Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Welsh Rarebit vs. Welsh Rabbit

The OED establishes that the original name of the food was "Welsh rabbit", and mentions "Welsh rarebit" only as an "etymologizing alteration of [the preceding]. There is no evidence of the independent use of rarebit". The source is not exactly known, but most likely was originally a slur. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was common to use the adjective "Welsh" to mean inferior quality, even implying counterfeiting. In a society where most people could snare a rabbit for the cooking pot, a Welshman was considered by some people so hopelessly feckless that cheese melted with beer would have to substitute.

Vivid nightmares are famously attributed to overindulgence in Welsh rabbit. This is probably due to the gastrointestinal irritation many experience after consuming a large amount of dairy products.

This phenomenon is immortalized in Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend, a series of comic strips written and drawn by Little Nemo creator Winsor McCay beginning in 1904. Each strip portrayed a nightmare experienced by a protagonist, a rarebit fiend who had made the poor choice of consuming too much rarebit before bedtime. There was also an episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. in which the Welsh Rabbit that Gomer consumes causes him to sleepwalk and verbally attack Sergeant Carter.

I remember when Licorice was 10 cents for three pieces!

I hate Rite-Aid. It's crazy ghetto. But I was all out of herpes medicine, and so had to bite my tongue and stock up. Then wonder of wonders - I saw a sign for 12 cent candy bars! It was Hershey's Special Edition Chocolate Cookie Take 5 with Chocolate cookie, caramel, peanuts, penaut butter and milk chocolate. I scooped up the remaining 4 bars, then complained to the woman with the huge fingernails about the high price of herpres medicine.

Yesterday's menu

Breakfast:
Chinese dumplings
2 cups coffee

Lunch:
About 20 cookies consumed over a period of 4 hours

Dinner:
2 hot pockets; one ham and cheese flavor, one pizza flavor

Proud moments in religious thought and action


Former Roman Catholic priest Oliver O'Grady, convicted in 1993 on four counts of lewd and lascivious acts on minors, granted filmmaker Amy Berg unlimited access.

During the film, O'Grady details how he preyed on children, how the Diocese of Stockton, California, knew about the abuse, and how O'Grady claims church officials allowed him to abuse children for two decades by moving him from parish to parish instead of removing him from ministry.

"I want to promise myself this is going to be the most honest confession of my life," O'Grady said in the film. "And in doing that, I need to make a long journey back, understanding what I did and to acknowledge that. And in some ways make reparations for that."

The filming of O'Grady takes place in Dublin, Ireland, where he is now a free man after serving seven years in prison. The former priest was deported to his native Ireland after his release.

Chilling scenes

Some of the most chilling scenes show O'Grady as he freely walks the streets of Dublin. At one point the former priest views an art display near little children and peers over the fence of a children's playground.

O'Grady said he started abusing children when he arrived in California in 1976 and spent time in the home of parishioners who had a 5-year old daughter named Ann.

"Ann Jyono," O'Grady recalled. "Little Ann was one of the first people I met there."

Ann Jyono and her parents are interviewed in the film. At one point Bob Jyono recalls the emotional breakdown his family went through, when they realized years later that Oliver O'Grady had molested his daughter while a guest in his home.

Prayers by day, rape by night

"He was in here saying morning prayers, during the nighttime he's molesting my daughter," a tearful Bob Jyono said in the film. "Raping her," he continues, "not molesting her -- raping her. At 5 years old. How can that happen? That's just what he did."

Records show church officials knew about O'Grady's alleged molestation as far back as 1976. Church officials did not tell police about prior abuse when O'Grady was being investigated for abuse in 1984.

In a deposition, Monsignor James Cain, one of O'Grady's superiors, tried to explain why he did not tell police about the earlier allegations.

"Certainly I knew the one in '76 took place but didn't put the two together," Cain said. "One was a girl -- inappropriate touching, the other was a boy. So I just didn't hook them up in my own mind."

Monsignor Cain was being deposed about the 1984 allegations in a lawsuit against the Diocese of Stockton, which was led at the time by Roger Mahony currently Archbishop of Los Angeles.

