Weird But True

[lvwrench]

Heard that one on the radio on the way home from work yesterday and almost had to pull off the road i was laughing so hard. Next time maybe she should bring along a can of Oust or Fabreze or pack her tail end with those little vanilla scented wafers they throw in your car at the car wash.

[NJFFSA16]

Santa's evil sidekick? Who knew?
GRESTEN, Austria (Reuters) - As Christmas nears, Austrian
children hoping for gifts from Santa Claus will also be
watching warily for "Krampus," his horned and hairy sidekick.
In folklore, Krampus was a devil-like figure who drove away
evil spirits during the Christian holiday season.
Traditionally, he appeared alongside Santa around December
6, the feast of St. Nicholas, and the two are still part of
festivities in many parts of central Europe.
But these traditions came under the spotlight in Austria
this year, after reports last week that Santa -- also known as
St Nicholas, Father Christmas or Kris Kringle -- had been
banned from visiting kindergartens in Vienna because he scared
some children.
Officials denied the reports, but said from now on only
adults the children knew would be able to don Santa's bushy
white beard and red habit to visit the schools.

[NJFFSA16]

Critics applauded for trashing movie
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil's state tourism
body applauded U.S. film critics Tuesday for trashing a horror
movie in which tourists get slaughtered in the country and said
it was taking measures to offset any damage to its image
abroad.
Some Brazilian media went into a frenzy over "Turistas,"
quoting disgusted Brazilian viewers who went to see it in the
United States where it hit the screens Friday.
In the movie directed by John Stockwell, young American
backpackers are attacked and mugged by locals, lured by
bikini-clad beauties only to get drugged by spiked "caipirinha"
cocktails. They then have their internal organs removed by a
crazy surgeon who runs a human organ trafficking ring.
Jeanine Pires, president of the tourism body Embratur, told
Reuters it had instructed its overseas publicity agency to
repair any damage from "Turistas."
"Surveys show that most viewers do distinguish between pure
fiction that appears in a horror movie and reality, Pires said.

[NJFFSA16]

Lawmaker summoned to explain sex tape
JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian parliamentary committee
intends to question a legislator over a video distributed on
the Internet that appears to show him naked with a singer, the
head of the committee said Wednesday.
The shaky, one-minute video that appears to show Yahya
Zaini, a member of parliament from the country's biggest party,
Golkar, with the woman has caused shock in Indonesia, the
world's most populous Muslim country.
"We will summon him and ask him explain this matter
clearly," Slamet Effendy Yusuf, chairman of the House of
Representatives' honorary commission, said by telephone.
The commission has the power to dismiss lawmakers.
Yusuf said Zaini, also chairman of Golkar's religious
affairs department, could be dismissed as legislator if it was
proved that he was the person on the video, which media reports
said was shot two years ago.

[NJFFSA16]

San Francisco says no to cookie aroma at bus stops
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - What was billed as a pleasing
alternative to exhaust fumes at San Francisco bus stops ended
after officials Tuesday ordered the removal of advertisements
that gave off the scent of baked cookies.

The fragrant billboards, posted at five bus shelters on
Monday in an effort by dairy producers to make passengers
thirsty for milk, had to come down because the shelters'
maintenance contractor had not informed San Francisco Municipal
Transportation Agency officials, said an agency spokeswoman.

"What they did not do is consult with anybody at our agency
prior to doing that," spokeswoman Maggie Lynch said. "We found
out from a reporter. Apparently everybody knew besides us."

The agency also received several complaints from bus riders
concerned that the aroma might not be safe, she said.

The project was cooked up by the California Milk Processor
Board, whose "Got Milk?" campaign has adorned famous figures
around the world with milk mustaches for 13 years.

[NJFFSA16]

Prison tattoo program scrapped
OTTAWA, Dec 4 (Reuters Life!) - Canada is scrapping a pilot
program that provided tattoos for prisoners in an effort to
stop the spread of diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS, Public
Safety Minister Stockwell Day said Monday.

The program, set up by the previous Liberal government,
offered free tattoos to prisoners in six of Canada's 58 federal
prisons. The Liberals lost in January to the right-wing
Conservatives, who promised to crack down on crime.

