Does anybody else think they smell a hot potato getting ready to
explode in the Oval Office microwave?
Since we´re on the subject of evocative aromas (Oh, and
when aren´t you, I hear some of you kvetching. People, this is
basically a column about trash; if you hear about some that smells
pleasant, by all means let me know) ...
Here´s a nice local-boy-makes-good tale about a
gent from Pittsburgh who wouldn´t be able to smell a hot potato if you
hit him over the head with one.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Dane Summerville, a
diver and mechanic with the Army Corps of Engineers, received a
temporary assignment in New Orleans, and his first day there he
mentioned to a supervisor that he has no sense of smell: "If you have a
stinky job, let me know. I might be your man."
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding! Did they have a stinky job for him:
Overnight, Summerville became manager of the largest operating dump in
the world, the Gentilly 95 landfill. And if you think that rings
a bell, it may be because you´ve read about the Gentilly here
previously. It´s the place where, among many other things, they´re
clearing out all the fridges full of rancid food from Hurricane Katrina.
Since we´re on the subject of rancid food in fridges .... Just
kidding. Let´s move on to something at least marginally more stomachable.
Hey, look, kids,
Al Gore´s back in the news. The former VP and one-time
president-elect (for a couple hours, anyway) is making headlines at the
Sundance Flimflam-Fest with a film about ... Al Gore. Doing a
slide show. On global warming. With charts.
For me, and I can´t put my finger on exactly why, this conjures the
poignant image of John Belushi as an old man dancing atop his
Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time cohorts´ graves. In black-and-white. In the
wintertime. Sigh.
Ah, well. God bless Al. He´s back, and he´s fighting for something he
believes in. And as a bonus, the story has some quotes from Larry David,
who gets my vote as Funniest Man Alive. We all could use a little
enthusiasm-curbing now and then, no?
Lastly, since we were, somewhere back there, talking about climate
change and fighting for things you believe in, let´s close today with a
story from America´s self-proclaimed Finest "News" Source, the Onion:
Nation´s Snowmen March Against Global Warming. This is a
sad, sad tale. And be forewarned: It ends tragically. A snow-spokesman´s
face slides off in midquote.
A debate that has been quietly raging in the
Bush administration over whether to accept other countries´ spent
nuclear fuel for reprocessing appears to have been resolved in favor
of going ahead with the proposal. A senior White House official
