Jeers: to being relegated to the walking dead. So, imagine this: you move away to another country for work and don’t keep in touch with your family. More than 20 years later you return to your home country, only to be told your wife has had you legally declared dead, you’ve missed the deadline to appeal your case, and nothing you tell the authorities can convince them to change their minds. You’re alive in person but dead on paper, and their decision is final. That’s the plight of a Romanian man, Constantin Reliu, 63. “I am a living ghost,” he was quoted as saying in an Associated Press article. And, to the Guardian in the U.K., Reliu explained the hopelessness of his situation: “I am officially dead, although I’m alive, I have no income and because I am listed dead, I can’t do anything.”
Jeers: to controversy for controversy’s sake. Tell us they didn’t see this coming. A livestock farming company in Shubenacadie, N.S., has Facebook foaming — albeit a little belatedly — over a marketing promotion it offered for the faux-holiday “Man’s Day,” March 14, created in the U.S. years ago as a counterpoint to Valentine’s Day, which is seen by some as primarily a women’s celebration. Moo Nay Farms was offering a deal on tenderloin, sirloin and blade steaks, The Canadian Press reported, and encouraged women to pair a gift of steak with a — insert euphemism for oral sex act performed on a male that begins with the letter B, here — “For all the last minute, yet still proactive, ladies out there, and all the hopeful men.” Before too long the social media knives were out and critics were carving up the company for pushing misogynistic stereotypes. Others thought the marketing gimmick was cute and cheeky, and were liking and sharing the company’s post. Any way you slice it, not everyone’s going to agree on that one.
Jeers: to death by distraction. You think texting, talking on a cellphone or leaning over to get your sandwich while driving is harmless? Think again. A woman in Kentucky pleaded guilty last week to multiple counts of manslaughter and assault for killing a male pedestrian and his twin toddler grandchildren, and injuring two other people. Three years ago, Jessica Hood says she was looking at her phone while trying to plug in an auxiliary cord and switch her music player from CD to cellphone. All it takes is a few seconds with your eyes off the road to end innocent people’s lives and ruin your own. She’ll be sentenced in April.
