The Sugar Aftermath

Watched The To-day Show this morning a bit. Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, and Morgan Freeman were on the show, sitting in with the hosts, to promote their upcoming paycheck film Last Vegas. They all looked extremely uncomfortable except Michael Douglas who was slightly manic. They were asked to comment on whether or not a sweater being sold with the words "Don we now our fun apparel" was too politically correct for changing "gay" to "fun." Kline said it was too stupid to even comment on.

Let me comment on it for just a moment. I guess no-one uses "gay" to mean happy anymore. I'm not sure the sweater is an example of political correctness so much as a reflection of how differently words are used now than they were when the song was written. But on the other hand, what's wrong with donning homosexual apparel, if there is such a thing? It's not politically correct--it's uptight. Not necessarily homophobic, just a sort of pathetic cowardice. That's the other kind of PC--there's Personal Computer, Politically Correct, and Pathetic Cowardice. Possibly also Peanut Custard.

I handed out candy for Halloween last night for the first time in I don't know how long. I bought three big bags of candy--one with an assortment of Skittles, M&Ms, and Snickers, another with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and one with just Smarties which turned out to be by far the most popular. I had actually begun to refrain from handing them out because it occurred to me parents might not want their kids eating candy that's not totally sealed--the Smarties wrapper is closed at the ends with just a twist. But when kids saw them in the bowl they immediately requested them. One little boy indignantly demanded them and reached into the bowl after I'd already given him a Snickers and some M&Ms.

I suspect it's because Smarties are basically pure sugar. Why suffer middlemen like chocolate or caramel when you can just mainline the stuff?

Most of the little girls were dressed as fairy princesses, one was dressed as Cinderella. Most of the little boys were dressed as either Spider-Man, Iron Man, or Thor. One was dressed as Green Lantern. I saw one kid dressed as Darth Vader and I almost said, "Hey, that's what I wore on Halloween when I was your age."

One little girl was dressed like a cow and her brother was dressed like a jester. They looked about six and eight respectively. Something funny about those two. I could see them performing with the travelling minstrels in The Seventh Seal.