A real-world-takes-precedence kind of a day: I hate those. So, short takes.
1. We have the Bitchin' Badass Family Minivan, and then we also own a kinda old and crappy econo-car for the purposes of accommodating two grownups with different schedules. This fall I tend to be the one driving the old & crappy econo-car.
This mostly isn't a problem except that the tape deck is shot (toddlers love sticking nickels into tape decks) and the radio is dying: in the mornings I can get NPR (eh, whatever) but when I'm driving home at night all I can get are Rock stations. And tonight, driving home after a long day, I learned that Yngwie Malmsteen has covered "Carry on My Wayward Son" by Kansas. Which is of course as dreadful as it sounds.
But the kicker is, I was actually relieved to hear it, because the song that was on before it was some hideous sludgy garbage by Nickelback about being all fucking mopey and sixteen and sad and shit.
Jesus Christ, when did it become fashionable to write stupid rock songs that don't even have any goddamn riffs? Even freaking Limp Bizkit songs had riffs in them. Inane, grating riffs, to be sure, but nevertheless primitive approximations of melody. And Yngwie Malmsteen is of course utterly insufferable, but at least he can play his instrument -- not pleasantly, mind you, but you can't deny he puts a lot of effort into making screeching, pretentious ear-torture. These bands, these Nicklebacks, these Linkin Parkses, feh and phooey. Feh and phooey. Unlistenable pompous emotionally stunted self-alienated juvenile musical wanking used to be exclusively reserved for Alphabet City-based Bohemian art-punk bands comprised of drug-addled bicycle messengers and semiconscious NYU film school grad students.
Nickleback has brought that shit to the masses, only in monosyllabes. If they write just one fucking song referencing Baudelaire, I will go mad, I tell you, MAD.
2. Dan Riehl thinks I'm a loser. Which is fine -- I think he's an asshole. And swine. I think this because he said:
Any current political discussion of American slavery has nothing to do with what happened in America's past. It's simply fodder for a primarily Democrat liberal agenda that keeps minorities, especially Blacks, as captive today as some were in the early days of America. Get over it already.
Asshole. Anyway, he thinks I'm a loser because over at FDL in my author profile I describe myself as
A community college professor from upstate NY. My wife & I have 347 children, all of them rotten.
And this causes Riehl to wind up the sarcasm thusly:
Get over it, Thers - I mean the "professor" at a junior college deal. Junior Colleges serve a great purpose in America today, but, really, that's like saying you're a Dean at a freaking day care center, you loser.
Uh, I call myself a "professor" because that's in fact my job title. (Associate professor, to be precise.) Community colleges use the same system of faculty ranking as do 4-year schools. I've been insulted before, but never in quite so baffling a manner.
Anyway. I'm glad that Dan concedes that in my usual gig I Serve a Great Purpose in America Today. Wish I could say in turn that he is otherwise anything else but a full-time professional asshole, but I'm afraid his record speaks for itself.
3. Bite me.
4. New blogroll additions: not sure why Mithras wasn't there, I was sure FOTR was there, but then I checked, & it wasn't. Anyway, read 'em.
5. Arglebargle. Fooferah!
6. Oh, and I meant to say: aside from crappy music, sometimes on the car radio I occasionally hear sports radio, and today I heard a sports radio guy asking "What explains the Mets historic collapse?"
Always the geniuses behind the mike on sports radio stations. Maybe the appalling pitching, especially that abbatoir of a bullpen (heh)? The offense was erratic, sure, but the horrible pitching was the reason for the historic nature of the debacle.