The Juror Is Out

Well, that was pretty painless. I got to the courthouse in Malden about half an hour early, and by 8:30 (the time we were supposed to report by) there were maybe eighteen people in the jury pool room. I was expecting a larger crowd, but the district court does things differently: juries there have only seven members (one is chosen as the alternate after the case has been presented). In Massachusetts, those called for jury duty serve for one day or one trial.

We were told there were a number of cases pending, but the judge wanted to first see how many might be resolved without trials. So we waited. I'd forgotten to bring a book, so after finishing the paper and doing the crossword, I was forced to endure a television playing talk shows like Dr. Oz and Wendy Williams.

Around noon, the judge came back to tell us that, of ten cases, all but two had been adjudicated, and the other two were being continued, so we were released. I didn't speak with any of the other jurors, but it was clear from his remarks to us that the judge took his work seriously and also that he enjoyed it, which is heartening.

One other observation: after arriving I had to sit in the lobby until it was time for us to go upstairs. While there, within the space of 60 seconds, two different people entered and said they were reporting to perform their community service. Both were told that only happens on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and both were obviously unaware of this fact. I don't know what they did to be there, but you'd think they would have been told which day to report.

Monday's Obligation

By the way, tomorrow (Monday) is my rescheduled jury duty date. I didn't want to have to go right after getting back from visiting New York, but the alternative was to wait until July, and honestly I'd rather get it out of the way.

Consequently I don't know whether or when I'll be free tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be sent home after a couple of hours, but the timing of this week's Mad Men writeup may be affected.

Trash Lesson

I'm back home from my trip, and Sunday night means I have to put out the trash. There is frequently a lot of miscellaneous trash in front of our house. I'm not exactly sure where it all comes from, but we live on a fairly busy street, and I guess that filthy, ill-mannered cretins toss things out of their cars while driving through the area, ending up in the gutter between parked cars, in the mulch beds on either side of our front steps, etc.

This evening I rolled the container out the the curb, then picked up a few items that were scattered nearby. One of them was a small plastic bottle that said "Sutter Home." I had no idea shitty wine came in nip-size.

Update Update

Sorry for the absence of posts the past few days. I've been in New York, and while my iPhone's onscreen keypad is fine for text messages and occasional emails, it's somewhat less than useful for longer-form typing. Alsp, I have to be honest: blogging hasn't been foremost in my mind during this time. It's been a very interesting and enjoyable trip, so I will definitely have material for when I get back.

Bitchin' Camaro

This vintage machine (it's a 1968) appeared last week in the driveway of a neighbor's house. I spotted it while walking the dog, and coincidentally I noticed a sign offering guitar lessons appeared at the front of the house around the same time.

Live Wishes

This Thursday, NBC's 30 Rock is doing another live episode (the first one aired in October 2010). The live episodes are presented in Studio 8H, the home of Saturday Night Live. Since I'm arriving in New York on Thursday, I was hoping there was some miniscule chance I could get to see the live show.

NBC did run a contest to attend the dress rehearsal, so of course I entered, but that's not happening. I couldn't find any information about how to get in the audience for the live 30 Rock. If it involves waiting in a line starting at a certain time, I could do that, though with my limited time in the city there are plenty of other things I could be doing with that time.

Oh well, there's always next year...

(If anyone who happens to be reading has connections at NBC and can hook me up, please let me know.)

Mad Men Season 5, Episode 6: "Far Away Places"

[Standard 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. If you have not watched the episode, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

This was another excellent episode, focusing on Peggy, Roger, and Don, and their relationships with their significant others. The places of the title were both literal and metaphorical journeys. I liked the structure of the episode: each story unspooled, then we rewound and went off onto the next one.

This week it was Peggy's turn to assume Don's role, as his sudden exit from the Heinz presentation left her in charge, and unable to convince the Heinz executive to commit to a campaign. Told by Pete that she's off the account, in frustration she left the office in the middle of the day to go to a movie, as Don used to do. Her encounter in the theater with the stranger was also somewhat Don-like.

Later, back at the office, Michael Ginsberg told Peggy he was sent to Earth from Mars. At first I thought this was a residual effect of the joint she smoked in the movie theater, but it seems we are meant to understand that either he truly believes this, or at the very least that he has created an elaborate metaphor for the feelings of disconnection from the world he experiences as a result of the circumstances of his birth.

Roger and Jane took LSD with a group of intellectuals including Jane's psychiatrist. We witnessed the event from Roger's point of view, which led to some good gags: the orchestral bottle of whiskey vodka, the quickly-burning cigarette, Don in the mirror telling Roger he was okay, the five-dollar bill with Bert Cooper's face, and Roger believing he's watching the 1919 World Series while in his bathtub. It didn't really come as a surprise that their marriage is over; does this mean Roger will try to rekindle a romance with Joan?

Don and Megan didn't take any drugs, unless you count the orange sherbet. But their drive to a Howard Johnson's in upstate New York led to an argument about the parameters of their relationship, when they are working and when they aren't. I was disappointed to see that Don couldn't extract himself from his anger long enough to have a serious conversation about Megan's feelings. Her comment about his mother was wrong, but him leaving her behind was much worse. Don's confused search for Megan was sort of like a bad drug trip.

And remember, the trip was originally Roger's idea; I think he was suggesting it as a way to get out of going to the dinner party with Jane. As soon as Don proposed bringing Megan and Jane, Roger lost interest.

PS: Don's Omega watch: awesome.

* * *

By the way, after I speculated about the extent of Don's dream in episode 4, I came across this piece on Slate that explains that the whole thing was a dream, and why.

This Week in Awesome (4/21/12)

Sorry, Blogger: the new interface is horrible. Elsewhere...

This website for a cool book about maps is full of... surprise! cool maps. (The Hairpin)

Sort of related: works of art made from maps. (Mental Floss via The Daily What)

Packaging of everyday items used to be so much cooler. Dieline via Esquire Style Blog)

Charting the history of James Bond's vehicles. (Autoblog)

The lineup for next year's Coachella festival has already been announced. (Popdust via This Fits)

And finally this week, we know everything is better in slow motion (I've linked to this before, but it deserves a repeat), so who doesn't love watching stuff get destroyed in slow motion? (Devour via Gawker)

Retro Video Unit (4/20/12)

The idea for this one just came to me out of nowhere, and I was happy to find the original music video.

Yaz (known as Yazoo in the UK, forced to change it here because another US band was already using Yazoo at the time) was one of the earliest techno groups to get airplay and notoriety, following other British groups like Human League and Depeche Mode. In fact, Vince Clarke had been a founding member of Depeche Mode before starting Yaz with Alison Moyet.

They only released two albums, but ended up being far more influential years down the road. Here's the very excellent "Situation."

Vintage New

I've liked pink oxford cloth shirts since I was in high school. Back then I used to wear mine with a vintage charcoal gray suit jacket (it came from my father's 1960 honeymoon suit), Levi's corduroy jeans, and either a black tie with small, closely spaced white dots or a gray plaid wool tie.

A couple of months ago I was casually looking around for a new pink shirt, to replace one I'd gotten about ten years ago for $10 at a Bass outlet store. That one was starting to show its age, though I plan on keeping it for non-work wear, since it's become ridiculously soft from all the washing and wearing.

I hoped to find a shirt with a button on the back of the collar; it's one of those details that refers back to the initial popularity of button-down collar oxford shirts in the 1950s. Over time, manufacturers dropped small extras like this to save a few cents per shirt, but such details are showing up again.

I would have liked to purchase an American made shirt from Gitman Bros., but those are currently going for $165, not exactly prudent spending for someone about to be without a job. Even a Gant shirt (which isn't made in America) would be about $100. Sometimes we must compromise.

I happened across a blogger who recommended Rugby's oxfords. I had never paid a shred of attention to the Rugby line, because I assumed it was simply Ralph Lauren's attempt to compete with the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch and they wouldn't have anything I would like, or that would fit.

