News of the Weird / Pro Edition (November 21, 2011)
News of the Weird/Pro Edition
You're Still Not Cynical Enough
Prime Cuts of Underreported News from Last Week, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
November 21, 2011
(datelines November 12-November 19) (links correct as of November 21)
The Spider as Cad, Derrière Dreams, and More Things to Worry About
★ ★ ★ ★!
All hail the male nursery web spider (inspiration for all slut-rascal men everywhere!). According to a journal article by researchers in Denmark and Uruguay, the spiders have a good idea what their chances are of scoring, and the ungifted use two deceptions: Since only gift-givers of live protein (bugs) get to hit it, the losers (1) wrap worthless "gifts" to the female in silk and nail her while she's unwrapping them, and/or (2) engage in a tug-of-war with her over the gift and surprise her by hopping on. [ed. Note to gentlemen living in your parents' basement and who can't get a date: These are spiders who are smarter than you.] LiveScience.com via Yahoo News
Made-up, Sensationalist Tabloid News: Real News: House cats can be trained to do tricks and even do competitions running obstacle courses. Both the International Cat Association and the Cat Fanciers' Association run contests in which cats "climb stairs, weave around poles, and leap through hoops" in a timed event (reported the New York Times). There's even a Kobe-LeBron-type dominant player, Twyla Mooner, a Bengal from Reston, Va. New York Times /// [And then there's the Moscow Cat Theater, which News of the Weird has been on top of since 1998] New York Times
It was a bad week for the butt-enhancement industry. Kimberly Smedley assured the authorities after her arrest in Washington, D.C., that she had been using only "medical" silicone when she injected her customers at $1,000 a pop, but she seemed to have a lot of receipts from Home Depot and Lowe's, and her medical dispensing facility consisted of a water jug. But even more dangerous was Ms. (formerly Mr.) Oneal Ron Morris, 30, of Miami Gardens, Fla., who didn't even bother with industrial silicone. He used actual cement and "Fix a Flat" and then super-glued the entrance wound. (Seriously. There are Can't-Possibly-Be-True photos at the link.) The Smoking Gun /// Miami Herald via South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Absurdities
The European Union may, seriously, soon collapse over its economy. However, it issued an important directive last Wednesday ordering bottled-water producers not to say that their product can help prevent dehydration. [ed.: For some people, that's true, if the body faultily misdirects the water received, but many other people simply need to drink more water.] Daily Telegraph (London)
The Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice cracked down on niqabs (face-hiders except the eyes) if the eyes are too alluring. Those women should stay home or move to the burqa. Daily Mail (London)
Four times a year (coming and going, twice, for school terms), 80 kids in a remote Chinese mountaintop village make a several-day, spine-tingling journey on foot, including down 1,000-ft cliffs with narrow ledges. (The government is building a safe road . . for the year after next.) Daily Telegraph (London)
It appears that the Justice Department, in its zeal to use all the tools available to fight "terrorism," would make it a federal crime to lie about yourself on, say, Match dot com. (You could still lie at a party, but just not online. Nursery web spiders aren't covered.) CNet.com
Follow the logic: (1) Kids love to play with balls. (2) A parent gets hurt by a ball while at school. (3) Therefore, the school bans balls for kids (except sponge balls.) Canadian Press via CBC.ca
The airline fee to trump all airline fees: When a Comtel flight from India to Birmingham, England, had to land in Vienna, the couple of hundred on board were hit up for supplemental fuel costs totaling £20,000 ($31,000). Some scrambled for ATMs. BBC News
Losers
The lawyer's cardinal rule of cross-examination is Don't Ask a Question You Don't Already Know the Answer to). Mr. Philome Cesar, charged with many robberies and acting as his own lawyer, asked the first two witness-victims, "Describe what the robber sounded like." After both answered, "He sounded like you," Cesar stopped asking that question. Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
Unclear on the Concept: The Ku Klux Klan has used burning crosses to get blacks to leave neighborhoods. For some reason, this Klan wanted black man L.B. Williams's wife (white) to stay in the neighborhood. (Yes, "the Klan" was really L.B. Williams, who was facing divorce, and somehow thought the burning cross would scare the missus into staying.) Panama City (Fla.) News Herald
KNXV-TV (Phoenix) reported that Mr. Cary Dolego, a former gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, is now in the Ukraine and, despite being rebuffed at least once, is determined to stay until he meets the future Mrs. Dolego and to bring her back to Phoenix. (He traveled there because he no longer trusted UkrainianBrides.com.) (Nursery web spiders do better than Cary.) KNXV-TV
Oh! Dear!
