Fisher Price has come out with Little Mommy Cuddle 'N Coo, a baby doll that makes random sounds to imitate a cooing newborn baby. However, there's a problem... the idea was for the baby to say sounds similar to the word light while making noises as a newborn would. Instead, about half of the dolls say a string of words that sincerely sounds like "Islam is the Light".
Obviously, Americans have been really freaking out about it and I wasn't even able to find the doll on the Fisher Price website. Companies are taking them from their shelves and costumers are returning their by the troves.
Power of suggestion? You be the judge and listen to it yourself, on the sound byte or the video. Remember this is only happening in about half the dolls. Engineers and product manufactures say that this was not intentional and that the compression of the sound files and processor are the cause.
Overreaction by the public? Again, you judge. I personally think that religion is a sensitive topic (especially in present times) and the fact that procedural product research didn't pick up this fluke seems ridiculous. Lead paint, religious baby dolls... what's next from Fisher Price? Razor blade candy apples? I used to associate them with Good 'Ol American Toys. Now I can only recall public debacles and poor quality products.
Sound clip
Toys-R-Us site
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Printemps is blowing up their prices!
I'm just copying and pasting a report that I think covers all the news. Basically, security found five sticks of dynamite in a bathroom in the world-famous Printemps Mall in Paris (right next to Lafayette Galleries).
Everybody was cleared out but dispite terrorist efforts... the French really didn't seem to care that much. WAY TO GO! I could imagine the scenario.
"There is a bomb? Well then take it out."
"We took it out."
"Is there another?"
"No."
"Then lets go back in, I'm finished with this cigarette anyway."
Check out Printemps: http://departmentstoreparis.printemps.com/
And live video from the rooftop... so beautiful on a clear day: http://departmentstoreparis.printemps.com/news/index.aspx?ArticleID=17780
And, the original article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/16/paris-explosives-department-store
Police find dynamite in Paris department store
Police in Paris today found five sticks of dynamite hidden in one of the city's best-known department stores, apparently planted there by a previously unknown group demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan.
The Printemps-Haussmann à Paris store, in the ninth arrondissement (district), was evacuated this morning and part of the street sealed off following a warning that explosives had been planted in the building. A police sniffer dog found five sticks of dynamite on the third floor of the men's section of the shop, the AFP news agency reported. Later, the French interior ministry said the explosives had no detonators and were therefore not primed to explode.
"As far as we know, these were not explosives intended to detonate," the interior minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie said. "We are still pursuing our inquiries."
The store, which had been packed with Christmas shoppers, was cleared after AFP received a letter from a group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front in this morning's post. The letter warned that several bombs had been left at the store. The letter claimed one device had been timed to explode in a third floor toilet tomorrow, and that the explosives would go off "if you do not send someone to intervene" before then. The group was demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan. "Send the message to your president that he must withdraw his troops from our country before the end of February 2009, or else we will take action in your capitalist department stores and this time without warning," the letter said.
AFP said it had received an anonymous phone call last Wednesday warning that a bomb had been left in an unspecified Printemps store. The chain's three Paris outlets were evacuated by police as a precaution. Today's discovery at the 45,000 square metre shop on Boulevard Haussmann, one of the best-known shopping streets in the French capital, caused relatively little disruption.
The store was cleared without panic and had reopened by midday.
Staff described how, between 11.30am and 12pm, they were told to evacuate the building. "I just left my vacuum cleaner and ran. I didn't have time to get my handbag or belongings, I was just thinking of survival," a cleaner working on the fifth floor said.
"I've never seen anything like it in over 20 years at the store. They didn't say what was going on. But the first thing you think of is a bomb. Of course you can't tell the customers that or people will panic."
A 19-year-old who gave her name as Noémie was working on a make-up counter on the ground floor. "The store was packed. People on the ground floor filed out quickly and quietly. But it was when security had to set off the alarm to clear the second floor and above that shoppers got agitated," she said. "When we heard the alarm, the stress kicked in and I started to feel scared. I know the security guards and they told me there were five bombs in there. You just try to keep calm."
The men's department, where the devices were found, is linked to the main store by a walkway and a small courtyard in which traders have Christmas stalls set up. "Just after 11am, I saw a big van pull up and police and dogs get out," Lea Keuvedjian, who runs a shoe stall, said. "We thought it was a joke initially, then we were told to evacuate and we left our stalls and ran."
Despite the confusion, Marie Mantoux, a Parisian midwife, waited at the front of the police cordon to be allowed into the store. "I've got a Printemps advantage card so I don't want to go anywhere else," she said. "And you can't give in to fear, or you wouldn't go anywhere and the city would shut down. France hasn't done enough to help the civilians of Afghanistan. Maybe that's what this is about."
