Here We Go Again

Another kid, this one a little girl of fourteen, Laura Dekker, wants to sail around the world alone. She wanted to try at 13. Her goal is to be the youngest person to perform the stunt, and her parents say, yes. This kid is from Holland, and the Dutch courts blocked her for a year from attempting this reckless stunt, but yesterday, against the advice of the child protective agency, the court lifted its restrictions.

Adults are going to do foolish and reckless things, children should not be allowed to. Some folks think it should be up to the kid and her family, as if the world community doesn't have a stake in this. If the kid runs into trouble, the world is expected to respond with a rescue attempt. The decision to allow a little kid to sail around the world alone is selfish. She and her parents are all for this, for the glory that may come if the kid is successful. The parents put their child at risk for money, fame, that may come to her. But if she runs into trouble, rescuers would be expected to put themselves at risk rescuing her.

The Bell Curve in Bell, Calif.

After 90% Pay Cut Still Over Paid?

Yesterday, Monday, the City Council of the tiny blue-collar town, Bell, California, voted to cut their pay 90% and still they are being over-paid?

Four of the five council members were snatching in nearly 100,000 duckets a year for a part-time gig. The pay party came to an end after the LA Times blew the whistle on the city officials with six-figure salaries: The salaries were up until then a closely guarded secret. The then, and now booted, senior town public servants were hauling in the duckets. The chief administrative officer was grabbing 787,637 duckets a year, the assistant city manager, 376,288 duckets a year, the police chief, 457,000. Town citizens demanded, very strongly, using very forceful language, that the council members cut their salaries or boot themselves down the road.

According to the Associated Press, one council member, "Lorenzo Velez, makes about $8,000 a year, in line with the part-time pay for council members of similar-sized cities. He urged his colleagues to reduce their salaries to that level." Under a whole lot of pressure from very concerned citizens council members took Mr. Velez's advice.

My take on this -- If the public doesn't keep a careful watch, elected and unelected officials, in many cases, will come to believe that the public funds belong to them, personally, to spend as they choose, on themselves, if they choose, and on what ever they desire.

Girls Gone Wild Can Strip You Without Your Consent

In 2005 a woman goes to a bar, planning to drink and party.  Turns out the "Girls Gone Wild" video team is there.  Signs are posted.  However, she refuses to sign the consent form.  If there is a more clear way to signal "I do not consent" than refusing to sign a consent form, I can't think of it.

As she's dancing, the video camera is moving through the crowd.  As she turns away from the camera, a hand reaches out from behind it and pulls off her shirt. 

She says "No no no no," pulls it back up, and turns away.  Again - that's a pretty clear sign of not giving consent.  Saying "no" and putting your top back on.  

But somehow she ends up on the Girls Gone Wild tape anyway.  And when she sues?  The jury finds in favor of Girls Gone Wild.

WHAT.

Incidentally, there is a lot of talk of "the hand" or "a hand."  One article identifies it as a female hand.  I have seen the footage (thanks to - choke - Fox News) and it looks to me like:

A)    A male hand
B)    The hand of the person holding the camera.  In other words, the Girls Gone Wild cameraman.

The phrase that's getting thrown around a lot - including by the reprehensible Fox News anchor guy in that clip - is "implied consent."

Now, I agree that sometimes it's difficult to know whether or not consent has been implied.  In this case, people are arguing that she implied consent because there were signs posted at the bar that the Girls Gone Wild crew would be there.  The signs did not say "We may pull down your top, and by being here you agree to that."  The signs did not say "All your nudity is belong to us."  

A lot of this rests on slut shaming.  She's blonde and pretty and wearing a low-cut top, and in a bar dancing with a drink in her hand.  So obviously she deserved it.  In the words of the "Fox News Analyst," she implied consent by "jiggling those breasts around."  So of course she consented.  Heck, she asked for it.  She probably wanted it.  Why else would she have been there in the first place?

Sound familiar?  Yeah.  The same set of rationalizations are at work here as in rape cases.  I'm not saying that pulling down her top and filming it against her stated wishes (that pesky "No no no") is equivalent to rape.  But it does exist on the continuum of "unwanted sexual behavior."  

And it makes me wonder, how far do those little signs go?  What exactly do they cover?  If by staying in that bar she was implying consent to being forcibly stripped and filmed for commercial purposes, what else did she imply consent to?  What if that hand that reaches out from the camera pulled down her pants?  

