When Did The Flip Phones Flip Flop?

So lately I've been binge watching "Breaking Bad" on Netflix. It's quite possibly my favorite TV series of all time, but I've noticed a curious fact while watching.

Everyone on the show has a flip phone...

So I thought about this for a second and I realized that not only do they have flip phones on this show but NO ONE texts each other. In fact, I am currently on the very last season of the 5 season blockbuster and so far there has been only one text message read in context to the plot and it was on Season 5 circa 2013. I then looked back at the air dates of each of the seasons and I started to understand the flip phone thing a bit better. The Pilot episode first aired in January 2008 and the series then progresses over the next 5 years to it's final episode that aired on Sept 29th 2013. The iPhone didn't launch till 2007 and it revolutionized the mobile device industry over the next few years.                    

So then I got to thinking...where are the "smart phones"on the show? Where are the iPhones and why aren't the cast constantly checking their emails and Facebook updates on their phones during the episodes? Why are they not texting each other incessantly like we all do now? I had to think about it. Not even in the later episodes dating 2011 and later, does the phone become a central part of the plot?

When did the "smart phone" revolution start? There's no question that we are now a mobile device driven society. Do you check your email on you cell phone? Do you use a social media site on your cell phone? If you answered yes to both of those questions then you are a living, breathing adult that functions in the world today. Even my dad, just this morning, texted me something important. So much a part of our everyday society today that 48% of all online sales come from a mobile device.

So I gotta ask again? When exactly did the smart phone revolution take over?

Trending Topics

We here at The Daily Dandy are nothing if not trendy. So today we offer you a minuscule sampling of the topics that we are all talking about:

• #1 Trending Topic on Facebook: "Orange Is The New Black" show writer Lauren Morelli divorces her husband after two years of marriage and reveals that she is dating Samira Wiley, who plays Poussey, a lesbian inmate on the hit show. WOW, this is one hell of a story. Morelli says she realized her first day on the set that indeed, she may be gay and living a life somewhat parallel with the show's lead character, Piper. Months into a new marriage to a man, Morelli finds through the show's story lines that everything she thought to be true about herself now may be wrong. She has since worked through her feelings and came out publicly as gay. 

• #1 Trending Topic on Twitter: "Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez Get Cozy In Las Vegas." This is most unbelievable to me. Of all the things that are going on around the world, Twitter followers want to talk about Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez. Really? The Twitterverse seems far more concerned about the fact that Justin and Selena are back together and that Selena was photographed wearing a bikini.  I'm embarrassed for us all. 

• #1 Trending Topic On Google: "Miss America" The story here is that for the third year in a row New York has been crowned the Miss America winner. 23 year-old Kira Kazantsev's platform was Domestic Violence (how timely) and her talent portion was a rendition of Pharell's "Happy" accompanied by a plastic red Solo cup. Looks like pageants are big business in this part of the world. 

• #1 Trending Topic On ABC.com: "NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell criticized on airplane banners, TV broadcasts." It wasn't any given Sunday for Roger Goodell yesterday. His leadership was questioned by pre-game commentators and banners flew on airplanes over 3 stadiums bearing the message #Goodellmustgo. Goodell will most likey go-due to his dishonest bungling of the Ray Rice debacle. While I don't believe everyone has all the answers on how to handle a messy situation right away, I think lying about how you handled it is worse. 

And some quick hits (most requested) according to Google Trends for the month of August:

Actors: Robin Williams (#2 Arianna Grande)

Authors: William Shakespeare (#2 Martin Luther King, Jr)

Cocktails: Martini (#2 Bloody Mary)

Colleges: Pennsylvania State University (#2 University of Southern California) 

Dog Breed: Bulldog (#2 Pit bull)

Foods: Pizza (#2 Chicken)

Government Bodies: US Senate (#2 FBI)

Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy (#2 Frozen)

Musical artists: Niki Manaj (#2 Beyonce)

Politicians: Barack Obama (#2 John F. Kennedy)

Songs: Happy Birthday to You (#2 Shake it Off)

Sports Teams: Dallas Cowboys (#2 Manchester United FC)

TV Shows: Keeping Up With the Kardashians (#2 Dr. Who)

US Senators: Rick Perry (#2 Arnold Schwarzenegger)

#LikeA girl

I'm wondering if you've seen this ad for Always? if you haven't it's worth a look:

It's amazing.
It's powerful.
But it's also sad and depressing to think that after a certain age, self doubt and societal mores ruin it for innocent adolescent girls.

Campaigns like this aim to change that, but are the #hashtag campaign and the viral video enough? When it's right in front of our faces it can be ever so ugly, but is that realization enough to abolish the "like a girl" mentality?

