Posted by admin on Jun 16, 2008 in
Feloniousness Is it me or do schools seem like they are becoming more and more like fascist dictatorships? It’s not like the venue was a somber theater or auditorium, it was a dang coliseum! Best part of the article is at the very end “Russell Booker, superintendent of York schools, said family and friends are encouraged to cheer at designated times during the ceremony.” Control freaks.
Completely unrelated photo of models wearing caps and gowns.
Six arrested, accused of cheering at Fort Mill High School graduation
www.fortmilltimes.com | By Adam O’Daniel | Published June 10, 2008
Six people were arrested for cheering at Fort Mill High School’s commencement ceremony at Winthrop Coliseum Saturday, according to police reports.
Another man was arrested at the York Comprehensive High School commencement Friday morning, also at the Winthrop Coliseum, according to Rock Hill police reports.
Following a growing trend at high schools around the country, Fort Mill and York school officials asked Rock Hill police to monitor the graduation ceremonies and enforce the rules limiting cheers for individual graduates. District officials said the rule is in place to prevent loud cheers from drowning out the reading of the next graduate’s name. Attendees were warned verbally and in writing that loud celebrations during the presentation of diplomas were strictly prohibited, the reports state.
In each instance, the suspects cheered for a specific graduate when his or her name was called. After their outburst, the suspects were taken into police custody and charged with public disorderly conduct. One man pulled away from an officer during the arrest and also was charged with resisting police.
The people arrested at the ceremonies ranged in age from 19 to 42.
Last year, three men were arrested for cheering for a graduate during the Fort Mill ceremony.
Fort Mill school officials could not be reached Monday.
Russell Booker, superintendent of York schools, said family and friends are encouraged to cheer at designated times during the ceremony.
Posted by admin on Jun 16, 2008 in
Feloniousness,
Forteana 
Why Curly is a stooge and Justin a golden boy
Among the wealth of research on the importance of given names, a new study correlates first names with criminal behaviour
MICHAEL VALPY | From Monday’s Globe and Mail | June 9, 2008 at 4:44 AM EDT
A Jarrit by any other name might be a brain surgeon.
But unlike Michaels, Matthews and Christophers, he is more likely to be a juvenile delinquent.
Ditto for an Art, a Curly and a Thurmond.
This is the finding of two economists from Pennsylvania’s Shippensburg University presented at Canada’s annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences held this year at the University of British Columbia.
While other researchers have studied the ties between first names and socio-economic status, the work of David Kalist and Daniel Lee is believed to be the first attempt to correlate first names with criminal behaviour.
Read more…
Posted by admin on Jun 15, 2008 in
Forteana In China, a farmer and his unknown wife were startled to find their baby boy born with what has been called a “second manhood.” Much like the Tuscan unicorn, it seems only 1 photo is being circulated with this story. I’ve included a ridiculous censored version of the baby’s photo, too.
“Fetus in fetu” is perhaps one of the most bizarre and puzzling conditions a human can have. Fetus in fetu and the closely related condition of parasitic twin, occur when twin fetuses somehow intertwine and fuse during gestation. These conditions are responsible for some of Miss Fidget’s most popular posts. The 8 limbed Indian girl Lakshmi, the two faced Indian girl Lali, the lamb born with 7 legs and no bunghole are all the result of a conception starting as twins and ending in a one baby with a lil extra.
A few years back a another baby in China was born with a functioning third arm that was removed.
Baby born with penis on back
www.thesun.co.uk | Published: 10 Jun 2008
THIS is the picture that will shock parents around the world – a baby born with a second penis on his BACK.
The tot was born to farmer dad Li Jun, 30, and his unnamed wife, who live in Hejian city in central China’s Henan province.
Surgery
But he was rushed to Tianjin Childrens’ Hospital on May 27 for surgery to remove his extra manhood.
The rare condition, the first for Tianjin Childrens’ Hospital, is called fetus in fetu (FIF).
Doctors, who spent over three hours removing the extra penis on June 6, said he was fine following surgery.
Posted by admin on Jun 12, 2008 in
Feloniousness Well, nobody’s perfect. Some people have a way with words. Other people no have way.