For some reason, the fact that this case is about women and sex just throws logic out the window.  But I guess it's good to keep in mind that apparently a "We are filming" sign is equivalent to "We can strip you and sell the tape for profit."

Daniel Schorr Signs out.

Long Time CBS TV News Man Dies.

Daniel Schorr famous news man, long time CBS News reporter, (23 years), famous NPR, (National Public Radio), commentator, famous member of President Richard Nixon's notorious "enemies list" in the 1970s, died. today, Friday, July 23, 2010. The Associated Press is reporting that death came to Mr. Schorr at a Washington hospital after a brief illness. He was 93.

Mr Schorr is being remembered as the last of Edward R. Murrow's legendary CBS team who was still fully active in journalism. He was a journalist for more than sixty years. As a foreign correspondent, he reported from Moscow; Havana; Bonn, Germany; and other cities, breaking important stories during the Cold War. During the Watergate Scandal, he was CBS' chief Watergate correspondent. The AP reports--

"Hoping to beat the competition, (Mr. Schorr) rushed to the air with Nixon's famous "enemies list" and began reading the list of 20 to viewers before previewing it. As he got to No. 17, he discovered his name. 'I remember that my first thought was that I must go on reading without any pause, or gasp or look of wild surmise,' he wrote in his book 'Clearing the Air.' --'I do not know how well I carried off my effort to appear oblivious to the discovery of my name on an ominous-looking list, but I count this one of the most trying experiences in my television career.'."

Mr. Schorr won many journalism awards..His long career ended with his death. He was a senior news analyst and commentator for NPR on the day he died. Years ago, I met Mr. Schorr and had two very brief conversations with him.

Daniel Schorr, R.I.P.

Anybody Heard Him Play?

IMHO Kevin Costner is an excellent actor, film maker, director, a performer of A-list quality talent. This afternoon, I read the following item from the Associated Press and I scratched my head --

"Court records show Kevin Costner has dismissed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against a music promoter (Mahee Worldwide Ventures Inc ) he claimed failed to back his music career... The 55-year-old actor-director sued in April 2007, claiming Mahee reneged on a deal to book the Kevin Costner Band for as many as five shows a year and maintain a marketing website.The case had been long-delayed because Mahee filed for bankruptcy."

Now maybe I shouldn't comment on this. I have not heard Mr. Costner's band. Maybe he has a great band. But! Well, IMHO, promoting/promising to promote 50 plus year-old people with bands, ( bands nobody has ever heard of), could lead to folks filing for bankruptcy.

New Face Wins The British Open

Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open. Louis who? There just isn't a dominate player in golf. At every major tournament, I think we can expect a different winner.

Louis Oosthuizen, a South African golfer, just didn't win, he won big, sixteen shots under. He is the champion by seven strokes better than his next challenger Lee Westwood, -- and the man who is still, according to stats, the number one golf in the world, Tiger Woods --- Oosthuizen left him far back in the pack.

But the consensus is that Mr. Oosthuizen's win was a boring win, and this was a boring tournament. American sports commentators observed that there wasn't an American in the top-5 on the leader board, so that was not only disappointing to them, but if that becomes the trend, that will make for disappointing ratings, and that won't be very agreeable to the money crowd who sponsor and promote the game of golf. Any way, as some one who played a little weekend golf in the past and who appreciates the game, congratulation to the winner. Mr -- How do you pronounce his last name?

Ten Best Mel Gibson Internet Jokes

 

Jokes found on the Web

10. South Park's representation of Mel Gibson is pretty much spot on.

9. Mel Gibson is as guilty as gin, er, I mean sin! Yea, right!

8.  I don't know what kind of woman would date Mel Gibson after this, but I know she won't have the Internet.

7.  A quote from Jesus -- "I can raise things from the dead, but even I won't be able to resurrect Mel Gibson's career."

6. Oh! have you heard the Mel Gibson vs Alec Baldwin Phone Fight?

5. Mel Gibson even rants at the pizza delivery boy!

4. I feel bad for Mel Gibson's kids, no one needs to hear how passionately their old man loves blowies.

3. Quote from Mel Gibson --- "I have no friends." Response from the world -- "Hmmm wonder why now?"

2. I'm thinking BP can probably redeem themselves after the oil spill by capping Mel Gibson's mouth.

1. Mel Gibson; may be blackballed from Hollywood, but he still has a future in ghostwriting songs for rappers..

10 Reasons to Love Food Network, Part II

5. You Empathize with People

On Chopped, when people explain why they’re on the show, or tell a bit about themselves, it’s one of my husband’s and my favorite parts. We pick our favorite that way and then root for him or her. On The Next Food Network Star, every time someone screws up or makes something you think will be brilliant but ends up sucking, you empathize with them. I don’t know how many of Tom’s dishes I had my fingers crossed for that just blew it!

