Friday Photo #21 

Florida sighting... 

Does this really need to be spelled out? Really? Perhaps it's time to thin the herd....

The Parkway Pas de Deux 

or instant karma in action  

Okay, so around here we have these things called Parkways, which is a completely erroneous moniker being they are 55mph highways... Anyhoo, there are three of these main arteries in Pittsburgh--Parkway West, Parkway East and the baby of the group, Parkway North. As you would guess, traffic on these roadways is clogged in varying degrees during both the morning and evening rushes.

A little side note: Native Burghers are very territorial. South Hills dwellers rarely move North and North Hills natives don't dig crossing the river at all. Either move would make one a major defector and pariah in one's own family. And neither group would ever, EVER entertain the thought of moving East. That's just madness, man! 

One of the reasons for our collective hatred of the East is one's inevitable trek on the dreaded Parkway East. Seriously. This road is like Satan's highway...Beelzebub's backyard...Lucifer's laughfest. Seriously. It's never not jammed. Add a little water to the mix in the form of rain or snow, and it's just...DEATH. Slow, brain-biting, please-shove-needles-in-my-eyes-and-put-me-out-of-my-misery kinda Death.  

But I digress...

Lately I've been driving to work most mornings. I could take the trolley which is peaceful and uber efficient, but I've had lots of appointments and errands to run after work which require access to a motor vehicle. That, and I'm basically a lazy slug who doesn't want to get up any earlier to partake in the magnificence that is the trolley line.

Moving on to the point of this posting... 

The last part of my commute is a merge onto the Parkway West right before the tunnel. 

(By the way, if you ever find yourself driving to Pittsburgh from the airport, I guarantee you will be completely awestruck by the view of the city as you emerge from the tunnel. You're in darkness, then suddenly the entire city is laid out before you. The sun glistening off the rivers as they kiss the shorelines. I'm not kidding. It's gorgeous! A major "Wow!" factor going on. Every day I drive through there, and every day I am struck by the beauty.) 

Sorry. I'm having trouble keeping on topic today for some reason.

Like I started to say, the last part of my commute is a merge onto the Parkway West. There are two on-ramps which merge onto the highway. A lovely little ballet takes place right at this point that perfectly illustrates the philosophy of Instant Karma. I call it the Parkway Pas de Deux. Someone lets you in the first lane...then you let someone else in line. Then karma rewards you with an opening in the next lane where you graciously leave enough space to let someone else in...and so on, and so on. It's truly a beautiful thing. Everybody gets in. Everybody's happy... that's what she said. 

Come on! You know I had to say it.

Of course Karma works both ways. A funny thing happens when someone is being a dick, hugging the bumper in front of him to prevent a merge. Karma steps in and the dude never gets into the next lane. It's fabulous and oh-so-satisfying. 

So remember the next time you're stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic...a little courtesy and Karma go along way.

Okay... I'm a Gigantic Boob 

(and not the alluring, fill-out-your-sweater-and-make-the-boys-drool type either)

So I rambled on and on about supporting Chuck by watching it tonight only to realize (after posting) that last week was the final episode of this season or possibly ever. And by "realize" I mean Geo broke the news (i.e. shattered my fragile ego)  when I was frantically yelling at him to change the channel to NBC. Okay, he didn't shatter my ego--just slapped me back to reality. Figuratively of course. 

Mea Culpa. I throw myself upon my sword of shame and beg your forgiveness. But still, do yourself a favor, NetFlix Season One and then watch Season Two online. 

I'm such a tool...

We Interrupt This Mindless Blog For A Special Programming Note..

or stop reading this and go watch CHUCK!!

Okay, so every year the Network honchos in their infinite "wisdom" (see what I did there? I made a funny.) decide which programs to renew and which to toss on the ever-growing heap of broken hopes and dreams. Granted, a lot of what's discarded is absolute crap (remember Caveman?), but for every ill-conceived train wreck of a show there are a number of well-produced, charming programs whose life spans are prematurely cut short due to Network Suits lack of commitment, imagination or foresight. High quality works of entertainment like Pushing Daisies, Arrested Development and Andy Richter Controls the Universe were never given a chance to find their audience. 

This year one of the most satisfying and entertaining hour-long shows Chuck is on the cancellation bubble. To lose this show would just ... blow. While other shows have faltered in their second season, reduced to drivel, Chuck has gotten smarter, wittier and just plain better.  My friend Sassman sums it all up much more eloquently than I. You can read his take on this whole affair here. 

