Scattershot Thoughts

A Message to the PSA People

Can someone please get that guy with the hole in his throat off my TV?  I’m sorry that he has a hole in his throat, but really.  First the showering, and then the swimming.  The guy’s got problems, sure.  He probably could have anticipated them, having smoked however many packs a day it takes to land that handheld mechanical-voice mechanism.  But does every PSA involving him have suggest him in some potential state of nudity? 

His pot-bellied state of undress aside, are these ads even the least bit effective?  I mean, adults of his age group who are still smoking, who were clearly around during the C. Everett Koop administration and have been more than apprised of the evils of tobacco by now, are somehow just not getting it, or else they are actively and willfully choosing to take the risk that they’ll end up talking like Max Headroom or meeting an even worse fate.  And kids, unfortunately, are not going to be swayed by some middle-aged dude.  They know the dangers, too, but they are kids and many kids do stupid things regardless of how plain the risks are.  I don’t see how that guy is going to turn the light on in millions of smokers’ heads.  The information is already out there.  It is EVERYWHERE. 

One in five Americans still smoke.  I am powerless to speculate why – I have never wanted to try smoking, and I know plenty of people who have up and quit in very short order, so it’s obviously possible to make the choice either not to start or just to STOP doing it; the things are not heroin.  I am not a fan of the tobacco companies; but at the same time, people have to take some responsibility for themselves.  A pack of cigarettes does not come with a gun that is pointed at your head until you smoke all of its contents.  I don’t know what the answer is, except maybe to tax tobacco products at an even higher rate.  Once people have to choose between food and cigarettes, then maybe we’ll get somewhere. 

Until then, GET THAT GUY OFF MY TV.

Happy Happy Happy 

The happiest song ever:  “Two Worlds Parted” by John & Mary. 

John & Mary spun off from 10,000 Maniacs when Natalie Merchant left to pursue a solo career.  They made this one album called “The Weedkiller’s Daughter" on which the first song is this deliriously happy jaunt called "Two Worlds Parted."  The album may have other songs on it, but I’m not sure. 

This song reminds me of summers back in Georgia, riding around in my friend’s Volvo and going out to her lake house to go Jet-Skiing and shoot off fireworks from the dock.  When I hear it, I can smell the leather seats of her car mingling with the Coppertone on my skin and feel the wet air blowing through the open sunroof and moistening my newly-freckled face.  And I'm so happy I could fly to pieces.

Pictures?  Of Me?

Have you ever thought about how many random people in the world have pictures with you in them?  This came to mind when I was running on Sunday and I saw about fifty different people taking photos and videos in Central Park.  Several snapped shots of the loop as I was running by, and I jogged through others’ panoramic sweeps of the horse-drawn carriages on Central Park South.  Sometime soon, I will be in some photo album sitting on someone’s shelf (or, more likely, on their hard drive) in Dusseldorf or Minsk or Fukuoka.  Just a blur of pale skin and red hair, a pair of legs in mid-stride, a ponytail bouncing infinitely, an obscure non-memory of someone’s weekend in New York. 

Comments

[Whinger]

*Wandering off to download "Two Worlds Parted."*

[chirky]

I've never thought before about how many photos I am in, or sadly, even about the random people in my own photos.

That's kind of sad that I'm so self-absorbed that I never even considered the others in my photos.

[lawyerish]

Whinger - Let me know what you think! Unless you hate it. Then nevermind. Heh.

Jes - I don't think it's a sign of self-absorption not to notice the blurs of random people in your photos. Since I have an obsessive nature and look at my photos about a million times each (my wedding album will one day disintegrate from being perused so many times), I tend to eventually notice what all is going on in the background. It can be fun, especially because you'll catch people doing weird stuff like picking out their wedgie. It's good, juvenile fun.