Given how I refuse to fall a slave to demon alcohol (in other words I don't drink), the assorted ads for beer and whatnot passing through my television on a regular basis have no effect in terms of selling product.  Some of them are extremely entertaining, though.

Lately I've enjoyed the "dude" commercials being presented by Anheuser-Busch on behalf of Bud Light.  In case you haven't seen them, they feature a somewhat shopworn twentysomething in assorted momentary scenes where his only line in response to whatever is happening consists of "dude."

I suppose one of the reasons I find the ads funny is that I often find myself doing the same thing, as I have done for many years.  Comes with being born and raised in California, where the goal of achieving a state of true dudeness is one of our main pursuits in the not so Golden State.  It's rather like catching the perfect wave when you're out surfing without hassling with the board and ocean and waves and sharks (deep pained sigh... wait'll next year!) and stuff.  But I digress.

"Dude" is a prime example of the multi-purpose statement, useful in many situations: an expression of joy, warning, disgust, camaraderie, and so on.  Its most common usage is as a deliberate pause when you're trying to get someone else in tune with the obvious without having to actually spell out the scenario.  Combining "dude" with an "uh..." before it is reserved for especially urgent situations when the other person is in dire need of observing, comprehending, and taking appropriate action on whatever may be currently transpiring.  Or about to transpire with unfortunate results should the present course be maintained ("uh... dude... you know that girl you're getting ready to ask out has an insanely jealous ex with a full-body tattoo, pierced everything, and a permanent place in America's Most Wanted hall of fame, right?").

Taking this to NASCAR, there are so many individuals therein to whom a simple "dude" needs to be spoken in hope it will give cause for their catching the vision and seeing the world around them.  To wit:

Kyle Busch: "Dude... you know why everyone loves Mark Martin and Jeff Burton but loathes you, right?"

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Dude... this Whiskey River thing... not exactly putting teeth into those `I'm not a party boy anymore -- I'm here to win' messages."

Jeff Gordon: "Dude... try working with the team more to get the car right before it rolls off the truck at this weekend's race."

Robby Gordon: "Dude... stop changing crew chiefs more often than Paris Hilton is on the cover of this week's tabloids."

Tony Stewart: "Dude... those phone messages to Casey Mears about how instead of being the fourth leg on a three-legged table at Hendrick he can be a star in IRL..."

Casey Mears: "Dude... listen to Tony Stewart."

Denny Hamlin: "Dude... those letters that keep coming in to FedEx asking if Denny Hamlin knows what he's supposed to do when he has a tire going down..."

Dario Franchitti: "Dude... when Chip Ganassi was giving you that sales pitch last year he didn't say anything about Talladega, right?"

Greg Biffle: "Dude... are you sure you want to play second banana to Flipper the rest of your career?"

Clint Bowyer: "Dude... you'd be noticed more if you had a family-friendly sponsor."

Kevin Harvick: "Dude... you thought about asking Jeff and Jimmie who's their hair care specialist?"