Can we take our jackets off??!!

Running and SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS *might* mean you're happy about the weather.

For Fun in the Afterlife

A: I told C she's gonna have a baby in her tummy.

Ida: Really why?

A: Because she has boobies. And you're going to, too.

I: But I don't have a baby in my tummy.

A: But one day you're going to.


Our earthly purpose I guess.

Overheard in the Classroom: Everybody Does It?

::knock knock::

(handle jiggle)

Ida: I'm in here...

(feet running)

W: Ida's in the bathroom. Her pooping.

L: Yeah. You have to poop in the big bathroom.

W: Yeah.




For the record, I was *not* pooping.

Meanwhile On Planet Never

W: Miss Ida? Did you say one time at circle that there was a man who got a splinter in his throat and he turned into a lizard?

Ida: ... No ...

W: Oh... (walks away confused)

Ida Know

Ack! Someone else named Ida. And she's super hip, even outside of Palm Beach.

Her work reminds me of Ezra Jack Keats (from the pages??) and I could picture using it one day to decorate a cute powder room. Right now my bathroom is roughly the size of an average bath tub. No walls to decorate anyway. Plus my favorite print isn't available.

Except I do like this one. And it would fit anywhere.

(And, yes, much of it would work fit the classroom...especially the alphabet cards.)

Look!

So I lied when I said I have a favorite.

Mindbender: Where Is That?

Ida: We're gonna do North America first because that's where we live.

R: I don't live in North America. I live in Gordonsville.

I: Yeah! Gordonsville is in our state, Virginia, which is part of our country, United States. And that's in North America, where we live!

::blink blink::

R: ...right.

Splenda Water…or Just One More Reason to Drink Beer

The bloggers at Locallectual spend a lot of time informing us of food scares around the world and I thought this post from 60-Second Science was worth mentioning. And, thanks to EB for sharing it with me on Google Reader. (Coming up on My Virtual Life...)

Smitha Ramakrishna, a 17-year old senior at Corona del Sol High School in Chandler, AZ and one of 40 finalists in the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search, started an organization called Arizona Water Activists Karing for the Environment (AWAKE) because “We believe that it is inexcusable to waste water in the arid Arizona desert. We created these project goals: spread awareness about water conservation, sanitation, and provide access to potable water.” She was inspired after a trip to India when she was 12 and realized how privileged she was to have clean water every day. (Yeah. Amazing--12 years old.)

This work led her curiosity to a lab at Arizona State University where she began testing sucralose. She found that the substance was not broken down by traditional sewage treatment methods and the methods that do break it down are not common in regular plants. So it just ends up floating around with nowhere to go.

Ramakrishna is still studying what this could mean for long-term eco-health but has strong leads that it might be poisoning some fish that she will continue to research.

Splenda is popular because it has no calories but still tastes sweet ("tastes like sugar cause it's made from sugar"). But that’s only because the body can’t break it down and it just ends up as waste. Which then ends up in the water.

This is reminiscent of the controversy surrounding pharmaceuticals in the drinking water supply. What’s next?

My Virtual Life

I've been wondering lately about the boom and success of blogging, social networking and Twitter.

I love it all.

I use my Google Reader almost to a fault (there's no human way I could read all the posts I am subscribed to daily), I blog and Twitter myself and I've had a Facebook account since my second year of college.

What's the deal?

Flapjack Sally directed me to an interesting article by poet Kenneth Goldsmith from 2005 in which he wonders "if it doesn't exist on the internet, it doesn't exist".

It is our obligation as educators and intellectuals to make sure that the bulk of our production ends up there, preferably with free and unfettered access to all.

EFH and I had a conversation when her friend started a blog about the novels on the Modern Library Top 100 List. As EFH said, it's important because Widmerpool is essentially performing a public service. And EB had the same sentiment about my movie review because, as she said, it might be useful to someone one day.

But what about the oversharing of our day to day? Many blogs I read are incredibly informative and make me feel smarter for having read them, but others just feed egos. Twitter is a perfect example of that in most of its existence.

So what are the benefits? Or, more importantly who benefits?

For celebrities, I think the answer is simple. Fans are allowed a few moments of insight into the behind-the-scenes of a movie or studio recording session (or home life!) and it makes them feel closer to the process, therefore more likely to see the film or buy the album.

