It's time once again to clean out the ol' Blog Fodder file and share with you a few things I haven't managed to make into full-length posts of their own. Read on, Macduff* ...
#1: There are those of us who appreciate the sight of a beautiful woman, and there are those that don't. According to this article, ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in Jerusalem are able to purchase glasses that blur their vision, so they don't have to look at women they consider to be immodestly dressed (i.e., showing more than about one square millimeter of skin). The ultra-Orthodox men can purchase - for about $6.00 - glasses with special blur-inducing stickers on the lenses; these allow clear vision for up to a few meters so as not to impede movement, but blur anything farther away, including women. Oy.
#2: A poll conducted across seven English-speaking countries has determined that award for the most unfortunately-named town goes to the teeming megalopolis of Toad Suck, Arkansas. Other towns in the top ten included: Boring, Oregon; Assawoman, Maryland; Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky; and Squabbletown**, California.
#3: GOP presidential wannabe Mitt Romney has pledged that he will "put work back in welfare," ensuring that shiftless deadbeats lounging around on the dole are required to actively seek jobs rather than enjoy living in a "culture of dependency." This is good news. It means that Governor Romney must have a plan to create lots of jobs for all those shiftless deadbeats to take. I look forward to the details, but am not holding my breath.
#4: We have a problem dealing with invasive species of plants and animals which crowd out native species and can create havoc in local ecosystems. If you live in the South, think kudzu. The latest idea for dealing with these species is a simple one: eat them. One problem, though, is that some of these species just don't have very appealing names, and so must be "rebranded." That worked out really well for the Patagonian Toothfish ... now known as the Chilean Sea Bass.
And, finally for today,
#5: It was on this date in 1930 that racy cartoon character Betty Boop made her cartoon debut ... as a sexy French poodle, the female companion to a hound named "Bimbo" (no kidding) in a series of Max Fleischer cartoons. Eventually, her floppy ears evolved into hoop earrings, and Betty finally turned into a human, rather than a canine, flapper ...
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
* Sorry, Mr Shakespeare.
** I think I'll start a petition to change the name of Washington, DC, to Squabbletown. It just seems appropriate.
So Betty Boop was a dog? I thought so.
ReplyDeleteInvasive species? We have a history in Louisiana regarding the nutria. It is edible; but, no, I won't.
Once I ate scorpionfish. Other than the name,unremarkable.
Toad Suck is unfortunately. But there's a town in Newfoundland named Dildo.
ReplyDeleteI think there are a lot of women who would buy those glass for their mates. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love these towns. I couldn't live in Toad Suck or Dildo, or even Scaggsville locally.
Isn't there an intercourse PA?
It might be the Texan in me, but I find all those town names delightful! Of course, I come from a state that features the burgs of Dimebox, Old Dimebox and New Dimebox.
ReplyDeleteI think the Orthodox Jewish men in Jerusalem wear those glasses so they don't see the women laughing at them.
ReplyDeleteThe southern Alabama town Bay Minette roughly translates to Pussy Bay. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteThere's a Possum Trot in Mississippi, and one in Kentucky.
Betty Boop must have been very daring for her time.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Intercourse and Blue Ball PA
ReplyDelete