Read a Book, Get Oral Sex?


Email this Story

Nov 5, 2:21 PM (ET)


By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York officials were red-faced on Friday after they discovered that clothing ads on city buses that appeared to promote reading suggested a love of books could be rewarded with oral sex.

The advertisements that ran on about 200 buses across the city in recent months carried posters displaying a suggestively posed woman in hot pants kneeling among a pile of books beside the snappy slogan "Read Books, Get Brain."

What unhip, unsuspecting local transportation officials did not know was that "get brain" is street slang for oral sex.


The ads -- from hip-hop clothing maker Akademiks, which intended the double-entendre -- was stripped off New York buses on Friday after transportation officials discovered the street slang meaning.

Metropolitan Transit Authority spokesman Tom Kelly condemned the "vulgar street phrases" in the racy ads he said were "demeaning women."

"To me and I believe to everyone else, while it was done by a clothing line, it would give the impression that it was also promoting reading and literacy," Kelly told Reuters.

"It's easy enough to understand how that would get by based upon someone not knowing the expression."

A spokesman for the New York-based clothing maker noted the ad campaign had run since September and "we hadn't had any complaints at all."

New York officials may not be the only ones caught out.

Akademiks also placed the ads on buses and bus shelters in Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, San Francisco and Philadelphia, the company spokesman said.

Kelly, who said he was his 60s, said that after he was tipped to the hidden meaning of the phrase on Thursday he ran a test among some young MTA workers.

"I went downstairs to the mailroom and showed some of the young guys a copy of the ad," he said. "I was watching their faces and they all start smirking.

"Apparently it's on all the music, in music that's how they refer to it," Kelly said. "I didn't know anything about it and I'm sure the people that approved the ad didn't."

Kelly said it was sad that "you can't take things at face value any longer," adding, "We'll have to learn from experience before we accept ads."

There is a topic here in the kitchen sink where I have posted short news stories which were either of human interest or were in some way humorous. I was going to post this story there, but you beat me to it.

BTW -- because of copyright issues, it is better to limit your quotes to one or two sentences and to post a link. You don't want Reuters closing down this site and bankrupting the chief.

I hadn't noticed the byline at first. Once I did, I thought that maybe you added it as a joke, but it turns out that it is included in the original article. It makes me wonder if someone pulled a fast one on Reuters.

Paging Dr Howard, Dr Fine, Dr Howard....

Where does Shemp weigh in on this issue?

Ok I have been brooding on this for a few days now and have finally decided to ask the group here for their opinions. i was going to put this in the rants section as it is kinda that but also i am asking for opinions as to what in the world is goign on with them.

By them I mean my exgirlfriend and friend. I had been trying about a month ago to reconcile with the two of them at least our friendship. No special relationship or anythign close, just being able to chat online or get together for movies and such like friends do.

It failed miserably. They said a lot of negative things about me and a bunch of thigns where said which has resulted in the both of deciding to walk away and forget that either of us ever existed. They do not see me as a good person since i will not accept religion into my life and she actually told me that unless a person has religion they are not good nor does she feel safe around a person who doesnt have religion as they cannot have morals.

I however cannot stand how they try and force their religion onto me and others. While i campaigned against issue 1 they campaigned for it. while i fought creationism in the school they fought for it. (The side of good won, evolution is taught) when one of our mutual friends came out of the closet I was happy for him and treated him no differently, they treated him like he was sick and needed help. If you joke or say anythign even remotely construed as negative they get all offended. And there is no such thing as debating them. It is they and their religion are the only correct point of view and anythign else is wrong and a lie and he will get right up so that he is spitting in your face and screaming at the top of his lungs about this. She ahd been unemployed for about a month and i joked that she could always get a job at hooters (she has rather impressive endowments) and she said that being a waitress at hooters was only 1 step away from being a prostitute. Neither of them has the most liberal or even moderate POV any more. This is from a person i had been friends with since high school.

Now to come to the point of this. As I said before she was unemployed for a time. I told her about a job in a nearby company that i heard about through the grapevine and passed her name along as well to them. Well between then and now the reconciliation failed and she and he both said that i was to never contact them in anyway shape or form or they would get a restrainign order against me as a threat to them and their marriage. (totally false, i do have some degree of honor even if they will not see it or acknowledge it) and that they would not contact me until and unless they where ready to reconcile.

Now the other day i get a thank you card in the mail from her (with appropriate bible verse enclosed as usual) for helping her get the job.

