The Dance of the Seven Veils

September 8, 2008 by Leave a comment

Dear Carla Fran,

I have indeed watched all of Season 1 of Mad Men and I await your scintillating insights with bated breath! Joan! I’ve come round to your way of thinking. She is the most seductive human I’ve ever seen. The curves. The eyelashes! The smoldering simper. For his part, Don–despite the rage he rightly inspires–(or perhaps, and this is the more terrible possibility–because of it?) has inspired peculiar and distinctly unprogressive fantasies.

What do we do with this misguided nostalgia? How to find the eroticism without the other “-isms” that make the show so bleak? Help me, dear CF.

We talked a little about the absence of communication in these on-screen marriages, and I’ve been thinking since about the role of silence in relationships. What do we and don’t we say? To what extent is veiling a form of foreplay, and distance a turn-on? I wonder: Is the difference between eroticism and porn just emotional lingerie?

Fondly,
Millicent

PS–Forgive my temporary absence–I was away until Sunday, when a dear mutual friend (and unsuspected Connect-Four hustler) came to visit.

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The Thrill of the Hair

September 5, 2008 by 1 Comment

Dearest Carla Fran,

It’s so funny that you mention Joan, as I optically grope Ms. Holloway every time she’s onscreen myself–did so last night, in fact, when I watched Episode 1 of Season 2 on Hulu. (The photocopier!! And Don Draper has ED! This show just gets better.)

Sadly, my lissome redhead in no way resembles JH. She is a dimply beanpole. I realize that “spectacularly proportioned” might have conveyed a different impression, but in this case the spectacle is height–legs that go on forever, waist the size of my thigh, etc. She’s all fashionable angles without the teensiest bit of meat.

I’m enthralled with your synopsis of The Thrill of it All starring Ms. Day and her character’s upstart pretensions. The storyline reminds me a little of Betty’s attempt to reenter the modeling world on Season 1 of Mad Men. (Speaking of which, can hulu be an alternative to our Netflix Browse Instant column, which I’m strongly in favor of?)

Just thinking of a foam-filled room is making this sweltering day a little more bearable.

Why don’t we stay retro a little longer?

That’s my cousin during her vacation in Cadiz. Everything about this look makes me sigh a little.

Here, in contrast, I’ve had two people ask me–in bars–“So, you’ve decided on the long hair, huh?” I’ve never really regarded growing hair as a decision. I regard haircuts as decisions. But suddenly my hair has crossed some threshold, and people I haven’t seen in a month or two are reacting as if I returned to campus with a buzz cut. Perplexing.

I love Doris Day’s hair. However, not being a blonde, I would settle for straight straight and shiny shiny.

It’s a delight to hear from you every day, dear CF. That is all.

Fondly,

Millicent

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