Comments on: A Raymond Carver story.

By: Dexter

Dexter — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:36:59 +0000

My best laugh was the Cheetos comm in which the annoying cell-talker was “sic’d” on by the birds.
I stayed a few nights at The Chelsea Hotel in the 1980′s and it was fine, but I knew what to expect. Close-by were a deli, a jazz club, and a subway stop, and an OTB parlor. By NYC standards it was cheap, just $85 a night , but maybe Stanley Bard just took pity on us and gave us a good rate. Now the Bards are out and the hotel is in constant turmoil , with residents and management at war. It’s been quite a turbulent past few months, with the resignation recently of the new manager, and more urgent calls to bring Stanley Bard back….
Last night was special for me as I am a long-time Springsteen fan , and concert-goer. Of course both dogs had to go out so I only saw a little of the halftime show and I will watch the recording later today.
The commish was wrong…as good as the finish was, it did not top last year’s finish.
I swear, if I didn’t know better, I would have said the fix was in on that last play of the first half. SOMEBODY should have stopped him! I mean that wasn’t a player with Stevie Breaston-like speed returning that interception.

By: Jeff (the mild-mannered one)

Jeff (the mild-mannered one) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:42:47 +0000

Could the GoDaddy ads get any unironically worse? Or is there a metairony here i’m missing?

The ad material in general was pretty lame, and i still miss the once-annual Master Lock getting shot. The Bugs/Coke ad was cool, and i think the Audi ad was making an in-joke about Grand Theft Autos successive versions, but i only know that stuff second hand, so maybe i’m missing something.

The Boss was tremendous, but can you imagine the stadium and national reax when they finally wise up and tap Jimmy Buffet for halftime? I mean, c’mon . . . it will be the ultimate national sing-along.

Along with “Best,” a very subjective measure, i’d have to say that objectively, Bruce was having more fun *being* the Superbowl halftime show than anyone i’ve ever seen. His obvious delight in being there and doing the show was enjoyable even to folks who aren’t ‘steen fans, as my living room proved. It was just fun seeing how much fun he and the E-Streeters were having, and i don’t recall anyone, even U2, looking that happy and thankful to be in the middle of the field.

By: Dave K.

Dave K. — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:12:33 +0000

I thought it was interesting that Audi, Toyota, and Hyundai all had commercials, even though they lost money in 2008. Of course the US automakers wouldn’t dare spend anything on advertising, mid-bailout. Yes, Pedigree’s “Maybe you should get a dog…” was pretty funny. I especially liked the grandma in the back seat with a warthog, “How do you think I’m doing?!!”.

Edit: The Coke “Bugs” commercial was really well made and in the spirit of classic Super Bowl commercials. I wonder who produced that and what it cost?

Before the game I said that I wanted the Steelers to win, then I caught myself cheering for the Cards. 1) AZ defense was super, until the last 2:37. 2) #11 is one fast SOB! 3) And #10 Santonio stole the spotlight. 4) James Harrison won the game with his interception return, but he should have been ejected on the punt play he was flagged for. 5) Brian, I agree that the refs were merciless?

By: brian stouder

brian stouder — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:09:16 +0000

Best: The Coke commerical where the guy falls asleep and the bugs hijack his bottle.

Worst: The ‘it’s time to change jobs’ one which was repetitive, uninventive, out of tune with the times, and therefore ineffective.

I WAS taken by the car ads where if “you lose your income source” within a year, they’ll take the car back without crashing your credit rating.

I was for the Cardinals all the way; a good game, although the officials were pretty mercilous

By: Joe Kobiela

Joe Kobiela — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:21:23 +0000

Ok,
Who liked what commercials??
I liked the one for pedigree dog food.
Pilot Joe

By: MichaelG

MichaelG — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:10:12 +0000

BUMMERRRR!

By: Jeff (the mild-mannered one)

Jeff (the mild-mannered one) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:49:07 +0000

Nah, they complemented each other. (And a Kent State alum, didja notice?)

By: nancy

nancy — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:33:39 +0000

Too bad he he was upstaged by the last play before the half.

By: Jeff (the mild-mannered one)

Jeff (the mild-mannered one) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:24:21 +0000

OK, that was the best halftime show on the Superbowl i’ve ever seen, and i think i’ve seen ‘em all. Bruuuuuuuuuuuce . . . .

(btw, Deborah, i drove by the Chelsea in ’93, and that was enough for me — you’ve brave, even with a bucket of cleaning supplies in hand.)

By: basset

basset — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:02:19 +0000

if I was going to stay in a specific hotel out of appreciation for its contributions to our cultural history, I suppose it’d be one of these:

http://honeymoons.about.com/cs/canadiangetaways/a/johnyoko.htm