My mom just turned 82 on June 20th. Considering the Alzheimer’s, heart, blood pressure, thyroid, and liver problems, she’s doing very well. But she needs help with things that used to come easily to her, like using a cell phone (specifically how to answer it).

Fred and I spent a great deal of time finding a cell phone with large enough buttons and fonts for my mother to see. After we picked a cell phone and signed a contract, I ran across an ad in a newspaper for the Jitterbug, a cell phone for older or handicapped people that just want a simple phone with LARGE BUTTONS, LARGE PRINT, and NO EXTRAS. Well, maybe one extra—operators are available that have access to the customers’ caller lists and can assist in placing calls. (“Operator, I’d like to call Fred. Can you help me?”)

Phones are $147 each, and monthly plans start at $10/month with no contract.

I’m not sure my mother will use Jitterbug, because frankly I’m not sure she needs a cell phone anymore since she doesn’t go anywhere without me, but this phone is a great idea–I wish I’d come up with it.

If you or somebody you know would benefit from this phone, click the link to Jitterbug. But please don’t do it just for the overwhelming feeling of peace and sheer joy you will have in knowing you’ve helped me pay for this site; do it because it really is a good, useful product that might make someone’s life easier.

       Jitterbug One Touch

This is in response to the awkward silences that occur when I tell people that I’ve been with my sig other for over ten years and am not married. The last occurrence was at my mother’s dentist’s office when the dental technician, who had met Fred and assumed we were married, was so embarrassed at the mis-assumption that she stammered and made a face like someone in the room had just passed gas.

The truth is that, believe it or not, I have chosen not to take the dreaded wedded plunge because the ceremony has no meaning for me. But to those people that refuse to believe this and cannot understand why such an attractive, smart, sweet, sensitive, patient, kind, caring “catch” seems to be “uncaught” because she is unwed, I offer these additional explanations for my marital status:

1    Bite me.
2    While most men believe that every woman wants to get married and immediately begin popping out babies like a human toaster, as usual most men are wrong. My idea of changing a baby is finding a clean baby and switching them.
3    Saved money on wedding.
4    Saved money on divorce.
5    My sig other does not stay with me because he signed a contract. He stays with me because I’m sweet, sensitive, and all that other crap mentioned in Paragraph 2.
6    I did not grow up with the dream of becoming a wife. I dreamed of becoming a rock star adored by millions of fans that prefer their idol to seem available. I believe we should all follow our dreams. Lack of talent, drive, and opportunity are merely obstacles to overcome.
7    I’ve never been knocked up (knock on wood).
8    I went to church every week when I was a child, but it didn’t take.
9    My sig other and I do not always agree politically, and mixed marriages do not have a high success rate.
10  Opposite-sex marriages are politically incorrect.
11  Marriage would put a crimp in gold-digging efforts, both mine and my sig other’s.

These are the top eleven reasons, not necessarily in order of importance. Since this is too much to fit on a business card, I will simply direct stammering, embarrassed people to this post.

Carol Dee
Boomer Generation Stuff

Tears of joy

Thanks to WeddingFavor.wordpress.com for the photos.

Anheuser Busch has been an American
iconic institution since 1860.

LET’S LEAVE IT THAT WAY!

As you’ve no doubt heard (especially from reading this blog), there is an effort by a Belgian conglomerate called InBev to take over an American institution, Anheuser-Busch. (I’m sure the rumors about InBev being the embodiment of all evil are untrue, or at the very least overstated.)

Dave King, Imaging Director, and Al Stevens, Production Director at KMOX radio station in St. Louis (1120 on the dial), have come up with a new commercial. I think it sums up the opinions of us St. Louisans pretty well.

Listen to the Commercial

You cannot go a day in St. Louis without being reminded of Anheuser Busch. Busch Stadium, Grant’s Farm, the Clydesdales, the A-B Conservation area, billboards, creative commercials and neon signs, and the A & Eagle sign along Highway 40/64 that has welcomed people into Missouri since 1962, not to mention the countless philanthropic acts that are not always made public—these are the reminders that immediately come to mind. Anheuser-Busch is part of the fabric of the life of every person living in St. Louis and the rest of the country.

