Laughs of the week

The only late-night shows I (loosely) follow are The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. After seeing these two clips, however, I might just add Jimmy Kimmel Live to the list. The first clip is Portia De Rossi's Prop 8 PSA, and the second clip, well, made me laugh until I cried and my stomach hurt. Enjoy!

Bush's secret service detail

I am certain that everyone knows about the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at Bush. Jon Friedman posted these insightful questions for the secret service on 236.com:

1. Shouldn't you have jumped in front of that shoe?
2. Shouldn't you have jumped in front of that second shoe?
3. Second shoe = the one thrown after being removed from foot after first shoe was thrown.
4. Let's say people had three feet. Would you have allowed a third shoe to fly unimpeded?
5. While the shoe was in the air, were you like, "Oh, its just a shoe."
6. Same question about the second shoe.
7. Do you think this is funny, "Throw a shoe at me once, shame on--you. Throw a shoe--you throw a shoe, you can't throw a shoe again."
8. Is there not "protection training" for lunatics launching objects?
9. Let's say there isn't training for that--but do they tell you that if someone does throw (or shoot) something to be on the alert in case they want to repeat this behavior?
10. Where were you?

BONUS QUESTION: Do you think the Iraqis want us there? (Hint: their journalists are throwing their shoes at Bush)

My guess is that the secret service detail found the sight of shoes being hurled at Bush so funny that they forgot they were on duty. Then they had kind of an "Oh f*ck! I was supposed to stop that!" moment, and figured that an ambush overkill would compensate for their momentary absence.

A musical you don't want to miss!

Love it!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Flip-flopping on Bush

Bush was apparently snubbed at the G20 summit. Or was he?

Nobody shook his hand.

BUT, he already greeted them personally at the White House. He made such a big show of it that it unsurprisingly became fodder to Jon Stewart and his brilliant comical wrath. Technically, nobody needed to shake Bush’s hand again.

BUT, is it not proper etiquette to acknowledge someone when they enter the room? This can be done with eye contact, a quick nod and a smile. Technically, Bush snubbed everyone except Gordon Brown, and everyone except Brown snubbed Bush.

BUT, everyone had their spot for the photo shoot marked on the floor. We all know that Bush is not the brightest of the bunch. How could we all have expected him to make eye contact with the other world leaders and look for his mark AT THE SAME TIME? Bush is not smart enough to realise that he was snubbing almost everyone. Technically, he was just avoiding bumping into the man in front of him.

BUT, he is known to procrastinate. Taking an extra second to acknowledge the other world leaders would not have killed anyone. It is highly unlikely that all the other leaders are equally as inconsiderate/dimwitted as Bush. Eventually, someone would have noticed that Bush was silently greeting them. Technically, Bush snubbed almost everyone.

So was there snubbery or not? If so, was it mutual? You be the judge:

Weekend Summary

I survived my first single-mom-marathon after the arrival of baby #4! Needless to say, I am very tired; hence I am tapping my inner list-freak to summarise my weekend.

What put a smile on my face this weekend:

• Pleasantly surprised concierges - I always make a point of saying thank you. I suppose that does not occur often to a hotel concierege.
• A shortened single-mom-marathon - Hubby surprised me by catching an earlier flight home!
• As is tradition, he brought me home some yummy cheese and foie gras from Pa-ree.
• Baby said "mama" - I know he still does not associate the word with me, but it still makes my heart melt.
• Hubby's mom and step-dad - Always good for a nice kaffeetrinken.
• We went out visiting museums and random exhibits in the city. Upon seeing a case filled with crowns and tiaras, our younger daughter proclaimed to anyone who would listen that they belonged to mommy and papa because they are a king and queen.
• At no point did the children become uninterested or impatient in the museums and exhibits.
• Hearing that Bush claimed his favourite childhood book to be Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". (The book was first published when Bush was in his twenties.)
  

What did NOT put a smile on my face this weekend:

• The Eurozone officially entered recession.
• My stores of Tim Hortons coffee are now completely depleted.
• Hubby's horrible hotel experience - First the hotel left him waiting outside the airport for the shuttle which was going to arrive "in ten minutes". It took over an hour for the shuttle to arrive. Secondly, he was first placed in a smoking room - despite his request for a non-smoking room. This mistake was very reluctantly rectified. Thirdly, there was patch of mould, about 75cm in diameter, right next to his bed. (All this at a four star hotel!)
• Dishonest people who cannot read - Upon hearing that he might be able to catch a delayed flight back home a day early, he spent between five and ten minutes away from his hotel room, at the front desk, to negotiate a free cancellation of his second night in person. He made sure he hung the do not disturb sign on the doorknob before leaving. When he returned, his bed was made up, and a 50 Euro note that he left on his bedside table was missing. The housekeeper was no where to be seen. Unfortunately, hubby could only place a formal complaint by risking losing the courtesy late check-in window that the airline offered him as an exception, so he left it as such.
  
• I forgot to recharge my batteries and had to leave my camera at home.
• The weather - I do not mind cold weather, but I do despise strong gusts of wind with spitting rain.
• An arrogant waitress - I do not care if you are having a bad day; you NEVER let it show to a customer!
• Hubby's aunt - She is completely oblivious and/or condescending to everything that does not interest her or conflicts with her priorities.
  
