I was watching recent episode of the TV show "30 Rock" (one of my guilty pleasures) -- and there was one scene in particular which made me laugh out-loud.  One of the show's main characters, an executive with NBC named Jack, was talking on the phone with a news reporter about media buzz relating to the sale of his television network, and he was trying to pretend that he was in the midst of high-level discussions with other network executives at the very moment -- when, in fact, he was simply in his private office and effectively out of the loop of whatever was currently happening with NBC.  When the reporter expressed doubt that he was actually meeting with other network executives, Jack frantically instructed his assistant to make noises like network executives might make.  The assistant quickly improvised:  "Rhubarb, rhubarb.  Golf!  Prostate." And that's the point where I busted up, laughing.  The absurdity of it all was sublime.  Those are the key words that a group of stodgy, white, conservative businessmen would chat about in the proverbial board room?!?  It seems hilarious -- but then again, maybe it's not so far from the truth...

I got to thinking about it.  I had also recently seen a YouTube clip on the blog of my friend JR, which made light of the "white noise" of writers (a group with which I closely identify) -- who are always talking about "a compelling protagonist," with his little "obstacle to overcome," written with a "narrative beginning, middle, and end"  and a dozen other buzz-words in which writers tend to truck, though their personal writing projects typically progress at an embarrassingly-slow pace.

That one, personally, hit a little bit closer to home.  Hilarious, but also a bit painful. :-)  Again, it's totally ludicrous -- but then again, not so far removed from reality, when you actually think about it.

So all of that ultimately got me to thinking:  What's my white noise?  If someone were doing a parody of Amsterdammers, or of Midwesterners, or of Christians, or of me personally -- what would their mocking mantra be???  I'm guessing it would probably be something like, "Jesus, Jesus.  Basketball!  Bible, potty."  But the trick is that outsiders can often see these things so much more clearly than the directly-involved parties can see it!  I'm not exactly sure why it so typically works out that way, but it seems to be the way it goes... Do you guys have any ideas of how I should be parodied (now how's that for a dangerous question?!?)?

Or perhaps it's even more interesting for you to consider:  What's your white noise?