Hodgepodge

1) It started with the Olson twins: A barista from Starbucks came forward and said he switched all of the Olson Twins’ non-fat lattes with whole milk because he felt that they were too skinny. Baristas at starbucks, and other coffee places, are confessing to switching out the type of milk ordered with other types of milk depending on what they think the customer needs. For example, baristas have admitted to using whole milk for customers who are too skinny, and skim milk for those they thought were too fat, regardless of whether the customer ordered non-fat or not.

MY THOUGHTS: This is disturbing news. As a part of the chunky girl population, I spend most of my waking moments feeling as if I am being judged for not being tiny and stick-like. So now I learn that I can’t even walk into a coffee shop and order a latte without some dumbass stranger deciding and judging what type of milk my body needs? WTF? I could have an overactive prostate! Er… I mean thyroid gland. I could have an overactive thyroid gland that needs the extra calories that 2% milk gets me! If I die because the starbucks barista didn’t give me the required calories for my overactive thyroid gland, you better believe I’m coming back to kick some ass. Not to point out the obvious but a barista = a barista. A barista is not a doctor, specialist, scientist, researcher, and therefore forfeits any misconceived and ill-advised right –no matter how much they believe they are entitled- to look at a person and place them in neat categories like “FAT = low fat milk” versus “SKINNY = whole milk”. Until a barista shows me that specialist degree indicating that yes, he/she is qualified to make recommendations on what my body should have, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND MAKE MY GODDAMN COFFEE THE WAY I ORDERED.

There is a trust between a customer and his/her barista! I trust that when I go to a coffee shop, I will get what I ordered. Similarly, when I go to a restaurant, regardless of how bitchy my waitress or waiter is, I trust that he/she will not spit in my food. You’re a barista for fucks sakes, try not to alienate the customers that, for all intents and purposes, give you a reason to get paid because here’s a simple truth: no customers = no job.

I leave this topic with a final thought: if you are a male, are you still a barista? Or would you be a baristo? Baristar?

2) From IMDB: Actor Terrence Howard has proved his credentials as the ultimate over-protective father - he threatened to kill his daughter Aubrey's teenage boyfriend. The Iron Man star didn't appreciate his 14-year-old daughter dating a classmate he disapproves of, and "intervened" by forcing her to ditch the unfavorable suitor. He says, "She's supposedly in love with some guy. I made her break up with him and I've threatened to kill him. I was like, you picked a green fruit from the tree that's far from ripe." And Howard ensures he keeps a tight-leash on his beloved kids - warning Aubrey she will be cut out of any future inheritance if she is not "obedient". He tells his daughter, "I've set a lot of things aside for you, but those things are only yours as long as you're obedient to me." However, the actor has put a crafty plan into action to make sure the teenager doesn't fall back into her unsuitable relationship. He adds, "She's OK now. Though, I'm sure he's still kind of her boyfriend. This summer I'll take her off to another country where her phone won't work, and he'll start dating someone else."

MY THOUGHTS: I’m frightened of Terrence Howard. Really, really frightened. Pair this with his previous statements about women having to be sanitary you know, down there, and about how he wouldn’t date a woman unless she had toilet paper AND wipes for this purpose. My conclusion? Terrance Howard is a giant freak who needs a publicist to duct tape his mouth during interviews. I feel ill remembering a time when I really liked him as an actor and supported his career.

Another Terrance Howard classic: “If a relationship is built on sexuality, it won’t last long. Now I’m completely chaste through a relationship unless I get married. I don’t believe in premarital sex. It enabled me to date three or four women at the same time, because as long as I wasn’t having sex with them, I could always just walk away. There were some [past girlfriends] who pushed for sex, and sometimes they won. Afterward, I would feel unclean, like I’d compromised my own values. So I would have to let them go because they didn’t help me to be a stronger person.”

3) An analysis of gloves used in doctor’s offices, usually for pap smears, indicated that some of the gloves have holes in them. In addition, what was previously believed to be impurities and imperfections in the latex, (when viewed under a microscope) ended up being flies with wings still attached, and other larvae.

MY THOUGHTS: Hm… this tidbit makes me sad. If it wasn’t bad enough getting a pap smear, try having some fly larvae and wings spread around your wahoo-hoo. So gross.