Mad Men Season 4, Episode 4: "The Rejected"

I'm trying something different here: normally I watch the episodes twice, on Sunday nights when they are broadcast, and again on Monday evenings with the Mrs., because she goes to sleep too early to watch the Sunday broadcasts. I usually do the writeups on Monday mornings, but it seems like after watching the episodes a second time, I often find that I feel differently about something and want to go back and revise what I've written, so I thought I would try watching twice before doing the writeup. Of course, this means it doesn't get posted until Tuesday (or, theoretically, late Monday night), but I just thought I'd experiment with it...

[As usual, the standard disclaimer applies: I have avoided reading any other recaps, writeups, or other commentary on this episode before writing this, so if I express something similar to thoughts you've read elsewhere, it's entirely a coincidence. If you have not watched the episode, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

This week's episode was titled "The Rejected," and there was plenty of rejection going on. It was also decidedly less Don-centric than this season's episodes so far, and that's a good thing, because we needed a bit of a break from his moping and drinking and leching. Instead we got Pete, Peggy, a touch of Pete and Peggy together, and a return appearance by Ken Cosgrove.

We've all had to deal with rejection, and it comes in many forms. Pete is told he has to reject his father-in-law's business due to a (questionable) conflict, and that he has to do this for the good of the agency. He in turn feels like his work is being rejected by Roger and Lane. Peggy rejects the advances of a lesbian, whose friend's photography has been rejected by Life magazine. The ladies in the focus group end up talking about the things they do for the men in their lives, men who end up rejecting them. Allison rejects Don's rejection of her by quitting, with a flung paperweight for emphasis. Don rejects Dr. Miller's analysis of the focus group, after they rejected the concept of beauty products and rituals as an indulgence. Did I miss any? (Probably.)

Here's a question: if Joyce's friend the photographer wouldn't want to have anything to do with working for an ad agency, why would he want his photos to appear in Life? It seems like a countercultural rebel would consider a glossy, mainstream weekly magazine (one full of advertising) to be just as much a part of the establishment as an ad agency. Perhaps because, had they been published (which they never would have been, at the time) they would have been considered transgressive and boundary-breaking?

Unfortunately Peggy didn't get to probe that far, because her conversation with him at the party was interrupted by the police raid, but lucky for her she was swept off her feet and into a hiding place by Abe, the crusading journalist. Could Peggy become a Factory girl? Probably not, but she's getting exposed to new ideas and subcultures that are bound to affect her own thinking, and ultimately her work. And I do wonder if she has ever thought about writing anything else besides ad copy.

Pete's finally going to be a dad (for real this time). It's still difficult for me to think of Pete as anything other than a petulant, spoiled little boy, but he takes the news in a pretty grown-up way. Pete also showed his business acumen (with a little nudge from his conversation with Ken) by turning the rejection of the Clearasil account into an opportunity to capture the business of his father-in-law's entire company. Does this mean the agency will then have to reject the Pond's account?

Since Peggy rejected both Pete and his baby, I also tend to see her as no longer having any feelings for him, but the news of Trudy's pregnancy obviously affected her. Perhaps her status as a single career woman (which she gave up Pete's baby to preserve) isn't quite everything she hoped it would be, or maybe she's just at a point where she's feeling a desire for motherhood, but I don't really think she's ready. I think her path is going away from normalcy, from the accepted and expected roles for women of this time, and away from Pete; the symbolism of the two groups of people on opposite sides of the glass doors at the end of the episode reinforced this.

When Joyce came to invite Peggy to the party, did you notice that she called Megan, the receptionist, "sweetheart"? Just like a man (or a mannish woman who likes other women). By the way, the actress who played Joyce is the daughter of David Mamet and Lindsay Crouse. Trivia: Back around 1990, I was working at a local cultural institution, and I can remember seeing Mr. Mamet on a couple of occasions with his children (I believe he was living in Boston at the time, but that may not be correct), so it's entirely possible this young lady was one of them.

I loved seeing Peggy's head pop up in the transom window after Allison and Don's dustup.

Nice job by John Slattery (Roger) in what I believe was his directing debut.

Expense Report #19

This week was a bit different. A few years back, I expressed my indifference about shopping on tax-free weekends, but if you need to buy something big-ticketish, or you've been contemplating it, then you might as well take advantage of the savings.

Such was the case for us this time around. The Mrs. and I have been talking about replacing our mattress and foundation for some time. We bought it a few months after we got married, so it's closing in on 12 years old, and its support isn't what it used to be. This is normal, and you can flip the thing as much as you want, but eventually you just have to deal with it.

For almost as long as we've been having the replacement discussion, we have known that we wanted a foam mattress. We tried them out at Jordan's on one of our ice cream visits, and found one we really liked. It happens to be the store's brand, so it's an excellent value, and the store-brand mattresses are made in New England, so we'd sort of be helping to support a local factory too.

A while back, we also saw a rug at Jordan's that we liked for our living room. 100% wool, made in India, and again a very reasonable price. We wrote down the information and held onto it. We even got an American Express gift card from my siblings last Christmas that we've been saving to put toward it.

I recently received a bit of a windfall, and while it's not large enough to eradicate my credit card balance, it's more than enough to buy the mattress and the rug, with some left over. So when the tax-free weekend was announced, I figured we should act. Plus we'd recently received a flyer from Jordan's offering a $100 discount off a $1000 purchase. Combined with the gift card and the sales tax savings, the decision was pretty much made for us.

It took a bit of convincing for the Mrs. to see it this way, but we made our way to Jordan's yesterday. It wasn't quite as busy as I thought it would be; some of the staff we talked with said it had been busier on Saturday. But I think it took only about 45 minutes to accomplish everything, given that we had to go to two different departments. For whatever computer-system reason, the purchases could not be rung up as one transaction, but the clerks knew how to process it so that the correct discount was applied.

Bonus: mattresses include free delivery, setup, and removal of your old bedding. It'll be almost a month before the new mattress and foundation get delivered, which is to be expected when so many people are buying around the same time. (Had we gone on Saturday, we might have been able to arrange an earlier delivery.) The rug is not stocked regularly, so it will take 7 to 10 weeks to arrive (we already knew this), at which time we will go pick it up at the store. It isn't that large, so it will fit in the car easily enough.

This Week in Awesome (8/14/10)

What's that? I didn't post TWiA yesterday like I was supposed to? Um, things got busy--what can I say? I hope you don't sit around waiting for these; that would be disturbing...

I am a total sucker for stop-motion videos of toy die-cast cars. There's a second clip at the link, too. (Vimeo via Jalopnik)

Also from Jalopnik, this little road-painting oopsie.

Vintage Japanese posters meant to encourage good behavior and good manners while riding the subway: not as weird as it sounds, and in fact some are quite charming. Maybe we should consider something similar here? (Pink Tentacle via Kempt)

This week's über-web video was the security footage of the drive-thru incident at the McDonald's in Ohio. (The Daily What via more or less everywhere) The incident itself dates back to New Year's Day, but the video just showed up now, and it's hilarious in its own small way, and if you haven't yet seen it, you really should (you can skip ahead to about 1:10, nothing really happens before that).

Now, wouldn't it be great if there was audio to go along with that? The good folks at InfoMania thought the same thing, and generously obliged with Security Cam Theater.

Under the Brim

I've always liked wearing hats--well, except for a period in my early 20s, but I quickly realized that looking cool was less important than warding off the cold--but I haven't always been able to find hats that I like. I usually don't care for what's trendy at a given moment.

For ball caps, I prefer them fitted, and if not sporting a logo of a local team, I want it to be blank. Do you know how difficult it is to find a fitted, low-profile wool cap without a logo? I had one, a long while back, that I'd bought from one of those cart vendors in Downtown Crossing. It was dark gray, and even had kind of a short brim. It was a great cap.

I lost it in 1998, somewhere in downtown Palo Alto, on a trip visiting the Mrs.' family, because I had carelessly put it in my jacket pocket and it fell out. I made do with an adjustable version, but it wasn't the same. I switched to a flat cap, sometimes called a newsboy, in a Donegal tweed that I got at the Irish imports store when it used to be in Quincy Market. That has worked out well.

In summer I can't wear a ball cap--just too warm. But I do need sun protection if I'm going to be outside for a while (which, if you know me, you know I try to avoid as much as possible). I like fedoras and other hats with brims, and they look good on me (not the case with everyone). What I don't like is the skinny-brim look that's currently in vogue (like I said, I usually don't care for what's popular or trendy), plus it has the opposite effect on me: because I have a fairly large head, a hat with a narrow brim looks too small on me, even if it's the correct size.

About eight years ago I discovered the panama as a summer hat, and it made complete sense for me. I've had a few of them since, some of which fit better than others. A couple of years ago I bought one on eBay from someone who imports them directly from Ecuador, where they are made to his specifications. This one was made to an exact hat size of 7-3/8, as opposed to just "large," and as a result fits much better.

