"The parable of the Greedy Sim..." written by Janelle on estrip.org

10/07/07 02:09 - 65ºF - ID#41534

The parable of the Greedy Sim...

... in the Gospel of Janelle

Drew wanted the good life right away and bought a big mansion with no money to fill it....

He had no money left to buy a smoke detector or buy books to learn how to cook, so....

Despite his best efforts...

But greed has now led to....

Now, Janelle who started modestly, studied hard, and saved her money, is living the big life....

Permalink: The_parable_of_the_Greedy_Sim_.html
Words: 78
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: sims

10/06/07 04:59 - 78ºF - ID#41521

The Sims

I've had some time on my hand so I've reinstalled the ole Sims game. I take pride in starting from scratch and not using the money cheat code.

Here's my modest new dwellings:

And here I am:

I'm in the medical career and I just got a promotion to intern. It's been hard to do all the socializing and studying I need to be a resident.

Not much interesting now, but I have three potential boyfriends lined up that I'm courting. More on that later, peeps....

Permalink: The_Sims.html
Words: 90
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: television

10/04/07 07:46 - 75ºF - ID#41496

Gotta give props to....

America's Next Top Model.

I started watching it out of curiousity. Why was this a competition? Don't you just take a tall, pretty woman and take pictures and voila, she's a model?

It turns out that it takes some serious skills to be a high fashion model. You really have to be in tune with your body and comfortable with your body. You have to engage in the scenario. You have to express the designers purpose behind the outfit, but do it with your style. You're bringing your personality to the photograph, so you need to know who you are and be confident in it. You have to be willing to go outside of your personal comfort zone and trying something new that might make you feel scared or vulnerable.

The other cool thing about Top Model is that Tyra in the past few seasons has emphasized having plus sized models. Now, I have to admit, the plus sized contestants on the show don't seem very plus sized to me, but it's still a positive step forward for an industry where people starve themselves for years to stay the right size. Oh, and there's also a contestant on the show right now with Asperger's syndrome which is way cool.

There have been plenty of women on the show who appear to me to be unattractive or average attractiveness, or have acne or have cellulite and you see them transformed into this blemish free product. So you see that they aren't naturally the way they appear in the photographs. I think it helps chip away at the idea that women could look like these models if they just exercise more or diet more or get liposuction or whatever because these models don't naturally look the way they do in photographs. You understand that it's an image and not a reality. They get there with make up people; hair people and wardrobe people.

All that being said, there is still plenty to critique the modeling industry on and plenty that concerns me, but it's still been a pleasant surprise that the show has challenged my views on what modeling is and who a model is.

drew writes at 11:12:37 10/06/07 - Comment #25846: Oh yeah, and without 5 years of de-sensitatization, you'd never be ready for this stuff.

tinypliny writes at 01:42:06 10/06/07 - Comment #25834: For some strange reason, this makes me glad I gave up TV about half a decade back.

lauren writes at 11:01:35 10/05/07 - Comment #25797: Oh jeez Janelle..you touched on one of my most favorite-ist shows ever! Hehe...I watched and entire season in one sitting once on accident :) Of course...part of me wants to vomit with rage and the other part of me is endlessly fascinated. But I agree with you...a lot of the women aren't exactly gorgeous, but they don't have to be, they just have to take good pictures, and there is some talent involved with that. What I don't like is when they walk into the judging booth and Tyra tells this one or that one to take off her shoes or her earrings because they don't look like a model.
Also...I dunno if you saw this one, but they did one where they were supposed to be dead...murdered by another model. That was disgusting and I am sorry I am rambling in your comments but the fact that we can find a supposedly dead woman's body sexy is outrageous. The end.

museumchick writes at 10:10:08 10/05/07 - Comment #25794: It actually is a better show than I thought it would be. Something that I was also impressed by from the earlier seasons was when they had they had a contestant with lupus who ended up winning. It was inspiring to a lot of my friends who have the disease, because we often feel unattractive from the effects of it on our bodies. We thought it was cool to see her succeed as a model, and then do campaigns for the Lupus Foundation of America.

fellyconnelly writes at 11:05:09 10/04/07 - Comment #25782: tyra banks is a beast.
THE Beast even.
also she is starting to look like RuPaul.
I cannot watch that show based upon her alone.
Sad really..

