Tom's OSU: February 2013

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Oregon same-sex marriage vote and Pope resigns hits front page

PHOTO: by an interesting coincidence, the front page of my local newspaper ran two stories on the proposed vote to legalize gay marriage in Oregon and the anti-gay Pope resigning, which are loosely related: Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, "Pope Resigns, As his reign ends, Benedict represents old-Curch values in a rapidly changing world," Gazette-Times, Feb. 12, 2013, p. A1, published online as "Pope Benedict faced worldwide challenges The difficulties and hard work confronting the now-85-year-old pope only multiplied during his eight-year reign," latimes.com Feb. 11, 2013 and Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press, "Same-sex marriage backers plan Oregon vote," Gazette-Times, Feb. 12, 2013, p. A1, published online as "Same-sex marriage backers plan Oregon vote," ap.org Feb. 11, 2013

UPDATE (2/27/13): Minnesota, the state Jack Baker married another man in 1970, might finally re-legalize gay marriage (note there wasn't any law against gay marriage when Baker married in 1970). See articles by Baird Helgeson under Minnesota legislature, "Legislators take on proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Minnesota," startribune.com posted Feb. 27, 2013 and Tim Blotz , "Bipartisan 'Freedom to Marry' bill introduced at Minnesota Capitol," KMSP FOX TV Channel 9 myfoxtwincities.com posted Feb. 27, 2013. Scott Dibble (politician) is the openly gay legislator behind it. Hat tip to blog by Jim Burroway, The Daily Agenda for Wednesday, February 27from Box Turtle Bulletin by Jim Burroway posted Feb. 27, 2013, which also mentioned the Minneapolis WCCO radio and TV star Cedric Adams.

PHOTO: May 18, 1970 Michael McConnell and Jack Baker were married by Hennepin County Minnesota Justice of the Peace. See previous posts Life Magazine gay marriage 1971 (11/20/08), Gay marriage pioneer Jack Baker starts blog (confirmed) (4.4.12), and Sam Champion gay marriage 2012 vs. 1970 Jack Baker (1/8/13).

END OF UPDATE (2/27/13)

Also see:

PHOTO: ONE Magazine was ahead of its time when it mentioned the idea of "homosexual marriage" in 1953 long before "gay marriage" or same-sex marriage became a cause of some gay liberationists. Former Oregon State University Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture W. Dorr Legg was one of the major contributors to the ONE homophile magazine and he was a conservative who probably saw gay marriage as being a conservative value. (See James T. Sears, PhD, "1953: When ONE Magazine, Headlined 'Homosexual Marriage,'" GayToday.com posted Aug. 11, 2003 and my previous posts Sam Champion gay marriage 2012 vs. 1970 Jack Baker (1/9/13), Slippery slope argument against marriage equality is predictable (6/22/12), OSU W. Dorr Legg homosexual marriage 1953 vs. CA Prop 8 2010 (8/22/10), Gay free speech victory 50th anniversary (1/18/08) and Jack Baker gay marriage theory was right (4/8/09))

PHOTO: Letter signed by Oregon State University Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture W. Dorr Legg from the original paper in OSU personnel files that are now stored on microfiche in the OSU Archives, Corvallis, Oregon. The letter, dated 1942, was requesting a sabbatical leave to allow Dorr to spread his "Christian Science" religious beliefs to soldiers at Camp Adair north of Corvallis, Oregon during World War II. Legg was a cofounder of the 1950s homophile political movement for homosexuals and the present-day Loc Cabin Republicans. (See Thomas Kraemer, "Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004," OutHistory.org posted June 2010 and see my previous posts:

Shopping baskets are good enough to steal in Corvallis

PHOTO: the trunk of my car showing the reusable shopping baskets I bought, which I find to be easier to use than the common reusable bags. I bought one of the Collapsible Crates sold by Demco for $21.94 (See Interlibrary Loan products at Demco) and two of the Browsing Baskets sold by Demco for $18.54 (See Patron Browsing products at Demco) Demco Madison, WI 53707 Phone 1-800-279-1586 that are made by: The Big Basket Company GoodL Corp., P.O. Box 337, Lavergne, TN 37087 -- The Big Basket Company www.bigbasketco.com (Download PDF Brochure) So far, they have been easier to use than reusable bags, they are easy to carry and put in a car or carry on the city bus. These baskets are easy to keep clean and it is nice not having to use the dirty baskets at the store. These plastic baskets remind me of the old wicker shopping basket seen in "The Wizard of Oz" movie. (See my previous posts Coke bottle deposits and paper bag fees don't promote reuse (2/8/13) and Corvallis plastic bag ban and gay marriage (1/8/13))

