widdershins

Hey, Mythbuster!

Thanks to Eric's recommendation I've been watching Mythbusters. It's of local interest to me; M5 Industries is on the lower slope of Potrero Hill, where I live, and there are occasional neighborhood sites or businesses in the show. The show is also of interest to nerdy/geeky types thanks to the inquisitive subject matter. Unfortunately, like all shows on Discovery, the show is produced with an annoying lowbrow style. In this case, the show has a moronic voiceover for small children and idiots who can't follow it otherwise, and there is a recap of what just transpired every 5 minutes or so for people with the really, really short attention spans.

The show has really caught on to something in the culture. The word "mythbuster" now denotes the archetypal nerdy engineer and is recognizably associated with the core visual images of the show's hosts, Jamie and Adam: one a beret-wearer with walrus mustache, and the other with thick black glasses and a t-shirt. I wish I could remember which recent movie I saw where someone fitting the latter description was referred to as "mythbuster" off-handedly.

San Francisco Municipal Parking Assistance Corps

Of the many types of San Francisco street crazies, one of the most rapidly growing segments is the volunteer parking helper. He's standing in the street in front of oncoming traffic, directing cars into empty parking spaces, in hopes of earning a handout. Some of these are more crazy than others, imagining that they are some sort of air traffic control for street parking, jabbering and gesticulating wildly. Others are seemingly sober and pleasant, with a smile and a 'god bless'.

Telling the crazies from the rest of us on the streets is getting harder and harder thanks to bluetooth headsets and people who are obsessed with talking on the phone. No longer is a lone someone talking out loud a certifiable loon....