Thoughts on Pop Entertainment - Random

I almost never know what's in the movie theater these days - movies don't seem to advertise on billboards the way they used to.  So I just found out that the new Star Trek movie Into Darkness was in theaters, when my friends sent me a text this weekend, asking if I would like to join them to see it.  I had the little boys with me, so I was very reluctant to take them to a general audience movie without previewing it for inappropriate content.

It's amazing how your point of view shifts when you are a parent.  I remember when the wasband and I were newly married, we were discussing a new movie, Steve Martin's remake of Father of the Bride, with the father of a large family.  He asked us whether the movie was as clean as the old, Spencer Tracy version. 

"Um, yeah, I think so."

He was smart enough to preview it anyway.  There was apparently some condom conversation in there.  This had slipped past our consciousness.  Didn't register.

I was pretty sure Star Trek was not going to cut it, considering the 2009 movie.  I LOVED the new cast, and really would have liked to bring my kids to see it, so I was very aware how inappropriate it was for the children, even the teenager; especially the teenager.  But holding out hope, when my friend suggested I go take the kids on my own, I asked, "Clean?"

Her answer, "Well, yeah, except for maybe one scene," was accompanied by a still from the film of a very scantily dressed woman.  I guessed as much - if they had to throw an underwear scene in the first movie, it was no big risk to assume there would be a similar scene in subsequent movies.

But here is what hit me when I saw the still: "Considering how quickly women's undergarment fashions shift, why in the world would you dress a woman ostensibly from the 23rd century in lingerie that looks like it is straight from a 20th century Victoria's Secret catalog?"  I guess this thought didn't hit me with the previous movie, since I was more concerned with how they covered that actresses entire body with green paint, and were still able to keep it from rubbing off onto her "costume".

(considering how much spam hits I have been getting from unsavory "referral" sites, this post might set me over the brink to where I will need to move this blog to a new address...not that content really has anything to do with who these sites spam, as far as I can tell.)
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On the other hand, I just found a great TV series on DVD, that we have been borrowing from the library.

Meerkat Manor is a clever idea turned into a very appealing, engaging show:  a "reality show" featuring a colony of meerkats, using film taken as part of a 10-year Cambridge study of these African desert animals. It goes beyond the "Wild Kingdom" nature shows, by giving a handful of the animals names, and investing them with a labeled character trait, and using intense naration to build suspense.  The first season is great, after that they seem to be a bit repetative - after all, these ARE meerkats, and they keep doing the same things they always do.  But this is really a great family show, give me more like this!

I was gonna write a lot more.  Oh well, later.

Go to ThousandAndOneBeads , tell your friends, etc.

mother'sdaymuddersdaymudzersda...SHUT UP!

I got nothing for mother's day, not a card, not a school-made craft, not a call from my kids, not a smile.  Except from my mother, who sends money and cards and calls to let me know she is so sorry that I am so sad and pathetic...at least, I certainly was after she called.  I hate Face Book too, which gives me the same shtick, except in a more anonymous, perky way.
I'm now cycling thru violent depressive bouts every couple days, if not quicker.  I really need to get some control over this, or it is only a matter of one or two more big set backs to really throw me over the edge of functionality. 
 The divorce is stalled, because my lawyer is an idiot or a liar or both.  When I think about it in any depth, I become way to depressed to act.  The rest of the time, I have settled into a numb concession to a solitary existence, where at least I have health-insurance (although I am way too poor to afford the co-pays for psychiatric help, so that is out), and the kids will be taken care of financially, and I have the hope that maybe the wasband will be hit by a bus, and I can get back the minivan and eventually collect the pension.
Yeah, sorry to be so bitter here, and boring. Maybe I'll try to get down something more interesting soon...

How not to impress your supervisor

Okay, since I gave you the glowing letter of recommendation a little while ago, let me now tell all you young'uns how NOT to act while you are being trained at your new job:

1) DON'T CHECK YOUR PHONE.  I cannot stress this enough, as it seems to be as natural and as necessary to as breathing to the kids I see in the lab.  Anyone above 30 or so is going to find it offensive and insulting and just plain stupid to see you whipping out your phone to check whatever the heck you are checking.  Even if you have a minute of "downtime" while something is incubating or percolating or compiling, etc, DON'T TAKE OUT YOUR PHONE.   Even if your supervisor is on the phone!  If you are truly waiting for a call or text, or you have some legitimate reason to need to be on alert, let your trainer know you might need to answer your phone, then set it to vibrate or a low ring - if it rings, excuse yourself, and step away if possible to answer if BRIEFLY.  Otherwise, while you are in the office/ lab/ workfloor with the trainer, your attention should be, or at least appear to be, on the trainer and on learning the task at hand.

2) DON'T PUT IN ONLY HALF YOUR EXPECTED HOURS. Be at work when you are expected: arrive when you say you will, stay until you say you will.  Even though our lab is pretty flexible about schedules (especially for the volunteers who are only expected to come for  20hrs/wk), we need to know when the volunteers will be in, especially in the beginning, while they are still being trained.  This seems so obvious, I can't believe I need to explain, but experience has shown otherwise.  If you are late - APOLOGIZE.  Do not joke to your little friends - RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR SUPERVISOR - how you overslept because you kept pushing the snooze button!

3) DON'T MAKE STUPID REMARKS.  In general - watch you mouth!  Your supervisor / boss is not your buddy, not someone you met at a party, not even like a classmate.  It is usually fine to chat, even appreciated, but keep it professional.  Maybe you will become closer after several months - MAYBE.  But it is better to err on the side of caution.  Do I need to elaborate?  No assessment of appearences, even of a third party!  No questions about personal relationships, personal grooming, political affiliation.  This is such a wide topic, I will just reiterate - watch your mouth!

4) DON'T INTERRUPT! Don't keep finishing your supervisor's sentences, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE ALWAYS WRONG, AND SHE KEEPS SHOOTING YOU DIRTY LOOKS FOR IT.  I don't care if he/she hesitates, stutters, whatever; just let her finish her sentence!

5) DON'T PRESENT A POOR APPEARANCE.  Appearance matters.

• Dress appropriately.  Again, the lab is pretty lenient, but for just about any indoor job, cut offs and short-shorts are off limits.  Ditto outfits that expose underwear.  
• If at all possible, don't slouch, don't shuffle, don't waddle.  This is already advice for life in general, but it is sad to me to see how some of these kids just RUIN their appearance by ignoring posture.  In the context of jobs - you look lazy and sloppy.  You can argue these physical aspects shouldn't matter - but ut if you can fix it, then you ARE being lazy, ruining your back, and saying "I don't care what you think" almost as if you wore your pajamas to work.  Which makes me think I should add:
• Don't wear your pajamas to work (unless maybe you are a volunteer in a sleep study).

6) DON'T WASTE EVERYONE'S TIME.   Try to actually learn how to do something.  If you are having a really hard time, your supervisor wants to help.  I usually first understand that a volunteer is a loser when I don't get any questions from him.  Be clear about what is going well, what is going poorly, and what has you totally confused.  I often first really feel that we have a winner, when a volunteer says on his own, "Oh, I realize I made a mistake - this is what I should have done."  Maybe the main point of this job is to have something to put on your resume - but it sure ain't gonna get you a letter of recommendation unless you actually show something worthwhile.