It was during this time O'Grady was moved for a second time, to a remote parish in San Andreas, California, where the abuse allegedly continued.

In February of 2004, Cardinal Mahony issued a report to his faithful on more than seven decades of clergy sexual abuse in Los Angeles. Mahony said he did not fully understand the nature of pedophilia. He did not believe offenders, once confronted, would offend again. He admits that was a mistake.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/06/27/griffin.priestabuse/index.html

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Daily fantasy art

As Secularists Sleep, the Zealots Take Over

He's talking about Somlia here, but don't think for a second it can't mean anything here.

Everywhere you turn, you are either reading or hearing on TV or radio that the rout of the Somali warlords in Mogadishu by the Islamic Courts Union came as "a surprise".

The warlords are now dispersed to the far corners of Somalia, leaving the American project of backing their Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism in tatters. There are many who are mourning the fact that the Islamic fundamentalists have won, saying that we are all in danger now. It's not that simple.

What we are witnessing is not the triumph of religious fundamentalism, but the crisis of secularism. Those of us who consider ourselves secularists, the fellows who believe in the separation of religion and state, bear the blame for letting the cause crumble in disgrace.

Where secularists have risen to power in Africa and other parts of the Third World promising great change, many have ended up being maniacal butchers and thieves. We have let cherished freedoms degenerate into a bottomless pit of immorality and excess. Which is fine, except that we also don't expect to pay a price for it.

We allow a hedonistic life, but when our footsoldiers return home wrecked by booze, drugs, and other excesses, we shut the doors of our homes in their faces. We don't even admonish them.

Meanwhile, the fundamentalist mosques and churches take them in, chastise and even flog some, then get them to publicly renounce their waywardness and reward them for abandoning "sin". The Islamist are popular because, among other things, they came down hard on Somalia's criminal gangs, chopping off the hands of robbers, and publicly executing rapists.

Latter 20th century secularism's abhorrence of the hangman, on the other hand, has gradually led it to underestimate how much the victims of violent robbery, rape, and the relatives of murder victims crave retribution.

So you have a corrupt and incompetent Fatah in Palestine, and the world is surprised that it lost the elections to the Hamas hardliners who had a record of a more caring and honest organisation, murderous though it might be. In 1992, the Islamic front FIS won the elections in Algeria, but the army cancelled the results and seized power, setting off an orgy of violence.

Yet the FIS victory wasn't a fluke. In the municipalities they ran, garbage was collected and buses ran on time. The future belongs to organisations like the Islamic Courts Union, unless secularism responds with more than guns and deployment of global power.

Take post-Revolution Iran. In the violence and assassinations that followed the fall of the Shah, nearly three generations of Islamic leaders were wiped out. But the mullahs kept turning out more and more cadres. Iran is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't run short of alternatives.

Before President Ahmadinejad won the last elections, he was relatively unknown. On the other hand, in secularist Russia, even enlightened journalists write about how there is no alternative to President Vladimir Putin.

In the US, they are wringing their fingers about who will replace George Bush. The mosques, on the other hand, turn out so many leaders that Islamic republics never have a shortage of candidates to choose from.

The worst sin of secularists, therefore, is laziness. We don't recruit new warriors, while the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu fundamentalists stay up all night swelling their ranks. We don't have leadership factories, while the religious fundamentalists have their churches (many under trees and on street corners), synagogues, temples, and mosques.

All we do is whine. The Gap, a very secularist group, had a big hit with a song about how nothing comes to sleepers, but their dreams. We partied to it big time, but learnt nothing.

-Charles Onyango-Obbo

Monday, June 26, 2006

Weather

Skies in LA today are bright yellow.

It's the third day in a row that temperatures in Portland are 100+ degrees. Previously there had never been a 100 degree day in Portland in June. Temperatures are 25 degrees hotter there than the normal average for this time of year.

Also apparently the Eastern US is underwater.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Robert Mugabe: Man of Logic and Reason

BBC - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has condemned some churches as "agents of violence and purveyors of falsehood".





Friday, June 23, 2006

Jollibee Sunday! Non-Stop Barkada Bonding with Jolly Cheezy Fries!

