Master of Their Domains

I haven't seen Saw VI and doubt I ever will (either in the theatre or on DVD). The movies don't interest me all that much.

That said, I wondered just how many sequels were being planned for the series. So, for laughs, I "whois'd" some "saw" domains.

Lions Gate Entertainment has only grabbed one more; saw7film.com and saw7movie.com (which is supposed to start production in January 2010). Of course, this doesn't preclude them going after the higher numbered ones if they want to.

• Lions Gate Entertainment (saw7film.com/saw7movie.com)


• CEMAL DIKER (saw8film.com/saw8movie.com)


• CEMAL DIKER (saw9film.com/saw9movie.com)


• Maciej Schwager (saw10film.com)

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Death By Chocolate

For $120.00 (plus shipping), you too could have a genuine chocolate skull for your next Halloween event.

From The Chocoloate Skull website:

Doesn't this skull made from a blend of Cuban and Mexican Dark Chocolate look delicious? Oh it is, but trust us, you'll probably want to share it with some friends; This is a 2.5 kilo, life sized, solid cast of an ACTUAL HUMAN SKULL!

It doesn't say WHOSE skull they used.


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Think Fast!

Are these posters hanging in Downtown Detroit a) props from the new "Red Dawn" movie that's currently in production or b) left over from the Obama campaign?


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Theeme Songs

TMZ reports that in 2005, Richard Heene (the father of "Balloon Boy") came up with theme songs for TWO proposed television shows: "The Psyience Detective" and "The Contractor."

Not sure if you need a psyience detective or a contractor? Well, make up your mind, he's got to adjust the chair.


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Group Therapy (Mad Men 3.10)

As has been mentioned in previous posts, a motif that has been used throughout Mad Men’s third season is the juxtaposition of the colors blue and green. Blue has symbolized a worldview that, in varying degrees, has a confining affect on those characters conforming to it (the blue uniform on the stewardess in Out of Town, Don’s blue Cadillac, the blue background in the anachronistic film clip from Bye Bye Birdie). Meanwhile, the depiction of a new “anti-establishment” societal paradigm gradually taking hold in the Mad Men universe is represented by deliberate placement of the color green (the grass in the Maypole dance at the end of Love Among the Ruins, Miss Farrell’s sweater, the shirt on one of the anti-social grifters in 723).

In The Color Blue, this use of color is explicitly suggested by the title. While Betty’s storyline starts out slowly, when she discovers Don’s alternate identity, her character faces what is arguably the most dramatic conflict of the episode. At the end, she will literally be wearing both blue and green as she contemplates her next move.

Don arrives early for dinner one evening but informs Betty that he won't be spending the night. "Betts, I don't have a choice," he says. "I see how hard you're working," she replies.

In the first of many uses of the color blue, Carla and Betty both wear blue outfits. Betty and Don discuss an upcoming Halloween masquerade party. This foreshadows Betty’s later discovery of Don’s “disguise.”

At various points in The Color Blue, Betty is shown reading Mary McCarthy's 1963 novel, The Group. When Betty is initially shown reading the book, she is the tub surrounded by the blue tiles of her bathroom wall (a baptism perhaps?).

From Amazon.com:

Mary McCarthy's most celebrated novel portrays the lives, and aspirations of eight Vassar graduates. "The group" meet in New York following commencement to attend the wedding of one of their members and reconvene seven years later at her funeral. The woman are complicated, compelling, vivid, and, above all, determined not to become stuffy and frightened like "Mother and Dad" but to lead fulfilling, emancipated lives. "

This would seem to correlate with two threads developed in the episode.

The motif of school ties (particularly female), like those of the women in the novel, comes up a number of times in the episode. Don asks Sally about school but not Bobby. Lane Pryce comments that Americans never ask him where he went to school.

But much more significantly, Betty's reading of the novel parallels her discovery of Don's secret life. This will be a watershed moment in Betty's own quest (conscious or not) for personal emancipation.

Don drives to Miss Farrell's apartment. "I want you to spend the whole night," she whispers. In bed, she describes a student who asked if everyone sees the color blue the same way. "People may see things differently," Don says, "but they don't really want to."

When he greets Miss Farrell, Don notices that she has a star shaped sticker adhered to her cheek from grading school work. This continues the association developed in Wee Small Hours between Miss Farrell and the sun. Don has given Conrad Hilton’s people Farrell’s phone number. When Farrell informs Don that someone from Hilton’s office had called, she adds that Hilton was probably “in the air” at that moment. This ostensibly refers to the fact that Hilton’s airplane has taken off. But, as with Miss Farrell and the sun, it continues the use of a metaphor also established in Wee Small Hours comparing Hilton to the moon.

Don and Suzanne’s discussion about seeing the same color “differently” will literally be demonstrated later by the green and blue dress Betty wears to the Sterling Cooper party.

In his office the next day, Don objects that there's "too much story" in a television commercial Paul proposes. Peggy improvises a shorter narrative that Don approves.

The scene from Farrell’s bedroom cuts directly to an exterior of the Sterling Cooper office building which is dominated by a blue hue. Don enters eating what is presumably datenut bread given to him by Miss Farrell which he carries in a blue napkin.

The Aquanet commercial Paul demonstrates for Don shows two couples. One of the women is jealous of the how firmly the other woman’s hair is held by Aquanet. In a way, this applies to Betty’s attitude when she later discovers another “Mrs. Draper.” While talking about the ad, Peggy suggests a visual where a transparent kerchief is pulled across a can of Aquanet. This may be foreshadowing Betty pulling the veil of mystery away from Don’s carefully crafted façade.

Another campaign Peggy and Paul work on in The Color Blue is for Western Union. They are trying to sell the merits of an outdated product that is losing business to the modern and more personal telephone technology. This corresponds to the societal shift shown taking place from a controlled, formal worldview (telegram) to a more relaxed, less formal paradigm (telephone).

Peggy makes a point of describing the telephone as a “cheap” mode of communication.

Lane arrives with a check: Don's signing bonus. A rare smile from Don amuses Lane, who says that Don will be the final speaker at the upcoming Sterling Cooper anniversary party. He should be prepared for "prime time."

Interestingly, the signing bonus Don gets from Lane is five thousand dollars. In a first season episode aptly titled 5G, Don’s brother Adam Whitman, comes looking for Don. Adam stays in room 5G of a hotel. Also, Don brushes Adam off by giving him five thousand dollars. The rebuke from Don ultimately leads to Adam committing suicide. The guilt Don feels over this certainly ties in later to the kindness he shows toward Suzanne Farrell’s brother Danny.

In Lane's office, Rebecca weeps, ostensibly over a cabbie cheating her, but really because she remains homesick for London. "You like it here," she accuses. "The smells and the noise and the criminals at every level."

Mrs. Pryce is wearing a blue dress when she talks to her husband. She complains about “fat ladies in furs.” Roger will remind Bert Cooper in the next scene how he discovered Don selling fur coats.

That night, Don and Miss Farrell make love but are interrupted by the arrival of her brother, Danny. Don dresses to leave, but Miss Farrell wants the two to meet. Danny says he's lost his job because he has epileptic seizures. Don wishes Danny well, but Danny calls him arrogant after he departs.

When Miss Farrell first sees her brother Danny (who turns out to be an epileptic), she looks at a bandage on his head and asks “is it bad under there.” In a symbolic sense, Miss Farrell is asking for an update on Danny’s condition. Again, Danny reminds Don of his brother Adam Whitman (who Don did not treat particularly well.)

The next day, Roger and Cooper reminisce about their careers. Neither is looking forward to their company's fortieth-anniversary party. Roger loathes the thought of watching Don achieve an award "for his humanity." Likening the event to a funeral, Cooper says he won't attend.

Don and Roger, reminisce about the Sterling Cooper "class" of '33 (a subtle school reference) and point out a past female employee ("remember her?"). Continuing the phone motif used throughout The Color Blue, the woman in the photograph is holding an old fashioned telephone.

That night, the Drapers' phone rings. Sally answers, but no one responds.

While it’s never made clear who phoned, Don and Betty both think that the call came from the respective individuals with which they have an extramarital relationship. As characterized by Peggy in a different context, this would certainly represent a “cheap” use of a phone (or “tawdry” as Betty may say).

Paul and Peggy work late in their offices on a concept for Western Union: When is a telegram more appropriate than a phone call? Paul drinks steadily as he works.

