Archive | February, 2009

Pennyslvania Got Weirder in 2008

28 Feb

stan_meets_bigfoot

I had noticed that more weird things SEEMED to be happening in Pennsylvania in 2008. It was EASY to find an photo of Mr Stan Gordon posing with “Bigfoot.”

Odd occurrences on the rise in 2008
By Jeff Himler  |  BLAIRSVILLE DISPATCH  |  www.pittsburghlive.com  |  February 20, 2009

Reported sightings of Bigfoot, UFOs and other mysterious phenomena were more widely scattered in Pennsylvania in 2008 than in the previous year, according to Greensburg researcher Stan Gordon, who has been keeping tabs on such incidents for nearly 50 years.

According to Gordon, who recently released his annual report of strange goings-on in the Keystone State, an array of unusual episodes that also included encounters with giant birds, strange sounds and puzzling footprints originated in 50 Pennsylvania counties last year, compared to reports received from 37 counties in 2007.

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Shareef Abraham Jr. – Found Photo

27 Feb

Written on the back it says, “Shareef Abraham Jr., Thursday June 29th, 2006, 7 1/2 months”

Click for larger view.

shareef

Quilters Raise Cancer Awareness with Fancy Bras

26 Feb

To raise Breast cancer awareness the  Quilters of South Carolina have used their skills and crafted bras that will surely get your attention. Click here to see all the bras. Click here to go to the  Quilters of South Carolina site.


From the South Carolina Quilters site…

THE ARTFULL BRAS PROJECT

Members of Quilters of South Carolina have created one-of-a-kind bras for Breast Cancer Awareness. The exhibit consists of fifty original works of art which are unique, entertaining, humorous, and beautiful to make the public aware of breast cancer, to memorialize those lost to the disease, and to honor survivors.

This exhibit will tour SC until Oct ’09 at which time individual Artfull Bras will be auctioned and the proceeds donated to the Best Chance Network, a program to provide care and treatment of uninsured women across the state who are diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer.

The bras come prepared for display on their own hangers and are available for exhibit across the state of South Carolina. The exhibit is available until October of 2009. If you are interested in delighting and inspiring your organization membership, contact Sandra Baker, president of QSC at Sandra25@bellsouth.net

Toronto’s Leaky Voltage Killing Pooches

25 Feb

shock electrocuted_dog

OOhh, this is sorta creepy. I think as time goes by stray voltage, and random EMF will be found to have myriad effects on living things. We are all low voltage meat machines. In my limited research “hydro poles” are not water based but seem to be what would be called “phone poles” in the US.

Two dogs die in bizarre electrocutions on Toronto street JEFF GRAY  |  www.theglobeandmail.com  |  January 13, 2009 Two dogs out for walks on the same Toronto street have died in separate electrocutions near Toronto Hydro poles, victims of a bizarre “stray voltage” problem that has prompted the city-owned utility to launch a sweep of the entire system, fearing a human could be next. “We are very, very concerned not only that a dog has been killed, that’s bad, but we are concerned that a person could be injured as well,” said Blair Peberdy, Toronto Hydro’s vice-president of communications. “That’s why we’re giving this top priority.” (more…)

Funeral Director Revives Crash Victim

24 Feb

Many people are good Samaritans and lots of people know CPR. This story seems notable because of the profession of one of the parties involved. I  hadn’t considered the prejudices that members of that profession face, but there must be many.

Steve Langeland, Funeral Director

Steve Langeland, Funeral Director

Funeral director helps revive Holland man
WZZM 13 ONLINE  |  Phil Dawson  |  2/12/09

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) – His heart stopped beating, he couldn’t breathe and when he lost consciousness his pickup swerved into a mailbox.

But medics say it was a lucky day for 69 year old Paul Edelman of Holland.

“Literally he just died and came back,” says AMR-West Michigan Operations Manager Tim Webb.

Medics say most people don’t get a second chance after cardiac arrest, but a lucky sequence of events helped revive Paul Edelman. Funeral director Steve Langeland was driving by and stopped to offer assistance.

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72year Old Milk Man Brought Hash Too

23 Feb

This story points out why mandatory federal drug sentencing in the United States stinks and needs to change. Were this 72 year old delivering hash to wheelchair bound elderly Americans with MS he would have HAD to serve the hard time.

Robert Holding leaves Burnley crown court after receiving a suspended sentence for delivering cannabis on his milk run Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

Robert Holding leaves Burnley crown court after receiving a suspended sentence for delivering cannabis on his milk run Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

Pint of gold top and an eighth of hash – milkman who also delivered drugs
www.guardian.co.uk  |  Helen Carter  |  Friday 6 February 2009

Suspended sentence over sales to elderly customers
72-year-old said he did it to help their pain relief

To the casual observer, Robert Holding seemed a kindly milkman who was attentive to his elderly customers as he delivered their daily pints.

To the less casual observer – specifically, a surveillance team from Lancashire police – Holding, 72, turned out to be a drug dealer who was supplying cannabis from his milk float to an elderly clientele.

His customers, who smoked the resin to relieve their aches and pains, would leave notes with their empty milk bottles to say how much of the drug they required. His reputation as a drug dealer spread rapidly among 17 of his customers in Burnley, Lancashire.

