It was Bourbon street ... but it wasn't.
The sounds were the same -- the loudness, the happiness, the drunkenness ... all building in swells to supplement the spilling-over of the music from the clubs.
The smells were the same -- alcohol punctuated by the occasional pungentness of piss, unless you were lucky to catch a food smell wafting on the wind.
The looks were the same -- they had clearly carefully reconstructed the streetscape with the lights and the signs and the balconies all reflecting off of the cobblestones.
The location, though, couldn't have been more different. This was OLD Orleans. Sure, it had been rebuilt on the shores of the Mississippi. But it wasn't the Mississippi RIVER any longer. This was the BAY of Mississippi, and it was the expanse of water that separated East America from West America -- a redrawing of the geography from after the New Madrid Quake of 2023, brought on as it was by uncontrolled fracking.
In my day -- back in the late 20-teens -- this would have been very far inland just a few miles south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. But between the earthquake and the general rise in sea levels, this recreated community was now a coastal city again, and its port of entry was heavily trafficked with goods and people like me.
And so it was that I found myself in 2084 walking down the Old Orleans version of Bourbon Street, barely stifling the urge to scream "laissez les bons temps rouler" at passersby.
Before leaving the yacht that had brought me here from the Florida Isles, Captain Sandy had given me instructions as to how to find my next handler. Being Bourbon Street, I wasn't shocked to learn that I was to find him in a gentleman's club. And even though I had been debriefed about how all sexual activity had been converted to virtual reality, I wasn't ready for the look of the strip club when I found it on a side street about a block away from Bourbon.
The man in charge of assigning out the booths looked me over very carefully.
"Show me your hands," he said, with a commanding voice that caught me off guard -- so much so, that I didn't respond nearly as quickly as he wanted.
"Your hands ... let me see ... how many fingers do you have?"
There was an urgency to his voice ... as to how I finally responded, you'll have to wait until the last day of the month next, as this month's Vitalnet update is nearly done. Until then, and as always, I remain Troy in 2084 -- known to a select few here as Ilion -- as brought to the future by t1a7n72.lif (my SQ, IQ and EQ files uploaded to the Vitalnet), communicating with you through the use of Troy in 2018's social media accounts during the monthly updates.
Stay safe!
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/28/18
Used in a sentence: "Who knew it was a mo?!" ('Cause, you know, it *already* works as a stand alone sentence.)
In my defense, I took German all through high school and college -- so maybe that's why I was surprised to hear someone recently (and correctly, despite my giggles otherwise) pronounce 'bon mot' as 'bon mo'. That's 'mo' as in the French 't' is silent ... 'mo' as is in the name of one of the stooges ... 'mo' as is Rocca or Gaffney. That's NOT 'mot' as in rhymes with hot ... but more like 'bon mo' that sounds more like 'bahn mi' than 'bon not'.
Lucky for me, I frequently offer bon mots without every having to introduce them with any kind of verbal announcement (i.e. "And now a bon mot from me ...") ... so I've gotten away with mispronouncing it in my head all these years. As such, let's face it, the answer to the aforementioned question as to "who knew it was a mo?!" is most definitely not me!
THE INTERNET CONFIRMS THE T IS SILENT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVRj1ypslGw
AND NOW SOME BON MOTS ABOUT WRITING:
http://writingnorthidaho.blogspot.com/2013/05/bon-mots-bon-mo-from-french-meaning.html
MMMMM ... BANH MIs!:
https://www.authenticfoodquest.com/banh-mi-best-vietnamese-sandwich/
Monday, February 26, 2018
Random Memorial for Monday 2/26/18
Note that the B is important, as that letter distinguishes this John Anderson from the John Anderson who was just a-swingin' on the front porch with Charlotte -- who is still alive (John, that is -- I don't know nothin' about Charlotte's post-swingin' life).
I should probably also clarify that this John Anderson (with the B) actually died in early December, but it took me a bit to catch up on the news ... and so, in typical fashion, I'm a bit late at my memorializing of the man.
Only in his passing did I see that there are both Chicago and FTL connections (two places I've called home in my adult life) in that he was born in Rockford and that he retired to be a part time resident here in Ft Lauderdale (half the year here and half the year in DC) and that he taught at a local law school for 20 some years.
