Currently Reading: Pinball 1973 by Haruki Murakami
Today I moved a step closer to becoming a dog groomer. Today I was trained and granted permission to shave canine genitalia. That's a fancy way of saying I can now shave dog balls :-)
The proper term for it around the salon is a sanitary trim. You use clippers and shave the hair around, well, the genitalia, the belly, the butt and the bottoms of the feet; all the places doggies get dirty really fast.
What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Well, it means I can take care of a LOT more dogs than I used to. There are quite a few breeds that really only need the sanitary cut and there are quite a few owners who actually LIKE their dogs to have long hair. They just don't like picking poo out of it. Thus, the sanitary cut.
At this rate, by the time I actually go to grooming school I'll already be familiar with using clippers and handling dogs during a cut which will make things just that much easier :-)
.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Weekend Shopping
Currently Reading: Pinball 1973 by Haruki Murakami
Been out shopping this weekend. And while I managed to spend a decent amount of money, I also managed to save a little money and I really only bought stuff I was planning on getting eventually anyway.
Sunday I bought a new radio for the truck. I've had the truck for over 10 years now and all that time it's only had an AM/FM radio. No tape, no CD. When I first got the truck all those years ago there really wasn't any NEED for anything other than a radio. I spent most of the time listening to talk radio or one of the 70's and 80's stations so why bother right? And it's not like I was planning to take the truck out on any long road trips either. That all changed when I moved to Memphis.
You know, for a city that prides itself on being so music-oriented, there isn't squat available on the radio. Most of the stations either play hip-hop or rap. There's all of ONE oldies station and they can't seem to decide just what counts as old. It's not unusual to hear stuff from the 50's clean up through to the late 80's. Mixed together like that, it just doesn't work well. There's also a classic rock station but mostly they play rock songs you didn't like very much back when they were fresh.
I had intented to replace the stereo in the truck not long after I got here but I just didn't have the money at first. Then I forgot about it. Then it wasn't a priority because I didn't drive much.
Why the sudden change? Sick of listening to the babbling of the local dj's and horrible commercials only to hear a good song start to play right as I pull in to wherever I was going. Talk about frustrating. Well, no more of that. Sunday I bought a new stereo/cd player and had it installed so I didn't have to mess with all the wires. Driving around is a whole lot better now :-)
CC came home for lunch today which meant I got the truck this afternoon. I took the scenic route home from her office which meant I pretty much went the opposite direction from the apartment and went to the mall instead. Well hey, I had to test the new radio right?
Wandered around the mall a bit. Found a great t-shirt for CC so I bought that for her. She loved it which made me happy. I also picked up three pair of pants. We're allowed to wear black, blue or khaki pants at work you see but I never had any luck finding black or blue pants that actually FIT so I ended up with a closet full of khaki. Went over to Sears and found what I was looking for. Now I can shake things up a little bit by showing up in blue or black. Yeah, real party animal I am eh? I sure do live on the edge :-)
Heading to bed now. No doubt there'll be lots of dogs waiting for me to wash them tomorrow. I'll wear one of my new pairs of pants. On the way to the store, I'll listen to a CD too. I paid for all this stuff, I'm going to get my money's worth :-)
.
Been out shopping this weekend. And while I managed to spend a decent amount of money, I also managed to save a little money and I really only bought stuff I was planning on getting eventually anyway.
Sunday I bought a new radio for the truck. I've had the truck for over 10 years now and all that time it's only had an AM/FM radio. No tape, no CD. When I first got the truck all those years ago there really wasn't any NEED for anything other than a radio. I spent most of the time listening to talk radio or one of the 70's and 80's stations so why bother right? And it's not like I was planning to take the truck out on any long road trips either. That all changed when I moved to Memphis.
You know, for a city that prides itself on being so music-oriented, there isn't squat available on the radio. Most of the stations either play hip-hop or rap. There's all of ONE oldies station and they can't seem to decide just what counts as old. It's not unusual to hear stuff from the 50's clean up through to the late 80's. Mixed together like that, it just doesn't work well. There's also a classic rock station but mostly they play rock songs you didn't like very much back when they were fresh.