Stockton Stop Sign Spelled ‘SOTP’
June 11, 2008 | www.kcra.com/news
Misspelling Happened Near Dentoni Park
A road crew in Stockton doing repairs at Royal Oaks Drive wants you to “SOTP.”
After putting a stop sign in, the crew came back to the road by Dentoni Park to paint the stop sign on the pavement when they misspelled the word “stop,” a Stockton resident said.
The misspelling was corrected on Wednesday, city officials said.
Posted by admin on Jun 12, 2008 in
Forteana Not a lot of photos available of this cute unicorn, yet. It’ll be interesting to see how his “horn” or antler will develop. I worry that poachers and traditional medicine fans will find, hunt and kill this critter before he gets to grow and shed his horn.
‘Unicorn’ found in Tuscany wildlife park
guardian.co.uk | Tom Kington in Rome | Wednesday June 11 2008
A roe deer with only one horn growing from the middle of its forehead roams a park in Tuscany. Photograph: Carlo Ferraro/EPA
An animal expert in Italy is claiming to have found proof of the existence of unicorns after he stumbled upon a young roe deer with a single horn growing from the centre of its forehead.
The 10-month old animal is part of a herd of deer that are otherwise equipped with two antlers at the Prato natural science centre in Tuscany.
”It’s proof that the mythical unicorn celebrated in iconography and legends was probably not just a fantastic creature but a real animal: a deer or other species with an anomaly similar to that of our deer,” said the centre’s director Gilberto Tozzi.
Unicorns have been a fixture in mythology and art since pre-Roman times, often said to be solitary creature unless accompanied by a maiden, with horns that can be used to cure poisonings.
Christian writers promoted unicorns as symbols of Christ.
Marco Polo claimed to have spotted a unicorn on his travels, but from his description of an “ugly” animal wallowing in mud, it is believed he had stumbled upon a rhino.
Tozzi said his “unicorn” was shy. “Our deer may be aware that he is different as he doesn’t allow himself to be seem very easily,” he said.
The mother of the unusual deer was brought to the centre a few years ago after being hit and injured by a car in Italy’s Apennine mountains.
Posted by admin on Jun 12, 2008 in
Foolery The end of the school year is causing a spate of delightful gaffes relating to yearbooks, diplomas and bad uses of technology. Ask yourself, what would YOUR name get changed to?
Faulty spell-checker causes embarrassing yearbook typos
June 03, 2008 | www.poconorecord.com
MIDDLETOWN (AP) — A computerized spell-checker run amok christened several Pennsylvania high school students with new — and in some cases unflattering — last names.
Middletown Area High School’s yearbook listed Max Zupanovic as “Max Supernova,” Kathy Carbaugh as “Kathy Airbag” and Alessandra Ippolito as “Alexandria Impolite,” just to name a few.
“It was kind of funny, but kind of rude at the same time,” Ippolito said.
The mistakes were found on only four of the yearbook’s 176 pages — those that featured the band, chorus and student council, co-editor Amanda Gummo said.
Ed Patrick of Taylor Publishing, which printed the book, said his company takes responsibility for the errors and will provide free stickers printed with the correct names.
“It happens all the time, every year,” Patrick said. “Look at any yearbook in the country.”
Posted by admin on Jun 10, 2008 in
Foolery Hubris, pure and simple. There’s a certain amount of resentment and release that comes with the unfettered joy of graduating from high school. Especially the escape from stupid rules like prohibiting fingernail clippers, spaghetti strap tank tops or “distracting hair”.
totally unrelated photo
Westlake High typo a good ‘educaiton’
Friday, June 06, 2008 | Michael K. McIntyre | Plain Dealer Reporter
The easy way out would have been to tell the graduates of Westlake High School that the misspelling on their diplomas was a final test.
A test. Yeah, that’s it.
Instead, Principal Timothy Freeman fell on his red pen, shouldering responsibility for the diplomas issued to 330 Westlake graduates at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland on Saturday that read board of “educaiton,” not “education.”
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“I was sick to my stomach,” said Freeman, who said the documents had been proofread once and sent back for corrections because of problems with the signatures. The new version fixed that, but inserted the typo.
“We just cracked open the box and all of the signatures were fixed. We never even thought to go back and read the small print because we already had,” Freeman said.
