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July 31, 2007
The inevitable backlash
Ever since Crocs began to infiltrate our lives, I have been horrified. They're squishy. They're ugly. Hideous, even. They've got holes in them. I have never been brave enough to try on a pair, unlike this writer. Among other things, she discovered that Crocs aren't really that good for you. I think they are even nastier than Uggs. Luckily, somebody is trying to put them out to pasture.
Crocs, the rubbery, clog-like shoes, have been deemed inappropriate footwear for workers in patient-care areas at a hospital.
Holes that ventilate the shoes pose a safety hazard, said Sharon Krystofiak, Mercy Hospital's infection control manager.
"If there's a chance you could drop something like a syringe in one of them, we want to avoid that," Krystofiak said. "Some of those holes are relatively large, almost like a dime."
Now, I love this. It's a practical but weak argument, as an opponent of the ban has countered:
Mercy nurse Kara Depasquale, 23, was wearing Crocs on Monday, when the policy went into effect. She called it ridiculous.
"I mean, I can get a needle stuck in my arm or my leg," Depasquale said.
You're right Kara, you can stick yourself in the arm with a needle. But nobody's arm can ever be as butt-ugly as these so-called shoes. I say three cheers for the Croc ban!
Posted at 02:33 PM | Comments (0)
July 30, 2007
No soup for you
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I witnessed a person get banned from a restaurant today. I was sitting in my favorite Chinese restaurant, munching an eggroll and reading some stuff for work. The proprietor answered the phone, and his voice grew increasing agitated. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but he talked on the phone for at least five minutes. Finally, he stomped into the backroom and said, "I don't want your business, you get food somewhere else!"
The phone rang again, and he yelled some more. "No, I do not deliver to you! You are banned!"
This was interesting to me, because I really thought restaurant bannings were the province of TV shows and movies. I've certainly never been banned from a place, though there are places I refuse to go.
Have you, dear readers, ever been banned from somewhere? I'd like to hear your stories!
Posted at 08:44 PM | Comments (0)
Get some good karma
It takes true generosity to pull off something like this:
He was born into the “untouchable” caste in India, so poor that he didn’t wear his first pair of shoes until he went to medical school.
Then he came to America, where he made millions as a Buffalo neurosurgeon and lived a lavish life, once owning a Rolls-Royce, five Mercedes-Benzes and an airplane.
But he felt empty, almost soulless. So he donated his personal fortune — some $20 million — to establish a neurosurgery hospital, a health clinic and a spa resort in his native Indian village, Chemmanakary.
Now, at 81, Dr. Kumar Bahuleyan has come full circle: from dire poverty in India, to the lifestyles of the rich in America and back to his native village, where he’s traded his Mercedes for a bicycle.
“I was born with nothing; I was educated by the people of that village, and this is what I owe to them,” Bahuleyan said recently in Buffalo.
“I’m in a state of nirvana, eternal nirvana,” he said. “I have nothing else to achieve in life. This was my goal, to help my people. I can die any time, as a happy man.”
Posted at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)
July 29, 2007
Off into the sunset
I found myself at the Belmont El station today, and the colors on the horizon were brilliant. Of course my camera's battery was dying, so I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would've liked. I think this one came out nicely.
I went on a river architecture tour today, which was a wonderful experience. I love going on local tours like that, where most everybody else is a tourist. Most of the tour was spent talking about how expensive all the real estate in Chicago is. Naturally, we motored past Marina City:
I tried to get my best Yankee Hotel Foxtrot picture, but I got it all wrong. Marina City is always a strange thing for me. I don't find the building all that attractive, and all the rooms are pie-shaped. That would seem very disconcerting to me, as I think people expect rooms to be square-shaped or otherwise rectangular.
Nevertheless, the tour was a great time. I had a lovely time with a lovely girl, and I would recommend the tour to anyone, Chicagoan or not!
Posted at 09:01 PM | Comments (1)
July 27, 2007
I guess you had to be there
I think the number one rule of surgery should be, no practical jokes on patients. Rule number two should be, if you plan a practical joke on a patient, don't take pictures! You just might get your ass sued if you do.
An oral surgeon who temporarily implanted fake boar tusks in his assistant's mouth as a practical joke and got sued for it has gotten the state's high court to back up his gag.
A Washington court ruled a dentist's malpractice insurance covers practical jokes.
