Inmate suing the Utah Department of Corrections claiming they were denying him his right to practice an ancient Nordic religion while in jail.

According to a story on http://www.news.yahoo.com/ an inmate serving time for aggravated assault and robbery is suing the Utah Department of Corrections saying that he is being denied of religious items which are required for him to practice the ancient Nordic religion of Asatru.

According to the article: "he has been a member of the Asatru faith since 2005, and in order to properly practice it he needs items including: a Thor's Hammer, a prayer cloth, a Mead Horn used for drinking Wassail, a drum made of wood and boar skin, a rune staff and a sword.

Trial delayed due to the LSU-Ohio State Game.

According to a news story on www.news.yahoo.com a state judge has agreed to postpone a trial which was originally scheduled to begin on the same day LSU plays Ohio State in the BCS national championship game.

Attorney for the Defendant as well as the Plaintiff's Attorney in the case had tickets to the games and reached an agreement according to the news story regarding the delaying of the trial pending the Judge's acceptance of the Motion filed on behalf of the Defense.

Attorney for the Defendant states as follows in his written request for a new trial date: "All counsel to this matter unequivocally agree that the presence of LSU in the aforementioned contest of pigskin skill unquestionably constitutes good grounds therefor," Babcock wrote. "In fact we have been unable through much imagination and hypothetical scenarios to think of a better reason."

West Baton Rouge Parish District Judge Alvin Batiste, agreed to postpone the trial but he didn't immediately set a new date for the trial to take place.

He Wants Heat, She Was Packing Heat!

In Washington Township, Michigan Joseph Grucz a 65 year old man and his 61 year old wife Cheryl Grucz were having an argument regarding the heat of their home. He had asked his wife to turn up the heat in their home and she in turn pull out a gun and shot thier flat-screen TV.

According to the Detroit Free Press Cheryl Grucz fired a shot while her husband was hiding his head in a pillow. The shot strck their plasma TV after which Cheryl Grucz went upstairs. Mrs. Grucz picked up the other telephone extention and was telling the 911 operator her side of the story as well as arguing with her husband while on the telephone.

Cheryl Grucz was charged with assault with the intent to do great bodily harm. That charge alone could carry a charge of 10 years in prison. She also faces a felony firearms charge; however, Mrs. Grucz was freed on $50,000 bond and a preliminary examination January 15, 2008.

For more on this one go to www.news.yahoo.com

Administrative Law Judge Sides with Man Who Was Fired for Posting Dilbert Comic Strip

According to the news story on www.news.yahoo.com David Steward of Des Moines, Iowa was fired from his job at the Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington after posting a comic strip on the office bulletin board from the Dilbert Comic series.

Mr. Steward was fired from his position with the Casino as a result of mangement finding the comic to be "very offensive" and as a result he petitioned for unemployment benefits which were denied by his former employer and resulted in the lawsuit presided over by the Honorable Administrative Law Judge Lynette Donner.

According to the news article the exchange in the comic was as follows:

"Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?"
"Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent."
"Why are talented people so busy?"
"They're fixing the problems made by people who have time."

Hon. Donner ruled that posting the comic did not represent intentional misbehavior but however did represent "a good-faith error in judgment."

For more on this article chek out www.news.yahoo.com

Recall of Metromint water sold online

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Soma Beverage Company issued a voluntary recall Wednesday of its mint-flavored water because of possible contamination after an isolated case of Bacillus cereus contamination was found in a water sample that was bottled a year ago at a Southern California plant.

Bacillus cereus contamination as stated in the article "can cause food poisoning, with symptoms including nausea and diarrhea."

"The recall involves water with a "Best before 2006/12/21" date printed on the shoulder of the bottle and the lettering "KSA" in a rectangle located on the lower-right corner of the back panel of the label."

According to the article the bottled water that is in question was only sold over the internet. For more on this story go to: http://www.sfgate.com

Modern Toilet Diner

Yes that is Ice-cream shaped like feces served in miniature toliets. This is the strangest thing that I have seen in a while however not the first time that I have heard of this place.

It's at a resteraunt called Modern Toliet Diner which is located in the Shilin district in Taipei. All 100 seats in the diner are toilet bowls, not chairs. This is one of 12 resteraunts in an island-wide chain with a toilet theme. For more on these type of resteraunts check out Freekboi's Blog post regarding the resteraunts and the food. His post can be found at the following link:

http://freekboi.blogspot.com/2005/05/eat-here.html

Thanksgiving Humor

Here's a little holiday Thanksgiving humor for you all out there in cyber land. I couldn't pass this picture up. Seeing as how many a holiday with the family may leave you feeling like you need prozac to help you through the forced conversation and the fake smiles.

Not every holiday can be a happy one but at least we can try to make the best of the situations if a best of the situation presents itself for enjoyment. There are holidays where you just want to sit and say ok why are we all here anyway. I mean seriously we can't get along wouldn't it be better if we were miles away from one another at this very moment??? LOL I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the family and friends that drop by to eat your food and clutter your house....I mean drop by for polite conversation and a nice meal.

Art, Stories, Reading and Relaxng

You every notice how time seems to fly by when you are doing something that you enjoy and when you are doing things that don't interest you as much the day just drags by? There are so many things in my life that I used to enjoy doing and I would still enjoy doing them if only I had the time to sit back and relax to do them.

I have loved art since I was old enough to hold a crayon. My father taught me to draw at a young age and I will always share my love of art and drawing with him. That will be a memory I will always treasure throughout my life and art is a great way for me to relax. However, it seems as though I just do not have the time to take out a canvas and paint. I have loved to write poetry and short stories all my life. I am an artist and a writer before anything. Sometimes my writting influences my art and vice versa.

