on dullness and its opposite

all work and no play makes jack a dull boy...or so i have been told - actually, there are plenty of deadly dull dudes who play all day long and don't do a damn bit of work (the former president of the united states, for example) - dullness, in fact, comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors...and so does its opposite -

most of the people i interact with every day are actually quite dull: the conversation never seems to get beyond, "how's it goin' man" or "what ya doin' this weekend" - the people at work are slightly better, but just because they have higher degrees doesn't mean you'd ever want to be trapped with them in an elevator for more than a few minutes (a ph.d, i'm afraid, is no guarantee of a sharp wit or a keen intellect) -

i also think that all those people who are supposed to be so damn cool, fascinating, or enthralling are actually the biggest bores of all - let me prove it:

........the real housewives of new york
.....................the donald
............................britney speers
.......................................rush limbaugh
.............................................dr. phil

...all total and complete bores - i would probably have to kill myself if i had to spend more than 10 minutes in the company of any of these drones - sure, they all probably look great and undoubtedly smell terrific (well, maybe not Rush Limbaugh), but what could they possibly say or do that would even remotely interest me? Perhaps if they could all be put into a steel cage and forced to battle to the death, then I might be intrigued - yes, i would definitely commit to watching dr. phil for the first time if i could see him impale the donald with a rusty hook!

here are a few people who actually do intrigue me:

• Bob Dylan: has gone his own way for over 40 years and still refuses to compromise with his art.
• Ralph Nader: the ultimate wacko, super-righteous, 2000 election-spoiling, unrepentant liberal.
• Paul Krugman - egghead New York Times economist who is always f#$%ing right about everything.
• Bill Mahr: my favorite atheist and libertarian.

i know what you are going to say: my favorites are old white dudes with decidedly liberal leanings...so where's the diversity?

i'll admit that I relate to contrarian curmudgeons who don't give a damn what people think about them - so what! - one day i actually hope to be a contrarian curmudgeon myself, so it's not surprising that these dudes are my role models -

invite any one of these people over for dinner, and i bet it would be the best evening of your life - they might not look so hot or have the best table manners, but any one of my favs would light up a room with his wisdom, wit, and wackiness -