The Inspired Madness of Juan Davila

"Bedroom Ensemble" 1980 -- Picture courtesy Juan Davila

by blogSpotter
I've always been fascinated with art, and with trying to figure the artist's angle. If the artist is too abstract (think Jackson Pollack's paint splashes or Mondrian's rectangles) I am lost as to the overall message. If the artist is too conventional (eg, Norman Rockwell) the picture is enjoyable but not really challenging. Then some artists such as Salvador Dali hit you with strange mutations of familiar themes (melted watches, creatures that are half-elephant, half-tree). Or you have Pablo Picasso who gave us nude women in shifted geometric forms. These last two are more tangible -- the picture tells you a bit of what it's about and you have to decipher the rest. Particularly with Dali, you have the sense that maybe you're getting a nose-tweak, but you can't be sure.

Now comes an artist, Juan Davila, who admirably takes up where Salvador Dali left off. His mixed-media paintings are a mixture of everything -- sketches, cartoons, newspaper prints and what not. The titles of his works give you a hint if the absurdly positioned subject matter does not. Davila is a 61 year old native of Chile who relocated to Australia in 1974, to escape the Pinochet regime. His artwork has been described as "activist" or "content" art as compared to "formalist" art. In fact, some of his most recent productions have been political cartoons lampooning Australian leaders. Other topics that have inspired him are: capitalism, sex and religion. I look at his pictures, coupled with their titles and am frequently moved to laugh. "What in the heck is that devil-looking creature doing to that hermaphroditic man??" What goes on in the minds of artists? Dali was Davila's inspiration one has to figure. Dali was actually accused of madness, but said in response, "There is only one problem with that assertion --- I am not mad".



"The Kiss" 1982 -- Picture courtesy Juan Davila

One interesting biographical detail is that Davila went to law school, only to chuck it all aside for oil painting. The public is fortunate that he made this career decision; he turned a negative into a strong positive. I've included a couple of his actually less-objectionable pictures here. His silk screens can be seen at:

Davila silk screen gallery

When you look at these wack pictures, you might wonder what's going on or maybe you don't care. Just have a chuckle – Davila has made your day more visually interesting.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Sears of 1897 Had Everything

Apply in circular motions to the bust -- Picture Courtsesy Sears

by blogSpotter
I'm looking at the 1897 catalog for Sears, Roebuck and Company. It's so mind-boggling, I feel that I need to break this into two blogs -- one for the drug department, and one for all else. Looking at the 1897 "Consumers Guide", it appears that things have moved backward since 1897; 110 years ago we had proven cures and elixirs for much that ails us now. For example, if you were a flat-chested alcoholic woman, you could fix it all on pages 1 and 3. Bust cream from Seroco Laboratories would enlarge the bosom. Meanwhile, 24 doses of German Liquor Cure would remove all desire for liquor.

Now let's suppose that you were a fat, bald man. Princess Hair Tonic would "arrest your falling hair" while Dr. Rose's Obesity Powders would cause the pounds of the fat man to melt away. There was a money back guarantee advertised throughout the catalog, and I can only imagine that people buying these tonics psyched themselves into believing that they worked. Other medications offered were (literal product names) "Nerve and Brain Pills", "Female Pills for Weak Women", and "Tobacco to the Dogs" which would cure you of all desire for tobacco. I don't know that tobacco was yet associated with lung cancer, but apparently it had a bad name just the same.



Nevermind AA -- Picture Courtsesy Sears

I would be remiss to not mention the more substantial over-the-counter wonders of the day. They had Hammond's Sarsaparilla for the Skin, Electricating Liniment for Man or Beast, Blackberry Balsam for Cholera, and Speedy Cure Pile Remedy. Who would be using liniment on a beast? I don't even want to know. Mixed in with these were products that have survived to this day, but probably no longer at Sears: herbal tea, petroleum jelly, spirits of camphor and cough syrup. Before I laugh too much at all the silly things above, I have only to think about "natural" cures offered now at health food stores or the amazing weight loss powders you can still get at the corner Walgreens.