I haven't had a lot of time between work and getting ready to move to do the things that I enjoy but with the coming holiday of Thanksgiving and the short but well needed vacation time for the holiday I am looking forward to kicking back for an hour or two with a good book, sitting down with just my imagination, a pencil and a notebook or blank canvas and getting back to what makes life worth living. You have to enjoy the simple things in life no matter how rare the moment are that you get to enjoy them. Hopefuly I'll be able to do this in the next week and hopefully I'll be in a better frame of mind once I get to relax and enjoy my time to myself and my family.

I hope everyone has a great holiday and I hope you all find time to relax and enjoy yourself over the holiday.

Anime Weekend in Atlanta, GA

Animie Weekend In Atlanta, GA
People cosplay as Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Kikyou.

Hello all! How is everyone of you doing today. It's been a while again hasn't it. With work and general stuff going on I barely have time to get on here but that should be changing because I have plenty of topics to go through to keep you entertained for a while at lest.

I have a great pen pal who lives in Georgia and he was telling me about this Anime Con that happens down there every year. It's Anime Weekend in Atlanta. Now I have never been to Atlanta, GA but I have been through Georgia on my way to Florida. It's a beautiful state. Here is the link for this years AWA site http://www.awa-con.com/index.php?page=information Now being the big fan of Anime that I have become I found this to be very interesting and love the idea of cosplay and seeing all the different anime that we haven't got into around her as of yet.

I am seriously considering going to the AWA next year and it sounds like so much fun. There are videos on you tube of the AWA if any of you are interested in seeing what it looked like this year. Well that's all for my update today I'll have more coming soon so keep watching this blog for more random stuff! Have a good weekend.

Long Time No Bloggy!!

Well it seems life has a way of stepping in the way of even simple blogging. I have been so busy that I have neglected my blogs and for that I do appologize. LOL I hope you all will forgive me for my laziness in updating but things have been so hectic first with our Relay in May then we had so much going on in June and July and with work and catching up with family and friends things have got a little hectic.

However, now that I'm back in my sanity (yeah right I know that was a funny one) I'll try to keep this thing updated more regularly.

Hope everyone has a great day.

WWE wrestler Benoit murder / suicide

It seems the facts of this situation are getting more and more bizare as new information is discovered and released to the public involving the death of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy (Woman) and their 7 year old son Daniel.

www.cnn.com is reporting that only two days before the bodies of the three family members were found in their home Benoit told told co-workers his wife and son had food poisoning and then Benoit called other co-workers and claimed to have missed a flight to a scheduled WWE show in Texas on Saturday. It is believed that his wife Nancy and possibly their son Daniel was already dead by this time. The same co-worker claimed Benoit said "I love you," during the conversation which was completely out of context.

Police are saying that Benoit placed Bibles beside the bodies of his wife and child after he killed them and spent at least one (1) day in the home with the bodies before hanging himself from one of his weight machines in his work out room at the home. There was no suicide note found in the home or anywhere else but there were text messages sent to co-workers from Benoit's cell phone on Sunday. Most of the text message sent from Benoit's cell phone to his co-workers included his address and one said "The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open." It is apprent that he wanted the bodies of him and his family discovered fairly soon after his own death.

WWE held a 3 hour tribute to the career of Chris Benoit Monday night after canceling their regular edition of Monday Night RAW. However, Benoit had been traded to the ECW brand during last weeks roster draft. The mood was completely different for the ECW show after more information was learned about Benoit's involvment in the death of his family. Aside from an introduction to the show by chairman Vince McMahon, who appeared less sympathetic for Benoit than before, there was no mention of Chris Benoit or what had happened over the weekend. There were no tributes or dedicated matches or anything of the sort and the mood of the night was less somber than the show on Monday had been.

Update on WWE Star Chris Benoit's death

In an update to my earlier post today regarding the murder / suicide involving World Wrestling Entertainment star Chris Benoit, it has been released that Benoit was indeed the killer of his wife Nancy and his 7 year old son Daniel.

Police are saying that Benoit strangled his wife to death and smothered his son to death over the weekend before hanging himself in the weight room of his home Monday. Police are investigating if steroids could have played a factor in the actions of Chris Benoit over the weekend but are not saying much more than that.

For more on this strange story go to:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WRESTLER_DEAD?SITE=OKTUL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

WWE Superstar Chris Benoit Found Dead

As a fan of professional wrestling for the vast majority of my life I find it kind of unsettling watching the wrestlers that I grew up cheering and booing passing on at such young ages. Over the years the likes of Owen Hart, "Flyin'" Brian Pillman, Curt Henning and others have passed away in the professional wrestling world leaving behind great matches and a legend that will one day will be an inspiration to others who desire the business as they once did.

Over the weekend there was yet another unexpected death in the world of professional wrestling. Current World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Chris Benoit was found dead in his home Monday along with his wife Nancy and their 7 year old son Daniel. Benoit was scheduled to participate in the pay-per-view Vengence on Sunday night; however, he left the show 40 minutes into it claiming he had to return home for personal reasons and was expected to return in time for his title match. However, he did not return and was found dead the next day.

The police department is now investigating the scene as a murder-suicide. It is believed that Benoit killed his wife and son over the weekend and then killed himself on Monday after sending "strange" text messages to friends. What could make a man snap in such a fashion as to return home and kill his wife and child before killing himself the following day? After watching Benoit for many years in the professional wrestling business it kind of amazes me to find this information out. I went back and forth in my like and dislike for his character in the wrestling world but the character they portray and the person they are are sometimes rarely similar. For the last few years I have not been a fan of Benoit's character in the ring; however, that does not change the fact that he was a person who was giving his all in the ring and was a very sound technical wrestler, something that you don't see much of in the professional wrestling business anymore.