So, for a company, it's the same kind of thing: if customers or clients have access to inner workings they feel closer to the company and therefore more loyal.

It's all about honesty and bringing us one step closer. It's so easy to feel anonymous and the world of social networking and blogging connects worlds.

And, of course, there's just the curiosity and voyeurism of it all. We get a free view into someone else's life.

But it's working really well.

Any ideas?

Virginia Festival of the Book

Every year, Charlottesville plays host to the Virginia Festival of the Book.

According to the website,

The mission of the Virginia Festival of the Book is to bring together writers and readers and to promote and celebrate books, reading, literacy, and literary culture.

I've lived here for almost 8 years and have been to one event. (My dad and I went to see John McCutcheon and Barbara Kingsolver at the Paramount. David Baldacci was there too...?...do you remember, D-O?)

That being said, here are events I would go to if I could or will go to if I can:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH

2 p.m.

• Poets Reading Poets: A Writer's Attention

Three contemporary poets introduce and read poems by poets of the past: Judy Longley (A Woman Divided) on Elizabeth Bishop, Susan Hull (Mountain Home) on T.S. Eliot, and Kristen Staby Rembold (Felicity) on James Wright.)

Moderator: Bill Sublette


4 p.m.

• Republic of Words: Words and Phrases that Shaped America

Arthur Schulman (Websterisms) and Paul Aron (We Hold These Truths...and Other Words That Made America) discuss how words create meaning and shape understanding.

Moderator: Wilson Brissett


8 p.m.

• Interludes and Latitudes: The Poetry of Kevin Hart and Paul Muldoon
  

Enjoy an evening with two poets of international renown, Kevin Hart (Flame Tree) and Paul Muldoon (Horse Latitudes).

Moderator: Kevin McFadden

• Lincoln: His Politics, His Times, His Assassins

With Gary Ecelbarger (The Great Comeback: How Lincoln Beat the Odds to Win the 1860 Republican Nomination), Andrew Jampoler (The Last Lincoln Conspirator), and K.M. Kostyal (Abraham Lincoln's Extraordinary Era).

Sponsored by Bryan Hagen at Merrill Lynch.
Moderator: William Freehling

THURSDAY, MARCH 19TH

12 p.m.

• Stories from the Civil Rights Movement

Derek Catsam (Freedom’s Main Line; The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides), Peter Wallenstein (Higher Education and the Civil Rights Movement), Richard Bonnie and Mildred Wigfall Robinson (Law Touched Our Hearts: A Generation Remembers Brown v. Board of Education). Hosted by by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc – Charlottesville Alumnae Chapter. Refreshments provided.

Moderator: Abigail Turner


2 p.m.

• Demagogues and Change: A Discussion of the Current State of Our Democracy

John Whitehead (The Change Manifesto: Join the Block by Block Movement to Remake America) and Michael Signer (Demagogue: The Fight to Save Democracy from Its Worst Enemies)

Moderator: Bob Gibson


5 p.m.

• Political Asylum: Philip Schrag and David Ngaruri Kenney

Law professor Philip Schrag and David Ngaruri Kenney (Asylum Denied: A Refugee's Struggle for Safety in America) discuss Kenney's quest for political asylum in the USA.

Hosted by UVA School of Law. Sponsored by Amnesty International Chapter 157.
Moderator: Kerry Abrams


6 p.m.

• Behind the Lens with National Geographic Photographer Kenneth Garrett

Photographer Kenneth Garrett shares his work in Journey Through Hallowed Ground: Birthplace of the American Ideal. This presentation will change the lens through which we view the remarkable history of the region from Monticello to Gettysburg.

Hosted by Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership.
Moderator: Cate Wyatt


10 p.m.

• The Late-Night Story Slam

Charlottesville's first Story Slam is a story competition featuring true tales told by a host of talented raconteurs--authors, musicians, actors, performance artists, and more. You, the audience, will judge who wins the prize.

Hosted by WriterHouse and Live Arts.
Moderator: Browning Porter

FRIDAY, MARCH 20TH

2 p.m.

• Jack Kerouac's America

Hilary Holladay (co-editor, What's Your Road, Man? Critical Essays on Jack Kerouac's On the Road), Matt Theado (Understanding Jack Kerouac), and Gordon Ball (66 Frames) discuss the relevance of Kerouac and other Beat authors to contemporary American society.

