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Category: Human Observation

Just overheard from the same cubicle I overheard something from the other day...

"Did you tell her that people in hell want cold water?"

Just overheard in a nearby cubicle...

"Everybody's entitled to their wrong opinions."

I overheard someone talking outside my cubicle today. I think she's one of the people retiring at the end of this month. She said if she didn't have to get up early to come to work... if she could just sleep until she felt like getting up, and then come to work... she would probably keep working until the day she died.

Amen to that! I would, too!

Well... as long as I could take a couple of month long vacations every year, too.

A few years ago we got a new admin person in our office. My friend Keely and I were training her. After she had been there a couple of weeks, we noticed that she wasn't filing something she needed to file. Or maybe she was filing it incorrectly.

Anyway... we explained to her that she was supposed to file this stuff and how to do it correctly. She got mad at us because we hadn't told her before. It went something like this....

Us: These need to be filed in this drawer.
She: No one told me that before.
Us: That's okay... don't worry about it. They need to be filed weekly.
She: How was I supposed to know that?
Us: Well... you weren't until someone told you.
She: But no one told me!
Us: That's okay... we're telling you now. Really... it's no big deal.
She: But I don't understand how I was supposed to know that if no one told me!!!
Us: Errrr... we're telling you now.
She: Augh!!! I didn't know I was supposed to file those that way!!!!!

She didn't last very long.

This insane move by the Texas Democrats to flee to Oklahoma instead of doing their job reminds me of something I saw on TV once.

It was on Animal Planet. It was a court show like Judge Wopner, but all the cases involved animals. Actually... I think Judge Wopner was the judge, too.

Anyway... this guy owed this lady some money. For some reason, she had possession of his horses, too. She was willing to settle for the horses instead of the money.

The guy didn't have the money to pay her, but he didn't want to give her the horses. Judge Wopner was questioning the guy and asking him why he wouldn't give her the horses. The guy just kept saying, "It's not fair." Wopner was saying it wasn't fair that he owed her the money and wasn't paying her. The guy agreed. Wopner said a fair trade would be to give her the horses and the debt would be gone. The guy said, "It's not fair." Wopner asked how come it wasn't fair. They guy said, "Well... it's not fair to me."

I don't understand where people get the idea that "fair" is different depending on which side you're on. Fair is fair. Just because something doesn't make you happy, doesn't mean it's not "fair."

I didn't get to see the outcome of the case. But I hope the guy learned a hard lesson about the meaning of the word "fair."

My friend Julia sent me a link to webpage about the technospeak that the tech industry has developed to make themselves sound more important. I can't stand that language! I hate how they call their products "solutions." I hate the terms "distributed computing." I hate the term "scalable." I hate the term "robust." There are more hated terms I could list, but my head feels like it might implode. I think I'd like a Milky Way. Yeah... eating a Milky Way is the perfect "solution."

A few months ago, I noticed some printed signs up on the refrigerators on the cafeteria in my office building. I mean the refrigerators that hold the Cokes and orange juices and apples and milks. The signs say, "Please pay cashier for all purchases." Whew. I always pay the cashier for my purchases.

Later I noticed a sign on the entrance that said something like, "Please do not leave without paying for your purchase."

Today, I noticed a new sign on the entrance that said pretty much the same thing, but it was written in bigger letters with exclamation points. I guess they think signs written in big letters and exclamation points are a better deterrent for crime than a sign written in regular letters.

Maybe that's the answer to this war problem. Just write signs with big letters and exclamation points that say, "Do not use weapons of mass destruction!!!!" Then tack them up all around the Axis of Evil countries.

Yeah... that'll do it.

Like a bad case of the hiccups or a Chinese water torture session, earworms are relentless in their distractive nature. The mental anguish suffered by some victims plagued with this condition can be debilitating, although some people actually enjoy the sensation.

A recent survey of people 18 to 49 revealed that 98% of respondents experience some level of earworm infestation. However, it's women who are more likely to be annoyed, frustrated and irritated by earworms.

I have to admit that I have an earworm problem, but it doesn't usually bother me too much.

There are reports of some people getting an earworm from Chili's Baby Back Ribs. But people can get one from anything really.

One reported holistic remedy, is to chew on a cinnamon stick.

