also yesterday my brother totally got dooced

i was sitting at a red light at school-letting-out time, watching a herd of teenage kids waiting for the bus in front of the gas station. a guy in army fatigues finished filling up his car and was about to leave but one of the kids called out to him across the parking lot. i had this moment of dread, thinking maybe it was an insult, some smartass kid wanting to say something rude about the war, but then they were both smiling and walking a little closer towards each other so they didn't have to yell back and forth. i rolled down the car window, it was killing me not to know, but traffic was too loud. all i know is this tall skinny kid and the soldier were of different races, were not so far apart in age, and had some things to say to each other. and at the end, the soldier waved goodbye, and the kid drew himself up and gave the best salute his untrained seventeen-year-old arm could do, which wasn't very good, but the look of surprise which spread across the soldier's face was excellent. of course he returned the salute, and they both stood there like that for a moment in the noise and the exhaust by the side of the road.

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the post office does passports and i love to watch. applicants are quizzed by the postal clerk on stuff they just finished writing down on a form, which, how is that supposed to catch liars? the clerk makes them raise their right hands and solemnly swear it's all true. the best part is their left hands. the post office does not stock a bible, so yesterday i watched a man swear on his keys, and a woman swear on her mastercard.

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god bless america, here have some stupid mashups.

General Public vs. Rihanna (Party Ben) - Tender Umbrella

Arrested Developement vs. Beyonce (DJ Peaking) - People Ring the Alarm Everyday

Bob Marley (?i dunno) vs. TLC (synchronoize) - No Scrubs No Cry

bonus - all three of these have stealth beginnings, i.e. you don't know it's anything different from the original for the first 10 seconds or so. i adore this because it makes for fun ipod surprises, plus it infuriates people who don't like fun.