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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Man Shoots, Kills 'Chupacabra' in Ky

http://wave.images.worldnow.com/images/13731615_BG1.jpg

(Fox News) The legendary chupacabra has been spied, shot and killed -- will bigfoot be next?

A man in Kentucky found a strange, hairless creature prowling his front lawn December 18, a critter he believes to be the mythical chupacabra, a beast from Hispanic folklore supposedly known for attacking goats and other livestock (chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish).

Mark Cothren described the creature, which strolled onto his lawn in Lebanon Junction, KY, as having large ears, whiskers, a long tail, and about the size of a house cat, reported Wave3.

"I was like, 'every animal has hair, especially this time of year!' What puzzled me is how something like that could survive through a winter with no hair," Cothren told the TV station.

http://wave.images.worldnow.com/images/13731615_BG2.jpgThe chupacabra has captured the public's imagination for years, and was even featured on the popular television series "The X-Files." Many carcasses of the coyote-like chupacabra have been "identified" across the U.S. -- and even put on display in museums.

In July, a chupacabra was spotted in North Texas. In October, 2009, a real-estate agent from New York believed he had found one of the mystical creatures; he had the carcass stuffed and put on display at John Adolfi's Lost World Museum in Phoenix, N.Y., The exhibit also included 45 photos of living or killed chupacabras, 6 minutes of news footage and the remains of a 4-month old hopping gray critter from 2006.

Past sightings have been explained in a variety of ways. Some have turned out to be raccoons or coyotes with mange, a skin disease that often leads to hair loss and explains the hairless condition people associate with the chupacabra. Mange comes from infection by a blood-sucking mite, according to Barry OConnor, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan.

"To me, the most interesting aspect of this whole system is the fact we are talking about a human parasite that has moved from us onto other animals, as opposed to all the things that have gone in the other direction," OConnor said when the last sighting turned up.

Still, Cothren remains unconvinced, and he says others share his interest.

"Everybody is getting very curious, you know. [The] phone is ringing off the hook. It's kind of a mystery right now," Cothren told Wave3.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Blessed Christmas from Amentior!

Food made by a printer

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_full_width/hash/6e/03/6e03acb714b398531eb2c56b4480af83.jpgScientists at Cornell are creating a 3D food printer. Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Lab's project will one day allow you to tweet what you're in the mood for and it will be printed up and ready to eat.

The "3D food printer" uses syringes filled with "raw food ink." You place the inks in the top of the printer, load a recipe and the machine will cook it up then print it out. Simple changes in the recipe will allow for the same food to be cooked in different ways, such as softer cookies.

The only inks that have been produced so far are dessert themed, as in cookie dough and chocolate. However, the team is working on a wider range of options, including turkey. The food will be squeezed out of a syringe in a prearranged pattern. The scientists believe that this device will save people the hassle of cooking.

While some might find this concept disturbing, Chef Homaro Cantu believes this will enhance the cooking experience. In his opinion it will do for food what email did for communication. He is even looking forward to printable sushi.

This product, unlike many of the others projects designed by Cornell, will be commercially available when completed.

   For more info: BBC

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Real comfort food











6 Reasons Bacon is Better Than True Love

1. True love only happens once in a lifetime. Bacon can happen seven times a day, if you want it to.

2. Bacon you can keep in the fridge. True love you cannot.

3. Love is fleeting, but bacon stays in your arteries for all eternity.

4. It will always be there for you.

5. Bacon won't divorce you over a little misunderstanding.

6. Bacon does not nag or complain.

*The Oatmeal

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Ho Ho Yum



Hump day haiku



Most wonderful time of the year
Scary ghost stories?
Marley dead as a door nail
Andy Williams fail

Lament
Snow. Snow. Snow. Snow. Snow.
Seventy times seven snow
I am sick of snow

Lunch
Phosphates, onion rings
At the neighborhood malt shop
Bacon cheeseburger

Long Loneliness
Reading Dorothy Day
Surprising and amazing
Not what I had thought

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Feast of Immaculate Conception Haiku



Full of grace
Conceived without sin
She is blessed among women
Model of our Faith

Jefferson
Atheists claim him
Christians argue he's their own
Sixth man off bench

Apparition of Our Lady of Good Help

"Teach the children the catechism."

