Thursday, August 30, 2012

Wonder What the Teams Think?

The US Navy SEAL teams, that is, referring to the DOD's stated intent to prosecute former SEAL "Mark Owen" for writing a book on the Osama bin Laden raid that is embarrassing the Obama regime.

Farming Rhinos For Rhino Horn?

Well, it's probably easier than trying to teach a billion ignorant, superstitious Chinamen that rhino horn won't really make their little dicks hard.

The New York Times/CIA Collaboration...

...exposed and detailed by Glenn Greenwald:

The rightwing transparency group, Judicial Watch, released Tuesday a new batch of documents showing how eagerly the Obama administration shoveled information to Hollywood film-makers about the Bin Laden raid. Obama officials did so to enable the production of a politically beneficial pre-election film about that "heroic" killing, even as administration lawyers insisted to federal courts and media outlets that no disclosure was permissible because the raid was classified.

Thanks to prior disclosures from Judicial Watch of documents it obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, this is old news. That's what the Obama administration chronically does: it manipulates secrecy powers to prevent accountability in a court of law, while leaking at will about the same programs in order to glorify the president.

But what is news in this disclosure are the newly released emails between Mark Mazzetti, the New York Times's national security and intelligence reporter, and CIA spokeswoman Marie Harf. The CIA had evidently heard that Maureen Dowd was planning to write a column on the CIA's role in pumping the film-makers with information about the Bin Laden raid in order to boost Obama's re-election chances, and was apparently worried about how Dowd's column would reflect on them. On 5 August 2011 (a Friday night), Harf wrote an email to Mazzetti with the subject line: "Any word??", suggesting, obviously, that she and Mazzetti had already discussed Dowd's impending column and she was expecting an update from the NYT reporter.


Mazzetti obligingly sent a copy of the column to the CIA, pre-publication, along with a caution: "this didn't come from me … and please delete after you read."

And The reaction from Times management?

"New York Times Managing Editor Dean Baquet called POLITICO to explain the situation, but provided little clarity, saying he could not go into detail on the issue because it was an intelligence matter.

"'I know the circumstances, and if you knew everything that's going on, you'd know it's much ado about nothing,' Baquet said. 'I can't go into in detail. But I'm confident after talking to Mark that it's much ado about nothing.'

"'The optics aren't what they look like,' he went on. 'I've talked to Mark, I know the circumstance, and given what I know, it's much ado about nothing.'"


See the sales technique employed there? It's a law of advertising that, when you want something embedded in an individual's memory, you repeat the pertinent information three times; thus, car advertisers (among others) announce the dealership's phone number three times in a 30-second commercial. Here, repeated three times, are the words: much ado about nothing.

Suuure. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Of course it's no secret that The New York Times collaborates with the Obama administration, but I thought I'd mention it because a friend an acquaintance of mine likes to cite the Times as a trustworthy news source. Well, it is - - for sports scores. Raw facts. "Truth" is quite another matter.

h/t The Drudge Report

Update: Bad link before, fixed now. Thanks to NotClauswitz for pointing it out.

Meanwhile, Here In Charlotte...

...life is apparently so cheap that you can kill a woman in a barroom brawl and get off with 45 days jail time and probation.

This case was remarkable for The Charlotte Observer's coverage of the crime, in which the words gay and lesbian were never to be seen, and indeed, aren't to be seen in the present story.

The Sows are Happier Than the Boars

"Harris-Teeter alters pig-breeding method."

No more gestation crates. Now the boars will have to chase the sows down, like the redneck chased down Ned Beatty in Deliverance.

Probably Not Fair To Point Out...

...the similarities between music written for the movie The Road and the movie The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, now is it?

Judge for yourself:





Both written by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

Adrift For 98 Years...

...a message in a bottle from 1914, found in the waters off Scotland.

The story seems to indicate that it stayed in the same general area for all that time, thus being remarkable for its long preservation in the sea rather than any lengthy voyage.

Next time you are at the beach, why not toss one out yourself? Use a plastic soda bottle. See where it ends up. I've done it several times; one of mine journeyed several hundred miles south from off Carolina Beach, NC to off Myrtle Beach, SC. Click the label below for details.

Beaten, Raped, Burned...*Yawn*

It's no big deal, she was just a drug-abusing whore.

A story that should be getting more attention than it is: the horrifying last hours of Celeste Fronsman.

"I caught her and picked her up in my arms," the man said. "I told her I was going to lay her in the grass and knew then that God had put me there for her."

As the man laid Fronsman down in the grass, he said she kept crying for him to help her.

"I assured her that I wouldn't leave her, but I wanted to get the blanket out of the truck to cover her with," he said. "She didn't want to let go of my hand and she was gasping for air. Her skin was just hanging off her."

