BAM Monthly Newsletter: June 2025
What exactly is a tire?; Bezos's clipart wedding invitation; Tiny text messages; Plus: BAM's new website!
Welcome to Issue 4 of BAM Monthly, a newsletter covering recent news, trends and observations in the world of communications, presented by BAM Communications Services, LLC.
In this month’s edition:
Ford answers age-old question, “What is a tire?”
Dear Jeff and Lauren, did my invitation get lost in the mail?
Text Messages on the Silver Screen: Grab your binoculars!
Ford answers age-old question, “What is a tire?”
My 2011 Ford Fusion was long overdue for the deluxe spa package at the local automotive shop. It’s quickly evident that repairing one’s car today means needing to repair one’s wallet tomorrow. But at least Ford graciously provides a detailed description of each part in need of an upgrade, so as to avoid even the slightest potential for confusion.
For example, did you know:
A service rep began explaining this to me in person, to which I interrupted: “Please slow down. This is a lot to process. In fact, can you put it in writing?” If this is Ford’s description of a tire, then how would it go about explaining the internal combustion engine?
The only thing missing was a diagram to help me understand, such as this writer’s artistic rendering below:
Check out BAM Communications’ brand-new website!
If you are in need of communications assistance, please reach out today!
Dear Jeff and Lauren, did my invitation get lost in the mail?
Forgive me if this section feels frazzled, for I am still reeling over the fact I wasn’t invited to the Venetian wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. I eagerly waited for the mailman on my porch for weeks, but alas I have only the World Wide Web to thank for getting to see the gazillionaire couple’s invitation.
Truth be told, for their next wedding, I encourage them to utilize the services of BAM Communications. They come out of the gate by saying, “please, no gifts.” However, had I been invited, I still would have gotten them a little something - probably a $100 Menards gift card. Who wouldn’t love that?
The images give the feel of a disorganized, albeit creative, child who had just been handed a set of stamps and gone to town on an unsuspecting square of heavy cardstock. And most invitations I’ve seen include a date, time and location, but perhaps that’s not how things are done in the upper crust.
This, too, would have been helpful:
Text Messages on the Silver Screen: Grab your binoculars!
In yet another reminder that I am getting older by the day, I’ve noticed more frequently that I have difficulty reading text messages in TV shows and movies. But I don’t think it is all my fault.
It occurred most recently during an episode of “Your Friends & Neighbors,” when a character replied to a text with the full phone screen visible. Yet it was shot at such an angle and distance that reading the texts - possible only to a master eye or if paused and zoomed - was untenable from my living-room chair. It being the evening after a long day, I opted against standing up and walking to the television to read it. Did I miss a major development or plot twist? Beats me.
Was I even supposed to be able to read the character’s text, or just supposed to know that the character was texting at all? Shows and films need to be more intentional when showing texts on screen. If we’re supposed to be able to read the messages, then zoom in or print them next to the character or in closed captioning.
Because God willing, I have many more years ahead of not rising from my chair to read tiny text on a screen halfway across the room.
