Post a news story, entertain me!

Sigh. Today's pollen count? 9,368!

At what point do we have to start worrying that the air will start solidifying? Or maybe about a dust explosion?

Arrested for making a false report? It sounds like the report was true though!

After the police left the man and woman kissed, the man passed out, and the woman stole his wallet and kidneys.

That's why you don't kiss them on the mouth kids.

Michael Bay film in real life.

Driver cuts in line at gas pump, blows up station

According to witnesses, a woman got impatient while waiting for a gas pump so she swerved in front of a yellow Hummer which was next in line.

Apparently, when she sped up, she lost control and slammed into the gas pump which caused a huge explosion and fire.

Yes, there's video.

tanstaafl wrote:

Michael Bay film in real life.

Driver cuts in line at gas pump, blows up station

According to witnesses, a woman got impatient while waiting for a gas pump so she swerved in front of a yellow Hummer which was next in line.

Apparently, when she sped up, she lost control and slammed into the gas pump which caused a huge explosion and fire.

Yes, there's video.

Am I a terrible person if I think that's awesome, and that she deserves every bit of the cost (no injuries).

Nah, F her.

Yonder wrote:

Am I a terrible person if I think that's awesome, and that she deserves every bit of the cost (no injuries).

Nah. You already were one way before now.

What the what?

War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests

The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like, WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported. “Halloween” is targeted because it suggests paganism; a “birthday” might not be happy to all because it isn’t celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I notice the phrase "intelligent design" is not on the list...

BadKen wrote:

What the what?

War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests

The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like, WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported. “Halloween” is targeted because it suggests paganism; a “birthday” might not be happy to all because it isn’t celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I notice the phrase "intelligent design" is not on the list...

Not that our DoE's had its sh*t together at any point in my life, but it feels like it's gone downhill even more rapidly since Bloomberg took over.

Tanglebones wrote:
BadKen wrote:

What the what?

War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests

The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like, WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported. “Halloween” is targeted because it suggests paganism; a “birthday” might not be happy to all because it isn’t celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I notice the phrase "intelligent design" is not on the list...

Not that our DoE's had its sh*t together at any point in my life, but it feels like it's gone downhill even more rapidly since Bloomberg took over.

They should add "Intelligence", "Thinking" and "Common sense" to the list, because that may offend the children of the people working on that school board. -.-

Tanglebones wrote:
BadKen wrote:

What the what?

War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests

The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like, WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported. “Halloween” is targeted because it suggests paganism; a “birthday” might not be happy to all because it isn’t celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I notice the phrase "intelligent design" is not on the list...

Not that our DoE's had its sh*t together at any point in my life, but it feels like it's gone downhill even more rapidly since Bloomberg took over.

Between this and not letting religious groups rent the place on off days, I am convinced that they're off their chump.

Here is the complete list of words that could be banned:

Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological)

Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, or drugs

Birthday celebrations (and birthdays)

Bodily functions

Cancer (and other diseases)

Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes)

Celebrities

Children dealing with serious issues

Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia)

Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting)

Crime

Death and disease

Divorce

Evolution

Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes

Gambling involving money

Halloween

Homelessness

Homes with swimming pools

Hunting

Junk food

In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge

Loss of employment

Nuclear weapons

Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling)

Parapsychology

Politics

Pornography

Poverty

Rap Music

Religion

Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)

Rock-and-Roll music

Running away

Sex

Slavery

Terrorism

Television and video games (excessive use)

Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)

Vermin (rats and roaches)

Violence

War and bloodshed

Weapons (guns, knives, etc.)

Witchcraft, sorcery, etc.

So, uh, how do you take a test on the Civil War without talking about slavery, violence, weapons, or war and bloodshed?

I also love that Rap Music and Sports Discussions are banned. And why, exactly, would rap music be on a standardized test anyway?

Nevin73 wrote:

So, uh, how do you take a test on the Civil War without talking about slavery, violence, weapons, or war and bloodshed?

I also love that Rap Music and Sports Discussions are banned. And why, exactly, would rap music be on a standardized test anyway?

I think this is about the sort of reading-comprehension and math story problems subjects. I can't think of any standardized tests that aren't focused on reading, writing, and math (well, I can think of one that's about science).

wordsmythe wrote:
Nevin73 wrote:

So, uh, how do you take a test on the Civil War without talking about slavery, violence, weapons, or war and bloodshed?

I also love that Rap Music and Sports Discussions are banned. And why, exactly, would rap music be on a standardized test anyway?

I think this is about the sort of reading-comprehension and math story problems subjects. I can't think of any standardized tests that aren't focused on reading, writing, and math (well, I can think of one that's about science).

Come to Canada. So far we haven't been infected with the crazy. Here students learn about sexual assault, drugs, war, environmental damage and all sorts of hard-hitting facts about the world around them. Oh, and they learn about evolution. For some reason Canada has not thrown out about a hundred years of scientific theory.

