A friend recently posted on her Tumblr a description of an incident where a friend of hers says something unfortunate in front of another good friend of hers who is gay. She posted she was going to cut him some slack because he had been drinking and isn’t homophobic, he just let something slip that would have gone unnoticed at a sports bar with his buddies. Timing is everything.
After reading that I immediately thought of the two times I did the same thing. At least the two times that I remember. I am sure there are other times I have said something awkward or insensitive that I didn’t even notice. I may have done it today. I am not counting the times I intentionally said something inappropriate.
The first incident that came to mind happened while I was stationed on Okinawa while in the Marines. This was in the first couple of months of my tour there while during the first year of my four year stint. I remember sitting in a room with a mixed group of Marines watching wrestling. One of the wrestlers was black and he was at the point of the match where he had been getting beat up and he was now getting his second wind and going through the standard wrestling comeback. My observation announced to the room was, “He’s big, he’s black and he’s pissed.” No one laughed or even looked at me. After about two seconds I realized why and I could have died. I remember not rushing out of the room. I think the tensioned eased after a while and I made a dignified exit as soon as I could.
The other happened a few years ago with a library employee and friend who is Jewish. I was describing him this character that comes into my library a lot. The library user is a short adult autistic who even without the autism and the black rimmed glasses would at best be described as nerdy. I was searching for a word to describe this guy and the word I was looking for was nebbish. I just couldn’t find the word in my head so how did I describe this guy to Jewish friend? I said, “He’s a short kinda Jewish lookin’ guy.” How dumb am I? Really? Jewish lookin’ guy? Am I Mel Gibson? My friend, to his credit, let it slide.
At least I haven’t had an incident similar to what happened to Randy in that Southpark episode.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
A Christmas Eve
Back around 1994 I was attending UNC-Charlotte, working on that coveted Bachelor’s in English, and renting a room from a co-worker. The whole thing didn’t go well and I only lasted there about nine months before I got my first real apartment at the now condominiumized Colonial Park.
It’s Christmas eve and my family had just moved back to Michigan in July or August. At this point I still didn’t know a lot of people in Charlotte and I was spending Christmas essentially alone. It wasn’t really a big deal to me. The four years I spent in the Marines I only came home for the holidays once and that was during the first six months of my enlistment and only because the communications school I was attending shut down for the Christmas holiday. After that I spent two Christmases in Okinawa and one in California. I wasn’t even 22 at that point and being alone a long way from home, even during the holidays, was exciting.
In December of 1994 I would have been 26 and all my family is in Michigan and I am alone for the holidays and I’m cool with it. I’ve got books, television, cigarettes and beer. Sure, I’d prefer to be with my family but you can’t dwell on it or you’ll end up depressed and who in the hell wants to be depressed? Not me.
The person I am renting the room from cannot fathom, at all, how I could deal with being alone on the holidays so well. She hits me with a barrage like this, “Don’t you miss your family? You don’t seem to miss your family. I know I would miss my family if I couldn’t see them at Christmas. You don’t seem to. Don’t you miss your family?” Over and over and over. After about an hour of this I did start to miss my family and decided the best thing I could do is get the hell out of that condo. When I tell this story I sometimes say that I said to her when she asked if I missed my family, “I didn’t but I do now!” Let’s pretend I did say that.
But it’s Christmas eve in the bible belt, where the hell can you go? Everything is closed. Everything. Except...Smokey Joe’s. I’m not sure that evening when I remembered that Smokey Joe’s was open 365 days a year but once I did I was out the door.
For a few years Smokey Joe’s on Monroe Rd in Charlotte was the place my friends and I hung out. We liked it because it was real bar kinda bar. It’s not the place you went to watch the big game or do the singles scene. You went to Smokey Joe’s to drink with your friends. That story about the five stages of drinking that Larry Miller told? He may have been sitting at Smokey Joe’s in the early 90s. We loved it. It had a dart board that wasn’t too crowded, you could play ping pong, it had a good jukebox, a nice wooden bar, it was dark and you could get twelve ounce cups of Budweiser for fifty cents. It also had a nice mix of older and younger people there. We went so much that we got to know the bartender and other regular customers. And it was safe place. The only fight I ever saw there was between two women. It was the place we took new friends to once they were in our inner circle.
I remember it being (obviously) a slow night that Christmas eve. It wasn’t dead, it just felt like a slow day at the bar. Since I wasn’t the only person there I could pretend it wasn’t Christmas eve and enjoy myself and forget the reminder that I did miss my family. Who doesn’t miss their family when you’re alone on Christmas eve?
