Your 'No Shit, Sherlock!' News for the Day

The level of idiocy out there really, really amazes me at times. And scares the shit out of me too. What, Gentle Reader, happened to common sense?

U.S. School Children Need Less Work, More Play: Study
We needed a study to tell us this? Anyone who's been around young kids who've been forced to sit and concentrate (or attempt to do such tasks) for a prolonged time can tell you how absolutely absurd it is to expect the kids to do that.

Oh, and, uh, Reuters? Nice headline. Where did you find that gem of a reporter? And the two editors who worked on the piece? Got a crack team there!

But here's the even sadder thing about this "news" item: No one's going to pay any attention to it. You can't quantify the value of playtime. You can sure as hell quantify the results of prolonged sessions of math lessons, grammar lessons (hint hint, Reuters), social studies lessons and all those other uber-important topics in standardized tests. With those numbers you generate from those tests, you sure can make it look like a school is doing something for its students--or not doing anything for its students. ROI, bitch! That's what it's all about.

Onto the next item, which has me asking, Gentle Reader, when will the whitewashing end?

More Anger [A]bout Avatar
So I've complained about Keanu Reeves bringing Cowboy Bebop as a live-action flick to the big screen. I think I complained in that same post about Spidey McGuire's bringing Robotech as a live-action to the big screen. Well, another cartoon property with a lot of Asian faces and ideas, Avatar: The Last Air Bender, is coming to the big screen, and guess what? Asians are few and far between in the pic!

Just get a load of what some genius at Paramount had to say about casting Asians for the film, as quoted in The Daily Pennsylvanian:

Casting officials are seeking candidates with military or martial arts experience, athletes, gymnasts and people of various races and cultures.

'We want you to dress in traditional cultural ethnic attire,' [Deedee Rickets, casting director for the Avatar film] said. 'If you're Korean, wear a kimono. If you're from Belgium, wear lederhosen.'

Well, it's so nice to see that the folks in charge of casting really know about the cultures of Asia! How silly of me to have asked Mum to make me a hanbok in honor of my son's Korean heritage when I should have asked her to make me a kimono!

Oh well. At least the boy isn't from Belgium. Neither he nor I are big fans of lederhosen.

I love stupidity. I especially love stupid white people. They totally make my day.