Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 5/15/16

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

Shark Attacks!

I was all set to post about something else, and then, whilst running errands this afternoon, my phone went off with the actual news alert you see in the accompanying image.

And, let's face it ... I think "woman taken to hospital with shark still on arm" trumps anything else I was going to post (which, incidentally, was NOT going to be about anything trump-ish).

Of course, that tiny bit of sensationalistic reporting, once viewed at the actual website that includes the picture and a few more datapoints, should be taken in context, seeing as how the cute little thing attached to her arm was only two feet long.  And, the article says quotes an 11 year old saying that the people were antagonizing the (wee little) shark!

With good thoughts and well wishes (kind of) going out to the woman who got bitten, I'll say what I always say about these types of things -- in all truth, the sharks were there first.  Just sayin' ...

VIEW THE "FEROCIOUS" SHARK:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-boca-shark-bite-20160515-story.html

VIEW ALL THE "FEROCIOUS" SHARKS:
http://www.trackingsharks.com/2015-shark-attack-bites-tracking-map/

LOVE THE "FEROCIOUS" SHARKS:
http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-news/5-reasons-revere-not-fear-shark

L V C || C L Memory 146

In 146 days, I'll be back on campus at my alma-mater at an extra special homecoming as Lebanon Valley College continues celebrating its 150th birthday.  In honor of that countdown, here's memory #146:  the night I borrowed my roommate James the Native American's outfit and headed to the frist all-year dance.

This memory is serving multiple purposes -- it's the only reference to my first ever college roommate (he transferred out after one semester [I swear it wasn't my fault]), and, in a twist, he was dating one of my good friends from high school at the time, Sally P [the only person with whom I've played hooky]), and it's one of the somewhat rare shots of the original Mary Green 217 dorm room, and finally it's a story of its own because a senior didn't like the outfit and jumped on my hat during the dance (in retrospect, though, I can now see how that outcome maybe should have been expected).

The good news -- that act of aggression by a senior to a freshperson didn't have any lasting effects on me (although, to be fair, I never borrowed that outfit again) ... plus that guy turned out to be a good friend of someone to whom I became very close that first semester ... and, before the holiday break, I had a chance to confront him and get full closure on the moment (and maybe an almost apology).  Whew ... that's a LOT packed into this one memory!

Random Soapbox for Saturday 5/14/16

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

... I don't think we can be friends any more, Jennifer Aniston.

Lookit, it's not that I didn't enjoy watching you interact with all the folks on that TV show ... and it's not that I'm taking you to task for your run of mediocre movies ('cause, if we're being really honest with each other, I've yet to see most of your run of mediocre movies).

Nope -- the problem that you and I have now is as simple as the fact that I can't relate to your recent nightmares about waking up on a plane and not being able to find the shower.  It's a bit of a "look-at-me-I'm-so-entitled douche-princess" of a move.  I know that sometimes celebrities do interesting advertisements that air in other countries, so maybe you were misled and thought that this wouldn't be seen by those of us whose nightmares are more about how we risk deep vien thrombosis every time we fly because three people are squished into a space no bigger than a child's coffin.

You wake up from a restful nap and go to the bar to complain to the bartender ... I take an aisle seat and will myself to look sick hoping that my appearance, with the barf bag as a prop, will keep at least the middle seat free of pounds of flesh competing for the small amount of oxygen we all have to share in my row.

The closest thing I had to having a shower on a plane once was when I opened up the bottle of coca-cola I had smuggled on and I had forgotten that it had gotten shaken and jostled during the boarding process so that it spritzed all over me (and the person next to me).  And let me tell you -- a sticky shower isn't a shower at all.

So that's it.  We don't relate to each other any more.  We're no longer friends.

[Disclaimer:  Angelina Jolie did NOT pay me to write this post.]

JENNIFER JUST MAY BE COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN THE AIR WARS:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2015/10/05/is-emirates-targeting-us-airlines-with-new-jennifer-aniston-ad/73381332/

TURNS OUT THERE'S A BIT OF ANISTON HATING GOING AROUND:
http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,6513,00.html/#/photoessay/image/0205091631_M_jen1_big-jpg

I AM RESIGNED TO THE FACT THAT I MAY NEVER EXPERIENCE ANY OF THESE:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-10-most-luxurious-plane-cabins-2015-10

L V C || C L Memory 147

In 147 days, I'll be back on campus at my alma-mater at an extra special homecoming as Lebanon Valley College continues celebrating its 150th birthday.  In honor of that countdown, here's memory #147:  the red headed Carol Amundsen.

In addition to being a ginger, she also was officially the Assistant Director of Student Activities and Residential Life.  But more importantly than that, she lived in my dorm in a sweet suite apartment at the end of the first floor hallway.  Turns out Mary Green was quite progressive for central PA of the early nineties in that it was co-ed (albeit girls on the 3rd floor, boys on the 2nd and both on the 1st but separated by a lobby).

My favorite memory of Carol, though, was stopping by her open door at the exact moment that the Berlin Wall fell.  She had a TV (not everyone did back in those days), and we watched the unbelievable news together as it unfolded ... (PS:  did I mention that I'm old?)

Random Flashback for Friday 5/13/16

Tonight's theme for the 10th batch of photos of my father's that I inherited when he passed is similar to the one from a few weeks back ( ... PLUS dog), except this one will be "... PLUS baby"!

