Anna Nicole, Iraq, and Media Darlings

Sue will probably blog about Sandy tonight, so I will leave that to her. It's been one of those days.

Days above ground: Anna Nicole: 20, James Brown: 64. This is really getting ridiculous folks. Now they are taking DNA from the mouldering body of the Godfather of Soul. For what? Is he claiming to be Anna Nicole's BabyDaddy from beyond the grave ( Wait, that's right he doesn't have one yet either!)

Sue and I had Court TV on earlier, and all they had on was the Anna Nicole Show. Not the one where the camera followed her around while she looked vacantly into the camera, laughing hysterically, and looking stoned. We got done watching our guilty pleasure show ( Old and the Useless oops, sorry that's Young and the Restless... any way, we had recorded a show called "Dirty Jobs" last night. They were talking about the Anna Nicole case when we started that show, we watched it, and then found they still had the story about Anna Nicole running on the channel when we turned off the DVR.

Did you hear what happened in Iraq today? Neither did we. The only freaking thing the news morons are covering is Anna Nicole. WHO gives a crap!!!

ABC last night preempted regular coverage to profile the story of Bob Woodruff, the ABC reporter who was seriously wounded while covering the war. Now I have nothing against Mr. Woodruff, and I am glad to know he is recovering. However, he chose to be embedded with the soldiers, he placed himself in a dangerous situation, and he knew the risks going in. Why does he rate a special for surviving? What about the men who might have been wounded with him in that attack, or the ones who might have died. I honestly don't know if anyone else was wounded or died in the same attack in which he was wounded. Why don't I? because the media has chosen only to publicize Bob Woodruff''s wounds. The man was doing a job he was being paid for, and he had the option not to be in harms way, unlike those soldiers with whom he was embedded. I have a big problem with members of the media becoming the story.

How to bust yourself, in one easy lesson!

Sue has mentioned in her blog how Sandy managed to steal back the IPOD she has been restricted from. Saturday while she was gone we searched through her room looking for it. We looked pretty much everywhere and didn't find it. We determined that she probably had it in her locker at school.

Last night she came out of her room with a little AM/FM radio I had given her some time back, wanting to know if I had any AAA batteries for it as the ones that were in it had died. I told her that I didn't.

Fast forward to this morning. I had walked back to her room for something, and she was sitting on her bad, and proudly tells me that she had found a couple of batteries that had some juice in them. I looked, and could see that she had the ear buds from the IPOD wrapped around the radio.

I looked at them and pointed. She said "Those are from the IPOD." I nodded. "I know. Give me the IPOD." Dumbfounded, she looked at me. "Give me the IPOD." I repeated. Shaking her head, she pulled out an empty Kleenex box out, and handed it to me. Then I told her:, " I'll take the ear buds too." She got upset about that because then she wouldn't have anything to listen to her little radio with. My attitude was, "Too bad!" So now I have an IPOD.

Nasty Weather

Today the weather reminded me of what we used to see in Phoenix. Kind of a brown haze. This also reminds me of living in L.A.! It looked like West Texas was delivered to us, in the form of dust. (Strains of Kansas' "Dust in the Wind")

This is a view of DFW Airport from Ft. Worth. I snagged this image off the internet a few moments ago. This is really interesting to see.

This is kind of a lazy day, with Sandy having been home since Wednesday, today doesn't really seem like a Saturday.

Daily Above Ground Count: Anna Nicole:16 - James Brown: 60 Hard to believe the poor man has been dead for 2 months and still hasn't been buried. Sheesh!!!!

Anna Nicole Debacle Continues

Above Ground Count:

Anna Nicole: 15, James Brown: 59 (Obviously yesterday the count was off.)



Today Vergie Arthur, Anna Nicole's estranged mom filed an appeal to hold Anna's' decomposing body yet a bit longer. (Pretty soon there's not gonna be much left to bury!) Critics of the Judge in the case Larry "I feel for you Mama" Seidlin, are making suggestions that the Florida Circuit Court should allow clown costumes instead of black judicial robes, after his emotional breakdown on the bench during his ruling. To say nothing of his antics during the too-long hearing.