The reason *I* knew John with the B? He was the first independent candidate for President that I can remember ... as an 8 year old in 1980 when John B got 7% of the vote (and no electoral college points ... 'cause electoral-college-politics and all). As the story goes, John B was upset that the Republican party was turning too far to the right (proof that even in pre-Facebook times, the challenges we all face today were actually a part of the ages), and so he struck out on his own. I can draw a through-line from John B to Ross (of Ross Perot fame), what with Ross being the first Presidential vote that this independent thinker I ever cast.
You who were my earliest memory of someone who recognized that our two party system is a tad broken ... you will be missed.
A BELATED RIP TO LOCAL BOY JOHN *B* ANDERSON:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/obituaries/fl-reg-john-anderson-prez-candidate-obit-20171206-story.html
HE DIDN'T MAKE THE TOP 10 LIST OF INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL PEOPLE:
https://people.howstuffworks.com/10-third-party-presidential-candidates.htm
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE ALIVE (AND SWINGING) JOHN ANDERSON:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvGaSu1XoF0
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/25/18
... still that shooting thing.
And to be clear -- don't mistake my flippancy in referring to it that way to mean any disrespect to the slaughtered seventeen ... or their surviving families.
It's just that now we've entered the "armchair" phase of dealing with the tragedy, where everyone who's never been in that situation starts to explain what they would have done had they been there ... and this time it's risen to the level of judging those first responders who *were* there but who didn't do what everyone in their armchairs think they should have. With the frequency with which these things happen, all you armchair folks can just wait your turn ... and I'll weigh your opinion more heavily after you've actually been through it (assuming, of course, you're one of the ones who survive).
I will say that the most interesting thing I might have seen in the aftermath this time (#neveragain #untilthenexttime) is an attempt to take the "guns don't kill people -- PEOPLE kill people" defense and to follow it through to its natural next level by saying that the things that desperately need to happen are measures of PEOPLE control and not gun control. Reframing. Language leadership. Take the crazies out with a simple twist of logic.
Regardless, it's still unbelievable to me that, in my generation, we've gone from Heston and his "pry it from my cold dead hands" rallying cry to scenarios on the regular where that which gets pried from cold dead hands are the cell phones of teenagers who were killed sending their final "I love you" texts to their mommas.
We can do better, America ... but we're going to need you to get up out the armchairs and to DO something. (PS ... they say all politics is local, so please research your local elections and plan to participate!)
MAYBE IT'S INDIVIDUALISTS VS COMMUNITARIANS:
http://bigthink.com/risk-reason-and-reality/the-gun-control-battle-its-not-about-guns-as-weapons-but-guns-as-symbols
THE SOUNDS A SHOOTING MAKES AFTERWARDS:
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/37511857/after-florida-shooting-phones-rang-unanswered-where-victims-fell
ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL:
https://www.usvotefoundation.org/local-elections-dates-2017
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/24/18
[note: as a reminder, I've given up ranting on Saturdays for Lent -- which means I reserve the right to slip a rant in to a post on any other day of the week, and I reserve the right to resume ranting on Saturdays in April]
... I couldn't be more pleased to announce that the Amaryllis has appeared again for its annual show of splendor.
Back in Chicago, where it was purchased at the Botanical Gardens in 2013 the Christmas before we left town for the big move to Florida, it was a holiday thing, pushing up its beautiful flowers for Thanksgiving, again for Christmas and a third time just before the move. Sadly, the stalk was crushed moving in to the first house ... but since then, it's bloomed just once each year between March and May for 2015, 2016 and 2017.
And now ... 2018 ... where the big question will be -- will we see TWO stalks and TWO flowers ... or will it be like last year, where there was a bonus set of leaves on the side. Stay tuned for the naming ceremony (after it gets a little taller) ... amaryllis, we await your beauty!
THE 2013 ANNOUNCEMENT:
https://capcognition.blogspot.com/2013/10/random-thought-for-thursday-102413.html
THE 2015 ANNOUNCEMENT:
https://capcognition.blogspot.com/2015/03/random-wordplay-for-wednesday-3415_4.html
THE FACEBOOK PHOTO ALBUM (IF YOU ARE MY FACEBOOK CONNECTION):
https://www.facebook.com/troy.neidermyer/media_set?set=a.10200367880079952.1073741833.1843633569&type=3
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Random Taste for Thursday 2/22/18
Here we go again for the 3rd year ... a brand new set of tastes for 2018 ...
here's the SEVENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Ethos Greek Bistro
Location: Wilton Manors
Website: https://www.ethosbistro.com/wilton-manors/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ethosgreekbistroWM/
TroyScore: 43 out of 50 -- aka 86, a B
THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/21/18
Used in a sentence: "After having reached a certain detente with the back yard arachnids, it does appear that the spiders are getting uppity again."
