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The place where the world comes together in honesty and mirth.
Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Friday, September 4, 2009

Sony unveils 3D television

Sony unveils 3D television

A technology currently confined to a few cinemas could be brought into living rooms next year.

Man who called 911 charged with mobile home deaths

Police have arrested a family member who called 911 on eight counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of people found in a Georgia mobile home.

Man who called 911 charged with mobile home deaths

Jews who escaped Nazis as kids recreate train trip

Elderly Holocaust survivors were reunited at a London railway station Friday with the man who saved them on the eve of World War II — a now 100-year-old former stockbroker who rescued hundreds of Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia.

Full Story

Panthers fan says he was tossed out for cheering

There are some crazy, passionate football fans for every team. The Carolina Panthers have a few who dress up with blue hair and Panther claws. And there are other fans who lead the crowd in cheers. One of those fans was tossed out of Thursday night's game.

"In 1993 when the tickets went on sale, and Jerry Richardson was saying, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,' I said, 'You're welcome,'" said Joe Nejberger.

A Panthers PSL owner since day one, he says he's "sat in the same section for 14 years now."

Nejberger even has a routine he does after every Panther touchdown.

"I put my hands out with my fingers extended as if they were claws. I say, 'How 'bout them Panthers. ... About 10 years or so ago I started adding the choreographed 'C-A-T-S. What's that spell? CATS,'" Nejberger said.

But at Thursday night's preseason game against the Pittsburg Steelers he says, "This little feller in a red shirt said I needed to sit down, and I said, 'I've been doing this for 14 years. You got to be kidding.' Next thing I know there was a posse of cops, a deputy sheriff and Charlotte police escorted me to security."

Nejberger says Panthers security never gave him a reason for booting him from the stands. He says they just told him, "You have to go or we're going to have to put you in jail."

Nejberger says he was not intoxicated at the time.

"You can't get drunk on $7 beers. No, I was not drunk at all," he said.

After calling and e-mailing the Panthers all day Friday, Nejberger got an e-mail from the stadium operations manager telling him they are investigating the incident and will need the weekend to talk to everyone involved.

Nejberger just wants an apology.

"If I feel good about the response I get from the Panthers, I will not sell my tickets or PSL. I'll consider coming back to the games," he said. "Right now my tickets are on sale. I'm disgusted."

Nejberger says he's hurt by all this and he finds it ironic that he's the one guy that gets the crowd going and cheering even when the Panthers are losing.

Hallucinating sanity in the middle ages

Hallucinations weren’t considered madness in middle ages. (neither are they considered madness among the wing nuts of today)

Hallucinations and Their Impact on Art:

What is more curious to the contemporary man is that the medieval description of insanity does not include hallucinations; and the experience of possession (passivity phenomena) is not described as occurring concurrently with or as part of a visionary state.

In Western Europe from AD 500-1500, people who heard voices or saw visions considered themselves, and were considered buy their contemporaries, to have had an actual perceptual experience of either divine or satanic inspiration. They were not considered mad and were not treated as such. Hallucinations (fantasmata) were only considered mad when combined with trickery (prestigiae).

Hallucinating sanity in the middle ages

Wing Nuts take a strong stand against … learning?!?

This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the wing nut’s usual stances on education:

If there is anybody out there who still doesn’t believe that the wing nut media will attack President Obama no matter what he does, consider this: Wing nuts are telling children to skip school as a protest against Obama’s encouragement of students to stay in school. [...]

There’s nothing you can imagine that is too crazy for these people to say. They’ll claim Barack Obama was secretly born in Kenya (his birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers were just one part of an elaborate, decades-long conspiracy involving Kenyans, the media, Hawaii’s repugican governor, and the Stonecutters). They’ll say he has a diabolical plan to create government “death panels” to kill off the old and the young. They’ll claim he is building a secret private army (consisting of — I swear I am not making this up — AmeriCorps and Peace Corps volunteers) that is “just as strong” as the U.S. military so that he can “seize power” and create a “thugocracy.” [...]

So Glenn Beck and his fellow tinfoil hat-wearers sprang into action. Beck went off on his “indoctrination” rant, warning of secret private armies (no, he isn’t worried about Blackwater — it’s the thought of English majors signing up to help teach people how to read that keeps him up at night).

