Another Thursday, another random series of thoughts

I was just in Barnes and Noble, our local bookseller. Actually, for a capital city of a state, there are surprisingly few booksellers. There used to be a Waldenbooks, but it went away. The other booksellers are of the pre-owned variety, and although I love the pre-owned bookstores, I was really looking for something recently released.

Come to think of it, we don't have a really good music store, either. Earlier this year, the local FYE closed it's doors, as well.

Have I mentioned that theatre is pretty sparse here, as well?

Well, there's always Book of the Month Club, Half.com, and all the rest of the silly catalogs that clog my mailbox with regularity.

I find myself in an almost constant state of surprise lately. If you could picture me, you'd see that the "surprised face" has now worked itself into a permanence upon my mug. It varies from a kind of "whoa" look, like the kind you get when you run into Mary Tyler Moore in a theatre lobby (and I mean, LITERALLY run into her, which I did back in '83.) to a full blown Edvard Munch THE SCREAM look.

The reason I'm so surprised is the lack of knowledge on the part of just about anybody I run into these days. We've become so compartmentalized in our society that if a thing has nothing to do with our daily comings and goings, we tend not to give a second thought, or in some cases, a first thought.

People let FOX and CNN think for them.
Can you say, "yikes?"
Louder!

Some of the things that made me shake my head until it rattled:

1. United States history.
I find it hard to believe that a lot of people out there don't know we fought a
war with England after the revolution. AND, I'm equally surprised that most
people don't know how close we came to losing both of them.
AND, can you imagine what would have happened at Gettysburg if Lee's calvalry
had shown up on time?
We'd all be speakin' with a drawl, y'all.

2. United States geography.
I'm not surprised that a lot of people can't point to Tennessee on a map. I'm
just really, really.....sad.

3. Literature.
The following authors elicited a "who?"
Edgar Allan Poe.
Victor Hugo.
Truman Copote.
F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I did get a hit with Charles Dickens, but it was A CHRISTMAS CAROL, so I'm not
overly enthused.

4. Politics.
Particularly, the electoral college. I forgive this, largely because even the
experts are idiots on this one.

Other random thoughts:

I understand there's a new ODD THOMAS book coming from Dean Koontz. Cool. If you haven't read these, pick them up. Fun.

Does anybody remember an album that came out in '95, called IN THE HOUSE OF STONE AND LIGHT? It was a great album, in my humble. Was nominated for Grammys. I figured a follow up album would be coming from the artist, Martin Page. And I understand it's due out this year. Thirteen years in the making. Makes Bob Seger look prolific.

Okay, off I ride.