This Is This

I don’t want no Civil War.

Not my words, but those of Axl Rose’s revisionist assessment of the battle that split their country. When Gun N’Roses recorded this song, I guess he was sitting on the fence, because he wasn’t calling for Civil War, but he wasn’t saying he didn’t was no Civil War, fromt which one concludes that a little Civil War might be a good thing. Then there’s a bit of whistling, which only adds to the indecisiveness. As a statement, though, I think it works.

There’s something about the US Civil War that captures my imagination. Jonny Reb fighting Billy Yank. There’s a romance to the horror, there’s a frustration in the hopelessness and the determination of the men who fought.

It’s there in the everything. The trust in the cause, the letters home and the windy phrases, the uniforms. The hats. Those caps with the flat bit on top and the bit of ribbon? That was headwear. If I lived back then and was asked to take arms against my brother, I’d probably join up just for the hats. And the slave thing, obviously.

I had a quiet weekend, which is good. Was and is. I’m primed for the fortunes of the week and the challenges it brings. Like how in meetings when someone doesn’t want to talk about something and suggests you and them “take it offline”, I will no longer be tempted to say “Actually, no. I’ve very much rather keep it fucking online? How about that shit? I just made that word up. And yes it’s fucking gibberish, but of course you’re welcome to use it.”

Guess I picked the wrong week to give up italics.

By the way: this summer’s going to be all about starfruit. You read it here first.

Also on This Is This
Cliff: “Jim! Hey Jimmy, how you doing?”
Jim produces Palmpilot and stylus and taps it a few times. He studies the screen and pauses.
Jim: “I need eggs.”
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This entry was posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 8:45 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed, or you can skip to the end and leave a comment yourself.