Wing Nuts take a strong stand against … learning?!?

Myths of the full moon explained

With tonight's Full Moon and the weirdness this is a timely piece.

Myths of the full moon explained

Can you see strange figures in the full moon with a magnifying glass?

Calibrate your HDTV and save money

Calibrate your HDTV and save money

Basic adjustments on your TV's picture settings can mean using 50 percent less electricity.

Cartoon Break

Back in 1929 UB Iwerks drew for Disney. In 1937 he drew for Columbia.

From 1929 "Skeleton Dance"

From 1937 "Skeleton Frolic"

Regulators shut down bank in Missouri

Regulators on Friday shut down First Bank of Kansas City in Missouri, pushing to 85 the number of banks that have failed this year under the weight of the soured economy and rising loan defaults.

That makes 85 US bank failures this year

New arrest in jewelery heist probe

Police have made a further arrest in connection with Britain's biggest jewelery robbery.

Full Story

Thirsty Florida woman accused of stealing change

A 19-year-old woman was accused of taking $7 in change from a car parked at a police station.

Thirsty Florida woman accused of stealing change

South Carolina Man Tries to Set Record for Grape Catching

A Midlands, South Carolina man is trying to break a somewhat bizarre world record.

Eat clean, function better

Eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, alongside lean proteins and carbohydrates, can help improve everything from body shape to libido.

Eat clean, function better

The 100K Milestone

We reached 100,000 readers for the year just a moment ago.

It took 247 days and an average of 405 readers per day, but we did it.

Having starting out the year averaging over 600 readers a day we were hit hard by the "Summer Slump" and vacation season that is just ending.

C'est la Vivre.

School library goes bookless

School library goes bookless

A 144-year-old prep school discards its "outdated" 20,000-book collection.

Just a little case of profiling

The drug warriors at the US Forest Service want campers to be alert for other campers who might "eat tortillas, drink Tecate beer and play Spanish music because they could be armed marijuana growers".

Palin Resignation Costs Alaska At Least $40K

In typical repugican fashion ...
Waste, all they do is waste, anything and everything.

Early estimates put the cost of Sarah Palin's midterm resignation as Alaska governor at a minimum of $40,000, not including a special legislative session partly linked to her departure.

Palin Resignation Costs Alaska At Least $40K

Get on board, or get out of the way

The following letter was sent to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the repugican senator from Iowa.
Dear Sen. Grassley: Stop with these “pull the plug on grandma” statements and the “death panel” remarks concerning health care reform with the public option. The majority of Americans want this in the bill and will remember your comments and lies on this subject.

Union leaders have spoken about the Republican leaders’ comments, the busing of radical people to town meetings, some with guns, and the fear your people are creating for old people.

You will be remembered during your next election for these acts. Can’t your Republicans and blue-dog Democrats have truthful debates about health care reform?

Stop lying to the very people who elected you. This is totally out of hand, and now we hear comparisons of this to Germany under Hitler. Enough is enough. Your job is to represent and support American people; like it says, “We the people ... for the people.” What happened to that?

Ask the seniors on government-run Medicare. Ask the veterans on government-run vets insurance if they want to give it up. And ask your fellow senators if they want to give up their government-run health care.

Get on board with health care reform with the public option, or get out of the way.
*****

Health care reform WILL pass regardless of whatever the shrill wing nut shills scream and their mindless drones march in lock-step to.

US kidnapping case has police checking other unsolved murders, child abductions

Police are scouring old records of major unsolved cases in northern Nevada to determine if any match the profile of the man charged in the abduction and assault of a Lake Tahoe girl 18 years ago.

US kidnapping case has police checking other unsolved murders, child abductions

Is the World Joining in a Hitler Love Fest?

You know what, in 2 days in the media, Hitler has been featured in the Buchanan controversy, racial attacks and now a safe sex marketing campaign.

Is the World Joining in a Hitler Love Fest?

Fair's latest fried-food craze

Fair's latest fried-food craze

The State Fair of Texas has dished up deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried Oreos, and deep-fried Coke.

Team of geeks cracks spy trade

Team of geeks cracks spy trade

A group of young engineers builds an unlikely following in U.S. spy circles.

Lobster wars rattle tiny island

Lobster wars rattle tiny island

Long-simmering feuds suddenly turn ugly on a remote fishing island 20 miles off the coast of Maine.

