Vandalism Stinks!

Boredom is a very bad thing. Extra time on your hands, begets mischief. What a shame for everyone that this person decided to deface a map at one of my favorite parks. 

Shame.

Don't Eat That Dinner Roll!

Wholly moly! How crazy is this world becoming? This recently in from the Associated Press:

"Police arrested a 42-year old woman who said a dispute over a dinner roll led to a fatal fight with her father.

Melvindale, Michigan police report a 62-year old man called 911 saying he'd been stabbed in the stomach. Officers found him mortally wounded with several stab wounds.

The man's daughter was found hiding in the woods behind the suburban Detroit home and was taken to a hospital, then to police headquarters.

Local channel 4 reported the woman told investigators she ate a dinner roll her father had been saving for later, even though it had a note telling her not to.

Police say she also fired a gun but apparently didn't hit her father. She remained in custody awaiting arraignment for second degree murder."

I didn't realize...

... how badly Joan Rivers was addicted to plastic surgery until I saw this comparison. Wow. How sad. She is almost as creepy as Michael Jackson. The difference is she makes fun of herself. 

But is that good or bad? Does she do it before others can do it to her? Is it a defence mechanism? Does it really matter? Only if we want to identify why some are compelled to go under the knife over and over and over and over. 

Frankly, it just creeps me out. Ugh. Sad. So sad.

ttly

Talk to ya later! Yep. That's what ttyl means in text messaging.

So, one of my passions is reading books that others don't want me to read. I am fascinated by books that others find offensive and want to ban. This is one of many books challenged regularly last year. 

When I found it, I immediately checked it out from my public library. While I'm reading banned books, I note what would be the perceived offence and imagine who would find it offensive. Almost always anything that is a "sin" is offensive. Even if the premise of the book is to talk of it publicly to allow an outlet for a person felling isolated. In other words to to be used as a learning tool. This book covers several "taboo" subjects. 

I just finished it recently. I loved it. It reminded me of my days in high school and helped me to understand this generation and how they process information and deal with everyday issues. If you have or knows middle school aged or high school aged girls, buy a copy, read it and then give it to her. This is a poignant read. Read and share! But I would suggest you not tell the receiver that you have read it first. Wait until later after she has read it, then have an open discussion. 

It's a Toofer!

Creepy. There is an ad on t.v. advertising two for one plastic surgery operations. Looks like the 'praying on women's insecurities industry' isn't doing so well in this economic climate. 

Like I said creepy. And horribly sad.

Tragedy in Mumbai (Bombay)

 
My younger sister leads such a different life than I. Tara lives in Mumbai, India with her husband Angad within walking distance of where much of where the melee occurred. Fortunately she was home when the chaos began, but she was near enough that she heard shots and blasts. 

My father and I had a somewhat harrowing Thanksgiving as information was limited. The only communication that we had was via email. (Thank goodness for the Internet.) All phone communication was nonexistent. 

These are photos that she took in the area where she lives, shops, and works in. If the attacks had happened one day earlier she could well have been a victim  in one of the restaurants that was targeted. As expected, reconciling what happened is difficult for everyone there and around the world. Here is a link to an essay that my very eloquent sister wrote about the aftermath. 

It still surprises me that we are such similar people with such different life styles. She is literally a world away. Thank goodness she is safe in hers.

Another reason not to shop at Walmart

I truly don't understand the appeal of standing in line for hours to be let into a store to shop the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. Well black Friday will have a whole new meaning for the family of the 32 year old man that was crushed to death as he opened the doors to a Walmart store to let shoppers in. The crowd surged forward and did nothing to help this poor underpaid man as he lay on the floor being trampled. Even co-workers who tried to come to his aid where unable to get to him and help. He died at 6 AM at the hospital that day. 

But here is the kicker. When the store announced that they were closing because of the death, shoppers protested that they had been in line since Thanksgiving evening. They cursed staff as they were asked to leave. The Christmas spirit at its best, eh?

Wow. What is wrong with people. Someone dies and you are only concerned that you couldn't finish your shopping. Perhaps this explains the 47% that voted for McCain/Palin. I didn't understand that either. The callous me first always, at the lowest possible price always, under every circumstance is frightening. 

"Walmart. Low prices. Live better." Their slogan only applies if you get to live it looks like. Well, not really. 

