Cat Stevens - pre-sale

Yusuf Islam, the artist previously known as Cat Stevens, is playing in Australia. I just got an email advertising pre-sale of tickets, and clicked through to see prices.


$200+ !?! I love your work, Yusuf, but for that I'll stay home and play your old stuff.

Still, if anyone else is interested, here's the link.

-- Posted from my iPhone via BlogPress app

Muppets FTW! Webby Awards

The Muppet version of Bohemian Rhapsody has been nominated for a Webby for Best Viral Video. While I was checking that out, I came across a bunch of other ones that made me smile.

So here are some Muppet videos, for your amusement:

ELTON JOHN "CROCODILE ROCK"



"The Muppet Show" Intro



Kokomo by The Muppets



Original Muppets mana mana song



The Muppet Show - Yakkety Yak



Bohemian Rhapsody




-- Posted from my iPhone via BlogPress app

It's startling to realise how much you rely on fingers...

These hideous images brought to you by my raging dermatitis, which includes a lot of swelling and cracked skin (right down to raw bits). It ain't pretty, and it ain't fun.





-- Posted from my iPhone via BlogPress app

Rudyard Kipling Interviews Mark Twain

How extraordinary. Two of my first and best literary crushes, in conversation. If anyone wants me, I'll be re-reading Just-So and Connecticut Yankee. 

  

		Rudyard Kipling Interviews Mark Twain
	This article originally appeared as a Library of America Story of the Week feature. An Interview with Mark Twain Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) From "The Mark...

 

Sent from my iPhone

Can't Sleep, Clown'll Eat Me

Click Here For Sound


Yay! Happy Birthday! We hired this creepy-arse Evil Clown ...to scare the SHIT out of you!!

From Metro.co.uk:

Evil Clown Dominic Deville hired for stalking, threats and a pie in the face



Dominic Deville stalks young victims for a week, sending chilling texts, making prank phone calls and setting traps in letterboxes.

He posts notes warning children they are being watched, telling them they will be attacked.

But Deville is not an escaped lunatic or some demonic monster.

He is a birthday treat, hired by mum and dad, and the ‘attack’ involves being splatted in the face with a cake.

‘The child feels more and more that it is being pursued,’ said Deville.

‘The clown’s one and only aim is to smash a cake into the face of his victim, when they least expect it, during the course of seven days.’

If the boy or girl manages to avoid the ‘hit’, they are given the cake as a birthday present. Well, that’s alright then.

The frightening fun can be stopped at any time, which is handy for parents who have second thoughts and don’t fancy the cost of child therapy.

Deville said: ‘The clown will never break into a residence or show up at work. ‘It’s all in fun and if, at any point, the kids get scared or their parents are concerned, we stop right there.

‘But most kids absolutely love being scared senseless.’

Deville set up his Evil Clown service in Lucerne, Switzerland, after being inspired by some of his favourite horror films – possibly including Stephen King’s It and Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

The idea is unlikely to be popular with sufferers of coulrophobia – the irrational (irrational?) fear of clowns.

But Stephen Vaughan of Clowns International, said scary clowns could be as funny as their red-nosed counterparts. ‘I think what Dominic is doing is a great idea,’ he added.

‘Bringing a little bit of life and laughter into kids’ lives is what we are all about.’

Yeah. Ha, ha. Good one.


Click Here For Sound

Glenn Beck seeks public's advice on cover of new novel

Oh, dear God. Story below from Guardian.co.uk.

[Beck] described the novel as "a story of America in a time much like today where the people are confused", where the government is in crisis and a citizens' group called Founders Keepers is on the ascendant, leading to "a battle and a civil war, and life is upside-down planetwide".

Guess who'll be shouting, "don't blame me, it was a METAPHOR!!", come Insanity Day?

Glenn Beck seeks public's advice on cover of new novel

Fox News's right-wing pundit asks fans to vote on cover for apocalyptic political thriller, The Overton Window.

Fox News host Glenn Beck is asking for reader input on the cover of his forthcoming Ayn Rand-esque novel about an embattled America.

