Feeling kind of down today. Last day of a five-day vacation; the new position swings into full gear tomorrow. Could put a real dent in the fun I’ve been having here in the blogsphere.
Plus, after weeks of sunny weather, it’s totally cloudy and partly rainy. If it’s going to be that way, I want thunder and lightning! “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!”
Adding injury to insult, it seems I’ve once again proved my unfitness to be among the human race; once again intended to help, but caused hurt feelings instead. And per the weird synchronicity that inhabits my life, on the same day, a post on Talk To Diana speaks to that very issue!
I am the poster child for Foot-in-Mouth disease! Quasimodo thinking he can ever find a place among the townspeople.
[sigh]
Speaking of stuff that puts me in a black mood, the spam-turds have been working overtime lately.
Might have something to do with having posted so much material lately. Some of them, the “comment” is a page long and filled with links to their crap.
They seem, in part, to trigger off the post’s content. I’ve gotten a lot of cigar spam on a post that mentions them twice.
And I’ve been getting some really weird spam for porn sites off this post, and I’m not sure why. Maybe from the word sewage? (And I mean really weird. WTF weird.)
Funny thing is, I did an anti-spammer rant a while back, and that post has now generated eight glowing “comments” from spam-turds.
One says the post was, “Truly beneficial thank you,” and goes on to suggest my readers would want “far more items” along such lines.
Another also offers profuse thanks and then says they have a client they’re thinking of implementing my idea on (in addition to their own blog). And there’s one that says this is an “excellent website” that has all the facts they need concerning this subject.
Then there were three I got in one day, and the grammar and spelling is all good, and the comment almost seems like legitimate praise. But all three have nearly the same phrasing — just tiny changes in the wording.
I used to think that people using cell phones while driving was the human sub-group that annoyed me above all others. Spam-turds are starting to vie for that position.
[sigh]
Switching gears and moods: movies (always a more enjoyable topic)!
I finally saw Tower Heist the other day.
I liked it more than I expected to. I like Ben Stiller, but I often don’t much care for his characters. I like it when he plays someone savvy and smart.
And it was nice to see Téa Leoni and Eddie Murphy again.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised I liked the movie more than expected. Director Brett Ratner is behind the Rush Hour movies and the delicious Horrible Bosses.
I also saw Hop, which was cute and diverting. (One might say it was full of fluff.)
Oddly, I most liked the bits with David Hasselhoff (as himself).
And I have a weird attraction to Chelsea Handler, so it was fun seeing her in a (small) role.
On my “Wow! Ah! Eh! Meh! Nah! Ugh!” scale, both get a strong “Eh!“
That basically means I’m glad I saw them, I enjoyed them, but probably won’t watch them again (but would sit through them if someone I was with really wanted to see them).
I don’t often award a “Wow!” but the third movie I saw gets one easily: Brassed Off.
It’s a powerful and very moving British film with Ewan McGregor, Tara Fitzgerald and the amazing Pete Postlethwaite.
It’s about how life in a British coal mining town is ripped apart in the name of progress. It’s also about the town’s brass band, which is made up of those of coal miners.
It was advertised as a romantic comedy, which is a bit like saying Groundhog Day is a romantic comedy about a television reporter. Both films are so much more, so much deeper.
And both are films you must see.
I was vaguely reminded of a film, Drumline, which is also about a “marching band,” which again really doesn’t begin to describe the films.
The commonality is that, while I’ve never been a big fan of marching band music, both films opened new doors to music appreciation for me.
In both I was astonished at what can be done with drumming or with brass.
The first piece they play in Brassed Off (Rodrigo‘s Concerto d’Aranjuez) moved me to tears. (As did their rendition of Danny Boy, a piece that usually just takes me apart.)
I had no idea a brass group could produce music that sweet and tender and moving. I’d always thought of brass as kind of loud and often shrill.
I was never a fan of the band Chicago for instance. But, wow, if brass can play like that, call me a fan!
[To be clear, by brass I mean horns (labrosones), not anything in the reed (technically, woodwind) family. I’ve always loved saxophone music.]
The guy who recommended the film is the same one who pushed The Sand Pebbles on me (which I wrote about recently).
That also turned out really well.
He’s also urged me to see A Christmas Story (which I mentioned two days ago as a serious gap in my film viewing).
And he’s recommended Primer, which I’ve heard is good and been meaning to see (sounds very much like my kind of film). Looks like he might be 4-4 on film recommendations (definitely 2-2)!
