Not a Chicken or a Rabbit, Definitely a Rodent

OK - now this is just plain silly. Plus - how close is "Whakatane" to "Whack-A-Teen?"

Man is fined for throwing hedgehog at teen

2 hours ago

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand man accused of assault with prickly weapon — a hedgehog — has been fined by a court and ordered to pay most of his fine to his teenage victim.

Whakatane District Court was told Thursday that William Singalargh picked up the hedgehog and threw it several yards to hit a 15-year-old boy in the North Island east coast town of Whakatane on Feb. 9.

Police told the court the unusual assault weapon had hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks. The teen did not need medical treatment.

Singalargh was convicted of common assault and offensive behavior following a defended hearing. He had pleaded innocent to the charges.

He was fined a total of 700 New Zealand dollars (US$545) with NZ$500 (US$389) paid to his victim.

The more serious charge of assault with a weapon, namely a hedgehog, was dropped. The maximum penalty for that charge is five years in prison.

It was not known whether the hedgehog was dead or alive at the time of the attack, but Senior Sgt. Bruce Jenkins said earlier that it was dead when collected as evidence.

While using a hedgehog as a weapon in an assault is uncommon, Jenkins said people often got charged with assault for throwing things at other people.

"sound chicken makes"

So I was trying to figure out how to 'spell' the sound that a chicken makes, so I plugged "sound chicken makes" into Google which yielded me this result, top of the page:

http://bgok.net/

In case you missed the sound it makes when the page first loads, go ahead and drag that sucker around the page with your mouse - you'll hear it.

OK, I was kidding...

About renaming this the chicken blog... god.

Man shoots chicken, wife shoots man

"It looked like `CSI,' " she said, referring to the popular television show. "There were dead chickens lying all over the place."

Man shoots chicken, wife shoots man

By Rebecca Nolan

The Register-Guard

Published: Wednesday, September 6, 2006

CHESHIRE - A woman was charged Tuesday for shooting her husband in the back after he shot her pet chicken, the Lane County Sheriff's Office said.

Mary Kay Gray, 58, was arraigned Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court on a charge of felony assault. She was being held in the Lane County Jail.

Her husband, Stanley Edward Gray, 43, was recovering from a single gunshot wound to the shoulder. The chicken died at the scene.

Sheriff's Sgt. Clint Riley said the couple had been drinking for much of the day Monday while they did yardwork and other chores around their rented home at 22732 Highway 36 in Cheshire.

They began arguing after Stanley Gray shot the chicken with a .44-caliber handgun, Riley said.

"We don't know if it was an accident or if it was on purpose," Riley said of the chicken's death. "It depends who you ask."

Deputies determined that Mary Gray intentionally shot her husband in the upper back with a .22-caliber rifle around 7:40 p.m., he said. It appeared to be an act of retaliation.

Cheyenne Dickenson's family shares a driveway with the Gray home. She said the Grays moved in about a month ago. They live alone and often appear intoxicated, she said.

Dickenson arrived home Monday night and found police cars clustered at the bottom of the driveway. Deputies escorted her to her front door.

"It looked like `CSI,' " she said, referring to the popular television show. "There were dead chickens lying all over the place."

Dickenson's parents told her they heard the gunfire but thought nothing of it. People often do target practice in the area, she said.

After the shooting, Stanley Gray went to a different neighbor's house for help. The neighbor drove him to the nearby Lane Rural Fire/Rescue station.

Firefighters provided medical treatment until an ambulance arrived to take Gray to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene. He was treated and released from the hospital a few hours later.

The couple's daughter retrieved the remaining animals from the house about midnight, Dickenson said.

More chicken news

Maybe I should call this the chicken blog.

Chicken ticketed for crossing the road near Ridgecrest

Associated Press
Sun, May. 08, 2005

RIDGECREST, Calif. - Linc and Helena Moore may have finally learned the answer to that age-old question: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Because the chicken doesn't know jaywalking is illegal.

Kern County Sheriff's Deputy J. Nicholson does know, however. The deputy issued a ticket on March 26 to one of the couple's chickens for impeding traffic on a road in Johannesburg, a rural mining community southeast of Ridgecrest.

The Moores arrived in Superior Court on Friday to plead not guilty to their chicken's alleged transgression. A trial was scheduled for May 16.

Nicholson has declined to discuss the matter, but sheriff's Sgt. Francis Moore said chickens on the roadway have been a problem in the community of 50 residents. Officials didn't believe it could be resolved by simply issuing the couple a warning.

"Sometimes you have to let people talk to the judge," Moore said.

The chicken's owners say they believe they were cited because they were among several people who complained that sheriff's deputies haven't done enough to control off-road vehicle riders who damage roads and create dust and noise in their neighborhood.

Sheriff's officials say that isn't so, adding they are doing what they can to keep off-roaders away from the area's homes.

"The chicken thing has nothing to do with the motorcycle thing," Moore said.

And now for something completely different...

Looks like Jimmy Carter's swamp rabbit is trying to overtake Clucky, the resuscitated chicken... Hmmmm, turducken anyone?

