The Appreciation of the Fine Arts

In the slow yet steady changes of our generations, we have lost something valuable. What did we lose? We have lost the true love and enjoyment of the Fine Arts. I must admit, that sitting through some operas or orchestra performances can bore me. This is a result of my uneducated mind. I am unable to truly separate and decide the enjoyable from the true art. Honestly, ask yourself how many young people do you know that will sit quietly and attentively to a live production of Mefistofele or even Henry IV? It is a shame that we have neglected to value something so beauty as true Fine Art.

With all that said, I want to tell you about my experiences with the Fine Arts. It is a beautiful culture that is often overlooked. So to help correct or at least stabilize our generation’s view of the Arts. The university I have been attending for the last 3 ½ years has put on many different Fine Art performances to help our appreciation. We have been required to learn how to act, dress, and present ourselves in these performances. It has been my privilege to see many performances including Henry IV, Henry V, Mefistofele, and Rigoletto. The most recent performance was The Pirates of Penzance. It was a New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players performance.

The Pirates of Penzance is an operatic comedy. It is filled with color, drama, romance, and life. The characters help bring to life the story. If you have not had the chance to watch the movie or the performance, I encourage you to go and see it.

Of course, many of us are not inclined to go listen to opera or other “classical” performances, myself included. Yet it is relished in the beauty of the Fine Arts and culture. We need to revive in our generation a new love and appreciation for true artistic talent.

Creepy Clowns

Ok so most of us have feared something in our life. For me, it has been heights and clowns, the latter being for multiple reasons. The first reason because they are people dressed up to look cute, but honestly who likes men (and women) with fake red noses, big painted smiles, and clothes that are way too big? The second reason was a result of Stephen King’s movie the “IT.” Call me a coward but I honestly cannot stand clowns.

Of course, now I have even a third reason. Did you hear about the creepy, stalker clown in Chicago? Yeah, definitely not a Halloween joke! Some man dressed up like a clown with balloons (he has obviously heard of Stephen King’s IT) and tried to coax kids into his van. The Chicago police are still searching for this man, because they have yet to find him. (Does this sound familiar?)

So the next time, I hear a parent tell their child(ren) that clowns are perfectly harmless, I’m gonna laugh. Clowns, in and of themselves, are not evil, but inherently children see past the outward appearance and freak. So do not try and make your child(ren) like clowns but divert their attention to something more enjoyable such as jugglers or animals. Besides, none of us want our children too trusting of those “cute” dressed up men, because they are still strangers.

What Happened to Caylee Anthony?

After months of searching, praying, accusing, and wondering, the possible findings of little Caylee Anthony's body was announced Friday morning to a Florida Judge. Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony is charged with her daughter's murder. So we know what the big question is: Are the remains really Caylee Anthony's? Current test results have not revealed this answer, but based off of anatomical measurements and hair samples of the remains, it appears to be Caylee. 

It amazes me that even throughout this entire investigation and pending trial, Casey Anthony has held to her plea of of innocence. Yet she has swayed in her story. It has not been the same nor has anything she said been proven as fact. Example: There was no babysitter. Neither was there someone even living at the claimed home of the babysitter. Casey Anthony has no support for what she has claimed to be proof of her innocence. 

But on the other side, Casey Anthony's parents have not helped the investigation. They reported the smell in the car and Caylee's disappearance. At first they seemed to be accusing their daughter of the murder, but now they are claiming that she is innocent. It appears that they too seem to change their stories frequently.

I realize that we all lie or are coerced into lying, but it seems to me that a mother accused of killing her own child would want to prove her innocence by helping the investigators. Honestly, I have no real proof that Casey Anthony is anymore guilty than her own parents. The news seems to run around in circles with the so called proof. Nowhere have the investigators proved that they have a link between Caylee's death and her mother or grandparents. Hopefully the discovery of these remains will close this ongoing, nationally known investigation. 

