Ruby Tuesday

Forty-four years ago today, the Stones hit number one on the US charts with "Ruby Tuesday". 

It's a nice song that has, as this short article summarizes, an interesting back story.  The short version is that Ruby Tuesday was the B-side of the single "Let's Spend the Night Together", but DJ's in the USA were uncomfortable with the explicit sexual references on the A-side, so they played Ruby Tuesday instead.  Next thing you know, it's at number 1.

For me, I have been searching for the meanig of the words "Ruby Tuesday" for many years.  I have scoured the internet, read way too many books on the Stones, and even written directly to Bill Wyman, who claims to love responding to letters from Stones fans.  So far, no luck in unearthing why those two words were chosen as the song's title.

I thought I was on to something once, and may have been, when I noted in Bill Wyman's excellent book "Stone Alone", that he referred to a particular day in Stones history, when Mick and Keith were arraigned in court for drug possession charges, as "Ruby Tuesday".  Alas, I could never confirm the meaning of that particular reference.

If you think you know something about this...please let me know.

Go Ahead...Try to Watch Without Laughing Along

The best part, is that the paper being torn is a job rejection letter.  Talk about a father turning a negative into a positive.

Larry King Interviews Den

If you're not a regular reader of the WWDS blog, you probably had a hard time following the meaning of my comments when Larry interviewed me.  I hope it was clear that I didn't want to throw anyone under the bus, he just kept picking at the scabs until I bled.

Larry King Interviews Den
by: dfortier

The Multi-tasking Edge

As far a words and terms go, "multi-tasking" is a fairly new one. It didn't really enter the daily vernacular until personal computers came along in the 80's. Given the relative youth of this term, we are still grappling with its meaning and it's connotations.

I think most would agree on some loose definition of multitasking that refers to engaging in multiple activities at one time. It is often used in a manner that communicates optimal efficiency. Like when a mother moves clothes from the washer to the dryer, while she is on hold with the doctor's office, and she's keeping a watch on the 1-year old in the jumpy seat. Or when a student sends a text to their fling, while on the phone with their squeeze, while watching a movie with their ex.

Of course, there are also times when such efficiency is not appreciated.  Like when someone is checking their voice mail and sending texts during a meeting we called to make sure they are focused on identified priorities.  Far from singing the praises of their productivity, we say these people have ADD and we mock them.

Therein lies the usual contradictory interpretations that so many "new" words embody.

As for me, I do not enjoy multi-tasking and never really have.  Mostly, this is because I know that most of my intellectual strengths are maximized when I am allowed to focus.  I am more of an information processor than I am an instant reactor.

My job demands multi-tasking now to ensure that our organization is firing on many cylinders, but  I don't think I am personally, optimally productive in an environment where I must constantly shift my focus from matter to matter.  I also think that most people, despite a common tendency to brag about multi-tasking abilities, are not nearly as productive as they might be with a more sustained focus on one task at a time.

So if you brag to me about your multi-tasking habits, I will probably conclude that you have over-estimated your own productivity.  And if you disparage me for my penchant to focus, I will probably conclude that you have under-estimated mine.

What is Your Favorite Word?

I like words.  In fact, I like them a lot.  Two instances from my childhood suggest that I had this trait from a fairly young age.

I fondly recall the year I got a small, paperback dictionary in my Christmas stocking.  I remember lying in bed and reading it, discovering new words.  Of course I also remember hunting down some mysterious words with known reproductive connotations, most of which I had heard my older brother utter but not define.  This was shortly before we both got into trouble with the parents for referring to our younger brother as an "ovum".  Such were our insult skills at that age.

I also recall earning the family nick name "tech peck".  "Tech" was short for "technical".  It referred to my very literal respect for the meaning of words, and how I was prone to correcting family members for improper word choice and/or ambiguous phrasing.  I have no idea what "peck" meant, but I suppose it was chosen because it rhymed with "tech" and seemed demeaning when pronounced with a tone of disparagement. 

In the span of a couple days last summer, two different people spontaneously told me about their "favorite word".  One mentioned during a hike in the Maine woods that "verdant" was her choice, seemingly because it described a particularly pleasant aspect of nature.  The other, for some reason, was fond of the word "rogue".  I understood this was partially due to the fact that it is a short, unique word that seems to sound exactly as a word meaning "rogue" should sound.

These back-to-back experiences set me on an introspective course to determine if I have a favorite word.  I have pondered this many times over the past months, in the shower, on long runs, while driving, and whenever I encountered good words.  So far, I guess I don't have a favorite.