After getting the blanket and a bottle of Gatorade, the man gently held Fronsman's head so she could drink the Gatorade.

"She was still gasping for air, and I noticed that she had a 2-inch strap wrapped around her neck that had burned into her," he said. "I told her that I was going to loosen the strap so she could breathe better, but knew not to take it completely off because I knew the police would need it."


Click the link to read more. More information here.

So far, only USA Today and ABC News have covered the story, and it happened on Sunday. Is the value of a whore's life in the US so low that it's only a local outrage?

Jesus wept.

So What's Charlotte Going To Be Like For DNC?

Cedar Posts has the skinny.

"Ballantyne" is the area south of town where many of the area's wealthiest (and whitest) people live. In recent months there has been talk of Ballantyne "seceding" from the rest of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County to escape the onerous property taxes used to fund the (mostly black) urban schools. Unfortunately for me the Ballantyne area is just south of where I work, so I may get caught in DNC-related traffic on my way home from work in the mornings. Hopefully not.

2 Wrong Out of 96 Ain't Bad.

Can you pass the US Citizenship test? Go here if you'd like to try.


Found at This Ain't Hell.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Treasure Blog: "Floating Gold"


Ambergris, a substance vomited by sperm whales.

It's valuable to the perfume industry as a fixative.

Pic:

This One's For Killing, This One's For Fun*

In UK, police were called because a man was reported carrying a "gun" that turned out to be a sex toy.


*Bonus points given for identifying where I got the blog post title. No Googling, please.

(Actually, the entire reason I blogged this was an opportunity to use that title).

Quote of the Day

In our various degrees, we are all sinners. To acknowledge and accept that load is good. Perhaps even to acknowledge and accept it and not entertain either shame and regret may also be required of us. If we find we must still say: Yes, I would do the same again, we are making a judgement others may condemn. But how do we know that God will condemn it? His judgements are inscrutable.

In the end there is nothing to be done but to state clearly what has been done, without shame or regret, and say: Here I am, and this is what I am. Now deal with me as you see fit. That is your right. Mine is to stand by the act, and pay the price.

You do what you must do, and pay for it. So in the end all things are simple.


Taken from here.

Get Into a Pissing Contest With a Panda...

...and the panda is very likely to win.

Strange ritual behavior from a strange creature:



Well, I've reached bottom. I'm posting videos of urinating pandas. Somebody kill me.

Turn In Yer Man-Card, Hershel

The actor who plays Hershel Greene on The Walking Dead was caught driving under the influence of alcohol by police.

A couple of strikes against actor Scott Wilson, who plays Hershel: he was driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser when he was caught; and, when asked to perform a sobriety test, offered to do a yoga pose instead.

I'd still like that infinite-ammo shotgun, though:

No Inspiration

Yesterday or so far today. My apologies.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Well, That Did It

If you're a fan of slow, melancholy fiddle tunes, try starting a Jay Ungar channel on Pandora. You won't be disappointed.

Now excuse me while I go wallow in self-pity...

Saturday, August 25, 2012

"Time After Time, Christopher Has the Last Word"

Carol Blue recalls the final months in the life of her husband, Christopher Hitchens.

I miss the man so much. I know he'd have little or nothing good to say about Mitt Romney or his religion, but even as he exasperated me, he'd also enlighten me.

h/t Ann Althouse.

A Legend Passes


Neil Armstrong, 1930-2012: R.I.P.

A quiet, unassuming hero of impeccable integrity.

Irony of the Day

It looks like the massacre at the Empire State Building was mostly the result of cops; the shooter himself showed fire discipline and trigger control (and his 1911 jammed).

Bloomberg and the NYPD will have a hard time justifying this abortion kit of a response.

Not To Put Too Fine a Point On It...

Vice President Joseph Biden, to a mostly black audience: They want to put y'all back in chains!

MSM: heh heh heh.

Mitt Romney: “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where both of us were born and raised.”

MSM: rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Musical Interlude

Song For Bob, by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. From the soundtrack to the movie The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford.

And Yet Another Modest Proposal

Since there are at least 1,544,634 felons in the USA but only 960,000 farmers, I propose that the Future Farmers of America be renamed the Future Felons of America, and instead of the FFA's blue corduroy jacket, that Future Felons be issued orange jailhouse jumpsuits.

Future Felons, instead of going on field trips to farms and ranches, could instead go to the local state prison to learn crime tips first hand - - often from their very own daddies!

And, while I'm thinking about it, might as well rename the Future Homemakers of America, as well. Again, we'll just keep the same initials, and call them the Future Ho's of America.

Jonathan Swift ain't got nothin' on me.

What Was His Momma Thinking?

She named her little future felon after America's most famous Confederate general.

All you white boys here in the South know someone named after General Lee, I'm sure, and even novelist Stephen Hunter named his most famous creation after the General.

I guess that those who forget history - - or who never learned it to begin with - - are doomed to be embarrassed by it.

Some Mighty Fine Snark, There

John Lilyea over at This Ain't Hell brings it regarding the Usual Suspects working overtime in Chicago:

General Allen called to tell us that those shootings happened because of Ramadan and the resulting Eid al-Fitr celebration, despite the fact that probably none of the victims or shooters are Muslims. Allen went on to say that folks in Chicago need to drink more water to prevent further shootings. Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III could be heard in the background blaming tattoos for the shootings.

Afghan President Hamad Karzai emailed to tell us that it was probably because of Canadian intelligence officers who have been infiltrating Chicago.


R. Crumb Reflects On...

...Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon Johnson, Tom Waits, John Steinbeck, et.al.

In the discussion on Steinbeck, Crumb talks of how success changes an individual:

You get successful, you give a lot of interviews, you're constantly dealing with business and money and all that stuff I talked with you about when we were in Chicago. You just slowly lose touch with your original source of inspiration. It has something to do with being involved with real, common life; that's what makes any kind of story writing interesting to me. And then you get successful and you get separated from real life. It just happens. When I say real life, I'm talking about the common, everyday life of most people. Then you start getting treated like royalty — like you're something special — and it's not the same. And you're no longer the observer, you are the observed. That puts you in a whole different position in society; a whole different perspective. Now you're hunted, you're looked at, you're watched, you're admired, you're vilified, whatever. But you can't just go out and be part of the world as an observer anymore. It's hard. It's hard for me anyway.

Click the link to read the rest. In the sidebar at the Crumb website are the other parts of this extended interview (this is part 4).

Sorry, That Particular World Ain't Worth Saving

"We Can Save the World by Eating Bugs and Drinking Urine."

It’s only a matter of time before Earth’s growing population faces a critical shortage of potable water. Luckily, science has a foolproof solution. A process called reverse osmosis can convert wastewater into H20 that’s as pure as the distilled stuff—even cleaner than what we usually drink. There’s just one problem: persuading people to drink liquid that used to be urine. After all, humans tend to pooh-pooh (pun intended) anything they find disgusting.

That repulsion response evolved to help us avoid ingesting things that are potentially dangerous. (Rotten food grosses us out for a reason.) But if humanity is going to survive, we may have to learn to overcome the ick factor.


Click the link to read the rest.

The Young MILF and the Sea

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Yep, That's One Famous...Revolver


Hermann Goering's Walther PPK resurfaces.

Pic:



And, from the text of the article:

The golden gun ceremoniously handed over by high-ranking Nazi Hermann Goering when he surrendered to a soldier at the end of the Second World War has been revealed in public for the first time.

The famous revolver has come to light 67 years after the SS officer gave it to Lieutenant Jerome Shapiro in a symbolic gesture as he fled from Germany in the final days of the Third Reich.


Yes, I know. Bless their little hearts. They can't help it.


She Has Done What She Could


An 80-year-old Spanish woman ruined a fresco of Jesus in a church in a misguided attempt to restore it.

Here's the fresco before her work:



And after:



And, of course, a hue and cry has gone up at the destruction of such a priceless work of art. And so it should.

But...

What would Jesus of Nazareth say?

A similar occurrence happened in his life:

Mark 14:3-9
King James Version (KJV)

3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.


The old woman is probably frightened and ashamed, and doesn't need condemnation. She needs compassion and empathy, as well as your prayers.

OMG It's a JayG Mask!



Black robbers who disguised themselves as white cops by using lifelike latex masks were caught after they sent a thank-you note to the mask manufacturers.

Look at the mask, though, and tell me if it resembles a well-known Massachusetts blogger:



For comparison, here is Jay's NRA convention photo, taken from his blog:


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Now That's a Knife



And I'll tell you now, that a bowie knife that big is really too heavy to carry or wield one-handed. I have a Smithsonian Bowie made by Randall Knives, and I know whereof I speak.

If you're going to carry a blade for zombie killing, you're better off with a katana or a Chinese dadao war sword. Those at least can be wielded with two hands and get you some force behind the blow.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Yer Groan-Inducing Post of the Day

Prices for foodstuffs and other staples in 1942:

Aug. 10, 1942: Anyone remember shopping for groceries in Wilmington during World War II? Here are some items listed in an ad for the Colonial Store: All popular brands of cigarettes, 13 cents a pack or $1.20 a carton; Post Toasties, 6 cents a pack; Campbell's tomato soup, two cans for 15 cents; No. 2 can of Whitehouse apple juice, 9 cents; pot roast, 29 cents a pound; bacon, 31 cents a pound Pillsbury flour, 61 cents for 12-pound bag; eggs, 41 cents; bleach, 9 cents per quart bottle; peaches, $1.98 per bushel; fresh shrimp, 33 cents a pound.

