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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Food or Friend: Animals That Adopt out of Their Species

By: Louise Langston (Little_personView Profile)

Lions take care of baby antelopes; baboons befriend chickens. Within the animal kingdom, there have been several examples of animals bonding with others outside their own species. This leaves scientists scratching their heads and asking why.

Here is a series of the most unusual bondings in the wild.

Baboon Adopts Lost Chicken



Mitis, a baboon in a Lithuanian zoo, found companionship after a baby chick, meant for food, wandered into his cage. Mitis immediately took on the chick as if it was his own. “He plays with the chicken, cleans its feathers, sleeps with it, and takes care as if it was his own baby child,” the zoo director said. In the wild, baboons live in close-knit social groups, which may explain Mitis’s need for a companion since he is so far away from his natural habitat.

Leopard Bonds with Baby Baboon

A young leopard, Legadema, hunted and killed a baboon and made a startling discovery as she fed—a baby baboon latching onto her dinner. Onlookers predicted the mighty leopard would feast on the baby as well, but instead, the leopard takes the baby baboon up to safety in a nearby tree. The day-old baby followed the leopard around, perhaps seeking its mother, while the confused leopard tries in vain to take care of the young baboon. Predator and prey no more, these two form a brief bond that would unfortunately not last.

Lioness Has Calf Companion

An oryx is a type of antelope that lions prey on regularly, but in Kenya, there’s one famous lion who chose companionship over dinner. Kamunyak, a lioness referred to as the Blessed One, was discovered cuddling and mothering an oryx calf. The relationship consists of mothering as well as a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. It’s been suggested that Kamunyak might have gone through a traumatic event as a young lioness, sparking her aberrant behavior. The relationship is short-lived due to nearby predators. However, to this day, Kamunyak has separately adopted six oryx calves.

Male Tortoise Acts as Mom to Hippo

An abandoned baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast found a giant male tortoise to be its segregate mother. The male tortoise, who is more than one hundred years old, seemed to accept his position as the hippo’s new mother and the two have been inseparable ever since. “They swim, eat, and sleep together,” the ecologist Paula Kahumbu of Lafarge Park said. “The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother. Somebody approaches the tortoise; the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother.” A single photo of the pair has inspired a movie in production about their relationship.

Photo source: Emdot on flickr (cc)

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Top 10: Worst Male-Bashing Ads

Top 10 worst male-bashing ads of the year
You’ve seen him plenty of times on sitcoms; he’s the dumb, bumbling, idiot dad, husband and boyfriend who appears useless at everything but bringing home a paycheck. The message: Guys are dumb and women have to lead them around. This, of course, cues the laugh track. Yet a survey from an organization called Children Now found that two-thirds of kid respondents described men on TV as angry, while respondents from another group’s survey said men were portrayed as corrupt on TV by a 17 to 1 margin. Clearly, this is no laughing matter.

To highlight companies pushing anti-guy messages, we’ve compiled a list of the worst male-bashing ads from 2007 and 2008. Whether husbands are portrayed as useless, stereotypical men or absolute airheads, our list of worst male-bashing ads exposes them all.

Check out which worst male-bashing ads are the main offenders.

Number 10

Pizza Hut

Need to cook a meal? Better call for pizza because you surely can’t do it on your own. In this worst male-bashing ad, Pizza Hut rolls out the tired stereotype that men are completely useless in the kitchen. Take a look at the real world, however, and you’ll see a much different picture than the one painted in this worst male-bashing ad: Men still dominate professional kitchens as chefs. You can take your pick from the tons of male celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver. Of course you use the microwave, but you can also boil an egg, grill a great steak and even prepare vegetables. You may have grown up on your mother's cooking, but now that you are grown up you can be the master of your kitchen -- even if advertising insists you can’t.

Number 9

Magasin

Apparently, men are pushovers and women are the superior voice in relationships. It’s unclear what product or service this No. 9 worst male-bashing ad is pitching, but its cliched message comes in loud and clear. You’ve seen this script play out on sitcoms like Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens all the time. The formula in this worst male-bashing ad is simple: Man + Outside World = Dumb. Clearly, whomever came up with the concept wasn’t doing much heavy lifting for an idea; they simply repackaged the “dumb man” character as a more literal representation -- a caveman. Warning: blood may boil after repeated viewings.