"Our government will not spend taxpayers' money on
providing tattoos for convicted criminals," Day said in a
statement.

"Our priority is to have an effective federal corrections
system that protects Canadians, while providing inmates with
access to acceptable health care and treatment programs."

Day said this included programs to immunize inmates against
hepatitis A and B, voluntary screening for early detection and
treatment of infection, and courses to inform prisoners about
the dangers of illegal tattoos.

[NJFFSA16]

Metrosexuals snap up cosmetics in China
BEIJING, Dec 5 (Reuters Life!) - Urban Chinese men spend
8.6 minutes a day gazing at themselves in the mirror and shell
out 80 yuan ($10) a month on beauty products, Xinhua news
agency reported on Tuesday, citing a survey.

Men in Beijing and the financial center of Shanghai were
neck-and-neck on whose residents were most vain.

Those in the capital spent the most money on cosmetics --
an average of 119 yuan a month -- but those in Shanghai looked
in the mirror the longest -- about 17 minutes a day.

The survey of men aged 18 to 60 in seven major Chinese
cities was conducted jointly by Horizon Research Consultancy
Group and a Shanghai fashion and media company, Xinhua said.

Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly image conscious
as they grow wealthier, with plastic surgery and sales of
beauty products booming.

[NJFFSA16]

Town to enforce ban on "sexy" dress
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Reuters Life!) - A town in
Muslim-majority Malaysia has threatened to fine non-Muslim
women for wearing "sexy" clothes, infuriating some women's
organizations.

Authorities in northeast Kota Baru, which calls itself an
Islamic city, will slap fines of up to 500 ringgit ($140) on
women who expose navels, wear body-hugging outfits, mini-skirts
or see-through blouses, the Star newspaper said on Tuesday.

"Such outfits are prohibited here as it smears the
reputation of Kota Baru and affects its status as an Islamic
city," the Star quoted municipal council spokesman Azman Daham
as saying.

Some women's groups have voiced anger over the council's
decision to use an existing by-law against indecent dress to
curb non-Muslim fashions. In Malaysia, almost half the
population is non-Muslim and national government is secular.

"It is not the job of the council to become the 'moral
police'," Honey Tan, head of the All-Women's Action Society,
told the Star.

[NJFFSA16]

BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters Life!) - A Chinese coal mine has
made the news for a reason other than the grim series of
accidents nationwide -- it is claiming a world record for the
the highest number of simultaneous weddings held underground.
The Datong Coal Group in Shanxi province held weddings for
10 miners on Saturday 300 metres (1,000 ft) down the pitshaft,
the People's Daily said on Monday.
"The weddings were unprecedented nationwide, even
worldwide," mine manager Liu Suisheng told the newspaper.
"We're going to apply to Guinness World Records."
China has the world's deadliest coal mining industry with
fatal accidents occurring almost daily as safety regulations
are ignored and production is pushed beyond safe limits in the
rush for profit.
The weddings aim to "lessen the depressing impression" of
the mining industry, Liu told the newspaper.

[NJFFSA16]

Real men do change diapers -- from a tractor tire
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - A U.S. handbag manufacturer is
trying to make changing diapers a bit more macho -- with a baby
bag made from truck and tractor tire inner tubes.
Richmond, Virginia based Passchal has designed a "Dad's
baby bag" made from recycled inner tubes, trimmed with hemp,
and fitted with a battery operated light to help locate that
soother somewhere at the bottom of the bag.
Designer Angela Greene said the inspiration for the bag
came after a female client asked if she could make a baby bag
for her husband to use.
"As I was designing it, I thought that the buckles,
grommets, rivets gave it a Harley look," she told Reuters.
Ken Kobrick, owner of Passchal, said the "Dad's baby bag,"
priced at about $175, was the latest in a line of bags that his
company made from used truck and tractor tire inner tubes.

