Broken Little Person Sitting On A Tree Limb

New reviews for 'Must Love Dogs', 'Sky High', and 'Stealth' have been posted in the appropriate section.

Although not presuming to take the place of the usual post by 3XHAR re/topics discussed at Stein Night, here are my observations of the evening (and please, keep in mind that I've been a'drinkin') ...

2008 - Hillary vs. Cheney? (Woodward thinks so, 3XHAR doesn't) ...3XHAR loves the French - really, there's not a hint of facetiousness in that comment, really ...Bolton - kicking ass and taking names or an agregious diplomatic faux pas ...3XHAR's rants from the past week ...Cheryl Ladd has been hot for 35 years and still is ...3XHAR laughs in the face of things not good for him ...Movie night this Saturday at Broken Little Person's place - 'Blade III' is a definite, although we're having trouble finding a theme to tie into that (Wesley Snipes films - nope, not many of those to fill out a double-feature) ...Natasha is no Cheryl Ladd, but she's no chopped liver either ...The American bombing of Japan in WWII - an act of terrorism or an ultimate saving of lives? ...Hooking Broken Little Person up with contractors (but unfortunately not that kind) ...Aunt Jenny's gall bladder surgery ...Who spit on Lance? - the Germans or the French ...Not to change the subject, but the elf chick on 'Gauntlet Legends' is really hot ...A sure cure for mosquito bites - socks soaked in vodka ...Lisa's (not that Lisa, but the other Lisa) friend's brother-in-law owns a beach house, and the one next to it is being bought by Paul McCartney - Lisa has plans ...Joe's birthday wish? - an abundantly inebriated movie night watching 'Dukes Of Hazard' ...To Scotty!!! ...If it rains bears, 3XHAR and Joe are renouncing atheism ...To Evil!!! ...Speaking of evil, what's wrong with the Cubs? ...So, who exactly is this Wendy person ...Wendy knows Bernadette (and Matt) ...Randomness is an abstraction ...(A reminder for Kristine), Rowe International ...Lisa (not that Lisa, but the other Lisa) looks really REALLY good in black (although that Lisa probably looks good in black as well) ...A message from Jim - "Aseem Prust" ...Meet at the spot furthest east, that's the rule ..08/29/08 - mark that date ...Broken Little Person's observations in support of the Madison smoking ban are viewed somewhat skeptically by 3XHAR (i.e., they're hoo-hah) ...$58 to fill up the gas tank of the mini-van ...Speaking of min-vans, when will 'Dukes Of Hazard' show up at a drive-in (since Lisa, yes ...that Lisa, has agreed to see it under a drive-in scenario) ...$650 to repair 3XHAR's car - you know, that's 31-34 DVDs ...In terms of personal ads, Broken Little Person doesn't think that the byline "Homely, unemployed, overweight, and under-tall" would get that many hits ...The Reverend's top-secret placement of an Olsen Twin dvd at Joe & Kristine's, and the fact that Joe's niece now considers The Reverend to be Santa Claus ...Hypothetically, 3XHAR would have sex with a multi-national corporation ...Dave and Bill were (apparently) measuring each other's - well, you get the idea ...It's the last night for our waitress - she's moving to Rochester, MN (which is a lot more quiet) tomorrow ...Johnny Depp is on Kristine's "list", but only if he's not smoking ...Is that a white light in your pants or is there an angel down there? (and other equally cringe-enducing urinal pick-up lines) ...Say, Lori is really attractive (sorry, not a topic of conversation, but just a personal observation of Broken Little Person) ...We're all in awe of musican's abilities, particularly the ability to play multiple instruments ...Bluegrass is the only American music ...So, what exactly were those dates again that Joe and Kristine will be in Las Vegas? ...Worst and best concerts ever attended ...Forget if your co-workers are hot, are any of them myopic and desperate? ...The difference between Kristine's previous group of friends and us (outside of the fact that we feel no inclination to wear pants) ...Romance - the theme of 'Concerts on the Square' from the week before last and much of tonight's conversation - did I mention that Broken Little Person is one of the few single (and so terribly, terribly alone) people at the table - thanks EVER so much for pointing out that fact Jim.

My apologies if I neglected to make mention of any other topics contained in our insightful commentary ...ahhh, nothing like alcohol to set the tongues a'wagging.

