The old woman of Mount Edwards
Published: Tuesday | March 9, 2010
... I asked if either of them knew of Miss Lecky, and the elder woman nodded. I asked if the stories of her ability to give the best advice were true and if they knew where I could find her.
"Den ah quite ah town yuh stay and here dat? Heh heh! What a prekeh!" said the woman with the pointy nose.
"Miss Lecky name gone abroad!" she added, gesturing wildly.
"Miss Lecky nuh too love company though, yuh know. But yuh can check har and see what happen. Just follow dis road likkle 'til yuh see a turning, den turn and yuh will see a old house. Is she alone live around there so yuh can't lost."
I thanked both women and walked off, thankful to be out from under the stare of the skinny one.
About five minutes later, I came across the corner I was told of and soon spotted a rickety old house. Its zinc roof was rusty and the windows had large gaps that were patched with pieces of wood. There was a blue plastic drum full of water outside but no sign of anyone. Surprisingly, there was a car parked not far away, but there was nobody inside it.
I walked up to the door of the house, then stood a second in silence, wondering what to do next. I gave it a knock. Silence. I knocked again. Silence.
"Miss Lecky?" I hollered. No sound. After a couple minutes more of knocking and looking around I started to curse my luck. Ticked off for having come this far without success, I walked off. But then I heard it. Though faint, I clearly heard a woman's voice inside.
"Is who dat now?" Excited, I shouted my name and said I just wanted to speak with Miss Lecky because I had heard great things about her back in Kingston.
"Kingston? But I nuh go dem places! It too chuck-up chuck-up," the woman said. I asked if she was Miss Lecky. "I am Lecky," the woman replied. I asked if she was often approached by members of the community for advice. "Well, yes, every minute. But is just because mi old dem seh mi wise," she replied. ...
Published: Tuesday | March 9, 2010
... I asked if either of them knew of Miss Lecky, and the elder woman nodded. I asked if the stories of her ability to give the best advice were true and if they knew where I could find her.
"Den ah quite ah town yuh stay and here dat? Heh heh! What a prekeh!" said the woman with the pointy nose.
"Miss Lecky name gone abroad!" she added, gesturing wildly.
"Miss Lecky nuh too love company though, yuh know. But yuh can check har and see what happen. Just follow dis road likkle 'til yuh see a turning, den turn and yuh will see a old house. Is she alone live around there so yuh can't lost."
I thanked both women and walked off, thankful to be out from under the stare of the skinny one.
About five minutes later, I came across the corner I was told of and soon spotted a rickety old house. Its zinc roof was rusty and the windows had large gaps that were patched with pieces of wood. There was a blue plastic drum full of water outside but no sign of anyone. Surprisingly, there was a car parked not far away, but there was nobody inside it.
I walked up to the door of the house, then stood a second in silence, wondering what to do next. I gave it a knock. Silence. I knocked again. Silence.
"Miss Lecky?" I hollered. No sound. After a couple minutes more of knocking and looking around I started to curse my luck. Ticked off for having come this far without success, I walked off. But then I heard it. Though faint, I clearly heard a woman's voice inside.
"Is who dat now?" Excited, I shouted my name and said I just wanted to speak with Miss Lecky because I had heard great things about her back in Kingston.
"Kingston? But I nuh go dem places! It too chuck-up chuck-up," the woman said. I asked if she was Miss Lecky. "I am Lecky," the woman replied. I asked if she was often approached by members of the community for advice. "Well, yes, every minute. But is just because mi old dem seh mi wise," she replied. ...
Great slideshow.
... It would seem that the only thing that can pull me out of this Post-TDW (three-day weekend) funk is a dress made entirely out of Marshmallow Peeps. But now the dilemma: what shoes do I wear?
Jesus of Peeps
by Janet Galore
494 marshmallow Peeps with wood frame
4.5ft x 3.5ft
Lightning Santas and Marshmallow Peeps Cutouts!
by -RoG- on 12/13/2006, 4:54 am
... Peeps Cutouts are just like regular Peeps, only they're shaped and flavored like sugar cookies that we all love to scarf down during the holidays. In all honesty though, the marshmallow flavor overpowers the holiday cookie flavor by a mile. Still, as the package says, they make for a good stocking stuffer and it's always fun to bite the head off of one of the Peeps while the other one continues to hold its hand, not realizing his friend has been decapitated....
by -RoG- on 12/13/2006, 4:54 am
... Peeps Cutouts are just like regular Peeps, only they're shaped and flavored like sugar cookies that we all love to scarf down during the holidays. In all honesty though, the marshmallow flavor overpowers the holiday cookie flavor by a mile. Still, as the package says, they make for a good stocking stuffer and it's always fun to bite the head off of one of the Peeps while the other one continues to hold its hand, not realizing his friend has been decapitated....
'Nuff said.
... Okay, these things are honestly incredible. Fans of Marshmallow Peeps -- the stretchy yellow chicks that were formerly an Easter-only affair -- have enjoyed the series' expansion over the past few years. For the spooky season, we've already seen "ghost" and "pumpkin" Peeps, but it wasn't until this afternoon that I experienced the holiest of the holy -- "Marshmallow Cocoa Bats" aren't just season-appropriate Peeps, they're by and large the ultimate Peeps. Combining a new flavor with a size that will MAKE YOU EXPLODE, these bats should quickly rise to that upper echelon of the Halloween candy aisle, joining decades-spanning luminaries as another prime sweet that can never, ever, never ever go away. These things deserve all the hype they can get. ...
... inspired by the famous smitten kitchen cake, this is my own chocolate cake recipe with this peanut butter marshmallow frosting, covered in chocolate glaze and decorated with halloween m+ms and ghost marshmallow peeps. ...
The Ultimate Halloween Bubble Light!
by -RoG- on 09/11/2007, 3:49 am
So today I want to talk to you a little bit about bubble lights. Why? Because I recently went to one of my favorite shops in L.A., La Luz de Jesus, which has some of the greatest books, art and novelty items you'll find anywhere in the country. While walking through the store, I noticed what can only be described as the Ultimate Halloween Bubble Light plugged into one of the walls. I immediately asked the cashier if they sold them, and sure enough, they did. Now, I like a good set of vintage Christmas tree bubble lights as much as the next guy, but this Halloween one truly takes the cake. Feast your eyes on this beauty:
...
by -RoG- on 09/11/2007, 3:49 am
So today I want to talk to you a little bit about bubble lights. Why? Because I recently went to one of my favorite shops in L.A., La Luz de Jesus, which has some of the greatest books, art and novelty items you'll find anywhere in the country. While walking through the store, I noticed what can only be described as the Ultimate Halloween Bubble Light plugged into one of the walls. I immediately asked the cashier if they sold them, and sure enough, they did. Now, I like a good set of vintage Christmas tree bubble lights as much as the next guy, but this Halloween one truly takes the cake. Feast your eyes on this beauty:
...
Marcel Duchamp's Secret Masterpiece
by Rachel Wolff
For two decades, Marcel Duchamp fooled the world into thinking he had retired, while quietly creating his last great work. Rachel Wolff on the multiple love affairs that inspired it.
... Working in secret for 20 years, Duchamp constructed much of Étant donnés in his diminutive studio on West 14th Street in New York, confiding only in three women (two lovers, one wife, to be exact) and, in the work’s later stages, artist/collector William Nelson Copley. By the 1940s, Duchamp had gone “underground” with his art, claiming to have given it up entirely for chess. “Nobody had any interest in what he was doing because nobody, including myself, knew he was doing anything,” Copley once said. “This gave him all the freedom in the world.”
Duchamp decided in the 1950s to will his pièce de résistance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to join the largest collection of the artist’s work. Étant donnés was permanently installed at the museum in 1969, one year after Duchamp’s death. It has since beguiled artists, critics, and art historians alike with its uncharacteristic look and perceivably lewd message. Jasper Johns called it “the strangest work of art any museum has ever had in it”; visitors feigned shock, bemoaning the piece to the director and even, at times, to guards and staffers in the galleries; and in his New York Times review, John Canaday wrote: “For the first time, this cleverest of 20th-century masters looks a bit retardataire.” It became sort of an art world in-joke and there’s little existing scholarship on the piece. It seemed, for the longest time, that no one quite got it.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art hopes to change that with Marcel Duchamp: Étant donnés, a[n]...exhibition...The show gathers a fascinating array of photographs, documents, objects, and artworks related to Étant donnés and its conception....
by Rachel Wolff
For two decades, Marcel Duchamp fooled the world into thinking he had retired, while quietly creating his last great work. Rachel Wolff on the multiple love affairs that inspired it.
... Working in secret for 20 years, Duchamp constructed much of Étant donnés in his diminutive studio on West 14th Street in New York, confiding only in three women (two lovers, one wife, to be exact) and, in the work’s later stages, artist/collector William Nelson Copley. By the 1940s, Duchamp had gone “underground” with his art, claiming to have given it up entirely for chess. “Nobody had any interest in what he was doing because nobody, including myself, knew he was doing anything,” Copley once said. “This gave him all the freedom in the world.”
Duchamp decided in the 1950s to will his pièce de résistance to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to join the largest collection of the artist’s work. Étant donnés was permanently installed at the museum in 1969, one year after Duchamp’s death. It has since beguiled artists, critics, and art historians alike with its uncharacteristic look and perceivably lewd message. Jasper Johns called it “the strangest work of art any museum has ever had in it”; visitors feigned shock, bemoaning the piece to the director and even, at times, to guards and staffers in the galleries; and in his New York Times review, John Canaday wrote: “For the first time, this cleverest of 20th-century masters looks a bit retardataire.” It became sort of an art world in-joke and there’s little existing scholarship on the piece. It seemed, for the longest time, that no one quite got it.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art hopes to change that with Marcel Duchamp: Étant donnés, a[n]...exhibition...The show gathers a fascinating array of photographs, documents, objects, and artworks related to Étant donnés and its conception....
In 1913 I had the happy idea to fasten a bicycle wheel to a kitchen stool and watch it turn.
A few months later I bought a cheap reproduction of a winter evening landscape, which I called "Pharmacy" after adding two small dots, one red and one yellow, in the horizon.
In New York in 1915 I bought at a hardware store a snow shovel on which I wrote "In advance of the broken arm."
It was around that time that the word "Readymade" came to my mind to designate this form of manifestation.
A point that I want very much to establish is that the choice of these "Readymades" was never dictated by aesthetic delectation.
The choice was based on a reaction of visual indifference with at the same time a total absence of good or bad taste ... in fact a complete anaesthesia.
One important characteristic was the short sentence which I occasionally inscribed on the "Readymade."
That sentence instead of describing the object like a title was meant to carry the mind of the spectator towards other regions more verbal. ...
A few months later I bought a cheap reproduction of a winter evening landscape, which I called "Pharmacy" after adding two small dots, one red and one yellow, in the horizon.
