Puce friday oddems: home on the range; testicle lock box; sharkansky family values; lederhosen news you can use; a thong in our heart; words fail condi; dori, dori, dori

~ Dave Ross's (KIRO m-f, 12-3p) musical intrusion on the live Michael Medved Show (KTTH m-f, 12-3p) Thursday was some very funny radio. Seems Ross was in the studio next door recording a jingle to the tune of "Home On the Range" for Ron Upshaw's (of Ron & Don) blackberry jam. For some reason, the pre-recorded noodling of a Floyd Cramerish piano and Dave's mellifluous baritone singing about blackberry seeds' colonic cleansing properties floated over the national right-wing speechifying by Medved, who, ever the trooper, ever the critic, acknowledged the music, briefly critiqued it (two thumbs down), and went on. It was funny, and enjoyed by all. Dunno (nor care) why Upshaw is selling jam, or why Dave is flacking it. Dori Monson was not involved for once.

~ Happy Puce Friday, the decorators' day off!

~ BlatherWatch is banned in China (also KIRO!) We told you we were cool- we got the word from our blog server just last week. We thought it was only subversive blogs like David Goldstein's (KIRO Sat. Sun., 7-10p) Horses Ass.org who got that distinction from the Chinese commies. We're also banned on Dori Monson's KIRO- the word has come down: we're never to appear over their airwaves, nor is our name ever to be uttered on-air. We are the Blog That None Dare Speak Its Name- but the one everyone reads!

~ sausage-related keywords on the Google generally gets you to porn or feminist anti-lederhosen sites. But Google "oscar meyer ingredients" you'll get to BlatherWatch, a virtual tube steak dinner of gigantic proportions.
(photo right: a lederhosen boyfriend)
~ like a death in the family is how the mood's described over at KUOW after Ken Vincent left and the whole world found out why. The quarterly all-staff meeting is coming up soon which a source tells us is "Usually a snoozy, clueless, rah-rah fest by Wayne, Marcia, and Jeff ... the best and often only opportunity for staff to personally ask management to answer questions. Bet this one won't be snoozy." 

~ Is Dori Monson really the highest-rated talk host in Seattle like he says? No, that would be Rush Limbaugh. But he can say that because if there's one thing we've learned about radio: everybody lies with ratings. Hell, now we do it too. We are the no.1 Seattle talk radio blog, not only in our time slot but in all dayparts. We are the Dori Monson Of The Seattle Blogosphere.

~ Dori fatique? hell no, give us more! It must be amazing to be the No.1 Talk host in Seattle: Dori Monson pulls a nine (9) hour shift on the radio (4p-1a) on his Saturday Seahawks broadcasts. That in addition to his 3-hour weekdaily show and hours of pimping his favorite consumer products.

~ Testicle lockbox? that's what Bill Clinton should get if Hillary is elected according to El Rushbuns. It's the old fall back for Republicans: blame Bill Clinton. They're afraid enough of Hillary that believe us, you've not seen anything smearwise yet. Meanwhile, Limbaugh doesn't need a lockbox- heft is not an issue- at least according to old flame, Condoleeza Rice.  (photo: words fail Condi)

~ With a thong in our heart... Another very special interest group of activists, the Used Panty Community saw fit to solicit our help in their First Amendment battles by sending us this link.

~ Liberal, green and proud- progressive talk radio marches on. Clear Channel liberal San Francisco talker KQKE on Monday changes call letters to KKGN and will become "Green 960" identity. The station's new lineup will feature Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller and Bill Press, Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow. It's the first all-green major talker in the country PD Bob Agnew said, "This is a natural evolution for the station. We are in the most environmentally conscientious market in the country, and our listeners have let us know the depth of their concern and their desire to be part of the solution."

Comments

[sparky]

Why is it the people with the brattiest kids are the ones who never notice they are being brats? In the grocery store, I like to count the number of times mothers say to their children, "This is the LAST time I am going to tell you did you hear me, Im not going to say it again, did you hear me, not one more time, next time you go to the car, did you hear me, Im not going to tell you again!"

