Dear 53310761

You might wonder what the hell this song is about, until you hear a certain name mentioned past the halfway mark. Even then, you have to know your pop music history to figure it out.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 17, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Celebrities, Music, 1950s, Armed Forces

News of the Weird / Plus, June 16, 2015

News of the Weird / Plus
June 16, 2015 (Part 2) [weird stuff that made me excited (frightened) (ROTFL) (appalled) last week, some of which will appear in News of the Weird soon] [Part 1 on Monday, Part 2 on Tuesday]

Rehab Will Be Difficult: Laquanda Newby, 25, left her kids (age 1 and 6) locked in a hot car for, at least, more than an hour while she went into the Henrico County (Va.) Courthouse . . to plead guilty to earlier leaving her children locked in a hot car. WTVR-TV (Richmond)

Why You Need a Lawyer: Luis Cruz. 46, arrested in Springfield, Mass., pleaded for pre-trial release, promising show up for trial . . but, the judge, noting Cruz’s 52-page rap sheet demurred. “But, Yr Honor,” said court-appointed lawyer Anna Levine, there are no charges whatsoever for skipping court! “It’s a 52-page record for showing up!” The Republican (Springfield)

Because They Can: The “typical” U.S. hospital, researchers say, writes out patient bills 3.4 times higher than the “actual” cost of services, but a Johns Hopkins study ID’d 50 hospitals that charge more than 10x the cost. Well, sure, many patients only pay the insurance price, and some tear-jerking patients get comp’ed in, but if the hospital can get 10x, it will, or 9x, or 8x, or 7x, or 6x, or 5x, or 4x . . .. Washington Post

The F State: (1) Patrick Lanier failed to move product--a live shark he wanted $100 for on the sidewalk in front of the Publix supermarket in Fort Lauderdale. (2) A truck hauling sharks for amusement park tanks crashed near Daytona. (3) A Fort Lauderdale homeowner called a plumber to come get the iguana out of her toilet. (Bonus: Plumber was the one letting out the bloodcurdling scream.) WSVN-TV (Miami) /// MyNews13 (Orlando) /// WSVN-TV

Aussie researchers at Queensland University of Technology found some previously undiscovered marsupial species in which the males screw themselves to death in coital frenzy, and hypothesize that it’s all a female plot. (That is, the ladies are wise about food supply and orchestrate their mating to make sure they eat, creating mega-competition among males, elevating their stress level to defcon-5, and they die.) Queensland University of Technology press release via Washington Post

Ewwwwwwww! Was it really necessary, when reporting the medical case of Mr. He of Dongyang, China, with 420 kidney stones, to run a photo of a pan full of kidney stones? (Bonus: And tell us that the Guinness World Record for kidney-stone removal is [ewwwwwwwww!] 172,155.) (Suspicion Confirmed: Doctors speculated that Mr. He’s problem might have been too much tofu.) BBC News

Seemingly, Japanese entrepreneurs and engineers are working very hard to save society from pesky face-to-face interpersonal relationships. Behold the Hugvie, which resembles the little fellow E.T. as a pillow but with no facial or bodily details . . and with a slot you can stick your cell phone into. The ideas is that you can hug, or hump, or whatever, the Hugvie while your love interest talks to you (and on the subject of “talk,” the Japanese already have a workaround, with pre-recorded intimacy modules). (In other news, the Japanese government is worried that latest numbers show as many as a fourth of 30-and-older’s are virgins. Well, duh.) Phys.org /// Daily Telegraph (London)

Posted By: Chuck - Tue Jun 16, 2015 - Comments (2)
Category:

Incubus, the Esperanto Movie

According to wikipedia, there are only four full-length films shot entirely in Esperanto. One of these four is the 1966 black-and-white horror film Incubus, starring William Shatner.

The film had an LA premiere, but then, partly because of the Esperanto dialogue, it never found a distributor except in France and fell into obscurity. For years it was believed that all copies of the film had disappeared, until the 1990s when a copy was found in France.

