Nothing To Say

I have nothing to say today, but don’t think for a moment that will stop me from saying it. I mean, people with nothing to say say things all the time. In fact, you can’t seem to shut them up. The harder you try, the more they apparently have to say. They keep saying nothing, over and over again, sometimes for weeks, months, even years. It’s amazing how much people can say without really saying much of anything. And how much listening can happen as a result. Listening that seems like it’s important, which falsely, and even destructively, affirms the one saying nothing, but in the end it doesn’t take anyone anywhere. Why? Because listening to nothing is just that. But I do admire the effort, and the confidence, and the passion, in a strange way, of those who can say so little with so much.

But I will say this:

Peace to you.

© LW Publishing 2011

Fringe Benefits

I was watching an episode of Fringe. During this episode (from the second season) there was a piece of dialogue that clarified for me why I like the show so much, and how absolutely, astonishingly brave the people who do this show are.

One character says:

“Why are shape shifting soldiers from another universe stealing frozen heads?”

To which the other character responded:

“The most likely explanation we can think of is that they’re looking for a specific head.”

Um. Wow.

And what’s sooooo nutty about this is how perfectly these bizarre lines are delivered and crafted into one of the weirdest (and best) shows in TV history.

How did the actor even get through these lines without laughing at the audacity of it? How do you even say “...shape shifting soldiers” without flubbing the line 20 times? Go ahead, try to say it five times fast. It’s a serious tongue twister. It’s funny. It’s sci fi. It’s nutty. And yet it completely works in the context of the show. The actors pull it off.

Stunning. Simply stunning.



Peace to you.

© LW Publishing 2011

It Drive Me Crazy

I’ve been watching Jack Bauer, on the TV show “24." He keeps saying, “Nukuler materials.” It’s almost ruined the show for me, but I’m trying to let it go because it’s so completely great otherwise. I have to wonder: Is he mispronouncing it on purpose? Is it an oversight? (And how exactly does that well worn word even make sense? “Oversight?” Isn’t it a lack of oversight that’s the problem? How many people over sighted it?) Presidents Carter, Clinton and George W. Bush all commonly made the same mistake. The presidents of the United States of America. If this keeps up, the dictionaries will give up and say it’s okay.

It drive me crazy.

And I’m really starting to wonder what it would be like to get a shopping cart at the grocery store that isn’t broken and deformed in some way. What do I get? Broken squeaky wheels. Carts that pull to one side or the other, causing me to keep almost running into people and shelves. Handles that are broken and disfigured and bite into your hand as you push the cart. I went grocery shopping this week, and the wheel on my cart made so much noise, AFTER it was half full, too late to change it without a big hassle. So everyone, and I mean everyone in the store, stared at me while I did my shopping. Kind of like a one man parade.

It drive me crazy.

And what is it with girls and what they tell me are called “bobby pins” all over the house? They look like this:

Let me tell you, they are everywhere. Every where this is a there, there seems to be one of these things taking up space. It’s like a plague. I can’t vacuum the floor without them getting into the brush, making loud clacking noises, tearing up the vacuum. I can’t walk through the house barefoot without them digging into my feet. They appear in the washer and the dryer. Click click click. Caught up in rugs. Hugging the edges of the wall on the floor. Evvvv-ry-where.

It drive me crazy.

It just do.


© LW Publishing 2011