Sure enough, all of these photographs seemed to exist to show off the youngest addition to the family at that time ... and, since so few are marked (and since so many babies tend to look the same), I'm afraid that many of them are little ones of unknown origin ... unless/until someone from the greater family "claims" them.

The exception is the first one, which at least has my dad's handwriting on it -- plus I for sure recognize my paternal grandfather in the photo.

Here's how they break down this week:

#46 - generations in the garden listed as my grandpa, my paternal great-grandmother, my aunt Evelyn and her "kids"
#47 - sixties looking lady with a dark eyed baby in a onesie
#48 - old timey city scene (Lancaster?  Philly?  Harrisburg?) with a youngster shaky on his (or her) legs ... and is that my dad peeking around the corner on the side (I recognize the hat from other photos)?
#49 - back to the farm for a boy with a baby on what I'm hoping is a wagon like toy of some kind -- although it might just be farm equipment
#50 - girl and (constipated?) baby with awkward cut-out in photo

L V C || C L Memory 148

In 148 days, I'll be back on campus at my alma-mater at an extra special homecoming as Lebanon Valley College continues celebrating its 150th birthday.  In honor of that countdown, here's memory #148:  calendars from my first full month in school in September of 1989!

Although the main one is a bit weathered and worn (after all, they are going on 27 years old, and they've been sitting in my "archives" this whole time), I was struck by the fact that all THREE of them were synced -- that's "synced" the old fashioned way BC (before computer) in that I had clearly copied each activity onto each calendar.  I'm guessing one was at home, one was in my dorm and one was carried around with me ,,,  maybe?

The first thing college teaches you is time management ... so this is the documented proof of exactly how I managed it.  And these seem to have a bit of everything ... the movies that were playing on campus on the weekends (Fletch Lives, Twins and Naked Gun), the clubs I was exploring, some birthdays and random stuff plus my shifts at the McDonald's well off campus.

My favorite item on the calendar(s) ... the 3:30 appointment on  Friday the 29th.  It says simply SCAFFOLDING.  And any one of my theatre friends from back in that day know exactly what that time slot was dedicated to doing.

Random Thought for Thursday 5/12/16

My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the EIGHTEENTH of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays.  All.  Year.  Long.)!]

Establishment:  Sage French Cafe
Location:  Ft. Lauderdale
Meal:  Sunday Brunch
Drink:  (Complimentary!) Mimosa
Appetizer:  Fresh Croissant
Main 1:  Le Steak Anglais
Grilled tenderloin, grilled tomato, mushrooms, poached eggs, potatoes
Main 2:  Crepe Languedoc 
Sausage, garlic, apples, tomatoes, cheeseSide(s):  n/a
Dessert:  n/a
Server:  Gregory B (but I will think of him as French Iain [sorry Iain M ... I didn't get a photo of him], because he looked like a former co-worker of mine)

I know it's not usual to have multiple main dishes (although I did it recently for the Italian feast a few weeks ago), but at Sunday brunch, the rules can be loosened, aided on by the free mimosa -- which is good, because I actually liked the dish I'm calling the first main (and giving the primary photo slot) better even though I had officially ordered the second one.  Halfway through the meal, we switched plates so that I got a chance to taste half of each.  'Cause teamwork ... and Sunday brunch ... (and mimosas) ...  

AMBIANCE:   9/10 (I do like a place with the option for outdoor seating, but I also got a peek at the inside and this one [in a strip mall, as so many restaurants are in Florida] was very cute, with a piano in the corner inside that I'm sure adds a nice touch during the times when it is played ... and it was good for people watching, including an elderly gentleman customer who started doing tableside magic tricks for the staff ... however, a point has to be deducted for not changing out the dead potted plant that sat next to my seat during the whole meal [see photo below]) 
FOOD:            9/10 (the croissant was extremely flaky [although not quite as hot as I was warned it would be] ... and the crepe was clearly quality with a beefy tomato sauce that had a spicy kick as an aftertaste [which was excellent in its own right but not quite breakfasty enough for my taste] ... the steak and eggs dish was delicious and the roma tomato with pesto on top was deserving of high praise ... plus -- fresh fruit on the side ... there was not a doubt that care and pride went into each creation, and there's just one point lost for a lack of seasoning on the steak)
SERVICE:      8/10 (I often wonder if the servers at a restaurant of a certain cuisine are acting the accent the customers expect ... but this one seemed French enough, whether authentic or not ... that being said, a point is lost because I had to grab my own salt and pepper for the outside table midway through the meal [they didn't have enough for all of them], and because the server delivering the food asked our party if we were table five and, after all, as the customer, I had no way to answer her)
BACON:         3/10 (for a series of mine, you would think I'd be going to restaurants that featured more bacon dishes ... but this is yet another one where it was barely on the menu -- I'll give a few points for having Canadian Bacon on a dish I didn't order)
BONUS:         10/10 (+3 for having a nice quality pen to be used to sign the check, another +3 for being an establishment that, after you pay that check, you actually stop and think about how you got a really great deal when considering quality and cost, and a final +3 for the busboy who made the table stop wobbling before we even realized it was wobbly in the first place [despite me being tempted to penalize him for wearing a man-bun], and a +1 for being a place to which we would return -- if only to eat at its sister location Qbar next door, which DOES have lots of bacon on its menu)

TroyScore:  39 out of 50 -- aka 78, a high C