News, stuff, things, awards...

Today in history:

In 1986, Kerr-McGee Corp. agreed to pay the estate of the late Karen Silkwood $1.38 million, settling a 10-year-old nuclear contamination lawsuit.







Thought for Today:

"Life does not give itself to one who tries to keep all its advantages at once. I have often thought morality may perhaps consist solely in the courage of making a choice." — Leon Blum, French statesman (1872-1950).

Sudiegirl's response:

What about the TIMING of the choice? I mean, if George Clooney is sucking on MY neck, morality is just another word, like "galoshes". If I said, "OH GEORGE, PLEASE...let's look at this from a moral standpoint...", he'd leave and I'd spend another evening watching Boomerang. Three words - No. Thank. You.

Well, it's a warm (but not humid) late-August day here in the Nation's Capital. And I've got some awards to divvy up here. Don't push, don't shove...everyone will get their own in time!

We've got two "Bonehead" awards today!

First recipient: Punit Shablok, a restauranteur from Mumbai, India

Reason for award: Naming his new restaurant "Hitler's Cross".

To quote the article:

'Hitler's Cross', which opened last week, serves up a wide range of continental fare and a big helping of controversy, thanks to a name the owners say they chose to stand out among hundreds of Mumbai eateries.

"We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people's minds," owner Punit Shablok told Reuters.

"We are not promoting Hitler. But we want to tell people we are different in the way he was different."

The decor reflects the Third Reich tribute, using SS colors, a blazing red swastika, and
a gigantic portait of Hitler.

Judge's comments:

Would someone please get Mr. Shablok a PR firm, stat? (Either that or a cyanide capsule)

There are lots of unique people in the world. Why did you have to pick one that's noted for annihilating an entire race of people?

Come on...you could have picked...say...Heywood Banks! Or Carrot Top, maybe? How about Wayland Flowers and Madame (or whichever puppeteer is sticking their hand up Madame's skirt these days)?

This is truly offensive, and I really hope that Mr. Shablok comes to his senses SOON. Otherwise, he might go bankrupt, or else a loose cannon will set his Third Reich tribute eatery on fire. (Not me...I'm too broke to afford a flight to India.)

And BTW, having a big-ass picture of Hitler is more likely to make people lose their lunch than want to eat your lunch special. I'm just sayin'.

Second Recipient: District Judge Kristine Cecava

Reason for award: She decided to give a sex offender 10 years of intensive probation instead of jail time. The quote from this article states her reasoning...

In deciding against prison time, District Judge Kristine Cecava expressed concern that the 5-foot-1 Thompson would be especially vulnerable behind bars.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning seems to think the opposite way. To quote the article again:

"The punishment needs to fit the crime," Bruning said Monday. "Sexual assault of a child is a serious crime, and Mr. Thompson is a danger to Nebraskans."

Mr. Thompson was found guilty of having sexual contact with a 13-year old girl.

Judge's comments:

OK...let's look at various things that are smaller than us, yet very harmful.

1. Scorpions
2. Black widow spiders
3. Rattlesnakes (they may be long, but they're on their bellies so they're closer to the ground)
4. Ticks (they carry Lyme disease)
5. fire ants
6. Some mosquitos that carry malaria
7. Poisonous frogs
8. jellyfish
9. piranha (yep - they can eat a side of beef in, like, two seconds)
10. any small mammal that carries rabies.

So, where's the logic?

Let's face it - the little man made his bed, and he needs to lie in it.

It shouldn't matter if he's 5'1" or 6'5"...he took a girl's innocence away.

Through his actons, he made it that much harder for this girl to trust adults in general, and men in particular.

There's a price to pay for that. The fact that he didn't pay that price at the hands of the girl's parents is fortunate on his part, but now he's gotta go. If he meets a bad end in jail, he's no different from other sex offenders. He should have thought of that before he acted.

Sorry Charlie...them's the breaks.

A new award has been created today...it is the "Huh?" award, designed for those who make decisions that contrast greatly with what has gone before and we just don't get WHY. Again, this is sponsored by Rancho Sudiegirl, Inc., where our motto is "What the hell are you talking about?"

