Full Story in the LA Times
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Palin believes dinosaurs and men once coexisted
Soon after Sarah Palin was elected mayor of the foothill town of Wasilla, Alaska, she startled a local music teacher by insisting in casual conversation that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago -- about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct -- the teacher said.
Roman siege engine for sale
"Ever wanted to own a full-scale Roman siege engine? Now you can!
The ballista was successfully built and managed to fire a very heavy stone ball some 127 yards. (Remember, these things used to successfully lay siege to entire cities.)The ballista, dissembled, has been in our Scotland timber yard since then, so we have decided to make some room (quite a bit of room, actually) and sell it on eBay.
The ballista has aged gracefully and needs a little restoration work to get it back into shape again – though as a demonstration piece rather than as a fireable weapon. We’ve decided to sell the ballista ‘as seen’ for those who fancy constructing it themselves – though we are very happy to provide construction as an additional service. (To be fair, we recommend it – it will take people with timber expertise to do the required work.)
T.O. speaks up
It only took one loss for Terrell Owens to complain that he isn't a large enough part of the Cowboys' offense. That might have been true in Week 3 against Green Bay, but it wasn't the case against Washington. The Cowboys lost that game mainly because they didn't run the ball enough and because their defense couldn't stop Jason Campbell and the rest of the Redskins' passing attack. Owens always wants us to believe that when he speaks out, tossing his quarterback and coaches under the bus in the process, he is just showing his competitive nature. Not true. What he is showing is what we have seen so many times before -- the ability to destroy whatever cohesion his team, even one loaded with multiple stars, is able to build. Managing their ultra-high expectations is hard enough for the Cowboys without Owens being so quick to place blame when things turn sour. Any chance he'll figure that out? I'm not holding my breath.
(Vic Carucci is a senior columnist for NFL.com)
I'm not holding my breath either, Vic.
As of this moment ...
4176 Brave men and women are dead due to the cabal's greed in Iraq.
Support Our Troops ... Bring Them Home Today!
Support Our Troops ... Bring Them Home Today!
Dumb Crook News
Oh, my head hurts ...
From the "They walk among us" Department:
Thousands of dollar bills stolen from a restaurant in California's high desert could not have been more clearly marked ...
The Homestead had a tradition of customers writing messages on the currency and hanging it on the walls.
From the "They walk among us" Department:
Thousands of dollar bills stolen from a restaurant in California's high desert could not have been more clearly marked ...
The Homestead had a tradition of customers writing messages on the currency and hanging it on the walls.
Authorities say that didn't stop 34-year-old Donald Dejarnette from using some of the cash last week to pay for - of all things - a court fine.
Kern County sheriff's Sgt. Tyson Davis said a clerk immediately recognized the bills.
Some even had "Homestead" written on them.
Dejarnette and four others have been arrested on suspicion of taking $8,000 from the restaurant.
About $1,000 has been recovered.
The sheriff's department Tuesday didn't know whether any of the suspects has hired an attorney.
(Want to lay odds on some of that $7,000 still missing will be used to pay for these idiots' lawyers?)
Here Kitty, Kitty
A police officer didn't think much of a call to shoo off a bothersome "kitty cat" at a Casper, Wyoming home on Monday. But after the officer arrived at the home, he ran for cover after seeing a male mountain lion weighing 80 to 90 pounds.
Beverly Hood said she was inside when she first saw the mountain lion lying on her porch Monday. Hood said the lion hissed at her, but she wasn't scared.
She called 911, animal control and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and reported that she had a bothersome "big cat." A dispatcher told Officer Mike Ableman that it was a house cat.
A game warden tranquilized the mountain lion and the animal was relocated.
Portland newspaper draws protestors over DVD insert
About 70 protesters gathered outside The Oregonian Monday morning to reprimand the newspaper for distributing an hourlong DVD, “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West,” as paid advertising in its Sunday editions.
In a brief news conference, speakers characterized the DVD as Muslim-bashing propaganda promoting fear, hate and division.“It is a moral obligation of a newspaper in a community to inform, not misinform,” said the Rev. Chuck Cooper, director of ministries of Micah’s Village, a progressive Christian community near Clackamas.
“Obsession” conflicts with Oregon values of equity, diversity and inclusion, said Kayse Jama, executive director of the Center for Intercultural Organizing in North Portland, which organized the demonstration with help from The Good Faith Coalitiom and other faith and human rights groups.
