Black Cats – Why Does The Man Try To Keep Them Down?
Posted: January 24, 2012 Filed under: Foolishness | Tags: Black cat, cats, Fear, humor, life, Newt Gingrich, postaweek2012, Superstition 26 Comments »
Gingrich. Oil on canvas. Not a political statement in this case (Image via Wikipedia)
It is generally understood that having a black cat cross one’s path is considered a bad omen. I’m a somewhat superstitious guy, but I’ve never found myself in any kind of peril after I intersected with a black cat. I think these cats are getting a bad rap for something that most of them are not involved in. It’s like a Newt Gingrich speech that we keep recycling.
Today, I saw something that makes me want to right that wrong. I’m thinking I want to start a counter superstition.
So Anyhow…
I was driving in traffic this morning on a four lane thoroughfare. I was next to a bus. Coming in the other direction were two cars, side by side. Everyone was moving about 40 mph and traffic was just what you’d think it was during the rush hour. Read the rest of this entry »
Hey Steven Tyler. Do You Know The Difference Between You And Me?
Posted: January 22, 2012 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: Aerosmith, American Idol, Baltimore Ravens, National anthem, New England Patriots, NFL, playoffs, Steven Tyler 23 Comments »
Get off my couch. (Image via Wikipedia)
Ever had a guest who didn’t quite know when to leave? Maybe it was someone who didn’t realize that the party ended when all the other guests left. Perhaps it was that friend who needed a place to stay for a few nights who was still on your couch two months later.
Steven Tyler, it is time for you to get off my couch.
The Aerosmith Years Were Good
Your band, Aerosmith, is one of the greatest rock groups, ever. Your music lives on my iPod and in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Sure, one could argue that the Hall Of Fame is no measure of greatness, after all ABBA has also been inducted into the hall. But I think any serious discussion of great rock bands has to include Aerosmith. Read the rest of this entry »
Shaving Olympia Dukakis
Posted: January 20, 2012 Filed under: Foolishness, Getting older | Tags: Beard, celebrities, humor, life, Olympia Dukakis, postaweek2012, retirement, Ulysses S. Grant, Woolco 9 Comments »They say she was there when the building went up. She moved over to the new one when they knocked the old one down. When our division moved from that new building to a satellite office, she moved in to that building. I guess that means that I have first hand knowledge that she was there when the last two buildings went up. I’m going to take it on faith that she was there when they constructed the one that got knocked down.
Let’s call her Gail, since that’s not her name. She’s the secretary for our little slice of the big operation. Read the rest of this entry »
The Italian Cruise Ship Disaster: The One Fact No One Else Is Giving You.
Posted: January 17, 2012 Filed under: Foolishness | Tags: coast guard transcript link, Costa Concordia, Costa Cruises, Cruise ship, current events, Francesco Schettino, italian coast guard transcript, news, postaweek2012, roller skate, what does Schettion mean 35 Comments »
Costa Concordia, upright (Image via Wikipedia)
I am an inquisitive person. I see things. I think about them. I ask questions. Things like the Costa Concordia disaster in Italy raise questions in my mind, and I am certain they do in yours.
- How does a modern ship like that get off course?
- Why would you wait to tell the passengers things aren’t going well?
- I always heard the captain goes down with his ship. Why was Captain Francesco Schettino on one of the first lifeboats?
- Do the rocks the ship hit feel a little guilty, even though this wasn’t their fault?
There are any number of websites you can visit for answers to those and other questions. There are even transcripts of the radio conversation between Captain Schettino (safe in his lifeboat) and the Italian Coast Guard as the captain sailed away from his sinking ship and its frightened passengers.
But you don’t come here for things you can get elsewhere, do you? You want something CNN and all the other news outlets will not tell you. I am not going to let you down.
Here is the one fact that no one else covering this story is going to tell you: Read the rest of this entry »
Everybody Must Get Stoned.