My latest letter to the editor below is about how the Corvallis paper bag fee undermines security procedures. It was written after reading the article by Canda Fuqua, "Basket Bandits?" Gazette-Times, Feb. 18, 2013, p. A1:

The Feb. 18 story "Basket Bandits?" asked if the Corvallis anti-bag law is motivating customers to steal the plastic shopping baskets loaned to customers. I am surprised that a local merchant hasn't started to sell these baskets because apparently they are good enough to steal!
To prevent basket theft, one store security expert told me that stores typically imprint their name on the baskets.
To avoid being accused of stealing the shopping baskets that I legally bought, I put my name on them and bought a different color than used by most stores in Corvallis. I tried providing links to where I bought them in my previous Feb. 8 letter, "'Browsing baskets' can be bought and sub for bags," but the editor rightfully cut my references to comply with the newspaper's editorial policies.
Store security experts also typically recommend the standard policy of bagging all purchases to make shoplifters easier to spot, but this standard method has been undermined by the Corvallis law requiring a fee of five cents per paper bag. This is another reason to vote out all Corvallis City Council representatives who support keeping the fee of five cents per paper bag.
(Quoted from Thomas Kraemer, "Another reason to get rid of problematic five-cent bag fee," Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 21, 2013, p. A7)

See my previous letters on the Corvallis paper bag fee:

For another letter on the sanitation point I made in an earlier letter, see the letter by Jeff Hale, "Letter: Could the bag ban make people sick?" Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 18, 2013 (also see Rebecca Stillwell, "Letter: Cartoon suggesting reusable bags spread disease was ridiculous," Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 11, 2013). The OSU student newspaper published a letter by Tim Gallagher, First Vice President, Financial Advisor, RBC Wealth Management, "Letters to the editor Feb. 7, 2013," Barometer, Jan. 8, 2013 praising their editorial "Plastic bag ban and Less intrusive government" and asking them to send it to the G-T. Also see article by James Day, "Corvallis City Council hints at possible changes for bag ordinance," Gazette-Times, p. 1. An attempt to belittle the complaints was the letter by Leo de Vogel, "Letter: Enough already with the griping over the plastic bag ban," Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 12, 2013. Also, see a skeptic analytic letter by Christy Stevens, "Letter: Data needed to back statement on loss of business to bag ban," Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 12, 2013 .

Sadly, a loosely related note is the Gazette-Times newspaper continues to "right-size" their operations to the new reality of declining revenue at print newspapers. For example, see articles by Staff, "Sunday newspaper goes to two 10-page sections," gazettetimes.com Feb 10, 2013 and Staff, "Gazette-Times puts building up for sale," Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 21, 2013 about the Corvallis Gazette-Times building at 600 S.W. Jefferson Ave. being up for sale. The article says, "The G-T building was built in 1970 under the leadership of Robert C. Ingalls, then the G-T's publisher. Before that, the paper's offices were located in the building at Fourth Street and Jefferson Avenue -- the location now of the Block 15 brewpub. The paper is owned by Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa. After Lee bought the Albany Democrat-Herald in 1998, some G-T operations, including its printing press, were consolidated at the Albany location. "The downtown building was also operated as "The Headline Cafe" a few years ago. Also, "Editorial: News people lukewarm on change, but ...," Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 3, 2013 says, "I'll be honest: One of the reasons behind these changes is that they will help us control our costs, something that's important for any business, especially in uncertain economic times."

For more on my nostalgia for newspapers and my previous letter about it, see my previous post Future of local reporting in the Internet Age and the death of newspapers (11/25/12).

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Jack Nichols biography with blurb of my book review

PHOTO: (click photo to enlarge) back cover of Jack Nichols biography includes a blurb of Thomas Kraemer's book review of J. Louis Campbell III, "Jack Nichols, gay pioneer: 'have you heard my message?'" New York: Harrington Park Press, 2007 (Oregon State University library owns a copy). See previous posts OSU Nichols book and Trans Awareness Week (1/16/08) and Jack Nichols book reviews (5/9/07).