Number 8

AT&T

A guy is in Las Vegas, probably for a convention, and he’s never gambled before. He gets a taste for it, and loses money at the tables. Sounds like it could happen, right? Now here’s the AT&T version: same setup, but the guy calls his wife to report how much fun he’s having and explains in the naive tone of a kid going to school for the first time that he lost “chips” he wasn’t aware were worth money. Believable? Sure, as a science-fiction plot in which men are house pets. In the real world, even the crazy guy who bets his life savings has brains enough to know he’s not playing Monopoly.


Number 7

Whiskas

While men are regularly called dogs, Whiskas is comparing men to cats. In this worst male-bashing ad, a guy is lazing on top of a sofa. When company comes over, he slides down and asks his wife if they brought food. He finds out they haven’t and he slumps over the edge of the couch like he has an antisocial personality disorder. The message revisits classic male stereotypes: Men are simple, unrefined creatures that need to be given direction. This is similar to previous male cliches on sitcoms like Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond and Home Improvement where men were reduced to having three interests: sports, food and power tools. This worst male-bashing ad suggests men are still cavemen who just happen to live in houses. Watch and cringe.

Number 6

Domino's

Does this sound familiar? Guy propositions girlfriend/wife for sex, girlfriend/wife rolls her eyes/yawns/laughs and retorts with a variation of: “What’s in it for me?” Cue laugh track. Sitcoms and comics have squeezed every inch of life out of male sexual inadequacy jokes that they’ve now become as limp as their punch lines. Not for Domino’s, however. Clearly, they didn’t think this comic horse was dead and beat it a few more times for laughs. Here again, for the millionth and first time, is the joke of the under-performing man. Watch our No. 6 worst male-bashing ad and contribute your own groan track where you see fit.

Number 5

Sony Cyber-shot

To make sure no one misses the joke in this spot, Sony takes an actual horse, turns it around and gets characters to talk to its rear end like its a dad. The message is about as subtle as a jackhammer: Men are horses’ asses. Like other ads, this one ignores that dads do help their kids with homework, play with them outside, sit in the audience for their plays and recitals, and also work to contribute money toward food, health and the mortgage. With a spot that caters to the lowest common denominator in such an obvious, un-ironic way, perhaps the real horses’ asses are the advertisers who, along with men, consider their audience to be idiots.

Number 4

1st For Women Insurance Brokers

Men are involved in more fatal car accidents than women. Does this make us idiots? This South African insurance company thinks so. This male-bashing ad shows a car full of guys taunting another man who’s trying to get back in their car after a pee break. The driver’s not paying attention, however, and drives off a cliff. Here’s the real story: Men spend around 20% more time driving than women. We still have more fatal car accidents, but in the past 30 years female deaths have increased 14%, while ours have declined by 11%. Plus, evidence shows that women get in more minor accidents than men. Clearly, women aren’t the timid drivers previous stats would suggest. Need more proof? Look at Danica Patrick; not only is she a female driver on the testosterone-heavy Indy circuit, but she’s a winning female driver. Accidents, then, just like modern hiring practices, are an equal-opportunity event.



These male-bashing commercials make men look stupid

Number 3

Polysporin

In our No. 3 worst male-bashing ad, a guy tries to fit in his with his kids when he dashes head-first down the Slip-n-Slide, only to find himself crashing into a strategically placed heap of garbage bins. The moral of this story: Dads are even dumber and more childlike than their own offspring. Apparently, they’re also terrible babysitters, seeing as they’d let their kids play in an area where they could potentially plunge into garbage themselves. Watch this incompetent-dad ad and see the male-bashing for yourself. The good news is: If this is truly how men are perceived in the world and you carry a conversation, you’re a shoo-in for a CEO job.

Number 2

Roomba

Stealing from Sony’s playbook, this worst male-bashing ad goes one further by saying men are not merely horses’ asses, but complete jackasses. A woman describes her frustration of living with animals while the jackass (her husband) is physically tearing apart the house around her. At the end, she sits down with him on the couch to pet him condescendingly. Wow. Forget men sharing baby duties, knowing how to vacuum, doing dishes, and picking up after themselves and others. Instead, the cliched message is that women are the civilized voice burdened with managing men and their ingrained frat-boy mindset. Instead of chanting “toga” after you’ve watched this male bashing-ad, however, you may be inclined to another chant “bullsh*t,” like at football games after a bad call.

