Friends! Americans! Non-countrymen!

[yakalskovich]

I finally caved in to the suspense and peeked, and what did I see? Nobody has won again!

I just wonder (rhethorically, of course): who were these people who voted for Bush? All the Americans on my flist didn't, that much is certain. Underworld, it looks as if all of LiveJournal in its entirety didn't. All of the Internet didn't, possibly. And "my" State (Wisconsin) certainly didn't, nor my distant relatives by a cousin's marriage (Yay! Go Annemarie!). So the suspicion befalls me that the people voting for Bush must all have been Sims, specially bred for the occasion.

On the other hand, nothing is decided yet. Ohio says who wins, and Ohio is gratefully taking its sweet time to thoroughly count everything, so anything like the Florida hullaballoo the last time around will be averted.

Comments

Re: Who's voting for Bush

[woelfle.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just wow. I mean: Word. Every single one. Were I half as eloquent as you, I'd have become a campaign manager.

May I link this? Not that it'll do much good anymore.

And of course, though it may seem uncincere after your serious approach to the matter: *ding* Officially Good American! Have the icon if you like!

Re: Who's voting for Bush

[supiluliumas.livejournal.com]

I don't mind at all! Thank you. You may link to your heart's content. I will accept the icon with pride! =D

At the risk of being even more solemn and possibly pompous, I once had a Danish friend who said that the real value of American culture is that what defines our greatness more than anything else isn't military might or the Protestant work ethic or the fact that we really like to win a lot or anything like that. What he really admired is that we can joke about almost anything - the key to our survival has been the idea that we can generally keep our good humor in the face of overwhelming adversity. At the moment, I think we could all use a little extra good humor right about now. So, that icon is cute and it made me smile, and that's more important than a thousand years of partisan politics. :D

Re: Who's voting for Bush

[woelfle.livejournal.com]

LOL! You're welcome!

And I'm glad to hear this about humour being an integral part of the otherwise rather scary American culture. Spontaneously, I felt more reminded of the British, and after seeing some of those Mid-Western provincial concrete-brains interviewed on TV, it's a little hard to believe. But then I turn around to my American LJ friends, and can totally see it.
And of course, there are two originally American art forms without which the world would be much more boring: Jazz and Western films. :-)

Re: Who's voting for Bush

[supiluliumas.livejournal.com]

As far as the British goes - well, we had to get it from somewhere. Perhaps in a few hundred years we'll catch up to them. ;)

The same with jazz and Western films, in that we had a little help there, too. Jazz wouldn't have been the same without Claude Debussy, and what would the Western genre have had to offer without Sergio Leone? No cultural form develops in a bell jar, isolated from outside influences. I've noticed that sometimes it's just as hard for many Americans to accept the idea of cultural evolution as it is for biological evolution. I wonder why. Probably a lack of research or rigorous scholarship!

Re: Who's voting for Bush

[woelfle.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, good point. All great cultural products are true mongrels. Tango comes to mind. My favourite bastard child.
And, as it is, I love Leone and Débussy. And Leone also made such important films about America after the Spaghettis.

Re: Who's voting for Bush

[supiluliumas.livejournal.com]

Once Upon a Time in America comes to mind. ... The version not butchered by the studio, anyway. Thank goodness for DVD!

Re: Who's voting for Bush

[woelfle.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! They once even aired a TV version where they had cut everything into chronological order. *shudder*

And I've got a nice and shiny The Good, the Bad and the Ugly DVD. Yay!

Tango

[yakalskovich]

Do you know Finnish tango?

*is totally refusing to do any politics at the moments, lah lah*

Re: Tango

[woelfle.livejournal.com]

Yep, a bit. Although I must admit I expected a bit more of it before I heard it for the first time. It's very much like classic Argentinean tango, but with Finnish lyrics. Still, I think it's great that the whole country has been so tango-crazed for ages.

:-)

Re: Tango

[yakalskovich]

I recommend M.A. Numminen. Definitely different. Weird. Utterly Finnish.

Re: Tango

[woelfle.livejournal.com]

Sounds good. I shall try and find him. Or inquire with the Monsters tomorrow. :-)

[yakalskovich]

What monsters?

[woelfle.livejournal.com]

Vampi Werewo Tango Monsters. My Monstrous Tango Band(tm) who will be rehearsing tomorrow.

[yakalskovich]

Oh, I see. And one of them will have heard of Numminen, I am sure.