NON-POLITICAL WHINING February 5, 2009
Two of my most valued readers have complained that I spend too much time writing about politics. They claim that when I write that stuff I’m even more boring than when I write about other nonsense. In fact they say that the level of high quality humor that is missing in most of my work is completely absent in my political discourse. It’s hard to find fans that can be so truthful and constructively critical, but I have them.
I had planned on writing a diatribe against the IRS and the US tax system. It would have been full of witty and sarcastic remarks, heavy with metaphor and laced with irony. But since that subject borders on the political I’ll stay away from it for now. But that leaves a dilemma. My whole being is demanding that I write something but with the IRS out of the picture what topic will satisfy the muse? Maybe this would be the time to churn out the first few chapters of my great American novel. The story has been lurking around in my mind for some time now. It’ll be about two boys who take a raft trip on a big river. Their names are Timmy and Howard and they live somewhere in the Midwest. I’ve got a lot of details to work out about other characters like Timmy’s girlfriend Betty and Howard’s mentor a Chinese guy named Joe. So maybe it’s too early to start on the novel.
If my poetry had been better received I might have dashed off a few lines of doggerel reflecting the innermost workings of my psyche. But that subject is definitely not bright and humorous. That would be more like a toboggan ride down a mountainside covered in a forest of metal spikes pointing uphill. So the poetry will wait as well.
Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl this past Sunday. About six million people have written about that event. Three million were happy and the other three million were really angry.
I was more or less indifferent to the whole thing and even managed to avoid most of the commercials and the aging rock star half time show. It cracks me up that Mr. Springsteen is now saying that his big deal with Wal-Mart was a mistake. Personally I think it was Wal-Mart’s mistake. That guy is trying to milk another couple of years out of his already slim talent and he needs all the Wal-Mart deals he can get. Most of his songs are adolescent and vapid. His best move was putting together a really great band that has carried him through a lot of shows and recordings. Of course his Liberal credentials can be called into question now because he signed with Wal-Mart, the epitome of evil Corporate America. But like so many of those guys, when it comes to making money and self promotion they’ll hop in bed with any devil that has a few promises to deliver.
Oh man, that political stuff about the Boss slipped out when I wasn’t being vigilant. At least when that Jackson girl singer and the gay guy were on the Super Bowl stage a few years back nobody was too worried about her politics. And even ancient Mick Jagger and nearly as ancient Paul McCartney only did the peace and love message at the ends of their shows. Peace and love is kind of ironic in a setting where two teams of armored warriors are doing their level best to wound and maim each other as they attempt to propel or carry a missile into the end zone. But that’s show biz.
Speaking of show biz, I was trying to select some new movies for my Netflix list and the pickings are really pretty slim. It seems like there are a lot of new movies out there that I’ve already seen. I don’t mean that I’ve seen a particular movie but I’ve seen the exact same stories done over and over again. The romantic comedies, cop movies, action adventure and horror films have been distilled down to about ten scripts that have a few slight variations thrown in to make them seem somewhat new. It’s gotten so bad that my wife and I even watched that Abba movie “Mamma Mia” last week. She liked it. I can tolerate the music but almost two hours of it was a little tough. And I must be getting old because I thought Merle Streep looked really hot in that picture.
Here’s one other nod to the movie business. I watched a really good documentary about the great guitar player and inventor Les Paul. It was called “Les Paul: Chasing Sound” and even people who aren’t fans of his can appreciate his story. But one of the most amazing aspects of the film is how Mr. Paul, now in his nineties, still plays at a night club almost every week, and how he still sounds pretty darn good. It was a fun movie to watch and it doesn’t fit the “Boring Documentary” category award that the Oscar people give out each year.
Next week the wife and I will be heading to the land of snow and ice again. We’ll go up after she finishes her work week and stay for about seven days. That’ll give us plenty of time to reaffirm our appreciation for the mild winters of Delaware. We always enjoy those visits but digging out the driveway every morning does take its toll on an old guy. Yes it’s tough directing the snow removal operation that my wife has to do. Sometimes I actually have to go outdoors and talk to her about her technique. It’s a good thing I got her that electric start snow blower for Valentine’s Day.