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Hungry Japanese monkeys are eating crops

http://wfie.images.worldnow.com/images/13610511_BG1.jpg(NBC) - Farmers in northern Japan are getting expert help with a growing monkey population that is gobbling up crops.  

Summer heat, among other factors, has left the monkey's low on food.

Japan's Protection and Control Unit has stepped in to protect the hungry monkeys, while keeping them away from people and crops.

Specially-trained dogs help chase the monkeys back into their natural habitat.

The primates on Shimokita Peninsula are the only in the world to live so far north.

Japan's government designated them a natural treasure in 1970, and the population has grown since.

Four municipalities set up the monkey chasing squad, in an effort to help people and monkeys find ways to coexist.

It's Gone


The moving crate on wheels will be no more after 2011! Thank you. I think the Honda Element is the ugliest car of the current decade. Last summer, I ranted at length about how ugly they were and found out the gal I was ranting to owns one. I remained unrepetent. They are ugly. Good-bye.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Hump Day Haiku



Blue Christmas
Kids might think, shudder
"Last Christmas" by George Michael
Classic Christmas song

Bourgeois? Hoi Polloi?
Live high on the hog
Try rib night at IKEA
Cure cabin fever

Signs of the season
Hard being a spouse
Company Christmas party
Can I phone it in?

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Guidelines for Mailing Santa

An Amentior Exclusive!

This intrepid reporter, ok, it’s me, Cathy, was fortunate enough to be able to have a private interview with Santa Claus yesterday. Santa did not have anything to say about condom usage; however, he did have a lot to say about how and how not to correspond with him this Christmas. Santa, who is nothing if not polite (he is a Saint you know!), called it his “Please Do” and “Please Do Not” list.

Please Do List
•Send requests via the Postal Service in your respective nation.
•Please send “hard copy” requests (aka paper) thru the mail service as Santa does not care for email or faxes. Furthermore, the elves are “computer illiterate”
•Leave, uh, room for negotiation in your wish list. List alternative gifts
•Use plain white paper. Santa is getting up there in years and the colored papers are hard for him to read
•Limit wish list to one page (8 ½ x 11), portrait orientation, 1” margins, Times New Roman 12ft, double-spaced, black

Please Do Not List
•Do not post send or embed hyperlinks in documents
•Do not send photos. Santa knows all
•Do not send testimonies of how “nice” you’ve been all year. Santa knows all.
•Do not keep sending or attaching prior year’s lists with the current list. Santa knows what you really need

Special Instructions
Vincenzo: Kindly stop asking for the loaded refrigerator and chest freezer. The sleigh can’t carry all that weight and the reindeer can’t pull it. Thanks and God bless you. Love, Santa.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Fun for You!

Looking for something to do without the people you only see once a year and can barely tolerate? Are you unable to watch one more minute of football? Is the thought of sitting thru another parade insufferable? Do the Malls terrify you? Is staring at the leftover turkey and wondering if you should make soup from it giving you a headache? Do you want to do something that is both fun and thoughtful?

Now, here, at long last, is a game you can play alone! Uncle Curt is probably already passed out drunk on the couch so don't worry about offending him because you didn't ask him to join you. This game will amuse you. It will create opportunities for personal decisions. It has no wrong answers. It will not tax your knowledge.



Be your own Magisterium!

A Vincenzo and Cathy joint!

Cross-posted to The Recovering Dissident Catholic

Thursday, November 25, 2010

German pensioner bricks himself into his own cellar

BERLIN (Reuters Life!) – A German pensioner who wanted to seal off the entrance to his cellar ended up bricking himself into it, a police spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.

