Things I've Noticed

Rockers Just Aren't Retiring

Prego, over at Rustbelt Ramblings, has stopped making sauce for a while and is this week's distinguished Roundtabler.  He discusses the fact that some of the original rock and rollers like the members of the Stones, the Who, and the Beatles, just don't hang it up.  He asks whether they should be forced to retire or not. Here's the post, so have a visit, and post your comments on this pressing issue.  I think we need to make room for some new rockers, but baby boomers just don't want to let go.

+ Atul

Quick Quote on Competition

"The more you respect the competition, the more likely you are to beat it."

+ Atul

Pets and Babies as Conversation Starters

First of all, I want to apologize for not having posted in a long time.  I don't mean to let down my few regular readers but I was sick with a flu for almost a whole week, (lost 7 pounds!), and I'm only now recovering.

Anyway, let's get back to me being "The Noticer" as one of my readers has coined.  With these being pleasant summer days, people tend to take their pets and small children out to public places.  And it's great because they can share the nice days with their child or pet.  I hate to compare the two, (although some people treat their pets better than they treat their kids), but there is a commonality to how others react to these cute little beings.  Just because they're cute, random strangers will ask all kinds of questions about the baby or pet like "how old is it?", or "what kind is it?", (applies to pets only).  Total strangers will come and talk to you simply because you have a dog, cat, or baby, the younger the better.  Are they really that interesting that strangers should want to know about them?  What about the owner?  I guarantee that the owner has a much more interesting background, but it doesn't seem to matter.  How interesting can the life of a 2 year old baby or a 5 year old German Shepherd be?  Both tend to eat, sleep, play and poop.  There are no careers, hobbies, or aspirations to talk about.

It doesn't bother me; it's just peculiar.  What does bother me is the fact that this conduct encourages another very annoying and inconsiderate behavior.  This is the tendency to talk about one's child or pet as a socially acceptable way to hoard a conversation.  A person without a child or pet would be considered rude to talk about one particular possession in front of other people for hours on end.  Sure babies and pets are cute, but we don't need to hear about it for hours.  And there are many other pets and babies that are just as cute or just as smart.

+ Atul

Does The Rest of The World Hate The USA Enough or Should We Step Up Our Efforts?

Joe is this week's roundtabler again and he is being his usual intelligent sarcastic self with a post on the fact that perhaps the rest of the world doesn't hate the USA and its people enough yet.  Perhaps, we as a nation haven't been working as hard at it as we should.  I think after the FIFA soccer World Cup calls that went against us, the negative sentiment towards us is alive and well, but Joe has a list of ten suggestions that will help us do even better.  Have a visit and comment to add to the list and join in on the fun or leave a serious comment, (but not too serious).

+ Atul

The Interview Tables Have Turned - Learn about Elizabeth of Bellarossa

upRecently, you may have read a post on "Things I've Noticed" about an interview that Elizabeth, (a.k.a. Bella), over at the blog "BellaRossa" conducted with me.  She was nice enough to make me look like a professional blogger, (and she drove traffic my way).  Now, the tables have turned, and I thought it would be interesting to interview her and place it on my blog.  This attractive young redheaded Hoosier is an aspiring comedy writer in Chicago, who loves science, and things that other people don't like, plus she's been busy exploring Chicago.  It's somewhat of a long interview, but it's a good read and I didn't have to edit anything! In fact, some of the questions I asked are remarkably similar to the ones she asked me.

+ Atul

**********

ATUL:  What current books, music, tv, movies, etc., are currently holding your interest?

BELLA: At the moment, I have no library card, and no book budget, so I'm not reading much print except for my favorite periodicals: the New Yorker, Discover, Scientific American, and the Atlantic Monthly, plus some Chicago and New York newspapers. The last few DVD's I watched were Life in the Undergrowth, some Monty Python, Rex the Runt, Scrubs, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Star Trek: Voyager, French & Saunders, and Upright Citizens Brigade.