The distinction between Paul and Peggy in terms of how they work is demonstrated clearly here. Peggy’s approach to creativity seems more focused and direct than Paul’s (who doodles, listens to jazz, drinks liquor and, at one point, even masturbates behind his desk). Peggy uses a Dictaphone to record her thoughts which, in a sense, is ironic as that is the sort of technology which Western Union is trying fighting against. The difference, however, is that Peggy's Dictaphone leaves a “permanent record.” This idea will play into the solution Peggy, Paul and Don arrive at for the Western Union campaign.

At home, Don locks some cash in his desk drawer. Hearing baby Gene cry, he puts the drawer's key in his bathrobe pocket.

Don is wearing a blue robe and pajamas when he goes through his drawer. The baby crying distracts him. In Mad Men, Baby Gene represents the new world which has replaced the old one symbolized by Betty’s deceased father Gene. So, it’s worth mentioning that Baby Gene’s distraction causes Don to leave the key in his robe pocket. This leads to Betty's discovery of Don’s secret (which leads to Betty’s final transformation).

Back at Sterling Cooper, Paul has a sudden brainstorm about Western Union while chatting with a custodian. Paul celebrates with another drink.

Note that Paul’s muse, the custodian, is carrying fluorescent light bulbs when Paul gets his brainstorm. The effect is much like the sterotype of a person with a cartoon lightbulb over their head when they get an "idea." Also, that the custodian’s name is “Achilles” may be related to Paul’s “Achilles’ Heel.” In this case, it would be his lack of focus which causes him to neglect recording his thoughts (unlike Peggy).

The next morning, Miss Farrell briefly boards Don's train. He asks if she called his house, and apologizes when she says no. "I don't care about your marriage, or your work, or any of that," she says. "As long as I know you're with me." She has found her bother a job at a VA hospital in Massachusetts, she adds. He'll be gone by evening.

Noteworthy in this scene is the view from the train window. With the arrival of autumn, the leaves on the trees whizzing past are turning yellow. Since green is Miss Farrell’s color, it may suggest that Don and Miss Farrell’s relationship is starting to reach its end (though they don’t realize it yet).

At the office, Lois wakes up Paul, who becomes frantic upon realizing that he neglected to write down his brainstorm.

As usual, another Mad Men character under emotional stress is found unconscious on a couch. As Paul panics looking for his "brainstorm," the sound of office telephones ringing can be distinctly heard in the background. This is a subtle reminder of Western Union's dilemma. It also supports the symbolic use of the telephone as the deliverer of bad news in The Color Blue.

Lane's London bosses call. They're flying over for the party -- and, by the way, Sterling Cooper is for sale. Cooper's attendance is crucial, Saint John Powell says, "to encourage interest."

Once again an unexpected phone call leads to tension. As PPL, Sterling Cooper’s parent company, represents an even older version of the “establishment,” the color scheme of their London office is dominated by a dark bluish color scheme.

Just before the call, Lane is practicing his speech for the party. His remarks continue the school motif with a reference to American’s “teaching” the world about business.

Betty, doing laundry, discovers Don's key. Opening his drawer, she sees his money stash, along with the cardboard box containing Whitman family photos, the army dog tags of Richard Whitman's and the real Don Draper, the deed to Anna Draper's house, and the divorce decree dissolving her marriage to Don.

When Henry Francis made his unexpected visit in Wee Small Hours, Betty was also carrying around a laundry basket. On that occasion, she was dealing with her own "dirty laundry." With the Don’s robe prominently shown on top of the pile, now she is dealing with Don’s. Every time Betty handles the robe, a distinct “ting” sound can be heard. Of course, this creates suspense as the audience wonders when Betty will actually find the key. But the sound also ties in nicely with the longer “tings” made by the various phones ringing throughout the episode.

That evening, Danny is still present when Don arrives at Miss Farrell's. She plans to drive Danny to Massachusetts, but Don, concerned about her returning alone late at night, says he will.

On their drive, Danny tells Don he has no intention of taking yet another menial job because just people don't understand epilepsy. Don pulls to the side of the road, offers Danny money and his business card, and lets him out of the car.

That the Mad Men universe has undergone a shift is demonstrated further in this scene. Don and Danny discuss how Julius Caesar, like Danny, also suffered from epilepsy. The fall of Rome has been used as an allegory for 1960's society in season three. Before his death, Betty’s father Gene was linked with the Roman Empire. However, Gene had money and a big car. The Roman Empire is now associated with Danny who is continually broke and has no means of transportation.

At two in the morning, Betty returns the box to the drawer, places the key in Don's bathrobe, and goes to bed.

While when she first discovers Don’s secret, Betty looks as though she may swoon (perhaps onto the Wentworth purchased in 723). However, as the episode unfolds, the shock has a cathartic effect on Betty who seems to going through the final stages of a transformation that begin earlier in the season.

Before meeting with Don about Western Union, Paul confesses to Peggy that he had "something incredible" but can't remember it. He recalls a Chinese proverb: "The faintest ink is better than the best memory."

Peggy's ideas don't impress Don, who turns to Paul. Peggy encourages Paul to admit that he lost his idea. Don commiserates. Peggy gets Paul to repeat the proverb. The key to their telegram pitch is in there somewhere, she says. Don agrees. "See, it all works out," he tells Paul.

The approach the three arrive at (inspired by Paul’s experience and Peggy's creativity) for Western Union is that a telegram provides a permanent record of an event that the more informal telephone cannot. It’s noteworthy that permanent records left in a box are the root cause of Don’s current trouble with Betty.

"Look how pretty mommy is," tux-clad Don tells Sally and Bobby as the Drapers leave for the party that evening.

Don calls Betty from while pulling a fresh shirt that the drycleaners wrapped with a blue ribbon. At home just before the party, Betty is alone and lost in thought while sitting on the outside edge of the bathtub (where she was first shown reading the novel). The patterns on her dress consist of both green and blue. At that moment, the shot is lit in such a manner as to make the color green (Mad Men's color for change) seem to dominate. However, when Betty enters the bedroom seconds later and seen from Don's point of view, her dress appears more blue. In effect, the audience and Don (who doesn't realize that a change has occurred within Betty) see the same color differently.

Lane, stuck in traffic with Rebecca, tells her Sterling Cooper is being sold. She's delighted.

A blue neon sign is reflected onto the limousine window that the Pryce’s ride in. Rebecca’s happiness at Sterling Cooper's potential sale may not be as great if she realized that Lane probably won't be transferred back to London. In Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency, his new assignment was going to be India.

At the party, Roger introduces Don, alluding to his heroism in Korea and calling him a friend and "the man who will stand alongside me for the next forty years." To extended applause, Don kisses Betty and steps to the podium. "I'm very honored," he says.

As Betty regards Don, her expression is not enthusiastic at all. The shot is framed to show Don’s empty chair next to Betty as she is perhaps contemplating a future without him.

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Credit MacDaddy

This is what happens when no one is brave enough to say "STOP!"




Hattip: Sports Illustrated's "Bad Commercial Of The Day" for Oct 19.
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Blair Witch: The Home Game (Paranormal Activity)

I was part of the throngs that caught Paranormal Activity last weekend. It's the latest horror flick to incorporate The Blair Witch Project's faux documentary style. All hype aside, if you like a good ghost story, you'll enjoy this one. That said, Paranormal Activity doesn't really break any new ground. In fact, what struck me the most was how closely it followed the template established in The Blair Witch Project.


The Set-up
Blair Witch: In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary...A year later their footage was found.

Paranormal Activity: The relatives of Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat make this "found" video available.

It Begins as a Lark

Neither the kids in Blair Witch nor Paranormal Activity's Micah seem to take the subject of their "documentary" very serious at first. Of course, they learn the lesson that everything bad that happens starts out as "fun."

The Never Ending Argument

Blair Witch: After a while, I got sick of hearing the lost trio arguing about losing the "fucking map."

Paranormal Activity: Likewise, Katie and Micah continuously battle over when they should call the demonologist.

Critical Props

Just as with the "never ending argument," the characters in both films repeatedly express concern over "borrowed" objects. In Blair Witch, the would-be filmmakers stress at having to return a DAT recorder to its rightful owner by that Monday. In Paranormal Activity, Micah exploits a loophole in a promise made to Katie big enough to drive a demon through when he gets a friend to lend him a ouiji board.

