Tag: common sense

Pity the poor cockroach

Geoff and I were watching an episode of Criminal Minds the other night and a super familiar thing happened.  It’s something that happens a lot on TV and it always makes me roll my eyes, but this time it irritated me enough to make me want to come here and get all science-ranty about it.

I should probably say before I get started that I genuinely like Criminal Minds and that I’ve been watching it off and on since Season 1.  This problem is not specific to any particular show but to all TV and Movies that need a Big Scary Bug and science be damned.

Btw, there are photos of bugs after the jump.  Lots of them.  You have been warned.

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Cultural Appropriation & Antiques

Today Geoff and Amanda and I went to the Boston Antiques & Design Show in Wilmington, MA.  We’d never been to this show before and we actually heard about it in a book we found at a used book sale at MIT.  The book was awesome, it’s here if you want to check it out, but it may have mentioned that the show is held in a Shriners Auditorium.  Shriners, like the guys wearing little fuzzy red fezzes.

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Baby it’s cold outside

Yes, Geoff is correct in the post that he just put up.  It isn’t cold outside.  At all.  But I’m not talking about actual weather, I’m talking about that blasted song.  I’m talking about that “Christmas Song” that’s commonly referred to now as “The Rapey Song.”

You know the one.    Once you actually listen to the words you get uncomfortable each time you hear it.  It’s a duet.  It’s ostensibly about flirting, a date, and a storm.

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The Kitty Convict Project #KittyConvict

Regular readers know that we’re animal lovers here. We have cats and dogs here at Casa Dachshund, despite the name, and we love all animals.*  That’s why this new project by Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal fame is so cool.  This is, as he explains on the website, a form of cat atonement (catonement) for recently Kickstarting a super successful game called Exploding Kittens.  Really.

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Two judges cause much celebration

I haven’t been able to do a lot of writing here on the blog lately.  It’s been a combination of having a very full schedule and not sleeping well.  I am working on trying to fix the part about not sleeping well.  The full schedule will start easing off a bit after October 10th.   I will probably post more about that in the near future.

In the meantime, I wanted to say something about two stories in the news that are related to the title of my post.  One is in regards to civil rights, the other is in regards to one of New England’s favorite athletes.
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Newton, Brookline, Boston, and local businesses!

If you want to appeal to a local audience and support the arts, check this out.

Regular readers of this space know that I’m the General Manager for Cappella Clausura.  Aside from looking for volunteers for our group, running front of house, and doing all the other things I do, one of my other responsibilities is to find advertisers who’ll help defray the costs of keeping the doors open and the lights on.

That’s where you come in, dear readers.  Do you own a small business that would benefit from advertising in Cappella Clausura’s programs?  Would you benefit from buying linkspace on our website?  If the answer is yes, (or even maybe) then I have all of the details below to help you contribute the arts and drive customers to your door at the same time.

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It’s time to end February School Vacation week, for good

I’m not writing this because I don’t think kids in school don’t work hard enough, because teachers have too much time off, or because I have some other ideas about school/teacher/union reform.  I’m writing this because 1) I grew up without a vacation in February and since moving to New England and finding out about it I’ve decided it’s an absurd practice, 2) I work with the public day in and day out and the very worst times of year to deal with people are school vacation weeks, and 3) Climate Change.

If I lost you on that last one, let me go into a little more detail.

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How to fail at Networking without really trying

Anyone who’s spent any time in the job market will tell you that networking will get you everywhere.  Knowing people and being willing to talk to them about what they do and who they know is the fastest way to land interviews and jobs.  I recently landed a new part-time gig that I’m really excited about for precisely that reason: I had the skills and experience and I knew someone who was able to hook me up with the people who were looking for someone like me.

Today I happened upon a lesson in exactly how NOT to network.  Someone failed in spectacular fashion at Networking 101.  Let the following be a lesson to us all.

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I thank God for our city council

The Cambridge City Council has voted in a policy order to make known that they are opposed to the 2024 Boston Olympic bid.   I get the impression that no one in the group to bring the 2024 Olympics to Boston thought to discuss their plan with surrounding communities to feel the waters, so to speak.

I cannot believe that any serious person would think that hosting the 2024 Olympics here in Boston is a good idea.  And with such a relatively small window to prepare, it is quite unrealistic.  In fact, it is hands down one of the dumbest ideas I have heard put forth in a long time.

Where would we put it all?

Yes, I know Kelly has talked about this already, but I have to throw in my own two cents worth, because this is something that has actually gotten me quite a bit fired up and angry.  It is yet another case of the privileged few dictating to everyone else.

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#BlackLivesMatter & #NoBoston2024 – The intersection of money, race & power

Anyone who isn’t a moneyed plutocrat in the very tiny ruling elite here in Boston – Marty Walsh, John Fish, Charlie Baker, and Shirley Leung, I’m looking at you – likely understands that yesterday’s announcement that Boston “won” the USOC nomination for the 2024 olympics is a Very Bad Thing.  The Boston 2024 group has existed for about a year and, chaired by Fish, has been trying to essentially shame the populace into believing that if we do not do this thing, invite the world to come here for a 3 week-long party 9 years from now, we’re provincial losers and that Boston isn’t fit for the world stage.

To put it bluntly, the people at Boston2024 are liars.

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