(Actual Jollibee Promotional copy): Sure, there are video games, TV soaps, and love interests that usually keep every teenager busy. But if someone calls for a barkada get-together, expect every thing else to be put on hold just so they can catch up with chums.


Whether it's a celebration of a friend's birthday, or a casual hang-out, every barkada get-together is usually filled with laughter and conversations about every possible subject that the group can tackle!

If you want those barkada conversations to last longer, fill them up with the juiciest details about the campus hottie, or perhaps the latest news about everyone's favorite TV program. To keep the fun at exciting levels, keep your friends busy munching on Jollibee's Jolly Cheezy Fries!



Jolly Cheezy Fries are hot and crispy french fries doused with your favorite toppings. And here's something hot that your barkada can munch on. It's the new Jolly Cheezy Fries Cheese 'n Bacon - a hefty french fries treat with cheese sauce, garlic mayo and topped with bacon bits. You and your best buddies can still indulge on your usual favorites, the Double Cheese and Cheese 'n Beef variants. To complete the Jollibee barkada experience, try the new Jolly Cheezy Fries float combo, for a more exciting barkada bonding.

So next time one of the barkada hollers for a get-together, head straight to Jollibee for a non-stop Jolly Cheezy Fries party!

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Connery on...

It's been a while since we checked in with Mr. Connery as he has been busy filming "The Rock II". Today, Connery on...relationships:

“I don't think there is anything particularly wrong in hitting a woman, though I don't recommend you do it the same way that you hit a man.”

“There are women who take it to the wire. That's what they are looking for, the ultimate confrontation. They want a smack.”

Daily fantasy art

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Malawi Today: Capitalism Flourishes! Gods Pleased by Human Penis Charm!

Malawi's body parts trade 'booming'

Malawi's minister of home affairs Bob Khamisa has confirmed that trade in body parts was not a mere rumour because police investigations had revealed that many cases of homicide were related to body parts business.

He was answering a question from a member of parliament from Ntchisi south, Nkhosa Kamwendo, who asked why selling of body parts was fast becoming a practice in the country and rampant in the four districts.

"Police investigations also indicate that private body parts are most of the times used as charms to boost business,” Khamisa said.

The minister assured the house that once the police are through with their investigations, those involved would be exposed.

An opposition MP from Lilongwe north west, Ishmael Chafukira, said the practice cannot be curbed because the media in the country was obsessed with politics and is not vigilant in exposing those involved in the trade to shame them.

However, his observation was quashed by government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati who said the media is doing quite a job in bringing to light issues of body parts trade.

Last week the Lilongwe Magistrate Court sentenced two men Felix Maganga, 42, and Leonard Ganiza, 28, to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for being found with human private parts.

They were caught last year in possession of private parts which were still oozing blood at the time the police arrested them at the Capital City Hotel in Lilongwe.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Bad Candy Alert

There are 2 vending machine upstairs: One is benevolent, dispensing White Castle cheeseburgers, two for a dollar. The other is evil, full of corn syrupy crap, individually wrapped pastries of dubious origin (One proudly claims to be made in Texas! As if that's good! Why not just claim to have been cooked by retards and then dropped on the floor of Grandma's house trailer? Same thing!!).

Still, I thought I'd try my luck. I collected some nickels and something red caught my eye.See where it says FAT FREE in the yellow strip? That's been changed on my packaging to MADE IN THE U.S.A. Ugh. And where in the USA? Chicago! Now, Chicago has a fine tradition as a candy town. Why, even now I can remember driving on 95 past the Ferrera Pan factory, rolling down the windows on a brisk -20 degree day to smell the wafting flavors off Boston Baked Beans, or perhaps Cherry Chan they were making that day. There was also Nuts on Clark, which had candy and candied nuts, and for the more "upscale" there was those green and red boxes of chocolate - usually mint flavored - ech - that tourists would buy at the dept. store at Water Tower...

Well, their WILD CHERRY candies are awful. They're like the stuff you'd get at Stuckey's with your own last few coins if your parents refused to buy you another Pecan Log Roll. They are stale, flavorless, and stick in my teeth like stale flavorless glue.

sigh.