[exit stage left]
“Mend your speech a little, lest you may mar your fortunes.“
[curtain falls]
Logos con carne 
September 17th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
So ‘Smitty’…Have you said that you’re sorry yet? Acknowledging your own shortcomings and saying “I’m sorry” directly to this person will go a long way to mend hurt feelings.
All you’ve done is to indirectly acknowledge that you hurt someones’ feelings… in what…two or three sentences? You then start babbling about all other sorts of stuff.
And to top it all off, you go ahead and blame your “weird synchronicity that inhabits (your) life” as a possible cause or reason for your misbehavior.
Whoever it is (and I greatly suspect who it might be) doesn’t deserve your explanations or your ‘glossing over it’ by writing about other things that don’t pertain to the reason you started writing this blog today.
So you feel kind of down, eh? How do you suppose the person you hurt feels right now. Put yourself in her shoes and then when you’ve thought about it for more than a moment, give her the kind of sincere apology she deserves.
September 17th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
In fact, yes, I have apologized.
If I am indirect it’s because it all happened off-line, and as you’ve written about in your blog, there are lines to be drawn between what we publicly share and what we keep private. I mention it at all here only to explain my mood.
There was no line drawn between what you call my “misbehavior” and the synchronicity of my life; I wasn’t attempting to excuse anything. I have found my life filled with weird coincidences; the one I mentioned was just one of them. It’s a bit like how when you learn a new word, you seem to start hearing it, often the very day you learned it. It was an observation, not an explanation, let alone an excuse.
My “babbling” isn’t intended in any way to “gloss” over anything. I write what I write, and I doubt anyone but me has a handle on my reasons. And certainly no one but me has any say in what I choose to write.
If the hostility of your comment is genuinely directed at me (as opposed to having a bad day or moment), I am in the dark as to what I might have said or done to offend you.
September 17th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Pardon me, but I misunderstood. I believed you to be cavalier with your mention of it in this blog. This will teach me to keep my nose out of someone else’s business especially online since only 25% is communicated through words, and I misinterpreted your words; my apologies.
September 17th, 2012 at 5:04 pm
It has nothing to do with you. I am sorry…:(
September 17th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Apology accepted. You just don’t know me well enough to trust my intentions. I would never be cavalier with someone’s feelings, especially online.
If you are seeking some sort of penance, may I suggest viewing Brassed Off? It’s well worth it!
🙂
September 17th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
On a lighter note, thanks for the mention Smitty and good luck on the new job tomorrow! 🙂
September 17th, 2012 at 8:11 pm
[engage Fargo voice] Oh, yeah, sure you betcha. No problem there. [disengage voice]
And thanks! The vacation is definitely over starting tomorrow!! 😮
September 18th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Live long and prosper!
September 18th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Long life and prosperity!
September 18th, 2012 at 7:08 am
Congratulations! You are the first blogger to include pictures of Quasimodo, a dung beetle and the Easter Bunny all in the same post. Of course that designation is based solely on my observation. I would need to do a little more search to confirm this honor, but I think it is safe for you to begin celebrating your accomplishment.
September 18th, 2012 at 7:17 am
Ha! Thank you!! I do bounce around a bit, don’t I. Well, what can I say; my blog reflects my brain. It bounces around a lot, too!
Thanks for dropping by and joining the fun!
September 18th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Spam-Turds…heh heh *sigh*
I’ve nominated you for the “Wonderful Team Member Readership Award” . For details, just visit my most recent post. I will understand if you do not participate, I just wanted to show my appreciation for what you do!! Have a great day!
September 18th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Well thank you very much! I’m honored!! (I’ll drop by and check it out later.)
May 18th, 2013 at 12:56 pm
May 18th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
This is one of the great classics, isn’t it (and far more subtle than his other great classic, Blazing Saddles). [Here’s a weird bit of synchronicity: this is the second time TODAY that I’ve referenced Blazing Saddles in a comment! Neither of them were gratuitous, either.]
I’ll have to throw the DVD on and enjoy this again very soon!!
May 18th, 2013 at 1:06 pm
By the way: I’ve met Madeline Kahn. She was interviewed in a Los Angeles local cable access show that I did some tech for back in the day. I made her laugh! High point of my joke-making career!
April 4th, 2024 at 9:27 am
[…] by way of excusing the dreadful consistency of this so-called Monday Miscellany series. Episodes in 2012, 2014, and then not again until 2020, is barely a series. Another one so soon is definitely […]