Just a Few Random Thoughts...

Feeling a bit older today. My daughter-in-law Erma turned 40 yesterday and SN1 turns 40 later on this month. SN1 pointed out to me while we were talking Tuesday night that at some point in the past I had defined “old” as that point in time when one has offspring that are 40 years of age. I’d forgotten about that, but it’s true. That, and having a granddaughter of child-bearing age. I’ll really feel old when I become a great-grandfather. Today I’m feeling a just a wee bit aged, but it’s nothing that’ll drive me to drink.

Miscellaneous Moans, Groans, Bitches, and Complaints Dept:

1. You are more than likely aware, Dear Reader, that I have an affinity for C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. I watch the program whenever my erratic sleep-cycle permits, which is more difficult than it sounds, given the program airs from 0500 MDT until approximately 0800 MDT, points in time that usually find me fast asleep these days. But the oh-dark-thirty program timing ain’t the problem. Oh, no. Here’s what gets my knickers in a twist: Every whacked-out point of view, no matter how ridiculous, gets a polite hearing from both the host and the expert guest of the moment. Every single one. Case in point: During a segment about the Middle East this morning, a caller began reciting talking points from the discredited, shopworn, and tiresome “It’s the Jooos…” school of so-called-thought. “Israel controls American foreign policy,” “Zionist controlled media,” and so on, ad nauseaum. Instead of summarily dismissing this claptrap, said expert-of-the-moment responded as if the caller was making a valid point. We’ve become SO politically correct that every idea, no matter how ludicrous, apparently deserves a hearing. Well, some points of view should be dismissed immediately, as in “What a crock of shit. Do you actually believe what you’re saying?” with accompanying eye-rolls and smirks, followed by “Next call, please.” There once was a point in time in the not so distant past when stupidity was widely recognized as such and was greeted with derision, rather than “Good points, but I don’t agree. Here’s what I think…” Your average whack-o is validated when one treats their arguments with respect rather than dismissing them as what they are: stupid bullshit. We need to get back to that time when shunning was deemed appropriate, rather than “insensitive.” Peer-pressure works.
   
   
2. Pointless encounters with bureaucracy…Did you know you cannot send a bubble-pack envelope as Registered Mail? S’true. I had to mail SN1 a bill of sale, title, and spare keys to the bike, important stuff, in other words, so I wanted to send the package registered mail. Given that I was mailing keys, which have a habit of exiting any container that isn’t padded or otherwise well-insulated, I used a bubble-pack. Well, that was a deal-breaker. Registered Mail? Couldn’t do it. When I protested to the clerk, the USPS Guy-In-Charge came over and said “Yeah, we know it’s stupid, but it’s the rule.” So I sent it Certified Mail. Institutionalized stupidity. You can’t fight it, either.
   
   
3. Have you seen that ad for the analgesic you “apply directly to the forehead?” It’s a 15-second ad, with a visual of a woman with what looks like one of those old roll-on deodorant bottles rolling it back and forth on her forehead while another woman does a voice-over that says only “Head-On! Apply directly to the forehead!” THREE frickin’ times! God, how irritating. I can’t find/hit the mute button fast enough. And I can’t believe I actually linked it. But, it’s just in case you haven’t been irritated enough today…

Speaking of ads… Have you seen any of the new GEICO ads featuring Charo, Little Richard, and Burt Bacharach? Off-the-frickin’-wall, they are! But in a good, no, great sorta way. I just love the “customers” dead-pan expressions while the celebs do their schticks. I don’t know how one keeps a straight face while in the company of Little Richard, but…it can be done. And I agree with the writer at the link above: the Bacharach ad sorta creeped me out, but it does make me smile.