Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpPSBzGEklE
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Eye Candy - Chicago at Dusk
This was the view from the ice rink at Millenium Park at dusk one evening last week. Looking Northwest from the park towards the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street. Thanks to a little fog and mist in the air, the sky was looking pretty cool.Friday, February 24, 2012
If You See Something, Say Something
Before you read on, stop for a moment and look at your hands. Are they clean? Now think back to the last time you washed them. Are they really clean? Are they sanitary? Would you go to your kitchen right now and make a sandwich, touching the bread, meat, cheese, plate and utensils without washing your hands first? Your answer should be “No, I would like to wash them again!" Since the last time I used the restroom and then washed my hands, I have touched my computer keyboard and mouse, my hair and face, at least two doorknobs, the oven handle and a dishtowel in my kitchen, and pushed my glasses up on my nose at least twice. Not so clean now.
Food borne illnesses are far more common than you think. How many times have you eaten and then had some sort of unpleasant gastro-intestinal episode afterwards? Have you ever had food poisoning? Maybe you’ve had an e. coli or salmonella infection and didn’t know it, or maybe you did know. Chances are you’ve had a bad experience with a restaurant that you refuse to ever visit again.
Next time you have the chance and feel like being grossed out, do what I just did - a search on your computer about how many illnesses you can contract from food. Many of them are due to poor food handling such as cross-contamination and improper cooking/cooling/holding temperatures and procedures. The rest of them could have been prevented if the food handler had washed their hands after using the restroom.
The reason that this is on my mind right now is that I recently visited a restaurant that I eat at pretty regularly. Before eating, I stopped in the restroom to wash my hands. While I stood at the sink doing that, I witnessed one of the waitresses walk out of the stall and straight out the door without washing her hands. She also pulled the door handle without using a paper towel, as I always do in public washrooms. I cannot imagine how many disgusting little germs she took with her to pass on to her poor, unsuspecting customers.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve seen this happen in a restaurant - or in any public restroom for that matter. We’ve all seen it, we’re all (almost all, I suppose) pretty disgusted by it, but what are we going to do about it? I told the restaurant manager what I saw, and since the young woman gave me dirty looks every time she passed through the dining room (I still ate there, but requested a different waitress), I feel confident that the manager addressed it with her right away.
I have been told that I should have not said anything, just left and eaten elsewhere, and minded my own business. Really? Because it IS my business. What if someone got sick that day because of that young woman? If I get e. coli or salmonella poisoning (the two most common illnesses you can contract from food preparers who haven’t washed their hands after using the restroom) I’m going to get pretty sick. Diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, all kinds of fun stuff, but survivable. But the elderly and small children are much more likely to get very sick and are far more likely to DIE from these illnesses.
That’s right…DEAD, forever, because some disgusting pig couldn’t take a MINUTE out of their life to wash their hands. That should be everyone’s business. Would you stop someone from bullying a kid or pushing around a grandmother? Then you should say something when you see someone putting innocent people at risk for DEATH.
That is why we still see those signs in public bathrooms: EMPLOYEES MUST WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE RETURNING TO WORK. Why do we still need to remind people of this (not that it always does any good) in this day and age, with all we know about how important hand washing is, with every parent in America running around with a mini bottle of hand sanitizer in their purses and back pockets? Why is this still an issue with people? How can you not know that you need to wash your hands after you go to the bathroom? What more do we have to do to get through to people? I don’t know what else to say. Just please wash your hands, teach your kids to wash their hands, and if you see a food handler skip the soap and water, say something.
Food borne illnesses are far more common than you think. How many times have you eaten and then had some sort of unpleasant gastro-intestinal episode afterwards? Have you ever had food poisoning? Maybe you’ve had an e. coli or salmonella infection and didn’t know it, or maybe you did know. Chances are you’ve had a bad experience with a restaurant that you refuse to ever visit again.