We live this life mostly as healthy, hopefully disease-free people. But God has still visited the Minor Afflictions upon us -- nuisances that do not kill, but do not thrill: obesity, indigestion, baldness, overindulgence and bunions. They are things which for the most part won't put you in the grave, but neither will they put you on the A-List. It's interesting to see that my great-great Uncle Wells fought some of the same demons as I confront. Considering that 2007 offers nothing much better than 12 step programs and spray-on hair, maybe my Uncle Wells was onto something better. Seroco Laboratories wouldn't hedge the truth would they?? If ever we get a Time Machine, I'll stop off in 1897 for the various cures.

I'm thinking of doing a follow-up blog on other parts of this catalog. The slogan really is true -- "There's More for Your Life at Sears". Even 1897 Sears.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Hairspray Takes Hold

The world keeps spinning 'round and 'round -- Picture Courtsesy New Line Cinema

by blogSpotter
I've seen several "Hairspray" reviews this past week, so will try not to rehash everything in great detail. You're probably familiar with John Water's story, set in Baltimore 1962. In the story, a porcine white teenager, Tracy Turnblad (played by Nikki Blonsky now), attempts to integrate a racially segregated TV dance review which hosts a monthly "Negro Day" and requires participants to dance on segregated dance floors. Tracy's newfound racial sensitivity comes from being sent to high school detention, where she meets black students who teach her some crazy new dance moves. The movie basically centers on Tracy getting the Corny Collins Show to become integrated. The reviewer for People Magazine thought that there was too little of Tracy and too much of the other bigger-than-life characters in this movie.

I have to respectfully disagree with People. The plot of "Hairspray" is pretty thin -- it could use some Minoxidil. Its depiction of racial strife is oversimplified and almost trite. The love affair between Tracy and Link (hunky dance star and obvious chubby chaser, played by Zac Efron) is not enough to sustain a 107 minute movie. Therefore, you HAVE to give lots of face time, dialog and dance numbers to the luminary costars -- they are pretty much the movie. We have the much-touted John Travolta doing fat-suit drag as Edna Turnblad. I couldn't discern his accent, and I can't help but think that his straight-guy drag shtick is too subdued. On the other hand he can bust a move in the dance numbers, and that's impressive. Queen Latifah is excellent as Motormouth Maybelle, the record store owner. She lends gravity to the whole affair and pretty well takes over the show at the end when she sings "You Can't Stop the Beat". Christopher Walken actually comes across as smart and sensitive as Tracy's father -- he usually plays zanier roles. Jerry Stiller has a bit part as the owner of a large woman's apparel store and 20 year old Elijah Kelley is a breakout as Seaweed, one of the best dancers. Allison Janney is hilarious as Penny's overprotective mother; I didn't even know it was her until I saw the credits roll.

I have to say that Michelle Pfeiffer steals the show as Velma Von Tussle, the snobby former Miss Boston and Corny Collins station manager. Her equally snobby daughter, Amber Von Tussle is favored to win the Miss Baltimore dance contest. Pfeiffer is beautiful in a deranged way and comes across as one of the best villains we've had since maybe Cruella DeVille. She's obnoxious and over-the-top -- everything a villain needs to be for the final come-uppance.

I'd be remiss not to also mention that "Hairspray" features some great early-60's clothing, cars and backdrops -- very colorful and fun. The imagery alone makes the movie worth seeing. The music and choreography are also great; I can only imagine that at least three of the numbers will end up as clips for "Show Tune" collections. Many people have declared that the musical is a dead format for movies, thinking fondly back to "Music Man" or "Sound of Music". "Hairspray" is pretty grand and may help to revive the genre. If you look closely in the opening "Good Morning Baltimore" number, you will see John Waters (the screenwriter of the original 1988 movie) do a cameo as a street flasher. From that flashy scene forward, "Hairspray" will keep you entertained.

