Reading ew.com today I came across an article talking about Kim Kardashian's bio that was posted on the IMDB site. It's since been taken down, but here's an excerpt from it:
Kim Kardashian is emblematic of the shallowness of American culture in the first two decades of the new millennium. While some cultural critics call her the prime avatar of the "famous for being famous" faux celebrity crowd, she along with Paris Hilton is a new breed of cat whose celebrity comes from the release of a sex tape and the canny exploitation of the resulting publicity. Like her good friend Miss Hilton (their relationship predates Kim's "celebrity", Kardashian is possessed of photogenic good looks but is short of any other discernible talents outside of the bedroom. Both expanded their celebrity by becoming reality TV "stars".
Porn pioneer Harry Reems has commented how surprised he is at how porn stars like Jenna Jameson are accepted now in mainstream culture. His life was ruined by his participation in porn in its "Golden Years". As for Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, the release (accidental or not-so-accidental) of boudoir tapes didn't result in shame but celebration. America like ancient Rome seems to have shuffled off the moral coil of virtue of the Republic and is now enjoying its Imperial self in an orgy of ignominy. It's always more fun on the toboggan ride down the hill than it was schlepping up it in the first place.
OUCH!
Before IMDB took the bio down, Uproxx was able to get a full screen shot of it. Check it out:
This past weekend I experienced the Charlottesville Marathon up close.
Running is a sport that I truly do not understand. I don't run unless I'm being chased by a wild animal (which wouldn't happen because I don't hang out in the woods.) Since the water stop was in front of the radio station, I volunteered to drag my rear out of bed at 6:00 AM and help out with some of my co-workers.
Actually, it was very hard work! Not only did we pour hundreds of cups of water and set them up on the table, but we actually stood in the path of the runners and handed them cups as they ran by us. I was smart enough to choose water duty and not Gatorade duty, as I ended up wearing more liquid than the runners were able to drink. Actually, I should have taken Gatorade duty as it would have given me an excuse to go by more clothes to replace whatever got ruined by orange liquid.
Overall, working the water stop wasn't exactly what I expected, but it was fun to hang out on a Saturday morning with friends and watch hot looking guys in short shorts run by!
I was watching "The Today Show" this morning, and they were broadcasting from a job fair in New York City on board the US Navy ship The Intrepid.
This was not your everyday job fair, but the first of many job fairs planned across the country focused on helping returning veterans to find jobs in the civilian world.
First of all, I think it's great that corporate America is making a huge effort to help these men and women. I have several veterans in my family - my father served in WWII, both of my brothers were career military officers, my niece served two tours of Iraq and my nephew is entering a cadet program when he starts college in the fall and will serve in the military after he graduates. After serving our country for 20+ years, both of my brothers struggled with entering the civilian job market, despite having advanced degrees and many skills. The men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have sacrificed a lot for us (whether you agree with the reasons for these wars or not) and deserve this break that this initiative is offering them.
The part of this story that really grabbed me, however, was that KISS has a job opening for a roadie for the upcoming tour with Motley Crew, and they want to hire a veteran for this position. You may think being a roadie is a cool job, but I'll warn you that it's not for the faint of heart. I have been involved in the production end of concerts and the roadies really work their tails off! They start very early in the morning constructing the stages, sets and rigging. They unload all of the sound and lighting equipment which isn't lightweight, set it up, unload the instruments and get things ready by soundcheck time. Then, immediately following the show, tear everything down, load it up into the trucks, and travel all night to the next gig. Early the next morning, they do it all over again. The shows I've been involved in are nothing compared to the scale of a KISS show, so this job is no doubt going to be even harder than what I've seen!
If I haven't scared you off, and you're still interested in the job, AND you're a veteran, of course, you can send your resume and contact information to:
Today marks two years since "Obama Care" was passed. Has it solved our health care problems?
I take care of my 83-year-old mother. A few months ago she fell and broke her hip, and spent 30 days in a rehab center recovering from the break and the surgery to repair it. I just saw the itemized bill, and discovered exactly what is wrong with our health care system:
She was essentially in the rehab center to get physical therapy so she could walk again. The physical therapists that work there did a super job, and I can't complain about them. Someone, however, whether it was a physician or an official at the rehab center, also ordered that she receive speech therapy! She was billed for that, and apparently Medicare and her supplemental insurance paid for it, no questions asked. The problem, as I see it, is that she didn't need speech therapy! She broke her hip - she did not suffer any kind of head injury that impaired her speech, nor did she suffer a stroke (another common need for speech therapy.)
