DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> DC Viking: April 2008

Friday, April 25, 2008

I Miss Jed Bartett Too

Why is it that the only time I have any faith at all in democracy is when I watch a fictional portrayal of it on TV?

I just finished watching the last episode of HBO’s “John Adams”, and I have come to three earth shattering conclusions because of this mini-series.

1) John Adams, and everyone in his family, had really horrible teeth. I dig that HBO was striving for historical authenticity and I respect that the producers didn’t go the route of having the 18th century colonials in the series look like they just finished a weekend at a Palm Springs spa; but I spent more time considering the magnitude of halitosis that Adams’s cabinet had to contend with than I did thinking about the relevance of the Alien and Sedition Acts in today’s terror obsessed society.

2) Thomas Jefferson was kind of a prick.

3) This country will never, ever, again have leaders that care more for the well-being of the country than for their own advancement/power/ego.

Listen. I’m not naive. Okay, I’m a little naive, but I know that all of this country’s “Great Leaders” have all been real people with flaws and personal agendas. I’m not saying that the Founding Fathers were infallible, or that FDR was a god, or that Reagan was a pleasant dullard who has been unjustly elevated to the status of icon by a group of necrophiliac, revisionist, partisans, who wouldn’t know a good President from Dick Nixon. Actually, I am saying that last bit.

What I am saying is that somewhere in the last 40 or 50 years, the pursuit of national politics, be it Congress or the Presidency, has become the goal in and of itself. Very few good men or women bother with the highest levels of government. This isn’t news to most, and I don’t blame the people that could do good for the country for not submitting themselves to the 12th circle of hell that is running in a big time election. I wouldn't do it, even if there weren't a glut of incriminating pictures of me in the hands of several untrustworthy friends.

Everybody’s heard the line that may or may not have originated with Alexis de Tocqueville, “In a democracy, the people get the government they deserve.” I happen to believe this. It's just too bad that we the people suck it soft most of the time.

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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Totally Boss Video Wednesday

I'm going to play a little 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon with this week's video. We had sailboats last week. Who else has sailboats? Pirates!


"Mr Understanding" - Pete and the Pirates

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Totally Boss Video Wednesdays

Two things have been bothering me lately.

1) Nobody plays videos on TV anymore. Sure, you can get them easy enough on You Tube, but it's not the same. I like to have them integrated into my daily life without having to go find them.

2) The word 'Boss' is completely underutilized as an adjective.

In the hopes of correcting these situations, I've decided to introduce "Totally Boss Video Wednesdays". This week's video is "Mansard Roof" by Vampire Weekend, a band I've mentioned here before. This video actually kinda sucks, but the song is good, and it's got sailboats.



Just for reference, I don't dress like this when I'm sailing. I only wear that kind of attire when I'm trying to infiltrate a Georgetown bar.

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Love Shack

Miss Viking and I are moving in together. We will be cohabitating. Sharing space. Living in sin.

I was prepared to write a seven part series exposing the seamy underbelly of renting in the DC Metro Area. I haven’t been writing with regularity lately, so I was looking forward to a little continuity to keep me moving forward. Like I said, I was prepared to write this series, but events have conspired to eliminate my apartment search as a writing topic.

When I first moved to DC, I must have looked at 12 or 13 apartments and houses. The process was grueling. The geography of my new city was baffling to me, so I would drive around for hours, trying to navigate from one awkward roommate meet’n’greet to the next. By the end of the process I was so exhausted and disillusioned with the rental market and with humanity in general that I was ready to move into the first place that wouldn’t require me to sleep on a bunk below a violent felon. I was remarkably lucky that I wound up in a nice house with friendly roommates.

When Miss Viking accepted a job in Baltimore and we targeted Silver Spring as our likely municipality of residence, I expected a long and dispiriting process of house hunting that would test the bonds of our relationship. I figured this would be entertaining reading. Unfortunately (for you) we spent a grand total of 3 hours house hunting. We looked at two houses and a condo, fell in love with the last house we saw, and begged the leasing agent to hold it until June 1st for us.

Miss Viking is convinced that we’re the ideal renters, and that is why the owner has agreed to keep the house open for a month until my lease is up. Unable to accept our good fortune that easily, I’ve become convinced that there is something more sinister at work here. This house must be the home to some evil spirit, or a vermin infestation, or possibly the neighborhood is some type of Scientology commune. I’m not sure which one would frighten me more. Rats can be exterminated, a demon can be exorcised, but there is no good way to get rid of religious zealots.

I’ll keep you updated; and if anyone knows a good exterminator, ghost buster, or Tom Cruise, let me know.

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