The discovery of the dynamite is, however, a major concern for the French security services. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is a strong supporter of western involvement in Afghanistan, and this year sent an extra 700 troops to the country, increasing the French contingent to 2,600.
Public support for French involvement dropped sharply in August when the country's forces lost 10 men in a Taliban ambush, described as the worst French military setback in 25 years.
Everybody was cleared out but dispite terrorist efforts... the French really didn't seem to care that much. WAY TO GO! I could imagine the scenario.
"There is a bomb? Well then take it out."
"We took it out."
"Is there another?"
"No."
"Then lets go back in, I'm finished with this cigarette anyway."
Check out Printemps: http://departmentstoreparis.printemps.com/
And live video from the rooftop... so beautiful on a clear day: http://departmentstoreparis.printemps.com/news/index.aspx?ArticleID=17780
And, the original article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/16/paris-explosives-department-store
Police find dynamite in Paris department store
Police in Paris today found five sticks of dynamite hidden in one of the city's best-known department stores, apparently planted there by a previously unknown group demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan.
The Printemps-Haussmann à Paris store, in the ninth arrondissement (district), was evacuated this morning and part of the street sealed off following a warning that explosives had been planted in the building. A police sniffer dog found five sticks of dynamite on the third floor of the men's section of the shop, the AFP news agency reported. Later, the French interior ministry said the explosives had no detonators and were therefore not primed to explode.
"As far as we know, these were not explosives intended to detonate," the interior minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie said. "We are still pursuing our inquiries."
The store, which had been packed with Christmas shoppers, was cleared after AFP received a letter from a group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front in this morning's post. The letter warned that several bombs had been left at the store. The letter claimed one device had been timed to explode in a third floor toilet tomorrow, and that the explosives would go off "if you do not send someone to intervene" before then. The group was demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan. "Send the message to your president that he must withdraw his troops from our country before the end of February 2009, or else we will take action in your capitalist department stores and this time without warning," the letter said.
AFP said it had received an anonymous phone call last Wednesday warning that a bomb had been left in an unspecified Printemps store. The chain's three Paris outlets were evacuated by police as a precaution. Today's discovery at the 45,000 square metre shop on Boulevard Haussmann, one of the best-known shopping streets in the French capital, caused relatively little disruption.
The store was cleared without panic and had reopened by midday.
Staff described how, between 11.30am and 12pm, they were told to evacuate the building. "I just left my vacuum cleaner and ran. I didn't have time to get my handbag or belongings, I was just thinking of survival," a cleaner working on the fifth floor said.
"I've never seen anything like it in over 20 years at the store. They didn't say what was going on. But the first thing you think of is a bomb. Of course you can't tell the customers that or people will panic."
A 19-year-old who gave her name as Noémie was working on a make-up counter on the ground floor. "The store was packed. People on the ground floor filed out quickly and quietly. But it was when security had to set off the alarm to clear the second floor and above that shoppers got agitated," she said. "When we heard the alarm, the stress kicked in and I started to feel scared. I know the security guards and they told me there were five bombs in there. You just try to keep calm."
The men's department, where the devices were found, is linked to the main store by a walkway and a small courtyard in which traders have Christmas stalls set up. "Just after 11am, I saw a big van pull up and police and dogs get out," Lea Keuvedjian, who runs a shoe stall, said. "We thought it was a joke initially, then we were told to evacuate and we left our stalls and ran."
Despite the confusion, Marie Mantoux, a Parisian midwife, waited at the front of the police cordon to be allowed into the store. "I've got a Printemps advantage card so I don't want to go anywhere else," she said. "And you can't give in to fear, or you wouldn't go anywhere and the city would shut down. France hasn't done enough to help the civilians of Afghanistan. Maybe that's what this is about."
The discovery of the dynamite is, however, a major concern for the French security services. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is a strong supporter of western involvement in Afghanistan, and this year sent an extra 700 troops to the country, increasing the French contingent to 2,600.
Public support for French involvement dropped sharply in August when the country's forces lost 10 men in a Taliban ambush, described as the worst French military setback in 25 years.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
I guess the Whopper wins!
This was an interesting taste testing experiment. It had a good thought that taste testing in America is nearly impossible because of the saturation of advertising. For example, if I wanted to have you taste two pieces of candy you may have "No preference" simply because you know that candy is bad from ads.
Anyway, this was a fun video. It was nice to see people that didn't know what the Golden Arches are ;o)
Anyway, this was a fun video. It was nice to see people that didn't know what the Golden Arches are ;o)
Friday, December 5, 2008
Trampled Walmart Employee
I don't really want, or think I need, to add any new text to this story. Its terrible and I hope that people who read this simply become aware and cautious of both their morals and the morals of those surrounding. We are better than this.