In New York in 1915 I bought at a hardware store a snow shovel on which I wrote "In advance of the broken arm."
It was around that time that the word "Readymade" came to my mind to designate this form of manifestation.
A point that I want very much to establish is that the choice of these "Readymades" was never dictated by aesthetic delectation.
The choice was based on a reaction of visual indifference with at the same time a total absence of good or bad taste ... in fact a complete anaesthesia.
One important characteristic was the short sentence which I occasionally inscribed on the "Readymade."
That sentence instead of describing the object like a title was meant to carry the mind of the spectator towards other regions more verbal. ...
I've tripped out on and adored these since childhood.
I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste.
- Marcel Duchamp
- Marcel Duchamp
Everything important that I have done can be put into a little suitcase.
—Marcel Duchamp
New York, March 1952
—Marcel Duchamp
New York, March 1952
Giant icicle found in Scotland
A 27-foot icicle has been pictured dangling from a bridge in Scotland.
05 Mar 2010
The giant frozen spike, the longest of several, was caught on camera hanging under the Dulnain Bridge, Grantown, Inverness-shire.
The icicles amazed David Lambie, an amateur photographer, when he spotted them dangling just inches from the frozen waters of the River Spey. ...
A 27-foot icicle has been pictured dangling from a bridge in Scotland.
05 Mar 2010
The giant frozen spike, the longest of several, was caught on camera hanging under the Dulnain Bridge, Grantown, Inverness-shire.
The icicles amazed David Lambie, an amateur photographer, when he spotted them dangling just inches from the frozen waters of the River Spey. ...
Bournemouth artificial reef 'near impossible' to surf
Bournemouth Borough Council is refusing to make public a report into its £3million artificial surf reef amid suggestions that it is "near impossible" to surf.
05 Mar 2010
The reef, next to the town's Boscombe pier, opened last November, 12 months late and £1.3 million over budget.
It is the only one of its kind in the northern hemisphere and was much hyped by the council which boasted about the waves that would be produced.
However, surfers are not using the reef and local businesses that believed it would bring in large numbers of people have been disappointed.
An alliance of 16 hotels said that between them not one had taken a booking from a surfer visiting the town.
Council officers have this week received the interim report they commissioned in the form of a "verbal briefing", but will not disclose what it contains.
Even councillors are in the dark and have been considering putting in a Freedom of Information request to find out.
The University of Plymouth carried out the investigation but the council has also admitted that two other universities are monitoring the reef.
Surfers have already given their verdict and said the wave produced is more of a 'slab' than a 'peeler', meaning it is too steep and breaks too quickly.
As a result most surfers are unable to stand up on their board and ride it for any length of time before they wipe out.
Safety fears have also been expressed as the top of the reef breaks the surface of the water at low tide, which has resulted in fins being ripped off boards.
The reef has been described as a beached whale and seagulls have taken to sitting on it when it pokes out of the water.
Surfers are instead continuing to ride the natural and consistent waves next to Boscombe pier. ...
Bournemouth Borough Council is refusing to make public a report into its £3million artificial surf reef amid suggestions that it is "near impossible" to surf.
05 Mar 2010
The reef, next to the town's Boscombe pier, opened last November, 12 months late and £1.3 million over budget.
It is the only one of its kind in the northern hemisphere and was much hyped by the council which boasted about the waves that would be produced.
However, surfers are not using the reef and local businesses that believed it would bring in large numbers of people have been disappointed.
An alliance of 16 hotels said that between them not one had taken a booking from a surfer visiting the town.
Council officers have this week received the interim report they commissioned in the form of a "verbal briefing", but will not disclose what it contains.
Even councillors are in the dark and have been considering putting in a Freedom of Information request to find out.
The University of Plymouth carried out the investigation but the council has also admitted that two other universities are monitoring the reef.
Surfers have already given their verdict and said the wave produced is more of a 'slab' than a 'peeler', meaning it is too steep and breaks too quickly.
As a result most surfers are unable to stand up on their board and ride it for any length of time before they wipe out.
Safety fears have also been expressed as the top of the reef breaks the surface of the water at low tide, which has resulted in fins being ripped off boards.
The reef has been described as a beached whale and seagulls have taken to sitting on it when it pokes out of the water.
Surfers are instead continuing to ride the natural and consistent waves next to Boscombe pier. ...
Flushed with pride, eh?
Awww
Where's Max?!
*cough* *cough*
I have an (otherwise useless, non-witty and evil) aunt who amusingly calls S & M 
Two Shops and little else
Published: Tuesday | March 2, 2010
Now, a lonely country community can be experienced in one of two ways. It can either provide a welcome respite from the noise and confusion popular in more urban areas, or it can be quite eerie, leaving you feeling like an extra in a low-budget horror flick. You know, the kind who is always the first to die.
I felt like that poor fool when I wandered into a small community called Two Shop in hilly rural St Catherine, recently. I had started the journey in Lawrence Tavern, St Andrew, where I had spotted a road going up a hill I'd never noticed before. Having some time on my hands, I took the opportunity to explore this unknown territory. Into my van I hopped and up the hill I drove, anxious to find out what was ahead.
It was nearly 30 minutes later I started to rue the decision I made while still in civilised territory. I had so far seen nothing but green, prickly bush and blue sky for the entire journey. It was one of the loneliest roads I had ever come across in this part of the island and I was now desperate for any human contact that would at least assure me I hadn't inadvertedly travelled into a distant parallel universe. ...
Published: Tuesday | March 2, 2010
Now, a lonely country community can be experienced in one of two ways. It can either provide a welcome respite from the noise and confusion popular in more urban areas, or it can be quite eerie, leaving you feeling like an extra in a low-budget horror flick. You know, the kind who is always the first to die.
I felt like that poor fool when I wandered into a small community called Two Shop in hilly rural St Catherine, recently. I had started the journey in Lawrence Tavern, St Andrew, where I had spotted a road going up a hill I'd never noticed before. Having some time on my hands, I took the opportunity to explore this unknown territory. Into my van I hopped and up the hill I drove, anxious to find out what was ahead.
It was nearly 30 minutes later I started to rue the decision I made while still in civilised territory. I had so far seen nothing but green, prickly bush and blue sky for the entire journey. It was one of the loneliest roads I had ever come across in this part of the island and I was now desperate for any human contact that would at least assure me I hadn't inadvertedly travelled into a distant parallel universe. ...
[brilliant snooty English butler]Sir? A telephone call for you: a Mr Darwin, sir.
Oh, please excuse me, sir.
Mr Darwin, may he ring you back? I am afraid Mr Messenger is momentarily indisposed.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
Dear Anneliese hipped me.
Oh, please excuse me, sir.
Mr Darwin, may he ring you back? I am afraid Mr Messenger is momentarily indisposed.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
Dear Anneliese hipped me.
Australian town, 326 miles from river, hit by raining fish
Residents in a remote desert town in Australia, 326 miles from the nearest river, are recovering after witnessing two days of fish raining from the sky.
1 Mar 2010
... It is the third time in less than 30 years that Lajamanu has been bombarded by falling fish after reports of the phenomenon in 1974 and 2004.
Joe Ashley, 55, from Jabiru an outback town in the Northern Territory, said: "Usually fish are in the water, now they are falling out of the sky! What if anything bigger falls out of the sky next?
"It could be crocodiles; that would be real scary."
Residents in a remote desert town in Australia, 326 miles from the nearest river, are recovering after witnessing two days of fish raining from the sky.
1 Mar 2010
... It is the third time in less than 30 years that Lajamanu has been bombarded by falling fish after reports of the phenomenon in 1974 and 2004.
Joe Ashley, 55, from Jabiru an outback town in the Northern Territory, said: "Usually fish are in the water, now they are falling out of the sky! What if anything bigger falls out of the sky next?
"It could be crocodiles; that would be real scary."
Cette page est en français. Vous trouverez une traduction en anglais désespérément mauvais [a desperately bad English translation] ici.
Dear Uncle Charles.
200 Russian tanks found abandoned in forest
The Russian army is embroiled in an embarrassing scandal after 200 of its tanks were found abandoned near a forest in central Russia, unguarded and unlocked.
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 2:18PM GMT 28 Feb 2010
A news website near the city of Yekaterinburg posted a video of the forgotten tanks showing passers-by clambering inside the vehicles and playing with empty ammunition belts. The only items that seemed to be missing were live rounds and the keys to the tanks' ignitions.
"There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned," an unnamed reporter on the video says. "If you need one, come and get it."
Locals in a nearby village said the tanks had been sitting there for almost four months covered in snow. The armoured vehicles were identified as a mixture of T-80 and T-72 battle tanks, the workhorses of the Russian army. ...
The Russian army is embroiled in an embarrassing scandal after 200 of its tanks were found abandoned near a forest in central Russia, unguarded and unlocked.
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 2:18PM GMT 28 Feb 2010
A news website near the city of Yekaterinburg posted a video of the forgotten tanks showing passers-by clambering inside the vehicles and playing with empty ammunition belts. The only items that seemed to be missing were live rounds and the keys to the tanks' ignitions.
"There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned," an unnamed reporter on the video says. "If you need one, come and get it."
Locals in a nearby village said the tanks had been sitting there for almost four months covered in snow. The armoured vehicles were identified as a mixture of T-80 and T-72 battle tanks, the workhorses of the Russian army. ...
A self-styled Hindu holy man and a British Airways stewardess have been arrested in Delhi on suspicion of involvement in a multimillion-pound prostitution racket.
Police said that Shiv Myra Dwivedi, a Hindu swami, used his temple in south Delhi as a front to provide as many as 200 prostitutes, including air hostesses and students, often to clients in five-star hotels.
In his spiritual guise he claimed a following of more than 100,000 people, including leading politicians. Undercover officers arrested him, another alleged pimp and six alleged prostitutes including two air hostesses, one from BA and one from the Indian airline Jagson, on Friday evening, Delhi police said.
The six women, aged between 19 and 30 and including an MBA student, each gave fake Indian names, apart from one identified only as “Ms Julie”. Delhi police did not specify their nationalities. BA told The Times that it was looking into the report.
A police statement said that the suspects were detained as the alleged pimps negotiated a deal with a group of young men near a cinema in the upmarket Saket neighbourhood of the Indian capital. Police also found a network of tunnels and secret rooms at Mr Dwivedi’s temple as well as six diaries and other documents detailing his alleged involvement in prostitution, according to media reports.
“In disguise of this spiritual façade, he is a pimp and tout who supplies sex workers in posh areas of Delhi,” the statement said.
Some police estimated that he had earned $10 million (£6.5 million), while others put his earnings at more than ten times that amount, the reports said. ...