So, in reviewing my economic situation I find that my summer vacation (i.e. my leisurely embracement of my state of unemployment) is nearing an end. The harsh reality of needing to pay rent and bills (not to mention keeping up on my weekly allotment of dvds) necessitates my beginning a more robust and immediate job search (of course, I'm rather adept at procrastination, so in this case "immediate" could mean within the next month or so, but we'll see).

Regardless, I turn to my circle of friends and acquaintances (and anyone they're affiliated with) to keep their eyes open and send anything my way. While I'm not painting myself into a corner re/only pursuing any one type of position, it would be ideal to find something that pays an obscene (which dictionary.com describes as "offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty" and "so large in amount as to be objectionable or outrageous" ...you do the math) amount of money and only involves working 2-4 days a week ...let me know if anything like that crosses your desks.

Also, something with an intern would be nice.

Thankfully, a rather modest week for DVDs, with only some gems from the television archives making it into my Best Buy bag this week. 'Columbo: The Complete Third Season', 'McMillan & Wife: Season One', and 'Wire In The Blood: The Complete Second Season' are outlined in the DVD section on the right.

A bit of a pricey week for dvd's what with a few box sets included in the mix ...today's releases (reviewed on the right) include 'Alexander', 'Downfall', 'The High And The Mighty', 'The Complete Thin Man Collection', and 'The X-Files Mythology Collection: Black Oil'.

As you can tell by the date range between posts, I've been somewhat remiss in keeping things up-to-date blogwise. Having moved July 1 I've spent the better part of the last month unpacking and coordinating (and re-coordinating ...nothing like a healthy dose of obsessive-compulsiveness to make the time fly). For the most part things are pretty much in order, so I anticipate playing catch-up over the next few days to get caught up on the blog and begin to fully appreciate unemployment leisure. For example, I saw 'Wedding Crashers' today (the review is posted in the appropriate section) and hope to get caught up on films I haven't gotten to yet ...more to come.

487 ...That's the number of steps from the front of my new apartment to local pub 'The Comeback Inn' ...Yep ...I counted them. Never let it be said that I'm not spending my time off from the hallowed halls of employment in a productive manner.

Hmmm ...I tried adding just a terribly witty comment to the most recent post by 3XHAR on his blog, but his blog is under 'Blogger', and they won't permit comments if you don't have a 'Blogger' account yourself (which is rather odd, since I've posted comments on 'Blogarula', which is under the 'Blogger' banner as well). Regardless, I don't want a 'Blogger' account as I'm quite content with the one I have under 'Blogspirit'. The inability to post a comment to '3XHAR' stinks of fascism ...fasicism I say! ...(to paraphrase Dictionary.com: Suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship / Oppressive, dictatorial control) and I'll have none of that. So, I guess I'll just have to keep my terribly witty comment to myself ...good day sir ...I said good day sir!

As most of the postings on my blog illustrate, I've tended to refrain from commentary on weightier issues. Similarly (out there in the real world), while I'll participate in political discussions with friends, it typically takes a few beers to get me stoked up enough to engage in any real type of debate. My views are my own, and truthfully I don't feel any sort of need or inclination to have the opinions of others mirror mine. If we agree, fine. If we don't, that's fine as well. Debate simply for the sake of argument seems like a lot of work to me, and the time can be put to better use (naps, staring at the walls, sitting in the dark bemoaning my fate, etc.). My links to '3XHAR', 'Manual Override', and '2 Minute Sidebar' direct you to those much more adept than I am at commentary re/events of the day. However, seeing as how I've been fighting my most recent bout of insomnia over the last few nights I'm a bit testy and have decided to enter the fray. If nothing else, my views tend to be a bit more left of the stein than others in the Kilbot consortium, so a different perspective may be offered within. Idiocy can be found on both the right and left side of the aisle, so let's see what we'll find.

Two of my pet peeves are a general lack of civility in the world today (most noticeable in the political arena), and those who only see things in black and white and are adamant and hell-bent to disavow, ignore, or generally demean viewpoints other than their own. To illustrate this (and taking a page from the Reverend over at 'Manual Override', and using a variation of his "Idiot of the Day"), I share with you my "Insufferable Windbag of the Day".

Per dictionary.com, Insufferable: Difficult or impossible to endure and Windbag: A talkative person who communicates nothing of substance or interest. Yep ...that pretty well sums it up. To christen the feature we have a triple-header ...