Keep It Rolling

Blair Witch: At the end, why do the character's keep taping while running for their lives in witch's house? The answer, of course, is because we'd never see what happens.

Paranormal Activity: Katie, who is against the idea of documenting their haunting from the start, nonetheless tapes Micah's actions in the hallway even while screaming at the top of her lungs.

The Dogs That Don't Bark (spoiler)

We don't get to see the Blair Witch nor whatever it is thats haunting Katie and Micah. I've never quite accepted the argument that it's "scarier" that way. It's just cheaper to produce.
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FAKE!

The "balloon boy" family is protesting a bit too much, methinks.


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ROTFL

Acronyms Sometimes Suck (A.S.S., of course) is an awesomely funny site. In fact, the very first entry listed today on the "Moro Islamic Liberation Front" (M.I.L.F.) is a scream.


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Lunacy (Mad Men 3.09)

The idea of unfulfilled desires is a strong theme in Wee Small Hours, Mad Men's ninth episode for Season 3. It takes its name from song about a would-be lover who can't sleep while waiting for the girl of his dreams to call. Before it is over, each of the main characters in the episode will either fail to meet the demands of others or succumb to their own needs (or both). For instance, Conrad Hilton will literally ask Don Draper for the moon. Failing that request, Draper will be be driven to Miss Farrell who has been on the fringe of his life since he first encountered her in Love Among the Ruins.

In the "Wee Small Hours of the Morning:" (Mann/Hilliard)

In the wee small hours of the morning
While the whole wide world is fast asleep
You lie awake and think about the girl
And never ever think of counting sheep

When your lonely heart has learned its lesson
You'd be hers if only she would call
In the wee small hours of the morning
That's the time you miss her most of all

In the middle of the night, Betty dreams that a man is caressing her. As he leans in to kiss her, she’s awakened by the telephone. It's Connie, calling to offer Don the chance to "earn" Hilton's international business. Connie envisions having his hotels everywhere -- even on the moon.

Betty is presumably dreaming about Henry Francis caressing her in the Wentworth she bought after their meeting in 723. This ties in with Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech referenced throughout the episode. Betty’s fantasy is interrupted by a baby crying. This will happen again later. Betty compares Hilton’s nightly phone calls to baby Gene’s 4 AM feedings. Both Hilton and the responsibilities of a newborn seem to be taking a toll on the Draper marriage.

Hilton has a dream too. Hilton asks to include the moon in his ad campaign. As stated, this is one of many requests that will be refused in Wee Small Hours. Others include Lee Garner Jr’s pass at Sal and, likewise, a sexual overture by Henry Francis to Betty.

Unable to sleep, Don drives to work and comes across Sally’s teacher, Suzanne Farrell, on her early morning jog. Accepting his offer of a lift home, she becomes reflective when she hears Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech on the radio. "Who are you?" asks a charmed Don. "Are you dumb or pure…"

A song about "feeling blue" is playing on Don's car radio. Miss Farrell is prominently wearing a Bowdoin shirt. Bowdoin's official college seal features a sun. The image of the sun has been a recurring motif in Mad Men.

From the Bowdoin college website:

The origin of the sun on the Bowdoin seal has been widely debated. Some believe the sun was chosen due to Bowdoin’s location: the easternmost college in the country at the time of its founding. More likely is that the sun was selected as a symbol of truth and enlightenment, and to represent the rising sun of knowledge and the light of learning

When he was first transfixed by Miss Farrell's Maypole dance and now during their "chance" encounter on the road, Don seems to have attached supernatural significance to her. This attraction to Farrell seems motivated by a longing for something Don's current life isn't providing. Of course, Miss Farrell is a little nutty. But so is Conrad Hilton, whose obsession with the moon would seem in place in him direct contrast with Miss Farrell. Coinciding with the solar eclipse from 723, as Don’s relationship with Hilton was beginning, he didn’t seem as interested in Farrell. In effect, the moon that was Hilton blocked out Farrell’s sun. However, with the eclipse over, Don now has two clear paths. He could stay with his established (and safer life) as Don Draper of Sterling-Cooper or he could take a risk and venture into the uncharted wilderness (of growth) Miss Farrell symbolizes. Of course, Don’s “welcome” into that world, as represented by Doug and Sandy in 723, ended badly.

As they drive, Martin Luther King, Jr’s “I have a dream” speech can be heard on the radio. As one would expect, Farrell is captivated by King's vision and shares that with Don. Interestingly, just after the King speech, a news broadcast about two women being “murdered in the Upper East Side” is heard. This foreshadows the killings of four black girls by segregationists in Alabama that is referenced later in the episode. It also seems to hint at bad outcomes for the dreams of the characters in Wee Small Hours.

Don makes a clumsy pass at Farrell by suggesting they get coffee. This is the same approach Henry Francis took with Betty.

Before dropping her off, Don asks “left or right?” While Mad Men isn’t overtly political, in the context of the scene, it may be a symbolic political reference. It also could reflect Don having to choose between the two paths mentioned earlier (his current life, or a new one in Farrell’s world).

Later that morning, Betty mails Henry a note: "Does anyone else read this? B."

When we first see Betty she’s wearing blue. While writing letters to Henry, she is wearing a green outfit. This is consistent with Mad Men’s use of green to denote change. Note also that Sally mentions a few times her need for a pencil case and how she’s shown doing her own school writing assignments. This comparison suggests that Betty’s efforts at writing are still at an immature stage. Betty is new at this. She is used to the “boy” making the first move.

At the office, Peggy, Smitty and Kurt pitch Hilton concepts to Don. He rejects them all -- even those based on his own ideas.

Like Betty’s dream, Don is shown at Sterling-Cooper lying on his office couch (a common Mad Men motif). His demeanor is stressed and unhappy. At that moment, the couch, like the identity of Don Draper, resembles a coffin which is confining the former Dick Whitman.

Don rejects the first ad that features the remnants of a fallen empire. Perhaps he’s starting to realize that social change is upon him. However, by also rejecting the newer, arguably more modern ad, Don demonstrates that he’s not clear where he should go next.

On the set of a Lucky Strike commercial, Lee Garner Jr., the son of the cigarette magnate, addresses Sal as "Sally" and meddles with his direction.

The Lee Garner Jr. character would seem to be more foreshadowing of the JFK assassination. For instance, the name “Lee Garner Junior” has exactly the same number of letters (15) in the exactly the same places as “Lee Harvey Oswald.” Also, during the television shoot, Lee Garner, Jr. looks through the camera lens in a posture that mimics taking aim with a sniper’s scope. Garner’s actions will have dramatic results in this episode.

At home, Betty receives a note from Henry that includes an address where she can safely send letters.

As with her dream of Henry caressing her on the Wentworth, Betty’s opening of the letter is interrupted by the sound of a baby in the background.

Late at night, Sal shows Lee an early cut of the Lucky Strike commercial. A besotted Lee puts his arms around Sal, who protests that he's married. "I know what I know," Lee responds.

The Lee Harvey Oswald connection is maintained when one the technicians in the editing room with Sal and Lee announces that he’s going to “the booth.” This could certainly be a subtle reference to another assassin of presidents with three names: John Wilkes Booth.

Lee locks the door to the editing room as Henry Francis will later lock his office door when Betty visits him. Just as Don will not fulfill Connie’s request to include the moon in Hilton ads, Sal will reject Lee’s come on. Afterward, an angry Sal throws film canisters across the editing room. Likewise, an angry Betty will throw a cash box at Francis when he fails to show up at her fundraiser.

Harry gets a late night call from Lee demanding that he fire Sal. Harry says that he doesn’t have the authority, but Garner insists and warns him not to tell Roger and Pete, who handle the account.

Just as the bell hop who Sal encounters in Out of Town was wearing a red uniform, Lee’s hotel room is dominated by red tones.

In a conversation with Paul, Harry mentions how his mother thinks he looks like Perry Mason. However, Harry will do a poor job of defending Sal later on.

That night, Connie calls Don to invite him for a drink. "It's my purpose in life to bring America to the world," Connie says when they meet. "We are a force of good, Don. Because we have God." Don's international campaign shouldn't explicitly include politics, Connie advises. "But there should be goodness, and confidence."

Their business discussion over, Connie calls Don "my angel" and says that sometimes Don feels like "more than a son" to him because he didn't have the advantages Connie's own boys had. "Thank you," Don replies. "I mean it."