One has to wonder what it was that sent him over the edge if in fact the scinario that the police department released is accurate. There is nothing 100% known yet. The autopsies on the family are scheduled for latter today and hopefully then more will be known.

For more on this on going story go here:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WRESTLER_DEAD?SITE=PASUN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

"Thomas and Friends" railway toys recalled

Joining the likes of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, various pet foods and now a brand of toothpaste is the children's toy Thomas and Friends. According to Yahoo.com news: More than 1 million of the popular "Thomas & Friends" wooden railway toys made in China are being voluntarily recalled because some may contain lead paint, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Wednesday.

About 1.5 million wooden vehicles, buildings and other train-set parts for young children are being recalled, the CPSC said in a statement. The toys were sold in the United States from January 2005 through June 2007, the statement said. The recall of toys made in China follows a series of health scandals in the United States involving food, drugs and other products imported from China, from poisoned cough syrup to tainted toothpaste and pet food.

"Consumers should take the recalled toys away from young children immediately and contact RC2 Corp. for a replacement toy," the CPSC said.

For more on this story please go to: http://news.yahoo.com/

Colgate warns of fake toothpaste in U.S.

In the wake of the large Pet Food Recall in recent months and the peanut butter recall a few month prior there is yet another product on the American market that could pose potentially harmful effects to those who may use it. According to Yahoo.com news section: Colgate-Palmolive Co. on Thursday warned counterfeit "Colgate" toothpaste that may contain a toxic chemical had been found in discount stores in four U.S. states.

Colgate-Palmolive said it does not use, nor has ever used, diethylene glycol as an ingredient in its toothpaste anywhere in the world. The chemical, also known as DEG and sometimes illegally used as an inexpensive sweetener and thickening agent, is commonly found in solvents and antifreeze.

The counterfeit toothpaste is labeled as being manufactured in South Africa but Colgate-Palmolive said it does not import toothpaste to the United States from South Africa. The packaging also contains several misspellings.

For more on this story visit http://news.yahoo.com

Company recalls 129,000 pounds of beef

According to various news websites including yahoo, AP, and others, a meat company in Kalamazoo, Mich. is recalling the beef due to ecoli contamination. Davis Creek Meats and Seafood were the manufacturers of the product for Gordon Food Service stores.

Products which were made between April 30th and May 1st were shipped to the following states: Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The items in question are boxes of mechanically tenderized steaks and ground beef of different weights and each has the label "Est. 1947A" on it.

For more on this go here: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BEEF_RECALL?SITE=NCKIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

India must resist China pressure on tiger ban

Ok, anyone who has been reading my blog for some time now knows that I adore Tigers. My favorite of which is the white tigers and it really saddens me to think that there are truely a limited number of these awesome creatures left in this world. I for one have been lucky enough to have been able to see one of these creatures in person (at a zoo mind you but in person none the less) and their beauty and power is simply amazing to behold. I would love to see the numbers in these creatures incrase as opposed to decrease. Anyway, enough of my ranting here is the story from www.news.yahoo.com :

India must not support a Chinese campaign to lift a ban on trading tiger parts as any relaxation could wipe out the endangered cats, conservation group WWF-India said on Wednesday. The call came a day after a Chinese delegation met Indian officials seeking support to lift the ban, imposed in 1993 on the sale of tiger bones in China for use in traditional medicines as well as skins. "At a time when the tiger is already facing threats like habitat loss and poaching, China's move to lift the ban will only compound the problem further," Sujoy Banerjee from WWF-India's Species Conservation Programme told a news conference.

"The Indian government should take a strong stance on this issue in the interest of tiger conservation in India, which has the world's largest population of tigers in the wild." "Breeding a tiger costs $1,500 per year, but poaching a tiger costs just $40. If the trade becomes legal, which is more profitable -- poaching or breeding?" said wildlife biologist A.J.T. Johnsingh.

For more go to www.yahoo.com news section.

Man charged with stealing $250,000 worth of Skittles

Now I like these candies as much as the next person but this is a little extreme. Here's the report from www.cnn.com :

A man caught removing tires from a truck has been charged with stealing the tractor-trailer containing $250,000 worth of Skittles, police said.

Seven pallets of the 28 in the truck are still missing, authorities said. Alan Chavez, 22, has been charged with first-degree felony theft. It was unclear Monday whether he had a lawyer.

Chavez said he had paid someone else $500 for the truck's rims and tires, police said. The truck has an estimated value of $85,000, and the trailer's value is $30,000.

For more on this story go to: www.cnn.com

Most-wanted part of $2M estate: the dog

In Memphis, Tenn. A man who didn't have a will left a $2 million estate, but the most hotly contested item in court has been his golden retriever, Alex. The four-way dispute over the 13-year-old pet was so intense, an attorney was appointed to represent the dog's interest. On Monday, the judge decided the man's divorced parents should split custody, The Commercial Appeal reported.

"At first glance, the petition seems almost frivolous, but after speaking with all parties, it is evident that this is a highly emotional issue for all involved," said Alex's attorney, Paul Royal, in his report to the probate court. Ron Callan Jr., 35, committed suicide on New Year's Day. He had been a partner with his father in Callan Salvage & Appraisal Co., and the father was named the estate's administrator.

