CSotD: Waiting For Jimmy & Satch
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Stahler’s right. It’s not a matter of not caring or doing nothing. We need a little R&R, and a little bit of sleep, if we’re going to be worth anything as an army of resistance.
For those who prefer to pay attention and speculate about what’s coming next, Wiley has a cynical but not necessarily unrealistic view of the road ahead.
I’m not disagreeing, and I believe making jokes about it is a practical means of subverting the corruption. I don’t think that pulling down Hitler’s pants would have prevented WWII, but I do believe mockery is a valuable weapon, if only because it tends to hit people when their shields are down.
Another political cartoon that splashes into the humor pool. I didn’t watch the Oscars and maybe LeLievre didn’t, either, because I don’t think you have to sit through them every year to get the gist.
Somebody observed that every year there’s a big build-up and then every day after there’s a flood of articles pointing out that this year’s show was a dud. Several people observed that Monday, but I guess hope springs eternal.
What I heard specific to this year’s awards was that nobody made any political comments but a lot of people wore transparent dresses.
Sounds like yet another plug for Neil Postman’s book.
Most Oscar speeches remind me of things I told my young reporters not to accept from the authors and movie stars they interviewed, which in turn resonates with this They Can Talk.
I taught them that if someone said “Believe in your dreams” or some such piffle, that their next question should be “Can you give me an example of how you did that in your life?” Not only would it avoid us running an empty cliche, but it makes the subject of their interview focus and perhaps say something interesting.
“Believing in yourself” is a good way to end up as roadkill, and for every lucky person who gets to say it on TV while clutching an Oscar, there are a hundred equally talented people who believed in themselves and got splattered on the highway of life.
Betty and Alex are discussing tattoos, and I can identify with the central issue. When I was 20 and considering a tat, they were still mostly confined to sailors, bikers and cons, but that wasn’t my hesitation. I just felt a tattoo was driving a peg in the ground and I wasn’t planning to stay put.
I look back on 20 with a lot of affection for the boy, but I’m glad I don’t have his sensibilities on permanent display.
Arlo & Janis have been futzing about for some time over the prospect of moving to be closer to Gene and Mary Lou. Now not only is that coming to a head but they’re looking at becoming biological grandparents, having long served as step-grandparents for Mary Lou’s daughter.
I like the slow pace of these developments because not only are we getting a more detailed and nuanced storyline, but it gives Jimmy Johnson a chance to gradually deal with the changes rather that drop them like a grand piano onto his characters’ heads.
By contrast, this Red and Rover seems jarring, because the strip veers between being nostalgic and being saccharine, and the prospect of Rover’s death doesn’t fit the flow. This was Saturday’s strip and so far there’s been no follow-up.
A young couple at the dog park just had their first baby, and their dog is four, which is about perfect, since she’s mature enough to be a calm, affectionate auntie for a baby, but young enough to be a playmate for their growing son until he’s of an age to face the inevitable.
My elder son was about 12 when the time came, and he not only insisted on coming along to the vet’s but held his pal through the process. That was the moment at which I realized he wasn’t a little kid anymore.
And speaking of parenthood …
This is one segment of a longer piece about motherhood and babies and life itsownself, and I’d urge you to pop over to the Guardian and read the whole thing because it’s brilliant.
And then you’ll find out that even that long, lovely piece is only a segment of an entire book which would make either a good present for someone with kids or welcome reassurance for someone with a baby.
It gave me flashbacks and my babies are about 50.
Juxtaposition of the Day
A recurring theme in the Lockhorns is Leroy’s absolute inability to get a clue, which is one of those things that’s funny in a comic and unbearable in real life. I think we’re all permitted a very narrow window for a midlife crisis, and if you can predict it, I’d advise moving somewhere, having your crisis among strangers, and then moving back so that nobody saw it.
My midlife crisis coincided with my divorce, or maybe the divorce was the result of both of us having simultaneous midlife crises because everything exploded at once, and perhaps if we’d staggered our crises we’d have made it through. Or maybe the divorce was the crisis.
Whatever, because I emerged more in tune with Lennon’s old dude. I gained an appreciation for women in that age group that I retain to this day, but I’ve transitioned from would-be lover to stolid connoisseur.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying good company that includes a little reminder of younger days, as long as you’re comfortable with where you’re at.
It’s fun to hang out with a gorgeous, brilliant, successful mature woman like Maeve, but her constant crises are an excellent reason to keep things platonic. My first time around, I fell in love on a daily basis, but in my second bachelorhood, I found myself better at reading the signs.
George Burns pretended he had something going on with the young women who surrounded him, and perhaps Groucho really did, though I have my doubts.
But Jimmy and Satch speak for those of us who are comfortable in our old, wrinkled skin:
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