Where Have All the Fireflies Gone?

Long time passing...

The season for fireflies is over now here, they are a spring-midsummer phenomenon.

Kind of Just Sums Him Up, Don't It?




h/t Jim Treacher/Daily Caller.

Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

A distressing story from my hometown of Gainesville, Florida.

A Gainesville man dumped his 75-year-old father out of his wheelchair, beat and kicked him repeatedly, then left him lying on the floor for three days, police said.

Click the link if you wish to read the rest. It's a sordid tale that happens all too often.

Yer Eye-Catching Line of the Day

The dismemberment of Michael “Porkchop” Weaver, 52, of Sumter County, took place in 2008...

Bet you'll click THAT link.

Why Do We Make...

...the musical choices we make? For the last month, my Pandora internet radio has been set exclusively to the Aimee Mann channel. Something about her voice that just gets me, and the music is lovely; the guitar playing on her songs has a 70's sensibility to it that I like.

Here's some favorites:

Goodbye Caroline:



The Moth:



Humpty Dumpty:



Today's the Day:



Enjoy!

He Should Name It Piss Off, Colorado

Because visitors are most certainly not welcome:

The Denver Post offers a fascinating story today on a billionaire's newly built replica of an Old West town -- complete with saloon, church and livery -- that will never be open to the public.

It's the brainchild of Bill Koch -- brother of billionaires David and Charles Koch -- who will use it as a repository for his vast collection of western memorabilia.


We have something like that here in North Carolina - - Love Valley - - but visitors are welcome to Love Valley.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Podunk, Please

The town of Podunk Indian Trail, North Carolina (my own little town, although the mail says Matthews, NC) wants to be noticed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation:

Some Indian Trail leaders say it’s time their town gets some representation on Interstate 485.

Past attempts have failed to convince the N.C. Department of Transportation to install signs along the outerbelt informing drivers about Indian Trail.

Now, town leaders say, Indian Trail has grown and is a sign-worthy destination.

“We just have a lot going on, and we want to be represented on 485,” said Indian Trail council member Chris King, who also represents the town on the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization.


Hell, most Americans aren't even familiar with Charlotte, the major city just north of here, and confuse it with cities in South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Meanwhile, Over In Colfax, NC...

...a blacksmith hammers out "mule hooks."

From his cinder block blacksmith’s shop, Don Dillon hammers a red-hot iron bar into the shape of a comically exaggerated mule – his nose jutting out like a mailbox , his ears bent and waving like a bug’s antennae.

In a week’s time, Dillon can turn out 40 of these decorative beasts, each one fitted with a hook at the bottom that’s perfect for hanging a hat.

But mostly, Dillon would like all Democrats to notice that mules are practically donkeys and that North Carolina will be crawling with donkeys come Sept. 4, and a custom-made donkey hook might make a dandy convention souvenir.


For some reason, he can't sell elephant hooks:

You might have seen Dillon demonstrating at the State Fair. He used to make lamps. Then the furniture factory shut down. So now he makes mule hooks – mixing humor and politics with lop-eared metal.

One version comes equipped with a crank, which Dillon calls a wind-up key for a liberal Democrat. You’re supposed to insert the mule end where the sun doesn’t shine. Another serves as a toilet-paper holder. Another hook combines the ears of a mule with a pachyderm’s trunk.

“This is a donkey-phant,” Dillon explained. “That’s for the undecided voter, the split-ticket man, the quiet man that don’t make a lot of racket. I made a few elephant hooks, but couldn’t sell any of them.”


Pic:



You can buy his mule hooks, should you want one, for $25, click the link for his address.

Time To Leave

The welcome is definitely worn out.

Should have never bothered with nation-building in the first place in Afghanistan. Should have bombed the place thoroughly and warned the survivors not to associate themselves with Al Qaeda ever again.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Ladybug, Ladybug...

...flew into her ear.

And UK's National Health Service didn't send her to a specialist for three years, and only then after the head of the insect fell out of the tortured woman's ear.

Gross effing incompetence, is what it is.

But hey, it's free!

"Good Night, Westley, Sleep Well...

