Lost is over and I actually miss it…
Six years of roller coaster loop de’ loops, dozens of undeveloped characters, and a story line that was as easy to follow as a chicken in a barnyard.
If you didn’t watch Lost, you missed a show which challenged the fan to no end. Season after season of questions, theories, hypotheses’, cliff hanging plots, and a series of hidden messages and themes.
It began with a crash and turned into an expose of human nature and the complexity of interaction.
At times, the show pissed me off because just when a storyline seemed complete, the curve ball was thrown and there was always something just off, just missing, just left unanswered, and just off center enough to encourage you to strap yourself in and get ready for the next season. This made me mad because I loved the show so much and I wanted to see closure, but then again I didn’t. I wanted to know what the smoke monster was, but the mystery of not knowing was more intriguing.
I had a hunch that nobody had survived the Oceanic crash, but the development of the island as a central theme of the story started to sway me differently. How could this be an afterlife with all of this other stuff going on?? The Dharma complex, the others, the hatch, the well, and the light in the middle of the island.
Maybe I should have known better, maybe I should have not bought into the hype like I did and went with my gut. Well, in a way I did, every week and every season I would tell myself, “oh yeah, this is some sort of test or challenge to these people, a redemption, a time of judgement.” Then in a complete switch of events, whatever theory I had was shattered. That was the real hook of the show, it was flawed, it was confusing, and it constantly tempted you to come back for more.
The show is over and those who followed these characters for six years know the truth. It wasn’t a big surprise but it still surprised, if that makes sense. Some thought it was anti-climatic and others I know were bawling their eyes out in sadness.
I will not judge the quality of the ending, but I am glad it ended. I can put these people to rest once and for all…though I will miss them.
Where have we been?
Well, a few good men and an even better woman started the idea of this blog and we owe it to someone to unspill the contents of our head, or at least mine.
The time has come to once again say all the things I want to say and it’s an invitation for you as well!
It’s a re-birth of sorts! So much has gone on in the world and has seemingly blown right by us, well it’s now time to play some catch up.
Hello 2010…and hello…again to all of you !
necessity is the mother of invention, but poverty is the father
New favorite quote of the week. Attributable to my father-in-law, just in case no one else has it tagged by them.
Having recently moved I found his incite particularly accurate and worth sharing. Enjoy.
Something I’ve Observed: Dislike of the “really busy” people at work
Maybe this should not annoy me as much as it does, but everytime I hear it, I want to scream, belt the person, or look at them and say “who cares?”
You have two populations of people at work, those who work and those who are always announcing to everyone else that they are working.
You know who I am talking about? It’s that person who is just completely “overextended”, hasn’t any more capacity for additional work, and seem to be yapping on the phone more than anyone else in the room.
It’s also not surprising that these same people never get anything done, it’s because they are so “damn busy” they just don’t have time for anything else on their plate. Did these people go to some special university that specializes in daily self affirmation of their success over very little achieved?
In this economy, how are these people keeping their jobs? There is a trick to looking busy, is it the mass of printed paper scattered over a desktop, or having your head buried in a phone all day? I know, it’s that very fast paced walking down the hall with glasses low on the nose holding something that looks official…that must be the trick to the disguise.
I don’t take too well to these people…
I find myself gravitating towards those people who never spout off about how busy they are. Yet, they have a high stress position and have major accountability to get things completed, and they usually do.
The workers who typically keep to themselves, don’t mingle in the cool crowd, and have a very clean work space, these are the folks who normally are on the ball. They are organized and are able to successfully use the electronic media within the PC to save documents rather than post art all over their walls as to appear as if they have unreal job responsibilities.
Save the artwork for the fridge…
Rant over and off my chest…thank you.
Does Kanye West hate Midwestern white farmers?
Remember the HUGE fundraising event that was carried by all of the major networks after Hurrican Katrina? Remember all the big name celebrities who gave their time and energy to raise money for those affected? Remember Kanye West’s infamous deduction the George Bush hates black people because his government didn’t have the response to the catastrophe that Mr. West would have expected?
No, this is not Wizard of Oz
Where was Kanye and his elite club of superstars last year when the entire eastern border of Iowa was nearly washed away? In fact, where was the telethon on ANY channel? Where was the DC finger pointing when these midwestern farming families had to swim down their driveway to get to safety? Were there busses driving those folks from Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Burlington and Weaver to St. Louis, Chicago or Minneapolis?