Moderator: Hilary Holladay


4 p.m.

• Book Review Superstars

Book reviewers Michael Dirda (Washington Post), Alan Cheuse (NPR), Louis Bayard (freelance), and Bethanne Kelly Patrick (WETA.org), discuss the present and future of literary criticism.

Sponsored by UVa Peters Rushton Fund.
Moderator: Ron Hogan

• In Search of American Music

Adam Bradley (Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop), Amanda Petrusich (It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways and the Search for the Next American Music) and Joe Tennis (Beach to Bluegrass: Places to Brake on Virginia's Longest Road).

Moderator: Elliot Majerczyk


6 p.m.

• Religion and Politics

Charles Mathewes and Chris Nichols (Prophesies of Godlessness: Prediction of America's Imminent Secularization, from the Puritans to the Present Day), Douglas A. Hicks (With God on All Sides) and Shaun Casey (The Making of a Catholic President: Kennedy vs. Nixon 1960)

Moderator: Charles Mathewes


8 p.m.

• Another Music: An Evening with Rita Dove and Boyd Tinsley

Join us as Rita Dove launches her new book, Sonata Mulattica, with violinist Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Matthews Band. Discover the life of 19th century Euro-African violinist George Bridgetower in poetry, music, and conversation.

Sponsored by University of Virginia Office for Diversity and Equity.
Moderator: Robert Vaughan

SATURDAY, MARCH 21ST

12 p.m.

• Connecting Kids with Nature

A StoryFest Event. Rick Van Noy, author of A Natural Sense of Wonder, describes how to get children involved in the outdoors in all seasons.

Moderator: John Holden


2 p.m.

• Covering the Court

Dahlia Lithwick, Adam Liptak and John Whitehead offer their views on the current and possible future members of the Supreme Court, the role it plays in today's society, and its future direction.

Moderator: Robert O'Neil


4 p.m.

• Baseball: The Storyteller's Game--with Talmage Boston

Talmage Boston (Baseball and the Baby Boomer) shares his love of baseball's most legendary post-war figures--Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Nolan Ryan, and others--along with his commentary and memoir as a lifelong fan.

Moderator: John Grisham

• The Flavor of Local

Fran McManus (editor, Cooking Fresh from the Mid-Atlantic) will moderate this panel featuring Gail Hobbs-Page (Caromont goat cheese), Kate Collier (Feast!), and Martha Stafford (Charlottesville Cooking School) discussing the pleasures of eating locally.

Hosted by The Charlottesville Cooking School.
Moderator: Martha Stafford

SUNDAY, MARCH 21ST

12 p.m.

• Immigration Stories: Reform

Margaret Orchowski (Immigration and the American Dream), Peter Orner (editor: Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives) and Doug Ford, immigration lawyer, will discuss possibilities of immigration reform.

Moderator: Charlie Thompson


1:30 p.m.

• Women in the Public Eye: Speaking Truth to Power

Journalist Patricia Lynch (Thanks for Listening) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (Renegade for Peace and Justice) discuss their lives and work.

Hosted by League of Women Voters of Charlottesville/Albemarle.
Moderator: Marguerite Cox

That's Me in the Spotlight

I'm a big fan of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Unless you've been under a rock lately (or, let me rephrase, If you've been reading the same blogs as me), you've noticed that Jimmy Fallon spent several months before his premiere blogging, vlogging and tweeting (whew!).

But it totally worked. I feel so close to him because of the honesty and permission to see the behind-the-scenes.

I'm a loyal viewer. And I don't have television anymore! (Thank you, Hulu.)

Last night Michael Stipe was on and it was a laugh out loud funny interview. Here's a small video clip:

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

And Everyone Wins

-Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

My class loves to hug.

The standard greeting at our School is to squat down to the child's eye level and offer a greeting and handshake. We even practice on each other at staff orientation.

It's a wonderful lesson in Respect for the child, from teacher to child and child to teacher. I like that the child has power in the choice to say hello and enters or leaves school at his will. Plus his personal space is honored. (The handshakes also help us in our work greeting the elders at the Adult Day Care Center in our building.)

We often laugh, however, because as the children get more comfortable coming and going, they pause and wonder for a moment if it's appropriate to hug.

Interestingly, we've gotten to a point in Unity Class where there is no Pause.