Thank you, Nevin. I had almost that exact thought written up but I didn't post it because I was too angry.

That said, wordy probably has it right in that these are topics banned from story problems on standardized tests. By that token, it should have little practical impact.

It is, however, still ridiculous and easily misinterpreted to mean that these are subjects students can't be tested on, which is insane.

Strangeblades wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Nevin73 wrote:

So, uh, how do you take a test on the Civil War without talking about slavery, violence, weapons, or war and bloodshed?

I also love that Rap Music and Sports Discussions are banned. And why, exactly, would rap music be on a standardized test anyway?

I think this is about the sort of reading-comprehension and math story problems subjects. I can't think of any standardized tests that aren't focused on reading, writing, and math (well, I can think of one that's about science).

Come to Canada. So far we haven't been infected with the crazy. Here students learn about sexual assault, drugs, war, environmental damage and all sorts of hard-hitting facts about the world around them. Oh, and they learn about evolution. For some reason Canada has not thrown out about a hundred years of scientific theory.

Again, I believe this about testing for things like reading comprehension. I don't see a reason to make such things more charged than they need to be.

wordsmythe wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Nevin73 wrote:

So, uh, how do you take a test on the Civil War without talking about slavery, violence, weapons, or war and bloodshed?

I also love that Rap Music and Sports Discussions are banned. And why, exactly, would rap music be on a standardized test anyway?

I think this is about the sort of reading-comprehension and math story problems subjects. I can't think of any standardized tests that aren't focused on reading, writing, and math (well, I can think of one that's about science).

Come to Canada. So far we haven't been infected with the crazy. Here students learn about sexual assault, drugs, war, environmental damage and all sorts of hard-hitting facts about the world around them. Oh, and they learn about evolution. For some reason Canada has not thrown out about a hundred years of scientific theory.

Again, I believe this about testing for things like reading comprehension. I don't see a reason to make such things more charged than they need to be.

Oops. I did read the article but I might have missed the point. My bad.

I read that earlier this week. That dude gets my vote for coolest human being on earth for the month of March.

Elycion wrote:

I read that earlier this week. That dude gets my vote for coolest human being on earth for the month of March.

Better than this guy?

wordsmythe wrote:
Elycion wrote:

I read that earlier this week. That dude gets my vote for coolest human being on earth for the month of March.

Better than this guy?

Yeah, sort of, because he gets that heartwarming "aaaaaaawwwwww" thing going.

Dressing up as Batman is one thing, taking your free time (no matter how wealthy) and making kids a little happier while you dress as Batman is another.

InspectorFowler wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Elycion wrote:

I read that earlier this week. That dude gets my vote for coolest human being on earth for the month of March.

Better than this guy?

Yeah, sort of, because he gets that heartwarming "aaaaaaawwwwww" thing going.

Dressing up as Batman is one thing, taking your free time (no matter how wealthy) and making kids a little happier while you dress as Batman is another.

Yeah even as cool as tequila-fu is, it simply can't compare to someone taking their own time and money to bring a little joy into the lives of sick and dying children.

Elycion wrote:

I read that earlier this week. That dude gets my vote for coolest human being on earth for the month of March.

Damn bat-dust in the bat-office.

InspectorFowler wrote:

Dressing up as Batman is one thing, taking your free time (no matter how wealthy) and making kids a little happier while you dress as Batman is another.

QFT.

When I saw the headline my first thought was, "I can't wait to see what kind of idiot drives around dressed as Batman.

Then I read the article and...

Gravey wrote:

Damn bat-dust in the bat-office.

VicD714 wrote:

When I saw the headline my first thought was, "I can't wait to see what kind of idiot drives around dressed as Batman.

I am offended, sir.

Elycion wrote:
InspectorFowler wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
Elycion wrote:

I read that earlier this week. That dude gets my vote for coolest human being on earth for the month of March.

Better than this guy?

Yeah, sort of, because he gets that heartwarming "aaaaaaawwwwww" thing going.

Dressing up as Batman is one thing, taking your free time (no matter how wealthy) and making kids a little happier while you dress as Batman is another.

Yeah even as cool as tequila-fu is, it simply can't compare to someone taking their own time and money to bring a little joy into the lives of sick and dying children.

Terrifying inner-city youth with tequila doesn't count?

VicD714 wrote:
InspectorFowler wrote:

Dressing up as Batman is one thing, taking your free time (no matter how wealthy) and making kids a little happier while you dress as Batman is another.

QFT.

When I saw the headline my first thought was, "I can't wait to see what kind of idiot drives around dressed as Batman.

Then I read the article and...

Gravey wrote:

Damn bat-dust in the bat-office.

Yes, your honor, this is exactly how the events transpired.