Toys

More than 70% of the world’s toys are made in China, most of them in Guangdong province.

I'm 90% sure they are just napping in that last picture. Unless all that lead paint finally got to them ...

Britney Spears

I'll admit it, I'm starting to feel a little sorry for this train wreck. I mean first she married Kevin Federline, clearly a mistake, then she let him knock her up ... twice. Her career totally tanked, everyone made fun of her and how white trash she got. Then they broke up, she was left with two kids, both of which she didn't take care of (fractured skull, almost dropped on the pavement, driving with no car seat etc. etc. etc.). She performed at the VMAs looking drunk or drugged or something, she looked out of it and her 'big comeback' sucked ass. She is all over the place partying and doing drugs, she shaved her head and entered rehab like three times in a week it seems like. Then just this week she got dropped by her new agent (it was brave of him to take her on in the first place), she is still getting crap about her VMA performance, she got ordered to do random drug testing in her ongoing battle for custody with K.Fed, and just today she got charged with felony hit and run for hitting a car and leaving back in August, all of which the paparazzi caught on tape.

Man, when one types it all out like that, it's mildly impressive! Now I do still think she is crazy and is making a bad situation worse by many of her actions, but I'm actually starting to feel a little sorry for her in all her madness. She isn't normal, so she can't do anything without everyone jumping all over her. I'm unsure where this post is headed, because I don't feel sorry enough to stop reading all about her on Perez and then judging her from my cushy little anonymous bubble.

Steve Miller

I have been waiting for most of the summer to attend the Steve Miller concert. Now a little background, I love Steve Miller, as with most of my older music taste (The Eagles, James Taylor, Chicago, The Beach Boys etc) it was nurtured by my parents and how they always had music playing around the house. Steve Miller is no exception. So when my Grandpa read me the names of the bands performing at the fair this year (he gets free tickets and it was my year to choose), I of course jumped on Steve Miller. Last year me and my sister and her friend big Mike went to see the Beach Boys and we got to sit on the infield not all that far back from the stage it was pretty sweet. So here is a recount of the adventure of Steve Miller:

Gaby and I left Bellingham shortly before 5:00 for the concert that was to start at 7:30, now I knew this would be cutting it close, but I was hoping that traffic would not be too bad and we could stop by my Grandpa's house to say hi and thank him for the tickets. Well we got in the car, and of course traffic was horrendous around Everett, then once we took the exit there was insane road construction which sent me on a detour through the Fife High School parking lot where I was almost hit by a 16-year-old driver with no reverse lights on his ancient Honda. So we weave our way around Puyallup until we get to the fair, it is precisely 7:36 when we arrive, we can hear someone performing. So after getting into the wrong lines, going to the bathroom and just generally wandering around lost, we notice that our seats are in the grandstands, not in the infield. The row 9 that I had been bragging about, was in fact, row 9 of the grandstands, probably 100 rows from the stage ... at least I had a good view? So we sit on our metal bench and watch the opener who I swear was playing Steve Miller songs which just confused me, I thought "Steve Miller isn't a black man dressed like Jimi Hendricks who plays guitar with his teeth ... right?". No. Eventually Steve Miller came on. He was amazing. He opened with some classics including my favorite song of all time "True Fine Love", it was great to hear it played live. He went into a blues set for a little over an hour, and brought out the opener Randy Hansen. I will admit, he lost me around hour two, the blues stuff was great, but lets be honest I was there for the greatest hits. Well he closed in amazing fashion with "The Joker" and then during the encore "Serenade", "Jet Airliner", "Swingtown" all the good stuff. Then we drove back up to Bellingham, leaving Puyallup at about 11:00. This was not a smart move on my part. I will admit it, I was doing some hardcore head nodding on the drive, so unsafe, and very very stupid. BUT we got back ok, around 1:30 and I passed out until 7:05 when I had to get up and dressed for work at 7:30. This summer ... lots of being out late and waking up early. I just want to sleep in!

Steve Miller (the older one, like I saw) is pictured. He is, in fact, not a black man dressed like Jimi Hendricks who plays guitar with his teeth.

Aliens

Aliens are sending down poison from the sky!

A fireball fell from the sky and slammed into southern Peru over the weekend, creating a huge crater that emitted a sickeningly smelly gas, local authorities said. More than 600 villagers fell ill, the Peruvian radio network RPP reported Tuesday.
How are they trying to cleverly disguise their efforts? Not by making us glow green of course!

Limache told RPP that the gases emanating from the crater caused nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and stomach pain — so much so that authorities were considering calling a state of emergency. The newspaper La Republica reported that seven policemen became ill and were taken to a hospital.

So there you have it. Our friendly neighbors in the sky are not being so friendly anymore ...

Bus Pass

Well today I bit (is that right?) the bullet and went and picked up my bus pass. Now a little background on why I consider this biting the bullet:

1. The bus pass initiative was passed by only 1800 or so people (out of 13,000 students at WWU) by 80%. They have since said that it was passed by 80%, no, it hasn't.
2. Everyone has to buy the bus pass, it is included in tuition, no matter if you want it or not.
3. It has increased tension in the parking office 10 fold.
4. It has turned parking into the bad guys on several different areas, only a couple points are valid.
5. They are saying 'everyone gets a free bus pass' no they don't.
6. They made a lot of promises that they are not holding true on, late night service and expanded services.
7. The late night shuttle is only good for Western students, people can't just pay a fare, which I don't think is right. And they are using our shuttles, not WTA buses!
8. WTA isn't doing nearly enough even though we are giving them THOUSANDS of dollars.
9. The sustainability people are stuck on their high horse.
10. I didn't wanna go to the library to pick up my card haha.

The whole thing just kinda irks me, not to mention that people are coming into the office trying to buy their passes and we tell them we don't have them, and they get pissed. Really pissed. We literally have three signs posted around the office, one on a window facing the road, one on the front door, and a sandwich board literally right out front of the door and people still walk in and bitch. Really its the other people that piss me off, but oh well. I am getting a discounted pass (compared to last year) so I guess I should be happy. It just sucks for everyone who won't ride the bus!

extras

I recently was introduced to a hilarious show called Extras. It's made by Ricky Gervais the guy who created The Office. It's a British show so it's a different kind of humor, but it's a lot like the office only its about a guy who is a movie and TV extra always trying to get parts and whatnot. That was horrible description, but it's bloody hilarious. It even makes me type in a British accent. Check it out.

the plague

The plague is back! Just as Dwight Schrute predicted:

A woman in Apache County is battling an infection of the plague, and state health officials are warning the public that the disease appears to be on an upward trend in the state and more cases are likely.
The human case is the first reported in the state since 2000, said Craig Levy, vector borne disease program manager with the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Here we go again ...