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April Fools Day is over!
April Fools Day is over. Sorry if you believe the following 3 stories. I wish there was a Serenity sequel in the works, but I also wished that Rush would quit already. I guess we can’t get everything in life can we? ha! – Bryan
Rising tide overtaking Thai temples
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This might explain why we haven’t heard from Narachon in awhile…
Thai temple fights off encroaching tide as world sea levels rise
KHUN SAMUT CHIN, Thailand (AFP) – Crabs scuttle across the wet floor of the near-deserted Khun Samut temple, the only building left in a Thai village that has disappeared beneath the rising and advancing sea.
Waging a battle against an encroaching tide that has sent all the villagers fleeing inland, a monk in orange robes and faded tattoos meant to ward off evil spirits stalks the newly-built sea wall, planting mangrove shoots.
Somnuek Atipanya points 20 metres (65 feet) out to sea, where electricity pylons poke out of the water, now useful only for resting marine birds.
“The waves attacked here and they will destroy everything,” says Somnuek, chief abbot of this Buddhist temple south of Bangkok which is surrounded by water and accessible only by a concrete walkway.
“I don’t know what happened, but when the experts came they told me it was global warning and melting ice in the North Pole.”
Read the full article news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080330/sc_afp/unclimatewarmingthailandseahere.
Wrestlers Missing Nipples
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This is like the anti-Batman forever. Rarely is the male anatomy so ridiculously mangled. I understand being conservative, but this is just going to confuse young boys more than anything. Has being careful gone overboard -DF
WrestleMania’s lead-in: ‘Nipplegate’
Scott Maxwell | TAKING NAMES
March 28, 2008
Anybody who’s ever seen a professional wrestler knows their bodies don’t look like most folks’.
But the wrestlers featured on a massive sign in downtown Orlando look even more unusual.
They’re missing nipples.
Yep. John Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton and even Big Show. All nipple-less.
And Ken-like.
Even more unsettling is the fact that government is partly responsible for the missing areolas on the banner that hangs on the side of the Lynx office building, facing Interstate 4, and promotes this weekend’s WrestleMania.
Mayor Buddy Dyer claimed to have the, um, skinny.
“Apparently there’s an ordinance that prohibits them from being displayed,” he said.
“For men’s nipples?” I replied, immediately becoming uncomfortable about discussing such a thing with Buddy.
He shrugged, saying, “It does seem a little overboard.”
It turns out, it was.
There is, in fact, no city law that bans the display of male chests. In fact, the exact same image can be spotted — with nipples aplenty — on Lynx buses.
Comparing the two pictures is like playing a disturbing game of “Spot the Differences.”
What happened, said a similarly uncomfortable city spokesman, Carson Chandler, was that city staffers asked the WWE and folks to create banners that weren’t too provocative. And somewhere along the way, the nipples were airbrushed out before the giant sign reached Orlando.
Yes, airbrushed . . . which at least means they didn’t involve hubcap-sized pasties.
The art of wrestling
Buddy’s “Nipplegate” chat actually took place at the WrestleManiArt event Wednesday night at City Arts Factory downtown. The event was meant to kick off the week’s worth of wrestling festivities in a sophisticated fashion — by mixing wrestling with art and hors d’oeuvres.
Among the sights and scenes:
*An extensive silent auction (benefiting United Arts) that included many pieces by wrestler Jerry Lawler. Some were of Lawler himself. Some were Christmas scenes. And some were just plain random — such as the one of an older gentleman in a checkered shirt that had a Post-it note below it that read, “This is a drawing of my girlfriend, Renee’s, grandfather.”
*WWE CEO Linda McMahon, thanking Buddy for visiting her headquarters in Connecticut to court the event last year, noting that he is the only mayor in the country to have done so.
*Central Florida Sports Commission leader John Saboor showing he knows just how to praise the people in the room — and not offend those who aren’t — by describing Dyer as “my favorite mayor . . . slight pause . . . of the city of Orlando.”
ANTI-GAY RHETORIC FALLS FLAT
If the folks pushing to add a gay-marriage ban to the Florida Constitution hope to win over many people, they’d better change their strategy. Because the angry, rhetoric-filled effort they tried out Thursday in Orlando fell flat.
In fact, during a debate before the bipartisan — but often conservative-leaning — Tiger Bay political club, the only widespread applause came after an opponent of the ban questioned the true motives and impact of the so-called “marriage protection amendment.”
“You do not protect your marriage in any way by taking away other people’s rights,” said Nadine Smith, the head of Equality Florida.
Smith argued that the amendment could actually infringe upon the rights of unmarried couples — both straight and gay — when it comes to things such as health care and end-of-life decisions.
Her other primary point was that banning gay marriage seemed unnecessary, seeing as how it’s already banned in Florida. “The day before this election, same-sex couples can’t marry,” Smith said. “The day after this election, same-sex couples can’t marry.”
Amendment supporter John Stemberger, with Florida4Marriage, responded by calling Smith’s points “pathetic.”
And when pressed to explain why Florida needed to outlaw something that’s already illegal, he began warning the crowd about “activist judges” — and even “Governor Live-and-let-live” (his nickname for Charlie Crist). In struggling to give reasons for Floridians to rally behind him, he resorted to describing statements from Rosie O’Donnell as a threat to the “common good of society.”
