Thursday, August 31, 2006
- Newsflash: the BBC reports that the missing Edvard Munch paintings "Scream" and "Madonna" have reportedly been found, mostly intact. After being stolen in 2004, the works were believed to have been destroyed by arson last August. [via BoingBoing]
- Muslim clerics in Zanzibar want their island's goverment to stop a planned international Freddie Mercury would-have-been 60th birthday celebration, because of the late singer's homosexuality. Freddie, né Farouk Bulsara, was born on Zanzibar September 5th, 1946. [via Pandagon]
- Never, never hug a Swiss cow: [MSNBC.com]
"Do not scare the animals or look them directly in the eye. Do not wave sticks. Give a precise blow to the muzzle of the cow in the event of absolute need," it advises.
Evelyne Zaugg of the Swiss Hiking Federation said that while there were no precise statistics on incidents involving cows, walkers are reporting more run-ins than a few years ago.
She said new rearing practices, where the animals spend less time around farmers and wander in pastures with little human interaction, were partly to blame for the anti-social behavior. - Late summer is not only the Silly Season, but according to the Dutch, it's "Cucumber Season," when we (and sophisticated bovines) enjoy the delights of the Coolest Vegetable. [Language Log] More on the Silly Season at Wikipedia, and an exhaustive listing of cucumber information at B's Cucumber Pages.
- Fire up your smoking jackets, break out the dip, and don't be shy: Pigs in Blankets are hot again - even at the swankiest Manhattan events. [New York Times] Whose P-in-B's (at least in NYC) have the greatest kung fu?
- What kind of tattletale calls Chicago's 311 (non-emergency police line) to rat out a restaurateur who served up foie gras after the ludicrous citywide sales ban went into effect? I suspect the AFLAC duck. [via ChicagoIST]
farkleberries Links du Jour 157: The Sacrilicious Silly Season Edition
