Utterly Random Questions and Observations

1) Has anyone else ever noticed that in B-grade movies, the characters overuse each others' names to an obnoxious extent? Next time you watch a movie that you realize is mediocre at best, see if this is true. Case in point: From Paris, with Love. Not my choice, BTW.

2) Does Miley Cyrus not see the pattern of child-star-turned-sexy-bad-girl that others have left in her wake? She's heard of Lindsay Lohan, right?

3) What, truly, is the appeal of Silly Bandz?

4) When will we ever get this giant oil spill stopped? Can we? What will the repercussions be? And how in the name of heaven could the oil companies be so blind and foolish and arrogant not to plan for something of this magnitude?

5) Can the next two Harry Potter movies truly live up to the last book?

6) I've often posited that e-books and 3-D television simply a secret plot of the world's opticians and ophthalmologists to cause eye problems and therefore increase the need for corrective lenses. Think about it.

7) Can Andy Murray win Wimbledon, breaking the U.K. champion drought?

8) If I look sad and downcast, look longingly but quickly at someone, and then look down, bite my lip, and look away, can I be cast in the next Twilight movie?

9) When I have kids, I don't care what sort of hovercraft-transportation-screen-within-a-screen crap they have out. They're playing outside with sticks and rocks.

Cereal Commercials: The Dark Underbelly

OK, I've talked about designer perfume. Now, I have to ask: From a media standpoint, why do so many children's cereal commercials have the premise of one character/set of characters keeping the cereal from another or attempting to take it by force? I suppose because it's so tasty one want to keep it all for oneself, but isn't that simply teaching gluttony? Perhaps I've truly hit on something; perhaps this is one of the catalysts for childhood obesity. Probably not.

Seriously, Fruity Pebbles? Why is Fred Flintstone such a creep that he can't share his Pebbles with Barney? Is there some finite amount? And why does Fred have sole access? For crying out loud, they used to share Winston cigarettes together. What happened to the neighborly love? Fred's obsession with these Pebbles and his rage frighten me.

Ah, and then there's Trix cereal. He's the TRIX rabbit. Why call him the Trix rabbit and then tell him, "Trix are for kids"? That's just cruel. Can't we teach our children to share? Doesn't that count as a vital lesson? Why, then, O advertising creative team, why have these children chuckle and tease this poor bunny? I call shenanigans on this one. Does anyone remember in the 80s when they had a write-in contest to see if the Trix rabbit should actually get his beloved Trix and the majority said he should? Well, it's been 20 years and I think it's high time we gave him another chance or perhaps offered him an alternative. It sure doesn't seem as though they're doing this for his health.


Lucky the Leprechaun defines irony for me. He's had no luck keeping his own damn Lucky Charms. Once again, jerk kids keep trying to steal his Lucky Charms, coming up with all sorts of nefarious plans to take them. How about asking, children? Lucky doesn't seem to be the same sort of cereal hog as Fred. I bet if you were nice, he would share. Doesn't this give kids the wrong idea: Take what you want and do anything to get it?

Super Golden Crisp: The way I remember it, Sugar Bear used to beat up those who tried to take his cereal. Now, mind you, if someone tried to steal my food, I might get a little edgy, too. He is a bear, after all, and there's the whole survival/resource guarding instinct. But hey, "It's got the crunch with punch"? So it makes you so strong you can defend yourself against sugar-stealing attackers? And why did Sugar Bear sound like Bing Crosby? (Was that a subtle dig at the crooner's alleged behavior toward his children?)

I'm sure there are others out there, other sugary cereal ads waiting to corrupt the minds of our youth. TAKE HEED, PEOPLE. Do it for the children. Won't somebody please think of the children?!?!

P.S. Do not get me started on my dissertation of Sonny the Cocoa Puffs Bird as the prime example of addiction and the dangers of a sugar high.

Utterly random wondering

Scarlet Lily's recent post brought to the surface a question that has swirled in my own personal Pensieve for a while: What is with the rash of celebrity perfumes? Seriously, why the mania to be immortalized in scent? What does it do for your celebrity cache? And good Lord, not to sound snotty, but would I ever admit I wore a scent created by KISS? (It's true.)

