Fun Things to do When You're Bored at Work

I was looking at the Denver Public Library's historic images database online--specifically, for pictures of one of my favorite Denver neighborhoods: the Highlands.  I found the black and white photo of the intersection of 32nd and Zuni, taken between 1900 and 1905: "View of Denver Tramway Company trolleys, Berkeley - Elitch number 56 and number 73, with passengers and conductors, in Denver, Colorado. Advertisement on the cattle catcher reads: 'Broadway The Eternal City, Hall Caine's Greatest Play, Jane Kennark, All Star Cast.'"

The photo below is 32nd and Zuni today (Google street view)--sans trolley lines (although, they are probably still there, underneath the asphalt), but the building on the corner is the same one.

Stop Chicago gun violence

No wonder people that have never been to Chicago think that if they come here, they are going to get shot. As of April 26th, Chicago had seen 113 victims of homicide. That's the same number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during the same period. And the overwhelming majority of those homicides were due to gun violence. If you want proof, go to this site for tracking homicides in Chicago. It's gotten so bad in the city that several state representatives have suggested bringing in the National Guard to help stop the violence. While that may be a temporary solution, what's needed is stricter gun laws. And not just in Chicago but all over the U.S.

Check out some statistics that the Brady Campaign has put together:

• Every year, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are shot or killed with a gun
• Since 1968, over 1 million people have been killed by guns in the U.S.
• Our looser gun laws show: in 2006 our firearm homicide rate was 6 times that of Canada, 13 times that of Germany, 15 times that of Austria, 26 times that of Australia and Spain, and 31 times that of England and Wales
• In 2008, 67% of homicides were committed by guns
• A gun in the home is 7 times more likely to be used in assault or homicide than in self defense and guns are used to threaten or intimidate 4-6 times more than they are used to prevent a crime (and those gun-toting, violence-glorifying 2nd-amendment nutjobs argue that the answer is MORE people owning guns to protect themselves... INSANE!)

I won't pretend that I've ever been a proponent of gun ownership. I'll never understand how people can rationalize owning a handgun and wanting to carry a concealed weapon. In my mind, that can only lead to more gun violence. But that's a huge element in our society. And they are powerful. Did you know that Tennessee just passed a law allowing handgun owners to carry a weapon into any establishment that serves alcohol? Of course, they have to do it responsibly and can't drink alcohol or else they face fines. Yeah right, that will work. Are people absolutely f***in' nuts? And in Georgia you can now carry your gun into certain parts of the airport. Why, people? WHY? WHY IS THAT NECESSARY!? I know of two states that I've never been to that I will continue to stay out of.

I know I'm generalizing but I'm guessing that most of these NRA member, 2nd-amendment supporters live in BFE middle of nowhere... places were gun violence isn't a multiple-daily occurrence. So I propose a program to get these people to see the other side of gun ownership and the consequences of lax gun control. We fly them into cities like Chicago and force them to go to the funeral of every child killed senselessly by a gun. They could start with the funeral of someone like Cynia Cole, who was only a year old. Make them witness a mother or father's anguish. They could also attend several funerals for one family that lost 4 members who were shot to death in their own home (pictured at the top).

It must be easy to argue for the right to carry handguns when the only thing that threatens you is a rogue pheasant. Come to Chicago and we'll stick you on the south side where unfortunately the gun violence occurs most often in this town.

Ornery as hell!

Remember Soul Patches?

I think P&D do.  Don't you guys?

Bored at Work?

Play with Flies!

Q: Where are you working that there are this many flies?

Don't you wish your boston was cute like mine?

Fergie Update

Today we took Fergie for her 2nd vet visit. On her first visit, March 22nd, she weighed 3 lbs 1 oz. Only 3 weeks later, she's a whopping 4 lbs 7 oz. She's growing in front of our eyes!

She's getting better at the walking thing. Now she only occasionally stops and pulls back, not wanting to walk. Okay, more than occasionally but a lot less than before. I have to admit though the look she gives you when she does it is adorable! Totally stubborn! And taking her for a walk is also hard because we get stopped by people wanting to say hi to her

CONSTANTLY! And the funny thing about having a dog is that we have people in the neighborhood that know her name and we know their dog's name but we don't know people names! There is Tybalt, one of the big dogs that initially really freaked Fergie out... she lives down the street from us and is very sweet for such a big dog. And then there is Val, another Boston 2 buildings down from us... also owned by 2 gay boys. Yes, we've been mistaken for them already being the other 2 gay boys with a Boston.

Anyhoo, RuPaul Drag Race is on so it's time to go but I leave you now with Fergie, 9 weeks...

So far so good...

We've hit a few milestones already with Fergie. First of all, as I'm sure some of you knew, one of our biggest concerns regarding getting a puppy was how the cats would react. That has gone surprisingly well. Like REALLY well, all things considered. Absolutely no hissing. Only one minor incident of back arching... and it was not by who we would have thought (AKA Cole, the pu**y) but rather Sheila, who is herself more dog than cat. Once Fergie bounded after Sheila and the poor cat didn't know what to do, ran away and hid under the futon.

