Here’s another message from the suddenly chatty Perennial Sophomore at Wendell Wilkie High School, Mr. Bubby Spamden.
Hey Mr. C.,
The guys here at school are all fired up for Rick Perry after the other night when he forgot the last thing on that list he was supposed to remember. You know how Tea Party People feel about government? High School Sophomores feel the same way about memorizing lists! So when he forgot the name of that last doomed government department that his political handlers told him he had to remember, Rick Perry won the heart of every fifteen year old guy in my class.
Not that we’re all into following the news or anything. Mr. Boozenporn brought it up in civics class and showed us the You Tube video of Perry gaffing all over the place, remembering that he wants to eliminate the Departments of Commerce and Education (of course!) and … something else. Totally blew the question. We thought it was super cool! And then Mr. B asked us this:
Is it important for the President of the United States to know stuff?
Believe it or not, we had a really good discussion! Some people think knowing stuff is what smartness is all about. Other people say knowing stuff just gets in the way of feeling what’s right. And how’s this for a coincidence? The people who are for knowing stuff already happen to know the most stuff! And the people who rely more on feeling things are the ones who fail all their tests. What are the chances of that?
When it was my turn, I got up and said the President shouldn’t be expected to know a lot of stuff because a full brain makes your head feel bloated.
You can always look things up just before you need to know them, and forget them again right after you’re done talking so your brain stays free and clear! And when you’re president, you will always have smart people hanging around who know answers. It’s like being the only cool kid in a Total Nerd High School, and they’re all forced to share their homework with you.
For example, somebody told me Herman Cain doesn’t think he needs to know the name of the president of Uzblecki Land. But that didn’t feel right. So I asked Sara Maxwell about it and she said what Cain doesn’t think he needs to know is the name of the president of Uzbecki-becki-becki-stan-stan.
They’re like, two different places! It makes a difference! Knowing who to ask when you don’t know anything is, like, really important!
Your pal,
Bubby
Is it important to know stuff?
Trail Baboon 
Rise and Shine Baboons!
If you are a Republican it is not important to know stuff. It is important to have a smarty-pants grin, to shoot from the hip, and to believe in God. If you believe in God then He (and only He, not HIgher Power, not SHE) HE will tell you anything you need to know.
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Morning all. I don’t think it’s as important to know lots of stuff as it is to now spout off as if you know everything when you clearly don’t. And I always liked Einstein’s stance (which is similar to Bubby’s – what a world!) that you shouldn’t bother to fill your brain up with information that you can just look up!
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“as it is to NOT spout off.” Or type too fast.
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yeah thats the ticket
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Good morning everyone on this 11-11-11. Today, Stella, my best friend’s mother, turns 97. Happy Birthday and way to go Stella!
Some things are more important to know than others. The trick, of course, is to know what the important stuff is. It’s when we can’t agree on what’s important, we get into trouble. From what I can gather, Gov. Perry and I would not agree on most issues, and I find it downright scary to think that he and Ms. Bachman may actually represent what roughly half the people in this country think is important. Please, someone, reassure me that isn’t the case.
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Good morning to all,
Perry shouldn’t have even tried to give any details about his economic plan. If he has trouble presenting his plan he should just not tell us much about it. That’s what most politicans would do. His mistake wasn’t forgetting the name of a department he wants to eliminate, it was sticking his neck and trying to tell us anything about what he plans to do.
It is important to know stuff. Now we know that Perry can be bumbler. He was elected as governor of Texas more than once, so I guess he does know how to get elected, at least in Texas. However, I have heard some reports that make me wonder how he was able to get elected to more than one term in that state. I think if the voters in Texas had know more stuff about Perry he would have only served one term or would never have become their governor. There is some stuff people should know, Bubby, such as the the qualifications of people running for public offices
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I’m not so sure about that, Jim, look at who he succeeded. Perry has that folksy charm and good looks that people like. He reminds me of Reagan. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, was on Letterman last night reading the Top 10 List, and I think that appeals to many people.
