Oddities spotted in the news

[DHBirr]

Unfortunately, this is an oddity.  A man lost his wallet.  The fellow who found and returned it not only left the contents intact but added some more cash, "so you could celebrate getting your wallet back. Have Fun!!!"
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"Oh, my people had many gods. There was Conformity, and Authority, and Expense Account, and Opinion. And there was Status, whose symbols were many, and who rode in the great chariot Cadillac, which was almost a god itself. And there was Atombomb, the dread destroyer, who would some day come to end the world." — Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, H. Beam Piper

[DHBirr]

Eel-Snorting Fad Among Juvenile Seals

One reader commented:

When seals snorting eels is outlawed, only outlaw seals will snort eels.

[robkelk]

Eel-Snorting Fad Among Juvenile Seals

One reader commented:

When seals snorting eels is outlawed, only outlaw seals will snort eels.

Same story, going into more depth. No comments, though.

[DHBirr]

In response to this, 
FIIIIIVE GO-HOLD RIIIIINNNGSAH @Scriblit
tweeted:

WHEEEEEEN THEEEEE
NOSE OF A SEAL
HAS BEEN STUFFED WITH AN EEL
THAT'S A MORAY

He did not trouble to apologize to Dean Martin for the parody.
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“We’ve had our differences, but he’s seen the light … and I made sure he moved toward it, instead of coming back.”

[robkelk]

This book club does not believe in "death of the author"

[DHBirr]

Your smartphone is the instrument of Satan's control [scare chord], warns the Patriarch of Russia's Orthodox Church.  (A pity I don't know a way to give the previous sentence an appropriately spooky-looking font.  Bolding it just isn't enough, somehow.)

As someone who [preens] doesn't use a smartphone, I'll just sit back and enjoy. 
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"Oh, my people had many gods. There was Conformity, and Authority, and Expense Account, and Opinion. And there was Status, whose symbols were many, and who rode in the great chariot Cadillac, which was almost a god itself. And there was Atombomb, the dread destroyer, who would some day come to end the world." — Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, H. Beam Piper

[Inquisitive Raven]

Your smartphone is the instrument of Satan's control [scare chord], warns the Patriarch of Russia's Orthodox Church.  (A pity I don't know a way to give the previous sentence an appropriately spooky-looking font.  Bolding it just isn't enough, somehow.)

Ṇ̸͓͊ȯ̶̖t̵͔̄̉ ̴͕̜͒͠f̵̦͈͋ā̴̜̠ḿ̵̝͌i̶̳̽̏l̸̞̼̀ì̴͍̗ä̶̯̳r̵̮̔ ̷̹̗͋w̶͓̽͐i̸͕͗t̸̳͋̆ḫ̴́ ̶͙̱̓Z̷̨̑̿a̶̞̙͂͗l̸̯͗̓͜g̷̟͌o̵͕͋̑?̴̬̔

[robkelk]

The oral history of the Hampsterdance: The twisted true story of one of the world's first memes

Be warned: The article is 30 pages long when copied to Word. "These conversations have been edited and condensed for clarity."

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, wow, thanks for putting that one up. Peg and I were just discussing the Hampsterdance in the car a few nights ago, and I played both the original Roger Miller song ("Whistle Stop") and the remix credited to the Blue Man Group for her. (And does anyone know who really made that? It certainly wasn't BMG.) I'm sure she'll be interested in this article.

[robkelk]

CBC Archives: Ivan Reitman and the birth of the Ghostbusters phenomenon

[Bob Schroeck]

Nice article, but I wish it was longer.

(Did I ever mention that I'm in Ghostbusters 2? Well, technically, at least. I was meeting up with former coworkers at a bar near Wall Street one night, and afterwards, on my way to the PATH station to go home I stumbled across the location shooting at the Old Customs House, which is what they used for the museum exterior. The crowd of onlookers in the movie is made up entirely of people who were there watching the shooting, in a time-honored Hollywood tradition of getting really cheap crowd scenes. I am somewhere in that crowd watching the Ghostbusters opening up on the slime, not too far from the front of it, in fact, because I had a nice clear view of the four of them.)

[NifT]

Did I ever mention that I'm in Ghostbusters 2?

This is news to me. I'll have to dig up a copy and see if I can find you in the crowd (Hey! Our very own version of Where's Waldo!)

[Bob Schroeck]

Good luck. I've never found me. They were also there filming for at least three nights IIRC, and I only hung out in the crowd one of those nights...

[robkelk]

If the Nazis had won WWII, this book would have been their blueprint for the North American "Final Solution"

And here's a news video about the book

[robkelk]

The Vatican has released an app: Click To Pray

The folks on the CBC Radio show Because News wondered why it wasn't called "PrayPal" or "iForgive"...

[robkelk]

These tracks are on fire!

Spoiler

No, this is not a music reference. These passenger rail tracks in Chicago are literally on fire ... while they're in use.

[DHBirr]

OK, this isn't really that odd, but ... Illegal Immigrants in California!  There ain't no such thang as Seal-'Murikkkans!  Deport the flippered invaders!

[robkelk]

Grape balls of fire!

(Well, yes, okay, but the more accurate "grape balls of plasma" loses the pun.)

Video at the end of the article.

[Star Ranger4]

(Well, yes, okay, but the more accurate "grape balls of plasma" loses the pun.)

*whacks Rob on the back of the head for not thinking to cross post this to Fenspace*

[robkelk]

(Well, yes, okay, but the more accurate "grape balls of plasma" loses the pun.)

*whacks Rob on the back of the head for not thinking to cross post this to Fenspace*

* robkelk doesn't usually mention toys in Fenspace.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, c'mon. Can't you imagine a fenship with a grape-plasma torch drive?

[robkelk]

Want to live near multiple Pokémon GO gyms? This realtor can find you a house.

One caveat: You'll have to move to Cornwall, Ontario.

Clients met through the game now account for 10 to 15 per cent of his business, he said. It's also helped him create a niche: finding homes for avid players who have special Pokemon-related requests.

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Yeah, we've had a lot of snow lately.

Call whoever's responsible for these "Snow-Banksy".

Follow-up: They've found out who carved these; here's an interview.

[robkelk]

Mysterious underground vault discovered on grounds of Nova Scotia legislature

This is a story that's just begging to be used as a game plot hook. Even if the chamber was a powder magazine (other such rooms in the same style still exist in Nova Scotia), what was it doing in that location? And if it wasn't a powder magazine, what was it? And why are there no records of it?

[robkelk]

Craft brewery discovers they were throwing away $720,000 worth of beer every year

[Norgarth]

‘Make America Grate Again’: Canadian artist building massive cheese wall along U.S.-Mexico border