Randomosity
Feb 2, 2009 Randomosity
This is what’s been floating around in my head for the past week. I need to clear it out to make room for more.
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Oh my dear God no. The recession has finally hit home.
Crumbling economy will make for thinner boxes of Thin Mints
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I saw this video via my friend Rick on Facebook (it’s a couple years old so I may be the last person who hadn’t seen it). Made me cry! Geez, maybe he should’ve just been on the team all along!
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I’ve been posting more often, so I think I’m going to suspend Randomosity for a while and see if I can get my random thoughts online fairly frequently without completely ignoring my family and work. We’ll see how it goes.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom
Tags: Facebook, Girl Scout Cookies, Thin Mints
Randomosity
Jan 19, 2009 Randomosity
This is what’s been floating around in my head for the past week. I need to clear it out to make room for more.
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My friend Toni brought a very funny video to my attention. Brilliant. And the guy’s got a great voice! Ladies and gentlemen, The Literal Take On Me. I hadn’t seen the original video in a long time. My God Morten Harket looks young! Yeah, that’s right, I knew the lead’s name without looking it up. I’ve seen them in concert two times, about 25 years apart!
As so often happens, watching one video led me to many others. Next is Bert and Ernie Rap. Holy crap that’s hilarious. Somebody spent a lot of time combing through Sesame Street episodes!
Then there was this gem: Seth McFarland (creator and star of Family Guy) giving a graduation speech at Harvard, in character. Or to be more precise, three of them. (Only watch this if you are a Family Guy fan!)
Then, in an unrelated search on You Tube, I found this. Fridays on Good Morning Cincinnati on WKRC mean dancing during the traffic and weather report. But only if there aren’t any accidents, because that would be inappropriate. Everybody dance now!
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I was watching coverage last week of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (something I’m dying to attend someday!) and a sneak peek of this came on the screen:
It’s a “pocket PC” and I’m drooling. It’s called the Sony P-Series Lifestyle PC. It’s the little sister of the garnet red Sony Vaio C-series laptop that I’m typing on right now. It has an 8-inch wide screen, a built-in webcam, GPS, 60 gigs of memory on the cheapest version ($899), can connect to the internet anywhere there’s a cell connection (via Verizon’s 3G network), and weighs only 1.4 pounds! It fits in a purse or big coat pocket.
I spend a lot of time for my other blog on my bike, riding around to take pictures. It’s most effective when I can upload the pictures and post them immediately, as I go along. But the few times I tried that this summer, it was a pain in the ass. I love my current Vaio, it’s the perfect computer for me to use at home, on my couch. But it was cumbersome to bike around Brooklyn with it and then try to find a wi-fi connection for posting. I only ended up doing it a couple of times, which really blew because there was a lot of downtime while I was waiting for something interesting to happen on the set. I could have spent that time posting and getting other things done! But instead it would all pile up until I got home. I really could have used a tiny “netbook” like this one.
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I was buying conditioner at Target the other day and my son said “Are you buying something to make your hair shiny and beautiful?” I laughed and said “Why would I need that? Isn’t it already shiny and beautiful?” And he deadpanned “Nope, ugly and brown.”
I laughed, and so did the other woman in the aisle with us, and we shared a glance and a smile. Then, a couple minutes later, my kids got a little wild – nothing terrible, but louder than I’d like them to be in a store. So after I was done threatening them, the woman said “Better you than me. Actually, I’d like to have kids, but God doesn’t want that for me right now. When the time is right, he’ll let me have them. It’s caused me a lot of pain and heartache, but all good things will come if I’m patient.” Wow. What the hell was that? Why in the world would you share something like that during a casual encounter with a stranger in the haircare aisle at the local Target?
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Yesterday The Ass made Rice Krispie Treats with the kids, and they were really yummy. We pigged out on them after the kids went to bed, but stopped ourselves before they were gone so that the kids could have more. But he forgot to put them away! That’s the rule, whoever makes the food is responsible for putting it away, AND whoever goes to bed last puts away the food, so it was his job according to both rules! When I woke up, they were still in the pan, and totally hard and crunchy. I put them in a plastic bag, we’ll see if that works to soften them up again.
