Pizza cooked with wood from coffins

Italian prosecutors believe pizza in the southern city of Naples may be baked in ovens lit with wood from coffins dug up in the local cemetery, Italian daily Il Giornale reports.

"Pizza, one of the few symbols of Naples that endures ... is hit by the concrete suspicion that it could be baked with wood from coffins," Il Giornale said on Monday.

Investigators in Naples are setting their sights on the thousands of small, lower-end pizza shops and bakeries that dot the city on suspicion that the owners may "use wood from caskets to keep ovens burning".

Naples's graveyard has long been a hunting ground for thieves: last year, 5000 flower pots were stolen from the cemetery.

"A gang might have set up a market for coffins sold to hard-hearted owners of bakeries and pizzerias looking to save money on wood," Il Giornale said.

According to tradition, Neapolitan pizza should be cooked in a stone oven with an oak-wood fire.

Neapolitan pizza was invented between 1715 and 1725, with the world-famous Margherita variant first cooked up in 1889.

Tradition has it that queen Margherita of Savoy asked one of Naples's famed pizzaioli to come up with a dish for the people.

The result, which provides the basis for most pizzas enjoyed around the world, represented the colours of recently unified Italy: green basil, white mozzarella and red tomatoes.

Italy's estimated 25,000 pizzerias employ about 150,000 people and account for a turnover of €5.3 billion (7.4 billion).

Starving yogi 'blessed by goddess' astounds doctors

An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period.

Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television.

During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet.

"We still do not know how he survives," neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment.

"It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is."

The long-haired and bearded yogi was sealed in a hospital in the city of Ahmedabad in a study initiated by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the state defence and military research institute.

The DRDO hopes that the findings, set to be released in greater detail in several months, could help soldiers survive without food and drink, assist astronauts or even save the lives of people trapped in natural disasters.

"(Jani's) only contact with any kind of fluid was during gargling and bathing periodically during the period," G. Ilavazahagan, director of India's Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), said in a statement.

Jani has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation. He says that he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers.

During the 15-day observation, which ended on Thursday, the doctors took scans of Jani's organs, brain, and blood vessels, as well as doing tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity.

"The reports were all in the pre-determined safety range through the observation period," Shah told reporters at a press conference last week.

Other results from DNA analysis, molecular biological studies and tests on his hormones, enzymes, energy metabolism and genes will take months to come through.

"If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one," said Shah.

"As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories."

AFP


Inedia (Latin: "fasting") is the alleged ability to live without food.

A British woman has suddenly started speaking with a Chinese accent after suffering a severe migraine, she said in comments quoted by British media on Tuesday.

Sarah Colwill believes she has Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) which has caused her distinctive West Country drawl to be replaced with a Chinese twang, even though she has never even visited the country.

The 35-year-old from Plymouth, southwest England, is now undergoing speech therapy following an acute form of migraine last month which reportedly left her with a form of brain damage.

"I moved to Plymouth when I was 18 months old so I have always spoken like a local. But following one attack, an ambulance crew arrived and they said I definitely sounded Chinese," she said.

"I spoke to my stepdaughter on the phone from hospital and she didn't recognise who I was. She said I sounded Chinese. Since then, I have had my friends hanging up on me because they think I'm a hoax caller."

Ms Colwill added: "The first few weeks of the accent was quite funny but to think I am stuck with this Chinese accent is getting me down. My voice has started to annoy me now. It is not my voice."

FAS has been documented around the world and is usually linked to a stroke or traumatic brain injury. It was first recorded in the early 20th century and there are thought to be only a couple of dozen sufferers around the world.

.. from The Strangerest.

Croatian teenager wakes from coma speaking fluent German

A 13-year-old Croatian girl who fell into a coma woke up speaking fluent German.

This is not a picture of the girl.

The girl, from the southern town of Knin, had only just started studying German at school and had been reading German books and watching German TV to become better, but was by no means fluent, according to her parents.

Since waking up from her 24 hour coma however, she has been unable to speak Croatian, but is able to communicate perfectly in German.

Doctors at Split's KB Hospital claim that the case is so unusual, various experts have examined the girl as they try to find out what triggered the change.

Hospital director Dujomir Marasovic said: "You never know when recovering from such a trauma how the brain will react. Obviously we have some theories although at the moment we are limited in what we can say because we have to respect the privacy of the patient."

Psychiatric expert Dr Mijo Milas added: "In earlier times this would have been referred to as a miracle, we prefer to think that there must be a logical explanation – its just that we haven't found it yet.

