Stew’s On
“America isn’t divided by region or religion. America is divided by jerks. Who wants to bring a bunch of jerks together with the rest of us? Let them stew in Berkeley, Boston, and Ann Arbor,” P.J. O’Rourke writes in his “Alternate Inaugural Address.” Having just returned from Boston (for the Mystery Hunt!), and braving single-digit temperatures here in A2, we can only wonder how we got stuck in the least appealing of the three stewpots.
I resemble that remark!
posted by Dave on January 19th, 2005 at 4:34 pmYay, what that is, is ideological capital, baby. What would be worse than being pinpointed as a town of radicals and “jerks?” Being totally forgotten and overlooked, of course!
posted by doubleL on January 19th, 2005 at 9:21 pmWhatever. P.J. O’Rourke is an ass.
posted by Mr. Man on January 19th, 2005 at 10:51 pmY’know what I like to do? Every now and then, I take a moment to remember that PJ O’Rourke was once funny.
posted by js on January 20th, 2005 at 1:19 amIt was before my time, but we have written record of it. He wasn’t always a triumphalist blowhard masturbating to the sound of his own piety.
He didn’t always eat at HP Pickleshitters.
Sometimes, if I’m feeling the needs of nostolgia are not yet filled, I remember that once upon a time Dave Barry also made me laugh.
That time was middle school.
But, I suppose, if the best National Lampoon can do anymore is Van Wilder, even PJ O’Rourke can quit trying to do anything worthwhile.
Good to see that he excluded himself from that list of jerks, because it leaves open mentioning that a jerk is someone who tries to pretend that not only were they destined to win, but that their opponents were wrong to oppose them. A jerk is someone who claims to be Christian, but forgets what Jesus said about those commandments, and forgets that the commandments on the stone tablets were lost forever. Apparently one of the requirements for non-jerkdom is an inability to maintain the consistency of religious mythology.
But hey, there’s no continuity editor for the Bible, now is there? To ask for one would make me a jerk.
Thank God I live in Ann Arbor.
I definitely liked him better before he more or less became a Republican Party hack.
posted by Dave on January 20th, 2005 at 10:00 amIt’s nice that about half the country is considered as jerks. It’s even nicer that the half that sustains the red states is called jerks. considering that most of the states that voted blue are net donor states. Hmmmm.
posted by Kozzie on January 20th, 2005 at 10:13 amEchoing some of the earlier posts:
PJ O’Rourke is surprisingly funny on (NPR’s) “Wait, wait, don’t tell me,” — he rarely mentions politics.
posted by Anna on January 20th, 2005 at 1:32 pmPJ O’Rourke used to be surprisingly funny in Rolling Stone, and he did mention politics. Not only that, I disagreed with him vehemently and still found him funny. Now, I just disagree.
posted by js on January 20th, 2005 at 2:52 pmI once won Carl Castle’s voice on my answering machine on that show… (WWDTM)
posted by OFW insurgent on January 20th, 2005 at 4:54 pmSo how does that work? Does Carl send you a tape or something?
posted by tom on January 20th, 2005 at 4:57 pmI, too, used to read National Lampoon way back in the late 70’s, and I enjoyed P.J.’s stuff then. Of course, I was much younger, and he wasn’t trying to be a Republican Party Reptile (his words). He really is a right-wing troll these days, and way too pompous to be funny. Got a free copy of his latest book recently, and was unable to make it past the first chapter. All of it reads like a long defense of why he is the way he is. Shame.
posted by Dan Arbor on January 21st, 2005 at 1:38 amI never got my acto together in getting Carl’s voice…had to get back to them with codes and such and I just didn’t get around to it. One of these days I may claim this prize, if I can find their e-mail…
posted by OFW insurgent on January 21st, 2005 at 10:04 amI saw them record in person (WWDTM). PJ O’Rourke was there, as was Karl Kastle — it was actually pretty fun. Karl looks very dignified — just as you’d expect.
posted by Anna on January 21st, 2005 at 11:14 amwow, it’s incredibly disheartening to see his name is spelled in the manner of Krispi Kreme…doesn’t seem worthy of him.
posted by OFW insurgent on January 21st, 2005 at 3:34 pmMy father once told me, as we passed a Go-Kart track in rural Alabama, that we couldn’t go there because people who spelled words with K’s instead of C’s were Nazi sympathizers.
posted by js on January 22nd, 2005 at 5:30 pmShame on you, Karl Kastle.
Take that, Kris Kristofferson, and quit spouting your anti-Semitic Bobby McGee bullshit, too!
posted by Dale on January 22nd, 2005 at 10:51 pmYou forgot Ithaca.
posted by Jen on January 23rd, 2005 at 9:46 pmKarl Kastle is a raging alcoholic. His dignified voice comes from years of a special throat therapy prepared by Dr. Jack Daniels. He usually spends WWDTM passed out in a chair in the corner. When someone taps him he wakes up suddenly and shouts deliriously, “And I’m Karl Kastle!” and then passes out again.
So sad.
posted by KKCC on January 24th, 2005 at 4:26 pmWow, even the least controversial people in the world apparently have detractors.
posted by Anna on January 25th, 2005 at 1:12 pmWell, he’s no Don Pardo.
posted by js on January 25th, 2005 at 2:17 pmWe were all wrong about the spelling — it’s Carl Kassel.
posted by Anna on January 27th, 2005 at 5:50 pm