Random Erik

I’ve always enjoyed old radio shows. I think it’s because I’m a visual guy. That sounds strange on the surface, but I can close my eyes and immerse myself in the stories, picturing the action, setting and characters. I get to choose the camera angles and lighting and that sort of thing. And if the sound effects are good (as they were in shows such as Suspense, Lights Out, and especially Gunsmoke), the story becomes vivid in my mind.

However, I’ve been thinking a lot about the world in those old stories. As some people are fond of saying, “times were simpler then.” I think that this attitude arises from the rose-colored haze of selective memory. Some things were different, but I think people are pretty much the same. All the good and all the bad we find in people now were around then.

Our mass media may show us our culture, but it’s often through a warped mirror. There are the shows that present things as much more clean and squeaky, such as Leave It to Beaver, the Cosby Show and most of those new shows in which a dumpy average Joe is married to a hot woman and deals with a clutch of sassy kids who secretly know Dad knows best. There are shows that present a world in which problems are magnified beyond belief, such as 24s Jack Bauer having not one but nine days in his life where he must save the world from evil from outside our country AND within our government. Sure, there is some truth to what those shows present, but usually exaggerated for effect.

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Since my mother makes it so hard to choose gifts for her, this strip seemed like the way to go. Actual ink on bristol board (digital type, though, life’s too short for my hand-lettering). Click to see it full-sized.

Yesterday was our (Maggie’s and my) anniversary. I did this as a little quick gift for Maggie, but I think it contains at least one deep truth (about daiquiris, anyway). And look, I spelled daiquiri correctly! Let the strip speak for itself, though. Click on the strip so that you can actually read it.

Sign One: Ronald McDonald is now officially a religious figure. In the new ad, a girl at a telescope complains to Ronald that she can’t see anything. Peeking out a window that turns out to be the O in the McDonald’s sign, Ronald notices that there is nothing but void. With a gesture, Ronald creates an amazing starscape, and the hills, sky and yes, the McDonald’s become visible. Let there be light, Ronald says. Otherwise, it’s too dark to eat your Big Mac.

Sign Two: Bravo is playing Patch Adams. Does anyone remember when Bravo was an arts and performance channel (hence the name?). Patch Adams, being one of the worst travesties in cinematic history, has somehow inserted itself and completed the destruction of a once good channel.

Watch for swarms of locusts, rains of blood and the Burger King to deliver some stone tablets to some old bearded guy.

I’ve just received one of those emails listing qualities that make someone a “Bad American”, and how the author is proud to be one. It starts by claiming the author to be a “Liberal-Progressives (sic) Worst Nightmare”.

Bad American quality number one? He didn’t pay attention when they discussed apostrophes in the American public school system. Maybe the teacher had a progressive-liberal attitude towards punctuation and the author dutifully ignored the lesson.

This piece has been circulating since at least 2000, and has been attributed to George Carlin (who disavowed it), Ted Nugent (who published it in his magazine, but didn’t take credit for it), Andy Rooney and others. While no one is sure, many agree it likely was a contributor to freerepublic.com who goes by the moniker “Bootyist Monk”.

There are many other things listed as beliefs of the “Bad American”: the right to gun ownership, freedom of religion, Harley Davidsons, American products, a “speak English or leave” attitude, etc. The list I received had been shortened in some places and added to in others, often tellingly. And hey, I agree with some of the statements and disagree with others. I just wanted to clarify that, since I’ll be focussing on the latter. Read more »