"There are references to cases where people who have been seriously ill and perhaps in a coma have woken up being able to speak other languages – sometimes even the Biblical languages such as that spoken in old Babylon or Egypt – at the moment though any speculation would remain just that – speculation – so it's better to continue tests until we actually know something."

.. from The Strangerest

World fashion follows Kim Jong-Il: Pyongyang

The trademark suit sported by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is now in fashion worldwide thanks to his greatness, Pyongyang's official website said on Wednesday.

Uriminzokkiri, quoting an article in communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, said the modest-looking suits have gripped people's imagination and become a global vogue.

"The reason is that the august image of the Great General, who is always wearing the modest suit while working, leaves a deep impression on people's mind in the world," it said.

"To sum it up, that is because his image as a great man is so outstanding."

The article quoted an unidentified French fashion expert as saying world fashion follows Kim Jong-Il's style.

"Kim Jong-Il mode which is now spreading expeditiously worldwide is something unprecedented in the world's history," the stylist was quoted as saying.

The suits consist of an overall-style zipped-up tunic and matching trousers, usually in khaki or blueish-grey.

The 68-year-old leader wears them even when receiving foreign dignitaries.

During his outside "field guidance" trips in winter, he also dons a shapeless anorak and fur hat.

Kim and his deceased father Kim Il-Sung are at the heart of a personality cult that borders on religion, with near-magical powers ascribed to the younger Kim.

Rainbows supposedly appeared over sacred Mount Paekdu where Kim Jong-Il was allegedly born, and he is said once to have scored 11 holes-in-one in a single round of golf.

Strange ‘Oriental Yeti’ creature found in China’s Sichuan province

Hunters in the Sichuan province of China are reported to have trapped the strange animal in the picture above, but no one seems to know what it might be. The news has dubbed the creature an “Oriental Yeti”.

Hunter Lu Chin spoke about the “yeti’s” behavior to press:

“It looks a bit like a bear but it doesn’t have any fur and it has a tail like a kangaroo.”

“It also does not sound like a bear – it has a voice more like a cat and it is calling all the time – perhaps it is looking for the rest of its kind or maybe it’s the last one?

“There are local legends of a bear that used to be a man and some people think that’s what we caught.”

The Oriental Yeti is now en route to Beijing so scientists can DNA test it and try to determine its origin.

.. From The Strangerest.

When wombats attack...

A SURVIVOR of the Black Saturday bushfires feared for his life yesterday during a wombat mauling that lasted up to half an hour and ended only when a neighbour saved him.

Bruce Kringle, who lost his house in the deadly blaze in Victoria last year, was in hospital last night recovering from bites and lacerations sustained in the attack.

Mr Kringle, 60, a painter, is living in a caravan until his house in Flowerdale is rebuilt. He was walking down the caravan steps yesterday when the wombat appeared out of nowhere and attacked his legs, bringing him to the ground.

The animal continued to bite and scratch Mr Kringle as he tried to escape.

Terrified that it would tear his throat out, he eventually lay on the wombat until a neighbour, known only as ''Rob'', heard his cries for help.

Rob told Mr Kringle to get off the animal, then killed it with a blow from the back of an axe.

Yvonne Kringle said the family, who have lived in the area for 28 years, was shocked a wombat could inflict so much damage.

She said her husband, who is believed to take medication after suffering an unrelated heart attack, thought he might die.

''He was too scared to get up,'' she said. ''Every time he tried to run away initially it kept running after him. It kept on going him.

''Obviously it was quite angry or very sick. He's got bites all over him. The doctors said they can't believe how many bites he's got.''

She said the wombat had been seen headbutting a glass door at another property before it was chased away minutes before the attack.

One neighbour said the wombat was about 60 centimetres long, meaning it would be at least two years old, according to a wildlife expert. Experts were divided about why a wombat, which are herbivores and usually docile, would attack a human. A wildlife officer at the state Department of Sustainability and Environment, Geoff McClure, said in 34 years he had never heard a story like this, saying the most aggressive he had seen a wombat was when they were cornered.

He said the animal had probably been hand reared and might have been bumping the glass to draw attention to itself.

But Phillipa Mason, a veterinarian at Healesville Sanctuary, said the animal probably had the skin condition mange which could cause blindness, leaving it scared and defensive. But a neighbour, Don Dawson, said: ''It looked quite healthy apart from the fact it was dead.''

Pedapod on the streets of Sydney

We were in the city on Saturday and saw this Pedapod zipping along Macquarie street. It's the Aussie version of a trishaw.