[NJFFSA16]

Landlocked prisoners taught deep-water diving
CHINO, California (Reuters) - A landlocked California men's
prison aims to keep inmates from returning to jail by putting
them in deep water -- training them for undersea construction
and dam repair.
The California Institution for Men in Chino sits on a
stretch of former farmland some 40 miles east of Los Angeles
and just about as far away from the Pacific Ocean.
But it houses a prison-based marine technology training
program where inmates serving sentences of 14 months to 4 years
learn skills authorities hope will help them find jobs when
they return to society.
At a training open to reporters on Friday more than a dozen
inmate divers demonstrated their techniques in two 22-foot
(7-meter), 30,000-gallon (113,560-liter) dive tanks. One diver
donned a 135-pound (60-kg) suit for heavy underwater
construction, and sunk to the bottom as one of the other
inmates monitored his equipment up above.
No more than 12 percent of the more than 1,600 inmates who
have participated in the program have returned to prison -- far
below the average recidivism rate of 50 percent in California
prisons, officials said.

[NJFFSA16]

Coffin painter creates art for the afterlife
WERTACH, Germany (Reuters) - Coping with death is easier
for the bereaved when you celebrate the beauty of life in a
person's final resting place, according to a German painter who
decorates coffins with flowers and other symbols of nature.
Alfred Opiolka, from Wertach in southern Germany, recently
began adorning burial caskets with bright images of roses,
marigolds and butterflies when he decided traditional coffins
failed to fulfil all the emotional needs of parts of society.
"I see the painting almost as a kind of service to the
community, even though I don't want to talk about it terms
which sound too elevated," he said. "It makes me very happy
that I can really move people by doing this work for them."
He hit upon the idea after being hired to paint a funeral
home, a job which he said altered his perspective on death.
"I think the commission changed my life. I've thought about
life and death differently since and have a new perspective,"
he said, noting that one of his greatest wishes was to be able
to paint a church with the same natural motifs as his coffins.

[MalahatTwo7]

Bad Timing For A Bad Check

POSTED: 12:36 pm EST December 8, 2006
UPDATED: 12:54 pm EST December 8, 2006

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- You might think the dozens of police officers would have been deterrent enough.

But officers in Chesterfield Township, Mich., report that didn't stop a man from trying to pass a phony check at a Wal-Mart.

The store was hosting it's annual "Shop with a Cop" charity event. There were 40 marked squad cars in the parking lot and 80 officers in the store.

But authorities said despite all the law, Calvin Fluckes still tried to buy $848 worth of items with a poor photocopy of a check. Police Lt. David Marker told the Detroit Free Press the man was immediately apprehended.

"He has to be an idiot," Marker told the Free Press. "I can't even imagine what he was thinking."

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

--------

Who'a Thunk It?

Silly String Finds Serious Purpose In Iraq

POSTED: 5:15 pm EST December 6, 2006
UPDATED: 5:43 pm EST December 6, 2006

STRATFORD, N.J. -- In an age of multimillion-dollar high-tech weapons systems, sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can save lives. Which is why a New Jersey mother is organizing a drive to send cans of Silly String to Iraq.

American troops use the stuff to detect trip wires around bombs, as Marcelle Shriver learned from her son, a soldier in Iraq.

Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.

Now, 1,000 cans of the neon-colored plastic goop are packed into Shriver's one-car garage in this town outside Philadelphia, ready to be shipped to the Middle East thanks to two churches and a pilot who heard about the drive.

"If I turn on the TV and see a soldier with a can of this on his vest, that would make this all worth it," said Shriver, 57, an office manager.

The maker of the Silly String brand, Just for Kicks Inc. of Watertown, N.Y., has contacted the Shrivers about donating some. Other manufacturers make the stuff, too, and call their products "party string" or "crazy string."

"Everyone in the entire corporation is very pleased that we can be involved in something like this," said Rob Oram, Just for Kicks product marketing manager. He called the troops' use of Silly String innovative.

The military is reluctant to talk about the use of Silly String, saying that discussing specific tactics will tip off insurgents.

But Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said Army soldiers and Marines are not forbidden to come up with new ways to do their jobs, especially in Iraq's ever-evolving battlefield. And he said commanders are given money to buy nonstandard supplies as needed.

In other cases of battlefield improvisation in Iraq, U.S. soldiers have bolted scrap metal to Humvees in what has come to be known as "Hillybilly Armor." Medics use tampons to plug bullet holes in the wounded until they can be patched up.

