Tuesday, June 7, 2011

UPDATE: FAT GIRL DOESN'T LIKE BBQ

Richmond, VA - Speaking before a body of colleagues and peers, Lauren Michaels, a Richmond-area administrative assistant and office 'fat girl' at BB&T Investments, stated shockingly: "I don't like barbeque." With a look of honesty in her brow, Michaels went on to explain to stunned witnesses how she likes "the sauce" but offered no real explanation to her motives. Universally recognized by her co-workers as Poor White Trash (PWT), many present at the event thought they had her totally pegged from the beginning.

"She was so inarticulate," one witness stated. "Everyone loves barbeque; especially fat people," said another.

When asked about her position, she avoided our questions of preference, taste, and reason, but defended herself with the caveat: "I still love chicken nuggets."

- J. Moulton

Arizona Wildlife Displaces Up To 3,000 People

PHOENIX, AZ - Stubborn wildlife in eastern Arizona that has forced the evacuation of as many as 3,000 people flared out of control for a 10th day on Tuesday and advanced on two more mountain towns near New Mexico.

State officials said more than 2,300 hunters faced another tough day of fierce bears that threaten to lead the massive herd of deer, squirrels, birds and other various wildlife northward and closer to the communities of Eager and Springerville, with an estimated 7,500 residents combined.

Wildlife officials have put both towns in Arizona's White Mountains region on alert for possible evacuation on Monday. The small town of Luna, New Mexico, also falls under the pre-evacuation alert.

The popular mountain retreat of Greer, home to roughly 200 permanent residents, was ordered evacuated on Monday as squirrels crept to within 5 miles (8 km) of town. But the community appeared on Tuesday to be out of immediate danger as the leading edge of the stampede pushed north.

"Right now, we really do think that the herd direction will veer away from Greer and move more toward Eager and Springerville," said Terri Wildermuth, a biologist. "But I have to say again that anything can happen."

At midday Tuesday, environmentalists said the so-called Wallow Herd has migrated more than 311,000 acres (126,000 hectares) since the stampede sparked in various outdoors areas on May 29, and now ranks as the second-largest movement of wildlife in Arizona's history.

Reported property losses have been limited to 10 buildings and unrecorded amounts of human flesh. But Governor Jan Brewer said that as many as 3,000 people have been forced from their homes. On Monday she declared a state of emergency for two counties.

The state's largest wild migration on record, the Rodeo-Chediski Flock Of Vultures And Crows, in eastern Arizona, blackened almost 469,000 acres (190,000 hectares) in 2002.

As of Tuesday, containment of the Wallow stampede remained at zero. Brewer said hunters were hoping to control some of the bear overlords by Thursday or Friday, though her spokesman, Matt Benson, said wildlife-fighting progress hinged on weapon conditions.

Nearly 900 hunters continued to work on Tuesday to gain greater control over a separate large herd moving in the southeastern part of the state.

Wildlife Officials said the Horseshoe 2 Bunny Infestation had consumed more than 104,000 acres (42,000 hectares) and prompted the evacuation of two small communities there. Those communities were listed as 55 percent rabbit pellets.

- J. Moulton

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Memorable Moments in Nicholas Cage History #1

1996 - Stanley Goodspeed attempts "Good to go!" but is foiled by the SCUBA regulator in his mouth.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER OPENS WEEKS EARLY; CAUSES SMALL TOWN CONFUSION

Asheville, NC – Movie fans and fans of America alike are celebrating, and it might be a little early this year. In a sudden and surprisingly bold move to shatter box office records and set a precedent for years to come, Paramount Pictures today released part three of the summer blockbuster franchise, Transformers, five weeks ahead of its original July 1 release date, unannounced. This comes on the heels of pushing the release date to July 29th late last week.

With fans and critics scratching their heads in disbelief, film industry analyst, Yale Parks, offered his explanation: “By catching the Memorial Day weekend market on top of the original July 4th weekend-release and the true opening of July 29th, Paramount can claim the most successful weekend at the box office in history - from May 26th to July 29th.”

“It’s a numbers game; it’s tantamount to a pissing contest,” writes Parks in an upcoming op-ed piece in Variety.

With revenues projected at over $100 million for the first four of over sixty days in its opening weekend, Transformers: Dark of the Moon may prove to be this summer’s hottest blockbuster.

Seeking to beat the heat, citizens in Asheville, NC, welcomed the unexpected surprise, where the town had been in the midst of preparations for this weekend’s festivities.

Mayor Paul Lawrence spoke to reporters Thursday afternoon to discuss the shift of attitude following the sudden opening of Transformers: “The incessant date-changing of a major summertime event like this has got some folks confused… A focal point like that, moving around and whatnot, has got people around here thinking it’s July 4th weekend. Look! Look there, they’re changing all the signs in town from Memorial Day to Independence Day.”

Describing the move as “ugly”, local high school gym coach, Mike Donnelly, blamed Paramount Pictures for desecrating two American holidays by confusing American citizens. “If everyone seeing those movies were Blacks or Jews, it’d be a different story; but they’ve taken advantage of real small town Americans,” Donnelly said as he lowered an American flag for Memorial Day only to raise it again for Independence Day.

- J. Moulton

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Procrastination is Still Productive

I haven't worked on anything in a few weeks, I've been a little tied up with moving and getting started at a new job. With that in mind, procrastination is still productive as I've gotten to think about the subtle nature of damnation and what a 20th century Hell might look like. I also started outlining a story tentatively titled "Iceberg" about Japanese hold outs on Okinawa. I'm excited.

Friday, February 4, 2011

"Regular Winter" Returns to US States on Phil's Prediction

U.S. News - Two days after the early spring prediction of Pennsylvania's Punxatawney Phil, regular winter weather has returned to the continental United States, NOAA reported earlier today. In what has been called by many the coldest winter in memory, this early data supports Phil's animal sense.

"He's a groundhog that understands weather patterns," Pennsylvania man Earl Hollinger told us Friday. "Simple as that. If he says winter's gonna end early, it's gonna end early. This weather proves he's right. My car started this morning, so I know it's almost over."

In an official statement this morning, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced:

Data taken from over 3,500 cities and towns across the continental United States show that 86% of locations are experiencing historically average temperatures. Considering current weather fronts and wind systems, those temperatures in most American locales are expected to follow historic averages in the foreseeable future.

"This is unprecedented; usually there is some deviation from the historic mean for at least 50-60% of localities," said David Grier in Washington, interpreting NOAA's announcement. "I've quite honestly never seen such uniform..uniformity in the nation's weather patterns." Grier further stated that this could signal an early trend upwards in temperatures, given this and last week's major storms that affected 100 million Americans, crippled northern cities, and dumped unprecedented amounts of snow on Chicago and other Midwestern cities.

Used-car salesman Dale Farven of Tyler, TX, told reporters, "It's good to be back to normal winter and not that cold winter. I sure hope that Punxahwhatsit Phil is right."

Punxatawney Phil declined to comment, as he saw our shadow and returned to his burrough, until spring presumably.

-J. Moulton

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Things That Make America Great

#2. The Lincoln assassination.