Permalink: Gotta_give_props_to_.html
Words: 368
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: gordon ramsey

10/03/07 09:43 - 66ºF - ID#41482

Gordon Ramsey's Tip of the Day.....

"Don't point at the customers. We're running a restaurant, not a fucking zoo"

screamed in a cockney accent*

Permalink: Gordon_Ramsey_s_Tip_of_the_Day_.html
Words: 18
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: sex

09/22/07 08:40 - 69ºF - ID#41257

The three S's

Scrabble

Sake

Sex

what a great night

Permalink: The_three_S_s.html
Words: 7
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: wo rk

09/21/07 02:58 - 81ºF - ID#41235

Janitor for the day

My supervisor wanted me to go out with one of the client work crews to their place of employment and actually work side by side with the clients to get a better feel for the work the clients do.

I didn't really feel it was necessary. I'm not sure that I needed to clean toilets and sinks at a warehouse factory with my clients in order to understand it. I've cleaned plenty of toilets at home. I get how it works.

But, I'm a compliant employee and so I went out with the crew that cleans at a warehouse. I spent two hours cleaning sinks, toilets and urinals. I had the lovely experience of scrubbing the urine off the walls around the urinal. Sometimes up to a foot or more away from the urinal. How does that happen? Are they just flicking their stuff around when they pee with no regard to the urinal?

It was also my first experience with Maxims and Penthouses in the workplace. There was a stack of them in the various mens bathrooms. Now, I haven't been in many men's bathrooms, so maybe I'm naive and I don't realize that Maxim and porn is standard fare for mens bathrooms. I always figured that those magazines fell into the category of "Things that are inappropriate to bring to work from home".

All was well at the end though when the young woman I was working with turned to me with a grin and informed that I was a "hard worker".

Permalink: Janitor_for_the_day.html
Words: 254
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: gum

09/19/07 10:26 - 67ºF - ID#41202

More gum than can fit in my mouth

If you're at Wegman's on Amherst.
And you're eyeing the candy vending machine.
And you see the fruit shaped gum the size of a fist,
I recommend you have a sound jaw and a strong will to conquer that bad ass piece of gum.

Permalink: More_gum_than_can_fit_in_my_mouth.html
Words: 44
Location: Buffalo , NY

09/18/07 08:52 - 51ºF - ID#41173

Killing Puppies

On the way home from work I ran into construction and turned up a cute little residential road when a dog bounded in front of my car. I hardly saw him coming. One moment the road was free from hazards, the next moment there was a curly haired dog standing in front of my car. He froze in place. I slammed on my brakes. I came just inches from hitting him, just inches. His owner was outside and had him off leash when he eloped. It was a good reminder to keep my own dog on leash, even though I admit that I'm guilty of letting him off the leash from time. And I just thank God I didn't hit the dog. I was in a car once with a driver who accidentally hit a coyote that ran across the interstate and I cried for the rest of the drive.

mike writes at 09:15:43 09/18/07 - Comment #24742: ugh, i hit a dog once that ran into the street. It was the worst thing ever!

jenks writes at 08:22:11 09/18/07 - Comment #24738: Ugh. don't get me on my irresponsible dog owner rant.

So glad you didn't hit the pup though- for his sake and yours. I hit a squirrel once that was bad enough.

mrmike writes at 03:03:43 09/18/07 - Comment #24718: Even worse, Josh, on my scale are the dog owners who are holding the leash like a prop, but it's not attached to the dog. Lease law protects both the dog and somebody who they interact with, but a lot of owners are dumber than their pets when it comes to that stuff.

