Arthur Dent once said, "I knew it. I always felt there was something sinister going on beneath my nose but I just couldn't place it." Only to be replied to by Slartibartfast "No that's just regular paranoia. Everyone has that."
I didn't get the quote right, but I'm betting that I'll go back and find the actual quote and insert it later if I remember it.
I, like Arthur, have a healthy sense of paranoia. Too much seems to not make sense to not have some deeper story that what's on the surface. If I was more ambitious this could definitely make me a really good (or dead) investigative journalist. But, since I'm not, coming up with conspiracy theories seems like a better use of my time.
The latest theory is that there's a certain non-story 'going around' that every journalist is 'catching' hold of. It's 'spreading' faster than a wild fire, and personally I 'wash my hands' of the whole thing. Ok that last attempt at a pun was a little weak. But while you 'rub your eyes' (no don't) and shake your head, think about it.
How many people are there in the world. A billion, give or take a few hundred million. How many people have become infected, in the last week. Less than a thousand. How many have died? About 150 I think the count is. If the statistics are to be believed, about 10,000 have died from cancer in the same time period, in the US alone. But because of the hype that is being put on this, Egyptians have started killing all their 'swine'. When the outbreak is over, they're just not going to have any bacon for a while, and have to import some more. Probably from Mexico.
I can't help but wonder what's really going on, that our attention should be on. Now that everyone knows that we should be washing our hands regularly, and not coughing in other people's faces, I say it's time that reporters go back to covering things that matter.
Oh and here's the real quote.
Arthur: All my life I've had this strange feeling that there's something big and sinister going on in the world.
Slartibartfast: No, that's perfectly normal paranoia. Everyone in the universe gets that.
Goodness me. Has it really been nearly a month? Well I'll just get to it.
This is another 'rant' post so if you have tender souls or of a weak constitution, be forewarned. I'll try to keep it tame though.
I'm getting tired of the phrase "in this economy". It gets used in advertising for anything a la, "In this economy it's important to pay close attention to your finances. That's why we want you to buy this frivolous crap that we're hawking." I've heard it for cars mostly, but also for health care/insurance, various food items, phone service, television service, Internet service ... just about anything that you can pay money for, the term is being used.
My two big beefs are these. That you have to advertise that you have them for sale indicates already that it's a non-essential item. Essential items don't advertise. You never see an advertisement for tap-water, that usually just ends up on the news if it's contaminated. And while you see foods advertised, it's always the sugar-cereal, prepackaged, ready to eat or severely overpriced stuff. When was the last time you saw lettuce take center stage in an ad. Heck it's been awhile since I saw a Got Milk ad now that I think of it. The point is these are the things we need.
The other beef is this. If we didn't need them the DJIA was up over 13,000 and money flowed like potatoes over a conveyor belt, why when the line is heading toward the bottom of the chart, and money is tight do we suddenly decide that it's fiscally irresponsible not to buy a new car. Makes perfect sense right. You have no money, buy a car. In this economy you need a car payment.
