Bad Losers

At my day job, we're having a talent show at our Chistmas party. In preparation, the want to be acts auditioned this week. Only ten acts made it to the finals. My department's act made it into the top 10. I'm not in it, I'm just a groupie. At lunch today, however, right after the finalists and 3 standby acts were announced by email, one of the ladies who had tried out and only made it as far as third standby, was mouthing off about how unfair and terrible the contest is. She went on for about half an hour, spewing hate and sour grapes as if she thought it made the finalists and judges and contest committee sound bad. To me, at least, she's the one that sounded terrible. Although she's older than me and far taller, she pouted like a spoiled little girl, ranting and raving about how she'll never enter a contest at work again, and indeed, she won't ever bring her guitar to perform for anything else at work, either. I'm lousy at confrontation, so I stayed mum as did the rest of our table. Really, if you enter a contest, you have to realize not everybody will win. She was mad also that she stayed late and wasted her time, that she auditioned with a Christmas song while other contestants auditioned with really exciting stuff as if that was unfair to her. She's not the only adult who's pouting this week. Have you seen William Shatner's (Captain Kirk - Star Trek) You Tube video that everybody's talking about? He's really torqued that he wasn't invited to George Takei's (Sulu) recent wedding. I feel for the guy. I know how terrible it feels to be excluded. Probably most of us do. I'd feel sorrier for my coworker, too, if she'd acted with more decorum. Much as I adore Shatner as both Captain Kirk and now as Denny Craig in Boston Legal, I think it's a mistake and not very good form to attack people. It makes him look worse than the person who did the original wrong - although I've heard that Takei said he did invite Shatner. Who knows? Do I really care? I still think it's wrong to go on You Tube or the lunch table at work or anywhere and blast someone. Here's Shatner's You Tube video. See and decide for yourself.

Captain Kirk is my friend

Captain Kirk is my friend.














For real.

I am soooooooooo pumped. I mean it. I'm not being sarcastic.

I'm a huge Star Trek fan. When I was a teen, I was in love with Mr. Spock. I thought Captain Kirk was cute, but I was a Spock woman 100%. Now that I'm older, I like Kirk. Actually, as an erotic romance author of menage, I could see myself with Kirk and Spock (I mean back in their ST days).

I also happen to think Denny Craig (Boston Legal) is downright adorable.

Isn't it cool that we can be "friends" with all kinds of people, even Captain Kirk/William Shatner via the Internet? Specifically, through MySpace.

Okay, I'm not completely brain dead. Shatner only has about 57,000 "friends" on MySpace. He probably has a PR firm who handles all this. He probably never glances at his MySpace or FaceBook profiles. He may not even know he's got a profile on MySpace. It's time consuming to make friends on MySpace.

Still, it feels cool to say this, which means I'm a big nerd. I know. I'll be a Star Trek fan as long as I live, even if that's till 2000.

I think the law of 7 is neat. I'm sure you've heard of it, also known as the "Kevin Bacon Game".

For the few who don't know of this, it means that all of us on earth are within 7 people of knowing everybody else on earth. It's not so hard to imagine.

My ex-boss knew the Prime Minister of Jamaica who knew the Queen of England who knew the Beatles. Yeah! Just how many people do the Queen and the Beatles know???

So now I have a connection to William Shatner, to Captain Kirk, and through him to Mr. Spock, and through him to all the Vulcans and Klingons, etc. etc.

Have you heard the joke about "Bubba and the Pope"? It's one of my favorite jokes of all times. Here it is. Enjoy!

Bubba was bragging to his boss one day, "You know, I know everyone there is to know. Just name someone, anyone, and I know them."

Tired of his boasting, his boss called his bluff, "Okay, Bubba, how about Tom Cruise?"

"Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it." So Bubba and his boss fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise's door, and sure enough, Tom Cruise, shouts, "Bubba! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!"

Although impressed, Bubba's boss is still skeptical. After they leave Cruise's house, he tells Bubba that he thinks Bubba's knowing Cruise was just lucky.

"No, no, just name anyone else," Bubba says.

"President Clinton," his boss quickly retorts.

"Yes," Bubba says, "I know him, let's fly out to Washington."

And off they go. At the White House, Clinton spots Bubba on the tour and motions him and his boss over, saying, "Bubba, what a surprise, I was just on my way to a meeting, but you and your friend come on in and let's have a cup of coffee first and catch up." Well, the boss is very shaken by now, but still not totally convinced.

After they leave the White house grounds, he expresses his doubts to Bubba, who again implores him to name anyone else.

"The Pope," his boss replies. "Sure!" says Bubba.

"My folks are from Poland, and I've known the Pope a long time."

So off they fly to Rome. Bubba and his boss are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Bubba says, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go upstairs and I'll come out on the balcony with the Pope." and he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican. Sure enough, half an hour later Bubba emerges with the Pope on the balcony. But by the time Bubba returns, he finds that his boss has had a heart attack and is surrounded by paramedics.

Working his way to his boss' side, Bubba asks him, "What happened?" His boss looks up and says, "I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the man next to me said, "Who's that on the balcony with Bubba?"

* So how come I don't know Bubba? I'll have to see if he's on MySpace...