Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Checking In

We're off to an early start, ladies and gents. This is promising. Let's review the scene of the crime, shall we?

There are 50 large LCD screens clearly marked "Bag Drop: Customers who have checked in". I stepped in line, as 1) I have indeed already checked in, and 2) I need to drop my bag off. A lady unbeknownst to me walks up, "Hello." I oblige, "Good morning." Now, if I'm lyin' I'm cryin' (and I ain't shed a tear), but the lady then asked, "Do you see a sign for baggage drop?"

............................

"Ummm, yes ma'am, right there."

And there, and there, and there, AND THERE, AND THERE, AND THERE! Really? You're pretty.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Viva Las Vegas!

Guess what! My parents surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas for my birthday!

Guess what else! This means people watching GALORE! Not to mention all the other fun that Vegas offers! Since I can't afford to bring you all back a souvenir, I promise I'll get y'all some awesome pics and stories of our adventures - starting with the airport.

Since you may have been resting from your Royal Wedding festivities / still blown away by those Holy Brows, I'll recap the Vegas Surprise.

My cute Mamasita sent me this slideshow when I was at work.





So of course I immediately accepted the offer in hopes that we were taking a little vacay! The parentals wouldn't tell me anything else and said I had to wait to find out. When we got home from dinner, I could hear them plotting again while I refreshed the water to all my birthday flowers. Then the lights went out and the singing began while I anxiously awaited to blow out the 23 candles on my cake!



Next came the birthday card - pretty long, huh?

Look what was at the bottom.
It says, "Hint is on the Cake." This is when Dad starts telling Mom that now I'm not going to be able to see it and they should have had me go upstairs to look over the banister while they hold the cake down below. 

I wasn't sure what "it" he was talking about, but I immediately jumped up on the kitchen chair and saw this:

Cake says, "Viva Las Vegas" in the sprinkles!


"REALLY?! VEGAS?! REALLY?!"

If you couldn't tell by the last picture, I'm pretty excited about going to Vegas! Crossing my fingers I win something! But like they say, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." I'm sure my money will follow suit (pun intended). 

Check back  for Vegas updates. I'm currently taking bets for how security will go.

Your options:
A. Body Scan
B. Groped and felt up  Pat down
C. Both A and B
D. Choice C has occurred and I start giggling nervously and TSA believes this behavior to be suspicious, thus pulling me aside to question me in a dark room with one lamp on the table, while the FBI watches on the other side of the "mirror".

What will it be? 

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hugh Hefner vs. Scotch Tape

This just in!

Hugh Hefner is 4 years older than Scotch Tape. 
Born 1926
Born 1930


WOW, HE'S OLD! (Yes, that's me. Circa 1990.)


To refresh your memories, his future wife was born in 1986. She's only 2 (two) years older than me.

.........................................................................................................

Vommit say what?!

Not enough money therapy in the world universe!


Even Palin agrees - disgusting!

Dude, I know. Horrifying!




I watched Jay Leno for this tidbit of information.
Found this pic of Scotch Tape here
Found the dirty old man here
Interesting nuggets about Scotch Tape
I can see Russia from my house.
Home Alone

Monday, May 9, 2011

Doodle 4 Google: What I'd Like to Do Someday ...

One of the many things I love about Google (and I'm not just saying this because the Google Big Brother is watching) is the Google Doodle waiting for me on the home page on different holidays, anniversaries, and other unique historical events. As a doodler and artistic person, I appreciate the creativity and innovation that goes into these famous Google Doodles. Tip of the imaginary top hat to you, Google, for establishing such an engaging brand and loyal fan base.

