Culture | Piss and Moan

Can’t hear you

Posted on April 11, 2019 by backuphill

fried meat beside sliced lemon and white mustard

Photo by Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com

We are an entertainment society, as in we all want to be entertained all the time. Look at our culture. We carry around computers in our hands that are used for some communication, but mostly for entertainment.

It comes in various forms, but usually there is some kind of entertainment even when you go out to eat. TVs on the wall. Touch pads of some sort on the table. Music playing overhead. A live band. You are likely to find at least one of these forms of entertainment in a dining establishment near you.

The other day I was out to eat at a place and the music was so loud (not a band, just overhead) that I couldn’t talk with the person across the table from me. It felt like we had to shout at each other just to tell the other person we couldn’t hear what they were saying because of the music.

We probably should have left, but instead endured the abuse of our ears while we ate.

Maybe I am just getting old, though I don’t think it is that. I like loud music, but there is a time and place for it. When it comes to being social with others I don’t think music blaring is an appropriate time to give the speakers a workout. Most people like to visit while they eat.

So, is this becoming common practice these days? I noticed a while back while out with my family as well, though it wasn’t as bad as the last place it was still rather annoying.

Friends, what do you know about this? Are you similarly annoyed by the rising volume of music in restaurants?

Flakey flakeness

Posted on April 5, 2019 by backuphill

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OK, “flakeness” is apparently a word I made up. No matter. It fits the description just fine.

Ever tried to sell something on Facebook Marketplace? Sometimes success. Sometimes utter failure.

I think I have talked about this in the past, but I don’t remember and can’t find the post if I did. But, really people are just flakes. Flakey Flakeness to the core.

How do you say you want to buy something, agree to a time and place, ask to be given advanced notice when you’re almost there, and THEN not show up? Don’t answer any more messages or texts? Really? Damn, people, get it together.

Follow through.

Say what you’ll do and do what you say.

Courtesy. It’s a cool thing we should still expect.

Stop the flakeness already!

The line cutter

Posted on April 2, 2019 by backuphill

group of people walking near clear glass window with a view of white airplane parked during daytime

Photo by Tim Gouw on Pexels.com

Yo, dude, never mind me. I wasn’t standing here, in line, waiting my turn like a civilized person.

Ever had that happen to you? Of course you have. I am sure it happens way more often than you’d like, in fact. Because, you know, the people who read this blog are all rational and intelligent people who like order.

In the last week, it has happened at Starbucks and Home Depot. Minding my own business, waiting patiently for my turn in line, when some jackwagon walks up and jumps in line without looking to see if there were people in line. Yes, lady, we’re all just standing here for our health.

Confession time…about a month ago, I was that jackwagon. It was totally not on purpose though and I apologized PROFUSELY when I discovered that I had jumped in line in front of people who were waiting. It was at the grocery store and they were standing in an aisle waiting for the register to open up (in my defense, they were more than 8 feet away). I looked. It didn’t appear at first glance that people were waiting, so I jumped in line. Only as I got started on the self-checkout that the lady standing in the front of the line in the aisle came to start her self-checkout did I realize that there had been a line. She was gracious and didn’t curse me out, but good grief did I feel bad.

The Starbucks lady? She didn’t feel bad at all. I guess her overwhelming need for that frappe just overrode her sense of common decency and humanity. The guy at Home Depot? Yeah, no such remorse from him either. He just dragged the store associate to another aisle and took his sweet time asking questions while the rest of us waited for the associate to come back.

So, in conclusion, let’s all slow down a little today and take it easy. Nothing is really that important. Be courteous. Be kind. Be patient. Be polite.

Be in line.

RSVP means nothing

Posted on March 29, 2019 by backuphill

advertisement businessman hands handwriting

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Yep, I said it.

You used to be able to expect some courtesy out of people when planning something like a party or gathering or whatever. Because, after all, you are planning something you want an RSVP for.