The senior citizen from Jena told police he only became aware of the mistake once his handiwork was complete, which police described as "pretty stupid" in a statement.

After camping out in the cellar for several days he resolved to free himself by knocking down a wall, but chose to demolish his neighbor's wall rather than the one he had just put up.

The man had been at loggerheads with his neighbors for some time and they informed the police when they heard drilling noises. The police were waiting for the pensioner when he made his great escape and have now launched an enquiry.

Rare yellow-tailed woolly monkey colony discovered

 http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/1011230yellowtail-monkey-hmed-313p.grid-6x2.jpg

A hidden colony of endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkeys was recently discovered in Peru. 

The colony was found by a team of international researchers from Neotropical Primate Conservation, a U.K.

charity. The yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Oreonax flavicauda) is native to a small part of the Andean cloud forest in northeastern Peru, and is so rare that it was thought extinct until a few sightings in the mid-1970s.

A monkey with a bright yellow tail would seem easy to find, but studying this species has been nearly impossible.

Not only does the yellow-tailed woolly monkey live in the remote valleys and steep mountains of Peru, but their home is also cocaine country and a former stronghold of Communist guerrillas...

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Recycle Your Bras!


A six-week initiative promoted by the Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi essentially exchanges one form of padding for another: used bras collected at its brand name stores throughout Italy will be recycled into insulated and soundproof panels used for construction. Read more here

Great! New materials for the padded booby-hatch I'll be in soon!

Hump day before Thanksgiving Haiku



Thanksgiving dinner
Hey, Gobble Gobble!
Make haste and get on my plate
Spicy pumpkin pie

Communion Preparation
We're learning the Creed
The "life ever laughing" line
Kind of makes some sense

Thanksgiving is
My sleepy backside
Not out Black Friday shopping
Do the Dance of Joy

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tuesday Tongue Twister

There was a fisherman named Fisher
who fished for some fish in a fissure.
Till a fish with a grin,
pulled the fisherman in.
Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

All Russia invited to help name Putin's new puppy

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09Nag0638hfHP/x610.jpg
Reuters

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hugs a Bulgarian shepherd dog, after receiving it as a present from Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boiko Borisov.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited Russians to help him come up with a name for his new puppy, which he received as a gift from his Bulgarian counterpart over the weekend.

"Anyone who wishes to can send their suggestion of a male name for the prime minister's new dog to his site," a government statement said on its official website www.premier.gov.ru .

After Moscow and Sofia signed a series of accords to boost the South Stream gas pipeline, Putin was all smiles when Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov presented the Karakachan dog to the 58-year-old leader.

Putin, who has a black belt in judo and has cultivated a macho image, snuggled the fluffy, floppy-eared puppy of three months before gently planting a kiss on his snout.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Tuesday Tongue Twister

To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock,
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock,
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
A dull, dark dock, a life-long lock,
A short, sharp shock, a big black block!
To sit in solemn silence in a pestilential prison,
And awaiting the sensation
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!

--from Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado

Friday, November 12, 2010

Monkeys can -- and did -- sell programs at Texas Motor Speedway

 http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nascar_marbles__21/ept_sports_nascar_marbles-172197307-1289243444.jpg?ym08dDEDh4b_80NJ

By Jay Busbee

During planning meetings for the fall race, track officials discussed the idea of selling more programs to increase revenue. TMS President Bruton Smith mused that "monkeys could sell programs," and naturally, Gossage took him at his word. His staff tracked down two trained capuchin monkeys to handle the sales duties.    

The monkeys, named Miki and Rocky, made several appearances throughout the weekend, accepting $10 bills -- Gossage reportedly advised passersby that the monkeys don't make change -- and handing out the programs they didn't shred...
http://www.nataliedee.com/111110/hey-man-whats-goin-on.jpg

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Russia's Putin drives Formula 1 car at 150 miles per hour

http://en.rian.ru/images/16123/75/161237518.jpg

(Rianovosti) Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin tested his capacities as a Formula 1 pilot, driving a racing car for several hours at a speed of240 km/ h (149 miles per hour) on a special track in the Leningrad Region in Russia's northwest.

