The Polyphonic Spree Stole My Friend's Video Idea

I'm pissed. And I'm gonna tell you why.

Last year, Dallas group the Polyphonic Spree (www.thepolyphonicspree.com) held a contest for the production of a video. My good friend, who is a great videographer, and pretty damned creative guy, got together with a couple of friends and produced a video for the song "Hold Me Now" to enter in the contest. I just got a chance to see it a few days ago. I thought it was pretty good. Lots of imagery, very colorful, right up their alley. So I was quite surprised when he said that they never contacted him. I figured they would at least send a nice rejection letter. But no, nothing. I'm sure they must have recieved a lot of entries, but it would have been nice to at least be acknowledged, even if it was a rejection.

Months went by, and they finally announced the winner. The winning video conained what I guess you would call a bunch of muppet-like characters dancing around. I was not impressed. Never mind my bias, my friend's video was way better than this ridiculous piece of work. Again, I was shocked that they completely ignored his entry. At least, we thought it had been ignored. Until we saw their latest video. Oddly enough, one of the segments in this new video looked strangely similar to that of my friend's video. Coincidence? I suppose it could be. But I have my doubts. I realize that creative people tend to think on a similar level, but I don't see that to be the case here.

Now, my friend isn't angry about it. He would just like the recognition from the folks at PS that, yes, they saw his video, and yes, they wanted to incorporate some of its aspects into one of their own, and indeed they did just that. But I doubt that will happen, so I'm pissed for him. And I plan to remain so.

Letters to the Editor

For my friends who don't live in Big D, here are a couple of LTE's that were printed in the Dallas Observer. I, of course, have plenty of copies.

Conscience? Ridiculous.
http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2004-12-30/news/letters.html

Ding-Ding Forever
http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2004-12-16/news/letters.html

Random thoughts

I love music. I think it's amazing that people can write songs, and I often wonder what their inspiration was in writing particular lyrics. My biggest curiosity - Alanis Morissette. I hadn't thought about this for a long time until someone brought it up recently. She wrote the greatest, most angry break-up song ever, "You Oughta Know". I loved that song, but I desperately wanted to know who it was about. I heard it was a hockey player, but no confirmation there. She whispered it to Larry David on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", but he didn't share. Recently, someone told me it was about Dave Coulier. I have no idea if that's true, but I have to assume it's not. Dave? The "Full House" guy? No way! How could you ever get that angry at a guy who does Bullwinkle and Popeye impressions? I saw him on "The Surreal Life" with the likes of Flava Flav and Brigitte Nielsen. Pity. I always had a crush on him, because he reminded me of my high-school boyfriend - minus the impressions. He really seemed like a pretty normal, nice guy. Someone you could hang out with, have a beer with. Just don't ask him if he thinks the Olsen twins are hot. He hates that.

What I got for Valentine's Day - Sour Grapes

Ok, I will admit it. I'm an angry, bitter woman, who'd rather choke on dirt than see another bouquet of Valentine's roses come through the office door. Is that so wrong?

Do I hate this day because I'm single? Well, yes and no. I am single, and although that does suck, I've hated Valentine's Day for a very long time. I would hate it if I had a boyfriend. I would hate it if I were married. The reasons vary, depending on my mood, but mostly because Valentine's Day has been a huge disappointment for me, every year, for as long as I can remember. The hype has totally killed this day for me.

It's not that I've never received the standard chocolates and flowers, because I have. Unfortunately, I usually got them from someone I cared nothing about. Those who were unfortunate enough to be in a relationship with me on V-Day all had an aversion to a nationally endorsed, greeting-card company derived holiday that forces you to express your undying love for the person you're already committed to. Can't really blame them for that. Not to mention that Valentine's Day is such a chick day. If I were a man, I'd boycott it too. Too much damn pressure to get just the right gift or make the right reservations at the perfect restaurant, or create the perfect proposal of marriage on the most romantic day of the year. Bah. Who's got time for that.

But would it have killed them to send me roses, just once?
Apparently.

And the bitterness continues....

At 4 PM that day, I realized that the rose parade was over, and I was not going to be a recipient. Once again. And that's fine really, because I wasn't expecting to be. Besides, by this time, any gift I would receive would just be pity candy, and no one wants that.

So how did I finish off my Valentine's Day? I walked right up to a cute guy at the train station, chatted him up and got his phone number. I never intended to call him, but that really wasn't the point. A small affirmation, even from a stranger, was what I needed for Valentine's Day. So starts a new V-Day tradition.