Number 1

Dairy Queen

Meet the future man: a vacant moron ripe for manipulation. A young girl passes on an ice cream with her mom. The two sit down and a DQ employee gives her an ice cream, saying it’s from the young boy wearing “the donkey shirt.” She smiles at the boy and turns to her mom to say, “It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.” Insane. The idea in our No. 1 worst male-bashing ad is that guys are not only disposable idiots in women’s eyes, but they’re also idiots for trusting women. Forget that being trusting is a positive quality. Actually, the most disturbing portrayal of all is the little girl's arrogance and sense of entitlement. Warning: After watching, your awe may turn to anger; take a couple deep breaths before engaging in any further activity.


don’t be a hater

Dumb, incompetent male characters are portrayed in abundance on television commercials. From being completely henpecked to having two working brain cells, our top 10 list of the worst male-bashing ads represents the whole spectrum. If all this negativity turns your stomach, you can easily strike back with your wallet and avoid these products. For the simpler, more immediate protest, however, use your thumb and change the channel.

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Gym Sins

Photo illustration: Newsweek.com; photos: Getty Images
FITNESS

Fitness club managers dish about their members' most obnoxious habits.


It was perhaps the most extreme case of gym rage—ever. While taking a Manhattan spin class last August, Christopher Carter became so annoyed by the unrelenting grunts and shouts of a fellow spinner that he tipped the other guy right off his bike and into a wall. The grunter was hospitalized for two weeks after the incident. Carter was acquitted of assault charges on June 2. Hopefully, the acquittal won't inspire a rash of altercations, as other exercisers decide that they too have had it with obnoxious gym behavior. Because any gym rat can tell you, grunting isn't the most irritating thing people do in fitness clubs. From making lunch in the sauna to sporting unsavory yoga attire, club managers report that some of their patrons are clueless when it comes to gym etiquette, or general decency. Here are nine of the most outrageous fitness club offenses.

1. The Sauna Stovetop A manager at a New York Sports Club was walking through the women's locker room a few years ago when she smelled cheese. Puzzled, she opened the door to the sauna, where a woman had placed bread and cheese on the hot rocks to make a postworkout grilled cheese sandwich. "Not only was it a health code violation, it was not really respectful to the other people in the sauna," says NYSC PR director Linda Hufcut. "She said, 'I do this all the time.' That was, obviously, the last time she ever did it.'"

2. Nude Fitness? A couple of visitors to a Gold's Gym in Paramus, N.J., decided to get naked and weigh themselves before they started working out. The two men didn't seem daunted by the fact that the scale was outside the locker room. They hung out by the scale, in full view of the other, clothed patrons, until a manager asked them to put some clothes on. They told Mike Epstein, the gym's owner, that they did that sort of thing all the time at their home gym. Perhaps they meant "home gym" as in the one in their basement.

3. Creative Blow-Drying A man in a California Crunch gym decided that the best way to dry out his sweaty shoes was to stick a hair dryer in each of them while he took his after-workout shower. He was shocked when managers asked him to cease and desist. "He said, 'I didn't even realize I shouldn't be doing this'," says Keith Worts, chief operating officer of Crunch, a national fitness chain.

4. Downward Dog? At another Crunch location a man had a habit of taking a yoga class while wearing shorts without underwear. He was more than happy to correct his faux pas as soon as managers made him aware that other members were uncomfortable with the view they were getting.

5. Work Out, Sleep In Some people get a little too relaxed at the gym. Gold's Gym managers have reported finding customers who fell asleep in the tanning facility and didn't wake up until the gym was closed, as well as customers who fell asleep on the bench press in between sets.

6. Killer Karaoke It's common and profoundly annoying: gymgoers get carried away listening to their music players. Before they know it they've treated everyone in the room to an off-key rendition of "...Baby One More Time." "I call it karaoke gone bad, because there is no background music and they're singing at the top of their lungs," says Harry Reo, a regional vice president for 24 Hour Fitness.

7. Talking (Too Much of) the Talk Fed up with people gabbing on their cell phones as they used the elliptical, many gyms have banned cell phones around workout equipment and designated areas for patrons to make calls. Still, people forget. "There's nothing worse than running on the treadmill and having someone next to you conducting an extremely loud conversation," says Hufcut, who's seen some people use walkie-talkies while on the treadmill.