Last summer, damages were estimated at over $1Billion, but have we heard anything about it since? Remember Anderson Cooper doing a broadcast from New Orleans once a week until the government got its act together? From what I remember, CNN and all the other national news elements pulled out as soon as the flood water level had “leveled” off. No more immediate threat to its reporters? Move on! Nobody is interested in middle America’s problems.
Well you should be.
Please do not read this as me saying you should think about Iowa and NOT New Orleans, but I don’t think it should be the other way around. Yes Katrina was awful…devastating even. But so was the flood in Iowa last year.
But the questions need to be asked:
- Where are the FEMA trailers?
- Where are the debit cards for them to spend at the strip clubs and gun shops like they did in New Orleans?
- Where the specialty brew beers whose proceeds go to relief efforts?
- Why does FEMA have a whole section set up for Katrina News on their web site, which scrolls and scrolls with information and for the Iowa flood, they have a few news releases telling Iowans they had until Aug 12 to sign up for relief and links to other news?
- The biggest news release? “Iowa Flood Relief More than $2Million.”
- Federal allocations in response to hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma now total over $88 billion.
- W hat!?
Whats the Matter? Not enough crime associated with the Iowa Flood?
Not enough homes eradicated?
Not enough damage to the crops?
Not enough damage to agriculture?
Not enough people exposed to toxic water?
Not even swift water crashing through the area?
I lived in Iowa for ten years. I was not there for last year’s flood, but I lived there in 1993 and help sandbag down at the Mississippi River as well as other rivers in the area. The thing that everyone needs to realize is that farming truly is many families’ livelihood. When crops are wiped out from raging flood waters, when cows and pigs drown on water that quickly creeps up on them, its not a funny photo to be passed around – it is less food and shelter that family can pay for that month.
It saddens me that the people of this region have not been treated with the same ongoing services that are still being given to those in New Orleans. Please, again, I am not saying that New Orleans residents do not deserve aid (but don’t get me started on rebuidling in known flood zones) – my point is that there are people in the Midwest who lost EVERYTHING as well.
CEO greed at its worse…a disgusting examination of who we really work for
The news is ghastly and literally makes you sick to your stomach. Once again, a large corporate CEO has been exposed and details are coming forward concerning John Thain. Thain is the recently ousted chief exec at Merrill Lynch after news of his extravagant spending has come to light. We need people to lead and companies need quality CEOs to guide the culture and direction of its employees, but this is grounds for a free range turkey shoot.
I don’t know how to react to this but I’m almost forced to pull at heart strings because I don’t know how our system will change. If you analyze what this man did and what potential repercussions it has on other people, it is completely and utterly criminal. I mean in the same category as a masked gunman robbing a bank, robbing an elderly couple on the street, or simply robbing hard working human beings of their dignity.
He’s not the only one who has plundered corporate finances on meaningless and material objects. Dennis Kozlowski, former CEO of Tyco, was jailed for his elaborate spending. He once arranged a birthday party for his wife in a tropical location, hired Jimmy Buffet to perform, had a fountain with flowing vodka, waiters dressed in togas, and had a life size cake of his wife made with exploding candy breasts, no kidding. He used company money. At times, the stories are humorous but only so if the economy is good and people have jobs.
Considering the economic struggles of Americans right now – this hits home with me. It hits home with me because my family has been impacted by the economy and we’ve been impacted by health issues. This is not a sob story or an attempt to make someone feel sorry for another person, but rather a look at how this man’s actions actually have a trickle down effect to others – as if he actually pulled out the financial rug himself.
Here is a lay out of what he did and theoretically how it impacts the rest of us paupers:
Hires White House decorator guru Michael Smith to decorate his corporate office at $800,000, which is about the same as sixteen Merrill Lynch analysts making $50,000 who were laid off when ML announced a 10% workforce reduction in 2008.
Area rugs valued at $131,000, which is roughly the value of a first time home for a young family which are now left with a mortgage payment and no income.
Guests chairs valued at $87,000, which equates to the salary of a highly skilled network administrator losing his IT job.
Wall sconces at $2700, which equates to about six months of the average COBRA payments for a laid off worker who has no other health coverage.
A credenza valued at $68,000 – another salaried employee – gone.
A $1400 trash can – again another mortgage payment- gone.
Do not forgot the $4 billion in executive bonuses which he paid out as Merrill Lynch was being purchased by Bank of America. This was billions (billions!) of dollars handed out to individuals who didn’t even have the leadership capability to keep ML afloat. BofA has just recently received $25 billion in bailout funds just prior to the take over of Merrill Lynch. Thank god our government stepped in and helped with the financial burden caused by that huge ass $13,000 chandelier hanging in Thain’s office !