Today in the Huffington post, blogger Marc Middleton wrote that his favorite word is "mindfulness".  He explains why he likes it; you should click through and read his post if you are interested.

So anyway, now I am wondering; does everyone have a favorite word, except me?  Did I somehow not know that, in addition to a favorite color, a favorite baseball team,  and a favorite Victoria's Secret model, we are all also supposed to have a favorite word too? 

Let me know where you stand on this one, imaginary readers.  Wait a minute..."imaginary"...that's a nice word..

The Minivan Milestone

So I'm driving a minivan now. I gotta tell ya, it feels pretty good.

I am well aware of the stereo-types. I know that for many, the move from a cooler ride to a functional family mover, is a transition that marks the end of their hip self-image. But here's the thing; I embraced a crotchety old guy self-image a long time ago. For me, the minivan brought me back on par with all the 30-somethings who run in mainstream, suburban, family-centric circles.

I know most of you thought, based on my personality, that I was moving toward a 4-door sedan with rear-wheel drive, vinyl seats, and an AM radio. Well, that was my second choice. I could slip into some checkered pants, get behind the wheel of an Oldsmobile, and feel right at home.

But for at least a few years more, I'll be tooling around in a boxy 8-seater, telling teens to pull up their pants, and basically feeling hip.

Good Guy, Bad Guy, Grateful Guy

A poignant tale of a senseless tragedy and a guy who did the right thing.

The Best 30 Seconds of the Year

Let's just start this off by getting our minds out of the gutter and agreeing not to post any snarky comments about Ryer; the title of this post has nothing to do with his brief and infrequent exploits in the bedroom. This is a G-rated blog, fit for the whole imaginary family.

As boring as it might seem, this post is about taxes. Actually, it's about completing the federal and state tax forms each year.

Preparing tax forms is not fun. It is a tedious and mind-numbing march toward a moment when you probably have to write a big check to a scary branch of the government. It is a task drenched in the maddening logic that your hard earned dollars will pay people to ensure that you send them more of your money next year. It is especially agonizing because much detailed information must be tracked from year to year, run through the filter of an evolving tax code, and correctly reported across a series of complex and detailed forms.

But now, with the magic of electronic programs such as Turbo Tax and Tax Cut, you must grapple with much of the minutia for only one year. In subsequent years, when you start the program, it will detect the presence of last year's data and prompt you to import essential information from your earlier work.

With the click of a mouse, all personal information, housing information, spousal information, dependents, charities you support, bank accounts you own, brokerage firms you use, tax credit carry-forwards, cost bases of assets, prior earnings and taxes paid, for both federal and state filings, just fly across space and time and land in the current year's forms. With another couple of clicks, you can download W-2 and 1099 information from your employers, banks, and mortgage holders. These electronic transfers bring sheer joy and unbridled delight.

I've said it every January for the past decade, and this time I am blogging it. Tax preparation software is like a dry, sturdy bridge across the great rushing river of tedium. Watching your data automatically transfer to populate the new forms is the best 30 seconds of the year.

Cool Things with No Purpose - Part XI

Not sure why I have always loved this photo, but I have.

What's With the Feet?

Is it really OK to take off your shoes on an airplane and prop your rotten toes up in the faces of the surrounding passengers? If not, please send a tweet to the dork who sat next to me en route to Washington DC today. And one to the guy who sat next to me on the way to Chicago recently.

I hope my recent experiences in this department can be categorized as a confluence of highly unlikely chance events, and not some emerging trend of barefoot flying. If it is the latter, then I have found the threshold of irritation that might keep me on the ground.

Full-body scan or grope; fine. Snot-nosed brat kicking my seat; I can deal. Cardboard chicken with plastic broccoli; bring it on. Uncle Oscar’s lower extremities; no can do.

Are shoes really that uncomfortable? How about the old trick of trying them on before you buy them? Is that too much to ask…that fellow passengers buy shoes that fit well enough to wear while flying?

These people are probably the same ones grousing in the security line about the great inconvenience of walking barefoot through the scanner. Do they want their shoes on or off?

I know some people like feet (Rex Ryan has made news recently for this) while others find them gross. I am not particularly fond nor particularly put off by feet in general. However, if your feet have twisted, hairy toes and jagged, yellow nails covered in fungus, I would prefer not to encounter them in the close confines of airline seating.