...I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

Remember that scene from The Princess Bride? Well, back in WWII, a similar scenario occurred:

Under the blazing sun, Andy Coogan — his body emaciated by dysentery, malnutrition, years of crushing slave labour and the beatings administered by vicious guards — scratched away at the jungle floor, digging a grave for his dead mate, Speedy, one of hundreds who succumbed to Japanese brutality in the work camp where they were held as British prisoners-of-war.
Out of respect — a scant commodity in that Pacific hell-hole — he dug deep to bury his friend out of the reach of scavenging animals, deeper than the sadistic Lieutenant Suzuki in charge of the detail had demanded.
The Japanese officer, furious at being disobeyed, screamed at him to stop but Coogan — skeletal and dressed in nothing more than a loincloth — ploughed on until Speedy was decently buried.
As he finished and put down his spade, Suzuki eyed him coldly. ‘Dig another grave,’ he then ordered, ‘for yourself. Tomorrow you die.’
It was a threat the terrified Coogan had no doubt would be carried out as he spent a sleepless night, ticking down his last hours on earth. He had suffered every form of physical abuse as a prisoner of the Japanese since the fall of Singapore in February 1942.
He had been starved and beaten to a pulp, seen comrades used as bayonet practice, heard the swish of canes and samurai swords, witnessed heads lopped from shoulders, felt the victor’s heel on his own neck and escaped by the skin of his teeth for three-and-a-half terrible years.
But now it seemed his endurance and his courage would be to no avail. The end had come. He was doomed.
Come the morning, however, there was another dead POW to dispose of from the over-crowded, fly-blown, rat-infested huts. Coogan buried the fresh corpse, and Suzuki told him again. ‘Dig another grave, for tomorrow you die.’
The same happened the next day, and the one after that. The mental torture continued for days, until Suzuki tired of the game.



Shipwreck Blog: La Belle, Matagorda, Texas

The ship of 17th-century French explorer/coloniser Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle.

Marine archaeologists are using a freeze-dry process to preserve the ship.

Apparently the colony that La Salle founded wasn't much of a sucess:

His team established a colony near Matagorda Bay, but it was ravaged by disease, rattlesnakes and Indians. Three years later, La Salle led a handful of survivors inland in search of the Mississippi. The explorer didn't make it out of Texas; he was murdered by his own men.


The Indians were probably Karankawa, who were native to the area and had a reputation for cannibalism, although this is disputed.

Hey Baby...

...want a Creamsicle?

The ice cream man rapes a 14-year-old girl in his ice cream truck in Garner, NC.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Will An American Legend Sail Again?


Maybe.

The weather has to be perfect for USS Constitution to sail under her own power in the open ocean.



You know, if President Obama had any sense, he'd make sure to be onboard Constitution for that cruise. He couldn't ask for a better media opportunity.

What's In That Bottle of Honey?


The pollen detective knows.



Why is that important, you might ask? A couple of reasons: one, because if a bottle of honey is labeled as being a product of Florida orange blossoms, for example, it looks strange if the honey within the bottle has pollen markers that indicate it came from basswood trees in Iowa. Just the simple act of keeping businessmen honest, since apparently ethics isn't popular with today's crop of entrepreneurs; second, some honeys command a premium price, just like any other product, and you want to be sure that when you spend lots of money on a product you are, in fact, getting that particular product and not a substitute or imitation.

Musical Interlude

Moby, Look Back In. This version combined with lovely video titled Dusk On the Thames:

Headline of the Day

"Driver Swerves To Avoid Moose, Hits Bear."

This sounds like an opportunity for a meme, of sorts. Let's use that same headline and use blanks where moose and bear appear. Presume you're the driver of the car, fill in the blanks:

Driver swerves to avoid __________, hits __________.

Put your answer in the comments. Be as offensive as you like. I won't tell anyone.

Meanwhile, Up In Mayberry...


...things go on as they always have, with a bit of sadness to mark the passing of George Lindsey and Andy Griffith.

It's a pretty part of the state of NC, not far from the state line with Virginia, and fall is the best time to go there.

The Most Fundamental Human Right of All?

The right to decide for yourself the term of your life, and to have the means legally to facilitate the ending of it with dignity, with minimal interference from the State.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Fixer-Upper Opportunity...

...out in the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

The Diamond Shoals Light Tower, off of Cape Hatteras, NC, is being sold by the General Services Administration.

It's probably very similar to Frying Pan Shoals Light Tower, which I blogged about here.

You could call it a James Bond Villain starter kit.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Hey, Even Iron Man...

...can turn his ankle.

Robert Downey, Jr., injured performing a stunt on the set of Iron Man 3 in Wilmington, NC.

Where's the Kaboom?

It was at Seneca Lake, New York, in the year 1898.

The Onondaga was built in 1860; one of the largest steamers on the Finger Lakes. It was used to ferry soldiers to the south end of Seneca Lake during the Civil War, and later converted into a passenger steamer. By 1898, the boat had been docked. One of its final uses was housing quarantined smallpox victims.

"After that, the townspeople in Geneva decided let's make a big deal out of this."

