Reality check

Every once in a while, I have found, that God sends me a reality check. It is easy to feel sorry for yourself till you get a dose of someone else's life. The economy is bad, people are out of work, businesses are closing, and houses are getting foreclosed. These are tough times it's true. But I was just reminded that it could be worse.

I have a friend who is in her late 60's named Jackie. She is the most precious little lady you could ever meet. She would give you anything she could spare and share the rest. She is smart and just a sweetheart. She grew up in a home where her father would get drunk and beat the crap out of her and her mom and two brothers. He would not even remember he would be so drunk. He even sexually abused her brother Pat. When she was sixteen she moved out and took the two boys with her and raised them.
After many years she managed to not only forgive her father, but become close friends with him. This alone amazes me. Two years ago, after suffering abuse from his second wife, and battling cancer. He passed away. A few months later, her brother Mike died. He had been riddled with pain and disabled for several years from a condition from a job he used to have. Jackie took care of him until he passed away from complications from diabetes. He did not get disability. He'd been denied. While all this is going on the older brother Pat, was a drug addict. He had become a drug addict after becoming disabled himself. He could not get disability either. He lived in a trailer at her house and she supported him as well. He was stealing her stuff and pawning it. She would have to go buy it back when she could. He ran up thousands of dollars on her credit cards (over seven thousand to be specific.) She supported both of them while spending a few months at a time in the hospital due to heart attacks. The minute they would let her out of the hospital she would go back to working, what else could she do?

About a year ago she fell and broke her hip. She was placed in a nursing home. They abused her and refused to feed her. She still couldn't walk, but when she got down to 84 pounds her sister managed to get her out of the nursing home. When she got home she found out that her brother Pat had been murdered in her home and that the same people had robbed her of everything that she had.

After she was out of the nursing home she couldn't walk and she couldn't stand up straight and she was in constant pain. The Doctors told her that she had the worst case of osteoporosis they had ever seen and she had 4 fused vertebrae. ( she has since lost the use of several more) The Doctors told her that there was nothing they could do.

Within a couple of months she had to go in and have an angioplasty done. She has been trying to get disability for three years or more, all the while working as much as she can under the table to pay the bills for herself, and her brothers. She was just recently granted $1100 dollars a month disability. Which sounds like a lot until you find out that her little bitty two bedroom house that she owns costs her 850 a month. She saved for years and was not able to buy that house, her first house, until she was almost sixty.

I called her a couple of days ago to check on her. I met her when I was in South Florida and she meant so much to me then. She asked me what was going on in my life. I told her that things have really picked up for me of late. I am in school and etc. She was so thrilled. I finally got her to tell me everything that I just told you. Or most of it. I was there for some of it. This has all happened to her in the last two years. She says to me, "It's been so hard, so hard." Understatement of the century. The part that gets me is this. She then says, "But I am so lucky, I am alive and I just keep on." She then won't talk about her any more. She wants to hear about me, and how happy she is for me. And so glad I called. I could have wept.

If I had gone through a fraction of this, I would have just called it a day and slit my wrists. This woman is so precious. I can't even fathom it.

So I will ask this... Please Pray for Jackie.

Did you remember to use fabric softener?

I never cease to be amazed at the stupidity of some people. Jose Rocha was arrested 2 days ago on child abuse charges. His one year old son climbed into the dryer to play. The mother thought it was precious and went to get her camera. Jose, his father, closed the door on the dryer and turned it on. His mother came back to the sounds of her screaming son being tumble dried. Needless to say there was a domestic altercation to follow. The police were called and promptly arrested Jose. The child was bruised but otherwise unharmed. Hopefully the child will not remember the incident later in life, and thus avoid the traumatizing memory.
My first thought was that this guy was drunk or high... maybe both. But then I thought to myself. Self, he might really have just been that damn stupid. Probably thought it would be a good joke. ::sigh::
Dad Accused of Putting Baby in Dryer

Whistling Monkeys!

I just found this video interesting. It seems this orangutan taught himself how to whistle! YouTube - Zoo: Orangutan Learns to Whistle

Call a doctor if you have an erection lasting more than four hours...

