Thursday, November 6, 2008
If you didn't listen to the previous post, the experiment, please do. I don't know how long it will be up.
He didn't tell me he was going to sing a second song that Saturday night, he didn't tell me what he was going to sing, and he didn't tell me it was recorded. It was a surprise on Monday, my birthday. This one is not one of the songs he usually sings, he said it's not one that karaoke crowds go for, so I guess it was 'specially selected. Forgive me if I think it has meaning.
He has an amazing voice. His speaking voice is soft, deep, and slightly rough, but when he sings, he takes on the voice, phrasing, and accent of the original artist. I don't know how he does it. When he sings Barry White, he sounds just like him. He sang Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" for me once, and sounded just like her. It's pretty incredible.
.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
This is an experiment
I hope everyone can hear this - click on the inner "file" box (not the X!) - you may have to click twice.
(It'll repeat until you tell it to stop. I don't know how to change that. Also, the comments got lost when I replaced the previous experimental post with this one, so feel free to comment again if you like.)
(It'll repeat until you tell it to stop. I don't know how to change that. Also, the comments got lost when I replaced the previous experimental post with this one, so feel free to comment again if you like.)
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
2101 Election night
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 - 1:10 am
I've been following the election results on network TV and online on CNN. The one state I'm very curious about is Alaska. I'd love to see how that one goes, but their polls didn't even close until ten minutes ago. I'm not going to wait up for them.
Something interesting I noticed. On the CNN website, at http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/, they show the states in red or blue. You can click on a state and see the counties in that state in red or blue.
The very interesting thing is that in many states, whether it ended up red or blue, the rural counties are almost always red, and the metropolitan counties are almost always blue. Go to the site and click on Pennsylvania, and you'll see a stark example of what I mean. Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Allentown, State College, all blue. The rest of the state, all red.
It would be easy to say "Oh, that's the Black vote" - except that Blacks are still a minority on a county basis. It really does look like city and suburban folk in general went blue, and country folk went red.
.
I've been following the election results on network TV and online on CNN. The one state I'm very curious about is Alaska. I'd love to see how that one goes, but their polls didn't even close until ten minutes ago. I'm not going to wait up for them.
Something interesting I noticed. On the CNN website, at http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/, they show the states in red or blue. You can click on a state and see the counties in that state in red or blue.
The very interesting thing is that in many states, whether it ended up red or blue, the rural counties are almost always red, and the metropolitan counties are almost always blue. Go to the site and click on Pennsylvania, and you'll see a stark example of what I mean. Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Allentown, State College, all blue. The rest of the state, all red.
It would be easy to say "Oh, that's the Black vote" - except that Blacks are still a minority on a county basis. It really does look like city and suburban folk in general went blue, and country folk went red.
.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
2100 Crazy eBay
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I'll go months with no problems on eBay, and then all of a sudden things go crazy, even with people I've bought from over and over. I don't understand. It's happened like that several times - months of no problem, then one problem after another over a short time.
I bought some sew-on doflinkies. The description said there were 30 in the package. The "hang on a display hook-type" package arrived still sealed, and it says "count: 30" on it. But I counted the doflinkies through the plastic, several times, several ways, and there are only 28 in the package. Three stacks - 9, 9, 10. It's obvious that the one stack is higher than the others.
I contacted the seller. He sells hundreds of these things, and he says he'd never heard that before. He wants me to send the package back and he'll replace it.
I bought an orange silk sari with gold stripes on the pallu and gold butis on the body. What arrived was an orange artificial silk sari with a turquoise and gold zari pallu.
I contacted the seller, and sent her a photo of what had arrived. She says she can't locate the sari I had bought, and she can't understand that I received a sari with a turquoise pallu, because she has never owned a sari with a turquoise pallu. I know it came from her, because there was a second sari in the same package that I HAD purchased from her. And it's not like I've mixed it up with another, because it's unlike any other I had ordered. She has refunded my payment, and said I can keep the sari, but I'd feel guilty about keeping it. I intend to return it to her. Maybe when she sees it she'll recognize it?
I bought a turquoise kurta with beading around the neckline. It arrived with beads missing, threads hanging, right at the front of the V-neck. I can't repair it easily by moving beads from the back, because the facing covers the stitching.
I sent the seller a scan of the damaged section, and she has refunded my payment in full and said I can keep the kurta anyway.
I bought a large number of bars of Coast Original Blue soap as a gift to The Man, who loves the stuff. Coast had replaced the Original Blue scent with Pacific Force scent a few years ago, and he doesn't like Pacific Force. Original Blue is next to impossible to find, so I was in extended communication with the seller as to whether she was sure it was really Original, and I checked with several other of her buyers who verified that what they had received was absolutely the original scent. When it arrived, the outer packaging said original blue. I gave one test bar to The Man a week ago, and he says it's Pacific Force, not the original. I guess I'm stuck with that purchase, because all I have is a handful of conflicting opinions. I've been trying to find Coast Pacific Force so I can conduct my own sniff comparison, but neither my local grocery store nor pharmacy seem to carry it.
This has all happened in the past week, after months of nothing but perfect transactions. Some of them, like the kurta and the sari, leave me feeling vaguely guilty.
Maybe the eBay gods are trying to tell me something?
-----------------------
Breaking news - the news station I'm watching has Obama taking Pennsylvania and Florida, which are significant to the outcome. On the other hand, that's with like 5% of the precincts reporting. I don't know how they can predict a victory on such a small sample.
.
I'll go months with no problems on eBay, and then all of a sudden things go crazy, even with people I've bought from over and over. I don't understand. It's happened like that several times - months of no problem, then one problem after another over a short time.
I bought some sew-on doflinkies. The description said there were 30 in the package. The "hang on a display hook-type" package arrived still sealed, and it says "count: 30" on it. But I counted the doflinkies through the plastic, several times, several ways, and there are only 28 in the package. Three stacks - 9, 9, 10. It's obvious that the one stack is higher than the others.
I contacted the seller. He sells hundreds of these things, and he says he'd never heard that before. He wants me to send the package back and he'll replace it.
I bought an orange silk sari with gold stripes on the pallu and gold butis on the body. What arrived was an orange artificial silk sari with a turquoise and gold zari pallu.
I contacted the seller, and sent her a photo of what had arrived. She says she can't locate the sari I had bought, and she can't understand that I received a sari with a turquoise pallu, because she has never owned a sari with a turquoise pallu. I know it came from her, because there was a second sari in the same package that I HAD purchased from her. And it's not like I've mixed it up with another, because it's unlike any other I had ordered. She has refunded my payment, and said I can keep the sari, but I'd feel guilty about keeping it. I intend to return it to her. Maybe when she sees it she'll recognize it?