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just the guy you would want to have for an insurance salesan or to coach your kids football team but not the counrties leader
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Yes, it seems Perry can be charming. However, he shouldn’t tell us too much about what he believes in if he wants to get elected because that can be very scary from what I have heard.
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Exactly, tim. That why I’m concerned about Perry, that “aw shucks” Texas charm is what has sold him to so many people. I’m harder pressed to understand what the heck Bachman appeal is, but that’s just me.
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30% are nazi’s down deep archie bunker types
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If Perry was super smart he would have taken a lesson from Sarah Palin and written the answers on his hand before the debate… duh!
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and then quit
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i think not knowing stuff is something we can all lay claim to, you just have to search out the right criteria. i was talking to a friend the other day about the gop congressman form my district and he talks for a long time without saying anything. he doesn’t want you to know he does or doesn’t know . if you don’tknow you can’t be blamed or criticized. he like to present himself as a moderate. he took jim ramsteads spot and like to say he has the same values as jim ramstead. jim quit when the gop turned into god guns and gaays wit taxes abortion and mexicans as the only topics they touch. he parts his hair like jim ramstead but votes like michele bachman. i think governor perry and michele bachman are the perfect representatives for the tea party but the old saying says it al. its better to be quiet and have people think you don’t know that to open your mouth and allow them to be certain. the other choice is to talk around in circles and say nothing. i think those people have an opinion but the need to check with theor handlers to see what it is and how to dress it up before they bring it out in public.
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If only he voted like Ramstad & parted his hair like Bachman… you might have something to work with then!
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Go stuff!
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As a wise friend of mine says, the more you know, the more jokes you get. That is all.
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I don’t get it! 🙂
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snort
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I love that!
I also find that most books are more interesting the more you know.
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WOT, but fitting for Remembrance Day. Yesterday was a sad day at our house. Our largest cat, Albert, collapsed and died after apparently experiencing a seizure or some internal crisis like a stroke or embolism. My daughter and her best friend were going to pick him up to show him to another friend when he started running around in circles, skittering across the garage floor, smashing into walls and doors, and finally collapsing in the driveway. My husband was home at the time and put him in a large cardboard box.The girls were horrified and hysterical. My daughter was scheduled to go to her job at the movie theatre and phoned to say she couldn’t come. She was crying and not enunciating real well, and this is how the conversation went.
“My cat just died!”
(Manager) “You”re shi**ng me!”
“No. We think he had a stroke or a heart attack!”
(Manager) “Is he in the hospital?”
“No, he’s in the garage in a box!”
It was at that point that daughter realized the manager thought she said her dad had died. She thinks she cleared up the misunderstanding. She got the evening off in any event.
Oh, Albert was the best of cats, a real gemutliche guy. He was really our son’s cat, and our son was beside himself when we phoned to tell him about Albert. I plan to take Albert to the pet crematorium this morning.
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Sorry for your loss, Renee. Losing a pet is hurts, take comfort in your happy memories of Albert.
Had to laugh at the thought of what was going through the manager’s mind, though.
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Thank you. We had a good laugh through our tears over that conversation.
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my dad is in a box in the garage. (creamated)
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Hard to lose a kitty and a beloved pet. Glad you were able to find some humor in the evening.
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Renee – I’m so sorry to hear about Albert – gemutliche kitties are the best.
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sorry to you and your family. i hate losing friends and pets are sometimes the best friends you ever have. there is no bs involved. its all real. remember him well.
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Oh I am so sorry to hear about Albert- he sounds lovely.
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Rest in peace, Albert.
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😦
I imagine his days with you & your family were happy ones, tho! 🙂
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My roommate’s favorite cat died in August, so I empathize completely! Cosette died early on a Sunday morning, so my roommate stored her body in the freezer until Monday. The receptionist at the vet’s was slightly appalled when RM brought in an unthawed cat, and when RM, who has a dark sense of humor, started making jokes about the crows that had followed her the whole way and then about feline frisbees, the poor receptionist wasn’t sure she was allowed to laugh. Laughing through the tears, that’s the way to memorialize a good cat and a good person.