4. They’re Something to Look Forward To

Okay, I get looking forward to the next episode of your show. I usually have two shows for that myself—United States of Tara in the spring and Law and Order: SVU in the fall—so I already experience that a bit. When the shows are over, I feel a bit deflated for a bit and then forget about watching TV; now I have that sense of anticipation again. And while I don’t think that it’s the best source for such anticipation, it’s a pretty cheap one that I don’t have to leave my house for, at least.

3. I Can Watch Them with My Kid!

“My shows”—the ones I listed in the previous paragraph—are anything but kid-friendly, so I always have to make sure she’s asleep before they’re on. However, if she gets up while I watch these shows—or even if I DVR something and want to watch it with her—it’s perfectly fine. I don’t have to worry about her hearing foul language, see corpses, or any of the other things you can expect from “my shows.”

2. I Can Yap About Them with Others

I always looked at bonding over TV shows with contempt. It’s not that I’m a snob (I really hope not, anyway), it’s just that I’ve always valued other things much more than television. But now that I can talk about these shows with my sisters and friends, I guess I get the appeal. It is fun to discuss who you like the best, what dishes you saw, or even possibly doing the challenges at home or your next family gathering. (We’ve talked about doing a monthly Chopped-type event!)

1. They Help Me Relax

I suppose that’s the ultimate goal of television, isn’t it? And at the end of the day, I guess a bit of TV-watching isn’t all that bad for you—as long as it’s not interfering with time with your family, and it’s not taking up a huge chunk of your time (like the six hours a day many kids spend in front of media sources). A half hour here and an hour there does add up, I’m finding, so you do have to be careful.

10 Reasons to Love Food Network

Having never been a TV fan, I find myself falling into the chair at the end of the day (how common! How suburban!) and, waiting for my daughter to finally fall asleep so I can head to work (else she will hear me type and come bother me every two minutes for hours), I turn on the Food Network.

I blame my sister. After all, she introduced me to the joys of Guy Fieri, The Next Food Network Star, Chopped, and all of the other shows I’m seemingly addicted to these days. All I can say is, WTF?! I’ve always been disdainful when it comes to TV programs—particularly sitcoms, reality shows, and other weekly broadcasts—but I find myself eagerly rooting on my favorites on The Next Food Network Star (Go, Aarti and Herb!), addicted to Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and even checking out new shows like Kid in a Candy Store (doesn’t that guy look a lot like Andy Serkis, by the way?). So what is the appeal behind these shows? What’s so special about them that they’ve been able to melt my cold, anti-TV sealed-away heart? Here are 10 reasons I could come up with.

10. Food is My Porn

I love to eat. I love to cook—okay, I don’t love to cook right now, but that’s because we have a gas stove in our old house that terrifies me. But I do love to make new things, get creative, bake, and prepare food for groups of friends. I get excited when I see new dishes—maybe not sexually so, but perhaps with the addiction and happiness that a man might have when it comes to his porn.

9. These Shows are Realistic

They’re not campy ha-ha shows where I’m expected to really give a damn about people’s petty problems or stupid antics. They’re real people cooking—sometimes, sure, with their own real problems thrown in—and, hopefully, exhibiting their real personalities. It just doesn’t reek of the fake annoyance I used to experience when my parents insisted on watching Friends or Seinfeld.

8. They’re Mentally Stimulating

Not every show is, of course; but Chopped in particular makes you think in creative ways. How would you have prepared the dish differently? You also learn about all kinds of new foods—red carrots, poppadom, and whatever those potato-centered pastries were last night, for example.

7. They Help You Dream

When I watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, I do it with pen and paper in hand. The same goes if I catch an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Why? So I can write down these amazing restaurants and their locations, of course! There are a ton of places that I want to go eat at now when we travel—particularly in Chicago—that I would have otherwise never known about.

6. It’s Fun to Be the Judge

I get how people could like those reality shows where people are voted on or off something now. I still don’t like the idea of them at all and won’t watch all of those crazy island/ apprentice/ bachelor/ house/ whatever programs, but I do have fun predicting who will stay and who will go on Chopped and The Next Food Network Star. Last Sunday, I even agonized over it, since I didn’t really want to see anyone go on NFNS!

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