Sunday, April 14, 2013

How dumb do you have to be, to be a teacher who orders high school students to practice the art of persuasive writing by giving them an assignment to write a letter to a Nazi official in 1930s era Germany, pretending to be a Jew-hating Nazi who is trying to convince the official that Jews are "evil"?? 

The media is making a big deal about the fact that the Obama family tax return shows a decline in income over the prior year.  In this economic climate, when sales of his book are obviously going to be lower since it's been out for a while, this isn't news, folks.

"It was just a game".  A statement used to describe how teens from a Bay Area high school would play 'chicken' with trains on tracks that run near the campus.  Only it was a description being used in the wake of the death of one of those students from not jumping away in time.  15 year old Austin Price was struck by the train and killed.  Chicken is one of the dumbest games on the planet.  If you win, you barely avoid disaster.  If you lose, you fail to avoid disaster.  If you fail to play, you don't come close to disaster. 

Yesterday it was 4.  Friday it was 3.  So far today it is 3.  I'm referring to the number of spam emails that got past the spam filter and into my email box.  Every day, I'm having to go through, find the unsubscribe link, unsubscribe and then delete this crap.  It is tiresome.  I'm afraid if I just delete the spam without opening it, it will increase.  I empty the spam filtered garbage can every couple of days and one or two days later the count is 999+ again.  It's an exercise in futility for us and for the spammers.  Do they really generate enough business from sending out that crap to justify the amount of inconvenience we suffer?  Wasn't there an anti-spam law passed some time ago?

A real estate heiress has been sued for stabbing her life/addiction coach in the hand with a fork.  She was aiming for his face, is what he is claiming.  Was she just forking around?  Someone who had the job as her life/addiction coach in the past claims they were thrown down a flight of stairs.  I hope the next coach that's hired goes into it with their eyes wide open.

Someone spent over $50,000 to see Sharon Stone and Kate Moss kiss (and to get a bottle of champagne autographed by the pair) at a fundraiser.  Great for the charity I guess.

This Date in History:

On this date in the year 70, four Roman legions under the command of Titus surround Jerusalem and lay siege to the city.
On this date in 1775, the first abolition society in the U.S. is formed.  Benjamin Franklin was one of its founders.
On this date in 1828, Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
On this date in 1860, the first Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento.
On this date in 1865, President Lincoln is shot at Ford's theater.
On this date in 1894, the first commercial movie theater opened in New York City.
On this date in 1927, the first Volvo is unveiled in Sweden.
On this date in 1939, "The Grapes of Wrath" is first published.
On this date in 1969, there is a tie for the Best Actress Oscar between Barbra Streisand and Katherine Hepburn.

Famous Folk Born On this Date:

Emperor Go-Kogon
David G. Burnet (President of the Republic of Texas)
Anne Sullivan
Sir John Gielgud ("Usually, one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature")
Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier
Rod Steiger
Loretta Lynn
Frank Serpico
Julie Christie
Brad Garrett (probably needed an extra-long crib)
Gregg Maddux
Anthony Michael Hall ("can I borrow your underpants for ten minutes?")
Adrien Brody (yeah, if I had a chance, I'd probably lip-lock Halle Berry if I wasn't going to get punched in return)
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Abigail Breslin