I bought a turquoise kurta with beading around the neckline. It arrived with beads missing, threads hanging, right at the front of the V-neck. I can't repair it easily by moving beads from the back, because the facing covers the stitching.
I sent the seller a scan of the damaged section, and she has refunded my payment in full and said I can keep the kurta anyway.
I bought a large number of bars of Coast Original Blue soap as a gift to The Man, who loves the stuff. Coast had replaced the Original Blue scent with Pacific Force scent a few years ago, and he doesn't like Pacific Force. Original Blue is next to impossible to find, so I was in extended communication with the seller as to whether she was sure it was really Original, and I checked with several other of her buyers who verified that what they had received was absolutely the original scent. When it arrived, the outer packaging said original blue. I gave one test bar to The Man a week ago, and he says it's Pacific Force, not the original. I guess I'm stuck with that purchase, because all I have is a handful of conflicting opinions. I've been trying to find Coast Pacific Force so I can conduct my own sniff comparison, but neither my local grocery store nor pharmacy seem to carry it.
This has all happened in the past week, after months of nothing but perfect transactions. Some of them, like the kurta and the sari, leave me feeling vaguely guilty.
Maybe the eBay gods are trying to tell me something?
-----------------------
Breaking news - the news station I'm watching has Obama taking Pennsylvania and Florida, which are significant to the outcome. On the other hand, that's with like 5% of the precincts reporting. I don't know how they can predict a victory on such a small sample.
.
2099 Election Day, TBBT, Boston Legal, other bits
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
12:42 pm. I overslept. Woke at 11 this morning. I went to bed at 11 last night, worked some crosswords and logic problems and fell asleep at about midnight, and had several nightmares. Strange. I woke myself up crying twice, choking once. I can't remember the dreams, but at least I'm certain they were not political.
------------------------
I cracked up at Denny Crane's explanation last night on "Boston Legal" as to why he was voting for McCain: "salmon and sex". The northern salmon is in trouble. If McCain wins, all the intelligent people will move to Canada, thus raising the general IQ level of Canada, and all those smart people will figure out a way to save the salmon. And if McCain wins, all the women left in the US will be depressed, and "everyone knows" depressed women are easy. So it all comes down to spawning. Salmon and sex.
I love that show. But I strongly object to the depiction of the Asperger guy, Jerry. Asperger's Syndrome shows up in a variety of ways, but the show's writers have concentrated on the odd physical patterns, which they have carried to excess, while ignoring the low empathy, emotional paralysis, and inability to pick up social signals. He's not a typical Aspie any more than Denny Crane has Mad Cow. In fact, I think there's a lot more Tourette's syndrome and OCD than Asperger's in Jerry.
Viewers get the Mad Cow joke, but I'm afraid they don't see through the exaggerated and inaccurate Aspy depiction. For a better depiction of Asperger's, see Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" (Monday at 8 pm on CBS).
------------------
5:02 pm. I'm back. I voted. I'd heard so much about the long lines, but there were only three other people in line when I arrived. We're still using the mechanical lever machines, which is comforting (and the place I went to had only one machine). I split my vote all over the place. In the state and local elections I voted not so much for a particular candidate as against the one that had the nastiest commercials - sending my own message that nasty doesn't work with me. It happened to work that way in the presidential vote, too, but that wasn't the main criteria there.
I dropped off some dry cleaning - five silk sweaters, one silk blouse, $37. Ouch!
I arranged to have my snowthrower picked up for service. (I hate winter!)
I also stopped at the post office and the grocery store.
I forgot to stop at the bank. Well, I'll be fresh for that tomorrow.
.
12:42 pm. I overslept. Woke at 11 this morning. I went to bed at 11 last night, worked some crosswords and logic problems and fell asleep at about midnight, and had several nightmares. Strange. I woke myself up crying twice, choking once. I can't remember the dreams, but at least I'm certain they were not political.
------------------------
I cracked up at Denny Crane's explanation last night on "Boston Legal" as to why he was voting for McCain: "salmon and sex". The northern salmon is in trouble. If McCain wins, all the intelligent people will move to Canada, thus raising the general IQ level of Canada, and all those smart people will figure out a way to save the salmon. And if McCain wins, all the women left in the US will be depressed, and "everyone knows" depressed women are easy. So it all comes down to spawning. Salmon and sex.
I love that show. But I strongly object to the depiction of the Asperger guy, Jerry. Asperger's Syndrome shows up in a variety of ways, but the show's writers have concentrated on the odd physical patterns, which they have carried to excess, while ignoring the low empathy, emotional paralysis, and inability to pick up social signals. He's not a typical Aspie any more than Denny Crane has Mad Cow. In fact, I think there's a lot more Tourette's syndrome and OCD than Asperger's in Jerry.
Viewers get the Mad Cow joke, but I'm afraid they don't see through the exaggerated and inaccurate Aspy depiction. For a better depiction of Asperger's, see Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" (Monday at 8 pm on CBS).
------------------
5:02 pm. I'm back. I voted. I'd heard so much about the long lines, but there were only three other people in line when I arrived. We're still using the mechanical lever machines, which is comforting (and the place I went to had only one machine). I split my vote all over the place. In the state and local elections I voted not so much for a particular candidate as against the one that had the nastiest commercials - sending my own message that nasty doesn't work with me. It happened to work that way in the presidential vote, too, but that wasn't the main criteria there.
I dropped off some dry cleaning - five silk sweaters, one silk blouse, $37. Ouch!
I arranged to have my snowthrower picked up for service. (I hate winter!)
I also stopped at the post office and the grocery store.
I forgot to stop at the bank. Well, I'll be fresh for that tomorrow.
.
Monday, November 03, 2008
2098 Bits
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tomorrow I have toyell at have a discussion with my bank (actually it's a credit union). I have multiple checking accounts there, which I use for different purposes. They require that you have a savings account for every checking account, so I opened the savings accounts and put a small amount in each. According to their documentation back when I opened them, they require a minimum of $5 in the savings. I have about $150 in each. I don't use savings accounts for savings - there are better places to put savings. I also have a money market account with them, which I use occasionally when I need to park large amounts of money that will be dribbling out over a few months. There's about $600 in that account right now.
Today I discovered that they have been assessing a "Low balance fee" of $1 a month on all those savings accounts, and $10 a month on the money market account! That's a load of bull poop, especially since they never mentioned any increase in the minimum!
Yeah, I get quarterly statements on the savings and money market, but I file them without looking at them, because there's no activity on them. I guess one has to look to make SURE there's no activity.
--------------------------
I went shopping today in a large store, at about 3:30 pm. I wandered around a long time. When I came out of the store I almost panicked! There was a TV show I wanted to watch on at 8 pm, and it was cold and full dark in the parking lot. I was sure I was late and wouldn't get home in time for my show.
