Surf’s Up Dept.

Good Grief Dept.

Charles Schulz‘s widow and my friend Jeannie Schulz writes some public comments about the David Michaelis book. Jeannie is one smart lady, and her comments demonstrate that quite clearly. No one would blame her if she just took a few reactionary public shots at Michaelis over his portrayal of her late husband. Instead she shows that she is actually very familiar with the book’s content and calmly and intelligently explains why a number of Michaelis’s conclusions are poorly conceived or are outright erroneous. After reading these comments and talking with her, I believe Michaelis was bent on painting Schulz as the tortured artist, and conveniently ignored both facts and whatever opinions and stories about Schulz did not support that portrayal. –From the Canadian Sans Everything Blog.

Trailer Park Parenting for Dummies Dept.

Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson Inc. was preparing to release a new book on parenting on Mothers Day, 2008. The Author: Lynne Spears, mother of those fine, upstanding role models Britney and Jamie Lynne Spears. Spear’s book, “Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World” was to be all about “raising” (term used loosely) young Britney through her rise to fame.

The publisher has decided to shelve the book’s release. That decision came, I am sure purely by coincidence, shortly after it was reported that 16 year old Jamie Lynne was pregnant via her high school boyfriend. How long will publication be put off? “Indefinitely is the word we are using,” a source from the publisher told the NY Post.

“We don’t know how this happened,” Jamie Lynne has reportedly said… Apparently there is no chapter in Spear’s book concerning the “birds and the bees”.

Meanwhile plans for other rumored books by the publisher proceed including “Tips for a Successful Marriage” by Elizabeth Taylor, “Fair Play: Honor in Baseball” by Barry Bonds and the posthumous “Ethical Business Practices” by Kenneth Lay.

Ink Slip Dept.

Former Catfish Bend Casino employee David Stewart found himself unemployed after tacking up this “Dilbert” comic strip on an office bulletin board:

Apparently casino management was not amused by the strip, and it’s referral to company decision makers as “drunken lemurs”.

“I find that very offensive,” and unidentified management source exclaimed. “We are not lemurs.” No comment on the “drunken” part….

Casino management reviewed security tapes to discover who posted the cartoon, and then fired Stewart saying he was not a “team player”. They cited the posting of the cartoon during a hearing over Stewart’s unemployment compensation, which they were trying to oppose. The judge sided with Stewart, saying that posting the cartoon was not done with malicious intent.

“However, had he posted a “Cathy” cartoon, he would have had his unemployment yanked in a heartbeat,” the judge reportedly added. -from The Daily Cartoonist

The Year in Askew Dept.

Finally, web humor site JibJab has once again posted their annual “Year in Review” video. Not quite as funny as last year but still worth look and a laugh:

Disclaimer- Certain additions to the “news stories” above were added for satirical and humorous purposes, including fictitious quotes, facts and other nonsense. Treat the “reporting” above with the same amount of gravitas as you would Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update”, except not as funny…. and no Amy Poehler.