I’d like to paraphrase the 15-second promo for one of our news stations that I heard the other night. I feel that it captures the essence of how ridiculous Minnesota can get sometimes. (Picture these bullet points appearing on screen along with the perky anchorwoman.)

“Here are some of the stories we’re working on for [redacted] News tonight:

The woman who swerved and killed an 11 year old boy was drunk!

A man is accused of sexually molesting children in his mother’s own daycare!

And there’s a chance of rain all week!

Tune in at [redacted]!”

That’s the pseudonym of the man behind @BPGlobalPR, which if you have not read it yet, is pretty brilliant. Here he’s speaking out against the inanity of BP trying to ‘protect their brand’.

“You know the best way to get the public to respect your brand? Have a respectable brand. Offer a great, innovative product and make responsible, ethical business decisions. Lead the pack! Evolve! Don’t send hundreds of temp workers to the gulf to put on a show for the President. Hire those workers to actually work! Don’t dump toxic dispersant into the ocean just so the surface looks better. Collect the oil and get it out of the water! Don’t tell your employees that they can’t wear respirators while they work because it makes for a bad picture. Take a picture of those employees working safely to fix the problem.”

Preach on, sir. Preach on.

From this Newsweek article, about how photojournalists feel it’s possible that BP and the Coast Guard are being overly restrictive towards who gains access to the affected areas of the Gulf Coast:

Some Gulf Coast watermen find BP’s desire to limit press access obvious. “If there was a major fire in a warehouse, would you let reporters go inside and start taking pictures?” asks Peace Marvel, a charter-boat captain in Venice, La.

Pardon? I didn’t realize BP owned the Gulf of Mexico. Then again, I suppose with the massive profits they make, they probably could buy it. Nor is this an official dumb statement (though there have been plenty of those). I do think it’s fair to be skeptical about BP’s intent here – then again, I’m a skeptic by nature. Thoughts?

That’s working out really well so far, isn’t it?

‘Kick-Ass’ star, 19, engaged to 43-year-old was the headline. Now I’m not one to look down my nose at older women scooping up younger men. The double standard of older men and young women has been in place far too long.

But dude… you really could do better. It’s one thing for a young guy to hook up with Demi Moore… but really? She’s more than twice your age, and has a daughter 6 years younger than you.

Just creepy no matter how you look at it.