Oh Stuckey's, I miss you so... I'm just going to think about Stuckey's for a while now.


Monday, June 19, 2006

Actual News from the Front

Not to get all Nation magazine here, but this is wild. This is a memo sent to Rice from the US Embassy in Baghdad. It details paragraph after paragraph just how badly the situation has decayed there. It's becoming a theocracy of course; everyone knew that wouldd happen. Fuel, clothing, threats, kidnappings, daily funerals; it's all here. And anyone who can is getting out of the country fast as hell for Egypt or Jordan or wherever they can get.
Download the actual pdf of the memo here:

Much credit to Washington Post for putting this out.

from WaPo: "Hours before President Bush left on a surprise trip last Monday to the Green Zone in Baghdad for an upbeat assessment of the situation there, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq painted a starkly different portrait of increasing danger and hardship faced by its Iraqi employees. This cable, marked "sensitive" and obtained by The Washington Post, outlines in spare prose the daily-worsening conditions for those who live outside the heavily guarded international zone: harassment, threats and the employees' constant fears that their neighbors will discover they work for the U.S. government."

Saturday, June 17, 2006

How You Eating Your Bacon?

Bacon Carnitas Chilequillas!I really built up to this one. After eating a chicken breast sandwich with bacon for lunch yesterday (Not to be confused with the BREADED chicken cutlet in Noo York City), I didn't eat anything else that day. I came home and ate 2 handfulls of candy, a bowl of blueberries and raspberries, and 3 bottles of Henry Weinhard's while watching Takashi Miike's The Great Yokai War - which is an excellent film except for the 10 year old kid screaming at evertything for 2 solid hours.

So around noon today I realized I had gone about 24 hours without food and decided to pull out all the stops. I've been gnawing on a one pound hunk of Trader Joe's carnitas
for a few days now, usually mixed with refried black beans and scoops of Zankou garlic paste.

I'm not a big fan of a lot of ingredients mixed together... Too alchemical for my tastes. I like individual foods, which explains my long-loved recipe for "Bowl of Bacon" (Put ten slices of bacon in a bowl. Serves one.) But I felt ambitious today. I carved off a good 2 ounces of carnitas from the brick, and though already cooked, fried it up in some olive oil. Then I mixed three eggs, milk, spiced mozzarella, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a couple handfuls of guacamole tortilla chips (thus the green triangles). Poured that mixture on top of the carnitas in the pan and then zapped up three slices of hickory smoked bacon. I dared not mix the bacon into the concoction; it's just not fair to bacon's specific taste and texture.

Possible errors: More garlic. More carnitas. Possibly a big scoop of refried black beans on the side. Better quality bacon.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Bird Flu Dance Sweeps through African Nation: Might Reach Epidemic Proportions

A local deejay is attempting to lighten the mood after the arrival of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in early May. Twenty-one-year-old DJ Lewis has invented a wacky bird flu dance that is sweeping nightclubs in the West African country's major city of Abidjan.

The infectious craze has hundreds of people shaking, flapping their arms, and clucking on the dance floor—an imitation of chickens' death throes when they are culled to stop the virus from spreading.

"I created the dance to bring happiness to the hearts of Africans and to chase away fear—the fear of eating chicken," Lewis told the BBC. "If we kill all our chickens and poultry, our cousins in the village will become poor. So I created the bird flu dance to put joy back into our hearts."

Exploitation Friday!

I always preferred Chateau Petrus anyway, muthah fuckah


NEW YORK -- Rappers have long proclaimed their love for Cristal, frequently mentioning the high-end champagne in songs and popping the corks of the clear, gold-labeled bottles in music videos and at nightclubs.

But the makers of Cristal don't seem to feel the same way about hip-hop — at least that's how rapper-turned-record executive Jay-Z sees it.

Now president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Records, the multiplatinum rapper has decided to boycott his once-beloved bubbly over comments from Frederic Rouzaud, managing director of Louis Roederer, the company that produces it.

In The Economist magazine, Rouzaud said the company viewed the affection for his company's champagne from rappers and their fans with "curiosity and serenity."