8. Sweat Sins It seems basic, but enough people forget to wipe down their equipment after using it that this was one of the four deadly gym sins included on an informational video NYSC taped a few years ago. During the segment a careless gymgoer didn't dry off his machine; when he stood up, the entire machine was covered in dripping goo.

9. Scrimmage to Scuffle It's only logical that testosterone can run high at the gym, and sometimes managers need to break up altercations on the basketball court, says Nancy Pattee Francini, co-founder and president of the Sports Club/LA, which has 10 locations around the country. "Those guys, when they're playing basketball, can get into fights," she says. "They're not terrible fights—we're a high-end club."

These are, of course, the worst offenses, not the norm. Obnoxious behavior can usually be curbed with a little etiquette education, say gym owners. "Most of the time it's really an awareness issue with members," says Worts of Crunch. "We have to remind them that they're in a shared public space." Nonetheless, it might not be a bad idea to look over the list and make sure you're not committing any gym sins.

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Mother gets custody of toddler left in hot car at Chuck E. Cheese's

Cosimo Capitanio

Rising temperatures can turn the family car into a deadly tomb, child-safety advocates warn, and they are trying to drive home the message that it's never OK to leave a child alone in a car.

A 14-month-old girl was rescued by Orange County firefighters Sunday after her father left her strapped into her car seat while he and three other children went inside a Chuck E. Cheese's on Alafaya Trail.

The temperature outside was 91 degrees when the girl was rescued at 1 p.m. Orange County Sheriff's Office records show the child was left in the car with the windows up and the doors locked for 10 to 15 minutes.

In just 10 minutes, the temperature inside the car could have risen to 110 degrees, and it could have reached 120 degrees after 20 minutes, according to a hyperthermia study from San Francisco State University.

The child was saved after a woman who parked near Cosimo Capitanio's car noticed the child in the back seat and called police, reports show.

"I applaud the witness who called police," said Carrie Hoeppner, Department of Children & Families spokeswoman. "She may very well have saved that child's life."

Capitanio, 40, was found inside the restaurant with his other children, all younger than 5, after firefighters broke a window to reach the girl. He was arrested on charges of felony neglect of a child, and all four children were turned over to DCF. They were returned to their mother Monday.

A Florida law passed in 2007 makes it a crime to leave a child younger than 6 alone in a car for more than 15 minutes. The state joins 11 others with similar statutes.

But even that is not sufficient to some. Harrison's Hope, a nonprofit organization for child and car safety, recently launched the "Zero Seconds" campaign -- to drive home the idea that a child should never be left unattended for any period of time, said spokeswoman Diana Van Leuven.

"We are trying to change behavior through the 'Zero Seconds' campaign," she said. "It's never OK" to leave a child in a car.

Bianca Prieto can be reached at 407-420-5620 or bprieto@orlandosentinel.com.

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The Amazing Fate of the Solar Armor Inventor

Image by Waytoocrowded

In 1874, one man; an inventor of considerable genius, was reported to have completely reversed the effect of the sun. In the scorching heat of the mid-summer Nevada desert, he was found frozen stiff by Indians - his beard covered in frost and an icicle over a foot in length hanging from his nose. That man was Jonathon Newhouse, the genius inventor of solar armor.

Yet, is the fate of our curious inventor, that of being frozen to death at the height of summer? Or was this a desert mirage; a tale of smoke screens that involved literary geniuses and commanded international media? Environmental Graffiti investigates.

The Story

First printed in the Territorial Enterprise on July 2, 1874, the story soon appeared in other publications including Scientific American, The New York Times and The Daily Telegraph, which at the time had the largest circulation in the world.

Jonathon Newhouse was reported to have created “solar armor” – equipment, which would protect a subject from the heat of the sun when crossing deserts. The armor was described as an inch-thick, water-drenched “long, close-fitting jacket made of common sponge and a cap or hood of the same material.” The armor also had a sack filled with water, with a tube leading to the hood to rehydrate the suit. All the wearer had to do was occasionally press the sack.

Newhouse then went to Death Valley to try his gear out. He set off one morning from the camp, claiming as he strapped on his suit that he’d be back in two days. The result, was reported in the paper:

The next day, an Indian who could speak but a few words of English came to the camp in a great state of excitement. He made the men understand that he wanted them to follow him. At the distance of about twenty miles out into the desert, the Indian pointed to a human figure seated against a rock. Approaching, they found it to be Newhouse still in his armor. He was dead and frozen stiff. His beard was covered with frost and - though the noonday sun poured down its fiercest rays - an icicle over a foot in length hung from his nose. There he had perished miserably, because his armor had worked but too well, and because it was laced up behind where he could not reach the fastenings.

