Just Sayin'

I'm writing today because I am outraged. OUTRAGED! The good name of pasta, one of the most delicious foods on the planet, has been maligned. It has been shamefully microwaved and slathered in disgraceful cornflakes and sugar and sliced (sliced!!!) cheese. The horror is beyond belief. Like many of you, I mourn the degradation of this once wonderful meal. In case you're really confused about what I'm talking about, let me back up a bit and give you some background before I go in to a full fledged *rant.* One of the silver lining of the coronavirus lockdown is lots and *lots* of weird celebrity news and out and out absurdity overall. Normally, I don't care about that stuff too much, but there comes a point when things become too bizarre to ignore (case in point, Tiger King ), and Robert Pattinson (aka the sparkly vampire that dominated the pop culture of my early high school years) has just broken that absurdity meter. In case you haven't heard, Robert Pattin...

So, yesterday, one of my friends texted me, "Okay, if you want an absolutely DRAMATIC, all-consuming distraction, just watch Tiger King on Netflix. It is WILD." Little did she know, I had just finished watching the new, true-crime documentary series a few hours before. My immediate response was "I know! It was the most insane thing I've ever seen." I don't ordinarily write about TV shows on this blog, so perhaps I should take a minute to describe what  Tiger King  is. As I noted above, it's a new, true-crime documentary series from Netflix. It follows the exploits of a group of people who all own private zoos full of tigers. As you can imagine, all of these people are totally and completely, certifiably crazy.  Murder, mayhem, and madness ensues, spiced with a healthy dose of tigers, expired meat, cults, polygamy, arson, bullets, and explosives. And, guys—let me make this very clear—I am not exaggerating.  Tiger King is the craziest thing I have e...

So, I have a series on this blog called "Serious Thoughts," which I use to write about serious problems that I feel strongly about. I haven't written one of these posts in a while, but there's a topic that's been making me angry recently, so you're going to hear about it. Every time I see an outdoor cat, my blood starts to BOIL. Now, I'm not talking about stray cats or feral cats that have no homes to go to. I'm talking about cats that belong to an individual person or family that are allowed to wander around outside freely. It makes me SO ANGRY. Allowing your cat to roam around freely is a pretty irresponsible thing to do. It's bad for the cat, for other animals, and for the planet in general. Now, I know that in many communities around the world, having pets/animals indoors is a foreign concept. I don't expect them to change over night. However, there are a lot of people living in my neck of the woods (Pennsylvania) who ought to know ...

My Cat (She's very sassy) So, I've had a cat for a little more than a year now, and I'm having such a fun time being a cat parent, that I basically spend all my free time trying to convince all my friends and family to get cats too. Shockingly, some people have expressed some reservations about bringing a cat into their lives, so I've decided to assemble a list of all the best reasons to have a cat. You're welcome. 1) Supplemental Heat - When a cat crawls onto your lap, it's the heat equivalent of wrapping yourself in a fleece blanket. They're so WARM! I think it's a combination of all the fur and their generally fiery personalities. One cat on the lap makes you toasty warm, if you get more than two, you might break into a sweat (but that's unlikely to happen because I have never yet met a cat that will tolerate sharing a lap). Granted, cats are a marvelously inefficient way to produce heat. They require a lot of energy input (chicken and hairb...

So, I have a series on this blog where I talk about music that I think is underrated. I listen to music basically all day long, so I really enjoy writing these posts and telling you what I'm listening to. About a year ago, I wrote a post about the Red Hot Chili Peppers , one of my favorite bands of all time. In case you don't know, RHCP is a rock band/alt-rock band (with an emphasis on funk, as you'll see) that was formed in the 1980s in LA. They've been making amazing music for decades. There are very few RHCP songs that I don't like, so it was tough for me to decide what to put in that blog. I ended up leaving out some of my favorite songs (plus, I have discovered some new favorites since I wrote that blog), so I decided to put together a part two! So, without further ado, let's get into the list: 1. Quixoticelixer from Californication  (Bonus Track) - Wow does this song ever have a vibe ! It has a softer sound with a mournful, almost sad air. But, even...