But one thing about a panama is, it's sort of dressy, or it at least makes you feel like you should be dressed up when wearing it, ideally in an off-white linen suit or something similar. I wear mine much more casually, of course, but I kept feeling like the hat's natural straw color and dressy black band were working against me.

Several months ago I saw a panama in Nordstrom that solved this problem. The straw was a nice, rich tan color, and the band was olive:

The straw is actually a bit darker than it appears in this picture, but you get the idea. This hat is made by a company called Bailey, and was selling for $83, which was a bit steep, especially since I saw it just as I was starting my spending crackdown.

A few weeks later I saw the same hat in Lord & Taylor. I thought, great, once we get past 4th of July they'll put it on sale, and they always have coupons for additional discounts (you have to sign up for emails on their web site to get them) so I'll be able to scoop it up cheap.

So I waited. And waited. Every couple of weeks, or whenever the emails said "new markdowns taken," I stopped at L&T on my way home from work, and each time the hats were still $83. I waited some more. The email said "final reductions" so I went and looked, and still full price. I complained about it to the Proper Bostonian.

So now it's August, and I'd given up on getting the hat. No luck finding one on eBay either. The other night the Mrs. said she needed to go to the mall to pay her Macy's bill, like she does each month. We usually split up and I wander around for a while.

I went into Nordstrom to see what new fall stuff they had, and along the back wall in the men's department I saw the hats on a shelf (they had previously been displayed on a proper hat rack near men's dress shirts and ties). I checked the hat and it was marked down to 50% off (give or take a few cents), and they still had large, which I had previously tried on and knew it fit well enough.

Sometimes, patience is rewarded (although I admit I wasn't very patient in this instance). And there are still a few weeks of summer that I can get some use out of this, though I think I'm going to have to remove that little black plastic shield thing from the band.

It's Still August, Right?

The Mrs. and I went to Anna's in Davis Square tonight to get burritos. As we were leaving a couple came in. The woman was dressed in a black fleece jacket (zipped up), a gray skirt, and black tights. The guy with her was wearing a '70s-pimpish leather jacket with big lapels in a sort of burnt orange color. Now I know today was a bit cooler than it's been in a while, but really?

Footwear Daydreams

So, I was never able to get the sneakers that I was wishing for back in the spring because they never showed up for sale anywhere (believe me, I checked). It's possible that the white/red colorway was never intended for the US market and just ended up in the promo picture with the other versions, and no one did anything about it, or maybe it was supposed to be produced but was canceled at the last minute; things like that happen a lot in the apparel and shoe industries. Maybe they'll still appear, though summer is almost over and they aren't really a fall item.

Converse has been plastering the web with advertising lately, for things like a line of Dr. Seuss-themed All-Stars, versions with nylon uppers, and still more variations. This gray leather version caught my eye when I first saw it (I tried to copy the picture to paste in here, but the Converse site wouldn't let me), but after going back and giving it a closer look, it's totally wrong for me. I was sucked in by the gray leather, but I don't like the detailing around the front of the sole, I don't like the perforations above the toe, and I don't like the raised signature on the side.

Plus, when's the last time anything that said "Chuck Taylor" on it was actually comfortable? That's the dark secret of Chucks, something almost no one talks about: the things weigh a ton, and they're not exactly famous for being supportive. I had one pair in the mid-'80s, and I had to give up on them after a while. If I was going to get anything from Converse, I think it would be these charcoal canvas CVOs--look at that, actual collar and tongue padding!

But in general, I haven't been as interested in sneakers as I used to be. The venerable adidas Stan Smith (reasonably comfortable, though not exceptionally so) has recently been released with some nice new trim colors beyond the boring old green and navy, like these white and red ones (again, can't copy the images), or white and royal, or white and silver. (They did some similar shoes a couple of years ago, but the colored leather trim pieces were metallic, which was just tragic.) But it's kind of hard for me to get excited about them. I guess I don't wear sneakers as much as I used to.

What I really want for fall is a pair of made-in-USA Red Wing boots. I mentioned the J. Crew collaboration last week, and those were the first Red Wings that I noticed, but after I looked at their product lineup I found other boots that I like better, like this one called the Iron Ranger, which has a somewhat more sophisticated air about it, while still being plenty rugged.

The color is called "amber," and while it doesn't particularly evoke amber to me, I think it's quite beautiful--the leather has a subtle natural luster to it. Other things I like about this style are the speed-lacing pegs for easier lacing and removal, and the fact that it's available in wide widths. What I don't like so much is the sole, which is completely flat--I worry about traction, especially on wet days.

Another option is this one, the Gentleman Traveler in "black cherry":

Similar style, different details. It doesn't have the speed pegs and isn't available in wide (though I think these tend to be built a little on the wider side in general), but it does have a lugged sole, and it's another quite beautiful color. The GT is also available in black or a wonderful medium brown called "chestnut":

The amber color of the Iron Ranger kind of splits the difference between these two shades, and it's probably the most versatile. Decisions, decisions...

Naturally, this kind of quality and made-in-USA craftsmanship doesn't come cheap: these styles typically sell for around $270 to $300 a pair, though they can occasionally be found for less through Amazon, and there's also a decent secondary market on Style Forum, where you can grab gently used examples for about $100 off list price. It's not like they're going to wear out, and someone else will have done the breaking in for you.

Also complicating any decision is the sizing: everyone says these run large, and you need to get them at least one size smaller than your normal shoe size. Fine, except there's really no such thing as a "normal" shoe size anymore (not for me, at least). I need to find a store that carries at least some of the Red Wing styles and try them on before I can even think about buying a pair, from Style Forum or anywhere else. And then there's the 1,000 Mile Boot from Wolverine...

Expense Report #18

Last week I bought a few CDs, and that was it. Of course I had to get the new Arcade Fire disc, which was only $8 at Newbury Comics. When I go there to buy something specific, I usually take a quick look around and try to jog my memory about other albums I'm interested in getting, though it usually doesn't work and I can't remember until after I've left the store (otherwise known as "being middle-aged").

This time I managed to remember that I'd heard good things about LCD Soundsystem, who released a new album a couple of months ago, so I grabbed that disc also. I liked it immediately, enough to go to Half.com and buy their previous two albums, which came out in 2005 and 2007, so I don't know how I'd managed to remain ignorant of them this long.

And here's a question: why can't you use PayPal on Half.com? It only occurred to me because I have a small PayPal balance that would have been enough to cover the cost of the CDs, but since eBay owns both Half and PayPal, it seems like an obvious and easy step.

Mad Men Season 4, Episode 3: "The Good News"

[Disclaimer: I have avoided reading any other recaps, writeups, or other commentary on this episode before writing this, so if I express something similar to thoughts you've read elsewhere, it's entirely a coincidence. And as always, if you have not watched the episode, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

I guess I should have known better than to expect this episode to deliver some actual good news. Instead, we were dealt large helpings of irony, as there was plenty of bad news being learned.

We learned last week that Don is planning to spend the Christmas-New Year's break in Acapulco. He has arranged his trip with a stopover in Los Angeles, so he can swing down to Long Beach and visit Anna, the widow of the real Don Draper, that Don was last seen visiting during his attempt to escape from reality at the end of season 2. Don has taken care of Anna financially since she learned his true identity, in effect buying her silence, but he truly cares about her and has always felt very protective toward her.

When Don arrives he finds Anna in a cast from a broken leg. Her sister Patty and niece Stephanie soon come by; they have been helping Anna with her household needs while her leg heals. Stephanie is home from Berkeley for winter break; she's another fetching, nubile creature tossed in front of Don for him to make a pass at. He does, but his ardor is quickly doused when Stephanie tells him that Anna has cancer and has only a short time to live.

Anna is the only person who knew everything about Don's past as Dick Whitman, and how he switched identities with her dead husband in Korea (until Don confessed to Betty last season). She and her family call him Dick (I wonder if the sister and niece know the whole story? probably not), and he behaves differently around her. Anna is the only person who truly knows him, and learning that he will soon lose that connection weighs heavily on him.

Unable to be around Anna without telling her the truth about her condition (which has inexplicably been kept from her by her family), Don has lost his desire to go to Mexico and returns to New York and the office, to find Lane there, alone, working. Don introduces Lane to his classic shirk-work move of going to the movies, which leads to an evening of drink and debauchery, Don Draper style.

Along the way we learn the reason that Lane isn't back in London with his family: his wife has left him. He looks to Don for advice, which Don sidesteps, then distracts Lane with an offer of female companionship, which Lane accepts without much hesitation. It appears that Don is out to corrupt everyone around him in some way; maybe he thinks he will feel better by making sure other people are just as miserable as he is.

Elsewhere, Joan and Greg are trying to conceive a child (perhaps a hedge against the possibility that Greg won't come back from wherever the Army sends him). But we also learn that Joan has had two previous abortions (presumably in the days before birth control). I was a little puzzled as to why Joan wouldn't explain to Lane her reason for wanting time off--she did have a good reason. Maybe she just wanted to keep her personal life to herself.

