WUMF: March Edition

Here it is, the end of March and coming at you is another edition of ‘What’s Up, My Friends?’.

I feel like such a lazy blogger. I’ve noticed the lack of posts these last couple of months and thought, “Am I really doing justice to my readers?”. Looking back at this month and February, I averaged about six posts each. In January, I had 10. Last year, I was averaging around 11 or 12 a month. I just don’t have the free time. So, am I slacking at blogging or doing extra ‘real’ work that cuts into my time? How about ‘C: All of the above’?

1. Pray for Japan
The biggest news this month was of course, the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I cannot imagine going through that level of destruction and having a positive attitude. The cascading effect on the people and the commerce of Japan was tremendous and my heart goes out to them. Earlier in the month I made a donation on behalf of the shirt shops, contributing a dollar from every sale I had over a weekend. I ended up at 26 sales but rounded up to $30 just to be karmically balanced. Had this happened in December, I probably would have topped out around $70. That just goes to show you how sluggish sales are this time of year.

Still, there are a lot of shirt brands out there donating money towards disaster relief and the major players, CafePress and Zazzle have information about the cause.

2. OHMAHGAWD, It’s a Tornado!
Not quite as devastating as Japan’s earthquake and at least funnier and more politically correct than Gilbert Gottfried, a lot of national attention went to my little corner of the world, Southwestern PA This was thanks to a tornado that touched down about 11 miles from my house. The comedy comes from a viral video taken by a kid on his cell phone and it went all the way to CNN.

Of course, I had to jump on it with a shirt.

OMG TORNADO by Mongo Angry! Mongo Smash!

Like I said, it was still a devastating event, as you’ll see from the video. Many homes were damaged and even destroyed. Yet, when you get a little excited and express yourself in true Pittsburghese, you have comedy gold. OMG TORNADO! More intense than a double rainbow.

3. Minecraft is a hell of a drug
My last post was dedicated to my newest addiction, Minecraft. Well, I can’t help but talk about this game. In fact, I have become so addicted to playing and watching the Yogscast videos that I now swear in a British accent whenever something happens to me. In fact, I have a tendency to look on my kid as she’s built a pretty amazing house out of blocks and say, “That’s a nice everything you have there. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’

Maybe this is where all my free time went to. Yes, I'm sure of it. Now, just one more block.

4. S#!t My Kid Says
One last thing about my kid. Apparently, she is learning how to use words to make bigger ones. We were coming home one night and the police showed up at my neighbor's house. As I was getting the little one out of the car she noticed the police officer standing on the neighbor's porch. Without missing a beat, she says, "Hey, What is that butthole doing over there?" That's not the best part. She knows to say butt instead of ass but she's never put it into a bigger word.

5.  Who the Hell is Kurt Russel?
Being 36, I am bound to transition into that state where I am working with people much younger than myself.  In my last job, I ended up reporting to people who were younger than I am.  I don't know.  Maybe it's the anti-authoritarian in me, but reporting to people younger than myself leads to a little less respect for them.  It's not that I disrespect their abilities or experience... OK, maybe it is.  It's just that I look at younger people and have a little bit of arrogance towards them.  That's my own problem, I guess.   It was especially at a company where I, not only, was older but had been in the company longer.

Still, I do what I can to help get the youth of America by culturing them when I can.  Sometimes they surprise me or show me something new, but in most cases I am showing them something old. 

Case in point, a coworker made the remark that she wanted to see Gone With the Wind because it was a classic.   Yes, it is a classic but that's not the only reason to see it.   If you are truly interested in movies, then by all means, see it.  It is part of the Golden Age of movies with grandeur all around it.  The sets, the sweeping music, the classic performances, and the history it brings.   But, sometimes, we use the word classic to dilution.  AMC shows Will Ferrell movies and they call them classics.

So, I suggested seeing a lot of movies that I would consider classic just to give some scope to the term.   This ended up leading to a conversation about John Carpenter.  John Carpenter has made some cult classics.  The Thing is one of my favorites with one of my favorite actors, Kurt Russell. 

AT this point, she said, "Who?"   I totally facepalmed on that statement.   She is 24 years old and has never seen The Thing, Escape From New York, Big Trouble in Little China, Tombstone, or even Overboard.   That is a travesty in and of itself.   So, I am going to lend her my copy of The Thing and we'll go from there.

Take care everyone.