Glad you had what space was there between you and puppy Janelle.

joshua writes at 12:20:11 09/18/07 - Comment #24713: Why are dog owners so god damn stupid when it comes to keeping their dogs unleashed? This is a pet peeve of mine. Everyone thinks their little smooshie wooshie won't do what "those other dogs" do, but they are wrong. I see dogs unleashed on Elmwood and know that one of these days I'm going to see something gross.

lauren writes at 11:49:06 09/18/07 - Comment #24710: Oh my...I can't imagine hitting a dog or cat. I hit a skunk once and that was traumatizing enough, especially considering I don't like skunks very much. Way to be an alert driver :)

james writes at 09:53:59 09/18/07 - Comment #24696: Glad you didn't hit the dog.

I was moving across town once in a uhaul van filled to the brim. On a grassy area next to the road a group of guys were playing with a puppy. Just as I got out of Gates circle the puppy bolted onto Delaware, full with traffic. He ran in front of my van, in front of the next lane and the two incoming lanes. He turned around and ran through all four lanes again back to his frantic owners.

Even nearly hitting a dog is traumatizing. I am glad everyone turned out unbruised for you.

leetee writes at 09:29:28 09/18/07 - Comment #24694: Wow.. close call. Glad you didn't hit the puppy!

Permalink: Killing_Puppies.html
Words: 150
Location: Buffalo , NY

09/17/07 01:48 - 64ºF - ID#41154

Homecomings

I went home for my 10 year highschool reunion feeling fairly smug with myself. I, afterall, escaped the clutches of Bloomington-Normal, IL and have had some fairly interesting life experiences. I lived in Philadelphia and I had adventures in Vietnam. Turns out that most of my classmates have had interesting lives so far, even the ones living in Bloomington Normal. So, I learned two things....

1. Humility

2. You can make the most of life and have great experiences in life, regardless of where you live....even in Bloomington-Normal.

When I wasn't at reunion events with my former classmates, I was at home working with my family to act out a false reality of sameness. We did our best to make everything look the same as always despite the fact that in reality my parents are divorcing. It was an odd and stressful situation and by the time we got home on Sunday night I collapsed into bed to sleep it off.

Permalink: Homecomings.html
Words: 159
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: life

09/03/07 11:18 - 74ºF - ID#40906

Labor Day Ponderings

Some thoughts as we celebrate Labor Day with barbecues and low, low prices at the stores!

US companies like Google and Wal-Mart are actively fighting current attempts by Chinese labor activists to reform Chinese labor laws that would afford Chinese laborers labor rights similar to those rights in the United States.

Los Angeles is close to replacing New York City as the sweatshop capital of the world.

Made in America labels are meaningless. One case in point below:

The US territory of the Commonwealth of North Mariana Islands is exempt from the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards act and is partially exempt from the Immigration and Naturalization Act and gets to put Made In America Labels on the clothes produced in the territory.

Social workers, English professors, clerical staff/secretaries are just a few of several professions that had relatively higher pay in the days when those fields were dominated by men.

Alright, (e:peeps)! You can catch Drew and I at the Amvets on Elmwood Ave today trying to fight the man by buying thrift store clothing! That's our Labor Day celebration, lol!

janelle writes at 10:54:20 09/03/07 - Comment #23782: (e:mike): Look a little deeper into the North Mariana Islands and it gets a lot worse than exemption from minimum wage provisions and "Made in America". 16 hour work days; abort the baby you're pregnant with or you get shipped back to China; substandard housing condiitons; and oh so much more of interest for a place that is a US territory.

mike writes at 09:18:16 09/03/07 - Comment #23773: that is very interesting on the made in america in those island things. I bet nothing is actually made here anymore!

jason writes at 08:31:03 09/03/07 - Comment #23761: Wowsers, I am very, very impressed. Your compassion is admirable, Janelle.

I do not expect people all over the world to behave like we would like them to. It isn't true when it comes to Iraq, and it isn't true in many, many other applications. It is when the workers have literally no dignity, a la the labor camps, a la forced labor, a la diamond workers, garment workers, and many other people, when we should really become enraged. The thing is, most people are compassionate with their mouths and not their hearts or wallets. Made in China is ubiquitous.

