Sunday, February 11, 2007

Dave Matthews and birth control

So for a week or two, Planned Parenthood was running these print ads in alternative weeklies. I think I must have come across these ads when I was back in Seattle, since here in Indy there really isn't an "alternative weekly" worth the name (but don't get me started on this topic). Anyway the ad was mainly annoying (but a little clever): on the left-hand column it listed a bunch of apparently common (?) "male" habits (pissing in the shower, calling girls "dude," etc.) that females (some anyway) find quite annoying. In the right-hand column, it said something like "proactive birth control," which of course meant that "if you do these things, guys, you're never getting any action" or something along those lines. All of which of course was meant to be cheeky and something that could generate laughs (or at least tepid chuckles) among members of both genders. Or at least the twenty-something readers of these alternative weeklies who wouldn't find the ads extremely lame (i.e. nobody I know).

So where was I going with this...? Oh yeah. This weekend at a very fine club was a very fine benefit for an organization I support: Planned Parenthood. What's wrong with this picture? The headlining band looked ok, but supporting them was an act that claimed Dave Matthews as an inspiration. Uh-oh. Immediately I thought back to the ad in the Stranger: "proactive birth-control," and so forth. The thought of someone actually having sex, or even THINKING about sex while listening to Dave Matthews makes me almost....ill. Surely they're the most unsexy band in the world. Well, maybe behind Styx.

And the most sexy band in the world: Kraftwerk.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Wow -- how long has it been?

Ahem,
OK yes it's been a long time since the last post. I've been very busy and working on lots of other things: a book review, an article, my job, improving my 5k time (my new slogan: 5k a day). Also, it's not like I have millions of readers. I'll probably put this blog to bed at some point in the near future, but till then at least one more post. Probably more, even.

1. On pain: on my 5k run today my quadriceps muscle just gave out. It was hurting the whole time anyway, but I'm stupid and I tried to ignore it. About 3/4 of the way through the run it just tore, and I had to hobble off the track. My time this week is now under 25 minutes. But right now I can barely walk. Ugh.
2. A friend of mine here is having girl problems, which deepens my cynicism even more about the possibility of any lasting harmony between the sexes. But of course this is the material from which fine novels and great songs are made, so I won't theorize too much about it here. The best that can be said about this tension, perhaps, is that it makes things interesting. But I sometimes wonder whether others feel so deeply skeptical and cynical about the whole enterprise, or (conversely) whether I just flatter myself for thinking that I'm the only one who thinks this way.
3. Goddamn my leg hurts!
4. Spring Vacation a few weeks away. A respite from the cold is becoming necessary. It's only 14 degrees right now I think.