SNIPPETS

JANUARY 25,  2010

MEMPHIS, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A Tennessee man was charged with aggravated burglary and theft after allegedly leaving his wallet on the stairwell of a home he targeted, police said.  "It's not often that an alleged criminal might leave a calling card," said Shelby County Sheriff's Office spokesman Steve Shular. "This one happened to have not only a name and address, but a picture I.D. of the suspect."

I think the burglar should get a suspended sentence for showing such courtesy.

JANUARY 24,  2010

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The leader of a Swedish political party has stirred up debate after being photographed with an expensive designer handbag, local media report.Social Democrat party leader Mona Sahlin and leaders of other political parties were featured in a group photograph, thelocal.se reported Saturday.  Sahlin is pictured with an $828 Louis Vuitton handbag, which has drawn both criticism and support from politicians and commentators, the news Web site said.

Another representative of the oppressed masses.

JANUARY 23,  2010

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The married president of tech firm Oracle is featured on a billboard in New York's Times Square that was apparently put up by his ex-girlfriend.  The billboard, which has copies elsewhere in New York as well as Atlanta and San Francisco, depicts Charles Phillips and his former long-time girlfriend, YaVaughnie Wilkins, embracing with their names listed and the caption: "You are my soulmate forever," the New York Daily News reported Friday.

Depends on what "forever means."  Remember when Times Square was famous for New Year's Eve and victory celebrations.  Now it's the crossroads of revenge. 

JANUARY 22,  2010

LONDON (Reuters) - International hotel chain Holiday Inn is offering a trial human bed-warming service at three hotels in Britain this month.  If requested, a willing staff-member at two of the chain's London hotels and one in the northern English city of Manchester will dress in an all-in-one fleece sleeper suit before slipping between the sheets.  "The new Holiday Inn bed warmers service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed," Holiday Inn spokeswoman Jane Bednall said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Question:  Does the bed warmer remain once the guest gets in?

JANUARY 21,  2010

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A Michigan university has released its 34th annual list of words and phrases ripe for banishment from the English language, including "green" and "maverick."  "Green" -- including variations "going green," "building green," "greening," "green technology" and others -- received the most nominations this year, the school said.  Two additional environmentally themed entries, "carbon footprint" and "carbon offsetting," also made the list.

Somehow, that list makes me optimistic.

JANUARY 20,  2010

BALTIMORE, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- An unknown person who has been leaving cognac at Edgar Allen Poe's original Baltimore grave site for decades failed to show up this year, a curator said.  Jeff Jerome, curator of the Edgar Allan Poe House, said the unknown "Poe Toaster" has been leaving roses and a bottle of cognac at the poet and author's original grave site on his Jan. 19 birthday every year since 1949, but a crowd of about 30 spectators was disappointed when the mystery man did not show up at his usual time, between midnight and 5:30 a.m., The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.

Maybe he was so angry that he went to vote in Massachusetts.

JANUARY 19,  2010

From AFP:  A musical version of Barack Obama's rise to the White House has opened in Frankfurt, with the 'president' thrilling audiences with a rousing chorus of "Yes We Can" in a country still charmed by his message of hope...Obama underscored his trademark theme with a chorus of "Yes We Can" and sang a lover's duet with his wife Michelle in a show producers hope to take one day to the United States.

Then there's the sequel:  "Obama - the Forced Retirement"