Karl Rove
Mr. Rove, in a speech Wednesday evening to the New York state Conservative Party just a few miles north of Ground Zero, said,

"Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Conservatives, he said, "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

Hmmm ...nothing like making a sweeping generalization to exaggerate your point, is there Mr. Rove? When Howard Dean made his foot in mouth comments re/the GOP a few days ago he was (correctly in my opinion) taken to task (including by some in the Democratic Party). Granted, many of the Democratic hierarchy have jumped on Mr. Rove's statements with a bloodthirsty gusto, but quid pro quo seems to be the method du jour of interaction with each other for our elected officials (i.e. monkey see, monkey do). Mr. Rove's comments elicited this response from White House press secretary Scott McClellan saying the president's chief political adviser was,

"simply pointing out the different philosophies and different approaches when it comes to winning the war on terrorism."

I question if we'll see similar tisk-tisking across party lines as we did with Mr. Dean's verbal faux pas.


Much of the European public
International polls taken by the non-partisan Pew Research Center in various countries from late April to the end of May (with samples of about 1,000 in most countries) indicate that communist China is viewed more favorably than the U.S. in many long-time Western European allies.

In Britain, almost two-thirds of Britons, 65 percent, saw China favorably, compared with 55 percent who held a positive view of the United States.

In France, 58 percent had an upbeat view of China, compared with 43 percent who felt that way about the U.S. The results were nearly the same in Spain and the Netherlands.

Interesting ...I'm wondering how much foreign aid (in terms of economic development and military assistance) China has provided to those countries over the years. While I'm not the biggest fan of many foreign policy aspects of the Bush administration, it still gives one pause (in a head scratching way) to see that we're viewed less favorably than China by much of the populace of many of our 'allies'. Perhaps there's something to be said for an isolationist approach after all ...no, but sometimes you just have to wonder.


Supporters of Alliance for Life Ministries
Ahh, nothing like inflammatory statements and pictures meant to solicit heated, emotional reactions ...appearing in the Wisconsin State Journal on Thursday, 06/23 was a 2/3 page advertisement paid for by the aforementioned supporters of Alliance for Life Ministries with the caption Terrorism! and a picture of the burning Twin Towers. Within the text of said advertisement was the following statement ...

"On September 11, 2001, approximately 2,800 people lost their lives because an act of terrorism concerning the World Trade Center in New York City. That same day, approximately 3,561 Americans were killed through the terrorism of abortion. The World Trade Center attack was the result of foreign intervention, whereas abortion deaths are the result of Americans killing Americans. It is a documented fact that the terrorism of abortion instigated within our borders has been responsible for terrorism coming from outside our borders. When Iranian mobs, under the direction of Ayatollah Khomeini, overthrew their government (before invading the U.S. Embassy), they first ransacked the offices of Planned Parenthood. Terrorism will exist as long as abortion exists."

Hmmm ...so if Roe v. Wade is overturned, terrorism will cease to be ...who knew.

Abortion is a topic that solicits strong views on both sides of the issue. Whatever views and beliefs a person has are theirs, and they're entitled to them (and to share them if they so desire) ...that's a little thing called free speech. I'm not prompting a debate re/this within the meager pages of this blog (and as such have no intention of engaging in any sparring with anyone who posts their opinion). What I do take exception to though are zealots. Zealot is defined by dictionary.com as A Fanatically committed person ...Fanatic is described as A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause. Yep ...if you're going to try and sell the comparison of terrorism to supporting a woman's right to choose, you're pretty much a zealot in my book.

So, I'm moving to a new apartment at the end of the month. As preparation for this I contacted my good friends at Charter Communications to get my cable and internet transferred to the new address. Now, having spent a goodly number of years working in a call center (whether it be as rep, supervisor, or manager) I'm well aware of the challenges that can exist re/staffing and training in said environment, however, I'm rather doubtful that even the most liberal application of the term 'customer service' could be used in this instance.

My grand adventure began by waiting on hold for 30 minutes to speak with a rep. This in and of itself is bad enough, but the fact that the 'on hold' music was a charming mixture of generic pop tunes and cringe-inducing ballads helped to heighten the experience (much the way that the experience of having your teeth drilled is heightened when the novocaine wears off). When finally connected, the incessant 'sing-song' demeanor of the rep (who we'll refer to as Rep #1, and who felt it a requirement to insert numerous cheery, chipper, and non-business impacting observations into the conversation) added to the occasion and lengthened the call (which, to my understanding of call center operations, is probably not a good thing if you have customers sitting on hold for 30 minutes in the first place). 'Cheery' and 'chipper' are two adjectives that I (and I imagine most of my friends) would not use to describe my typical state of being, so her attempts at levity were lost on me. Unfortunately (since my new apartment complex has a 'bulk' deal with Charter and is including a reduced cable rate in the rent), Rep #1 informed me (although in a cheery and chipper manner) that she would not be able to assist me, but needed to transfer me to the 'business accounts' department.

