Give Madge a break!

Okay... I'm so annoyed with this whole drama surrounding Madonna and her adoption of the Malawian kid.

 

The kid Mercy has lived in an orphanage since the day she was born. An orphanage in Malawi is... how shall we say this... "not likely to be a nice place". If the conditions of poor orphans in Africa is anything like the condition of poor orphans in India, then this is a certainty.

 

So, along comes James Kambewa who apparently "wears a necklace with his daughter's name on it" and vows that he can take care of the child, that he wants her to grow up as a Malawian, and does not want this shocking, immoral white woman raising his girl. How heart warming.

 

He hasn't even seen the child face to face. Four years old and he has never seen the kid. The kid continues to live in this orphanage.

 

Right. Clap clap clap for the caring father. Boo to the evil white woman. Who cares about the four year old girl living in an orphanage? She doesn't need those trappings of Western civilisation. She doesn't need a soft bed, cuddly toys to play with and a good education. She doesn't need to grow up fit and healthy and have a chance to be whatever she wants to be - an ambassador to Malawi or a doctor or a lawyer or a happy mother.

 

No! Fie! Fie! She needs to stay in that orphanage. And learn what it is to be Malawian.

 

Commonality

Ok. Is it just me? Maybe it is my freaky snobbery. But I hate it when shopgirls or shopboys or waiters or waitresses try to recommend a product to me on the basis that it's their favourite too. I mean hello. Why should it make any difference to me that some total stranger, with nothing in common with me, and who frankly I don't really think I'd like anyway... Why would it make any difference to my purchase decision that they like the same thing? Or maybe they're just taught to say that.

Call me empathetic

Okay. For those of you who know me, which is admittedly just tequila, I have had this from my work 360• feedback before. That I'm not empathetic enough. Two years ago really. And I have tried to be more caring, more interested, more understanding. So I get the results this week. And my empathy levels are even lower than they were two years ago. So either this survey tool is poked or my actions are totally unproductive. And maybe I am just unempathetic. But also, WTF does empathy mean in a work context??? Obviously I care about my staff development, their careers, their learning. Why am I supposed to care about them as people? And more importantly, why does that have any bearing on my ability to be an effective manager? Yes, yes, I know. People feel more motivated if they feel you love them, for more than just their work. But seriously - why??? Do they not have families and friends to care for them and be all ooh ahhh empathetic? Why project your unmet emotional needs on ME, people? Sigh. That's the end of my vent. Tomorrow I shall start being more of a bleeding heart. Hey! Hi! How are you? Did you sleep well?

Tear tear

Ok so I watched the Barack Obama videos on YouTube. And it was pretty moving, powerful stuff. But now that I've had my teary eyed moments... I have to wonder... What the heck is he actually planning to DO??? Let's hope he's not wondering the same thing.

An ode.

There I was
surfing the net coz I was bored.
No friends today,
The rain is fucking raining down
making me think twice about
surviving this sort of weather
next year.

So I start typing in
random names from my past.
And then i think,
I wonder whatever happened to
VINNI.

So I google and NZDC the name knowing what I have been told about
VINNI
But do I care?
NO NO NO.
That is just how I roll,
Asking for punishment.

And i find it,
Just like I thought I would.
Oh well
I will always have the picture.

Sing little birdie

Okay I just need to have a little vent about shows that do the national talent search and have the obligatory judging panel (one softie, one medium, one harsh-ass) and basically churn through a huge number of auditions at lots of random inbred towns.

 

What's to vent about, you might ask? It sounds perfect.

 

Well, I'm actually sick of the little kids who audition. There are always these little ten year olds, eight year olds.... even a six year old... and no matter how crap they are, they get through! Because seriously, even the harsh-ass does not want to tell little six year old Maisie that she's outta here coz she got no talent.

 

But that does NOT mean she does! She might SUCK! I mean come on people, break the kid's heart now, before someone else breaks it for her.

 

My primary school singing teacher routinely put in my report "doesn't understand pitch", "needs to try harder", and as time wore on "doesn't seem to concentrate in class".

 

*shatter*

 

sheeeeeat!

Okay so I tried to make this blog all high-brow, intellectual and meaningful, but Tequila dragged us straight back into the gutter... where we belong? Maybe so! But, I am now powerless to halt this descent... so after nearly wetting myself laughing at that Maury video clip, I felt impelled to google it. And, people, you may rest easy, because the show is REAL! Yes, there really is trash like that alive and well on this earth, and earning their rightful place of fame on syndicated TV.

 

Check out the Wikipedia "summary" of the show... including detailed descriptions of how the themes of the episodes play out... I read the "Who my baby daddy" section and had to stop because laughing so hard at work looks unnatural. Wallow, my fellow piglets, in the filth of human depravity...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maury_(TV_series)

 

BWAHAHA!