So to send the boat to a watery grave, the Onondaga was loaded with 500 pounds of dynamite, 300 pounds of blasting powder and a barrel of gasoline.

"So it was quite a spectacle."


Fellow had a fine sense of understatement, didn't he?

Our Very Own Crazy Cat...Man

Over in Mint Hill.

The animal control people took 45 cats out of the house, most had to be euthanized. They gave him back three cats after sterilizing them.

Treasure Blog: Elvis Presley's Bible

Expected to fetch "thousands" at auction.

Pic:

Never the Twain Shall Meet

Not even in a box of chocolates.

We have several months to go before we actually get to vote. But with the Democratic National Convention headed to town in just a few weeks, you can declare your allegiance in chocolate.

Moonstruck Chocolate Co.'s Election Collection goes on sale this week at Fresh Market stores in Charlotte. Each four-piece box features either elephants or donkeys whimsically rendered in chocolate and filled with dark chocolate ganache.

Moonstruck rep Theresa Ford says they tried doing a mixed box with elephants and donkeys, but it didn't fly: "Nobody liked that."

Maybe Not, But...

...those graphs are truly distressing.

Al Fin: Are Blacks a Criminal Race?

Drag Racing In a Minivan?

You have to be kidding me.

'Cause when you're talking a minivan and drag racing, even if you win...you lose.

They Stole 500 Canaries, Eh?

Well, the culprits seem obvious:

*BURP*

When Even Meghan McCain Calls You An Idiot...

...You know you've achieved idiocy.

Crazy old Joe Biden, AKA Grandpa In the Attic.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Microbes Ripped My Flesh*

Well, not my flesh, but that of a man from Robeson County, NC, who died after being exposed to "flesh-eating" bacteria in the water during a fishing trip.

I'd guess he was wading in the shallows when he got cut; slipped and fell onto oyster shells, maybe? Then he washed the wound with water from the inlet (probably application of an antibacterial hand cream would have been better?)

Here's a video:



*Where'd I get the blog title reference?

update: Video seems to not show on my blog anymore, so I killed it. You can see it at the link.

Monday, August 13, 2012

For You Walking Dead Fans...


...The Walking Dead Social Game has been released on Facebook.

Scariest-Looking Dude I've Seen In a While


The Mummy Murderer.

Pic:



Just skull with skin on it and crazy, staring eyes. If I was walking in the woods and saw him coming toward me the first words out of my mouth would be OH, F*CK.

Just In Time For DNC

Charlotte installs ShotSpotter in the uptown area.

ShotSpotter is a system of gunshot location via sound sensors, similar to radio direction finding. When a gunshot rings out, accoustic sensors triangulate on the sound and locate the area in which it originated. It's already active in several cities, and I've mentioned it before on this blog as being active in Wilmington, North Carolina. It has the capability of getting cops to a crime scene quicker than 911 calls can, because often 911 calls aren't made in response to a gunshot.

The Juggalo Gang?

C'mon, you can't be serious.

Oh, yes they can.

Are you down with the clown?

Sounds Like a Pixar Movie

"A kangaroo is on the lam in Germany after breaking out of a wildlife park, with a fox and a wild boar his suspected accomplices."

Someone with an Australian accent to voice the Kangaroo, obviously. Make the fox a female and Gwyneth Paltrow could voice that one. The wild boar? Eddie Murphy, maybe.

Avoid Leesburg, Florida

Because in Leesburg, Florida, they'll blow your head off.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Houses In the Fields

Going to the store a few minutes ago, I noticed yet another farm house for sale, the field around it where soy beans once grew now choked with weeds. There's fewer farm fields out here every year; when we first moved out here it was all farms and woods. Now it's mostly sub-divisions.

John Gorka wrote a song about it, a good while ago (apologies for the sound/vid not syncing properly):

Quote of the Day

Apart from treating my char­acters with the same respect as in any other form of novel, I have one sacred rule about the thriller. It is, it ought to be, it must be, a morality. If it strays from the side of the angels, provokes total despair, willfully destroys—without pressing need in the plot—the innocent and the good, takes pleasure in evil, that is unforgivable sin. I use the word deliberately and gravely.

Found here.

From Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter), creator of Brother Cadfael.

Treasure Blog: 1873 Seated Liberty Dime

From the Carson City mint, sold for $1.6M.

Here's a pic of an 1873 Seated Liberty:



The Mint also made Seated Liberty quarters, half dollars and silver dollars, as I recall.

Rumor

Twitter is alive with rumors that Mitt Romney is going to pick Representative Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential running mate.

Update: MSM is running with it.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Let's Play "Carnak!"

As you know, Carnak can discern the contents of a sealed envelope just by holding it against his head. Ready, Carnak?

"A Permanent Drippy Faucet."


