Dumb criminals

From Reuters:

BERLIN (Reuters) - A careless burglar in Germany left behind a vital clue at a break-in when he sliced off the end of a finger and left it behind, police said on Monday.

"We usually find fingerprints at the crime scene, but it's not every day that thieves leave the original there too," said a spokesman for police in the central town of Hildesheim.

Police wasted no time in matching the piece of finger with existing prints they had from a 15-year-old of Iraqi origin.

The youth initially denied breaking and entering into an office to steal a computer but confessed when police produced the digital remnant, which had been severed on a broken window.

"I don't know if the fellow asked for it (the fingertip) back afterwards," the police spokesman said.

Halloween and pie

Tonight I get to take two of my nieces trick-or-treating. About a week ago the oldest, Tori, called me and asked me what my costume would be. She really wanted me to dress up so I asked her what I should be. After a moment's pause, she said "A witch!" She then went on to say that they had a witch's dress and hat in their toy box.

My brother, their Dad, really likes pecan pie. So I baked this last night. It's not as puffy as it was when it came out of the oven. But I love how the pecans line up and get shiny on the top.

Lovely Lied (song)

This song is actually quite sad, but I really like it. The music is so crooner like. It's really romantic and swoony. It's called "Ich atme ein," which means I inhale, and is sung by Roger Cicero. I haven't watched the whole video, I just listen to the song. It's not on iTunes. Grumble, grumble. Bonus for German speakers or wanna-bes like me -- he enunciates very well.

Annoying Monday

This morning I really wanted coffee so I made some in my lovely presspot. The coffee at work tastes really bitter. You need about 1/2 milk to make it drinkable.

Traffic was horrid I wasn't paying to close attention to my coffee cup. It tipped over and spilled all over the passenger seat before I noticed. A nice coffee puddle. This was especially nice since I am carpooling today. Sally had to sit in the backseat. All the way to work the lovely coffee smell taunted me as it soaked into the seat.

Cool quote

Today I heard that Red Auerbach died. He was the president of the Boston Celtics basketball team. Earlier he was the coach. Normally I wouldn't record that here. I'm not a basketball fan. However, one of the people interviewed about him noted this quote that Auerbach used in reference to coaching:

It's not what you say, it's what they hear.

I just love that. True on many levels.

Car washing

When Sophie and I were out on a walk today, I saw a man washing his car in his driveway. This is not that unusual. However, he was rinsing off the car using a garden watering can. It looked very funny and I'm sure it took a very long time to rinse the car.

German makeover

I thought this story about the German national soccer team was quite interesting. Even though the World Cup is over, the team is still making news. I'm going to begin lobbying Netflix as soon as the film comes out on DVD.

German Players Coached in Tactics for Formal Occasions

Clean-cut Germany coach Joachim Löw decided it's not enough for his players to look good when they're on the pitch and decided to turn the team into an orderly troupe of well-groomed personalities off the field as well.

Bastian Schweinsteiger looked the perfect gentleman as he stood in a smart suit and fashionable scarf next to Chancellor Angela Merkel on the film premiere's red carpet.

The young Bayern Munich midfielder, like his teammates in the German national team squad, is cutting sophisticated and stylish figures off the pitch these days.

What happens off the field was the subject of a much-hyped documentary "Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen" (Germany: A Summer's Tale). Released in early October, the documentary focuses on the players' personal lives by concentrating on scenes in the team's hotel and on the bus as well as their reaction to the massive enthusiasm that engulfed Germany during the World Cup.

More deep frying. Yum!

I find this story fascinating and horrifying.

Because we don't already have enough fried foods...

NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Reuters Life!) - A new fast food is making its debut at U.S. fairs this fall -- fried Coke.

Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with his perfect recipe -- a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.

Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pong ball sized doughnuts which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry on the top.

"It tastes great," said Sue Gooding, a spokeswoman for the State Fair of Texas where Gonzales' fried Coke made its debut this fall. "It was a huge success."

Gonzales ran two stands at the State Fair of Texas and sold up to 35,000 fried Cokes over 24 days for $4.50 each -- and won a prize for coming up with "most creative" new fair food.

Kids and dogs

My cousin Joni sent me an e-mail about this offering at the Great River Library in St. Cloud.

Thursday, Oct. 26 , 6:30-8:00 pm
Desiree and Tiffany are certified Reading Education Assistance Dogs and love to sit and listen to books. Registration for 15 minute sessions begins October 18. Ages 5 and up.

That is the sweetest thing ever! Here's a bit more about the Reading Education Assistance Dogs.

The mission of the R.E.A.D. program is to improve the literacy skills of children through the assistance of registered Pet Partner® therapy teams as literacy mentors.

The Reading Education Assistance Dogs® (R.E.A.D.) program improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a dog. But not just any dog. R.E.A.D. dogs are registered therapy animals who volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team, going to schools, libraries and many other settings as reading companions for children.

