Musical Memories

While listening to my favorite NPR station, I heard the opening notes from Jaws, the movie.  Does any one who's ever seen Jaws, not immediately remember that film, and the rest of the stanza?

There are other snippets of music that also elicit the same response.  How about 2001 Space Odyssey?  Or the music during the shower scene from Psycho? 

Considering how old these movies are now, it would appear that we have  not been getting our fair share of outstanding musical scores in the past few years.  Of course I don't go to the movies as often either because the reviews just don't move me enough to want to go.  Okay, I did go to see Avatar, and loved it, but remember the music?  Not so much.

There may be memorable music out there, perhaps in Harry Potter, for the younger generation, but will it stand the test of time...

Still quaking when I hear those opening beats from Jaws, on Day 147!

A word by any other name?

Andy started me thinking about this last night, when he mentioned the funny papers.  But the gist of his story was not about the funnies, and my story isn't either.

I'm just intrigued by the various names we give things, and how these names are interpreted differently through the country.  For example, the "funnies" or "comics."  We assume these to be the cartoon pages in the newspaper.  When I was growing up, we always called them the "jokes."   

When I grew up in Chicago we called soda pop just "pop."  In the South, and other areas, it's referred to as soda.  So now, when in doubt, I just ask for soda pop, and surely someone knows what I'm talking about.

I went to a bait shop the other week to get some crayfish.  the clerk said they didn't have any.  I had been in there a week earlier, and the clerk at that time (different person) said they had not received their shipment yet.  So I asked the clerk, on this day, if the shipment just had not arrived.  He told me they had crawdads, but no crayfish.  (He was a young kid, probably not more than 20.)  I explained to him they were the very same animal!  He had never known that.

Wonder if I'll have to reinterpret something else on Day 146!

Life, death, in-between

An acquaintance of mine tried to commit suicide the other day.  By hanging himself.  He may have brain damage, we don't know any more than that, yet.

He was on medication for depression.  So what could he have been depressed about?  He has a beautiful wife, great kids, nice house, good, solid job.  Was he misdiagnosed and put on a drug that can cause one to contemplate suicide?  There are anti-deprfessants out there that can, indeed, have that effect.  So how good a drug is that?  To push you over the edge?

I don't know more details; probably I'd rather not know more details.  I'd prefer to hide my head in the sand, and pretend it never happened.  The sadness over this event is overhelming. 

I hope tomorrow's a better day for him and his family.   It's a day closer to his recovery and rehabilitation; for me it's just day 145!

Education used to be important!

Yessirree Bob, we went from an old nation under rule of the king, to a new nation free to choose whatever paths we wanted to go on.  We headed West, built homes, businesses, schools.  We even educated our women, unlike some foreign countries who still consider women second-class.

We got bigger, brighter, and then it would appear, we thought we knew it all!  But the internet, and computer masterminds in general changed all that.  We started to learn even more, but since we can only assimilate so much, and technology costs money, we started to decrease some basics in our lives.

We cut Driver's Ed.  Costs too much money.  So who's going to teach those little darling 16-year-olds how to drive safely?  Obviously no one, the way people run red lights, tailgate, don't understand the important of directional signals, and in general behave poorly behind the wheel.

Higher education is so costly, that many students either do not continue on, or they are left with crushing debt when they graduate.  For the most part, the really well-paying jobs require a higher education.  Perhaps we'll either export those jobs, or import people from overseas, with educations and no debt, to fill those positions.

The real reason behind this rant is that I was recently informed that "cursive writing" will no longer be taught in school.  Great!  So many students now cannot even read, and so why bother to teach them to write?  What's next, spelling?  Oh, that's already been addressed by the infernal "texting" that assumes what word you want to use in a sentence.  And if a verb is spelled correctly, but is used wrongly, who's to know?  Who's to care?  "Spell check" doesn't!

People  in other countries are dying to get an education, any education.  We're giving up on educating and education, as we have "more important" tasks at hand.  Updating our Facebook account, for example.

As for me, after I finish "proofreading" this blog, I'll think I'll go and read a book, before I write more on my other blog, on Day 144!

I'm in good company...

...after just listening to a piece on TV about the baby boomers not being able to find jobs, and in fact their jobless numbers are rising.  Plus, when you take in to account the number of college graduates (yours truly included) there's a lot of disparity in the job market!  Lotsa talent, no positions!

But the stock market is up.  Perhaps we should all become day traders? 

So there are no jobs because no one is spending money.  Of course we can't spend money, because  we don't have money.  And, the cost of gas has gone up far faster than any raise I ever got at a job.  In fact, my last two employers had salary caps on the hourly employees!  No salary caps for the CEOs though...they get fat bonuses if they keep costs in line.

So take away job opportunities for Boomers, take away their medicare, deplete their social security, and what do you have...not a pretty picture, Day 143!

I'm a jealous person.

Or maybe just envious?    Webster's says jealous is defined as: very watchful in guarding or keeping; resentfully suspicious of rivals; envious.  Envy is defined as: having hatred or ill will; a feeling of discontent due to someone else's possessions, etc.  Hmmm, think I'll just use the term jealous, as hatred seems way too mean! 

