Fred Manteghian Blog

Pass around the Prozac. <i>24</i>, <i>Prison Break</i>, <i>The Unit</i>, <i>Lost</i>, <i>Alias</i>, and the <i>capo di tutti capo</i> of all shows<i>The Sopranos</i>, are over for the season (or in the case of <i>Alias</i>, forever). But the end of the school year doesn’t necessarily signal the death kneel it did back when a warm summer breeze shot me into a verse of “No More Teachers, No More Books.” Now, we have options.

Yup, the U.S. of A. Love it or leave it, we're the country everyone wants to break into, not out of. Although if I ever end another sentence in a preposition, I'll agree to be expelled. People from other countries used to say the streets of America were paved in gold. Now they think there's a home theater in every house.

Last Sunday I blasted Philips for their technology initiatives to confute the human instinct for avoiding unpleasantness in all its forms (i.e. lame TV commercials) in my blog called
<a href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/fredmanteghian/042306Philips/" target=new>The Perfect Philips Screwdriver</a>. Apparently, the company did have a statement on their website that I had not been able to find that sought to "clarify" the issue from Philips point of view (thank you Gary Kaye of rave.com for finding it). I don't know about you, but I'm sick of companies and politicians trying to cover up their poo in fragrant roses. I'm going take a few minutes to rub their noses in it.

Easily imitated, never duplicated, the Mastercard "Priceless" ads are fun to riff on. Now you can <a href="http://www.priceless.com/promo/e1.html" target=new>write your own</a> on-line, with Mastercard's permission. There's even a prize, but the fun is in the attempt.

You plan your life around it, your purchases, living arrangements, and, in some cases, even your career. No, not your family, they can fend for themselves. I'm talking about your orphaned electronic equipment. I don't know about you, but I've got tons of it and it's starting to haunt me bad.

A friend at work grew mildly excited last week in anticipation of <i>The Sopranos: Season Deep Space Nine</i>. He wasn't actually that excited about the show, he was excited because, once the series closing season is over, he can finally cancel his subscription to HBO. He subscribes to Netflix and said the only reason he keeps HBO in his stable is to watch the Sopranos. He's originally from New Jersey, just two exits away on the Garden State from the BadaBing, so Tony and him are practically cousins.

The fog of war settles sullenly on our psyches. We're just behind the front lines, but close enough that every incoming mortar round feels like it has your name on it. My notebook is so covered in mud and dried blood, I'm tempted to use a bayonet to carve out my words instead of a pen. How did this madness begin?