In certain embarrassing circles, it's popular to be a fan of Apple Computer. They're the underdog in the computer world these days, and underdogs tend to appeal to Americans. But they were perceived to be the underdog even when they weren't really the underdog, and I suspect that's ultimately rooted in Ridley Scott's famous 1984 commercial. In terms of defining the brand's identity, I think that commercial did more for positioning Apple as the benevolent David fighting the corporate Goliaths than the company's actual behavior ever has or will.

So while I understand on some level it's unwarranted and that I'm probably being manipulated by the company's marketing machine, and while I also understand it's remarkably dorky to "root" for one computer company over another, I'm always rooting for Apple.

On the other hand, I'm always rooting against Yoko Ono. I realize it's kind of a cliched stance. And as I'm not what could be called a Beatlemanic by any stretch of the imagination, I suppose it's even more ridiculous to have feelings toward Yoko one way or another. Still, the very thought of her makes my skin crawl. I don't know whether she broke up the band, I don't know whether she screwed Julian out of his father's money, and I don't know whether she's an artistic fraud. My dislike for her is even more ridiculous than my like for Apple. At least I'm an Apple user and can, therefore, claim some kind of personal interest in their plight. I know almost nothing of Yoko -- I've never heard her records, I couldn't tell you when she became involved with John Lennon, and I've only heard about the movie of the fly and her boob.

Upon hearing about the Apple Corps lawsuit filed against Apple Computer, I reacted predictably: I became enraged that Yoko, Corrupter of All Things Pure, has the gall to claim that the use of "Apple" in conjunction with the iPod and the iTunes music store is an infrigement on the Beatles' copyright.

Of course, I have no idea what level of involvement Yoko has in Apple Corps, but I doubt it's any greater than that of Paul or Ringo. I suspect she is barely cognizant of the suit. And I realize that Apple Computer's paid out a number of settlements to Apple Corps in the past, and that some of these settlements forbade Apple Computer to use the name Apple in the music industry. Still, I find this action -- an action I imagine to be carried out at the personal behest of the Unholy Yoko -- to be deplorable and exploitive.

If nothing else, this should prove once and for all that I'm mercurial at best and utterly irrational at worst.

Analogcabin @ 11:37 AM
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