Monday, July 03, 2006

as if i needed any further indications that my life is going wrong

I seem to have developed a new vice: Chocolate Lucky Charms. I'm not a praying man, but it would be irrational for me to fact that development and not say "God, help me." You might as well just start stapling slabs of lard to my posterior now, because you know they're a-coming.

This in addition to the strange habit I've developed of compounding my insomnia by reading various history entries on Wikipedia, mostly radiating outward from my recurrent fascination with the Battle of France (i.e., the one where France lost a whole war in 1940 and then managed later to get it reclassified as merely a 'battle'). I listened to the Churchill "We will fight them on the beaches..." speech a little while ago, which I'd previously always avoided because I heard it was disappointing to actually hear it, and it was. (Link here, which I'd avoid not just because it is disappointing but because it's a RealPlayer file and I hate RealPlayer.) I have shouted parts of that speech to myself while jogging--not that there is much real affinity between the plight of my shin splints and the plight of Britain just after Dunkirk--and I must admit I think I do a more rousing job.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. Does this mean the heaps of Cocoa Pebbles I have won't do and I should go out and stock up on Chocolate Lucky Charms?

2. I won't listen to anything that requires RealPlayer. Installing that program is just not worth it.

Sara said...

I had to giggle imagining another jogger near you listening to bits of Winston's speech. And then moving WAY OVER to the very edge of the pavement to not disturb the crazy runner.

jeremy said...

I don't jump, but I sometimes do a little hop on "beaches" and "fields."

jeremy said...

Eszter: I agree that RealPlayer is toxic, but sometimes classic oratory cannot be resisted.

Anonymous said...

Well, maybe that's where you and I differ. (Uhm, that's _one_ of the points on which you and I differ.)

Anonymous said...

Do keep in mind that the recording of the Churchill speech you have is not the original. That's merely a recitation Winnie did after the fact for the benefit of the BBC archives. The original was delivered to Parliament and was bound to have been a much livlier affair with lots of cheering and catcalls and playing up to the audience.

According to most accounts, Churchill was tremendous when playing to a crowd and an incredible bore one-on-one.