Yep – it’s back!

And now that times are tough, you wish you were getting a carton under your Christmas tree.

Oh, I forgot – you couldn’t afford a tree this year.

The Philadelphia Eagles flew into DC to take on the Washington Redskins for Monday Night Football and the crowd descended on Lucky Strike! Guinness and Suite Nation sponsored a night of fun, food, and football…with some bowling and free Guinness on the side! Check out the pictures below!

so here we go again & again .

Ich wurde getagt; und das von meinem eigenem Husband !

(und jetzt auch von LAN. man ich hab richtig Fame yaa)

OMG, ich bin jetzt so frustriert . (lmao)

“TAG TAG TAAG!

Beantworte diese Fragen und tagge alle Menschen, die du willst. Verlinke die Person, die dich getaggt hat. Kopier das alles in deinen neuen Post.

Nenne in deinem Post 10 Dinge, die du in deiner Tasche mit hast, bzw. die du für wichtig hälst.”

—————

1. Muneyyy (+ Monatskarte)

2. Feuerzeug

3. Handyphone

4. Taschentücher

5. Lipgloss (ja auch ich bin girlish)

6. Schlüssel

7. noch ein Schlüssel

8. zukünftiges NETBOOK (passt schon irgendwie rein)

9. Deo (ihr stinkiehs!)

10. Desinfektionsmittel (nicht so wichtig, als ob ich je H1n1 krieg’ xd)

5. iPod (ohne ihn geh ich nicht raus)

11. Tampons 4 Life xDDD

Me tags : Husband ! (Lan hat schon xD)

For those of you who attended Nexus 09, you know how awesome it was. For those of you who didn’t, here is a little recap for you.

The opening event at the Twisted Cork at the Hyatt in Bellevue was a great way to kick off the conference and bring together attendees, vendors and ImageSource staff. There were appetizers and cocktails, and it was just a fun way to mingle with everyone.

The first day of the conference was very eventful. It kicked off with Atle Skjekkeland, Vice President of AIIM as the keynote speaker. He discussed new worker models, Enterprise 2.0 and social media. The second keynote presentation that day was a case study panel. Each panelist discussed his solution and the benefits it brought each organization, as well as answered questions.

The breakouts for the first day were packed with information ranging from SharePoint, to ILINX Capture, to Social Media.

The evening event was held at Lucky Strike Lanes in Bellevue. This was an awesome event. It was not your typical bowling alley. It was chic and modern. The food was fabulous and the music was great.

Day two of the conference boasted Shadrach White, CTO of ImageSource and John Isaza from Howett Isaza Law Group as the keynotes. Breakouts were centered around records management, enterprise planning, and more.

If you haven’t registered for Nexus 2010, you need to! Space is limited and right now, the price is only $195! Use code NEXUS10SPL. The dates are Nov. 4-5 at the Meydenbauer Center.

If you would like additional information on ECM topics, please add us to your RSS feed and Follow us on Twitter. Stay tuned for our Facebook Fan Page and Profile as well.

BLOGS
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Kristina Parma
Corporate Communications Manager
ImageSource, Inc.

September’s edition was such a success, I guess I’ll continue the monthly image post!!

Here are 15 images from Laconic Oration, during the month of October:

via Laconic Oration

scott

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, a fierce critic of all things related to the European Union, is the only thing standing between Europe’s élite club and its mighty future. Until he signs the Lisbon Treaty — the Czech Republic is the last holdout among E.U. members — the E.U.’s grand reform plan remains in limbo. While politicians across the continent have spent weeks wringing their hands, trying to figure out how to compel Klaus to sign the document, the majority of Czechs are standing behind their leader. “I actually like him. He is an intelligent man who knows what he is talking about,” says Anna Hrubesova, a 17-year-old student…

>>Time

Vaclav Klaus is a populist — not to be confused with Vaclav Havel, the dissident poet who was jailed under the Communist regime and became president in the modern democratic era. Part of Klaus’s stalling tactic has involved stoking fears that Germans who were ousted after WWII could reclaim their land via EU courts.

