"War Eagle!" ketchup, here I come...Link
Monday, August 21, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Colombia's Big-Butt Ants Entice Gourmets
Joshua Goodman, AP writer
BARICHARA, COLOMBIA — The first loud crackle tastes and feels like popcorn, but by the time the juices spray wildly in your mouth and the filament-like legs slide down your throat, there's no mistaking this toasted ant queen.
The people of sun-soaked northern Colombia have been eating ants for centuries. They believe the accurately named 'hormiga culona' — big-butt queen ant — is everything from a natural form of Viagra to a protein-rich defense against cancer.
Now the invertebrates are going global: A businessman in Santander province exported more than 880 pounds of the inch-long queen ants last year, many of them to be hand-dipped in Belgian chocolate and sold in fancy packaging at $8 for a half dozen at upscale London department stores like Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.
But even as the delicacy begins to expand beyond Colombia, the ants appear to be dwindling in Santander, and that worries the region's ant-eating bipeds.
This year's harvest, which usually begins around Easter and lasts as late as June, was one of the worst on record, with peasants in the artist colony of Barichara reporting half their normal year's haul.
(go here for the rest of the story)
BARICHARA, COLOMBIA — The first loud crackle tastes and feels like popcorn, but by the time the juices spray wildly in your mouth and the filament-like legs slide down your throat, there's no mistaking this toasted ant queen.
The people of sun-soaked northern Colombia have been eating ants for centuries. They believe the accurately named 'hormiga culona' — big-butt queen ant — is everything from a natural form of Viagra to a protein-rich defense against cancer.
Now the invertebrates are going global: A businessman in Santander province exported more than 880 pounds of the inch-long queen ants last year, many of them to be hand-dipped in Belgian chocolate and sold in fancy packaging at $8 for a half dozen at upscale London department stores like Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.
But even as the delicacy begins to expand beyond Colombia, the ants appear to be dwindling in Santander, and that worries the region's ant-eating bipeds.
This year's harvest, which usually begins around Easter and lasts as late as June, was one of the worst on record, with peasants in the artist colony of Barichara reporting half their normal year's haul.
(go here for the rest of the story)
Monday, August 07, 2006
Top 10 Most Strange Monuments
I wonder how much tax payers paid for all of these...
Melbourne, Australia
Manhattan, USA
Los Angeles, USA
Paris, France
Erevan, Armenia
Oxford, UK
Monaco
Oslo, Norway
Bratislava, Slovakia
Turin, Italy
Top 10 Most Strange Monuments
Melbourne, Australia
Manhattan, USA
Los Angeles, USA
Paris, France
Erevan, Armenia
Oxford, UK
Monaco
Oslo, Norway
Bratislava, Slovakia
Turin, Italy
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Study: Tech Replaces Diamonds As Girl's Best Friend
"The study found 77 percent of women surveyed would prefer a new plasma television to a diamond solitaire necklace and 56 percent would opt for a new plasma TV over a weekend vacation in Florida."
Happy anniversary honey!
See, I told you I didn't buy my plasma just for me. My wife was really clamoring for it...(yeah, right).
Link to story
Happy anniversary honey!
See, I told you I didn't buy my plasma just for me. My wife was really clamoring for it...(yeah, right).
Link to story
Dog Drives Car Into House
This is the exact reason why I make my dog Ruby let me park the car in the garage myself when she gets home...
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Neighbors: Dog Drives Car Into House
CUMMING -- The worst damage most dogs do is chew up the occasional shoe, knock over a trash can or two or soil the carpet.But one Forsyth County pooch could be the new alpha dog of damages.Neighbors say a dog was behind the wheel of a car when it smashed into a Cumming house and then crashed into another car parked in the garage of the house.The owner of the delinquent doggie, a contractor, told police he left the animal in his car while he worked on a nearby job.He left the engine and the air conditioner running because of the heat.Neighbors believe somehow the dog knocked the vehicle out of park and sent it careening into the house on Tall Oaks Cove in the Charlotte Creek subdivision.Cassandra Mazzeo says, "The puppy was jumping around and hit the gas pedal and it started going."The homeowners were home at the time, but were not near the garage. No one was injured.Firefighters were called to the scene after being notified of a van crashing into a home -- they say they were not told of any dog responsibility.No word yet on if the dog will have his dog license revoked.Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Hermaphrodite Dolls Puzzle Russian Children
The title of this article really cracked me up but the picture at this site was really just very strange...
