"Give a nod to Rod"
Because "Better Call Saul" was already taken, that's my offering to help fill the aching void that drives Rod Dreher's one true Holy Grail in life, being known for coining a popular internet meme or other type of catchy slogan.
The latest corpse once again in the sweaty hands of Reanimator Rod is his "Benedict Option" which, as best I can tell from Dylan Pahman's thoughtful analysis here, and a commenter named WorldWideProfessor's remarks here and here, has the same claim to religious or cultural gravitas that the "Danish-sounding" "Häagen-Dazs" does: it's nothing more than a brand name invented to flog a product to naive rubes.
Except that with Häagen-Dazs, you actually get something for your effort, not a vague Mosquito Coast or Jonestown that ends badly, and shouldn't be pursued in the first place for the very good reasons Erika Rudzis has already explained here.
With the so-called "Benedict Option", Rod Dreher gets cash-yielding blog meme hits that allow him to live the good, Paris-vacationing, wine-sipping, newest Apple products, non-Benedict Option life - and you get left holding the bag like a chump.
Remember "Crunchy Cons"? Yeah, me, too - barely.
But whatever was valid (if it ever was) about "Crunchy Cons" when that was all the Rod Dreher rage is certainly no less valid today. So what, if anything, changed? Why isn't Dreher still blogging heavily about "Crunchy Conservatism"? It certainly isn't as if that wouldn't fit in the garage sale of post-graduate thinking that fills his current home, TAC, today.
What happened to "Crunchy Cons"? At the end of the day it simply turned out to be - and first and foremost for its creator himself - nothing more than that other made-up ice cream name, "Bloggin Snotz", the one that never caught on and so vanished into the dustbin of failed brand names like a red-headed stepchild.
Bye-bye, Crunchy Cons...(but, hey, whoa...has anyone tried "Dante Dads" yet?)
So "give a nod to Rod" and help him try to come up with something, anything in the way of a catchy internet slogan he can become famous for so that he can finally stop perverting the saints of the Church into his own instantly forgettable version of a brand name dessert.
More and more I just wonder how anyone can read this guy with a straight face.
ReplyDeleteNever underestimate the power of hope and change, Diane.
DeleteOf course, first I thought the secret to the good life was to be found in the little way of Ruthie Leming. But it turns out that that can still leave your life at risk, so to fix that you need to read Dante. Except that, to avoid the imminent Dark Ages, you need to take the Benedict Option and bug out to Pollock, Alaska where, it turns out, there's no internet service and no Dante, but 3 good copies of "How to Can Salmon".
Now, how can I have a good, saved life canning salmon under the midnight sun, I ask you? And what kind of wine does one serve with canned salmon, btw...a muscular rose?
Not to worry, though. I can't talk about it fully here, but I've been pursuing my own book proposal about how pursuing certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations can save your life gooder and savinger than any previous good or saving life opportunities you may have read about. But for now, mum's the word until either the book proposal is a done deal or blog hits rise enough that it doesn't matter.
Keith
I can already see how a book about pursuing certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations could turn my life around. Put me down for a copy right now!
DeleteKonrad
Me too, Keith! This sounds just like the book I've been waiting for!
DeleteKyle
When do you expect this brilliant book about pursuing certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations will hit the stores, Keith? In time for family and friends this Christmas, I hope!
DeleteKarlyle
My parents were talking just the other day about ways to stretch their retirement. Certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations could be just the ticket! Very timely, Keith!
DeleteKorky
Don't overlook us gals, Keith. We too want to be saved by certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations! Can't wait!
DeleteKeelie
Grueetings froom Noorvay, Kooeth! Oooeym rooeely oooking foorvard tew being saved by certain multi-level marketing oppooortewnities in newly emerging nations!
DeleteKnute
Keith, I've been meaning to ask, what initially sparked your interest in this brilliant book about being saved by certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations?
DeleteKevin
Rock on, Keith! I intend to buy your being saved by certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations book as soon as it’s published!
DeleteKarl
I’m wondering how writing this wonderful book about certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations, affected you before you've even written it, Keith. I'll bet it helped you let off a lot of steam! Keep up the good work, and my Mom says hi!
DeleteKarol
It’s about time to wrestle certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations away from the pinheads in finance departments, hell bent on keeping certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations a private museum piece for wealthy eggheads rather than the guide to a better financial life for the ordinary guy like us it is. Put me down for 5 copies right now!
DeleteKermit
Keith, I have enjoyed hearing that you will be writing a book about certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations. I will be fascinated by anything you have to say about certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations and really enjoy how you have made this piece of knowledge relevant to your (and everyone else’s) life. You have provided a great introduction to certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations, but you also write in a way that appeals to someone like me who already is familiar with certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations. I like the fact that you don’t talk down to your readers.
DeleteI most definitely will purchase and read any book you write about certain multi-level marketing opportunities in newly emerging nations!
Kalico
He is becoming more and more of an Entertainer.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Carpenter
Here's two names that rhyme:
ReplyDeleteDante Alighieri
Rod-ray Ali-dreher-y
The Working Boy has cast his lot a bit higher today it seems.
ReplyDelete[NFR: Yes, but it depends on which quality you're wanting to praise. The humble penitents are those who can withstand the buffeting of ascesis without breaking, because they are humble, and bend with the wind. The prophet in the desert has the quality of toughness, of conviction. Interestingly, a real prophet cannot be humble, though he can't be conventionally proud either, can he? -- RD]
Given that we have the Plato of the Bayou, do we now have the Prophet of Picayune as well?
And he doubles down a few comments later!
Delete[NFR: A prophet may be the most humble of all men, because he is on fire not for himself, but for God. But he doesn't strike us as humble; he strikes us as arrogant, because he is so loud, and will not shut up. Nothing meek and mild about John the Baptist, or Elijah. -- RD]
I don't know if you've noticed, but Dreher is slowly but surely migrating from Christianity, except as it can be used to ballast one of his hobbyhorses, to a generic, all-purpose Mystics-R-Us. He even equated Sufism with an aspect of Christianity he was discussing in a recent post, and it's become one of his tags.
DeleteThe more entertaining period lies ahead when, uncorrected and unconstrained by critical feedback, he begins to psychotically imagine that his writings have prophetic gravitas and that perhaps he, too, is a prophet, because blog.
Keith
There are lots of voices crying in the wilderness. The hard part is that there are darn few who are crying the Truth.
DeleteDreher at least has the "arrogant" and "will not shut up" part down. So long as "will not shut up" doesn't mean he has to actually back up what he's saying (as Keith and Andrew Sullivan pointed out), that is.
Send in the clowns.
ReplyDeleteDon't bother; they're here. :)
Delete