This Week in Awesome (8/7/10)

Well, we finally got some decent, comfortable weather around here, although to be fair, last weekend was also pretty nice. Meanwhile, back on the interwebs...

Can you stand one more Mad Men-related thing? NYC food blog Eater (part of the bloglomerate that also does the sites Racked and Curbed) worked up a nice list of bars and restaurants that have been featured on the show, complete with maps. (via Basket of Kisses)

A Seattle parking enforcement officer ticketed a guy who was sleeping in his car, only he wasn't sleeping... (Seattle Post-Intelligencer via Consumerist)

I've never heard of the band Dancing Pigeons, but they've made a cool video for their song "Ritalin." (Vimeo via Jalopnik)

Last year I posted about some folks who shot a comedic soap opera short film inside an IKEA. Now another group has produced something similar, but perhaps a bit more ambitious. Watch the trailer for Stealing Beauty here (YouTube), and read more about it here (Very Short List).

I know it's been a week since Lindsay Lohan was released from jail, and normally I would be disinclined to glorify her bad behavior and poor judgment by posting anything to do with her, but over in South Korea (Taiwan?) they take a slightly different approach to reporting celebrity gossip: computer animation. Somehow it adds a fascinating new dimension to these banal, tawdry stories while (I suspect) simultaneously mocking them. (The Awl via ?)

Chilled (Well and Not So Much)

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it seems like more often than not, the air conditioning on the Orange Line trains has been barely adequate this summer. I've been riding plenty of Green Line trains too, and the AC on those seems much stronger, especially on the newer low-floor cars.

I remember when that wasn't always the case. Back in the '80s when I was in college, it was much more common to board a Green Line train and find that the AC was working only in the front half of the car. You'd look at the train coming into a station and wonder why the back half was so empty, then get on and go "oh, yeah..."

Boarding the bus in the morning is like stepping into a walk-in fridge. Yesterday when I got off the bus at Wellington, my glasses fogged up from the abrupt change in temperature.

Mind you, I don't like that climate change has made us so dependent on air conditioning for comfort. But if you have to have it, it should at least work.

Watch Wednesday Thursday (8/5/10)

I almost had to call this Watch Wednesday Friday, which would really be lame. I should try to take some of these pictures ahead of time, instead of rushing around every other week, looking for the camera and the USB cable to connect it to the computer, etc.

This is the watch that was at the repair shop for a very long time. It's a Tudor like the one I featured a couple of weeks ago. Tudor used to be more like a little brother to Rolex. Tudor watches used Rolex cases and some other parts like dials and hands, and often looked a lot like corresponding Rolex models, but had different movements that were made elsewhere so they cost significantly less. This is a Ranger, which was the Tudor counterpart to the Rolex Explorer (the first watch worn to the top of Mount Everest). I don't know what kind of movement this watch has.

I bought it six or seven years ago from an online watch seller in Michigan. One day while I was wearing it, I got frustrated with a misbehaving paper towel dispenser in a rest room where I worked, and I banged on the dispenser really hard with my left hand, which caused something inside the watch case to come loose. That's why I had to have it repaired in the first place.

Tudor used the rose logo until some point in the late 1960s, when they switched to the shield we saw on the watch I featured two weeks ago, so that gives a rough idea of this watch's age. The dial has faded a little from black to a very nice sort of slate color, almost like a chalkboard. I like the large numerals and the chunky hour hand. I'm not so crazy about the square stuck on the end of the second hand, but it's how they made them at the time. I've seen later Rangers with different hands, and some with date windows, but I believe this is the original design.

A lot of Rolex and Tudor models take a 19 millimeter wide strap, and this one does too. The strap that is on here is kind of cheap, but at the time it was the only one I could find in that size. They're still not so easy to find, but at least now I know more places to get them, so I'll probably change it now that I have the watch back.

Early Fall?

If only... but fall clothing is starting to show up online, which is the next best thing.

There's been a lot of anticipation in blogland for the fall collection from L.L. Bean Signature. The new items went live online on Monday, and I really wanted to be more excited about it than I was about the initial spring collection, but again it just isn't doing it for me. I like that some of the pieces are inspired by items in Bean's archives, but I don't see anything that I feel like I need to have. Maybe there's more to come later in the season, and maybe I'll find it more interesting.

Part of the problem, I think, is that I can't go to any of the nearby Bean stores to see and touch the pieces. I was in the Burlington store a couple of months after the line launched, but they weren't carrying any of it, and the staff person I talked to didn't know if or when they would be. I don't think I'll be up in Freeport any time soon, so I doubt I'll be getting any hands-on time with these clothes.

Lands' End has been dropping new stuff onto their site for a couple of weeks now, in both the regular and Canvas lines. I noticed some rather blatant copying on both sides. Canvas has a pair of boots that looks very much like the Red Wing boots you can get at J. Crew: the moc toe, the lug sole, the laces, and even the color of the leather are virtually identical. I like the look of these a lot, and I've been thinking about getting a pair.

The Canvas boots are $150, which is $75 less than the J. Crew version, but those are made in the USA, and if I were to buy them, I would honestly rather spend more for the US-made product. Another pair of Canvas boots at the same price looks a lot like some of the dressier Alden "Indy" boots, again not a bad starting point for a knockoff, though in this case the price difference is much larger (probably about 1/3 what the Aldens cost).

Canvas is a bit late to the party with its version of a red chambray workshirt, but at $40 it's an excellent value, and this one is refreshingly devoid of the fussier details found on some others. I quickly grew annoyed with the extended throat tab on the one I bought from Gap, but the placement of the buttonholes makes it almost impossible to lop it off and resew the edge without it looking horrible, so I am seriously considering replacing mine with this one. (I also don't care for the fabric of the Gap shirt, which is too thick and too stiff; I probably shouldn't have bought it.) This shirt is also available in the more common blue and gray, as well as a darker blue with white stripes and a darker gray they call black with black buttons instead of white, both nice variations on the look.

In the regular LE line, there is a new waxed cotton coat that is a shameless copy of a Barbour coat. It is most certainly not made in England, and the plaid lining is kind of ugly, but for $160 it would be a decent alternative to the $400 Babrour for some people, and with LE's near-constant coupon offerings, it should be easy to score this for at least 20% off the regular price. I'd like to get a look at this in person, to see how well it's made and how it otherwise compares to the original.

One other nice piece that isn't necessarily a direct copy of any particular item, this heavy twill plaid workshirt ($60) fits in nicely with the overall aesthetic of work boots and a waxed cotton coat, and it would also work well as a shirt-jacket when the weather turns cool but not quite cold.

Even Brooks Brothers is getting into the heritage/Americana movement (which, if you think about it, might suggest it's peaking, or has already done so) via a collaboration with Levi's. Yep, BB is now selling co-branded Levi's in the 501, 505, and 514 styles. J. Crew has been selling 501s for a few months now alongside its own jeans, but the BB Levi's are manufactured in the US (specifically Los Angeles, according to the LA Times fashion blog All The Rage). They're certainly not worth $150 to me, but if you're into this kind of thing, you might want to visit your local Brooks Brothers.

BB also has a new group of nice-looking casual shirts, with details like a back collar button, that they are offering in both their regular fit and their newer extra-slim fit. Several of these appeal to me, but I'm going to have to see them in person and try them on in order to figure out which size in which fit looks and fits best on me.

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I've noticed that my mailbox doesn't brim with quite as many catalogs as in years past; between the ubiquity of the internet and the cost of printing and mailing, companies are cutting back on their catalog mailings. It's unfortunate, because I like being able to sit down with a catalog and take a good, close look at the garments in the photos. Often they are larger than the online versions, and colors tend to be more accurate.

Mad Men Season 4, Episode 2: "Christmas Comes But Once a Year"

[Disclaimer: I have avoided reading any other recaps, writeups, or other commentary on this episode before writing this, so if I express something similar to thoughts you've read elsewhere, it's entirely a coincidence. And as always, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

It's Christmas 1964, and a few old friends stopped by this week, some more welcome than others. When we last saw Freddy Rumsen, it was two years (and two seasons) ago (in episode 209, "Six Month Leave"), and he was being let go due to his drinking problem. Now he's resurfaced, and we learn that he's been sober for 14 16 months, which means he didn't clean up his act immediately, but it's still good to see him in a better place.

Not only does Freddy bring SCDP an account, but we also learn that he's acting as a sponsor for another alcoholic. Good for you, Freddy. I don't know if his character is going to stick around; I think someone mentioned that he was working as a freelancer, so hopefully we'll see him again at some point this season. I always liked his interactions with Peggy, and despite their somewhat awkward reacquaintance, each respects the other's talent, and they are both smart enough to know they can learn from each other.