CNN Story: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/28/black.friday.violence/
CNN Follow-up: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/03/walmart.lawsuits/
Nice Blog that also sums it up well: http://z-nano.com/2008/12/04/walmart-employee-trampled-to-death-on-black-friday/
CNN Story: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/28/black.friday.violence/
CNN Follow-up: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/03/walmart.lawsuits/
Nice Blog that also sums it up well: http://z-nano.com/2008/12/04/walmart-employee-trampled-to-death-on-black-friday/
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Countdown to Korea
I just wanted to mention to family and friends that I'm going to Korea to visit with Yeajin on Dec 23rd and I'll be staying for just over 2 weeks.
The last time I saw Yeajin was June 4th when I left for my job interviews in the States... I'm slowly counting the days.
The last time I saw Yeajin was June 4th when I left for my job interviews in the States... I'm slowly counting the days.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Dealing with the Economic Situation
Academia is its own little world, which means we have our own rules. I found this easy to follow flowchart on how we're dealing with the economic crisis in America. Enjoy this and everything else PhD Comics has to offer.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Best Commercial Mom
I ran into this series of commercials for Mamá Lucchetti pasta, but I wasn't able to find a site to reference it. It may just be a video collection based on a pilot series. Or a delicious food.... Either way, Pepper Melon is the creator.
Anyways, this commercial was particularily funny to me.
Mamá Lucchetti - Perfect Mom from Peppermelon on Vimeo.
Check out the others at Vimeo or Dekku's Blog or at the creators website... Pepper Melon.
Anyways, this commercial was particularily funny to me.
Mamá Lucchetti - Perfect Mom from Peppermelon on Vimeo.
Check out the others at Vimeo or Dekku's Blog or at the creators website... Pepper Melon.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Don Hertzfeldt Classics
Very strange animations that turned into cult classics. Made by Don Hertzfeldt. It takes a special humor to appreciate them, but for those that do... they are awesome!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Everyone's Doing the Morris Dance!
While out and about in Fells Point, I stumbled across this group of guys dancing in front of the Wharf Rat Pub. They're the Foggy Bottom Morris Dancers from Washington DC. The Morris Dance is an old English dance that's really focused on drinking nowadays more than anything else. They seemed to have a great time doing what they do... read a little about them when you have the chance, including the video I attached on this post.
Foggy Bottom Morris Dancers
List of Other Morris Dancers
Foggy Bottom Morris Dancers
List of Other Morris Dancers
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
How much do you think the war is costing America?
I just wanted to post a couple videos I thought were very well done. First is from National Priorities non-profit website. Really go through it sometime.
Find out more:
National Priorities-Cost of War
AFCS home
Common Dreams
Antiwar
Second comes from GOODMagazine (also on my list of links to check out).
"In 2003, Donald Rumsfeld estimated a war with Iraq would cost $60 billion. Five years later, the cost of Iraq war operations is more than 10 times that estimate. So what's behind the ballooning figures? Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilme's exhaustively researched book, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict, breaks down the price tag, from current debts to the unseen costs we'll pay for many years to come. RESOURCES: The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict; War At Any Price? The Total Economic Costs of the War Beyond the Federal Budget. By the Joint Economic Committee; threetrilliondollarwar.org. Thanks to the authors for their support, and to W. W. Norton for permission to use the research conducted for the book."
I hope you enjoy these vids as much as I did.
Find out more:
National Priorities-Cost of War
AFCS home
Common Dreams
Antiwar
Second comes from GOODMagazine (also on my list of links to check out).
"In 2003, Donald Rumsfeld estimated a war with Iraq would cost $60 billion. Five years later, the cost of Iraq war operations is more than 10 times that estimate. So what's behind the ballooning figures? Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilme's exhaustively researched book, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict, breaks down the price tag, from current debts to the unseen costs we'll pay for many years to come. RESOURCES: The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict; War At Any Price? The Total Economic Costs of the War Beyond the Federal Budget. By the Joint Economic Committee; threetrilliondollarwar.org. Thanks to the authors for their support, and to W. W. Norton for permission to use the research conducted for the book."
I hope you enjoy these vids as much as I did.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Hopkins Pharmacy Hell
I'm going to restrain myself from too much anger and profanity, but I do warn about the future content of this message. The Outpatient Pharmacy at Johns Hopkins has been a very sore spot for me and my diabetes. Within this first month I have had to confront them concerning several issues.
