mmmmMaria!

don't be a lazy louise, press play.

Muppet Mania!

I recently found out that before Jim Henson did Sesame Street, he ran an advertising business that featured many of the muppets that became a huge part of my childhood. For example, big bird is a variation of a dragon used for La Choy, Cookie Monster was used for Frito-Lay, and Grover was used for IBM. Since they were being used for commercials though, the muppets took on a dark and twisted humor. Seeing these ad campaigns in my youth would have definitely given me nightmares.

Thanks to youtube, you can see what I mean:

In this first one, the actual commercials are at the very end of the clip.






La Choy:



RC Cola:


Pak-nit, did you actually sell anything from this ad?


mmm, meaty:


phone dangers:


oh you southerners. always trying to be separate


Can you imagine actually watching this stuff on TV? Ads today seem to have lost that "We're-all-on-drugs" feel.

In summary, the 60's were weird man. real weird.

mental melissa

Hello gentle readers.

Now that I am in my psych rotation, I feel like I am seeing signs of psychological issues everywhere.

For example, I met a woman in her late 30's on the bus yesterday. She happens to be a cutter. Or at least she used to. The cuts that ran up and down her forearms seemed to have scarred over long ago. At some point, she had gotten a tattoo that partially covered a few of them. I wonder if she made the other cuts before or after the tattoo. As soon as I sat down she asked me if my eyes were really that green. I said yes. She said they were very noticeable. I said thank you. It was then that I noticed her companion, a man who's face was covered in big pink bumps/moles/???, because he scoffed at her for talking to me. She retorted by threatening to turn him into the grim reaper for Halloween. Then they got off the bus. huh?

Last Friday a fellow nursing student in my gero rotation (read "hanging out in an old folks home") had someone accidentally spill urine all over her pants, socks, and shoes. It happened in the morning and she didn't tell anyone til the afternoon after the urine had dried on her pants. She did say, however, that her socks were still squishy. Squishy with some old person's urine. (EW EW EW!) Then she asked us in hushed tones if the fact that she was grossed out made her a bad nurse. WTF? I'd be more inclined to make the assumption that it makes her a gross weirdo (that's a clinical term, mind you) to work in urine for 9 hours.
That's right. 9 whole hours. 9 hours of walking around with someone else's urine squishing between her toes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Maria Bamford:

Bombs over WDH

As many of you know, I attend the U of M, school of nursing. We are housed in the ugly Weaver-Densford Hall. Today, for some silly reason, WDH had a bomb threat. People were evacuated, the building and surrounding medical complex went on lockdown, mothers became frantic. Luckily though, no one was hurt, and I did not have to have class canceled. THANK GOD. This is not because we are so hell bent on learning, but more for the reason that I was at my clinical site today at the Augustana old folks home. This semester, I get to work with a woman who has paranoid schizophrenia. More stories to come for sure.

In other news:
Otis Redding! Your b-day could have been in two days had you not died in 1967.

You were one fine looking man. Anyone fortunate enough to listen to Lolly today on the sugar shop got an ear full of sweet soul music by the one and only.
Some opulent Otis facts:
- born 9/9/41. died 12/10/67. but you already knew that you sophisticated reader you.
- as a baptist choir singer, Otis wowed his community by winning a local Macon, Georgia talent show for 15 weeks in a row.
- SNL's Blues Brothers used his "I Can't Turn You Loose" as their entrance theme.
- Otis died in a plane crash into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin with 6 others. Otis was 26 at the time. This just further reminds me of how old and close to death I am.