Tidbits from the Independence Day Parade

If you happen to follow some of my posts, I wrote a little ditty on parades a couple years back (see it here).  For the last couple of years I have been trying to avoid the local parade because they scream suburbia; however, I decided to give this year's a shot and see what I could take from it.

Of course no parade would be the same without the stake outs.  Take caution when walking through because people use everything from tightrope, wire, and flags to crepe paper to block off their territory. This year was quite an eye opener as the landscape felt more like a daycare as young families that come out for their annual "out in public" gathering proceed to set up camp, send their kids to the curb for candy and the adults crack open any alcohol they can get their hands on.

Thirty minutes later, the parade finally greets us with its presence.  There are many acts that walk through the parade, but for the sake of space, I chose a few of my favorites to highlight here:

Marching Bands - I love these guys.  They come from all around and they play so well, provided I am privileged enough to actually hear them play.  Sadly, I must miss the memo that tells you where every band uses their instrument to play a tune.  This year didn't fail me.  The band comes, drummers are tapping away and the brass section looks lesser for wear,  as they should - since it's insanely hot outside. But no music.  There's always next year.

Dance Groups - They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and ages.  They are baton twirlers, high school pom squads, drill teams, private dance crews, and of course Dancing Grannies.  The best part about the dance groups are the 2-3 year olds that march down the street looking like little dolls and clueless as can be about what they are supposed to be doing with their arms.  Some crews are better than others, but the highlight this year would have to be our own "Dancing Grannies."  These women know how to "shake what their momma gave them" so to speak and had more spunk than the 15 year olds whisking their poms about looking for something else to do.  I hope I'm that spunky at 85.

The Clowns, Costumes and Candy - These people never fail to amaze me  and give me a good chuckle.  This year the parade committee must have finally figured out that the costumes of Bugs Bunny, Kermit, Big Bird, Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald were in fact - thirty some years old and starting to look a little mothy.  Today I did not see all the regulars, but for the ones I did see, all I could think about was how they were surviving in the heat trap they were wearing in this weather.  Clowns are clowns are clowns.  Candy - now this is a fun thing because this year we had a dentist go through and had his "tooth fairy" chuck some what I'm assuming to be "good for you" candy at the kids.  A kid in front of us picks up the candy, proceeds to chew on it, followed shortly thereafter by a foul look and concludes by spitting it on the ground.  Nice try, tooth fairy.  Next time give out toothbrushes.

There are many other types of groups, but I'll keep with these for now.  Happy Independence Day, everyone!  Thanks for reading :)

"Little Talks" Brings Music back to Video

If you haven't seen this video, then I highly recommend you take a peek.  As much as I enjoy watching hip hop artists' videos about parties and drinking or abusive relationships, I was quite taken by this video that tunes into the actual music and even the text in its own way. The lyrics to the song might suggest a distressed relationship with the glimmer of hope hanging at the end of the day.  The video is quite different in that it at first seems to have little or nothing to do with the lyrics; however, the one theme to which this video maintains true is the refrain: "Cause though the truth may vary, This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore." The characters' journey - their trials and triumphs - is well played and entertaining to watch.

It's when we look past the lyrics, that the artistry can take over our senses. To the first-time viewer, it looks like a strange monty python concoction. Looking past the strange animation and creatures, however, the creative design makes the video. If the artistic visuals were not enough, then watch it again and notice how the rhythmic accents correspond to various visual accents. Once I noticed it, I kept looking for other places where rhythms as subtle as interluding drums are present. I would point them out here, but the self discovery is part of the fun in watching the video so I shall refrain from doing so.

Now that you've read my opinion, watch and listen for yourself - and enjoy! :-)









Lyrics to Little Talks :

Hey! Hey! Hey!

I don't like walking around this old and empty house.
So hold my hand, I'll walk with you my dear

The stairs creak as I sleep,
it's keeping me awake
It's the house telling you to close your eyes

Some days I can't even dress myself.
It's killing me to see you this way.

'Cause though the truth may vary
this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore.

Hey! Hey! Hey!

There's an old voice in my head
that's holding me back
Well tell her that I miss our little talks.

Soon it will all be over, buried with our past
We used to play outside when we were young
and full of life and full of love.

Some days I feel like I'm wrong when I am right.
Your mind is playing tricks on you my dear.

'Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey!
Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same.
Hey!

Though the truth may vary
this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

You're gone, gone, gone away,
I watched you disappear.
All that's left is a ghost of you.
Now we're torn, torn, torn apart,
there's nothing we can do,
Just let me go, we'll meet again soon.

Now wait, wait, wait for me, please hang around
I'll see you when I fall asleep.

Hey!
Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same.
Hey!

Though the truth may vary
this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey!
Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same.
Hey!

Though the truth may vary
this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore (x3)

Life Explained through Graphs

Ads from the Past

So these ads were sent to me in an email as "You'll never see these ads again." I can see why. Take a look:

Just imagine the reactions these ads would get today-yikes!

Hashtag, You're It!

Oh the tales we will tell on twitter--one of the fastest growing online communication sites for people of all ages. Now I'll admit that I fell into the Twitter Trap and am now sucked into the cyber space of relatively meaningless status messages that frequent my twitter homepage.

However, one of the reasons I like twitter is that you can send out random messages, quotes, pictures, links, or shout outs about whatever is on your brain at the moment. As someone who has tweeted, yes, over a 1000 times you would think that I had a good understanding of the ins and outs of all the aspects of this site. For instance, I have a pretty good idea of what is a good tweet, a bad tweet, the retweet, the tag (@), and what it means to follow and be followed. However the most important and most random (or so it seems) element of twitter still manages to stump me--that is, the inevitable, unavoidable hashtag.

Marked by placing a pound symbol (#) before a word, I was under the impression that this simple little device was a means to connect tweets of a common topic to one central location. If, for example, I 'tweeted' about the weather, I might put #weather at the end of my tweet so that anyone and everyone who even cares what people are tweeting about the weather can possibly see my special weather tweet. So why do I find them so confusing?

Probably because the hashtag is more than simply a means to connect a topic. It is almost a symbol of "what lies beneath" the tweet. Hashtags like "#donotwant" or "#lol" seem to symbolize the feeling you wanted to say in your tweet, but instead you made it cooler by putting the words together and slapping a # in front of it. My favorite examples are those that are by themselves without a tweet to be found: "#iamsoupsetandthishashtaghelpsmeexpressmyangerwithouttheneedforspaces"

I mean, really? What is the point of the hashtag if you don't have a common purpose? I have had a few moments of the marathon hashtag, but even as I did it, I asked myself why? Perhaps someone will explain the art of hashtags to me, but for now I will continue my tweeting as it allows me to post the most random messages--whether they are insightful or idiotic-- to all of my faithful followers.

#thanksforreading

Awkward Restroom Encounters

I usually associate public restrooms with the ability to come in, get it done, get out.

Today I was proven wrong.

I went to use the restroom at work (nothing unusual about that). As I walk in, however, I heard someone in one of the stalls on the phone. While that didn't shock me, the woman remarked that "someone else just came in the bathroom"--as though that is so surprising.

I thought, fine, whatever. However, shortly after, she finished her phone conversation and then proceeded to talk to me. She asked "Who else is in here?" I didn't know it was custom to have "stall small talk" so it was a little awkward. It's like saying "Hey, you strange person that I can't see but is in the bathroom, what's up?"

I don't mind meeting you or introducing myself, but I prefer to do it when I'm not in a bathroom stall. ^_^

"In the Ghetto"...

Never thought I would find myself driving through it, but alas this morning as I rode MCTS for the very first time, I somehow wound up there.

Today started off really well; I enjoyed a nice walk through downtown this morning into work, and work was very pleasant. The problem, of course, arose in regards to public transit. This was my first time using the Milwaukee transit and I obviously am not very canny with the system yet (nor know my directions). Anyway, I was supposed to get on the Route 30 bus that would take me to UWM. Silly me, I took the "30 Florist" bus which is not only the wrong direction, but heads directly into Milwaukee's inner city--the "ghetto" as I say.

Though I hadn't been there previously, I will agree that the place is quite shady to say the least. I was a little freaked out when I realized that UWM was not going to be on the horizon. While on this "tour", I encountered several "interesting" people including a drunk man. Long story shorter and two and a half hours later, I finally arrived at my intended destination. As a result of this, I missed my first class (which fortunately the professor chuckled at what happened). The experience was an eye-opener to say the least!