On Adult Conversation Techniques

Occasionally I post comments on a local news station message board. I find that the majority of the posters there are little more than lightweight cyber-bullies.

If you do not agree with them politically, or on anything, for that matter, then you are subjected to what some call

Credit: nouQraz, via Flickr Creative Commons

“adult conversation” but what I call rude remarks.

They are trigger happy when it comes to biting “sarcasm” – again, a cover for plain old rudeness. They say “I don’t sugar coat, I say it like it is, no boring mamby pamby daycare talk from me!”

Well, I don’t know – I was always taught that adults were supposed to control their tongues. Is being polite boring? Actually, it takes a lot more thought to formulate a strong response devoid of churlishness. Is being rude the only acceptable way to disagree?

One discussion centered around the controversial Gardasil vaccine. There are some very good arguments for not having your child vaccinated, but the only consistent response from the pro-Gardasil people were comments like “paranoid, ignorant, ill-informed.” Not only were these comments on the thread in question, but one poster worked her so-called “adult conversation” into totally irrelevant topics, just to dig at one particular person who was not in favor of Gardasil shots for young girls.

And forget about politics. If you are not 100% in support of Barack Obama or the Democrats in general, you are beyond moronic, and you must of course be in love with George W. Bush. There is no middle ground; the line between intelligence and stupidity stops with Barack Obama.

Before anyone thinks that I lay this rudeness solely at the feet of liberals, think again – I have cringed at the remarks many a conservative has made as well.  Christians are prone to just as much rudeness and ignorance as atheists and agnostics…pro-lifers vs. pro-choicers….young earth creationists vs. any form of evolutionist.

It seems that the basic response in humans is to lash out rather than discuss something controversial without insults.

And what about this – a poster who is known to be ultra-conservative posts a more neutral discussion topic. One of the ultra-liberals skilled at being obnoxious declares something along these lines: “Finally, So-and-So posted something intelligent! I think I’m going to choke.”

Please tell me how that is “adult conversation.” Adult conversation would be “Finally, So-and-So posted something we can agree on!”

Being rude and hurtful is not “adult.” It’s worse than childish, because children at least are not expected to know better. Responding to others with insults displays a lack of intellect as well as poor breeding.

Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons, nouQraz

High School Reunion

I’ve seen the ads for High School Reunion on TV – I never was attracted to this particular “reality” show.

This afternoon while enjoying a partial “snow day” I was flicking through the channels – my old soaps don’t appeal to me since I haven’t watched them in years. Reruns of Green Acres didn’t really appeal to me either. I stopped on an episode of  High School Reunion.

Now I know why my initial response to this show was “ick.”

The only thing terrific about this reunion is that it’s in Hawaii. However, it seems like there are a bunch of 17 year olds in 37 year old bodies. Petty jealousies, crushes, annoyances, etc…

My 20th high school reunion was nothing like this.  First of all, it was not in Hawaii (bummer) but most importantly, it

Me & Princess in High School

was a lot of fun.  There were people I spoke and laughed with who wouldn’t give me a 2nd glance in high school.  I was so bummed that it was over after just a few hours.  I’m looking forward to the next one.

Watching this show is like driving by an accident scene, and watching what’s going on – you are repulsed and compelled at the same time.

I’m not sure, but I’ll bet some of the other viewers are probably held by the same compulsion.  If my reunions were like this, I’d never go; it’s too much like still being in high school.

Leading Men: So Many Hunks

Over the years, I’ve been obsessed with various Hollywood hunks, including:

• Clint Eastwood – he makes my day when he squints and waves around that .44 Magnum.
• Sean Connery – shaken not stirred; the accent is enough to make me shiver.
• Jimmy Stewart – the under-appreciated reliable guy a smart woman would choose.
• Cary Grant – he’s suave, sophisticated, and amusing if a bit flip.
• Johnny Depp – a rogue, a pirate, a guy with great lips.
• Pierce Brosnan – one of my early Hollywood crushes – I choose to forget that I used to have a crush on Erik Estrada too.

But, hands down, my all time favorite Hollywood Leading Man has got to be

Gene Kelly.  I choose to think of him in the present tense.

He has muscles.

He has a great smile.

He can be tough.

He is not afraid to be sappy and romantic.

He can sing.

And.

He.

Can.

Dance.