Respect mah authoritah !!!

So I have always been a fan of trailer trash, the trashier the better. Which is why Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer were like the top of my viewing list all through high school. I came across this clip from The Maury Povich Show, which is a low brow talk show in the US. I watched this clip on replay so many times.....Its like a train wreck that you can't look away from. I really hope this is real. Awesomest of the awesome.

Deep and meaningful

Over the weekend I watched The Constant Gardener... it's based on a john le carre novel, and I thought it was absolutely excellent. Story of a diplomat's wife who is murdered in africa, and the diplomat starts investigating, finding a complex conspiracy involving big pharmac companies, drug testing on illiterate blacks in poverty...

 

i BAWLED my eyes out for about half the movie, mainly for the plight of africa... whenever i see movies like that, it makes me despair. that continent is so ravaged... it is such a beautiful place, the land, the flora and fauna, the people are so beautiful, and yet they are torn on every side by war, drought, famine, disease and corruption. Everyone rapes africa. Their own people - dictators, tyrants, tribal wars and corruption all the way through. The western nations - unwilling to write off debt, unwilling to contribute meaningfully. The corporations - pharmacy companies, weapons companies. It is like the people are in an abyss, unable to find a way out.

 

How is it that atrocities of poverty and war are visited on this continent on such a large scale, but we are unable to find any method or approach that will help? Is it basically that no one can help them unless their own people become educated and rise up and create change? But then, given the state of the nations, how will there ever be enough food, enough water, enough health to enable them to access that next level of the hierarchy of needs? As America spends three trillion dollars on their "war on terror", who is interested in spending on a war on poverty?

 

One solution I considered - foreign run schools and educational institutions that are not only funded but actually run, staffed, managed by overseas people. Thus eliminating some of the corruption. Make them accountable to the highest bodies like the UN, and subject to strict audits and checks. Feed and educate the children. They are the only people who can agitate for change...

 

As the western world gets swept up in anxiety over climate change, sustainability and carbon footprints... this movie made me think... how fickle we are, to move from social trend to social trend... as the children in africa keep dying.

 

So basically, fck global warming... can someone please think about the children!

I am all that you say I am....

Now I have been called a lot of things in my life....wanker, mangina, tequila, big foot(thanks D). But what happened yesterday was a first on so many levels. Let me set this up for you....This holier than thou christian middle aged man walks onto the surgery and in the course of talking to him he says that he hasn't had a check up in 6 years. So out of a general courtesy I inquire about the reason why. "Well" he says "because all you people are a bunch of Soul Sucking Capitalists."

So here is the thing. You wouldn't walk into a lawyer's office and say shit like that only because you know that they would fuck you up so badly you wouldn't be able to shit for a week. So what makes it ok to walk into my surgery and say crap like that? Don't let this non-Caucasian, eager to please face, fool you fucktard....this one is no pushover. I will cut you down and smile all the while wielding a 5 inch needle. You have been warned!!

Boh-Selecta......

Damn I hate these organized religions that make you throw your hands in the air like you just don;t care. Someone once took me along to a service like that and it was so weird that I almost shat my pants. Which is why this video made me LOL. ...

You Can Do Eeet....You Can Do Eeet All Night Long.

You know how when people hang up inspirational pictures at work to try and motivate themselves/workmates? I fucking hate it. Seeing them makes me want to tear the poster down and force the person to eat it. But as I have a reputation to uphold I usually just smile and make a placatory noise/comment. Well I discovered these anti-motivational posters and am loving them. Why can't people put these up instead? At least then I can have a laugh and won't think bad thoughts about people who put up lame posters. And I found a perfect poster which really just is made for our blog.... For more awesomeness that is DeMotivational posters, follow the link.... http://www.blog.joelx.com/de-motivational-posters/730/

Happy Birthday To Us

Another year another birthday for greenstamps & tequila. Have we gotten wiser? Hell no. But possibly better looking and funnier. Well, maybe not that either. What I definitely don't want to do is reflect on the year that's been and come up with some pansy statements about what I've learned. Seriously, what losers do that. I nearly gag when people tell me stuff like that... I mean yawnorama. If you learnt so much why do you have to reflect at the end of the year to figure it out. Pah. It's called awareness people.

Aaj mera Janam din hai.

Happy Birthday to me! Supposedly today I should feel special and be thankful for the 28 years that I have been alive and healthy. But it feels like any other goddamn day. I woke up, brushed my teeth, went to work. Worked, drove home and had dinner. Oh just to make it special I bought a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Shop. Whoop-dee-fucking--doo.

