Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Billboards I like to argue with 3

As Promised
Billboards I like to argue with 3

Nothing is worse that political ads. TV, radio, but this is clearly the worst thing I have ever seen. First of all lets talk a little about capitalization. I think we all agree that if you want to YELL while typing all you have to DO is write in ALL CAPS. So let read this again, this time with the yelling in place, which is clearly what that child is doing. Sometimes it is acceptable to write whole lines in all caps, but then you have to stick to your guns. You can’t not capitalize Is and the CAPS it up on “THAT EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW”. While we are on the topic of EXCLAMATION, in 5th grade my teacher told me that if you use exclamation points unnecessarily that your story (or billboard) will read like a Japanese comic book. Well maybe that is what they are going for with this color scheme, so lets move on to sentence structure NOW!

It is hard to get what the author is going for, just by the subtle overtones. However, I’m pretty sure they meant to say “Is that (in) a child’s best interest”. As it is written it sounes like the 4 days with his dad is the thing that he is interested in that is the best for him, or maybe the favorite of all of his interests. Moving right along, I think they want to say “Is that equal protection of (the) law?”. Unless, of course, they are talking about Jude Law… or maybe LAW is an acronym. That must be why it is capitalized.

My informed wife informs me that a colon can be used to start a list of items, address an individual, or to identify a character in a script. So this billboard either wants Judge Blockman to reform family court NOW, or this is a line from a script in which Judge Blockman is a character. I like to think it is the later. I am also not ruling out that this is just the start of his to do list (it is a work in progress).

Maybe I am being too critical. The red, yellow, and blue scheme is almost patriotic.
Let’s take a step back and look at the billboard as a whole. The child is clearly very upset. I assume he has been reading this billboard, or maybe he wrote the billboard. That actually makes a lot more sense. This really seams like something a 5 year old wrote. The Capitalization, the grammar, the punctuation, this all seems very much like this child wrote and designed this billboard. It is actually pretty impressive.

So I guess I am torn. This billboard makes me very angry and I want to punish its creators, by doing the opposite of what they are asking me to do, but I am not really sure what that is. Is this a pro or anti Judge Blockman billboard. Are they torturing children? I really have no idea. The more I read this the more confused I am. Perhaps I will have to go to the website to find out what the hell is going on… And perhaps that was their plan the whole time. Well played Judge Blockman

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Paper or Plastic

Paper or Plastic

It’s yet another one of life’s great decisions. The plastic bag that is worse for the environment (not true), or the paper bag made from our nations forests (also not true). This is the age old question that many struggle with at the checkout line, if you have not switched to the trendy reusable bag, which still may not be any better for the environment, espicially, if it sits in the garage like our 4 or 5 do.

My personal preference is for the cheap plastic bags. They are stronger, more moisture resistant and easier to hold onto than those ridiculous paper bags. In fact if they start bagging my groceries w/ paper I will usually make them redo it with plastic. Just for the fact that I like to pick up all 4 or 5 bags at the same time, which you simply cannot do with the paper bags. People should probably get the reusable bags and make a point to take them to the store, but that is not really what this blog is about.


We do make every effort to conserve. We reuse as many of the bags as possible as trashcan liners or numerous other misc uses, and what we don’t reuse we usually recycle at the bin in the super market. So we have the reuse and recycle going, but what really pisses me off is trying to reduce the number we end up with.


This is what I ended up coming home with the other day while I was not watching the bagger. When I got home I was very upset as I started putting stuff away, and realized that not only did numerous bags only have 1 item in them, but some of them were even double bagged. For the 30 some grocery items we had 20 some bags. Granted the bagger may not have been the brightest crayon in the box, but come on. This is why I prefer the self checkout.

Items that received their own individual bag (from top, left): single pack of flour tortillas, pre bagged oranges, half gallon of OJ, 12 eggs, half gallon of milk, half gallon of icecream, single pack of corn tortillas, quart of margerine, prebagged apples.

