RIP Malcolm McLaren

Calling Butterfly, Madam Butterfly, Butterfly, Butterfly have no fear, I'll be back to wipe your tears.

Floor gives way at weight loss weigh-in

In a twist of fate, a group of Swedish Weight Watchers clients got the fright of their lives when the floor of their meeting room collapsed around them.

The 20 participants had gathered at the clinic in in Vaxjo in south-central Sweden on Thursday morning for a weigh-in when the floor gave way, Swedish newspaper The Local reported.

Stuff has the full story.

Billboard Ad Riles Church

NZHERALD - A billboard suggesting a priest could job-share with a man wearing a fetish mask has been labelled a "mockery of the Christian faith" by the Catholic Church.

But the people who put it up have no intention of taking it down.

The billboard on Auckland's Mt Wellington Rd is an advertisement for www.haveyoursay.co.nz - a site that invites Kiwis to "tell the nation what you think about literally anything".

It shows a Venn diagram under the heading "job sharing?" The diagram is made up of two ovals, one representing a clergyman and the other a man in a leather face mask. The ovals overlap, insinuating that the two could job-share.

Readers offended by the billboard contacted the Herald on Sunday.

"I'm not religious or anything, but my girlfriend's dad is a priest and I'm pretty sure he doesn't wear a gimp outfit," said one.

The Berlin Reunion

Earlier this week, 1.5 million people filled the streets of Berlin, Germany to watch a several-day performance by France's Royal de Luxe street theatre company titled "The Berlin Reunion".

Part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Reunion show featured two massive marionettes, the Big Giant, a deep-sea diver, and his niece, the Little Giantess.

The storyline of the performance has the two separated by a wall, thrown up by "land and sea monsters". The Big Giant has just returned from a long and difficult - but successful - expedition to destroy the wall, and now the two are walking the streets of Berlin, seeking each other after many years apart.

Read and view more at The Big Picture

Dog-killing toxin found in Thames

The first death of a dog from toxic slugs has been reported outside Auckland.

Buddy, a 12-year-old female beardy cross, died soon after her owners stopped at Tapu Beach, about 20 minutes north of Thames in the Firth of Thames, on September 30.

She was the sixth dog to die from TTX poisoning.

During August and September, at least 15 dogs showed symptoms consistent with TTX poisoning after eating slugs at Auckland beaches.

NZ Herald has more.

Second Tsunami Warning for NZ

October 8, 2009 - 9:54AM

A tsunami warning has been issued for New Zealand and Vanuatu after an 8.1-magnitude quake in the Santa Cruz islands in the South Pacific, seismologists said.

New Zealand Ministry of Defence spokesman Vince Cholewa told NZPA all emergency services were on standby.

"We’re advising people to not be on beaches or in the immediate vicinity of the coast and to not be in boats near the coast," Mr Cholewa said.

Read more

Frist NZ Tsunami warning issued after disaster in Samoa.

Two Thugs Attack Men In Dresses...

Who turned out to be Cage Fighters in fancy dress.
(Above pic not of the actual cross dressing cage fighters)

Two thugs who attacked what they thought were a pair of transvestites picked on the wrong men - when their intended victims turned out to be cage fighters on a night out in fancy dress.

Dean Gardener, 19, and Jason Fender, 22, singled out the two men walking along a street in wigs, short skirts and high heels.

Bare-chested Gardener was caught on CCTV confronting one of the men in a pink wig, black skirt and boob tube - then seen swinging a punch, a court heard.

But the other cage fighter, wearing a sparkling black dress and matching long wig, sprang to his friend's help, delivering two lightning-quick punches to the two stunned yobs.

The cage fighters were then seen teetering away in their high heels, stopping only to pick up a clutch bag they dropped during the melee.

Read more

Sir Howard Morrison

18 August 1935–24 September 2009

R.I.P

Leonard Peltier - Parole Has Been Denied

The imprisoned Native American activist and political prisoner, Leonard Peltier, has been denied parole again.

The US Parole Commission told the sixty-four-year-old Peltier on Friday that his release would depreciate the seriousness of [his] offences and promote disrespect for the law.

It was Peltiers first full parole hearing in fifteen years, and he will not be eligible for parole again until July 2024, at the age of seventy-nine.

I feel enormous sadness that you are still not free and immense gratitude for your sacrifice.

Leonard Peltier - Parole Hearing

The following update comes from Who Is Leonard Peltier.

In spite of scorching temps and humidity, there were several hundred people who attended and waited for several hours until attorney Eric Seitz came out and addressed the crowd.

He said the FBI did not have anything new to say but that he was able to present some additional evidence on Leonard's behalf to the board. Leonard spoke with the board and answered questions for 1-1/2 hours.

The hearing officer said he would look over his documentation and make a recommendation within 24-48 hours, at which time the parole board has up to 3 weeks to make a final determination.

Leonard has expressed his thanks for all of the efforts made on his behalf today. Eric Seitz said he feels "optimistic."

Rally calls for justice for Leonard Peltier

Protesters lined the southwest corner of Route 15 and William Penn Drive to fight for the release of Leonard Peltier as his second parole hearing was held Tuesday afternoon.

“The reason we are here is to bring attention to the illegal, immoral and unjust incarceration of Leonard Peltier that has been going on for 35 years,” said Dave Hill, organizer of the protest. “Today, there is a parole hearing, and he could be freed this time. We are here in solidarity with the people trying to free him, and we are here in solidarity with Leonard Peltier.”

