A while back I posted an article (in the NYT?) about researches studying children's attitudes to Barbie. They found Barbie-torture to be quite widespread. The researchers were a little bit shocked.

The researchers were a little bit shocked.

Conclusion: children are horrific little hellions. Only the researchers were surprised.

A lot of Barbie multilation isn't torture, I'd imagine -- it's just an attempt to find more things to do with the damn doll!

Conclusion: children are horrific little hellions. Only the researchers were surprised.

One of the weird things about the study is children seemed to have a love/hate relationship with their Barbies, much more so than with other dolls.

Ah, here's an article on the study: Researchers Find Barbie Is Often Mutilated

LONDON (AP) - Barbie, beware. The iconic plastic doll is often mutilated at the hands of young girls, according to research published Monday by British academics.

"The girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the torture as a 'cool' activity," said Agnes Nairn, one of the University of Bath researchers. "The types of mutilation are varied and creative, and range from removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving."

Researchers from the university's marketing and psychology departments questioned 100 children about their attitudes to a range of products as part of a study on branding. They found Barbie provoked the strongest reaction, with youngsters reporting "rejection, hatred and violence," Nairn said.

"The meaning of 'Barbie' went beyond an expressed antipathy; actual physical violence and torture towards the doll was repeatedly reported, quite gleefully, across age, school and gender," she said.

While boys often expressed nostalgia and affection toward Action Man—the British equivalent of GI Joe—renouncing Barbie appeared to be a rite of passage for many girls, Nairn said.

"The most readily expressed reason for rejecting Barbie was that she was babyish, and girls saw her as representing their younger childhood out of which they felt they had now grown," she said.

Nairn said many girls saw Barbie as an inanimate object rather than a treasured toy.

"Whilst for an adult the delight the child felt in breaking, mutilating and torturing their dolls is deeply disturbing, from the child's point of view they were simply being imaginative in disposing of an excessive commodity in the same way as one might crush cans for recycling," she said.

Terror chilis strike London!

Firefighters wearing protective breathing apparatus were called to D'Arblay Street, Soho, after reports of noxious smoke filling the air.

Police closed off three roads and evacuated homes following the alert.

Specialist crews broke down the door to the Thai Cottage restaurant at 1900 BST on Monday where they discovered the source - a 9lb pot of chillies.

Supranee Yodmuang, the restaurant supervisor, was above the restaurant when she received a phone call from her boss.

"It was about 4pm when I saw the police who were closing off the roads but I didn't know why.

"My boss rang me and said I had to get out of the building because of a chemical attack."

Researchers from the university's marketing and psychology departments questioned 100 children about their attitudes to a range of products as part of a study on branding. They found Barbie provoked the strongest reaction, with youngsters reporting "rejection, hatred and violence," Nairn said.

renouncing Barbie appeared to be a rite of passage for many girls, Nairn said.

"Whilst for an adult the delight the child felt in breaking, mutilating and torturing their dolls is deeply disturbing, from the child's point of view they were simply being imaginative in disposing of an excessive commodity in the same way as one might crush cans for recycling," she said.

Okay, this? Is AWESOME!

I can now look forward to the day Emeline inevitably tortures, mutilates, burns or microwaves and ultimately murders Barbie with glee and pride. I am fully prepared to say to her: "Good girl! Let's get you a sword, some boxing gloves and some books on Constitutional Law and how to become President of the United States. Or a ninja. Whatever you want, sweetie, I'll love you no matter what."

Damn! I really want to see The Last Boy Scout again. You're bad for my homework-doing, Joe.

Damn! I really want to see The Last Boy Scout again. You're bad for my homework-doing, Joe

Hell, Em, the movie's...what? Ninety minutes?

You can spare that much time. "Nobody likes you. Everybody hates you. You're going to lose...

"Smile, you fuck."

I have to take my family to the Cheesecake Factory this weekend.