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Rage with the Machine
I was in a Japanese restaurant several months ago and they offered my guest and me standard laminated menus. Then, almost instantaneously, the waiter placed an iPad with a stand on the table that turned out to be a digital menu. We were scrolling, tapping and searching through all the pictures of the sushi they made. With sushi, in particular, this was a great tool to use when choosing the right platter. While the iPad was only at our table for a short period, it was a nice alternative to a purely text-based menu. The use of an iPad as a menu is a growing trend in restaurants these days. There is definitely a coolness factor to it.
While on vacation in California, my family and I stopped in the hot, yet luxurious, Palm Desert. After walking inside one of the many stores, I asked the salesperson if they carried a particular polo. Instead of turning around and searching the store, looking at a paper with its inventory or rushing to the backroom, she turned and grabbed an iPad and tapped-scrolled and typed her way to discovering they did not have it in-stock. It took all of ten seconds. Even without having the shirt available in the store, she was able to have a picture with an option to order the exact polo I was asking about. She was ready to place the order for me on the spot, if I was so inclined.
Wow. Now that’s customer service.
Like restaurants, there seem to be more and more iPads/tablets used for businesses, from retail to the local cupcake shop Tin in suburban Columbus, Ohio. The convenience works both ways, for customers as well as employees.
U.S. citizens have been increasingly encouraged to file their taxes online (ie-paperless). While doing work online is certainly faster and more efficient in some ways (I’ve participated in this practice as an fyi), we can all recall the story of when hackers got their digital hands on thousands of sensitive materials from The Pentagon. If hackers can find their way into The Pentagon…
However tempting this convenience appears (and it is), we do need to remain cognizant of the risks.
The point is that we tend to be trending towards, however slowly, a paperless society. There are positives, without question, but also definite negatives to this digital evolution. It reminded me of a short clip from a show about this very reality occurring with the Millennials, my generation.
On Paper, A Great Show
March 24, 2005- May 16, 2013.
It’s safe to say the documentary crew should have no shortage of b-roll.
Nine seasons and four Emmy’s is a tremendous achievement for a sitcom. Personally, I had the same experience with “The Office” as I did with “Seinfeld” at first glance. I didn’t quite get it. I wasn’t sure when I was supposed to laugh? However, what I and what most everyone was unaware of at the time was the back story and slow evolution of these comedic characters within the context of being shot in a typical American office setting. It didn’t take long before I was laughing hysterically at both.
The show was not like Jan’s Porsche, but more like Andy’s Prius: it did not peel out fast with lots of bells and whistles, but instead gained and maintained a steady momentum and trust without making much noise.
As with other successful sitcoms, each character had his and her own unique quirks that represented at least one or several people we, the fans, know in our daily lives. The only exception might be Dwight K. Shrute. He is one in a billion. Meeting somebody even remotely close to him is without a doubt on my bucket list. The directions for a Pennsylvania Beet Farm are being printed as we speak…
The fantastic characters ranged from the overly full of himself hipster Ryan to the crossword puzzle doing Stanley to the uptight, cat loving Angela to the secretive and rebuttal-obsessed Oscar to the drunk and publicly improper Meredith to the gossip queen and popular culture expert Kelly to the giant teddy bear Kevin to the caring and reserved Phyliss to the musically talented warehouse worker Darryl to the monotone HR superstar Toby (who was a juror on the Scranton Strangler trial btw) to the A capella singing, Cornell attended Andy to the energetic but gullible Erin to the most famous Beet farmer and expert on Battlestar Galactica and bear attacks Dwight to the sweet, artistic and, yes, assertive Pam to the ambitious and prank happy Jim to the wildly inappropriate and over-doing it boss Michael to the incomparable Creed (how many chairs does he have now…?)
Since the departure of Steve Carell, the show had faltered and was disappointingly directionless for some time, to be blunt. Hopes were high for James Spader to step in as the new boss, but the chemistry between him and “The Office” rarely had any spark. The only exception was the party at Robert California’s mansion…that was a funny episode!
However, the addition of Andy and Erin were two excellent steps in the right direction. Their individual comedic talents and goofiness revived some level of what was missing from the departure of Michael Scott. It also generated a fresh love story the fans could cheer for from home. The casting decision of bringing in Clark Duke, who portrayed, who else, Clark, became a vintage-Office character. It is sad to not be able to see him develop and grow more within “The Office.”
What does “The Office” mean after nine seasons?
It’s impossible to recap all the funniest scenes, bloopers, Christmas-themed pranks and heart warming moments in this post. That’s what the special two-hour series finale is for tonight at 8:00 p.m. on NBC, which will also be its 200th show! Instead, what I will do is list a few of the very special memories I have from this television show:
-I was on a plane going somewhere internationally several years ago and reruns of “The Office” were on and I could not stop laughing! The people around me were wondering what was so funny and why this one guy was laughing and making noise on the plane? The show has always given me a reason to laugh.
-Watching Jim woo Pam in the space between his desk and her receptionist compound, despite the fact she was dating and eventually engaged to troublemaker Roy for some time, was heart warming and gut wrenching at the same time. In the end, it gave me and millions of others reassurance that if something is truly meant to be, with a little persistence, it can happen.
-Laughing at how Michael Scott would constantly try to make his employees laugh and loosen up was refreshing. It didn’t always work, but it was hysterical to see what shenanigans he concocted with his Assistant to the Regional Manager, Dwight. He was a big reason why watching a documentary about working in a paper company was so entertaining. He was also the master of being an idiot and making things incredibly awkward while being the most efficient Regional Manager David Wallace had ever known, even if Wallace never knew exactly why this was…
-For Christmas, I was given a Dwight K. Shrute ornament and a box of paper from Dunder Mifflin! On the outside of the paper box, it reads, “Get Your Scrant On!” Yes and yes!
This show was an entertaining view into the mundane, crazy, frustrating, random, funny, heart-breaking, heart-warming moments of working in a typical American office.
Tonight, it all ends. The last episode was a throwback to what made this show such an outstanding success. The final episode will likely tie up every loose end and ultimately be a tribute to the past nine seasons. It’s been a great run and it will be a treat to continue watching the reruns over and over and over again.
Yesterday, the post was dedicated to “The Office” wedding dance for Jim and Pam. Today, here are a few short videos that encapsulate so much of what made this series such a massive success, of how it grew to become so huge. That’s what she said!
Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I’m on the phone and the guy just answered.
“Schrute Farms, Guten Tag! How can I help you?”
The Office: Forever in our Hearts
Wedding season is upon us. It’s truly a glorious celebration of love and unity, accented with those very special “clickable” moments (more on this later). A wedding is the opportunity for a couple to declare their love to the world. It has struck me as perfectly fitting that the scheduling for the finale of sitcoms happens during this time of the year, especially since one of the great shows of the past nine years is turning off its lights and locking its doors for the last time.
The shenanigans of Dunder Mifflin will no longer be broadcast into the homes of millions of entertained fans. However, this post is not the final goodbye, as the series finale is tomorrow evening at 8:00 p.m. on NBC. Instead, this is a seasonal remembrance of one of the best scenes from the “The Office.”
Jim & Pam’s Wedding provided several “clickable” moments, meaning those times when the love of your life does something that deserves to be cherished and never forgotten. An example would be when the groom cuts off half his tie so his bride doesn’t feel awkward walking down the aisle with a partly torn veil.
Click.
Or how about when their co-workers, who constantly bring the couple stress, surprise them with a spectacular dance routine to show how genuinely happy they are that their office romance has blossomed into a marriage and a new life together.
Click!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 