Thursday, July 21, 2011

Bald Is Beautiful?

It all depends on which commercial you listen to. Some would have you believe that you're less of a man if you have no hair. Somehow women will find you less appealing if you have a shiny dome. Men are encouraged to slather on the latest miracle salve guaranteed to regrow a glorious mane making you the life of the party. And what about those hair transplants? Sounds painful to me.

Then again, if you have hair on your chest, back, abdomen or other unmentionable areas, you're suddenly a Neanderthal not fit to be seen in respectable situations. Shave it off? Wax it off? Rip it off with chemically treated strips. The choices abound.

So where does all this leave the man who refuses such measures? I've seen some pretty hideous comb-overs. One guy must have had a two foot long shock of hair growing behind his ear and then wound turban style about his head. Can you imagine the hairspray it took to keep that in place? The alternatives are hairpieces or the razor. Personally, I'd rather see a bit of skin than a crappy looking toupee.

To bald or not to bald, that is the question.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

It Was So Hot

If this was Hollywood Squares, that would be the audience's cue to answer Jan Murray with, "How hot was it?" but this is north Texas in mid July. My thermostat in the car read 103 when I came in from work.

My poor plants, even the established ones, are wilting at an alarming rate. My tomatoes, cucumbers and basil look like they were attacked by agent orange.

I went out back to water those in pots and set the sprinkler and within two minutes I was sweating. Not to mention the mosquitos feasting on my blood. Mosquitos love me.

I really hate winter and cold weather, but right now, a chilly breeze wafting through the tree tops would be nice. A summer shower would be a small slice of heaven. I could even handle a cool 90 degrees.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Old Fashioned

I admit it. I'm old fashioned...and maybe, just getting old. Business casual around the office appears to be more casual and less business. Shorts? Spaghetti straps? Flip-flops? Jeans with holes? CFM heels?

There used to be a big poster in the copy room when I came to this office labeled "Dress Code". I think management was afraid they'd get sued for discrimination, or cruel and unusaul punnishment, or whatever. So it faded into the sunset one night when no one was looking along with men's ties.

And one of those minor faux pas that irks me to death is shoes without some type of stocking. We got sent to detention in school for not wearing PEDS with our flats. Or bobbie socks with tennis shoes. Worse, in high school it was hose with a garter belt (obviously invented by some man) or a gridle. Pantyhose didn't come along until I was out of school.

Going soxless to me is like going commando. How unsanitary. Think of those ten little piggies snuggled into yesterday's toe jam. Yech! That's like having skid marks in your suit pants.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

I've Heard That One Before

As a wannabe writer it's difficult to read a book without critiquing. I've noticed in many instances that well known, published writers often grow lazy. They're not held to the same standards as a newbei. Instead, they continue to sell books on their name...not talent.

I'm not saying they don't have talent, just that POV, sentence structure, punctuation and lack of plot are overlooked for those who are fortunate enough to have broken into print.

Am I jealous? No...maybe... I've read some pretty bad stinkers by established authors. Many prolific writers appear to have a formula for their books. Read a couple of their plots, and they start to become very familiar. Thus the title of this post.

Now that I've said my piece, I'll crawl back under my rock.