Be Stupid.... Seriously???

I work in The Ben Gurion Airport and on my way into work last night I see that they have a new display in the entrance to the Sharvul (Rotunda). It is for the clothing company Diesel and the theme is, get this, "Be Stupid". Yes, you read that right. Diesel wants us to Be Stupid. I was in shock. I felt like stepping over the little rope and knocking over the mannequins! I mean, Seriously???

Even better, the company's reasoning behind this, among other things is that "Smart has the brains, Stupid has the balls", and "Smart has the plans, Stupid has the stories" and get this: "Smart critiques, Stupid creates." Right.. Guess what Mr. Einstein, Mr. Graham Bell, History had it wrong. You guys weren't geniuses, you were idiots!!

I shit you not.

Let me break this down for a minute Diesel. You want Us, the general public, to be... Stupid?? Sigh, I almost don't think this is worth dignifying with a comment, but just for shits and giggles, lets ponder this for a moment.

I took a look on their website before I started this post (research I tell you, well, that and morbid curiosity) and checked out some of their other ads. One of which shows two scantily clad individuals in bed(Of course! Because we all know that its impossible to sell CLOTHES without nudity!) and the caption reads "Be Stupid, You'll spend more time with your Boss." Ah good one guys, instead of encouraging kid's today to go to Yale, lets encourage today's youth to just SLEEP their way to the top, BRILLIANT!!

Another Gem says, "If you've never done anything Stupid, You've never done anything at all." Gee, that explains EVERYTHING!! All this time I've been trying to AVOID doing something Stupid when really I should have been trying to just royally Eff everything up! Thanks Diesel! My life makes SOOOO much more sense now.

Another one, "You can't outsmart Stupid." Sigh. I don't even know where to start.

I mean honestly, they probably spend several hundred thousand dollars a year in their advertising budget and THIS is the best they can come up with?

Lets dissect a few more. "Smart says no, Stupid Says Yes." I detect a slight flaw in that logic. It strikes me as something that might just backfire, but maybe I'm just a little to Smart. Drive Drunk? Sleep with a stranger without a condom? Eat 100 Habinero Peppers? Eat ONE Habinero Pepper? Yeah Stupid says Yes alright... Real Stupid...

I mean I get the concept way, way, WAY buried underneath well, all the STUPID... They are trying to promote fun and adventure and all that good stuff that makes us want to really LIVE(well live and buy overpriced designer denim)... But honestly, isn't there enough Stupid in our culture today? Too much hatred, too much ignorance, too many kids getting killed or killing themselves over something well, Stupid. Too many body image problems, too much pressure to be in the "right" crowd, too much sex and drugs and alcohol, too many teen moms, and highschool dropouts, too many kids getting drunk in the Wal-Mart parking lots and then driving around getting into trouble because their parents are to scared to tell them no. Too much Playstation and too many kids who get to highschool and can barely frigging read! Too much Stupid, too soon. As if it's not hard enough being the Smart kid growing up in schools today, now You have to reinforce the face that Stupid is cool? That its COOL to be STUPID??

They go even further in listing WHY we should Be Stupid. Here are their reasons:

"You'll Get that much closer to genius." Really? Think about that one for a minute will ya?

"You'll discover talents you never knew you had." What like talking your way our of being somebody's girlfriend in Jail after you decided it would be a good idea to get drunk and rob the Wal-mart with a Twix bar?

"You'll have more Sex." Ah this must go back to the Smart says no, Stupid says yes bit... Hello baby-daddy! Lets name the twins Sifylus and Genorriyah...

"You'll create more." More what? More Problems? More heartache? More addiction? More hospital bills? More unemployment? More teenage pregnancies? More ignorance?

"You'll never wish you were someplace else." Oh good, so you will adapt quickly to your jail cell and your new girlfriend Big Mike. Thats nice.

And the real winner is; "And yes, you might die, but it wont be of Boredom." Sigh. At least they warned us...

Here are some suggestions, Diesel, that you COULD have used, and since you've already blown your advertising budget on well, some very Stupid ideas, I'll even give them to you on the house.

Be Free.

Be Spicy.

Be Adventurous.

Be Bold.

Be Wild.

Be Uninhibited.

Be Curious.

Be Open-minded.

Be Tolerant.

Be Daring.

Be Cheeky.

Be Clever.