Not only does Google believe in creativity and innovation, but they also believe in the future leaders of tomorrow. Google said, "We love to encourage and celebrate the creativity of young people, and we are always excited to see the range of inspiring doodles that are submitted." And with all of the recent budget cuts in education, it's so refreshing to see such a global leader investing in our future - which brings us to today's post. (Disclaimer: It's not the typical crazy ramblings, but hopefully it will at least leave you with a smile and spark your imaginations ... which is still pretty Marcy in essence, no? Unless of course you hate art, then proceeding from here will neither make you smile, nor give you an ounce of inspiration; it may just bore you to tears. In which case, may I suggest you stop reading this post and check out one listed on The Crazy Craze over there on the left?) This year, Google partnered with The Whitney Museum of American Art, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Girl Scouts to host their 4th Doodle 4 Google competition.

From the Doodle 4 Google Homepage:

At Google, we believe that dreaming about future possibilities leads to tomorrow’s leaders and inventors, so this year we invited U.S. kids to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, "What I’d like to do someday…"
Whether students wanted to find a cure for cancer or take a trip to the moon, it all started with art supplies and some 8.5" x 11" paper. One lucky student artist will take home a $15,000 college scholarship and $25,000 technology grant for their school, among many other prizes.

K-12 students all over the U.S. doodled their dreams for Google. By the March 16 deadline, Google received over 107,000 entries (almost 75,000 more entries than the previous year). Along with their Doodles, each contestant had to submit a brief statement explaining the Doodle 4 Google theme: "What I'd like to do someday ..."

40 Regional Finalists were then selected for the voting process based on the following criteria:

  • Artistic merit: based on grade group and artistic skill
  • Creativity: based on the representation of the theme and use of the Google logo
  • Theme communication: how well the theme is expressed
  • Appropriateness of the supporting statement
Here's the bracketology for the National Title:


Here's where you come in, dear friends and strangers - the polls are open and it's time for a little voting! You can help select the winning Doodle that will be displayed on the Google Homepage. You will be voting on the 40 Regional Finalists which will determine the 4 National Finalists. Public voting is open through the end of this week, so you have until Friday, May 13, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Google will announce the National Winner at an awards ceremony in New York on May 19, 2011 and the winning Doodle (which you helped pick) will be displayed front and center on Google.com, May 20, 2011. Take a second or two to check out all of these talented young artists and cast your vote for each grade group. It's truly impressive!


Here are my favorites from each group:
Grades K - 3
"Space Life"  
By Matteo Lopez, age 7
Monte Verde Elementary School
South San Francisco, California
"What I'd like to do someday ... is become an astronaut and explore space life. I want to wear a space suit, fly in space, walk on the moon and make friends with aliens in other planets."

I love the little alien on the G. 

Grades 4 - 6
"Smile for Life"
By Omar Amin, age 11
Kings Glen Elementary School
Burke, Virginia
"What I'd like to do someday ... As the sun shines and spring blooms around me, I enter my clinic. This clinic is built upon my dreams of dentistry and desire to help people smile beautifully. My mission and dream: help each and every patient of mine to have a sparkling smile." 
Ya can't argue with a smile! It's simple, but well executed - love the style. And, he ties it together with a great supporting statement.

Grades 7 - 9
"The Majestic Sea"
By Justas Varpucanskis, age 13
Mokena Junior High School
Mokena, Illinois
"What I'd like to do someday... is to take part in the conservation of our underwater universe. There is no doubt the last decades were an environmental catastrophe. The underwater world is a haven for many sea creatures, thus being crucial to our existence. We need to preserve our underwater ecosystem."
This is just crazy good - I love the detail and intense colors. The water at the top of the drawing even looks ripply! This kiddo is obviously a talented artist and is very passionate about a great cause.

Grades 10 - 12
"Google Noir"
By Megan Kelchner, age 16
Tiverton High School
Tiverton, Rhode Island
"The Google sign looks like an unfinished comic, pens and pencils still on the paper. This expresses the theme "what I'd like to do someday" because I wish to be an illustrator."
I picked this one solely on the level of artistic skill. It looks like she took a picture of her work-in-progress with the pen, pencil, and eraser still on the table. This would be my favorite over all if the artist provided a more in-depth supporting statement expressing the theme instead of just describing the picture. But come on, it's an insanely good Doodle.



