There's no "we" in "I don't give a f....."

I'd put the whole title up- just worried that putting 'fuck' in the title might be some sort of red flag on either of the sites I post this on- Not trying to be a hypocrite- like those cited on a friend's Facebook page- where she wondered why people write 'f@ck', 'fu@k', 'fuc&', 'sh!t' and other dumb internet euphemisms for curse words on sites that wouldn't be accessed by the easily impressionable or offended

Anyhow- the original line I uttered Monday night (29 June) was "There's no 'we' in 'I don't give a fuck"- a play on the old And1 basketball shoe advertisement that had a guy saying "There's no 'I' in team- but there is one in 'I just kicked your ass" or something to that effect

Was watching Headline News' mosaic of 6 talking heads prattling over each other about the death of Michael Jackson (a.k.a. the "King of Pop") 4 nights after his passing- one of the supposed "experts" said "We wouldn't find ourselves in this mess had Michael left a will"- speculating Jackson had no will (supposedly incorrect) and it affected anyone beyond his family, ex-wives or supposed offspring

I have to agree with the analysis of Will Leitch of "Deadspin" blog fame- that people tend to use "us" and "we" in news analysis way too much- and it meant one thing pre- 11 September 2001 and means something different after- that the "us" and "we" that were arguing over the OJ case or Clinton impeachment were at the center of the news before and the "us" and "we"-treated stories the past several years are sidelights of sorts- like MJ's death or Jon and Kate

I was among those surprised by the treatment of Jackson's death- I would have thought the mass culture was past the idea of a Rudolph Valentino-style treatment Jacko's death- in fact- I theorized on the sports messageboard I'm on- had Jackson died before the first child-molestation case been settled in 1993- he'd have died on top of his game- Multi-platinum, legendary recording artist who'd starred at halftime of the Super Bowl that year- instead of the faded freak show that sold fewer and fewer records over the years and died before attempting some sort of "Siegfried and Roy"-level "comeback" in London next month

I was actually more surprised and touched by the death of Billy Mays Sunday- also at the age of 50- than I was by Jackson's passing- Historically, I was more surprised at word that Magic Johnson was quitting the NBA after contracting HIV in 1991- than I was by Jackson's cash-out- but I was most shocked at the general reaction of everyone I encountered personally or via the various forms of media

-Once again saw the ad for the Red Sox vs. Yankees version of "Connect Four" during the NESN Red Sox telecast this evening- perhaps the dumbest game idea this side of the Brett Favre version of "Operation" or Yao Ming's "Jenga"- but shows how dopey the whole Red Sox/ Yankees or mere Red Sox shit has gotten around these parts

- Saw an ad for the DVD release of the theatrical film "12 Rounds"- starring wrestling superstar John Cena- which seemed like it was just in the theaters 15 minutes ago (actually came out 27 March) - the DVD promises "Two alternate endings"- My question- do they count the actual ending of the film- for those who left well before it was over- as an "alternate ending"?

-Gross mass-produced pizza-chain food product of this blog- Pizza Hut's new Pizza Rolls- have had pizza rolls in various forms- at their best- they are sort of like the strombolis or pizza rolls you can get at various Italian/ pizza places in New Jersey or the general New York City area- at their worst- are the diarrhea-inducing frozen treats by Jeno's and others- but the Pizza Hut ones look like Crescent rolls with cheese and other fillings-make both Crescent rolls and fillings seem individually unappealing the more you think about them

Much sooner than what?

I wrote in my last entry here (3 June)- I'd be back much sooner than later- Well....
I thought of stuff- but aside from working oddly variant hours again the past couple weeks- stretches of night shifts followed by early-morning stuff followed inversely the last few days by nights again- has really fucked up what little- if any- rythym I have in everyday life

Anyhow- when I left this a couple weeks back- I promised what would be my version of a celebrity/ politician/ exemplary citizen- type graduation/ commencement speech- had I turned myself into any of the aforementioned/ anything accomplished period

I thought of this as I drove past one of the larger/ more prominent private high schools in Cambridge- as I was driving to the liquor store on a weekday afternoon a few weeks ago- as their commencement ceremony was letting out- kids in gowns and mortar boards coming out with their families- beaming at the young one's accomplishment- All I could think was "It doesn't really get any better than this, kid"- Sure, college could be 4 or 6 years of good times and maybe that's the speech where the message of "It's all downhill from here, suckers" speech would perhaps be most apt

The whole scene got me thinking- not just about the fact I missed my own private school graduation ceremony 22 years ago last Saturday (13 June 1987)- which I helpfully reminded my mother of on the date itself- but that no one ever tells you when you're young that grown-up life really sucks when you get out of school and older- either way- you could cash your youth in early and become a full-on adult by getting married and/ or having kids - or you just run out of youth while living by the same ideals/ mores- The net result pretty much still sucks either way

