The Getting Your Goat Meme, Sponsored by Chianti
The splendid K8 tagged me for a meme about Pet Peeves. I did a meme right at the start of my blogging life. It was pretty across-the-board and has covered a lot of memes I’ve been tagged with since, so sometimes I don’t do them if it seems like I’ve written something similar before. I put the first one on my About Me page, up yonder. That meme already says more than anyone would care to know about a California housewife, but I haven’t memed in yonks so tonight, my little interwebblies, I meme! The better part of a bottle of mellowing Chianti in me wants a nice easy post but it might backfire because of the mellowing part which is causing me to not feel all that angry at the mome. Ah well, I’m sure I can summon up a thundercloud.
This meme’s about Peeves. Here are the rules:
The Rules
- List two things that irritate you for a reason (and list the reason!), and two things that irritate you for no apparent reason whatsoever!!
- Give credit to the person who tagged you.
- Link your answers to the original blog
- Tag four new people to participate.
OK.
Two things that irritate me for a reason.
- Bold washing powder. Because I am allergic to it.
- I hate with a fury what passes for news broadcasts in America today. We have no evening news broadcasts, we have evening magazine shows masquerading as news. Lazy, sensationalized, mawkish, and mediocre, I could go on and on all night about this most peevish peeve of mine. I suspect that too many of us feel the same way though so I won’t meme about the actual, pathetic shows. Instead I’ll meme about a side peeve: the cheap, sensationalist, and often fear-mongering hooks both the local and national newscasts dangle in the early evening to lure or scare us into watching the 10pm news:
- “A Southland tire manufacturer announces serious flaws in one type of tire – tune in to tonight’s broadcast to see if your family’s at risk!” It’s not the news’s job to tease you with the news! They’re supposed to report it, aren’t they? To inform the populace. And even when they’re not hanging possible peril over your heads til 10pm so you can’t enjoy anything in the meantime, there they are again, during the commercials, appealing to our vanity, our stupidity, our inanity and the basement level of our natures to get us to tune in:
- “Which summer cocktail packs the most calories? You may be surprised!”
- “An LA madame publishes her memoirs! Tune into see which prominent politicians, stars and CEOs are named in the book!”
- “344 people sickened as a popular food item tests positive for salmonella! Find out at 10pm what you need to know now to protect your health!”
Two things that irritate me for no reason.
- People. Other people are the most enraging irritants on earth. Nothing irritates a person more than another person. We can’t help it, it’s normal. Unless you have twin souls, chances are there’s not a person on this earth who couldn’t irritate you eventually, especially even your loved ones. We make friends with only those people whose little irritating aspects we can get over because what might be annoying is far outweighed by what’s really cool.
I put People in the No Reason bit because sometimes there just isn’t a reason. And even when there is, people often have a hard time determining if they are irritated by another person because the other person is an arsehole, or because they themselves are arseholes. Sometimes it never even occurs to people to check that; it never registers that he or she might be the asshole, even the biggest asshole of all!
Assholes are tied with The Well-Meaning in terms of potential irritation but, for my devalued dollar, the most irritating people for no real reason other than they are assholes, are the assholes. Unaccountably, assholes really get on my nerves. And asshats. (Assholes are worse than arseholes – try saying asshole and arsehole out loud and you’ll soon see who’s the dickiest.)
- The colour salmon-pink on anything other than a salmon.
- Oooh. And young men who wear bow-ties in lieu of a personality. Again, why that should bother me I don’t know – perhaps I’m an asshole. I’m sure they’re probably OK really, but I can’t get over the fact that I don’t really think they are.
2. Gr8 K8 linked me and so I thank her for an easy post. You should thank her too that you’re not reading about owl-shame again.
3. Shout out to Skillet, the originator of this meme.
4. By a process of closing my eyes and pointing at my sidebar, I’ll link to Pat, Conan, Eolai, Dr. Maroon and anybody who wants to do it.
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Bock the Robber has been doing a series of posts on the Andrew Hanlon case and asked me to spread the word about it on my blog. It’s a disturbing story about a young Irishman gunned down by police in Oregon. He was shot 7 times and it seems noone can say for sure why. The shooter is a cop who has been separately arraigned on charges of the sexual abuse of a young girl, but evidence suggests there may have been 3 shooters. Check out Bock’s series of posts on the case to learn more.
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I got my citizenship test appointment! September 22nd. I don’t know how speedy things are from then to the citizenship ceremony but, with a bit of luck, I’ll be able to vote in this election after all!
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Very proud of my wee bro. Last week he qualified to become a medic on the oil-rigs in the North Sea. Right now he’s on a platform-decommissioning support-vessel East of Orkney, somewhere out in the great briny. He thought he’d be right in there with the severed fingers and heart attacks right away but they were in an off-work week when he arrived. He called me, bored the other night, because he’d only had one case of Athlete’s Foot. He was all eager for a follow-up appointment, but the guy said he was going back to shore the following day. Bah, thought Wee Bro. I told him I would will a couple of mangled digits for him – just so he keeps his hand in, like. Lets all hope for at least a foreign-body in an eye, eh!
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:37 am
Every time I’ve come near the meme word, it has struck me as being in the madey-upy column. This is the first time I’ve bothered to have a gander and if what wiki has to say on the matter I’ll not be thanking you. But then its wiki and therefore there will be more to it.
best to the bro, and may he be underemployed.
Lit&Deb society = bowtie
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:51 am
Hmm, with a dash of meh! I could get peevish about memes…
July 22nd, 2008 at 5:17 am
Re: The Salmon-pink thing. I feel the same way about those Greek Fisherman’s hats which Helmut Schmidt made popular in the 1980’s. One shouldn’t wear one unless one is a) a fisherman and b) Greek.
Cheers.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:57 am
Memes, I’m against them.
July 22nd, 2008 at 7:59 am
But congrats to your little bro!
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:19 am
Vincent, they live the life of Riley out there on these platforms. Saunas, bowling alleys, gyms, pool rooms, there’s a pastry chef and 24-hour tea and cakes, unlimited free internet access and free phonecalls anywhere in the world. He’ll be ruined!
Conan, memes are a legitimate peeve, my darling. But they make for easy, almost auto-scrivening posts. Good after some wine.
Rand, do you mean this? What a very fashion-forward Chancellor! Gordon Brown is not the style icon we were promised he’d be.
fmc, he’s loving it! He says the people are sound and he’s as easy-going a guy as you could find so he’s getting loads of yarns from the oil guys. There are people from all over the world out there, Brits and Norwegians mainly but also Americans, Angolans, South Africans, Brazillians etc. He paid his dues for many years on the assessment ward of a hospital in the worst area in Glasgow – all junkies, abandoned grannies, violent knife-wielding thugs and malnourished children. Not pretty. I don’t begrudge him this easier life one bit. He’s worked hard and deserves it.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:08 am
Ah japers, I’m only back home in the door and I find I have homework.
Being restricted to such a small number of peeves is something that might peeve me especially with me now realising I have previously unknown peeves such as the application of salmon-pink beyond things not salmon.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:42 am
You have a little bro, Sam? I bet you held his hand when you went to buy sweets from Old Mother Haggerty, the haggard hag of the Hebrides. And now he’ll be holding the hands of grown men, hopefully just to take their pulses.
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Thanks Sam. That case grows more sinister by the hour.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
And now he?ll be holding the hands of grown men, hopefully just to take their pulses.
Beans are not allowed on the rigs due to their flamable possibilities.
Festering fishooks to the meme but I’ll do it because I love talking about me. I like Bold btw, with the money I save on fabric conditioner, me and the missus have a top notch nosh up at a proper restaurant. Gammon steak or better.
July 22nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
well done to the wee bro…..I have fifteen oil men from the rigs booked for dinner tues , wed, and thur. They are gonna be disappointed when they get me!
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm
yes, that case is big news here…but there’s very little actual news being reported about it. from what i hear it’s all very muddled. once again, very proud of my home state. please note sarcasm.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Eolai, especially sofas. A salmon pink sofa could make an atheist believe at least in Hell. I’ve seen two – in one room. I experienced acute sinus pain.
Nanas, her name was Old Mother Reid and she was the sternest looking woman ever to sell sweeties to children.
Bock, How so? Be over in a minute.
Docs, I was really surprised but they do have a smoking area on most rigs, says Wee Bro. They have to be outfitted with special materials at great cost apparently but there is no shortage of money among these oil companies. Bro was talking to a handle-bar-moustachioed ten-gallon hatted fella who is flown to Aberdeen from Texas by business class every two weeks. And they pay monopoly money. Swilling in money they are, I bet they sneeze into twenty quid notes when they have a cold.
Manuel, I bet they all have tummies. I know a lot of people from home who work on the rigs – it’s common in a place where men have traditionally always gone to sea anyway – and they all come back with tummies from the rich living out there. Wee Bro says he can feel his belt getting tight already. And disappointed? If I ever make it over to Belfast I will consider every meal eaten in a restaurant that isn’t your’s a massive let-down. Even thon Ginger one with the lovely menu.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:08 pm
kara, from everything I hear, Portland is one of the best places in the country to live. Your always in the news for being best with per-capita bike commuters and generally being thoughtful and conscientious. Course, I’m sure Oregon’s got it’s backwoods and people with poor dental health. We alls got our backwoods and people with poor dental health. Ain’t that the truth, uh-huh.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:02 am
Congrats on your bro. Must be great to have a doc in the family.
Sorry sweetheart about the me me. It’s on my side bar as Past Imperfect is all one long me me and the world can’t take any more. Don’t be cross.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
The Andrew Hanlon case is horrific – the radio interviews with his brother were so enraging, they really have no control over anything, I hope they nail that cop.
Kudos on such an excellent meme! Turns out my socks are salmon pink so I’m backing away slowly.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:16 am
I hope they nail that cop too; I only just heard of this, but it is so awful.
And boy, am I with you on the news thing — you just hope and pray as many people think it’s stupid as you do, then you wonder if they DO think so, why haven’t they protested more? Do they think that’s as good as it can get?
I loathe salmon pink. I had to wear it recently to help a friend cater for a wedding, and what a dick I felt.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
just noticed this….. i should have a “sponsered by sami and dave” logo on my scrubs!!!!!