In the consent order the judge approved, the elder Callan and his ex-wife, Esther Snow Gnall, will trade custody of Alex every two weeks. Both parents also agreed to take the dog to the veterinarian for arthritis treatments and any other needed procedures. Before the agreement was reached, the elder Callan had custody and took Alex to work during the day. The father has cats at home, though, so at night, the dog stayed with Callan Jr.'s former girlfriend, who had known Alex since he was a puppy. The son's fiancee also was interested in Alex, and Gnall had said if she won custody, she would allow the fiancee to spend time with the dog.

Royal, the dog's attorney, said he believes all four people love Alex and would take good care of him, but they were using the fight for the dog to punish each other for past transgressions.
"This case is similar to a bitter custody battle involving children where each party loves the children, but the kids are stuck between two people who cannot coexist," the attorney said in his report.

For more on this story go to http://news.yahoo.com/

Lilly gets U.S. approval for Prozac for pooches

As someone who has two CRAZY poodles who suffer from separation anxiety time to time when left alone at the house when I have to leave them there, this article that I found on could very well be a blessing. However, I doubt that even my precious poodles would take to the treatment. I'm often reminded of Happy Bunny when I look at my two little poodles. "Cute But Psycho...Things Even Out!"

Man's best friend may have a new best friend after Eli Lilly and Co. won U.S. approval to sell its former blockbuster antidepressant Prozac to treat misbehaving mutts. The drug, repackaged into a chewable, beef-flavoured tablet to be called Reconcile, was officially approved by the Food And Drug Administration for the treatment of separation anxiety in dogs in conjunction with behaviour modification training.

"Lilly research shows that 10.7 million, or up to 17 percent of U.S. dogs suffer from separation anxiety," Steve Connell, manager of technical, academic and consumer services for companion animal health at Lilly, said in a statement. Canine separation anxiety can occur when dogs are left alone and manifests itself in a range of undesirable behaviours, such as destruction, excess barking, eating disorders or urinating or defecating in the house. The drug, known chemically as fluoxetine hydrochloride, can minimise a pet's distress from being left alone.

For more on this please visit
http://www.reuters.com/article/health-SP/idUSN2538704320070426

Grandma finds condom in McDonald's bag

A grandmother was alarmed to find a condom in a happy meal gift pack bought for her 7-year-old granddaughter at a McDonald's restaurant in New Zealand, local media reported Thursday.

The condom was discovered Tuesday night in a bag that came with Maia Whitaker's meal, which her grandparents bought at a McDonald's outlet in the city of Wellington. Grandpa Rowan Hutch told The Dominion Post newspaper it was lucky his wife was first to look inside the small sports bag that came with the meal. She was aghast when she found the green condom and its packet inside the bag, he said.

"I was pretty horrified really. The fact my granddaughter was going to look in the bag and find this thing. It would be difficult to explain, she's only seven," said Hutch. The outlet quickly swapped the happy meal for a hamburger and pencil case. McDonald's is investigating the find.
Spokeswoman Joanna Redfern-Hardisty said because of its popularity, the previous happy meal gift had sold out at the outlet and prepackaged sports bags were substituted as children's gifts.
One was left unsealed for display purposes and "somehow" had ended up with the customer, she said, without explaining why the condom was present.

http://news.yahoo.com

Fruity cocktails count as health food, study finds

A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said on Thursday.

Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found.
Any colored fruit might be made even more healthful with the addition of a splash of alcohol, they report in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Berries, for instance, contain compounds known as polyphenols and anthocyanins. People who eat more of these fruits and vegetables have a documented lower risk of cancer, heart disease and some neurological diseases. The study did not address whether adding a little cocktail umbrella enhanced the effects.
www.yahoo.com news section.

Man brings donkey to testify in court

Faced with complaints that his donkey was too loud, attorney Gregory Shamoun decided to bring his case directly to the court: He had the donkey testify.

Buddy the donkey appeared in court Wednesday. He walked to the bench and stared at the jury, the picture of a gentle, well-mannered creature and not the loud, aggressive animal he had been accused of being.

Shamoun was in a dispute with oilman John Cantrell, who had complained to the city about a storage shed Shamoun was building in his backyard in Dallas. Cantrell said Shamoun retaliated by bringing the donkey from his ranch and putting him in the backyard.
Cantrell complained of donkey noise and manure piles.

"They bray a lot any time day or night. You never know when they're going to cut loose," he testified.

Despite the donkey's appearance, neither jurors or Buddy had the last say — the neighbors settled their dispute while jurors deliberated.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-04-19-court-donkey_N.htm?csp=34

Pocky

Ok, so I have become adicted to a new candy that I have found. Now I'm not one to get hooked on a candy in this way but this stuff is really good. It's Pocky and is basicly a biscuit stick coated with some sort of flavoring. I have only seen the chocolate and the strawberry but according to wikipedia there are many many more flavors that I must find.

Here's the link to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocky#In_manga_and_anime and there you can find all the info on this sweet temptation. I know I'll definately be looking for other flavors. At the moment the only places that I can find this stuff is on the shelves at Wal-mart usually in the asile where the pasta and the Raman noodles are found, and in a local comic store that may possibly have different flavors of the things. Oh well, I'm off to find more pocky! I hope everyone has a great day.

Girl kicked off plane for coughing

Now this is just a little extreme don't you think? I mean we have all had fits of uncontrollable coughing and things. Talk about going just a little over board. Oh well that seems to be the norm in the world today.

Rachel Collier was removed from the Continental Airlines plane as it was about to leave Newark, N.J., for Honolulu earlier this week. She had fallen asleep after boarding the plane with about three dozen classmates and woke up coughing and gasping for breath as it was about to take off.

The flight attendants gave her water, and a doctor on the flight said she would be OK to make the 10-hour flight. But the captain returned the aircraft to the gate to drop off the girl and one of her teachers. Rachel said she started crying when the captain told her to leave. She and the teacher finally made it home the next day.

