Since I'm a bit exasperated that I'm sitting here eating a supper of Pad Preaw Wan, not the Pad Woon Sen that I ordered, I'll unload about the media items that boggled my mind today. Or didn't, actually, since all 3 of them involved people or cultures living down to my expectations of them.
One of the short items on the local NPR affiliate this afternoon discussed the fact that flavored malt beverages- things like Mike's Hard Lemonade- will no longer be available in Utah in a few weeks. Now, those of you who know my alcohol consumption habits know that this isn't actually a loss for me. What got my feathers in a ruffle, though, was the rationale behind why this is happening. See, someone on the UABC decided that having these beverages openly available at the grocery store made them a temptation for underage drinking. Therefore, they needed to be moved to the ever-so-inconvenient state liquor store AND they needed to have special labeling. The distributors of all of these types of beverages are refusing that special labeling. Therefore, existing supplies in the state will go to the state liquor store tomorrow and will be sold until they are gone. After that there will be no more "flavored malt beverages" in Utah. Next thing you know they'll find a way to get rid of my beloved tequila in this state- and never mind the maze of obscure liquor laws that are still in effect here. Honestly, it boggles my mind that in the year 2008 a religious minority (the LDS no longer have a stranglehold on this state thanks to heathens like me) can impose theocracy on the rest of us. The word that comes to mind here starts with a B, ends with a t, and has an ullshi in the middle.
Favorite Utah news item #2: The 7th graders from a junior high in Kaysville (just north of Salt Lake) were scheduled to come down here to go to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Leonardo. When the field trip was organized, parents were given the option of letting their child go to Body Worlds OR go to the Hogle Zoo. 75% of the parents signed the permission slips for their child to go to Body Worlds. However, the state education department (honest!) sent a letter to the junior high indicating that their opinion was that Body Worlds is only appropriate for high school seniors who are enrolled in anatomy and physiology courses. So...the 7th graders went to the zoo. First and foremost, I have trouble thinking that a zoo field trip is age-appropriate for 7th graders - though in the opposite manner than the concern expressed by the state office of education about the Body Worlds exhibit. More importantly, the rationale of WHY Body Worlds is only appropriate for seniors in A&P classes wasn't firmly supported. Methinks it's because the plastinated people are (((GASP))) nekkid. You can actually see naughty bits, from which our youth must be protected.
Alaska's "sweetheart" Governor Sarah Palin had another interview segment with Katie Couric aired tonight. I probably need not remind you that Gov. Palin was a journalism major at the University of Idaho. The University of Idaho is, of course, held in the highest esteem for the journalism program there which is why I can't name a single graduate other than Sarah Palin. Of course, she can't name a major media outlet that she uses for acquisition of knowledge about current affairs. Watch this (go to the 3 minute mark if you can't stand the misery in entirety)!