Also, soldiers put condoms and rubber bands around their rifle muzzles to keep out sand. And troops have welded old bulletproof windshields to the tops of Humvees to give gunners extra protection. They have dubbed it "Pope's glass" -- a reference to the barriers that protect the pontiff.

In an October call to his mother, Army Spc. Todd Shriver explained how his unit in the insurgent hotbed of Ramadi learned from Marines to use Silly String on patrol to detect boobytraps.

After sending some cans to her 28-year-old son, Shriver enlisted the help of two priests and posted notices in her church and its newsletter. From there, the effort took off, with money and Silly String flowing in. Parishioners have been dropping cans into donation baskets.

"There's so much that they can't do, and they're frustrated, but this is something they can do," said the Rev. Joseph Capella of St. Luke's Church in Stratford.

The Shrivers said they would not mind seeing the string as standard-issue equipment, but they don't blame the military for not supplying it.

"I don't think that they can think of everything," said Ronald Shriver, 59, a retired salesman. "They're taught to improvise, and this is something that they've thought of."

Marcelle Shriver said that since the string comes in an aerosol can, it is considered a hazardous material, meaning the Postal Service will not ship it by air. But a private pilot who heard about her campaign has agreed to fly the cans to Kuwait -- most likely in January -- where they will then be taken to Iraq.

Shriver said she will continue her campaign as long as her son is overseas and she has Silly String to send.

"I know that he's going come through this. I hope they all do," she said.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.

[MalahatTwo7]

That was my best rendition of Jim Cary.

'Christmas Nut' Decorates 52 Trees In S.C. Home

POSTED: 1:51 pm EST December 11, 2006

RICHBURG, S.C. -- Melody Howell doesn't just have a Christmas tree; she has a whole Christmas forest in her Richburg-area home.

This year, she has 52 decorated trees -- one in every room of her house, including one in the laundry room and another in a bathtub.

Most folks think about their holiday decorations after Thanksgiving, but Howell never stops. She told the Rock Hill Herald she starts decking her halls Oct. 1 to be ready by mid-December.

Husband Gary Howell said his wife is a Christmas nut, but he added that their house looks beautiful when she's all done.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.

Dang! I shudder just to see Christmas stuff out in stores before Thanksgiving....
-------

NOW This is my kind of display! heeheheheheehee

Man's Christmas Lights Spell 'Bah-Hum-Bug'. Mich. Man Says Message Is Just For Fun

POSTED: 1:39 pm EST December 11, 2006

BYRON TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Jason Lee said he has nothing against Christmas, even though his decorations make him look like a bit of a Scrooge.

Lee spelled out "Bah-hum-bug" in Christmas lights on his front lawn as part of his holiday display.

The sour sentiment was made famous by Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

But Lee, a Byron Township sheet metal worker, said he's just having a little fun. He said you can't have too many lights.

One local official told The Grand Rapids Press he's not sure he gets the "Bah-hum-bug" message. But the official added there are worse things you can spell out in lights.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

[E40FDNYL35]

December 18, 2006 -- In Painesville, Ohio a man who shot his Great Dane in the head may have his jail sentence reduced if he dresses up as a dog. Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti offered Thursday to cut Robert M. Clark's sentence to 10 days in jail if he wears a Safety Pup costume and visits the city's five elementary schools. The mascot educates children about issues ranging from traffic safety to drug abuse. Clark, 38, pleaded no contest to an animal cruelty charge and was sentenced to 180 days in jail for shooting his dog. Cicconetti suspended all but 30 days of Clark's sentence if he pays the Lake County Human Society for the dog's veterinarian bills. The judge then offered to cut an additional 20 days if Clark dresses up as Safety Pup. Clark was arrested July 3 after neighbors reported hearing the dog's cries and police found the injured animal. The humane society took the dog to an emergency veterinary clinic, but he suffered brain damage and had to be euthanized, the group said.Clark is appealing the sentence, court officials said.

[FlyingKiwi]

Breaking news flash.

Really WIERD.

This thread went for almost 6 DAYS without a post.

True.

(PS. You shoot a dog that way around me, and a bullet will be a release from your misery.)

