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"It's too bad stupidity isn't painful."
Volume 15, Number 23, June 6, 2010
Greetings, and thanks for joining me for another week. Starting us off are a few news stories you may have missed. First,oops! He might as well have left a business card. A burglary suspect in Florida was charged after authorities found the license plate from his car at the crime scene. Police say security camera video from a gas station break-in shows a sedan pulling up to the store and a man smashing the window and stealing cigarettes. Before the car drives away, the video shows the car's license plate falling off. Police retrieved the plate and traced it to a vehicle and its owner. Bus-ted! (CBSNews.com)
Next, and closely related to the above, a Colorado burglar has been arrested after being identified by his distinctive facial tattoo. The tattoo on the upper lip of the 20-year-old led to his arrest in connection with a break-in at the home of an Elvis impersonator in Pueblo County (“The perp has entered the building”). A witness told police that one of the invaders had "East Side" tattooed on his upper lip. The alleged crook also has a "13" tattooed on his chin in the shape of a goatee. According to a witness report, the tattoos were visible even though the man was wearing a mask. (http://web.orange.co.uk)
Finally, there’s art and there’s Art! Susan Collis' conceptual art, "Since I Fell for You," recently opened at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, England. It consisted of an empty room with pieces of lumber on the floor, along with a broom propped against a wall and an empty laundry bag. Several annoyed visitors voiced their displeasure, but Collis defended her work. "Often a work that looks very careless ... takes a long time to produce." [Birmingham Mail] I would love to have read reviews of that exhibition.
Presented exactly as presented (an absolutely disgraceful Bit!): “Gary Pfleider II served his country for six years before he became a member of the new generation of disabled veterans. Pfleider, a former Oregon National Guard soldier, was shot by a sniper while on patrol in Iraq in September 2007. He has only vague memories of the event, but now must live with a permanent reminder -- a brace he'll have to wear on his leg for the rest of his life. "I remember grabbing a hold of my leg, and realizing I had blood on my hands," he said. "And from that point on until I got loaded onto the Stryker was just a big blur." Three days after he was shot, Pfleider received a Purple Heart. Almost two years later, he received a bill from the military for missing equipment. The sum of the bill, which includes interest, is $3,175. It itemizes a list of gear the military issued to Pfleider that did not come back with his unit in 2008. The list includes clothing items, canteens and grenades.” [http://www.komonews.com] (And when are “they” going to change the name to the ‘International Guard’?????)
Seven things schools should be teaching but (in spite of their words) aren’t: 1. Critical Thinking and Problem-solving. 2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading By Influence. 3. Agility and Adaptability. 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism. 5. Effective Oral and Written Communication. 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information. 7. Curiosity and Imagination. [http://tinyurl.com/35p2dhn] Our schools are broken!
I suppose this Bit is somewhat connected with the last one. Seven high school seniors at a Southern California high school were facing disciplinary action for participating in a game called "Beat the Jew" in which losers were "incinerated" or "enslaved," a school administrator said. The ‘game’ involved some students playing the role of Nazis who blindfolded and dropped off other students playing Jews who must find their way back to the campus, said Sherry Johnstone, assistant superintendent of personnel for Desert Sands Unified School District (quite a title). It was not immediately clear what either punishment comprised for losing players, she said. Seven seniors at La Quinta High School could be suspended or barred from graduation, among other measures, Johnstone said. "This is appalling to us," she said. "We want our students to understand the horror of a title like this." (Huffington Post) Hel-lo! Maybe the ‘players’ could be incinerated or enslaved. (And maybe once-respected “press queen” Helen Thomas could be the guest emcee for the “game”: http://tinyurl.com/2aevmlk)
I don’t understand. MaryAnn and Jim McMahon thought their money troubles were over when they hit an $11 million jackpot at a casino. It turns out they were wrong. The Wildwood Casino blamed a slot machine malfunction for the $11 million jackpot. The machine was turned over to the Colorado Gaming Division for inspection. A spokesperson says their initial investigation shows the McMahon's didn't really win the $11 million prize. Gaming spokesperson Don Burmania said the machine failed to "reset" after the McMahon's won the $1627.82 prize. "They actually won $1627.82," said Burmania, "The $11 million was what we call a 'reset value.' It's what the jackpot would have been after the prize was claimed." (http://www.kdvr.com) And I suppose if they won $200 million in the state lottery, it’ll be a misprint!
A New Zealand funeral home has taken steps to halt a fake mourner who was attending up to four funerals a week to stock up on food, even filling up Tupperware containers to take home. Harbour City Funeral Home director Danny Langstraat told local newspaper The Dominion Post that the "grim eater" appeared at up to four funerals a week to enjoy the finger food but clearly did not know the deceased. The funeral company grew so concerned that it took a photograph of the man, thought to be aged in his 40s, and distributed the picture to its branches. "Certainly he had a backpack with some Tupperware containers so when people weren't looking, he was stocking up.” The man stopped coming after one staff member took him aside and told him he could come to funerals but could not take food home with him. Funeral Directors Association president Tony Garing said that such cases happened in the industry occasionally but it was difficult to stop people from coming or call their behavior theft because funerals were usually public events. (Reuters)
Cereal maker Kellogg Co has agreed to drop advertising claims that Rice Krispies will strengthen children's immune systems (and cure neuritis, neuralgia, and other maladies?). The Federal Trade Commission said the company had agreed early last yar to stop claiming that its Frosted Mini Wheats were "clinically shown to improve kids' attentiveness by nearly 20 percent." In an advertising campaign that began in about July 2009, Kellogg began advertising on cereal boxes that Rice Krispies "now helps support your child's immunity." "What is particularly disconcerting to us is that at the same time that Kellogg was making promises to the commission regarding Frosted Mini-Wheats, the company was preparing to make problematic claims about Rice Krispies," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz and Commissioner Julie Brill wrote in a statement. Kellogg said in a statement that it had "a long history of responsible advertising. (Yahoo! News) I mean, cereal is not a wonder drug? Who’da thunk it?
When I read the headlines, I can’t help but feel we really are doomed. With all the horror and tragedy hitting us daily, we still have people who are concerned about things like (1) “What Mariah Should Name Her Baby” (2) “Christina Ricci Dons Funky Dress” (maybe there’s some hope – I don’t know who she is) (3) “Who Is The Ultimate French Open Hottie?” (4) “Khloe Kardashian: “I’m just fat.” (5) “Queen Elizabeth Stains Dress, Breaks Handbag Strap.”
Finally, a very serious, personal note. I for one am sickened by the images of the innocent living creatures affected by the on-going oil “spill.” We have become a society in which the bottom line is the only thing that matters. Make it faster and cheaper and if there are consequences, too bad. That’s called acceptable losses. Check out my June 2 blog entry: (http://jpdave.blogspot.com/). (1) “Americans have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?” Alexis de Tocqueville (2) "Only when the last tree is cut; only when the last river is polluted; only when the last fish is caught; only then will they realize that you cannot eat money." Cree Proverb.
Later.
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