As the article later explains:

Havel has blasted the President’s [Klaus] holdout position as “irresponsible and dangerous.” Author Jaroslav Rudis, who has written about the expelled Germans, also questioned Klaus’ motives. “Every time I hear someone play this card I feel like the war has never ended,” he tells TIME. “It’s like it’s from a different planet.”

Different planet? Oh, I can relate. This is the part where I share the Czech/EU experience of my dad — an accomplished political scientist, a Czech expat (and later re-pat), a fervent anti-Communist and general fan of democracy.

No filters on these cancer-immunizing mo-fo's

When he moved back to the Czech Republic, he couldn’t get the filterless Commander, Chesterfield and Lucky Strike cigarettes he’d grown accustomed to in his post-war U.S. salad days.

[Moderate smoking of filterless cigarettes, my zealous and devout smoking father assured me, has "an immunizing effect" against lung cancer. Must be filterless, mind you; filters only filter out the protective stuff. "So I should start smoking them now then?" my 12-year-old self asked him. Him, quickly: "No."]

So my dad would have us buy cartons of these cigarettes — for some reason, they were plentiful at the Discount Smoke Shop — and ship them over to him in his village abode in the Czech hills. Until one year where the shipment was stopped. He got a notice from the postmaster that he would have to come to Prague (two hours away) to retrieve them and pay a duty, because he was importing essentially a small suitcase load of cigs. The limit was 50 (cigarettes or packs, I can’t remember).

His response? Probably send a relative with a doctor’s note to Prague to say he was physically incapable of retrieving the cigarettes, yet also in medical need of them. But beyond that: He asked us to send him one carton at a time, in different kinds of envelopes, with different handwriting on the address label. (Being something of a font/handwriting zealot myself, I took up the task once just for the fun of it, to see how much I could screw up Czech addresses in oblivious American handwriting.)

After he hatched this plan for us, though, he vented to me: “Now I really wish I’d never voted for joining the EU.”

OK, fellow achievers you asked for it so here it is – the final lowdown on the Houston Lebowski Bash. This years party will include the following awesome festivities

Costume Contest, Trivia Contest, Human Bowling, Live Music, & a screening of The Big Lebowski

Yes, you read that right – HUMAN BOWLING!

Mark you calendars as we have an insane amount of fun coming your way Friday November 13th at Discover Green in Houston.

This years party is brought to you by the Houston Downtown District along with Discovery Green and Houston’s newest bowling lanes Lucky Strike.

Pre-Party Happy Hour at Lucky Strike!

Festivities start rolling at 5 pm as Lucky Strike will host the bums with a special Lebowski Bash White Russian and Bowling Pre-party. Lucky Strike will have special happy hour pricing on Caucasians and Saint Arnold beer. Lucky Strike happy hour runs from 5 pm – 7 pm.

Lucky Strike Lanes:
1201 San Jacinto in Downtown Houston

Map to Lucky Strike. It’s only a couple blocks from Discovery Green!

Houston Lebowski Bash Information

After you’ve fueled up at Lucky Strike head over to Discovery Green where festivities get underway at approximately 7:30.

This years bash will include the following:

Live music from Houston’s own Picture Book.

Costume Contest: Categories are Best Male Character, Best Female Character, and Most Creative. Fabulous prizes provided by Lucky Strike Lanes.

Trivia Contest: Test your Dude knowledge against everyone else and win a prize from Lucky Strike

Movie screening on the hill: Will start around 10:00 PM. Bring you lawn chairs and blankets.

There will be beer and wine for sale only at Discovery Green

THIS EVENT IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC

Questions or comments? Drop us a line at here

Photo courtesy of Jeff Balke

Sometimes there’s nothing more fun than combining sports and drinking. And the best part of drinking while bowling is that you have an excuse for all your gutter balls. So grab your socks,  rent some bowling shoes, and ask for a bumper lane because all these bowling alleys also have bars.

Here are my 5 picks:

1. Bowlmor. 110 University Place

2. Lucky Strike. 42nd and 12th

3. Harlem Lanes. 125th and 7th

4. Leisure Time Bowl. 625 8th ave

5. 300 New York. 23rd and Hudson River

Ok, not really what you’re thinking but it’s a random mix of all these things happening in one night at the same time.

