Whose Genius Idea was This?
I caught a blurb on TV regarding some finance show that was coming on. They were going to discuss the terrible state of consumer credit debt, followed by the spectacular sea cruises that you really shouldn't miss. Hmmmm.... An interesting mixed message there. Either the producers are completely clueless or they've got a splendid sense of humor.
This Week's Weather
Yesterday it snowed. It started Tuesday afternoon but the ground wasn't cold enough for it to really stick to the roads. I don't know if it snowed all night or not. It must have snowed some because there was more snow on the ground when I got up, including a nice fluffy layer on the deck. It continued to snow yesterday during the morning. Fairly big fluffy flakes, but no accumulation to speak of on the ground. Not even enough for a golf ball-sized snowball. Today the temperature was in the 50s and sunny.
Neighborhood Clean-Up
The fire station is completely gone now. All the debris has been hauled away. Tree crews have cut up and hauled away nearly all of the damaged trees. I have gotten several flyers about fixing storm damage to my roof, siding and gutters. Of course I don't actually have any damage to my roof, siding and gutters, but there are plenty of houses in the neighborhood which are missing shingles. Oddly enough, many of these houses were missing shingles when I moved in over eighteen months ago. It amazes me that the homeowners haven't gotten them fixed. It would drive me nuts to be missing shingles for even just a few weeks without having them repaired.
Quote for the Day
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
Note: if you need to have a "Nasty Jar" where you put money every time you say something nasty or unkind about someone, you may fit in the "small" category. Someone may do something stupid or wrong or something that you disagree with or something that you merely do not like, but that doesn't make the person stupid or bad. I can dislike what someone does without disliking the person and disagree with someone without finding them disagreeable as a person. There are many people in this world for whom I have a great deal of respect, but who do things I think are idiotic or wrong or simply not to my taste. Degrading someone and turning their mistakes into personal attributes reflects badly upon you, not them. Now, I'm not going to say that I don't ever gripe about someone's apparent stupidity, but I try to keep it at a minimum and I make every attempt to not label someone with their shortcomings. I hate it when that sort of thing happens to me, so I really try to avoid doing it to other people. I guess the rule of thumb I use is either whether or not I'd want to be treated that way coupled with whether or not whatever comments I have are serving a positive, constructive purpose. If the answer to either set of conditions is no, then I probably shouldn't be saying it.
The TV Avoidance Experiment
I did successfully not watch TV on Saturday, except for when I watched a DVD with a friend who was having a rough day. On Sunday I watched part of the Red Carpet parade for the Oscars and then the awards ceremony itself. For all that I have very little sense of style myself, it can be very entertaining to watch what the stars wear to big events like the Oscars. Nothing terribly outrageous this year. I thought Anne Hathaway was probably the most stunningly gorgeous. Her red gown set off her pale skin and dark hair beautifully. It was just the right shade of red for her. I wasn't sure I liked the gown Tilda Swinton wore, though I do admire her for not submitting to the mega hair/make-up drill. She does have gorgeous red hair and the short cut suits her features. Renee Zellweger's new short haircut apparently annoyed her and didn't look very good on her either. I don't know if it was the wrong length or the wrong shape or both. Colin Farrell brought his mother to the awards as his "date" and Viggo Mortensen brought his (early teenage?) niece. I thought that was very kind of each of them. They all looked like they had fun.
The Oscar award show itself was mediocre, for all that it was the 80th anniversary. I really expected something a bit more gala and with a bit more emphasis on what has gone before. The show didn't drag on as much as it has in the past and the thank yous were fairly short, but the monologues weren't as humorous as they have been. I don't know if that's a feature of the recent writers strike and having to pull things together at the last minute or if it was just an off year. I don't think Jon Stewart did a particularly bad job. I was highly amused by Colin Farrell's running slide up to the podium after he found a slick spot on the stage. I love watching grown-ups turn into little kids. Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) did a great job of introducing the special effects awards and did a convincing job of telling us that a certain 8 year old really thought the face melting scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark was REAL, though he has since gotten over it.