Three racing cars - two vehicles for racing in the Formula's youth completions and one intended for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, were put on show in St. Petersburg on November 6 and 7. As part of the presentation of the racing cars, Putin personally drove a racing car on a special track in the Leningrad Region. Before getting into the car's cockpit, the premier received detailed instructions on how to drive the racing car.

http://en.rian.ru/images/16123/75/161237523.jpg

The premier put on a helmet with Russia's national emblem and the word Russia inscribed on it, and also a Formula 1 outfit with his initials. The yellow color of the racing car was reminiscent of the Lada Kalina sport car that Putin had used to drive along the Chita-Khabarovsk Highway in the Russian Far East earlier this year.

A month ago, Putin attended a ceremony of signing an agreement with Formula One in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi, under which Russia will stage a Grand Prix in the country between 2014 and 2020.

http://laist.com/attachments/la_zach/obama_rides_bicycle.jpg

Bacon Flavored Soda


I'm not sure I'd like this. When I want bacon I want the actual hog! But, I suppose when you are too busy to fry up 1/2 pound....! Read more here Deep curtsy to Chris for the story!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Surprise!



I decided to make a surprise appearance at my old haunt tonight! They were having their annual Cabaret They said "come in costume" so I did! Oh, those partiers! What fun we had! I don't understand why they all started screaming "I'm melting, I'm melting" and ran for their cars. Guess the party ended early....

Hey, don't drink and fly! Be safe out there!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Tuesday Tongue Twister



How many boards
Could the Mongols hoard
If the Mongol hordes got bored?

from "Calvin & Hobbes", by Bill Waterson

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Two monkeys appointed station masters at Japanese train station

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01741/Hojo-cho_1741921c.jpg

Nehime and Rakan, two baby monkeys, have started "working" at Hojo-cho station in Hyoto prefecture in a bid to attract more visitors to the line.
The monkeys, aged seven months and three months, were dressed in blue uniforms made from traditional local fabrics complete with mini hats before being formally appointed station masters and "special city residents" by the local mayor.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

D'oh

Tony Blair, Newt Gingrich, and now Homer Simpson a Catholic?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – "The Simpsons" just got a blessing from the Vatican.
The official Vatican newspaper has declared that beer-swilling, doughnut-loving Homer Simpson and son Bart are Catholics -- and what's more, it says that parents should not be afraid to let their children watch "the adventures of the little guys in yellow."

"Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it. But it's true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic", the Osservatore Romano newspaper said in an article on Sunday headlined "Homer and Bart are Catholics."

The newspaper cited a study by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode of the show called "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star". That study concludes that "The Simpsons" is "among the few TV programs for kids in which Christian faith, religion and questions about God are recurrent themes."

The Simpsons pray before meals, and "in its own way, believes in the beyond," the newspaper quoted the Jesuit study as saying.

MORE

Hump Day Haiku



A virtue called patience
Helped my aunt today
Install new computer
She is eighty-five

Dust in the wind
Cousin died last night
Another got a transplant
Both joy and sorrow

Really?
Hate the computer
emotions don't translate well
mostly sarcasm

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sir Roger Moore`s trouble with foreign doctors


"According to UK newspaper Daily Express, he said: 'The language barrier is often problematic but we seem to muddle through. When I've been travelling or on a film location and needed a doctor, I'm always apprehensive when they don't speak English and produce a huge syringe."

Friday, October 15, 2010

Sound of Crickets Chirping

Whip these out for that next WebEx meeting after you ask for feedback on your new proposal! Fill that awkward 7:00 a.m. conference call silence once and for all!

Sounds of crickets chirpingfrom all over the world! Dazzle your international clients!

Fear of elves made Montreal man get powerful guns



The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — A man charged with uttering death threats on Facebook armed himself with high-powered weapons because he feared he was being stalked by elves, a Montreal court was told Wednesday.

