Cripes, Suzette!

Twit

This is the most fascinating thing I ever saw on Twitter:

"This woman comes to my table; "May I?" - she takes
my USB stick and tries to light her cigarette with it."

I found it while randomly searching a name. The author lives in Munich and appears to have given Twitter a month to catch her fancy, which it did not so she gave it up and I totally understand that.

I was a late adopter of Twitter and I never really got into it - considered it a burden, in fact. Some people have a talent for using it to post interesting tidbits, but it ends there after each one, doesn't it? How about the folks who use it to announce their latest blog post? (file under * yawn *). It's not that I don't admire those who can make good use of the conventional format, it's just that I am not that into it.

All is not lost, though. Currently, my main circle of Twitter followers is filled almost exclusively with people pretending to be characters from Mad Men and I am highly entertained by that. I also have another page where I make entries in the voice of my dog. I know!  Who would have thought that dog food and dog poop would be so amusing? But it is - it's actually quite a compelling narrative.

Neither one of these was my idea - wittier folks than I conceived the notions - but I am along wholeheartedly for both rides. If you see lapses in blog posting here, it's because I have become alarmed at Betty Draper's state of mind or I'm trying to convey what it's like to push a pinecone around with your nose in 140 characters.

Major News Story of the Day

The major news story of the day is,of course, that the fake Mad Men Twitterers have returned.

There's no question that Don Draper is the alpha male - and who wouldn't go for him?-  but I confess that I am torn between my equal attraction for the good (but flawed)  Harry Crane and the bad Jimmy Barrett.It's the male version of the madonna-whore conundrum. Who will be by favorite?

This is just like when I had to choose between Paul (the Cute Beatle) and John (the Intellectual Beatle). I tired to remove myself from the stress of trying to decide by selecting George (the Quiet Beatle), but after a while, I gave it up and in the end I could not deny my attraction to the dark John.

So, Harry Crane. So contained, so sincere, so lovable. But Jimmy Barrett is a character evocative of  the Rat Pack at its worst. It's dangerous to even be in a room with him, let alone to declare his power over you. It's most likely that this is a short -term role, but hey - why, not have a little thrill while it lasts?

I like 'em dark, moody,unpredictable and a little bit dangerous.

Mad About It

I don't like to discuss my real life around here because I don't want to reveal the extent to which my life sucks. For instance, how much TV I watch. It's the mark of a loser, but here I am about to jump into the cold waters of my reality.

I am positively glued to AMC's Mad Men. At first, I thought that it would satisfy my desire to see vintage furnishings - and it does , but then I got all caught up with regret that I can't be a white male in the middle of the 20th century. That was just the surface interest, though because what it really is about is how the women live and work with and around the restrictions and limitations that they were held in at the time.

Of course, old habits die hard and while I was all wrapped up in the story line, I did get stopped in my tracks during one short scene that took place infront of a china cabinet.

    

It's the best shot I could get but that there's no question that that dinnerwear is Stangl. The set decorators got it exactly right. The characters in this scene are an up and coming young couple who have decorated in high-end Danish modern furniture. This 1954 Stangle pattern, called Amber Glo, was different from the usual rustic big-flower-in-the-middle style of most Stangl patterns. It was designed by the great Kay Hackett from a Scandinavian inspiration using the thoroughly modern motif of a gas-flame.

Well, I liked to die when I saw it. Much fuss was made -  the dog got worked up but the daughter  seemed unmoved. Finally, a Stangl sighting after all these years that  I have been monitoring the media! Very gratifying.

NOTE: As a point of clarification, I want you to understand that its the TV-watching that identifies me as pathetic. The dish obsession makes me cool.