Chuck’s Hand-Picked Overnight Weird News for Thursday

The F State connections of John Edwards's side squeeze
Before she was Rielle Hunter, she was Lisa Jo Druck, of Ocala, and her dad, a local lawyer, raised horses. (It's horse country; George Steinbrenner, among others, has a big spread there.) Dad's most notable, though, for his associating with Tommy Burns, a fixer of sorts whose nickname is "Sandman" because he skillfully put horses down for the insurance money. Preferred method: ordinary ol' wall-socket electrocution. Lisa, not surprisingly, was a party gal and moved around, finally headed to California intending to be an actress (until she met Edwards, when, apparently, the "Filmmaker? Yeah, that's the ticket!" bug hit). Ocala Star-Banner
Comments 'rielle_hunter'

In Indonesia, people who "live [in order] to die"

The last king of Toraja was 93 when he took his final breath in July 2003. Five years later, he's still part of the family, quietly residing in a small room in his former palace, shaded by two red parasols decorated with colored beads and gold fringe. By Torajan tradition, he isn't really dead. He's just sick. The late monarch won't be gone for good until he has been laid to rest with traditional rites featuring the slaughter of scores of water buffaloes, at least one of them a rate spotted specimen.

Such is the tradition of death in southern Sulawesi island, where people have to set aside huge chunks of income just to bury their family members properly. Nothing gets celebrated among the Torajans quite as extravagantly as death. Los Angeles Times
Comments 'toraja_death'

More feral children, semi-feral parents, and the trailer homes that enable them
In southwest Missouri near Pleasant Hope (just north of Springfield), three families, "12 to 15" house trailers stacked with stuff, 360 animals, 6 children, running water only via a series of garden hoses. Property "owner" Virginia Gambriel, 61, was arrested [she's number 2 in the link's photo series]. And in Lavonia, Ga. (just inside the South Carolina border), Raymond Thurmond, 36, was arrested and charged with holding his wife and 4 kids captive for 3 yrs in their trailer home (a single-wide!). Associated Press via CNN // Associated Press via MSNBC
Comments 'more_ferals'

End of the line for two hall-of-famers
Richard Blaylock, 76, called Britain's oldest career criminal, is back in the slammer, his home for 43 of his years. Why, that (as the judge called him) "thieving old bugger"! He was caught with his burglary kit and reportedly said to the officer, "Crowbar? What crowbar?" Said he was just out to build an exercise thingy for his ferrets. And in Los Angeles, Ignacio DelRio, 33, was sentenced to 7-plus yrs in prison for what he and police estimate were 1,000 burglaries, worth more than $16m, over a period from 2004 to 2006. Did it for the rush. Daily Mail (London) // Associated Press via Yahoo
Comments 'blaylock_delrio'

People Whose Sex Lives Are Worse Than Yours
Barry Zephier, 44, was arrested in Sioux Falls, S.D., after he apparently staggered out of a strip club so aroused that he walked right over to a patch of grass, lay down, removed his pants, and took care of himself (and drew a crowd!) (Bonus: There's nothing more exciting in Sioux Falls than standing around watching a 44-yr-old guy masturbate.) Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)
Comments 'barry_zephier'

Your Daily Jury Duty
[no fair examining the evidence; verdict must be based on mugshot only]
All right, listen up. They need your help on this. They really don't know if this gal's guilty or innocent. Facts? Facts will just confuse you, but anyway, one, she just got out of jail for attempting to kill her husband (but he forgave her), and then, a couple of hours later, the husband was dead, but on the other hand, he's been in poor health for a while. See what I mean? It could go either way. Thus, it looks like the only fair way to resolve this touchy case is with a photo verdict. St. Paul Pioneer Press
Comments 'sandra_hanson'

Eyewitness News
[news videos goin' around]
Prof. Bill Shanahan of Fort Hayes (Kan.) State Univ. is seen here going nuts because his debaters were low-balled by the judges, and he responds in the only proper way. KCTV (Kansas City) [from Fark.com]
You've heard of Paper-Rock-Scissors championships, but have you actually seen matches (like, with referees)? Evtv1.com
Comments 'eyewitness_080814'

More Things to Worry About on Thursday
A vastly underrated source of protein for the world's malnourished: rat meat . . . . . To keep playing cards in the community room at a seniors' housing center in Britain, you guys will have to buy liability insurance . . . . . A dad in Vernon, Conn., sets up his own intra-family Fight Club, among his kids, aged 6 to, er, 1 (OK to use plastic baseball bats) . . . . . Britain's Asda supermarket decides to sell themed underwear for adolescent girls, from Disney's High School Musical, with the phrase "Dive In," and cynical parents are like, I can't believe Asda is so naive . . . . . The parents who allegedly, recklessly let their daughter starve to death 2 yrs ago have filed a lawsuit against Philadelphia welfare officials for not taking the girl away from them sooner.
Comments 'worry_080814'

Editor's Notes
Update: Ol' Greg Nance (Mr. Bite Me from yesterday) resigned, to of course spend more time with his family. (I underappreciated his contributions to the "state board of education" yesterday; he was regarded as having some expertise, in that when he was in school, he was, of course, special-ed.) Today's Newsrangers: Bruce Townley, Scott Langill, Ted Hering, Amanda Reno, Nancy LeSage
Comments 'editors_080814'