America, F*ck Yea!

I was feeling a tad blah still about Tuesday's elections, and I needed a pick-me-up. And it needed to make fun of American Exceptionalism, because after all the Tea Partiers that got voted in, I wasn't feeling like our country was that exceptional, other than needing to be clobbered by a steel pipe.

So first I turned to Team America, which did a pretty good job, but I wanted to skip the laughter and just feel good about things. And what better place than listening to James Earl Jones talk about how the Olympics kick ass. Yeah, it's a little weird, but the intro videos they've been doing for the Olympics have been pretty damn good, even though they did dump James for some schlub and then have Costas take a turn or two. Bleh. Stick with Vader, pay him whatever he wants, he makes it better.

Anyway, here's some of the videos I am talking about. I know I'm in the minority of people who devoutly love the Olympics and watch as many minutes of it as possible (while secretly pining to become the next great American curler).

2000 Sydney Olympics (in my opinion the best one they ever did; they struck lightning first and never got it back).



2002 Salt Lake Olympics (nice Jim McKay opening, and wild to look back and think this Olympics happened just 5 months after 9/11).

This 2004 Athens one is probably the runner-up to the Sydney one. Won't lie, 40% of my vote is because of Vader again.

Co-opting Hope

I gave up soft drinks almost a decade ago now. I dabble in the occasional ginger ale when a upset stomach busts in, but there will be no pop otherwise.

I preface this because I'm not bagging on Pepsi here because I am a Coke man or some other B.S. I'm pissed at Pepsi because they have co-opted Obama's hope message and plastered the Metro Center station with about 9 million signs and banners advertising their new logo. It's all crap, it's annoying, they look like crap and it ruins all the fun and joy from the inauguration. I hate looking at them. I cannot wait for them to go away.

There, I feel better now.