The Oregonian distributed the DVD because it has an obligation to make its advertising as open as possible under the principle of free speech, Publisher Fred Stickel said. Newspapers generally accept all advertising that is not illegal or blatantly immoral.
Spicy chili kills amateur chef?!
Andrew Lee, aged 33, apparently died after making and eating an intensely spicy chili. Lee was apparently in good health and toxicologists are running tests to figure out exactly what killed him.
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
The forklift driver from Edlington, West Yorkshire in England, made a tomato sauce with red chillies grown by his father, but after eating it suffered intense discomfort and itching.
Mr Lee went to bed and asked his girlfriend, Samantha Bailey, to scratch his back until he fell asleep.
When she woke in the morning he was dead, possibly after suffering a heart attack, The Guardian said.
Woman Dressed as Cow Gets a Month in Jail
32-year-old Michele Allen received a one-month sentence for disorderly conduct after police received complaints that she was dressed in a cow costume and chasing children, blocking traffic, and urinating on a neighbor's porch.
She wore the costume again when she appeared for sentencing.
Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque
You knew it had to happen!
With all the hate and fear mongering coming from the wing-nuts it was only a matter of when and where not if it would happen ...
Friday, September 26th ended a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West -- the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail -- were distributed by mail in Ohio.
The same day, a "chemical irritant" was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service.
The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers.
This, apparently, is what the scare tactic political campaigning of John McCain's supporters has led to -- Americans perpetrating a terrorist attack against innocent children on American soil.
Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After Obsession DVD Hits Ohio
No Carte Blanche, No Bailout
The House repugicans voted down the Bailout yesterday because it did not give Carte Blanche to the shrub and the cabal with no accountability something the Democratcs will never allow.
We the taxpayers are tired of and will not pay for the "right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation" of financial markets, as put by Pelosi.
What is amazing is that voting down the Bailout is the right thing to do but the repugicans did it for the wrong reasons.
The Bailout as proposed by the cabal would suffer the same fate from the Democrats but there it would be for the right reasons.
The thieves that caused the problem should have to pay the cost of fixing it - not the taxpayers.
They should go Bankrupt like they have forced many taxpayers to do.
In Raleigh, semi-precious finds all over town
Jeweler has left gifts in boxes throughout the city as a viral marketing campaign.
Somewhere in Raleigh right now there is a small black-and-white striped box tied up with a red ribbon. Inside, there are earrings or a necklace, possibly pearls. It could be on a park bench, or in restaurant.
Find it and it's yours.
No strings. No hidden cameras. Just a feel-good moment during these less-than-feel-good economic times, courtesy of Trey Bailey.
Bailey, director of operations for Bailey's Fine Jewelry, a Raleigh institution, decided last month to try a little viral advertising campaign. Since then he and his staff have left 20 gifts around the city. The first was found by Cecilia Upchurch of Raleigh, whose curiosity was piqued when she saw the little box on a patio table at Cafe Carolina & Bakery in Cameron Village.
“It was Sept. 11, and people were hesitant to touch it,” Upchurch said. “It was nicely wrapped and as pretty as could be. I picked it up and underneath the box the note said, ‘Finder's keeper.'”
She took the box inside the restaurant and opened it in front of the manager. Inside was a pearl stretch bracelet.
It was just luck that Upchurch was even there that day. Both her parents are ill and live in separate nursing facilities. She usually eats lunch in her car on the way to visit them. On that day, her mother was feeling good and told Upchurch to treat herself to lunch instead of driving to the facility.
Upchurch wore the bracelet to dinner that night. She told all her friends about it. She wore it to church and told everyone there. She even told the story on her family's Web site.
Bailey's viral marketing had taken off.
Companies pay thousands of dollars for such publicity. For Bailey's, the cost isn't as high as one might think. Most of the gifts range from $20 to $100. “It's not cheap, but it's not terribly expensive,” Bailey said. Indeed, he just started similar campaigns in Rocky Mount and Greenville, N.C., where he also has stores.
Bailey said he also likes to hear the stories behind the people who find them. “It's a great, intimate way to get to know your customers and your community,” he said.
For now, he plans to continue the campaign indefinitely.
He did consider that someone might think the box was dangerous.
“I thought about it. But then I said, ‘Why should I be so cynical?' I shouldn't let that keep me from doing something that's good.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
