Say, what?

NOT HERE ANYMORE

2007-12-14T14:36:00.000-05:00

As you probably know by now, APP has a new web site and have put all our blogs there.

Go to www.app.com/blogs/fasanella to find mine.

Please bookmark the site as one of your favorites.... Thanks

DON'T CALL ME IRVING

2007-11-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

A swastika shaved into the fur of a German man's dog could land the pet owner in jail for three years.

Police found the dog with the banned Nazi symbol emblazoned in its fur when they went to the 29-year-old Straubing man's house after his ex-girlfriend called them for help.

She told police she wanted to collect her belongings but was afraid of the man.

Displaying the swastika in public is illegal in Germany.

Police are now attempting to find out if the man has walked the dog outside since altering its fur with the symbol.

Yikes ... Heil, mein schnauzer?

Photo by Photocapy

GIVING THE FINGER

2007-11-23T13:31:00.000-05:00

A Georgia woman's finger was torn off when a 21-year-old man in a car drove by and snatched her purse out of her hands.

The drive-by purse-snatching landed Caesare R. Pinkins in Gwinnett County Jail with multiple felony counts of robbery, aggravated battery and burglary.

On Wednesday, Pinkins swiped the 55-year-old woman's purse as he drove by and then stepped on the gas. Her finger was pulled off during the robbery. Surgical attempts to reattach it were unsuccessful.

Authorities did not release the woman's name or say where the incident occurred.

On a tip, police later found Pinkins in a Lilburn neighborhood where he ditched the car he was driving and entered a home that was unlocked. He also faces charges for another purse-snatching outside a Target store Monday.

Nice to know someone fingered the creep.

NOT the "real finger" photo by Augie Schwer

WHERE'S THE PEANUTS?

2007-11-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

A Thanksgiving meal provided to nearly 3,000 United Airlines workers as a way to reach out to disgruntled employees landed some in need of medical attention for nausea and vomiting.

Mechanics, baggage handlers and other employees working at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were offered the meal that many said "was not edible."

Five people became sick after eating the catered meal that included turkey they said "didn't smell quite right."

The dinner was seen as a reconciliatory gesture from the company after unions criticized the airline for awarding tens of millions of dollars in pay increases and bonuses to top managers while employees took pay cuts to help the company survive.

Damn airline food.

Photo by Dong Kwan

FADE TO BLACK

2007-11-21T09:55:00.000-05:00

A man who went on a Madrid television show to profess his love and propose marriage to his estranged girlfriend, only to be rejected, is now a suspect in her murder.

Ricardo Navarro, 30, got down on his knees, crying and offering an engagement ring to his former partner during a popular daytime talk show, Diario de Patricia on the network Antena 3.

The 30-year-old Russian woman, only known as Svetlana, rejected his proposal and was found four days later with her throat cut in the elevator of her Alicante apartment building.

The televised meeting attended by Svetlana was arranged at Navarro's request as a surprise for his ex-girlfriend so he could try to make up with her. She might have thought the surprise was going to be a visit from a Russian relative, a network official said.

Sadly, it sounds like network officials helped Cupid's arrow go a little more than astray.

Photo by Sontra

HAM BEFORE ITS TIME

2007-11-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

About 1,500 pigs died in a fire last night at a Southampton farm.

The pigs were in two of the barns at Pig Farm Recycling and unable to escape the fire that leveled the structures at the facility.

Firefighters managed to keep the flames from reaching diesel fuel and gasoline tanks at the three-alarm blaze. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Guess these little piggies won't be going to market.

Photo by Cathy Se

REMEMBERING WHIPPLE

2007-11-19T14:09:00.000-05:00

Mr. Whipple, the closet toilet-paper squeezer, has died.

Ninety-one-year-old Dick Wilson died of natural causes yesterday at the Motion Picture & Television Fund Hospital in Woodland Hills.

Wilson made more than 500 Charmin commercials, the first airing in 1964 where he was consumed with keeping housewives from squeezing the toilet paper. The campaign ended in 1985, but Wilson went on to play parts in "Bewitched," "Hogan's Heroes" and "The Bob Newhart Show."

RIP Mr. Whipple, and when you look down from your soft two-ply white cloud (oops, wrong toilet paper), know there are generations out there who will never forget "Please don't squeeze the Charmin."

AP Photo

STUPID DOG OWNER TRICKS

2007-11-17T11:11:00.000-05:00

A Minnesota woman stabbed a pit bull that got into her home and attacked her cat.

The Erhard neighborhood dog pushed past the woman's daughter and a friend when they were walking into the house and found the cat in the back room. While the pit bull was attacking the cat, the woman, who wasn't identified, stabbed the dog in the hindquarters with a knife to get it to stop.

The dog stopped and ran out of the house. The cat did not survive.

It was not clear why the dog was running the neighborhood. The incident is under investigation.

The dog's owner said his pet's wounds did not require medical attention.

I'm surprised the woman didn't make his hindquarters look like Swiss cheese, too.

CHOCOLATE AND GOLD AND MICE, OH YEAH!

2007-11-16T10:35:00.000-05:00

You don't always get what you pay for ... sometimes you get a little more.

Mice and cockroaches are not on the menu at Serendipity 3, the Manhattan restaurant that unveiled a record-breaking $25,000 chocolate dessert fused with edible gold, but they managed to cost the owners of the Upper East Side establishment a pretty penny.

The restaurant failed its second health inspection in a month yesterday after city officials found a live mouse and dozens of cockroaches, along with mouse droppings and flies.

The Frrozen Haute Chocolate comes with an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 karat of white diamonds at the base of the goblet, hopefully minus the little extras.

Maybe owners should parlay their bad luck and serve diamond-encrusted cockroaches on the side.

Anyone who would pay $25,000 for dessert has mouse droppings for brains anyway.

Reuters Photo.

IN THE END ZONE

2007-11-15T09:22:00.000-05:00

A Georgia prison warden is hoping an all-out blitz for satellite television will convince prison officials that Monday Night Football can be used as a management tool for inmates.

Warden Frank Taylor of the Clayton County Correctional Institution in Atlanta is asking for funds to bring direct satellite services to the facility to keep his 226 inmates in line.

Taylor claims 90 percent of the prisoners would be occupied watching the football games instead of the two fuzzy stations that are now in the five dormitories.

Uh, "occupied" ... why does "sudden death" come to mind?

Photo by Zoonabar

NOTHING TO CHEER ABOUT

2007-11-14T10:11:00.000-05:00

An Arizona high school teacher caught on video performing a sexy cheer routine in front of her class has resigned.

English teacher and cheerleading coach Cristina Mallon was put on administrative leave last month after a student captured her dance on his cell phone and put the video on YouTube.

Mallon elected to resign, according to Highley Unified School District officials, after she returned from her suspension and was put in the spotlight once again when she assigned a controversial book for her freshman students to read. A father complained that "Jake Reinvented" was inappropriate for 14-year-olds.

Guess she's not shaking her pom-poms now.

Photo by Kent Field

CROSSING THE (WHITE) LINE

2007-11-13T14:20:00.000-05:00

A Washington Post writer is apologizing for calling District of Columbia Council member and former mayor Marion Barry a "crack addict" in an e-mail to Barry's aide.

Tim Page, a Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic, wrote the e-mail after receiving a news release on Barry's views of the financially troubled Greater Southeast Community Hospital.

In the e-mail, Page wrote, "Must we hear about it every time this crack addict attempts to rehabilitate himself with some new ... and typically half-witted ... political grandstanding? I'd be grateful if you would take me off your mailing list. I cannot think of anything the useless Marion Barry could do that would interest me in the slightest, up to and including overdose."

Page said he had been cursed by a Barry staffer when he tried to have his name removed from the council's mailing list before he fired off the e-mail.

Executive Editor of the Post, Leonard Downie Jr., called Page's e-mail "a terrible mistake," and said internal actions were being taken, although he wouldn't say what.

Barry called for the firing of the critic who plans to take a previously scheduled four-month leave starting Jan. 1.

Good timing.

Photo by Baboona

RUN SPOT, RUN

2007-11-13T09:01:00.000-05:00

A man in southern India married a female dog in an attempt to atone his actions for killing two other dogs 15 years earlier.

P. Selvakumar married Selvi, a stray dog chosen by his family, in a traditional Hindu ceremony because he said he has been suffering since he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies from a tree.

After the cruel act, Selvakumar said he became paralyzed in his hands and legs and lost hearing in one ear.

An astrologer had told Selvakumar the wedding was the only way he could cure the maladies. It was unknown whether his situation had improved since the wedding.

Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.

After the wedding the groom and his family had a feast while the dog got a bun.

Dog: "What did I do to deserve this?"

LET'S GET BLASTED

2007-11-12T14:37:00.000-05:00

A stubborn lug nut got the better of one Washington man after he blasted the wheel with a 12-gauge shotgun and peppered his legs with buckshot.

The 66-year-old Southworth man had been repairing a Lincoln Continental for two weeks and removed all but one lug off the right rear wheel when he lost patience and decided to shoot it off. From about arm's length, he fired the shotgun at the wheel.

The man, who was not identified, suffered from severe, but non-life threatening, buckshot wounds, some as high as his chin.

Police reports say he was not intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Too bad. If he'd been drinking, he might have missed.

