I’m off to the Western Historical Association annual meeting in Denver today–while I’m out here are some interesting items to keep you thinking:
- First up, listen to this interesting interview with Michael Chabon, who compares family life to fandom: parents are the “main texts,” and their children are creators of fan fiction. (Go to about 7:30 in the interview). He also sees fandom as something essential to the human condition (25:00).
- The C-Rox are heading home for game 3 of the playoffs this weekend with a victory under their belts. I hope the Phillies bring their long underwear and their footie pajamas, ‘cos it’s butt-cold at 5,280 feet elevation this weekend!
- P-Krug has the wisdom: “The rise of American education was, overwhelmingly, the rise of public education — and for the past 30 years our political scene has been dominated by the view that any and all government spending is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Education, as one of the largest components of public spending, has inevitably suffered.” Like our crumbling roads and bridges, education is a vital component of our infrastructure. We’ve been living off of fumes from the massive investments of the postwar period–we can either retreat to live within walled cities, or get busy paying taxes, friends.
- Shakesville revives some of your worst sonic nightmares by asking, “What hit song, played on a loop during the height of its popularity, made you want to throw your radio out the window every time it came on?” I can’t decide between “Seasons in the Sun,” “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero,” anything from R.E.O. Speedwagon, and “Who let the dogs out?” They’re all so incredibly bad, why pick just one? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.
- Speaking of fans, annoying tunes, and the wisdom–check out this cool t-shirt, above right. (Click here for more intel.) Don’t you want one, too? They come in all colors, sizes, and styles for women and men, too, at T-Shirt Hell. (Sorry–this style is not available in babies’ or children’s models, which is too bad because I would kill for a black onesie with this logo. H/t to Homostorian Americanist, who brought this item to my attention by wearing a men’s version of it this week which made me very envious.)
Historiann 
Hey, Jude! Just wanted to scream each time I heard it.
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I can live with Hey, Jude … But “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves”? (and everything already mentioned by Historiann)
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Pretty much anything by Shakira…she has catchy tunes but the lyrics just make me want to gag. “Underneath your clothes, there’s an endless story?” I mean, seriously. That is the epitome of LAME.
As for the T-shirt, I must, must get me one of these.
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I saw that shirt on a girl last weekend, and I wanted to rip it off her chest, I wanted it so bad. She said if she knew how popular it would be, she would have bought out the stock (it was that type of event).
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The Macarena. A horrible song, an awful video, and bad memories of the dance being performed by folks who really should have known better.
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I second “Who Let the Dogs Out?” But my alltime least favorite song is “Achy Breaky Heart.” Blech.
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Billy Idol’s White Wedding. Tortuous high school dances…
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MacArthur Park, Richard Harris (by which I totally date myself).
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“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” is a painful earworm that will infect me on occasion.
I love that t-shirt and covet one madly.
Thanks for bringing the Michael Chabon piece to my attention. As a geek and thorough-going media fan, I love the meta (er, the meta-textual aspects of this metaphor).
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“Piano Man.” Its very modest (but real) literary inventiveness just can’t carry that tedious tune after you’ve heard it five hundred times. Heck, even Steely Dan’s level of inventiveness couldn’t carry it that far.
The Rockies got their split on the road, which is all you can ask for, now the pressure is on at Coors. Standing by in Philly to report on the local angle.
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Rockies update from Philadelphia: Bundle up out there, Famille Historiann. Philadelphia evening newscasts are totally agog tonight with scenes of six inches of snow on Coors Field and the cancelled game. But why are they rescheduling it for ten o’clock tomorrow evening? Meanwhile, a reason to bet on the Rocks: A Phillies fan was ejected from the game on Thursday night for rowdiness. On the way out of the stadium he asked the guards if he could fill out an employment application with the team? Why not, so they took him to an office. (You can’t make this stuff up). While filling out the app. he noticed a fat manilla envelope on a desktop, which turned out to contain three 2008 World Series rings. He pocketed the envelope in full view of the security cam, then handed in the application with his correct name, address, pnone number, etc., to one of the office staff. On his way home, in New Jersey, he got stopped for some unrelated infraction and there was already an all points bulletin out for him! Busted!
Does this stuff happen at 5,280 feet? I doubt it. Double down on the Rockies.
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Indyanna–I saw that the game had been cancelled. This is not necessarily a bad thing–the Phillies will have another day to get used to the altitude at 5280! And it really has been far too cold here today & tonight for a pitcher NOT to come away injured if he had played…
Hillarious story about the rings. What a numbskull. (Thank goodness, right?) A criminal mastermind he ain’t.
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That t-shirt is basically my whole life.
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