hello 911? I am stealing some stuff.

Earlier this week Stefanie Vargas, 19, learned an important lesson in crime-- it is not a good idea to call 911 while in the process of committing theft.

On Sunday morning, Stefanie and an under-age male accomplice two broke into a car at Daytona Beach, Florida. As the two rummaged through the car, one of them managed to accidentally dial 911 on a cell phone.

Unaware that they were being recorded and traced, the two could be heard chit-chatting about the items they were finding and stealing.

Emergency operators were able to locate the origin of the phone call and dispatched the police. When they arrived, the officers found the boy still inside the car.

The two tried to escape by using another car, but were apprehended and arrested. They have confessed to the crime.

http://snipr.com/uircu [www_metro_co_uk]

for more 911 calls, click the "911 emergency" label below or in the label cloud

Related articles

• I told you I was drunk -- but I was too drunk to be telling the truth (mypointless.com)
• car thief steals car to appear in court (mypointless.com)
• cutest 911 call ever... worth a listen! (neatorama.com)
  

Harry Potter in 5 seconds

following the great tradition of "Rocky in 5 seconds" and "Titanic in 5 seconds," here is Harry Potter...


see Rocky in 5 seconds
Titanic in 5 seconds

whew: grave threat averted

The people of Christleton in England can rest well tonight, knowing that they have been protected from a grave threat to their health and safety.

Recently, the Parochial Church Council of St. James Church ordered that all gravestones in the church cemetery be examined for safety. As a result, 181 gravestones were laid down flat, thus eliminating the risk of, well, we aren't sure. Apparently, they are afraid that someone might climb on a gravestone and cause it to fall, thus terminally hurting himself.

The gravestones in question are not all crumbling historic relics. Some are relatively new stones that don't meet the standards of the paranoid persons committee.

Relatives were shocked to find the graves of their loved ones desecrated. The flattened stones each had a note that read, “In the interests of public safety this memorial has been found to be unstable.”

Relatives and friends of the cemetery residents plan to take legal action. Apparently, they are ungrateful for the protection that they have received.

http://snipr.com/ui8ai [www_telegraph_co_uk]

addendum: research shows that people who are not allowed to climb on gravestones generally are not hurt by them.

grave humor (part two)

In keeping with today's news post...






(It says:
Here Lyeth his Loving Wives...

seven winsome wives
some fat some thin
six of them were faithful
but the seventh did him in)

for more cemetery stories and pictures... select the appropriate label below.

sticky tape art

Sticky tape. aka Scotch Tape is a common household/office item that I would never have considered to be a material for art. Here are some items that are made entirely from tape. In some cases, the tape was formed as you see it. In others, the tape was formed to an item, and then the item was removed. Either way, it gives an interesting effect.










original post and for more pictures, see http://snipr.com/uhrp8 [www_telegraph_co_uk]
for more interesting works of art, choose the "art" label below or in the label cloud

more timely medical help

As a public service, my pointless offers more helpful medical items found in the paper:


normally, seven days is longer.


you got prostate problems? Drs. Smith and Wesson can cure you. forever.


but they are deliciously fruity


if you can't speak, move or see, calling 911 might be a problem.

"Bacon: a love story" and other strange book titles (2010 Diagram Prize longer list)

"The Bookseller" magazine has released its list of candidates for the "Diagram Prize" -- an award given to a new book with the strangest title. The list for the past years' books has been narrowed down to six finalists, which are marked with an asterisk below. Here is an abbreviated version of the long list of finalists:

-Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology
-Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter*
-An Intellectual History of Cannibalism
-Bacon: A Love Story
-Budgeting for Infertility
-Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich*
-Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes*
-Curbside Consultation in Cornea and External Disease
-Cute Yummy Time
-Dental Management of Sleep Disorders
-Fluffy Little Kitten in Fluffy's Brother
-Food Digestion and Thermal Preference of Toad
-Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots*
-How YOU Are Like Shampoo: For Job Seekers
-I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears
-Is the Rectum a Grave?
-Map-based Comparative Genomics in Legumes
-Mickey Mouse, Hitler and Nazi Germany
-My Hare Line Meets the Brown Rabbit
-Peek-a-poo: What's in Your Diaper?
-Planet Asthma: Art and Activity Book
-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
-Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Bean Conference
-Soft Drink & Fruit Juice Problems Solved
-The Changing World of Inflammatory Bowel Disease*
-The Origin of Faeces
-The Wild World of Girly Men and Masculine Women - And Why Americans Suffer from So Many Other Idiotic Syndromes!
-What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua?*