Pretty cool, huh? Go vote!



And if you're bored / curious about all the previous Google Doodles, it's Google Time, baby!



Source:

Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Royal Wedding: Holy Brow!

In case you were living under a rock last Friday, Kate Middleton wedded Prince William at the Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011, in front of the Queen and thousands of their closest guests (and the entire world ... so if this is breaking news to you, you really were living under a rock.) Kate was a beautiful blushing bride and William was the giddy grinning groom. I must admit that I didn't wake up at 3 A.M. to watch the royal couple exchange vows live, I was resting up so I could turn another year older - it's kind of exhausting, you know. So I watched a little bit of the coverage of their big day on Saturday, and boy, was I glad I did.

 WHAT IS THAT?! CHECK OUT HIS EYEBROWS!!!

Can we just talk about this for a minute?
I would have been thoroughly upset had I missed this. This picture doesn't even do those crazy brows justice. I originally saw those squirrel tails on NBC in HD as the camera man panned the Abbey and circled around the royal couple and padre for different views. Let me see if I can find a close up for you. Google time!


I'm ready for my close up!

Holy Archbishop of Canterfurry, Batman! ... What? ... How? ... I just ... ah ... uh ... DUDE! HIS EYEBROWS!

Now, if Her Royal Highness has declared a dress code for such royal events, you'd think that would include a little personal grooming, no? Go get those bad boys under control, Padre! WOW! How does one even get their eyebrows to do this? And, why? The higher the hair, the closer to Heaven I guess, but sheesh! Those are some crazy brows.



Sources:
The Royal Wedding
I'm ready for my close up!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Yia Yia Black Sheep, Have You Any ZZZs?

As I was lying wide awake in bed last night, I thought of the old wives’ tale about how counting sheep will help you fall asleep faster. Why sheep?


I frequently feel like the girl in this comic strip before I fall asleep- questioning why we do the things we do and wonder what it would be like if we did it some other random way. Okay, fine, Yia Yia … I’ll humor you just this once.

*DRAMATIZATION*

I was in a large, green, clover-filled pasture leaning against a big rock, with my buddy Sam Sheepdog, while we kept watch on our sheep jumping the fence. Well, I only got up to No. 8 because No. 9 was vertically challenged and couldn’t quite clear the fence. Can I get a mulligan? Sheeps 1-8 hopped back over and round two begins. I gave No. 9 a pep talk and told him to take a longer running start. Thirteen sheep are now successfully on the opposite side of the fence, but now No. 14 is chasing a squirrel, sheeps 15 and 16 are fighting, and I just found a note that said little Jimmy Johnson took No. 17 to the rodeo for the World Championship Mutton Bustin’ Contest. I decide to let them duke it out and just come back to counting them later. What number was I on? Oh yes, 18 – 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 … Hey, 27, stop tripping 24 and get back in line!  Dammit 25, how many times do I have to tell you? It’s OVER the fence, not through it. Now I've got the rest of my sheep taking off through the big gaping hole. Splendid! Can I get a new flock? This isn't very relaxing at all. I can’t sleep.

Wait a tic, why did I let them jump the fence in the first place? Aren’t I supposed to be herding them? Where do they think they’re going? These old wives’ husbands must have been really pissed off at them for letting all their sheep go. Someone has some ‘splaining to do.

Can I please trade my sad excuse of sheep for a fun flock of fleece like this one?






P.W.
Can we just talk about that nursery rhyme “Baa Baa, Black Sheep”? That tune sounds all too familiar … oh, that’s right! We’ve heard it before in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star AND The Alphabet Song! Next time someone uses that little ditty for a nursery rhyme, can we maybe get a little creative and drop a bass line in there or something to spice it up a bit? Just sayin'. Thanks.


Sources:
This video of the awesome flock of sheep was part of a cool Samsung campaign (linked in their press release) announcing their 2009 LED Electronic line up. Check out the story.