First, a disclaimer: I am not using "uppity" like a white pundit commenting on post-racial America does, so please allow me the use of this word.
Second, another disclaimer: After researching to make sure I *could* call spiders uppity without offending anyone, I found out that I probably shouldn't be saying "Hip Hip Hooray" any more, seeing as how the Nazis took that for their own phrasing to round up Jews during WWII (who knew?) ...
Third, yet another disclaimer: The back yard arachnids of which I am speaking are the tiny colorful crab spiders, as the giant Golden Orb weavers I've previously mentioned on the social media all left the area before/during/immediately after Hurricane Irma this past fall.
Fourth, a final disclaimer: once I put forth my official complaint (in a moment), it may make more sense to actually say that the spiders are getting down again.
Here's the issue. As someone who has already disclosed that I talk to the animals -- all the animals -- I had previously felt confident that I had an agreement with the spiders akin to zoning rules and regs that they were all free to web away as much as they wanted to so long as any webby creations were above 5'9 and 3/4" (my height before middle age wore me down and sloped my shoulders with the weight of modern living). However, within the last 24 hours, I've walked into at least three webs whilst executing my usual back yard related tasks.
So I don't know what's gotten them acting up (uppity?) ... but I'm going to blame 24 hour news (they do cause a lot of problems in modern society) and I'm going to have to hold a meeting tomorrow to put everyone in their respective places (and by places, I mean in all the airspace *above* my height). I'll let you know if I get any pushback (unless I get committed, of course, and then any updates will be dependent on whether the asylum has quality wifi).
SPIDERS MAY BE UPPITY, BUT THEY SURE AREN'T SLACKERS:
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151126-the-worlds-biggest-spider-web-can-span-an-entire-river
SURPRISE, YOU A RACIST:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html
LET'S JUST PUT EVERYTHING ON HOLD AND MARVEL AT NATURE:
https://www.thephotoargus.com/30-astonishing-photographs-of-spider-webs/
Monday, February 19, 2018
Random Memorial for Monday 2/19/18
Yep, the cassette version of this 1994 release has now found its way into the trash can -- not as some statement against auto-erotic asphyxiation but because we also already have the CD version of it in the music collection, and because, once you reach a certain age, you finally have to start (slowly) purging some of your things that already a quarter century old.
As is done in this series, a tune must be chosen to accompany this post. Being a child of the late 80's -- when MTV actually showed videos all day long -- the INXS song that instantly springs to mind for its distinctive Sesame-Street-style-word-learnin' visuals is 'Mediate' ... but it turns out that 'Mediate' is only on the Australian version of this particular compilation, and I've never set foot in that country.
So instead, I'll have to get all 1987 up in here and enjoy me something I would have danced around to back in the day with the radio turned way up -- aka a 'New Sensation' (New Sensation ... New Sensation ...):
Love baby love
It's written all over your face
There's nothing better we could do
Than live forever
Well that's all we've got to do
LET'S LIVE FOREVER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azfG5H-pCVg
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/18/18
Just another high school massacre -- just another day in modern America -- just another 17 lives gone in the flash of an automatic rifle wielded by a crazed man.
Or, you know, what we call Wednesdays nowadays.
Here's my personal challenge -- within me is an optimist who feels that the right words at the right time by the right people can inspire and motivate others to make a difference -- even if it is just one step at a time towards a better world. Also occupying that space, though, is an A-1 top-notch catastrophist (the we-are-living-in-apocalyptic-adjacent-times Jekyll to my glass-is-always-half-full Hyde).
Powering that Jekyll in this scenario is the fact that our collective inaction actually *caused* this -- that inability to do anything which implicitly gave our approval to the deaths of twenty six and seven year old a few years back in their elementary school -- the place where they should have been eating glue and staying safe from catching cooties on the playground -- instead of bleeding out next to their desks. Once we all shrugged that off as a society, we signed our own death warrants and converted our souls into expendable avatars in the world's worst video game of unending -- and almost completely randomized -- violence.