Briefly, my diabetes is in decent condition with a regiment of Lantus and Novolog. I test as many as 6 times a day and I am taking preventative measures with Lipitor. I also take Fluoxetine for seasonal depression.
Firstly, my fluoxetine prescription for 1 month was short by 10 pills. That's 33.3% of my medication missing. Their response yesterday was, "Oh, sorry about that. I'll go fill it back up for you." There was no report or documentation that I am aware of, which seemed very bizarre. When drugs go missing, people should be worried.
I also disputed several refill numbers that were on my prescriptions. I want to point out that in almost every case, the number of refills on the drug itself had been scratched out and written over by hand! That's quite a lot considering ~9 scripts! And even then, neither number matched their digital records for the needles. Also to mention, there is no ability to check these data online through a personal account. I can only call or show up...then pray. Through the single helpful employee in the entire Pharmacy (a rarity here) we saw that my doctor had forgotten to prescribe a time-frame for one of the scripts and mis-numbered another. Oh well. I had to hurry out to a Postdoc benefits seminar.
How serendipitous! The seminar gave me all kinds of information and today I went back to dispute several things.
(1) I was given the wrong kind of lancets in early October. I actually have no idea what fingerprick device uses this shape of lancet, but I've never seen or used it. The guy yesterday said that they would fix it and to bring them in today and exchange them. When I did, the Pharmacist said they were out and I would have to come in tomorrow when their order came in. However, after about 5 min when I became heated about their mistakes, my script all of a sudden appeared. How strange! I wonder how the shipment came so fast (note my sarcasm).
(2) Also with the correct lancets, they refilled needles for some unknown reason, which I didn't ask for nor did my doctor. The woman at the counter tried to blame me, "we don't fill it without asking, so are you sure you or your Dr didn't call it in?" WTF!!! NO! I didn't call it in, and my Dr has absolutely no reason to! None whatsoever! I had it canceled. With several monthly prescriptions, I prefer to handle it all at once. Not that its any of her business. They are a service and I am a costomer. I did not ask for the needles to be refilled and do not want them. I guess that pissed her off.
(3) We then agrued about the price of my Lantus and Novolog. The result was that the insurance (although it was probably the Pharmacist and not the insurance) deemed that my Lantus was a 2 month supply and charged me as such without telling me. However, they didn't discount me my $5 for the 2nd month worth of script. This was quite a debate with the Pharmacist who was quick to pull out a calculator and determine the dosage with me.
(4) The Novolog was the Pharmacy's fault also. I was double-charged as a 2 month supply when everyone agreed it was only a 1 month. $20 back for that mistake.
(5) So I got $25 back from the Pharmacist. However, I didn't need to sign anything and I took the receipt. It seems the guy simply gave me $25 bucks without listing why for their records!!! Unbelievable! He gave me cash for a transaction that was credit and didn't record why he took out the $25.
I left enraged and called my Dr at the office. I asked that he call in the Lantus, because right now, it had no refills and they had charged me as a 2 month supply. And also to change the test strips to Freestyle because the new glucometer wasn't to my liking. No problems there, Regina was very helpful.
(6) Regina called me back and said that the Pharmacy listed the Lantus as actually having 4 refills left.... ?!?!?!?!??!?!?! What are they doing in that Pharmacy??? They showed me on 2 separate occasions that the Dr had written no refills and that in their own system, I had no Lantus refills left. They simply changed it to their desire because I was angry with them! And the numbers don't even make sense! If it were 4 refills of 2 month supply...even with the first fill.... that's only 10 months over a 12 month period. If it was written for a 1 month supply that would be a total of 5 months for over a 12 month period. This was done without prior consent from my Dr and really ticks me off that they tried to smooth the issues by just adding a few refills. Completely unprofessional.
This is probably the worst Pharmacy I've encountered. Incompetent people, rude Pharmacists, unorganized setting, and mismanaged drugs. On top of this there's an inherent disrespect for my wishes. Completely intolerable.
As soon as I know that my scripts and refills are accurate, I will use the mail order system, which saves me both time and money. But before I left, I made sure to tell the Pharmacist,
"I have a job other than filling my prescriptions, but your job IS to fill MY PRESCRIPTIONS."
Jerk.
Briefly, my diabetes is in decent condition with a regiment of Lantus and Novolog. I test as many as 6 times a day and I am taking preventative measures with Lipitor. I also take Fluoxetine for seasonal depression.
Firstly, my fluoxetine prescription for 1 month was short by 10 pills. That's 33.3% of my medication missing. Their response yesterday was, "Oh, sorry about that. I'll go fill it back up for you." There was no report or documentation that I am aware of, which seemed very bizarre. When drugs go missing, people should be worried.
I also disputed several refill numbers that were on my prescriptions. I want to point out that in almost every case, the number of refills on the drug itself had been scratched out and written over by hand! That's quite a lot considering ~9 scripts! And even then, neither number matched their digital records for the needles. Also to mention, there is no ability to check these data online through a personal account. I can only call or show up...then pray. Through the single helpful employee in the entire Pharmacy (a rarity here) we saw that my doctor had forgotten to prescribe a time-frame for one of the scripts and mis-numbered another. Oh well. I had to hurry out to a Postdoc benefits seminar.
How serendipitous! The seminar gave me all kinds of information and today I went back to dispute several things.
(1) I was given the wrong kind of lancets in early October. I actually have no idea what fingerprick device uses this shape of lancet, but I've never seen or used it. The guy yesterday said that they would fix it and to bring them in today and exchange them. When I did, the Pharmacist said they were out and I would have to come in tomorrow when their order came in. However, after about 5 min when I became heated about their mistakes, my script all of a sudden appeared. How strange! I wonder how the shipment came so fast (note my sarcasm).
(2) Also with the correct lancets, they refilled needles for some unknown reason, which I didn't ask for nor did my doctor. The woman at the counter tried to blame me, "we don't fill it without asking, so are you sure you or your Dr didn't call it in?" WTF!!! NO! I didn't call it in, and my Dr has absolutely no reason to! None whatsoever! I had it canceled. With several monthly prescriptions, I prefer to handle it all at once. Not that its any of her business. They are a service and I am a costomer. I did not ask for the needles to be refilled and do not want them. I guess that pissed her off.
(3) We then agrued about the price of my Lantus and Novolog. The result was that the insurance (although it was probably the Pharmacist and not the insurance) deemed that my Lantus was a 2 month supply and charged me as such without telling me. However, they didn't discount me my $5 for the 2nd month worth of script. This was quite a debate with the Pharmacist who was quick to pull out a calculator and determine the dosage with me.
(4) The Novolog was the Pharmacy's fault also. I was double-charged as a 2 month supply when everyone agreed it was only a 1 month. $20 back for that mistake.
(5) So I got $25 back from the Pharmacist. However, I didn't need to sign anything and I took the receipt. It seems the guy simply gave me $25 bucks without listing why for their records!!! Unbelievable! He gave me cash for a transaction that was credit and didn't record why he took out the $25.
I left enraged and called my Dr at the office. I asked that he call in the Lantus, because right now, it had no refills and they had charged me as a 2 month supply. And also to change the test strips to Freestyle because the new glucometer wasn't to my liking. No problems there, Regina was very helpful.
(6) Regina called me back and said that the Pharmacy listed the Lantus as actually having 4 refills left.... ?!?!?!?!??!?!?! What are they doing in that Pharmacy??? They showed me on 2 separate occasions that the Dr had written no refills and that in their own system, I had no Lantus refills left. They simply changed it to their desire because I was angry with them! And the numbers don't even make sense! If it were 4 refills of 2 month supply...even with the first fill.... that's only 10 months over a 12 month period. If it was written for a 1 month supply that would be a total of 5 months for over a 12 month period. This was done without prior consent from my Dr and really ticks me off that they tried to smooth the issues by just adding a few refills. Completely unprofessional.
This is probably the worst Pharmacy I've encountered. Incompetent people, rude Pharmacists, unorganized setting, and mismanaged drugs. On top of this there's an inherent disrespect for my wishes. Completely intolerable.
As soon as I know that my scripts and refills are accurate, I will use the mail order system, which saves me both time and money. But before I left, I made sure to tell the Pharmacist,
"I have a job other than filling my prescriptions, but your job IS to fill MY PRESCRIPTIONS."
Jerk.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Politically Incorrect
I don't know. I just don't know what to say. I've always tried to avoid conflict in certain groups and one large group is the "Work" group. The rule of thumb in unpredictable situations is to avoid the following:
-Politics
-Religion
-Sex
My three favorite flavors...
Anyhow. My coworkers share my thoughts on politics, so that's not the problem. The problem is that we all agree and its made politics a commonplace of the workplace. That's a big change for me. I've always fallen just short of not showing up to the polls in the past (with 2004 as the major exception). Politics simply doesn't get a rise out of me and I've been comfortable with that fact.
Times have changed and politics completely encompass my thoughts within the States of America and now I'm seeing a continual upheaval of Religion circumventing the Political stances. Two of three "no-no's" have crept into my daily conversation at work and I can't say that's necessarily a good indicator of things to come.
