…you know you're a true American. In this late October profile of libertarian candidate for president Bob Barr, it's revealed that Barr's home, office, and cell phone numbers all end with 1776. If that's not a commitment to defending the timeless values then articulated, I don't know what is.
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Here are some of my recent "tweets" on micro-blogging service Twitter. Assorted quotes, links, and quick thoughts. Chronology is only organizing principle:
- Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder: some of the best f-bomb usage in 40 seconds I've ever seen in modern cinema: http://tiny.cc/M1an4
- Receiving a nice compliment from someone you care about feels good. Anyone who says they're unmoved by a flattering comment is lying!
- Unfortunately, the African American vote that came out for Obama also is the most homophobic — and seems to have voted yes Prop 8 in CA.
- MLK was shot only 40 years ago. I simply cannot imagine what people who were alive then must be thinking right now. Simply inconceivable.
- Though I voted for Bob Barr, I'm very proud to be an American tonight (Nov 4). No matter who u supported, America has re-invented itself once again.
- India is the default country named when referring to "cheap outsourcing place" but for most super cheap things India is too expensive.
- Overheard: "I'm not going to the election party. For me, watching election results is like watching porn: I want to do it alone." WTF?
- My jeans are "Made in Jordan." This is the first pair of clothing I've ever worn that claims Middle East origin.
- San Francisco Proposition R seeks to re-name a sewage treatment plant in honor of George W. Bush.
- Casually open up to Genesis 19. Let's see…little bit of gang rape, God blows up couple cities, some incest. The usual Old Testament fare.
- "It's more likely you will be killed in a car crash en route to the voting booth than your vote actually making a difference." – G. Tullock
- Always amusing to see people do the fake hand-wash in public bathrooms: turn water on for 2 secs, no soap, no dry, walk out.
- Marveling at Tobias Wolff's prose. Is there a living American writer with as deft a touch?
- Only at In-N-Out Burger do you find in the parking lot a Jaguar, Prius, and Civic next to each other. All walks of life love da doubledouble.
- There's a direct correlation between the # of times someone refers to him/herself in the third person and that person's ego.
- "There is such a thing as a pornography consumed exclusively by women … it is the romance novel." – http://tiny.cc/ElREh
- "The economy" has become the preferred catch-all excuse for any sort of inaction.
- Absolutely horrifying Yes on 8 ad from the religious nutjobs who are behind this campaign: http://tiny.cc/cH211
- "National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement." – Richard Rorty
- Happiness is having "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson come on on your iPod at minute 9 on the treadmill.
- I find fascinating the mental jujitsu undergone by people who are against gay marriage but not, supposedly, against homosexuality.
- I admire s/he who can defuse potential in-person goodbye awkwardness btwn man/woman by proactively hugging or putting out the firm hand.
- The Wall Street Journal has one million (!) more subscribers than the New York Times.
- Imagine if this happened at your wedding (40 sec YouTube): http://tiny.cc/y9oo7
- “The one thing you need to know about sustained individual success: Discover what you don’t like doing and stop doing it.“ – M. Buckingham
- People who give you advice by starting, "Let me give you some advice," are usually assholes. (Obviously tone matters.)
- "The crucial diff btwn those who write non-fiction vs. fiction is that fiction writers have a sense for / talent around music." – C Hitchens
- Crude summary of the Old Testament: Don't mess with God. He'll fuck you up.
- I call support, enter in all my account info on touch pad phone, then human rep asks me for it all over again. Yay CRM/IVR technology!
- "It's next to impossible to get someone to think hard about why he's not interested in something. The boredom itself preempts inquiry." -DFW
- "When John McCain chose Sarah Palin he told the United States of America to go fuck itself." – Leon Wieseltier, lit editor of New Republic
- I admire people who can authentically use "chief" is casual convo. E.g., "How ya doin' chief?" It's hard to do right
- Someone sent me a book on leadership lessons via childhood toys. E.g. "What Mr. Potato Head Can Teach You About Communication." I kid u not.
- Apparently you're not allowed to bid AdWords that are the name of your competitor.
- Love the liberal bias in media. Article this morning: Obama's education plan is better because…he will spend more $ on education.
- Virgin America rocks. "B group, you are bold and beautiful and you chose VA, so go board the plane!" Even cheesy enthusiasm works.
- October weather is about 300x better than August weather in NYC. Makes a big difference.
- There are 70k more antelope in Wyoming than people.
- Don't you love it when hotel rooms have an alarm clock left un-touched by housekeeping from prior guest that goes off in middle of nite?
- Guy on plane says to flight attendant couple (husband/wife): "Look me in the eye and tell me you haven't 'done it' in the bathroom."
- Changing into my conception of "cold weather clothes": Giants fleece and shoes/socks not sandals. I cant handle weather east of Cali.
- Who came up with the idea for cold mini-corn in salad bars? It's my favorite topping.
- Peter Thiel on Charlie Rose: Human capital has been vastly misallocated – part of the crisis – too many people in real estate, finance, etc.
- Dear Person Coughing: Please cough into your arm and not your hands, so as to limit spread of germs. Love, Person Trying to Not Get a Cold
- Who do u respect more, the person indifferent on an important issue or the prson on the wrong side of the issue but at least has an opinion?
- JS Mill on the importance of doubt / debate: "As soon as mankind have unanimously accepted a truth, does the truth perish within them?"
- If you were to ask me whether I am eating crunchy peanut butter right out of jar (real men only eat crunchy), I would reply, "No comment."
- "Strategies don’t move mountains, bulldozers do.” – Peter Drucker
- Once again, loyalty to my name precludes me from ordering any type of breakfast other than Eggs Benedict. I'm so helpless.
- "I view pride and self-image as the most important features in predicting the quality of an individual choice." – Tyler Cowen. Interesting.
- "Either your kids are at the center of your life, or they're not." – Calvin Trillin
- I wonder whether Americans will ever take to saying "mobile phone" like the rest of the world instead of "cell phone."
- ""There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it." – William James
- I'm positively inclined to those who know that the word "data" is plural and "none" is singular.
- The $$ in Bay Area is crazy. 265k+ households have net worth of $1M+. SF highest wealth density in world outside D.C. http://tiny.cc/sZVGN
- Men: Does anyone actually pee through the buttoned hole in the front of boxers? I don't and find it in general a useless feature.
- Watching a fat person stuff himself at a buffet is one of life's less pleasant moments.
- Employees forced to use a corporate email account for work should demand "lifetime forwarding" to personal address after they leave the co
- Frequent and/or high profile sushi consumption is not only about the food. It's a way to signal wealth and status.
- Most of the female P.E. teachers or athletic coaches I know are lesbian.
- People who preface replies to questions/requests with "Happy to do X" are usually trying to make it obvious they're doing a favor.
- It's obvious when someone is trying too hard to be casual / laid back. Either it's natural or it's not. I say, Just be you!
I haven’t seen Tropic Thunder. But if you want real theater F-bomb, check out the HBO program “The Wire”. In it, two of the main characters, Jimmy McNulty (played by Dominic West) and Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) have a 5 minute conversation using only the F-bomb. And you can understand the entire conversation.
The Wire is also a brilliant exposition on politics – it’s portrayed at the street level (individual contributor) with the drug dealers and the beat police, as well as the detectives, judges, mayors, etc. (middle management).
Over the seasons, they brought in the teamsters union, the police union, the public school system, and the newspaper system.
F-ing brilliant.
I think I had the same experience re: Barr/Obama. I’m still intellectually suspicious of the notion that America can actually have a good President, and thinking things like “Okay, let’s see how he’s doing after a year in office”. But just the fact that the world doesn’t hate us, even if it’s just for a moment, is something that touches me deeply.
Of course, Prop. 8 also passed, so CA was going back to the Dark Ages at the same time America was taking a step forward into the 21st century.
Ben… California has a tiny black population. There are even more asians in California than blacks. So, while a majority of black people in California voted for Prop 8, less than 7% of the population of California are black, and most of the people that voted for Prop 8 were white or latino. This can’t be blamed on black people.
“Watching a fat person stuff himself at a buffet is one of life’s less pleasant moments.”
YES, this is a very disturbing sight. Our family sees this a lot at Hometown Buffet…makes me think about the way I pig out sometimes. :O
Isn’t posting all of you tweets on your blog just a big fat ego stroke?
I pee through the button hole and like the feature.
re: Changing into my conception of “cold weather clothes”: Giants fleece and shoes/socks not sandals. I cant handle weather east of Cali.
I want my fucking fleece back, its fucking freezing in DC (i know its only 45 but thats no 75!)
Gays are stupid and invariably mistake tolerance for acceptance. Don’t you freakin’ get it? Most people don’t care what you do. They don’t care if anyone else so much as dies. Why would they care if you are gay? But they don’t like having it shoved down their throat. Gays hate church-goers and virtually anyone who so much as thinks about the Bible. As they say, ‘we don’t like you cramming your religion down our throat’. So…just turn it around for a second. Gays are extremely intolerant of the Church, even if the Church falls asleep. That’s what everyone thinks they’re doing back. I’m just using the Church as an example. They didn’t pull this off, so quit grabbing people at random and slapping them around. Get over the vote. It wasn’t a big mistake. Suppose the McCain camp declared the BO win a mistake. Yeah. Don’t get PO’d at me, either.
The last post from Andrew is just nasty, and if he thinks we’re stupid, he should really reread the rambling, pernicious generalisation he just wrote, and see exactly where the lack of intelligence lies.
Silly boy
wait, julia do you mean jimmy? I didnt know my comment on a cold-weather garment would rouse someone that much. hahaha maybe Im wrong?