Embattled automaker Toyota is trying to bring back the minivan. Have you seen this commercial? It's total Gen X satire, and actually spoofs Ephron's When Harry Met Sally. At two minutes, 27 seconds, it's pretty entertaining even if it pushes the envelope on insulting.

I mean, honestly, do we act like that? I think Generation X surrendered the colloquial language of Saturday Night Live somewhere between the exit of Adam Sandler and the entrance of Jon Stewart and The Daily Show. One guy is so annoyed, he's suggested taking up a collection to hire a hit man to deal with the family. What do you think?

Will you ever buy a minivan? I swore I never would, but with three kids, it's starting to look like a viable option.

I'm going to go out on an unscientific limb and claim that the Louisville's Courier-Journal makes reference to Generation X more than any other media outlet in the universe. I follow this stuff pretty closely, so I'm just saying it seems to me to be the case. This is very cool, since Lousiville has an interesting connection to Generation X - it is the city where the cult following of The Big Lebowski took root.

All that aside, they have another reporter, Tamara Ikenberg, making a contribution to the Generation X dialogue. In the article, O'Brien, Obama Can't Catch A Break, she quotes Jeff Gordinier, author of X Saves the World:

“This is a classic Gen-X scenario,” said Jeff Gordinier, author of the book “X Saves the World.” “Conan waited for years for that job. He was promised the job. He paid his dues like so many Gen-Xers have in various fields. And then when he finally got the job, they messed with him. Having the rug pulled out from under you is the quintessential Gen-X experience in the workplace.”

What's really interesting is that the headline for the Courier-Journal article is much softer than the URL for the article. Look closely and pay attention, right? It bears the phrase "O'Brien, Obama Share Gen X Curse."

Now, that's a new one on me.

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Jay Leno returns to The Tonight Show this evening after refusing to stand in front of the bus under which the network threw Conan O'Brien (hat tip: Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune).
 
You can celebrate Jay's return by following Conan on Twitter. He joined last week, has updated five times and has more than 500,00 followers.
 
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May the curse be with you!