Celebrating REAL stars again...

It's been over a year since I posted this, but I feel that in light of all the recent crap that's been in the headlines (Kimye, Robin Thicke's divorce, Miley eating underwear to name a few), I wanted to dust this one off and bring it back. It's worth reading again. In my humble opinion. And since Shepherd University's Relay for Life is just around the corner, and because next week, my friend Holly Frye will once again be taking a group of Shepherd University students on a week called "Alternative Spring Break" to build a house for Habitat for Humanity, it was worth bringing back. So I give you Real Stars vs. Fake Stars, because I love Holly and I want you all to love her too.

Photo courtesy Shepherd University

Hoping for An Interview With the Dirty One....

I'm sure you've all read my post about how I am the Mike Rowe Expert, right? Well I've got a confession to make. I'm not really. People seem to THINK I am, but I'm not. I know what everyone else on the internet knows. Or thinks they know. I may know just a teensy bit more than the average fan because I used to post frequently at the Dirty Jobs Message Board before the proverbial shit hit the proverbial fan for the Dirty Jobs 150th Episode Party. My friend Theresa was fortunate enough to attend and I was so jealous I wanted to vomit thrilled for her I could hardly contain myself. Knowing that she was as huge a fan of Mike's as I was, and having met her and knowing she was such an awesome lady, I was honestly happy for her. But lots of hurt feelings happened and the board was never the same. At the time though, the really cool thing about being a member of the message board was that Mike used to post there all the time. And he'd answer questions, talk about his "sweetie by the bay" and trade banter with the folks who put him where he was and kept him dirty. The other cool thing was that some of the stars of Dirty Jobs also used to post there (Kristen the snake handler, Farmer Bob from Vegas to name a few). Ah those were the days.

Dirty picture courtesy of Discoverychannel.com

Nowadays, Mike posts frequently to Facebook. He even responded to my post on his wall (the one where people think I'm an expert). So it just stands to reason that since people THINK I know my Mike Rowe facts, I should probably try to learn more. I hate to let folks down.

Photo courtesy of my Facebook wall, bitches!

So here's what I'm hoping is going to happen. I'm going to post this blog. Then I'm going to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Mike's FB wall, bathroom walls, telephone poles, cork boards at grocery stores and everywhere I can find on the net to get Mike's attention. And I'm going to beg him for an interview. It won't be a stale old interview on what is favorite Dirty Job was, or how he feels now that he and Ford have parted ways.

No this interview will be like speed dating. I'm going to try to ask as many off the wall questions as I possibly can as if I've never heard of him. There may be some QVC references, possibly some questions about his old haunts in Maryland, but it won't be a journalist questioning a celebrity. It'll be a fan girl woman questioning a hott guy. (the rule on the old DJMB was that when we referred to Mike as hot, we always put an extra 'T' on the end for good measure.).

How about it Mike? Can I interview you? Please? Could be via Skype, FB message, email, phone, carrier pigeon, smoke signal, Google+ Hangout (if I figure out how the hell that works). Or it could be face to face, in April, chaperoned of course, when I buy the first round. Please let me know. I'm sure the 7 lovely people who read my blog would be very happy for me if you granted me an interview. Hell, I'll even add an extra "T" to hott when I'm referring to you. What do you say?

And what do YOU, dear readers, want to know about Mike Rowe? Fire away with your questions and if (when) I get a chance to interview him, I'll ask him what inquiring minds want to know!

Post by Snarkfest.

Tuesday Tirade.......Hollywood edition

Holy crap! Did you hear!? Robin Thicke and Paula Patton are divorcing!! Oh my God! Who cares?! Seriously. I would've left him after he dressed up like Beetlejuice, but whatever. Did I think he actually had anything to do with the whole Twerking-Miley circus? No. That was all on her. But his outfit for those awards shows? **shudders!!!

I care more about the fact that Harold Ramis died than I do about a celebrity couple breaking up. I hate that crap. Harold Ramis was pure comic genuis. Who didn't love Egon Spengler? Who didn't crack up at Animal House? He was a master and now, he's gone. THAT hits me more than Hollywood couples splitting.

I could NOT care any less about Kim and Kanye, Brad and Angelina, Jen and Ben, Gwyneth and what's-his-name. Could NOT care any less. You know what I think is cool? Jennifer Lawrence, because she DOESN'T take herself too seriously. It's called self-deprecation and it's an awesome quality to possess.

Being able to laugh at yourself is such a wonderful thing. It puts those around you at ease and IN MY OPINION, makes people enjoy being with you. Who doesn't like to laugh? I think that's one of the reasons I find George Clooney and Tom Hanks so damned sexy. They make people around them laugh, they don't take themselves too seriously and they are outspoken against causes without making people want to vomit.

What is the point of this post? I don't really know. I'm not sure where I'm going with it other than to vent about yet another Hollywood marriage breaking and how little I care when there are so many other MORE IMPORTANT things going on in the world that deserve to be in the headlines.