Have doubts about him being the best dancer ever?

Well, I have to admit, that Donald O’Conner does awesomely with Gene in this fabulous clip from Singing in the Rain, “Moses Supposes.”  Donald is my 2nd favorite dancer – I never saw the attraction to geeky, gawky Fred Astaire.

But, check him out here, tap dancing on roller skates. Please ignore the silly song and just watch this awesome routine.

Even Keifer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer can NOT compare to Gene. Just. Can’t. Do. It.

24 Hits & Misses

Why Did Jack Have Columbo's Coat?

I was happy that 24 is back. There were many things that amused me, some that puzzled me, and some that annoyed me. Here are my personal “Hits & Misses” in case you care.

• HIT:  Tony is BACK!
• Miss: It was neither shocking, nor a surprise – the previews told us about it for months.
• HIT:  Jack told off a pompous senator during a hearing.
• Miss: Jack was wearing a tie and had a briefcase.  No hoodie or Jack Sack.
• HIT:  Jack is quite rude when people harass him about his “techniques” with terrorist suspects.
• Miss: Jack wore a Columbo-esque trenchcoat, sans wrinkles and cigar, for most of the episode.
• HIT:  Fibbies think they can “handle” Jack.
• Miss: There was not even a mention of Chloe.
• HIT: Jack turned a Bic pen into a potential lethal weapon.
• Miss: There was no mass destruction, and only three people got killed.
• HIT: President Allstate is with us, via commercials.
• Miss: Madame President is less interesting than Wayne Palmer in a coma, if that is possible.

Now, I would LOVE to be wrong about this prediction I’m about to give.  I’ve watched so many of these shows that it’s hard to be surprised anymore, but here’s my theory, and it’s hardly original…

TONY ISN’T REALLY A BAD GUY.  He’s an undercover double agent (gasp!)

Marwan Doesn't "Warn."

My reason for suspecting this is mainly because Tony stopped the collision of the airplanes, and said it was just “a warning.”  Since when do real terrorists give WARNINGS?  Would MARWAN have done that?  HECK NO, he’s have let them crash, killing all the people he could, and everyone watching would have let out a roar of approval.

I was disappointed at the lack of death and destruction on this 24 season premier.  THIS IS WHAT WE’VE COME TO LOVE AND EXPECT from 24.  24 Redemption had a soccer game refereed with machine guns.  What is up? Why such a gentle premier?

And while I LOVE My Tony, I’d really like it to be true that he IS bad.  Nina Myers was one of the best characters ever, and the biggest mistake they ever made, apart from saving Kim and killing Edgar, (and killing Curtis…) was to kill off the lovely-but-lethal Nina.  Jack needs an adversary who knows him inside and out.

Dave Barry’s 24 Blog is the BEST.  Every episode is made even MORE entertaining with Dave’s commentary and everyone else’s comments.  My favorite quote from last night was by SuzyQ:

“Aw, Tony came back all mean. Just like the animals who return from Pet Cemetary…”

Steve the 24 Guy – found him last season on Dave’s blog.  He writes AWESOME recaps, that are actually better than the show, esp. since there’s a bit of parody thrown in.  Thanks Steve!

My final note:  Welcome back, Jack – I’ve missed you, and I want to see you shoot some LOTSA thighs, and yell in people’s faces a LOT more.

Brotherly Love

Don’t You Love Winter?

Actually, I despise winter…unless it’s in Hawaii, rather than the Poconos.

Nurse to Mom: Please Pick Up Your Son…He’s Just Not Himself Today

My girlfriend and I were out doing not-quite-so-last-minute Christmas shopping today. We went to “The Big City” of

"I'm Just Not Myself!"

Scranton, because we had plans on hitting Panera Bread, our favoritest place to go.

There was a two hour delay today so our “head start before the kids get off the bus this afternoon” plans were set back a bit, but, hey, we were heading out anyway (and we WERE going to hit Panera Bread!)

School started at 10:00. My friend’s son was back to school after a two week absence due to other issues but this morning he was bright eyed and bushy tailed and raring to go. Somewhere between the last time I saw him at 9:15 and the nurse calling us at 11:15, he “lost himself.”

“Please come and get him,” said the nurse on the phone.  “His teacher sent him down to me because he’s just not himself.”

