Posted by on Feb 15, 2009 in
Fashion,
Foolery 
Even when at my youngest and most painfully hip, I’ve always enjoyed Muzak and old school easy listening music. In my retail youth a dear co-worker and I would rush towards each other at the start of every song to guess what song Muzak was butchering.
Muzak Files for Bankruptcy
The Associated Press | 02/10/09 – 02:29 PM EST
NEW YORK — Muzak Holdings LLC, the maker of elevator music, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.
The company had heavy debt load, and it filed to try to refinance some of its debt. Its total debt is between $100 million and $500 million and it has assets of less than $50,000, Muzak said in a court filing.
Fort Mill, S.C.-based Muzak filed for court protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware in Wilmington. The company expects to continue to operate as is. A statement said it has “sufficient means” to support itself through a bankruptcy reorganization.
The company got an extension last month on $105 million in debt, it said in a statement. The extension ran out Tuesday.
Among its biggest unsecured creditors is U.S. Bank NA, which is owed $371 million according to a court filing. Bank lenders typically are classified as secured lenders. Secured lenders are paid before unsecured lenders.
Other top unsecured creditors include vendors such as Universal Music Enterprises, owed $349,321; EMI Capital Records, $320,323; AT&T, $257,384; and Dish Network, $251,276. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is owed $213,020, the filing said.
Sony Music, BMG Film & Television Music, United Parcel Service and Virgin Records were also listed among the unsecured creditors.
A list of secured creditors should be filed later.
Kirkland & Ellis was hired as its bankruptcy law firm. Moelis & Co. will serve as the company’s financial advisor.
Posted by on Feb 14, 2009 in
Falls,
Forteana Though not breaking news, this story is worth noting. Skydiving is usually safe but when it goes bad, whoa-does it go bad. The worst skydiving story I heard involved a drop from an extreme height and a pair of angry golden eagles. Condolences to the family of Mr. Steele.
Daniel Pharr left, George Steele on the right.
First-time skydiver steers himself to safety after tandem instructor dies mid-air from a heart attack
By Paul Thompson | 4th February 2009 | www.dailymail.co.uk/
A novice skydiver was plunging through the air thousands of feet above the ground when the instructor he was strapped to died.
Daniel Pharr, a soldier, was making his first dive with George Steele, 49, veteran of 8,000 such jumps.
But just as they finished free-falling, Mr Steele appears to have had a heart attack.
Luckily their parachute had opened moments before and 25- year-old Mr Pharr – his military training helping him not to panic – was able to land safely.
Read more…
Posted by on Feb 13, 2009 in
Foolery,
Forteana Superstitions are learned. Elementary school was a hot bed of odd beliefs; step on a crack-break your mother back, pop rocks and soda will kill you, black cats are bad luck, rainbows end in pots of gold, and Friday the 13th and the number 13 were unlucky are among the most popular.
The Norse Myth left out of this article is the one of Frigg (aka Frigga, Freya), the fun loving Norse goddess of sex and love who was exiled to the mountains where every Friday she’d get together with 11 witchy pals and the Devil for a total of 13 baddies up to no good.
Your editor LOVES the irony that this year Valentine’s Day follows unlucky Friday the 13th so closely.
What’s so bad about Friday 13th?
Kira Love | 13th February 2009 | /www.coffscoastadvocate.com.au
IN 2009 there will be three Friday the 13th’s, bad news for the Paraskevidekatriaphobics (people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th) out there.
Fear of Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. The two unlucky entities combine to make one super unlucky day.
There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died and the Earth got dark.
There is a Biblical reference to the unlucky number 13. Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper.
On Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.
In ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12. The 13th was believed to be the devil.
Both Friday and 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading to the noose.
Numerologists consider 12 a ‘complete’ number. There are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labours of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 apostles of Jesus. In exceeding 12 by 1, 13′s association with bad luck has to do with just being a little beyond completeness.
More than 80 per cent of high-rises lack a 13th floor.
Many airports skip the 13th gate. Airplanes have no 13th aisle.
Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.
Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery. On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12 and a half.
Tags: holidays
Posted by on Feb 11, 2009 in
Feloniousness,
Forteana Good kitty!
