Kathryn Fenner shares this ABCColumbia clip, in which her husband was quoted as an expert on what to do about the computer virus that caused yesterday’s stir.
I was particularly struck by the dramatic, under-the-coffee table shot of Dr. Stephen sitting on the sofa with his laptop.
Good thing the Fenners keep the underside of that table as neat and tidy as the rest of their home. I didn’t see any chewed gum stuck under there, or anything like that…
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What the hell is a “computer expert” doing using an Apple laptop? That’s like a newspaper editor using a box of crayons… those big toddler sized ones.
As a follow-up, most of the people I know who work in Engineering are Linux geeks, and proud of it, who will only use open source products.
@Steven – Try going to a Linux conference. There are 5 or 6 Macs for every Linux laptop amongst users. Apple’s build quality is high and you don’t look like one of the “poors” (the frequent phrase is “why should I drive a pinto when I can have a Ferrari”). It isn’t a big deal, even if there is a whiff of hypocrisy. From the command line the differences aren’t that far between the two platforms.
I’m not an Apple advocate, but they aren’t the same company that gave us OS9.
My husband is not an engineer. He is a theoretical computer scientist (informatics, if you will)–more of a mathematician than most in Swearingen. He needs a stable virus-free system with email, primarily, and the ability to use LaTex. Apple does this better than any other system.
and yes, Brad–that was one weird shot. Steve asked me ahead of time if he should put on better clothes, and I assumed they’d just shoot from the waist up. It is a hokey sort of vignette, because he wouldn’t actually be sitting on the couch using his laptop….there are two far more comfortable recliners….
You know, I’ve sort of come to expect that the only kind of laptop that can show up on a TV or movie screen is an Apple.
Has anyone ever seen a more successful product in terms of product placement in movies? You would think that 90 percent of all laptops were Macs, rather than the other way around.
I saw the Daniel Craig version of “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” the other day, and sure enough, he uses an Apple. Then, out of curiosity, I watched part of the original Swedish version, and that character uses an Apple in that, too!
Oh, by the way, apropos of nothing… There’s more skin in the American version than in the Swedish one. That is to say, there is a sex scene that occurs in both, and you see a lot more of the American Girl with the Dragon Tattoo than you do of the Swedish one.
I mean, I just happened to notice.
When did that turnaround occur? Used to be, “Swedish movie” was synonymous with “skin flick,” whereas filmmakers used to shoot a racy version of major motion pictures for the European market, and a modest, fully-clothed one for the U.S.
When did that change?
Did the modernist furniture spin you into orbit? Or maybe skip lunch?
Quite a non sequitur…
In the 1960s, when the standards and practices code–the acronym for which escapes me, was replaced with GMRX–JimRex–remember the ads, then G GP R and X, then G PG R and NC17.
The couch was my parents’, circa 1968, reupholstered from the harvest gold velour. The coffee table is from Bohemian.
I love me some midcentury modern….
I said it was apropos of nothing…
But then, I managed within a very few sentences to spin it into a semblance of relevant social commentary.
Don’t try that at home. I’m a professional.
Also, apropos the weird under-couch shot: the tweed fabric oscillates–Steve knows not to wear stripes on camera–you’d think the camera-person would have thought about it….
and they misspelled his name int eh transcript, leading my brother to question their fact-checking….
That room could be my late grandmothers. Of course her couch was vinyl and the painting was from Sears, but it brings back memories. I don’t mean this in a snarky way. I think it’s neat!
@Brad – Story goes that in the 90s MS’s legal was paranoid about Windows being seen in unauthorized settings (“What if they make jokes and show Windows crashing? Should we charge them for licensing?”). So they’d send out a healthy number of cease and desist letters. Apple was happy to get the free PR and now the good guy uses a Mac and the bad guy uses something else.
Dunno how true that is.
I think there’s a store across from Zesto’s in Triangle City that could accessorize Kathryn’s living room. Everything is 1950’s through 1970’s furniture. She could probably use a couple lava lamps and free standing ash trays.
@Matt–white walls take you back?
Now see, Steven IS trying to be snarky. But I allow it so I can refute it: The Fenners have a lovely home. Very tasteful.
But it is my considered opinion as a professional P.R. man that next time he’s going to be on TV, Dr. Fenner should strongly consider wearing pants.
Thank you, Brad!
I like the Atomic Owl,but it’s a bit too hip for my more minimalist style.
You can’t actually read what’s on Steve’s polo shirt on my screen, but it’s all embroidered with the logo and stuff for the Computer Science and Engineering Department. I think his name should be embroidered in script on the opposite side, or on a sew-on patch…his outfit is sort of a mullet–work on top, party on the bottom….
@Tavis–naw, he does kettlebells at KORE Wellness and has Highland genes—his shorts legs are snug on his chunky thighs…
Says what you know, I wasn’t trying to be “snarky”… I don’t even use that dorky word. I was giving her a tip on a store which carries that era of furniture.
BTW – With the love affair Brad has with the 1960’s lifestyle I’d bet there are a thing or two in that store that would make their way home to the Warthen household.
I hate it when news photogs get arty.
I remember fending off a local news still photographer who was crouching at my feet, pointing her camera up my nose, while a columnist was asking me questions. I kept blocking her lens with my hand. I could barely focus on the columnist; all I could think was, “I really don’t want to see a giant picture of my nostrils in the paper tomorrow.” I finally just said, “No pictures, please.”
The next day the piece appeared in the local paper accompanied by a couple of photos of the nasal passages of other interviewees who weren’t as deft at evading the camera.
What… is there something up your nostrils you’re trying to hide? The people have a right to see!
LOL! It’s not like I was running for office. 😀
Wow good thing the table was there or you could look up his shorts.
If y’all haven’t stopped by the Atomic Owl–in Triangle City across from Zesto’s, you should. It’s like a museum of kitsch. All kinds of stuff you may remember at prices you won’t…
Man, my office’s bluecoat picked the wrong day to block bradwarthen.com.
Apparently they have decided that is a political activism website.