Girls season 2

Ray and Adam and dog

Thanks to Netflix, I have now season 2 of Girls. The seasons are only ten shows long, but that's modern TV I suppose. Some of you may remember when I reviewed Season 1. Season 2 is actually quite good. In an unexpected shift, the men, at least some of them, seem to have matured into real characters, while the women have shown themselves to be needy and problematic. I would definitely say this was the season of the men.

Ever since watching last season my self esteem has suffered. I have always defined life through television situation comedies and most of them lately seem to show men as being either weak or as assholes.  Today, according to Girls, it's okay to be a man again. I feel so much better about myself now.

Traditionally, in old movies, the solution to the problem of what do single girls do when they get to New York has always been solved by marriage to well heeled men. Ginger Rogers lived in a crappy room for most of the movie but married Prince Charming in the end. Such conclusions were played with in Season 2. All of the leads in one way or another got involved with older, richer men and seemed happy for a while but things fell through in the end. In classic movieland they would have married and lived happily ever after. It would be funny if in the series finale, Girls ends with marriage to men with good careers, suburbs, and babies.

The Interstings

Similar in subject matter to Jonathon Franzen's Freedom but gentler and more fun, the Interestings is a book that describes a generation of privileged youngsters, slightly post boomer but pre Generation x that came of age in the 70's. It begins in a garden of Eden like summer camp and ends with the problems of middle age. It's a journey of forty years for a group of people who go through bohemianism, yuppie-ism, comparative poverty, parenthood, cult religion,  mental illness, disabled sons,  and disease. Sort of like us, but more privileged.  They lived in Manhattan while we lived in Hoboken and Denver. They had wealthy, hip parents who sent them to the artsy Camp in the Woods while we went to Boy Scout Camp. I can't imagine my parents sending me to the Camp in the Woods.

The characters in the novel also are touched by celebrity. Ethan becomes a famous animator and Jonah's mother is a famous folksinger (my guess is someone like Sandy Denny) and is given drugs by someone like Don MacLean.

As a friend once said about Thirty Something, "it's sort of true to life but the women are better looking." So many of us tried to join the interesting crowd when we were young and this is how one lady managed to get into and thrive amongst the interestings. This may well be the novel that people in centuries to come will use to teach students in Twentieth Century Culture about the lives of a certain class and generation of young, now middle aged Caucasians. Wonder what the movie will be like. 

Editor's note: When this blogger has nothing else to say, he may occasionally do a book review. We'll see how it goes. 

Miss America

Yes, Sunday night, Miss America is back in dear old Atlantic City. I have many memories of watching this show on the old Philco as a kid. The different competitions were fascinating. We all had our favorites. My mother was always loyal to the girls from the South. "You know, Southern girls are prettier than those Northern girls."  The judges must have agreed with her.

I still remember the commercials where you got to see the contestants putting on Noxzema cold cream as they prepared. And at the end, the whole family would bawl as the lucky girl walked down the aisle with Bert Parr singing that same old song. It was one of the few times I saw my father cry. 

Now the major story is that one of the contestants has a tattoo. I know the younger generation love their tattoos. Mother would not have approved.  

Smokers tend not to be church goers

http://www.gallup.com/poll/163856/strong-link-church-attendance-smoking.aspx


Perhaps the answer is to allow people to smoke in church.

So what is it with Linconlin?

A few years ago I got an email and was asked to join Linkedin. I was flattered, thinking that now I was being invited to join an in group. Parties at the Hamptons, gallery openings in Dumbo, dinners on Nassau Street soon would be coming my way. I was in Linkedin. 

Well, not surprisingly, none of that happened. Today, however,  I get almost daily updates from friends, former co-workers, people I met once at long ago library conferences. They endorse me for my many skills. Sometimes I wonder how they know I'm any good at what I do. One conversation over a danish in 1994 and they can definitely say I am excellent at collection development.

I also get important information. John Belosconi is now connected to Shirley Winkowski, the marketing manager of a small firm in Austin. So. What do I care? Perhaps old John is having an extra marital affair. Maybe that's what brings him to Austin.

I get it!  people are active in Linkedin because they are job hunting. Perhaps they want me to endorse them on their many skills. I was meandering around Linkedin yesterday and was presented with photographs of friends, old girl friends, a former boss, someone I met at a meeting (I think I thought she was cute). Is such and such knowledgeable in Wordpress? Is such and such an expert in data marketing analysis? 

It must be easy to find help nowadays. You just look up the candidates Linkedin account and find out what skills they possess and immediately hire the person with the most endorsements.

Family gossip

Q

When our mothers leave us they leave with a trove of family stories and gossip.  They also make it hard to follow the trials and tribulations of one's extended family. While your mother is alive and able to use the telephone, male relatives are able to keep up with things through their mothers.

• Your cousin is getting a divorce. Your cousin tells his mother. His mother tells your mother and she tells you. 
• Your cousin got a DWI. Your cousin tells his mother. His mother tells your mother and she tells you.
• Your niece dropped out of Bucknell. She tells her mother. Your sister-in law tells your mother and she tells you. 
• Your cousin lost his job. He had to borrow money from your uncle. Your uncle told your aunt, she told your mother and your mother told you. 

One good thing about family gossip is that it often shows your parents how lucky they are to have you rather than the flotsam and jetsam of the extended family. However it is hard to keep up on things when mother passes away. Of course there's always Facebook. Unfortunately, Facebook posts tend to dwell on accomplishments, cute pictures of the kids and vacations. A keen eye may note a missing husband from vacation pictures, but mothers are a better source of what your cousins were really up to.

The trials of the lowly flip flop

I seems there has been assault lately on that emblem of summer and good times, the flip flop. Just last week I was getting ready for work. I put on my Hawaii shorts, my monkey t shirt and my flip flops. At work there was a memo on my desk. It read  "Shorts, flip-flops, beach shoes, strapless tops and other clothing are not appropriate for the workplace." It was a huge surprise for me to find this startling announcement. The poor flip flop was no longer the accepted footwear for work.

Flip flops bring back many summer memories. My mother bought them at Modell's and all summer I would wear them everywhere. At college they went on as soon as the snow was off the sidewalk. At work they went on the day after Easter and stayed on until Columbus Day. Now I have to wear regular shoes again. I wonder why they are called flip flops?