Force over distance
This is rather a strange summer. I speak here of the teacher taliban. One of the blessing of the summer is rather a sort of reverse of Thomas Paine’s writings about the ’sunshine patriot’. In this case it is the shul session exerciser. Most of the members of the teacher taliban don’t come to gym when shul is not in session. This incidentally also tends to make holidays cheerier as well. There are a few who come all the time, but most of these I have noted are the members of the teacher taliban who had been elevated (?) to administration, principals and the like. But this summer even they have been in less presence.
For example, this morning there was only one other besides myself waiting for the arrival of the morning proctor (kindness in that exaggeration) whereas during session Wednesday is as busy as Monday or busier, one of the two being the busiest day of the week. I was half way through my hour of pant before any of the teacher taliban appeared and they were never other than a sparse majority, as opposed to the autarkic majority during session.
I also started listening to a new (to me) but concluded series done by the CBC on “How to Think About Science”, originally pushed out in 2007-8.[Link] Splendid piece that I may comment on later. For now however, I want to consider an article in the current issue of the student newspaper of the campus of the Boneyard. [Link] The article is about a particular commercial for a particular (so-called) energy beverage. I was attracted to it because of the inundation at the gym of incessant info-porn at the time I frequent. This inundation is also why calling the asentience of the gym “proctor” a kindness. I personally find it humorous that a gym associated with a hospital complex would be tacitly (by its inaction) endorsing patent concoctions for penile and mammary inflation.
Of course the same can be observed of so-called energy drinks, which used to be a hallmark of the local MalWart until Greater Metropolitan Arab had prohibition repealed. We may still be arguing over whether the horses in the christmas parade should be required to wear diapers but bootlegging is now history. And, of course, the energy drinks have been replaced by beer, which I fear is still a better, more healthful beverage than most carbonated sodas.
The sticking point of the article and the commercial is the stereotypes that are used to sell products. The one here seems to me some mislaid mutation of Maynard G. Krebbs goes to California. Even I, with my association only with nerd students, have yet to see anyone skateboarding to class. Skateboarding – yes, but for recreation. Anyone who asks for that much room on the sidewalk is going to get elbowed and trodden and who risks using the street treaded and bumpered. I do remind myself that this is the same firm whose spokesperson is the driver of a NASCAR automobile. The marketing mentality is constant, invariant, adamantine in its misdirection.
What is appropriate I fear is the impact of the beverage on people. That fits with the garishness and clangor of the commercials. Also why so many students who use the beverages get to continue using them as they embark on careers in the restaurant industry. If you are that hyper you can’t think, which is a detriment when taking tests but evidently a boon when you are frying pom frits.
