Carly's Stuff

Friday, 31 July 2009

Steven Purugganan: Disposable cup Stacker Extraordinaire

In America, striving to be the best is a fundamental part of their identity. It's one of the three legs that make the stool that is America the strongest in the world, the other two being competitive eating and NASCAR.

However, when grown-ups say we should strive to be the best in "everything," they don't actually mean it. It won't help you to become the best at, say, stacking disposable cups.

Unfortunately no one told this to Steven Purugganan. Eleven-year-old Steve had his whole life ahead of him until he captured the title of world's fastest competitive cup stacking champion. What exactly is cup stacking, you ask?

Behold:

I'd love to know what the future holds for this kid. Will he one day realize he spent his entire life without picking up one single useful skill, such as how to get a job or how to convince a girl that watching him stack cups is totally worth her removing her panties?

Or will he apply the same standard of relentless excellence to all of his endeavors? Could we come back 20 years from now and find a man who can, say, pop 30 metres of bubble wrap in a minute flat?

More likely, Steven will find himself as an accomplished surgeon who, despite a respected career and loving family, one night winds up stabbing a guy in a bar for being the thousandth one to demand Steven "do that freaky cup stacking thing for us."

The Unluckiest People Alive

They've been attacked by terrorists more times than John McClane.

It wasn't just New Yorkers who were traumatized by the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Tourists from all over the country and the world were in the city at the time, as they would be on any given day. Tourists like the English couple Jason and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence, whose relaxing vacation was interrupted by the worst terrorist attack in history, experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime horror.

Wait, did I say once in a lifetime? Because four years later, on July 7th, 2005, they happened to be in London, during the worst terror attack in their history. A series of bombs exploded across the city's transit system, killing 52 people.

At this point they may have felt cursed or, worse, that they were unknowingly starring in an action film that kept doing shitty sequels. But, you know, New York and London are both massive cities and really, the odds are that at least one family would happen to be in both places on those fateful days. Right?

But it wasn't over. Three years later, they took another vacation. This time, to the exotic Indian city of Mumbai.

There they saw the worst terror attack in that country's history, as shooting and bombing attacks killed and wounded hundreds.

News stories say the couple "refused to cut short their holiday" after the Mumbai attack. It's kind of hard not to imagine them as Clark Griswold, screaming "NO! Not this time! We took this fucking vacation and we're going to enjoy it, damn it."

Thursday, 30 July 2009

A Divorce Story You Might Not Believe

A Saudi woman asked for divorce in 2008 because her husband tried to sneak one look at her face after 30 years of marriage. A Saudi Arabian man lived with his wife for 30 years without setting eyes on her face. His 50-year-old wife followed the tradition of her native village near the south-western city of Khamis Mushayt and kept her features veiled at all times.

One night the husband was overcome by curiosity and tried to lift his wife's veil as she slept to take a look at her face. It was an error he is unlikely to be given a chance to repeat for his outraged wife woke up during his sneak peek and decided to demand a divorce.

The betrayed wife said her husband apologized and promised never to do it again, but she insisted she wanted a divorce. It may seem odd, but cases of Saudi husbands with wives forever shrouded in mystery are not uncommon.

Some Unfortunate Typos

They always uphold the highest standards for every 'detal' - whatever one of those happens to be.

X-Rated baggage, sounds interesting

'I' before 'E' except after 'C' FFS

Access for 'Vechile' only I'm afraid.

Where is the toad?

"Sotp, thief, sotp, thief" - doesn't quite have the same ring does it.

The one on the left has a 'Draem'. The one on the right has a 'Deram' - Zero out of two ain't bad.

It seems the fire in the road caused people to ejaculate.

This guy asked for 'Chi-Town' to be tattooed on his chest - he got 'Chi-Tonw' -
Oooooh, so close.

The attorney is 'assfisting' them - sounds about right actually given the fees they charge.

Sugababes Get Super Sexy For The USA

After signing for Jay-Z's new Roc-a-fella record label back in April, the Sugababes have gone all 'super sexy' as they began work with a new team in the U.S. on their seventh studio album, due out later this year. They are hoping to finally break America with their new look, which sees Amelle Berrabah, Heidi Range and Keisha Buchanan cavort around in PVC leotards, under a shower of glittery confetti.

In various shots they are chained together, cage dancing, lashed by lasers, strutting in skyscraper stilettos and cavorting in a steamed up glass room.

The trio were due to meet with Jay Z for the first time at the end of last month, when he flew to London, to discuss their plans for the U.S but Heidi and Amelle then developed symptoms of swine flu, and were quarantined for two weeks. They were forced to cancel all promotional duties, including performing at the Reading Festival.

Christian Woman Faces 40 Lashes For Outrageous Crime In Sudan

A Christian woman faces 40 lashes for the daring crime of.........wearing trousers in public. How outrageous, did she ever think she would get away with such a grave, grave crime as this. It has happened in Sudan where, under Islamic laws it is illegal for a woman to wear trousers rather than long skirts in public.