I had intented to replace the stereo in the truck not long after I got here but I just didn't have the money at first. Then I forgot about it. Then it wasn't a priority because I didn't drive much.
Why the sudden change? Sick of listening to the babbling of the local dj's and horrible commercials only to hear a good song start to play right as I pull in to wherever I was going. Talk about frustrating. Well, no more of that. Sunday I bought a new stereo/cd player and had it installed so I didn't have to mess with all the wires. Driving around is a whole lot better now :-)
-----
CC came home for lunch today which meant I got the truck this afternoon. I took the scenic route home from her office which meant I pretty much went the opposite direction from the apartment and went to the mall instead. Well hey, I had to test the new radio right?
Wandered around the mall a bit. Found a great t-shirt for CC so I bought that for her. She loved it which made me happy. I also picked up three pair of pants. We're allowed to wear black, blue or khaki pants at work you see but I never had any luck finding black or blue pants that actually FIT so I ended up with a closet full of khaki. Went over to Sears and found what I was looking for. Now I can shake things up a little bit by showing up in blue or black. Yeah, real party animal I am eh? I sure do live on the edge :-)
Heading to bed now. No doubt there'll be lots of dogs waiting for me to wash them tomorrow. I'll wear one of my new pairs of pants. On the way to the store, I'll listen to a CD too. I paid for all this stuff, I'm going to get my money's worth :-)
.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Marvel vs DC
Currently Reading: The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
Alright, you've probably guessed by now that I'm more of a Marvel kind of guy. That's putting it kindly really. I really just don't like DC and the way their heroes are made.
For those of you who don't know, DC is the comics house with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Justice League, that group. Marvel is Spiderman, Captain America, The Fantastic Four, X-Men and so on.
You've probably noticed there have been quite a few Marvel hero movies lately. I'm not sure where the trend really started but it was either with X-Men or Spiderman. That's where the gates opened and gave us The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Elektra and several movies in the work, most notably Iron Man and Captain America. I'll admit there were some pretty bad movies in there but in all fairness, the two REALLY bad ones you can blame on Benifer. In what universe is Ben Aflek a good choice to play a blind, Irish lawyer? And since when does Jennifer Garner look even remotely Asian? Besides, Daredevil and Elektra weren't the strongest of characters to base movies on.
The real problem with the DC characters is that they lack depth. No fair counting the Dark Horse Comics which while technically are part of DC, have NOTHING to do with DC. Those come from smaller, independant houses. So just stick with the big ones. Like the front-man, Superman. Until recently, no one really went into his back story. He's always just been super strong, bullet proof, flying, eye lasers Superman. Crashlanded here as a baby, raised on a farm, really bad at trying to maintain an alter ego.
I remember reading a review or two of the latest Superman movie that really nailed down the problem with the big S. He's only got one weakness. Now, knowing that, when he confronts a bad guy, Lex Luthor especially, don't you think said bad guy is going to have a little bit of that one weakness on hand? I mean, what's the point of going up against Superman if you don't have a little Kryptonite on hand? That being said, why doesn't Superman ever seem to take this into account? It's like he's got a super blind spot for the stuff and becomes super stupid. But it HAS to be that way because you can't create any dramatic tension if your hero is invulnerable.
Then there's Aquaman. Really, he's a SERIOUSLY watered down version of the Sub Mariner. But where Prince Namor is flawed, sometimes psychotic and switches from good to bad depending on the story, Aquaman just talks to fish. Was he born underwater? Was he hatched? Does he have parents? Did the spawn? What's the deal? Does he have any real super powers other than talking to fish and can the fish just tune him out and not listen?
Wonder Woman. Big amazon chick with a lasso and a glass plane. Want to take her out? Simple. Sniper. Seriously, she's really just a juiced up human right? Got those bulletproof bracelets, sure so don't attack her from the front. Attack long range, sniper. Get someone to distract her and then just take her out, no sweat. And don't you think an invisible jet might be just a little dangerous? How do you know how big the damn thing is? And how does she know where the controls are anyway? Or is it visible to only her? How has she managed to avoid hitting other planes all these years? Or birds? Hell birds would be smacking into the damn thing all the time I'd think.
