Nothing's shocking...

French tourists seen as world's worst: survey

Thu Jul 9, 6:06 am ET
PARIS (Reuters Life!) – French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant, according to a survey of 4,500 hotel owners across the world.
They finish in last place in the survey carried out for internet travel agency Expedia by polling company TNS Infratest, which said French holidaymakers don't speak local languages and are seen as impolite.
"It's mainly the fact that they speak little or no English when they're abroad, and they don't speak much of the local language," Expedia Marketing Director Timothee de Roux told radio station France Info.
"The French don't go abroad very much. We're lucky enough to have a country which is magnificent in terms of its landscape and culture," he said, adding that 90 per cent of French people did their traveling at home.
"So when they're on holiday they can be a bit stressed, they're not used to things, and this can lead them to be demanding in a way which could be seen as a certain arrogance."
French tourists are also accused of generally spending less than other nationalities when abroad.
De Roux said the French, not accustomed to leaving large tips at home where a service charge is automatically levied on restaurant bills, can seem "tight-fisted" compared with other nationalities.
The Japanese ranked top of the Best Tourist survey, with the British and the Germans judged the best of the Europeans.
But French tourists received some consolation for their poor performance, finishing third after the Italians and British for dress sense while on holiday.
(Reporting by Joseph Tandy; editing by James Mackenzie)

Say no more.

Try Something New

Today's headline:

Palin: ‘Every time we do something, we get hit’

Try shutting up.

Simon F'n Cowell

Every day, the media gives us all the bad news...the worsening global economy, more layoffs and more unemployment claims, home foreclosures, threats of war from North Korea, JBS Swift Beef Company's huge meat recall, the death of New Zealand palentologist Joan Wiffen...and the list goes on and on. America is closing down shopping malls, car manufacturing plants, banks, and restaurants because people aren't spending money like they used to.

And yet, Simon F'ing Cowell has been offered 144 MILLION DOLLARS to continue his role as judge on American F'ing Idol.

Are you KIDDING ME? 144 million dollars to say "you are absolutely horrible" 2000 times. Come on!

Now, I am not a fan of American Idol. As much as it showcases talented singers, it's run by big corporations who don't give a fig about music or talent. They own the world at large and brainwash the millions of consumers (aka fans) who watch the show. Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson are all drugged and fed their lines by Simon F'n Cowell. They can't think original thoughts. They just read teleprompters. I can't even go for the pre-season show featuring the William Hungs of the world. This is Star Search on Steroids! American Idol is the DEVIL, Bobby Boucher!

(note: somehow, selections from "Hung for the Holidays" have been downloaded into my iTunes. I blame Bob).

I feel better now.

Taxachusetts Redux

Governor Patrick hints at gas tax hike

Governor Deval Patrick signed a budget yesterday that imposes more than $1 billion in additional taxes, and did not rule out a higher gas tax.

This is why people voted for Bill Weld and then kept a Republican in office for a looong time. You can darn well bet that history will repeat itself if the current governor keeps bleeding the people. Not only will Democrats bear the brunt as people turn their backs on the party, but this will impact the state for a very long time. The exodus of talented, smart and nearly broke people will continue because they can't afford to live here.

Taxachusetts, once again.

Today, Massachusetts governor Duval Patrick signed a state budget that cuts local aid and increases the state sales tax from 5% to 6.25%. The budget cuts a ton of government programs but does give about $4 billion for education funding and restores health care for 30,000 legal immigrants.

I'm somewhat at a loss over this. On one hand, yay budget for education. On the other hand, HELLO? This is not a good methodology for increasing consumerism in the commonwealth. Here I am, cash-strapped normal middle class doofus with surprisingly little extra cash to help stimulate the economy. But, I still need to provide for my family, so purchases are not uncommon. However, I can very much say that I will be doing a significantly higher percentage of my business online with nationwide vendors who do not charge sales tax. Not because I don't want to help out my community, but because I cannot friggin afford not to anymore.

You want to get us out of this dilemma? Try DEcreasing the sales tax. This will inspire more consumer activity. Don't believe me? One weekend a year Massachusetts has a "no sales tax" event. Quite obviously, that is a huge deal and tons of revenue is earned by all parties. Now imagine that we drop the sales tax to 4%. Not a huge number, but enough for some jerkoff like me to actually go to a store rather than go online or to New Hampshire. I believe that this would be a common perception and our economy will sustain more of a boost than increasing taxes.

Example: Walmart is a tremendously successful corporation. They garner small profit margins per item because they can rely on volume. Tweeter, Etc, an esoteric electronics chain, did the opposite. Small volume, high margin. Take a look at where both companies stand today.

USAbsurdToday

Another amazingly astute headline from USAToday.com. What gives? This paper was a giant, a notable in the field of journalism. Ok, it was never The Washington Post or The NY Times. But lately they've hoisted themselves to nearly the top of my "absurdists" list.

They aren't quite the NY Post but is that day coming?

Hosed Again

Poor Farrah. First it's cancer. Then, her death is the top story for a blink and then along comes Michael Jackson and his oxygen challenged status. Poor Farrah.

Jon and Kate minus Jon and Kate

You know, normally I would just give this little news item a pass and read it only in order to cure my insomnia. But for some reason, the news of Jon & Kate from "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" separating and filing for divorce really irks me. I cannot help but wonder how their fame and subsequent egos got in the way of something special that they had.

Jon is a henpecked husband. At least, that's what the media says. When my wife was expecting our twin sons, we watched this program together. Jon wasn't henpecked then. Kate was bossy, but she wasn't as overbearing as Victim Jon is making himself out to be today.

Has Kate become more unbearable as the series has gone on? I think so. I think she believes her own hype and that has lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of the demise of their marriage.

Is this her fault? Is this his fault. They're both to blame. Jon feels emasculated on national television, and there's no coming back from that.

Kate is like an employee who gets promoted to management over fellow employees and turns into an asshole boss. The allure of perceived power without the ego-check to keep yourself ultimately on track.

As everyone's saying, this is just terrible for the children. I agree completely, but probably not for the same reason you're thinking. When your life is filmed for a television program, you give up certain pity-rights. But before, this show was inspirational for new parents who sometimes feel overwhelmed (at least in my case). Now it's turning into some sort of drama where the focus has turned from the cute kids to the fighting parents. And something that should be a private matter is now very public and it's going to be with the children for their lives.

Probably in a 5 DVD box set. Also available in Blu Ray.

mm-hmm

Pilot dies on trans-Atlantic flight

Wife of pilot: He was in "perfect health"

Once again, Waco, TX amazes.

I'm not sure if you've heard, but recently Bill Nye ("The Science Guy") gave a lecture in Waco, Texas which had an interesting moment:

McLennan Community College
The Emmy-winning scientist angered a few audience members when he criticized literal interpretation of the biblical verse Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”
He pointed out that the sun, the “greater light,” is but one of countless stars and that the “lesser light” is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light.

A number of audience members left the room at that point, visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence.

“We believe in a God!” exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young children.

Forgive me if I'm wrong on this point, but I never thought believing in God and accepting truths about science to be mutually exclusive. Evidently, there are parts of this country (and indeed, the world) where this is not the case. Utterly, completely remarkable.

To quote (reference, really) Bill Hicks, I hope people know that evolution did not stop with the development of opposable thumbs. There is an evolution of the mind that should be occurring with the growth of the human race. Perhaps it's just me, but I'm thinking that the reason so many churches fail and the doctrines waaaay too antiquated is because they're no longer relevant. Time to evolve, people.