Freaky China-made dolls appeared in the shops of several Russian cities — Kalilngrad and Chelyabinsk, Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reported Thursday.The price of the toy is just 12-15 rubles (25-30 cents). The girl-dolls are dressed in pajamas, but if you undress them you will find out that the plastic baby-girl has something girls do not have...
It seems difficult to explain to children what a “hermaphrodite” is and more over it does not seem necessary, even though our world changes rapidly.
Ice cap beer hits the market
I wonder if my friend's "beer of the month club" will send him a sixer of these...
A Greenland microbrewery has something no other beer producer in the world can offer - ales brewed in water at least 2000 years old, melted from Artic ice caps.
Greenland's ice cap beer hits the market
Beer drinkers in Denmark and Greenland are getting a taste of history. Greenland's first microbrewery is brewing ale with water as old as timeA Greenland microbrewery has something no other beer producer in the world can offer - ales brewed in water at least 2000 years old, melted from Artic ice caps.
Greenland Brewhouse, based in the southern Greenland town of Narsaq, launched its first-ever melted-ice brewed dark and pale ales on Monday.
Ex-boxer no pushover
So, this is where Sylvester Stallone got his ideas for the 6th installment of Rocky flicks, "Rocky Balboa"...
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Ex-boxer no pushover
Three men tried to rob 60-year-old Aage Piltingsrud by ambushing him with an iron bar. Piltingsrud doesn't think they'll try again.
Piltingsrud had a wound in his head and some aches and pains, but the ex-boxer said he wasn't about to go to a doctor, he'd seen worse before, newspaper Ringerikes Blad reports.
Piltingsrud was heading to take the bus home after meeting friends at a local Honefoss pub.
'I'd bought some pals a few rounds and probably someone noticed I had some cash on me,' the 60-year-old told the newspaper.
When he passed a drugstore a man suddenly appeared at his side, and when Piltingsrud asked him what he wanted the stranger pulled out an iron bar and hit him in the head and back.
'He had two more guys with him,' Piltingsrud said.
But the surprise and pain were not enough to knock out the former boxer, who had no intention of surrendering his wallet.
'The guy who hit me with the bar got one hell of a beating,' Piltingsrud said. 'The two others ran through the hedge and into the parking lot nearby. They had met their match,' said the former Oslo boxer.
A trip to the doctor afterward did not occur to Piltingsrud.
'No, I took the bus home and washed the blood off me. Later I called the police and said that if a man came to the hospital that had been beaten up, I was the one who had done it. I told the police it wasn't nice, but I didn't regret it. I think it's appalling that you can't walk the streets in safety,' Piltingsrud told the newspaper.
The Honefoss police confirmed that Piltingsrud had called and told police about the incident, but no one has filed any charges."
------------------------------------------------
Ex-boxer no pushover
Three men tried to rob 60-year-old Aage Piltingsrud by ambushing him with an iron bar. Piltingsrud doesn't think they'll try again.
Piltingsrud had a wound in his head and some aches and pains, but the ex-boxer said he wasn't about to go to a doctor, he'd seen worse before, newspaper Ringerikes Blad reports.
Piltingsrud was heading to take the bus home after meeting friends at a local Honefoss pub.
'I'd bought some pals a few rounds and probably someone noticed I had some cash on me,' the 60-year-old told the newspaper.
When he passed a drugstore a man suddenly appeared at his side, and when Piltingsrud asked him what he wanted the stranger pulled out an iron bar and hit him in the head and back.
'He had two more guys with him,' Piltingsrud said.
But the surprise and pain were not enough to knock out the former boxer, who had no intention of surrendering his wallet.
'The guy who hit me with the bar got one hell of a beating,' Piltingsrud said. 'The two others ran through the hedge and into the parking lot nearby. They had met their match,' said the former Oslo boxer.
A trip to the doctor afterward did not occur to Piltingsrud.
