Month: February 2006

Crankypantsing, News & Politics

Why Wal-Mart Sucks, Reason #8759

Shelly

Terre Haute is getting a new Walmart store. I get the impression that most folks there were originally in favor of this, but they aren’t so happy about it now. Apparently, Walmart gave local contractors only five days to bid on the project, which is a ludicrously short amount of time, so the contract ended up going to a company from Missouri. Poof! A metric ass-load of jobs gone, just like that. It gets worse, though. Based on pay stubs obtained by a local news station, the company that won the contract is not deducting state or county taxes from its workers’ pay checks. By law, out of state workers must have state and county taxes deducted from their pay. Because that money isn’t being deducted, a sizable chunk of tax revenue that would have been received from local workers will now be lost.

Terre Haute really can’t afford to lose that money. A representative from one of the local unions was interviewed. He said that if his company had gotten the contract, not only would the local tax money not be lost, but his company A) uses local workers and B) donates a percentage of their profits to local charities. That means that money would be going into the pockets of local workers, charities, and government. But, because an out-of-state company won the contract, it won’t.

That’s just one of the many hidden costs of supporting a business like Walmart.

Crankypantsing

When File Folders Attack

Shelly

I am sporting a huge-assed wad o’ band-aids (sticking plasters, for y’all UKoGBaNI-ians) on my left ring finger, onna counta I was attacked by a vicious file folder. Ouch! Many foul words were uttered and much hopping around was performed. I narrowly escaped having to fill out an on-the-job accident report. No, I am not making that up. The mind, it doth wobble. But, anyway, this is all by way of complaining that I am now severely handicapped in my typing.

This day can only get better, right?

Crankypantsing

Pass the Ball Peen, Please

Shelly

I’m craving chocolate, for some reason. Actually, anything sweet would do, I think. I don’t often crave sweet stuff, which makes it even more difficult to resist the siren call of the candy machine. But! The price of candy bars has gone from 60¢ to 75¢, so I think I’ll do without, thankyouverymuch. I have some oatmeal, for sweet snack emergencies. That’ll have to do. It’s definitely not a candy bar, though. Hrmph.

Today is yet another in the seemingly endless parade of “party” days: Chili Luncheon day, to be exact. I shall not be attending, because I object to being pressured into socializing with my coworkers. Not that I don’t enjoy their company, mind you. I just don’t want to hang out and eat with them. Plus, the co-mingled smells of raw onions and fruit punch wafting through the halls are nausea inducing. Alsoalso, I share a bathroom with them and know how many of them do not wash their hands. Ew.

So, this day sucks in all sorts of ways. It could suck more, though. A man was beaten to death by his roommate with a sledge hammer and a claw hammer (I believe that’s what’s referred to as overkill) in an argument over who would purchase toilet paper. And my former roommates thought I was cranky with them for not buying TP! My solution, after asking, shouting, and begging failed to work, was to keep my TP in my own room. Silly me. I ought to’ve just clobbered them with a hammer. Then again, with my luck, I’d be sure to get a TP hogging cell mate, so maybe that wouldn’t’ve been such a good plan after all.

Okaythenlaterbye.

Art

Instant Reviews

Shelly

Instant Review #1: Brokeback Mountain

I haven’t, as yet, seen it, but I’m happy to report that my word-challenged friend really enjoyed it. She pronounced it “a little slow, but very, very good.”

Instant Review #2: Some Art by Some Dead Guy Named Odilon Redon

Red Boat with Blue Sail
Red Boat with Blue Sail, Odilon Redon, circa 1907, oil on canvas

My boss just returned to work after having surgery. She received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, which reminded me of how much I adore Odilon Redon’s work. If you aren’t familiar with it, I recommend checking it out. His still lifes are beautiful. He painted more than still lifes, though. His Red Boat with Blue Sail is one of my absolute favorite paintings in the entire world. His portraits are lovely, too. They remind me of Medieval icons.

Instant Review #3: The Kumars at No. 42

I’m not even sure how to describe this gem. It’s part scripted sit-com, part ad-libbed talk show, and 100% hilarity. Sanjeev Kumar lives at home with his parents and grandmother. They’ve converted their back garden into a television studio, where they interview celebrity guests (Minnie Driver and Grant E. Lee, among others) for their chat show. Dear God, is it ever funny.

