It's funny how Mad Men has become such a pop culture and social phenomenon. It's on a niche cable channel, but it's still one of those shows that has infiltrated the world in so many different ways: fashion, advertising, music, other TV shows. Maybe it's the fact that it's the best show on television or maybe people want to be hip or maybe people want a return to a different time and place, but you can see influences from the show everywhere, even if you're not a regular viewer.

There has been an onslaught of advertising-related Mad Men homages, some of them lame, some of them clever. This one falls in the latter category. It's a holiday e-card from the advertising/marketing staffing agency Markinekt. It's a takeoff on the opening sequence from the show, but instead of Don Draper it features a snowman falling from the building. On the way down he passes giant cartons of Baxter Egg Nog and a woman wearing snow boots.

I wonder if this snowman has been cheating on his wife?

It's approaching midnight, it's in the single digits outside, and I really don't feel like watching regular TV right now. I feel like having something on while I get under the covers and read. Time for the Yule Log!

This season (Jay reviewed one a couple of years ago), Comcast, Cox, Time-Warner, and Bright House all have the Yule Log on their On Demand service (via iN Demand). It's that scene of a crackling fireplace to get you in the Christmas mood. It's especially good if you don't have a fireplace of your own (duh), and it's in HD! I have Comcast digital, and to access it, go to your On Demand menu, then scroll down to HD On Demand, then go to TV Entertainment. You'll see a "Yule Log & More" category (not sure how to get to the section on other cable systems - maybe it's the same?).

But wait, there's more...

Damn it, somebody stole my idea. Rather, somebody had the same idea I had and ran with it. See, I always thought it would be cool to create a DVD for kids in which they could use the remote control to decide where the story goes, what the characters do, etc. I never tried to actually do this because I would have absolutely no idea how. This is part of the "never try to learn anything new" philosophy I hope to pass on to my children someday. The new DVD of which I speak is a video version of the Choose Your Own Adventure books we all read as children. The first DVD is an animated adventure called The Abominable Snowman and features the voices of Frankie Muniz of Malcolm in the Middle, Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives, and Lacey Chabert of Party of Five and Family Guy, season one (also William H. Macy and Mark Hamill). The DVD is being released via a hefty deal with Life Cereal, but I wrote about all of that over on our sister site, Ad Jab.