Next time you have the chance and feel like being grossed out, do what I just did - a search on your computer about how many illnesses you can contract from food. Many of them are due to poor food handling such as cross-contamination and improper cooking/cooling/holding temperatures and procedures. The rest of them could have been prevented if the food handler had washed their hands after using the restroom.
The reason that this is on my mind right now is that I recently visited a restaurant that I eat at pretty regularly. Before eating, I stopped in the restroom to wash my hands. While I stood at the sink doing that, I witnessed one of the waitresses walk out of the stall and straight out the door without washing her hands. She also pulled the door handle without using a paper towel, as I always do in public washrooms. I cannot imagine how many disgusting little germs she took with her to pass on to her poor, unsuspecting customers.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve seen this happen in a restaurant - or in any public restroom for that matter. We’ve all seen it, we’re all (almost all, I suppose) pretty disgusted by it, but what are we going to do about it? I told the restaurant manager what I saw, and since the young woman gave me dirty looks every time she passed through the dining room (I still ate there, but requested a different waitress), I feel confident that the manager addressed it with her right away.
I have been told that I should have not said anything, just left and eaten elsewhere, and minded my own business. Really? Because it IS my business. What if someone got sick that day because of that young woman? If I get e. coli or salmonella poisoning (the two most common illnesses you can contract from food preparers who haven’t washed their hands after using the restroom) I’m going to get pretty sick. Diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, all kinds of fun stuff, but survivable. But the elderly and small children are much more likely to get very sick and are far more likely to DIE from these illnesses.
That’s right…DEAD, forever, because some disgusting pig couldn’t take a MINUTE out of their life to wash their hands. That should be everyone’s business. Would you stop someone from bullying a kid or pushing around a grandmother? Then you should say something when you see someone putting innocent people at risk for DEATH.
That is why we still see those signs in public bathrooms: EMPLOYEES MUST WASH THEIR HANDS BEFORE RETURNING TO WORK. Why do we still need to remind people of this (not that it always does any good) in this day and age, with all we know about how important hand washing is, with every parent in America running around with a mini bottle of hand sanitizer in their purses and back pockets? Why is this still an issue with people? How can you not know that you need to wash your hands after you go to the bathroom? What more do we have to do to get through to people? I don’t know what else to say. Just please wash your hands, teach your kids to wash their hands, and if you see a food handler skip the soap and water, say something.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Another One Bites The Dust
Sometime yesterday, Whitney Houston died in a hotel room in Hollywood. We don’t know exactly what killed her yet, but we are all assuming it was drug related. Whitney took illegal substances, that’s not a secret. She started out a singer but became a joke, and now she’s gone. Like so many before her, a beautiful voice and talent has died at his or her own hand. I could make a list of dozens of brilliant singers, musicians, and actors and athletes that have killed themselves with drugs and alcohol, whether intentionally or accidentally, too young. You know who they are, so I won’t make a list.
Whitney was born into musical royalty, had the voice of an angel, and an exceptional career, and then she did drugs and lost it all, and then she died. All the money and love and fans couldn’t save her. Not even having a child who depended on her was enough to make her stop and clean it up.
Sadly she won’t be the last famous or super-talented person to waste away and die from substance abuse. But if Whitney couldn’t make it back, or any of the others who had fame and fortune and died anyway, what chance does the average addict have of making it back?
Many people don’t have sympathy for addicts, me included. You knew that taking drugs was bad, but you did it anyway, and now you’re addicted. You want help, you say you have a disease and you need a cure.
I think you should have known better to begin with. NO ONE thrives in addiction for long, it all falls apart, sooner rather than later. Millions of people have died from substance abuse and addiction; millions more have ruined their lives if it didn’t kill them. So what made YOU think that YOUR story would be different? Drugs are a dead end, period.
I was looking forward to Whitney’s comeback, her triumphant return to music, her voice clear and strong just like back when she started, but a little bit stronger for what she’d been through. That’s not going to happen now, and that makes me sad and a little bit angry. Whitney should have known better.
