Revisiting earlier topics

(Originally published September 1, 2008)

Apropos of nothing, this post will update earlier ones -- mostly with new rants.

1. Verizon did eventually pull its pit bull commercial. I'm glad they finally caved, but it sure took them long enough.

2. Greatest American Dog started off great but has declined precipitously. What were the producers thinking when:-- They decided that the best way to demonstrate a dog's courage was to have that dog sit in the middle of a circle while an elephant (yes, a freakin' elephant!) ambled toward him;-- They decided that an even better way to demonstrate said courage was to have the dog jump into the air attached to a 30-some foot long zip wire;-- They concluded that the best way to assess Galaxy's post-challenge limp was to have a *dog trainer* come look at it. I have the greatest respect for positive dog trainers but they are not, repeat not, veterinarians.I won't even bother to go into the subject of the judges' utter inconsistency from week to week -- at least not right now.

3. Mad Men is still wonderful, despite its somewhat slow second-season start. But in last night's episode, when Duck decided to abandon his conscience by abandoning his faithful Irish Setter in the middle of New York City, I cried. I understand why that scene was in the script, and I understand that it's just a story, that the dog wasn't really abandoned (I've come a long way since my childhood, when I freaked out every Sunday night while watching Lassie and/or Timmy deal with their peril of the week). But I cried anyway.