A Clear Understanding is Helpful when Communicating

There is this rather old fashioned lady, always quite delicate and elegant especially in language. She and her husband were planning a week's vacation in Florida, so she wrote to a particular campground and asked for reservation. She wanted to make sure the campground was fully equipped but didn't quite know how to ask about the toilet facilities. She just couldn't bring herself to write the word "toilet" in her letter. After much deliberation, she finally came up with the old fashioned term "bathroom commode."  But when she wrote it down, she still thought she was being too forward.  So she started all over again, rewrote the entire letter and referred to the bathroom commode as the "B.C."  "Does the campground have its own B.C.?" is what she actually wrote. Well, the campground owner wasn't old fashioned at all and when he got the letter he just couldn't figure out what the old woman was talking about. That "B.C." business really stumped him.  After worrying about it for a while, he showed the letter to several campers, but they couldn't imagine what the lady meant either.  So the camp owner, finally coming to the conclusion that the lady must be asking about the local Baptist Church, sat down and wrote the following reply: Dear Madam, I regret very much the delay in answering your letter, but I now take the pleasure of informing you that a B.C. is located 9 miles north of the campground, and is capable of seating 250 people at the same time.  It is located at a beautiful pine grove and is open only on Sundays and Wednesdays.  I admit it is quite a distance away if you are in the habit of going regularly, but no doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunch along and make a day of it.  They usually arrive early and stay late. My daughter met her husband in the B.C. The last time my wife and I went was six years ago and it was so crowded, we had to stand up the whole time we were there.  Sometimes it is so crowded; there are 5 to a seat. It may interest you to know that right now there is a supper planned to raise money to buy more seats.  They're going to hold it in the basement of the B.C. I would like to say that it pains me very much not to be able to go more regularly, but it is surely due to the lack of desire on my part.  As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in the cold weather. If you do decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time you go, sit you down and introduce you to all the other folks.  We will be sure to have a seat up front where you can be seen by everyone.  Remember, we are a friendly community. Sincerely yours, (The campground owner)

 Author: Unknown

The Pocket Taser

This was submitted by a guy who purchased his lovely wife a "pocket Taser" for their anniversary.

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 22nd anniversary, and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Toni. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Taser. The consequences of the Taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse effects on her assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety.... WAY TOO COOL!

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two triple-A batteries in the thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arch of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. Awesome!!!

Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Toni what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?!!!

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, Taser in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.

Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5 inches long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference -- pretty cute, really -- and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries, thinking to myself, "No possible way!"

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.....

I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as if to say, "Don't do it, master," reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad.... I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the fun of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and HOLY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!!

I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, and then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, my chest on fire, my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs. The cat was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, "Do it again, do it again!"

Note: If you ever feel compelled to "mug" yourself with a Taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself. You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three-second burst would be considered conservative.

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up, and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they get up there???

My triceps, right thigh, and my chest were still twitching. My face felt as if it had been shot up with Novocain and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.

Still in shock,

Tommy

Virus Free

So here’s for random news! Over the weekend, I received a Hallmark postcard. My friend had said that she was sending me a cute Hallmark e-card so I clicked on the zip file attachment. It did not open. It did not say whom the postcard was from but it looked real. The email, which I received three more times, was actually a virus! Blessing of a Mac! I did not get infected. Our campus computer technicians quickly sent out a warning, but not before a large portion of the campus PCs were infected. Such a sad way to start the Holidays. Since most people spend this time of the year looking out for physical viruses, the thought of every one’s computer having a virus was almost laughable – just almost.

So if you happen to stumble across an email for a Hallmark postcard, delete it. Most scammers have learned that people nonchalantly open emails supposedly linked to e-cards without really paying attention to the email. In this particular email, it states that you have received a Hallmark postcard from a friend. Click on the link below to view your card. Yes, it is the same blah blah blah information with one very vital piece of information missing! The sender’s name and email address are absent! Also it included a zip file. Not real either! If you open this on a PC, you will corrupt your computer with a Trojan virus that will automatically start sending Hallmark “postcards” to all your friends. So be alert during this Holiday Season. It is no time for us to be spreading computer viruses around. Stay clean and away from corrupt Hallmark emails!