Photo by Swanksalot

BLACK ON BLACK

2007-11-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

Black Dog Syndrome has some Canadian Humane Society officials worried.

It seems black dogs at the Lakeland Human Society in Cold Lake aren't adopted as much as their lighter-colored canine friends. Prospective owners prefer any color but black, said animal care attendant Chelsea Deschambeau.

The reasoning is simple: All black dogs look alike.

Deschambeau also says darker dogs, such as Rottweilers, have a bad image and are portrayed in movies as aggressive. And, they don't photograph well because they don't stand out.

Of the 25 dogs now waiting to be adopted in the Alberta kennel, 17 are black.

On the other hand, Edmonton Humane Society spokesman Dianne Shannon says it's not the black dogs that are discriminated against, but black cats.

Where's Al Sharpton when you need him?

Photo by Erica Marshall

I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN

2007-11-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

A disabled woman narrowly escaped being hit by a train with the help of an off-duty police officer and her husband after the New York woman turned her car onto the Long Island Rail Road tracks that she mistook for a roadway.

The 63-year-old driver, who wasn't identified, screamed for help after her car became stuck on the rails and was facing an oncoming train.

New York police officer Randi LoCicero, 34, and her 33-year-old husband, Anthony, a volunteer fire chief, rushed to the car as the gates descended and the train's horn blared. The couple yanked open the door and pulled out the driver, who needed crutches to walk.

Moments later, the train plowed into the car, overturning and dragging
it a short distance. Neither the woman nor anyone on the train was hurt,
authorities said.

The driver, however, was a little ticked they didn't save her pocketbook.

Now, that's a real New Yorker for you.

Photo by Jan the Manson

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES

2007-11-08T12:06:00.000-05:00

Two Newark teens fell off a makeshift ladder of tied sheets trying to climb down five stories while fleeing from one of their parents who discovered they had alcohol.

The teenage girls, who were not identified, sustained broken bones and bruises, none of which were life-threatening, after falling off the 50-foot sheet ladder. They were taken to the hospital where they underwent surgery.

The girls were trying to escape from the parent who threatened to call police to find out who supplied the liquor, authorities said.

Why does Wiley Coyote come to mind?

Photo by ernoldiño

YES, WE HAVE BANANAS

2007-11-07T11:47:00.001-05:00

The beaches of two Dutch North Sea islands were less than "a-peeling" to residents yesterday after thousands of bananas washed ashore.

A half-mile stretch of beach on Terschelling island, 70 miles north of Amsterdam, was littered with the unripe fruit that fell off a Cuban cargo ship during a storm. Bananas also washed up on neighboring Ameland island.

Authorities estimate that six containers were washed off the ship and at least one burst open.

Beachcombers were on the scene to check out bunches of the green bananas, but weren't as interested in the haul as they were a year ago when tennis shoes, aluminum briefcases and toys washed ashore. Some 20 years ago, it was a load of sweaters.

It wasn't immediately clear what would happen to the bananas. Some locals had suggested sending them to nearby zoos.

Gives new meaning to "straight off the banana boat."

AP Photo

STEAKS FOR EVERYONE

2007-11-06T15:29:00.000-05:00

A Michigan couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary and, more importantly being alive, after the minivan they were in was struck by a falling object ... a 600-pound cow.

Charles and Linda Everson were driving back to their hotel in Manson, Wash., where they were visiting, when the year-old cow fell 200 feet off a cliff and onto the hood of their vehicle. They missed being killed by a matter of inches, authorities said.

The couple was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution but neither was hurt. The cow, on the other hand, had to be euthanized.

I've heard it rains cats and dogs in Washington State, but cows? That's enough to make one moooove.

HELLO, DOCTOR?

2007-11-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

It was a traditional Hanukkah dish made with "slyders" that won a Missouri woman the annual recipe contest sponsored by White Castle hamburger company.

The Jewish latke pancakes had the usual grated potatoes and eggs, and as a bonus, 10 chopped up White Castle hamburgers in the mix ... minus the pickles.

Leslve Louis of New Melle named her creation "The Latkes You Crave." As part of her prize, she will receive a case of 30 burgers each week for a year.

Sounds like a good reason to get drunk.

Just in time for Thanksgiving: A White Castle turkey recipe

Photo courtesy of White Castle

PREACHING TO THE CHOIR

2007-11-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

They want to end the tyranny of the positive attitude by telling Americans that it's healthier to belt out your gripes ... in four-part harmony.

Thanks to artists Kochta-Kalleinen and Tellervo Kalleinen of Finland, the international complaints-choir movement has crescendoed from Australia to Helsinki and just recently made its debut in Chicago.

With The Complaints Choir of Chicago, the couple basically wants to combat the persistent American belief that it's best to think positively and keep complaints to yourself.

So, if you don't like your neighbors' dog, and you really hate they way your spouse leaves the dresser drawers open, organize a complaints choir and sing your heart out.

Sounds like an anti-American terrorist plot to me.
And BTW, those are peace-loving hippies in the photo, not the actual choir.

Job-hater's song submission for the choir:
"This job's not my sunshine, or my life dear,
It makes me angry, how much I'm paid,
You have no idea, boss, what I do here,
Don't let me go postal and blow myself (and you) away."

Real choir submissions:

Photo by Ed Berman

OVER THE LINE

2007-11-03T11:02:00.000-04:00

A Swedish man is in hot water after he told U.S. authorities that his son-in-law had links to al-Qaida.

The 52-year-old father-in-law, who was not named, has been charged with defamation after he sent an e-mail to the FBI saying his son-in-law "likely has links to the Muslim terror organization al-Qaida's network in Sweden."

The false warning spoiled a business trip to the U.S. for the son-in-law, who was stopped at a Florida airport and questioned for 11 hours before being sent back on a plane to Sweden.

The father-in-law admitted to having sent the e-mail after it was traced to his home computer. He reportedly told police he sent the e-mail in anger after a dispute with his son-in-law, who was divorcing his daughter.

The man said he did not expect such a "paranoid reaction" from U.S. authorities.
He was charged with grave defamation and could face up to two years in prison if convicted.

Wow, now that's creative hateful revenge at its best.
What happened to just having a bunch of pizzas sent over to his house?

Explicit language. Viewer discretion advised

Photo by Nick Gray

NO BLACK FRIDAY FOR YOU

2007-11-02T12:06:00.000-04:00

New Jersey state workers are up in arms over Gov. Corzine's decision to open state offices on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The Communications Workers of America orchestrated a telephone blitz to the governor's office, and so far, more than 3,000 calls have been fielded.

Since the governor says he wants to stop the decades-long practice of giving state workers that day off with pay, I guess they now will be crying in their leftover turkey sandwiches at work.

Waaaah!

What a shame they'll miss all this:

Photo by Word Ridden

PRO-CHOICE PIGEONS

2007-11-01T11:44:00.000-04:00

Poop or no poop? That's this week's burning question for one New York City official who wants to reduce the pigeon population at the Staten Island ferry terminals by putting them on birth control.

Councilman James Oddo says OvoControl-P renders the birds' eggs "unhatchable" and hopefully will thin out the flocks. Less pesky birds ... less droppings inside the terminals where they like to roost and nest.

There's only one problem. The drug, which would be mixed into standard seed, has not been approved for pigeons by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. It's a go for geese, though.

So, here's the second burning question:
"How much do the pigeons costs in the ferry terminals? The ones with the unsanitary tale.
How much do the pigeons costs in the ferry terminals? I do hope that study doesn't fail."

Hey, Councilman Oddo is a serious, no-nonsense kind of guy. We can see that from this clip of him going off during an interview with a Norwegian comedian.
Warning: Explicit language, view at your own discretion.

Photo by Funkybug

OOEY GOOEY

2007-10-31T18:27:00.000-04:00

It seems an ear-wax eating incident is a bitter pill to swallow for Australia's opposition leader, Kevin Rudd, who is likely to become the country's next prime minister.

Rudd was caught on video tape nearly six years ago when he sat in the House Representatives as a junior Labor Party lawmaker, absent-mindedly probing his ear and then placing the same finger in his mouth. He previously has told journalists that he was just scratching his chin.

The embarrassing footage now has come back to haunt him on YouTube. It recently also was featured on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Rudd's antics, which he said he wishes were "more ideal," haven't hurt his popularity, though. He leads Prime Minister John Howard in opinion polls ahead of Nov. 24 elections.

Nice to have such loyal ear-wax-eating supporters. What's next, Bush booger-eaters?

INSURANCE JOB? SHOOT ME NOW!

2007-10-31T11:32:00.000-04:00

It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

A Texas insurance company worker may be rethinking why he felt a "need" to carry a gun to work after he accidentally shot himself inside his cubicle.

The 47-year-old man, who hasn't been identified, put a .45-caliber gun in the pocket of his jacket before he draped it over his chair yesterday. When he settled into his chair, the gun discharged. The bullet went through both legs and a bookcase before lodging in the wall.

Police said it didn't appear that the man was having problems with his bosses or that he targeting anyone at work.

He didn't have a license to carry a concealed weapon and violated work rules against bringing a gun to the office without permission. No charges have been filed at this time.

The man said he brought the gun to work because he "just felt a need to carry it."

I'd say it's a safe bet his insurance won't cover this one.

Here's a funny cubicle song for those of you who work in one.

HEADS UP!