Common courtesy has become something of a lost…concept…these days. In a world where “Hey you do you and I’ll do me” seems to fly but no one is really good at doing anything anymore. Everyone is just half-assing their way through life.

OK, to be fair. not everyone. There are still some responsible adults out there. I don’t want to over generalize, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, if you get a request for an RSVP – DO IT! Otherwise it wouldn’t have been asked for.

Just do it. (stupid Nike…)

“Hi, I’d like to RSVP for ______________”

It’s just the right thing to do.

Time for a face palm

Posted on March 26, 2019 by backuphill

As if the nation didn’t hear a collective groan from pundits, media personalities, celebrities, and just Democrats in general upon the submission and conclusion of the Mueller Report.

A large segment of the population has waited with bated breath for a conclusion of collusion. What they got instead was their “worst nightmare”? Not sure how the public can openly root and cheer for the demise of a sitting president, but that’s what has been happening.

A whole host of people have waited so impatiently to get dirt on the president so they can kick him out of office. They despise him so much they are willing to perpetuate lies (yes, we know he lies too) and spin information with no reliable source. They have undermined their own democracy for an agenda they can’t justify.

No one deserves a bigger face palm than those who have waited and waited only to find their hopes and dreams dashed with the truth. The problem is, the truth isn’t what they wanted in the first places to the immediately parse, spin, and suggest more conspiracy theories. The hate and vitriol has been astonishing, and quite frankly embarrassing.

I am glad this is over but come on people, it’s time to move on and do the work of the people! The media needs to stop commentating and editorializing everything they “report” and be more transparent about their sources so that information can be vetted and verified.

I am a Trump voter but not necessarily a supporter. I voted the way I did because he was/is better than the alternative, sad but true. I am not happy with all he does and says, but I am happy with some. Did I wonder if the collusion was true? Sure. Did I hope it wasn’t? Yes. Do I want him to be success? Heck yes! I don’t want any president to fail.

So, for those of you out there having to eat a whole flock of crows – get to it and be honest about it!

If you deserve a face palm, I have a palm available if you need it. I would be happy to help you out.

In the meantime, I will continue to do my own face palm as you act like children because you didn’t get what you wanted. You aren’t that three-year old in the cereal aisle at the supermarket, so stop acting like it.

It’s lost on me

Posted on March 20, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Anastasiya Lobanovskaya on Pexels.com

Mysteries of life. Mysteries in life. Whatever, just mysteries.

In my years of life I have many things that cause me to pause and wonder. There are just some things I just don’t understand and I guess I probably never will. Why do people do the things they do?

Today’s mystery? Why do women color their hair a color that isn’t a hair color?

Maybe it’s because I’m “a dumb boy.” Maybe I really can blame it on my maleness. Or, could it be that women are just incomprehensible? There is no way to figure out women so why bother? Maybe it’s a combination of both. I don’t really know. But what I do know is that I am seeing more and more women color their hair in NOT natural hair colors and I wonder why.

Example: I saw a picture on Instagram of a former student who is now in her late 20s who is the mom to several children and she just dyed her hair a bright pink color. I am not talking highlights. I am talking flat out, all the way, bright pink – there is no hiding it pink. She says, “It makes her feel more like herself.” What does that mean??

I have never understood why people feel the need to dye their hair a color that isn’t natural. Is it for attention? It is to be unique? Is it to stand out in a crowd? I understand that some people would want to hide the gray or maybe want to have highlights or even just want to try a different natural color. But, to do something that is just so radical, well, it just doesn’t compute.

So, what makes a woman feel the need to make such a change?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Look how far we’ve come

Posted on March 8, 2019 by backuphill

**This post is totally gluten free.**

I am not sure the title for this little post is a positive thing or a negative thing, but I am definitely leaning towards the negative.

I noticed yesterday that there was some shampoo that was “gluten free”. OH REALLY?

