ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- A 67-year-old woman was killed when a three-meter (10-foot) tall metal crucifix fell on her head in a small southern Italian town on Wednesday, police said.
The cross, which has been in the main square on Sant'Onofrio for decades, fell on Maddalena Camillo while workers were setting up lights for an annual religious festival.
Italy, home to the Vatican City, is a predominantly Roman Catholic country where crucifixes and religious icons and effigies are a common sight in most towns and villages.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/23/falling.cross.reut/index.html

Saturday: Soccer game. Our team won. / Golf outing. Not so good, but they have great bloody mary's at the Western Greens club-house.
Sunday: Birthday. Got Tiger Woods 2004 game for Xbox.
Monday: Not much. Worked. Watching MNF.

Democracy, American Style.

Glad to hear the very people screwing everything up are getting a raise.

House votes to give itself pay raise
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With little debate, House lawmakers on Tuesday included themselves as part of a pay raise that all federal employees will receive next year.
The cost-of-living raise would be the sixth straight for members of the House and Senate, boosting the salaries of lawmakers, now $158,100, by about $4,000 in the new calendar year.
The civil servant COLA is part of an $89.9 billion Transportation and Treasury Department spending bill that the House is expected to pass Wednesday. The Senate has yet to take up the legislation.
The measure stipulates that civil servants get raises of 3.5 percent, the same as military personnel will receive next year. Under a complicated formula, that translates to 2.5 percent for members of Congress.
Like last year, the only House member to speak out against the automatic raise was Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. "Now is not the time for members of Congress to be voting themselves a pay raise," he said. "Let us send a signal to the American people that we recognize their struggle in America's economy."

Here's your definition of a fucked up move:

The United States gave the Falluja Brigade thousands of uniforms, hundreds of weapons and dozens of radios and trucks. The Marines have asked for them to be returned, and the brigade's former commander has agreed, but there are reports that much of the material is now in the hands of insurgents.

swiped from: http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/09/13/falluja/index.html

Yes, I got a spam email subj: bedrock speedwell leathery clamshell and it dawned on me that all of this creativity (on the part of spammers) shouldn't go to waste. So, loyal readers, I announce that I will compose a poem of epic proportions made entirely of Spam Subject lines. It will be titled: bedrock speedwell leathery clamshell

Stay tuned for exciting developments!

(Yes, I'm sure it's already been done before, but not by ME.)

My daughter Savannah and I went golfing this morning. Actually, we went to a couple of golf courses, but they were all busy.

So we went downtown instead. We went to the Grand Rapids Art Museum and looked at some art. Then we walked to cross the bridge to go to the other two museums. While we were crossing the bridge, I thought, "Oh yeah, today is September 11th." I had just thought that when I heard an aircraft roar in at low altitude, and I actually said, "Oh shit."

But they were just four military aircraft flying in low formation over downtown Grand Rapids. I almost shit myself, but then I thought how stupid I was being.

We went to the museum. They were having some celebration or another (unrelated to the 9/11 anniversary) and we spent some time there in front of the G. Ford Museum.

At about three, we decided to try golfing again, and this time we got to play nine holes. (best ball, and we used about three of Savannah's Tee shots (she's eight) cause I duffed my T shots and didn't get it past the ladies tee, where she was hitting from. We got one par.

Yesterday a customer actually said this to me with a straight face: "I have an MBA, so I consider myself intelligent."

I ran this morning. Two guys were riding bikes going the other way, and I heard this: "Here's a thought process . . ." I thought, what a bore, that other guy is probably rolling his eyes on the inside.

PENSACOLA, Florida (AP) -- Nice shootin', Rex!
A man who tried to shoot seven puppies was shot himself when one of the dogs put its paw on the revolver's trigger.

Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, was charged with felony animal cruelty, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. He was being treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound to his wrist.
Bradford said he decided to shoot the 3-month-old shepherd-mix dogs in the head because he couldn't find them a home, according to the sheriff's office.

On Monday, Bradford was holding two puppies -- one in his arms and another in his left hand -- when the dog in his hand wiggled and put its paw on the trigger of the .38-caliber revolver. The gun then discharged, the sheriff's report said.

Deputies found three of the puppies in a shallow grave outside Bradford's home, said sheriff's Sgt. Ted Roy.

The other four appeared to be in good health and were taken by Escambia County Animal Control, which planned to make them available for adoption.

lifted from : http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/09/shooting.dog.ap/index.html

Here's what Russia needs to do with Chechnya, in three simple steps

1. Grant Chechnya its independence.

2. Once Chechnya is a sovereign state, declare war on Chechnya

3. Begin one month bombing campaign on those child-killing bastards.

Thought I'd share this article with you. That's it, otherwise, lots of work.

I'm an assistant coach in soccer, but I know nothing about soccer.

