Evil Genie

In Saudi Arabia: Man chains his son in the basement for six years because he is 'possessed by an evil female genie'.

A Saudi man has been chained in a basement apartment for more than six years because his father believes he is possessed by an evil female genie.

'When he has fits he has convulsions and his entire body twists and his eyes become completely white,' said the father of the 29-year-old man who has been identified only as Turki.

'Then the voice of a woman can be heard coming from him.'

At one point, he sought professional help:

When Turki first began behaving bizarrely, his father took him to local Muslim clerics to recite the Koran over him.

But most of them became scared when they heard the female voice telling them that she was a royal jinn (genie) and that no-one can exorcise her unless Turki dies,' his father said.

One cleric advised him to shackle his son's arms and legs in chains and read the Koran to him.

That's good advice, and is clearly the best course of action.

Bookshelves

A site that collects photos of bookshelves: Bookshelf Porn.

This one shows books in need of a shelf:

Hat Flies Off And I Didn’t Notice

I got an email this morning:

John, I'm really disappointed with you. Sluggo's hat flew off his head on Wednesday, and you didn't even mention it on your blog. You're losing it, man.

I apologize for missing that. Here's the relevant part:

Thirteenthers

A new political movement: Iowa GOP jumps on the ‘Thirteenther' bandwagon.

A provision in the Republican Party of Iowa's platform calling for the "reintroduction and ratification of the original 13th Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution got some national attention this week, with the party's spokesman admitting the plank is focused solely on Barack Obama.

The current 13th amendment bans slavery, and Iowa Republicans are not in favor of its repeal. They are, however, interested in reintroducing an amendment originally put before the states for ratification back in 1810. It outlawed any person who accepts a "title of nobility" from a foreign country from ever holding political office. The amendment was ratified by 12 states but never got the 13th state that it needed, and thus, never became law.

So how does this relate to Obama?

There are, of course, other implications of Thirteenthism, such as ensuring that the United States never again suffers the humiliation of having a president win the Nobel Peace Prize. That was just what the Iowa Republicans had in mind, according to [state GOP Communications Director Danielle] Plogmann, who wrote in an e-mail that the plank "was meant to make a statement about the delegates' opinion about Mr. Obama receiving the prize.

Expect World Nut Daily to jump on this bandwagon any day now.

Free Labor

When he's finished mowing the lawn, he'll do the vaccuuming.

(via Cynical-C Blog)

One Item

Holy cow! The house is on fire... You have time grab one item.

What would it be?

Pay Nothing, Or Get Disconnected

Rounding error news: Comcast To Customer: Pay Us $0.00 Or We'll Cancel Your Service.

A Comcast customer received this letter informing him that his account's currently delinquent and that his service will be canceled if he does not pay the amount owed. The trouble? The amount owed is $0.00.

At least they had the courtesy to send a reminder notice. If I got that, I'd send a check for $-0.01.

Can you write a check for a negative amount? If so, that could have a significant effect on world finances.

Potato Chip Jesus

I've seen lots of miracles in my time, but this one is almost enough to make me a believer in Our Lord Jesus Christ: Symbol Of Cross Found In Potato Chip.

Amanda Biezad contacted ABC 23 after she found what she described as a cross seared into a potato chip she was about to eat.

Biezad said she has never seen anything quite like this before but is not ready to call it a miracle just yet. "I don't know, it's either divine inspiration or some random rouge person that decided to stick it into the bag of chips, I don't know, but I think it's cool.

It's definitely a miracle. No one on earth is rogue enough to plant such a symbol in a bag of chips. Well, maybe Sarah Palin...

Like most good Christians, she took it as a sign from above:

The timing of the discovery couldn't have been any better because she had just moved to Bakersfield and at that point was questioning if the move was the right one to make. "It was a big process moving over here leaving my old job and life. Now I have to start over. I don't know too many people here. After I found the chip, it made me realize that I made the right choice," said Biezad.

Need more proof that God works in mysterious ways?

(thanks Spoon)

The End Of Google?

Is Google in trouble? The search party is over.

Yes, the company is still growing at rates that would be the envy of the rest of the Fortune 500. But its core business is slowing, its stock is down, its Android mobile platform generates scant revenue, and competition (hello, Facebook) is fierce. Can Google find its footing in this brave new world?