Michigan woman makes Keith Olberman's Worst list

How sad is it when a person puts a sign on her lawn stating no Halloween treats for Obama supporters? A woman for Gross Pointe Hills, Michigan told children (including those so young that they can't read) that they will get no candy as long as they support Obama. She made the news with an interview from the local Fox News channel showing her saying, ' no candy for tricksters and liars'. 

Wow. She is as compassionate and kind as the idiot that carved a B on her face. The woman pictured claimed a black man did this to her after saying she supported McCain. Are there crazies from the Obama campaign that we aren't hearing about? Or have Republicans become so angry at the prospect of loosing the election that they will resort to using children as pawns. Consider this when making your selection tomorrow.

Sarah Palin is wrong for this country

Sarah Palin is a scary woman whom I believe is the current generations Phylis Schaffley. An intolerant woman who has no business being on the Vice Presidential ticket. She has been isolated in Alaska, far removed from the lower 48, with limited travel experience. She has been to Canada and Mexico but just acquired her first passport last year and had never traveled over seas until this year. How can we entrust a person who has no real world experience to be one seat away from the presidency when John McCain is 72 years old? This alone should scare everyone. 

If that is not enough, then here is a snippet from her first interview with Charles Gibson from ABC. There is plenty to watch on youtube, but this piece accentuates her lack of basic knowledge that a President should have. She doesn't know what the Bush Doctrine is. That is the equivalent to a doctor not knowing where the kidney is. Kind of a necessity to be able to preform the job.

Don't let this beauty queen fool you. She is not pro-women. In a strange way she reminds me of Clarence Thomas. Not realizing that she is where she is because others fought hard for her to have that right. That disconnect is all the proof I need to know she is not a compassionate conservative. (Whatever that means.)

Other reasons to vote Democratic:

Sarah Palin charges rape victims for the cost of their rape kit,

Believes that she should 'put it in G-ds hands' when making governing decisions (sound familiar?),

She believes that global warming is a farce,

And on and on and on and on.

If you haven't registered to vote, please do it now. If we have another four years of 'Bush', who knows where we will be. This is very disheartening. Vote democratic!

Jesus is a friend of mine

It's hard to say when this was made. In the 70's? Or as a farce? If you're curious to see an upbeat Christian rock (ska/polka?) group with some crazy hairdos, click here!

Addict attempts amputation of own arm

Police say a man tried to cut off his own arm at a restaurant in Modesto, California because he thought he had injected air into a vein while shooting cocaine and feared he would die unless he took drastic action.

Authorities say that 33-year-old Michael Lasiter rushed into the Denny's restaurant late Friday August 29th and started stabbing himself with a butter knife he grabbed from a table.

They say when that knife didn't do the trick, Lasiter took a butcher knife from the kitchen and dug into his arm.

Police Sarent Brian Findlen says Lasiter told officers he thought he needed to amputate his arm to keep himself from dying from the cocaine injection.

Lasiter was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe cuts and the Denny's closed for the night. No wonder.

Yet another reason not to do drugs kids! 

You'll cut your arm off! You'll cut your arm off! 

(Think 'A Christmas Story'...you'll shoot your eye out!)

Texas Teachers to Carry Guns

The state that executes more people than all other states combined, has decided that teachers should be armed at school. The city of Harrold, in north Texas, is along a heavily traveled highway that administrators feel will make it a target for gun violence. Hence teachers will have the ability to carry concealed weapons while on school property. 

Of all the school shootings how many have involved close proximity to a highway so that the perpetrator could make a quick get-a-way? Ahh. Zero. Yea, the previous shootings have been by students who have felt disenfranchised. There is not one instance where a shooting occurred for convenience. What a load of bunk.

Yet more fear mongering for a select few to have their way. Having people in the general public carrying firearms scares the bejesus out of me. The general public, as a whole, are not the smartest group of people. Look what happens with crazy people and road rage. Now add a gun. It would be a return to the wild west. Yet one more reason not to move to Texas. 

Redneck Stonehenge

I love this! 

This farmer erected this car fence as a comment to his neighbors who complained about living next to a farm that they built their home next to. They didn't like the smell and bugs that were associated with farm life. They liked looking at the animals, but apparently the animals weren't supposed to have animal smells, noise or waste. 

Gotta love those urbanites!

The farmer has a great sense of humor as he has buried the cars so that they will easily be removed. He doesn't want to cause a rift. He just wanted to make a point that he was there first and it is now a little late to complain about the situation that they put themselves in. 