The Rugby oxfords were on sale online for $30, and were refreshingly devoid of exterior branding. (They do have a little tag on the side seam near the tail that's easily removed, and a very narrow strip of necktie-stripe fabric inside the collar.) Since I wasn't sure how they would fit, I ordered both large and extra large.

In brands like J. Crew I need to wear extra large for the shirt to fit me in the chest and shoulders, but the sleeves are always a little long, so I assumed the Rugby would be the same. As it turned out, the large was just big enough to fit me in the chest. It's probably the slimmest-fitting shirt I have that doesn't pull between the buttons, and the sleeves are just the right length.

Oxford cloth is supposed to be fairly sturdy, but some shirts are made of thin, cheap-feeling fabric. Not this one—it's substantial, but also soft. It has the desired back collar button, and what is sometimes called a spade or chevron pocket—the bottom of the pocket is a V shape, and the small flap of extra fabric that is folded over at the top mimics the V shape. It's another detail that makes a shirt like this a little more complex and expensive to make than a pocket with straight lines, but I think it looks nicer.

If you're interested in one of these shirts, they happen to still be available for $30, in white and blue as well as the pink, but unfortunately only XL remains in each color. If you happen to live near a Rugby store you could try checking with them to see if they might still have any, or maybe even calling. But remember: the fit is on the slimmer side.

Travel Plans

There are nice things about not working regularly: not having to get up early every day, not dealing with a commute twice a day, having free time for other interests and pursuits.

Next week I'll be heading back to New York. This trip is structured around a play I'm seeing. I started planning this back in January, before I knew I would be getting laid off, and since I'd already bought the theater ticket, which is nonrefundable, I decided to proceed.

Actually, planning for this trip started back in November, when I learned that this particular play would be performed again. It's being presented at the Public Theater by a company called Elevator Repair Service. The play is called Gatz, and the best description I can offer is that it is a performance of the entire novel The Great Gatsby. Every word in the book is spoken onstage over the course of about six and a half hours (plus two intermissions and a dinner break!).

I first learned about this show over two years ago, when ERS was performing it at the American Repretory Theater in Cambridge. I didn't find out about it until the final week of the run, and there were no tickets available anyway. When the Mrs. and I were in New York in November of 2010, they happened to be performing it at the Public Theater, but by that point the entire run was sold out, and the Mrs. had no interest in seeing it regardless.

Her lack of interest (perfectly understandable—not everyone is a fan of the book, and not everyone wants to sit in a theater for that long), along with the demands of her school work, led me to decide to make this trip solo. Others think I'm a bit nuts for wanting to see this show, but The Great Gatsby is one of the most important works of literature of the 20th century, and I've always had a deep affection for it. This is a very unusual performance, so when the opportunity to see it arose again, with time for me to plan for it, I had to do it.

(The movie version of the book that's coming out this Christmas, directed by Baz Luhrman and shot in 3-D, is probably going to be a disaster—I mean, Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, really?—but I'll have to see it too. The 1974 version wasn't good either, but at least casting Robert Redford as Gatsby made some sense.)

Of course, there's plenty else to amuse me in New York, including a couple of museum exhibits and (obviously) some shopping. I had a bit more trouble than usual getting a hotel room at a decent rate, probably due in some part to the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs through next weekend. When I picked the date to see the play I wasn't aware the festival would be going on, or I would have chosen a different weekend. These things can't always be helped, but I managed to get a reservation at a hotel that is convenient to the theater and a subway station. More to come...

TV Vs. Reality

Some of you may be familiar (hi Mom!) with the CBS show Criminal Minds, about the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, which profiles serial killers. I came across this bit of info yesterday on The Hairpin, and it's something I have thought about while watching the show:

"In the entire history of the United States there have been 183 identified serial killers and 25 unidentified. Meanwhile, the Criminal Minds team has managed to identify and/or catch more than 150 of them in just seven years."

Mad Men Season 5, Episode 5: "Signal 30"

[Standard 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. If you have not watched the episode, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

Don't mess with Lane, huh? The outcome of the little bout in the conference room was never in doubt to me, but there was a lot of other good stuff leading up to it.

This was John Slattery's third time directing an episode, and I thought he did a very nice job, particularly with things like scene transitions, and I really liked the way light and shadow were used in the scene where Pete and Jenny are talking in front of the trophy case.

Kind of a reversal going on with Don and Pete, referenced through the episode. Pete's out in the suburbs with his house and family, while Don now prefers city life. Pete indulges himself at the brothel the way Don surely would have not very long ago while Don waits at the bar, and while he tries to tell Pete he isn't judging him for his behavior because he's done it himself, it still felt like he was.

It was good to see the old Roger, not the person buying favors but the person who's really good at his job, and who also generously offered advice to Lane (while Pete claimed he was "far too busy" to help Lane). I was rooting for Lane to land the Jaguar account, even while I suspected something would happen to derail it. It reminded me of when Joan was reading scripts for Harry in season 2's "A Night to Remember" and I wanted her to get promoted, while knowing she probably wouldn't.

And that led to Lane kissing Joan. I'd been wondering about a mutual attraction between the two of them for a while. Joan knew how he felt because she'd been in a similar situation, so she allowed him that one moment of inappropriate behavior, then got up and opened the door. Joan often communicates so much without saying a word.

And then there's Ken. I wouldn't have expected him to be writing science fiction stories, but I think that having that pursuit outside of work perhaps makes him the most balanced and stable of any of the men working at SCDP, and Roger isn't going to be able to force Ken to put that aside. And Ken and Peggy have a pact regarding employment elsewhere, which probably came about when the agency was struggling. Not the two most likely individuals to form such an alliance, but that sort of thing is common in advertising.

"Signal 30" is the name of the driver's-ed film, which in turn was derived from an old radio code used by law-enforcement agencies to indicate a death. At the time Pete was watching it, it was about seven years old, but it went on to be used in driver training classes for decades. If you are curious, you can watch the movie here.

One last thing: when Don said, "Let's make a baby" to Megan, she replied, "That's impossible." She was somewhat drunk, but still—perhaps she can't have children for some reason, and hasn't shared this with Don?

This Week in Awesome (4/14/12)

A day late, but no less enjoyable...

Clever uses for Donald Trump neckties. (Vanity Fair via The Silentist)

Fake Massachusetts towns (mostly). (McSweeney's via Universal Hub)

A compendium of stuff that was made wrong. (Kempt)

Self-portraits using found items. (Blogfood)

And finally this week, Jimmy Fallon's take on Downton Abbey. (Late Night With Jimmy Fallon via Videogum)

Um...

So much for that. Yesterday was more of a running-around day, so I wasn't even at home much. Things should get more regular again next week.

Whoops

Sorry for my absence... I unexpectedly acquired a freelance project, and I've been kind of focused on that lately. Today I'm busy with other things, but I should be able to post something again later today.

Online Streaming, Now with More Ads

By the way, Comcast cable subscribers can watch Mad Men (and a bunch of other shows) online. I suspect this is true for customers of other cable companies too. One interesting thing is that the online episodes air with commercials, which seems a bit, oh, I don't know, money-grubbing, but then again this is the cable industry we're talking about.

I watched this week's episode, which I had recorded on my TiVo, then watched it again a few hours later online, and noticed that it contained all the same ads, in the exact order, as what I had recorded. And you can't skip over them. Still, if you have cable but don't have a DVR, it's another option for viewing.

Mad Men Season 5, Episode 4: "Mystery Date"

First, sorry about messing up with last week's episode. I'd forgotten that I was going out Sunday night and wouldn't be able to watch the episode, and the rest of the week was a period of adjustment to not having a schedule or routine. I did like the contrasts between Betty and Megan, I still believe Betty will never be happy, and I wonder what effect her problems will end up having on the kids, especially Sally. By the way, the Rolling Stones did in fact play at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, NY on July 2, 1966.

But that was last week, and we have another episode to deal with.