Dr. Robert Woo of Auburn had put in the phony tusks while the woman was under anesthesia for a different procedure. He took them out before she awoke, but he first shot photos that eventually made it around the office.
The employee, Tina Alberts, felt so humiliated when she saw the pictures that she quit and sued her boss.
Woo's insurance company, Fireman's Fund, refused to cover the claim, saying the practical joke was intentional and not a normal business activity his insurance policy covered, so Woo settled out of court. He agreed to pay Alberts $250,000, then he sued his insurers.
Posted at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)
July 26, 2007
Support the troops
This is all very odd. An Army wife wants a baby, but her husband is over in Iraq. What is a girl to do? Have the stuff frozen, of course! Even better, the fertility clinic is providing the service free of cost. I tell you, Americans are generous people.
The couple knew they wanted to have kids right away but their effort was cut short when Chris was deployed to Iraq.
"We celebrated our first wedding anniversary and I sent Chris off to war three weeks later," Kathy said.
Murdoch was set to be overseas for 18 months, too long -- they decided -- to put their dreams of a family on hold.
With the help of Clarian North Fertility Services, they did not have to wait.
"We will cryo-preserve sperm for anyone who gets deployed at no cost," said Dr. John Jarrett. "We figure that's the least we can do for them."
Posted at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2007
Maybe it's the way you drive
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Cab drivers are a superstitious lot. I ride in my fair share of taxis, and they have all sorts of good luck charms: pictures of wives and daughters, crosses, statues and idols. They have a potentially dangerous job, and naturally they want to curry the favor of the man upstairs. Thus, the fellow who has cab #666 in San Francisco blames the number for his bad luck. He asked the city's Taxi Commission to give him a new number:
Byrne asked for the vote in a two-page memo, claiming that years ago the cab bearing this number was burned to a crisp -- and the only thing visible in the rubble were the numbers 666.
He added that he's had at least one accident and several deaths in his family in the year he's had the number, even though he had the cab blessed at Mission Dolores.
However, there must be some crazy logistics to getting a new number, because his request was deep-sixed:
Somewhere in San Francisco Wednesday Satan's Cab will be on the street after the city's Taxi Commission voted 5-1 to keep medallion 666 in circulation.
...
But commission vice president Patricia Breslin wasn't moved.
"Where does it end?'' Vice President Patricia Breslin told the gathering. "I lived at an address of 666 and I did not go over to the dark side.''
Where does it end? That's a puzzling way to put it. Are there scores of cab drivers who want to get new numbers? Is the guy with 13 next in line? Speaking of which, I am pretty sure I've seen cab #666 in Chicago before, and it wasn't trailing fire and blaring ominous organ music.
However, I have to think that if he truly believes having 666 brings him bad luck, it can't be that hard to give him a new number. Either that, or maybe he needs to change the way he drives!
Posted at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2007
The long arm of the law
Somehow, I don't think Fidel Castro is going to be appearing at court in Maine to fight this:
BELFAST, Maine -- A woman from Stockton Springs has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Sherry Sullivan contends Castro caused the death of her father, Geoffrey Sullivan, a pilot who she said was shot down over Cuba and imprisoned in 1963 while on a covert mission.
Sullivan filed her lawsuit in May in Superior Court in Belfast, but the judge delayed action until last week while considering how to serve papers to the defendants, who also include Castro's brother Raul, the Cuban army and the Republic of Cuba.
Mills finally sent a Spanish translation of the suit to Cuba by registered mail but has yet to receive proof of its delivery to the parties named.
Posted at 01:01 PM | Comments (0)
July 23, 2007
The terrible, horrible, no good very bad night of fireworks
The newspaper in my hometown is always good for a laugh every now and then. Here is a great letter to the editor. This would have been a good letter, except the writer doesn't even propose a solution. Usually these letters end with a suggestion, like "they ought to put those guys in jail!" Here, there's nothing.
To the Editor:
My mom and I were looking for some friends I knew at the fairgrounds because my sister Emma was on vacation. We go over by the rides because a lot of my friends like them. There was a group of teenagers about around the ages of 14 to 15.
I looked at my mom pointed and said “Mom how old are they?” She replied “not old enough!” At first we thought they were just smoking cigarettes, but when we got closer we saw they were smoking pot! Hopefully, the cops driving by saw them.
