Random Soapbox for Saturday 9/19/15

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... we HAVE to find the strippers.

Which strippers?

The 4700 women who are supposed to split the six million dollar settlement for being treated like independent contractors when they were *clearly* employees of Scarlett's (in nearby Hallandale OR up in Ybor City [near Tampa, because it's the stripper capital {heck, even Mike did his magic there}]) OR Toledo (Scartlett's was apparently an EMPIRE, yo!).

The problem?  According to the news, the claim forms were mailed out June 23 ... but the trick (pardon the turn of phrase) is that the performers only have until October 19 to claim at this link:  scarlettscabaretlawsuit.com.

Which gets me to my soapbox.  I see things go viral all the time on the social media ... lost pets ... missing children ... kids with cancer ... challenges with ice buckets ... etc etc.  Why not this?  Why not use the power of the social media to locate these performers and get them their bonus cash.

Please consider sharing ... for the strippers ...

MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AVAILABLE:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article26200477.html

STRIPPERS, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS:
http://licensetopimp.com/stripper-labor-rights-101/

HOW I GET MY NEWS (IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING):
http://digitalissue.browardpalmbeach.com/article/The+Pulp/2270060/272847/article.html

Random Flashback for Friday 9/18/15

Growing up in central PA as we did, we weren't a "go to the shore on vacation" kind of family.  And with my delayed social development, I missed out on a "traditional" spring break experience or two.  (Missed out or dodged a bullet -- I'll let you decide.)

All of that may be why the beach was still such a novelty to me back in 1995.  This picture wasn't the *first* time I had seen the Atlantic (to date, that's the only ocean with which I am acquainted), and it certainly wasn't the *last*, (what with how I now live within a handful of miles of the shoreline down here in southern Florida), but it was the *first* (and only) time I was seeing it from this particular vantage point ...

The exact location will have to wait for an explanation accompanying next week's photo, but suffice it to say that I was viewing these waves crashing on this beach the same way that Billy Joel does.  And, whether today or twenty years ago, I'm still drawn to the almost oxymoronic blend of power and peace that the vastness of the ocean offers ... a hint that there's more out there even though it can't be seen ... and a reminder that faith in the unknown or unexplainable is a key part of getting through this life on this planet ... plus ... you know ... SAND!

Random Thought for Thursday 9/17/15

As I wind down into the last day of work before a two week vacation (including a trip to Nashlanta [more about that next week]), it strikes me that we should be happy for the jobs we have (especially ones that allow you to take a two week vacation).

After all, somebody always has it worse than you do.  (And I'm not just talking about jobs that *don't* offer two week vacations.)

Take, for instance, those who served Pharaoh Pepi II, a pharaoh who wasn't a fan of  flies ... so much so that he had slaves put next to him smothered in honey so that he would be fly-free.

*That* could be your job.  Just sayin'!

YOU CATCH MORE FLIES WITH SLAVES SMOTHERED IN HONEY:
http://www.creatinghistory.com/pharoah-pepi-ii-flies-and-honey/

TONIGHT'S FACT IS JUST *ONE* OF TEN UNBELIEVABLE FACTS:
http://scoopempire.com/10-unbelievable-facts-ancient-egyptians/#.VftQXt9Viko

SOMEONE ALWAYS HAS IT WORSE THAN YOU DO, THE BUZZFEED EDITION:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/havin-a-rough-time#.brrgqPwXXy

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 9/16/15

Dive-in Movies.

Used in a sentence:  "Before moving here to sunny southern Florida, I had no idea that it was super trendy to host Dive-in Movies."

[See what they did there?  They got the rid of the R!  So clever ...]

There are likely a few reasons why I missed out on this trend.  First, I'm not the trendiest of folks.  Second, despite having reached what I hope is mid-life, I still don't know how to swim*.  Third, movie nights for me are about lights out, volume up and voices shushed ... which is why I'd rather watch at home than in a public setting.  Fourth, there's something to be said about avoiding places that have become shooting galleries for the mentally imbalanced.

[*Just because I don't know how to swim (I panic when I can't touch bottom), doesn't mean I don't like the water (triple-negative alert!).  Give me a floatie or two, and I'll stay in the water for hours on end ...]

