LOL

I hope someone else in the world finds this as funny as I did. Students in Mrs. J. Brown's AP English (PHS, Class of '93) class might.... ****

Paraphrased from Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!:

Woolworths in England recently agreed to stop selling their line of daybeds, marketed to six year old girls, unfortunately named "Lolita." ....

They also agreed to stop selling the Hannible Lector EZ Bake Oven and the ....

Catherine the Great line of My Little Ponies!!!!

(I love being edumacated....)

**** The AP English Class of PHS '93 was blessed and priveleged to have Mrs. Brown as our teacher. Mrs. Brown was a self-professed "Literary Nerd." By her own admission, she preferred to teach "kids who didn't drool." She is up there in one of my top three all-time teachers. (Edward Munley, may your soul rest in peace.)

We o' the English class weren't far behind on the dorkiness scale. In a school where the Thanksgiving Day football game is broadcast on ESPN and wrestlers are expected to go National, being editor of the LitMag isn't considered uber cool.

But in Mrs. Brown's English class, we ruled.

We started our own newsletter, based on puns. We had no problem throwing references to Catherine the Great and her .... predilictions .... around. We had meaningful debates regarding the romantic merits of Charles Darney v. Sydney Carton. (PS - Sydney wins every time.) If an administrator ever viewed our class, s/he probably would have had a heart attack and then put Mrs. Brown on probation.

But she was the only teacher to write a limerick in my yearbook. Which, almost 15 years later, still makes sense.

It often serves me to remind myself of the things that made me happy - nay, joyous - before I understood the trials and tribulations that life could offer.

Thank Heavens for the occasional random references to Catherine the Great that remind me of innocent joys.

If The Shoe Fits

I've been mad at work putting together a creative pitch for a new shoe department in a regional "off price store." I find this fairly ironic.

Aside from the painted toenail fetish that strikes every spring, I am not exactly what one would call a GirlyGirl. I've alluded to my disregard for following fashion trends. And for someone who spends a fair amount of time in the gym and yoga studio, I just want my footwear to be comfortable. Besides, I'm so weird about money, I just can't rationalize spending gross amounts on shoes. (And, yes, I realize that spending it on books is no more practical. What can I say?)

Still, the project has had me spending lots of time online researching shoes and, specifically, women's obsession with shoes. (Or, at least the stereotype thereof.)

I've found this video which I think is hilarious even as it is fairly misogynist and vulgar. Warning, NSFW:



And while I can't say that I am tempted to go shoe shopping any time soon, it has caused me to examine my own actions and reactions to stereotypes. So, while I might be propagating a sexist generalization, at least I'm increasing my own self-awereness. Does that count for anything?

Huh?

Actual conversation overheard in the lunchroom today:

"There's no way I'm voting today. I'm too depressed about the Patriots."

No wonder everybody hates Americans.

Mulling Over Connectivity

Sometime during last week, my home PC began giving me the dreaded "blue screen of death." While I was able to bypass it twice, I brought it in to a reputable repair shop on Saturday at 11:30. And thus I had a weekend void of connectivity.

I wish I could say I didn't miss it at all. I wish I could say I read a book, went for a walk, called a friend and didn't for a second miss my computer.

While I did all of the things mentioned above and more (yep, that was me holding up an Obama sign at the Grant Circle in 40 mph wind gusts!) - I really DID miss my machine.

I wanted to check email. I wanted to look someone up on IMDB. I wanted to see the menu for a local restaurant.

I desperately want to call the repair shop and check on the status. FUBAR? Salvageable? How much are we looking at here? Or should I give up the ghost and start shopping? But I have been informed that if I call before noon I will officially qualify as pathetic.

Maybe while I'm waiting I'll Google self-help sites for how to learn the art of patience.....

Not Surprising

I'm going to take a quick break from my "Let's Unite, Not Divide" self and refer to this recent study on Mac v. PC users: "Research from internet ad network Mindset Media confirms the ad's personification of Mac users as "superior and self-satisfied."

Quote: ""This group has a sense of self-importance and tends to consider themselves extraordinary," says Sarah Welch, COO and co-founder of Mindset Media, adding that, since this group is so assured of its superiority, "I can see how [the guy in the commercial] isn't offensive to them.""

Shocking. No. Really.