No sarcasm, pun, or wit could make this news any funnier. Wonkette reports:

Hillary Clinton’s pick to win horse racing’s Kentucky Derby, Eight Belles — the only female horse in the race — finished second, broke both front ankles, and subsequently was put to death on the track. The first place horse was “Big Brown.” Go nuts.

This makes my Dad’s attempt to find political meaning in the “underdog” Giants’ victory over the “machine candidate” Patriots in Superbowl 2k8 seem even more far fetched by comparison.

Here’s a new entry in the self-loathing sweepstakes — how to talk to the children about your cosmetic surgery. In his new book (to be released on Mother’s Day) plastic surgeon Michael Salzhauer outlines the approaches for talking to your kids about being shallow and insecure and why the family won’t have a vacation this summer. Speaking to Newsweek magazine, one satisfied patient said she had read the book a half a dozen times with her 9-year-old son.

Instead of being uncomfortable about the surgery, Acosta says her son actually spoke up about it at a big party. “Did you see her new belly button? It’s so pretty!” he said of his mom. “I think he was proud,” she says.

Wait’ll he sees her tits.

From Kim Ahern at RIFuture:

I just returned from my visit to the US Supreme Court and meeting with Justice Alito. While it was a great way to cap off RWU Law’s “Supreme Semester,” I can’t help but think of one of the worst decisions that came down last term: Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

In this case, the Supreme Court held that employees cannot challenge ongoing compensation discrimination if the employer’s original discriminatory decision occurred more than 180 days before, even when the employee continues to receive paychecks that have been discriminatorily reduced. Basically this decision goes against Congressional intent of eliminating workplace discrimination and essentially, ignores what may be really going on in the workplace. Justice Ginsburg (who founded the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project) had to watch as a woman’s statutory right to equal pay was diminished. This was a rare time when Ginsburg read her dissent aloud from the bench:

In our view, the court does not comprehend, or is indifferent to, the insidious way in which women can be victims of pay discrimination…

The bit of good news about this case is that YOU can do something about it! If you believe in women’s equality in the workplace, please e-mail Senator Whitehouse and Senator Reed and tell them to support the Fair Pay Restoration Act (S. 1843), which will correct the Court’s reading of Title VII. The House passed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007 (HR 2831) earlier this year.

Click here to watch Lilly Ledbetter herself discuss her experience, courtesy of the Alliance for Justice.

As someone who was voted ‘most likely to twist her ankle’ in high school I can’t identify with this activity at all. I have been known to injure myself squeezing out a sponge. This morning’s ProJo has an article about the Co-ed Fight Club for Girls at the E&O Tap. (Unfortunately Monday is my Scrabble night and on Thursdays I have to sit on my couch.) The hard copy has a great photo of artist Josie Morway… maybe these are her feet… as well as other great pix inside. I just want to get this link up. Other dosers may want to elaborate but are not famous for getting up early on Sundays.

Thanks to tipster Bill M. for alerting us to this story:

Chinese Laundry, which opened March 11th at 121 North Main Street (right in my neighborhood!), is not receiving the warm welcome for which its owner, Chow Fun Food Group owner John Elkhay, had hoped. The restaurant, which claims to offer, “a modern pan Asian dining experience with an intoxicating vibe, incredible worldly flavors, and a sensual, sophisticated atmosphere,” opened amidst a firestorm of controversy.

The Projo explains:

John Elkhay, who has brought fun, trendy restaurants to the Providence dining scene, arrived at his VIP party on Friday night after a stressful and unexpected debate that emerged in the blogosphere earlier in the day. An ad for his newest restaurant, Chinese Laundry, in Providence Monthly featured the naked torso of a woman and the words “See what you are missing.” It caught the eye of a student at Brown University who referred it to a blog written by a self-proclaimed “angry Asian-American woman.”

(more…)

I do believe Summer Glau is reinventing herself. Judging from this pin-up in the latest Vanity Fair the sci-fi weirdo-teen has morphed into… well… Kelly Ripa. Where is the endearing control-freak schizo of The 4400 or the unstable avenging angel schizo of Firefly? She’s been drained of all her creepy charm. Is her new show with the long, clumsy name any good?