Shut up and sing, a few quick things, your own personal Gene,
know what I mean?
-- I’m
enjoying the new Bruce Springsteen
CD. It’s full of great songs, has the classic feel, and is
just about everything a fan could hope for.
The challenge, however, is to stay away from interviews with Bruce,
and any press coverage beyond reviews of the album itself. Because
it’s all politics now, and doom and gloom, and conspiracy theories,
and kookism… And I can’t have that.
He’s like some guy in a McDonald’s at this point, full of rage and
willing to tell anyone about it. And if nobody will listen, well,
he’ll just speak truth to ketchup packets.
So I’m trying to appreciate the stuff that made me a Springsteen fan
in the first place, and ignore everything else. Sure, it’s hard
work. But it’s worth it, I think. At least in this case.
What’ll be harder to take is when President Hillary is sworn-in, and
continues many of the same things Bush has been doing. Then suddenly
it’ll all be justified in the minds of great political scientists
like Bruce Springsteen. Somehow it will become a necessary evil, and
evidence of a strong leader making difficult choices during trying
times.
But I guess we’ll cross that E Street Bridge when we get to it...
-- Just for the sake of contrast, what follows is part of an interview
Bob Dylan did with Rolling Stone magazine recently. Notice how he
handled it when RS attempted to lure him into the sky-is-falling camp.
Editor Jann Wenner: Do you think it's gloomy on the horizon?
Dylan: In what
sense do you mean?
Wenner: Bob,
come on.
Dylan: No, you
come on. In what sense do you mean that?
Wenner: We seem
to be hell-bent on destruction. Do you worry about global warming?
Dylan: Where's
the global warming? It's freezing here.
Heh. I’m sure Bob Dylan has as many opinions as the next guy, but we
rarely know what they are. I wish there were more like him.
-- For reasons that remain unclear, Fark linked to my update
yesterday, and sent tens of thousands of new visitors to TheWVSR. In
fact, they’re still coming… I always appreciate links, especially
from sites with Fark’s clout, but I’m unsure why they chose that
particular piece to highlight.
In any case, some of the comments were particularly harsh. But, you
know, it goes with the territory... Here’s an example:
This guy is not nearly as funny as he thinks he is and has an idiot's
grasp of astrophysics. I would also appreciate it if he died.
Man, that astrophysics crack really burns me up...
But thanks to the Fark overlords for featuring our shabby little
experiment on their main page. And here’s a photo of the Smoking
Fish hanging with their servers a few years back. Oh yeah.
-- Before I call it a day here, I have a few quick things to add…
At this site you can type a message into a box, and it prints out on a
dot matrix printer in Switzerland. Yes, you read
that correctly. You can see my offering on the history
page.
And I can’t decide if these
are really cool, or really geeky, or
both. What do you think? I’m not really a fan of the Froot Loops
design, but the other two are kinda fun.
Here’s another Smoking Fish sighting, taken in Seattleearlier in the
week. I bet the bald guy with his finger in the air is saying, “Get
down on it!” and not giving a tiny seahorse-shaped shitlet about who
hears him. What do you think?
Buck sends along
this newspaper clipping he says he found in the Los Angeles Times.
Buck’s a good friend and everything, but I’m starting to doubt the
authenticity of these “articles.”
Have you heard anything about a new water-saving toilet with two flush
handles? You know, one for solids and the other for liquids? I either
dreamed this, or heard about it somewhere. If it was yet another waste
elimination-based dream, I reserve all rights, goddammit. What do you
know about it? Anything? Am I going to be a toiletaire?
And finally, since our “Ever known an Eric?” extravaganza went so
well last week, I’m going to try it again. Today’s Question: Have
you ever known anyone named Gene? If so, use the comments link to tell
us about him. ‘Cause we need to know.
You guys have yourselves a great weekend. I probably won’t, and only
subscribers to the mailing list will know why…
are really cool, or really geeky, or
both. What do you think? I’m not really a fan of the Froot Loops
design, but the other two are kinda fun.