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Sunday, October 12th, 2003

    Time Event
    6:46p
    Hahahahha!!!!!
    Swedes Puzzled by Discovery of Butter-Filled Shoes
    Fri Oct 10,10:21 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!



    STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Tourists were left scratching their heads in disbelief after finding 70 pairs of shoes filled with butter on an isolated mountain top in northern Sweden, local news agency TT reported on Thursday.

    The local newspaper in the town of Ostersund thinks the stunt could be the work of a copycat artist after it received an anonymous tip-off that directed reporters to a Web page showing butter-filled shoes in a desolate Tibetan landscape.

    The picture depicts a work called "Shoes with butter" by Chinese photographic artist Yin Xiuzhen and dated 1996, the agency said.

    Locals have been debating the artistic merit of the shoes and officials are considering what to do with them.

    Suspected Penis Snatcher Beaten to Death
    Sun Oct 12, 9:46 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!

    BANJUL, Gambia (Reuters) - A 28-year-old man accused of stealing a man's penis through sorcery was beaten to death in the West African country of Gambia, police said.

    A police spokesman told Reuters that Baba Jallow was killed Thursday by about 10 people in the town of Serekunda, nine miles from the capital Banjul.

    Reports of penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, with purported victims claiming that alleged sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear in order to extort cash in the promise of a cure.

    The police spokesman said many men in Serekunda were now afraid to shake hands, and he urged people not to believe reports of "vanishing" genitals. Belief in sorcery is widespread in West Africa.

    Seven alleged penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs in Ghana in 1997.


    Pushing Safe Sex with 'Miss Condom' Pageant
    Fri Oct 10,10:46 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!

    By Chawadee Nualkhair

    BANGKOK (Reuters) - A bevy of Thai bar girls, health officials and a transvestite blew up condoms and paraded for a different kind of honor -- the title of "Miss Condom Asia-Pacific."


    Featuring 20 contestants from four different nations, the contest aims to promote safe sex in Thailand -- a country on the frontline in the war against HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS (news - web sites) in Asia.

    But instead of twirling batons or warbling show tunes, "Miss Condom" competitors wowed the judges with their condom-blowing prowess and knowledge about the virus, which has infected over seven million people across the region.

    "They can understand (condoms). They play with them and there's no value judgment," said Senator Mechai Viravaidya, known as "Mr. Condom" for his work in promoting AIDS awareness in Thailand.

    "It's education plus entertainment," said Mechai, adding that the 20-year-old contest still helps to remove the stigma of condom use in a nation still ruled by conservative social mores.

    Thailand, where infection rates are falling after a campaign to promote condoms among commercial sex workers, is one of the region's rare success stories.

    While infection rates are far lower in Asia than in southern Africa, the global epicenter of the disease, the Asia-Pacific region could account for 40 percent of new infections by 2010 if prevention efforts are not stepped up.

    "COPS AND RUBBERS"

    Held in a loud, sprawling entertainment block with bars named "G-Spot" and "Hollywood Strip," the pageant lured punters from as far away as Zimbabwe, the Philippines and Cambodia.

    Judged on their safe sex knowledge and onstage poise, they blew up condoms and danced to Thai country tunes on a makeshift stage as a man wearing green condom suit cavorted nearby.

    A Zimbabwean health official, who bested her rivals in the condom-blowing contest, said events such as "Miss Condom" put Thailand ahead of other developing nations in AIDS prevention.

    "I think they are very advanced," said Josephine Moyo, who works for Partners Secretariat, a non-governmental organization in Bangladesh. "They've demonstrated leadership in this area. People should learn from Thailand."

    Mechai, known for 1990s campaigns such as "cops and rubbers," which involved police handing out condoms to drivers in traffic jams, said increased condom use reduced new infections in Thailand to 20,000 last year from 200,000 in 1991.

    Praween Payapvipapong, vice-president of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), said campaigners usually targeted places with a high concentration of sex workers.

    "Thai men don't like to use (condoms). They say it's not natural," said Praween. "So we ask women to help us. Either they ask their partner to use it, use a female condom, or reject sex."

    This year's "Miss Condom" title -- and a 1,000 baht ($25) cash prize -- went to 20-year-old bar girl Pairin Pongprasert, who was crowned amid shouts and screams from her co-workers.

    "I am very excited right now," she said, blinking as camera bulbs flashed. "I didn't expect to win."

    Not everyone was elated. The only transvestite contestant, 27-year-old Lek, said she had been misled.

    "I thought it was just going to be judged on beauty," Lek huffed, her arms crossed. "Who wants to blow up condoms?"

    Ohhhhhhh, crazy, lmao!

    Current Mood: silly
    Current Music: "Deliver Us" from "The Prince of Egypt"
    6:53p
    Oddly enough....
    Oddly Enough - Reuters

    Dracula Park to Suck in Vampire Tourists
    Fri Oct 10,10:43 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!


    By Radu Marinas

    BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Vampire lovers with a thirst for a thrill could soon be Romania-bound after investors said on Thursday a Disneyland-style Dracula theme park was back on track.

    Under pressure from UNESCO (news - web sites) and other activists, Romania changed its plans to build the horror tourist draw near the historic birthplace in Transylvania of Vlad the Impaler -- said to have been the inspiration for the fictional Dracula.

    UNESCO, the culture arm of the United Nations (news - web sites), and others said building the park near Sighisoara would have ruined the 13th century town, a World Heritage Site.

    "All I can say is that the Dracula project is going ahead. We're drafting a detailed plan, subject to shareholder approval by the end of this year," Sorin Marica, the chairman of the Dracula Park SA firm which oversees the project told Reuters.

    The theme park will now be sited in the Snagov Lake area, north of the capital, and not in Transylvania, which is a region of Romania.

    Consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers said Snagov, 17 km (11 miles) from Bucharest airport and 40 km (25 miles) from the center of the capital of 2.5 million people was the most appropriate site.

    Marica said horror rides, labyrinths and catacombs were still part of the plan for the park, due to be built on 100 hectares (250 acres) of state land with private funds to try to lure more tourists to the poor ex-communist country.

    "We also aim to create a separate area (in the park) to promote the historic truth for Vlad Tepes," Marica said.

    The headless body of Vlad Tepes, the real life 15th century Wallachian hero prince who fought off Ottoman invaders and defended Christendom, is believed to be buried at a monastery in the middle of Snagov Lake.

    Vlad is believed to have been born in Sighisoara around 1431 to Vlad Dracul or Dragon. The young Vlad was named Dracula -- meaning son of Dracul -- by his father. But in Romanian, the word also means the devil.

    The government had trumpeted the plan saying it would draw about one million tourists annually by 2006 -- 20 percent from abroad but appeared to lose interest.

    But government spokeswoman Despina Neagoe said on Thursday: "I don't have any information on the Dracula park project."


    I van to suck yourrrrrr blooooooooooooood....fffffffffffffffffffffft...

    Current Mood: amused
    Current Music: Chase music...

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