Oh, my!

Not like the Old Spice commercials of my youth!

All Things Google

. . . well, TWO things Google, anyway . . . 

(1) Today, Google inaugurated a new feature, Google Buzz.  As the New York Times reported this morning, Google's Buzz is "a way for users of its Gmail service to share updates, photos and videos. The service will compete with sites like Facebook and Twitter, which are capturing an increasing percentage of the time people spend online."   See the whole NYT article here . Those of you who are users of Gmail (as I am) will have been introduced to this new service today.  Skeptics already are wondering if Buzz is "stupid" or "weird."  I don't know.  But I do know better than to bet against Google.   In any case, if I am ever going to get involved in social networking, Google has a better chance of gaining my interest than Facebook, which is starting to lose members and seems of interest only mostly to shallow minors and near-minors.  (See this interesting commentary about Facebook today by Jim Fallows.)  

(2) I didn't watch the Super Bowl because it is impossible for anyone to care less than I do about professional football.  As far as I can tell, the only reason to tune in to this event is to see the advertisements, which tend to be far more creative and inventive than the usual TV advertising fare. In any case, I understand that Sunday evening Google ran the following ad.  Perfection!

Effective Public Service Ad

Brrrrrrrr . . .

Minus 12 degrees here in Bretton Woods, NH, this morning.  And that's not wind chill. 

Elizabeth Warren

Jon Stewart wants to make out with her. (See video below).   Others think she should be Massachusetts Democrats' candidate in 2012 to try to take the U.S. Senate seat back from Scott Brown.* Well, there's no doubt that she would be a lot better candidate than Martha Coakley.  I'll sign on to support a "Draft Warren" movement now.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

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* Meanwhile, see this item about that miserable low-life, Joe Kennedy, who is now going around pissing in his pants, thinking, "Oh, woe is me.  Maybe I should have run for Uncle Teddy's Senate seat after all. Surely, I would have won.  I could have saved the state from the ignominy of Scott Brown."   Well, I'm not happy about Scott Brown's victory.  But even Scott Brown might end up being a better U.S. Senator than Joe Kennedy would be.  What is it with these asshole Kennedys?  What makes them think they are so goddam wonderful?!  Note what the Globe says about Joe: "He was delivering oil in person today with the media looking on, as he has in previous years, to highlight the efforts of Citizens Energy, which provides low-cost oil to low-income people."   Joe doesn't do anything without making sure the media are looking on.   

The iPad

Good lord.

On my very first day after having successfully clawed my way out from under huge piles of work, I am confronted with THIS:

Apple has decided to name its bold new product an unfortunate new name:  iPad.   Immediately, comedy writers and others began having fun with the name.  Even the once-staid Washington Post today ran this article, poking fun at the iPad.  Excerpt:

Boyfriends everywhere promptly refused to purchase it unless they could simultaneously buy some really manly products, like shaving cream and batteries. . . .

Meanwhile, the blogosphere found the name debate totally absorbing — "How will it stand up to other tablets if I pour a test tube full of blue water on it?" one Lemondrop blogger wondered.  And a heavy flow of iPad-related Twitter traffic led "iTampon" to become a top trending topic. . . . 

Apple has yet to address what women everywhere anticipate will obviously be the iPad's biggest problem: You can't use one while swimming.

The amazing thing is that back in 2005, MADtv did a parody of Apple in which the writers of the skit imagined an Apple tablet called the iPad and came up with a commercial for it.  (See the video below.)   Did Apple not think seriously about how this product name would be mercilessly skewered?   Maybe they like the idea of the free publicity.  Incidentally, NPR today did an interview with the writers of that MadTV skit. Even that interview is pretty funny.

There will undoubtedly be much more on this.  You know you can expect updates.  (Why confine our concerns to dentata?  Right, RED?)

Update:  CNN also did an interview with the writers of the MADtv parody. See it here.  (Thanks, Kater.)

A Joke

 It hadn't occurred to me until now that it would have been a good idea to compile late-night comedians' jokes about Martha Coakley.  That would make for some interesting reading.

I did just see this one from Jay Leno: “Well, a big upset victory, Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Chokely, I mean, Coakley.”

What must it feel like to be the current laughingstock of the U.S.?   Martha, what does it feel like?

The New Senator from Massachusetts

Congratulations to Scott Brown, the new U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.  I believe he ran a very smart campaign.  On the basis solely of the political dynamics of this race, he deserved to win.  His Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, ran a campaign that (as I observed earlier) was pathetic and stupid in its lethargy, complacency, and smug self-satisfaction.  She deserved to lose.  