A. Permanent. Drippy. Faucet.

*Carnak gives us a withering glance, then rips the end of the envelope, blows into it, pulls out the message, and reads:*

"What do you get when the last effective drugs for treatment of gonorrhea stop working?"

Thank you, Carnak.

Thursday, August 09, 2012

The Wooing Technique of the Usual Suspect...

...apparently involves the following:

1. Go to a random woman's house, age doesn't matter;

2. Announce to the woman that you have no girlfriend;

3. Further announce your intention to "get some;"

4. Force yourself on the hapless woman while hitting her in the head with a hammer.


Call it the Flintstone Method, mebbe?

How Appropriate.

She named her little felon "Demon."

Oh, I'm sure it's pronounced deeMAWN, but still. Stupid bitch actually had that filled out on his birth certificate?

Update: Justice Far Faster Than the Justice System Provides

Follow-up to this post of mine in which I reported on the murder of a rapist in Lancaster, SC. The rapist was murdered a few minutes after committing the crime.

Now comes the news that the rapist was killed by the brother of his victim, making this about as righteous a shooting as you can get these days and have it still be considered a crime. The police, of course, shake their heads sadly about "taking the law in their own hands," but I'm going to guess that when this one comes to a jury, there's going to be a strong desire to nullify what the law requires. Kid may get away with the murder, in other words.

After all, how many of you would act differently, were it your sister or other female relative involved?

Update: I'm reminded that Ambrose Bierce had a definition for homicide in his Devil's Dictionary:

HOMICIDE, n. The slaying of one human being by another. There are four kinds of homocide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy, but it makes no great difference to the person slain whether he fell by one kind or another -- the classification is for advantage of the lawyers.


This current one falls into the praiseworthy category, obviously.

"Released To Their Parents"

One teenager was arrested, and two released to their parents, at a baseball game between St. Louis and San Francisco after they were caught flashing players with a laser.

The first kid might actually get a felony conviction out of it, with all the ruin of life that black mark brings to an individual; but what about the kids "released to their parents?" Will they receive anything more than a scolding or withholding of privileges? Once upon a time one's father would administer a spanking that would be memorable for its severity, a paddle, belt or switch being the usual instrument of correction. Maybe by the time you're 16 or 17 it wouldn't really hurt that much, but the shame of your father treating you as if you were an idiot (and you were, of course) would leave a more permanent mark than the spanking did.

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

It Doesn't Take a Gun...

...to put someone in the hospital.

A nineteen-year-old pizza deliver driver is in ICU after being beaten with a baseball bat during a robbery.

A Man Wrecking His Life

That would be country singer Randy Travis.

Apparently he's taken to drinking after his marriage of 19 years ended, and he's been arrested twice now in the last year, this time for DUI.

Here's a pic, with a grim-looking Travis sporting a shiner, either from his encounter with police or perhaps a bar fight:



No one around to catch him when he falls:



He could probably use a prayer or two right now, if you find the time.

Marine Veteran Shoots Robber Dead

Via Amy Alkon.



Note: This occurred back in 2005. Sorry for posting old news, the link at Amy's didn't make clear when this happened.

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

What a Disgrace

A woman in Salisbury won $1M in the North Carolina lottery.

But after taxes are removed, she only gets to keep $408,000.

Not even half of it.

And she's just an office manager, she could use the extra funds. What's she going to use it for?

Pay off debt.

The working poor in America: even when they win, they lose.

Monday, August 06, 2012

This Car Has An Extra Pedal

Robbers in my hometown of Gainesville, Florida, were unable to make a getaway after they discovered that the car they had stolen had a manual transmission.

Shows how far we've come in the name of convenience when driving.

Get a Closer Look?

A discussion about visiting White Island, an active volcano in New Zealand, and the greater issue of "volcano tourism."

We're talking here of active volcanoes, not dormant volcanoes such as Oregon's Crater Lake or Washington state's Mt. Rainier (which many people probably aren't aware is a volcano). Most Americans will be familiar with Kilauea in Hawaii, which is an example of an active volcano that is comparatively safe because of the composition of the magma lying underneath it, which is lacking in the gases which cause explosive eruptions. While it is possible to die at Kilauea by breaking through a crust and burn in the liquid lava below, or become trapped by flowing lava, there is little danger of a massive explosion as typified by Mt. St.Helen's back in the 1980's. Unfortunately the gassy, explosive volcano is far more common than the Kilauea-type volcano.

The simplest advice I can give is that if the volcano is in a heightened state of alert because of movement of magma underneath it, it is not time for a visit.

Sunday, August 05, 2012

There Can Be No Terror...

...when no lives are at risk.

What you have is, instead, seven minutes of worry.

Hyperbole isn't needed in science.

