Entertainers bring Mayflowers

[sovay]

Cool things with words:

time_shark has been interviewed at Enter the Octopus.

John Stuart Mill did many more awesome things than be particularly ill on half a pint of shandy, especially the way Adam Gopnik writes about him.

That someone who up through college stuttered so severely that he was nicknamed "Dash Biden" not because he was lightning on the field but because that's how you spell out "B-B-B-Biden" can grow up into a politician whose prevailing silly faults are rambling on like there's no tomorrow and a tendency to blurt out whatever drops into his head as though he has no brain-to-mouth filter? Hell, yeah, and God bless Demosthenes' pebbles. Not to mention handing the governor of Alaska her hat, her head, or her ass, complete the metaphor of your choice. Obviously, the next step is to get him to speak at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children.

Comments

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Biden's always been an interesting fellow and I sort wondered what had happened to him all these last eight years, because I remember him enjoying a good street-fight.

Also, the Mill article totally ate my morning.

[sovay]

Biden's always been an interesting fellow and I sort wondered what had happened to him all these last eight years, because I remember him enjoying a good street-fight.

When did you first start to hear of him? He's been completely under my radar.

Also, the Mill article totally ate my morning.

Is it not awesome? First I want to read the biography; then I want to read more of the reviewer. And somewhere in there, probably some John Stuart Mill.

Personal Revelation Alert. Non-Biological TMI Ahead.

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

Oh God. This is like looking at a half a pack of cigarettes and realizing I've been smoking since I was twelve. Before I mentioned the thing about Biden, I had never actually thought about where I picked politics up or for how long I've had the habit.

I've been aware of Biden as a presidential contender (he's been a perrenial) since '88; politics for me was the last custody battle, and that was the one my mother (fire breathing liberal, part-time semi-militant feminist, took open delight that my initials are ERA) won.

To that point, I was well on my way to inheriting either my dad's "well my parents were republicans and Nixon put an end to that stupid war" sort of center-rightness, or my stepma's "ZOMG Black people are going to take my money!" conservatism (which probably would have made me a converted democrat circa 2004, but what the hell). Thing is, once my mom set me straight on a couple of issues by actually explaining how the things I was parroting (sans explanation) from my stepmother were bullshit, I started paying attention.

I felt a damned fool once I understood the implications of what I'd been saying, and I hate being a fool when I can help it.

That was 20 goddamn years ago.