Enough ‘Mayhem’
The other day I saw another of those Allstate Insurance commercials involving “Mayhem,” the guy who keeps causing accidents.
I once emailed the Allstate head of advertising and the company president to complain about the poor example Mayhem presents, especially to younger viewers. I got no response, of course. Not even a polite, “Bug off.”
Of all the TV commercials I hate (and that is most of them; a subject for another column), I probably hate the Mayhem ads the most.
I suppose I am supposed to see the humor in the ads, but mostly I just see mindless stupidity passing for public discourse. I am offended (yes, shocking to say, offended) that the ads are still running. Blame the aforementioned Allstate executives and the TV network people who monitor broadcast standards — or don’t.
More notable passings
Are you invisible if no one sees you clearly? Consider the tale of Jesse Douglas, who died recently at age 90. A longtime aide to Martin Luther King Jr., he worked largely behind the scenes in the 1960s human rights movement.
An albino Black man with pale skin, blue eyes and blond hair, he was frequently mistaken for white. He was once labeled an “unidentified white man” in a newspaper photo of civil rights marchers in Atlanta.
Douglas was an ordained minister in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. According to The New York Times, in later life he served churches all around the country, including ones in Kansas City, Missouri, and Champaign, Illinois.
Bobby Cain, a member of the “Clinton 12” who helped integrate a Tennessee high school in 1956, died Sept. 23 at age 85.
According to AP, he was not happy about spending his senior year at the all-white Clinton High School, under a court order because he happened to live in the school district. After he received his diploma, he was beaten by a gang of white students.
Only one other of the 12 made it to graduation. Cain said he never had a friend in the school because any white person who dared befriend him would be ostracized.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt died Oct. 10 at age 106. She was the longtime men’s basketball team chaplain at Loyola University. She became an international celebrity in 2018 when the Loyola Ramblers made it to the NCAA Final Four and, at age 98, she cheered her team from a wheelchair.
Susan Stamberg, the first woman to host a national news program and a "founding mother" of National Public Radio, died Oct.16 at age 87.
Diane Keaton, Oscar-winning star of “Annie Hall,” “The Godfather” and other popular movies, died Oct. 11 at age 79. She was known for her quirky fashion sense and singular personal style. Somehow, she never clicked with me.
Scam alert
Gold is a hot commodity right now. When investors are uncertain about the future, they seek refuge in gold. When I last checked, the price of gold was $4,214 an ounce. That’s crazy. If gold is this hot, investors are running scared.
Crypto is a scam. That’s why the Trumps are betting big on it. Hot tip: Run away.
AI is also largely a scam. The stock market is running gaga over AI, and some experts see a bubble about to pop with major losses for many investors.
You know all about AI. Every time you try to send a text, your phone’s “spell check” makes silly changes to what you type. AI is a programmed response. There is a lot artificial about it but, as far as I can tell, little intelligence so far.
Google now says of its AI Overviews: “All responses may contain mistakes.” Ya think?