How awesome.
.. Next time I see one, I plan to be in it.

Tourists using Uluru as toilet may have killed off shrimp

Tourists may have killed off a rare species of shrimp by relieving themselves on Australia's iconic Uluru, or Ayers Rock, a report said yesterday.

Biologist Brian Timms said his research had showed one species of small inland shrimp living in pools atop the monolith had become extinct while another had thrived.

"The people going up the rock somehow have affected the animals which live in the pools, possibly by peeing on the rock and pooing on the rock," Timms told state radio.

The Branchinella latzi species had not been seen on Uluru since the 1970s, and would have been susceptible to "enrichment" of the pool's water, he added.


"Certainly if (tourists) go up, they should be behaving themselves, not pooing on the rock," Timms said.

However, a species of fairy shrimp had survived, probably because it was "widespread and tough," according to Timms.

Australia is mulling a ban on tourists climbing the rock, which is a sacred part of Aboriginal tribes' creation mythology.

Tour operators claim visitors are often caught short on the arduous climb, and most had a "toilet roll tucked away" in case of emergency.

Park officials in July announced plans to end the popular climb on cultural and safety grounds, a stance endorsed by Peter Garrett, Australia's environment minister and former frontman of rock band Midnight Oil.

Signs at the site ask people not to climb the rock, out of respect for the Aboriginal community, but one-third of the 350,000 annual visitors still do so.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said it would be "very sad" if tourists were kept off the desert icon, which was handed back to Aborigines in 1985 and is one of the nation's most recognisable landmarks.

Bow down before Cheesus' tasty, tasty goodness

The Lord is revealing Himself in ever more mysterious ways — this time showing up in a bag of crunchy cheese puffs.

A couple from Houston, in the southern US state of Texas, made their now famous discovery while driving in their car one night a few weeks ago.

Sara Bell and husband Dan were chomping through a packet of Cheetos, which they had picked up at a local petrol station on their way home, when Mrs Bell dug up an irregular-shaped Cheeto that she fancied resembled a person in a robe praying.

"Jesus appeared!" she was quoted by local newspaper Preston Hollow People as saying.

They nicknamed it "Cheesus".

The orange figurine is described as five centimetres tall and has a missing right arm.

"I had eaten most of the ones in my hand and one was left lying there, and I said 'Oh my gosh! Look at this! It really looks like a person in a robe praying,'" Mrs Bell, a retired teacher, told local TV news station KTVT-TV.

Her husband looked over and said: "Wow! It does look like a praying Jesus".

The couple is keeping the cornmeal snack wrapped in tissue inside a box.

"What I've been worried about is if I have it around my house, it'll get eaten, " Mrs Bell reportedly said.

She is still considering whether to put "Cheesus" up for auction on e-Bay.

It is not the first time a likeness to Jesus has shown up in a packet of Cheetos. Last year CNN reported on a similar find in the Midwestern state of Missouri.

Shadow Hair, Mr Extreme and the not-really-super heroes

Shadow Hare and Dark Guardian ... just two of the masked men and women seeking to fight for justice and the American way.

It's certainly not a bird, or a speeding bullet, or a plane. It looks more like a guy in a silly lycra outfit.

Wearing masks and the full superhero get-up, a band of "real life superheroes" are patrolling the world's cities trying to clean up the streets.

So claim the comic book-like crime-fighters, a loose association of costumed do-gooders who say they are taking up the fight for justice for ordinary people.

Boasting names like Dark Guardian, Citizen Prime, and Green Scorpion, the mainly US-based characters say they need to wear outfits to protect their identities from the evil-doers they attack.

Most have MySpace pages where they reveal the philosophy of their superheroism.

Florida superhero Amazonia wrote why she was prompted to strap on the black Zorro-like mask and defend her city, Ocala:

"I finally had enough of seeing the gangs terrorizing the downtown section of my city. They would mug, beat and otherwise harass senior citizens and women.

"So I took up the mantle of Firebird and set out to do what I could to help others."

Many of the superheroes say they are armed with weapons such as stun guns, which can be legally carried in the US.

"Shadow Hare", a 1.7 metre, slight-of-stature 21-year-old Cincinnati resident who carries handcuffs, a stun-gun and pepper spray, boasts: "I've stopped many evil doers ... such as drug dealers, muggers, rapists, and crazy hobos with pipes."

Many of the superheroes' good deeds are of a civic nature - such as volunteering with charities or feeding the homeless.