Then I looked at my watch. 5:30. I hate winter.
--------------------------
I listened to NPR on the way home from shopping. They were talking about a gorgeous $260M glass cruise ship terminal built in Shanghai. The hope is that it will encourage tourism. Unfortunately, they built it inland above a bridge, and, um, it so happens that one third of the world's cruise ships won't fit under the bridge, and most of the others have to calculate tides and fiddle schedules to get under. Worse, of the newer ships currently being built, two thirds won't make it under. Story here.
I think it's a riot.
--------------------------
Another topic on NPR was an initiative somewhere, California?, on the ballot to legalize prostitution. A prostitute said that she had once been raped, and could not report it to the police, and since rapists know this, protitutes are always in danger. If her profession were legalized, then prostitutes would be safer.
My mind wandered off. I have to wonder about the conditions. Granted that there's a difference between on duty and off duty, if she's on duty at the time, at what point does it move from theft of services to rape? That's an old question, but I haven't heard a good answer yet.
.
Tomorrow I have to
Today I discovered that they have been assessing a "Low balance fee" of $1 a month on all those savings accounts, and $10 a month on the money market account! That's a load of bull poop, especially since they never mentioned any increase in the minimum!
Yeah, I get quarterly statements on the savings and money market, but I file them without looking at them, because there's no activity on them. I guess one has to look to make SURE there's no activity.
--------------------------
I went shopping today in a large store, at about 3:30 pm. I wandered around a long time. When I came out of the store I almost panicked! There was a TV show I wanted to watch on at 8 pm, and it was cold and full dark in the parking lot. I was sure I was late and wouldn't get home in time for my show.
Then I looked at my watch. 5:30. I hate winter.
--------------------------
I listened to NPR on the way home from shopping. They were talking about a gorgeous $260M glass cruise ship terminal built in Shanghai. The hope is that it will encourage tourism. Unfortunately, they built it inland above a bridge, and, um, it so happens that one third of the world's cruise ships won't fit under the bridge, and most of the others have to calculate tides and fiddle schedules to get under. Worse, of the newer ships currently being built, two thirds won't make it under. Story here.
I think it's a riot.
--------------------------
Another topic on NPR was an initiative somewhere, California?, on the ballot to legalize prostitution. A prostitute said that she had once been raped, and could not report it to the police, and since rapists know this, protitutes are always in danger. If her profession were legalized, then prostitutes would be safer.
My mind wandered off. I have to wonder about the conditions. Granted that there's a difference between on duty and off duty, if she's on duty at the time, at what point does it move from theft of services to rape? That's an old question, but I haven't heard a good answer yet.
.
2097 Mac on Vista
Monday, November 3, 2008
I'm starting to get really bugged by the Mac commercials that go on and on about the "problems" with Vista.
I've been on Vista for a bit over 18 months now, and I've had no problems, and have no complaints. None. Zero. Zip. **
I went directly from 98E to Vista, so I don't know what's different from NT. All I know is I'm quite satisfied. Granted, I don't do a lot of fancy stuff, but I'm all over the internet, and Vista has protected me just fine. The one time that I approved a download that I shouldn't have (and Vista warned me not to), and ended up with a supposedly unremovable virus, the backup/restore facility, which was very easy to use, got rid of it in short order.
I suspect that a lot of the "problems" are from people using applications that have not been upgraded to and are incompatible with Vista.
Mac is starting to sound a lot like McCain. If we have nothing to offer beyond history, well, let's just scare the customers away from the competition with vague "problems".
----------------
** Later - Well, actually, I do have one complaint. When you search for a file, the result presents the file to you, but doesn't tell you where it resides. Of course, that could be my problem - I just don't know how to find things, and haven't been concerned enough to find out.
.
I'm starting to get really bugged by the Mac commercials that go on and on about the "problems" with Vista.
I've been on Vista for a bit over 18 months now, and I've had no problems, and have no complaints. None. Zero. Zip. **
I went directly from 98E to Vista, so I don't know what's different from NT. All I know is I'm quite satisfied. Granted, I don't do a lot of fancy stuff, but I'm all over the internet, and Vista has protected me just fine. The one time that I approved a download that I shouldn't have (and Vista warned me not to), and ended up with a supposedly unremovable virus, the backup/restore facility, which was very easy to use, got rid of it in short order.
I suspect that a lot of the "problems" are from people using applications that have not been upgraded to and are incompatible with Vista.
Mac is starting to sound a lot like McCain. If we have nothing to offer beyond history, well, let's just scare the customers away from the competition with vague "problems".
----------------
** Later - Well, actually, I do have one complaint. When you search for a file, the result presents the file to you, but doesn't tell you where it resides. Of course, that could be my problem - I just don't know how to find things, and haven't been concerned enough to find out.
.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
2096 Self Portrait, How To
Sunday, November 2, 2008
People often take their own picture by pointing the camera into a mirror. They usually end up with something like this (scarfed off an online dating profile, and yes, that was his only photo) -->
Hint: If you have a digital camera with the screen on the back, so you have to use a mirror somehow, do not point the camera at the mirror. Hold the camera to the side with the lens toward yourself, and the display screen toward the mirror. You can look at the screen in the mirror to frame, zoom in or out, and focus, and then click the button. Ta rah! No flash on the mirror.
.
People often take their own picture by pointing the camera into a mirror. They usually end up with something like this (scarfed off an online dating profile, and yes, that was his only photo) -->
Hint: If you have a digital camera with the screen on the back, so you have to use a mirror somehow, do not point the camera at the mirror. Hold the camera to the side with the lens toward yourself, and the display screen toward the mirror. You can look at the screen in the mirror to frame, zoom in or out, and focus, and then click the button. Ta rah! No flash on the mirror.
.
2095 Cat Photos!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
I took the new camera's book to bed with me last night, and installed the software this morning.
The photos are huge, 1.5 to 3.5 megabytes each! Now I have to figure out how best to size them. The camera will do it, but the photo I reduced in the camera according to their recommendation for posting on a website came out tiny. Gotta experiment a bit. Oh, and the card I bought is 4 G, not 4 M.
This is Jasper, under the buffet in the dining room (click on it to enlarge the photo). That's where he takes his toys for serious destruction. All that glitter behind him is the remains of a foil ball. The rolled up rug is a silk oriental waiting to go under the table. Note the nick in his right ear (Ears! We've got EARS!), and that he doesn't have stripes on his back - just salt 'n pepper. Tiny feet.
Jasper on my bed. Glorious whiskers. Yeah, he's getting fat. I'm surprised to see some faint striping on his back. Must be the flash brings it out.
Miss Thunderfoot, grooming.
