What it is ain't exactly clear

[austin_dern]

All right, I've been out of town, so there are various things I'm not clear about and could use a quick update on. First, what's with these Runaway Bride jokes, and why did the news radio mention somebody selling out of a Runaway Bride action figure/doll?

Next, Wendy's claims to have found the explanation of one of those fingers which turned up in food, the one found in some chili, I believe. They tracked it to a finger lost in an industrial accident in Nevada several months earlier. The news report said Wendy's found the link by someone who called the ``Wendy's Tip Line.'' What does Wendy's have a Tip Line for? Were too many customers in need of help ordering a ``Biggie Frostie'' without giggling?

The USA Weekend Sunday supplement has a sidebar, ``Four Things You Should Know About Randy Quaid.'' I have no objection to learning things about Randy Quaid, as I have no objection to learning things about tangent bundle spaces, or the Byzantine Empire, but I don't feel the imperative. Why is this urgent? (The first Elvis song Randy Quaid remembers is Hound Dog.)

The New York Times Magazine, Architecture Issue, has a cover feature on the historical preservation of Modernism in architecture; as an example they put a white model of a generic Modern public building, if that's not redundant, under a bell jar. Never mind historical preservation of Modern architecture; why does this look like the design for the next Macintosh tower computer?

Trivia: The only science instrument on the Magellan probe was the radar sensor. Source: Magellan: The Unveiling of Venus, JPL 400-345 3/89. I don't see an author or editor.

Currently Reading: Discoveries: The Voyages of Captain Cook, Nicholas Thomas.

Comments

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

Wendy's suspected they were being scammed, so they offered a huge reward for information about the finger. They set up a tip line for this specific purpose.

This should tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the woman who is now known (presumably for the rest of her natural life) as the "runaway bride":

Washington Post article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/30/AR2005043000535.html)

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you, that's ... a lot of curious events, honestly. I've got to imagine both are going to be fine Law and Order episodes soon enough ... running away from your marriage and ending up penniless in Albuquerque has a strange romanticism to it, in a book-you-have-to-read-in-high-school-English-class way, somehow.

Finger-Lickin' Good

[spaceroo.livejournal.com]

I have to admit I've followed the Wendy's story rather. After all, the incident happened about two miles away.

Now that all the facts are apparently in I'm amazed at how well Mrs. Ayala (the finger "finder") fits the classic definition of a "Scumbag". It would be an interesting project at some sort to document what combinations of circumstances and upbringing it takes to spawn *exactly* that kind of person. Assuming it's a repeatable formula it's possible electrified collars or similar behavior-modification devices could be fitted to at-risk parents. Of course, perhaps the condition is utterly random, caused by cosmic rays or whatnot. A little gamma-ray burst in just the right area of the brain, and *poof*, you're selling houses you don't own and dunking body parts in your dinner.

The latest news is rather amusing. The finger's former owner apparently lost it by slamming it in a truck tailgate at work, an asphalt company. Here's the amusing part:

Ironically, Lamb Asphalt maintains the parking lots at local Wendy's and that relationship sparked Casey's actions. "And if we can help them solve the issue that cost them a lot of money and P.R. problems, we are more than happy to do it and it is our community duty to do what we can." (http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3343647&nav=168YZsLi)

Small world.

Re: Finger-Lickin' Good

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I had no idea it was local; I knew it was Californian, but I assume anything I hear about is far away from anybody I know.

Research into how to create and ideally cure scumbags is worthwhile, although it's probably a hard sell to drum up research dollars for.

Tiny world indeed ... perfectly odd one too.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

What does Wendy's have a Tip Line for?

Finger Tips, of course.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I don't know what's wrong with me ... I didn't stop to think of such things.