Asked by the magazine if the association between Cristal and the "bling lifestyle" could be detrimental, Rouzaud replied:

"That's a good question, but what can we do? We can't forbid people from buying it. I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business."

But why should a 200 hundred year old company originally created by Tzar Nicholas II and which produces one of the finest champagnes in the world have an aversion to violent, ignorant, misogynist thugs who have no appreciation for their product beyond its high price? I mean, isn't the whole point of spending $500 on a bottle of champagne that it tastes better when drunk staight out of the bottle with a straw or when poured on some stripper's tits?

Daily fantasy art



Today in bacon

Today's bacon was part of what in New York is called a "chicken cutlet" sanwich. Everywhere else I think it's just called breaded chicken breast. Anyway, the sandwich consisted of the cutlet, lettuce, tomato, mayo, melted mozzerella cheese, salt, pepper, and four thick slices of bacon. All served on a kaiser roll. The bacon was cooked just the way I like it: still chewy, but not rubbery or crispy. Leaving the sandwich for about 5 minutes before consumption allowed all of the various juices to comingle nicely. 4.5 out of 5.

Dennis Hastert - A Real American Hero

Dennis Hastert bravely decided that more Americans should have their arms and legs blown off - and be killed - and to spend another $60 billion dollars in unbudgeted US funds to defeat terror.
"It is a battle we must endure and one in which we can and will be victorious," He said the American troops in Iraq knew their cause was noble. So the new reason we're in Iraq is because war is noble.
Fun facts:
-Hastert receieved $70,000 from Jack Abramoff, a felon who bribes members of Congress.
-Hastert did not serve in the military, but he was a wrestling coach, leading the Yorkville High School team to a state title in 1976, which is kind of like his own personal Vietnam. Except he won.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Kenyan Man of God Produces "Miracle Babies!" (for a small donation)

BBC - Kenyan evangelist Gilbert Deya, accused of child trafficking, denies accusations that he ran a child trafficking ring on the pretext of praying for his followers to conceive via miraculous powers.

Police in Kenya had issued a warrant of arrest for him after his wife, Mary, was arrested in Nairobi after she arrived at a hospital with a newborn baby to which she claimed to have given birth. Doctors who examined Mrs Deya, 57, said her claim of recently having given birth was false.

Kenyan police allege the Gilbert Deya Ministries is an international baby-snatching ring and last year asked the UK government to extradite Mr Deya. Their investigation revolves around the disappearance of babies from Nairobi's Pumwani Maternity Hospital.

In 2004, the Kenyan authorities took 20 of Mr Deya's "miracle babies" into care after they were found to have no genetic link to the women claiming to be their mothers.

I don't understand why they are persecuting this Holy Man, this Man who does God's will and produces miracle babies. Obviously it's Jesus who is making all of these women spontaneously give birth.

I also find it a slap in the face of God for them to put so much faith into their so called Dee Enn Ay.

BBC: Reverend Mensah, who leads the Manchester branch of the church said his own wife had had two children since she was given the church's help. On the subject of DNA, he said: "In that area we need the medical profession to explain that. My own point of view is that God is able to do all things. If the medical profession cannot explain, we call it a miracle."

The church itself says it is not surprised that the babies don't share their parents' DNA because they don't come from their parents but from God.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Jollibee Sunday! Yet Another Jollibee explodes!

Yesterday a Jollibee food outlet in Gaisano mall this city suffered damages after a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank reportedly blew up in one of their kitchens.

The last time this happened was in the early millennium when a Jollibee food outlet in Cogon also sustained damages when an LPG tank blew up. Which is lamentable since the first Jollibee outlet that opened in Limketkai more than a decade ago had not suffered a similar accident.

We also have to verify whether this marked the second or third time that this happened for a Jollibee food outlet. A local radio station complained about the refusal of Jollibee food management to disclose details about the incident which from their standpoint may be understandable since they don't like negative reports.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Doing the Lord's Work: Shootin' Tards

A Des Moines pastor shot a mentally disabled boy with a BB gun after he ignored the pastor's warning not to knock on his door, police said Tuesday.

