Man owes $530,000 in child support

Thomas Frazier has been jailed for not paying child support for his 14 children. Authorities say he fathered these children with 13 different women and has failed to pay to support them. 

"I tried to find someone who would love me for me," he said. He also describes himself as a victim of poor upbringing that caused him to seek comfort from older women. Further, he believes that only three of the children are his and that he is unfairly being saddled with debt for children he did not father. Currently he has not made any payments in over six years.

He was arrested in Iowa last month after being pulled over for a broken taillight. He claimed to be returning to Flint to pay his debt. When he was pulled over he had $5,000 in cash on him. He now has five days to come up with another $22,900 otherwise he may spend to to 90 days in jail.

There are so many things wrong with this story. But the one glaring issue for me is, how does jailing this man help the situation? The average cost to house a prisoner in Michigan is $33,000 a year. How does charging the tax payer $8,250 to house this man for 90 days help to pay for the back child support? This makes no sense to me.

At his court hearing he did have one piece of advice for his children. "Use a condom," he said. "You don't want to end up like your Dad."

Good advice. 

April Fool's Joke?

This is tragic and a sad example of how technology has not necessarily been a benefit to all people all of the time.

New York University officials mistakenly sent out emails to 489 applicants notifying them of their acceptance to the Graduate School of Public Service. The problem was they were actually denied. They were notified by a second email about an hour later. And yes, this all transpired on April 1, April Fools Day. The school blamed the mix up on a clerical error. 

Wow. Imagine having that happen to you? And on April Fools Day to boot. Instant information has it's pluses and minuses. You have to be able to filter what you see and not believe everything you read. But who thought that your email acceptance was a piece you had to scrutinize. How sad. How do you adequately apologize for this kind of mistake?

To text or not to text?

In this case, not.

A woman who crashed into a line of stopped vehicles while text-messaging on her cell phone has been sentenced to six years in a California prison for killing a woman in one of the vehicles.

Investigators said Deborah Matis-Engle was speeding and text messaging when she slammed into the vehicles stopped at a construction zone in August 2007. She had paid several bills by cell phone moments before the crash.

She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she struck the vehicle that burst into flames, killing the occupant.

When are we going to come to our senses and restrict the use of cell phones while driving? How many more people have to die? How many more people are going to have to go to jail? It is crazy when we know they are distracting to not make and enforce a law prohibiting their use. But, then what would the lobbyists do?

Click 'n' Pop!

Yes, this really is a silly game, but oddly a little addicting. Click on this link to take you to an option to pop bubble wrap bubbles using your computer. There is a simple pop option and an option called Manic Mode. 

Go ahead, give it a chance. You might like it!

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.

Is this real?

How does this photo make you feel? 

It reminds me of a time that I never existed in. Perhaps even in a different country. Somewhere in my childhood imagination.

When I found this, I had to document it, as it has such a surreal quality to me. If I hadn't taken the photo would I have believed it existed? 

This is fronting Jimmy Stewart Street in Indiana, PA. Yes, it is named for the Jimmy Stewart you are thinking of. It is his home town and they are very proud of that fact. 

Anyway, it seems the idyllic scene for a horror movie. Perhaps if it had been a sunny day I would feel different, but it has such a sinister quality to it. Or perhaps it could be the setting of a drama that has a tragic ending. In any case, it must have a great story behind it. What do you suppose it might be?

Too bad the stairway has been closed to the public.

Come one! Come all!

This is the announcement for an art show featuring six artists, of which one is my mom. The exhibit runs from March 28th to May 9th at the River Gallery in Chelsea, Michigan. Come meet the artists on Saturday April 4th from 1 to 3 PM. This is a lovely gallery tucked between charming local businesses in a quaint small town. Chelsea is also home to The Common Grill as well as the Jeff Daniels Purple Rose Theater. (Yes, that Jeff Daniels - his home town.)

Time change has a whole new meaning...

I visited my Dad during the daylight savings time change recently. Changing the time on clocks has a whole new meaning when you have more than a handful to do. 

My Dad loves clocks and in his spare time he refurbishes them. These pictures are just a sampling of the ones that he has. They are not all running, but he had 32 on just his first floor of his home. 

Springing forward is easier as you just move the hour arm ahead one hour. The real problem is falling back. On old clocks you can not just dial back as it will damage the instrumentation. This leaves two options. You can dial ahead eleven hours (to lose one). To do this you have to let the clock chime for each hour before moving to the next hour. As you can see this would be rather time consuming (pun intended). The other option is to stop the clock for an hour and then restart it. 

