Are you serious?

Are you fucking serious?

Bad choice of words? Senator invokes Ricky Ricardo

Sen. Tom Coburn evoked a 1950s TV show in a quip responding to Sonia Sotomayor’s scenario about what he might do if she -- hypothetically, of course -- attacked him.

"You'll have a lot of 'splainin' to do," Coburn said, to laughter from the crowd and Sotomayor. What he said -- and how he said it -- was a riff on a Hispanic television character, Ricky Ricardo, whose accent is now widely considered a broad parody.

In the famous 1950s TV show "I Love Lucy," the Cuban-American bandleader Ricardo (played by the equally Cuban-American bandleader Desi Arnaz) would often admonish his scatterbrained wife, Lucy, by saying she'd have some "'splainin'" to do. The phrase, "Lucy, you have some 'splainin' to do," has become part of the popular culture.

Calling Coburn out for this might be going too far -- those who know him say he often speaks like this -- but it was hard not to notice his inflection and choice of words. At the very least, it suggests a tin ear -- particularly when you're speaking to a woman who may become the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

(no subject)

Cats Do Control Humans, Study Finds -- eleri mentioned this yesterday.

Witness: Pastor said 'Lord told me' to abuse girl

Study: 7 key genes predict brain cancer survival | A Network Model of a Cooperative Genetic Landscape in Brain Tumors

oddities

Gang leader charged in scheme to control punk rock

Man tries to fix airbed, blows up apartment

Berlin "sex academy" offers tips for visitors

NH man swipes debit card for smokes, charged 23 quadrillion dollars (plus $15 overdraft fee)

Military Robot Could Eat Dead Bodies

Guard swindled cash for operations to turn himself into the devil

'Pool got my daughter pregnant'

short announcement

a handful of stones will publish two of my short pieces, written during NaNoWriMo 2007. They are "[crimson maple]" and "[circular sparrows]". Availability TBA.

Sauteed Zucchini & Vegetables in Marinara Sauce

Tonight, I prepared the sauteed zucchini dish for sarahmichigan and dionysus1999. I didn't have enough red bell pepper (well, actually, orange), so I substituted carrot instead (thanks for the suggestion, davidfcooper). I added almonds, as one of the recipes I'd researched suggested sauteing zucchini with almonds. Lastly, I forgot the dash of sugar, but the marinara sauce was sufficiently sweet, I think.

( recipe )