C and I are hugged constantly, the children hug each other and rarely do group hugs turn into pile-ons.

I am happy with this. We talk a lot about our Unity Class and set goals for peace, love and harmony. The rampant hugging is a sign to me that the children are comfortable and happy and want to share that peace with everyone around.

On our current playlist:

Peace Train by Cat Stevens
Heal the World by Michael Jackson
This Land is Your Land by Woodie Guthrie
I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing sung by The New Seekers
It's a Small World sung by Mike Curb Congregation
Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

They like to dance. I might as well put flowers in their hair.

Book Clubbin': Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

March Book Club

Date: Monday, March 9th
Place: Ida's house
Book: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
# of Members Present: 4

L'histoire:

KB organized this group two years ago after looking through the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Needless to say, we've read some snoozers. Just that one, really. Overall, the selections have been fantastic and I wouldn't want to die having not read them.

**Sometimes we deviate, choosing books relevant to the last book--Valley of the Dolls because it was the only book on the spaceship in Slaughterhouse-Five--The Pit and the Pendulum because it was Joseph Conrad's inspiration for Heart of Darkness. or Booker Prize nominees or books written by recently deceased authors. There's always a reason for our choices.**

I christened my Christmas paella pan (thanks Daddy-O!) with vegetable paella for everyone. It's a nice dish to share. (Cooking isn't required...plus we are always overwhelmed with food and beverage.)

Everyone loved Jane Eyre. I found these questions on Penguin's website.

• Why does Brontë juxtapose Jane's musings about women's social restraints with the mysterious laugh that Jane attributes to Grace Poole (p. 125-26)?
  

• Rochester's disastrous marriage to Bertha was based on passion, while St. John refuses to marry Rosamund because of his passion for her. What is Brontë saying about the role passion should play in marriage?

• When Jane first appears at Moor House, Hannah assumes she is a prostitute, but St. John and his sisters do not. What distinguishes the characters who misjudge Jane from those who recognize her true nature?

• When Jane hears Rochester's voice calling while he is miles away, she says the phenomenon "is the work of nature" (p. 467). What does she mean by this? What are we intended to conclude about the meaning of this experience?

• What is the balance of power between Jane and Rochester when they marry? Does this balance change from the beginning of the marriage to the time ten years later that Jane describes at the end of the novel (p. 500-501)?

Answer me, dear readers!

It was nice to have some direction and we spent a lot of time talking about the book. It was enriching and fun and gave me a whole new perspective on Jane Eyre. (My last readings of Jane Eyre were high school and middle school and I had a completely different view of it this time around.)

I didn't like Jane Eyre the first time around. It bothered me that she didn't marry St. John and married Rochester instead. Rochester scared me.

This time, however, I was impressed by her character and strength and mature decision-making.

And I found it really romantic that she made her way back and married Rochester in the end.

In Da Windows

When Children Motivate Each Other...

to find work:


and Shop at Target:


They immediately hugged each other when this was discovered. Hopefully that kind of reaction will last well into their teen years.

Also, it's Spring

I wish I had taken a picture of this flower bed just one week ago covered in snow with the earnest daffodil sprouts peeking over. Today, however, we focus on Spring. :)

Color Potions?

shake it.

Now I call this color mixing...but it's taken on a life of its own in the Mad Lab that is the Unity Class.

Color Wheelin'

We're heavy into color mixing these days. All with the help of liquid watercolor. Tres convenient.



The finished wheel is bee-yoo-ti-ful in the windows.

Pineapple Express: Two Hats Are Better Than One?

I rented Pineapple Express with close to no expectations and really because there was only one copy left at Blockbuster. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen what it looks like when a movie is newly released at Bb, but the wall of row by row by row of empty spaces where multiple copies of the newly released DVD used to be is marvelous. (And ultimately disappointing if you are going specifically for that movie.)

The Pineapple Express (written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg – who penned Superbad – directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Judd Apatow) is newly released and hotly rented, except for one lone copy tonight at my local Bb. In an unusual act of fierce competition, I spotted this fluke and literally stepped in front of someone to pick up the movie. Plus it seemed okay to rent it. I heart Seth Rogen. And lots of people want to have James Franco’s babies.

The reviews I’d heard from people were varied. I didn’t read about it on The Internets, one friend thought it would probably be funniest stoned and another went to the theater stoned.

