stellarmeadow

This was the weather radar earlier today...



I think they were going for partly sunny with a chance of thunderstorms, but that's *not* quite what I first saw when I looked up from the computer.

ETA: also, it's entirely possible that someone should take away my new Flip Video camera...

Excerpts from this article about Cerrie Burnell


She's a good-looking, smiley, blonde 29-year-old with a background in acting, a lovely screen presence and a five-month-old daughter. In other words, she's perfect for kids' TV.

Miss Burnell also happens to have a right arm which stops just below the elbow, a disability she has had since birth. She doesn't try to hide it, nor does she wear a prosthetic limb.

From a child's point of view, it really doesn't matter. Most don't notice, and for those who do, her missing hand is merely a fleeting curiosity that opens their minds to physical differences in people.

...

For a certain bigoted section of the adult population, however, someone like Miss Burnell appearing on their screens, let alone exposing their children to her disability, is a major cause for alarm.

The BBC has received nine official complaints about the presenter, and many more have posted comments about her on internet forums.

I was flabbergasted to read that one dad wanted to ban his daughter from watching CBeebies because a one-armed woman would give her nightmares.

Others have stated that it has forced them to discuss difficult issues with their children before they're ready.



Seriously? People have actually called to complain because they hired a woman missing a hand to present a kids show on TV?

OMG, this world is so doomed.