Revolting "Dr. Who-like" tentacle monster washes up in Wales.

Some of the pics truly creeped me out. From Daily Mail:

A mysterious 'alien like' creature horrified holidaymakers after it washed up on a beach on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.

The writhing mass of tentacles, which measured 3ft from end to end, was described by a zoology expert today as 'like something out of Doctor Who'.

Hundreds of people flocked to Oxwich Beach near Swansea to catch a glimpse of the monster.

But fears of a UFO invasion were put to rest as scientists revealed it was a seething mass of goose barnacles that was swept up from the depths of the ocean by bad weather.The barnacles - long writhing stalks or pendulates, tipped with shells - are normally found deep below the waves, but were washed up clinging to a log.

Professor Paul Brain, of Swansea University, said: 'One child screamed out that it resembled something from Dr Who and I would have to agree with her - it made very bizarre viewing.

'In fact they were probably the biggest specimens of free-floating goose barnacles I've seen.

'The log is about two metres long and as thick as a telegraph pole so I wouldn't be surprised if there were a couple of thousand barnacles on there.'

Holidaymaker Rebecca Porter said the log was like 'a large living sea monster'.

She said: 'The stalk on which the puffin-shaped head sat on was soft and rubbery and moved like a snake.

'They appeared to be attached to a piece of driftwood but it could hardly be seen as it was densely covered with these huge tentacles that opened and closed, thrusting out fronds like uncurling ferns.'

Punch a Monopoly player, go directly to jail, do not pass Go.

From Lowering the Bar:

Police in Fraser, Michigan, reported that a 54-year-old man assaulted a female friend with whom he was playing Monopoly on Saturday night. Police appeared to believe that the woman's offense, refusing to sell the man Park Place and Boardwalk, did not justify being punched in the face.

The angry Monopoly player, who probably had also gotten stuck using the thimble, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.

This is the most serious board-game-related assault of which I'm aware since the 2007 incident involving a fatal dispute over a game of Yahtzee.

Cambodia cancels Miss Landmine beauty pageant.

From BBC:

A beauty pageant for landmine victims has been cancelled by the Cambodian government, which branded it an insult to disabled people.

Authorities said the contest, due to launch on Friday, would damage "the dignity and honour" of participants.

Twenty women were to have competed for the title of Miss Landmine and the prize of a high-tech prosthetic limb.

Norwegian organiser Morten Traavik expressed disappointment, but said the contest would go ahead on the internet.

He said the result would be announced on 31 December. The website shows photos of the contestants, with missing limbs, wearing crowns and dresses. They are aged from 18 to 48.

Between four and six million landmines are thought to have been laid in Cambodia during its three decades of civil war.

ZombieWatch: Decapitated boy returns to car racing.

Hmm, maybe you shouldn't let a 12-year-old race cars. From Ananova:

A teenager who was 'decapitated' in a junior car race crash has amazed doctors by returning to the track.

Chris Stewart, 14, looked odds-on to die after his skull and neck were separated, reports The Sun.

Only six people in the world are known to have survived the injury - and Chris is the first to make a full recovery.

He underwent a seven-hour op to reattach his skull to his spine using titanium plates and screws.

Mum Debbie, 43, said: "We didn't know if he'd even survive, walk or talk. So it's unbelievable he's back driving again."

Chris was 12 when his car hit a barrier, trapping him, as he led the race in September 2006.

Paramedics steadied his head, a one millimetre movement either way could have killed him, and took him to Southampton General Hospital.

Doctors told Debbie and fiancé Paul Cornell, 50, that Chris had only a seven per cent chance of survival and the op was his only hope.

Nine months later he was walking - after learning to speak and eat. And doctors cleared him to drive earlier this year.

Debbie has outlawed car racing, but allows go-karting as it's "more controlled". Chris is now a regular at a track near his home in Fareham, Hampshire.

Coozer-Bits.

Aww: Swan takes babies under wing for trip across pond.

D'oh: Catholic bank owned shares in birth control pill companies.

Yipes: Scorned women superglue cheating husband's member.

ZombieWatch: Amusement park workers sent to Zombie Boot Camp (with video).

Duh: Video gamers hooked for life.

Dorky: 5 snacks that are shaped like the universe.

Unauthorized Subway franchise moonlighted as strip club.

Talk about ordering the footlong! From NY Post:

A notorious sleaze merchant could be on the hook for nearly $100,000 after opening an unauthorized Subway sandwich shop that doubled as an after-dark strip club.

A federal magistrate has recommended slamming Anthony "Cousin Vinny" Agnello with triple damages for serving up deli delights by day and nudes at night, according to a report filed Tuesday.

Magistrate Frank Maas said Agnello -- who gained infamy after supplying the stripper for a wild high-school party in 2001 -- should pay the fast-food giant's corporate parent $90,000, plus another $7,900 for its legal fees.

Doctor's Associates Inc., which operates Subway, estimated Agnello took in about $23,000 in profits from the eatery last year.

Agnello -- who last year told The Post he started slinging sandwiches because "the money in stripping isn't as profitable as it used to be" -- did not return calls.

34 hospitalized because of a coworker's strong perfume.

From the Houston Chronicle:

FORT WORTH, Texas — At first, fire officials suspected that carbon monoxide or some other poisonous fumes might have sickened almost 150 people at a Fort Worth bank call center.

What they learned was they were fallen by perfume.

MedStar ambulance spokeswoman Lara Kohl says 34 people were taken to hospitals, 12 by ambulance, after reporting dizziness and shortness of breath at the Bank of America call center. She says another 110 were treated at the scene and released.

Fort Worth fire Lt. Kent Worley says hazardous material specialists checked for carbon monoxide or other hazardous fumes, but found nothing.

A worker told a fire investigator that two co-workers became ill after someone sprayed on perfume. When a supervisor announced on the office intercom that those feeling ill should leave, dozens did — including some from other floors.

Fried ants now in lemon or barbecue flavor.

From Colombia Reports:

East Colombia's delicacy, hormigas culonas, almost literally translated as big ass ants, made a gastronomic evolutionary leap after two businessmen decided to market them not just regularly friend, but with lemon and spicy barbecue flavor.

The ants are traditionally eaten in the Santander department, bordering Venezuela. The insects are huge, hence the 'big ass ants' nickname and usually are eaten deep fried.

Two locals came up with the idea to spice the ants and put them in a little colorful box, so they can be eaten as snacks and not only fresh from the frying pan.

The inventors of the flavored insects are now working on cheese-flavored and chocolate-flavored ants and hope to be allowed to export the new delicacy so other parts of the world can enjoy the Santander department's culinary novelty.

Jobless graduate sues college for $70K tuition.

From Breitbart:

A New York City woman who says she can't find a job is suing the college where she earned a bachelor's degree.

Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit last week against Monroe College in Bronx Supreme Court, The New York Post reports. The 27-year-old is seeking the $70,000 she spent on tuition. Thompson says she's been unable to find gainful employment since she received her information technology degree in April.

She says the Bronx school's Office of Career Advancement hasn't provided her with the leads and career advice it promises.

Monroe College spokesman Gary Axelbank says Thompson's lawsuit is completely without merit.

The college insists it helps its graduates find jobs.

Journalist hunts for acid-spitting Mongolian death worm.

From News.com.au:

Armed with explosives, two men are heading to Mongolia's desert to find the fabled acid-spitting and lightning-throwing Mongolian death worm.

The worm- allegedly found in the country's Gobi Desert- has never been documented but locals strongly believe it exists.

The worm- about 1.5m long- apparently jumps out of the sand and kills people by spitting concentrated acid or shooting lightning from its rectum over long distances.

New Zealand resident and journalist David Farrier will spend two weeks trying to verify the worm's existence.

He and cameraman Christie Douglas will make a documentary about their adventure.

Miss Universe Australia flees from killer croc.

From News.com.au:

Miss Universe Australia Rachael Finch met some crocodiles during her Northern Territory visit yesterday and had to run for her life when a 5m croc named Eric lunged at her.

The stunner told the Northern Territory News it was an incredible - yet scary - experience.

She said it was one of the more unusual events she had been involved in since being announced winner of the pageant in April.

"As soon as I saw him move I got nervous," she said as she laughed about her brush with the huge saltie.

The bubbly beauty visited Crocodylus Park in Darwin to meet some of the biggest crocs in captivity.

House defeats sweeping reform of food safety.

Clearly, the US government is in the pocket of Big E.Coli. From Yahoo! News:

The U.S. House defeated a proposed sweeping reform of the federal food safety system on Wednesday amid complaints it would bury small farmers in paperwork with no assurance of an increase in inspections.

The bill was debated under special rules that limited debate to 40 minutes with no amendments allowed and a two-thirds majority needed for passage. It fell eight votes short, 280-150.

The bill would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to order food recalls, step up the frequency of plant inspections, require facilities to have a food safety plan in place and give FDA more access to company records.

Democrats predominantly voted for the bill and most Republicans voted against it. But there was a sizable cross-over -- four dozen Republicans voted for the bill. Two dozen Democrats opposed it.

Coozer-Bits.

These are items collected over the past few days. Sorry for the lateness!

Creepy: Brain-reading methods developed.

Yipes: 2,000 people bitten by dogs per day in Sri Lanka.

Awesome: Swiss psychiatrist fights fear with LSD.

Hot Cha Cha: Red wine increases women's sexual desire.

Yipes: Sacha Baron Cohen threatened by Palestinian terrorists over Bruno.

Sad: Global warming to force 75 million Pacific Islanders from their homes.

Aww: Lump of cheese lost in space.

Hot Cha Cha: Evolution producing more beautiful women.

Tech: Apple, record labels working on way to get people to buy full albums again.

RUW: Robotic firefighting team debuts.

Aww: Remorseful robber returns money, hugs victim.

Man arrested for having sex with horse... again.

Man, Matthew Broderick must be PISSED. From NY Daily News:

A South Carolina man was busted for having sex with a horse, while on probation for having sex with the same horse.

Rodell Vereen, 50, was arrested Monday night in the throes of bestiality by the filly's shotgun-toting owner, who also has video surveillance of the perverse act.

"When they arrested him before I thought that was the end of it," said Barbara Kenley, who caught Vereen in the middle of his romp in the hay with her 21-year-old horse, Sugar.

Vereen was charged with buggery and tresspassing, and was held on $10,000 bail.

"Hopefully he won't get out," said Kenley, owner of the Lazy B Stables in Conway, S.C. "My goal is to get him away from me and my property."

Happy Birthday, Geddy Lee!!

Although he exists beyond time and space, fools are confusing him as merely human and reporting that he is "turning 56." In any case, I shall use today to wish him happiness and hope that he gets some good loot.

Texan woman beheads newborn, eats brain.

Texas freaks me out.

A Texas woman decapitated her newborn baby and ate pieces of his body before turning a knife on herself, police said today.

Otty Sanchez was covered in blood and screaming "I killed my baby, I want to die'' when police arrived at the modest San Antonio home.

"She mentioned that someone or something told her to do it and she was hearing voices, so that leads us to believe she was experiencing some kind of mental crisis,'' said police spokesman Joe Rios.

[...] She appeared to have ingested parts of her child - including the brain - after attacking him with a knife, Mr Rios said.

San Antonio police chief William McManus described the crime scene as so grisly police officers barely spoke to each other while looking through the house. Parts of the child were missing, including pieces Ms Sanchez allegedly ate.

"At this particular scene you could have heard a pin drop," Mr McManus said. "No one was speaking. It was about as sombre as it could have been."

More here.

Blue M&Ms mend spinal injuries.

From the Telegraph:

The food dye that gives blue M&Ms their colour can help mend spinal injuries, researchers have claimed after tests on rats.

The compound Brilliant Blue G blocks a chemical that kills healthy spinal cord cells around the damaged area - an event that often causes more irreversible damage than the original injury.

BBG not only reduced the size of the lesion but also improved the recovery of motor skills, the rodent tests showed.

Those treated with BBG were later able to walk, although with a limp. Rats that did not receive the BBG solution never regained the ability to walk.

On the downside, the treatment causes the skin to temporarily turn bright blue and BBG needs to be injected soon after the trauma. The test injections were given within 15 minutes.

Swiss chocolatiers develope fat-free chocolate bar.

Something tells me "Vulcano" is just chocolate-flavored wax. From Ananova:

A bar of chocolate has been created that can be eaten while you diet.

Its makers claim it has 90% fewer calories than a normal bar and doesn't melt as easy as every day chocolate.

Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut has named his secret ingredient "Vulcano" because it can withstand heat up to 55C.

A spokesman told the Daily Mirror: "Our engineers stumbled upon the technique by accident.

"It's nice and chocolatey with a strong aroma. It does melt in the mouth but it is the enzymes in saliva rather than the heat that cause it to dissolve."

The company hope to sell Vulcano to Cadbury's and Nestle and It could be used in their bars within two years.

Super-Size Me to become comic book.

From The Food Section:

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Morgan Spurlock, director of the 2004 documentary "Super-Size Me," is partnering with Dark Horse Comics to create a graphic novel adapting true "tales from the fast-food underbelly" that never made it into the film.

The book, entitled Supersized: Strange Tales From a Fast Food Culture, will feature "MC Supersized" (right) -- an obese Ronald McDonald-esque clown created by artist Ron English to promote the film -- as a "guide through the stories, in the same way the Crypt Keeper hosted the ghoulish stories in EC Comics' 'Tales From the Crypt.'"

"As great as they were on paper, I think they'll be better told in a graphic-novel form," Spurlock said of the stories that will comprise the comic. "They're funny, they're gross, and hopefully they'll be informative too."

Sorry!

Hi guys, I'm sorry for the sparse updates the past few days. Hit a busy spell, but luckily things are looking boring again! And clearly there's been no other news besides the Michael Jackson Corpsewatch.

Stay tuned for a ton of updates. In the meantime, here's a picture of my cat wearing a tie.