Quebec provincial police told David Abitbol's bail hearing that he told a friend on the Internet that his .12-gauge shotgun was just what he needed to kill the mythical creatures..

Sgt. Mathieu Bouliane, a Quebec provincial police investigator, read numerous messages Abitbol had written to correspondents on the Internet in which he said he repeatedly saw and heard elves at home and in stores.

At one point, after hearing static on his office walkie-talkie, he complained the elves had followed him there and he would quit if they showed up again...

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Hump Day Haiku



Welcome Fall
It's the great pumpkin
Sun low on the horizon
Welcome short, dark days

We are Catholics
Smells, bells and statues
Vestments, altars and incense
Seven sacraments

What's it all about, Alfie?
Everyone's insane
except you and me, I believe;
except you and me

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Cigar Guy Unmasked

More Chicken Nugget Horror

A follow-up to Vincenzo's alarming post on the chicken nugget pink goo!

A magazine I get as part of my gym membership had this timely "Anatomy of a Chicken Nugget"article. They spared us the pink goo photo but it has some pretty alarming information.

New Zealand TV host resigns over Indian race row

New Zealand television host Paul Henry has resigned after provoking public outrage over his on-air comments about Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.


He laughed a number of times as he mispronounced the surname, which sounds closer to "Dixit" in English.
Indian officials condemned the remarks as "racist and bigoted"...

India's foreign ministry summoned the New Zealand high commissioner last week to register a formal protest.
New Zealand's government has apologised for the remarks, describing them as "culturally insensitive and vulgar".

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49405000/jpg/_49405137_sheiladikshitgetty304.jpgSheila Dikshit is overseeing arrangements for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which have been beset by problems. She brushed off Mr Henry's remarks but said they were "not appropriate".
Announcing his resignation, Mr Henry said it was "no longer practical in the current environment for me to do the job".

He added: "I am astonished and dismayed that my comments have created a diplomatic incident. My style is conversational and of course unscripted. I walk the finest of lines and accept that I have inadvertently crossed it from time to time."

Prime Minister John Key said the whole episode was "sad and regrettable" but his resignation should bring "closure".

The chief executive of TVNZ, Rick Ellis, commended Mr Henry's decision to resign, saying his comments split the community and damaged New Zealand's international relationships...

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Sobran and such



I know I'm behind a bit on news, but I recently heard that Joe Sobran died.

Back when I was working for a "big aerospace giant," I had a kindly boss. Kindly might not be a good word for an ex-Vietnam chopper pilot who survived two tours, more like tough on the outside and jagged around the edges. But, for the short time I worked with him, he was like my father - the father who was half the country away from me and whom I missed dearly. The father who swore more in one sentence than I could in a lifetime and whose protective arm I could always feel.

My boss and my father had many things in common, more than just their bearing and confidence; they both read the Wanderer.

I can't say I followed Joe Sobran's column, but his death makes me sad since it makes me wonder about my old boss, thoughts that are quickly followed by remembrances of my father.

One thing I learned from my boss was to never complain about my spouse. In jest, I made a joke that was pointed at my husband. I was quickly chastised and told how unbecoming it is no matter what the situation. It's been 20 years, but I still feel that stinging correction. I took it to heart then and still do.

So, Don, I hope you're doing well and Garbage Boy is standing on his own two feet and Dish Girl is happily married.

And, rest in peace, Mr. Sobran, you will be missed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ann Coulter
World's Greatest Writer

My friend Joe Sobran died last Thursday, and the world lost its greatest writer.

To my delight, some obituaries noted that he had influenced my writing style. I only wish I had known he was so close to the end so I could have seen him again to let him influence me some more.

The G.K. Chesterton of our time, Joe could deliver a knockout punch with a single line. Many of his aphorisms were so catchy that everyone repeats them now without realizing their provenance.

It was Joe who came up with the apocryphal New York Times headline: "New York Destroyed by Earthquake; Women and Minorities Hit Hardest."

Joe created the phrase "strange new respect" to describe the sudden warm admiration the media have for any conservative who becomes a liberal.

MORE

Monday, October 4, 2010

Monkey Man



For Vincenzo! A truly insane live version of "Monkey Man" by The Specials. The Specials remains one of my all-time favorite albums and the original live version was on that album.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Chicken Nuggets Are Made From This Pink Goop

Chicken Nuggets Are Made From This Pink Goop

From Gizmodo:
This is mechanically separated chicken. Chickens are turned into this goop so we can create delicious chicken nuggets and juicy chicken patties. It's obscenely gross and borderline alien but it's not going to stop me from eating nuggets. They're too good.

The process works a little something like this:
There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color...

Game Face vs. Jumbo Screen Face


Friday, October 1, 2010

Rosie O'Donnell's Crazy Check


Oprah supposedly gave Rosie a crazy check to see if she could handle a talk show on Oprah's OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network-get it!?)

I wonder who Rosie got to take the test for her? What happened to peeing in a cup?

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

7ft worms, hermaphrodite sailors and resurrection by tobacco revealed in archive

Worms seven feet in length, the first documented case of a hermaphrodite and the tale of a sailor who was saved from death by tobaccco smoke have emerged in a catalogue of bizarre Naval doctors' records disclosed by the National Archive.

By Andy Bloxham

7ft worms, hermaphrodite sailors and resurrection by tobacco 
revealed in archive: The Royal Navy Medical Officer Journals have been 
catalogued by the National Archives

In the calm lines of the notebooks' closely spaced copperplate are records of lightning strikes, gun fights and mutinous crews.
There are courts martial, shipwrecks and even murder during the long ocean journeys undertaken by the doctors' ships between 1793 and 1880.

The patients were the ratings, officers, emigrants and convicts being taken - often permanently - to other parts of the Empire and the records of their treatment provide a detailed glimpse into the past.

More than 1,000 Royal Navy Medical Officer Journals have been made accessible to the public following a two-year cataloguing project at the National Archives in Kew.

7ft worms, hermaphrodite sailors and resurrection by tobacco 
revealed in archive: The Royal Navy Medical Officer Journals have been 
catalogued by the National Archives

One passenger was 12-year-old Ellen McCarthy, who was on board the Elizabeth sailing from Cork, Ireland, to Quebec, Canada, in June 1825 when she fell ill and coughed up three intestinal worms which her mother took to the ship's surgeon.

The doctor, identified only as one P Power, wrote: "Complained yesterday evening of pain in the bottom of the belly increased on pressure, abdomen hard and swollen, picks her nose, starts in her sleep, bowels constipated, pyrexia [fever], tongue foul, pulse quick, skin hot, great thirst.

"Her mother brought me a lumbricus [worm] this morning 87 inches long which the patient vomited. The medicine operated well."

The naval surgeon treated the girl with a range of syrups and injections including barley water, calomel [mercury chloride - a laxative now known to be toxic], jalap [a tuber with laxative effects] and brandy punch to ease the symptoms and restore her digestive system to normality."

However, he said the most effective treatment was "oil of terebouth" - or turpentine.

Cures were required for scorpion, tarantula and shark bites, scurvy and many different forms of sexually transmitted diseases, while some of the doctors collected poisonous sea snakes for further study..

Hump day haiku




Twinkle, twinkle
On his bed again
Tantrums over piano
O sole mio!

A Thomas Jefferson Education
Yoga in the schools
How is this not religion?
Where is Socrates?

Dancing with the Stars sends cry baby home
Try dancing in heels
before you whine about things
sad songs say so much

Monday, September 27, 2010

Tracey Ullman as Rachel Maddow, Arianna Huffington, Meghan McCain, Barney Frank, and Christiane Amanpour

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D


Monkey Picked Tea

 http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/images/column/52109/dieter.jpg

Touched by a Monkey

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/monkey_picked_tea.jpgThe wind blows the blossoms in the garden. The monk breathes in. The air is crisp; the world is good. The only thing missing is some tea. Alas, the tea tree branches are too high and the mountain face is too steep. He stops in thought. His monkey, however, knowing his master wants tea, climbs the mountain face, picks the leaves, and brings them to the monk. And the tea was so delicious, other people began training their monkeys to pick it. So the legend goes.