David L. Reasby, 51, of Lighthouse Full Gospel Baptist Church was charged Tuesday with assault with a weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Investigators say Dillon Carlson, 14, was shot twice in the buttocks. His parents noticed the wounds Monday night. The injuries did not require medical treatment.

"The man who did this must be a sick individual, and I hope he will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said Steve Carlson, the boy's father. Reasby is a former reserve police officer in Des Moines. He left the department in 2004 after he was involved in an unrelated assault, Sgt. Todd Dykstra said.

Dillon reportedly knocked on a sleeping Reasby's door and was told to go away, but the boy knocked again, police said. Reasby warned the boy he would shoot if the knocking persisted, police said.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

How are we eating our bacon?


Well this time, it's old-school with the emphasis on school. More specifically, just like they used to make at Grog's Pizza. And even more specifically, a barbecue pizza. Regular pizza with bbq sauce substituting for tomato sauce. Top with bacon, sausage, onion and extra cheese. If you were actually ordering it from Grog's you would also have to ask for extra bbq, but since they went out of business years ago you are making it yourself, so simply apply the proper amount. "But California Pizza Kitchen makes it with roasted chicken and red onions!" you say. Fuck that.

p.s. the picture isn't a real bbq pizza, it's Red Baron breakfast pizza.I put it there because that's a brilliant idea. Made with Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese; creamy gravy sauce and bacon on a biscuit-style crust. Only in America.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Satan just as Annoyingly Nonexistent as God

I waited around all day to see if Satan would pop up and make goats kill priests or for virings to spontaneously combust or for the rviers to run red with blood and wormwood.

Nope. Like his buddy God, he decided to sit out 6-6-6. Instead it was just another day closer to overpopulation, resource degradation, the build-up of toxins in our food sources and slow sure mutations of our mitochondrial DNA.

And hey - in the end - could Satan really do any better than that?

Monday, June 05, 2006

Tragedy strikes twice for Pat Robertson: Jesus hates his protein shakes


NEW YORK, June 5 (UPI) -- U.S. nutritional supplement firm GNC Corp. will no longer sell a protein drink associated with the Rev. Pat Robertson, a noted televangelist.

The corporation, which did not elaborate on the reason for its move, comes despite high praise from the drink's creator, the head of the Christian Broadcasting Network, The New York Times reported Monday.

Robertson, 76, credits his "protein shake" with the ability to leg press 2,000 pounds -- 665 pounds more than the current world record.

The "700 Club" host's feat of strength is recounted on the Web site of his Christian Broadcasting Network, in a posting headlined "How Pat Robertson Leg Pressed 2,000 Pounds."

Last August GNC began selling a form of Robertson's health drink, which it obtained from an Ohio company, Basic Organics. The recipe for the drink remains available on the Christian Broadcasting Network's Web site.

Meanwhile, a religious media watchdog group said Robertson was essentially the sole support for the beverage.

"There wouldn't be a Pat's Shake in GNC stores if he couldn't promote it on-air," said Ole Anthony, the president of Trinity Foundation. Robertson plugged his shake on his 700 Club TV show "over the donor-paid airtimes," Anthony said. "That's what was insidious."

Why Robertson (pictured) performed his feat of strength wearing courderoy pants and golf shoes remains a mystery.

In a related story, Pat Robertson is a big fucking liar.

Slayings of the faithful continue

it's been a tough few days for prayer, god, and the religious in general:

KIEV (Reuters) - A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in Kiev zoo after he crept into the animal's enclosure, a zoo official said on Monday.

"The man shouted 'God will save me, if he exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions," the official said.

"A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery."

The incident, Sunday evening when the zoo was packed with visitors, was the first of its kind at the attraction. Lions and tigers are kept in an "animal island" protected by thick concrete blocks.


God smites the faithful once again

Rome, June 1 - Prayers proved fatal for an Italian priest who plunged through a chapel floor after asking God to help his ailing mother .

The well-known Roman priest travelled to pray with his mother in their country chapel at Palestrina near Rome Wednesday night .

He broke off to change the flowers and the floor suddenly gave way as a previously undetected Roman well collapsed .