But some make more bolder claims of actual crime-fighting.

Shadow Hare said he dislocated his shoulder two years ago while helping a woman who was being attacked.

He also said he was working with a San Diego-based superhero called Mr Extreme to "track down a rapist".

On his MySpace page, Dark Guardian writes of the moment he saw two men with baseball bats waiting to beat someone up outside their house late at night.

"I park across the street from them. I wait and watch them. I make sure they see me so they know someone is watching, soon after they leave.

"I didn't have to go and fight two guys with bats to stop a crime. I just made my presence known and they decided to stop what they were trying to do."

On another occasion he writes of confronting a deranged man trashing a store.

"I stood in front of him and made sure everyone got out of the store. I tried talking him down. The store had already called the cops.

"Once the police came he cooperated and was hauled away. If he came at me or anyone else this story would end differently and I would have been in court myself because I had my knife at the ready.

"Glad it ended the way it did."

Some superheroes also formed together under different banners to tackle crimes in unison, such as the Allegiance of Heroes.

One such group, titled the Justice Society Of Justice, claims to offer "twice the JUSTICE as the leading competitors!".

An online "Superhero Registry" lists members of the "the Real-Life Superhero community", outlining their speciality (for example public service or crime-fighting), where they patrol, whether their identity is secret and if their status as a superhero has been confirmed.

The website states the superheroes are not just role-playing, but that this is "a movement among ordinary people to make the world a better place in an extraordinary way".

"There are always those who will take something less seriously, but the Real-Life Superhero community is generally composed of sincere, well meaning people who have finally decided to go out and make a difference."

The heroes wear costumes to inspire others, protect their privacy, and "conceal vulnerabilities in one's protective gear", the site says.

People can also make their own submissions to be added to the registry but acceptance usually requires evidence of heroic activities through "media documentation of such activities, or testimonials from established Real-Life Superheroes".

On his MySpace page, superhero Dark Guardian also writes of the weight of expectation on real superheroes.

"What I got most out of being a Real Life Superhero is living up to the name. I have to be the living embodiment of a superhero. With that comes great responsibility.

"I have walked away from being a Real Life Superhero before , but I couldn't give it up. It is who I am. It is what I believe in.

"And it will help change the world."

But police appear not to have warmed to the idea.

"We expect people to report crime to the police and not put themselves in jeopardy," New York Police Department spokesman Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said in an article about the "superheroes" last year.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/shadow-hair-mr-extreme-and-the-notreallysuper-heroes-20090504-asau.html?page=-1

Sydney's curious case of the cereal intruder

Caught on cerealcam ... the brekkie bandit.

A mystery intruder has been plundering cereal and sleeping on the couches for weeks at one of Sydney's marketing agencies.

Staff at the The Marketing Store were perplexed and slightly amused when, almost daily, they would arrive at their Ultimo office to find a trail left by their unwanted nocturnal visitor.

"My office was the starting point for it,'' said the agency's Asia Pacific president Doug Chapman.

"I'd come in and I'd notice somebody had been sleeping on the lounge or doing something in my office.

"All the cushions would be on the floor and it would be all messed up. I kind of wondered whether it was someone bonking on the lounge.''

Even more peculiar, was the absence of large amounts of cereal - about six bowls a night - from the stocks in the office kitchen, and evidence that the showers had been used.

Fingers were initially pointed around the office.

"I put the word out through the office but nothing eventuated,'' he said.

"About four weeks ago I came in and it was in a particularly bad state - there were some tablets lying around, and some tobacco or weed on the floor.''

After reporting the matter to the building landlord and checking security passes, the company ruled out an employee, concluding the intruder had to be entering the building overnight.

But office security cameras never managed to point in the right spot to detect anyone, Mr Chapman said.

While the company hires creative people to promote clients' brands, it was a moment of genius from the woman who runs the kitchen that snared the unwanted visitor.

She came up with the idea of hiding a camera in a cereal box.

"She knew we were either huge eaters or someone was stealing cereal,'' Mr Chapman said.

"She got a cereal box and hid a small camera inside and put it on a benchtop in the kitchen.''

The camera was linked to a computer and activated by motion sensors, snapping clear photos of the intruder on his next visit and emailing them to staff, Mr Chapman said.

They showed the man slipping into the office via an overhead ventilation panel (the office is on the building's fifth and top floor) and then leaving via the fire escape.

On his next visit, the intruder was greeted by a security guard. The company called police, warned the man, but decided against pressing charges.

