Captain Crunch for President
“Deez Nuts” was the first to arrive — and then over 200 copycats followed, upping the count on the Federal Election Commission’s “2016 Presidential Form 2 Filers” list to 891 (as of the time of this posting).
Recent additions include:
- Zibble the Puppet
- Sir Cookie Zealot
- Bippy the Clown
- Rocky Balboa
- Ronald Reagan’s Ghost
- Tyrion Lannister
Porcupines R. Spikey, Jr. brought a laughter tear to my eye — as did the name of Forrest Gump’s campaign committee — as I scanned the SEC’s list and clicked on the paperwork links for a few of the candidates.
I love a good joke — and have to hand it to the parents of the 15 year old behind Mr. Nuts, who are supporting his run, because that teen is getting an education on campaign politics that will eclipse his peers’.
For the copycats: Like you, when my kids get a laugh, they often go in for a repeat, trying the same joke, hoping for the same result. I always tell them that the second time might earn a smile, but the third time — and without a doubt the 50th time — will not. Instead, they’re treading in the unfunny arena. “Try something new,” I beg them. “Don’t waste your time on the same thing.”
Why do they ignore me at times and go for the copycat act?
Because it’s easier to copy than it is to birth an original idea — something that’s amplified online, where it’s also easier to like a cause than actually do physical work for a cause, or follow someone’s work instead of learning from them and doing our own work.
Not long ago I watched a TV segment with Charles Barkley, where he said the internet “is where fools go to feel important.”
Being able to share your wit with friends and family with ease online can be fun, but there’s a danger to it.
Imagine all the time devoted to coming up with pithy remarks to accompany an article posted to Facebook — or just the perfect 140 characters to highlight your sarcasm — or think about the time spent submitting bogus presidential candidate forms, as well as the time others have to spend to process them.
It’s fun to be funny, to nominate Captain Crunch for president. But… What if some of that unfun stuff was accomplished, too? What if the work that goes beyond “liking” or “following” was accomplished?
This past Wednesday, Steve reposted an article by James Rhodes, titled “Find What You Love and Let It Kill You.” What if we all did that? What if, instead of trying to outprank each other, instead of trying to go viral, we did the work that brought us a step closer to doing what we love? What if?
DO THE WORK
Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.
THE AUTHENTIC SWING
A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.
NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T
Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.
TURNING PRO
Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"
What if indeed? Thanks for a perfect Friday post Callie!
So true! The Internet is seductive and time-consuming—it’s a constant battle, especially with smart phones. Thanks for the perspective, Callie.
Great article. I also love good jokes and I love good comedians. I love people who work hard like yourself and try and teach their kids to work smart and do smart fun stuff.
Today I am going to work really really hard on a project that I am doing and I love the idea that if I keep it up it is going to kill me. Bring it ON, bring it ON. Life is a blast when we operate like this, especially when I am going to turn 78 this Dec.
Shalom,
– Bing
Then we’d have to Do the Work, wouldn’t we? People are afraid of that. We spend a lot of time drifting on the surface, substituting for the effort. That’s why there’s a celebrity culture – vicariously doing it.
Thanks.
The best definition and “reason” for our obsession with the “celebrity culture”. I see new mothers ‘encouraging their daughters to model’…and more. Is there a list of people who benefit and in some way depend on sites such as this where we can actually correspond with one another. To have so many on the same page, requiring the same oxygen and not being able to relate directly, for me, is almost torrture. We are not an abundant lot…as you all know. Thank you and all good things (no matter how costly) dakotah
I vote for either Reagan’s ghost or Sam Gamgee, both of whom have political experience and weren’t corrupted by it. Gandalf wouldn’t be bad either. Avoiding the nonsense that makes up so much of the Internet would certainly help everyone do more with their lives. Thanks for the article! God bless.
As a Canadian I am constantly amused, amazed and, at times, frightened by your political process in the USA. I call it a process only because calling it chaos theory in action seems to offend those of you who are invested in the brouhaha that makes up your elections. Sadly, our politicians seem to have bought into the worst aspects of your politicians. There is little to choose between them. I have said in the past that any person worth voting for won’t take part in the circus required to get elected and is therefore not available to save the country from itself. I almost refuse to vote but that is like playing Russian roulette with an automatic and then complaining when you get shot. No one’s fault but your own.
“Sit right here, Jimmy, and let grandpa tell you how he ran for president in 2016. I didn’t win, of course. Lost to some guy with a bad comb-over, but I did get fifty-two write-in votes. Mostly from grandma’s bridge club, I think, because one plank in my platform was to give double master’s points to all homeless bridge players.”
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