Green Lantern is in a state of flux. Used to just be one white guy with a ring. Let's him do stuff with green lasers and various power beams. So how did you beat him? Wear red and steal his ring. And it kept happening too. People were always trying to steal his ring and like a big idiot, he'd actually take the damn thing OFF! Now, he's not just Green Lantern, it's the Green Lantern Corps! He's also had a race change. He's black now because DC didn't have any black super heroes and Marvel already had at least 2.
One big problem with the whole DC lack of character bit is that they all get along. How annoying is that? You see them on Justice League and they're just a bunch of happy campers trapped with some dorky teens and a freaky monkey. Take the flip-side of JLA over to Marvel, The Avengers. That team is made up of Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Ant Man and Wasp. People come and go but that's the core of the group. They fight ALL the time. Same is true of the Fantastic Four. Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm spend half the comic fighting. That's normal. That's what happens when people with different personalities are forced to work together. Yeah, they get the job done but they argue about how to do it.
Capes. Capes is a big issue here. Get a copy of The Incredibles and watch as Edna explains why supers shouldn't have capes. Now look at our heroes. DC, capes. Marvel? No capes. That's mostly true, but there are exceptions. DC guys are more likely to have capes. Marvel, less likely and when Marvel guys DO have capes, they're usually the bad guys (Dr. Doom, Magneto). Some of them have half capes, which makes it easier to see when they're flying, but doesn't get in the way when they fight.
So, take all this into account and you've pretty much got the reasons why Marvel movies do better, on average, than DC. Marvel heroes are quite often reluctant heroes and are just as likely to be bad guys from time to time. In fact, quite a few of them started out as bad guys and switched sides. And there are plenty of cases where good guys went bad. Namor, the Sub Mariner, was a good guy in Captain America back in WWII. He got all jaded though and became a bad guy, fighting against the Fantastic Four. A lot of the others go bad for one specific mission because they don't agree with it. You don't see that in DC.
I mention all of this now because DC is starting to push movies. Last year they brought back Batman. This year Superman. Next year they'll probably have the Wonder Woman movie finished. That one will be interesting because it's being written by the guy who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He's a comics guy and actually writes an X-men series for Marvel. I'm sure he'll fill in quite a few of those blanks in Wonder Woman's background.
I think I'll read some more comics after I finish The Exorcist. Comics are perfect for summer reading.
.
Alright, you've probably guessed by now that I'm more of a Marvel kind of guy. That's putting it kindly really. I really just don't like DC and the way their heroes are made.
For those of you who don't know, DC is the comics house with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Justice League, that group. Marvel is Spiderman, Captain America, The Fantastic Four, X-Men and so on.
You've probably noticed there have been quite a few Marvel hero movies lately. I'm not sure where the trend really started but it was either with X-Men or Spiderman. That's where the gates opened and gave us The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Elektra and several movies in the work, most notably Iron Man and Captain America. I'll admit there were some pretty bad movies in there but in all fairness, the two REALLY bad ones you can blame on Benifer. In what universe is Ben Aflek a good choice to play a blind, Irish lawyer? And since when does Jennifer Garner look even remotely Asian? Besides, Daredevil and Elektra weren't the strongest of characters to base movies on.
The real problem with the DC characters is that they lack depth. No fair counting the Dark Horse Comics which while technically are part of DC, have NOTHING to do with DC. Those come from smaller, independant houses. So just stick with the big ones. Like the front-man, Superman. Until recently, no one really went into his back story. He's always just been super strong, bullet proof, flying, eye lasers Superman. Crashlanded here as a baby, raised on a farm, really bad at trying to maintain an alter ego.
I remember reading a review or two of the latest Superman movie that really nailed down the problem with the big S. He's only got one weakness. Now, knowing that, when he confronts a bad guy, Lex Luthor especially, don't you think said bad guy is going to have a little bit of that one weakness on hand? I mean, what's the point of going up against Superman if you don't have a little Kryptonite on hand? That being said, why doesn't Superman ever seem to take this into account? It's like he's got a super blind spot for the stuff and becomes super stupid. But it HAS to be that way because you can't create any dramatic tension if your hero is invulnerable.