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Originally posted on Selfish Mom
Tags: Bert & Ernie, Consumer Electronics Show, Everybody Dance Now, Family Guy, Friday Dance Party, Las Vegas, netbook, Rice Krispie Treats, Sesame Street, Seth McFarland, Sony Vaio Lifestyle Computer, Take on Me, Target
Randomosity
Jan 12, 2009 Randomosity
This is what’s been floating around in my head for the past week. I need to clear it out to make room for more.
***
I can’t remember when I first came across these pictures on Flikr, but they’re amazing. They’re by a guy named Michael Hughes, a freelance photographer based in Germany. He says he has to take about 50 pictures at each site to get it just right. You can read more about him and his fascinating souvenir pictures here.
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My friend Amybeth got engaged last week, and I’m very very happy for her. And I love her ring. It’s aquamarine, which has a special significance to her that I’m not going to share here, but it’s very sweet.
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My stepmom sent me this link, with the comment that some people have too much time on their hands. Well said. I’ve seen Rube Goldberg contraptions before, but they’re usually sophisticated and shiny. This one gets extra points for being MacGyver-esque.
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My friend Amybeth (yes, the one who got engaged) got me a Chia Herb Garden for Christmas. I can’t remember how it came up, but we talked about growing herbs in our kitchens a little while back. And now I can! Actually, they’re in my dining room. First they germinated for a few days:
After a few days, the chives and basil were sprouting:
It’s now a little over a week since I “planted” the seeds and the basil is going strong, while the dill has shot up out of nowhere!
I’m so proud of these little guys. Normally I can’t get anything to grow, so if this really works and actually produces usable herbs, I’m going to be so happy!
The parsley, though, seems to be having some trouble. It’s just not doing much of anything:
Oh well, if one had to not grow, I’m glad it’s the parsley.
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My uncle Frank sent these to me, and I think they’re hilarious! They’re URLs of companies that didn’t bother to look and see what their names would look like all smooshed together in a web address.
1. ‘Who Represents’ is where you can find the name of the agent that represents any celebrity. Their Web site is: www.whorepresents.com
2. ‘Experts Exchange’ is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at: www.expertsexchange.com
3. Looking for a great pen? Look no further than ‘ Pen Island ‘. Find it at: www.penisland.net
4. Need a therapist? Try ‘Therapist Finder’ at: www.therapistfinder.com
5. Then there’s the ‘Italian Power Generator’ company. Check it out at: www.powergenitalia.com
6.For ‘IP computer’ software, there’s always: www.ip_anywhere.com
7. And the designers at ‘Speed of Art’ await you at their wacky Web site: www.speedofart.com
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Originally posted on Selfish Mom
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Tags: Chia
Randomosity
Jan 5, 2009 Randomosity
This is what’s been floating around in my head for the past week. I need to clear it out to make room for more.
***
OK, this is clearly too late for Christmas, but that’s OK, because it’s not in production yet. But if you think the space under your counter, where you store your pots and pans, would be put to better use brewing beer, then this is for you.
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This is so cool, I’ve watched it five or six times in the last couple of days.
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One of my absolute favorite sites, Fark.com, had readers vote on their favorite headlines of the year, and here’s the top 20. My personal favorite from that list? “MILFish math teacher learns that 17 does not go into 35 without a serious remainder.” Ha!
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OK, in keeping with my New Year’s (sort of) resolution, after driving home to Brooklyn on Sunday 7 hours, I first unpacked (not everything, but a lot – much more than I usually do the day I get home), made the kids dinner, checked my son’s holiday homework, cleaned out the fridge, found clean school uniforms for the kids for the morning, and then unpacked all of the Fresh Direct groceries when they came and broke the boxes down for recycling. Then I finally let myself crack out the computer. So far, so good.
