Wales, Pt. 2

And we are back.

I had intended here a section about all the great things that increased my love of Wales, and a few things that are cool anyway. But rather than do all that, I will just talk in general about being a Walesophile (or whatever you want to call it).

I have a tattoo on my right arm of Y Draig Goch, the Red Dragon, which is the Welsh emblem, found on their flag, some local beer labels, and assorted other Walesful things. The most common first question regarding this is something along the lines of "What's the deal with the dragon?" The second is usually "So, are you Welsh." It's a natural question, to which my answer is usually "No, I'm just a fan."


Fig. 2a. A dragon on my arm, or an army of my dragon?

No one overtly seems to judge me for this, but then actively criticizing someone's tattoo is rather a faux pas, so they could just be polite. But, reactions in general are usually at least "oh cool," and at most "that's awesome!" The only situation related to the tattoo that has had me at a loss for proper reaction is when I met someone else who wasn't from Wales who had the same tattoo. It was the foreignese/Eurotrash employee of a local cafe; he pointed out my tattoo, said he had the same one, showed me (it was slightly further up his arm than mine, and it also had more friends), and we talked about how Wales is great and we both have visited and loved it. At first I was a little put off just by having the same tattoo as someone else, but once that had sunk in, I enjoyed the encounter quite a bit. Someone else understanding on that level really helped me feel less awkward about my generally Wales-influenced mental state.

I have been trying to teach myself the Welsh language for a couple years now, but it is very slow going. This is not because it is exceptionally hard to learn (the pronunciation is by far the hardest aspect and I've had that down for a while), but because it is hard to learn a language independently and completely removed from other speakers. If anyone wants to learn Welsh with me and speak it to the end of confusing others around us, and essentially having our own secret language in almost any situation, feel free to let me know.


Fig. 2b. Curiously, this is a google image search result for "Welsh language"

I have taken something of a liking as well to Welsh music. Wales' folk music is actually surprisingly different from Irish or Scottish music, bearing some resemblence to mainland northern European folk music in its tonality and flow. The most widely known form of indigenous Welsh music is male vocal choirs. Also popular among people who are me are the Super Furry Animals (who often sing in Welsh) and Tom Jones (who sadly does not). There are two annual festivals in Wales that I positively ache to attend. One is the National Eisteddfod (ay-steth-vod), the largest Welsh cultural event there is. This year it was in Mold; next year it will be in Cardiff. The other is the Fishguard Folk Festival. Fishguard is on the southwest coast of Wales, in Pembrokeshire, and the festival looks to be a sort of Welsh Folklife. Count me in, sirs.

I take interest in Welsh or Wales-themed literature and film. I cheer for Welsh teams when they pop up in sporting events (which is generally just in international rugby, unless I am paying attention to second-tier British football leagues). Sometimes, I bake Welsh cookies and cakes. Basically, two roads diverged in a forest, and I take the one that is Welsh. And that has made all the difference.

In the absense of real, substantial posts, I give you a selection of things on YouTube I've recently been enjoying a lot. I make no guarantee that you haven't seen any of these before.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sorIJekdcgo
A fan-made video of a song by the Bloodhound Gang. These are two things that, in most situations, would have no chance of being a good combination. Fans are idiots and the Bloodhound Gang are a shitty band that I have not enjoyed since I was 13. However, this is an amazing song with lyrics consisting of quotations of the great animated philosopher Ralph Wiggum.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xOeGM9wyTvU
The 80s were a strange time for commercials, especially if you were in Hungary.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zbSrx9uH0Tw
Many do not know this, but The Dubliners were not so much a band as a collective of beard enthusiasts.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cR8KmFP96us
Scary Brazillian Numetal Claymation.

Ok, have fun now!

Death: It surrounds us

Those of us who are fans of Dana Carvey and familiar with his work on Saturday Night Live will have a hard time with this news, as it is so easy to want to laugh, but at the same time definitely not the appropriate response.

Gerald Ford dead today at the senseless age of 93.

This is quite soon after the Christmas morning death of the godfather of soul, mr. James Brown. It's always remarkable to me how famous, influential, or interesting people can manage to die in groups. Remember last year, around April? Johnny Cochrane, Pope John Paull II, Terry Schiavo, Mitch Hedburg, and Bass Wolf died within weeks of each other.

I invite you all to respond with your thoughts on the recently departed, as well as who you think might kick off soon (Saddam is sort of the obvious answer).

This Is Spinal Tap and Airheads. Two of the best movies ever made about metal. Both star Michael McKean. Coincidence?



I THINK NOT.