I hope so. Because the younger girls in the spot above are the true heroes. If that's what it's like to do anything "like a girl", I want to be that girl.

I Was Just Thinking....

What a world we live in.

Donald Sterling, the LA Clippers basketball team owner is in hot water over racist remarks he made recently that were caught on tape. Caught by Sterling's alleged girlfriend.

Ooooh boy. This one is ugly. The tapes, obtained by TMZ.com, posted on their website on April 25, 2014, were of an alleged conversation that took place between Sterling and his alleged girlfriend. The argument on tape was about the photograph above, posted to her Instagram account. The photo has since been deleted, but the damage has been done. Sterling's reps have stated that the validity of the recording is questionable and could have possibly been tampered with. OK, if that's his story he's going to stick to it. I'm not sure this is the case but it's possible.

I listened to the entire audio of the conversation and I cannot believe what I was hearing...

The high lights/low lights for me:

DONALD: "Ya, it bothers me a lot that you want to promo...broadcast that you're associating with black people. Do you have to?"
GF: "You associate with black people."

GF: "But not in public?"
DONALD: "But why publicize it on the Instagram and why bring it to my games?"

GF: "What's wrong with minorities?"
DONALD: "Minorities are fabulous. Fabulous."

DONALD: "How about your whole life, everyday, you could do whatever you want. You can sleep with them, you can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask is that you not promote it on that and not to bring them to my games."

Here's my thing: I cannot believe that there are actually people that are this RACIST in the world today. The last time I checked, Mr. Sterling employs a team full of black professional athletes and promotes them daily. His alleged girlfriend states on tape quite emphatically that she too is of mixed race. Although she questions him on his statements, she continues to use terms of endearment like "honey" and "sweetie" when speaking to Sterling. At one point she even states that he is in love with her even though she is "black and Mexican".

Here's the other thing. I am not sympathetic to either party here..My opinion of both of these human beings is better left unsaid, but to alegedly lure someone into a taped conversation unknowingly for your own personal and financial gain is deplorable. Yet in today's tech savvy, over sharing world, it's a real possibility. Just ask Donald Sterling.

Somewhere, some how Harvey Levin is so happy he decided to stop practicing law. His pursuit of "justice" has much more meaning today.

I Care

I will have to admit to not knowing who Joseph Kony was until this morning.
I will also admit that after watching the YouTube sensation "KONY 2012" I want to know more.
You see, Frack, my boy, will be travelling over to Uganda with World Challenge in June on an educational expedition for a month. While there, he will meet and work with Ugandan people recovering from Joseph Kony's wake and he will help them to build schools and meet challenges. He will learn, first hand, about the struggles and triumphs these people face daily and he will be part of the re-building process, albeit a small one.

The good news is that Kony is no longer in Ugnda. Kony and his LRA have not been in Uganda for years and they are now at peace in most areas. Another parent of one of the kids going to Uganda with Frack sent me this link, and I ask you to watch it, when you have some time. While this movie is inspirational, it is not without controversy. There are those who don't agree with the message behind KONY 2012. Shelly Wright is one of them. In her blog Wright's Room, she wrote a piece about the film and what she calls "Slacktivisim". Read it for yourself after you watch the mini movie.

Each one of these devoted and determined people have a valid point and each one of these devoted and determined people are fighting for children. The maker of this movie and Shelly Wright, both motivated by their desire to make a difference.

All I know is that I am soon sending my baby over there to see for himself.
And I care.

Occupy

I'm embarrassed to admit that I really never gave this "Occupy Wallstreet" movement more than a passing glance in my newspaper. I read about it, filed the information in my brain and continued on about my day. It was always there, but in the back of my clogged up mind. I knew it was a politically charged protest that had to do with corporate greed and economic inequality and that was just about all I needed to know.

Then yesterday and this morning, I began reading numerous stories about the power of the people participating in this movement and their plight to make change. I read about Rose Gudiel, a California woman who lost her home to eviction last month. She had been fighting a loosing battle and facing foreclosure for two years against Fannie Mae. When the family tried to pay the money they owed, the bank repeatedly told Rose there was nothing she could do, that her case was closed, and that she was to be evicted on Sept 28. The family notified the bank that they would not go peacefully.

So with the power of Occupy behind them, Rose and her family camped outside their home to protest. They had decided that they were going to fight for what they believed was rightfully theirs and what happened next was nothing short of amazing.

Fannie Mae cancelled the eviction notice and offered Rose and her family a loan modification so that they could afford to keep their home.

Why?

Because maybe this movement is onto something.
Maybe not, but for people like Rose and her family this ia a major victory.

And maybe this is exactly what our country needs right now, a series of small victoires that will add up to major change.

And maybe, just maybe, this movement will Occupy more than a small part of this country's clogged up brain.