This rant could go on and on. The damage has been done and it is most likely Thain will get a nice pension payout from BofA execs under the table unless it becomes public news – which if he does – it will. If he does- it may be time for me to run naked down the street because apparently you can get away with anything in this country. Hopefully, it does not happen and the man slithers back into his life outside of his corporate crime spree. It’s nothing more than a crime spree considering Merrill Lynch was a sinking ship and pink slips were being handed out.
A CEO is hired based on his or her credentials and seemingly a perfect fit for the organization – so they are compensated nicely. The problem is that the methodology of “salary” is relative to all employees within the company. The assembly line worker making $40,000 still wants to be paid if the company does not do well. The same goes for the CEO as they don’t want their value depreciated by a falling stock price just as much as the worker in the office. Hell, if you had $40 or $50 billion in stock value – you’d probably not even wink at someone walking in with a chair valued at more than a car. Board of Directors are creating invincible, highly compensated money churning robots with no regard for those people who hold very fragile roles within the framework of a corporation. It’s a reality, we work in an At Will employment environment which is dictated by the behavior of the market. Good market= jobs, bad market= layoffs. But, can the spending be justified when employees are being escorted out the door, salaries are lost, and families forced to suffer a little bit until something better comes along? Many people never get that second chance to recover, but this slimy pig will.
This irresponsible corporate spending is virtually untouched by any current laws governing corporate responsibility. How does this type of criminal “free” spending not fall under any Sarbanes Oxley guidelines? There is no accounting oversight even though , based on the books, this spending looks certified. The legislation apparently only concerns itself with whether or not the spending is reported as “complete” and “accurate”. I do not understand how the SEC can’t hold the power to freeze the payment for outlandish office decor – is this not considered a “large” or “unusual” payment?
A road warrior consultant can’t spend over $30 on an out of town dinner, but John Thain can do this.
How much did you pay for that scope, Ed?
I come from a very small town in a very big state. Those little towns vastly outnumber the big cities, and usually you never ever hear your your little town mentioned outside of the county border. Thats why I always get a kick out of seeing my hometown in the national news. There have been many movies filmed there and many celebs have chosen that area as their private retreat, but I am entertained by how often the little town is mentioned.
Today’s mention of my hometown in the news comes thanks to a New York hunter who accidently shot a LLAMA because he thought it was an elk. I’ve never had llama jerky, but I guess I can kind of see how he wasn’t sure – but if you’re not sure, isn’t it safer for you NOT to shoot? Is that not Hunting 101? He even gutted it like he would an elk.
This is a female llama (I think)
I did find the following blurb from the article amusing, yet oh so appropriate:
This is a female elk
Montana’s hunter safety education program emphasizes that hunters should always identify their target before pulling the trigger.
Whew.
Well the guy turned himself in and all is well. I’m sure the Park County game officials got a HUGE chuckle out of it though.
Why I love Ann Coulter
Yep, I enjoy her existence. I don’t particularly care for her persona, her constant desire to be in the limelight or the depths to which she will stoop to be the center of attention, and I certainly don’t agree with a thing she says. So why do I love her?
She’s a constant reminder of why I love my country.
I’m not sure that Ann Coulter has even made a point without bending and stretching the truth as if facts were one of those stress relieving items that just have no purpose in life unless they are twisted and crunched into an unrecognizable mess, but my point is that she can. Her credibility seems to be directly related to the size of her big brass balls. She’s like a bull in the china-shop of truth who after her Tasmanian-devil style rant, comes out with perfectly coiffed hair – no worse for the wear.
She has an audience, her books sell. I’m not sure if anyone actually believes the crap she spews out, but thanks to good ol’ American capitalism, she’s a success.
Not surprising, she has a new book out and she she’s on a press tour for it. Sometimes I think she churns out the books not so much to educate anyone on a particular subject, but merely for the fact of having something to talk about so can go on these press tours. She revels in the arguments she gets into with the liberal media and she tosses her blond tresses in a manner that shows she’s not really listening to the interviewer but knows that her points are crap so she expects the questions and has canned answers ready when she hears key words from the host. But again, she has an audience. Those who love her for her big cojones , and those who hate her existence. She thrives off both.
Truth be told, I can’t watch an interview with her without yelling at the TV. But I watch anyway for a few reasons:
1. Makes me appreciate the fact I’m not in a political group for whom she is a talking head. I couldn’t fathom being a part of an organization or movement that relied on her to get any message across. Her fact-tangling approach to most issues removes any credibility she may have on any relevant agenda item.
