Friday, May 28, 2010

Art Linkletter: he was so good, he made us glad to be sick

When I was a kid, Art Linkletter's TV show was on while I was in school.  So, one of the few things I liked about being sick (and one of the nice things about school vacation) was that I got to see his show.

The world lost a great man yesterday.  Thanks, Art.  You made our childhood a little nicer.


be sure to see the very end of this clip.:)

another brief gallery of interesting angles






for a similar post- link

Thursday, May 27, 2010

more motorcycle safety






what is wrong here?  (do you see the child on the cycle?)




first two pictures via failblog.org
fourth picture via thereIfixedit
for more motorcycle posts, click the "motorcycle" link below or in the label cloud

more headines of the ironic









Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Van Halen and brown M&Ms

Back in the 1980s, the performance contract for the classic rock group Van Halen contained Article 126. Among a list of requirements and procedures demanded by Van Halen, Article 126 said,

“There will be no brown M&Ms in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation.”

I remember hearing about Article 126 years ago-- and thought that it was a perfect example of a bunch of self-absorbed, self-important rock stars. After all, it seemed like a pretty frivolous demand.

I don't think that any more.

Van Halen played dozens of concerts each year. Each concert required very specific technical details: electrical capacity, sound and light settings... 18 truckloads of equipment needed to be set-up perfectly because the group wanted to be sure that every part of the show ran smoothly.

So, why the M&Ms? When David Lee Roth arrived at the concert site, he would check the M&Ms. If all the brown ones had been removed, he could be confident that the people in charge of the venue read the contract had paid attention to all the details. If there were no M&Ms at all... or if there were some brown ones in the mix, he knew that they probably missed other important details in the set-up.

I have gone from thinking that David Lee Roth was something of a jerk to appreciating his savvy and oversight of details. I am still not a fan of the music style, but I am impressed with the thinking. (I am sure that David will be relieved to know that my opinion of him changed on this. :) )

From In Other Words newsletter April 2010, Issue 3, citing FastCompany March 2010, p.36.


new bouncy-bridge thrill-ride opens in Russia. then closes.

This bridge recently opened in Volgagrad, Russia. When as strong wind struck, the bridge started bouncing 3 feet. The bridge is now closed and officials are looking for answers.

story http://snipr.com/ws9ho [www_metro_co_uk]

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

caught by a tattooed lip

memo: if you have unusual words tattooed on your face and decide to rob someone, you probably should consider wearing a mask that covers your tattoo.

On April 19, an Elvis impersonator named Robert Segura reported that his home had been robbed by two men who were carrying swords and knives. Segura said the men were wearing masks, but the mask didn't cover a distinctive tattoo on one of the men. The tattoo said, "East Side" and was located over the robber's top lip.

Seven days later, Anthony Brandon Gonzales was arrested for unrelated offenses-- and the police immediately noticed the mustache sized tattoo on his upper lip that said, East Side. (He also has the number 13 in the shape of a goatee on his chin.)

So, while Gonzalez was in Pueblo County (Colorado) prison, being held for the first charges, he was rearrested for the April 19th robbery. He is now being charged with an additional count of first-degree burglary.

http://snipr.com/wqtqp [www_chieftain_com]

a family feud classic


Monday, May 24, 2010

creative license plates





four handed guitar.


for another great guitar, link
or for more guitar posts, click the "guitar" label below

Friday, May 21, 2010

problem (de)solved: what to do with a wedding dress after the wedding is over.

If you have recently been married or ever watched the television program "Say Yes to the Dress" you know that wedding dresses can be quite expensive ($2,000 to $50,000 or more).

But what happens to the dress after the wedding? Sell it? Store it? Save it for the future? Let's face it, a wedding dress is not very useful after the honeymoon starts.

Well, this week some British researchers came up with the perfect solution: just dissolve it in water.

The newly developed wedding dress fabric is white and elegant enough for a wedding dress (see picture right). However, after the wedding, the dress can be soaked in water and the fabric will dissolve, creating a mixture that is environmentally safe. Just flush it down the toilet or pour your dress down the drain. Presto. No more wedding dress to box up and store.

The problem, of course, is that this fabric could be a huge problem if the wedding is outdoors and it starts to rain... or if she dribbles a little champagne on it.

http://snipr.com/wl8c9 [www_telegraph_co_uk]

fyi- The most expensive wedding dress (as yet, unpurchased) has 150 carats of diamonds. If you would like to purchase it, you can pick it up for a mere $12 million.
http://snipr.com/wl8kg [most-expensive_net]
http://snipr.com/wl8fg [thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast_com]

at the carwash: stay in your car


Thursday, May 20, 2010

temp signs with something to say




denture cleaning slightly higher


Prescott High School hads a brand new sine.





from the classifieds: unusual items for sale








for more unusual classified ads, click the "classifieds" label below or in the label cloud

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

slideshow: tongue tattoos

some humorous, some creative, some disgusting... but I still don't get it.


for more many more tattoos of interest, click the "tattoo" label below or in the label cloud

for the love of sport: these athletes are inspiring

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

man faces jail time for catching robbers on his own property (sort of)

Last week, a man in Wilson, NY trapped two teenagers who were stealing things from his garage.