After searching across four continents, we found this unbelievable tea. The lovely folks who package the tea for us say:
Nowadays the practice of monkeys picking tea has all but died out, except in one small remote village where they still continue this remarkable tradition. No monkeys are harmed or mistreated in order for us to bring this rare brew to you!
Monkey Picked Tea
http://images.politico.com/global/click/100927_archiecomics_palin_courtesy_522_regular.jpg

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Ode to a Mushroom


For Vincenzo:

Yo! What fungus from yonder tree breaks?
It has nothing in its self that is pleasing to the eye.
I nibble firm, spongy, flesh
Disgusted

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Monkey Business at Prada

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/09/23/fashion/pradamonkey/pradamonkey-articleInline.jpg

"They’re carrying fox fur stoles, some striped like a tiger’s tail, and monkeys are scrambling up the sides of some of the dresses.."

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Hump day haiku



Serial monogamy
Divorced? No more.
Single is the new status
On social networks

When a man loves a woman
Single moms, you rock
Hubby is gone for the week
Toilet is backed up

Looking for love in all the wrong places
Door ringers last night
Take Action Minnesota
You are kidding, right?

Sales of Comic Books Plunge. Is Liberal Bias to Blame?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l226/redpoochie/spideyobama.jpg

[T]he Aug. 2010 comic sales were down 17 percent from one year earlier, the steepest year-over-year sales slide since the 19 percent drop in May 2009...Only time will tell if this is an aberration or the sign of a steepening slide for the sequential art industry....the most popular comic book in the country sold a little over 90,000 copies nationwide. That's a smaller circulation than many regional newspapers.


As many people know, comic books used to have sales figures in the millions. Even as late as 1996, an issue of X-men had a circulation more twice what it is now.


I'm sure there are many reason for the decline. Still, I have to wonder if the mainstream companies' strong pro-Obama, pro-liberal, bias isn't a contributing factor.


Since 2009, mainstream comic books, especially from industry leader Marvel, have gone out of their way to laud the president and attack his detractors. The company even went so far as to publish a story where Captain America all but declared the Tea Party to be a group of racists...

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Top 5 Most Sinister Corporate Logos

From The Vigilant Citizen:

"Big corporations pay millions in public relations to make customers associate their brand with a warm and fuzzy feeling. It is imperative that the soulless and inherently greedy nature of the corporation be hidden behind a family-friendly facade. But some companies just don’t give a hoot. They hate you, your family and especially your cat and they don’t care if you know it. They even display their evilness right on their logo. Here is my top 5 of most sinister logos."

#5- Alfa Romeo


"Yes, I agree they make great looking European cars. But look closely at the logo. Why is there a  snake eating a little terrified guy on it? I mean me personally, I’m a human, not a giant snake-dragon. So the fact that a snake is eating a person is unsettling for me because I tend to identify with the person and not the giant crowned snake. If you look at the logo’s history, the ancient ones depicted the guy in a more vivid way."


ALFA-ROMEO-evolution-logo-car-models


"In older logos, the little guy is in different color, still waving his arms in a seemingly desperate cry for help

The official story of the logo is that Romano Cattaneo was given the task to come up with a badge for the then new company, in 1910. While waiting for a train at Piazza Castello in Milan, he gained inspiration from the Visconti family’s coat of arms displayed on a door. It features a “biscione” which is a serpent eating a human child.  It reportedly terrified the local populous of Milan in the early part of the 5th century A.D. It has been said that the human being eaten is a Moor, during the Crusades. If that’s the case, who or what does the serpent symbolize?.."


Original:

Top 5 Most Sinister Corporate Logos

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