Sex 149 Times a Year Is Average: Global Survey - Mon Nov 25, 3:46 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons have sex more often than Americans and Spaniards, but are outdone between the sheets by the French, Dutch, Danes and Canadians, a survey by condom manufacturer Durex found on Monday.

The Durex Global Sex survey revealed that Britons make love an average of 149 times a year, outdone only by couples in France (167), the Netherlands (158), Denmark (152) and Canada (150).

Those taking their love-making at a more relaxed pace included Americans (138 times a year), New Zealanders (135) and the Spanish, who limped in at an annual love rate of just 121.

--What's your average?

Nicolas Cage Files for Divorce - Tue Nov 26, 3:59 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor Nicolas Cage has filed for divorce from Lisa Marie Presley less than four months after their romantic wedding in Hawaii.

The actor — filing under his real name, Nicolas Coppola — cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split in a petition filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

--First she made him sell his comic books, then she probably told him what she did in bed with Micheal Jackson...

Woman, Son Found Mummified in Home - Fri Nov 22, 9:49 AM ET

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (Reuters) - The mummified bodies of a German woman and her son who apparently died three years ago were found in their Florida home, along with the remains of their dead dog, police say.

A calendar and paperwork found in the home in tiny Lehigh Acres, along with food in the refrigerator with 1999 expiration dates, led investigators to believe the two may have died as long ago as March 1999.

--I would like to think if I was missing for a day or two someone would come looking...sheesh.

Ben Affleck named People's "sexiest man alive" - Wed Nov 20, 7:49 PM ET Reuters/Variety

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood actor Ben Affleck was named Wednesday as People magazine's "sexiest man alive" of 2002 -- but girlfriend Jennifer Lopez says she didn't need an outsider to tell her just that.

People Magazine named 23 other sexy men for 2002, including Clooney , British actor Hugh Grant, Enrique Iglesias, and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

--OH THE HUMANITY!! I am cut to the quick! My only proof that these people are truely insane is that they also named Donald Rumsfeld... Donald Rumsfeld???

Scientists Revise Odds of Asteroid Collision - Wed Nov 20, 2:25 PM ET By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have revised estimates of the frequency of small asteroids colliding with the Earth, saying a hazardous impact would occur on average every 1,000 years and not 200 to 300 as previously thought.

--Whew... Boy do I feel better!

High-Fat Diet Shows Promise in Study - Tue Nov 19, 8:30 AM ET - By DANIEL Q. HANEY, AP Medical Editor

CHICAGO (AP) - After years of dismissing the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, the medical establishment is at last putting it to a careful test and finding it might not be the nutritional folly they long assumed.

A small study released Monday found that contrary to expectations, dieters' cholesterol levels do not shoot through the roof, and they take off more weight than do people on a standard low-fat regimen.

"More study is necessary before such a diet can be recommended," said Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University. "However, a concern about serum lipid (cholesterol) elevations should not impede such research."

--I find this to be personally true.

Secret Court OKs Broad Wiretap Powers - Mon Nov 18, 4:37 PM ET By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a victory for the Bush administration, a secretive appeals court Monday ruled the U.S. government has the right to use expanded powers to wiretap terrorism suspects under a law adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The ruling was a blow to civil libertarians who say the expanded powers, which allow greater leeway in conducting electronic surveillance and in using information obtained from the wiretaps and searches, jeopardize constitutional rights.

--Just remember. Every conversation you have on the phone or at work, and every email you ever send can and will be used against you...

Update on Clone War Animated Series - Thu, Nov 14, 02 07:58:21 PM EST - TheForce.net

You may have seen the report on AICN about an animated series based on the Clone Wars being in the works between Lucasfilm and the Cartoon Network. Our independent sources checked into this rumor and confirmed that it is, in fact, true. Our source was able to add a little bit more info to AICN's report. It turns out that Lucasfilm created a pilot episode of the series and took it to the Cartoon Network recently for a pitch meeting. Our source was not yet able to find out who created the pilot episode, find out who wrote it, or find out what the Cartoon Network's response to the meeting was.

Now we venture into our own personal speculation. If Lucasfilm created the pilot episode in-house, that would indicate it was most likely computer animated. So could we expect this Clone War series to be entirely CG? Possibly. More to come....