I then proceeded to wait for another 20 minutes to speak with the 'business accounts' department whose 'on hold' music was periodically interrupted by a looped announcement (roughly every 30 seconds) stating that if I wanted to pay my bill using the automated billing system I could. I, however, did not want to pay my bill using the automated billing system since 1) if I did I would have chosen option '1' at the onset of the call which would have enabled me to do so and 2) I don't have a bill due ...on the plus side, the persistent (although not quite so cheery and chipper) recorded announcement was somewhat less annoying than the music that was playing. I eventually reached a rep (let's call her Rep #2), however she informed me (in more of a courteous and apologetic rather than cheery and chipper manner) that no, since I was an individual customer I would need to speak with the 'residential accounts' department, so ...back I went. On the plus side, I didn't have to wait another 30 minutes (like I did at the start of my grand adventure), but only 20 ...huzzah!

The courteous and apologetic (and thankfully again, not quite so cheery and chipper) rep I then spoke with in 'residential accounts' (to follow a consistent pattern, let's call her Rep #3) was a bit perplexed, since she too (like the first rep) was under the impression that I needed to speak with 'business accounts' to get my internet transferred to the new address due to the set-up that the apartment complex has re/the cable. So (once again) I was courteously and apologetically transferred (one more time) to 'business accounts'.

With only a 15 minute wait this time I was (again) connected with a rep in 'business accounts'. I explained (to she who I shall refer to as Rep #4) the travels I'd experienced so far in my grand adventure and she seemed to understand what needed to be done. However ...upon perusing her records she indicated that it seemed that the apartment complex (although having informed me of the 'bulk' cable deal they have with Charter and including the designated dollar amount in my monthly rent) had not yet actually set up paperwork with Charter for the aforementioned arrangement, so (you saw this one coming, didn't you), I would need to work with 'residential accounts' to get things taken care of. I was courteously (although not quite so apologetically) transferred back ...on the plus side, I was speaking with more members of the opposite sex (outside of my immediate circle of friends) than I had in quite awhile, so I had that going for me ...huzzah!

With only a 10 minute wait this time I was (again) connected with a rep in 'residential accounts', who coincidentally turned out to be Rep #3 who I had spoke with earlier. We laughed and laughed about the many twists and turns I'd taken so far on my grand adventure and, after I explained why I was again speaking with her, she seemed to understand what needed to be done. Since the 'bulk' cable account hadn't been set up yet with the new apartment complex, they'd transfer my whole kit and kaboodle over 'as is' (both cable and internet) just so we could get the work order filed, and I'd have to get a credit from Charter for the cable portion on my individual bill somewhere down the road. Fine ...I could live with that. A bit of a hassle, but what's that compared to the almost hour and a half of fun and exciting exploration of the inner-workings of Charter's automated phone system and departmental transfer procedures that I'd experienced this evening. Huzzah! ...Rep #3 was entering the information and the conclusion of my grand adventure was in sight. However ...it was at that point that the call dropped.

Not knowing if Rep #3 had completed everything needed before the call dropped, I adopted a cheery and chipper outlook (they'd beat it into me by this point) and once again called Charter. My resolve was strengthened by comparisons to the fact that, although having cleaned the Augean Stables, Hercules still had 7 labors to go before he was finished. Remarkably enough there was only a minimal wait of a few minutes before I spoke with Rep #5. I explained that I had been speaking with Rep #3 and that the call had dropped. Rep #5 courteously and apologetically transferred me back to Rep #3 and we laughed and laughed at how you can't scale the peaks of Mt. Everest without freezing to death a few Sherpas. She courteously and apologetically completed the work order and at long last, my grand adventure had come to a close. Weary from the experience I cheerily made my way to my refrigerator to pop open a cool alcoholic beverage to toast completion of one more item on my moving checklist. However ...it was at that point that I discovered I was out of beer.

I wonder if it's too late to switch to DSL?