In future outings I will try to be more proactive to reduce the number of bags we end up with. If I would have noticed this before they started I would have consolidated some of these myself. I guess I will reuse one of the plastic bags to bring its 50 friends back to be recycled.

Oh and one more bright spot for plastic bags, if you get a bag that feels a little rougher than the normal bag it is probably made of bioplastic, which is made from corn or soybeans. These are much more biodegradable and use substantially less hydrocarbons to produce and deliver. And if the shipping peanuts that came with your latest online purchase are tan and crush between your fingers those are bioplastic as well.

other info:

Friday, February 13, 2009

Billboards I Like to Argue With 2

Billboards I Like to Argue With 2

On my way home I came across this gem while stopped at a light. At first this seemed like a reasonable request for a PSA type billboard. Yes, yes I will stand up to an abuser. Who does he think he is anyway, abusing some poor kid? But, as I continued to sit at the very unnecessary light at the corner of Bradley and County Fair, this got to bothering me.

First of all why the hell does this guy look so smug? Now I’m kind of pissed. Someone really needs to put this abuser in his place. And another thing, why is he black? What exactly are they implying here? I have half a mind to call up this “CASA” and giving them a piece of my mind. This billboard is a racist attack on the community it is so clearly trying to serve. I have not seen any of these ads with a smug white guy anywhere else around town.

Just before I got out of my car and started yelling at the sign the light finally turned green. “Thank god, now I don’t have to look at this inflammatory propaganda anymore” I thought as I pulled away slowly… Oh, nevermind

Friday, May 30, 2008

Billboards I Like to Argue With 1

Billboards I Like to Argue With 1

Cara has often pointed out that I like to argue, sometimes just for the sake of arguing. It is a source of some frustration when I try to start a lively debate with her, and she is less interested in exploring the merits of the flat tax, or ground based laser defence systems. sometime I must take my ire out on less articulate opponents. So I present to you "Billboards I Like to Argue With"

This is a prime example of billboards that do not really make any sense and kind of piss me off. I will let the whole circa 1995 Jerry Sienfeld look alike contest thing slid and move on to the content of the ad. This is a guy who is clearly just starting out and wants to get his name out there. That is why his name is 6 times as big as anything else in the ad, with the possible exception of his gigantic head looming over that small town.

Then there is the tagline or Time Hoss's slogan. Real Estate the "Fairway"[sic]. Now I am not the grammar police. In fact they probably have a warrant out for my arrest, but I really have no idea what this means. I can only assume that he is some sort of golfer and this is a "clever" play on words. Perhaps he should have had some sort of golf club to clarify his message.

What he may be unaware of is that many people consider the use of quotation marks to imply sarcasm. In this case I would have to assume that 1) he mistakenly misspelled fairway, and 2) that he is a shady realtor who will do whatever backhanded things it will take to get the job done. He will lie steal and cheat to get you what you want in this fast paced real estate market. Ok, maybe I should give him a second chance. If I am buying something I would kind of like him to be an evil slit your throat Jerry Sienfeld. On the other hand what motivation does he really have to get me the lowest price it it is just going to bring his commission down. I am going to pass on your services for now, Jerry "Fairway" Sienfeld.

While that may have been a leap what I can actually infer from this sign is that this is a guy who is so interested in golf (and puns) that he put that ridiculous slogan on his sign. I can only assume that this will somehow bleed over into his work. Where is my realtor? Out playing golf. What are these open hose decorations? Golf balls and Caddie hats (I am not complaining about the BBQ meatballs on golf tees). Where is the closing? At the pro shop.