[Let's remember my standard 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. If you have not watched the episode, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

This was a gritty and sometimes grim episode. Don had hallucinations, shitsack Greg came home on leave to tell Joan he'd volunteered to go back to Vietnam for another year, Sally got stuck with an adult who is worse at parenting than her own mother, Peggy questioned her choices, Roger bought another person's favor, and it was all set against the backdrop of a hunt for a serial killer.

Don's fever dreams confused me a bit. Did Andrea really come to the apartment that first time? Would she really be able to find out where he lived so quickly? I suspect not, which made me think he dreamed the whole thing. Talk about psychosexual issues, though.

Greg is happier in the Army than at home with Joan and the new baby, I guess because he feels needed and respected there. As difficult as it will be for Joan, she's better off without him. Great work by Christina Hendricks in this one.

Poor Sally. From her too-lenient mother to her too-strict step-grandmother, adults fail her. And now grandma Pauline gave her half a Seconal. Grandma said watching the sun set from your bedroom window is "the saddest thing in the world." I think having her for a grandma would be the saddest thing in the world. At least Don told Sally that talking to her made him feel better.

The scene between Peggy and Roger was great too. "The work is ten dollars, the lie is extra."

This Week in Awesome (4/7/12)

I'm going to borrow this from Sandra: Happy Eastover, everyone. Now, we have some other business...

I found this transportation-related blog some time ago, but this week was directed back there for this cool graphic showing the evolution of the MBTA system, represented in the current graphic style of the T's maps. (Vanshnookenraggen via Universal Hub)

I followed a link to the website for The Atlantic and found a whole bunch of interesting stuff. First, a couple of graphs: this one illustrates the change in the number of people reading books over the past 60 years or so, and this one charts the proliferation of technology into people's lives over the past century.

I also found this rather intriguing piece about engagement rings. (The Atlantic via The Hairpin)

This video dissection and remixing of the courtyard views in Rear Window is really neat. (Jeff Desom via The Atlantic)

And finally this week, for something in a totally different vein, I dare you not to laugh at this: Text From Dog. (BuzzFeed)

Retro Video Unit (4/6/12)

Today's selection is inspired by memories of a concert I attended in the spring of 1983 at the old Walter Brown Arena at BU. The headlining band was The English Beat, touring in support of their album from the previous year, Special Beat Service, which turned out to be their last.

At the time they were reasonably popular (helped by this video's frequent play on MTV) but still firmly "alternative," so people like me who were fans of non-mainstream music could still feel comfortable liking them.



By the way, the opening band at that concert was R.E.M. Their debut full-length album Murmur had just been released, and they were on the same label as The English Beat. I feel very lucky to have seen them so early in their career, so let's have a bonus video tonight, shall we? I usually like to go with the official version, but I found a clip of R.E.M.'s first television appearance, on Late Night With David Letterman from October of 1983, making it a dually significant cultural artifact.

American-Made Electronics

I feel that it's important to buy American-made products when it's possible and sensible. A lot of it has to do with how much you are willing to pay, or whether or not you are willing to expend the effort to find an item for less from an alternative source, like buying a pair of American-made shoes on eBay.

But there are some types of products for which buying American is impossible, or nearly so. Have you looked at irons lately? (I'll be getting to that one soon.) Or electronics? I'm not saying that the available products aren't well-made, but it would be nice to purchase something that you know is supporting American jobs.

For Christmas I got a pair of headphones from the Mrs. I'd been using a pair of basic earbuds to listen to music at work, and decided that I wanted an upgrade. I already knew what I wanted, so it was easy to tell her. For years I've wanted a pair of Grado headphones, which are made in Brooklyn by a company that's been in business and run by the same family for over half a century. Grado's headphones are consistently rated among the best available. They also make cartridges for phonographs.

My headphones came from Crutchfield, an electronics dealer that has a deserved reputation for offering quality products and outstanding service. I bought my plasma TV from them as well. The headphones, which are pretty much the least expensive Grado model available, are nonetheless amazing. The sound they product is incredibly detailed and rich, but it's also very natural, a quality that is often lacking from headphones and earbuds.

These are over-the-head "cans" with foam cushions and a thick cord. I don't know how I would feel about using them with an iPod or other portable, but you certainly could if you wanted to. (Actually, Grado does offer earbuds and a behind-the-head headset that are intended for use with portable music devices, though those items are manufactured for them overseas.)

Recently I heard about another American-made electronics product, a Kickstarter project to fund an iPhone dock made out of a solid block of aluminum. The company is called Elevation Lab and their project was successful; the docks are in production right now, and will start shipping later this month. I decided to contribute to the project so I could get one of the docks at the promotional price, but you can still pre-order one through their website.

Wrist Assist

I came across this picture in Esquire:

Can someone please talk to the senator about that horrible piece of plastic on his wrist? If you're going to wear a watch, at least be dignified about it. That thing is great for your morning jogs, not so great for business on the Senate floor in a suit.

Status: ?

I didn't expect to be more busy while not working... more later today, hopefully.

Delayed

I should have realized this sooner, but I'm not going to get to my planned Mad Men writeup today, since I was out last night and have not seen the episode yet.

This Week in Awesome (3/31/12)

The bucket of awesome is slightly less full this week. Quality, not quantity...

Are you old enough to remember The Gong Show? My father and I thought it was hilarious, and we used to watch it every afternoon for the couple of years it was on. Here's a short history of it. (Splitsider)

San Diego anchorman Ron Burgundy stopped by Conan the other night to jam with the band (on flute, of course) and make an important announcement.

The opening credits for Breaking Bad reimagined in the style of Mad Men. (Blame It On The Voices via Videogum)

And finally this week, did you like that song that Megan performed at Don's birthday party? Are you not yet tired of having it stuck in your head? Then you can get the mp3 on iTunes, but if you really want to be cool you should buy it on a 45 rpm record. It's a limited edition, available on either black or red vinyl.

End of an Era

Today is my last day at my job. A combination of circumstances made necessary some changes to the organizational structure that resulted in 14 of us, about 60% of the staff, having our positions eliminated. We found out more than two months ago, but publishing monthly products means you can't just announce cuts and send people home at the end of that day or week; due to advance production schedules, a handoff date has to be planned, and today is it.

(I apologize if I'm being somewhat vague about things, but I think it's safer not to discuss too much of the situation publicly.)

I've been here six years, and some of my coworkers who are leaving have been here for as long as 15 years. A couple are within sight of retirement, while others are under 30. People have kids, one is pregnant, one is getting married in a couple of weeks, and several have spouses that also are out of work. Some of us belong to a union, which means we have a sort of safety net for a couple of months while human resources helps us look for other job possibilities within the organization.

I have really enjoyed working here, and that's because of my coworkers. I've been very fortunate, and this is the most harmonious workplace I've ever been a part of. When you spend every day with a group of people, that makes a huge difference.

I hate looking for jobs, but it's just how things are these days. What's next for me? I don't know, but I guess I'll find out. In the meantime, I am looking forward to at least a few days of doing very little.

Jury Dummy

Sometimes the brain really doesn't want to cooperate... back in December I received a summons for jury duty in March. I was originally supposed to go to Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn (the one that used to be in the tall, ugly building near Lechmere). It is possible to get there by bus, but I was afraid that I would not be able to make it by the 8 am start time.

I went online and petitioned for reassignment to Malden District Court, which is a mile or so from our house. I figured if it was nice enough I could walk, or at worst catch a bus over to Malden Center. My request was granted within 24 hours, but it caused the date to move up a few weeks, into late March. I made a note in my calendar that my jury duty date was March 29th.

Except it wasn't. Yesterday I was filling out my juror questionnaire, and noticed that it said I was supposed to go on March 22nd. I looked at the email I had received last week, and it said the same thing. Somehow my brain changed the 22nd to the 29th back in December, and since that's what I had put into my calendar it kept getting reinforced each time I looked at it.

A call this morning to the office of the jury commissioner quickly rectified the situation; I have a new date to appear, at the end of April. The clerk's general tone implied that others have made this sort of blunder before me.