In any case, you get the gist. 

McGruff Attacked!

This just in from the Associated Press:

A bus driver thought it would be funny to take a bite out of McGruff the crime dog by punching the mascot, but police said the children who witnessed the stunt where horrified.

Metro bus driver Shawn Brim, 38, climbed off a bus, adjusted the side view mirrors and then punched officer Tyrone Hardy, who was handing fliers to children on a Washington street while dressed as the crime dog, police said. After the punch, Brim got back on the bus and drove away, but was quickly pulled over on Saturday March 7th.

Hardy had a swollen right cheek, but seemed more concerned that the attack upset the kids, police said. 

###

Yes, and shouldn't we all be horrified. What on earth possessed the man to do this? 

Baggy pants save a life!

Authorities say a Georgia man was saved by his pants when he climbed up a 35-foot power pole and slipped. Luckily his pants caught on the metal tower preventing his fall.

The 21-year old man from Duluth, Georgia had been drinking (surprise, surprise) and ignored pleas from his companion to stop being a jerk.

Fortunately the baggy trend seem to have a benefit. They have the ability to suspend you mid-air for 2 hours until someone can crawl up the pole to "save" you. Puts sobering up in a new perspective, doesn't it?

Ah, youth. They are the ones who are going to take care of us....

Expired pop

I gave up pop a long time ago. I didn't realize how long ago until I retrieved one from the back of my refrigerator today. I wanted something fizzy. The diet cheery coke I opened had an expiration date of Feb. 4, 2004! It tasted alright. Which begs the question... what the heck am I drinking!?

Not your ordinary dogs

Yes, I love dogs. And yes, these are lovely photos of dogs. But they are more than just companion canines. These dogs have been trained to find peanuts. Peanuts? Why peanuts?

Well, for all of the people, mostly kids, who are allergic to peanuts they are trained to sniff out the nuts to warn people that they are around them. Some people can go into anaphylactic shock just by inhaling peanut dust. These dogs provide a lifeline for these people. It allows those that have not had the freedom to move about, to now go places they have not been able to go before.  

Yet another reason to love our four legged friends! They are amazing indeed.

We can learn something from these four

Unlikely pairs are a passion of mine. If the animal kingdom can be accepting of others why can't the human race? 

These pairs are fast friends who hang out with each other every moment of the day and evening. Perhaps we could all learn from these fabulous four!

Fashion

I love fashion. But only if it is good fashion that is flattering.

I'm, at times, more interested in the clothes at the Academy Awards than the awards themselves. While I was watching the 81st Awards tonight, I was surfing the photos of the clothes worn on the red carpet. I came across this photo. The following is what accompanied the photo.

"Amanda Seyfried wears a brick red Valentino gown with a bow embellishment."

Good thing they pointed out the bow. Might have missed it otherwise. 

And, uh, who the heck is Amanda Seyfried? I know I'm getting older, because I didn't know A LOT of the people listed in the photo section. 

But it doesn't really matter because I don't care that I don't know. I'm more interested in the clothes....

Broccoli and Mr. Knuckles

Yep. Broccoli. I love it. So does my cat. I first discovered this when I had two pieces left over on my dinner plate. I set the plate on my counter and walked away for a few minutes. When I came back it was gone. My cat had eaten each piece. 

I didn't realize how much he liked it until the next time I made it. I was sitting at my dining room table and he was inching closer and closer to my plate. Then he made his move and stole a piece off my plate, ran off under the table where I couldn't reach him and ate it. I realized that I couldn't eat my broccoli in peace, so I began building a barrier around my plate. Eventually I relented and gave in and now when I make broccoli, I make him his very own serving. Now I can eat my dinner in peace.

This cartoon brought back my learning curve. Fortunately, he doesn't suffer form the same symptoms as Rover the dog.

Good Grips misses mark

This timer is produced by a company called Good Grips. They originated as an alternative for folks who had trouble gripping items. They began with the potato peeler with a wide handle. It was so successful that they have expanded to areas such as timers. 

Frankly, I don't understand why this is different than other timers as the buttons are small and the stop/start button is annoying as heck. But that is not really the reason I posted this. No, the question that I had concerns the packaging. This timer came in a blister pack that was exceeding difficult to open. It was one of those thick packages that are hard to cut open. Then when you've cut it open it is near impossible to pull the pieces away from the timer. 

So, my question is, shouldn't someone be paying attention to the packaging as well as the product? Who cares if the product is easy to use, if you can't get it out of the package? Yet another example of good design ideas poorly executed through to the last step. I see this everywhere.

