I hear the drizzle of the rain

I do.  And Kathy's Song is my favorite right now.  It often is.

I hope that all of my dear readers did a little something to celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day on Sunday (September 19th every year).

Another fun fact about me: I always sprinkle parmesan cheese on my popcorn.
 I've been eating a lot of popcorn recently- it's a great, cheap snack. And while I adore real parmesan (the kind you grate onto pasta or cut pieces of to savor), I also have a thing for Kraft sprinkle cheese.  According to my parents, I used to eat it plain out of a bowl.  This brings me to today's topic:  
Things that are similar, but are in fact very different.  
Observe:

(I'm finding it very hard to format on this freakin' thing. I wanted to label the above photos, but when I did they moved away from each other, and they really need to be together for the sake of comparison. So let's just say that under the picture on the left it says: Figure 1 and under the picture on the right it says: Figure 2)

FIGURE 2 IS NEVER AN ACCEPTABLE REPLACEMENT FOR FIGURE 1.

Look at them. The containers are the exact same shape and the fluffy white stuff inside looks pretty much the same. But why, oh why, did I think that I could eat something called "Parmesan Style Grated Topping"? Oh, this hunk of plastic is parmesan-style. We'll just grate it and sell it as reduced-fat. GROSS.
I only bought it because the grocery store was out of Figure 1 (our HEB has serious restocking issues because it's plagued by college students 24 hours a day). Luckily, there was some more Figure 1 when I went yesterday and I bought some. But I am poor enough to want to use all of Figure 2 before I open my new canister. 

Also on today's list: Bryan Fuller. I have great respect for the imagination residing inside of Bryan Fuller. He (and his imagination) are a great man. This brings us to the next comparison:
Pushing Daisies vs. Dead Like Me.
Sure, these two may seem equivalent at first glance. Netflix wants me to watch both based on my interest in "Quirky Television."  Both deal prominently with death and ways to escape it (I think Bryan Fuller may have a complex), while at the same time bypassing this topic to deal mainly with everyday issues that even normal people face.  Both have wonderful character development and both keep me entertained for hours. 
But. Where Pushing Daisies had me swooning over Lee Pace and wanting to be Chuck, Dead Like Me characters are sort of a train wreck.  In a good way.  Pushing Daisies is technicolor bright and happy and musical andIwishthereweremoreepisodes.  Dead Like Me makes me cry almost every episode.  And it also makes me want to LIVE. And Mandy Patinkin is amazing. I wish I could see him on Broadway.
I read an article about the possibility of a Pushing Daisies movie. The article called it "pulling a Firefly."  But I think the more apt description would be "pulling a Dead Like Me," since this canceled Bryan Fuller series also made a movie (which I will watch, once I finish Season 2).

 

Yes, this is my trash can. But I was struck by the unintentional parallel.  I like straws.