Kevin the Fence-Post Turtle

This is an anecdote which has been circulating on various American & Australian blogs in various forms  lately*.  Reckon it bears repeating here.

. . .

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Queensland station-hand whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.  Eventually the topic got around to Kevin Rudd’s performance as Australia’s new Prime Minister.

The old station-hand said, “Well, ya know, Kevin is a ‘post turtle’.”

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a ‘post turtle’ was.

The old station-hand said, “When you’re driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a ‘post turtle’.”

The old station-hand saw a puzzled look on the doctor’s face, so he continued to explain.

“You know he didn’t get up there by himself,
he doesn’t belong up there,
he doesn’t know what to do while he is up there,
and you just wonder what kind of a dumb ass put him up there.”

. . .

Now – here’s a request for The Frollicking Mole or anyone else interested in “a little bit of country fun.” Beg borrow or steal yourself a soft-toy turtle and go out and get some photos of it “in the wild” (sorta like these) on top of a fence-post, and put them up on our blog here.

🙂

*First sighting for me was Theo Spark, April ’08

UPDATE: We have an in-the-wild sighting of Kevin, The Fence-Post Turtle!  Photos here.

UPDATE #2: In possibly-related news, Boy on a Bike reports on a missing turtle… Hmmmm…

UPDATE #3: I don’t know what’s up with all of the turtle-related posts lately, but mylesfromnowhere gots one too…

.

OH PULEEZE…Report: Schoolboys Get Detention for Refusing to Pray to Allah

Two boys were punished this week for refusing to kneel on prayer mats and worship Allah during a class demonstration on Islam, the Daily Mail reported.

Irate parents said a religious education teacher at the Alsager High School in England told students to wear Muslim headgear during a lesson on Tuesday. “But if Muslims were asked to go to church on Sunday and take Holy Communion, there would be war,” the grandfather of one of the students said.

The two boys belong to a class that includes 11- to 12-year-olds, and after their refusal to participate they were given detention, the story says.

Another parent, Karen Williams, told the Mail: “Not only was it forced upon them, my daughter was told off for not doing it right. They’d never done it before and they were supposed to do it in another language.”

Deputy Headmaster Keith Plant said the teacher has given her version of the incident but he declined to elaborate.

According to a statement from the Cheshire County Council on behalf of the school: “Educating children in the beliefs of different faith is part of the diversity curriculum on the basis that knowledge is essential to understanding.

“We accept that such teaching is to be conducted with some sense of sensitivity.”

Click here to read more on this story in the Daily Mail.

Fox News

Bravo, young lads. Tell your “school” to add your “detention” hours to the total I still owe, which stands in the area of 362 hours.

Honor Among Thieves….BROOKLYN VAN WAS WIRED FOR CARNAGE

Bits:

A bomb-laden van found on a Brooklyn street by a car thief was wired to detonate by remote control, and had likely been sitting there for more than five months, sources said yesterday.

Investigators believe the homemade explosives found Thursday night in the Ford Econoline belonged to Yung Tang, 39, a Chinese national. He has been behind bars since he was caught Jan. 29 in Wallingford, Conn., with nearly identical bombs in his Mazda MPV minivan.

A thief who broke into the vehicle as it was parked on 53rd Street near Second Avenue saw the explosives, then drove the van from the mostly residential block to a remote location near the waterfront.

The thief, who has an arrest record, then phoned a cop he knew from a previous run-in with the law.

The car thief was not expected to be charged.

New York Post

via

Fox News

Man Rips Off Hitler’s Head at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

BERLIN — A man tore the head off an Adolf Hitler wax figure at Madame Tussauds’ new branch in Berlin in what appeared to be a symbolic protest on the museum’s opening day Saturday, officials said.

Police said the 41-year-old man shoved aside two museum employees — one of whom was assigned to protect the exhibit — and slightly injured one of them. He then ripped the head off the likeness of the Nazi dictator.

Police said they arrested the man and he told them he was protesting against the Hitler figure.