British insurers that write policies for pets reported writing a four-fold increase in that line of business from 2009 to 2010--along with, as times got tough for the pet owners, widespread fraud-- including some instances of . . killing the little darlings for the money. Daily Telegraph
A north Georgia plastics company fired man-of-faith Billy Hyatt in 2009 for causing trouble by not wearing the de rigueur company sticker on his shirt (noting how many consecutive days the workplace has been accident-free). Thus, lawsuit! Hyatt wore the stickers faithfully, right up until the 666th day. Associated Press via CBS News
Can't Stop Themselves: Just because Tina Arie and Howard Windham were being driven in a squad car back to the station on charges of illegal drug possession is no reason for her not to service him sexually in the back seat during the ride. Montgomery County (Tex.) Police Reporter
The Pakistan government has created a list of cool words and phrases to learn for those studying English or Urdu as a second language (coming soon: Punjabi). (Oh, wait. They're 1,500 words that telecom companies have to censor out of text messages.) Lots of F-word combos, but some are a little far-fetched: lavender, mango, deposit, fondle, quickie, flogging the dolphin . . .. The Guardian (London)
The Pervo-American Community
Police in Pueblo, Colo., say that Kenneth Milosavich, 55, was having sex with a pit bull and in more ways than one. KCNC-TV (Denver)
Teacher Paul LaDuke, 75, was fired and arrested on November 11th after he once again monitored class at Schaumburg (Ill.) Christian School by standing behind a podium, unhitching his trousers, and, um, well, flogging the dolphin. He'd been a teacher there for 25 years. WFLD-TV (Chicago)
Updates & Recurring Themes
No, no, no, not again! A carpenter's assistant is charged with the prank of playfully jamming an air compressor hose up a colleague's back door. This time, it was in Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus-Mail.com [via Fark.com]
The huggin' Divine Mother, Indian spiritual leader Amma, from Kerala state, India, was in the UK last week and added to her lifetime record of (reportedly) 30,000,000 hugs. Metro (London)
Below The Fold
Bright Ideas: What if you're, like, outside at night in the cold, and all you, like, have to work with are raccoons? Could they keep you warm? One way to find out. Get a cold night. Duct-tape baguettes to your body. Try to get comfortable. Vice.com
Another bad idea: An editor (me) offering a reader (you) proof that a person can survive a hereditary condition in which dozens and dozens of surface tumors grow all over the body. No, you don't want to see. News Limited (Sydney)
Your Weekly Jury Duty
[In America, you're presumed innocent . . . until the mug shot is released]
Well, is Steven Knox guilty of molesting the kid he was babysitting?Close call. Houston Chronicle
A selection from this week's The Smoking Gun collection:
Burglary and drug possession /// Drug and paraphernalia possession [not even a misdemeanor for that beard, though] /// Felonious assault
Editor's Notes
Speaking of compressed air hoses, you might be interested in this "medical"-type book of the best x-rays three doctors could find of various items found inserted in people's you-know-where (and other bodily orifices). Huffington Post
Newsrangers: Valerie Jones, Cassidy Hunter, Jay Scott, Gerald Sacks, Gale Walters, and Kathryn Wood, and the News of the Weird Board of Editorial Advisors
You're Still Not Cynical Enough
Prime Cuts of Underreported News from Last Week, Hand-Picked and Lightly Seasoned by Chuck Shepherd
November 21, 2011
(datelines November 12-November 19) (links correct as of November 21)
The Spider as Cad, Derrière Dreams, and More Things to Worry About
★ ★ ★ ★!
