February 06, 2007

More You Can't Make This Stuff Up...

You can go along for weeks, watching the news like a hawk, devouring every word. You see death, destruction, blasted lives, people who foul themselves up. You'll even see stories similar to THIS from time to time.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A NASA astronaut accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival for a space shuttle pilot's affections was charged with attempted first-degree murder Tuesday as her lawyer sparred with prosecutors to effort her release.

Lisa Marie Nowak was ordered released on $10,000 bail and told to wear an ankle tracking device. That is in addition to the $15,500 bail that was ordered for Nowak earlier in the day for the attemped kidnapping charges.

Now, granted that the Astronauts are screened pretty heavily to be capable, stable people. Still, sooner or later, you're going to get one that runs right off the rails. But this next part would make you sit up and take notice, even if it was Jane Doe from Kokomo:

Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers in the car so she wouldn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.

Now THAT, my friends, puts this one firmly in the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" category.

Sheesh.....

Posted by ward at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

February 05, 2007

You Can't Make This Stuff Up...

Y'know, if any mystery or suspense novelist was to put THIS into one of his stories, the critics would have a field day. "Over the top" and "beyond the realm of the fantastic" are two quotes that come to mind. Of course, those two quotes were applied to Tom Clancy when his story about the 747 being crashed into the Capitol was published back in the '90s....


LINCOLN, Neb. — A dead man's storage locker yielded dozens of tombstones, a macabre collection that police believe represents "a lifetime of stealing."

Some of the 47 gravestones date to the late 1800s; others are relatively recent. Police say they probably came from different cemeteries at different times.

The markers were found by the family of a Lincoln man who died last summer, but it wasn't until Thursday that police matched the first one to a grave.

Folks, this one goes under the heading of "You Can't Make This Stuff Up!"

Posted by ward at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2006

A Doggie Named "Splash"?

Every once in a while I get a little bored, and get ready to make something up to post here.

But honestly, could you make this stuff up? You'd be laughed right out of town!

NEW YORK - Meet the latest children's author, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and his Portuguese Water Dog, Splash, his co-protagonist in "My Senator and Me: A Dogs-Eye View of Washington, D.C."

Scholastic Inc. will release the book in May.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to create a book for young readers and their families that will deepen their understanding of how our American government works," Kennedy said in a statement Monday issued by Scholastic.

According to Scholastic, Kennedy's book "not only takes readers through a full day in the Senator's life, but also explains how a bill becomes a law." Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was inspired to write the book from his work with a Washington-based reading program, "Everybody Wins!"

And the doggie is named "Splash"? What's his/her first name, "Oldsmobile"?

For the younguns among you, 'way back in the 1960's a much younger Senator Kennedy drove his car off a bridge in Chappaquidick, Mass. With him in the car was a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne. Sen. Kennedy bailed out of the car and survived. Miss Kopechne died.

Senator Kennedy was never charged with any crime whatsoever.

And the doggie is named "Splash".

Honestly, you can't make this stuff up!

Posted by ward at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)