It’s Christmas eve and my family had just moved back to Michigan in July or August. At this point I still didn’t know a lot of people in Charlotte and I was spending Christmas essentially alone. It wasn’t really a big deal to me. The four years I spent in the Marines I only came home for the holidays once and that was during the first six months of my enlistment and only because the communications school I was attending shut down for the Christmas holiday. After that I spent two Christmases in Okinawa and one in California. I wasn’t even 22 at that point and being alone a long way from home, even during the holidays, was exciting.
In December of 1994 I would have been 26 and all my family is in Michigan and I am alone for the holidays and I’m cool with it. I’ve got books, television, cigarettes and beer. Sure, I’d prefer to be with my family but you can’t dwell on it or you’ll end up depressed and who in the hell wants to be depressed? Not me.
The person I am renting the room from cannot fathom, at all, how I could deal with being alone on the holidays so well. She hits me with a barrage like this, “Don’t you miss your family? You don’t seem to miss your family. I know I would miss my family if I couldn’t see them at Christmas. You don’t seem to. Don’t you miss your family?” Over and over and over. After about an hour of this I did start to miss my family and decided the best thing I could do is get the hell out of that condo. When I tell this story I sometimes say that I said to her when she asked if I missed my family, “I didn’t but I do now!” Let’s pretend I did say that.
But it’s Christmas eve in the bible belt, where the hell can you go? Everything is closed. Everything. Except...Smokey Joe’s. I’m not sure that evening when I remembered that Smokey Joe’s was open 365 days a year but once I did I was out the door.
For a few years Smokey Joe’s on Monroe Rd in Charlotte was the place my friends and I hung out. We liked it because it was real bar kinda bar. It’s not the place you went to watch the big game or do the singles scene. You went to Smokey Joe’s to drink with your friends. That story about the five stages of drinking that Larry Miller told? He may have been sitting at Smokey Joe’s in the early 90s. We loved it. It had a dart board that wasn’t too crowded, you could play ping pong, it had a good jukebox, a nice wooden bar, it was dark and you could get twelve ounce cups of Budweiser for fifty cents. It also had a nice mix of older and younger people there. We went so much that we got to know the bartender and other regular customers. And it was safe place. The only fight I ever saw there was between two women. It was the place we took new friends to once they were in our inner circle.
I remember it being (obviously) a slow night that Christmas eve. It wasn’t dead, it just felt like a slow day at the bar. Since I wasn’t the only person there I could pretend it wasn’t Christmas eve and enjoy myself and forget the reminder that I did miss my family. Who doesn’t miss their family when you’re alone on Christmas eve?
Friday, December 02, 2011
Arthur J. Ravenal Jr. Bridge
On Tuesday Melanie and I drove down to Charleston for a two night stay in our favorite little getaway. For those of you that don't know, Charleston is on a small peninsula between two rivers and the Cooper river on the east side has an amazing bridge that connects Charleston to the mainland. It's called the Arthur J. Ravenal Jr. Bridge. Horrible name, beautiful bridge. It reminds me of the Golden Gate Bridge because it dominates the city's skyline. You can see if from almost anywhere in the area. I wonder what name the Golden Gate Bridge would have if it was built today? The Joe Whogivesashit isn't as catchy as Golden Gate. Below are a few pictures of the bridge I found on Flickr.
This is an aerial from the south, looking north.
This shows you how Charleston is really just a spit of land. You can see how the bridge towers over everything.
This is taken from the visitor's center across the river from Charleston
A night shot. Next time I am taking my tripod and getting a night shot.
I took this one at sunset.
This view makes me think of San Francisco. I took those at the Battery Park area, at the southern tip of the peninsula of Charleston. The bridge lurks over the city.
This is an aerial from the south, looking north.
This shows you how Charleston is really just a spit of land. You can see how the bridge towers over everything.
This is taken from the visitor's center across the river from Charleston
A night shot. Next time I am taking my tripod and getting a night shot.
I took this one at sunset.