Connie and Don drink Prohibition era “moonshine” from a bottle labeled “hair tonic.” Don, his real name Dick Whitman, also masquerades as something he is not. Hilton expresses his need to have someone to talk to. Their connection will be short lived. After Don's relationship with Hilton sours, he will later tell Farrell about his own need for someone to talk to.

The next day, Henry appears at Betty's door unannounced. "I wanted to see you," he says. "I wasn't thinking." When Carla arrives moments later, Henry blurts out that Betty's house would be an excellent venue for a fundraiser. Betty says that she'll check with her husband.

As Betty comes down the stairs to answer the door, she is carrying a laundry basket. Carla, seeing Francis and Betty acting suspicious in front of her, pretends not to notice before carrying Betty’s “dirty laundry” away. Betty refers to Carla as her “girl.” This supports the theme of African American’s playing subservient roles to white employers developed in Wee Small Hours. In addition to housekeeper, Carla plays nanny to the Draper children. During the subsequent fundraiser in Betty’s home, the women discuss the poor conditions for African Americans in the South. Meanwhile, Carla is clearly visible in the background wearing a maid's uniform doing servant's work.

Lee arrives at Sterling Cooper to review the finished Lucky Strike ad. When he sees Sal in the conference room, he storms out. Harry comes clean to Roger about Lee's phone call. "Sal, you're fired," says Roger.

At the start of the ill-fated meeting Sal is having difficulty threading the projector. This may relate to the difficulty Lee will cause for him by “projecting” his own self-loathing as a repressed homosexual onto Sal. Also, Don's later anger at Sal may be partially motivated by a projection anger over his own past actions (such as having Don himself having sexual relationships with clients). In this regard, it's noteworthy that when Don yelled at Peggy in 723, he was accusing her of the same thing that Bert and Roger were chastising him for (ingratitude).

Later at home, Betty tells Don about Henry's visit while Carla is in the room. Later, within earshot of Don, Betty calls Henry to say that her husband has approved a fundraiser. "I guess you're going through with this," Henry says. "I had to," she whispers.

It’s significant that during Betty’s conversation with Henry, Don can be seen in the background sitting on a couch out of focus. This demonstrates the deteriorating state of the Draper relationship.

Don presents his team's campaign to Connie: How do you say "Ice Water" in Italian? Or "Hamburger" in Japanese? Hilton. Connie concedes that the concept is good, but scolds Don for ignoring his instructions about showing Hilton on the moon. "When I say I want the moon," Connie says, "I expect the moon."

Hilton, feeling let down, basically retracts his earlier statements about being a “father” to Don. As stated above, with his emotional attachment to Connie broken, it’s as if the moon represented by Hilton is no longer blocking Farrell’s sun.

At the fundraiser, Betty becomes piqued when Henry sends a female representative in his place to promote Governor Rockefeller’s presidential bid.

Like Lee, Hilton and Betty are both furious when their requests (dreams) go unanswered.
Before the scene at Betty’s house to Henry’s office, the female representative refers to the fundraiser as a “taking of a pulse.” When the representative says this, the camera is on Betty. As is shown in the next scene, by deliberately not going to the fundraiser, Henry is actually taking measure of Betty’s feelings for him.

Betty drives to Henry's office the next day and hurls the fundraiser cashbox at him. "I watched the door all night like a sap," she says. "You had to come to me," Henry contends. "You're married." Henry and Betty kiss, but when he locks his office door she changes her mind. "It's tawdry," she says.

As mentioned earlier, there are a number of parallels between Betty’s encounter with Francis and Sal’s encounter with Lee. Both take place in a work environment. Both Henry and Lee lock the door. Both Betty and Sal, throw an object in anger. Like the lyrics in the song for which the episode is named, Henry has been waiting for Betty to call him. Henry suggests that they get a hotel room. This would certainly tie in with the ad campaign that Don is working on for Hilton.

Roger visits Don’s office to chastise him for letting two clients -- Hilton and Garner – leave angry within a week. "You've got your face so deep in Hilton's lap, you're ignoring everything else," Roger says. "You are in over your head."

When he fired him, Don suggested to Sal that he should have agreed to Lee’s sexual suggestions. When Roger tells Don that his head is "deep in Hilton’s lap," he is metaphorically accusing Don of doing for Hilton what Don had literally suggested that Sal should do for Lee.

Prominent in this scene is a green paperweight on Don’s desk. That Don’s performance at Sterling Cooper is coming under closer scrutiny motivates him to be more proactive with Farrell later. The green paperweight underscores those feelings inside of Don.

Sal calls Kitty from a phone booth to say that he's working late. "I love you too," he says as he hangs up.

Before leaving Stering Cooper, Sal goes through his portfolio of past campaigns. There are two quick cuts to the Popsicle ad (phallic imagery) and a sketch of a barechested man under the words "relax." This may represent Sal's continued struggle with his true nature. When he calls Kitty, Sal is in what Betty would describe as a “tawdry” section of town where men meet for homosexual liaisons. Sal’s exit from the phone booth to presumably engage in such liaisons could be characterized as his “coming out” of the closet.

Later that night, Don tells Betty he needs to meet with Connie again but instead visits Suzanne. "I can't stop thinking about you," he says, challenging her to admit the same. She allows that she’s been thinking about him too, but says that she also knows how things would end with Don. "So what?" he replies.

"I want you," Don continues, adding that he doesn't care about the consequences. "Doesn't that mean anything to someone like you?" The two kiss and end the night asleep in bed together.

Don replaces Hilton with Suzanne as his late-night destination. Note that the color scheme of her entrance is green. While this situation would seem doomed to have a negative outcome, Don is finally able to sleep.

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Entrepreneurial

Just who's running this zoo?

From The London Times:

STRANGE ZOO PARKING ATTENDANT MAKES OFF WITH MILLIONS!

Outside England 's Bristol Zoo there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 buses. For 25 years, its parking fees were managed by a very pleasant attendant. The fees were £1 for cars ($1..40), £5 for busses (about $7).

Then, one day, after 25 solid years of never missing a day of work, he just didn't show up; so the Zoo Management called the City Council and asked it to send them another parking agent.

The Council did some research and replied that the parking lot was the Zoo's own responsibility.

The Zoo advised the Council that the attendant was a City employee.

The City Council responded that the lot attendant had never been on the City payroll.

Meanwhile, sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain (or some such scenario), is a man who'd apparently had a ticket machine installed completely on his own; and then had simply begun to show up every day, commencing to collect and keep the parking fees, estimated at about $560 per day -- for 25 years.

Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over $7 million dollars!

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Warlock's basement in Live Free or Die Hard is better equipped than the NASA control room for this launch. And why are they wearing jeans? Is it casual Friday?

From USA Today:

NASA probe strikes moon's south pole in search of water

NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission successfully slammed into the moon's south pole at nearly 6,000 miles-per-hour Friday morning, sending up a plume of lunar dust with twin impacts.

The $79 million mission aims to allow inspection of the plumes for sin of ice frozen inside shadowed craters, such as Cabeus, the target of the mission.

"Showtime," said science director Michael Bicay, of NASA's Ames Research Center, moments before the impacts, which sent the LCROSS booster rocket crashing into Cabeus crater at 7:31:53 am ET followed by the mission's "shepherd" spacecraft, which sampled the plume of the first impact, before hitting the crater at 7:36:10 am ET.

"Hard to tell, what we saw there," he said, after the impact. "We're confident the instruments performed as expected."

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Sordid Projections

Given the current debate in some Hollywood circles over Roman Polanski's arrest for a thirty year old incident involving drugs and unlawful sexual intercourse with an underage girl, my submission for the Double Bill Blogathon features two of his films (Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown) which incorporate seedy sexual elements into their respective storylines. Twenty-twenty hindsight is always a fun diversion. And in this case, I cringe at art and life seeming to overlap each other.

Polanski dabbled with rape in Repulsion (1965). However, it's unclear if the character actually experiences the event depicted in the film or is dreaming. Likewise, some argue that a similar scene from Rosemary's Baby (1968) leaves open the possibility that it's all an hallucination. I subscribe to the literal interpretation. In Polanski's faithful adaption of Ira Levin's bestselling novel, Rosemary Woodhouse's husband makes a deal with the Devil to advance his acting career in exchange for allowing his wife to to spawn Lucifer's child. But this will be no immaculate conception. Rosemary is drugged and raped (and when I say "rape," I mean "rape-rape").