All hail the male nursery web spider (inspiration for all slut-rascal men everywhere!). According to a journal article by researchers in Denmark and Uruguay, the spiders have a good idea what their chances are of scoring, and the ungifted use two deceptions: Since only gift-givers of live protein (bugs) get to hit it, the losers (1) wrap worthless "gifts" to the female in silk and nail her while she's unwrapping them, and/or (2) engage in a tug-of-war with her over the gift and surprise her by hopping on. [ed. Note to gentlemen living in your parents' basement and who can't get a date: These are spiders who are smarter than you.] LiveScience.com via Yahoo News
It was a bad week for the butt-enhancement industry. Kimberly Smedley assured the authorities after her arrest in Washington, D.C., that she had been using only "medical" silicone when she injected her customers at $1,000 a pop, but she seemed to have a lot of receipts from Home Depot and Lowe's, and her medical dispensing facility consisted of a water jug. But even more dangerous was Ms. (formerly Mr.) Oneal Ron Morris, 30, of Miami Gardens, Fla., who didn't even bother with industrial silicone. He used actual cement and "Fix a Flat" and then super-glued the entrance wound. (Seriously. There are Can't-Possibly-Be-True photos at the link.) The Smoking Gun /// Miami Herald via South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Absurdities
The European Union may, seriously, soon collapse over its economy. However, it issued an important directive last Wednesday ordering bottled-water producers not to say that their product can help prevent dehydration. [ed.: For some people, that's true, if the body faultily misdirects the water received, but many other people simply need to drink more water.] Daily Telegraph (London)
The Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice cracked down on niqabs (face-hiders except the eyes) if the eyes are too alluring. Those women should stay home or move to the burqa. Daily Mail (London)
Four times a year (coming and going, twice, for school terms), 80 kids in a remote Chinese mountaintop village make a several-day, spine-tingling journey on foot, including down 1,000-ft cliffs with narrow ledges. (The government is building a safe road . . for the year after next.) Daily Telegraph (London)
It appears that the Justice Department, in its zeal to use all the tools available to fight "terrorism," would make it a federal crime to lie about yourself on, say, Match dot com. (You could still lie at a party, but just not online. Nursery web spiders aren't covered.) CNet.com
Follow the logic: (1) Kids love to play with balls. (2) A parent gets hurt by a ball while at school. (3) Therefore, the school bans balls for kids (except sponge balls.) Canadian Press via CBC.ca
The airline fee to trump all airline fees: When a Comtel flight from India to Birmingham, England, had to land in Vienna, the couple of hundred on board were hit up for supplemental fuel costs totaling £20,000 ($31,000). Some scrambled for ATMs. BBC News
Losers
The lawyer's cardinal rule of cross-examination is Don't Ask a Question You Don't Already Know the Answer to). Mr. Philome Cesar, charged with many robberies and acting as his own lawyer, asked the first two witness-victims, "Describe what the robber sounded like." After both answered, "He sounded like you," Cesar stopped asking that question. Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
Unclear on the Concept: The Ku Klux Klan has used burning crosses to get blacks to leave neighborhoods. For some reason, this Klan wanted black man L.B. Williams's wife (white) to stay in the neighborhood. (Yes, "the Klan" was really L.B. Williams, who was facing divorce, and somehow thought the burning cross would scare the missus into staying.) Panama City (Fla.) News Herald
KNXV-TV (Phoenix) reported that Mr. Cary Dolego, a former gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, is now in the Ukraine and, despite being rebuffed at least once, is determined to stay until he meets the future Mrs. Dolego and to bring her back to Phoenix. (He traveled there because he no longer trusted UkrainianBrides.com.) (Nursery web spiders do better than Cary.) KNXV-TV
Oh! Dear!
British insurers that write policies for pets reported writing a four-fold increase in that line of business from 2009 to 2010--along with, as times got tough for the pet owners, widespread fraud-- including some instances of . . killing the little darlings for the money. Daily Telegraph
A north Georgia plastics company fired man-of-faith Billy Hyatt in 2009 for causing trouble by not wearing the de rigueur company sticker on his shirt (noting how many consecutive days the workplace has been accident-free). Thus, lawsuit! Hyatt wore the stickers faithfully, right up until the 666th day. Associated Press via CBS News
Can't Stop Themselves: Just because Tina Arie and Howard Windham were being driven in a squad car back to the station on charges of illegal drug possession is no reason for her not to service him sexually in the back seat during the ride. Montgomery County (Tex.) Police Reporter
The Pakistan government has created a list of cool words and phrases to learn for those studying English or Urdu as a second language (coming soon: Punjabi). (Oh, wait. They're 1,500 words that telecom companies have to censor out of text messages.) Lots of F-word combos, but some are a little far-fetched: lavender, mango, deposit, fondle, quickie, flogging the dolphin . . .. The Guardian (London)
The Pervo-American Community
Police in Pueblo, Colo., say that Kenneth Milosavich, 55, was having sex with a pit bull and in more ways than one. KCNC-TV (Denver)
Teacher Paul LaDuke, 75, was fired and arrested on November 11th after he once again monitored class at Schaumburg (Ill.) Christian School by standing behind a podium, unhitching his trousers, and, um, well, flogging the dolphin. He'd been a teacher there for 25 years. WFLD-TV (Chicago)
Updates & Recurring Themes
No, no, no, not again! A carpenter's assistant is charged with the prank of playfully jamming an air compressor hose up a colleague's back door. This time, it was in Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus-Mail.com [via Fark.com]
The huggin' Divine Mother, Indian spiritual leader Amma, from Kerala state, India, was in the UK last week and added to her lifetime record of (reportedly) 30,000,000 hugs. Metro (London)
Below The Fold
Bright Ideas: What if you're, like, outside at night in the cold, and all you, like, have to work with are raccoons? Could they keep you warm? One way to find out. Get a cold night. Duct-tape baguettes to your body. Try to get comfortable. Vice.com
Another bad idea: An editor (me) offering a reader (you) proof that a person can survive a hereditary condition in which dozens and dozens of surface tumors grow all over the body. No, you don't want to see. News Limited (Sydney)
Your Weekly Jury Duty
[In America, you're presumed innocent . . . until the mug shot is released]
Well, is Steven Knox guilty of molesting the kid he was babysitting?