The Diagram Prize will be awarded to one of the six finalists. You can cast your vote at this link: http://www.thebookseller.com/

my pointless post of past Diagram winners -- link
the complete long list: http://snipr.com/uh171
via: http://snipr.com/uh17c [today_msnbc_msn_com]

testing the dog shock collar

(One of my favorites from the old America's Funniest Home Videos.)

still more unfortunate business names

for more unfortunate business names, click the "business names" label below or in the label cloud.

the importance of a good safety rope

research: 70% of sorry people aren't sorry

Next time someone tells you that they are "sorry," you probably should not believe them. According to recent research, 70% of people who apologize are not actually sorry. Rather, they are merely saying it to avoid confrontation and conflict.

The study of 4,000 adults also suggests that we are more likely to apologize to strangers than people we know. Women are more likely to apologize than men when they are wrong.

This report (ironically published today) comes at a particularly bad time for Tiger Woods, who is scheduled to make a public apology today for his recent indiscretions.

research report link: http://snipr.com/uf1no [www_express_co_uk]

This report leaves me wondering.... If 70% of the research sample lie when they say "I'm sorry", can we be confident that they told the truth about their lying?

Related articles by Zemanta

• someone angry at you? talk to their right ear (mypointless.com)
• tiger woods will apologize on tv this friday (wwtdd.com)

pelican attacks weatherman

the incredible camouflage art of Lin Bolin (part 2)

Liu Bolin is an amazing Chinese artist who specializes in "camouflage" art. He paints people so that they become seemingly invisible or transparent. The second picture below is so amazing that I had to study it to see the person in it.





Liu Bolin at work...

Related articles by Zemant

• body painting by Liu Bolin- part 1 (mypointless.com)
• the incredible hand art of Guido Daniele (mypointless.com)
• the amazing artistry of Alyssa Monks (mypointless.com)
• amazing: art by Edgar Meuller (mypointless.com)
  

or, for more works of art (good and not so good), click the art label below or in the label cloud

even more animals on the police blotter

for more items from the police blotter, click the "police blotter" label below or in the label cloud.

a brief gallery of (someone else's) awkward family photos (part 2)

Recently, I came upon the Awkward Family Photos blog. Here is part two of the "awkward family photos" that struck me funny for various reasons... :)



link to part one

discontent on the farm: cows in the news

two icons fall in one week (?)

These days it seems that our "heroes" and public figures are too often caught in some sort of scandal. Athletes like Tiger Woods and politicians like John Edwards have disappointed the public with their behavior.

This week, more bad news came in two separate and unrelated news stories:

Robin Hood charged with identity theft.

Ronald McDonald arrested for pot.

Sad, but true.

This week, Robin Hood, 34, was caught trying to shoplift some items from a store in Denver, CO. At that time, police also found a wallet that Robin had used to produce false identification. (That is Robin in the photograph.)

On Monday, 44-year-old Ronald McDonald of Iowa City was arrested for possession and delivery of marajuana after neighbors reported a "strong odor" coming from his residence... and it wasn't the smell of hamburgers.

Robin Hood Story: http://snipr.com/udrp3 [www_denverpost_com]
Ronald McDonald story: http://snipr.com/udrp5 [www_press-citizen_com]
both stories via Obscure Store and Reading Room

To prevent some sort of weird lawsuit for this post, let it be known that the Ronald McDonald of Iowa may be a clown of sorts but not the one that represents McDonald's Hamburgers.

sometimes, computer "grammar checkers" make things worse

Maybe it is time to stop computers from automatically making news stories "politically correct." Here is a story about runner Tyson Gay, who participated in the Beijing Olympics.

more parking problems

in honor of President's Day. (well, sort of...)

President's Day: the day we honor past US Presidents by trying to sell cars. It is also a good day to remember some presidential history. For example....

President Barak Obama was, of course, the first African-American.


Benjamin Franklin, was our first President-who-was-not-a-President.



And this little "fun fact" about President Andrew Jackson...