Brain Stains, vol. 2

by Jer

Happy Belated Birthday. The Iraq War marked it's 4th anniversary this past week. For those keeping track at home, that's four years of killings, blood shed, families torn apart, mass bombings, insurgents, disease, road side detonations, downed aircraft, refugees, civil & sectarian violence, and a generally bad time had by all.

When once asked if he saw a comparison between the Iraq War - which still has no end in sight - and the 16-year Vietnam conflict, George W. Bush said, "This [war] is, in many ways, religious in nature, and I don't see the parallels."

Hey George, are you seeing any now or are you just going to make us wait another 12 years?

Has All Gore seen that? Often times, on my commute home, I just let my surroundings blend into the blur that's flying past my car. The only exceptions might be a balloon-laden grand opening of a new store or if I think I saw nudity in my peripheral vision. However, every-so-often, I stop and take the time to notice to thing or two along the way.

Recently, delayed by a train on my way to work, I came out of my trance long enough to observe that I was idling in front of a Sherwin-Williams Paint Store. As I let me eyes make a few meaningless observations, they fell on the Sherwin-Williams logo, mounted prominently on the store's front for all to see.

I have a question.

Why is it somebody like Al Gore or PETA hasn't gone on a negative PR blitz against this company? It's a picture of 'mother earth' being completely drenched in red paint, with the tag-line, "COVER THE EARTH." You'd think in an era of the environmentally conscience, this would be a major PC taboo.

Chief Illiniwek can piss-off the Native-American community but SWP gets a pass from the tree huggers? Odd.

Of course, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it was left-over cold war propaganda from the now defunct Soviet Union. But it's not. It's western, capitalistic marketing at it's finest.

Move'n On Up, I'm Not. In a recent article, CNNMoney.com identified the Top 20 jobs with the most upside. My job - Director of Something or Another - was not listed, much to my dismay. Massage Therapist, however, was number 12.

So what they're telling me is that working out the muscular kinks of half-naked, sweaty men with hairy backs is a growth industry? Go figure.

Turnabout. I came across the following picture on MSNBC.com the other day (click to enlarge). Please tell me I'm not the only one who immediately imagined the horse saying a la Mr. Ed, "So how do you like having somebody sitting on your back, Pal? Not so fun, it it? IS IT!?!"