I don't know many single men who would turn down $4300, a three-some and the dare to have sex for an entire day. 28 year old Sergey Tuganov from Russia was apparently not one to turn that very situation down. Unfortunately for Sergey, just moments after winning the $4300 dollar bet for having sex with two women for twelve straight hours, he died. I have to say that when I have to go... it would be kind of cool to go out like that. After one entire bottle of Viagra he had a heart attack. Not surprising. Please note... if you have that erection for more than four hours... don't take more blue pills! Russian Man Dies of Viagra Overdose, Goes Out on Top - Asylum Men's Lifestyle Humor, weird news, sex tips, fashion, datin...

Blogs I read...

In case you want a little variety in your blog reading... here are a few that I frequent.
Thoughts Askew a blog by my friend Alistair, who is also a travel writer for Industry.
The Mostly Unfabulous Love Life of mrthing The life and times of my friend Steve. There are even some posts with me in them! Just skip over the one where he tells about the swing WE broke. He tells it like it was my fault :)
Accidental Hedonist my, just like reading about food and stuff, blog
DeepGenre a blog for writers, or readers of writers. Some of my favorite authors are on here.
George R. R. Martin His is called "not a blog" but whatever. He discusses football, and books. He is the author of the Ice and Fire Series, and Also The Wild Cards series and etc. If you haven't read His Ice and Fire series that he is writing and you like fantasy... you will enjoy this.

You may not be interested in any of these... but these are all blogs I check on a mostly daily basis... should you care!

Pettable Clothing

A co-worker of mine came in to the bar tonight and she had this great faux velvet black jacket on. It was tres sheek! I gave her a hug while I was talking to her and I had to tell her that I loved that she was wearing pettable clothes. Now she did promptly tell me that I was special, but we all knew that anyway. So here is my thing with pettable clothes. When it comes to clothes, particularly clothes shopping, I am not only ADD, but I am tactiley motivated. I will walk through racks of clothes usually moving fairly quickly, because I don't have the attention span to take too long. Once I spot something that is eye catching, whether it is the cut of the outfit or the pattern on the fabric that catches me, the first thing I do is touch the fabric. I never stop unless the fabric feels good. Now don't pretend like you don't know what I am talking about. I may look like a three year old running my fingers along the racks of clothes, but you know what I mean! So, only after it has caught my attention, AND feels good, do I actually pause my forward momentum and examine the clothing item closer.
Now there is nothing that I love more while shopping, than to find a cute shirt or etc, that is pettable. You know, velvet or silk, or some fake man made stuff that you just want to touch. I like clothes that feel good to the touch. If I like the way they feel, someone else will too. And then I have someone rubbing on me. It makes me happy. Creepy I know. But it's true! If you are wearing something that feels good to touch someone else will touch it too! And if it is both sparkly and Pettable well then you have to know, if it's in my size it's coming home with me!

Who's the baby daddy?

Thirteen year old Alfie, just became a father...maybe. Unless you are blind, you can look at this picture and figure out who had sex with whom. I am not saying it wasn't willing, but that nymph on the left surely couldn't have known what the heck he was doing. Apparently the two children were allowed to have sleep overs together. Why two sets of parents thought this was a good idea is beyond me. It seems that now, eight other boys claim the child might be theirs. I am so baffled by this. Did I at some point, step into the Jerry Springer show and find out it was all real life? You just can't make this stuff up! The mother, Chantelle is barely fifteen. Alfie was twelve when he got Chantelle pregnant. He has now just turned 13. Alfie's father says that once things settle down a bit, that he is going to have the sex talk with Alfie. Really? Shouldn't that have happened before he was sexually active. Or at least before you let him have a sleep over with a girl? Dad's response was that he was going to have the talk so that there wouldn't be anymore children. :sighs:: People's stupidity truly amazes me. I hope for this little boys sake that he is not the father, despite that he desperately wants it to be his. The other boys are at least a year or two older. But the fact that there are 9 potential baby's daddy's is so disgusting. Neither one of these two are more than children. Dad at 13 Boy Alfie Patten, 13, becomes father of baby girl Maisie with girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, 15 The Sun News

Test to determine if 13-year-old is father - World News - World - General - The Canberra Times

In-flight showers?

