Friday Frivolity (or Today's Tidbit of Geek Wisdom)

PK dug up this bit of wisdom from To the Hilt, the sword-wielding, swashbuckling gypsy comedy duo beloved by Tennessee Renaissance Festival goers.

"A wise woman once said, 'The Renaissance Festival is to history what the Etch-a-Sketch is to art.'"

Wonder where the Lite Brite fits into the hierarchy of "sorta artsy" toys.......

Sharing the Randomness...

Last night while I was fixing something to eat, the words to a StrongBad email song burst out of my mouth...

No apparent reason... like a twisted version of Tourette's or something.

"Checkin' de email... Checkin' de email. StrongBad email.........."
"Ohhh... the Nathan TX?! That has like 4 more cylinders than the standard Nathan."

Yeah.

Cheats and Swindlers

This is just plain disturbing - what some people try to do to get a buck:

Dear Members and Frist Center Supporters:

It has come to our attention that people in Middle Tennessee are being contacted for the purpose of offering discounted Frist Center memberships purchased with a credit card. They are identifying themselves as representatives of an organization they call Friends of the Frist.

No such Friends of the Frist organization exists. The Frist Center is not soliciting memberships (discounted or otherwise) via telephone.

If you are contacted by telephone or an email you believe is suspect, please do not offer any information. Contact us.

If you have questions about any Frist Center membership mailing or solicitation now or at any time, please contact Frist Center Membership Manager Brooke Reusch at (615) 744-3248 or by email at breusch@fristcenter.org.

Unfortunately, unscrupulous people are attempting to use our institution and the name of the Frist Center for fraudulent purposes.

We have contacted the authorities and would appreciate knowing about any offers you may receive by contacting our Director of Finance and Operations Martin Terrien at (615) 744-3330 or by emailing mterrien@fristcenter.org.

Thank you.

Susan Edwards, Ph.D.
Executive Director and C.E.O.
Frist Center for the Visual Arts

So, say no if the Frist Center calls. But do make sure to go and visit any chance you get. It's a greate museum.

Movie Viewing Follow-up

This has been PK's movie week outside of the Film Festival.

Tuesday night, Duke Diva and I went to the preview screening of "A History of Violence." Jim Ridley's review is spot on. Warning: some NSFW language in the review. It's easier to point to someone else's lengthy review that I agree with than write one myself that would bore the pants off you. The script was incredibly good. The acting was outstanding. And the cinematography... wow. That did an incredible job of setting a creepy tone right at the beginning of the movie. *shiver* I highly recommend seeing this movie. It gets my full-price ticket award (I don't give that lightly).

Wednesday night, Elena and I went to the preview screening of Serenity as a part of our selling out to da man and pimpin' out my blog for a free ticket. First, I am not a Joss Whedon fan. My question about this was "who?"

I had no idea it was tied to a TV show until somebody told me.

I didn't do any reading up on the backstory before hand. Other than the snyopsis posted on my blog, that's all the information I had.

This movie can stand on its own. One does not need to be a rabid fanboy or fangirl to appreciate it. It was very good. Again, the story was well-written. There was just enough humor to keep the overall story from being repressed by the special effects.

It was made better by running into Big Orange Michael and Katherine. It's great to put faces with blogs and to find out people are just as funny face-to-face as they are on their blogs. I thought Brittney of NIT was sitting behind us but that girl said she wasn't. And Pam and I saw plenty of movies together at NFF. It was good to see her too. In fact, if we hadn't seen Pam, we wouldn't have met Katherine or Michael.

Elena said "do you have blog fodder for days?" when seeing the variety of people in attendance.

"Only if I had my camera."

This lead us into a long discussion about how it might be possible to be a sci-fi nut and yet still bathe and dress in something that looked like it had been washed since the turn of the century. Or to get a haircut that doesn't shout "I used to be a roadie for Quiet Riot."

I guess I am supposed to say something about the movie, now.

I liked it. I'm glad I went. I'm glad it was free because that saved me $8 I can use toward gas. I would have paid matinee price if someone I knew had seen it before I saw it.

Mingling with the Commoners

It isn't often that I go to the grocery store since I started using Plumgood. Why should I when I can order (organic) groceries online in a fraction of the time it would take me to wander through a supermarket? They are delivered to my door for a modest fee and I get my time back.

