To MIC: An Update

Posted By: indie616
Posted on: Jul. 11, 2006 at 10:20 PM

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_{Dear Moron-in-Charge:}

_{I thought I would update you on the goings on at V of AZ since you have been out of the country for a while.}

_{Prometheus changed his picture from a jaguar to a flag. His reasoning was sound (to make a point that the flag wasn’t the sole domain of AA and conservatives) but did confuse some regular readers for a time. However, we did figure out a way to discern AA’s flag from Prom’s flag. AA’s waves to the right and Prom’s to the left.}

_{I changed my picture from “a blob of green crap” (per the always eloquent JW Shelton) to Mount Rushmore.}

_{Speaking of Shelton, he called for Prometheus and I to commit suicide and I am glad to report that I didn’t take his advice and as far as I know, neither did Prom.}

_{AZ Moderate and Phadreus kept up their usual high standards of posting and commenting.}

_{AA posted an article or two. It was the usual pabulum, and his comments were snarky as usual. I swear that guy has a line from the “right wing talking points” wired directly into his head.}

_{Oh, and AntiChrist is back! And with a poll! I asked him directly about his “suspension.” This was his reply, “nah i got suspended for saying that i wasnt gonna post for a while when mr crum got banned, since there wasnt anything to post about after he was gone.” Agree or disagree with AC, he is entertaining. Oh, and I do have to say that William has been on his best behavior.}

_{Haven’t seen anything of June. Miss her. June, June, where have you gone? Must you make us wait for dawn. (sorry, I suck at poetry).}

_{Have had a couple of newbies post. That is always nice, especially when it is a heartfelt article and not just a cut and paste job-especially without crediting the original authors or providing links.}

_{So, you are somewhat up to date. I probably have missed some folks, and if so, I apologize.}

_{MIC, you have some reading to do.}

_{Welcome back.}

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Comments:

The Antichrist

Jul. 12, 2006 at 01:16:46 AM

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loools were like a big ol circle of friends who keep eachother updated no matter the situation or who doesnt like who. its great! now will someone please tell me who the f*** payed my electricity bill for me!?

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www.MoronInCharge.com

Jul. 12, 2006 at 07:05:49 AM

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Thank you Indie,

I never expected an article addressed to me (unless it was an attack). I am honored, and appreciate the update. I checked in ever so briefly during my vacation, but was unable to pry my wife's work computer from her hands for any more than a moment a day, and keeping up on email was first priority. Besides, there was much sightseeing to do, and I had to appreciate the famed rudeness of French waiters firsthand.

Yes, I have a lot of reading to catch up on. I'm eager to hear AA gloat about Bush's marvelous paring down of the annual deficit to only $296 billion (BRAVO!!!) and his take on the tranquility in Baghdad following the death of Zarqawi. I think we're turing the corner there. How 'bout those North Koreans? I think we got them just where they want us.

I am glad to see Antichrist's demented evil eye (like the eye of Sauron) casting his gaze upon us. I too noticed the not so subtle direction that AA's and Prometheus's flags waved. And I approve of your new icon . . . much better than the colorized agate Apple inspired desktop pattern.

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AZ Moderate

Jul. 12, 2006 at 01:19:24 PM

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Maybe the BOSS paid it AC. I'm sure he intends to keep you in electricity.

Nice note to MIC indie. Good summary, but I can't imagine Moron In Charge has the time to catch up on all that has been written in his absence. The site is really hoppin', ain't it?

Ah yes, the rude Parisians. I had a French manager at one time (absolutely the best boss I ever had), and he said the Parisians (not just the waiters) are rude to other Frenchmen too. So don't feel left out.

And if they don't have a foreigner or a French outlander to be rude to, they will be rude to each other. He lived in the south of France, and he had some funny stories about that aspect of the French in general and Parisians in particular.

I encountered a little of it in Paris, but it consisted mostly of pretending not to understand. I tried to buy stamps on time at a little store, and the fellow behind the counter was very helpful – in insisting that the mailbox was just there by the door and that is where I should put my letters. I never did get the stamps there. Had to go back to the hotel, where they were a little more accommodating of a paying guest.

the most insulting case happened in Brussels. The only case, I might add - the Belgians are very accommodating, and grow up speaking English, French (Walloonia),English, Flemish (Flanders), and did I mention English? But this parking lot attendant mocked me when I told him I did not understand what he was exclaiming about in French. He was quite the a******, but I figured he was fresh “of the boat” from Paris and was not a true Belgian.

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www.MoronInCharge.com

Jul. 12, 2006 at 03:28:09 PM

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You nailed it AZ Mod. Almost comically, the few rude a'holes we encountered pretended not to understand, and acted bewildered that we could be so imcomprehensibly stupid to be asking them a question in the first place. In one restaurant we were ordering a huge bucket of mussels to split between the two of us. First the waiter refused to take the order from me until he had given the menu to my wife and had her order from her lips (she does not speak French, but as we learned later, his English was much better than my French). When I finally convinced him to take my order, he continued to wait for her order, even though I clearly told him the food was for both of us. How could I possibly order 35 mussels, soup, cheese, and a bottle of wine, and not let my wife order her meal? What kind of selfish gluttonous American male pig was I? This kind of passive-aggressive dickishness amongst a minority of the French has given them their international reputation. My theory, at least as it applies to restaurants, is simple: this is the kind of service you get when the tip is already added to your bill.