Slightly less agreeable was the appearance of Glen Bishop, looking well-fed but as creepy as ever, or rather even more so now that he's doing neighborhood B&E's and petty vandalism. Next stop is peeping in windows, then torturing and killing small animals, and in another few years he'll be out in San Francisco committing the Zodiac murders, or something similar.

Of course, his behavior makes troubled Sally swoon--someone cares enough to pay attention to her! And he's a misfit bad boy whose parents are also divorced. (Was that a lanyard key fob thing he left on her bed? I never went to camp, so I never had any up-close experience with lanyard.) Loved Glen's line to Sally: "My mom said that would happen" (referring to the Drapers getting divorced Betty remarrying). Right on, Helen, stay classy--and look what a good job you're doing as a parent.

At the bottom of the holiday gift pile, but the top of Santa's naughty list, is Lee Garner Jr. from American Tobacco. Lee is both a jerk and a bully, which we already knew from what happened with Sal last year (in episode 309, "Wee Small Hours"). But now you could see a deeper awareness on Don's face as he watched Lee order Roger to put on the Santa suit; it's one thing to treat a midlevel employee badly, and even to ask for him to be fired, but to turn that same behavior on one of the agency's top executives is another story. I hope SCDP finds a way out from under Garner's thumb.

As for Don, he continued to wallow in his loneliness and self-loathing, but now he's inflicting himself on others too, making him no better than Lee Garner. He didn't explicitly hire any prostitutes this week, but he effectively made his secretary into one by drunkenly pouncing on her, then giving her her Christmas bonus the next day. At first I thought he'd left his keys in the office on purpose, as a ploy to get her (I'm sorry, I didn't catch her name) Allison to come to his apartment, then I thought he was too drunk to be so calculating, then I changed my mind back after he so emphatically said (twice), "Thank you for bringing me my keys." The worst part of it is that his secretary thought it was more than just a drunken screw, that he was really interested in her. How much longer do you think she'll be around?

Don called Peggy "sweetheart" at the Christmas party. Again, kinda creepy. How long until he tries to have his way with her? The show is skirting the edge here with Don, in terms of his bad behavior. Viewers have had glimpses of Don's dark side before, but they can only take this so far before reaching the point where people will start to lose their feelings of empathy or good will toward him.

Hardly a word from Betty this week.

Peggy's dorky boyfriend Mark, trying to act worldly and sensitive at the same time: "I want to be your first." Oops, too late. Peggy, do you have anything you'd like to say?

Random T Stuff

Yesterday on the bus, I got to watch a woman put moisturizer on her feet and ankles. Lucky me.

And then this morning, I got to overhear this conversation:

Woman 1: "Hey, how are you? Are you going to work?"
Woman 2: "Oh hi, yeah, I got this job over near Porter Square doing telemarketing. Are you looking for work? Because they always need people."
Woman 1: "I dunno...what's telemarketing?"
Woman 2: "I'm not sure...you call people and try to get 'em to buy stuff."

Expense Report #17

I mostly stayed away from eBay last week, but more importantly, I didn't bid on anything. Looking but not clicking is definitely the safer approach.

Otherwise, I bought the concert ticket, which was $42. Interestingly, there didn't seem to be any exorbitant fees tacked on. Either that, or they were included in the ticket price.

I enjoyed the show, and it was a perfect night down at the waterfront. I thought they would play a little longer, but maybe it wasn't such a bad thing they didn't--my legs were starting to ache a little, and since I was in the back row, I was able to make a quick exit and grab a cab on Northern Avenue before the crush. The cabbie knew that 93 was backed up in the tunnel due to a lane closure, so he rerouted via surface streets, and I still made it home by 11.

We Will Be Experiencing Delays...

It's only the second week of the Mad Men season, and I won't be able to post a writeup tomorrow, because I won't be home to watch the show tonight when it airs (pretty unusual on a school night).

At the last minute (like, yesterday) I was able to get a ticket to tonight's Arcade Fire show at the waterfront concert pavilion formerly known as Harborlights (it has had so many different banks' names attached to it, I've lost track of what it's officially called now).

I really wanted to see this show, and I was really disappointed when I found out that I'd missed the on-sale date; the tickets had been on sale for a couple of weeks and were sold out. On the Live Nation site they suggest checking back for tickets as the show nears, because sometimes seats become available at the last minute. So that's what I did, and a single seat was available. I think I'm in the last row of the covered seating, but I wouldn't be able to see that well anyway, unless I was near the front, so it's more about the music than anything else.

So the writeup will have to hold until Tuesday. Meanwhile, there's a nice article about the band on the New York Times site, and if you're interested, their Thursday night show at Madison Square Garden is being streamed live on YouTube (there's a link to that page on the band's site).

This Week in Awesome (7/31/10)

The internet backed a truck up to my computer this week and delivered a huge shipment of awesome. When that happens, we all win:

Okay, let's just get this one out of the way first: the dog on the riding mower was everywhere this week. It's only 15 seconds long, but if it doesn't make you at least smile, you might need professional help. The Soup loved it so much, they showed it four or five times during last night's show. (Videogum via... everywhere)

Darth Vader has an iPhone 4, and he's having problems with it like everyone else. (YouTube via Cult of Mac)

Inspired mashup: Jane Austen's Fight Club. (BuzzFeed via Current TV)

Do you remember the '80s TV show The Fall Guy? I don't think I ever watched it, but it seems like it was about on par with The A-Team for crazy vehicular mayhem and stunts, if this compilation clip is any indication. (Off Road Action via Hemmings Auto Blog)

And finally, it seems like Canada's going a bit nuts these days. To wit: first, there's the guy who robbed the Starbucks, then the woman who was caught shoplifting. But I don't want to spoil these; you'll have to click through to see what makes these criminals so, um, special. I guess we're rubbing off on them, and not in a good way. (CTV and CNews, both via Consumerist)

(BTW, 28 posts in one month--a new record...)

Summer of Cake

It's a lazy Friday afternoon, and I feel like indulging in a bit of nostalgia. Come along, won't you?

Ten years ago this summer, I was working for a fledgling e-commerce company. A little over a year before, we had moved from the founder's basement to a small, sparse second-floor space above some stores in Arlington Center--the company needed to start hiring more people, and there wasn't enough room in the basement anymore. Later that year, we took some additional rooms across the hall, and by the summer of 2000 the whole space was full to bursting, with desks and people squeezed into any available nook or corner.

There was a building around the corner that was undergoing a renovation and addition; the company was able to rent space in it, but it would not be available for several more months. At the same time, there was a guy working for us as a technology consultant who had an office near Kendall Square that happened to be unoccupied, so the decision was made to temporarily relocate my department and shuffle some of the other people around until the new office was ready.

In order to save some money, the bosses decided to let us move ourselves, mostly because one guy had a pickup truck. When the moving day arrived near the end of June, it of course started raining just as we finished loading the truck with, you know, expensive computer equipment, files in cardboard boxes, and other perishable stuff. We ended up driving under an unused bank drive-through for shelter until it stopped raining.

But once we got settled into our new space, things were pretty good. For one thing, it was a lot nicer than where we'd been working. The cubicle walls were actual walls, made of wood and plaster, and they were high, so not as much sound carried across them. There were no landline phones, so at first we could be reached only by email. It's amazing how well you can focus when no one can call you or come around the corner and bother you about some petty thing. Later they got us cell phones; the first ones didn't work inside the building, so they returned them and switched carriers.

We would spend Monday mornings at the "mother ship" for meetings, then retreat to our sanctuary. There was a nice kitchen, and the guy whose office it was kept the pantry stocked with all sorts of drinks and snacks and goodies. (I assume he was billing our employer for this.) At peak there were six of us in the department, but often there were only three or four of us in the office on a given day. We had an insanely powerful sound system--something about creating audio recordings for the web site, I think--and on afternoons like today, we'd blast it for hours.

This is how I met A Proper Bostonian, who preferred working from home, so sometimes she was around and sometimes she wasn't, but she always seemed to know when the tech guy had gone shopping and restocked the larder. He always got a cake from the supermarket's bakery, and in later years when we would talk and look back on our time there, she would say, "And we always had cake."

We ended up being temporarily outsourced for a little more than five four months. We moved back to the new office in November, right around Veterans' Day. On February 1st of 2001, I was laid off, along with five or six other people, so I got to work in the new office for less than three months. The company lasted another year before folding.

Elizabeth Short

Today marks the date of birth in 1924 of Elizabeth Short. She became the victim of one of the most gruesome and notorious (and still unsolved) crimes in our country's history, the infamous "Black Dahlia" murder of January 1947.

I mention this mainly because she was originally from the Boston area. She was born in Hyde Park, and her family moved to Medford a few years later. As a teenager she dropped out of school and spent winters with a relative in Florida because she had respiratory problems. Later she moved to California, hoping to be discovered and break into movies, but of course that didn't happen.