Thinking that there might be some hope that this was an apology from them (fat chance)I tried to get into contact with them to tell her she was welcome and talk to them. Well he answered the phone and started yelling at me that i wasnt supposed to contact them and that the card was just a polite thank you and nothign more because it was the christian thing to do but i wouldnt understand that. He also went on and on about how wrong i was and how much of a controlling jerk i have been for trying to force them to change their lifes just for me. Also how I would never have her love me or get in bed with me again. Which is rather odd since i never mentioned that at all in the last attempt tryign to concentrate on the overall friendship instead and already accepting the fact that we was over as lovers.

But basically I wanted to vent this and ask what in the world is going on with these people. They are just so freakin mental that I cant believe it. They see me as a total and absolute threat to their way of life and their beliefs only because i will not accept their religion and live my life that way. And that is from their own mouths. Because we both have the same interests still. I dunno. But they are out of my life and i am out of their, the only thign left is the pain but it too shall fade. Thank you for listening and this closes this chapter. at least my involvement in it.

Ok and to clarify thigns. Not once did i ever say to them they couldnt be religious or couldnt go to church. I did try to discus with them why they suddenly decided that they wanted or needed to put their church above their friendship with me and my wife and kids. But like I sadi there is no such thing as debate with them. Either you agree totally and absolutely with them or you are their enemy.

All I have ever done is try and still be the same friend and caring person towards them that i was before their conversion to religion. (I should point out that my exfriend was always a christian as he called himself but had stopped goign to church for a long time) But like she told me since i dont have or accept religion i cannot be a good person in her eyes.

It is rather sad when people who have loved and cared about each other turn on each other. What really gets me is that they say they still care about us and that they pray for us each day to see the light and be saved. And they refuse to accept that I feel like I have already been saved and so does my wife. That we don't need their religion, their narrow mindedness, their ignorance stuffed down our throats and if the price of their friendship is changing the way we think, act, talk or believe then it is not worth it and we are better off without them in our lives.

Well, I’m sorry about your “friends,” R. I had some bit of difficulty understanding some of what you explained above, as I was trying to figure out who was who. For example, I didn’t understand at first that your “ex-girlfriend and friend” referred to two people or one, or that if they were two, that they were married, or that she only broke up with you recently over this particular issue, and that you now have a wife of your own. This was compounded by the fact that I didn’t know your gender (but I’m guessing now you’re male, since you mentioned a wife—though I guess it’s possible that you’re a gay woman).

If what you describe is accurate, then you obviously did the right thing by campaigning against creationism in public science classrooms, and your “friends” are unfortunately very narcissistic and bigoted with respect to those who don’t share their religion, and so it is not surprising that they exhibit the typical ignorance and other unfortunate behavior of creationists who engage in that battle. Their sending of the note and subsequent hostile behavior over the phone is certainly appalling, and it’s unfortunate that there are some theists for whom stated religious beliefs are merely a hypocritical façade as they are for these two people you mention, but I tend to thin that most theists are not like this. Asking “what in the world is going on with them” would seem to be a pointless exercise. The only thing I can offer as solace is the possibility that perhaps, one day, they will realize that ending a friendship over such a matter was a poor thing to do, and that they’ll realize that they miss enough to reestablish ties.

The best thing you can behave the best way you can in your life and towards others, and hope that others see this and respect you for it. But you can’t be liked by everyone.

I sympathize with your situation, r, but as I've told you for a while, I think you tend to think your "friends" are examples of all of Christianity which they aren't. I have many Christian friends and only some of them are narcissistic and bigoted.

Sorry Luigi. I thought it was common knowledge around here that I am very much a hetero male. And yes the exgirlfriend and her husband my exbest friend are two different people but both ones I had a close relationship with. And what i decribe is as accurate as i can without giving too much detail that would be either painful for me by dredging thigns up that i am trying to get rid of or too confusing/annoying/irrelevent to others around here. And yeah their behavior towards me has certainly been rather unpleasant.

And MikeC maybe I am holding them as poster children for the christian taliban and that there may be christians out there who are not like them. But from what i have seen is it is a matter of degrees. And I must be just lucky in running into those kinds of christians. Usually though I live my life and religion as a non issue to me. You live your life and dont use your religion as a weapon against another or as an excuse to hate or be ignorant (there are plenty of other excuses to be ignorant)and i don't care what you believe. As long as you dont shove it down my throat or put religion as a price i have to pay to be your friend then so what. Oh well.

As for them. Maybe they will come back someday, im not gonna hold my breath. I have other friends still in real life and people that i get along with. maybe nobody as special as they where but oh well. It is their loss. And yeah look up the trace adkins song Rough and Ready for a song about me. :-)

Thanks.

Actually I should have said a song about a facet of me. the multifaceted complex individual that i am.