The man had been robbed before, so, he purchased video cameras to protect his property. One morning, while watching the closed circuit TV, the 42-year-old man saw the teenagers enter his garage. Immediately, he grabbed a pistol and a bat and went with his brother to stop the burglary.

The two men cornered the teenagers and called the police while they held the teens at bay. The police arrived and arrested the boys for third-degree burglary and criminal mischief.

However, the police undoubtedly are more interested in what the boys were trying to steal-- they were trying to steal a couple of the 51 marijuana plants that the men had growing in the garage. The two geniuses had not considered the ramifications of the police entering a garage full of illegal weed.

In addition to facing charges for marijuana possession and trafficking, the Einstein brothers will probably face assault charges for striking one of the boys with the bat.

I guess they taught those teens a lesson. Nice going.

http://snipr.com/wfx5v [www_buffalonews_com]

SEPTEMBER!!! by Earth Wind and Fire (PomplamooseMusic)

I'm posting this video for four reasons...
1. They have talent. I like their sound (I'll even buy their new album.).
2. The grandmother is fun to watch.
3. The last minute is worth seeing.
4. The singer (Nataly) looks so much like my daughter that it is truly spooky. :)


for more of them link

Monday, May 17, 2010

the woman with two left feet-- and more photoshop problems

(Actual published pictures.)


The ad is for a photographer named Andric. "No detail is overlooked, which is reflected in his photographs and retouching." Ironic that the term "reflection" is used.




the dog must have eaten it.


the Turkish Airlines front-end hover craft


where would her elbow have to be to get her massive hand to look like that? shall we mention how realistic the jewelry looks?

via photoshop disasters blog

for more posts of photoshop problems, click the "photoshop problems" link below


hot dog parking

Friday, May 14, 2010

Mr. Smith changes to a true manly-man name

Richard Smith. That is a pretty bland, non-descriptive name. It isn't a bad name, but admittedly, it doesn't have a lot of punch or pizazz.

That is why Richard Smith, 51, of Carlisle, UK recently changed his name to Stormhammer Deathclaw Firebrand.

That is unusual, but Mr. Firebrand is certainly not the first to change his name to something with a little more flash. For example metro.co.uk listed some other interesting name-changes in the UK:

---Gary Fisher of Dorset changed his name to McLovin.

---Daniel Westfallen from Essex changed his name according to whatever was drawn out of a hat by his friends. His new official name is Happy Adjustable Spanners.

---John Anthony Westood of Portsmouth wanted to support his favorite soccer team, so, he now has the name John Anthony Portsmouth Football Club Westwood.

---Aron William James Brown, 25, was inspired by the Lion King, a certain TV-detective, The Fonz (from TV's Happy Days), and his favorite handheld game. Now, his official name is:
Aron Mufasa Columbo Fonzerelli Ball In A Cup Boogie Woogie Brown. (Boogie Woogie was added to be whimsical.)

And finally,
---Chris Brewer of Grimsby changed his name to: Tintin Captain Haddock Confused Brewer.

http://snipr.com/w83dh [www_metro_co_uk]
http://snipr.com/w83en [www_metro_co_uk]

For more strange name posts on my pointless, try these:

--You can call me Al. http://snipr.com/w83qw [www_mypointless_com]
--Real Names of Real People http://snipr.com/w8430 [www_mypointless_com]

For more on odd names and unfortunate name combinations, click the "names" label below or in the label cloud.

like a ton of bricks...

Thursday, May 13, 2010

more redneck auto repair










via thereIfixedit.com
for similar posts, click the "redneck" label below or in the label cloud

take a closer look: contradictory advertising

Sometimes, if you look a little closer, you'll find that advertisements are self-contradicting. For example...

Boar's Head Meats says "you won't find Boar's Head delicatessen meats just anywhere. Because Boar's Head isn't just any delicatessen meat..."


but later on, in the same ad, there is a list of the "exclusive" places where you can get Boar's Head:


This auto broker says that the pictured 1966 Chrysler Crown Imperial Convertible is the "only one known to be in existence."


um, that is, unless you happen to look further down the same page...



Wednesday, May 12, 2010

girl gets a week detention -- for a piece of candy

We can be thankful for diligent leaders who are out to protect our children from the dangers that no one else sees.

For example, this week, a third-grader in Texas was given a one week detention from school for breaking a school policy: she was in possession of a single green Jolly Rancher (a small piece of candy).

You see, a Jolly Rancher has sugar. Sugar is junk food. Junk food is bad. We must protect our children from such vile sweetness.

The detention means that the girl will have to be separated from her friends during recess and lunchtime for a week. The school administrators apparently feel that sugar is bad for the girl -- but see no problem with the insult of separating her from her friends for a trivial thing and making her a public spectacle for having a piece of candy. (It seems like such a good idea to give a third-grader guilt over having a piece of penny-candy.)

I wonder if it occurred to them to simply ask her to put the candy away until she got home and asked her parents if it was okay to eat. Oh, wait. Never mind.



for similar posts, click the "overprotection" label below or in the label cloud.
story link

'scuse me, what are your hours?

that is a speedy lunch.

and the breakfast special is daily except from 5am to noon.

(that is in dog hours)


easy to remember the schedule.