Tupperware, Mothballs, and Other Stuff

so it appears to be a phenomenon in the blog world that the more random and non-meaningful your post is, the more comments you get- please disregard this, josh, as this has completely nothing to do with your last randomly provactive post.

anysara once told me that she would write something she was really proud of and nobody would respond, but if she put a photo of her dog, she would get like 85 comments. another friend resorts to periodic posts about playboy magazine (guess that's like my porn posts, huh?). but everyone seems to agree that when you talk about nothing, lots of people are exceedingly interested.

so, i just wanted to let you all know that i really enjoy tupperware. not just the name brand stuff, but also the rubbermaid, the serving savers, the glad and ziploc brands- pretty much any storage container that is not orange.

a few weeks ago i scattered mothballs near my shed to ward off possums. they look like large white sweet tarts. no, not the possums.

i like other stuff too.

have a greay day!

Blog This!

stupid people just get on my nerves.

not stupid people with an excuse, like people with head injuries, or those with really bad genes- more like those who could be smarter if they would only stop and think about what they are saying.

on someone else's blog, there were some comments that were so overwhelmingly stupid they made me want to throw things- and i am not a thrower by nature... there are some people who just parade their stupidity like a trophy that they want to show off. their stupidity is their garb of choice, and they wrap themseles in it and go for a stroll down the public thoroughfare, proudly strutting in their Stupid coat (with matching Stupid boots). they are like country-western stars and instead of wearing denim and sequins, they are studded in stupid.

i wonder if these people have an inkling- like a vague tickle in the back of their small minds- they they really might be stupid, or if they are so wrapped up in their own stupidness that they really just can't be bothered to notice?

you know the quote that it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt?

well, it's like that.

Doctors: Benevolent Buffoons or Satanic Sadists?

There are some good doctors out there. This is like saying that there are some innocent people on death row, or that there are some people who live as hermits. Although it is true, the exception doesn't disprove the rule. Lots of doctors suck.

i know that medicine is an inexact science. lots of things that work are a total shot in the dark- we don't know why they work, or sometimes even how they work- we just know that they generally do, so we get them prescribed and take them. many things work because they can't not- like curing an "untreatable" infection by amputation of a limb, or killing cancer cells by killing the person through chemo or radiation. sadly, most doctors are too brain-washed into the supposed superiority of their body of knowledge to even allow for the possibility that they are no better than witch doctors- although often with more catastrophic results. the idea that many people who get better would get just as better if left alone as get better with medical intervention is as blasphemous as anything you could say.

but, as usual i digress.

my sister had a baby last week. it was her first baby, but she works in the medical field, so she is rather well-versed in doctorisms. all had gone well with the delivery, and mother and baby were doing great. the day after the baby was born, the g-d of pediactric medicine graced my sister and her newbron with a visit. as he was manhandling the child (lucky my sister's husband was not there to witness this, as i hear he is somewhat of an overprotective daddy...), he explained to my sister- the supposedly naive first-time mother- the art of baby care. the cornerstone of his advice? don't reinforce the baby's crying by responding to it in any way. huh? the baby in question was all of about 11 hours old. she had never manipulated anyone, nor committed any crime, nor- to the best of myt knowledge- questioned the holiness of the doctor. so why was he running this agenda on peaceful, happy mother and baby? so they should all know the Rules from day one. he gave my sister specific examples of what not to do, in case she had any inkling to actually follow her heart or her mother's intuition in any way: when the baby cries, don't look at her. don't even look in her direction. if she cries when you're holding her, put her down and ignore her until she stops. i swear, i wish i was making up that this person, who had gone into the field of pediatrics- i guess at some point to help children?- was advocating full-on neglect of a one day old baby. that air bubble in her tummy? guess she'd better learn to bring that up on her own. that hungry feeling? she should learn the number of the local pizza shop- but in a civilized adult manner, please. just lonely after nine months of being snuggled inside of mommy with warmth and familiar noises? suck it up and realize that the world is a cold hard place and nobody cares if you cry. because isn't that what it teaches a baby if you don't respond to its only means of communication? when my sister said that, basically she had no intention of doing any such thing, AND informed him that she planned further abuse on her child by actually feeding her on demand and holding her just for comfort, the doctor whipped out his...