Sci-Fi things

My housemate Liz is really into the Stargate tv series. I've watched a bit of it, and must confess that it is a pretty cool sci-fi series, and makes awesome references to the fact that MacGyver is on the cast (including using MacGyver as a verb!). However, it bothers me that in on the logo, the name is actually spelled STARGÅTE. This is done because, apparently, on the Stargate dealie, Å is the symbol for Earth. However, this means that the name really should be pronounced Star-Go-Tuh, or just Star-Goat. This has given me an idea for a children's show:

Star Goat and Friends.

Star Goat and Friends would be an animated series about a group of ethnically and culturally diverse children living on top of the mountain of Lochnagarr in Scotland, in a house balanced on the mountain's peak. The children would play around under the supervision of an androgynous person in a robe, the high priest of the Star Goat. The children would lead a merry life, regularly being visited by educated guests who would teach them about things such as how slate is mined or how to make a traditional Ethiopian meal. Then, at the end of every show, all would bow down as the (live action) Star Goat would appear on a giant screen and remind everyone what the day's listen is. The Star Goat's voice would be deep and sonorous, and he would speak Scots. Occasionally the English would invade, and would have to be fended off by the mighty will of the Star Goat.

Corpse Painting the White House

A first season episode of The West Wing I watched today really showed off how well the show's producers/writers did their homework by talking about neo-nazis and mentioning Graveland, although they made a slight mistake in citing "Following the Voice of Blood as their second album, when it is in fact their fourth (although maybe I misheard). Either way, I went nuts for that. The only thing that would have made it better is if it had been Det Som En Gang Var, but as they would probably have to say the title in English and explain the meaning more, it would have been a bit too awkward for the fast flow of the show.

Dumb Fun and Just Dumb

Last night I went to the Papa John's new employee orientation. It was a lot of paperwork and uniform handing out and going over rules, but the highlight was clearly the training video. As soon as I had been told I was going to an orientation meeting with a video, I thought of a particular sketch on one of my very favorite tv shows of the past, Mr. Show, wherein a Marilyn Manson-styled character is the host of a training video for his very own chain of pizza parlors. The sketch finished with the "16 Ps" of success, one of which was actually mentioned in the Papa John's video ("Positive Mental Attitude"). But, aside from the silly dress code rules* and dumb phrases, the video actually reminded me quite pointedly of another Mr. Show sketch called "No Adults Allowed," wherein middle-aged squares attempted to appear as teenagers on a cable access show. The video was really the perfect synthesis of Marilyn Monster's "We're cool and different but here are strict rules by which you must always abide and live by" and No Adults Allowed's "We're painfully out of touch with youth and reality but here's some hints of things we think we heard are cool; that's cool, right?"

So recently we've been hearing a lot about one Ann Coulter. Claiming that 9/11 widows are profiteering "harpies," that "all liberals want to live like Swedes,"** and that Jews are Christians but Episcopalians are "barely a religion," there is no shortage of things to correct her about. I mean, it's almost too easy. How does one even start to correct someone who purports (very specifically, I might add) that it's good that conservatives and Christians are pushing for Earth to be over-populated to the point of "standing room only."*** Perhaps the sheer incredulity that one can't help but feel in light of her bizarre opinions is why so many of her critics end up stumbling into ad hominem comments on her ghost-like face and Adam's apple. One is left gasping for air in a sea of disbelief, and her ugly neck and head are the only solid things one can stand to hold onto (perhaps holding onto her neck actually is a good idea) to escape drowning in the madness of her rants.


*The dress code at Papa John's includes: Belts must be worn if one's pants have loops; no form of visible body piercing or any jewelry is allowed (excludive of wedding bands but inclusive of watches); pants must be khaki; no facial hair between chin and ear lobe. Tattoos are strangely absent from any mention in these rules.
**And it's true!
***If you don't believe any of this -- and you probably shouldn't -- check out of the first chapter of her new book.

What All the Fuss Is About

Last night, I watched the first five episodes of Lost, and was pleasantly, but inconveniently surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Inconveniently, that is, because I will now have to go and watch every episode of it and may have to make sure I have working TV reception to watch new episodes. Dammit.

The show is very much character driven, which is always something I enjoy when done well, and there is a good balance of characters you can't help but like, characters you can't help but hate, and characters you can't help but feel ambivalent towards. Especially noteworthy among the cast are a lovable fat white guy who calls everyone "dude," a black guy who has just (a few days before the first episode) met his estranged son (whom he calls "man"), an sexy Iraqi technology expert*, and an older bald guy who reminds me of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper after all the stress and pies have caught up with him.

The first five episodes exposited the situation and principle cast well. The writing deals with issues like sexual and racial tension with a downright incredible amount of grace for a mainstream show.

*For a couple minutes in the first episode, I, with shameful amounts of wrongness, pegged him for Hispanic, but felt redeemed for recognizing that he distinctly wasn't Iraqi either, but rather of South Asian descent.