Miss Thunderfoot. Her irises are unusual. Sometimes they're white, as in this photo, sometimes pale blue, pale green, or light yellow, depending on her mood and the ambient light. They always have the brown spots near the bottom. Note the long ear hairs - they get longer in the winter, and almost meet curled around the back of her head.
And that's my housemates.
.
I took the new camera's book to bed with me last night, and installed the software this morning.
The photos are huge, 1.5 to 3.5 megabytes each! Now I have to figure out how best to size them. The camera will do it, but the photo I reduced in the camera according to their recommendation for posting on a website came out tiny. Gotta experiment a bit. Oh, and the card I bought is 4 G, not 4 M.
This is Jasper, under the buffet in the dining room (click on it to enlarge the photo). That's where he takes his toys for serious destruction. All that glitter behind him is the remains of a foil ball. The rolled up rug is a silk oriental waiting to go under the table. Note the nick in his right ear (Ears! We've got EARS!), and that he doesn't have stripes on his back - just salt 'n pepper. Tiny feet.
Jasper on my bed. Glorious whiskers. Yeah, he's getting fat. I'm surprised to see some faint striping on his back. Must be the flash brings it out.
Miss Thunderfoot, grooming.
Miss Thunderfoot. Her irises are unusual. Sometimes they're white, as in this photo, sometimes pale blue, pale green, or light yellow, depending on her mood and the ambient light. They always have the brown spots near the bottom. Note the long ear hairs - they get longer in the winter, and almost meet curled around the back of her head.
And that's my housemates.
.
2095 Patriotism
Sunday, November 2, 2008
On CBS' "Sunday Morning" today there was a discussion of patriotism, what it is, how it is defined. A poll showed that more Republicans than Democrats consider wearing a lapel flag pin, or saying the pledge of allegiance, to be patriotic, that one who does these things is by definition a patriot.
The focus of the segment was a man who defined patriotism as doing things to make the US a better place. It's not wearing a symbol, or saluting a flag, it's what you do.
There seems to be an attitude among conservatives that one has to support the government, right or wrong, to demonstrate patriotism. So Vietnam war protesters back when, and Iraq war protesters now (who are mostly quiet because of fear of retribution) are, by their definition, unpatriotic.
I am reminded of an incident in 1967. I was teaching math in a high school in Hanover, Pa., substituting for a teacher who'd died mid-year. A very bright girl, a senior with straight As, had declared in a speech given at a school assembly that she considered herself first and foremost a citizen of the world, and secondly an American. That the only way to achieve world peace is for everyone to realize that they are first and foremost citizens of the world, that we should all work for the health and happiness of all our fellow world citizens, and that blind insular local patriotism is detrimental to world peace.
She said that she knew everyone would forget her words as soon as the assembly was over, so in order to remind them, for the remainder of the school year she would not rise for and would not speak the pledge of allegiance with everyone else, not as an expression of disdain, but as a reminder that there is a higher call.
A few weeks later, the faculty voted her unanimously into the national honor society.**
The principal freaked. He called an after-school compulsory faculty meeting and ordered the teachers to vote her out. He pointed out that grades alone did not an honor student make, that citizenship and service to the school and community counted just as much, and he did not consider her a good citizen or an example for others to follow.
The teachers refused to change their votes.
That stupid principal called a one to two hour meeting after school every day! for something like a month and a half, during which we were not allowed to check homework, prepare lesson plans, grade papers, or anything else that teachers do every evening. We had to just sit there (children waiting at home be damned), and every half hour or so he'd ask if we were ready to change our vote.
You know, I don't remember the outcome, whether he finally prevailed or the teachers stood firm. But that was 1967, and back then, unlike today, people were ready to sacrifice for what they felt was morally right. What I vividly remember is that toward the end of the siege, the principal offered me the position full time for the next school year, and my response to him was, "Work for you? You have GOT to be kidding!"
--------------------------
**This was back in the days when honor societies meant something. I don't think it means much any more. There are local schools with 900 students, and when the newspaper prints the honors lists, 700 of them are on it. That "everybody gets a prize" mentality. I don't know what's wrong with the other 200. Maybe they're all in jail.
.
On CBS' "Sunday Morning" today there was a discussion of patriotism, what it is, how it is defined. A poll showed that more Republicans than Democrats consider wearing a lapel flag pin, or saying the pledge of allegiance, to be patriotic, that one who does these things is by definition a patriot.
The focus of the segment was a man who defined patriotism as doing things to make the US a better place. It's not wearing a symbol, or saluting a flag, it's what you do.
There seems to be an attitude among conservatives that one has to support the government, right or wrong, to demonstrate patriotism. So Vietnam war protesters back when, and Iraq war protesters now (who are mostly quiet because of fear of retribution) are, by their definition, unpatriotic.
I am reminded of an incident in 1967. I was teaching math in a high school in Hanover, Pa., substituting for a teacher who'd died mid-year. A very bright girl, a senior with straight As, had declared in a speech given at a school assembly that she considered herself first and foremost a citizen of the world, and secondly an American. That the only way to achieve world peace is for everyone to realize that they are first and foremost citizens of the world, that we should all work for the health and happiness of all our fellow world citizens, and that blind insular local patriotism is detrimental to world peace.
She said that she knew everyone would forget her words as soon as the assembly was over, so in order to remind them, for the remainder of the school year she would not rise for and would not speak the pledge of allegiance with everyone else, not as an expression of disdain, but as a reminder that there is a higher call.
A few weeks later, the faculty voted her unanimously into the national honor society.**
The principal freaked. He called an after-school compulsory faculty meeting and ordered the teachers to vote her out. He pointed out that grades alone did not an honor student make, that citizenship and service to the school and community counted just as much, and he did not consider her a good citizen or an example for others to follow.
The teachers refused to change their votes.
That stupid principal called a one to two hour meeting after school every day! for something like a month and a half, during which we were not allowed to check homework, prepare lesson plans, grade papers, or anything else that teachers do every evening. We had to just sit there (children waiting at home be damned), and every half hour or so he'd ask if we were ready to change our vote.
You know, I don't remember the outcome, whether he finally prevailed or the teachers stood firm. But that was 1967, and back then, unlike today, people were ready to sacrifice for what they felt was morally right. What I vividly remember is that toward the end of the siege, the principal offered me the position full time for the next school year, and my response to him was, "Work for you? You have GOT to be kidding!"
--------------------------
**This was back in the days when honor societies meant something. I don't think it means much any more. There are local schools with 900 students, and when the newspaper prints the honors lists, 700 of them are on it. That "everybody gets a prize" mentality. I don't know what's wrong with the other 200. Maybe they're all in jail.
.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
2094 Shopping and Selling
Saturday, November 1, 2008
In the words of Becs, "If it's not in my house already, I probably don't need it."
