Dummies Creep Me Out

This recent post on Purgatorio, which I found via Neatorama, reminded me of the Goosebumps Books I used to read, most especially the Night of the Living Dummy Series. These dummies freaked me out then, but I think they freak me out even more now!

Happy Halloween

Jack O' Lantern Facts:
History
Wikipedia -

An Irish legend tells of Jack, a lazy but shrewd farmer who used a cross to trick the Devil, then refused to free him unless he agreed to never let Jack into Hell. The Devil agreed. When Jack died, the Devil wouldn't let him into Hell. So, Jack carved out one of his turnips, put a candle inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He was known as "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-Lantern....
In England, Scotland, and Ireland, there is a long tradition of carving lanterns from vegetables, particularly the turnip, mangelwurzel, or swede. But not until 1837 does jack-o'-lantern appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern,and the carved lantern does not become associated specifically with Halloween until 1866. Significantly, both occurred not in the British Isles, but in North America.
Historian David J. Skal writes,
"Although every modern chronicle of the holiday repeats the claim that vegetable lanterns were a time-honored component of Halloween celebrations in the British Isles, none gives any primary documentation. In fact, none of the major nineteenth-century chronicles of British holidays and folk customs make any mention whatsoever of carved lanterns in connection with Halloween. Neither do any of the standard works of the early twentieth century."

Trivia:

On October 21, 2006, Boston set the World's Record for most Jack O' Lanterns lit at one time - 30,128. Yahoo.

Danger Will Robinson

As of June this year, a list of the safest/most dangerous cities in America.

According to the report, the safest city in America is Brick, N.J, population 76,119 (2000 Census). Wikipedia.

My hometown of Billings, MT (wikipedia) was reported at number 92, while Fort Collins, CO (wikipedia), recently named Money Magazine's Number 1 city in the nation because of its "Great schools, low crime, good jobs in a high-tech economy and fantastic outdoor life..." came in at 139.

Other cities of note include:
98. Madison, Wis
291. St. Paul, Minn.
303. Denver, Colo.
318. Milwaukee, Wis.
345. Minneapolis, Minn

The top five most dangerouns cities:
367. Camden, N.J.
368. Compton, Calif.
369. Flint, Mich.
370. Detroit, Mich.
371. St. Louis

Link via Freakagriep.

Oklahoma: Last State to Legalize Tattooing

OKLAHOMA CITY - The law legalizing tattooing in Oklahoma goes into effect Wednesday and the state Department of Health has been busy fielding questions from people who want to get licenses to practice the ancient art.

Oklahoma was the last state to legalize tattooing.

Requirements for a license include professional experience in tattooing or completion of an approved apprentice program. There is also a standardized test and requirements for certificates in CPR, first-aid and in dealing with bloodborne pathogens.

A surety bond of $100,000 is also required, along with an initial licensing fee of $1,000 and a $500 charge for annual renewal.

Story

Can't Beat the Real Thing

Having effectively spent the last 3+ years of my life in the Twin Cities, I consider myself fairly informed of new fried food trends (I have had fried Snickers and Milky Ways, Alligator as well countless other "on-a-stick" variations). However, this one, which was reported on Yahoo earlier this week, completely caught me off guard...

A new fast food is making its debut at U.S. fairs this fall -- fried Coke.

Story.

The Hills Have Eyes!

Mount Rushmore's got nothing on this amazing natural wonder.
Courtesy of neatorama and google earth.

Notice how the road, or whatever that is, coming up from the bottom gives the impression that the "person" is listening to an iPod.
Also, if you go to the google earth photo, linked above, and you zoom out you will notice that this is very near Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada which, coincidentally, is directly north of my home state, Montana. Now, wasn't that a fun fact?!
Enjoy.

galilee

How bout this...Jesus used to see this same type of scene...the sun setting over the Sea of Galilee...

The Reason I'm a History Major

My love of history started at a very young age. I spent many of my days at my grandma's house where I would spend the morning watching Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street and dozens of different old cartoons, including Rocky and Bullwinkle. One of the "skits" which frequently showed up on Rocky and Bullwinkle was Peabody's Improbably History in which Mr. Peabody and his side-kick Sherman travelled back in time using their "WABAC (Wayback) machine." They travelled to all kinds of different events in history; Ancient Greece and Rome, the American and French Revolutions and even the Battle of the Little Bighorn. There were also all kinds of clever jokes added into the show, for instance, in the episode where they visited the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Mr. Peabody pointed out "Custer's Last Stand" which was a hot dig stand...

