The Wrestler is America

The Wrestler is the archetype of the dying warrior, the falling, not yet fallen, hero. The Wrestler is beaten, bruised, scarred and scared--but he's proud to be standing on two feet. The Wrestler has a pure heart, but a body that won't cooperate. The Wrestler wants to do right by his family and friends, but is too set in his ways. He is intelligent, but uneducated. The Wrestler shoots steroids into his muscles, snorts powder up his nose, and worships the unholiest of deities--himself. The Wrestler is nourished by the love and respect he receives from his ragtag and loyal fans. The Wrestler will never quit--what would he do? He could never hold down a job. The Wrestler will die in the ring and his fans will cheer him on when he does it.

It's Fun To Smoke Marijuana

Remember when you could play records backwards? Those were the days. The world, to quote a former student of mine, was practically my oyster back then. I played "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen backwards and it sure sounded an awful lot like they were saying "It's fun to smoke marijuana." Only it was kind of trippy sounding, as if the words themselves had been smoking marijuana. I enjoyed doing that. Speaking of Queen, remember when "Bohemian Rhapsody" didn't make you change the station? I must have listened to that song a hundred times the first day I heard it. I didn't know music could sound like that, simultaneously operatic and hard-rocking. For a while I tried playing most of my record albums backwards, but nothing much happened, except on the aforementioned Queen, some later-mid-period Beatles stuff, and of course, one of the tunes off Pink Floyd's "The Wall"--but I can't remember which one.