Jostens reprinted and mailed new diplomas free of charge, but Freeman still called it “the bane of my existence” Thursday after the morning show on WQAL FM/104.1 made fun of the school.
“Our girls softball team had the highest GPA in the state, out of more than 700 teams,” said Freeman. “That’s not news, but a typographical error by Jostens gets two hours on the radio?”
Clearly, that could have been avoided: The girls softball team should have been in charge of proofreading.
Posted by admin on Jun 9, 2008 in
Foolery Oh god, those poor kids trying to fix this mess under a deadline. The 2007 yearbook won awards and the 2008 one stinks and will remembered for how messed up it was. Ack-the file names are different, too. See this previous post about the mess they are fixing.
Yearbook staff left to fix ‘serious error in judgment’
By Paul Gosling, McKinney Courier-Gazette | Created: Thursday, May 22, 2008 10:50 AM
After all the official apologies were made and the platitudes were spoken, the “suits” went home and the real work of fixing the 2008 McKinney High School yearbook was left to the very same students who saw their year’s work ruined by a Lifetouch employee’s “serious error in judgment.”
Read more…
Posted by admin on Jun 9, 2008 in
fatu·ous·ness,
Forteana Sheesh, as if being an Albino weren’t hard enough. Can’t tradtional medicines the world over try using rare items like “shoes made by unions in the USA” instead of tiger penis and albino skin?
Men waited for help at the Tanzanian Albino Society office in Dar es Salaam. At least 19 albinos have been killed in Tanzania in the past year, victims of a growing trade in albino body parts.
Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Threat in Tanzania
www.nytimes.com | By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN | Published: June 8, 2008
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Samuel Mluge steps outside his office and scans the sidewalk. His pale blue eyes dart back and forth, back and forth, trying to focus.
The sun used to be his main enemy, but now he has others.
Mr. Mluge is an albino, and in Tanzania now there is a price for his pinkish skin.
“I feel like I am being hunted,” he said.
Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.
Many people in Tanzania — and across Africa, for that matter — believe albinos have magical powers. They stand out, often the lone white face in a black crowd, a result of a genetic condition that impairs normal skin pigmentation and strikes about 1 in 3,000 people here. Tanzanian officials say witch doctors are now marketing albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in potions that are promised to make people rich.
Read more…
Posted by admin on Jun 5, 2008 in
Forteana WOW! Out for a little exercise in one of the lovely spots here on Planet Earth, a little kid accidentally walked over a pile of burning coal dust which had spontaneously combusted. His sneakers melted and he got hurt. Ouch. If one were out for a walk near Centralia, PA, the ghost town created by an underground coal fire, one might expect your sneakers to melt, Colorado Springs-not so much. Though very popular, Crocs are also dangerous on escalators, especially when worn by kids.
NOT the kid’s sneaker. This sneaker melt is from stomping near volcanos.
Boy burned as 800-degree ground melts shoe
By Kieran Nicholson and Mark Jaffe | The Denver Post | 06/04/2008 02:38:31 AM MDT
An 8-year-old boy out walking with family members in Colorado Springs severely burned part of his foot on an underground patch of burning coal dust that had heated the ground to 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
The boy, whose name was not released, suffered second-degree burns as the fire melted his Crocs shoe. He was treated Monday by paramedics with morphine, said Sandy Friedman, a spokesman with the Colorado Springs Fire Department.
Read more…
Posted by admin on Jun 4, 2008 in
Feloniousness,
Foolery,
Forteana This article is like an Odgen Nash poem with the pickles over the pergola corn relish on the car, black bean sauce on the shed. I’m glad it has photos. I read an article about practical jokers in like Idaho or wherever who decorated their neighbors lawn with hundreds of plastic forks, nice story, better and more credible with photos.
Family in a Jam
www.messengersouth.com.au | Jessica Whiting | 03Jun08
Jars of jam, dead flounder, fish guts and canned soups have all been thrown at an Aberfoyle Park house during a spate of bizarre attacks by gourmet vandals.
Bob Baird, his wife Julie and children Chris and Kylie are searching for answers as to why the family home has been hit six times since February.
