Snapshot Chronicles

Susan Getgood's personal blog

The time warp of the Metro North Bar Car

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Bar Car - why don't they have these on my train?
Bar Car - Photo credit: bitchcakesny

Of late I have felt a bit like I am living a distaff 21st century version of Mad Men.

I work in advertising, although for a social media publisher, not at an agency. I commute daily on Metro North’s New Haven line and live in Fairfield County, although in far less glamourous Bridgeport, not Cos Cob. And of course I am not a philandering asshole like Pete Campbell. But every time there’s a Mad Men scene on the train, or when the city dwellers venture out into the suburbs, it feels just familiar enough to resonate.

And sometimes my life has echoes that evoke Mad Men.

This was particularly strong the other night. I missed my usual express train, so had to take the slightly later train that runs local from Stamford to New Haven, and the last car (which I prefer for proximity to the parking garage in Bridgeport) was the bar car.

Plus I wanted a drink. It was that sort of day.

Sitting in the Metro North bar car when it is staffed (versus just the car with no bartender) is like stepping into a time warp back to the 60s, and not just because the actual car seems (but probably is not) that old. It’s a semi-private club, with regulars who have been traveling the commuter rails together for what seems like years. Now, the train itself is like that –I see the same folks everyday, some of them on both ends of my commute, and we chat on the platform or in the elevator at the parking garage.

But it is a quiet community.

Not so the bar car. The bar car is the polar opposite of the quiet car. It’s a party on the rails, and the regulars are a mix of modern day Roger Sterlings and Pete Campbells. There are a few women in the bar car, but it is overall a pretty estrogen-light place with a locker-room feel. For example, on this occasion a main topic of conversation was the erotic ebook Shades of Gray, which I had never heard of until the gentleman sitting next to me asked if I had read it.

Yeah, the bar car is that sort of place.

Not sure I have the constitution to ride it every day, especially since it makes me a few minutes late for my sitter when it is the 5:48 train. But I learned last night, I could do so, as there is a website Where’s the Bar Car (wheresthebarcar.com) that reports which MNR New Haven trains have the staffed bar car each day. I’m pretty sure that the folks I was chatting with the other night decide between the 5:26 and the 5:48 depending on which one has the bar.

A votre sante!

More articles about the bar car:

And about Pete Campbell’s commute: http://trainjotting.com/2012/03/26/conn-men/

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L’Odyssee de Cartier – Magnifique!!

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The  best advertising tells a story.  Sometimes it’s simple, sometimes it’s complex. And sometimes it just stands in a class all by itself.

Like L’Odyssée de Cartier.

Yes, it’s long. Yes, there’s no call to action, although, quite frankly even if there were, most of us couldn’t act anyway. But I challenge anyone to watch the film — with an open mind — and not understand the core of the Cartier brand.

The power of this short film is not just in the production budget (although that helps!). What makes this so amazing is how the filmmaker brought us through the Cartier odyssey in surprising ways. Hopefully it will set an example for profoundly good storytelling in advertising rather than just inspire a bunch of richly executed but boring knock-offs.

Because good storytelling works at any budget level.

If you’d like to know more about the film and Cartier’s history, a post at the Inspiration Room offers a nice summary, and  there is a wealth of material on the film’s microsite.

Hat tip to Sandra for sharing this with me.

More related articles

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Holiday Movies

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The December holiday season is pure gold for the entertainment industry.

From Christmas music, which I love,  to TV specials and holiday themed episodes of TV series, some of which are good like the Eureka episode I mentioned in my last post and Glee’s funny homage to Christmas specials past.

Let’s not forget the holiday movies, whether on TV or in the theater, brand new or holiday classics like Holiday Inn, filled with wonderful Irving Berlin songs, and one very questionable number, see if you can figure it out in the clip:

and Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland, and featuring the now-holiday classic Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

And films of more recent vintage like Elf, The Polar Express and this year’s blockbuster installment of the chipmunks.

Not to mention the big films released in December to capture the holiday audience. This year, we had updates of the Mission Impossible and Sherlock Holmes franchises. BTW Sherlock is good, but it really drags in places, and Douglas fell asleep at the end. Do with that information what you will.

But for me going forward, my holiday movie of choice will have to be Paul. We rented it on Christmas Day, and I loved it so much I bought a copy the very next day, braving Best Buy on Boxing Day no less.

Have a Happy New Year!