Last night’s episode of "Mad Men" showcased two new employees. Dawn is the new secretary for Don who is basically an affirmative action hire that happened because of a want ad that "blackfired". It is funny that her name is Dawn since it would make watercooler chatter interesting for people besides Harry Crane. While I don’t expect "Three’s Company" hijinks to ensue; I have a feeling Don and Dawn’s names might get mistaken for each other in a subtle way. Roger Sterling’s joke, "darkest before the Dawn" went over like a lead balloon and Peggy ignored it as they were talking about the new copy writer.

The other new hire is Michael Ginsburg who came off as so stereotypically Jewish that even my friend David rolled his eyes. He was anxious and weird during his interview with Peggy. Hopefully his character will be more developed as the season goes and he gets a better wardrobe.

I feel for Roger Sterling when he asks, "When will things get back to normal?".

Michele Norris of NPR was prescient when she said in an interview that the country today is most racial, not "post racial".

I don’t know about this "new normal". Talking about race requires nuance that can’t be easily storyboarded and slapped on an ad.

Judge lest you not be judged.

Sent from my Android,
Nichelle Stephens