Zeroes on check raise red flag at Fort Worth bank
FORT WORTH — An aspiring record-label owner is singing the blues after being arrested last week when bank employees said he tried to pass a $360 billion check.
2 comments April 30th, 2008
Archive for April, 2008
Fox and Friends got the wrong Douglas
Add comment April 30th, 2008
Glen Campbell covering U2 on new album
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Rhinestone Cowboy is trying on some more fashionable threads.
Country singer/guitarist Glen Campbell is following in the footsteps of artists such as Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond by recording a new album designed to inspire a new generation of fans.
“Meet Glen Campbell,” due in stores on August 19, features covers of tunes originally performed by the likes of the Foo Fighters (”Times Like These”), U2 (”All I Want Is You”), and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (”Walls”), his Capitol Records label said on Tuesday.
“I really like all of the songs and I had a great time recording them,” Campbell, 72, said in a statement. “While I didn’t write these songs, this sounds like a Glen Campbell album, which is important to me.”
[Thanks, Warren!]
Add comment April 30th, 2008
Dear Cakehead: Help me get the pig into my cake
Dear Cakehead,
What cake would taste best garnished with bacon?
Love,
Mira
Dear Mira,
Pairing salty and sweet edibles is one of our favorite activities. To tackle this particular challenge was a special delight since we can think of little that we like to eat more than bacon and cake.
Salivating, we hit our test kitchen. We were pretty certain that chocolate cake would overpower the bacon, but afraid we might miss out on a surprising combination, we decided to give the flavor a chance. Sadly, we were correct. We want the salty fat rind of the bacon to cut through the sweetness. But instead the chocolate flavor was focus.
We whipped up a batch of old fashion yellow cake. Sprinkled with bacon, the cake didn’t overpower, but was too sweet and left us very thirsty.
Carrot cake was too busy with the bacon. So finally, we tried a red velvet cake recipe (if you use this recipe replace the pecans with crumbled bacon). Not only was the combination absolute perfection, but we like how the red of the cake references the red of the bacon meat and the cream cheese frosting punctuates the crunchy fat of the bacon. We whipped up a big batch of itty-bitty cupcakes and called them bacon bitty cakes.
Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Â
2 comments April 30th, 2008
Memphis Principal Accused of Outing Gay Students
Memphis, TN – Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union say Daphne Beasley, the principal of Hollis F. Price Middle College High School in South Memphis, went way beyond her role as educator.
The ACLU says in September 2007, Beasley asked her staff to give her the names of students who were couples, heterosexual and homosexual, because she wanted to keep an eye on them to cut down on public displays of affection.
She’s accused of publicly posting the names of those students, including two boys, Andrew and Nicholas, who had just started dating. The ACLU says that in doing so, Beasley revealed their relationship to other students, teachers and even their parents.
Add comment April 30th, 2008
Pregnant Woman Sees Jesus Image in Ultrasound
When an Ohio woman looked at an ultrasound she expected to see a developing fetus.
Instead, she saw what she believes to be an image of Jesus Christ, MyFox Cleveland reported on its Web site.
Monet Sledge, from Lorain, Ohio, got an ultrasound in preparation for her first baby and was shocked when she saw what appeared to be an image of Christ on the Cross, the Web site reported.
Add comment April 30th, 2008
Doomed Chernobyl reactor to be buried in giant steel coffin
KIEV, Ukraine – Twenty-two years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, work is under way on a colossal new shelter to cover the ruins and deadly radioactive contents of the exploded Soviet-era power plant.
For years, the original iron and concrete shelter that was hastily constructed over the reactor has been leaking radiation, cracking and threatening to collapse. The new one, an arch of steel, would be big enough to contain the Statue of Liberty.
Once completed, Chernobyl will be safe, said Vince Novak, nuclear safety director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development which manages the $505 million project.
The new shelter is part of a broader $1.4 billion effort financed by international donors that began in 1997 and includes shoring up the current shelter, monitoring radiation and training experts.
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The Billy Letters
In the late ’90s, pop-culture historian Bill Geerhart had a little too much time on his hands and a surfeit of stamps. So, for his own entertainment, the then-unemployed thirtysomething launched a letter-writing campaign to some of the most powerful and infamous figures in the country, posing as a curious 10-year-old named Billy.