I'm sure they are also complaining about the cost to drive to their homes from the distant cities they left. 

Animal cruelty

Oh, the silly things we do to our pets. Do you suppose they feel as humiliated as they look?

Talula does the hula from Hawaii

What kind of a title is that? Believe it or not, it is the name of a child in New Zealand. That is until recently. A family court judge decided that this name was a burden to the child. 

"The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgement which this child's' parents have shown in choosing this name," he wrote. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily". 

The girl had been so embarrassed that she had never told her closest friends what her name was. She told people to call her "K". Her new name has not been released for privacy reasons. Thankfully this child will have a chance now. 

My Butchered Mommy!

My, oh, my. 

My Beautiful Mommy is a book that was written so children would recognize their mom's after they had been under the knife. I guess there are women who elect to do so many surgical changes that their family members don't recognize them when they have "healed". This book helps to explain why mommy puts her life in jeopardy so that she can be "beautiful". Creepy, creepy.

Wow. How scary is that? What message does that send to a small child? Not a healthy one.

Woman dies on emergency room floor - no one accountable?

Yea, you read that right. In Los Angeles a woman who had a perforated bowel and was writhering in pain was denied medical help. The nurse at Martin Luther King Jr. - Harbor hospital was not criminally negligent despite refusing to examine Edith Rodriguez - who was kneeling and screaming in pain with a perforated bowel - and telling her to get off the floor, according to the   report by Deputy District Attorney Susan Schwartz.

"Prompt intervention would not have saved her life," Schwartz wrote in the report to the Los Angeles Department. 

"It cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt" that the nurse's actions were a substantial factor in the death "or that any member of the MLK nursing or medical staff was criminally negligent" the report said.

When she was denied help at the hospital, her boyfriend as well as another person in the emergency room called 911 for help. They were told that since they were at a hospital that this was not considered an emergency. 

What a nightmare. Whether the hospital was legally negligent, they were most certainly MORALLY negligent. What is wrong with this world. Have we become so desensitized that we allow people to die right in front of our eyes? Apparently so. Appalling.

A sad story to be sure

How do you explain to your two year old son that the family dog is never, ever going to come home? That is what this family was faced with when Gennese County (Michigan) Animal Control officials "accidentally" euthanized their family pet. 

The dog was in quarantine for observation when he escaped his home and bit a woman. He was days way from release when a hand written card was misread and he was lead away to his death.

So, how does this shelter make amends for this indescribable event? The Animal Control Interim Director offers to let the family adopt a new animal and will only charge them the cost to spay or neuter the animal. I'm surprised that they didn't charge the family a fee for the killing of their family member.

I hope this Interim Director is not given the job. I understand accidents happen, and yes the dog was an offender, but regardless, they should be bending over backwards to do whatever they can to make this awful situation better. And most certainly not insulting them by causing more pain. Shame on them in every aspect of this regrettable situation.

Don't send your kids to Oceanside California school system

This photo shows one kid bullying another kid. Now replace the bullier with an adult and you have the premise for the following:

On a Monday morning in May 2008 highway officials from California visited an Oceanside school to deliver a talk to the students. They reported that several of the students class mates had been killed in car accidents involving alcohol. The students where understandably upset; some became close to hysterical. 

What the students didn't know was that this was a tactic to "scare them straight". School officials had enlisted the help of the officers to play out this scenario for part of the day until the school was holding an assembly when they would be told it was not real. 

This plan backfired when students became so distraught that teachers spilled the beans and fessed up that it was all a lie. This triggered rumors throughout the school as some kids knew the truth and others didn't. Imagine the chaos and distrust this must has brought to the environment. 

School officials at the 3,100-student school defended the program. "They were traumatized, but we wanted them to be traumatized," said guidance counselor Lori Taube. "That's how they get the message."

I'm glad I'm not a student, parent or teacher at this school. What were they thinking? Clearly they weren't. Didn't these "educators" remember the lessons from the boy who cried wolf? Let's hope we hear more about this and that there are some consequences for the actions of a few who made some very poor judgement calls.

Tough Neighborhood

While in Boston, I saw this sign and felt compelled to document it. It didn't seem like such a tough neighborhood while I was in it, but perhaps that is because this sign had been affective. It captured my attention as I've never seen anything quite like it before. I wonder how often the beeper is called? Any by whom?