pamplets.

gotcha.

really, though- why do people bow down to the written word as if it was cast upon the page by G-d himself? why can people say the most stupid random stuff, but if it is written down people suddenly become awed? watch what happens when any person in any business points to a sign or poster or memo that has the WRITTEN POLICY. ooooooooooooooooooooooh. okay... try this next time you are negotiating for something. ask who thought up the policy- for if it can be thought up by charles on the eighth floor, it can be changed by charles' replacement on the ninth floor... if you are in a bind, try to fake your way out by referencing some real or bogus policy- you will be delighted and horrified to find out what slaves people are to written statements and how well harnessing this knee-jerk reaction will work...

anyway, back to the story. massa doctor says, "look right here in this here handbook. it's a pamphlet about babies that i had printed up myself. it says specifically not to reinforce the baby's crying by responding to it" my sister laughed in his face, but how many women don't? the society is all about feminism when it means 12 year old girls should "claim their womanhood" by having group sex with random strangers, but where is society on women's rights when those rights are to be a good mother? not to be all soap-boxy here about women's issues, but what's up with allowing this doctor to inflict his mental illness upon one more mother or one more baby? what's up with teaching 10 year old girls about condoms but not pregnant moms about how to breastfeed so they can succeed instead of turning to bottles of formula, as so many do? why is it okay to have your thong showing over the back of your low-rider jeans, but not to breastfeed in public? (see previous rant on this...) in this generation where so many girls and women are estranged from their mothers by distance or ideology or incapacity or a zillion other reasons, why is motherhood an afterthought instead of a thesis statement?

i don't know where i'm going with this post, which i guess leaves you a lot of room to comment, since there are at least 86 ideas here to comment on. i am frustrated by my sister's experience, because it is so NOT uncommon. (by the way, he told her that infants don't really need to be fed for the first three days of life, so she should rest her -let's say breastfeeding aparatus- and not worry about nursing the baby- AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!! i won't even get started on this one...)

okay- i have to go, but feel free to give some direction to this post...

Cynthia McKKKinney Sucks The Penal Code And Ellen Degeneres

aren't some sentences way more funny if you leave out the commas?

seriously, though- what the heck is up with congresshuman macKKK(for racism)inney? many people complain about the lack of role models in the african-american community (outside of sports people and music people). i think the problem is that they have too many role models- who model victimology and race-carding. from jesse jackson to al sharpton to johnnie cochran to this mckinney wacko- why is bill cosby excoriated when these people are given press coverage? and why can't african-americans, or any other hyphenated americans, simply have positive role models who do not share their skin color? and why is it that, in order to be a properly hyphenated american, that one must have a different skin color from the vikings? you rarely hear about irish-americans or swedish-americans or whatever, even when they are many many generations closer to the actually "home country" than most 'african"-americans?

but i digress.

why is there almost nobody out there who is demanding that assault charges be filed against the honored congressperson? what is up in general with people caught on tape, or seen by 78,000 witnesses to commit a crime, who still get the benefit of being "alleged" criminals? are we really afraid of being called names that we can't even enforce our laws?

as for ellen degeneres, i would just like to commend her on her role-modelness. although i may not agree with some, or even much, of what she does, i think that her grace and dignity deserve some recognition. i think she is a great example of a person who is living her life to the best of her ability, capitalizing on her natural talents, and not playing victim to her circumstances. she can be as gay as the day is long ( i never understood what this phrase means, by the way, it just seemed appropriate to throw it in here...), but instead of harping on about it, and preaching a whole political agenda, she just lives her life in the privacy in her own home. her public self is admirable not because of or in spite of her sexual orientation, but because she has made herself into a person worthy of admiration. and that's why cynthia 'not my fault' mackinney is a loser and ellen degeners is awesome.

now how's that for random thoughts?