Later on, we went to get out our chairs and sit on the top the hill where our car was. We looked at the people on the hill setting back up their stuff after the rain. We saw a couple right above our tarp on the hill making out and popping each others zits. Gross! They were the same people who pulled out our pegs holding our tarp so their kids wouldn’t trip.
Finally it was 9:30 p.m. a half an hour until the fire works started.
My mom went up by the car to smoke, and so she leaned against the front of our Blazer. Soon the car started to shake. She walked to the back to see what as going on. There were people sitting on the back of our car. So she was intimidated by them because they were big men she didn’t want to tell them to get off.
I think we should sit in a different area next year.
Posted at 01:44 PM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2007
Nickels *are* round!
So when I first saw this ad, I thought it was some kind of anti-drug ad:
But no, it turns out it's a PSA about learning early with your kids. But I think you can see the drug similarities, as the first thing this reminded me of was a blazing pot-smoking session in That 70's Show. Way to trick me, Ad Council!
Posted at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2007
Who saw this coming?
Okay, this has been bugging me. How the hell did Dennis Haysbert become some sort of authority figure? He's popping up in those annoying Allstate commercials, he's the voice of the Military Channel, and now he is hosting documentaries on the said Military Channel. He does have an imposing voice, admittedly. Is he trying to become the new James Earl Jones, famous for voiceovers? But James Earl Jones has impressive movie credits, what does Dennis Haysbert have?
Supposedly he was the president on 24, but I don't really know because I've never seen that show. But anybody can play president on TV or in the movies. I mean, Bill freaking Pullman was the president in a movie. He's had a string of movie appearances and everything, but personally I can't be convinced to buy insurance by a guy whose most famous movie appearance, as far as I am concerned, is this:
Posted at 10:24 PM | Comments (1)
Egads
I can't decide which story is ickier: the environmentally friendly tampons, or this:
A woman has won a court fight to keep the placenta after her daughter's birth. She had planned to grind it up and ingest it as a way to fight postpartum depression, but now plans to bury it.
Clark County District Court Judge Susan Johnson granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday, ordering Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in southern Nevada to return the placenta to Anne Swanson.
Hospital officials said they will comply.
The hospital had refused to give the uterine lining to Swanson following the April 12 Caesarean birth of her daughter, with officials calling it contaminated biohazardous waste.
The judge ordered the hospital not to destroy the placenta, which was frozen, and ordered that it be turned over to Swanson within two weeks.
Posted at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2007
A tight spot
At this point in my life, I've learned that women are more than capable of making unreasonable demands, or getting upset about things that are inconsequential or not the fault of their significant other. This, I think, falls into the latter category:
The relationship between supermodel Gisele Bundchen and boyfriend Tom Brady is apparently falling to pieces.
According to reports, Bundchen is upset that Brady's ex, Bridget Moynahan is due to give birth to Brady's son on July 20, which ironically happens to be the Brazilian supermodel's 27th birthday, reports the New York Post.
Even though Brady's family is flying to Italy to spend time with the couple Roman villa that Bundchen recently acquired, Gisele is reportedly distressed.
The tensions have heightened to such an extent that while staying at the Auberge du Soleil luxury spa resort in Napa valley recently, she and Brady fought openly in front of hotel guests.
For Brady's sake, he better hope that baby gets born on a day other than Gisele's birthday. If Bridget Moynahan wanted to be catty, I suppose she could have birth induced on that day just to upset her. But Bridget wouldn't do that; she's an angel.
Nevertheless, I don't see why Gisele is upset about this. As is often the case, logic bows to emotion. It's not like she was dating Tom Brady when he knocked up Bridget. Brady probably didn't happen to know when Gisele's birthday was. But in order for this to be a legitimate offense, Tom Brady would have to have known that if he somehow managed to impregnate Bridget Moynahan one day back in October, that a baby would pop out on July 20th, which also would happen to be the birthday of Gisele Bundchen, his future girlfriend, although he was presently with Bridget Moynahan, who isn't exactly chopped liver. Tom Brady may be smooth, but he's not that smooth.
Posted at 12:47 PM | Comments (1)
July 16, 2007
Happy anniversary
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62 years ago today, the first atomic bomb was detonated in the desert of New Mexico. It inspired Robert Oppenheimer to say, "I am become death, destroyer of worlds."
It also inspired numerous other things. I'm talking the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Korea, Vietnam, and a generation in fear of nuclear holocaust. The Doomsday Clock knew how to scare the pants off people.