Whitney was born into musical royalty, had the voice of an angel, and an exceptional career, and then she did drugs and lost it all, and then she died. All the money and love and fans couldn’t save her. Not even having a child who depended on her was enough to make her stop and clean it up.
Sadly she won’t be the last famous or super-talented person to waste away and die from substance abuse. But if Whitney couldn’t make it back, or any of the others who had fame and fortune and died anyway, what chance does the average addict have of making it back?
Many people don’t have sympathy for addicts, me included. You knew that taking drugs was bad, but you did it anyway, and now you’re addicted. You want help, you say you have a disease and you need a cure.
I think you should have known better to begin with. NO ONE thrives in addiction for long, it all falls apart, sooner rather than later. Millions of people have died from substance abuse and addiction; millions more have ruined their lives if it didn’t kill them. So what made YOU think that YOUR story would be different? Drugs are a dead end, period.
I was looking forward to Whitney’s comeback, her triumphant return to music, her voice clear and strong just like back when she started, but a little bit stronger for what she’d been through. That’s not going to happen now, and that makes me sad and a little bit angry. Whitney should have known better.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
It's All About The Happy Endings
When I decided to start a blog, I made a list of subjects that I wanted to write about so that if I drew a blank in front of my computer and couldn’t think of the next subject, I would have some ideas to inspire me along the way. One of the subjects on the top of my list was Why I Love Romance Novels.
Before you judge, think less of me as a human being, or just plain start hating, give me a minute. I was you, five years ago. Romance novels? Puleeze! People who read “those” books, well, they’re not very smart. Romance readers are sad, hopeless mopes who wish they had exciting lives and good sex, or any sex. They only read “those” books to get what they can’t get in real life. And the books themselves are poorly written porn! They’re nothing but sex scenes strung together with little plot, the characters are one dimensional stereotypes with formulaic, cookie-cutter stories, written by sad women who couldn’t write real books and never had sex themselves.
I only read important books written by smart people!
So there I was, reading my important book while visiting my stepmom on a vacation. I came to the very depressing end with a heavy sigh, put it down and complained that it was the 3rd book that I’d read in a row with a depressing ending. I picked up the other book that I’d packed, a two-for-one deal that I’d bought at Costco the week before. My college-educated, super-smart stepmom said, “Oh, then you’ll love that book. Nora Roberts always writes happy endings!”
I didn’t know that Nora Roberts wrote romances. I knew that she wrote books. But a few chapters into it, I was hooked. It was a sweet story that ended happily and so I kept reading her books. I ordered her books from Amazon so I didn’t realize right away that I was reading romances, but by the time I figured it out, it didn’t matter. They were good, and they didn’t end badly. The books made me happy.
The biggest surprise that I got from these books was that the stereotypes I knew were all wrong. The heroines aren’t all large-breasted, bubble-headed, beautiful, or blonde/redheaded cut-outs. They’re flawed and sometimes flat-chested, usually ordinary women with ordinary looks. They aren’t about pirates or arranged marriages (usually), and they aren’t all about sex. They’re all about the relationship, how it begins, what the couple has to sacrifice to be together, how they come together as equals, how they overcome the obstacles to being a couple. Sometimes they aren’t even about a man and a woman. The genre has become a true reflection of society.
Later on, I branched out into the sub-genres of romance. I found that I enjoyed romantic suspense and paranormal romance mainly, but there are many others sub-genres, such as Westerns, Native American, interracial, GLBT, historical, inspirational, and even NASCAR. The sexual content runs from “clean” to erotic, and many authors release their books in hardcover (just like REAL authors!) first, before being released in paperback, so there goes some more stereotypes.
I joined online communities of romance readers, and I met smart, funny, interesting, educated women who had known that reading romance novels was a fine way to pass the time for many years.
I did some research, (most recent stats are for 2010) and found out that 90% of romance readers are women. So guess what? That means that 10% of its readers are MEN. Shocker! And I found out that 24% of all Americans read at least ONE romance novel. More people bought romances than mysteries, science fiction, religion/inspirational or even classic literary fiction. The average income of your typical romance (paper) book buyer is $58,000, and the average e-book romance buyer makes around $70.000. Not exactly what you were thinking, was it?