This view makes me think of San Francisco. I took those at the Battery Park area, at the southern tip of the peninsula of Charleston. The bridge lurks over the city.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Savannah Picture
In the first year Chris lived me we drove to Savannah, GA and Gainsville, FL during a spring break. This must have been around 1995 or 1996. The night we spent in Savannah I had some fun with my tripod at night down on the river. This is Chris descending the plank from the surface to a floating dock. I had to really touch this photo up because there were a lot of scratches and dust on it. GIMP is a wonderful piece of software and the clone tool is invaluable.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Muppets Movie
Yesterday Melanie, Wendell and I road our bikes to the Phillips Place Theater down the street from us. We had been discussing doing that for a while and we finally hit the road with our bikes to see a movie. The theater even has a bike rack. We had to search for it but we found it. It's nice they have a bike rack because the Morrocroft Harris Teeter doesn't have one and I have written them twice about that. The first time they said they would look into it and the second time they ignored me. I just wrote them another email requesting a bike rack. We'll see how it goes this time.
This movie feels really familiar. It could have been called The Muppet Movie 2 because the 1979 Muppet Movie is this movie's direct inspiration. There were a lot of kids in line before the employees opened up the room to us and as the movie went on I didn't hear a lot of reaction from the children in attendance. I did hear a lot of laughter from their parents. This isn't a children's movie, though I am sure it was enjoyed by the kids there, it's more of a trip down memory lane for those of us that grew up watching the Muppet show on television. It's pretty obvious since two the main characters grow up watching the show together. First on video tape and then each successive format thereafter.
Like the original Muppet movie it's self referential, self aware and full of great cameos. There are nods to the audience and an acknowledgement that the plot is almost unnecessary. It's full of the kind of nonsense and fun that made the Naked Gun movies and everything the Marx Brothers did so successful. What do you do with an act that doesn't transfer to a traditional movie? Don't make a traditional movie, just link a bunch of fun gags together with a thin story about trying to save the Muppet Studios from a silly bad guy. The emotional depth of the movie was created over 30 years ago by Jim Henson so it must almost write itself. The hard part has been done already, these guys just got to have fun with it.
They did have fun with the characters and, for the most part, it works. There is a little too much plucking of our heart strings at times but when they do it right the the emotional scenes come off beautifully and it is consistently funny and a few times it is downright hilarious. Some of the biggest laughs come from Jack Black who, unsurprisingly, fits perfectly into the Muppet universe. It's a movie that hits all its proper Muppet marks and was similar to the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie in that it was made by people that know and love their subject. As a Muppet movie it's satisfying.
This movie feels really familiar. It could have been called The Muppet Movie 2 because the 1979 Muppet Movie is this movie's direct inspiration. There were a lot of kids in line before the employees opened up the room to us and as the movie went on I didn't hear a lot of reaction from the children in attendance. I did hear a lot of laughter from their parents. This isn't a children's movie, though I am sure it was enjoyed by the kids there, it's more of a trip down memory lane for those of us that grew up watching the Muppet show on television. It's pretty obvious since two the main characters grow up watching the show together. First on video tape and then each successive format thereafter.
Like the original Muppet movie it's self referential, self aware and full of great cameos. There are nods to the audience and an acknowledgement that the plot is almost unnecessary. It's full of the kind of nonsense and fun that made the Naked Gun movies and everything the Marx Brothers did so successful. What do you do with an act that doesn't transfer to a traditional movie? Don't make a traditional movie, just link a bunch of fun gags together with a thin story about trying to save the Muppet Studios from a silly bad guy. The emotional depth of the movie was created over 30 years ago by Jim Henson so it must almost write itself. The hard part has been done already, these guys just got to have fun with it.
They did have fun with the characters and, for the most part, it works. There is a little too much plucking of our heart strings at times but when they do it right the the emotional scenes come off beautifully and it is consistently funny and a few times it is downright hilarious. Some of the biggest laughs come from Jack Black who, unsurprisingly, fits perfectly into the Muppet universe. It's a movie that hits all its proper Muppet marks and was similar to the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie in that it was made by people that know and love their subject. As a Muppet movie it's satisfying.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Some Flickr Finds
Facebook and Tumblr are killing my blog. And Google+, I guess. Now I just post photographs from my phone there rather than here.
Fuck it, how about some photos I've found on Flicker recently?
Venice is putting up advertisements to pay for restorations
Flying over the Mackinac Bridge
A statue recovered from the sea at Alexandria
The Swaffords standing in a creek at Valle Crucis, NC
The Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales
Fuck it, how about some photos I've found on Flicker recently?
Venice is putting up advertisements to pay for restorations
Flying over the Mackinac Bridge
A statue recovered from the sea at Alexandria
The Swaffords standing in a creek at Valle Crucis, NC
The Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tumblr
I don't know if I have mentioned it her before or not but I have a Tumblr page which I use to post pictures taken with my telephone. I use an app called Vignette that I am really happy with.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
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