I first became aware of Beth Short's unfortunate story when I read James Ellroy's novel The Black Dahlia, a fictionalized account of the case, more than two decades ago. I learned that the real case had never been solved or closed, and interest remains high more than 60 years later.

There are numerous theories and endless speculation as to who committed the crime, and there are a number of web sites about the case and about Beth Short. It's kind of amazing how much of the information is inaccurate or contradictory (that's just the internet, I guess). Of course there have been a number of books on the subject, and unfortunately many of the inaccuracies are perpetuated through those as well.

I've read two of these books, Severed by John Gilmore and Black Dahlia Avenger by Steve Hodel; I didn't know at the time, and I was kind of embarrassed to learn, that apparently neither of these is particularly well regarded, especially by writer Larry Harnisch, who wrote an article about the case for the Los Angeles Times in 1996. He maintains this web site and says he is writing his own book (though I don't see anything by him listed on Amazon).

You may remember that a movie based on Ellroy's book came out a few years ago. It's pretty terrible, and I recommend you not bother with it. I do recommend Ellroy's book, especially if you're a fan of mysteries or noir.

A mile or so from my house, there is a marker in the approximate location of her childhood home. It's on Salem Street heading west toward Medford Square, just before the rotary and ramps for route 93. (I assume the house was removed when the highway and ramps were built.) It's only a couple of feet back from the edge of the sidewalk, a large, upright piece of granite with a plaque set into it.

I had intended to take a picture of the marker to accompany this post, but I kept forgetting to bring my camera when we went in that direction (and there isn't really any good spot to pull over anyway, since it's right next to a rotary with an onramp to 93 north). In this picture you can read the plaque. I've read that when the marker was proposed in the early 1990s, there were some who opposed it. But I'm glad the city has chosen to remember Beth Short.

Expense Report #16

I kind of skipped over my report this week, mostly because I was wrapped up with the Mad Men stuff on Monday, but also because... I bought stuff last week, and I felt bad about it.

I bought a couple of things I needed, like the stuff at BJ's and today's earlier story about the undershirts (and those are being returned anyway). But I was also back on the eBay crack last week, and I bid on two items, thinking I wouldn't win either, and I ended up winning both.

One was a lightly-used pair of Bass Weejuns, old enough to still have been made in the USA (so probably at least ten years old, if not more). The other? Care to guess? Those of you who rolled your eyes and said "a watch" while playing along at home, pat yourselves on the back. More on that later.

The good news? I spent only slightly more than $50 total on both items.

Gilt Feelings

I signed up for the member-only designer sale site Gilt Groupe about a year and a half ago, and while there have been some items that have interested or tempted me, a lot of what they offer is just too fashiony for my tastes, and a lot of it is still too pricey for my wallet.

I hadn't felt strongly enough about anything to make a purchase from the site until last week, when an offering dovetailed nicely with my ongoing, ridiculously difficult search for satisfactory gray undershirts. Gilt had underwear from a company called 2(x)ist, and normally the name alone would be enough to keep me away, but as I browsed idly I saw undershirts offered in white, black, or gray. Turned out they were selling them in groups of nine, all one color, for $50. This is about in line with what I've paid for them in the past, so I ordered them after making sure they were 100% cotton.

On Monday I got an email saying the order had shipped, and yesterday I got home from work to find a medium-sized flat box on my porch. Turns out their fulfillment is done out of Andover, which explains why I received it so quickly. When I got inside and opened the box, there were three three-packs of shirts bundled together inside another clear wrapper. The shirts were the kind without tags, which is fine. I could see the printed "label" through the clear packaging, which said 60% cotton/40% polyester. Oops, we have a problem.

The purchase was final sale (Gilt's items are usually returnable; maybe this one was not because it was underwear?), but I called customer service anyway. My call was answered right away, and when I explained why I was calling, and that I wouldn't have bought the shirts if the fabric content had been listed correctly, the rep immediately offered me a return label, and said that my refund would include my original shipping charge. He also made a note to inform someone about the incorrect information, even though the sale for that brand was over.

So, I'm disappointed that the purchase didn't work out, and that I have to keep looking, but I'm very satisfied with how my issue was resolved. Gilt's customer service was quick and painless, and made me feel more likely to order from them again.

Discounts & Deals: Little White Pills

I've talked before about warehouse clubs. This is an example of why I find them to be worth the membership fee:

Do you take over-the-counter allergy medication? I do. About three months ago I bought a bottle of cetirizine hydrochloride tablets (the generic version of Zyrtec) at CVS, 60 tablets, regular price around $18 but I think it was on sale, or the Mrs. had one of their register-tape coupons, or something.

Last week I finished the bottle and figured I could get a better deal at BJ's, and I needed a couple of other things there anyway (toothpaste, giant box of Frosted Mini-Wheats). They had a bottle of 300 tablets for $15, which is a pretty stupendous deal, but it was made even better by a $2 "instant rebate" discount (which was automatically deducted at checkout).

If you prefer loratadine (the generic version of Claritin), the same deal applied. That's basically a year's supply, given that you will probably forget to take it now and then, and you probably don't need to take it during January and February (I don't, anyway).

But wait, there's more! Now they've gone and made the deal even better, at least online: the instant rebate has gone up to $4. I don't know if it's the same in the stores or not.

If Costco is your club of choice, don't fret: they have you covered with a similar deal, a bottle of 365 cetirizine hydrochloride pills for $16, or 300 loratadine pills for $12. Both stores also offer the brand-name medications; at BJ's the Zyrtec was about three times as much as the generic version, but for only 100 tablets, so it's really more like nine times as much. As they say, do the math. I know you have to factor in the cost of the membership, but even so you're not going to be able to match this kind of deal anywhere else.

My BJ's membership expires this week, and we chose to go back to Costco. The cost of the membership is about the same (discounted a little through my job, which is nice), but we decided we just like some things about Costco a little better.

Mad Men Season 4, Episode 1: "Public Relations"

I'm not going to write these as recaps per se, because there are plenty of other places on the web where you can find those, written by professional writers and critics. I plan to post just a few thoughts each week. One tricky thing about this is that I have to avoid reading what others have written until after I've posted my own thoughts, to avoid others' ideas seeping in and coloring my own.

Blanket warning: If you're reading these on Mondays and you haven't watched the episodes yet, you should assume that there will always be some spoilers ahead, and act accordingly.

First, I'm glad the show skipped ahead almost a year. Each season has moved ahead in time from the end of the previous one, which works well for the show's structure and approach to storytelling. And after the way the principals' departure and the formation of the new agency was portrayed so thrillingly in "Shut The Door. Have A Seat," seeing mundane things like finding new office space would have been a letdown. I'd rather be jumped ahead, after all the dust has settled.

It's weird to see everyone working in the new office. I didn't realize how used to seeing the surroundings of Sterling Cooper I'd gotten. It feels a little claustrophobic with that long corridor, as opposed to the open steno-pool area back at SC, and I really hope they get a conference table--what kind of impression does that convey to potential clients?

Don is obviously uncomfortable with the attention he's getting (which, ironically, probably came about because he was so emphatic about wanting to get out from under McCann and form a new agency). It was terribly unprofessional of him to order the two guys from Jantzen out of the office, but it was also pretty funny, because they just weren't getting it.

I like Don's apartment. Wonder what rent would have been on such a place, back then? The bunk beds for the kids were a nice touch (my brother and I had them when we were young), but shouldn't Don be taking Sally and Bobby out to do something fun during his limited time with them, instead of sitting around working while they watch TV?

What was with the prostitute slapping Don? Has he always been like this? Creepy moment. And did he address Peggy as "honey" at one point? Did I hear that correctly? Also a little creepy.

More Joan, please. I think she had just that one scene where she spoke with Harry. But she has her own office!

Betty seems almost as unhappy as when she and Don were still married. I didn't find this surprising at all.

Sally, overheard from off-camera after her Thanksgiving dinner antics: "Ow, stop pinching me!"

*   *   *

One more thing, though it's not from this episode. Last week I rewatched the last two episodes from season three, and in the scene where Don and Roger come to Pete's apartment to ask him to join them in their new venture, Pete (who is faking being ill) is wearing a flannel bathrobe. I didn't catch it when I first saw the episode, but the robe is the Campbell tartan, and Pete is Peter Campbell. Perfect. Pete is just the sort who would think it was important to wear his namesake pattern.

There Will Be Writeups

Last year I posted thoughts about certain Mad Men episodes after they had aired, but I wasn't doing it in a consistent way. This season I will attempt to post something each week on Mondays, assuming I've watched the episodes as they air on Sunday nights. Look for the first one later today.

This Week in Awesome: Mad Men Season 4 Bonus Edition

So here's another lovely cast photo, courtesy of AMC. Look, it's Ken! I guess we'll be seeing him at some point, even though he wasn't invited along to the new agency. And here's some stuff to keep you entertained until 10 pm Eastern time tonight...