Go ahead...read it. I'll wait. 

(whistles along to the many tunes in her head)

He's absolutely right about the last six episodes being amazing. I've said it before, this show has something for everyone...action, sexual tension, intelligently written witty story lines, youthful jargon that doesn't get on your nerves or make you feel completely old and out of touch and the most adorable lead character since...I don't know when. All of the characters--lead or lesser--fit...

Oh-oh. Wait a minute... World Cafe is playing the new Rhett Miller single. Must. Sing. Along.... You can sing along, too by clicking here. "Kissing in a classroom on a campus on the coast after hours of analysis..."  I absolutely LOVE alliteration! And it has one of the saddest little lines to  make your heart say ouch, "you tell me that you love me, yet you won't even hug me. So I need to know where I stand..."

Okay, I'm back. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, how all the characters--lead or lesser--fit together beautifully. Each one essential to the whole of the show. 

I mean look at them. They really seem to genuinely like each other.

So enough of my harping. Get in that living room, turn on NBC and watch Chuck as it's airing so the evil corporate suits can register your demographic. Do your part. Don't let this gem of program be cast to the slag heap. Your soul will thank you.  

Friday Photo #20 

(Now with double the visual! Hurry. Act now!)

Vacation Time!!! 

Okay, so every other year, my card club gal pals and I venture south to the land of abundant sunshine and salty surf for major bonding and recharging. This is the view from our balcony. Sweet isn't it? We'll be jetting off tomorrow at the unGodly pre-crack of dawn, but should be sipping Ritas, poolside by 1pm. Aaaaaaah.... 

I believe there is a song to go with pretty much every occasion in life. This week's theme song is courtesy of.. who else? My pals, The Old 97's. "She loves the sunset/she loves the cocktail bell..." 

I'll think of you all as we beach, binge and behave slightly improperly. What happens in Marco, stays in Marco. See you next week. Ciao!

P.S.: one extra funny with which to leave you. A headline in this morning's Sports Section read as follows: 

"Yankees working to get Wang on track"

*snort* Classic.

And Now For Some Truly Sophomoric Humor  

or dude, do you have a license to sell those hot dogs? 

I recognize the last couple of postings haven't been that Ha Ha funny. In an attempt to remedy that lack of literary depth, I present you with a website which will tickle the prostate of your inner 12-year-old boy... AwkwardBoners.com   

And, yes. It is EXACTLY what it sounds like.

Dude... Where the HELL is your cup?

And for the sake of being gender fair and balanced as well as keeping with the general theme of today's posting, here's a ditty from my favorite off-her-gourd internet Comics Chanteuse, Nataliedee.com.

I Love Sundays...

Okay, so my job is in a 24/7 business and I work weekends. The beauty is by the time things get cranked up at the end of the M-F week, I'm out of the madness being that my off days are Thursday and Friday. A beautiful thing indeed.

The thing about working the weekends is I work the daylight shift so am out of the bat cave with plenty of daylight and evening left to partake in any number of social activities. Naturally I tend to burn my candle at both ends (ouch!) and have performed my duties with clouded-head-syndrome on numerous Sunday mornings. Generally, the pain in the AM has been worth the fun had the night before.

Usually on Sundays, my good bud, Suzette and I indulge in a four course, mircowave-cooked, breakfast of champions--noshing whilst watching the CBS Sunday Morning show. Suzette's been MIA for a while now, so breakfast consists of me foraging for something semi-edible at home like cereal, yogurt or hard-boiled eggs. Honestly, it ain't much fun whipping up grub for yourself and some random casual worker. I miss her.

Anywho...

The best thing about working Sundays is it's a chance to catch up on the important stuff...emails, blog postings I haven't got around to reading over the week, blog posts I haven't got around to writing, reading the newspaper, reading Entertainment Weekly, and phoning folks.

Okay, I don't really do all that stuff at work. That would be wrong. However, some Sundays the programming is just one infomercial after another which leaves a bit of free time. It's those mornings that afford me the opportunity to listen to new musicians on...wait for it... MySpace. (See, I told you MySpace was still useful.)

Today I've been streaming the indie band, Blind Pilot from Oregon and the powerpop Fastball from all-things-music Austin, Tx. I've heard them mentioned on several occasions and decided to give them a listen. They are both EXCELLENT! Blind Pilot has a quieter, ethereal sound where Fastball is a slicker, much more polished, fuller pop sound. I would highly recommend both.

I better brush my hair and get all purtied up. I have a date with iTunes to buy me some of these finds when I get home.