My good friend Robert sent me an email today. Mostly, he was chortling about William Shatner's recent History Channel program.
Don't lie. I know you taped it.
Well, at least I hope you did. I don't have cable.
But he finished up with an interesting observation, something at which he has always been especially gifted:
By the way, I have noticed something here in McMinnville, and I am curious to see if it is a subtle trend that is occurring across the country. Although Portland is very much a hotbed of the anti-Bush insurgency, here in McMinnville much of the town is very conservative and redneck. We are just on the Red side of the Red State / Blue State divide being this far out of the big city. What dawned on me one day was that all the W bumper stickers have started to disappear from off of the back of the pickup trucks. Even here in McMinnville, you are more likely to see leftover Kerry bumper stickers than anything related to Bush/Cheney. This was not true even a few months ago.As I told him in response:
Have you noticed this too? I am curious if your friends from other parts of the US are seeing a change as well.
Since I live in the People's Republic of Northampton, Bush stickers were never apparent around here. The construction guys and other closet Republicans, back in 2004, made do with flags on the antennae and "Support Our Troops" on the bumpers.
We're both curious. How say you? Please leave a comment.
2 comments:
How weird - I was just thinking the same thing the other day on my way home from work. Cincinnati is, um, mildly conservative, shall we say? (sarcastically?) - but it seems like there are noticeably fewer "W" and "Bush/Cheney" stickers around here than even a few months ago. There are still lots of magnetic ribbons, but not as many overtly Republican stickers. (Woohoo!)
Enough about politics; let's get back to William Shatner, who is featured on the iTunes Library with his own "Celebrity Playlist."
Of the 13 songs in his Playlist, five are Shatner's own warblings. The others are jazz standards (Coltrane, Ella, Miles Davis) and pop Classical (Beethoven's Second and a snippet of Mozart). Maybe he's hoping to reconnect with the younger generation (Star Trek, The Millenials?) because he's got some Ben Folds and Eminem in there.
The best thing about Shatner's recommendations is his commentary.
Match the performer with the critique:
1. He may be the best. (Hint: this is not about himself.)
2. I've heard philosophy in music through [this composer].
3. My personal genius.
4. He's different.
a. John Coltrane
b. Eminem
c. Ben Folds
d. Beethoven
Answers below:
1. a
2. d
3. c
4. b
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