The Cuteness

Crap

Conversation on Thursday night: I have to go in on Saturday for a couple of hours.

Conversation on Friday night: I told them I'm leaving at noon, no matter what.

Email at 2PM on Saturday: Want to just order pizza for dinner?  I might be here a little longer.

...  Guess I'm not grocery shopping this afternoon.  Guess we're having pizza for dinner.  Guess I'm knitting and watching college football in my pajamas, by myself, because I'm fresh out of motivation for the day.

I'm Human

There are many times my son will go on an intricate, several minute long diatribe about a video game or a YouTube video, and, I'll be honest..  My eyes glaze over and I stare into space.  I don't understand him so I just tune it out.  Sometimes I actually have trouble hiding the fact that he's torturing me, but so far he doesn't catch on.

Every parent has their breaking point, right?

Continuity

Thought this was a bit amusing.  If you're a fan of the series, it's worth the ~10 minutes for a few smirks.

Marketing Fail

9/11 dominates the United States and it has become a cultural norm for every individual, organization, and business to address the date with images and/or words in remembrance of the terror/pain we all experienced, those who lost their lives, those who participated in the ensuing 9/11 rescue operations, and/or those who fought in the subsequent war(s) on terrorism.

I find myself reflecting in private at this point, as all the noise on television and social media drowns out the meaning and the emotion for me now.  That is just how I'm rolling these days..  and it's not to say that someone on Facebook or Twitter is "doing it wrong" by handling the day with a post or a few words about where they were when it happened...

But then you stumble upon those rare gems of, well..  I don't' want to call it idiocy.  Let's call it misguided empathy expressed by a few businesses who don't necessarily want to capitalize on the tragedy, but don't exactly utilize their opportunity to appropriately express themselves.  Two interesting examples are outlined below.

Tweet I stole this example from (give credit where it's due):
https://twitter.com/duck_duck_puck/status/377846060708024320/photo/1

AT&T's original post:

AT&T's response:
@ATT We apologize to anyone who felt our post was in poor taste. The image was solely meant to pay respect to those affected by the 9/11 tragedy.

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Keith Olberman video, discussing Tumbledown Trails Golf Course in Wisconsin, offering $9.11 for 9 holes and $19.11 for 18 holes, offer good 09/11/13 only to "commemorate" the "12th anniversary" of 9/11.

Alternatively, here is an excellent article about it from ESPN, if you don't want to watch video..  or Keith Olberman:
http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/9658547/wisconsin-golf-course-officials-threatened-9-11-promotion-backfires

I'd share their response from their Facebook page, but they've drawn so much criticism, that they've completely deleted their Facebook page since I viewed it a few hours ago.  It originally explained, in multiple posts, that they were sorry, they never intended to make a mockery of the tragedy or use a shameless promotion to make money, eventually offering to donate proceeds from the day's golf sales to a 9/11 memorial fund.

...   Needless to say, in today's world of social media and emotionally charged viral backlashes, it's best to keep a certain level of creativity in check.

Golf Claps for Putin

This current stream of applause for Putin is naive and short sighted.

It's almost comical to begin by noting that Assad and Putin stood firmly by the notion that Assad's regime never used chemical weapons, but now want to utilize this "diplomatic opportunity" to turn this into a "peaceful solution" (ya know..  after they didn't use those chemical weapons to maim over 1000 people).  

It's not like Putin came up with this alternative solution to avoid military strikes and convince Assad to hand over his chemical weapons...  This option has been floated since last year's G20 Summit.  ..And Assad isn't doing it just because Putin said,"Please."  Syria and Russia are in a symbiotic relationship militarily and financially that make this entire "deal" favorable for both parties at this juncture.  Syria has been purchasing billions of dollars worth of military gear from Russia to use against the rebels.  Russia makes a killing on military weapon/vehicle sales (no pun intended), they look "good" and bolster their previously dwindling international influence, they keep these chemical weapons from falling into the hands of Islamic militants that can use them in Chechnya/et al., and Russia maintains a strategically placed naval base on the Mediterranean.  Just about the only logical point that can be made on Russia's behalf that doesn't just benefit themselves is the fact that forced regime change in all previous attempts (Iraq, Libya, Egypt, etc) hasn't created any further stability in the region.

Chemical weapon experts have stated that the organization and implementation of this supposed agreement to a chemical weapons resolution is a monumental task that has not been effectively executed before.  It will require up front logistics and ongoing monitoring and control with firm commitments.  How many weapons inspectors, who protects those teams on the ground, how do they verify all the weapons sites have been disclosed, who receives the weapons, and what will happen to the weapons after they've been removed from Syria's control?  They're saying it could take months to secure the sites and years to destroy the weapons, if all parties can agree on that entire process.

What is the real end game?  If we eliminate Assad's chemical weapons threat, are we really making a change for the Syrian people?  Assad has supposedly killed ~100k of his own people without chemical weapons.  The world is losing sight of the fact that it is Assad, not the type of weapon he chooses, that we need to continue to monitor in Syria.  This smoke screen is working.

I'm not saying the US government, from the Presidential administration to several bumbling members of Congress, are getting this right..  But let's stop putting Putin and Assad on a fucking pedestal.

Dashed Dreams

"'Fifty Shades of Grey' casts Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam"

Charlie Hunnam, while rugged and manly in his own unique way, seems more biker dude or lumber jack than a business tycoon, pilot, car enthusiast, art lover, sex fiend who sweeps every woman in his presence off her feet.  Hunnam is also considerably older than the character Christian Grey, and a decade older than actress Dakota Johnson.  Dakota Johnson, daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, feels like a socialite turned "bad girl" to make a name for herself despite her famous parents.

The whole thing feels a tad creepy.