Is this for real????

 

I know that politicians can be rather moronic at times (I mean the State of Florida has granted constitutional protection to pregnant pigs) but really tax breaks for having a mustache?   Can you say sexist?

 

Yes some women do have to worry about facial hair popping up but when it does most of us get rid of it.  So what is this ‘stache tax’ all about.  Isn’t taking care of your facial hair considered a part of your basic grooming?  If not I have a few other tax break suggestions for Representative Bartlett:

• Deodorant tax break
• Spa visit tax break
• Beauty Parlor/Barber shop tax break
• Depends tax break
• and just for us ladies The Tampax Kotex tax break!

 

Yes very stupid list isn’t it.  Tax breaks for basic grooming and hygiene.  How about we stop offering silly tax breaks for everything and work on generating some taxes to offset the monstrosity that we call a National Debt!

Now that I’ve had a bit of time…

RuPaul’s Drag Race is one of my favorite shows and each season I have watched it religiously.  Each season I have to give it a few weeks before I can settle on my picks.  I have to get a feel for the ladies and who they are.  So I’m finally settled on who I want to see in the final three.

Latrice Royale

It’s about time a big girl do something more than just show up on the show as a  token to prove ‘we don’t discriminate against big girls’.  It’s time for one to show up as a true contender.  Latrice is funny, smart and she is a professional.  I was just as disgusted by the shenanigans on last night’s Snatch Game episode as Latrice was.  The entire bottom row with the exception of Chad Michaels were an embarrassment.   If you want to give the illusion of being female, act like ladies and not a bunch of vulgar jocks in the locker room.

Chad Michaels

Out of all the celebrity impersonations I have seen on Snatch Game, Chad’s Cher was the most realistic I have ever seen and I loved that we got more than one version of Cher!  I also have to applaud Chad for keeping his cool and staying in character while everyone else on the front row acted like toddlers at recess.  I know that a lot of people would say that Chad doing Cher was safe since he is a Cher impersonator, but there are a lot of impersonators out there that will never be able to so perfectly mimic someone like Chad did.  Not just the make up and the look but the mannerisms and body language.

Sharon Needles

Sharon is still scary but she stands out from the pack.  That is the very same thing that caught my attention with Raja, last season’s winner.  Raja stood out.  While everyone else was trying to do the pageant beautiful drag, Raja did his/her own thing and brought a new feel to the runway.  Sharon has that same quality.  She’s a bit dark in her drag but it is fresh and the next anything should always be fresh and bring something new to the table.  And I have to say impersonating someone who is about to judge you for your drag takes guts.  You did it successfully with Michelle Visage.

RuPaul’s Drag Race is a search for America’s next Drag Superstar not America’s same old boring drag queen.  Latrice and Sharon would both qualify as fresh and new.  Sharon’s goth undercurrent or Latrice’s big bold and confident attitude would both be something new.

Now for two who cannot sashay away fast enough for me, Willam and PhiPhi.  PhiPhi is simply another boring pagent queen and Willam do you really think anyone bought your little academy award acting job last night?  I’ll be glad to see the last of both of you.

Andrea and Shane need to get their heads screwed on straight

Sometimes I wonder if I am seeing a special boadcast of TWD that is meant for me only.  Looking at some of the after show comments I can only think that these people are watching a different show than I am.  Last night really focused on two of the more despicable characters in the group of survivors, Shane and Andrea and the relationships they have with Rick and Lori respectively.

Shane and Rick

Shane is about as trustworthy as an addict left alone in a Pharmacy.  You can’t trust him any farther than you can throw him.  He is willing to throw anyone to the wolves to save his rear end and then use the excuse protecting (the group) to justify his actions.   He killed Otis to save his rear end and then used Carl as the excuse.  He’s willing to just kill Randall and uses the excuse of protecting the farm.  The only life that has any value to Shane is Shane’s.

