February Useless Observations
Hello everyone,
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter. General Beauregard Lee did not see his shadow, which means we’ll be getting an early spring. In today’s political climate, I was hoping at least the groundhogs would be able to agree on something, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. However, the one thing we can all agree on is that it’s time for more Useless Observations! The last installment can be found here. Let’s get into it before winter comes.
UO #1: My wife and I have decided to watch a Black movie every other day this month for Black History Month. She’s seen some movies but there’s a lot more that she hasn’t seen so we’re going to catch up now. I plan to show her some classics, some ridiculous ones, and some straight-to-DVD movies that probably should not have been made. And I’ll write about it in my next Movie Club newsletter in March. Stay tuned.
UO #2: Speaking of Black History Month, isn’t it time we had serious discussions about the names of the NAACP and UNCF? I don’t think the organizations should go away, but they could both benefit from a rebrand. The UNCF has already decided to formally change its name to the acronym and remove “negro” from the title, so what’s stopping it from committing to a full-blown makeover?
UO #3: Do they still make steakums? I haven’t seen steakums in close to two decades. I tried to find some at Publix last week for research purposes but I was unable to, so I got worried about the beloved fake meat brand. I don’t know what meat steakums claim to be, but I know they aren’t steak.
UO #4: No matter how many advertisements they show me while I’m watching a video, I will never pay for YouTube as a matter of principle. The new 15-20 second ads that are unskippable are pretty damn annoying, but I remember when YouTube was invented and I refuse to pay for it.
UO #5: Is there anything more infuriating than when you fail the “Prove you’re not a robot and click on the images of fire hydrants” test?
UO #6: The imperial system is such a wild concept. I understand the widespread usage of the metric system, as it is extremely logical and sensible. However, the imperial system had to have been born out of pettiness, megalomania, or both because nothing about it makes any sense. This is why every nation except the United States and Canada has abandoned the imperial system.
UO #7: Related to the imperial system, football had been in existence for decades before American football was invented. Blatantly stealing the name from another sport, and making it use the imperial system of measurement, is crazy when you think about it. Patriotism morphing into nationalism can lead to some interesting inventions.
UO #8: Speaking of football, it has always bothered me that offensive tackles are on the outside of the offensive line, and defensive tackles are not on the outside of the defensive line. Defensive ends usually start on the outside of the defensive line, but in reality, they can move around wherever they wish. Why doesn’t the offensive line ever change its configuration to try to keep the defense off guard? I wonder if that’s going to be in an NFL script these next few years.