The apocalyptic political thriller, The Overton Window, is out in June from Simon & Schuster's conservative US imprint Threshold, which also publishes Karl Rove and Lynne Cheney. Threshold is home to a range of Beck's previous writing, including Arguing with Idiots ("It happens to all of us: You're minding your own business, when some idiot informs you that guns are evil, the Prius will save the planet, or the rich have to finally start paying their fair share of taxes") and his previous novel The Christmas Sweater, about a boy who learns a tough lesson when he's given a handmade jumper for Christmas.

Beck revealed details about his new book late last month to an Orlando rally of 8,000 followers, reported the Philadelphia Daily News. He described the novel as "a story of America in a time much like today where the people are confused", where the government is in crisis and a citizens' group called Founders Keepers is on the ascendant, leading to "a battle and a civil war, and life is upside-down planetwide".

The right wing presenter, whose influence over America's book charts is huge, today asked readers to vote on which cover the novel should be given, ranging from the Statue of Liberty with what appears to be a gun in her hand, to a Colossus of Rhodes-esque statue towering over the New York skyline.

Beck has taken the title of his book from a political concept of how extreme ideas can become mainstream. Gawker was unimpressed. "Glenn Beck naming his Ayn Rand (another radical fringe lunatic who's been successfully made mainstream over the last 40 years) rip-off novel after the political science theory that made his success possible is just a lovely thought, isn't it?" said the website.

[AUSTRIA] poor little rich boy

From WEIRDNUZ.M156 (News of the Weird, April 4, 2010)
© 2010 by Chuck Shepherd. All rights reserved.

Questionable Judgments

* A recent epiphany caused millionaire Austrian businessman Karl Rabeder, 47, to be depressed about his wealth, and by February, he was in the process of giving it away--an estate worth the equivalent of about $5 million. Two luxury properties are for sale, with proceeds going to charities he established in Central and South America, and he plans to move into a small hut in Innsbruck.

"Money is counterproductive," he told a reporter.  "I had the feeling I was working as a slave for things that I did not wish or need."

(According to London's Daily Telegraph, Rabeder's wife was with him at the time of the epiphany, but the story curiously is silent about her view of his decision.) [Daily Telegraph (London), 2-8-10]

* * * * *
Are you ready for News of the Weird / Pro Edition? Every Monday at http://NewsoftheWeird.blogspot.com and
http://www.WeirdUniverse.net. Other handy addresses:
* WeirdNews at earthlink dot net,
* http://www.NewsoftheWeird.com,
* P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679

What the hell is wrong with me?

I can't stop crying, and I can't figure out why. It's not even really crying for the most part, it's just ... leaking. I'm not upset ABOUT anything, I just keep bursting into tears.

And I want a cigarette. It's been 9 weeks, if I go back now it's permanent. But fuck me, I want one.

How to let go

Youi (@youi_insurance): better customer service rep screening required

Youi recommends Windscreen cover - just in case marauding African pre-teens hit the streets with hand tools. Apparently.

I decided to investigate Youi as an alternative to RACQ, now that I'm not working. 20 minutes on the phone, bingo, 50% off the RACQ cover.

Towards the end of the call, the consultant is offering me additional cover for my windscreen. He cheerfully explains that this will only cost me another ~ $1.50 per month, and that the cover includes all the car's windows, "so you're totally covered, whether it's a passing truck that's flicked up a rock, hail damage, or a little black kid with a hammer."

Sorry... or a what? You did NOT just say "black kid with hammer". Surely not.

so you're totally covered, whether it's a passing truck that's flicked up a rock, hail damage, or a little black kid with a hammer.

OMG. You totally did. You actually said that out loud.

I must have made some sort of noise, because he carried on with his spiel while I sat there with my mouth open, this little voice in my head going, "y'can't say THAT!"

I was going to ring someone, to say WTF?!?, but there's no head office number listed. So Youi, if your cyber-presence is up to it, please have a word with your dickhead employees.

-- Posted from my iPhone via BlogPress app

PICTURES: The Creepiest Children's Books Ever

	HuffPo - PICTURES: The Creepiest Children's Books Ever
	Growing up, we all had at least one book that affected our psyche - some in more positive ways than others.

Dear Politicians: if it's on the Intertubes, it's NOT PRIVATE!!

Why are politicians so clueless?