This Is Exciting

Several months ago, my friend A Proper Bostonian was contacted by a theater group about using some of the posts she had written in a production, along with those of other local bloggers. The director/writer asked her about other possible sources, and she suggested me.

At the time I didn't think anything of it, since I don't tend to focus on life in the city in quite the way PB does, and I never heard anything from the person who had contacted her. Some time later, I got an email from him saying he'd seen some posts he was interested in incorporating into the production.

The resulting production, called Blogoliloquy: Boston, is being presented next week, April 4-7, by Turnstyle Theatre Company at the Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts on Tremont Street in the South End. Six bloggers are represented, including PB and myself.

I've never met any of the other bloggers (as far as I know), but it's a thrill to be included and I'm looking forward to seeing the show. Tickets are available through BostonTheatreScene.com.

Mad Men Season 5, Episode 1: "A Little Kiss" (Parts 1 & 2)

So Mad Men finally returned Sunday night, after an excruciating wait of nearly a year and a half. The first episode was supersized to just over two hours, but it still counts as two hours of season five, meaning there only eleven more episodes that will air this season.

I would have preferred a single hour for that reason, plus I didn't feel like sitting on the floor for two hours in front of the second TV to watch it live, so I didn't see it at all until last night and I've only watched it once. In the coming weeks my plan is to post my thoughts as soon as possible after the episodes air, hopefully on Mondays, so you won't have to wait too long.

[Let's remember my standard 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. If you have not watched the episode, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

We've jumped forward in time approximately six or seven months since the events at the end of season four, to the beginning of the summer of 1966. (I didn't have an exact read on when S4 ended, other than it was the fall of '65.) Don and Megan are married and have a swank new apartment, and as I expected we don't get to see the wedding. Fans may be disappointed by this, but from the production's point of view, it's much easier and less costly not to have to depict a wedding ceremony. Who knows? Maybe we'll get a snippet of it as a flashback.

Elsewhere, Joan has had her baby (I expect Christina Hendricks was grateful not to have to don prosthetic pregnancy gear), a boy named Kevin. No disrespect to anyone named Kevin, but I was expecting a slightly less ordinary name from her. Conveniently someone mentions that it looks just like her, which means she can dodge the paternity issue, at least for the time being. Joan is almost immediately torn between her maternal instincts and her desire to get back to work, and having her mother around seems to be making her distress worse. Why do people on TV always have such fraught relationships with their parents? It's such a cliché.

Pete and Trudy have moved to Connecticut, and Pete is already weary of the commuting routine. I predict he's heading for a full-on affair, not just one of the one-time assignations we've seen in the past. He's also clashing with Roger, who's still doing as little work as possible and is now buying favors outright.

Peggy is still pissed off about Don and Megan, and she's letting it affect her relationship with Don, which is worse. Even though she wouldn't want to be the younger woman Don married, part of her still thinks it could have been her, had she made different choices earlier in her employment.

What to make of Lane? The guy has quite a kinky streak. As his fellow countrymen would say, he's bent.

I found the party scene rather depressing, probably because we were primed to see it the way Don would. And while Megan's performance was certainly provocative, I found myself wondering if she had been some sort of performer before coming to work at SCDP. Instead of having her work at the agency in an easy boss's-wife job, I would rather see her to say to Don, "I'd really like to go back to my career as a nightclub singer," because he would be totally against that and the resulting conflict between them would be a lot more interesting.

Two hours and no sign of Betty? I thought maybe the writers had given in to fans' anti-Betty sentiment, then I remembered that January Jones had given birth not too long before production on this season started, so I guess they had to work around her to an extent. She was in the previews for next week, though.

I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but I really liked Pete's madras jacket. The colors were a lot more interesting than what you typically see for that type of garment. Update: at least GQ agrees with me.

Wacky Weather

The recent weather fluctuations have certainly made it more of a challenge to dress appropriately. Last week I had to pull some lighter-colored, lighter-weight pants out of warm-weather storage, and on a couple of days I didn't bother to wear socks. (I did consider wearing shorts on Thursday, but decided against it.)

I recall a spell of March weather like this when I was in college; I specifically remember taking a bike ride along the river, and getting a cold a couple of days later.

By yesterday morning, I was back to wearing a hat, scarf, and gloves with my wool-lined corduroy coat. Truthfully, I prefer it this way. I can never be as comfortable in warmer weather regardless of what I wear, and I just prefer outfits and looks that include a piece of outerwear or a sport jacket.

I do enjoy a spot of nicer weather during an otherwise cool season, but that was too much, too abruptly. The Mrs. had an even worse time than I did; she was irritable and had trouble sleeping for several days because of the unexpected warmth.

I recently reread The Great Gatsby, and found myself wondering how men and women tolerated the multiple layers of clothing they wore in earlier eras, even during the summer months, and at a time when most people did not have air conditioning in their homes, or even in their workplaces.

Given the dramatic fluctuations in the weather patterns of the past decade or so, I think we have to expect that abnormal will be the new normal.

This Week in Awesome (3/24/12)

Crazy weather this week, but I'm glad it's back to normal for this time of year.

Cutting down a tree, what could go wrong? If the video winds up on the internet, then you know something did. (The Daily What via LiveLeak)

LEGO TV characters. (Laughing Squid via Blogfood)

For the person who has everything: cardboard standups of writers, artists, and historical figures. (eBay via Put This On)

Sometimes when the toys get put away, they get frisky. (The Daily What)

And finally this week, the return of Tebowie! (Late Night With Jimmy Fallon via Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch blog)

Retro Video Unit (3/23/12)

Digging through the dusty basement of YouTube can sometimes be frustrating. There are songs that I'm certain have official videos, but if I can't find them anywhere I can't feature them. Sometimes the only version of a song is a live performance, but that can sometimes turn out to be just as good.

And sometimes I find exactly what I'm looking for. I've always liked The Jam and think they were criminally overlooked during the late 1970s new wave period. I once read that someone believed they didn't catch on in America because their British accents could still be heard when they sang. I have no idea if that's true, and it would be terribly arbitrary if it was.

Their music had clear 1960s influences at a time when many other punk and new wave musicians were trying to distance themselves from that era, so perhaps that contributed to their lack of popularity. They also made overtly political music, they dressed rather well for musicians (for me that was just one more reason to like them), and they did things like release singles that were not later included on albums, which may have confused some of their more casual fans. This is one of those singles, "Going Underground." In the US it was packaged as a bonus with early pressings of the album Sound Affects, and I still have my copies.



This is about as simple as a music video can get, but it allows the song to stand on its own. Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton are playing Rickenbacker instruments, which were (and still are) among the coolest-looking guitars and basses.

Mad Men Week: Elisabeth Moss's Wild Side

Last week my attention was directed to an interview with Elisabeth Moss, who plays ambitious copywriter Peggy Olson on Mad Men. She talks about allowing herself to loosen up and have some fun in her off-screen life, and the accompanying photos definitely present her in a way we aren't used to seeing:

Christina Hendricks understandably gets plenty of attention for her looks, and January Jones has paparazzi following her around as well. But Moss has her own kind of sexiness that I think is underappreciated, most likely because of Peggy's dowdy good-girl image early on in the show.

Peggy has evolved quite a bit since the beginning of the series, having gone from a rather mousy secretary to a single, fun-seeking career woman enjoying city life. She undoubtedly earns more as a copywriter than she did as Don's secretary, so she can afford somewhat nicer clothes, and I'm sure she's gotten a few style tips from Joan along the way. Here's a promo photo for the upcoming season from the official show website:

This is certainly a more sophisticated look for Peggy, as is this one:

Both of these are great. They remind me of photos of my family that I've seen in old albums (Mom, do you remember anything like this?), and also of pictures of 1960s performers like Diana Ross and the Supremes.

Paperless

I happened to hear a T announcement today about new bus schedules taking effect this weekend, and it made me realize that I hadn't bothered to get new paper schedules in at least six months, if not longer.