That Jekyll wants to grab the microphone to tell people that nothing will change, that everything will be argued and memed and shared throughout social media land ... and then forgotten until the next massacre registers, and that anything proposed to make any kind of headway won't make it into law. That Jekyll wants to advise modern day parents to be certain to not have only one child seeing as how families need to have some spares in the mix since schools (and concerts and movie theatres and malls and workplaces) aren't safe. That Jekyll wants to scream at Trump just like that high school girl did this weekend to tell the porn-star-stained-little-dicked-mistake-of-a-President to stay the hell away from the scene, as he is increasingly irrelevant and sure-as-shooting doesn't have the compassion/comforting gene in his constitution. And yes I damn straight said "sure-as-shooting" as the phrase seems all the more relevant since "random" shooting is precisely that any more -- an oxymoronic SURE thing.
That Jekyll gets angry and frustrated and wants to check out and to start building the compound for him and his to live in that will keep the insane world on the outside.
Then that Jekyll starts to get humanized by the heartbreaking stories like the one told by a former co-worker who said her young child explained to her that he prepares for tornado drills if a tornado ever strikes and active shooter drills for when the next madman arrives (note the choice of IF with regards to potential bad weather and WHEN with regards to the inevitable danger lurking nearby). Or the mother who learned that some active shooter training instructs students in the classroom to act a little crazy, throwing books at a shooter when being confronted face to face because causing a scene will buy time to give their schoolmates a better chance at having extra seconds to run away -- the assumption being that those in that first confrontation are already headed to death so why not prolong it by creating confusion in order to spare more people potentially in the path.
We can't give up on finding a solution.
We can't let the conversation die in the comments of the trolls on the web.
We have to "Hyde" this thing as best as we can.
We have to learn from the mistakes made (and if ever there was a case full of mistakes crying out for some learning -- where all the signs were there with the shooter giving every kind of advance notice that things would end this way -- this mass killing is it).
We have to support the children who survived who are planning to walk out on March 24th ... and who will hopefully keep on marching right into the leadership roles of those who are currently bribed to keep silent and stay inactive by the all-powerful lobby -- those for whom job-security has replaced any obligation to lead.
We have to find ways to do something to make progress on resolving the myriad of messy issues ... and if that means kicking people off the bus who jump immediately to the extremes and who are brainwashed into reciting talking points and who see "reasonable" as something bad ... then so shall they be banished to the land where they can just sit the f*ck down and shut the f*ck up -- all the damn day.
We have to do this.
And if we can't do this, then we have to step out the way and let the youth get it done -- or at least the ones who didn't get shot in the stomach during Algebra.
'Cause *that's* what happens now in this America we created. The America that the below 17 people left suddenly and tragically this week.
We have to do it for them (and for the hundreds that have now come before them for which we did nothing to date):
Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
Scott Beigel, 35
Martin Duque, 14
Nicholas Dworet, 17
Aaron Feis, 37
Jaime Guttenberg, 14
Chris Hixon, 49
Luke Hoyer, 15
Cara Loughran, 14
Gina Montalto, 14
Joaquin Oliver, 17
Alaina Petty, 14
Meadow Pollack, 18
Helena Ramsay, 17
Alex Schachter, 14
Carmen Schentrup, 16
Peter Wang, 15
THE FRUSTRATION:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/politics/congress-inaction-guns.html
THE MARCH:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-students-on-sunday-morning-tv-20180218-story.html
THE VICTIMS:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/us/florida-shooting-victims-school/index.html
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/17/18
[Note, as in years past, I'm going to choose to RAVE instead of RANT for every Sunday during LENT ('cause God and stuff). Although nobody tell the pope, who has gone on record claiming that there's an epidemic of "fake fasting" -- like people who "give up Facebook" for Lent, when that which you give up for Lent is supposed to "demonstrate compassion and enrich others" -- just in case my RAVING instead of RANTING isn't up to his standards. Me personally, I could never give up Facebook, *especially* during this season, as I'm still busy taking screen shots of all my Facebook connections who were Russian puppets reposting Putin's greatest hits during his "make America less democratic" campaign.]
... where was I? Oh right -- if the flowers on the mango tree in the back yard are a reliable prediction, we're going to have a bumper crop this year. (I think any final count above 6 that survive all the way to the refrigerator will be an improvement over last season.) Full disclosure, and to avoid being accused of spreading fake news myself, the second picture is the exact same tree, just shot from the backside, which clearly is suffering from a lack of sun (and therefore has a lack of flowers).By the way, whilst looking up the whole life cycle of the mango from blossom to fruit, I discovered that approximately 25% of those flowers are male ... and that the other 75% are likely hermaphroditic. So while we're keeping secrets from the pope, we should probably also not tell the Santorums and the Huckabees and the other "religious extremists, American edition" about the kinky mango tree in the backyard.