'No, I took the bus home and washed the blood off me. Later I called the police and said that if a man came to the hospital that had been beaten up, I was the one who had done it. I told the police it wasn't nice, but I didn't regret it. I think it's appalling that you can't walk the streets in safety,' Piltingsrud told the newspaper.
The Honefoss police confirmed that Piltingsrud had called and told police about the incident, but no one has filed any charges."
Monday, July 31, 2006
Magicians Battle It Out for World Title
Who wants to bet whether or not my good friend the "Great Fambroughni" made the final four in this tournament? He can do wonderful card tricks AND levitate.
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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Cards sailed through the air to the rhythm of Chopin, and a rabbit — predictably — was pulled out of a hat as contestants from China to the Virgin Islands on Monday kicked off the World Championship of Magic.
The prize: lucrative contracts for stage shows in Las Vegas, Paris and Monaco.
Some 156 magicians from 64 countries are taking part in the main event, while thousands of others are performing in public shows, street acts and even workshops.
The performers each get 10 minutes on stage to impress a panel of judges, with the best advancing to a final session on Saturday, when the winners will be decided, said Dag Lofalk, president of the organizing committee.
Seth Engstrom, 18, is competing for Sweden in close-up magic, where magicians use slight-of-hand and small objects such as cards and coins. The other section of the main event is stage magic, with grand illusions involving humans and other props.
'It is always the creative ones who win,' said Engstrom of his idea of mixing card magic and Chopin's piano music. 'They want you to come up with new ideas.'
The contest is closed to the public, but followed closely by the more than 2,500 magicians — from as far away as China, New Zealand, Macau and the Virgin Islands — who have gathered in Stockholm for the event.
The championship began in 1948 and has lately been held every three years.
Magicians use the event to learn from each other — but keep their closely guarded secrets to themselves. However, the public will get their share of magic as well, with hundreds of magicians taking part in shows, lectures and workshops, and doing tricks on the streets and in parks, Lofalk said.
'This is the first time we try to open the event up a bit more to the public, to give them a chance to see the acts as well,' he said.
___
On the Net:
http://www.fism.com
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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Cards sailed through the air to the rhythm of Chopin, and a rabbit — predictably — was pulled out of a hat as contestants from China to the Virgin Islands on Monday kicked off the World Championship of Magic.
The prize: lucrative contracts for stage shows in Las Vegas, Paris and Monaco.
Some 156 magicians from 64 countries are taking part in the main event, while thousands of others are performing in public shows, street acts and even workshops.
The performers each get 10 minutes on stage to impress a panel of judges, with the best advancing to a final session on Saturday, when the winners will be decided, said Dag Lofalk, president of the organizing committee.
Seth Engstrom, 18, is competing for Sweden in close-up magic, where magicians use slight-of-hand and small objects such as cards and coins. The other section of the main event is stage magic, with grand illusions involving humans and other props.
'It is always the creative ones who win,' said Engstrom of his idea of mixing card magic and Chopin's piano music. 'They want you to come up with new ideas.'
The contest is closed to the public, but followed closely by the more than 2,500 magicians — from as far away as China, New Zealand, Macau and the Virgin Islands — who have gathered in Stockholm for the event.
The championship began in 1948 and has lately been held every three years.
Magicians use the event to learn from each other — but keep their closely guarded secrets to themselves. However, the public will get their share of magic as well, with hundreds of magicians taking part in shows, lectures and workshops, and doing tricks on the streets and in parks, Lofalk said.
'This is the first time we try to open the event up a bit more to the public, to give them a chance to see the acts as well,' he said.
___
On the Net:
http://www.fism.com
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Police nab smurfs for trampoline theft
Those wacky New Zealanders...
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30 July 2006
By MARCUS BROGDEN
Two blue smurfs were left with red faces on Saturday night after they were arrested by police for stealing a trampoline.
Senior Sergeant Brian Benn told NZPA two drunk 19 year olds, 'dressed as smurfs', were seen carrying the trampoline along Richardson Street, Dunedin about 1am.
Smurfs are fictional small creatures who featured in the 1980s television series The Smurfs.
'When they saw the police had noticed them they dropped the trampoline and took off.'
Mr Benn said police had to track them over several back yards.
'Two were located, but a third man got away,' he said.