I used to make sure I always carried the current schedules for the routes I used most frequently, plus a few others it was likely or possible I would need. But with the gradual ubiquity of mobile internet access and apps that tell you how far away the next bus is, I no longer need a printed schedule.

Today I left work early to do an errand in Harvard Square, after which I needed to know how long I would have to wait for the next 86 bus to get me over to Sullivan. I pulled out my phone and checked MBTAinfo, which told me I had seven minutes to get to the underground bus platform inside Harvard station. Progress.

I'd like to think that smartphone use has resulted in the T not having to print as many copies of their bus schedules, perhaps saving some trees in the process as well as saving the T some money.

Mad Men Week: TimesTalks with Creator and Cast

The New York Times produced this video discussion with the Mad Men cast and show creator Matthew Weiner this past Tuesday, March 20th. (Note that the video runs for just over an hour and a half, and it will begin to autoplay when you arrive at the page.)

More Bad Behavior

Yesterday I came across another smoker in a T station. I've ranted about smokers before and their willful ignorance of posted restrictions. Smoking is an inherently selfish act, just as drunk driving is—both put others at risk who have no direct involvement in the acts—and smokers are invariably the most selfish people I encounter.

This guy was on the Orange Line platform in State Street station. He was a full-on Jersey Shore caricature: tank top, synthetic basketball shorts, shoulders and one foot against the wall. As is my practice, I stopped in front of him and asked in a civilized tone of voice, "Would you put that out, please?" His response was immediate and flippant: "You wanna call a cop?"

I thought to myself, what would be the point? Yes, there is a law, and supposedly a smoker can be fined, but it's a joke. There's no enforcement of it that I am aware of. I've never seen anyone receive a summons for smoking in a T station, because the T doesn't have the resources to police the stations in that way.

There was a young woman standing next to him; I hadn't realized they were together, but she also chimed in: "Whyn't you move? Go stand somewhere else."

So there wasn't going to be any reasoning with these two. I could only respond, "It doesn't matter where I stand, I'm still going to have to smell it" and then continued down the platform. There was some residual mouthiness from them, but I'd moved away quickly enough that I couldn't make it out clearly.

Smoking inside a subway station is one of the rudest, most insensitive things a person can do. But the other factor at work is the behavior of the other people waiting. All the other people standing there are victims of one asshole's bad behavior, but no one does anything about it. Shame and peer pressure should matter more than a theoretical, unenforceable fine.

What are the chances of getting a law passed that allows behavior like this to be answered with a punch to the face?

Mad Men Week: Interview with Matthew Weiner

A couple of weeks back, the New York Times posted a lengthy interview with Mad Men creator and showrunner Matthew Weiner. It's in two parts, so here is part 1 and here is part 2.

One More Stitch

After two weeks I have not heard anything back from Levi Strauss about the stitching on the pockets of the 505s I bought recently, which is unfortunate, not just because I didn't get an answer but also because it suggests that my request was not taken seriously.

But over the weekend we were at our local Costco, and they had a table full of 514s (the skinny jeans of choice among lower-income hipsters; rich hipsters buy A.P.C. jeans, or so the internets tell me) with stitching very much like what's on my 505s, so it would seem that a broader shift back to the shallower arcuate shape is underway.

(I promise this is the last I'll have to say on the subject.)

Mad Men Week: Retro Ads

Newsweek is celebrating this coming weekend's return of Mad Men with a special issue in which all the ads are done in the way they would have looked had they appeared in the 1960s, or (in a couple of instances) in obvious homage to the era's advertising. Clever, and sort of meta as well. You can see all of them over at Ad Age. (Esquire Style Blog)

This Week in Awesome (3/17/12)

A belated happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. You've been good, so I've got a whole big bucket of internet awesomeness for you this week...

A designer with an interest in public transit maps who critiqued the MBTA's system maps a while back, and was challenged by the map's designer to do better, decided to take a swing at doing just that. They're unofficial, unfortunately, but I think he did a nice job. (Transit Maps via Universal Hub)

Jalopnik collected a bunch of crazy chases from Bollywood movies. If you have nothing better to do for half an hour or so, they're highly entertaining.

A New Yorker art editor takes us behind the scenes and shows a bunch of the magazine's rejected cover designs. (Blown Covers via The Awl)

Old photos of roadside restaurants, with the added attractions of old cars and glorious signage: it's almost too much awesome for my brain to handle. (Retronaut via Curbside Classic)

And finally this week, a double shot of vintage time-lapse video. First, a 1968 film of a walk up Broadway in New York, condensed to two and a half minutes. But that means the images fly by really fast, so someone took it upon himself to post a slowed-down version to YouTube. (New York Times City Room blog)

A few days later, MIT posted a time-lapse video of a drive through Cambridge, Boston, and Brookline done by one of its professors in the mid-1960s, using a dashboard-mounted camera. (Universal Hub) Bonus: visit the original UH post to see a lively discussion in the comments that helps to identify the route taken and to narrow down the time frame in which it was filmed. Great stuff.

You Can't Refuse

Once again, deadline week interfered with my life and blogging. So here's the bit I'd planned to toss out yesterday: Thursday was the 40th anniversary of the original release of The Godfather. The New York Times's City Room blog did a piece on the essential New Yorkness of the movie, and included a link to the paper's 1972 review.

Pie "R" Round

I didn't even realize yesterday was "Pi Day," but I had pie anyway. I find this to be a good policy to follow in general: eat some pie, just in case, because you never know...

Found!

Well, that was strange: someone walking by my cube just noticed that my coffee mug was sitting on top of a bookcase that is positioned against the outer wall of the cube. But I don't actually pass by that spot to get into my cube, so it may have been there for a couple of days without me or anyone else noticing it.

One More Plug

Nice to see the New York Times giving some love to my favorite sitcom, Community, which returns for the second half of its third season this Thursday at 8 pm on NBC. And hey, you're in luck: there's a trailer:

Hmm... I tried embedding it, but it's not working, so just go watch it over on The Soup blog.

Missing

My travel coffee mug is missing from the office. I didn't end up using it on Friday, and when I went to get it yesterday it was not in the kitchen. An email to my coworkers yielded nothing. This is quite strange; everyone in the office has seen me with it at our weekly group breakfast, and so knows it's mine.

I liked using the mug because it kept coffee hot much longer than in a paper cup, and because the cafeteria gives a discount on their coffee when you use your own mug instead of a disposable cup and lid each day.

Brieflly Noted

—I did go ahead and make a formal inquiry to Levi Strauss media relations about the arcuate stitching on those 505s I bought. It's been almost a week and I haven't gotten a response yet, so either they don't check that email address frequently or my request wasn't taken seriously.

—Even though it was cold out this morning, it's very much a springlike day, so I decided to wear my faithful L.L. Bean blucher mocs for the first time this year. I love these shoes, but I'd forgotten how lousy the laces are at staying tied. They are some sort of textile that is colored to look like rawhide, but I can't help thinking that I would be better off if I just switched to real rawhide laces.

This Week in Awesome (3/10/12)

"Springing ahead" always messes me up for a few days...

A graphic artist created visual representations of certain mental illnesses. (Web Urbanist via Blogfood)

The Awl collected a bunch of online dating horror stories. It's always better to read about someone else's misfortune than to experience it yourself.

The Colts released Peyton Manning this week. Where will he end up playing? A New York Times sports writer examined the possibilities with all 32 NFL teams.

Mashups are getting really complex. This seemingly shouldn't work at all, but it does. (Vimeo via Cubicle Party; originals here and here for reference purposes)

And finally this week, this video has been making the rounds because, unlike most sales pitches, it's honest and expresses its point really well. (Dollar Shave Club)

Retro Video Unit (3/9/12)

Today's clip comes to us via New Zealand, courtesy of the band Split Enz. Their first US album, True Colours, came out in 1980. I first saw this video on a late-night, presumably syndicated TV show that presaged MTV called Rock World. In Rhode Island where I grew up, it used to air at 1 am Sunday mornings, after Saturday Night Live (by which time I probably should have been asleep) but on a different channel—I want to say it was the Boston station WSBK, channel 38, but I can't find any information about the show on the web, which is kind of surprising. It's where I first heard a lot of music that had no chance of getting played on regular radio, and where I first saw several of the clips that I've been featuring.



