Pic(k) of the Day

Ewwww....

Fish pedicures are creating something of a splash in the D.C. area, where a northern Virginia spa has been offering them for the past four months. John Ho, who runs the Yvonne Hair and Nails salon with his wife, Yvonne Le, said 5,000 people have taken the plunge so far.

"This is a good treatment for everyone who likes to have nice feet," Ho said.

He said he wanted to come up with something unique while finding a replacement for pedicures that use razors to scrape off dead skin. The razors have fallen out of favor with state regulators because of concerns about whether they're sanitary.

Ho was skeptical at first about the fish, which are called garra rufa but typically known as doctor fish. They were first used in Turkey and have become popular in some Asian countries.

But Ho doubted they would thrive in the warm water needed for a comfortable footbath. And he didn't know if customers would like the idea.

"I know people were a little intimidated at first," Ho said. "But I just said, 'Let's give it a shot.' "

Customers were quickly hooked.

Tracy Roberts, 33, of Rockville, Md., heard about it on a local radio show. She said it was "the best pedicure I ever had" and has spread the word to friends and co-workers.

"I'd been an athlete all my life, so I've always had calluses on my feet. This was the first time somebody got rid of my calluses completely," she said.

First time customer KaNin Reese, 32, of Washington, described the tingling sensation created by the toothless fish: "It kind of feels like your foot's asleep," she said.

The fish don't do the job alone. After 15 to 30 minutes in the tank, customers get a standard pedicure, made easier by the soft skin the doctor fish leave behind.

Ho believes his is the only salon in the country to offer the treatment, which costs $35 for 15 minutes and $50 for 30 minutes. The spa has more than 1,000 fish, with about 100 in each individual pedicure tank at any given time.

Dennis Arnold, a podiatrist who four years ago established the International Pedicure Association, said he had never heard of the treatment and doubts it will become widespread.

"I think most people would be afraid of it," he said.

Customer Patsy Fisher, 42, of Crofton, Md., admitted she was nervous as she prepared for her first fish pedicure. But her apprehension dissolved into laughter after she put her feet in the tank and the fish swarmed to her toes.

"It's a little ticklish, actually," she said.

Ho said the hot water in which the fish thrive doesn't support much plant or aquatic life, so they learned to feed on whatever food sources were available — including dead, flaking skin. They leave live skin alone because, without teeth, they can't bite it off.

In addition to offering pedicures, Ho hopes to establish a network of Doctor Fish Massage franchises and is evaluating a full-body fish treatment that, among other things, could treat psoriasis and other skin ailments.

Ho spent a year and about $40,000 getting the pedicures up and running, with a few hiccups along the way.

State regulations make no provision for regulating fish pedicures. But the county health department — which does regulate pools — required the salon to switch from a shallow, tiled communal pool that served as many as eight people to individual tanks in which the water is changed for each customer.

The communal pool also presented its own problem: At times the fish would flock to the feet of an individual with a surplus of dead skin, leaving others with a dearth of fish.

"It would sometimes be embarrassing for them but it was also really hilarious," Ho said.

Interesting Times Revisited

Today in history, the nude body of Marilyn Monroe is discovered dead in her home. Her death is still shrouded in mystery.

Marilyn Monroe was found dead in the bedroom of her Brentwood, California home by her live-in housekeeper Eunice Murray on August 5, 1962. She was 36 years old at the time of her death.

Her death was ruled to be "acute barbiturate poisoning" by Dr. Thomas Noguchi of the Los Angeles County Coroners office and listed as "probable suicide," but because of a lack of evidence, her death was not classified as "suicide." Many individuals, including Jack Clemmons, the first Los Angeles Police Department officer to arrive at the death scene, believe that she was murdered.

The death of Marilyn Monroe is one of the most debated conspiracy theories of the twentieth century.

Pic(k) of the Day

Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, can you hear me?

Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced ['albin']) was a name intended for a Swedish child who was born in 1991.

