CSotD: Things you are not supposed to swallow
Skip to comments
Edge City has been sending me into fits of nostaglic giggles all week, as Len and Abby have been taking a wine-tasting class at the local adult ed place.
The "hints of vanilla and pear" cracked me up, mostly because I have never understood all that stuff, in wine or coffee. Except in the case of Boone's Farm or Sugar Smacks Cappuchino or whatever, which are things I try very hard to avoid putting in my mouth.
I like wine that has hints of grape and coffee that has hints of coffee bean, but then I'm a peasant.
Today's particularly struck me because I've been to wine tastings and, yeah, I can tell the good stuff and, yeah, it makes a big difference and, no, I can't afford to be drinking that stuff.
After the fall of Phnom Penh, I made the acquaintance of Cambodia's former ambassador to South Korea, who had also been the country's number two man at the Geneva talks that restored independence, and then charge d'affairs in their Paris embassy, after which he was ambassador to Burma, Ceylon, Australia and Japan.
Pretty interesting fellow for a number of reasons, including his opinion that our California wines were as good as most French wines and that, until you got up into those top level vintages, you were wasting your money to spend more than ten or 12 bucks. This having been awhile ago, I'd up that to 20, but his point remains.
By the way, I can also tell the difference between a Toyota and a Maserati. The main difference is that I can't afford to drive a Maserati.
We appreciate your feedback
Mr. Boffo with a well-worn-but-worth-repeating bit of truth.
It sent me to the search function, because I knew I had quoted this favorite passage from Catch-22 before. Also worth repeating:
'He wants someone to tell him,' Clevinger said.
'He wants everyone to keep still, idiot,' Yossarian answered.
'Didn't you hear him?' Clevinger argued.
'I heard him,' Yossarian replied. 'I heard him say very loudly and very distinctly that he wants every one of us to keep our mouths shut if we know what's good for us.'
'I won't punish you,' Lieutenant Scheisskopf swore.
'He says he won't punish me,' said Clevinger.
'He'll castrate you,' said Yossarian.
'I swear I won't punish you,' said Lieutenant Scheisskopf. 'I'll be grateful to the man who tells me the truth.'
'He'll hate you,' said Yossarian. 'To his dying day he'll hate you.'
A related dodge these days is the buy-out. I worked at a place where buy-outs were offered based on seniority. I'd worked there for 13 years, corporate squeezing had taken all the fun out of it, and they were offering two weeks salary for every year worked.
So I had a chance to pick up six months pay while I figured out what to do next, and the only person in my department more senior was my boss.
After I applied for the one-and-only buy-out in our department, I found out he had requested it before they made up the list and it was only being dangled over our heads to see who might be pushed into quitting voluntarily.
I still ended up being paid for six months while I figured out the next thing, but I had to spend them sitting at my desk and working while they harassed me into leaving.
As they say, you should never miss a good opportunity to shut up.
Of course, at wine-tastings, you're supposed to spit out the wine rather than swallowing it.
I'm about as likely to do either.
Current events update
It's fitting that this excellent commentary comes from cartoonist Alfredo Martirena, a Cuban, since American cartoonists seem far more interested in bashing Vladimir Putin over the catastrophe unfolding in Ukraine than in addressing the tragedy itself.
It's "fitting" in that I would assume a Cuban would understand the difference between being highly influenced by and dependent on the Soviet Union, and being an actual puppet. And he's also seen the economic impact even on "highly influenced by" countries since the Soviet Union disbanded nearly a quarter-century ago — from both sides, given what's going on in Venezuela now that Cuba can't afford to give them a whole lot of support anymore.
Granted, it's tempting to tie in the Sochi Olympics with what's happening in Kiev, at least, tempting in the sense that the Olympics are on prime time TV every night and the more things you can tie them into, the greater the chances some editor will pick up your cartoon.
So we've got all sorts of Olympic tie-ins blaming Putin for what's happening in Kiev, and only a couple that at least indicate that maybe Ukraine is an independent nation which they then insist is taking too much direction from Putin.
What they're missing is that there is enough of a lasting Russian hegemony in the eastern part of Ukraine that they don't actually need Vladimir Putin to screw up their country. It's divided enough to screw itself up quite nicely and the only thing the Russian government needs to add to the existing internal corruption is a demand that they not form an economic alliance with the EU.
Ukraine is a complex situation in which Martirena may have the only coherent comment to make, granted one that is more descriptive than prescriptive.
Of course, trying to tie Putin and the Olympics into it is not prescriptive. But it's also not descriptive.
Cartoonists really should try for at least one of those.
Comments
Comments are closed.