Of course, the prospect of worldwide annihilation was good for a laugh every now and then. Dr. Strangelove was pretty hilarious. Armageddon made great fodder for a Simpsons Halloween episode. It gave Doc Brown an excuse to get plutonium for his time machine.
Is the danger of nuclear weapons passed? Not by a long shot, but I have to say it's somewhat of a credit to humanity that we haven't managed to destroy the whole world just yet. But I guess there's always Judgment Day to worry about...
Posted at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2007
I can't bear it
Now this is one dedicated bear. One of the things that impresses me the most about nature is the typical animal's sheer will to live. How many humans would gnaw their own leg off to escape a trap? Exactly.
A cinnamon-colored bear was treated for burned paws after the Angora fire, thanks to the efforts of veterinarian Dr. Kevin Willits.
Found in the Gardner Mountain area, the bear was left in the wild after being treated, according to Tom Milham of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.
He said the bear will recover.
"She had been laying down under a tree for the last few days and walking around gingerly," Milham said. "We tranquilized and examined her. All four paws were severely burned, but not to the point that affected ligaments or tendons.
"We cleaned her up, and hopefully when she wakes up, she'll feel better," Milham said.
Posted at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2007
"Perhaps" overly worried?
So I started to read this, and I thought it was going to be a fairly random question about teaching children about proper manners, greed, and materialism. But then the author makes a bizarre move and takes his question into the realm of the insane:
My daughter is 5 years old and has, like most girls her age, a hamper's worth of stuffed animals. While she has her favorites, she constantly wants more and usually connives to get someone (read: her grandparents) into procuring a new one every couple of weeks. The new one immediately becomes her favorite and she must sleep with it every night and haul it around half the day. My question is: Does this behavior indicate she'll be overly promiscuous as an adult, or at least unable to commit to a single partner?
—Perhaps Overly Worried Father
Overly promiscuous? Because she likes stuffed animals? Sounds like somebody's been watching a little too much Love Line.
Posted at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2007
Must not have gotten the e-vite
Breakdowns in communication happen all the time. Sometimes they have disastrous consequences. Luckily, sometimes they also have comical consequences:
Teacher Dave Barclay flew thousands of miles across the Atlantic to Wales to attend his friend's wedding, only to discover he was a year early.
Barclay, 34, was told about the wedding earlier in the year and assumed it was to take place in 2007.
It was only when he had flown into Cardiff from Toronto, Canada, and rang the bridegroom seeking details of the venue that he discovered the wedding was in 2008.
"I am a year early -- yeah, my mates are loving it, aren't they," he told BBC Radio Wales.
The groom, Dave Best, had emailed his friend at the start of the year.
"He just said July the 6th and I assumed it was this year because if you tell the guy July 6th, they're going to think it's this year," Barclay said.
Now, I don't know who to blame for this one. Obviously the groom deserves some blame. It's pretty stupid to tell somebody something is happening on July 6, only to mean July 6 of next year. 99% of people who are told a date without a year will deduce that the speaker means THIS year. If I said something was October 10, many of you would decide this meant October 10, 2007, and not October 10, 2008. I am loathe to use the term "assume" for this, because it's more of a conclusion: if he meant 2008, he would've said 2008.
On the other hand, the unfortunate teacher deserves some blame. There are a bunch of things he could've done that would have tipped him off that he was wrong, such as: talking to other people about the wedding; wondering why he didn't get an invitation to the wedding; and, I dunno, making damn sure the wedding is happening before buying a $1,000 ticket to Wales. I hope he at least got a good vacation out of the deal.
Posted at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2007
Why didn't I think of this?
Most people really don't want to be on jury duty. There's usually some way to get out of it. Apparently this method is about as successful as trying to tell the Selective Service people, "I can't go to Vietnam 'cause I'm gay."
BARNSTABLE, Massachusetts (AP) -- A Cape Cod man who claimed he was homophobic, racist and a habitual liar to avoid jury duty earned an angry rebuke from a judge on Monday, who referred the case to prosecutors for possible charges.
"In 32 years of service in courtrooms, as a prosecutor, as a defense attorney and now as a judge, I have quite frankly never confronted such a brazen situation of an individual attempting to avoid juror service," Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson told Daniel Ellis, according to a preliminary court transcript of the exchange.
Ellis, of Falmouth, had been called to court with about 60 other potential jurors for possible service on a 23-member grand jury.