Let me just throw out a few of the celebs who either have their own scents or endorse them:

• Carlos Santana
• Michael Jackson
• Alan Cumming
• Enrique AND Julio Iglesias (separately)
• Debbie Gibson, briefly in the early 90s had "Electric Youth" fragrance
• Tim McGraw
• Victoria Beckham (yikes)
• Clive Owen for Lancome
  - Note: Lancome has a number of celebrities as the faces for various scents, including Uma Thurman, and Kate Winslet
• The Olsen Twins (double yikes--HAH)
• Jeff Gordon
• Luciano Pavarotti
  
• Paris Hilton
• Kimora Lee Simmons has two called "Baby Phat Goddess" and "Fabulosity"

That's only part of a list. I just don't know what to make of it. I know Liz Taylor's "White Diamonds" has lasted the test of time, but I don't see Hilary Duff and Usher's scents doing the same.

What say you? You have to admit it if you've tried any of them, too.

P.S. Gloria Swanson has one called "Youth Dew". I find something incredibly wrong with that. I don't know why.

Random Question of the Day

How do you eat your M&Ms? Any special way?

If they're peanut, I tend to bite off part of the shell and then eat the rest. In terms of color, I eat them in this order: brown, orange, blue, red, yellow, green. Green always go last. I will also often make it so that I have an even number of each color (e.g. 1 of each, 2 of each) when I eat them.

I am strange. I know this. Who's with me?

Questions

1. What's the political rationale behind TNT showing Independence Day so much recently? That we're getting an "alien" in the White House? (I mean that strictly tongue-in-cheek. Don't get angry at me.) It's a victory for the planet? A kick-ass African-American man will come in and save the day? I vote for the latter two.

2. Why couldn't it have been just five degrees colder on Friday so we'd have had -20 wind chill and therefore no school?

3. Is it crazy of me that I kind of love the tons of snow we have?

4. Will I ever again find pants on sale at Ann Taylor Loft that were a) in my size, b) in a color I wanted, and c) cost $7.76?

5. Will anyone act foolishly enough to take a shot at Barack Obama on Tuesday? God, I hope not. It's one of the reasons my friend D decided not to take her five year-old to the inauguration. Small child in D.C. while riots break out....hmm.... And what sort of changes will occur when he's in office? I'm so interested to see it all unfold.

6. Why does Penny insist on eating what she shouldn't when we surround her with yummy toys?

7. What will my first loaf of homemade bread taste like? (I've almost got all the tools--I'm sure I'll blog about it because honestly, I'm going to be pretty excited.)

8. Who will win Top Chef?

9. On Battlestar Galactica, why did Dee make the decision she made? And is the fifth Cylon really Ellen Tighe? I think it's Starbuck. Yes, the sci-fi dork in me loves that show.

10. Can I ever cure my students of over-using the word "thing" and the verb "be" in their writing?

11. What will 2009 really bring, for all of us, personally, financially, emotionally?


Feel free to ask questions of your own or give me answers to some of mine.

Random Questions

1. Why, in a movie trilogy, is the first one usually best, the second one a dismal sequel, and the third a sort of apology for the second that actually does work? Yes, there are exceptions (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End comes to mind--I fell asleep and that rarely happens with me.)

2. Who truly cares about Paris Hilton? And why won't she go away?

3. Why did my bike, made in CA, need metric Allen wrenches?

4. Will kids ever read books again, or has technology pretty much ruined that forever unless old fogies like myself force them to?

5. How do people still have faith in George Bush? Hasn't enough evidence accrued that people realize he's made a variety of, shall we say, poor decisions?

6. Why is exercise/dieting/you name it such a hard habit to get into but so incredibly easy to fall out of, even though we know it will enhance our lives?

7. Why don't bars have little hooks underneath for women to hang purses on?

8. Wouldn't it just make border crossing easier if, on a driver's license, the government put a little symbol on there indicating that the driver had been born in the United States instead of trying to force everyone to buy a $300 passport?

9. Why do I think the government would do something simple and logical? (Does anyone know that story about the U.S. space program trying to design a pen that would work in space, spending thousands of dollars and hours to get ink that would work in weightlessness...and the Russians used a pencil?)

10. Will SNL really cycle back to funny skits again? Who's still watching it to even see?

11. Do we really need a fishing network?

12. How does one get egg off a house? (I ask this because I'm moving so close to a high school.)

13. Will I have to listen to the Top 40 music station so I know what my students are singing--and tell them not to sing it in class--even though I think most of it is crap? When did I become my parents?

14. Why does my town have three soft rock stations and NO oldies station?

15. Why do I secretly watch America's Next Top Model?

16. Will Harry Potter die? What will I do after the series has ended?