There's plenty going on today... major protests in Afganistan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere over Newsweek's allegation of flushing a Qu'ran down a toilet at Guantanamo... The 'nuclear option' still looms, and Bolton's up for a vote this week. So, this is a bit off topic but it immediately struck me as something worth discussing.
Last night I saw a commercial. One of those that takes 28 seconds for the reveal of what's being sold. It's a coal mine with Merle Travis' Sixteen Tons playing in the background. But... this is no ordinary coal mine... you don't see MINING so much as you see gleaming muscles... then women... LOTS of women and all of THEIR gleaming muscles (and perfect hair and perfectly smudged "I've been working in a coal mine" make-up). That's what caught me first.
Being a woman, I don't want to detract from all the women who I'm quite sure ARE coal miners, but what are the numbers, people? How many women are there REALLY? This mine must have been special because as the seconds ticked by, there were more and more sexy and scantily clad women. That's when my brain kicked in and asked, "what the hell are they selling?"
Clean Coal.
My jaw dropped. GE is selling clean coal with sex. Yes, that's a neatly packaged point of view, wrapped in a bow, but that's what this is. Sexy women, sweating and shoveling coal and giving that oh-so-demure, pouty look to the camera and the last two seconds or so is the punch. GE. Bringing you the energy of the future.
I'm sorry, but there are BETTER energy technologies out there but "clean coal" is Bush's pet (goat) so, GE steped up to bat with a sexy coal ad.
Ew. I feel dirty.
Then, I heard this morning, Mr. POTUS himself will be at a biofuel plant (in South Carolina?) to see how soybeans are being turned into viable fuel... so that he can pressure the passage of his 'energy' bill.
Am I nuts? Is it just me or does this all seem so backwards?
Thanks to Adrants for a little extra info and a still of one of those sexy miners.
http://www.adrants.com/2005/05/perfect-bodied-coal-miners-strike-a-pose.php
Always more to see and discuss at http://screamingme.blogspot.com/