MOTUS A.D.: In the End Neither Michelle O nor Batik Could Save the Ladies Home Journal

Sunday, April 27, 2014

In the End Neither Michelle O nor Batik Could Save the Ladies Home Journal

Can you believe it? Another venerable American institution is about to go the way of the buggy whip. No, not the Bill of Rights – not yet anyway. It’s the the Ladies Home Journal, which is folding after a 131 year run.

There is no way you can blame Lady M for the demise: she did the best she could, gracing its cover 3 times in just 5 years.

And in issues that included such cutting edge features as “cleavage etiquette” -

Wherever, whenever, whatever

“Anti-aging for ‘real’ women” -

LHJ recommends Photoshop as the most cost effective method

And “the real secret to long-term weight loss” -

Again, LHJ recommends Photoshop – the results are not permanent butt then, they are immediate:

Meanwhile, BO is still in the Far East, addressing critical foreign relations issues such as cigarette sales and the missing airliner.

He also showed off some Bahasa Malaysia he picked up while living with Mom in Indonesia. Which gave him a chance to honor Stanley Ann’s legacy as well:

"For my mother, batik wasn't about fashion. ... It was a window into the lives of others — their cultures, lives and tradition," the president said.

BO and Mom both in native batik, (ditto the bed). Oddly, their hair seems to be leaning left.

“My mother believed and I believe that whether we come from a remote village or a big city, whether we live in the U.S. or Malaysia, we all share basic human aspirations: to live in dignity and in peace, to shape our own destiny, to be able to make a living and work hard and support a family,” he said.

Oddly enough, it would seem that Big Guy does not share Mom’s appreciation for the Indonesian fabric:

BO, working hard (in batik) to make a living.

MO, working hard (in batik) to make a living.

So, Bo’s heading home soon, and since Lady M didn’t get to accompany him he has to bring her a really special present. He didn’t think that another batik sundress for our annual 4th of July celebration would cut it, as Lady M made it clear that Stanley Ann was correct: batik isn’t about fashion.