Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Little things

Here are a few little things I've been thinking about that are too small for their very own entry:

Verification words
You know, many blogs (like this one) have verification words (which really aren't words at all, but rather, random letters and numbers) a commenter must type to prove that he/she is a real person and not a spammer. These verification words used to be 4 or 5 characters long, but lately I've noticed them getting much, much longer. The other day I counted 12 characters in a verification word. I think that's excessive. Plus, they distort the characters in an attempt to weed out mechanical commenters, but do so to the point that even real, live people like me can't tell what the characters are supposed to be. Frankly, its getting annoying. Who can I call at Blogger about this?

Celebrities in Ohio
A friend sent me the funniest thing the other day: "What Celebrities Would Look Like if they Lived in Ohio". Someone with amazing Photoshop prowess took celebrity faces and pasted them onto the bodies of actual people, simulating what that celebrity would look like if they weren't a celebrity, but rather, a person living in Ohio. It is hilarious! I tried everything I could think of to try and get it into blogger, but because its in Adobe I couldn't upload it nor could I copy the photos. You'll just have to take my word for how totally hilarious it was.

Primaries
Trust me, I am as sick of the whole overblown 'Hillary vs. Obama' mega-coverage as the rest of you, but in case you haven't heard yet, Hillary won Texas, Ohio, and Vermont yesterday. This proves yet again that "if ain't over 'til the fat lady sings".

Perfect
I am SO tired of everyone's over-use of the word perfect. While flipping around the channels a while back I came across an old episode of Martha Stewart where she was giving instructions on how to make the perfect omelette. Its an omelette, Martha. Whipped eggs with a little bit of milk in them. Why does it need to be 'perfect'? And then there's that bottle blond Sandra Lee. I will admit to watching her show because the whole premise is sound: making tasty meals from 70% prepared ingredients and 30% fresh ingredients. That really saves a lot of work and time. But dear Sandra is always over-using the word 'perfect', probably 50 times in a 30 minute show, and she has this annoying way of stretching out the word: "perrrrrrrrfect". What I want to know is why the constant pressure for perfection? Can we not be satisfied with a 'great' omelette or a 'terrific' peanut dipping sauce? Must we have perfection? What is to become of all that is not 'perfect'?

Crush du Jour: Chris Carmack


8 comments:

joe*to*hell said...

for verification words, dont call blogger - just remove the verificaton words from your blog - start a trend! there is NO NEED for them. i never had them and only got 3 or 3 spams in 2 years.

i was thinking of halting all comments if i have to type in.....just taking a little stance.... who's in????

Bugsy said...

Another over used word is "shocking". At least on CNN's Showbiz Tonight with AJ Hammer. Now, AJ is hot, but he over uses the word.

I only listen at work where we have the TV set to CNN Headline News. Good thing I have an iPod!

And - yeah the word verification thing can be annoying. It seems I always have to enter twice before being successful!

Mark in DE said...

J*O*E: I was kidding with the "who can I call at Blogger?" question. I think you're right - I'm going to turn off the verification.

Mark :-)

Mark in DE said...

Busy: You're right, 'shocking' is another over-used word. Why can't people be more creative...

Mark :-)

Java said...

I suspect the Goddess of using the verification text to vex me or bless me. It's an indication of the level of clean living I've done on any given day whether I have a verification text like "byragad" (as on this comment) or "eyvs."

Perfect- it's a myth. There is no such thing. It's a concept that's unavailable to the mortal man.

Gregory said...

Amen, no more perfection. I'm exhausted! Let's just all get fat and let the house get dirty.

Scot said...

A friend has two pet names for Sandra Lee: "The Hack" and "The Lush." Ever notice how every show has to include a cocktail- and she has to have a drink. Also, what's with the different kitchen designs all the time, always with the matching KitchenAid stand mixer? Lady's a bit wacked.

Chris said...

I'm with Scot on this: everything ends in the "perfect cocktail." Ugh. Sandra Lee is the worst--I hate how she coordinates EVERYTHING, her clothes match the curtains!

Plus, she's awful... and the "decorations" she "creates" are the worst: "I took some foil and I made the BE-YOOOtiful centerpiece..." Ick.