louise on the left (coast)

So, I was actually watching the Obama speech in New Orleans, (which, actually, was a pretty great speech) however, suddenly CNN broke a news story that a six year old boy got into a "home made flying saucer" and flew away...(wha?) Embedded video from CNN Video ...so, I called my husband to tell him about this weird story (after all, he is a pop culture reporter) and then he said the name rang a bell and, lo and behold, turns out that this is a child from that crazy "weather chasing" family on the reality TV show "Wife Swap." Gee. I guess none of us could see it coming that these parents might endanger the lives of their kids with reckless actions. ...Or that Dad, with his hair-trigger temper and lack of respect for women might be someone a child might fear making angry. For instance, say in the loss of, oh, his beloved weather balloon. Any chance the kid might be hiding from Dad? Heene family of Colorado consists of wife Mayumi, husband Richard, and the...

Back in April I first wrote about some women I knew who had suddenly decided to keep  chickens in their backyards as pets . At the time I thought this was just some recession-inspired trend, but apparently there were more sentimental reasons for this new affection for our feathered friends, the humble chicken. Today I stumbled across this piece on  Urlesque regarding the literary Susan Orlean   rhapsodizing about her newest obsession, chickens. Now, I don't want to sound like a hypocrite, because I happen to think miniature horses would be great eco-friendly backyard pet.  My feeling is that they would be companions who could both eat and fertilize our yards all at the same time. However, finding chickens cute just kind-of surprises me, because I think chickens are kind-of scary. Apparently, so does  Wendy Ann Gardner , as evidenced in her children's book Heedley Pecked Me in the Eye (Naughty Naughty Pets) (Hardcover) If you care to read it for yourself, you can order ...

Newsflash:  Flaming fool flaunting the right to carry a loaded gun 24/7 is shot to death by own husband.   From CNN ...Pennsylvania soccer mom was chatting with a friend via webcam when she was shot to death by her husband, who then went upstairs and shot himself, police said Friday. Meleanie Hain , 31, made national headlines last year as the mother who carried a loaded, holstered handgun to her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game... I am kind of surprised this needs explanation, since most parents I know put their children's safety above all else, but apparently there are some "breeders" who think they have the right to carry around loaded guns all the time.  Around our kids, and our schools, and soccer games, sleep overs...You know, carry around loaded guns whenever and where ever they want to.   Even around dumb, soon-to-be ex-husbands with anger management issues.   Yep.  The perfect place to have a loaded gun sitting around. However, from what I've heard,  C...

Welcome to my new column The World According (some) to Breeders . Rule #1) Do not EVER think about giving a minor even a fraction of a Quaalude to do her in the naughty place, or any place, and try to get out of it. So, to speak. According to this breeder, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. Perhaps this spoof of To Catch a Predator says it all. As funny as it is it brilliantly illustrates my point that it doesn't matter if you are an award-winning director or the guy down the street; Older men justifying sex with minors all sounds the same. Polanski did the crime. He does the time. Deal with it. Creativity or having a shitty childhood or horrible past does so NOT earn you a pass when you victimize someone else. If having a crappy childhood made criminals harder to jail, we'd have prisons filled with white collar criminals. (Not a bad idea, actually) And if you do not think having sex with a thirteen year old isn't victimization, then you don...

Seems like some of our most quirky, indie film makers are finally creating works of art which happen to be entertaining for all of us. Thank you, oh wise film makers, for not dumbing things down to make a buck. I don't know why it's taken Hollywood so long to realize kids can handle stories that aren't just one long, loud car chase or where all the character's eyes bug out. I SO can't wait to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox