Yes, there are beautiful women who are wonderful human beings. Daylight Savings Time returns in less than a month. The late Len Lesser in “Kelley’s Heroes” and with Jerry Seinfeld as Uncle Leo. The façade of a Swiss Bank (literally and figuratively) and Volkswagen’s great commercial, “The Force.”
Clarification and Amplification
My short piece last week entitled “Pretty is as Pretty Does” generated a whole lot of bi-polar reaction, by that I mean that the men loved it and agreed with it and nearly all the women were either grievously offended at worst or irritated at best. Venus and Mars. Let me just state for the record that this was a broad personal generalization backed by not a scintilla of scientific data. It was also meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek. Moreover, I did state quite clearly in there that my observations were “prevalent not universal.” There are pretty women whose personality is wonderful and saintly and there are non-attractive women who are horrible human beings. This is equally true. But here’s a song on the subject we all can laugh at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh9ZZgDqzAg.
Warm Weather
Basking in today’s near tropical heat in New York (about 60 degrees) made me realize that aside from Spring, there is something else in the offing – in less than a month we’ll see the return of Daylight Savings Time (in the midst of our recent Siberian winter, I just about plumb forgot there ever was such a thing as Daylight Savings Time). On Sunday morning March 13th we’ll see the return of “summertime,” which means for those of us among the Jewish Sabbath observant that on Saturday, March 19th, here on Long Island the Sabbath will end at 7:46 p.m., which is insanely late considering it may very well still be cold outside with limited options to enjoy the extended daylight. It also means really late Passover Seders on April 18th. But the good thing will finally be being able to leave work in the light and leave for work in said light. Nothing like living like a mole for several months here in New York. I also broke out my leather coat today, foregoing the various down-filled get-ups I’ve been encasing my svelte frame in since late December. I think we’ve seen the last of the sub-freezing temperatures (hopefully) even if we get into the high 30s here and there…
Len Lesser OBM
Many of you have heard already that Seinfeld’s “Uncle Leo,” played by Len Lesser, passed away yesterday at 88. Although he only appeared in 15 episodes of “Seinfeld” his was an outstanding comedic presence. The character was an amalgam of so many New York Jews of his generation (I had some relatives like Uncle Leo…). The “Greatest Generation” is losing people each and every day now and these folks can never be duplicated or replaced. Lesser also had a prolific career, according to the Associated Press: “Lesser's lengthy list of television credits included parts on "Get Smart," "That Girl," "The Munsters," "The Monkees," "The Rockford Files," "thirtysomething," "ER," and "Everybody Loves Raymond," which featured Lesser in a recurring role as the arm-shaking Garvin. His film credits included "Outlaw Josey Wales," "Kelly's Heroes," "Birdman of Alcatraz" and "Death Hunt." He most recently appeared on the TV drama "Castle." I loved him as the bridge-building engineer in Kelley’s Heroes,” which is one of my all time favorite WWII movies. He will be missed.
Swiss Bank Accounts
With the demise of Hosni Mubarack of Egypt, we learned that he managed to squirrel away some $80 billion from his country over the course of his 30 year reign. How much of this came from U.S. taxpayers (indirectly) I wonder? Anyway, the Swiss in their sanctimonious self-righteousness announced that they were freezing his assets now that he’s been deposed. This begs the question – why do the Swiss accept these huge deposits from private individuals who are leaders of despotic regimes in the first place? Nothing fishy about someone who is an official of a country wiring in a few billion into their personal account? Where can you get a hold of this kind of scratch if not illegally or immorally? When the Swiss publicly announce that any president of a country walking in with ginormous amounts of cash will be turned away at the get-go, then I’ll be impressed with Swiss banking integrity. Oh, and their holding onto all those Holocaust victim accounts…?
Cute Commercials:
There are a few TV commercials right now that are really pushing the boundaries of creativity and humor. I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you:
First up is Volkswagen’s Super Bowl spot called “The Force,” very funny and touching all at the same time. I don’t know if it will sell cars but hundreds of millions of people have seen this spot both on TV and YouTube. Best VW commercial ever, probably. http://www.youtube.com/vw#p/a/u/0/R55e-uHQna0. Also great right now is a spot for Jim Beam Bourbon called “Parallels,” which is about “bold choices” in life. Shot in black and white and featuring the famous actor Willem Dafoe it shows how we are the sum total of the choices we make in our lives for better or worse. Great art in 60 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_Ofjm2TKUE&oref=http://www.youtube.com/results%3Fsearch_query%3Djim%2Bbeam%2Bbold%2Bchoices%2Bcommercial%26aq%3D
Next up is a spot that is so camp and also so insidiously annoying that its incredibly effective, worming it’s way into your brain. It’s Taco Bell pushing a burrito with “Four Times The Steak” with a lounge-lizard approach that is funny and effective: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcixlBtZGmA. Here is a commercial touting Mercedes Benz’s amazing traction in snow and ice. The commercial is called “Not In This Weather,” and is so provocative that it has been flat-out banned from being aired on TV. It is also about choices and morality but is so eloquently and artfully done as to make you really think. It’s also funny. Exceptional: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi47UcyK4Ms. Finally, although I’m not putting the link here, what about the new Windows Phone commercial that shows a guy using a Blackberry at a urinal and actually dropping it into said urinal with the guy next to him saying “Really?!” Let me just say this is funny because I’ve actually seen men at urinals in restaurants, ballparks and such using their Blackberrys and similar devices. I think there is a line for Blackberry use that ought not be crossed, and the men’s room is certainly right there…
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