Later on in life came Histeria...



This show took an even more hilarious look at history. Using its many characters as well as cameos by historical figures to explain historical events. If it comes out on DVD in time I just might consider using it as a teaching tool in my classroom. Amazingly, you can watch episodes for free at AOL's In2TV.

happy thoughts...

In the Senate office, there's a list of "Happy thoughts" on one of the white boards. Here's my list of thoughts (feel free to add to it)...

"real" dogs (no chihuahua's or little ugly yappy ones)
hot apple cider
roller coasters
trains
ice cream (eating a pint of it at a time!)
sailboats
hockey
making fun of modern art
goats (someone pointed out to me how funny they are)
Tom and Jerry
skipping class (hehhe...er...just kidding)
coffee!!!
getting a package in the mail...or getting any mail at all!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the movies)
frisbees
stilts (have you ever walked on stilts? my dad made me some when I was "little"...fun!)
ewoks
reading backwards
Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham
swing music
mountains
motorcycles
Five Iron Frenzy
words like "homoleguemena"

(it's not completely complete, but here are a few things that make me smile...and it doesn't usually take a lot).

a lesson in balance...

Think riding a motorcycle takes balance? Try it the way these people do it!

Note to Self...

...Don't come to school dressed as Captain Underpants.

Three high-school seniors in California were sent home after they came to school dressed as Captain Underpants on "Superhero Day." Story

A similar phenomena occurred a couple of weeks ago during homecoming week when we had Superhero Day as one of our Spirit Days.

In the News.

Toddler Gets Stuck in Vending Machine

Three-year-old Robert Moore went fishing for a stuffed replica of Sponge Bob and ended up trapped in a vending machine. The toddler's adventure began with a Saturday evening shopping trip with his grandmother, Fredricka Bierdemann, and three siblings.

Bierdemann ended the trip by giving each child a dollar and telling them to have fun in a retailer's game room.

A stuffed Sponge Bob in a vending machine's bin caught Robert's eye. He tried without success to fish it out with a plastic crane.

"I told him I could get it for him," his grandmother said. "He's a character. He said, 'Oh no, I can get it.'"

When she turned her back to get another dollar for a second try, Robert took off his coat and squeezed through an opening in the machine. He landed in the stuffed animal cube.

Pelican Swallows Entire Pigeon Live

Families strolling through a London park were left shocked when a pelican picked up and swallowed an unsuspecting pigeon.

The Eastern White pelican struggled with the desperately frantic pigeon in its beak for more than 20 minutes before swallowing it whole.

The moment was caught on camera by photographer Cathal McNaughton, who was taking pictures of the wildlife in St James's Park.

The pigeon was still alive when it reached the pelican's stomach, he said.

Courtesy of YouTube; LEGOS!

Michael Jackson's Thriller - It's pretty long, I would advise fast forwarding about 7 or 8 minutes.



Monty Python's Knights of the Round Table



Les Miserables



This one is kinda weird, but I have to admit its also amazing! All of the Dead

Montana Principal Gives Wedgie

According to articles on Yahoo and The Livingston Enterprise, a principal in Livingston, MT has returned to work after giving a student a 'wedgie' earlier this month.
The articles state that Eric Messereli got caught in the moment at a school soccer game, and was horsing around with the student when he pulled his soccer jersey over his head and then proceeded to tug on the elastic wasteband of the boys underwear.
This is a very interesting story. Obviously Messereli went too far in his rowdiness with this student, but how far is too far?

Full Stories:
Yahoo
Livingston Enterprise

Sean Connery's Got Nothing on This Guy.

Could the former James Bond have done this?

A 70-year-old British pensioner, trained in martial arts during his military service, dispatched a gang of four would-be muggers in a late-night attack in Germany.

We'd all like to think so, but honestly, I wonder if he was really just acting tough in all those movies.

Full Story.

Food For Thought: October 24, 2006

German Ingenuity

I found this site through mental_floss which shows even more useful ways to get every penny out of those everyday items that you might have otherwise thrown away. I don't know how serious this is because the site is completely in German, here is the site.
And here are a few of my favorites...

For the hard of hearing:


For when you learn how to swim and don't need them anymore:


For a cheap costume, or if you just really like looking like a vampire (those are plastic fork tines):


In case you have a cold:



And the creapiest one of all! When you want your baby to stop using a pacifier? ouch.

