Ramblings · of · a · Thinking · Entity

the superbowl was yesterday, which was a good game even if the wrong team won. it came down to the wire and had an exciting ending, even though i think there were some controversial calls throughout the game, and i can't believe they wouldn't review warner's final play to see if it was a fumble or an incomplete. with the superbowl on the line, you'd think they would take another look at it, especially since you know the cardinal's would have challenged had it not been within the 2 minute warning.

what was extremely disappointing, however, was the quality of the commercials. while i don't advocate watching the game simply for the ads, you have to admit, it has become a showcase for advertising, and this year wasn't that great. there were very few eye-catching ads this year, and even the ones that were weren't always for good reasons.

cheetos has decided to make chester cheetah a dirty old man who convinces women (no men yet) to get revenge on people who annoy them, mostly using cheetos. he's very creepy, and they never actually mention the word cheetos in the ad.

godaddy.com decided to just go with the sex angle, and by that i mean the sexist, gendered sex angle. lots of teenage boys ogling at attractive women in some form of undress, only to strategically jump to the screen for godaddy.com, saying the ad continues online, subtly warning that "web content is unrated." classy.

doritos had some funny ads, including one throwing a snow globe at a vending machine. that was funny, but went too long when it decided to ad a nut-shot at the end.

my favorite? the one second miller highlife spot. a warehouse full of the beer, with their main spokesman going "hah!" that's it. for anyone who's seen highlife's ad campaign, this was all that was needed. i think their campaign is particularly funny and enjoy their commercials, and so i enjoyed this little reminder of some quality advertising out there (if such a thing is possible).

ivar's half-second commercial was a bit of a flop, as the seagull pictured just looked like the afflack duck, and you couldn't really understand the spokesperson when he said "ivar's" it sounded more like a quack, which led me to wonder if ivar's had teamed up with afflack.

so that's my analysis. maybe this just proves that i watch too much TV. or that i analyze advertising way too much. but as someone who doesn't usually fall for the manipulation of most marketing, i do enjoy (somewhat) objectively analyzing marketing schemes to see what might work and what just looks stupid. and i do enjoy genuinely funny ads. they are turning into an opportunity for mini-sketch-comedy bits, and some people are working hard at them.

overall, however, i have noticed an increase in the amount of sexist themes and traditional gender-role reinforcement in far too many ads. this is discouraging and disappointing, as they really just make me feel sorry for the company, and whoever might be taken in by such marketing. these ads lower the bar, and most are, at best, cringe-worthy. watching these types of ads has left me with one of two conclusions. either our society is slipping backwards in terms of gender roles and sexism, or the marketing execs running the show THINK we are. either way, it's kind of sad.

that's my schpiel. feel free to ignore.

scott

that's pretty much it. i'm sure most of you knew that by now, and if you haven't heard me complain about my previous employment by a certain national chain bookstore (it rhymes with schmarnes and schmoble), you're hearing it now.

at first i wasn't quite sure. maybe it was just corporate bookstores, or maybe just the one, that sucked. after all, it's a pretty specific scenario when the national office is trying to use national book lists in deciding what seattle-area book buyers are going to want to read. (for example, if we had a bunch of books that weren't selling, even if they were really awful cheap-ass cookbooks, the solution wasn't to put out better books, or send back the crappy ones, but to put them in a more prominent location, so people would know they were supposed to buy them.) i mean, they can't all be that stupid, can they?

turns out, they can. i recently started training at another corporation, in a different field, and although i have only had on session, practically all the same crap is rearing it's ugly head. corporate speak, groupthink, zero flexibility in how things operate and the need to constantly plug the company are all rampant. (i'm neglecting to name the company because technically i'm still employed there. if that changes i'll let you know what it was.)

anyway, i'm having trouble with it. once training starts, the pay will be much better than my other job, but i think i may lose my soul. i almost lost it once with aforementioned bookstore, and i'd like to hold on to it until i'd get at least more than just a nicer paycheck. it's still just a part-time job, at that.

but, i've already said i'm going to give it another week, do all the prep-work and make an honest effort at the next training session (wednesday). but unless something miraculous happens and i feel much, much better about the company and the way they operate, that may be my last training session.

there were a few gag-worthy moments that i would love to share with you, but it might give the company away, so they will have to wait. (i'd have to make sure they don't violate the confidentiality agreement i signed anyway. that's right, i had to sign a confidentiality agreement. and i can't work for any competitor for a year. not that i'd want to.)

i'm sorry i ever complained about working at ACT theatre. i love that job.