Police said that Shiv Myra Dwivedi, a Hindu swami, used his temple in south Delhi as a front to provide as many as 200 prostitutes, including air hostesses and students, often to clients in five-star hotels.
In his spiritual guise he claimed a following of more than 100,000 people, including leading politicians. Undercover officers arrested him, another alleged pimp and six alleged prostitutes including two air hostesses, one from BA and one from the Indian airline Jagson, on Friday evening, Delhi police said.
The six women, aged between 19 and 30 and including an MBA student, each gave fake Indian names, apart from one identified only as “Ms Julie”. Delhi police did not specify their nationalities. BA told The Times that it was looking into the report.
A police statement said that the suspects were detained as the alleged pimps negotiated a deal with a group of young men near a cinema in the upmarket Saket neighbourhood of the Indian capital. Police also found a network of tunnels and secret rooms at Mr Dwivedi’s temple as well as six diaries and other documents detailing his alleged involvement in prostitution, according to media reports.
“In disguise of this spiritual façade, he is a pimp and tout who supplies sex workers in posh areas of Delhi,” the statement said.
Some police estimated that he had earned $10 million (£6.5 million), while others put his earnings at more than ten times that amount, the reports said. ...
... Barledeanu describes himself as a "director" of his own films and considers each collage to be a movie in itself. While many are light-hearted, others are darker, infused with black humour and often focusing on the man he calls his "greatest fear". "I knew that if he knew about my work Ceausescu would not sleep in peace in his grave," he said. "If people had found out about my work they could have chopped my head off … But this is my revenge."
Many of the most explosive collages were made after 1989, but those that were made during the regime have already interested collectors. Antoine de Galbert of La Maison Rouge art foundation said he appreciated "the risk involved" in Barledeanu's work, while Jérôme Neutres of the Grand Palais said the artist's background lent the collages a unique appeal. "Of course there is a fairytale aspect to his work, but that is not important to me. What I like is that he has been spared the usual artistic circles and his work is refreshing as a result," he said.
Whatever the world thinks, Barladeanu says he will carry on working regardless. "It's like eating pie or sandwiches. It fulfils me," he said in his fast-paced Romanian slang. "If I were reincarnated in another life I would still be making collages, and if I could take them to the moon I would."
Many of the most explosive collages were made after 1989, but those that were made during the regime have already interested collectors. Antoine de Galbert of La Maison Rouge art foundation said he appreciated "the risk involved" in Barledeanu's work, while Jérôme Neutres of the Grand Palais said the artist's background lent the collages a unique appeal. "Of course there is a fairytale aspect to his work, but that is not important to me. What I like is that he has been spared the usual artistic circles and his work is refreshing as a result," he said.
Whatever the world thinks, Barladeanu says he will carry on working regardless. "It's like eating pie or sandwiches. It fulfils me," he said in his fast-paced Romanian slang. "If I were reincarnated in another life I would still be making collages, and if I could take them to the moon I would."
Spanish priest spunked €17k on chat lines and whores
Church funds fund less than Catholic lifestyle
By Lester Haines
25th February 2010
A Spanish priest who spunked €17k of church funds on sex chat lines, internet porn sites and prostitutes has unsurprisingly been given his marching orders.
Samuel Martin Martin, 27, racked up some impressive expenditure during his one year-tenure as spiritual shepherd to the villages of Totanes and Noez, in Toledo. As well as relieving pious parishioners of their hard-earned cash - including that from a whip-round in aid of Haiti, according to one flabbergasted local interviewed last night on Spanish telly - Martin also offered his sexual services online at €120 a pop. ...
Church funds fund less than Catholic lifestyle
By Lester Haines
25th February 2010
A Spanish priest who spunked €17k of church funds on sex chat lines, internet porn sites and prostitutes has unsurprisingly been given his marching orders.
Samuel Martin Martin, 27, racked up some impressive expenditure during his one year-tenure as spiritual shepherd to the villages of Totanes and Noez, in Toledo. As well as relieving pious parishioners of their hard-earned cash - including that from a whip-round in aid of Haiti, according to one flabbergasted local interviewed last night on Spanish telly - Martin also offered his sexual services online at €120 a pop. ...
snicker snicker
Ah, chinastan!
You a friend of HG Wells' or summat?
*hic*
... When looking through some really neat groups on Flickr.com, I came across a unique profile of the name Adopt-a-bot. Brian Marshall, a middle school teacher by day, is kept busy at night as the wild and crazy orphans crawl up from the deep dark recesses of his basement. Brian has a very creative mind, using found objects or items he finds from garage sales, eBay, scrap yards etc. Some of his favorite items to use are old oil cans, aluminum measuring spoons, electrical meters, retro blenders, anodized cups, and pencil sharpeners.
If you are ever in Wilmington, Delaware, you must stop by to see the menagerie of robotic creatures at the Adopt-a-bot orphanage. For as long as he can remember, Brian has always had a passion for building things. Legos and Lincoln Logs occupied his time as a youngster, but as he grew older and his construction techniques progressed, he sought out new and unusual materials that would allow his imagination to run wild. Then, one lazy afternoon while watching movies Brian was inspired by an unusual lamp and his artistic career was born. Lamps led to clocks, small tables, chandeliers and his first attempt at robots with his Night Watchmen series. The Night Watchmen were robotic heads that lit up to scare away the evil monsters that hide under beds. Then came the day when the first robot emerged from his basement, and he knew he had found his true passion. His basement became a place where all the unwanted, used up parts from commercial enterprises and residential homes could now come to find hope. This was when Brian created the world’s first robot orphanage. Just because these parts were no longer desired for their original purpose, they refused to believe they should die an agonizing death in a big smelting pot or a landfill. So with a little help, these parts were coming together with new and unusual friends to fulfill their dreams of once again bringing joys to others. And bringing joy they are to families as far away as Hong Kong. ...
Booton & Watts
No. 12
CB Checker
Robofish
Robo Band
Marshall
Ta much, dear Edosan
If you are ever in Wilmington, Delaware, you must stop by to see the menagerie of robotic creatures at the Adopt-a-bot orphanage. For as long as he can remember, Brian has always had a passion for building things. Legos and Lincoln Logs occupied his time as a youngster, but as he grew older and his construction techniques progressed, he sought out new and unusual materials that would allow his imagination to run wild. Then, one lazy afternoon while watching movies Brian was inspired by an unusual lamp and his artistic career was born. Lamps led to clocks, small tables, chandeliers and his first attempt at robots with his Night Watchmen series. The Night Watchmen were robotic heads that lit up to scare away the evil monsters that hide under beds. Then came the day when the first robot emerged from his basement, and he knew he had found his true passion. His basement became a place where all the unwanted, used up parts from commercial enterprises and residential homes could now come to find hope. This was when Brian created the world’s first robot orphanage. Just because these parts were no longer desired for their original purpose, they refused to believe they should die an agonizing death in a big smelting pot or a landfill. So with a little help, these parts were coming together with new and unusual friends to fulfill their dreams of once again bringing joys to others. And bringing joy they are to families as far away as Hong Kong. ...
Booton & Watts
No. 12
CB Checker
Robofish
Robo Band
Marshall
Ta much, dear Edosan
Uncle Cecil and the falling cars of Cassava River
Published: Tuesday | February 23, 2010
Claplunk! The loud noise outside jolted Uncle Cecil from his sleep late one rainy Sunday night.
"Mi swear ah one ah di hog dem get weh inna di yard," said Uncle Cecil, relating the story of that night.
"But den mi seh, no, di hog couldn't so loud, so mi jump outa di bed and run outside wid mi cutlass."
As he ran outside, Uncle Cecil contemplated the different possibilities. Was he about to face a brazen band of robbers, a mule gone astray or perhaps a spurned lover hurling rocks at his roof? All these things ran through his mind but, as he opened the front door of his home and looked out, what greeted him made him angrier than he ever imagined.
"Mi seh, no sah, not again! Dis could never be happening again."
A small car had careened off the road on the hill above Uncle Cecil's house and had landed just about 10 feet from his home. The wheels of the car were still spinning even though the car was upside down. Luckily, the driver was alright, but he had to endure quite a tongue-thrashing from Uncle Cecil.
"Dat ah di third time inna two year dat one car drop pan mi house, and mi very tired ah it," said the man as we stood on the side of the road, looking down at his house in Cassava River, rural St Catherine, last week.
"Every time ah di same ting, and mi tired fi tell di people dem seh dem need fi tek time drive, or somebody need fi build a wall right here," he said. ...
Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty joined the teleprompter wing of Republican Hypocrisy Caucus during his speech at CPAC on Friday when he used a teleprompter to promulgate the hoax that Pres. Obama uses teleprompters more than other politicians. Worse, however, Pawlenty’s attack against the president was quickly determined to be a lie:
“President Obama was in a grade school classroom speaking to elementary school children and he was using a teleprompter,” Pawlenty said Friday in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he added. “That’s not a joke. That’s a real story.”
Actually, it’s not. The tale spread by bloggers over the Internet and in some media, including the Comedy Channel’s Jon Stewart, blended together two Obama appearances Jan. 19 at the Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia, to make it appear he used the teleprompter when speaking to a classroom of 30 pupils.
In reality, Obama sat on a chair and spoke with the pupils without the device.
In a different classroom, he used the teleprompter to give scripted remarks on education to television cameras.
At CPAC just one day earlier, Marco Rubio, Florida’s tea bagger candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, read what was supposed to be a joke about Obama and teleprompters from a teleprompter.
But neither of these new members of the GOP Hypocrisy Caucus can hold a candle to the chairwoman, Sarah Palin, whose promotion of the Obama teleprompter hoax at the tea bagger ball in Nashville earlier this month prompted us to catalog 20 separate incidents in which she used teleprompters during her campaign for vice president in 2008.
“President Obama was in a grade school classroom speaking to elementary school children and he was using a teleprompter,” Pawlenty said Friday in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he added. “That’s not a joke. That’s a real story.”
Actually, it’s not. The tale spread by bloggers over the Internet and in some media, including the Comedy Channel’s Jon Stewart, blended together two Obama appearances Jan. 19 at the Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia, to make it appear he used the teleprompter when speaking to a classroom of 30 pupils.
In reality, Obama sat on a chair and spoke with the pupils without the device.
In a different classroom, he used the teleprompter to give scripted remarks on education to television cameras.
At CPAC just one day earlier, Marco Rubio, Florida’s tea bagger candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, read what was supposed to be a joke about Obama and teleprompters from a teleprompter.
But neither of these new members of the GOP Hypocrisy Caucus can hold a candle to the chairwoman, Sarah Palin, whose promotion of the Obama teleprompter hoax at the tea bagger ball in Nashville earlier this month prompted us to catalog 20 separate incidents in which she used teleprompters during her campaign for vice president in 2008.