For example, Snuffles the double-nosed pup has been adopted! Go Snuffles!

How about Owen Howkins and Haatchi? The boy has a genetic disorder, the dog has 3 legs.

Together they complete each other and their story is heartwarming. Seriously, I'd rather watch THIS video a thousand times than to hear ONE MORE THING about Kanye and Kim.

They say that knowledge is power, and I believe that being informed is important. But being overloaded with shit that's not important, like a couple that I've never met getting divorced, is just overkill. Too much information is NOT a good thing. It makes us cold, it makes us less likely to feel. If there were more touching stories in the media, stories like Haatchi and Snuffles, we'd be a more caring country. That's just my two cents, for what it's worth.

And look! I went a whole blog post without mentioning my pretend boyfriend Mike Rowe! Throw me a party!

I must be the Mike Rowe expert......

Why do people ask me this? If he's married, he's not married to me.

Judging by the number of people each week that find my blog by searching for Mike Rowe, they must think I know something that they don't. Who am I to tell them I don't know him?? I love the man. That's no secret. Is he married? Not that he'll admit. Is he married to me? No, not yet.

I'm married to my wonderful husband Dan, er, Doug....um, Dean? Never mind, his name isn't the point right now. The point IS that for some odd reason, week in and week out people keep finding my blog by asking if Mike Rowe is married or gay.

Let me be clear: Mike Rowe is NOT married to me. Mike Rowe, to the best of my knowledge, is NOT gay. If Mike Rowe was either married or gay, it wouldn't change the fact that I love him. My husband knows this, and considering that I will probably never have Mike Rowe show up at my door asking to either steal ME away from my husband, or steal MY HUSBAND away from me, I think he's totally okay with it.

And Mike, if you're reading this, Hey Mike! Next time you're visiting your folks in Baltimore, look me up on FB on my Snarkfest page and I'll buy you a beer or three. Bring your wife (if you have one) or your husband (I'm not buying him a beer).

Oh and the search term 'clover'? I have NO clue.

Opportunists really piss me off......

I originally posted this on another site where I blog, The Epistolarians and now I've got an update to the story. And SURPRISE! I'm even MORE  pissed now!

There’s something that really chaps my ass and I just can’t keep quiet about it any longer.  I know a lot of people who have cried poor over the years. And I know some of them really are in need, I totally get that. And I’m not judging these people who are really down and out, nor am I degrading them in any way. However, there is a certain type of person who very well may be poor but this type of person repeatedly comes out on top of most things only because people feel sorry for them and give them things that by rights they should earn on their own. And while it doesn’t affect me, it affects those people that I truly care about. And it’s time I got this off my chest, so here goes.

There’s this girl, we’ll call her Beulah. And Beulah had gotten herself in a bad way. But ever the trooper, Beulah did what she needed to do, and now has an offspring. Beulah was a single mother relying on her parents to help her out. She also relied on her friends. A lot. But not for what you might think. She didn’t rely on those friends to help her financially take care of her offspring (let’s call him Paco). She didn’t rely on those friends to help pay for Paco’s clothes, schooling, food, etc. No, she depended on these friends to get her into things: clubs, shows, concerts, all the places that responsible adults pay to get to themselves. But not Beulah. 

Beulah sees an opportunity to take advantage and jumps on it. Now, I know that the early bird catches the worm and you have to carpe the diem and seize the day and all that bullshit, but there’s a big difference between taking the bull by the horns to get what you want, and getting others to get it for you. And that’s what pisses me off. Here’s a great example of what I’m talking about.

Recently, Beulah ran into more financial difficulties (again). And Beulah’s amazing, and generous friends started helping her out. The asked others to help out too. And really, when you see that a stranger is in need, of course the right and just thing to do is to help out. However, what Beulah’s friends (and these poor unsuspecting strangers) THINK she’s going to do with the money, and what she’s actually PLANNING on doing with the money are two very different things. I’m not psychic, but I do follow things on the old innerwebz. This ain’t my first time at the rodeo. And I know that while Beulah is making everyone and their mother aware that people are collecting money for her, she’s also got her eye on things she’s already planning on buying with this money. Things that, SURPRISE! Have nothing whatsoever to do with helping Paco (unless Paco wants to listen to old vinyl or hang posters) 

Now here's an UPDATE to the original post: Guess who is going on a cruise!!! If you guessed Beulah, you'd be correct! That's right, friends and neighbors, for all of you who donated to her cause to help her out financially, you've paid for her trip to the Caribbean! Congratulations. In my black little heart, if I donated to her because she was having financial difficulties and then I found out she was taking a Caribbean vacation on my dime, I'd be pissed as hell. But that's just me. If you donated to her and are happy for her that she's getting some time away from her son, then you are a better person than I am. Fo' shizzle.