Incidentally, my fave Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11, and it is impossible to not think of them when you read it.

janelle writes at 07:40:03 09/03/07 - Comment #23757: Wow,
I should have let you write the post ;) Your work sounds interesting. I'd be interested to hear more about it. maybe in a post?
Wal-Mart stifling labor activists was just recently in the Buffalo news-either this past Sunday or the previous Sunday. The paper ran a lengthy article about China being on the brink of some major labor reforms. Major US companies, including Wal-Mart and Google, actively lobby the government not to pass the reforms. It is up to the Chinese government to pass the labor law, but it must be difficult for them when Wal-Mart and Google threaten to move to India if they do. But it sounds like you have much more knowledge of labor in China, so maybe you can give some insight on that.
I, agree, that paying Chinese workers in China according to US wage standards is not going to happen. Do people still think that's for real? I think maybe I thought that way up until highschool when I learned a few things about economics. I just think it would be nice to improve their work environment, working hours, etc... And I don't think it's the United States business to do that, but I also don't think US companies should exploit weak labor laws in other countries. And I have the right to express my concern by not shopping at Wal Mart.
The biggest issue that I don't like is sweatshop labor in the US. It was hard, but but after reading about the sweatshops in New York City fueled by illegal immigrants from the Fuzhou province of China, I finally made a commitment to almost exclusively buy thriftstore clothing. Ocassionally we shop at Marshalls/Big Lots when we really need something and we make this compromise under the impression that the company is still taking some loss by selling their clothes to a discount store.
Drew and I are both passionate about "oppression of workers" and I try to think about how I treat the staff I supervise. One of my favorite bible verses is James 5:1-6.
And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You'll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you've piled up is judgment.
All the workers you've exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You've looted the earth and lived it up. But all you'll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you've done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.

joshua writes at 05:55:54 09/03/07 - Comment #23751: Its funny how a few of these items are right up my alley - I am a social compliance auditor and we are the #1 auditing firm for the Big Gray Box in North America... and we regularly audit in China. Without saying too much, I can tell you that by FAR the largest issue that comes out of China relates to working hours. Almost every company in China has double books and its on nearly every single audit report that our company writes.

I'm unaware of any attempts by Wal-Mart to try to stifle labor activists in China. To be honest, ultimately those sorts of decisions are made by the Chinese government, and I can tell you with virtual certainty that the Chinese government is interested in some reforms, but not widespread. Wal-Mart could decide to simply not source from China, but that is a virtual impossibility. To a degree I think Wal-Mart is interested in social compliance but the code is extremely weak in comparison to codes like SA8000, WRAP, Levi Strauss and FLA. When it comes to issues like payment, alot of people are idealistic about the idea of paying Chinese workers American wages (also known as "fair" wages) - its simply never going to happen.

LA IS the sweatshop capital of the world. We work there a ton. If not LA, then definitely a couple cities in Pakistan could measure up. LA's garment district is shocking. The biggest issue in LA usually revolves around the legal status of the workers that are there, but ultimately we aren't the INS. We only report about whether or not the I-9 forms are filled out properly - that is the extent of our jurisdiction when it comes to legal status, but its an important enough issue that if we aren't satisfied then it means a virtually guaranteed revisit and another $2000 fee that the company pays us as a contractual obligation to companies like The Big Gray Box.

I'm not surprised that the FLSA isn't applicable in that island group you mentioned. The thing about labels is tricky - its actually illegal to domestically import something and not have the correct country of origin on the tag. We've seen it before, and companies that do this can get into a world of legal trouble - the doors can be closed and we've also seen that. The rules in between are a bit of a labrynth, but what I can say is that "Made In America" is a dying concept and I've personally been to dozens of American suppliers that are now out of business due to Chinese competition.

Activists drive our industry, and I'm glad that they are around, but ultimately they really don't know a whole hell of a lot about social compliance, how it works and the limitations... which at times are very real and very frustrating.