Great Interview Experiment: A Free Man

I once got hit in the head with a baseball bat in the fifth grade. True story. His name was Tony something, but we all called him Tony Baloney. Maybe I shouldn't have, thinking back on it.

But anyway, I didn't call this meeting to get all nostalgic about my head injuries. I wanted to tell you about my participation in something Neil (from Citizen of the Month) did. He hosted the Great Interview Experiment, where we all gather in a circle with our notepads, pencils, and press passes stuck in the rim of our caps. Then Neil yells GO!, and we begin to interview the person on our left.

So while Rootietoot interviewed me, I interviewed this dude in Australia named Chris who writes a blog called A Free Man. After introducing ourselves I asked him if he could call me "mate" but when he said "mate" it sounded like "mate", not "mite". So I said,  "Hey man, your voice got no flava" and he said it was because he wasn't actually from Australia originally. So I drilled (or is it grilled?) this Dr. Chris guy (he's got a Ph.D. in Genetics, y'all) who is actually from New York, by way of Florida, about a few things.

NGIP:  I realize you're a big college football enthusiast and all, but I'm not, so I'm not even going to ask you about your unhealthy obsession over the Georgia Dawgs or your scathing hatred for the Florida Gators or your humiliation regarding the Tennessee Vols. Is that OK with you?

Chris: It’s probably for the best really - not a great year. Despite being an avid sports fan, I had never been able to summon much enthusiasm for a professional sports team. When I graduated from The Finest University in the South, however, I discovered a loyalty to an institution that I never had before. Seems like the least that I can do to be a rabid Georgia football fan.

NGIP: You blog about the aspects of fatherhood. I particularly enjoyed your funny, yet moving post entitled Braggin' Rights. Do you consider yourself a "Daddy Blogger?"

Chris: I’m a daddy and a blogger, so I guess I’m a daddy blogger in some sense, especially lately. But I’ve been at this for a while now and I find that I go through spurts of blogging about all manner of things - music, politics, sports, science - whatever’s on my mind, really. I think I’m more of a guy with a blog.

NGIP:  You end each blog post with a music recommendation. You have officially turned me on to Gomez. I also read your blog post about Ben Folds, who is in my personal Top Ten list. Isn't Ben the greatest? If not, then who's your favorite? Have you heard Butch Walker?

Chris: I’ve not (heard Walker), but now I’m curious. Ben Folds is a great songwriter and even greater performer, but The Greatest™? Not sure. Some of my all time favorites are Wilco, R.E.M., Nirvana, Belle & Sebastien, Radiohead, Drive-by Truckers. Sure, I’d put Folds in that group, but his latest album was a polished turd, so I’m a little annoyed with him. I just love good music and I can tell upon listening whether it is good (pure, honest, evocative) or bad (plastic, saccharine, derivative). I’m a little bit of a snob when it comes to music.

NGIP:  You are a New York born, American native who has lived in England and currently resides in Australia. How dare you abandon your country, sir! What's Australia got that we haven't got?

Chris: Where to start? OK, the polite answer is that I came for love. My partner grew up here and when we had kids, we decided to come down here to raise them rather than the U.S. or U.K.

The impolitic answer is that the U.S.A. started to drive me nuts in the late 90’s. The politics, the consumerism, the pop culture. The crime, the religiosity, the intolerance. One day I was driving to work and saw an “America, Love it or Leave It” bumper sticker on the back of an SUV and thought to myself, “Self, that’s not a bad idea.”

OK, OK behave yourself, Chris. 

How about this - Australia has kangaroos.

NGIP: You're a scientist. Do sinks drain and toilets flush in the opposite direction as the US?

Chris: This is going to disappoint you, as it has many before you: I don’t know. I know that I’m a scientist and should be a keen observer of the natural world, but I’m going to go with the excuse that I’m a geneticist, not a physicist. Or a plumber.

NGIP: You refer to the University of Oxford, where you did post-doctoral research, as the "second best university in the world." What is the first best?

Chris: Actually, I think it’s the third or fourth best now. Much to their chagrin no doubt. I think the current rankings have Harvard as number 1. But it’s all a lot of faff isn’t it? The older I get, the less important that sort of thing seems. I will say, however, that my experience at Oxford was fantastic. But not because it is one of the best universities in the world. I learned how to live there and it had nothing to do with dons.