There was a great cartoon in the paper this morning, that really demonstrates how ridiculous the coverage is getting:

Friday Movie Guide (Cheap & Easy Blog)

New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
The Lives of Others
An east German secret policeman grows a conscience in this smart, suspenseful story.
The Astronaut Farmer
A wannabe astronaut's methodical approach to his outlandish dreams gives this film emotional weight.
The Number 23
One note affair strains to build an engaging story as a man becomes obsessed with the number 23.
Reno 911!: Miami
Film plays like a stretched-out version of one of the less-stellar episodes of the Comedy Central series.
Amazing Grace
Emotionally engaging drama tells the history of the hymn and its place in the abolition of slavery in Britain.
An Unreasonable Man
This engrossing new documentary favors its subject (Ralph Nader) without letting him off the hook.
Abandoned
An adopted film producer returns to her native Russia, where strange things begin to happen on the family farm. This film was not screened in advance for critics.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.

Above Ground Count may come down soon

Okay. Today's count: Anna Nicole: 13, James Brown: 58. It looks like I won't need to keep this up much longer. The family of the Godfather of Soul has apparently made an agreement where to bury him, and Circus Judge... oops make that Circuit Judge Larry "Watch me get in touch with my feminine side" Seidlin tearfully gave custody of Anna Nicole's rapidly decomposing remains ( hmm with all the drugs I would have thought she would have been better preserved!) to Richard Milstein, who he had appointed last week as Guardian for 5 month old Dannilyn.

Who else besides me is getting tired of this farce! I mean the poor ( figuratively speaking ) woman is dead, and we have two schmucks fighting over her corpse! Not to mention the idiots who are lining up to claim paternity. Do you really think if there wern't several million dollars involved there would be this much hoopla over it? Or that many guys claiming to be the daddy? I really feel sorry for the child in this case though. She is gonna grow up and need years of counseling just to get into kindergarten!

Quick update...

Days above ground Anna Nicole: 12 - James Brown: 57

The latest Anna Nicole development: The judge hearing the case about where to bury her looks over at everybody and wants to know who is the father of the baby. He incredulously asks "Shouldn't I know who the father is before we decide anything else? Come on, admit it judge, you are as caught up in this crap as most everyone else. You'll have to wait for the Montel or Maury or Jerry show comes out with that one!!!

High price of Beef?

I just heard an item on the news. Apparently a couple of people were in the process of leaving a store with a load of meat. When store employees tried to stop them the thieves pulled out a gun. Damn! I knew the prices were going up for beef, but this is ridiculous!

I made a boo-boo on the still not buried stat last night and the night before. Anna Nicole checked out on Thursday February 8, 2007. So as of today it's 11 days above ground.. The Godfather of Soul: 56.

In other Anna Nicole news, the Bahamian Official who fast-tracked her residency application ( and subsequently appeared in a picture in a fully clothed clinch with the Marylin Monroe wannabe... ) has apparently resigned. Strangely enough he hasn't claimed to be the baby daddy!

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this, but our kitten Mac has a taste for beer. Out of curiosity one evening, I held a bottle of Shiner toward him, and he tried to lick the bottle. He did lick a little beer off of my finger. The other cats give me a look of disgust when I let them smell it. Well, just a moment ago, I looked over at the coffee table where my beer was sitting, and the little shit was licking the top of the can! I am gonna have to get him into Kittenholics Anonymous!

Okay, Now I have freakin' seen it all!

I was just watching the news, and there was a story about this broad who had this terrible problem. It was just absolutely keeping her up at night. She has a few dozen pairs of high heel shoes, and can't wear them because they cause her excruciating pain. AWWWWWWWWWW You poor, poor thing you! I will stop worrying about the soldiers dying in Iraq, world hunger, and global warming now!

Science comes to her rescue. Some moron came up with the solution to her terrible plight! He is injecting Botox and some other stuff into her heels. I guess it kills the pain receptors or something. I didn't pay real close attention to the stupid story. Just enough to think, "Lady if it hurts to wear the @#$%ing high heels then stop wearing them for Crying out loud!"

In the "They haven't been buried yet news"; James Brown: 55 days. Anna Nicole: 9

New Blog Feature: Days Above Ground!