And yet, romance novels are in the back corner of most bookstores. I worked at my local Barnes & Noble bookstore for a year and put up with the somewhat good-natured teasing from my coworkers for reading this red-headed stepchild of literature. But they always asked me what the book I was reading in the break room was about.
I don’t hide my love for these books, I tell people all of the time that I’m reading a romance novel. I am convinced that the majority of people who have bought e-readers have done so to hide their scandalous book covers from the scorn of perfect strangers.
I’m not trying to sell anyone on romances. If you don’t think you’d enjoy reading them, then don’t. But don’t look down your nose at the next woman (or man) that you see in a waiting room or an airplane with their nose in a romance novel. They just know what I’ve learned about them: happy endings are a whole lot better to read than sad ones.
Brain Candy: Romance readers have senses of humor about their reading choices. Here are some of my favorite romance novel-related websites:
http://covers.unclewaltersrants.com/
http://romance.unclewaltersrants.com/
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/
Before you judge, think less of me as a human being, or just plain start hating, give me a minute. I was you, five years ago. Romance novels? Puleeze! People who read “those” books, well, they’re not very smart. Romance readers are sad, hopeless mopes who wish they had exciting lives and good sex, or any sex. They only read “those” books to get what they can’t get in real life. And the books themselves are poorly written porn! They’re nothing but sex scenes strung together with little plot, the characters are one dimensional stereotypes with formulaic, cookie-cutter stories, written by sad women who couldn’t write real books and never had sex themselves.
I only read important books written by smart people!
So there I was, reading my important book while visiting my stepmom on a vacation. I came to the very depressing end with a heavy sigh, put it down and complained that it was the 3rd book that I’d read in a row with a depressing ending. I picked up the other book that I’d packed, a two-for-one deal that I’d bought at Costco the week before. My college-educated, super-smart stepmom said, “Oh, then you’ll love that book. Nora Roberts always writes happy endings!”
I didn’t know that Nora Roberts wrote romances. I knew that she wrote books. But a few chapters into it, I was hooked. It was a sweet story that ended happily and so I kept reading her books. I ordered her books from Amazon so I didn’t realize right away that I was reading romances, but by the time I figured it out, it didn’t matter. They were good, and they didn’t end badly. The books made me happy.
The biggest surprise that I got from these books was that the stereotypes I knew were all wrong. The heroines aren’t all large-breasted, bubble-headed, beautiful, or blonde/redheaded cut-outs. They’re flawed and sometimes flat-chested, usually ordinary women with ordinary looks. They aren’t about pirates or arranged marriages (usually), and they aren’t all about sex. They’re all about the relationship, how it begins, what the couple has to sacrifice to be together, how they come together as equals, how they overcome the obstacles to being a couple. Sometimes they aren’t even about a man and a woman. The genre has become a true reflection of society.
Later on, I branched out into the sub-genres of romance. I found that I enjoyed romantic suspense and paranormal romance mainly, but there are many others sub-genres, such as Westerns, Native American, interracial, GLBT, historical, inspirational, and even NASCAR. The sexual content runs from “clean” to erotic, and many authors release their books in hardcover (just like REAL authors!) first, before being released in paperback, so there goes some more stereotypes.
I joined online communities of romance readers, and I met smart, funny, interesting, educated women who had known that reading romance novels was a fine way to pass the time for many years.
I did some research, (most recent stats are for 2010) and found out that 90% of romance readers are women. So guess what? That means that 10% of its readers are MEN. Shocker! And I found out that 24% of all Americans read at least ONE romance novel. More people bought romances than mysteries, science fiction, religion/inspirational or even classic literary fiction. The average income of your typical romance (paper) book buyer is $58,000, and the average e-book romance buyer makes around $70.000. Not exactly what you were thinking, was it?
