Um... huh? Enema Monument Unveiled In Russian City (PICTURES)

MOSCOW — A monument to the enema, a procedure many people would rather not think about, has been unveiled at a spa in the southern Russian city of Zheleznovodsk. The bronze syringe bulb, which weighs 800 pounds and is held by three angels, was unveiled at the Mashuk-Akva Term spa, the spa's director said Thursday.

"There is no kitsch or obscenity, it is a successful work of art," Alexander Kharchenko told The Associated Press. "An enema is almost a symbol of our region."

The Caucasus Mountains region is known for dozens of spas where enemas with water from mineral springs are routinely administered to treat digestive and other complaints.

Kharchenko, 50, said the monument cost $42,000 and was installed in a square in front of his spa on Wednesday. A banner declaring: "Let's beat constipation and sloppiness with enemas" _ an allusion to a line from "The Twelve Chairs," a famous Soviet film comedy _ was posted on one of the spa's walls.

Nora! You're going to Maine soon! Are you going to be there over the 4th?

"There is no kitsch or obscenity, it is a successful work of art," Alexander Kharchenko told The Associated Press. "An enema is almost a symbol of our region."

Heh. I just love that certitude. "It is a successful work of art. About enemas."

I am! And yes! We leave the 5th.

"An enema is almost a symbol of our region."

I should say, there is a monument to ether in the Boston Public Garden. (It is a quiet four-sided fountain in the northwest corner.) However, I like to think that just because ether was invented in Boston, and was very useful (before we got newer anaesthetics), does not mean that ether is a symbol for the Boston area.

What with it being an anaesthetic and all.

Tuesday's death of 16-year-old Neil Beagley, however, may not be a crime because Oregon law allows minors 14 and older to decide for themselves whether to accept medical treatment.

Yeah, but -- if you're living in a faith-healing family, maybe you can't "decide to accept medical treatment" if (1) you've been indoctrinated so thoroughly that you don't believe medical treatment works, or (2) medical treatment is never offered as an option.

I hate those people. HATE. Which is wrong, but I don't care. You want to not take medicine your *own* self? Fine. Fuck yourself up. You deserve it. But fucking your *child* up, when you're supposed to be nurturing him??? VILE.

Erm. Pat Buchanan seems to be claiming that the Holocaust was really Britain's fault, because they declared war on Germany.

The Holocaust was not a cause of the war, but a consequence of the war. No war, no Holocaust.

[link]

Yeah, but -- if you're living in a faith-healing family, maybe you can't "decide to accept medical treatment" if (1) you've been indoctrinated so thoroughly that you don't believe medical treatment works, or (2) medical treatment is never offered as an option.

ITA.

Po' boys are on longer buns like a sub, stacked, dressed and slathered (preferably with "hot").

Does the meat on a Po' boy have to be fried? I seemed to bump into that in New Orleans a lot, and my delicate little mouth can't handle those razor edges.