Archive for April, 2009:
Life
Life just isn’t as much fun as it used to be.
I like a good nostalgic moment just as much as the next guy. There’s nothing wrong (and a lot right) with a wistful *sigh* and a thought to the better way things used to be. I moved from LA to Nashville in part due to some nostalgia.
I remember traipsing through the woods as a kid to get to my friends’ houses. The forced marches home after school because we lived too close to justify the bus (Okay, that’s not such a fun memory . . .) Riding my bike up and down the street with little supervision . . . ah, the good old days.
Another thing many of us remember are the board games. Week long Monopoly sessions, swapping mortgages and trying to claim the utilities as our own. Maybe Uno. Maybe Rummy or Go Fish. Or Life, with those little pink and blue pegs that were supposed to be people.
Finally – The Perfect Pet
God Bless Science – finally two things have been genetically blended to create . . . . Uahahahaha! The perfect pet.
But seriously folks, what do you get when you cross a sea anemone with a beagle? Glow in the dark puppies!
Really, someone did it, it’s not a joke. Glow Dog
*sigh* just in case we didn’t have enough to deal with in this world we live in, now even the absurd creates great moral dilemmas. Glow in the dark dogs are one of those things that serve no real purpose. Sure, they further science, and one day this will lead to the cure of all diseases . . . but isn’t that what Hitler thought he was doing, too? Do we learn nothing from the past? Do we think it’s okay to play God? Do we really think that after all this scientific advance, the dog should bear the stuuuupid moniker, ‘Ruppy’?
Really? Ruppy? It’s a blend of ‘ruby’ and ‘puppy’ – because the thing glows red. If you’re smart enough to think this dog up, AND grow it, can’t you get a better name than ‘Ruppy’? Come on, ‘Gloworm’ is better than Ruppy. How about ‘Spot’ – because you can spot him in the dark? ‘Red Dwarf’?
Miss USA – Gay men everywhere shed a tear
So, after I finished the daily trivia mind-suck ‘how well do you know your dog breeds?’
I turned to the other exciting news of the day. Apparently, John Bon Jovi was in some kind of a ‘dolphin tragedy’ . . .
Let’s face it – it was a slow day.
I waited a little while to comment on this one, but I love that it’s out there.
A new Miss USA was crowned this last week. And, no I didn’t watch it. But I have picked up a few key things.
Interview with a Fellow Author
10 Qs from Justin Sachs
I’d like to introduce you to Justin Sachs who is the author of a new book, Your Mailbox Is Full and is the founder of the Creating Possibilities Coaching Program in which Justin helps teenagers to increase their grades, eliminate procrastination, and create balance in all the areas of their life.
1. What do you do?
I work with teenagers to increase their grades, eliminate procrastination, create balance in their lives, and overcome any obstacles standing in their way of success.
2. Tell us about your new book.
Your Mailbox Is Full is a book for teenagers, that teaches them the tools they need to become successful in school and throughout their lives. They learn things like goal setting, time management, living a healthy lifestyle, and modeling and attracting success.
Craigslist – going to hell in a handbasket?
There are now three possible major crimes associated with Craigslist. The crimes, two of which are killings, involve women meeting men at hotels for ‘massages’? Oooooh. In fact, they’ve even dubbed the culprit ‘the craigslist killer’ http://www4.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090416/Craigslist.Killer/ Wow, sorry about the bad press, Craig!
I guess it had to happen sooner or later, but it’s here now. People are trading phone numbers and often addresses with total strangers based on the tone of a few emails or even a phone call. . . . I gotta go with that one being unwise. Especially for women. Wait! I don’t want to be sexist – let me rephrase: It would be unwise to do that if you are small and don’t have a black belt. Or a really big, really dedicated dog at your side.
And, let’s be honest here, from the word going around, these women were making unwise Craigslist choices. (or maybe just bad decisions in general?) Now, I’m a firm believer that there really is no such thing as ‘asking for it’ but I am just as firm a believer that there really is a ‘being stupid’. And there are many ways to be stupid with Craigslist. Exchanging goods, services and personal info with total strangers needs to be done with a wary eye and a backup plan.
Lawn Mower Man
Let me start by apologizing to everyone with a tiny yard, or even with no yard. I’m not apologizing for your spit-sized piece of sod, because yards are like kids: if you don’t want one, you shouldn’t have one. What I’m apologizing for is this: there will be some of this article that will make no sense to you. But you should read it anyway, if only for the fascinating look into someone else’s psyche.
Before, when I was in LA, we had an environmentally friendly push mower. No, not the kind you walk behind, the shiny-new but old-fashioned design with the spinning blades and no motor at all. Our property was measured in square feet, so it was the easiest thing. You never ran out of fuel, you didn’t have to wait because you might wake the neighbors (and believe me, the neighbors were close!) and it was a good workout.
Enter the Tennessee yard. Push-mower begone! Even our neighbors with single lots have riding mowers, you just don’t push your way over an acre. Not unless you hate yourself. We have almost three acres of mow-able grass making mowing a half-day event. I am supremely grateful that a good portion of the property is covered in woods. Bless you, trees!
Amazon – well it’s Amazon
That’s the problem with the largest bookstore and purveyor of, well, everything. It’s brilliant and stupid all at the same time.
There’s a wonder to buying books online. How did it get so big? As a bibliophile, I really like me a good bookstore. I like to use my legs to browse. I like the heft of a good carbon-based copy of a book in my hands. I don’t need an audio book to read it to me – I read quite well all by myself, thank you. AND I do the character voices in my head way better than any single reader out there. In addition to all this sheer lunacy I clearly exhibit, when I choose a book, I like to start reading it. (Does anyone say ‘Wow, That looks like a great book, I think I’d like to start reading it in three to four days.’?)
And yet, despite all this, Amazon is . . . well, Amazon. And it’s not just books. I’ve found so many things there (bedsheets, chocolates, barns) that I’m waiting for the day you can adopt a kid on Amazon. Think of the possibilities. You could see the kid’s picture, hear them read a book, get ratings from former foster parents . . . Now I’m just waxing poetic. (Seriously, if anyone knows about this already happening (or something similar) please email me: AJ@AJScudiere.com))
UFOs – ruining my fun
Two college guys just recently got arrested for a UFO hoax. You can watch the news reel online: http://www.yahoo.com/?r956=1238991604
But there are so many problems here. Seriously? A UFO hoax – on April Fool’s Day no less! There’s a very strong part of me that says, look, if you got taken by a practical joke (and believe me, I have!) then you suck up and laugh with everyone else. You don’t arrest the offending party. These guys weren’t even streaking anywhere, for God’s sakes!
And all this coverage – including them getting arrested – really puts a damper on my own plans. When I was a kid my father taught me how to make a “UFO”. (My grandfather taught me how to catch vultures and monkeys (not at the same time), so being taught how to make a UFO didn’t seem out of the ordinary in my family.) While my Dad did warn me that several people who had made and launched fake UFOs in the past had brought the FBI to their doorsteps, I never fully believed this. And have subsequently had ‘make and launch fake UFO’ on my bucket list since I was small. You know, just one of those ‘when the time is right’ ideas tucked in the back of my head.
Interview with Pat Dougher
Here’s part of an interview I did with Pat Dougher. Read more »
AudioMovie Slide Show – David and Greer in TN
This video is an excerpt from my AudioMovie put together with some slides to add visuals (the AudioMovie itself is just audio).