Have a fine day.
Two of my most valued readers have complained that I spend too much time writing about politics. They claim that when I write that stuff I’m even more boring than when I write about other nonsense. In fact they say that the level of high quality humor that is missing in most of my work is completely absent in my political discourse. It’s hard to find fans that can be so truthful and constructively critical, but I have them.
I had planned on writing a diatribe against the IRS and the US tax system. It would have been full of witty and sarcastic remarks, heavy with metaphor and laced with irony. But since that subject borders on the political I’ll stay away from it for now. But that leaves a dilemma. My whole being is demanding that I write something but with the IRS out of the picture what topic will satisfy the muse? Maybe this would be the time to churn out the first few chapters of my great American novel. The story has been lurking around in my mind for some time now. It’ll be about two boys who take a raft trip on a big river. Their names are Timmy and Howard and they live somewhere in the Midwest. I’ve got a lot of details to work out about other characters like Timmy’s girlfriend Betty and Howard’s mentor a Chinese guy named Joe. So maybe it’s too early to start on the novel.
If my poetry had been better received I might have dashed off a few lines of doggerel reflecting the innermost workings of my psyche. But that subject is definitely not bright and humorous. That would be more like a toboggan ride down a mountainside covered in a forest of metal spikes pointing uphill. So the poetry will wait as well.
Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl this past Sunday. About six million people have written about that event. Three million were happy and the other three million were really angry.
I was more or less indifferent to the whole thing and even managed to avoid most of the commercials and the aging rock star half time show. It cracks me up that Mr. Springsteen is now saying that his big deal with Wal-Mart was a mistake. Personally I think it was Wal-Mart’s mistake. That guy is trying to milk another couple of years out of his already slim talent and he needs all the Wal-Mart deals he can get. Most of his songs are adolescent and vapid. His best move was putting together a really great band that has carried him through a lot of shows and recordings. Of course his Liberal credentials can be called into question now because he signed with Wal-Mart, the epitome of evil Corporate America. But like so many of those guys, when it comes to making money and self promotion they’ll hop in bed with any devil that has a few promises to deliver.
Oh man, that political stuff about the Boss slipped out when I wasn’t being vigilant. At least when that Jackson girl singer and the gay guy were on the Super Bowl stage a few years back nobody was too worried about her politics. And even ancient Mick Jagger and nearly as ancient Paul McCartney only did the peace and love message at the ends of their shows. Peace and love is kind of ironic in a setting where two teams of armored warriors are doing their level best to wound and maim each other as they attempt to propel or carry a missile into the end zone. But that’s show biz.
Speaking of show biz, I was trying to select some new movies for my Netflix list and the pickings are really pretty slim. It seems like there are a lot of new movies out there that I’ve already seen. I don’t mean that I’ve seen a particular movie but I’ve seen the exact same stories done over and over again. The romantic comedies, cop movies, action adventure and horror films have been distilled down to about ten scripts that have a few slight variations thrown in to make them seem somewhat new. It’s gotten so bad that my wife and I even watched that Abba movie “Mamma Mia” last week. She liked it. I can tolerate the music but almost two hours of it was a little tough. And I must be getting old because I thought Merle Streep looked really hot in that picture.
Here’s one other nod to the movie business. I watched a really good documentary about the great guitar player and inventor Les Paul. It was called “Les Paul: Chasing Sound” and even people who aren’t fans of his can appreciate his story. But one of the most amazing aspects of the film is how Mr. Paul, now in his nineties, still plays at a night club almost every week, and how he still sounds pretty darn good. It was a fun movie to watch and it doesn’t fit the “Boring Documentary” category award that the Oscar people give out each year.
Next week the wife and I will be heading to the land of snow and ice again. We’ll go up after she finishes her work week and stay for about seven days. That’ll give us plenty of time to reaffirm our appreciation for the mild winters of Delaware. We always enjoy those visits but digging out the driveway every morning does take its toll on an old guy. Yes it’s tough directing the snow removal operation that my wife has to do. Sometimes I actually have to go outdoors and talk to her about her technique. It’s a good thing I got her that electric start snow blower for Valentine’s Day.
Have a fine day.
No comments:
Post a Comment