Death is a sad fact of life. Though I find this story unintentionally hilarious I do have sympathy for Ms. Rivers’ late companion and his family. I have an equal amount of sympathy for Ms. Rivers for enduring what must be one of the worst dates ever. Having your date die is surely a blow to one’s self esteem.
Joan Rivers in an undated photo.
Joan Rivers date dropped dead during dinner at Le Cirque
ny.eater.com | Tuesday, March 2, 2010 | by Amanda
Today, on a particularly amusing episode of the Howard Stern show, Joan Rivers revealed that a man she had been dating for five weeks dropped dead during dinner at Le Cirque seven months ago. Rivers said her date suddenly went quiet, with his eyes wide open, sitting upright on the banquette, and he just died. Jokes that she made about the incident: 1) Her salmon dish was ruined as a result, 2) She paid for the meal by reaching into the dead man’s wallet and handing over his AMEX, 3) At least left a 20% tip even though he didn’t finish his meal, 4) He must’ve kicked the bucket after seeing her in the bright light.
Not the worst place to die right?
His death was not made public at the restaurant. Rivers, the management, and paramedics told patrons that he would be fine so as to not, you know, totally freak them out. Also it should be noted, her date was elderly, so the death was not, as far as she knows, food related.
There are worse places to drop dead. Readers, please put your best jokes about Le Cirque’s deadly prices, its dying breed of patrons, and the like in the comments.
Update: The official comment from Le Cirque: “No one has died at Le Cirque. The crème brulee’s to die for, but that’s about it.”
UPDATE No. 2: The good people at Sirius were kind enough to transcribe the show for us. And yes she eludes to Le Cirque, but is ambiguous about it:
JOAN RIVERS ON THE HOWARD STERN SHOW/SIRIUS XM/March 2, 2010
Imagine the uproar if something bad would have happened.
JFK airport control tower.
JFK tower allowed a kid to direct air traffic
FAA opens probe; child, apparently with supervision, made 5 transmissions
AP | March 3, 2010
NEW YORK – A child apparently directed pilots last month from the air traffic control center at John F. Kennedy Airport, one of the nation’s busiest airports, according to audio clips. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it was investigating.
“Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic,” the FAA said in a statement. “This behavior is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees.” The agency declined to comment beyond the statement.
Recordings from mid-February — during a weeklong winter break for many New York schoolchildren — were posted last month on a Web site for air traffic control-listening aficionados.
The most interesting thing about this prank is that it happened twice, which seems as though it’s a grudge and not random. Alas, no photo available.
Aurora woman’s car slathered in barbecue sauce, pickles
Clifford Ward, Special to the Tribune | www.chicagotribune.com | July 7 2009
Revenge, according to the proverb, is a dish that is best served cold.
But apparently, it also can be served like a pulled pork sandwich.
That’s the speculation of an Aurora woman who found her car slathered
with barbecue sauce and pickles on consecutive nights.
On July 1, the 23-year-old victim, who was not identified by police,
discovered her 2001 Chevrolet Impala had been hit by a condiment
assault.
The woman cleaned her car and moved it to a different part of the
driveway, so it was nearer to the house and blocked from the street by
a family member’s car.
Around 3 a.m., she heard her dog barking. And the next morning, she
found a second helping of sauce and pickles covering her car.
The victim told police that she suspects the source of the tangy
harassment is a woman she had confronted because the woman was
interested in the victim’s boyfriend.
According to the report from the Kane County sheriff’s police, the
sauce and pickles didn’t hurt the car’s finish. The woman hosed them
off as police stood by.
A circus zebra getting a little exercise broke loose from his handlers and toured down town Atlanta pursued by police cars, police on bicycles and police on foot. The excited animal was safely caught on an Interstate.
I look forward to more amateur photos coming forward of the zebra on the street downtown.
“All of a sudden, a freaking zebra comes running down the street like a car. Five or six police cars were in hot pursuit. And a bunch of officers on foot.”
Circus zebra leads police on wild chase
By Kristi E. Swartz and Ty Tagami | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | February 18, 2010
A zebra from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus escaped his handler and led police on a chase through downtown Atlanta on Thursday afternoon.
The black-and-white striped animal was spotted all over town — in the parking lot near the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, near Centennial Olympic Park, CNN and on the Downtown Connector. He was finally captured on the interstate near the Grady curve. According to witnesses, he was galloping between lanes of traffic on the Downtown Connector before his capture.
The 12-year-old zebra, named Lima, was exercising to prepare for Thursday night’s circus performance at Philips Arena when “something spooked him,” Ringling Brothers spokeswoman Crystal Drake told the Associated Press. The zebra broke away from his trainers and bumped up against a fence before wiggling through an opening and running off, she told the AP.
“We’re not sure what it was that startled him, but we’re looking into that,” Drake told the AP.
I first heard the word “vajazzle” in early 2010 when someone posted a link to Jennifer Love Hewitt chatting about her privates. Apparently the Completely Bare Salon in NYC has been providing this service since 2000. As their site states:
Now it’s time to go completely bare with a flair. Accessorize your own jewels…with crystals.
