Here Are My 3 “Sorry / Not Sorry” Opinions

October 5, 2017December 2, 2022 / Ally Bean / 78 Comments

INTRODUCTION

One of my favorite podcasts is Sorta Awesome.

It’s a weekly talk show in which at least two of the four co-hosts, who live in different parts of the USA, talk politely + intelligently about awesome things that they like. Things like: books, TV, family, relationships, travel, health, beauty, self-awareness, personalities, social media, blogs.

The episode that hooked me in this time was Episode #110 in which all four women shared their 3 “sorry / not sorry” [potentially unpopular] opinions. This was a conversation [with a digression into raw chicken that was priceless] that at times had me laughing so hard I feared that I’d pee my pants.

But I didn’t.

Grateful for what didn’t happen, and upon reflection, I decided that this Sorta Awesome “sorry / not sorry” topic would make for an interesting blog post. So without further ado, I give you the following…

MY 3 “SORRY / NOT SORRY” OPINIONS

I question the smarts of people who place flags in such a way as to have the flag pointing back toward the house, instead of having the flag point forward. It’s all about history and common sense, kids.

Flags are the colors + symbol that you follow as you’re going into battle: they show you the way. Therefore, you don’t point the flag back at yourself, because you might impale yourself on it as you move forward. That would make no sense.

So for the love of all that is good, fly the flag properly. Please.

I do not believe that curly/frizzy hair is a sign of improper grooming. Here’s a news flash: God gave some people curly/frizzy hair and it’s okay to let it be curly/frizzy.

Not everyone has stick straight hair [natural or forced] like the Kardashians or Melania Trump. No, some people, like me, have curly/frizzy hair that we keep clean, professionally cut– and wear in a style that is *gasp* natural.

Yep, that’s the truth. Deal with it.

I refuse to pretend that mochi balls are a tasty treat. I don’t care how deliciously on trend you think they are, how calorically perfect you think they are, how cleverly Japanese you think they are… I don’t like ’em.

They taste awful to me and have a miserable texture. But that is, of course, because I don’t like to eat blobs of fruity-tea-flavored melting ice cream wrapped in color-coordinated Play-Doh.

In a word, I’d describe mochi balls as: bleech.

CONCLUSION

You may or may not agree with what I’ve written above. It matters not to me, which is the whole point of this exercise in honesty.

I figure that by sharing, what I’d describe as rather benign, opinions on a variety of topics, I’ve opened up the blog comments to all of you, my gentle readers, to do the same.

Blogger see. Blogger do.

So… tell me a few of your “sorry / not sorry” opinions. I’d love to know.

In Which Ms. Bean Drives In Circles & Contemplates A Personal Slogan

September 22, 2017May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 67 Comments

About 100 years ago this car would have been my preferred set of wheels, especially if it came standard with a dog. Obviously. { photo via Library of Congress }

~ ~ • ~ ~

OF LATE I’VE HAD MORE OPPORTUNITIES THAN USUAL TO drive to and from the airport. Considering where we live in Ohio, our closest international airport is in Kentucky, meaning that I have to drive on an interstate highway to cross over the Ohio River to get there.

It’s all about geography.

I can do this by EITHER driving on the outer belt through Ohio, across a bridge into Kentucky.

OR, if there is an accident in my way or construction delays, I can drive in the other direction on the outer belt through Ohio, then through Indiana, across a bridge into Kentucky.

The excitement? It never ends.

~ ~ • ~ ~

IT IS WHILE SASHAYING AROUND THE AFOREMENTIONED INTERSTATE OUTER BELT SYSTEM THAT I’ve come to notice, on huge bridge signs, that Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana have new-to-me state slogans*.

Ohio, formerly “THE HEART OF IT ALL” is now “SO MUCH TO DISCOVER”
Kentucky, formerly “WHERE EDUCATION PAYS” is now “UNBRIDLED SPIRIT”
Indiana, formerly “CROSSROADS OF AMERICA” is now “HONEST-TO-GOODNESS INDIANA”

Seeing these state slogans, writ large [literally and figuratively], got me thinking about branding, albeit in a narcissistic way. That is, what might I use as my personal slogan?

If I had to have one. Which to my knowledge I do not. Yet.

~ ~ • ~ ~

THUS WANTING TO BE PREPARED FOR ANY CONTINGENCY and bored out of my gourd while driving, I compiled the following list** of potential Ally Bean slogans.

Should you be of a mind to help me decide what my personal slogan should be, please indulge me and do the following two things:

Indicate your preferred slogan for moi, by answering the simple poll question below.
If you have a personal slogan, I’d love to know what it is. Yours might be better than mine and ~~it’s not too late for me to steal it from you~~ I could be inspired by it.

Thank you in advance for your immediate input on this totally irrelevant, but blogworthy, issue that has come to plague me as I drive hither and yon around the interstate outer belt system.

~ ~ • ~ ~

* I’ve no idea how often these slogans change. All I know is what my addled brain remembers, a faulty system at best– and these state slogans seem different from what I remember them being before.

** Oddly enough, most of these potential slogans are ones that I’ve used in various places online over the years. Or, ideas I wrote down intending to use as topics for blog posts.

Because All The Cool Kids Are Doing This: Opining About The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards

September 19, 2017August 28, 2018 / Ally Bean / 76 Comments

I didn’t watch the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards the other night.

I never watch award shows anymore because they get me all riled up. I either disagree with who/what gets the awards, or I disagree with the lengthy opinions expressed by some recipients.

I want my favorite shows to win because I know what is best. And I want the award recipients to say “thank you” then mosey off the stage directly.

We get it, you’re great. Now move on.

Also, I despise the red carpet “reporters” with their judgemental chatter/stupid interviews as the stars walk the red carpet. Didn’t your mothers teach you that if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all?

Be polite or shut up. That’s the deal in my world view of how the Primetime Emmy Awards, or any award show, should be.

~ ~ 🏆 ~ ~

However, even though I didn’t watch the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, I got opinions– and I know how to use ’em.

• First of all, the best comedy show is The Good Place with Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. It’s smart, quirky, and hilarious. With cheerful sets and a snappy pace. And it’s funny, in a non-mocking way.

You’ll notice it wasn’t part of the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards which just goes to show you how wrong the whole Emmy thing was.

• Second of all, This is Us is a wonderful, genuine drama that kept me engaged [difficult to do] and made me, an introvert with a low opinion of people, want to know more about these people [extremely difficult to do].

The show moves seamlessly between past and present while never losing sight of the relationships that form the core of the storyline. I like the actors. I like the writing. I like the sets. I like the costumes.

So where are the plethora of awards that it deserved?

• Thirdly, The Crown is brilliant. No other word for that TV show. I read that John Lithgow received an Emmy for his portrayal of Winston Churchill and that’s good because he was spectacular in that role. But again, how about everyone else in the show? Where are their awards?

[And don’t try to downplay this show as only a costume drama, because that just makes you look ignorant about how necessary it is for us to understand history– and it gripes my grits when people say that. So don’t do it.]

~ ~ 🏆 ~ ~

And on that note I’ll end this post with a short summation of what I’ve written here about the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.

I’ve given you, my gentle readers, a fast review of three decent, returning this season, TV shows* that you may want to watch in the upcoming months. You may thank me in the comments below.

And I’ve vented about how stupid I think award shows are– a sentiment that many other people agree with, if Sunday’s low ratings are to be believed.

* I didn’t realize that Veep was a comedy until I read the list of the winners. I might like it and will consider watching it. Also, Big Little Lies looks promising, but we don’t get HBO, so until these shows hit Netflix or Hulu I won’t be seeing them.

Share Your World | Butterfly Hide And Seek

September 12, 2017August 28, 2018 / Ally Bean / 40 Comments

Nothing to see here. No butterfly hiding behind purple salvia. Nope, that’s not what’s going on here. Move along, move along.

• Would you want $200,000 right now or $250,000 in a year? It’s safe to assume all money is tax free.

Considering our recent remodeling wild ride, if it’s all the same to you, I’d like the $200,000 now, please.

• Is it more important to love or be loved?

Off the top of my head I’d say that it’s more important to love than to be loved. Love, an action verb about giving, resonates with me more than the idea of just receiving love, that to me suggests a passive approach to life.

[Good question. This answer subject to change upon further reflection.]

But wait, it is a butterfly doing its butterfly thing, seeking nectar from the flower, and looking good while doing it.

• List things that represent abundance to you.

flowers in crystal vases surrounded by lighted beeswax candles
rag wool scarves and mittens
a fully stocked refrigerator filled with fruits, vegetables, cheese, and wine
a three-car garage
ingredients on hand to make cookies
diamonds, rubies, sapphires– and garnets, even if they’re only semi-precious
comfortable furniture that coordinates nicely, but doesn’t look all matchy-matchy
lazy Sunday afternoons

• What inspired you this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

I find everyday observational humor inspiring because it makes me laugh, not cry, at reality. So when I stumbled upon the following Shopping Cart Alignment Chart by Rob Beschizza at boingboing, and couldn’t stop laughing, I was inspired.

And because I’m a forthright blogger, I will freely tell you who I am according to this chart. I’m never LAWFUL GOOD, but instead vacillate between CHAOTIC GOOD [which gives me more joy than it should] and CHAOTIC NEUTRAL.