The original story...

Clucky break: Man resuscitates drowned chicken

The AP version...

Colorado man resuscitates chicken
ASSOCIATED PRESS

April 15, 2005 | COLLBRAN, Colo. (AP) -- First there was Mike the Headless Chicken, a rooster that survived for 18 months after having its head lopped off with an ax.

Now, western Colorado has a new chicken survival story, this one involving a man who claims he saved his fowl by giving it mouth-to-beak resuscitation.

Uegene Safken says one of the chickens in his young flock had gotten into a tub of water in the yard last week and appeared to have died.

Safken said he first swung the chicken by the feet to revive it. When that failed, he continued swinging and blowing into its beak.

"Then one eye opened. I thought it was an involuntary response," Safken said. The chicken's beak opened a little wider, and Safken started yelling at it: "You're too young to die!

"Every time I'd yell at him, he'd chirp," Safken said.

Mike the Headless Chicken survived a beheading in 1945 in Fruita, Colo. Afterward, Mike could go through the motions of pecking for food, and when he tried to crow, a gurgle came out. His owner put feed and water directly into Mike's gullet with an eyedropper.

Scientists examined the chicken and theorized Mike had enough of a brain stem left to live headless. He was a popular attraction until he choked to death on a corn kernel.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Mike the Headless Chicken

The Amazing, true story of this famous fowl dates back to September 10, 1945 when Mike, a young Wyandotte rooster, was about to become the dinner of Fruita, Colorado, farmer Lloyd Olsen.

With a sharp ax in hand, Mr. Olsen firmly held Mike, preparing to make the bird ready for his wife Clara's cooking pot. Mr. Olsen swung the implement, thereby lopping off poor Mike's head. Mike shook off the event, then continued trying to peck for food.

Mike's will to live remains an inspiration. It is a great comfort to know you can live a normal life, even after you have lost your mind.

Thanks, Mike!

Here's a clever bit of activism that has been going on in Germany for the past year...

Police hoping to red-flag 'poo pranksters'

The word "bizarre" has been a favorite of mine since I learned a bit about the Basques. The origins of this word are usually attributed to the French but in actuality, it appears to be a Basque word. The Basques original language is one of the most bizarre in the world, having no obvious origins. From what I've read, they themselves believe they got their language directly from God.

So it may follow that I appreciate the comic Bizarro. I recently discovered that within each Bizarro cartoon there are subliminal symbols. So I went to the Bizarro website to find out more about them. The only question I have is why the stick of dynamite isn't included in this section.

Check out Bizarro.com

Ever wonder what you're going to get your iPod lovin' friends for Christmas? I mean, don't they already have everything? Well here's the answer:

The iPod sock

Or, if you don't want to pay $29.95, here's a better way, plus you can make it yourself (aren't the best presents DIY???):

Maneesh's superCase

As Halloween approaches, I have been thinking about things that are truly scary. While I have admiration for the Nobel Peace Prize winning Jimmy Carter, I had to find an actual picture of the famous incident of his battle with the killer swimming swamp rabbit. So here it is, picture and all. I will continue to look for other strange scary things before Halloween.

President Jimmy Carter and the "killer rabbit" - the true story, with the picture

I am obsessed with volcanos and just can't stop checking out how Mount St. Helens is doing. Here's the official VolcanoCam:

Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam - Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Also, I have my own page devoted to images found on the Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam. Check them out:

Weird Sitings on the Mount Saint Helens Cam

Maybe you liked that Quizno's ad with the weird sponge monkeys in it or maybe you didn't. If you did (like we did SOOOOO MUCH) then you should go check out RatherGood.com... many funny Flash animations and even some free mp3s to download....

The Lair of the Crab of Ineffable Wisdom - a load of stuff by Joel Veitch that will probably crush your will to live

Something you might not find everyday is how to give your cat an enema. I found this while doing a search on the 'net (not sure why/how) and it is definitely worth a read - I swear you'll be laughing before it's done!

Catenema.com Do NOT Try This at Home

If you have trouble "getting" Zippy the Pinhead, here is an excellent tutorial on how to make sense of the nonsense...

Understanding Zippy

Flipping through the movie channels the other night I found an excellent Strange Advice for Teens film called The Explosive Generation, 1961. Check out William Shatner as the teacher who offers to answer student's questions about sex, much to the outrage of the parents...

tvguide.com - [TV Guide]

This is a good place to check to see if that email you got really is too good to be true....

Urban Legends Reference Pages

All-time best giver of Strange Advice is Mark Morford. Go check out his past columns and while you're at it, make sure you sign up for his Morning Fix newletter. You'll laugh so hard your morning coffee shoots out your nose and then cry when you realize the depth of our humanity and how often it is failed by those in positions of importance.

SF Gate: Columnists: Mark Morford Archive

Here is an excellent resource of Strange Advice. Gotta love the folks at Erowid. If you find yourself wandering through the vaults, make sure you stop in and make a donation for their cause.

The Vaults of Erowid