July 2012 Open Mic

 

The sassosphere microphone is open, sistas and mistas.

Please step up and dish whatever you like.

 The Sassistas! sponsor Open Mic the last Friday of every month.

Comments

[Flannista]

Okay, who's heading out to Chick-Fil-A?

[Flannista]

Flann has got to hand it to a SassistaLand East couple whose wedding announcement in our town newspaper ended with this sentence:

"After a horrendous year of medical trials and tribulations, the couple look forward to celebrating life and love with a 2013 wedding and will share a new home somewhere in SassistaLand East."

The bride-to-be is a clinical psychologist employed by [I am NOT making this up] "Expressive Therapy".

[Flannista]

Why am I having difficulty finding any reason to be enthusiastic about the London Summer Olympics?

[PEACEsista]

I'm looking forward to following the Olympics, but we need to finish-up Frontier Days first! We're closing it down right hosting 13 family and friends for dinner tonight and ALL beds are made to have six folks sleep over. I bought a new bath mat and mattress cover, to which noway said there is no need to "redecorate" for his family's visit! Some redecorating is needed around here ... but this would not be it! Enjoy the weekend! Go Team USA!

[Flannista]

Whoa, pardner! THIRTEEN for dinner and SIX for sleep overs?

I would need to buy a new house as well as a new bath mat and mattress cover.

Sounds like fun, though.

[Flannista]

MONTHLY MOVIE ROUND-UP:

"War Horse" -- Meh. The horse [spoiler alert] doesn't die, but the whole thing had the look and feel of a Walt Disney movie rather than a serious film about war. Stick with Private Ryan, Spielberg.

"Beasts of the Southern Wild" -- an extraordinary post-Katrina fable produced by a group of friends in New Orleans. It's one mess of a movie, but for some reason, I bought it. The 6-year-old girl who plays Hushpuppy in the film is a revelation.

"Downton Abbey: Season Two": Matissta and I watched all nine episodes in two days. Love everything about it. The music, the costumes, the intrigue. I'm hooked.

"Moonrise Kingdom": What a weird, wacky and ultimately sweet film.

"The Muppets": WONderful fun. Great entertainment for kids and adults.

"Battle Royale": The Japanese version of "The Hunger Games". Extremely violent and a big ol' waste of time.

"The Hiding Place": a 1975 film based on the best-selling book by Corrie Ten Boom. Stunning artistry considering that it was produced by the Billy Graham Association. treesta and I watched it last night. She's back from vacation and we're back to our Thursday night shenanigans. What better way to get back to our routine than a profoundly moving film about the Holocaust?

[treesta]

I think I'll start looking forward to the Olympics after I watch the opening ceremonies tonight. Sounds like PEACE & Noway are enjoying Frontier Days thoroughly. Today, I'm hanging here while someone is replacing the windshield that was cracked somewhere north of Moab, and while my ex is very generously installing ceiling fans in the bedrooms so that our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter will be a little bit more comfortable while they stay with me.

[Flannista]

My next-door neighbor of 22+ years has sold her unit and is moving to North Carolina. Tonight my court is having a shrimp boil to say goodbye. The woman who bought the unit is also coming. Should be interesting.

Cathy was a great neighbor. Hardly made any noise. We knew how to look out for each other without being a pain in each other's butt.

[treesta]

The Hiding Place is indeed a profound movie, and Corrie Ten Boom was an amazing woman. I first read her book back in high school, and it was a 'formative' book in my life. I can't believe that someone can face the kind of hell that she faced in the concentration camps of WWII Germany (for being a part of the underground movement in Holland), and come out with her sense of humanity and love intact.

[Flannista]

What's the big deal about Matt Lauer?

It's a serious question.

When I think of him, nothing registers.

[Flannista]

I was telling treesta that I interviewed Corrie ten Boom at the Christian college I attended. I think she was on a press junket for "The Hiding Place". She came to speak to the student body and I was editor of the student newspaper.

She sparkled. Just sparkled. Here's a link to an excerpt from a PBS program, "The Question of God," that featured her:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/voices/boom.html

[It's not lost on me that Corrie ten Boom wrote "The Hiding Place" with what appears to be a couple of ghostwriters: John and Elizabeh Sherrill.]

[Flannista]

Any opinions about the NCAA sanctions against Penn State?

[treesta]

NCAA sanctions against Penn State - they had to do something. The leadership at Penn State, it appears, were quite aware of Sandusky's actions and turned their backs on the situationS. I actually think Penn State is lucky they weren't banned from playing in the NCAA, period.

[Matissta]

Ah, Frontier Days! Very fond memories. I'd love to go back. Although hosting a dinner for 13 is a lot of work, I'm sure it will be great fun.

noway, "redecorating"? Really? That's pretty funny.

[Matissta]

I LOVE the Summer Olympics! I'm looking forward to them this year, especially because of the location. Although London's not very exotic, I think the history will add to the appeal. Tennis will be played at Wimbledon and soccer at Wembley Stadium. Both great venues.

I do have a grip, however, with the logo and mascot. Both are making me scratch my head.

The logo:

The mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville:

The mascots are definitely going to give people nightmares. One eye, no feet. I can go on...

[Flannista]

Now that you've posted the London Olympics logo and mascot, Matissta, I understand why I'm underwhelmed by the whole thing.

WTF?

A mascot with two eyes would offend one of the participating countries?

[Matissta]

The logo has a worse problem. It's been referred to as a broken "swastika"! And jokingly said, the designer is none other than Lisa Simpson.

[Flannista]

Lisa has two eyes. She ought to have designed the mascot and not the logo.

[Matiss -- thanks, by the way, for posting actual images. I don't know how to do that, but it's nice and makes the sass stream so much more colorful (which is not to say that some of the words aren't colorful).

[Matissta]

Redskins mania has begun now that RG3 has signed with the team. Redskin fans are all ready bragging, even though a single game hasn't been played. And I've never seen so many shirts, caps, and accessories been worn so early in the year.

A lot of pressure to put on one player, but he seems to be handling it well. I hope he doesn't disappoint.

[treesta]

We need something to brag about, Matiss. Once the season starts, all bets are off. RG3 needs a good offensive line to protect him until he adjusts to the NFL. Not sure we have that. We'll see what happens.

The one-eyed mascot is kind of cute.

[Flannista]

Given the fact that I really only have one good eye, I ought not to be so hard on the London Olympics Cyclops.

[Justista]

How about that demonstration of diplomatic skills by Romney? Headline in London paper (one of those huge fonts used by the tabloids) Mitt the Twitt.

[Justista]

I will have some conflicts watching the dressage competition

[treesta]

I chuckled a bit too hard (perhaps guffawed is a better word) when I saw the Mitt the Twitt headlines.

For those of us in the mid-Atlantic area of Sassistasland, here is an article to get us cheering for the Olympics, even if not for the one-eyed Union Jack.

http://v3.whatsupmag.com/thrive/item/2858-maryland_olympians#.UBK8HBw0j5E

[treesta]

OK, Justista, I had to first google the term, 'dressage competition', which I found to be:

Dressage (/ˈdrɛsɑːʒ/ or /drɨˈsɑːʒ/; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a competitive equestrian sport, considered by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training". At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, the horse will respond smoothly to a skilled rider's minimal aids. The rider will be relaxed and appear effort-free while the horse willingly performs the requested movement. Dressage is occasionally referred to as "Horse Ballet". Although the discipline has ancient roots in Europe, dressage was first recognized as an important equestrian pursuit during the Renaissance.

Now, I am
1. Impressed.
2. Curious as to your conflict(s).