Google needs to find real success in this new world -- or invent the next major evolution of the web. It isn't easy to create new multibillion-dollar businesses, but the rewards are great for the companies that do: Consider former Google ally Apple, which has dominated add-on businesses (music players, retail) that are more profitable than the one that brought it prominence (computers). Apple is just killing it, and it is now the most valuable technology company in the world, with a market cap of $236 billion vs. Google's $156 billion.

Disabled Can’t See Food Being Prepared

Court news: Chipotle deprived disabled of food view.

On the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal appeals court said the law entitles wheelchair users at a restaurant to the same view as everyone else of the food that awaits them - in this case, burritos, tacos and the rest of the fare at Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The 45-inch-high wall between the customer line and the food preparation counter at two Chipotle restaurants in San Diego County, which blocked the view of patrons in wheelchairs, violated the 1990 federal law that requires equal treatment of the disabled, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Monday.

The court said the accommodation the company offered - bringing spoonfuls of each dish to wheelchair users for inspection before ordering - didn't measure up. That would provide only "a substitute experience that lacks the customer's personal participation in the selection and preparation of the food," the court said in a 3-0 ruling.

Coming next: Blind people sue because they can't see movies in theaters.

No-Sweat Suits

Just what the world needs: "Anti-sweat" suit promises to make subways more tolerable.

A Manhattan tailor catering to city bigwigs has started peddling a $1,200 suit that promises to be 10 degrees cooler and deter subway "shvitz." The custom-made Zegna suits is made with Australian wool, which is said to wick moisture and cool the skin.

"The market is businessmen and lawyers ... who still have to wear a suit in the subway," said KJ Singh, a sales manager for Mohan's Custom Tailors, which has sold a hundred of the suits since introducing them this year.

Christopher Sabatini tried one of these suits:

"It's not like I'm wearing an air conditioner. But sweat is not rolling down my back."

Phone Books ARE Useful

Found at There, I Fixed It.

It looks like a Holy Bible is also contributing.

11-Year Walk

Jean Beliveau has about one year remaining in his walk around the world.

On August 18th, 2000, at 9:00 am, Jean Beliveau left Montreal, Canada. His goal is to walk around the planet to promote "Peace and non-violence for the profit of the children of the world". He is travelling alone with a three wheeled stroller to carry a bit of food, his clothing, a First Aid kit, a small tent and a sleeping bag.

Ansel Adams News

You probably read about the guy who paid $45 at a garage sale for a box of glass negatives. And they turned out to be unpublished photos by Ansel Adams. It was estimated that they may be worth $200 million.

But... Can Man Who Found Long Lost Ansel Adams Glass Negatives Sell Prints?

The works are estimated to have been made in the 1920s, which could actually complicate things. However, from all of the indications, none of these works were "published," and as the handy dandy public domain tracker notifies us, unpublished works are given a copyright of "life of the author +70 years." Ansel Adams died in 1984, so it would appear that the copyright on the images would likely belong to his heirs, and will last until 2054.

Now, if the works were published (which seems unlikely) then it gets a bit complicated. If they were done before 1923 (and no one's exactly sure of the date on most of these negatives), then they're in the public domain. If they were done after 1923 and weren't registered at the Copyright Office then, again, they're in the public domain.

If that's the case, then Norsigian actually could make prints, but once those prints were out there, others could most likely copy the prints and sell competing prints themselves legally, which could put a damper on the $200 million. Of course, there then could be things Norsigian could do, such as specially "branding" his prints in some manner, but it's a bit trickier.

More Faith-Healing Morons

In Oregon: Faith-healing parents fight to get baby back, face criminal charges.

A Beavercreek couple who left their infant daughter's fate to God rather than seek medical treatment for a mass that grew over her left eye will face charges of first-degree criminal mistreatment.

Prosecutors revealed Thursday during a custody hearing that a grand jury has indicted Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ church.

The Wylands' 7-month-old daughter, Alayna, was placed in state custody earlier this month after child-welfare workers received a tip about the untreated and ballooning growth. Doctors said that the condition could cause permanent damage or loss of vision.

The Wylands and their church reject medical care in favor of faith-healing -- anointing with oil, laying on of hands, prayer and fasting. The parents testified at a juvenile court hearing last week that they never considered getting medical attention for Alayna.