"We didn't want to press charges but we did warn him - told him it's a bit off-putting for the girls, and those who have to work late night.

"We took it very seriously ... although it was a little funny getting the daily updates.

"But we knew he wasn't stealing anything ... he could've easily taken computers, he didn't take any drinks.

"He was a particularly neat guy. He'd come in at 4am, have breakfast - and it was a hearty breakfast, six bowls - clean up after himself, shower and then leave.

"He'd made his home here.''

The company doesn't know what the man's motives were - he wasn't interrogated - but it didn't appear that he was a typical vagrant.

"He was fairly young, in his mid 30s, and very clean cut for someone that was supposedly homeless.''

The company's office in Ultimo is situated close to a number of university and TAFE campuses, and also near a lot of students accommodation.

The Marketing Store's intruder mystery was revealed on marketing blog Mumbrella.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/sydneys-curious-case-of-the-cereal-intruder-20090504-as6h.html?page=-1

Holy cow cola!

NEW DEHLI: For millions of devout Hindus, it's the real thing: a cola made from the urine of India's sacred cows.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a leading Hindu cultural group, has developed Gau Jal or Cow Water, at its research centre in the holy city of Haridwar on the River Ganges, and hopes it will be marketed as a "healthy" alternative to Coke and Pepsi.

In some Indian states, cow dung and urine are sold in regular dairy shops alongside milk and yoghurt.

Om Prakash, the director of the RSS cow protection department, said: "It will be a revolution of sorts. The acceptance of cow urine as a potent medicine is increasing day by day and once it comes as a cold drink, its demand will definitely increase. It will justify the high stature accorded to a cow in Indian culture."

His team is focusing on packaging, marketing and preservation work to stop its drink from developing an unpleasant odour in the summer heat.

Panda Bear ~ Bros

.. I'm really loving this album at the moment. Check it out if you like droney 60's inspired psychedelic folk pop. I know i do.

Coincidence

Every few years, I become aware of 'batches' of coincidence in my life. I'm happy to report that I'm currently mid-batch :)

On Sunday night I found myself thinking about 2 friends, one in Sydney who I haven't spoken to in over 6 months, and another Malaysian friend who i work with everyday. His job isn't bad (at least not much worse than the rest of us) but i found myself feeling that he was going to resign.

Monday morning rolls around, and not only did the Australian friend who I haven't spoken to in 6 months ping me to say hello, but the Malaysian friend tells me he's resigned!

Only tonight my internet connection drops out and I call the tech support people. They ask me some details about my account, a principal one involving the word 'firefly'. 2 minutes after getting off the phone I'm taking out the rubbish and just outside my door I see something flashing on the ground.. and y'know what it was?

Only the first ever firefly that I have ever seen.
Aah I love coincidence.

Anyone have any similar stories? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Two-headed baby born in Bangladesh

Thousands of people gathered at a clinic in western Bangladesh see a double-headed baby boy born to a farm worker, media reports said.

The mass circulation newspaper Ittefaq quoted medical personnel in small town of Keshabpur, west of Dhaka as saying the baby had two pairs of eyes and ears and two noses.

Doctor Abdul Bari, who delivered the baby by Caesarian section, told reporters the child weighed four-and-a-half kilos. The baby had been named Kiron (Light) by his parents.

The daily said many people had been giving money to the mother, Putul Biswas, in exchange for blessings from the child.

.. from smh

Update: Oh, baby has died :(

Is the search for Bigfoot over?

The search for Bigfoot is over, according to two US hunters who say they have found the body of the hairy ape-like creature and will back their claims up at a press conference tomorrow.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer say they discovered the body in a forest in northern Georgia, a south-east US state, about two weeks ago.

The pair, who reportedly operate a Bigfoot tracking business, will present "DNA evidence and photo evidence of the creature" at a press conference in California tomorrow.

Photos already released on the internet show a large ape-like animal crammed into a freezer, where it was being preserved.

Eminent Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi, who has been searching for Bigfoot since 1971, had no doubt the find was authentic.

"It's a huge situation for me after 35 years, because I've wanted to bring one back," he said.

"This whole thing unfolded about two weeks ago when these two boys came on a talk show here in the States [and announced they'd found a Bigfoot body].

"The commentator asked them if they could send someone to see the body and they said: 'The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body is the real Bigfoot Hunter, Tom Biscardi'.

"They showed me the body. They took me to the area where they found it - it took a day and a half to get there."

The body is reportedly male, over two metres tall, weighs over 230 kilograms, has reddish hair, blackish-grey eyes and human-like teeth.

