a celebration of truth, justice, freedom of speech, mom's apple pie, jesse winchester and the lifestyle of a free radical thinker. Don't tell your mother. (she knows)
With all due respect to my last post, you gotta LOVE this! A fan of the group Weezer is opening up a collection to bribe this band NOT to record anymore music? That is hysterical! This morning I saw this on MSN and had to - had to - HAD TO put it in a post. Some of the performers on this list … okay, ALL of the performers on this list should be bribed not to record anymore, but are there others? Let me know what you think…
Meanwhile… why should we limit ourselves to “musicians”? I’d love to get a collection together for Julia Roberts. Please! Julia! No more half-baked movies! Take the money! AARRRRGGhh! Or how about Jennifer Aniston? Please Jenn, make my day… no more movies! Hey! Why didn’t I think of this before? Lets take up a collection for ol’ what’s her name? You know, that Hilton dweeb? Who cares if you have ANY F’ing BFFs? Get off the air! Take the money! Wow! This is great!
Howard Stern, yuck! Your time has passed! Take the money and get your annoying self off the air! Rush Dumbell! Pa-leezze! Shut up! Here, take the money! Al Sharp-tongue! Stash the cash and shut up! Oh! I love this!
Simon says, Simon! Shut the hell up! Take the money and run! Oprah! OMG! Oprah? Helloooo peooople! Shut the hell up! You should be paying me! Ellen! Here, I’ll write you a check! Doctor Fill? I’m up to the brim! Shut the hell up!
It’s pretty darn bad when fans are willing to pay their “favorite” entertainers to STOP trying to entertain them, but maybe that is what we have come to.
How about we take up a collection for sports figures? Lebron! Stop! Or reality “stars”? Heidi! Enough! Even authors? Hell yes! Steven King, shut the hell up!
Better still, let’s make them pay us back!
The last couple seasons of Survivor sucked! You guys owe me big time! Dancing with the Stars? Dance around this! My time is too valuable!
Maybe… just maybe… people are going to demand more from the “artists” that entertain us. Maybe the void, this insatiable vacuum will finally be shut down and we’ll actually start getting people with talent instead of the star maker machinery behind the popular song.
I guess most of us are so used to gimmicks or gags that seeing money offered for the taking becomes suspect. Kind of like the lottery. People become really interested when the jackpot hits 100 million dollars. As if 80 or 90 million is small change…
I wonder if nothing is sacred? But then again, I have a friend who is a collector and oddities are his specialty. Sometimes it’s not what you do, but what you doo doo.
I think that with John’s sense of humor and wit, this would have given him a reason to smile. After all, didn’t he perform with a toilet seat over his head? Another time he appeared in public with a sanitary napkin on it.
The new owner of this should put it next to Elvis’ throne.
I’m not a real fashion conscious guy. I never have been, really… except for a few times. Some of the nutty things I DID try to make myself look hip remain painfully etched on my memories. So much so that if I could travel back in time I would change each and every attempt then apologize for my folly to all onlookers. But the thing is; while I am very much aware of my past fashion faux pas, not many other people these days are and that is why I bring this up, because…
YOU LOOK LIKE FREAKIN’ IDIOTS!
I know we live in an “in your face” society today. People proudly wear their garments as a symbol of bravery or non-conformity. They are proud of their less than fashion sense and leave it to you to deal with it. It is your problem if you find yourself doing a double take and react to their ignoble efforts with disdain, not theirs. After all, it is a free country…
My BB and I were out yesterday morning grabbing a quick bite before I headed off to work (on a Saturday, no less). She and I like to sit at the counter facing traffic so we can watch the world go by. I spotted one man wearing a wide striped, red and blue long-sleeved cotton jersey and plaid intricate print, green-yellow-blue polyester Bermuda shorts with white ankle socks and brown shoes. He was leaving his friends and moving through the parking lot oblivious to his effect on people with normal vision. This guy looked like he could be an insurance salesman or a realtor ( you know, one of those commission based occupations?) I admire a man who can wear such garb with a straight face, but does it have to be so early in the morning?
I’m not advocating fashion police or Skewered Eye from the Straight Fly, but you have to wonder… where do people get their fashion sense? From celebrities! Of course.
= ? or how about this? or this? = ? yuck!
Oh, I don’t mean to pick on women… men do it, too.
double yuck!
So people, are you concerned about the type of fashion statement your 13 year old might be making? Take a good look at the celebrities out there strutting their stuff and then ask yourself, “If I think this is yuck on Amy “where’s my missing tooth?” Winehouse, why would I let my daughter dress this way?”