Then there's Aquaman. Really, he's a SERIOUSLY watered down version of the Sub Mariner. But where Prince Namor is flawed, sometimes psychotic and switches from good to bad depending on the story, Aquaman just talks to fish. Was he born underwater? Was he hatched? Does he have parents? Did the spawn? What's the deal? Does he have any real super powers other than talking to fish and can the fish just tune him out and not listen?
Wonder Woman. Big amazon chick with a lasso and a glass plane. Want to take her out? Simple. Sniper. Seriously, she's really just a juiced up human right? Got those bulletproof bracelets, sure so don't attack her from the front. Attack long range, sniper. Get someone to distract her and then just take her out, no sweat. And don't you think an invisible jet might be just a little dangerous? How do you know how big the damn thing is? And how does she know where the controls are anyway? Or is it visible to only her? How has she managed to avoid hitting other planes all these years? Or birds? Hell birds would be smacking into the damn thing all the time I'd think.
Green Lantern is in a state of flux. Used to just be one white guy with a ring. Let's him do stuff with green lasers and various power beams. So how did you beat him? Wear red and steal his ring. And it kept happening too. People were always trying to steal his ring and like a big idiot, he'd actually take the damn thing OFF! Now, he's not just Green Lantern, it's the Green Lantern Corps! He's also had a race change. He's black now because DC didn't have any black super heroes and Marvel already had at least 2.
One big problem with the whole DC lack of character bit is that they all get along. How annoying is that? You see them on Justice League and they're just a bunch of happy campers trapped with some dorky teens and a freaky monkey. Take the flip-side of JLA over to Marvel, The Avengers. That team is made up of Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Ant Man and Wasp. People come and go but that's the core of the group. They fight ALL the time. Same is true of the Fantastic Four. Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm spend half the comic fighting. That's normal. That's what happens when people with different personalities are forced to work together. Yeah, they get the job done but they argue about how to do it.
Capes. Capes is a big issue here. Get a copy of The Incredibles and watch as Edna explains why supers shouldn't have capes. Now look at our heroes. DC, capes. Marvel? No capes. That's mostly true, but there are exceptions. DC guys are more likely to have capes. Marvel, less likely and when Marvel guys DO have capes, they're usually the bad guys (Dr. Doom, Magneto). Some of them have half capes, which makes it easier to see when they're flying, but doesn't get in the way when they fight.
So, take all this into account and you've pretty much got the reasons why Marvel movies do better, on average, than DC. Marvel heroes are quite often reluctant heroes and are just as likely to be bad guys from time to time. In fact, quite a few of them started out as bad guys and switched sides. And there are plenty of cases where good guys went bad. Namor, the Sub Mariner, was a good guy in Captain America back in WWII. He got all jaded though and became a bad guy, fighting against the Fantastic Four. A lot of the others go bad for one specific mission because they don't agree with it. You don't see that in DC.
I mention all of this now because DC is starting to push movies. Last year they brought back Batman. This year Superman. Next year they'll probably have the Wonder Woman movie finished. That one will be interesting because it's being written by the guy who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He's a comics guy and actually writes an X-men series for Marvel. I'm sure he'll fill in quite a few of those blanks in Wonder Woman's background.
I think I'll read some more comics after I finish The Exorcist. Comics are perfect for summer reading.
.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Bad Omens
Just Finished Reading: The Rosetta Codex by Richard Paul Russo
Before I begin today's entry, how cool is this?
That's the Prime Minister of Japan along with Pricilla Presley, Lisa Marie and, of course, W. They were all at Graceland on Friday for a special tour. The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi is a HUGE Elvis fan so when he came over for a visit, they flew down to tour Graceland. Nice of Pricilla and Lisa Marie to join them. Then again, how often do they get a chance to hang out with the leaders of TWO countries like that?