First Recipient: Media regulator Ofcom, out of Great Britain

Reason for Award: Based on ONE viewer (note the number) complaining, Ofcom posted an online bulletin stating that there were, quote, "concerns that smoking on television may normalize smoking..."

BTW, for you cartoon fans out there, the Tom & Jerry cartoons in question were "Texas Tom" (one of my favorites) and "Tennis Chumps" (one character is smoking a cigar).

As a result of this complaint, Ofcom went to Turner Broadcasting (the licensee for these cartoons). Turner Broadcasting edited the offensive scenes out.

Note of redemption: not all the smoking scenes in all the cartoons have been cut - only the two that have been named above. Again, to quote the article:

Ofcom said it recognized smoking was more generally accepted when cartoons were produced in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, but noted that the threshold for including such scenes when the audience is predominately young should be high.

*****UPDATE: as of this morning (per the article) the VP of programming acquisitions and presentation for Turner Broadcasting UK was quoted as saying:

"We have now pledged to view Boomerang's entire library of favorite cartoons and remove all other references that could be seen as glamorizing smoking in all our shows..."

Judge's comments:

OK...this is the country that gave us "Monty Python's Flying Circus".

This is the country where a film production company created "Trainspotting", which contains a "fantasy sequence" where a drug addict crawls into a filthy toilet to get his drug of choice.

So now, ONE person complained to this media regulator (and BTW, what IS THAT? Is that like Donald "let's ruin everything good about television" Wildmon's ministry?) and two GREAT cartoons are hacked up.

Also, I think most children know that cats and dogs in cartoons are different than their cat and/or dog. If they don't get it, they need to get it. But if kids DON'T get it, they need to be guided in many more ways than their television programming choices.

And finally, a long-awaited yet hardly coveted "Scrappy Doo" award will be given out once more. This award goes to ideas, people, entities, etc. that are totally unnecessary, just like Scrappy-Doo! So here's today's Scrappy-Doo...

And today's UNNECESSARY BEHAVIOR???

Buying cashmere for infants and toddlers!!!!

Yes, folks, it's true. Apparently, this is the newest thing for people with more money than sense. To quote the article:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three-year-old Chloe Colligan picks out her camp clothes at discount retailer Target, but for other occasions, she wears the cashmere, velvet, silk and woven cotton fashions of luxury children's clothing maker Baby CZ.

Now, I remember being a kid. I am also acquainted with toddlers. One thing I know for sure is that kids are hard on clothing. Also, if kids are fed, they will grow...it's a proven scientific fact.

So why in GOD's name would you spend a lot of money on clothing that will be ruined and/or outgrown in a year?

Well, gee...according to Cleveland entrepreneur Victoria Colligan, she had this to say about cleaning cashmere:

"It's a little bit of a misconception that something is uncleanable or unwearable if something happens to it," said Colligan, who also has a 2-year-old daughter named Somerset. "I can find a way to clean anything."

I'll bet you are thinking the same thing I am...the way she "cleans anything" is she has SOMEONE ELSE DO IT.

What a clueless cow. (And I'm not talking about her size...I'm talking about the fact that she's had offspring. If you remember one of the science lessons in this blog, a "cow" has had babies but a "heifer" has not. Therefore, I'm a heifer and she's a cow. Mooooooooooooo)

But anyway...the article talks about people having babies later, and having smaller families, and having more money to spend on the kids. Apparently, nobody's discussed the "just 'cause you've got lotsa money doesn't mean you have to spend it like a drunken sailor" principle.

My mom and dad made sure we had nice things - my mom could sew like nobody's business, and both Dad and Mom worked hard so we could have good, sturdy clothes. Hate to say it, but there are some things that Mommy can't share with Baby, and one of them should be cashmere.

I guess this is why I have cats, huh?

On that note, I'm leavin' ya alone until tomorrow. Don't kill each other, 'k?

Sudiegirl
(who doesn't even have a cashmere sweater...)