http://ispuddle.com Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:45:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Seaworld spokespeople are now saying that perhaps they won't use "Tilly" in any more performance-based shows.   This is what we call "spin".   They are facing a lot of pressure from activist groups.    They are going to play the middle ground until this story drops out of the ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/03/10/on-choosing-your-cause-and-believing-against-all-odds-in-the-power-of-people-to-actually-change-their-minds/ So I was going to blog a bunch of snark about this wedding which of course ABC is doing up like crazy to try to refute the fact that their series does not actually result in a myriad of happy, fairy-tale endings, then I actually WATCHED the wedding and all ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/03/09/ok-fine-yes-i-watched-the-bachelor-mollyjason-wedding-ok/ Here's the thing:  I am trying not to be so busy.   I am always so busy (especially now that I'm babysitter-free due to The Single Most Ridiculous Teen Angst Drama in the History of The Planet Earth) and as a result, I run around feeling all the time like ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/03/04/welly-welly-well-well/ OK, first of all, I'd like to start off with a big huge fat "I TOLD YOU SO."  There is no font large enough for the way that I am actually shouting that from the couch, so I won't bother to change it, also because I don't know how. Now I'm ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/03/02/the-bachelor-finale-oh-my-gods-its-finally-over-hallelujah/ A long time ago - 1999, to be exact - I wrote and published a YA novel called Dream Water.   I wanted to write a book about a group of teens who (as children) had witnessed the worst possible thing I knew, and how they continued to deal with ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/02/25/on-keeping-whales-in-captivity/ Last Saturday, my friend Martha Ralph was killed when a stolen Honda cut her off on the Malahat.   She was on a motorcycle driven by her long-time boyfriend, Larry Machnee.    They didn't have a chance.   He died on the scene and she died later that day in ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/02/25/in-which-i-talk-about-the-tragic-loss-of-my-friend/ This episode was prefaced with a commercial for an upcoming news story about the best wiener.   It featured video footage of a couple of dozen bloated sausages sizzling on a barbecue.   WHY this made me laugh so hard is a mystery that could only be solved by Miss ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/02/23/the-bachelor-the-women-tell-all-mostly-they-say-stuff-like-its-really-hard-to-watch-this-which-is-true-for-all-of-us/ The funny thing is that watching other people kissing makes me really uncomfortable.   It's just one of those things that ain't pretty.   It's AWKWARD.   It's embarrassing.   Needless to say, I've spent much of this season of The Bachelor contemplating how our fireplace (which is below the ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/02/16/the-bachelor-episode-7-in-which-jake-proceeds-to-ruin-one-of-my-favourite-places-on-earth/ Well, it happened.   The Bun -- who is FOUR, btw, not SIX as one would expect in this situation -- has lost his first tooth.   I know, right?   WHAT HAPPENED?   It seems like just yesterday we were all in a lather because his teeth were just ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/02/13/my-baby-is-growing-up-too-fast-stop-the-presses/ Holy Hannah, time flies.   I'm sure this season just began with a bunch of cheesy schmaltz about "cloud nine" and now, lo, we are on the cusp of the finale and I have to admit that I was wrong because apart from the first couple of episodes, Jake has ... http://ispuddle.com/2010/02/09/the-bachelor-episode-6-wait-how-can-it-be-hometown-week-already-he-barely-knows-these-people-and-why-do-i-care/