So I'm eating a bowl of Corn Pops this morning and, naturally, I start reading the back of the box. (On that note, it's amazing how little it takes to interest one at the breakfast table. Ooo a 4x4 word search! Oh boy a coded message! Can I find all the spoons in this picture?) Anyway, I hadn't even moved on to the side panels of the cereal box (including the nutrition information) before I saw something that made me do a double-take: FREE STEP-COUNTER INSIDE THIS BOX!!! Not send 4 UPC's plus $2.99 shipping and handling; not enter to win the grand prize of a free step-counter, but the real thing just inside this very box! I hadn't been won over quite yet, however - I was still expecting some sort of dinky cardboard cut-out that you tally every time you take a step or something. Then I reached into the cereal (sorry Lindsay) and pulled out the finest free toy I've ever laid eyes on: an Adidas brand Snap, Crackle, and Pop pedometer.
If you think the world is going downhill fast, you're wrong. Don't believe me? Go buy a box of Corn Pops.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
On Sarah Palin (Who else?)
I've been intending to start a blog for a while now, what with my irrepressible frustrations that arise from events and social issues that trouble me. But what really pushed me this time to go through the effort of choosing a template, fonts, colors, title, etc. was something/someone more frustrating than watching The O'Reilly Factor or Hannity's America. The stomach ulcer of whom I speak is, of course, Sarah Palin.
The main problem I have with Palin isn't technically her fault, but makes me resent her nonetheless. It is this: she was picked by McCain as a campaign strategy (and nothing more). It's as if the McCain campaign watched Stephen Colbert's "Make John McCain Exciting" segment and took it as advice. I'll give the Repubs credit for livening up the campaign and making the country associate something besides a corpse-ish rich white guy with their party. But their goal, apparently, does not extend beyond that. They didn't choose her based on her credentials, her ability to help lead, or her readiness to take over should their presidential candidate flop over before his time is served. No, the McCain campaign selected Palin because she was accidentally born a woman in the 20th century (instead of, say, a plantation owner in the antebellum South). I was hoping the American public (even conservatives) would be human enough to see through this gimmick, but she's definitely had a positive impact for McCain.
So I find it interesting that McCain's campaign advisors have been shielding her from media contact. It's very telling that they believe keeping her quiet will actually be better for the campaign than letting her speak freely. After all, they certainly realize it's bad for their image to limit access to Palin, but they also realize she'll kill their chances once everyone gets to know her. I suppose the campaign is happy to let pictures of Palin and her family fly around the media, confirming that 1. She is in fact a woman, and 2. She does in fact exist. I mean, those 2 points alone seem to be enough to influence people to vote for another 4 years of the same old shit.
The main problem I have with Palin isn't technically her fault, but makes me resent her nonetheless. It is this: she was picked by McCain as a campaign strategy (and nothing more). It's as if the McCain campaign watched Stephen Colbert's "Make John McCain Exciting" segment and took it as advice. I'll give the Repubs credit for livening up the campaign and making the country associate something besides a corpse-ish rich white guy with their party. But their goal, apparently, does not extend beyond that. They didn't choose her based on her credentials, her ability to help lead, or her readiness to take over should their presidential candidate flop over before his time is served. No, the McCain campaign selected Palin because she was accidentally born a woman in the 20th century (instead of, say, a plantation owner in the antebellum South). I was hoping the American public (even conservatives) would be human enough to see through this gimmick, but she's definitely had a positive impact for McCain.
So I find it interesting that McCain's campaign advisors have been shielding her from media contact. It's very telling that they believe keeping her quiet will actually be better for the campaign than letting her speak freely. After all, they certainly realize it's bad for their image to limit access to Palin, but they also realize she'll kill their chances once everyone gets to know her. I suppose the campaign is happy to let pictures of Palin and her family fly around the media, confirming that 1. She is in fact a woman, and 2. She does in fact exist. I mean, those 2 points alone seem to be enough to influence people to vote for another 4 years of the same old shit.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Instructions for Writing a Blog
1. Convince yourself that someone besides you is actually going to be interested in what you have to say.
2. (After you've accomplished #1): Reconsider.
3. Decide that even though no one cares, you'll still find some sort of fulfillment from posting your thoughts and opinions on the WORLD WIDE WEB and that, in and of itself, makes the whole experience worthwhile. As a mother of 3 children, after all, you've got to have something for yourself.
4. Repeat steps 1-3
5. Make you fall in love with me.
6. Because 7 ate 9.
7. Instead of spending too much time trying to be clever/witty, remind yourself that you're NOT funny and you therefore have no business attempting anything of the sort.
8. Break the ice with a fairly neutral entry, then feel free to begin ranting about everything from politics to religion.
2. (After you've accomplished #1): Reconsider.
3. Decide that even though no one cares, you'll still find some sort of fulfillment from posting your thoughts and opinions on the WORLD WIDE WEB and that, in and of itself, makes the whole experience worthwhile. As a mother of 3 children, after all, you've got to have something for yourself.
4. Repeat steps 1-3
5. Make you fall in love with me.
6. Because 7 ate 9.
7. Instead of spending too much time trying to be clever/witty, remind yourself that you're NOT funny and you therefore have no business attempting anything of the sort.
8. Break the ice with a fairly neutral entry, then feel free to begin ranting about everything from politics to religion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