Father Claudio Rossi, 61, a Jesuit who was vice-rector at Rome University, plunged 100 feet (35 metres) to his death .

His 90-year-old mother was unharmed.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Tragedy strikes as Pat Robertson's jet crashes into Long Island Sound

Tragedy struck today when Pat Robertson's Lear Jet smashed into Long Island sound. Unfortunately, Robertson was not aboard. A spokesman for for Your Prayers Make the Real Gods Angry released a statement:

"We are deeply saddened to hear that Mr. Robertson was not, in fact, on the plane. Our thoughts are with all those who hoped against hope that he had not survived this tragic accident. In the near future we are confident that it will be possible for Mr. Robertson to die a sudden and painful death".

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_153174735.html

Friday, June 02, 2006

Exploitation Friday!

Now on Friday!

Jesus Time
















Click image to play film. Cartoon by Mr. Fish

Thursday, June 01, 2006

A new low

I am currently eating my dinner (curry and rice) with a plastic spoon from a McDonals's "McFlurry" becasue I am too lazty to wash a regular spoon.

Exploitation Friday!



(now on Thursdays)

God smites praying woman

Worried about the safety of her family during a stormy Memorial Day trip to the beach, Clara Jean Brown stood in her kitchen and prayed for their safe return as a strong thunderstorm rumbled through Baldwin County, Alabama. But while she prayed, lightning suddenly exploded, blowing through the linoleum and leaving a blackened area on the concrete.

Brown wound up on the floor, dazed and disoriented by the blast but otherwise uninjured. She said 'Amen' and the room was engulfed in a huge ball of fire. The 65-year-old Brown said she is blessed to be alive. Firefighters said its likely she was hit by a bolt of lightning that apparently struck outside and traveled into the house yesterday afternoon.

She was found lying on the floor by her 14-year-old granddaughter. Fire officials think the lightning likely struck across the street from the couple's home and traveled into the house through a water line. The lightning continued into the couple's backyard and ripped open a small trench. A family member said he will no longer assume it is safe to be indoors during a lightning strike.

Who wants to be a millionaire?



In a bid to usurp Malawi as the most oft-mentioned African country on our page, Zimbabwe today introduced a new $100,000 bank note. With just one such note wealthy Zimbabweans will be able to conveniently purchase high end luxury items such as a loaf of bread, 3 bars of soap, 4 tomatos, or even a cabbage. Read on...

Its introduction comes as the economy buckles under the highest rate of inflation in the world, currently at 1,042 per cent. The note makes its debut barely four months after the Reserve Bank introduced the $50,000 note, the highest denomination at the time. In only two weeks the Zimbabwe dollar has lost half of its value.



Despite the hyperinflation, mass unemployment and crippling shortages of fuel and foreign currency, Zimbabwe is a country of millionaires. Shoppers have to carry huge wads of cash to buy the basic foodstuffs available in most shops.

“Last week I filled a single trolley with $30 million of groceries, and I had to count out 600 notes of $20,000 at the checkout counter,” John Robertson, an economist, said.

Despite the economic gloom, he said that at least the new note “means when we go shopping, we don’t have to take a suitcase of money: we can carry it in a shoulder bag”.

As the Government announced the introduction of the note, queues were forming outside banks that had begun to limit withdrawals because of the latest shortage of currency. All coins disappeared from circulation two years ago.

Gideon Gono, governor of the central bank, said that the note was being introduced “to ensure convenience to the public”. Although he predicted that inflation would be down to 50 per cent in a year’s time, he held out the prospect of even bigger denominations if the new note failed to ease the banking problems.

Zimbabwe used to boast one of Africa’s most robust economies, but eight years of recession and a radical programme of land redistribution has left millions in poverty.

In its relentless search for cash to fill its empty treasury, the Government last week imposed a punishing new tax on the stock market. Brokers immediately halted trading, losing the state tax revenue equal to £17,000 a day.

On Monday the Government declared potatoes a “strategic crop” after realising that “the country cannot continue depending on maize alone for its food security”.

All sales of potatoes, which cost ten times as much as maize meal, can now be handled only by the Government.

Daily fantasy art