And yet, romance novels are in the back corner of most bookstores. I worked at my local Barnes & Noble bookstore for a year and put up with the somewhat good-natured teasing from my coworkers for reading this red-headed stepchild of literature. But they always asked me what the book I was reading in the break room was about.
I don’t hide my love for these books, I tell people all of the time that I’m reading a romance novel. I am convinced that the majority of people who have bought e-readers have done so to hide their scandalous book covers from the scorn of perfect strangers.
I’m not trying to sell anyone on romances. If you don’t think you’d enjoy reading them, then don’t. But don’t look down your nose at the next woman (or man) that you see in a waiting room or an airplane with their nose in a romance novel. They just know what I’ve learned about them: happy endings are a whole lot better to read than sad ones.
Brain Candy: Romance readers have senses of humor about their reading choices. Here are some of my favorite romance novel-related websites:
http://covers.unclewaltersrants.com/
http://romance.unclewaltersrants.com/
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/
Friday, January 13, 2012
Ten Things I Learned While Unemployed
I have spent the last two months, give or take, as one of America’s Unemployed. Don’t feel badly for me, I have a new job, starting next week, and it’s the longest time that I’ve been unemployed since my early 20’s. Not so bad. In addition, I didn't really mind losing my last job and I'm excited about starting the new one.
Because I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that every experience in your life is a lesson, I have been thinking about all the things I have learned while looking for a new job. In no particular order, here are my own personal lessons:
1. I LOVE wearing sweatpants. A lot. I have spent several weeks *not* having to wear dress clothes, or even jeans and shoes, on a daily basis. I have rarely “fixed up” my hair, put on a suit or dress pants, heels, or hose during this time. It has been fabulous!
2. Spending more time in the gym was a good idea, and nothing more.
3. I can make a dollar stretch a lot further when I have fewer of them to spend.
4. It was a good idea to write down every job I’ve applied for, the date, and the passwords to all of their websites for unemployment benefits purposes. I kept a journal of them, and it’s proven to be a wise move.
5. It’s a fallacy that you can’t make up for lost sleep.
6. How to make real, delicious, and not-so-easy shortbread cookies from scratch.
7. It is wonderful to have the whole holiday season off work. I did not have to work any of Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas weekend, or New Year’s weekend. This is the first year that has happened since my senior year of high school.
8. Christmas shopping on a strict budget is a challenge, but possible. And spoiling my nieces and nephews with extravagant gifts is not necessary. They love me when I buy inexpensive toys at Wal-Mart just as much.
9. Potential employers are not very kind to job-seekers. “We’ll call you by the weekend” is a lie, and they don’t care if you had your good suit dry-cleaned, woke up at 5 a.m., spent an hour in the bathroom fixing hair and face, and researched and rehearsed interview questions and then drove to another state in another time zone for the interview. Not only do you not get the job, you don’t get to find out why.
10. Last but not least, I was reminded once again that I have great friends and the best family in the world. They knew the right job was coming and believed that I was the right person for it, and if other people didn't see my value, they were just plain blind. Thanks!
Because I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that every experience in your life is a lesson, I have been thinking about all the things I have learned while looking for a new job. In no particular order, here are my own personal lessons:
1. I LOVE wearing sweatpants. A lot. I have spent several weeks *not* having to wear dress clothes, or even jeans and shoes, on a daily basis. I have rarely “fixed up” my hair, put on a suit or dress pants, heels, or hose during this time. It has been fabulous!
2. Spending more time in the gym was a good idea, and nothing more.
3. I can make a dollar stretch a lot further when I have fewer of them to spend.
4. It was a good idea to write down every job I’ve applied for, the date, and the passwords to all of their websites for unemployment benefits purposes. I kept a journal of them, and it’s proven to be a wise move.
5. It’s a fallacy that you can’t make up for lost sleep.
6. How to make real, delicious, and not-so-easy shortbread cookies from scratch.
7. It is wonderful to have the whole holiday season off work. I did not have to work any of Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas weekend, or New Year’s weekend. This is the first year that has happened since my senior year of high school.
