The Daily Drift

The Daily Drift

Today's horoscope says:
You can be quite an attention-grabber with your top-notch ideas -- and right now, you're definitely on a roll. Spread the word and let people know exactly what kind of plans you've got for your company, family or community -- your charm is peaking, and you can convince even the most serious doubter.
Gather your allies around you, because one of them makes a crucial connection on your behalf at just the right moment.

Some of our readers today have been in:

Burton Upon Tren, England, United Kingdom

Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Quebec, Quebec, Canada

Moscow, Moskva, Russia

Shrewsberry, England, United Kingdom

Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark

Paris, Ile-De-France, France

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Coffs Harbor, New South Wales, Australia

Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia

as well as Brazil, and the United States in such cities as Appleton, Dayton, Lake Zurich, Wasilla and more

Today is Monday, June 21, the 172nd day of 2010.

There are 193 days left in the year.

Today In History June 21

Today's unusual holiday or celebration is:

Ann & Samantha Day

Baby Boomer Recognition Day

Go Skateboarding Day

World Handshake Day

and

World Humorist Day

It is also the Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

The Summer Solstice, the northern hemisphere’s longest day of the year, and the point when the north pole is angled at exactly 23-and-a-half degrees toward the sun).

The actual event occurred at 5:45 a.m. Universal Time, or 1:45 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time.

To celebrate, pagans will burn fires, mermaids will parade through Coney Island, nude hikers will trudge through Maryland and English police are gearing up for the biggest ever crowd of visitors to Stonehenge.

World Cup Soccer

Scandal rocks France's World Cup squad

A team official quits on the spot after his players angrily refuse to practice Sunday.  

What happened 

Also: 

• Star worried about 'traitor'
• Embarrassment for France
• World Cup schedule

The World Cup's biggest problem

Another bad call by a soccer referee has one writer crying foul and looking for answers.

Column: what must be done 

Also: 

• Worst calls in sports
• U.S. ref's poor rating
• Brazil advances with win

Italy dealt stunning blow at World Cup

New Zealand pulls off what some are calling one of the greatest feats in World Cup history.

Didn't even win 

Also: 

• World Cup upsets
• Scenarios for U.S. team
• More World Cup coverage

Maybe I'm Amazed

Paul McCartney

Charlotte Garside

Like most girls her age, Charlotte Garside loves Barbie dolls, cuddly toys and all things pink.

Charlotte Garside

Charlotte Garside will never grow taller than 2ft and has a condition so rare there isn't a name for it.

Daily unny

A blond was playing Trivial Pursuit one night... It was her turn.

She rolled the dice and she landed on Science & Nature.

Her question was, 'If you are in a vacuum and someone calls your name, can you hear it?'

She thought for a time and then asked, 'Is it on or off?'

Culinary DeLites

Culinary DeLites

7 simple steps to wean off processed foods

Take time to compare the delicious flavors of whole foods to the quick sugary blitz from sweets.  

Other keys 

Also: 

• Healthy summer recipes
• Best and worst goodies
• Overeating vs. inactivity

NC man hollers 'Summertime' to win title

A North Carolina man who won the National Hollerin' Contest says he almost disqualified himself by going over the four-minute time limit.
Tony Peacock of Siler City won the 42nd annual contest Saturday in Spivey's Corner in central North Carolina.

NC man hollers 'Summertime' to win title

America's best scenic summer drives

America's best scenic summer drives

These routes offer everything from breathtaking vistas to quaint small towns.  

Road with ocean on both sides 

Also: 

• Prettiest American cities
• 10 airports to avoid
• Budget summer trips

Non Sequitur

On The Job

On The Job

What hiring managers wish you knew

Job candidates should know whether it's better to arrive 5 or 15 minutes early.  

How to talk about past bosses 

Also: 

• How to doom your search
• You get paid to do that?
• Interview questions

FCC asks: Do media ownership limits make sense?

Even the news industry's free fall probably will not be enough to wipe out complicated federal rules designed to restrain the power of media companies.

Full story

In Matters Of Health

In Matters Of Health

Why skin cancer is on the rise

Summer sun worshiping isn't the major factor in the increase in skin cancer, experts say.  

The suspected culprit 

Also: 

• Fight over beach access
• More on melanoma
• How to tan safely

Sun-protection mistakes you're making

Many people assume that the higher the SPF, the longer you can go without applying more.

The truth 

Also: 

• How to soothe a sunburn
• Swimsuits that flatter
• Tips for beautiful legs

Tax millionaires to help needy

N.J. debate: Tax millionaires to help needy?

The state's deficit has created a heated battle over taxing the wealthy or cutting social services.  

Monday's historic vote 

Also: 

• N.J. gov. Chris Christie
• Poll: N.J. voters split
• City's crime-fighting tech

Countries with the most millionaires

Countries with the most millionaires

China's booming economy has boosted the number of millionaire households by 30%.  

