grayspike

Unexpected delight last week.

I got a raise. I didnt even have to politick for it. Naturally if I had I either wouldnt have gotten one or it wouldve been given grudgingly.

Several of my co-workers were badgering so hard for their own boosts that there may be managerial repercussions down the line. Meaning for the time being they can forget about normal workday slacking and receiving favors.

Whether I deserved the raise or not is moot. The boss thought I did and he coughed up.

Since the extra bucks are so unexpected, though much appreciated, I wonder how Ill squander them.

Hmmmm. I see some of you have wish lists. Maybe Ill grant some wishes.

Thanks to the miracle of digital cable we receive Euronews here. Its the perfect supplement to the BBC and France 2.

American news broadcasts arent all that informative. At least not with substantial news.

All the alphabets go hog-wild about Jude Law pounding his kids nanny but serve up slim portions regarding vital goods. Like how the Patriot Act infringes on more than a couple Constitutional guarantees.

Our so-called fight for freedom will not be won by eroding any rights weve already gained. Going backwards is not just another way of going forward.

After the heavy-duty reports, Euronews has segments on culture. Admittedly some of what engages European minds are acid trips without the chemistry.

However, over the weekend one arts feature proved irresistible.

The Leopold Museum in Vienna ran a promotion to goose the number of viewers to its nudes exhibition. If the viewer showed up in a bathing suit or, better yet, butt-nekkid, the patron received free entry. Of course Euronews interviewed as many naked people as possible. All in the name of high-brow art, mind you.

I tried imagining that here. Forget it!

The protesters, who otherwise wouldnt be caught dead in a museum (or a library or book store for that matter), would rant about the decline of society; that all those naked people reflecting upon nude portraits was filthy; that nudity itself was improper. About the last, I guess they dress and bathe in the dark.

American prudery makes things dirty. Our disgust is nave. The attractive, the suggestive, the sensuous are all too often dismissed as evil by people whove purposely deadened their capacities to learn and prize.

We each should be able to appreciate an exquisite expanse of bare back, the curve of a breast or haunch of thigh, shouldnt we?