If I were ever accorded an audience for such a speech- I think I'd want to come out to Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow (Barretta's Theme)" as my entrance- and if I couldn't - I'd feel the need to recite the lyrics of it to the kids- who were all born when Robert Blake was better known as the white O.J. than the man associated with playing the cop with a parakeet- "When the going gets narrow" being the particular point if I had to recite the lyrics back to the young people- and maybe a few extemparaneous remarks about the day but shit (maybe a Clay DAvis "Sheeeeet" from "The Wire"), the general message from me would be the same as TV's Al Bundy- "Life sucks and it never gets any better"

-Speaking of which- someone has told me I should embrace my leaning to my beat traits- I've also been told my leaning toward negative thinking is one of my strongest traits- I really think I can think the worst about anything (blush)

-How dumb can the local news stories here in Boston get? Touched on this many times now- but two particular examples hit me recently-

-The Little Leaguer somewhere around here who struck out all 18 batters a couple weeks back- Were "The Simpsons" that prescient when they ran the episode with Homer bowling a 300 game and becoming a "Springfield Square" and friends with Ron Howard? The TV people expected the Little Leaguer to be circumspect or at least glib about his greatest achievement to that point? See all my stupid shit above about life going downhill after high school or college

-Or the story in Boston about the Phish fan that spread "Yankee" fertilizer on the lawn at Fenway Park during the jam band's much-awaited reunion show/ latently-unwanted reprise a few weeks back (30 May)- was covered like it was some type of political asassanation by local TV types- like the stupid story of the "Ortiz 34" jersey buried at the new Yankee Stadium last year- What happened to the idea of Boston being the home of "America's Best" local TV?- oh that was back in the early 1980's- ouch

Trashed, uninspired or merely crushed?

Once again- I have to explain an unplanned, long interregnum to the few that read these bleatings- on either of these sites- Have still been busy with work and other pursuits- though I've recently been spending a bit less QT on the other social site recently- in spite of my recent-months declarations that it could have been the Greatest Website Ever- long story- but it still stands as another site at this point- recent activity not withstanding

I'm sure Twitter or some other currently-nascent great idea will eventually (or sooner) wipe out Facebook and these host sites- internet telepathy being the only thing that could seem like the ultimate goal of all these sites- and I cannot make the proclamation that I hope not to live long enough to see that since it could be reality by 2012 or so

Anyhow- here's the random thought clearinghouse for now- while I wait for internet telepathy

-Speaking of Facebook shit- the "Living Social" application has to go down as more annoying than junk mail and cable infomercials on the personal annoyance list- I get shit from people whom I don't suspect are "Grey's Anatomy" viewers (I hope) are sending "Which 'Grey's Anatomy' Villian Are You" answers- If you claim not to give a fuck about the show- why should I give a fuck about your answer?

-Joint boyfriend/ girlfriend or husband/ wife or whomever/ altogether accounts on the Facebook site are as dumb as they were on MySpace or whatever- Cannot believe anyone would sublimate themselves to that shit

-Spent Memorial Day weekend with parade outside window in Somerville again- Obviously not live-blogged like I tried last year- if I'm writing this on 3 June- Anyhow- could have cared less about the 24 May proceedings- even if they'd proceeded down Highland Avenue with Communist-era-Stalin-esque heads in my image- Did not care- not to disrespect the war dead- but I feel once you've seen one flag-draped fire truck- you've seen them all

Speaking of Memorial Day and parades- I knew it was summer- when I was stuck in traffic the Saturday of that weekend and saw a fat woman in a knockoff-style #12 Tom Brady Patriots jersey put away a nip bottle of sauce and toss it in a nearby dumpster while I was stopped at a red light- then, while traffic was so slow- saw same woman pull out and put away another while I was stopped again- less than a half-mile away- behind annoying weekend traffic- Funniest thing I've seen on the street in a long time

-Before she testified this week- I had little sympathy for Sandra Boss- the mother of the child "Clark Rockefeller"/ Christian Gerhardtschneider/ whatever his real name was- produced while married to her/ abducted last summer- It took her 15 years to question his phony lineage or bon temps and years after they had a child together? She came across as a stereotypical Yuppie with child during her testimony- too involved in herself or career to know/ care- one of them will eventually be co-starring in Rod Blagojevich's episode in the Flava Flav/ Brett Michaels' edition of VH1's "Daisy Rock Flava Group Sex of Love" or perhaps an eventual remake of "Bang Bus 12"

-Worked such fucked-up hours last week- I went out to my wheels after 5am- on Back Bay street and realized I'd lucked into one of 5 spots or so on that street that weren't affected by shooting of either the new Adam Sandler buddy comedy or new Mel Gibson/ Tommy Lee Jones (I think) movie filming around here

-I'll be back much sooner than later- working on what would likely be my graduation speech/ valedictory to the young people- if, under any set of even plausibly theoretical circumstances, I were ever asked to do so