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AZ Moderate

Jul. 12, 2006 at 04:35:37 PM

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Moron In Charge, you must have had a good time on your trip. Tell us more.

I’m sure the waiter could speak English and was laughing up his sleeve all the way to the kitchen with your order.

But that reminds me of Brussels again. Not the rudeness, but my wife and I went to a nice little restaurant just off the Gran Plas (Grand Place) in the center of Brussels for an evening meal. We as Americans of course wanted to eat and then get out and see the sights. Well, when we were done, we had a heck of a time getting the waiter to come to our table and give us our check, and then only reluctantly. It turns out that many European cultures make an evening of it at a particular restaurant of choice, savoring the food and conversation, and here we were eating and running in the finest American tradition. We did notice in retrospect that we had seen no other patron leave the restaurant while we were eating. We were set straight on this issue later by Belgian friends.

Oh yes. The value added gratuity. That’s another thing. Many Americans are unaware of this and tender a tip on the amount of the check, which of course already includes the tip (in French of course). The waiter will condescend to take your paltry tip, not bothering to explain that you are tipping on top of the tip already included.

I say old Bean, jolly good and tip top in their pocket, as our British friends would say.

Mussels heh? Hah yes, brings back memories. That is a “National dish” in Belgium. The call them” Mouls” (phonetic spelling – I don’t know how it is actually spelled). They are harvested from the North Sea through such ports as Ostende (East End). They are served boiled in a large pan or pot, and you should not eat any of them that has opened as I recall it because that would indicate a “bad” one.

Forgive my reminiscence, but your comments bring back memories. I’m a little surprised that they would serve them in Paris though. Must get them from Belgium. I remember that we (I) had Escargot in Paris. They were not bad, if you could get past the fact that they were in green slime and went down all in one string.

I like to do the local thing wherever I go. When in Rome do as the Romans do, you know. My wife declined that particular experiment, however.

Another time we were dining in a restaurant on the Champs Elysées. When we entered it was early and there were few people. The place was kinda split level, and we were seated at a table right at the edge of the foot high drop-off, with me on the drop-off side.

The place proceed to fill up and a group of French women were seated at the table right behind me, but on the next level down. I got the impression it was a mother and her grown daughters.

Well, you guessed it. When we got ready to leave I pushed back from the table and the back legs of my chair grabbed air. I landed on my back partly on their table and in their laps. Was I surprised? Were they surprised? Madam and Mademoiselles, permit me to introduce myself? Whatdaya say in a situation like that?

By that time, my wife, who had had two years of high-school French, was standing on the sidewalk outside looking in at the “Ugly American’ picking himself up off of these nice French ladies and apologizing profusely (in American – I knew how to excuse myself in French, but I did not want to convey the impression that I knew enough French to carry on a conversation). I backed away bowing and scrapping in abject mortification and left for the sidewalk and my laughing spouse as the ladies were exclaiming and explaining to each other what had happened. Several waiters had rushed over to assist, and they were all recounting the event and analyzing it amongst themselves.

You know, I had never thought of it before, but I have to wonder if the waiter that placed me at that table set me up for a fall, so to speak. I don’t think so, but that table was positioned as an accident waiting to happen and there I was. Why that table when we were initially about the only ones in the whole place?

We caught a bus and sat there and laughed until we ran out of tears. The other people must have thought we were some of those “crazy Americans”. They were not necessarily wrong.

Another little sidecar on this tale. During our meal, another man was seated at our table on my wife’s side. In Europe in general, it is customary to seat strangers at the same table if necessary. He simply ordered, read his paper (as I recall it – we didn’t communicate at any rate), paid his check and left before my main act.

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indie616

Jul. 12, 2006 at 08:57:12 PM

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AZ Mod. You wrote "Nice note to MIC indie. Good summary, but I can't imagine Moron In Charge has the time to catch up on all that has been written in his absence."
Don't bet on that! LOL.

Loved your stories. I find it is not a worthwhile vacation unless you have good stories. A meal is just meal, but when you fall off a chair into a bunch of frenchwomen, THAT IS A VACATION!!!!!!!!

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www.MoronInCharge.com

Jul. 12, 2006 at 10:16:04 PM

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Reminds me of Animal House:

"Face it Flounder, you didn't throw up IN FRONT of Dean Wormer, you threw up ON Dean Wormer!"

That is a great story. Oo la la! Guess that by comparison, I really wasn't on vacation.

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Lars The Viking

Jul. 13, 2006 at 12:36:39 PM

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Nice touch indie616. A welcome back letter. And your decision to change your picture from“a blob of green crap” to the Mount Rushmore monument was probably appropriate.

Great tourist stories in the comments. Wish I’d been there.

Yes, where is June? For that matter, looking back through the archived articles, where is Maggie, Normalized Vector, Bryan, Arizona Mom, rdrover, and a bunch of other contributors that shared the limelight once upon a time?

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