I am in the midst of the very busiest time of the year at my place of work, so I haven't the luxury right now of extended commentary.  But here are some points that I hope to have a chance to elaborate on at some point:

• Coakley was not helped at all by the Democrats who opposed her in the primary.  Rep. Michael Capuano proved himself to be the asshole that he is by not lifting a finger to help Coakley get elected. Alan Khazei was not any better.  But at least he has an excuse: he has an organization to run.
• Coakley's political career probably is — and certainly should be — over.  Her chances at higher office are now gone, and she was never a very good Attorney General in the first place.  R.I.P.
• I have it on good authority that Vicky Kennedy held her nose in disgust when, in the final days of the campaign, she felt compelled by Coakley's incompetence to come forward finally and offer a public endorsement in order to try to salvage the Democrat's chance at victory.  Imagine how hard that was for Ms. Vicky.  She and the Kennedy family made their distaste for Coakley obvious very early on, when Coakley declared her candidacy for Teddy's Senate seat before the funeral had even taken place.  Then, to be faced with the likelihood that Coakley would lose Kennedy's seat to the Republicans — and, in the process, destroy Kennedy's life-long goal of health reform — must have made Vicky vomitous. 
• Coakley had ambition, but no passion and no principles.  She had hunger and a goal, but no rationale for her campaign.  A big mistake. 
• Brown recognized by the third week in December that Coakley's campaign had gone into hibernation — stupidly, inexplicably taken a nap!   Brown seized his opportunity and never looked back. Coakley smugly thought she was a shoo-in and that she didn't have to worry about a little-known state senator.   He cleaned her clock. He proved to be the smarter politician in this race. This is not a surprise to me.  I voted for Coakley, but I had no respect for her as a politician. 
• I am unwilling to align myself with those who say this election result should be read as a referendum on Barack Obama's presidency, on the health-insurance reform initiative, or on the Democratic agenda writ large.  Sure, the voters are angry and afraid.  They ought to be.  We're still suffering from the effects of Bush's colossal fuck-ups, and all the wisdom in the world is incapable of turning that situation around anytime soon.  Moreover, the people who voted for Brown are the same people who always vote for Republican candidates: those who've already "got theirs" and don't give a damn about anybody else; and those who miscalculate their own self-interest (individuals and families living on the economic margins, who don't understand that they would be better off in a society that embraced more of a communitarian ethos).  
• It's just as compelling to spin out any of a number of other explanations:
• • that Brown was appealing and energetic, while Coakley was repugnant and asleep;
  • that Massachusetts voters, however liberal they may seem, are basically sexist. (Think of the number of female candidates in recent years this state's electorate has sent spinning down to defeat: Kerry Healey, Shannon O'Brien, Jane Swift, Cheryl Jacques, . . . )
• As to the larger "what-does-it-all-mean?" question, I would also advise caution. Everybody likes to be Cassandra, foreseeing the destruction of everything dear and important.  It's certainly possible that Brown's election will spell the effective end of Obama's (and the Democrats') chances at legislative accomplishment.  They say, "kiss health-insurance reform, financial reform, and effective legislation to deal with climate change a hearty good-bye."   But that's just lazy punditry to take that view.  A more nuanced approach would say that such an outcome is by no means certain. Congress sometimes works more effectively when one party does NOT have what appears to be unstoppable majorities.  Who knows what will happen?  All I'm saying is that it is FAR too early for anyone to be guessing how this will all pan out. 

Having said all this, let me be clear about a couple of things:  

• I think Scott Brown is an airhead (albeit an airhead who ran a great campaign).  I voted for Coakley yesterday and wish she had won (even though she was one of the worst candidates I have ever seen in a Senate race and she frankly had no business being the Democrats' candidate). 
• The political dynamic in Washington, D.C. is now much more complicated than it was a week ago.  But, again, nobody can say how that will turn out.  Maybe the Democrats will become timid and worried about the party's chances in the 2010 midterm elections.  But maybe they will become emboldened, committed to pursuing policies they believe in, the electoral consequences be damned.  Stranger things have happened.  Just ask Scott Brown. 

The Wrong Approach to Terrorism

Hmmm . . .   Here's an interesting observation.

Deval Patrick: You’re History

The current governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, is toast. 

Charlie Baker, the Republican candidate, is going to eat Patrick for lunch.