Surprise! Your momma was right! Better eat your vegetables… ?gt1=43001 but oops! somebody forgot to put the nutrients in!
Doesn’t that just beat all? The good ol’ days were really good…
and good for us, too. Seems like today we just are not getting what we need.
So this morning as I contemplate my second cup of tea, I wonder about what other things were better for us when we should have eaten our veggies…
1) Music was better. But don’t take my word for it, ask the recording industry. Record sales have plummeted recently and plug my ears with nostalgia but I gotta think it has to do with content. Better music means more satisfied ears. I keep telling RIAA executives this, but they don’t listen. They are not giving us what we need.
2) Automobiles were more interesting and friendlier, too. It used to be you could tell a Ford from a Chevy at a glance. Cars seemed to be made stronger, too. I remember jumping up and down on the hood of our car when I was a kid and nobody thought a thing of it. Backing into another car meant merely a “kiss” of the bumpers, you could lay down in the back seat and the trunk was large enough to rival a wading pool. In fact, I think we filled ours on occasionally hot summer days in order to cool off.
Simple transportation is what we need.
3) Fashion. Well, fashion is a funny thing. Get some fool to wear a visor backwards and upside down then the world follows like he’s the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
One artist claims another is a copycat whilst archive footage reveals THAT artist ripping off another previous to her.
But fashion is one of those things that never go out of style. Old is new and vintage is hip. I remember when you had to wear out your jeans in order to have them faded, ripped and thread bare… now you can buy them that way. It is almost as if fashion can’t wait. I saw some knee-high lace up boots advertised for fall this morning, ugh! can you imagine?
The things we do to look good but is it really what we need?
4) Money. Remember when money was really something? I mean, win a million dollars and you were set for life.
A devalued currency in the U.S. has made the Canadian dollar stronger while China blossoms into a financial juggernaut. Remember the good ol’ days when our greenbacks were backed by gold and silver? Substantial backing meant strong consumer confidence. This Federal Reserve note business is a jinx. It does not give us what we need.
5) Health. There is an old saying that “health is wealth” and the key to happiness is longevity but it seems we are less healthy now than any time in our history. Though our average life span has risen substantially, health issues are a multi-billion dollar industry.
6) Politics. Do we all agree that our political system sucks? (see the post, un-American activities ) I have advocated a strong 3rd party on this blog for a while now. (see the post, Have a little cake with your Tea Party? ) I think it is past due. When our society has to choose between the “best of the worst” it is no wonder that people get fed up. Our political system has sunk into such a quagmire that our faith in our politicians has been shaken down to the roots. Are we doomed to be lost in a vacuum that continues to draw out the worst in us? When citizens view their representatives with contempt, that form of government is clearly not giving them what they need.
7) Religion. They say two things you cannot discuss with people are politics and religion. I think that is wrong. Politics and religion are the bond that holds a society together. When either falter, the people suffer. We can have our own views, ideas, beliefs and faith as long as they don’t interfere with the rights of another having their freedom of choice in kind. You may have your moral convictions, but others have the same path they must travel to come by those beliefs. If there is a God, we should all try to immolate His qualities of Love, Patience and Tolerance. Because, as the Bible says, if God looked for perfection, who of us could stand before Him? (see the post, Does God Hate Haiti? ) If a religion divides us, that congregation does not have the teachings that we need.
So what is it that we really need besides better vegetables?
Maybe we need to laugh more and not take ourselves too seriously. Let things roll off our backs and be satisfied with what we need rather than dwell on the things we want. Have a little more faith in our fellow man. Try some kindness and treat people the way we would want to be treated.
This old world can be like a used car salesman telling you this and selling you that to the point that we are never happy with having just what we need.
I have yet another pet peeve. Is it possible to have too many? I don’t think so. Case in point, dining out…
I took my beautiful girl out for dinner last night to a nice restaurant. Not quite formal dining but right up there. Clean jeans, vintage T-shirt, I even shaved the night before. Anyway, we arrive early to beat the crowds and BB asks for a booth (for our cozy rendezvous) and after a slight delay, we were cheerfully assigned one. The manager’s seating person steps up and directs us “guys” to where we will be enjoying the next 1.5 hours of the evening.
It irritates me to be out with my wife and hear us being refered to as the “guys”. If we were in a sports bar or attending a monster truck event at the local arena, I would concur we probably were just a couple of “guys” out having a good time. But my sweetheart was looking fairly fab and being addressed as “guys” seemed to diminish that a little in my mind. So after beckoning us to “swagger along behind” I said, “We guys would love to follow you.” My always intuitive better half smiled and said, “There’s a new post for you!” and so here it is.
