On the radio this morning was a BBC talk show dedicated entirely to the topic of Sarah Palin's pregnant 17 year old daughter. An entire goddamn program, with callers and email comments from Africa to Asia, and everywhere in between adding their two cents.
Wars are going on all over the world, human rights are being squashed, people are dying gory nightmarish deaths thousands of miles from their homes and families, and there's this little thing called a hurricane that just displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes. Sure, they got quick blurbs... but a single pregnant girl sparking global controversy? Are you fucking kidding me??
Oh, that's right.... it's because she's the daughter of a presumptive Vice President. The only single feasible conclusion to be drawn from this is that Sarah Palin herself personally encourages not only her own, but if elected to office will urge all American children to have sex freely, pee on Bibles, and worship Satan.
Funny thing is, the only reactions I can find in a couple minutes' worth of Googling are people expecting this to spark a controversy, and preemptively getting angry (much like myself) at reactions they haven't personally witnessed, but are sure others must be saying. I don't think such negative attitudes (as parodied above) actually exist, except maybe on some obscure nutjob's blog of little or no consequence.
This concludes my pretty much uninformed yet highly opinionated rant. Moving on...
---
Tonight after work, I stopped at the C.H. for a cheap draft beer or two (but no more... rent, you know?). The bartender who has remembered my name since first seeing my debit card (and consequently calls me "Andrew" instead of the preferred "Andy", but I don't correct her) constantly fields phone calls from her immediate family concerning all manners of drama. She mentioned, pointedly but (good-natured ribbingly at us regulars), to one of her relatives that the Tuesday night crowd wasn't being talkative at all, to which I lodged the protest that I was dying for some decent conversation.
The bartender buys me a shot of Jack Daniels and a beer for my birthday, even though I mention that another bartender had done the same last week. What a gal! She marvels at my honesty, and I tell her that it's not only a blessing, but also a morbid curse.
So a few beers later a (suspectly attractive) lady about my age comes over and out of nowhere just starts talking to me. We get into a big, long, and pretty well buzzed conversation about mutual cardiac woes (long story), the nature of God (this is, after all, a mostly Catholic neighborhood), and senses of impending doom and eventual death (again with the Catholicism). A little before eleven she has to leave and we shake hands goodbye.
This I find curious, as I can count on one single hand the times an unfamiliar female has, of her own free will, engaged me in candid conversation.
I have a sneaking suspicion, and ask the bartender if she sent Chatty Cathy my way (btw, that's the bartender's nickname for her, not mine). She did, with the intent to divert C.C.'s flowing stream-of-consciousness away from a customer who had just ordered a dish and was trying (unsuccessfully) to eat, toward a guy (me) who had just mentioned a desire for conversation. Two birds, one stone. :-)
After C.C. left, I thanked the bartender for her thoughtfulness. It was, after all, a pretty darned lively and satisfying chat, and a wonderful alternative to the muted post-sporting-game commentary on tv there.
---
I recently picked up a used CD, Dirty Vegas, thinking it'll be another catchy dance-y techno disc. You know, the people who did the song "Days Go By" that was in that Mitsubishi commercial a few years ago? Never mind that I'm six years behind the loop, the bandwagon of which has already rolled, slowed, and creaked to a full stop. This has turned out to be one of the most deep, dynamic, and complex electronica CDs that I have listened to in recent history. It's a masterpiece in my humble opinion, especially the acoustic bonus track, which is nothing short of hauntingly beautiful. These guys are true songwriters.
Seriously. If you haven't already, go out and get it. Now. Skip work. You'll thank me later.
Wars are going on all over the world, human rights are being squashed, people are dying gory nightmarish deaths thousands of miles from their homes and families, and there's this little thing called a hurricane that just displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes. Sure, they got quick blurbs... but a single pregnant girl sparking global controversy? Are you fucking kidding me??
Oh, that's right.... it's because she's the daughter of a presumptive Vice President. The only single feasible conclusion to be drawn from this is that Sarah Palin herself personally encourages not only her own, but if elected to office will urge all American children to have sex freely, pee on Bibles, and worship Satan.
Funny thing is, the only reactions I can find in a couple minutes' worth of Googling are people expecting this to spark a controversy, and preemptively getting angry (much like myself) at reactions they haven't personally witnessed, but are sure others must be saying. I don't think such negative attitudes (as parodied above) actually exist, except maybe on some obscure nutjob's blog of little or no consequence.
This concludes my pretty much uninformed yet highly opinionated rant. Moving on...
---
Tonight after work, I stopped at the C.H. for a cheap draft beer or two (but no more... rent, you know?). The bartender who has remembered my name since first seeing my debit card (and consequently calls me "Andrew" instead of the preferred "Andy", but I don't correct her) constantly fields phone calls from her immediate family concerning all manners of drama. She mentioned, pointedly but (good-natured ribbingly at us regulars), to one of her relatives that the Tuesday night crowd wasn't being talkative at all, to which I lodged the protest that I was dying for some decent conversation.
The bartender buys me a shot of Jack Daniels and a beer for my birthday, even though I mention that another bartender had done the same last week. What a gal! She marvels at my honesty, and I tell her that it's not only a blessing, but also a morbid curse.
So a few beers later a (suspectly attractive) lady about my age comes over and out of nowhere just starts talking to me. We get into a big, long, and pretty well buzzed conversation about mutual cardiac woes (long story), the nature of God (this is, after all, a mostly Catholic neighborhood), and senses of impending doom and eventual death (again with the Catholicism). A little before eleven she has to leave and we shake hands goodbye.
This I find curious, as I can count on one single hand the times an unfamiliar female has, of her own free will, engaged me in candid conversation.
I have a sneaking suspicion, and ask the bartender if she sent Chatty Cathy my way (btw, that's the bartender's nickname for her, not mine). She did, with the intent to divert C.C.'s flowing stream-of-consciousness away from a customer who had just ordered a dish and was trying (unsuccessfully) to eat, toward a guy (me) who had just mentioned a desire for conversation. Two birds, one stone. :-)
After C.C. left, I thanked the bartender for her thoughtfulness. It was, after all, a pretty darned lively and satisfying chat, and a wonderful alternative to the muted post-sporting-game commentary on tv there.
---
I recently picked up a used CD, Dirty Vegas, thinking it'll be another catchy dance-y techno disc. You know, the people who did the song "Days Go By" that was in that Mitsubishi commercial a few years ago? Never mind that I'm six years behind the loop, the bandwagon of which has already rolled, slowed, and creaked to a full stop. This has turned out to be one of the most deep, dynamic, and complex electronica CDs that I have listened to in recent history. It's a masterpiece in my humble opinion, especially the acoustic bonus track, which is nothing short of hauntingly beautiful. These guys are true songwriters.
Seriously. If you haven't already, go out and get it. Now. Skip work. You'll thank me later.
posted by Grover at 9/02/2008 10:26:00 PM
2 Comments:
I love Days Go By! I originally heard about them through that commercial, but the rest of their music is great. I like the acoustic version of Days Go By better though.. mmm, now I'm listening to it. <3
I meant "I love Dirty Vegas", of course... got distracted by the song. haha. A freudian slip, or sorts.
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