Prophetic Moment or Random Coincidence?

DonkeyKongSr · #1 05-31-2007, 12:34 PM

I just had one of the most random coincidences happen last night. I was hanging out with an ex-girlfriend watching the NHL Finals at a sports bar at a local mall. After the game, we decided to wander around the mall. We stopped at a bookstore where she wanted to pick up a book on Swahili (she spent a couple weeks in Tanzania teaching kids English and is thinking about going back soon). After grabbing a book, she went tooking for some tapes. They didn't have any Swahili tapes. I looked around and joked, "Hmmm, here's one on Arabic, how different can they be?". Okay, pretty bad joke, but she laughed and it's very important to this story.

We part ways and I head home. I'm tooling around on my computer and turned on my TV for background sound. My DVR is empty, so I have to watch some random live TV. I end up on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Keep in mind, I've only seen this show 2 or 3 times and I stopped on it for no particular reason last night.

So, I'm busy reading up on my Ducks beating the Senators and I'm not really listening to the show, but I know Colbert is talking about Barak Obama. Suddenly I hear something about Arabic and Swahili. Huh, WTF? I rewind to figure out if I was just hearing things. Colbert is doing a skit on all the "lies" that Obama has told. For one of his points, he reads this line from an article..."Why has he sometimes said his first name is Arabic, and other times Swahili?". WTF? He then goes on to mention that it truly is both (Arabic name brought into the Swahili language). Seriously, WTF? What are the chances that I'm watching a show I rarely watch and hear my random association of seemingly 2 very different languages referenced within 2 hours? 1 in a million? 1 in a billion? Should I play the lottery?

Here's the Colbert video. The part I am referencing at about 2:50.

Weird [censored] like this seems to happen for me quite a bit. Most of the time it'll be something trivial I learned that I've never heard about before and within a few days I'll suddenly run into it again on TV or the internet or something.

To make this less bloggy, I'll ask a question of you guys...anybody else have these random coincidences happen to them? If so, I'd love to hear some stories to know I don't have crazy psychic powers.

Cliffs Notes: I tell random dumb joke about Swahili and Arabic. Within 2 hours Stephan Colbert makes a comment that makes my joke more prophetic than lame.

hamsamich · #2 05-31-2007, 12:43 PM

In the eye of the beholder......

oddjob · #3 05-31-2007, 12:53 PM

yah, happens to me with stupid stuff like, i'll think of an episode of the simpsons, and it'll be on later that day.

here's a weird one:

i was in a dinner in williamsburg, brooklyn reading Dave Egger's You Shall Know Our Velocity. there's a part where they're in africa and go to a dance club. the club has a bunch of pictures of Val kilmer from top gun. i finish my breakfast and as i walk outside, just across the street is:

mason55 · #4 05-31-2007, 12:57 PM

Yesterday I was quoting the line from Breakfast Club about getting a carton of cigarettes for Christmas as I walked in the front door. Sit down, turn on the TV, Breakfast Club comes on and the very first line is the one I had quoted less than a minute ago.

Weird.

tuq · #5 05-31-2007, 01:00 PM

DK,

The most surprising part of your post was learning that the NHL is still in existence.

Dids · #6 05-31-2007, 01:09 PM

The trick here is to realize all the times that something happens in your life that isn't a surprising coincidence.

qdmcg · #7 05-31-2007, 01:11 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The trick here is to realize all the times that something happens in your life that isn't a surprising coincidence.

[/ QUOTE ]

The OP is like a case study in the lack of "big picture" thinking.

DonkeyKongSr · #8 05-31-2007, 01:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
DK,

The most surprising part of your post was learning that the NHL is still in existence.

[/ QUOTE ]

Enjoy another Spurs-Pistons finals. It'll be super exciting!

DonkeyKongSr · #9 05-31-2007, 01:18 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The trick here is to realize all the times that something happens in your life that isn't a surprising coincidence.

[/ QUOTE ]

The OP is like a case study in the lack of "big picture" thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

All I know is that I must now vote for Obama. If he wins the election by 1 vote, I will finally beleive that there truly is a god.

MortalWombat · #10 05-31-2007, 03:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yesterday I was quoting the line from Breakfast Club about getting a carton of cigarettes for Christmas as I walked in the front door. Sit down, turn on the TV, Breakfast Club comes on and the very first line is the one I had quoted less than a minute ago.

Weird.

[/ QUOTE ]It would be weirder if the Breakfast Club wasn't on cable about 147 times a day.