Just what is an earworm?
Read More About Earworm Remedies »

Here's something ironic. Remember that lady who confronted me last week to make sure Lily didn't potty in her yard? She has a fire hydrant in her yard. D'oh!

I just read over at Peppermint Tina's place that Google bought out Pyra (the people who own Blogger). My first reaction was simply "Hmmm... I hope it doesn't change things too much. Unless it makes things better. That would be cool." My second thought was, "Sheesh... I hope I don't have to witness a bunch of long drawn out temper tantrums from bloggers like I witness from artists everytime an online music distributor changes something." But maybe bloggers are more mature than those artists. I think they are. At least the ones who I follow are.

This morning, I was walking Lily, and she stopped to sniff a large tuft of grass in someone's yard. A lady in an SUV was pulling out of her driveway, and her headlights pointed right at us. She pulled farther into the road and stopped. Lily kept sniffing, and I just stood there. After a minute, she rolled her window down and said, "You don't let your dog go potty in my yard, do you?" I replied cheerily, "I don't."

I guess these are the conversations you have to have sometimes. I mean... she doesn't want my dog pottying in her yard. How else is she going to let me know about it? But it made me not like that lady so much, and now my brain is obsessing over it. Maybe I'd like her if I met her under different circumstances. But at 6:30 in the morning when I'm only half awake and having a nice walk with my dog, I don't like some lady asking me accusatory questions about my dog's potty habits. Hopefully, I'll get some other *good* distraction that will make me forget about it.

Being a good musician is no excuse for being a bad human

Over the last year, I've been hanging out with musicians on bulletin boards. As with any group, I suppose, there are good ones and bad ones. I'm not talking about good musicians and bad musicians... I'm talking about good humans and bad humans. The good humans outweigh the bad humans, but unfortunately, it's the bad ones who stay with you. Kinda like if you had a room full of 100 flowers and one pile of poop. The pile of poop smells so bad that you forget about all the nice pretty flowers, and you really just want to be out of that room. That's kinda silly, though... you'd probably just clean up the poop. But on the bulletin boards, cleaning up the poop isn't an easy affair.

One reason is because some people believe that if you're a good musician, you have an excuse to be a bad human.

I'm going to give some examples. Not as a way to dwell on the past, but as a way to bring light to how people excuse bad behavior in favor of good musicianship.

One example is how people react to Joni Mitchell's arrogance. This is a well known trait of Joni's. Some people forgive her arrogance because they like her music. That doesn't bother me too much. That's their choice. It doesn't make her arrogance right. There are others who would say that she has paid her dues and is a wonderful songwriter, so she has a right to be arrogant. Here's the news.... there is no excuse for arrogance. Forgive her and listen to her music if you like it, but don't support her arrogance based on her talent. Being a good musician is not an excuse for being a bad human.

I've seen people be real assholes on the bulletin boards. I've seen verbal abuse. I've seen stalking behavior. I've seen downright childish crap at which any good mother would be appalled. And I've seen people turn a blind eye (and even encourage it!) because the assholes are, in their opinion, good musicians who have paid their dues. Being a good musician is not an excuse for being a bad human.

I've also seen musicians excuse their own behavior by saying, "I'm a musician. You have to expect musicians to be temperamental." Well guess what... I'm a girl. At least once a month, I'm going to be temperamental. But if I do something out of line because my hormones are raging, I have to be accountable for it.

The worst part of it is... when people excuse bad behavior on account of musicianship, others start associating being a musician with being a bad human. They start to believe all musicians are arrogant, temperamental assholes.

So just to bring some balance to this writing, I'd like to highlight a few of the good ones. This is by no means all of the good ones... just a very few who I see trying to bring positivity to a scene that can sometimes be completely overshadowed by negativity.

Dolly Rappaport
Anthony Ruocco
Serena Matthews
Polyaxis

Incidentally... I don't put myself on that list. At one time, I was very positive, but now I'm too jaded. Thanks to those who carry the light... I think it's possible I can get my light back one of these days.

This morning on the radio, a deejay was talking about asking girls out. I mean, like, seeing a girl somewhere and asking her out. Somehow the crew started talking about asking girls who work at the mall. They weren't laughing about girls who work at the mall... just at some of the places in the mall. Maybe that part is a "you had to be there" thing to think it's funny. But they were laughing about Cinnabon, or Dippin' Dots (Ice cream of the future), or Sunglasses Hut, etc. But then one of the females said, "But don't ask the girls out who work at Aerosoles. They have bad feet."

