Reactions to recent headlines

Tornado season comes every year, yet it never fails to horrify. Seeing the images of ravaged towns throughout Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, and the South wearied the soul. And finding out that Missouri got hit again after the Joplin devastation of 2011, was almost beyond belief. Thankfully, in Branson's case, there were no fatalities, but, unfortunately, tornado season has just begun.

(Photograph by The National Guard from Flickr)

Now that they've been punished, I'm looking forward to seeing how the Saints will fare this season. If the Colts crashed and burned last year due to the lack of quarterback leadership, I imagine that the demise of the Saints will be even more epic with the removal of their head coach and defensive coordinator and the temporary sidelining of their assistant coach and general manager. The only question is which team will get caught next?

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Today, the British newspaper The Guardian asked if the Hunger Games is the new Twilight. My response: Who knows and who cares? Actually, I suppose that millions of people do, but since I have absolutely zero interest in reading or seeing either series, it is impossible for me to give a fair assessment. I'm simply not that into the cinema or fiction literature.

(Image from Scholastic.com)

A bead-encrusted Volkswagen Beetle is currently on display at the National Museum of the American Indian. The vehicle is called the "Vochol," a name which combines that of the car and the ethnicity of the Mexican artisans: Huichol. Since the Museum is in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, I could easily go check it out on my lunch break, but why would I do that when this nifty slideshow is available?

Dude, Seriously? - Tide-theft phenomenon

A couple of days ago, while lying in bed listening to news radio, I heard a story that made me sit up. Apparently, a theft trend has been sweeping across the nation for an unknown number of months and the media is all abuzz. Even in the Washington Metropolitan area, items are marked with electronic anti-theft tags and locked within glass cabinetry because thieves have been stealing them by the cart-full. The merchandise in question?

Liquid Tide.

(Photograph by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg from Getty Images)

 Yes, the laundry detergent. It seems that, like baby food and over-the-counter medication, it has become a hot commodity on the black market, with police regularly raiding drug dealers' homes and finding bottles of it on their shelves. The trusty clothes cleaner is being swapped for drugs on local street corners for the simple reasons that it's costly, doesn't spoil and, most important, everybody uses it.

According to The Clarion-Ledger, the police department in Prince George's County, MD resorted to uncover cops and other tactics to confirm that such transactions were indeed taking place. One drug dealer was even quoted as saying to a police informant, "I'm out of marijuana right now, but when I get re-upped, I'll hook you up if you can get me 15 bottles of Tide."

Really?!

In an article published in the StarTribune, a local police chief  affirmed that theft of such necessities is not unusual. "They've done the same thing with baby formula for years. It's an essential."

But, c'mon, is it worth going to jail for?!!

Time's a wastin'

We all occasionally find ourselves tripped up by a "time-waster." A time-waster is something that you indulge in which has no intrinsic value, adds no meaning to your life, but quickly becomes an obsession nonetheless. The fascination may last for only a few days, a few weeks or even a few months and brings a fleeting sense of happiness and/or satisfaction. However, the maddening part about the whole situation is that you can't figure out why it brings you delight. Especially since you know it's a ridiculous squandering of valuable minutes that you will never get back and pulls you away from legitimate activities... like your job, cooking or the laundry.

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My former time-wasters include watching shows like Project Runway and Design Star and playing online games like Bejeweled 2. Concerning the former, I lost interest when the winning designers became mediocre and downright forgettable. I mean, really, can anyone recall successful alumni from those shows besides Christian Siriano and David Bromstad? Yep, that's what I thought. It's kind of like how nobody can remember the names of American Idol winners from the past five years or find one of their songs on a top ten (or even top 40) music chart.

Concerning Bejeweled, when one of my playing sessions reached an hour and four minutes, I knew I needed help. And that's all I will say about that.

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One of my friend's new time-waster is Pinterest, which I, for the life of me, can't understand. My mother and I spoke about it briefly last week and still couldn't figure out the purpose of assembling pictures of favorite things on a virtual tack board. Based on what I've been told about the site, I think that the above definition explains it perfectly.

(Seriously, can someone explain the point of Pinterest?)

Pop culture confusion

Whenever I read the newspaper, I generally try to steer clear of anything dealing with the entertainment world because more often than not, the names and faces displayed are either unknown to me or of those that I couldn't care less about. Just last night, for instance, my father and I were trying to figure out what that "Snooki" woman did for a living and how she got famous. Within seconds of broaching the topic, however, we dismissed it with synchronous head shakes.

Below are entertainment news excerpts that I found in the local Express paper this week... and all have baffled me beyond belief.

"So, it's settled, at this point everyone is looking forward to the return of Game of Thrones, even The Simpsons."

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My first reaction:

What the heck is Game of Thrones? (A video game?) And why would "everyone" be looking forward to it?

My second reaction:

People still watch The Simpsons?

"... isn't sure how the new website JuggaloBook, fashioned after Facebook, is going to work out for Insane Clown Posse, which started this week."

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My first reaction:

I was booted off Facebook after only two months because one of their junior sleuths actually figured out that "Missy Blasé" wasn't my real name. Good work, Sherlock.

My second reaction:

Who and/or what is the Insane Clown Posse?

"... new mashup that remixes Adele's Set Fire to the Rain and Daft Punk's Something About Us that was released on Monday."

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My first reaction:

Who and/or what is Daft Punk?

My second reaction:

Why would I want to hear a mashup of two songs that I never heard of in the first place?

 *sigh*
I'll just stay under my rock, thank you.

Hopefully, this happy dance isn't premature

Today, I'm back at work after taking Wednesday through Friday off last week. Seriously, I just needed a break from the dumbness...

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 ...from my supervisor storming around the office cursing...

...from coworkers who are financially able to retire, but still come to work to complain...

...from my cubicle neighbor who habitually breaks out into song whenever anybody says a phrase that reminds him of a Broadway musical...

...from those who stop by my desk to "chat" only to spend the "conversation" texting or constantly checking their messages...

...from having to listen to over-the-phone fights between the lady near me and her soon-to-be ex-husband while another woman, a few desks away, scolds her teenage stepdaughter...

Yes. I needed some time off. To relax, recoup, and reassess my life.

* * * * UPDATE * * * *

My supervisor just called us to an impromptu meeting a few minutes ago and told us that she would be PERMANENTLY leaving next month!

Um, excuse me while I bust a move...

(Photograph by Paul Bradbury from the OJO Images Collection/Getty)