Sunday, February 07, 2010

The Superbowl is over and it was, actually, a pretty good game. Now for the commercials:

My favorites:
Snickers with Betty White was very funny and I loved Abe Vigoda's cameo.
Tim Tebo "Choose Life"....While I don't agree with the message it is well done. I had thought this was going to be a whole series of ads during the game.
Doritos - Keep Your Hands off My Momma and The Casket were the best; the others weren't as funny.
NCIS - Head Slap....I don't watch the show but this was effective and broke out of the normal show promo formula.
Simpsons/Coke - did Fox know about that?
Monster.com - wasn't funny until the hot tub at the end
Budweiser - Bridge Out.....a very good sight gag
Letterman Promo...I give points to Leno for doing this even though we all know Dave will win.
Career Builder - Casual Fridays...I laughed my ass off at this one!
Bud Light - plane crash.....I first thought it was going to be a "Lost" parody; very funny.
Dr Pepper - Kiss....This was a nice expansion on the Gene Simmons commercial. The Mini-Kiss was kewl. WOW
Intel - Intel 15 and the depressed robot was cute
VW - Punch Buggy EXCELLET
Google - relationship by search was very smartly written
Budweiser - kleisdales ALWAYS win
Audi - Green Police Excellent

The ones that sucked:
Dove for Men....did not living up to the hype before hand
Carmax with drama gopher would have been funny 4 years ago
E Trade - I am tired of the talking baby
Census - this ad made no sense at all
Doritos - Dog collar....stupid
Taco Bell - Could do without Barkley rapping
Bridgestone - bachelor party....eh, nice punchline of tossing the whale but I could see it coming.
Dockers - no pants...could have been placed at a better time than after a much funnier Career Builder spot

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Anyone who thinks Rahm Emanuel's comment was "appalling...insensitive" and akin to a racial slur IS a retard.

Before you get voodoo dolls out; let me explain.

First, I was raised in a house where I learned tolerance. There is no one single person on this planet who is one iota better or worse a person that you are regardless of who they are, what they look like, how they live their lives or any mental or physical difference or limitation. One of my best friends has a son with Autism and Spina Bifida. I camped out for the opening of Star Wars Episode I and raised money for Spina Bifida charities. Another good friend is confined to a wheel chair and I think of him as a friend; the chair is a non-factor of our relationship. When I was a teenager my mother and I worked with a group of patients from a state run mental institution; meeting with them weekly in an arts and crafts therapy group.

No one could say I am insensitive to the life of someone who is either one of "God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities — and the people who love them".

Here's how I see what is being referred to as "The R Word". Being of the same generation as Mr. Emanuel I can draw on the cultural history to believe this is probably how he views the word as well.

I used the word "retard" when I was a kid. It was a word I used when I had a limited and short focused view of the world. I used words like "pussy" and "faggot" and many others that a pre-adolescent uses to lash out in ignorance at the world around him. To call someone a "retard" would mean that they were the stupidest person alive. By using the word we also attached ourselves with a certain amount of "coolness" because we were using a word we knew wasn't parentally approved; we were saying something "bad".

In those 30 some-odd years since then I have become a more worldly person; respectful of others and empathetic towards those who have had a harder life than mine. When and if I use the word "retard" I am not associating the target of my insult with any actual person or person(s) but that outdated image of a stereotype and the juvenile way I thought of it at that time. If I call you a retard I am not associating you with what I know to be a person who has honest to goodness challenges to their life; to that would be an insult to someone with a disability. If I call you a retard I am saying not only are you stupid but are as stupid, if not more, than that redicilious and outdated caricature from the past.

OK, I may be over-thinking this and I may only be explaining things as I perceive them; it's a lot like trying to explain a joke to someone who doesn't get it. Another thing to remember is that Mr. Emanuel made this comment in private; it's not as if he printed it on White House stationery. Also, the people to which he was referring were "stupid". To think this is a reason for him to be fired from his job is.....well....you fill in the blank.