Okay, for those of you living in a cave, there are two dead Celebs that are still unburied. James Brown, the Godfather of Soul has been dead since Christmas. That's 54 days above ground. Why? His relatives are arguing over where he should spend his eternal slumber. Oh Puh-leeze! Bury the poor son of a bitch and be done with it. He's dead! DO you think he really cares where they park his stiff?

Then of course there is the train wreck that is the evolving Anna Nicole Smith Saga. She died February 9th. For those who care, that's 8 days above ground. It's gonna be interesting to see who gets buried first. I will guess that James Brown will end up in the dirt first, but Anna Nicole will end up above ground longer, while they try to A: figure out what actually killed her and B: Who DA Babydaddy!

Quickie Blog!

I have to make this a short one. I am in the process of finishing ( or at least trying to ) my training for ProFlowers. I have been lazy on this, I had ten days to finish this, which is up tomorrow. Oops! No excuses. Well, sort of my back has really been hurting a lot since Sunday, but I could have sat here at least an hour or two a day to get this shit done. Now I have to bust my butt to finish it.

"Ces't La Vie, as we say on Earth!" James T. Kirk to Commander Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

I will get it finished, and then I can start working and getting us caught up on our bills. When I have time, I will blog about what our electric provider has been trying to do to us. Boy oh boy will I blog about that!!

Have a good one.

Friday Movie Guide (Cheap & Easy Blog)

Here's the Friday Movie Guide!
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New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Breach
Well-acted dramatization of the worst security breach in the history of American intelligence is efficiently told.
God Grew Tired of Us
This moving, inspiring documentary focuses on three of the surviving "lost boys of Sudan."
Bridge to Terabithia
Effortless performances by Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb make this movie worthwhile.
Ghost Rider
Comic-book based tale of a stuntman (Nicolas Cage) who sells his soul is silly in just the right way.
Music and Lyrics (opened Wednesday)
A few good moments shine in this mostly dragging tale of an unlikely duo who craft a hit song for a pop star.
The Italian
Hard-nosed but sentimental tale follows an orphan who longs to find his birth mother before he's adopted.
Daddy's Little Girls (opened Wednesday)
Tyler Perry shows he really can direct with this fantasy about a good black woman finding "a good black man."
Opal Dream
A girl insists her two imaginary friends are real with a fervor that's more disturbing than the movie will admit.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is the day we celebrate St. Valentine's Day. For many people this is a day to give chocolates, flowers, and who knows, perhaps even diamonds. For many guys this is a way to hopefully get some lovin'! For many guys this is a way to stay out of the doghouse. Some guys will get to work today, see the cards and flowers on the receptionists desk and say "Oh crap! That's today???"

Actually I usually try to get something nice for Sue on Valentines. Sometimes we just don't have the cash, as is the case this year. She knows how much I love her, and fortunately I have a wife who is not a materialistic money grubber who thinks only how much loot she can get out of a relationship. Sue knows that I don't have much other than love to offer. She certainly didn't marry me for my money (or my looks!) However there are a lot of women out there who measure a relationship by how much they get for birthdays, anniversaries and of course on the mother lode of romantic holidays, Valentines Day.

Let's look at Valentines Day through history:There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialized. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

While most people associate St. Valentine's Day with hearts, flowers, chocolates and the like, for Chicagoans the day brings memories of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. In 1929 gang violence between Al "Scarface" Capone's South-side gang and George "Bugs" Moran came to a bloody head after years of escalation. Seven men were killed in a hail of machine-gun fire. One of the men, optometrist Dr. Reinhardt Schwimmer was not one of Moran's men. He was a hanger-on who was fascinated by the world of bootleggers. Dr Schwimmer picked a bad day to visit his gangland buddies. It cost him his life. Capone of course denied any complicity in the hit, but it was widely known that he had ordered the assassination of Moran. Ironically it was the way the hit went down that may have saved Moran's life. The killers were dressed as Chicago Police officers. Moran, on his way into the garage, saw the ersatz policemen entering, and chose to avoid the garage that morning.

A short blog tonight

As Sue mentioned in her blog, Sue's Muse yesterday, I have managed to hurt my back again. The frustrating thing is that I don't recall overdoing anything, or trying to do something I shouldn't have. Unfortunately with my type of back injury it doesn't take much. At any rate due to this tonight, I will only write a short blog.

