This is Our Country... Just Ask John

I'm probably like most Americans in that when commercials come on the radio or the tv, I usually tune them out. Our culture has become so bombarded with advertisements, that we have become oblivious to many of them. This forces those in advertising and marketing (I was once a marketing person!) to become more creative in how they deliver their messages to us. Some companies are putting their ads on eggs, others are turning to advertisements in the bathroom. Some use in-flight advertisements on napkins, others use those creative little games that come up as pop-ups on your computer screen.

And some, well, they just bombard you with advertisements in the conventional way.

Take for instance, Chevy's new ad campaign, which features a washed up, leftist, pompous, John Mellencamp ever so annoyingly reminding us that "this is our country." I remember watching the World Series when this commercial began, and thinking, "Wow, this could get annoying very fast." And it did. Not only did the commercial run 4 times as much as any other commercial in the World Series time slots , it's trickled over into every other tv programming area. It's out of control.

Usually when I become overly irritated by an advertisement, I boycott the product and try my best to persuade others to do so. In this instance, I can't. My father works for General Motors, so I can't boycott them. I also happen to drive a GM vehicle. So does Erica.

I'm not sure what I'm more upset about. The fact that the song is so outright annoying and impossible to shake from your memory, or the fact that John Mellencamp is trying to restore patriotism in the country. I don't know what I'm going to do.


Maybe I should quit being so mad when this song comes on, and applaud Chevy's innovative marketing strategy. I wonder if this would work. As I consult my magic 8 ball widget on my mac for an answer, it says "outlook doubtful."

At least it didn't say "Yes. This is your country."

10 days after Devil's Night, Saginaw still burning

I'm often happy when I see my college town in the news, much less a lead story on CNN.com. But, not for things like this. Pay special attention to the final comment by Saginaw's Chief of Police, whose keen intellect and foresight are nothing short of brilliant.

10 DAYS AFTER DEVIL'S NIGHT, FIRES STILL ABLAZING

Late Wednesday and early Thursday, four fires erupted on the same block, causing more than $70,000 in damage. No one was injured.

"Why would anybody keep doing this?" Battalion Chief Donald Coleman asked.

Firefighters have battled more than 50 fires since the October 30 spree in which 16 houses, most of them vacant, burned. Since then, homes, cars and garbage have been set ablaze.

Widespread arson fires on the night before Halloween, dubbed Devil's Night, started years ago in Detroit. Saginaw, a city of about 60,000 residents, later began seeing copycat arsons.

Police have said a police officer trained in arson investigation will be working with Fire Marshal Gregory Barton to sift through charred homes, interview potential witnesses and track down leads.

"I think criminals would be a little less inclined to burn things down if they think they might be caught," Police Chief Gerald H. Cliff said.

You and Me Eatin’ Crackers in the Dark

I think a semi truck has helped me realize what marriage will be like.

A few nights ago, I was driving back into Oxford to pick Erica up to eat dinner. We were going to go out to eat, to El Burrito Loco (only the best for us). As I was traveling down the winding road of 73, I realized something was very different. The entire town was blacked out. There were only emergency flood lights, which provided little more than a hint that a building or road might be approaching.

As Erica got into the car, we decided we would just go back to my apartment and wait out the outage. We arrived at the Brillo Pad (my apartment), lit a series of tea light candles left by my old roommate, and proceeded to talk. We were certain that the power would come back on any minute.

Sometimes certainties quickly become fallacies.

2 hours later, we’re still in the dark. We have no heat, no way to obtain food (we’re both assured that we will soon starve to death), and nothing to do. We spend the two hours talking and progressively adding layers of clothes to our chilling bodies.

It’s now been three hours, and we decide we have to eat something. We scout out the dry foods in the kitchen, only to find that crackers are our only option. As some may realize, you’re not supposed to open your refrigerator during a power outage, because moisture will enter and if the power is out long enough, you’ll spoil all of your food. Despite our fathers’ voices in our conscience, we open the refrigerator and grabbed whatever we could. I must admit that despite the fact that ice water was running through my veins, I was only manage to grab some leftover chicken alfredo pasta and a block of cheese.

So there we were. In the dark. Cold. Eating cold leftover pasta, drinking room temperature water, eating crackers and cheese, chatting about nothing….. and loving every minute of it.

We later learned that a semi truck ran into the main power transformer in Oxford, thus knocking out the power for the whole town.

Although it was a little difficult to hear Erica talking toward the end of the night because the earmuffs were muzzling the sound of her voice, I think she said something about hoping that we have a lifetime of these moments. I hope we do, too.