Overheard at Table 2: Seedpods

Seedpods

we didn't notice them at first.
seedpods.
on buses,
at train stations,
streetlamps,
in grocery carts.

then, a noise, like locusts hum
that filled the sky,
and all the seedpods broke
open at once, and all the 
babies,
so hungry.




MR
2022-0313

(possibly written while on vacation in El Salvador)

Overheard at Booth 4: Birraporretti's

Birraporetti's

walked in without reservations, which was a bit of an issue.  still, it was before the rush, so they were able to get us a table within 5 minutes (even if it was the table for two right in front of the host station, where all those with reservations stood around staring at us while we ate)

the food was well-worth that price as well, and for being downtown Houston and for being in the times of great inflation, the prices were not exorbitant.   we shared the mushroom caps appetizers, which were very delicious, with the perfect blend of cheeses.  my wife had the personal pizza and I had the crab cakes, which were done to delicate perfection with a flavor that was so wonderfully seasoned that it was a simple joy to eat them.

definitely a place to make a reservation, so that you can have a quiet table to enjoy your meal, away from having to hear some lady ask the hostess if they were short staffed.  

the hostess, not skipping a beat, replied, "no ma'am, we are fully staffed.  we're just short on tables."

Overheard at Table 4: Numbers

Numbers can be considered to be like words, and mathematics can be like any language.  Both numbers and words are created by humans, but the concepts that they represent exist (i.e. a rock "is" just as pi "is") but those concepts would "be" even if the words "rock" and "pi" were never thought of by human beings.

Overheard at Booth 1: The Statement of the Arbiters of Cultural Heritage (ACH)

The Arbiters of Cultural Heritage (ACH, for short) step up to the podium and, gathering around, tap the microphone and state, "We, the Arbiters or Cultural Heritage hereby declare that, to take a stand against Euro-centered White-pseudo Christ Imperialism and all its detrimental effects, all deeply held ancient cultural traditions are to be honored and respected."

"Awesome!" shouts Japan, "Now we can go slaughter some dolphins!"

"Wait, what?" 

Newfoundlanders jump up and say, "Righty-o, lads, we're off to shoot some seals!"

ACH leans into the microphone.  "That's ... uhh, not what we meant!"

A coalition of African, Middle Eastern and Asian groups, led by a group from Ghana, shout, "We are glad to hear we can finally stop getting Western pushback for removing the clitorises from our pre-pubescent girls!"

The ACH huddles together.  "Err ... we might need to rethink this a bit."

Overheard at Booth 4: Intersectionality

"Mom, what does intersectionality mean?"

"It means you get to choose from among several different cultural traumas."

Overheard at Table 3: Ukraine Invasion in the Two Medias

At the gym the other night, I'm on the treadmill and watching the huge panel of screens in front.  There were about twenty, all down the length of the wall.  From each position you could only see about six or seven with any quality.  I didn't have any headphones with me, so for 40 minutes I was watching all of them by their subtitles, which actually proved to be a great equalizer, of sorts.

The stark difference that was most clear was the difference between CNN and Fox News.  CNN was discussing the Russian war in Ukraine, and for the entire span of time, there was detail about Russian troop movements, where they were advancing and where they were bogged down, there was discussing about their targeting of the nuclear facilities, there was a story about a "heroic" boy who walked alone for a day to the Polish border with nothing but his passport and a sandwich (to which I immediately thought, "Central American children do this all the time, but with no passport and no sandwich.")  The coverage seemed clear, concisely stated, thorough.

Fox News, by contrast, was nothing but a barrage of scattershot.  There was one guy before Tucker Carlson, but both seemed to be of the same thread.  The articles were: Joe Biden has been dangling NATO membership for Ukraine for years, Joe Biden has been playing Ukraine for years, Hilary (note they used her first name and not her last) admits that US could be tougher on Putin.  There was also a segment with some former military official discussing Russian troops missteps in Ukraine.  

Also, there was a brief segment about Russian troops finding chemical making facilities in Ukraine.  This seems to be alluding to the Far Right Q-Anon conspiracy that Putin (aided by Trump) is trying to find and destroy secret storehouses in Ukraine where Dr Fauci is making some sort of concoction to rule the world).  It was a brief segment, but interesting to note: it seems as though Fox News keeps throwing stuff out there to see what sticks.  So, if this idea gains traction, they can say they broke the news first, and if the story goes away, they can quietly bury it.

Fox News also caught onto Joy Reid's segment in which she claimed that the world is watching Ukraine because Ukraine is filled with white people.  What saddens me about her stance is that it really does nothing but give more fire to Conservatives to say, "SEE!  They make EVrything about RACE!" ... Fox then went on to mock the Democrats:  "Media Blames Ukraine Invasion on Racism and Trump"

Fox kept saying, "Media" as though they are not "Media" ...bizarre.

Fortunately, both CNN and Fox were separated by Chopped, a cooking competition show, and "Ride Along" with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.   Chopped was competing with lobster, and Ride Along was right at that hilarious scene in which Hart thinks he's on a 126 in a strip club where two guys are brandishing guns and threatening to shoot, and he (thinking it's not real) keeps taunting them.  That was a very well done piece of cinematography and screenwriting: really builds the tension with a balance of danger and humor.

Overheard at Table 1: Barr the ... Buffoonery

Billy: Heard William Barr on NPR today.

Joe: Still bloviating?

Jim: Says Pompeo played Trump.

Bob: How's that?

Billy: Says whenever Trump was chewing Pompeo out about something, all Pompeo had to do was say the word "Russiagate."

Joe: Then Trump would go off chasing that tangent.

Jim: And he'd forget what he was mad about in the first place.

Bob: So, his inner circle treated him like an Alzheimer's patient.

Billy: Pretty much.

Joe: And Barr says he'd vote for Trump in 2024?

Jim: Yup.

Bob: That kinda shows you how much Barr hates this country, don't it?

Billy: As if we didn't already know.

Joe: True.