We have a gentleman by the name of Tom Leppart who is running for the Office of Mayor of Dallas. Now we do not live in Dallas, so therefore we can't vote for or against this guy anyway, but there is something about him that kind of bothers me. A few weeks ago, Leppart resigned from a country club he was a member of. It seems that they exclude blacks, Jews, and Hispanics. What you say, he resigned? Well good for him! How astute! Yes it was rather politically expedient of him to resign this association wasn't it! Especially just a short time before announcing he was running for Mayor.

It seems to me, that is would have been better for him to have decided to stay in the country club, and attempt to change it's policies from within. Or even better, not to have joined such an exclusive club in the first place.

No I can't respect a man who makes a show of resigning from a bigoted organization to show that he is not a bigot. It sort of sounds like the old: "Some of my best friends are ( insert the minority of your choice) doesn't it. Fortunately for Leppart we can't vote against him. Unfortunately for Leppart I know plenty of people in the City of Dallas who can.

Mac's last weekend with his balls

As you know, our 7 month old male ( for the moment...) kitten Mac is going to be neutered on Monday. So this is effectively his last weekend with his balls. Occasionally we have seen him go up to Jenny (Our 4 year old Calico who had already been fixed) and attempted to bite her in the back of the neck. This is a mating stance used by male felines. Jenny usually just gives him a dirty look, and then whaps him across the back of the head and swears at him. Well, at least he has the right sex. Unfortunately for him she just doesn't have the equipment. Of course knowing Jenny I have the feeling she would whap the hell out of him anyway!

Now and again, Mac will be in his favorite spot on the back of the couch licking himself. At this point, we just tell him, "Lick 'em while ya got 'em!" Hopefully we won't have to resort to an Elizabethan Collar when we get him home Monday evening. That has been problematic with our other cats. They can't get to food or water while wearing it, and the litter box is another issue altogether.

What is gonna be interesting is the reactions we are expecting from Shadow and Jenny when we bring him back home. Every time we get one kitty fixed, they come home with different smells, and the other cats don't know what to make of it. They usually hiss, spit and growl at the poor kitty that has been to the vet.

Jenny was really funny when we got her fixed. She came out of the carrier, and stood there swaying back and forth. She fell a couple of times, got back up and then looked at me with a look that said, "Why do I feel so weird?" I told her she should just lay down, she looked at me, and fell right over. She looked at me with a "You know, that might not be a bad idea!"

It will definitely be interesting to see how Mac changes when he recovers. Time will tell. SO be responsible, Get your pets spayed or neutered!

Death of a Bimbo!

Well, maybe that's a bit unfair. However Anna Nicole Smith was certainly no rocket scientist. Not since the deaths of Marylin Monroe and Princess Diana, has the world waited with such morbid interest over the results of an autopsy.

The life of this 39 year old Playboy centerfold/actress/reality show weirdo, itself kind of sad, was nothing more than bizarre. Born in Houston to a middle class family she ended up married to an 89 year old Texas Billionaire, who died 14 months later. After his death she fought with his son over the estate. One court upheld the will, the next said she couldn't collect. Finally the US Supreme Court granted her the right to sue for the millions she felt she was entitled to.

Prior to her death she was embroiled in a paternity controversy over her young daughter who two men are both claiming to be the father of. Then last September, her 19 year old son from her first marriage died of an accidental drug overdose. Now Anna Nicole herself has died, and the likelihood is that her death will ultimately turn out to be from the same cause. Even her mother thinks she has died from a drug overdose. In another bizarre twist the husband of the late Zsa Zsa Gabor has claimed he could be the father of Anna Nicole's infant daughter. How much weirder can this get?

Why do we care so much about this woman? During the Press Conference today, the Medical Examiner indicated that this case would get top priority to finding the cause of death. I am sure that everyone in Broward County, Florida who is waiting for autopsy results to determine the cause of death of their loved ones, will be happy to wait while they figure out why Anna Nicole died.

I am sorry this woman has died, and I really feel sorry for her daughter. I can just imagine when she gets old enough to ask about her mother. What are the people who end up raising her going to do, show her a copy of Playboy? Hand her the DVD copy of "The Anna Nicole Show"? When this poor kid realizes what a joke her mothers life was she is going to need therapy. The sad truth is that Anna Nicole allowed her life to play out as a caricature. She never came across as a real person. Perhaps not even to herself. Here's hoping that she finally finds some kind of peace now.

Friday Movie Guide or Yes I am Cheating!

Here are the movies opening this weekend. Also known as the quick and easy cheat blog. I will make an attempt to write the real one later... No promises though. To quote the Nationwide commercials, "Life comes at you fast!"

New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Hannibal Rising
Director Peter Webber does nothing to build suspense or make the vengeance scenes anything but graphic.
Breaking and Entering
Ponderous tale of a landscape architect who falls for the mom of a teen burglar hinders good performances.
Norbit
Eddie Murphy again dons a fat suit and wigs, a la The Nutty Professor, but the payoff isn't nearly as satisfying.
The Last Sin Eater
A country girl haunted by guilt over her sister's death seeks redemption through movement toward God.
Factory Girl
Sienna Miller gives a raw, vibrant performance as Andy Warhol's muse but is hampered by a clunky script.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.

Crazy Astronaut Lady

By now unless you are living in a cave. you have heard about NASA Astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak. Last year she was a Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Discovery. Last week, she drove 900 miles from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida with pepper spray, a steel mallet, a knife, and rubber tubing, while wearing a diaper to avoid having to stop on the way.Why? Because she felt that fellow astronaut Colleen Shipman was her rival for the affections of Bil Oefelein another astronaut. Hmm. Can you say too much Tang?

What I really want to know is what made this guy worth her humiliation, let alone the fact she is now facing a bevy of charges including attempted murder! I love Sue, and she loves me, but frankly I can't see either of us wearing a diaper to drive 900 miles for the other one! I would love to hear Oefelein's take on all of this! I mean is he God's gift to women or something? Is he that great in the sack ( Did Nowak even have a clue about that)

Obviously Nowak has a couple of screws loose. Of course she's gonna get some lawyer come up with the "Traveling in Space has caused her to become temporarily unbalanced." Defense! Really! It wasn't the space flight that caused this psycho broad to lose her marbles. Obviously NASA is short for Need Another Security Assessment!

Another Certification

I got my wish... I was hoping to be able to get trained in a different certification. I just got certified in Direct Response, which I mentioned is taking calls for a clearing house of many different products. I will do this gig if I have to but during the training I got the impression that it's a pain in the ass. You have all these different products you have to take orders for, very little information given... If customers ask you anything about the product there is little you can do except send them to customer service. That plus they expect you to read every up-sell that comes across the screen. Some products may have as many as 5 or 6 of these. Jeeze!!!!

At any rate I am going to be training in a program called Pro Flowers. This is a business that obviously sells flowers. I am just getting started into the training, but I have already found they are affiliated with other companies like Cherry Moon Farms which sells fresh fruit for example. This should be an interesting gig. We will see.


I will keep the readers of this blog ( both of you) apprised as to how training is going, and when I finish the training, I'll let you know how the job goes.

Finished Training!

Well, I finished my training for going back to work online at home! Yea!!! This is the company I worked for before. I had to train for a different project. What's interesting is that I started training for this one when I was doing the HSN thing a couple of years ago, but messed up. I got through it this time.

I can start getting hours now. I also expressed an interest in the project they have available for a company called Pro Flowers. I guess I would be taking orders for flowers shops, pretty obvious there.

The other thing I am now certified in is called Direct Response. They take calls for all kinds of products apparently. They are a clearing house for a lot of these commercials you see where there is an 800 number to call. SO if you are watching the commercial for the light that you shake and want to buy it, you may end up talking to me. That or something like it. Time will tell. I hope this work out better than it has in the past. These projects start out good, then hours to work seem to dwindle to nothing. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The Bears lost, but in a way I still win!

As you may have seen in Sue's blog, we had a bet on the Super Bowl tonight. Neither of us had followed the teams this year, so I let Sue have first pick on what team she wanted to root for. She picked the Indianapolis Colts because she likes horses, and she was born in Indiana. So that left me with the Chicago Bears.