Now, in addition to cocktails and big seats, if you fly first class you can also take a shower. According to the Sidney Morning Herald, if you are flying in an A380 you can take a 30 minute spa break with a five minute shower. Naked at 43,000 feet: showering on the Emirates A380 superjumbo This sounds like a great idea on paper... but let's really think about this for a minute. One, it's a public restroom. Two, it's a public shower. Three, what if you hit turbulents whilst all soaped up, and slip and slide your way right back out of the shower and into the even more public cabin? Do you really think the stewardess is going to help you?

I can understand wanting to take a shower on a long flight. I truly can. It's like taking a road trip. After I get out of the car on a long drive, all I want is a shower. But, you get out of the shower, and you go back to your seat. Then into a public terminal. You pick up your bags, and head out. Honestly, after going through all of that, I would want another shower anyway.

But, this shower thing should add a whole new level for the Mile-High Club.

Memories... in the corner of my mind

I have reached that point where I can still shop in regular stores at the mall, but I can also shop at the fat stores too. Not something I am super proud of, but it is what it is. Well back in October I had a wedding to go to and nothing to wear. I found a great pair of cuffed dress pants and NY and Co. at the mall. The dress shirt to go with it was a bit more elusive. I hit several stores and finally decided to try my luck at Lane Bryant. I quickly discovered that I can't shop there either, and it has nothing to do with my ego. I wound up buying a shirt but I haven't worn it since, that is, until today. Today was a day for remembering.
The first thing that I remembered was that apparently fat people can't use real buttons on shirts they have to use clasps to hold it together. This is the first thing that ticks me off. If you turn wrong they come unattached. Do designers feel that fatness affects your ability to button shirts? And second, I am anatomically incorrect for even a fat girl. This is the reason that I can't shop at stores like Cato and Lane Bryant. In order to buy clothes in a fat store you must have at least D cup breasts. I don't. I am barely a C cup. This translates to saggy fabric around my chest area whether it is fitted shirt or not. Seriously, I could make wings from the left over fabric on my chest! So when wearing this shirt again, if the fabric wasn't sagging, it was pouching out in all the wrong ways, perhaps in sympathy of my small breasts. And apparently if you are fat, your thighs must be huge to buy designer clothes. Every pair of pants I tried on had way more fabric than necessary in a round sewn shape. It was bizarre. Last but not least, if you are fat you must be shorter than five foot six or over six feet. All the pants that I have tried on were either high waters, or they needed rolled up. It's ridiculous!

I said today was a day for remembering, and here is the other thing I remembered today. There was a reason that my stiletto red wonder woman boots have been in their box in the garage for the last several years. Granted.... the boots are hot! They are stiletto heeled, red, pointy toed boots that come up almost to my knees. They are amazing (If only I had a golden lasso! Chad see if you can't find one for me!) But it's the stiletto part that kills me. I am a flip flop kinda girl. That's just how I roll. And by the end of a very short stint in those blasted wonder woman boots, I was in pain! Oh yes, Now I remember why they haven't even been out of the box in two years. It is the same reason in fact, that I had to go out to the garage and get them. The pain... oh the pain. I imagine it will be sometime before I wear those suckers again.

Temper tantrums

If you haven't seen this video then you really must! This is a woman in Hong Kong who misses her flight to San Fransisco. It is hilarious! The short clip is good, but you really should watch the long clip for a few minutes... the subtitles are priceless. And I will say for the record, that there have been days when I wanted to do exactly like this woman did. I just either wasn't gutsy enough or crazy enough. It was definitely one of the two... because man... wouldn't it feel great every once in a while to become completely and stupidly hysterical for a minute or two? You know, to just get it out? But this video is classic!YouTube - [ENG SUB] Crazy woman misses flight

Oh, and for the record, she gets re-booked for a flight three hours later.

