To some people the date November 19 is nothing out of the ordinary other than perhaps preparing for the annual Thanksgiving Day feast and a day of football...football...football for those of us who resent the fact that our favorite soaps are pre-emptied.
However...we would be remiss if we let this day pass without noting that it's...
WORLD TOILET DAY!!!
This is the one day of the year set aside to think about toilet issues. In recognition of the importance of toilets in our lives, a chain of restaurants in Taiwan have chosen toilets as their decorating theme. Why anyone would choose this symbol is a question worth pondering...
The seats in the [b]Modern Toilet[/b] restaurants are toilet shaped. I mean...imagine sitting to have a sandwich or whatever on a toilet! It begs the question or at least thought as to whether the seat is up or down. Why oh why would this be appealing to people, anyway? Napkins are dispensed on toilet rolls placed on tables.
Food containers are toilet or sinks and - um - the food is made to look like human waste. Again, why-oh-why would anyone choose a place that serves food to resemble doo-doo? Toilet issues, perhaps? I dunno!
http://www.cwwa.ca/internationalwaterdays_e.asp#toilet
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071113/photos_ts/2007_11_13t163918_450x320_us_food_taiwan_toilet
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/lf/111407moderntoilet/im:/071113/photos_ts/2007_11_13t163802_450x301_us_food_taiwan_toilet
Happy World's Toilet Day, everyone!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Santas' told to "ha-ha-ha" instead of "ho-ho-ho" - political correctness gone awry!
If ever there was/is a "Gimme a Break" story - this is it.
Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Santa's traditional "ho-ho-ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women. Only "ha-ha-ha" will do.
Say what??????????????????????????????
You read it right! That jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus has been told not to "ho-ho-ho" when doing a fly over Australia.
One disgruntled Santa told a newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho-ho-ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute.
Plllleeeze!
"Gimme a break," said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.
"We are talking about little kids who do not understand that "ho-ho-ho" has any other connotation and nor should they," she said when interviewed by a newspaper.
"Leave Santa alone."
Amen to that!
A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was "misleading" to say the company had banned Santa's traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.
A more scary aspect of this is if the idea spreads outside Australia and Santas around the world will be allowed to ha-ha-ha only. Talk about PC gone awry!
More related articles:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22761386-2,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22736835-662,00.html
Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Santa's traditional "ho-ho-ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women. Only "ha-ha-ha" will do.
Say what??????????????????????????????
You read it right! That jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus has been told not to "ho-ho-ho" when doing a fly over Australia.
One disgruntled Santa told a newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho-ho-ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute.
Plllleeeze!
"Gimme a break," said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.
"We are talking about little kids who do not understand that "ho-ho-ho" has any other connotation and nor should they," she said when interviewed by a newspaper.
"Leave Santa alone."
Amen to that!
A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was "misleading" to say the company had banned Santa's traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.
A more scary aspect of this is if the idea spreads outside Australia and Santas around the world will be allowed to ha-ha-ha only. Talk about PC gone awry!
More related articles:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22761386-2,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22736835-662,00.html
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
GHOSTLY APPEARANCE IN OHIO GAS STATION
Halloween is over but perhaps some ghosts aren't aware of this fact...or they want to linger for a while. Whatever...a gas station owner in Ohio is more than a little bit nervous about a grey-ish/blue-ish smokey apparition that was caught on his serveillance camera. The image, which has drawn attention to his gas station and more than likely resulted in a ka-chink-ka-chink increase in gas sales, is open to interpretation.
A new urban legend is born: the Ghostly Gas Station Visitor. Comments anyone?
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2007/11/14/lai.gas.ghost.woio
A new urban legend is born: the Ghostly Gas Station Visitor. Comments anyone?
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2007/11/14/lai.gas.ghost.woio
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
BRITS HAVE SILLY LAWS IN THEIR BOOKS
There are laws... and there there are silly laws, which make you shake your head in wonderment. Most if not all of them fall into the humor and weird department.
It certainly could be said or written that Britain has some really "interesting" or perplexing laws in their books.
- It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (those feeling impending death should drag themselves outside or face the full force of the law)
- It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (no mention of side-ways).
- In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store
- Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day
- In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter
- A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet
- The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen (and I'm sure the Queen has a vast collection of whale tails that she flips through, frequently)
- It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing ("my but you're wearing a beautiful suit/outfit, today!")