In case you still don’t understand what’s involved I’ll be blunt. First a woman’s privates have all their hair removed. Sparkly crystal “stickers” are then adhered to the bare skin. Ta da!
WOW, this is the coolest thing in the whole entire world. I imagine it’s easy to do if you have a flamethrower laying around. Thanks to Maya C for the tip.
The fire-breathing snowman of Bel Air
February 9, 2010 | Charm City Moms blog-baltimoresun.com
Nick and Anna Berte of Bel Air sent me these pictures of the giant snowman they made with their children in front of their home. “My husband is an engineer and decided later on to make the snowman breathe fire,” Anna Berte writes. “Hope everyone enjoys this snowman as much as the rest of our neighborhood does.”
Philadelphia Pennsylvania and much of the I-95 corridor has been pelted by massive snows ever since the groudhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter. With yesterdays 16″ snowfall Philly broke it’s all time winter snowfall record, so of course people will find unique ways to cope.
Snow sticking to a shovel seems to happen most often with metal shovels. The colder the shovel and the heavier and wetter the snow, the more likely the snow will stick. It’s a catch 22 though because a heavy wet snow is likely to break a plastic shovel.
South Phila. Man has Unique Shoveling Technique
KYW.com | John McDevitt | 2, 10, 2010
Many area residents spent a good part of the day clearing their sidewalks and some had a certain way of doing the job.
When dealing with went sticky snow on your sidewalk, Joe of South Philadelphia’s shoveling technique takes the cake:
(McDevitt:) “You have a can of Pam in your hand, Joe.”
(Joe:) “Use regular Pam because the olive stuff is kind of special. I use it for cooking, but the regular Pam – I’m going to spray it on the front and back if the blade.
(McDevitt:) “How is it working, Joe?”
(Joe:) “Pretty clean. I don’t see anything clumping up. Before the heavy wet snow just stuck to the blade.”
Trijicon's Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG). At the end of the scope's model number is 'JN8:12', a reference to the New Testament book of John, Chapter 8, Verse 12, which reads: 'Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.' ABC News
Contractor to remove Bible references from guns
AP | www.stuff.co.nz | 22/01/2010
A Michigan defence contractor will voluntarily stop stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights made for the US military, a major buyer of the company’s gear.
In a statement released Thursday, Trijicon of Wixom, Michigan, says it is also providing to the armed forces free of charge modification kits to remove the Scripture citations from the telescoping sights already in use. Through multimillion dollar contracts, the Marine Corps and Army have bought more than 300,000 Trijicon sights.
The references to Bible passages raised concerns that the citations break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are predominantly Muslim countries.
A spokesman for US Central Command initially said the Trijicon sights didn’t violate the ban and compared the citations on the sights to the “In God We Trust” inscription printed on US currency.
On Thursday, however, Army General David Petraeus, Central Command’s top officer, called the practice “disturbing.”
“This is a serious concern to me and the other commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Petraeus told an audience at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
In a statement issued later by the command, Petraeus said that “cultural and religious sensitivities are important considerations in the conduct of military operations.”
New Zealand announced Thursday that they would remove the citations from the sights they have, and Australia, which also uses the sights, is assessing what to do.
caption id=”attachment_3472″ align=”alignnone” width=”316″ caption=”Larry Platt performs his rap "Pants on the Ground" outside his home in Atlanta, Thursday,, Jan. 14, 2010 in Atlanta. Platt performed the song during an audition for American Idol. John Bazemore / AP Photo “][/caption]
Larry Platt is the first pop sensation of 2010. The 63 (or 62) year old’s American Idol audition got aired and his performance of his original song “Pants on the Ground,” was a huge sensation.
Now he’s got a record deal, and Brett Favre and his team The Vikings did a “Pants on the Ground” chant after the Minnesota Vikings’ victory over the Dallas Cowboys and even famous people are spoofing the catchy tune.
“Pants on the Ground” is a scathing criticism of youth fashion. On ABC’s The View he explained the inspiration, “I was walking one day…I see a guy with a baby bottle in his mouth, pacifier, with his pants on the ground. That’s what gave me an inspiration.”
Even before his Idol audition, Mr. Platt has had a full and interesting life. At 16 Larry Platt became active in the Civil Rights movement. He worked with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Georgia, organizing sit-ins in the South. During the Bloody Sunday march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery he was beaten. The Rev. Hosea Williams gave him his nickname, “General,” because of his heroic efforts on behalf of the civil-rights movement.
Because of “his great energy and commitment to equality and the protection of the innocent and for his outstanding service to the Atlanta community and the citizens of Georgia.” The Georgia General Assembly proclaimed Sept. 4, 2001, Larry Platt Day in Atlanta.
Sources for this:
Pants on the Ground’ Keeps Dropping Hits, Jan. 20, 2010, www.cbsnews.com
Arts in Brief, Compiled by DAVE ITZKOFF, January 18, 2010, www.nytimes.com
General Larry Platt: A closer look, Jan 13, 2010, www.usatoday.com
PANTS ON THE GROUND LYRICS
Pants on the ground
Pants on the ground
Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground
With the gold in your mouth
Hat turned sideways
Pants hit the ground
Call yourself a cool cat
Lookin’ like a fool
Walkin’ downtown with your pants on the ground
Get it up, hey!