This just in:

Muslim man beheads his wife at TV station.
A muslim man, who started a tv show to educate people about muslims in order to stop stereo types, just turned himself into the police in New York for murder. I tell you what, the stereo types should certainly stop now. I mean, who ever heard of a muslim beheading anyone?TV Executive Accused of Beheading Wife

On a personal note...

So I go to visit one of my best friends in the world Miss D'relda D'remus, or Donetta as I fondly call her. I get to the house and realize that I missed D'relda's Birthday! This is terrible, I feel just awful, because I had been so busy that I had indeed forgotten. Or rather, I knew it was coming up, I just hadn't realized what day it was. I then find out, that D'relda's roomate had contacted everyone to get them together, at our favorite Mexican hangout restaurant, Molina's and surprise him. Now D'relda's roomate does not have any of my contact info so I can totally understand why she didn't tell me. The thing is, there were at least three other people there at Molina''s that did. I was kind of hurt. Then I began to become paranoid. Could it be that I'M Karen? You all must judge for yourselves. I am guessing what really happened was that everyone assumed I knew, and just wasn't able to come. I thought you called her. Well I thought you did! But listen to Dane Cook. It really could be me...YouTube - Friend Nobody Likes

To Mr.Thing or anyone else who knows

My fellow blogger friend Mr. Thing sent me an email a few days ago because I had stepped away from my soapbox for a few days. He thought that perhaps I had run out of material. It is true, the news had been a bit thin, but mostly my schedule had kept me as busy as a one legged man in a but kicking contest. He sent me a nudge saying that I might check out Stephen Fowler from TVs "Wife Swap." I did indeed go looking. The problem was this. I found plenty of sites saying what a monumental ass he had been. I couldn't actually find where I could see the ass in action. I am sure it would set me off to new levels. So if you all wish for me to cover this topic, please send me the site so I can see it!

72 year old stops purse thief

I just love this story! You can read it in full here:Teenage handbag thief outpaced by 72-year-old ex-sprinter - Telegraph. But the long and the short version is as follows. A little old retired teacher lady from Mansfield, Notts, by the name of Jean- Hirst, got lost looking for a theater. She asked directions of three young teenage girls, who hopped in the car to show her the way. When she arrived at the theater one of the girls in the back seat decided to hop out of the car with this Miss Hirst's purse ( and it rhymes!). Without thinking Mrs. Hirst decided to chase her down and get her bag back. Unfortunately for the teenage girl, Mrs. Hirst was once a championship sprinter. She apparently never lost her form. After only a few minutes chase the girl realized that Miss Hirst was only a couple steps behind her. The young girl threw down the bag and took off.

I think if my grandmother could have run me down when I was fifteen I would hang it up too! You got served by a 72 year old retiree! Mrs. Hirst didn't bother to call the police either, since she had what she wanted. She did give the two girls that stayed with the car a stern talking to about choosing better friends. And sadly, she had some aches and pains the next day from her sudden exertion. Mrs. Hirst's daughter said it was because she didn't warm up properly! Well that is so true... you really must warm up properly!

Wow

Ok, I am all for big girls feeling and acting sexy... but quite frankly I don't want to see you naked on my magazine cover. And the cover for Love magazine was not nearly this flattering. I know it's a double standard. I probably wouldn't look this good nude... (well maybe with makeup and photoshop) but not in real life. I would just rather look at the size 2 models. Does this mean I am brainwashed like most Americans and think that women should look like Barbie? Yes, for magazine covers, that's what I am saying. I know there are men out there that really get into big women ( and thank God for me that they do!). I just don't know if I am ready for a full out nude of big women. I have long felt that I was born in the wrong century. It used to be a big woman had sexual and social class status. It meant that you were wealthy enough to eat well and be healthy. It also meant that you were more likely to be able to pop out a long string of heirs to the... well to the whatever you had. I just don't think I am ready for it in my grocery store check out aisles.

Nothing says I love you like cheap lingerie

Everybody grab your camping gear... we're going to the store! The 99 cent store is selling a three piece lingerie set for 99 cents, to the first 99 people who spend 19.99. Wow... I am so there! Can I just tell you everything that is wrong with this? Well... you don't have to read... so I will just go ahead and tell you!