- It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (unless there's a particularly hot topic under debate, perhaps)
- In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (doesn't everyone carry bow and arrows on their person these days?)
No mention of the fines imposed on disobeying the rules.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071106/od_afp/britainlawsoffbeat
Writers and Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
It certainly could be said or written that Britain has some really "interesting" or perplexing laws in their books.
- It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament (those feeling impending death should drag themselves outside or face the full force of the law)
- It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down (no mention of side-ways).
- In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store
- Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day
- In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter
- A pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet
- The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the king, and the tail of the queen (and I'm sure the Queen has a vast collection of whale tails that she flips through, frequently)
- It is illegal to avoid telling the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing ("my but you're wearing a beautiful suit/outfit, today!")
- It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (unless there's a particularly hot topic under debate, perhaps)
- In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow (doesn't everyone carry bow and arrows on their person these days?)
No mention of the fines imposed on disobeying the rules.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071106/od_afp/britainlawsoffbeat
Writers and Friends
www.writersandfriends.org
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
TOILET EQUALITY OF THE SEXES
Being that November 19th, World Toilet Day, is almost upon (or beneath) us, couldn't help but note this news item. After all - using the toilet is part of our daily life. Right?
Seems that public bathrooms are an uncommon source of controversy with experts arguing over how their usage can avoid discrimination by class or sex.
Actually I have to confess it never entered my mind as to using the toilet being a discriminating act but then go know...
"In the USA, but also in many other parts of the world - including India ... issues having to do with human waste are taboo from public discussion. It is a last frontier," said Harvey Molotch, a professor of cultural analysis at New York University (NYU).
To be honest it's not a topic most likely many of us think about. Write about, however...
At a conference in New York City organised by NYU and the New York Architecture Centre, architects, sociologists, designers, activists, health officials and city leaders have gathered to discuss how the toilets of the future might be overhauled, and debate the potential civic and social effects.
The conference also saw the premiere of the film "Q2P", written and directed by India's Paromita Vohra.
The documentary, filmed in Mumbai with its title an abbreviation of "queue to pee," takes a long look - 55 minutes worth - at public facilities. The film depicts who uses public toilets including sexual, social and even caste nuances.
One (me) wonders the methodology used and who actually held the camera and whether or not said person(s) entered the hallowed internal world of the bathroom and/or stall.
The conference, "Outing the water closet," according to NYU, aims to reconsider and rebuild the public toilet.
Oh? Now bathrooms are being..."outed"? What were they before one wonders...
Parallel to the gathering in New York, some 170 delegates from dozens of countries were attending in India another international conference on access to bathrooms.
Non-governmental groups such as the German Toilet Organisation were to press their campaign for a universal right to clean lavatories, especially for women.
"Access to appropriate sanitation is a human right," reads one of the group's slogans. "It's time to break the 'toilet taboo'."
"This silence disables everyone to some degree, but particularly certain groups - women most clearly," Mr Molotch said of the taboos on discussing the issue in some countries.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/05/2081379.htm
Seems that public bathrooms are an uncommon source of controversy with experts arguing over how their usage can avoid discrimination by class or sex.
Actually I have to confess it never entered my mind as to using the toilet being a discriminating act but then go know...
"In the USA, but also in many other parts of the world - including India ... issues having to do with human waste are taboo from public discussion. It is a last frontier," said Harvey Molotch, a professor of cultural analysis at New York University (NYU).
To be honest it's not a topic most likely many of us think about. Write about, however...
At a conference in New York City organised by NYU and the New York Architecture Centre, architects, sociologists, designers, activists, health officials and city leaders have gathered to discuss how the toilets of the future might be overhauled, and debate the potential civic and social effects.
The conference also saw the premiere of the film "Q2P", written and directed by India's Paromita Vohra.
The documentary, filmed in Mumbai with its title an abbreviation of "queue to pee," takes a long look - 55 minutes worth - at public facilities. The film depicts who uses public toilets including sexual, social and even caste nuances.
One (me) wonders the methodology used and who actually held the camera and whether or not said person(s) entered the hallowed internal world of the bathroom and/or stall.
The conference, "Outing the water closet," according to NYU, aims to reconsider and rebuild the public toilet.
Oh? Now bathrooms are being..."outed"? What were they before one wonders...
Parallel to the gathering in New York, some 170 delegates from dozens of countries were attending in India another international conference on access to bathrooms.