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Originally posted on Selfish Mom
Tags: Fark, New Year's resolution
Randomosity
Dec 29, 2008 Randomosity
This is what’s been floating around in my head for the past week. I need to clear it out to make room for more.
***
So it finally happened: someone shot someone else in a movie theater for being too loud. I can relate. I’ve never shot anyone in a movie theater, but I have gone so far as to stand up and yell at someone when repeated looks and shushes had no effect. And I’m not talking about a couple of people talking softly to each other. I’m talking about people talking at full volume all through a movie. It happens all the time.
I don’t understand what’s wrong with people. They’re just completely unaware of what’s happening around them, that they’re bothering people who are trying to pay attention to the movie. There are several types that I encounter over and over:
- Smart woman/dumb man (or vice-versa) – the Mensa half of the couple has to explain just about every plot point to her date so that he can follow along even a little bit.
- The man who knew too much (it’s just about always a man) – the know-it-all who has to proclaim to the theater what’s going to happen before it happens, no matter how obvious.
- Clueless parents (type 1) – I know how frustrating it can be when you have a new baby and want to get out of the house, and either you can’t afford a sitter or you’re breastfeeding and can’t leave the baby at home. But it’s not fair to make the rest of the theater suffer. If you’re not willing to race out of the theater with your screaming baby the moment it starts making noise, then do the rest of us a favor and stay home. A lot of theaters even have special afternoon shows just for you, where you can bring your kid and not worry about bothering everyone else, because they all have their kids. Not the romantic date you had in mind, I know, but it’s better than ruining my date.
- Clueless parents (type 2) – Perhaps you missed the day in your parenting class when they covered where you shouldn’t take your young children. Number one on the list? The latest profanity-laden, nudity-filled, R-rated movie. What’s that? You didn’t take a parenting class? Why am I not surprised. Perhaps I should be happy that your children aren’t paying attention to the movie, and are instead throwing popcorn and running up and down the aisles. That’s probably better (for them) than if they actually paid attention to the very adult content showing on the screen. But it sucks for the rest of us.
- Self-important phone guy (it’s just about always a guy) – You’re important. Know how I know? Because your phone keeps ringing and you take each and every call. I bet you also have a huge penis and drive a big truck.
- Clueless phone woman (it’s just about always a woman) – You’re dumb. Know how I know? Because your phone keeps ringing and even though it’s obvious you don’t want the calls, you never learned how to turn the ringer off. So each time, you fumble and offer up a lame apology to the rest of us. I’m willing to bet that you also respond to everyone when you mean to respond just to the sender, and you have to have your boyfriend set your TiVo every time you want to record a show.
- The small bladder club – you know who you are. Please just sit on the aisle.
- The “I’m in my living room” couple – you’re not even talking about the movie. You’re talking about what to have for dinner tomorrow and whether or not you should go camping next weekend. Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
I’m not condoning even a little bit what this man did. I’m just saying I understand the urge.
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An acquaintance of my sister sells these adorable hats (there are a bunch of animals to choose from, but I think this lion is my favorite). My sister has seen them in person and says that they’re really well made. I have no direct connection to this company, but I am a sucker for whimsical hats, and these look extra cute!
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After some tough negotiations, my husband gave me an extra few weeks to get all of my stuff organized. Phew. Because there was no way I was going to finish by the end of the year. Not sure I’ll finish even with the extra time, but I’m going to give it my best shot.
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Every year at Easter I buy Cadbury Mini Eggs. I buy at least a bag before Easter, and then as many half-price bags after Easter that I can find. I love them. When the last bag is gone I miss them and start thinking about next year’s bags. I’ve often found myself wishing that they were sold all year long, but really it’s probably a good thing they’re not.
Today, my mom presented me with a bag of Cadbury holiday chocolates that taste exactly like the Mini Eggs, but are round, and red and green. Now they’re available about half the year. I’m in trouble.
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Originally posted on Selfish Mom
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Tags: Cadbury Mini Eggs, Creatures 4 Kids, movie, Tivo
