I might be offended. Should I be offended? Are you offended?

[lolaraincoat]

So I've spent most of the day moving back into my laptop with the nice new harddrive, and this led to updating software, including the iTunes software. That's how I discovered that one of the new! improved! features of iTunes turns out to be a neat little box beside the name of a few songs in my library, whose neat little red all-caps texts warns EXPLICIT. I just noticed it next to the Rufus Wainwright song "Gay Messiah." Prince, Bessie Smith and Funkadelic did not get boxed, which means -- I guess -- that you can be as dirty as you please as long as it's all couched in elaborate metaphor. Or that the people labelling the music figure that innocent youth don't listen to music recorded before 2003.

Yes, yes, I should be more offended by George Bush's comparison, in a speech today, between the Iraq war and the US war of independence. But if I was going to take umbrage at every idiotic remark anyone makes about the past, there would be no umbrage at all left for all the other historians.

Comments

[ithiliana.livejournal.com]

We have a snazzy calendar that counts down the days to Shrub leaving office with a selection of choice quotes of his stupidity. I wore out my umbrage at him long ago.

I always roll my eyes, however, at the letters to the editor which start out "history will judge!" because, dudes, you know, history ain't no judge, but it's funny that people keep claiming it is so.

Other historians *much* more worthy of your time, attention, and umbrage!

[lolaraincoat.livejournal.com]

Oh, I just meant that I didn't want to deplete the precious global stockpile of umbrage, when so many other historians need some too.

But your reading works better, actually ... hmmm ... let's just say that's what I meant all along, then, all right?