I'm not behind this...or am I?

China party's newspaper falls for Onion joke about Kim

 2 hr ago

Fooled into believing the satirical Onion's tribute to Kim Jong Un as the "Sexiest Man Alive for 2012," the People's Daily online site ran a 55-page spread on the North Korean leader.

BEIJING — The online version of China's Communist Party newspaper has hailed a report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the "Sexiest Man Alive" — not realizing it is satire.

The People's Daily on Tuesday ran a 55-page photo spread on its website in a tribute to the round-faced leader, under the headline "North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012."

Quoting the Onion's spoof report, the Chinese newspaper wrote, "''With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true."

"Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile," the People's Daily cited The Onion as saying.

The photos the People's Daily selected include Kim on horseback squinting into the light and Kim waving toward a military parade. In other photos, he is wearing sunglasses and smiling, or touring a facility with his wife.

People's Daily could not immediately be reached for comment. A man who answered the phone at the newspaper's duty office said he did not know anything about the report and requested queries be directed to their newsroom on Wednesday morning.

It is not the first time a state-run Chinese newspaper has fallen for a fictional report by The Onion.

In 2002, the Beijing Evening News, one of the capital city's biggest tabloids at the time, published as news the fictional account that the U.S. Congress wanted a new building and that it might leave Washington. The Onion article was a deadpan spoof of the way sports teams threaten to leave cities in order to get new stadiums.

http://news.msn.com/world/china-partys-newspaper-falls-for-onion-joke-about-kim

Troubling Times in the Kingdom

Things are coming together.  Not clicking, per se, or coming together like a zipper would, more like I am hammering a square peg into a round hole and holding it there with super glue.  Nothing has been easy.  I hate to say that, because I'm sure this is preferable to, say, cancer.  OR worse, the kids having cancer.  My little trials and tribulations are things that most people would be grateful to deal with instead of disease, hunger, poverty, dirty water...so I feel bad whining about them, yet I still do.

I've taken the past two months off the blog because something had to give.  Birthdaypalooza on top of selling the Batcave and hunting for Wayne Manor, preparing for Halloween, saying goodbye to dear friends, and trying not to kill the kids or let them kill themselves or each other pushed us over the edge.  The Spouse and I are walking a very fine line of nerves, patience, and finances.  Also, there was some litigation and I didn't want to blog about it in case it was held against me in a court of law.

So, in bullets, here is what has happened since last we met:

• Birthdaypalooza: We are now 4, 7, and 40.  I'm not saying who is which age.  The Spouse is not included in this roll call, because his birthday falls outside the scope of Birthdaypalooza.
• We sold the Batcave.  Finally.  After a crazy set of motherjokers messed with our electrical panel, disconnected our a/c, and tried to make us admit to a leak that DOES NOT EXIST, I vowed to live in the Batcave forever before I would sell it at the insultingly low offer they made.  We have a (seemingly) nice couple lined up to buy it.  We close on Friday.
• We bought Wayne Manor.  We had made an offer on a house, was told it was accepted, papers were signed, and 12 hours later we were told the sellers accepted another offer.  What the huh?  Hence, litigation.  It's over and done and we did not get that house.  In the end, it didn't appraise and they sold it for less than our offer.  So suck on that, motherjokers!
• We got a tip that an elderly couple was getting their house ready to sell.  I knocked on the door to start a conversation and 24 hours later the deal was signed and sealed.  We close on Friday.  It would seem that Wayne Manor might have starred in That 70's House in a previous life.  It's all green shag carpet, metallic wallpaper (coming back in style!), and dark wood faux paneling.  It will be a lot of work and probably deserves its own blog, but who has the time?  
• The Spouse broke a tooth.  On the way to the dentist, he left his car in gear as he briefly got out, resulting in a four car accident in which there was no driver.  And he had to have his tooth pulled. It was a bad day/week for all.
• Our credit card number was hijacked and account frozen.  Great. Since we have to use it to pay the balance on the new carpet install on Friday and movers on Saturday and everything else that goes along with a move.  Yea!  Just another thing to deal with.

I'm sure if I thought about it, there would be a lot more, but I don't want to be a Debbie Downer.  We are getting a great house in a wonderful neighborhood near Batman's school.  It needs some TLC.  Carpet.  Paint.  Grounded Wiring.  A new deck.  Nothing money won't fix.  It's a good thing money is so easy to get.  Right?  RIGHT?!?