Be Dauntless.

Be Unafraid.

Be Gutsy.

Be Silly.

Be Flamboyant.

Be Aspiring.

Be Inspiring.

Be Headstrong.

Be Enthusiastic.

Be Energetic.

Be Compassionate.

Be Passionate.

Be Funny.

Be Industrious.

Be Spirited.

Be Fearless.

Just BE.

Be Anything! Just don't, despite what the very sexy, half-naked models painted into the perfectly faded, torn-just-so jeans are telling you, DON'T. Be. Stupid!!!

Recipe: Cheese-a-licious Mac-n-Cheese

So yeah, it's no secret that Southern folks like Mac-n-Cheese. Its at every pot-luck, every holiday dinner and Sunday Supper. I've seen it made a million different ways, and to let you in on a little secret, it took me a long time to actually get a recipe I liked. I like the taste of Mac-n-Cheese made with Sharp Cheddar, not Velveeta (which while tasty is all chemicals and I try to avoid that) I always found it to be a little dry, a little greasy and not nearly creamy enough. It took me until I was living in Israel before I came up with a good enough recipe to really genuinely LIKE Mac-n-Cheese. This recipe is a bit more work than the traditional boil noodles, dump on cheese recipe but the extra work is definitely worth it in the long run. Try it, You'll thank me.

Ingredients:

Butter- 1/2 stick

Flour- 3 TBSP or more if required to soak up butter into paste

Cream or Milk-1 1/2- 2 cups

Cream Cheese- 1/2 -3/4 cup

Shredded Cheddar Cheese- 2 cups plus enough to cover the top (depends on how thick you like the top coating, appx 1/2-1 cup)

Onion Soup Mix- 2 TBSP

Salt and Pepper- to taste

Macaroni Noodles- 1 box

Also Need:

1 Medium Saucepan

Pot to boil Noodles in

Cooking Spatula (not the burger flipping kind, the bowl scraping kind)

Large Baking Dish

To Prepare:

First Preheat oven to 375*

Prepare noodles as directed for Al Dente (sorry my computer doesn't have the Italian Spellings on here), rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process and set aside. In a Medium Saucepan melt Butter over Medium heat, just until it is liquid but do not boil. Using the spatula, mix in the flour a little bit at a time until a paste is formed. Be sure that all of the butter has been soaked up into the flour. It should sort of resemble Mashed Potatoes. Turn the heat down to Low. Add the cream/milk a little bit at a time and mix thoroughly with the spatula to be sure there are no lumps until all of the cream/milk has been added. Next mix in the Onion Soup Mix (you can add more if you prefer a stronger taste). Next add in the Cream Cheese and slowly bring sauce to a boil stirring constantly. Sauce should begin to thicken as it heats up and cream cheese should melt into the sauce. Be sure to use your spatula to mash away any lumps. Once the Cream Cheese has melted into the sauce, Add the Cheddar Cheese. Mix until the Cheese is melted evenly throughout the sauce. Add more milk if the sauce becomes too thick. It should be the consistency of a Mexican Queso dip, maybe slightly runnier. Taste and adjust Salt/Pepper/Onion soup to your taste. Pour over the Macaroni in the pot that you cooked it in and stir to mix completely. Be sure that all Macaroni is coated, it should be a bit saucy as it will thicken up in the oven. Next pour the Mac-n-Cheese Mixture into the baking dish and top with Shredded Cheese. Place into a hot oven JUST until Cheese on top is melted. Serve Hot.

For Mexi Mac-n-Cheese, use 1 cup Pepper Jack and 1 cup Cheddar in the sauce, add 1 cup corn, 1/2 cup Roasted Red Peppers, 1/2 cup sauteed onion, a dash Red pepper flakes, and 1 cup fresh tomatoes to the Macaroni mixture and stir well. Top with Pepper Jack Cheese.

For Pizza Mac-N-Cheese, use 1 cup Cheddar and 1 cup Parmesan, 1 tsp dried oregano and 1 tsp Garlic Powder in the sauce, and stir in a handful of Chopped Fresh Basil, 1/2 cup sliced olives (or other family favorite topping such as mushrooms), 1 cup fresh tomatoes, 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, into the Mac-n-Cheese Mixture. Top with Shredded Parmesan Cheese. Eat it as a side or make a meal out of it... YUM!!!