And a short testimonial from the R.E.A.D. site:

Catherine and her Boston Terrier, Chato, who participate in the R.E.A.D.^® program at the Midvale Boys' and Girls' Club, understand just how convinced most children are that the dogs they read to listen and absorb what they are hearing. One second grader informed them, "I really scared that big black dog the other day!" When asked how, he replied, "I read him a ghost story!"

Halloween pup

This time of year there a million dogs-in-costumes photos floating around e-mail. This is my favorite.

Germans making fun of Bush

This video is priceless. Thanks to Julia who posted on her blog! It's nice to get another country's take on this very scary, crazy man. Very clever!

Richard Dawkins, "The God Delusion"

There was an interview with Richard Dawkins tonight on The World. He's the author of The God Delusion. I was looking forward to listening to the interview since his views are so different than mine. Maybe I'd learn something from him.

I was quite disappointed. He was very testy and very disrespectuful of religion. Isn't it possible to show respect even if you don't agree? I think it is. It made me think of the book I'm listening to: The Likeabilty Factor by Tim Sanders. Part of his argument for likeability includes the fact that if people like you, they're more likely to believe you. So I found Dawkins interview particularly odd. Granted, a lot of people probably wouldn't listen to Dawkins because he's an atheist, but he certainly didn't do anyone any favors with his attitude. I was disappointed that by his crankiness he made it so easy for people to dismiss what he had to say.

I did agree, however, with this shot at Ann Coulter -- who is one of the nastiest writers on the market -- on Dawkins' site:

In her latest book Godless, Ann Coulter writes "I defy any of my coreligionists to tell me they do not laugh at the idea of Dawkins burning in hell." This section is dedicated to insanity such as this that finds its way to our inbox. When it goes beyond criticism and into Crazytown, we post it up here for all to see.

He was much more relaxed and convincing on The Colbert Report. It helps that Stephen Colbert is such a nut.

Wishing you an offensive Christmas

Twisted Sister recorded a Christmas album. Yes, you read that correctly. You can listen to the whole album, Twisted Christmas, on their site. There are all the old favorites, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Silver Bells," as well as "Heavy Metal Christmas." It's truly horrifying.

Via Pop Candy.

Sweet Mutts

Some people deserve jail time

A Waukesha couple fought off a woman who entered their home in the middle of the night brandishing a metal pooper scooper and scissors, police Capt. Mike Babe said today.

The couple woke up about 4:40 a.m. Sunday when their small dog was barking in the kitchen. The female homeowner found the stranger in her kitchen, swinging the pooper scooper, threatening to kill them and kicking the dog, Babe said.

The female homeowner screamed and her husband then came into the kitchen.
The stranger struck the man in the head with the pooper scooper. He knocked it out of her hand and then noticed she had scissors.

The man struggled with the woman while his wife called police.

It took five police officers to subdue the 5-foot, 105-pound woman who was screaming threats that she was going to kill someone, Babe said.

Officers also repeatedly used a Taser on the woman, but it didn't stop her. Officers finally had to put their weight on the woman to take her into custody.

The couple said they did not know the Milwaukee woman, 47, who is expected to be charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court today, police said.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Reduce Idiocy.

Beautiful nature

On the BBC site you can see the winners of the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. This photo won the top prize. It is a walrus eating clams on the sea floor. There were more than 18,000 entries from 55 countries in this year's competition.

Sweet animals

Oh those loveable Mutts!

Cupcakes!

A couple of months back, the movie "Strangers with Candy" was released. One of the local stories about the movie was an interview with Amy Sedaris and included her recipe for vanilla cupcakes.

I tried these a few weeks ago. They are the best cupcakes ever. And I didn't even make the frosting. Sedaris also has a new book, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. I'm sure that it is hilarious, yet oddly disturbing. Like most of her work.

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Interview on NPR

Another look at the Middle East

Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air on NPR, is such a fabulous interviewer--particularly when she interviews authors. A recent guest was was Jeffrey Goldberg, a writer for The New Yorker. He has a new book that sounds fabulous: Prisoners: A Muslim & A Jew Across the Middle East Divide. Goldberg is an American who served in the Israeli Army and ended up as prison guard, guarding Palestinians. It traces his experiences from emigrating to Israel as a committed Zionist through his friendship with a Palestinian prisoner, Rafiq. A very good listen. Excerpt from chapter 1 here.

Hypocrisy

Look at the proud, middle-aged white guys surrounding the president. Such hypocrites. "Right to life" is just for pre-birth I guess. Once you're out of the womb, the government can do anything to you.

Bush signs law authorizing harsh interrogation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush signed a law on Tuesday authorizing tough interrogation and prosecution of terrorism suspects and took an indirect, election-year swipe at Democrats who opposed the legislation.

Bush, trying to help Republicans maintain control of the U.S. Congress by emphasizing national security, called the Military Commissions Act of 2006 "one of the most important pieces of legislation in the war on terror."

Human rights groups charge that the measure would allow harsh techniques bordering on torture, such as sleep deprivation and induced hypothermia...

The American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage, calling the new law "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history."

"Nothing separates America more from our enemies than our commitment to fairness and the rule of law, but the bill signed today is an historic break because it turns Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. facilities into legal no-man's-lands," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero.