Rome?! You shoulda seen Naples!

I've been reading a thread on dKos about the downfall of American society (so what else is new?). One person cited the ever increasing rudeness of American drivers as evidence of the downfall. Someone else said that rude drivers aren't confined to America and asked if they've ever been in Athens or Rome during rush hour. Then a third person said:

"The main train station in Naples, Italy, was (is?) one of those psychotic traffic circuses. I used to take friends visiting from the states to a small cafe nearby, and we'd watch the fun for hours.

My mother, who is an awful driver, inspired my favorite Italian reaction to drivers that cut them off, went too slow, or generally pissed them off. The poor driver discommoded by Mom's driving would place their hands together in prayer, and look to the sky while gently shaking their hands back and forth.

Here, we just flip people off."

Maybe that's why I didn't take it personally when the Neapolitan train station employees purposely sent us foreigners to the wrong train during the work strike of June 2004.

But when an American driver pisses me off, I take it personally.

I think aggressive American driving would be so much more fun if everybody would do the shaking of the prayer hands thing.

Alternatively, we could do the waving of raised hands with palms inward, thumbs touching middle and ring fingers. It's not just a stereotype - Italians really do that.

English as She is Spoke

Kent gave me this book for Christmas last year and now it's a website. It's an English phrasebook translated from Portuguese to French to English and it's deliciously horrendous.

Mark Riley zinger

So on today's Morning Sedition on Air America, Marc Maron says, to the disbelief of others in the studio, that he'd like to go to Antarctica because of the peace and solitude: "it's so white and quiet."

To which Mark Riley replies, "You can find places like that in Brooklyn."

Yowza!

Maybe Riley should write more material for the show. Something to replace the WiFi 3000 Headline Translator. That bit is pah-ri-tee stale.

This week's Onion

The Onion hits the nail on the head yet again.

I wonder what the Daily Show has been saying. I keep forgetting to watch it.

These days, at least until the journalists went down to LA, sarcasm is the only source of truth I can find.

The Hummer Brigade

Everyone who owns a Hummer or H2 or any big-ass SUV should be called up to the Hummer Brigade to drive down to New Orleans and pick up as many people as they can.