Garfield got invited to Blondie s party today. Isnt Garfield and Blondie copyrighted? Or the writers/owners know each other?

Just curious

ps I know peanuts had some crossovers

The Blondie strip is going to celebrate a big anniversary next month (75th?). And writers for dozens of other strips will be helping to celebrate. Sometimes the comradery of comics writers overpowers the "common sense" of their lawyers and their vigilence over their copyrights is relaxed. (Relaxed but not abandoned) Everyone benefits

The party invites also showed up in Rose is Rose, and today's Blondie featured a number of different characters showing up for the event.

Anyway, TomM is right. Cartoonists often consider such liftings of their characters as fair use, even though the legal definition may be more strict.

Actually it is more than "fair use," and agreements have to be signed to preserve copyrights and prevent abuse.

A couple of years ago a similar celebration was planned for a "Peanuts" anniversary. It was one of the first huge cross-over events (at least in the newspaper strips) and it needed almost a year's planning to assure the agreements would be signed in time.

When Charles Schulz died a month before the celebration, the cross-over went on as planned, but it was seen more as a tribute to Sparky than a celebration.

One of the TV stations aired yesterday (I missed it, but maybe I'll catch the repeat tomorrow) the movie "Seventeen - Mädchen sind die besseren Jungs" (Girl's life, boy's world is the international title, thought the translation would be "- Girls are the better boys.)
More info here, with pictures and trailer, in german)

The story is basically: Luca, a girl, is more of a tomboy and doesn't like all this girlie-stuff. When she arrives at her new boarding school, she is mistaken for a boy (due to her short hair), and she immediately accepts this role, hanging out with the guys and boxing... until, of course (soap-opera like) one of her friends falls in love with her, worrying that he's gay.

Now, what I wonder about: would this movie/story be possible at all in the US - that a 17 year old girl still prefers jeans to dresses, cuts her hair like a ducktail (is that the right word for the short hair cut?) instead of perming it (few girls perm their hair in Germany - it's usually a thing middle-aged women do), and dislikes make-up, dressing-up etc.?

Or is the social pressure (with the cheerleader, being blonde, having a boy-friend etc.) so strong that it's inconceivable that a 17-year old girl would still follow her own path and be different from everybody else? (though many girls here prefer jeans and have short, practical hair cuts... the cheerleader pressure isn't that big over here as in the US.)

I looked it up in IMDB. It sounds slightly (but only slightly -- we are getting used to series with gay characters and situations, but usually not in high school) too provocative for a TV series here in the States.

On the other hand, it is not too much for a theatrically released movie. In fact it is very similar in concept to the 1985 movie Just One of The Guys.

It wasn't a movie for the theaters, though - it was made for TV, to double as movie and series pilot. From what IMDB says, the premise of "Just one of the guys" is an already pretty girl that disguises as boy to get ahead in the workplace. That's similar to earlier comedies - Victor/Victoria, made in the 30s, IIRC, and redone in the 80s with Thomas Gottschalk; where an out-of-work female actor dresses up as male actor to get work - or to the Streisand movie "Yentl", where the only way to study the Thorah for a jewish girl is to dress as boy.

But this movie starts with a girl who's a tomboy - I don't know if she's a real transgender, who can get help today, but I think they were aiming for just a girl who doens't like the girlie stuff without wanting to switch over completly - and accepts the mistaken identity of a boy, although there's no compelling reason for her to do so. Other then she thinks boys have it easier in society. But it's not about being taken more serious in the work, or getting better work offers, or being admitted where she wouldn't be accepted as girl. So it's a different premise.

It's a pretty old concept. A lot of Shakespeare's plays (most notably "Twelfth Night") play on the concept of a girl being mistaken for a boy, although I'm sure a lot of this is an in-joke as boys were playing girls anyway during the time.

The transgendered topic has been explored in several American films, most notably "Boys Don't Cry" with Hilary Swank.

constanze - the cheerleader pressure isn't that big over here as in the US
Wha...???

I didn't realize that the US had gangs of cheerleaders running around bullying tomboys into growing their hair long, shaving their legs, making them wear dresses and being overly perky. (Those evil, evil cheerleaders!)

Maybe you should actually visit the US and get your information first hand? I think you might find we are not as bad as you seem to think we are.

I've known many girls/women who could be considered tomboys (including my sister & at least 2 aunts) & they never seemed to suffer any "cheerleader pressure" to act more "girly".

would this movie/story be possible at all in the US
Yes.

We're a big country with lots of outlets for storytelling.

I can easily see such a thing being an independent movie, or cable film/series.