The men will appear in Dunedin District Court tomorrow.
The trampoline had been taken from a garden in southern Dunedin.
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30 July 2006
By MARCUS BROGDEN
Two blue smurfs were left with red faces on Saturday night after they were arrested by police for stealing a trampoline.
Senior Sergeant Brian Benn told NZPA two drunk 19 year olds, 'dressed as smurfs', were seen carrying the trampoline along Richardson Street, Dunedin about 1am.
Smurfs are fictional small creatures who featured in the 1980s television series The Smurfs.
'When they saw the police had noticed them they dropped the trampoline and took off.'
Mr Benn said police had to track them over several back yards.
'Two were located, but a third man got away,' he said.
The men will appear in Dunedin District Court tomorrow.
The trampoline had been taken from a garden in southern Dunedin.
Giant Dead Eel Tossing Contest Canceled
See, it's stories like this that give animal activists a bad name. Don't they realize that this is just an innocent and popular tradition? For goodness sakes, the "congers" were dead.
Another side note, this article contains many statements and words that could be considered double entendre: "conger cuddling," "swing the giant conger," "defrost the conger"
(sorry, the last one was an exact quote)
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Katie Fretland, AP Writer
LONDON — For more than 30 years, crowds have flocked to the small English fishing village of Lyme Regis to watch an annual tradition — two teams of fishermen standing on wooden platforms as human bowling pins, hurling a dead giant eel at each other. But the ritual was abruptly abandoned after an animal rights activist threatened to draw negative publicity to the latest tournament, organizers said Saturday.
The practice, known as conger cuddling, is the annual highlight in the small coastal town about 155 miles southwest of London. The object of the game is to knock the opposing team off the platform by swinging a 25-pound eel at them.
Crowds have flocked to Lyme Regis since 1974 to watch rival teams of nine men swing the giant conger eel — suspended in the harbor by a rope — and local residents said they are dismayed at the demise of their historic event.
Andrew Kaye, a resident and spokesman for the Lyme Regis lifeboat crews who raise money through the tournament, said an anonymous e-mailer had called the practice disrespectful to the dead eel.
The lone activist threatened to film the contest to attract adverse media attention, Kaye said.
'We decided that it really wasn't worth upsetting anybody by going ahead with using a dead conger,' Kaye said. 'But it's a dead conger, for Pete's sake. I shouldn't think the conger could care one way or another.'
He said fishermen often accidentally catch the creatures in their nets, deep-freeze them and defrost them in preparation for the tournament.
Ron Bailey, a fishing boat skipper, said the tournament is meant as a wet, carnival-like event which usually raises about $5,600 for Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat crews.
About 300 people attended an alternative event on Friday night. But the boat dock fender that participants used paled in comparison to being struck by a dead eel, Bailey said.
� 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed."
Another side note, this article contains many statements and words that could be considered double entendre: "conger cuddling," "swing the giant conger," "defrost the conger"
(sorry, the last one was an exact quote)
---------------------------------
Katie Fretland, AP Writer
LONDON — For more than 30 years, crowds have flocked to the small English fishing village of Lyme Regis to watch an annual tradition — two teams of fishermen standing on wooden platforms as human bowling pins, hurling a dead giant eel at each other. But the ritual was abruptly abandoned after an animal rights activist threatened to draw negative publicity to the latest tournament, organizers said Saturday.
The practice, known as conger cuddling, is the annual highlight in the small coastal town about 155 miles southwest of London. The object of the game is to knock the opposing team off the platform by swinging a 25-pound eel at them.
Crowds have flocked to Lyme Regis since 1974 to watch rival teams of nine men swing the giant conger eel — suspended in the harbor by a rope — and local residents said they are dismayed at the demise of their historic event.
Andrew Kaye, a resident and spokesman for the Lyme Regis lifeboat crews who raise money through the tournament, said an anonymous e-mailer had called the practice disrespectful to the dead eel.
The lone activist threatened to film the contest to attract adverse media attention, Kaye said.
'We decided that it really wasn't worth upsetting anybody by going ahead with using a dead conger,' Kaye said. 'But it's a dead conger, for Pete's sake. I shouldn't think the conger could care one way or another.'