To his surprise, replies soon started pouring in. Everyone from Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld (on tree-fort diplomacy) to Oprah Winfrey, Mister Rogers, Janet Reno, and members of the Supreme Court had words of wisdom for Billy. (”I like the Egg McMuffin,” wrote Justice Clarence Thomas when asked about his favorite McDonald’s food. “Actually, I like almost everything there.”) Responding to Billy’s idea for a “Hustler for kids,” Larry Flynt wrote back encouraging the fourth grader to “Hang in there. You’ll be 18 before you know it.”
As it turns out, no group hates to disappoint a child more than convicted killers, all of whom responded promptly to Billy’s questions about dropping out of school. Their letters, published here for the first time, range from criminally insane to downright sensible, offering snapshots of the personalities behind some of America’s most hideous crimes. Recently, Radar asked Billy to follow up with his mentors as a college student. (Click here to skip ahead and read Billy’s correspondence with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Larry Flynt, and other non-murderous celebrities)
Add comment April 30th, 2008
The Ugly Baseball Card Blog
Dedicated to a hobby that turns out approximately 10 zillion different cards a year. Not all of them can be pretty.
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Like this dog, I’m having trouble staying awake this morning
The good stuff starts around the 45 second mark.
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Every Sales Receipt in Russia Gets Ripped
I’ve been to Russia now four times, and one of the most interesting and unusual retail practices in stores there is the Russian sales clerks’ habit of tearing almost every sales receipt before they hand it to you or set it down on the counter (see picture above).
Supposedly, this practice goes back to the Soviet days, when most stores had the merchandise behind counters and glass cases. To make a purchase, you would ask an employee to get the merchandise for you and prepare a sales receipt, which you take to a second employee/cashier. After you paid, you would take the receipt back to the first employee to pick up your stuff. Then that employee would tear the receipt, to finalize the transaction, and prevent customers from trying to come back and get a second item later for free.
Although no longer necessary, the “receipt-tearing” practice continues to this day at almost every retail store in Russia out of an old Soviet-era habit! Makes it a little inconvenient when you need to present receipts back in the USA for reimbusement!
Add comment April 30th, 2008
Chaos in the Print Shop
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Three Times A Lady?
TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa teacher accused of having sex with two 14-year-old students was behind bars for the third time Tuesday morning.
Stephanie Ragusa, 28, was arrested Monday and faces two new charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
Ragusa was out on bond when investigators said she engaged in unlawful activity Monday. They didn’t say what the activity was.
1 comment April 29th, 2008
British pilot arrested after trying to land at George Bush’s Texas ranch
A British pilot flying solo around the world was arrested by U.S. police today after trying to land his plane at George Bush’s ranch in Texas.
Retired vet Maurice Kirk, 63, wanted to “drop in” on the president to say thanks after American coastguards saved his life two months ago.
Mr Kirk was impressed when they rescued him from shark-infested waters of the Caribbean after his World War II plane ditched in the sea on the latest leg of his around-the-world adventure.
But when the former drinking pal of hellraising actor Oliver Reed touched down six miles from the Bush ranch armed security officials quickly surrounded his light aircraft.
He was arrested, handcuffed and taken to Austin State Hospital where he was being assessed.
U.S. officials confirmed Mr Kirk was arrested for flying into the prohibited airspace over Mr Bush’s Prairie Chapel ranch near Waco, Texas.
The president was not at home at the time but has been told of the security breach.
Mr Kirk’s wife Kirstie was waiting for news of him yesterday (tues) at the family home near Barry, South Wales.
Village vet Mrs Kirk, 48, said: “Maurice realised he could not land at the president’s ranch so he put his aircraft down nearby.
“He intended to walk to the ranch gates and pin a thank you note on them for Mr Bush.
“But instead a car drove towards him and he found two Smith and Wessons pointed at him.
“He was handcuffed, put in a police car while several other cars drew up – he thinks.
Add comment April 29th, 2008
Dog Survives 8 Days Buried In Explosion Rubble
BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — An English springer spaniel that had been missing since a Breckenridge building explosion on April 19 was found alive Sunday, buried in the rubble, her injured owner said.
The dog, named Lulu, was uncovered in the rubble by the owner of the building, Brian Holt, with Good Times Adventures. Holt said he heard a whimper while going through the wrecked building.
“We turned off the radio and started calling out Lulu’s name. Then we heard some yelping,” Holt told the Summit Daily News.
Add comment April 29th, 2008
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Add comment April 29th, 2008