The significance for me, in light of real life events, is how Rosemary (Mia Farrow) ultimately comes to accept what has happened to her and agrees to raise the child. Am I the only one to see uncomfortable parallels between Rosemary and Polanski's real life victim, Samantha Geimer, who wants to drop the matter and get on with her life?

The idea of a woman accepting horrible events is even more apparent in 1974's Chinatown (which, for the sake of this discussion, could be subtitled "Evelyn's Baby"). Not only does Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) accept the incestuous affair she had with her lecherous demon of a father, Noah Cross (John Houston), like Rosemary she even embraces the result; a child named Katherine ("she's my sister, my daughter, my sister, my daughter"). At one point, J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) asks Mulwray if Cross raped her. Evelyn denies being raped (apparently the sex was consensual) and gives Gittes an exasperated look over the naivety of the question. Given what would transpire later in Polanski’s real life, I find that exchange incredibly ironic (in a BAD way).

My recommendation for the trailer before this double bill would be Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives (1992). Allen’s subsequent high profile divorce from wife Mia Farrow (no less) adds a extra nuance to the depiction of the relationship between Rain (Juliette Lewis) and Professor Roth that never fails to make me squirm a little.
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When in Roam (Mad Men 3.08)

Souvenir, Mad Men’s 8th episode of its third season, is named for the gold Colosseum bracelet charm Don gives to Betty as a remembrance of their trip to Rome. Given that at different points in the episode each of the main characters seem to be performing a role, it's appropriate that the Colosseum is itself a sort of theatre. At the end, Betty, after playing out a “scene” in her marriage and also taking on Don’s role for a while, will finally verbalize that she's grown weary of her limited options. Travel (by bike, horse, balloon, boat and plane) is one of the major motifs presented throughout the episode that leads up to Betty symbolically (if not literally) trying to escape from the confines of her relationship with Don.

On a hot August Friday, Hildy describes her weekend beach plans to Pete, who is staying in town while Trudy is away. "Why is it that a man on his own is an object of pity?" Pete asks Harry and Paul before waxing nostalgic about the summers of his youth.

The first shot pans across the Sterling Cooper office past a baby photo on an employee’s desk. The theme of trying to mix family and work (which challenges Don and something Betty will dabble in) is established.

Pete reads Ebony magazine. This harkens back to his attempts to get Admiral to adapt to a new set of realities (specifically, Pete’s recognition of African Americans as an emerging and profitable consumer class).

Pete tells Paul, Harry and Ken about the downside of being alone in New York in August. This is reminiscent of The Seven Year Itch where a married man is tempted to stray when his wife and kids go away on a camping trip. Ken references local “fat girls” putting their feet in fountains. A fountain will be seen behind Betty and Don in Rome and referenced in a conversation between Francine and Betty at the end. Pete comments on Trudy’s horseback riding (both a sexual reference and a mode of travel).

That night at home, Betty makes calls for the reservoir campaign. A call from Conrad Hilton's office interrupts her efforts: Don is to fly to Italy on Tuesday to inspect the Rome Hilton with Connie. When Betty bemoans this latest excursion, Don invites her along. “I guess our two month old isn’t an issue,” Betty replies.

Don feels that Betty should get paid for her campaign work. Just as in his first meeting with Connie, Don doesn't seem to have much interest in doing things for "free." Even though her “office” is cluttered with baby bottles and cooking utensils, Betty is taking on Don’s role as a “working” parent.

A standard Mad Men motif, couches play a role in this scene. Pete (childless and with no bosses in town) is shown in his empty apartment sitting on a couch that is much larger then he needs. By contrast, Don (with three kids and a heavy workload) is crammed onto a couch that is too small.

Betty makes calls off of a mailing list. While it’s not all that significant, two of the last names visible on the list are "Duck" and "Campbell." This may be a subtle reference to Duck’s efforts to recruit Pete. Don, while talking on the phone to Hilton’s office, clearly shows no respect for Betty’s efforts by jotting down notes on her mailing list. It’s also clear that Don is at the beck and call of Conrad Hilton’s whims. Betty suggests that Don should try to spend time with the children who are trying to “catch lightening bugs.” This could be a reference to Betty’s later realization that the “first kiss” is the best (lightening doesn’t strike twice).

Don and Sally’s going to Rome ties in to the late Gene’s fascination with the fall of the Roman empire. It also ties into the theme of traveling developed in Souvenir as Rome is a homonym for “roam.”

Pete idles his Saturday away watching TV and napping. Emptying his trash that evening, he happens upon Gudrun, the au pair of his neighbors, the Lawrences. Gudrun is in tears over a dress she borrowed from Mrs. Lawrence and stained. Pete offers to help obtain a replacement.

Pete looks childlike in his pajamas eating breakfast and watching animated kid shows on television. When Pete first sees Gudrun (certainly a theatrical sounding name), she’s stuffing a dress in a garbage chute. The dress looks like a wedding gown at first. This certainly relates to Betty’s feelings in this episode. The first of what are arguably three references to Shakespearean plays is the fact that Gudrun is trying to get a stain out of the dress (Lady MacBeth). This is in keeping with the theme of individuals playing roles. Betty is further linked to Gudrun in the next scene which shows her rising from bed with a stained nightgown (in the same spot ad Gudrun's stain). Furthermore, as an au pair, Gudrun is, in a certain sense, what Betty aspires to be: a working parent. Also, Gudrun is from Germany and there’s a bike visible behind Pete. This alludes to the idea of travel in Souvenir. Mirroring her emotions, a red emergency hose cabinet next to Gudrun. The distinct sounds of sirens during scenes with Don and Betty will indicate emergencies of a different nature.

On Monday evening, Sally watches Betty primp before leaving to attend a meeting of the Tarrytown Board of Trustees. Henry appears at the meeting just in time to request a suspension of the reservoir project pending additional water quality studies. The trustees acquiesce.

Don mentions to Betty a mix-up with his shirts at the laundry. Certainly, this reflects on Don’s secret alternate identity. But, given that Betty has a stain on her nightgown, it may be the first indication that they will be switching (“mixing up”) their roles. Furthermore, Betty will later be shown carrying in what looks like Don's laundry.

Sally watches Betty get made up for her “performance” at the board meeting. Just as Don and Betty will later play act in Rome, Sally will play act with Ernie in the Draper home.
At the board meeting (political theatre), one of the trustees makes reference to the community as a “hamlet” (which, like the stain, could be another reference to Shakespeare). Betty is wearing a blue scarf that indicates her confinement to marriage (not unlike the scarf Duck tries get to Peggy take in 723 as a way to form an alliance with him). At the end of the meeting, one of the trustees bring up “new business on the agenda” which is heard under a shot of Henry looking admiringly at Betty.

"When you have no power, delay," Henry tells the elated Betty and Francine outside. Alone with Betty, Henry says that it would make him happy to think he'd made her happy. She acknowledges that he did, and Henry leans through her open car door and kisses her.

In addition to the Roman adventure, Betty’s continued ties to her father are demonstrated by her driving his Lincoln (the same one Gene taught Sally to “travel” in). The flirtatious dance between Betty and Henry will be played out again by Don and Betty at the café in Rome. Henry tells Betty that she has made him “happy” and delivers a “first kiss.” Betty will later relate to Sally how the impact of the initial kiss is never duplicated. As she leaves, Henry tells Betty to “drive safely.” This would seem sound advice based on the respective driving records of Don and Betty (both have had car accidents while in emotionally charged states).

At home, Betty tells Don about the campaign's success. "That's real politics," he says. Agreeing, Betty repeats Henry's motto about delay tactics.

Don is looking for his cuff links from Conrad Hilton. This will tie in later with the bracelet charm that Hilton sends to Don for Betty. In a way, both are handcuffed by Hilton. Betty is excited at “closing” her campaign for the water tower. Shes experiencing the exhilaration she probably assumes Don feels when he signs a client. However, Don seems dismissive of Betty's efforts.

On Tuesday, Pete drops by the Bonwit Teller department store with Mrs. Lawrence's dress and discovers that Joan has taken a supervisor's job there. Joan approves an exchange and promises discretion should she run into Trudy – to whom, Pete tells her, the dress belongs.

