Romance: Jay and Mavis Leno

The title brings to mind the title of some episode from some  corny Discovery TCL series meant to act as a filler during two episodes of some "junkyard kings" show, or - much, much worse - of the Happily Ever Laughter crap-fest.


But after reading the article below, I just felt inspired to share it; and there is no way to describe these two people's dynamics succinctly, except with the word romance.
Or perhaps - love.
Yes, that's even better a fit.
Much, much better.

Happily Ever Laughter... with Jay and Mavis Leno

Believe me, you don't have to love or even appreciate Jay Leno - although I certainly do - to enjoy the article.
If nothing else, read it for the truly baffling mystery of September 5th in Jay Leno's love life.

But I guarantee you: if you love reading about true love and romance, you'll love this one. 
It puts all those fake "romantic" gestures, the cotton candy of contemporary pop culture, to shame. 
Well, it's not really in the same category with those... or even on the same planet.
Alas, it is also relatively rare - in Hollywood, or anywhere else.

Having trouble with Google cache? (Don't ask Yahoo about it.)

Lately I've been having a bizarre problem with Google (which, I am happy to say, we use only rarely these days, preferring DogPile and, occasionally, GoodSearch).

Sometimes, when I want to see the cache of a website - typically a forum thread - I get another batch of search results instead of the cache.
(I've learned to circumvent it by clicking on Translate this page, then clicking show original. Problem solved.)

At first, I thought it had something to do with Chrome, which is currently my primary browser. But the same thing happened when I used Firefox and Flock.

Apparently I am not the only one having this problem.

Here's the cache of a question on Yahoo Answers that was left unanswered.

I wanted to answer, if only by giving the link to this thread:

http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4338049.htm

I couldn't. The question had been deleted.

Why?

Who knows.

But the same person asked another interesting question, namely "why does Yahoo delete all questions about Google?"

The "best" answer was that it doesn't.

It is a blatant lie, and a cringeworthy ridiculous one at that.

I have seen questions - perfectly innocent questions - related to Google deleted time and time again. (Conversely, there are tons of criminally stupid, ill-categorised and rude questions left to linger forever.)

But then look what it says on Yahoo Answers about what they expect - no, sorry: like - to see in their visitors.

What we like on Answers

• Sharing what you know
• Being courteous
• Being a good citizen
• Citing your sources
• Asking clear questions
• Categorizing your questions correctly

The emphasis is mine; I got the colour more or less right, but the swastika you'll have to picture it yourself...

Being a good citizen is a most commendable thing, of course. 

Unfortunately, history shows that the essence of being a good citizen is open to interpretation.

And there is no interpretation of this category visible anywhere on YA.

Even more unfortunately for YA, the question that was deleted clearly shows that it complied with all the unambiguous guidelines cited above. So, was the reason that it was deleted due to failure to comply with the one ambiguous guideline?

The obvious association - a nastier term does come to mind, but I'll let your imagination do its thing - between Google and Yahoo Answers is becoming increasingly embarrassing to watch. 
But surprising it is not. 

Who but yahoos would pledge their allegiance to Google at this point of the virtual game?

PS. The same question has been asked, verbatim, on another website.

"Bizarre" (dis)likes

Frankly, I think very few, if any, dislikes - or likes, for that matter - really are "bizarre".

What's bizarre is the reluctance of adult, presumably independently thinking, people to express their dislike of anything that has been, directly or indirectly, sanctioned by cinema, the TV, the vox populi in general, as "likeable". Sometimes they are not even aware of their own dislike until someone else expresses it. (Like an acquaintance of mine - then a young mother - who admitted, for the first time, she did not like hearing children singing, especially not in chorus, after I expressed my intense dislike of it.)

Here are a few more of my "bizarre" dislikes:

- The morning sun. (And if it's in winter, even more so.)
I usually work at night; I prefer it that way. And I don't have to wake up at any specific hour, so it's not about any association with must-do chores.
I can appreciate the dawn, but once the sun is out, that's it - I cannot bear to see it until after noon.
I dislike it so much that I've moved my bedroom from the east side of the apartment to the west side.

Which brings me to...

- After-dawn mornings.

Sun or no sun, I hate mornings, most especially from around 9 - 10:45 o'clock.

As soon as noon comes, the unpleasant, dull tension that I associate with mornings disappears as if by magic.

Funnily enough, there are studies that show that most heart attacks and similar incidents tend to happen around 9 o'clock in the morning. 


- Live versions of the songs I like.
I have a really good ear and a good auditive memory. When I like what I hear, I want to hear it exactly - and I mean 100% exactly - like I remember it. Every beat, every note, every pause. Not a sigh should be different.
Call me crazy.

 

And my "bizarre" likes:

-Heavy, dark grey, stormy clouds, with or without thunder.

- Walking in the rain, especially in spring or (oh joy!) summer.

Why this is considered "bizarre" by so many people, I'll never know. There are few ordinary pleasures as intense as being kissed all over the face and bare skin (weather permitting) by warm drops of water. I say "kissed" because that's how it feels to me, especially when the droplets are very tiny. It's like hundreds of tiny, warm kisses tickling your face, your lips, your eyelids. It's so relaxing! 

People really should start leaving their umbrellas at home more often. I suspect getting wet - and surviving it - would each them things that would improve their lives in general.

- Strong wind (unless it's really freezing cold). 

Same as above, only it feels like caressing, not kissing.  

"But it messes with your hair!" says an aunt of mine. 

So what? That's part of the pleasure! It's such fun feeling your hair flying all around, as if mussed by a pair of gentle, playful hands.

- Walking barefoot.

Need I explain it? 

Well, I won't.
 

I do have a like that even I consider a little - just a little - bizarre... but it'll have to wait until some other occasion.

Meanwhile, do let us know what are some of your "bizarre" likes and dislikes.

That strange feeling...

We borrowed the title directly from our sister blog, because it sounds exactly like what we've been hearing for the past few days: people having "strange feelings" of the undefinable kind. Something is not quite right.
 
There's nothing strange about such feelings: the Sun appears to be shooting at us with its heavy artillery, according to SpaceWeather. 
But, who knows, for all we know there could be other influences involved.

Everyone is familiar with such odd, something-is-off-kilter feelings. Some like to turn to astrology for an explanation, others (including us) to astronomy, and still others (also including us) to a variety of additional approaches. Why not?
 
For those who like a catholic (i.e. all-inclusive) approach, there is a website against which to check your daily moods:

MOOD ALERT

Not everything about it is up-to-date at all times, but it's accurate - and fun - enough.
 
Let us know how it works for you.