Monday, November 29, 2010

Socks: The 12 Sentence Story of Two Girls and Their Laundry

Brea and I were sitting on the floor, our laps covered in clean laundry, our hands folding countless shirts and socks, and our voices ringing with laughter as we worked. I was being responsible and collecting all my clothes; Breanna was not. My sister, the slacker, naturally neglected some of her work load and would not fold and put away her socks. I chased her across the house, through the halls, behind the furniture, around all the rooms, trying to force her socks upon her. She finally ran into her room and locked the door in my face. Big mistake. I warned her that I would find a key or that I would kick the door down or that I would go tell Mom. My threats were numerous, but my simple action stood alone. With a quick thrust of my foot, a harsh blow to the door I dealt. Who could have known I would leave behind a hole? I gasped and panicked and thought and schemed. The story I invented, the speed with which I said I had tripped, the immediate belief that my mother had in my story got me off the hook and got Brea to take her socks.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

An Abundance of Idiots

I love a good laugh, whether it be a giggle or a breath-taking, tear-conjuring, belly-aching outburst of hilarity. So, naturally, it is no surprise I fell head-over-heels in love with the video series on YouTube entitled "Autotune the News." My favorite episode, number six, is filled with a myriad of wonderful things: singing, dancing, jokes, clever editing. This video though, and many other in the series, have been debated as possibly offensive to those who are featured. It is true that many people in these videos, especially politicians, look like--well, idiots. But did the makers of these videos really make politicians look any more idiotic than they manage to do themselves?

Ranging from west coast to east coast, from north to south, from federal to community, America's government systems have been inflated with politicians who probably should not have been elected. And sadly, in these cases, they were the lesser of two evils. Comments I cannot believe have been said, actions that should never have been taken, choices that do nothing but hurt the politician--and these people are still getting mad at those who taunt them?

There is Sarah Palin, who I could go on about for years, who makes up words and then posts Tweets defending her mistake. Hey, if Shakespeare could do it, why can't she? Then we have people like Rod Blagojevich. Oh dear. Trying to sell a Senate seat? Really? And if that doesn't make him look idiotic enough already, his hair certainly does. Then, of course, John McCain...Is it really necessary to break into a Beach Boys song during a meeting? Also, I would hate to be the one to break it to John Boehner, but using profanities in the middle of a Congressional meeting is not professional. Especially when that meeting is being broadcasted on C-SPAN.

I have also noticed that politicians sometimes seem to have a hard time staying on topic. It is not that difficult: Just answer the question. This video even states, while Congress members have gone off on a tangent about something irrelevant to the topic, that they "thought the bill was about the climate."

I know that everyone does something a little stupid every once in a while, but I am thinking that some of these politicians need to pack their bags and whatever little pride they have left and get out of the career of politics. Either that, or they need to learn to not be surprised when their speeches end up on Saturday Night Live.