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May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review June 6, 2008 / 3 Sivan, 5768

The Name of the Game — Vulgarity

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | What could be nicer than sitting down to the breakfast table, turning on the morning radio and listening to a commercial about vaginal discharge? Or watching a little TV in the evening with the kids when the erectile dysfunction ad comes on. Welcome to American radio and television commercials in the year 2008, where truly, anything goes and everything is said out loud in the basest, most explicit and crudest ways.


Regular readers of this column have heard my rant on this before. I've written about the ever expanding vulgarity of our culture many times, but just when I think there's nothing more to say about it, it gets worse. It really does. The downward spiral in civility hasn't reached bottom yet — not by a long shot. We're living smack dab in the middle of the era of ugly, and things are only going to get uglier. You can't turn on a television without getting ugly pictures, ugly words, and ugly music — it's been going in that direction for a long time.


Like wild dogs rolling in their own dirt, the creative advertising geniuses are rolling in bodily function terms that not all that long ago were considered déclassé and vulgar. It seems to work like this — one company will try a word, and if no tsunami wave of moral outrage by the public is detected, then all the other companies jump right in and use the term too.


One of their current favorites is the word mucus. It started with those commercials which showed ugly animated monsters doing the cha-cha in your chest and now all the decongestant products are happily using the word in their advertising. Robitussin actually uses the word four or five times in a single 30 second spot. They really enjoy saying it.


Used to be a time, however, when advertisers went out of their way not to offend their audience. They looked for words to convey the general idea without being crude about it. For instance, you don't have to say "mucus," the word "congestion" will work nicely without conjuring up repulsive images. The only reason to use words like "mucus" and "pus" and "phlegm" is to shock.


Another word that once was avoided in commercials but is now commonplace is "diarrhea." Of course it is used all the time now, as is the word, "constipation." Remember when the common euphemism for "constipation" in ads was "irregularity?" When they told us that Ex-lax, or whatever the product happened to be, would treat our irregularity we all got the idea just fine. We didn't need the 8x10 picture in living color.


Deodorant commercials would never have used the word "sweat" years ago, preferring the kinder, gentler approach, the word of choice back then was "perspiration."


But it isn't only the words that have become more vivid, it's the images. We are shown a woman bouncing up and down, biting her lip, rolling her eyes, and crossing her legs in that all too familiar "Oooo…I gotta go, but I'm trying to hold it in" pose. Funny stuff, eh? Boy, it must have been a riot in the agency meeting room.


TV Ads not only show it all, they rub your face in it. So not only are we told a certain product will prevent "smelly feet," we actually get see the smelly feet up close and personal, right in the camera. Lucky us.


I'm not even going to get into all the feminine personal products which are advertised so descriptively on TV. Personal is the key word here. These things USED TO BE considered personal and private, but no more. Not the way they're hawked on TV. Twelve year-old kids watching TV today know more about women's internal workings than the average gynecologist knew 25 years ago.


Every now and then you get a commercial which is not only offensive, but incomprehensible. Like the following: There's an ad for a men's sexual enhancement drug that is run on TV all the time where the last scene shows a guy sitting in a claw foot bathtub with his back to the camera. Next to him is another claw foot bathtub with a woman in it, also with her back to the camera. Both of these tubs are freestanding outside overlooking the setting sun. Get it? Me either.


The only thing I can say is thank goodness TV remote controls have mute buttons. As soon as the show goes to commercial we mute it. And turn our heads away.


Oh, what I wouldn't give to go back to the time of those innocent, insipid, dumb commercials that used to drive us nuts. "Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya." "Mama mia! That's a spicy meat-a ball!" "Please don't squeeze the Charmin." "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent." "Good 'til the last drop." "Helps build strong bodies twelve ways." "Sugar Pops are tops!" "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat." "See the USA in your Chevrolet." "Betcha can't eat just one!" "I'd rather fight than switch!"


Once upon a time commercial ads were annoying. Now they're insulting, rude, vulgar, low, and repulsive. And oh yes, they're still annoying.


However, there may be a way for them to actually have a positive effect on our society …if our governmental interrogators are looking for something to replace waterboarding with. Just strap down all the Khalid Sheik Mohammeds to chairs, crank up "Viva Viagra" and they'll get more information than they'll know what to do with.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

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© 2006, Greg Crosby

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