Dog Logic

...in a flowchart from a dog owner named Khoi.

Once Upon A Mime

Marcel Marceau passed away this Saturday. He was one of the living legends of stage that thespians, such as myself, cannot help but admire. He will be greatly missed.

I've included a video taken recently at a symposium in Poland. Marcel is goofing off with one of the presenters.

LOLsecrets

Too good not to post. There's a new website for the combining of our two favorite internet phenomenoms: Post Secret and LOLcats. Enjoy!


And a couple of recent good ones from icanhascheezburger.com:

Ultimately It Was Fine

Mission Accomplished! The HRAR (Human Resources Annual Retreat) went better than I expected. We were still forced to "celebrate diversity" by writing down shameful childhood stereotypes that were foisted upon us by others (Out, out, Demon!) and then share them in small groups with others.

 

But the good mood held and the food was tasty and I even learned something new about myself! And that always makes me happy. I learned that when it comes to change, I am a Seeker. That's right. I actively look for ways to improve and change the status quo around me. I don't sit still and take things as they come. I have the drive necessary to optimize what I'm given and make the best of it while looking for ways to improve the way things are done. This would explain why I am always reorganizing the filing systems in the office. [The three other "quadrants" were Intellectually Engaged (list-makers, pragmatic), Emotionally Engaged (cheerleaders), and Resistors (negative, cautious).]

 

Also, they gave us candy and let us play games outside... sounds like the third grade.

Getting Out

Four words strike terror in every breast here in my place of work. Four words: Human Resources Annual Retreat

The HRAR is an all-day affair that "explores ways to foster new ways of working together, improve communication and create a healthier culture" here at the office.

It's tomorrow. All day.

I've been thinking of ways to get out of it. So far, I've not had much luck. One very clever co-worker had the good foresight to be Jewish, thus ensuring himself a free pass for the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah. He joked, "You'll want to consider converting to Judaism for at least a week this year!" He's off today and tomorrow. Now that $125 ticket to the local temple is starting to look like a bargain.

They're going to make us do "exercises." Otherwise known as "ways to waste an entire day of peoples' existence." They've asked everyone to bring a picture of themselves for an "exploring the self" exercise. I shudder as I write it. (If they ask us to take off our shoes, I will make a beline for the door.) I have no idea what this will entail, but I've printed up a picture of myself that I use for concert fliers and don't mind being passed around to a bunch of co-workers. My boss is planning on enlarging his driver's license picture 200%. I really hope somebody brings in a wall-sized framed portrait of themselves in oils. That would just about make my day!

As if this weren't enough, the itinerary of the day starts with something called "positive reinforcement." But we're unsure as to what they are positively reinforcing. Maybe the concrete barriers between their employees and the nearest exits would be the smartest move.

Last year's retreat was futile, but bearable. Only problem with this year's retreat is that the powers that be are feeling ambitious. And ambition and retreats are kind of at loggerheads if you really think about it. The corporation meets the convent, kind of a thing. "Let's really get in there and work hard at having a relaxing time." Right.

I already have people requesting my presence at their table; people who cannot bear the thought of serious faces oowing and awing over the poster competition they will inevitably make us do outlining our specific department's contributions and goals in the corporation. If we get to make any acronyms, I'm going straight for swear words. "This year we are focusing on 'Friendly Uncompromising Clientele Knowledge' " or "Since last year we've increased our 'Stellar Handling of International Teamwork' by 10%." I just hope I don't get in trouble. Like last year. When I shot out a barb and the whole room erupted into laughter. My boss didn't care for that much. (Sometimes that theatre degree can bite you in the butt.)

So, this year my watchwords will be "Save it for the Blog" and "Smile and Nod." We'll see how it goes... *sigh*

We'll see.

Beauty in Destruction

Maybe it's just because it's September 11, maybe it's just the cold, rainy day, but these images of the photography of Martin Klimas really soothed me in a vibrant, gritty sort of way. Life is fragile and yet violently beautiful. Click pics for larger image.

Happy Birthday, Voyager I

Guess who else turned 30 this year? Voyager I, and it's still out there sending us pictures. Imagine this, it's 9.5 billion miles away and takes 13 hours to send its signal (at light speed) to earth. That puppy wandered far! Keep up the good work, little space Voyager! (Get this, they even included a record of "earth sounds" for extraterrestrials to listen to to get to know our planet. Wasn't that thoughtful?

Pavarotti No More

My favorite tenor died this morning. Here he is singing Nessun Dorma. What a voice!

"Like Such As..."

If you haven't reveled in the misguided utterings of the current reigning Miss Teen South Carolina, see the video. The t-shirt above (which tastefully arranged her speech into the shape of the USA, should assist US Americans who have no maps like such as myself in identifying it next time) is available at this site. You'll also want to see their Pageant Geography t-shirt which carefully explains where the US is, South Africa, The Asian countries and as a bonus... the Iraq.

Labor Day Fashion

I have it on good authority that you should never wear white after Labor Day. So I did: white short-pants and white open-toe-sandals. I'll be the scandal of all of Cleveland. I'll have to speed through Beachwood tonight so as not to be hauled from my vehicle and made into a public example.

On another purely tangential note: I went to Cedar Point with Raymond on Friday. Top-Thrills Dragster took my breath away, the Magnum tried to take my hat away, and the Millenium Force (we sat at the front) decided to give rather than take. Raymond and I had several dead bugs to show for ourselves on the fronts of our shirts. We laughed ourselves sick. (Oh, and the new ride, the Maverick, is really quite wild. I would have liked it more if it hadn't tossed my head about quite so much.)

And for those of you State-side, what did your weekend produce in the way of entertainment and relaxations?