With America's heated battles, the dimly involved seem to diffuse the rage. The neutral people play their part as sides compromise or complain, and soon enough we pull through with either a "That wasn't so bad," or an, "I told ya so!" But this election is atrocious. I've lost friends because of opinions. I get excited about commentaries. I even feel my own words of defense become more heated and quick with time, which sends me back to the table of my enemies own actions.
My heightened sense of this came today and in concert I realized many Americans feel this way, and many don't share my opinion as my coworkers do. This election is gonna be HARD! Someone's going down... they're gonna lose big and a big portion of people are gonna have a hell of a lot to yell about. I think this is different from Bush and Kerry. I think this is heated beyond belief.
...I think I need to find a bomb shelter.
-Politics
-Religion
-Sex
My three favorite flavors...
Anyhow. My coworkers share my thoughts on politics, so that's not the problem. The problem is that we all agree and its made politics a commonplace of the workplace. That's a big change for me. I've always fallen just short of not showing up to the polls in the past (with 2004 as the major exception). Politics simply doesn't get a rise out of me and I've been comfortable with that fact.
Times have changed and politics completely encompass my thoughts within the States of America and now I'm seeing a continual upheaval of Religion circumventing the Political stances. Two of three "no-no's" have crept into my daily conversation at work and I can't say that's necessarily a good indicator of things to come.
With America's heated battles, the dimly involved seem to diffuse the rage. The neutral people play their part as sides compromise or complain, and soon enough we pull through with either a "That wasn't so bad," or an, "I told ya so!" But this election is atrocious. I've lost friends because of opinions. I get excited about commentaries. I even feel my own words of defense become more heated and quick with time, which sends me back to the table of my enemies own actions.
My heightened sense of this came today and in concert I realized many Americans feel this way, and many don't share my opinion as my coworkers do. This election is gonna be HARD! Someone's going down... they're gonna lose big and a big portion of people are gonna have a hell of a lot to yell about. I think this is different from Bush and Kerry. I think this is heated beyond belief.
...I think I need to find a bomb shelter.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Politically Incorrect
I don't know. I just don't know what to say. I've always tried to avoid conflict in certain groups and one large group is the "Work" group. The rule of thumb in unpredictable situations is to avoid the following:
-Politics
-Religion
-Sex
My three favorite flavors...
Anyhow. My coworkers share my thoughts on politics, so that's not the problem. The problem is that we all agree and its made politics a commonplace of the workplace. That's a big change for me. I've always fallen just short of not showing up to the polls in the past (with 2004 as the major exception). Politics simply doesn't get a rise out of me and I've been comfortable with that fact.
Times have changed and politics completely encompass my thoughts within the States of America and now I'm seeing a continual upheaval of Religion circumventing the Political stances. Two of three "no-no's" have crept into my daily conversation at work and I can't say that's necessarily a good indicator of things to come.
With America's heated battles, the dimly involved seem to diffuse the rage. The neutral people play their part as sides compromise or complain, and soon enough we pull through with either a "That wasn't so bad," or an, "I told ya so!" But this election is atrocious. I've lost friends because of opinions. I get excited about commentaries. I even feel my own words of defense become more heated and quick with time, which sends me back to the table of my enemies own actions.
My heightened sense of this came today and in concert I realized many Americans feel this way, and many don't share my opinion as my coworkers do. This election is gonna be HARD! Someone's going down... they're gonna lose big and a big portion of people are gonna have a hell of a lot to yell about. I think this is different from Bush and Kerry. I think this is heated beyond belief.
...I think I need to find a bomb shelter.
-Politics
-Religion
-Sex
My three favorite flavors...
Anyhow. My coworkers share my thoughts on politics, so that's not the problem. The problem is that we all agree and its made politics a commonplace of the workplace. That's a big change for me. I've always fallen just short of not showing up to the polls in the past (with 2004 as the major exception). Politics simply doesn't get a rise out of me and I've been comfortable with that fact.
Times have changed and politics completely encompass my thoughts within the States of America and now I'm seeing a continual upheaval of Religion circumventing the Political stances. Two of three "no-no's" have crept into my daily conversation at work and I can't say that's necessarily a good indicator of things to come.
With America's heated battles, the dimly involved seem to diffuse the rage. The neutral people play their part as sides compromise or complain, and soon enough we pull through with either a "That wasn't so bad," or an, "I told ya so!" But this election is atrocious. I've lost friends because of opinions. I get excited about commentaries. I even feel my own words of defense become more heated and quick with time, which sends me back to the table of my enemies own actions.
My heightened sense of this came today and in concert I realized many Americans feel this way, and many don't share my opinion as my coworkers do. This election is gonna be HARD! Someone's going down... they're gonna lose big and a big portion of people are gonna have a hell of a lot to yell about. I think this is different from Bush and Kerry. I think this is heated beyond belief.
