Thanks for the English slang lesson, Jack White

I got tickets about a week and a half ago to see the White Stripes in September. I'm quite excited about this.

A few days after I got my tickets, the new album (is this even the appropriate term anymore? seems wrong to say the new disc...) went on sale.

The album is called "Icky Thump."

According to Wikipedia, "the title is derived from 'ecky-thump,' a Lancashire, England colloquial response of surprise, popularized by the 1970s UK comedy series 'The Goodies.' On 'Later with Jools Holland (broadcast June 1, 20070) Jack attributed the album's name to its use as an exclamation by his wife, who is from Lancashire. He added that the deliberate misspelling was to make it easier for an American audience to identify with."

Whatev.

I liked the title track from the first time I heard it on the radio. I knew immediately that it was a White Stripes song and I have been anticipating the new album.

At first listen, I was a bit unsure about the album.

The more I listen, the more I like it. Jack and Meg are by no means conventional in their lyrics or musicality. And as I listen to it again and again, I find more in the lyrics to like.

I don't want to give any of it away.

And I do still like the White Stripes earlier albums, "Elephant" and "Get Behind Me Satan" better.

But this is definitely still up my alley.

I wish my cats were smart enough to vote

From The Associated Press:

The Seattle area grandmother who registered her dog to vote pleaded not guilty Thursday to making false statements on a voter-registration form.
Jane Balogh, who says it's too easy for a voter to register illegally, sought to prove her point by registering one of her dogs, Duncan MacDonald, as a King County absentee voter.
She put her phone in Duncan's name, and that apparently sufficed. Although the Australian shepherd-terrier mix signed each ballot envelope with a picture of a paw print, he didn't vote. Balogh wrote “void” on each ballot.
The King County prosecutor's office charged Balogh, 66, with making false or misleading statements to a public servant, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Overheard in the elevator

One guy talking to another:

"My wife says my chorizo always comes out dry."

OK, OK. They were talking about grilling, but still.

Oh, and ain't that picture kinda nasty?

Pretty much the worst job titles ever

So years ago I worked for a company that did payroll tax control for clients.
Basically that means when someone quit or was fired from a client company, the company I worked for would try to keep them from being paid unemployment.
Despite what people think, unemployment is not guaranteed just because you are fired or you quit.
Anyway, as part of this job we saw all sorts of paperwork people filed with the state to claim unemployment benefits.
One of the things they had to fill out was why they quit or were fired.
I remember a couple classics that were really just typos, but that is what made them funny:
---- Couldn't get alone with the boss. (Amazing how changing one letter in a word totally changes the whole meaning of a sentence. Seems she meant to write that she couldn't get along with the boss.)
---- Developed car-pool tunnel syndrome. (Because we all know how dangerous car-pool tunnels are.)

Even better than some of the reasons were some of the job titles. One of the clients was a meat-packing plant. They had the best of the worst job titles.

How would you like one of these jobs?

Hog pusher (not bad as a best of the worst job title, but it cant' beat the following...)

Boner

Enough said.

Not that I am a big Marmaduke fan, but...

This guy's blog actually takes a pretty bland comic strip and makes it funny.
For me anyway.
But then again, I am a bit twisted in my humor.

http://marmadukeexplained.blogspot.com/

Yeah. He goes in the link list.

Overheard at work today

one guy asking another: Would you like to test my wiki?

I know it was in relation to tech stuff that is probably beyond my comprehension.

ButI got a good laugh out of that. It made coming back to work after a week off almost bearable.

Holy ... um... water. That wasn't as bad as I thought.

So the baptism went off without a hitch.
There were eight babies in the ceremony. I was stunned that it was not bedlam.
Of the eight babies, only one had parents who wanted it totally dunked in the baptismal font rather than just having the water poured over the forehead.
No, that was NOT my nephew.
My sister asked me about that. She considered it.
But I pointed out that if they poured the water over the forehead, she would have to deal with a baby with a wet head.
If they dunked him, swim diaper and all, into the font, she would have to deal with a WHOLE wet baby.
She opted for the less messy scenario.
You know, I find it funny that they "wash the babies of their sins" at a baptism.
Um, these are infants. My nephew, at 9 months old, may have even been about the oldest one. What sins do these babies have?
And before anyone explains the concept of original sin to me, I was raised Catholic. I know the deal. That doesn't mean it makes sense in a logical way.
Bring him back at 18, then 35, then 50, etc. Baptize him then. No doubt he will have racked up some sin by that time.
But 9 months?

Pray for me (and for the helpless baby - no, not MY baby)

OK. So today is my nephew's baptism.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not really a religious person. But my sister asked me to be the baby's godmother.
Of course I said yes.
Then I asked who was going to be the godfather (Let him be cute, I thought! Let him be tall!). I was told that it is just me. NO godfather. Just me.
Damn.
Oh wait... I probably shouldn't curse in a post about a baptism.
So what does it mean to be a godmother? It's not all Disney fairy tales and turning pumpkins into carriages.
My understanding is that I am supposed to help guide his spiritual development.
Hmm.
My idea of spiritual development is the fermentation process of turning grape juice into wine.
Yeah, I know. Bad joke.
Anyway, I was thinking that it might be hypocritical of me to be a godmother when I am not the least bit religious. Then I thought about it.
I might not be religious, but I believe in a higher power. The power of a strong family and the power that has in making a good kid a good adult.
I don't have to be religious to help the kid build a strong set of values and beliefs.
So I have fully embraced my role as godmother.
Besides, I got to buy a new dress for the occasion and there will be cake afterward.