Amen to that!

'Dummy Ruiz,' 'Dear Pineapple' OK as bid to ban unusual names fails in D.R.

Gracias a Dios! Finally the Law overcame unreason and the Dada Poetry that is Caribbean Naming Practices has prevailed. Little Mazda Altagracia will get to keep her name. But....which is of the two is the more unusual? The ubiquitous brand name or the religious moniker?

See my post for the original article on these fabulous names from the DR
http://petitemaoiste.blogspot.com/2009/04/vulgar-names-prohibited-by-judge-in-dr.html


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, May 8th 2009, 2:50 PM
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A judicial panel says Dominicans are free to name their kids "Dummy Ruiz," ''Dear Pineapple" and other unusual monikers if they choose.
The Central Electoral Commission has rejected a proposal to ban any names that could be confusing or give no indication of gender, such as Querida Piña (Dear Pineapple) and Tonton Ruiz (Dummy Ruiz).
Judge Jose Angel Aquinas had called for a crackdown on unusual names after the country's civil registry showed some families were naming their offspring after cartoon characters and car brands. One family named their girl "Mazda Altagracia."
But the commission said Thursday it is not appropriate for the government to dictate what parents name their children.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2009/05/08/2009-05-08_bid_to_ban_unusual_names_fails_in_dr_.html#ixzz0FVDq3A8f&B

Moody Chihuahua

I am not quite sure what makes the poor dog "bipolar" exactly. I guess it's the mental illness du jour, now that anxiety is well, so.....early 2002. It's all about mood stabilizers now. Perhaps its more of the pathologization of Mexicans, first, swine flu, now, feral chihuahuas? Watch your back for the insidious diseases carried by the neighbors from South of the Border! Maybe it's PETA, giving a stern warning against inter-species love? If only Cesar Millan, "The Dog Whisperer" were here to utter his magical incantation "Chhhh" with the accompanying side tap with the foot, as well as his charismatic Jim Jones "Drink my Kool-Aid" gaze.

Here is the video to my probably favorite Dog Whisperer Episode of all time: Chihuahuas from Hell, featuring "Diablo."

nada puede sufrir que no sabe solucionar...

Season 2 Climax: Ramona dances with her nemesis, fashion maven Simon

I'm confused too

My loyal reader Narciso Espejo shared this gem with me, when a beauty pageant contestant representing Panama had to describe who Confucius was. According to him, he has to do with "confusion," and he came from "a long time ago," from "China....Japan." 

Is it a Goya?

When I see Bethenny, I come from a place of "yes"

I am not ashamed to say that I am hooked like a crack whore on The Real Housewives. I have gone as far as taking cabs home from teaching so as not to miss an episode.

Although all of them, O.C., Atlanta, and New York fall under my addiction category, there is nothing quite like New York, because that is a city I know well and this of course adds to my enjoyment. By now, everyone knows that within the faux real reality TV category of edited series this show is particularly staged and artificial. In all of the locations the alleged wealth of the participants has been largely revealed to be a fraud. Let's say that these women are more aspiring to, to be kind. None of them appear to be particularly bright or self-aware.

Until that is, I saw Bethenny. I have to be frank (unintended ironic pun on her last name, Frankel). This is where I fell for the manipulation completely, relinquishing most of my detached and sarcastic amusement, to hear myself saying "I could totally see myself hanging out with her." Although I do find her alarmingly thin, and cannot quite figure out either why she is a serial reality TV personality given how intelligent she appears to be, or why she would be "friends" (frenemies) with this particular demographic slice of New York City womanhood (the series could be viewed as an update of the camp 1930s classic "The Women"), I still find her largely appealing in most ways.

First is her wit, her quick-witted one-liners and manic barrage of analysis, mimicry, and tough-girl retorts leave me in tears of laughter. A particularly fabulous one-liner that did not make it into the compilation video posted here (which, be warned, if you don't watch the show is largely useless in conveying why I like the character played by this woman, which in some way I believe to be relatively sincere) took place when during a planning meeting for a charity, dysfunctional ex-model, diva, cougar batterer of younger boyfriends, and apparently on some memory-impairing meds, Kelly Bensimon refused to lend her name to the event. Bethenny exclaimed: We are different, Kelly. You come from a place of "no" and I come from a place of "yes." I kid you not, for some reason that resonated with me, more than just ironically. But the really fabulous things about Bethenny besides her viper's toungue, that is, are:

she owns her own business
she refuses to make her life revolve around a man
she mocks the other women's pretense (however, if so, why does she hang out with them?)
despite her obvious insecurity manages to defend herself
although this could be in the interests of manipulating viewers (like me) I empathize with her fleeting mentions of the impact of her dysfunctional family life
she apologizes when she misjudges someone
her comic timing is awesome

Best of all, she lets us know that she is in on the joke, acting as an on and off camera meta-commentator or performer.

http://www.bethenny.com