Who's laughing now?
4 Arrested In 'Fire In The Hole' Hot Sauce Prank At Drive-Through Teenagers have always been stupid, but throwing drinks in the face of a fast food worker and posting the video on YouTube is too much. I'm glad these guys will be made an example.

Hey Parker, Chase and Cameron broke up; now's your chance! I think we agreed that you got House and Chase while I got Wilson?

Lumosity - iq_tests:index

Lumosity - iq_tests:index

As a rule, I don't like online "IQ" tests. They aren't reliable and sometimes they are downright silly. I hate to see intelligence-research-haters use them as ammunition. Anyway, these tests on Luminosity are definitely unreliable, but they're like some measures of intelligence, and they're fun. Don't buy too much into the "brain academy" stuff but enjoy the games.

A friend of mine wanted to get tickets to see The Tyra Banks Show and invited me to come along. I was skeptical but decided to give the show a fair chance before saying no thanks. I sat down to watch it Monday afternoon.

This show was about little girls who hate their bodies and rag on fat people. First, Tyra showed some taped segments where she sat down with a gaggle of girls for a gab session. They looked all fidgety and distracted. I looked at the clock. Only 1:05? Can I survive 55 more minutes? Then Tyra returns to the studio and talks to the girls’ moms. A few of the moms have piled on gigantor necklaces and one has gobs of grey eyeshadow and eyeliner with blonde highlights. The commercials give me a chance to catch Finding Nemo on the Disney Channel. Then Tyra shows the girls some pictures of women, and the girls gag over a woman with large thighs. Tyra puts up a picture of a frumpy madam with a little chub and I could tell a mile away that it was Tyra in disguise. Of course the kids say the woman is sad because she is fat. A psychotherapist springs out of the audience and gives insights. Why is William Shatner shilling for an attorney named Mike Slocumb?

Tyra tells one girl that when other kids call her a meatball, she should say, “That’s the best part of the spaghetti, baby!” Um, okay. In a profile, Tyra introduces us to a 9-year-old named Lyric who barely eats and to her curvaceous mom Shantay. Lyric calls me mom fat. A smack is in order. The therapist blames the mom. Another professional offers the family a trip to her fat farm in Arizona. Is Tyra even relevant? Do kids know much about her?

In the last segment, Tyra talks to Mike Tyson’s daughter Michael, and Michael’s mom. Tyra calls Mike Tyson the most famous fighter in the world. I don’t know about that. Poor Michael: her mom put a motion detector in the kitchen and she look just like Mike. Dr. Jenn essentially blames parents. She offers some common sense advice: throwing out your scales, parents fix their own self-esteem issues, and parents setting a healthy example. Whew, it’s over. Let’s just say I won’t be turning in anymore.

PHD Comics: Turf Wars, pt. 5

PHD Comics: Turf Wars, pt. 5

The Turf Wars continue on PhD, so I will share another tidbit about my wartime experiences. We were almost definitely going to lose an office on a set day (say April 10th), and the prof was not happy about it and still fighting for it. The lab coordinators were told that should any departmental action take place before April 10th, we should not stand in the door to block others from moving our stuff out (as if this would occur to us), but we were absolutely forbidden to assist in the moving. Assisting was consenting and we were not giving in.

My foodie friend A.L. recommended that I read Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, and for that I salute her. In addition to being a tell-all by a reviewer, I believe it’s also secretly a promo for NYC restaurants being as I was practically salivating all over the glorious food descriptions; Reichl is truly talented at critiquing meals and establishments. I wish I had some foie gras now! While donning a bunch of different disguises and dining at luxurious restaurants sounds appealing, we the readers find that it is quickly draining, especially at such a high-profile daily as The New York Times. As an added bonus are some recipes from Reichl’s own person stash, recipes that don’t look too daunting and sound reasonable. A common theme in the memoir is that there is a balance between total food snob and one who is more proletarian. It reminds me of the dead chef in Ratatouille (yes, I know I won’t shut up about that delightful little film), Gusteau, who champions the notion that “Anyone can cook” or in this case, anyone can enjoy food. You don’t even have to be a food warrior who tries to trip up young sommeliers to appreciate food. Eat what you like! I’m down with that.

Driving seriously annoys me. I'd like to consider myself a levelheaded individual who rolls with the punches, but when it's me behind the wheel of a car, uh-oh. Just the other day, I was out doing errands (bank, picking up lunch). Leaving the bank's parking lot, this car next to me, with a driver who entered his car after I was already in my car, zooms out in a millisecond while I was trying to reverse. OK, no big deal. Then when I was approaching an intersection with a RED light, this dumb car blazes right on through, even while perpendicular cars are proceeding. ??? Then there are assorted headaches such as college students who walk where they please, blinkers not being used, no parking spaces, drivers who can't park worth beans, broken gas pumps, pricey gasoline, cops on your case, and so on.

So glad I don't drive anymore. I have it so good where I live, and when I came back here, ugh. My blood pressure is thankful.

But at least I don't have to pay a quarter for ten minutes and actually have parking and don't get honked at or yelled at constantly.

Robot cars, please exist soon. Love, me.