Showing posts with label different points of view. Show all posts
Showing posts with label different points of view. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Congratulations! You have AIDS!

(NOTE: This is what it's like inside my mind. I am about to describe three different threads of thought. Eventually, they will merge beautifully, just give it a minute.)

Thread 1: I've been thinking about my Granny lately. I love my Granny. She lived in a house with four dead-bolts on its front door, each having a different key. She was also always concerned that someone would put a potato in the tail-pipe of her car and would check, or have someone else check in later days, for such obstructions before putting her key in the ignition. 

The whole of our family is prone to paranoia, partly because we come from hill people (meaning, our ancestors married their cousins, which combination of close-set DNA manifests itself in either mental/emotional instability and/or physical deformities--i.e. sixth toes; thankfully, it appears to only be the former which is the case in our family); also, partly because the world is full of sick, sick people. It's probably more due to the latter that any terrifying story we hear or read via chain-letter-type e-mail is taken--if not seriously--under advisement. Because folks are crazy and I wouldn't put much past them. Also, 'cause better safe than a sorry chump.

I remember when I was in elementary school, Granny (or maybe it was my favorite Aunt Sandy who reads this blog) told my Mom about how some people were putting AIDS-infected needles in movie theater seats with notes that said something like, "Congratulations! You have AIDS!". Read more about that here.


Thread 2: For a long time I've had this dream. A dream where I would master the art of pick-pocketing--MASTER IT--and then become a pick-pocketing agent for good. Until this guy stole my idea.




But that's how it would've gone down, see? I would have targeted people who looked down-on-their-luck, though, using my superior deductive reasoning skills. But I guess it was not to be; 'cause this dude had to go and steal my purloining thunder.

Thread 3: I've also been thinking about this whole anti-vaccine thing that's become a veritable pandemic in our country as of late. In case you were raised by wolves under a rock and have just emerged for your Rumspringa here amongst humanity, educate yourself with this video:




Anyways, there's this whole thing about anti-vaccine parents wanting schools to let their children enroll without the proper immunizations. I will say this: while it is your right to decide whether or not to vaccinate your child--no one else, especially the government, should have any say in the matter whatsoever--it should be a school's right to refuse to let you enroll your child. It's just negligence, I feel; but if you want to go that route, go for it. Just don't try to force the possible dangers (for lack of a better word) onto the rest of us who have to have contact with your kids.

This is where all the worlds collide:

It occurred to me this morning that I should put syringes filled with vaccines in movie theater seats, accompanied by notes that say, "Congratulations! You're immune to MEASLES!"

Of course now that I'm posting this on the interweb, the initiative is not quite as untraceable as I would like; but it would combine my need to enforce vigilante justice with my desire to do good anonymously by means originally intended for harm.

Friday, November 28, 2014

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Baby

During my sophomore year of college I was taking an online Lit class in which I had to do a lot of writing. One of the papers I wrote was about a piece we had just finished reading titled The Coquette. I was pretty happy with what I had done and it's pretty rare that I get lower than an A on a written assignment because I am an English major.

That being the case, when I get my graded papers back, I usually just look at the grade and skim the teacher's comments to make sure I didn't make any silly mistakes. I got an A on this particular paper, so I proceeded to the comments when my eyes fell on one.

I had made a comment about In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, because what other parallel can you draw to a short novel about the imperialism of Great Britain still prevalent in Americans' lives in the 18th century?

The comment read: "The correct title of the song is "In the Garden of Eden".

I was shocked. Also disgusted.

I wasn't referring to some lame cover, or even talking about the stories about how the song came by it's name. I was talkin' original, Iron Butterfly version. I couldn't believe then, and have a hard time fathoming now, that my professor wasn't familiar enough with this song to know the difference.

In my mind's eye (because, being an online course, any encounter we had happened in my mind), my professor had at least been old enough in the late '60's to know about such things; that was her generation! Or should have been, had she really been what I imagined.

Still, come on! I was born in the '90's and I know about it. It was only rated the 24th greatest rock song of all time by VH1 in 2009. Between that and the wicked drum solo, how can you not know about it?

But I guess some people are just raised differently. And by differently, I mean wrong. My professor should be ashamed of herself. And her family.

For those of you who are interested and/or familiar with both The Coquette and In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida--i.e., those who were raised right-- I've posted my paper here.