What I've been up to...

Being a teacher means I had a Christmas break, and that’s where I’ll start: I got to spend time with my family for a party, and then with friends from my old theatre group at another. I went to a Farmer’s Tan Market show, and there I saw about a million people that I only ever communicate with through facebook nowadays. It was really fun. 

my filmmaker friend and I

I really enjoyed having money for Christmas. I bought my family gifts, for once. I’ve always been too poor to buy my family much, but this year I went all out. I love giving sooooo much more than receiving, and so this year was a big deal for me. The best gift I bought was a book called Crap Taxidermy for my cousin. The other best gift I got was PEZ for my family, in memory of my grandma. My gran used to get PEZ every year. The worst candy in the world, but you have to love your grandma for it!

So, past Christmas, I spend New Year’s at my friend’s new apartment, and there I also won my first game of poker. My break ended in January and I managed to get this book I wrote read through for edits.

Back to work, my first week was marred by cold that kept kids home (which made my day easy). I also gave my own feedback on a book and read many others. January was a little boring, but it’s been a month of looking forward, reading, and working.

the singer of Farmer's Tan Market and myself

Forward: I started some plans for taking a day to go skiing next month, camping this summer, and potentially doing some theatre-related stuff. I also have a count on the number of days until my Spring Break: 42 working days, 18 weekend/days off, so 60 total. I get 9 days off for Spring Break in March, so I’m planning to get my book near the finishing line so that I can begin submitting it later this year (hopefully around July).    

Budweiser’s Make Opening Day A National Holiday Campaign

Baseball makes Budweiser a ton of money. Do I need to say more? Yes? Alright…

It seems like everyone is being shuffled into another dumb viral marketing campaign. My facebook is clogged with people talking about making MLB’s Opening Day a nationally recognized holiday. Meanwhile, all of the shared links, pictures, and videos of Ozzie Smith are plastered with Budweiser, Budweiser, Budweiser.

Before you start calling me a commie, please note that I think Opening Day would be a fun sort of holiday. I love baseball. I really do. I have the STL Cardinals, and who could ask for a better team to root for? (I used to own an Ozzie Smith baseball card collection!)

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But the idea of a major corporation purchasing a nationally recognized holiday sickens me. It really does. Corporations already own the entire government. Political leaders might as well have endorsements sewn onto their suits to display all the companies that own them.

Do we really need for our national culture to become marketing propaganda any more than it already is? Because that’s what it will be. If Budweiser can throw money at this, purchase a national holiday, it will not be baseball’s holiday… it will be Budweiser’s.

Every year, we will have a nationally recognized holiday that will have been bought and paid for by a beer company, and they will never let us forget it.

MLK vs. BUD

I don’t want Budweiser in the same league as Martin Luther King Jr.. I don’t want to decoration for Budweiser Day the same as I do for Christmas. No. No, no nononoono.

No!

If you want opening day as a holiday, America, do it on your own terms, not a beer company’s. Please. Have some self-respect. Don’t sell out our cultural significance to marketing propaganda.

Also, opening day can’t become a holiday before Halloween.





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