Dear Matt Weiner, Yes, we know it’s Mad Men, but you’ve given us much to savor in the women, except for one. Exactly. Betty Draper Francis. Sure, we fell for her charm and beauty in the beginning. Perfect for the Kennedy era Camelot. Typical of the Alfred Hitchcock heroine. We tolerated her cool, and at […]
Archives for 2010
Mad Men Season 4 Episode 12: Blowing Smoke
The agency is going down fast. The loss of Lucky Strike means half their business is gone. Don sums it up when a $5 million prospect pulls a no show: We’re desperate. They can smell it on us. Mad Men‘s “Blowing Smoke” is a study in desperation and dependence, loss of power and a need […]
How to get a sexy loaner… car
“We see this in the elderly,” he says, working intently on his paperwork. He’s 25, maybe 27. Excuse me? “The elderly. They don’t drive their cars enough. So the battery is compromised.” I know it’s early. I know I need coffee. I know even Christian Dior didn’t help much this particular morning. Do I look […]
Imagine. . .
Can you imagine a better world? There was an entire generation that dared to do just that. To imagine a different world. A better one. I am part of that generation. Our legacy of images and music from the late 1960s and early 1970s stands. It persists even in contemporary consciousness. It was a troubled […]
Timing is everything
Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking… Trying to wake the kid. Rushing to get his lunch made. Hoping the car will start. Scrambling to get things done hours earlier than usual, and “usual” is pretty damn early. Crossing my fingers that I make it to the dealership. Pleading for no traffic. Counting on that loaner. […]
Stigma
It used to be illegitimacy. Or abortion. Or divorce. Stigma was attached to actions that were overtly or tacitly unacceptable. The consequence was banishment from the fold. Being shunned by those whose approval you wanted. Whose love you needed. Some of the reasons may have shifted, but stigma remains a part of western culture. Children […]
Kids Use Condoms, But Adults Don’t?
Are you single? Sexually active? Do you assume your partner or partners are healthy? Bad call. Disease isn’t personal. It isn’t judgmental. It doesn’t know if you attend church, if you brush your teeth and floss. If you’ve only had two sexual partners in a lifetime, or 302. What about your teenagers? Do they use […]
Righteous Recreation of Self-Image?
We revisit self-image over and over…
Mad Men: Sand, Sex, and Chinks in the Chinese Wall
A touch of sand It’s just an innocent ride home from Jones Beach, right? A little bit of sand clinging to Peggy’s skin. A crowded car. Peggy is jammed onto Abe’s lap as he strokes her arm, brushing off the sand. Is that sunburn on her face, or the undeniable color of chemistry? Right. They […]
Mixing My Martini, Musing on My Mad Men. . .
What day of the week is it across the country? Mad Men Day, of course. And while it isn’t quite evening yet, it’s approaching cocktail hour in my neck of the woods. Why not get a jump on the festivities? I’ve had a productive weekend, albeit sans my favorite role as provocateur, or should I […]