But still only third on the list 

Also: 

• Millionaires bounce back
• How to save a million
• Dogs get huge inheritance

The Midnight Special

Leadbelly

Here are two versions of the song:

Yonder come Miss Rosie, how in the world do you know
Well I know by the apron and the dress she wore
Well an umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
Well I'm gonna ask the governor, he turn a-lose a-my man

Let the midnight special, shine the light on me
Let the midnight special, shine the ever-lovin' light on me

When you get up in the mornin', when that big bell ring
You go and march to the table, see the same damn thing
Knife and fork are on the table, there's nothin' in my pan
And if you say anything about it, havin' trouble with the man

Well I went to the nation and to the territo(ry)
Well I thought about the girl I love, in that Mexico

If you ever go to Houston, oh you better walk right
And you better not squallow and you better not fight
Sheriff Rocko will arrest you, Eddie Boone will take you down
You can bet your bottom dollar, penitentiary bound

Well jumpin' little Judy, she was a mighty fine girl
Well Judy brought jumpin' to this whole round world
Well she brought it in the mornin', just a while before day
She brought me the news, that my wife was dead
That started me to grievin', then hollerin' and a-cryin'
Then I had to give the worry about a been a long time

another one:

Well you wake up in the morning, hear the ding dong ring,
You go a-marching to the table, see the same damn thing
Well, it's on a one table, knife, a fork and a pan,
and if you say anything about it, you're in trouble with the man

Let the midnight special, shine her light on me
Let the midnight special, shine her ever-loving light on me

If you ever go to Houston, you better walk right, you better not stagger, you better not fight
Sheriff Benson will arrest you, he'll carry you down
And if the jury finds you guilty, penitentiary bound

Yonder come little Rosie, how in the world do you know
I can tell her by her apron, and the dress she wore
Umbrella on her shoulder, piece of paper in her hand
She goes a-marching to the captain, says, "I want my man"

"I don' believe that Rosie loves me", well tell me why
She ain't been to see me, since las' July
She brought me little coffee, she brought me little tea
Brought me damn near ever'thing but the jailhouse key

Yonder comes doctor Adams, "How in the world do you know?"
Well he gave me a tablet, the day befo'
There ain't no doctor, in all the lan'
Can cure the fever of a convict man

Bad Cops

Bad Cops

Alabama police officer surrenders after 11-hour standoff

Florida police officer responds to false burglary call, releases dog on 10-year-old boy

Fired Virginia police officer pleads guilty to trespass

California cop is arrested twice on domestic violence related charges in five months

New York corrections officer kills two people in apparent domestic dispute

Maryland jail guard charged in drug sting

Longtime Michigan sheriff's sergeant charged with felonies

Dumb Crooks

Dumb Crooks

Pennsylvania man allegedly smuggles drugs in soup packets

Authorities arrested a Pennsylvania man who allegedly tried to smuggle more than four pounds of cocaine through Dulles International Airport using powdered soup packets.

Church burglar left birth certificate

Police say a man who stole petty cash from a central Pennsylvania church is in custody after leaving his birth certificate behind when he left. (maybe he was a birther?)

Broom Hilda

Nations rethink drilling in wake of BP oil spill

Britain has doubled rig inspections. 

Bulgaria scrapped plans for a new oil pipeline.

Nations rethink drilling in wake of BP oil spill

It's Only The Environment After All

It's Only The Environment After All

 Our Scenic Ocean brought to you by BP.

From the "This isn't going to end well" Department:

Crews drill even deeper to build relief wells

Workers start to bore two wells, to reach more than 13,000 feet below the sea floor. 

Anger over BP CEO's yacht race 

Also: 

• Report: BP raising $50 bil
• Find Gulf oil-spill map
• Egypt oil-spill dangers

It's Not Like We Don't Have Another One

Lunatic Fringe

Lunatic Fringe

When dealing with wingnuts ... Remember the rule: 

If they accuse someone of something, then they're already guilty of it.

Liars and Fools

Un-American Family Ass-hats mouthpiece Bryan Fischer lies: President Obama is literally a "fascist dictator".
 Proving Fascists are just like Nazis when it comes to talking into the mirror and confusing it with reality

Lush Dimbulb repeats his lies: Obama "wanted" Gulf oil disaster and "likes the disaster".
Saying it over and over again doesn't make it true, asshole, anymore than it make your 'marriage' to a woman a shield against the truth of your predilections for Dominican boys.

republican Congressional candidate Bill Randall alleges conspiracy between government and BP in causing spill.
No need to allege anything it was a conspiracy between government and BP ... between the shrub and the cabal and BP with the dick as the pivot man.

Michael Savage lies: If the country survives Obama, historians will say his was "the most terroristic regime in the history" of the US.
Nope, that was the shrub and the cabal and it has already been so recorded by historians.

Faux's Glenn Beck compares kids singing about Obama to Hitler Youth.
A Nazi using Nazi imagery again and this makes it news how?

Mickey Mouse on Speed

 

Mickey Mouse on Speed

In the 1950s, speed was legally sold as "pep pills" to help improve your mood and vigor, and Mickey Mouse got in the act with a series of strips in which Mickey pimped amphetamine to kids and grownups who needed a little pick-me-up.