Let's start with Valentine's day, or as my brother calls it, Singles Awareness Day. This is a holiday beefed up soley for the purpose of boosting sales during the most notoriously slow retail period in the year. Halmark got it rolling and then it just snowballed into jewelry and chocolate and lingerie and the list goes on. Now way back, a long time ago, the actual day was a pagan holiday to basically celebrate sex... not love. Well of course the Church couldn't have that so they made it Saint Valentines day. Saint Valentine was martyred. So the Church gave us the name of a man who was murdered, to name a sex holiday. Then retail gave us candy, rings, and lingerie. So basically we celebrate the martyrdom of sex for material gifts. Excellent.

Now lets move on to the idea of 99 cent lingerie. It's not even just a pair of underwear for 99 cents. It's the whole kit and caboodle. Now according to the 99cent store flier it is a famous maker... a name brand set of lingerie. But here's my issue with this. Jordache is a big name, but they are definitely not making the lingerie that screams... well, that screams style for starters. Heck, Wal-Mart has their own brand label, but that is a far cry from Fredricks of Hollywood or Victoria's Secret. And what big label is really going to sell their lingerie to the 99 cent store... unless it's the lingerie from Valentines day 1981 that they couldn't get rid of.

And last, Hello! You have to spend 20 dollars at the 99 cent store to get the lingerie! Go to Walmart and spend twenty bucks to get lingerie you actually get to see before you're stuck with it and 20 bucks worth of stuff you probably don't need.

Or you could quit buying into the farce they call Valentines day altogether. Now this means you chicks got to get over this whole thing first! Guys have been over it since it was i decided they had to spend money. So ladies quit being a chump and making your man run around and buy gifts that don't mean anything. A good man will show you he loves you in little ways all the time. And if he doesn't kick him to the curb. But for heavens sake... let this bloody masochistic ritual go!

Update from my feeling old post

Last month I wrote how freaked out at the children walking around campus. I couldn't get over how young they looked. The flashback to highschool still haunts me. Well, I found out yesterday that some of those kids on campus, particularly the ones that were lined up outside my classroom, actually were highschool students. And they were HS freshmen to boot. Whew! That makes me feel a little better.Only a little mind you. I still sit in class and think that these kids don't remember Reagan, The Challenger, The Cold War, Beige M&M's, Getting to choose the Blue M&M's that replaced the Beige ones, The first war in Iraq, 8 track players, much less when CD players were new! Oh I could go on!
But, there are actually fourteen and fifteen year olds going to the same college that I do... wait a minute...I really am too old for this shit!

One night stand

Wayne Robinson recently went to court to explain the scar on his body. The scar was the name Dominique carved into his body. Wayne was so drunk he doesn't even remember being carved up. Dominique says he asked her to carve her name into his body. He says he would never have asked that.:::sighs:::: I have heard some one night stand horror stories, but none of them ended up like this. I have seen many a drunk, well past the "should have been cut off" stage, that ask and do things they would never believe they would. This guy was too drunk to even remember the girl using a knife or other sharp object to carve her name into his flesh. So who really knows. All I know is that if STD's and children aren't reason enough to drink responsibly, then maybe this is.

10 year old gets a divorce

Yes a ten year old. She is from Yemen. And sadly they still sell their daughters as property to old men. This little girl was sold to a man who was thirty years older than she, for a "dowry" of 250 dollars. Apparently that is what the life of a female child is worth in Yemen. Unsurprisingly, the man who bought, I mean married her, beat and raped her daily. When she pleaded to be allowed to go back home, she was of course denied. Her husband would not give back his punching bag. I am sure that her father wouldn't take her back either. After all business is business.

