Calling this a hoax, just doesn’t seem right. A hoax invokes something whimsical or fun, not sickening like this one.An ad appeared on craigslist (an online marketplace / classifieds site) saying:

the owner of a Jacksonville home was forced to leave the area suddenly and his belongings, including a horse, were free for the taking… 

So the guy who owned the house (and wasn’t leaving) came home to find people going through his stuff!

“I informed them I was the owner, but they refused to give the stuff back,” Salisbury said. “They showed me the Craigslist printout and told me they had the right to do what they did.” The trespassers, armed with printouts of the ad, tried to brush him off. “They honestly thought that because it appeared on the Internet it was true,” Salisbury said. “It boggles the mind.” 

photo credit: Bonard 

Updated – April 1, 2008 (not an April’s fool joke)It seems that the real thieves here were a couple who stole some saddles from the man’s garage, and used Craigslist to “cover their tracks.” The amazing part is still that people believed it and continued to take things after being told not to.

“Other Craigslist hoaxes we’ve seen were malicious, but this was not the revenge-type thing we were expecting,” said Sgt. Colin Fagan said. “But it was pretty sinister.”The Herberts were booked on burglary, theft and computer crime charges. 

Officers say that some of Salisbury’s belongings have been returned since the crime made headlines, but he is still out thousands of dollars in goods. 

So, this happened last week:

A 75-pound stingray killed a Michigan woman Thursday when it flew out of the water and struck her in the face as she rode in a boat in the Florida Keys, officials said.

Judy Kay Zagorski, of Pigeon, Mich., was sitting in a boat going 25 mph when the spotted eagle ray, with a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet, leaped out of the water, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The 57-year-old woman’s father was driving the boat on the Atlantic Ocean side of Vaca Key, Pino said. “He had absolutely no warning. It just happened instantaneously,” Pino said.

Of course we all know of the stingray’s hatred towards spunky Australian TV hosts. But for me, the absolutely wacky part of that story was Irwin’s fans reaction to his untimely death: they started killing stingrays.

Wildlife advocates say Australian fans of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin may be taking revenge for his death by killing more than a dozen stingrays.

The rays were found with their tails cut off on beaches in Queensland, where Irwin died last week, The Telegraph of London reported    

Of course we all know what happened next, and it may be the worst outcom of the entire story.

Oh well, there’s always next year.

You may have heard of things like the internet, penicillin, and soft tacos and thought “that’s the greatest innovation ever.” Well, you sure look like a complete idiot now for handing that title out so easily.In their never ending quest to make me buy more pizza, Domino’s took it up a crazy new level with their Pizza Tracker (patent pending of course).From the comfort and laziness of my recliner, I was able to track the actions of the Domino’s employees and more importantly: my pizza.  You just can’t understand the excitement one gets to learn that your pizza is now in the oven, or the sheer joy to learn that your pizza is boxed and now in a heated bag ready for delivery. Behold.

Oklahoma is OK!

One of my favorite songs of all time is A Boy Named Sue: 

Well, it turns out the story isn’t entirely off-base. Boys who are named with androgynous names like Sue, Kelly or Leslie show no ill-effects, but they do show a high level of self-control and humor. Also, you may not know that the writer of “A Boy Named Sue” was none other than Shel Silverstein. (most famous to me for writing Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Giving Tree) His books were always a hot commodity in the 3rd – 4th grade years – they seemed to feel a bit rebellious. At least when compared to Ramona Quimby books. Some interesting facts on Mr. Silverstein:

•  Was a cartoonist for Stars and Stripes (the military newspaper) during the Korean War in the 1950′s.
• His book “A Light in the Attic” stayed on the New York Times Bestsellers List for two years – a feat not equaled by John Grisham, Steven King or Michael Crichton.
• He published 18 books, 13 albums, and multiple plays along with songs (like the above mentioned A Boy Named Sue) for a variety of recording stars. Quite the renaissance man.

On the heels of David Castro’s incredibly strong performance of Hallelujah on American Idol this week, there was an incredibly exhaustive write-up of the song and it’s history posted last year. Here’s an excerpt:

“Hallelujah,” though, offers all those great, resonant Biblical signifiers and intense religious emotions without the proselytizing or the attempt at a modern updating. Spiritually, it keeps things at a nice distance and doesn’t ask too much. In Cohen’s hands, this makes sense, since it’s explicitly a literary exploration into an alien culture. And for Buckley, it works as a signifier of depth, allowing him to take on the symbols of an old country preacher, in keeping with his attraction to Sufi mysticism: whirling dervishes are nothing if not pentecostal. In sum, “Hallelujah” is able to function as a kind of accessible gospel music, smart and beautiful and allusive to classic themes without demanding any kind of actual faith or any translation from evangelicalese. It presents the emotional experience of religion shorn of the cultural barriers.   

second link via Kottke.org 

1. This guy, David Horowitz has a very unique list of things that he will do for you if paid.
2. Neatorama called this “the funniest newspaper advice column I’ve read in awhile.” I can’t disagree.
3. Improve Anywhere is a quality organization.

So I’m packing for a trip tonight and I took a quick scan at the TSA’s website to see if I could pack a razor in my carry on bag (you can now). And I was dismayed that I won’t be able to carry the following items on the plane, because they are on the TSA’s banned substances list (link goes to .pdf file):

• throwing stars
• billy clubs
• brass knuckles
• night sticks
• dynamite
• gasoline
• tear gas
• meat cleaver
• sword

If I can’t take my sword or my ninja stars in my carry on bag, haven’t the terrorists already won?