Put the Burrito on the Ground and Back Away Slowly

USATODAY.com - School mistakes huge burrito for a weapon: "A call about a possible weapon at a middle school prompted police to put armed officers on rooftops, close nearby streets and lock down the school. All over a giant burrito.

Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High.

The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt."

New Story at BEAT to a PULP

BEAT to a PULP :: The Master Bedroom :: Anonymous-9

Horace Greasley, R. I. P.

This is a great story. Click the link and read it all.

Horace Greasley - Telegraph: "Horace Greasley, who died on February 4 aged 91, claimed a record unique among Second World War PoWs – that of escaping from his camp more than 200 times only to creep back into captivity each time.
[. . . .]
The reason for the frequency with which Greasley put his life in danger, he admitted with engaging good humour and frankness, was simple: he had embarked on a romance with a local German girl. Rosa Rauchbach was, if anything, running even greater risks than Greasley."

Whatever Works

Okay, I'm a Woody Allen fan. Somehow, his sense of humor really connects with me and has ever since I heard is first comedy album in 1964. As far as I'm concerned, nobody can make existential despair funnier than Allen.

And it's very funny in Whatever Works, which for me is the funniest movie Allen's made in many years. I laughed out loud many times. Larry David stars, but he's pretty much playing the character that Woody Allen has played many times before. Sure, he's much less pleasant than Allen, more caustic and insulting, but the philosophy he spouts (sometimes directly to the camera) is familiar.

Evan Rachel Wood is adorable as Allen's typical fantasy figure, the pretty, very young woman who falls for the older man. She also turns out to be much smarter than David thinks she is. The whole cast is fun, but I liked Patricia Clarkson especially. There's also one of Allen's tie-it-all-up happy endings. I like those, too.

San Jacinto Battlefield Named an Endangered Historic Site

San Jacinto Battlefield Named an Endangered Historic Site: "For the first time, the non profit group Preservation Texas has placed the San Jacinto Battlegrounds on their Most Endangered Historic Places list. The group says that the LaPorte battle field needs a comprehensive plan to keep it from falling prey to the 21st century."

Link via Will's Texas Parlor.

If That Ain't Lovin' You, Baby . . . .

Love stinks! Albert Lea farmer creates manure valentine - TwinCities.com: "Nothing says 'I love you' like a half-mile wide heart made out of manure.

A southern Minnesota man created the Valentine's Day gift for his wife of 37 years in their farm field about 12 miles southwest of Albert Lea."

Odorless photo at the link.

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

mikemcguff.com blog: Houston pizza lauded by Rachel Ray: "Houston's Russo's New York Coal-Fired Pizzeria is ranked one of the best pizzas in the United States in the March issue of 'Every Day with Rachel Ray' magazine."

'50s SF Movie Posters

Some real classics. Check 'em out.

Hat tip to Rick Klaw.

Kissing Cousins

Paris Hilton Update: She's Still Available!

Showbiz - News - Paris Hilton mum 'questions engagement' - Digital Spy: "Paris Hilton's mother has cast doubt over reports that her daughter is engaged.

Rumors that boyfriend Doug Reinhardt had popped the question to the heiress emerged earlier this week."

Detroit Leads the Way

Detroit schools offer class in how to to work at Walmart | Raw Story: "Walmart has been widely condemned for offering its employees only low-paying, dead end jobs. Even President Obama criticized Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential campaign for having served on Walmart's board and stated that the firm ought to pay 'a living wage.'

In inner-city Detroit, however, where the unemployment rate is estimated at an astonishing 50%, the prospect of a Walmart job may appear far more attractive.

Four inner-city Detroit high schools have decided that employment with Walmart is an opportunity worth training their students to pursue. The schools have teamed up with the giant merchandiser to offer a for-credit class in job-readiness training that also includes entry-level after-school jobs."

James M. Cain Update

Kate Winslet - Winslet To Make Tv Return - Contactmusic News: "KATE WINSLET is returning to her television roots - she's set to appear in a small screen version of JAMES M. CAIN's novel MILDRED PIERCE.