That the dress is a “Bonwit Teller” foreshadows Pete “telling” Trudy about his infidelity with Gudrun (or Gudrun "telling" her employees what happened with Pete). In the store a Hermes sign (a nod to one of Duck’s clients at Gray) can be seen in the background. Also, a yellow outfit is clearly visible on a clothes rack behind Pete. When Ed Lawrence later confronts Pete about Gudrun, he’ll be wearing a yellow sports jacket. In an interesting play on words, Pete tells the saleswoman that he wants to get “out of ladies dresses” (he certainly wants to get Gudrun out of her dress).

In her new job status, Joan is wearing purple (a new color for her). Both put on performances for each other’s benefit. Pete pretends that the dress is Joan’s. Joan pretends not to realize that it's not Trudy’s dress. Joan also acts as though she is doing fine. Pete makes it clear that Trudy should not be told about the dress so as to avoid “drama” (more theatrics).

Betty and Don arrive in Rome, where Betty's fluent Italian comes in handy at the Hilton. While Don naps, Betty calls the concierge to arrange an appointment at the beauty salon.

Betty’s ability to speak Italian allows her to play another role. Her cigarette will be lit by a man for the first of three times (a harkening to an "old fashioned" approach to women). The room Hilton reserves for them has the same color scheme as Sterling Cooper (for instance, the doors are blue). This reinforces the notion that Don is there to work and not on vacation. A basket of fruit is visible in the first panning shot of the room. Fruit will be discussed later by Pete and Trudy (another couple whose marriage is in trouble).

At the Hilton's outdoor cafe, the meticulously coiffed Betty banters with two Italian men, not letting on that Don is her husband when he joins her. Don "wins" the contest for Betty's affections. After the glum Italians depart, the Drapers continue their flirtation until Connie arrives. "By golly, you are an indecently lucky man," Connie says to Don upon meeting Betty.

As mentioned before, Betty in black dress and Don put on a play in café. One of the Italian men lights Betty’s cigarette (the second time someone has lit a cigarette for her). He makes an overt pass by saying that he would be happy if he were a cigarette in Bettys’ mouth. Earlier, Henry Francis talked about Betty making him “happy.” When Don arrives, a fountain (not unlike the one Ken references in the first scene) can be seen in the background. Later, Hilton's attention to Betty borders on lecherous.

"He adores you," says Betty when she and Don return to their room. Kissing as they slowly undress, the Drapers fall to the bed.

As they lay down on the bed, a siren can be heard from outside. When they kiss again in the morning, a siren will also be heard in the background. Like Gudrun, Betty and Don would seem to be facing a personal emergency (even if they both don’t realize it yet).

Back in Ossining, Bobby spies on Sally and Ernie while they play grown-up. When Sally kisses Ernie, Bobby makes fun of her. Sally tackles Bobby, hitting him repeatedly until Carla separates the siblings.

Like Gudrun's dress and Betty's nightgown, Bobby’s shirt is stained. Sally and Ernie, in a bathtub surrounded by blue walls (Mad Men’s color for traditional institutions such as marriage) play act that they are a couple. Sally gives Ernie (who wears the "same shirt," as Miss Farrell pointed out to Don in 723, like the other fathers) their “first kiss.” After Sally’s incident with Bobby, Carla threatens to not let Ernie play at the Draper’s house anymore. Sally and Ernie glance at each other like the two star-crossed lovers from Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juilet.

Pete presents the new dress to a grateful Gudrun. He suggests they celebrate with a cocktail, but Gudrun declines, saying that she has a boyfriend. Pete returns to his apartment and pours a drink. Later, he awakens Gudrun and reminds her of the great pains he took to procure the dress. "I think I at least deserve to see it on you," he says. In her bedroom, Pete kisses her.

Pete is alone in his apartment. Many of the characters in Souvenir spend time looking reflectively out the window--the sound of traffic in the background. A siren can be heard briefly outside before Pete goes to Gudrun's apartment. It’s worth noting that Pete and Trudy live in Apartment 14G. Likewise, in Out of Town, Don and the stewardess were also on the fourteenth floor. Most buildings label the thirteenth floor "fourteen." So, in a sense, these characters are playing out their “dramas” in a fictional setting. Pete’s “first kiss” with Gudrun is a decidedly unpleasant looking experience.

Back in Rome, Connie invites the Drapers to breakfast, but they beg off to stay up in the room together.

That Don has reversed roles with Betty is shown by the fact that he’s sleeping on her side of the bed. As with Pete, there’s a shot of the open window. Don comments that he enjoyed the sounds of buses outside. This reinforces the notion of characters longing to escape their situation. Don tells Betty to order room service as a reminder that they are still working for Connie (evaluating the hotel from a guest’s viewpoint). As mentioned earlier, a siren goes off when Don and Betty kiss.

The same evening, Pete's neighbor, Ed Lawrence, confronts him about Gudrun. Ed doesn't care about Pete's escapades, he explains. He just doesn't want to lose the rare nanny his wife can get along with. Pete should leave Gudrun alone.

At the start of the scene, Pete is wearing grown-up clothes and eating a meal like an adult in the dining area of his apartment. The encounter seems to have bolstered his self-image (it's almost as if he's now playing the role of sophisticate). However, that facade will come crashing down after Pete's neighbor, Ed Lawrence (who is wearing a yellow jacket) confronts him about the incident with Gudrun.

At home, Betty confronts Sally about fighting with Bobby. She needs to control her temper, Betty warns.

Bobby is playing with toy airplane (another travel reference). Betty now seems bored when Don lights her cigarette (this, for the third and final time).

A jolly Trudy returns from her vacation. As she and Pete board their building's elevator, Gudrun enters with the two Lawrence children.

Tipping that trouble is coming, Trudy remarks on the trouble her father had with his boat. Gudrun is carrying a toy sailboat when she enters the elevator.

In the Campbell apartment, Pete grows sullen. Trudy assumes that seeing the Lawrence children triggered his guilt over their lack of offspring. "I don't care," she says. Pete shakes his head. "Did something happen?" she asks. Pete doesn't respond. Trudy walks to the bedroom and slams the door.

Though it's the same one from earlier, the couch Pete and Trudy are sitting on seems smaller than it looked in the first scene showing Pete sitting on it alone. A yellow pillow, perhaps a reminder of Ed Lawrence’s jacket, is prominently placed in the middle of the shot.

The same day Betty tells Sally, "You don't kiss boys. Boys kiss you." Sally's first kiss should be special. "It's where you go from being a stranger to knowing someone," Betty says.

In 723, Betty put the Wentworth there in a vain attempt to fill what her decorator had identified as the “soul” of their home (in Betty’s case, it’s empty). Now, before talking to Sally, Betty takes a deliberate glance at the Wentworth. While advising Sally about boys, Betty seems to be reflecting on the Draper’s now empty relationship (which the Henry Francis incident served to highlight for her).

Pete arrives home from work. Trudy chatters about inconsequential matters until he interrupts her. "I don't want you to go away anymore without me," he says. "Good," she replies. "I won't."

Trudy acts as though nothing has happened. Pete makes an overture that he doesn’t want to ever be left alone. Before this, Trudy has been taking about her inability to find fruit to serve. As noted before, the Drapers had a fruit basket (a gift from Hilton) in their hotel room. That Trudy couldn't find fruit would seem to hint that the Campbells will be more successful in dealing with their issues than the Drapers.

The last travel reference is when Pete, talking about his day, describes a ketchup filled water balloon that they played with at work. The result of such a contraption would surely cause a stain (like the stains that Gudrun and Betty had to deal with).

Francine, at Betty's house, says that the trustees may have reversed course on the reservoir, then quizzes a noncommittal Betty about Rome. Switching back to the reservoir, Francine suggests that their setback could give Betty "an excuse to get more help from high places." "I'm done with that," Betty says. "We made our stand."

Betty dusts off dress as if it were stained. She is still troubled by something.

Later Betty tells Don, "I hate this place. I hate our friends. I hate this town." The two will go away again, Don assures her, directing her attention to a gift he's brought: a gold Colosseum bracelet charm.

Betty, accepting the souvenir impassively, replies that now she’ll "have something to look at when I tell the story about the time we went to Rome." She walks slowly away.

Unlike Carmela in The Sopranos, who always seemed placated by Tony's gifts, Betty is nonplused by Don's present. Like Don’s cuff links, Betty’s bracelet charm came from Connie. Thus, both are symbolically handcuffed to Hilton. Perhaps Don has come to terms with this after his experience in 723. This time, it is Betty who more strongly feels trapped by her life and longs to escape.
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Double Down

The Double Bill Blogathon II (now with extra cheeze) is happening over at BrokenProjector.com. It's always fun and I hope to add an entry before the week is out.
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Ted's Dead Baby, Ted's Dead

That's no way to treat the "The Splendid Splinter."

