So I was walking down the street in my lovely neighborhood with my dog. As all four of the people who read my blog should know, my dog REALLY REALLY likes to play. Especially with other dogs. However, this can present problems, as most dog owners don't really appreciate it when your dog runs up to theirs all super excited as this could be a sign of an impending dog fight. Also, running up to strange dogs has the tendency to provoke fights. So, as any responsible dog owner should, we are trying to train our dog to either sit and wait, or to walk up to other dogs slowly. It takes some work as our dog is crazy.
So we are walking along, and notice a dog who is being held on the side of the street by this Hippie. Like such a stereotypical hippie that if you type hippie hat into a Google image search it will show you the hat she was wearing. It will also work for hippie sweater too. Her sweater was the green stripy one in the second row. Anyway, me and Shelby (the dog) are walking by, and Shelby starts to smell this strange dog, and is being pretty good about it. Meanwhile, I'm telling her how she's being a good dog, and then BAM! Shelby drops into a play bow and it's all over. She's jumping around and kind of half barking/half growling. So as I'm sternly telling Shelby to sit, this lady is giving me very crap looks. I start to explain that my dog is nice, and she REALLY likes to play, and we're trying to get over it. (Meaning we are trying to stop my dog from walking up to strange dogs and jumping on them.) She then glares at me and and says:
"I hope she NEVER gets over it."
Seriously lady. Yes, I'm trying to beat my dog into submission so she never ever plays again. Yes, I'm so mean that I don't let my dog do whatever comes "naturally" to her, because she too is a living creature. Besides, there are no amount of beatings that could break my dog's spirit. She's just that crazy. I'm just trying to keep my dog from approaching the wrong dog and getting seriously injured. Also, there is that whole "being considerate of other people thing" you know, Trying to make sure that my dog doesn't mistakingly scare the crap out of other dogs and their owners. I don't mind if my dog plays with other dogs on the street, as long as the other people/dogs are ok with it. Stupid people anyway.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Monday, October 18, 2004
I Wish I Owned a Billion Dollar News Conglomerate.
In the upcoming days before the election, as we are presented with poll after poll, and article after article, it's VERY important to remember who is control of the media, and the slant that certain news channels (I'm referring to you Fox News) puts on the news. What it comes down to is who owns what channels, and what kind of press will put money in their pockets. Keep tabs on your favorite media conglomerate with this tool here. It's great for corporate timelines, and taking a look at the money behind the news. Your kidding yourself if you think that all the information out there is impartial.
A good example of this going down in New York right now is Bill O'Reilly and the sexual harrassment lawsuit against him. Remember that Rupert Murdoch owns both Fox News and The Post. Recently a producer for Bill O'Reilly's show "The O'Reilly Factor" charged him with sexual harrassment for some kind of phone sex. I don't want to go into details, but if you want to you can check here. The story as told by the Post concerns itself with slandering the accuser with tails of a hysterical meltdown in a local restaurant, and being drunk in a bar and "boasting" that she was going to ruin O'Reilly. (If you want, you can pay for the entire article, but I think the headline says it all.) Nothing like using all of your media outlets to spin a story and ruin someone's public image after they accuse one of your star "reporters" of sexual harrassment. Maybe she can sue Rupert Murdoch as well. Remember the good old days when journalists took pride in reporting the facts?
A good example of this going down in New York right now is Bill O'Reilly and the sexual harrassment lawsuit against him. Remember that Rupert Murdoch owns both Fox News and The Post. Recently a producer for Bill O'Reilly's show "The O'Reilly Factor" charged him with sexual harrassment for some kind of phone sex. I don't want to go into details, but if you want to you can check here. The story as told by the Post concerns itself with slandering the accuser with tails of a hysterical meltdown in a local restaurant, and being drunk in a bar and "boasting" that she was going to ruin O'Reilly. (If you want, you can pay for the entire article, but I think the headline says it all.) Nothing like using all of your media outlets to spin a story and ruin someone's public image after they accuse one of your star "reporters" of sexual harrassment. Maybe she can sue Rupert Murdoch as well. Remember the good old days when journalists took pride in reporting the facts?
