Wonderland Burlesque's Under Your Skin Quiz

Wonderland Burlesque's

Under Your Skin Quiz

These days...

What get's your goat? What irks you?

Today's quiz is all about those little pet peeves that we keep to ourselves (unless we don't.)

Oh, don't worry... I've decided to not make this personal, as in, we won't nitpick about our families or significant others. All topics will be strictly task and entertainment oriented.

So, spill it, dear. I really want to know!

What gets under your skin when it comes to...? 

1/ Cooking?

I suffer from brain fog in the kitchen; unable to connect one task to the next or remember where the utensil is that I need. Therefore, I resort to hand gestures until I'm able to come up with the name of what it is I require. Example, if I need a serrated edged knife, I make a sawing gesture. Kitchen scissors? Snip, snip, snip through the air.  A ladle? A big scooping motion. Etc. I feel odd catching myself in the act, but it does seem to help me.

I feel like Guy Pearce in that movie, Momento - where every day his memory is erased so he keeps tattooing reminders and messages on his body, using his body as if he's a human post-it note.

I'm not sure what the disconnect is all about. I do know I'm frequently over-caffeinated and tired, due to work and having just come from a visit with my mother. I make myself cook, because I know what I like to eat and I try to eat rather healthy. But my brain doesn't cooperate at all. And, midway through preparations, I frequently feel quite defeated. 

My other pet peeve? It takes me an hour plus to prepare a meal and only ten minutes to consume it. That's not right! I really feel it should be the other way around.  

2/ Cleaning House?

Sigh. My nemesis: cat hair on porcelain. 

It's stubborn. And seems to multiply as you're cleaning. I will assume, after four all-encompassing swipes at the sink (with long rinses between,) that I am done - but, lo and behold, several cat hairs will appear. 

I waste a lot of water and after wiping things down a sixth time, I'll begin to curse and promise myself that I am through cleaning... forever.  

There must be a solution, but I haven't found it yet. I tried wiping the surfaces with a dry towel before spraying it down with cleaning solution. I thought it helped, but... not really. 

If you have a solution that works? Leave it in the comments section. Please!

3/ Shopping?

There's a lot not to like these days. The prices! Oy, vey. Picked over produce. Ugh. Other people. Bah.

But empty shelves are the worst. Where's the stuff?

Seriously, the other day, I reached for the strawberries and there were only two picked over containers left. No pineapples to be found. Even the grapes looked as if they'd been picked over thoroughly. 

I know they are understaffed, and you hear about supply chain issues, but... really? This late in the game? 

If I lived in Russia I would expect this sort of thing...

Oh.

Now I get it.

4/ Driving or Public Transit?

People who don't stop for stop signs.

This is a basic skill all drivers need to perform in order to get a license, so, why does everybody fail so miserably at it? 

When I see it? I let them have it. I toot my horn and yell at them.

I want to believe that this makes a difference, but, fact is... if they can ignore that big red sign and breeze right through it? They most certainly can completely ignore that angry little man in the tiny blue car. 

I keep thinking - one day they will get theirs. But, know what? That would involve them hitting another vehicle, such as... oh, let's say a certain little blue car.

That's my luck. 

5/ Traveling?

Airports rather terrify me. It's not just the mass of people. It's the indifference of all the people employed there. Why aren't there people around to ask questions and tell you where you need to go? 

I am very lazy. I do not want to have to figure out how to get through security or where my gate might be. I want to be told where to go. I take orders really well. 

It may well be a case of anxiety blindness, but nothing strikes me as obvious in airports. It's no different than being on the phone in a customer service situation - sometimes, you just need to talk to a human being. I trust the word of a human being over my ability to interpret signage. In such an environment, I find myself feeling overwhelmed and over-stimulated. When in such a state? I do not make good decisions. 

I want the ability to answer questions and receive information via another human being. 

Yes... I need that human touch.

6/ Museums?

Their weird cafes? Their eclectic gift shops? The prison guard demeanor of the gallery attendants? The outrageous additional fee they charge to see their special limited-time exhibit?

All of these are troublesome features of almost every museum I have visited. 

But my biggest pet peeve? 

Children.

No.

They never behave. They are never silent. They are always loud.

I go to a museum to escape the world. I want the quiet. I want the air to be devoid of the aural detritus of the outside world. 

And... if it is not a children's museum? Then, I do not want to hear or see or deal with children. 

There should be kids-free days at museums.  Are there?

No, not the kind where kids get in free... but where the museum is free of kids.

7/ Music?

Modern radio is a mess. So homogenized and boring. You do get to listen to say eight songs in a row with minor interruptions, but then are subjected to a bank of commercials that go on for far too long - so long, they repeat themselves!

I miss local disc jockeys. I miss having a relationship with an individual who spins records tailored to their individual tastes. 

I despise talk radio. I don't like 'morning shows.'  They are so white and privileged and very white male-oriented. Yes, there is a female co-host, but she's sort of a hollow joke of a human being there to make the white guy look good. They are always so subservient and deferential. Blech.

