Fangled Friday (as opposed to Newfangled Friday)

Thought for Today:
"Life is made up of desires that seem big and vital one minute, and little and absurd the next. I guess we get what's best for us in the end." — Alice Caldwell Rice, American humorist (1870-1942).

Sudiegirl's response:
I just hope whatever I get in the end isn't sharp and pointed. With my luck, though...it will be.





Well, it's Friday. That's about all I can say at this point.

One question I have about this whole Virginia Tech tragedy...I thought I read somewhere that VTech was going to award the victims with posthumous diplomas. Is that true? If so, I think it's a lousy idea. I understand the spirit of the thing, but it's not a sound premise. If you want to do the victims a favor, forgive their student loans. That'll take a big burden off their parents.

Secondly, in the "Good Question" department, the question has come up about which should take priority when dealing with the concept of mentally ill students. Should you lean toward privacy or security?

As someone who is mentally ill (albeit not quite like Mr. Cho), I'm not sure what to think. It's a very delicate situation. There's no right blanket-statement answer for this one. Mr. Cho was definitely on the other end of the spectrum (as in "harmful to self and others"), and administrators were warned by faculty and staff that Cho was a potential danger.

However, I guess I can see why the administration was hesitant...that's some pretty heavy stuff to lay on another, you know? I've heard of cases where someone's reputation was damaged based on mistaken perceptions about them. While Mr. Cho's actions and writings were definitely "out there", it'd be a very difficult thing to actually point the finger and say, "You're out of here" unless he DID something to act on those suspicions beyond writing and taking pictures of girls' knees.

We're a litigious society here in the good ol' US of A, and I'll bet you dollars to donuts that if Cho was really trying to prove some kind of point, he'd attempt to sue if VTech kicked him out for being mentally unstable. He'd be justified under the Americans With Disabilities act if there was enough documentation, etc.

However, something tells me he'd be outside the lines for that, and not know he's mentally ill. So what can one do?

I'm not justifying anything Cho has done when I talk about this...I'm just stating why I think it's such a fine line, you know?

I hope the families can heal, though...and hopefully the media (myself included) will QUIT talking about this person. Then maybe Cho's family can heal too.

Off the soapbox...

Now...in the "HUNK OVER LOAD department!!!", the good folks at Rancho Sudiegirl, Inc., are pleased to discover that both George Clooney AND Brad Pitt are making a movie with...the Coen Brothers.

I'd jump for joy if I weren't so damned lazy and uncoordinated. To quote the article:

Brad Pitt has signed on to join his "Ocean's Thirteen" co-star George Clooney in the Coen brothers' black comedy "Burn After Reading."

The project, which also stars Frances McDormand, centers on a CIA agent who loses the disc of the book he is writing. Like the film's title, the screenplay is shrouded in secrecy, and it was unclear what role Pitt would play.

The actor will begin shooting the film in late August.

Yayayayayayayayay! Seriously, could the film industry get it any MORE right than this?

You got your Coen brothers...auteurs of films such as "Raising Arizona", "O Brother Where Art Thou?", "The Big Lebowski", and "Intolerable Cruelty".

You got Oscar winner and MAJOR hottie George Clooney.

You got Oscar nominee and another MAJOR hottie Brad Pitt.

Put 'em all together and you've got a good film that's another "panty-soaker". Ay-yi-yi. I do believe I have the vapors.

(Pardon me for the "panty-soaker" descriptor, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em.)

So NOW...thanks to "What the BLOG?!!", I do believe I have a celebrity Ass Hat.

Yes...Alec Baldwin truly shines as a father, according to this article. Here's the jist of it, according to this quote:

The festering bad blood between movie-star exes Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger erupted Thursday when an angry phone message from Baldwin to his daughter was made public. On the recording, Baldwin can be heard berating his 11-year-old, Ireland, "You are a rude, thoughtless little pig."

"You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being," he says, apparently upset that she did not answer her phone for a planned call.

"I don't give a damn that you're 12 years old, or 11 years old, or that you're a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass who doesn't care about what you do as far as I'm concerned. You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone."

He goes on to say that he plans to fly from New York to Los Angeles "for the day just to straighten you out on this issue."

OK...let's talk about this.

With all the celebrity weirdness going on, is it unreasonable to maybe suggest to all major talent agencies that performers should be forced to take parenting classes?

This is ridiculous, on SOOOOO many levels. Let's dissect it, shall we?

First, she's 12. Yes, she should know better than to not return a phone call from a parent. That's a given. But she is 12, for God's sake. She's testing boundaries; she's going through just as much hell as the parents are...OR MORE.

Also, his reaction is understandable, but she's still a kid. Nice language..."rude, thoughtless little pig". Nice to know that Oscar nomination a few years ago has really dulled the anger.

Furthermore, the whole "leak" of the voice mail in question is kind of weird. How much you wanna bet that it wasn't Kim Basinger, but rather, someone within the lawyer's office? I can't imagine a lawyer being that stupid (although I've been proven wrong before), but who's to say one of his paralegals or office staff didn't leak it?

Either way, this poor kid is paying for the egos of two "asshat" celebrity parents, so there's my nomination. Enjoy, folks!

And that, as they say, is that for Friday.