2007-10-30T20:45:00.000-04:00

It was no Halloween joke when a traffic stop in Royse City, Texas, yielded two dozen embalmed heads.

The heads were used for medical training in Fort Worth and were being returned to Little Rock, Ark., when the trucker hauling the heads was stopped for speeding.

The driver couldn't immediately locate the documentation for his cargo that was wrapped in plastic, but later was allowed to proceed after paperwork was faxed to police.

He then made headway toward his destination.

Photo by Dawn Endico

RED TAPE STATE

2007-10-30T10:50:00.000-04:00

A new BIG State of Texas report reveals agencies there issue too many reports.

The 668-page report from the Library and Archives Commission outlines reports from more than 170 state agencies and public colleges and universities. The commission spent 18 months compiling the more than 1,600 reports, and members think there are still more to be found.

Initial findings indicate that there are more than 400 report requirements that are obsolete, duplicates or not needed.

It is estimated that thousands of dollars could be saved in staff hours as well as tons of paper.

The commission says it has just begun to assess the report requirements one by one and expects it will take another year to complete the study.

At which time, I suspect there will be another report.

Photo by Azza-bazoo

UP TO YOUR TURKEY NECK IN ... TURKEYS?

2007-10-29T13:22:00.000-04:00

A Port Republic woman has been haunted this Halloween by some goblins of a different kind ... a gang of turkeys.

Kim Allen says she has been trying for weeks to get rid of the more than 40 turkeys living in two sycamore trees outside her restored Victorian home.

All their gobbling didn't bother her, but raking and cleaning up the turkey poop people tracked inside her home did.

She sprayed the birds with water, set off firecrackers and banged together pots and pans to scare them away. The birds stayed, though, until recently when the leaves fell off the trees and, losing their cover, the "gobble-lins" moved on.

Now they are hiding out at a nearby hunting lodge.

Sounds like the gang that couldn't poop straight.

Photo by Rckenned

GIVE ME A BREAK

2007-10-29T09:39:00.000-04:00

A Pennsylvania man seeking to photograph deer with an automatic camera tied to a tree has some believing he captured an image of Bigfoot instead. Others believe it's nothing more than a bear with a bad case of mange.

Rick Jacobs said he's never seen anything like the creature he captured on film during his years of hunting and sent the image to Bigfoot Research Organization,
which pursues reports of a legendary two-legged creature that some people believe lives in parts of the U.S. and Canada.

After viewing the photo, Paul Majeta of BRO said, "It appears to be a primate-like animal. In my opinion, it appears to be a juvenile Sasquatch."

However, officials with the Pennsylvania Game Commission pooh-poohed the assessment and said the creature is nothing more that a bear with a really bad skin condition.

BRO: AAAGH! It lives, it lives!
PA Commission (and anyone else with half a brain): Yeah, yeah, Sasquatch this ...

Photo of bear by bfracker1

Supposedly Bigfoot photo by Rick Jacobs

CHUG-A-LUG

2007-10-26T13:48:00.000-04:00

A recovering alcoholic was charged with retail theft after he downed seven bottles of Jack Daniels Lynchburg Lemonade in the liquor aisle of a Mukwonago, Wis., Wal-Mart super center.

The 43-year-old man, who police did not identify, said he had been dry for 16 months before he went into the store and drank the 12-ounce bottles of spiked lemonade in 15 minutes. After consuming the alcohol, he put the empty bottles back on the shelf. A security video caught him in the act.

When confronted by a store official, the man at first denied drinking the alcohol but later confessed that "he couldn't control himself." He added that he didn't know how he was going to tell his wife who was in the store, but wasn't aware of what he was doing.

I feel his pain. Shopping at Wal-Mart is enough to drive anyone to drink.

Photo by Code Poet

PUPPY LOVE

2007-10-26T11:33:00.000-04:00

A dog-loving judge threw the book at a Charleston, S.C., man for tossing a puppy off a three-story-high apartment balcony during an argument with his girlfriend.

Circuit Judge Edward Cottingham, who has owned nine dogs, sentenced Javon Patrick Morris, 22, to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for throwing the 10-week-old puppy over the balcony. The dog was in a soft carrier and suffered head injuries in the fall. It had to be euthanized.

Cottingham was incensed that Morris would commit such a cruel act on a helpless animal "just because he was mad at someone," and added two years probation and anger-management counseling to Morris' sentence once he gets out.
Morris will be eligible for parole in 20 months.

Cottingham said he was obligated to impose the tough sentence, and that he wanted to "send a message to all dog-lovers that we are going to protect that interest in our courtrooms."

Too bad he didn't take it one step farther and have the creep hung by his ankles from the roof of the prison every day of his sentence.

THE BIG COVERUP

2007-10-25T12:03:00.000-04:00

An Austrian sculpture of a naked Jesus Christ on a cross has anti-pornography activists reaching for more than fig leaves.

Activist Martin Humer, 82, and about 100 of his supporters are organizing a protest in an attempt to pressure officials to remove the crucifix sculpture from an Innsbruck public square where it has stood for 20 years.

Mayor Hilde Zach said the crucifix is a work of art and in no way pornographic. She refused to have it removed.

Humer, a retired photographer, gained notoriety last year after he was charged with defacing a nude Mozart statue in Salzburg with red and green enamel and covering it with white feathers.

OMG, what's this world coming to? First some guy wants to eat the anatomically correct, chocolate Jesus display in New York and now this.

AP Photo

LUCK OF THE DRAW

2007-10-24T15:07:00.000-04:00

An ambulance crew apparently got lost on the way to the hospital after picking up a runner who collapsed during the Chicago Marathon.

Earlier this month, Chad Schieber, 35, was in full cardiac arrest when the rescuers radioed dispatchers saying they were taking the dying runner to University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center six blocks away.

The crew drove a couple blocks in the wrong direction, then flagged down another ambulance and got directions before driving past the medical center because they couldn't find the emergency room entrance.

When the lost ambulance asked dispatchers for directions, they were heard shouting over radios "We need maps! We have no maps down here."

Eventually, the ambulance took Schieber, a police officer from Michigan, to another hospital that was not part of the city's emergency response network. It did have a working emergency room, but Schieber died anyway.

It was not known if Schieber would have survived if the ambulance had arrived sooner at the hospital. His family is still searching for answers.

Sadly, sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the tree.

Photo by Fazen

TAKE THAT YOU RASCALLY RASCAL

2007-10-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

Want to scare off groping perverts with minimum hassle and without attracting a lot of attention? A flashing cell phone message might just do the trick.

Web-based publisher Spicy Soft's cell-phone application "Anti-Groping Appli" is gaining popularity among Japanese women who want to let perverts with wandering hands know that "groping is a crime."

More than 1,853 people were arrested for groping passengers on crowded trains in Tokyo in 2005, according to Tokyo Metropolitan Police. The number of incidents is thought to be much higher because women often are too embarrassed to report it.

After downloading the free program, the victim just pushes an "anger" icon on his or her cell phone when groped and several threatening messages appear to be shown to the offender, including "Did you just grope me?" and "Shall we head to the police?" A warning chime accompanies the message.

And the next obvious question ... Is there an application for those who want to be groped?

Photo by Rahims

I WANT CANDY

2007-10-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

Using candy bars to get female inmates to expose themselves has landed one former jailhouse guard in a bit of a sticky situation.

Steven Irysh, 23, was charged with indecent exposure and engaging in sexual activity with a confined person after he allegedly flashed a female inmate and had others expose themselves in exchange for candy bars.

Prosecutors said Irysh, who pleaded not guilty, would deliver notes to male inmates at San Luis Obispo County jail that offered the candy in exchange for female inmates flashing him. It was unclear as to which candy bars Irysh offered.

If convicted, he could face up to 18 months in jail ... and a lifetime of Snickers (not to mention all the sweet lovin' he could want from the boys in the Big House).

Photo by The Kid CL

COME HERE, MY PRETTY

2007-10-22T16:52:00.000-04:00

A New Delhi senior official fell to his death from the balcony of his home yesterday after being attacked by wild monkeys.

A gang of aggressive Rhesus macaques attacked the deputy mayor who sustained fatal head injuries in the fall.

Hindus believe the monkeys are manifestations of a monkey god and feed them bananas and peanuts, causing them to overrun public places and snatch food from unsuspecting passersby.

The Delhi High Court asked city authorities last year to find a solution to the problem. Officials there employed monkey catchers who use meaner monkeys to scare and catch the smaller monkeys but obviously, it hasn't helped to solve the situation.

Now, they're off to see the wizard!

Photo: CNN

RAT BY ANY OTHER NAME

2007-10-22T07:52:00.000-04:00

A Bayonne woman got a little hot under the collar after a flaming squirrel detonated her car.

Lindsey Millar, 23, was in her 42nd Street home last week when her 2006 Toyota Camry suddenly blew up. Firefighters called to scene said the culprit was a squirrel that had chewed through overhead power lines and ignited before falling on top of the car and setting the engine compartment ablaze.

While Millar was fully insured and no one was hurt, she said the incident was nothing to laugh about ... at least not until she gets a new car.

I'd bet the electrocuted squirrel wasn't laughing either.

On a really nutty note: Millar is thinking about dedicating a plastic tombstone among the Halloween decorations on her front lawn to the squirrel with no name.

Guess they don't have a lot to do in Bayonne.

