Summer silly season and back to school
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 8/27/15
Life has lots of rhythms. Getting out of bed in the morning starts the rhythm of the day and waking up on Monday morning launches the rhythm of the week. Anticipating the beat and melody of what lays before us is part of what makes life as sweet as an old Beatles rock and roll tune.
I've always thought that the time to start tapping your foot and humming the tune to our annual trip around the sun is when we go back to school in the fall. It doesn't matter whether or not you're still a student — when school starts, it's time to put your head down and do what needs to be done to keep the world turning. The payoff comes when school ends and we get to revel in a summer of good times, great music, and avoiding serious subjects.
For those of us who like to watch the shenanigans going on in the world around us, the summer silly season is rich with entertainment. So, before we all slog back to class or work, let's take a moment to appreciate the summer silly hits of 2015.
This year's top spot on the summer charts goes to Donald and the Republicans for their surprise hit, "Presidential Candidates Just Wanna Have Fun." This blockbuster has been a good time for just about everybody.
To lots of Republicans, it's been great to have some celebrity lunatic who gets them to whoop and holler at the things he says, crazy as they may be. At the root of what Republicans hate most these days is big pretentious government and the political correctness that comes with it. So, having some overstuffed character with a New York attitude, no shame, and a ridiculous hair style is manna from heaven. While Mr. Trump is trash-talking any poor subject that walks into the political conversation, it's just hard to stop some people from getting up and dancing.
And, even though they might hate to admit it, lots of Democrats have enjoyed his act, too. Democrats are genetically predisposed to love rebels and I bet there are even a few out there who secretly agree with some of the things Donald says. But even when they don't, they can always hope that maybe, just maybe, he'll be the man the Republican crazies pick. Enjoy the moment since summer loves are known to fade fast in the fall.
Second place on the charts goes to City Council and the Transportation Gurus for that great hit, "Right Sizing." I'm sure city council thought that any tune with such a generically noble title would put us all to sleep faster than an old quaalude. Boy, were they wrong. The minute "Right Sizing" hit the airwaves, the rave was on and I can't remember the last time so many people in Boulder got such a great adrenaline rush at the same time.
Knowing a hit when they saw it, city council kept turning up the volume by painting lime-green stripes on Folsom Street as fast as possible. With the drums beating and the brass section blaring, the town went wild and, aside from the traffic jams, we are still having a ball with "Right Sizing."
Rounding out the top three summer silly hits was a close call. An honorable mention goes to Greece's re-release of that old '60s hit "Money," which might have taken third if we hadn't had to watch all those Greek politicians flip-flopping like mackerels on a Greek fishing boat. But, hey, they got what they want.
So, third place goes to Hillary and the Email Servers for that edgy country tune "I Should've Had an iPhone but I Was Raised a Blackberry." We should be thankful that Hillary's aversion to carrying two phones has given us a summer full of amusing stories and cockeyed explanations for something as dull and oh-so-1990s as email. We look forward to her follow-up hit, be it "Hail to the Chief" or "Folsom Prison Blues."
But school is back in session and it's time to get serious again. We have city council members and, eventually, a president to elect, Greece has to pay its bills, and we all have to figure out how to go north and south in Boulder without getting stuck in traffic. The rhythm keeps going, but we need to turn down the bass and rightsize the volume, at least until next summer.
Life has lots of rhythms. Getting out of bed in the morning starts the rhythm of the day and waking up on Monday morning launches the rhythm of the week. Anticipating the beat and melody of what lays before us is part of what makes life as sweet as an old Beatles rock and roll tune.
I've always thought that the time to start tapping your foot and humming the tune to our annual trip around the sun is when we go back to school in the fall. It doesn't matter whether or not you're still a student — when school starts, it's time to put your head down and do what needs to be done to keep the world turning. The payoff comes when school ends and we get to revel in a summer of good times, great music, and avoiding serious subjects.
For those of us who like to watch the shenanigans going on in the world around us, the summer silly season is rich with entertainment. So, before we all slog back to class or work, let's take a moment to appreciate the summer silly hits of 2015.
This year's top spot on the summer charts goes to Donald and the Republicans for their surprise hit, "Presidential Candidates Just Wanna Have Fun." This blockbuster has been a good time for just about everybody.
To lots of Republicans, it's been great to have some celebrity lunatic who gets them to whoop and holler at the things he says, crazy as they may be. At the root of what Republicans hate most these days is big pretentious government and the political correctness that comes with it. So, having some overstuffed character with a New York attitude, no shame, and a ridiculous hair style is manna from heaven. While Mr. Trump is trash-talking any poor subject that walks into the political conversation, it's just hard to stop some people from getting up and dancing.
And, even though they might hate to admit it, lots of Democrats have enjoyed his act, too. Democrats are genetically predisposed to love rebels and I bet there are even a few out there who secretly agree with some of the things Donald says. But even when they don't, they can always hope that maybe, just maybe, he'll be the man the Republican crazies pick. Enjoy the moment since summer loves are known to fade fast in the fall.
Second place on the charts goes to City Council and the Transportation Gurus for that great hit, "Right Sizing." I'm sure city council thought that any tune with such a generically noble title would put us all to sleep faster than an old quaalude. Boy, were they wrong. The minute "Right Sizing" hit the airwaves, the rave was on and I can't remember the last time so many people in Boulder got such a great adrenaline rush at the same time.
Knowing a hit when they saw it, city council kept turning up the volume by painting lime-green stripes on Folsom Street as fast as possible. With the drums beating and the brass section blaring, the town went wild and, aside from the traffic jams, we are still having a ball with "Right Sizing."
Rounding out the top three summer silly hits was a close call. An honorable mention goes to Greece's re-release of that old '60s hit "Money," which might have taken third if we hadn't had to watch all those Greek politicians flip-flopping like mackerels on a Greek fishing boat. But, hey, they got what they want.
So, third place goes to Hillary and the Email Servers for that edgy country tune "I Should've Had an iPhone but I Was Raised a Blackberry." We should be thankful that Hillary's aversion to carrying two phones has given us a summer full of amusing stories and cockeyed explanations for something as dull and oh-so-1990s as email. We look forward to her follow-up hit, be it "Hail to the Chief" or "Folsom Prison Blues."
But school is back in session and it's time to get serious again. We have city council members and, eventually, a president to elect, Greece has to pay its bills, and we all have to figure out how to go north and south in Boulder without getting stuck in traffic. The rhythm keeps going, but we need to turn down the bass and rightsize the volume, at least until next summer.
