Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Mr. Potato

Guiliani's kid gets it right

No one can mock like a child. Especially a bored child who's been too long on Daddy's campaign trail . . . .

Snowman

Reborn "Snowzilla" safe through Christmas

Image
© BOB HALLINEN / Anchorage Daily NewsBilly Powers in front of his Columbine Avenue home with Snowzilla the giant snowman on Tuesday December 23, 2008, which was built Monday night.
Snowzilla the giant snowman rose from the dead Tuesday morning after some holiday pranksters thumbed their noses at city orders and rebuilt him overnight.

When news of the controversial and world-famous Anchorage snowman's demise exploded on the Internet this week, hundreds of Alaska and Lower 48 readers had two words for the city of Anchorage and anyone else who criticized the crowd-pleasing giant: "Bah humbug."

And before dawn Tuesday, in downtown Anchorage, someone erected a small, misshapen snowman at the entrance to Anchorage City Hall: A crude mini Snowzilla brandishing a protest sign that read "Snowmen of the world unite!"

Others created a snowzilla.org Web site and began soliciting a legal defense fund for Snowzilla's creators.

Coffee

Homeless get caviar for Christmas

Rome - Down-and-outs and hard up pensioners in Milan will enjoy a rare Christmas treat this year: choice beluga caviar confiscated from traffickers.

Italian police seized over 40 kg (88 lb) of the delicacy, worth some 400,000 euros ($558,300), from two men who last month smuggled it into the country from Poland for sale in the shops of Milan and the rest of the wealthy Lombardy region.

The head of the local forest police who carried out the raid kept the bounty in barrack fridges for several weeks, but realized it would soon go bad.

"Tests showed us the food was still perfectly OK to eat but it couldn't be stored much longer, so we decided to give it to the poor," Juri Mantegazza told Milan daily Corriere della Sera.

Oscar

Quake zone hero pig named China's animal of the year

Pigs
© AFPPigs near collapsed buildings in Yingxiu, in the southwestern province of Sichuan
A celebrity pig that survived for 36 days buried beneath rubble in quake-hit southwest China has been named the nation's animal of the year, state press reported.

The pig won the award in an online vote after his ordeal earned him celebrity status and a plush life as the top attraction at an earthquake museum, the China Daily said in a weekend report.

The pig, known as "Zhu Jianqiang" which means "Strong Pig", shot to fame after he was discovered alive beneath rubble, 36 days after the magnitude-8.0 earthquake struck Sichuan province on May 12.

Rocket

For Sale: Three Space shuttles - "Gently used" - call NASA

For anyone with an interest in the starry skies and around 42 million dollars to spare, NASA may have an interesting proposition.

The US space agency has announced it is selling three used space shuttles when they are retired in 2010, after 30 years of service.

Sadly for enthusiasts planning their own voyage of discovery, the orbiters will only be made available for display in museums and other educational institutes.

And potential buyers may have to move quickly.

Smiley

Man Pays $21K Property Taxes In Coins

Frank Alford Says It's His Way Of Protesting Higher Taxes

New Albany, Indiana -- A Floyd County man showed up at the city-county building in New Albany to pay his property taxes with more than $21,000 in coins.

Frank Alford, who owns several single-family rental homes, said it's his way of protesting higher taxes, reported WLKY-TV in Louisville, Ky.

When he walked into the Floyd County treasurer's office Thursday morning, a deputy clerk immediately recognized Alford because last year, he paid his taxes with dollar bills.

Binoculars

30,000 desert 'beauties' to compete in Dubai

camel
© UnknownWhat a beauty!
Thousands of camels from across the gulf region are queuing up in the UAE to compete in one-of-its-kind beauty contest to be held in its capital Abu Dhabi.

Around 30,000 camels will participate in the beauty pageant to be organised during the 13-day long Dubai camel festival, being organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

The orgnisers believe that despite it was the second year of the the festival, it would be much bigger in size than the last year.

"Everyday we are registering around 600 to 700 camels and we have to extend the registration deadline by one more day, in order to cope with all the arrivals," Salem Ebrahim Al Mazrouei, in charge of organising the festival, was quoted by the Khaleej Times.

Millions of Dirhams in cash as well as 143 four-wheel-drive vehicles and pick-up trucks will be given away to prize-winning entries, he said.

Cheeseburger

Burger chain markets meat scented perfume

American fast food chain Burger King is marketing a men's fragrance with the scent of meat. Called Flame, the company says the spray is "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat".

The scent is on sale in New York for $3.99 (£2.65) and through a website that features a variety of romantic images - but no actual burgers. Its character the Burger King is also seen reclining almost naked in front of a log fire with whipped cream.

Better Earth

McCartney says he was the real political Beatle, not John Lennon

Paul McCartney claims that he was the real politicized figure in The Beatles, not John Lennon, according to an interview published Sunday.

McCartney was quoted as saying it was he who first raised concerns over the Vietnam war within the group and advocated their anti-war stance.

Fans have long regarded Lennon, who wrote songs such as "Revolution" and - in later years - "Give Peace a Chance," as the group's authentic political voice.

Display

4,414 friends and counting: how Kirk became a slave to his blog

Kirk Douglas
© ReutersKirk Douglas, 92, who is known for his action hero roles such as the gladiator in Spartacus, has been named the oldest celebrity blogger on MySpace
Kirk Douglas, the square-jawed hero famed for saving the world, getting the girl and in moments of toga-clad inspiration declaring "I am Spartacus!" has a new string to his bow - as MySpace's oldest celebrity blogger.

The 92-year-old actor, who retired from the screen five years ago, is cutting a fresh swath through Hollywood with a page on the social networking website that reflects on his "years of living, loving and learning" and records the genteel details of his life.

The site features his thoughts on US politics (he's a fan of Barack Obama), notes that his favourite films are Champion, Spartacus, Paths to Glory and Lonely are the Brave ("I just happen to be in these movies"), and reveals that his greatest remaining ambition in life is to meet Angelina Jolie, "provided my wife lets me".