Here's the trailer:



And here's the full-length film:

Posted By: Alex - Tue Jun 16, 2015 - Comments (7)
Category: Horror, Languages, Movies, 1960s

Chief Os-ko-mon, Broadway Star

Can we really believe that the Broadway producer behind the HITCHY-KOO REVUE really enlisted an actual Native American into his troupe? Or that the Chief later appeared in another variety show?



And yet the noble Chief Os-ko-mon seems to have actually recorded a record or two. And in this essay, he is deemed a member of the Yakima tribe.

I toss out the question of his legitimacy to all WU-vies. Should he not be recorded as an early stalwart of Native American achievements, Broadway-style?

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 16, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category: 1920s, Actors, Native Americans

News of the Weird / Plus, June 15, 2015

News of the Weird / Plus
June 15, 2015 (Part 1) [weird stuff that made me excited (frightened) (ROTFL) (appalled) last week, some of which will appear in News of the Weird soon] [Part 1 on Monday, Part 2 on Tuesday]

Can’t Stop Myself: Cirilo Castillo Jr., 45, loves to play the horses . . correction . . loves to screw the horses. The latest: a February adventure in Edinburgh, Tex., even though it appears that the prosecutor pondered whether to cut him slack because of injury (“injury”=horse kicked him and broke his leg). At least two other episodes on his sheet date to 2012. SanAntonio.com

Update: Mugabe’s finally given up (on the Zimbabwe dollar, not the presidency). Everyone can cash in Zim dollars for U.S.--at rates from 1 U.S. greenback for every Zim$250,000,000,000,000 to 5 U.S. greenbacks for every Zim$175,000,000,000,000,000. Reuters via Yahoo News

Adam Hirtle, 30, Colorado Springs, took his boot off and shot himself in the foot to (quoting him) see how it would feel. (Bonus: Then, he put the boot back on and fired again, so see if there was a difference.) Denver Post

Lessons from Cannibals: Researchers studying the brain-eating Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea, said they have ID’d the specific “prion” resistance gene, i.e., in a major 1950s epidemic, those with it survived, and those without it mostly didn’t. So now researchers can study whether the gene affects dementias, Parkinson’s, mad-cow, and other neuro conditions. Reuters

Things That Are Apparently OK, Even Though You Might Not Think So:

NY’s Court of Appeals ruled it perfectly OK for the medical examiner to give the family back the body without concern whether he put all the parts back in that he took out for autopsy, like the brain, for example. New York Post

People can get naked in a Holocaust-era Auschwitz gas chamber, and play “tag,” and the Israeli embassy in Poland won’t object. (It was for “art”; Israel is OK with “art.”) Arutz Sheva

Adultery is fine in Japan (despite laws against it), ruled the Tokyo District Court . . if it is done with a “business purpose” . . specifically, by a night club gal to butter up a good customer. (The poor wife found out she’d been cheated on for 7 yrs.) Japan Times

According to a 700 Club video from Pat Robertson, it’s OK that this lady’s 3-yr-old son died (even though most sick 3-yr-olds live) because, well, only God sees the big picture and hence surely had a reason for taking your kid--like, what if he became super-evil like Hitler or contracted a hideous disease? So, get over yourself, Mom. Mediaite.com

Posted By: Chuck - Mon Jun 15, 2015 - Comments (4)
Category:

Nurse goes nuts

Another day in Florida: nurse rips off all her clothes and starts attacking a patient, who's reported to be uninjured. The police officer says, "The whole thing is unusual." [clickorlando.com]

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 15, 2015 - Comments (9)
Category: Violence

Bicycle Clown

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 15, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Daredevils, Stuntpeople and Thrillseekers, PSA’s, Children, 1950s

Long Standing Prank

Mark Gubin, who lives in Milwaukee, has been perpetrating the same prank on incoming air travelers since 1978. For 27 years he has had Welcome to Cleveland painted on his roof. Passengers on flights landing at Mitchell International Airport are often disconcerted and sometimes panicked by the sign, but its all in good fun according to Gubin. In fact he says, 'Living in the world is not a dress rehearsal. You better have fun with it.'

