The original lineup of the Ramones prove that your song need only be 1:37 long.
I refuse to believe in Peoria, Illinois.
I do not mean to say Peoria, Illinois does not exist. I know it does. I’ve seen it on maps. I have also seen dragons and sea monsters on maps, but I know the difference between utility and decoration.
What I am saying about Peoria, Illinois is that I refuse to boost it. I will not give it a pat on the back. I will not give it a helping hand. I shall not help it rise above. I will not give it aid nor comfort.
It’s a spiritual belief I withhold from Peoria, Illinois.
I shall never say, “I believe in you Peoria, Illinois! You can do it!”
That’s a job for the insincere and the deluded; or the Peoria, Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Not me.
What has Peoria, Illinois ever done for me?
I suspect at least as little as it has done for you.
Peoria, in the past, has often been cited as an arbiter of mainstream taste. The saying “It will never play in Peoria” has been heard far more often than “If it will play in Peoria it can play anywhere.”
Peoria is a test market.
I refuse to grant encouragement for this behavior. It is my hope that, without my support, Peoria will wither away- never having achieved its ultimate potential.
Then I will address the problem of Schenectady, New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
From the director of “It’s Alive” and “God Told Me To,” it’s the low budget 80’s film about consumerism and junk food: “The Stuff.”
My Life As a Radical Lawyer by William M. Kunstler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A personal story:
When I was going to one of my colleges I drove a yellow Volkswagen super beetle. You may be aware that older cars get pulled over more often. I can attest to this. As soon as I started driving a new car I was never pulled over – no change in driving habits.
Yes, I bought this book – and I read it. But it was far more useful than that.
After I read it I kept it on the back seat of my yellow Volkswagen super beetle. Next to a thick spiral notebook and a copy of the book “100 cases against law enforcement.”
Thereafter, whenever I was pulled over, and the police did their “shine a light in the car before talking to the driver” bit, they saw these books.
Then they would thank me and let me go. Never a word of warning.
I would like to thank William Kunstler for inadvertently saving me from various unpleasant interactions.
Also, if you’re interested in radical lawyering, you could do worse than give it a read.
Confidentially, I’m just like everyone else.
Like most people, I separate all of my laundry into two piles: Colored and Whites Only. And it’s not because I’m prejudiced; it’s because that’s the way I was taught.
Then, I single out the white items for special treatment. It’s not even something I think about anymore. That’s institutionalized racism my friend.
Sadly, it doesn’t even stop there. No. In addition to separating out the White items for special treatment, I separate the Colored items into piles according to how Colored they are. Light, dark, medium. And I separate out the Reds completely. Nothing can ever mingle with the Reds. It’s a red scare.
Result: when I do the laundry I feel dirty.
Doing laundry is inherently bad. It feeds on the worst tendencies in a person. I am considering a boycott. Wait. That may be sexist. Girlcott? Personcott? I’m confused.
I’m confused every time I do the laundry. Why can’t I put the Reds in? It’s simple. Because everything else will turn pink. Actually, only things that are lighter will become pink. Those things that are more “susceptible” to a Red philosophy. But yes, things will turn pink. Usually a lovely shade of pink.
This causes many people to relegate these items, perfectly serviceable items of clothing, into the garbage or the back of a drawer. Or to use them as a dust rag. Why? Simple. Latent fear of homosexuality.
People discard their pink socks purely due to fear of homosexuality. That’s sad.
It’s despicable behavior. There is nothing wrong with pink clothing. It’s as good as any other clothing. It serves to get the job done. What is it that you people expect?
I own, and subsequently wash, a great deal of reject clothing. Seasonal markdowns. Discarded clothing. Irregular shirts.
I tend to buy all my shirts at half off, due to the fact that they’re irregular. Not irregular due to production glitches, but because they have deviant thoughts. Because of this they are ostracized by the merchandising system. They are placed in the discount bin, away from the “good” clothing, and sold at a bargain price. They are liquidated. Because they are irregular some people question whether they are “safe for children to wear” – though there has never been a single case of an irregular shirt harming a child.
When I bring them home and place them in the closet, the other clothes relegate them into a special corner, a ghetto of sorts, which the shirts refer to as “the hip section of the closet.” This is where all the culturally relevant events in the closet take place. If you’re going to be in the closet this is the section of the closet you want to be in.
The shirts always have the last laugh. They sway and influence the children of the other attire: the jeans, the sweaters, the shoes (who try so hard to raise their youth to be straight-laced).
Eventually, the shirts will triumph. It’s inevitable.
“Since my earliest childhood a barb of sorrow has lodged in my heart.
As long as it stays I am ironic if it is pulled out I shall die.”
- Soren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) ( A Great Dane)
also: “People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.” - Soren Kierkegaard
—
Søren Kierkegaard was a Great Dane. True.
Valentine’s day is on Sunday. So when Charlie Brown checks the mailbox that is the primary reason there will be no Valentine.
A secondary reason is that print is dead.
The tertiary reason is that people secretly hate him.

Wikipedia, first peanuts comic strip.
Amazon: The Complete Peanuts 1950-1954 Box Set
“It happened that a fire broke out backstage at a theater. The clown came out to inform the public. They thought it was just a jest and applauded. He repeated his warning, they shouted even louder. So I think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the wits, who believe that it is a joke.”
- Soren Kierkegaard Either/Or, vol. I
“I like you so much,
If I ever become a zombie I will try not to eat your brain.
… But I make no promises.”


via William J. Bivens :
“In the 1890s, an unknown woman was found drowned in the Seine. Known as the l’Inconnue de la Seine, her death mask became a fixture in the homes of artists and writers, and her look the ideal of the age.Many have speculated on her identity, and she has inspired a long list of artistic works by Nabokov, Rilke, Man Ray, and others. She has since become the “most kissed girl in the world” thanks to the Norwegian toymaker that used her mask to create Resusci Anne, the standard CPR doll.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L’Inconnue_de_la_Seine