ATUL:  How would you describe your blog?

It's pink and sparkly and nerdy and bursting with irreverent fun surprises.

ATUL:  Why do you blog? What was your original goal or intention when you started, and has that changed with time? Is your blog a means to an end (finding work, developing creative ideas, making money, meeting people), or does it exist for its own sake?

BELLA:  I started blogging a year and a half ago, when I was pondering moving to Chicago and pursuing writing, just to get myself back into the habit of writing regularly. I wrote for almost four months before I passed the link along to anyone. It was just sort of a reading diary of whatever online content I was entertaining myself with. It's gotten more creative with time (at first it was raw text, then I started adding pictures, then posting videos), and, hopefully, better and more fun to read.

ATUL:  What's your relationship with your readers? How much interaction do you encourage? How much do you self-censor, knowing that your friends and family
might be reading?

BELLA:  I enjoy the interactivity of blogging. I think that's the whole point. If you just wanted a one-way communication, you'd print up a 'zine.  One view of the internet is that it's a free and open exchange of ideas, and a wide-open place for personal expression and creativity. (well, that and a giant marketplace and porn distribution network.)

ATUL:  Have you ever heard yourself say something like "If you really cared about me/were really interested in me, you'd look at my blog"? Is this a fair thing to throw at, say, your sister, during an argument over who gets the nicest drumstick at Thanksgiving?

BELLA:  I lob this whiny grenade at siblings and friends all the time, in a kidding way. Some of my sibs do read my blog, partially because we share certain techie and cultural interests. Others are aware of the growing relevence and influence of bloggers but just aren't the blog-reading type. Others still are perplexed by the whole concept, and too busy being responsible members of society to look at my crap. And that's cool.

ATUL:  Do you video blog? Would or will you? Are there any video blogs that you look at? What would you video blog about, if you did?

BELLA:  I've done a few video blog posts now, just for practice, and plan to continue learning, and do increasingly better stuff in that area. My ultimate goal is to work as a comedy writer, and I keep
thinking there's got to be a simple way to start doing my own little weird comedy things online, with a digital camera and/or animation software. I'm not eager to be an on-camera personality, though, so I'm taking some time figuring out how to do cool video blogging that doesn't have a "host," per se, but is interesting enough for people to want to keep coming back.

ATUL:  Have you ever blogged something that later you regretted and/or deleted from your blog?

BELLA:  Let me just say this: never blog while drunk, angry, or right after a date has stood you up. Even if you go back and delete a post later, Google cache will bite you in the ass every time. Just kidding. (Except about the Google part...it's painfully true that almost anything you ever post online is preserved forever and easy to find.)

Quick Quote on Resources

"Those who waste the most deserve the least."

+ Atul

Confessions of Your First Concert Experience?

The lovable Lauren of Nottingham, UK is this week's Roundtable poster.  She encourages each of us to share (or confess) our first concert experiences in the comments section of her post.  I told her about the good and the bad of my first concert experiences, and the other Roundtablers list theirs.  Surprisingly, there are a lot of not-so-famous groups in that list.  Have a visit and take part in the sharing.  We promise we won't laugh.

+ Atul

Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians Comerica Park Photography

These are a couple of months old, but I thought I would share the nicer ones.  It's great having 12:1 zoom.

+ Atul

Quick Quote on Death

"There's no such thing as a timely death."

+ Atul

My First Interview by Bella (not Barbara)

I guess you could say I'm somewhat famous now that fellow writer and blogger BellaRossa asked me to be interviewed.  I obliged and she has place the interview in her blog with some great little tidbits added in.  Perhaps she chose to interview me because she likes my blog.  Perhaps she chose me because I wrote a complimentary post about redheads.  Regardless, have a visit to her blog and check out some of her nice video clip posts that she produces, writes, directs, and edits all by herself.  They're entertaining.  Also, look for a future interview with her in a future post on "Things I've Noticed".

+ Atul