Exercise your rights as an American citizen!

Grrrrrwly Grrrrrl!

She could give Tony the Tiger a run for his money. Cute little tiger!

A Pumpkin Tree!

I LOVE the idea of carved pumpkins growing on trees! How cool!

And thanks to The Castle of Doom for this cool image.

Like the plant that ate Chicago?

From the web, uh, somewhere . . . :

Swiss scientists have discovered what they think may be the biggest mushroom in Europe, a monster fungus the length of eight football pitches and mostly lurking underground.

The mushroom, which covers a whopping 35 hectares [86.5 acres] in a Swiss national park near the eastern town of Ofenpass is thought to be more than 1,000 years old, forestry experts say.

The mushroom, which is 800 metres long [874 yards or about a half-mile long] and 500 metres wide [546 yards or just under a third of a mile long], is of the armillaria type, according to the Swiss Federal Institute Forest, Snow and Countryside Research (WSL).

It consists of a vast network of sometimes very thick filaments which reach out along the path of tree roots in the mountainous, wooded region.

The visible parts of the mushroom that poke out above the ground or on the boughs of trees are the tip of the iceberg, representing a tiny part of the vast undersoil organism.

Some species within the family are formidable parasites which invade trees, gradually strangling them.

They have been blamed for the widespread destruction of pines within the national park, a WSL statement said.

One reason why the fungus may have survived for so long undetected and untroubled is that it is only edible when young, and even then is not a favourite with lovers of mushrooms.

--AFP

Sounds like a great idea for a scary movie! (And thanks to this site for the metric to English conversions . . . otherwise, I would have had NO idea of how big this big-ass fungus truly is!)

. . . the grass is always greener . . .

With the election coming up, all the ponderous debates, hateful charges being hurled from the right to the left (note the one-way street), the efforts of Bliggity Bloggity Blog become more apparently necessary.

Where is the love these days? Where is the silliness these days? This is a time to laugh and enjoy how silly we can all be.

Arrrgh!

Take this for example:

The Sunset Hills Memorial Park cemetery is giving up grass in favor of artificial turf.

It's a move owners believe will save as much as $180,000 in water and maintenance costs over the next three years. The cemetery is the final resting place for cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

"I actually believe it will revolutionize the cemetery industry eventually," said Sunset Hills co-owner Chet Hitt. He knows of no other cemetery that uses artificial turf.

Hitt originally started selling artificial turf just to people who wanted it for their family plots, but has gradually begun to put it down throughout the cemetery. He expects he'll have to replace it about once every eight years.

Artificial grass has several benefits besides saving money on water and maintenance costs, said Dave Hepburn of the Interment Association of California, the state's largest cemetery trade association.

Real grass can discolor tombstones and grow into graveside flower vases, damaging them, Hepburn said. Heavy watering can also damage concrete walkways and discolor headstones over time.

"The most important thing for a cemetery is to look good at all times, to look beautiful inside," Hepburn said.

I wonder if the Fischer brothers have heard about this?

drink, drank, drunk

For a new source of silliness, we have Modern Drunkenness Magazine. Here are some nuggets of wisdom from their aptly titled, "Winos of Wisdom:"

“Oh, I’m not a drunk. I’m a drank. As in, I just drank all my beer. But I’m willing to be a drunk if you buy me a drink.”
Joan B., playing with words and men’s emotions outside the Carioca Cafe.

“I want all the booze in the world in this glass right now. All of it. Mix it up. I’ll drink every damn drop. Of course, I’m going to need a bigger glass.”
An ambitious yet pragmatic Tom H. wanting it all at the Lion’s Lair Lounge.

“Give me another glass of wine, and pour it strong this time.”
Annie G., 24, attempting to squeeze booze from a turnip at the Streets of London Pub.

“You’re not drunk if you can lay on the floor without holding on.”
Scott Q. while desperately clawing at his living room carpet.