THE POPE IS WATCHING (AND JUDGING) ALL Y'ALL FAKE FASTERS:
http://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-02/pope-francis-homily-santa-marta-lent-fasting.html
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH OF A PUTIN PUPPET YOU WERE (ARE):
https://www.facebook.com/help/817246628445509?helpref=faq_content
MY TREE IS KINKY, YO ... AKA #SCIENCE:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/long-blossom-fruit-mango-tree-58667.html
Friday, February 16, 2018
Random Flashback for Friday 2/16/18
I'm pretty sure that this was the 4th of 5 years where I made that trek (or the 5th of 6 years?), and by this picture, I'm also pretty sure that this was the year I didn't bring any actors *with* me (although, as shown last time, I *did* bring along the little kitty that had just moved in) but that I had started working with actual campers to put on the weekend's activities (specifically these four young folk).
I'd have to dig deeper in the archives than just the 1998 photo album to uncover exactly which murdery Bible story was featured that year (David having Bathsheba's husband killed maybe?) -- but lucky for me, there's all kind of high drama and wanton violence in the Old Testament to keep a twisted mind like mine busy -- and to keep church campers entertained running through the woods in the cold trying to solve a murder.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Random Taste for Thursday 2/15/18
Here we go again for the 3rd year ... a brand new set of tastes for 2018 ...
here's the SIXTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Uncle Lui's Restaurant
Location: Sunrise
Website: http://uncleluisrestaurant.com/?home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Uncle-Luis-Restaurant-118161088199185/
TroyScore: 42 out of 50 -- aka 84, a B
THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/14/18
Used in a sentence: "As you may know, at the end of my last year, my job at my company was eliminated BUT I was lucky enough to have been placed in a new role with a new team in December ... thus necessitating me having the BI Talk with a bunch of new people."
I like to think that my company is pretty forward-focused -- it's based out of NYC after all, where all types of all kinds of all people are crammed onto a tiny tiny island. That being said, it's also a place where a good number of employees are in the remote workforce, which means your co-workers might come from any part of the country -- red, blue OR purple. The bottom line is that you never really know how tolerant and accepting and open-minded people will be.
Admittedly, working from home as I do means that I can mostly control the timeline for full disclosure of the status of things in my household. But every now and then, quite unexpectedly, someone might see something in the background of a hangout, or hear something during a conference call ... and so it's better to pre-wire co-workers for this type of conversation. I do what I can to find out if a person has strict views about there being only one right way to be ... and I'll admit to making some presumptions that things will be okay when I speak to those who are younger than I am as they seem to have a much more fluid approach to life in general.
Regardless ... eventually ... I have to prepare myself to get vulnerable and to go on record and to tell them: I am both a dog AND a cat person. It's true -- growing up, I've lived and loved both before ... and I currently am raising two of each. It's also true that there was a period of time in my 30's when it was all cats all the time, but that wasn't because I felt a stirring in my soul to label myself one way or the other -- it was just a factor of living in a small apartment that wouldn't be suited for big dogs.
I am not exclusively a dog person. I am not exclusively a cat person. I am bi.
I'll end this post the same way I conclude the BI Talk any time I have it -- "discard any preconceived notions about me based on what you *think* I like ... don't you dare try to put me in one of your boxes 'cause I promise you that I don't fit ... and open you mind to the possibility that love doesn't have to be so limited to be restricted to only one kind -- some of us have ALL the love to give ... and the giving of love should really be the #lifegoals for all of us."
THE DOG PEOPLE STEREOTYPE:
https://barkpost.com/dog-people-stereotypes/
THE CAT PEOPLE STEREOTYPE:
https://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/1011433-8-cat-person-stereotypes-totally-true/
FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE BI:
https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/both-a-cat-and-dog-person/
Monday, February 12, 2018
Random Memorial for Monday 2/12/18
Note: if it's been a minute since you last found yourself perusing a Strunk and White grammar manifesto, the oxford comma is, at its base, the last comma in a list of things. So it's the difference between a, b and c and a, b, and c. Me, personally, I'm not an Oxfordian regarding commas in my lists ... but, let's face it, I also have bigger grammar fish to fry with my over-reliance on ellipses and double-dashes, my over-use of partial sentences that start with conjunctions and my over-dependence on interrupting my flow with ([{braces} inside of brackets] inside of parentheses).
