Latest

Singer Jackie Evancho Stuns America’s Got Talent

August 11, 2010 · Comments Off

Jackie Evancho was the most-searched person on Google this morning. Who? This 10-year-old Pittsburgh, PA native stunned the audience and floored judges on NBC’s America’s Got Talent TV show last night. She got two standing ovations. She’s being called “the next Susan Boyle.” The Wall Street Journal called her “a tiny angel with a mature voice.” An unsigned artist, her self-produced debut album, Prelude to a Dream, was released in November 2009. It’s climbing Amazon’s... [Read the full story]

Animals

Giant Panda Baby Born in China

August 8, 2010 · Comments Off

A giant panda “baby boom” is underway in China for the endangered species, with two sets of twins arriving: one set in late July and the other set this past week. First-time mother Shuixiu — or Ju Xiao — gave birth to twins in late July at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in the Sichuan province of southwest China. Here, she gently carries one of the panda twins. This cub’s weight and gender were unknown when the images were taken, as giant pandas are fiercely... [Read the full story]

Burned Dog Faces Torturers in Court over Animal Cruelty Charges

August 23, 2009 · 9 Comments

A horribly burned and disfigured young dog, Mambo, will have a rare opportunity to face his alleged tormentors in open court in December. Set on fire and left for dead on August 10 in the small French Pyrenees village of Espira-de-l’Agly in southern France, the dog suffered third-degree burns to 50 percent of his body. A local police spokesman said: “Mambo was clearly looking for help when he went missing. He approached the pair because he is extremely friendly, but they showed him nothing but cruelty. He... [Read the full story]

Entertainment

Singer Jackie Evancho Stuns America’s Got Talent

August 11, 2010 · Comments Off

A Fine Treatment Program for Lindsay Lohan

July 21, 2010 · Comments Off

Actress Lindsay Lohan’s latest mug shot spread virally across the Internet yesterday, following her 90-day jail sentence for probation violation — She failed to attend alcohol education classes in a timely manner, as ordered by Judge Marsha Revel in Los Angeles, California. Judges don’t like it when defendants don’t do as they’re told. It probably didn’t help any that, at her July 6 probation revocation hearing, Lindsay’s middle fingernails were painted with the letters “FU.”... [Read the full story]

Environment

Two New Endangered Species in Kentucky

November 16, 2009 · Comments Off

An unassuming-looking Kentucky wildflower that grows nowhere in the world but Bullitt County and Jefferson County is on track for federal designation as an endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has released its latest list of candidates eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and two of the top five flora and fauna eligible for candidacy because they face “immediate, identifiable threats” are in Kentucky, according to the FWS. Glade cress, among the top five threatened... [Read the full story]

Cleaner Waters Rewarded with Poisonous Fish

October 5, 2008 · 2 Comments

Wade in the water at your own risk in Tilbury, Essex, in Southern England. Due to lower pollution in the River Thames, environmentalists say that (good news) 60 species of fish have returned to the cleaner waters — and (bad news) the greater weever (Trachinus draco), which has venomous spines lining its dorsal fins and which grows up to 20 inches long, is one of them, having turned up in the Thames for the first time. The less-than-lovely weever lurks in sand and, when stepped on, ejects poison from its spines... [Read the full story]

Health

Pajamadeen Finally Gets Stuck

November 25, 2009 · Comments Off

No, not with a bill, or in a pothole or in a traffic jam. I’ve found the Holy Grail an H1N1 flu shot. It took seven weeks. As someone who’s had bronchitis since age 12 and who’s had pneumonia several times, I don’t mess around with respiratory illnesses. I thought both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 shot might be hard to find this year. But when I set out on October 1 to get a seasonal flu shot at an Elizabethtown, KY clinic, signs were up everywhere offering the flu shot. One was at a... [Read the full story]

Michael Jackson Death Certificate Released

July 7, 2009 · 1 Comment

Michael Jackson’s death certificate was filed today with the Department of Health Services in Los Angeles. It’s signed by Los Angeles County deputy coroner Cheryl MacWillie, and lists the cause of death as “deferred.” You can see a copy of the death certificate here. While Jackson was embalmed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, the cemetery was listed on the death certificate as only a “temporary” location. Jackson’s body was not returned to Forest Lawn after today’s memorial... [Read the full story]

