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Kansas State condemns chicken toss
AP, Wed Feb 28, 3:35 PM ET

The chicken toss has been declared off limits at Kansas State. For years, Kansas State students have smuggled live chickens into basketball games against Kansas, then thrown them onto the court and behind the opposing bench before tip-off — mocking their rival's Jayhawk mascot.

How does one smuggle a live chicken?

But an animal rights group objected to the mistreatment of chickens, and the school issued an open letter to fans this week calling for an end to the practice.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals responded to the latest incident during a game Feb. 19 by sending a letter to university president Jon Wefald, claiming at least three chickens were thrown on the court during player introductions.

The letter described chickens as "very intelligent and inquisitive animals" that appeared to have been subjected to "deafening noise, bright lights, terror, abusive handling and likely death for the sake of amusement."

Kansas State had said it would not comment on the complaint, but the athletic department issued a statement Tuesday saying it considers live, non-service animals "contraband." Any fans caught with animals or caught throwing any object onto a playing surface will be ejected from the game and could face prosecution.

"These actions severely tarnish the image of our University, its athletics teams and the majority of our outstanding fans and supporters and while viewed by many as harmless pranks, these acts are likely illegal," the letter said.

Said PETA director Debbie Leahy: "Any student who throws live birds on a basketball court should be thrown out of school."

The Jayhawks beat Kansas State 71-62 in the last meeting, running their overall winning streak in Manhattan to 24 games.

Might I suggest rubber chickens.

balloon corps

via 6

Shape Strategic Defense
Address: 1-16A, A2 Zuo Jia Zhuang Rd,
Beijing 100028, China

"Inflatable decoys are the most realistic and flexible decoys available. Our modern dummy targets have advanced pneumatic systems, making their visual signature and other characteristics indistinguishable from the real thing even to the modern detection systems of aircraft or satellites."





"Founded in 1992, Shape International, Inc is a world leader in the research, development and manufacture of simulated military target equipment for the industry. We specialize in inflatable simulated targets satisfying the needs of legitimate defense clients worldwide"

"Utilizing cutting edge camouflage technology, Shape provides its customers with beyond state-of-art simulated target equipment. Innovative development allows Shape to achieve unprecedented unprecedented and extraordinarily realistic camouflage and target simulation for a variety of strategic defense applications."

"Unlike traditional camouflage, the purpose of decoys is not to conceal forces and equipment, but to divert the enemy from the actual target, which is a proactive defensive strategy in modern war."

"Military decoys, simulated or dummy targets, can effectively deceive the enemy, reduce damage to real equipment and fortifications, enhance survivability and gain the initiative in battle."

"In World War II, Allied forces set up more than 500 false cities, bases, airfields and shipyards in the United Kingdom consisting of dummy structures that resembled actual buildings and military equipment. These remarkable dummies, built in remote, uninhabited areas, significantly diminished the damage to actual cities and fortifications by causing the Axis forces to waste their time and resources."

I suppose people who work the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade would be natural recruits.

Are you telling me these balloons wouldn't send an enemy running in absolute terror?

did you feel that ?

"We've all had to make adjustments since the earthquake."
~Ryan Atwood (as played by Benjamin McKenzie) in the series finale of The O.C.

Yeah, it's been rough on everyone Ryan.

With writing like that I'm shocked the show was not renewed for a fifth season.

Earthquake factoid:

"When the movie premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood in 1974, it was shown in "Sensurround" (with heavy bass speakers set on the floor around the theater). During testing, the 1600-watt sound system actually cracked the plaster in the ceiling, so a giant net had to be rigged above the seats to catch any pieces of falling plaster that may have shaken loose during the low bass rumble of earthquake sequences."
~dvdbeaver.com

Sensurround factoid:

"Sensurround is an audio process developed in the 1970s by Universal Studios for the presentation of theatrical movies."