E-harmony and the Single Girl

E-harmony. I gave it a shot. What a joke.

I was in a relationship with a man I met on an internet dating site for well over a year. After a terrible, crushing break up, I got right back on the preverbial horse and thought I'd try my luck with the most popular dating site on the net. Boy oh boy. I had no idea what I was in for.

They are supposed to match you on 29 areas of compatibility. Apparently, religion and politics are not included in those areas. Neither is honesty. Or marital status. I went on precisely 3 dates, and the details are at least amusing.

The first guy they matched me with turned out to be married. We never went on a date, we only e-mailed each other a few times. After a few ‘getting to know you’ messages, he confessed to being married. I appreciated the honesty, but I was not interested in knowing anything else about him. He had the usual story - "She doesn't understand me, we're more like roommates, I'll be getting divorced soon." Blah, blah, blah. If I had a nickel for every time I'd heard that song. I don’t blame the site for his lie about being single. Unfortunately, I've heard this happens a lot there though. Maybe they should look into it.

The second was so far off it was as if our parents had set us up on a blind date. Our e-mails back and forth were lively and charming, and he sounded like a very nice guy. And he was. Just not at all my type. He lived on a farm - with real live chickens and goats - a mere three miles away from his ex-wife. I respect the joint custody proposition, I’m just not sure I want to live it -and certainly not on a farm. I’m a city girl. Well, a suburbs girl at least. In addition to being Old MCDonald, he was a very conservative Republican who graduated from one of the most conservative schools in the country. I believe my profile included information on my political affiliations and preferences. When he picked me up for our first date, he didn’t come to the door - he honked. HE HONKED. Not a good sign of things to come. He had made no plans as to where we were going, so he drove to a convenience store and went in to make a purchase. When he returned, we drove to a parking lot and drank beer. I felt like I was in high school again, and not in a good way. We talked for a while, and I knew that this would never go anywhere. He took me home. No, he didn’t walk me to the door. No, we didn’t go out again.

Number three was an experiment in odd priorities. He drove a sports car, but lived in a trailer, and for some reason had no visitation rights with his children. Red flags, anyone? We met, he was somewhat attractive, but a bit dumb. By no means am I a genius, but I need someone who can carry on at least a rudimentary conversation about world events. Hot Rod man did not posess this ability. Thankfully, we met in a neutral location, and I was able to get out of there quickly.

Finally, Mr. Four. He was definitely divorced, he never lived on a farm, owned a real house, and his ex lived in another state. So far so good. Our phone conversations were good, he was funny, smart and down to earth. When we met for dinner, he gave me a hug. We had a nice dinner, and the conversation never lagged at all. The Presidential election had just passed, so we talked about politics a bit. When I mentioned I had worked for a fairly liberal women's organization for several years, he seemed to find that unpleasant. Once again, conservative Republican. But, he seemed like a nice guy, so I didn’t dismiss the thought of a second date right away. When the check came, I gave my obligatory ‘Can I split that with you?’ gesture. To my surprise, he said yes. So I pulled out my wallet and charged my portion of the meal - $20.00 - to my credit card. We parted with a hug, second date definitely dismissed. I can take myself out to dinner.

I continued getting new matches, and I continued reading about these men. I turned down at least a dozen for various reasons. Many for the distance. The previous boyfriend lived over an hour away, and that was really hard on both of us, as well as our kids. I was hoping for someone a little closer to home. When I signed up with EH, I was without a car, yet they were sending me profiles of men who lived as far away as Oklahoma - and in my experience, NO man is worth a 4 hour bus ride.

One of the pieces in the profile is a list of the three things for which you are most thankful. I turned down several based on their answers here. When their list of 'things to be thankful for' included "Bush’s re-election" and "Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior", I know I’ve gotta keep looking. I’m not an atheist, but I answered that my preference was someone with no specific religious affiliation. I’d say Christian is quite specific.

So I’ve cancelled my membership with e-Harmony. It wasn't worth the money, and I'm shocked that anyone has ever found a compatible mate thru their site. Maybe I didn’t give it long enough. Maybe I was too picky. But I can tell you, I've had better luck on dating sites that didn’t try very hard, or promise to find you your 'soul mate'. Staying single is probably the best thing for me. But seriously, what should I have expected from e-Harmony, when the founder looks like Orville Reddenbacher's twin brother? (thanks for that one Russ.)