“Give me well scotch and top shelf water.”
Mary K. worrying about the wagon instead of the mule at Southpark Tavern.

“Go ahead and unload on me, man. I’m pretty sure I’m blacked out right now and won’t remember nothing.”
An extremely loaded, yet intensely self-aware patron at the High Street Speakeasy.

“You’re hard to remember, but easy to forget.”
Trish C., 24, dishing out a sweet burn at the Lion’s Lair.

"I want four stupid fruity shots. Stupid and fruity as you can make ‘em. Your choice. And a Jack Daniels neat.”
Name unknown, attempting to rescue his forsaken masculinity four shots too late at the Bar Bar.

“Grab hold me, boys! I’m about to rear up on my hind legs and take a bite outta the fuckin’ moon!”
Raymond L., 52, losing his composure but not his dreams at the Landmark Tavern.

Top Ten Bush Tax Proposals

From CNN:

Democrat John Kerry joked Monday on "The Late Show with David Letterman" about changes under President Bush's tax plan.

Kerry's "Top 10 Bush Tax Proposals" are:

10. No estate tax for families with at least two U.S. presidents.

9. W-2 Form is now Dubya-2 Form.

8. Under the simplified tax code, your refund check goes directly to Halliburton.

7. The reduced earned income tax credit is so unfair, it just makes me want to tear out my lustrous, finely groomed hair.

6. Attorney General (John) Ashcroft gets to write off the entire U.S. Constitution.

5. Texas Rangers can take a business loss for trading Sammy Sosa.

4. Eliminate all income taxes; just ask Teresa (Heinz Kerry) to cover the whole damn thing.

3. Cheney can claim Bush as a dependent.

2. Hundred-dollar penalty if you pronounce it "nuclear" instead of "nucular."

1. George W. Bush gets a deduction for mortgaging our entire future.

... flush with comments ...

Get this . . . talking toilets!

As an artistic venture, Leonard van Munster, an artist in Amsterdam, has outfitted public toilets with sensors that, upon sensing a person's presence, then start talking.

"You might consider sitting down next time," the toilet told a male Reuters reporter politely in a female robot voice. The next user was told that "The last visitor did not take heed of basic rules of hygiene."

Depending on circumstances, the toilet might remind you to wash your hands or ask you to lift the seat.

"It could suddenly start coughing and warn you about the dangers of cigarettes, or name all the cool movie stars who smoke. It just depends what mood it's in," van Munster said referring to people who sneak off to secretly have a puff.

Talk about an invasion of privacy!

Sometimes, I go to the bathroom to clear my thinking. In fact, I get some of my best ideas while in the bathroom! No talking toilets!

From CNN's Offbeat News.

". . . screwed, blued and tattooed . . ."

Are you feeling screwed, blued and tattooed because the man slipped it to you? Like, stay loose, hit the pad and share a thumb with your pash.

Huh?

If that made no sense to you, check out "The Hippie Dictionary" by John McCleary. Using the new book to translate, readers come up with the more conventional: Are you feeling mistreated by the authorities? Relax, go home to bed and share a very large marijuana cigarette with your significant other."

Those expecting the dictionary, published by Ten Speed Press, to be a stodgy reference work are in for a jolt.

McCleary's book is chock-full of pointed editorializing, slang and swear words culled from the vernacular of the 1960s and 1970s hippie youth, who questioned authority and created their own counterculture.

. . . among the book's entries are such gems as "hey man" (the most prevalent greeting of the era) and "swacked" (high on drugs or alcohol).

One of the more amusing entries is found under "like," which McCleary calls an unnecessary word that along with "you know" and "I mean" has come to dominate U.S. speech.

"What is strange about these exclamations is that, even though they have no real bearing on the conversation, they indicate a desire ... to communicate with clarity and understanding."

. . . the book's entry for the term "hippie" says, "The true hippie believes in and works for truth, generosity, peace, love and tolerance. The messengers of sanity in a world filled with greed, intolerance and war."

