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Wacky News Stories

Old news!!!!

<img src="http://alumni.sewickley.org/Yearbooks/1970s/1974/RandyMasters/PumpkinHeadMasters.JPG" border="0" class="linked-image" />
 
Nice helmet. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />
 
<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
<i>Man demands estranged wife pay for kidney
He wants $1.5 million for the organ he gave her when they were together</i>


<b>Man wants kidney back, or money</b>
Jan. 8: A NY surgeon is suing his estranged wife over a kidney he donated to her several years ago, saying he either wants the kidney back, or $1.5 million in a divorce settlement. MSNBC's Contessa Brewer reports.

updated 1:57 p.m. ET, Thurs., Jan. 8, 2009
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A Long Island surgeon embroiled in a nearly four-year divorce proceeding wants his estranged wife to return the kidney he donated to her, although he says he'll settle for $1.5 million in compensation.

Dr. Richard Batista, a surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center, told reporters at his lawyer's Long Island office Wednesday that he decided to go public with his demand for kidney compensation because he has grown frustrated with the negotiations with his estranged wife.

He claimed he has been prevented from seeing their children, ages, 8, 11 and 14, for months at a time.

"This is my last resort; I did not want to do this publicly," Batista said.

He said he gave his kidney to Dawnell Batista, now 44, in June 2001. She filed for divorce in July 2005, although he claims she began having an extramarital affair 18 months to two years after receiving the kidney transplant, his attorney, Dominick Barbara said.

Douglas Rothkopf, the attorney representing Dawnell Batista, did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Matrimonial attorneys were quick to shoot down any possibility Batista would succeed.

"I've been in this business over 40 years and I've never heard of that," said Seymour J. Reisman, a Long Island divorce lawyer. "It's not marital property, not a marital asset you can put a price tag on."

Manhattan attorney Susan Moss said, "The good doctor is out of luck and out a kidney. This is similar to cases where a husband wants to be repaid for the cost of breast implants and the such. Our judges are not willing to value such assets, so to speak."

Batista, 49, said he has no regrets about donating the kidney, only about the failed marriage. The couple was married in 1990 and lived in a million-dollar home in Massapequa. They met while he was working at a hospital and she was training to be a nurse.

He still recalls the day after the surgery took place.

"There is no greater feeling on this planet. As God is my witness, I felt as if I could put my arm around Jesus Christ. It was an unbelievable; I was walking on a cloud.

To this day I would still do it again."


<i>Maybe he can get it back from his cheatin' wife and auction it off</i>. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" />
 
Samurai swords ...and they call this guy a pirate? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>Sword-waving 'pirate' tells court he just wants to get life on track 'pirate' wants end to roving</b>

Melinda Siegmeier | 11th January 2009

WITH a trusty yellow budgie on his shoulder as he waved two large samurai swords in a Yeppoon street, you could have mistaken Stephen Scarlet for a pirate.

People screamed as he pulled the 60cm long swords from his car after being refused entry to the Strand Hotel.

But despite this latest incident, an addition to his lengthy criminal history, Scarlet said he would never hurt anyone and he wanted to get his life back on track.

“I'm not the devil, I'm just a man trying to survive,” he said.

Scarlet, 41, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court on Friday to possessing a knife in a public place and entering a licensed premises after being refused entry.

His little yellow bird wasn't far from his side during his court appearance; it rested on a supporter's shoulder.

On December 13 at 12.30am, Scarlet, who has been in and out of jail all his life, was highly intoxicated at the Strand Hotel and security noticed he was starting to be a concern to patrons.

Police prosecutor Constable Darryl Cox said Scarlet's yellow bird remained on his shoulder the entire time.

He said Scarlet had left but returned at 1.30am with a different shirt, but the bird was still with him.

Security refused him entry and Scarlet stood in a “defiant stance” trying to get back in, but he eventually gave up.

Constable Cox said at 2.15am he was found waving swords in Anzac Parade.

Scarlet pleaded his case in court himself, unrepresented by a lawyer.

He said the reason he changed his shirt was because it had bird droppings on it and he said he returned to the hotel because he needed to use the toilet.

“I came here today in a half-busted-up car to say that I was wrong,” he said.

“I've spent about 14 years in jail since I was five and I'm sick of it.

“I've had to lie half my life to cover my tracks. I tell people I'm a commercial fisherman otherwise they think I'm a schizo.”

Scarlet said although he was trained in weaponry and wanted to take his weapons somewhere secluded to vent his anger, he couldn't deny he might have waved them around.

Acting Magistrate Mark Morrow ordered the swords forfeited to the crown and convicted and fined him $400.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Original story here :
<a href="http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/story/2009/01/11/sword-waving-pirate-tells-court-he-just-wants-to-g/" target="_blank">http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/story...ust-wants-to-g/</a>
 
<b>Man takes 26 years to solve Rubik’s Cube</b>
Sunday, January 11, 2009

It has taken most of his life – but, after 26 years, builder Graham Parker has finally solved the puzzle of the Rubik's Cube.

When he bought the toy in 1983, Yuri Andropov was leader of the Soviet Union, breakfast TV was a novelty and music CDs were in the shops for the first time.

'I cannot tell you what a relief it was to finally solve it,' the 45-year-old from Portchester, Hampshire, said. 'It has driven me mad over the years – it felt like it had taken over my life.

'I have missed important events to stay in and solve it and I would lie awake at night thinking about it.

'I have had wrist and back problems from spending hours on it but it was all worth it. When I clicked that last bit into place and each face was a solid colour, I wept.'

Wife Jean, 47, said it had felt like there had been three people in their marriage.

'When I met Graham, he was already obsessed with the cube – spending hours on it every day,' she said. 'I have often thought about getting rid of it but I knew he would not rest until he had solved it.'

A spokesman for the governing body for competitions involving the puzzle, the World Cube Association, said it was 'definitely the longest it has taken' to finish the cube.
 
Issues. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
<b>Teen convicted of killing mother over video game</b>
By M.R. KROPKO – 5 hours ago

ELYRIA, Ohio (AP) — A judge Monday rejected the defense that a teenage boy opened fire on his family because he was addicted to video games, convicting him of wounding his clergyman father and killing his mother after they fought over a game. Lawyers for Daniel Petric, 17, didn't contest that the boy shot his parents in October 2007, but insisted his youth and video game addiction made him less responsible.

Common Pleas Judge James Burge disagreed and pointed to evidence the boy plotted the crime for weeks.

Petric was convicted of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and other charges. He faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison without parole. The judge didn't set a sentencing date.

Prosecutors said Petric planned to kill his parents because he was angry that his father would not allow him to play the video game "Halo 3," in which players shoot alien monsters that have taken over the Earth.

During the trial, deputy prosecuting attorney Anthony Cillo described Petric as a cold, calculating killer who plotted to murder his parents, Mark and Susan Petric, and make it appear to be a murder-suicide by putting the gun in his father's hand.

Defense Attorney James Kersey has said that Petric was obsessed with the "Halo" series of video games, which he played 18 hours a day when he had the chance. Petric used his father's key to open a lockbox and remove a 9 mm handgun and the game.

Mark Petric, who is a minister at New Life Assembly of God in Wellington, testified that his son came into the room and asked: "Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you."

The father testified that he expected a pleasant surprise. Then his head went numb from a gunshot and he survived. His wife, Susan, 43, died of gunshot wound to the head.

Kersey said during the trial that when the teenager fled the grisly scene, he only took one item with him: the "Halo 3" game.
 
<b>Man accused of selling daughter for cash, beer</b>
Mon Jan 12, 4:20 pm ET GREENFIELD, Calif. – Police have arrested a Greenfield man for allegedly arranging to sell his 14-year-old daughter into marriage in exchange for $16,000, 100 cases of beer and several cases of meat.

Police said they only learned of the deal after the 36-year-old man went to them to get his daughter back because payment wasn't made as promised. The man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of human trafficking.

Officers also arrested an 18-year-old man on suspicion of statutory rape. Investigators believe the girl went willingly with the man, but she's under California's legal age of consent and can't legally marry.

