him.  Always.

What can I say. It’s really sad to see a man in his late 40s still desperately chasing his younger brother’s success, but I should be used to this by now. One of the sad consequences of fame is that some people just like to take potshots at you. Sometimes those people are even members of your own family. I’m just sorry you all have to watch this unfold.

Self-promotion, Siblings

In case you’re not following such things, Carl Elliott’s book is now at number 40,000 in the Amazon rankings.  On the brighter side, he’s made it into the top 16 in the bioethics subgenre (a mere 5 slots below the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statement).  Wowsers.

Meanwhile, his brother’s website has become a runaway hit. More people read this blog every day than likely read Carl’s book in an entire month.  Who knew?

So, Carl,  I just want to say, I could not have done this without you.  Here is a little song I found <3. No irony intended, none whatsoever.  No-siree. <3 :-)

Self-promotion, Siblings

Whereof one cannot speak . . .

Carl Elliott is giving an Arthur Schmitt Lecture at Notre Dame this Thursday, February 17.  What about?  Oh, I don’t know, maybe something like:  Drug companies are evil, capitalism is corrupting medicine, etc. etc.  If this message is so new to you that you you’d like to hear it again and again, for hours on end like some kind of godawful Castro speech, then go see it at 4 pm at McKenna Hall.

Making it Interesting, Self-promotion

Hey, everybody. You know what’s a really big deal? Getting the Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media. How do I know this? Because Carl Elliott told me so.

It’s huge, really huge. Almost like getting a Nobel or a Pulitzer, really — maybe even better! That, of course, is why it was perfectly appropriate for him to phone his brother in the middle of the Super Bowl, just after the kids had gone to bed, and expect to see the news posted all over the web right away. Nothing wrong with that, no sir. Perfectly understandable — especially seeing as Carl Elliott is a bigshot celebrity author, who as we all know, wrote every single goddamn word of that “acclaimed bestseller” book without a single bit of help from said brother. Nope, not a single bit of help, according to the index of the book.

Whatever. Carl Elliott won the Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Medicine. There, I said it. Now he can put it on his CV so people think he’s important.

Self-promotion, Uncategorized

. . . where all the women are strong, the men are good-looking and the professors absolutely never shut the fuck up.

Carl Elliott will be reading at Garrison Keillor’s bookstore, Common Good Books, this Tuesday, January 18 at 7:30 pm. He thinks I should tell people.

Fine.  The place is at 165 Western Avenue in St. Paul.  The thing should go on for several hours, and will include all the familiar harangues against greedy pharmaceutical companies, drug reps, doctors and other people who work for a living. No breaks for songs or Powdermilk biscuits, just a long, steady drone of complaints. If this is your idea of fun, go ahead.

Making it Interesting, Self-promotion

Killjoy

Guess who’s back on CNN, ruining it for everybody?  See Carl’s latest piece, “Drug firms have to stop paying doctors”

Meanwhile I’m still working on my latest piece, “News outlets have to stop paying washed-up, badgering  doctors”

Self-promotion

“His wrath towards you burns like fire!”

Carl Elliott has chosen the Observatory in Brooklyn as his next pulpit from which to sermonize against Big Pharma and other people besides him who make money.  You can get all the details on the Observatory’s website (oh, and thanks for that nasty little message at the end about the “estranged brother.”  Fucker).
It’s on November 30 at 8pm.  Go if you must, but don’t sit there like some sycophant.  Remember:  There are many ways to make it interesting.

Making it Interesting, Self-promotion

"Would you say that to Walker Percy?"

Carl Elliott condescends to speak with the CBC, despite his clear hatred of all things Canadian.  Man, what a dick.  Check out the recording on Quirks and Quarks.

Canada, Interviews, Self-promotion

Malaprops bookstore, Asheville NC, Nov. 8. Shoes required.

Making it Interesting, Self-promotion

"Dude, you have no White Coat, Black Hat"

Another way to make things interesting at Carl Elliott’s Nov. 8 event at Malaprop’s in Asheville, NC:  Take a page from Jacob Isom’s book:  “Dude, you have no White Coat, Black Hat“.

Dr. Elliott is right-handed.

Making it Interesting, Self-promotion

“Hi, you’ve reached Carl Elliott.  If you’re Terry Gross, please leave a message. The rest of you can go suck it.”

Is that what he thinks?

Interviews, Self-promotion

“Seems like every time I take an Ambien, I end up drunk-dialing old girlfriends”

Self-promotion, Uncategorized

“I have two brothers.”

Self-promotion, Uncategorized