THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† All The News That’s Fart To Print (third item): The Washington Post reports on two hot new dolls this year:
So long, Betsy Wetsy. Baby dolls just got a whole lot more real.
Put her on her little pink plastic toilet. Press the purple bracelet on Baby Alive Learns to Potty. "Sniff sniff," she chirps in a singsong voice. "I made a stinky!"
This season's animatronic Baby Alive - which retails for $59.99 - comes with special "green beans" and "bananas" that, once fed to the doll, actually, well, come out the other end. …
The mess made by the $39.95 Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Gotta Go Doll, ("Over 60 phrases and fun sounds!") is more hypothetical. Once she is placed on her little toilet, a magnet triggers a presto, change-o in the plastic bowl: "The 'water' in the toilet disappears, with the expected 'potty waste' appearing in its place," says manufacturer Mattel. "Your child can then flush the toilet. The 'water' will reappear, while the toilet makes a very realistic flushing sound!" And then comes the applause. …
But not everyone thinks dolls need to be this real. Some things, they argue, are better left to the imagination. This battle over whether pooping dolls are an appropriate toy is only the latest skirmish in a long war between child development experts and toymakers. …
Perhaps here is where one needs to ask a question: Does a toilet - and what one uses it for - make a good toy?
And, given the boundaries of good taste, is it even a good idea?
Clearly, to toymakers, the answer is yes.
† Updates To Previous Posts (10 Reasons Michelle Obama Should Be Proud – Really Proud – Of America): This Christmas-themed installment is the latest in The Stiletto Blog’s ongoing series meant to help instill the necessary pride of country in Michelle Obama’s consciousness to enable her to serve as an unofficial ambassador:
‡ Since the wars in
[S]ince last year, the volunteer group
On Monday, about 100 volunteers turned out to welcome the troops at the airport's international terminal. Some wore American flag shirts. Others carried red, white and blue balloons. "God Bless the
‡ Every week, Hudson Francis, 3, and his family make a 300-mile round trip from their home in Surrey to
Anne Francis helped out by posting a blog about the hat drive on the
The family received more than 500 hats of all types, including one that came from
‡ The Associated Press reports that those ubiquitous Salvation Army bell-ringers often find objects of great value amongst the coins and bills dropped into their kettles:
The volunteer emptying Salvation Army kettles in southwest
The person who quietly deposited it outside a
Earlier this month, a rare 1910 gold coin worth thousands was dropped into a kettle in
And every holiday season for the past seven years, someone has dropped a Krugerrand, a gold coin from
Nationally, the Salvation Army collects about $118 million a year from its 25,000 red kettles.
† Updates To Previous Posts (fifth item, Employers Hiring Forged Documented Aliens Are Lawbreakers In Other Ways, Too): An Iowa judge denied former Agriprocessors chief executive officer Sholom Rubashkin request to get out of jail before his trial for allegedly harboring illegal immigrants, document fraud and identity theft, reports The Associated Press. Though he offered to hire guards to watch him 24/7, Rubashkin is considered a flight risk; a travel bag containing passports and $20,000 was found in his bedroom.
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