minalisms

It could’ve been the attention paid by national media outlets such as CNN and USA Today. Or, I prefer to think, it could’ve been my heated e-mail to Pepsi Co. that moved the company to get its head out of its ass. But the bottom line is that the “AMP Up Before You Score” iPhone app has been pulled.

I received the following message from Pepsi just before the weekend:

Thank you for contacting us with your thoughts about our recent AMP iPhone application.

I can share with you that we have discontinued the app. After listening to a variety of audiences, including our consumers, we decided that this was the most appropriate thing to do.

Thanks again for writing. Please know that we appreciate hearing your opinion.

Sincerely,

Consumer Relations

Good job, Pepsi; now you’re thinking with the right head.

I’m so proud of myself for blogging regularly for the past two weeks that of course I hit a wall today. I’ve been reading news stories, eavesdropping on conversations and recalling what I did yesterday hoping that something would be worth addressing.

Then I was e-mailed a joke from a co-worker — my boss nonetheless — that gave me a great idea: Yeah, Weekend!, a joke-of-the-week that primes you for Saturday and Sunday.

Behold, the first edition:

I was in the pub yesterday when I realized I desperately needed to pass gas. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat.

After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my drink and noticed that everybody was staring at me.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.

Yeah, weekend!

Let me start by saying this: I loathe FOX News. My reaction to an episode of Glenn Beck is probably like what Rush Limbaugh’s reaction would be to an episode of the Rachel Maddow Show — I usually regard the coverage as a bunch of malarky.  I think, however, that President Obama has made a horrible decision to freeze out FOX from the White House press pool.

I understand the aggravation Obama must feel when the cable news network warps coverage to perpetuate rumors that he is the devil, but come on, Mr. President, aren’t you the uniter and not the divider? In this case, Obama looks like the bully.

This latest attack on FOX will do the president more harm than good; it’s already fodder for right-wingers used to calling him a commie. Such ongoing efforts to marginalize FOX will give die-hard critics and VOTERS good reason to judge him as an unreceptive leader, catering only to those who cater to him.

Prove that you’re better than that, Mr. President.

Media outlets, regardless of slant, deserve access to Obama. All it takes is him truthfully answering questions and letting media deliver as it may.

It’s not any president’s job to determine the validity of a news organization and its people because — like religion and politics — one person’s falsehoods are another person’s truths.

There used to be a time when my eyes would light up at the sight of 4-inch-high polka-dot stilettos in size 7. Or I’d see a heather gray pencil skirt that hugged me just right. Back then, a gold-and-silver beaded clutch within a pile of thrift-store rubbish was a treasure find, and my pursuit for the most glamorous shade of red lipstick was a worthy challenge.

(You know where I’m going with this, don’t you?)

I still have a majority of those items, but now I look at them with disdain because they remind me of diminishing youth — one that I don’t forsee returning.

I glance at the dusty stilettos quizzically, not daring to put them on and risk tripping and breaking my pelvis. The pencil skirt — well, that’s gone, donated in a clothing swap with friends who evidently have the discipline to keep their cute waistlines. God only knows why I’ve kept the red lipstick, which looked pretentious even in my early twenties.

But the clutch — I will never let that go. Because it’s still exquisite, despite its beads somewhat dull after years of handling.

Somebody call HGTV because I think I found my calling: Home Decorator.

It’s been almost a year since I began my search for the perfect pieces to style my home — think of it like the tale of Goldilocks, except that this Goldilocks carried a wallet.

Aside from the one time I scalded myself on a bowl of porridge too hot, I’d say the other bowls — the ones in the pretty kitchen within the fabulous house — are just right.