This song says much about my US ennui (but it ain’t all there was to it):

Frank Zappa’s “I’m the Slime”

I am gross and perverted, I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years, but very little had changed
I am the tool of the Government and industry too
For I am destined to rule and regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious but you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious with the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get. Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin' out from your TV set
You will obey me while I lead you and eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you. Don't go for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled: It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told until the rights to you are sold
That's right, folks.. Don't touch that dial
Well, I am the slime from your video, oozin' along on your livingroom floor
I am the slime from your video. Can't stop the slime, people, lookit me go

While I was in the US, I saw ads for “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” (in which a group of gay fellows out of central casting do a makeover for a straight fellow out of central casting), “Who Wants to Marry My Dad?” (in which I shoot myself), “Boy Meets Boy” (in which a gay fellow seeks a mate among a group of guys who may or may not be gay), “Stripperella” (in which Pamela Anderson is the voice of a stripper/secret agent), “Scarborough Country” (in which a former congressman with the smallest eyes I’ve ever seen boldly seeks to forward the fascist agenda), and “the WWE” (which featured a tiny one-legged hero versus the owner of the franchise).

Why do “they” hate “us”?

I propose a new reality show: “Who Wants to Guess Why I Feel Like Puking?”

By the way, I’m listening to Jello Biafra’s “I Blow Minds for a Living”. Over 10 years old, and right on topic. Odd? I pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday . . .

Also by they way: leafcutter ants are the coolest things ever. I am fortunate to be surrounded by them.