PHOTO: cover of book by J. Louis (Jeter Louis) Campbell III (1946), "Jack Nichols, gay pioneer: 'have you heard my message?'" Harrington Park Press (Haworth Press), 2007 -- Oregon State University Valley Library OASIS card catalog number HQ75.8.N53 C36 2007 -- A Google searchable version is now available for the book by J. Louis Campbell, "Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer: "Have You Heard My Message?" Routledge, 2006 (see "Thomas Kraemer" references on p. xiii and p. unnumbered)

"CONTRIBUTES MUCH NEW KNOWLEDGE about the Twentieth Century gay liberation movement. It is solidly based on unpublished interviews compiled by the author shortly before Nichols died in 2005. Campbell tells the inspirational story of how a self-educated queer boy grew up to achieve an impressive records of 'firsts' as a gay rights activist from the pre-Stonewall Era to the Internet Age. In the 1960s, along with Dr. George Weinberg and homophile activist Frank Kameny, Nichols first challenged the psychiatric dogma that homosexuality is a sickness. Nichols achieved national recognition with his 'Homosexual Citizen' columns for SCREW and as an editor of GAY. His books and Web publication attracted readers worldwide, including those interested in male liberation and gender identity politics. Campbell's exhaustive bibliography is also fun to read because it lists the bawdy headlines written by SCREW Editor Al Goldstein for Nichols' columns. . . . INVALUABLE TO FUTURE RESEARCHERS. . . . An essential acquisition for every LGBT collection.
-- Thomas Kraemer, Founder of the Oregon State University Foundation, Magnus Hirschfeld Fund for sexual orientation and gender identity research" (Quoted from Thomas Kraemer's advance review as posted on Haworth.com May, 2007)

I got to know Jack Nichols quite well as an occasional contributor to his Gay Today online publication. For links to all of the pieces I wrote for him, along with some of my notes, see my previous post Jack Nichols Gay Today Archive (9/12/09) and below:

PHOTO: (left to right) Dr. Frank Kameny, Jack Nichols, and Dr. George Weinberg being honored as Grand Marshalls of New York City's 2004 Heritage of Pride Parade.

Starting in the late 1990's, Jack Nichols edited the online publication GayToday.com until shortly before his death early in 2005. (See Search GayToday Archives - February 1997 to 2004 and my previous post Jack Nichols 1938-2005 (9/5/06))

I got to know Jack Nichols quite well as an occasional contributor. For my own notes, links to all of the pieces I wrote for him are listed below with my annotation:

51 Gay Bashing Speeches at the Republican Convention - September 13, 2004 - Gavel to gavel coverage. It is painful to look back at the Bush era. I am not sure if the Obama era will be much better, but my hopes are high it will be.
18 Gay Speeches at the Democratic Convention - August 09, 2004 - Gavel to gavel coverage.
Jack Baker & Michael McConnell: Lunatics or Geniuses? - June 21, 2004 - Jack Baker was the first person to bring a gay marriage lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. (See my previous post Life Magazine gay marriage 1971 (11/20/08))
The O'Franken Factor - May 24, 2004 - Review of Al Franken's radio show. Al Franken went on to become a U.S. Senator from Minnesota in 2009. (See my previous post NBC says Republican is Democrat (4/3/08))
'Separate but Equal?' Scrutinizing Oregon's Marriage Law - March 22, 2004
David Benkof, Formerly Known as David Bianco - January 05, 2004 - Another ex-gay conversion. Benkof continues to be in the news masquerading as being a gay activist who supports conservative positions. (See my previous posts Oy! David Benkof not ex-gay (2/15/09) and David Benkof is a fraud (6/7/08))
Why Do Ex-Gays Matter? - December 08, 2003 - Discussion about Wayne Besen's "Anything but straight" book.
Society and the Healthy Homosexual - November 10, 2003 - Review of Dr. George Weinberg's famous book that popularized the term homophobia. Dr. Weinberg was so pleased with this piece that he called me up and we talked for over an hour. He is a fascinating man. (See my previous post George Weinberg homophobia book 1972 (12/6/08))
'Separate but Equal?' Scrutinizing the Sodomy Decision - July 07, 2003 - Implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's sodomy decision on gay rights.
Psychiatry, Pedophilia and Voodoo - June 16, 2003 - The DSM, homosexuality and pedophilia. (See my previous posts DSM-V mental disorder politics (12/27/08) and DSM V pedophilia, hebephilia, ephebophilia, teliophilia, gerontophilia (8/22/09))
Foxy Family Values & Bachelor-Republican Politicians - June 02, 2003 - Bachelor as a code word for gay.
SARS vs. AIDS and 'Free Love' - May 26, 2003 - Similarity between the moral panics of SARS, AIDS and free love.
Psychology Today Promotes Queer Alien Sex and Ex-Gays - May 05, 2003 - Psychology Today editor's gay bashing continued. (See my previous post Ex-gays in "Scientific American" again (5/29/09))
Dear Cal Thomas, Liberty Starts at Home! - April 14, 2003 - Reply to Cal Thomas' reasons to keep the sodomy laws.
I Have More Fun With You Than Anybody - March 10, 2003 - Review of Jack Nichols' famous book.
A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality - December 23, 2002 - Joseph Nicolosi's propaganda book promoting ex-gay reparative therapy.
Something is Queer about Psychology Today - November 4, 2002 - Psychology Today editor's gay bashing continued.
Psychology Today Editor's Justifications Mislead - October 28, 2002 - Psychology Today editor supports ex-gay therapy.
Does Being Molested as a Child Make One Gay? - September 30, 2002 - Letter to the editor.

