Marijuana Farm to blame for Massive California Fires

According to the Los Angeles Times, the huge wild fires California is experiencing were caused by a cooking fire on a Pot farm.

I've heard people refer to smoking pot as "burning mad trees", but I think this takes that a little too literally.

Posted By: dherlich - Mon Aug 17, 2009 - Comments (8)
Category: Accidents, Goofs and Screw-ups, Addictions, Drugs

Weird Weddings

In Saudi Arabia it is the groom who traditionally bears the cost of the marriage, and often men will put off the event to save for a bigger ceremony. So the prize of an all-expenses-paid wedding by a Saudi charity is quite an offer, even when it does come with a catch. To enter the draw you have to give up smoking. The charity "Purity", who is behind the campaign, will award the grand prize plus 20 runners-up prizes of free furniture in August, with all the winners being drawn from those men who complete a seven-day course on quitting. Hundreds of men have entered, including one who admitted taking up smoking just so he could enter by quitting (BBC News).

Mind you, it might be as well to get as healthy as possible before the big day, because according to recent research, marriage puts pounds on you. Lona Sandon, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, claims that newlyweds commonly gain up to 10 pounds in the months following the wedding. But before anyone assumes this is scientific proof that your partner has let himself/herself go, be advised that most often both partners gain weight together (Examiner).

Meanwhile, in Japan, most of the weight gain is starting to happen before the ceremony, as it is becoming increasingly common for the bride to be "eating for two". What was a shameful thing in Japan less than a generation ago is now being increasingly celebrated as a dekichatta kon or "double joy" wedding. According to Chika Hirotani of Watabe Wedding as many as 20% of weddings they supply are so blessed (Telegraph).

Another sort of double joy wedding also took place in Russia this week, when twin brothers married twin sisters in a twin ceremony. Alexei and Dimitry Semyonov finally tied the knot with their sweethearts Lilia and Liana after the four of them met at a dance party a year ago (MOS News). A video of the ceremony is also available (if you sit through the advertisement).



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Posted By: Dumbfounded - Tue Jun 30, 2009 - Comments (3)
Category: Addictions, Babies, Ceremonies, Weddings

That’s One Bad Lieutenant: Updated with Working Trailer

I'm sure some of you (if not most) know who Werner Herzog is and I thought I'd share the trailer for his next film with you. This film is not really a prequel/sequel of Abel Ferrara's "Bad Lieutenant" with Harvey Keitel, but I guess more of a reworking. I don't know, but it looks like a lot of fun. If you're at work, you might want to keep the volume down.



Original "Bad Lieutenant" trailer




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Posted By: mdb777 - Thu May 28, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Addictions, Celebrities, Movies

Midwest Crime Round Up

Out of Work Teachers Sell Meth; South Bend, Ind: Twin sisters and out of work school teachers, Maria and Michelle Stancati, have plead guilty to dealing methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school. Indy Star

Ex-Public Defender Busted in Child Sex Internet Sting; Marion County, Ind: Ryan W. Snyder, former Marion County Public Defender, was caught in an internet sex sting in February 2008. He has been sentenced to two years in prison. Indy Star

Three Arrested in BB Gun Home Invasion; Wauwatosa, Wisc: Three high school students were arrested in a home invasion after demanding $1,200 at gunpoint. The suspect with the weapon brandished what looked like a handgun, but was really a BB gun. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Teen Declines Sex for Money, Utilities Shut Off; Chicago, Ill: A West Side teen was solicited for sex for money by her landlord. When she turned him down, he shut off the gas and electric. He now faces charges for interfering with a public utility. Chicago Breaking News

Driver Painting Nails Kills Motorcyclist; Lake Zurich, Ill: According the News Sun Sun Times News Group, Laura Hunt of Morris IL, “told police that she was painting her fingernails and did not notice the light was red.” According to one Officer her vehicle knocked the victim "a couple hundred feet." Sun Times News Group

Posted By: chris_cantwell - Wed May 06, 2009 - Comments (1)
Category: Addictions, Crime, Death, Drugs, Law, Weapons

Narcotics:  Pit of Despair (Parts 1 & 2)

Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 19, 2009 - Comments (0)
Category: Addictions, Drugs, Pop Culture, Documentaries, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s

Follies of the Mad Men #39

[From Life magazine for April 23 1971.]

The other day, watching that commercial of Lucky Strike cigarettes square-dancing, I speculated on how one could distinguish female from male cigarettes. Twenty years after that commercial, Madison Avenue had the answer! Female cigarettes are "pretty" and have decorative floral emblems on the filters!

Wasn't it wonderful that "women's lib" allowed tobacco companies to sell more cigarettes to a previously under-served population?

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 19, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Addictions, Business, Advertising, Death, Fads, Gender, Women, 1970s

Follies of the Mad Men #36

[From Playboy magazine for May 1980.]

Because satyriasis and nymphomania are such funny hooks with which to pitch a lubricant.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 12, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Addictions, Sex, Business, Advertising, Products, Technology, 1980s