Regardless, this post isn't about me and my issues. It's about a dairy company in Maine who just settled an overtime case with its drivers to the tune of 5 million dollars. The legislature there had decided that companies did NOT have to pay overtime in the following situation:
The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:
(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.
At issue was whether overtime was exempt for the distribution of the three things (which the drivers did) or for the packing for the distribution of the three things (which the drivers didn't do). The drivers wanted their overtime so they argued that the missing comma clearly meant that it was only the packers and not the distributors who weren't eligible for overtime. The court ruled it wasn't clear enough, and so the dairy company paid up. And then the legislature "fixed" things by replacing all the commas with the most feared punctuation mark (as follows):
The canning; processing; preserving;, freezing; drying; marketing; storing; packing for shipment; or distribution of:
(1) Agricultural produce;
(2) Meat and fish products; and
(3) Perishable foods.
Commas that cost a heck of a lot of cash -- at least in Maine where you've been replaced by semi-colons to avoid future payouts -- you will not be missed.
THE MOST EXPENSIVE COMMA EVER?:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.html
A QUICK PRIMER ON THE OXFORD COMMA:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/what-is-the-oxford-comma-and-why-do-people-care-so-much-about-it/
#GRAMMARLIVESMATTER:
https://www.vappingo.com/word-blog/40-ridiculously-cringeworthy-mistakes-that-prove-punctuation-does-matter/
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/11/18
You know. Just the usual. Just another man shot dead -- but this time at the big intersection only a few blocks away.
Lest you start worrying for me, it was 16 blocks away -- at a gas station/restaurant combo at the corner of Broward and Powerline. But it was at 2pm in the afternoon ... and it is an intersection through which I've walked when I go downtown for events on Saturdays. (Note to self: change that route next time I'm coming home from a festival.)
The news stories make it seem like it was targeted -- a black SUV pulled up in the parking lot and shot a 46 year old "who was trying to get his life back on track", so one presumes that something from his past was still in play ... although an innocent bystander (who "was selling CDs in the parking lot") was also caught in the crossfire -- not fatally so.
Coincidentally, today also marks the four year anniversary of leaving behind one of the deadliest cities in the country (although kudos to Chitown for ONLY having 650 murders last year [a 15% reduction]) ... and with the FTL (the place to which we moved) having been named the least safe city in America by WalletHub (although for a list of criteria that goes beyond murders), it does make me wonder if death and destruction follow me ... or if it's just this way everywhere.
In the meantime, though, I'm going to continue to not make eye contact and to practice my duck and cover. Stay safe out there!
THE LOCAL MURDER STORY!:
https://wsvn.com/news/local/1-killed-1-injured-in-shooting-at-fort-lauderdale-shell-station/
CONGRATS CHICAGO ON ONLY 650!:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/01/01/chicago-ends-2017-650-murders-grim-sign-improvement/994281001/
OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article187940169.html
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/10/18
... in our tribalistic political society, one needs to be prepared for the fact that there will be leaks -- including on things as mundane and routine as the "Oval Office" dress code.
It didn't take long last year for the first item on the chalk board to become the controversy of the moment only a year ago (and, to be fair, with the speed at which Trumpian controversies are delivered, no one will blame you for forgetting that #dresslikeawoman was one of the first commandments on the Trump tablet).
As for the second item, I'm not entirely clear if that was ever revealed publicly ... but that's probably because they shut Billy Bush up pretty quickly. All the same, it just stands to reason that no one wants to let fabric get in the way of the new Presidential handshake for those with female parts, so women at the White House were all but certainly advised to have a Frederick's of Hollywood account.
Which brings us to the latest leak (and no, that's not a veiled reference to Russian water sports). As someone who frequently chooses these, sartorially speaking, there's a part of me concerned that staffers are now being let go for their affinity toward wifebeaters (or is that wifebeating?). Unless, of course, it's on the "I put my cigarette out on her face" variety of wifebeating, as that's just disgusting.
Side rant -- let's quickly review the difference between shock and outrage. Everyone not on the Trump train is allowed to be OUTRAGED by all of these allegations. But the time for being SHOCKED by what the PresiDOLT does has passed.
Side side rant -- Commandant Kelly, please please please remove yourself BEFORE the upcoming mandated military march.
Side side side rant -- as Omarosa herself has warned us, "it's going to NOT be ok".
