Woman Crashes Car While Shaving Bikini Line

Like the best oddball news stories, this one has more than one intriguing aspect.  As you can see in the 45 second piece from MSNBC that's embedded below, a 37 year old woman was arrested in Florida after crashing her car because she was shaving her bikini line while driving.


But it gets better.  Her ex-husband was apparently with her in the passenger seat at the time, and he was holding the steering wheel as she trimmed her 'bikini area.'  But there's more: she was on her way (with her ex husband in tow) to see her new boyfriend and wanted to be (she told police) "ready for the visit."

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Investors May Soon Bet On Movies' Box Office

Two firms are reportedly seeking regulatory approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to establish new futures exchanges that would enable investors to bet on the future box office performance of upcoming Hollywood films. They apparently expect approval within the next couple of months.  You can read the entire Los Angeles Times article about this HERE. 


One of the firms is a start-up from Indiana.  But the other is the well-known Cantor Fitzgerald.  According to this article, the two firms "hope they can harness the national obsession" with box office performance, "to create a safety net for the risky and expensive business of producing movies."   Why does this bring to mind The Music Man?  Or Mel Brooks' The Producers?

"It also remains to be seen," the article goes on to say, "whether studios and producers will be willing to bet against, or short, their own films. In a business where relationships and reputation are crucial, such a move carries more risks than just losing money."

Ben Roethlisberger Admits "Contact" With Accuser

According to MSNBC, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has admitted to Georgia police that he did indeed have "sexual contact" with the 20 year old college girl who has accused him of sexual assault after he met her in a Middletown, Georgia bar last Thursday night.  


But Roethlisberger also reportedly said that no intercourse took place, which is suggestive to me (in more ways than one) of a Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky 'situation.'


But then Roethlisberger apparently went on to admit that after the "sexual contact" the woman slipped, fell and injured her head. (Are your eyebrows now raised, too?)


Hmmm... To paraphrase Scooby Doo, "Ruh Roh Big Ben"....

Eric Massa: To Tickle, Grope, or.... "Snorkel"?

The saga of Rep. Eric Massa just gets stranger as the revelations keep on coming.  As you've probably heard, earlier this week Massa went on Larry King and Glenn Beck to try to explain his side of the facts underlying the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him.  He made more headlines by admitting to Glenn Beck that he had "tickled" a staffer "until he couldn't breathe" as part of some sort of group "tickle fight." Jeanne Moos, whose off-beat, satiric pieces have aired on CNN for over 15 years, did a 2 minute piece on Eric Massa's "group tickling" that aired on CNN yesterday, which I've embedded below.


But wait: there's more. The Atlantic Monthly has a new story detailing how Massa also exhibited similar behaviors during his 20 year career in the Navy.  In a  story that you can read in full HERE, Massa is alleged to have gotten subordinate shipmates alone and offered to give them 'special massages' that he called 'Massa Massages.' And then there was this anecdote from one of Massa's fomer Navy roommates, Tom Maxfield. "Tom and Massa shared a stateroom together. Massa climbed up on the top of his bunk, which is hard to do--you never crawl up on somebody else's bunk. He wakes up to Massa undoing his pants trying to snorkel him."  What does 'snorkeling' mean in Navy lingo? The Urban Dictionary defines it HERE.

Barbie and "Talking Malibu Stacy"

The world famous "Barbie" doll by Mattel made it's public debut on this day in 1959 at the American International Toy Fair in New York. While indisputably iconic and enduringly popular, Barbie has also come in for more than a little criticism over the years for her 'sweater girl' shape and the 'frivolous' interests implied by her accessories. 


This brought to mind an episode of The Simpsons. Lisa is angry and disappointed that the new talking version of her favorite Barbie-like doll, Malibu Stacy, says only things like "I wish they taught shopping in school" and "math is hard."  A 48 second clip is embedded below. 

Eric Massa: Is He "Mr. Salty" or "Walter Gropius"?

According to today's Washington Post,  congressman Eric Massa, who resigned yesterday under pressure, "has been under investigation for allegations that he groped multiple male staffers working in his office, according to three sources familiar with the probe. Allegations surrounding the former lawmaker date back at least a year, and involve 'a pattern of behavior and physical harassment,' according to one source." 


These allegations of serial groping contradict Rep. Massa's explanation last week that the congressional investigation into his behavior related merely to his habitual use of what he termed "salty language" with his staff.

I wonder whether Nabsico's Mister Salty thinks that Rep. Massa, who also referred to himself as a "salty old sailor," is giving the uniform a bad name?

Allen Iverson's Real Problems Revealed Today

When Allen Iverson took extended leaves of absence from the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers several times this season I was skeptical that it was really because, as was explained publicly, he had a young daughter with an undiagnosed illness and so needed to spend more time at home.  That sounded suspiciously vague and a little too close to, "I need to spend more time with the family" to my ear. But I didn't expect the news today, which makes me view him more sympathetically.


Stephen A. Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who has been close to Iverson for years, revealed today that Iverson is actually battling problem drinking and chronic gambling. "Iverson's gambling problem is serious enough that he has been banished from casinos in Detroit and Atlantic City, N.J.," according to Smith.  I've embedded below Steven A. Smith's 5 minute interview on ESPN today about these revelations.