Stemberger is capable of being personable. But when he stepped on stage Thursday, he came across as precisely what many people already think amendment supporters are: angry, fear-mongering and anti-gay. And while that may play to the many people who already agree with him, it’s not going to win him new support.
Scott Maxwell, who may have nightmares about his lengthy nipple discussion with the mayor, can be reached at smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6141.
Northjersey.com: Veggie Heaven’s meaty creations
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My friend Mike and fellow ReadJunkie got some exposure for his Veggie Blog, Leafygreen.info, check out this good article on his website at Northjersey.com www.northjersey.com/food/news/Meaty_meals_minus_meat.htmlhere.
Study: Fat people are crazy
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Study: Big belly could carry bigger dementia risk
NEW YORK (AP) — Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests.
It’s not just about your weight. While previous research has found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, the new work found a separate risk from storing a lot of fat in the abdomen. Even people who weren’t overweight were susceptible.
That abdominal fat, sometimes described as making people apple-shaped rather than pear-shaped, has already been linked to higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
“Now we can add dementia to that,” said study author Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California.
She and others report the findings in Wednesday’s online issue of the journal Neurology.
Read the full article www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/26/belly.dementia.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryviewhere.
Pilot’s gun fires on US Airways flight
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DENVER – A gun belonging to the pilot of a US Airways plane went off as the aircraft was on approach to land in North Carolina over the weekend, the first time a weapon issued under a federal program to arm pilots was fired, authorities said Monday.
The “accidental discharge” Saturday aboard Flight 1536 from Denver to Charlotte did not endanger the aircraft or the 124 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants aboard, said Greg Alter of the Federal Air Marshal Service.
“We know that there was never any danger to the aircraft or to the occupants on board,” Alter said.
It is the first time a pilot’s weapon has been fired on a plane under a program created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to allow pilots and others to use a firearm to defend against any act of air piracy or criminal violence, he said.
The Transportation Security Administration is investigating how the gun discharged and is being assisted by the Air Marshal Service, Alter said. Officials did not say where the bullet hit.
The service declined to release additional details.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said his agency is also investigating to make sure that the plane is safe. The Airbus A319 has been removed from service, the airline said.
The TSA initially opposed the Flight Deck Officer program to arm and train cockpit personnel. Agency officials worried that introducing a weapon to commercial flights was dangerous and that other security improvements made it unnecessary. Congress and pilots backed the program.
“The TSA has never been real supportive of this program,” said Mike Boyd, who runs the Colorado-based aviation consulting firm The Boyd Group. “It’s something I think Congress kind of put on them.”
Pilots must volunteer, take a psychological test and complete a weeklong firearms training program run by the government to keep a gun in the cockpit.
Boyd said he supports the program to arm pilots, saying, “if somebody who has the ability to fly a 747 across the Pacific wants a gun, you give it to them.” But he said Saturday’s incident could have been much worse.
“If that bullet had compromised the shell of the airplane, i.e., gone through a window, the airplane could have gone down,” he said.
Beer prevents heart attacks
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Why Beer Can Be Good for You
Studies Show Beer Consumption Makes Men Less Likely to Have Heart Attacks
Looking for a good excuse to tip back a beer?
A decade’s worth of health research shows that regular, moderate beer intake–one to two 12 ounce glasses per day for men and one for women–can be good for you, especially if you’re facing some of the most common diseases related to aging. …
But a number of studies are showing that moderate consumption of alcohol, including beer, can have similar heart healthy effects, including making men 30 to 35% less likely to have a heart attack than those who abstain.
“Wine is still on moral high ground,” says Charlie Bamforth, chair and professor of the department of food science and technology at the University of California, Davis, “but beer deserves just the same acclamation.”
Read the full article abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=4498270&page=1here.
Airborne guilty for lying about its effectiveness
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So I’ve spent $10 for a small cannister of placebo?
Airborne Brand Can Stay Healthy, Experts Say
Consumers likely to shrug off false advertising settlement
NEW YORK Consumers are likely to shrug off Airborne’s false advertising-related settlement this week and the brand will remain healthy, marketing experts say.
The company, which markets herbal supplements, agreed to pay more than $23 million in a class-action settlement over false claims in an ad, but that’s likely to be the extent of the damage, said Rob Frankel, a Los Angeles-based marketing consultant. “The stuff that generally kills a brand is endangerment, not ineffectiveness.”
Frankel added that the fact the product does not appear to cure colds, as the packaging previously stated, “is going to be countered by all these people that dump on Western medicine.”
Airborne, Pittsburgh, said its supplement was created by former second-grade teacher Victoria Knight-McDowell, who needed a remedy to fight germs and viruses. Since 1999, it has racked up hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
In February 2006, a report surfaced on Good Morning America that exposed Airborne’s clinical trial as a two-man operation without doctors or scientists. The same year, a class-action lawsuit was filed in California against the company when it was discovered that Airborne contains vitamins A, C and E, plus other nutrients found in most multivitamins, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, which is participating in the lawsuit.
