Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Divine coincidence

Last week, the neighbourhood copper looked in at my favourite bar - the obligatory 'courtesy call' that happens every few months. He seems a good-natured soul, he doesn't cause any trouble. But he has to drop by every once in a while, just to offer a friendly reminder of all the various obscure rules and regulations you might be inadvertently - or not so inadvertently - flouting. A carton of cigarettes is all it takes to ensure that he continues to not give a damn about any of this.

On this latest visit, though, guess what song happened to start playing at the very instant he stepped through the door? The Clash's version of I Fought The Law!

JK and I were in stitches. I suspected at first that he'd seen the cop approaching some way down the street and cued the song up himself with the 'i-Tunes DJ' facility. But no, it seems that it was the i-Tunes playlist randomiser that had produced this exquisitely appropriate selection. And the timing was absolutely perfect, uncanny.

The policeman - fortunately - was oblivious of the meaning of the song.

We debated putting I Shot The Sheriff on next....

5 comments:

Dr. M said...

I shot the Sheriff would be a step too far, sir. It's one thing to advocate civil disobedience in a country with such a robust public square, but the outright snuffing of random apparatchiks is a call to anarchy that will send the whole society careening off into oblivion.

What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
Exactly.
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
The dead rising from the grave!
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

btw, I'm about to start commuting to dc on a weekly basis. Don't you head to those parts every so often?

btwx2: Would you please give JK a slap in the head for me? That old curmudgeonly so-and-so.

Yours in world domination,
Dr. M
http://youtu.be/apEZpYnN_1g

Froog said...

I have never found a bar I like in DC, Dr. I'm told some of the ones around Capitol Hill are quite fun - if you like hordes of drunk interns. All too damned expensive, though.

If you have time, you should head over the river to Arlington or Alexandria - some better pickings there. Arlington has a rather grand cinema where you can sit in sofas and order beer and food. And in Alexandria, I rather like the Rock-It Grill on King Street, just a short walk up the hill from the Metro station - a proper, divey kind of bar (with a very cute barmaid, last time I was there).

JK said...

I DID put on 'I shot the sheriff' next. I'm sneaky. I appreciate the slap in the head though. Back to Melbourne soon.

Dr. M said...

I've heard. What is Beijing going to do when the salty pessimist barman flies the coop?
Well, you two have a slight reprieve from travel to the New World until I can save enough cash to start a bar in Key West. Give me a couple of years and then we can all drink ourselves to death in the warmth of the tropical sun. The plan is in motion.
Dr. M

Froog said...

Looking forward to it, Dr.

Are you seeking funding? I might know someone...