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And I suspect that’s what a lot of us will be doing tomorrow about Tom Keith.
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Renee, this is part of our family lore, like your story will be:
Right after I got married, my father, who preferred to name animals after their colors, got a new dog, which he named Sandy for its color. The problem is that my wife is named Sandra, Sandy to everyone but me. My wife was having trouble not seeing this as some sort of comment about her.
We were visiting in Duluth where my parents and my sister and her husband then lived. My father was over at my sister’s doing some work on her kitchen. He said to Cleo, “Sandy got really sick last night, I had to take her to the doctor.”
Cleo was all concerned. She asked, “Is she all right?”
My father answered that she seemed to be. But she had to get a shot so my father had to hold her while the doctor gave her a shot.
My sister had a brief mental image before she started laughing very hard to my father’s
confusion.
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Renee, it may be too late in the day for you to see this, but we have a new kitten, now 18 weeks old,and as yet, unnamed, Tonight we decided to name her Alberta, an extension of Albert, in his honor. Come visit her anytime, she’s a real spirited little cutie. Albert’s spirit lives on!
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How wonderful! Thank you so much!
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A smart person, to my mind, is smart enough to know what they don’t know 9which is a wholly different thing than the “known knowns and known unknowns” of the last administration – after all knowing who to ask and just relying on your inner circle are two different things). It is important to know enough where to look when you don’t know, or who to ask for solid information. Frankly, I like my presidents a little nerdy, a little wonky, and a lot smarter than I am.
OT, but in the interest of knowledge, who all is planning on attending the Tom Keith event tomorrow? Is there a planned meeting place once tickets are passed out? (And if I use a good dark chocolate bar as a bribe, is there anyone standing in line who would be willing to slide me a ticket since I probably won’t be able to arrive in time for line-standing?…)
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I plan on going, Anna, but if there’s huge crowd by the time I get there, I may just go back home. I’ll probably not get there until 3:30, so if it’s anything like the last Morning Show crowd, that may well be too late. That’s probably too iffy for you, but I don’t want to commit to standing in line if it looks like there are 600 people ahead of me.
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We are planning on heading over to check things out around 2-2:30 pm, I have knitting and a book, the s&h has a book. I will cheerfully ask for 2 tickets for each of us and give the 2 extra to any Baboon who asks for them (provided I get them).
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mig, it’s my understanding, and I could be wrong, but I don’t think they’re not handing out tickets until 4 P.M. Is that your understanding too?
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Yes, they start handing out tickets at 4. If I can get two tickets, I will share one. Especially if there’s dark chocolate in the bargain.
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Yes, my understanding is they don’t start handing out tickets until 4pm. We are out and about anyway, so will swing by around 2 and see what it looks like-if a line is forming, we will get in it, otherwise , we will find a coffee shop and read there for a bit.
(It’s that or go home and basement de-clutter some more-I’m willing to sacrifice that for my fellow Baboons)
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i am going but… iahve been informed of my duties and they will not allow my 200 arrival. i am searching for heolp from my children what the heck is the use of having em if you cant put em to work and hopefully i will achieve schedule bliss. 50/50 early arrival at best.
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These are the names of folks who mentioned a couple of days ago that they were going: tim, Linda, Margaret, Catherine, S&H, Joanne, Jacque and me. (My second ticket is going to Jacque.) I’m assuming that the seating is not assigned, so after we get tickets, we should probably grab seats? I’m planning on getting to the Fitz about 2:30 w/ a good book and maybe a stash of cookies (& some badges that I’m making for us).
If anybody wants my cell number, send me an e-mail at shelikins at hotmail.com.
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According to the FAQ on the web site, tickets ARE reserved seating. Once we get them – if we get them – we don’t need to be in a hurry to get in – we can meet others outside to pass the tickets on.
