Peckerwood Manor

In 1990, Rita Crundwell assumed the role of comptroller in Dixon, Illinois. After serving for seven years, she clandestinely established the Reserve Sewer Capital Development Account (RSCDA) and utilized it to siphon off nearly $2.5 million annually from the city. By 2008, she had illicitly obtained a staggering $5.8 million, a substantial portion of Dixon's modest annual budget, which ranged between $8-9 million. Over 22 years, Crundwell embezzled upwards of $53 million and lavishly funded her lifestyle. She established and operated RC Quarter Horses, a renowned horse breeding enterprise, with her horses achieving an impressive 52 world championships. Additionally, she acquired a 45-foot motorhome and indulged in extended vacations. Crundwell deceitfully attributed the city's financial shortfall to the state's delayed tax payments, resulting in severe cutbacks in essential services across Dixon. Basically, the psychopath endangered people's lives so she could cha cha c...

The Woman In Me is explosive. It is like dynamite, and a grenade had a baby and was launched into the atmosphere, illuminating some things that filled in  some  holes that were question marks while leaving others totally unanswered. The childhood portion was too long, and I sped through it, pausing at the eyebrow-raising parts, skipping over some descriptive parts, and finally switching to the audiobook. If I won't read Ernest Hemingway because I hate how fucking long he takes to get to the main point, I am not going to read through her talking about lying on warm rocks. His books are torturous for me, so I finally stopped, hitting the big titles and skipping others, but this was easy and short to listen to while doing other things.  It is an example of her telling her story and me reading between the lines. I begged to differ; ma'am, in some sections, she can get dreamy and escapist sometimes in others, like someone who is never really in reality and spends time in fugue...

The only thing they had to do was dial 1-800 I Told Y'all. Who couldn't see this glorious, wonderful day coming to fruition? This is the day that certain fools who parted with their money got burned after ignoring the inevitable even as it came down the freeway at extreme speeds, flashing red sirens as a warning. It has always been ridiculous. From jump street, I wondered who in the world is buying these convoluted NFTs crypto currency crap. WHO?! I wouldn't have bought one for 5 dollars, much less the millions others paid for theirs. And it isn't just because my husband would have divorced me on the not often used grounds of That Bitch Be Dumb; the judge would have given him full custody of our children on principle.  I had a bad moment when I thought NFTs or crypto would be something to consider investing in because it was an exciting concept. I didn't want to put my little nest egg in something boring, and I wanted to do it without my husband breathing down my ne...

  Photo: Freebie Supply   After deliberation, experimentation, and whatever the heck else the company did, Lego has abandoned plans to make its bricks out of recycled plastic.This contradicts their pledge to only use recycled materials by 2032. The company said it spent years testing the process to make their bricks from PET recycled plastic but they decided "screw it, we're quitting this shit and our pledge" for numerous reasons. PET plastic is what's used to make water bottles, soda bottles, containers, and a bunch of other stuff. As we all know, plastic water bottles are one of the biggest culprits to clogging up landfills and pollution, especially in the ocean where those damn things can be found floating in the most obscure places. According to National Geographic, half of all plastic pollution is submerged below the ocean surface.  Lego officials said they discovered that making the bricks from used plastic bottles and other plastic materials would require the c...

   Photo: KRON4.com; Ticketmaster Uncle Sam (Govt. Name: IRS) is saying the party is over to people who make their living hoarding concert or sporting event tickets and reselling them online. Resellers this year will be scrutinized by Uncle Sammy (IRS) when they file their taxes as a new law has been implemented that takes effect this tax year.   The new law lowered the tax reporting threshold for users of e-commerce platforms including Ticketmaster and Stub Hub.   According to Fox Business, “The IRS is requiring these types of platforms to provide info on sellers’ proceeds to the IRS if their ticket sales are more than $600 in one year (previously the threshold was $20,000 in revenue and more than 200 transactions). The new change to the threshold will be triggered with just one transaction if it goes over $600 limit.” So what does all this mean? Ticketing platforms will now be required to report sellers’ proceeds of $600 or more over the course of a year and s...

Corporations exist to fuque you over - especially if you're poor. In the latest example of this truism, behold McDonalds, a hellscape eatery which caters to lower-income families desperate for a deal. For reasons they're not entirely willing to admit, the mega-grotesque chain has decided to put the screws to their customer base by getting rid of their self-serve soda stations. What does this mean? It means that should you want a meager refill of your watery Coke or Sprite, you'll have to buy another one. The cost of a medium drink at McDonald's is $1.30, with a profit margin to the corporation of about 90 percent. 90 fucking percent! God forbid your screaming tween should want a refill, because McDonald's is going to squeeze your ass for more cash. The restaurant claims this is merely to create a "more consistent experience" for its customers. To more consistently rip them off? To make them wait in yet another miserable line to order - and pay! - for a ref...

