I’m not a smoker, although I’ve had a few late-night cigarettes in my day. Now, I have to say, it’s laudable that New York City wants to cut down on smoking. It’s a public-health problem, gross, etc. But the ubiquitous commercials starring the guy with the hole in his throat? Enough already. We see him at the doctor, poolside, at the local baseball fields, you name it, doing that freaky trick of speaking through a microphone that makes him sound like a robot. He wanted to be major-league umpire; now he’s a major-league bummer. I don’t know if he’s had any effect on smokers, but I’m tiring of seeing him. Not to be mean, but maybe it’s time to stuff a sock in his throat hole.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey