The Things We Do For Love

   Today's post is NOT inspired by the insipid 10CC song of the same name.  However
   it may be partially inspired by watching a bit too much of "The Bold and the
   Beautiful" on my days off work.  Ridge loves Brooke so much he arranges to have
   their marriage annulled so that she can marry his half-brother (Nick), whose
   child she "may" be carrying.

   1. "Australian travels halfway around the world to collect wife's wedding dress"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_673207.html >

   2. "Lovesick waiter chops off finger"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/03/1072908946604.html >
   "A lovelorn 21-year-old waiter chopped off three of his fingers outside his
    ex-girlfriend's house in China to try to win her back"

   3. "Chinese Romeo writes 300,000-word love letter"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/31/1067566081696.html >
   "A lovesick Chinese man is to apply for a place in the Guinness Book of World
    Records after writing a 300,000 word love letter to his Russian girlfriend"

   5. "Swedish police help Romeo find his Juliet"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200308/s934482.htm >
   "The starry-eyed Italian was so infatuated with a 17-year-old Swedish girl he
    met in the United States earlier this summer that he left Milan to hitchhike
    the 2000 kilometres to the Stockholm suburb of Taeby"

   6. "Egyptian newlywed commits crime to join beloved in jail"
      < http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/13/1065917350759.html >
   "An Egyptian newlywed bought drugs in a last but failed bid to share the same
    cell as her husband who had been sentenced to six years in prison for drug
    trafficking"

   7. "Jilted man gives cash away for lost love"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_752014.html >

   8. "Man offers car and savings to get ex back"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_713042.html >

   9. "PA man robs bank ... He wanted to buy fiancé a car"
      < http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/052804_nw_bankrobbery.html >
   "Police say a Columbia County man robbed a bank of nearly eight-thousand dollars
    yesterday so he could buy a car for his fiancee"

   10. "The bride who stole her wedding"
      < http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9620825^421,00.html >
   "[She] stole her $1450 dress, a black suit, cutlery, wine glasses, candle holders
    and most of her other wedding paraphernalia"

   11. "Woman marries a month after being stabbed by husband"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_986699.html >
   "A Warwickshire woman married a man just a month after he stabbed her for having
    pre-wedding jitters"

   12. "Bride threatens self-immolation if groom not arrested"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/07/1065292599557.html >
   "An Indian bride has threatened to set herself on fire if police don't arrest her
    reluctant groom"

   ----

   10cc lyrics: "The Things We Do For Love"
      < http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/x-filesepisodes2/thingswedoforlove.htm >

Animals In The Workforce II

   1. "Mayor hires parrot to answer 'undesirable questions'"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_831528.html >
   His reason: "Some people only approach me with nonsense talk so the parrot will
   answer back in the same way because I need to use my time to work"

   2. "Firm hires parrot to answer phone complaints"  [broken?]
      < http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/news/index.cfm?instanceid=59621 >
   "A busy restaurant chain has found a novel way to field phone complaints from
    elderly customers: It's hired a parrot to answer the calls"

   3. "Cats stand guard over Russia's artistic treasures"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s1022316.htm >
   "Saint Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum is well known as home to some of the
    world's greatest artistic treasures. A lesser-known collection at the museum
    is an army of cats, its praetorian guard against rats."

   4. "Camel is appointed as Sheriff's deputy"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_768332.html >

   5. "Sew far, sew good for sewing bird"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1101826.htm >
   "Customers at a tailors in west England have been left in stitches after Baggio,
    the owner's pet cockatiel, showed he has picked up the knack of sewing by
    watching his master"

   6. "Puppy appointed classroom assistant"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_840424.html >

   7. "Bees, giant African rats used to sniff landmines"
      < http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0210_040210_minerats.html >

   ----

   Worth1000.com Photoshop Contest: Animal Dayjobs
      < http://www.worth1000.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=455 >

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

   Today's B-List post is inspired by the phrase:
      "Revenge is a dish best served cold"
   cited in the opening of "Kill Bill Volume 1" as a "Klingon proverb".

   Actually, the phrase was first used by French writer Pierre Ambroise Francois
   Choderios de LaClos (1741-1803). He originally said it in French in his 1782
   book Les Liasons Dangereuses:
      "La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid,"
      < http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/9/messages/813.html >

   1. "Revenge is a dish best served smelly"
      < http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2004/05/revenge_is_a_di.html >
   "A spurned wife took revenge on her cheating husband by feeding him a 'dog poo'
    pie"

   2. "Knickers says jilted woman"
      < http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=186932003 >
   "A jilted wife has taken revenge on her cheating husband by hanging his knicker
    collection in their front garden"

   3. "Man goes crazy with condiments in Ninth Avenue apartment"
      < http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/henson4.29.04.html >
   "A man upset his girlfriend filed a domestic battery report against him with
    police Tuesday poured ketchup and barbecue sauce throughout her apartment in
    the 1000 block of Ninth Avenue, breaking furniture and appliances and
    destroying her clothes"

   4. "Man drives flaming car into ex's house, cops say"
      < http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/02/28/BA95543.DTL >
   "Furious about being jilted, Novato police said, the 44-year-old Davis set his
    car on fire and drove the flaming vehicle into his estranged girlfriend's
    Novato home"

   5. "Jilted Italian woman 'vandalised 60 Alfa Romeos to get back at ex'"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_747233.html >
   "An Italian woman has been arrested for allegedly vandalising 60 Alfa Romeo
    cars because they reminded her of her ex-lover"

   6. "Owner refused drink, bulldozes pub"
      < http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5792006%255E13762,00.html >
   "Customers said Tyrell had barged his way into the pub, demanded a drink and
    'went bananas' when staff refused"

   7. "Vengeful waiter vandalizes couple's home"
      < http://kcal9.com/siteSearch/localnewsla_story_160131053.html >
   "A family who angered a waiter at a Norco Sizzler restaurant later was served
    a few dishes they didn't order: a gallon of maple syrup, raw eggs, and rolls
    of toilet paper across their lawn and shrubs"

   8. "Raging fan chews off striker's ear - 19 years after match"  [archived at]
      < http://www.castlebar.ie/board/0103/59796.htm >
   "Forward George Reilly, who scored Watford's winning goal in the 1984 English
    FA Cup semi-final, has had his ear bitten off by a disgruntled Plymouth fan
    who had held a grudge over his team's defeat for 19 years"

   9. "Dentist 'drilled healthy tooth to punish patient'"
      < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/07/18/ndent18.xml >
   "A dentist drilled away almost half of a healthy tooth to punish a patient who
    owed him money"

   A site devoted to all-things revenge: ThePayback.com's
     < http://www.thepayback.com/ >
   "ThePayback.com is your home for all of your revenge needs"
   Provides revenge gift and features some more revenge stories:
     < http://www.thepayback.com/revengestories.html >

Playing With Time

   Playing With Time
      < http://www.playingwithtime.org/ >

   "Here at the Playing With Time web site, unseen worlds of change will be
    revealed. You will see time sped up and slowed down, and behold the beauty
    of change. Time will be in your hands to witness, replay, and even create.
    You never know... you might not look at things quite the same way again."
   Requires QuickTime 5 or later.

   Gallery of Time
      < http://www.playingwithtime.org/cgi-bin/browser/gallerybrowser.pl?page=1
          &sort=clipName&searchCriteria= >
   Lists the currently available time lapse clips, with search and sort functions.

   A Selection:
   * Building Construction #5 (8 months in 10 seconds)
      < http://www.playingwithtime.org/cgi-bin/browser/gallerydisplay.pl?clipID=0106 >
   * Continental Plates
      < http://www.playingwithtime.org/cgi-bin/browser/gallerydisplay.pl?clipID=0138 >
   * Cape Beach (1 year in 16 seconds)
      < http://www.playingwithtime.org/cgi-bin/browser/gallerydisplay.pl?clipID=0112 >
   * Water Balloon Bounce (1/8th normal speed)
      < http://www.playingwithtime.org/cgi-bin/browser/gallerydisplay.pl?clipID=0014 >
   * Woman Age (69 years in 15 seconds, using 8 photos)
      < http://www.playingwithtime.org/cgi-bin/browser/gallerydisplay.pl?clipID=0126 >

Get Educated

   1. "Indiana U. offers class on reality TV"
      < http://www.wjactv.com/education/2550614/detail.html >

   2. "German college offers course on finding life partner"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_835252.html >

   3. "School teaches girls how to be perfect wives"  [Mexico]
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_903178.html >

   4. "University offers surfing diploma"
      < http://sport.iafrica.com/news/283847.htm >
   "Southern Cross University (SCU) is offering the diploma in Sports Management
    (Surfing Studies) at its Tweed Gold Coast campus, just metres from some of
    the best breaks in Australia and minutes down the highway from tourist hot
    spot Surfers Paradise"

   5. "Board approves surfing as high school sport"  [Hawaii]
      < http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=1885104 >

   6. "Spanish students' party polls top marks"
      < http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1077240.htm >
   "A Spanish school teacher will give his whole class top marks after a political
    party they formed to explore how democracy works won nearly 70,000 votes in
    the recent general election"

   7. "Canadians turn out for laughter classes"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/04/19/428721-cp.html >

   8. "Out there: a few unusual courses to consider"
      < http://education.independent.co.uk/clearing/story.jsp?story=432951 >

   9. "Offbeat ways to pay for college"
      < http://money.cnn.com/2004/02/24/pf/college/scholarships/index.htm?cnn=yes >
   "Scholarships offered for left-handed people, students named Zolp, and Trekkies
    who speak Klingon"

Unusual Place Names

   Warning: this post contains some colourful place names.

   Scroll down if you dare ...



















   1. "F*cking villagers vote against name change"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_981264.html >
   "Residents of an Austrian village called F*cking, have voted against changing
    the name"

   2. "German town's name will stay Puke"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_980154.html >
   "Officials in a German town named Kotzen, or Puke, have voted against changing
    its name"

   3. "Fed-up French contest cheeky town names"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/06/1065292531333.html >
   "Among the 15 or so villages joining the event in the south-western village of
    Mengesebes (Eat Onions in Occitan, an old language from the south of France)
    are: Saligos (which sounds like Filthy Swine), Montcuq (sounds like My Arse)
    and Trecon (Very Stupid)"

   4. "What's in a name? In Corleone, Sicily, a lot"
      < http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2524222.htm >
   "Local lawyer Antonio Di Lorenzo began a signature drive on Tuesday to change
    the name of the hill town south of Palermo made famous by 'The Godfather'
    books and films of the 1970s"

   5. "Animal rights group urges Hamburg name change"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_773410.html >
   "An animal rights group in the US has urged a town to change its name from
    Hamburg to Veggieburg"

   6. "Town names itself after cocktail"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_944432.html >
   "The Richland section of Buena Vista in New Jersey is already into the first
    week with its new name Mojito"

   7. "Cheers to village that never was"
      < http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=232742004 >
   "A mistake by council officials has led to an Aberdeenshire village being
    renamed after a malt whisky"

   8. "Cop to bike from 'Aa to Bee'"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/05/04/446845-ap.html >
   "British policeman Paul Perry plans to ride his bicycle from 'A' to 'B,'
    he said Tuesday, adding that this jaunt will carry him from Norway to
    Nebraska"

   9. "From Purgatory (Maine) to Hell (Michigan)"
      < http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/5569810.htm >
   "New book chronicles America's oddest town names"

   10. Related lists of unusual place names on the web:
   *  TheFreeDictionary.com: List of interesting or unusual place names
      < http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/List%20of%20interesting
          %20or%20unusual%20place%20names >
   *  Listology: 'Real' Weird Town Names
      < http://www.listology.com/content_show.cfm/content_id.10438 >
   *  Funny Town Names: USA & UK
      < http://s88932719.onlinehome.us/townname.htm >
   *  Strange and Daft Place Names
      < http://www.satiche.org.uk/satiche/sat-0332.htm >

Silk Purse or a Sow's Ear?

   1. "Sudsie the cleanest pig, carved out of soap"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/16/1063625030503.html >

   2. "Cheesy artist installs bed of ham"
      < http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/06/03/484894-ap.html >
   "An artist best known for decorative cheese has broadened his palette - or
    palate - to ham"

   3. "Edam to build church out of cheese"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_783892.html >

   4. "Woman makes Harley Davidson from butter"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_806844.html >

   5. "Jewelled cow fetches record price"
      < http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7960429%255E13762,00.html >
   "An exotic sculpture of a cow encrusted with 15,000 pieces of crystal glass
    has been sold for charity for the record sum of 150,000 euros"

   6. "Lingerie designer makes bra and knickers from human hair"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_725332.html >

   7. "Lodi woman creates fowl collectibles from foul substance"
      < http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2004/01/27/news/01_birds_040127.prt >

   8. "Scientists invent cardboard piano"
      < http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1086272453340_81681653 >
   "It's a mover's dream and sure to capture the fancy of anyone who tickles the
    ivories: a grand piano made only of cardboard that sounds almost like the
    real thing"

   9. "Making a silk purse out of a sow's ear - pigskin purses and decorations"
      < http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1204/is_n1_v96/ai_20463568 >

Ten Ways to Stop Traffic II - Food Spills

   1. "Sending them scrambling"
      < http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/01/1086058847920.html >
   "The spill of tons of eggs closed a Texan highway and rankled the nostrils of
    bystanders"

   2. "Crashes tie up Interstate 81: Traffic snarled in Pa. and Md."
      < http://www.publicopiniononline.com/news/stories/20031121/localnews/684161.html >
   "A collision of a tractor-trailer carrying beer and a dump truck loaded with
    loose-kernel corn closed the northbound lane of Interstate-81"

   3. "Caution: Beer crossing: Sliding load topples truck"
      < http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/804277.html >
   "The truck, hauling a cargo of Busch Light, overturned on the I-29 off-ramp by
    the Ameristar casino, sending the suds cascading through the median"

   4. "Truck loaded with hot dogs catches fire"
      < http://news.neilrogers.com/news/articles/2003110708.html >

   5. "Liver spill shuts down Pa. highway"
      < http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/5/2003/12/15/story107.html >

   6. "Wrong-turn turnip tractor stuns motorists"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_860521.html >

   7. "Two 18-wheelers crash, catch fire"
      < http://www.msnbc.com/local/kprc/A1888071.asp >
   "The fire gutted the 18-wheeler carrying chickens"

   8. "Truck load of pudding spills onto highway"
      < http://www.rednova.com/news/stories/5/2003/11/20/story105.html >

   9. "I-70 shutdown (Pork fat spilled on highway)"
      < http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1021977/posts >

   10. "Cajun sauce spill creates rush hour traffic jam"
      < http://www.nwaonline.net/pdfarchive/2003/november/20/11-20-03%20A9.pdf >

Payment in Kind

   Payment in Kind: "When a good or service is used as payment, as opposed to cash"
      < http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/paymentinkind.asp >

   When I was young I worked as a cleaner for my godfather.  One week he didn't
   have any cash to pay me, so he offered me a secondhand racer bike as payment.
   I accepted because I didn't have a bike at the time and wanted one.

   Here are some news items which also illustrate the concept ...

   1. "Firm repays loan with earthworms"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_783649.html >

   2. "Man paid off more than $600 in outstanding fines ... in ramen noodles"
      < http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/6103558.htm >

   3. "Man pays for petrol with nephew"
      < http://www.in-sourced.com/article/articleprint/960/-1/13/ >

   4. "Workers to be paid in reject carpets instead of cash"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_715631.html >

   5. "Workers of bankrupt firm paid off in combs"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_704232.html >

   6. "Textile firm offered to pay workers in pullovers"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_786888.html >

   7. "Cash-strapped abattoir pays workers in dead chickens"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_837761.html >

   8. "Mordovian teachers' salary again paid in most covertible currency"
      < http://english.pravda.ru/economics/2001/06/08/7362.html >
      "The biggest part of teachers' salary was paid with vodka"

Celebrity News - Movie Stars

   1. "Paltrow gives birth to baby Apple"
      < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/3717057.stm >
   "Gwyneth and her husband Chris Martin, front man in the band Coldplay, have
    named their daughter Apple Blythe Alison Martin"
      "Paltrow won't raise child in U.S."
      < http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36650 >
   "Oscar-winning actress fears 'weird, over-patriotic atmosphere'"

   2. "Halle's wind confession"
      < http://www.teenhollywood.com/d.asp?r=69902&cat=1055 >
   "Halle Berry has confessed she can't stop breaking wind"

   3. "Diaz furious over panty raid, report says"
      < http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0527diaz27-ON.html >
   "You know you're really famous when you have to hire someone to guard your
    underwear"

   4. "Penelope Cruz scared of the red carpet?"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_865229.html >

   5. "Kirsten has comfort blanket"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_939966.html >
   "Kirsten Dunst carries a comfort blanket with her wherever she goes"

   6. "Legally Blonde star wore 63 pairs of shoes"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_789550.html >
   "Reese Witherspoon has revealed she had 63 pairs of shoes specially made for
    her latest movie"

   7. "Sarah Jessica Parker uses horse shampoo on her hair"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_841626.html >

   8. "Colin's strange toilet habit"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_961788.html >
   "Festival goers at Cannes Film Festival have been surprised by Colin Farrell's
    toilet habit.  According to Sky onlookers saw the Irish star pulling down his
    trousers before using the toilet facilities"

   9. "George Clooney can't get a date in Italy"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_815528.html >
      "Clooney 'gets married' in Venice"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_816043.html >

   10. "'Scruffy' Brad and George not recognised"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_886209.html >
   "Brad Pitt and George Clooney were reportedly left standing in the rain when a
    doorman at an exclusive Italian hotel refused to let them in"
      "Brad creates his own sound effects on set"
      < http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_934710.html >
   "Brad Pitt was told off by the director of his new film for making shooting
    noises when he fired his gun"

   11. "Omar Sharif head-butts French cop"
      < http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/08/07/entertainment/main567109.shtml >