"The much-hyped Sensurround made Earthquake a popular "event" film, but never caught on during the age of budding multiplex cinemas due to disturbances it caused at adjacent theatres. When Earthquake opened in November of 1974, The Godfather, Part II opened the same month, often playing in the next theatre auditorium. Theatre managers were inundated with complaints from audience members, literally shaken, by the bleeding of Sensurround into the theatre exhibiting Godfather II. This disruption was not worth the effort for most theatre owners, nor was the $500 per week Sensurround rental fee charged by Universal."
~Wikipedia

There were only four Sensurround movies made: Earthquake, Midway, Rollercoaster & Battlestar Galactica.

Three actors appeared in two Sensurround films.

Chuck Heston: Earthquake & Midway
Henry Fonda: Midway & Rollercoaster
Lorne Green: Earthquake & Battlestar Galactica

Universal should build Sensurround theaters at its theme parks.

RIP DJ

Former Celtic Dennis Johnson dies at 52
Shira Springer, Boston Globe, 2/22/07

52 years doesn't seem nearly enough.

rain is not news

If the rain brings floods or landslides or it looks like it might keep up for forty days, then it would be news.



According to the National Weather Service (the storm advisory guys) as of 11 PM on 2/22/07, Culver City, CA had received 0.16 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. Local news led with the tales of the deluge.

Michelle Tuzee: "Let's go live to Sid Garcia to see how folks coped with the rain today."
Sid: "I see you have an umbrella."
Pedestrian: "Uh yeah, it's raining."

Great reporting Sid

Michelle Tuzee: "Let's go to Air 7, for a look at that weather."
Air 7: "Yeah, we've got rain everywhere."

Good, I'm glad the Mega Doppler 7000 HD and Dallas Raines (the man was destined to go into weather) had it right.


*note: this photo was taken prior to Doppler 7000 going Mega

Check out Dallas' myspace page. My favorite comment was a birthday greeting left by "Bad Bitches 4 Lyfe".

Breaking the Law

There I was completely wasting, out of work and down
All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town
Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die
So I might as well begin to put some action in my life

Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law

~Judas Priest



California Shopping Cart Theft Law
"Unauthorized removal from premises or unauthorized possession of this shopping cart is a violation of state law. Any removal must be by written permission of store management."

For the first time in my life I took a shopping cart off the premises. The guilt & shame I feel are overwhelming but I'm without a car and I had too many bags to carry. I'm sure the judge has heard it all before, but hopefully my honesty and remorse will be a factor at the sentencing hearing.

I did call the California Shopping Cart Retrieval Corporation (CSCRC), to report my abandoned cart and the three others on the street.

dessert

Just add spoon. You'll probably want a large one.



Why not get two.

the locusts are here, darkness to follow

The mane has surfaced.

Buy Britney's Hair

$1,000,000.00
(minimum offer)

"This is it, the opportunity of a lifetime. You can be the proud owner of Britney Spears' hair, extensions, the Omega clipper used to cut it all off and even the can of Red Bull she was drinking at the time. You also get her blue Bic Lighter and this valuable domain and website to use for publicity purposes. This is the Ultimate Britney Spears Experience! It is a piece of history that can not be duplicated!"

"We are the new Rome."

~Chalmers Johnson, CIA 1967-1973



The birth of the Military Industrial Complex:




Vice President & revolving door heavyweight Dick Cheney.

the locusts will be here any minute

Today, on ABC 7 (KABC, Los Angeles), a UCLA clinical psychologist will offer his expert opinion on Britney Spears' haircut.

Is that really necessary? Why is this still news three days after the haircut? Have little girls started shaving their heads?

Has the mane surfaced?

Continuing coverage of prop 215

Smoked Out
Joint interviews with a medical-pot pharmacist and a neighbor who says, Not in My Schoolyard.
Seven McDonald, LA Weekly, 24/Seven, 2/14/07

"At West Hollywood’s Medical Marijuana Farmacy dispensary on Santa Monica Boulevard, around the corner from Whole Foods and Fountain Day elementary school, Jack Johnson is on the stereo, apple juice and water are set out for the taking, and a sign above the door reads not just “Open,” but “Very Open.” Only slightly disrupting the welcoming atmosphere, a security guardmonitors the scene just in case."