. . .McCleary has no apologies for expressing highly subjective views in what is ostensibly a reference book.

In his entry on President John F. Kennedy's assassination, he wrote, "It is interesting to note that liberals are the ones who are killed in their prime, and conservatives die old in their soft beds. This world would be a better place in which to live if John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., had lived to die in their soft beds."

McCleary said his editorializing is necessary because the hippie era was a very opinionated period and some of the themes he touches on help illustrate the hippie philosophy.

-- from CNN's Offbeat News.

Not acceptable!

From a website called In The News:

December 19, 2003 -- A feisty teller thwarted a bank heist by balling up the robber's demand note and throwing it back in his face.

"I can't accept this!" the teller at BB&T bank in Chesapeake, Va., told the man, who was so startled, he did a fast about-face and fled empty-handed.

"Have a good day at the office, honey!"

Two sandhill cranes share a moment in a field off Old Clyde Park Road near Livingston, Montana, on August 22.

A value, huh?

"This is not something we have a lot of experience with, but we felt it was an area where we could offer a value."

-- Costco Wholesale Corp. spokesman Bob Nelson, on the company's decision to offer value-priced caskets to customers who frequent the store for bulk food and other items

From Newsweek's Periscope

Contact his agent . . .

From CNN's Offbeat News:

A black bear was found passed out at a campground in Washington state recently after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker said on Wednesday.

"We noticed a bear sleeping on the common lawn and wondered what was going on until we discovered that there were a lot of beer cans lying around," said Lisa Broxson, a worker at the Baker Lake Resort, 80 miles (129 kilometers) northeast of Seattle.

The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds.

It turns out the bear was a bit of a beer sophisticate. He tried a mass-market Busch beer, but switched to Rainier Beer, a local ale, and stuck with it for his drinking binge.

Wildlife agents chased the bear away, but it returned the next day, said Broxson. They set a trap using as bait some doughnuts, honey and two cans of Rainier Beer. It worked, and the bear was captured for relocation.

I wonder if ad execs have ever thought of using a bear for a beer commercial????

I think this qualifies as silly

From the Associated Press, originally from the Quad-City Times.

. . . to duh kitties

From CNN's Offbeat News:

Dressed in a tuxedo, Simba sat at the front of one of Manhattan's newest dining establishments and nodded at people who greeted him.

Then he yawned, began to roll on the floor and lick his paws.

That's acceptable behavior at the Meow Mix Cafe, a new eatery designed especially for cats and their human owners.

Simba, an 8-month-old kitten, was joined by about two dozen other tabbies, Persians and Burmese for a feast at Tuesday's grand opening of the cafe, which is owned by the Meow Mix Company, a Secaucus, New Jersey-based cat food maker.

"Why not take your cat out for dinner?" asked Simba's owner, Leah Thompson, 19. "There's always things for dogs, but never cats."

The midtown restaurant serves Meow Mix packets for its feline customers with corresponding dishes to satisfy human palates.

"Deep Sea Delight" mackerel for cats is paired with tuna rolls for cat owners; "Upstream Dream" salmon for felines corresponds with mini crab cakes for humans.

Meow Mix president and CEO Richard Thompson said the feline-friendly restaurant has two main rules: no dogs and no catnip, which must be checked at the door.

"Our goal is to keep cats happy," Thompson said. "The idea is that you can bring them and start socializing them."

Don't mess with her

Wonder Woman is truly a wonder!

" . . . moo like cows . . . "

From CNN's Offbeat News:

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- It's not about sex and all about the touchy-feely experience of snuggling up to perfect strangers wearing pajamas.

The grab fests are called cuddle parties, and since they started in New York in February, hundreds of people have paid $30 each to touch and embrace others in intimate gatherings.

Everyone needs to be cuddled, especially in lonely New York, say creators Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski, who say it's a good way to meet new and interesting people.

But the rules are clear. The PJs stay on the whole time.