However last night he got a little taste of his own medicine.  Trapped in a bus surrounded by walkers and watching his ‘best friend’ leave him there.  It was only temporary though.  Rick did come back for him but maybe Shane now knows what it feels like to be expendable.  Maybe now, knowing that Rick sees him for what he is will wake Shane up to reality but I doubt it.  Shane’s ego knows no bounds and following Rick’s lead doesn’t leave much room for Shane to go glory seeking.

Andrea and Lori

Andrea has the problem of thinking that being ‘one of the guys’ excuses her from being one of the group.  Yes Guard duty is important but it is not the only thing needed to survive and everyone needs to pitch in and get things done.  You can’t sit up on top of an RV with a gun in your hand all the time and think you are contributing anything.  Guarding camp is something that everyone does in addition to other needed chores.

Andrea needs to stop acting like being on guard duty is some big deal.  There is also work to be done and I don’t see Andrea doing any work.  Everyone is pitching in to get things done she needs to stop acting like ‘women’s work’ is beneath her, it takes all hands to get the work done.  Or if she just can’t bear to get her hands wet doing laundry, go feed some chickens or pull weeds in the garden.  It’s a farm there are more than enough chores to go around and they all need to be done.

Both Shane and Andrea need to realize what it takes for this group to survive.   Everyone has to work together.  Everyone has to value every life in that group and they have to understand the concept of compromise and of  maybe doing something you aren’t familiar with or would prefer not to do for the good of the group as a whole.

The only Oscar around my house is a weiner named Mayer!

It’s that time again, The Oscars are here!  That’s right, time for a bunch of self important Hollywood bigwigs to pat themselves on the back for the lackluster garbage that they usually churn out every year.  Think about it, how often does the Oscars actually reflect true success as measured at the box-office?

Case in point and what really turned me off about the Oscars was seeing Out of Africa pick up seven Academy Awards in 1985.  Out of Africa? Really?  $128,499,205 at the box office and a budget of $28 million.  And it was up against The Color Purple $142,000,000 box office with a budget of $15 million.  The saddest part is that I couldn’t find one person who had actually seen Out of Africa while almost everyone I knew had actually gone to the theater and seen The Color Purple!  Where did that $128 million in box office receipts come from exactly?

Occasionally someone in Hollywood messes up and gives awards to someone who makes movies that are successful with film goers (His name is usually James Cameron).  Do Titanic and Avatar ring a bell?  Both films were wildly successful with movie goers and the accolades were well deserved.

There’s also the fact that numerous great independent films get overlooked when it comes time to hand out the Oscars.  The Oscars are nothing more than a closed group doing a lot of ego stroking.  When the Oscars actually start reflecting real success with the public, then I’ll worry about them.

Until then I treat it like I treat Billboard rankings, nothing more than an attempt to manipulate and sell the public a bill of goods that has nothing to do with actual success, but in making Hollywood’s canned garbage look good.  I’ll just stick with the hot dog while watching The Walking Dead tonight, thanks.  At least that Oscar has proven success among the masses.

Deadliest Warrior Battle of the ‘undead’

Vampires vs Zombies

Okay I’m sorry but this is just too funny they take it so seriously. This is the full episode.  I just decided to rewatch this one before tuning in to the Walking Dead tonight.  I know who wins since I’ve seen it before, but no spoilers for those who may not have.  Who will be the deadliest in the end?

The shambling and starving dead

Fang-faced bloodsuckers

vs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does it Really Matter What the FDA Says at This Point?

Reblogged from peaceful controversy:

My brother sent me an interesting article about a drug called Qnexa that is about to come on the market.   The company that makes it, Vivus Inc, claims that Qnexa, which combines the appetite suppressant phentermine and anti-seizure drug topiramate, helped patients lose at least 10 percent of their weight after a year of treatment.