© 2007 blogSpotter

What is the Meaning of is?

Senator Vitter -- Can the GOP think pure thoughts? -- Picture courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I was already shocked and appalled by Republican Senator David Vitter’s admitted dalliance with the DC Madame. My mind reeled from the fact that he had a diaper fetish. This man was a man who emphasized family values and who fought to impeach Clinton over moral turpitude. The hypocrisy is amazing – it rivals the chutzpah of Mark Foley.

Now comes another scandal – it seems Florida Republican Representative Robert Allen was just arrested for solicitation of (male) prostitution in a public restroom. This Robert Allen had just sponsored a Public Lewdness bill to assign heavier penalties to those doing “the deed”. The fact that these men were acting on various kinks and fantasies is not so very alarming – it’s a free country after all. The fact that these men were selling themselves as Family Value Paragons is another matter. If the Republican Party continues along this path, they will be the “Do As I Say, Not As I Do” party.

Now, Clinton was technically impeached for lying to Ken Starr about a personal sex question. Much was made of the fact that Clinton split hairs over the definition of “is”. Let’s say that Vitter or Allen were backed into a prosecutorial corner and asked, “DID you wear diapers as an adult?” “DID you offer to give oral sex in a men’s room?” “What IS your answer?” How would these men respond? They would probably respond by questioning the meaning of the word “is”. (People being people after all).

I just read in another blog where Larry Flynt may have in mind to out some other lustful legislators. If ever there were a group subject to blackmail it is this roster of people. I have some suggestions for these sinning Senators, but I must reach into my bag of platitudes:

• Live and let live.
• Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
• To thine own self be true.

Now there is probably not even a liberal, open-minded politician that could survive a diapers disclosure or a “tea room” arrest. But if they were honest with themselves, these two men might find self-actualization in something other than conservative politics or furtive sex acts. When you follow along with my above platitudes you can: be who you are, like who are and make no apologies to anyone.

Amazing how that works, but both these men are from the Deep South where you can be zapped hard for all your moral transgressions, especially of the sexual variety (is there any other variety?). I can only wonder, hereon when listening to a Republican, what IS he hiding. What IS he doing on nights and weekends? Guess it all just depends on the meaning of the word “is” after all.

© 2007 blogSpotter

What, Nobody Dumb Enough?

Bush being Bush

by blogSpotter
I was **horrified** when Bush was reelected in 2004. At that point in time, the list of his malfeasances and gross incompetencies was already a mile long. How could Americans reelect such a man? Forgot what he did? Let me remind you with these broad categories:

1. Iraq -- He used dubious documents later found to be forged as proof of Iraqi uranium enrichment and claimed the presence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. He further claimed a strong link between Sadam Hussein and Al Quaeda. He shamed Colin Powell by having him present this tainted information to the UN as the truth. He mired us in the Iraqi civil war which has consumed 3600 American lives and counting.
2. Budget deficit -- He turned a strong surplus into a deep deficit with pork barrel spending all thru his tenure.
3. Environment -- He turned his back on the green movement, seeking most of his "ecological" advice from cronies such as Enron, Halliburton and Exxon.
4. Religious Right -- He pandered blatantly to Christian conservatives, and even tried to tear down the wall of Church/State separation by allowing tax funds to go to religious charities.
5. Torture -- He turned a blind eye to the deplorable conditions at Abu Ghraib and even recommended further erosions to laws barring torture in the Geneva Convention.

Even his personal mannerisms are an embarrassment to America -- his abuse of the English language and his chimp-like facial expressions are hardly Presidential. But they do bespeak the mentality that lies beneath. This is who 51% of America liked best in 2004.