The New York Times City Room blog has been running pieces all week under the heading "Mad Men City," placing the show in the context of Manhattan during the period when it takes place. (There are a couple of very minor spoilers, such as where the new agency's office is, and how much time will have passed since the events at the end of season 3, so if you would prefer not to know these things ahead of time, skip this one.)

New York magazine's Vulture blog talks to show creator Matthew Weiner.

(By the way, if you happen to be in New York, you can go to Times Square tonight and watch the premiere outdoors on a big screen. In the Boston area, the place to be is the Noir bar in the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square.)

You may remember last year's "MA Men" spoof. They surprised us with a sequel, just as vulgar and potentially offensive to some. (Funny or Die)

Addendum: I forgot this amusing little video compilation of some of Betty Draper's more memorable parenting moments. (Vulture)

This Week in Awesome (7/24/10)

Wow, Saturday again, already? (Only one more day until the season premiere of Mad Men. Look for a special bonus edition of TWiA later just for MM stuff.)

Meanwhile, this week's selections will make you go "Huh?" or "Why?" I didn't plan it, it just worked out that way...

Have you ever had the urge to carry wine hidden on your person? Are you a lady? Then there's a product that's just perfect for you. (The Cut via She Finds)

How about a microwave shake? No, that's not a typo. (I Hate My Message Board via Consumerist)

Hypothetically, if you decided to commit a robbery, and you were aware enough to realize you needed to cover your face to disguise your identity, what would you use? Whatever answer you thought of, it's probably not the one this woman chose. (Consumerist via News9)

I've referenced the site Everything Is Terrible! here a couple of times. Those guys go to great lengths to find the weirdest, most obscure, and just plain worst material from pre-internet days, to preserve for posterity. Here's a nice little collection of some of their favorite 80s/90s videotape finds. (Everything Is Terrible! via Vulture)

Plaid Shorts Fridays

I'm fortunate that every day is casual day for me, so naturally I wear shorts all summer. (I did have a temp job a few years back with a dress code that prohibited shorts, but was otherwise casual.) But I'm careful to dress neatly, so it's clear that I'm dressed for work and not for goofing off: button-front shirts get tucked in, polos are untucked but have reasonably short tails and are not baggy. My shorts are flat-front and to the knee, with a belt, but no cargos in the office--those are strictly for weekends. Shoes are either dark tan boat shoes, khaki canvas sneakers, or white leather Pumas with an oatmeal-colored stripe.

To mix things up a little, I started doing what I've been calling Plaid Shorts Fridays. On most days I wear solid shorts, somewhere on the spectrum from off-white to khaki, which I can wear with either solid or patterned shirts. Plaid shorts look best with a simple, solid-color top like a polo shirt, so I've picked out some combinations that have a little extra pop, or just go together well, like olive, navy, and cream plaid shorts with an ivory polo, or gray plaid shorts with a thin line of blue in them with a royal blue polo. I can probably get through the entire summer without repeating any of these Friday outfits.

It never occurred to me to take any pictures, because I wasn't planning on writing about this until I thought of it while getting dressed this morning. Today's outfit is shorts in a gray and khaki plaid that I got last year at the Gap outlet up in Kittery, with a light khaki polo that I got at Uniqlo in New York three summers ago.

Watch Wednesday Thursday (7/22/10)

Last night, when I went to look through my watches to decide which one to post, I discovered that I don't have any more modern watches that I haven't already featured. Yikes! There are still at least a few vintage watches to cover, but it seems I've exhausted all of my contemporary choices.

I'd been thinking about what I might do to keep this series going in some way, short of buying more watches (which is always an option, and you and I both know it's going to happen eventually). So I'm going to inaugurate what I'll call the Watch Wednesday Wrist Want, where I will highlight watches (which may be either modern or vintage) that I would be buying if money were no object. (Many bloggers do this all the time with shoes, cars, audio/video gear, and just about everything else.)

So, I present the Tudor Heritage Chrono, which was introduced in March at the big watch industry trade show in Basel, Switzerland. In a way, this is both a modern and a vintage watch, because it's based on a Tudor model from the 1970s (hence the "Heritage" in the name) that was nicknamed the "Monte Carlo" for its dial's resemblance to a roulette wheel.

 

(Image borrowed from Hodinkee, but I think it originated somewhere else)

I love the way this watch has been updated: the tapered yet substantial hands, the hour markers in the shape similar to the Tudor shield logo, the knurled texture on the knobs and crown, the orange detailing, the way the 1 through 12 hour markings have switched places with the 5-10-15 markers that would traditionally appear on the bezel. In fact, it's more appealing to me than the original.

I also love that there is a choice of a black dial with gray subdials as shown above, or the reverse combination (I would definitely want it in gray with black subdials). I even like the color-coordinated nylon strap (something I don't usually care for), though if I were to own one of these, I would eventually switch it to a black leather strap with orange contrast stitching.

This was a love at first sight moment for me, with a nearly instantaneous desire to start selling all of my possessions, including my other watches, in an attempt to come up with the funds to buy one. Fortunately, that urge passed, and anyway, acquiring one of these isn't going to be easy for a couple of reasons. Tudor does not sell its products anywhere in the US at the moment. The watch seems to be on sale in only a few European countries so far, and the list price in euros converts to around $4000 USD.

Some of them have been popping up on eBay, naturally, and selling for about a $1K premium above that, which amounts to a very steep "need to be first" tax. For those with the means and a bit more patience, the watch will be available in Canada in the fall. If I mention any trips north of the border, you'll know why...

Boarding Pass

So, this has been rattling around in my head for a bit...

T riders: when you board a train, do you choose what car or section to get on based on where you want to be when you need to exit?

I've always done this. It's just how my Virgo brain works, but I suppose it also stems from the need to make a connection to a bus or another train, and the desire to maximize the chance of making said connection by minimizing the time spent walking from one to another.

There's an iPhone app for this pertaining to the New York subway system, which makes sense because it's so much more complex than ours, the trains and platforms are so much longer, and stations often have multiple exits.

Unbraced

Yesterday the braces came off my upper teeth, after about 17-1/2 months. This felt a lot more significant than when I had the lowers removed a few weeks back, probably because the uppers went on first, and because the major phase of the process is now over.

My palate did not open up quite as much as I'd hoped, so I don't think I'll be experiencing any remarkable end to my snoring, but the alignment problems that plagued my teeth my whole life are gone, which was really the more important goal, and most of my cross-bite has been eradicated.

Now come several months of fine-tuning, starting with wearing clear, molded plastic temporary retainers. I'll go back in a month and the dentist will look at how the teeth are settling in, and what sort of adjustments he might want to make.

Eating is now much easier than it's been in quite some time, since I don't have wires trapping bits of food. I also have a new appreciation for proper brushing technique, and I've acquired a Sonicare gadget, which is supposed to be the cat's pajamas for keeping your teeth ultra-clean--we'll see.

Expense Report #15

I had to buy medication and food for the dog this past week, but I don't consider that discretionary. Having a pet means accepting the accompanying expenditures for vet visits, food, and such. A bag of food for her lasts a month or so, and the Mrs. and I alternate paying for it. This time around it happened to be on sale, which is unusual, so we're going to go back before the sale ends at the end of the month and get another bag.

Elsewhere, I made another pass through the sale section of the Lands' End site. I had put some things in my shopping bag a week or so prior, and it turned out that prices on most of them had dropped further in the interim, so I went ahead and made the purchase. Because of sales at places like LE and JCPenney, it's difficult for me to consider spending more than $10 or $15 on a polo shirt, but if one ends up getting stained, or doesn't fit right after a year or two, then it's no big deal to just replace it. I got two.

I also grabbed a pair of madras shorts and a long-sleeve knit henley that I will use as a layer come fall--I picked up three of these last year from J. Crew (on sale, of course) and I found that they worked well with a T-shirt underneath and a flannel shirt on top for weekend wear. Total for four items: about $55.

This Week in Awesome (7/17/10)

This was a busier than normal week for me at work, so I didn't have quite as much time to goof off look for cool stuff to post here. But I think we'll all be just fine...

I don't know who hired this guy to DJ their party, but it's a good thing he remembered to bring his glasses. (Videogum)

Remember the Snuggie? How could you forget? Well, there have been some, uh, enhancements. (Consumerist via YouTube)

Louis C.K. was on The Joy Behar Show, presumably to talk about his new FX show Louie (which is great, and you should watch it), but the conversation got a bit, uh, sidetracked. (YouTube via Videogum)

Planning your next kidnapping? Maybe you should use this handy ransom note generator. (Very Short List)

T Etiquette: Refresher Course

I guess the heat has boiled everyone's brains, because it seems like people have forgotten the basics of deportment while riding our transit system. So it's time for some remedial instruction (appropriate since it's summer, when those who have failed typically have to attend make-up classes):

To the guy leaning against the pole, pretending to be oblivious while noodling away on your iPhone: thanks so much for preventing four or five other riders from having something within comfortable arm's reach to hang onto. It's not as big a deal for me, because I'm tall and have long arms, but some of the shorter folks can't reach the horizontal bars or even the hanging straps, and anyway, being such a dick so early in the morning is just uncalled for.