Rare Photos of Pre-Revolution Russians

Circa 1860's-1870's.

Here's a sample pic, a knife sharpener:



There's also a pic of an abacus seller, which I guess would be sort of the Steve Jobs of the period. Click the link to see it, and a bunch of others.

Weird Hit-and-Run Here In Charlotte

Story.

Police are searching for the red sports car that hit and killed a man on Saturday night.

The incident happened on Eastway Drive and Howie Circle about 10 p.m. According to a witness, the victim walked into the middle of the road and then sat "Indian style" before being struck.

Reportedly, the car hit the victim, then circled around twice to get a glance of the injuries before speeding off.


Behavior of the victim would indicate intention to suicide or mental illness. Behavior of the driver? Callous disregard for human life.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Dis Means War

When police in Montpelier Vermont arrested Roger Pion for marijuana possession, they didn't realize he'd take it personally:



Yes, he got on a farm tractor and crushed the town's police cars.

A couple of famous YouTube clips are germane:



And:

Yer Topical Video of the Day

This one's self-explanatory.

Fast & Furious Figure Resigns

William Hoover, who served as Deputy Director of ATF during Fast & Furious.

William Hoover was one of the five ATF officials House oversight committee chairman Darrell Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley singled out as responsible for Operation Fast and Furious. ATF spokesman Drew Wade told the AP that Hoover resigned on Tuesday – the day Issa and Grassley released the congressional report in which they singled out Hoover and four of his colleagues.

Dude, You're Still Superficial

Young actor Justin Long talks to University of Florida students about his youth and the stupid decisions he made back then.

Like voting for Ralph Nader in 2000, and for Barack Obama in 2008.

Now he's smarter, and is informed, and intends to vote for...Barack Obama.

"When I was a kid, I was obsessed with football," he said. "I loved the Gators, because their helmets were cool. I was really superficial."

Jaws, North Carolina Version

You can keep your Great White Sharks. At North Carolina beaches, we have alligators!

A 10-foot alligator crawled out of the waves on Holden Beach Wednesday morning, ambling in and out of the surf and attracting dozens of onlookers before eventually being captured by state wildlife officials.

"He had a big ol' mouth with teeth popping. We had a bit of excitement down here," said David Hewett, Holden Beach's town manager. "It's not the biggest gator I've ever seen, but he was big enough."


Big ol' mouth with teeth poppin'.

*grins*

Here's a pic of Mr. Gator:



Not to put too fine a point on it, but you sun worshipers start looking like that around age 50 if you don't take it easy, if you know what I mean.

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Irony of the Day

Here:




I'm not and never have been a marijuana smoker, never even tried it in high school. I think it's more useful these days as a pretext for government, especially police, interference with your freedom, and as such is a bad thing.

"The News Media Today Is Killing Faith In God, All In the Name of Diversity"

Down in Wilmington, NC, the boycott against Chik-Fil-A appears to be backfiring.

Nobody picketed outside during the rainy morning hours, and there was no line of gay supporters ordering water and nothing else, an idea hatched on YouTube to nibble away at Chick-fil-A's daily profit.

But there were some eating biscuits in support of Cathy.

Armond Weatherly jumped into his appliance truck and verified that he supports Cathy's stance on gay marriage.

"I'm against it myself," he said.

Inside, a group of four white-haired men sat at a table, awaiting their fifth.

"We want to support Mr. Cathy and his stand on the Bible," said Bill Stines of Wilmington. "I think it's time that Christians stood up."

Dan Grimsley, seated at the same table, mostly agreed.

"It's not strictly religious to me," he said. "It's this ‘in-the-face' attitude."

Fast & Furious: How High Did It Go?

At the very least to the level of Deputy Attorney General.

But this new congressional report, released Tuesday by House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley — both Republicans — concludes senior Obama administration officials appear to have set the stage for, and possibly encouraged, ATF officials to walk guns into Mexico.

The report finds that Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, who leads the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, told Holder about the Firearms Trafficking Working Group (FTWG) in an Aug. 19, 2009, memo of recommendation.

“The FTWG’s mission was to formulate a plan to improve the U.S. government’s efforts in stemming the illegal flow of weapons, which was fueling escalating violence along both sides of the Southwestern border,” the report reads. “The working group’s first recommendation was that the ‘attorney general and secretary of Homeland Security should form an interagency Southwest Border (‘SWB’) firearms trafficking strategy group.’ According to the Justice Department, ‘the deputy attorney general responded to the specific proposals in this memorandum by forming the Southwest Border Strategy Group, which he chaired.’”

Shortly thereafter, then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden, the No. 2 official in the Department of Justice, drafted and disseminated a new planning document titled “Strategy for Combating the Mexican Cartels.”