Woozle... wuzzle?

This isn't anything new, but aren't hands-free cell phones/earpieces annoying? Especially when the person appears to be talking to you, but is either: a) not making any sense, or b) not actually talking to you. "Hello," "How have you been?" and other general utterances have caught me off guard, embarrassing me and irritating the speaker, who assumes I should have known they were talking to the person on the other end of the near-imperceptible mic hidden in his/her ear. And here, I think they should have the courtesy to not be on the phone when dealing with someone in person. But that's me. Besides, I guess I just find it a little weird/creepy when someone is completely alone and talking out loud.

Some of you may have heard of a guy named David Sedaris -- perhaps even read something he wrote. I've heard from a few different people how hilarious his writing is, so I cracked open Tahra's copy of Naked and read randomly-selected portions of it. I came to a few conclusions: 1) I was not amused; 2) It seems like he made up much of it just to try to get people to laugh, but his sense of humor just isn't quite "there;" 3) He and/or his editor needs remedial grammar lessons -- using "less" instead of "fewer" for a countable noun; and 4) The one semi- (or perhaps pseudo-) interesting anecdote was left unfinished/unresolved, and therefore, in my opinion, a huge letdown. (For those who have read it, I'm referring to "True Detective.")

Speaking of "supposed to be funny but really isn't," has anyone seen "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?" That has got to be the worst show EVAR. Is this what passes for entertainment these days?* And brilliant shows like "Arrested Development" get axed? Even the staple "The Simpsons" has lost its wit and charm in recent seasons.

Now, I do realize that perhaps our society's sense of humor has evolved -- obviously, things that older generations chuckled about decades ago can be dull to younger folk -- but I can't believe that I've already reached the "one step removed" zone and that the entertainment industry is catering entirely to a completely new mindset. Of course, marketing/advertising targets people younger than me, but it still targets me and mine (as well as lots of people older than me). I just don't get it. Is everyone** around me getting dumber? Based on the number of Hummer H2s and H3s I see on the streets around here, I think that might be true.

I could ramble on about SUVs, but that would take me too far from my point -- well, maybe not so far at less than 8 miles to the gallon. And yet people still buy them, drive them, and perpetuate U.S. carmakers' virtual non-progress with alternative fuel systems -- all the while complaining about the price of gasoline. What a sweet deal the petroleum and automotive industries have, keeping us all under their thumb(s) because people just accept what they're fed and pick the gas-guzzling-est, most unnecessary off-road feature having-est, rollover-ing-est, general danger on the road-est pieces of junk they think they need. Bah!

What is happening, America? If these samples are representative of the average American's interests (beyond pro sports), I fear I'm starting to dislike my countrymen. Maybe the rest of the world is onto something...

* At least "Clerks 2" is on its way.
** Everyone who has not met with my personal approval (thus excluding friends et al. from this "zone of stupidity").