ONE RINGY DINGY

2007-10-19T19:14:00.000-04:00

A fed-up, church-going Virginia secretary launched a hammer attack on some Comcast office equipment after she figured, "Hey, my telephone is screwed up, (now) so is yours."

Mona Shaw, 75, said she had a "hissy fit" after she ordered the company's Triple Play phone, Internet and cable service and the technician didn't show up at the scheduled appointment. Even when he did arrive two days later, he didn't finish the job.

Two days after that, Comcast cut off their service. That's when Shaw and her husband went to the cable company's office in Manassa and waited for a couple of hours before being told the manager left for the day.

The next Monday, the "old lady who just got mad" returned with a hammer and smashed a keyboard, knocked over a monitor and tore into a telephone.

Police arrested Shaw for disorderly conduct. She received a three-month suspended sentence, was fined $345 and barred from going near the Comcast offices for a year.

The Shaws did eventually get phone and television service - with Verizon and DirecTV.

I feel her pain.

Photo by Extra Ketchup

TAKING A BYTE OUT OF CRIME

2007-10-19T08:48:00.000-04:00

A small New Zealand brewer wants his stolen laptop back in a big way. In exchange for the computer's return, Croucher Brewing Co. co-owner Paul Croucher is offering a lifetime supply of free beer.

The laptop contains financial records and label designs for new beers along with business contacts. It is essential for the small business in its "critical stage," Croucher said.

But what exactly is the offer on the table?

Bring back the computer and get "a dozen bottles of beer a month for the rest of their life." The total value of the reward is estimated to be around $19,500.

The microbrewery ships 160 gallons of its three beers ... an English-style pale ale, Czech-style pilsner and a cloudy German wheat beer ... each week.

While there have been many people who have called to say they are looking for the computer since the offer was made, it sounds like cheesy deal.

Maybe brewery owners need to have their beer heads examined.

Then again, because beer makes people do this ...

maybe not.

Photo by
la vaca vegetariana

STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS

2007-10-18T17:03:00.000-04:00

Officials in Oak Lawn, Ill., think stop signs are a joke.

The Chicago suburb has installed second signs under the regular ones at 50 intersections with messages such as "WHOAAAA" or "Stop right there pilgrim."

Other signs read "Stop ... and smell the roses" and "Stop ... in the naaame of love."

Mayor Dave Hielmann said the campaign launched last week was to make people "smile and take notice" of the stop signs.

While the mayor was posing for a photo with one of the new signs, a driver sped by without stopping.

:)

And that's all there is, folks!

Photo by Feaverish

WHAT'S IN YOUR TOILET

2007-10-18T08:37:00.000-04:00

If you liked yesterday's toilet blog, you'll love this one.

A Brooklyn woman got the scare of her life right before dawn Monday when she spotted a 7-foot-long python peeking out of her toilet.

Nadege Brunacci, 38, was washing her hands in the bathroom of her third-floor apartment when she glanced back and saw the head of the snake coming out of her toilet. Most of its body was hidden in the pipes.

The restaurateur turned on the light and screamed for help. She then slammed down the lid and put a heavy box on top.

Her landlord and firefighters came to her aid, but it took plumbers to tear apart the downstairs neighbor's pipes to get to the snake out.

It was unclear how the serpent got into the pipes.

Brunacci now uses her daughter's training toilet ... seriously.

True story: My brother-in-law almost sat on a hissing raccoon in his toilet! Talk about the shock of hearing the hiss much less trying to escape with your pants around your ankles!

Now here's a snake:

Photo by Upton

POTTY MOUTH

2007-10-17T10:59:00.000-04:00

A Scranton, Pa., woman was cited for disorderly conduct when she shouted profanities at her overflowing toilet.

Dawn Herb was yelling for her daughter to get a mop when her toilet started to back up, but let a few other choice words fly that offended her neighbor who heard the tirade through an open bathroom window.

Herb's neighbor, an off-duty city police officer, asked the woman to keep it down, but when she continued, he reported the foul-mouthed woman to police.

Herb said she doesn't recall what she said that offended her neighbor. She could face up to 90 days in jail and a $300 fine.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Mary Catherine Roper took issue with the citation. She said a person can't be prosecuted for swearing at a toilet or a cop.

Where's a dump button when you need one?

In the meantime:

Photo by Viralbus

NITTY GRITTY GRANNY

2007-10-16T08:53:00.001-04:00

He was JUST washing his clothes.

Unfortunately, for James Penn, 25, of Mobile, Ala., he picked the home of a feisty 81-year-old woman who almost took him out with her trusty handgun when she discovered the homeless man in her laundry room.

Ethel Sanders said she heard noises in the laundry room and, with gun in hand, went to investigate. She shot Penn, who was standing in his underwear, after he came at her.

Sanders then fell to the ground and dropped the gun, which Penn picked up and pointed at her while he retrieved his clothes from the washer. He fled the scene, but was caught later at a nearby community center.

Penn was taken to University of South Alabama Medical Center where he was treated for the gunshot wound. He is expected to survive. He will be charged with first-degree burglary, police said.

Now, that's one pistol-packin' grandma!

Photo by Danimal
Here's one heck of a washing machine advertisement:

WHAT A TRIP

2007-10-14T16:20:00.000-04:00

Looks like it's a wake up call for those on the magical mystery tour.

In the land where drug laws are lax, Holland has banned the sale of fresh magic mushrooms, leaving many visiting the Netherlands not so high and really dry.

The ban comes in the wake of high-profile incidents involving those using the shrooms, including a 17-year-old French girl who jumped from a bridge on a class trip to Amsterdam in March. She died.

Other cases include an Icelandic tourist who broke both legs jumping from a balcony and a Danish tourist who drove his car wildly through a camp site.

The Dutch Parliament has called for a total ban on all forms of the magic mushrooms, also known as psilocybe. They contain psychedelic chemicals psilocin and psilocybin that causes the user to see enhanced colors, experience giggling fits and, obviously, jump off high places.

Party poopers.

Photo by Ximijosefina

WHAT A BLOW UP!

2007-10-14T08:08:00.000-04:00

An inflatable Halloween lawn display wasn't as scary as a Lloyd, N.Y., woman's drunken neighbor who flew into a fit of rage and attacked her three ghosts and giant pumpkin.

Dawn Garcia told police she heard hollering and swearing before she looked outside to see her neighbor, John Odee, 43, struggling with the giant pumpkin. But, when she yelled at him to go away, he charged the house and used his head to smash a window.

Garcia called 911 and police arrested Odee after a brief struggle and charged him with burglary. He is being held in Ulster County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Garcia said she didn't know why her neighbor attacked the display since it was the same one she put up last year and it didn't bother him then.

Inflatable Halloween display ... $200.

Using your head so you don't have to look at the cheesy display for another year ... priceless!

Photo by destinelee

BLINK FOR PINK

2007-10-12T21:31:00.000-04:00

Put down that beer or glass of wine!

It's not a pink elephant but a pink dolphin that continues to be spotted on Calcasieu Lake south of Lake Charles, La.

Capt. Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service first spotted the rare pink dolphin in June and says he stills sees the young bottlenose dolphin swimming with its mother from time to time.

The albino dolphin is pink because calves don't have as much of a blubber layer, and without the gray coloration, the blood is right at the surface, according to Dagmar Fertl, a marine biologist for Geo-Marine, Inc. out of Dallas.

There have been 14 recorded sightings since 1962.

(OK, so I got carried away with the dolphin videos!)
Photo by Capt. Erik Rue

SCARY SPICE

2007-10-12T17:35:00.000-04:00

An 18-month Millville boy had to be rescued by firefighters after he crawled inside the ductwork in his home and got stuck.

Rescuers had to cut through a plaster wall and the duct to free the toddler who somehow had removed a grate in his bedroom and climbed in before falling 10 feet to the dining room grate below.

His mother, Ashley Kahn, said she feared her son, Patrick, would suffocate when she only could see his eyes and the top of his head after finding him inside the walls.

The family now has a dresser in front of the duct in the boy's room.

Grate balls of fire, this rug rat bypassed the curtain-climbing stage.

EYE TO EYE

2007-10-12T16:24:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd check in with you to see if you were sitting there at your computer.

Yep, there you are ... doing nothing.

P.S. I'm taking a little break from work, but I'll still be blogging!

ONE PILL MAKES YOU SMALLER

2007-10-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

He was a real online Dr. Kevorkian.

Police arrested a Japanese man for allegedly killing a 21-year-old woman who paid him to carry out her plan through his Internet suicide site.

Kazunari Saito, 33, gave Sayaka Nishizawa sleeping pills and then suffocated her after she wrote to him in April through the site, which provided tips on how to commit suicide.

"I want to die, how can I die?" she wrote. Once Saito wrote back and told her, "I will give you lots of sleeping pills," the distraught woman then paid him $1,700, police said. It wasn't clear as to why she needed help.

Nishizawa's father found his daughter's body in her apartment just south of Tokyo. There was a note suggesting suicide, but her cell phone and keys were missing.

The suspect, an electrician by trade, told police the woman had asked him to "see her through" the dying process. Japan's suicide rate is among the highest in the industrialized world.

Officials didn't say if the Web site was still working.

What an entrepreneur!

Photo by Tata

LONG LIVE MYSTERY MEAT

2007-10-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

SPAM is 70.

