I love it when two teenagers ring up and bag my groceries.

"Did you ever see that Nicolas Cage movie about 9/11? I watched that last night, and, like, it got me thinking about how bad that was."

"Yeah it was bad! I'll tell you how bad it was. I lived in Connecticut and we used to go down once a year to the Twin Towers and the Statue of Liberty. And now we can't."

"Yeah, but, like, think how many people were in that building."

"I guess going up to Connecticut's going to be pretty boring now."

"Yeah."

"I just don't get war. Like, why would you want to give your life for something? That's, like, so crappy."


Four Replies to World Trade, Like, Something

Lori Lancaster | August 24, 2007
[hidden by author request]

Tony Peters | August 25, 2007
another reason why mandatory service to country would be a good thing

Jackie Mason | August 26, 2007
[hidden by author request]

Anna Gregoline | August 27, 2007
I still can't get over a quote (I'll have to paraphrase) I saw in an article about kids and 9/11 - one kid said, "It wasn't until I saw the 9/11 movie that I felt it was at all real."

Dramatized things seeming more real than actual news coverage is a startling indictment of our media culture.


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

24 Hours in Orlando

Recent conversation with Brenda: me: "It's nice to meet you!" Brenda: "It's nice to meet you too!" As Steve mentioned, Kelly and I drove up to Orlando on Friday night to have dinner with the vacationing West family. Go »

2012

What a great year. Kelly and I got engaged. Kelly gained permanent employment and health benefits. Go »

Mile-High Hypocrisy

The homeowners' association in a Denver suburb is furious that one of its residents has dared to put up a Christmas wreath in the shape of the peace symbol. (link) Yeah. Keep reading till the end. Go »

WLW: No Payin', No Gain

My weight loss plan – which has become our weight loss plan, since Kelly intends to do just about everything I do – is on hold until I can recover from the move, which took my last penny and then some. On the bright side, I've been eating less since getting together with Kelly, and I burned what felt like a week's worth of calories during that move. We should start walking soon before we settle into a daily routine. Go »

PIMP

Many thanks to Miah Poisson and Ines Sarante for throwing a great 30th birthday party for Miah this weekend. I don't play much Guitar Hero, but apparently I play enough to win a tournament against Miah's GH-obsessed coworkers, or maybe it's just because the game is ridiculously handicapped against experts. I'm just happy because I won a pimp stein: We ate lots of great food, had fun with karaoke, and talked until the hour was late. Go »

Thorough Performance Reviews

I'm not around much this week because it's time for the annual performance reviews at work. I'm staying up till the wee hours each night writing the reviews so that the two-day marathon of face-to-face chats at the end of the week will go well. It's a win-win: For the employees doing a great job, it's my chance to offer serious praise without it sounding phony or arbitrary. Go »