--I am there. I want the world to know right now. This is why I have TiVo!!

Meteor Storm Set to Dazzle Star Gazers - By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Star gazers in Europe, Britain and North America are in for a treat next week and have prime viewing positions for what could be the biggest natural fireworks display of the 21st century.

During the early hours of November 19 thousands of meteors, or shooting stars, will light up the night sky as they enter the atmosphere at speeds of about 160,000 miles per hour.

"It is a natural fireworks display, a celestial spectacle," Professor Mark Bailey, of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland, told Reuters on Friday.

Known as the Leonids because they originate in the constellation Leo, the meteor storm will occur in two bursts during the night of November 18 to 19.

--So cool. Lets hope for clear skys...

'Miss Cleo' Settles Federal Suit - By DAVID HO, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The operators of Miss Cleo's psychic hot line agreed Thursday to cancel $500 million in customer bills to settle federal charges that the service fleeced callers while promising mystical insights into love and money.

The settlement requires Access Resource Services Inc. and Psychic Readers Network Inc. to stop using pay-per-call numbers to sell their soothsaying services, the Federal Trade Commission said. The two Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based companies, which promoted a national network of "psychic readers" on television and the Internet, also must pay the FTC a $5 million fine.

--I wonder if she saw this coming?

Stan Lee Sues Marvel Comics - Wednesday November 13, 2002

"In a story that demonstrates the way the entertainment industry manipulates its artists, Marvel is claiming that the 400 Million dollar blockbuster movie Spiderman produced no profits, and they are trying to weasel out of their contract that gives Stan Lee 10% of the profits from his creations. Nuff Said!"

--These entertainment industry bastards piss me off. Stan deserves a big old piece of this pie! Sheesh.

White House Dismisses Iraq MPs Rejection of UN - (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Members of Iraq's parliament vote during a parliament session to respond to the latest U.N. resolution in Baghdad, November 12, 2002. The Iraqi parliament voted unanimously to reject a U.N. resolution to disarm Baghdad, but the White House dismissed the move as 'pure theater.'

--I would hate to be in the Iraq's parliament. "All in favor of rejecting the UN raise your hand. Now everyone in favor of a slow painful death for you and your family raise your hand."

Bishops Gather to Adopt New Discipline Policy for Sexually Abusive Priests - The Associated Press

W A S H I N G T O N, Nov. 11 — The nation's Roman Catholic bishops headed into a four-day meeting Monday to adopt a new discipline policy for sexually abusive priests that the prelates hope will end a year of scandal.

--Why the hell are they still talking about this? Simply "FIRE" them. Turn them over to the cops if kids are involved!

Florida Finds 103,000 'Lost' Votes - Thu Nov 7, 1:20 PM ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - Just when Florida finally seemed to have carried out a flub-free election, supervisors in one county discovered they had failed to count more than 103,000 ballots in some tallies.

Authorities said the blunder in Broward County did not change the outcome of any races in Tuesday's election, which had been hailed as a procedural triumph for the state where voting problems two years earlier forced a five-week delay in George W. Bush's election as president.

--What the hell is with these people? You would think that they would have been super careful this time!

Have you seen one of these?

I am in search of a lawn troll to watch over my yard. Keep your eyes open for me. The uglier, the better.

--I will name him Elvis...

Imagine His Surprise... - November 7, 2002

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police are looking for a phony sorcerer who conned a man into believing he was invisible and could rob banks, the Jam-e Jam newspaper said Thursday.

Customers at a Tehran bank quickly overpowered the deluded robber after he started snatching banknotes from their hands. Appearing in court, the repentant thief said he paid five million rials ($625) to a man who gave him some spells and told him to tie them to his arm to become invisible.

"I made a mistake. I understand now what a big trick was played on me," the would-be bank robber was reported as telling the judge.

--Sheesh. You think he woulda tested it on a girls locker room first! Oh that's right... there aren't any in Tehran...

Republican Nation - Election Day 2002

President Bush emerged as the big winner on Election Day as Republicans regained control of the Senate and tightened their grip on the House, in a historic midterm election that shifted the balance of power in the nation's capital.

--The Governer race too...

This is the Predator Unmanned Aerial Surveilence/Attack Vehicle seen with a Hellfire-C laser guided missile.

--Sweet! Where can I get one!!

Wrecked vehicles fill the southbound lanes of the Long Beach Freeway after a massive pileup Sunday, Nov. 3, 2002, in Long Beach, Calif. Nearly 200 cars and big-rig trucks collided on the fogbound highway early Sunday, injuring dozens of people, nine critically, and closing the highway for hours. (AP Photo/John Hayes)

--Sometimes I think I'm having a bad day...

Paratrooper Survives Chute Failure at 3,300 Feet -Mon Nov 4, 8:58 AM ET

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A Yugoslav Army paratrooper survived a drop from an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) after both his parachutes malfunctioned, the Belgrade daily Glas Javnosti reported on Friday.

The paper said 40-year-old Dragan Curcic escaped with minor cuts and bruises after his main and spare parachutes first failed to open and then became tangled when they opened simultaneously during an exercise on Tuesday.

"He went through the roof of an army building. Only God himself saved him from certain death," an eyewitness said.

Curcic, a Yugoslav vice-champion with more than 3,000 jumps to his name, performed another parachute drop on Thursday, this time without problems.

Another Yugoslav holds the record for surviving a fall from the greatest altitude without a parachute. Air hostess Vesna Vulovic plunged 33,330 feet into a snowbound forest in Czechoslovakia in 1972 when the airliner she was on exploded.

--This guy used ALL his luck up in one shot. Time to retire!

Leonids Lowdown: Global Forecast for Nov. 19 Meteor Shower - Fri Nov 1, 9:45 AM ET By Robert Roy Britt, Senior Science Writer, SPACE.com

The 2002 Leonid meteor shower promises a remarkable show in the early morning hours of Nov. 19, and SPACE.com has obtained the latest global forecasts. Though a nearly full Moon will outshine fainter meteors, skywatchers should not be discouraged, experts say. A storm of shooting stars, along with possible bright fireballs, is in store during a display that won’t be repeated for at least three decades.

Peak activity will come between midnight and sunrise on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Astronomers predict two outbursts – one for Europe and another for North America and parts of northern South America. Most viewers outside these locations will see only a trickle of shooting stars, though more than on other nights during the year.

--I love these events. Worthy of the effort.

Howard Stern to remake Porky's - Friday November 1, 2002

Never one to be eclipsed in the gross-out stakes, American "shock jock" Howard Stern has responded to the big screen success of the MTV Films infantile prankfest Jackass: The Movie with news that he is to remake the classic student comedies Porky's and Rock'n' Roll High School.

--This is a true sign of the End Times!! Oh the Humanity!! (Marty runs out screaming...)

Man Jailed for Forcing Girl Off Balcony - November 1, 2002

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong man was sentenced to 18 years in jail on Friday after forcing a teenage girl to jump from a highrise apartment balcony while threatening her at knifepoint.

The girl was injured, but survived after falling into the balcony of the flat below after Wong Chi-wai, 26, had intimidated her into jumping.

The High Court sentenced him after he had pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Chui Shuk-kwan, who was 15 when the November 1998 incident took place.

Wong recently finished a five-year jail term for encouraging another young girl to jump to her death.

High Court Judge Peter Nguyen, said the facts admitted by Wong showed Chui had been forced to drink disinfectant and then had insecticide sprayed on her while they were at the 22nd floor apartment of a friend.

Wong then pointed a knife at Chui, saying: "You jump down to death ... If you don't jump, I will push you down."

He then mutilated a pet hamster kept at the flat and threw it at Chui before threatening her with the knife again.

The judge said Wong had 13 convictions in the past, including two for assault.

--In Marty's World this guy would be dead.

Cities plan to put ads on police cars - Thu Oct 31, 8:09 AM ET by Larry Copeland USA TODAY

ATLANTA -- To cash-strapped cities across the nation, the offer seems too good to pass up. New police cars for $1 each in exchange for allowing NASCAR-style advertisements all over the cruisers.

--Gotta love NASCAR! Next the cops uniforms will be sponsored by Budwiser or Penzoil!! Does this mean the departments with the best sponsors will give the best protection to the people...?