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YOU the Superhero

20 Feb

wonder-woman-color-001

Curious to know which super hero you are?
Click here to take the quiz. www.thesuperheroquiz.com. I lacked the moral turpitude to be Super Girl but am a Wonder Woman. Now where did I park that invisible jet?

wondertwins-rainbow

Feel like a bad guy today?
Here’s another quiz, my fave question in this one is “Have you been trained as a lawyer?” www.thesuperheroquiz.com/villain. As a villain I am mutant shape shifter Mystique, which makes sense since I grew up longing to be a Wonder Twin from the Justice League of America. (Always grateful I’m a gal and not stuck becoming a bucket of water or ice luge).


Already a super hero? Be sure to register here: www.worldsuperheroregistry.com. Bad guys beware, Jackson Michigan is loaded with super heroes. My fave real life super hero may be Canada’s Polar Man with his shovel and mission of public service. Thanks Polar Man!


Why Flu Spreads, Thrives in Winter

19 Feb

flu-humidity_big

Flu Mystery Solved? Why It Flourishes in Winter
Matt Kaplan for National Geographic News  | February 9, 2009  |  news.nationalgeographic.com

Why the flu strikes hard during the winter but nearly vanishes in the summer has baffled epidemiologists for decades.

Now a new study may have the answer: Influenza germs last longer and pass from person to person more effectively in lower absolute humidity—i.e., when it’s cold outside and the air is dryer.

Absolute humidity is a measurement of the total amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature. Relative humidity, a percentage, is the ratio between the water vapor present and the air’s saturation point, a figure that changes with the temperature.

Earlier studies of humidity and the flu had focused on relative humidity and found no link, said lead author Jeffrey Shaman at Oregon State University, whose findings appear tomorrow in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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World’s Longest Fingernails Lost in Crash

18 Feb

lee_nails

Lee Redmond was a woman with a whim and a dream and it took her around the world. Miss Redmond was a great ambassador for the Guinness Book of World Records brand. She wasn’t shy and as the photos show lived a fairly regular life, even with a total of 28 feet of fingernails. She was striking and vivacious, with her blonde mane and trim figure even as years past she keep her looks.  Some reports state she’s currently 66 years old and a great grandmother. As tragic as the loss of her nails and title may be, she can now retire from the burden of her fame. I wish her a swift recovery.

Woman’s record-length fingernails broken in crash
Associated Press  |  2-13-09

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Salt Lake City woman who was in the Guinness Book of World Records for her long fingernails has had them broken off in a car accident. Lee Redmond sustained serious but non-life threatening injuries in the Tuesday accident.

Redmond was the current Guinness record holder, with nails that hadn’t been cut since 1979. Her nails measured a total of more than 28 feet long in 2008, with the longest nail on her right thumb at 2 feet, 11 inches, according to the Guinness Web site.

Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Lt. Don Hutson said she was ejected from an SUV in the crash and taken to the hospital in serious condition.

Redmond has been featured on TV in episodes of “Guinness Book of World Records” and “Ripley’s Believe It or Not.”

The Mystery of Dildo Blvd

17 Feb

Oh those fun loving Australians. This story reminds me of the opening scene in the heartbreaking and lovely book,  Plays Well With With Others and to a lesser extent Chuck Palahniuk‘s,  Survivor.  (not his best work IMHO). The scenario presented by Allan Gurganus is a very plausible explanation of how so many dildoes could end up in such an unexpected place.

dildo-blvd

actual photo from Dildo Blvd.

Stiff response to sex toy mystery
NICK CALACOURAS  |  www.ntnews.com.au  |  February 8th, 2009

RESIDENTS in the rural area have renamed their street “Dildo Boulevard” after 30 sex toys were found lying in front of a house on Friday morning.

Robert Johns and Laurelle Bates discovered the mysterious toys as they left for work in the morning.

“It’s a real mystery. We have no idea where they came from,” Ms Bates said.

“I know they aren’t new. They look used.”

But this is Darwin, home of the Hookers Ball!

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British, French nuclear subs collide in Atlantic

16 Feb

Well this sounds like some sort of cold war nightmare. Given government”s tendency to hush things up, I wonder how serious this crash really was.

British, French nuclear subs collide in Atlantic
AFP  |  February 16, 2009

LONDON (AFP) — British and French nuclear submarines collided in the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, officials admitted Monday, confirming an embarrassing accident involving highly sensitive technology.

Confirming media reports of the incident involving Britain’s HMS Vanguard and France’s Le Triomphant, Britain’s First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band said the submarines “were conducting routine … patrols in the Atlantic Ocean.

“The submarines came into contact at very low speed… No injuries occurred,” he said in a brief statement to reporters.

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Cows With Names Make More Milk

16 Feb

Hmmm, your editor is reminded of the importance of the NAME in magic and in Western religions. In other cow news, Cows Can’t Detect Earthquakes.

A cow named Karen has a name tag on her ear at Jon Bansen's farm in Portland, Ore.

A cow named Karen has a name tag on her ear at Jon Bansen's farm in Portland, Ore.

Naming cows isn’t udder nonsense
Jeanette Der Bedrosian  |  USA TODAY  |  2009-02-04
Cows that are given names produce more milk than those that are not, says a new study out of England.

The study, conducted by Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, discovered that more affectionate treatment of cattle — including giving cows names — can increase milk production by more than 68 gallons annually. An average cow produces about 2,000 gallons of milk a year.

Douglas says the positive effect of naming cows has always been a belief among farmers, but until now, there was no scientific evidence.

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