Cat’s Cries Save Family From Fire
Loud Meows Awaken Family When Smoke Detectors Fail
January 20, 2009 | www.kirotv.com
SOUTH ROCKWOOD, Mich. — A cat is being hailed as a hero after its meowing woke up his family during a fire.
TV Station WDIV reported that the caterwaul let the Merling family know there was a fire at their South Rockwood home on Thursday.
“At about 4:15 in the morning, Stitch started meowing extremely loudly, and it was an odd meow, so I sat up and opened my eyes, and saw a lot of smoke,” said Jennifer Merling.
Jennifer Merling’s brother, Nick, who died almost three years ago, owned Stitch, a Bengal mix.
“No one in my family wanted to take the cat, but I loved him, so I took him,” she said. “It was because of this cat that we made it out.”
Merling said she felt like Nick was watching over her and her two children, Matthew, 12, and Morgan, 9.
“I feel like that was his way of telling me, ‘Wake your butt up, sis,’” she said.
Everyone, including the family’s two other cats and two dogs made it out safely.
Investigators said the fire likely started in the room containing the furnace, which had overheated and melted the metal around it. Merling said she had batteries in all her smoke detectors except one, but none of them went off.
“My cat is my hero,” said Merling.
Tags: Animal
Posted by on Feb 10, 2009 in
Foolery,
Forteana Hmmm maybe goats CAN’T be trusted with space heaters.
random goat and cat image.
Goats blamed for starting house fire in Iowa
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 | Norwalk, Iowa | AP
Firefighters said goats may have started a fire that destroyed a home near Norwalk in central Iowa. The fire broke out early Tuesday. Three people escaped unharmed.
John Hadley said his cat woke up him up, and he saw smoke coming from a ceiling. Hadley then woke up his ailing mother and her companion and got them out of the house.
Assistant Northern Warren County Fire Chief Kevin Dingman said the fire may have been started by some goats kept in a shed attached to the rear of the house.
He said a space heater was kept in the shed to keep the goats warm, and the goats may have knocked it over, starting the fire.
The goats and a family dog were rescued, but the cat was missing.
Tags: Animal
Posted by admin on Feb 9, 2009 in
Forteana This is a deliciously long and fact filled article. Really dig really old Southern submarines? Then this site, Friends of the Hunley, is for you.
Photo of a REPLICA-not the original.
Confederate sub slow to surrender secrets; Scientists hope crusted hull will solve mystery
By BRUCE SMITH , Associated Press | January 5, 2009
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – It could be one of the nation’s oldest cold case files: What happened to eight Confederate sailors aboard the H.L. Hunley after it became the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship?
Their hand-cranked sub rammed a spar with black powder into the Union blockade ship Housatonic off Charleston on a chilly winter night in 1864 but never returned.
Read more…
Posted by on Feb 8, 2009 in
Feloniousness,
Foolery,
Forteana 
Qantas jet grounded after dog chews through electrical wiring, interior panels
Peter Morley | The Courier-Mail | January 23, 2009 12:01am
A QANTAS jet was grounded after a dog in the cargo hold escaped from its cage and snacked on parts of the aircraft’s interior.
The animal chewed through electrical wiring and panels so tough that they are difficult to cut with a knife.
The first indication of trouble occurred when the Airbus A330 left Auckland bound for Melbourne on December 7, The Courier-Mail reports.
A warning light in the cockpit indicated problems with the auxiliary power unit – a small jet in the tail that supplies electricity for various systems when the aircraft is on the ground.
s the engine had been shut down after take-off there was no risk to the aircraft. But when ground handlers opened the cargo hold in Melbourne they were confronted with an angry, distressed dog.
An inspection revealed that after somehow getting out of its transportation cage the animal chewed through the wiring loom to the unit, Qantas reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
An aviation engineering source said: “The dog ripped out several wires which set off the cockpit warning and then it had a go at a number of electrical units in the rear of the plane.
“Under duress the animal obviously went nuts, biting through anything that it came across.
“I do not know the breed but the dog had to be fairly big with a big bite to damage cargo hold panels that are as tough as billy goat boots – it is difficult to even cut through this material with a knife.”
