Archive: May 27, 2007 - June 2, 2007
Friday Fun Poll: Is BNN's "Big Donor Show" Offensive?
Holland Tests the Limits of Ethics, Good Taste & Reality TV BNN Transplants Reality (Reuters) In just a few hours, Dutch TV network BNN is planning to air a reality show called "The Big Donor Show," in which a terminally ill woman will donate a kidney to one of three desperate contestants.Here's how it works: Lisa, the 37-year-old donor, will interview each potential recipient, review their histories and profiles, and speak with their family and friends over the course of an 80-minute show. Based on what she learns, she will decide which one gets a new lease on life, and which two go back on the seemingly endless donor list.Of course, no reality show could be complete without viewer interaction, and "Donor" is no different. Unlike "American Idol," fans can't affect the outcome by voting, but they can send in text messages to Lisa with advice on whom they like,...
By Emil Steiner | June 1, 2007; 9:00 AM ET | Comments (36)
This Week In OFFbeat Crime 6.1.2007
Tommy Vercetti they ain't. (Rockstar Games) It's Friday again, and we're looking back on another stellar Week in OFF/beat Crime. Before we get to your nominees in the ever-popular Stupidest Criminal Award, I wanted to open up with what has to be the most bizarre "lawyers gone wild" story of the past week, and possibly the year. On Wednesday, a surly group of barristers, from the Taj Mahal region of India, decided to settle their dispute outside of court, literally. According to reports they grabbed a young man who had promised to marry one of their nieces, tied him to a tree, and beat him savagely. The 22-year-old victim had just arrived at the courthouse in order to settle the dispute when he was dragged outside by the men who then proceeded to kick the tort out of him. On that pleasant note, here are your nominees for this...
By Emil Steiner | June 1, 2007; 6:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Catholic Parish Cans Organist For Selling Sex Toys
Wisconsin Parish Says Sexual Consulting Inconsistent With Vatican Teaching This Organ Don't Bump Or Grind (Michael Temchine) From a teacher losing her job because of a Myspace photo to a professor being fired for discussing the Virginia Tech shooting, 2007 may become known as the year of wrongful termination. The latest victim appears to be a church organist from Wisconsin who lost her job for moonlighting as a sex toy sales rep. Linette Servais had played the organ and directed the choir at St. Joseph Catholic Parish in rural New Franken, near Green Bay. Much of that work she did as a volunteer, and she was by all accounts an active member in the church community. And so when Father Dean Dombroski called her into his office, Servais says, she had been expecting a "thank you," not an ultimatum. However, the 50-year-old organist was told to either quit working for...
By Emil Steiner | May 31, 2007; 11:40 AM ET | Comments (56)
Thursday Breakfast Bender
Welcome to May 31! On this date 429 years ago, Martin Frobisher sailed from Harwich, England to Canada, where he mistakenly mined fool's gold, (on two separate occasions) that was eventually used to pave streets in London. And a very happy birthday to both Kellogg's Corn Flakes which was patented 123 years ago today, and to "Seinfeld" which debuted 17 years ago today. Here's Your Thursday Top Six: 6) One Legged Man Kicks ButtIf cheating death were an Olympic event, Roger Baxter would deserve a gold medal. The Vietnam Vet (who lost his right leg last year in a freak tractor-trailer accident) used his crutches to take down a pair of armed robbers -- even after one shot him in the torso. Thankfully his cell phone caught the worst of the bullet, affording Baxter enough time to wind up and crack his assailant. "I went head to head against a...
By Emil Steiner | May 31, 2007; 6:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Aussie Gay Pub Bans Heterosexuals
Is It Discriminatory for the Homosexual Peel Hotel to Exclude Straight People? Could Tom McFeely Be the Pioneer of "Heterophobia"? (AFP) In what may be the most ironic interpretation of anti-discrimination law since Plessy v. Ferguson, an Australian tribunal has granted a gay bar the right to ban heterosexual males and women under the country's equal opportunity act. The Peel Hotel in Melbourne won exemption from Victoria's state segregation prohibition by arguing that "it was needed to prevent 'sexually based insults and violence' aimed at the pub's patrons." According to hotel owner Tom McFeely, the ruling provided "gay men with a non-threatening atmosphere to freely express their sexuality." Beyond homophobic threats, the Peel was apparently also plagued by a zoo-like atmosphere where large groups of women, often on "hen" or bachelorette parties, would come to stare at the spectacle in a "dehumanizing" manner. In her opinion, deputy tribunal president Cate...