NGIP: I listen to science podcasts (such as The Naked Scientists and The Skeptics Guide to the Universe). Do you listen to any podcasts? And if so, do you have any favorites or recommendations?

Chris:  I love podcasts! One of my favourite ways to keep up with news as well as being entertained throughout the day. Here are five of my current favourites:

1. Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History

2. KCRW’s Left Right and Center

3. The History of Rome

4. The Moth

5. Slate’s Political Gabfest

NGIP: Tuesday is science day on A Free Man. I read your post entitled Science Tuesday: The MMR vaccine and autism - truth, lies and the media.  When you hear rumors, (like the one about vaccines causing autism, which leads to anti-vaccine causes, which leads to Jenny McCarthy jumping on the bus, which leads to parents not vaccinating their children, which leads to outbreaks of disease, like measels) does that drive you crazy? How can we make science more accessible and as entertaining as fear-mongering so that people will act more rationally?

Chris:  Yes. Absolutely. I’ve thought about dedicating my blog to dispelling the swill that gets reported as ‘fact’ by the lay media. It is dangerous, criminally so. If we had today’s 24 hour tabloid media in the 1950’s, you would still have hundreds of thousands of people coming down with polio every year. I know that the media is struggling and that dedicated science journalists are an endangered species, but what this means is that the general public is going to become increasingly illiterate about science. It really annoys me that the media has to find a sound bite that it thinks the public can handle. That assumes that the audience is stupid. Maybe they are - particularly Fox News viewers - but I have to think that people can handle a bit more detail.

I could go on and on. This reminds me that I haven’t done a science post in some time. Need to do that. In my own minute way I can be a part of the solution.

NGIP:  You have a Ph.D. in Genetics. In your opinion, what's this world coming to?

Chris:  Jesus! Don’t lob me any soft balls. I’m going to take the path of least resistance. In the words of your commander in chief - that’s above my pay grade.

Actually, the older I get the more optimistic I get because you start to see that most dire predictions are products of the Chicken Little syndrome. That’s not to say that the world isn’t going to crap, just that it’s going to crap a little more slowly than I thought when I was young and all political.

I'd like to thank Chris for putting up with my silly questions and for playing along in this Great Interview Experiment. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming: Squirrels Playing in the Snow.








The Lucky Winners of Marrying George Clooney

For those of you who have been chomping at the bit, I can now tell you that the actual amount of money in this jar was $129.66. The #1 guess by Lisa from Pennsylvania was off by a whopping 34 cents - wow!

And here are the winners of the book Marrying George Clooney by Amy Ferris:


Lisa from Pennsylvania
Wendy at It's Really Only a Purple World
Mrs K at Mrs. K
Bonnie from California
Charlene from Virginia
Gianna at Real Moms...Real Views
DG at Diary of a Mad Bathroom
Nicole at The Hughes Family
Tammy H at Happenings on the Hill
MA Fat Woman at Reflections on a Middle-Aged Fat Woman
Kerry from Alaska
Katie from Oregon
Donna at The Shepards
Lance from New York

Congratulations!

Goat Thing of the Day: Performance Art

Imagine that clunky tinny circus music as you fidget in your seat, wondering if you shouldn't have had that last fried something-on-a-stick, followed by absolute silence. Followed by a drum roll. The announcer comes over the microphone as you crane your neck upward: "Layyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyydees and Gentlemen! If you will direct your attention to Miss Lila one hundred feet above me....":

via Julia from Sometimes Lucid

Is she going to walk a tightrope? Dive into a bucket? What is this poor goat, who is literally half white and half brown, as if her coloring was professionally done, doing way up there?


Also, here's a lovely gift idea for the goat girl or guy who has everything:

as seen on Kim Graham Studios via Elmlish

Today's is the last day to enter the Marrying George Clooney Giveaway. The contest ends at midnight tonight.

This Year's Christmas Card: The Yule Kids

If I were sending out Christmas cards this year (and I'm not, so don't hold your breath), this is the picture I would slap on the front...

sent in by Tammy of Happenings on the Hill

And now.... a Christmas Carol:

Deck the halls with boys and nannies,

Baa-baa-baa-baa-baa, baa-baa-baa-baa.

Throw on makeshift hats from panties,

Baa-baa-baa-baa-baa, baa-baa-baa-baa.