Huh? Dang... I love Aerosoles. They're the most comfortable shoes ever. Well... next to Nikes and Reeboks, that is. I had no idea that Aerosoles had that kind of reputation. Perhaps to be "cool" you have to wear shoes that hurt your feet. I ain't doin' it! No way, no how!

On a side note: This makes me think of "Cruel Shoes" by Steve Martin. hah!

I rarely give money to beggars on the street. When I do, it's usually because they intimidate me when I'm walking by. That doesn't mean intimidation works all the time... just sometimes. I never give them money when they're on a street corner, and I'm driving by. But today there was a homeless-looking man playing a guitar and singing "American Pie." I had a baggie with some leftover quarters in it from when I went on my Christmas trip and needed quarters for the tolls. So I sealed up the baggie and as I drove by, I tossed it out the window toward him. From one musician to another. He yelled, "Thank you!"

I recorded "The View" this week with Henry Thomas and watched it this morning. Henry is in "Gangs of New York," and I guess he's on an interview tour promoting it because he was also on Craig Kilborne's show the other night. Anyway... Barbara Walters asked Henry a question that is still puzzling to me. She said that she heard the movie was quite violent, and she asked him whether he thought the violence was necessary for the movie. Huh? It's a movie. It's art. I can understand if she said she didn't like the violence. But she is trying to figure out if it's necessary? Nothing is necessary in art. That's like asking me if the Am chord is really necessary in "Space Needle." Does Not Compute. It's how it was made. Like it or not. Quit trying to apply the word necessary to someone else's art.

Multiple choice question:

You go to a website and see that there's something wrong on a page. Let's say you see a typo. What do you do?

a. click on through without giving it another thought. b. email the webmaster to let him/her know there's an error. c. go to the bulletin board and post about what freakin' idiots those people are. And then get really pissed off when they delete your post, and go on a rampage on other bulletin boards posting about how the site must be owned by Nazis because they don't allow freedom of speech.

I have to admit, I usually do "a." But I've been known to do "b."

I keep reading bulletin board posts and blog entries where people say other people are following a herd. That they aren't independent thinkers. Most usually just after the person or people they are accusing have disagreed with them.

I think people who accuse people of following a herd are actually following a herd themselves. Yeah... the "accuse people of following a herd" herd. Somebody said it once, and now these people fall back on it. I mean... do you really think everyone who says that has actually researched the "following the herd" phenomenon? Naw... they're just parroting back what they've heard someone else say. So much for independent thinking.

It's cold and rainy here. That depresses me. I haven't said much to people this morning except "Good Morning." When I've strayed from "Good Morning," it's only been because I had to and in both cases the people misunderstood me. I really hate having to repeat myself (although I don't blame the people who misunderstood me... it's just circumstances). Here's how the conversations went:

At the Post Office
Me: I need to mail this and get 20 dog and cat stamps
Post Office Lady: Okay. $20 worth of stamps.
Me: No... 20 dog and cat stamps.

Normally I don't care what style of stamp and just order stamps. I wish I had this time. Except then they always ask me what kind of stamps I want, so I have to talk more anyway.

At the Cafeteria
Me: I'll have migas and a bacon, egg and cheese taco
(I watch as the lady makes a bacon and egg taco, wraps it up and starts spooning migas)
Me: Did you put cheese on that?
Lady: Okay. On the migas?
Me: No... on the taco.

If the whole day is like this, I might just have to go home and hide under the covers until the sun comes out which will probably be next year.

I have a mild rant. It's about people who can't accept one's simple every day choices. I understand "they are just trying to help," but I don't want help. I want to make choices and not have to justify them. 'kay....

There's a guy who runs the cafeteria downstairs where I work. I try to avoid his checkout line because he always gives me a bit of a hassle because I don't get a fountain drink. It's free, but I don't want it. The lunch special is a main course, two vegetables, bread and a fountain drink. But I want a bottled drink. I'd explain to you why, but that's my point... I don't have to explain! I'm willing to pay extra for it with absolutely no complaint. So why do I have to put up with this:

Cafeteria guy: You know that comes with a fountain drink, don't you?
Me: Yes. I wanted a bottled drink.
Cafeteria guy: Have you tried our fountain drinks?
Me: Yes. I really just want a bottled drink.
Cafeteria guy: Our fountain drinks are really quite good.
Me: Thanks. I like bottled drinks.
Cafeteria guy: Okay.