Teacher Maile Kawamura, a chaperone for the spring break trip to New York and Washington, D.C., said she was shocked. The two didn't know what to do or where to stay, she said. They finally found accommodations in New York and bought clothes and toiletries.

Continental said in a statement that Collier was coughing "uncontrollably" on the plane Tuesday and that "the captain felt he was acting in the best interest of the passenger and other passengers on the flight."

More on Pet Food Recall

There has been a lot of stuff in the news regarding the recent pet food recalls. I have two poodles and feed them Pedigree dog food so I was hoping that it wasn't listed on the recall so you can imagine my relief when it WAS NOT there. Here is a link to Pedigree's website wher they talk about the safety of their product.

http://www.pedigree.com/petfoodrecall.asp

Hope this helps some out there who have furry members of their family.

Rat poison found in tainted pet food

Tests turned up rat poison in the pet food suspected of causing kidney failure in dogs and cats across the country and killing at least 16, state officials and scientists announced Friday.

The toxin was identified as aminopterin, which is used to kill rats in some countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said. Aminopterin is not registered for killing rodents in the United States, though it is used as a cancer drug.

The pet deaths led to a recall of 60 million cans and pouches of pet food produced by Menu Foods and sold throughout North America under 95 brand names. There have been several reports of kidney failure in pets that ate the recalled brands, and the company has confirmed the deaths of 15 cats and one dog.

Menu Foods last week recalled "cuts and gravy" style dog and cat food. The recall sparked concern among pet owners across North America. It includes food sold under store brands carried by Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other large retailers, as well as private labels such as Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. A list of the recalled pet food can be found at: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

I have two dogs myself and find this type of thing very disturbing. I view my puppies as members of my family and hope this stupid thing gets straightened out quickly so that I don't have to worry about the type of food my puppies are getting. Thankfully Pedigree and Mighty Dog brand dog foods in the can are NOT included in the recall. HOWEVER: the Mighty Dog Pouches have been added to the recall list. For more on the story go to Yahoo.com news.

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End

The trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End is now up at the official website at http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/pirates/atworldsend/ . Enjoy. I can't wait to see the movie. It's going to be quite interesting. The movie comes out May 25th.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here's the Irish Unicorn wishing you the best St. Patrick's Day!!!!

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Indiana Man Tries to Cash Check From God

HOBART, Ind. - Kevin Russell found out it's not easy trying to cash a check from God. The 21-year-old man was arrested Monday after he tried to cash a check for $50,000 at the Chase Bank in Hobart that was signed "King Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Servant," Hobart police Detective Jeff White said.

Russell was charged with one count attempted check fraud and one count intimidation, both felonies, and one count resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor. He could face prison time.
Police were called to the bank after Russell tried to cash the check, which was written on an invalid Bank One check with no imprint, White said. Russell had several other checks with him that were signed the same way but made out in different dollar amounts, including one for $100,000.

Russell struggled with police as they tried to detain him, White said, and then threatened police as they transported him to the Hobart Police Department. "I've heard about God giving out eternal life, but this is the first time I've heard of him giving out cash," White said. No court date has been set for Russell. He was being held Wednesday at the Lake County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

For more go to http://news.yahoo.com/

Ohio wants special car plates for sex offenders

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Ohio said on Wednesday they want to force convicted sex offenders to use a fluorescent-green licence plate on their cars so they can be easily identified.

A Republican and a Democrat in the state legislature in Columbus have joined forces to propose the law, which echoes measures in several U.S. states that require convicted drunken drivers to use a yellow, pink or red plate on their cars. "The fluorescent-green licence plate will make the most egregious sex offenders easily identifiable," state Democratic Rep. Michael DeBose said in a statement. Police said the green plates would allow them to track sex offenders, who are already required to register with the local sheriff's office and are prohibited from living within 1,000 feet (300 metres) of a school.

"It will give Ohio families a great peace of mind knowing that their children will be able to recognise where this danger exists," Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander said.
Alexander joined the politicians at a news conference in Columbus, the state capital, to praise the proposed law. Opponents of the proposed law argue the use of a special plate would stigmatise everyone who shared the offender's car -- including their spouse or children.
The proposed law will be debated in committee before a decision is made whether to put the proposal to a vote.

New Star Trek Movie in 2008

Captain's log: December 25, 2008.

Paramount Pictures has set a Christmas Day 2008 release date for the 11th "Star Trek" feature, to be filmed by "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams. Shooting will begin in the fall, Paramount said Tuesday.

The screenplay, from "M:I 3" scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, is said to follow James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock during their Starfleet Academy years and into their first space mission.
The previous film in the series, the 2002 box office bomb, "Star Trek: Nemesis," was directed by Stuart Baird

For more go to http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN2625638120070227

Salmonella Outbreak Linked To Peanut Butter

Government scientists struggled Thursday to pinpoint the source of the first U.S. salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, the kid favorite packed into millions of lunchboxes every day.

Nearly 300 people in 39 states have fallen ill since August, and federal health investigators said they strongly suspect Peter Pan peanut butter and certain batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value house brand — both manufactured by ConAgra Foods Inc.
Shoppers across the country were warned to throw out jars with a product code on the lid beginning with "2111," which denotes the plant where it was made.