...I think I need to find a bomb shelter.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Paddington's Birthday!
When I was a child, I remember getting a Paddington Bear on one of my younger birthdays. I honestly don't remember watching a single episode of the British show, but I know it existed and there's still quite a few available on the web through YouTube (First show). For those of you that don't know, today was Paddington's 50th birthday. The story begins in 1958 when author Michael Bond wrote about a bear that ventured from "Darkest Peru" on a lifeboat and landed at a London train station.I had to look all that up because I really didn't recall any of it! I do remember climbing into our coat closet when it still had doors and digging around to find my Paddington Bear in the back. He had a hat sewn on, a removable coat with fishbone buttons, and bright red galoshes on his feet. It was fantastic! The only other thing I really remembered was that he loved Marmalade sandwiches, which in turn, made me love marmalade.
Maybe my mom knows better, but I remembered it as a stiff but lovable bear. Maybe I really loved the show, or maybe it was on sale... I don't know. But it was a great birthday for me. And now, I wish a great Birthday to Paddington Bear.
Official Website
Wikipedia page
Sunday, October 12, 2008
A Taste of Weird
Yesterday, October 11th, 2008, 
I ventured on my bike to two separate festivals. Baltimore seems to have an endless supply of festivals, sometimes referred to as "Festivitus" or "Festivonomas". This Saturday's festivals were the "Bolton Hill Street Festival" and "A Taste of Waverly" just north of the city.
Bolton Hill really is a beautiful area and has a surprising volume of greenery. I stumbled onto this small party on a sloping street. The weather was clear and the crowd was full-figured with vendors, musicians, and artists. At the top of the block was an Episcopal church where a large garage sale also occupied and freshly brewed tea form the Lady's Auxiliary awaited. My favorite food was "Taco in a bag". Fantastic! They used Frito Lay chip bags and poured in the sauce, cheese, and other veggies right on top to create your taco... in a bag.
After a Clipper's Brewery Amber Ale, I went through Little Korea around Charles and 20th St and on my way to the next festival, "A Taste of Waverly". The Waverly Village is very vague and as far as I could tell... it has a few rough spots right near or in its boun
daries. It lies around Greenwood and 32nd St. The whole thing was a little awkward. I was there at the start as people set up in the parking lot next to Papa Johns and 7-Eleven. I kept hoping something more would show, but I waited in vain. About 8 different vendors showed up and one of them was-in fact- Papa Johns. I thought that was kind of sad. The attendant literally went to the store and brought pizzas from there, across the street, and into the booth.
Because I was waiting for the festival to become exciting (balloons in the parking lot were more thrilling), I did some walking around Waverly. I quickly saw that the Middle-Aged pudgy white males at the parking lot were not representative of the low income minority groups that were the Waverly residents that I encountered. As far as I could tell, the people of Waverly, and the people at the Waverly Festival were two distinct groups and I don't think either of them appreciated the other. Personally, I liked the residents... more exciting and flavorful to me.
All in all, Bmore is a hit or miss with its festivals. I was lucky at Bolton Hill and could have done better at Waverly, but it was a beautiful day for a bike ride no matter the outcome. I hope the pictures show up well and if you get the chance to visit... choose Bolton Hill.
I ventured on my bike to two separate festivals. Baltimore seems to have an endless supply of festivals, sometimes referred to as "Festivitus" or "Festivonomas". This Saturday's festivals were the "Bolton Hill Street Festival" and "A Taste of Waverly" just north of the city.Bolton Hill really is a beautiful area and has a surprising volume of greenery. I stumbled onto this small party on a sloping street. The weather was clear and the crowd was full-figured with vendors, musicians, and artists. At the top of the block was an Episcopal church where a large garage sale also occupied and freshly brewed tea form the Lady's Auxiliary awaited. My favorite food was "Taco in a bag". Fantastic! They used Frito Lay chip bags and poured in the sauce, cheese, and other veggies right on top to create your taco... in a bag.
After a Clipper's Brewery Amber Ale, I went through Little Korea around Charles and 20th St and on my way to the next festival, "A Taste of Waverly". The Waverly Village is very vague and as far as I could tell... it has a few rough spots right near or in its boun
daries. It lies around Greenwood and 32nd St. The whole thing was a little awkward. I was there at the start as people set up in the parking lot next to Papa Johns and 7-Eleven. I kept hoping something more would show, but I waited in vain. About 8 different vendors showed up and one of them was-in fact- Papa Johns. I thought that was kind of sad. The attendant literally went to the store and brought pizzas from there, across the street, and into the booth.Because I was waiting for the festival to become exciting (balloons in the parking lot were more thrilling), I did some walking around Waverly. I quickly saw that the Middle-Aged pudgy white males at the parking lot were not representative of the low income minority groups that were the Waverly residents that I encountered. As far as I could tell, the people of Waverly, and the people at the Waverly Festival were two distinct groups and I don't think either of them appreciated the other. Personally, I liked the residents... more exciting and flavorful to me.
