No let-up in the flood of "two crazy guys" cartoons, so we'll take a stroll in another direction today:
Today's Reply All -- part of an arc on the topic -- makes me feel good about something, or maybe it doesn't. I'm not sure.
A woman whom I dated for several years taught me, among other worthwhile things, the value of presentation, that putting a present in a paper bag diminishes it, at least in comparison to finishing the gesture by first seeking a good gift and then taking the effort to wrap it. In Japan, presentation is nearly all and the gift itself less important, but, even here, nice wrapping paper matters.
But back when I was occasionally hiring, I found that some people -- way too many people -- used presentation in lieu of content, and I never happened to be in the position of trying to hire a graphic artist or someone else where the ability to wow me with presentation was all that relevant.
And, while in hiring an assistant, a well-organized resume told me something I wanted to know, when I was hiring a reporter, one disqualification was being gullible enough to pay money to a resume expert who creates some fancy, over-produced crap on expensive paper in a die-cut folder. Reporting's a job for which coming across like Columbo is to your advantage.
But I always read through the extravaganzas anyway, because, in the back of my mind, I had this nagging sense that maybe I was being a little too male and failing to recognize the value of presentation.
So it's comforting to see a female cartoonist mocking the practice.
Unless it's that trap where only women with more male-like instincts make it in a male-dominated world.
Then again, I did actually read those flowery resumes and never found one in which the applicant had any substantive experience.
It wasn't so much a matter of "putting lipstick on a pig." It wasn't a matter of dressing up something ugly and covering warts. It was more a case of covering a balloon with cake frosting.
Looks lovely until you cut into it.
Which brings us to Bizarro and a related issue in which I'm pretty sure I'm being unfair, but not sure how unfair I'm being.
This is nothing about little girls playing with dolls, but more about local public radio, and it's not just one case. I'm on a border of several NPR stations and I hear it in local TV, too.
I think most women who go into broadcasting -- at least, most who end up with jobs -- are aware of the negativity around "vocal fry" and "uptalk," which are, after all, habits and affectations that you can get over, though this CBC report is less dismissive than others on the topic:
There is, however, a big difference between vocal tics in the overall workplace -- where a speech impediment, a stammer or a tendency to throw in fillers like "y'know" while searching for the right word should be overlooked in both genders -- and such things in broadcasting, particularly in radio, where all we have is the spoken word.
And I'll add here that, much as I admired his intellect, I found William ah-ah-ah-ah Buckley very hard to listen to, so it's not simply sexism to expect broadcasters to be verbally adept.
I'll also add, though it's somewhat irrelevant, that good looks have become necessary for both genders in television, which didn't used to be the case, while age-discrimination lawsuits have pushed back on the traditional pairing of the 50-year-old male anchor with the cute 27-year-old sidekick.
All that said, I don't know what to do about my prejudice that women reporters should not sound like they're 10 years old.
I'm talking here about pitch and I don't think you can do a whole lot to overcome "helium voice," but I wonder if it's something you should evaluate before choosing the medium in which you will seek work as a reporter.
And I don't have an answer.
And I feel particularly guilty when I focus on content and find that the report itself is perfectly competent and perhaps even excellent, except that it sounds like a grown-up wrote it and then handed it to a fourth-grader to read into the microphone.
However, as the little girl in the Bizarro cartoon says, it just isn't working for me.
And I'm aware that she's not playing the game right.
Juxtaposition of the Day #1
(Warped)
Argyle Sweater took me a minute, since I read it from the top down, first the picture, then the word balloon and finally the boxed caption. Warped got more of a chuckle than a belly laugh, but also scored by dressing up a dumb pun by delaying my arrival at the caption, this time with a balloon that went on about conic sections and prepared me for a much more intelligent gag.
Which latter comment sounds like I think that's a bad thing. Not at all. I meant it as a compliment.
Some people hate puns, but I think those are people who get touchy when they take a mental pratfall, which is, after all, how puns and shaggy dog stories work. Pride can rob you of an awful lot of fun.
Which is why they say that people with pride are square.
Juxtaposition of the Day #2
Which leaves us with the burning question, "Okay, but what if he put nose-glasses on the dog? Would that fool her?"
This cartoon is not political
Today's Pearls Before Swine is just a joke about a funny rat.
In real life, rats aren't funny.
And finally ...
Red and Rover leaves those of us of a certain age with a nice earworm, but, since overthinking things is central to the mission here, I'll leave you instead with a cover by the original songwriter:
Wow ... I never knew Paul Simon wrote that song. Learn something new every day.
Posted by: Dave from Philadelphia | 08/12/2017 at 05:01 PM
Years ago, I read a fanzine with a column that digressed onto secret identities, mentioning that "Ace, the Bat-Hound" was disguised by having a mask. The writer asked what the mask was for—was it a disguise to protect his identity from other dogs? But don't dogs recognize one another by sniffing butts? Shouldn't Ace wear a mask under his tail?
[Geek disclosure: I actually know why Ace had the mask. Also, some degree of credit to Bruce Woodley. I wish I knew who wrote what there.]
Posted by: Kip W | 08/17/2017 at 11:19 AM