Ain’t nobody got time for that…
November 16, 2012
You know, whenever you turn a certain age, younger people tend to ask you what it’s like.
“Hey… What’s it like to be 30? What’s it like to be 40?” My traditional answer going back was that 40 felt a lot like 39, which felt a lot like 38, which felt a lot like 37 – you get the idea. In fact, I thought being 50 was really a lot like being 49. So I really wasn’t expecting 51 to be any different – but it is. I’m changing. My thoughts are changing, my priorities are changing. And it all seems to be happening in front of me, in a surreal fashion, as if I were watching it on TV.
I’m even quoting Van Hagar…
Well if you wanna see other guys…
Baby, I could let it slide.
You want a lover, you want a friend?
Mama, I can be both of them…
I never used to quote Van Hagar.
One thing that has changed is that, I give even less of a shit than I ever have about being politically correct or about what other people think of me or about pissing anyone off. It’s awesome. It’s almost as liberating as not watching the news since June of 2008. At the same time, I have a much higher appreciation and respect for what is important to others. I appreciate how much some people embrace their culture or heritage. These things are important. It’s what makes us who we are.
That said, I have little tolerance for “non-sense” – my new favorite word.
This leads me to a follow-up topic from last week…
So, what is up with the Native Americans?
Last week, they whined about the No Doubt video which was subsequently “pulled”.
Well, this week they were back at it again and got upset with Victoria’s Secret.
Apparently, we 20 year old Victoria’s Secret model, Karlie Kloss, strolled down the runway in noting but a feather headdress, buckskin bikini and some turquoise jewelry. An outfit which the Vicky Secret folks thought would represent Thanksgiving, the Native American community was, once again, “outraged” for its misappropriation of cultural attire.
Seriously? All I saw was a hot chick wearing a bikini, some jewelry, and some feathers.
Would they have been less upset if she wore only the headdress? …less feathers?
I don’t get it. Do they think they have the exclusive rights to use a feather headdress?
Guess what? Natives inhabitants from around the globe incorporated the use of feathers when decorating themselves, their women, children, chiefs and others. I’m thinking that the use of a feather headdress is in the public domain and it’s nothing more than a feather headdress. Not some symbol of any Native American community. Especially not when it’s on a hot chick in a fashion show.
Then – get this, some blog, who I will not popularize by naming or linking, said that VS was “jumbling all American Indian cultures into one mish-mash”. No they weren’t. It looks like a mish-mash of things to you because, it wasn’t patterned after you. It wasn’t meant to represent any American Indian anything.
And by the way, I have read the reports concerning the high number of rape cases involving Native American women. There are some very disturbing reports out there. It is a very sad situation that deserves the utmost attention and investigation and needs to be stopped. But to say that Victoria’s Secret was somehow trying to sex-up Native American women at a time when Native American women are being targeted by rapist is really ridiculous (aka “non-sense”) and quite a stretch to try and get a rise out of people. I don’t see it.
Just in case you’re curious, all other outfits showcased at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show appeared to only created a mish-mash of non-Native themes and only sexed-up non-Native white women and that seemed to be OK with everyone. except maybe me – I’m definitely offended here somewhere. Not sure where. I’ll get Barnsley working on it.
He thinks I am mostly offended by what Lily Aldridge wore…
Lily Aldridge – Red, White & Blue Head of the Week
I think he’s right.
I’m so offended that I’m making her Red, White & Blue Head of the Week.
Archie’s People…
My people, by the way, were originally from Hispañola and had migrated to Caobana (“Cuba”). Most of our people were slaughtered during colonization. I believe one eye-witness described the scene as – a village of about twenty-five hundred who welcomed the Spaniards, fed them and gave them drink, was immediately wiped out once the feast was over, “they set upon the Indians,” he wrote, “slashing, disemboweling and slaughtering them until their blood ran like a river.”
So pardon me if I occasionally have to wear a few feathers in honor of my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great ancestors…
Archie “Hatuey” Oso Corriendo
Now I know what’s going to happen. I have friends who are going to say to me, “hey… I’m part Cherokee or I’m part Navajo”. Two things: 1) I got no beef with you. I still love you, Brothas. 2) After writing that, I’m really thinking you guys should go after the auto industry.
A Continuation of Political Incorrectness…
Remember Antoine Dobbs? Well, he’s not back but I think there’s a sequel.
This song is so catchy, I’ve been singing it for days.
Who has time to have a song stuck in their head, “ain’t nobody got time for that”..?
Here’s YouTube Hit “Sweet Brown”. The full news clip followed by the “video mix”…
I know. I love it. It’s OK – go back and play it again.