Well this brave and amazing ten year old decided she wouldn't take it any more. When her mother sent her on an errand into the city she went by bus , then took a cab to the courthouse. At the courthouse she wasn't sure what to do so she sat on a bench outside and waited. A judge finally took notice of her and asked what she needed. She answered that she wanted a divorce.
The judge actually took the girl home to play with his 8 yr old daughter and allowed her to stay. Her divorce was granted 2 days later. At the time she was the youngest girl to be granted a divorce. Sadly, a 9 year old later recieved a divorce. This young girl has inspired a small percentage of girls to divorce abusive husbands. But should anyone under the age of 18 ever have to know what it is like to go through a divorce?
The young girl, whose name is Nujood Ali, says she has no plans of ever getting married again. She hopes to be a lawyer and inspire girls to fight child marriages. She says that girls should not be scared of their fathers and husbands. No they shouldn't, but then their fathers should not be selling them to men. And men should not be buying children for wives.
People in America want to talk about slavery that ended almost 150 years ago. Yes it was wrong and tragic. But it's over and there is not anyone still alive that was a slave. And for that matter, there is no one alive that owned slaves. I don't owe anybody anything. I am working person like everyone else. In the Middle East, slavery is still alive and strong. Women are property to be bought and sold. They have no voice, they have no power. They must cover themselves from head to toe and bear children. When their daughters are barely out of diapers they too will be sold. We Americans tend to be good at feeling sorry for ourselves and the tough times we face. But at the age of ten, I was playing at recess and climbing trees. I had dolls, and dreamed about having a pony one day. I did not spend days hoping that my husband would not beat and rape me.
I am outraged that this girl was put through this ordeal. I am, however; hopeful that she will start a revolution. No outsider can go into the middle east and hope to change this, although we can give aid. Women need to find power and value in themselves and stand up. Only when women as a group stand up and tell the male dominant society that they are worthy, and that they will tolerate this treatment no longer, will true change occur. So I say to this little girl: Bring the Revolution!

Cell Phones Kill

Apparently yet another Chinese man was killed by an exploding phone. This is just one of at least seven that have died in just such a way. Now I have not heard of this happening in the US. It seems the old lithium batteries can get hot after being over-charged and they potentially become mini bombs. This is happening in a country where we get a great deal of our technology and products. People are being killed by exploding cell phones. Does any of this bother you as much as it bothers me?

Michael Phelps

What I am not going to do is get into the discussion about whether smoking weed should be legalized, regulated and taxed like alcohol. I am not going to discuss the other countries that it is legal to smoke in. And I am not going to discuss the burden the tax payers are carrying for the fight against marijuana. What I am gonna discuss is that Michael Phelps needs to get better friends.

Yup, that's what I said. Get Better Friends Michael! You are a world renowned public figure. Everyone is watching you. We are in economic hardships like we haven't faced in decades. We are looking for anything to distract us from our over-taxed, financially burdened, out of work lives. And Tag! You're it!

Now, I will say that, inhaling smoke into lungs that need to be in peak performance is not such a great idea. It's bad for them you know. Our bodies don't like smoke. People die from smoke inhalation in house fires all the time. So from a health standpoint, not a great idea. But I am a vocalist and a smoker, so I can't throw stones, I live in a glass house.
But my biggest issue is actually with the fact that photos were leaked onto the Internet. Real friends wouldn't do that.
So either you were stupid and smoked with people you didn't know (being a public figure means you will automatically get caught if you do bad things with people you don't know). Or you don't have real friends. I have done my share of really stupid things in my life. No question about that. But my friends will never tell. Not if it was something like this. That doesn't mean they won't chew me out for said stupid stuff. But I promise no picture will ever make it's way to the Internet to verify what I have done. Especially if my career is dependent on it. Not to mention financial backing. Why? Because my friends are fiercely loyal to me, and I am fiercely loyal to them. I will always get their back. Period. Now some ribbing may ensue in private, but if the situation matters, no one else will ever know it happened.
So Michael, if these are not the kind of people you hang out with, then you need to re-evaluate. Because friends will not let friends get caught smoking weed, on the Internet or otherwise.