Not the spam you get in your e-mail inbox, but the mystery meat in the famous rectangle can that at one time only could be opened with a special key stuck on the top.

To mark its platinum anniversary, SPAM is offering to its loyal, brave partakers, single-serve, easy-to-open packets with campy verbiage that claims, "This dotted line is like a freeway, the freeway to a delicious explosion in your mouth."

And that"s not all! Besides the new-and-improved SPAM container, the new-and-improved SPAM Web site has an interactive museum through which you can browse.

Who could ask for anything more?

Electronic spam, BTW, was named for the Monty Python SPAM sketch, set in a cafe where nearly every item on the menu includes SPAM luncheon meat.

Photo by Freezelight .

SHOTS, ANYONE?

2007-10-10T08:24:00.000-04:00

An Italian tourist was given a drip-feed of 100-proof vodka at an Australian hospital after doctors ran out of medicinal alcohol to treat the man for his condition.

The 24-year-old man, who was not named, ingested an antifreeze ingredient, ethylene glycol that causes renal failure. It was believed he was trying to take his life.

Pure alcohol is given in treating the toxic effects of ethylene glycol, but when the hospital ran out of the pharmaceutical-grade, doctors did the next best thing and put the dying man on spirits through a naso-gastric tube.

The drip-feed of vodka equaled out to about three drinks an hour for the three days the man spent in intensive care.

The Brisbane hospital officials said the incident happened about two months ago, but only just released the report. The patient made a successful recovery.

Does that mean he's now a recovering alcoholic?

Photo by Nic McPhee

ON A ROLL

2007-10-09T09:03:00.000-04:00

A New Jersey attorney was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon when he refused to move his vehicle after pulling it onto a police officer's foot during a traffic stop.

Patrolman William Cytryszewski was explaining the traffic violation to Steven Cohen, 54, of Manalapan after he stopped the lawyer for reckless driving when Cohen drove over the officer's foot, trapping him. Cohen then refused to move his car.

Police did not report why Cohen refused to move the car or why it took another responding patrolman to help get the 2007 Nissan Murano off Cytryszewski's foot.

Rumor has it Cohen accidentally ran over the cop's foot when he was told to leave. He stopped the car when he heard Cytryszewski scream and didn't move it because he didn't want to injure the police officer further.

Cohen was processed and released on $10,000 bail.

Cytryszewski was taken to CentraState Medical Center where he was treated and released.

Can we now assume "flatfoot" is politically correct?

Photo by Grant Matthews

WHEELS OF THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND

2007-10-08T09:21:00.000-04:00

I love the name of this Arkansas town.

A Dumas, Ark., boy led police on a chase through three counties and four towns after he stole ... a school bus.

School officials alerted State Police of the stolen vehicle after spotting its lights around 11 p.m. Friday as it left the bus yard.

The 10-year-old was able to elude police along U.S. Route 65 through Desha, Lincoln and Jefferson counties despite road spikes being set up to slow down the bus.

He missed them all, each and every one.

Nearly 44 miles later, the boy slowed down enough for police to make the stop. That's when authorities discovered the driver was a child. He was cuffed, taken into custody and later released to his parents.

Turns out the kid was caught on tape trying to pull the same prank last month in Little Rock.

Dumas: Leave off the last "S" for stupid. (Yes, I know dumb is not spelled d-u-m)

See the incident:

Photo by Adrian S.

GET THE LEAD OUT!

2007-10-06T10:50:00.000-04:00

A retired New York City cop accidentally shot himself in the leg at a Middletown firing range while qualifying to carry a weapon in New Jersey.

G. Kevin Calogera, 54, who also is an Old Bridge councilman, unintentionally left his finger inside the trigger guard when he was reholstering his gun, and the force pushed up on the trigger, discharging the gun around 9:30 a.m. yesterday.

Calogera is a member of the Retired Officers Association, and that group was qualifying at the police department's firing range, Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches said.

The retired officer was taken to Jersey Shore University Hospital. The incident has been referred to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office for review.

Retired officers have to qualify twice a year to carry a gun in New Jersey.

Hum, I wonder if he made the grade.

Photo by Grendel Khan

ON MY HONOR

2007-10-05T14:28:00.000-04:00

Be prepared for this one.

More than 1 million Chinese-made plastic badges, found to contain unsafe amounts of lead, are being recalled by The Boy Scouts of America.

The recalled "totem" badges are worn on the shirt pockets by Cub Scouts. They were sold to Scoutmasters as part of an "immediate recognition kit" during the past seven years.

Because of the multitude of recalls of Chinese-made toys, the organization started its own testing program this year, spokesman Gregg Shields said.

Routine tests showed unacceptable levels of lead in the badges. So far, they are the only Boy Scout products of the 94 tested found to be unsafe. There have been no reports of illnesses.

The badges have been pulled from the market and parents are being asked to remove the items from their children.

Maybe it's time for U.S. toy manufacturers to take a tip from the Scouts ("I will do my best") and bring their business home.

(AP Photo)

GUMMING IT

2007-10-05T09:25:00.000-04:00

Here's one medical error that's hard to swallow.

A New Zealand man's false teeth were found stuck in his throat four days after he went into the hospital for back surgery.

The Health and Disability Commission, which investigates medical malpractice and error complaints, reported today that the 81-year-old's upper dentures were removed for the initial operation in 2005, but somehow were put back into the heavily sedated man's mouth.

After complaining in a husky voice of extreme pain and unable to eat, the man was re-examined by doctors who found the dentures lodged in his throat and removed them.

As a result, a cyst in the center of the man's spinal cord pushed on his brain stem, which damaged parts responsible for swallowing and the feeling in the back of his mouth.

The elderly man recovered, but died within a couple of years of unrelated respiratory illness. The commission did not identify the hospital, the town or any of the people involved.

Bet ya relatives are chomping at the bit to make a few bucks off this one.

Photo by Mad Monk

E-MAIL HIT MAN

2007-10-04T13:53:00.001-04:00

A Manchester man was given the ultimate e-mail ultimatum: Send me $8,000 and I won't kill you.

Harry Whitworth, 72, received an e-mail from a man named Eddy at justeddy1@bellsouth.net, who claimed he would forget about executing the hit he was hired to do on the elderly man if he would send at least $4,000 in good faith.

If Whitworth agreed to cooperate, the e-mailer said he would send him a video-tape of his employer contracting the kill on the retired accountant.

The e-mail, which contained a multitude of grammatical and typographical errors, requested that Whitworth respond to a different e-mail address: edyy99@sify.com, but does not give specific instructions on how the money should be delivered.

Whitworth said he believes the e-mail is just another attempt to scam senior citizens, but called local police anyway who advised him to contact the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, the State Attorney General or the Secret Service.

Hum, I wonder what happened to "serve and protect?"

Read more >>

Photo of Soprano's set by Sub-Urban

NOT JUST ANY SPUD

2007-10-04T08:54:00.000-04:00

A Mr. Potato Head toy could send you to prison for life if you stuff it with 10.5 ounces of ecstasy tablets and send it to Australia.

Customs officers there discovered the drugs in the children's toy, sent from Ireland, when they removed a panel from the back of the head today.

While officers said the maximum penalty for importing drugs to Australia is life imprisonment, no arrests have been made. They added that the concealment was one of the most unusual ones discovered in recent times.

Now, we know why Mr. Potato Head is always smiling ... unless you put his mouth on upside down. I see it now... Mr Potato Head commerical - Here is your brain on drugs.

(AP PHOTO)

HOT STUFF

2007-10-03T16:11:00.000-04:00

London authorities had to evacuate parts of the Soho district and close streets earlier this week after a pungent odor from a Thai restaurant dry-frying extra-hot chilies left passers-by overcome by the smell.

Members of the Fire Brigade's chemical response team were wearing masks when they were called to the scene to find the source of the smell that coughing, sputtering shoppers said burned their throats.

Firefighters smashed down the door of the Thai Cottage restaurant and seized the hot chilies being prepared for a spicy Thai dip.

The smoke from the frying bird's eye chilies did not dissipate due to the rainy conditions and heavy air. No arrests were made, according to police, who said it was not a criminal offense to cook very strong chili.

It is, though, an olfactory offense in my house when the man eats it.

Chili photo by Bethany King

NAME THAT VACUUM

2007-10-03T10:26:00.000-04:00

A new study shows some Roomba owners are sucking up to their robotic vacuums.

So much so, they dress up the disc-shaped appliance made by the Berlington, Mass.-based company, iRobot Corp.

The study suggests that the public is ready to accept robots in the home if they are emotionally engaging. They don't even have to be reliable, according to Beki Grinter, an associate professor at Georgia Tech's College of Computing.

Grinter found through an online forum of Roomba owners, that many have named their robotic vacuum and treat them like pets. They even arbitrarily assigned it a gender.

One guy took the machine home to meet his parents. I wonder what he told them he like best about the machine.

If it's the design that influences consumers to become attached to robotic appliances, then I'm hoping the next will be a stove that looks like Jessica Simpson so the man can get emotionally involved.

Heck, I'd be satisfied if it just made him aware that we have a stove.

Read more >>

AP (naked Roomba) PHOTO

BETTER THAN A KICK IN THE GROIN

2007-10-02T09:07:00.001-04:00

Need a hug? Well, you won't get one at this Oak Park, Ill., middle school where officials have banned the show of affection.