TV avoidance will resume again Friday evening and be rescinded Sunday evening. The only exception will be possibly watching a DVD. (I don't think DVDs are quite like television since I get to select the programming and there are no commercials.)
This Week's Weather
Yesterday it snowed. It started Tuesday afternoon but the ground wasn't cold enough for it to really stick to the roads. I don't know if it snowed all night or not. It must have snowed some because there was more snow on the ground when I got up, including a nice fluffy layer on the deck. It continued to snow yesterday during the morning. Fairly big fluffy flakes, but no accumulation to speak of on the ground. Not even enough for a golf ball-sized snowball. Today the temperature was in the 50s and sunny.Neighborhood Clean-Up
The fire station is completely gone now. All the debris has been hauled away. Tree crews have cut up and hauled away nearly all of the damaged trees. I have gotten several flyers about fixing storm damage to my roof, siding and gutters. Of course I don't actually have any damage to my roof, siding and gutters, but there are plenty of houses in the neighborhood which are missing shingles. Oddly enough, many of these houses were missing shingles when I moved in over eighteen months ago. It amazes me that the homeowners haven't gotten them fixed. It would drive me nuts to be missing shingles for even just a few weeks without having them repaired.
Quote for the Day
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
Note: if you need to have a "Nasty Jar" where you put money every time you say something nasty or unkind about someone, you may fit in the "small" category. Someone may do something stupid or wrong or something that you disagree with or something that you merely do not like, but that doesn't make the person stupid or bad. I can dislike what someone does without disliking the person and disagree with someone without finding them disagreeable as a person. There are many people in this world for whom I have a great deal of respect, but who do things I think are idiotic or wrong or simply not to my taste. Degrading someone and turning their mistakes into personal attributes reflects badly upon you, not them. Now, I'm not going to say that I don't ever gripe about someone's apparent stupidity, but I try to keep it at a minimum and I make every attempt to not label someone with their shortcomings. I hate it when that sort of thing happens to me, so I really try to avoid doing it to other people. I guess the rule of thumb I use is either whether or not I'd want to be treated that way coupled with whether or not whatever comments I have are serving a positive, constructive purpose. If the answer to either set of conditions is no, then I probably shouldn't be saying it.
The TV Avoidance Experiment
I did successfully not watch TV on Saturday, except for when I watched a DVD with a friend who was having a rough day. On Sunday I watched part of the Red Carpet parade for the Oscars and then the awards ceremony itself. For all that I have very little sense of style myself, it can be very entertaining to watch what the stars wear to big events like the Oscars. Nothing terribly outrageous this year. I thought Anne Hathaway was probably the most stunningly gorgeous. Her red gown set off her pale skin and dark hair beautifully. It was just the right shade of red for her. I wasn't sure I liked the gown Tilda Swinton wore, though I do admire her for not submitting to the mega hair/make-up drill. She does have gorgeous red hair and the short cut suits her features. Renee Zellweger's new short haircut apparently annoyed her and didn't look very good on her either. I don't know if it was the wrong length or the wrong shape or both. Colin Farrell brought his mother to the awards as his "date" and Viggo Mortensen brought his (early teenage?) niece. I thought that was very kind of each of them. They all looked like they had fun.
The Oscar award show itself was mediocre, for all that it was the 80th anniversary. I really expected something a bit more gala and with a bit more emphasis on what has gone before. The show didn't drag on as much as it has in the past and the thank yous were fairly short, but the monologues weren't as humorous as they have been. I don't know if that's a feature of the recent writers strike and having to pull things together at the last minute or if it was just an off year. I don't think Jon Stewart did a particularly bad job. I was highly amused by Colin Farrell's running slide up to the podium after he found a slick spot on the stage. I love watching grown-ups turn into little kids. Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) did a great job of introducing the special effects awards and did a convincing job of telling us that a certain 8 year old really thought the face melting scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark was REAL, though he has since gotten over it.
TV avoidance will resume again Friday evening and be rescinded Sunday evening. The only exception will be possibly watching a DVD. (I don't think DVDs are quite like television since I get to select the programming and there are no commercials.)
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