The Finn brothers, Tim (lead vocals) and Neil (guitar), later went on to significant success in Crowded House.

The Stockings Were Hung?

Nope.

I wish this was a joke, but it isn't. Sadly, I can kind of understand why someone thought the world needed this product, but I have a very hard time believing that any man with a shred of dignity would even consider it. But clearly some men do, which is really, really depressing.

Watch Wednesday (3/7/12): Orient Mako Review

Update, 3/10: I finally got around to taking some pictures. I could have borrowed some from the Orient website, but I thought my own shots would give a better sense of the watch.

I've been wearing the Orient Mako watch for about a week and a half, so it's time for my review. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll remind you that Orient Watch USA sent me this watch to review and keep. But it's a watch I would confidently spend my own money on.

The Mako is a dive-style watch that's available with either a metal bracelet or a rubber strap. Dial color choices include black, deep blue, orange, and yellow (from looking at the Orient website, the yellow seems to be available only with the metal bracelet). All have a black ratcheting coin-edge bezel, except for the blue dial, which is available with either an all-blue or a blue-and-red bezel. The case measures 41 mm in diameter, and takes a 22 mm bracelet or strap.

The Mako's dial has its own distinctive look thanks to the squarish numerals at the 6, 9, and 12 positions. The look of these numerals is one of my favorite features of the watch. There's also a day/date window at 3. The second crown above the main one adjusts the day of the week; to use it you first need to unscrew the collar, which keeps it from getting changed accidentally during normal wear. The main crown screws down as well.

The watch is hefty and feels substantial, but not too heavy on the wrist. The construction is impressively solid, especially the adjustable bracelet. On many watches competitive with the Mako, the bracelets, and especially their clasps, can feel flimsy. The Mako's bracelet has a foldover locking clasp and a pinch release; both work flawlessly and feel very sturdy.

One distinction that separates Orient from many other watch companies, including some of the top Swiss brands, is that they manufacture their own movements. The Mako, like most other Orient watches, is powered by an automatic movement that keeps very accurate time. I've worn this watch approximately every other day since I received it, deliberately, to monitor its power reserve. That's the amount of time you can expect the watch to keep running after you take it off. Orient claims a reserve of 40 hours, which is right in line with my personal experience. If you take it off before going to bed and skip a day, the watch will still be accurate the second morning.

In normal use, I encountered only one minor issue, and it's really rather subjective: all Mako models have a silver second hand with a red tip, which against the orange dial is sometimes hard to see. But when checking one's watch to see what time it is, reading the second hand is secondary to the hour and minute hands, which are plenty easy to see. Those hands, and the hour markers, glow in the dark if first exposed to light.

The Orient watch reviews I've read online focus on value, which is justified. In the 1970s Japanese watches began to gain attention and acceptance in the marketplace, and took sales from both American and Swiss brands by offering comparable quality at lower prices. As of this writing, the retail price of the Mako on a metal bracelet is $215, or $180 on a rubber strap. However, Orient Watch USA has generously offered me a discount code to pass along to readers, so if you are interested you can save 30% by entering "someassembly30" at OrientwatchUSA.com.

The Orient Mako is an outstanding value for an automatic watch, and while it's not a particularly dressy model, it could work nicely with a leather strap substituted for the rubber one (one of my favorite watch modifications, as readers probably remember). There is a community of Orient owners and fans at www.orientalwatchsite.com/forum/ which includes a section of straps for sale.

Silver Screen

Movie buffs, take note: this year marks the 70th anniversary of the release of Casablanca, one of the most beloved movies ever. The actual anniversary date falls in November, but according to HitFix, Turner Classic Movies is presenting a one-day screening of Casablanca in several hundred theaters nationwide on Wednesday, March 21st.

It's described as a "new digital transfer" so I'm not sure if that means the showings won't be on actual film (and I'm going to leave that argument for the hardcore cinephiles), but I think what's important is the fact that it will be possible to see Casablanca on a big screen. I've seen the movie several times, but not for many years, and I honestly can't remember whether or not I ever saw it in a movie theater.

Here's the list of theaters showing Casablanca. In the Boston area, you can see the movie at the AMC Fenway and Framingham, the Showcase Cinemas in Dedham and Revere, and several other locations.

Footwear Flashback

This ties into my long-standing appreciation of penny loafers, and has a kind of Mad Men vibe too: over at Ivy Style there's a nice collection of vintage ads for Bass Weejuns.

This Week in Awesome (3/3/12)

Going to Target is not an especially exciting way to spend a Saturday evening, but in our defense, we had run out of several things, plus we are boring. This is what happens when you've been married a while...

Did I hear someone in the back say it's been a while since I linked to a time-lapse video? You are correct, so how about a whole bunch of 'em? (Mashable via NPR)

And while we're at it, how about a big-ass mashup of a bunch of movie car chases? (Jalopnik)

The New York Times started a tumblr (I know, right?) to showcase photos from its archives. (The Hairpin)

Paul Rudd was on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon promoting Wanderlust, which led to this gallery of posters for fake buddy movies he and Jimmy purport to have made. (Videogum)

And finally this week, radio host Jesse Thorn (who is also the founder of men's style site Put This On) shares his wisdom about finding ways to do what you love and make money at it, too. (Transom via PTO)

Back Pocket

I avoided Levi's for a long time, but I've gradually come back around and currently have three pairs. I've found that I have a slight preference for the traditional straight-fit, zip-fly 505 over the button-fly 501. In my size the leg openings are very similar, but the 505 has a slightly higher rise in the back, which is more comfortable when sitting and bending over.

Recently I was ordering a few items of basic furnishings (socks, underwear) from JCPenney, and decided to get another pair of 505s. Jean prices have gone up over the past year of so due to higher cotton costs, so Levi's don't go on sale as often as they used to, meaning it was just as easy to include them in this order as to get them from somewhere else for the same price (I've ordered the last couple pairs from Zappos). Also, I liked that JCPenney did not back down when confronted with that hate-filled business a few weeks back regarding the choice of Ellen DeGeneres as their new spokesperson. Vote with your wallet, right?

A decade or so ago, Levi's changed the shape of the arcuate (that's their word for the curved stitching on the back pockets of their jeans), making the center deeper and, to my eyes, ruining it. It was one of the things that soured me on them temporarily. When these new jeans arrived, I was very surprised and pleased to find that the arcuate was shallower, much more like the way it used to be.

I have no way of knowing if this is a permanent change, or only something temporary, or some sort of accident or fluke. Since I didn't go to a store to get the jeans, I didn't have the benefit of seeing lots of other pairs around, nor could I find any specific evidence of a change anywhere online; on the Levi's website and others, the only arcuate I saw is the deeper version, though it's also possible that sites don't know that a change is being implemented and are still using older images.

You know, I may be overthinking this...

My first instinct was to order another pair right away, but that wouldn't be the most economical reaction. I'm considering attempting to contact Levi's PR to see if I can get some sort of official comment.

Back to Class

If you can stand another bit of TV-related news, Community returns to NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup in two weeks. From that point it should run until the end of the season in May, uninterrupted, 12 new episodes. No word yet on a possible fourth season; it's still very much up in the air, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Fingers crossed.

Change Partners

Speaking of public service announcements, the "one month until the Mad Men season premiere" mark slipped past me unnoticed over the weekend. To atone for this oversight, here's a fun little chart put together by Wired that details all the show's sexual goings-on, including some imaginary hookups they'd like to see. At this point, we kind of needed this to keep track anyway. (The Hairpin)

Privacy, Please

Public-service announcement time: those of you with Google accounts may want to read this information provided by the Electronic Frontier Foundation about clearing your Google search history, because as of Thursday it will be linked to other data Google collects on you through its other products, unless you remove it by following the instructions.