Now it appears from the latest AP-Ipsos poll, that none of the top Republican front-runners has captured anyone's heart. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain and Mitt Romney appear to fail the GOP smell test. Evangelicals in particular cannot find anyone to relate to. Unspoken prejudice probably rules out two of them -- Giuliani is Italian and Romney is Mormon. For Thomspon and McCain I can only counsel them with a modified run-down of my earlier blog "The South has Risen Again". In that blog, I gave the profile of a successful Democrat, but much of the same still applies to the GOP. And here we have it:

WINNER'S PROFILE:

1. Anglo, married male
2. Adherent of mainstream protestant religion -- probably Baptist or Methodist
3. Speak with a noticeable Southern accent or folksy manner, avoid big words
4. Be fiscally conservative and center-to-right on social issues.
5. Come across as a simple, straight shooter. Americans regard intellectuals as snobs.
6. Avoid displays of wealth -- live more simply. Americans distrust showiness.

Looking at the field of candidates all across the board, including Democrats, nobody qualifies. You'll notice that Bill Clinton and W. Bush fit the bill pretty well but they can't run again. John Edwards gets $400 haircuts and lives in a palatial house. Arkansas’ Mike Huckabee almost works, but he’s been critical of the al Maliki government in Iraq. An independent streak comes dangerously close to being intellectual, which violates dictum #5, above. Can America vote for someone that doesn't have a Texas twang and eyes slightly crossed? Can we possibly nominate a candidate who can pronounce "nuclear"? The GOP will have to keep looking. Nobody dumb enough or right-wing enough has captured the national fancy -- the field is still wide open. As to the future of America, I can only shudder. Foghorn Leghorn is a cartoon character, otherwise he'd be perfect. Granted he's just a rooster, but he comes across a few IQ points higher than W Bush.

Back in 2004, a W supporter in a political chat room laughed and said that Bush haters would prefer a toaster oven to Bush (and he accurately predicted that Bush would win). Sadly I have to say he was right on every score. A toaster oven wouldn't have done so many other unmentionable things. GOP, it looks like you need to go find your W Bush equivalent. Apparently he hasn't joined the race yet.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Geico is My Muse

Cavemen to debut this fall -- Picture courtesy of ABC

by blogSpotter
Now I've seen everything. ABC is developing a new sitcom, Cavemen, based on the cavemen characters in the Geico Insurance commercials. I've seen a few of these commercials and they're sort of cute, but nothing phenomenal. Maybe it's an age thing, but I'm not on the floor laughing from it -- can't imagine ABC finding inspiration in something so lame. But since the alternative seems to be Reality Television (the ultimate Neanderthal TV in my view), I have to applaud any effort that gets us back to scripted television. In that spirit, I'll offer my own sitcom pilot ideas, mining from the area of commercials:

Jack in the Sack -- In this high-concept dramedy Wendy (of Wendy's fame) is married to Ronald McDonald. After 5 years of marriage, he comes home from a long commercial shoot to find the Burger King's crown fallen back behind his pillow. Has Wendy found a new Big Mac Daddy? What he doesn't know is that Jack is hiding in the closet with his own special combo. Wendy has been getting condiments from several places. Tune in to see how Wendy and Ronald deal with their marital troubles in this sizzling series.

Get the Flock Outta Here -- The Aflac duck is fired by Aflac for being too obnoxious. At the unemployment office, he runs into the Serta counting sheep who have also been laid off by Serta. He becomes their agent then and there -- and gets them much better gigs for Memory Foam and Simmons. Hijinx follow as the Aflac duck ruffles some feathers in the bed products industry and the sheep get uppity after scoring a couple Clio awards.

Jenny Take A Ride -- Valerie Bertinelli has a food slip and goes to the Taco Bell drive thru. While driving away with her 6 Burritos and 12 Gorditas, she nearly runs over Kirstie Alley who is walking out with two party packs of Tacos. After getting over the initial shock of it all, the two actresses realize that they've been manipulated by the shallow media and should accept their natural shapes and food affinities. They become roommates and also national spokeswomen for NAAFA (National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) and discover an amazing new world of chubby chasers as well as Lane Bryant ad contracts.