The source said the plane had not been in any danger and probably the most surprised people were the ground workers who opened the cargo hold to be greeted by the dog.
Related story
Tags: Animal
Posted by on Feb 7, 2009 in
Forteana A new excuse for tardiness-quantum retrocausality. Tired of spending money on your collection of Hummels or overpriced bottles of French Reds, send this guy money-it’s tax deductible!
Weird Science: Can Time Move Backwards?
June 14, 2007 | www.dailygalaxy.com
John Cramer, a physicist at the University of Washington, believes that light particles can act in reverse time, and he has compelling evidence behind his theory. Cramer is a well-respected experimental physicist with an impressive particle physics background.
The reality is that two subatomic particles split from a single particle do seem to somehow instantaneously communicate, regardless of how far apart they get in space and time. The bizarre phenomenon is described as “entanglement” and “non-local communication.” Cramer believes he may be able to solve the mystery of how these particles react thousands of miles apart. His theory rests on a sort of time travel called quantum retrocausality.
Read more…
Tags: SCIENCE
Wow, well here’s something you don’t see every day. Since a gallon of water weighs approx 8 lbs, I can’t imagine how heavy 2 gallons of silicone is.
Woman Sets Breast Implants Record: 38KKK
Thursday , February 05, 2009 | Foxnews.com
A woman from Texas has reportedly undergone nine breast enlargement operations to become the proud owner of the world’s largest breast implants — size 38KKK.
American doctors had refused to carry out any more operations on Sheyla Hershey, 28, when her breasts were a staggering 34FFF, but that didn’t stop her from going under the knife for the record breaking surgery.
“To me, big is beautiful. I don’t think I have anything to worry about,” the Houston-resident said.
Still determined to increase her bustline, Hershey jetted off to Brazil where there are no limits on the size of implants.
The surgery required a full gallon of silicone.
Click to view photos of Sheyla Hershey.
Her British ex-boyfriend, who initially paid for her plastic surgery, was dumped after he begged her to stop with the surgery.
“I loved him very much but I had to leave him to follow my dream,” she said.
Posted by on Feb 5, 2009 in
Farewell 
Dear readers, I am so very sad to make this post. Lux Interior was gifted, talented, sincere and truly lived the rock star life with his wife of 37 years, Poison Ivy.
I first heard The Cramps while visiting a fabulous gay friend who was living in a divey hotel. Goo Goo Muck was the perfect soundtrack for those humid heady days. The Cramps were burned into my head and heart right then and there as I drove away in big blue Monte Carlo headlong into trouble.
Live The Cramps were consistently one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. No lasers, no inflatable flying pigs, no giant video screens. Just a man in a g-string and pumps crawling up stacks of amps and his lovely wife shredding away on guitar. They looked great for thier age, healthy, fit, freee of bad plastic surgery and they oozed energy and charm. Even when I saw them for the first time they were easily twice my age and could totally kick my ass.
The Cramps invented their own sound, a very American, slightly southern, energetic melange with smart, snarky, darkly playful lyrics. Some press has said they invented “psycho billy.”
The RE:Search book series, Incredibly Strange Music profiled Lux and Ivy and it’s a must read for ANY music fan. Not only did the dynamic duo collect found and outsider vinyl, they “re-discovered” Hasil Adkins and brought him to New York City to play some shows. It was Easter Sunday and Hasil was angry he could not find hot pants with New York City emblazoned across the seat in rhinestones to give to his girlfriend as a souvenir. That was just one of the many mad cap adventures that seemed to happen every day in thelife of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy.
Media accounts differ, but Lux was 62. As a member of the Jukebox Zeros remarked, “Lux’s 62 is 91 for anyone else.” I agree. RIP Lux. My heart goes out to his widow and survivors.
R.I.P. The Cramps’ Lux Interior
www.exclaim.ca | 2/5/2009 | By Cam Lindsay
Lux Interior, founding member and singer of garage legends the Cramps passed away yesterday (February 4) when he succumbed to a previously existing heart condition in a Glendale, CA hospital. He was 62.
