May 05, 2005

And now . . . this - May 05/05

Arnold Layne had a strange hobby

An Indian man who left his wife and two young children two years ago shocked his family when he returned home as an eunuch, wearing garish red lipstick, the Asian Age newspaper said Thursday.

After a fight with his wife, the jobless Nabiullah left his family in Hathipur town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in the summer of 2003 to look for work, the paper reported.

During his absence, he got himself castrated and became a eunuch, earning money by singing and dancing, a common form of employment among India's ostracized community of eunuchs.

[Full Story]

OK . . . cross your legs, guys.

Some controversies just can't die

A pop culture controversy that has simmered for decades came to a head when a middle school marching band was told not to perform "Louie Louie."

Benton Harbor Superintendent Paula Dawning cited the song's allegedly raunchy lyrics in ordering the McCord Middle School band not to perform it in Saturday's Grand Floral Parade, held as part of the Blossomtime Festival.

[Full Story]

So I'm guessing "Mony Mony" probably isn't on the menu either . . .

See the venerable Snopes for the real lyrics to this notorious song, as well as the hilarious history of how it unjustly gained a reputation for being obscene.

Life imitates political puffery

Al Gore may have been lampooned for taking credit in the Internet's development, but organizers of the Webby Awards for online achievements don't find it funny at all.

In part to "set the record straight," they will give Gore a lifetime achievement award for three decades of contributions to the Internet, said Tiffany Shlain, the awards' founder and chairwoman.

[Full Story]

In other news, Erich Segal will be changing the title of his bestselling novel to The Al and Tipper Story. There is no word yet whether Winston Groom will be changing the title of his bestseller.

The wonderful thing about human freaks is that I'm the only one!

Looking freakishly like a tiger has gotten Dennis "Cat" Avner lots of attention. But it hasn't paid many bills.

"I really don't care what people think, so I really don't pay much attention," Dennis "Cat" Avner of Guatay said about the occasional hostile reaction he gets from passers-by.

That's one reason why Avner is leaving the tiny East County community where he has lived for six years and moving to Washington state. There's not much demand in San Diego County for a computer and electronics technician with tattooed stripes on his face and fangs in his mouth.

Avner, 46, began his transformation 25 years ago, undergoing up to a dozen surgeries. He offers a simple explanation for enduring all that pain.

"It's something I need to do," he said. "I have to do it. It's part of who I am." . . .

He said his need to transform himself into a form of human cat stems from his Indian background as a member of the Huron and Lakota tribes. He grew up in Michigan and was given the Indian name of Stalking Cat. Following an ancient Huron tradition, Avner said he is changing himself into his totem of a tiger.

[Full Story]

Yeah, we all know how Michigan was hip-deep in tiggers before the white man came over. Oh well. Maybe he and Bagheera or Baloo can double-date sometime.

Cause of death is . . . undetermined

A man shot himself five times before driving from his Godfrey, Ill., home to a bridge -- a distance that took 10 minutes -- and jumped from a bridge.

Sixty-seven-year-old Franklin Carver shot himself three times in his head and twice in his chest, but none of the shots was immediately fatal, police said.

A motorist witnessed the jump and called 911 from a cell phone, but Carver drowned before emergency workers could reach him, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday.

[Full Story]

<tasteless>If I were that bad a shot, I'd jump too.</tasteless>

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