How the dangerous germ got into the peanut butter was a mystery. But because peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process, government and industry officials said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. "We think we have very strong evidence that this was the brand of peanut butter. Now it goes to the next step of going to the place where the peanut butter was made and focusing in on the testing," said Dr. Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The suspect peanut butter was produced by ConAgra at its only peanut butter plant, in Sylvester, Ga., federal investigators said. ConAgra said it is not clear how many jars are affected by the recall. But the plant is the sole producer of the nationally distributed Peter Pan brand, and the recall covers all peanut butter — smooth and chunky alike — produced by the plant from May 2006 until now. "We're talking a lot of jars of peanut butter," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

FDA inspectors visited the now shut-down plant Wednesday and Thursday to try to pinpoint where the contamination could have happened. The FDA last inspected the plant in 2005. Testing was also being done on at least some the salmonella victims' peanut butter jars, but investigators said some may have already been discarded. The highest number of cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri. About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized, and there were no deaths, the CDC said.

About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, and about a quarter of them ate it at least once a day, the CDC's Lynch said. It was the only food that most of the patients had all recently eaten. Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the U.S. and kills about 600. It can cause diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
But most cases of salmonella poisoning are caused by undercooked eggs and chicken. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter — in Australia during the mid-1990s — was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.

ConAgra spokesman Chris Kircher said the company randomly tests 60 to 80 jars of peanut butter that come off its Sylvester plant's line each day for salmonella and other germs, and "we've had no positive hits on that going back for years." But he said the plant was shut down as a precaution for further investigation. "We're trying to understand what else we need to do or should be doing," Kircher said. An estimated 974 million pounds of peanut butter are sold each year in the U.S., and peanut butter and jelly is the most popular sandwich among children. Peter Pan is one of the nation's top three brands, though well behind market leader Jif. Great Value peanut butter is also produced by some other manufacturers for Wal-Mart.

In a measure of peanut butter's popularity, ConAgra's hot line was swamped with so many calls after the recall was announced on Wednesday that many people got a busy signal. School officials in Houston confiscated students' sandwiches from home and replaced them with those made at schools. And in Georgia, a lawmaker representing one of the nation's biggest peanut-producing areas warned colleagues to throw out jars of peanut butter that he recently handed out.
The outbreak was detected by the CDC and state health agencies when they noticed spikes in the cases of people sickened by an unusual type of salmonella, starting in August. Once peanut butter emerged as a link, the CDC notified the FDA.

Salmonella commonly originates in the feces of birds and animals, and could be introduced at a multitude of stages in the peanut butter-making process. But many safeguards are in place.
While rodents and birds commonly get into peanut storage bins, germs are killed when raw peanuts are roasted. When making peanut butter, the nuts are again heated — above the salmonella-killing temperature of 165 degrees — as they are ground into a paste and mixed with other ingredients before being squirted into jars and quickly sealed. "The heating process is sufficient to kill salmonella, should it be present," said Mike Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety, in the state that produces nearly half of the nation's peanuts.
Experts say the point in the process where salmonella could be introduced and survive would be as the product cools down, is placed in the jars and then sealed. At most plants, those steps take just minutes.

But "there is quite a lot that happens after that heat step ... before it's put in jars. So there's definitely an opportunity for contamination after the roasting," the FDA's Acheson said.
Acheson speculated a small, on-again, off-again source of contamination caused the outbreak, which would explain the relatively small number of illness. That "will make finding it in peanut butter difficult. But that's not going to stop us from looking," he said.

Other states reporting cases are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

The strain in this outbreak, Salmonella serotype Tennessee, is comparatively rare, as is salmonella contamination of peanut products, said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. It may have taken a long time to identify peanut butter as the source because "it's just not one of the first things you'd suspect," Smith DeWaal said.
________________________________________________________
To get a refund, consumers should send lids and their names and addresses to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 57078, Irvine, CA 92619-7078. For more information, call (866) 344-6970.

For more on this go to Yahoo.com news section.

Cross-dressing lawyer hangs up his dress

A male lawyer who appeared in court dressed in women's clothes as a protest against what he said was New Zealand's overly-masculine judiciary was suspended Wednesday after being found to be in contempt of court.

The High Court found Rob Moodie, a 68-year-old, balding man who appeared in court in dresses and toting a handbag, was in contempt for circulating suppressed documents outside the court in one of his cases.

Moodie officially changed his name to "Miss Alice" as part of his protest against the "old boys network" that he said runs the nation's judiciary, and was granted an award for the most bizarre conduct by a lawyer in 2006 by London's The Times newspaper.

The protest began after a coroner's inquest largely blamed a farming couple for the collapse of a bridge on their property built by the army. Moodie obtained documents apportioning much of the blame for the collapse to faulty wood used by New Zealand Defense Force engineers, and posted the report on the Internet despite a judge's order it not be distributed.

The High Court on Wednesday found Moodie guilty of contempt of court, suspended him for three months, fined him and ordered him to pay costs. Moodie announced after the ruling he would quit the law altogether, and end his cross-dressing protest because he no longer needed to appear "in a 19th-century Alice in Wonderland environment that allows pomp, self-importance and deference to the court to eclipse the truth."

For more go to Yahoo.com news section.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's DAy to everyone out there who visits the blog. I hope everyone has a great day.

Dead pets give birth to diamond ring

According to Yahoo.com news section: Sue Rogers will never be without her dead dogs and cat after having a diamond ring made from their ashes.

Rogers, from Devon paid 3,200 pounds for the ring made from carbon extracted from the ashes of Lucky, an old English sheepdog, a golden retriever cross called Sam and a tom cat, Patch, a newspaper said Saturday. "I am delighted with my ring as it means I can have my pets with me at all times," Rogers told the Daily Mail newspaper.

"My animals meant the world to me and even though they are gone they are still with me. It's a beautiful ring and such a brilliant idea."Rogers, 44, had previously kept the ashes of her pets on her mantelpiece until she learnt of LifeGem UK, which makes diamonds from the remains of humans and pets.

