To Quote Apple: "The Name Stays. Period!"

I think Apple should double down on the name choice and promote the new iPad wireless device with the slogan: "No Strings Attached!"

From the New York Times:

The iPad’s Name Makes Some Women Cringe

When Apple announced the name of its tablet computer today — the iPad — my mind immediately went to the feminine hygiene aisle of the drugstore. It turns out I wasn’t alone.

The term “iTampon” quickly became a trending topic on Twitter because of Tweets like this one: “Heavy flow? There’s an app for that!” A CNBC anchor, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, said the iPad was a “terrible name” for the tablet. “It reminds me of feminine products,” she said.

“Are there any women in Apple marketing?” asked Brooke Hammerling, founder of Brew Media Relations, a technology public relations firm. “The first impression of every single woman I’ve spoken to is that it’s cringe-inducing. It indicates to me that there wasn’t a lot of testing or feedback.”

BTW, MadTV was ahead of the curve with this 2006 bit (h/t Slant):


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Smoke If You Got 'Em

While I didn't find the last season of the SyFy Channel's Peabody Award winning Battlestar Galactica completely satisfying, I was hooked for its entire run. Like Mad Men, the writing was top-notch and explored complex themes relevent to a contemporary audience. Also (and I say this while ducking), as much as I love January Jones, my vote for television's most sexy blond still goes to Trisha Helfer as the iconic "Number Six."

Season One of Caprica, a spin-off of Battlestar Galactica, officially started last Friday with a rebroadcast of the pilot episode. A prequel, Caprica is set 58 years before the original show and concerns itself with the events surrounding the creation of a race of machines that will ultimately revolt against their human inventors.

I bring this up because whenever someone unfamiliar with Mad Men tries to describe it, they invariably list the time-period in which it's set, the clothes worn by the characters and, more often than not, the fact that everyone "smokes all the time." Interestingly, this description could also apply to Caprica. These generic similiarities even promoted one reviewer to write a piece on the new series titled: "Caprica: Like Mad Men with Robots."

...Full Post at Basket of Kisses
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Bored Room

The New Yorker's "Cartoon Caption Contest" (#224) didn't make good business sense.



My entry:

"...and so, to make a long story short..."

At the risk of sounding bitter, none (let me repeat that, NONE) of the winners fit the illustration better than mine.

• “I say we start the meeting without him.” - fair at best
  
  
• "I'm here to fix the coffee machine." - this just isn't funny
  
  
• "You're right. We'll need a second stimulus plan." - see above

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No Country for Old Men

Sigh. Brett Favre was, as they say, being Brett Favre when he threw away a chance at another Super Bowl ring with a 4th Quarter interception off a pass that made absolutely no sense.

Were some of the calls by the refs in favor of the Saints questionable? Sure.

But the Vikings still should have won by 3.
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As Life Goes On Without Him

"Prostidude?" Would his customers be called "Janes?"

From USA Today:

First legal U.S. gigolo starts work in Nevada

A brothel in a Nevada desert town has hired the state's first male prostitute, a muscular college dropout who abandoned a brief stint as a porn actor in Los Angeles to become the only legal gigolo in the United States.

The Shady Lady Ranch successfully won state and county approval to clear the way for the "prostidude," as Nevada's newest sex worker is already being called. After a slow first week on the job, his first appointments are scheduled for this weekend.

...he created a dustup after telling Details Magazine that his pioneering role in the sex business was "just the same" as civil rights icon Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus during racial segregation in the U.S. South. Not surprisingly, he has been forbidden from doing interviews after the remarks.

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When It Rains...

Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking ragged on Brett Favre after the last Viking touchdown that concluded Minnesota's blowout of the Cowboys.

What the hell did Brooking want Favre to do? Hug him?

Luckily, I don't think that Favre heard him because he was too busy winning.
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In Space No One Can Hear You Snort

Remember when being called a "rocket scientist" meant you were smart?

From CFNews12.com:

Cocaine Found In Restricted Facility Near Shuttle

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER -- NASA is launching an investigation after cocaine was found in one of its shuttle processing facilities.

The discovery caused a large number of workers to be tested before they left for the day Wednesday.

NASA told News 13 that a small amount of while powder residue was found in a plastic bag in the Orbiter Processing Facility Number 3, just west of the VAB on Tuesday. It's the building where maintenance work is done on Shuttle Discovery as it is being prepped for its upcoming March mission.

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M.A.D. for Dummies

Andrew Liszewski at OhGizmo posted this vintage Cold War public service poster. It has great advice like placing a newspaper over your head during the blast.

It occurs to me that if you're reading the chart for the first time ONCE the bombs start falling, then it'd be too late to do #6: "Have food and water for several weeks of isolation."

Otherwise, they could have added a ninth one: "Call Khrushchev to negotiate nuclear disarmament."


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Image of the Day

I'm still not sure why more isn't being made of this.

Aaron Rodgers is clearly getting face masked BEFORE the turnover culminating in Green Bay's 51-45 playoff loss to Arizona last night. It should have been a Packer first down plus fifteen yards instead of a Cardinal touchdown.

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The Audacity of Irony

To quote President Obama (from the White House website):

"My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government."

Meanwhile, C-SPAN has sent a letter to House and Senate leaders asking that negotiations on the health care bill be open to cameras which, as of now, are not going to be (full article).

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Control, Aught, Repeat

Symptomatic of a compulsive streak in my nature, I’ve always been a tad obsessed with seeing the exact moment a digital display on a clock or cell phone clicks off a major milestone. For instance, I often feel a pang of frustration upon glancing down at a car’s odometer to see that it has advanced into a new hundred, thousand, ten thousand, or (heaven forbid) hundred thousand series without my noticing it. If you can recall the extra excitement exhibited ten years ago by New Year’s revelers as 1999 gave way to 2000 even though, technically, the millennium didn’t turn over until the following year, you may be able to empathize.

This probably explains why the cinematic “reboot” phenomenon of the 2000’s decade intrigued me more than it should. More extensive than simply changing lead characters, a reboot involves melting down the component parts of an established film franchise that has run its course and reforging them into a new, yet familiar vision. Successful or not, there’s something about the exercise itself that I gravitate toward. Of course, in addition to being obsessive, I’m also cynical. In my heart of hearts I realize that the decision to breath new life into an otherwise exhausted film series is made on commercial rather than artistic grounds. But that doesn’t mean reboots can’t be done well or aren’t worth the attempt.

Read the Full Post at The House Next Door...
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Check Please

Once again, the results of The New Yorker "Cartoon Caption Contest" (#221), left a bad taste in my mouth.


My caption:

"Surprisingly, their broth is pretty good."

The official winners included:

• “Let Table Seven know that there will be a slight delay on the risotto.” - too many words for too few laughs
  
  
• “This is why I don't need cable TV.” - seems kinda generic to me
  
  
• “There's always room for cello.” - waiter, there's a fly in my joke

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