What the hell is Labor Day? It's not even a real holiday. Who came up with it? Carl Marx? Ayn Rand? Let's face it: School just started a week ago, and already, they're taking a four day weekend. Slackers. No wonder teachers are underpaid. They take almost as much time off work as GWBush.

Today I paid the neighbor boy (who's over six feet tall) a few bucks to mow the lawn. I took the old television out on a cart and put it in the front lawn. Wednesday, I put it out on the curb and hope the garbage man takes it. It's only a thousand pounds of vintage 1950s technology.

We went to a friend's house for as cook-out. Great food, horse-shoes, and rain. But it was a great time had by all.

Not much!

Took the wife and kids to White Pine Trail for a bike ride. It's four miles from the parking lot by the trails in Belmont to Rockford. When we got to Rockford, we stopped at a park so the Deb and the kids could use the restroom. Waiting at the park, I saw two young women ride up to the river and remove their shoes. Immediately I thought that maybe, just maybe, they were going to strip and get into the water. They didn't. They just took off their shoes.

This dude rides up to the picnic tables on a bike and sits down. There's no one else at the park or at the picnic tables, except me waiting on the wife and kids to come out of the public restroom, the dude, and these two girls wading in the shallow water in the river nearby.

The guy gets up after a minute and goes to the sidewalk next to the picnic tables, looks to see if the two girls wading in the river are watching, (they're not) and then he starts--get this--break dancing.

I'm not kidding. He had both feet on the sidewalk (it was like 88 degrees or something today) an he's dancing his feet all over the place in a circle around his hands, his feet are just popping and flapping around. No music, no one else around, he just starts doing this. Blond-haired pale kid, about eighteen, maybe nineteen years old. Weirdest, creepiest thing I've seen in awhile.

He does this for about thirty seconds, then he sits back down.

So I'm thinking, Okay, whatever.

The wife and kids should be coming out of the bathroom soon enough.

A minute later, he walks calmly to the sidewalk again, looks toward the river to see if the two girls are looking (they're not, I don't think) and he starts break-dancing again.

Deb and the kids come out of the bathroom, and we have to ride by this guy, who's just flopping around like a retard.

We all agreed later that the guy was a freak. Deb explained to the girls that boys do dumb stuff to impress girls. We all agreed the guy was a dumb-ass.

Otherwise, it was a great bike ride. We brought bread to feed to the swans, but they had a "don't feed the water-fowl" sign up, so we went up the river a little. There was nowhere to get close to the water without stepping in marsh, so we walked out on a log and fed a big group of ducks an swans.

Scene took place on a BA flight between Johannesburg and London. A white woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a black man. Obviously disturbed by this, she called the air Hostess. "Madam, what is the matter," the hostess asked. "You obviously do not see it then?" she responded. "You placed me next to a black man. I do not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat." "Be calm please," the hostess replied. "Almost all the places on this flight are taken. I will go to see if another place is available."

The Hostess went away and then came back a few minutes later. "Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in the economy class. I spoke to the captain and he informed me that there is also a seat in the business class. All the same, we still have one place in the first class." Before the woman could say anything, the hostess continued: "It is not usual for our company to permit someone from the economy class to sit in the first class. However, given the circumstances, the Captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting."

She turned to the black guy, and said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in first class." At that moment, the other passengers who were shocked by what they had just witnessed stood up and applauded.


story lifted from http://shoeee-.blogspot.com/

My friend Barry is a truck driver, and he often calls me from the road. He tells me where he is and then we talk about life, the universe, and everything, but it mostly boils down to pop culture, social issues, and politics.

Barry can talk forever, never repeat himself, and stay interesting. He has an encyclopedia for a mind. Literally. I remember he used to work on electronic circuits in his garage with a soldering iron when we were like, in the third grade. He can remember the titles of books he's read decades earlier, and rattle off the titles and authors like it was yesterday.

I never talk on the phone, ever. Even when family calls, I pass the phone off to Deb and she reports the goings-on around the house. But when Barry calls, I can sometimes be on the phone for an hour or more, which is otherwise impossible.

Anyway, that's my post for today. Bla bla bla, bla blablablablabla.

Drove the family across the state to visit my good friend Rob and his family. Haven't seen them in a long time. We watched Michigan trounce Miami of Ohio, 43-10. Rob made fantastic steaks with mushroom and onion.

Then we drove to Deb's mother's house up in Davison. Joanne gave us a hope chest, but I'm not sure what's in it. Otherwise, nothing new.

Now my ass hurts from driving.

kind of mean spirited eh? somehow, this is wrong.

Today I waved at people while driving in my car. Some of the people actually waved back. I ran at the White Pine Trails and weighed myself, and I weigh 203 pounds, vice the 210 I weighed when I started working out.

My kids were driving me crazy today cause I was working at home.

Yesterday I saw a guy just drop a paper Baskin/Robbins cup, complete with pink spoon, right out his car window in broad daylight, and just tool along like it was nothing. People suck, occasionally.

Here's another blog on the Internet, forgotten.