Orientation tonight for daughter’s high school. So. A quick May and the first bite of June and Middle school, which started yesterday, is over; at least I can tell myself that high school is four years, not the three years I had. Four years is a long time. If someone told me I had four years left to live, I’d be grateful. I would clean up the next novel, already written, and try to write another about Dinkytown in the 80s, and perhaps add another to the story of John and Harry, the protagonists of “Autumn Solitaire.” John in his narration alludes to the Band Box Murders, and I am interested in what he meant. So, finish that, see the kid off to college, and turn right on the highway instead of left, because if you build up enough speed on the bridge on the right you can probably go right through the guardrail.
She was talking about something that happened at school over supper, and I have to admit for a moment I didn’t listen because I was just struck by how beautiful she is. If you say that, you get the Stare: well, you would say that, you’re my Dad. It’s not an impartial judgment. Well, actually, it is, which is why I was struck by it, but never mind.
One of those days when you’re aware that a rope is traveling through your hands, and you grasp a knot. And you note the knot and release your grip so the rope can keep going. The rope is attached to a balloon ever ascending. You will not be borne aloft. It’s not your place to rise. There will be a moment, you expect, when the balloon blots out the sun on its ascent. A brief darkness. It will pass.
Expletive.
I tweeted something irritated about this ad last night:
I said:
In the next series of #Nespresso ads, Penelope Cruz's assistant just boots the timorous beta-male in the goolies.
Imagine a reversal of the salient elements in the ad.
Hmmm:
On Thursday, in a segment with naturalist and television host Jeff Corwin, MSNBC host Ronan Farrow took the opportunity to highlight the issue of animal abuse in the United States. He appeared to advocate for an extraordinary remedy in order to address this problem: the extension of legal rights enjoyed by people to animals.
Just so you know: if you oppose this, you hate animals, and you are afraid of them. You might not think so, but I know so; I can feel it. Or at least feel your lack of feelings. And please, don’t tell me that you are opposed to animal cruelty, donate to the ASPCA, and so on. You’re just embarrassing yourself.
The MSNBC host used chicken-dämmerung as a jumping off point to feature the “revolutionary” issue before a court detailed in a recent New York Times story: “should a chimp be able to sue its owner?”
No. Next? “Should a chimp’s owner be able to sue someone who injured the chimp?” Of course. Should someone be able to sue the owner on the chimp’s behalf? They have no standing. If this is granted, then I can sue someone in Alabama for trapping a rabbit.
This is not a matter of elevating the status of animals; it is a matter of lowering the status of humans. I know that’s not the intention, but that is the effect.
Huh: just turned on the TV and there’s Ronan on some late-night talk show. Self-possessed and weightless. He just said “I interviewed a bunch of dolphins. There was this explosion of damage to dolphins after the BP rig exploded.” He said he fed them trout and they expressed opinions on tax policy. Audience laughs. Aww, dophins!
Okay, it's a daily thing now, this destruction.. It has to be.
Inside gamer baseball below; skip to LISTEN if you wish. After clicking on the ad, of course.
Bioshock Infinite Update: I have defeated Slate. I am worried that I might be a mechanical man. Whenever Elizabeth tosses me a coin I think “Would you kindly.” I hate the fact that I don’t trust her. This game is so beguiling that when we were on the boardwalk by a carousel, and she noted that she’d be amused to see someone like me ride the revolving ponies, I went up and got on the carousel and rode around and around. She didn’t join me - and in retrospect I know this was a conscious decision made by the game-makers. What really surprised me when I thought about it later was that I got off the carousel, went down the stairs and whistled: c’mon.
That’s when you know you are deep, deep, deep in the game.
An abundance of new cues from the CBS radio library this week, never heard before. Ta da:
CND Cue #380The train pulls out, and they’re headed . . . where? Can you tell what nation the music suggests? Can you? Can-can you? Sorry.
CND Cue #381 Exciting telegraph-news music about a country whose national anthem almost sounds like this.
CND Cue #382 Mid-century music for squirrels a’courtin'.
CND Cue #383 The reprise and end of the Not-The-Marseillaise.
CND Cue #384 I considered using this as an alert or an alarm, but realized how annoying it would be.
CND Cue #385 Just a snippet of something simple and sweet.
CND Cue #386 NEW: never heard this before and can’t imagine what the entire thing sounds like.
CND Cue #387 This is what it feels like to be manic-depressive.
CND Cue #388 Down in the dumps and no one’s as sympathetic as they should be.
CND Cue #389 The Music of Heralding Great Things - in this case, two cues from a trip to the Eiffel tower, stitched together for your listening pleasure.
Alka-Seltzer can help YOU get that promotion!
He's an Alkalized go-getter!
Updates on the right - Patriotica ads, and a NEW COLUMN at the newspaper. Here. (Scroll down to the Columnists pane; when I did this it hadn't posted yet.) Have a grand weekend!