Holidays

A Thanksgiving Football Postcard with Uncle Sam

November 26, 2009 · Comments Off

Happy Thanksgiving from a turn-of-the-century c. 1907-1915 Uncle Sam! Our readers know of our penchant for unusual vintage postcards, and this one is a winner with its patriotic red, white and blue motif, combined with Uncle Sam ready for the kick-off, football in hand. The artist signed antique post card (Percy, last name illegible) says “World’s 20th Century Champion.” Sports and imperialism are an unusual combination, but here you have it. So finish up the turkey and enjoy the big day’s triple... [Read the full story]

Battle of the Heart-Shaped Islands

February 13, 2009 · Comments Off

The owner of a deserted heart-shaped island featured by Google Earth is being swamped with requests from romantics who want to visit the island of Galesnjak, hastily renamed Lovers’ Island. It’s located in the Adriatic Sea, off the coast of Croatia (in the Zadarski Kanal between Zadar and Pasman Island, to be precise). Owner Vlado Juresko, from Preko on Pasman Island, told the Croatian Times that he will make Galesnjak Lovers’ Island available to couples older than 16. It’s unclear where tourists... [Read the full story]

Internet

Beware Michael Jackson Internet Scams

July 6, 2009 · Comments Off

Since the day Michael Jackson died, the public’s thirst for Michael Jackson news has been increasingly exploited by Internet hackers intent primarily on identity theft. Sophos, a highly regarded computer security company, detected the first scam — which was an email promising readers a “breaking news video” — on the same day that the “King of Pop” died. Readers were sent to a bogus Web site. Sophos warns in particular against one Internet virus that arrives in an email with a... [Read the full story]

Is It Possible to Crash My Server Blogging About Michael Jackson?

June 28, 2009 · Comments Off

Even as word first came from TMZ that Michael Jackson had died, and long before CNN (and other networks) finally reported the death (supposedly out of a politically correct “abundance of caution” but really because they consider TMZ kind of sleazy, although TMZ and CNN are both owned by Time Warner), the Internet came to a crawl as traffic spiked to unprecedented levels. We began to wonder — if we posted a Michael Jackson story, could we crash our server? (We know, we know, curiosity killed the cat.) The... [Read the full story]

Americana

Bob and Me: A Love Story

Note from Pajamadeen: We’d like to introduce Stewart Savage to you. Stewart Savage is the pen name of a published writer, single, 58, and living in Reno, NV. This is his first post here, so be nice to him, smiles. Welcome, Stewart! I met Bob in 1968. I had started my junior year in college, and he moved onto my floor in the dorm. He was a freshman. We hit it off immediately. He was brilliant. He was funny. And as I found out later, he was gay. That did not bother me. I can only remember once in my childhood someone talking to me in grade school... [Read more]

Sports

Politics

Sarah Palin: Dismantle Canadian Health Care

At a Columbus, OH book signing last week where she appeared to promote her best-selling Going Rogue: An American Life book, Sarah Palin told Canadian comic Mary Walsh that “Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit.” In her role as Marg Delahunty for her This Hour Has 22 Minutes TV show, Walsh initially had remarked: “We’re from Canada, and we’re just looking for a few words of encouragement for the Canadian conservatives who have worked so tirelessly to destroy... [Read more]

Environment

Health News

Pajamadeen Finally Gets Stuck

Road Trips

World News

Bob Marley’s Son Damian and His Dreadlocks

Want to get noticed? Try this. We’re not sure if these are hair extensions, a dread perm or Mother Nature at work, but Damian Marley, son of famed Rastafarian and reggae musician Bob Marley, has the longest dreadlocks we’ve ever seen. Is it possible to grow dreads this long by age 32? “Junior Gong,” as he’s known, is shown here in London on Tuesday. How does one sit down gracefully without pulling out hair? Sleeping? That must be a challenge. Driving? Could the hair become entangled in brakes and gear shifts? Who knows? All sorts... [Read more]

Animals

Entertainment