Smoker gets lashes

Remind me to never go to Saudi Arabia. A Sudanese man was on a flight from Qurayyat to Jeddah on Saudi Arabia Airlines. On this flight he just couldn't wait any longer for a cigarette, so he lit one up. Now being a smoker I can understand the urgent desire to have a smoke, but it's been banned on planes for many years. I have flown many times and if it's a long flight take some nicotine gum or use the patch and move on. Now I won't go into my beliefs of being treated unequally as a citizen because I smoke. I will just say that when you fly you just don't smoke. It's rude. And I personally don't want to sit in a tiny cabin full of smoke no matter how much I want one. There just better be a smoking area at the airport. Either way this guy lit up. When the crew asked him to put it out he refused. Upon arrival at the airport he was arrested. No surprise there. The surprise came at his trial. Despite apologizing profusely... ( although whether he was apologizing for smoking or for doing something that got him arrested is unclear) He was sentenced to 30 lashes. Yes that's right, as in Medieval whippings. Apparently they still do that over there in the middle east. And what is really scary is that he should be thankful. A man was sentenced to 50 lashes for smoking on a plane last April. I will say this though, as barbaric as it sounds... I bet they have a lot less repeat criminals over there. Maybe if we beat the shit out of our criminals every time they got caught they would either get better at being a criminal so as to not get caught; or they would quit being criminals. Either way, I know I am sure tired of paying to house and feed people that just keep coming back after short periods of being out terrorizing the rest of us. Jail isn't working... Maybe lashes would.

Man scares woman to death

Stupid Criminals always make me laugh. Unfortunately this stupid criminal actually killed someone...sort of. Larry Whitfield of Raleigh, North Carolina, decided he wanted to rob a bank. Now this being his first attempt at being a bank robber he failed to take into account little things like, what to do if the doors were locked. While fleeing the scene of the botched crime he wrecked his car. I hate it when that happens. Note to self, next time hire a getaway driver. After wrecking his car Larry set off on foot in search of a place to hide. He entered a 79 year old woman's home.
It seems he truly tried to tell this little old grandmother that he didn't want to hurt her. He really did. But him freaking out and hiding in her house just scared the life out of her... literally. Now Larry is being charged with first degree murder for scaring the woman to death. Now I don't truly have a problem with this. I mean, stupid people continue to do stupid things till they get themselves or someone else killed anyway. So, if he goes to jail, then he's theoretically out of the gene pool for a while. What really intrigues me is the comment that Capt. Calvin Shaw made. Shaw said "He could've avoided all this by turning himself in, and life would've gone on for Mrs. Parnell." Well now, that's true, if he had surrendered he wouldn't have killed her. But how about not trying to be a criminal in the first place? I mean if he would just get a job he could have avoided all this in the first place! How bout being an honest human being? Or at the very worst if you must insist on being a criminal and stupid all at the same time...Work where the mafia are so it will get you killed. Save us the tax money. But for heavens sake, leave the grandmothers alone!

Be healthy, be a stripper

Let's see, what are my high school classes for this year? Algebra I? Check. Spanish II? Check. Biology? Check. American Government? Check. Pole dancing? Um... check?
Seems like the lovely folks in the UK (at South Devon College) decided to really get kids interested in the Be Healthy Week activities this year. So they hired a stripper. I never had any strippers at my school... well except the occasional drunk cheerleader. The stripper came to school and gave a "demonstration" in the public campus area. Now I am assuming that she just demonstrated how to dance and did not actually do any stripping. I can't be sure though. The dancer, one Sam Remmer, was allegedly a bonafide dance student at The Art of Dance (who just happened to have a huge rack....)
Apparently the students ages 14-19 enjoyed Sam's "demonstration". When she returned later in the week to perform I mean "demonstrate" the second time they moved her into a much more secluded area. As was to be expected there had been complaints after her first "demonstration," but not the kind of complaints you would expect. The complaints were that the demonstration had been a little disruptive to the learning process because of the swapping of pictures and videos afterwards.
Now who would have thought that bringing a stripper to school would cause such a commotion? I know I certainly wouldn't. I mean after all, it's all in the name of trying to get kids to be active. You know... move more. And Sam is trying to educate people about pole dancing. She wants to get rid of the stereotypes about strippers. They're dancers after all. There is nothing dirty about what they do. Well, shame on me for thinking otherwise.