Fox News

Unfortunately someone did NOT rip Hitler’s head off, in the 1930’s.

Rappin’ Dancin’ Bear…Get Down on It.

Courtesy J.M. AND WordPress…JESUS!

One is left to assume, that posting EMBEDDING OF YouTube Video’s has been put on hold, because of the Viacom lawsuit against Google/YouTube.

It may be the same case with other video’s “allowed”, although I will try to post the others “allowed”.

Report: Uranium Stockpile Removed From Iraq in Secret U.S. Mission

The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program — a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium — reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.

The removal of 550 metric tons of “yellowcake” — the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment — was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam’s nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.

Has to be a plant by Bush. Joe and Val…under oath like Scooter Libby, said there was NO “additional yellowcake”, from Niger. Then where did Saddam get this, Joe and Val? Fox News. Excuseeeee ME, AP “exclusive”…TOO.

Re: Lost Cat

I found the owner. He’s not amused.

Siamese Cats

Tragically, joined at the top of the head.

World Cup Soccer: Viva Costa Rica!

I know next to nothing about soccer, but I’ve decided to root for Costa Rica.

Same model without the body paint below the fold (Do you really need a NSFW warning?).

Lost Cat

And in other cat-related news, we have this poor animal, who experts say was a prime candidate for suicide. The ASPCA is currently investigating.

Also, from a long-suffering owner, we have this letter:

Dear Cat,
I have some issues with you right now that I would like to hash out. And now is as good a time as any with you laying over my arms while I am trying to type on the computer. You don’t even look comfortable and you can’t breathe lying like that with your butt higher up than your head but your brain is the size of a walnut so I will forgive you.
First of all, the litterbox. Is it your goal to poop on the rim of the box? Because if it is, bravo! Mission accomplished, you can stop now. You have proved your point. It is not funny anymore, and I have run out of sticks in the yard to clean it off with. The box is big enough, and you are still small, so don’t even go there.
Now… making pointless, incessant noises. If I take something away from you because I am tired of hearing it scoot across the floor for the last 2 hours, it does not mean to go find something else to mess with. I mean really where do you find this stuff? A wad of paper? A bottle cap? Is that really that fun to play with?
I put things on the coffee table because I want them there. I do not want you to knock EVERYTHING off of the coffee table in one of your mindless “tearing ass through the house for no reason” adventures every single day. Once in a while, it is amusing. Every day, it’s not that funny.
Your ass stinks. I mean REALLY stinks. Like the worst poop you’ve ever smelled. Why do you smell soooo horrible? I thought cats were clean! I have never experienced this smelly, stinky cat phenomena with any other cat on this Earth. Why, God, did you give me the most stinky cat in this solar system? And Cat, why do you insist on showing me your ass? I know it stinks, but what am I supposed to do about it? Bathe you??? LOL! Remember the last time that happened? I still have the scars… Also, when you sit on my arm, please have the kindness to put your tail over your butthole so it doesn’t come into contact with my skin. I might catch something.
Lastly, I am allergic to you. I know this isn’t your fault, but knowing this, why do you insist on rubbing the whole length of your body on my face? Okay… I just pulled a CATHAIR out of my eye. No wonder my eyes are itchy if you are purposefully depositing your dander into my eyes! What are you trying to prove here? That you know I’m stuck with you? While you’re busy carrying things about the house in your mouth to deposit them into some area that I haven’t discovered yet- would you mind bringing me a piece of sandpaper to me so that I can alleviate the itching you’ve caused me? Oh- while we’re on this subject, I need my hair ties back- I know you have them. Thanks.

The New Love Of My Life.

Alexander McQueen.

What’s not to love?

Good Point

Jon Ham observes something somewhat poignant.

My wife and I just got back from a July 4th walk. We walked eight miles around our neighborhood and a bunch of surrounding ones here in Durham. I saw lots of Obama signs in front yards signs and lots of American flags on houses. But I didn’t see a single house with an American flag AND an Obama yard sign. Not one. Just sayin’…

– Via Spot_the_dog