And of course, let’s not forget they are a huge employer, certainly large enough to cause the unemployment rate to skyrocket if there are layoffs or (gasp) the brewery in St. Louis is closed. Like the President, I’m no economist, but I think that might be bad for St. Louis and for the country.

space

I grew up in Illinois and have strong memories of being mesmerized by that enormous flying eagle along Highway 40/64 when I visited my grandparents.  Here’s a little history of the A-Eagle sign.

History of the “A & Eagle” sign (from the AB People Web Site)

Renowned animator Byron Rabbit was hired to design the first of the Anheuser-Busch eagle signs in the early 1950s. In order to create the most authentic replication possible, a live American bald eagle was rented and let loose in the 66th Street Armory, where it was filmed in flight. Mr. Rabbit produced the “A & Eagle” sign design from film stills.

There were six signs originally built in 1953 by Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation, the firm responsible for most of the world-renowned neon signs in Times Square over the past half-century.

Today, besides the Newark brewery sign, the only other operating “A & Eagle” sign is in the brewery’s hometown, St. Louis, Missouri. That sign, installed in 1962, is visible from Highway 40/ I-64 and was originally located on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. The Federal Sign Company maintains the landmark sign in St. Louis.

The “A & Eagle” trademark has appeared on Anheuser-Busch packaging since 1872.

Are you tired of Bully Journalism–the kind where a person is ambushed, repeatedly asked the same asinine question and not allowed to answer? 

Then grab a beverage, make yourself comfortable, and enjoy this video as much as I did.   

Bill O’Reilly sent one of his “reporters”, Porter Barry, to ambush Bill Moyers at the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis earlier this month.  Even if you have no interest in politics or media reform, you will find this video entertaining.  Porter the “Reporter” is patiently pounded into the ground by Bill Moyers. But the best part is after Bill Moyers exits the interview. Poor Porter is followed by a reporter and cameraman and must suffer the same tactics that were used on Bill Moyers moments earlier. 

One advantage  of the world wide web is that it makes this tactic of so-called journalism more difficult to pull off.  Recording equipment is now so portable that ambushes are likely to be recorded by third parties, as was the case here, and there is an unlimited number of web sites on which to post videos.  This means that viewers are able to see the unedited versions.  This is a good thing for journalism, and a good thing for the public–it will make reporters work harder and keep them honest.

I should point out that this video starts after Porter the “Reporter” has begun his assault on Bill Moyers.

http://www.theseminal.com/2008/06/07/dont-mess-with-moyers/

Below is the edited and much shorter version that was shown on the O’Reilly Factor.  O’Reilly talks about how Bill Moyers touched Porter’s face, while showing a clip in slow motion. This clip must be from the very beginning of the interview, before recording in the above clip began.  (Bill Moyers has many allies and opponents, but I think most on either side will find it difficult to believe that he stroked another reporter’s cheek in the middle of recording an interview.   This is obviously an optical illusion caused by the angle of the camera–there is some distance between Bill’s hand and Porter’s face.) 

Notice that Bill O’Reilly aired only a small portion of the video, and chose to discuss body language instead of the content of what was said or the manner in which Porter Barry conducted himself throughout the remainder of the interview that was not shown.  I wonder, does he think his audience will not see the rest of the interview on their computers? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsGb4yyPvLc

Thanks to The Seminal for the first video.

There comes a time when Americans must stand up and say NO, and that time is NOW!  InBev is attempting to buy Anheuser-Busch, the producer of Budweiser, Busch and many other AMERICAN products.

Sure, Anheuser-Busch is just a company, but after it is sold, what’s next?  Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or maybe advertising on the Statue of Liberty…  These icons are part of our American culture. After all, what could be more American than a cold Bud after a long day?  I can tell you that it’s not a cold Belgium Bud.

You can do something!  Start by going to http://www.saveab.com/ and signing the petition. Then write your congressman, tell the media, write a blog entry….  make your voice heard!

This article from NPR (National Public Radio) provides some starting background information.

