I wonder if I'm just getting used to disappointment...

Yesterday I was scheduled to go to a screening.  We were given this screening over a month ago and while it wasn't a film I wanted to see, I readily agreed.  I feel that whenever a PR firm or studio offers our website a screening opportunity, we should do our best to get to it.  The more we attend, the more we will get and reviewing films we don't necessarily want to see is just part of the process.

Once that was on my calendar I ended up turning down other things offered to me for that day.  One was attending a press day for another film where I would have gotten a chance to meet Ken Burns.  Someone I think highly of.  Another was going to a film and playing my favorite Buzztime trivia game.  A third was that job interview I'm looking forward to.  But I turned them all down because I'd committed to this screening.

I arrived 15 minutes before the appointed time and found out the screening had been cancelled.  Supposedly we had been notified by email but neither my editor nor me ever received this email.  The owner of the screening room was there and offered to give me a private screening of the movie, since they had the copy right there.  But the PR firm wouldn't sign off on it, saying they no longer had studio permission to conduct press screenings.

Pretty frustrating.  I just shrugged and went home.  It was too late to try to do any of the other things that had been possible that afternoon.  And if I do end up reviewing this film, I won't let my frustration color my opinion of how bad it is (based on what I know about it, it's going to be pretty bad, although if it turned out not to be, I'd say that too).

We have our final exam on Monday.  Yesterday was supposed to be part ethics instruction and part review for the final.  We ended up spending 2.75 of the 3 hours of class on the ethics, because people were too slow doing the web based training module and taking the required exam on ethics.  So there was almost no final exam review.  I don't care personally, but I suspect some of the other students may struggle as a result.  We'll see on Monday.

John Cusack is going to play Rush Limbaugh in a movie.  Now that would be some serious acting.  His blogs on the subject of politics seem to indicate a strong disdain for everything Limbaugh bloviates about on his program and website.  I look forward to seeing a tour de force performance if this movie gets made.

By the way, I should disclose that I am now a candidate for political office.  I am running for the Presidency of this facility's Resident's Council.  My campaign budget is zero, I have no official campaign manager, no platform and have made no campaign promises.  Well, I did make one.  I told a few people that if elected, I would preserve the anonymity of anyone who made a complaint about something when I brought their complaint to the administrator.  I should promise to be able to remember when the monthly meetings are held, since at least two of the other candidates are highly likely to forget them.

Tim Tebow is dating a woman who is used to dating virgins.  Reminds me of a line from a movie.  In "St. Elmo's Fire", Rob Lowe's character is often seen playing a saxophone.  He is playing it when he stops and asks a woman if she believes in "pre-marital sax".

I doubt I'll get any responses, but I'm going to try a poll.  I'm sure you've heard of the credit card receipt where the woman wrote "Single mom, sorry" in the tip line.  So here are the questions:

1.  Do you think this is real or fake?
2.  If it's real, does this woman have any business charging up $138 for a meal and then whining she can't afford to tip?
3.  How much did the lack of a tip cost the server?

My answers:

1.  I think it's fake.
2.  If it's real, hell no.
3.  Assuming the restaurant uses the standard, they impute that roughly 8% of the bill amount (probably around $127 before tax) was received in a tip.  So they will credit him or her with having received a tip of at least $10 that they didn't get.

Perhaps the last hope of Governor Romney to win is that the Redskins will lose their game on Nov 4th to the Panthers.  If the Redskins lose, the Redskin Rule indicates that Romney will win. 



Time for another peek at the want ads.  This one was alliterative in the subject line:

"Experienced E-Filing-Electronic case Filer"  Is there some way of electronic filing other than E-filing?

Could you translate this one for me please?  "Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed"  Are there unrelated results that get accomplished?

"Audio school seeking a passionate outlier, high energy team player!"  Okay, I'll bite.  Why an outlier?  Someone close by isn't good enough?

"• Experience in logistics is helpful but not required
• Computer skills (Word ,Excel , Power Point)
• Japanese is also helpful but not required
• The position is more clerical support and document processing/filing"  So they want all that but the job is just filing and clerical support, and your logistics skills and knowledge will go to waste?

"Errands in your own car and insured to grocery story, mall, whole foods, drycleaner, etc"  Apparently it's okay for your car to be uninsured if you aren't going to the grocery store, mall, whole foods or the dry cleaner."

"Lax car rental rental agent" you want someone who is lax in their job???  Oh, the job is at LAX.  Well why didn't you say so?

"Please put your resume IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL, and please include an introduction paragraph describing your experience with folding and organizing. ADD INVENTORY in SUBJECT LINE."  Your experience in folding and organizing?  Folding what? (the job is for folding sweaters).

"Beautiful BIKINI Waitresses & Bikini DANCERS Wanted 18+ (Bare Elegance LAX Los Angeles)"  Apparently the ugly bikini waitresses and dancers are down the street at the Wild Goose LAX.

"Are you interested in working in a medical marijuana dispensary? If you are, sign up now for a Bud Tender Certification Course. Get ahead of other job applicants by actually becoming a certified Bud Tender." 

Enough of that.  Time for today in history.

On this day 50 years ago, the media first used the term "personal computer".  A New York Times story was first to use the term.

Also on this day 50 years ago, Billboard Magazine stopped referring to its chart as "Hot Country & Western Singles" and renamed it "Hot Country Singles".  This marked the start of referring to the genre as solely "country music".

On this day 45 years ago, the Battle of Dak To began in Vietnam.  It would last until November 22nd and result in 376 U.S. dead or missing in action.  Estimates are there were between 1,400 and 2,000 NVA and Viet Cong killed.

On this day 40 years ago, the CIA launched its ship "Glomar Explorer" for the first time.  Its secret mission was to recover a sunken Soviet submarine.

On this day in 1979, 33 years ago, 5 members of the Communist Workers Party were shot to death by members of the KKK and Neo-Nazis during a "Death to the Klan" rally.

On this day 30 years ago, the Dow Jones Industrial average surged 4.25% to close above 1,000 points for the first time in 9 years.  It remains the largest one day gain in history, percentage wise.

On this date in 1988, 24 years ago, South Korean students began three days of massive demonstrations against the former President, Chun Doo Hwan, over the massacre at Kwang-Ju.  On Nov 11th, Chun apologized and pledged to give his money and belongings back to the people.  The official death toll from the massacre is placed at 170 but estimates range from 1,500 to 2,000.  Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his role in the massacre but was almost immediately pardoned.  He was sentenced to life in prison but that sentence was commuted and he was released in 1997.

If I seem invested in that factoid, it's because I spent a year stationed in Kwang-Ju and heard stories of the massacre from a number of residents.  I also got tear-gassed while walking past a demonstration commemorating the anniversary of the massacre.