Story
Also:

Proverbial Wisdom

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

Chinese Proverb
(Man, this explains why I shine so brightly - all the polishing I've had over the years)

Susan Boyle outdoes Whitney Houston

Considering Boyle has TALENT and Houston never did it is hardly surprising.

Susan Boyle outdoes Whitney Houston

The Scottish singer's still-unreleased debut tops Amazon sales, beating out Whitney Houston.

Things to get for absolutely free

20 things to get for absolutely free

Find out what you can get without paying a dime — from shipping to movies to kids' meals.

Hidden pockets of elderly in poverty

The official poverty rate for Americans 65 years and older has stood for years at 10 percent, the lowest rate among age groups.

Full Story

Goat found in the Bronx

It's another case of the wandering goat.
Officials say an emaciated-looking Nubian goat wandered onto the property of a nursing home in the Bronx, where two other goats were discovered in July.

Goat found in the Bronx,
third in more than a month;
their origin remains a mystery

Man fires cannon, hits neighbor's house


A Pennsylvania history buff who recreates firearms from old wars accidentally fired a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home.
Fifty-four-year-old William Maser fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away.

Man fires cannon, hits neighbor's house

Teen who cries blood gets help from experts

Calvino Inman had just stepped out of the shower one evening in May when a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror caused him to panic.

Al Franken talks an anti-healthcare-reform mob down

When Senator Al Franken was confronted by an angry mob of teabagger/anti-healthcare-reform types, he calmly, rationally and intelligently talked them down, setting an example for how to conduct reasoned discourse that relies on facts and rationality rather than jingoism.


Intelligence always wins, folks.

Pears grown in the shape of the Buddha

British musicians speak out against disconnecting accused infringers

Paul McCartney, Elton John and other prominent British musicians have spoken out against the government's ridiculous proposal to disconnect people who've been accused of infringing on copyright from the Internet, calling it 'expensive, illogical and "extraordinarily negative".' Damned right. Cutting entire families off from access to e-government, health information, work, education, friends, family, and freedom of expression freedom of assembly and freedom of the press because someone accused one member of infringing copyright is terrible.

The UK government's own research shows that households without Internet access operate at a huge disadvantage, paying more for basic necessities than online counterparts -- everything from premiums on their phone- and gas-service because they can't opt for electronic statements to missing out on jobs and other opportunities. To treat the Internet as a luxury item that can be taken away from whole housefulls of people because one member has been accused of a civil infraction flies in the face of justice, proportionality and due process. Civilised countries don't engage in collective punishment.

In a statement seen by the Guardian, a coalition of bodies representing a range of stars including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John and Damon Albarn attacks the proposals as expensive, illogical and "extraordinarily negative".

The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (Basca) and the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have joined forces to oppose the proposals to reintroduce the threat of disconnection for persistent file sharers, which was ruled out in the government's Digital Britain report in June.

The plans have already been attacked by privacy campaigners, internet service providers and a range of MPs, some of whom accuse the business secretary of being influenced by secret meetings with senior figures from the music and film industry, a charge he denies.

The coalition accuses the government of being backward looking, saying there is "little support from logic" in proposals to cut off file sharers - a move welcomed by the record companies and UK Music, the umbrella body for the entire industry.

The statement says: "We vehemently oppose the proposals being made and suggest that the stick is now in danger of being way out of proportion to the carrot. The failure of 30,000 US lawsuits against consumers and the cessation of the pursuit of that policy should be demonstration enough that this is not a policy that any future-minded UK government should pursue."

23 Davidson College students ill with flu

Twenty-three Davidson College students have been diagnosed recently with Type A influenza, but most cases have been mild, college officials said this afternoon.

“Their fevers broke quickly, and several of these individuals have already been diagnosed as well enough to return to classes and regular activities,” Dean of Students Tom Shandley said in a letter today to students, faculty and staff. "Instead of the initial seven days that was forecasted, we have found that the full recovery has come in 3-5 days.”

The students had all gone to the college's health center because they had such flu-like symptoms as fever, body aches, runny or stuffy noses, sore throats, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, Shandley said.

The college has an emergency flu plan based on federal guidelines that call for ill individuals to be isolated from the rest of the community. Ill Davidson College students who live in a single room are allowed to stay there and self-isolate, Shandley said. They must wear masks whenever they have to leave the room, but meals are delivered and they are kept isolated from others on the hall, he said.

Ill students who share a room are moved to two large dormitory lounges with separate showers and HVAC systems. Meals are delivered to the rooms by workers from the college's Dining Services, and staff check on the students throughout the day, Shandley said.

Students who test positive for the flu are prohibited from attending class until cleared by the Student Health Center, generally after they have been free of fever for 24 hours and/or their symptoms begin to abate, he said.

Woman sues Billy Graham group over race

A black woman has filed a lawsuit against the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, saying she was abruptly fired from the organization after complaining it was not reaching out to African-Americans.

Kimberly McCallum of Charlotte says in the lawsuit filed in Mecklenburg County that she was the only black employee working in the association's executive offices when she started there in February 2007. She complained to her superiors later that year when she was asked to recruit congregations to a camp program but found that a list of 635 prospective churches had only three congregations that were primarily black.

McCallum was told a week later that her job was being eliminated.

The association declined to immediately talk about McCallum's job but called her allegations "preposterous."

*****

Knowing Billy Graham and his organization (read: Cult), 'preposterous' is the last word that could be used to describe her allegations

Big payday after decades behind bars

Big payday after decades behind bars

Inmates freed by DNA evidence are becoming instant millionaires in Texas.

WWII pilot hoping to find lost wings

WWII pilot hoping to find lost wings

Bernerd Harding buried his pilot's wings in a German cellar 65 years ago. Now he plans to dig them up.

Story
Also:

Sixty-five-years ago, 1st Lt. Bernerd Harding huddled in a cellar with a few other airmen captured by German farmers and buried his pilot's wings, fearful he'd be beaten or shot as an American bomber pilot.

Cops shoot Fire Chief in court

This is way sane people avoid Arkansas

The story has it all - a B-Movie plot writers wet dream: a tiny, dust blown town rising up against their own draconian police force, a gang of cops shooting a fireman in front of a judge, it's utterly unbelievable and a made for TV movie already written for the producers.

I'll never drive through Jericho, Arkansas, in this or any other lifetime - bet on it.
It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn't hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps.

The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in court...

It was anger over traffic tickets that brought Payne to city hall last week, said his lawyer, Randy Fishman. After Payne failed to get a traffic ticket dismissed on Aug. 27, police gave Payne or his son another ticket that day. Payne, 39, returned to court to vent his anger to Judge Tonya Alexander, Fishman said.

It's unclear exactly what happened next, but Martin said an argument between Payne and the seven police officers who attended the hearing apparently escalated to a scuffle, ending when an officer shot Payne from behind...

Prosecutor Lindsey Fairley said Thursday that he didn't plan to file any felony charges against the officer or Payne. Fairley, reached at his home, said Payne could face a misdemeanor charge stemming from the scuffle, but that would be up to the city's judge. He said he didn't remember the name of the officer who fired the shot.


No charges for the cop who shot the man in court and in the BACK?! And possible charges for the man that was SHOT?! Something is definitely whack in Jericho, Arkansas.

The Beatles ... Rock Band

I might actually break down and learn to play video games for this one ...
The Beatles: Rock Band - Opening Cinematic
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the DayStand-Up ComedyFree Online Games

How workers get stiffed out of pay

How workers get stiffed out of pay

The average lower-paid worker gets cheated out of their rightful income, a study finds.

Unusual Holidays and Celebrations

Today is Oatmeal Day.

Daily Almanac

Today is Friday, Sept. 4, the 247th day of 2009.

There are 118 days left in the year.

Today In History September 4, 2009

Our Readers

Some of our reders today have been in:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Nice, Provence-Alpes-Cote D'Azur, France
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
New Delhi, Delhi, India
London, England, United Kingdom
Tangier, Tangier, Morocco
Upper Hut, Wellington, New Zealand
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

as well as Scotland, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

No matter where you go, what the circumstances are or why you happen to be there, more often than not, you're likely to be made the honorary principal -- and the financial secretary.
Most times, you don't mind -- you often enjoy it.
If this is one of those times when you don't want to be on duty, bow out graciously.
If you see a need, as usual, you'll jump in and help.
But for your own sake, do take some time off.

Way ahead of you.