Sassistas! Our dish on the social soup.

July 2009 Open Mic

The sassosphere microphone is open, sistas and mistas. 
Please step up and dish whatever you like.  We're listening.
For those new to the sassosphere, the Sassistas! sponsor
Open Mic the last Friday of every month.

Sparks of Love

Remember why you needed mason jars in the summer when you were a kid? 

That's right -- for catching fireflies.  Summer is the season for fireflies and this summer, the Sassistas! have seen more than usual.  There's a reason for that.  According to an article in the Washington Post, scientists believe a wet spring has made a lightning-bug-friendly region even more so."  The article also explains how chemical reactions "produce a glowstick light" from the abdomens of fireflies.  What's more, it reveals what those abdomens are really saying.

Seems like it's sex talk.

Firefly flashes are part of a complex system of insect seduction -- male fireflies in the air use distinctive patterns of flashing and flying to signal to females of their species on the ground.  Females then respond with a flash, after a set interval that signals they are of the same species.  Apparently, 2,000 species exist worldwide, so one would want to be sure.  Click here for a graphic on the flash patterns of North American fireflies.

Communicating about love, as we all know, isn't always easy.  In fact, it can kill ya.  According to the Post article, "the come-hither responses are a deadly ruse, from a larger species that has cracked its prey's code.  When the male flies down to investigate, this femme fatale firefly will eat it, extracting chemicals it needs to ward off the things that might eat it."

But just when we think this sad and dangerous love story is over, we learn this: "Fireflies spend years as larvae underground and then emerge to fly only for a week or two.  Their only mission is to reproduce before they die, and more than half of males will fail."

Someone hand the Sassistas! some tissues, please.  While we dab at our eyes, why don't you share your memories of fireflies.  Why do they so fascinate us?

Shaker Design

The Sassistas! are not talkin' 18th-Century Shaker design.

We're talkin' 21st-Century Shaker design that is "a feat of hydraulic engineering and high-tech sealing technology -- a neater, cooler, easier way to mix cocktails"!

We're talkin' the new Flip-Top Cocktail Shaker!  According to its web page, this barware is:

 . . . shaking up the cocktail shaker market with a patented Flip-top mechanism that does away with the usual separate strainer and lid.  The Flip-Top Cocktail Shaker opens and closes with the touch of a finger . . . the first real innovation in cocktail shakers since Prohibition.

Apparently, this one-finger action is the BIGGEST advantage to the Flip-Top. The web page even includes a video of the finger in action.

The Sassistas! have a couple of questions:  Would you pay 30 bucks for one of these things?  If so, why?  Last, what do you typically use to stir and/or strain your drinks?  Click here to see the Sassitas! high-tech 21st-Century Shaker design.

Cop vs. Doc

The photograph accompanying this post has appeared on the front page of nearly every major newspaper in the United States since it was first taken on July 16.  

You know what it depicts: the arrest of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (center), the director of Harvard University's W.E.B. DuBois Institute of African and African American Research, by Cambridge, Mass. police officers, including Sgt. James Crowley (right).

Yesterday, the Mass. police released copies of the 911 call that sparked Gates controversial arrest.  All that is clear is that the initial caller did not mention the race of the two men she saw trying to push in the front door of Gates's house.  According to Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas at a news conference yesterday, listeners will "have to draw their own conclusions" from the audiotapes.

Seems like everyone has drawn their own conclusions.  The Sassistas! were on vacation when this controversy erupted and missed most of it because they did not read newspapers or listen to radio or watch television while they were gone.  Nevertheless, we know the caliber of commenting here in the 'sphere and would like to hear the conclusions you may have drawn.

Flannista read two editorials that seemed to capture her conclusions (as of this writing).  The first is "Bite Your Tongue" by Maureen Dowd from this past Sunday's New York Times.  In it she writes:

From Shakespeare to Hitchcock, mistaken identity makes for a powerful narrative.

A police officer who’s proud of his reputation for getting along with black officers, and for teaching cadets to avoid racial profiling, feels maligned to be cast as a racist white Boston cop.

A famous professor who studies identity and summers in Martha’s Vineyard feels maligned to be cast as a black burglar with backpack and crowbar.

Race, class and testosterone will always be a combustible brew.

In the same issue of the New York Times, Glenn C. Loury, author of Race, Incarceration and American Values, writes in a column entitled: "Obama, Gates and the American Black Man":

I hope that something of lasting value might come from the uproar surrounding the Gates arrest. But my firm conviction is that change will not come about from the moral posturing of politicians or from more intense “sensitivity training” for police officers. Nor will it come from the president having a beer with Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley, as Mr. Obama suggested in his follow-up meeting with the press on Friday.

In your opinion, how will change come?  When will Americans be able to talk straight with one another about race?

She-ness Envy

You know the saying that when the cat's away, the mice will play?

Well, when the Sassistas! walked into Flannista's home upon return from their Wyoming vacation, they spotted the above:  Flann's Condoleezza Rice's action figure comparing herself to the Michelle Obama Inaugural Doll. We get why Condoleezza would compare herself to Michelle . . . there she is . . . statuesque, stylish and confident -- gliding down the steps of the Inaugural Ball in a powdery white chiffon gown.  Condi's action figure came with no gown.  Just a simple navy blue pants suit and pearls.

