Philosophy
Let us raise a glass to the memory of Betty Ford. Yes, a bad joke. What Betty Ford did is to bring the notion of addiction into a new cultural place. Before Betty Ford, the alcoholic was the drunk, someone dirty, unable to hold down a job, living in the gutter, a bum. The addict was one of THEM. Betty Ford was the one who really created a new social space for the addict to be thought of as one of us. Alcoholism and drug addiction went from being worthy of a complete condemnation of character, a chosen life of vice, to a medical issue, something that a respectable person could have contracted and requires professional attention to be dealt with. Think of the vocabulary of clinics and treatment that come from Betty Ford's work. When something is part of upper and upper-middle class white lives, it is normal and normal makes it value-neutral, something we symbolize with new terminology that sheds the old negative connotations. This shift has made it possible to diagnose and treat people who otherwise would have been driven into the shadows or living in denial. Betty Ford's legacy is one of health and possibility, one that has directly or indirectly helped many in this culture.
- Is Addiction Itself Problematic?
I had lunch yesterday with my editors from Johns Hopkins University Press and one of them who ordered a cup of coffee was making light of her supposed caffeine addiction. It leads to the question whether such an addiction would be a problem. ...
- Happy Birthday, Quentin Tarantino
It's Quentin Tarantino's 46th birthday today. I do think he will be viewed as one of the essential American filmmakers of this generation. His trademark schitck, of course, is the juxtaposition of horribly gruesome violence captured in a way that...
- That Summer Tan...just A Few Coins Away
Rather novel...looks like a torch which would provide an instant tan, but in reality it is a lotion dispenser. "Model Betty Dutter demonstrates how the spray nozzle is held of the new Sun-Tan Lotion dispenser at the Annual Vending Machine Convention...
- Nice Going Ford India And The Figo Hatchback--idiots
"Ford India Needs to Fire Its Advertising Execs" by Katy Waldman and Megan Wiegand March 22nd, 2013 Slate Today in horrible advertising ideas, Ford India plugs the cavernous trunk space of its Figo hatchback by depicting captive women stuffed inside....
- Betty Boop Turns 79
Impish, naive, and risque, Betty Boop is as popular now as in the 1930s. Happy birthday Betty. Betty in Blunderland Dave and Max Fleischer Fleischer Studios 1934 ...
Philosophy
Betty Ford's Contribution
Let us raise a glass to the memory of Betty Ford. Yes, a bad joke. What Betty Ford did is to bring the notion of addiction into a new cultural place. Before Betty Ford, the alcoholic was the drunk, someone dirty, unable to hold down a job, living in the gutter, a bum. The addict was one of THEM. Betty Ford was the one who really created a new social space for the addict to be thought of as one of us. Alcoholism and drug addiction went from being worthy of a complete condemnation of character, a chosen life of vice, to a medical issue, something that a respectable person could have contracted and requires professional attention to be dealt with. Think of the vocabulary of clinics and treatment that come from Betty Ford's work. When something is part of upper and upper-middle class white lives, it is normal and normal makes it value-neutral, something we symbolize with new terminology that sheds the old negative connotations. This shift has made it possible to diagnose and treat people who otherwise would have been driven into the shadows or living in denial. Betty Ford's legacy is one of health and possibility, one that has directly or indirectly helped many in this culture.
- Is Addiction Itself Problematic?
I had lunch yesterday with my editors from Johns Hopkins University Press and one of them who ordered a cup of coffee was making light of her supposed caffeine addiction. It leads to the question whether such an addiction would be a problem. ...
- Happy Birthday, Quentin Tarantino
It's Quentin Tarantino's 46th birthday today. I do think he will be viewed as one of the essential American filmmakers of this generation. His trademark schitck, of course, is the juxtaposition of horribly gruesome violence captured in a way that...
- That Summer Tan...just A Few Coins Away
Rather novel...looks like a torch which would provide an instant tan, but in reality it is a lotion dispenser. "Model Betty Dutter demonstrates how the spray nozzle is held of the new Sun-Tan Lotion dispenser at the Annual Vending Machine Convention...
- Nice Going Ford India And The Figo Hatchback--idiots
"Ford India Needs to Fire Its Advertising Execs" by Katy Waldman and Megan Wiegand March 22nd, 2013 Slate Today in horrible advertising ideas, Ford India plugs the cavernous trunk space of its Figo hatchback by depicting captive women stuffed inside....
- Betty Boop Turns 79
Impish, naive, and risque, Betty Boop is as popular now as in the 1930s. Happy birthday Betty. Betty in Blunderland Dave and Max Fleischer Fleischer Studios 1934 ...