The Daily Item has the full article.

Free Leonard Peltier

Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is an American activist and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was convicted and sentenced in 1977 to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for the murder of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who were killed during a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Peltier's conviction sparked great controversy and has drawn criticism from a number of sources. Numerous appeals have been filed on his behalf; none of the resulting rulings have been made in his favor.

Peltier is considered by some to be a political prisoner and has received support from individuals and groups including Nelson Mandela, Rigoberta Menchú, Amnesty International, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Dalai Lama), the European Parliament, the Belgian Parliament, the Italian Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Peltier's next parole hearing is scheduled to be held on July 28, 2009

(Wikipedia)

Many thanks to Native Village for the image.

Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009

Tiananmen Square, 20 Years Later

June 4th, 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the military crackdown on student protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China.

Beginning in April of 1989, thousands of students and other citizens started gathering in groups large and small, protesting many issues, centered on a desire for freedom and democratic reform.

By mid-May of 1989, hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied the square, staging hunger strikes, and asking for dialogue.

Chinese authorities responded with a declaration of martial law, and sent soldiers and tanks from the People's Liberation Army, preparing to disperse the crowds.

Late on June 3rd, 1989, the tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into the square, killing and wounding many, mostly civilians - estimates vary widely, from several hundred to several thousand dead.

See the full set of images in the article by Alan Taylor on The Big Picture.

Smug Early Birds Take Note

"Smug early birds take note: Night owls actually have more mental stamina than those who awaken at the crack of dawn, according to new research.

“It's the late risers who have the advantage, and can outperform the early birds,” said Philippe Peigneux, a professor of clinical neuropsychology at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium, who along with co-author Christina Schmidt published the counterintuitive findings in the latest issue of the journal Science.

Using magnetic resonance imaging, the pair conducted an experiment that measured alertness and ability to concentrate in 30 subjects who were naturally “extreme” early or late risers. The early risers got up between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., and the late risers at noon."

MsB and I have been discussing this concept of sorts for some years now.

The idea of getting up at some unwholesome hour, to go and sit in an awful traffic jammed commute, jus to spend the day in an office that looks more like a prison, that is filled with recycled stale germ infested air and all that the turkeys you work with, is jus madness.

Sleep late, its healthier,
Mistress

Ralph Magazine Loses 130,000 Inflatable Boobs

More than 130,000 inflatable breasts have been lost at sea en route to Australia.

Men's magazine Ralph was planning to include the boobs as a free gift with its January issue.

The cargo is worth about $200,000, which is another blow for publisher ACP's parent company PBL, which is already in $4.3 billion of debt.

A spokeswoman for Ralph said the container left docks in Beijing two weeks ago but turned up empty in Sydney this week.

The magazine has put out an alert to shipping authorities to see if they have the container, but if they don't turn up in the next 48 hours it will be too late for the next issue, she said.

Ralph editor Santi Pintado urged anyone who has any information to contact the magazine.

'Unless Somali pirates have stolen them its difficult to explain where they are,' Pintado said.

'If anyone finds any washed up on a beach, please let us know.'

Thanks to Reg Spyder and WA Today for this story.

Cannabis plant grows between court and police

A cannabis plant managed to survive an estimated two months in the heart of Timaru's crime fighting centre before being discovered by a policeman.

The 25cm plant was spotted by Sergeant Grant Lord this week as he went to talk to a group of people outside the town's courthouse - which is next to the police station.

Mr Lord told the Timaru Herald the plant, which was growing at the base of a table, was likely to be a couple of months old and meant someone had possibly lit up a joint and discarded the butt there.

The plant was plucked from the ground and destroyed.

- NZPA

Thanks NZ Herald.

Bella Qween 18th October 2008 @ Zen

West coast trial of 'angel rings' aims to save lives

Lifebuoys will be installed at some popular fishing spots along Auckland's notorious west coast this summer in a trial to see if they prove as successful as in Australia.

The Auckland Regional Council has agreed to try out the flotation devices, known as "angel rings", after research proved they reduced drownings in New South Wales.

Project leader Stu Leighton said that since they were introduced there in 2004 at least 24 lives had been saved.

He said the longer someone stayed afloat the greater was their chance of survival, and the bright orange rings helped rescuers spot those in trouble.

The eight sites where the rings are to be tried out over the next two years are still to be confirmed - surf lifesavers are being consulted - but places like Flat Rock at Muriwai are among the likely contenders.

NZ Herald has the full article.

Bloody mint idea!
Mistress

Metallica Cancel Interview Over Illegally Downloaded Album Review

Metallica cancelled an interview with a Swedish publication after one of their journalist's admitted to illegally downloading the band's new album.

In a review of 'Death Magnetic', which is currently number one in the UK, Jonn Jeppsson confessed to downloading a different version of the record – and said he preferred it to the official one.

It's understood that the songs had been edited by a Metallica fan, who then uploaded them onto the internet.

Gigwise has the full article.

Perhaps Metallica should suck less then fans may not feel the urge to edit their work.

Good on the fan for editing a better sounding copy and big ups to the journo for telling them he preferred the edited copy.

I think Metallica should learn something from all this rather than getting their panties in a bunch as they have.

They could do with getting someone other than themselves to do their post production work as they are clearly rather average at it.

Is their problem really the fact that it was a download, or that a fan has highlighted the fact that their editing skills suck ass?

Mistress