Stranger Than Fiction

I'm one of those old school types who still reads the newspaper. But I have to. Otherwise I might miss out on, well, something.

Anyway, I've come across a few things today that require very little commentary from me, but each is mind-boggling in its own way.


It Was a Fine Idea at the Time


Balloons carry the Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli, now lost, in this photo from UOL Web site.

As seen in Philadelphia Inquirer 4/24/08

"Hopes of finding a Roman Catholic priest who disappeared after soaring into the air with hundreds of colorful helium balloons are growing slim, rescue officials in Brazil said. The Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli has been missing since Sunday, when he lifted off from the port city of Paranagua in a fund-raising effort."

Um, well, I hope at least they raised a lot of funds...

I cannot imagine the lack of foresight that went into this stunt. Did the reverend drop the giant hat pin he was supposed to use to prick each party balloon (one by one) to lower himself back to earth?

Boggling the Mind & Turning the Stomach

Also in today's Inquirer, under the headline Animal-cruelty charges added in sex-assault case was a blurb about a Moorestown police officer in jail on allegations that he molested three children...who is now charged with four incidents of having sex with cows.

While I do not want to appear to make light of anything involving child molestation - it is about the most vile thing I can imagine - I couldn't help but wonder, "How did they find out about the cows?" Oh...then I read further to see that a "Pemberton Township filmmaker" -- a woman -- was also charged in connection with the sexual assault of the children.

Sick.

A Follow-up on the Gay-Porn-Star-Twin-Burglars:

I kinda dropped the follow-up ball when her involvement came out earlier this month, but it turns out Mom was the lookout while her gay-porn-starring twins did their burglarizing.

Proving once again that children learn their values from their parents.

From yesterday's Inquirer (See complete article here):

Burglary trial ordered for twin and mother

Two South Philadelphia merchants testified yesterday that more than $1,500 and other valuables were taken from their adjacent shops in a burglary in which two twins and their mother are accused.

Taleon Goffney, 25, of Maple Shade, and his mother, Towana Goffney, 42, of Swedesboro, appeared before Judge Harvey Robbins at a preliminary hearing on burglary and related charges. Robbins bound them over for trial. Taleon and his twin, Keyontili Goffney, are suspects in 45 rooftop burglaries in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware."

And now, for something completely different...

It Should Be a Mellow Wine

Proving that news online can be fab too, while looking up the links for these Philadelphia Inquirer articles, I found a story from today's Daily News:

Wine with a spin: Chaddsford label toasts vintage DJ Pierre Robert
Yay Pierre!

It's a fairly long feature article, but the news is that legendary and super-groovy WMMR DJ (who I had the pleasure to work with many moons ago) now has a wine named after him, Pierreno Grigio, courtesy of Chaddsford Winery...

"...which sells at Pennsylvania state stores and at select area restaurants. The winery Web site, where it sells for $17.99 a bottle, describes Pierreno Grigio as "mouthwatering with clean, crisp acidity and zesty juicy fruit."

It couldn't happen to a nicer citizen.

No longer "Whispers"

From Wikipedia:

"The koto (琴 or 箏) is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument derived from Chinese zither (Guzheng). The koto is the national instrument of Japan.[1] Koto are about 180 centimetres (71 in) long and have 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges along the length of the instrument. Players can adjust the string pitches by moving these bridges before playing, and use three finger picks (on thumb, forefinger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings."

Anyway...Koto was Esteemed Husband's brilliant solution for the male kitten's name to go with my name choice for the female. There is also another connection between the names that is not obvious from the photos I've pasted here. It's what sealed the deal for me...see if you can figure it out (it may require googling, by the way...)

The following had NOTHING to do with the name choice, but the whole concept of "Spacesynth" amuses me:

"Koto is an Italian synth pop group that originally consisted of Anfrando Maiola and Stefano Cundari. Their most popular songs were "Visitors", "Dragon's Legend", "Chinese Revenge" and "Jabdah", released in 1983-1988. Koto is often associated with a genre of music called Spacesynth, a music style streamed from Space Disco."

And "Space Disco"? That's just scary.

And "Buttons" becomes:

Lyra, the lyre or harp:
A small but ancient constellation that is very easy to spot in the northern skies. Lyra contains the star Vega (the fifth brightest star in the night sky) and is one-third of the asterism known as the "Summer Triangle". Lyra represents the lyre or harp of the Greek musician Orpheus. Orpheus played the instrument so well he could tame wild beasts with its music, and even impressed the gods with his abilities.

Why you might not hear from me for a while

We met these two fuzzy creatures at the animal shelter today...and if all goes with they will be home with us tomorrow night.


The artists currently known as Whispers & Buttons (but we're working on the names as I post this) being held by a shelter aide -- wee little balls of fur.

"Whispers" (left) had been washed into a coma by his sister "Buttons" (in middle.) Their brother "Pugsly" (the fluffball at right) has been adopted too.

Here I am, holding "Whispers."

Esteemed Husband holding tiny "Buttons" who is making HUGE eyes at him. ("Don't keep calling them those dumb names," says Husband, looking over my shoulder at this very moment.) (Perhaps I shouldn't admit that we've been bandying kitten names about for the past 90 minutes now and have yet to reach a consensus. It was easier to name our children.)

It's me and Mr. Whispers, er...the male kitten, curled up so sweetly.

So...18 months after losing Leo, looks like we're back in the cat business again. Our adoptees are about 2 months old, and going under the knife tomorrow. (They'll never know what they're missing...)

I predict about, oh, 8 billion more pictures to follow. And maybe even some real cat names.

I've Got the Cat's Tongue

One week ago, I was on a beach doing the stereotypical tropical vacation lying-under-a-palm-tree-while-sipping-a-fruity-alcoholic-beverage thing.

And now I'm not.

Actually, we got back last Monday, but I'm still not up to speed. Think about the cruelty of being dumped off unceremoniously in 40-degree drizzly Philadelphia when you've still got beach hair. Trauma like that takes some recovering from. Well, actually, so did my vacation. But that's a story for another time (when I've got more time.)

For now, just a little visual with a little explanation. We were staying in Tulum, Mexico...and the night before we left, my clan was scouring the little gift/supply shop at the resort for some manner of (cheap) souvenir. Then a cute little kitty face caught my eye (have I used the word "little" enough for you?)



My Spanish isn't great, but...could this mean what I thought? I made eye contact with the woman behind the cash register and said, "Lengua es..?" as I stuck out my tongue and pointed to it. Stonefaced, she nodded yes. Giggling, I said something along the lines of "That's funny!" Senora Register did not appear see the humor, as she glared at me for daring to mock the native candy.

Of course, I had to buy them. Not only to appease the woman behind the register, but because it's not every day a gringa such as myself gets to eat a chocolate reproduction of an animal organ. Which I haven't done yet...I guess I'm saving them for some sort of special fiesta. Ole!