Percy Julian Middle School Principal Victoria Sharts said students were forming "hug lines" (what will pubescent kids think of next?) in the crowded hallways of the suburban Chicago school that caused some of its 860 students to be late for class.

So they instituted a no-hugging policy.

Sharts said at least one student complained that the hugs were unwanted and inappropriate, and that officials were concerned some of the hugs were too long and too close.

She added that the goal of the action was to "promote safe, orderly hallways where everybody can get by, be safe, and be on time."

I don't know about you, but I don't even like saying hello to some people in the morning much less hugging them. You'd think, though, that school officials would have better (or worse?) things to police.

In any case, ya gotta' love this Free Hugs campaign video (Music by Sick Puppies.net):

IN THE SPIRIT OF FUN?

2007-10-01T15:53:00.001-04:00

A New Jersey Pop Warner coach was knocked unconscious by a Pop Warner league official for not giving his son enough playing time.

Pop Warner Vice President of Football Operations Mario Romano, 42, of Colts Neck has been charged with "assault while attending a community-sponsored youth sporting event" after he punched the 44-year-old coach, who was not named.

The victim was unconscious for about a half hour.

Police said Romano was upset his son wasn't getting enough playing time and exchanged words with the coach earlier in the game for 12- to 14-year-olds, but then clocked him in the head once it ended.

The charge is a fourth-degree crime since children witnessed the attack. The coach was taken by ambulance to the hospital, treated and released.

Way to make your son REAL proud, dad!

Here's an all-out youth-sports brawl to make you think (This video is NOT the Colts Neck incident in the story above): View at your discretion

Teach 'em young photo by Salim Fadhley

TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO

2007-10-01T08:49:00.000-04:00

Her cousins said no and she has no sisters, so a 27-year-old Brazilian woman got her mother to surrogate her twin boys.

Rosinete Palmeira Serrao, 51, gave birth to her own grandchildren by Cesarean section recently after she received four embryos from her daughter who tried for four years to get pregnant and failed.

Brazilian law stipulates that only close relatives can serve as surrogate mothers.

Officials at Santa Joana Hospital in Recife, Brazil, reported the grandmother and twins were in excellent health and released over the weekend.

So, I guess the boys will be calling her ... Grandma-Ma?

Does anyone else find this just plain wrong?

(AP Photo)

SHAKIN' THE TREE, BOSS

2007-09-28T10:36:00.000-04:00

Ohio reformatory officials helped one prisoner escape recently after he got stuck in a very compromising position.

The masked prisoner wasn't your usual inmate but instead a raccoon who got its head stuck in a jar of peanut butter. And those who helped with the breakout weren't really prison officials but volunteers for the 100-year-old Ohio State Reformatory, which is now a museum, in Mansfield.

An off-duty police officer, who volunteers at the reformatory helped rescue "Rocky" after the raccoon was spotted bumping into a tree and then climbing to the top.

A rope and a snare got the animal down from the tree, and once the plastic prison was removed, Rocky beat feet for the bushes.

And this, my friends, is news.

BTW, yogurt gets 'em every time, too.

Raccoon photo by Easternblot

MOM: PUT ON CLEAN UNDERWEAR!

2007-09-27T10:28:00.000-04:00

A 23-year-old Australian woman was less one pair of underwear when a mugger lifted up her dress, pulled off her panties and then stole her purse in broad daylight earlier today.

The woman was grabbed from behind, police said, as she was walking home around 4:30 (AEST) in the afternoon from the Newmarket train station in Brisbane.

The brazen attack left police baffled since there was no attempt to sexually assault the woman who was so upset she didn't even know her bag had been taken until some time later.

Police believe the underwear may have been taken as a trophy.

I wonder what kind of trophy this scum bucket would have taken if the young woman was following Britney's example and not wearing panties.

Photo by Lonely Moose

HERE IS YOUR BRAIN ON BUBBLE GUM

2007-09-26T14:34:00.000-04:00

Candy and gum in the shape of tobacco products soon may go up in smoke if one New Jersey town has its way.

Woodbridge is considering banning chocolate cigars and bubble gum shredded to resemble chewing tobacco in all shops across the township, according to council members, because it may lead to "potentially dangerous behavior."

The nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids claims several studies have shown that kids who play with candy cigarettes are more likely to become smokers when they get older.

Woodbridge already bans vendors it licenses from selling toys or candy in the shape of tobacco at public events. Ireland has outlawed candy cigarettes, and they have been restricted in parts of Canada and Australia.

And just how will the warning labels will read? Chocolate cigarettes may cause obesity in young children with a propensity to develop bad habits that taste so good. And they will rot your teeth.

Photo by Miss Karen

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

2007-09-26T11:01:00.000-04:00

Since I'm on a Halloween kick, I thought I'd share with you some pumpkin carving pictures e-mailed to me by blogger Pete and his wife Lynda.

Thanks, guys!

How your kids feel after too much candy

Maybe what they should have eaten

Not so scary

Scarier!

Someone with too much time on his/her hands

Yikes! Don't ask

Chewed up: How I feel at work

What is this?

Someone with no imagination

For those of you with an imagination ... Sorry, I couldn't show you the flasher one.

ROPED INTO IT?

2007-09-26T09:59:00.000-04:00

Facing accusations of being a racist, a Watchung businessman is hanging in there with his belief that the window display at his Halloween Scene store of a man in a noose is nothing more than a prop resembling a decaying person and not that of a black man.

New Jersey store operator Robert Lap said the "Hanging Victim," manufactured by California-based First Imperial Trading Company, is just an inflatable prop to be used as a special Halloween effect.

Delores Jackson, a fifth-grade teacher at the Charles H. Skillman Elementary School in Plainfield, however, saw it as appalling and racist, and complained.

Jackson said she was especially concerned that the mock hanging appeared just days after protests erupted over the Jena Six, a group of six black teenagers charged with the Dec. 4, 2006 beating of a white teenager in Jena, La.

Jackson also was upset about the display's proximity to a neighboring store that sells school supplies to parents, teachers and children.

The teacher was the only person in Halloween Scene's 30 stores in New York and New Jersey to complain about it, according to Lap.

While Lap said how people perceive the display is "in the eye of the beholder," he confirmed that it would be removed from all Halloween Scene stores "for obvious reasons."

Obviously, a smart move.

BOOS AND GHOULS

2007-09-25T09:24:00.000-04:00

OH NO! It's almost here.

For those of you who just LOVE Halloween, I came across a funny Web site that has unusual costumes, to say the least.

Here are a few that just might fit the bill for those of you in advanced immaturity.

Pigs in a blanket

Rat trap

Stick of gum (oh yes it is!)

You know what hit the fan

Chick magnet

And my favorite - Martini

See more >>

Moms, see some cute baby costumes here.

FOR RICHER OR POORER

2007-09-25T08:17:00.000-04:00

First mistake: Musician Luke Jacunski, 30, proposed to his artist girlfriend, Mami Nagase, 24, at a romantic gazebo in Central Park ... at night.

Second mistake: Jacunski had $120 and a Rolex watch on him in Central Park ... at night.

Third mistake: Love is blind because Jacunski from Cincinnati was unaware of the New York City gunman who came out of the bushes and robbed the couple right after he popped the question.

What was he thinking? Probably that he was lucky the gunman didn't get the engagement ring he managed to slip off his girlfriend's finger and hide in his pocket when the thug made them lie on the ground.

Thug's mistake: He didn't search Jacunski's pockets before he took the money and ran.

It was an unfortunate beginning for the couple who didn't get to have that romantic dinner (where Jacunski should have proposed) because they were at the police station. They did share a bag of potato chips while looking at mug shots, though.

The good news: Nagase said "Yes" despite her future husband's big Duh! moment.

Just for laughs proposal:

Photo by Astrocoz

HELLO? ENOUGH ALREADY

2007-09-24T09:24:00.000-04:00

Here's one ringy dingy of an idea that will allow advertisers to display ads on computer screens based on what's being talked about from phone calls connected via the Internet.

Puddingmedia, a Silicon Valley-based company, is launching software today on its Web site http://www.ThePudding.com that recognizes speech patterns of visitors placing free calls to the U.S. and Canada, and then displaying ads relevant to what is being discussed.

You talk about dinner, you get restaurant advertisements bombarding your monitor. They company is even looking into adapting it for cell phones!

The advertising model is similar to that of Google Inc.'s Gmail, which shows ads based on scans of the user's e-mail correspondence.

I can just imagine what will pop up when two people are talking about having cybersex.

Read more >>

"Soul sucker" photo by I'm Fantastic

Say, What?

2007-09-22T09:58:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't seen these pictures floating around the Internet, here are a few that show baby shirts parents actually put on their kids.

And my favorite:

99 BOTTLES OF WINE

2007-09-21T14:27:00.000-04:00

Has bureaucracy finally popped its cork?

An English supermarket staffer refused to sell two bottles of wine to a 72-year-old West Kirby man because he refused to show ID to prove he was older than 21.

Tony Ralls claims it was a "stupid question" to ask a grandfather of three and told the clerk he wanted to see the manager.

The manager took away his wine and placed it back on the shelf, saying the store doesn't serve anyone who doesn't show ID.

What Ralls didn't know was that the store had been previously fined and wasn't taking any chances with anyone, even if he or she looked like a white-haired old coot.

