30 To 60

Commercials are a fascinating art form. Most people maybe wouldn't even consider them eligible for art, saying they're too compromised by their objective. I can't think of any art that isn't compromised by commercial aims except maybe chainsaw sculptures or something.Commercials are as capable of being really pleasing artistically as anything else, and if they fail at that, at least they're over pretty fast. I'm not at all sorry to work in commercials when the chance comes up.

I was listening to some of the old Bud Light radio commercials the other day. They began as "Real American Heroes", and switched to "Real Men Of Genius" after 9/11 made it briefly seem unwise to throw around words like hero. The commercials are uniformly brilliant. They are these wonderfully bombastic, overheated tributes to people and things that are at best dubious recipients of such praise. This fantastic narrator lavishes praise on Chinese food deliverymen, golf ball washer and more.

The Benevolent Ones

I watch a lot of old TV shows on the over-the-air networks and the digital sub-channels that they provide in this bold new era. The commercials that run both during those shows and others more current are interesting. I'm specifically thinking now of the commercials run by law firms. I distrust any law firm that advertises on television. This is true for me also of religions and colleges. At the moment, it's the law firms that have my attention.

The ads tend to concern a particular matter on which the firm hopes to sue with you as a plaintiff. Without them, I wouldn't ever have heard the word mesothelioma. The firm always tries to impress upon you this selfless spirit of theirs. What a favor they are doing you by using the media in hopes of find you with this horrible problem and helping to fix it! It's all about the big settlement you can win to remedy your ills and then some.

Just saw something incredible

I was watching the Military Channel on an early Saturday morning, as I sometimes do, when a mind-blowing ad came on. Now, anyone who has been fishing knows, one must first thread the hook. One then baits the hook, and then casts. The device offered in the ad makes clear the fact that casting a rod (or pole, as the case may be) is too onerous an act for some anglers. Then there are those who are physically able to cast, but do not fish because it is not exciting enough. The device alleviates that problem as well.

It looks like a slightly over-large handle, and shows only a button. Once the button is pressed, the device launches a hook on a line with great force. It's that simple. Upon seeing this, I swore in awe as loudly as I felt able to in an apartment with roommates. This is an amazing invention. Now, I don't shill unless I've been paid, so I won't share more information than I have, but I would love to see it catch on.