So not really constructive advice.

Here's a summary from IMDb:

Lazy court-process clerk and stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city's most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him--and it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they're not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both. All aboard the Pineapple Express. Written by Anonymous

??????? Yeah.

But I enjoyed it. I don’t regret the time I spent watching it. But there were obvious things missing and an ongoing tug-of-war to jibe comedy and violence that ended up clashing in too many places. The story was so weird. but that was admitted in several interviews I read so it made it easier to swallow. (Maybe that’s also the brilliance of even Apatow’s flops—a commitment to not taking it too seriously—from actor to producer.) I was a bit puzzled by the pace: ups, downs and periods of chaos, all the while quipping one-liners and improvisation.

Apparently Apatow’s inspiration was Brad Pitt's character in True Romance, which is KB’s favorite movie and I watched it years ago when we first met. It’s bad ass though I don’t even remember Brad Pitt. Was he the guy totally strung out with a suitcase of coke? I also might be making that up. I think Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were reluctant at first to write the screenplay, believing a stoner action comedy was just too out there. But I guess they figured with the right people and budget, it could be really good.

Key Points:

I have to admit I was busy during the film but I figured it was okay to be half-watching. Not too far into the movie, however, this was all I knew: plot jokes plot...SCREAMING CHAOS...jokes plot jokes...CHAOS SCREAMING....the scenes escalated to chaos so quickly it seemed the actors were more aware of the imminent violence than me. (It turns out the chaos still came out of nowhere even when I decided to pay close attention.)

Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson stole the show. They play hitmen for the drug dealer that is after Rogen and Franco (I know. SO. effing weird.) and their chemistry is superb. Both seem awkward in their roles as killers (until a surprising scene where Corrigan shoots someone because he was tired of everyone talking). Corrigan spends the film anxious to get home to his wife and Robinson remains jealous and critical of that...I promise it's much more hilarious than the completely unfunny way I just described it.

I like James Franco in a comedic role (notably Freaks and Geeks), though his wig made it hard to appreciate his sexyface. He seemed comfortable improvising with Seth Rogen and proved impeccable timing.

Seth Rogen played Seth Rogen (which means still I love him). I wonder if it’s just his distinctive laugh that many of his characters seem the same? Or it could be the improv. It brings out his own voice and therefore he actually does play himself. Not to mention many of his films were also written by him! So when I think about variation in his roles, it just takes some weeding through the improv to see that each character is different.

There was a lot of pot humor I didn’t understand.

Blood with the violence would have made it awesome but clearly their low budget hurt the violence scenes. (Although Quentin Tarantino always operates on a low budget.)

Seth Rogen's character is dating a girl in high school. Ridiculous and not even plot-necessary. Except it did allow for a sweet scene with Ed Begley shooting at Seth Rogen and James Franco and threatening to take them outside and "fuck them in the street".

I felt like this movie would have worked better as an action movie with really good jokes because the inadequacy of the violence was distracting. I hate being taken away from a movie. Like when an actor breaks character enough that I notice. Or there is something so illogical. And that kept happening. Either the actors didn't play the scenes seriously enough (or they were supposed to be high?) or there wasn't enough camera action. Whatever it was, I kept getting removed from the film.

So Pineapple Express is a comedy that takes its action scenes too seriously. If the scenes were done in an over the top way, adding to the comedy, that would have worked better. Or if the scenes were done on such a high budget, with room allowed for lots of blood and special effects, along with the comedy and ridiculous storyline, it would have been awesome. There was a way to make this movie work with both hats on, but unfortunately the lack of budget made it fall short.

Mad Men: Disc 1

MAD MEN

“A term coined in the late 1950s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue.”

(...pause...)

“They coined it.”

So begins the pilot episode of Mad Men.

I’ve been anxious to watch since the buzz first hit the blogger waves. But I would turn on AMC (yeah…AMC…wtf??) and get so wrapped up in the beautiful hair and clothing that 15 minutes would pass and all I could remember was how deep red the actress marrying Fred Armisen’s dress was. Then came the Golden Globes and, like Arrested Development before it, I felt left out of a really special club. (Plus with all the Sopranos mojo, it's gotta be good.)

Netflix is my friend and I’ve already watched the first disc. (I canceled my cable so somehow now marathon t.v. on DVD is more admittable.)