Yeah. I've got everything I really need (except reliable air conditioning), and I've got too many of some things, like clothing, shoes, jewelry, and books. There are over six thousand books here. My biggest clue that maybe I have a problem was that solid perfume compact of the other day - it's 34 years old!
I save things. The house is so full I literally can't find anything any more. Daughter and The Man were both frustrated by my birthday - I have everything, and want very little. Daughter is giving me what I asked for, a foot and hand massage. The Man gave me time, the most precious thing he can bestow, and the trip to warmth, and a CD of him singing. (I love his voice. I wish I knew how to share it here.)
I've got to get rid of stuff. I've donated loads of overflow to the Salvation Army and the local historical society resale store over the past few years, but there are some things that, well, frankly, I want a tangible return for. Not so much for the money, but for the feeling that if someone BUYS it, they'll give it the respect it deserves. Time to turn to eBay for help.
Why haven't I been selling on eBay before now? Because I couldn't make good pictures. It wasn't until yesterday that I fully realized that was the sole holdup.
I've had a digital camera for two years now, and I never used it because it was too complicated. There was no "quick start" with it, the book was, no kidding, 70 dense pages with no index, and all the buttons were multi-purpose and badly labeled.
So last night I went to Office Max, and bought a tiny purple Nikon "Coolpix" S210 8.0 Megapixel self-focusing zoom blah blah camera with a 4 Gig card, a soft case, and Quick Start directions! In real English! With illustrations! And intuitive buttons! Two hours later (after battery charge) I was taking (and deleting) pictures. I have to install the software next.
I tried last night to get a picture of Jasper, but there's a delay on the button, and I'd frame his face, but he was curious about the camera and he'd move and the photo turned out to be his rump - every time.
Next I have to figure out how to get started selling on eBay, upgrade my PayPal account, and figure out where to store the photos for the listings. Also find out what shipping costs are. I'd like to fold the shipping cost into the minimum bid, and offer "free shipping". That draws more bidders. Given the apparent IQ level of some of the sellers I've dealt with as a buyer, I ought to be able to handle it - eventually.
I'm on the move now.
---------------------------
Just got off the phone with Daughter. She wondered why I'd choose to sell books on eBay when there are so many used book stores that will buy them, and so many places they can be donated. Well, the used book stores around here are full, they mostly don't want more "ordinary" books, and their payment is usually credit, and the one thing I don't need right now is more books.
As for donating, I am sad when I see books sitting on a shelf in those places, gathering dust, unwanted. If I sell them for a nominal amount (even as little as the shipping cost), at least I know the buyer wanted them, and they're going to a good home.
.
In the words of Becs, "If it's not in my house already, I probably don't need it."
Yeah. I've got everything I really need (except reliable air conditioning), and I've got too many of some things, like clothing, shoes, jewelry, and books. There are over six thousand books here. My biggest clue that maybe I have a problem was that solid perfume compact of the other day - it's 34 years old!
I save things. The house is so full I literally can't find anything any more. Daughter and The Man were both frustrated by my birthday - I have everything, and want very little. Daughter is giving me what I asked for, a foot and hand massage. The Man gave me time, the most precious thing he can bestow, and the trip to warmth, and a CD of him singing. (I love his voice. I wish I knew how to share it here.)
I've got to get rid of stuff. I've donated loads of overflow to the Salvation Army and the local historical society resale store over the past few years, but there are some things that, well, frankly, I want a tangible return for. Not so much for the money, but for the feeling that if someone BUYS it, they'll give it the respect it deserves. Time to turn to eBay for help.
Why haven't I been selling on eBay before now? Because I couldn't make good pictures. It wasn't until yesterday that I fully realized that was the sole holdup.
I've had a digital camera for two years now, and I never used it because it was too complicated. There was no "quick start" with it, the book was, no kidding, 70 dense pages with no index, and all the buttons were multi-purpose and badly labeled.
So last night I went to Office Max, and bought a tiny purple Nikon "Coolpix" S210 8.0 Megapixel self-focusing zoom blah blah camera with a 4 Gig card, a soft case, and Quick Start directions! In real English! With illustrations! And intuitive buttons! Two hours later (after battery charge) I was taking (and deleting) pictures. I have to install the software next.
I tried last night to get a picture of Jasper, but there's a delay on the button, and I'd frame his face, but he was curious about the camera and he'd move and the photo turned out to be his rump - every time.
Next I have to figure out how to get started selling on eBay, upgrade my PayPal account, and figure out where to store the photos for the listings. Also find out what shipping costs are. I'd like to fold the shipping cost into the minimum bid, and offer "free shipping". That draws more bidders. Given the apparent IQ level of some of the sellers I've dealt with as a buyer, I ought to be able to handle it - eventually.
I'm on the move now.
---------------------------
Just got off the phone with Daughter. She wondered why I'd choose to sell books on eBay when there are so many used book stores that will buy them, and so many places they can be donated. Well, the used book stores around here are full, they mostly don't want more "ordinary" books, and their payment is usually credit, and the one thing I don't need right now is more books.
As for donating, I am sad when I see books sitting on a shelf in those places, gathering dust, unwanted. If I sell them for a nominal amount (even as little as the shipping cost), at least I know the buyer wanted them, and they're going to a good home.
.
2093 Step Down, Judge Judy
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Ten years or more ago I admired Judge Judy Sheindlin. She showed a lot of common sense.
Lately it looks like too many people have complimented her on her common sense, and she's now going overboard, and thoroughly pissing me off.
It started getting really bad perhaps five years ago. She'd hear about something that happened, and she'd say she didn't believe it happened that way, because it didn't "make sense", so the person must be lying. Several times that pronouncement lifted me right out of my chair, because the exact same thing had happened to me! How can she say I'd be lying if I told her about it? It can so happen!
I'm getting sick of hearing her shout, "That doesn't make sense!" in that nasty tone she has.
Just because something doesn't make sense doesn't mean it didn't happen. Lots of things don't make sense, but people act that way anyway. Some people are just plain nuts. That doesn't make the recipient of those senseless actions a liar.
I stopped watching her show.
She has recently turned up again on the station that's on by default in my day's background. Some bits break through my filters, and Judge Judy is off her rocker.
Yesterday a young woman plaintiff testified that her books, needed for a college final, were in her car, which had been taken by her aunt two days before the final exam. The aunt had permission to take the car, but a) she took the car unexpectedly several hours before the agreed-upon time, and b) the aunt did not return the car the same day, as agreed, in fact she never returned the car.
Judge Judy decided the plaintiff was lying, because a college student studying for finals would have the books with her at all times (huh?), therefore they were not left in the car, therefore she was lying about that, therefore she was lying about everything. She completely ignored the part about the aunt taking the car sooner than expected, before the girl had an opportunity to retrieve the books.
It sounds like Judge Judy has decided that everybody does everything exactly the way she'd do it, and if they claim otherwise, they're lying.
