This NYTimes article is hilarious. Apparently now the term "service dogs" pertains not only to those that assist for medical reasons (blind people, turing people over when they have seizures, etc) but for those that assist for emotional reasons. Yes, if you have depression, you can get your dog certified as an emotional service dog and have the ability, the right, to bring him on planes, into restaraunts and even on stage with you during a Fringe show.

I find this paragraph funny:

Aphrodite Clamar-Cohen, who teaches psychology at John Jay College in Manhattan and sees a psychotherapist, said her dog, a pit bull mix, helps fend off dark moods that began after her husband died eight years ago. She learned about psychological support pets from the Delta Society, a nonprofit group that aims to bring people and animals together, and got her dog, Alexander, last year. "When I travel I tell hotels up front that 'Alexander Dog Cohen' is coming and he is my emotional-needs dog," she said. She acknowledged that the dog is not trained as a service animal. "He is necessary for my mental health," she said. "I would find myself at loose ends without him."

Aphrodite, to be without a dog and have it cause you to "find (yourself) at loose ends" is the adult version of a child crying when they lose their blanky.

I think "service animal" should extend to other forms of comfort for those with emotional disorders like depression and the such ilk like ilk such such. For example, there should be "service bottles" one should be able to bring onto planes and into restaraunts. And whatever is in those bottles should be no one's business. I can see someone right now defending it.

"If I were to have to go out without my Jim Beam, I'd find myself a t loose ends."

I hope, I pray that Paris Hilton gets her tiny teacup "labradoodles" (a term coined in the article) certified as service animals. They are not props. They are her lifeline to sanity.

UPDATE: This law blog quoted the same article and mentioned me and linked to my post about this article:

"Mark Baratelli proposes "service bottles."

Isn't that awesome? Thank you overlawyered.com for the props!

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I left the house at 6pm to go cut up my posters. The Office Max was closed. I drove by the OSF building. It was closed as well. I am awesome. Willl this $40 worth of paper ever get on those giant tubes? And I hope the final resting spot for one of the tubes I saw as I peered into the building is not where I saw it resting when I peered into the building: in a corner. It cannot be placed in a corner because it prevents all sides from being viewed. I was positing further the logic of having the posters be so large. If all the posters are the same size, then why not make them smaller since there are so many shows and space is cramped? And why have a poster at each venue? Here's what I see. I see one long wall or one long display, wooden, with legs, positioning each poster at eye level, side by side, like an elementary school art show display in a mall. There are 30 posters on one side and 30 on the other. People walk up one side, see the posters, then walk the other side. Or better yet, the idea of a poster is trashed and replaced with a space given to each show. In this space it is recommended that the show place the usual things found on a poster, but also the show synopsis, photos from rehearsals/shoots, any press the show may have received. The programs are then the central source of information for the patron, allowing them to carry with them everything they need to know. This poster/info area teaches them more, if they are curious. The space can change it's info daily. Maybe it's a bulletin board space or a magnetized space.

I also see the Fringe website pushing the Fringe myspace profile called "Fringe 2007." The only friends of the profile will be shows, allowing patrons a link to each show's site. The show can blog about itself, share photos and photo slide shows, share audio and video clips and links to outside websites. It's a chance for patrons to learn much more about shows before they come to the festival, and for the producers, it's FREE! Much like the festival pushes the artists to make posters and handbills, in the future they will not do this. They will recommend making a myspace page months before the festival and push patrons from the Fringe website to this "Fringe 2007" myspace profile.

The reason i suggest using myspace is that it costs both Fringe and the producers nothing to make and it already exists. No volunteers have to be gathered to make it. It also has great tools to market your show with.


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A classmate from FSU is on Broadway. I ust found out tonight, online. They're in the new "A Chorus Line." I want to call this whole Fringe show off, jump off a cliff, take a hundred sleeping pills and register at UCF for business school.

-Mark

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