But really, it’s the “Peep Show Premiere/B4BC “Bowl a Spare Save a Pair” Night/ Roxy Nikita Fashion Show”
It’s on Saturday, Oct 17th at Lucky Strike at The Block in Orange.

Free Bowling and Free Boobs… whoops, I meant Booze.

Come and support the BOOBIES (.)(.) !!!

If you haven’t already registered for Nexus, now is the time to do so. Nexus is ImageSource’s annual ECM Solutions Conference held in Bellevue, Wash. at the Meydenbauer Center November 2-3, 2009. This year, there are more than 30 breakout sessions and keynote presentations.

If you are going to register and need a hotel, ImageSource has a block of hotel rooms reserved at the Hyatt in Bellevue. Attendees can reserve a room for $175 a night, but hurry because this offer ends Friday, October 16th!

This year’s evening event is going to be held at Lucky Strike and the Sunday evening reception will be at the Twisted Cork. You don’t want to miss either of these events.

Post-conference training will be held on November 4th and the class being held is the AIIM ECM Practitioner Certification taught by Pamela Doyle. The class runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and costs $599 with your Nexus registration. This includes all necessary materials.

To check out the agenda, get more information or register for Nexus, visit www.NexusECM.com.

We hope to see you there!

Kristina Parma
Corporate Communications Manager
ImageSource, Inc.

Lucky Strike Bold - a Strong snus

Traditional Swedish Snus with a flavor of pure tobacco and a touch of the unique Lucky Strike taste. Now also as STRONG SNUS! Unfortunately not for sale to US. Read More…

Todos que leram o verve nos últimos tempos sabem algo sobre mim, e provavelmente sabem que eu sou fumante, no momento sou um óbvio inimigo da sociedade, mandado para a chuva onde é o lugar dos fumantes.

Mas ignorando o melodrama fumante, há alguns dias parei em um posto de gasolina para comprar cigarro, levei óbviamente uma coca-cola, meu bom e velho Lucky Strike e por fim estava no caixa pagando, quando observei um dos produtos que estava a venda.

Um dos maiores problemas que a lei anti-fumo esta causando é o acúmulo de bitucas de cigarro jogadas na rua, fumantes são um povo desgraçado, e por mais que eu gostasse de dizer o contrário, reconheço que muitas vezes joguei a bituca na rua, e enquanto pagava meu cigarro no caixa, observei um “porta-bitucas” que estava a venda, custava cerca de 5 Reais, era feito com garrafas pet recicladas, e possuia uma espécie de oleo dentro que impossibilitava que o produto fosse queimado.

Achei uma idéia interessante, e exceto pelo tamanho do produto que não caberia em um simples bolso, apresentava uma solução prática para um problema recorrente.

Enquanto procuro uma solução melhor para as bitucas do meu cigarro, continuo com o Green Verve… merda… não era Strange Verve?

After enduring most of the season waiting for the writers to revisit Sal’s sexual awakening introduced in the season 3 premiere, Sunday’s “Wee Small Hours” took his storyline for a realistic but devastating twist. Lee Garner, Junior, asshole heir to the Lucky Strike fortune whom we last saw two and a half years ago in the season pilot, is revealed to be gay (or bi, or just really horny) when he corners Sal drunk-as-a-skunk in the editing room. Horrified, Sal resists, and a mortified Lee calls up Harry Crane to fire Sal and help him save face. Long story short, when Harry does nothing the fiasco escalates to Don, who then fires Sal on the spot.

This moment really shouldn’t have come as a shock after the preparation we received with Guy MacKendrick’s career-ending maiming, nor after Don forsaked his pride to sign the contract two episodes ago. We knew things would change. But how radically, I was not prepared for. Don’s encounter with Sal, in which he slings around the red-letter “you people” revealed more about Don than anyone else, but it was still difficult to take. For the second time, Don displaces his impotence and anger toward Roger by lashing out at a subordinate; though while Don appears to have recanted and awarded the Hilton account to Peggy anyway, it seems far less likely he’ll backpedal into rehiring Sal. At first, Don refuses to believe Sal’s insistence that nothing happened; because Don cheats on his wife with every other woman he meets, he has trouble believing in Sal’s integrity (though to be fair, their trip to Baltimore gave him ample reason for skepticism). Once Sal does manage to convince him though, the tables turn: suddenly, Don blames Sal for not doing something. “Lucky Strike could turn off our lights,” he says, as Sal blanches. “I think you know this is how it has to be.”