As stated previously on AMRFP (Let Me Call You Sweetheart, 01/06/07 ) I do not mind a little familiarity with my servers, but that is just me. When it comes to dining out with my wife at a nice restaurant, I would like a little more proper decorum.
So how does one distinguish between being or not being called “honey”, “babe”, “sweetheart” or “guys” when assisting patrons at an eatery? Simple. If there is sawdust on the floor, the people coming through your door are probably “guys”.
If there is a television set anywhere within the public area for viewing, the cheers and jeers you are hearing probably are coming from the “guys”.
If you serve pickled pigs feet, Slim Jims, chicken wings or Bar-B-Q ribs, the people wiping their mouths on their shirt sleeves are without a doubt “guys”. If your all-night Diner is within 500 feet of a truck stop, chances are the people pluggin’ quarters into the jukebox are “guys”.
You can call me “sweetheart” in front of my wife if you have the kahunas, but not if you are a “guy”. That would be too awkward. “Guys” should not call guys “babe”, “honey”, “dear” , “sweetheart”, “pumpkin” “swivel hips”, “daffodil” or “sweet cheeks”, it is just too weird sounding.
“Guys” do like formal dining. “Guys” enjoy ordering from the wine list, having appetizers, eating 4 course meals and scarfing down deserts that are large enough to satisfy 3 normal sized persons. We marvel at the simplicity of using our charge cards and confidently figure out 20% gratuities without the little “helper” guidelines (more for exceptional service, of course) and we won’t bat an eye when our bill exceeds a measly $100 for the two of us. Nope. It is a guy thing to be able to go out and mingle with society incognito without the astigmatism of being cast as “guys” when you clearly are not in your “guys” mode.
While I am out with my fair one, I may be a guy “out of water” (and I am proud to be an ordinary guy with aspirations…) but she is my lady. Always. In that respect, I should reach an elevated status simply by association.
It is a guy thing.
The women we choose to associate with reflects our good taste. They in turn should qualify us as “gentlemen” in certain instances.
A respectful person providing a service should be mindful of that.
The other night we watched videos. When we were done, she cleared off the T.V stands and headed upstairs to the kitchen to put things away.
But when she passed by our de-humidifier she said, “Can you turn that back on?” (Our television is in the lower level of our house just up from the basement. The de-humidifier drones and detracts from the videos) The funny thing was, she points at it with her foot! Now who does that?
I found it simply hilarious and the more I thought about it, the funnier it became until I was splitting a gut. BB says it is perfectly normal for a person to point with their foot. I have heard of nodding towards something with your head if your hands are full, but pointing at it with your foot? That was a new one…
I used to listen to The Point @ 102.5 while I was living in Florida…
Now I’ve heard of teaching your dog to point or fishing off the point in Nova Scotia…
I’ve even heard of the album, Bless Its Pointed Little Head by Jefferson Airplane
But I’ve never seen someone point with their foot. I know that some stretches require that you “point your toes” but that is not the same thing.
I also know that … “the point of a gun was the only law Liberty understood.” At least according to Gene Pitney.
They say that when you point your finger at someone there are three more pointing back at you…
And I was told when I was growing up that it was not polite to point (otherwise people will know you are talking about them).
Maybe some folks are an old hand at pointing with their foot, but it is news to me. So if you have an amusing story to tell about pointing with this particular extremity, let me know.
Sequels come and go. Some are equal to or even better than the originals. (see The Godfather, Part 2) Some are not worth the celluloid they are printed on. (see Sex in the City 2) Sometimes the critics pan what the public loves. (see The Dark Knight) Other times the critics love what the public shuns. (see Brokeback Mountain) Last night we had the chance to see Toy Story 3.gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=24607949
As a grown-up (?) I am not in the least bit embarrassed to say this was a sequel I was long looking forward to and I was not disappointed in the end product. But let me give you the whole story…
We have a 13 year old. Actually 13 1/2 as she will quickly point out. With all the hype, preparation, build-up and anticipation of Toy Story 3, the fact that WE were going to see it was a given. That is… up until last night.
I’m not a big fan of opening nights at the theatre. Crowds galore and children a-plenty usually make me want to hold back until the newness fades, but not last night. We were anxious to be part of this much ballyhooed event, if only much ballyhooed at our house. Except for one tiny little snag… our daughter decided she didn’t want to go.
