Things I like

Just a quick plug here to share something I like. As you may or may not know, I've been deep into podcasts for the last eight months or so and I have to spread the joy here. First show I love and need to share is NSFW show. First off, while it's called NSFW it really isn't NSFW. They try to keep it fairly clean. There was one ep early on where a few guests got...colorful but it's painfully clear that the hammer came down after that one.

So let me describe it. There's a guy with spikey hair and a guy who they call the internet's Charlie Day for obvious reasons. Each show is a contest that involves the internet and typically guests. Example games are the Celebrity Twitter Fight Club where the douchiest tweets win. Another game was a trivia contest between Brian, the spikey haired guy, and Hitler's dice. They're totally irrelevant and it's nothing but an absolute waste of time, but it's my #1 pick out of all the digital media I'm consuming. If you've got the timing down you can actually watch it live while they record it, but don't ask me when it's on. 

So check out the site, nsfwshow.com and that'll give you an idea of what it's like. I'd say the first ep is a good place to start for obvious reasons as well as an outstanding show, but the World Record episode is the one that really got me hooked. So take your new fangled Apple TV or Google TV or Roku or Xbox and put it to some good use.

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Warm feelings

Thought I'd do something a little different this time and push out a little happiness into that bottomless pit of anger we call the internet. Friday night I went out bar hopping (that is we went from one bar to another bar so we can say hopping DID occur) with a couple friends in a larger group of loosely associated people. In the course of events a few of us stepped outside to grab a breath of fresh air and one of us was evidently too tipsy to be allowed back inside. I sat her down to hang a little bit to see if she could get it together to look sober enough to go try again when the group decided this would be a good time to hop. 

On the way there the friends I came with had a little spat. I'm not judging or choosing sides or anything like that, just saying that there was a minor upset. Our new hangout didn't have a table big enough for all of us and since they were round, you can't push them together without making an 8, we went with a split level so they tables were next to each other but sat at different elevations and separated by a railing. Since my one friend had found someone in the group to bond with, I hung with the other until drinks and apologies were served. 

While this is going on my friend, I'm leaving names out since they may not want stories of debauchery spread on the internet, leans back, looks and me and signals with her hands I...love....you. She thought it was really sweet of me to be the guy taking care of the ones getting left out for one reason or another. Just wanted to say that those little hand gestures meant the world to me at that moment. Not bragging or anything like that, just nice to be reminded that we mean so much to each other.

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What's to be afraid of?

I've noticed a trend at work. More and more people are refusing their receipts. Now this isn't really anything new and it's no big deal, but it's left me confused. Isn't a receipt just an accepted part of any business transaction? Are these people asking the lady at Wal-Mart to throw their receipts away? And isn't it a little snobbish to assume that because they haven't touched that piece of paper that it isn't their problem? Even if it's still in my hand, that's THEIR receipt and THEIR problem. I wish they'd just accept it as part of modern society and take their responsibility. I'm looking at you, guy-who-rips-it-from-my-hand-and-leaves-it-lying-on-the-counter-for-the-next-person.

To make it worse, these are the same people who will call up with a problem and have no proof or evidence they were there. Oh sure it was offered to them, but carrying around five inches of paper was more burden than they were willing to bear. So they can call in their time of need, but won't do their part to solve any problem. On a side note, I think a receipt would come in pretty handy if you're ever questioned by the police and need to prove whereabouts. Too bad you shoved it down the drain of the soda machine.

The real reason I even bring this up is that the refusers have stepped it up to the next level. Some have started announcing they don't want a receipt before I've even touched the registers, as though it was part of their order. Just as many see it in my hand and start refusing it while backing away, shaking their head and waving their hands. The look of terror in their eyes makes it feel like I threatened them. One lady's reaction seemed more suitable if I'd said, "And you'll see your first outbreak in a few weeks," rather than a slip of paper with the word "burrito" printed on it. I guess all I'm asking for is a little personal responsibility. Take your paper and throw it away if you don't want it. Quit assuming the business owes it to you to take care of your garbage.

 

I am now obsessed with Wonder Woman

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Another mystery

I answered a call at work the other night and it's still rolling in my head for some reason. The lady asked me if I had the number to another location. I looked it up (wondering why she doesn't just use Google) and gave it to her. She grumpily told me she'd tried that and it was disconnected. I asked her what she needed (Second time she'd found a hair in her food), got a name and number and told her I'd do all I can to get ahold of them for her. We started getting busy so I scribbled a message down and faxed it to the store, figuring it was just a loose wire or something.

The rush came and went and the fax didn't go through. So now I'm thinking maybe there's something a little bigger, like a phone company issue or whatever. Figuring I've got a little time on my hands and a few brownie points never hurt anyone, I hopped in my car when my shift was through and drove to the location, I'd been there before. When I got there, I immediately solve this lady's problem. It wasn't one of our restaurants anymore. It was something called Klatch. So somehow this lady had gone inside, ordered and received food without knowing anything about the place. I guess it was her good fortune it hadn't been converted to a dog turd warehouse or something. 

