Plop, plop, no fizz! Here’s what you do. You walk up to somebody and ask, “Whatever happened to the Doublemint Twins?” If the response is, “The who?” you know you are significantly older than the other person or the latter has the memory of a sponge. And it doesn’t have to be the Doublemint Twins. You could also ask about Speedy Alka-Seltzer or Bucky Beaver. Bucky Beaver? You say you’re old too, and that name doesn’t ring [...] READ MORE
Sleeping through the present while dreaming of a sitcom-portrayed and idealized past. Several Februarys ago, during our return drive on what has become an annual winter excursion to Florida, we were intrigued by signage along I-77 North hawking the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy, NC. We were briefly tempted to check it out. It wasn’t so much our interest in Griffith himself, star of a pair of major television hits over the years — Matlock (1986-1995) [...] READ MORE
Choosing your medication: Who do you trust? I still watch the traditional television networks where they include advertising in the programming. Not only do they include commercials, but they claim a huge chunk of an hour-long program. I understand that there are between 15 and 20 minutes of advertising in a typical television hour. You can calculate the percentage on that, but you no longer need to rush to the kitchen to grab that snack during a [...] READ MORE
As a member of the jingle generation, I have all kinds of stuff cluttering my mind. Blame it on TV commercials— the most pervasive purveyor of advertising slogans. I have written before about the many still stuck in my aging brain, and there are generations of us still suffering from this crippling mental impairment. Why do I still need to remember that a Big Mac is comprised of “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a [...] READ MORE