Kids who cant handle a restaurant should be taken to family friendly establishments, or the parents should find a babysitter. It is easier on the kid and the thoughtful thing to do.

[Fremont]

OMG< Bla'M! Where do you get this stuff??! I'm LOLing all the way to the usedpantystore!!

I agree, Sparks! A mother boarded the bus, telling the whiniest of her twin boys that they would get off if he didn't stop. In two (2) stops, I saw her kneeling on the sidewalk, at serious eye-level with the startled boys! So, it CAN be done...children can be well-behaved. More face time with the child(ren), less faceless blathering, You, too, could be a model parent, Shark!

[maggie]

Anybody who lets their kid run free in restaurants and tips 10% deserves to spend limbo in Chuck E. Cheeze. What Philistines these people are.

[Tommy008]

Thought Dori had enough airtime? Think again. Latest news heard on KIRO today was that there will be an EVEN LONGER pregame show, per the Seahawks new contract with KIRO. I assume this means even more time for Dori to bray, bleat and babble with his ex-jock pals. ( The Dorrmeister had a show on today about gifted kids being short shrifted in the public schools , and, ever the narcissist, the Ballard poor boy couldn't resist putting in a selfserving zinger to the effect that even though many folks believe that gifted kids come from wealthy families , he knew FOR A FACT, that his wasn't always true. hmmmm I wonder who he could be talking about?

[Stefan Sharkansky]

You want the truth? The waitress' name is Steffany Bell. Read some of the other things she's written about her own son and personal life and judge her crediblity for yourselves.

[Irene]

Um, Sparky, it IS a family restaurant, the kind with a kids' menu, crayons and a basket of kids' books -- we're not talking Canlis or El Gaucho, in which case we do get a babysitter. Btw, our records show that we routinely tip at least 15% but if Steffany Bell got 10% (can't necessarily believe her -- check her own blatherings at soundpolitics.com), she must have given poor service. Do you tip 15-20% even if the service is poor? She was obviously predisposed to dislike Stefan, as she does most of the families that she waits on -- again, see her contemptuous post about families at soundpolitics.com.

[PugetSound]

Hey Merci'furious'
Why did you go after the kid? I can understand adults that are public figures, but why a 5 year old? Was it really germane to the points that you were trying to get across?
Maybe you ought to take some 'breathers' and reflect on that. Very poor taste humiliating little kids. For someone that brags about his NSA database do you really need to hurt a little kid?

[Andrew]

Thank you for going after the kid. Boy, do I get sick of people always thinking five year old kids understand what blogs are, let alone be hurt by one.

If fully grown adults are in fact awful parents then it will show in their children, so if we aren't allowed to observe the children then we can't hold the parents accountable, and that would ultimately hurt the children.

Save the children! Expose their craptacular parents for what they are by exposing the craptacular child they have created.

[Andrew]

I'm going to have to take this waitress' word at face value. She deals with thousands upon thousands of patrons. When she takes time out of her day to criticize a select few, I take notice.

I myself have never had a problem with a waitress. I can only imagine how idecent or annoying a human being I'd have to become to actualy find myself on a waitress' shitlist. She's trying to impress me for Chrissakes, she wants a big tip! What would it take to piss her off?

[LeeAnn]

I was a waitress in college and I hope I never have to do it again. I had some nice customers, but overall I had to deal with people who never made their kids behave, left huge messes, and I worked my ass off trying to do everything they wanted, and they still stiffed me. That is the reason most restaurants charge a gratuity for large groups--the problems just multiply. I don't care if the kids are at McDonalds, parents should teach their kids to have manners. Pointing that out to a parent, Sound, is not "picking" on a child. It is doing them a favor.

[PugetSound]

andrew
"Thank you for going after the kid."
I am hoping that your being sarcastic but I recall your earlier arguments on drunk drivers -I'll spare you the embarrasment of reposting those 'gems.' As such, I suspect your just ignorant. Obviously the 5 year old doesn't read blogs but people in his life probably do and it is hurtful for no good reason.
Merci could've written that story without mentioning the kid and it would have had the same impact on what he was trying to do: embarrass a public figure.

[PugetSound]

LeeAnn
"Pointing that out to a parent, Sound, is not "picking" on a child. It is doing them a favor."
How about going online and posting it on the internet. Is that doing them a favor. The waitress didn't try to do them a favor by taking them aside instead she gave the story out on the internet. Some favor.

PS: I've worked as a waiter and it is a tough job which is why I tip 20% as a rule. If you want to get a real flavor of service jobs read the book Nickel and Dimed.

[LeeAnn]

How many people do you think read Mercifurious' blog? It seems to me that if they had just left it there, the number of people to witness all of this would have been much smaller than it is now.

[maggie]

Never underestimate how tough a single mother working as a waitress can be. These Republican yuppies thought they could initmidate her.

[LeeAnn]

I don't even know who these people are..should I? Are they on the radio somewhere?

[clydie]

Don't think mercifurious or the waitress were humiliating the child, it's always the parent's responsibility for a kid's actions. Wanna read a restaurant book? read Restaurant Confidential.

[darlene & marty]

What do you expect from a kid raised in an environment devoid of humor? Lucky if he doesn't end up in prison.

[PugetSound]

clydie
Restaurant Confidential is a good read for sure.
but anychance that the source is making crap up or exagerating for purposes of a good story? it was really just a mean thing to do to be calling the kid names and such publicly. i had thought a little more of merci than that.
got a problem with sharkansky? take him on directly. he's a big fellow and can take it. why attack the kid by gratuitously throwing in stuff about his alleged conduct at the restaurant.

[Irene]

Andrew and Clydie - since you believe everything Steffany writes, I wonder what you would say about her parenting? Here is Steffany's blog post about her own son: "AAAAAAHGH FUCK!!!!!!!!!!! Can I not catch a fucking break?!!! So I find out from my son's teacher via email TODAY that LAST FRIDAY my son threatened to blow up the fucking school. What the FUCK? Now, O.K. I remember school. I remember wanting to blow the school up. But did I ever announce it to the entire class? NO. Oh my god. Now I'm the mother of the kid that threatened to blow up the school. I give up."

[Andrew]

I don't even remember what I said about drunk driving other than MADD is trying to punish people for crimes which never happened, but I'm touched that someone else does.

Nobody is denying that the kid did what he is said to have done, or that the parents are ultimately responsible for policing, or not, their own child. Bickering over wether the kid deserves to have creative adjectives applied to him has nothing to do with anything.

[PugetSound]

had the chance to read some of her writings and it has the stench of failed UW liberal arts writer all over it. yikes. reminds me of those wannabe types that sit in starbucks 'working' on their journals/blogs. tommy 08 is a much better writer and he is having trouble getting published. this lady will likely be stuck serving other people food for the rest of her working life. and that can suck.

[clydie]

Puget & Irene: but by the grace of
god go you. I don't think this not untypical young mother had any idea who Sharkansky is. To her he was just another undertipping asshole with an out of control kid. Stefan has made himself a very public person, and must cleave unto Caesar's wife. I think there's a bit of an overreaction here, maybe there's more to this story...

[PugetSound]

Andrew
"Nobody is denying that the kid did what he is said to have done.."

try the parents. i doubt other people in the diner or other waiters are commenting. nothing in there about the family having to leave. the ONLY ONE who says the kid acted in such a boorish fashion is the person behind the story. one person.

PS: the reason i recall your drunk driving rant was it was so asinine. in time as buffer space fills up the memory of it will be forced out of my casaba.

[Andrew]

Irene, that snippet you pasted is kinda funny. A little tourettesish.

You're trying to tell us that this person is lying, and your proof is that that they have a colorful way of writing, or they complaining about other things, therefor they must me be lying when they complain about anything. You're not making any sense. This looks to me like a shameless smear effort on your part.

The fact that she herself has a handful in her hands validates her credentials in the area of identifying other problem children. I'm not saying she's a wonderful parent herself, but she probably knows a brat when she sees one. I'd hope she doesn't use that spicy language in the presence of her child, but I'll tell you, I've rarely known people to differentiate.

