Some Updates, Some Bat-Comforting

and the Afternoon Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Monday

The plot thickens (from Friday's post) on Hawaii de-licensed chiropractor/landlord Daniel Cunningham, accused of experimenting on his lowly tenants. He wears socks on his hands and says he's entitled to experiment because if there's a law against it, it must've been passed by "aliens," who by the way are "eating people." KITV (Honolulu)

More Updates: Father Elvis (from Friday) has indeed now been suspended, and the Vietnam bureaucrats (from Thursday) have quashed that idea about small-chested people not being allowed on minibikes. WCBS-TV /// Agence France-Presse

Dispossessed homeowner June Reyno, not going quietly, chained herself to her foreclosed home. (On the other hand, it's her 8th house foreclosure; she was a player.) KNSD-TV (San Diego)

Wisconsin inmate David Delvalle, who has a longstanding habit of wheeling goods out of stores without stopping at the checkout, won 200k in a charity raffle. Journal Sentinel

Britain's Ministry of Defense, remodeling some barracks that had become a haven for bats, took extra care to remodel the bats' quarters, too! BBC News

Chutzpah! U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, convicted by a jury last week and the verdict OK'd by the judge, nonetheless denied in a TV debate at home that he had been "convicted" (in that, IHHO, the jury got it wrong). (Stevens is a Harvard law graduate, but his expertise lies in other areas, notably, the Internet, which of course is a series of tubes.) CNN

Professor Music's Weird Link o' the Day
Since I don't have an archive for the Professor's work, I feel free to resurrect from time to time some of his most inexplicable findings of the past. Like this, for instance: the Bob Dylan paperdoll page, where you can "dress" Bob in a couple of outfits.

Today's Newsrangers: Matthew Taylor, Candy Clouston, Peggy Dees, Thomas Wyman
Comments on the Afternoon Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Monday?
Comments 'cycle_081103'

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Nov 03, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

It doubles as a handy stool

Who wouldn't enjoy finding this beneath the tree on Christmas day?

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 03, 2008 - Comments (10)
Category: Scatology

Wrong-way Trucks

I have no idea where this scene was filmed, nor what it means.

But it is certainly weird.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 03, 2008 - Comments (4)
Category: Death, Destruction, Foreign Customs, Cars

Medical Museum

My pal Ed Morris discovered this site: the Medical Museum of the British Columbia Medical Association. I suspect you could spend hours here, looking at archaic tools of the medical trade, such as these contraceptive diaphragm fitting rings.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Nov 03, 2008 - Comments (14)
Category: Medicine, Museums, Birth Control

Guess the Scientist, #3

What famous sixteenth-century scientist does this passage describe? Answer is in extended (and in the comments).

_________ relates in one of his autobiographies (he wrote three) that he was completely impotent from the age of twenty-one until his marriage at the age of thirty-one; but that after he wed, the union resulted in three children, two boys and a girl...

_________ also suffered from an amazing array of physical problems and ailments, including: stuttering; chronic hoarseness; nasal discharge; heart palpitations; hemorrhoids; indigestion; malaria; gout; chronic itching; hernia; colic; insomnia; dysentery; and a malignant growth on his left nipple. He also had some truly odd physical problems. He wrote that "in 1536 I was overtaken with an extraordinary discharge of urine; and although for nearly forty years I have been afflicted with this trouble, giving from sixty to a hundred ounces a day, I live well."

More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 03, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Quizzes, Guess the Scientist, Science

Foot Massages, Killer Rewards, False Teeth

and the Morning Edition of Chuck's News of the Weird Daily for Monday

Britain's local councils out of control
(1) Lambeth Council (south London) will spend £90k to hire "reflexologists" to deal with unruly adolescents, via such treatment as foot massages. (2) And, by the way, Bournemouth Council issued an edict banning the word "via" (and 18 other Latin terms) because they're too "elitist" and might make people feel bad if they didn't understand them. (3) And a East Cambridge District Council jackbooter closed down a tavern's gentle, half-hour poetry-reading session because the pub had only a "music" license, not a "spoken word" license. Daily Mail /// Daily Mail /// Daily Telegraph
Comments 'british_councils'

She murdered her husband but still might inherit his $1.2m estate
Connecticut law (apparently like other states') has an absolute bar to inheritance only if ya killed the bequeather by 1st or 2nd degree murder. So, theoretically, if you kill a spouse merely by "manslaughter," you're still eligible to cash in, with the decision left up to a probate judge. (The judge might be disinclined to allow this one, seein' as how her methodology was to douse her Mr. Right with gasoline and set him on fire.) Stamford Advocate
Comments 'murderer_inherits'

Your Daily Loser
Merle Sorenson, 48, said he drove his Hummer into the Columbia River near Quincy, Wash., because he wanted to see just how far he could get from shore while still being able to back up and get out OK. (Bonus reason: Also, he wanted to clean his tires.) Associated Press via News Tribune (Tacoma)
Comments 'merle_sorenson'

Your Daily Jury Duty
[no fair examining the evidence; verdict must be based on mugshot only]
Was there domestic violence (a death threat, a beating) between Louise Deeringer, 56, and Guy Dugas, 49, over the whereabouts of Louise's false teeth? Tampa Tribune
Comments 'deeringer_dugas'

More Things to Worry About on Monday

Can't Possibly Be True: An Austin, Tex., mother tossed her kid out into traffic because mom thought the girl was a "slut." (Bonus: The kid's four years old.) American-Statesman

Britain's worst fighter hung up his gloves after 300 bouts (with 44 wins, including the last one, on Saturday). Wall Street Journal

Shanghai police busted a gambling ring based on cricket matches (no, not the wicket stuff, cricket crickets) and captured the most notorious, um, cricket whisperer, who could coax even the most reluctant ones to brawl. Agence France-Presse via Herald Sun (Melbourne)

A New Jersey middle-schooler was sent home for causing trouble just by showing up on Halloween dress-up day as, er, Jesus Christ. WCBS-TV (New York City)

The child-protection agency in West Australia state is spending A$500k (US$340k) a year on 24/7 care of a particularly risky 14-yr-old, to keep him out of trouble. The Australian

Comments on More Things to Worry About on Monday?
Comments 'worry_081103'

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Nov 03, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category:

Name That List, #5

What is this a list of? Answer is in extended (and on the comments page).

A prosthetic leg
A diamond-studded wedding ring
12 crosses
A prosthetic ear
800 pieces of jewelry
53 shoes
604 watches
237 cell phones
10 pieces of underwear
Thousands of caps



More in extended >>

Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 03, 2008 - Comments (12)
Category: Name That List

Phyliss Diller

Recently some readers objected to my characterization of 1960's-era Phyllis Diller as "unfunny."

Decide for yourselves.

She doesn't appear in the Liberace clip until the 3-minute mark.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 02, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: 1960s, Comedians

The Mothra Song

I think we all need a little more Mothra in our lives. I myself intend to sing this song in times of personal crisis.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 01, 2008 - Comments (6)
Category: Gods, Movies, Music, Foreign Customs, 1960s, Fictional Monsters