TATTOOS, DIRTY COWBOYS, STARS & STRIPES...
10:58 p.m.
i saw a great example of our crazy world the other day..i was at safeway at the deli,and there was this guy standing in front of the counter. he had a black tanktop on, and on the back of his upper arms he had tattoos, in that old english script thats so ornate i can hardly ever make it out. on the left was "white" and on the right was "pride". i usually think of these as prison tattoos, but no, they looked professional, i think the ones i've seen that say "white power" are usually cruder looking. well, the girl behind the counter was explaining to him what was in the flautas, and i thought what would this guy do if i went up to him and said "hey man, don't buy that shit! that's what those fuckin' mexicans eat! get the meatloaf and mashed potatoes instead!" i mean...if you're gonna have tattoos like that, and you're gonna wear a tanktop...oh god, it's too stupid to even go on about...it's like having a really offensive bumpersticker on your car. white people-ya gotta love 'em.
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overheard a woman i work with tell someone that some days she reads up to 4 romance novels ...i mean those little harlequin ones-have you ever seen THAT section in the used bookstore? amazing...i know i'm being a snob (i still haven't listed my favorite authors in my profile yet-but that ain't cuz i don't read!) but that's not reading, it's more like an addiction...said co-worker left her current book out where we smoke at work, and i thumbed through it...scotland, a castle, abeautiful woman and a dashing prince...i dunno, i just don't get it. i know they're marketed as an escape from everyday life-it's fun just reading the titles-they put out several books a month-the only title i remember is "the bride said never".
several years ago we had to pull some books off the shelves because of complaints. it was a series set in the old west, typical covers-all heaving bosoms and chippendale-style cowboys. but these books got pretty dirty, i mean really dirty..the only passage i remember was something about the cowboys steely prick cleaving the indian maiden's "furry split"- now there's a term you don't come across every day.
we never got complaints about nirvana's "nevermind", and that was kiddy porn- i remember showing that to my friend at work and saying "god, look at the cock on that kid!" that's just not a word we use when talking about babies: "oh,he's adorable, he's got his mommy's eyes!" "yes, and his daddy's cock!"
and nobody complained when we carried that chili pepper's greatest hits cd with the picture of them wearing socks on THEIR cocks...now that i think about it, later on the nirvana came in with the "contains the hit single 'smells like teen spirit'" sticker over the offending babywang..
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god, i have so many little notes of things i want to mention...
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coffee and gum is not a nutritionally balanced breakfast. i will remember this.
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we have some painted wooden red white and blue items at work, little decorative knick-knacks, like a star on a wooden base ,and on the star it says "land of the free!" i was complaining cuz the colors are so weird-dark maroon, navy blue, and cream. debbie said that they were "country" colors-they are kinda folk-art-y...we have little mosaic votive candle thingys, stuff to hang on the door, and of course, they're all made in CHINA! we had some displays of buttons (the kind you wear proudly on your lapel) around the fourth of july...some had stars, some had stripes, i didn't get to check where they were made...the flag pins at the checkout at safeway ARE american made, by the way.
i guess the point i'm trying to make is that somewhere people are turning these things out-jobs were created because of 9-11..........think of all the t-shirts that were made, all the cling-on decals to go on car windows...i don't know why i'm going on about this...and then, at the other end of the spectrum, we have this...
i can't imagine wearing this ANYWHERE, espcially n.y.c. i mean, i think it's hilarious, but you just can't go there, as the kids say..and then there's this...
now, for me, this is more offensive than the t-shirt...right after 9-11 a regular customer came in with some stickers she made on her computer-if you were online around that time you probably saw some variation of it- in the background, the two towers are spewing out plumes of black smoke...and in the foreground, a profile of an american bald eagle with a tear running down its cheek...(do birds HAVE cheeks?) OH GOD, I HATE SHIT LIKE THAT SO MUCH! it's so abstract, but i could come up with some similar images-how about uncle sam or lady liberty with their face buried in their hands---oh, i don't know, maybe mt. rushmore crying, four giant tears slowly making their way down through the cracks and crevices...it's too easy at a time like that...i mean, i cried watching tv that week - a lot... i didn't know anyone who died-i guess i cried watching people cry-does that make any sense? and finally,i found this-which i think is fucking brilliant...
i don't think the photo's altered at all-just some text added, and it goes to a whole different place-notice all the people are asian-but no one will ask, "wow, where was that taken?" actually, it looks like some japanese ad. speaking of that, take a look at this place-www.engrish.com for a look at the crazy, fractured english that shows up on japanese products, signs, and advertisements. it's a real entertaining site...
well, i didn't get far in covering my notes, but at least i did a pretty good sized entry...more to come tomorrow-i know you've heard that before, and then i'm gone for a few days, but i always mean it...nite-nite.