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Comedy Books
I've never been one to purchase or read books written by comedians. Really, who needs to read "SeinLanguage" by Jerry Seinfeld. But Al Franken's books come highly recommended, and I have really been enjoying this one.
I'm not going to give a complete synopsis, you can go to Amazon for that. Basically, Franken takes on the right wing media and the government and exposes them for the liars that they are. Everything in the book was thoroughly researched and there is actually a lot to learn inside, for instance did you know that Bill O'Reilly wrote a murder-mystery? It's called Those Who Trespass. Franken compares the sex and violence in this book with the lyrics of Ludacris's album. (For those of you who don't remember, Bill O'Reilly is the man who was responsible for Pepsi firing Luda as their spokesperson because his song lyrics were degrading to women and whatnot - at least according to Mr. O'Reilly)
Anyway, it's an entertaining political read, and somehow makes the lies coming from our government and media on a daily basis palatable by making fun of it.
I'm not going to give a complete synopsis, you can go to Amazon for that. Basically, Franken takes on the right wing media and the government and exposes them for the liars that they are. Everything in the book was thoroughly researched and there is actually a lot to learn inside, for instance did you know that Bill O'Reilly wrote a murder-mystery? It's called Those Who Trespass. Franken compares the sex and violence in this book with the lyrics of Ludacris's album. (For those of you who don't remember, Bill O'Reilly is the man who was responsible for Pepsi firing Luda as their spokesperson because his song lyrics were degrading to women and whatnot - at least according to Mr. O'Reilly)
Anyway, it's an entertaining political read, and somehow makes the lies coming from our government and media on a daily basis palatable by making fun of it.
I'm Cooler Than Everyone!!!
Here is my fancy fancy hipster hat. I took this holding the camera in the bathroom mirror so I could see what it looked like in the digital display and to make sure I didn't cut off half of my face in the picture. I tried to take some of me smiling, but I just ended up looking either really stupid or really strange.
Anyway, It's been decided over here at our house that we shouldn't fake the funk anymore and just commit to being hipsters. Well, maybe not Hipsters, but at least acknowleging the fact that we own some pretty cool and sometimes ironic T-Shirts, and enjoy wearing clothing that no one else owns, (Much like the jackasses that live in our super-hip neighborhood which annoy the crap out of us on a regular basis - I mean do you really need to make sure you look cool when you go to the local drug store to pick up some eye drops or aspirin?)
We walk a fine line of making fun of these people, while doing many of the same things they do. It's ok with me though, as long as I understand that yes, I'm much cooler than everyone, (sarcasm intended), and it's ok when I feel like walking around the neighborhood in a silly hat.
(Oh, and the snobby part of me should tell you that this hat was a sample of a brand that won't be available in stores for a couple months. So I can wear it safely without seeing it on someone else's head for awhile. I got the hook-up yo.)
Anyway, It's been decided over here at our house that we shouldn't fake the funk anymore and just commit to being hipsters. Well, maybe not Hipsters, but at least acknowleging the fact that we own some pretty cool and sometimes ironic T-Shirts, and enjoy wearing clothing that no one else owns, (Much like the jackasses that live in our super-hip neighborhood which annoy the crap out of us on a regular basis - I mean do you really need to make sure you look cool when you go to the local drug store to pick up some eye drops or aspirin?)
We walk a fine line of making fun of these people, while doing many of the same things they do. It's ok with me though, as long as I understand that yes, I'm much cooler than everyone, (sarcasm intended), and it's ok when I feel like walking around the neighborhood in a silly hat.
(Oh, and the snobby part of me should tell you that this hat was a sample of a brand that won't be available in stores for a couple months. So I can wear it safely without seeing it on someone else's head for awhile. I got the hook-up yo.)
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