01-Jun-2008
Observed Across The Countryside
I found it interesting that Bertelsmann, the gigantic German publisher and owner of Random House in this country, recently appointed a new CEO for Random House. He’s currently the head of a printing division for Bertelsmann. Whether or not the man has any literary credentials was not mentioned. Given the control that the marketers and accountants have over publishing today, the possession of a set of literary chops would be the real surprise.
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Given the high price of gasoline today, I’m looking into having our next Thanksgiving family gathering by teleconference. Or, look at it this way: five families traveling to a gathering for an average round trip of 100 miles translates into a family expense of $335.00. That, of course, does not include the cost of turkey, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, beer, and wine. (AAA statistics used here; don’t try this at home.)
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I think it would be cool if John McCain chose Ann Coulter as his running mate. Better yet, I think Barack Obama ought to seriously consider Sarah Silverman as his VP. Don’t ask me why, but I think it has something to do with this being among the most unfunny presidential races in history.
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Sometimes I wonder if all societies have always lived in a crisis mode the way we do. Our economy is always on the verge of …. An earthquake/hurricane/forest fire/tornado/blizzard/drought/flood is about to …. A new disease pandemic threatens our …. Today’s children will never be able to …. Don’t even think about retiring because …. The country’s infrastructure is a moldy mass of rust and corrosion and …. Skyrocketing energy expenses will ultimately cause us to …. Here’s a new phrase for you that I just made up: Anxiety fatigue.
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While it has long been noticed, out here in the heartland, that such crops as wheat and oats have been disappearing from the fields due to the dominance of corn and soybeans, it’s interesting now to see soybeans also disappearing. Turning corn into ethanol, of course, is the reason, but a nasty question remains. I thought the introduction of ethanol was supposed to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and lower gasoline prices.
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What happens when you go for a swim in your own gene pool? I’ve been asked to give a reading this summer at a huge gathering of Finns up in Duluth. While readings are fine and I love doing them, the prospect of being among several thousand people whose genetic code differs from mine by only a splotch or two is almost spooky. On the other hand, life-spooky, as opposed to movie-spooky, is almost always good. If I find somebody who looks just like me, though, I’m heading home.
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John McCain recently announced that, as president, he wants to have the troops home from Iraq by 2013. Since he’s been unwilling, as a Bush clone, to commit to any time table in the past, I think he views his statement as a savvy political ploy. It will, however, hurt him badly, I think, since the typical American is likely to greet that announcement with, five more fucking years?
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G. K. Wuori © 2008
Photoillustration by the author