The Great California Weed Rush
How medical marijuana is turning L.A. pot dealers into semilegit businessmen - no beeper required
Vanessa Grigoriadis, Rolling Stone, 2/07

"THC BREATH STRIPS. That's what Daniel is thinking about -- taking some of those gelatinous Scotch-tape thingies that Listermint makes and putting oil made from marijuana trim in them. There's a guy who's good at producing marijuana concentrates, and he figured out how to bind oil to pullulan, the same carbohydrate gel that Listermint uses for its strips. Now a bunch of people are selling the things, in plastic baggies with a sticker reading for medical use only for five or six dollars a strip. Most people recommend taking only one, even though they don't kick in for a long time, because two will knock your dick in the dirt for six to eight hours."

A long time ago . . .

Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination is the first exhibit of its kind that combines costumes and props from all six Star Wars films with real-world technologies, video interviews with filmmakers, scientists and engineers, and two large Engineering Design Labs, where visitors can build and test speeders and robots. Visitors will explore prototypes, learn about the engineers and designers who are creating new technologies, and discover intriguing similarities between how scientists and filmmakers think.

More of the same

life after star wars

"It was an honor just to be nominated"

Meet the Oscars: An Exhibition of 50 Golden Statuettes.

I wouldn't recommend driving out of your way to meet the guys but if you happen to be in the area (Hollywood & Highland Center) it's worth taking a look.


"Don't stop believin'"


"Your Stylish Friend, Beautiful Stick"


"Do not litter! and Pick-up after your dog We have you on camera"

state of the art

avant-garde



How advanced can the prosthetics be if their sign is stenciled?

"Welcome to the Blue Sky of Iran"

Now offering direct flights from Tehran to Caracas Venezuela.

The service is suppose to begin in March. Iran Air does not offer service to any U.S. cities. I am definitely on some sort of government list for sifting and compiling these photos.


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad & Venzuelan President Hugo Chavez

Following a formal ceremony the couple will honeymoon in Tahiti. It is unknown if the couple (both world leaders) will be working while in Tahiti.

Cleopatra was easy

"She, uh, she got around with the Romans."
~Warren Olney, To the Point, KCRW, 2/24/07, on Cleopatra having had 3 sons with Marc Anthony & 1 with Ceasar



Brace yourself.

filthy

Shopping Cart Handles Have More Germs Than Public Restrooms
Arkansas Set to Pass Law Forcing Grocery Stores to Clean Up Their Carts

"Every kid in America teethes on shopping cart handles," said Dr. Chuck Gerba at the University of Arizona. "They don't have the best sanitary habits. … I mean, you're putting your broccoli where their butt was."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will no longer be using the seat compartment. From now on my eggs and bread will have to make it on their own.

To Parents: Please don't let little Timmy stand in the cart's main compartment. His shoes aren't the cleanest.

To the General Public:



Or if you prefer:

castles made of sand

"If sandboxes are not in protected areas, people run their dogs through them," he said. "You don't want kids to take dog waste and put it in their mouths." So when the city (New York City) began refurbishing playgrounds, in the nineteen-eighties, sandboxes were generally phased out.

~Daniel Radosh, The New Yorker, Comeback Sand Men, 1/29/07
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Really makes you want to go to the beach.

goodbye

Vickie Lynn Marshall

Candle in the Wind
By Reginal Dwight & Bernie Taupin

Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the 22nd row
Who sees you as something as more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe

"I'm walkin' yes indeed I'm talkin' "

~Fats Domino



The doctor gave me the go ahead to start walking in the house sans boot. I am still suppose to wear it outside but the crutches went in the trash and were replaced by a cane. The cane they gave me is too small. I'm thinking of replacing it with a Charlton Heston staff.