“It’s childish.” She said, “I’m not interested in seeing something for children.”
Whoa! What happened? We own Toy Story and Toy Story 2 and love them. We saw previews for Toy Story 3 months ago and all agreed that it was THE summer movie to see in 2010.
Ah, we realized… she thinks she is too mature.
“Well, we are going,” her mother declared, ”and you are welcome to come with us or stay home!” So, weighing the alternatives; movie, popcorn and candy as opposed to home alone in front of the television set, she opted to reluctantly join us. “But I won’t enjoy it.” She determined.
And it was crowded. There were long lines at the concession stand. And there were children. The previews were designed to highlight movies aimed at children and younger minded audiences. Our daughter sat beside me and chided each presentation as, “stupid”, “childish”, “immature”, or just plain “dumb” up until the actual movie started. Then something miraculous happened.
Our “grown-up” 13 1/2 year old became a kid again and just for that time, all was right in the family.
I won’t go into the storyline here, suffice it to say that if your family enjoyed the previous films, they will love this one, too. It is good family fair for kids aged 9 to 90. And I was able to impart a little bit of wisdom to our girl as she and I waited for the popcorn while her mom and brother held our seats for us…
Don’t hurry yourself into growing up.
I have read little blurbs on the Internet about whether we really NEEDED a Toy Story 3 and/or how does it measure up to the original and it’s sequel… but don’t clutter your mind with the politically correctness of the critics and their often opinionated, higher thinking and archaic word choices.
Take it from a big kid who seized a bridge between outside influences and old family values. Take your children, laugh and share then talk to them about the lessons learned in this wonderful addition to the Toy Story franchise.
You’ll be glad you did.
Oh, by the way… now our big little girl has decided that we need to add Toy Story 3 to our collection! She is wise beyond her years…
Could anything be more vain? To declare, ” I have had this burden all my life. My figure just drives men to distraction because I’m so hot?”
If you watch the video (which appears rehearsed) this woman looks like, well… a woman at work. But now suddenly, we have other images… and and finally, splashed all over the Web that seem to be auditions for a magazine cover.
You know, people will do anything these days for their 15 minutes of fame. Reality “stars”, Balloon Boy, mistress confessions, stalkers, crashers, Joe the plumber, frivolous lawsuits… and it all seems to work for a while.
But you have to wonder when this lawyer decided to take the case, did he see it as a win-win situation??mkt=en-ca&vid=ac537f6e-c03a-459f-b520-f9fa4572f7cf&tab=m1209500717947&from=hpquad Either way, we’re gonna make some big bucks off this case because either Citi will settle, we will win the case via judgement by the court, or we’ll garnish so much publicity that someone out there will hire you because you are “so hot.”
I guess that means if the rest of us are still working, we must not be very hot. Perhaps only average or worse yet… (gasp!) ordinary.
.
Could it be that this person was let go because she couldn’t do her job? If as she claims, she was a distraction and a “favorite” amongst the male clients… did she play up to that rather than try to overcome it? It would seem to me that a person determined to succeed at their job would try to minimize anything that would hamper job performance, if they valued their position.
I have been to many loan institutions in my day and I have seen attractive women doing their work. I have seen some try to get by with their facial features and anatomy, others use their brains. Many were/are as attractive as this person, perhaps even more so.
I find if you are doing your job and doing it well, the attraction comes naturally and people recognize it without all the outside appearances. If you are obsessed with how you look, the attraction fades…
After all, the world is full of pretty faces… true beauty comes from within.
Please! Julia! No more half-baked movies! Take the money! AARRRRGGhh! Or how about Jennifer Aniston?
Please Jenn, make my day… no more movies! Hey! Why didn’t I think of this before? Lets take up a collection for ol’ what’s her name? You know, that Hilton dweeb?
Who cares if you have ANY F’ing BFFs? Get off the air! Take the money! Wow! This is great!
Your time has passed! Take the money and get your annoying self off the air! Rush Dumbell!
Pa-leezze! Shut up! Here, take the money! Al Sharp-tongue!
Stash the cash and shut up! Oh! I love this!
Shut the hell up! Take the money and run! Oprah!
OMG! Oprah? Helloooo peooople! Shut the hell up! You should be paying me! Ellen!
Here, I’ll write you a check! Doctor Fill?
I’m up to the brim! Shut the hell up!
Stop! Or reality “stars”? Heidi!
Enough! Even authors? Hell yes! Steven King, shut the hell up!
You guys owe me big time! Dancing with the Stars? 
Dance around this! My time is too valuable!
Don’t even think about it!