From ESPN:

Book: Williams' head abused at facility

The New York Daily News is reporting that Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams' severed head was mistreated at an Arizona cryonics facility, according to details from a new book.

In "Frozen," Larry Johnson, a former executive at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz., writes that Williams' head, which had been severed and frozen for storage, was abused at the facility. Johnson claims a technician took baseball-like swings at Williams' frozen head with a monkey wrench.

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The Original Instant Coffee Challenge

Starbucks is rolling a promotion for their new VIA instant coffee. You'll sample some VIA and compare it to a fresh-brewed Pike Place Roast. That's all well and good. But I think this ad copy from the Starbuck's website goes a little overboard in describing the benefits of instant coffee:

It's pretty revolutionary, when you think about it. With Starbucks VIA™, great coffee can be yours anytime, anywhere. A life-altering concept, with tasty consequences, to be sure. But with endless possibilities for enjoyment, where does one begin?

BTW, here's one of my favorite scenes from Seinfeld where Mr. Bookman, the library cop, explains to Jerry WHY he should have instant coffee in his apartment.

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The "Duran Duran/Couscous" Defense

I know Whoopi is smarter than this.

From the Telegraph:

Whoopi Goldberg defends Roman Polanski: 'It wasn't rape-rape'

Speaking on television show The View, Goldberg said “I know it wasn’t rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.”

BTW, here's another more reasoned reaction to the "controversy" by Kate Harding in Salon:

Reminder: Roman Polanski raped a child

...The reporting on Polanski's arrest has been every bit as "bizarrely skewed," if not more so. Roman Polanski may be a great director, an old man, a husband, a father, a friend to many powerful people, and even the target of some questionable legal shenanigans. He may very well be no threat to society at this point. He may even be a good person on balance, whatever that means. But none of that changes the basic, undisputed fact: Roman Polanski raped a child. And rushing past that point to focus on the reasons why we should forgive him, pity him, respect him, admire him, support him, whatever, is absolutely twisted.

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Three Blind Mice (Mad Men 3.07)

723 is probably my favorite Mad Men episode so far this season (and it’s been a pretty good season). I don’t think I’m overstating it when I say that it blew me away.

In the “Inside Episode” video that appears on the AMC website (which happens to be sponsored by Clorox, Peggy’s code word to reach Duck), Matt Weiner explains that Episode 3.07 was intended to have a film noir feeling. Working as a mystery story with a narrative thread that cuts back and forward in time, Seven Twenty Three achieves exactly that. Don, Betty and Peggy all somehow end up in the dark as they embark on three different journeys. The occurrence of a solar eclipse is a major motif running through the episode as well as many references to the book “Confession of an Advertising Man” by David Ogilvy (who is often called “The Father of Advertising”).

It's daylight. Peggy awakes beside a sleeping man. Elsewhere, Betty reclines on a plush red couch. Don, his nose caked with blood, rises groggily from a motel room floor.

Don, whose actions in 723 impacts the other two, suffers a literal black out. Betty realizes that she’s being kept in the dark about Don’s life. And Peggy is blindsided by Don’s angry reaction to her questions about the Hilton account. That all three stories are linked is reinforced at the end when the tune “Three Blind Mice” can be heard playing in the background on a TV set at the Draper house.

On another morning, Betty and her decorator show Don the Drapers' living room makeover. When Betty asks what they should place in front of the fireplace, the decorator tells her it must remain empty as the “soul of your home."

Notice the difference in Don’s attitude while looking in a mirror while getting ready for work and later when he wakes up in hotel room.

Betty is wearing her usual blue outfit. The color blue will once again be used to symbolize the restrictive nature of “traditional” relationships. Betty asks Don for his opinion of the new room. Just as he was in his last meeting with Conrad Hilton, Don is more interested in the “price tag” for the work rather then the work itself. Previously he used a night light to solve Sally’s fear of the dark. Likewise, his only suggestion here is to move a lamp. The “incorrectly” placed lamp plays into the idea of a sort of darkness that will befall the characters. The decorator seems to have the same sensibilities as an advertising profession as she readily gives into Don’s suggestion (the client is the boss).

Betty doesn’t seem to like the decorator’s suggestion that the “soul” of her home must remain empty. This may be hitting too close to home.

At work that day, Roger grumbles to Don about competitor David Ogilvy's Confessions of an Advertising Man. "It's the book everybody writes," Roger says. "It should be called A Thousand Reasons I'm so Great."

This establishes the book motif that will come up a number of times. Roger’s attitude to the book suggests that it shines a very negative light on the advertising profession. Roger complains that ad men are reviled as much as lawyers. Lawyers will also play a somewhat major role in 723. Roger also seems to be non-plused by a sunrise that he watched that morning. Staring at the sun will come up again.

Don is intrigued by the title “Confession of an Advertising Man” (as he has much to confess himself). In the background an office conversation can be heard where a woman explains that she is unable to admit to something.

Conrad Hilton pays Don an unscheduled visit. Connie describes himself as having a "wandering eye" despite having his needs met. The upshot: He wants Don to handle Hilton's three New York City properties.

Connie, wearing a red tie, sits in Don’s chair. Later Bert will be sitting in Don’s chair. Likewise, Don will have an hallucination of his abusive step-father where he is seated in a chair. These men seem to represent figures of authority which, to varying degrees, make Don resentful.

In a theme that will come up again, Hilton remarks negatively on the work ethic of advertising execs.

Connie also comments on the lack of family photos on Don’s desk. This coincides with the empty “soul” of the Draper home. Hilton brings up lawyers who will have to oversee the details of the relationship with Sterling Cooper. Thus, lawyers are cast as antagonists in 723. Finally, Connie welcomes Don to share in his dreams. Later, under the influence of “reds” (the same color as Connie’s tie) Don will dream about his overbearing stepfather. Hilton also remarks that “young people” give him energy. The young people Don will meet later do exactly the opposite.

Betty hosts Francine and two other members of the Junior League, which is campaigning to prevent the installation of a huge water tank that will drain the scenic local reservoir and mar the landscape. Betty says that she knows someone in the governor's office -- Henry Francis, the man she met at Roger and Jane's party -- who might have influence.

The water tank issue is reminiscent of Madison Square Garden’s efforts to replace Penn Station (it is reinforced when Duck Phillips later mentions the austere restrooms of the old railroad station). However, in this case, Betty is on the opposite side of the issue as Don.

In My Old Kentucky Home, Betty has a less than innocent flirtation with Henry Francis at Roger’s club. A wedding reception is also taking place at the club and the flirtation is abruptly halted when two bridesmaids in blue dresses walk by. This demonstrates the constrictive nature of marriage for Betty.

Pete congratulates Don for the Hilton deal and expresses interest in the account. Don shifts the conversation to Pete's sales prospects: With conflict likely in Vietnam, Pete says that he’s close to landing American Aviation.

In The Arrangements, S-C took on a wealthy client, Horace (who, incidentally, claimed to have read Ogilvy’s book), to promote the sport of jai alai even though no one at the agency expects it to succeed. By taking on this venture the advertising execs are breaking a number of rules established in Ogilvy’s book for selecting new clients. Such as:

Only advertise products which you are proud to be associated with, never advertise a product that you don’t respect and don’t like.

Never advertise for a product that is not yet on the market.

One of the hitchhikers Don picks up later accuses him of being a “spook” (slang for CIA agent). Of course, Don denies this. But his efforts to assist American Aviation land Pentagon contracts for the conflict in Vietnam make him just as morally culpable.

Don displays a veneer of cockiness in this scene that will be stripped away at the end of the episode.

Betty calls Henry. He agrees to meet about the reservoir on Saturday afternoon.

In addition to the arousing nature of the meeting she is setting up, Betty is also attempting to operate in Don’s world of sales (she wants to sell Francis on the idea of NOT building the new water tank). As she talks on the phone, clearly visible in the background is a book. It isn’t Ogilvy’s book. Instead, it is a blue cookbook. Meanwhile, her children are interfering with Betty’s plans. Meanwhile, the color scheme of Henry’s office is green.