Parents Elisabeth Hallin and Lasse Diding had planned never legally to name their child as a protest against the naming law of Sweden, which reads, "First names shall not be approved if they can cause offense or can be supposed to cause discomfort for the one using it, or names which for some obvious reason are not suitable as a first name."

Because the parents failed to register a name by the boy's fifth birthday, a district court in Halmstad, southern Sweden, fined them 5,000 kronor (US $682 at the time). Responding to the fine, the parents submitted the 43-character name in May 1996, claiming that it was "a pregnant, expressionistic development that we see as an artistic creation." The parents suggested the name be understood in the spirit of 'pataphysics. The court rejected the name and upheld the fine.

The parents then tried to change the spelling of the name to A (also pronounced ['albin']). Once again the court refused to approve of the name, citing a prohibition on one-letter naming.

In his first passport, the boy's name was given as "Icke namngivet gossebarn", meaning "unnamed little boy".

The Buffy show that never was....

Here's a look at the animated Buffy series that never got picked up.

Interesting Times Revisited

On this day in history, Lizzie Borden took an axe...and well, you know the rest. Lizzie Andrew Borden was a New England spinster who was the central figure in the hatchet murders of her father and stepmother on August 4, 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts in the United States. The slayings, subsequent trial, and the following trial by media became a cause célèbre. The fame of the incident has endured in American pop culture and criminology. Although Lizzie Borden was acquitted, she was widely believed to be guilty; no one else was ever arrested or tried, and she has remained notorious in American folklore. Dispute over the identity of the killer or killers continues to this day.

On the morning of August 4, 1892, Borden's father, Andrew Jackson Borden, and her stepmother, Abby Durfee Borden, were murdered in the family home. The only other people present at the residence at the time were Lizzie and the family maid, Bridget Sullivan. Emma Borden, Lizzie's sister, was away from home. The Borden sisters' uncle, John Vinnicum Morse, brother of Andrew Borden's first wife, was visiting at the time, but was also away from the house during the time of the murders.

That day, Andrew Borden had gone into town to do his usual rounds at the bank and post office. He returned home at about 10:45 a.m. About a half-hour later, Lizzie Borden found his body. According to Sullivan's testimony, she was lying down in her room on the third floor of the house shortly after 11:00 a.m. when she heard Lizzie call to her, saying someone had killed her father, whose body was found slumped on a couch in the downstairs sitting room. Andrew Borden's face was turned to the right hand side, apparently at ease as if he were asleep.

Shortly thereafter, while Lizzie Borden was being tended by neighbors and the family doctor, Sullivan discovered the body of Mrs. Borden upstairs in the guest bedroom. Mr. and Mrs. Borden had both been killed by blows from a hatchet, which in the case of Andrew Borden, not only crushed his skull but cleanly split his left eyeball.

Mary Jane's News of the Day

By Associated Press

5:39 PM EDT, July 31, 2008

BERWYN HEIGHTS, Md. — A SWAT team raided the home of a Washington, D.C.-area mayor, killing his two black Labrador retrievers and seizing an unopened package of marijuana delivered there.

Prince George's County Police said Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo brought a 32-pound package of marijuana into his home that had been delivered by officers posing as delivery men. The Tuesday evening raid was conducted by county police narcotics officers and a sheriff's office SWAT Team.

The package was addressed to Calvo's wife, Trinity Tomsic. His mother-in-law had asked the supposed delivery men to leave the package outside. Calvo has not been charged, though police said he, his wife and his mother-in-law are "persons of interest" in an ongoing investigation.

"We never opened the box. We have nothing to do with this box," Calvo said.

Sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Mario Ellis says deputies "apparently felt threatened" when they shot the dogs.

Calvo said officers entered about 7:30 p.m., first shooting 7-year-old Payton. They then pursued 4-year-old Chase, who ran away and was shot by police from behind, he said.

Calvo said he doesn't have any idea how the package ended up at his house. He called the raid "the most traumatic experience" of his life.

Calvo, who called his town "Mayberry inside the Capital Beltway," gets a small stipend as mayor and works at the SEED Foundation, a nonprofit that runs public boarding schools for at-risk students. His wife works as a state finance officer.