The Entitlement Mentality Versus The Work Ethic

with all the debate lately about "undocumented" workers, one issue continues to hover on the periphery of the debate. this issue, i think, is at least as compelling as the various amnesty programs that have been proposed, but it seems to be the pink elephant in the room that nobody wants to deal with. over and over again, you hear about "mexicans taking the jobs americans don't want," or illegal workers begin paid such a pittance that any self-respecting american would scoff at the offer. but today i heard something that gave me an "aha!" moment. a man called in to one of the trillion radio shows i listen to and said that he owns a business. (heard this before? yep- check) he employs a bunch of guys who he assumes are probably illegal (check). he tried, at one time, to get rid of the illegals and hire americans (check again). but he found that american workers, even thoug hthey were paid more, just didn't have the same work ethic as his mexican workers. (huh? stop the tape...) when the host came back with the predictable, "well, maybe you didn't pay them enough more. maybe if you offered an even higher wage, you would have attracted a better class of workers, or at least the workers you had would do better..." the man said, "no, you don't understand. you can't pay someone to have attention to detail. you can't pay someone to care about something they genuinely don't care about. it's not a money issue; it's an issue of work ethic." wow- lightbulb moment for me!

that epiphany ties in to so many other things that i think are wrong with society. there's a whole entitlement mentality here that pervades/invades/infects every aspect of our society, from cutting people off in traffic, to sitting on welfare when you're perfectly able (albeit perfectly unwilling) to work, to having petition drives to not let people even vote to end affirmative action. having a society of entitled people has produced the laziest, most good-for-nothing generation in history. children that have everything handed to them become not beneficent philanthropists, but stingy, self-involved narcissists. the beneficiaries of many (not all) social programs become not grateful patriotic citizens, but often criminals- petty or otherwise- and victimizers of others in society. from cheating on SAT tests to suing everyone for everything, this priveledged nation of entitled people has become the most whining, manipulating, conniving, out for #1 group of people in the universe. things that start as a legitimate leg-up, or even a way to assuage guilt have become out-of-control monsters that people now feel entitled to, whether they are deserving or not. i heard that a certain prestigious university is now planning to require that students sign a contract that they will attend classes and do assigned work. apparently the university is afraid of lawsuits from students who get low grades (or heaven forbid, fail...) even though they did not attend classes or do the work.

back in the dark ages, when i was in high school, people actually got summer jobs (and sometimes even-gasp- worked during the school year!). yeah, it was nerdy, but it was expected and accepted. okay, so we started at minimum wage, but anyone who was at a job for more than about 2 weeks got periodic raises. we actually flipped burgers and scooped ice cream and cut lawns, and, miraculously, we all survived. in college, many of us needed part-time, entry-level jobs to pay for extras like books and highlighters. again, with that crazy job thing! one friend worked in a deli. one worked for the post office. one, particularly cute blond (no, not me- but thanks...) waitressed in a bar and made amazing tips. one friend, a brilliant english lit. type, even worked as a garbage man in the suffocating heat of florida because the money was so good.

why did we do it? because we had to. because there was no state grant to sit on our rear ends and watch soap operas. there was no option to hold out for the better, higher-paying jobs, because, quite frankly, we had neither the time to wait around nor the skills needed to get those better jobs. and as we added to our work histories, and took one step at a time, and got a bit better job, and a bit more schooling, we did (most of us, at least) end up with better, more satisfying jobs. all except for me- i married into money (hahaha- that is a total joke! i married the brit because he was and still is awesome in every single way!!!) the point is, that where there is no option not to work, you work.

so, back to the illegal workers, who are the supposed backbone of our society. what happened to the high school students, and college students, and high school drop outs, and soldiers returning from overseas, and out of work actors, and tennis players with carpel tunnel, and laid off factory workers? don't even start ranting about how the jobs mexicans do will not pay a living wage- there is no way to convince me that $0 is more per hour than even $5 an hour- which i think is lower than the actual minimum wage. i refuse to believe that a person in an entry level job, which probably will not support his family, will never get a raise or a promotion if he works to his best ability and tries hard and is reliable. it is insanity to believe that anyone is better off on unemployment or welfare than getting a job that makes them feel like a productive member of society instead of a parasite.

whether i am in favor of immigration or guest workers or amnesty is beside the point. what i am in favor of is people getting off their underworked, overstuffed, big, lazy, entitled behinds and giving the rest of us a break.

vamanos!