Newsflash: people are dumb. But also, have big hearts.

In today's ITP, Pat highlighted an article in today's NY Daily News in which reporters conducted man on the street interviews asking people, "What is the G20?" Pat called the results "depressing" and pointed to one woman's answer in particular -- "Is that the new Gatorade drink"? "No, that's the G2," Pat sighed, with an air of utter disgust.

He also pointed out an article in one of the papers discussing the international shit storm that was apparently launched when Michelle Obama had the audacity to give the Queen a hug. Apparently this is Not Done. Oh, give me a break. First of all, it's not as if the Queen recoiled in horror; the photo shown in the article Pat was reading indicated that the hug was pretty mutual. Secondly, the Queen's lavish lifestyle is taxpayer funded, so I think UK citizens ought to be able to manhandle the old broad whenever they want! (Okay, I don't actually think that. I just think people need to not be so prim and proper and just relax a little.)

On a separate note, viewers may remember a "NY1 for You" segment a few weeks ago in which the consumer's crusader, reporter Susan Juhn, interviewed a grief-stricken elderly man whose wife of 30 years died suddenly and he didn't have the money to bury her. Well, this week, Juhn reported that thanks to the kindness of NY1 viewers, donations poured in, and with the additional help of Legal Aid and an NYC law firm working pro bono, the man was able to raise enough money to finally lay his wife to rest. It was a total tear-jerker of a story and I won't lie, it made me a little farklempt.

So what else is happening on NY1 this week? Well, apparently both NYC baseball teams have new stadiums or something. Seriously, it seems to be ALL they can talk about. It's as if nothing else is happening elsewhere in the world. Also, the reports are by and large ridiculously flattering and gushy. But one reporter pointed out that when the excitement wears off, the sticker shock will set in. The price of taking a small family to a game at Yankee stadium and buying each a hot dog and a beverage? Something like $250. What's crazy is that people will probably show up in droves anyway.