8. Christmas shopping on a strict budget is a challenge, but possible. And spoiling my nieces and nephews with extravagant gifts is not necessary. They love me when I buy inexpensive toys at Wal-Mart just as much.
9. Potential employers are not very kind to job-seekers. “We’ll call you by the weekend” is a lie, and they don’t care if you had your good suit dry-cleaned, woke up at 5 a.m., spent an hour in the bathroom fixing hair and face, and researched and rehearsed interview questions and then drove to another state in another time zone for the interview. Not only do you not get the job, you don’t get to find out why.
10. Last but not least, I was reminded once again that I have great friends and the best family in the world. They knew the right job was coming and believed that I was the right person for it, and if other people didn't see my value, they were just plain blind. Thanks!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Mob Wives
There's a relatively new reality series on VH1 called Mob Wives. I'm not sure if it's a realistic portrayal of actual mob wives, but if it is? Then these are some really terrible human beings, and Staten Island isn't a place that I ever want to visit.
There are four of them. Their names aren't important, but their mob connections are real. Two of them are estranged from their incarcerated and mob-connected husbands, the other two are daughters of infamous mobsters who are also incarcerated. The four of them alternate between being the best of friends and the worst of enemies, sometimes in the same episode. They fight a lot, physically fight. One of them goes to a gym and boxes with a trainer regularly so that she can be better at fighting than the people she is itching to fight.
They also use an extreme amount of profanity. It's barely bleeped out, just bleeped enough so that you know what the words are, you just don't actually hear the whole word. I wonder why the censors bother, really.
The women are all mothers, from a teenager to small children. They aren't really with their kids all that much, one daughter lives out of state...way out of state, in Arizona. The women don't seem to have jobs, but they all live in nice houses and don't have any issues with money. They have plastic surgery and sit around the pool, go to the gym, out to nightclubs and parties. So either VH1 is paying them very well or they're living off mob money.
In short, these women and their friends make the Kardashian sisters look like a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers. They're vapid and selfish and shallow and despicable. They talk about "the lifestyle" as if they're the poor victims instead of the people who their fathers and husbands and boyfriends have victimized.
And I can't stop watching them. Sunday nights on VH1, 7pm, CST.
Ear Candy....
The theme song is also kind of awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5etLRgwXmh0&ob=av2e
(If you click the link to the song, don't worry. Miley Cyrus is only in the video as an actress, she doesn't sing the song. I would never make people listen to Hannah Montana.)
There are four of them. Their names aren't important, but their mob connections are real. Two of them are estranged from their incarcerated and mob-connected husbands, the other two are daughters of infamous mobsters who are also incarcerated. The four of them alternate between being the best of friends and the worst of enemies, sometimes in the same episode. They fight a lot, physically fight. One of them goes to a gym and boxes with a trainer regularly so that she can be better at fighting than the people she is itching to fight.
They also use an extreme amount of profanity. It's barely bleeped out, just bleeped enough so that you know what the words are, you just don't actually hear the whole word. I wonder why the censors bother, really.
The women are all mothers, from a teenager to small children. They aren't really with their kids all that much, one daughter lives out of state...way out of state, in Arizona. The women don't seem to have jobs, but they all live in nice houses and don't have any issues with money. They have plastic surgery and sit around the pool, go to the gym, out to nightclubs and parties. So either VH1 is paying them very well or they're living off mob money.
In short, these women and their friends make the Kardashian sisters look like a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers. They're vapid and selfish and shallow and despicable. They talk about "the lifestyle" as if they're the poor victims instead of the people who their fathers and husbands and boyfriends have victimized.
And I can't stop watching them. Sunday nights on VH1, 7pm, CST.
Ear Candy....
The theme song is also kind of awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5etLRgwXmh0&ob=av2e
(If you click the link to the song, don't worry. Miley Cyrus is only in the video as an actress, she doesn't sing the song. I would never make people listen to Hannah Montana.)
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