If You Can't Get Your Kid to Turn Off the Game, It's Your Problem, Lady

Apparently, there are parents out there who haven't a clue on controlling their kids. Who knew?

A Boston mom actually called 911 because she couldn't get her 14-year-old to stop playing "Grand Theft Auto" at 230am. He also committed other 911-involving acts - like walking around the house and turning on the lights.

http://wcco.com/watercooler/mom.calls.911.2.1384279.html

For wasting the time of the Boston PD and the money of the Boston taxpayers, I think this woman should be required to take some parenting classes. I mean, really. She could have:

1. Said no and meant it.
2. Unplugged the game system/television.
3. Taken away the game system.
4. Threatened a punishment (grounding, taking away television/electronics/cell phone)... and followed through.

It's not rocket science.

John Hughes, February 18, 1950 - August 6, 2009

You'll never be 18 again, but you can watch it in technicolor.

I heard yesterday that John Hughes died.

I'm 42. I've never had a problem with my age and I still don't. But yesterday, when I heard that the director of those quintessential teen films was gone, my memories took on a more sepia-toned hue.

John Hughes wrote and/or directed many of my favorite films of the '80's: The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Weird Science. His characters were fun, and smart, and often - even in the silliest of plots - honest. I know they weren't the best. They didn't have action, or special effects, or graphic sex scenes, or anything else that makes a blockbuster nowadays. But they had heart, and they had great music, and they spoke to a generation.

I didn't realize it until now, but those silly teen flicks meant a lot to that idealistic, starry-eyed, definitively '80's girl.

It's going to be a rainy weekend. I think I'll snuggle up on the couch with my family, a big bowl of popcorn, and have a John Hughes film festival.

Run AWAY! Run AWAY!

Have you seen any small, white rabbits running around London with great, nasty teeth?

Recently, a toy replica of the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch was responsible for a bomb scare in London.

Not kidding.

In Palin's Name

(Many apologies to my Babylon 5-savvy readers out there for the title...)

Just a little progress report on the Palin Planned Parenthood phenomena from The Democratic Daily:

"As of Friday, Planned Parenthood had taken in $802,678 in donations from 31,313 people, said a spokesman for the organization, Tait Sye."

Freakin' sweet.

I Pledge to Not be a Dumb-ass

My friend Teresa over at Anomalous Data posted this email she received from the AFA (American Family Association). If you'd like to see it for yourself, you can find it online. Here's the text:

Are you tired of the extremely bias reporting by ABC, NBC and CBS? Do something about it! Tell the networks you are fed up with their attack on conservatives. Join other Americans who are tired of these networks promoting Barack Obama and attacking Sarah Palin. Take the pledge to not watch ABC, NBC or CBS until after the November elections! When the networks lose viewers, they also lose money. If viewers aren’t watching their promotion of Barack Obama and their trashing of Sarah Palin, they are losing money!

Send a message! We are sick and tired of your bias reporting, and we are not going to watch it anymore!
We will keep you informed on the progress of The Viewers’ Pledge.
Results will be given to ABC, NBC, and CBS.
The Viewers Pledge’ simply states, "I pledge not to watch any news programs on ABC, NBC and CBS until after the November elections."

**************************

Brilliant. Let's encourage the voting populace to be sheltered and uninformed. While we're at it, let's tell them to put gum in their ears and stick their heads in the sand. They might as well keep them there after election day.

I made up my own pledge, anyone care to join me?

"I pledge to not blindly believe any more blatant lies or rampant speculation without performing due diligence by fact checking with multiple reputable sources to make up my own mind."

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Best VP Candidate the Republican Party can Offer?

Can anyone in good conscience vote for Sarah Palin? Check out this quote from an Associated Press article in the Star Tribune.

***************************************************************

Asked what other Supreme Court decisions she disagrees with, Alaska's governor couldn't name any.

"Well, let's see. There's, of course, in the great history of America rulings there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American," Palin said. "And there are, those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but ...."

Asked again to name a decision she disagreed with, Palin replied: "Well, I could think of, of any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level. Maybe I would take issue with. But you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a vice president, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today."

***************************************************************

Wow. That many words to actually say, "I don't know squat about the judicial history of the United States."