I don't find anything they prattle on about relatable or of interest. If they do discuss a hot topic, it is only in the shallowest of terms and they are typically on the wrong side of everything. They're ciphers. I don't share or enjoy their faux laughter and gaiety. Nor do I find their contests and insights entertaining in the least. They all sound like they are shilling some service or provider for personal financial gain. I don't trust them. 

But their worst crime? They are boring. So inoffensive, that I take offense. 

Constantly appealing to as many people as possible while employing lowest common denominator rhetoric? Puerile drivel. 

8/ Movies?

Everyone is so privileged. Even those who complain about their lack of privilege are still, in reality, pretty damn privileged. 

If I see one more homogenized, whitewashed black family living a suburban nightmare I will scream.

All the houses are perfect. Everyone dresses well. All the jobs are so... effortless and sterile and white collar. 

I know reality rarely finds its way onto the big screen... but I wonder, what is Hollywood trying to sell me? 

To want? To desire what I see? To crave a plastic, hollow, shallow world devoid of any real meaning? 

And then, there is the unreality that is presented. Much of the humor I see is derived from the outcome of people willfully making bad choices and doing terrible things. Small wonder that we live in a world where people do terrible things without thinking about the consequences, for that is what passes for humor and reality in films. 

People do emulate what they see or are told. This goes all the way back to the origins of storytelling. Aesop's Fables? They were meant to serve as a guide. This constitutes good behavior. This is what happens when you behave badly. 

Somewhere along the line being amoral became 'cool.'

Why isn't Hollywood telling better stories? Is it because they have a proven track record which demonstrates that when they do try to tell better stories, people won't watch? 

Does that mean at their very core, people are simply bad?

Or do I have it backwards? Are movies a symptom, a reflection of human kind's true nature? Bad films made by morally bankrupt, truly awful human beings? 

At what point do we stop laughing? Or are we content to be terrible human beings?

9/ Television Programs?

I have been watching Difficult People on Hulu. It's basically Seinfeld boiled down to two, terrible self-serving, amoral, myopic human beings who want to break into show biz in a big way. 

For one episode, they bring on Sandra Bernhardt to play the leader of a Jewish female clique which houses a number of entertainment powerhouses. After watching the episode, I had to ask myself:

Why have a guest star like Sandra Bernhardt and not make the episode about Sandra Bernhardt?

Instead, it was a regular episode totally focusing on the bad choices being made by these two horrific wannabes. Sandra Bernhardt is a powerful presence. She has history. She has charisma. She is New York in an Armani suit. They waste her. Anyone could have played that role. So, why didn't the writers actually write something for Sandra Bernhardt? To do. Instead, her character is merely a plot point. She's there for the big denouncement. 

And anybody could have done that. Why have a special guest star if show is not about their character and that character's effects on the regular characters?  It was such a wasted opportunity. I felt bad for Sandra - I mean, yes, she got a paycheck and she traded on her name and fame (as did the series,) but I really felt angry with the two stars of the show for not recognizing the opportunity they'd been give and wasting it making it all about them, as per usual, as per... every episode of the series. 

You could fault the writers, but, hey... they are just taking their orders from the producers and the stars of the program.

So, I guess this is a case of real life playing out on the screen. The two stars are just as self-serving and myopic as the terrible human beings their portraying. Art imitates life? 

Bah.

10/ The Internet / Social Media?

So much not to like. Influencers? Ugh. YouTube Stars? Blech. I'm so glad I'm not part of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. I'd have no life. No time. 

I think blogging, buying stuff on eBay and Amazon and doing my banking is my whole internet thing. I do a lot of research on-line, but have had good luck when doing so. 

I don't know that I have a complaint. Pop-up blocker takes care of annoying ads. The ones on YouTube are a necessary evil. 

You know what is not necessary? Politicians should not have twitter accounts. They should not have websites. They should not be allowed to exploit their office in order to add to their fame or bank account. If something is not done, I fear we will end up with more MTG's, Hawthorn's and Boebert's - mindless, empty-headed noise boxes that are only in it for the fame and fortune. 

A self-serving politician is a bad politician. That is not why they were elected.. 

I don't care how popular you are on Instagram... you are not running for homecoming queen, dear. You're there to serve your constituents - all your constituents (not just the ones who 'think' - and I'm not sure that is the right word to describe what you do - like you do.) You're there to create policy and bring into being a better world for all of us. 

You remove those electronic distraction, who knows? Maybe something might actually get done. 

Bahahahahaha... oh... jeeze. 

Come, on, dear... smell the Folgers!

We all know that's never gonna happen.

--- ---

And that's enough of me.

Sorry if this got a little negative. Didn't know I owned that many soapboxes. 

Okay, your turn. Leave your answers in the comments section. Love to hear what you're thinking these days. 

Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and participating!

I've Got You Under My Skin

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

Under My Skin - Peter Jöback

I Got You Under My Skin - Neenah Cherry