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 15, 2015 - Comments (5)
Category: Pranks and Revenge

News of the Weird (June 14, 2015)

News of the Weird
Weirdnuz.M427, June 14, 2015
Copyright 2015 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Lead Story

Apartment buyers in ridiculously expensive Hong Kong are now eagerly paying up to the equivalent of $500,000 (US) for units not much bigger than a U.S. parking space (and typically physically self-measured by the applicant’s wing-span). An agent told the Wall Street Journal in June that, for example, standard furniture does not fit the units and that having guests over requires sitting on the window sill. (The Journal pointed out that a typical such “mosquito” apartment unit in Hong Kong is 180 square feet, way-smaller than the 304 of a basketball court’s “lane” subject to a “3-second” violation.) A government lottery for subsidized units rewards barely one of every 100 applicants. [Wall Street Journal, 6-3-2015]

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

In May, Texas health officials shut down the flea-market sales of DVD sonograms at Leticia Trujillo’s stall at San Antonio’s Traders Village. Though the nature of the equipment was not described in news reports, sonograms can only be produced under a doctor’s prescription and by licensed personnel, but pregnant flea-market customers underwent a procedure (“just like a doctor’s office,” said Trujillo) that yielded a 12-minute image on tape, along with photos, for $35--that Trujillo subsequently defended as for “entertainment” purposes only and for those without health insurance. [San Antonio Express-News, 5-22-2015]

Ironies

According to Nathan Hoffman’s lawsuit, the hazily-visioned client was prepped for eye surgery that day in May 2014 when the clinic employee handed him a small-lettered liability-limitation form to sign. He was told that the surgery at the LASIK Vision Institute in Lake Oswego, Ore., could not proceed without a signature, and he reluctantly relented, but things went badly. The form limits lawsuit damages to a money-back $2,500, but Hoffman demands at least $7,500 (to cover the so-far two additional surgeries elsewhere to correct LVI’s alleged errors). [The Oregonian, 5-15-2015]

War Is Hell

Some jihadists who have traveled to Syria to join ISIS have complained recently (according to a Radio Free Europe dispatch) that they cannot secure work as “martyrs” because of discrimination by incumbent fighters. One “pro-ISIS” cleric, speaking for Chechens, said they “are so fed up with the long waiting lists in Syria” that they head to Iraq, where the lists are shorter. Said one, Saudis controlling suicide rosters in the Syrian theater “won’t let anyone in.” Their “relatives go to the front of the line using [their connections].” [News.com.au (Sydney), 5-22-2015]

Sexual Assaulters’ Defense League

In April, Judge Marc Kelly in Orange County, Calif., defied a 25-year-minimum statutory sentence for punishing the sexual abuse of a 3-year-old girl by Kevin Rojano--cutting the term to 10 years-- because the man did not “intend to harm” the girl (except that he became “inexplicably” “aroused” when she walked into his garage). “There was no violence or callous disregard for [her] well-being,” the judge said. [City News Service via Orange County Register, 4-4-2015]

The child-abuse sentence of a sports club official in Buenos Aires was reduced in 2014 to little more than three years, it was recently revealed, because, said the judges, the 6-year-old boy had earlier been sexually molested by his father and had already made a “precocious [sexual] choice” (“apparently a reference to homosexuality,” according to a May Associated Press dispatch). [Associated Press via New York Times, 5-19-2015]

The Continuing Crisis

America (sometimes called a land of “second chances”) gave stockbroker Jerry Cicolani Jr., 67 such chances, before he pleaded guilty in May to selling unregistered securities--setting up his first overt punishment despite a history of 60-some client complaints made to his then-employer, Merrill Lynch, between 1991 and 2010. The stockbrokers’ self-regulating arm (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) has finally revoked his license but issued a statement acknowledging that it needed to improve its monitoring. [New York Times, 5-19-2015]

Awkward: Corey Huddleston, 52, apparently having taken a fancy to a teenage girl in Dickson, Tenn., in May, knocked on her family’s front door, according to police, then pushed his way in, asked for cigarettes and beer, “touched himself” inappropriately, asked about the girl, and then reluctantly departed. However, he merely went to a back window of a darkened bedroom, climbed inside, and fondled a sleeping figure in bed, whom he likely assumed was the girl--but it was the girl’s father, who later confessed that he called the police only after resisting the impulse to kill Huddleston. (Police said Huddleston’s rap sheet shows more than 100 charges.) [WKRN-TV (Nashville), 5-13-2015]