One of Jack Nichols' best friends was Randy Wicker. Jack had me write a piece on Randy, but Jack's health forced him to stop work before it was published. For a draft, see my previous post Randolfe Wicker's plea for gay rights in "Newsweek" July 30, 1962 (4/15/06).

See my previous postings:

Friday, February 15, 2013

OSU student paper on rape culture vs. strap-on love

PHOTO: (click on photo to enlarge) an opinion piece, by Harrison Pride, "Porn should be respected as a consensual sexual expression," Barometer, Feb. 14, 2013, p. 3, asks the questions, "If porn contributes to rape culture, is it just when a male views porn, or does it work the same as when a female views porn? Does lesbian or gay porn contribute to rape culture? Does porn of a solo female masturbating on camera contribute to rape culture? What if I watch porn of a female wearing a strap-on and anally penetrating a male partner, does that contribute to rape culture?" In the same issue ran another response to feminist theories by Steven McLain, Senior, history, "Letters to the editor Feb. 14, In response to the Feb. 13 guest column, Women's studies students belittle efforts to discourage rape," Barometer, Feb. 14, 2013.

This type of intellectual discussion is something that is hard to find except in a university setting. It reminds me of why I enjoy hanging around an academic environment. I must be getting old because the idea of a male bottom submitting to a female top strap-on is an idea that I had never heard of until I moved to San Francisco in the 1980s. I guess the internet has facilitated the dissemination of these types of very advanced sexual concepts that were only rarely talked about just a few decades ago amongst the most intimate of friends.

OSU student paper supports gay marriage and protecting children

PHOTO: just a few decades ago, the official student newspaper of Oregon State University often had viciously anti-gay opinion pieces and therefore it is a sign of progress that it recently ran the editorial in support of gay marriage by Staff, "Legalize gay marriage in 2014," Barometer, Feb. 12, 2013, p. 3. I was also impressed with the adjacent opinion piece by Irene Drage, "Class Room Protection Act: Protecting children from homosexuals," Barometer, Feb. 12, 2013, p. 3. Anti-gay forces have traditionally used the methods of muzzling open discussion on sexuality and stoking a fear in parents that any such discussion of sexuality will harm their child or even make them gay. Irene Drage is a senior in English who wrote about the recent attempts to ban all mention of gay people in the classroom. I sent Irene Drage an email complimenting her on these opinion pieces.

See previous posts OSU gay marriage and the Corvallis Creeper (2/9/13) about the opinion piece by Irene Drage, "Marriage equality not the final blow to homophobia," Barometer, posted Jan. 29, 2013, p. 3.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

OSU gay marriage and the Corvallis Creeper

PHOTO: just a few years ago, some Oregon State University students were openly condemning gay marriage in an independent student newspaper, but as a positive sign of the times the OSU student newspaper ran the above opinion piece by Irene Drage, "Marriage equality not the final blow to homophobia," Barometer, posted Jan. 29, 2013, p. 3. Unfortunately, at the same time, it ran next to the cautionary editorial "Remain vigilant against Corvallis creeper," Barometer, posted Jan. 28, 2013 commenting on the big story on campus terrifying many students: Staff, "Assault near campus, suspect on the loose," Barometer, posted Jan.27, 2013, p. 3 and , "Second woman attacked near OSU campus," Gazette-Times posted Jan. 27, 2013. (Also see Staff, "Police sift through tips in campus attacks," Gazette-Times posted Jan. 29, 2013)

I must compliment the student headline writer who came up with the "Corvallis Creeper." I am surprised this hasn't caught on with the mainstream media. Whoever it is appears to be lying low, or they went 40 miles south and committed a similar crime in Eugene that was recently reported. In any case, I am sure the culprit is committing this crime as a sexual thrill. This case is a good example of the difference between sexual thrills that harm another person versus a sexual thrill obtained with another consenting adult person. Early gay rights advocates had to repeatedly make this point -- sexual perverts, such as rapists, should be punished by the law, but the law should not be punishing the sex acts of two consenting adult gay men who do it in private and harm no one else. This ethic, which seems obvious today, was controversial when it was first raised in the middle 20the Century.

Alienist and Neurologist on gays in 1904

PHOTO: a medical journal article that in 1904 published extended quotes from a letter from by a gay man who described his futile attempts to be cured of homosexuality and his decision to be castrated before he got into more trouble (He was fired from his job for being gay). He describes how doctors told him that his problem is all in his head. See Google Books scanned copy of edited by Charles Hamilton Hughes, "The Gentleman Degenerate, A homoseualist's self description and self-applied title," Alienist and Neurologist 25, no. 1 (February 1904): p. 62-70. A good discussion and summary of the article is on the blog page by Jim Burroway, "The Daily Agenda for Thursday, February 7," www.boxturtlebulletin.com posted Feb. 7, 2013. (Note that the term Alienist is an archaic medical term for psychiatrist).

The doctor comments on the letter from a homosexual patient:

These autobiographic reflections of a sexual pervert, with reverse sexual instinct feelings and impulses, are given place here, as contributing to complete the portraiture of the homosexual form of hereditary perversion and also to call attention to the often revealed psychic accompaniment of morbid egoism and craving for sympathy.
Such of this class who have come under my observation and care as patients, have been inclined to write up their cases, without suggestion to that effect and without urging. The morbid egoism to disclose the self-feeling is like that of Claud Hartland, another patient of the editor's, whose book was excluded from the mails.
This narrative does not give details, but were similar to those described by many of Kraft-Ebing's patients troubled by homosexuality. In this case an operation was performed on the filaments of the pudic nerve supplying the testes, but the morbid inclination still persists, notwithstanding the operation and a course of chologogues, antiseptic intestinal treatment and full bromism. (Quoted from edited by Charles Hamilton Hughes, "The Gentleman Degenerate, A homoseualist's self description and self-applied title," Alienist and Neurologist 25, no. 1 (February 1904): p. 62-70)

Although this was medical journal was published only a little more than a century ago, it is amazing to see how medical language has changed concerning homosexuality and it is interesting to see the reference to egoism as being related to homosexuals because the Freudian model of homosexuality, which dominated much of the later 20th Century also asserted that narcissism was the root psychological defect in homosexual men. (Narcissism and egoism are often closely related in most psychological theories.)

Friday, February 8, 2013

Coke bottle deposits and paper bag fees don't promote reuse

Below is my latest letter to the editor. I mention my personal plastic shopping basket, shown above, and explain how the Corvallis plastic grocery bag ban paper bag fee will fail like the Oregon Bottle Bill failed:

If my stroke-related low vision blindness had not deteriorated so much, I would be leading a recall campaign against Corvallis City Council representatives who supported mandating a fee of five cents per paper grocery bag.
The five cents bag fee will fail to promote reusable bags similar to how the 5 cents deposit mandated by the Oregon Bottle Bill has failed in its goal of stopping beverage makers from packaging virtually all drinks in disposable and debatably recyclable plastic or metal containers instead of the thick glass bottles, which back then were routinely returned, washed out and refilled.
Although bottle deposits have failed to promote reuse, at least bottle deposits still reduce litter by paying children and the homeless to pick up discarded cans. In contrast, paper bag fees serve no other purpose, other than to be a nuisance that might lead to sanitation problems and more ergonomic repetitive stress injuries in grocery checkers.
Personally, I wanted something easier to use than reusable bags and so I bought several "Browsing Baskets" from www.demco.com/goto?PNHM39 because they already supply the professional library archiving products used by my private research library. I bought the "BIG Basket" manufactured by GoodL Corporation, which is sold directly in bulk, with a store's name imprinted on it, or singly through retailers, such as Demco.
(Quoted from Thomas Kraemer, "'Browsing baskets' can be bought and sub for bags," Gazette-Times, Feb. 8, 2013, p. A9 )

Coincidentally, a few days after I had submitted the above letter to the editor, the OSU student newspaper quoted a homeless man who for income collects discarded cans from college students:

