A Terrible, Lovely Wind
Posted at 5:15 AM on September 29, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(25 Comments)
We have tickets to give for the Americana Showcase at the Rochester Civic Theater tomorrow night, September 30th. Guests will be Nashville songwriters Sally Barris, Don Henry and from the band Six Mile Grove, Lyle, Minnesota native and artificial limb-builder Brandon Sampson.
Enter the drawing. Obey the Rules. Good Luck.
I was welcomed to my desk this morning with a soggy, rather testy note pasted to the computer screen with what appears to be slime from some kind of jellyfish.
Ahoy!I been listenin' in on yer chit-chat about the weather, and while it is all generally dull and harmless, I has had my fill when it comes to yer belly achin' about the wind!
I'll not sit by and listen as a landlubber complains about the one thing that all pirates considers t' be a universal good - a brisk, steady breeze what blows in any direction.
If you makes yer livin' at sea, the wind is yer partner in crime.
If crime happens to be yer business, which, in our case, it is.A pirate with a wind at his back is the happiest creature afloat.
A pirate with a wind in his face relishes the challenge.
And a bunch o' pirates stuck on board a tiny vessel with no wind at all is morose an' depressed an' eventually they becomes overwhelmed with alarm regardin' personal hygiene, or the lack thereof, amongst the other members of the crew.In fact, fer many of me boys on board the Muskellunge, a general disregard fer the habits of cleanliness is one factor that suggested piracy as a good career path.
So we is always most cheerful when our jolly efforts is aided by a refreshin' wind, an' it becomes a might tiresome to endure endless landlubber complaints about the topplin' of trees (which we don't have at sea) and loss of electricity (which also ain't an issue aboard the Muskellunge).
So next time you start to open yer trap to vent about airflow, stop for just a moment to consider that there is people in the world who takes delight in the very thing you disparage, and hold yer wind!
Yours in roguery,
Captain Billy
Naturally I'm concerned about this. Not only does the captain have an unsettling level of access to my desk at all hours of the night, but jellyfish slime smells! Or perhaps that is simply a lingering "essence of pirate" on the note.
But the larger question is this: is it at all useful to complain about the inadequacy of another person's complaints? I may have a misguided opinion about the wind. But does the world need Captain Billy's opinion on my opinion? And does my asking this question constitute a negative opinion of his opinion of my opinion?
Opinions?
Comments (25)
In my opinion, this is just your stealthy way of voicing an opinion on the current seeming need for all and sundry to VOICE said opinions, usually in a loud and public way.
It used to be the prevailing opinion that if "you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. In my opinion, that is not the current prevailing opinion.
But that is just my opinion.
Thank you for your comment, Catherine.
I could not have said it better.
Your opinion matters!
Does it really matter, or is that just your opinion?
When I have jury duty, I always get chosen because I have no opinion about anything.
As much as I agree with the opinions expressed on this blog, I believe this obsession with expressing ones thoughts publicly - negative or positive- to the masses at any hour of the day or night began with, ahem, talk radio. All the social media that is twittering and facebooking around us these days is simply an extension of that first public interactive social media experiment. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Unless I change my opinion.
Greetings! I believe folks just enjoy voicing their opinion, want to make a stand or play devil's advocate just to make some drama. A conversation with someone of a different opinion can be a fascinating exchange of ideas.
A friend of ours from many years ago was/is a devout atheist which made for many heated, but friendly exchanges. For me, it's the manner in which such opinions are voiced. This blog is wonderful, witty and respectful. I've read other comments or blogs which are mean-spirited, disrespectful and insulting -- which is really unnecessary.
That's why I like you guys!
In my opinion, when the opinionated opine, they are demonstrating an over-appreciated capacity to hold an opinion. After all, there's no educational, technical, or philosophical qualifications required to espouse an opinion and in many quarters it is considered detrimental to have any qualifications or expertise in the field under discussion! Imagine, if you will, how quiet talk radio would be if only the qualified were asked their opinion. We'd be limited to listening to MPR's news and information service.
In my opinion, that would be a refreshing breeze.
Hmm - maybe listening to Fanawalla (sp?) by the Bothe Band would be a fitting song for our all this discussion on what my Mom would have called 'blathering'.
There is a lot of entertainment value in others' opinions. ;-)
Happy Tuesday, all.
Hey Heartlanders,
Here's something I need your opinion about - there's a heated debate going on where I work. We have a popcorn maker, movie theater type, that frequently gets used because certain staff members typically forget it's their day to bring treats for their colleagues' breaks, during which the student body is outside having recess. Should the person who MADE the popcorn have to clean up the machine or should it be the sap who's stuck with lounge duty that day? What would Captain Billy say?
Well, it's my opinion that this is a lively discussion about opinions. My partner and my step son are uncomfortable with discussions in which the people disussing have different opinions or ARGUMENTS. My step daughter and I enjoy these discussions and we will take the opposite sides on an issue and begin discussing and next thing we know, Mother and son have snuck off to Dairy Queen.
There is something about this discussion which reminds me of a perennial relationship challenge. When in a relationship with someone, whether friend or significant other, it is difficult, at least at first, not to get angry simply because someone is angry with us. We lose the point of the whole thing by being indignant that someone would actually be mad at US. We are a nice person, after all, right? Why would anyone be mad at us? That is rendering an opinion about an opinion rather than dealing with the opinion itself (which might simply be "I don't like you leaving the cap off of the toothpaste.")