Yes, my life is so hard.

Since I started shopping through Plumgood, I have been to the actual grocery store... like... 5 times since January. I had to do it the other day. Not because I didn't place an order online. I had to cancel my debit card because I lost it (and then found it, but they won't un-cancel it), and Plumgood doesn't take Discover.

So...that means I had to actually go to the store. And it took me an hour to buy what would have taken me 10 minutes or less to buy online. Wandering around the store to get lunch items, poking through the fruit bins to find one apple that isn't bruised all to heck...feeling a little lost. But I made it to the checkout counter.

And in front of me was this family. I saw that they had selected some food but what got me were the 10 2-liter Mountain Dews. 10. Who in the world needs 10 Mountain Dews? And 2 12-packs of Coke? That was enough to make my blood sugar rise just thinking about it! They probably spent more on soft drinks than on food. They also probably will have Mom bring home dinner from McDonald's on her way home from work as opposed to cooking anything.

The only food I clearly recall seeing was a bag of Munch'ems, but I know there was other stuff up there. But I am pretty sure it wasn't bagged salad, fresh meat, or bananas.

It was probably frozen pizza, tater tots, and Pasta-Roni. Mmm... tater tots.

Elena called me a grocery cart snob.

Industrial-strength sodium, people. After we had our last junk food binge, my face broke out with something akin to boils. Makeup couldn't hide these things. I was so embarrassed to meet with students---or anyone for that matter. Thanks to advice from Elena's Grandma T., the scars are minimal.

Yes, I am. (A grocery cart snob.) Is it more expensive to eat healthy? Nominally so. But considering the long-term benefits of healthier eating, I believe it will all work out in the end.

Life Imitating Art

Don't tell me that when you read "Dolphin assassins menace Gulf of Mexico" you didn't see Dr. Evil gushing about wanting sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads but hear "sea bass" instead.

Selling Out

Over at NIT, there was a discussion on those of use who decided to pimp our blogs out to the man in exchange for free movie tickets.

This got me to thinking about a few things (better watch out because it gets messy around here when I actually start to think).

It's definitely a new marketing tactic by Universal to court bloggers to come to a free screening of a movie. I think it's a little brave of them encouraging us to write reviews, particularly if the movie winds up stinking like The Island. Let's invite bloggers who probably reach about 20 people each (though some of the folks attending might reach more. Let's all be realistic about our sitemeter hits, m'kay?) and ask them to see our movie.

Now, I don't expect that y'all would see a movie just because I said it was good or said it was bad, but in my experience, if someone I know personally says, "PK, that movie was fantastic. You should see it," I'm inclined to at least consider seeing it---either in the theater or waiting until it comes out on DVD.

"PK, that movie is awful."---yeah....snowballs have better chances in stoves than that movie has with me.

Though if I say "You should really see [insert random movie title here]," you should see it. :)

So, in an effort to build word-on-the-street, Universal is trying this marketing scheme. I think they are banking A LOT on Joss Whedon's reputation with his successful TV series/fan base. Because I have no idea who's actually starring in it.

And I am not a fan of Buffy/Angel/Firefly. Never watched any of them. I've been told the latter was actually really good. I'm trying to decide if I want to read up on Firefly before seeing the movie Wednesday, or would it be good to go in cold? You can see The Mummy Returns and "get it" without having seen The Mummy. However, The Two Towers makes almost no sense unless you saw The Fellowship of the Ring.

Second, what about pimping out your blog? Mr. Roboto had a field day when he re-designed his blog to poke fun at News2 for the scrolling headlines several local bloggers have on their sites. Is this any different than wearing a radio station's T-shirt or having its bumper sticker on your car? Those with the high and mighty tone about placing the synopsis on a blog might want to consider exactly how and when they got sucked into the great marketing machine.

No one is immune. Resistance is futile.

Saying of the day...

"You can't fight an airbrushed enemy..."
- PK

Let's go to the movies

Let's go to the show... RKO, Universal.... (Remember that from Annie?)

I love action and sci-fi movies. When I saw the trailer for this on TV a couple weeks back, I decided that I definately want to see it (on DVD). Elena, Duke Diva, and I discussed it last night: we are looking forward to it. "Very cool." Elena is a big fan of Firefly, so she's coming with me to the screening. We hope that the Universal folks will be nice enough to let us in. :)



Joss Whedon, the Oscar® - and Emmy - nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

Meet the New Kitties!!!!

