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Archive for the Category »Life «

Darwin Would Be Smiling

It seemed everywhere I looked for news and amusing bits today, there was a story of stupidity. It just wouldn’t be right to not share them with you. After all, if the laws of nature are true, these folks might not be with us all that much longer. Best enjoy their antics while they’re here!

Next we might not be so lucky: Aussies ignore tsunami warning

A major tsunami warning for Australia’s east coast did little to deter people from flocking to beaches.

In Sydney, many travelled kilometres to try to get a glimpse of the “big wave” that never came.

Sirens sounded, lifesavers warned people off beaches and the Quiksilver pro surfing competition on the Gold Coast was postponed following yesterday morning’s warning by the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre.

The alert for Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania followed the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday night, sending a tsunami racing across the Pacific Ocean at nearly 700km/h.

… 

The tsunami had been predicted to hit the coast around Sydney as early as 8.45am (AEDT). However, by 9am, those braving the water’s edge at Bondi Beach were still awaiting its arrival.

Gabby Stevenot, 27, said she had travelled more than 20km from West Ryde, in Sydney’s northwest, to watch the tsunami and was “disappointed” she couldn’t see anything.

“That’s why I came down here — I wanted to see the big waves and the big show but there’s not really much happening at all,” she said.

The tsunami warning was finally called off about 5pm.

Source: news.com.au

The most expensive inflight meal

AN AIRLINE passenger became so irate that he could not claim his 10,000 euros ($15,000) winning scratch card when on board the flight that he took rather odd action.

Cabin crew on Thursday’s FR1724 flight from Krakow, Poland, to the U.K.’s East Midlands airport congratulated the winner and advised him to claim his prize directly from the company which runs the lottery, as it was such a large sum.

But he apparently became so upset that he was not able to collect the prize mid-flight that he decided to digest his winning scratch card … invalidating his claim.

The airline was asking visitors to its website to decide which charity should get the €10,000 prize.

“Passengers have always been delighted to claim their large cash prizes after returning home,” Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said.

“Unfortunately our latest winner felt that we should have his €10,000 prize kicking around on the aircraft.”

Source: The Australian

Why Tweeting Your Location Is Like Saying ‘Please Rob Me!’

The Web sites that seem to provide the best fresh robbery opportunities, according to this site, are Facebook, Twitter and a fairly new site, Foursquare, which shows your friends and followers where you are in the world.

Foursquare’s goal is to tell folks your location in case they just happened to be nearby, so you could hang out, grab a sandwhich or see a movie.

In theory, these communications are supposed to be harmless and protected, so they’re only viewable to just those you choose – but if you are here or there in the city or at the airport, guess where you are not: At home!

Some folks, especially teenagers and young adults, tend to have too much personal information on their Web sites. Some even include their home addresses.

That’s why Please Rob Me was put together by a group called Forthehack. Creators Bob and Bart said they are trying to prove a point.

As an example, they put in the words “left home” in a search engine, and found thousands of hits on social networking sites.

Can you say “robbery invitation”?

Source: cfnews13.com

Dumb Robber Leaves Own Car

The suspected thief got such a fright on Friday afternoon when he realised people were watching as he and his mates were breaking into a house in broad daylight, that he left his car – with the keys still in the ignition – in front of the house and fled on foot.

The police say the Ford Fiesta belongs to the man who ran away… and they expect to have him in custody soon.

Two of his mates were arrested after the burglary which took place at about 13:00.

Source: news24.com

I could spend all day doing this for you fraccers, but it’s just occurred to me that my time might be better spent on Twitter. The kids have been bugging me for a new computer and someone is bound to have updated their status to let me know they’re not home…

Re-Vamping a Classic

Have you ever sat and realized how some days, the internet is terribly boring? One can only watch so many videos of stupid people falling into puddles of mud and falling victim to their friends and families’ idea of a good practical joke before one becomes weary. Indeed… sometimes we long to be able to relax with one of the classics.

And yet, sometimes the classics are (forgive me…) boring.

If you, like me, have ever thought the classics should be more interesting, you’ve come to the right place.  Fracas is pleased to assist you. Below, I’ve prepared a sample snippet that I hope will help you renew (or begin) a love of the classics.  I give you:

Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace

(Chapter 1… as read by: The Swedish Chef )

Original:

“Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don`t tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that AntichristI really believe he is AntichristI will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend, no longer my `faithful slave,` as you call yourself! But how do you do? I see I have frightened you. Sit down and tell me all the news.”