Time to hang up the robes, lady. You've got hardening of the brain.
.
Ten years or more ago I admired Judge Judy Sheindlin. She showed a lot of common sense.
Lately it looks like too many people have complimented her on her common sense, and she's now going overboard, and thoroughly pissing me off.
It started getting really bad perhaps five years ago. She'd hear about something that happened, and she'd say she didn't believe it happened that way, because it didn't "make sense", so the person must be lying. Several times that pronouncement lifted me right out of my chair, because the exact same thing had happened to me! How can she say I'd be lying if I told her about it? It can so happen!
I'm getting sick of hearing her shout, "That doesn't make sense!" in that nasty tone she has.
Just because something doesn't make sense doesn't mean it didn't happen. Lots of things don't make sense, but people act that way anyway. Some people are just plain nuts. That doesn't make the recipient of those senseless actions a liar.
I stopped watching her show.
She has recently turned up again on the station that's on by default in my day's background. Some bits break through my filters, and Judge Judy is off her rocker.
Yesterday a young woman plaintiff testified that her books, needed for a college final, were in her car, which had been taken by her aunt two days before the final exam. The aunt had permission to take the car, but a) she took the car unexpectedly several hours before the agreed-upon time, and b) the aunt did not return the car the same day, as agreed, in fact she never returned the car.
Judge Judy decided the plaintiff was lying, because a college student studying for finals would have the books with her at all times (huh?), therefore they were not left in the car, therefore she was lying about that, therefore she was lying about everything. She completely ignored the part about the aunt taking the car sooner than expected, before the girl had an opportunity to retrieve the books.
It sounds like Judge Judy has decided that everybody does everything exactly the way she'd do it, and if they claim otherwise, they're lying.
Time to hang up the robes, lady. You've got hardening of the brain.
.
Friday, October 31, 2008
2092 Anonymous Visitor
Friday, October 31, 2008
I had a visitor today, at 5:58 pm my time, who came in through FreeProxyServer.ca, a server that allows one to access sites normally blocked (by a school or library or company computer) or to visit a site anonymously. They came directly to this site, so they knew where they were headed.
That bothers me.
I've already moved this blog once because people who know me in real life were visiting, not letting me know that they were here, and discussing with others what I had to say. Please don't make me do it again.
To that visitor:
- If you're using FreeProxyServer to get around blocks installed by the owner of the computer you're using, you shouldn't be doing that. Please don't make me complicit in your dishonesty.
- If you are trying to keep your identity or location from me, that really bugs me. Leave a comment with some clue as to who you are. Otherwise, if I keep seeing you here without some explanation as to why you're being so sneaky, I might have to move again.
.
I had a visitor today, at 5:58 pm my time, who came in through FreeProxyServer.ca, a server that allows one to access sites normally blocked (by a school or library or company computer) or to visit a site anonymously. They came directly to this site, so they knew where they were headed.
That bothers me.
I've already moved this blog once because people who know me in real life were visiting, not letting me know that they were here, and discussing with others what I had to say. Please don't make me do it again.
To that visitor:
- If you're using FreeProxyServer to get around blocks installed by the owner of the computer you're using, you shouldn't be doing that. Please don't make me complicit in your dishonesty.
- If you are trying to keep your identity or location from me, that really bugs me. Leave a comment with some clue as to who you are. Otherwise, if I keep seeing you here without some explanation as to why you're being so sneaky, I might have to move again.
.
2091 Chin Hair and the Vermont Catalog
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Vermont Country Store catalog arrived yesterday. They arrive regularly, but I haven't been looking at them. I opened it yesterday looking for Welsh cookies, I get a hunger for them about this time of year, and I ended up with several dog-eared pages, and no cookies.
It's funny how the contents meshed with recent desires.
My chin hairs are driving me crazy. I tweeze and tweeze, and the next day I feel more stiff stubble that I missed. It's difficult to get them all, because I can't SEE the dang things, can't see close enough to grab them. Waxing doesn't work because the hairs have to be too long. Shaving doesn't work because they're back the next day. The other day I was thinking about the Epilady I had tried on my legs and discarded (pain!) in the '80s and wished I had it back. Guess what I found in the catalog? This! Major dog-ear.
With all the traveling and overnighters I've been doing lately, I've been wanting a solid perfume, but haven't been able to find one I really like. On Wednesday I was going through a box of old cosmetics, and I found a Coty compact from the mid-70s, containing Sweet Earth Woods Fragrances (sandalwood, amberwood, and patchouli). I was rather passionate about the sandalwood and amberwood, and wore them with a touch of the patchouli, until the day toddler Daughter discovered it, smuggled it into her room, and dug out ALL the perfume, smearing it all over every inch of herself, her bed, and everything else she could reach during a "nap" one day. She wanted her nap time to smell like Mommy.
Coty had stopped making it. I couldn't replace it.
The old compact still has bits deep around the edges of the trays, and it still smells wonderful. Still soft and creamy.
And then I found this! It's MINE! MINE! All MINE!
Yesterday, searching for my cousin, I was thinking of the few college friends I had located online. The scents of those days, the early to mid-60's, were Tweed and Woodhue. Everybody wore one or the other. I loved both, but neither have been available for decades. Then I found this! And this!
My grandmother always wore Avon's To a Wild Rose, and I'm considering it. Minor dog-ear.
The only scent I'm missing now is Yardley's O! de London, which was my favorite after the Sweet Earth Woods. It was a lot lighter than the other scents, very Carnaby Street kicky. Maybe if I write to Vermont Country Store, they'll find it for me. It is available here at a gold-plated price for 3.3 oz, and here at a completely ridiculous price for .5 oz. I'm thinking about the first one.
Still no Welsh cookies, but the almond buttercrunch is looking good....
.
The Vermont Country Store catalog arrived yesterday. They arrive regularly, but I haven't been looking at them. I opened it yesterday looking for Welsh cookies, I get a hunger for them about this time of year, and I ended up with several dog-eared pages, and no cookies.
It's funny how the contents meshed with recent desires.
My chin hairs are driving me crazy. I tweeze and tweeze, and the next day I feel more stiff stubble that I missed. It's difficult to get them all, because I can't SEE the dang things, can't see close enough to grab them. Waxing doesn't work because the hairs have to be too long. Shaving doesn't work because they're back the next day. The other day I was thinking about the Epilady I had tried on my legs and discarded (pain!) in the '80s and wished I had it back. Guess what I found in the catalog? This! Major dog-ear.