I think my ad-to-TV concepts would shake up television and help to get us out of the doldrums of Survivor shows, bachelors handing out roses, and American talent contests. ABC must be on to something. You have to wince though when you think back to @ 1972. On one CBS Saturday night you would have All in the Family, Mash, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Burnett. What an unbelievable lineup. An American network would be lucky to have one such colossus in a whole week nowadays, much less four in one night. Such is the sad state of TV. So Cavemen here we come. And you know, it might even be good.


© 2007 blogSpotter

E Pluribus Blogum

Assault of the butterfly ballots -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I’m listening to the first chapter of Al Gore's Assault on Reason. Gore covers some well-worn territory -- he’s critical of our TV-saturated boob tube popular culture. He says that the American people have let several things slide (e.g. no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, global warming) because we're basically under entertainment hypnosis. We no longer even have much desire for hard news. He points to the fact that NBC recently cut $750 million from its news budget as well as Dan Rather's comment that CBS news has been 'tarted up and dumbed down'. Gore points out a legitimate concern, but nothing that hasn't been said many times before. As far back as 1960, FCC Chairman Newton Minnow dubbed TV the 'vast wasteland'. Nobody is in strong disagreement from any side of the aisle.

Next, Gore decries the fact that paid TV advertisements and smooth marketing techniques play a bigger role in campaigns than any intelligent considerations of party platform. Gore admits that his own campaign manager used such powers to Gore's advantage in a 1984 election. The manager rightly predicted that X dollars of advertising would gain them 8.5 points in the polls. They actually had it down to polling points-per-dollar formula. Again, this is a well-traveled road. 1968's Selling of the President discussed the same topic. To a large extent, political loyalties can be purchased. Gore points out that many more candidates have to be millionaires now in order to mount a viable campaign.

Gore next takes us back fondly to the Age of Reason -- a period when books and printed material prevailed. This is where he starts to lose credibility. Gore paints a picture of a genteel world where lords and ladies read and discuss political treatises between Mozart concerts and poetry readings. The fact is, television hasn't made that much a difference in how we discuss "treatises". The Mozart scenario is more imagined than real. In the 18th and 19th century most people were poor, and printed material was hard to come by. People had equally low-brow entertainments like cock fights and "Turkey in the Straw". Anyone with a library full of books was likely wealthy, and the books on the shelf likely reinforced a conservative point of view.

Gore paints a pessimistic picture overall, but he considers the internet a ray of hope, hope for rational discussion. This is good, considering that he earlier has implied that the American populace is a group of slobbering mutants who like to download porn, watch YouTube and vote on American Idol. He frets that literacy and reading comprehension are at risk. Actually, most internet content is text-based even if it's infused with MP3 and AVI files. Right now, you are reading this article -- not watching it. Emailing and blogging call for a certain level of literacy and technical proficiency if not accuracy in punctuation. In fact, bloggers have been credited with breaking some news stories that the mainstream press overlooked. You might say that literacy and information-sharing have taken a big step forward -- no need for negative projections here.

In sum, I agree with many of Gore's mildly cynical observations but none of them are that original. It almost comes across as sour grapes from the guy who lost out in 2000 due to hanging chads. I still have 10 chapters to go, so there may be some follow-up or revisions to this review. Yes, TV is a boob tube that devours 30 hours of your life each week. But I somehow think the human race will survive. A significant number of non-mutated people still read the paper, step outside the house and engage in intelligent discourse.

© 2007 blogSpotter

The Yin and Yang of American Capitalism

Too much yang for the yin? -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I'm guessing that Jupiter must have aligned with Mars. Last month, Mark Davis criticized the Bush Administration and the prospects for the war in Iraq. Davis, a writer for the Dallas Morning News, was previously the President of the Bush Fan Club -- loving to love Bush. Now Rob Dreher, another DMN staff writer, has come out with an essay critical of capitalism, He says unbridled capitalism is as much a danger to conservative values as big government. Dreher is a close second to Davis in the League of Bush Love. He's extremely conservative so his take on this topic is unusual to say the least.