Happy Chilly Fall Tuesday, Heartlanders.
In my opinion, everyone has a right to their own opinion. However, finding the right venue for voicing that opinion is where we run into problems - in part because sometimes folks choose to voice their opinion in a less than mannerly fashion in an inappropriate venue (telling Aunt Tillie that you really hate maple bars as she's about to serve them is bad manners and a bad place to voice that opinion).
Donna - I say whoever makes the popcorn cleans the machine. My logic is if you made treats at home, you'd clean your own pots and pans there, so why not the popcorn machine? But that's just my opinion. Which may or may not be mannerly or voiced in the right venue.
I some times think of commenting on this blog as a substitute for going to the local coffee shop to visit with my nieghbors. So, in some ways, I think I am just engaging in friendly chit chat that might also include interesting information or some expression of opinions. Hopefully no heavy venting.
Also, I see this as growing out of the old format of the morning show. The people who comment are, in a way, substitutes for Jim Ed. With Jim Ed gone, the people who comment provide Dale with another "voice" so that Dale has some interaction to replace the interaction he once had with Jim Ed.
i say the lounge duty slug cleans the machine otherwise what would the penalty be in being named lounge duty slug?
i tell my kids that you never have to say "in my opinion" because the fact that is coming out of your mouth makes it obvious whose opinion it is. it is very liberating that your ideas can be spoken without qualification. if someone disagrees that is their opinion and thats ok too.
don't you think?
what do ya say captain billy? good to hear from the muskelunge again.
While the general "we" are willing to share our opinions there seems to be more willingness to push opinions out than to take them in. The mutuality of sharing seeems to be lost in too many forums.
That said, I am still not willing to embrace opinions that come with jellyfish slime.
Have a good day, mateys!
Thanks for the comments and opinions, everyone. Really.
Jim, I think you hit it with the notion that you are all sitting in for Mr. Poole.
It's pleasant to have this ongoing conversation.
And Donna, requiring the popcorn maker to clean up after her or himself is the simplest solution, but that puts downward pressure on the popcorn-making impulse. For those who like popcorn but don't want to think about the "cost" of making it, that could be a problem.
How about a system of popcorn offset credits?
When people come to the lounge, the popcorn is free, but there's a fee that they pay to buy a popcorn making offset credit. With the money you can hire someone to do the distasteful cleaning.
A 5th grader, maybe?
"public opinion" has become a lot of noise
i agree with Catherine, keep it to yourself (until it's time to vote of course)
In trying to teach my 11th graders argumentation and logic, we have a ball scrutinizing others' opinions for fallacies and lack of warrant. In an ideal world, this would teach them what they must include in their arguments so others can't likewise scrutinize them, but high school is far from being an ideal world. To sum: I think it's fine and even worthwhile to complain about others' complaints, as long as your complaints are airtight. Mine always are.
Mom, you work in a building where people BRING TREATS. We don't even have a coffee maker. But I have to say, Dale's cap-and-trade esque suggestion is mighty creative. I'll think about it as I scrounge the staff room for some after-dinner mints left over from Open House.
Donna, I think it's pretty clear what Cap'n Billy would say, and that is the wench should clean the popcorn maker. (In my opinion, that's what he'd say). Not saying that's right or wrong.
On a more serious note, as with Joanne, I like this blog because it's a group of intelligent, thoughtful people who can converse without put-downs and the like.
It is good to have critical discussions about the things that matter to us, or don't matter to think of it, as long as we know when to stop. I have had to play the referee and break up some heated discussions to remind them that we are friends. "You don't need to yell, let her finish."
Have a great morning!
Okay, here's the plan for cleaning up the pop corn maker. This is just my opinion, right? The person who makes the pop corn should cleanup, but if that person doesn't do it, the clean up person should do it. If there is still a problem, Dale's offset program should come into play.
Regarding Captain Billy's approach to the popcorn question, I think Mike in Albert Lea has it exactly right. The Popcorn Wench must do the clean up on board the Muskellunge, but in a nod to modern sensiblities, anyone can be the Popcorn Wench. Especially since there are no women with the bad judgement to sail with Captain Billy.
I belive this month the Popcorn Wench is Gimpy, the first mate. In October, it's Scurvy.
Please pardon my tardiness to the blog as is my habit of late. I offer my deepest apologies along with my opinion on Dale's last question.
It's a question, not an opinion, Dale. Please take that as "One Woman's Opinion", no offense intended!
Thanks all for the great suggestions in yesterday's blog! Hope to check some of the places out this autumn!
Is there a problem with the aacPlus stream today? I'm just getting the underwriting announcement, then connection error. It was okay earlier in the morning, before 10:00 or so.
Captain Billy has no wenches? No wonder he's so crabby.
Those who believe it should be the duty person's job to clean up the popcorn popper - I agree. Those who think it should be the popcorn maker's job - I agree with you too.
Dale's fee-charging cap and trade esque offset credit program (wanted to make sure I included all the words ya'll used cuz I'm really not sure what that even is) probably wouldn't work because teachers are cheap.
As it stands, the matter is going to be taken to committee and we're just hoping it doesn't go all the way to impasse. I'll keep you posted in my posts!
Lora - you're too cute -scrounging for after dinner mints.
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