[PugetSound]

Clydie
"Stefan has made himself a very public person, and must cleave unto Caesar's wife."

that's right, Stefan has made himself a public person. the child didn't. that's my point. the story didn't require the gratuitous stuff on the kid. how do you defend yourself against crap like this without objecting to it and getting your side out. very logical reaction.

[PugetSound]

andrew, i suspect IF irene is still online your about to get your ass handed to you.

[Andrew]

If you wrote off my comments on drunk driving they'd be gone. Maybe you haven't resolved how it is you're right and I was wrong and somewhere back there you're still working on it. I don't know.

The parents response: kill the messenger.

Notably missing: anything relating to the child or the event in question.

This happens to remind me of a well known concept related to drunk driving, presumption of guilt.

[Andrew]

Who's Irene?

[Andrew]

I'll make this real easy. Here is how the innocent defendant should respond:

"Everything Steffany has said is a lie. Our child was well behaved and stayed in his seat the entire time. Steffany comments are libelous and we plan on suing her in five minutes"

Compare and contrast this with what we've received from Sharky instead.

I'm hard pressed not to take the waitress on her word at this point.

[PugetSound]

andrew
"This happens to remind me of a well known concept related to drunk driving, presumption of guilt."

now hold there, 'professor.'
all because the police officer observes the erratic driving, the alcohol on the breath, failed field sobriety test, and subsequent failed breathalyzer is a presumption i am much willing to roll the dice on.

[Fremont]

Okay, the child's behavior may or may not be reproachful, but threatening the server is comtemptuos. Repeating myself and Bobby Darin:
"... when that shark bites with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread..."

[PugetSound]

why, because the attempted to contact her and get her to retract what she said? go to her blog and get the postings by the shark family and see if it isn't a reasonable approach to someone who smears your kid.

[PugetSound]

freemont
"...threatening the server is comtemptuos" but it is okay to make the kid look bad and call him some very unkind names?

ps: love the bobby darrin reference. that man was a real talent.

[PugetSound]

freemont
"...threatening the server is comtemptuos" but it is okay to make the kid look bad and call him some very unkind names?

ps: love the bobby darrin reference. that man was a real talent.

[PugetSound]

Andrew
What's wrong with this approach?

HEREISTHEOTHERSIDEt

[Fremont]

Irene, &rew, was one of Leadbely's claims to fame. "Goodnight, Irene" and good luck.

[PugetSound]

is this unreasonable andrew? this is one of the first contacts made by shark on her blog.

shark sez:
"I don't wish to get you fired from your job. I don't want to have anything to do with you. All I want is for your friend to delete the false and defamatory statements you made about my family.

I am not threatening you, but surely you don't believe that you have a right to defame people anonymously? If the post with the false and defamatory statements remains up, I will simply tell my side of the story. That will include identifying you as the person who made the statements, and placing your statements in proper context with relevant quotes from other things that you've written online, including this blog."

[Andrew]

OK, so he denies the charges, but my criticism that his primary defense is to attack the accuser makes it apear that he has something to hide. A truely innocent gentlemen would have denied that it was true and left it at that.

You have to wonder what he did to piss this woman off. His politics?Gimme a fucking break. That's like Bush saying terrorists hate our freedom. At the very least he's a stingy tipper.

[Steffany]

Well, Mr. Sharkansky suceeded in one thing. He did get me "fired" from my restaurant job. It was a mutual thing for the good of the restaurant and the other wonderful, hard-working people who work there. I liked my job. I was good at it, despite what people might say. I really don't have much to say about that.
What I am afraid of now is that he will get me fired from my temp job. I am a single mother trying to take care of two kids, 15 and 10. I also don't want my family and friends to be hurt by my big mouth. Yes I said these things - but I wasn't the one who posted them. I guess I thought that if I backed down he would "win." I guess I thought they were empty threats. None of that matters now. I have already been physically threatened in person by one of his relatives. I have been defamed on the Internet. I could lose everything. But nobody really cares about that. I guess I just get tired of rich people thinking that they can just do whatever they want, whenever they want. I just hope I don't lose my temp job. I know I will. This is just stupid and I don't know what to do.
I'm just a waitress, well, I was just a waitress. I guess this is all just fun and games for you guys.