With all the traveling and overnighters I've been doing lately, I've been wanting a solid perfume, but haven't been able to find one I really like. On Wednesday I was going through a box of old cosmetics, and I found a Coty compact from the mid-70s, containing Sweet Earth Woods Fragrances (sandalwood, amberwood, and patchouli). I was rather passionate about the sandalwood and amberwood, and wore them with a touch of the patchouli, until the day toddler Daughter discovered it, smuggled it into her room, and dug out ALL the perfume, smearing it all over every inch of herself, her bed, and everything else she could reach during a "nap" one day. She wanted her nap time to smell like Mommy.
Coty had stopped making it. I couldn't replace it.
The old compact still has bits deep around the edges of the trays, and it still smells wonderful. Still soft and creamy.
And then I found this! It's MINE! MINE! All MINE!
Yesterday, searching for my cousin, I was thinking of the few college friends I had located online. The scents of those days, the early to mid-60's, were Tweed and Woodhue. Everybody wore one or the other. I loved both, but neither have been available for decades. Then I found this! And this!
My grandmother always wore Avon's To a Wild Rose, and I'm considering it. Minor dog-ear.
The only scent I'm missing now is Yardley's O! de London, which was my favorite after the Sweet Earth Woods. It was a lot lighter than the other scents, very Carnaby Street kicky. Maybe if I write to Vermont Country Store, they'll find it for me. It is available here at a gold-plated price for 3.3 oz, and here at a completely ridiculous price for .5 oz. I'm thinking about the first one.
Still no Welsh cookies, but the almond buttercrunch is looking good....
.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
2089 Looking for the cousin...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I spent a lot of time today searching online for my cousin, Dean Morris. I have very little information. I haven't seen him since about 1963.
He's a swimmer. He was supposed to be on the US Olympic swim team (or so my mother told the story) back when Mark Spitz won all those gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich (West Germany). Spitz wasn't going to go at first for some reason, my mother said funding, but that doesn't sound reasonable given that he was already pretty darn famous. When Spitz decided at the last minute to go, and they were all packed for the plane, cousin Dean was bumped from the team. He was devastated. At least, that's the way my mother tells it.
Anyway, I do know Dean was a serious swimmer. I don't know where he went to college, or what career he pursued, but it's pretty reasonable to assume he still swims. He's tall and dark - looked a lot like Joe Namath when both of them were young. He was born probably in 1946 or so, in Buffalo or Tonawanda, NY, to Betty and Richard Morris. I don't know his middle name, but I seem to have the initial "R" stuck in my head.
He has a sister, Linda Joy Morris, born in late 1943 or early 1944. I'd like to find her, too, but with women it's not enough to know who they were - you have to know who they married, who they "belong to" now. (Damn those stupid patriarchal customs that define women not as themselves, but by who their male owner is.... )
Anyway, there are a few thousand "Dean Morris" internet hits. You'd think "Linda Joy" would be rather rare, but there are several of them, too. I thought I had located a reference to her in Long Island, but it happened to mention that her mother had died in the mid-80s, of Alzheimer's, and I believe aunt Betty was still alive in the early '90s, so it's probably not her.
Aunt Betty may be still living in the Tonawanda area, but Uncle Dick died a long time ago, and she remarried, and I don't know who her current male owner might be.
Frustrating business.
-----------------------------------
Today is the seventh anniversary of Jay's departure. In my belief system, now is the time that I must emotionally release him. It won't be easy. Especially since he had promised to wait seven years for me before he moved on.
Sigh. It's time. I feel it.
.
I spent a lot of time today searching online for my cousin, Dean Morris. I have very little information. I haven't seen him since about 1963.
He's a swimmer. He was supposed to be on the US Olympic swim team (or so my mother told the story) back when Mark Spitz won all those gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich (West Germany). Spitz wasn't going to go at first for some reason, my mother said funding, but that doesn't sound reasonable given that he was already pretty darn famous. When Spitz decided at the last minute to go, and they were all packed for the plane, cousin Dean was bumped from the team. He was devastated. At least, that's the way my mother tells it.
Anyway, I do know Dean was a serious swimmer. I don't know where he went to college, or what career he pursued, but it's pretty reasonable to assume he still swims. He's tall and dark - looked a lot like Joe Namath when both of them were young. He was born probably in 1946 or so, in Buffalo or Tonawanda, NY, to Betty and Richard Morris. I don't know his middle name, but I seem to have the initial "R" stuck in my head.
He has a sister, Linda Joy Morris, born in late 1943 or early 1944. I'd like to find her, too, but with women it's not enough to know who they were - you have to know who they married, who they "belong to" now. (Damn those stupid patriarchal customs that define women not as themselves, but by who their male owner is.... )
Anyway, there are a few thousand "Dean Morris" internet hits. You'd think "Linda Joy" would be rather rare, but there are several of them, too. I thought I had located a reference to her in Long Island, but it happened to mention that her mother had died in the mid-80s, of Alzheimer's, and I believe aunt Betty was still alive in the early '90s, so it's probably not her.
Aunt Betty may be still living in the Tonawanda area, but Uncle Dick died a long time ago, and she remarried, and I don't know who her current male owner might be.
Frustrating business.
-----------------------------------
Today is the seventh anniversary of Jay's departure. In my belief system, now is the time that I must emotionally release him. It won't be easy. Especially since he had promised to wait seven years for me before he moved on.
Sigh. It's time. I feel it.
.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
2088 Miss Thunderfoot Loves Silk
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I've bought a bunch more silk saris over the past few weeks. On eBay. You can get some real deals there. I usually pay about $20-$22 each, including shipping. The saris are 40-some inches wide, and 5 to 7 yards long, and that's a lot of good silk, especially for that price.
When they arrive, I sit down at the computer and unfold them, open them out to examine them, for the feedback to the seller, then refold them to put away.
A package of saris arrived from India today. Saris from this particular seller are always especially soft and beautiful and in excellent condition, except that they always arrive with a strong mildew odor. They are not themselves mildewed - they just smell of mildew. Bad storage during the rainy season, I guess. It washes out (cold water!), so it doesn't bother me.
Normally.
When I get a mildewy batch I don't refold them. I just drop them in a pile on the floor to take to the laundry basket.
One of today's batch is very beautiful, an intense rose-purple with a multicolored finely woven floral edging and pallu. It's so light it floats. It was described as 50 years old, so I guess that's why no one else bid on it. I got it for $8.00 + $5.00 S&H, and it looks brand new. It was the first one I opened out, so it was the first onto the floor.
Miss Thunderfoot, who usually sleeps on a leather laptop case stored on a shelf near my elbow, took one look at it, dropped from her perch, curled up on it, and started a rare purr. As I opened up the other saris, I dropped them on top of her, and she purred louder.
By the time I'd opened up six saris, the mildew odor (probably spores) was getting to my sinuses, so I tried to gather up the saris to take them to the laundry basket, and hit a snag, literally.