Excuse me, Governor, is there any valid question to a possible future vice president for which you can offer an intelligent, articulate, straight-forward answer? She's one wrestling pose away from "Idiocracy".

Remembering 9/11 with Jon Stewart

I know it's a few days past 9/11. Doesn't matter. I found this wonderful clip from the Jon Stewart show on Neil Gaimen's journal and had to share it. It's from his first show back on the air after 9/11.

Get Used to Wearing Orange

What d'ya know? The justice system DOES work once in a while!

Few things in life put a spring in one's step more than having a former boss convicted of tax evasion. Life is good.

From the Star Tribune: Up to 10 years in prison for millionaire tax dodger

One of my favorite quotes from the article, "When Beale was arrested in November at a strip mall in Orlando, Fla., he was carrying a fake passport and driver's license issued from "The Kingdom of Heaven," something he had copied off the Internet."

Fucking brilliant. It's a good thing he decided to represent himself, or a lawyer may have tried to get him off on an insanity plea.

My past posts on the subject:
Crazy Talk! Crazy Talk! Change the Subject!
It Couldn't Have Happened to a Nicer Guy

Postive Post #5

Soon, telling someone that they're full of hot air may no longer be an insult. French engineer Guy Negre has developed a 5-passenger concept car that runs on compressed air!

For a no-frills, economical, get-around vehicle, he may just have something. Check out the article from BBC news for the details.

Positive Post #3

Did you know that there's an entire website devoted to reporting positive news? It's true! The Good News Network founder and editor began her career in television news and production. She started the site in 1997 to gather and disseminate positive news from around the world.

So when Star Tribune, CNN and other news sources are getting you down, hop over to the Good News Network and remember that there's more out there than just bad news.

Lottery for a Home

A place to hang your hat. A roof over your head. A safe place for your children to sleep at night.

For thousands in the Twin Cities area, it feels like a pipe dream.

I just read this article in the Star Tribune, Looking for a place to call home in Plymouth. Over two days, about 3,700 people took applications for Section 8 housing in Plymouth, hoping to be one of the 300 drawn in a waiting list lottery. Last year, the Metropolitan Council received 25,000 requests for just 5,000 spots. In 2006, one in eight Minnesotans spent half of their household income on housing alone. Affordable housing is hard to find.

Our house may not be perfect. The furnace is old and inefficient. The windows let in wind and little rain on occasion. The air conditioner is probably on its last legs. It could use a paint job. It isn't one of the giant McMansions sprouting up in suburb after suburb. Years ago we could have stretched our budget and bought a bigger, newer house - but we wanted something that, if tough times came again, we could afford on one salary. No. It's not perfect, but it's safe and it's warm and I give thanks that we can rest easy there.

My heart, hopes and prayers go out to all of those people, waiting for a home.

Record Profits While Granny Shivers

In the news today, Exxon Mobil is enjoying record profits. $40.6 billion.

Meanwhile, freaking VENEZUELA is helping more than 200,000 low-income American families in 23 states. By the end of this winter, they will have donated 100 million gallons (worth about $200 million) to struggling families that would have otherwise had to choose between eating and being warm.

Way to go Exxon. I hope your execs choke on their Chteau Petrus and Beluga Caviar while celebrating.

United States Ranks Dead Last

Regular readers of Rhapsody know, the state of our nation's healthcare system is a hot-button subject for me. An article I read in Yahoo! News this morning is a much-needed slap in the face to all those who espouse the "evils" of socialized medicine.

Guess what? Socialized medicine is kicking our U.S. healthcare asses!

Fucking, duh.

Normally, I'd just link to the article. But this one is important enough that I'm posting the entire thing. Read on.

France is healthcare leader, US comes dead last: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) - France is tops, and the United States dead last, in providing timely and effective healthcare to its citizens, according to a survey Tuesday of preventable deaths in 19 industrialized countries.

The study by the Commonwealth Fund and published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs measured developed countries' effectiveness at providing timely and effective healthcare.

The study, entitled "Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis," was written by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It looked at death rates in subjects younger than 75 that could have been prevented by timely and effective medical care.

The researchers found that while most countries surveyed saw preventable deaths decline by an average of 16 percent, the United States saw only a four percent dip.

The non-profit Commonwealth Fund, which financed the study, expressed alarm at the findings.

"It is startling to see the US falling even farther behind on this crucial indicator of health system performance," said Commonwealth Fund Senior Vice President Cathy Schoen, who noted that "other countries are reducing these preventable deaths more rapidly, yet spending far less."

The 19 countries, in order of best to worst, were: France, Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Some countries showed dramatic improvement in the periods studied -- 1997 and 1998 and again between 2002 and 2003 -- outpacing the United States, which showed only slight improvement.

White the United States ranked 15th of 19 between 1997-98, by 2002-03 it had fallen to last place.

"It is notable that all countries have improved substantially except the US," said Ellen Nolte, lead author of the study.

Had the United States performed as well as any of the top three industrialized countries, there would have been 101,000 fewer deaths per year, the researchers said.

Oh, Shit. I Gotta Hunt Another Vampire?

Ann Coulter's Beauty Secret

Do you LIVE here?

This morning I plugged in to the Star Tribune online, as I do most days, to read all the news that unfit to print. (Plus, I think buying the paper paper is a waste of money, ink, and trees when I can get it online.) I came across an article, linked to from the front page Local section, "Wisconsin geek convention will draw hundreds to Madison".

Wow. No kidding.

The article goes on to describe that 600 self-described "geeks" will gather and do geeky things. How avant garde!

When in the Star Tribune's own back yard, one of the largest "geek" cons in the U.S., CONvergence will be celebrating ten years in 2008. Not only that, registrations for 2007 were 2,665 -- outweighing the Wisconsin con by more than 2000. I've never seen anything like THAT in the Star Tribune.

Nothing against the Wisconsin con. Good for them. When two or more geeks shall gather together, there is wondrous geeky fun. It just kills me that our crack local journalists couldn't write up and promote an event that's four times bigger RIGHT HERE!

Turn on the News

Our little Nerd clan had gathered in front of the TV for dinner. "The Simpsons" was cheerily chattering in front of us. We laughed together eating slightly charred, grilled hot dogs and chips. Life was good.

Then the phone rang.

"Turn on the news."

It was our good friend, Garrett.

"Hey! What's up?" I laughed. "What news channel?"

His voice came back dark and strained. "Any news channel."

There were no other words to describe what we saw.

Last night, just after 6:00pm CST, during rush hour traffic, the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed, spilling as many as 50 cars into the rushing waters. There was heart breaking tragedy. There were heart wrenching miracles. Heroes came from all walks of life and gave of themselves to save others, or comfort those in their last moments.

We were told to keep cell phone lines clear. Land lines were hit or miss with people calling in and out of the cities. When I finally reached my mother, she was nearly hysterical with fear. I could understand why. A few years ago she lost her father and her only brother, her mother was ailing, and the thought of losing her only child, son-in-law and grandkids was almost too much for her. I made the round of calls to the rest of our Twin Cities relatives and called her back to calm her.

As darkness fell last night, the rescue operation turned to one of recovery. Twisted and unstable wreckage along with a strong current made it too dangerous for rescuers to continue searching the submerged vehicles. Twenty to thirty families across the cities wait for word on their loved ones. My thoughts keep turning to them. I can't imagine your pain, but I pray for you. Right now, it's all I can do.

New 7 Wonders of the World

Yes. You read that right.

Want to help choose the new 7 wonders of the world? Log on to www.new7wonders.com, register and place your vote! The top picks will be announced 7/7/07 in Lisbon, Portugal.

What's that? No! I'm not telling you who I voted for! Go out and vote for yourself!

Spellchecker is Only a Tool

I'm a professional writer and editor by trade. In the past, I underestimated the value of my knowledge of the English language. I thought that everyone knew how to write. How did I have anything special to offer?

Then I see something like this in my hometown newspaper:
"Man fleas cops on 5-horsepower cycle"

Please. Tell me I didn't just read that. Tell me this headline didn't make it past the proofers and the editors and the printers.

At my front door today, a local company that replaces driveways and sidewalks left a flyer with this dandy quote at the bottom:

"Call now to schedule an appointment for a FREE consolation."

Excuse me? A free WHAT? I didn't know people usually charged for that these days. What do they do? Put an arm around your shoulder and say, "Gee, I'm sorry your driveway looks so crappy. We can help fix it. No charge for the consolation." Perhaps I should call and offer a consultation on their advertising in trade for a new driveway?