We don't know about you, but Unreal was thirsty for more after reading the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's "exclusive interview" with InBev chief/Anheuser-Busch bidder Carlos Brito last week. In his informal meeting with the daily, Brito (dressed in a shirt with no tie!) discussed his dedication to St. Louis, his love of Cardinals baseball and his fondness for draft horses with white ankles. "Why would I change the Clydesdales if the Clydesdales are the thing that most people remember?" said Brito.
The chairman of the Belgian-based beer giant went on to describe Budweiser as "America in a bottle."
Which led Unreal to wonder: What does that make Natty Light? "Sauget in a can?"
Here are a few more questions we plan to ask Brito as soon as he calls us back:
• Which goes better with a cold Budweiser: Belgian chocolate or Belgian waffles?
• Can you say: "InBev Park at Busch Stadium"?
• When can we expect a "Today we salute you, Mr. Corporate Takeover Architect" Real Men of Genius spot?
• Would you please bring back Spykes? We miss Hot Melons!
• Given your desire to make Budweiser a global brand, are you making the "Bud Bowl" a soccer match instead of a football game?
• Hey, tiger, what's your "Born On Date"?
Who's That Lady?
Hard to believe that in four short months American voters will vote to place in the White House either an outspoken black attorney from Chicago or a feisty millionaire from Arizona. So who's it going to be? Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain? The two have already traded barbs on the campaign trail, and the rhetoric is guaranteed to ramp up as we approach November. (Can you say "catfight"?) For more on what we can expect from these potential first ladies, Unreal called up Betty Winfield, a journalism professor at the University of Missouri and an expert on how the media covers the wives of presidential candidates.
Unreal: Does anyone really care about the first lady?
Betty Winfield: That's a good question. There is certainly nothing in the Constitution that says a president has to be married. We have had a bachelor president in James Buchanan and a widower in Thomas Jefferson. But for over 200 years, people have created an expectation of candidates having a first lady. We have no highly elected female politicians and for good or bad this woman becomes a symbol of American womanhood.
Hmmm. Sounds like our notion of a first lady is a bit of an anachronism.
I think it is. Look at the wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. She's a former model who just put out a new pop album. Can you imagine Laura Bush — or any U.S. first lady — doing the same? Never.
That said, it doesn't hurt for a first lady to be a hottie like Michelle or Cindy, right?
It didn't for Jackie Kennedy. The media would note how she made the stage so much more attractive. But really, ever since Nancy Reagan and Rosalynn Carter, most of these women are highly educated. They have careers of their own, and then they're supposed to go into a traditional spouse mode once their husband is elected president?
Is the media going light on the ladies this year?
Cindy has some skeletons in her closet that haven't come up much. She was reportedly addicted to pain pills for a while. With Michelle the questions mostly revolve around her outspokenness. I think her critics are still looking for something to grab hold of.
How can the public get to know these women in a more meaningful way? Perhaps a bake-off? Or maybe a swimsuit competition?
Oh, I'm not going there. What if they don't want to go swimming?
Local Blog O' the Week
"One Dad's Life"
http://www.onedadslife.com
Author: Gregg Mueller
About the blogger: In his own "One-Line Bio" words: "I'm a married 40-something dad with 2 kids.
Recent Highlight (June 30): An Evening with Rebecca
For whatever reason, I suspected at least 50% of which was to give me a chance to go, Rebecca said at 7:25 PM that she would like to go with me. Well, I made a snap decision to take her and approximately four minutes later, Rebecca and I were dressed in our Rush concert garb and out the door and on the way to try and make an 8:00 PM start time.
I was actually happy with this last minute arrangement the more I thought about it because there aren't too many things, at least big things, that Rebecca and I get a chance to do together. This would give us a big chunk of quality time. Additionally, seeing Rush play is probably my favorite thing in the world, and I'd get to share this one on one with my first-born alone!
[...]The concert was excellent with near sonic perfection, as Rush always is. (when you've been playing that long, you can afford the best gear, staff, and sound!) I enjoyed telling Rebecca about the history and inspiration behind many of the songs, about how old I was when the older songs came out, and what I remembered most about them, from a musical standpoint. It was some nice one-on-one time even during the concert. This was not a new experience for Rebecca (we attend many different musical events and she has even seen Rush two previous times), but with her being 12, now, there is so much more she "gets" and we can discuss. Just the "people watching" was fun for both of us. There are all sorts of interesting characters at a show such as this! If you've been to a big rock concert, you know what I'm talking about. If not, let your imagination run wild...you're probably right!
During intermission, we also had fun texting a message to the big screens (although the concert restarted before ours was displayed) and talked some more. I marveled at the fact that the shirt she had picked to wear was from the "Counterparts" tour, which was one year before she was born...and now she fit the shirt! They really grow up fast.[...]
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