Non-governmental groups such as the German Toilet Organisation were to press their campaign for a universal right to clean lavatories, especially for women.
"Access to appropriate sanitation is a human right," reads one of the group's slogans. "It's time to break the 'toilet taboo'."
"This silence disables everyone to some degree, but particularly certain groups - women most clearly," Mr Molotch said of the taboos on discussing the issue in some countries.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/05/2081379.htm
Monday, November 05, 2007
MAD (VERY) COW OUTBREAK; PIG ABUSE...ANIMAL TALES
OWNER ACCUSES PET SITTER OF SWINE ABUSE
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!Perhaps - just perhaps - this is a case for going on a diet!
After asking a friend to take care of her pot-bellied pig while on medical leave, the owner of said pig wants to file abuse charges against the pet sitter. Seems that her pig who she named, Alaina Templeton's (interesting name for a pig) weight tripled while under the care of her friend or pet sitter. Her BPS (before pet sitter) weight was 22.5kg and nine months later the pig weighed in at 68kg and it took 4 hours to surgically remove the collar. Police are investigating whether Alaina Templeton was indeed the victim of abuse by neglect or over-feeding.
"That pig is my life," said the pig's owner, who has a tattoo of Alaina's name.
I dunno! Given the amount of people in the world who suffer from physical and/or psychological abuse in this world... Makes you wonder...
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1739662007
*************************************************************************************
MAD (VERY) COW OUTBREAK
So a police officer in Sussex, England, has been hospitalized after being attacked by gang members. The members being particularly physical, butted and stamped on him while out walking his dog. Did I mention that the participants were a herd of 50 cows?
The officer, Inspector Chris Poole, received 4 broken ribs and a punctured lung as a result of the normally docile animals sudden urge to charge him. One angry cow charged him in the back forcing him to the ground, before the others members of the herd joined in.
Inspector Poole said he only managed to escape when Zak, his faithful golden retriever, ran away and the cows chased after it. Inspector Poole then managed to attract the attention of another dog walker, who called for an air ambulance.
However, this wasn't the end of his ordeal.
Three days later, while still in hospital, one of his broken ribs shifted out of place and severed an artery. Fortunately, this was detected in time or he might have died.
In warning other walkers, Inspector Poole advised walkers to give all cows a wide berth in future.
The RSPCA said cows could become protective of their young to the point of becoming aggressive, especially if a large dog was nearby.
Web links
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1735302007
WRITERS & FRIENDS
www.writersandfriends.org
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!Perhaps - just perhaps - this is a case for going on a diet!
After asking a friend to take care of her pot-bellied pig while on medical leave, the owner of said pig wants to file abuse charges against the pet sitter. Seems that her pig who she named, Alaina Templeton's (interesting name for a pig) weight tripled while under the care of her friend or pet sitter. Her BPS (before pet sitter) weight was 22.5kg and nine months later the pig weighed in at 68kg and it took 4 hours to surgically remove the collar. Police are investigating whether Alaina Templeton was indeed the victim of abuse by neglect or over-feeding.
"That pig is my life," said the pig's owner, who has a tattoo of Alaina's name.
I dunno! Given the amount of people in the world who suffer from physical and/or psychological abuse in this world... Makes you wonder...
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1739662007
*************************************************************************************
MAD (VERY) COW OUTBREAK
So a police officer in Sussex, England, has been hospitalized after being attacked by gang members. The members being particularly physical, butted and stamped on him while out walking his dog. Did I mention that the participants were a herd of 50 cows?
The officer, Inspector Chris Poole, received 4 broken ribs and a punctured lung as a result of the normally docile animals sudden urge to charge him. One angry cow charged him in the back forcing him to the ground, before the others members of the herd joined in.
Inspector Poole said he only managed to escape when Zak, his faithful golden retriever, ran away and the cows chased after it. Inspector Poole then managed to attract the attention of another dog walker, who called for an air ambulance.
However, this wasn't the end of his ordeal.
Three days later, while still in hospital, one of his broken ribs shifted out of place and severed an artery. Fortunately, this was detected in time or he might have died.
In warning other walkers, Inspector Poole advised walkers to give all cows a wide berth in future.
The RSPCA said cows could become protective of their young to the point of becoming aggressive, especially if a large dog was nearby.
Web links
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1735302007
WRITERS & FRIENDS
www.writersandfriends.org
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