“The type of food is a bit unusual in itself … Masterfood sauces, Beerenberg jams and canned soup,” Mr Baird said.
In the latest attack, on May 20, vandals threw nine flounder at the house and spread fish guts over the front yard.
“It’s not a particularly cheap fish. It’s a real waste of food,” he said.
Read more…
Posted by admin on Jun 3, 2008 in
Farewell 
Quotes from legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, who died Sunday:
“I always believed that style was more important than fashion. They are rare, those who imposed their style while fashion makers are so numerous.” (1993)
“The most beautiful clothes that can dress a woman are the arms of the man she loves. But for those who haven’t had the fortune of finding this happiness, I am there.” (1983)
“I tried to show that fashion is an art. For that, I followed the counsel of my master Christian Dior and the imperishable lesson of Mademoiselle Chanel. I created for my era and I tried to foresee what tomorrow would be.” (1983)
“The street and me is a love story. 1971 is a great date because, finally, fashion took to the street.” (1971)
All about Yves
June 3, 2008 | www.smh.com.au
1936 Born August 1, in Oran, Algeria.
1954 Moves to Paris to study design and wins three of four first prizes in International Wool Secretariat competition.
1955 Christian Dior hires him as a design assistant.
1957 Dior dies suddenly and Saint Laurent is appointed the house’s chief designer.
1958 First couture collection for Dior, the Trapeze Line, receives rave reviews. Meets future lover and business partner, Pierre Berge.
1960 Outrages conservative Dior clientele and executives with his “Beat Look”. Conscripted into French army but has nervous breakdown and is exempted.
1961 Saint Laurent and Berge start living together and found the couture house. Saint Laurent wins a lawsuit against Dior for unfair dismissal.
1962 First own-label couture show receives mixed reviews.
1964 Launch of Y, his first perfume.
1965 His Mondrian dresses take Paris by storm in July couture show. Begins long friendship with actress Catherine Deneuve by designing her costume for the Luis Bunuel film, Belle De Jour.
1966 The spring couture show features the first tuxedo for women. The controversial autumn collection is inspired by Andy Warhol.
1968 The “safari look” and first see-through dress a sensation at the spring collection. Dedicates his autumn range to the student protesters of May 1968.
1969 Launches Rive Gauche men’s range. Rive Gauche boutique opens in Bond Street, London.
1971 Poses naked for an advertisement for the first YSL for Men fragrance. Launches Rive Gauche perfume.
1973 Returns to couture after a period of doing only ready-to-wear.
1977 Launches Opium perfume. The first of many rumours circulates that Saint Laurent has died.
1982 Twentieth anniversary gala at the Paris Lido.
1983 Launch of Paris perfume. YSL becomes first designer to have a retrospective dedicated to his work in his own lifetime.
1985 Awarded Legion d’Honneur.
1986 Italian industrialist Carlo de Benedetti takes a 25 per cent stake in YSL and helps finance a $660 million buy-out of perfume interests from Squibb.
1989 Unfounded press reports that Saint Laurent is suffering from AIDS.
1990 Speculation about his health continues after he breaks down at his home in Marrakesh and is admitted to hospital in Paris. Fails to attend ready-to-wear show because of nervous exhaustion.
1991 Saint Laurent discusses his drug problems and homosexuality for first time in interview with Le Figaro.
1993 YSL sold to Sanofi for $680 million. January couture collection dedicated to Rudolf Nureyev, the Russian ballet dancer who had recently died of AIDS. Launch of the women’s perfume Champagne, leading to an ultimately successful lawsuit by producers of champagne wine over the use of the name.
1994 Successfully sues Ralph Lauren for copying a tuxedo dress design.
1995 Launches Opium for men and relaunches the female version.
1999 Israeli-born Alber Elbaz makes his debut as designer for ready-to-wear label in the spring collections. Gucci completes the takeover of Sanofi, parent company of YSL, and appoints Tom Ford creative director.
2000 Ford appointed to replace Berge as head of collections and named design and communications head for Yves Saint Laurent Couture and perfumes. A YSL museum opens in Paris.
2002 In January he marks the 40th anniversary of his couture house, and formally announces his retirement.
Sunday Dies in Paris aged 71.