JimmyDimplesHere’s a little interesting tidbit when I was writing this chapter:
It was early Monday morning, February 2 in Guangzhou, China, and I didn’t have classes to teach, so I wanted to see the Superbowl. So I went to an American expat sports bar to check it out. And I brought my notebook and pencil so that I could scrawl in the dialogue on this story.
I was planning to write during the game, since the main reason I watch the Superbowl was for the high-zoot commercials.
But later, I learned that the Superbowl was being beamed in by ESPN Hong Kong, not CBS. So I got ESPN promos, not cool ads. Bummer. I actually watched the game, and wrote during the breaks.
And it was close. I was enjoying it. Halftime came along. Having stopped giving a freep about current popular music around the year 2000, I tried to tune it out and focus on my writing.
I saw Kid Rock shaking his thang, and doing a pro-USA, get-out-and-vote number… and saw a flash of the student and tank at Tienamen Square. Urk. That was gonna go over like a lead balloon here.
I went back to my notebook. Later on, I heard somebody groan and say, "That’s disgusting!" I thought, yeah, I’m not a big fan of that music either. And I kept writing.
Well, to my disappointment, my Panthers lost by a field goal in the last minute, and I was majorly bummed. Close game, but a disappointment. I decided to head back to the office and check in.
Later I learned I’d missed a meeting with the other teachers, and I apologized. My boss told me he’d been keeping track of the Superbowl himself.
"So how about that halftime show, huh?"
"Yeah," I said. "I was wondering what the Chinese thought when they flashed that student and tank shot of Tienamen Square in Kid Rock’s video."
"Huh? I meant Janet Jackson."
"Say what now?"
"Didn’t you see it?"
"See what?"
Then he took me to the computer and showed the news articles on MSN.
Yep. I had a TV over my head, a wide-screen one off on the left wall… and I missed the whole Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake "wardrobe malfunction" thing.
And NO. I don’t want any pics to show me what I missed. 😛