Airborne has since changed its tactics, claiming instead that the supplement “boosts the immune system with seven herbal extracts and a proprietary blend of vitamins, electrolytes, amino acids and antioxidants.” It also agreed to refund consumers, who bought Airborne under pretenses that it fights colds, and pay for ads notifying consumers about the litigation in Better Homes & Gardens, Parade, People, Newsweek and other publications.
Read the full article www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/client/e3i2b6080be44abeb9e83ea7724ad1355f2here.
Man sues wife for nagging him into impotency
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I think this should be a class-action suit.
‘Wife’s nagging left me impotent’
An Italian man is demanding 140,000 in compensation after claiming his wife’s constant nagging left him impotent.
Sergio Vinucci, from Parma, has produced medical evidence in court that backs up his claims that his wife’s nagging caused him so much stress that he has been left impotent.
He said: “All she ever does is complain. It is extremely stressful and it has left me unable to be a man. I want some compensation.”
Why is 42 the answer to everything?
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What on earth is 42?
It’s 30 years since Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy made its debut on BBC radio, but its most famous mystery is still waiting to be resolved.
The radio series – which subsequently became both bestselling book, television series and film – traces the travels around the galaxy of Arthur Dent, after the earth is destroyed to make way for a “hyperspatial express route”.
Possibly the most famous line in the whole book is the “answer to life, the universe, and everything” given by the supercomputer, Deep Thought.
For seven and a half million years, this stupendously powerful, office-block of a machine had whirred. When it came to announcing what it had discovered, crowds had quite understandably gathered. “You aren’t going to like it,” Deep Thought warned. “Forty-two,” it said, with infinite majesty and calm.
Ever since, speculation has been rife as to what Adams meant. There is the “paperback line theory” – 42 apparently being the average number of lines on the page of a paperback book. Was Adams paying homage to the medium of his success?
Then there is the “Lewis Carroll theory” – Adams celebrating Carroll’s use of the number in Alice in Wonderland.
Numerical base 13
In the book, there is Rule 42 which says that anyone taller than a mile must leave the court immediately. That becomes a problem for Alice when she eats some mushrooms.
There is another theory that rests on a complex allusion to 42 in numerical base 13. It sparked Adams’ retort: “I don’t write jokes in base 13.”
Tragically, Douglas Adams died in 2001. So what does Stephen Fry, a close friend, voice of the audiobook, and possibly one of the most intelligent admirers of The Hitchhiker’s Guide think?
“Of course, it would be unfair for me to comment,” he confides. “Douglas told me in the strictest confidence exactly why 42. The answer is fascinating, extraordinary and, when you think hard about it, completely obvious. Nonetheless amazing for that.
“Remarkable really. But sadly I cannot share it with anyone and the secret must go with me to the grave. Pity, because it explains so much beyond the books. It really does explain the secret of life, the universe, and everything.”
Read the full article news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7283155.stmhere.
John Denver karaoke sparks Thai killing spree
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John Denver karaoke sparks Thai killing spree
A gunman in Thailand shot-dead eight neighbours, including his brother-in-law, after tiring of their karaoke versions of popular songs, including John Denver’s Country Roads.
Weenus Chumkamnerd, 52, put his gun to the head of a respected female doctor and seven of her guests as they partied at her home in Songkhla Province, South Thailand.
“When I began shooting nobody pleaded for his life because they were all drunk,” he said after his arrest.
He said he was so furious with their awful singing that he did not notice he had murdered his own brother-in-law.
“I warned these people about their noisy karaoke parties. I said if they carried on I would go down and shoot them. I had told them if I couldn’t talk sense into them I would come back and finish them off,” he added.
Read the full article www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/08/wbangkok108.xmlhere.
Tomato/cash giveaway leads to riot in NYC
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I read this three times and still don’t know what the company does or what this stunt was about. Great reporting, Daily News!
Cashtomato money giveaway turns rotten with Union Square riot
Only in New York can a tomato get mugged for $4,000.
A money giveaway in Union Square by a company called Cashtomato.com turned rotten Friday when the impatient crowd bum-rushed the costumed organizers and ran off with the loot. One person was injured in the free-for-all.
“Make it rain!” and “Give me my money!” passersby shouted as the clock ticked down to the scheduled 2:29 p.m. publicity stunt, timed to mark Leap Day.
With five minutes to go, the antsy mob of 100 surged toward three workers dressed to resemble tomatoes and holding sacks and boxes of prizes up to $29.
“People grabbed and pulled on the bag,” said Jason Buzi, an executive at the fledgling video-sharing Internet company.
“I didn’t feel safe, so I let it go.”
As he fled across the street, his colleagues dropped their sacks and scattered across the park – and a wild grab for the booty ensued.
Scavengers dove to the ground and elbowed each other out of the way to get at cash-stuffed envelopes and balloons and flyers and fresh tomatoes with bills attached.
“I got pushed down and trampled, but instead of money, all I got were tomatoes,” said a dejected 29-year-old homeless woman who gave her name as Christine.
Read the full article www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/02/29/2008-02-29_cashtomato_money_giveaway_turns_rotten_w.htmlhere.
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