All in all, Bmore is a hit or miss with its festivals. I was lucky at Bolton Hill and could have done better at Waverly, but it was a beautiful day for a bike ride no matter the outcome. I hope the pictures show up well and if you get the chance to visit... choose Bolton Hill.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Walters Art Museum
I went to the first “First Friday at the Walters Art Museum” located at 600 N Charles St in Baltimore, MD. First impression... WOW! And not a good wow. More like a “You gotta be kidding me?” type of “wow”.
I brought the flyer home with me so I wouldn’t misconstrue the facts as they were presented.. “Looking for a place to wind down after work? Want to start the night out right? First Fridays at the Walters is the place to delight the senses and entertain the soul! Join us for our inaugural event, as we celebrate cultures from ancient Persia, Rome, Greece, Egypt and more, with music, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live performances."
The first event included “TASTES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN” and “BELLYDANCE PERFORMANCES”. What I got were stale tortilla chips and bar pretzels, followed by a performance that I thought could have used a stripper pole. The soiree was held in the side foray of the museum where there were about 20 sculptures and 12 photosand one broken fountain.
Problems:
What collector in their right mind would put galaxy photos from the Hubble telescope above 16th century sculptures from Italy? Now the music was certainly eclectic, but also completely out of place and acoustically miserable. And when the Belly dancer came out, it was clear that the performance would be mediocre, but that was OK. What wasn’t OK, was the turn from mediocre to the sexual grinding and shaking to techno Indian music. I am NOT a connoisseur of Belly dancing. However, I do know what club dancers look like and as the dancer tonight approached an elderly man in a wheelchair for the third time, I couldn’t help but walk away.
The idea sounded promising. Art, music, and a touch of class. I’m not sure whether I was absolutely spoiled while traveling or if it was actually as terrible as I am dictating. I do think that what I’ve seen in Paris and Seoul has dramatically effected how I see the culture in America. The art abroad was exquisite and ubiquitous. Not just beautiful, but impressive and astounding... something I could close my eyes and dream about.
Que sera sera. Amusing at least. As the dancer came to her knees and leaned back while her chest went into convulsions, I closed my eyes... I won’t be dreaming about, but I will remember it.
Next First Friday, I think I’ll just stay at home with my Milwaukee Best and Doritos. I do believe the quality of my hors d’oeuvres will outdo that of Walters Art Museum.
I brought the flyer home with me so I wouldn’t misconstrue the facts as they were presented.. “Looking for a place to wind down after work? Want to start the night out right? First Fridays at the Walters is the place to delight the senses and entertain the soul! Join us for our inaugural event, as we celebrate cultures from ancient Persia, Rome, Greece, Egypt and more, with music, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live performances."
The first event included “TASTES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN” and “BELLYDANCE PERFORMANCES”. What I got were stale tortilla chips and bar pretzels, followed by a performance that I thought could have used a stripper pole. The soiree was held in the side foray of the museum where there were about 20 sculptures and 12 photosand one broken fountain.
Problems:
What collector in their right mind would put galaxy photos from the Hubble telescope above 16th century sculptures from Italy? Now the music was certainly eclectic, but also completely out of place and acoustically miserable. And when the Belly dancer came out, it was clear that the performance would be mediocre, but that was OK. What wasn’t OK, was the turn from mediocre to the sexual grinding and shaking to techno Indian music. I am NOT a connoisseur of Belly dancing. However, I do know what club dancers look like and as the dancer tonight approached an elderly man in a wheelchair for the third time, I couldn’t help but walk away.
The idea sounded promising. Art, music, and a touch of class. I’m not sure whether I was absolutely spoiled while traveling or if it was actually as terrible as I am dictating. I do think that what I’ve seen in Paris and Seoul has dramatically effected how I see the culture in America. The art abroad was exquisite and ubiquitous. Not just beautiful, but impressive and astounding... something I could close my eyes and dream about.
Que sera sera. Amusing at least. As the dancer came to her knees and leaned back while her chest went into convulsions, I closed my eyes... I won’t be dreaming about, but I will remember it.
Next First Friday, I think I’ll just stay at home with my Milwaukee Best and Doritos. I do believe the quality of my hors d’oeuvres will outdo that of Walters Art Museum.
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