In case you're wondering, yes they did go to the Civil Rights museum, which is also here in Memphis but let's face it, the place is depressing. The whole thing is housed in the hotel where Martin Luther King was assassinated. Mostly politicians walk through the place looking somber. Someone snaps a few pictures of said politician in deep though. After the tour they say something about how moved they were, etc.
This shot of them all at Graceland is just a nice change. For once, visitors to Memphis actually look HAPPY :-)
Bad omens last night. I don't know what was going on but I certainly seemed to be under a minor voodoo curse or something like that. Started off with me mixing not one, not two, but THREE gallons of the wrong shampoo. Grabbed the wrong bottle out of the cabinet and ended up making three gallons of sensitive skin shampoo for dogs instead of medicated shampoo. Is this a big difference? Oh yeah, you bet it is. Fortunately I was able to save it so it isn't like we have a big loss. But on the other hand we've got a 6 month supply of sensitive skin shampoo pre-mixed.
Later that night I was trimming the nails on a dog and I nicked its quick THREE times. Honestly I may do that three times in a MONTH and here I did it three times in one day on the SAME DOG! What makes it even worse is that the dog wasn't even a squirmer. He mostly sat there and was very patient with me. Again, plus side here. He didn't seem to mind it much which means I didn't cut it DEEP or anything. It didn't hurt him and there won't be any lasting health problems. But still, THREE times?
I knew it was time to throw in the towel when I ran into bad omen number 3. I was heading into the bathroom at work when I noticed something on the floor. I just looked at it, shook my head and walked out. I went over to one of the supervisors and said, "Rich, there's a snake in the bathroom." He looks at me and asks, "Seriously?"
That's right, snake in the bathroom. Seems our corn snake decided he didn't want to hang out in his enclosure anymore and he mounted an escape. Managed to somehow sneak out through the hole where his heater and water sprayer come in. How he managed to push it open is anyone's guess. Something must have knocked it loose. Anyway, he made it out of his tank, down to the floor (about 2 feet) then from the reptiles section over to the bathroom (a good 30 feet with two corners and a door). My guess is that he was following the crickets. We've always got crickets in the bathroom because they keep a steady supply on hand in the infirmary, which is across the hall.
Something like that happens, that's a message that it's time to go home.
After we caught the snake, one of the clerks on duty said to me, "Well, at least you found it BEFORE you started going to the bathroom right?"
Well . . . yeah, I guess she's right about that :-)
.
Before I begin today's entry, how cool is this?
That's the Prime Minister of Japan along with Pricilla Presley, Lisa Marie and, of course, W. They were all at Graceland on Friday for a special tour. The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi is a HUGE Elvis fan so when he came over for a visit, they flew down to tour Graceland. Nice of Pricilla and Lisa Marie to join them. Then again, how often do they get a chance to hang out with the leaders of TWO countries like that?
In case you're wondering, yes they did go to the Civil Rights museum, which is also here in Memphis but let's face it, the place is depressing. The whole thing is housed in the hotel where Martin Luther King was assassinated. Mostly politicians walk through the place looking somber. Someone snaps a few pictures of said politician in deep though. After the tour they say something about how moved they were, etc.
This shot of them all at Graceland is just a nice change. For once, visitors to Memphis actually look HAPPY :-)
-----
Bad omens last night. I don't know what was going on but I certainly seemed to be under a minor voodoo curse or something like that. Started off with me mixing not one, not two, but THREE gallons of the wrong shampoo. Grabbed the wrong bottle out of the cabinet and ended up making three gallons of sensitive skin shampoo for dogs instead of medicated shampoo. Is this a big difference? Oh yeah, you bet it is. Fortunately I was able to save it so it isn't like we have a big loss. But on the other hand we've got a 6 month supply of sensitive skin shampoo pre-mixed.
Later that night I was trimming the nails on a dog and I nicked its quick THREE times. Honestly I may do that three times in a MONTH and here I did it three times in one day on the SAME DOG! What makes it even worse is that the dog wasn't even a squirmer. He mostly sat there and was very patient with me. Again, plus side here. He didn't seem to mind it much which means I didn't cut it DEEP or anything. It didn't hurt him and there won't be any lasting health problems. But still, THREE times?