Get your pants off the ground
Lookin’ like a fool
Walkin’ talkin’ with your pants on the ground.
Get it up, hey!
Get your pants off the ground
Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground
Even though Picasso was prolific his works are still precious. I’m glad it wasn’t a Vermeer. I’m reminded of a story, that I don’t have posted here about a man who stumbled at a British museum and destroyed a giant precious vase.
Woman Collides With a Picasso
By CAROL VOGEL; Compiled by RACHEL LEE HARRIS | January 24, 2010 | New York Times
On Friday afternoon a woman taking an adult education class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art accidentally lost her balance and fell into “The Actor,” right, a rare Rose Period Picasso, tearing the canvas about six inches along its lower right-hand corner. Immediately after the accident the painting was taken to the Met’s conservation studio so experts could assess the damage, museum officials said. A statement released by the Met on Sunday afternoon said, “The damage did not occur in the focal point of the composition and the curatorial and conservation staffs fully expect that the repair — which will take place in the coming weeks — will be unobtrusive.” The canvas — about 6 ½ feet by 4 feet — was hanging on the wall of a second-floor gallery with other early Picassos. The museum declined to identify the woman, but said she was not injured. Picasso created the painting, which depicts an itinerant acrobat theatrically posed, during the winter of 1904-5. Museum officials said they expected the repair to be completed in time for “Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” an exhibition of some 250 works from its collection opening on April 27.
Personally, I think this is no more offensive than serving “pizza pies” on Columbus Day. Considering this was Denver, Colorado this soul food lunch could have helped educate kids about American and Southern culture by showing them fried chicken and biscuits in context, that is, with collard greens.
I would like to point out to Mother Holladay, “who originally complained about the menu, e-mailed … a statement that said: “I’m confident we’ll see stereotype-free menus in the future” that soul food is not a stereotype.Soul food is a recognized regional American cuisine with restaurants, cookbooks and tv shows enjoyed by black and white people.
To say Soul food is a stereotype is like saying Chinese food is a stereotype. The more I think about this, the wackier it is. Some of kids’ favorite foods are Soul Foods like fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and apple cobbler.
Yes, more black folks than white folks eat Soul Food, especially North of the Mason Dixon Line. The best Soul Food restaurants are often owned and run by black people, the same way the best Chinese Restaurants are often run by (gasp) Chinese people.
BUT if Mother Holladay feels like a racist when she sees collard greens she should deal with her problem alone and not deny Denver’s children the pleasure of the gray green greasy greens with no Tabasco. She’d have made a better argument by pointing out that Soul Food’s are often high in fat and sodium and unhealthy. But she didn’t. She called the lunch without watermelon, flaming crosses or grape soda racist.
__________
Legal experts in the area of Schools have contacted me and told me the menu was probably changed to avoid the cost of even a potential legal fracas. The change of menu shouldn’t be viewed as an endorsement of the idea the meal was “racist” but a tactic to avoid even potential legal expense.
Random Soul Food lunch offered up at an Atlanta restaurant.
Proud Soul Food chef. The result of a web image search.
School Sorry For ‘Insensitive’ MLK Jr. Lunch
January 15, 2010 | www.wapt.com
Denver Public Schools Lunch Would Have Included Chicken, Collard Greens
Denver Public School officials are apologizing after a parent complained that a school lunch meant to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was stereotypical and offensive, reported KMGH-TV.
The lunch, planned for Friday, was to include southern-style chicken, collard greens and a biscuit in honor of King.
Denver Public Schools spokesman Michael Vaughn released a statement that said: “The plan to serve a Southern-style meal in recognition of Martin Luther King Day was well intentioned but highly insensitive in light of certain hurtful cultural stereotypes still harbored in parts of our society.”
Organizers of Denver’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Marade, a combination march and parade that honors King every January, did not consider the menu inappropriate, considering that King came from a southern background, but said there are other, more meaningful ways of honoring him.
“When you reduce it to the ‘I have a dream’ speech and a fried chicken and collard green lunch, you have just destroyed everything that Dr. King stood for,” said Vern Howard, chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission.
But in barber shops and soul food restaurants in Denver’s historic Five Points district, the tone was decidedly more relaxed.
“To me, I don’t see that much wrong with this,” said Franklin Stigal, owner of the Afro-Styling Barber Shop. “A lot of people are just griping to be griping.”
Chereka Dickerson, who helps run the soul food restaurant Welton Street Café, said the criticisms were over-the-top.
“If that’s the food that’s really associated with black people in America, why not celebrate it instead of trying to make everything negative?” she said.
Denver Public Schools changed the Friday meal to the manager’s choice for Friday. Jennifer Holladay, the parent who originally complained about the menu, e-mailed KMGH a statement that said: “I’m confident we’ll see stereotype-free menus in the future.”