Duck Billed Platypus USB Drive
by Ally - on February 19th, 2010
[The] duck billed platypus is such an under loved creature. Thankfully one seller is finally having mercy on the animal. Now you can show your platypus loving side with this handy USB drive. Sure, some people might think it’s silly to carry around a platypus USB drive, but they clearly just don’t know what they’re missing. This happy creature is perfectly content holding onto even the most dull documents that you need.
Of course it’s only half of a platypus instead of the whole thing. Instead of having back legs he just has a USB port. Which is tragic for him, but handy for you. The drive holds 4GB of the necessary items you need to store within it....
Ta much, dear Anneliese
by Ally - on February 19th, 2010
[The] duck billed platypus is such an under loved creature. Thankfully one seller is finally having mercy on the animal. Now you can show your platypus loving side with this handy USB drive. Sure, some people might think it’s silly to carry around a platypus USB drive, but they clearly just don’t know what they’re missing. This happy creature is perfectly content holding onto even the most dull documents that you need.
Of course it’s only half of a platypus instead of the whole thing. Instead of having back legs he just has a USB port. Which is tragic for him, but handy for you. The drive holds 4GB of the necessary items you need to store within it....
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Ta much, dear MSiegel, and thank you. I really appreciate it. You're very kind. My gratitude knows no bounds.
How Handy!
Gosh, thanks!
[brilliant snooty English butler]Sir? A Mr Darwin is calling, sir. Sir? Sir?!
Oh, shit.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Oh, shit.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Australian anti-migrant campaigner Pauline Hanson to emigrate
Former One Nation leader who said country was being swamped by Asians plans to seek 'peace' in UK
Toni O'Loughlin in Sydney
Monday 15 February 2010
The fish and chip shop owner who gained international notoriety and a seat in Australia's parliament after warning the country it was being swamped by Asians is packing her bags and leaving – and she's bound for Britain.
Pauline Hanson, the former leader of the One Nation party, who once draped herself in the Australian flag and railed against immigration to campaign for a seat in federal parliament, appears to have changed her mind about the rights and wrongs of migration.
She says she can no longer live in Australia. "Sadly, the land of opportunity is no more applicable. It's pretty much goodbye for ever. I've really had enough." ...
Head for Antartica instead, you iggerant cow.
Former One Nation leader who said country was being swamped by Asians plans to seek 'peace' in UK
Toni O'Loughlin in Sydney
Monday 15 February 2010
The fish and chip shop owner who gained international notoriety and a seat in Australia's parliament after warning the country it was being swamped by Asians is packing her bags and leaving – and she's bound for Britain.
Pauline Hanson, the former leader of the One Nation party, who once draped herself in the Australian flag and railed against immigration to campaign for a seat in federal parliament, appears to have changed her mind about the rights and wrongs of migration.
She says she can no longer live in Australia. "Sadly, the land of opportunity is no more applicable. It's pretty much goodbye for ever. I've really had enough." ...
Head for Antartica instead, you iggerant cow.
Men risk anticlimax with anatomy-boosting pants
Fri Feb 12, 2010 9:49am
LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of British men are risking a Valentine's Day anticlimax for their partners by stocking up on anatomy-boosting underpants ahead of the most romantic weekend of the year.
British department store group Debenhams said Thursday it had seen a 76 percent surge in online sales of the 18 pounds-a-pair ($28) underwear in the past week.
The pants work by using a lift and hold feature at the front, like a male version of the cleavage-boosting Wonderbra.
"The briefs mean that no man ever needs to feel inadequate again on the most passionate day of the social calendar," said Rob Faucherand, head of men's accessories buying at Debenhams.
"However we can't be held responsible for what happens once the pants come off," he added.
Fri Feb 12, 2010 9:49am
LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of British men are risking a Valentine's Day anticlimax for their partners by stocking up on anatomy-boosting underpants ahead of the most romantic weekend of the year.
British department store group Debenhams said Thursday it had seen a 76 percent surge in online sales of the 18 pounds-a-pair ($28) underwear in the past week.
The pants work by using a lift and hold feature at the front, like a male version of the cleavage-boosting Wonderbra.
"The briefs mean that no man ever needs to feel inadequate again on the most passionate day of the social calendar," said Rob Faucherand, head of men's accessories buying at Debenhams.
"However we can't be held responsible for what happens once the pants come off," he added.
'Clumsy' French cop tasers schoolkid
By Lester Haines
10th February 2010
A "clumsy" French cop is facing discliplinary measures after accidentally tasering a 15-year-old schoolkid, TF1 News reports.
The unnamed gendarme was demonstrating the electric enforcer to youngsters at a "career day" in Dole, Jura, on 28 January, when he zapped his victim's leg. The discharge earned the lad a night in hospital "under observation", but he was reportedly none the worse for his ordeal. ...
Quel un idiot!
By Lester Haines
10th February 2010
A "clumsy" French cop is facing discliplinary measures after accidentally tasering a 15-year-old schoolkid, TF1 News reports.
The unnamed gendarme was demonstrating the electric enforcer to youngsters at a "career day" in Dole, Jura, on 28 January, when he zapped his victim's leg. The discharge earned the lad a night in hospital "under observation", but he was reportedly none the worse for his ordeal. ...
Quel un idiot!
Viking frogmen chase Street View spymobile
Google enjoys a traditional Norwegian welcome
By Lester Haines
10th February 2010
Last weekend saw the launch of Google's privacy-busting Street View in Norway, and it didn't take long for locals to spot a traditional Viking welcome for the Great Satan of Mountain View's spymobile on the streets of Bergen:
Luckily for the Google operative, he was able to outrun the belligerent, rubber-clad locals and make good his escape...
Well done the Viking lads!
Google enjoys a traditional Norwegian welcome
By Lester Haines
10th February 2010
Last weekend saw the launch of Google's privacy-busting Street View in Norway, and it didn't take long for locals to spot a traditional Viking welcome for the Great Satan of Mountain View's spymobile on the streets of Bergen:
Luckily for the Google operative, he was able to outrun the belligerent, rubber-clad locals and make good his escape...
Well done the Viking lads!
I'm, uh, sorry?
Bloody quantum physics majors!
Ta much, dear MSiegel
introBananas Brulee
Nothing says "Dessert!" like a propane torch. This dessert is fast and easy to make, and most guests are impressed by the visual appeal of combining of dangerous tools and food!
Also, since Valentine's Day is coming up, this is a good way to make your special someone a unique treat while also wooing them with your torch wielding skills. Maybe if you have some properly curved bananas you can arrange them in the shape of a heart! ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Nothing says "Dessert!" like a propane torch. This dessert is fast and easy to make, and most guests are impressed by the visual appeal of combining of dangerous tools and food!
Also, since Valentine's Day is coming up, this is a good way to make your special someone a unique treat while also wooing them with your torch wielding skills. Maybe if you have some properly curved bananas you can arrange them in the shape of a heart! ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Published: Tuesday | February 9, 2010
Screech! I stepped on the brakes with great force, and lunged forward as the car came to a stop. It was late Saturday night, while travelling along Highway 2000, when I spotted her. She was a beauty standing next to a black station wagon parked by the side of the road. She had thick luxurious hair that fell just below her shoulders, was dressed in a miniskirt and slippers and had the longest legs I'd ever seen.
She was gazing down at something on her car, and I could tell from where I was that the car had a flat tyre. Now a few things floated through my mind at that point. One was that it would be nice of me to stop and lend a helping hand. I mean, it was late and the road was dark and there were only a few cars using the road at that hour. The other was that this could all have been a clever ruse, a ploy, if you will, to lure unsuspecting strangers such as myself to the assistance of this fine young woman, only to be pounced upon by a gang of goons. I spent a few seconds pondering the different possibilities, then took another glance at the belle. She gently brushed her hair from her face and in that moment I was hooked. I knew quite well that it could have been my final act of civility, but what a way to go! I pulled over to the side of the road and hopped out.
Summoning my best 'knight-in-shining-armour' voice, I asked the woman if she needed some help.
"Ahm ... well the tyre is flat and I don't know how to change it and ..." she started. I put a hand up to cut her off and told her she needed to say no more, as I was happy to lend a hand. ...
My pal Dogs came over tonight, and we watched Luis Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (orig. title, Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie). He'd never seen it before, but Your Humble Narrator has seen it at least four times and is a big fan. We discussed the surrealism of the film many times as we watched it, and how well Buñuel's dream sequences use elements of actual dreams. The washed-out colors (Bar one or two, I've always dreamed in color, but it rarely looks like Kodachrome©), curious perspectives, disappearing people, strange and sudden changes, etc are all trés a propos.
I looked around in the guide to see what else was on, and was delighted when I found TCM was showing Fellini's 8½! We went straight from one surreal film to another; and Dogs'd never seen 8½ either, and I'd only seen bits and pieces. It's not the pleasantest film in places, but for the most part it shifts into silliness when needed.
I looked around in the guide to see what else was on, and was delighted when I found TCM was showing Fellini's 8½! We went straight from one surreal film to another; and Dogs'd never seen 8½ either, and I'd only seen bits and pieces. It's not the pleasantest film in places, but for the most part it shifts into silliness when needed.
The Loch Ness Stig gets pixellated
Sinister Street View censorship shenanigans
By Lester Haines
1st February 2010
Those readers who live close to Loch Ness are invited to keep an eye out for circling black Google helicopters, since the Great Satan of Mountain View has inexplicably decided that this recent loch-side sighting of Top Gear's The Stig...
...would benefit from the application of Street View's "Swiss pixellation" filter:
Chilling stuff indeed. As ever, we welcome wild conspiracy theories as to what exactly Google is trying to hide... ®
Sinister Street View censorship shenanigans
By Lester Haines
1st February 2010
Those readers who live close to Loch Ness are invited to keep an eye out for circling black Google helicopters, since the Great Satan of Mountain View has inexplicably decided that this recent loch-side sighting of Top Gear's The Stig...
...would benefit from the application of Street View's "Swiss pixellation" filter:
Chilling stuff indeed. As ever, we welcome wild conspiracy theories as to what exactly Google is trying to hide... ®
One in three members of the public matched a picture of Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, with the name of Peter Griffin, the protagonist of the cartoon sitcom.
The survey of 1,498 people found more were able to identify a picture of Alex Reid, the new husband of Katie Price, than recognised Gordon Brown, the prime minister. ...
The survey of 1,498 people found more were able to identify a picture of Alex Reid, the new husband of Katie Price, than recognised Gordon Brown, the prime minister. ...
February 6, 2010
Baptist Laura Silsby who set off to 'rescue' orphans left behind debts and bad wages
James Bone in New York
The leader of the American missionaries imprisoned for alleged child abduction in Haiti has a history of divorce, bad debts, and unpaid wages back home.
Laura Silsby, 40, founded her New Life Children’s Refuge charity at an address in a still-unfinished development in a suburb of Boise, Idaho, in November.