A clip from last night's Colbert Report (it's not political, i swear):

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/212035/december-04-2008/nicholas-wade

This guy is talking about bringing back the woolly mammoth by, wait for it, using DNA found in fossils and filling in the gaps with elephant DNA. DOES THIS NOT SOUND FAMILIAR?

in earlier articles he was reported saying he thought they could be reintroduced in certain parts of siberia, which mirrors there previous climate. now, according to his stint on Colbert, he not only wants to bring back the woolly mammoth, but the saber-tooth tiger and NEANDERTHALS!!! he wants to bring back early relatives of humans!

but don't worry, he has it all worked out. they can recreate local flora to make them feel at home, and create a "Pleistocene Park" where we can observe them! I'm not kidding! watch the video! this man learned nothing from Jurassic Park! he's even ripping off the name! i bet he has plans for a big electric fence so they can't escape, and they will be all female so they can't breed, right?

this is a bad idea! since they seem to forget everything the wonderful Michael Crichton (may he rest in peace) has taught us, i give you the all-too-relevant words of Ian Malcolm:

"your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should"

i would also draw up his argument against the parallels of the condor as mentioned by John Hammond:

"this is not some species that was obliterated by deforestation, or the building of a dam. Dinosaurs [read: wolly mammoths] had their shot, and nature selected them for extinction"

Can somebody get that man to a bookstore or video store before he starts genetically engineering prehistoric creatures that won't know they are supposed to be for observation? please!

yeesh. i'm not going to siberia anytime soon, i can tell you that.

sarah palin's debate performance last night, although not disastrous, IN NO WAY proved she was qualified for the office of vice president, or especially president, of the united states.

all it proved was that she was well prepared for the debate. that's it. every bit of relevant information she said (and i mean relevant, i'm not talking glib remarks about soccer moms or middle-class alaska [she's worth 1.2 million...middle class? i don't think so]), everything relevant she said she had to learn specifically for the debate. Biden? he knew what he was talking about. Palin had to learn it all.

when you cram for a test and do well enough to pass (barely, in my opinion), it doesn't mean you know the material, it doesn't mean you did well in the class, it doesn't mean you'll remember it, and it sure as hell doesn't mean you're QUALIFIED TO TEACH THE CLASS!!!

winking at the camera doesn't work as well as you think, sarah.

and where the hell do you get off even mentioning women's rights?

lessee... with the financial crisis on the one hand, and the postponing (and then UNpostponing) of presidential campaigns on the other, AND questionable credentials and motives on a third, mysterious hand, this is the way i see it:

Rome is burning. the people are staring at the fire with two buckets in front of them: one of water and one of gasoline, and for some reason people are unsure about which bucket to use. almost half the country seems to be screaming: gas, baby, gas! oh, and those pulling for water apparently hate Rome.

am i the only one a little worried?

that's right, two separate but equal awesome things happened this week. actually in the past two days.

number one: michael phelps won his 8th gold medal in Beijing, making him the most prolific (i won't say greatest) olympian of all time, beating mark spits' record of 7 golds in a single games. the man is kind of amazing, and he's only 23. yeesh.

and number two: in a completely unrelated but totally as awesome turn of events, a friend of mine from the seattle gaels bought for me at our auction the coolest wedding present i could have ever thought of (sorry to those who thought that blender was a great idea). on thursday, august 21st, i will be throwing out the first pitch at the mariners' game! me! is that not awesome? so everybody should watch the game, especially the first part...

that's it for now. i know i haven't posted in forever, but i've been slightly busy with grad school residencies, physical therapy, wedding planning and the olympics (ok, that last one is kind of a weak excuse). to everyone coming to the wedding, see you next week!

to everyone else, hope to see you soon!

scott

in a matter of speaking.

for the fixing of my knee (you can read about the breaking of it in my last post) i will be undergoing arthroscopic surgery tomorrow afternoon. better than full surgery, but still stuff poked in and around my knee and less than fun. basically, as i understand it, they're going to poke a hole in my knee and stick a camera inside to look around, and then poke another hole in to stick in a device to suck out a piece of floating meniscus. sounds delightful.

after that, though, my knee will be relatively intact. i'll still have about half a dozen other tiny tears and sprains and bruises and will be no where near healed, but the "big" injury will be taken care of.

so that's it. i'm not thrilled about the idea, but i'm glad it's getting taken care of. at the very least, i'll be recovering much quicker than if i needed full blown surgery, so i probably won't spend my entire summer on crutches, just half of it. still no fun sports or activities, though.

think happy, knife-free thoughts and i'll update when i'm no longer sedated (probably about a month).

cheers,

scott

hello all.

my summer is screwed. officially. how you ask? well, read on.

as some of you may or may not know, for the last year or so i have been part of the seattle gaels, which is an irish sport and social club (i'm sure some of you are rolling your eyes already). anyway, i've been playing on the hurling team (for what hurling is, check out www.seattlegaels.com/faq), and last saturday, the 31st, we went up to Burlington, WA to play the vancouver harps at some hurling and gaelic football.

the day was going fine until i took a bad turn on my right leg, and my knee locked up. for those of you who were in my PE class in high school, you know this happened occasionally and usually disappeared quite quickly. anyway, this time i was unable to snap my knee back to normal like i used to be able to, but i managed to straighten it eventually and walk it out. that night we went to the brazil vs. canada soccer game at qwest field. overall a great day.

