Some of you may remember the ’80’s song called “Parents Just Don’t Understand” performed by a musical act called DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince – the Fresh Prince is known nowadays as an actor named Will Smith.  But anyway, the song was about teen angst and how parents just don’t understand teens.  What I’m talking about is something completely different – see the below story about the woman who threatened to post naked pictures of her daughter’s ex-boyfriend (the kids are 13!) on the internet as blackmail in hopes of getting the pair back together.  Talk about parents just don’t understand!  This lady doesn’t understand values, morals, or appropriate social conduct just to name a few things.  Not to mention the fact that things don’t seem to be wired right upstairs, and that’s an understatement.  My children will not be dating at 13, and they will not have cell phones for any purpose outside of emergency or family use only at that age.  I would never try to get my daughter “back together” with a boy, especially at 13, and if I were ever unfortunate enough to come across such pictures, I, like most people I’m sure, would turn them over to authorities instead of conspiring to use a child’s mistake against him and put him in danger.  And perhaps the kicker?  The woman is a teacher.  Well, was a teacher…  There is so much wrong with this story, I’ll let you sort out the details:

Chicago Tribune – October 8, 2008
An Elgin woman is under investigation in connection with a strange—and possibly criminal—campaign to reconcile her 13-year-old daughter with a former boyfriend.

Authorities say she threatened to publish nude pictures of the boy on the Internet unless he contacted the girl.

The 42-year-old woman reportedly peppered the Sleepy Hollow boy, also 13, with phone calls, e-mails and thousands of text messages aimed at reuniting the young couple, according to a search warrant and affidavit filed late last month. The Tribune is not naming the woman because she has not been charged.

When those tactics failed, the woman threatened to publish photos online of the naked teen that he had sent to her daughter via cell phone, the records say.

“It’s odd, to say the least,” said Kane County State’s Atty. John Barsanti, who said the woman is under investigation. “It’s not a fact pattern we normally come up against.”

The woman could face charges of child pornography, intimidation and harassment, the documents say. Police seized cameras, computers, cell phones and other items from her Elgin home and the private school where she works. The boy received 12,302 text messages from the woman between January and July, according to records. The boy’s family contacted police in late August.

The girl’s brother also took part, allegedly threatening to go to the boy’s parents with the pictures unless the boy saw the girl twice a week, according to records.

On Sept. 23, the woman left a message warning the boy she would “send the pictures and video of him to his teacher and minister to show them he is not a nice person,” the search warrant stated.

Oh, and this mother’s job at the school? She’s a teacher.

I’m not a huge Coen brothers fan, but I do find their movies interesting.  Like many of the Coen’s movies, Burn After Reading is about normal people who come across an illegal way to make lots of money, become obsessed with it, and consequently watch their lives unravel.  Frances McDormand, a Coen brothers movie regular (and I found out why – she’s married to one of them), was great in this movie.  She plays a woman named Linda Litzke, a gym employee who is obsessed with reinventing herself via plastic surgery.  She, along with a gym co-worker played by Brad Pitt, come across a CIA agent’s (played by John Malkovich) disk at their gym and bumble through a scheme to use it as blackmail.  They are truly a couple of idiots, and Brad Pitt’s performance as the big doofus Chad is hilarious – might have been my favorite part of the movie, and this is not coming from a Brad Pitt fan or anything like that.  Not that this movie is a comedy, don’t get me wrong.  I suppose it could be classified as a dark comedy, but I would say it’s more of a suspense film with some comedic moments.  As with any Coen brothers movie, there are numerous twists and turns, so I’m going to cut my synopsis short for fear of revealing any spoilers.  Go see it, watch how the events unfold, and you’ll be entertained.  Besides Brad Pitt’s character, my favorite part of the movie was how they told the story – as a case file being discussed by a couple of FBI agents.  If you’re a Coen brothers fan already, then I’m sure you’ll love it – it is everything Coen: money, foiled scheme, setting – the Coens are famous for making the setting of their movies very integral in the plots, and this one is no exception.  Washington, DC and the surrounding area of Virginia is the locale of choice for this one, and it’s all very important to the relation of the events and how they unfold.  This movie features a few Coen movie regulars like Frances McDormand, George Clooney, and Richard Jenkins (who also gives a great performance as the forlorn gym manager, by the way – they really make you feel sorry for his character).  Better than No Country for Old Men, The Ladykillers, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading is second only to Fargo when comparing it to other Coen brothers movies in my opinion.  An entertaining 96 minutes at the movies – this one goes by fast.  And make sure you pay attention; if you miss something, I could see where it would be difficult to catch up – a lot happens in those 96 minutes!