A month later the $358,500 (£230,000) house was repossessed by the mortgage holder, MetLife Home Loans.
Ms Silsby, a divorced mother of young children, organised the Christian “rescue mission” that led to the arrest of the ten American Baptists for trying to take 33 Haitian children out of the country.
Back home she runs a personal shopping service on the internet that earned her the eWomanNetwork’s International Businesswoman of the Year award in 2006.
Court records show, however, that she has repeatedly been sued for unpaid wages and bad debts — and has had at least nine driving violations since 1997.
According to the newspaper the Idaho Statesman 14 claims totalling $38,100, including two by the same employee, were filed against the PersonalShopper.com company over the past two years.
The Idaho department of labour found that $30,620 was owed to employees and also imposed a $4,000 fine. The company’s former marketing director went to court against Ms Silsby and PersonalShopper.com in October claiming five months of unpaid wages, totalling $22,016. ...
Classy broad.
Baptist Laura Silsby who set off to 'rescue' orphans left behind debts and bad wages
James Bone in New York
The leader of the American missionaries imprisoned for alleged child abduction in Haiti has a history of divorce, bad debts, and unpaid wages back home.
Laura Silsby, 40, founded her New Life Children’s Refuge charity at an address in a still-unfinished development in a suburb of Boise, Idaho, in November.
A month later the $358,500 (£230,000) house was repossessed by the mortgage holder, MetLife Home Loans.
Ms Silsby, a divorced mother of young children, organised the Christian “rescue mission” that led to the arrest of the ten American Baptists for trying to take 33 Haitian children out of the country.
Back home she runs a personal shopping service on the internet that earned her the eWomanNetwork’s International Businesswoman of the Year award in 2006.
Court records show, however, that she has repeatedly been sued for unpaid wages and bad debts — and has had at least nine driving violations since 1997.
According to the newspaper the Idaho Statesman 14 claims totalling $38,100, including two by the same employee, were filed against the PersonalShopper.com company over the past two years.
The Idaho department of labour found that $30,620 was owed to employees and also imposed a $4,000 fine. The company’s former marketing director went to court against Ms Silsby and PersonalShopper.com in October claiming five months of unpaid wages, totalling $22,016. ...
Classy broad.
I often wish more costumed pets'd attack their owners: it might end the lamentable practice. ;)
Ta much, dear Edosan
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Correction
A story on Page 1 of Tuesday’s Telegraph quoted a White House official explaining that a Q-and-A session with dozens of teenagers in Nashua High School North on Monday was “off the record.” However, the explanation about the talk being “off the record” was, it turns out, also “off the record” and should not have been quoted.
Ta much, dear Edosan, for thatamusi bemusing bit of enlightenment.
Correction
A story on Page 1 of Tuesday’s Telegraph quoted a White House official explaining that a Q-and-A session with dozens of teenagers in Nashua High School North on Monday was “off the record.” However, the explanation about the talk being “off the record” was, it turns out, also “off the record” and should not have been quoted.
Ta much, dear Edosan, for that
... Beyond awesome. This is Darwinian evolution mixed with, like, Burning Man.
Being scientists of biomimicry, the authors surmise that if it were possible to reverse-engineer the entire shell — it’s not just the outer iron layer that’s cool; there are also two inner layers with gooey nougat that are equally important in defending the snail — they could produce superstrong materials for military defense and “load-bearing”.
Fair enough. But personally I’m satisfied just to have more pure science that proves, yet again, the inexhaustible Weirdness Of The Briny Deep.
Iron snails, people! Iron snails.
Ta much, dear MSiegel
Being scientists of biomimicry, the authors surmise that if it were possible to reverse-engineer the entire shell — it’s not just the outer iron layer that’s cool; there are also two inner layers with gooey nougat that are equally important in defending the snail — they could produce superstrong materials for military defense and “load-bearing”.
Fair enough. But personally I’m satisfied just to have more pure science that proves, yet again, the inexhaustible Weirdness Of The Briny Deep.
Iron snails, people! Iron snails.
Ta much, dear MSiegel
Posted: Feb. 2, 2010
Man, 62, is burned in rocket sled stunt
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A 62-year-old Independence Township man remained hospitalized Monday with injuries he sustained after authorities said a rocket-like backpack he rigged to power him on a sled exploded.
Oakland County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a backyard sledding party in the 6000 block of Townview at 7:35 p.m. Sunday to aid the host, who had burns over 18% of his body, Undersheriff Mike McCabe said.
"Apparently, he has this sledding party every year, and he always does outrageous things at it, but he's never blown himself up before," McCabe said Monday.
The man had been drinking before the accident, McCabe said.
The man constructed the backpack from a used auto muffler, which he filled with gasoline and gunpowder, McCabe said. Wearing a motorcycle helmet, he got on an orange plastic sled.
"He asked another person to light a wick..."
Wile E. Coyote, Super-Genius, huh?
[brilliant snooty English butler]A telephone call for you, Sir; a Mr Darwin, Sir.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
Man, 62, is burned in rocket sled stunt
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A 62-year-old Independence Township man remained hospitalized Monday with injuries he sustained after authorities said a rocket-like backpack he rigged to power him on a sled exploded.
Oakland County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a backyard sledding party in the 6000 block of Townview at 7:35 p.m. Sunday to aid the host, who had burns over 18% of his body, Undersheriff Mike McCabe said.
"Apparently, he has this sledding party every year, and he always does outrageous things at it, but he's never blown himself up before," McCabe said Monday.
The man had been drinking before the accident, McCabe said.
The man constructed the backpack from a used auto muffler, which he filled with gasoline and gunpowder, McCabe said. Wearing a motorcycle helmet, he got on an orange plastic sled.
"He asked another person to light a wick..."
Wile E. Coyote, Super-Genius, huh?
[brilliant snooty English butler]A telephone call for you, Sir; a Mr Darwin, Sir.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
Flaring tempers sear St Andrew streets
Published: Tuesday | February 2, 2010
So I was travelling along Hagley Park Road in St Andrew the other day and had an encounter with a squeegee-wielding straggler who had me contemplating committing grievous bodily harm and running off to Mexico to lay low for a while. I mean, I'm as law-abiding as the next guy, but no jury in the world would convict me for landing a wallop right between the eyes of this hooligan.
It was a Tuesday, like any other, when I pulled up to a stoplight, as I often do. Immediately, the race was on. They appeared from every corner, shoe-less men brandishing instruments of window-washing like mini torture devices aimed at hapless motorists. The drivers had little choice but to wave frantically even as soapy water was being sprayed on otherwise clean windshields. But their waving did little to stop the unfolding debacle. The men just continued washing windshields, further angering the drivers with every turn of the wrist.
"Oy bwoy! Mi tell yuh yesterday seh mi ah ago lick yuh down if yuh touch mi cyar again!" yelled a large man in a small black car. He had stuck his head outside the vehicle and flashed his hand as he spoke.
"Just cool, Uncle, is just a food we ah look fi buy," replied the man washing the windshield of the car.
"Uncle? Mi know yuh? Nobody inna my family couldn't so ugly!" the driver quipped. ...
Published: Tuesday | February 2, 2010
So I was travelling along Hagley Park Road in St Andrew the other day and had an encounter with a squeegee-wielding straggler who had me contemplating committing grievous bodily harm and running off to Mexico to lay low for a while. I mean, I'm as law-abiding as the next guy, but no jury in the world would convict me for landing a wallop right between the eyes of this hooligan.
It was a Tuesday, like any other, when I pulled up to a stoplight, as I often do. Immediately, the race was on. They appeared from every corner, shoe-less men brandishing instruments of window-washing like mini torture devices aimed at hapless motorists. The drivers had little choice but to wave frantically even as soapy water was being sprayed on otherwise clean windshields. But their waving did little to stop the unfolding debacle. The men just continued washing windshields, further angering the drivers with every turn of the wrist.
"Oy bwoy! Mi tell yuh yesterday seh mi ah ago lick yuh down if yuh touch mi cyar again!" yelled a large man in a small black car. He had stuck his head outside the vehicle and flashed his hand as he spoke.
"Just cool, Uncle, is just a food we ah look fi buy," replied the man washing the windshield of the car.
"Uncle? Mi know yuh? Nobody inna my family couldn't so ugly!" the driver quipped. ...
The site design is profoundly bad, but...it's The Stig FFS!
Fool-proof
Location: packet of "Man Sex Fancy Soap" in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Spotted by: Fred Saugman
Fanks awfully, chuck.
Top Gear's Stig prowls Loch Ness
Street View sighting of elusive motoring beastie
By Lester Haines
26th January 2010
We're obliged to all those readers who rushed to alert us that The Stig of Top Gear fame has been spotted on the shores of Loch Ness:
Of course, no one knows just who The Stig is, but what's clear is that, in common with Judge Dredd, he never takes his helmet off - a fact proved by another sighting early last year at the BBC's offices in west London:
Street View sighting of elusive motoring beastie
By Lester Haines
26th January 2010
We're obliged to all those readers who rushed to alert us that The Stig of Top Gear fame has been spotted on the shores of Loch Ness:
Of course, no one knows just who The Stig is, but what's clear is that, in common with Judge Dredd, he never takes his helmet off - a fact proved by another sighting early last year at the BBC's offices in west London:
Ministry of Justice lists eco-activists alongside terrorists
• Campaigners lumped in with al-Qaida and far right
• Government criticised for tarring peaceful protesters
Matthew Taylor and Rob Evans
Tuesday 26 January 2010
Oh, jolly good show, UK. Bra-fricken-vo.
• Campaigners lumped in with al-Qaida and far right
• Government criticised for tarring peaceful protesters
Matthew Taylor and Rob Evans
Tuesday 26 January 2010
Oh, jolly good show, UK. Bra-fricken-vo.
Poetic justice for HK Taoist truck driver
Sent down to judge's words of (real) Zen master
By Lester Haines
The Hong Kong truck driver who duped an aspiring model into having ritual sex with him has been jailed for six years and nine months, HK's The Standard reports.
Au Yeung Kwok-fu, 55, posed as a Taoist Mao Shan master to have his evil way with the unnamed 19-year-old on nine occasions between April and December 2007. He claimed he had the power to grant her career success, but all she got was an unwanted pregnancy which she subsequently aborted.
Au Yeung was earlier this month found guilty of nine counts of "unlawful sexual intercourse under false pretences", and District Court judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi this week sent him down, despite the defence presenting over 20 "mitigation letters" which praised the defendant's kindness and, in some cases, his "super power". ...
... Chan enigmatically concluded by quoting a real Zen master, who apparently enlightened: "Flowers blossom in spring; the moon shines in autumn; the breeze blows in summer; snow falls in winter. It will be the best season of all times if no trivial matters linger in your mind." ®
Sent down to judge's words of (real) Zen master
By Lester Haines
The Hong Kong truck driver who duped an aspiring model into having ritual sex with him has been jailed for six years and nine months, HK's The Standard reports.
