Vehicular billboards reserve you a space

[vovat]

Queen Night on American Idol was kind of a weird choice. The judges kept saying that the songs were "too big" for the contestants. I mean, duh! They're too big for just about anyone who isn't the late Freddy Mercury. Not that the surviving members of Queen aren't also trying to get someone else to fill his shoes. I haven't actually heard the new lineup, but I'm sure I will tonight. Regardless, it's too bad Vanessa Olivarez wasn't around to sing "Fat-Bottomed Girls." Because people kept saying she had a big butt, you know? Eh? Eh? Oh, never mind. (Mind you, I'm somewhat surprised that someone actually DID sing "Fat-Bottomed Girls.")

I bought a whole pack of white socks at Wal-Mart last summer, and now most of them have apparently either disappeared or been replaced by different socks. And speaking of socks, I hate it when I pull out two black socks that seem to match, but actually don't. I'm sure no one looks closely enough at my feet to know the difference, but I do, and it tears me up inside. Okay, that's exaggeration, but it does kind of bother me.

Finally, what with all the driving along the same roads I've had to do recently, I've become quite familiar with all the billboards along the way. Some of my favorites (and I use that term loosely) include:

• An advertisement for some kind of Volkswagen product, with the caption, "Representin' Deutschland, yo." I admit I found it amusing, which is quite the accomplishment for VW. I think I might have mentioned before how I thought that "On the road of life, there are passengers and there are drivers" was pretty stupid. And I wasn't that keen on "Fahrfegnugen," either.
  
• One for cosmetic breast surgery, with the caption, "Be a knockout,"and a picture of a chick with cleavage who's wearing boxing gloves.
  
• About a million ads for hair replacement surgery. There was one particular one that I'm not sure is up anymore, with a really disturbing-looking picture of a guy with hairplugs. The caption? "Say no to plugs."
  
• A board showing the back of Michael Smerconish's big bald head.
  
• This one is no longer up, but there used to a billboard on the Walt Whitman Bridge proudly announcing that you could win the chance to play blackjack with Aaron Lewis (I think that's his name, anyway) of Staind. That one has since been replaced by one advertising shows by Don Rickles and Kathy Griffin. I don't think they're offering the opportunity to play blackjack with either of them. Mind you, I'd choose to hang out with either one of them over the Staind dude, and that's saying something right there.
  

Comments

[3x1minus1.livejournal.com]

socks are so difficult! until yesterday when i bought some more, i was down to two pairs that matched. but i have a full drawer of non-matches. feh.

yeah, i'd rather be berated by don rickles and kathy griffin simultaneously than meet a guy from staind. ew.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have so many socks that don't match, or at least where I can't find the matches without checking practically every sock in the drawer. It's annoying.

[rockonliz.livejournal.com]

That show makes me so mad, as a musician. The judges say the stupidest things that just show their complete lack of musical training. But somehow I still get into watching the show. I like Chris and Paris.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I don't have any musical training either, so I can't really say what I think of the judges' comments in that respect. I know I've seen some people complain about they the judges always say performances are "pitchy," without explaining what that actually MEANS. And pretty much everything Paula says nowadays is irrelevant and incoherent. But generally I'm okay with the judges, as long as they stick to comments on the actual songs. (It always got on my nerves when Simon would tell people to lose weight, but he doesn't seem to be doing that as much anymore.)

Paris is definitely a good singer. I also liked Mandisa, who was kicked off prematurely. I think Chris sings well, but he seems to be primarily into the kind of music from the late nineties that I didn't like much when it was current (let alone now).

[onib.livejournal.com]

Socks: My dad had the thought that he would only wear one kind of sock. So, he bought dozens of pairs of one kind of one brand of sock. Then, he figured he didn't have to put two together - just grab any two from the drawer. Also, when one develops a hole, you just throw it out and keep using the rest. The downside to all this? A somewhat limited option for the rest of your clothes. Oh well, nothing's perfect.

There used to be a billboard advertisement in Reading for a local in-patient surgery center at a local hospital. Their slogan was "Put your heart in the right place." Somehow, I always found this humorous and deeply, deeply disturbing at the same time.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, one problem for me is that I have a lot of socks that look very similar, but not exactly the same. Most of them are black, with the occasional white or gray pair. I really don't make that much of an effort to match them with the rest of my clothes.

Incidentally, I think the socks I'm wearing right now might not even be mine. Oh, well. At least they were clean.

[travspence.livejournal.com]

Here is me watching TV last night:

Flip, flip, flip, "Who the hell is butchering that Queen song?" Flip, flip, flip, flip, "Who the hell is THIS butchering a Queen song?" Flip, flip, flip, flip, "Freddie Mercury is cartwheeling in his grave." Flip, flip, flip, "Thank God! House is finally on."

I don't like so much the American Idol. That one contestant dude I saw during the credits was kinda cute, though.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Which contestant? Not Ace, I hope. :P

[travspence.livejournal.com]

Is he the skinny dude with a shaved head?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

No, that's Chris.

[bec-87rb.livejournal.com]

I can see why someone might sing "Fat Bottomed Girls." It's smart alecky, and it rocks. It would also make the judges remember you, if they got the joke, which, uh, maybe not. I tried to watch Amer Idol and the judges were such idiots, I had to change channels.

Also, I am surprised there isn't more TMBG-Queen overlap. Both bands are direct decendants of the Beatles, right? Both dabbled over the years in whatever styles pleased them, making albums which were interesting hodge-podges. Both bands were filled with men too smart for rock n roll, who delivered a product they wanted to make sure was interesting, not just commercial.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, the guy who sang "Fat Bottomed Girls" was the one who was voted off, if that means anything. I actually think he was one of the better performers that night, and he got basically good reviews from the judges, but there's no accounting for taste.

I figure that Queen is one of those bands that pretty much everyone likes, even if they aren't familiar with much beyond the greatest hits (which is really my own situation). There's one guy on the Frank Black Forum, though, who has otherwise cool taste in music (he was instrumental in introducing me to the Dresden Dolls and Rilo Kiley), but HATES Queen. Once again, I suppose there's no accounting for taste.

[loz]

One of my longtime friends - aragog - dislikes Queen. It saddens me. We're very similar in a lot of ways, but not on that.