Anheuser-Busch Takeover Talk Shakes St. Louis

by Matt Sepic

Morning Edition, June 4, 2008 · People inside Anheuser-Busch say a takeover of the St. Louis brewer by Belgium’s InBev is possible — though the company has not commented on a possible deal. Talk of the company’s takeover has people in St. Louis on edge. The brewer is part of the city’s identity, and not just as a major employer.

When word got out that InBev was interested in Anheuser-Busch, the nail-biting commenced. Layoffs are certainly a big concern. But the company’s 6,000 local employees aren’t the only ones who are worried about what foreign ownership might bring.

Anheuser-Busch is not the largest employer in St. Louis, but most visitors would be forgiven for thinking so. The name is everywhere: the law school building at Washington University, the August A. Busch Conservation Area, and of course the famous ballpark, now in its third incarnation.

John Schute owns a trendy new restaurant in the shadow of the mammoth red-brick brewery. As employees trickle in for lunch, he says a takeover — if it happens — would hurt not only his business, but also the countless nonprofit organizations and charities that rely on Anheuser-Busch’s largesse.

“They do so many things for so many organizations, so many people that you never even hear about,” Schute said. “I can’t imagine that same philosophy would be existent under a different company that’s not based here.”

St. Louisans have come to count on Anheuser-Busch for everything from six-figure donations to the Red Cross to free kegs of Budweiser for church picnics. Local business analyst Juli Niemann says that generosity and high visibility have earned the company intense loyalty all over town.

“We’re not talking high society; we’re talking the core society in St. Louis,” Niemann said.

While InBev is not known for that level of charity, Niemann said, the Belgian company’s Brazilian managers know a strong brand when they see it.

If there is a takeover, Niemann said, she is sure InBev would never stop selling beer under the Budweiser name. Not only is the century-old St. Louis brewery a required stop for tourists, but it’s also a carefully cultivated walk-through advertisement.

“InBev will not get rid of the museum, better known as our brewery, down here,” Niemann said. “It’s a gorgeous brewery, and it basically conveys an image of old-fashioned quality. Secondly, you will not see the Clydesdales going, because that’s an incredible image of the gates opening up and the horses coming out. That whole image of St. Louis is going to stay.”

But civic leaders have concerns beyond the city’s image. Mayor Francis Slay is urging stockholders to consider the local economic impact before selling their shares.

And Anheuser executives have lined up a phalanx of lawyers and investment bankers to fight what could be a hostile takeover.

But even those who want things to stay the way they’ve been for more than a century know that the force of globalization could overwhelm even the proud tradition of the local brewing giant.

I was surprised that I liked Swingtown as much as I did, since I’m not really a fan of soap operas or programs that are continued every week; however after watching this CBS pilot Thursday night, I’m intrigued enough to watch the next episode.  The show takes place in 1976 and centers around the lives of Susan and Bruce, who got married when Susan was 16 because Bruce knocked her up (such an endearing term, isn’t it?).   They’ve centered on being responsible parents and remained naive about sexual experimentation.  Enter the new neighbors, swingers Tom and Trina. 

Swingtown has the potential to be a good show, as long as it doesn’t turn into a typical soap opera.  And no doubt about it, it will be controversial.  It’s the first network series that I can recall that features the swinging lifestyle.  Pat Robertson is probably already threatening some horrible action against CBS.  But the show isn’t just about sex, and while it centers around the parents’ interaction with their families, neighbors, and experimentation with a new lifestyle, the teenage children and their relationships are also explored.  How many fathers in the 70’s, upon finding their sons with Penthouse, said “Don’t let your mother catch you with that!” instead of yelling at them or, God forbid, having a talk with them about sex?  (I wonder how many fathers do the same thing today…)

I was 14 in 1976. Even though I was a little young to participate in the sexual revolution/wife swapping, this show really brought back some memories.  Eight-track tapes, disco, leisure suits, the hair–this show is like stepping into a time warp.  Even if the acting and writing were terrible (they are not), they scored a bull’s-eye on the time period. 

If you want a taste of 1976, this is a fun clip from the Swingtown web site.