Thanks to a great car

I donated my car to the Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor today. This is the second time I've done this. With a little work, it could be a good car for someone who doesn't have one. It made more sense to go this route than to take the trade in value which would have been a pittance. 

It was a good car that ran for 11 years with little work done to it. I never got stuck in snow, I could barrel though anything. It carried my two big dogs easily in the back cargo area. It was an anonymous car so people ignored you. Police and idiots alike. It was hard to part with it today as it has so many memories associated with it. Mostly my beloved past dogs whom I still miss dearly. Hopefully whoever gets it will have as much luck as I did with it. 

Think before you name your pet

It's good to know that people are looking out for one another. As sometimes this can be a very cruel world. However, if this situation continues, it has the potential of turning into a result of crying wolf if help is someday needed. Let's hope that never happens.

Before and After

So, I was sitting in in the historic Michigan Theater watching the movie trailers while waiting for "Milk" to start. Now I'm a real stickler for etiquette and am annoyed at rude people who talk, even during trailers. Imagine my surprise when watching a trailer for "The Wrestler", when I blurted out, THAT'S MICKEY ROURKE! I had heard he was making a comeback but was so shocked when I realized that that is who was on the screen!

Wholly cripes! He was almost unrecognizable. What a sad, sad, sad example of body mutilation. You don't see it so much in men, but boy-oh-boy when you do, it is clear they have body dismorphic issues as well. 

This just makes me really sad for him. I'm told his performance is spectacular and that it is the possible beginning of a come back for him. Maybe. But what kind of future roles would we see him in? Limited at best. There just are certain roles that one won't be cast in because of how you look. Ironically, that is what he hoped to avoid by undergoing the procedures in the first place. Like I said. Sad, sad, sad, ever so sad. There are a lot of mixed messages in this world.

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. 

Lemon the Duck

If this story doesn't warm your heart, you better check yourself into a hospital.

Meet Lemon the duck, her canaine friend Casey, and mom Laura Backman.

Lemon was born in Laura's elementary classroom and it was immediately apparent that the duck had a neurological disorder that prevented her from standing upright. Being a kind and caring person that values animal life, Laura decided to take her home and care for her.

Casey, a foster mom to other unfortunate animals, befriended the duck and is often found sleeping next to her when she is not pushing herself around in her PVC pipe custom chair.

How delightful is this? If we could all learn to be kind to other beings of all physical abilites, this would be a much kinder world to live in. 

Lemon, Laura and Casey are an inspiration!

A different kind of cosmetic surgery

Now this is the kind of cosmetic surgery I can get behind. Make up is expensive and it is frustrating when your lipstick breaks or is smushed into the top of the container. 

This just might be a new business opportunity since folks are fixing things rather than buying new in these economically challenging times. Perhaps this could be marketed to the out of work skilled tradespeople in Michigan and elsewhere? After all, the word is that creativity is key to survival right now.

CRUD seeks new name

Yea. Ya think?

CRUD has come to it's senses and is seeking a new name as "the current one is too long, and the 'CRUD acronym is too negative" according to Amanda Naugle, a community organizer. 

Really? And how long did it take this organization to come to that realization?

CRUD, or the Dexter Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking services a group that you would think might have pointed this out from the beginning, but apparently not. Hence they are now asking for suggestions for new less negative names. 

To submit your suggestions, email them to nauglea@ewashtenaw.org by Friday January 16th. The cream of the crop will be compiled and submitted for your approval (vote) at their website.

Hmm. It will be interesting to see what comes forward. Could be worth checking back in.... 

Pigeon Tales

A persistent pigeon in Grand Haven, Michigan kept hanging out in front of the Fat Chix Coffee Cantina wandering outside the shop. The owner, Mary Mitchell attempted to shoo the bird away but it would not leave.

When temperatures dropped and snow fell a couple of days later, Mary decided to rescue the bird from the winter weather. She wrapped it in an apron and drove it to her barn ten miles from her business.

"He was a really friendly bird," she said.

The next morning, she discovered the bird had found its way back to the shop.

Recognizing its determination, Mitchell and other workers at the coffee shop finally embraced the pigeon and named in Mocha. An employee, Ron Schoenborn (shown), built a small home for the bird underneath the building's front awning, where he regularly feeds it.

Apparently persistence pays off. What a nice story about animals and humans helping each other.

R.I.P. My Love

My beloved dog, Cooper passed away today. In the end, her rear legs gave out on her, similar to her long time companion Bear. 

She is no longer is any pain. 

I miss her horribly. 

R.I.P. Sweet Pea. I love you.

Goodbye little Boo.