Depending on how the story is pitched it could even get a greenlight from a major studio/network. ("It's a funny concept, EE, this girl gets mistaken for a boy, so she pretends to be a boy and wacky things follow!")

If the pilot gets good ratings a series would probably follow.

I didn't realize that the US had gangs of cheerleaders running around bullying tomboys into growing their hair long, shaving their legs, making them wear dresses and being overly perky. (Those evil, evil cheerleaders!)

I didn't say bullying, but from what I see, the peer pressure is incredibly strong in the High Schools, society and family for a girl to fit into a certain stereotype, esp. past a certain age. If girls who don't fit into a certain type are ridiculed by both the boys and pretty girls at school, and the society suggests there's only one way for a woman to look, and the family acts as if this is just a phase to grow out of, or worse, this is some kind of deviant, unnormal, not-natural behaviour... then I consider this very strong pressure.

Maybe you should actually visit the US and get your information first hand?...

Um, I was in the US for 10 months when I was 16/17, and went to a High School. And I had a lot more trouble with the pressure on me than at home. (Every (white) girl my age just had a perm, because she would look nicer with it, for example. After being told this by so many people wanting "the best" for me, I complied. I was still a bit young and alone at that time.)

At least around here, "cheerleader culture" is a myth invented by the media. I'm not denying peer pressure or cliques, but the stereotypical "super cheerleaders" never existed for me--it was not cool to be a cheerleader at my high school.

hiya everyone live showed up at Blondie's 75th, Beetle even got dressed up, but no Charlie Brown

anyone remember Nancy and Sluggo?

Funny you should mention them. Both Blondie and Fritzi Ritz started out as "madcap romance" strips starring the girls as flappers with rich suitors in the '20s. When the Depression hit the idle rich were no longer funny, and both had to take a more mainstream approach to comedy.

Blondie Boopadoop (I wonder if she was related to Betty -- assuming that Betty shortened her name.) married Dagwood Bumstead and raised a family.

Fritzi took in a niece with no other relatives. The niece, Nancy, took over the spotlight, the strip, and the title.

Oh, you're a survivor of a US High School. That explains your attitude about America. I went to one that made Sunnydale look pleasant.

High school peer pressure isn't limited to cheerleaders however & it does lighten up after high school. (It may not completely go away, but I haven't noticed it much after getting out of high school & joining the real world.)

Well no, it wasn't one of those slum High Schools. In fact, during my stay, I liked many things - I wasn't used to this constant friendliness. I wasn't bullied or anything. And when I came back, I was extremly positive about America (as my family tells me, it was a bit much.)

My attitude comes mostly from reading and watching the political things the US has done recently and in the past, and the attitude of the majority of americans I just can't fathom.

If there's any relation between what I experienced personally and then watched/read about as most of this being typical american behaviour is that here I have friends and know people who aren't typically dumb, though there are certainly enough of them around. (My fiance had to work with some extremly lazy and dumb people, and it was hard for him to understand their attitude, too.)
But in America, I didn't get to know any independet thinkers. Only now, on the web, it's possible to read and talk with them.

And if you think I'm criticiszing America too much - we don't discuss german politics very often, otherwise you'd hear my criticsm of that, too. I often had and still have long discussions with my father because of his different political opinions.

TomM, where you at? Im in ca..Im old enough to remember Nancy at 7 yrs old!

From down on PM by MIkeC: I believe HHS's reasoning was that a rural target could potentially hurt America's breadbasket (i.e., bioterrorism)--it would also be perhaps more feasible for terrorists.

Exactly by taking out the farmers who feed and provide for the rest of the urban bound folks this country would be taken to its knees. JUst think where your food comes from and what a massive bioattack/plague/pandemic would do to things.

You know I really wish this stupid "ban" would get over with soon.

This ends the Politics in the Sink, frustration with the ban or not.

Sorry. I guess I'll have to walk through the "ban" until he gets over his snit.

Either that or someone smacks some sense into him.

Or you can come to your senses and accept the fact that you were banned, you are banned and none of your antics on this site is going to get you unbanned from the PM board. Deal with it. (I guess that puts me on your "blood feud" list. Oh well.)

Why should I be the one who is punished when I did nothing wrong other than take a position on a tpoic that the moderator hated and disagreed with and wanted to silence and discriminate and otherwise be against?

And no Benn that does not put you on the grudge feud (It is not a blood feud if it was a blood feud I would be going to union city NJ and finding him and putting him in the hospital instead of trying to work peacefully and reasonable and rationally and as an adult unlike him to resolve this in a fair and equitable and honorable manner.) list but it does make me like you a little bit less for taking his side in this.