2. Gives me things to think about when I’m in a political discussion. Her mannerisms and approach are so polarizing that it’s almost like a “what not to do when trying to make a point and be taken seriously’ seminar.
3. Her confidence. We can learn from her ability to look you straight in the eyes and tell you the sun is bitterly cold and scoff at you when you point out scientific proof that it is, in fact hot, you liberal idiot.
4. I’m rubber and you’re glue whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you, you liberal idiot.
5. She is taking full advantage of her American rights and I hope she truly appreciates it. Nevermind the fact that she’s the two steps back for each step forward good, smart female political pundits have made (on both sides, thank you) I really hope that she appreciates and thanks whatever god her close-minded little heart worships that someone decided to give Republican Barbie a microphone and there are people who believe her outrageousness, just because it sounds so far out there, it must be true.
A few of her wonderfully classy quotes:
“I was going to have a few comments about John Edwards but you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot.” –at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference
“These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by griefparrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husband’s deaths so much.” -on 9/11 widows who have been critical of the Bush administration (note: nobody, except of course her, who is cashing in on slamming them)
“We need to execute people like (John Walker Lindh) in order to physically intimidate liberals.” (note: she calls Obama ‘B. Hussein Obama’ because of the fear that name instills but you notice she’ll use Walker Lindh and not refer to Bush as ‘G. Walker Bush’”)
“We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity.” – Days after September 11 attacks
“Whether they are defending the Soviet Union or bleating for Saddam Hussein, liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots.”
“Press passes can’t be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the President.” (note: I find this particularly nasty, its because of women like Ms. Thomas who helped pave the way for women in political reporting)
Seriously Ann, stay classy. And thanks for reminding me how free this country still is.
Hernes, Booney and Durke, Luis Vitton – these are priorities?
No purses were harmed in this photoshoot
It’s been well established that although I have the female chromosome and the right parts, I’m not ‘girly’. Admittedly, my favorite brand of clothing is “clearance” and I would rather spend my day staring at the engine of a car than venturing into a mall.
The other day as I’m going through the motions of putting on makeup before work (hey, I do make SOME effort) the Today Show was doing a special about brand name purses vs. knock offs. Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention to the message of the entire piece since I look at my purse like a fanny pack – utilitarian, purposeful, but weighty and annoying. (Ladies: how many times has your husband/boyfriend handed you something to put in your purse to hold so he didn’t have to put in his pocket? Do they believe that there is a zero-gravity unit under that clasp that makes things less heavy for YOU to carry than it did for him??)
The Today Show was revealing secret ways to spot a fake or why you should never carry a fake or some similarly deep purse topic, and then I heard something that made my put down the mineral powder and look out the bathroom door. I’m paraphrasing here but the thoughts are the same, “so, if you want to make sure you get a real brand name purse, which can be really expensive, ask all of your friends and family to get you gift certificates that way you can pick out the purse you want [read: a real name brand, not the knock off your Aunt Linda got you from her church trip to New York]“.
So I immediately ran down the hall and called everyone I knew and left the following message on their voice mails:
“Hello, although I really appreciated the scarf and mittens you gave me this year and every year in the past, and its actually pretty practical I have a request from now on: will you please go out of your way to find a Louis Vuitton store and buy me a gift card of at least $50 or more? I’m going to try to amass all of my friends’ and family’s wealth to actually get something worthy of my greatness. I mean seriously, can you believe that I’ve been using this same Coach purse since July!?”
Ok, not really. But that’s the message that the segment was giving. Not once did anyone on the show go, “Ok, haha gotcha! Instead of being such a stuck up snob and actually looking down on the Kate Spode you got from Aunt Linda, why don’t you get your head out of your ass and write Aunt Linda a thank you note.”?
Seriously, there are people (mostly women) who carry around purses that cost more than my car. Notice the “S” on the end, they have more than one! I don’t know these women. I know a few that carry Coach, Dooney and Burke, Kate Spades and maybe a Fendi. But even those might be fake, I really can’t tell you because I’ve never asked and I wasn’t paying attention when the gals on the Today Show were reviewing that part.
So when you go to buy one of these purses sorry – handbags, do you live in it? I guess I’m baffled by the fact that somewhere there are women who place that high of a value on having something hang off their arm that has the bacteria from the bathroom floor on it.
So I guess I will go appoint my sister as project lead for the next gift giving event, tell her that she’ll need to either gather the cash/checks from all of my known gift-giving acquaintances and get one big gift card or just have her let them know where they can go online to purchase me a gift card. By the time I have my car paid off, I might have enough gift cards accumulated to buy that purse. Or do they finance those? (oh my, do you think THAT is the real reason for the credit crisis, too many people defaulted on their purse loans. How ironic)
Thank you Aunt Linda, for my new Goach wallet.
This week’s use of the Flux Capacitor
This week’s use of the Flux Capacitor comes to us via YouTube again in the form of : 80’s Music Video.
The video this week is full of Awesome and I really can’t believe I don’t remember it. I absolutely love the song and I crank the volume way up when they actually play it on XM’s 80’s on 8. In fact, I think it would be in the Top 20 80’s songs for me.
The song:”The Promise”
The artist: When in Rome
Here are a few notes to make sure to catch while you’re watching:
The 80’s hair is in full force – we have two versions being thrown down. There is the totally bald guy saying “screw the trends, my big bald head stands me out from the crowd and that’s how you’ll remember me. I’m British, I’m different”. And then there is his counter-part rocking the dark brown Fabio locks saying “Lookat me, I haven’t had a haircut since I was 9 and you really need to feel how soft it is, but I won’t let you touch me. I’m British, I’m different,” - which he tosses around and runs his hands through at least four times:
1 – :30
2 – 1:35
3 – 1:56
4 – 3:14
Yes, I counted.
We also have the girl who needs more conditioner and probably some conditioning serum in her hair , and we know this because they lighted her from behind with very bright sunlight. The poor girl also didn’t realize that she purchased the pantyhose/stockings with the seamed toe, which is not the best for when they do a closeup of her legs and feet.
The band member sporting the long locks also rocks the mom jeans and the pianist’s khaki pants look like they’ve been pulled up within inches of his neck.
In other words, its full of 80’s Awesome Gold.
Heard It In A Bar RSS Feed- Texas – what the hell is wrong with you!? September 3, 2010I’m going to be honest with you, it is going to be very difficult for me to be calm about this. First, we had the Rep. Barton apologizing to BP for the Obama “shakedown”. Even his own party rolled their eyes and popped their Tums. I was up in arms over this and even got [...] […]She
- Lost is over and I actually miss it… September 3, 2010Six years of roller coaster loop de’ loops, dozens of undeveloped characters, and a story line that was as easy to follow as a chicken in a barnyard. If you didn’t watch Lost, you missed a show which challenged the fan to no end. Season after season of questions, theories, hypotheses’, cliff hanging plots, and a [...] […]kansasview
- Teetering on the edge…how does Bret Michaels do it? September 3, 2010I have to give Bret Michaels credit, he has battled a life of disease and he keeps bouncing back. At the age of six, he was diagonosed with Type I diabetes and has struggled to maintain his health all the while becoming an 80’s glam metal rock god, a history of hard hard partying, and what [...] […]kansasview
- A softball player who just happens to know the law, sign her up… September 3, 2010Does this woman really matter to you? If you look deep into the background of a possible supreme court justice, do you want actual bench experience or do you prefer someone who knows the law and has written a few hundred papers on well…the law? Princeton graduate, Harvard Law Dean,…on the surface at least Elena Kagan [...] […]kansasview
- When it rains for Tiger, it pours… September 3, 2010The muscle of this man has shrunk and shows more sign of atrophy as each new story surfaces. This blog did a pretty good job of leaving Tiger alone and I have to say after the recent events, I still stick to that credo. The bomb of the last couple months has dropped, the shrapnel has [...] […]kansasview
- Where have we been? September 3, 2010Well, a few good men and an even better woman started the idea of this blog and we owe it to someone to unspill the contents of our head, or at least mine. The time has come to once again say all the things I want to say and it’s an invitation for you as well! It’s [...] […]kansasview
- Brittany Murphy’s death is troubling September 3, 2010Not that it’s another tragic celebrity death, not that it’s another young life taken so early…these are all troubling and sad in their own right. It’s another tragic case of someone getting caught up in the web of drugs…the legal type! It truly saddens me that so many of these stars seek out more and more prescription [...] […]kansasview
- Internet fun for the weekend… September 3, 2010By far one of my favorite websites of late is called GraphJam.com. Essentially, the website attempts to break down the world and how we interact with it in a series of graphs. It is hilarious when you see how the world around us can be so easily summed up in a pie or bar chart. [...] […]kansasview
- So why are more companies not yet hiring? September 3, 2010U.S. Workers are still filing a large amount of unemployment claims and this is after five weeks of declines in this area. Where are the culprits and which industries are still hurting? It’s apparent as we have seen over the last year is that a gradual stabilization of the economy does not naturally translate to a increase [...] […]kansasview
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- Texas – what the hell is wrong with you!? September 3, 2010