And to the guy yesterday afternoon who had your backpack parked on the seat next to you (who, interestingly, kind of looked like the other guy): yeah, that's right, I stood in front of you and said "Is this yours?" in a loud voice while pointing at the bag, thereby shaming you into picking it up so I could sit down. It didn't seem to make a difference, though, because at the next stop the person sitting on the other side of you got off and you just slid it onto that seat. But then a stop later another person did basically the same thing I did and you were forced to hold the bag on your lap, like the rest of us manage to do. Poor you.

Grooming Garage: Razor Fatigue

I just came across this interesting Wall Street Journal article from a couple of days ago, about men who are weary of keeping up with the razor companies' ongoing blade-upmanship games, and have adopted a variety of strategies to avoid participating in them.

Emmy Nominations: Gripefest '10

I know I'm a few days behind with this, but there are a couple of factors in play: one, I do this mainly for my own amusement, whereas if I was getting paid to write about television, it would have been my duty to get my comments out there quickly; two, your intrepid blogger has acquired some new responsibilities at work, some of which occur weekly, so I've recently been a bit busier than usual. But even if I can't spend as much time on this subject as I'd like to, you know I have opinions about it.

First, I think it's important to acknowledge that, in general, the academy did a good job this year. Of course, there are still a few instances of legacyitis, the notorious affliction that causes the academy to nominate shows or actors that are past their freshness date, while ignoring other quality shows and talented actors--some new, some not so new--who deserved nominations.

Perfect example: Friday Night Lights. I don't even watch this show (I can only manage to keep up with so many shows at a given time), but I know that every critic thinks it's great and every year they say it should have been nominated. (Both its lead actors finally got nominated, so that's something.) It's absurd for the academy to continue to deny it a best drama nomination, particularly in light of the nomination of Lost after what, with a couple of months' distance, we can now see clearly was a mediocre final season. House also had a so-so season, and it was justifiably left off the list this year.

I would also say that True Blood falls more in the category of a guilty pleasure than a show that should be nominated in this category. Perhaps its slot could have been filled by Justified, which turned out to be much better than I'd expected. The rest of the nominees--Breaking Bad, Dexter, The Good Wife, and Mad Men--all deserve to be here.

Similarly, the best comedy category again has The Office. As much as I've loved this show, sadly it has lost its magic, and since Steve Carell has announced that he will be leaving after next season, I sincerely hope that NBC will realize that it's time to end the show. (Odds of that happening: very tiny.) Most critics feel its spot on the list should have gone to The Big Bang Theory, though I think you could also make the argument that if a freshman series like Modern Family got nominated, then maybe NBC's Community should have as well. After seeing the "chicken fingers"/GoodFellas spoof and paintball episodes again recently, I realized just how solid this show was all season, and how high points like these elevated it even more.

Mad Men submitted Elisabeth Moss in the supporting actress category (where I said last year she belonged), freeing space for January Jones to finally get her much-deserved nomination. Ms. Moss is keeping company with SAR fave Christina Hendricks, who also got nominated. Their characters may be unhappy, but all three ladies should be very proud of their work.

Of course, I have quibbles with the acting categories, too. I sure would have liked to see Anna Gunn get a nod for her amazing work on Breaking Bad; did Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay really need another nomination? I don't even think there were any "very special" (read: overacting) Detective Benson episodes this season.

And then of course there are the by-now perennial nominations for Tony Shalhoub for Monk (which thankfully has ended, so he can't get any more) and Jon Cryer for Two and a Half Men. I'd hate to think he's the reason Ed O'Neill was the only adult actor on Modern Family not to get a nod. I think it's a little curious that Aaron Paul got nominated as supporting actor for Breaking Bad instead of lead, but I'm sure it's so he doesn't get in the way of Bryan Cranston's chance of a third consecutive win for lead actor. I was very disappointed that John Noble didn't get noticed for the outstanding work he did as Walter Bishop on Fringe; I thought he was much more deserving than Martin Short, who got nominated for his work on Damages.

I've never watched Glee, and I never will. But I think maybe the academy just got a little over-excited about it because it's different from other comedies. Certainly no one is going to complain if Jane Lynch wins supporting actress, because she's just awesome no matter what she's in. But even before the nominations, there had already been some backlash floating around, a little surprising for a show that's just finished its first season. Remember one thing: the creator of Glee, Ryan Murphy, was also the guy behind Nip/Tuck, and when you consider where that show started, and where it ended, it has to make you wonder a little.

Expense Report #14

This was a light week, spending-wise. I guess I should strive for all of them to be so.

I bought another pair of those obscure Polo cargo shorts on eBay for $12. I now have four pairs of these, all found on eBay for $10 to $15 each. Still trying to find a pair in the light khaki or "stone" color that I had some years back (that I grew too large for). Cargos aren't fashionable, but they are useful when the things I need to carry with me, like a hard eyeglass case and now a retainer case, are too big for the pockets of regular shorts.

And after nearly six months, I ordered a proper case for my Pre smartphone, so I can stop using the cloth "sock" that came with it. That was $20.

As the end draws near for Martin + Osa, the remaining stock on the web site is 50% off. We went to the mall one night last week so the Mrs. could pay her Macy's bill, and I went to the M+O store to see what was left. The clerk I know there told me the remaining store stock had just gone to 50% off that day, which was surprising considering how close they are to closing for good (this coming Sunday), and that the web site had been at 50% for at least a couple of weeks.

There were one or two items I was still kind of interested in, but my sizes were gone, and it's not really worth it to me to order them from the web site and have to pay shipping. Just as well, I guess. I'm mentioning it more as a shopping tip for anyone who might be interested.

This Week in Awesome (7/10/10)

What, Saturday already? That's how it always feels when there's a Monday holiday. But you know I've still been out there on the webs, searching for stuff to share with you.

I can think of all kinds of reasons why an inflatable pub is a bad idea, but still, points for originality. (The Sun UK via The Awl)

Remember Awkward Family Photos? Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because now there's Awkward Family Pet Photos. (UrbanDaddy)

This clip is part of some contest where people have to pitch a movie idea in 60 seconds or less. Seriously, this sounds better than at least half the movies being released these days. (Videogum)

If the Twilight movies were made for a male audience, they might look something like this. (Socialite Life)

True Beauty

Let's elevate the mood, shall we? It's Friday afternoon, and we want to see something nice. Something pretty, and sparkly, and wonderful:

Christina Hendricks is a goddess, put here to brighten and beautify our lives. The interview, and more lovely pictures, here. And, congratulations to her for her Emmy nomination. (As usual, I'll post my thoughts about the nominations soon.)

Sixteen days until season four, kids. (Los Angeles Times Magazine photo)

Window of Futility

We have a working TiVo again, but of course the service call got screwed up. I had figured that a morning appointment was my best chance to make it to work within a couple of hours of when I'd normally get there, and if things had gone properly I would have.

My appointment window was from 8 to 11 AM. When no one had showed or called by 11:15 (the tech typically calls first to say he's on the way), I called Comcast, and was told the tech had tried to call me at 9:07 and had gotten no answer. Now, I wanted to believe them, but I know that this is completely untrue. I was showered and dressed by 8, just in case I happened to be the first call of the day, and I never strayed from the vicinity of the phone for the entire three hours.

In fact, I know my phone never even rang, because it would have shown up on the phone as a missed call. And after this conversation, they called me back just to make sure they had the right number on file. So maybe the tech attempted to call and the connection never went through, but that's as close to truth as I'm going to allow.

Anyway, typical service-call bullshit. I was able to get another appointment for the middle of the afternoon, and this time they did call me, and showed up shortly after, and got the CableCard working with no difficulty. So, much rejoicing, TV shows when we choose to watch them, etc.

Watch Wednesday Thursday (7/8/10)

While I'm at home this morning waiting for Comcast, let's talk about my most recent watch purchase (since we were supposed to do it yesterday...).

Today Seiko is a well-known brand, but it wasn't always that way. In the 1960s, American watch companies like Bulova and Timex dominated the middle and lower portions of the market (largely because most people couldn't afford a prestige Swiss watch like an Omega or a Rolex). In its home market Seiko was producing lots of great watches, but they wouldn't make an impact in this country until the rise of quartz and digital watches in the 1970s.

This is an automatic-movement Seiko Sportsmatic that I believe is from the late 1960s. (There's a number on the case back that might lead to more info, but I haven't attempted to look for any yet.) I make this estimate based on its features and appearance: I've seen an earlier model with just the date and without the "5" on the dial (that still appears on Seikos to this day, including the one I bought a couple of months ago), and the case is of a very traditional shape, suggesting it predates the more adventurous designs of the '70s.

