sundries

[rm]

Spoke to Patty! She has a day off tomorrow, but they are visiting another archaeological site, but at least it's a change of pace. Sadly, while my text messages are still getting to her; hers are not getting to me.

LfT: Steve Case and the cool party, again -- http://lettersfromtitan.com/2011/01/25/still-worried-about-lunchroom-hierarchies-after-all-these-years/

I'm probably missing the SotU tonight while I'm working on a project for another time zone. Am sort of annoyed.

Folks it Iowa are trying to take away equal marriage rights.

Marriage equality bills to be introduced in Maryland.

To echo @kshandra on Twitter last night. I hate that Geico ad mocking a three-person tango. Why? Because there is a long tradition of multi-person tangos in dance films and films with dance (usually, 3, 4 or 5 -- and yes, admittedly it's usually one woman and with everyone else being male and a dance enactment of fight or competition or rape or murder, but not always, especially in some more recently stuff where it's been more cooperative (there's a great one in one of the Step Up (I think) films), and it's just sloppy to base an entire commercial about a catch phrase ("it takes two to tango") that then ignores the entire history of the thing you're trying to do a send-up of (dance in classic film). IT'S JUST NOT CORRECT. I may write about this more intelligently on LfT later in the week. The whole thing has me SO irritated.

One of the most fun things about LfT is the site stats, especially the search terms that lead people to the site --

Weird one that totally makes sense: "tron mind control"
Weird one that totally doesn't make sense: "do spots mean you are getting ill"
Please never visit my blog again: "raped by a dog"
Obvious, yet, why is anyone searching on this phrase: "letters from titan"

Comments

[tommx.livejournal.com]

We're very excited about the marriage equality bills in Maryland. It's been a long time coming.

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

One of these days I'd love to see a report on Patty's research. I am a fangrrl for archeology!

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking that Geico ad was particularly irksome. I didn't know about the dance films bit, but I was thinking "a three-person tango like that, done well? Would be *really cool*."

Do you get some weird IP addresses in LfT site stats as well?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Like how so: re IPs -- in terms of referrers?

I HATE THE GEICO AD. I know lots of people hate it because they are poly or because a three person tango would be cool or hot, and those are good reasons to hate it too but on top of all of that, it's INCORRECT. AAAAAAAARGH.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Yes, referrer servers in weird locations, that sort of thing.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Nah, nothing too interesting. Links from LJ posts I can't see is about as tantalizing as it gets, which is to say, not very.

[marcmagus]

I hate the ad for all of the reasons you list, and also because it's incorrect in the other direction: if you're trying to send up the phrase "It takes two to tango", you need to show *one* person attempting to tango and failing. "It takes two..." doesn't mean it can't be done with more than two, it means it can't be done with fewer. Gah!

[itcamefromjapan.livejournal.com]

This is my main problem with it as well.

[gement.livejournal.com]

Thinking of memorable commercials with possible sexual minority themes, I wondered if you might have a line on finding a European commercial I saw online years ago because it had won an award. (You're more in touch with advertising than I am.)

The whole thing is silent except for dramatic music. It starts with a white-tie party in a glamorous ballroom (everything is Inception-level flawless). A gorgeous young man sees a woman far off on an upper gallery. He dashes after her, and when he finally catches up, he's going too fast and spills his wine on her dress. He is clearly doomed, and looks very sorry.

She shrugs, pushes the strapless gown down to her waist, and wipes her mouth. Clearly male features. She stares at him, daring him to panic.

The young man pulls the buttons of his shirt open to show a binder.

I have no idea what this was supposed to be advertising and I don't care. I just want to find it again.

[rm.livejournal.com]

OMG. I HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT THIS.

Do you know what country it was from? I might be able to find a way to find it

[elphie.livejournal.com]

It is a Campari ad from Italy, I think it is on you tube somewhere.

[gement.livejournal.com]

Yessssssssss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TOve6swe7M

Not white-tie, but I remembered it surprisingly accurately.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Someone said Campari ad before I could. THAT WAS THE HOTTEST AD EVAR.

[canaana.livejournal.com]

That is absolutely killer. Thank you for posting the link. :-)

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

WOW. I love it. I sort of want fic for that now.

[sanat.livejournal.com]

...I'll be in my bunk.

[marchek.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TOve6swe7M

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

That is the best thing I have seen all day! Thank you so much for linking.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

...I have no idea, but so do I. The only other ad I know where there was a glamorous woman who had male features beneath the dress was a Foster's (Aussie beer) ad. I wasn't fond of it.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Oh, duh. Foster's was riffing on the Campari ad.

[jimmynebraska.livejournal.com]

# Obvious, yet, why is anyone searching on this phrase: "letters from titan"

To find LfT, of course. I just Google it rather than bookmarking.

[skelody.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'm more of a memorize-and-type person, but someone might not be sure about whether it's .com or .net, or whether the title is exactly the same as the URL, etc.

[deusabscondidum.livejournal.com]

Same here. It's just a habit I've picked up from liking sites with complicated URLS. Now I generally don't even bother typing what I think is the URL, even if it is a simple one.

[nonsecateur.livejournal.com]

Weird one that totally makes sense: "tron mind control"
Weird one that totally doesn't make sense: "do spots mean you are getting ill"
Please never visit my blog again: "raped by a dog"
Obvious, yet, why is anyone searching on this phrase: "letters from titan"

Whenever people post search terms like this, I always think they should just assume that the terms are actually song lyrics for some sort of pop punk band, being looked up by a fan. It makes things seem less scary!

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

The tango thing bothered me too! Glad I'm not the only one.

[canaana.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the tango thing. By the way, if at all useful to later thinky-thoughts, three-person tango in Take the Lead. (Because cheesy dance movies are my secret vice).

[rm.livejournal.com]

Ah! Take the Lead was what I was trying to think of (not the crappier Step Up series). Thanks!

[canaana.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMIXtD6-WSE

Now with added linkage, because apparently, I am just that kind of a dork.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

I saw some amazing three-woman tango last year at a show here in SF.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

I'm glad ui'm not the only one who reacted to that Geico commercial that way. I only spotted it yesterday or thereabouts and wasn't having luck figuring outr how to frame my objection for my blog.

I'm one of the people who searched "Letters from Titan" as I was on a different computer but wanted to check something in your blog. On the computer I'm typing on right now, it's bookmarked, but it wasn't on the one I was using the other day.

[sanat.livejournal.com]

I just saw that someone found my drag makeover of my partner on Flickr by searching "how to be like Rose Tyler". Hilarity.