A selection from this week's The Smoking Gun collection:
Burglary and drug possession /// Drug and paraphernalia possession [not even a misdemeanor for that beard, though] /// Felonious assault
Editor's Notes
Speaking of compressed air hoses, you might be interested in this "medical"-type book of the best x-rays three doctors could find of various items found inserted in people's you-know-where (and other bodily orifices). Huffington Post
Newsrangers: Valerie Jones, Cassidy Hunter, Jay Scott, Gerald Sacks, Gale Walters, and Kathryn Wood, and the News of the Weird Board of Editorial Advisors
Comments
Jury Duty: #1: Let me get this straight - you hire a babysitter off of Craig's List, and it's a guy, and Bad Things happen, and you're surprised? #2: I'd say he's possessing the drugs in his bloodstream. #3: Jury's still out of the drug charges. Has anyone checked his DNA against the sex crimes list? #4: Couldn't they wake her up for the mug shot?
Candidate for head goober: can we just leave him there?
Candidate for head goober: can we just leave him there?
Posted by TheCannyScot in Atlanta, GA on 11/21/11 at 07:35 AM
spiders- Should be called the rapist spiders.
cat tricks- Toby, my cat, said, "Don't even think about it mom!"
non-medical treatment- Butt why? This kind of thing needs to be nipped in the butt. It just causes damage in the end.
water/dehydration- And breathing does not prevent suffocation.
walking to school- What kind of story will these kids have to tell to exaggerate to their grandkids?!
on line- If no one couldblie on line there wouldn't be much traffic.
no balls at school- or on any members of administration either it seems.
Pass the hat for gas money- It wasn't Ryanair??
666 sticker- It would creep me out to wear that too.
Sex in squad car- That is why you are supposed to transport perps separately.
Flogging the dolphin- WTF?
sex with dog- As the act is described this story could have been filed under Unclear on the Concept.
podium- What happens behind the podium stays behind the podium.
air hose- Could this be the same story, just as it is hitting court? Sounds really close.
raccoon whisperer- Dumb. Raccoon claws and teath are very sharp and dangerous.
tumors- I worked with a woman with this condition, looked like it but not as bad anyway. Terrible for the person.
x-rays- Reminds me of the guy who appeared on Tosh.o, "What what in the butt..."
cat tricks- Toby, my cat, said, "Don't even think about it mom!"
non-medical treatment- Butt why? This kind of thing needs to be nipped in the butt. It just causes damage in the end.
water/dehydration- And breathing does not prevent suffocation.
walking to school- What kind of story will these kids have to tell to exaggerate to their grandkids?!
on line- If no one couldblie on line there wouldn't be much traffic.
no balls at school- or on any members of administration either it seems.
Pass the hat for gas money- It wasn't Ryanair??
666 sticker- It would creep me out to wear that too.
Sex in squad car- That is why you are supposed to transport perps separately.
Flogging the dolphin- WTF?
sex with dog- As the act is described this story could have been filed under Unclear on the Concept.
podium- What happens behind the podium stays behind the podium.
air hose- Could this be the same story, just as it is hitting court? Sounds really close.
raccoon whisperer- Dumb. Raccoon claws and teath are very sharp and dangerous.
tumors- I worked with a woman with this condition, looked like it but not as bad anyway. Terrible for the person.
x-rays- Reminds me of the guy who appeared on Tosh.o, "What what in the butt..."
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 11/21/11 at 08:17 AM
Spiders Yo! Peter, wanna go get some leg?
Trained Cats There's this feral tom spraying around the neighborhood that I'm trying to teach to play dead. 😡
EU vs Water If that were only our worse problem.....