Dreher himself is reviewing a book by Benjamin Barber titled Consumed. Dreher basically says that capitalism’s dynamic has a "yin" and a "yang". The yin is that capitalism encourages creativity, innovation and productivity. The yang is that capitalism also promotes consumerism -- there has to be a collective appetite to devour and enjoy all those goodies at Best Buy, Crate and Barrel and Home Depot. If we were all miserly skin flints, the merchandise would go begging and the system would collapse. Not to worry, it seems we don't have the problem at all -- somewhat the opposite. Americans are greedy consumers and for the first time since 1933, we actually have a negative savings rate -- we spend more than we earn. Dreher likens it to a pyramid scheme that will surely collapse upon itself if our free-spending ways are not corrected. It seems you have to have something called "balance" between the yin and the yang.

I'm 49, and spent much of my adulthood scrimping and saving. I still drive a 6-year old Toyota, live in a small house and have hand-me-down furniture. Silly me -- I also have a reserve in my bank account and could certainly live higher on the hog if I didn't mind being leveraged out the wazoo. Imagine my surprise when I meet 25-year-olds who fully expect to drive a new Lexus and live in a 400K City Home Townhouse furnished by Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware. Where do they get these expectations if not from Boomer parents who set the standard, or should we say lower the bar? I've wondered how you can truly appreciate what's simply laid in your lap. Now I wonder, if Dreher's premise is correct, how many Americans are using material goods as a type of narcotic -- a narcotic that numbs them to the future realities of retirement and old age health care.

Right now, I'd like a 2007 Toyota Tacoma Pickup truck, a 72-inch HDTV and a Crate and Barrel living room. I'd like to follow that with a sumptuous dinner at Three Forks and a limousine ride. I'm sure I would enjoy those things, and in a slow-paced fashion I just might. My credit rating would allow me to do it all tonight, but my "yin/yang" mentality tells me "no, no, no and no". Does that make me a big cheap-ass? Well to a typical young American, probably so. Dumb, silly, cheap pretty me. I'll take Dreher's article as a warning. When Dreher and Davis are laying it all on the line, I have to listen up. And Americans with their negative saving patterns better balance the yang with a little more yin.

© 2007 blogSpotter

Rat * a * too * ee

The joy of a rat-infested kitchen -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I'm 49 going on 9, so it's no wonder that I have a lifelong love of cartoons and animated features. I used to think of the Golden Era as the 1950's, dominated by the hilarious likes of Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. Prior to that, we had the wacked-out Loony Tune cartoons in the 1940's and by the 1960's we had the pathetic stick-figure quality of Hanna-Barbera with their repetitious backgrounds and ultra-lame laugh tracks. Maybe they were thinking that kids wouldn't notice, but au contraire -- kid's especially notice the lack of quality or realism. It boggles my mind now that Scooby-Doo is so popular as a retro series; I consider it the lowest point of animation quality.

One could describe the 60's, 70's and 80's as an animation Dark Ages -- a period dominated by cheesy low-quality fare that mostly defies one to remember a single title or series. Disney brought us out of the Dark Ages starting in 1989 with The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. The art of detail, nuance and realism was not a lost art after all. It needed to be coaxed out of its shell by a studio that cultivates quality. Television has given us many other shows in the 90's and 00's (see Fox, Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network) -- we have The Simpsons, Japanese anime and many other revivals of cartoon quality.

