Thanks for checking out The Timestamp! Here’s the 11th edition of the short and sweet randomness newsletter with some thoughts and recommendations for your valuable time.
Let’s ROLL.
Macon Whoopee?
When I was a Midwestern teenager, making the roadtrip back from the mandatory Gulf Coast Spring Break where I pretended to be much older and cooler than I really was, our family decided to stop in Macon ,Georgia for the night. My memory isn’t 100%, but believe we ate at a place called JL’s Bar B Q that still resonates in my mind as one of the better meals of my life. We got back to the hotel and threw on the TV and saw an advertisement for the local Minor League Hockey Team, called ( seriously) the Macon Whoopee – their logo complete with a Stork (Bird) and a Bee. There was a time where Team names could be fun, my children… there was a time.
Leave Adventurers Alone
It seems an odd coincidence that a load of people who now claim their “anxiety” is too high to work, grocery shop, or even be in the presence of others, have the gall to rip apart their fellow humans that choose to fund ( with money they earned) their own daring adventures. ( There’s more now than ever, with 27% of people claiming they have anxiety disorders in 2023; up from 8% in 2019). Why leave the basement when you can tweet ( or X?) your thoughts on the wealth gap? And why not choose an absolute tragedy to make such a point? How dare anyone try and discover something? Or go where few have? We forget that money has ALWAYS been a tool to go places where few dare. America likely exists because of it ( Cough.. .cough.. Spain!). The moon (Tax dollars)??? Sending rockets into space ( Billionaires)? Resources help us push past our limits, and there will be mistakes. Maybe the folks on the Titan Submersible the past year, could have been better prepared. Perhaps they could have used something different than a gaming controller to navigate? Everest is littered with the bodies that didn’t make it, but dared anyway. Eventually, people find a better way from learning from those with resources braved going first, and that should be celebrated in our Nerf’d up modernity.
The Enduring Awfulness of Jenny Gump
We had a rainy night on a vacation, and were indoors for what is normally a near all “outdoor” trip for us. Forrest Gump on the TV (My personal vote for the best movie of all time). If you want to feel old, go ahead and look-up how old this movie is this year, For real. Look it up… I’ll wait.…. Lord.
My daughter is old enough to be interested in what’s going on in the film (with some proper & uncomfortable explanations). One thing that’s always stumped me though, is Jenny. Robin Wright’s complex character has always bothered me more than any other fictional role, and it’s not close! Even when watching this movie as a kid ( again.. Look up how old this movie is), I couldn’t understand Forrest’s undying love for Jenny. Let’s examine a bit:
- Even when they were kids, Jenny is nice to Forrest, but never truly his friend. Sure, she stands up for him, but she’s hanging with the cool crowd while Forrest fends for himself.
- She continually makes selfish choices, where Forrest has to come to her rescue. She looks for love, singing at a strip club, and Forrest has to intervene. The same scenario plays out for years, as she goes to be with an abusive boyfriend who portrays himself as an activitist, only to be a huge A-hole ( not like anything we see today?? Whaaat??? Nooo!!!??). Goes and does drugs in discos… the list goes on and on, about how she’s looking for love in all of the wrong places. Really, this happens over and over again.
- She keeps Forrest’s child away from him for years. YEARS. Has the gall to even name the child “Forrest”, and surprises him with this news with the knowledge of him being rich ( he was on the cover of Fortune – Biggie Smalls would be proud). Then she finally gets with him when she knows it’s time for her to die, and be taken care of..again.
Now…. I get it.. There are many themes in this movie that aren’t entirely surface level – Determinism vs Free Will being dominant. There’s also a Christianity nod with how many times Jenny needs to be saved, and that despite how bad of decisions she makes, Forrest never gives up on her; he is there when she is ready to let go of what she was for who she needs to be. That’s a MUCH longer post than I’ll do here, but for now, let’s just appreciate Jenny Gump for being the most complicated character created – good writing should challenge us, and she certainly does.
Dead Serious – Go Buy Some Bud Light
If you don’t drink Bud Light because it’s an awful beer ( it is) then that’s fine. BUT… if you or someone you know has traditionally been a Bud Light drinker you SHOULD go back to drinking it. People get on their high horse about certain products they consume ( apparently, beer being one of them), but completely ignore others ( like that iPhone you are currently reading this on). The only real winner I can discern in the whole culture war involving Bud Light is Dylan Mulvaney. The folks that knew Dylan before the partnership with Bud Light were a narrow sect confined to Transgender online “community.” Now, the marketplace knows the name.
But, the collateral damage based off of one marketing person’s decision has stretched far too wide. Fire the head marketing exec? Sure. You could even argue to can the whole marketing team involved. But there have been many more let go from Bud Light’s parent company ( American jobs);the carnage stretches far and wide. Bud Light had lost $27,000,000,000 of market value by May last year.. To give that perspective, that’s Love’s Gas Stations and Truck Stops complete annual revenue. ABInBev’s stock has taken a beating; taking value of out innocent people ( like their workers, or places like teacher’s retirement funds that own the stock) pockets. Also, there are distributors, and their employees that have taken huge cuts this year due to a bone-headed marketing move. (Their sales to retailers dropped $400M in the 2nd quarter alone), These beverage distributors are usually local entrepreneurs who chose to take Budweiser products to their respective territories, only to have it cut off at the knees by a poor decision. The liquor stores that sell Bud Light, have also taken a hit. These are also local businessowners with local front-line employees; our friends, neighbors, and family. What about the folks that sling beers at concerts? Even if you hate the Dylan Mulvaney partnership, the aforementioned people did nothing wrong, and still deserve your beer dollar. So give it to them. Even if it is a truly terrible tasting beer. And it is.
Album Worth Listening to:
Allman Brothers – Brothers & Sisters Super Deluxe Edition. Speaking of things from Macon, Georgia – This album includes a recording of their New Year’s Show at Winterland in San Francisco 1973 that is the real highlight with extended jams during their precarious prime, that would all come crashing down in the years to come.
To Think About
“We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”
― Robert Brault
Until next time…
Andrew L Hamilton 