Au Yeung Kwok-fu, 55, posed as a Taoist Mao Shan master to have his evil way with the unnamed 19-year-old on nine occasions between April and December 2007. He claimed he had the power to grant her career success, but all she got was an unwanted pregnancy which she subsequently aborted.
Au Yeung was earlier this month found guilty of nine counts of "unlawful sexual intercourse under false pretences", and District Court judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi this week sent him down, despite the defence presenting over 20 "mitigation letters" which praised the defendant's kindness and, in some cases, his "super power". ...
... Chan enigmatically concluded by quoting a real Zen master, who apparently enlightened: "Flowers blossom in spring; the moon shines in autumn; the breeze blows in summer; snow falls in winter. It will be the best season of all times if no trivial matters linger in your mind." ®
Britain's oddest laws revealed
Walking home from a DIY shop with a ladder, dressing as a sailor or disturbing people by flying a kite, could all be illegal in Britain under antique laws, it has emerged.
By Stephen Adams
24 Jan 2010
These are just a handful of strange offences still on the statue book, which were found by Reader's Digest magazine.
Under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 it is illegal to walk the streets with building materials and tools, the magazine found.
Section 54 makes it an offence to carry a plank of wood on a pavement, while also making it unlawful to "roll or carry any cask, tub, hoop, or wheel, or any ladder, plank, pole, showboard, or placard, upon any footway, except for the purpose of loading or unloading any cart or carriage, or of crossing the footway".
Under the same act, any person "who shall fly any kite or play at any game to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers" shall be liable for a fine of up to £500.
People who took the recent Arctic weather as an excuse to have fun on the capital's pavements have also been breaking the law, as those "who shall make or use any slide upon ice or snow in any street or other thoroughfare, to the common danger of the passengers" could receive the same fine. ...
It's illegal in Flaaaarida to bathe or shower w/o wearing a bathing suit, and it is illegal in Michigan to have sex in a bathtub.
I have broken both these laws more than once, thank God/dess.
Walking home from a DIY shop with a ladder, dressing as a sailor or disturbing people by flying a kite, could all be illegal in Britain under antique laws, it has emerged.
By Stephen Adams
24 Jan 2010
These are just a handful of strange offences still on the statue book, which were found by Reader's Digest magazine.
Under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839 it is illegal to walk the streets with building materials and tools, the magazine found.
Section 54 makes it an offence to carry a plank of wood on a pavement, while also making it unlawful to "roll or carry any cask, tub, hoop, or wheel, or any ladder, plank, pole, showboard, or placard, upon any footway, except for the purpose of loading or unloading any cart or carriage, or of crossing the footway".
Under the same act, any person "who shall fly any kite or play at any game to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers" shall be liable for a fine of up to £500.
People who took the recent Arctic weather as an excuse to have fun on the capital's pavements have also been breaking the law, as those "who shall make or use any slide upon ice or snow in any street or other thoroughfare, to the common danger of the passengers" could receive the same fine. ...
It's illegal in Flaaaarida to bathe or shower w/o wearing a bathing suit, and it is illegal in Michigan to have sex in a bathtub.
I have broken both these laws more than once, thank God/dess.
Experts shocked by 'bizarre' swan divorce
Experts at a wildlife sanctuary in Gloucestershire have witnessed a rare ''divorce'' between two Bewick's swans - with both parties bringing their new partners to winter at the site.
24 Jan 2010
It is only the second time in more than 4,000 pairs of Bewick's swans studied over 40 years at Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge that a separation has been recorded.
It is not unheard of for the birds, which usually mate for life, to find a new mate but it tends to be because one of the pair has died.
So when male swan Sarindi turned up in the annual migration from Arctic Russia without his partner of two years Saruni and with a new female - newly-named Sarind - in tow, conservationists feared the worst for Saruni.
But shortly afterwards Saruni arrived at the wetlands site - also with a new mate, Surune.
And after observing them, the experts are confident the old relationship had ended and new ones had begun.
Julia Newth, wildlife health research officer at Slimbridge, said the "bizarre" situation had taken staff by surprise. ...
Experts at a wildlife sanctuary in Gloucestershire have witnessed a rare ''divorce'' between two Bewick's swans - with both parties bringing their new partners to winter at the site.
24 Jan 2010
It is only the second time in more than 4,000 pairs of Bewick's swans studied over 40 years at Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge that a separation has been recorded.
It is not unheard of for the birds, which usually mate for life, to find a new mate but it tends to be because one of the pair has died.
So when male swan Sarindi turned up in the annual migration from Arctic Russia without his partner of two years Saruni and with a new female - newly-named Sarind - in tow, conservationists feared the worst for Saruni.
But shortly afterwards Saruni arrived at the wetlands site - also with a new mate, Surune.
And after observing them, the experts are confident the old relationship had ended and new ones had begun.
Julia Newth, wildlife health research officer at Slimbridge, said the "bizarre" situation had taken staff by surprise. ...
Pensioner astonished by 'double banana'
A pensioner, Cedric Hooper, who bought some bananas at his local supermarket was astonished when he got home and found one skin contained two bananas.
23 Jan 2010
Mr Hooper bought the bananas in the Asda store in Wellington, Somerset.
But it wasn't until the 69-year-old got home that he noticed the odd feature of the bunch. ...
... "Both tasted fine," he added.
A pensioner, Cedric Hooper, who bought some bananas at his local supermarket was astonished when he got home and found one skin contained two bananas.
23 Jan 2010
Mr Hooper bought the bananas in the Asda store in Wellington, Somerset.
But it wasn't until the 69-year-old got home that he noticed the odd feature of the bunch. ...
... "Both tasted fine," he added.
Man 'coughs up diamond ring he tried to steal'
A man accused of stealing a ring in a Missouri town coughed up the evidence while officers were questioning him, police said.
25 Jan 2010
Rebecca Moore's two-carat diamond ring, worth about $20,000, was stolen from inside her handbag, which she had left in a car parked at the Northpark mall in Joplin.
As she mourned the loss of the family heirloom, police sent photographs of the ring to jewellers in the Joplin area after it was reported stolen on Thursday.
The owner of Newton's Jewellery recognised the ring when a man and woman came to his store a few hours after the theft and said they wanted to sell it, according to a report in The Joplin Globe .
L.T. "Bunny" Newton and his staff stalled the pair and called police.
Police said the man swallowed the ring when officers arrived. While being questioned, he began to cough uncontrollably and eventually coughed up the ring. ...
A man accused of stealing a ring in a Missouri town coughed up the evidence while officers were questioning him, police said.
25 Jan 2010
Rebecca Moore's two-carat diamond ring, worth about $20,000, was stolen from inside her handbag, which she had left in a car parked at the Northpark mall in Joplin.
As she mourned the loss of the family heirloom, police sent photographs of the ring to jewellers in the Joplin area after it was reported stolen on Thursday.
The owner of Newton's Jewellery recognised the ring when a man and woman came to his store a few hours after the theft and said they wanted to sell it, according to a report in The Joplin Globe .
L.T. "Bunny" Newton and his staff stalled the pair and called police.
Police said the man swallowed the ring when officers arrived. While being questioned, he began to cough uncontrollably and eventually coughed up the ring. ...
Aurora Mystery Solved?
By Ian O'Neill | Tue Jan 26, 2010
The mystery shape in the aurora over Andenes, Norway (photograph by Per-Arne Mikalsen)
On Jan. 20, 2010, Per-Arne Mikalsen was photographing a vast aurora erupting over the northern Norwegian town of Andenes.
Because solar activity is on the increase, aurora spotters have many opportunities to see the Northern Lights. On this particular night the aurora was intense, stretching toward the southern latitudes of Norway.
In one of the photographs taken by Mikalsen was an "object" that couldn't be identified. Although Mikalsen had taken several images at the same location, just one photo showed a mysterious green parachute-like object hanging with the main aurora. (This time, it appears that the Russian military was not involved in the making of this strange shape in the sky.)
At first it seemed easy to dismiss the object as a lens flare or a spot on the camera lens, but after further study it became clear that the object wasn't an equipment fault. ...
... So what could it be? In correspondence with Truls Lynne Hansen, lead scientist at the Tromsø Geophysical Observatory, he doubts that the mystery object can be explained by a technical fault.
"Usually such aberrations appear when there is a small and intense source of light in the field of view, or at least so close that the light from it hits the lens," Hansen explained to me via email. "That seems not to be the case here."
"Additionally the color of the 'phenomenon' is the same as the color in the aurora, the auroral green line from atomic oxygen," Hansen continued, "so the 'phenomenon' is either a genuine auroral feature or a reflection of auroral light somewhere in space."
Hold on. A reflection of auroral light... in space? That's impossible.
Or is it? ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese, who's sent me a fetric muckton of lovely shtuff this day.
By Ian O'Neill | Tue Jan 26, 2010
The mystery shape in the aurora over Andenes, Norway (photograph by Per-Arne Mikalsen)
On Jan. 20, 2010, Per-Arne Mikalsen was photographing a vast aurora erupting over the northern Norwegian town of Andenes.
Because solar activity is on the increase, aurora spotters have many opportunities to see the Northern Lights. On this particular night the aurora was intense, stretching toward the southern latitudes of Norway.
In one of the photographs taken by Mikalsen was an "object" that couldn't be identified. Although Mikalsen had taken several images at the same location, just one photo showed a mysterious green parachute-like object hanging with the main aurora. (This time, it appears that the Russian military was not involved in the making of this strange shape in the sky.)
At first it seemed easy to dismiss the object as a lens flare or a spot on the camera lens, but after further study it became clear that the object wasn't an equipment fault. ...
... So what could it be? In correspondence with Truls Lynne Hansen, lead scientist at the Tromsø Geophysical Observatory, he doubts that the mystery object can be explained by a technical fault.
"Usually such aberrations appear when there is a small and intense source of light in the field of view, or at least so close that the light from it hits the lens," Hansen explained to me via email. "That seems not to be the case here."
"Additionally the color of the 'phenomenon' is the same as the color in the aurora, the auroral green line from atomic oxygen," Hansen continued, "so the 'phenomenon' is either a genuine auroral feature or a reflection of auroral light somewhere in space."
Hold on. A reflection of auroral light... in space? That's impossible.
Or is it? ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese, who's sent me a fetric muckton of lovely shtuff this day.
