Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Healthcare Revolt's New Rejoinder



Can't you see the t-shirt?

"I went to the hospital and all I got was this new anus."

How about...

"I paid $3,212 for a sinus infection and all I got was this new anus."

Oh, let's just cut to the chase and go straight to marketing:

Anncr: "Mercy General Hospital. We'll tear you a new..."

No, too strong.

Anncr: "Mercy General Hospital. We care. About your an..."

No. Been done.

Anncr: "Mercy General Hospital. You'll get a New Anus."

I hope one of the political candidates jumps on this. It could become the new rallying cry for Healthcare Reform.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Rock me, Sherlock.



Sometimes, a writer experiences something far beyond description.

This is one of those experiences for me.

"Cindy and Bert."

Oh.

My.

Word.

Especially "Bert"'s stare around :45 - I think he's trying to communicate telepathically with us, but not quite sure what the message is...but I can't get the thought, " delicious potato soup" out of my head!

How could that dog just sit there...and be so calm while I feel like dunking my head in rubbing alcohol!


*NOTE - A sadvertising reader informed me that in the 70s and 80s, German National Radio had to play a certain number of hours of German-language music. So, I guess, after much thought, it totally makes sense to sing about The Hound of the Baskervilles to Black Sabbath music.

Duh!

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Those undies are killin' ya man!




The scan above is from the Dec 3, 1932 edition of The Saturday Evening Post.

Bear in mind, 1932 was a year of fear - The Depression was in swing and people played the cards of their lives as if, well, their lives depended on it.

On one hand, the ad is hysterical - "Home - bad cold. Worried. Job may be lost. Avoid colds...wear Duofold Underwear." Was underwear of the 30's SO BAD that the pedestrian variety could actually tempt someone into believing that BETTER underwear would ward off colds?!

"Gee hon, my privates have been chilly all week and now, I don't have any energy! I'm gonna be fired!"

On the other hand, the ad's a splash of cold water on the face of 21st Century need-it-all culture. Back in the Depression, people were happy to have a JOB.

Having spent a good amount of my short life talking to WW2 vets, The Depression was a tough, clarifying time that fueled a "war winning" work and social ethic.

Hmmmm.

I remember a friendly chat with a relative who grew up during the Depression. He was wealthy beyond the scope of most people's dreams but he still bought inexpensive wine. I teased him about it, knowing that he'd had and certainly had the ability to bathe in, the best wine on earth.

"Yeah, but I'm just grateful to be able to buy wine at all."

So there you go. Got underwear? Get to work ya slacker!

If not, stay in bed.


EDIT - Just heard from another friend of mine who grew up during the 30's - here's his comment on this blog post:

"Very interesting. I don't know about Duofold Underware but I do remember walking down our mainstreet with my little "Liberty Magazine " bag over my shoulder and trying to sell the president of our bank a copy. It didn't occur to me till later that he was walking down the street because he had lost his job, nor that when he told me that he didn't have the money for a "Liberty" (five cents) that he was telling me the truth.

There's a degree of maturation that comes from this sort of an incident, that's hard to describe. Yeah, and I drink cheap wine and gin too. Cheers, Bill"

Friday, March 07, 2008

Call for the Priests!


The graphic above is from the South African television station
"News 24"'s website.

According to the article, 100+ kids have become demon possessed and are "...chasing everybody...throwing stones, banging doors and windows."

Evidently, this type of thing has happened before at the Sir Tito Winyi Primary School - last year, 200+ kids "Went Exorcist."

Hmmm.

I'm thinking they need to round up a couple of strong Priests
and REMOVE THE COKE MACHINE.