As you may remember, Her Royal Highness the Empress Kitty ran away. After a month of PK being with out a kitty, I made a visit to the Humane Association and adopted not one, but two! Brothers to be precise. Aren't they just precious?

Meet Smith and Wesson! Those aren't their original names but you know what - these names are better. Smith has the pink nose and is more adventurous than Wesson. They are 5 and 1/2 months old and just cute as little buttons.

The Apprentice - Martha Stewart Edition

Some very disjointed thoughts on the show last night.

Very nice - Very Martha set. Clean, light, open/airy as opposed to the masculine, heavy wooden feeling of The Donald's set.

OH MY FREAKIN' WORD - could these people whine anymore? "It's Jeff's fault." "Dawn never signed on to the project." "She took a nap while the rest of us were working." Blah blah. It's so shrill I had to hit mute. They argued more than the kids who they were pitching their book to.

"You just don't fit in." What the heck kind of punch is that? How weak. How feminine. "The first to not fully succeed." They show her sending a hand written note to the ejected applicant. It was good to get a more depth explanation of the reasoning behind the firing.

In the preview, she states "No whining. No complaining. Women in business don't cry, my dear." Ahhh... return of Martha Stewart, the Ice Queen.

Adventures in Bureaucracy

A discussion over at Vox's yesterday prompted me to look at my experience at the Metro Clerk's Office in a new way.

The debate is over the trend of women's obtaining advanced degrees but stating that they choose to leave the workforce when they have a family. Fatmammycat said that they would get bored with toddlers. Several parents chimed in, wondering how one could get bored with toddlers, given their energy levels.

Then it was said that women get educations to contribute to society. Spacebunny said that pushing paper is not contributing to society.

Flash forward to my afternoon spent at the Clerk's Office. I was there to pick up the tag for my brother's car. He's still in Iraq, and the tag wasn't available before he left. Since I have power of attorney, that leaves me to go get it. Off I go.

48 minutes later, I get to leave with the tag.

I stood there for 40 of 48 minutes at this woman's desk. She was very nice and tried to be helpful. We can't help it that the bureaucratic MESS currently in place is idiotic, stupid, and inefficent and that the agency probably lost money on this transaction anyway.

First we have to make sure he's on the list. Then she has to put him into the database. Then she says, "You don't happen to have a copy of his orders, do you?"

"What? Nowhere in any of this has anyone ever mentioned I would need a copy of his orders. I have them, but they are at home."

"Well, let me do this..." So she called another office. They faxed over a copy of his orders........20 minutes later.

Also, on her trash can, she had written her name. There was a note tacked on the wall near the trash can that said, "Dear ---, That trash can is state property. My tax dollars paid for that trash can. You shouldn't write your name on government property. Sincerely, Robert the Perfect." Or something like that.

So...back to this discussion at Vox's. There were probably 15 or so women in that Clerk's Office. Most of them probably have college degrees. I bet when they finished school, they didn't dream they would wind up in an city office literally shoving paper from one pile to another. Staple. File. Collate. Staple. File. Repeat. These women are certainly not changing the world.

College education leading to a better job is a farce. (This is coming from a woman who has a Master's degree in Higher Education Administration. You can bet my statements like that went over REAL well in class).

Were there skills that I learned in college? Yes. (nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills) And I met Elena there. Certainly the most worthwhile thing I did. But none of the jobs I've had since graduating with my undergraduate degree absolutely needed the skills I learned in college. I became a better employee through experience.

Caption Contest Winner

Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of last week's caption contest are:

Yo ho, yo ho! A looter's life for me! We rob and beat and terorize and fright. Avast, my robbing! Yo ho! We are a very terrible sight. Avast, me looters! Yo ho!
---trembling timberdoodle

and

Last thing heard by these 6 FEMA workers: "Power hasn't been restored yet. See?"---djuggler

Congratulations! You get to wear the Burger King Crown until the next contest. Which will be...whenever I feel like it. Just be sure to share.

On a side note, the Burger King Crown is getting kind of ratty, y'all. What would make a good caption contest award?