Dick Whitman, or what was left of him in Don Draper, would never have trounced Sal for refusing to prostitute himself to a client. But in signing the contract, that is essentially what Don feels he has done, and he’s suddenly furious at anyone else who demonstrates dignity and resistance. A friend characterized Don’s signing of the contract as the death of Dick Whitman; I can’t picture a more perfect analogy. But there’s also a bit of what I’m going to call the Barack Obama syndrome—an otherwise intelligent, open-minded man who can’t seem to shake residual heterosexual male discomfort at the whole notion of homosexuality: the “ick” factor. On some level, I don’t think Don sees Sal sleeping with a man as much different from prostituting himself—to him it all falls on a sprectrum of “alternative” sexuality, an incomprehensible and drastic departure from his own aggressively masculine, traditional heterosexuality. That Sal, as one of “those people,” would have preferences and aversions within the realm of male partners seems impossible for Don to grasp.

There was a similarly revealing moment along racial lines between Betty and Carla, who is listening to radio coverage of the four black girls killed in the church basement bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. Betty shakes her head at the news, then in the next breath questions the timing of the civil rights movement—“Maybe it’s not supposed to happen right now.” This scene drew explicit parallels to the scene in “The Fog” in which Peggy asks Don for a raise and is told it’s not a good time. “It’s not a good time for me, Don,” she replies, because is there ever a good time to be discriminated against? Interestingly, two of my male friends have defended Don’s resistance to Peggy’s requests (because with their quiet, respectful delivery they certainly can’t be called demands), arguing Don’s justification—he’s right not to pick fights over equal pay he can’t win with Lane Pryce, and he shoots her down as easily as he would a Campbell or a Cosgrove. Peggy is being a bit presumptuous, even if she’s just asking not to make less than her male colleagues for doing higher quality work.

I understand the logic behind these arguments, but I still feel they miss the point. This Mad Men blog, which is coauthored by two gay men, brought yet another perspective to the Betty line by  referencing the contemporary gay rights movement, in a comment so insightful I’m going to quote it: “That is exactly what well-meaning supporters have been saying to us for a decade now regarding our own civil rights struggles. Be patient. Don’t ask for too much equality because it might piss people off. It’s no more an acceptable argument for denying civil rights today than it was in 1963.” Can we all just agree it’s never acceptable to put people off from demanding to be treated equally and fairly? Thank you.

Moving on to Suzanne Farrell, I was sweating there for a bit after the Drapers’ Roman holiday, wondering if my prediction in the “Guy Walks. . .” commentary that Don would sleep with her within three episodes would prove false—but as usual, Don did not disappoint.

Ironically, after all his cat fights with Roger, Don is positioning himself to make the same mistakes that earned Roger his scorn: getting involved in a potentially public, messy affair with a woman known to his wife, his daughter, and who lives less than two miles from his home. Two miles, Don? Even using Connie Hilton as an excuse won’t get you out of that scrape. And since we’ve already watched Betty deal with his affairs, I’d be very curious to see if Sally Draper stumbles across this one. Particularly since she looks to be on the cusp of fifth grade, the writers could do some very interesting things exploring the death of Sally’s hero worship toward her father.

(Also, I’d like to note Mad Men proves that while gentlemen prefer blondes, cads go for brunettes. There’s been Midge Daniels, Rachel Menken, Bobbie Barrett, and now Suzanne Farrell—other than the flight attendant, it seems Don’s doing all he can to find women the physical opposite of Betty.)

 
I’ll gloss over Connie Hilton, except to say how startling it is to see Don acting like a lapdog—or rather, like a son yearning for approval. As anyone who manages expectations for a living knows, Don is building a monster. By catering to Connie’s insecurity and petulance, Don has allowed his personal and professional lives to become completely entwined. Connie’s statement that he thinks of Don like a son clearly touches Don deeply—we see in Don’s face during this midnight heart-to-heart an earnestness usually reserved for flashbacks to Dick Whitman. As Betty observes, he likes Connie’s exhaustive neediness, because at his core Don is just as needy. But the entwinement makes Connie’s inevitable disappointment much worse, and his withdrawl of parental affection when the campaign derails (“What do you want, love?”) cuts Don that much more deeply. Don will need to learn to separate Connie’s appreciation from true paternal love, or he’ll remain hostage to the latter’s demands, contract or no.

