Have You Heard of the Mummers Parade?

Since I do not live on the East Coast, I do not get all the news that others might get. I have never heard of anything called a Mummer’s Parade, but it is a really big deal in Philadelphia every year. It has been going on since the 1800’s. So why have I never heard of it? This is like Philadelphia’s Mardi Gras – big floats, fabulous costumes, music, dancing – a huge all day street party. They even judge the entries and give out trophies to five different Divisions of parades entries:

  • Comic Division
  • Wench Brigades
  • Fancy Division
  • String Bands
  • Fancy Brigades

I’ve never even heard of the word mummer, so I looked it up. “A masked or costumed merrymaker.” So I guess all the Mardi Gras and Carnival parade people are technically mummers, too.

I don’t know that I will ever have a chance to be in Philadelphia on New Year’s Day, but if I do have the chance, I will go with the plan to see the Mummers, too. The Mardi Gras parade I saw was so much fun! I wish I had a fancy costume and could party with people at one of the carnival balls. That would be something to look forward to all year long!

Have You Been to a Dog Park?

Most days I take my dog for a short walk in my own yard every morning. Then, in the afternoon we walk up and down the street in my neighborhood. That’s the only safe place I know and that all the exercise we get. I’ve never taken him to a dog park. In fact, I don’t think there are any dog parks anywhere around this area. I think there is one about an hour from here, but that is awfully far to go for a walk in the park with my dog.

Oddly enough, there was a movie on cable last night called, “Dog Park.” It’s about several people in California who have dogs and develop romantic relationships because they meet at the dog park or dog obedience classes or they work together. I admit that I did not watch the entire movie, but watch I did watch was awful. It is a really lame story line, the sound track sucks, and the actors are pathetic. I have no idea how this movie even got made. Do not waste your time watching this awful movie, even if you are sick in bed with the flu and can’t find the remote control to change the channel. The dogs in the movie are the only interesting characters, especially the two Boxers.

Great TV Commercials This Month

All the advertisers have really stepped up the TV commercials so they can get as much of our Christmas shopping money as possible. I have really noticed an increase in car commercials – every brand, but especially the luxury cars like Lexus.

Here is what I don’t understand. How many people really think that buying a car for their loved one is a good Christmas gift? How many people really can do that anyway? Wouldn’t that be a once in a lifetime kind of thing for anyone but the most wealthy, privileged family?

I can tell you that even though my parents were financially successful, buying a car as a gift was never ever something anyone in my family would ever consider. It’s just not done. My parents will spend a lot of money on great Christmas gifts, but a car is a practical item that is handled separately from gifts. It really does not matter how many nice car commercials they show in December, I will not be buying a new car for anyone as a Christmas gift. It will never happen.

Finally Got to Watch the Movie Version of The Help

Book cover of The Help

Having rad the book over two years ago, I have been wanting to see the movie version of The Help. I missed the chance to see it when it was first in theaters, and for some reason I did not notice when it became available at Redbox.

Thank goodness for cable TV and On Demand movies. Some of my friends love Netflix, but I get along fine with Comcast movie channels, On Demand, and Redbox. That is plenty of resources for watching most movies.

So I stumbled on the movie guide and found The Help was running on Cinemax. I flipped right to the channel and caught the end of the movie – just the credits part. Then in just a couple of minutes the movie started from the beginning because Cinemax was running the movie back to back for the whole day. I don’t know if they normally do a single movie marathon like that, but i lucked out and got to watch it. It was really just as good as the book, and the actors were cast perfectly!

Pay More Than the Minimum Due

Ever since I got my very first credit card – thanks to J. C. Penneys! – I have tried to pay off the entire amount due on the card every month. I was using my card for convenience, such as wanting to go shopping a few days before the day I actually get my paycheck. I can still go shopping, put the purchase on my credit card, and then when I do get paid I can send the money to the credit card company.

Sometimes I use the credit card to buy more than I can afford, and when I do that I know in advance that I am agreeing to pay interest charges on that money until I pay it back. I don’t like to pay interest charges, but that’s the price I have to pay for not waiting until I have the cash in hand to make that purchase.

When I get my credit card bill, the amount of interest that I am being charged always gets my attention and makes me feel guilty. Call me old fashioned, but I do not like to owe people money. It is not a good feeling. So, I always pay more than the minimum amount due when I get the bill – even if I can’t pay the whole amount like I prefer, I can still put as much money toward paying off the balance. If all I pay is the minimum amount then the balance does not go down to zero. It’s really just simple math.

Do You Trust Wikipedia?

One of my first sources of information on the internet is Wikipedia and I love that site! I probably use Wikipedia 3 or 4 times a week – on average. Sometimes I will look things up and see related subjects or information that does deeper and I use it repeatedly throughout the whole research project. To me, it is just like the Encyclopedia Brittanica that I used in the school library when I was a kid. Except using it online gets me there faster and easier.

So my cousin, Gail, is a senior in high school and was asking me about some information and I told her that I would look it up online using Wikipedia and I was shocked when she said that her teachers says they are not allowed to use Wikipedia. I could not understand why a teacher would say that. My cousin says that true educators do not consider Wikipedia to be an authority site, because individual people can go on the site and change things.

Well, that was kind of the whole point of the Wikipedia project – that people contributed to it. I have not come across any information that I would be suspicious of or doubt its accuracy. Have you ever found anything on the site that was false information? I would really like to know if that is a problem or just a bullshit cop out from teachers.

Bad Economy is Bad News

I was watching the television with my co-workers in the lunchroom today, and we were bewildered with the news on how the stock market lost by three-digits again and how the real estate market may have bottomed out. In my neighborhood, there are at least 6 houses that have been for sale for over a year and no one has been able to to buy any of them.

My co-workers and I discussed pretty openly how we’re tightening our belts and how so badly affected we are by the downturn in the economy. Most of us spent freely when the real estate market was up because we felt rich. We are guilty of carrying high balances on our credit cards.

One of my co-workers hesitantly told us how she’s been bogged down by credit card debt and doesn’t know how to solve her problems. She’s not alone, a lot of people are currently in financial distress. This economy really has to turn around. I hoping that after the elections everyone will have a better sense of what direction our country is going and have some sense of security and optimism restored.

Funny photo of jack-o-lantern with piglets

funny photo of jack-o-lantern with piglets

Isn’t this photo of these piglets adorable? I carved out three pumpkins this year to put on my porch and it never occurred to me that I could put anything inside of them to take a picture! Of course, I don’t exactly have any piglets at the house. But I could have borrow a couple of kittens from my neighbor – that would have been a great photo, too!

Getting My Halloween Costume Together

Halloween’s always been a big tradition with my friends. Every year, we have a potluck party and a contest on who will come to the party in the most outrageous and creative costume.

Last year, our male friend who dressed up as a pregnant nun won the contest. This year, I’m gonna try to win the contest by dressing against my personality. My friends know me as being very conservative and so this year, I’m gonna surprise them by getting a zombie costume. I’ve been looking online and there are some great makeup tricks to use to look like a zombie.

All the stores have Halloween costumes, makeup and props in their seasonal sections. I am going to shop around this weekend and see if I can put my zombie costume together so I’ll be ready in plenty of time for the party.