The LA Times just had to throw it in my face with ANOTHER cover story about the giant pile of stupidity surrounding Roman Polanski. Yes, there are many irregularities in how the case was handled. The prosecutor and judge were obviously biased, and Monsieur Polaski didn't help things by fleeing the country. Now all sorts of celebrities are crying foul: it's the past; he's an artistic genius so he's allowed to be eccentric; it was "making love" (that's how Polaski himself described it). However, none of that changes the fact that HE RAPED A 13 YEAR OLD GIRL. There isn't a caps lock button big enough to adequately express my outrage at the people who publicly support him for entirely inadequate reasons.

Hollywood is bursting at the seams with rich crazy people of questionable morals. All too often these creative souls' actions are dismissed without consequence. I have to ask, though, what kind of person is willing to ignore the intoxication and rape of young girl by a man more than three times her age? Let's suppose, just for a minute, that she not only consented, but was voluntarily participating. While still statutory rape for blindingly obvious reasons*, consensual sex with someone physically and mentally mature enough to make reasonable decisions about her own body is significantly less heinous than ignoring the same girl's wishes and forcing himself upon her. In this Hypothetical Land, the one Polanski seems to be inhabiting, his actions could reasonably be overlooked by some. While I would not, I can understand why others would.

Moving back to reality, she did not consent. Just because he didn't beat her up and tie her to a radiator in the process does not excuse his ignoring of her "No." Though less violent than other cases, IT WAS STILL RAPE. I cannot fathom why anyone would be so willing to allow the perpetrator, who readily admits his guilt, to go free of punishment. To be clear, living a life of luxury and cinematic awards on a different continent is not punishment. Jail time is punishment.

On a whole different level, what does it say about people like Whoopi Goldberg and Woody Allen when they publicly support a child rapist? Do they also think it is acceptable to set puppies on fire and kick them off cliffs? To my knowledge, Kevin Smith is the only celebrity to point out the ridiculousness of defending Polanski. At least he isn't a puppy killer.

*I'll give you a hint - as the adult, he should have ceased and desisted.

I decided to give NCIS: Los Angeles a chance this Monday. In retrospect, I'm not sure what the logic behind that decision was because the first 5 minutes sucked. Seriously sucked. Give up hope and change the channel sucked. Then came the opening credits, which starts INNNN SPAAAAACCCE and zooms down to an aerial shot of the NCIS headquarters in LA.



Do you see that? Do you? Because I sure did. The white blobs on the left include my house! The orange blobs in the middle are the NCIS buildings! Except for the fact that there is a garden center there, and it certainly does not have an orange roof. The liars!

The show went back to sucking immediately after returning from commercials.

This weekend Matt asked if I would mind him wearing a RotoHog t-shirt. He was smart enough to avoid asking while I was desperately unemployed, but now that I had an offer, it seemed like a reasonable request. Unable to contrive an illogical excuse, I said it was okay, and away we went.

While waiting to cross a street, a random lady asked Matt if he plays on RotoHog. While I went into convulsions, he calmly stated that I used to work there. Apparently random lady's son still works there, and maybe I know him? OF COURSE.

Last year we failed to attend the Villa Marina Block Party due to lack of proximity. I tried to explain that we were in Tokyo, but apparently international travel is not an acceptable excuse. This year we made sure to attend long enough to get free food and be seen by all necessary persons.

The Block Party is partially sponsored by local businesses, each with their own gimmick to attract new customers. Free reusable bags, spin the wheel o' prizes, drawings for $25 off $10,000's worth of new windows. With a bit of prodding, I entered one a drawing from the hardware store, tried some homemade chocolate chip cookies, and won a useless candle. Then we retreated to the safety of our home.

Fast forward 30 minutes. The doorbell rang. My neighbor/party co-chair was there to present me with my grand prize from B&B Hardware. Uh, seriously? Holy bajoinkees! I won 2 Dodgers tickets, behind home, against the Rockies, with a preferred parking pass! Yippee!

I turned to Matt and asked, "Would you like to come with me to the game?" I thought I was nice to offer him the second ticket, but he seemed to think the correct response was to tickle me mercilessly. Sometimes I wonder why I keep him around.

I hereby announce that I have a job! An offer has been made, I accepted, and there will be a parade on the 26th of November in my honor! The paperwork will be signed early next week, at which point I will happily belt out the company name to the masses.