Unless Mad Men breaks with tradition, we have four more episodes to go. We’re currently at mid-September, and it seems fair to assume the season will climax with Kennedy’s assassination in November.  But I’m hoping they also explore the Second Vatican Council, whose second session began in Sept. 1963 and which was responsible for sweeping reforms in the Church like the end of the Latin mass. Given Peggy’s religious ambivalence, it would be interesting to explore her reactions. And it could mean the return of Father Gill! Or, perhaps as another friend has predicted, all the Sterling Cooper rejects will run off and create a rival ad agency. Fingers crossed, if it means more of Peggy, Sal, and Joan!

Mad Men Season 3, Episode 9:  Wee Small Hours

This week’s episode was way better than last week!

Don is really struggling with Hilton, he is awakened at all hours of the night on Connie’s suggestions and requests.  You signed the contract Don!

The opening scene…Betty is being undressed on her fainting couch and is kissed. Who is the mystery man?  The phone rings and it is Connie.  The baby starts crying and Betty wakes up.

I love that Connie is worried that NYC is not a domestic destination like Dallas!  Don fumbling with his note pad by his bedside table is classic.  He is really at Connie’s beck and call.  He wants Don to take a stab at the International side of Hilton, he wants a Hilton all over the world-even the moon!  …Don is instructed to draft proposals by noon, off he goes to work.

Don spots Sally’s teacher, Ms. Suzanne Farrell jogging on his way to work.  He offers to give her a ride—hello that defeats the purpose of running!   She gets in, Martin Luther King Jr’s, I Have a Dream speech.  She tells Don she is going to read the speech to her students when school starts.  Don wonders if they will understand it.  She thinks they already know it.  Don states, “Who are you?”  This young, feisty woman reminds me of his mistress the first season, Midge, she was a complete opposite of Betty. Don asks her to have coffee with him, but she refuses and runs off.  Don, you dirty dog-he even drives by her house later in the episode.

Betty is back in the spotlight.  While eating breakfast with her kids, Betty spots an article in the paper on Goldwater and Rockefeller re:  the GOP nomination.  We see her later write a letter to Henry Francis-does anyone read this?  Betty has a letter from Henry; he has replied that no one reads his mail anymore.  She has a huge grin on her face.  I really thought that last week was the end of the Betty/Henry deal.

Lucky Strike has the rest of SC busy.  Sal is directing the commercial, Pete is the account executive and Henry Crane is somehow putting it all together as director of the television department.  Lee Garner Jr, from Lucky Strikes, is quite a handful.  He is almost as pushy as Connie.  While editing the commercial, Sal, Garner and the editor are looking at the takes.  Garner is fascinated with commercial process, Sal makes a crack, does your dad know?  (Note:  Lee Garner Sr. is BIG TOBACCO).  When the editor leaves the room to work on the audio portion, Sal and Garner are alone.  Garner is drunk, but Sal is hard at work.  Garner peers over Sal’s shoulder and strokes Sal’s chest.  Sal is startled and says that he is married, but so is Garner.  Garner says that editor is not coming back for awhile, but Sal turns on the light and says they have had a misunderstanding.  Garner responds, “I know what I know.”  Sal is stone face and says he will have the commercial done shortly.  Garner walks off and says, “I got it, you’re at work, too bad.”  Sal grows angry and throws stuff around.  Poor Sal….who can he tell?  This was/is such a taboo subject.

Late we find Crane and Kinsey watching TV at the office.  Garner has called Crane to tell him that he wants Sal off the account.  Crane states he has no authority-but Garner is insistent and requests that he keep it quiet and not tell anybody.    Kinsey coaxes it out of Crane-he thinks that since he was really drunk, it is going to let it blow over.