Kids' TV hosts terrorism-stopped for pew-pewing with sparkly hair-dryers
Andrew sez, "The presenters from British TV channel ITV's Toonatik were filming in London wearing safety gear and brandishing hairdryers. Of course, this presents a danger to Queen and Country, so the ever-vigilant Met held them and issued them a warning under the anti-terrorism act. And Londoners survive another day!" ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Andrew sez, "The presenters from British TV channel ITV's Toonatik were filming in London wearing safety gear and brandishing hairdryers. Of course, this presents a danger to Queen and Country, so the ever-vigilant Met held them and issued them a warning under the anti-terrorism act. And Londoners survive another day!" ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Crusty fireball space mango wrecks US doctor's office
'Fresh, pretty' meteorite blasts startled medics
By Lewis Page
22nd January 2010
A "mango-sized" meteorite crashed into a doctor's office in Virginia this week at more than 200 mph, according to reports. The space rock smashed through the roof, an internal wall and an upper floor before shattering into several pieces on a concrete slab.
"Literally an explosion went off," Dr Marc Gullani told local TV station WUSA9.
"It came from the roof, through the fire wall, through the ceiling and hit the ground right here," said his colleague Dr Frank Ciampi.
Nobody was hurt in the meteor strike, and the pieces of interplanetary debris were subsequently identified as being extraterrestrial by a geologist, fortuitously married to the doctors' receptionist.
The bits were then sent for analysis by the boffins from the meteorite collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, who described their arrival as "a special moment".
Dr Linda Welzenbach of the Smithsonian - evidently a woman with an encyclopaedic knowledge of asteroid strikes in America - immediately said "as I recall, this will be the fourth fall in Virginia." She later added that as a connoisseur she considered the alien boulder "pretty" and "very fresh", remarking further that "it's a shame that it broke on impact." ...
'Fresh, pretty' meteorite blasts startled medics
By Lewis Page
22nd January 2010
A "mango-sized" meteorite crashed into a doctor's office in Virginia this week at more than 200 mph, according to reports. The space rock smashed through the roof, an internal wall and an upper floor before shattering into several pieces on a concrete slab.
"Literally an explosion went off," Dr Marc Gullani told local TV station WUSA9.
"It came from the roof, through the fire wall, through the ceiling and hit the ground right here," said his colleague Dr Frank Ciampi.
Nobody was hurt in the meteor strike, and the pieces of interplanetary debris were subsequently identified as being extraterrestrial by a geologist, fortuitously married to the doctors' receptionist.
The bits were then sent for analysis by the boffins from the meteorite collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, who described their arrival as "a special moment".
Dr Linda Welzenbach of the Smithsonian - evidently a woman with an encyclopaedic knowledge of asteroid strikes in America - immediately said "as I recall, this will be the fourth fall in Virginia." She later added that as a connoisseur she considered the alien boulder "pretty" and "very fresh", remarking further that "it's a shame that it broke on impact." ...
Meteorite hits doctor's office
Linda Welzenbach and Cari Corrigan
Geologists/Meteorite Scientists, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Friday, January 22, 2010; 12:00 PM
What are the chances of someone getting struck by a meteorite?
It almost happened Monday to Dr. Frank Ciampi at his office building in Lorton, Va.
"The floor just outside examination room No. 2 -- about 10 feet from where Ciampi had been doing paperwork -- was littered with small pieces of wood, plaster and insulation. Upon inspection, more debris lay inside the room. He saw three chunks of stone on the floor that together formed a rock about the size of a tennis ball, with a glassy-smooth surface. Then he saw a hole about the size of the rock in the tile ceiling, and a tear in the maroon carpet where the rock had landed," writes Paul Duggan of the Washington Post. ...
Linda Welzenbach and Cari Corrigan
Geologists/Meteorite Scientists, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Friday, January 22, 2010; 12:00 PM
What are the chances of someone getting struck by a meteorite?
It almost happened Monday to Dr. Frank Ciampi at his office building in Lorton, Va.
"The floor just outside examination room No. 2 -- about 10 feet from where Ciampi had been doing paperwork -- was littered with small pieces of wood, plaster and insulation. Upon inspection, more debris lay inside the room. He saw three chunks of stone on the floor that together formed a rock about the size of a tennis ball, with a glassy-smooth surface. Then he saw a hole about the size of the rock in the tile ceiling, and a tear in the maroon carpet where the rock had landed," writes Paul Duggan of the Washington Post. ...
Top Gear's Stig 'caught on Google Street View'
January 20, 2010
TOP Gear's most mysterious character The Stig appears to have been caught on camera by Google Street View in London.
The Sun reported a figure looking like the professional driver from the cult British television motoring show, which is estimated to have 350 million viewers around the world, can be seen through a window of the BBC buildings in the English capital.
The mysterious figure is clad in Stig's trademark white overalls and racing helmet.
The picture shows the anonymous character standing with arms folded across a desk from what looks like a female BBC colleague. ...
Ta much, dear Edosan
January 20, 2010
TOP Gear's most mysterious character The Stig appears to have been caught on camera by Google Street View in London.
The Sun reported a figure looking like the professional driver from the cult British television motoring show, which is estimated to have 350 million viewers around the world, can be seen through a window of the BBC buildings in the English capital.
The mysterious figure is clad in Stig's trademark white overalls and racing helmet.
The picture shows the anonymous character standing with arms folded across a desk from what looks like a female BBC colleague. ...
Ta much, dear Edosan
Banksy film set for Sundance premiere
Banksy describes his first film Exit Through the Gift Shop as 'the story of how one man set out to film the unfilmable - and failed'
Esther Addley
Thursday 21 January 2010
He is better known for his work on brick, plasterwork, portable toilets and even, on one memorable occasion, an elephant. But until now the artist known as Banksy, in creating his satirical artworks, has largely stuck to the old-fashioned mediums of painting and sculpture.
Today, however, it emerged that the graffiti artist and cultural bête noire has branched into filmmaking, with the release of what is described as "the worlds first street art disaster movie".
Exit Through the Gift Shop, which will have its international premiere on Sunday at the Sundance film festival, is described by its creator as "the story of how one man set out to film the unfilmable - and failed", and by the festival's organisers as "an amazing ride, a cautionary modern fairy tale ... with bolt cutters".
Banksy's spokeswoman, Jo Brooks, declined to elaborate much further on the plot of the 89-minute feature film, though the festival's website helpfully provides some details, describing it as the account of what happened when a French filmmaker, Terry Guetta, set out to record the "secretive world" of street art, only to meet Banksy, at which point "things took a bizarre turn".
Pressed for more detail, the artist himself offered the following, hardly illuminating, elaboration through his publicist: "It's a film about a man who tried to make a film about me. Everything in it is true, especially the bits where we all lie." ...
Banksy describes his first film Exit Through the Gift Shop as 'the story of how one man set out to film the unfilmable - and failed'
Esther Addley
Thursday 21 January 2010
He is better known for his work on brick, plasterwork, portable toilets and even, on one memorable occasion, an elephant. But until now the artist known as Banksy, in creating his satirical artworks, has largely stuck to the old-fashioned mediums of painting and sculpture.
Today, however, it emerged that the graffiti artist and cultural bête noire has branched into filmmaking, with the release of what is described as "the worlds first street art disaster movie".
Exit Through the Gift Shop, which will have its international premiere on Sunday at the Sundance film festival, is described by its creator as "the story of how one man set out to film the unfilmable - and failed", and by the festival's organisers as "an amazing ride, a cautionary modern fairy tale ... with bolt cutters".
Banksy's spokeswoman, Jo Brooks, declined to elaborate much further on the plot of the 89-minute feature film, though the festival's website helpfully provides some details, describing it as the account of what happened when a French filmmaker, Terry Guetta, set out to record the "secretive world" of street art, only to meet Banksy, at which point "things took a bizarre turn".
Pressed for more detail, the artist himself offered the following, hardly illuminating, elaboration through his publicist: "It's a film about a man who tried to make a film about me. Everything in it is true, especially the bits where we all lie." ...
I found this thanks to dear Edosan; it's part of the below post.
All the lush Steampunkery in th' above posts were found thanks to this very flickr page.
Escaped con who taunted cops on Facebook finally collared
Burglar turned blogger gets banged up
By John Leyden
15th January 2010
UK police have caught up with an escaped con who ran a "fan group" on Facebook during his time on the run.
Craig “Lazie” Lynch, 28, was arrested in Kent on Wednesday almost four months after doing a runner from a Hollesley Bay open prison, in Suffolk. He passed the intervening time with a trip to London to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks display among other activities, chronicled in regular updates to Facebook.
Lynch was serving the back end of a seven year sentence for aggravated burglary at the time he absconded from custody. The con's original Facebook page was shut down at the request of police, but he returned in the New Year with a new group. He used it to upload pictures of himself enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner, and posted insults towards the police that he may now have cause to regret. It's unclear whether or not his posts helped the police hunting Lynch. ...
Burglar turned blogger gets banged up
By John Leyden
15th January 2010
UK police have caught up with an escaped con who ran a "fan group" on Facebook during his time on the run.
Craig “Lazie” Lynch, 28, was arrested in Kent on Wednesday almost four months after doing a runner from a Hollesley Bay open prison, in Suffolk. He passed the intervening time with a trip to London to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks display among other activities, chronicled in regular updates to Facebook.
Lynch was serving the back end of a seven year sentence for aggravated burglary at the time he absconded from custody. The con's original Facebook page was shut down at the request of police, but he returned in the New Year with a new group. He used it to upload pictures of himself enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner, and posted insults towards the police that he may now have cause to regret. It's unclear whether or not his posts helped the police hunting Lynch. ...
A group of men visiting from Los Angeles to attend the Detroit Auto Show were robbed at gunpoint after dining at Detroit's famous Slow's Barbecue. Jalopnik was just there Monday night. Hell, it could have been us!
The men, who have chosen to remain anonymous (this will be explained later) were headed from Slow's to Harbor House when a group of teens rushed them carrying handguns. Other members of the group managed to flee, leaving only one behind, who wasn't hassled further after turning over his wallet.
The interesting thing is that these guys were in Detroit last Thursday (press days started the following Monday) and have been attending the show for over 10 years, indicating that they work for an automaker or a business related to the auto industry, hence the anonymity. Many car companies are angling to join Porsche, Nissan and Lamborghini in dropping the Detroit Auto Show from their list of commitments. We're guessing whoever these guys are, they're going to go back to LA with a strong argument for dropping the show, which takes place in a former city that provides landfill space for the nation of Canada, located to the city's South, during the coldest month of the year — from their company's list of commitments.
Welcome to Detroit, where the weak are killed and eaten.
The men, who have chosen to remain anonymous (this will be explained later) were headed from Slow's to Harbor House when a group of teens rushed them carrying handguns. Other members of the group managed to flee, leaving only one behind, who wasn't hassled further after turning over his wallet.
