Did You See It?

by Elodia Strain

Last year, as far as I remember, September 25th passed without much fanfare.

Not so of this year. Because if the buzz at my local grocery store, doctor’s office, and library—not to mention hundreds of thousands of Facebook pages—are any indication, September 25th was nothing short of a holiday this year.

Why, you ask. Well, the Season Premiere of The Office, of course.

Yes, I watched it. And then as I read a book just before bed, I thought about the show. And I came to a very strange conclusion: I really should hate The Office.

I mean, in its four seasons (and one episode), the show has managed to make jokes about the elderly, the mentally handicapped, and those who don’t wear size four jeans. Plus, it’s included a number of degrading comments and storylines about women and minorities, and even poked fun at depression and suicide.

When I put it all down like that, I can’t help but wonder: Why the heck do I like this show? Why do millions of people like this show?

Is it because we live in a society where everything we say can get us into trouble? An age of political correctness that causes us to breath a sigh of relief that the ole’ First Amendment is alive and well.

Or is it simpler than all that? Is it the fact that, mixed in with all the non-pc humor, is sheer ingenuity? I mean, Jim sending faxes to Dwight from “Future Dwight”—I’m laughing just thinking about it. Do those moments sort of make viewers excuse the rest?

What do you think? Am I concerning myself over nothing? Or should I be worried that I’m willing to put up with so much that makes me cringe for those genius moments?

I don’t know if I want to know.

Because I really want to watch next week.

Freecycle Rocks!

It seems like these days everyone is looking for a way to save a buck. Recently I found a really cool group online called The Freecycle Network, and I thought I’d share it with you blog readers.

Basically it works like this: people who don’t want things anymore are paired with people who do (and vice versa.)

For example: I wanted some tote bags to use while grocery shopping, and I found a woman here in Provo who was giving some away. I have a really nice brown wool peacoat that’s too big for me, and I saw a woman looking for a winter coat and offered it to her.

And if you’re thinking, “Oh they’d never have the kind of thing I need,” I’ve seen people giving away washers and dryers, televisions, children’s Halloween costumes, even used MP3 players!

So if you’re looking for a fun way to save cash and the environment at the same time, check out your local Freecycle Network! It’s like a garage sale where everything is free!!!!!!!!!!

Black Mark Bloopers

In the book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, author Lynne Truss uses her sharp wit to discuss the “disastrous state of punctuation in the modern world.” (Amazon.com)

The book’s cover features a drawing of a gun-wielding panda bear. And then inside, the book explains that the bear—thanks to some misplaced punctuation—“Eats, shoots, and leaves.”

It’s a hilarious look at the difference a black mark makes. And so, just for fun, I thought I’d list a few of the black mark bloopers I’ve seen lately.

Seen on a local massage therapist’s advertisement: Two Massage’s For the Price of One Seen on a Christmas card: Love, The Taylor’s
Seen on Lorelei Gilmore’s T-shirt on an episode of Gilmore Girls (the season in the purple box): Love the One Your With
Seen in a high school yearbook: Love you’re friend Janet

Seen in an Iowa Airport: The above photo found at passiveagressivenotes.com

So, tell me, have you seen any black mark bloopers lately? Let’s get a list going.