Apparently the clothes in the show are vintage, used clothes.  Maybe my old clothes will make an appearance.  Take a tour with the costume designer.

The Decker’s house–an upscale, modern family home in 1976. No suprise that our house looked nothing like this, but I think we had this television set.

This is a picture from a movie that has nothing to do with Swingtown.  I’ve included it because it is unlawful to talk about the 70’s without mentioning this mildly-successful 1977 movie.  Poor John Travolta.  What ever happened to him? 

If I have to tell you this is from Saturday Night Fever, I’m not optimistic about our relationship.

Carol Dee
Boomer Generation Stuff

Boomers gettin it done on the Letterman Show…

Donna Summer - 6/2/08

Jimmy Buffet - 5/21/08

Steve Winwood - 5/6/08

Ray Davies - 2/19/08

John Fogerty - 10/2/07

As I get older I think about memory more often, especially since my mother has Alzheimer’s Disease.  I think many boomers may be curious about how memory works. 

I’ve discovered that sleep is extremely important to memory retention.  Studies have shown that certain types of memories are processed, or “consolidated” during the first few hours of sleep (not the REM phase). 

There are three stages to retaining a memory:

1) Stabilization – takes about six hours.  During this period the memory is particularly vulnerable to being lost.
2) Consolidation – occurs during sleep. 
3) Recall – memory ready to be accessed and re-edited.

In other words, Stage 1 is clicking Save with the mouse, Stage 2 is editing and perfecting the document, and Stage 3 is recalling (the next day).  So it is important to get enough sleep every night because your body needs the rest, and because your brain needs to process the memories of the day. 

These are fairly well-documented steps in the memory process.  But there is much research going on to discover more about memory alteration.  For a long time it was believed that permanent, or “consolidated”, memories could not be altered.  But research has called this into question.  Beta blockers have been known to affect memory.  They block the stimulative influence of stress hormones – specifically adrenaline – upon the body, relaxing blood vessels and slowing nerve impulses inside the heart.  The beta blocker Propranolol has shown signs of changing memories that have already been consolidated.  Strong emotions make strong memories, and essentially what the drug does is disconnect emotion from the memory.   Some researchers now believe that there is a window of opportunity to alter a memory each time it is recalled.  

This is highly controversial.  The benefits are obvious—who wouldn’t want to help a sufferer from PTSD, or the victim of a brutal attack that is doomed to endlessly relive the horrific experience?  On the other hand, our personalities are formed, in large part, from our life experiences.  Changing our memories with a drug seems a dangerous road to travel…

There is much more information about memory than I can include in this post.  I encourage everyone to check out the web sites listed below.  They go into more detail on the whole process. 

But first, check out this web page outlining an episode of Radio Lab.  This is a show that aired on public radio last year.  Or just click here to listen to the whole show.  Radio Lab is extrememly informative and entertaining.  Complex subjects are explained in a way that even I can understand.  If you’ve never heard this program, check your local NPR listing or subscribe to the podcasts.

These are the other web sites I visited:

cognitiveliberty.org

serendyp.brynmawr.edu

memory-key.com

supermemo.com

I’ve been thinking about marijuana lately.  Not because I’ve been smoking it, but because I just read an AARP article discussing the opinions of Americans 45+ years old.  Of the 1,706 boomers+ interviewed, most believe, as I do, that marijuana should be legal for medical purposes.  (Unfortunately the smoke becomes a bigger issue for boomers as they get older and develop heart disease.  So if it is ever legalized we won’t be able to smoke it.)  

Further extensive marijuana research (I Googled the word marijuana) revealed a link to Reefer Madness.  I’d heard about this movie but hadn’t seen it until today.  It was financed by a church group in 1936 under the title, Tell Your Children, created as propaganda to show the public the evils of marijuana.  

The movie was rediscovered by baby boomers in the 70’s.  I can see why it has reached cult classicness.  This has to be one of the campiest movies ever made, and it wasn’t even intended to be funny.  Apparently the Evil M causes its inhalers to become insane and commit rape, manslaughter, murder, and suicide.  Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the loss of morality.  I’m certain I share your relief that President Clinton did not inhale.  

