Hello, fiends. It’s been too long. Didn’t I say I wasn’t going to disappear for extended periods of time anymore? I believe I did. And here I am, after a long absence. Still, you’ve been on my mind — as have many things.
The Fink is armed and ready for battle. (Is that not a great drawing of Yours Truly? Mad respect to Andy Nortnik for always getting Rat Girl right.)
I’m wrasslin’ with several dragons lately; some I’ve told you about already, and some I haven’t. Some are tactile and real, and others are of the emotional and cerebral variety. Many are way beyond my control, while others lie perfectly within my grasp. Some are just dumb. This day, I fight:
1. The insanity surrounding Common Core, and now, the reality of test refusal coming to my district (though I won’t fight that).
2. Trying to get back to being good to this old creaky bod. I just said to someone the other day: “I have a beautiful treadmill in the basement. There is absolutely no weather-related excuse why I can’t work out.” And yet…So, today, I fight that dragon. And I will win it for today, for five minutes from now, when I stop writing. Tomorrow? Tomorrow will have to look after itself for the time being.
And to a (much) lesser extent:
3. Boring, musically vapid Super Bowl halftime shows. You know, I think the shark has been jumped here (no pun intended) with regard to every year’s SB halftime being bigger, better, badder and nuttier. Last night’s version seemed more in line with an Olympics opening ceremony than with a halftime show, complete with flying people, great huge mechanical animals, and silly cartoonish characters dancing about. Add to that the rather-cool-but-totally-bizarre addition of Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott, and well…yeah. And I won’t even touch the renditions of God Bless America (John Legend) and the Star Spangled Banner (Idina Menzel).
4. The utterly infuriating trend of non-funny spokeswomen trying to be funny in commercials. What…is there research out there that supports goading the public into buying a product just so companies will stop advertising it? Does unfunny comedy traditionally sell hamburgers, insurance and phone contracts? Maybe it does, I dunno. But every time I see these commercials, I want to drown something.
And if I don’t get up from this box and get on to the next thing on the list, I’ll be here all day. Off to tread on my mill; moving in silent desperation, keepin’ an eye on the Holy Land…
Walkin’ Rat
Last evening watching the SB halftime show I sat there wondering what Ms Fink thought of the “show?” I found myself thinking that perhaps I am just too old to appreciate the spectacle because I did not get the show! No flow to it just a bunch of disjointed segments and dancing sharks…what the heck. Though I don’t want to again see the underarm skin of 71 year old Mick Jagger flapping in the wind again; if the goal is a Cirque du Soleil type of entertainment then hire them…not some Pop star. Just sayin it left me bored all the while reading my baby sisters fifteen FB posts on how wonderful it was. Lawd hav mercy!
Underarm skin of Mick Jagger…I laughed out loud, hahahahahaaaaa
Cirque is a good way to describe it, too. It’s like, “how many shiny things can we throw at an audience to keep their attention?” It wasn’t always that way…in the 60s, 70s and 80s, there was always a marching band in the halftime show. Beginning in the early 90s, they started including major arena stars.
The earliest one I found was New Kids on the Block in 1991. It wasn’t anything great, but the emphasis was on the music. Then Michael Jackson knocked it out of the park in 1993. That kind of set the tone, in my opinion. Few halftime shows have matched it.
‘Sides, what you can’t do musically, you need to make up for visually — which many performers have done in the years since.
By the way…I forgot to say that the Warrior Princess Ms Fink drawing was perfect for you know, when you are on the warpath.
What ever happened to halftime shows with marching bands? I’m not into college football, but I’d rather watch OSU perform at halftime shows than what I watched last night. Just awful. And don’t get me started on Idina Menzel. Sheesh. At the end of *her rendition* of the SSB, the look on her face was that of – “I nailed it!!” My hubs said, “let it go..” I almost got the bat. *sigh* I had to leave the room.
I like your, “Walkin’ Man” reference. Just take one day at a time, Bird-O-Mine. That’s all we can do. I’m there with ya, sweetness!
Maybe if more parents/teachers would get on the *refusing tests* wagon….. Keep on fighting, Bird.
Halftimes with marching bands apparently didn’t bring in ratings, and ratings=revenue, so…you know how that went! The way of the dinosaur.
I figured you’d get the JT reference.
We keep fighting the good fight, both of us, Mave!
I will be in the minority here but I liked Katie Perry but then, I like her music
Was it flashy and bright and full of weird things? Yes. But hey, it’s the Super Bowl and even the USC Trojan Marching Band doing Tusk wouldn’t satisfy
the crowds of Now.
Am I saying But too much? haaaa
I saw a few of the commercials, I really liked the Snickers one with the Bradys. HAAA I LOLd at that one. The one with Kardashian….like, seriously???
I watched the video of the test refusal. What kinds of penalties are there if parents refuse? Can a whole school or district refuse?
But, but…no.
And I’d love the USC band doing Tusk! (As long as Stevie Nicks wasn’t with them, lol)
Sometimes it’s good to be in the minority. If you like Katy, thumbs up, sister! My favorite commercial was the one with Walter White. hahahaha
And regarding the test refusal: different states have different issues, but the fact is that while the districts may have to *give* the tests, parents are ultimately in control of their children’s education, and they don’t have to *take* the tests. Truth is, of the original 43 states adopting CCSS, nine have withdrawn, and four are considering it. (VA, TX, NE and MN showed tremendous insight and never took the bait in the first place.)
Who knows how this is going to shake out…it’s all so new. I can only pray that CC and its high-stakes testing nonsense is short-lived, and that something similar with a different name doesn’t take its place.
We don’t have tv. Haven’t had tv for about 6 years now. I’m blissfully ignorant about all things that our society deems important.
Rock on, Candace!