I'm not taking his side so much as pointing out a reality to you: So long as Luigi is moderator of the PM boards (and there is no current good reason to remove him, your ban notwithstanding), you are banned from the boards. Period. I'm sorry. I know it ain't fun to be excluded, but there's not a whole lot you can do about it. Frankly, all the posts you've made protesting the ban is getting a bit old and annoying. It's not changing anything. And it's time for you to be realistic about it.

If that makes you dislike me less, so be it. But the reality of the matter is you're banned from Political Musings until there is a moderator change and the next moderator looks more favorable upon you. And I don't see that happening for a long, long time.

And stop bringing the subject up here - before Mark gets it into his head to ban you from the Sink.

(My apologies to Mark and everyone else for extending this conversation. I've said my piece. And I am done with it.)

Benn, I am sorry but I am very angry at this and should not have said that about or to you. But all I am doing is protesting and trying to stand up for what is right and fair and just and nothing is being done about it other than I am continuing to be ignored, treated like dirt or otherwise shat upon. I have done nothign wrong to deserve this kind of excessive and dishonorable mistreatment.

How you have been treated like dirt? Because you can't post on two sections of this website? What a crime against humanity! Discuss to your heart's content over at RM.

How have I been treated like dirt? Luigi refusing to talk to me, acknowledge my existence or otherwise admit that I am an equal and valid person is how I have been treated like dirt. Its well beyond the lack of posting ability this is personal about the attitude and treatment I have received from Luigi, and the lack of concern or support or otherwise anythign taken against Luigi and the apparent approval of his abuse and hatred and discrimination.

MikeC I'm putting this one into a seperate posting as it has nothign to do with the PM situation. You did manage to make me fall out of my chair laughing with your response to my stossel joke.

Apparently in the cultural difference you and I have a differnt definition of a cow pattie. In my world a cow pattie is that pile of fecal matter left behind when a cow is done digesting. Definately not something I would refer to as tasty but definately juicy when it is fresh. A burger or meat patty is a sandwich and what a person eats.

I was unaware of the homonymic qualities of pattie, sir. Learn something new every day.

Point: You are saying that Luigi is treating you like dirt, which may or may not be a valid assertion. Unfortunately, you are saying it to us, not Luigi, and you are highly implying that we are the ones treating you like dirt. Suggest other course of action.

R, assuming Luigi doesn't delete the post before you can see it, here's a clarification of my position on your situation.

Sorry MikeC When in anger words get thrown and sometimes not hit their intended target., especially when their intended target has his fingers in his ears going la la la pretending you don't exist.

Yeah its a farm/rural dialect/culture thing there. I'm sorry but I'm still chuckling about that. Thank you for making a bright spot in all this.

And Benn the way I see it I HAVE been being for the most part civil and responsible outside of PM and the only way that Luigi will change his mind is if I drop to my knees bend over and start kow towing to the great god capitalism and totally and absolutely change my views and beliefs to suit his whims. Which I would rather die first.

Also I do feel that I have been the one being the adult here by trying to open up a dialogue and talk to the person but he has his fingers stuck in his ears going la la la la like a 2 year old pretending I don't exist. I dont know about you but when I was 2 and tried that I got a smacked bottom.

As it is though not a single person here has said any real negative words to or about or towards Luigi for his actions that I have seen. All I have heard is that I should just shut up, bend over, and take it up the bum. Not something that I am very likely to ever do in this or any other lifetime. There aint enough rum on the planet for that, either figuartively or literally. So I rebel and protest and try to get him to acknowledge my existence one way or another or get people to try and get him to take his head out of his orifice and talk to me. Thats the main thing I'm asking for right now, as its grown beyond some stupid discussion board into something personal. Luigi dishonored me, insulted me and acts like he thinks he is so much better than me that he doesnt ahve to talk to me. In my world thats a good way to get your teeth fed to you copping a major snooty attitude like that. I may be dirt poor but I aint dirt and dont deserve to be walked on like i am.

An adult obeys the rules and accepts responsibility for his actions. Sir, you DID, regardless of antagonism from Luigi or not (and for the record, I feel that Luigi was overly antagonistic towards you), made several highly inappropriate posts that did warrant a punishment. You have not apologized. You were not banned for attacking capitalism, you were banned for being offensive. An adult would confess up, apologize, be contrite, and if that didn't work, maturely accept the decision. You could have received far more sympathy if you had calmly and reasonably told your story to Phil and the rest of us. You did not. You instead bring up grudge feuds and honor and disobey Mark's requests not to bring the incident up again. That's a shame.

Closed. R, mail me at mrmorgan@gmail.com and explain to me why you're not banned in the Sink for bringing this up again.