Sunday, November 21, 2004

The Misanthrope – Sunday’s Lighter Side

It is a stupidity second to none, to busy oneself with the correction of the world.
Molière, French playwright from Le Misanthrope

Backyard Chorus. Fall and winter are wonderful times of the year. Every morning neighbors, from one or all five of the houses surrounding The Misanthrope’s backyard, let out their Alaskan Huskies, Labradors, hound dogs and floor-mop dogs with their variety of barks, howls and high-pitched yelps to serenade The Misanthrope in a syncopated cacophony that only paid kennel personnel should have to endure. The good news for the time being is mornings are relatively cold these days, so the domesticate beasts are heard only sotto voce through barely cracked open windows. Spring and summer are another story altogether.

Passive-Aggressive Shop Lifters. Library scofflaws who don’t return books nor comprehend the honor system may serve jail time in Bay County, Michigan. Don’t return a book – go to jail. The Misanthrope holds books in high regard and heartily endorses Bay County’s proposed penalty of criminal charges and up to 90 days in jail. Frankly, The Misanthrope believes the penalty should be even more severe, possibly required listening of Dr. Phil’s book on tape on continuous loop for the duration of jail time. Quaint human rights and Geneva Convention rules be damned.

Book Review. The Misanthrope highly recommends George Carlin’s new book “When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops”. Carlin points out the hypocrisy of social standards similar to how Jon Stewart’s “America, The Book” skewers the political system. Carlin reduces the Ten Commandments to Two. He also tackles embarrassing societal clichés such as the trite saying, the cost of saving one life may be worth it, but not if one looks at it the way governments and corporations do. When one thinks about the time, cost and inconvenience, saving just one life may be too expensive.

What’s in a Name? The Anaheim Angels want to change their name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels to increase their attendance and advertising revenue. The Misanthrope wants to know who the hell are they kidding? Anyone who lives in southern California north of Los Angeles and is familiar with the 24/7 freeway congestion is not going to drive to Anaheim because the name has changed. If they want to increase attendance and advertising, the number one tourist stop in all of California is Disneyland. Everyone knows where Disneyland is located, it has good name recognition and remains to everyone in the red states, family friendly and morally sound, so why not change the name to the Disneyland Angels?

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