• CNNI - Enough with Tomb 33 already! It was interesting the first two times it aired, but that was weeks ago and it now seems to be aired with increasing frequency. Wait another six months and I will happily watch it again.
  
• Our planned road trip to the Harz Mountains - We had to postpone it for mid-December.

(Photo from AP)

Gay Gay Gay

Gay TV
All I seem to be running into today is news linked to homosexuality. A new gay television channel called Timm was launched last Saturday here in Germany. It struck me as odd that Germany, a country seemingly more accommodating towards it homosexual population than countries such as the US, launched a channel created specifically for them later than the US. What particularly piqued my interest is the channel’s slogan – “Wir lieben männer”, which translates to “We love men”. Whatever happened to lesbians? Are they not gay as well? If the induction of such a channel was done in the interest of general inclusion in the world of television, I believe that should have been reflected in their slogan.

Gay on TV
My enthusiasm for Grey’s Anatomy has been wavering this past season, but I was happy when the show introduced homosexual relationships into its storylines. Portraying normal, ordinary people in homosexual relationships on screen is a wonderful way to counter the obtuse belief some have that homosexuality is an aberration. For that reason, I am annoyed that Brooke Smith has been written off the show. (Her character, Dr. Hahn, was exploring her homosexuality with Dr. Torres, played by Sara Ramirez.)

The official reason behind her dismissal is that the character was not received well by the majority of the viewership. Many people believe this to be a prevarication and feel the producers have submitted to the will of homophobic America. Whatever the rationale, I mourn the exit of a storyline that finally entered territory that is, for the most part, woefully unexplored on mainstream television.

Gay in Real Life
Arizona, California and Florida have taken a big step forward with America in the election of Barack Obama for President. They, however, have taken a big step back when they became part of thirty states that ban same-sex marriage. Arkansas has also passed a measure banning parents in homosexual relationships from adopting children.

This has been called a victory for religious conservatives. That very description exemplifies why such bans should not even be pursued at all - the propositions were put forth by religious conservatives, who appear to enjoy scorning the principle of the separation of church and state.

I do not agree that issues surrounding homosexuality should be left to be dealt with separately in each state. I believe politicians take this stance with the sole purpose of avoiding disapproval in certain states. There should be a country-wide acceptance, not intolerance, of homosexuals, and because the rejection claims it roots in religious belief, there should be no place in the law for such discrimination.

Only the Japanese...

...would come up with a toy/commercial like this. This is a commercial for those electronic pets taken to the next level.

WARNING: Not safe for work!

The contents of the video are not explicit, so to speak, but you might want to lower the volume if you do not want others around you to think you are watching Japanese porn. =P

Sexiest. Commercial. Ever.

I am not sure if this spot aired in North America, or even if Rondnoir is sold there, but I think it is the sexiest ad ever. I could not find it in German, but it does not matter. Italian sounds so much sexier than German anyhow. =)

Just listen to that voice! "Una perla, mille piaceri"... Ohhhhh take me now! **lol**

The Pursuit of Attention / Das Streben nach Aufmerksamkeit

Ugh. Men. Sometimes they drive me nuts… Women out there know what I’m talking about. Hubby and I just caught the final twenty minutes of Germany’s World Cup qualifier against Russia. I had just finished breastfeeding and needed hubby to burp baby so that I could go to the washroom. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Honey?
Hubby: Hm?
Can you take the baby please? I need to go pee.
(doesn’t move) Hm.
So? Can you take him please?
(still fixated on the game) Hm.
Honey?
Hm?
Helloooo…..
Hm.
(loudly) Helllloooooo!
Hm.
(in a seductive whisper) I want you. Now.
(all attentively and suddenly facing me) What? Okay!
Argh! Are you kidding me?

He wasn’t, and to make matters more irritating, he isn’t a huge sports fan or a very patriotic German. When it comes to soccer, however, he’s proud of his black, red, and gold. Ugh.




Mann! Männer. Manchmal machen sie mich verrückt... Frauen wissen mit Sicherheit wovon ich spreche. Mein Schatz und ich haben uns gerade die letzten 20 Minuten des Deutschlandspiels gegen Russland angesehen. Ich hatte gerade fertig gestillt und wollte, daß er unser Baby mir kurz abnimmt, so daß ich zur Toilette gehen konnte. Hier ist wie das Gespräch ablief:

Ich: Schatz?
Er: Hm?
Kannst du mir bitte kurz das Baby abnehmen? Ich muss zur Toilette.
(ohne Bewegung) Hm.
Also? Kannst du ihn bitte nehmen?
(immer noch fixiert auf das Spiel) Hm.
Schatz?
Hm?
Halloooo?
Hm.
(lauter) Halloooooooo!
Hm.
(geflüstert in verführerischem Ton) Ich will Dich. Jetzt.
(vollständig geistesgegenwärtig und aufgeweckt) Was? Okay!
Mann! Das darf nicht wahr sein!

Was mich dabei am Meisten irritiert hat, ist daß er eigentlich weder ein großer Sportfreund ist noch besonders stark ausgeprägten Deutschlandpatriotismus hat. Wenn es jedoch um Fußball geht, dann ist er sehr stolz auf sein Schwarz, Rot und Gold. Mann!