"Phillips likes living in Corvallis, he says. People are generous, and the students at OSU are kind. He offers one suggestion to students who might dismiss their beer cans after a long night. "If you're going to party, if you're going to have a good time, bag up your cans so the homeless people can have your nickels," he said. For Phillips, and many others, these cans are their only source of income." (Quoted from Kristy Wilkinson, "Local man discusses his past, present tribulations in a homeless state," Barometer, Feb. 1, 2013, p. 1-2)

Also, after I had submitted my above letter to the editor, but before it was published, the newspaper printed a detailed article on the plastic bag ban by James Day, "Corvallis' bag policy still drawing fire, interest," Gazette-Times, Feb. 2, 2013, p. A1. The article said the newspaper was still getting letters against the bag ban and it also described the actual problems faced by smaller merchants and also. The article mentioned the following political action sites:

American Progressive Bag Alliance is a group of American plastic bag manufacturers that represent a thriving and growing industry employing 30,800 American workers in 2010
Voters for Effective Environmental Policy (sites.google.com accessed Feb. 5, 2013) is an alliance of concerned citizens dedicated to protecting the local environment through open-minded research, sound science and effective solutions directed at proven environmental concerns. VEEP is circulating a petition to give the voters of Corvallis the right to choose for themselves if our community should ban plastic bags. The ballot title authorized by the petition can be viewed on their google.com/site/veepcv site.

See my previous letters on this topic:

An OSU student made the point that plastic bags work better to save energy by walking home in the rain from the store. (See the opinion piece by Alex Abelson, "Plastic bag ban not environmentally advantageous," Barometer, posted Feb. Feb. 4, 2012) The opinion piece was a blend of typical conservative memes.

Also, I haven't seen mentioned anywhere that the original Oregon bottle deposit of 5 cents has not been inflation adjusted since then. Compared to what 5 cents was worth in 1971, the inflation adjusted bottle deposit would be more than a quarter per bottle today. (Costs today are about 5.7 times greater according to the official Government index: CPI-U in 1971 = 40.5 and CPI-U in 1013 = 230)

Another point I have not seen made by anyone is that store's anti-shop lifting security procedures often include always bagging every purchase in order to make it easier for the store security guards to spot if something has been bought or not as it leaves the store. Clearly, this safeguard has disappeared as a result of the plastic bag ban -- I've witnessed person after person taking products out of the store without a bag or stuffing it in their personal bag just like a shop lifter might do.

The issue of out-of-town visitors being upset by the 5 cents fee was made in a letter by Ray Stephenson, Corvallis, "Letter: Out-of-town customers in for rude shock at Corvallis checkouts," Gazette-Times, posted Feb. 7, 2013

Coke bottles, which were standard before cans and plastic bottles became common, have a long history that has culminated in the glass bottles not being returnable or refillable shortly before bottles disappeared entirely in most places. The old glass bottles used more energy to ship and wash than cans and so it is not clear if the new and supposedly recyclable cans have a net benefit for the environment. Clearly, the market place has decided cans and plastic bottles are cheaper than glass bottles, but the market place is optimizing for profit and, which is not necessarily what is best long-term for the environment.

PHOTO: (click photo to enlarge) Coke Classic 8 oz. bottle, from 1986, is shown to the left of an original Coke 6-1/2 oz. bottle made circa 1977 that is made of much thicker glass and dinged up from being refilled and reused many times. The original Coke ingredients (upper right) included only sugar and not the cheaper high fructose corn syrup and/or sucrose. This ingredient change was silently done in 1985 as part of the heavily marketed "New Coke" came out and generated so much customer hate that Coke reintroduced the "original formula," which was called "Coca-Cola Classic," even though it did not use real sugar. I suspect their lawyers were worried about it being called the "original formula Coca-Cola" because it, in fact, was not the original formula. See previous posts:

PHOTO: Coke in 6 ounce glass bottles circa 1983 including cardboard carrying case and bottles with Colorado Rockies baseball team logo circa 1990s

PHOTO: display case of Coke bottles and cans in my collection from around the world.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Creator of Etch-A-Sketch dies - laptop of Dilbert's boss mourns

PHOTO: (click photo to enlarge) I got out my LCD electronic version of the Etch-A-Sketch toy by Ohio Art after reading the student newspaper story "Etch A Sketch Creator Andre Cassagnes dies at 86," Oregon State University Barometer, Feb. 4, 2013, p. 7. I always loved the original toy and also the Dilbert cartoon where he tells his boss that to reboot a laptop requires turning it upside down and shaking it like you erase an Etch-A-Sketch toy. (Cartoon reprinted in article "Comic Relief, The Greatest Dilbert Ever Told," Business Week, March 17, 1997, p. 6)

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