"I got to be honest, when I first saw it I hated to see it in that state it was in. I wanted to capture one so the world could see it walking. I guess this is the next best thing for the time being," he said.

He said a video filmed by the two men the day they found the body showed at least "three others walking upright like a man".

Mr Biscardi and his organisation, Searching for Bigfoot, are now working with the two men to capture another Bigfoot alive.

They are keeping details of the expedition, and the exact location where the Bigfoot body was found, secret.

As news of the discovery spreads across the internet, particularly in the US, many have already raised questions about its authenticity, claiming it's all a hoax.

"We trekked in for a day a half ... what kind of lunatic would be out here in a monkey suit? I saw the thing, I touched it," Mr Biscardi said.

"They're fine guys, one works for the police department in Georgia, and the other was a correctional officer. They're pretty credible guys.

"We'll release the DNA analysis, and we'll have the body right next to the two boys ... then you can see it's real, that it's not all bullshit."

However, the news already appears to be affecting Mr Whitton's career prospects with the Clayton County police force.

Clayton police chief Jeff Turner said he had no problem with Mr Whitton running his Bigfoot tracking business "as long as his part-time business doesn't affect his work ethic", the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"His claims of finding Bigfoot is entirely a different matter ... unfortunately, that's spilling over into his police life and that's where we have concerns. When he comes back from medical leave, we'll have to sit down and address those issues."

Despite no firm evidence the creature exists, there have been numerous Bigfoot sightings in the US over the years. The idea of a "Bigfoot" is also well-entrenched in US popular culture, with films and TV shows devoted to the creature.

update: SIGH... it's another fake. Rubber costume. Boring. Move on.

.. article stolen from smh

Chess boxers slug it out

A RUSSIAN man has been crowned world champion in the novelty sport of chess boxing, a game that requires equal skill at moving pawns and throwing punches.

Mathematics student Nikolai Sazhin, 19, competing under the name "The President'' knocked out a 37-year-old German policeman Frank Stoldt, who served as a peacekeeper in Kosovo until recently.

The loser said he was simply too punch-drunk to fend off checkmate.

"I took a lot of body-blows in the fourth round and that affected my concentration. That's why I made a big mistake in the fifth round: I did not see him coming for my king,'' he said.

Berlin is home to the world's biggest chess boxing club with some 40 members and it is in an old freight station here that the two men settled the matter early yesterday.

The match began over a chess board set up on a low table in the middle of a boxing ring.

Stripped to the waist, wearing towels around their shoulders and headphones playing the lulling sound of a moving train to drown out the baying crowd, the men played for four minutes.
Then off came their reading glasses and on went the gloves and the mouthguards.

For three minutes they beat each other and then, when the bell went, the chess board was back in the ring and they picked up the gentlemanly game where they had left off.

"This is the hard part, you are out of breath but you have to keep your wits about you,'' said David Steppeler, a 33-year-old instructor at the local chess boxing club.

"It is especially hard for the one who has to play first. He can easily make a false move, and in chess this is fatal. So in training we toughen people by making them do push-ups between every two chess moves.''

A chess boxing match consists of six rounds of chess and five in the ring but it can also end suddenly in knockout or checkmate.

Alternatively one of the players can be disqualified for taking too long to make his move in the chess rounds or breaking the boxing rules.

The weekend saw two matches apart from the world title bout and some of the competitors might have felt equally at home in a MENSA club meeting. One had a doctorate in biochemistry, another held a degree in political science and two were teachers.

The best in the world of chess boxing score somewhere between 1700 and 2000 points on the ELO chess rating system - putting them on a par with those who perform well in the sport at club level.

Perhaps fittingly, the sport had its beginnings in a comic strip by the French author Enki Bilal, titled Equator Cold that hit shelves in 1992.

The last work in Bilal's The Nikipol Trilogy features a blood-stained chess boxing battle set in an apocalyptic city in 2034.

In 2003, the young Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh decided to bring it all to life, but with less brutality, and organised the first match.

"But the way we do it is not as dark as it was in the comic strip. For me the thing is to channel your violence, to control it. Hence the marriage between boxing and chess,'' said Rubingh, who is the president of the international federation of chess boxing.

.. from news.com.au

Greenhouses new pig-thru-brain look headphones

What could be possibly said about these that they don't say themselves?
.. amazing. I think the pink ones would definitely be the way to go. Black is for the heavy-metal fans out there, white for the weirdo girl in your life.

.. Product page

Flying Robot Jellyfish