He said fishermen often accidentally catch the creatures in their nets, deep-freeze them and defrost them in preparation for the tournament.
Ron Bailey, a fishing boat skipper, said the tournament is meant as a wet, carnival-like event which usually raises about $5,600 for Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat crews.
About 300 people attended an alternative event on Friday night. But the boat dock fender that participants used paled in comparison to being struck by a dead eel, Bailey said.
� 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed."
Friday, July 28, 2006
Police arrest "Viagra gang" suspect
Hey, if they can create a "Viagra gang" can I create a "Zyrtec" or "Flonase" gang? These drug costs are killing me...
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Inmate's Request for Liquor License Denied
You have got to give them props for trying...
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Town officials have nixed an idea for a jailhouse bar. The Select Board, acting as the town liquor board, rejected an inmate's application to sell liquor from the state prison.
Paul Murphy of Worcester, Mass., is serving time at the Southern State Correctional Facility for aggravated assault, escape and passing bad checks.
He said in an application for a first- and second-class liquor license that he wanted to sell liquor from his home, which he listed as 700 Charlestown Road. That also happens to be the address of the state prison just east of downtown Springfield.
Regardless of the bid to have liquor delivered to a prison, town officials say many portions of the application were left blank.
"We determined that the application was incomplete," said Town Manager Robert Forguites.
Springfield officials were surprised to receive the application. They assumed prison officials would have caught it before it was sent and they believed the state Liquor Control Department also would have stopped it.
Prison officials say they review incoming mail in the presence of an inmate to ensure it doesn't contain contraband. But they don't look at mail sent by prisoners.
And Liquor Control Department officials say they had not received the application. They said they don't conduct a background check on an applicant until town officials have approved. If they'd received Murphy's, they said, it would have been rejected.
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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/
Cool Tool: The Shade
Especially being in the HOT South, I think I like this car accessory mentioned on this site:
Conventional car shades are unwieldy, prone to slipping off, and awkward to store.
The Shade requires careful installation, but thereafter takes only a second to put up or roll away. This makes one much more likely to use it regularly, resulting in fewer surprises when those clouds vanish midday. It is well built, sturdy, and reliable. The retraction mechanism on my original unit is as strong and smooth as on a new one; I know, because I've bought eight more of these shades over the years for friends and family. The glue for the mounting brackets is strong stuff, my right-hand brackets fell off this summer, but that was after six years of New Mexico sun. Replacement brackets were $5, and my Shade is now remounted and ready for another six years.
They are sized to fit different car models.
-- Ed Santiago
The Shade
$27
Available from Dash Designs
Woman mails five-foot python
Yikes, this story changes the whole postman's motto, "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor wildlife, nor gloom of night will keep me from my appointed rounds."
Reuters - A German woman sparked panic at her local post office when a 1.5-meter (5-foot) albino python escaped from a packet she had mailed, police said Tuesday.
Reuters - A German woman sparked panic at her local post office when a 1.5-meter (5-foot) albino python escaped from a packet she had mailed, police said Tuesday.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Accused Prowler Found Asleep in Police Van
BELLEVUE, WASH. — Police in this Seattle suburb didn't have to go far to arrest a man for investigation of car prowling. He was found sleeping in a special weapons and tactics van.
Officer Greg Grannis said a municipal worker reported someone breaking into cars, including his own, shortly before midnight Monday.
Officers quickly found burglarized cars, but couldn't determine who might be responsible — until about 4:50 a.m., when two SWAT team members came to the police vehicle maintenance yard to get their van and found a 25-year-old transient asleep in the back, Grannis said.
The man, whose his last known home address was in Louisiana, was booked into the King County jail for investigation of burglary.
No damage or loss estimate was released, but Grannis said none of the burglarized police vehicles had weapons in them.
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Information from: King County Journal, http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/
Polish passer-by hit by Saint Bernard dog thrown out of window - Yahoo! News
There's nothing I can add to the weirdness or humor of this story so just read..."WARSAW (AFP) - A hapless Polish pedestrian was left bruised and battered after he acted as a safety net for a 50-kilogramme (110 pound) Saint Bernard dog that had been thrown out of a second-storey window by its drunken owners in southern Poland."
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