Octomom is enough

This just in … according to In Touch Weekly, the so-called “Octomom” Nadya Suleman and her 14 children (newborn octuplets included) are set to become the stars of a brand new reality dating show.

Billed as a cross between TLC’s “Jon & Kate Plus 8” and “The Bachelor,” the show will feature the celebrated single mom and her children as she tries to locate her very own Mr. Right (Mr. Clean and Mr. Coffee might come in handy, too).

While the reality dating stuff is certainly a new twist, I have to point out there’s a long tradition of TV shows and movies centered around the theme of single parents with large broods.  The Brady Bunch is probably the most well-known example (Eight is Enough is another classic).  There’s also an old Doris Day/Brian Keith vehicle entitled With Six You Get Eggroll. 

The best, by far, though, came out in 1968 and featured Lucille Ball as another wacky “octomom” who falls for single dad Henry Fonda.  Yours, Mine and Ours (there was a remake, but stick with the original) was based on the real-life story of Helen North, a Navy widow and mother of eight and Frank Beardsley, a career Navy man (and widower) with 10 kids of his own. The two meet and marry and as they say, hilarity (not to mention movie rights) quickly ensued.

My favorite line from the movie:  “We won’t be a family, we’ll be a freak show!”   Nuff said, right?

Apparently, tanning CAN be dangerous …

Fresh on the heels of my MSNBC.com story about tanning salons outnumbering Starbucks and McDonalds in 116 large U.S. cities (much to the chagrin of dermatologists everywhere), came this story about a man in South Carolina whose tanning bed caught fire — while he was inside.

According to a story in the Rock Hill Herald, the man (who wouldn’t give his name) said he was “working on his tan when he heard a popping noise, then saw a flame at the corner of the tanning bed near his foot.” The “terrified tanner” then threw open the lid and jumped out of the bed.

The fire forced the evacuation of an entire shopping center and damaged several stores. The salon itself, Ultratan, was said to be “badly burned and its windows … reportedly black.”  As for the man in the “burning bed,” he was not injured. No word was available as to the status of his tan.