The setting is early 1960s New York City at an ad agency on Madison Avenue. The show follows Don Draper and the lives of his co-workers, family, friends (and surprisingly high number of mistresses) with the world around them on the brink of change.

There was ace set-up to hook me: damaged marriages with under-acknowledged wives, secret lovers, inappropriate workplace harassment and a cigarette campaign featuring white hair and Evilness.

And while I’m sure that with hair that stylized and clothes that trendy, all these men and women talked more like Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn than Average Joe, I really like them all. My heart broke for the sadness on the face of the housewife who admits she’s unhappy and burned over her cheating husband and his snarky mistress(es). Plus what would it be to live in a world where the new secretary receives overt sexual advances hourly from her male coworkers…? (I know. I know, “That’s sexual harassment and I don’t have to take it”. But in this show the men aren’t scary.)

The writers have a cheesy way of speaking to their 21st Century audience with jokes to make us collectively scoff. “And look at us today! What were they thinking?”

• "Try not to be overwhelmed by all this technology; it looks complicated, but the men who designed it made it simple enough for a woman to use."
• The ad-men are backing a Richard Nixon campaign for something. Yeah, Dick Nixon.
  
• “Everyone loves to smoke. They’re going to whether you tell them to or not”
• That woman smoking and drinking is pregnant?! Whaaaaa…?
• The closeted creative director: "We’re supposed to believe that people are living one way, and secretly thinking the exact opposite? Ridiculous!"
• That child has a plastic bag over her head! And her mother didn't say anything!
  
• Those unbuckled children fell on the car floor!
• “Psychiatry is just this year’s candy pink stove.”
• “Who put the Chinaman in my office?” (Chinaman. Ha.)
• “They paid an Oriental family to be in Mr. Campbell’s office.” (Oriental. Ha.)

And then a less cheesy way, revealing harsh realities.

• “Everyone loves to smoke. They’re going to whether you tell them to or not”
• Single women were a threat--the divorced ones and the career women
  
• African Americans featured have service jobs and no one talks to them (except for Don Draper chatting with the waiter at a bar about women in the pilot. And it seems that the whole point is that he’s talking to someone he’s “not supposed to”.)
• Your friend’s dad will slap you if you’re out of line. And then your dad will say “Do you need more?"

The actors are committed to their characters (January Jones looks so friggin' sad all the time and there seems to always be something else on Jon Hamm's mind--true to their complicated lives as Betty and Don Draper), the attention to detail on the set is impressive and the story is intriguing....just how did companies run when women were strictly secretaries and butt-pinching was part of the job description? Were all mothers unhappy? And cheated on? But seriously, thank goodness Husband isn’t King anymore, requiring permission for wives to go to therapy and getting a phone update from the shrink after each session.

The pilot episode was especially heavy on introducing themes (apparently for an audience that sleeps with gum in its hair):

• There is a clear division of labor (and some of the women are super unhappy)
• Women who are independent are ostracized (or just gossiped about)
• African Americans live in a parallel world
• Child-rearing was reckless
• Everyone smokes and drives drunk
• "Have we ever hired any Jews?" ... "Not on my watch."
• Closeted homosexuals
• etc...really anything that was crazy about the 1960s
  

So while there was quite a bit of information overload, I think that’s standard for a pilot. The pace slowed in the next two episodes and the storyline moved, thankfully.

There is an obvious lack of music. Songs come in to make dramatic points, like a romantic song after a romantic scene and always with a vocalist. But the show is so visually appealing that it took me halfway through the second episode to even notice. Even the cigarette smoke is beautiful.

So what I take from it is an effective portrayal of A Reality. The most obvious sounds are elevator doors opening, ice clinking and cars whirring. The Boy’s Club talks about sex over a good strong martini and the mamas want more from life. If everyone’s outfits didn’t match so well, I could imagine this happening.

I know little about the advertising business beyond my role as "target audience". I guess this gives me more cred than I realize, but this show seems to play on the History of Advertising which I definitely can't say anything about. I also have to assume the jokes become less obvious and the audience is treated less like an idiot as the show grows. Otherwise I can't imagine anyone would have the patience.

And, in the end, the verdict is I like it. Because it makes me feel good. And 9 times out of 10 that is good enough reason for me.