Roger, Cooper, and Lane congratulate Don for the Hilton coup, but say that there's a hitch. Connie's lawyers want Don under contract to Sterling Cooper to ensure continuity. Lane hands Don a three-year contract. Connie will “enjoy something he can't have," the reluctant Don contends.

Lawyers are again brought up during this meeting. Curtains prominently seen in the background are blue. Likewise, the contract Don is given to sign is blue. For Don, it represents a loss of freedom.

Betty and Henry meet at a local bakery, both making excuses for arriving alone.

In entering the bakery, Betty (wearing sunglasses) goes through a blue colored door (and closes it behind her). She is wearing a floral pattern dress with mix of red, green and blue patterns. This would indicate her conflicted feelings about this meeting. This may be too fine a reading, but, as shown in the photo above, the colors of her dress match the gumballs in the glass dispenser next to her. Which may further reflect her feelings of being constrained and wanting to break free. The interior of the bakery initially seems to have a muted green hue to it. The duplicitous Henry admits to being a lawyer. In concluding the business portion of the meeting, Henry references RCA’s famous marketing campaign, “His Master Voice.” Once again, Betty demonstrates that she is well out of her element by not grasping this reference. Blue colors (waitress uniforms, chairs in the bakery) are more prominent as it become clears to Betty that nothing (in a business or romantic sense) will come of her meeting with Henry.

In a park, Sally's teacher - Miss Farrell - helps her students make camera obscuras to view a solar eclipse. The kids' dads, including Don, assist.

The plot involving the solar eclipse gives the film noir ("dark film") feel Weiner references a literal element of the episode. Don is wearing sunglasses. He has a conversation with his neighbor Carlton (an unfaithful husband) who will comment that “being alone is hard to come by.” Don is wearing blue while Carlton is wearing green. Carlton mentions that like Miss Farrell (a homonym for “feral”), his wife was also once a teacher.

The eclipse occurs as Henry and Betty leave the bakery. Henry shields her eyes when she gazes at the sun. "I feel a little dizzy," Betty says. Henry notices a pink fainting couch in a nearby antiques store. "That's what you need," he says, explaining that Victorian ladies would use them whenever they felt "overwhelmed."

As they talk, the shot of Francis is staged so that green trees are visible behind him. The attempt to venture out of her cloistered life and into Don’s world (like her attempts to look at the eclipse) has proven too much for Betty. Mad Men often uses sofas and couches to symbolize characters in distress. Betty lays on a couch both for her psychiatric sessions and during a tryst in with a stranger. Overwhelmed again, Betty now has need for another one.

Back in the park, Miss Farrell interprets Don's small talk as a come-on. "We're just talking," Don says.

Interestingly, Don also had trouble talking to Conrad Hilton earlier.

The free-spirited Miss Farrell is wearing green. As with her phone call to Don in The Fog, there is a sense that for all of its attractiveness, this new, less restrictive worldview, also has a dark side. While Don is not completely innocent, Miss Farrell’s impatience with him is overblown. In fact, she seems to be projecting her own frustrations onto Don as she's been pushing the relationship more than he has. Don will project his frustrations onto Peggy when he yells at her later. The book motif is again brought up as Don suggests to Farrell that she shouldn’t “judge a book by it’s cover.”

Miss Farrell and Sally watch the eclipse under the shield of the camera obscura. Don watches without such protection.

"You think you're more dangerous without a contract?" Roger asks Don later that day. It's affecting business, he adds, because Don is Sterling Cooper's David Ogilvy -- though Roger is not convinced that Don even wants to be an ad man anymore.

Roger describes Don as S-C’s Ogilvy. During the conversation, an unengaged Don adds fluid to his lighter. One could say that in his attitude Don is playing with fire (not unlike the Vietnamese protester monk shown in The Arrangements who famously commits suicide by immolating himself).

Peggy drops by Don's office, fishing for the Hilton assignment. "You have an office and a job that a lot of full grown men would kill for," Don fires back. "Stop asking for things."

Don angrily chastises Peggy for her lack of gratitude after Roger has just chastised him.

Roger calls Betty and encourages her to persuade Don to sign the contract. It's the first she's heard of it.

As mentioned before, Betty, her family in the background, is blindsided by this.

Peggy visits Duck's suite. She indicates what she might want from his agency to leave Sterling Cooper, but quickly decides she can't jump ship. Duck holds her hand, then kisses her. "What do you want from me?" she asks. To "give you a go around like you've never had," he replies. The two begin a passionate kiss.

Like the pills Don will take later, the dominant color in this scene (the gift, Peggy’s outfit, the room décor) is red.

That night, Betty and Don argue about the contract. "No contract means I have all the power," he says. "What's the matter?" Betty asks. "You don't know where you're going to be in three years?"

As mentioned earlier, the tune "Three Blind Mice" can be clearly heard playing in the background. Betty gets out a particularly cutting line about knowing what it’s like to want Don but not being able to have him.

Drink in hand, Don leaves the house and drives away. He picks up a young couple hitchhiking to Niagra Falls. They say that they're eloping so the man can avoid being sent to Vietnam. The man says that they haven't any money but can get Don high. Don swallows two of their phenobarbital pills.

The driving scene takes place in the dark (like under an eclipse). There’s a cut to Duck and Peggy in bed where Duck remarks that he loves the smell of liquor on Peggy’s breath. The scene quickly cuts back to Don taking a swig of his drink. This links Don and Peggy's reckless actions. They will both awake the next morning face down in a hotel room.

When Don sees the couple, Doug and Sandy, Doug is wearing green. They admit to have been smoking marijuana. Don brags about having inside information about Vietnam. While not a CIA agent, Don admits to being in advertising. The couple concedes that Don is "okay" anyway. Like Miss Farrell, the couple exhibit a dark side when they turn out to be grifters. They deridingly refer to Don as “Cadillac” (a reference to his automobile).

Later in a motel room, Don dances with the young woman until the man cuts in. Don, his eyes glazed, has a vision of his father, Archie Whitman. "Look at you," Archie reproaches. "Up to your old tricks." Moments later, the young man punches Don in the back of the head.

The dominant color in the motel room is red. Archie rebukes Don for being in a disreputable profession such as advertising. As stated earlier, Archie’s appearance seated in a chair (like Hilton) surprises Don.

The next morning Don, his nose bloody, reads a note from the couple. They've stolen his money but left his car.

The note written by the couple who eschew formal education has a misspelling (“your welcome” instead of “you’re welcome”). Also, leaving him the Cadillac seems more of a rejection of Don’s materialistic lifestyle than an act of kindness on their part.

UPDATE: As pointed out by Cliff in the comments below, the misspelling may reflect Don's "welcome" to his new, confined existence under contract at S-C. Or, this is could be a sarcastic comment on the rude "welcome" Don has recieved in his first actual foray into the new "green" worldview that he was made aware of in Love Among the Ruins (and part of the reason he returns to the more constraining, yet safer, "blue" existence).

Peggy awakes beside Duck, still in his suite. "I love the morning," he says when she attempts to leave. They start kissing.

Once again, the sun serves as a backdrop to reckless behavior.

At the Draper residence, Betty's decorator scolds her for buying the fainting couch and blocking the fireplace with it.

The decorator adheres more to Ogilvy’s rules than S-C. In this case, she does not want to be associated with the finished product (a product she doesn't have faith in) after it has been altered by Betty. Later, lying on the red Wentworth, a frustrated Betty seems to drift away to a by-gone age (this may tie in to her mentioning to Henry that she was an anthropology major in college).

In Don's office, Cooper insists he sign the contract. "Would you say I know something about you, Don?" Cooper asks. "I would," Don agrees. "Then sign," Cooper says. "After all, when it comes down to it, who's really signing this contract anyway?" Don acquiesces, but demands that all contact with Roger cease.

In a neat resolution to the contract dilemma, Cooper, knowing Don’s real identity is Dick Whitman, is able to sell the idea that Don is really giving up nothing by signing the contract. There’s also a thinly veiled hint of blackmail in that Cooper may force Don (like Ogilvy) to confess who he really is. Cooper may not live up to the standards set by Ogilvy, but he is an excellent ad man.

As foreshadowed in Guy Walks into ad Advertising Agency, Roger and Don are no longer the "(Dean) Martin and (Jerry) Lewis" of S-C. In that episode a picture of Jerry (the mouse) WITHOUT Tom (the cat) is shown.
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