Before Ralls left the store, he obtained a complaint form and phone number for Morrisons' headquarters. He says he wants an apology.

What he'll most likely get is: No "whine" before its time!
(APP File Photo)

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN OR HELL

2007-09-21T08:24:00.000-04:00

I've created a monster.

All three of my Chihuahua perma-pups can't negotiate the wood stairs because I polished them. Now, I have to carry the girls up and down.

Still, they try to follow me and go head over paws usually ending up in a lump on the landing or stuck on the stairway half-way up with their toenails scratching the wood as they desperately try to hang on.

Then I have to come to the rescue. It's getting a bit tiring.

Can't carpet the stairs because the girls think carpet is a big wee-wee pad.

Guess those ugly rubber strips are in our future.

SCUM OF THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY

2007-09-20T17:29:00.000-04:00

My mother said the Internet was evil.

So it seems now that Jersey City police say they have rounded up a gang of teenagers and charged them with video-taping a string of attacks on innocent people for the sole purpose of putting it on the Internet.

The five teen suspects, 18 and younger, who appeared to have found pleasure in their attacks, filmed the beatings, including one in which the gang broke a woman's arm and then chased her through a park.

An anonymous tip allowed police to recover the videos.
Prosecutors are seeking to have some of the teens tried as adults.

Mom is always right.

NOT IN THE MONEY

2007-09-20T10:24:00.000-04:00

Racehorse trainer Efrain Nieves expected to win on the racetrack with his 9-year-old mare Dona Chepa, but didn't think it would be with the longest consecutive losing streak.

Dona Chepa took the prize, a plaque, for her last-place finish at Camareo Racetrack in eastern Puerto Rico after surpassing the 0-124 record set by the Australian horse, Ouroene, who raced from 1976-83.

While Don Chepa comes from a distinguished line of champion racers, she beat Ouroene's record with her 125th loss yesterday. The closest she came to ever winning a race was in May 2003 when she finished second.

The star-crossed horse has won $12,971 despite results that include 22 fifth-place finishes and 90 others out of the money.

It's good to know that being last sometimes can make you first.

TIME FOR A GARAGE SALE

2007-09-19T12:01:00.000-04:00

Now this is some garage ... but it has nothing to do with this story!

A New Jersey man was charged with criminal trespass after police discovered he had been living in a detached garage for weeks without the knowledge of the 91-year-old homeowner.

Michael Beam, 50, was nabbed near the home getting off a transit bus by police at 12:30 a.m. Monday after they received reports of a suspicious man in the Pompton Plains neighborhood.

A large quantity of feces, a tub of urine, food wrappers, clothes and a blanket were found in the garage, which led police to believe that Beam had been staying there for an extended period of time.

The homeowner said she had not given permission for anyone to stay in her garage and was not even aware that Beam had been living there. After Beam was taken to headquarters, he confessed and was released.

Hum, to go where, I wonder?

Photo of Volkswagen's Autostadt in Wolfburg, Germany, by AP photographer Fabian Bimmer.

ROCKIN'? DON'T COME KNOCKIN'

2007-09-19T08:38:00.000-04:00

One Idaho driver might not have been the only one who lost control when he crashed his SUV into a telephone pole because his friends were having wild sex in the backseat.

Joshua D. Frank, a carnival worker at Moscow, Idaho, Latah County Fairgrounds pleaded guilty to failing to notify police of the accident he claimed occurred when the SUV became tipsy from the movement of the couple having sex.

Frank suffered a minor head wound and his friends were treated for unspecified injuries. He was fined $188 for the misdemeanor offense.

Now there's a story you can tell your grandchildren.

I love the way other drivers just pull around this rollover caught on tape.

SUV rollover photo by Kim Scarborough is for illustration only and not the Frank accident.

WHO'S THAT BEHIND THE MIRROR?

2007-09-18T12:05:00.001-04:00

Are men dirtier than women?

At least their hands are, according to The Soap and Detergent Association.

When it comes to hand-washing hygiene, the association found (by secretly spying on people in public restrooms) that 33 percent of men don't bother to wash their hands after using the bathroom compared to 12 percent of women.

Based on observations last month of more than 6,000 people in four big cities - Atlanta, New York, Chicago and San Francisco - the results of the stakeouts were revealed at a meeting of infectious-disease scientists yesterday.

Ya gotta hate dirty spies. I guess Big Mother (with eyes in the back of her head) really is watching.

Read more >>

BTW men, the bottom of women's pocketbooks are even dirtier.

Photo by ShutterCat7

NOSTRILS 'AFFLAIR'

2007-09-17T21:41:00.000-04:00

The nose knows.

Ogden, Utah, officials have enlisted citizens, with the help of a $1,475 olfactometer, to sniff out objectionable odors in the city.

The city has received complaints for years about the odors permeating from a nearby pet food company, American Nutrition Inc., so a sniff squad, headed by municipal code enforcement officers, was formed.

The volunteers will be trained to use the device that hopefully will help identify noxious odors that impact air quality.

Agricultural and manufacturing facilities, other than those processing animal or marine products, will not be in violation of the law if they can demonstrate they are using the best available technology to control odors.

But rest assured, no one will raise a stink if the sniff police, armed with a book of matches, turn up their noses when the meter malfunctions due to an olfactory overload.

Smelly cat!

Photo by Robbie1

IN THE AFTERMOON

2007-09-17T09:16:00.000-04:00

One Australian teen was left with serious facial injuries after being hit by a propeller when he and two of his friends mooned a group of people on the shore from the motorboat they were in and fell out.

The failed practical joke was blamed for the Gold Coast accident that occurred after the boat became unstable as the trio stood up to bare their buttocks.

Once they lost their balance and fell into the canal at Broadbeach Waters, the unmanned boat continued to circle them before striking the 17-year-old Kanimbla teen in the face. He was rushed to the hospital where he was listed in stable condition.

A 20-year-old Rochedale South man was charged with drinking and driving a watercraft.

Nothing like getting caught with your pants down ... or just falling out of a boat.

OK, so the photo illustration by Nelson Minar is of a drunk, getting high while riding a luge not a boat. What do you want from me?

BRAIN CHILD

2007-09-16T13:29:00.000-04:00

The Russian government wants more Russian babies.

In an effort to raise slumping population numbers, officials are offering couples refrigerators, dishwashers and even cars if their babies are born June 12, Russia Day.

To have a shot at winning the prizes, the government allows couples to take Sept. 12, nine months prior to Russia Day, as a day off from work so they can stay home and do, well, what men and women do to conceive.

Sounds like a deal, right? Make love, have baby, get car.

Unless the Russians are taking a page out of Hitler's Aryan race book, why don't they reward couples for adopting foreign children who really need a home.

And really, they wouldn't have to go very far, say ... Kiev.

YOUNG AND DUMB

2007-09-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

One Pennsylvania man discovered that climbing over a 12-foot high wrought-iron fence was hardly worth the effort to get to a rock concert after he impaled himself on the top.

Nineteen-year-old Aaron C. Fry of Washington Borough had to steady himself for 45 minutes until rescuers were able to cut three, 1-inch rods away from the fence that were embedded in his thigh (one nearly eight inches) before they could lower him to the ground.

Fry later was listed in stable condition after having the two-foot section of the fence removed. No charges were filed.

But here's the "irony": Fry and his friends, who successfully cleared the fence, had tickets to the concert. They just didn't want to pay the $5 fair fee or walk further down the block to the gate.

It'd be my guess that those guys are likely to think twice before taking another stab at such tomfoolery.

Read more >>

Photo by Maryanne Ventrice

WHEN PIGS FLY!

2007-09-13T20:01:00.000-04:00

This is so great that I had to share it with you.

Here is Web site, Looks like photo is by Ian Loxley.

IN THE VALLEY'S SHADOW

2007-09-13T17:15:00.000-04:00

OK dear readers, so you've taken note that I haven't been my usual whimsical blogging self.

Actually, there hasn't been a whole lot going on in MY life, so I've been giving you a little peek at what's out there in the "Say, what?" world.

I should be out of the dark funk soon.

Stick with me.

JAILHOUSE ROCKER

2007-09-13T15:40:00.000-04:00

Castration or life in prison?

That was the dilemma for confessed rapist Bobby James Allen who pleaded guilty Monday in a Panama City, Fla., court to three counts of armed sexual battery and other charges surrounding the attacks in 1998 and 1999.

Allen chose castration.

All of his victims agreed with the plea bargain.

Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet will sentence Allen to 25 years in prison instead of life only if he goes through with the operation within the next eight days.

Afterward, Allen can expect hormonal changes that could lead to the development of breasts, osteoporosis and hot flashes, the judge said.

Some sentence. This lowlife should be a real hit among the boys in the big house.

Photo by O2ma

LET THEM EAT CARROT CAKE

2007-09-13T09:56:00.000-04:00

The art of killing oneself has been taken to another level.

A distraught Michigan man was "very determined to end his life," police said, when he built a guillotine in the woods and used it to kill himself.

The body of the 41-year-old man was discovered by workers from a nearby shopping center in the Detroit suburb of Melvindale Monday next to the 6-foot guillotine bolted to a tree.

Guillotines, with roots going back to medieval times, were used to slice the heads off their victims. This particular one had a swing arm and must have taken quite some time to build, police said.

It's inherently sad that this poor bloke didn't even get to experience 15 minutes of fame for his ingenuity.