Here's the Sassistas! challenge:  caption this picture.  The winner of the BEST caption will receive one of the FOUR shot glasses the Sassistas! brought back from Cheyenne Frontier Days.  We'd like to thank Jerseysista for coming up with the FABulous name for this post while she was visiting the Sassistas! over the weekend. And a special thanks to Matissta for the great photo!

Caption the photo!  Potentially win a shot glass!  Go for it!

CFD Haiku

 

Pictured above are PEACEsista and nowayasista pointing out the plane the Sassistas! were flyin' home in from a week in Wyoming.  The Sassistas! requested a special flyover and the pilot was proud to oblige. 

The following CFD (Cheyenne Frontier Days) haiku were sent to the Sassistas! yesterday from PEACEsista.  We loved them so much, we had to post them.  They beautifully sum up our week of cowgirling:

learning her hat size
western adventure begins
buying a Stetson


                  bronco leaps and falls
                  sympathetic eyes spring tears
                  hearts break with his back


caught-up in rigging
bronc tosses cowboy rag doll
unconscious rider


                  hearing soldier son
                  release trauma with stories
                  a holy moment


after disasters
"that never happened before"
she makes birthday wish


                  a proper lady
                  only for another hour
                  riding in parade


breakfast burritos
on hot rodeo morning
then friends ride away

Thanks again, PEACEsista, for the beautiful haiku . . . and memories.

Muchas Gracias

The Sassistas! know they've had a good time on their vacation when four shot glasses and two beer glasses are among their souvenirs.

Also among their souvenirs are a couple of other things.  First, many memories.  On the way to the airport, the Sassistas! made a list of EVERYTHING we had done in the past week.  Here are just the highlights:

• Buying a real Stetson cowboy hat
• Taking a tour of the Library of the Year in Cheyenne, WY (that PEACEsista was pivotal in building)
• Seeing George Strait in concert among 22,000 cowpokes
• Chowin' on buffalo burgers
• Beer, beer, beer
• Participating as "proper ladies" in the world-famous Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade
• Buying cowboy boots
• Watching the Professional Bull Ridin' Competition
• Hiking the Gap Lakes in Medicine Bow National Park
• Cruisin' at 110 mph in nowayasista's kick-ass Mustang
• Meeting Amanda's horse, Miss Mandy
• Patio cigars
• Pancake breakfast for 10,000
• Breakfast burritos with green chile

So many memories is the first thing among our souvenirs.  The second thing is muchas gracias.  Many thanks.  The Sassistas! lost count of how many times either PEACEsista or nowayasista responded this way when we expressed our gratitude:  "Our pleasure" -- and they said it like it was no big deal.  Like going out of their way for folks was something they did everyday.

We learned a lot this past week . . . about good cigars, about good beer, about a great 8-second bull ride.  Mostly, we learned about good hospitality and how easy it can be.  Thank you, PEACE and noway.  You gave us one helluva good time.  What can we say but muchas gracias?  And, we love you.

Boot Camp

It ain't easy finding the perfect pair of cowboy boots.

On Tuesday afternoon, PEACEsista remembered that Flannista had said something about purchasing a pair -- and she was determined that Flann and Matiss visit every cowboy boot store in Cheyenne . . . even doing internet research ahead of time.  Knowing how much Flann HATES to shop, both PEACEsista and Matiss demonstrated amazing patience as Flann went to four different stores and tried on at least 15 pair of boots from top boot makers such as Ariat, Lucchese, Tony Lama and Justin.

Pictured above is Flann at the beginning of the shopping trip.  Below is what Flann ended up with: a pair of Nocona boots handcrafted by Justin.

Whaddya think, parders?  Is Flann ready for professional bull ridin' or what?

SHOPPING TIP:  Do NOT ask to look at Tony ROMO (Dallas Cowboys quarterback) boots like Flann did consistently, much to PEACE and Matiss' embarrassment.  It's Tony LAMA, not Tony ROMO.

Close to Heaven

Yesterday, the Sassistas! hiked the Gap Lakes Trail at Medicine Bow National Park in Wyoming.  Pictured above is Flannista on the left, Matissta in the middle and PEACEsista's son, Peter, throwing a snowball.  Imagine . . . walking across a snow field at the end of July! 

While hiking back, we passed a couple -- both senior citizens, but still raring to go -- who said, "If this isn't the way to heaven, we don't know what is."  We told them that they were on their way.

We wish you all could have been with us.  Truly magnificent scenery -- and we didn't have to wear period costumes!

Everyone Loves a Parade

Yesterday mornin', the Sassistas! participated in the Cheyenne Frontier Days Grand Parade! 

Parade fans got to see 52 carriages that comprise one of the largest historic collections in the world.  It takes as many as 500 horses to pull the rolling display.

A couple of weeks ago, PEACEsista volunteered our services as "proper ladies" in the Yellowstone coach pictured above (driven by cowgirl Stephanie).  Part of the deal was dressing in period costumes (see the Sassistas! pictured right) and saying "proper" things to bystanders all along the parade route.  Interestingly, when Flannista yelled to bystanders that she was a "proper lady," some actually laughed and yelled back, "No way you're a proper lady!"

Perhaps they had caught a glimpse of the flask Flann had hidden in her bustle. 

All kidding aside, it truly was thrilling to participate in this historic parade.  Thanks PEACEsista for the wonderful opportunity!

Have you ever participated in a parade?  We'd love to know about it.  Please share!