Man on way to see dying aunt told he is too fat to fly

A 32 stone man who was on his way to say goodbye to a dying aunt was thrown off a transatlantic flight for being too fat. Sandy Russell was escorted off the Air Transat plane from Gatwick to Toronto by a stewardess last Saturday. He was then offered another flight for the transatlantic journey – but only if he paid for two full-price tickets.

The 32-year-old said he could not afford the £928 charge and his aunt died of bowel cancer in Canada two days after he was due to see her. He said: "I was absolutely devastated. I hardly cry, and there I was reduced to tears out of frustration and humiliation in the middle of the airport."

Mr Russell was escorted off the plane because his 52-inch girth meant that the armrest could not be lowered for take-off, as demanded by the airline's regulations. Mr Russell, from Wolverhampton, said he is angry that the airline did not explain to him before he boarded that his size could be a problem. "The worst thing is, my aunt has died now," he said. "By the time I got home from the airport, she was too ill to talk on the phone, so I couldn't even say goodbye to her.

"I'm not small, I don't deny it. But that doesn't mean I should be treated so disrespectfully." Air Transat agreed to refund Sandy's ticket price "as a gesture of goodwill." A spokesman said: "We can't ask people their measurements before they book a flight – it's a breach of their human rights. In this case, the armrest would not go down and separate Mr Russell from the lady beside him – and he was taking up more than a third of her seat."

Iran cleric says dogs "unclean" and not to be kept as pets

From the "Insane idiot" Department:

A senior Iranian cleric has decreed dogs are "unclean" and should not be kept as pets - a move aimed at discouraging Western-style dog ownership in the Islamic state.

Dogs are considered "unclean" under Islamic tradition but, while relatively rare in Iran, some people do keep them as pets.

By issuing a fatwa - a religious ruling - Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi has sent a clear message that this trend must stop.

"Friendship with dogs is a blind imitation of the West," he said. "There are lots of people in the West who love their dogs more than their wives and children."

Guard dogs and sheep dogs are considered acceptable under Islamic law but Iranians who carry dogs in their cars or take them to public parks can be stopped by police and fined.

The Koran does not explicitly prohibit contact with dogs, Shirazi said, but Islamic tradition showed it to be so. "We have lots of narrations in Islam that say dogs are unclean."

Wizard of Id

It's a Blond World

A Russian, an American, and a Blond were talking one day.

The Russian said, 'We were the first in space!'

The American said, 'We were the first on the moon!'

The Blond said, 'So what? We're going to be the first on the sun!'

The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads.

'You can't land on the sun, you idiot! You'll burn up!' said the Russian.


To which the Blond replied, 'We're not stupid, you know. We're going at night!'

Now that's just Bizarre

Now that's just Bizarre

Mannequin mistaken for mummy in abandoned boat

A reported "mummified" body on an abandoned boat in the Florida Keys turned out to be a mannequin.

Full story

Indian family of 162 could be largest living under one roof

An Indian family with 162 members could be one of the largest living together under one roof.

The head of the family and leader of the 'Chana' sect, 66-year-old Ziona, has 38 wives and 94 children with some of his sons having married and having children of their own living together in a building named 'Chhuan That Run' or the House Of The New Generation. One of Ziona's wives said though their sons lived in different rooms in the building they all share the kitchen where they cook for the entire family.

"We prepare 30-35kg of pork when we want to eat meat and require around 50kg of rice for dinner," she said. The members of the sect, numbering almost 3,000, live in around 350 houses.

The majority of the sect members reside in Baktawng village and have a separate locality called Baktawng Tlangnuam while many also lived in Aizawl and other places.

They all contribute one-tenth of their monthly earnings for the sect which is used for the development of the community which practises a blend of democracy and communism.

Earlier known as Khuangtuaha Pawl, the sect was formed on June 12, 1942 after the followers of Khuangtuaha were evicted from Hmawngkawn village by the village chief for propagating "wrong and dangerous" theology.

'intelligent design' is for idiots

For all those morons still clinging to that 'intelligent design' bullshit here's another theory for you:

Rednecks and other assorted weirdos

Rednecks and other assorted weirdos

Woman accused of fighting boyfriend over last beer

At 8:30 Wednesday night, a 53-year-old man sat in a chair, drinking the last beer in the house. His girlfriend wanted it. Elizabeth Breeden, 41, "went off" on him and tried to grab it out of his hand at their home on McKaig Lane in Land O'Lakes, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. He wouldn't let go.

Breeden ripped the Natural Light can in half, spilling the lager on her boyfriend, his chair and the floor, a report states. The boyfriend stood up. Breeden slapped him in the face. Then she kicked him in the groin, authorities said. Breeden told a deputy that her boyfriend kicked her and threw beer on her, which is why she ripped the can in half.

She was arrested and charged with domestic battery. This is her 18th arrest since 1999 — with charges such as possession of cocaine, shoplifting, fraud and failing to appear in court, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The boyfriend told authorities he started dating Breeden in February and she moved in with him in May. He didn't want to press charges, the report states.

Breeden is being held at the Pasco County jail in lieu of $1,000 bail. The report said Breeden was "extremely intoxicated" and there were "numerous Natural Light beer cans in the trash can."