[Steffany]

Hey guys, can you please delete this post. I've already lost one job and I am sure I will lose my temp job too. I can barely afford to live and I doubt I can get another waitressing job. Please. He has threatened - and will - ruin my life. Please take down this post.

[PugetSound]

hey merci
was the story worth it? slammed a five year old in public and got your 'source' fired/threatened her ongoing livlihood? it reads like she wasn't even aware that you were going to be posting this stuff "Yes I said these things - but I wasn't the one who posted them." you did get her permission to post, right? .....doh!

steffany, no one wants you to be fired or blackballed no more than most of us think it was wrong to slam the kid like that in public. you took information off someone's credit card to identify them and then spread some stories to a friend on the internet. tasteless, yes but not a high crimes or misdemeanor.
you should own up, appologize, and move on. get your 'friend' merci to retract his post for your sake. being afraid to 'back down' cause you perceive someone to be rich -they live in greenlake not medina for god's sake so i doubt that they are so 'rich.'
if your a good waitperson you are worth your wait in gold to the right restaurant.

[Duffman]

Steffany: may I suggest you familarize yourself with 'The Secret' and the 'law of attraction'. Good Luck; I wish you the best.

[Duffman]

Was ANYone really surprised to see who posted this and caused such apparent damage to this young lady. Really, was he just under SO MUCH pressure to update his blog and ran with the first thing that he thought was 'entertaining' and/or 'revealing'. Dude, you do have talent why don't you put it to good use.

[PugetSound]

duff
looks like merci may done the el foldo under the pressure/ridicule you had put him under for not updating his blog. i guess the styble thingie could only run for so long.
big questions: did he get permission to release the story to the general public from his source AND do you think he'll try to make ammends for the damage he caused?

[Duffman]

Good questions PS; we'll see.
You've awakened the 'soul' of this blog with this one Bla'M.

[LeeAnn]

Wow...so none of this was caused by a snotty rich guy and his equally snotty wife? They had NOTHING to do with this? It all happened TO them?
They couldnt have let it go? Oh wait, I forgot, Rich People don't stand for being scolded by the Little People. Silly me, I forgot.
Puget Sound, you are as much to blame as anyone..you kept stirring it up and bringing up the boy when the focus of the article was their shitty tipping habits. You are the one who kept bringing up the boy, so you are part of this mess too.
This was on a blog that maybe 4 people a month read. Congratulations Mr. Sharkansky who ever you are. But then, Im sure you and your wife have done this before.

[Stefan Sharkansky]

Mercifurious, whoever he is, is one really bad dude.

* He posted the false and defamatory story about my pre-schooler.

* He included enough information for me to identify Steffany as the source, putting her and her employer and her co-workers at risk.

* I told Mercifurious that the story was largely false but also identified Steffany and put her and her restaurant and co-workers at risk of exposure. I asked him to pull the story before it got wider exposure. He defiantly refused to pull the false story, but he did take my comment down.

* After I sent repeated polite requests to Steffany to ask Mercifurious to pull the story, he then fed the story to Blatherwatch to give it wider exposure.

* And then of course Michael Hood is a sick twisted fuck who is only too happy to post any unverified and probably false rumor that makes anybody whose politics he disagrees look bad.

* Steffany has displayed horribly bad judgment here. But not nearly as bad as Mercifurious and Michael Hood for giving this just enough exposure for me to feel compelled to respond publicly.

[LeeAnn]

So YOU can come on a public blog and call the owner a "sick twisted fuck" and that is ok. But someone says you are cheap and have a kid who doesnt behave and you go ballistic?

You seriously need to get over yourself Mr. Sharkansky. You are quickly becoming a joke on here.

[chucks]

And I personally owe Stefan and his family an apology. I responded on merci's blog without thinking about the other side of the story.
I regret my post and hope this "story" dies a quick death.
There are many legitimate things the self aggrandizing libs can pound us on. A family having diner together is not legit.

[Nevets]

I think D&D's fantasy world is starting to take over his mind and body and he is more and more convinced he is invincible like all his Dungeons and Dragons characters.