In case things get too steamy, a small chime is kept on hand. Before the cuddling begins, the chime is struck several times so everyone gets the message.

"We've never used it," said Mihalko, who said sexual arousal does occur.

The idea for cuddle parties loosely came about after Mihalko, a 14-year masseur, began giving massages to other masseurs who never got the chance to receive them.

Signs that people need to be touched were brought home one day when Mihalko said he noticed a woman bawling from the emotional release that a massage provided her at an outdoor stand in midtown Manhattan.

"It started out as a joke," Baczynski said. "Now we talk about cuddling all the time. It's just been amazing."

Curiosity is a big driver for people who attend cuddle parties, and it is a better way to meet people than going to a bar, getting drunk and spending the night with someone just because of the need for some affection, she said.

A cuddle party is really about communication and not therapy, say the organizers.

Before any touching begins, participants gather in a circle to hear the rules and voice any questions or concerns. The first rule is that the event is not clothing optional, pajamas must stay on and sex is not permitted.

Participants team up into pairs, and to ensure the boundaries of what is permissible are clear, they practice saying "no" to the question, "May I kiss you?"

An introduction to cuddling ensues, first by hugging three people. People then get in a circle on their hands and knees, rub shoulders and moo like cows. After a bit of swaying, everyone falls to their side, which puts them into an easy cuddling position.

Cuddle parties are intended for people who are emotionally sound. People in therapy or who are seeing a mental health professional are asked to consult their doctor before signing up for a party and to tell organizers of their situation.

One group on an overcast Sunday drew a mix of mostly single people in their 30s and a smattering of older people.

A repeat customer who called herself a born-again Christian said it was good to cuddle up to another person, albeit a perfect stranger, after a hectic week.

"I felt good. I had a particularly stressful week," said the woman, who did not wish to be named.

Friends had warned her that the parties would be nothing more than thinly disguised preludes to sex, but she dismissed those worries as alarmist and unfounded, saying, "It's not about sex."

Like others, the chance to meet someone was a consideration in attending a cuddle party.

"People in a way are looking for a connection," Fernando said. "It's weird, but not unusual."

A man named Dwayne H., who described himself as introverted, said he thought the parties would help him relax before strangers and help him express his feelings.

"I have a problem showing emotion," he said.

This story describes cuddling parties in New York City. With all that mooing going on, wait 'til they become popular in the dairy states. Oh, my gosh!

Where's he going?

For some reason, I find this photo funny and yet, oddly compelling.

What does the photo say to you?

(Oh, yes, this was posted on the Associated Press wire and published by the Chillicothe Gazette. [Ohio])

Ms. Froggie enjoying her veggies

Somehow, with us being in the middle of August, garden veggies popping, weekly farmer's markets -- and generally the sheer fullness of nature's bounty -- I just thought we needed to reflect on Ms. Froggie here, enjoying her produce.

You can smoke some weed, but no toe-licking!

Count on CNN's Law Center to report on this:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) -- Unsolicited toe-licking would be banned in the Netherlands under a law sought by the Dutch Labor party after police were unable to prosecute a would-be Casanova with a taste for female toes because he had committed no crime.

A police spokesman said Friday a man had been detained after women sunning themselves in Rotterdam's parks and beaches claimed he had snuck up on them and begun to lick their toes.

"The officers had to let him go. Licking a stranger's toes is rather unusual but there is really nothing criminal about it," the spokesman said.

Dutch press reports said the man, who is about 35, had been licking the toes of strangers for about three years but was only recently caught by police.

Peter van Heemst, a Labor member of parliament, asked Christian Democrat Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner Friday to explain why Dutch laws forbid littering but not uninvited toe-licking. Van Heemst demanded an amendment prohibiting it.

"It is a violation of one's privacy and one's physical integrity," he told a local news agency. "The norm... is that no one should touch your body if you haven't asked them first."

A spokesman for Donner said the minister could not immediately comment.

Well, if I ever travel in the Netherlands, I'll feel safer now.