Whatever it is he is going for on this sign, he is not getting it across, at least not to me. Then again I am not an avid golfer. I really only make it out once or twice a year. Maybe it is an inside joke that only golfers get. Maybe he was so excited to get his enormous head looking down on the Barr Real Estate office that he hurriedly threw that up there with out really getting any constructive feedback. Either way I am going to go watch Caddyshack and see if I can't figure this whole thing out.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Cloverfield live review

Cloverfield live review

Hey rememeber how crappy blair witch project was...
Well cloverfield is 2 leat 5 times as horrible.
Yes that is right I am exactly 23:36 into the movie and i have almost puked twice.
seriously this is the worst thig I can ever seen. Cut shots of random crap...
That is the best part of the movie.
then there is all of the first person camera evcuation....
I think I am going t puke...
PS we all realized like 20 min ago that HUD the main characters name is the name ofa Japanese movie characers name.... bleh

ok now I am going t throw up... cut shots and rapid camera angles. Yeah, just like Blair witch, excetpt horrible. Dood this it the worst thing have ever seen...
Well it is 34 min in and I am giving up... Ill leave the rest of these suckers watching the movie ... I am going to bed L8R

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

5 Misconceptions Perpetuated by Disney Movies

5 Misconceptions Perpetuated by Disney Movies

1) You are not a Princess. I know your parents always told you that you were a princess. Well it turns out they were lying to you. The mere fact that you have been acting like a princess makes you... kind of self centered and precocious, and generally oblivious to the world around you. In fact if we were all princesses and princes, the world would kind of suck. There needs to be a balance of princesses, and subjects, and at last count that ratio was about 10,000,000:1. Additionally, as it were being a princess is not all taffeta and fairy godmothers, it probably involves a lot more pointless ceremonies and being hounded by the paparazzi. So in fact you have not even been acting like a princess, just kind of spoiled.

2) Midgets and woodland creatures do not want to be your friends. While it would certainly be cool, in reality coming up to either and talking in a cutesy voice will probably get you bitten at worst and head butted in the balls at best. I'm sure that midgets would make excellent friends. However, you should probably be weary if they are living in a cabin together working out of a diamond mine. My perception is that miners and loaners living in the woods might have something other than the best interests in mind for the young lady who wanders into their cabin. As for woodland creatures they mostly eat and sleep, they are not fond of humans, and I have yet to see any singing or helping with chores in a well choreographed manner.

3) You should probably get to know that handsome man before you get married. Sure he did just wake you from an endless sleep with the power of his kiss, but what do you really know about him. Do you have any common interests? Does he expect you to take his last name? How does he feel about kids or your pet raccoon? It seems like there is so much you don't know... but he sure is pretty... It seems like this is where mandatory marital counseling comes in. Because, as it turns out, a lot of the time those pretty boys are kind of dicks, and that is not really going to workout well with your princess lifestyle. And here is another blow to that commitment you make in the wake of this tumultuous time of your life, most relationships formed out of traumatic events do not last. Sorry to bring you down from the high of killing the evil witch and escaping the dragon. If you are in such a hurry to get together with this guy, may I at least suggest a vacation together, or the Amazing Race. That seems to be just the venue to test your questionable relationship in front of a television audience.

4) No one is going to magic away your problems. I have had a rough time or 2 in my life, and do you no what helped... Fairy Godmother, No, Magic Rug, No again, Wizard Pal, Sorry... Usually I just had to deal with it my self. It helps tremendously if you have friends around who can lend a thought or hand (♂) / sympathetic ear (♀), but in the end it is your responsibility to gird up your loins and muddle through your issues as best you can. Sometimes they will get better, sometimes they will get worse, but at least you will be in control, and really all that magic would have done for you is helped you out of a jam. If you had not learned anything from it you would never really grow up, never really learn anything. You would still be using magic to solve simple arithmetic, or to cook your food, or to transport yourself to work. Ok so that last one would be pretty cool.

5) There is no happily ever after. Happiness is fleeting, and life is filled with ups and downs. Without adversity you would never really know what happiness was, and even in happiness there is adversity. Yes, on the 2-dimentional screen it all seems pretty clear, but we humans are complex beings with deep desires and personalities built on tragic loss, and triumphant victory, deep sadness, and overwhelming joy. In the end happiness is fleeting, that is if you are sitting still it will move on without you, and if you aren't going after it, it will leave without you. Or maybe you are happy all the time, never tested with hardship or adversity, maybe you are the 2-dimentional character living happily ever after in your own world, in which case... I'm sorry you are a princess.