I took my first steps without the boot at physical therapy yesterday. I was a little shaky but it was the first time I walked on my own since the morning of 10/28/05. Sixteen month round trip. Return in five weeks.

Here's some video of the rebuild in action. ** Fangora Disclaimer **

your space days are over

"I've been drivin' all night, my hand's wet on the wheel
There's a voice in my head that drives my heel
It's my baby callin', says I need you here
And it's half past four and I'm shifting gear"
~Radar Love by Golden Earring

Space shuttle astronaut arrested at OIA on attempted kidnapping, battery charges
Henry Pierson Curtis, Sentinel Staff Writer, 2/5/07

"Nowak -- who was a mission specialist on a Discovery launch last summer -- was wearing a trench coat and wig and had a knife, BB pistol, and latex gloves in her car, reports show. They also found diapers, which Nowak said she used so she wouldn't have to stop on the 1,000-mile drive."

"Nowak's biography shows she is a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis with a degree in aerospace engineering, and a former test pilot who has logged more than 1,500 hours of flight in at least 30 types of aircraft."

"A steel mallet, several feet of rubber tubing and hand-written directions to Shipman's home were recovered from Nowak's car, which was parked at a nearby LaQuinta Inn, reports show."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I realize Ms. Nowak wasn't thinking clearly but why didn't she rent a plane? She could have saved on pampers. Searching for an adult diaper picture lead me to a fetish world I didn't know existed. Even driving 100 mph it would have taken Nowak 10 hours to reach Orlando, she didn't come to her senses during that drive?

For your next road trip, why not buy in bulk?


Adult Diapers Seconds

Price p/lb . . . . . .Weight of Bales* . . . . . .Percentage of usable Diapers**
10 cents . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 lb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Good (50-65%)
20 cents . . . . . . . . . .600-700 lb. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Better (65-80%)
30 cents . . . . . . . . . .650-700 lb. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Best (80-95%)

mmm good

Nothing tastes like giant panda. I could eat it everyday; except for the whole endangered species thing.

Proofreader wanted. Please be very detail oriented.


Togo
(ID Require)

laugh it up fuzzball

The force arrests Chewbacca
A Hollywood wookiee impersonator is accused of head-butting a tour guide. A witness: Superman.
Andrew Blankstein and Bob Pool, LA Times, 1/3/07

"Things like this happen around Chewbacca all the time. I saw him in a fight with a music vendor. They knocked over a baby stroller," Fox said.

"The street performer doesn't have any affiliation with Lucasfilm," said company spokeswoman Lynne Hale. "Nevertheless, we are disappointed that someone dressed as Chewbacca would behave in this way."

Tourists have complained that some costumed characters turn abusive when they refuse to pay them to pose for pictures. Two years ago, actors dressed as superhero Mr. Incredible, Elmo the Muppet and the dark-hooded character from the movie "Scream" were arrested for aggressive begging. More recently, an actor portraying slasher movie favorite Freddie Krueger was taken into custody for allegedly stabbing another man, although no charges were filed.

breakfast mishap

I was digging in the fridge for some tomato to put on my bagel and down went the parmesan. I yelled, "Don't do that!" but the cheese wasn't listening and it tumbled off the shelf and onto the floor. Miraculously, the container landed right side up so they'll be cheese to sprinkle on my pasta.

the long road back

I had my first physical therapy appointment yesterday. I'll be going twice a week to start. The therapist pushed and pulled my leg and foot and had me resist her pressure to see what we have to work with.

Synopsis:

I can raise and lower my foot about a half inch.

I cannot move my foot side to side.

I can wiggle all but my big toe. I cannot curl my toes.

I can straighten my knee completely but I can not bend it fully.

Sound bites:

"Stretch your foot with a towel behind it. Hold it for at least 30 seconds. Stay on the crutches until I can clarify your weight baring status."

". . .there's lots of scar tissue to breakdown . . ."

"What's your goal?"
"To walk without a limp."
"That's a good goal."