Perks of Blogging

This blog does not have a vast readership, so I don't get invited to fashion shows or vodka parties. But sometimes there are benefits to operating on a smaller scale.

Documenting my interest in watches led to me being contacted by a representative of Orient Watch USA. He offered to send me a watch to review, and keep. Naturally I accepted. I was given a range of models from which to choose, and my selection arrived Friday. I started wearing it Saturday, after removing some links from the bracelet so it would fit properly. I plan to wear it for at least a week, so I'll be posting a full report some time next week.

This Week in Awesome (2/25/12)

I skipped TWiA last weekend because I didn't have anything good to share. But things are better now:

Check out this collection of large-scale photos using groups of people. (Colossal via The Hairpin)

Have you ever seen the Patrick Swayze movie Road House? It's hilariously awful. Here's a sample. (The Daily What via Videogum)

Build your kids bunk beds like this and score some major cool-parent points. (Instructables via Autoblog)

Here's another craft project that has nothing to do with kids. (The Awl via BoingBoing)

And finally this week, an enterprising college student started a service offering other students rides home after their one-night stands. That's amusing enough, but then she went and made an ad for it. We have definitely not heard the last from her, of this I am sure. (Jalopnik)

Retro Video Unit (2/24/12)

Sometimes I get inspiration for these posts by looking through the artists and songs in my iTunes library. Today that led me to the title track from Kraftwerk's 1977 album Trans Europe Express.

This black-and-white clip predates the official music video era, but it's no surprise that the German electronic-music pioneers were creating visual accompaniments to their songs before most everyone else, as they were ahead of their time in pretty much every other way as well.



Remastered versions of the band's albums were reissued in 2009; I have this album and Autobahn, and they are well worth acquiring. Careful listening reveals how their influence has echoed through the ensuing decades in many different corners of music. In the most obvious example, the song's signature melody was used, albeit with its pitch and tempo altered, in the 1982 funk/hip-hop milestone "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force. See for yourself:

Spring Options

Spring isn't that far away (if you've spent any time outside in Boston yesterday or today, you'd be excused for thinking it had already arrived), so it's time to start thinking about some new pieces for your wardrobe.

Chambray workshirts have been back "in" for a few years now and will probably be sticking around, which is fine with me. But sometimes you want a slightly more refined look, and chambray fabrics are conveniently migrating to nicer casual shirts.

Lands' End has adapted the style to a sport shirt with a button-down collar and a single chest pocket in both solids and stripes, but to me it doesn't look right. At the opposite end of the casual-dressy continuum, you can find tailored dress shirts with cutaway collars in chambray fabrics, but these aren't as useful for everyday dressing and are probably best left to someone with a very specific, highly evolved personal style.

My favorite of what I've seen so far this spring is from L.L. Bean Signature. It has the button-down collar and single chest pocket like the LE shirt I mentioned above, but the fit is going to be a bit trimmer than those. Also, the pocket has a buttoned flap, a nice little detail which gives it a bit more panache. LLBS has been using this detail on its shirts (of which I have three) since the line started up a couple of years ago, so it feels like it belongs here. It also references trad mainstay J. Press, which has been offering oxford shirts with a flapped pocket for decades. Add a wool or knit tie and a corduroy or tweed jacket and you've got the urban professor look nailed.

Subterranean Bus Stop Blues

I now know that it takes 25 minutes to get from Harvard Square to Sullivan Square on the 86 bus during the evening rush hour. That's a bit over two miles, so that means the bus was averaging about 13 miles an hour. Yay.

Also, I didn't know that the stop for the 86 had been moved from in front of the Johnson gate at Harvard Yard (where the 1 bus picks up) to the underground busway attached to the Harvard T station, so I spent about 15 minutes waiting for a bus that the MBTAInfo site said was due in one minute. Eventually I noticed that none of the bus route signs at the stop had 86 on them, and managed to figure out where I was supposed to be from the T's website. Can you tell I haven't spent much time in the Square lately?

Late

I hadn't intended to take today off from posting. I know it was technically a holiday, but I wasn't planning on using that as an excuse. However, the Mrs. has been diligently working on various assignments for the bulk of the weekend, which means she needs to be on the computer for long stretches of time.

I don't really care for creating posts on my iPhone, because typing on the onscreen keyboard for more than a few lines is tiring. She did purchase a small laptop back in December, but its hard drive failed after about a month, and it had to be sent to New Jersey to be repaired. It does have a decent keyboard, but I haven't used it for more than a few minutes.

As it happened, the repaired computer arrived today (why is UPS delivering on a holiday?) but we had to go out for a while, and sometimes the rest of the day just gets away from me. Even now, as I'm writing this, I should be sleeping.

This week is much less cluttered than last week, with the exception of tomorrow, so hopefully I can get back to whatever is passing for normal these days.

Breaking It Down

A Proper Bostonian left this comment on my post from last night:

Um, can you please explain this one? Loafers and jeans... and a winter coat. What's the problem?

Glad you asked.  First, the shoes. This is more or less what the loafers he was wearing looked like (image borrowed from the Allen Edmonds website):

This is not a shoe I would wear, but that's fine; I know people who wear shoes like this. My first issue with these is that they are very dressy loafers. They're kind of European, and tend to go with much more dressed-up casual outfits. They aren't really meant to be worn with a suit, but sometimes people do, and if you have enough personal style to begin with, you can occasionally get away with crossing that sort of line, depending on the situation. These shoes in tan, with a summer suit and no tie, on the right person, in the right setting, would work.

The guy I saw in the T station wasn't wearing anything else dressy, which was my first problem. Wool dress pants or trim-fit pressed khakis in a darker color would be all right. Jeans are iffy. The guy's jeans were a darker blue, but they weren't the sort of really dark denim that can sometimes be dressed up. They were just jeans, and they were boot-cut, which was my next problem. The wider leg of a boot-cut jean is just too casual to wear with shoes like these, regardless of the jean's color.

On top of everything was the jacket. I tend to pick on North Face jackets because I hate clothing with logos, but also because every other person I see on the streets and subways in the winter is wearing one. It's the lowest-common-denominator winter outerwear for people who don't care about clothes and just want to be warm, or people who want to project an image of being outdoorsy. And no one has any business wearing dressy shoes with such a jacket.

People who care about style always say details matter, and it's absolutely true. What people sometimes tend to forget or overlook is that the details matter both on their own, and in the context of the entirety of what you are wearing. You have to think about how everything is going to look when combined into an outfit. That's why this guy caught my eye, and that's what really bothered me about his outfit.

There are several outerwear choices that would have looked fine with these shoes, and might have allowed me to overlook the jeans: a peacoat; a traditional wool overcoat, in knee or 3/4 length; a trench coat; a hip-length leather coat; even a Barbour, which is borderline but I think could have worked if it was navy or black. Most of those lean toward the dressier side of the outerwear spectrum, and that's the key. You can't combine something dressy (in this case, the shoes) with something as overtly casual, technical, or sporting as a fleece or soft shell, regardless of what brand it is.

You want to wear your North Face? Fine, wear your hiking shoes with it. You want to wear those fancy bit loafers? Fine, get a nicer coat. You want to wear boot-cut jeans? Fine, get some boots. Details matter.

Remember Me?

It was pretty much the kind of week I expected it to be, but now here we are at the long weekend.

On my way home this evening, I noticed a guy in the subway station wearing a gray North Face jacket, boot-cut jeans, and a pair of black bit loafers—you know, the kind that have little metal decorative things on them. I'm not sure what sort of look he was aiming for, but whatever it was, he missed.

Geek Tragic

For the iPad user who can't sit still, there is now a wearable iPad desk/carrier thing. Can't wait until I see someone wearing/using one of these on the T.

This Week

This is a tough week for me: due to the upcoming long weekend my monthly deadline falls earlier (I need to have things squared away by Friday), plus I have several other items that will take up chunks of my time. As such I don't have a high degree of confidence about my availability.