I think each of the 9 million viewers should send her a dollar.
That would be awesome. I bet she’d have time for that.
Reflections of the Arch…
So, remember the days when Archie was funny? I know. Some misguided readers still think I’m funny. No, no… I mean really funny. What killed those days? Was it politics? Was it the election? Was the turning 51? Is it the missing redhead?
[Barnsley is overheard off stage: “Missing Redhead?”]
Ain’t nobody got time for that, Barnsley.
“These wheels keep turning but they’re running out of steam…”
I do have a lot to talk about.
But I don’t know if I have the energy to speak or write.
Oh, while I’m thinking about it. I heard a rumor that certain ladies out there are considering dying their hair red to try and qualify for Redhead of the Week. I love it!
Oh and check this out, my fellow Floridians…
And sign this online petition, today!
If you’re not from Florida, you can use that site and find one or start one for your state.
After the recent presidential election, 20 states filed petitions asking to withdraw from the Union. What’s funny is the people commenting on other websites saying, “if Florida recedes from the Union, I’m moving”. LOL… Well, there’s no need to pack. States cannot actually leave the Union. I think this is merely a symbolic gesture. Nevertheless, we got our 25000 signatures. So now, the white house actually has to issue a response. I love it.
OK but… Back to me.
An Archie Hiatus?
I think I need some time off. I think I need to spend some time listening to nothin’ but the sound of the wind powering some sails and some warm Caribbean waters splashing against the hull.
So, is it over?
“It’s not over until we say it is.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
[Barnsley: Germans?”]
“It may be over but it won’t stop there,
I am here for you if you’d only care.”
[Bansley: James Blount, really?”]
I know. Sorry Barns.
Anyway, the big question is…
Will Archie be back? …after the holidays? …in 2013?
My answer is probably…
“…or we’ll just end up walkin’ in the cold November rain.”
– Arch
Everything that is wrong with America…
November 9, 2012
Captain America’s been torn apart
Now he’s a court jester with a broken heart
He said, turn me around and take me back to the start
I must be losing my mind, are you blind?
I’ve seen it all a million times
So, this has nothing to do with the election…
(at least the first part doesn’t)
First of all, it has to do with the New York Marathon.
As you probably know, after Hurricane Sandy put a serious hurting on the Northeastern U.S., leaving many without homes and many more without power, the New York Road Runners, organizers of the event, decided to cancel this year’s marathon. New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg favored moving forward and continuing to hold the race. Due to overwhelming public criticism, however, the Road Runners decided to cancel the event. Seriously?
I understand that Sandy left many people devastated with the loss of family, homes and whatever else you can think of. And if the marathon were held and it’s organizers didn’t offer to somehow support the Hurricane Sandy victims, we could surely criticize them then and call them insensitive and/or greedy. But who are we, the whiny American public, to demand that an organization like the New York Road Runners should suffer an even greater hit than what Hurricane Sandy had already delivered.
Instead of putting the marathon in a position to help, this decision, based on public criticism, is potentially costing the marathon millions in lost revenues, refunds to runners, and refunds to sponsors and television broadcasters who paid for an event that didn’t happen. Not to mention all the money spent by runners, many of whom traveled to New York, only to then find out that the event was being cancelled.
Have we really become a country of “poor us”, “poor them”, “poor me”..? And once someone cries “poor me”, then everything else is fair game, regardless of who gets hurt? If this were a smaller, or less well-funded, organization this cancellation could put them out of business. I guess no one cares about that and all the goodwill that the marathon generates every year. Shame on us – the whiny American public.
Next is the No Doubt video…
You know No Doubt… Gwen Stefani… Possibly the coolest hot chick on the planet?
Well, No Doubt released a video for their new song, Looking Hot. (Yes, Gwen – you are.)
Gwen Stefani “Looking Hot”
After watching the video, I’m convinced that Gwen and the boys were making fun of old cowboy/western movies but apparently the Native American community found the video offensive. Seriously? How is this video offensive? Oh, that’s right… It’s the whiny American public again or, in this case, the whiny Native American public.
I know – there go my chances or ever running for public office.
God forbid that I exercise amendment given right of freedom of speech.
Maybe I don’t like Sterlin Harjo’s portrayal of white people in his film Barking Water. Aaron Riggs plays the part of Elvis in the film. Is Harjo saying that all white people from Tennessee remind him of Elvis? …or is he making fun of white American heritage? I’m offended either way – or – is it possible that I’m just being a little overly sensitive? You know, like the turmoil over the No Doubt video.