By Emil Steiner | May 30, 2007; 11:07 AM ET | Comments (25)
Wednesday Breakfast Bender
Welcome to May 30! On this date 201 years ago, future President Andrew Jackson shot and killed Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson accused Jackson's wife of bigamy. Here's Your Wednesday Top Five: 5) Tolling For Peanuts?Motorists in eastern India are complaining that an elephant has set up an unauthorized tollbooth along a well traveled highway. According to witnesses, the aging pachyderm stands in traffic and won't allow vehicles pass until they roll down their windows and hand over a snack. Local resident Prabodh Mohanty was quoted as saying "[i]f you are carrying vegetables and banana inside your vehicle, then it will gulp them and allow you to go." No word yet if an E-ZPass trunk lane is being considered in light of the inevitable congestion of this summer's driving season. 4) Bugging Your KidsIf you find the site of parents leading their progeny around on those kiddie leashes...
By Emil Steiner | May 30, 2007; 6:00 AM ET | Email a Comment
Ewa Sowinska Flip-Flops On Gay Tinky Winky Claim
Poland Retreats After Homosexual Teletubby Battle Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa & Po Dance To The Beat of a Different Drum (AP) Perhaps driven to reason by her "OFF/beat Idiot of the Year Nomination," Ewa Sowinska, Polish watchdog for children's rights, has backed off her previous contention that Tinky Winky of the BBC's "Teletubbies" could promote homosexuality, because he carries a purse. On Tuesday, her spokesperson announced that Sowinska "hasn't asked and won't ask" psychologists to investigate whether "Teletubbies" promote homosexuality in young viewers. Much like Jerry Falwell's 1999 battle against the colorful, rotund creatures, Sowinska was essentially laughed into defeat after suggesting mental health professionals should analyze the sexual orientation of what is essentially a puppet. As the roars of laughter and criticism, (even from her own party) poured in Sowinska was forced to make a hasty retreat which came in the following statement: "They are fictional characters, they have...
By Emil Steiner | May 29, 2007; 7:07 PM ET | Comments (12)
Poland To Examine Teletubby Homosexuality
Ewa Sowinska, Gay Children's Programing And Catholicism Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa & Po Dance To The Beat of a Different Drum (AP) Less than a fortnight after Jerry Falwell's death, a child-rights advocate in Poland has resurrected one of the evangelical leader's most controversial causes: Determining the sexual orientation of Teletubbies. Ewa Sowinska, a government-appointed "watchdog" over her nation's kiddie purity, has taken it upon herself to investigate the possibility of homosexuality in the BBC toddler show. Specifically, she is looking into the notion that one of the four colorful, rotund creatures (hint: purple Tinky Winky) could be a harbinger of a gay male lifestyle and, if so, what impact that may have on pre-pre-school viewers. Here's her thinking: Tinky Winky has a purse. Therefore she is a girl. But Tinky Winky is also the tallest character. Therefore he must be a boy. Something doesn't compute! As she told the...
By Emil Steiner | May 29, 2007; 11:23 AM ET | Comments (18)
Tuesday Breakfast Bender
Welcome to May 29! On this date 6 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that disabled golfer Casey Martin could use a cart to ride in tournaments.. Here's Your Tuesday Top Five: 5) Stanford Squatter EvictedHow far would you go to become a Stanford student? Probably not as far as Azia Kim. The 18-year-old from Orange County, California, successfully pretended to be a member of the Cardinal student body for two semesters, "living in the dorms, buying textbooks and 'studying' for exams." Her friends from school say they aren't sure why she pulled such an elaborate con, "but many speculate that she felt pressure from overbearing parents to attend Stanford -- regardless of whether she was admitted." It is unclear whether she plans on using the experience to spruce up her admissions essay when and if she re-applies to Stanford, but I'd like to read that essay. 4) Real...
By Emil Steiner | May 29, 2007; 5:57 AM ET | Comments (19)