On one hand, I was betting against myself, as I happen to like Payton Manning, the Quarterback of the Colts. However, the Bears are a pretty good team. I had followed them quite some time back when Mike Ditka was the Head Coach.

The game got started, and immediately the Bears intercepted the kick and ran 92 yards for a touchdown. I thought that I had a good chance of winning the bet. However, in the first quarter alone there were 4 turnovers. The game was really getting interesting. While the Bears held the lead for a short time, I knew that anything could happen. The Colts fought back on a rainy evening in Miami, and unfortunately, my team dropped the ball both figuratively, and literally. The Colts simply played a better game, and won. 29 - 17. At least it wasn't a total rout.

So I lost the bet. However, the look on Sue's face when she realized that she had actually won the bet was priceless! Sue doesn't usually like to bet on anything, because she has seldom won. I, like Sue think we will enjoy making other bets. The two of us will have a nice time going out to dinner together, and Sandy will enjoy watching one of her shows. So like I said in the title of this blog, the Bears lost, but I still win!

Hodge Podge

This is going to be a blog about various subjects today. A California Assemblyman, Lloyd Levine, proposed banning incandescent light bulbs in the state to save energy. Compact fluorescent bulbs cost more but last a lot longer than incandescent bulbs. According to the Federal Government, replacing one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent in every household would save enough energy to light 2.5 million homes for a year. Personally, we have replaced the bulk of our incandescent bulbs with the fluorescents some time back. It's hard to say whether or not we are getting any savings as we are getting screwed by our electric company. I'll keep you informed on that if I ever figure out the answer. Truth be told, we change light bulbs less often, and I really do think they use less electricity.

The question is, should the state ban incandescents? Texas doesn't have anything like this under consideration, but I wonder if perhaps we should. At the very least government offices should be made to change to all fluorescent lights. Then the savings can be passed on to the consumers.

In another story, Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed ( or is about to sign) legislation making it mandatory for all girls in the sixth grade to be vaccinated against the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) This virus has been proven to be the cause of Cervical Cancer. Naturally a lot of people are up in arms. How dare this man force us to vaccinate our daughters! The government shouldn't get involved with our health! HELLO! Ever heard of POLIO??? If a simple vaccination, like the polio vaccine can help to prevent one of the most virulent forms of cancer deaths among women, then I am all for it. If you don't want your daughter vaccinated against a potential death sentence, then move to a third world country.

Let's see what else. Oh yeah. According to this website, http://antiwar.com/casualties/ here are the latest US Casualty figures in Iraq for the month of February. 12 Americans killed in combat in Iraq. Way to go Shrub. I can't wait for your surge to kick in.

The Friday Cheat Blog

Here is the Friday Cheat Blog as I call the Movie Guide for today.

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New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Because I Said So
Meddlesome mother worries that her daughter (Mandy Moore) will stay single forever in this generic chick flick.
Constellation
Glacially paced interracial family drama has some nice, articulate scenes but is ultimately tedious and muddled.
Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds
A gay man pretends he's not in order to pick up a guy headed back into the closet in this vulgar sequel.
The Messengers
A boy and his teenage sister are clued in to the paranormal at their family's new farmhouse. This film did not screen in advance for critics.
More movie reviews
Read about all the movies now playing in local theaters.

Bostonians Going Overboard?

By now most of us have heard about the strange lighted devices in Boston making people think they were the victims of a terrorist attack. Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.

It turned out that these devices were a publicity stunt by an advertising company doing an ad campaign for a Cartoon Network show called: "Aqua Teen Hunger Force". This is part of the Adult Swim block of programing. Apparently the figures were characters from this cartoon, and it was an advertising ploy.

Cartoon Network, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting issued an apology, and had done the same thing in other cities, but Boston was the only city in which these devices were reported.

Did the people of Boston overreact to a publicity stunt? My first knee-jerk reaction was, yes. The went way overboard. However Sue pointed out that in this post 9/11 world we can ill afford to not treat these unknown incidents with seriousness. Suppose these lighted figures had been hiding a dirty bomb? What if they had been designed to draw the attention of people to these devices while the perpetrators were busily attacking another target?

The folks of Boston should be applauded for their vigilance. Instead they are being derided as a city of Chicken Littles. Wake up people. The next suspicious light or package might just be the real thing.