The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century

Click to see the exam question at full size.

This was posted to Reddit, where the poster and a number of follow-ups claim that this was a question from a recent first-year law exam at Cambridge:

Sandra is president of The Vizards, a College drinking society. She is organising the initiation of new members. After a great deal of alcohol has been drunk, the members of the society form a circle around Billy, Gilbert and Richard who are to be initiated.

(i) Sandra blindfolds Billy and tells him that Tracey will suck his penis. Jonny does so.

(ii) Sandra penetrates Gilbert’s anus with a bottle. Although Gilbert appears to resist, and has to be held down by Tracey, he actually enjoys the experience.

(iii) Sandra waxes Richard’s pubic hair and pulls it down with such force that she removes a significant part of his skin. The wound becomes infected, but Richard is so embarrassed that he does not get medical help and dies.

Consider what offenses, if any, have been committed.

I was half-expecting this question to end with:

“And what do you call this initiation ritual?”

“The Aristocrats!”

As for the offence, the only one I can see was not being invited to that party! I don’t swing in the guys-swallowing-my-sword way or the violation-of-anal-sovereignty way, but Sandra sounds like she might be into some accordion kink.

But seriously: law students, paralegals, lawyers and legal eagles — what are the issues here? I see lack of consent for the first two, and maybe a civil “wrongful death” suit for the third, although it’s Richard’s fault that he didn’t seek medical attention.

Watch the Cheerios ad above. It’s got all the elements of a good commercial: adorable kid, good-lookin’ Mom (played by Whitney Avalon) and Dad, and a gag with a pretty good payoff at the end. By rights, it should be getting a thumbs-up from all corners.

Unfortunately, it’s not, because in the ad, Mom is white, Dad is black, and some people are jerks.

Even in 2013, despite that the fact that mixed-race couples are increasingly common, it still upsets people. The people behind YouTube’s “Cheerios” account had to disable comments after they devolved into a flame war about politics (some people are still upset about the idea of a black president) or race (where a lot of people went on about the perils of multiculturalism and the slow suicide of the white race).

AdWeek observes that while TV shows are depicting a number of interracial couples these days, commercials have lagged behind because advertisers are scared of making controversial statements and scaring away people from their brands. Huffington Post reports:

Commenters on the cereal’s Facebook page also said they found the commercial “disgusting” and that it made them “want to vomit.” Other hateful commenters expressed shock that a black father would stay with his family.

To their credit, Cheerios is standing by the ad, and to the credit of a lot of good people out there, there’s a lot of praise for the ad too. It may be 2013, and to a lot of people, an ad like this may not be that big a deal (especially in places like Accordion City, where we’ve managed to get along better than most), but as Meagan Hatcher Mays writes, it is a very big effing deal.

Want to do a good deed today? Head on over to where Cheerios posted the ad on their Facebook page and show some support for the ad. Click the “Like” button or say something nice. Surely you have friends, family or even a favourite blogger who’s part of a mixed-race couple…

Do it for them. Do it for me. Do it for human decency in general.

Click to read the whole comic.

This recent comic from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is pure gold, and does an excellent job of explaining what the true limitations of science, technology and plain ol’ elbow grease:

Nothing is too hard, many problems are just too fast, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to be faster.

Be sure to read the whole comic.

Found via Liz Lawley.

Yesterday was the start of June Wedding Gridlock, and the Special Lady and I did a wedding double-header: first, my cousin Marty’s wedding to Fiona, followed by the wedding reception for my Crazy Go Nuts University schoolmate Anne to Robin. Congratulations to all, and remember to let our wedding presents age a little and come into their own before drinking them!

Gentlemen: should you decide to wear your skin-tight superhero costume to a wedding like 1960s Batman above — or just a close-fitting suit — remember that it has certain drawbacks:

“Bridesmaid sense…tingling!“

I thought this Twitter conversation should be saved for posterity.

First came this open message to Toronto from Richard “Creative Class” Florida:

Toronto … There is no ducking your head this time, and hoping this crisis will just go away …

— Richard Florida (@Richard_Florida) May 28, 2013

Mark Towhey, the Chief of Staff recently fired by Rob Ford, a former military guy who very likely has a sense of loyalty, even for a commanding officer with whom he disagrees, falls back on this old debating trick:

@richard_florida @marcusbgee Those who can’t, teach.

— towhey (@towhey) May 28, 2013

…and Blair Falconer rises to the occasion and delivers Mr. Towhey’s final indignity (this time, one he earned) of the week:

@towhey @richard_florida @marcusbgee and those that can’t teach the Mayor get fired…

— Blair Falconer (@BlairFalconer66) May 28, 2013

You left yourself open for that one, Mr. Towhey.

Let’s give some credit where credit is due: Towhey does have a comic sense, as shown in this recent tweet:

Good morning 5,520 new Twitter friends. Trust me, I’m not that interesting. You were misled. Have you been reading that paper again?

— towhey (@towhey) June 1, 2013

Screen capture from FOX News, with additional editorial caption by Yours Truly.

“Something going terribly wrong in American society,” says one of the talking heads on FOX News, “and it’s hurting our children.” What is this thing? Women who are breadwinners. In the FOX News (surprise, surprise) video segment below, an panel completely made up of men and none of FOX’s popular women hosts, talk about the horrible apocalypse-causing things that can and will happen if men are not allowed to dominate everything.

The money quote belongs to Erik Erickson, conservative blogger, editor of RedState.com, and guy who is completely unaware of how the insect world works:

“I am so used to liberals telling conservatives that they are anti-science. But I mean this is — liberals who defend this and say it’s not a bad thing are very anti-science. When you look at biology, look at the natural world, the roles of a male and female in society; in other animals the male typically is the dominant role, the female is not antithesis or is not competing; it’s a complementary role. We as people in a smart society have lost the ability to have complementary relationships.”