A small amount of carbon from each set of ashes was heated at temperatures of 3,000 degrees Celsius to help make a rough diamond.The stone was then polished and certified before being set in a gold band.

For more go to www.yahoo.com and check their news section.

Rare white tiger triplets born at Argentine zoo

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Three rare white tiger cubs delighted visitors at the Buenos Aires zoo on Thursday, tumbling in the grass of their enclosure in their first public appearance since being born late last year.

Zookeepers said the birth of the blue-eyed Bengal tiger triplets represented an important contribution to saving the animals from extinction.

"There are only about 250, not even 300, animals of this variety in captivity, so every birth in the Buenos Aires zoo contributes to saving this type of Bengal tiger," chief veterinarian Miguel Rivolta told Reuters Television.

Rivolta said the zoo's breeding record showed the tigers had exactly the right environment and diet, which includes 10 kg (22 pounds) of mutton twice a week as well as fresh poultry meat.
White tiger mother Bety gave birth to the cubs, two females and one male, on December 23 but Thursday was the first time zoo visitors were able to see them.

White tigers are a genetic variation of the better-known orange Bengal tigers.

Between 5,000-7,000 tigers live in the wild, down from 100,000 at the start of the 20th-century. Poaching, deforestation and over-hunting of their natural prey have hit their numbers.
"There's a big party every time there's a birthday at the zoo," Rivolta said. "It's a step forward for the conservation project."

For more on this go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/tigers_argentina_dc

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Character Triggers Boston Bomb Scare

Authorities have arrested two men in connection with electronic light boards depicting a middle-finger-waving moon man that triggered repeated bomb scares around Boston on Wednesday and prompted the closure of bridges and a stretch of the Charles River. Meanwhile, police and prosecutors vented their anger at Turner Broadcasting Inc., the parent company of CNN, which said the battery-operated light boards were aimed at promoting the late-night Adult Swim cartoon "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

Boston officials condemned Turner for not taking proper steps to end the bomb scares earlier and for not issuing an adequate apology to the city.

Turner Broadcasting said in written statements the devices had been placed around Boston and nine other cities in recent weeks as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote the show.
"We apologize to the citizens of Boston that part of a marketing campaign was mistaken for a public danger," Phil Kent, CEO and chairman of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., said in one of two statements issued by the company.

"As soon as we realized that an element of the campaign was being mistaken for something potentially dangerous, appropriate law enforcement officials were notified and through federal law enforcement channels, we identified the specific locations of the advertisements in all 10 cities in which they are posted. We also directed the third-party marketing firm who posted the advertisements to take them down immediately."

For more on the story visit here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/31/boston.bombscare/index.html

Egypt fumes over fresh seven wonders competition for pyramids

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt is fuming over a competition to choose the world's "new seven wonders," deriding it as a marketing stunt that demeans the pyramids of Giza, the only surviving ancient wonder.

"They are the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that still exists, it's ridiculous, they don't need to be put to a vote," Egypt's antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass was quoted as saying in local newspapers.

Culture Minister Faruq Hosni echoed the complaint, describing the project as "absurd" and its creator, Swiss-Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self-promotion".

The seven wonders of the ancient world were the pyramids, the hanging gardens of Babylon, the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus and the lighthouse of Alexandria. Among the 21 sites short-listed for the new competition are Petra in Jordan, the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis in Athens, the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House and the Great Wall of China.

"I had thought of excluding the pyramids from the competition, but Internet voters would have included them in their selections anyway," said Weber, who argued Egypt "should have pounced on the opportunity."

The New 7 Wonders of the World will be announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070125/wl_mideast_afp/egyptarchaeology

Shot Duck Survives 2 days in Refrigerator

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Neither gunfire nor two days in a refrigerator could slay this duck. When the wife of the hunter who shot it opened the refrigerator door, the duck lifted its head, giving her a scare. The man’s wife “was going to check on the refrigerator because it hadn’t been working right and when she opened the door, it looked up at her,” said Laina Whipple, a receptionist at Killearn Animal Hospital.

“She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there.” The 1-pound female ringneck ended up at Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, where it has been treated since Tuesday for wounds to its wing and leg. Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75 percent chance of survival, but probably won’t ever be well enough to be released back into the wild.

He said the duck, which has a low metabolism, could have survived in a big enough refrigerator, especially if the door was opened and closed several times. And he said he understands how the hunter thought the duck was dead. “This duck is very passive,” Hale said. “It’s not like trying to pick up a Muscovy at Lake Ella, where you put your life in your hands.”


Found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16725051/

Strange Laws in Maryland

Here are a few strange laws that are listed as still being on the books in Maryland. Enjoy.

* Thistles may not grow in one's yard.
* It's illegal to throw bales of hay from a second-story window within the city limits of Baltimore
* It's illegal to take a lion to the movies in Baltimore
* It is a park rule violation to be in a public park with a sleeveless shirt in Baltimore
* You may not curse inside the city limits of Baltimore
* Columbia: You can not have a antenna exposed outside of your house yet you can have a 25' satellite dish. Though clotheslines are banned, clothes may be draped over a fence.
* Eating while swimming in the ocean is prohibited.• In Baltimore it is illegal to mistreat oysters.
* In Baltimore, it is illegal to wash or scrub sinks no matter how dirty they get.• In Halethrope, Maryland kisses longer than one second are illegal.
* In Maryland, it is illegal to sell condoms from vending machines with one exception: prophylactics may be dispensed from a vending machine only "in places where alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises."

I hope you all are enjoying my strange laws from various states that are posted here at least once a week.