Next scene, Sterling Cooper team is presenting the Lucky Strike commercial.  Garner walks in, spots Sal and storms off. I guess it didn’t blow over!  Roger is pissed—what happened?  Crane admits to the Sal debacle-Roger turns to Sal and fires him.  Jaws drop….Roger instructs the team to get Don to fix this mess.  There are personalities that can be account men and those that are creative, Roger and Pete are account men-but what is Henry Crane?

Crane explains to Don how the $25 million account is in jeopardy.  Don demands to know what the real story is….Sal tells him that Garner cornered him, but nothing happened.  Don knows Sal’s secret, remember Baltimore, but Don isn’t sold.  He even says, “You people.”  Sal calls Garner a bully, but since this is such a huge campaign that could shut off the lights at SC, there is nothing else to do.  Don shakes his hand and exit Sal.

Later we find Sal in a phone booth calling his wife; he tells her he has to work late.  It appears that he is in a park for cruising.  I am sorry to see Sal leave!  I wonder if his character will come back, just like I hope that Joan returns soon.

Don is summoned in the middle of the night.  Connie wants him to have a drink with him.  Connie is in a bit of a crisis, he is worried about business again.  He believes that his purpose in life is to bring America to the world.  He confides in Don that he sees him as a son, sometimes more than son since he wasn’t born into privilege.  Don thanks him sincerely.  The relationship between Don and Connie is puzzling-father/son or business only?!

Ding dong!  Who’s at the door?  Henry Francis has made a surprise visit to Betty.  She is startled, Carla is due back.  She panics and Henry says that this is an excellent venue for a fundraiser, when Carla enters.  Carla walks him out….you know what she is thinking.

Don pitches to Hilton.  The campaign is to lure the American abroad.  Hilton-it is the same in all languages.  Connie thinks it is good, but is a bit disappointed.  He wanted Hilton on the moon!  Connie requests to speak with Don in private.  Connie is going to speak honestly with Don-you did not give me what I wanted-your work is good.  Connie even states, “What do you want from me, love?”  The relationship isn’t strained, but we are seeing Don in a new light-flustered.

At the fundraiser, Henry Francis is a no-show.  He sent a representative from the office.  There is some chatter about the Civil Rights movement in the South.  Betty is miffed!  Later we see Betty enter Henry’s office walking in with her lock box.  She hurls it at him in anger- she demands to know where he was last night.  He explains that he wanted her to come to me.  Why?  Because you are married—what the hell does that mean, save face/not cause suspicion?  He kisses her passionately and locks the door.  Betty pushes him off-the whole thing is tawdry.  She apologizes that she started this and he says he doesn’t know what she wants.  Exit Betty.  What is her deal?  Again, is it the attention?

Back at the office, Roger visits Don-he is angry.  Roger is miffed that he learned that Connie was upset when he left.  He thinks that Don is over his head.  Don doesn’t flinch.  Maybe he is a bit stretched thin, I wonder if they are going to bring in an assistant creative director?

Instead of Don getting ready for bed-he wakes Betty and tells her that Hilton called.  The old Don is back!  He knocks on Suzanne’s door.  He tells her he wanted to talk, but she calls him out.  He can’t stop thinking about her—IS SHE NEW AND DIFFERENT? Or EXACTLY THE SAME?  He asks her is she hasn’t thought about him lately—but she knows how it will end.  She is right, she is in the same neighborhood, not like the bohemian in the Village, and she shops at the same stores as Betty.  Don moves in-he wants her and he doesn’t care.  He kisses her.  The episode ends with Don’s arms wrapped around Suzanne in bed.

I think when Don get flustered he gets restless….Midge, Rachel, Bobbie, California girl….but what will Betty do?  Did she really call it off with Henry?

Interesting thoughts:

• America is wherever we look, wherever were going to be-don’t we see KFC all over the world, not what Don envisioned, right?
• Pencil box vs. Pencil case
• Pete pressured to smoke, fails miserably
• Betty has only met Henry Francis three times
• Betty thinking that it isn’t the time for Civil Rights-I guess all is well in CT

“Wee Small Hours”

October 11th, 2009

“I can’t do this all by myself”

Sally’s teacher, sitting in Don’s car in the middle of the night, says that she is going to read her new class “I Have a Dream” on the first day back to school. However, she also indicates that they already know it: I don’t think she’s insinuating that they’ve heard the speech, but rather that there is something in child-like innocence that embraces the image of a dream and of a better future.

