--Cassandra.
I was just reading a blog that talked about Cassandra-like people who keep spouting off predictions that never come true. And twice within the last year, Brock "Cannonball Run" Yates has in the pages of Car and Driver likened Democrats to Cassandra, again for their Chicken Littleness and timidity about this or that, and their general inability to couch the future in any but the most dire terms.
But, doggone it, even a dumb hick like me should know that Cassandra's problem wasn't inaccuracy--it was not being listened to. Everyone thought she was off her nut and refused to believe her, even when she was proven to be right. Seems she got Apollo all hot and bothered and got him to give her a nice gift of prophecy and some jewelry and a gift card to Crete and Barrel, but when she said, "thanks, but I'd really rather just be friends" (because he was all stuck on himself, being a god and all) he got all mad and finagled around with her gift so that it still worked, but no one would give her any heed.
She's the one who told the Trojans to watch out for those Greek guys bringing them stuff (and that Laocoon dude told 'em, too), but they didn't listen, and so when the Greek pledges parked an RV outside their stadium, the Trojans thought they were trying to make nice and be friends and so they drove it on in and during the night after the bonfire and pep rally and the Trojans were all asleep (i.e. too much Long Island tea), the pledges slipped out of the RV and pennied the Trojans in their dorm rooms and did a panty raid on the sororities.
Or so I've been told.
ANYway, Cassandra's problem was not being listened to, not that she was wrong. So stop using her for that.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at November 9, 2005 02:25 PMYou have a point. Democrats can be wrong even without connecting them incorrectly to a Mythological Ancient Greek Hooters Girl.
And, speaking as someone who lives on Long Island, I don't really know what the rap is on the tea around here. All I do is stick the bag (Mint Medley is my preference, for the record) in a mug, add hot water & two spoons of sugar. Then I drink all the boring stuff on top to get to the sugary stuff at the bottom.
Why that would put a buncha guys in dopey broom helmets to sleep is beyond me.
Posted by: skinnydan at November 9, 2005 02:45 PMI hate to break it to you, Skinnydan, but nefarious souls have taken your wholesome recipe for beverage refreshment and have taken to spiking it with demon rum, then imbibing in quantities of it unsuitable for the mere quenching of one's thirst. Drunkards and louts, the lot of them! Just like those darned Trojans.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 9, 2005 02:49 PMNice story-- can we make a record? I think Andy started this a way.
Really I think he did.
He is my Muse.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 9, 2005 04:42 PMHEY! That's not quite like my book on Greek Mythology! Did you get the extended edition?
Posted by: Lita at November 9, 2005 04:48 PM
Oh well some people get muses others get furies. I don’t know it’s all Greek to me.
I know a fellow who had a '68 Fury with a 440. And Lita, I'm just remembering what I thought I heard--it might be off a little from the canonical version.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 9, 2005 05:02 PMDid they have cannons then?
Posted by: jim at November 9, 2005 05:17 PMI would like a fury. That sounds fun. Er--the first kind, not the car. Though actually I'll take the car too; cars are always nice. *sigh*
Posted by: Lita at November 9, 2005 11:55 PMHey, I saw Troy and I don't remember no Cassandra. Are you just making all of this up? Maybe the writers tried to put her in but nobody would listen.
That Achilles feller was some fighter! And for the ladies, he sure was purty!
Posted by: MarcV at November 10, 2005 07:59 AMJim, they did, but they called them catapults. Which I found out have nothing to do with cats.
Lita, I think those other kinds of furies weren't all that nice seeing as how you couldn't get them with power brakes or an automatic transmission.
And Marc, no, I'm not making any of this up--it's all true. More or less.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at November 10, 2005 08:51 AMExcept for the part about the RV. It was a double-wide.
Posted by: litahertzel at November 10, 2005 07:53 PM