Downright Intrusive

Don't get me wrong,I'm all for kids eating healthier and getting more exercise but when a school is empowered to take things out of a child's lunch because of questionable nutrition,nope,that's taking it too far. I have no idea if anything like this is being done in the US but I can certainly understand this Australian mother's frustration. She had packed her son's lunch with several fruits and vegetables,protein balls and homemade sausage rolls containing mainly veggies. Apparently the school has enough time to paw through the children's lunches and decide what they can eat because they sent a note home telling the mother the sausage rolls were not a healthy choice,not to mention that they didn't allow him to eat them,so what is better having a hungry kid on their hands or a kid that ate something that didn't pass school criteria? Never mind the picky eaters out there,I guess they will have to go hungry. 

Raising the Difficulty Level

Most folks would be happy just to complete a marathon but there are always some overachievers in the crowd which seems to be especially true of the London Marathon. Thirty-eight Guinness records were set out of seventy-eight record attempts. Some of the costumed runners included: an awareness ribbon,a love heart,a tent,a scout,a bride,a golfer,a zombie,a doctor,a nun,a skeleton,a post box,a scientist,a fairy tale character,a shoe,a cave-woman,a hospital patient,a mummy,an egg,a nut,a DNA double helix and a dragon. Other records broken were two fastest runners handcuffed together, fastest six person costume and fastest non racing wheelchair.

Get Off My Back

In the kids section of the local paper they had a short (kids length) article about the Surinam toad. I found it fascinating for a couple of reasons,I had never heard of this creature before and it has the most sensible reproductive system in perhaps the whole of the animal kingdom. First is their body design which resembles a dead leaf,so predators tend to leave them alone,when it is time to reproduce the female releases her eggs which the male fertilizes them carefully presses onto her back. Her skin then grows over the eggs in a kind of honeycomb fashion and after around 80 days the toads emerge fully developed and ready to live their lives without further ado. Once the mother sheds the skin she is ready to start the cycle again. Seriously doesn't it make more sense to carry the young this way instead of in the front which makes for back aches no matter the species,or at least I assume it must as pregnant animals seldom seem too comfy.

A Real Ass

Today's post should go under the "just when you thought you'd heard it all" heading. A 19 year old Instagram "star"regularly posts photos of her body with emphasis on her butt. Right here I would like to say who cares? but apparently a lot of people accused her of having work done on her derriere even after she had repeatedly claimed to have achieved the glutes from hard work at the gym.  She finally went to a plastic surgeon who confirmed on video that no work had been done. So,there you have it,a certified real ass.

Clever Kids

Although I was disappointed to discover that the two 10 year old Massachusetts kids were not the first to come up with the idea of 3D crosswalks,it still speaks well for their creative problem solving skills,and never mind they are years away from driving which left the perspective of a driver out of the equation. When the brother of one of the ten year old kids was nearly hit at the crosswalk in the driveway of their school the boy and girl decided it was time to act. They took their solution to a group they belong to,Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility,who in turn hired an artist to put the idea into action. The city (Medford) is planning on adding 3D crosswalks to the other elementary schools during the summer.

Damned If You Do

Damned if you don't is the perfect phrase to describe the latest negative reactions to a Nike ad featuring a model with armpit hair. Keep in mind that just recently the Gillette razor ad fell into the abyss of ridicule when they showed a woman shaving her arms. Really people,why should anyone care about other peoples personal grooming choices? It reminds me of the brouhaha over breastfeeding in public being improper yet those same folks are okay with men going topless in public,which brings me to my final point...why are people offended by women's pit hair and not by men's pit hair? Those double standards are still hard at work. 

Food For Thought

For those of you who enjoy adventures in dining I present some unusual eateries. In Norway they offer dining with an underwater view of the ocean,it is appropriately named Under.

In Shanghai you can enjoy your meal with toilet decor at a place called,More than Toilet.

At Giraffe Manor in Kenya you may share your meal with  giraffes who often stick their heads through the windows in search of treats. I don't know how healthy it is for the giraffes though.