I'm jealous of people who are thinner than me.
I'm jealous of people who are heavier than me and are not bothered by it.
I'm jealous of poor people, because they often seem happier than I think they should be.
I'm jealous of rich people, because I think they can buy happiness, even though we know better.
I'm jealous of black people because they experience things I will probably never know, i.e. prejudice.
I'm jealous of foreigners because they are usually bi-lingual; their language and mine.
I'm jealous of people who have the same car as me, only a different color. 
I'm jealous of people who have newer cars.
I'm jealous of people who have the same, but older cars.
I'm jealous of people who can throw together an outfit and look great at all times.
I'm jealous of people who don't care what they're wearing; they're just happy to be clothed.
I'm jealous of young people because I'm not.
I'm jealous of older people because they have more wisdom than me.
I'm jealous of people who never forget a name

And the list could go on forever.  I could find something about anyone or anything to be jealous about.  But life's too short to lose sleep over these petty jealousies.  Some of the above-mentioned items, I can rectify.  Some I'll never know.  Some I do not want to know, but at the end of the day, I'm still feeling pretty good about myself. 

 I wouldn't mind if  people were a little jealous of me, on Day 142!

NOT AGAIN!!! But yes, AGAIN!!!

Sheesh, if I only wrote about important men behaving badly, I could probably write MORE than a blog a day!!!  Perhaps the repetition would open some male eyes!  Then again, perhaps not!  They appear to be VERY slow learners!

The latest, as of this writing, at almost 5 p.m. CST, is that New York congressman, Anthony Weiner, ADMITTED to sending strange (bare-chested man, among others) photos to various people on his Twitter account, and I believe Facebook.    There were also allegations of phone sex, etc, etc.  AND this paragon of the community is MARRIED!!!  For how long, we can only guess...

I would put some words in italics rather than caps, as caps is considered shouting, but how else can we get these fools to listen???   Your behavior is abhorrant and you WILL get found out!!!

 I'm shouted out on Day 141!

2 birds, 1 stone

Wal Mart has been in the news recently because (boo hoo) their U.S. stores are not making as much "profit" as they were intended to.  Of course they want to blame the new CEO, Mike Duke, for not taking better care, or taking charge, after Lee Scott left.  Probably won't make Mike Duke miserable, if he's released with a few million in his pocket as "severance pay."  But afterall, that's probably what his contract called for.  We should all get contracts from our potential employers, that if we don't work out, we get oodles of money to make our fall from grace easier.  More of a "green slip" than a pink slip!  Oh there's already a term for it...golden parachute. 

But I digress...

There's another problem afoot, too.  Unemployment appears to have stagnated at 9% and may even be rising...again.   So here I am to solve both problems.  Even though I harbor no love for Wal Mart any more, I have plenty of friends who work there. 

Wal Mart should start buying American again!!!  Just like Sam wanted!!!  If the goods aren't available, then we'd need more manufacturing.  If we had more manufacturing, there would be more jobs.  More jobs would mean more money in the economy, and probably more money for Wal Mart, and their anticipated customers.  And the quality of their goods should go up, or at least the perception of quality, and people would give them a new and less-jaundiced look!  !  It's a decided WIN-WIN!!

But there are even further reaching implications!  The people in China are starting to get the idea that they can demand higher wages.  Sooner or later, it will be just as cheap to manufacture at home.  But by that time we'll have absolutely NO workers who know how to do anything except draw unemployment or welfare.  If we start now, we would even save on the amount of money we're spending on energy to get those goods shipping all over the world.   Geez, another new concept...saving on fuel consumption!  

Two birds/one stone, or maybe 3 if you count the energy savings, and I do NOT want anything from Wal Mart now or after Day 140!

Ellen Barkin is living with a 26 year old...

...and if you must know, she's 57.  And I say "so what??!!!"

If this were reversed, and the man were 30 years older (or more in some high-profile duos) no one would even consider it headline news.  They'd probably be wanting to pat the old codger on the back.  The men, that is.  Women, make that mature women, probably don't want the old man.   And if they are closer in age (say 5 years or so) they've probably already aware of his shortcomings and want nothing to do with him, a big bankroll nonwithstanding.. 

Sexism still seems to reign supreme in the headlines, in the 21st Century, in 2011, and probably long after Day 139!

Technology works...sometimes...

I'm writing this as I'm extremely frustrated with my computer and with my blog-master, or whatever they are called.  I'm not computer-literate, save for turning the computer on and off.  Whenever I get a message that I might be doing something wrong, I'm never sure how to respond.  I have a couple other blogs that I write, and one of them has not been letting me post.  It says I've posted, but when I try to actually read the post, on the blog, and not the version to-be-edited, I get thrown onto a page that has nothing to do with my blog, or my life, for that matter.  

I do not believe every kid in school knows how to fix these problems either.  They may know how to have one gadget talk to another, and use every eletronic device available to mankind, but actually fixing them is not in their bailiwick.  The actual nerds are far and few between.  But if you can turn on the button, everyone thinks you understand the lingo.  Of course there are no humans to talk to, just endless e-mails/help sessions/FAQs to wade through to see if there is an appropriate answer to your woes.    That's probably part of the problem...I can't express myself properly, so they can't identify my problem properly?  Now that sounds like a real Catch 22!

This has been one frustrating week for me...and it's continuing long after Day 138!