I used to love birthdays when I was younger. But as I get older, I find that it really just is another day. I always wondered my aunts and parents never made a big fuss on their birthday but now I can sort of understand. You have other things to think about like the frigging mortgage and bills. Sigh. and so I end this day sitting on the computer after treating myself to a slice of cheesecake, knowing that i have to work tomorrow and as well as Saturday. Many Happy returns of the day!!

Monogamy is the way to go......

...just put your lips together and Blow. All this filthy talk is just in response to a quasi interesting slight porno-ish movie I saw last night. "Southland Tales" is the name of the film and was made by the same guy who made 'Donnie Darko" which happens to be one of my favorite movies ever. So going into this movie I was more than aware of all the bad press this movie received from the first disastrous screening in Cannes in 2006. And followed by the fan boys generally poor reviews on the movie forums, I was hoping against hope that this would not be the unmitigated disaster it threatened to be.

Well you know what? This was nowhere near as bad as it was made out to be. More like an entertaining, deep as a puddle, hot mess of a film that slapped me around and called me a bitch type of movie. Oh and did I mention that Sarah Michelle Gellar played a porn star called Krysta Now and that she is smokin' hot as usual. No? Now I did.

So how can I review this movie? Well I can't. If you liked/halfway understood 'Donnie Darko', then I suppose you will enjoy this film. Justin Timberlake, for once, did not want to make me punch him in the face and Seann William Scott was actually kinda good with his whole riff on the 'stifler' character. All in all a perfect movie to watch on a cold rainy Sunday afternoon in sodding Brisbane.
Oh and this is a song from the movie sung by Buffy herself. It is kinda self explanatory. heh.

Iron Man....

Iron man, does whatever an Iron can???? Hmmmm wrong superhero. As you can probably guess, I watched Iron Man today. Now this is a strange movie. On the one hand it has Robert Downey Jr. in one of the coolest roles ever. And Gwyneth Paltrow for once did not make me want to force feed her some sandwiches. Yet....there was something missing. I can't seem to put my finger on it exactly. You know when you watch a movie and everything just works and then you walk out feeling sated? No..? Well it happens to me especially after watching Donnie Darko or A.I.

Could it be because there is not much action in this movie? No I don't think so. I mean, look Superman Returns had the bare minimum of action scenes and I really liked that movie. No, until I watch this movie again on DVD, and reassess it, it cannot enter Rohan's Pantheon of Great Movies.

Get your Hands off the Girl......

...can't you see that she belongs to me. Alright, this Weezer song always and I mean always, picks me up on a bad day. It is probably in my top 5 rock songs of all time. Though is Weezer considered rock or pop? Sometimes Weezer kinda shits me off but their last album really struck a chord with me. Anyway "Perfect Situation" is just awesome. I think I must have played this song every day for a month when it first came out and also it was my very first iTunes download EVER! Congratulations Weezer...you get Rohan's inaugural Video of the Week. Oh also how hot is Elsiha Cuthbert.

Is you is or Is you isn't my Baby?

Sometime ago my friend and I suspected that a couple of our acquaintances were hooking up on the down low. Now when the lady in question was asked directly about it she denied it to high heaven. But we were convinced that she was lying. They had this chemistry that some people just do and some people would kill for (hello tomkat). You know when you see married couples that look out for each other and have that strange comfortableness(sic) in each others company. Well these guys had all the tell tale signs and look, good for them. But admit it and just move on you know. Anyway..

....meeting up with the male in this sordid equation a while ago, i casually asked about the female. To which he said that he doesn't keep in contact with her anymore. OMG could it be that there was a lovers tiff ???? The point of this whole story is that if I had better skillz i would have found out more about the whole situation by asking the right questions. But seeing as I have no skills to speak off I will have to make a best guess as to what happened.

And as I have an overactive imagination, trust that I can come up with the sickest scenario ever. Fo' Sho' . Why am I posting this? Coz I is procrastinating. Job interview tomorrow and not looking forward to it. So instead of thinking about the possible questions I will be asked, I prefer to post useless missives on Blogspot. Righteous!!

Forgetting Mila Kunis

Now I always looked at Mila Kunis as, well, that average girl on 'That 70s Show. Then on the weekend i watched 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and whoa...Mila is smokin'. Seriouskly the scene where you first meet her at the hotel, I was wondering who this hottie was and then it clicked..thats the average looking girl from 'That 70s Show'. I mean compare the before and after pictures

Anyway the movie was awesome. I haven't laughed like that in a while. If you liked Superbad and The 40 Year Old Virgin then you will love this movie. I rated it higher than Knocked up which I really didn't find that appealing.

Play That Funky Music White Boy

I was sent this link to a blog by a..."friend" and I have to say I am addicted. Goddamn it. This is hands down the funniest thing I have read in forever. The weird thing is I actually know "white people" who are like this. Which I suppose makes this blog more like social satire? Enjoy... http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/