"These were two beautiful black Labradors who were well-known in the community. We walked them twice a day; little kids knew their names and would come up to them and pet them," he said.



Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Mary Jane's News of the Day

By Associated Press



5:39 PM EDT, July 31, 2008



BERWYN HEIGHTS, Md. — A SWAT team raided the home of a Washington, D.C.-area mayor, killing his two black Labrador retrievers and seizing an unopened package of marijuana delivered there.



Prince George's County Police said Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo brought a 32-pound package of marijuana into his home that had been delivered by officers posing as delivery men. The Tuesday evening raid was conducted by county police narcotics officers and a sheriff's office SWAT Team.



The package was addressed to Calvo's wife, Trinity Tomsic. His mother-in-law had asked the supposed delivery men to leave the package outside. Calvo has not been charged, though police said he, his wife and his mother-in-law are "persons of interest" in an ongoing investigation.



"We never opened the box. We have nothing to do with this box," Calvo said.



Sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Mario Ellis says deputies "apparently felt threatened" when they shot the dogs.



Calvo said officers entered about 7:30 p.m., first shooting 7-year-old Payton. They then pursued 4-year-old Chase, who ran away and was shot by police from behind, he said.



Calvo said he doesn't have any idea how the package ended up at his house. He called the raid "the most traumatic experience" of his life.



Calvo, who called his town "Mayberry inside the Capital Beltway," gets a small stipend as mayor and works at the SEED Foundation, a nonprofit that runs public boarding schools for at-risk students. His wife works as a state finance officer.



"These were two beautiful black Labradors who were well-known in the community. We walked them twice a day; little kids knew their names and would come up to them and pet them," he said.



Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More on the Greyhound Bus Beheading

TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- A police officer at the scene of a grisly beheading on a Canadian bus reported seeing the attacker hacking off pieces of the victim's body and eating them, according to a police tape leaked on the Internet Saturday.



In the tape of radio transmissions, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer refers to the attacker as "Badger" and says he is armed with a knife and scissors and is "defiling the body at the front of the bus as we speak."

On the tape, which lasts about 80 seconds, officers continue to detail the attacker's movements until one reports, "Badger's at the back of the bus, hacking off pieces and eating it."

The RCMP described the tapes as "operational police communications and, as such, are not meant for public consumption." Police said permission had not been given to use the radio transmission, which was posted on LiveLeak.com and picked up by other Web sites.

Officers were responding to a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway about 12 miles from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, after the bloody attack late Wednesday on the bus traveling from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Vince Weiguang Li, 40, faces second-degree murder charges for the slaying of a 22-year-old man, whom friends and family identified as Tim McLean. Police have not confirmed the victim's identity.

Passengers said they had just reboarded the bus after a break when the suspect -- for no apparent reason -- stabbed the man sitting next to him dozens of times as passengers fled in horror. He then severed the man's head, displayed it and began hacking at the body.

Li's employer said in an interview Saturday that he was shocked to learn that his "model employee" had been accused of the grisly attack. Vincent Augert, an independent contractor who distributes newspapers in Edmonton, said that Li was one of his most reliable carriers.

"He was very punctual and always cleanly dressed," he told The Associated Press. "He was a very nice, polite guy. We would've had no reason to let him go before all this happened."

Augert said Li had worked for him since last July and caused no problems.

"I had no odd suspicions about him at all," Augert said.

Augert said that Li called him two weeks ago to say he needed a day or two off to go to Winnipeg for a job interview at the end of July. He said Li called him back and left a message with the dates, but never followed up after that.

"That was unusual for him not to call back, and then when he didn't show up for work on Tuesday, we got worried," said Augert, who said it was sometimes difficult to understand Li because he spoke quickly and had a strong Chinese accent.

Augert said he called Li's cell phone Thursday, and his wife answered. She told him that she hadn't heard from Li, who had told her he had to leave for a few days because of a family emergency.

