Too Cool For School

Have you ever known someone that thinks their way too cool to like anything that's popular?  You know the people I'm talking about: 

• The ones that won't be seen in a PT Cruiser, mini van, or an SUV
  
• The ones that refuse to listen to a song that's sold over a million copies
  
• The ones that call their preferred music/style of dress/etc. "underground"
  
• The ones that won't eat at a chain restaurant
  
• The ones that won't see a movie that's playing at a mainstream theater
  
• The ones that think blue hair and body art are new, clever and interesting

Well, you get my drift.  I've noticed these same people often have the habit of saying "I was doing that LONG before it was cool!"  They also usually abhor Christianity, middle-aged men and anyone that's done well in business financially.  Then, they make sure you know that they hate intolerance.

I'd just like to say that, today, those people are on my very last nerve.

Tying Up Loose Ends

1.  For those that asked, Alex (the Red Cross poster boy below) is doing very well now.  Thanks for the wonderful thoughts. 

2.  About the Xanga dessert item on the menu:  I have never dipped a Xangan in chocolate and had them after dinner, but I could probably be persuaded, depending on the Xangan.

3.  About Shrek - if the message was about not being prejudiced, that'd be dandy.  But why, then, when the princess changed from "beautiful" to "ugly," the only thing that changed was her height/weight?  Why did everyone refer to the short/fat version as "ugly"?  In order to make her ugly, why not put leeches on her, make her snaggle-toothed, poke an eye out, or SOMEthing other than just a few extra pounds?  FUrther - I looked EVERYWHERE on the web for a picture of the heavier princess... but nope, you can't buy an action figure of her, find a video clip of her, or even find one single danged image.  Imagine that.

Fat people are ugly.  The movie says this over and over.  ("They lived ugly ever after" - that's the exact quote at the end.)  Sure, maybe it says "Don't hate them for that, though... get to know them, maybe they're wonderful underneath!", but the message that fat people are ugly is blatant.

I hope Spielberg marries a 350 pound woman, and she rolls over on him in bed.

Spielberg Can Bite My Big Behind

I'm mad as hell.  I'm mad at Steven Spielberg, and as a friend says, "Well, that's not something that happens every day!"

I just saw Shrek.  I know, I'm slow.  But I'd heard glowing reports from trusted friends and associates that this film was a hoot.  While there were funny bits (the gingerbread, bwahaha!), everyone seems to have missed a HUGE (so to speak) problem with this movie. 

The princess.  The BLATANT message (we're not talking subliminal in the least here) is that when she was tall and skinny, she was beautiful, and therefore worthy of being princess.  When sunset came, though, she turned short and chubby, and therefore "ugly."  Now, considering she was an ogre, she was actually darn cute, with her sparkly blue eyes and pretty smile.  If she'd had oozing sores on her face, one eye in the middle of her forehead or a lump on her back, that'd be one thing.  But nope, her only physical attribute difference was that she was "fat". 

I'm short (5'1 1/2"), and since I'm over 30, I'm pretty sure this is my peak height.  I've never been thin, nosiree.  But I've never been called ugly because, well, I'm not.  That's me on the right here, in a band press picture (my husband is the guy, 6', 150 lbs). 

What baffles me is that this movie has been out this long, and I haven't heard anyone else notice this.  As we were leaving the movie, I said to my husband, "Did you get that message?"  He said "Yeah.  Apparently fat equals ugly, skinny equals pretty.  Ugg."

Thoughts on God(s) and whatnot

Koshichan blogged an interesting thought about God/gods, and the essence of such beings, if they exist.  I'm one of those old boring monotheistic types who believe in one big God running the whole show.  I'm even a Christian (you know, the Jesus died for my sins thing).  But to try to act like I understand the whole spectrum of what goes on seems, well, arrogant. 

What I posted on Koshican's blog was that the idea of us assuming we totally understand supernatural things (how we got here, why we're here, the concept of deity and how it should/does work, etc.) makes about as much sense as my goldfish trying to figure out how he got into his bowl, why he's there, what his purpose is, and the meaning of the whole damned thing.

No, I'm not saying we're here to entertain a deity.  I'm saying that considering how small each of us is in the whole broader spectrum, acting like we really KNOW the whole deal is pretty snobbish.  After all, isn't the discovery half the fun?  What good would it be if we ceased learning; if we really DID have a handle on it all?

As my IRL friend Stacy says when matters probe too deeply for her, "You know what?  I'm okay with not knowing the answer to that." 

The Red Cross has started a new ad campaign, starring my nephew, Alex. It's hard to describe this guy's first couple of years (he's 2 1/2 now), but I know I've never prayed so fervently, and asked others to do the same, during the first couple of years, when his life was in danger almost daily.

Can you read the fine print? It says: "By the time Alex Presley was five months old, he had received five units of life-saving blood during two operations."

It's because of people like you giving blood that Alex is with us today. 

Ode To Juice

There we were in the grocery store... me and Jim, my son, who was at that age where he was too big to sit in the seat part of the grocery cart, but too small to reliably stand beside me while shopping.  (What, 16 months or so?)  Rather, he stood in the basket part of the cart, which was serving as a rolling playpen of sorts. 

At this point, Jim was drinking those 8 oz. glass juice bottles (like the one pictured, but taller), and I had placed several of such into the basket.  As we rolled along, Jim picked one up, held it carefully outside the cart and dropped it.  The glass bottle crashed to the floor, sending juice everywhere, much to Jim's delight.  Other shoppers looked at me in disgust, no doubt thinking "There's one of those people that can't control their kids."  The guy with the mop came to the rescue, and I slinked off.

When I got home, I called a friend who has a daughter, Shauna, who is 3 months older than Jim.  Shauna has Down's syndrome.  Her mom (Chris) and I often compared new-mom-notes, so I told her of this terrible trial I'd just been through at the grocery.

"Let me get this straight," Chris said.  "Jimmy picked up a glass bottle of juice, held it outside the cart, and dropped it to the floor."

"YES!"  I exclaimed.

Chris:  "Be glad he can."

This changed my entire view of childraising, forever.  Thanks, Chris and Shauna, wherever you are.  (At the time of this story, Shauna was attending classes to teach her how to use her opposable thumb.  This didn't come naturally to her.)

How Do You View Life?

TheCrimsonNinja's got me thinking just now with their "How does it feel to be alive?" blog.

I have two friends.  One day, the discussion turned to different views about life.  In answer to the question "How do you view life?" we had three very different replies:

• Bob viewed llife as a chore, as something to be endured, as something to get through, if possible.


• Sharon viewed life as an adventure, with different things to be discovered and learned.


• Susan viewed life as a gift, waking with the thought of "Oh boy, I get another one!" each day.

Does any of these describe how you feel?  How do YOU view life?

A Metaphor Is Like...

I've been reading a lot of Xanga poetry.  I've attempted to write some of my own.  However, images and metaphors aren't things that readily pop into my mind.  And on reading others' poetry (love ya, Voice, Preston Mark Stone and GudKarma , especially!), it occurs to me that most of them use imagery and metaphors. 

So my question is, can effective poetry be written without comparing someone's whispers to the wind on the trees?  My mind just doesn't go like that, I swear.  Am I doomed?

A Musical Interlude

I've mentioned before (I think) that I'm in a band.  If you listen to MP3s, and would like to listen to some of our music, please visit http://www.mp3.com/richiel and listen, download, dance and get happy. 

ADDENDUM TO PINK SLIP BLOG

The woman that I had to let go the other day? She called to say she'd found a perfect job for her. She'll have benefits in 90 days, it's the hours she wanted, and she likes the atmosphere of the office.

So, thank God, the universe, your ham sammich, or whatever you believe in. I know I did.