She let me take the other saris, but Miss Thunderfoot unsheathed all her claws (with double front paws she's got more claws than normal cats), latched on to the purple sari, and refused to let go. She made it clear that she'd shred it before she'd let me take it. I tried to trade a lesser sari, but she wouldn't go for it. She's been on it since about 4 pm, and it's after 11 now. My sinuses are raging.
At least she's got good taste. And no sense of smell.
---------------------------------
I have several very nice light jackets and I'm getting annoyed that I never get to wear them. Around here, we go directly from short sleeves to parkas in the fall, and directly from parkas to short sleeves in the spring. A fast transition. It's always either too warm or too cold for my light jackets.
.
I've bought a bunch more silk saris over the past few weeks. On eBay. You can get some real deals there. I usually pay about $20-$22 each, including shipping. The saris are 40-some inches wide, and 5 to 7 yards long, and that's a lot of good silk, especially for that price.
When they arrive, I sit down at the computer and unfold them, open them out to examine them, for the feedback to the seller, then refold them to put away.
A package of saris arrived from India today. Saris from this particular seller are always especially soft and beautiful and in excellent condition, except that they always arrive with a strong mildew odor. They are not themselves mildewed - they just smell of mildew. Bad storage during the rainy season, I guess. It washes out (cold water!), so it doesn't bother me.
Normally.
When I get a mildewy batch I don't refold them. I just drop them in a pile on the floor to take to the laundry basket.
One of today's batch is very beautiful, an intense rose-purple with a multicolored finely woven floral edging and pallu. It's so light it floats. It was described as 50 years old, so I guess that's why no one else bid on it. I got it for $8.00 + $5.00 S&H, and it looks brand new. It was the first one I opened out, so it was the first onto the floor.
Miss Thunderfoot, who usually sleeps on a leather laptop case stored on a shelf near my elbow, took one look at it, dropped from her perch, curled up on it, and started a rare purr. As I opened up the other saris, I dropped them on top of her, and she purred louder.
By the time I'd opened up six saris, the mildew odor (probably spores) was getting to my sinuses, so I tried to gather up the saris to take them to the laundry basket, and hit a snag, literally.
She let me take the other saris, but Miss Thunderfoot unsheathed all her claws (with double front paws she's got more claws than normal cats), latched on to the purple sari, and refused to let go. She made it clear that she'd shred it before she'd let me take it. I tried to trade a lesser sari, but she wouldn't go for it. She's been on it since about 4 pm, and it's after 11 now. My sinuses are raging.
At least she's got good taste. And no sense of smell.
---------------------------------
I have several very nice light jackets and I'm getting annoyed that I never get to wear them. Around here, we go directly from short sleeves to parkas in the fall, and directly from parkas to short sleeves in the spring. A fast transition. It's always either too warm or too cold for my light jackets.
.
2087 Analysis of The Joke
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Man made up a joke:
A white man, a black man, and a Catholic guy go into a bar.
One of the men turns to the others and says,
.
.
.
.
. (Pause....)
.
.
.
.
.
"Hey, we left Sarah in the car!"
When he told it to me, I blinked twice, and then cracked up, which surprised and pleased him enormously. He said he'd told it to ten people at work the day before, and no one thought it was funny. A joke's not funny when you have to explain it. They didn't "get it".
I did, and that's why he loves me.
-------------------------------------
The Man and I didn't get into it then, but the question of what makes something funny was one of Jay's favorite topics.
Jay maintained that it was "disconnect". You'd laugh when you were expecting one thing, and got something entirely different. I agreed with Jay that disconnect was funny, but it wasn't all of it. I don't know. Maybe in the end, it does all come down to disconnect. I guess even shock, relief, and embarrassment, all elements in some types of humor, are, in the end, disconnect.
The Man's joke has disconnect on several levels:
Opinions, anyone?
.
The Man made up a joke:
A white man, a black man, and a Catholic guy go into a bar.
One of the men turns to the others and says,
.
.
.
.
. (Pause....)
.
.
.
.
.
"Hey, we left Sarah in the car!"
When he told it to me, I blinked twice, and then cracked up, which surprised and pleased him enormously. He said he'd told it to ten people at work the day before, and no one thought it was funny. A joke's not funny when you have to explain it. They didn't "get it".
I did, and that's why he loves me.
-------------------------------------
The Man and I didn't get into it then, but the question of what makes something funny was one of Jay's favorite topics.
Jay maintained that it was "disconnect". You'd laugh when you were expecting one thing, and got something entirely different. I agreed with Jay that disconnect was funny, but it wasn't all of it. I don't know. Maybe in the end, it does all come down to disconnect. I guess even shock, relief, and embarrassment, all elements in some types of humor, are, in the end, disconnect.
The Man's joke has disconnect on several levels:
- When a joke starts out with a disparate group going into a bar, there's a certain pattern to the joke. It's a standard type. This one breaks that pattern, forcing you to back up and look at it differently. Disconnect.
- Your mind says, "Sarah?", which requires that you think about the three men, and how a Sarah fits in. When you realize who they are, this is a second disconnect from the format. Usually it's three anonymous types.
- The recognition that they are in a bar together is disconnect.
- And the thought that they may have left her in the car on purpose is another disconnect, and perhaps the best part.
Opinions, anyone?
.
Monday, October 27, 2008
2086 I'm Back, and Hate Winter More Than Ever!
Monday, October 27, 2008
I've been away. Drove to New Jersey on Thursday, met The Man, we flew south Friday morning to palm trees and myrtles, waves and sculpture gardens, and returned this morning.
He needed a spot of relaxation after a rough month, and it was my birthday, so we went. He showed me where he lived and played and hung out in the '90s. The trip was relaxing and often romantic.
He dropped me off at my car at about noon today and went to his office. I smiled all the way home.
(Oh, and my back was no trouble at all. There was a Jacuzzi in the room, which helped to keep it that way.)
.
I've been away. Drove to New Jersey on Thursday, met The Man, we flew south Friday morning to palm trees and myrtles, waves and sculpture gardens, and returned this morning.
He needed a spot of relaxation after a rough month, and it was my birthday, so we went. He showed me where he lived and played and hung out in the '90s. The trip was relaxing and often romantic.
He dropped me off at my car at about noon today and went to his office. I smiled all the way home.
(Oh, and my back was no trouble at all. There was a Jacuzzi in the room, which helped to keep it that way.)
.
2085 Why Women Hang TP Backward
Monday, October 27, 2008
Men complain when women "hang the toilet paper backward". Well, there's a reason. It's usually women who have to deal with and clean up after kittens, puppies, and toddlers.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpI5bkZbHJk]
.
Men complain when women "hang the toilet paper backward". Well, there's a reason. It's usually women who have to deal with and clean up after kittens, puppies, and toddlers.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpI5bkZbHJk]
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)