[. . . .]
The Sopranos' Ilene Landress will produce the series for U.S. network HBO, while Todd Haynes and Jon Raymond are helming the script."

Arizona Leads the Way

Wi-Fi Turns Arizona Bus Ride Into a Rolling Study Hall - NYTimes.com: "VAIL, Ariz. — Students endure hundreds of hours on yellow buses each year getting to and from school in this desert exurb of Tucson, and stir-crazy teenagers break the monotony by teasing, texting, flirting, shouting, climbing (over seats) and sometimes punching (seats or seatmates).

But on this chilly morning, as bus No. 92 rolls down a mountain highway just before dawn, high school students are quiet, typing on laptops.

Morning routines have been like this since the fall, when school officials mounted a mobile Internet router to bus No. 92’s sheet-metal frame, enabling students to surf the Web."

Keep off His Lawn!

BBC News - Russia farmer convicted of planting landmines in field: "A Russian farmer has been convicted of planting landmines around his field to ward off trespassers.

Alexander Skopintsev, from the eastern region of Primorye near China's border, laid the three devices on his land after building them in his garage."

Hat tip to Rich Prosch.

Uh-Oh

EXCLUSIVE: Roland Emmerich Plans ‘Foundation’ As 3-D Motion-Capture Epic � MTV Movies Blog: "Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' trilogy is a pillar of the science-fiction community, and director Roland Emmerich is planning to model his three-picture adaptation of the tome after the biggest movie in the history of cinema.

MTV News has exclusively learned from Emmerich himself that 'Foundation' will be a 3-D epic using technology similar to the CG motion-capture techniques used in 'Avatar.'"

Bald Faced Liar

Paul David Brazill and Beth Groundwater gave me this award.

The rules for the award are simple:
1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth - or - switch it around and tell six outrageous truths and one outrageous lie.
5. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

Seven Lies or Truths about Me:

1. I once ran five miles barefoot.

2. I worked as a dishwasher for four years in college.

3. I have 20/20 vision but wear glasses because I like the way they look.

4. I hit a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth in a Little League game.

5. I have sold every book I've ever written.

6. I learned to drive when I was 10 years old.

7. I will nominate seven bloggers for this award.

Walter Fredrick Morrison, R. I. P.

Frisbee inventor dies at 90 | thestarpress.com | The Star Press: "Walter Fredrick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died. He was 90.

Utah House Rep. Kay McIff, an attorney who represented Morrison in a royalties case, says Morrison died at his home in Monroe, Utah, on Tuesday. McIff is from Richfield, Morrison's original hometown.

'That simple little toy has permeated every continent in every country, as many homes have Frisbees as any other device ever invented,' McIff said. 'How would you get through your youth without learning to throw a Frisbee?'"

A Man and his Buzzard

WLBZ2.com | Bangor, ME | Bird strike caught on tape: "Paul Appleton was flying a helicopter, snapping photos during the Super Bowl, when a turkey vulture suddenly flew into his aircraft.

Appleton says the bird hitched a 20 mile ride on this lap.

The safest thing to do was to keep the bird in the aircraft until he landed."

Video at the link.

Hat tip to Jeremy Lynch.

Once Again, Texas Leads the Way

Suspected bank robber leaves incriminating evidence on note - 2/10/10 - Houston News - abc13.com: "William Cole Hall, 48, was arrested by several law enforcement agencies as he was getting a coffee at Starbucks on Post Oak at Westheimer over the noon hour today. Hall is accused of robbing a Wachovia Bank on San Felipe last Friday around 5pm.
[. . . .]
A note was left behind during the robbery. Dunlap said when the note was examined it was determined the paper had been torn from a Texas Department of Criminal Justice instruction sheet and the sheet included Hall's TDCJ inmate number."

Croc Update (Whiter Shade of Pale Edition)

Crocodile a whiter shade of pale | News.com.au: "A RARE albino crocodile has been photographed in the Northern Territory after its white head 'popped up' near a boat while a shocked fishing party looked on."

Great photo at the link.

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.