“Having a husband creates an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, tying the knot saves an hour of weekly chores.”

I realize for most women this is a moment where you say “Tell me something that is not obvious”…it’s interesting…however the most humorous thing to me is reading the comments… For a full rundown of the study about how men create more work for women check here.

Personally I blame the whole thing on government. With all the talk about the economy and jobs, I am sure that men just thought they were helping out. Politicians always talk about creating jobs, right? Well most men simply confused creating jobs with creating work….maybe?

Either way, if my wife is reading this, I promise to pick up my socks when I get home

I am not dead yet.

On February (thought: don’t you love spell check?) 12, 2008, my little sis and I went to see Monty Python’s SPAMALOT at TPAC’s Jackson Hall and it was excellent. For those of you who are more confused than normal at the moment, Spamalot is (take from show description:

Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical, Monty Python’s Spamalot is the outrageous new musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the film classic “Monty Python and The Holy Grail.” Directed by Tony Award-winner Mike Nichols, with a book by Eric Idle and music and lyrics by the Grammy Award-winning team of Mr. Idle and John Du Prez, Spamalot tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their quest for the Holy Grail. Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchmen and show-stopping musical numbers are just a few of the reasons audiences everywhere are eating up Spamalot.

I have always been a Python fan (and frankly don’t understand those who are not…English bed wetting types I suppose), and I was not disappointed in any way. The production had quite a few moments from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and it was quite entertaining to hear the echoes in the crowd as they repeated the lines. Even patrons who are not fans of Python would agree that the show was well worth the time and you will laugh all through it. When you buy ticket I would encourage you to try to get seat D101 (in Nashville especially), A101, B101, or C101. I don’t want to reveal too much (even though I am the type of person who enjoys reading the end of a book first), but if your curios as to why read day 6.9.2005 from the “seldom updated site” at kouri.org. It honestly made me jealous, but I just stopped that and started being awesome instead.

I guess it had never occurred to me that plays like this might use different casts. I know in the original (that one a Tony Award) Tim Curry played Sir Arthur and in more recent news you might notice Clay Aiken is playing the role of the Brave Sir Robin. Well…in Nashville I saw neither, however the U.S. touring cast of Spamalot was excellent. And I must say that Ester Stilwell who played the Lady of the Lake can really sing. I loved her diva rant (and I thought it was excellent of Eric Idle to drop the reference to Brittany Spears citing that “we don’t laugh at sad people.”)

Either way, overall it was an excellent show, I even picked up the soundtrack so I could listen to “Always, Look on the Bright Side of Life.”..I should also mention that “The Song that Goes Like This,” will have you (as it did me) rolling in the aisle…(by the way: when rolling in the aisles make sure you are aware of your surroundings…aka. not on a balcony near the edge, even though laughter is good for you, this may not be.)

In the event that all of this Python foolery is not enough you could always try organizing a World Record breaking even like the largest number of people in one location playing coconuts at the same time.

Technorati Tags:Monty Python’s Spamalot, monty python, theatre, broadway, wicked, musical, musicals, theater, comedy, montypython

German is the most extravagantly ugly language – it sounds like someone using a sick bag on a 747.

Now, I must disagree with Willy here, because I feel that the German language sounds like trying to cough up a non-vital organ or the better part of a burger that has been caught in your throat (sorry for the disgusting mental imagery). However, it did get me thinking about the need for learning a second language.

Most everyone at some point in time has taken a bit of foreign language. I took 2 semester in High School and one in college, until I learned that when pursuing a Civil Engineering degree it is only necessary to speak Engineer-eze (a combination of math and geek speak, which is a foreign language unto itself). I also feel that most everyone will be approached with a situation at sometime when knowing a foreign language is useful. If not the entire language at least know how to say “cheese” (queso), for when you go to the really good Mexican restaurants. Even though knowing how to say cheese is probably the most useful word in most languages, you should probably go a bit further.

Not too long ago, my wife and I went to Texas and it was awesome to meet her friend who had been taught both Spanish and English from birth. I honestly felt dumb, and for those of you who know me you realize how rare that is. I knew when they were talking about cheese in Spanish but got lost quite often in the rest of the conversation. Even before that, my wife and I desired to learn a second language…I have tried out a few online sites and podcasts but I am actually anxious to try out the Rosetta Stone software. The main question is why? So here is a small list of reasons why you should to learn a second language.

1. Not everyone speaks English..if you have ever called a tech support line you are painfully aware of that. Just face the facts. If you want to communicate effectively with people then you need to speak the same language. This is also why men and women don’t communicate well…the language barrier. I’m not sure what we both speak, but it’s definitely not the same…I must digress. I would also like to take this opportunity to completely skip over all issues related to illegal immigration in America and how it effects the United States in social and economic ways. Thank you.

2. Better Pay and more job opportunities. Jobs simply tend to pay better if you can communicate in more than one language… Again with tech support I’m not even sure if you have to speak it well. Most jobs are willing to pay more if you are bi-lingual. In fact, job applicants get can expect on average 27.43% better pay if they can speak a second language in most cases (yes…I just made this statistic up, but it sounded good right?). Want some more incentive about jobs just check out listing on Careerbuilder.com or see this article at Career Ramblings on the need for bilingual employees in the U.S.

3. You just sound smarter. That’s right, if you can flip back and forth between languages you sound much more intelligent, especially since no one else know what the hell your saying at times… Even speaking Pig Latin can help. As a side note, I should mention that it also helps you seem more intelligent if you can speak your own language correctly. Seems to be a lost art now.

4. You won’t look like an idiot when visiting a foreign country. This kind of goes along with number 4 but in a different way. Tell you what go to Germany and try to communicate with the locals. While your there, don’t be too surprised when you find out someone just charged you $100 instead of $1 for the authentic lederhosen you bought. Also, you won’t be seen as the dumb tourist and you’ll earn a lot more respect from the locals if you can communicate in the language native to the land.

5. It will help you with the ladies. Especially if they don’t speak English. Then again maybe that is what you want, a date that won’t talk much. Either way, I can’t really prove this, so just take my word it’s true and we will move on.

6. You might challenge yourself and learn something. Now I realize that actually wanting to learn something is a foreign concept to most people..heck look at mySpace for more than 10 minutes and you will be sure that the pursuit knowledge ended long ago is is no longer taught in schools.

7. Confusion. If none of that made any sense or if you just don’t care, just read this funny shirt and have a good laugh. You’ll feel better and your mind won’t hurt…like it would if you tried learning another language.