I think you'll find it is the same Sudan where they slaughter thousands of men women and children in the Darfur region, however, I rather doubt that Islamic law allows for that kind of behaviour. This 'cherry picking' of the parts of Islam you would like to use and abide by makes a mockery of the whole thing. The girl in question,Lubna al-Hussein has stood up for her rights and demanded a trial over the whole issue and quite right too. Isn't it a bit odd how Muslims have demanded the right to wear their traditional clothing in the UK, even when it is in violation of certain rules in certain places. Isn't it a bit odd how the favour isn't returned. This case highlights this quite clearly. In several Arab Muslim countries Western girls are not allowed to wear the clothes they wish to. I think a bit of give and take is called for here.

In Sudan the law is not supposed to apply to non-Muslims like Miss Hussein, a former journalist who works for the United Nations and it is only imposed sporadically in the capital, Khartoum, where she was arrested.

Indecency cases are not uncommon in Sudan, but Miss Hussein has used hers to campaign against dress codes and yesterday journalists scuffled with police armed with batons outside the court and some reporters, who were briefly detained, had equipment confiscated. Scores of women, some wearing slacks, attended to support Miss Hussein.

The case was adjourned as lawyers discussed whether her status as a UN employee gave her legal immunity.

After the hearing, defence lawyer Nabil Adib Abdalla said she had agreed to resign from the UN in time for the next session on August 4, to make sure the case continued.

Mr Abdalla said: 'First of all she wants to show she is totally innocent, and using her immunity will not prove that. Second she wants to fight the law. The law is too wide. It needs to be reformed. This is turning into a test case.'

He said Miss Hussein was ready to face the maximum penalty for the criminal offence of wearing indecent dress in public, of 40 lashes and an unlimited fine. Miss Hussein was arrested in June when police raided a party she was attending at a restaurant in Khartoum's Riyadh district.

She said before the hearing: 'Thousands of women are punished with lashes in Sudan but they stay silent. The law is being used to harass women and I want to expose this'.

A number of other women arrested with her received lashes. But her case was sent for trial when she called in a lawyer.

Northern Sudan is governed by Islamic law which includes restrictions on public decency, particularly for women.

While most women wear traditional dresses in public, some, particularly from the mostly Christian south, wear slacks and more Western clothes.

Lashing is often administered minutes after a trial, in public outside the court room for male defendants but generally in private for women.

Maybe, just maybe, in 1000 years time they might just catch up with the modern world but don't hold your breath.

They Tried To Get Amy To Recycle, But She Said No, No, No

One day she's the toast of the music world, the next it's back to earth with a bump - if not a bin - for Amy Winehouse.

After the glamour of the Ivor Novello awards, where she picked up the Best Contemporary Song, and less than 24 hours after the Government threatened to fine householders who fail to recycle, she showed herself to be more girlband than Miliband in her approach to waste management.

Squinting into the spring sun, cigarette stuck to her lower lip and a bulging refuse sack in each hand, the girl who famously sang, "They tried to make me go to rehab...I said, No, no, no," wasn't quite sure what to do, as she seems to have missed out when the council handed out wheelie bins.

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After toying with the notion of dumping her binbags on the pavement, Amy gratefully accepted a kindly neighbour's offer to use her bin.

Household chores successfully - if chaotically - completed, Amy, 23, and new husband Blake Fielder-Civil spent the afternoon in a North London pub with friends.

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After toying with the notion of dumping her binbags on the pavement, Amy gratefully accepted a kindly neighbour's offer to use her bin

But if this was a nod to a more rock-chick lifestyle, it was rather spoilt by the trip to the supermarket that followed to stock up on loo-rolls, pots and pans and, no doubt, industrial strength hairspray for her gargantuan beehive and Brasso for the awards on Amy's mantlepiece.

It was all a bit of a change of pace for the platinum-album selling soul singer better known for her rebellious streak than her domesticity.

The Man With 7000 Skulls In His House

Remember that weird teacher you had in high school? No matter what, I promise you they weren’t as strange as Ray Bandar, a retired high school science teacher in California who has taken up collecting skulls as a hobby and currently has over 7,000 of them.

Mr. Bandar, who affectionately goes by “Bones,” is a longtime volunteer for the California Academy of Sciences and mostly owns skulls of marine mammals, but has some that are particularly spectacular– even an elephant skull is to be found on the three-hour tour of his home. He considers it to be akin to visiting a museum, but has gone to great lengths to keep information away from his neighbors, as regards to how he prepares some of the skulls for display. The elephant skull in particular, he claims to have buried and exhumed in his backyard, under the cover darkness.

He has got such an amazing story and collection that he’s now become the subject of a short documentary called “Shelf Life.” We’re treated to an in-depth look at his life and the method to his madness, as well as how those around him wear the energy Ray devotes to his rather odd passion. His wife may have the best solution: no skulls in the bedroom.

You can watch a earlier video of “Bones Bandar” and his incredible collection here: