[piper_maru81]

Originally Posted by DiSaidSo

Hm... shy and nearly blind. Maybe Darwin got 'em.

LMAO!

[eggplant43]

December 17, 2006

Woman says mom left child at restaurant, too
By Mike Sakal
Tribune


A former restaurant worker in Scottsdale says the mother who left her toddler with a parking valet last week at Scottsdale Fashion Square frequently did similar things at Houston's Restaurant in north Scottsdale. Whitney Binkley, 20, a former greeter at Houston's Restaurant in north Scottsdale, said workers and managers at Houston's called Gardenia Zakrzewski Johansson "the crazy lady" who frequently left her child with strangers. Binkley said she recognized Johansson's picture on a newscast as a regular customer who left her child with strangers at least three times for five to 10 minutes while she made trips to the restroom or her car.

Julian Leal, a senior service manager at Houston's, and another restaurant employee confirmed Binkley worked there. Both confirmed the woman they believed to be Zakrzewski Johansson frequented the restaurant, but would not comment further.

Binkley said she stopped working at Houston's in late September.

The Tribune reported Saturday another incident involving Zakrzewski Johansson leaving her child unattended in a vehicle at a north Scottsdale jewelry store while she went to a nearby Starbucks with her dog. She was arrested Monday by Scottsdale police inside a parking garage near the Neiman Marcus store at Scottsdale Fashion Square after she left the child sleeping in her 2002 black BMW, according to a police report.

Zakrzewski Johansson, 39, is under investigation by Child Protective Services on suspicion of child neglect. She has not returned repeated calls seeking comment and has not responded to visits to her home.

However, her mother, Andrea Zakrzewski, said Friday her daughter is "a great mother," and had only nice things to say about her daughter. She added that she believes the national media attention from the first incident has "gone too far, definitely."

Binkley said Zakrzewski Johansson asked her to watch the 2-year-old child twice in August and late September, and she held the child.

"If people think this is the only time she's done this, they're wrong," Binkley said. "It's not right. She's a nice lady, but she's being irresponsible. She needs to take care of her child."

Binkley said she saw Zakrzewski Johansson leave the boy with an older woman near the counter in June 2005.

"I thought it was his grandmother," Binkley said. "But managers and workers said, 'Oh no. She just leaves her child with people all the time.' I thought that was strange."

Binkley said she believed managers questioned Zakrzewski Johansson about leaving her child with strangers, but wasn't sure how the mother replied.

Binkley said she saw Zakrzewski Johansson about every three weeks.

Scottsdale police Sgt. Mark Clark said Zakrzewski Johansson is facing a misdemeanor charge of child neglect.

A Scottsdale City Court date has not been scheduled, according to City Prosecutor Caron Close.

[Couriant]

Injured man wins damages for sex overdrive

LONDON (Reuters) - A devout Christian who said an accident at work boosted his libido and wrecked his marriage as he turned to prostitutes and pornography was awarded more than 3 million pounds in damages on Tuesday.

Stephen Tame, 29, from Suffolk, suffered severe head injuries in a fall, transforming him from a loyal newlywed into a "disinhibited" character who had two affairs.

He was in a coma for two months after falling from a gantry while working at a bicycle warehouse shortly after his marriage in January 2002. Doctors said it was a miracle he survived.

Awarding him 3.1 million pounds in compensation at London's High Court, Judge Michael Harris said: "His life and the life of his young wife were shattered".

His former employer, Professional Cycle Marketing, of Essex, had argued through their lawyers that his injuries were not as bad as suggested in court.

from http://uk.news.yahoo.com/19122006/80...overdrive.html

[ekim68]

Laughter Yoga: Relaxing, If a Bit Kooky

There's funny ha-ha, and then there's funny Hatha, as in yoga. These days, more Americans are discovering the benefits of laughter yoga.

On the sunny shores of Laguna Beach, Calif., a group of otherwise sane adults gather every morning to laugh hysterically. At times, they sound like the seagulls hovering nearby, or kooky lunatics. And sometimes, they look rather ridiculous, sticking their tongues out like goofy lions. These are some of the feel-good exercises led by Jeffrey Briar to get the Laguna Laughter Club in the mood every morning.

"Ho,ho, ha-ha-ha is a variation on a yoga breathing technique called Kapalabhati, where you are cleaning out your brain," says Briar. "It's called skull-shining breath, where you do a rapid expiration, blowing the breath out while your abdomen goes in."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=6641178

[coderitr]

A turtle given a Christmas treat of Brussels sprouts caused a Boxing Day emergency when it set off an alarm at a sea life centre – by passing wind.

Its bubbles in the water tank were sent up a tube to the surface, where they popped and splashed water on to a sensor.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article...8&in_page_id=2

[DiSaidSo]

Hehehe Turtle flatulence = Comedy gold.

Hiya Code. Hope you had a loverly Christmas.

[Couriant]

Not news: A woman needs a criminal background check.
News: She has an outstanding warrant for stealing a car.
Idiot Award Nominee: When she went to the state police to get the check, she drove the stolen car.

[ekim68]

'Warning: Dangerous Cat - has attacked 13 people in the last six years'

Like most cats, Blackie can be ever so friendly and affectionate when he wants to be.

But when approached by a man in uniform, the once-cuddly 12-year-old instantly sees red.

So far, five postmen, one police officer, five paper boys, one takeaway driver and one construction worker have fallen victim to his violent streak.

Stalking them from afar Blackie, the giant one-and-a-half stone moggy, hisses and spits at his prey before leaping through the air with his claws fully extended.

As his latest victim received treatment for a series of painful scratches, Blackie's apologetic owner took drastic action usually reserved for vicious dogs.

At the door to Ann Hogben's home in Ramsgate, Kent, is a newly erected sign which simply reads: "Warning: Dangerous Cat - Has attacked 13 people in the last six years."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

[ekim68]

'Plutoed' is 2006 word of the year

The American Dialect Society (ADS) has voted "plutoed" its 2006 word of the year. The verb, meaning " to demote or devalue someone or something", beat "climate canary" (an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon) in a run-off vote to secure the crown, although the latter did win the "most useful" word category.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01...d_of_the_year/

[ekim68]

Property for sale.....Step right up..

Vlad the unique selling point
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 06/01/2007

Blood-spattered Bran Castle is Transylvania's hottest property, reports Ben Travers

Say what you will about his personal habits, but when it comes to spinning gore into gold, Vlad the Impaler, enthusiastic champion of man's inhumanity to man, can be said to have few rivals.

The 15th-century tyrant - the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Count Dracula - is known to have resided at Bran Castle, near Brasov in Transylvania, as either pampered guest or shackled inmate, according to conflicting reports.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...06/pdrac06.xml

[ekim68]

'Wee' problem at Scotland parking lot

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Budget cuts have left a Scottish parking-lot attendant stranded without a bathroom.

The dire tale of Shirley Thomson relayed in Saturday's Scotsman is of a grown woman forced to relieve herself in a waste basket because she no longer has any co-workers who can cover for her while she makes a proper trip to the loo.

"I've never been told I can leave the hut, and even if I could it's just not practical," she lamented. "It takes so long to lock up that if I needed the toilet it might be too late."

The operators of the Edinburgh lot told the newspaper that Thomson is certainly excused to use the facilities when she needs to, and they plan to install self-service payment machines at the lot in the near future and move her somewhere else.

Thomson said the situation wouldn't be so bad if she were a lad since "they can just pee next to a car."

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.ph...3-110255-5236r

[ekim68]

Girl has report from wrong school

The mother of a 12-year-old girl from West Sussex has said she was shocked to receive a progress report from a school her daughter had never attended.

The Patcham High School report, sent to Diane Bond in Hurstpierpoint, praised Sophie's performance in English but said she was misbehaving in maths.

"The school doesn't know whether Sophie is there or not but has quite clearly given her results," said Ms Bond.

The school said it regretted any distress its mistake had caused.

Sophie attended an induction day at the school in July 2006 and was due to join Year 7 in September.

But she took up a place at Oakmeeds Community College in Burgess Hill instead.

Patcham's report gave Sophie grades in five subjects but marked her absent in all the others.

A letter invited her and her mother to a meeting to address her absenteeism.

"We thought it was quite funny at first but then we thought about it and were quite shocked," said Sophie.

Patcham said it was not told Sophie did not wish to take up its place until some weeks after the start of term.

"Due to a change in computer systems and staffing, Sophie's name was regrettably not removed officially from our roll until a later date," it said.

"Due to an administrative error, Sophie's report was confused with another student with the same name.

"We are confident that measures are now in place to prevent this happening again."

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pag...es/6275569.stm

[Blackmirror]

Victim of doctor's rage

In a fit of rage, a Romanian doctor cut off a patient's penis during surgery and chopped it into small pieces.

"I was stressed", he told shocked theatre staff at Bucharest Hospital after corrective surgery to the man's testicles went wrong and he "overreacted'.

He was struck off and ordered to pay the man £30,000 compensation.

[Couriant]

Originally Posted by Blackmirror

Victim of doctor's rage

In a fit of rage, a Romanian doctor cut off a patient's penis during surgery and chopped it into small pieces.

"I was stressed", he told shocked theatre staff at Bucharest Hospital after corrective surgery to the man's testicles went wrong and he "overreacted'.

He was struck off and ordered to pay the man £30,000 compensation.

Note to self, ask the hospital not to haave a Romanian surgeon for surgery in the nether regions

[ekim68]

Brain study finds the stuff of daydreams

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Daydreaming seems to be the default setting of the human mind and certain brain regions are devoted to it, U.S. researchers reported on Friday.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...MS.xml&src=cms