I’m probably the last boomer to see this movie for the first time, but just in case there are others, it’s worth the time to check it out. It’s a little over an hour long, so watch it at work.

And while we’re on the marijuana subject, if you haven’t seen the story earlier this year about marijuana vending machines in California, it’s never too late. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe_6opRXOcg

Don’t plan the Schwarzenegger road trip to the left coast just yet, though—looks like the mechanical drug pushers are occupying a federal cell now.  L

Carol Dee
Boomer Generation Stuff

Today’s history lesson is shamelessly copied from neatorama because I found this subject fascinating.  This page explains the evolution of–you guessed it–tech companies’ logos, and gives a brief history of each company. 

It’s interesting to know that the ancestor of my mother’s Canon PowerShot (yes, she’s 81 and taking digital pictures) was a Kwanon, named after the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.  No wonder they were successful–how can the Goddess of Mercy take a bad picture?

Here are a  few examples of the logos and histories on this site. 

The first Apple logo was a complex picture of Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree. The logo was inscribed: “Newton … A Mind Forever Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought … Alone.” It was designed by Ronald Wayne, who along with Wozniak and Jobs, actually founded Apple Computer. In 1976, after only working for two weeks at Apple, Wayne relinquished his stock (10% of the company) for a one-time payment of $800 because he thought Apple was too risky! (Had he kept it, Wayne’s stock would be worth billions!)

Steve Jobs thought that the overly complex logo had something to do with the slow sales of the Apple I, so he commissioned Rob Janoff of the Regis McKenna Agency to design a new one. Janoff came up with the iconic rainbow-striped Apple logo used from 1976 to 1999.

Rumor has it that the bite on the Apple logo was a nod to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science who committed suicide by eating a cyanide-laced apple. Janoff, however, said in an interview that though he was mindful of the “byte/bite” pun (Apple’s slogan back then: “Byte into an Apple”), he designed the logo as such to “prevent the apple from looking like a cherry tomato.”

 
In 1930, Goro Yoshida and his brother-in-law Saburo Uchida created Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Japan. Four years later, they created their first camera, called the Kwanon. It was named after the Kwanon, Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy. The logo included an image of Kwanon with 1,000 arms and flames.

Coolness of logo notwithstanding, the company registered the differently spelled word “Canon” as a trademark because it sounded similar to Kwanon while implying precision, a characteristic the company would like to be known and associated with.

In 1865, Knut Fredrik Idestam established a wood-pulp mill in Tampere, south-western Finland. It took on the name Nokia after moving the mill to the banks of the Nokianvirta river in the town of Nokia. The word “Nokia” in Finnish, by the way, means a dark, furry animal we now call the Pine Marten weasel.

The modern company we know as the Nokia Corporation was actually a merger between Finnish Rubber Works (which also used a Nokia brand), the Nokia Wood Mill, and the Finnish Cable Works in 1967.

Before focusing on telecommunications and cell phones, Nokia produced paper products, bicycle and car tires, shoes, television, electricity generators, and so on.

In 1982, forty-something programmers John Warnock and Charles Geschke quit their work at Xerox to start a software company. They named it Adobe, after a creek that ran behind Warnock’s home. Their first focus was to create PostScript, a programming language used in desktop publishing.

When Adobe was young, Warnock and Geschke did everything they could to save money. They asked family and friends to help out: Geschke’s 80-year-old father stained lumber for shelving, and Warnock’s wife Marva designed Adobe’s first logo.

In 1982, Microsoft announced a new logo, complete with the distinctive “O” that employees dubbed the “Blibbet.” When the logo was changed in 1987, Microsoft employee Larry Osterman launched a “Save the Blibbet” campaign but to no avail. Supposedly, way back when, Microsoft cafeteria served “Blibbet Burger,” a double cheeseburger with bacon.

In 1987, Scott Baker designed the current, so-called “Pac-Man Logo” for Microsoft. The new logo has a slash on the ‘O’ that made it look like Pac-Man, hence the name. In 1994 Microsoft introduced a new tagline Where do you want to go today?, as part of a $100 million advertising campaign. Needless to say, it was widely mocked.