The whole thing got me wondering: Just what the heck did we all do before Google? And how much dumber are we now because we have it? Why read, why learn, when you can just go and Google it?
A few days ago I got into a conversation with a sales clerk who reminded me of the actress Helen Mirren. When I told her that, she confided that she always wanted to look like Sandra Dee. I said, "Well, at least you're still alive." She was shocked, and said, "Oh no, when did she die?" Meanwhile my husband, who never even heard of Sandra Dee because he was a mere tot when I was a teen and Sandra ruled at the box office, got his Google on and within seconds delivered the gory details of her death, her disease, her broken marriage, her bitter end, and every movie she ever made. End of conversation.
Mitch is the fastest draw around these parts when it comes to his iPhone. On the one hand, he's good to have around during the Sunday Times crossword puzzle. On the other, he's always right.
Anyway, I'd rather be called Acca Larentia instead of Rhadamanthus any day. At least she was a girl.
5 comments:
Andrea--are you accusing me of not being straightforward because I used a metaphorical reference from Greek mythology to describe my friend and my respect for her judgment? Just because you didn't get the reference, it doesn't mean that I wasn't being straight. Rhadamanthus--a wise king considered to be so just and incorruptible that he was appointed as a judge of the dead in the underworld. Edith Hamilton, Mythology, 9th grade English, hardly obscure. Much more significant and recognizable than Acca Larentia, the foster mother of Romulus and Remus, a benefactor of Rome and a whore by reputation. You know, you are right in one sense. Right after I made the post calling my friend Rhadamanthus, I realized that it should have been "Rhadamanthus in high heels." Judy Tipton, the creative director to whom I applied the allusion, looks like Candice Bergen. Does that piss you off? Why would identifying Judy with the actress by name be more straightforward than the allusion to the mythological figure? You're mad because you had to look something up? Where was Mitch? Couldn't he look it up for you. I'll bet that he wouldn't have to look it up. Or maybe you just like the feeling angry--maybe as much I like the feeling of remembering Miss Manto's freshman English class.
Okay, it's official: You have absolutely no sense of humor. I have long suspected this but now I have no lingering doubts.
And FYI, Mitch Rouda, the smartest man I know, was sitting right by my side when I read your post. Naturally I asked him if he knew of your Rhadahoosis, and he did not.
Apparently you were paying more attention in class than many other 9th graders. For example, Mitch says he was smoking a lot of pot that year.
As for the Candice Bergen reference, I have no idea what you are even suggesting, have no idea why that would piss me off, and in fact I was never pissed of to begin with! I was simply writing a humor column, something I once did for a living, for no pay. Whores, by definition, earn money.
I chose Acca Larentia (obviously you Googled THAT name immediately, proving my point) because she had 12 sons. Maybe one of them called on her birthday!
These cats is know-it-alls like Benefit. They're on some old mythology shit like Prince Ea and they're on this high-and-mighty better-than-you like Sam Adams. They wish they were Lil Wayne, sound like Asher Roth and probably make as much money as Wyze Geye.
I can drop references nobody's ever heard of, either. And, yes, it DOES boost my ego.
Well said, Sleepy--that's EXACTLY what I meant but couldn't quite figure out how to say it.
Thanks for seeing the truth so clearly!
right on sleepy.
I think using Google counts as learning. and not as cheating on crossword puzzles.
writesaroni? cute name, from San Francisco or something?
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