Now, for some carrot cake:

Go here for not much more on the story.

Guillotine photo by
Jestersgrin

IN THE CROSSHAIRS

2007-09-12T10:38:00.000-04:00

One Vancouver, Wash., man finally may have the grounds for the divorce he was seeking after his wife of 30 years loaded a shotgun and attempted to take him out while he was sleeping.

Obviously, Sheryl Martin, 51, didn't take the news very well when her husband, Eddie, told her he was having an affair and wanted a divorce.

They argued, and Eddie went to sleep in their camper. But, it didn't take long before Sheryl followed her 51-year-old husband and shot him twice with a 16-gauge, double-barrel shotgun. She then reloaded and, with precise aim, shot him twice more.

This scorned woman meant business.

Sheryl then called the police and told them what she had done. Eddie survived the attack but may have to have a limb amputated.

I wonder which one.

Not much more on the story here .
Photo by Blackdenimgumby.

IT'S TOUGH BEING THE BOSS

2007-09-11T08:38:00.000-04:00

He blocked 'em out!

Bruce Springsteen fans were prevented from hearing the E Street Band's rehearsal of his soon-to-be released album "Magic" when his people set up huge speakers tuned to a local radio station outside Asbury Park's Convention Hall.

Many had come from around the world for a chance to get a sneak "listen" of the so-called magical music The Boss has been making with the band for the first time in five years.

The album will be released Oct. 2, and Springsteen is set to start touring the same day.

Needless to say, die-hard fans were disappointed their legendary "nice guy" wasn't so accommodating. Still, 30 or 40 of them continued to hang around, hoping to get a photo of him or band members as they left the rehearsal. Talk about sheep.

Springsteen should know by now, he can't get a Slurpee here at the Jersey Shore without this newspaper covering him like a blanket.

Maybe it should be renamed "Greetings from The Asbury Park Press."

More details on the story here.

(APP file photos)

YOU GO, GRANDPA!

2007-09-10T12:08:00.000-04:00

A Bay Shore, N.Y., senior citizen wasn't the easy target a tire iron-wielding mugger thought he was when he tried to rob the 74-year-old man.

Suffolk County police said the mugger pounded on Bruce Ferraro's car window outside a department store on Saturday and demanded cash from the elderly man.
Undaunted, Ferraro got out of his car and asked his would-be assailant, "What, are you kidding me?"

The 32-year-old suspect then called the Bay Shore resident an "old man" and threatened to hit him with the tire iron if he didn't hand over his wallet.

Instead of giving up the goods, Ferraro fought with the man and disarmed him.

Without the weapon, the 32-year-old suspect ran to his car and attempted to drive away, but the vehicle stalled and the man then fled on foot. He later was found in his West Babylon home and charged with attempted robbery.

Ferraro received a scrape on the wrist in the scuffle.

Geez, retirement isn't what it used to be.

More details on the story here

Photo by LaRuth

NEVER FORGET

2007-09-10T09:37:00.000-04:00

I wonder how many people will remember.

I'm usually this first one to say enough is enough, but the fact that many people won't give Sept. 11 a second thought tomorrow irks me.

Six years after the horrific events of 9/11, the number of organized memorial services to be held in New Jersey, which lost nearly 700 residents in the terrorist attacks, has declined.

Some towns have decided not to hold formal services this year because many feel it's time to put the tragedy behind them.

I doubt family members who lost loved ones that day feel the same way. They need to know that someone still cares.

Yes, we can move forward and focus on life, but even if it's just with a moment of silence ... we must never forget.

Sept. 11, 2006 lower Manhattan memorial lights photo by Absolutwade

DOING THE CHICKEN DANCE

2007-09-07T18:48:00.000-04:00

Some Minnesota motorists were riding on a wing and a prayer when their vehicles became involved in rear-end collisions caused by chicken parts spilled on a city street.

The slippery spill resulted in at least five accidents as vehicles approaching intersections were unable to stop. The slime covered more than eight blocks as well as many parked vehicles. The road conditions also caused one moped to tip over.

Winona police were trying to locate the truck responsible for the mess. They said it most likely had been hauling a load of chicken renderings from a processing plant in Arcadia, Wisc.

Now we know why it's not good for chickens to cross the road.

For not much more on the story click here.

Photo by Phu Son

HONEY, I'M HOME!

2007-09-07T10:05:00.000-04:00

Given up for dead, a 76-year-old woman, missing for nearly two weeks, was found alive in a mountainous region of Eastern Oregon after she disappeared while bow hunting with her husband.

Doris Anderson suffered a hip injury and was dehydrated, but alert after surviving, in light clothing, the rugged terrain of the Wallowa Mountains where temperatures dipped overnight into the 30s.

Anderson and her husband, Harold, 74, had been pulling a utility trailer with their Chevy Tahoe when the vehicle got stuck, and Harold Anderson broke his wrist removing the trailer.

Walking for help, the couple became exhausted and Doris tried to return to their vehicle. A disoriented Harold Anderson later was found by a hunting party.

Guess they believed the Tahoe advertising:

Moral of the story? Never buy a car you can't push.

On a side note, Doris' sister-in-law credited the tough senior citizen's survival to prayer and Anderson's healthy lifestyle.

Amen!

More on the story here.

Photo of the Wallowa Mountains by Marc Shandro

SPIN, BABY!

2007-09-06T19:19:00.000-04:00

Got a daughter that's a college freshman? Take heed, dads!

Many college fraternities these days are installing the ever-popular "stripper pole" as part of their frat house decor.

Why? To get drunken chicks to do slutty stuff, of course.

The portable Lil' Mynx dance poles manufactured in California may be as important as the invention of the wheel as they become more and more popular among young women who believe they're skirting the exhibitionist tag.

The girls claim that wrapping themselves around the pole in front of a group of salivating men is a testament to their empowerment ... that they've taken charge of their sexuality.

In reality, they're still just half-naked, dangling girls strutting it for the guys.

They haven't figured out yet that they've always been in charge.

For a lot more on the story click here.

Photo by Simon

REALITY 'PSYCHO' SHOW

2007-09-06T10:21:00.000-04:00

Move over Norman Bates.

The mummified remains of a 96-year-old woman were discovered more than a year after she died in the Vienna apartment she shared with her niece.

The 51-year-old woman had been living with her aunt since she died sometime in August 2006 and told police when they came to investigate that the dead woman could not be disturbed because she was sleeping.

Even the dog tried to block access to the bed where the body was found.

Hey, it's tough to say goodbye to your "mummy."

More on the story here.

Just so there's no confusion, this is a stock Mummy photo by Drini and not the actual dead aunt.

HOLY CHEETOS, BATMAN!

2007-09-05T10:14:00.000-04:00

It was a real bell-ringer for a Des Moines, Iowa, man when he was charged with domestic assault after bonking his father in the face with a bag of Cheetos.

Patrick Hamman, 22, was arrested for throwing the bag of Cheetos at his father, Michael Hamman, hitting him in the face and covering poor dad in Cheetos dust.

It was a cheesy thing to do, Patrick said, admitting he was high on methamphetamines at the time of the argument.

Good thing the bag didn't contain the world's largest Cheeto found by Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans in 2003. That baby was about the size of a small lemon.

Here's Chester Cheetah on what to snort:

For not much more on the Cheetos arrest, click here.

More big Cheeto photos on this site.

YAWN!

2007-09-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

A new study from the Leuven School for Mass Communication Research in Belgium indicates the time of the cellphone use among teens has an impact on the level of tiredness.

Use of cellphones after "bedtime" increased the odds of being very tired by 2.2. Between midnight and 3 am, the odds were 3.9 times higher, and those who used it at any time of the night, the odds were 3.3 times higher.

The study group included 1656 schoolchildren with an average age of 13.7 years in the youngest group and 16.9 years in the oldest group.

P.S. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that computers and TVs be kept out of the bedroom

Keep in mind that someone actually paid for this study.

See details on the story here.

BYE, BYE BIRDIE

2007-09-04T12:38:00.000-04:00

Another one bites the dust.
Parakeet Major Bird has gone to birdie heaven.

Major had been feeling puny for a couple of months, and I had to decide whether to spend $45 plus meds at the vet for a $20 bird. Turns out I was able to find birdie antibiotics at a pet store, and I forced-fed poor Major dose after dose with an eyedropper for a week.

It didn't any good. When I found him on the bottom of the cage this weekend, shivering and no longer eating, sadly, I knew it was time.

I had him euthanized for $35.

But it didn't stop there. Later, Major's buddy, Minor, looked soooo sad that I went out and spent another $20 on a birdie girlfriend.

And, the cycle continues ...

ON SHIFTING SANDS

2007-09-03T09:59:00.000-04:00

One sandcastle creator hopes his nearly 32-foot structure will be declared the highest in the Guinness Book of Records.

Ed Jarret built the sandcastle In Casco, Maine, over two months with the help of more than 1,000 volunteers and 40 dump-truck loads of sand.

Now, that's one gritty way to spend the summer!

Jarret, by the way, already holds the record for the highest when he built a 29 ¼-foot sandcastle in 2003.

Guess he didn't want this year's to be a beach bummer.

See it being built in time-laspe photography on YouTube.

See what happens to the sandcastles afteward..

For very little more on the story click here.

Happy Labor Day!

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)