It's unneccessary care like this for people who don't need it that drives the premiums up and makes it difficult for many people to be able to afford to get health insurance and the necessary care that they do need.
My sweet tooth was acting up over the weekend so I decided to bake some cookies. I decided to bake a batch of M&M cookies, so I went to Target to pick up a bag of M&M's.
Decisions... decisions...
I never realized there were so many different kinds of M&M's. Buying M&M's used to be a pretty simple decision... male or female (with or without nuts). Now, however, there are peanut butter, pretzel, almond, dark chocolate, even coconut flavors. Oh... and there are cherry M&M's special for Valentine's Day. Did you know that M&M's even come in three sizes? Not the size of the bag, but the size of the candies - mini, medium (the normal size) and large!
Unfortunately, Target didn't have any mint M&M's on Saturday...apparently those are only available for Christmas. So much for the chocolate mint M&M cookie recipe I was going to try this time. I had to settle for a bag of traditional "female" M&M's and bake regular M&M cookies. I wonder what special M&M flavors they'll have for Easter!
Hershey's Kisses are the same.... traditional milk chocolate, hugs (with milk and white chocolate swirled), almond, cherry cordial, etc.
When did buying a bag of candy become so difficult?
I have an 8 1/2 year old dachshund named Marvin whom I've raised since he was a puppy, and according to Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer) and every other book and/or article I've read about dog training, I've made every mistake possible!
First, his diet. He does not like dog food! When he was a young puppy, he was on the right track. I gave him a bowl of dry dog food twice a day with a spoonful of canned dog food on top. He ate it with such enthusiasm every day. Then, when he was a few months old, I sat in front of the TV with a plate of leftover pot roast for my dinner. Marvin looked at me with such longing eyes that I gave him some of my meat, and he never wanted to go back to that crap that came out of bags and cans. Since then, he gets a plate of whatever meat I happen to be eating, whether it's beef, chicken, turkey, pork chops, lamb chops, etc. And if I'm not having meat for dinner, I cook a piece of chicken just for him!
The one exception - he does not like hamburger or meat loaf. I remember years ago, I made a small steak for myself and tried to give him a plate of leftover meatloaf. I ended up switching with him because he wouldn't touch the meatloaf.
Second, he leaves me presents around the house. It doesn't matter how many times I take him out during the course of the day or night, I can always find a new yellow spot or a pile of something.
Third, he will not leave me alone, whatsoever. I cannot sit and relax for 15 minutes in the house without him crying or staring at me or scratching me, trying to tell me that he wants something. Good luck trying to figure out what he wants! As a result, I'm constantly getting up and following him around, trying to figure out what he wants. And he will not be ignored!
However, when he's concentrating on a bone, God forbid if you get anywhere near him... get within a few feet of his space and he turns into Cujoe!
So, as you see, I have my hands full with this one. Any suggestions?
Last night was the first in what will seem like an endless string of preliminaries leading up to the November election... The Iowa Caucus. The result was essentially too close to call - Romney just edged out Santorum to win by 8 votes, and Paul came in a not too distant third place.
Now we get to listen to the "experts" argue as to what these results mean, and whether or not they even matter as the contest gets underway.
The general election is almost a year away, and I'm already suffering from fatigue... from the hundreds of debates, to all of the news coverage, the Sunday morning political shows and now the primaries. Just wait until the nominee is chosen and the campaign ads hit us!
Do you suppose this is why voter turnout is generally low?
Thanksgiving done, and now it's Christmas time. Everyone gets all stressed out about shopping for gifts - running up credit card bills that will take another two years to pay off, scrambling to find the perfect gift that you think will just blow that recipient away.
It ain't worth it!
I used to run all over town to find the "perfect gifts" for my family, and yes, I spent a small fortune every Christmas. Guess what - I never saw any of them use the gifts that I gave them. Similarly, they would give me gifts that weren't my taste, that didn't fit, and that I had no use for - so after Christmas, I would be standing on line in the stores that I think the gifts came from, trying to exchange them for something I would actually use.
Two words - GIFT CARDS!
Spend only what you can afford and get them gift cards for a store that you know they like to shop in or a restaurant that you know they like to eat in. They'll appreciate it a lot more and you're blood pressure won't climb in the process!
I'm Roxy, and that's my "companion animal" Wiener Dog. (the word "pet" is inappropriate when talking about your dogs or cats) When I was young, I wanted to be like Pat Benatar, but since I couldn't sing, and the only instrument I played well was the stereo, I decided to do this for a living. I look forward to getting to know you.