Don we now our smiles and say cheese,

Baa-baa-baa-baa-baa, baa-baa-baa-baa.

Hurry up Mom before we freeze,

Baa-baa-baa-baa-baa, baa-baa-baa-baa.

From all of us here at Nanny Goats in Panties to all you "kids" out there...

We wish you a Merry SITSmas! (because today is a big bloggerama SITSmas card swapping extravaganza party thing where all the gals and a guy named Preston run around the blogosphere like crazy wishing each other a Merry SITSmas).

Also? There's a big holiday party going on over at SITS, where EVERYONE, SITSta or not, can join in the fun. Prizes are given out every hour all day, so go hit SITS every 60 minutes. I mean, it's not like it's a work day or anything, is it?

Also? In between goofing off to win fabulous prizes, you can visit some of the SITS gals I recently met in Vegas:

The R Family Diaries
Mindless Junque

Stroke of Living

House of Prince

Bobbi in LaLa Land

Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom

The Young and the Relentless

Damn You Little Rock

The Bee Dot

Also? If you haven't yet entered the NGIP giveaway where you guess how much money is in the jar and the 15 closest guesses wins a copy of the hilarious memoir, Marrying George Clooney, then for the love of all that is holy, go enter now!

Also? I'll be shutting up about the contest before 11:59pm on Wednesday, December 9, 2009.

Goat Thing of the Day: Curious Starers

A fellow blogger, Beth (from What I Should Have Said) and her hubby went for a Sunday drive. They found a dilapidated house and in the field next to it were these curious things. Goat things.

What is it about goats that seem so ready and willing for their close-up?

Thanks, Beth!


And for an additional Goaty Thingy treat, Travis pointed me to a Craigslist ad about a goat, which I shall totally lift and put here (since my many many thousands and thousands of NGIP Kindle subscribers cannot simply click over to it, unless, of course, they have the Kindle Supra Turbo Cobra 9000).

And I quote:

Good and Evil. Two Pygmy Goats

---

Date: 2009-03-29, 1:38PM EDT

---

This is the story of two goats. One is as black as midnight, thus his very creative name, Midnight. His coat may be black, but his heart is golden and he is like a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day. He's content to sit in the grass and nibble away at the weeds and just be an all around good guy. He likes freshly cut grass, all weeds, vines, corn and sweet feed. He hasn't been with us for very long, but he's been a joy to have here.

Then there's Mr. Marbles. He's a much larger goat who will head-butt a fence post, a shed, a car, a lawnmower, a cat or anything else that looks too perfect. He likes things to be dented, knocked over or destroyed. He will eat anything. I mean anything. He will try to eat your clothes off your body and has tried to steal cigarettes out of the hands of visitors. He's very good at hopping fences or bashing them down. If there is a car he can get to, he will climb on the hood and leave a million little hoof dents in it. He'll pull the windshield wipers off for you, pull the trim pieces off, eat them and then use his head to bash out all the marker lights. He can even open the doors if left alone to ponder it long enough. He likes freshly cut grass, all weeds, vines, corn, sweet feed, ornamental shrubs, all expensive plants and trees, Fritos, siding, insulation, plastic, metal, cloth, and most composite materials. He also seems to be addicted to nicotine.

These two wethers are attached to each other, so you can't have good without evil. Midnight screams his head off when he can't see Mr. Marbles. We need a home for them where they can be kept together and FAR away from any houses, sheds, vehicles, or cigarettes. We'd like to find a friendly, responsible goat farm for them. Although we've threatened to barbecue Mr. Marbles many, many, many, many times, we do prefer that neither of them be used for food. We will give them free to a good home. Please email if interested. WE WILL NOT SEPARATE THEM, so please understand that you cannot have the good without the evil. This is a package deal. We will not be held responsible for the damage Mr. Marbles is going to do to your property. Once again, these goats are FREE to a good home. All we ask is that you return our lawnmower key if Mr. Marbles happens to eventually poop it out. Thank you.

UPDATE: Mr. Marbles has now learned how to turn on the water faucet. He thinks it's so cool that he does it constantly, all day long. Sometimes throughout the night. I know there has to be someone out there who would appreciate this unique skill. Not every goat knows how to drain a well.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that Nanny Goats in Panties was recently interviewed by Rootietoot from Because It Really Is Personal, wherein I'm asked, once again, how this blog got its name, among other curious questions.

