You knew this was coming -- some warlocks in Salem are offended by Charlie Sheen's "Vatican assassin warlock" comment.
I wish we could go back to the days when you could call someone a warlock and it had a positive connotation. And I wish warlocks would take back these words and wear them with pride. Or at least just roll with the punches, cast a spell on the offender and move on with their lives.
Come on warlocks! Get a thicker skin!
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent, least of all a troubled actor and his collection of goddesses and bloody tigers.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Weekend In
Recently my social life went on an unexpected uptick. For some reason, lots of things were going on, which kept me busy on Friday and Saturday nights.
This weekend it's been just me sitting at home (and an occasional IM). I'm thankful for the respite from weekend activity. It's actually nice to sit here and get some writing done.
Not that it's great writing, but at least it's something.
This weekend it's been just me sitting at home (and an occasional IM). I'm thankful for the respite from weekend activity. It's actually nice to sit here and get some writing done.
Not that it's great writing, but at least it's something.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Cheburashka
Having a bad week? Had customer service issues in both the public and private sectors?
Well, sit down and relax. I have just the thing for you.
Recently a Russian friend of mine enlightened me with the pure genius of Cheburashka, a stop-motion animation sensation (though in the above link he doesn't appear until 2:45, so be patient). He's a big-eared, 5-year-old-boy-sized, previously unknown creature who, in a series of Soviet cartoons, got stuck in a crate of oranges and wound up transported to Moscow, where he begins life again in a whole new series of misadventures with Gena, an accordion-playing crocodile who plays chess with himself for fun. The antagonist is some crazy old bag of a woman who has a pet rat.
It's great theater. On the strength of just four episodes (about 70 total minutes), Cheburashka has won me over. I'm a huge fan. If you're not familiar with him, you will be too.
It's too bad that over a 14-year period, only four Cheburashka episodes were made. Apparently Soviet Disney (or whatever their equivalent was) didn't have much of a budget for stop-motion animation.
Goddam Soviets. They could have made Cheburashka a universal brand, and instead they opted for the dictatorship of the proletariat. No wonder their economy collapsed.
Well, sit down and relax. I have just the thing for you.
Recently a Russian friend of mine enlightened me with the pure genius of Cheburashka, a stop-motion animation sensation (though in the above link he doesn't appear until 2:45, so be patient). He's a big-eared, 5-year-old-boy-sized, previously unknown creature who, in a series of Soviet cartoons, got stuck in a crate of oranges and wound up transported to Moscow, where he begins life again in a whole new series of misadventures with Gena, an accordion-playing crocodile who plays chess with himself for fun. The antagonist is some crazy old bag of a woman who has a pet rat.
It's great theater. On the strength of just four episodes (about 70 total minutes), Cheburashka has won me over. I'm a huge fan. If you're not familiar with him, you will be too.
It's too bad that over a 14-year period, only four Cheburashka episodes were made. Apparently Soviet Disney (or whatever their equivalent was) didn't have much of a budget for stop-motion animation.
Goddam Soviets. They could have made Cheburashka a universal brand, and instead they opted for the dictatorship of the proletariat. No wonder their economy collapsed.
National Bad Customer Service Week
Since mediocre customer service has been the Theme of the Week, and since I'm deeply immersed in fiction right now and want to dust off something quick, here's an incident from last night.
I go to the convenience store down the street, where I pick up the following items:
* Two Coca-Colas (because they're this week's special: buy-one-get-one-free).
* Two Reese's peanut butter eggs (because with the accompanying coupon they're buy-one-get-the-second-at-half-price).
This should satsify my sugar fix for the next two days. I go to the counter, where someone I don't recognize is working. However, he has "Senior Sales Associate" affixed to his name badge. So I'm confident.
He rings everything up. The total comes to $5.26.
He's completely ignored the specials
"Aren't the Cokes buy-one-get-one-free?" I ask.
"Oh yeah, sorry." He deletes the second one from the transaction.
Then he rings up the total again -- $3.62.
"I have a coupon for those," I say, pointing to the peanut butterr eggs.
"Oh yeah, sorry."
Finally, everything is scanned corrrectly. $3.12.
It must be National Bad Customer Service Week.
I go to the convenience store down the street, where I pick up the following items:
* Two Coca-Colas (because they're this week's special: buy-one-get-one-free).
* Two Reese's peanut butter eggs (because with the accompanying coupon they're buy-one-get-the-second-at-half-price).
This should satsify my sugar fix for the next two days. I go to the counter, where someone I don't recognize is working. However, he has "Senior Sales Associate" affixed to his name badge. So I'm confident.
