Grown Ups Talking

Look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L68aKVAzwQ4 and check out a very silly sketch from MadTV. It features the Mac iPad, a computer driven sanitary pad with “vaginal firewall protection".

Fast-forward 5 years and yesterday Steve Jobs announced the launch of the Mac iPad, “Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price.” It’s a computer that’s a book reader and a gigantic ipod that you can twiddle around with and do a bunch of things.

But that’s not the point. What were they thinking? If you watch the MadTV piss-take you see the gals plug-in in their iPads (not a salubrious sight) and dance around in silhouette with their iPads strapped on.

Silly executives, they had no women in the room when they came up with that Stupid Name.

So what else is new? We are starting off the second decade of the new century and the women are still almost never in the room for this part of the discussion. Ads, books, movies, every day culture still weighs heavily towards aiming at men.

Take American Pie, or Superbad, or Youth in Revolt, or anything by Seth Rogen or Ben Stiller. They are all a guy’s eye view of life. Hollywood’s version of a movie from a women’s point of view is Sex in the City. Which I quite liked. But while shoes are nice, they are not exactly worthy of a religion.

The point is, sexism is alive and well and creating our culture. Ideas, strategies, and creativity, are largely the purview of men, who are usually white (see The Obama Campaign Team). Somebody needs to remind them that women buy and vote and watch things too. Ahem, over half the population?

So watch iPad on YouTube and have a giggle. And maybe this will convince the powers that be that celebrating diversity is not only humane, but actually good for the economy. What better argument can there be in this great country of ours?—Pomerol

The republicans are good at doing nothing. After a year’s worth of bickering and bargaining and meeting in smoke-filled rooms, the republicans in the Senate can proudly stand back and say, hand on heart, We got nothing done this year! Woo hoo!

It’s easy to say no. Could you vote for a modified health care bill? No. Could you vote for an even more modifed health care bill? No. Would you like a doughnut? Well…

The filibuster power in the Senate is making the most successful politicians the ones that prevent anything getting done.

But even republicans acknowledge there is a problem. Health care costs are out of control, the number one cause of bankruptcies is catastrophic health bills, businesses are getting skewered by insurance costs. Turning around the Health Care Oil Tanker is difficult for anyone.

Their answer is that if we scupper enough democratic legislation, we will get in next time. Then we’ll do wonderful things.

Problem is that next time it’ll be the dems turn to Just Say No.

Think of all those poor Norwegians shivering away in the icy fjords and midnight sun. All year round they live in a peculiar alcoholic daze first waiting for the sun to rise for six months, then waiting for it to set for the next six.

Then the Nobel Prizes roll around. Suddenly they are the people on everyone’s lips. Attention resounds and they get to have their own version of an Oscar moment, handing out prizes, ecstatic achievers on the other side of the dinner table, generally being patrician benificence dolers.

But its all a little passive. People who have already done something magnificent, for instance Paul Krugman who “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity", are celebrated and clapped on the back and given modest lottery-sized checks. They are the ones who have achieved something, the Norwegians are just clapping.

I think this time round they wanted to be more of part of what’s going on. Catch them young, point them in the right direction. Obama is just an innocent young president, set him on the right path and the Nobellers can give an encouraging shove along the way to salvation.

I mean face it, the U.S. President still has more power to affect more peoples’ lives than anyone else on the planet, why wait to see if he screws it up before giving him a prize?

Why not, gulp, help him out? I mean that’s what it’s about isn’t it? This human existence we have? This human existence that could very well come to a watery end if we can’t move as a species to change our habits and preserve our planet?

I think it’s great they gave his the prize. And I think we should all help him too.—Pomerol

I’m torn.

Education is the lifeblood of society and democracy and enlightened life and so forth, not to mention a major contributor to my, Pomerol’s, employment. The various unions we educator types belong to, are stomping around saying we can’t cut education even if the economy is swirling down the drain, but any halfway sensible person can see there isn’t enough money out there.

So do I stomp along with everyone else because it only makes sense, or do I sit by the sidelines because there’s no way in the world that anyone will get anything anytime soon?

Not that my individual efforts will make a lot of difference, or so my grouchy lazy side says.

Did you notice the students demonstrating in California this afternoon? I’m amazed at how little outrage there has been about loss of livelihoods and futures. It was good to see, and probably a small taste of what’s too come.

Sigh. Guess that means I have to get out there and be outrageous.—Pomerol

When I was a young Donald Trump launched a short-lived venture into air travel. For what seemed like a couple of weeks, Trump bought a mini-airline that traveled between New York and Boston. In those days I went to Boston frequently, and I had the opportunity to fly Don Air once.

It was festooned with logos. The stewardesses wore Don Air uniforms, carried Don Air trays with Don air coffee cups and pastries formed into the face of Don. The carpet had Don Air logos woven in, the seat backs were tricked out with Don Air doo dads, and the toilet seat had engraved Don Air logos which meant you walked around with Don Air embedded into your behind for the next half hour (a fitting statement).

Fast-forward to the mayoral election, and this syndrome seems to have taken over the entire city. Mike Bloomberg is projected to have spent $100 million dollars on his mayoral candidature, according to the New York Times. He has ads in newspapers, magazines, television channels, my poor aching mailbox, internet sites, internet videos, telephone messages, celebrity endorsements. Soon he will be shining his face onto clouds á la Batman, and foaming his message into daily cappuccinos.

This is 16 times more than his opponent, Bill Thompson. Thompson has been hopelessly outgunned by an uber-rich competitor.

Is this what we have come to? Not just purchasing your elected office (see The Regency Period), but doing it publicly?

I’m not a stick-in-the-mud about these things, if Bloomberg spent 2 times as much, or even 4 times as much, you can almost shrug it off. I even think he’s done a pretty good job. But 16 times? This is practically royal entitlement. It’s obscene.

Bill Thompson seems like a good guy, he has civilized ideas about education and taxing rich people (change, but not too much change). There’s no way IN THE WORLD that he will win this election.

But apart from my lifelong reluctance to ever vote for any republican anywhere, the main reason I am going to vote for Thompson it to get on with irritating Bloomberg.—Pomerol