Li, who shuffled into a courtroom Friday in Portage La Prairie with his head bowed and feet shackled, appeared before the court without a lawyer. He did not reply when the judge asked him whether he was going to get a lawyer, and only nodded slightly when asked whether he was exercising his right not to speak. He was not required to enter a plea.

The prosecutor asked for a psychiatric assessment, but the judge said he wanted to give Li a chance to meet with his lawyer. Li's next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday. The RCMP said Li has no known criminal record.

McLean's family spoke publicly Saturday for the first time since the brutal attack.

"He was a little guy with a heart bigger than you could know," McLean's uncle, Alex McLean, told reporters in a prepared statement from the family.

"Tim spent his life traveling and meeting new people and always saw the good in everyone. He had the most infectious giggle. You could hear him laughing a mile away," said Alex McLean.

"It didn't matter what kind of a day you were having, because when you heard him laugh, you couldn't help but join in."

William Caron, 23, said McLean was quiet, though he liked to socialize with friends. He was small -- about 5-foot-4 and 130 pounds -- and tended to stay away from a fight, Caron said.

"All the time I've known Tim, he's never been the type of guy to get into a fight with. He always kept to himself when there's strangers around," Caron said.

The killing has spawned a vast online community, with tens of thousands showing support for McLean's family and expressing disgust for the attack.

One of the many groups on the social networking site Facebook has accumulated more than 40,000 members with more than 2,000 wall posts.

"It's something right out of a horror movie," said Sheena in Edmonton.

Pic(k) of the Day

Groovie Ghoulies

Track Listing:

Carly Simon
2 She Gets All The Girls
3 Fun In The Dark
4 (She's My) Vampire Girl
5 Lonely Planet Boy
6 Have Your Way With Me
7 (She's Got A) Brian Scrambling Device
8 Outbreak!
9 Spell Is On
10 Lug Says
11 Laugh At Me
12 Lets Go To The Moon
13 Don't Make Me Kill You Again

http://rapidshare.com/files/115961210/Alone_In_The_Dark.rar

Track Listing:

1 Blood Intro
2 Hello Hello
3 Levitation
4 My Car
5 The Beast With Five Hands
6 A Message To Pretty
7 Pumpkinhead
8 Back To The Garage
9 I Wanna Have Fun
10 Born In The Basement
11 Walk Out In The Rain
12 Hell Time
13 I Ain't Talkin' To You
14 Hypergenerate

http://rapidshare.com/files/115959210/Born_in_the_Basement.rar

Track Listing:

1. Lost Generation
2. Do The Bat
3. Armageddon 2000
4. 2000 Man
5. My Computer Said 'Kill'
6. King Kong
7. No Blood
8. Don't Go Out
9. The Blob
10. Dead End
11. Blood Beach
12. Lookout!
13. Ghoul Chant
14. Bonus Track

http://rapidshare.com/files/115955694/Appetite_for_Adrenochrome.rar

"Hairspray" star arrested in airport brawl

By WENN world entertainment news

Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky and her father have reportedly been arrested after a bizarre brawl with a reality TV star at a Caribbean island airport on Wednesday.

The father-daughter duo and former America's Top Model contestant Bianca Golden were taken into custody by police in the Turks and Caicos Islands - after a fight so violent Blonsky has been left wearing a neck brace and her father jailed, according to reports on Usmagazine.com and TMZ.com.

The altercation is alleged to have started in the departure lounge at the Providenciales International Airport after Blonsky attempted to save five seats for her family and Golden had nowhere to sit.

The reports claim one member of Golden's camp was so badly injured in the fight, she had to be flown to Miami, Florida to receive medical care.

According to reports, Golden has been charged with assault; Blonsky, 19, with actual bodily harm and her father, Carl, is charged with grievous bodily harm. Carl has reportedly been remanded in custody until 8 August. All parties are due to appear in court at the end of the month. A spokesperson for Blonsky has refused to comment.

Pic(k) of the Day

Interesting Times Revisited

Today in history, comedian and social critic Lenny Bruce dies of a morphine overdose in his Hollywood Hills home.