IN CASE YOU FORGOT ALL ABOUT #DRESSLIKEAWOMAN:
https://www.indy100.com/article/president-donald-trump-dress-like-a-woman-comment-artist-jet-nijkamp-7945946
IN CASE YOU ARE A FEMALE WITH WHITE HOUSE ASPIRATIONS:
https://www.fredericks.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5rmHxsyc2QIVFCOBCh0XYgk-EAAYASAAEgK10fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
BECAUSE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS NOT FUNNY:
http://www.thehotline.org/
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Random Taste for Thursday 2/8/18
Here we go again for the 3rd year ... a brand new set of tastes for 2018 ...
here's the FIFTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Over Easy Cafe
Location: Oakland Park (Wilton Manors)
Website: http://www.overeasy.me/home.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Over-Easy-Cafe-76681947405/
TroyScore: 41 out of 50 -- aka 82, a B
THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 2/7/18
Used in a sentence: "A&E's real life prison experiment '60 Days In' has replaced Sesame Street for its educational expertise ... at least so much so that I learned that the whippets that were going around when I was younger have been replaced with new (and improved?) prison whip-its"!
Note -- it appears that the interwebs aren't clear as to exactly how the drug version is spelled: whether it's like those cute long legged dogs or whether it's more like the cans of whipped cream from whence the little nitrous oxide canisters once came (or so I've been told).
Regardless, as near as I can find, the recipe for this kind of questionable illegal activity (although, from the show, it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for the jailfolk) is to make prison taffy but to slip crushed up medicine into it that they "cheek'd" instead of swallowed at the drug lineup.
And now you know ... just in case you find yourself locked up and offered some "candy". You're welcome!
IN CASE YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE SHOW:
http://previously.tv/60-days-in/so-inmates-can-just-scream-drug-invitations-down-the-60-days-in-tier-now/
IN CASE YOU'RE MAKING SOME PRISON CANDY (WITH OR WITHOUT THE EXTRAS):
https://www.facebook.com/SwapYourRecipes/posts/384547045012246
IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE CLASSIC WHIP-ITS:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-whip-its
Monday, February 5, 2018
Random Memorial for Monday 2/5/18
So goodbye to the tape version of the last release before Bobby Brown ruined everything ("Bobby!" ... and if you read that internally as that time she bellowed from the bathroom to have him come help her with her constipation problem, then kudos to you!) ... and for the song I choose, it's her last best chanteuse tune ... 'Until You Come Back'.
Come for her full throated magic ... and stay for the modulation that really sells it ... and honor her last chanteuse moment ... a moment that is truly missed.
I WON'T GIVE YOU UP!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrnhF-iHkRk
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 2/4/18
the 52'nd big game (of course)!
I know this for sure because when I picked up the Sunday paper this morning at my local 7-11, the Ukrainian lady behind the counter asked me if I would be watching and for whom I would be cheering. When I said that I grew up in PA so I felt for the Eagles, she gave me a high five. (Mind you, this is the same lady who always calls me sweetie and whom I called out for cheating on me when I heard her call another customer by the same name ... so it might be that I would have gotten a high five regardless of which team I said 'cause she makes everyone feel good.)
The reality for me is that I max out at football when I watch Penn State on Saturdays in season and do not profess too strong an allegiance to any of the NFL teams (although, what with me being from PA, I wouldn't mind a "turnpike" Super Bowl one of these years between both PA teams). I should probably go on record to state that my boycott of the NFL is inadvertent and is not tied to any comment on the controversy that keeps the part time occupant of the White House up at night. Now I will say that those who protest those who protest are ultimately supporting the right of those they protest to protest seeing as how they are exercising their right to protest those who protest -- which gives legitimacy to the right to protest in the first place. So they are basically simultaneously supporting AND protesting the original protest. There's a part of me that wants to troll the social media for all those who said they'd boycott the NFL but yet are offering commentary on this evening's goings-on -- but trolling is soooo last year (and besides, I'm convinced that trolls act out due to an inability to deal with their small appendages [exhibit A: the part time occupant of the White House] and I don't fit that profile.)
So anyways -- congrats in advance to whichever team pulls out all the stops in the game they'll be playing between all the commercials I'll be watching ... whilst I'm eating some homemade tropical guacamole (traditional guacamole with some mangoes thrown in for good measure) and tex-mex style fajitas ('cause my annual work trip at this time of year was cancelled, which means the tradition of piggybacking off of it to "chase the Super Bowl" is on an indefinite hold ... and since me and mine can't be in Houston tonight for the show [the site of last year's game], we're bringing a little bit of Houston here. Who knows if we'll make it to Minneapolis next year ...)