And another thing....
NGIP is giving away 15 copies of Marrying George Clooney by Amy Ferris. Just guess how much money is in a jar. If you are one of the 15th closest guesses (over or under), you get a book, personally signed the by the author! See the details of book giveaway here. The contest ends this Wednesday, December 9th.

How to Do Coinstar. Also? Win "Marrying George Clooney"

Everybody has a change purse. Some look like this:

or this:

Mine looks like this:

That's Lacy, the NGIP mascot, if you haven't met her yet.

Time to cash it in! And if you can get your butt over to a Coinstar machine by December 6, they will give you an extra $10.00 if you cash in $40.00 or more. The official rules regarding the $10 Coinstar rebate can be found at http://www.coinstar.com/us/html/q4_officialrules.

You might be saying, "But Margaret (or Nanny Goats, or Hey You, or whatever) I'm scared of those machines. I'll do it all wrong and lose ten dollars in the process. Can you help me?"

But of course! Here's what you do.

First, find the closest Coinstar location near you by visiting http://locator.coinstar.com. Mine was a Raley's grocery store.

Second, put your money in one of those green recyclable shopping bags. Go to the appointed grocery store and as you enter, avert your eyes away from the panhandler who will ask if you have any spare change.

Next, wander around the store, tasting all the food in the bulk aisle, until you encounter the Coinstar machine.

Cue Heavenly chorus music

Approach the machine with awed reverence. You may wish to kiss it or not. It's up to you, but it's about to give you ten free dollars, pal. Whip out your money jar with a flourish and press the START button on the screen.

Right about now, you're probably saying, "Hey, I just want to cash in my coins." No you don't. There is a reason you should choose Buy Prepaid Products and not Cash in Coins.

But there is no fee if you take the money in the form of a Prepaid Product, such as a gift card. So just let me finish and stop interrupting. If you have any questions, just save them for the end. Now where was I? Oh yeah. Select eCertificates.

Then select your gift card destination of choice, such as Amazon.com.

I realize you're tempted to interrupt here and ask me if it's true that Nanny Goats in Panties is available on the Amazon Kindle, but that would be rude because I'm in a real groove here so, less of the talking and more of the listening, okay?

You'll go through a couple more screens and then it's time to start pouring it in!

Lift up that red handle on the left periodically to facilitate the process.

 Watch the money add up on the screen.

Keep pouring and realize that those stupid penny rolls you've had since college have once again presented themselves.

Notice that there is someone else now waiting to use the machine as you stop to break open these pesky logs o' pennies. (Not to mention the fact that you keep stopping to snap a picture of this mundane exercise every 90 seconds)

Take too long to open the pennies and snap pictures so that the machine thinks you're done and starts printing out your gift card receipt even though you haven't reached the $40 minimum for the $10 rebate.

Curse under your breath.

Start the whole process again and worry that you won't make it to the $40 minimum this time. Apologize to the woman behind you. Debate telling her that you're doing this for your readers, that you have a blog. Imagine the strange looks you'll get from her as her patient smile fades, giving way to irritation. Decide not to say anything and press the stupid buttons as fast as you can to show how earnest you are in letting her have her turn already. Check her grocery cart to make sure she doesn't have ice cream melting onto the floor.

Grab your receipts, thank the lady behind you for her patience, and get out of her way.

And now for the fun part. Can you guess how much total money I had in my money jar? Here's the picture again.

The FIFTEEN closest guesses will get a personally signed copy of Amy Ferris' awesomely funny memoir, Marrying George Clooney.    Click here to enter:  Enter Marrying George Clooney Giveaway.

UPDATE:  THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED TO ENTRIES

Also: My review of Marrying George Clooney, by Amy Ferris. Her book is also available on Kindle.

And: Amy Ferris' blog, Marrying George Clooney.

Goat Thing of the Day: Groovy, Baby

Michele (of MidLifeMama) sometimes hangs out at Drumlin Farm, a working farm that has an educational component. She captured a photo of one of their females that almost looks like she might be smiling. Unless that's just lip liner.

Aaaaaaaand, Andy Megawon (of Andy Megawon's Blog), as well as Braja (of Lost and Found in India) showed me the following groovy picture from the I Can Has Cheezburger site.