You can read the rest of the article here: …

Read more… 471 more words

I am not a very big fan of The FDA whose only function seems to be generating huge profits for Big Pharma and Mass Tort lawyers. This particular drug contains one of the main ingredients of FenPhen and we all know how that fiasco turned out. Take the time to also visit this link to gain an understanding of how we are put at risk by the relationship between the FDA and Big Pharma http://www.consumerjusticegroup.com/drugrecall/fdarecall2.html

I admit it I have a soft spot for the ‘tragic’ hero

Some of you may remember a show on SciFi Channel a few years ago called Lexx.  I absolutely loved that show and had a real soft spot for the character of Kai played by Michael McManus.  Talk about broken, the poor guy was dead, and had spent 2000 years as a mindless slave of the Divine Order.  He was a weapon of Destruction a Divine Assassin who killed on the orders of His Divine Shadow until Kai regained his memory.  Once he got his memory back he regained his free will and instead became a ‘hero’.

Regaining his memory and free will did not make things right for him, he was still dead, he was still a Divine Assassin and he was an emotional  cripple.  He never hesitated to say “The dead do not feel.”  It had to be tough because he could recognize emotions in others and probably on some level had emotional responses himself but was just unable to deal with the emotions within himself.

Needlessly to say he was wildly popular with female fans, Michael is very easy on the eyes (even while wearing a beehive that would make the girls from the B-52s envious).  But what I found appealing  was always that ‘broken’ part of Kai.  The way Michael played the role just made you want to fix it.  He was a hero without ever trying to be the hero.

And now there’s another tragic ‘hero’ gracing my television screen each week, Daryl Dixon.  Daryl is quite alive (and hopefully he will stay that way for a long time).   But he is just as emotionally stunted as Kai but for different reasons.

Daryl could be a very easy character to hate.  A bad tempered redneck riding around on a Nazi motorcyle? What’s not to hate about someone like that? But you don’t hate him.  That’s a testament to the way the role is handled by Norman Reedus.  Even though you intellectually think you should hate Daryl, there’s this human quality that shows through even when Daryl is at his worst.

 

Both Kai and Daryl are in some way ‘broken’ but they don’t dwell on it.   They are both in their own way ‘heroes’ but more of the quiet type of hero.  They aren’t Superman out saving the world in the bright red cape, they are more like Batman hiding behind the mask.

So what is it about these characters that resonate with me?  I don’t know maybe they spark my maternal instinct, I can be very ‘mothering’ at times.  Maybe it’s just a ‘typical’ female instinct to nurture.  But whatever it is, these are two characters that have to power to get fans (female especially) to emotionally invest in them.

Daryl, snap out of it already

There hasn’t been a lot of Daryl Dixon in the second half of the season but he is still a major topic of discussion, or rather his relapse is a major topic of discussion.  He seems to have reverted to the Daryl we first met, all that progress in the first half of the season appears to have been undone.  I don’t think it has I think what you are seeing is the Dixon Method of grieving.

Daryl invested a lot into finding Sophia safe and sound and although Sophia was found, she was anything but safe.  She was a walker, that had to be a major blow for him.  And as we all should know by now, Daryl is not the most emotionally mature person who has survived.  He has a temper and his usual emotional response is to lash out at others.

I tend to refer to finding Sophia as Daryl’s ‘Quest for the Holy Grail’.  We hoped it would end well but are we really surprised it didn’t?  And being that it didn’t are we really surprised that Daryl is not taking it well?  Sophia was a symbol of hope for him.

I think to really understand his reaction you have to think about why he was searching so hard for her in the first place.  After all everyone else gave up hope including her own mother, but Daryl clung to that hope like a lifeline.I personally think it is a combination of three reasons and not a single one of them was because his “other plans fell through” as he told Rick.

Reason 1-It gave him a sense of worth within the group.

Let’s face it, no one lost any sleep over the fact that Merle up and disappeared and everyone’s opinion of Merle is very clear.  Shane calls him a douchebag and no one argues with it other than Daryl.  Daryl is Merle’s baby brother and from the conversation around the campfire before Daryl returns it’s also clear that their opinion of Daryl isn’t much better. Finding Sophia was a chance to show people that he was not just a younger version of Merle, but his own man.

