The Scene and Herd

I’m just thrilled that President Obama called Kanye West a jackass.

Not because it’s true (although it is, it is) and not because I think it’ll knock some sense into that jackass (not possible at this point – out of control) but because it’s really funny. That Obama, he’s a blessing. Remember when he brushed that dirt off his shoulder? Ha!
However historic his leadership is, we sure are lucky to have a political figure that pulls stunts like that and I fear we often forget it, take him for granted. Luckily, he gets chances every day to remind us of how awesome he is.

In honour of Obama calling Kanye West a jackass, I’d like to remind everybody about an incident that happened just over a month ago involving a tourist couple and an extraordinary squirrel that, unlike Obama, only had one chance to tell us how awesome he is.

We take the photo for granted and I don’t want this little guy to be forgotten just because we live in a culture that forgets everything great that has ever happened within fifteen seconds of it happening. The crasher squirrel practically reaffirmed my faith because he didn’t have to show up but he did. And just like Obama’s remark, I smile every time I think about him.

Take a good look. Remember. Laugh. This little squirrel is more miraculous than a brand new baby. And if you can’t see that?
Well, then you’re just a jackass.

K’naan is so wildly optimistic and joyful that it’s almost confusing.

Last year at Romero House I found one of his songs on a mix cd in the communal van and I was like ,”What in the hell is this? It’s so hopeful.”

Anyways, ’bout two weeks into my yearlong stint at RH, the cd player in the communal van jammed with K’naan stuck inside. And that was that.

K is kind of like the US election live on CNN and the comedy network, personified. Because watching Obama win was a pure joy, and I wanted to let all pessimism and criticism seep out of me. But the… hope (if you will) of that moment was greeted with just enough suspicion in the room to really take things down a notch. We were happy! But not too happy.

Optimism really makes my demographic tense. We discuss Obama in calm voices. I listen to K’naan in secret.

But I pulled this off the blogto site this morning because it improved my mood (tensely). Give it a watch and good lord, hopefully you’re from a different demographic than I am. 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMwpVF58c2c]

I seriously thought for a second that Michael Ignatieff was the Prime Minister of Canada. I went onto cbc.ca this morning and Iggy is headline news on the Obama visit. Apparently, Barack “will listen to us” on Afghanistan. I’ve also read that Ignatieff will “speak frankly” with Obama… 

Shouldn’t Stephen Harper be saying crap like this? Where’s he at? Canada seems way more excited about Obama’s meeting with the leader of the opposition than the PM.

I feel like we’re in old tyme days and Stephen Harper is our embarrassing older son and we have to let him stick around for the visit because he’s the oldest but we really want Obama to hang out with Ignatieff because, well, we like him better.

“Hello, Barack! This is ouroldestsonStephenbut THIS! This is Michael.” And then we push Iggy over to greet Obama while whispering to Harper to keep quiet or go make a fire or something.

My friend Sona says, “you have to be ready. You could change at any moment.”

I like this idea; change as a sudden assault. I like to think that change will just happen, just spring itself on me and all I have to do is be ready. Because I hate change. I will not encourage change and I will not seek it out.  I need change to… incite itself. And the quicker the better.

I like, as well, to think of this in the context of America at the moment. I like change personified as Barack Obama…right? It does make things simple. The lovers love change and the haters, like me, hate change (although I relish in political change n’ I like Obama). I feel good about this tidy idea. We all do.

Yeah, but in addition, I like to think of Obama as a sudden assault on the American people, a force you can’t stop.

Past love affairs have been on my mind. I’m revisiting for the sake of…a project, I guess. I’m consistently fascinated by how my feelings have changed for these lads that had me devastated once (the broken heart is almost pathetic for this fickleness). Towards most of them I feel a vague and pleasant well-wishing. But then, this is no rare thing. Many desperate loves morph into indifference.

There is an episode of 30 Rock where Lemon has to go to her high school reunion. She does NOT want to go for all the typical reasons. She was a nerd in high school, picked on for being smart and not pretty etc. But everyone, typically, urges her to go and flaunt her success. So she decides to go. But pretty soon after her arrival, one of the cool kids approaches. Lemon gears up to flaunt, but the cool kid immediately bursts into tears at the sight of her.

Okay, it turns out that Lemon was a bully in high school. She thought the cool kids were mean and hated her, so she made comments under her breath about their alcoholic parents and eating disorders to protect herself and all others like her. But her perception was all off. The cool kids were never out to get her, were humiliated by her comments and constantly trying to make peace with her so she would leave them alone. 

So suddenly, at the reunion, she has to deal with this new reality. She has done nothing different but now, suddenly, everything is different. She’s different.

You have to be ready.

I like to think of a passive America. I mean, I like to think that America did not change, but change arrived. All this time their perception was just…off. 

Like you when you thought you were in love. Like Liz Lemon in high school.