Unusual News - Articles - Zimbio

Drunks Shooting Stuff: …And God’s Mercy on the Wild Lawnmower Man

Sun, 28 Jul 2008 09:00:00 GMT

posted by thesharkguys
Continuing our series on drunken shotgun violence (see Friday’s entry on a moose being sent to that hunting lodge wall in the sky [though the moose was the drunk party in that one]), we would be remiss if we failed to report on the case of a Milwaukee man who engaged in armed combat with that highly tempting target – a gas-powered lawnmower.

The duty to mow a lawn on a regular basis is enough to make anyone, even those who don’t break out into hives at the mere sight of anything green and outdoors, want to permanently live in an apartment. (And the sound of some inconsiderate lawn-loving prick starting up his lawnmower bright and early on a Saturday morning while you’re trying to sleep off a hangover should be a justifiable cause for homicide.)

When your lawnmower is a piece of junk that takes numerous pulls and expletives to get started, it’s not surprising that you might be tempted to do the thing grievous harm. And such was the case with our Milwaukee friend (Editor’s Note: Given its size, Wisconsin is amply represented on this website. See here for more), who had spent the morning drinking, decided in the early afternoon to mow his lawn (the best time), couldn’t get it started, and ended up shooting the thing with a sawed-off shotgun. A neighbor, of the rat-fink variety of neighbor, phoned police and he was arrested, charged with drunken disorderly conduct and also for having the sawed-off shotgun in the first place (the ‘sawed-off’ part makes it illegal).

The weapons charge is likely the one that sees him facing an incredible potential six-year prison term, however the defendant in this case offered a defence that we’d accept if we somehow were unable to dodge jury duty and found ourselves listening to this case. “"I can do that," he told police. "It’s my lawn mower and my yard, so I can shoot it if I want." And damn it, he’s right! It’s not like the shotgun blast ricocheted and fell some neighbor out trimming the bougainvillea. The only victim here was a crap lawnmower that had it coming anyway. And if a man can’t get drunk and disorderly in his own home, then where exactly can he? Being able to shoot up your lawnmower while pie-eyed before the PM is exactly what freedom is all about.

And as a tribute of sorts to our lawnmower man friend for sticking up for everyone’s right to get a bit ripped and reckless, we have compiled here some clips of others doing just that. As any seasoned emergency-room nurse will tell you, drinking and guns do mix and here is video proof of just how often:

First for those of you who need a visual to fully comprehend what the destruction of a lawnmower entails, here it is:

A scenic train ride in the Russian countryside isn’t complete unless you take a moment to fire a few shotgun blasts out the window. Bonus: the guy doing the shooting is a well known Russian politician.

Camping: An attempt to commune with nature while shooting up whiskey bottles and going on drunken wheelbarrow rides.

The William Tell legend but with two drunken buddies instead of the father and son and a stuffed animal in place of the apple. No word on whether this pair of Darwin Awards contenders continued to be as lucky.

And of course, a blog like this would not be complete without a mention of the patron saint of intoxicated people shooting up stuff, a man who spent the last quarter of his life pretty much doing exactly that, the good doctor Hunter S. Thompson. A classic clip from Conan O’Brien:

via videosift.com

HISTORY:Celebrity Body Snatching: Charlie Chaplin's Stolen Body Found...

Mon, 20 May 2008 03:00:00 GMT

posted by violetplanet

"The coffin containing the body of Charlie Chaplin - missing since his grave was robbed 11 weeks ago - has been found. It was dug up from a field about a mile away from the Chaplin home in Corsier near Lausanne, Switzerland. The legendary comedian died on Christmas Day last year, aged 88. He was buried two days later in the village of Corsier in the hills above Lake Geneva.

"Charlie would have thought it ridiculous."
-Lady Oona Chaplin

Swiss police have arrested two men - a Pole aged 24 and a Bulgarian aged 38 - and say they have confessed to stealing the coffin and reburying it. Names of the accused have not been released, but police say they are both motor mechanics. They were traced after police kept a watch on 200 phone kiosks and tapped the Chaplins' phone after the family received ransom demands of £400,000 for return of the body after it went missing in March. Sir Charles' 51-year-old widow, Lady Oona Chaplin, refused to pay up saying: "Charlie would have thought it ridiculous." In further calls the kidnappers made threats to harm her two youngest children.