Police say arranged marriages involving underage girls have become a problem in this small Central Coast farming community.
 
<b>Burglar 'held captive by supernatural figure'</b>
<b>Published Date: </b> 15 December 2008
A burglar who broke into a house claims he was held captive by a "supernatural figure" for three days without food and water. Malaysian police official Abdul Marlik Hakim Johar told The Star newspaper the house's owners found the 36-year-old man fatigued and dehydrated when they returned from holiday.

He said they called an ambulance to take him to a hospital.

The man told police in Kuala Lumpur that every time he tried to escape, a "supernatural figure" shoved him to the ground.
 
<!--quoteo(post=296724:date=Jan 12 2009, 12:01 PM:name=Petros)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Petros @ Jan 12 2009, 12:01 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=296724"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That is a sad story.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's exactly how I felt.
 
Morgan ...where were you Saturday night?!?! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><b>Thieves steal 8-foot-tall Captain Morgan from restaurant patio</b>
Jan 16, 2009
By Michael Moore

A group of thieves pillaged the outdoor patio of a downtown business and stole an 8-foot-tall fiberglass statue of a pirate. The statue depicting the likeness of Captain Morgan, the namesake of a popular variety of rum, was stolen from Poppy's Fish and Poultry Market at 30 East Third St. about 2 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10.

A video of the theft, caught on a security camera set up by the owner of the business, shows three men approaching the booty with bolt cutters and flashlights in the early morning. They quickly cut through a cable securing the pirate to the patio, and carried it away to an unseen destination. The theft took no more than a couple minutes.

About 10 p.m. Sunday night, Michael Castelan, the owner of Poppy's and the Captain Morgan statue, saw an eerily similar statue for sale on the auction Web site eBay.

The seller was from Union City and Castelan was certain the statue, which was made in limited quantities as a promotion for Captain Morgan rum, was his.

He contacted Morgan Hill police, whose initial investigation determined the seller's address.

According to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing, MHPD detectives coordinated with Union City Police to search the home and allow Castelan to try to identify and reclaim the statue.

However, the attempt was unsuccessful as the pirate for sale turned out to be a coincidence. Castelan said when he went to the seller's residence with police Thursday morning, there were two Captain Morgan statues just like his. He examined both of them carefully for defects that he knows his statue has, but the defects were not present.

"We checked it out good. It was just not our stuff," Castelan said surprised the case was not solved. He added that the home was crammed with alcoholic beverage-related collectibles and bar decorations. "It looks like they collect bar stuff."

Swing noted that the owner of the statue in Union City cooperated with police and consented to a search.

The minimum bid requested for the Captain Morgan statue on eBay is $1,100, and Castelan believes the statue is worth at least that much. He said the rum company has not made the statues for about five years, and the thieves likely knew the corsair was worth a hefty ransom.

"This was somebody who knew this had some value," Castelan said. "It was a very specific burglary, and they cased it out" before stealing the swag. He noted that the statue was locked down with a Master Lock and a one-inch thick metal cable.

But he doesn't care about the monetary worth. The statue, which has been displayed outdoors on the patio adjacent to Poppy's since August 2008, was given to him as a gift from one of his customers.

"I just want it back," Castelan said. "It has a lot of personal value."

He hopes that someone will recognize the thieves from the surveillance tape of the incident and contact police.

Swing said police will continue to investigate the theft. He described the three men in the surveillance video as between 25 and 30 years old. The image is not clear enough to determine ethnicity, hair color or facial hair.

Usually when property that has been stolen in Morgan Hill is recovered, it is recovered locally, Swing said.

He added it is possible that the statue was not stolen for its resale value, but for the thieves' own use.

"I wouldn't be surprised if an officer responded to a loud party and saw it there," said Swing, adding, "The good news is it's a pretty identifiable statue."<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Original story and pic here :
<a href="http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/252806-thieves-steal-8-foot-tall-captain-morgan-from-restaurant-patio" target="_blank">http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/252806...estaurant-patio</a>
 
dammit. i'm getting my gun! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
I think I've seen that statue. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
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