Rest Stop

Hello World, Well, things certainly are percolating right along here, and no mistake. We've already reached the last weekend in June (ye gods!) and Wednesday will be July, believe it or not. Also on Wednesday, there will be 183 days ahead of us and 182 days behind us, so that tells you something right there - and not necessarily for the better, I can assure you. And speaking of things that not always better, alert readers may have noticed that none other than Yours Truly was tagged in a photo on FaceBook - that was not only not me, but also from someone I have never heard of, and in a place where I have never been in my entire life. It really makes me wonder why they think that's me, and blithely spreading this misinformation throughout all the wide open wilderness of cyberspace, for all the world to see. Frankly, this casts a completely new and unwelcome shadow of doubt across the veracity of this whole Internet thing, and can't help but call into question the supposed pinpoint accuracy that we have come to expect in our online experiences, I dare say. Next thing you know, they'll be trying to tell me that the Earth isn't flat, but fortunately our old friends the dinosaurs and I can see that one coming a mile away, and then some. Speaking of FaceBook, it reminds me of a recent post from an acquaintance wishing to honor the memory of a dearly departed colleague, with these touching sentiments: "REST IN PIECE." Gee, I certainly hope not! And it goes without saying that the spell-checker's not going to help you on that one, although truth to tell, it shouldn't take a whole suitcase full of brains, and advanced computer software, for anyone to understand the difference between "piece" and "peace," I wouldn't think. Heck, I can do it all by myself, with only my last two addled brain cells, who I have renamed "Brane" and "Sell" for the (homophone) occasion. Of course, last Sunday was Father's Day, and if there was a more perfect time to celebrate all of the magical wonderfulness of these all-too-often unsung heroes in our lives, well, I just don't know what it would be. When it's time to give dear old Dad his due - whether from actual offspring, or devoted pets, or simply grateful hangers-on - we should all make an extra effort to stand up and cheer, by golly. Around here, the resident felines' enthusiasm for their beloved "Daddy Cat" knows no bounds, and they would be glad to shower him with an endless supply of cat poop and hairballs, if left to their own devices. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view - although personally, even though I expected the petitions and press conferences, I thought the protest marches were just way too much) cooler heads prevailed, and we were able to come up with some ideas that were more to his liking. One of these was Pizza Hut's scrumptious new triple chocolate brownie, and let's face it, what's not to love? Admittedly, this was not such a big hit with the cats, which was probably just as well, but it scored high points with Bill, and his renown as a "brownie maven" is firmly established far and wide. My recommendation would be for everyone to run out to the nearest Pizza Hut and pick one up right away, before our cats' underhanded tactics scare them off the idea for good, although at this point, I'm afraid the picket lines are already in place. And speaking of animals run amok, an even more entertaining part of the week was Friday, which was "Take Your Dog To Work Day" according to our friends at Pet Sitters International, who describe themselves as "The world's leading educational organization for professional pet sitters since 1994," and I wouldn't begin to disagree with them. They tell me that the event was first celebrated in 1999, and Friday, June 26, marks its 17th annual observance. It's is an annual event and is always celebrated on the Friday following Father’s Day. They created the day to celebrate the great companions dogs make, promote their adoptions, and support the local pet community as well - and while they encourage employers to experience the joys of all pets in the workplace for one day, not just dogs, there's a reason that their slogan is, "Because who ever heard of working like a cat?!" They welcome cat lovers (and other pets), non-pet owners, and those who cannot participate due to workplace restrictions, and their tracking tools indicate that overall involvement around the event grows each year, with hundreds of thousands of visitors exploring takeyourdog.com each year. Of course, you can also follow TYDTWDay on Facebook and Twitter. In fact, their web site features a picture of President Obama with his dog at the White House, and a Twitter post that asks the musical question, "Don't you wish every day was Take Your Dog To Work Day?" I would say that the President is welcome to run that query past our cats, but he'd have to brave the picket lines first. In other entertainment news, it was many months ago (in fact it might have been last year) we were at the movies and watching upcoming previews - which nowadays could be a showcase for something that's about to open in the next few weeks, or not until 18 months in the future, if then. One that piqued my interest was the story of a young girl whose emotions were portrayed by separate individuals (joy, sadness, fear, anger) and how they work together, or not, in making up her complete personality. Oddly enough, this was exactly the same premise from one of our all-time favorite quirky old TV shows, "Herman's Head," that we used to watch back in the days of steam-powered televisions under the glow of flickering oil lamps. (1991 to be exact.) Apparently we weren't the only people who thought this new animated feature would be right up our alley, because Pixar's "Inside Out" set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend in their history (over $90 million) not counting sequels. And while we're not ones to rush out and see anything as soon as it hits the theaters, friends of ours wanted to see it, so off we went. I thought it was cute enough, and I don't have to remind anyone that everything is better in 3-D, but I would consider it too intense for younger viewers, with some sophisticated humor that would have been lost on the non-adult set. The animation was very creative, although occasionally overwhelming, with an excellent voice cast featuring the talents of Amy Poehler, Lewis Black, Paula Poundstone, Mindy Kaling, Frank Oz, Laraine Newman, John Ratzenberger, and more. Overall I liked it, and it had moments of genuine hilarity, but it wouldn't supplant "Herman's Head" of sainted memory, when all was said and done. But it was a fun night out, and even better was a sort of make-shift dinner of seasoned curly fries and soft pretzel bites with cheese sauce, which was a change of pace for us from our usual concession stand fare. All of which somehow reminds me of an old vaudeville joke where the comic would complain that his apartment was so small ("How small was it?") that he had to go out in the hallway to change his mind. (Rim shot, please!) A foolish person might say that there wasn't enough room to swing a cat, but I'm not getting on the wrong side of that picket line all over again, thanks not, so I'll just let that rest. In pieces. Elle