When the story reached the Daily Telegraph, they reacted with some skepticism:

The marvelous stories which come from “the plains” are apt to be received with incredulity by our transatlantic kinsmen who dwell upon the Eastern seaboard of the United States. We confess that, although the fate of Mr. Newhouse is related by the Western journal au grande serieux, we should require some additional confirmation before we unhesitatingly accept it.

They were, of course absolutely right.

So what was actually going on?

dan de quille

The article was written by William Wright, better known as Dan De Quille; a colleague of Mark Twain’s at the Territorial Enterprise. The piece, as well as the solar armor was a complete hoax; an utter fantasy that spread very slowly across international media. It went viral before mass communication and propagated as a semi-ficticious urban legend, before the times of the internet.

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The Bikini Effect Makes Men Impulsive

Bikinis and other sexy stimuli can make men more prone to seek immediate gratification — leading to blown diets, budgets and bank accounts, new research suggests.

In the study, detailed in the Journal of Consumer Research, men alternately fondled t-shirts and bras (which were not being worn during the test). After touching the bras, men valued the future less and the present more, said lead researcher Bram Van Den Bergh of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. Viewing ads with women in bikinis had the same effect.

It wasn't that the men were simply distracted by their sexual arousal, which caused them to choose more impulsively. On the contrary, they exhibited improved cognition and creativity after exposure to sexy stimuli.

The researchers conclude that there is one common appetite system in the brain monitoring our desire for a host of pleasures from sweets to pretty faces, alcohol to lotto winnings. When it is stimulated by, say, a sexy picture or the smell of baked goods, we experience a general craving for anything pleasant. "Basically, you just want to be rewarded," explained Barbara Briers, a researcher at HEC Paris School of Management. Briers, who has conducted related research, was not involved with this study.

Immediate gratification

Van Den Bergh and colleagues rendered the bikini-effect powerless by satiating the stirred appetite with a different type of reward — financial security.

A sense of personal wealth depends largely on what we perceive to be the society standard. The researchers manipulated this perception to make male subjects feel relatively rich or relatively poor. When a questionnaire suggested the average income in society was very small — smaller than most of the subjects' incomes — the men felt rich in comparison. Conversely, when the average income was implied to be very large — dwarfing that of the male subjects — most of the men began looking at their own earnings as piddling.

When the men felt well-off, the bikinis lost their influence. But if they considered themselves among the have-nots, they were likely to seek immediate gratification after seeing women running in bikinis. (Among other sexy stimuli, the study used a commercial for Lynx body spray, which features thousands of women running in bikinis.)

The study was funded by a research division of Aegis Group, a marketing company.

Evolution at work

Evolutionarily speaking, Briers hypothesized, unfulfilled sexual arousal could trigger a subconscious belief that one's reproductive status is at stake. Rendered fearful, men reach out for other "resources" — a quick payoff, fast food — to better their chances for survival. In modern, more splurge-friendly times, this may be a maladaptive tendency.

The bikini effect does vary in strength from person to person, Van Den Bergh said. While most men are vulnerable to subtle types of stimuli — like sexy ads and touching lingerie — others may need to see a woman nude before feeling impulsive. No matter, Van Den Bergh warned, "being exposed to a sexy girl may influence what stock you invest in or what candy bar you buy."

While her own research also indicates a common reward pathway, Briers cautioned that some studies suggest more specific reward responses (for example, new mothers respond differently to a baby's smell than childless women). Taken together, all this research, she said "is the beginning of something fascinating."

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Australian Judge Aborts Drug Trial Because Jurors Were Playing Sudoku

Australian Judge Aborts Drug Trial Because Jurors Were Playing Sudoku

A judge aborted a drug conspiracy trial Tuesday after some jurors were found to have been playing the puzzle game Sudoku while evidence was being given.

Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra ended the trial Tuesday for two men facing a possible life sentence for drug conspiracy charges. The trial had been running for 66 days and had cost taxpayers an estimated 1 million Australian dollars (US$950,000).

The judge was alerted after it was observed the jurors were writing vertically, rather than horizontally. It had been assumed they were taking notes.