"Anime is a prime example of why two nukes wasn't enough."

--  New Hampshire State Rep. Nick Levasseur (D-Man.), via Facebook.

"Because one day, seriously, it is actually going to be lupus"

http://www.cafepress.com/electrophonic


-- Posted from my iPhone via BlogPress app

[US] Newborn denied health insurance due to congenital defect

A newborn with a heart defect is denied insurance coverage. The
reason: a pre-existing condition.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/25/2068267/crowley-newborn-with-heart-defect.html#tvg

[VIDEO] Vancouver - Poetry Slam - "I'm a Christian. Sorry."

-- Posted from my iPhone via BlogPress app

wire trash can

wire trash can

Sent from my iPhone

My new bunker paradise...?

For no reason whatsoever, except feeling like a Matt Reilly character, I sooooo want to live in this house! 

Its WAR!

I shall move in here. Every day the schoolbus will back up the driveway, open its back doors, and dump my kids into the big funnel that leads to their rooms.

Wheeee!

Found by: Erin

Loveliest comment, by JMixx: "The original, heavy security doors are built to withstand a 2000 lb blast and are at the underground home entrance."

That's IT! I am DONE with poking my potatoes with a fork before I microwave them.

Sent from my iPhone

[VIDEOS] Wolf Spider with Babies

Oh, this makes my flesh creep, but damn it's cool!




-- Posted from my iPhone via BlogPress app

G Beck strikes again

Re the "attack on social justice"-gate [MAN, I wish that hotel had been named something else]:

Glenn Beck is a tool

.
Anyone committed to the concepts of social justice, be they Christian or otherwise, should understand that misuse of religion in this way is - frankly - obscene, and that non-GOP Christians ("gasp! I thought they were only mythical creatures!") and non-American Christians ("the hWHAT? The heyyyy-eck youuu seh. Nawn, Ah seh, NAWN-Amurkun Chrisjins? Cain't really be Chrisjins though, kin they?") are mostly baffled and distressed by this sort of crap.

If you're interested, there is an online letter/petition (Tell Glenn Beck: I'm a Social Justice Christian
) being assembled on the Sojourners website.

This was my blurb:

I'm someone who not only believes in the biblical call to social justice, but grew up steeped in it.

More, I believe that **opposing** the concepts of social justice... well, it is an obscenely immoral and heretical position for ^anyone^ to take, let alone someone claiming to represent the faithful. False prophets and deceitful leaders don't fare very well in the literature.

How can you possibly claim that the very things Christ said to do (serve the poor, minister to the sick, visit the imprisoned, support the orphans and widows, etc etc) are wrong FOR CHRISTIANS to do?! [Surely not, JUST because Obama said it was a good idea, all with "character-building"-this and "teaching children to put others first"-that? Surely not?]

It's an argument I could maybe "see", coming from an anarchist or a nihilist, but a member of the LDS? The public and self-declared spokesman for "the-party-what's-NOT-evil-socialist-fascist-dictating-totalitarian-hippy-free-love-tree-huggers"?

I believe in God's will for justice in every aspect of our individual, social, and economic lives.

Christie Bradley

Insecure much? How pathetic, to ask a 13yo boy, "Do u want me 4 me or do u want me 4 the sex."

Christie Bradley
Christie Bradley, 39-year-old married mother of two from Waterloo, Missouri, has been arrested for allegedly trying to have sex with a 13-year-old boy. Court documents say the 13 year old (about the same age as her own children) boy told police that Bradley kissed him on the lips at his home on September 19th. He also told police that Bradley communicated with him through Facebook and text messages.

The documents say an investigator started posing as the boy and communicated with Bradley through text messages and several sexually explicit messages were exchanged between Bradley and the undercover agent.

Among them- the agent asked Bradley, "Do I need to get condoms? Or do u have some?" Bradley allegedly replied, "I'll get some. Then u don't have 2 worry bout gettn caught with them. We have 2 use them."

Mrs Bradley also sent boy another message asking, "Do u want me 4 me or do u want me 4 the sex." [...]

Court documents say arrangements were made for Bradley to show up at the teen's home Wednesday for sex. We're told she showed up with lingerie and condoms and was arrested without incident.