He rings everything up. The total comes to $5.26.
He's completely ignored the specials
"Aren't the Cokes buy-one-get-one-free?" I ask.
"Oh yeah, sorry." He deletes the second one from the transaction.
Then he rings up the total again -- $3.62.
"I have a coupon for those," I say, pointing to the peanut butterr eggs.
"Oh yeah, sorry."
Finally, everything is scanned corrrectly. $3.12.
It must be National Bad Customer Service Week.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Keystone Karriers, Part Three
My package has been found and is now in my possession. The carrier put it in the wrong slot the other day when she returned to the post office, so it almost went back to the sender, which would've been a huge problem.
I got a very profuse apology from the postmaster. And apparently the carrier is mafraid to come to my apartment complex now for fear of running into me.
The guy at the counter was much more apologetic and friendly yesterday when I crossed paths with him again to.
It only took two days, but all's well that ends well.
I got a very profuse apology from the postmaster. And apparently the carrier is mafraid to come to my apartment complex now for fear of running into me.
The guy at the counter was much more apologetic and friendly yesterday when I crossed paths with him again to.
It only took two days, but all's well that ends well.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Keystone Karriers, Part Two
Today I went back to the post office to try to reclaim the package they seem to have lost.
It's still missing.
The only solace I have is that one of the other folks at the counter was talking about the guy I spoke to yesterday. He rolled his eyes and said, "Oh yeah, him. Working with him is like working alone."
The saga continues...
It's still missing.
The only solace I have is that one of the other folks at the counter was talking about the guy I spoke to yesterday. He rolled his eyes and said, "Oh yeah, him. Working with him is like working alone."
The saga continues...
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Keystone Karriers
Yesterday a package came for me in the mail, but I wasn't here to sign for it. I know what it is. It's an important package. The carrier left a note for me that it would be available to sign for today at the post office in downtown Worcester.
I go down there this morning. The guy at the counter disappears for 10 minutes and then he comes back and this conversation ensues:
Him: "It's lost."
Me: "What do you mean it's lost?"
Him: "Well it's not lost, the carrier has probably already left for his daily rounds. He'll bring it to you this morning."
Me: "I won't be home this morning."
Him: "He'll leave another note for you."
Me: "Can't they just leave it here so I can pick it up?"
Him: "You have to sign for this package."
Me: "I can sign for it here."
Him: "It's not here right now."
Me: "The note says it's available for pickup March 1, right?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "Today's March 1, right?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "How am I supposed to pick up this package if you keep trying to deliver it when I'm not home, and when I come here it's not here?"
Him: "I don't know."
Me: "What is this, the Keystone Kops? This is really lousy service."
Him: "I can live with it."
What an asshole. This is the absurdity of our bloated inefficient postal service. By the way, you'll hear postal service employees tell you that the Postal Service is self-sufficient and privately funded and does not receive taxpayer money. This statement is total bullshit. The United States Postal Service is supposed to be self-sufficient. But every year that the USPS runs a deficit -- which, of course, happens every year -- they borrow from the U.S. Treasury to cover the gap.
Where do they think the U.S. Treasury money comes from?
It's nice to know my important packages are in such capable hands.
I go down there this morning. The guy at the counter disappears for 10 minutes and then he comes back and this conversation ensues:
Him: "It's lost."
Me: "What do you mean it's lost?"
Him: "Well it's not lost, the carrier has probably already left for his daily rounds. He'll bring it to you this morning."
Me: "I won't be home this morning."
Him: "He'll leave another note for you."
Me: "Can't they just leave it here so I can pick it up?"
Him: "You have to sign for this package."
Me: "I can sign for it here."
Him: "It's not here right now."
Me: "The note says it's available for pickup March 1, right?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "Today's March 1, right?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "How am I supposed to pick up this package if you keep trying to deliver it when I'm not home, and when I come here it's not here?"
Him: "I don't know."
Me: "What is this, the Keystone Kops? This is really lousy service."
Him: "I can live with it."
What an asshole. This is the absurdity of our bloated inefficient postal service. By the way, you'll hear postal service employees tell you that the Postal Service is self-sufficient and privately funded and does not receive taxpayer money. This statement is total bullshit. The United States Postal Service is supposed to be self-sufficient. But every year that the USPS runs a deficit -- which, of course, happens every year -- they borrow from the U.S. Treasury to cover the gap.
Where do they think the U.S. Treasury money comes from?
It's nice to know my important packages are in such capable hands.
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