Fight the Good Fite (ha ha!)

Apparently, Fitfreak and I aren't the only ones peeved by cutesy signs and GRIEVOUS misspellings! I read in the Boston Globe today that there are two men traveling across country trying to fix signs with spelling and grammatical errors. Armed with white-out, markers, ink, pens and tape, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson are traveling to California and back, moving apostrophes and making sure that everyone gets their just desserts (NOT DESERTS!)

"I figured, Steinbeck had his dog and Kerouac had his drugs. I'd have my typos," said the 28-year-old Deck of what he calls his Typo Hunt Across America tour.

My other favorite quote from Deck was this: It's easy to overlook and dismiss the misuse of apostrophes," he said. "But there came a point when I couldn't hold it anymore. I decided to make this a national campaign, although I was kind of looking for an excuse to travel around the country anyway."

I watched "Into The Wild" on the return plane trip from London (YES, I"M STILL TALKING ABOUT MY TRIP!) If you're not familiar with this film, it is based on the book of the same name about a young man named Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp. Why name yourself after one of the LAMEST bands in 70's music???) Upon his college graduation, McCandless decided to give away what was left of his college fund to Oxfam, BURNED all of his pocket cash, ditched his car, and then, without any communication with his parents or sister, hitchhiked around the United States (not to mention illegally entering and exiting Mexico) and then had the monumentally brainless idea to hike out into the Alaskan Wilderness and live off the land.

A noble endeavor? A fool's errand? I can appreciate McCandless' idea of rejecting his affluent upbringing and wanting to lead a life of meaning. Unfortunately, he died alone in a broken down bus, trapped and starving in the Alaskan wilderness. (according to the Boston Globe movie review, apparently many Alaskans view McCandless as an "...idiot of classic proportions".

All that, and the bus where McCandless died has become a tourist attraction.

This got me thinking. When my children are old enough to leave the nest (thank God, that's a good 8-10 years away!) would I want them to pursue a life less shallow, as Christopher McCandless did, or would I want them hunting for stray typos and apostrophes across this great nation?

I'm willing to pay for the white-out myself.


Check out the link above to see Deck and Herson's trip across country.

Why? Why? Why?

I have an unusual name....or at least I thought it was unusual, and it was certainly not common during the 1970's when I grew up.  All my gal pals were named Amy, Jennifer, Laura, Cindy, Melissa etc.  Nice normal, easily pronounceable names.  My name wasn't exactly in the top baby names of the era.  BUT....all of my siblings had unusual names, named after far flung Irish relatives, grandparents, aging aunts....so I had plenty of shoulders to cry on if need be. 

Personal note.....NOW...I love my name.  I was named after my mother...and happy for it!  It matches my sparkling and fabulous personality!  

But what is in a name?  I have a very dear friend who works in the maternity area of a local hospital.  She regales me with hysterical stories of what some new moms are naming their babies.....and these are honest to god true....

Lemon Jello

Orange Jello

Precious Princess

Fenway

Female (pronounced Femahle)

Male (pronounced Mahle)

Ebony

Ivory

Cam'ron

Bitchy Itchy

Gladiator

Placenta

Lil Trash which turned into Letisha after threats of DSS getting involved.

And so many, many more.  Some of them are well, culturally influenced, so the spelling and pronunciation can be different...but still!!!  How the hell is Lemon Jello going feel when he is called upon at the dentists office or over the loud speaker in school? 

"Will Lemon Jello please report to the office."  "Lemon Jello, your plane is now boarding. "Repeat-  Passenger Lemon Jello, Flight 216 is now boarding. " "Lemon Jello, the doctor will see you now."  C'mon!  Are people this silly or just downright cruel?

I am convinced now more than ever that my unusual name isn't so unusual after all!  Thanks Mum!

The Oprahphication of America

I have a been a Oprah watcher for appx twenty years. I can remember the days when I was 17 and I would slug home from High School and sit down, tune in and watch the latest schadenfreude of someone else's life. I've seen it all. Her weight loss, her weight gain. Her weight gain, her weight loss. Her stories on all aspects of American life...the good, the bad and the ugly.

It is recently that I have tired of Oprah. It's not been an easy revelation, I mean I have been a devotee for 20 years!!!....but one I have unfortunately come to. Here are some thoughts on the Oprah of 2008.

1. I am sick to death of Oprah promoting herself and her damn magazine...which she is ALWAYS on the cover of.

2. I am tired of your constant brown nosing/sucking up of celebrities that are your BFF's and the movies they are promoting. I mean, I'm all for helping out a friend....but does it have to be EVERY DAY that we are subjected to Tom, Katie, Celine, Bernie Mac, Julia, George, Jen, Halle, Denzel, so on and so on?? I don't really care about these people and their newest and greatest movie, the amount of pure energy and effort they put into their latest role and how damn hard it is being a celebrity and all that other crap. Basically they are BORING and to a degree FAKE. Every movie that they are carping about...you can be sure to hear Oprah say "oh, and audience, was this not the BEST movie you have ever seen?? Applause, hooting, applause, shrieking, applause." Really now, how can they all be the BEST? Some SUCKED. But I guess she can't say that.

3. I am done with the goody two shoes give your entire life over to being a perfect and giving person. I don't need a preacher or a sermon from you...I go to church for that. Not to be a total bitch...I know what she is trying to get at...and I admire it....but does it have to be EVERY third show? I mean I am totally all for the Girls School in Africa, the Angel Network and her new show The Big Give. But again, every THIRD show? I want smut and drama!

4. I am sooooooooooooooooooo sick of the let's find out every little thing that is wrong with ourselves, like when we stubbed our pinky toe when we were 2 and your brother called you a stupid idiot, and now you are overweight, jobless, living on $90K in credit card debit, and your boyfriend is a loser and you blame it all on that PINKY TOE. Self reflection is just that......for your SELF.

5. Do you remember when Oprah was sued for the meat thing by the Texas Cattle people? They were mad that Oprah said she wouldn't eat beef and they claimed she caused millions of people to not buy beef. I have a theory on the current economic downturn....Oprah has repeatedly told us to simplify our lives, stop spending money on dumb things (which I agree on), get rid of all credit card debt etc. Perhaps the haus fraus etc. of America are listening and acting and that is why we are in a probable recession? Seems kinda crazy...but just think about it for a second. Hmmmmm....could be a small correlation??

6. The last good show I happened to catch on Oprah was when Dr. Oz was on and she had on the guy whose skin turned BLUE from having too much of a chemical in his diet. Now, that was INTERESTING! Oprah, I want the real stories back on her show...the life and death situations, the funny stories, the sad stories, all the things of REAL LIFE.

I will NOT be tuning in to watch that philanderer Billy Joel and his new 26 year old wife tomorrow. Yet another celebrity bow down from the Queen of Media. No thanks.

I wonder who Dr. Phil has on?