  Photo: Metaweb / Ranker Fall /Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The leaves are turning, the air is cooler, and it signals the start of the holiday food season. There's one thing I do not like about fall: the exploitation of pumpkin spice. In the old days, pumpkin spice was limited to...well, pumpkin pies. Pumpkin spice is a mix of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. It contains no pumpkin. It's a spice blend that was created eons of time ago mainly used in pumpkin pies.  Over the past 20 years the innocence pumpkin spice has been trashed and thrown on just about every product you can imagine. I blame Satanbucks Starbucks for it. When they introduced pumpkin spice latte back in 2003, it was a huge success and one of their most popular drinks - despite it being a seasonal offering. Other companies noticed and thus, the whoring of pumpkin spice began. I don't hate pumpkin spice (as it was originally intended). I like the smell of it and pumpkin pie is one of my favor...

  Super rich people are not like the rest of us. They don't worry about the electric company raising prices which forces some to swelter inside their homes because they can't afford the A/C. Or rationing medication because of greedy pharma and insurance companies. Those are plebe problems.  Rich people worry about the audacity of a waspy fitness guru raising prices on them. Tracy Anderson, the trendy fitness guru to the rich, privilege and BFF of celebs including Goopy and JLo is facing the rage of clients at her Hamptons studio. In the  USA, she has studios NYC, LA, Palm Beach, and the Hamptons.   If you're not familiar with Tracy Anderson or her method - its a dance-based fitness routine where a room is heated to 95 F (35 C) with 75% humidity.  It's like working out in the middle of the Amazon jungle. Except in her studios the jungle animals are rich and will strike you down at the mere thought of breathing on their space. Clients are upset about the new pric...

  In what has to be one of the most bogus lawsuits filed in recent memory, a Florida woman ('enuff said) filed a lawsuit last November against Kraft Heinz, the makers of Velveeta Shells and Cheese for $5 million. Keep reading to learn what happens when stupidity and greed collide at the intersection of What's Wrong with You street and Have You No Shame avenue. → Off track: I had to summon every ounce of strength to prevent myself from flying into a rage over the boneheadedness of this person. Prepare yourselves. Amanda Ramirez filed a lawsuit last November against Kraft Heinz because she felt the 3.5 minutes it takes to prepare the product is misleading. She objected to the package's claim of 3.5 minutes because it did not include the time it took her to unseal the package, remove the lid, add water, open the sauce packet, stir in the cheese sauce, and shove it in the microwave. In the empty vessel she calls her head, all this prep work took more than the 3.5 minutes the pa...

Ryan Murphy, seen above contemplating how many shows he can ruin after the first episode - "Great premise! Now drive it off a cliff!" he orders his writers - was getting ugly with the WGA right before the actors strike. Or more specifically, with WGA member and former strike captain, Warren Leight. Why? Because Warren, as reported to the Hollywood Reporter , tweeted that crew members for "American Horror Story" told him they'd be "blackballed in Murphy-land" if they didn't cross the picket line.   No, getting blackballed in Murphy-land by the likes of Lady Gaga is not the latest horror being offered up - or rather, perpetrated - by the uber-producer. And frankly, I believe Warren (don't sue, Ryan!) (this is a parody site!) (ah hahahahaha!). Ryan is known to be a nasty piece of work, who, with the exception of Jessica Lange, has offered up - or, rather, perpetrated - a veritable smorgasbord of questionable talent.  AnywayletsleaveJessicaoutofthi...

  It was bound to happen. Corporate fat cats (no offense to loveable feline chonks) have decided your loyalty to their products and services isn't worth squat. Many are quietly reducing rewards or eliminating reward programs entirely. This started last fall when Dunkin' announced no more free coffee on birthdays (I said it in Soup Nazi voice).    Other companies took notice and realized they could add another 0.0000001% profit to their coffers by reducing and/or eliminating programs that have been used for years to reward customer loyalty. Companies that are saying "screw you & your birthday" include Sephora who now requires online customers to spend $25 to get a free birthday gift. Um, why would anyone do that? The "free" gift is probably perfume sample that smells like jailhouse hooch.  Red Robin is telling customers they have to spend a minimum of $4.99 if they want a free birthday burger. WTF? And Starbucks requires customers to redeem birthday coffe...

Leave it to Aretha to have two of everything - including two handwritten Wills. In terms of the later, a trial on Monday will determine which will be honored and which of her four sons, along with a mess of grandchildren, will cash in on her recording catalog and royalties and an estate worth 80 million smackers.  One of her handwritten Wills, I kid you not, was found stuffed in her couch cushions (amidst a mound of tater chips, fermented Werther's and enough candied pecans to choke every citizen in Detroit. Twice) (I keed, I keed). Sadly, if this goes on for any length of time, the only ones making any money will be the lawyers. I'm sure Aretha has an opinion about this, but then she famously had an opinion about everything.  Somewhere in Heaven Land, Aretha's nemesis Tina Turner is cackling, because you know Tina took care of her business before she left this mortal coil - and used a lawyer with an actual computer and a printer.  But then Aretha famously didn't give t...