George W. Bush Shoe Dodge Oil Painting

Apparently you can buy it on eBay.

Blowfish testicles poison seven in Japanese restaurant

::Scratches "blowfish testicles" off shopping list. Returns "The Idiot's Guide to Grilling Blowfish Testicles" to Amazon::

Seven diners in northern Japan fell ill and three were still in hospital today after eating blowfish testicles prepared in a restaurant not authorised to serve the poisonous delicacy.

The owner of the restaurant in Tsuruoka city, who is also the chef, had no licence to serve blowfish and was being questioned on suspicion of professional negligence, police official Yoshihito Iwase said.

Iwase said the seven men ordered sashimi and grilled blowfish testicles at the restaurant last night.

Shortly after, they developed limb paralysis and breathing trouble and started to lose consciousness – typical signs of blowfish poisoning – and were rushed to a hospital for treatment.

A 68-year-old diner was in a critical condition with respiratory failure and two others, aged 55 and 69, were in serious condition, Iwase said.

This just reinforces the polite Canadian myth, doesn't it?:

It seems even a thief appreciates good manners.

A masked man walked into a Needs convenience store in Lower Sackville, N.S., Tuesday night and demanded cash and cigarettes from the clerk. Cpl. Joe Taplin, an RCMP spokesman, said the employee simply refused.

"He asked him, 'Please leave the store,'" Taplin said.

That polite request caught the would-be bandit by surprise.

"The suspect then looked at him and said, 'You know, you're the first one to ask me to leave in such a nice way, and because of that I'm going to leave,'" Taplin said. The man left the Cobequid Road store and headed up toward Sackville Drive.

Taplin said the clerk handled the situation well, though the usual advice for people in this situation is to simply hand over the cash. He said the clerk used his negotiation skills and didn't escalate the situation by arguing.

I have to go shovel the driveway now. Blergh.

I just saw a message from one of my DE friends on Facebook saying he was going to wait for the snow to melt rather than shovel because it's supposed to be 40 by 2pm. That's also a valid life choice!

I'm very lucky. A neighbor evidently shoveled the walk in front of my house while I was sleeping in.

Where is Super Porny Pants when you need her?

Doing this [link]

Goat detained over armed robbery

LAGOS (Reuters) - Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery.

Vigilantes took the black and white beast to the police saying it was an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323.

"The group of vigilante men came to report that while they were on patrol they saw some hoodlums attempting to rob a car. They pursued them. However one of them escaped while the other turned into a goat," Kwara state police spokesman Tunde Mohammed told Reuters by telephone.

"We cannot confirm the story, but the goat is in our custody. We cannot base our information on something mystical. It is something that has to be proved scientifically, that a human being turned into a goat," he said.

Belief in witchcraft is widespread in parts of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. Residents came to the police station to see the goat, photographed in one national newspaper on its knees next to a pile of straw.

I think we should send ita to "interrogate" the goat....

The radio hosts this morning were discussing a case in Evanston of a guy who slipped on the sidewalk and fell down. Some people across the street laughed at his slipping, but instead of just shrugging his shoulders, he took out his gun and started firing at them. Apparently, they're okay, but that got the hosts discussing how they react to seeing someone fall--they're equally heartless and giggle when seeing a spectacular fall.

Someone called in and told about the time when he, a postman, was delivering something to a house and managed to slip on the sidewalk in front after leaving the porch. He picked himself up and glanced back at the house to see the resident standing at the front window, holding up a piece of paper with a "7" on it and making a gesture indicating that he didn't stick the landing.

I think we should send ita to "interrogate" the goat....

I can't promise to observe the Geneva Convention.

A woman on another board (prompted by this) said that she always feels nervous/hypervigilant when a man comes onto an elevator she's been alone in. Another mentioned she'll leave the car on those occasions. This completely startled me. Is this common? Anyone here feel the same way/notice other women reacting like this?

Obama Incredulous Over School Closing, Says DC Needs To Toughen Up

At a meeting in the Roosevelt Room with business leaders to discuss the economy, President Obama asked to make an unrelated comment -- on the weather.

"My children's school was canceled today, because of what? Some ice," Obama said, and all at the table started laughing.

"As my children pointed out, in Chicago school is never canceled," he continued. He said that in their old hometown, "you'd go outside for recess in weather like this. You wouldn't even stay indoors."

The President said he would have to bring "some flinty Chicago toughness" to Washington.

Asked if he was calling Washingtonians wimps, Obama responded: "I'm saying that when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things."

More on topic, President Obama said he is "confident" the stimulus package will pass.

I dunno - I think if a city doesn't get ice on a regular basis, they might not have the equipment, material or experience to deal with it as well as, say, Chicago. OTOH, it's cool to see Obama telling Washington folk how awesome Chicago is....

I dunno - I think if a city doesn't get ice on a regular basis, they might not have the equipment, material or experience to deal with it as well as, say, Chicago.

That's totally DC's problem -- they are always caught completely by surprise when there's any winter weather there.

Is this common? Anyone here feel the same way/notice other women reacting like this?

It seems kind of odd to me. I notice when I am the only woman on the the elevator in my office building, but that's because it's pretty uncommon -- but it doesn't make me feel unsafe at all.