One member of staff, who did not want to be named, said: “East Kilbride managers were at a training day when it was announced they would replace good morning with Mahna Mahna. “The staff had just returned from lunch and all the managers were in a training room, sitting in a semi-circle and looking really…
A Canadian man, driving a car packed with weapons and ammunition, was intent on killing as many people as possible in a Toronto neighbourhood but gave up the plan at the last minute when he encountered a friendly dog, police say. —Puppy prevents Canadian killing spree (ABC (Australia)) There… do you see how nice Canadians are?…
The 40-year-old male teacher handed the boy a box-cutter and paper and told him to write an apology in blood. —Japanese boy writes apology in blood (CNN) Now that’s harsh. Looks like the Reuters reporter did some independent checking of a story that appeared on local news… if not for that line, I’d wonder whether this…
They circle in front of the motion detector, the doors open, and the birds fly through and take lunch up to the kids that are nesting in the building. Then it’s back to the door, buzz by the motion detector — and fly through again to hunt for more food. —Birds Learn to Operate Automatic…
“They struck his head with a reed and spat on him.” — Mk 15:19 —The Crucifixion (in Lego) (The Brick Testament) This site, by “Rev” Brendan Powell Smith, features Lego illustrations of Biblical passages — including many that you don’t often see in kiddie books, including the Dueteronomy passages on rape, bestiality, incest, homosexuality, transvestism, and…
The final internet chatroom exchange took place on 28 June last year. “U want me 2 take him 2 trafford centre and kill him in the middle of trafford centre??” said one message. “Yes,” came the reply. Less than 24 hours later, a 14-year-old boy was critically ill in hospital with stab wounds in the…
In a society devoted to “reality shows” and rampant commodification, it had to happen some time. Late last month an independent scientist auctioned off his services as a co-author on eBay, with the promise of helping the highest bidder write a scientific paper for publication. The offer even had the added allure of a linkage…
Shields’ artfully monogrammed wardrobe and journalistic wiles do little to prevent her from falling into one of the most common traps faced by journalists: getting abducted by circus folk and forced to wear a skimpy costume, a fate that routinely befell Edward R. Murrow. —Brenda Starr (1989) (The Onion AV Club) This review of this Brooke…
The Catholic Education Office abandoned plans last year to challenge sex discrimination laws after it agreed to add an additional 12 female-only scholarships to balance plans to offer 12 male-only scholarships. —Samantha Maiden and Paige Taylor —Grant to lure male teachers (News.Com.Au) Becasue a scholarship program designed to increase the number of male teachers was ruled…
Handwriting Analysis and Fortune Telling Yesterday I was at St. Vincent College’s “Earth Day,” where a man named Dennis collected handwriting samples and offered a personality reading. I let him go through his schtick — which included all sorts of affirming things like I am a resource person for too many people, I’ve either had…
The administrative assistant and her two desk neighbors once sat near Alex, a colleague who chewed loudly and dripped his day-old jelly doughnuts. Their pleas to the manager to put a curtain around his desk were unsuccessful. That meant they were forced to watch the day that his mess jammed nearly every key on his…
Random Acts of Music Just now, a student crept up behind me and slipped a pair of headphones over my head. I don’t know her. She doesn’t introduce herself. Small voices, like backwards chimpmunks, say something inaudible to a hip-hop beat. “I randomly subject people to whatever I’m listenting to,” says the student. I thank…
Instead of starring a busty young woman or a porn stud with rock-hard abs, the Flash-powered site features an actor in a chicken suit, dressed in lingerie. And unlike previous big-business attempts to cash in on an Internet trend, the Subservient Chicken site quickly became an Internet hit. —Chris Ulbrich —Porno Hen Hawks for Burger…
A long overdue Grand Finale to the celebrated ‘Peanuts’ cartoon strip. By Raymond J. Dartsch. With apologies to Schulz. —Rest in Peace, Charlie Brown Really horrible. I mean it. Sick, sick, sick. I couldn’t stop clicking. The artwork is decent, but the lettering is hard to read… I hadn’t realized just how much Shultz’s wobbly…
A Greensburg woman who celebrated her 21st birthday at a Hempfield Township bar and later broke seven teeth after falling from a vehicle in a drunken stupor filed a lawsuit Monday against the bar. —Woman sues bar (Tribune-Review) According to her lawyer, “At one point, she asked for water, and they gave her another (alcoholic) drink.…
John Valiska, known as “Johnny Peeps” to his friends, is trying to eat more than 1,500 Peeps candies this Easter season. —Indiana Man Tries To Break ‘Peeps’ Record (WCPO – Indiana) Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Visiting the #scienceofpixar exhibit @kaminsciencecenterThings Past #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch…
—Playmobil Security Checkpoint (Playmobil||Metafilter) I’m not sure what I think of this. It’s far better than plastic grenades to strap around your waist. By the way, the site designers make it extremely hard to link to an internal page… I guess they don’t want much inbound traffic. Link goes to MetaFilter’s page on the subject. Similar:Couples…
“He has never hurt anyone and he desperately needs help with his obsession,” his wife said. “If he was a pedophile or a mugger they would be falling over backwards to help him, but because he is fascinated with taking cars and cleaning them nobody wants to know.” —Jail sentence for Englishman who stole and…
Say, how do you feel about ice cream? Fan of the ice cream? Maybe it’ll help soften the punch of Quality Inn’s video game assortment. You’ve got three different kinds of ice cream bars to choose from, and they’ll only cost you a buck and a half each. Finally, Atlantic City has a stereotypical bargain…
Stan Wagon, a mathematician at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., has a bicycle with square wheels. It’s a weird contraption, but he can ride it perfectly smoothly. His secret is the shape of the road over which the wheels roll. Stan Wagon rides his square-wheeled trike over a special roadway. Courtesy of Stan —Riding…