Fox News Math

Sometimes it's best to allow an image to speak for itself and the so called "news" division it represents.

Happy Halloween

Richard Avedon photograph of Nadja Auerman

Mad Men

Annie Leibowitz photograph of Don and Betty Draper (John Hamm and January Jones) for Vanity Fair

Ah, Season 3 of Mad Men - so very much anticipated but in reality a bit of a letdown. Don't get me wrong, this is still the most stylish and one of the most intelligently scripted series on television, but I wondered how the series could live up to the excellent cliffhangers that Season 2 presented. It couldn't, it didn't, and it hasn't.

While Season 3 is as good as Season 1, the suspense and sheer storytelling genius of Season 2 is missing. Here is how Season 2 ended: When it seemed that the Draper marriage was over, Betty announced she was pregnant. Roger Sterling left his wife of twenty-something years for Don Draper's twenty-something secretary. Peggy Olson received a promotion and her own office, but still had a tough time gaining acceptance; Joan Holloway embarked on the marriage from hell (she found her doctor, the epitome of husband material, but he raped her); and Trudy Campbell can't conceive the baby she so desperately wants, which is ok with Pete, whose ambitions don't include having children, and a revelation between Pete and Peggy that was stunning.

Season 3 starts off with Don and Betty together, Roger Sterling in the dog house with his soon-to-be-married daughter, Sterling Cooper closely supervised by Lane Pryce, their British parent, and Peggy experimenting with bar hopping, sex and marijuana while trying to be one of the boys. Her relationship with Pete this year seems to be nonexistent, so that her cliff-hanging revelation at the end of Season 2 has fizzled out.

Don Draper and Pete Campbell (John Hamm and Vincent Kartheiser.

The problem with Season 3 is that much of the material seems rehashed and not so fresh and new. There is very little movement forward in each episode, and the suspense from Season 2 is missing. Having said that, I make sure to watch Mad Men when it comes on, which, surprisingly, makes me a minority in the office, for I am convinced that my co-workers would love this series if they gave it a chance. The sets are luscious and so retro. The references to the sexual and social mores of the 60's bring me back in time, and the obsession with drinking and smoking reminds me of the parties my parents once gave, when the air would be filled with smoke. Those were the days of the three-martini lunch, and people would drink hard liquor like water.

The Drapers draped over settees

Thankfully, AMC has already given the green light for Season 4. Who knows, maybe Season 3 will soon start to pick up where Season 2 left off, and leave me dangling on the edge of my seat again. I have hope yet.

• Article in Vanity Fair
• Here are Tom and Lorenzo's reviews of this fabulous series.

RIP Ted Kennedy

The skies opened up when Ted Kennedy was laid to rest next to his brothers, sending down beams of light. Sen. Kennedy was a complex man - a loving father and talented senator whose attitude towards women was puzzling, for I believe that no womanizer can truly respect his wife or women in general. Perhaps his second wife taught him a life lesson, for he obviously adored her. Ted Kennedy was genuinely always championing the poor, elderly, and oppressed, and he wore the mantle of the last surviving Kennedy brother well. The groups he supported have experienced a devastating loss, as has Obama, whose presidency could have used an ally with Ted's skills in the senate.

This country is the poorer for his loss, and I shall miss him.

Nut Jobs Get Health Care Wrong Again

Once more, Helen and Margaret are two voices of reason in an increasingly whacky America. The fear of health care reform has spiraled out of all proportion. The British, whose benevolent health care system was under attack, mounted Twitter counter attacks to some of our more insane, less humane attitudes towards our failed health care system. Instead of well-reasoned conversations, people shout slogans at Town Hall debates, comparing Obama to Hitler, and holding up incredibly stupid signs. Here then, are H&M's words:

And what’s all this crap about killing your grandmother? Are you people honestly that stupid? This has become less an argument about healthcare reform and more a statement about our failed education system. Margaret, I don’t know what plans you’ve made up there with Howard, but down here with Harold, we have living wills to determine how we will leave this world when the time comes. Mine states that unless the feeding tube is large enough for a piece of pie, I don’t want to be hooked up to it. Harold, of course, says his can only be connected to him if the other end is connected to a bottle of single malt scotch.

Let's hope these two protesters meant to be ironic. Frankly, I think they demonstrate the level of I.Q. that these anti-health care reform people probably have.

I'd been getting tired of rehashed Liberal democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank, who are so predictable in their uber liberal stances. But all I can say to this exchange about health care is: I love you, Barney.

Now and Then Sex Sells

Want to know how far along we've come, baby? These two sites show old sexist ads. Well, perhaps things haven't changed so much after all, as Calvin Klein keeps proving over and over.

• Now and Then Sex Still Sells: Sexist ads

• Another 12 Sexist vintage ads

Cute Moments

To prevent this blog from tilting too far to the angry, political side, here's some nice news:

• Precious and Honey: A dog suckles a kitten.

• Jupiter the Lion gives his rescuer a hug

• Why, that's delightful, with Graham Linehan - Ok, this site might be a wee sarcastic, but it's still fun.