The entirety of “Wee Small Hours” is not about civil rights at all, but it is about characters confronting the demons in their past in an effort to move into the future. For Don Draper, a new relationship begins to mirror an old one, and for Salvatore Romano a long-standing response has suddenly put his career into jeopardy. And then there’s Betty Draper, wide-eyed and naive to the point of childhood, and let applying her innocence less to an understanding of Dr. King and more to a petulant child who wants what she can’t have but then doesn’t want it once she has it.

It’s yet another installment in a compelling but slow-paced series of episodes, ones which feel designed to show these characters searching the depths of their emotions and not quite sticking the landing, so to speak.

Don’s relationship with Conrad Hilton is an element of the season that here finally reached its breaking point in terms of remaining all that interesting, although by design – at exactly the same moment when Don begins to grow tired of the late night phone calls and the mixed signals, we begin to grow tired of them as well. There is something inherently fascinating about this relationship on paper, a well-known businessman (and eccentric) taking over Don’s life in an effort to either drive him into working for him or simply use him in some capacity. However, in practice, the relationship goes as most of Don’s do, eventually devolving (or evolving, I guess) into a paternalistic relationship that only makes Don feel inadequate all over again. One moment, in the middle of the night, Hilton tells Don that he’s more than a son to him; the next time we see him, he’s horribly disappointed with Don’s work on the campaign, suggesting that he asked for the Moon and Don didn’t take him literally. Don ends up feeling so emasculated by the experience that he shifts from trying to please Hilton to using his penchant for late night phone calls as an excuse to head to the home of Sally’s teacher and seduce her.

She is right when she points out that he’s never done it like this before, so closely mixed his home life and his extra-marital activities. He’s had affairs, of course, but they were affairs that were born more out of his work than his family, a distinction more important than perhaps he realizes. However, in this instance, the damage that drives him to this point is family-related, stemming from his tumultuous past, so it’s perhaps most logical to him if he finds solace in someone who is related to images of childhood, who shares an innocent view of the world while remaining wise to his intentions. Don is being reckless in this situation, without question, but it’s an effort to regain control of something in his life. That final shot of Don holding her in bed is not some sort of post-coital pride or anything else: it’s Don needing someone to hold, needing someone to feel close to while he’s being pushed away by the other people in his life.

The scene with Salvatore and Don chatting is intriguing for us because we know that Don knows, and that Don passes judgment although not in so many words. His only suggestion is that Salvatore keep it out of his work, to some extent, and yet here we are with Don more or less suggesting that he should have had sex with Lee Garner Jr. if it had kept all of this business from emerging into the open. Sal was doing what Don told him, in some ways, staying true to his marriage and to the facade he puts on every day. However, in doing so, he risked the client, making Don essentially question whether “you people” can possibly function with subterfuge in this business or any business. Sal gets punished for denying himself what he most desires, a situation that drives him to call his wife late at night from a dark park, likely cruising now that he has no job and no fancy commercial direction job to hold him back.

Betty’s dalliance with Henry is the kind of storyline that feels the slowest if only because Betty has been here before. In Season One it was the washing machine, and in Season Two it was both the mechanic and eventually a consummation with Captain Awesome in the back room at a bar. We’ve seen Betty go down this road before, and in this instance all we saw was Betty’s attempt to maneuver within the relationship. She, like Don, wants to be in control, but she wants the thrill of having Henry come to the house to see her (after all, Don wants nothing to do with the fundraiser). She becomes a petulant child when she sits waiting by the door for Henry, and all but brushes off his boss in the process. When she heads to his office, it’s to throw a cash box at her for slighting her so dearly, but he was only being logical: she’s married, and he can’t just show up at her house. Of course, his plan goes to pot when Betty refuses to continue the relationship once she realizes that it can only happen behind closed doors.