Reason 2-If he can find Sophia, maybe he can find Merle too

Merle is not dead, like Sophia he is missing.  Finding Sophia meant he could hold on to the hope that his brother may still be found alive.  While everyone else may call Merle douchebag, Daryl calls him big brother.  Merle is his family and the only family he has left.  Family tends to get unconditional love.  Merle may not have been the best brother in the world, but he is the only brother Daryl has  and having Merle around would mean that Daryl is not ‘alone’ anymore.

Reason 3- No one looked for him

Although when he tells Andrea about the time he got lost he makes it sound like no big deal, he was younger than the 12 year old Sophia.  A young child getting lost is frightening  and knowing that no one really cares that you are lost is even worse.  It will leave a scar even if it is not visible.  I’m sure Daryl probably had a few nightmares about it as a kid and he didn’t want Sophia to go through the same pain.

 

Although I love character of Daryl to pieces, he does have his flaws and his emotional immaturity is probably the biggest one of all.  He can grasp things mentally but he is not prepared to deal with them on an emotional level.  He sees things differently than the others and probably often sees innocent comments as attempts to push him away.  Rick has done this more than once.  Rick will say something and then add “I’m letting you off the hook.” but that is not what Daryl is hearing emotionally.  What he is hearing is “we don’t need or want you.”

Yes there are some issues that Daryl needs to work through, but he is going to have to learn how to better deal with those issues.  The group is also going to have to realize that he is seeing things differently than they are and realize that he needs reassurance of his place from everyone not just Carol.

Totally unexpected but thank you!

I just has a big shock when I came to check on my bog I found that I was given a few awards!  It was a very nice surprise and now to accept I have a few steps to take.

First I have to say thank you to Peaceful Controversy (AKA Shayna Abrams) for the awards.  She surprised me by nominating me for the awards and I want to let her and everyone else know how much I appreciate it.  This blog is mostly just me ranting raving and sharing my interests.  It is wonderful to know that others find it interesting too!

I really hope that you will take the time to visit her blog and I am going to follow her lead by sharing a couple of her posts that I found especially interesting:

Calling all Athiests

When What You Look Like Defines You

And now that my spur of the moment Thank Youspeech is done, on to the other steps (In the interest of time I did copy and paste this section from Shayna’s post then added my own answers):

• Act like a God among bloggers (write a post)
• Give your Acceptance and Thank you speech  for the one whom blessed you with the honor.
• Give the cream of your crop the award as well
• Post awards on your blog if accepted

In order to accept The Sparkly Ten Commandments Award I must:

• Give Thanks
• Answer Ten Questions with Honestly
• Pass it on to Ten Other Bloggers

1. Describe yourself in seven words:  I am a content, well rounded person.
2. What keeps you up at night? I worked swing shifts and graveyard shifts for so long that I just can’t fall asleep before midnight.
3. Whom would you like to be?  I am happy being who I am.
4.  What are you wearing now? Jeans and an old comfortable Tee.
5. What scares you?  The idea that I might become complacent, There is always something new to discover in the world
6. What are the best and worst things about blogging? The best thing is the new people that I have met, the worst thing is struggling to be inspired to write.
7. What was the last website you looked at? Peaceful Controversy
8. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? Just one thing? I’m sure that like many of us there are a lot of things I would wish to change, but God made me as he wanted me to be so I accept myself as he made me.
   
9.  Slankets, yes or no? What the heck is a Slanket????
10. Tell us something about the person who nominated you.  We have never met but I have found her to be very interesting and and someone that can communicate her ideas and thoughts very clearly.

Now that this part is done comes the fun part! Picking 10 blogs to give the honor.