On a questionnaire that all potential jurors fill out, Ellis wrote that he didn't like homosexuals and blacks. He then echoed those sentiments in an interview with Nickerson.
"You say on your form that you're not a fan of homosexuals," Nickerson said.
"That I'm a racist," Ellis interrupted.
"I'm frequently found to be a liar, too. I can't really help it," Ellis added.
"I'm sorry?" Nickerson said.
"I said I'm frequently found to be a liar," Ellis replied.
"So, are you lying to me now?" Nickerson asked.
"Well, I don't know. I might be," was the response.
Ellis then admitted he really didn't want to serve on a jury.
"I have the distinct impression that you're intentionally trying to avoid jury service," Nickerson said.
"That's true," Ellis answered.
Nickerson ordered Ellis taken into custody. He was released later Monday morning.
Ellis could face perjury and other charges.
Posted at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
July 09, 2007
You're with me, leather
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When I was ten years old, I thought Chris Berman was awesome. His Bermanisms were the greatest thing ever, especially when it was a player for one of the teams I liked. Werewolves of London Fletcher? Gold. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for the phrase "Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills," even if it's not true.
However, despite the popular notion that most guys act like they are ten years old well into their thirties, I do not usually find Chris Berman amusing anymore. Thus, with trepidation, I fear Chris Berman is again hosting tonight's home run derby at the MLB All-Star game.
Besides his overuse of the phrase "way back," Berman also has this awful tendency to describe a ball as landing "somewhere in [local suburb.]" So, when they had the derby at Comiskey Park a few years back, Berman would jokingly say "That one's landing in Skokie!"
Now, the game this year is in San Francisco. Here's my list of the odds that a particular town in the Bay Area is going to be referenced by Berman.
1-2: Oakland. It's gonna happen.
3-1: Berkeley. Berman is a hippie at heart.
5-1: San Jose. Odds that Berman will ask if the ball "knows the way to San Jose": 1-4.
8-1: Sausalito. Has to be a favorite, because it's just so damn fun to say.
9-1: Sacramento. Not really near San Francisco, but it's the capital.
11-1: Alameda. Famous for being the locale of the "nuclear wessels" in Star Trek IV.
15-1: Alcatraz. Not really a city, but even morons know Alcatraz is in the middle of the bay.
16-1: Golden Gate Bridge. Again, not a city, but this is like going to Chicago and not mentioning Al Capone, right?
22-1: San Quentin. I hear there's a prison there.
25-1: Palo Alto. Home of Stanford University, but obscure otherwise.
1,000-1: Los Angeles. Are these even in the same state? Berman will be crucified if he does that.
Posted at 05:29 PM | Comments (0)
Another reason to avoid porta-potties
Dare I say, this is a crappy way to get injured:
PISMO BEACH, Calif. -- A man using a portable toilet at Pismo Beach Pier got a jolt when a sports utility vehicle struck it and pushed it 10 feet, police said.
David Fear, 56, of Grover Beach was momentarily knocked unconscious when the SUV accidentally backed into a curb and the toilet, police said.
The driver, Terrance Sterling, 17, put his car in reverse instead of drive.
"You could hear the scooting of a porta-potty on the ground," said police Sgt. Steve Weir. "The guy inside bumped his head."
Sterling was not cited.
This seems to add credence to my theory that porta-potties should be avoided at all costs. Whether it's friends tipping them over, somebody peeing all over the seat, or the foul stench emitting from every one of them, these things are bad news. They are essential and important devices, but also a curse. They are an outpost of relief, but a haven of filth. They're typical of most modern things: a great convenience, but a true pain sometimes.
Posted at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2007
Piece of Booty
I've always been interested in how it is people come up with names for products. Pepsi. What does that even mean? How did Apple decide to name itself after a fruit? Now, in trademark law, we have these different classifications for trademarks, like fanciful, arbitrary, descriptive (eg Frosted Flakes), and generic. That sort of classification determines how easy it is to trademark a brand. The more original a product name is, the easier it is to trademark it.
But that doesn't help one iota to explain why somebody would name their snack food Veggie Booty, and the presence of salmonella is not going to help:
Fifty-seven people in 18 states -- including one Illinois resident and almost all of them children -- have fallen ill from salmonella linked to a popular snack food called Veggie Booty, state and federal health officials say.The Food and Drug Administration announced a nationwide recall of the puffed corn and rice snack, made by Robert's American Gourmet company, on June 28.