This type of person, an opportunist, annoys the shit out of me. Honestly, aggravates me to no end. Want another example? Years ago I worked in Atlantic City. And at that time, one of the people in my department (let’s call her Hortense) called into the office to say that her son had been killed in a car accident. We were all shocked and saddened at this. Her son was about 8 years old. It was tragic and awful and we all took up a collection for Hortense, as we knew she didn’t have much and thought money would be better than flowers to get through a funeral and a horrible time in her life. We collected close to $1000 and gave it to her. And Hortense was grateful.  A few days later, someone from our department called her house to check to see how she was coping, how she was dealing with this tragedy. She didn’t answer, but her mother did. And her mother informed us that Hortense’s son had NOT, in fact, died in a tragic car accident. The boy was right there in the room with her. And Hortense was at work. When we explained to Hortense’s mother what had transpired, and that Hortense was NOT, in fact, at work, she apologized, horribly embarrassed at what Hortense had done. That was the last time we ever heard anything about Hortense. 

So you see, people can be sneaky and underhanded and that makes me sick. I earn my money, if I am facing hard times, I don’t expect others to give me money to get through. I don’t expect others to give me money to go to movies, concerts, trips, etc. If I can’t afford it myself, I’m not expecting others to foot the bill for me. And people who DO this, without guilt, with no conscience, irritate me.

 

Late evening Tuesday Tirade......

See this dog right here? This is a rottweiler/basset hound mix. Giant head, low-rider body. Funniest looking dog I've ever seen, and I have a friend who has 2. They're like bookends. Gargoyles. Roller skates. Adorable.

Unless you're trying to drive out of the driveway and they hold you hostage. Then, not so adorable. Then, you want to scream. Case in point: I picked up my friend's daughter Sally to take her to volleyball practice with my daughter, 14. Enter Skippy and Scrappy, the twins. I pulled into the driveway and Skippy came running out to greet me. As Sally got into the car, Scrappy joined Skippy and they proceeded to go ballistic on my car. Unfortunately, my car sits up a little too high for me to see them going ballistic on my car. So picture this in your mind. I'm in my Chevy Traverse trying to back up to turn around to get out of the driveway. I can HEAR them barking, but I can't see them. I ask Sally if they'll move if I drive, she says "Probably.....well, Scrappy will, I don't know about Skippy." That's helpful.

I pulled forward about 3 inches and I could hear them barking and I could see the shadow of tails wagging in my headlights, but damned if I could see them. I had no clue where they were. Were they in front of me? Were they next to me? Was I going to run over their little paws? Did I turn off the iron? Who shot JR?

Sally told me to just drive, they'll 'probably get out of the way'. Probably isn't going to explain to your daddy why he's down one dog and why I have puppy guts in my tire treads. It wasn't bad enough that they are too low for me to see from my car, what was worse was that I could hear them but couldn't tell where they were. And I had to get the girls to practice. So I started sweating and driving really slowly, expecting at any moment to hear a whine/yelp/crunch. I'd see one jumping ahead of the car but couldn't see the other one. Then they'd both disappear and for crying out loud I've only gone 6 feet and these people have a 300 foot driveway. WHY?? My only saving grace was the invisible fence. That's RIGHT! There's an invisible fence! I asked Sally where the fence line was, and her response was 'about halfway down the driveway'. What? Are you kidding me? I had made it 6 feet. I still had 144 feet to go before these dogs would hit the barrier and turn around.

Slowly I inched my way forward, dodging dogs, expecting to flatten one at any second. How would I explain this to the volleyball coach? Sorry coach, the girls would've been on time but I was being held hostage by two barking ottomans?

Not a real dog

Finally after nearly having a heart attack with the dogs jumping in front of my car, then running around back, then along the sides, all completely invisible to me, I was finally able to break free and leave the property. The girls were only a few minutes late to practice. However, it is now time to go back and pick them up and drop Sally back off at her house. I may park at the front and walk her up the driveway. Or I may take my chances and play chicken with the dogs. We'll see if Skippy will really move. Probably. Hopefully....

Outrage at the killing of dogs at the Olympics

I may be a little late to the party on this one but WOW am I aggravated! I have heard about the killing of dogs in Sochi for the Olympics but I had no idea that the issue was as bad as it is. I saw this clip on Freakbook this morning and I was just horrified at the numbers, and infuriated at the lack of regard for these animals. Watch this 6 minute clip from Keith Olbermann's show on ESPN2 and explain to me how the entire world isn't completely outraged at what's happening to these dogs. Just to be truthful, there is nothing graphic in this video clip, but the end result is heartbreaking.


Video clip courtesy of DailyKos.com 

The sickest and saddest part is when he says that the friendliest dogs are the easiest to catch. They have NO idea what is about to happen to them. The Russian government should be ashamed, the IOC should most DEFINITELY be ashamed for turning a blind eye to what's happening and the world needs to have eyes opened to this travesty. Do they seriously expect the public to believe that there is a rabies epidemic in Sochi? It's insulting and pathetic that they would come up with excuses and expect the public to digest their lies.

Go hug your dog, your cat or whatever your favorite pet is, and just be thankful that they aren't running free in Russia. My heart breaks for those poor animals.