Bits & Pieces

 

Bits and pieces from this reporter’s notebook.

Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet.... France’s Jacques Chirac is pushing to ban the wearing of Islamic head scarves, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses in state schools. The French have long believed in a secular society, and removing religious ostentation from public schools seems in line with their history. God is an idea, after all, not a costume.

Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Religion can be dangerous. U.S. safety regulators announced a recall of menorahs bought at Crate and Barrel, saying the candle holders are potential fire hazards. The menorahs are made of acrylic. The Jewish tradition is to let the eight candles burn to their ends, at which point they could ignite the menorah. Not well thought out, a flammable candle holder.

Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Also not getting it right, a McDonald’s in Weston, Florida. They prepared a bank deposit and "hid" it in a food bag. Yep, you guessed it, the bag was handed to a drive-thru customer. The recipients of the thousands of dollars returned the bag, and was sent a $50 gift certificate.

Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....On the other side of the fast food competition, a Clarion, Pennsylvania Burger King employee -- they called him a chef -- is going to do 90 days in the pokey for fixing a state trooper’s burger the wrong way. He spit on it. This was discovered by the trooper when he went to remove the pickle slices he didn’t want. The spittle was checked against that of 18-year-old Joshua Arbuckle, who apparently was retaliating for prior run-ins with authorities. They say his two-year probation might be cut short if he’s accepted into the military, where apparently they’re not so picky about food preparation.

Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....Also not very picky, at least about spelling, are seven thousand English teachers who met recently in San Francisco and decided that getting all the letters in the right order shouldn’t be really so important. They contend that too many people get hung up on the spelling and don’t pay enough attention to the meaning. One of them went so far as to say that there are no bad spellers, only "challenged" ones. And how do you spell stewpit?

Da-deet-da-deet-da-deet-deet....And finally, if football isn’t enough for you on Superbowl Sunday, you can always watch the Lingerie Bowl. You’re gonna have to pay extra to see it, but there will be 14 models in bras and panties playing during the half-time. DaimlerChrysler was the original sponsor of the lacy brawl, but opted out, pulling Dodge’s logo and slogan "Grab Life by the Horns" from the scantily-clad skirmishers.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.

 

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