I knew it was time to throw in the towel when I ran into bad omen number 3. I was heading into the bathroom at work when I noticed something on the floor. I just looked at it, shook my head and walked out. I went over to one of the supervisors and said, "Rich, there's a snake in the bathroom." He looks at me and asks, "Seriously?"
That's right, snake in the bathroom. Seems our corn snake decided he didn't want to hang out in his enclosure anymore and he mounted an escape. Managed to somehow sneak out through the hole where his heater and water sprayer come in. How he managed to push it open is anyone's guess. Something must have knocked it loose. Anyway, he made it out of his tank, down to the floor (about 2 feet) then from the reptiles section over to the bathroom (a good 30 feet with two corners and a door). My guess is that he was following the crickets. We've always got crickets in the bathroom because they keep a steady supply on hand in the infirmary, which is across the hall.
Something like that happens, that's a message that it's time to go home.
After we caught the snake, one of the clerks on duty said to me, "Well, at least you found it BEFORE you started going to the bathroom right?"
Well . . . yeah, I guess she's right about that :-)
.
Monday, June 26, 2006
We've Come a Long Way; Playlist; Brunch; Normal Week
Currently Reading: The Rosetta Codex by Richard Paul Russo
Check out the video running in the side bar. Back in the 80's that was cutting edge special effects for music videos. The song itself was all the rage at the clubs. They used to show the video on the HUGE monitor wall so we could all watch this guy sing while we danced. Look at him.
This was life in the 80's my friends. How we survived I'll never know.
The song is pretty cool though. It's got a great beat and you can dance to it :-)
Speaking of music, I've posted links to the previous video segments. I left out the Family Guy one though because, well just because. I'm thinking I'll use this for more of a video jukebox than anything else.
CC and I went out for brunch on Sunday. We had it at this GREAT place up on the 33rd floor of the building my mother works at. CC's got the name and description on her website. She mentioned it in a previous post.
Well, while it is a bit on the expensive side, DAMN what a great place to eat. They have a buffet for brunch on Sundays. You've got part breakfast, part lunch and a fabulous view of the city. From 33 floors up Memphis doesn't look so bad actually :-)
I had a plate of breakfast. Then, because it was getting close to noon, I had lunch :-) I wasn't a total barbarian though. I had them on separate plates :-)
I'm going back to a more normal week tomorrow. No more three-day weekends for a while. Short-handed in the salon, as I mentioned last week. Hours are spread out more through the week and we've all got to adjust. Mostly that means two-day weekends just like normal people. Just as well. Those 10 hour days were starting to wear me out.
.
Check out the video running in the side bar. Back in the 80's that was cutting edge special effects for music videos. The song itself was all the rage at the clubs. They used to show the video on the HUGE monitor wall so we could all watch this guy sing while we danced. Look at him.
This was life in the 80's my friends. How we survived I'll never know.
The song is pretty cool though. It's got a great beat and you can dance to it :-)
-----
Speaking of music, I've posted links to the previous video segments. I left out the Family Guy one though because, well just because. I'm thinking I'll use this for more of a video jukebox than anything else.
-----
CC and I went out for brunch on Sunday. We had it at this GREAT place up on the 33rd floor of the building my mother works at. CC's got the name and description on her website. She mentioned it in a previous post.
Well, while it is a bit on the expensive side, DAMN what a great place to eat. They have a buffet for brunch on Sundays. You've got part breakfast, part lunch and a fabulous view of the city. From 33 floors up Memphis doesn't look so bad actually :-)
I had a plate of breakfast. Then, because it was getting close to noon, I had lunch :-) I wasn't a total barbarian though. I had them on separate plates :-)
-----
I'm going back to a more normal week tomorrow. No more three-day weekends for a while. Short-handed in the salon, as I mentioned last week. Hours are spread out more through the week and we've all got to adjust. Mostly that means two-day weekends just like normal people. Just as well. Those 10 hour days were starting to wear me out.
.
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