As I've done in similar past situations, I'm going to offer some suggested reading. Today there's an interesting article in the New York Times about the current state of television in Russia.

This Week in Awesome (2/11/12)

Snow? What snow? It's supposed to approach 50 again on Wednesday. The Winter That Wasn't...

Well-known dance moves from movies and TV in poster form. (I Watch Stuff via Videogum)

A dog-sized exercise wheel. (The Daily What)

I read about this video Chipotle had made to promote their sustainable farming efforts. The message is delivered in a distinctive style, and the Willie Nelson version of Coldplay's "The Scientist" is pretty cool too. (New York Times)

Video footage of a 1979 Clash concert in New York synced up to independently recorded audio of the same show. Unfortunately this isn't a whole song but rather only excerpts of a few songs, but it's still amazing to experience the band in its prime. (Dangerous Minds via Kempt)

And finally this week, Canada's Virgin Radio is sponsoring a Fake Film Festival in which entrants recreate a favorite movie in 60 seconds. One notable entry is this unconventional take on the dark drug-addiction story Requiem For A Dream. (The Daily What via Filmdrunk)

Retro Video Unit (2/10/12)

Sometimes the video I have in mind for a given week isn't the video I end up posting. This time around I was hoping to find "Discovering Japan" by Graham Parker. I didn't find an official video for that song, but I did find "Local Girls" from the same album, and that led to this Rockpile cover of Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Pass the Cheese

There are always bits of pop culture flotsam that slip by in their moments. It's impossible to keep track of everything, even today with the info overload available via the internet. Back in the 1980s it was even more difficult.

During that decade I was a college student and then a young college grad, trying to get by while figuring out what I might want to do with my life. My energy and free time were largely focused on music, and I spent very little time watching television. In college we mainly watched late-night stuff like David Letterman and Twilight Zone reruns, so I was largely unaware of what was going on in prime time.

From our vantage point here in 2012, we know that the 1980s will not be remembered as one of the great eras of prim-time television anyway. But being otherwise occupied meant that I was missing out on some of the egregiously, hilariously bad stuff too, stuff that's worth knowing about precisely because of its awfulness.

One night a couple of weeks ago, I was flipping through the channels (something I rarely do) when I came across an episode of the craptastic 1980s cop show T.J. Hooker. As is often the case with things of this nature, I could not look away (or, in this case, change the channel). Within five minutes I was howling with laughter at the dialogue, which involved a female detective who was secretly using cocaine while trying to solve a series of murders (and what a very 1980s plot that is).

I've watched a few more episodes since, though I don't want to make a habit of it because I'm slightly afraid my brain will cease functioning altogether. It's difficult to watch even a couple of minutes of a T.J. Hooker episode and accept the notion that actual adults were paid to write them. I'm imagining a much more plausible scenario, in which a bunch of eighth-grade boys were rounded up, sent to live in a house stocked with Hostess snack cakes and a swimming pool filled with Mountain Dew, and told to write a cop show. Or it could have been the proverbial bunch of monkeys with typewriters. Regardless, it has to be a contender for worst TV series of all time.

It is also not very surprising to learn that the man who created T.J. Hooker went on to grace the world with Walker, Texas Ranger.

Treat Yourself

Last week I mentioned a reference to the show Parks and Recreation. What I was really trying to find was a post I remembered seeing on a men's style blog that referenced the same episode, where Tom and Donna spend the day treating themselves (hence the expression "treat. yo. self."). But it had been a few months since it was on, and I never did locate the post, or even remember conclusively on which site I'd seen it, so I gave up.

Instead I'm going to toss up the original clip from the episode introducing the concept and the phrase (check out the cupcakes):



And by the way, the whole "treat yourself" thing reminds me of a scene from Twin Peaks: "Harry, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret..."



(And if you stop to think about it, it's pretty amazing that I was thinking of a brief scene from a TV show that aired over 20 years ago, and I was able to find that EXACT scene via the web in less than a minute. We're so spoiled...)

Wait Your Turn

Oh, mankind, will you ever cease to surprise me with your behavior? Probably not...

This morning I was in the cafeteria getting coffee. You fill your cup, pay at a register, then go over to a sort of circular island where the cream and sugar live. It has a two-tier surface, with the aluminum containers of milk and cream on top, and a lower level where you can place your cup while you add your preferred fixings to your coffee.

Like most people, I add some cream to the coffee and then taste it to see how close I've gotten to getting it right, and then I usually have to add a little more, because adding too much milk or cream ruins it. (I have done this once or twice, and have had to go back into the serving area to add more coffee to my cup; the staff don't seem to mind, but it's a pain.) There's a period of a few seconds where I'm tasting the coffee, and I put the cream container next to me on the lower shelf of the island. After I'm done, I put it back on the upper shelf where others can reach it more easily.

So this morning as I'm doing this, an arm reaches across all the way from the opposite side of the island for the cream. The Unspoken But Agreed-Upon Etiquette of Self-Serve Coffee is that you wait for a person to be finished with whatever they are using before taking it to use it yourself (or, you know, ask if the other person is finished), but apparently this person was visiting from another planet where such behavior is not the case. I put my hand on the container and looked up at the guy and said, "I'm not finished with this yet."

When I was finished, I made a point of putting it back in the middle of the upper shelf instead of handing it to him, so he could understand how things are done in places where people have learned how to be patient and wait their turn.

Overheard: We've All Been There Edition

[The Mrs. beat me to this by posting it on her facebook page (justifiably, as you'll see), but since our online existences don't overlap that much, I think it belongs here too:

Saturday night, in the beer aisle of one of the only Stop & Shops in MA that sells liquor (this is an antiquated notion to those of you who live in normal places where all supermarkets sell alcohol): "Remember that time I drank a case of [brand of beer, indistinct] and lit my hand on fire? Ha ha ha..."

This Week in Awesome (2/4/12)

Are you ready for some football? (It's rhetorical, you aren't required to answer.)

Take a look at what goes on behind the scenes in preparation for a Super Bowl broadcast. (Deadspin)

Did you hear that story about how new Apple employees are sometimes assigned to fake projects while their trustworthiness is evaluated? Here's another look. (Joy of Tech)

Comedy nerds, take note: here's a nice breakdown in infographic form of TV actors who cross-pollinate each other's shows. (Grantland via IMDB)

And finally this week, Breaking Bad reimagined as a primitive video game. (CollegeHumor via Uproxx)

Hoodie Dilemma

Of course I'm very excited about the Super Bowl, but I do have one problem: I'm conflicted about what Patriots gear I should wear. I have a few T-shirts (I prefer the throwback Pat Patriot logo to the newer "Flying Elvis") and any of them would be appropriate, but that isn't the issue.

See, I went to my first (and so far only) game at Gilette back in 2006, and while I was there I bought a red hooded sweatshirt. (The Pats' home jerseys used to be red, another throwback touch I like.) For the next year or more, I always wore it on game days. You'll recall that during the 2007 season the Patriots won all their regular-season games, so I figured the hoodie was lucky and kept wearing it.

Then came Super Bowl XLII, and Bill Belichick wore a red hooded sweatshirt instead of his usual gray or navy, and we all know what happened. (I'm pretty sure I was wearing mine that night, but I'm not 100% certain.) After that I still wore my hoodie, but not on game days. A couple of weeks ago I was going through a bin of cold-weather clothing and found the hoodie where I'd packed it last spring. I decided to wear it to watch the Ravens game, and the Patriots won.

A couple of days later, I saw a bit on TV about Belichick's red hoodie. It said that his girlfriend made sure that it got burned. That's some serious stuff, right there. And it leaves me very confused about what to do. I know my sweatshirt isn't Belichick's, but I'm afraid if I wear mine there will still be bad vibes.

You know, I'm pretty sure I still have my championship T-shirt from the Pats' first Super Bowl win ten years ago. That's probably what I should wear.

Reward

It was such a nice day I decided to take a walk and get some ice cream after lunch.

TREAT. YO. SELF. (Parks And Recreation reference; I'll try to find it later...)