Pledge of Allegiance Flapping on a Pole

Previously, this blog beat Michael Newdow senseless for suing over the Pledge of Allegiance. Notice that I really didn't give my own opinion about the Pledge other than to say that Newdow was stupid.

I still think he's nuts, but I will have to say that I agree with whatever court banned the Pledge. Perhaps if Newdown had gone with the 'ban the whole thing' approach, instead of just plucking a couple of words out of it, he might have garnered a little more support. Here's why I agree with the court:

1) It was written by a socialist.
2) The only thing to which Christians should be pledging allegiance is God. Not some piece of fabric and definitely not to the state. The state is not higher than God. This fact seemed to escape the Baptist minister/socialist who wrote the pledge.
3) It was written as a part of a marketing campaign to sell flags. Do you pledge allegiance to Nike? Well, maybe some people do.
4) Did I mention that it was written by a socialist?

Or does Newdow want to remove only those words, because he holds the state up as God? We know Nancy Pelosi is close to thinking that, every time the Supreme Court renders a decision. (Is that like rendering bacon...? Just curious.)

Bellemy, the author of the pledge states:

The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the "republic for which it stands." ... And what does that vast thing, the Republic, mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation - the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Webster and Lincoln used to repeat in their great speeches. And its future?

Just here arose the temptation of the historic slogan of the French Revolution which meant so much to Jefferson and his friends, "Liberty, equality, fraternity." No, that would be too fanciful, too many thousands of years off in realization. But we as a nation do stand square on the doctrine of liberty and justice for all ...

What is the point of a republic that exists without the consent of the governed? Truth is, we don't live in much of a republic anymore. We may still elect representatives but they are not beholden to the people. They are beholden to the special interests lobbies that fund their campaigns. Doesn't this sound a bit more like the country we live in today?

A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that Democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a Dictatorship.
-- Professor Alexander Fraser Tytler, nearly two centuries ago while our thirteen original states were still colonies of Great Britain. At the time he was writing of the decline and fall of the Athenian Republic over two thousand years before.

And if all of that isn't disturbing enough, check out this photo on wikipedia. It was changed in 1942 so that it didn't represent the Hitler salute.

Vandy Football

If the Commodores win one more game, they may replace the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt in front of Kirkland Hall with a statue of Bobby Johnson.

Color me impressed... 3-0. Granted, there is still plenty of time for the typical Vanderbilt way of playing to come out but you know, good for them for having such a strong start to their season.

The Truth

DRUDGE REPORT 2005: "PAPER: Karl Rove's kidney stones may have hurt Bush..."

That's because Karl Rove's kidney stones are working for Halliburton, planned 9/11, sabotaged John Kerry with that whole Swift Vets story, got out before Enron collapsed and are weathy beyond their wildest expectations, are the secret love child of Sadaam Hussein and an unknown person, planted the CBS memo that got Dan Rather ousted, LOVE Green Day (especially that kicky song about Broken Dreams), and gave Karl Rove his love of Darth Vader.. or is that John Bolton his love of Darth Vader? Which ever. It's all the fault of the kidney stones.

They are evil.

Caption Contest

The way to lighten a situation is with humor. Lots of anger and frustration has been expressed over Katrina and the government's response. So, moving on from that, caption this:



Entries due Monday 9/19.

Wear pants that show all your suppluties

So... Good!

Perhaps these guys were talking to StrongBad.

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool....

than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."
- Samuel Johnson (other variations attributed to Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain)

Uber-idiot Ted Rall decided to speak again and remind us all that he is, indeed, a fool. He tells us that the government - only - should be responsible for the clean up on the Gulf Coast because "charities are for suckers."

First, I bet he doesn't have too many lines under the "charitable contributions" part of his 1040.

Second, the Red Cross was there much faster than FEMA. Holy crap. Ted, are you really that stupid? It was a logistical nightmare - for both public and private agencies. In Franklin, a private warehouse has been turned into a shelter for evacuees. There are a job search station, some medical facilities, and a day care on site. FEMA came into that warehouse and now has an office but I don't think it set the place up. I could be mistaken, and if I am, I will retract this part of my statement.

Ted, you put far far far too much faith in the behemoth that is the Federal government. It moves slowly - by nature. It's too big to respond quickly to anything other than raising taxes or salaries for members of Congress. Private citizens are the first responders, whether they are the church, the Red Cross, or other organizations.