It was in July, 1805, and the speaker was the well-known Anna Pavlovna Scherer, maid of honor and favorite of the Empress Marya Fedorovna. With these words she greeted Prince Vasili Kuragin, a man of high rank and importance, who was the first to arrive at her reception. Anna Pavlovna had had a cough for some days. She was, as she said, suffering from la grippe; grippe being then a new word in St. Petersburg, used only by the elite.

New:

The Swedish Chef reading Tolstoy's War and Peace“Vell, Preence-a, su Genua und Loocca ere-a noo joost femeely istetes ooff zee Boounepertes. Um gesh dee bork, bork! Boot I vern yuoo, iff yuoo dun`t tell me-a thet thees meuns ver, iff yuoo steell try tu deffend zee inffemeees und hurrurs perpetreted by thet UnteechristI reelly beleeefe-a he-a is UnteechristI veell hefe-a nutheeng mure-a tu du veet yuoo und yuoo ere-a nu lunger my freeend, nu lunger my `feeethffool slefe-a,` es yuoo cell yuoorselff! Boot hoo du yuoo du? I see-a I hefe-a freeghtened yuooseet doon und tell me-a ell zee noos. Um gesh dee bork, bork!”

It ves in Jooly, 1805, und zee speeker ves zee vell-knoon Unna Peflufna Scherer, meeed ooff hunur und fefureete-a ooff zee Impress Merya Fedurufna. Veet zeese-a vurds she-a greeted Preence-a Feseeli Kooregeen, a mun ooff heegh runk und impurtunce-a, vhu ves zee furst tu erreefe-a et her recepshun. Unna Peflufna hed hed a cuoogh fur sume-a deys. Um gesh dee bork, bork! She-a ves, es she-a seeed, sooffffereeng frum la greeppe-a; greeppe-a beeeng zeen a noo vurd in St. Um de hur de hur de hur. Petersboorg, used oonly by zee ileete-a.

Do you see what I mean? All you who previously thought the classics were too boring to read, may now enjoy everything from Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Bronte and Chaucer, to Nietzsche, Twain and Sir Frances Bacon.

It’s quite simply done. Select your author and locate the text you’re interested in, visit The Dialectizer, pop your chosen text into the windowbox and click. Now you too, can enjoy the classics in the format that interests you most!

You’re welcome… and happy reading… dee bork, bork!

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Source Credit:War and Peace excerpt credit from http://tolstoy.classicauthors.net/warandpeac/warandpeac1.html

Pat Robertson Has Tasty Brains

Fracas is astounded at the things Pat Robertson has been saying about the earthquake in Haiti, and because fracas usually likes to figure out why people do the things they do, here’s what I’ve brainstormed.

  1. Suggesting this earthquake is some punishment from God is a pretty brainless comment.
  2. Pat Robertson must have no (or a reduced amount of) brains.
  3. Something happened to his brains, what?
  4. Everyone knows that zombies love to eat brains.
  5. People (even zombie people) tend to prefer to eat what is tasty to them.
  6. Zombies must have eaten Pat Robertson’s brains.
  7. Pat Robertson’s brains must be tasty.

I rest my case.

Please feel free to debate this in the comments, or add your alternate theory for discussion.

Want to help?

Find the agency you prefer to donate to:

CNN’s list is here: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/

Another group I learned of via twitter, has already been involved in projects in Haiti and so already has people on the ground there. They are:

Hands On Disaster Response: http://hodr.org/

And please, do your part to stop comments like Robertson’s in their tracks. Perhaps a tragedy will strike Robertson’s own family some day, and then he’ll have to ask himself what he did that meant God was punishing him?

Merci!

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Category: Life, News, World  11 Comments

Don’t Call Me Baby Anymore…

This will never happen to fracas…

An elderly gent was invited to his old friend’s home for dinner one evening.

He was impressed by the way his buddy preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms – “Honey”, “My Love”, “Darling”, “Sweetheart”, “Pumpkin”, etc.

The couple had been married 62 years and, clearly, they were still very much in love.

While the wife was in the kitchen, the man leaned over and said to his host, “I think it’s wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your wife those loving pet names.”

The old man hung his head.

“I have to tell you the truth,” he said “I forgot her name about 10 years ago.”

Indeed… there’s no way this will ever happen to me. We haven’t even gotten to that 25 year anniversary, and Mr. Fracas already forgot my name years ago!

(So what’s your pet’s pet name for you? Don’t be shy now… share.)

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Category: Humor, Humour, Life  7 Comments