reversal of fortune

"Good evening and what can I tell you..."

I think I will talk about the way your view of someone can change so fundamentally that you are amazed at the contrast. I began this blog with that quote because it's author is the perfect example of what I'm talking about: Dennis Miller. The years of his tenure on weekend update were some of the best years of SNL, and his segment was a reason to watch rather than just filler. He was so incisive, so witty, so sharp, much the way John Stewart is now. I fucking loved him. I continued to love him when he had his own show, and several comedy specials. I mean come on, who was cooler than Dennis Miller. Recently, though, I have come to find out he is a staunch conservative, and needless to say I was disappointed. I felt my feelings for him starting to slip. The final nail in the coffin was when I saw him rant (on Fox news, no less) about the myth of global warning and how it is a cyclic trend that has nothing to do with the industrial habits of man. I have a whole argument prepared for the day when I actuall run into someone in person who wants to argue that with me, here goes:

I will ask them
"And where did you get your PhD in Climatology?"

They will begin to answer with some rhetoric about not needing a PhD, bla bla bla, whence I will interrupt them with:

"Oh, you studied Chemistry, then"

They will start to be indignant and shoot back with some half ass argument, and I will again interrupt them, this time with:

"Geology? Physics? Biology?" I will continue, "Oh I see, you are completely talking out of your ass. Not only that, but you are making a mockery of people who actually did dedicate decades to living, learning, and studying the science behind all these processes, slaving away, day after day at research and exploration. Those people who actually know what they are talking about. And not just some left wing conspiratorial clique of scienctists, but ALL of them. They all agree. So in the future, please leave these discussions of professional opinion to people qualified to have them, and stick with what you are qualified for: giving handjobs at the GOP convention"

That last part was for when the argument was directed at Ann Coulter. But I digress.

Since that time I have felt my feelimgs for Dennis Miller slip irrevocably into oblivion, and I don't imagine they will ever return. I found out a similar fact about Adam Sandler, but his work is inane enough as it is that I think I can comfortably live in denial.

Of course, the obvious example is Michael Jackson. Who could have imagined when Thriller came out what he would one day turn into.

There are examples of people closer to me, of course, none of which I care to discuss, but you can use your imagination: people break up after all.

The interesting aspect of this discussion is the reverse. I will have to ponder it at length, but I can't think of any case where the reverse has occured. Interesting.