Posted: January 14, 2012 Filed under: Whats left | Tags: Bob Dylan, Boulder, life, postaweek2012, Rock, school, thoughts 18 Comments »In my area, a lot of the schools have a boulder on their front lawn. Schools place these big rocks in a prominent spot near the front door. Students, parents and school staff paint the rocks with announcements…
Happy 11th Birthday Blake!
Other times they’re painted with school colors and a cheer for one of the athletic teams…
Yes, my high school mascot was a boat. May the ship sail forever. (image via pgcps.org/~oxonhill)
Go Clippers!
Sometimes they carry a message from the administration to the students…
Get Plenty Of Rest Before The S.A.T.
I like the boulders. I think that they started as a way to discourage vandalism of the school building. I don’t know how often kids damage their schools as they try to share tips for success on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, but the idea still seems good.
It isn’t really common for folks to vent their feelings by taking a can of spray paint to the side of their employer’s building. All the same, perhaps boulders belong in business settings too.
The need for expression in the place we spend the better part of our day doesn’t go away when we are given a diploma and shake the high school principal’s hand. I spent some time thinking about this in the context of some of the things going on where I work, and I think I am on to something.
It’s Me, With A Beard. Same Guy, I Think.
Posted: January 13, 2012 Filed under: Foolishness, Getting older | Tags: Beard, Facial hair, humor, postaweek2012, Shaving 42 Comments »
What do I have in common with Nostradamus and...(Image via Wikipedia)
I returned to work this week, a changed man. I had been absent for about three weeks. In fact, because I was trying to take things slow as I recovered from surgery, I was absent from most places where I have face to face contact with people. During my period of isolation, I committed an act that transformed me in the eyes of those who know me.
I grew a beard.
I’m Not Supposed To Do That
My employer has some pretty strict rules about my appearance. One of them concerns facial hair. I’m allowed to have a mustache, but I am not allowed to grow one on days that I’m working. Beards are forbidden. Most of the people who were around when I still had my experimental college mustache at the start of my career are long gone. I haven’t really had the urge to invite the mustache back, but I do miss some of those old timers.
That Was Wrong, But Why Was She Eating At Papa John’s?
Posted: January 11, 2012 Filed under: Foolishness | Tags: chinky eyes, comedy, humor, Papa John's Pizza, postaweek2012 33 Comments »I read a shameful story the other day.
I guess it was too much trouble to ask her name. (image via eatocracy.cnn.com)
An Asian-American woman placed an order at a Papa John’s Pizza restaurant. She paid. She waited. She got her pizza and a receipt. In the space where her name would normally appear to help connect her and her order when the pizza was ready, the receipt read “lady chinky eyes”.
How sad that there are still people who think it is OK to be small minded enough to demean another person in that way. The ethnicity of the person found to be responsible for this act doesn’t really matter, I’d be willing to bet they’d have been outraged if they’d been similarly demeaned. The restaurant chain did the right thing by issuing an apology and ensuring the person involved was dismissed.
There is no excuse for mocking a person’s heritage. Ever.
However
This incident exposes another problem. The problem is certainly not on the level of racial intolerance. All the same, it is one that we all must resolve to address when we see it. What is that problem? Poor food choices. Read the rest of this entry »
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Was A Tough Guy, But…
Posted: January 9, 2012 Filed under: Foolishness | Tags: comedy, history, humor, postaweek2012, Rodeo clown, Sonny Corleone 24 Comments »
"Every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man" Z.Z. Top (Image via Wikipedia)
In my last post, I included a reference to Archduke Ferdinand. That was the first time I have written the man’s name since tenth grade history class. Today, I bring you my second time since tenth grade. Apparently once you go Archduke…well, never mind.
You might recall that the Archduke’s assassination was one of the events that precipitated World War I. If you don’t, it was anyhow.
Extensive Research
Many people read Blurt because they can see I do extensive research to back up what I say. The majority, however, seem not to care that I define extensive as “I looked on Wikipedia” and make up the rest. Read the rest of this entry »
People that have blurted back