The interesting thing is that these guys were in Detroit last Thursday (press days started the following Monday) and have been attending the show for over 10 years, indicating that they work for an automaker or a business related to the auto industry, hence the anonymity. Many car companies are angling to join Porsche, Nissan and Lamborghini in dropping the Detroit Auto Show from their list of commitments. We're guessing whoever these guys are, they're going to go back to LA with a strong argument for dropping the show, which takes place in a former city that provides landfill space for the nation of Canada, located to the city's South, during the coldest month of the year — from their company's list of commitments.
Welcome to Detroit, where the weak are killed and eaten.
/me bites tongue
How Handy!
/me bites tongue
Wild boar raids anger residents of forest
Thu Jan 14, 2010
By Alexander Clare
London (Reuters) - Some of the first wild boar to roam free in England for 300 years have been raiding rubbish bins, attacking dogs and digging up green spaces in villages scattered around England's first national forest park.
Recent snow and icy weather has interrupted rubbish collection service in the Forest of Dean leaving tempting treats in local bins that have attracted the boar, which ordinarily forage for shoots, leaves, bulbs, worms and carrion.
Some areas in the forest, which is in the west of England close to the border with Wales, have not seen garbage collection since before the Christmas holidays.
Ecologist Martin Goulding, who holds a doctorate degree in Wild Boar Ecology, told Reuters that scavenging was a natural activity for the porcine raiders and that a rich harvest of food from the bins will encourage more boar to target trash cans.
"If people leave rubbish out then bins can be raided. If one catches onto the trick then more will join in," he said.
Goulding advised people against provoking the boar, which can weigh up to 200 kg (440.9 lb) and roam a territory of several kilometres (miles).
"As with all wild animals there is an element of unpredictability so don't go winding them up," he said. ...
Ah, non-slave Magical Animal. Dangerous but tasty.
Thu Jan 14, 2010
By Alexander Clare
London (Reuters) - Some of the first wild boar to roam free in England for 300 years have been raiding rubbish bins, attacking dogs and digging up green spaces in villages scattered around England's first national forest park.
Recent snow and icy weather has interrupted rubbish collection service in the Forest of Dean leaving tempting treats in local bins that have attracted the boar, which ordinarily forage for shoots, leaves, bulbs, worms and carrion.
Some areas in the forest, which is in the west of England close to the border with Wales, have not seen garbage collection since before the Christmas holidays.
Ecologist Martin Goulding, who holds a doctorate degree in Wild Boar Ecology, told Reuters that scavenging was a natural activity for the porcine raiders and that a rich harvest of food from the bins will encourage more boar to target trash cans.
"If people leave rubbish out then bins can be raided. If one catches onto the trick then more will join in," he said.
Goulding advised people against provoking the boar, which can weigh up to 200 kg (440.9 lb) and roam a territory of several kilometres (miles).
"As with all wild animals there is an element of unpredictability so don't go winding them up," he said. ...
Ah, non-slave Magical Animal. Dangerous but tasty.
Secure your checked bags -- fly with a gun
Posted by Cory Doctorow, September 24, 2006 2:04 PM | permalink
If you want to keep your checked valuables from being stolen while you fly, just keep a gun in your suitcase.
Many airports won't let you effectively lock your suitcases when you fly, and the new limits on carry-on luggage thanks to moisture-terror-hysteria mean it's open season for unscrupulous TSA employees and baggage handlers who want to help themselves to expensive cameras and other valuable in checked bags.
But once you add a gun -- even a starter pistol -- to your luggage, it gets extra-locked, gains new tracking privileges, and is subject to heightened scrutiny all the way to your destination.
A "weapons" is defined as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, airgun, and STARTER PISTOL. Yes, starter pistols - those little guns that fire blanks at track and swim meets - are considered weapons...and do NOT have to be registered in any state in the United States.
I have a starter pistol for all my cases. All I have to do upon check-in is tell the airline ticket agent that I have a weapon to declare...I'm given a little card to sign, the card is put in the case, the case is given to a TSA official who takes my key and locks the case, and gives my key back to me.
That's the procedure. The case is extra-tracked...TSA does not want to lose a weapons case. This reduces the chance of the case being lost to virtually zero.
It's a great way to travel with camera gear...I've been doing this since Dec 2001 and have had no problems whatsoever.
Ta much, dear MSiegel
Posted by Cory Doctorow, September 24, 2006 2:04 PM | permalink
If you want to keep your checked valuables from being stolen while you fly, just keep a gun in your suitcase.
Many airports won't let you effectively lock your suitcases when you fly, and the new limits on carry-on luggage thanks to moisture-terror-hysteria mean it's open season for unscrupulous TSA employees and baggage handlers who want to help themselves to expensive cameras and other valuable in checked bags.
But once you add a gun -- even a starter pistol -- to your luggage, it gets extra-locked, gains new tracking privileges, and is subject to heightened scrutiny all the way to your destination.
A "weapons" is defined as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, airgun, and STARTER PISTOL. Yes, starter pistols - those little guns that fire blanks at track and swim meets - are considered weapons...and do NOT have to be registered in any state in the United States.
I have a starter pistol for all my cases. All I have to do upon check-in is tell the airline ticket agent that I have a weapon to declare...I'm given a little card to sign, the card is put in the case, the case is given to a TSA official who takes my key and locks the case, and gives my key back to me.
That's the procedure. The case is extra-tracked...TSA does not want to lose a weapons case. This reduces the chance of the case being lost to virtually zero.
It's a great way to travel with camera gear...I've been doing this since Dec 2001 and have had no problems whatsoever.
Ta much, dear MSiegel
Tourist killed by 'dinosaur-sized' shark off South African beach
Zimbabwean holidaymaker eaten by shark described by onlookers as 'longer than a minibus'
David Smith in Johannesburg
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Witnesses have described their horror at seeing a tourist being eaten by a "gigantic" shark in South Africa's most popular holiday destination.
Lloyd Skinner was pulled under the surf and dragged out to sea by the shark, believed to be a great white, off Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town. His diving goggles and a dark patch of blood were all that remained in the water.
"Holy shit. We just saw a gigantic shark eat what looked like a person in front of our house," witness Gregg Coppen posted on Twitter. "That shark was huge. Like dinosaur huge."
The shocking attack yesterday afternoon came after an increase in recent shark sightings and led to calls for an electronic warning system to alert swimmers.
Skinner, 37, a Zimbabwean who lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was standing chest-deep 100 metres from the shore and adjusting his goggles when the shark struck. It was seen approaching him twice before he disappeared in a flurry of thrashing. Cape Town's disaster management services had issued a warning hours earlier that sharks had been spotted in the water, but the shark flag was not flying.
Witnesses described the terrifying scene. The shark was "longer than a minibus", Coppen told the Cape Times newspaper. ...
Zimbabwean holidaymaker eaten by shark described by onlookers as 'longer than a minibus'
David Smith in Johannesburg
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Witnesses have described their horror at seeing a tourist being eaten by a "gigantic" shark in South Africa's most popular holiday destination.
Lloyd Skinner was pulled under the surf and dragged out to sea by the shark, believed to be a great white, off Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town. His diving goggles and a dark patch of blood were all that remained in the water.
"Holy shit. We just saw a gigantic shark eat what looked like a person in front of our house," witness Gregg Coppen posted on Twitter. "That shark was huge. Like dinosaur huge."
The shocking attack yesterday afternoon came after an increase in recent shark sightings and led to calls for an electronic warning system to alert swimmers.
Skinner, 37, a Zimbabwean who lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was standing chest-deep 100 metres from the shore and adjusting his goggles when the shark struck. It was seen approaching him twice before he disappeared in a flurry of thrashing. Cape Town's disaster management services had issued a warning hours earlier that sharks had been spotted in the water, but the shark flag was not flying.
Witnesses described the terrifying scene. The shark was "longer than a minibus", Coppen told the Cape Times newspaper. ...
KIA has a gigantic rodent sitting at the wheel of KIA Soul unveiled at the Detroit auto show on Monday, January 11 2010, at Cobo Hall in Detroit. (MARCIN SZCZEPANSKI/DFP)
A model skeleton leans against a 1932 Ford Sedan at the "57th Annual Autorama" in the Cobo Center in Detroit. Friday, May 6, 2009 The show feature race cars, muscle cars and more. "57th annual Autorama." Attractions this year include the Mach 5 seen in the movie "Speed Racer" and KITT from television's "Knight Rider." The 57th annual Detroit display of customized hot rods with their combination of eye-popping paint jobs, so-called suicide doors and stellar stereo equipment.Those showing cars are bringing in treasures from as far away as Saskatchewan. The participating cars will be divided into 150 classes, and nearly $40,000 in prize money will be given out. (WILLIAM ARCHIE/DFP)
Na Minnneee Cooopah dere!
Gentle Categorian, one never finds stories such as this which involve females.
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Amazing cloud roll captured on camera
This amazing picture shows a rare phenomenon called a roll cloud which tend to form ahead of a cold front and can stretch for miles.
Published: 10:41AM GMT 06 Jan 2010
This amazing picture shows a rare phenomenon called a roll cloud which tend to form ahead of a cold front and can stretch for miles.
Published: 10:41AM GMT 06 Jan 2010
Town's mayor caught on camera stealing women's underwear
A town mayor, Ian Stafford, has admitted stealing women’s underwear after he was caught on camera by one of his victims.
By Nigel Bunyan
04 Jan 2010
Ian Stafford Photo: PA
Stafford, 59, was seen walking into the woman’s bedroom, rifling through her drawers, and selecting a pair of knickers he wanted to wear.
The bachelor, who had twice been elected mayor of Preesall and Knott End, near Fleetwood, Lancs, then performed a sex act before leaving the building.
Police later found a collection of underwear, identical to the items reported stolen, at his home.
The woman who made the recording was one of three Stafford targeted between January 1 and June 26 last year.
She decided to install a hidden camera after noticing that some of her underwear was disappearing.
Two other victims also contacted police over the disappearance of items of their own underwear.
At Preston Crown Court the disgraced mayor, who carried out the offences while working as a part-time gardener and handyman, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary. ...
A town mayor, Ian Stafford, has admitted stealing women’s underwear after he was caught on camera by one of his victims.
By Nigel Bunyan
04 Jan 2010
Ian Stafford Photo: PA
Stafford, 59, was seen walking into the woman’s bedroom, rifling through her drawers, and selecting a pair of knickers he wanted to wear.
The bachelor, who had twice been elected mayor of Preesall and Knott End, near Fleetwood, Lancs, then performed a sex act before leaving the building.
Police later found a collection of underwear, identical to the items reported stolen, at his home.
The woman who made the recording was one of three Stafford targeted between January 1 and June 26 last year.
She decided to install a hidden camera after noticing that some of her underwear was disappearing.
Two other victims also contacted police over the disappearance of items of their own underwear.
At Preston Crown Court the disgraced mayor, who carried out the offences while working as a part-time gardener and handyman, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary. ...
Well done the lady.
Bonus: Ends with great pun.
