Mad Men

On Sunday, August 16 the brilliant AMC series Mad Men will begin its 3rd season. Mad Men, which is wordplay for "ad men" is a biting, largely accurate depiction of the mores of the 1960's as practiced in a Madison Avenue ad agency. TNB can vouch for the rampant sexism and smoking of those days but not the drinking (CPA's needed to keep their minds sharp).

One can only imagine what the ad men (there were few women although there is one making her way up on the show) of 40 plus years ago, who faced a far more conservative society than we now have, would make of the incredible opportunities existing today. For example:

• Wouldn't Don Draper (the hero) and his cohorts have loved to represent say Bud Light which is receiving the tacit approval of President Obama at his "beerfest" scheduled for tonight. Although the original cause (racial profiling) of the upcoming get-together is quite serious, and was certainly poorly handled, a good ad man should be able to portray the beer sipping as an endorsement. Or maybe they could get the President to reveal his cigarette of choice for his occasional puff. Of course, tobacco can't be advertised but the ad world would see that publicity would ensue anyway.
• Nobody in the Mad Men heyday could have foreseen the possibilities in medical advertising which has been permitted for fewer than 20 years. Operating with practically no restraints ("call your doctor if you have an erection lasting over 4 hours"), other than the ubiquitous side effect warnings ("might cause warts on your face, blindness or death, etc.") it would have been delicious to see what the creative minds of yore would have brought forth.
• And what about today's no holds barred largely negative political advertising (mostly absent in this non-election year)? Also operating with few restraints (such as the truth) this area would have provided a far more fertile ground than existed back then. Although there was the scary 1964 ad depicting Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater as a war mongering child killer.

So if you take TNB's advice and get caught up in Mad Men just fast forward in your mind how these rich characters would have probably behaved in 2009.

Sonia and Sarah

With perhaps only the exception of President Obama whose every activity(including whether the jeans he wore while throwing out the first pitch at the All Star game were too baggy!) is breathlessly chronicled, and even including the recently deceased Michael Jackson (who was possibly prescription medicationed to death???) and whose news coverage appears to be thankfully fading, no two public figures have received more current attention, positive and negative, than Sonia (Sotomayor) and Sarah (Palin). It is difficult if not impossible to find someone who likes them both (or for that matter hates them both). About the only thing they have in common is their gender.

Sonia, a highly educated, accomplished and articulate jurist who of course is of Puerto Rican extraction, appears to be ready to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, where she should prove to be a sensible, moderately liberal (the Democrats did win the election) addition to that august body which boasts one Clarence Thomas as a living model of ineptitude. But never mind. Her biggest fault among her detractors (largely fossilized right wing white men) is indeed the aforementioned heritage. Talk about reaching out to the Hispanic vote, a lost cause among the GOP. This is the party of Gingrich, Limbaugh, Rove, Cheney, Sanford and Ensign. What would you expect?

Sarah, a poorly educated, unaccomplished and inarticulate soon to be (by her own choice) ex-Governor, appears ready to stir up the "real America" of her dreams (translation=white, rural, gun-loving) either to make a lot of money (that's the REAL America) and/or position herself to be her party's 2012 standard bearer. Fully 71% of Republicans polled (the majority of whom are fossilized, right wing white men) would support her for President. This is scary indeed until you bring out the extra factor in Sarah's favor (especially among right wing white men of all ages)--undeniably she's a babe, certainly by the relative standards of most successful female politicians. TNB wonders --could horny white men carry the next election? This would only be fair considering how women swooned over say Jack Kennedy. Of course, he was highly educated, accomplished and articulate. Sort of like Sonia.

Does It Annoy You

With all the major things going on today of great concern to you, such as your health, your family and your finances not to mention the day to day news such as Sasha and Malia meeting the Pope, the Burr Oak cemetery grave robbing and the disturbing news that 71% of Republicans polled support Sarah Palin for president, it's a wonder that any of us have time for the daily annoyances of life. But maybe it's therapeutic to just forget everything else noted above and concentrate on what does annoy you. Naturally TNB is similarly annoyed by things like:

• TV weathermen who make absurd long range forecasts that everyone forgets about and are never required to say "I was wrong" (A great job indeed)
• Drivers who cannot pull out of parking spaces in already highly dangerous shopping centers without being on their cell phones ("I just bought some bagels")
• Physicians who develop "boutique" practices so they can charge their patients an annual "encounter fee" (Does it count if you encounter your doctor say in the restroom of a restaurant?)
• Fellow moviegoers who are nice enough to let everyone else in on their analysis of the plot by talking loudly in the theater ("I think the butler is really a spy")
• Solicitation calls for ominous sounding but often only marginally legitimate organizations such as the Police Protection Association (Implication= don't contribute; watch out next time you need help)
• Bank fees for routine transactions that are so excessive that customers are inhibited from using necessary services (Why pay $50 to stop payment on a check for $40 that may have been lost?)
• Late night talk shows such as David Letterman's which never tell the viewers that they are about to watch a repeat ("I thought it was weird that the monologue was about Hillary vs. Barack")
• "Friends" who have not yet accepted last November's election results and insist on sending the same ludicrous E-Mails as were commonplace during the campaign ("Obama really is the Manchurian Candidate")

This list is only partial at best. What really annoys you (including The Normal Blog)? Let TNB know. Material for future posts is always welcome.

What A Great Country

Americans are always reminded every July 4th of all of the great things about our country, from our unparalleled freedoms to our stable governments to our abundant resources (if we don't waste them). But what really makes us great is how we can weather some amazingly bizarre behavior. For instance:

• Apparently over a million people wanted tickets to the upcoming spectacle also known as the memorial to Michael Jackson. There's nothing better to do? They can't be all unemployed, can they? Why such a public honor for someone who despite his incredible talent had really serious character flaws? Bob Herbert, a respected African-American columnist for The New York Times just last week described Michael as a pedophile who settled for $25 million a lawsuit the facts of which "would make your hair stand on end". This is a different case than the criminal matter for which a starstruck California jury (see O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake) acquitted him. It disgusts TNB that so much attention is lavished on this misguided soul while soldiers, firefighters, policemen and others who give their lives to protect us are ignored. What a great country!
• Is there yet another governor afflicted with terminal weirdness? First there was Eliot Spitzer, then Rod Blagojevich and very recently Mark Sanford. Now comes the (for the time being) the new champ--Sarah Palin. Right after John McCain, to his eternal regret, plucked her from obscurity she has been a polarizing but sort of fascinating individual. More than most politicians, she represented and exemplified the great mass of Americans who think with their heart and believe there's a simple answer to everything (if she could only remember what that answer is). Sort of like those who would travel across the country for Michael Jackson's funeral. Now it turns out that for reasons unexplained (at least in some form of the English language) she's quitting as Alaska's governor. If she really disappears from the national scene (don't bet on it) it will be devastating for comedians and TNB, among others. Or maybe we'll elect her the next President. What a great country!