It happens every time! The guy is mostly blind, so I don't get irritated about the fact that he doesn't recognize me as the lady who doesn't want a fountain drink. But sheesh... I just want to buy my lunch without the same hassle every time.

One time I decided I would get a bottled drink and a cup of ice. I put the lid on the cup of ice so it would look like I was getting my "free fountain drink." I figured it would make him happy. Nope... he still didn't like it that I was getting the bottled drink. Augh!

A fly on the wall....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...at the meeting to iron out the details of the partnership agreement between a new Online Music Distributor and the Artists.

OMD: Hey artists. I'm starting a new OMD!

Art: Great! Let's be partners! That's the only way any profits will be made!

OMD: Okay... let's iron out the details.

Art: We'll provide the music!

OMD: Great! I'll provide the money to get us started. I'll get server space. I'll hire some people, too. Let's see... we need tech staff, staff to track and mail out the CDs we sell, accounting people and an artist relations rep.

Art: Better make sure the artist relations rep is someone we love and trust! And make sure it's someone who will relentlessly promote our music, too!

OMD: Um, okay. We'll need web designers, too. That's a lot to pay for, but I'll pay for the start up costs. What are you going to provide again?

Art: We'll provide the music!

OMD: Is it music that will sell?

Art: Sure... we've put a lot of money and sweat into it. Of course, promotion is the key... it'll sell if you pay for lots of real world advertising.

OMD: I see. Do you have a fan base to bring to the mix?

Art: Sure... most of our fans, though, don't really buy music they've never heard over the internet. Most of the people who do use the internet expect music for free. So you're going to have to find the paying fans through expensive advertising.

OMD: Hmmm... okay... what do they watch or read?

Art: Maybe Rolling Stone. MTV. To tell you the truth, though, paying fans might not even exist. We think that most fans are just thoughtless sheep brainwashed by the Recording Industry of America to buy whatever they hear on real world radio and TV. Maybe you better gear your advertising to change the way people think. Make them realize that buying unknown music over the internet is a great thing!

OMD: Wow. That's a big hurdle. Anything else?

Art: Yeah... we want input into your hiring practices, advertising decisions, web design... basically all aspects of the business. We're partners!

OMD: Will you be putting any money into the partnership?

Art: What? No... we're providing the music. You might get a small percentage of artists who will pay, but we are not customers. We're partners. Heck... we already put blood and money into making the music. But I tell you what... some of us will pay a little bit, but you have to promote us to the "real world."

OMD: Wow... what if we fail to turn a profit?

Art: We walk away with our music and you lose your investment. But don't worry. If you listen to us about how to run the business, we'll make a profit. We're partners!

OMD: Okay... how do we make money then?

Art: We'll sell CDs. You can take 10-15% of the price. You could also sell advertising on the site. But that doesn't really bring much in. And you can't advertise on our artist pages because those will belong to us. You're going to have to figure out some other way of generating revenue. And when you figure it out, don't forget to give us a percentage of it... after all, we're providing the music! Without us, you're nothing!

OMD: Wow. Okay. Let's talk about selling CDs then. You'll only sell CDs through our site, right? That way your fans will have to come here to buy them.

Art: Hell no! It's OUR music to do with as we please. No exclusive agreements!

OMD: Hmmm... it's your music? I thought we were going to be partners and you were putting your music into the partnership.

Art: Yeah... we'll provide you music, but we want to be able to walk away from this thing if it's not working out.

OMD: Okay... so you're proposing that I provide 100% of the financial investment and assume 100% of the risk. But you want input into all the business decisions and a hefty cut of the income? And you want to be able to walk away from the partnership at any time if it suits you?

Art: Spin Doctor! FU!

OMD: What?!

Art: Oh sorry... not "F YOU." F.U. = Future Unity. That's where we're all getting together at some future date to make sure you people stop taking advantage of us artists.

OMD: I see. Maybe I better sleep on this.

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