Aaron Riggs as Elvis
BTW… Nothing personal, Sterlin, I was just trying to prove my point.
So, in the end, No Doubt took their video down down from their official Vimeo and/or YouTube sites and issued an apology stating, “it was never our intention to offend anyone”. Of course, you weren’t… This whole ting is silly. The good thing is that, although the video has (technically) been “pulled”. I found it here…
http://en.musicplayon.com/play?v=775232
Hopefully it stays up for a while there.
So now, you watch it and you tell me…
Do you find this potentially offensive in any way?
Whiny America wins again.
By the way, once upon a time, right after the first No Doubt tour, Gwen Stefani dyed her hair red. Apparently she didn’t like it but that shouldn’t stop her from being this week’s Redhead of The Week…
And now, onto the election…
Neither candidate really addressed the issues surrounding our nation’s debt crisis. That’s probably because it is spiraling out of control and no one really know what to do about it. Not talking about it is a good political strategy because, to solve it, all Americans will have to feel the pain and we the whiny American public doesn’t want to hear about that. So let’s ignore the problem and see if it goes away. My bet is that it will not.
All that said, President Obama ran a brilliant campaign. He kept focusing on the fact that Romney was a rich guy who had made a lot of money and pays less taxes than you do. Of course, the taxes part isn’t true but political campaigns are mostly immune to whole truth in advertising thing. So, if you’re not a rich guy, it’s pretty easy to hate rich guys – after all, they have everything. If on top of that, he pays less taxes than we do – then he’s just a self-centered lyin’, cheatin’ bastard right? Of course he is.
Then there’s the part where Romney wanted to fix healthcare, medicare and social security because the mathematicians will tell you that the current system is going to fail soon. Well, it was easy to say, “Look – the rich guy wants to change everything and screw you out of the things that you’ve been promised”. So, instead of taking responsibility for these things, let’s just stay the course, ignore the problems, and hope they go away. My bet is that they will not.
At the end of the day, President Obama brilliantly targeted the whiny American public and said, “poor you, poor me – please don’t let the rich guy run our country. Instead, I promise to take from the rich and give to poor you” …and the whiny American public voted.
Now, let’s put the election behind us and start “the real work”. Let’s figure out how to unite Americans on common ground and form a new major political party. Let’s focus on the things we all want and throw out the things that divide us and should have anything to do with our national government. I believe more than 60% of America will join us if we do this properly. Then our country can really start to make progress and end the ridiculousness which defines American politics today.
You can start today. Obama was re-elected. Now let’s see if he’s willing to start fixing things. Weren’t you tired of watching the dirtiest election campaigns in history with all the lies and negative ads? Thank you to the Supreme Court and Citizen’s United for that. Well, again – let’s see if we can fix it. Let start here. By signing this open letter to the President.
https://www.unpac.org/dear-mr-president/
Thanks for reading…
Thanks for caring…
– Arch
The highway’s jammed…
November 2, 2012
…with broken heroes on a last chance power drive.
Everybody’s out on the run tonight,
but there’s no place left to hide
Who is Wendy?
Well kids, it’s crunch time.
If I can leave you with one thought, it would be this…
Never, ever elect any president for a second term – never.
You see, it’s in the second term when they get really crazy.
If they did really crazy stuff on their first term, they know they won’t get re-elected.
So, until we can follow the manifesto and launch or own party – just keep switching sides.
Some would argue that this would prevent anything for ever getting done in Washington.
Really… How would that be any different than the last 20 years?
And here’s another thing (because, I’ve been drinking) –
Boooo! …on the whole system.
You know what we need to focus on? Our financial crisis.
Both presidential candidates know about this. They both understand that our problem is looming – but neither one is really addressing this. That makes them both criminally irresponsible – in my opinion. The problem is that, most Americans don’t understand what’s going on. They don’t think it’s real – but it is. And I think this video does a fairly good job at explaining it, in mostly non-partisan rhetoric…
So, you know who you need to vote for?
You need to vote for whoever you think has a snowball’s chance in hell of addressing this.
Me? i already voted.
Early voting my friends. I love it.
By the time we find out who won, I’ll be in Puerto Rico. Seriously!
If you’re reading this – you should be with me.
That’s it. Short and sweet. I gotta run.
I have a plane to catch and Barnsley is ordering up another round of Presidente Margaritas!
Although I doubt the best man will win – because, he’s not really in the running,
Let’s all make sure we’re making America #1. See you on the other side.
Cheers
Love yas!
– Arch
Archie Kobain 