Dracula's castle is for sale

As a lover of vampire novels and the idea of vampires I find this news story from Yahoo.com interesting.

BUCHAREST, Romania - The Habsburg family said Wednesday that it wanted to sell a Transylvanian castle famous for its connections to the 15th century medieval ruler who inspired "Dracula" for 60 million euros, or $78 million, to the local authorities, an attorney said.

The local council says it is interested in buying Bran Castle, but a government minister criticized the price tag, calling it too expensive.

Dominic Habsburg, the owner, insisted the family had honorable intentions.

"We are trying to find the best way to preserve the castle in the interest of the family and the people of Bran," Habsburg said in a statement made available exclusively to The Associated Press.

The castle was returned to Habsburg, a New York architect, on May 26, decades after it was confiscated by the communists from Habsburg's mother, Princess Ileana, in 1948, the year the royals were forced to leave the country.

After the restitution, concerns were raised that the family could sell castle to a hotel chain and that the site could end up being the centerpiece of a Dracula theme park that would blight the surrounding, pristine countryside.

The castle, perched high on a rock and surrounded by snowcapped mountains in southern Transylvania, is one of Romania's top tourist attractions and is visited by 400,000 people each year.

Faced with the enormous expense of the castle's upkeep, Habsburg said he wanted to place the property in the hands of the local council with an eye toward ensuring its historic character is preserved.

"The family has the country and the people in their heart. We are grateful for the restitution as a moral act to amend injustice," the statement from Habsburg said.

But he added, "The way of life cannot be returned and the restitution has come with financial sacrifice. ... We would like Castle Bran to remain a symbol of everything that is honorable and good in Romania."

The community of Bran, where the fortress was built in the 14th century to help stave off invasion, gave it to Ileana's mother, Queen Marie, in 1920 to thank her for her efforts in unifying the country. It was briefly associated with Prince "Vlad the Impaler," whose cruelty inspired novelist Bram Stoker's creation, the vampire Count Dracula. History says he spent one night there.

In 1938, Ileana inherited the castle, which is located some 105 miles north of Bucharest.

In recent years, the castle — complete with occasional glimpses of bats floating around its ramparts in the twilight — has attracted movie makers as a backdrop for films about Dracula and other spooky themes.

For more on this story go here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070110/ap_on_fe_st/dracula_castle

Funny Picture

With the price of gas I'm sure there have been quite a few drive off cars at the gas stations. Now I'm not saying these people drove off without paying for their gas but one has to question wheather they got more than they barganed for after their fill up. Can you imagine driving down the street and seeing this in front of you? LOL I would freak out. Hope you enjoy your day and thank you for stopping my Unicorn Dreams.

Bet the Judge Didn't See This One Coming

While surfing the net I found this recount of what appears to be the best defense attorny in the state of this happening and also of the all to literal criminal.

According to www.dumb.com:

A lawyer defending a man accused of burglary tried this creative defense: "My client merely inserted his arm into the window and removed a few trifling articles. His arm is not himself, and I fail to see how you can punish the whole individual for an offense committed by his limb." "Well put," the judge replied. "Using your logic, I sentence the defendant's arm to one year's imprisonment. He can accompany it or not, as he chooses." The defendant smiled. With his lawyer's assistance he detached his artificial limb, laid it on the bench, and walked out.

Apparently the attorney, knowing of his clients atrificial limb worded the defense purposly and the judge, not knowing of the defendants artificial limb is possibly wishing he would have chosen better wording.

Crazy Laws in Alaska

Here are a few strange laws that are still on the books in Alaska. I think I will start this as a weekly blog entry on here so keep checking back to see what state I pick out next. Let me know if you find any funny or strange laws that I might have missed over the internet. Give me ideas on what state to pick next.


Strange Alaska Laws

A law in Fairbanks does not allow moose to have sex on city streets.

Fairbanks: It is considered an offense to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose.

It is illegal to whisper in someone's ear while they are moose hunting.

It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.

Kangaroos are not allowed in barber shops at any time.

Moose may not be viewed from an airplane.

State policy states that emergencies are held to a minimum and rarely found to exist.

Persons may not allow "attractive nuisances" to exist.

There you have this weeks Crazy Laws. Check back to see what state is next. Post your ideas and comments.

A New Year, A New Outlook

Everyone always talks about how much better they hope the new year will be but do we ever really put as much effort toward making things better in our lives or have we bought into the myth that New Year's Resolutions are made to be broken?

This year is going to be a great one I hope. I have changed a lot within the last year and there have been bad influences in my life that I have done away with. I believe the new year is about letting go of the things that have drug us down and helped us to destroy ourselves.

There are things in this life that force us into unhappiness--wheather they be family memebers, or other issues that have passed into and out of our lives--but by dealing with those things which make us unhappy we better ourselves and therefore we grow personally and as a member of society and we can therefore keep those New Year's Resolutions of happiness and personal acomplishments.

Good luck to all those out there who have made New Year's Resolutions and I hope you find all the happiness in the coming year that you desire.

Colorado woman selling snow on eBay

According to a Yahoo.com news story Jim and Mary Walker of Colorado are attempting to sale snow from the blizards that have hit that area over the last two weeks and they are using eBay to do it.

They are encouraging people to not chose a shipping method but rather to stop by their home if the person is the lucky winner bidder of their auction and pick up their purchased snow in a dump truck.

"I figured eBay has ghosts and all sorts of weird stuff, so why not snow?" said Mary Walker. "We just wanted to just give some folks a laugh," she said.

For more on the story check Yahoo.com news at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070101/ap_on_fe_st/selling_snow_3