Have fun ... stay safe ... and keep the rioting to a minimum please!
THE CONTROVERSY CONTINUES:
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/2018/02/03/opinion-attention-turn-again-national-anthem-during-super-bowl/1074825001/
THE TROPICAL GUAC RECIPE (FOR THE MOST PART):
https://harrytv.com/hungry-girl-lisa-lilliens-guilt-free-recipes/
IF THE TRADITION RETURNS NEXT YEAR, WE'LL BE IN MINNEAPOLIS IN WINTER:
https://travel.usnews.com/Minneapolis_MN/Things_To_Do/
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Random Soapbox for Saturday 2/3/18
... there's something about that Gain advertisement that bothers me.
NOTE: What with the big game this weekend and the fact that many many folks tune in just for the commercials and the halftime show, it seemed like an appropriate time to rant against a spot that's currently on the air.
NOTE to the NOTE: In retrospect, there are a lot of my weekly rants that focus on advertisements (don't get me started on those cartoon bears who discuss the shitballs sometimes left in their fur when they use the wrong toilet paper) ... but in case you missed it, my name is Troy and I'm a TV addict -- which means that sometimes I'm just forced to be captive to the whims of the denizens of Madison Avenue.
DISCLAIMER: Whilst searching for an image and the links to accompany this post, I discovered that there are others who also consider this ad to to be distasteful ... but it appears that they are mostly homophobes who seem to be triggered by the appearance of a unicorn in a national ad.
Anyways ... back to my concern. I understand that, generally speaking, whatever happens underneath the animal outfit STAYS underneath the animal outfit, but I still find it creepy that the back half's potentially unpleasant experience is "saved" by the fact that he can't help but start sniffing all around the butt of his unicorn-partner and that he's transported to a happier place because said top ... I mean "front" ... used Gain to wash his clothes. And I'll tell ya -- what pushes me over the edge isn't necessarily that the bottom .. .I mean "back" ... finds himself in a fresh smelling situation, it's just the way that guy grabs a hold of the clothes in his face and takes a big "hit" as if he was a teenager sniffing glue in his friend's garage.
All I'm saying is that SURELY there are better ways to get this message across ...
THE AD IN QUESTION:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFv4EdAukY
SPEAKING OF BAD COMMERCIALS AND THE AFOREMENTIONED BIG GAME:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/14647105/ranking-10-worst-super-bowl-commercials-15-years
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE JUST WATCHING FOR THE IN-BETWEEN FUN:
https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/super-bowl-commercials-video-ad-list-watch-eagles-patriots
Friday, February 2, 2018
Random Flashback for Friday 2/2/18
Since Mauler Jean was newly in the family and not even yet a year old, for this particular trip, she got to go along and hang out in the Aframe cabin (as blurrily pictured). Considering she was found abandoned in the woods of Gretna ... hanging out in the woods up there for the weekend was probably like a little homecoming of sorts for her. Either way, she made herself right at "home" as honorary church camp cat that year.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
JUST ONE MORE ... love quote (February 2018)
JUST ONE MORE ... love quote.
It's the old "you are what you eat" rewritten for modern times -- "you are the social media you consume".
Since the whole mission of this concept is to embrace incremental change in order to empower folks (or just me) to stay positive and solution-focused in a day and age where problems often seem insurmountable, control often seems out of reach and apathy often seems to be running rampant ... it makes sense to put some love back out into the world to balance the hate (which also occasionally originates from me). Is there a better pairing of concept and month then "love" with February? (Although, let's face it -- there really wouldn't be anything lost by pairing "love" with *every* month.)
Over on the Facebook, I'll post some of my favorite love quotes in my weekly reminders ... and the challenge is that you go looking for the same on the regular this month to keep your social media diet love-focused. To kick things off, here's some of the wisdom from Pooh: "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most space in your heart."
Things will get better, one step at a time ... with just one more ... love quote.
Random Taste for Thursday 2/1/18
Here we go again for the 3rd year ... a brand new set of tastes for 2018 ...
here's the FOURTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA
(coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!
Establishment: Ikea Restaurant
Location: Sunrise
Website: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/sunrise/Food_Restaurant
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IKEASunrise/
TroyScore: 38 out of 50 -- aka 76, a C
THE FULL REVIEW (AND ALL THE PHOTOS) CAN BE FOUND HERE:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)