Hey Freak!

So, I've heard that the CEO of WGN Radio in Chicago recently sent out a memo... containing a list of 119 words and phrases that must NEVER be uttered on the radio. Yeah, just another crazy bigwig trying to assert his control over all of the little underlings. And he wants them to police each other. Just ludicrous, I say!

But then, I read why...

“The real goal here is to avoid using words that make you sound like you’re reading, instead of talking — that shatter the image you’re speaking knowledgeably to one person. By not using ‘newsspeak,’ you enhance your reputation as a communicator.”

OK, I guess I can see what he's going for. Well, let me check out the list, first...

Oh. Ohhhh OK. I totally get it. On some, nay, a LOT of these words and phrases? I'm with the guy.

For instance... yeah, I'm totally down with never hearing "5AM in the morning" again (unless we start having 5AM at other times of the day). I don't want to hear the word "Diva" unless you're talking about opera. Maybe Aretha, too. But when I hear people talk about, say, Miley being a diva, I'm going to not believe anything I hear after that.

Some of these other ones just blow me away... "mute point"? Really? You have to tell people that this is wrong? "Hunnert" instead of "hundred"? Why did you hire someone who says hunnert in the first place?

And there are a lot of clichés in there, too. "Giving 110%." "The mother of all..." "Perfect storm." I'm totally on board with not wanting to hear those ever again.

I also have to say, there are a few that I don't understand where the hate is coming from. Flee? Seek? Yeah, I don't know. But most of the other ones, yeah. I understand. He wants his employees to sound knowledegable, and not rely on that newsspeak bullshit that we're all tired of.

But wait. I started reading the comments. People are still mad? "Who would work for this idiot?" "What a joke"? "Stay classy, Chicago?"

Seriously? These people are mad because... he has the temerity to ask that his staff sound educated? I'm getting really sick of people defending their right to be lazy and uneducated. Don't get me wrong - I have nothing wrong against the lazy and uneducated, but I think it's perfectly fair that if you choose to stay that way, then you should lose your jobs. Especially when your job is to inform and educate other people.

Let me restate: I do NOT agree with the micromanaging, the policing of co-workers; his whole way of going about this was awkward at best. But he had the right intentions. I know what he was going for. I don't want my news read to me by someone who I don't think understands the news.

Check out NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Blog Me" and their take on this...

Daddy, Cesar Millan's pit bull and right hand man, died yesterday. Now, you might think I'm crazy for being sad for a dog I've never met, but... well, if you saw the show (The Dog Whisperer), you'd know. You'd be sad, too. He was just such a good dog...

Cesar's official statement is here.

If you'd like to read more about Daddy, you can go here. There's an article with a video tribute to Daddy here. Also, there's an interesting interview with Cesar shortly before Daddy's passing here.

If you'd like to see NatGeo's photo tribute to Daddy, it's here. My favorite picture is this one... the mural is just so... Daddy. In case you're curious, my favorite episode with Daddy is actually one that never aired - it's on the Season 2 DVD set, and it features Jada Pinkett-Smith and her pack (a lot of whom you'll recognize from the dog psychology center) trying to learn how to teach dogs to avoid snakes. Daddy's in there too, of course, and when it comes time to see if he's learned his lesson about snakes, well... I don't want to give away the ending, but his reaction is pretty hilarious.

RIP Daddy. We'll miss you.



Photo: Todd Henderson/MPH - Emery/Sumner Joint Venture

Jon Stewart pretty much sums up my last post, except he's much funnier. Well, as funny as you can be when you're talking about people who try to legislate against gang rape victims...

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If you don't know, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) recently introduced an amendment to a Defense Appropriations Bill that would punish contractors if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery, and discrimination cases to court. In other words, if employees are assaulted/discriminated against, then they have the right to sue the contractor.

Even more simply, if you're at work and you're raped, you can sue the company.

Well, the bill passed, 68-30.

Wait, 30 people voted against this? 30 people voted to protect companies when they assault or discriminate against their own workers?

Who are these people?

I mean, hell, dogs and cats are supposed to be mortal enemies, right? Well, explain this:

English Bulldog Save Kittens.

And while you're explaining, maybe you can tell me who in the fuck throws a bag full of kittens in a lake.

I was gonna wait to post this news article, because I wanted to gather my thoughts so that I would be able to express myself and my anger in a clear, concise, and civil manner.

Well, fuck that. These assholes don't deserve civility. They deserve to be addressed as the scourge that they are.

White House Tries to Define Contraception As Abortion

In a spectacular act of complicity with the religious right, the Department of Health and Human Services Monday released a proposal that allows any federal grant recipient to obstruct a woman's access to contraception. In order to do this, the Department is attempting to redefine many forms of contraception, the birth control 40 percent of Americans use, as abortion. [full story]

Are you fucking kidding me? Pregnancy prevention = abortion?

I mean, it's fucking bad enough that Bush is making sure that anti-choice people can keep their health care jobs even if they don't do them, but now this? Dude seriously, what the fuck?

Seriously, how long until "pulling out" becomes included in the definition of abortion?

"Well, your dick was already in there, and you were ready to ejaculate, and you interrupted the natural course of action of impregnating that woman by pulling out, so, by definition, you aborted the pregnancy, sir." You might laugh, but surely, there are people out there who really think this, and it's only a matter of time before they're heard. You know, because they're religious, and therefore, moral, and therefore, their opinions matter much more than godless and/or science and logic based opinions.

There's a new Star Trek movie coming out? Really?

And it's about the early days of Kirk and the Enterprise? Really?

With Simon Pegg as Scotty? And John Cho as Sulu? Karl Urban as McCoy?

And what about this? Winona Ryder as Spock's Mom? Really?

Seriously. Dude, that's awesome. I think it's even funnier that I see in the cast someone as "The Green Girl" (Diora Baird, in case you're curious). Heh. One of the icons from the original series - the green girl, and she made it into the film. That's awesome. I only wish that there's some way they could have worked Lt. Leslie into the movie. (The Leslie character was the most recurring non-starring character on Star Trek. He was always one of the guys in the red shirts on the bridge or in the landing parties. Seriously. He appeared in 59 episodes, out of 80 episodes.)

So, anyway...

Star Trek in 2009. Woo!