Instant Review #4: The Iron Giant

An animated film about a boy and his giant robot from outer space, set in the 1950s. It’s truly beautiful–funny and sweet and sad, and it made me cry, all without being at all sappy or over done. Now that’s entertainment.

Pets, Photography

The Red Ball

Shelly

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Harriet is not a keen ball dog. She will reluctantly fetch if told to, but her heart is not in the game. She does, however, harbor a deep affection for her red rubber ball. I got it for her about five years ago, and it was love at first sight. It’s hollow and soft and fun for both chewing and bouncing. Inevitably, she will lose it behind or under a piece of furniture, forgetting about it until it comes to light months later. When it does, the reunion is celebrated with wiggles and kidney beans and all manner of Boxer happiness.

Today was a reunion day. I found her ball under some shelves in the kitchen while I was sweeping. I picked it up and bounced it down the hallway. Harriet, hearing the unmistakeable sound of her ball, woke up from her nap and raced after it. She batted it with her feet and nudged it with her nose. She carried it from room to room, chewing on it, then flung her head from side to side so that it flew away, and chased it. She took breaks, resting on the floor or the couch, with her ball between her feet, waiting and watching intently, lest it sneak away while her attention was elsewhere. She rolled around on her back, ball in her mouth and feet flailing, like a trout on dry land. She shoved it under her blanket, hiding it, then, not being able to stand having it out of her sight a minute longer, dug furiously until it was uncovered.

When the game was over, the ball retired to yet another safe spot under the furniture. In another month or so, it will re-emerge, rested and ready to play.

Photography

Friday Photoblogging

Shelly

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I love this section of Patricksburg Road. It’s extra twisty and flanked by limestone outcroppings, with a small stream running along one side. There’s a house at the top of the hill on the stream side, with two German Shepherd Dogs who were Not Amused by my tromping around on their territory.

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I took these on the way home from work. Because of the hills, most of the sky views in this area are blocked by ridge lines. This location is a rare exception. There are three rolling fields, but the inevitable valley walls are far off enough that the sky is relatively large.

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There’s a field across the road from my driveway. It’s not in a very good location, because Fish Creek runs along the back edge of the field. It floods in the spring, making the field difficult to plant. The owner has done some illegal dredging of the creek, to try to keep it from flooding his field, but he was caught. I assume the pipes were bought with the intent to use them to drain the flood water, and that they were left sitting when the project was shut down.

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There are several mounds of earth in the same field. They remind me of tumuli.

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I’m not usually a fan of contrail photos, but I liked the patterns these ones made.

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Sunrise

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Sunset

Pets, Photography

Harriet Brown Fears No Storm

Shelly

I think it’s generally true that pets pick up emotional cues from their owners. When we’re anxious, our pets can sense it, and will often become anxious, as well. I know a lot of people whose pets are afraid of storms, and the common advice is that they must be afraid of storms, too, and that they should try to calm down in order to calm their pet down. To that, I say: “Ha!”

We had another nasty storm last night, complete with thunder, lightning, hail, and tornado warnings. The wind was ridiculous, howling and whistling and generally doing its damnedest to scare the living hell out of me. If Harriet was negatively influenced by my agitated state, she surely hid it well. Unless, of course, she exhibits her anxiety by lolling around on the couch like a drunken sailor. I’m not sure it would have been possible for her to care less.

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Crankypantsing, Meta

One Last Word About Templates

Shelly

I’ve done pretty much all I intend to do to fix the wacky way Internet Explorer displays things. For some incomprehensible reason, it insisted on putting my sidebar at the bottom of the page. This, even though there was a style sheet included specifically to address IE’s, um, grosser idiosyncracies. I’ve managed to bring it up to the top, though it’s on the left-hand side instead of the right. I can’t say that I care enough to fix it, as it’s at least displaying it in the proper vicinity. It also isn’t putting a nifty mouse-over border around images, but again, I just don’t care. Most images are clickable if you want to view larger versions. If you use IE, you’ll just have to take it on faith, as you won’t get any border indicating their click-worthiness.

All I can say is, please, please, please take a minute to try out Firefox. It’s a thing of beauty, it’s free, it’s not made by ‘droids in Redmond, and most importantly, it follows directions without sassing back, damnit!