The recall was expanded on Monday to include Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks, another product under the Robert's brand.
Posted at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2007
Oh. My. God.
I cannot believe such a product actually exists:
Welcome to GladRags where you will find all of your reusable menstrual options! Look for GladRags reusable cotton pads, The Keeper menstrual cup, The Keeper Moon Cup, The Diva Cup and Jade and Pearl sea sponge tampons.
I just, just don't know what to say. I mean, I guess it's like a handkerchief... But much, much, worse.
Posted at 08:48 PM | Comments (0)
Sneakin' around
When I was senior in high school, I took a trip to Washington, DC. The occasion? The national quiz team competition, or something. Anyway, we rode the subway around quite a bit, and I noticed this style:
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You see, all the women rode the subway in their lovely business suits or other professional attire, but trolled around in sneakers. This was because, obviously, normal professional shoes are too uncomfortable to walk around in otherwise.
I remember thinking to myself that this was kind of cute. But I've changed my mind. A man cannot get away with wearing a suit and sneakers, even if for the purpose of commuting. Yes, there are people who do, but they are either comic relief characters or smarmy pretty boys. For example, the sort of person I visualize wearing a suit and sneakers is somebody like Screech, the computer whiz from National Treasure, and Ferris Bueller. And come on, as cool as Ferris Bueller is, you know you are also this close to wanting to punch him in the face. So why should it be any different for women? I go to work every day in a suit, but I don't throw on sneakers for the commute. Why should they?
For me, I think I would prefer it if they ditched the sneakers and went with flip flops. That avoids the whole sneaker conundrum completely.
Posted at 01:58 PM | Comments (1)
Duck and cover
I get home last night from the fireworks, ready for an attempt at getting reacquainted with my bed. What do I hear, but firecrackers, bottle rockets and other explosives. Being the Fourth of July, I had to expect that sort of thing.
But something quite unexpected did happen. I was getting ready for bed, putting away various things, when I heard the whine and bang of a rocket. The house shook a little bit, and then the ceiling rattled, and all the pictures fell off the wall.
Who is setting off fireworks so powerful that stuff is falling off walls, I ask you? I am not sure what it was, but it packed a wallop.
Posted at 01:43 PM | Comments (0)
July 04, 2007
Happy birthday
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Posted at 01:17 PM | Comments (0)
July 02, 2007
Another reason to avoid the Edens
They say laws are like hot dogs, as in you don't want to see either of them being made. After reading this story, I've come to another conclusion: I also do not want to see how the hot dog stuff gets to wherever it is that hot dogs are made.
The Sun-Times had this to say:
This wasn't your average overturned truck spill on the highway.
Pig hooves and ears, greasy cooking oil and other unknown parts slimed up the outbound Edens Expy. on Sunday, shutting it down and diverting traffic for more than seven hours.
Sand didn't clean it up. A round of foaming, industrial-strength degreasing chemicals didn't do the trick, either.
Hazardous-materials crews had to be called in by the Illinois Department of Transportation, as multiple rounds of special solvents had to be used to scrape the mucky mess off the road south of Old Orchard Road in Skokie.
The Tribune poured the gross on a little bit more:
Northbound lanes of the Edens Expressway were closed for more than seven hours Sunday after a dump truck carrying greasy pig parts toppled and splattered its load across the highway.
A sudden shift in the load caused the truck to fall onto its side about 7:30 a.m. while entering the Edens at Dempster Street, said Mike Claffey, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Pig ears, feet and grease covered all three northbound lanes of the Edens, he said.
"This is obviously something that's really hard to clean up," Claffey said.
Who wants to wager on how exceedingly gross Skokie smelled right after this accident?
Posted at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2007
Thanks for the invite, I would very much like to come into your world
So Beyonce donned this super-hot robot costume for her performance at the BET Awards last week:
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I said to myself, that Beyonce sure is creative. Her and Jay-Z are like some unstoppable musical behemoth. How do they do it? And then, as if to answer my question, this blog (beware, mildly-NSFW) tips us off. Kylie Minogue had a similar costume a few years ago. Beyonce ripped her off!
If you are anything like me, you will watch this video, and when it is finished you will stare into space for awhile until you finally say, "daaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn." I dare you to do otherwise.
Posted at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)