Super Bowl

The sheer spectacle of the Super Bowl trivializes everything. The high cost of the seats assures that only the upper echelons can attend, to be seen in the company of themselves. The rest of us must watch from home; which, by the way, offers a much better perspective of the game.

As plebes, watching from home we are condemned also to watching the commercials. These are said to have evolved into high art. In fact, legions of non-fans of the sport watch simply to see the advertising which essentially amounts to a parade of tools marching through our version of Tahrir Square - like a succession of splendid rags paraded down glittering runways on the angular bodies of emaciated females - and, as we all know, tools can never exceed their function.

The controversy engendered by the Groupon ads went right over my head. I might have been reaching for the hummus at the time and not paying attention. I did marvel at GM’s contribution, knowing how cash strapped they are.

H&R Block decided to skip advertising this year, having failed to realize an up-tick in business last year. And so it is with them all - the products and services vying for attention on the national vaudeville stage.

So, advertising at the Super Bowl appears similar to those who spend huge sums simply to be there, to be seen in the company of naked emperors; to maintain their jewels in the crown - their white elephants - like the Taj Pierre (Hotel) on New York’s 5th Avenue, painstakingly maintained by the TATA’s at a loss. I was not shocked to see W, but surprised by the absence of Barack Hussein Obama, our latest symbol of excess - in the jubilant stands.

Was happy to watch from home with my family, rooting for no one in particular (until the end) and stuffing my face.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Emptying the 'burbs

During my last stay in India, I saw for the first time several Nanos. They stand out because they are bright, shiny and new. My wife’s son had ordered one a while back but rescinded the order when he found that he would have to wait too long to get delivery. The Nano is not electric, but very small. It was originally envisioned eventually to take the place of the three-wheeled (mostly) yellow, lawnmower engine-driven auto rickshaws. In the meantime other companies have entered the Indian micro automobile market with product - including Ford's Figo.

A side-by-side comparison between battery-powered cars and regular cars would show the scale still tilting in favor of regular cars. Assuming for a moment that the ‘global warming’ argument is still a factor, electric cars would still have to be charged which would require (usually) coal burning electric plants to provide that power. Cars would need to be significantly smaller which would impact safety negatively. Smaller cars might mean making more trips. Accidents involving battery powered cars might require dealing with acid spillage. Disposal of used car batteries might also present a problem. And no one to date - as far as I know - has mentioned how long electric car batteries can be expected to last and what it would cost to replace them. If the Apple iPod series is any clue, replacement may not even be possible.

I suspect there is also something else behind it: ideology. The primary goal of Marxists has always been to establish absolute control. What better way than to decrease the range a government-approved vehicle can travel! The range on a single charge of the hotly-touted GM Volt is said to be 40 miles. That translates into 20 mi. commutes. They’re always talking about depopulating the suburbs and forcing working people back into the cities. The electric car, which may soon become mandatory, might actually accomplish this.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

We just don't believe...

Back in the day, just around the time when Audi had its troubles - which Audi could never adequately explain or defend - I was coming home from work one night and found the garage door closed. It was raining. I slammed the gearshift from ‘drive’ into ‘park’, jumped out of the car and went to open it. Suddenly I saw the car slowly rolling towards me. I was lucky it wasn’t an Audi and that I had parked it far enough back. The car was slow enough to give me a chance to raise the door, jump to the side, get back into the vehicle and slam on the brakes before hitting the back wall. It turns out that instead of ‘P’, I had shifted to ‘1’ with the engine running. After that experience I have always doubted the tales of the Audi bashers.

What intrigues me about the Toyota story is how so many view our own government’s involvement at the periphery with suspicion. They quite rightly point out that Toyota is one of the most significant competitors of G(overnment) M(otors); but then they take a further leap in claiming (also correctly) that anything bad that can be disseminated about Toyota would help give a leg up to U. S. government-owned GM. And that this was the real reason for U.S transportation chief, Ray LaHood, jumping on the bandwagon so quickly, telling people to “stop driving them (Toyotas)”.

Besides, we just don’t believe anything the government says anymore about anything: color-coded terror threats; unemployment numbers; pandemic alerts; etc. It’s all become a great big game with this administration to say anything, but do only that which nobody talks about.

It all takes me back to when Bush was said to have personally orchestrated the World Trade Center bombing (because Cheney wanted a war).

This is what scares me: Whereas I never saw the ‘truthers’ as anything but a bunch of cranks, I’m tempted to give credence to any Chicago-style bad-mouthing, death threatening, kneecapping, cement shoeing, land filling ploy originating from within this White House. Remember: “Never let a crisis go to waste.”