"Yes, it helps me keep my mind busy paying more attention," the jury foreman told the judge Tuesday. "Some of the evidence is rather drawn out and I find it difficult to maintain my attention the whole time, and that doesn't distract me too much from proceedings."

Jurors in the trial are anonymous and no action can be taken against them for the puzzle playing.

The foreman admitted to the judge four to five jurors were playing puzzle games for up to half the time the trial had been going.

"Jurors are sort of the judges of the facts and it's very disappointing they weren't giving our clients a fair trial," said Robyn Hakelis, a lawyer for one of the defendants.

A new trial is expected to begin in a few weeks.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Man Likes Woman So Much He Marries Her

WELLTON, AZ—Henry Leighty, a 32-year-old Arizona native and insurance claims adjuster, reportedly had such a huge crush on his girlfriend, Stacy Tompkins, 29, that he just had to marry her in a small ceremony Sunday which he totally dreams about every night when he goes to bed.

Insiders close to Leighty suggested that he probably wanted to marry her for, like, ever.

Enlarge Image Man Likes Woman So Much He Marries Her

Leighty and Tompkins probably went right home to smooch and tickle each other after this.

"Stacy and I are so happy," said Leighty, who mailed dozens of embossed invitations with little birds and flowers on them months before the wedding to ensure no one would miss his extra-special afternoon of girl-kissing. "For our honeymoon, we're going to spend some time [Frenching] in Saint Lucia."

Leighty's parents, David and Kathy, attended the ceremony, as did Leighty's two sisters, brother, and super-special someone, Tompkins, whom he adores so much he had to get a priest to make them husband and wife forever and ever—just like he always wanted. To honor the event, Leighty wore a tailored Armani tuxedo, hired a local string quartet to perform the traditional wedding march, and actually held his girlfriend's hand at least twice. Gross.

According to Leighty, the couple began planning the wedding shortly after their engagement last June, when the lover boy finally admitted what everyone already knew: that he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with a girl.

"We had been dating for five years, and it seemed like the perfect time," Leighty said, while everybody puked. "She's a really great person."

After professing a bunch of sappy vows he probably actually meant, Leighty open-mouth kissed his bride in front of friends and family and nobody even tried to stop him.

Immediately following the ceremony, the wedding party moved to the nearby Wellton Country Club, where the new Mr. and Mrs. Leighty—blech—joined their guests in a celebration of the couple's disgusting feelings for each other with food, dancing, and making-out. Witnesses say Leighty also hired a wedding photographer to take pictures that would last for all eternity so the groom could go home later and practice kissing with them.

Best man Derek Heidel said he "couldn't be happier" for the couple, whom he first met during his undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona and apparently likes so much he should probably just marry both of them in some stupid three-way lovefest.

"The ceremony was beautiful," said Heidel, who is either blind or retarded if he didn't notice all the sick touching going on. "I felt so honored to be standing next to Henry at this important time in his life. I know they'll have a long and happy marriage together."

Leighty, who witnesses claim they saw writing "Mr. and Mrs. Leighty" all over their joint checking account forms, said he "can't imagine" his life without Stacy. "She's got such a wonderful sense of humor," he said over and over as if anyone cared.

Leighty went on to say something like, "Ooh, this is my wife whom I love. I love her so much I want to marry her again because I love her so much, I do, I really do." He totally said that, reporters at the event swear to God.

Though the couple had initially planned to get married sometime this summer, the date was moved up to November because of Tompkin's mother's failing health. Despite some initial concerns that the couple would not be able to reschedule the event due to their hectic schedule of sitting in a tree and k-i-s-s-i-n-g, the two were able to successfully transition through the next phases of their courtship—love and marriage.

In analyzing relationships similar to the newly wedded couple's, experts predict that, within four to six months, Leighty and Tompkins are most likely going to do it, probably resulting in a baby in a baby carriage.

How gay.

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Friday Fun: Bill O’Reilly Music


You either hate him or love him, but there is no in between. Bill O’Reilly (host of the O’Reilly Factor) is without question one of the most interesting characters on television. Check out this hilarious unexpected mix of Bill O’Reilly Music someone uploaded on thesixtyone.com.

The playlist features 11 diverse remixes (ranging from classical to funk) of O’Reilly’s infamous Inside Edition meltdown. The user even uploaded a photo gallery with some poignant captions.

Enjoy or throw up!

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