LittleJudy.com

Spartans Win Brings A Little Sunshine To Motor City

Detroit is a sports town and the fans there don't just follow the pro teams, they follow the college teams, too -- even if they don't have a friend or relative at that school. It's so exciting that Detroiters get to watch their MSU Spartans play for the championship Monday night and it couldn't have come at a better time, not just for Detroit but for the entire state. The city gets an influx of money from the tourists and corporate sponsors and people around the state can take their mind off of the economy for a few days.

Here's what Steve Keating of Reuters had to say:

Detroit put aside its dread over a crippled auto industry on Saturday, savoring a day in the sun and the national spotlight as the NCAA basketball tournament delivered a moment of relief for the beleaguered Motor City.

Downtrodden Detroit revels in Spartans' success | Motoring | Reuters.

Here's One Thing I Wouldn't Do For Work

Well, I've had to watch some lousy movies and listen to some awful music as an entertainment reporter, but after seeing this video I'm really glad I'm not a travel or food writer. The Houston Chronicle's Kristin Finan is shown here eating chapulinas -- deep-fried grasshoppers!

Dude, you're in Oaxaca, go get some chocolate!

What I Learned From A Bar Of Chocolate

I spent most of the evening studying for the CUNY Proficieny Exam I have tomorrow morning. At about 10 p.m. I realized that I didn't have a dictionary, which you are allowed to bring with you to the test. I figured it might be just my luck to get a word I don't know on the test handout, so I decided to run over to Barnes & Noble and get a paperback copy to bring with me tomorrow.

When I was at the register, I decided to throw in one of those Godiva chocolate bars on display as a reward for studying hard. As I walked home, I unwrapped the chocolate and took a bite, so good! I bit into the candy bar a second time and immediately felt one of the veneers on my front teeth come loose. I was so mad at myself, because I'm usually careful and avoid certain hard foods (pretzels, for example).

Because of the test schedule, I wouldn't be able to get into a dentist tomorrow afternoon, and figured I'd have to stay snaggly-toothed until possibly Tuesday. I was really stressing over this.

I went back to studying for another hour or so and then began to get ready for bed.. I started to brush my teeth and laughed at my jacked-up smile.

Then it hit me: with times the way they are right now, I should just be happy that I can even afford to go to the dentist to get this fixed. I started feeling grateful instead of stressed. I smiled another, even bigger snaggly-tooth smile at myself and came back to share this with you.

And after another bite of chocolate (which I'm breaking into smaller pieces), I'm going to sleep in the bed that's in the home I thank God I have every night.

Japanese Female Robot Could Have Body Image Issues

How messed up is this? Roboticists in Japan created a 5'0" 95 pound robot that will walk in a Tokyo Fashion Week show on Monday, but one of the developers told the AP that "people in the (fashion) industry told us she was short and had a rather ordinary figure." Poor HRP-4C can't get a break, man. Now even artificial women are being dissed for not living up to the fashion industry's super tall super skinny ideal.

She'll be working the catwalk sans clothes, but she's not anatomically correct so no artificial naught bits will be exposed. Hopes she getting paid what the supermodels get paid.

More here: Walking, Talking Female Robot

A New Subway Hero

Want to hear something positive and uplifting for a change? Here you go:

From today's NY Times:

"Subway heroes, as they are inevitably tagged even before the grease from the tracks is rubbed off, come along every now and then — indeed, as the story of Chad Lindsey suggests, perhaps more often than we know."

Read more here: Hero Who Relishes Anonymity Describes Rescue on Manhattan Subway Tracks - NYTimes.com.