I pulled out my cell to call her and gently explain how she's too stupid to leave the house and she's no longer my problem. The number she left me was for a voice mail and it made me want to cry. Maybe it's a generational thing, but when I go to leave new messages for a vm or whatever, I try to think of what I'm going to say before I hit record. Even then, I'll play it back and see if I like it. Clearly this lady had never considered what she was going to say because she'd never left one before and, evidently never heard one either. It was muffled and rambling, but also quite long. One thing got through though, leave a number. She said it about four times, so that must be THE most important thing. I got ready to give her a little insight on reality when -This mailbox is full. Please try again later.-

Yup. She'd managed to find a hair in her food (and at this point, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out it was one of hers) and call an unrelated restaurant and leave them a useless callback number. While this is certainly the easiest solution for me, I wish I could have been there when she discovers it's now a Klatch. I can only assume the emotions she'd go through would be pretty similar to Mulder at the end of any X-files.

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The ONE time I come home @ dawn they want me to come in early AND stay late. That'll teach me to hav

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Brilliant!

Let's try a little something here. Think of everything you know about Superman.

I'm going to assume you don't read any comics and can still tell me all about Metropolis and the Daily Planet, Lex Luthor and Lois Lane. Smallville probably comes to mind along with Krypton and Jor-El. Of course, there's the iconic costume.

Now try the same thing with Batman.

I know even my mom could list off three or four villains. The batcave, Alfred, Robin and Gotham City. 

DC has the big three heroes, known as the trinity. Let's finish it off here and think of everything Wonder Woman.

There was the TV show. And...um... an invisible jet. And while most non-readers know nothing about her, we all could easily pick her out of a lineup. At least we used to.

Wonder Woman # 600 came out last week and since I already had a stack of stuff I regularly read, I waited until today to pick it up. It's comprised of some easily accessible short stories and different artist portraits of her. It all builds to the ending story, the real meat, the tale that actually affects her and makes you want to buy #601. So a celebration of 600 comics in her own title and almost 70 YEARS of existence ends with them changing her costume. That's right, they took the one thing the world can agree on about Wonder Woman and threw it away.

I just noticed it looks like she isn't wearing shoes. Just tights with ankle bracelets, but I could be wrong. Personally I think this is a huge mistake, especially changing the bracelets. And the leather jacket doesn't give off a heroic vibe, more of a needless accessory to make the costume look more official or something. She looks more like a hooker from the pages of Sin City than an Amazonian princess.

And just to make sure this all goes wrong, they've changed her origin to explain the costume. Only DC could think of celebrating a character's success and longevity by throwing away all of that iconic garbage and starting over. Oh sure they tinkered with Supes (remember the electricity powers and the blue lightning suit?) and Batman's gone through some changes recently (Bruce is lost in time, Dick's in the suit and Bruce's illegitimate son is now Robin) but they have a much firmer foundation to build on and a much greater spot in the public conscious. WW will soon be back to her normal self to appease the few readers she has left and hopefully issue #700 won't be quite the disaster this is bound to be.

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Puttin' on the Ritz

Yesterday I went to see Young Frankenstein at the Buell and I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. The story very closely follows the movie it's based on, so I'll save you the details of the plot. Let's get down to brass tacks.

I was surprised because I'd listened to the soundtrack several times and one theme kept resounding: sex. It seemed like every song was just an excuse for double innuendos as well as outright raunchiness. While I'm not a prude, I didn't want to see such an iconic movie get reduced to jokes about balls and tits. Turns out there was no reason for my concern. The film dealt with a lot of relationships and while the musical might deal with them a touch more explicitly, it's not over the top.

So it's the movie with any slowish parts taken out and replaced with songs and more jokes, nothing to complain about there. The music is so catchy it's stuck in your head for weeks. I didn't expect to see almost all of the locations that were in the movie, but there they all were. Most of the sets, with the exception of the laboratory, are minimal. It's just a screen with a picture or a cardboard door. It doesn't feel cheap or lame, instead it keeps you focused on the characters and what they're doing, which is a lot. 

Out of the whole show, it only makes sense that Dr. Frankenstein is the star, and he truly is. Roger Bart steals the show and then runs away with it. He has no problem mugging for the audience, holding the pause to milk laughs or just general dicking with the other cast members. That's not to say the rest of the cast were just average, everyone performed to perfection, but it really felt like it was Bart's play and everyone else was acting in his one man show. 

The highlight of the show for me, aside from the knockers joke, was the scene with Harold, the blind man. It starts off with an Al Jolson style song which just devolves into a blatant Jolson impression, and a damn fine one at that. And then, beat for beat they reenact the scene from the movie, from a lap full of hot soup to the promises of espresso. And while the man who played Inspector Kemp got a decent ovation at the curtain call, the audience really lit up when he revealed Harold's costume as he played both parts. It's definitely a show worth seeing if it gets anywhere near you. And do yourself a favor and DON'T watch the movie right before you go. Enjoy it on its own merits and you will not be disappointed.

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