It sounds like a dream come true: Swimming in a tub of liquid chocolate. But it was a nightmare for a pair of workers at […]
Tropic Topic
Never Stiff Your Bartender
By J.C. Bruce Never stiff your bartender. That’s the lesson from how police were able to find and arrest the hooligans who burned Key West’s […]
J.C. Bruce
The Cage Will Keep You Spellbound
A few weeks ago I was watching Jeopardy when a contestant was introduced as a novelist from Sarasota. I was curious about this fellow Florida writer and looked […]
Tasty Temple into Chocolate Vat Not So Sweet
It sounds like a dream come true: Swimming in a tub of liquid chocolate. But it was a nightmare for a pair of workers at a candy factory when they fell into a partially filled vat and had to be rescued by emergency responders. The mishap occurred in Elizabethtown, Pa., at the Mars Wrigley plant. It’s unclear how the workers […]
Read moreThe Cage Will Keep You Spellbound
A few weeks ago I was watching Jeopardy when a contestant was introduced as a novelist from Sarasota. I was curious about this fellow Florida writer and looked up Bonnie Kistler on Amazon and discovered her latest book, The Cage, and ordered it. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, The Cage is the finest mystery I have read in years. Move over Gillian Flynn, there’s a new […]
Read moreFun Fourth of July Facts
Fun Facts to Help Celebrate July 4th In addition to fireworks and hotdogs, here are a few tidbits you can share with your friends while celebrating Independence Day. While July 4, 1776 is the date the Declaration of Independence was published, the vote to approve the document actually took place two days before. So, technically, July 2 is the day independence from […]
Read moreNo, Sharknado Isn’t Real. But This Sculpture is now a Protected Landmark
In case you were wondering, that fish embedded in the roof of this Oxford, England building is not the result of a Sharknado. It’s a twenty-five foot sculpture installed years ago by an American ex-pat named Bill Heine, who was inspired by the sound of American warplanes flying overhead in 1986 on their way to bomb Libyan terrorists. Heine thought […]
Read moreHank the Tank–There’s more here Than Just One Bear Story
It was a big story. A really BIG news event. Hank the Tank, a 500-pound black bear, has been wreaking havoc in South Lake Tahoe, breaking into dozens of houses in search of food, according to news reports. Hank’s so huge he can use his enormous weight–hundreds of pounds more than a normal black bear–to break through doors, bust down […]
Read moreCheck Out My July Newsletter
Did Elvis really sing to a hound dog on television? Is falling into a vat of chocolate a dream come true or a nightmare? Did Abraham Lincoln pay more in taxes during the Civil War than Donald Trump did in his first two years in office? The answers to these and other vital questions are in my July SHARPEN UP […]
Read moreWest Virginia to America: Kiss This!
West Virginia’s governor, Jim Justice, recently ended his State of the State address by telling singer Bette Midler to kiss his dog’s ass. Justice was responding to a swipe at West Virginians that Midler took–specifically designed to embarrass Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin–by calling West Virginians “poor, illiterate and strung out.” She was referring to Manchin’s blocking his own political […]
Read moreFeline Good: Noodles the Cat Has Been Found!
By Alexander Strange Noodles the Cat, well known for its habit of riding bareback—well, actually, just sitting—on horses, had gone missing from his farm west of Chicago. Ann Kandis, Noodles’ human, said the kitty’s misadventure began when it hopped into the trunk of her father’s car several years ago. Her dad heard a commotion in the trunk, pulled over, and […]
Read moreNo More Bird Brain Jokes, Please
By Alexander Strange Make all the jokes you want about ‘bird brains,” but these cockatoos have been intriguing scientists with their learning capabilities. The photo, above, really tells the story. What you are seeing is a sulfur-crested cockatoo in Sydney, Australia opening the lid of a trash can to forage for food. But notice how the other birds are watching. […]
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