whatever
Stuff I Don't Care About
May 12, 2010 - 6:58pm | MelvixDie Antwoord
iPad
Tiger Woods
Survivor
Sarah Palin
Disneyland
Twitter
Michael Jackson
Lindsay Lohan
Harder to come up with this list than you would think. It's like not imagining an elephant.
A 7 Step No-Waffle Plan for Real World Success
May 1, 2010 - 7:39am | Melvix
Not the usual kind of thing we post here, but I've had this in my bookmarks for over a year and every time I go back to it I think it seems like solid advice.
A Collection a Day, 2010
April 18, 2010 - 4:38pm | Cristy
As a person with too many things and too many collections, I am intrigued by Lisa Congdon's blog, A Collection a Day, 2010. Some things I covet while others do nothing for me. But isn't that really the crux of the collection? What matters is what the collection evokes or conjures for you, not its monetary value or relevance to anyone else. I picked something related to sewing but I promise there is something for everyone!
March Madness
March 18, 2010 - 8:34am | Melvix
My friend Eddie convinced me last night to participate in the March Madness thing. Here's my bracket. Eddie says that you've got to be a goddamn fool not to pick UNM to win.
Banned words for 2010
January 5, 2010 - 11:01am | MelvixA list of words and phrases that you should stop using, in print and speech. From Lake Superior State University.
My favorites:
- App (should be killed)
- Bromance (as deplorable as "man-date")
- In these economic times (enough said)
Ready for December!
December 4, 2009 - 12:46pm | CristyWhile I have been posting about some really inspiring, inventive, funny and skilled embroidery work, you may have noticed I have not had many recent projects of my own. What gives?
My current priorities list now includes: reading books on cancer, learning to be a vegan, and making arrangements for surgery. Sewing has taken a back seat to health-related activities and watching all the past episodes of Lost. While I have not learned any new sewing techniques this past month...
I did learn a few things this November:
Black coffee tastes good.
You need a flamethrower to melt vegan cheese.
Vegan carrot cake is delicious!
Don't waste time doing crap you don't want to do.
Spend more time with your friends and family.
Yep. Enough said.
The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to “The Office”
October 16, 2009 - 5:44pm | MelvixThe clueless resolve this dissonance by choosing to believe in the reality of the organization. Not everybody is capable of this level of suspension of disbelief. Both Ricky Gervais (David Brent) and Steve Carrel (Michael Scott) play the brilliantly-drawn characters perfectly. The most visible sign of their capacity for self-delusion is their complete inability to generate an original thought. They quote movie lines, lyrics and perform terrible impersonations (at one point Michael goes, “You talking to me?” a line he attributes, in a masterful display of confusion, to “Al Pacino, Raging Bull“). For much of what he needs to say, he gropes for empty business phrases, deploying them with staggering incompetence. When Michael talks, he is attempting, like a child, to copy the flawless buzzspeak spoken by sociopaths like Jan and David Wallace. He is oblivious to the fact that the sociopaths use buzzspeak as a coded language with which to simultaneously sustain the (necessary) delusions of the clueless and communicate with each other.
From a The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to “The Office” by Venkatesh Rao. Brilliant.
Tony & the stamps
March 31, 2009 - 3:22pm | MelvixWhen I went to the post office today to check my PO box, Tony, one of the clerks there, called my name.
"Did you lose some stamps?" he said. In fact I had lost some stamps, about a month ago, right after buying them. I figured they fell out of my pocket on the way home and that I'd seen the last of them.
"I did lose some stamps!" I said.
He handed me an envelope with my name printed on it, containing a sheet of stamps. "Somebody turned them in. I've been holding them for you in case I saw you," he said.
Someone waiting in line said, "Now that's service."
Made my day.
You're a fool to buy that new car, and I won't go the movies with you (unless you're paying)
June 22, 2008 - 12:00pm | MelvixOne of my most cherished and long-standing chestnuts is this one: How in the hell are all these people who buy new cars affording them? You see new cars everywhere (especially, in my neck of the woods, those awesome new Mustangs). Cristy and I make a reasonable amount of money: we can't afford a new car. But you can? What's your secret? Are you an oil tycoon? Are you one of the ten richest kings of Europe? Will you give me $20,000 if I ask nicely?
There is no secret, though, is there? You're not an oil tycoon. You're not a millionaire. You're probably not even a thousandaire. No, you're in debt up to your eyeballs. You were able to afford a new car because you borrowed the money. You borrowed money, which you will pay interest on, to buy something that loses a huge chunk of its value the second you sign the papers. Good job!
Don't get me wrong: I envy your new car. I truly do. I bet it smells nice inside. But I do not envy your debt. But hey, that's between you and your god, isn't it, you sexy thing in your new car which I cannot afford. I couldn't afford your car if I bought it used.
But the reason I bring all this up is because I have a new gripe: Movie ticket prices. Which have gone up to $10 a pop at my local theater.
You're probably going to drive your new car to the movies this weekend, right? Yes, you are! And you're going to shell out $10 for your ticket to see "The Incredible Hulk."
Ten dollars. For one movie. That doesn't even include snacks.
You've got $10 in your pocket in any case, probably more, so you don't have to take out a loan to go to the movies. That's lucky. Even I could afford that. But you know what? I don't want to pay $10 for a movie. Five dollars: OK. Eight dollars: It's starting to sting. Nine dollars: This movie better be the best movie ever made. Ten dollars: Are you fucking kidding me?
$10 buys an album on iTunes. $10 buys a meal at a Mexican restaraunt. $10 will rent three DVDs at your local chain video rental ripoff store. $10 will buy a lot of things, but is the privilege of seeing Hulk smash things on a large screen really worth $10? No. It is not.
