Brylcreemed men in skinny ties sit behind their desks at a Madison Avenue ad agency chain smoking and clutching double scotches in the new AMC drama “Mad Men.” The series, set in 1960, kind of sets our hearts a flutter. The series got a rave review from our favorite TV critic, Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle and we think the world (at least the TV world) needs to put the creative geniuses of advertsing on the same pedestal as cranky doctors and crime-solving lady novellists.

At the Mortar, we’re really more beer than whiskey and the cigarettes are furtively sucked down in the alley – what with the minor detail of state law and all – but we’ll still be setting our TiVos (or actually watching because some of us still live in the 20th century *ahem*) for AMC at 10 p.m. tonight.

I’ll admit it. I’ve scoffed at some of the articles claiming that “green is the new black.” No doubt, the green movement and the rise of the LOHAS segment is huge. But – come on. The new black?

I may be eating my words of doubt. As of dawn this morning, Whole Foods has sold out of their just-released “I’m not a plastic bag” totes by London designer Anya Hindmarch (whose bags typically retail for $1500 or more) amid horrendous lines and in some cases, stampeding. The sold-out bags are now being auctioned on eBay for over $200.

The NYC release follows several other city debuts of the bags. Most notably, eager purchasers in Taiwan stampeded, sending 30 people to the hospital and requiring the presence of the riot police. In Hong Kong, the police closed down the entire shopping mall.

The designer of “I’m not a plastic bag” (in this New York Times article) says, “I hate the idea of making the environment trendy, but you need to make it cool and then it becomes a habit.” True story. Here at Mortar we’ve spoken with a lot of LOHAS consumers and many would fit into what we would call the “green bandwagoner” mindset. I guess green really is the new black.

Harper’s Bazaar’s August 2007 issue features this season’s couture…as modeled by The Simpsons.
This is just. So. Great. Thanks to our dear friends at  NotCot for the tip.
Mmmmmmmm. Marge.

Zionist Crusader Spy Squirrels Infiltrate Iran?

How, exactly, does one arrest a squirrel? Little tiny handcuffs?

Can’t you just see police dogs all over the world, staring into little mirrors at their little lockers, psyching up?
"O.K. Officer Scraps, this is what we trained for…"

And you? Oh, we’re watching you, pal.