If it's not Raven, it's crap...

I often find myself in a bizarre conversation at work, usually with my boss, but also with the other members of my department. I'll try to keep track of my favorites and post them occasionally. Starting with this one from last week (and cross-posted from my tumblr )   My Boss: [New co-worker] just asked how the “Cat of the Week” system works. Me: We have a system for that? It should be documented somewhere. My Boss: You have to find a picture of a cat that represents the theme of the week and then send it by e-mail to the department. For instance, the theme could be “Overcoming Adversity” and it’s a picture of a cat stuck in a box. Me: Just any old cat? What if it were Ryan Gosling wearing a cat costume? My Boss: And what lesson could we learn from that? Me: I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking. Your system is flawed. *** 5 minutes later *** My Boss: I googled “Ryan Gosling and cats” and this was the first hit that came up. What would you say the lesson here is?

Infectious Classic: The Next Generation Pickles just sent me a link to a YouTube video. I've been searching for this song...for years. I consider myself to be an above average googler, but could never find it. Sure, maybe I could have made a google alert, but I honestly could not remember any kind of identifying features about the song. Typing "go 'round so" into a search field is not going to reap the best search results.  Amazingly, somehow and someway, my sister tracked down this "infectious classic" and proceeded to rub her find in my face. It doesn't even matter, because now I have it. I don't even think this a major calypso classic. Even though Shadow On the other hand, maybe it is, since I first heard it on a compilation of soca hits back in 2002 or 2003. Still, I think it's a wonderful tune, as it embodies the best and worst parts of trying to have a conversation with a Trinidadian. It reminds me of countless conversations wit

German Language Study Technique #257: Swallow a mouthful of mayo  for every incorrectly conjugated verb. That'll learn you good. Admittedly, my opinion regarding the German language is a little bit biased. I started learning the language about 20 years ago. It's probably also the one thing that I can say with confidence that I've stuck with for this long. It also helps that I've had multiple immersion opportunities. Which is why I'm sure I sound insane, when I tell brand new expats to Germany that learning German is awesome. I probably also sound insane, when I tell the same thing to native German speakers. So what does mayonnaise have to do with learning German? Nothing. But also everything. You see, the best part about learning German is that after you've grasped the basic phonetic tenets of the language, you can read just about any word in the language. You might not understand what they mean, but you'll be able to pronounce them, more or less, r

The next installment of how Schmiddy got his beard is still yet to come. I was doing some 2014 prep and then received a spontaneous visit from C.J. Going through my box of paper crap (in the process of organizing that shit), I found this unassuming post card from a million years ago: "Dude, we're gonna rule the world... just not starting from here." This is basically from right after Schmiddy and I moved into our lair of awesomeness, but when he also had to spend months and months in Toulouse (France). A man of few words, I think his statement holds true to this day. The revolution will not begin in Toulouse... Starting tomorrow, I'll be back at work. The next couple of months will be action packed, both personally and professionally. Maybe not world-changing or even world-conquering, but lots to come in 2014.  Everything old is new again and what have you. Happy New Year, random people who stumble across my internet presence (either on pur