Don't Panic! Lighten Up!S


Binoculars

Spider-Man Impostor Slugs Man


United Press International
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:08 UTC
A man in a Spider-Man costume was arrested on outstanding warrants in Los Angeles after he allegedly hit a man on Hollywood Boulevard Wednesday, police said.

First, officers had to figure out which Spider-Man impostor was which, because they found four of them dressed as the superhero about 12:30 p.m., police said.

"They stopped one; it wasn't him," Lt. Beverly Lewis told the Los Angeles Times. "They stopped the second, and it was the suspect."

The victim told police he was hit in the face and arms but did not want to press charges against the suspect, Christopher Loomis, 39. But Loomis was booked on outstanding misdemeanor warrants and held on $5,500 bond.
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Mr. Potato

California: Great Dane Named World's Tallest Dog

Sue Manning
The Associated Press
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:26 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/The San Diego Union-Tribune, Peggy PeattieDiana Taylor walks with her Great Dane, Titan, along Ocean Beach in San Diego.
Only one animal got credit for a record Thursday, the same day Norway registered the world's largest gingerbread man; the most people hugging in one minute were in the U.K.; Italy set the mark for the fastest consumption of a bowl of pasta; Finland had the most nationalities in a single sauna; and a team from Mexico assembled the world's longest paper clip chain.

In the midst of it all, Guinness World Records officially named Titan, an ailing 4-year-old white Great Dane from San Diego, as the world's tallest dog.

Titan is blind, deaf, epileptic and undergoes acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments every three weeks, owner Diana Taylor said.

Great Danes are built like giraffes one way and submarines the other, Taylor said, so they have spine issues. Titan is doing well on his treatments and medication. He hasn't had a seizure in a year.

He is a gentle soul who befriends everyone during his daily walks on the beach and is often mistaken by young children for a horse or cow, Taylor said.
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Smiley

Massachusetts: Principal Bans Four-Letter Word - 'Meep!'


MSNBC
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:09 UTC
Utterance from The Muppet Show was used repeatedly to interrupt school

Who knew "meep!" was a four-letter word?

The utterance favored by bungling lab assistant Beaker of The Muppet Show has been banned at Danvers High School in Massachusetts after students said it to repeatedly interrupt school.

Principal Thomas Murray says the word was part of a disruption planned using Facebook.
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Pumpkin

Thailand: Demon spirits tax Thai airport

Rachel Harvey
BBC
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:08 UTC
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Demons are not helping Bangkok's airport keep a good vibe, some say
Twelve large statues of demon spirits are being moved to new positions in Thailand's main international airport.

But it is not clear if the reason lies in aesthetics or superstition.

Officials say the 6m (20ft) figures, modelled on statues found in the grounds of the Royal Palace, are being moved to more prominent positions.

But there are local news reports that airport staff had complained the demons had been bringing bad luck and should be relocated.
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Binoculars

Hindu Villagers Confine Rare Turtle, Offer Prayers


Reuters
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:50 UTC
Hundreds of poor Hindu villagers in eastern India have refused to hand over a rare turtle to authorities, saying it is an incarnation of God, officials said on Tuesday.

Villagers chanting hymns and carrying garlands, bowls of rice and fruits are pouring in from remote villages to a temple in Kendrapara, a coastal district in eastern Orissa state.

Policemen have struggled to control the gathering and have failed to persuade the villagers to give up the sea turtle.

"We have asked the villagers to hand it over as it is illegal to confine a turtle, but they are refusing," said P.K. Behera, a senior government wildlife official.

The turtle is protected in India and anyone found keeping one without permission can be jailed for a year or more and fined.

But adamant villagers have refused to give up the reptile, saying the turtle bears holy symbols on its back and is an incarnation of Lord Jagannath, a popular Hindu deity.
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Mr. Potato

Australia: Thief Busted After Falling Asleep on the Job


Metro News
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:00 UTC
Police arrest man in Australia who fell asleep trying to break into a shopping centre

An exhausted thief fell asleep in the process of seemingly trying to pick the lock of a shopping centre.

Cops in Australia said the man was found snoozing early in the morning outside the complex in Perth with a lock-breaking wire still in his hand.

Police spokesman Samuel Dinnison said: "It appears he fell asleep on the ground with the wire still in his hands and also in the door."
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Smiley

Chewing Gum Thefts Rising

Bill Leukhardt
The Hartford Courant
Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00 UTC
Chewing gum theft.

It sounds like a joke, like someone stealing toothpicks or thumbtacks.

But reports of people stealing chewing gum are rising, police say. There's apparently a market for stolen gum, just as there is for expensive valuables such as jewelry or tools.

"We've had a number of larceny cases recently involving thefts of substantial amounts of chewing gum," New Britain State's Attorney Scott Murphy said Friday. "What the motive is, we don't know. But gum thefts are increasing."

Gum thievery first popped into Connecticut headlines in March, when police in Bridgeport, Fairfield and Stratford charged Kenneth McManus, 21, of Stratford, with shoplifting $800 worth of Orbit chewing gum from stores in each city.

Since June, West Hartford police have investigated four gum theft complaints, including one Nov. 1, when an Enfield man was charged with stealing $175 in chewing gum from Shaw's supermarket on Kane Street.
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Bizarro Earth

UK: Burglar sends in photo of himself on the run because he didn't like official police mugshot

Luke Salkeld
The Daily Mail
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:48 UTC
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At large: Matthew Maynard sent a officers a picture of himself posing next to a police van
As a wanted man, you might expect Matthew Maynard to be somewhat camera shy.

But when his local paper published a mugshot of the 23-year-old in an attempt to track him down, he decided it didn't show his best side.

So he provided a replacement. And if that wasn't cheeky enough, he posed for the new photograph standing next to a police van.
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Pumpkin

New Zealand lawmaker sculpted in cow manure


3news.co.nz
Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:48 UTC
nick smith cowdung
© na

A sculpture of ACC and Environment Minister Nick Smith made out of cow manure has sold for $3080 on auction site TradeMe.co.nz.

The bust sculpted as a protest by artist Sam Mahon, attracted 112 bids before being picked up by an anonymous buyer on Friday.

Mahon said he created the sculpture, and chose the medium, to protest what he considered Dr Smith's too-soft position on dairy farm pollution. He said the bust did not smell and would last forever.
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Camera

Ex-Blue Cross spokesman says health insurance 'worst product in American history'


Raw Story
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:44 UTC
Teaming with the liberal Brave New Films, a former Blue Cross pitchman is now pitching against Blue Cross.

Andy Cobb, who once tried to sell Floridians on a Blue Cross health insurance plan, says he's fed up with the industry.

"I was a spokesman for BlueCross and Blueshield of Florida," Cobb says. "Call me a spokesjerk. People who make money for buying things you don't need. And we're telling you lies."
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