The second is that she's pooped outside twice now! And she seems to know what the wee wee pads are for. She's still not so fond of the outside world. For example, cars seem to freak her out. And other dogs. And the cold. And the sky. And rain. And, of all the luck, the day we brought her home (which happened to also be the first day of spring) it was snowing! She did NOT want to go outside. AT ALL. Not even in her stylish new coat (which, admittedly, is too big for her... so much so that she can't really walk in it... more like stumble backwards).

Right now she's sleeping comfortably in David's arms. We can expect to be woken up tonight at about 2 am and 4 am. But it could be worse!

She's finally here!

A few clips from Fergie's first days with us in her new home. Make sure you watch until the very end and pay attention with the sound up...

FERGIE!

It's quite obvious from the polling that our puppy's name is Fergie. To be exact, her name is Ferguson Eunice Germanotta-Ciccone.

Here's the latest picture! Two days and counting!

Telephone Video!

Warning: Do not watch at work, unless you don't care about cursing, homicide and nipple tape in the workplace.

But DO watch. P and I love this song.

Puppy Picture!

T-minus one week until puppy 2010!

Per Carrie's Request...

I forgot how much I love the Oscars.  Well, really, I have such fond memories of the Oscar parties P,D and I used to throw.  We would spend all day making apps, then get dressed up, then have everyone fill out ballots and win prizes.  The BEST part, though, was making catty comments during the show.  Oh, good times.

We had tossed around the idea of linking our Oscar parties, but the one Brian and I were going to host was a much more laid back affair (Bag of Stacey's pita chips and some hummous), plus we had a time difference.  (AND some technical difficulties as we decided to pause tv until our 2 guests got there, then everytime we tried to rewind or fast fwd, it would skip ahead to live tv, so I think we missed a lot.)  I think we should coordinate next year...  maybe we should switch between Chicago and Denver?

Today, I am enjoying looking at pictures from the after parties.  My new favorite couple: Sandra and Jesse.  Most likable celebrity: Gabourey Sidibe (and her mom who laughed heartily at Steve Martin's joke about his first role being as a poor black child, too).  Least likable: Vera Farmiga (or Veal Parmigana as I like to call her.  It helps me remember he name.)  What am I not getting here?  She seems listless to me.  And interesting looking at best.  Also: Woman I Would Most Like to Age Like: Sigourney Weaver. 

An amusing after party shot:

AVATARIZE YOURSELF

Fergie o' the Week

A bit awkward, Fergs, but that's ok. You're still cute.

WTF, McDonald's?!?

I haven't eaten at McDonald's for LITERALLY years. But if there was any chance of that happening ever again it was destroyed by the latest commercial for their Filet-O-Fish. This commercial has played on just about every commercial break for about the past two weeks. And I hate it with a passion. So much. I want to go deaf and blind when it comes on.

And could someone please tell me what the hell it means? Seriously, I want to know! A singing fish calling on the cell phone? HUH?! OMG, just thinking about it makes me angry! Who is the marketing genius that came up with this? Because they should be fired. Now. I'll wait, McDonald's.

Thought for the day

I can never be one of those people who stocks up on food. Why? Because I will eat all of it, probably in one sitting. OK, I'm not THAT bad, but still.

One of my employees just showed me her "food drawer". Said drawer is literally FULL of goodies, and my mouth started watering immediately. If that was my drawer, it would quickly turn into a "food compartment" within the drawer, and eventually would be nothing but a few random loose almonds, a paperclip or two, and an unidentifiable piece of hard candy with lint stuck to it.

Weekly Puppy Picture!

Oddly Specific

 

I found a website called Oddly Specific.  And it totally cracks me up.

Things to Do When You're Bored At Work Part...

I think I've mentioned this before, but when you look at any Blogger blog, at the very top is a link to "Next Blog" which randomly brings you to another blog.  I just did this for about 15 minutes and in that short time, here is what I discovered:

1. Most bloggers put up their own unique header.  I guess I'm surprised.  You have to know how to at least cut and paste code and where to put it.

         1a.  This fact makes me want to pimp our blog.

2.  One out of every 3 blogs is about a family.  Either an entire extended family (with family pictures where everyone is the same general shape and size), a newlywed couple (with LOTS of coupley pictures suggesting getting married is just one big adventure!), or 2 or more children (again, with lots of cute pictures suggesting parenting is just one big adventure).

        2a. I don't mean to sound annoyed, I actually think blogs are a great way to stay in touch.  Not sure about having a PUBLIC blog, though...

3.  One out of 3 blogs is pretty Christian.  I only find this surprising because it's blatant Christianity--I didn't have to read far before Jesus came up.

4.  Cool blogs have pictures.

5.  I ran across TWO blogs whose personas were named Seraphine.  Weird, huh?