If you like surprises the Dans le Noir in London may be to your liking,they keep you in the dark...literally.

In India the New Lucky is built on graves so you can dine with the dead.

There are now three branches of Cabbages and Condoms where they offer condoms instead of after dinner mints in hopes of helping curb diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

You'll find Steaks on a Plane in a retired 737.


The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas has diners dress in hospital gowns and the waitresses are dressed as nurses. Menu items include triple bypass and quadruple bypass.

It Takes a Village

Talk about feeling entitled this Philadelphia couple takes the cake. They posted on a social network called Next Door which is more like an online neighborhood watch site but that clearly wasn't the purpose they had in mind. They were expecting their first baby and wanted the neighbors to coordinate a "Meal Train" so they wouldn't need to bother with cooking,and while those same neighbors prepared the specific meals requested could some other neighbors please come by to do the housework?  The man explained that they were going to be needing their sleep with a new baby in the house. I would not have believed any couple old enough to be having a child could still be so clueless,or is it just me?

Extra Eyes

Forget eyes in the back of your head,what good would they be anyway? They would only show where you'd already been. What would be handy to have is eyes on your feet. Not only would stubbing your toes become a thing of the past so would other tripping hazards such as stairs and those pesky pets who insist on walking in front of you and suddenly stopping as if you could see with your feet. Of course shoes would have to be designed to not hinder your sight but shoes are highly over rated. Just a little something I often think about when my cats are plotting to trip me and eat my broken body.

Eggs-plained

The fact that not all chocolate eggs are created equal,calorie wise,is probably a little late to be of any use this Easter,but if anyone cares to they can take note for future reference. Some of these brands are unknown to me but since I don't wait for an occasion to eat chocolate they may be available to me without my knowledge.

The most calorific Easter eggs

Large eggs

• Cadbury Chopped Nut Easter Egg - 2,977 calories
• Hotel Chocolat Extra-Thick Rocky Road Easter Egg - 2,865 calories
• Cadbury XL Crème Egg Easter Egg - 2,459 calories
• Hotel Chocolat Extra-Thick Milk Chocolate Egg - 2,300 calories
• M&M Peanut Luxury Easter Egg & Chocolate - 1,629 calories
• Waitrose Dark Chocolate Avocado Easter Egg - 1,620 calories
• Cadbury Wispa Gold Egg - 1,560 calories
• Snickers Milk Chocolate Large Easter Egg & Chocolate - 1,429 calories
• Lindt Lindor Egg & Truffles - 1,378 calories
• Nestle Kit Kat Bites Easter Egg & Chocolate - 1,338
• Nestle Aero Bubble Peppermint Easter Egg - 1,282 calories
• Smarties Orange Mini Egg Inside Egg - 1,260 calories
• Thornton’s Classic Chocolate Egg - 1,148 calories
• Medium eggs
  • Lion Bar Retro Easter Egg - 1,029 calories
  • Rolo Medium Easter Egg - 720 calories
  • Mars Medium Easter Egg and Chocolate - 703 calories
  • Cadbury Mini Eggs Medium Egg - 696 calories
  • M&M’s Choco Medium Egg - 691 calories
  • Malteser Milk Chocolate Easter Egg and Chocolate - 661 calories
  • Cadbury Freddo Faces Medium Egg - 653 calories
  • Kinder Surprise Easter Egg - 579 calories
  • Hotel Chocolat Milk Chocolate Bunny - 565 calories
  • Nestle Smarties Chicken in an Easter Egg - 535 calories
  • Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons Small Easter Egg - 392 calories
  • Malteser Mini Milk Egg & Bunny - 421 calories
  • Milkybar Small Easter Egg - 392 calories
  • Lower calorie alternatives
    • Lindt Medium Gold Bunny - 1,100 calories
    • Cadbury Egg & Spoon Oreo - 764 calories
    • Cadbury Mini Eggs - 444 calories
    • Kinder Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Mini Eggs - 437 calories
    • Crème Egg - 177 calories
    • Malteaster Bunny - 156 calories
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