That’s just absolutely great because I was going to drink it (just to see what it tasted like) but I was worried about my allergy to gluten. Since the bottle has now clarified that it is gluten free, drink away! I also noticed the conditioner was gluten free as well, so I’ll be chugging some of that next.

Alright, alright. Truth be told, I didn’t drink it. I was just using that as an example of how stupid our species has become. Two reasons:

We have become so weak as humans that we can’t tolerate gluten in things we don’t even consume.
To sell a product, companies have labeled things a certain way in order pander to people who are afraid of everything, even when the product didn’t contain the ingredient in the first place.

If we survive to the end of the century, it will be a miracle. It won’t be war. It won’t be climate change. It won’t be the plague.

It will be fear.

What products should be advertised as gluten free now? “Gluten Free Tires” perhaps?

It cuts not so deep

Posted on February 28, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels.com

The morning ritual of shaving (something my face can’t handle on a daily basis so I alternate) has got to be one of the worst forms of torture. Can I just stop hair growth on my face?

For a tiny little razor, it sure makes my face bleed red. How is that possible?

The blades are minuscule, and for the most part they lay flat on my face. I try to keep the angle correct, yet somehow I end up with red spots and scrapes and my face looks like I was attacked by a lawnmower. Those little cuts are just enough to be annoying but not deep enough to be a medical emergency.

Ugh, I hate it. And yet, I don’t really have an alternative. So, the torture continues…every other day.

Just a number

Posted on February 20, 2019 by backuphill

top view photo of ceramic mugs filled with coffees

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Raise your hand if you like coffee. Raise your hand if you have at least two cups of coffee a day. Finally, raise your hand if you have a favorite coffee cup.

Yeah, I thought so. I do too. I like coffee. I have at least two cups of coffee per day. I also have a favorite coffee cup. Well, to be fair, I have a favorite coffee cup at home and also one at work (oh, and include one favorite travel mug as well).

So, I generally use only two coffee cups per day. However, if you are also like me, you probably have a collection of about 63 coffee cups, most of which never get used. Right?

So what’s the deal? Why do people “collect” coffee cups they never (or rarely) use? Moreover, why do people give coffee cups as gifts period? In most cases the giver has to assume the receiver already has a cup they like/use and doesn’t need another cup to clutter up the cupboards. So why give it in the first place? Do you think you are so important that the receiver will give up their favorite cup just for you? Arrogance!

If you go to a coffee shop, you see all the different options there. If you go to a big box store, you see all the options there. If you go to a novelty shop, you see all the options there. Here’s the kicker, if you go to a thrift store you can see the myriad of options there! All those discarded and unwanted coffee cups…

So why do people keep making, selling, buying, and giving them?

What’s your number? How many do you have in the cupboard?

Marketing mayhem

Posted on February 14, 2019 by backuphill

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Anyone else already tired of today?

Anyone else think this day, Valentine’s Day, is dumb?

The stores love it because it is just a marketing bonanza filled with stupid little gifts. Money, money, money! The cash registers ring non-stop.

Ever notice that the price for things that are normally reasonable suddenly go way up? Case in point, flowers. A dozen roses at Safeway any other time of the year is $14.99. The days surrounding Valentine’s Day…$45.99. Seems like a scam to me! Hopefully you ordered yours early or you may be outta luck, or pay through the nose as the price probably went up.

Sappy cards @ $5.99 a pop. Little trinkets and stuffed animals @ $7.99. Chocolate, of course varies on size and quality, is priced like there is going to be a shortage in the near future. I mean, really, nothing says “I love you” like a box of chocolates. I love you so much, why don’t you add a few pounds.

Don’t even think about reservations at the last minute! Prepare to drop a fortune if you are going to a special restaurant. You might as well just hit up the McDonalds drive-thru and go home to sit on the couch.

Alright. I am sure you get it. I’ll stop.

Today is stupid.

Got a Valentine’s Day horror story? Do you agree with me? Tell me in the comments!