Government has been shirking its basic responsibilities since the 80s, when Ronald Reagan sold us his belief that the sick, poor and unlucky should no longer count on "big government" to help them, but should rather live and die at the whim of contributors to private charities.

Since when was it ever government's responsibility? Oh, since socialism took over in the 20th century. Let's take responsibility away from the local community and family. A big, anonymous government agency that gets paid whether you get help or not is a much better idea. We can really hold it accountable. Just think: if the Red Cross did what FEMA did in the last few weeks, the Red Cross would be out of business. FEMA will still be here - despite its massive screwup. I don't hear calls for the resignation of Gov. Blanco or Mayor Nagin either - unlike those for the former FEMA director Brown. Update: Gov. Blanco has accepted responsibility for state government's failures in the Katrina emergency. (hat tip: Lance in Iraq)

Instead of instilling people with self-reliance and with the capacity to do for themselves, let's line them all up to suck at a government teat. Then they will solely rely on government for support, knowledge, and everything short of breath itself (until they start taxing the air you breathe, that is).

I was going to go into a long personal explanation here, but I decided that it was not necessary to do so. There really is no need to start another 'who's had the harder life?' contest.

In short, the last phrase I ever want to hear is "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help." I don't trust the state (at any level) at all. They do not work in your best interest. They work for the preservation of the state.

The Bastardization of Country Music

While getting ready for work this morning, I turned the TV on to CMT. What song should be playing? Bon Jovi's new single "Have a Nice Day." At first I thought 'Oh, maybe Comcast changed the channel line-up again and I've missed it.'

No. It's a clip from the CMT Crossroads concert with Bon Jovi and Sugarland, premiering this week.

You are talking to the woman whose primary belly dance music selection is Spanish/Arabic techno as opposed to Egyptian orchestra that use real Middle Eastern rhythms.. or electronica that's one step away from being Nine Inch Nails - and I've thought about using a NIN tune in a dance. Scary. I'm all for fusion music, but somehow, this just seemed wrong to me.

And on previous Crossroads concerts, the rock tunes took on a bit of a country flair. This didn't. CMT is going to play Bon Jovi's song but is VH1, also owned by MTV - as is CMT, going to play 'Baby Girl'? Probably not. What's next? Rascal Flatts meets Green Day?

Today's Economics Lesson

Courtesy of Walter E. Williams:

The role of prices

Found My Sense of Humor

My wit went on vacation well before I did. Even if you don't think this is funny, I find it incredibly hysterical. I am a funny funny woman.

• pink_kitty_post: Launch cast is playing Sarah Brightman's Italian version of "My heart will go on."
• Miss O'Hara: Is it any better?
• pink_kitty_post: No.
• pink_kitty_post: It's a dead horse in any language.

I can't take you people anywhere

Wow... I go away for a few days and something akin to a flame war breaks out in the comments section.

I'm back. We are safe. And all is right in my world. Don't know about yours. Don't really care.

I am so fed up with the Katrina coverage and begging/blaming/weeping and gnashing of teeth in the media that I'm pissed off enough to hold back any donations for a while.

Before you start screaming "PK HOW CAN YOU?! You are a heartless..." blah blah. Having expericence with funerals, I know that lots of people give lots of offers assistance in the first few days. Shock and numbness often lead people to say "Thanks but I don't need it right now." That is because they are grieving and don't really know what they need.

But 2 months from the funeral, you need help cleaning out the garage. There are no offers of help. People put you off because their lives are busy. THAT is when you find out who your true friends are... the people who come over 2 years after something happened (thanks Elena, Duke Diva, and Ashley! I love you sisters!) to help you clean out the space.

When the stories have stopped. The telethons long forgotton, the need will still be there.

Think about that.

Double top-secret mission

Agent Pink Kitty,

Elena, Duke Diva, and yourself have been selected by the Agency to proceed to an undisclosed location for a mission of great importance to your state.

Keep an eye on Duke Diva as she is from your secret location's northern neighbor. Her loyalities may be questionable.

If your mission is successful, you will be able to return to your blog on Monday September 12.

Secret Agent Remington will be available for assistance.

Good-bye and Good luck.