The gifted people of Pixar have just released Ratatouille, about a Parisian rat, Remy, that has the gift of cooking. Remy has dreams of being a famous chef which are stymied by the fact he's a mere disgusting rodent. He must express his culinary gift by telling a young man, Linguini, what ingredients to use. You'll have to see the movie for the precise mechanism of it all; it's charming and cute albeit defying all credibility. Patton Oswalt voices Remy and is his usual understated, cynical funny self. Pixar manages to make Remy and his rat friends cute and adorable in ways you never imagined a rat could be. Those of you who read Entertainment Weekly may have run across Owen Gleiberman's panning (no pun intended) of the movie. Gleiberman is something of a snobby, humorless frump. That he gave Ratatouille a "B" is amazing; Gleiberman is to movie critics what Anton Ego is to food critics in our rat chef movie. He's a curmudgeon who's hard to please. Nobody should get too bent by what he has to say.

A couple of fun observations -- am wondering what the French will think of how they're depicted in this movie. The head chef is a diabolical, egomaniacal French meanie, and his female assistant chef (ironically Linguini's romantic interest) is a shrill, testy prima donna with a short fuse. The American animators also had fun at the USA's expense by poking fun at a line of low-brow microwavable BBQ products that the meanie chef is developing for an American market. Turnabout is fair play after all when poking fun at national identities.

When the movie ends, stay and watch the credits roll. There is a great animation and song that follows the movie and it's well worth watching all by itself. Director Brad Bird et al deserve a pat on the back for making rats so dam cute, and giving us a culinary tour de force for the dog days of July.

© 2007 blogSpotter

iPhone Massteria

Do want 4GB or 8GB? -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I'm a fan of Apple products, so many of my friends wondered why I wasn't in line at the Apple Store on Friday to buy the first iPhone. Well, there are a couple of reasons. I have a fairly new RAZR phone and I have a very reasonable pay-as-you-go T-Mobile plan that probably averages all of $120/year. Am not Mr. McGab on the telephone, so don't need generous hours. I mostly use the phone for things like making appointments or maybe calling metro Action Line if trash needs to be picked up. The least expensive AT&T plan is $60/month for 2 years -- seems like indentured servitude for the privilege of owning a new toy. Don't get me wrong -- the iPhone is an intriguing bauble. When the price drops or I can get an 'unlocked' version, I'll be more intrigued.

That being said, many Americans were not so stand-offish. In fact a reported 595,000 iPhones were sold over the weekend -- most Apple stores in California were sold out. In scenes reminiscent of the Windows '95 release, lines wrapped around city blocks as people waited to get their phones. One woman here in Dallas paid a young man $800 for his first place in line; she intended to by 100 iPhones for resale on eBay. Much to her dismay, the AT&T store informed her there was a one unit/customer limit. The young man she paid $800 was able to buy the iPhone and all its accessories with money to spare. Such exuberance -- one has to figure that the factory in Singapore can crank out as many of these as needed in a reasonable period of time.

I call these kinds of product intros "Second Coming" intros, because of the incredible hype that gets generated. The one that still reverberates is the Windows NT hype of 1993. I truly expected NT to awaken Lazarus from the dead and turn water into wine. Windows 95 gave us a spiffy 'Start' button along with replays of a Rolling Stone tune, but hardly seems worth all the pomp in retrospect. We've actually had some real revolutions that tip-toed into the room. iPod slipped in under the radar in October 2001, greatly overshadowed by the 9/11 news. The USB interface which revolutionized all our plug-ins never even had a proper welcoming party. Mac OS X was hyped thru the roof by Mac Heads but ignored by the great unwashed Windows masses. In retrospect, that one has almost lived up to its highly hyped 'aqua' interface and 'cocoa' underpinnings. There's no greater compliment than the fact the Microsoft lifted OS X's best ideas for Windows Vista.

I guess we humans would be bored without 'the next Great Thing' on the horizon. Sometimes it really is great, and we need not be ironic about it. I did go to the Apple Store on Saturday, and let a pubescent 22 year old wunderkind employee explain all its functions. I was duly impressed. Just have to hope that maybe the next non-phone iPod will incorporate these awesome features, or some Taiwanese reseller will give me an unlocked iPhone for an extra $100. Guess I still have that Apple flavored Kool Aid in my mouth. :-)

© 2007 blogSpotter