The earlier model that I saw for sale online quite some time ago is what got me interested in getting one of these for myself. It had the same almost-black dial, but when I started searching on eBay, I saw only watches with silver dials for a long time. Also, one of the things I like best about this watch is the italic lettering chosen for "Seiko Sportsmatic," and most of the watches I was seeing had to be later versions, because they had the "SEIKO" lettering applied (glued on) to the dial in larger, all capital letters (the modern version of their logo that we're accustomed to seeing), and "Sportsmatic" underneath, also in capital letters but painted on. This watch's lettering not only looks nicer, it announces in a very subtle way that it's a vintage piece.

I also like the silver ring around the outside of the dial, which provides some contrast and ties in to the hour markers and hands. And don't you love those pointy (sorry, "dauphine") hands? Also present if you look closely is the crown at the 4 position, which was something of a Seiko hallmark that Bulova appropriated for certain Accutron models of the same era. It has one extra-cool feature that Accutrons did not: if you push in on the crown, it advances the date with a nice, solid thunk.

However, I have no idea if this watch is capable of doing the day-advance trick that I figured out I could do with my Caravelle world time watch; Seiko seems to have designed the crown to be nearly unnoticeable when it's not pulled out for setting, which is cool, but to accomplish this the crown is very thin in profile and has hardly any edge surface, making it very difficult to grab securely. It's so awkward to use that I am considering sacrificing some of that flushness and having it replaced with one that is a little easier to handle.

And as I'm sure you noticed, I don't yet have a strap for this watch. I got it into my head that this watch needs to be on a medium brown strap, which is somewhat unusual for me--it's probably because the original Sportsmatic I saw for sale online was on a brown strap, and I thought it looked really good. I did order some straps from The Watch Prince, including a brown one, but it was too light and looked kind of orange, so I returned it. None of the other straps I bought seem right for this watch, so I'm still looking for something suitable.

TiVo Trauma II: The Sequel

For the past several weeks, we've been living in a sort of TV purgatory due to another round of TiVo problems. An errant power surge was not the cause this time; I addressed that with a beefier surge protector block for the entire A/V setup, and I'm considering adding an uninterruptible power supply, which is basically a battery backup, the type of thing people sometimes use with their computers.

No, this time the unit was faulty. It had a couple of instances where the sound would disappear, necessitating a manual restart (which takes about five minutes), and sometimes it wouldn't fix the sound problem the first restart cycle. After I'd had it about two months, it started rebooting itself at random. The first time that occurred was while we were watching a previously recorded show. The random restarts got more frequent, and one or two times they happened while the unit was turned off.

Then it started getting stuck in the restart cycle, and the only way to get it to work right again was to leave it unplugged for a while. 12 to 24 hours would buy us another couple of days of use until the next random reboot. So this meant that not only could we not record shows, we couldn't even watch shows we had already recorded. Fortunately the TV watching schedule is lighter during the summer months, but it's still hugely inconvenient, and it's my fault for not contacting them the first time it happened.

I finally did contact tech support (tip: the wait is usually much shorter if you do it via live web chat, and you don't have to sit through the incessant, very annoying marketing barrage that interrupts the incessant, very annoying hold music every 20 seconds or so) and after nearly an hour of unplugging and restarting I was instructed on how to perform a diagnostic test, but at that point I needed to disconnect from the conversation. When I attempted to run the test a few days later, the unit rebooted during the test. I tried again a few days after that and the same thing happened.

When I contacted support again, I was told that the diagnostic is supposed to repair any problems the unit might be having, so that made it pretty clear to them that it was defective. But at that point I had to contact support via phone, and I found out that the phone support person had to open a whole new case, even though I already had an open case file from my chat sessions. I'm sorry, but that's just a really fucking stupid way to handle customer support, and I don't care if anyone from TiVo sees this.

During that conversation (which I waited ten minutes on hold to have), the rep tried to get me to go through all the stuff I had already done, but I told her to look at the written chat transcript in my file where the rep clearly stated "your unit is obviously defective... you will need to contact support by phone to discuss replacement options." I was insistent, and it got the rep to initiate my replacement order.

But wait, there's more... the HD TiVo units require two CableCards, which serve as tuners. When I had to swap out the unit back in March, I pulled the CableCards and popped them into the new unit, and they just worked. Apparently this is highly unusual, and this time I had no such luck. So I called Comcast yesterday (tip: there's usually a local number on your bill, or at least some other number than 888-COMCAST, and it gets you talking to people who are likely in your service area; in my case, they happen to be about half a mile down the street).

The tech support rep was really nice, but after going through some steps with me to attempt to configure the cards, he said a tech would have to come to my house. That's happening Thursday morning, so until then I have a working TiVo but no way to record anything on it. Technology is great, until it doesn't work.

Expense Report #13

Last week I got an email from J. Crew regarding the reward points I earn by using their credit card. They were wondering where I'd been, and they missed me. Okay, I made that up, But I did get an email from them, and I thought it said that I needed to spend a certain amount of money by June 30th to accumulate enough points to earn a $25 reward card.

So on Wednesday, the 30th, I stopped by the Copley store. They had a decent sale section again, and I couldn't help feeling like I should have stopped by sooner, that I was missing out on some good deals. In truth, a lot of the deals were mediocre, and this is the sort of thing I keep reminding myself in order to curtail my spending urges.

After talking with one of the sales clerks, I came to understand that I had misinterpreted the email: I wasn't going to lose any reward points if I didn't make a purchase, but I would have to wait until the next quarter to receive the reward card if I didn't spend X dollars. Silly me. So, pressure off, I put back a couple of the things I was holding; the reward card will have to wait a little longer.

But I did end up getting a great deal on a pair of J. Crew's jeans, which I love but which normally sell for around $100. These are kind of an olive brown color ("dill") and in their "vintage slim" cut, which is nice and trim but not uncomfortably tight or low. They had multiple markdown tags on them, from $98 to $70 to $40 to $20, and there was another 20% off that, so I got them for $16. I won't wear them until fall, but at that point they will go nicely with a lot of my shirts and sportcoats.

This Week in Awesome (7/3/10)

Happy 4th of July, everyone. Yes, I know I didn't post this yesterday. I did say that the schedule might get iffy...

First things first: fireworks safety is very important today. (Funny or Die)

Do you ever think about the room vignettes that are styled and photographed for catalogs like Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel? Me neither. But someone does, and they obviously have tons of free time, because they have gone so far as to create characters and a back story. (Racked)

Earlier this week, a young woman robbed a shoe store in New York. She did so while wearing a cat mask. The police issued a wanted poster that is quite possibly the greatest thing ever. (This even made it onto The Soup.) Later, some extremely fuzzy video surveillance footage was released, showing the woman walking into the store without the mask and then putting it on. Needless to say, the suspect is still at large. (The Awl)

And now for the dorky retro arcana portion of the program, so if this isn't your thing you can just stop here. Charles is a gentleman who lives in England but grew up in Boston and has fond memories of shopping downtown when there were many fine stores, none of which still exist. He posts his recollections, with lots of old photos and newspaper ads, to share with everyone at Shopping Days In Retro Boston.

And in a similar vein, I stumbled across a site filled with info about the old days of telephone numbers, when the exchange (the first two or three digits, for you youngsters) was referred to by a word, and the letters in those words corresponded to the numbers on the dial, and the words usually had some connection to the geographic area that contained those phone numbers (example: the Boston exchange 536 was for KENmore). Like I said, arcana.

How's My Spending?

It's been three months since I started making the effort to be more mindful about my discretionary spending, so it seems like a good time to take a look at how my habits have changed, and how much. I'm giving myself a financial report card, so to speak.

While I do not consider myself a compulsive shopper, I had gotten into a mindset of buying things more or less at will, without much regard to how much I was spending. I wasn't buying expensive things, but I was buying a lot of less expensive things. On average I was spending about as much in a given month as I was comfortably able to pay on my credit card each month, which would have been fine if I wasn't carrying a balance in the thousands of dollars, from my braces and other things.

I have forced myself to curtail my impulses and make choices. If I do decide to buy something, I have to make up for it by resisting the urge to buy something else. One thing in my favor is that warm-weather clothing is less interesting to me, so I tend to buy less clothing at this time of year. I have made some clothing purchases, which I've talked about in my weekly posts, but mainly just inexpensive items like polo shirts.

The big thing for me has been avoiding temptation by cutting back on the amount of time I spend looking for stuff on eBay. The less time I spend looking, the less I find to be tempted by. I've bought two watches in the past three months. but I also resisted buying at least two others. I have stayed away from other eBay temptations like shoes and outerwear, because those are the categories where I tend to make iffy purchases that, for one reason or another, I end up not wanting to keep.

As a result of this, I still have a fair amount of stuff that I would like to sell. I'm off for the next four days, so I should try to make some time to take pictures of the items I want to list. And as is frequently the case during long weekends, posting activity may be lighter than normal.