the next morning, however, i couldn't bend my right leg, and it couldn't really take any pressure. it didn't hurt exactly, but it felt like something was blocking the movement. bad news. so i went to the doctor and, two appointments and one MRI later, my summer is officially screwed.

the biggie is a tear in the lateral meniscus. that is the padding between ligaments and bone and stuff. the lateral is the outside one. there is also a slight tear on the medial meniscus (the inside one), a patellar retinacular sprain (that's the ligament that stretched over your kneecap), possible bone contusions and some joint effusion. also maybe a slight tear in my lower quadricep muscle. overall diagnosis = suck.

so now i get to go see a knee specialist and get surgery and be unable to walk for most of the summer. not to mention drive/bend my knee/sit in a normal chair comfortably.

that's all for now, i guess. i would think it's enough.

cheers,

scott

so just when we thought we were done, and had clogged the hole where they were getting in, another mouse shows up. we wearily put the trap out again, and caught another one the next morning. the excitement of catching the meese has long since gone and now i just want them to be gone.

so when another skirted the spice rack last night, rather than cleaning the traps again ( we now have a total of 3) i just taped a magazine up at the gap where they climb onto the counter. it seemed to have worked for the time being.

yay for laziness! if we can't catch the bastards, we can at least prevent them from getting on the counter. mission accomplished.

i guess there is probably another pipe-hole they are using, probably behind the water heater, meaning we'd have to remove it completely. phooey on that i say. let them have behind the cabinets. they can't get our food, and we don't see them. problem solved.

a very mouse-weary cheers,

scott

only one mouse last night, but it was a big capture.

this little guy has been escaping from our trap somehow, robbing our peanut butter and then prancing about on his merry way. something had to be done.

we went to the store and bought a new kind of trap (the kind we bought in salem, jess) with a locking door. no way to escape from than sucker!

we set two last night. this morning i found one shut, mousey inside, and the other with the door shut, flipped upside, moved 2 feet across the counter, and the door all chewed up and clawed at. but no mouse had been inside. our theory is that he accidentally triggered the door on one, then clawed and chewed trying to get in. he then went to the other one and got trapped. we'll see.

also, we pulled the huge stove and oven units out from the wall today to clean behind them. yeesh! mouse-poo city! anyway, we cleaned it all up and we're pretty sure we identified the hole they were using as a door to our kitchen, way back by our water heater. we plugged it with steel wool, which they don't like chewing on (tough on mousey teeth).

so between that and the capture of houdini, we'll see if we get any more tonight. i think it's close to being all wrapped up.

mouse tally so far: 21

one last night, and one this morning.

in response to your kindly suggestions, we've thought of that and thoroughly checked any possible entrance points. so far nothing. we think that there is a nest behind our dryer, or possibly under the stove piece, which we will confirm this weekend, when we pull the whole thing out to see what's up. my theory is that they were born there.

for those of you who don't know my house, the kitchen (where they live) is on the front side of the house. the backyard slopes down about 20-25 yards to a fence, where it then descends into a small ravine. great fun to play in, and very nature-y. a good place to release mice, and unlikely they would find their way back around to the front of the house and get back in.

you never know with mice, though...

as for me, the game grows a bit weary, and i will be glad when i don't have to clean mouse poop out of the trap anymore.

yeesh.

scott

so, our previous victory was cut short by the appearance of yet another mouse before the day was even done. this time, though, we were ready. we set the trap again, and waited.

the next morning i went to check the trap. i wasn't expecting anything since my dad had been tramping around for a couple of hours and i assumed he would have checked it. oops. i picked it up and thought, "this is way too light for a mouse to be in here..." oops again.

upon opening the trap, a little mousey nose immediately poked out and he leapt to freedom before scurrying under the dryer. steph later said she thought i had cut off my finger or something, judging from my startled howl. score one for mouses.

feeling rather sheepish (and now knowing how light mice can be) we reset the trap yet again, and put it back in their favorite position behind the microwave. last night while watching the mariners' game (which we won) we only saw one mouse go behind the microwave only to emerge unscathed, meaning she was too smart or too small for the trap. the rest of the night was quiet. too quiet...

flash forward to this morning. i go to check the trap and immediately notice the weight. success! another mousey trapped! i move the trap to the waiting shoebox for extra security and go out to the ravine bordering our backyard. i opened the trap and not one, but THREE mice jump out, one by one, to scurry away into the bushes.

i really felt kind of bad for them this time. the trap isn't that big, and the three of them were rather cramped. plus, they were all really dirty from being trapped together for so long (when mice are trapped, they tend to poop a lot). they looked scared and confused. :(

but, they're free now and living in the great outdoors, a vast improvement over our cabinetry. so, the total mouse tally is up to four, and the trap shall be cleaned and ready for tonight.

i wonder how many there are...

scott