The family kept silent about the ransom demands and various rumours circulated about the missing coffin. One Hollywood report suggested it had been dug up because Sir Charles was a Jew buried in a gentile cemetery. Lady Chaplin, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill inherited about £12m after the death of her husband. The couple and their eight children have been living in Lausanne since 1952. A spokesman for the Chaplins said: "The family is very happy and relieved that this ordeal is over." Superintendent Gabriel Cettou, the head of the Geneva police, said the two men would be charged with attempted extortion and disturbing the peace of the dead.

-BBC News (On This Day, 5.17.1978. Image: Charlie Chaplin's Exhumed Coffin, 1978).

Ferret Rescue at The Land Rover World Show!

Mon, 13 May 2008 11:53:36 GMT

posted by millymollymandy

This year the Land Rover World Show has stacks events with hundreds of top Land Rover Sales and all terrain dealers and traders, popular Landrover clubs and sideshows (Bob?), attractions and surprises for the whole family.

The original Land Rover was unveiled at a motor show in Amsterdam on April 30, 1948.

Organisers are keen to encourage Prince Charles to come and join the celebrations of Land rovers 60th anniversary. It is known that his royal Highness will visit the Land Rover factory in Solihull so hopefully a trip to deepest Herefordshire can be arranged

Not to be missed is Broadway Ferret Rescue who'll be on hand to explain about the work they do looking after the rescued ferrets and letting you "have a feel". Yorkshire Tikes be warned security cameras are fitted to the furry ferret heads and will broadcast live to the big screen any down trouser activity.

Land rover owners hold the view that there is no better place to get your wheels muddy than at
Eastnor Castle which has some of the greatest off-road routes in the country.

Enthusiasts will have opportunity to get behind the wheel and demonstrate their driving skills to perfection with the choice of three self drive routes, ranging in difficulty from mild to extreme.

Land Rovers available to try include:-

Defender

Freelander

Discovery

Range Rover

For a small donation to charity Born Free you can let an expert take you round purpose built tracks in a top of the range.. erm.. Range Rover and shown the capability of one of these top off road vehicles.

The Death of Tais - Or Was It Paula?

Wed, 6 Sep 2007 14:55:28 GMT

posted by LittlePumpkin

Breaking news! I just saw these headlines stamped across the gossip rags today. It claims that instead of Taís, the evil twin, that was murdered last week on popular soap "Paraíso Tropical", the actual corpse belonged to Paula, the good twin! Taís would have murdered her good twin sister and then switched outfits with her so everyone would believe that she was dead! And, once again, she took her sister's identity on this "it-can-only-happen-in-a-soap" soap! By the way, Alessandra Negrini is simply amazing playing the dual roles.

My hunch is that this is too crazy to be true as in good soap opera tradition the heroine never dies. It bother me a bit that you cannot escape these headlines, as most Sunday papers also bring these news on their TV magazine reviews. Though I am not a typical soap opera viewer I do watch "Paraíso Tropical" when I get the chance, but I do not like to know the plot with so much advance. The soap wraps up in 3 more weeks and it seems that most of what is about to happen has been announced in the media already. More updates to come...

On Clowns & Coulrophobia: The Terror Of Bozo

Sat, 6 Jul 2008 05:30:00 GMT

posted by violetplanet
"There is nothing laughable about a clown in the moonlight." -Lon Chaney, Sr.

Coulrophobia is defined as an extreme fear of clowns. Coulrophobia was conceived during the 1990s and originates from the Greek words Koulon (limb) and Kolobathristes which translates as"one who goes on stilts." The central fear trigger is the clown's appearance which masks the identity of the wearer and suggests a hidden and/or potentially sinister personality.

- VioletPlanet, Image: -Larry Harmon as Bozo The Clown (Mr. Harmon was one of a few Bozos but not the original. Bozo The Clown was created by Capitol Records executive Alan Livingston for recordings in 1946. The late Vance "Pinto" Colvig was the first person to play the clown and Bob Bozo Bell was one of the most popular and prolific Bozos, International Clown Hall Of Fame/AP).