Lorem Ipsum: November 2010

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

JFK on Thanksgiving

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Cheers everyone.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The five-story Goju-no-to Pagoda on Miyajima Island was built in 1407 and is the oldest wooden tower in the world. The architectural style of this Buddhist shrine is a mix of Japanese and Chinese influences, and features a Japanese tiled roof. It was built as a symbolic tomb where a relic of Buddha is placed. The first floor contains an ancient drawing of Buddha on his death bed. The shrine was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. It is closed to the public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagoda

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Vincent Van Gogh's final painting

On The Threshold of Eternity

At Eternity's Gate

1890

Painted a few days before his suicide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Eternity%27s_Gate

Spiral staircase at the Vatican

In the news

An 86-year-old woman in New York City told police someone stole her motorized scooter while she was inside a church visiting the minister. You go, Gran.

A Jacksonville woman spotted her own stolen car on the road, followed it for 20 miles, then watched as it crashed into a bridge and fell into a river. The thief swam to the other side and ran away.

A roofer's union in Joliet, Illinois resorted to installing a giant inflatable rat in front of a local church where they have been protesting the church's decision to use non-union laborers to repair part of the roof damaged by lightning. The rat's name is Scabby.

A window display at an upscale clothing store in London is reportedly so obscene that the volume of complaints about it has become a Twitter topic and has the Advertising Standards Authority in Britain looking into it. The main concern is the denigration of women depicted in the display.

Two sixth grade teachers in Massachusetts exceeded their authority when they issued a memo banning pens and pencils from their classrooms out of a concern students were using them as weapons. The memo said students would be given a pencil that had to be returned at the end of the day. The school board rescinded it.

A Michigan man is suing Del Monte and Kroger claiming that he was injured when he opened a jar of fruit that exploded in his face. He said the lid forcefully popped off, struck him in the eye and rendered him unconscious. A lawyer for the defendants declined comment.

And saving the best for last, a woman in Boise is free on a $100,000 bond after being accused of impersonating a physician and giving breast exams to women she met in bars around the city. As part of her ruse, she gave the women a phone number of a real, licensed plastic surgeon's practice where she recommended breast augmentation. When the doctor's office started getting numerous unexplained calls from women wanting to set up an appointment, they alerted police.

That's it for now. Stay safe — it's crazy out there!