Virginia is for Dogs

While checking out Boom Your Brand (long load time) I found this hilarious ad. Nothing like a good laugh first thing in the morning. Worth a visit if you have the time. Very sixties. They also share some interesting opinions about boomers (mostly why you need to sell them stuff).

a new level of smooth in tv entertainment

ABC is back on my entertainment list with a player that really works. Unfortunately it is some type of proprietary player that wraps up Quicktime in a box of commercial ads. I had to download a browser plug-in which took about two minutes and automatically recognized me as a "Mac People." After the install confirmation I was seamlessly returned to the show I had chosen. Pretty neat.

The show played smoothly (except for that two minutes of smeary visuals) in high resolution. The ads play really huge (of course). Your days of opting out of commercials are numbered. Fortunately they can still be muted and there aren't as many of them as on "free" tv.

I watched two episodes of "Samantha Who?". I guess that means I liked it. I enjoyed seeing Christina Applegate in a new role that suits her. She was perky, believable and, well, smooth. I liked the writing, the dialogue is good, the costumes and make up are shinier than a new penny. The plot is entertaining in a "die hard" sort of way. There's a lot of action and one must suspend a fair amount of disbelief. One must also be enamored of formula and the amazing sheen of polish. I am reminded of the 50's as in "Father Knows Best" and "Leave it to Beaver." Gloss. Very glossy.

Back to real life.

what I really like about Christmas

Is that it makes everything shiny and bright.

Notice anything different?

This is me blogging from my new 24" iMac. I look so much better don't I? Now I need to run out and buy a firewire cable so I can transfer everything over from my old mac. I'm a little sad. I will miss my friendly G4 buddy of eight years. Wow! Say that about a PC will you? Never!

Actually, there will be no running for a couple of days. Like when did I ever run? My back went out this morning. Thanks to my lovely chiropractor its now back in but I must be careful for a few days. er ... how did I get my iMac out of the case? Very carefully. Takes more than a sore back to stop that train.



Now back to my iMac.

just say "go"

For nearly seven years now I've been thinking about jettisoning the ordinary life for something fully creative. I have been living a sort of half artistic life (whatever that is – just remember to take away the myth) all this time or rather all my life. I've been let go from my place of employment with a decent package of benefits like free use of an outplacement agency and wad of cash. The proper phrase is "my position was impacted by corporate restructuring."

It's like they said "Go!" You know, that thing you say after "Ready, Set, ..." (or "On your mark, get set, ..."). I'm doing all that stuff now: thinking freely, investigating options, and seriously moving forward. I'm finding places that will pay me to write and others that will pay me to design. I'm fixing up my novels for publication. I'm building my dream life. All it took was someone to just say "Go!"

Song of the Day: Hold on to This Coat, The Rosebuds

annoyers and annoyees

Neighbors are either annoyers or annoyees. Most of my neighbors are quiet people like me and therefore end up being annoyees. Two houses down is a couple who have broken the unwritten rule of physical annoyance by putting up a high privacy fence, filling their yard with a pool and building a huge high deck surrounding it. That way, whenever anyone is out on the deck they can look down over the fence at the rest of us. They had maybe two annoying parties last year. It wasn't really awful. They quieted down by 10:30 p.m. On the other hand, they have only invited the extroverts across the street for one swim. I know they don't have to invite the neighbors over for a swim, it's just one of those annoying things.

Today I had my annual unfriendly exchange with the little man next door. As usual, it involved him sharing his limited vocabulary at the top of his voice about my dog and what I can do with it. I listened to him rant for a few minutes.

Then, during a break in his ranting, I replied, "Are you suggesting inappropriate congress with my dog?"

And he said, "Yes, I am!"

Which surprised me because I didn't think his vocabulary extended to two syllable words. Then I listened to a further demonstration of his limited vocabulary while waiting for him to wind down.

"That fuckin' dog is the only fuckin' boyfriend you'll ever get," he threw at me while the dog barked madly.

"He's a damn sight better than you!" I retorted loudly, which shut him up. Once again, Elaine wins!

We didn't have our little conversation last year because the previous year he played his trump card by complaining about my dog to the mayor through a friend of a friend. That trickled down to my local animal control agent who agreed with me that the little man has some serious problems. (And lucky me, I get to be his neighbor.)

Subsequent to his fruitless appeal to the mayor, I won the last little shouting match, too. He had, as usual, entertained me with his limited vocabulary for about 10 minutes. As he was winding down, he shouted, "What about my right of quiet enjoyment?" To which I replied, "What about mine?" which shut him up instantly.

Maybe he'll learn one day that no matter how much he doesn't like me and my dog he just can't win that cockeyed little game. One mustn't like one's neighbors but one must learn be unannoying.