Oddness of the world around us

While reading a British literary magazine I noticed a sidebar of “famous first lines.” The famous first line was listed followed by a bit of witty banter. This is the entry for The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison:

“I am an invisible man.” No, he’s not a spook; he’s a flesh and blood man!

I can only hope the British have different slang than we do in American.

Along the same line, for her identity collage one of my students included a series of photos taken at one of those nifty photo booths present at all malls and tourist traps. This particular set of photos was taken during a zoo visit. It showed my student, a pretty white girl, with her African-American boyfriend. Blazoned along the top border of the photos are the words “Jungle Fun!” and various exotic looking plants.

Excerpts from student papers:

“I really enjoy taking the New York Pubic Transportation System.”

“Martin Luther King’s infamous speech will always be remembered.”

and more student car porn:

“I can play my favorite tune with my foot, while I’m held tight against her sweet interior. My baby has the power to turn me on, but I hold the key to what makes her wheels spin! ‘I’ve gotta V-12 sicker than a female; feels like intercourse buckling the seatbelt.’”

On the corner next to my house is a billboard that changes between three different ads. Often it gets stuck in a limbo between two ads. This week it was stuck between a Halloween store ad, which features a large grim reaper on the far left side, and St. Vincent’s Children’s Hospital. It looked so natural that a second look was needed to make sure St. Vincent was not indulging in a bit of sick humor.