I have recently been introduced, via some sort of chain email (which I normally loath) to Jaywalking.
For those who don’t know, here’s the Wiki.
I didn’t know.
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry when I saw the Best of Jaywalking
Okay, I laughed….
But I felt sad while I did.
Are people really that stupid?
What bothered me more than the sheer stupidity was the seeming lack of concern, embarrassment or, dare I say, mortification of those who couldn’t answer the simplest of questions.
One didn’t know where Paris is, but thought it might be in London…. Wherever London is. Europe might be in London, too.
One thought the Panama Canal is in Peru. To give him credit, he hazarded a wild guess that the Great Wall of China might be in China…. but he wasn’t sure.
One didn’t know the name of the painting, which Jay described as ‘Jesus and his apostles sitting around a table having a last supper.’
No one knew who Betsy Ross was.
One thought the pyramids pre-dated Jesus – but only by a few weeks. But didn’t know where they were.
No one knew what was actually being celebrated on the 4th of July. One thought it was independence… from America.
The really shameful thing is these were not 5 year old’s being asked questions; one was a grammar school teacher which was very scary; and one a college professor which was tragic.
My question is this: why would a college professor allow herself to be so humiliated on television? Is there no risk that she could loose her job? What force does Jay Leno exert on these people?
Or are they so ignorant that they don’t know how ignorant they are?
Now….
For those of you who picked up on my use of the word ‘loath’.
We had an interesting discussion over Christmas.
Mon mari and I had often commented to each other about our friend constantly saying that he ‘loathed’ this or that, finding it a bit off-putting that he could have such strong feelings about seemingly unimportant things. For example, he loathes pre-sliced white bread.
I asked him about it.
He said he found it odd that I ‘hated’ so many things. For example, I hate dried figs.
For me, loath is a stronger word than hate…. It’s a deeper, more visceral feeling.
For him it’s the opposite.
I’ll use his words: “If I loath a person, I will make no attempt to engage said person in conversation, and would avoid the person if possible, but if I hate a person I would be perfectly capable of killing him.”
For the record, he also said that while there were a few people he loathed, there were none he hated.
Isn’t it amazing how one can know someone for 10 years and still have one word with the potential of creating great misunderstandings?
Now…..
Wondering what I made first with my new toys?
These little rings?
I wanted something a little fancy for New Year’s Eve dinner….
I need more practice to use them to their full potental.
You can’t really tell but there is a layer of shredded potato, a layer of sauteed mushrooms and browned shallots, another layer of potatoes and finished with a layer of cheese.
The idea was that each layer be visible when the rings were lifted. I think I need more color.
On the other hand, it retained it’s shape nicely and, while not as pretty as hoped for, it was certainly delicious!
And it was fun playing…
Oh…. We’ve started back to work on the house – update next week.
À bientot
I am mortified when I watch Jaywalking. Some of those folks he is talking to have college educations! I guess those that allow their sheer stupidity to be displayed before millions of viewers are perhaps looking for their personal 15 minutes of fame?
Hmmm….I will have to think on the difference between loathing and hating. My first inclination would be to say that loathing is the stronger word of the two. Maybe that is because loathing is not a word I use often, therefore I think it is harsher than hate? I AM relieved to hear he hates no one!
Canada’s Rick Mercer has a feature like that, called “Talking to Americans”.
You will like it.
Love the rings, I want some too! Hooray for vertical food!
I watched that college instructor… Hard to believe it’s not a setup, equally hard to believe if it wasn’t that no one got fired. If I were in charge of the world, someone would have.
I guess I’d have to agree that I laugh, while feeling sad, when I see those clips. But your stacking rings just make me smile. Enjoy!
It has to be actors. Doesn’t it? Please say yes.
(I just looked at a few minutes of one of the Rick Mercer videos – I had to turn it off. Too mean. Too scary.)
It was really funny and sad at the same time..
Cindy, I agree on the word loath – thus our confusion. Can you believe some of those people are educating other people? How scary!
Natashya, thanks for the link – more to make my cringe and laugh. I can’t wait to make vertical salads… or for the warmth that will allow me to.
Year on the Grill, how do they get a degree in the first place? My world wouldn’t have allowed them out out kindergarten.
Zoomie, aren’t they fun? The rings, not the idiots….
Elizabeth, that’s my question…. If not, they are doubly stupid for allowing themselves to be exposed.
Healthy sports, very sad…. hahaha
No really. It HAS to be actors. Or people who will do anything to be on TV.
I was thinking about “loathe” vs “hate” and realize that I use “loathe” for food all the time. For instance, I loathe oozy scrambled eggs. Actually, I’m not wild about any scrambled eggs. But I’m loath to use “hate” with food. “Hate” seems like a more personal thing. I might hate the person who created a loathsome oozy scrambled eggs though, especially if that person knew that I was at an official function and had to mask my dislike and eat the revolting mess without allowing my face to twist into the “eeeewwwwwwwwwww” mode.
With people, the two words are pretty much interchangeable. Using your friend’s analogy: if I loathe a person, I avoid that person at all costs; if I hate a person, I avoid that person at all costs. (I don’t think I would go so far as physical violence in either case though but in both cases, shuddering is in order.)
Did “despise” come up as well? While I’m thinking I’d rarely say that I despise food items, I’d make an exception with squeezable cheese-product and extend my feeling towards the despicable people who invented it.
(Wheeeeeeeee!! This was fun!)
Elizabeth, no, despise didn’t come up… strange, now that I think on it, because we both use that word – I wonder if we mean the same thing. I love words – find them always fascinating. On the other hand, that despicable cheese-product and its humans: execrable.
proponents of putrid cheese-product: unconscionable (or, if you prefer to retain the alliterative aspect: preposterous)
I’d love to know what your friend’s connotation of “despise” is.
Elizabeth, at least one needn’t worry about it ‘going’ bad (as it already is). Next time we’re together I’ll expand that conversation.
can i have the recipe of the potato layered cheese ?I need it by today : )