Weed, Segolene, and Chinese Farming

Do I look like a square or something? I've had a difficult time finding a weed source lately, so I've been compelled to ask people who exhibit all the visible symptoms of being a stoner if they have any green goodness. I've done this exactly seven times in my life, and each time I've been rebuffed with extreme prejudice. I can live with that, but what bothers me is the look I always get. It's a combination of disdain, fear, indignation, amusement, confusion and stupefaction. Afterwards, I flee the scene and promise myself to let my friends find marijuana for me. Then slowly over many months I get my courage back, and the cycle repeats.

The only explanation is that I must look like a narc or an asshole or something. It is, however, impossible for me to reconcile the way I see myself with the idea that anyone, for any reason, could think that I'm a cop. What a blow to my fragile ego. I'm not even all that fond of donuts. Perhaps I just don't look like a man who enjoys a good bowl now and then, whatever that look is supposed to be. I don't know.

About a year ago, I heard my barber talking to her sister about getting high. So the next time in, I pounced. Makes sense, right? But it didn't work out. Then there was the woman at "Tokyo Kid" in Harvard Square. She looked at me like I took a shit on the Hello Kitty display. And we're all familiar with that look. Sometimes I ask someone who simply can't deny being a stoner. Like the fellow I asked at the Freedom Rally five or six years ago on Boston Common. That son of a bitch lied right to my face. I don't get it. I'm cool. I'm hip. I have no ambition and desperately crave any and every escape from reality. I'm also a member of MassCann, dammit.

As an aside, for those of you who know me and are unfamiliar with my affection for marijuana, it's worth noting that I only do it in the evening, when I'm in for the night. I NEVER drive high, or "wake and bake," unless I'm certain that I don't need to go out all day. It's a shame that I have it so very rarely. Generally speaking, I pop lots of pills. But marijuana is a magical and beautiful thing; it's not addictive, and it can make just about anything funny, even a Bush press conference.

So, you got any?

On to something else. The Frenchies had a national election this past weekend, and Socialist candidate and hottie Segolene Royal came in second to Right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy. That means that she will be in a run-off election with him on May 6. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's good to see socialists doing so well around the world, and painful that we're so marginalized here. A comrade of mine in New Jersey sent me some of Royal's speeches, given this past weekend. I'm fond of this comment she made:

I call on all those who ... believe it is possible to reform France without brutalizing it, who want a triumph of human values over the stock market, who want an end to the painful rise of insecurity and precariousness...

Outstanding.

One last thing before I head out to the hospital and visit papa. Mother Jones magazine has a short article (actually, a collection of statistics about online gaming) in the May/June '07 issue. It's the one with a bare-assed guy on the cover. Anyway, according to author Dave Gilson, 500,000 Chinese gamers earn an average of $100 a month "gold farming" on World of WarCraft and other online role-playing games. Gold farmers are defined as people who, "...perform menial tasks inside online worlds to create virtual goods to sell to players in the West."

The people of China must think we're the biggest bunch of douchebags going. Not only do we think we NEED the cheap labor in Chinese "free trade zones," we can't even play video games without their help. If we could outsource nose-picking and ass-wiping, we would. No wonder they're working so hard to get an aircraft carrier, and are putting submarines to sea as fast as they can build them. They're just aching to beat us up. It seems that the entire world either hates us like poison or is really annoyed by everything we do.

Well, that's the extent of my in-depth analysis of world affairs right now. I'm certainly happy that you decided to drop by and chat over coffee. And weren't those cookies delicious? Go ahead and take a couple home with you, I'm trying to lose weight. Go ahead, they'll just go to waste here. Oh, and drive carefully and enjoy the nice weather we're having. Bye bye...talk to you soon.