Born Eric Lee Purkhiser, the ghoulish looking Interior was known for his flamboyant (he felt comfortable in PVC and pumps) and nihilistic performances that introduced acts of fetishism, violence and fearlessness. He began the Cramps with his wife Poison Ivy Rorschach (real name Kristy Wallace) in 1976, two years after they met when Interior picked up Ivy – as a hitchhiker. Though they emerged out of NYC’s punk scene and played CBGB’s regularly, the Cramps found themselves forging a new sound out of garage, punk, surf and rockabilly using elements of horror, trash, gender-bending and sci-fi, which they called “psychobilly” – a term they arguably coined.
Known for their revolving door line-up, Interior and Rorschach saw many members come and go throughout the last 33 years, but managed to create some of the most stirring music in that time, namely the 1981 classic, Psychedelic Jungle and 1983’s essential live album Smell of Female. However, they left their mark with such unforgettable hits as “Goo Goo Muck,” “The Way I Walk,” “Bikini Girls With Machine Guns,” “Ultra Twist” and their signature tune, “Human Fly.”
Their publicist released a statement yesterday, reading: “Lux was a fearless frontman who transformed every stage he stepped on into a place of passion, abandon, and true freedom. He is a rare icon who will be missed dearly.”
Link to this article with a clip of them performing at the Napa State Mental Hospital in 1978
Wow, those are hairy legs, bet those pigeons were nice and toasty warm in there.
This seems to be an actual photo of Mr Pigeon pants
A man has been caught with two pigeons stuffed in his trousers after he got off a flight from Dubai to Melbourne.
news.bbc.co.uk | Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Australia holds ‘pigeon smuggler’
Australian customs officials say the live birds were wrapped in padded envelopes and held to the man’s legs by a pair of tights under his trousers.
Officials also found two eggs in a vitamin container in the man’s luggage.
Australia has strict quarantine rules on the importation of wildlife, plants and food. The man, 23, could face up to 10 years in jail.
The nation’s quarantine regulations are designed to protect health, agriculture and the environment.
As well as 10 years’ imprisonment, the maximum sentence for wildlife smuggling includes a fine of A$110,000 (US$70,480; £48,902).
Customs officials say they also seized seeds in the man’s money belt and an undeclared aubergine, following the flight on Sunday.
They add that the pigeons were not endangered and that the case, as well as the birds, eggs and seeds, has been turned over to the country’s Quarantine Service to assess the health risk.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7869301.stm
Tags: Animal, smuggle
Posted by on Feb 4, 2009 in
fatu·ous·ness,
Foolery,
Forteana And you know this is just an excuse for millet and cooking oil vendors to jack their prices!
random photos of Zimbabwe currency.
Zimbabwe Central Bank Removes 12 Zeroes From Currency
By Brian Latham | www.bloomberg.com
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) — Zimbabwe, which has the world’s highest inflation rate, slashed 12 zeroes off its currency and announced measures to make trade in foreign exchange more transparent, Gideon Gono, the central bank governor, said.
The central bank revalued the currency at a rate of 1 trillion Zimbabwe dollars for one, Gono said in a statement on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Web site today. The central bank also lifted all restrictions on foreign currency cash withdrawals.
All foreign-exchange trade will be brought “into the visible formal market,” Gono said.
Zimbabwe’s has been gripped by economic recession for the past decade and has an inflation rate that was last estimated at 231 million percent in July 2008. At least 6.9 million people, more than half the population, need emergency food aid, according to the United Nations, while the country’s health, sewage and water systems have collapsed, exacerbating a cholera outbreak that has killed 3,229 people.
Last month, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa allowed Zimbabweans to use foreign currencies for all business, including trading shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. The bourse has been closed since Nov. 21, after the central bank accused some traders of using fraudulent checks to buy shares.
The central bank will require all businesses to apply for foreign-exchange licenses, Gono said. The permits will cost between $12,000 for urban-based businesses and $10 for small- scale vendors.
Tobacco farmers in the country will be allowed to retain 100 percent of their foreign-currency earnings, Gono said. In addition, platinum and diamond-mining companies will be required to open foreign-exchange accounts with Zimbabwean banks “to ensure that Zimbabwe’s extractive industries fully benefit the local economy.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 2, 2009 08:23 EST
Tags: money