It’s highly hypocritical, when you think about it: she loved when they were being clandestine with the letters, and the idea of them meeting under her own roof made her extremely happy, but the office is disgusting and a hotel room would be tawdry. I don’t think it’s as simple as to say that she isn’t capable of having an affair (after all, she did go through with the altercation at the end of last season). Rather, it’s as if she wants to have complete control, and wants to be able to have it be part of her home life. For us, Carla’s knowledge of the Henry’s visit is a ticking time bomb, but Betty tells Don about her scheme she concocted (which even Henry didn’t think she’d go through with) and tries to take control of the message. It’s like Betty has decided to become her own Public Relations department, and she gets off on it: she loves the idea that she is the puppetmaster and Henry is the puppet, so the second he tries to exert his power she revolts.

At various points, other characters find themselves stuck in the middle of these conflicts. Carla, simply arriving for the afternoon, finds Betty and Henry chatting in the hallway in a way that is less than polite, and is now forced to harbour a secret she wants nothing to do with. Harry, who in his witless fashion receives Garner’s request and does nothing about it, has no idea what Sal’s secret is and yet ends up seeming like an idiot in the process (not to mention Roger and Pete as the account men not quite sure what is going on). Even Don’s relationship with Hilton (which Roger asserts is the employment equivalent to an affair considering how distracted it has him) begins impacting the creative team when the campaign they pitch Don is attacked even when it uses his own tagline. Yes, these situations are frustrating for Don, Sal and Betty, which ultimately drives them to fall into old habits that are either unfulfilling (Betty), adulterous (Don) or socially unacceptable (Sal). But they’re also starting to affect the people around them in a way that is far more dangerous: we know Betty can sit at home and play the housewife, and we know that Don can pull off an affair, but we don’t know that their universes can support it.

I think the episode’s major problem is that, in headlining Don, Sal kind of got minimal coverage of what is a pretty huge life event. He’s the kind of character that can’t handle this kind of event: this is his first time really engaging with these types of feelings, and he is the most emotionally damaged when he hits the episode’s equivalent of rock bottom. He’s the one who I’m worried about, whereas this has happened so many times with Don and Betty that I kind of shrug my shoulders and wait until things hit the fan. One of the season’s problems, if not a major one, has that we’ve been down these roads before, and the storylines for Don and Betty here weren’t a huge help with that. However, what’s happening with Sal is far more interesting and has been long building to this point, so to see it ultimately sidelined (if still highlighted) here was a bit disappointing.

The season’s biggest issue thus far, for me at least, is a lack of bigger issues. Early episodes seemed to err too close to history in some ways, but the issue right now is that the London takeover has all but disappeared for the last few episodes as Conrad Hilton takes over. And, until this episode, Hilton hadn’t really interacted with anyone outside of Don, so it seems almost distracting. We haven’t returned to Peggy and Duck (not that I’m in the rush, but still), we haven’t returned to Moneypenny, and we saw only a brief glimpse of Joan. The show has a lot of balls in the air, but the implication here is that the characters are more interested in their personal lives than their professional ones: last week’s episode was about a weekend, and this week’s episode spent more time in Sterling Cooper yet only when it affected Don or when it was Salvatore’s new job (which doesn’t offer the same office sensibility). It’s not that this results in an uninteresting show, as this was undoubtedly compelling and well-made television. However, I find the show most interesting when it offers thematic parallels between the public and the private.

A solid outing, but definitely read to head into the home stretch of the final set of episodes.

Cultural Observations

• I think seeing the episode so soon after “Souvenir” almost hurt it: it made it seem like more should have changed when it didn’t, and since I wasn’t as enamoured with that episode as some others I think I went into this one from a different perspective.
• Pete attempting to smoke and failing miserably was two things: first, it was hilarious, and second it was another sign that he’s ahead of the times in terms of the health risks involved.
• Also on the humour scale was “Now that I can finally understand you, I am less impressed with what you have to say.”
• Hilton’s rash speech about communists and about implying that Hilton is a way for America to take over the world with their godliness was a whole lot of ideology for Don to be able to handle: he managed it pretty well, only to have the moon get in the way. That “You’re my angel” line is going to take some time to sink in, it has some strange implications.

…dansade jag en dans som skulle föreställa bugg till metal och drack gin & tonic. Det var trevligt. Idag vaknade jag och steg upp 07:30, det var inte lika trevligt. Nu ska jag dricka kaffe och kanske klä på mig. Att stå ute på balkongen och röka i morgonrock på hösten passar sig inte riktigt, ändå har jag redan gjort det två gånger.