Before researching for this post, I thought this idea was so cutting edge ... and then I found out that it's all over the country as a concept ... but it was still new and novel to me ... even if I doubt that I'll ever participate.  Although, as the great philosopher of our time, The Biebs, says ... "never say never".

THE SOURCE OF THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGE:
http://fortlauderdaleonthecheap.com/free-dive-in-movies-at-pool-in-pompano-beach/

STILL GOING ON DOWN IN MIAMI:
http://miamionthecheap.com/movies-grapeland-water-park/

TURNS OUT THIS IS ON TREND EVERYWHERE:
http://reinventingevents.com/2014/07/host-dive-in-movie-night/

Random Tune for Tuesday 9/15/15

Guess who was in town the other night?

Lita!

And I was like, "Hey ... I know her!"

Some points to clarify ... by "in town", I mean on tour down here in southern Florida with Slaughter and Kix and LA Guns.  Also, by "Lita", I do mean Lita Ford of the Runaways.  And finally, by "I know her", I mean that I was a child of the late eighties, and so I know, that to her, "it ain't no big thing" when she's out partying, after borrowing ten bucks from her old man, only to end up getting in a fight instead of getting laid.

Now I know I normally only put one link on my Tune Tuesdays, but I found both the ORIGINAL video AND a LIVE version from a PAST visit to Ft. Lauderdale on the youtubes, and so it seemed like I should put them both ... 'cause, you know ... it ain't no big thing!

KISS ME ONCE ... KISS ME TWICE ... CLASSIC VERSION:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3wZxEPMevo

KISS ME ONCE ... KISS ME TWICE ... LIVE IN CONCERT VERSION:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adnSuna_p1Q

Random Memorial for Monday 9/14/15

Gone but not forgotten:  the task of utter peacefulness that was ... reshelving library books.

Disclaimer:  for all I know, libraries no longer have books, so this might be an anachronistic post (if you don't know that word, ask a librarian).

You know what I miss?  My days working at the LVC library and taking two carts full of books that needed to put back in the stacks in the proper order so that the world of the biblioteka didn't collapse in on itself.  It was so peaceful to engage my brain this way deep within the dewey decimals and to accomplish a task until the carts were empty.

The closest I've come in my adult life is alphabetizing hundreds and hundreds of scantron grids and test results spread out over a whole classroom in my job when it was back in Chicago and we had administered a free test at a local gigantic high school.

Upon reflection, I'm guessing that what I *really* enjoyed was the ability to uni-task in a world where multi-tasking is the new normal ... to focus on just one thing at one time to completion.  So task that I enjoyed because it silenced the voice in my head (look -- if I only hear one and it sounds like me, then it's not mental illness yet, even if it is constantly yammering) .. you are missed.

RE-SHELVING IS FUN FOR ALL AGES:
https://subversivereader.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/library-activities-for-all-ages-shelving-books/

ONE VOICE ... MY OWN ... IS OKAY:
http://www.pathwaytohappiness.com/writings_voice_in_head.htm

SCREW YOU MULTI-TASKING:
http://blog.sandglaz.com/power-of-single-task-focus/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 9/13/15

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

Lime burns.

Growing up as I did in PA, followed by a dozen years in Chitown, I was never made aware of the risks people take by exposing themselves to lime juice and the sun.

But moving here has made me knowledgeable that the sweet citrus juice and the powerful rays of the sun are a dangerous mix.  I mean, I guess if I had thought enough about it, I am familiar with the concept of ceviche ... I just never took it to the next level and considered how humans can also "bake themselves" if they end up doused in the acidic liquid.

Duly noted.  To all of you about to go into your winter months with a thought or two of coming down here to vacation, you best be damn careful when you make your margaritas!

STAY SAFE OUT THERE:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/limes-sunlight-leave-florida-man-burns-mixing-margaritas/story?id=31505292

LIMES.  NOT JUST FOR LATINOS ANY MORE:
http://wlrn.org/post/why-lime-flavor-suddenly-everywhere

SPEAKING OF ODD FLAVORS:
http://justsomething.co/21-of-the-weirdest-food-flavors/