Month: October 2007

Crankypantsing

Seasonal Wardrobes

Shelly

I’ve been a little (okay, a lot) grumpy about the continuing hot weather we’ve been having. Somehow, mid-90s in October just seems very, very wrong. I was complaining about the heat to a friend, who said she was happy about it, because it meant that she didn’t have to put away her summer clothes yet.

Summer clothes? What the hell are those? Seriously. It’s so cold at work that I couldn’t wear them if I wanted to, so I wear jeans and T-shirts year round and keep a hoodie on the back of my chair for days when I get chilled. Proper layering is key. Proper layering also means that I don’t own an actual coat. I just add another hoodie when it gets truly cold, and gloves, hat, and a scarf if I’m going to be outside for long.

Anyway, I thought it was kind of funny that my friend is complaining about having to get out her winter wardrobe and coat, while I’ve been wearing mine all summer.

Art, Pets

Fun with Freecycle

Shelly

The Kiss by Gustave Klimt
The Kiss by Gustave Klimt

Yesterday, a request was posted to our local Freecycle group for, and I quote, “a poster or oil painting of The Kiss.” I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that they’re not going to find a free Klimt painting hanging around Bloomington. Just sayin’. . . !

But, hey, I applaud them for their good taste.

In other Freecycle madness, there was an ad for a litter of Siberian Husky x Labrador Retriever puppies, complete with a link to photos. The breeders are ignorant jerks, but ohmygawd are the puppies ever adorable. Thankfully, I’m not dog hunting and I have a firm No Puppies rule.

Pets

1901 Edison Film of Boxer

Shelly

I came across this yesterday, and thought I’d post it here. It’s an Edison film from 1901 of a Boxer doing what Boxers do best.

Historical images of dogs are interesting, in terms of how breeds change over time. The Boxer breed was quite young when this film was made (the first Boxer dog was entered into the studbook in 1895). Photos from those early years are rare enough, and video rarer still. This film is extra special. You can see that the boing boing boing–such a huge part of what makes a Boxer a Boxer–is present. Boxers as we know them now, in this country, are finer boned and more elegant than their ancestors, but it’s obvious that the breed’s athleticism and basic personality traits (boing boing boing!) are still present.

Ladybusiness, News & Politics

Jesus Wept!

Shelly

I’ve always thought bras were torture devices, but apparently they are weapons, too.

“When I walked through, the gentleman said, “‘Do you have an underwire bra on?'” Plato said. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘You have to remove it.'”

But there was nowhere private to remove her bra, she said. The guards suggested she go out to her car to do it.

Instead, Plato who describes herself as “not petite” said she removed her bra while her husband tried to shield her from view of others in the crowded lobby by holding up his coat.

She said she had to put the bra on a conveyor belt and send it through an x-ray machine.

“After I got through the metal detector and waited for my bra to come through the conveyor belt, one of the security guards said, “‘That’s a girl,'” Plato said. She thought the guard was making fun of her.

Can you imagine having to remove an article of underwear in order to get through a security checkpoint? That’s really not okay. And the “atta girl” comment from the security guard should, by rights, have earned him a kick in the balls. Just sayin’. . .

Too bad Ms. Plato didn’t take off her bra and shirt and go about her business bare chested. That would have been fabulous.