1. Grief: One Woman’s Perspective As a surviving parent (I lost my daughter in 2005) I find it comforting to know that others can understand my pain.   It can feel like you are completely alone at times.

2. Empire Avenue Tips Last year a friend invited me to join this site which is a sort of an investment type ‘game’.   It can be confusing at times and having a blog that I can refer to for tips and strategies is very helpful.

3. My Blog is Problematic I happen to be one of the millions of fans of the Walking Dead and I love to find others to discuss the show with.  It’s really interesting to get the take that others have on the show.

4. Creature with the Atom Brain I’m also a horror nut. I grew up on Saturday Night Creature Features so horror is in my blood.  It’s nice to see someone else not just blog on the current crop of slasher movies but also go back to the classics both on film and in print

5. Digital Filipino-Info TechThis is another Empire Avenue resource for me.  I learn more by seeing what works for players like me than by reading the ‘official’ blog.

6. Rustic Savage This blog is from a wild man living in the great white north that I have known for a few years now.  He creates beautiful handcrafted rustic furniture.

7. Newbie Marketers In my online time for my business I have seen so many naive marketers get scammed and conned over the years.  It’s about time that someone pointed out the pitfalls.

8. Life Esstential Yes it is a business blog but water is something that we cannot live without, and it can be eye opening to realize exactly what is going on with the water we depend on to survive.

9. Ask Old Coot I have known the author of this blog for a few years also and he is my favorite person to debate with.  I have the utmost respect for someone who can take a stance different from my own and intelligently argue their point.

10. The Main Street Analyst I love well rounded blogs like this that mix business with things of general interest. 

Camp Rick vs Camp Shane

Yesterday I mentioned the fact that AMC has a real opportunity with the walking dead to play up the tensions between the surviviors.  There is a definite split in leadership going on.  There is very clearly two camps on the farm, Camp Rick and Camp Shane.  This could be built into a mini-war among the survivors and I thought about how the division might play out.

Camp Rick

Let’s face it, Rick  has a leg up here.  Lori and Carl are automatically going to be in his camp because they are his family and Lori has made it plain that she will support her husband even if she doesn’t necessarily agree with him.  She also realizes that Shane is dangerous.  Dale is also clearly in Rick’s camp he realized the danger Shane posed before anyone else did.  Hershel may own the farm but Rick’s diplomatic handling of Hershel will put Hershel and all of his people in Rick’s camp.   Glenn is also in Rick’s camp we see a lot more of Glenn interacting with Rick than Shane.

Camp Shane 

Shane is manipulative yes.  He spends a lot of time trying to convince people that he is the best thing since the invention of the wheel but he is also reckless and confrontational.  But he has his supporters Like Andrea.  Shane is Andrea’s Svengali, he can do no wrong in her eyes.   Andrea’s thought processes are very much like Shane’s, she’s not as reckless as he is but she also believes in using a gun to handle every crisis. T-Dog is also in Shane’s camp.  T-Dog believes that Shane’s actions at the barn were the right one.

The Dark Horse-Daryl 

Yes Daryl is the dark horse here.   If he gets his head out of his rear end he could be the spoiler in the fight.  Carol is firmly in his corner and he has no problems with pulling the trigger but unlike Shane he won’t be aiming at your leg when he does.  He’s also much more intelligent than Shane.  He doesn’t go looking for confrontation, but back him in a corner and you will get it.  He puts the needs of the group first.  Daryl will assess a situation before pulling the trigger and if it is not a threat, he leaves it be.  Remember the walker hanging in the tree?  Daryl could also pull T-Dog from Shane’s camp since it was Daryl that saved T-Dog’s life and Daryl who gave T-Dog the antibiotics.  The key is that Daryl can work with Rick without the constant confrontation, Daryl can’t work with Shane in this way.  Sooner or later one of them would be dead and as much as I hate to say it, it would probably be Daryl.  Not because Shane is better than Daryl but because Shane has proven he will shoot someone without warning if it benefits him.