The Holiness of Mate-Swapping, Mummifying, and Vibrating

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

Headline in the Brisbane Times, suggesting there's nothing the gov't of South Australia can't do: "Desert To Be Closed Due To Heat Risk" Brisbane Times

Jam-packed lede sentence: "Candice Clark, a small-time thief who snatched her toddler from Florida custody in 2006 and was arrested later in Wisconsin with a dead woman in her backyard and a severely abused boy in her closet, has been sentenced to 55 years in prison." Tampa Tribune

Yesterday's big argument at the U.S. Supreme Court ostensibly involved a nuanced first-amendment issue, but it was all about Corky Ra and our old friends at the Summum religion, which is into mummification and the importance of vibrating. CNN /// Slate

There was a workplace fatality at an Iowa vehicle repair shop, with this key reporting: "The brace Rafael cut off was the only thing holding up the frame [of the vehicle] that crushed Rafael. [Rafael] did not think ahead of what would happen when [he removed] the brace." Des Moines Register

The Church of England decided that mate-swapping and vicaring don't mix. The Times

Researchers put some numbers on what spammers need to stay in business: If a fake pharmacy makes one sale a day from 13m e-mails sent out, they'll clear $3,500,000 a year. TechRadar.com

On March 24, 1989, President George H.W. Bush was just getting started on his term, Monica Lewinsky was in 10th grade, and the Exxon Valdez spilled some oil, and this week a federal judge will finally authorize the checks to go out to the fishermen whose livelihood was destroyed that day (or their estates). Anchorage Daily News

Professor Music's Weird Link o' the Day
We've reported several times on the Kanamara Matsuri festival in Kawasaki, Japan, where for 300 yrs or so, people have gathered to celebrate the, um, male member. Here are some recent snapshots that photographer Tony McNicol features on his website. [None of the links are Safe for Work] TonyMcNicol.com [Note: If you're just learning of this festival for the first time, be relieved that Google has 14,600 hits on it, and "japan fertility festival," without quotes, brings 155,000.]

Today's Newsrangers: Emory Kimbrough, Scott Langill, Jakob Derksen, Ian Pert, Emmitt Dove, Casey Burns, Paul Music, Cindy Hildebrand, Nancy Hackett, Perry Levin
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