Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Globe Lets Its Hair Down

For the bedtime story:

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your trademark restrictions" by Maria Cramer Globe Staff  June 05, 2018

Rapunzel, the long-haired maiden locked in a tower by an evil witch, has been immortalized in countless bedtime stories and adaptations, from the Brothers Grimm to Disney. There is even a teenage rapper who goes by the name RapUnzel.

Yeah, maybe we have to take another look at all the children's bedtime propaganda in light of the pedophilia scandals and all. I know they were well-intentioned legends of literature we all are grew up with, but that's kind of getting shredded in the rush to erase all history and falsely sanitize it for modern times.

You know, the weird thing is, all that stuff and history itself can always be looked at from the other perspective. I know I've been having trouble coming to grips with the union-busting, slave-driving Santa and his abuse of animals. Sit on my lap for a kiss indeed!

Now, a private company wants to lock the princess’s name in a castle fortified by United States trademark law, but this attempt to register the trademark for the name Rapunzel has unleashed fervent opposition, not from Hasbro or Mattel, but from an impassioned group of Suffolk University Law School professors and students.

It's only been an hour since he locked her in the tower.....!

They argue the name Rapunzel belongs to the public, not to United Trademark Holdings Inc., which describes itself as a company that creates and licenses products and.....

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What do you mean she is staying in a tiny house resort where people are eager to find out what downsized living is all about?

And just when you were safely tucked in:

"Parents battle homeless man who chased daughter and friend into Lowell home" by Emily Sweeney, Jerome Campbell and Travis Andersen Globe Staff  June 18, 2018

LOWELL--A mother fended off a homeless man who went after her young daughter and the girl’s friend while they were playing outside in this city on Sunday afternoon, according to police.

The father of the friend then subdued the suspect and held him until officers arrived, authorities said.

Wayne Spencer, 54, was subsequently arrested and charged with assault, attempted kidnapping, and breaking and entering in the daytime, police said.

How could he have been breaking and entering if the kids were playing outside?

He was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation during his arraignment Monday in Lowell District Court, where a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

Spencer grumbled incoherently as court clinician Dr. Andrea Buonaugurio told the court she did not believe he could meaningfully participate in his legal defense.

“He doesn’t appear to factually or rationally understand the case against him,” Buonaugurio said, adding that he gave irrational answers to her questions about the incident when she spoke with him before the hearing.

She said Spencer didn’t want to talk, shouted obscenities, and denied having any mental health issues, even as his mood constantly shifted from sadness to hostility.

Judge Elizabeth Cremens ordered Spencer sent to Bridgewater State Hospital where he’ll be further evaluated. 

I hope they have cleaned up that horror show, another Deval Patrick legacy.

A Lowell police report filed in court provided details of the bizarre encounter with the young girls, which occurred around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday.

Officers had responded to a report of a suspect who broke into a house on Court Street, and they observed two men holding Spencer on the ground when they arrived on scene, according to the document.

Witnesses told police the two girls, aged 9 and 11, were playing when Spencer tried to approach them, the report said. The children ran into the house, but Spencer followed them, the filing said.

Maureen Santos, a mother of one of the girls, was in the kitchen when she heard the terrified youths shouting and the front door slam shut, according to the report. She went to check out the commotion and saw Spencer inside her living room, walking towards the girls, police said.

Santos put the children behind her and told Spencer to leave. He did not comply, according to the report. He allegedly continued coming forward and tried to push Santos out of the way.

At some point, Santos put the girls in an adjacent bathroom and pushed Spencer out of her home, the report said. The two began to struggle, but Spencer eventually fled. Meanwhile one of the girls called 911, according to the report.

George Haskell, the father of one girl, heard the struggle from a few houses away and tackled Spencer to the ground as he tried to make his escape, the report said. Another neighbor, Brian Hackett, also held Spencer down until cops arrived.

In a phone interview before Spencer’s arraignment, Lowell Police Captain Paul Laferriere said the two girls “got scared and ran into the house at 59 Court St..” He said the suspect, identified as Spencer, “followed them into the house. The mother of one of the girls confronted the suspect, who kept on trying to get around her to get to the girls.”

The mother fended off the Spencer and eventually pushed him out of the house, Laferriere said.

“She finally got him out,” he said. “He started to run down the street. The father of the other girl chased the guy and grabbed him, and along with one of the neighbors held him there” until police arrived.

Spencer’s next court date is slated for July 6.

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That article is a total rewrite and reedit from my print, which says the family was expecting a quiet Father's Day after returning from a camping trip and that the girls were playing with water guns when they noticed the strange man with scary eyes standing by a tree in their yard. man spying on them. 

Print also tells me that "a day later, Santos remained deeply shaken by the incident. "You want to give your kids independence and the feeling that they are safe. All that has changed now," she said.