Justice Department This has, officially, become an oxymoron.
Comtel Airlines Only a refund??? XA!
The 666th day Was there, ever, a character in Hebrew that looked like a 6 or a 9?
Tina & Howard Every bust should have a happy ending.
Pakistan Censorship You only need go as far as the Disqus blog engine if you want to see how stupid it can get. "Black" is a no-no!
Paul LaDuke, 75 Could it be that he was just bragging?
Feeding Raccoons Read my lips; NO BROCCOLI!
Bubble Man Think bubble-wrap!
Jury Duty #5 & #6 on the Smoking Gun were more interesting. (No, not for you and Scout, Patty.)
Trained Cats There's this feral tom spraying around the neighborhood that I'm trying to teach to play dead. 😡
EU vs Water If that were only our worse problem.....
Justice Department This has, officially, become an oxymoron.
Comtel Airlines Only a refund??? XA!
The 666th day Was there, ever, a character in Hebrew that looked like a 6 or a 9?
Tina & Howard Every bust should have a happy ending.
Pakistan Censorship You only need go as far as the Disqus blog engine if you want to see how stupid it can get. "Black" is a no-no!
Paul LaDuke, 75 Could it be that he was just bragging?
Feeding Raccoons Read my lips; NO BROCCOLI!
Bubble Man Think bubble-wrap!
Jury Duty #5 & #6 on the Smoking Gun were more interesting. (No, not for you and Scout, Patty.)
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 11/21/11 at 09:13 AM
I can actually tell you that several of my family members have been on the recieving end of the Darshan...Both of my grandparents and my aunt have visited Amma several times, and this past year my Uncle Steve was taken to visit her by his son. She's apparently a very loving, and impressive person.
Posted by Alassirana on 11/21/11 at 10:12 AM
She sounds like a lovely person Alassirana. Somewhat like Mother Teresa in the Catholic religion. I do not know if she works with the poor like Mother Teresa, but she seems to be loving and religious without constantly asking for donations like we so often see here in the states.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 11/21/11 at 11:27 AM
Actually, Amma does a lot of charity work...with her organization, she has helped build hospitals in India, and schools...and I think she's also helped with some of the housing problems down near where her ashram is. I haven't had the opportunity to meet her yet myself, but I hope someday to do so. It's nice to see something positive in the news (especially odd news), as too often, what we end up seeing is how stupid or mean people can be.
Posted by Alassirana on 11/21/11 at 01:03 PM
I agree Cali.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 11/21/11 at 02:00 PM
The 666 thing comes about because in several languages, it is possible (or even the norm) to use letters for numbers. For example, you can use alpha for one, beta for two, gamma for three, and so on. Same deal with alef, beth and gimel. So, the 666 for the name of the beast means that a person's name, if you look at it as a series of numbers, rather than letters, would add up to 666.
Or else it's this critter: http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2011/7/20/1a79b576-4c52-45c8-9a54-e533dbd3b0d5.jpg
Or else it's this critter: http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2011/7/20/1a79b576-4c52-45c8-9a54-e533dbd3b0d5.jpg
Posted by TheCannyScot in Atlanta, GA on 11/21/11 at 02:14 PM
For some reason DCLXVI, 1010011010, 029A, and 1232 don't seem to be a "mark" of much else other than the numeric value of 666 represented in decimal.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 11/22/11 at 12:09 AM
I was working on my post when Mark's got up so....
Well, Doh! I should have remembered that! We were just on Patmos a couple of years ago...
Ok, so, in Ancient Greek the "mark" should have looked something like this: χξς or χ`ξ`ςτ` or if it was 616 then χις.
Well, Doh! I should have remembered that! We were just on Patmos a couple of years ago...
Ok, so, in Ancient Greek the "mark" should have looked something like this: χξς or χ`ξ`ςτ` or if it was 616 then χις.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 11/22/11 at 12:15 AM
A man crush :lol: and you are secure enough in your masculinity to admit it sweetie. How ya been MW?
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 11/22/11 at 09:28 PM
Brilliant Mario, this makes you our cult leader now you know, right? :lol:
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 11/23/11 at 07:52 AM
Ah, feel da Laaaaaawd a'wurkun' on me and ah feel da need ta be a'sendin' some money yo' way, Mario. 🐛
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 11/23/11 at 08:26 AM
Aww, I've missed you too sweetie. Glad to hear from you again. 💋
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 11/24/11 at 04:22 AM
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