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Thanks for the update Linda… serves me right for not checking the FAQ. So we’ll congregate outside after we score tickets!
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Donna and Lora are possibilities too.
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Greetings! Jim and I are planning to be there and I’m going to say about 2 or 2:30. Should I request 2 tickets for someone? Anna, are you covered?
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Joanne, I’d love it if you could pick up a couple of ticketa for me. I have arthritis in my lower back and can’t stand that long. Have you looked at the list of courses I sent you? Should I bring any to the show?
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No problem, PJ. Jim and I will each get extra tickets for you and a guest. And yes, please bring along a course or two. I finally replied to your email with my choices.
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I am with Beth-Ann in being “pro-stuff”, but I will concede that if you get too absorbed in the stuff department you can be a really boring conversationalist and also not have much room left to consider what to do with that stuff (sort of like the current state of my basement, but never mind about that).
I do find the current fashion of deciding that anything you don’t know (or completely gaffe on) is thereby obviously not that important-or worse, that points of fact are subject to personal interpretation.
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Greetings! I’m going with what Anna said. Truth, knowledge, wisdom and knowing the difference between the trivial and important information takes a certain level of intelligence and discernment. Knowing where to find the answers with good information is also a skill. Unfortunately, some elected officials are getting by just on good looks, charm and blowing a lot of hot air that’s full of half-truths (as in half BS). I like what Anna said, “Frankly, I like my presidents a little nerdy, a little wonky, and a lot smarter than I am.” I love Clinton and Obama for that.
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And Carter…even though I was only in grade school while he was in office, I really liked him as president. I think he tried to do a lot of good things (and had a horrid congress to work with).
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I’d like to add my condolences Renee, about your kitty. So sorry.
And in the spirit of today’s post, I tried; to find a definition for “gemutliche”, which seems to be related to
ge·müt·lich·keit (g-mtlk-kt, -mütl-)
n. Warm friendliness; amicability.
and gemutlich comes up with snug, cozy, comfortable… I imagine I’m on the right track?
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Absolutely. That describes him to a T. Thanks so much.
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whats the albert turn around song? i cant remember the artist and its not surfacing on google
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You’re probably thinking of “Einstein the Genius”. The version TLGMS played was by the Cranberry Lake Jug Band, IIRC.
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thats it howerver it doesn t appear to be appropriate. excuse me renee
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Oh, that’s fine. We always said that was his song and he liked hearing his name on the radio.
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It’s not as important to know “stuff” as it is to know how to BE in the world… honest, respectful, compassionate, patient… all the stuff that you learn from living life & paying attention in the process. If you don’t know that stuff, no amount of looking things up or surrounding yourself with smart people will make up for what’s lacking.
OT (but not really)… I now know how to sex a mosquito, thanks to Beth-Ann. Guess I’m a fan of knowing stuff after all!
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Stuff . . . and nonsense.
Sturn und drang.
Peaches and cream.
Tea and sympathy.
Cakes and ale.
Pain and sorrow.
Love and joy.
Ways and means.
Pietists and rationalists: “Some people think knowing stuff is what smartness is all about. Other people say knowing stuff just gets in the way of feeling what’s right. ”
Bubby, you have perfectly expressed the two schools of Lutheranism, 1) Nordic pietists, who are driven by faith, by insight, by, though they would not admit it, by feeling. 2) German rationalists who are driven by clear thought, deductive reasoning, by their knowledge and learning. Bubby, perhaps your future lies in theology. Attend the Yale school of Theology, or better yet the University of Chicago School of Theology. You could be there for years, addressing letters to Mr. G. Posing the deep questions of life, mustard or mayo, broiled or fried, new or used, dogs or cats, grass or flowers, transubstantiation or consubstantiation, etc.
And Bubby, about this Sara Maxwell, celibacy or, well, you’ll learn.
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aye clyde thats a fine note of detailed evaluation of the world.
nice to see your posting this afternoon.
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