Bookstore Fiasco

So I went into a book store recently, and although I didn't find the book I was looking for, I did leave with a quick story that I'd like to share. Perhaps you will be as mortified as I was...

The book store in question is a small, mom-and-pop shop that sells used books. There is a general organizational scheme, but it basically resembles a flea market in the sense that there are several places that you might find any one particular thing. I took advantage of the semi-sloppy organization to approach a fairly cute girl that worked there and ask her if she could help me locate the book I was looking for (God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Kurt Vonnegut). Typically, I have a thing for girls that work in book stores (I’ve dated a couple), but after I asked her about locating Vonnegut within the mayhem of their store, she gave me a baffled look and asked "Who's Kurt Vonnegut?", and I was instantly turned off. I think she noticed that a part of me recoiled in horror when she asked who Vonnegut was, and she tried to cover with “Well, I’ve heard the name, I just don’t know what he wrote." But it was too late - the damage was done. I instantly cited irreconcilable differences and said, “Never mind, I’ll just keep browsing”.

How can you work at a book store and not know who Kurt Vonnegut is?

The Future Is Unwritten

I just recently watched "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten", and I must say that I heartily recommend it to anyone who has any interest in music or even culture in general. The man was simply incredible, and this documentary is both extremely entertaining and highly fascinating. (For any of my readers who weren't sure, the name of my blog is directly borrowed from the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros song of the same name.)

As has been stated many times before, The Clash was "the only band that mattered", and Joe Strummer was the only front man that mattered. If you haven't already, I urge you to do yourself a favor and buy every Clash album ever released, as well as every Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros album. You won't regret it.

On a totally different note, I am recently becoming a big fan of Dilbert comics, and I'm currently reading "The Dilbert Principle" by Scott Adams. I always thought Dilbert was okay, but now that I am firmly entrenched as another insignificant cog in the corporate machine, I have found that Dilbert is absolutely hilarious. Unfortunately, every hearty laugh at his witty, satirical observances of life in an office dominated by corporate motivation and management techniques is followed by tear shed at the horrifying realization that the "jokes" are so true that you might as well be reading your own company's new-hire orientation manual and associate handbook.