Weird Science

Among caterpillars’ natural defenses against being devoured by birds is their ability to assume odd shapes for disguise--perhaps most ingeniously (according to researchers writing in the current Animal Behaviour journal) the disguise of bird droppings. The authors created artificial dough-based squiggles that were either straight (resembling the caterpillar) or bent (to resemble poop), and found that birds attacked the straight ones about three times as often. [Science, 5-22-2015]

Least Competent Criminals

Notwithstanding the suggestion in movies, stealing a 200-lb. floor model safe is a very low-return crime, as the February arrest of three pals in Kingsport, Tenn., illustrated. After struggling to load the safe into a car’s trunk (accidentally shattering the back window), they drove to one’s apartment, but police were called when neighbors saw the safe being dragged across a parking lot in the middle of the night. (During the trip, it fell onto one perp’s foot.) Police, following gouge marks, visited the apartment and spotted the safe, as yet unopened, in the middle of the kitchen. (Police: Why do you gentlemen have a safe?) (Perp: We found it in an alley.) Police opened it up. (Empty.) [Kingsport Times-News, 2-2-2015]

Just Another Day in Court in Florida

It started in 2008, when one of Tampa Bay’s two nastiest radio “shock jocks,” Todd Schnitt, sued the other, Bubba The Love Sponge Clem, for “defamatory” insults. With depositions underway in 2013, according to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times, Schnitt’s lawyer Philip Campbell, unwinding in a bar, was hit on by a perky young paralegal who (unknown to him) worked for Bubba’s lawyer’s firm. After several drinks, she exaggerated inebriation, angling for Campbell to drive her home. According to charges by the Florida Bar Association, the paralegal’s boss called a Tampa cop to trail Campbell--who, sure enough, witnessed the car weaving--and thus arrested Campbell for DUI. (Bonus: Campbell’s work-packed briefcase went missing in the traffic stop.) Bubba himself was not implicated, and the disciplinary charges against the lawyers, pending in June 2015, are creating suspense about which of them will take the fall. [Tampa Bay Times, 5-20-2015]

From the Third-World Press

Kenya’s The Standard reported the May proclamation by prominent Nairobi lawyer Felix Kiprono that he had fallen in love (long distance) with Malia Obama (who is, famously, part-Kenyan) and is prepared to offer President Obama 50 cows, 70 sheep, and 30 goats in exchange for her hand. “If my request is granted,” he said, he would not “resort to the cliche of popping champagne” but rather would “surprise [Malia] with mursik,” the traditional Kalenjin sour milk, and affix the “sacred plant,” sinendet, queen-like, around her head. [The Standard, 5-25-2015]

A News of the Weird Classic (March 2011)

The Redneck Chronicles: (1) Timothy Walker, 48, was hospitalized in Burlington, N.C., in February [2011] after he fell off of the top of an SUV while holding down two mattresses for the driver, who apparently rounded a curve too fast. (2) Three people were hospitalized in Bellevue, Wash., in January [2011] when their van exploded as the ignition was re-engaged. They were carrying two gallons of gasoline in an open container and had been feeding the carburetor directly, through an opening in the engine housing (between the seats), as the van was in motion. (No explanation was reported.) [WXII-TV (Winston-Salem, 2-18-2011] [Bellevue Reporter, 1-20-2011]

Thanks This Week to Jim Weber and Steve Dunn, and to the News of the Weird Board of Editorial Advisors.

Posted By: Chuck - Sun Jun 14, 2015 - Comments (3)
Category:

Sparkling Nibbler

Mrs. Marie Marks Schor, wealthy Miamian, charged with shoplifting because she liked to eat stuff from the shelves as she did her grocery shopping. Sounds like she was having quite a meal: ham, candy, strawberries, bananas, and string beans.


Source: The Bristol Daily Courier - Dec 19, 1959

Posted By: Alex - Sun Jun 14, 2015 - Comments (4)
Category: Crime, 1950s