social notes from here and there

[Wayne Johnson]

The trouble with traveling is...for many Americans...that they might
discover that there are "other ways to do busiiness" (especially Business)
and that their lifetime of living in the American Propaganda Mill and
Information Void has left them without certain, uh, fundamental abilities in
the, uh, critical thinking....or thanking, if you will....category.

What do you mean John Wayne and Ronald Reagan were never in the Army!  You
pinko Commie you!

wj
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Eisenstadt" <michaele@ando.pair.com>
To: <austin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net>; <marie@inside-crew.net>
Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 4:35 PM
Subject: social notes from here and there


> I was talking to an old friend, he's both old and we met in 1957.
>
> He and Teralita Maverick have the same mantra (he lives in
> San Antonio too): "If you don't travel, you ain't shit." This
> is an exact quote, both of them having chanted it together
> in my hearing.
>
> Talking to him last week, I tried to defend my wanting to
> travel to France.
>
> He's been everywhere, currently preferring Ireland and
> Spain (he is a Tejano from Del Rio). We did agree that
> knowing the language is required to experience the whole
> nine yards. From his own experience, he wasn't terribly
> impressed by the French nor does he speak or understand
> the language.
>
> My argument turned on the French civilization being committed
> to maintaining a cutting edge in everything that makes up a top
> civilization. That cannot be said of Ireland or Spain. Nor of
> Italy.
>
> So doing this, no surprise that the French are sometimes
> obnoxiously smug become they know that if France is not THE
> center of the world, it is at least priveleged to be one of the centers
> of the world.
>
> Interestingly, part of being hip if one is French is to be very plugged in
> (branche') into Hollywood movies, TV shows and American music.
>
> I was blown away to discover that Homer Simpson episodes were
> broadcast one day a week on a Paris TV station.
>
> And to see a billboard ad for a big Snoop Dog concert.
>
> Of course there is a corny aspect to this. There is a Paris radio
> station which plays all jazz and their main DJ is a black American
> who knows no French. He just repeats 2 or 3 sentences he has
> apparently memorized.
>
> So the country seems like a more up experience to visit than others.
> On the other hand, I sometimes get the impression that the French
> are more morose than Americans, possibly because they don't
> share goofy American meliorism. Realistic thus gloomy versus
> feather-headed American optimism and denial of reality.
>
> And they write books like crazy, unfortunately most of them
> are too pretenious to read.
>
> On the other hand, Spain going socialist is kinda exciting. They
> replaced the conniving right wing Bush suckup. Maybe next
> November we'll be replacing the creep we have now.
>
> Organized protests are taking place in major cities. Was
> anything planned for Austin?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>