Food For Thought: Alvin and the Chipmunks

Hit the link to find out what the Alvin and the Chipmunks recording sessions really sounded like...this is insane?!
Alvin and the Chipmunks

The Cut-throat World of Pro Sports

In game two of the World Series last night Fox highlighted the fact that Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers had some brown substance on his hand. What was this substance? The world will probably never know. Did the substance give him some kind of unfair advantage? The answer, in my opinion, is a resounding NO!
In the first inning Rogers pitched a walk to Albert Pujols and allowed a single by Scott Rolen, and that was with the "smudge." After cleaning it off between innings he was able to pitch SIX hitless innings. Does that look like an unfair advantage? He pitched WORSE when he had the smudge.
Here is my theory, prior to the game Rogers was doing his pre-game warm up and was stretching out on the field. It had rained in Detroit, and there was a chance of more rain and snow during the game, therefore when he leaned down to do his stretches he braced himself against the ground and may have gotten a bit of mud on his hand. Its as simple as that, but instead of giving the guy the benefit of the doubt all these sports analysts cry foul and say that he was cheating in some way.
For more information go here or here.

In other sports related news; yesterday Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was injured when linebacker E.J. Henderson rolled into his knee. At the time, I thought nothing of it; it just seemed like a part of the game, something that happens when you play at the highest level. Then, this morning I was watching a show on ESPN called "Cold Pizza." The show is a lot like Sportscenter but is based more on the format of an early morning network news show. One of the segments that they do every morning is called First and 10 and features sports analysts Skip Bayless and Woody Paige. Generally I find myself disagreeing with Skip Bayless, and that was definitely the case this morning. According to Bayless, Henderson injured Hasselbeck on purpose and that this was a malicious action intended to injure the quarterback. Frankly, I don't think so. If you look at the video, Henderson begins to look downfield as Hasselbeck throws the ball, as he turns to look downfield he is hit from the side by a Seahawks lineman, momentum forces him to the ground where he tries to stop himself, in my opinion, from running into Hasselbeck. Unfortunately, his foot slips and he does roll into Hasselbeck's knee, but come on, there is no way he did that on purpose!

Turn Right NOW!

In the last month two German motorists have crashed their cars because instead of watching the road they followed their on board navigation systems.

October 10:

AN 80-year-old German motorist has obediently followed his navigation system all the way into a huge pile of sand, abrubtly bringing his trip to an end.

The motorist ignored a motorway "closed for construction" sign and crashed his Mercedes into a pile of sand further down the road, police have said.

"The driver was following the orders from his navigation system and even though there was a sufficient number of warnings and barricades, he continued his journey into the construction site," a police spokeswoman has said.

October 22:

A German motorist followed the command "Turn right now!" from his navigation system and crashed into a small toilet hut by the side of the road -- about 30 metres (yards) before the crossing he was meant to take.

The overly obedient 53-year-old from Freiburg drove his sport utility vehicle off the road onto into a building site, up a stairway and into the small toilet shack, police in the eastern town of Rudolstadt said on Sunday.

Modern technology is great, but sometimes you have to pay attention to your God given senses; ie - sight.

Believe it!

Sometimes I feel like people don't believe me when I tell them about certain things...
Case in point - Biker Mice From Mars

Homeward Bound...well, sort of.

Do you remember the movie Homeward Bound? It was, unfortunately, one of my favorite movies when I was growing up. Although I think I only watched it a few times (which for me is pretty remarkable, just ask my parents) since we didn't ever own it.
Anyways, I found a news story this afternoon which reminded me of that movie, if it had been just a bit more high-tech. Apparently a dog was seperated from it's family, traveled around 1400 miles (from California to Texas - who knows how it got that far) and was found by a good samaritan who, through the use of a micro-chip implant, was able to discover the true owners. The dog was then flown back to California and reunited with its owners. Quite amazing if you ask me...
Full Story

If you're interested in things travelling inexplicably long distances you should check out this story about a message in a bottle.

remember PETA?

"PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk has described her group’s overall goal as “total animal liberation.” This means no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no wool, no leather, no hunting, no fishing, and no pets (not even seeing-eye dogs). PETA is also against all medical research that requires the use of animals."

The group fights against Six Flags having a cochroach eating contest (as posted earlier by Cameron) yet they killed over 90 percent of the animals collected in 2005 (according to petakillsanimals.com). It's hard to know exactly what to think of a group that is so bizarre to begin with, but then also seems to lack any sort of consistent message. Check out the website...

Gotta Love Con-Artists

Li Jie, who describes himself as chief executive of the Lunar Embassy to China and once tried to sell land on the moon, sought a permit to sell "World Cup air" for 50 yuan (3 pounds) a bag to football enthusiasts unable to make the trip to Germany this year.