No fever, no barfing, nothing like that. No, poor little guy just seems out of sorts and “just isn’t himself.”

Wow.  When I worked at the daycare center we were not allowed to call the parents unless the child had been throwing up or had a fever of at least 101.

We did some talking and realized that Sonny Boy knew that Mommy was shopping with me, and he was missing out on all the fun…and he had gym class today too, which wasn’t very appealing.

So his strategy almost worked – his evil plan worked on his teacher, and amazingly, the school nurse, but not on Mommy & Me.  Interestingly enough, he was just fine when he got off the bus and was playing with his friends.

“But mom, I was awful sick when the nurse called you.”

Yeah, right. Hon, ya gotta get up pretty early in the morning to pull a fast one on ol’ Mom and Wizzy.

Boy, if only WE had been lucky enough to have such a gullible nurse. I could have gotten out of a LOT of school, simply by not “acting myself.”

And let me tell you, the chicken tortilla soup in a sourdough bread bowl was amazing….

SAD BOY pic courtesy of jodiwilldare, Creative Commons

Recycled Holiday Greeting

This was originally posted on my PikeWaynePABlog.com blog.  I generally do not “recycle” my posts from there to here…but I decided to make a “crossover post” this time.

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“Happy Holidays” has been a seasonal greeting since way before I was born. My parents had a recording of Bing Crosby

Happy Holidays from Hawley

singing “Happy holidays…..happy holidays….” This was an acceptable greeting long before anything was politically correct, and in fact, lots of stuff was politically incorrect. There is no reason why “Happy Holidays” should be offensive.

Yet, some Christians are offended by it. According to them, the proper term should be “Merry Christmas,” since that is the “main” holiday we are celebrating (at least in their eyes.)

Actually I find it interesting that many Christians are upset about the idea of Christ being removed from Christmas…when Christmas was never a holiday He asked us to celebrate for Him, anyway.

Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to celebrate Christmas, or the birth of Christ. In fact, many Christians don’t even celebrate it. Why?

Because, in their eyes, Christmas is nothing but a string of pagan-rooted traditions that have been Christianized…never mind the greed and materialism bred by this holiday. The Puritans refused to acknowlege Christmas; to this day there are different sects (including 7th Day Adventists and various fundamentalist believers) who do not observe Christmas.

I am not one of them. I like my Christmas tree, and I don’t worship it, and I could do without it (it’s rather a pain to put up, decorate, and take down…). I enjoy giving gifts to family and friends.

I like the lights, I like the decorations. I even like Santa Claus. We never taught our kids to believe in Santa-from-the-North-Pole-who-delivers-presents-to-good-kids (but we also taught them not to rain on someone else’s Santa parade…) I always felt sorry for the poor children who were very good but never got much from Santa. (Thankfully, we have the Marines filling in for Santa, but still….)

Anyway, I like “Happy Holidays” because it IS inclusive. I do not know many people who celebrate Hanukkah, but I’d like to wish them a happy holiday anyway. I don’t know of anyone who celebrates Kwaanza, and I really don’t know much about the celebration, but I’d like those who celebrate it to be included in my greeting.

And I’d like to think that when others say “Happy Holidays” that they are including Christmas in that greeting as well.

That’s enough for my soapbox for today. Click the picture below and enjoy the show I put together. I call it “Happy Hawley-Days!”

Click to View The Hawley-Day Show!

Stupid Stories about 12 Days of Christmas

I am constantly annoyed by the perpetuation of stupid myths by my brothers and sisters in Christ. The one currently annoying me is the “Theology” of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

I pride myself on my imagination, but there is no way that a “partridge in a pear tree” will make anyone think of Jesus Christ. Or “three French hens” will make people remember “Father, Son, Holy Ghost.” When I hear “three French hens” I think “DINNER!”

Some of the ideas are not so far fetched; the two turtle doves could make one think of the Bible (Old and New Testament) since the dove has long been a traditional biblical symbol. The 5 golden rings being the 5 books of Moses? It’s a stretch but not too bad.

The rest of it is way too much of a stretch. Someone had a very vivid imagination and probably too much time on their hands to come up with the rest of the theological contortions…

I am sick and tired of this nonsense being spread around in emails and on blogs – spreading fiction as fact is makes Christians look like gullible idiots.

TRUTH OR FICTION: 12 Days of Christmas