[RspctFrmCalgary]

Weird but True .... Ray hasn't posted any weird but true stories in 10 days!

Ray's last post was Nov. 17 and I posted the above comment on Nov. 29.

So, weird that it was 6 days between posts yes, but not as weird as it was the first time back in November!

Welcome back, Ray!!!!

[E40FDNYL35]

December 20, 2006 -- Christmas wreaths, yes; Christmas reefers, no. A woman in Jay, Okla., was busted for trying to deliver marijuana to her jailed boyfriend - in a Christmas card. And in the spirit of the holiday season, she apparently forgot that the reason he's in the slammer in the first place is that he repeatedly rammed her car.

While we're on the subject of prison and Christmas . . .

Most people are coming home for the holidays, but 23 in Ohio will be leaving for four days in jail - as part of plea-bargaining deals worked out by a judge in Columbus. He sentenced the minor offenders to probation after they agreed to spend Dec. 22 through Dec. 26 behind bars. "I wanted to send a message to those who were borderline . . . It's a reminder of where they could be going, if nothing else," the judge explained.

[E40FDNYL35]

December 22, 2006 -- Some roadway wag in Buffalo painted a 20-foot image of Pac-Man on Highway 55, where officials had spent $15,000 putting down white dots - which now appear to be getting up by the giant video-game gobbler.



http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pacman.html

[MalahatTwo7]

The things people will do for a piece....

Woman Poses As Lawyer To Have Sex With Inmate
Police: Woman Forged Attorney's Pass

POSTED: 1:26 pm EST December 21, 2006
UPDATED: 1:29 pm EST December 21, 2006

BALTIMORE -- A 29-year-old woman allegedly forged documents and assumed the identity of an Annapolis attorney, apparently for the sole purpose of having sex with an inmate at the Baltimore City jail.

"It was an elaborate scheme," said Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the prison system. "I'm not aware of something like this ever occurring before."

Police charged Tiffany Gwen Weaver, of Reisterstown with seven counts stemming from the alleged incident, including forgery, fraud, and false use of government identification. She faces up to 10 years in prison. On Nov. 13, police allege in charging documents filed in Baltimore District Court, a woman appeared at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center, claiming to be an attorney for inmate Jason Moody. She had a Maryland State Bar Association Security Identification Pass with photo, identifying her as Amanda Sprehn of the Annapolis law firm Hyatt, Peters & Weber. She also gave jail officials a business card with Sprehn's name.

Once alone with Moody, the court documents allege, the two began engaging in sexual intercourse. Corrections officials assigned to monitor such visits for safety and security observed their behavior and cut the visit short.

Annapolis attorney Amanda Sprehn, the real Amanda Sprehn, told The Baltimore Examiner she was on leave when her firm received a letter banning her from the jail.

"I was out on maternity leave," she said. "They informed me they received a letter saying I had been caught having sex with an inmate -- which was a real laugh."

"I haven't a clue how she got onto my identity," Sprehn said, adding that she has never represented Weaver. "I certainly feel like a victim. My reputation is at stake. There were already rumors circulating about me in Annapolis. My colleagues had to squash the rumors."

Prison investigators met with Sprehn's firm, and realized the business card and security pass were fakes. Further investigation led them to Weaver, authorities said.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.

And who in his or her "right" mind would want to impersonate a lawyer anyhow?
-------
ALRIGHTY THEN....

Stolen Baby Jesus Returns Year Later -- With Pictures

POSTED: 3:53 pm EST December 19, 2006

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A statue of the baby Jesus is back where it's supposed to be this Christmas: in John and Joan Leising's yard in Buffalo.

The statue was taken from the Leising's lighted manger last Christmas, and a note said it would be returned in three days.

It was returned eight months later, with a photo album.

Someone had posed the statue in front of Thruway signs in Binghamton, Rochester, Albany and Poughkeepsie. Other photos showed it on a bicycle, on a horse, wearing a seat belt in a car, in a chair next to a campfire and in someone's kitchen.

A note said the prank wasn't meant to be "blasphemous or disrespectful."

John Leising said the real Jesus would have forgiven the pranksters, and he does, too.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.