Bottle Message: Ocean City, NJ to Duck, NC, 24 Years On

6-year-old Heidi Kay Werstler took part in a "message in a bottle contest" in Ocean City, NJ, back in 1985; her bottle recently came ashore in Duck, NC, just this month, 24 years later.

It seems obvious that the bottle was ashore or otherwise stuck close to home for most of those years, and was dislodged by the passage of Hurricane Ida in November, at which point it made its journey south. Possibly it was in a salt marsh or other area where few humans go. In any event, the girl, now a young married woman, has won the contest and will be given a stay at a hotel in Ocean City and a box of salt water taffy.

That's Mighty White Of You

At the Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, NC, a Confederate soldier has a new gravestone, due to efforts by a descendant working at Dix, the North Carolina mental hospital.

The descendant, Gracie Jenkins, requested a gravestone from the Department of Veteran Affairs, which obliged with a 400-pound marble stone. Jenkins had it erected with the help of the Sons of Confederate Veterans:



Charles Purser, a member of the group who lives in Garner, said he plans to research the long list of those buried at Dix for the names of other veterans.

"There has to be some more out there," Purser said. "We're willing to put up a headstone for any American soldier we find there, even if they're Union."

Really, despite the snarkiness of my blog title, that's a nice thing for both the DVA and the SCV to do for a veteran.

Treasure Blog: Chinese Vase

Valued at $620, it sold at auction for over $376,000.

Pic:

What's That Sound?

It's the death rattle of Mike Huckabee's future Presidential aspirations.

Weather Note

At 10:00 p.m. on Sunday night there was a ring around the moon when I went out to take the garbage to the curb. When I left for work at 10:35, the ring was gone, clouds having come in to obscure the moon.

Best Whiskey In The World: American Rye

Sazerac Rye 18 y.o., to be specific.



2nd place went to Scotland's Ardbeg Supernova; 3rd place to India's Amrut Fusion.

Scientists Make Artificial Soggy Pork In Lab

Story.

Yes, I know that the pat answer is to say I know a lot of restaurants that can do that, but it really does hold promise for the future, when commercial production of meat becomes too expensive to sustain.

Poll: Swiss Ban Minarets At Mosques

The Swiss Banned Minarets At Mosques: Your Reaction?
	Racist.
	Good. We need to stop the spread of Islam in Europe.
	Baby with the bath water.
	None of my business what other countries do.
	It's a decision above my pay grade.
pollcode.com free polls

But Hey, It's Free, Right?

The London Times summarizes the current scandal concerning the UK National Health Service.

For us in the US, it's like being able to watch a TV show called Your Future History.

Anglican Bishop: Bah, Humbug

The Bishop of Croydon (UK), the Right Reverend Nick Baines, says that Christmas carols are "nonsense."

Doesn't it seem more and more these days that the Anglican clergy is really rather embarassed by all of this religious stuff that they're forced to endure, and that they'd really rather be viewed as a sort of liberal political organization or debating society? The clergy and hierarchy seem to take great satisfaction in ridiculing the religious impulses of their flocks, especially the belief in miracles and the more fantastic stories told of Jesus and the Saints, as if they want to paradoxically be seen as rationalist religionists.

The Coin Has Arrived

In an ritual repeated every year at Christmas, someone has dropped a gold coin into a Salvation Army Kettle.

Indeed, so likely is a news story to be written in such cases, that it would not surprise me to hear that Salvation Army employees are the ones dropping the coins so as to guarantee free publicity in newspapers all around the US.

Rather a cynical take on what might be a genuine charitable impulse, but I'm a rather cynical sort of guy.

He's Violating Our Dunghill

Sometimes the world gets you so down that you just want to masturbate while sitting in a pile of manure.

Not me. David Truscott of Redruth, England is the dunghill chicken-choker. He's in trouble because the dunghill in question isn't his own, so he's guilty of trespassing and thus in deep doo-doo with the local police, so to speak...

It's A Miracle! #15,759

A Massachusetts woman has seen an image of Jesus on her clothing iron:



I think it looks more like Paramahansa Yogananda, myself:

Headline of the Day

"BBC Drops Ballet Featuring a Deformed Pope Who Rapes Nuns."

Insufficiently outrageous to Catholics, they decided.

Grudge Match: Shamu Vs. Bruce

Orcas (Killer Whales) regularly prey upon sharks, including Great White Sharks, even using what researchers call a "karate chop" technique to render them unconscious.

What's that sound? The pitter-patter of Hollywood screenwriter's feet as they run for their computers to begin outlining screenplays...

Presumably It Wouldn't Have Those Excretion Problems

In the wake of the death of UGA, the University of Georgia's bulldog mascot, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is requesting that UGA be replaced with a robot bulldog.

Maybe they could acquire both a live dog and a robot dog and have a sort of John-Henry-versus-the-steam-drill competition?

The Late UGA

Santa, At Least Stop Saying "Bah, Humbug!"

A man hired to play Father Christmas (UK Santa Claus) in Evesham, Worcestershire caused the company that hired him to pay a refund after the man sat sullenly in his sleigh and refused to interact with the children.

Ya mope, ya!

Dual Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends, hope that you have a day full of love and happiness with your families.

For me, it is also my 48th birthday, so I am taking the day off from blogging. Regular blogging will resume tomorrow morning.

Bob

The Troglodyte Hermit Life

In Moab, Utah.

Because sometimes you just want to be alone in a cave.

What's Going On With the SEALs?

Damn. First, 3 SEALs get in trouble for smacking a terrorist, now the Commanding Officer of SEAL Team 4 has been relieved of command.

Wonder if the two stories are connected? Anyone know if the 3 SEALs in the first story belong to Team 4?