I've heard of buying sand, among other things, from different places around the world, but honestly who would buy AIR, unless you're a Spaceball.

Full story.

A Tale of Two Steaks

Ever since this summer I have been a HUGE fan of Philly Cheese Steaks (thanks Jeff!). Anyhow, when I saw this story it first made me salivate for one of these Eastern Pennsylvania delicacies and then second made me laugh just a little bit.

Mornings at Grandma's House

I was recently reminded of the Gumby theme song. This led me to search for said theme song on YouTube. I did. This reminded me of many mornings spent at Grandma's house when she used to babysit me. Dang it, now I want some homemade vegetable soup!

You Can't Take it With You

Baseball fanatics won't have to leave behind their beloved teams when they finally go to that big stadium in the sky. Instead, they'll soon be able to rest in peace inside a coffin with team colors and insignia.
Each urn will be stamped with a message saying Major League Baseball officially recognizes the deceased as a lifelong fan of that team.

Death is apparently becoming a big business in this country, and its really not that surprising when you think about it. If a person has no "hope" in eternal life than it becomes necessary to make some indelible mark on the planet that they populated for a short time. To me it is just sad that a person would have to stoop low enough to purchase a burial urn which commemorates their love of a particular sports team. According to the article, this is only the beginning, very soon the company is going to try and move into even bigger markets including the NFL, NHL, and Nascar. It goes on to state that the company, Eternal Image, "wanted to break into a sports venue of some kind." Well isn't that special.

Pope John Paul II Becomes Latest Cartoon Prince

Get ready for the Christmas movie of the year!
An upcoming documentary about Pope John Paul II, to be released by the Vatican later this year, will include a 30 minute cartoon at the beginning.
According to this article on Yahoo, the cartoon opens with the late Pope's diary and quill pen discussing his absence that night. It continues the next morning with two pigeons informing the quill, named Simona, and the diary, Matteo, that the pope had passed away.
What an odd premise.

I will never understand

I will never understand the fashion industry; from a Wedding Dress made out of Cream Puffs to a fashion show focusing on, literally, fruity food.
According to dictionary.com the definition of fashion, in this context, is, "1. a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing, etc" and "2. conventional usage in dress, manners, etc., esp. of polite society, or conformity to it." I, personally, see neither of these illustrated by the two articles above. Nor do I see them illustrated in shows like Project Runway (which I have only watched once, by mistake...obviously). Instead, "fashion" in modern culture, has become art, it is a way of expressing yourself through seeing how little fabric you can glue to someone's body and still get away with a public show, and nowhere has the world of fashion been lampooned better than in the clip below.


As you can see, fashion is about everything and at the same time it is about nothing...and apparently consistency is not important. Interesting.

doggie

The Scoop on Poop

''There sure are a lot of interesting things about poop,'' said a blushing Joyce Picard, 32, as her children ran around the exhibit.

A new exhibit called "The Scoop on Poop" opened this week at the Miami Metrozoo. The exhibit, mostly for kids, takes a look at that oh so popular playground subject; poop.
Here's a brief look at what you might expect to find, if you are in the Miami area between now and January;
Colorful graphic panels, three-dimensional models and interactive components in a 5,000-square-foot indoor exhibition room feature smelly facts, real-life stool samples, and all kinds of poop trivia from ''Who Dung it?'' to ``Test Your No. 2 IQ.''

October 13, Food For Thought

The Executive Coloring Book

a new battlecry

Do you know why you can't tickle yourself? (I just learned this). It's impossible because your brain is able to send a message saying exactly when and with what force your fingers are going to "attack." And so, the element of surprise--which is necessary for the desired laughing reaction to occur--is erased from the equation, therefore changing the reflex completely. You don't laugh, you don't even flinch, you just look like you have some sort of itch that you can't get rid of. There's still a problem in "real" tickling though--you don't know exactly when and with how much force someone else will come at you, so your body panics, and the laughing is the form of release this panic chooses. Therefore, it is not "happy" laughing, or sounds of joy and fun...it is a verbal spasm to combat the physical onslaught known as "tickling." Now, when I get tickled, I will appropriately shout, "tickling induces panic! STOP!"

Yes, Montana Has a Speed Limit!

