Miscellaneously Meandering

As his second inaugural approaches, it's interesting to note that President Obama first took office in 2009 after campaigning on a platform of change. Although it seems to those who evaluate presidential practices in the cold light of objectivity that he stubbornly continued the extremely unpopular policies of his evil predecessor, George Beelzebush, Obama can be credited with making one significant change during his first term. I'm referring, of course, to his changing the meaning of the word "change" to mean "stay the same."  Afterward, the president promised "meaningful action," beginning with the announcement of his intention to appoint a committee charged with investigating the plausibility of forming a bipartisan panel of senior members of the senate whose sole duty would be to explore & exhaust every possibility in discovering the viability of establishing a congressional task force to study the practicality of putting together a diverse group of linguistic & cultural experts enjoined for the creation, if appropriate, of a new word to mean "change."   As it happened, however, the development of such a word was deemed unnecessary, given that we have words such as "unicorn" & "fairy" to represent the mythical & nonexistent. 

On the subject of made-up words, if you aren't familiar with the remarkable YouTube documentary series, Epic Rap Battles of History, maybe you should find time (search under the sofa cushions among the sundry candies & coins) to acquaint yourself.   To this point, let me point you, if I may, to the Dr. Seuss versus Shakespeare video. In an initially tightly contested battle, Shakespeare demonstrates ultimately those often emulated, critically acclaimed skills-that-pay-the-bills while Seuss's designated rappy "Things" do little but annoy. Although the Cat in the Hat may appeal to today's lack of sensibilities when he dubs Shakespeare boring, most viewers acknowledge that the Bard of Avon won hands-down. To be fair, if you go up against Shakespeare, you're bound to lose, so a more interesting battle, I think, would be to pit the characteristically light-hearted Dr. Seuss against the ever dark & dreary Edgar Allan Poe. While many adults still enjoy the silly, willy-nilly rhythmic rhyming of Seuss, you have to be a angst-ridden kid to like the overly alliterative, ham-handed meter & rhymes of Poe. I know it sounds like I'm joking, but if you were to ask a group of adults which they prefer, Green Eggs & Ham or "The Raven," I'd bet my entire life-savings--all $53.12 of it--that eight out of ten adults would choose the whimsically obstinate Sam-I-Am over some sad sack isomniac lamenting his lost love. Lenore? More like Le-snore! Granted, it's merely a guess on my part, but if you believe I'm way off base, then ask around. I'm confident you'll see the amazing accuracy of my estimate. Of course, if you poll a literary crowd, responses will probably skew slightly higher in favor of Seuss.  

Comments

mackdad said…
What about Forrest Gump?