I'm tired of hearing, "Montana has no speed limit, right?" (Griep...)
And now, tonight on the Colbert Report, Governor Brian Schweitzer was the guest. Stephen Colbert's first remark to him was, "I gotta say, I love Montana, no speed limit!" Of course, Gov. Schweitzer set the record straight right away, but honestly, Montana has HAD a speed limit on the Highways since about a year before I first got my Driver's License (2002), and the idea that there is still no speed limit is starting to get kind of annoying.
Get over it people! Even when there was no speed limit, there still was, it was "Reasonable and Prudent" meaning that in order to ensure that you were not pulled over you had to be driving in a safe manner.

salad...the healthy choice

Which one of these things doesn't belong? Which one of these is not like the other?

Did you find it? It's like Where's Waldo...only greener and slimier than ever, and more taboo!

Gives new meaning to frog-eye salad (which, incidentally, I never really liked anyways).

I've got nothing more to say at this point.

I wish this show was out on DVD.

Greatest Coach in NFL History Still Remembered in New Jersey

According to a recent article on mental_floss.com there is a a rest area in New Jersey name in honor of the Greatest NFL coach EVER, that's right Vince Lombardi.
The Vince Lombardi Service Area is located at milepost 116E along the New Jersey Turnpike.
According to mental_floss, the Service Area was built in recognition of the coach's first coaching job at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, NJ.
Be sure to stop there for; Burger King, Nathan's Hotdogs, Dickey's Barbecue Pit Express, Cinnabon or some lottery tickets!

Today's Food For Thought

If guns are to blame when people are killed; then pencils are to blame when words are misspelled.
-Provided by Matt Griepentrog

Don't You Eat that Cockroach!

An animal rights group called Tuesday for a North American theme park operator to cancel a competition in which people will try to break the world cockroach-eating record.

Theme park operator Six Flags Inc, based in New York, is staging the contest as part of a promotion leading up to Halloween in which it is also offering customers free entry or line-jumping advantages if they eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it had been flooded with calls from children, adults and even anonymous employees of Six Flags opposing the record-breaking contest and the overall promotion.

"Insects do not deserve to be eaten alive especially for a gratuitous marketing gimmick," PETA spokeswoman Jackie Vergerio told Reuters.

I think instead of worrying about the cockroach they need to worry about the person eating it. Whoever would eat one of those things has some serious issues.

The article continues...

Competitors will try to break the current world record, which is held by Ken Edwards of Derbyshire, England, who devoured 36 Madagascar hissing cockroaches in one minute in 2001.

However Six Flags spokesman James Taylor said the only complaints the company had received were from people who did not have the opportunity to sign up and eat a cockroach because

only 12 of its 30 parks in the United States, Canada, and Mexico were participating in the promotion.

Taylor dismissed any health concerns, saying the cockroaches were raised in a sterile environment and were as safe to eat as shrimp or lobster with high nutritional value.

Madagascar hissing cockroaches are large, wingless cockroaches that can grow to between 1.5 to 3 inches.

Taylor said no one who had indulged in this rare delicacy had complained.

"It's something that's supposed to be scary, it's icky, it's gross, it's Halloween fun and it's just one small part of the haunted houses and thrilling rides going on."

It seems to me that PETA is grasping for publicity with this one.
For more information on the hissing cockroach, wikipedia.

7:11 PM

In a recent Yahoo article I discovered that the Chicago White Sox next year will start their home games at 7:11 PM. This comes from a new endorsement deal that the Baseball team has entered into with the 7-Eleven corporation.
According to the article the games generally start at 7:07 PM, so this is not much of a difference. Frankly, I think this idea is ridiculous.
Discuss.

Snakes on a Plane Not Such a Bad Idea After All

Maybe they NEED snakes on planes...

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2006/07/mice_on_a_plane.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2006-09-29-hamster_x.htm

Keep This Lady Locked Up!

Bulgarian Officials need to keep this lady locked up before she kills again.
Conversely, what was the husband doing letting her back into his home? If my future wife were to kill our son, or anyone for that matter, I think I would have a hard time taking her back. I'm not saying that the husband deserved this, but what was he thinking?

I'm back; Sunscreen Gets a Facelift!

Well, it's been almost two months since I have posted anything on this blog. Believe me, I am just as disappointed as you are!
I have recently been inspired by one of my good friends, who recently started his own, rather political blog (freakagriep.blogspot.com). In response to, and in recognition of this, I have decided to give DFYS a facelift. Everyday I will do my best to bring you, the reader, the oddest, most obscure, most fun or just plain weirdest thing that I can find.

Food for thought:
Sir Isaac Newton was an "anti-trinitarian."