'Twilight' Vampire Robert Pattinson Related to Dracula - Vlad IV Prince Draculaea of WalachiaForget about Bela Lugosi. "Twilight" biter Robert Pattinson might be an actual blood relative to Dracula.
A new twist provided by the tween-scream flick's promotion machine says researchers at Web site Ancestry.com claim to have discovered that the 24-year-old British actor is related to the 15th-Century ruler Vlad IV Tzepesch, a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler, a.k.a. that crazy killer freak who inspired Bram Stoker's classic novel, "Dracula."
If that's not quite enough to get your blood pumping, the good people at Ancestry.com also say the Pattinson-Dracula connection extends to the British royal family. Yep, Prince William and Prince Harry are Pattinson's distant cousins, and Vlad, they claim, was their distant uncle.
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BP Oil Slick Predicted in Rare 70’s Board Game
SWNS - A rare BP board game was unearthed which chillingly warns of oil slicks with $1million clean up costs – one per cent of the amount now being spent every day. The 1970s set ‘BP Offshore Oil Strike’ promises all the ”thrills of drilling” in the North Sea with the first person to make £120 million dollars crowned the winner. But players are also warned of potential oil spills caused by rig damage in ‘hazard’ cards, which would cost ‘£1m dollars’ to clear up.
The petrol giant is currently shelling out £100 million (£67m) a day to try and stem oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico following an explosion aboard its Deepwater Horizon rig. Recent estimates show that BP have already spent £1.9billion (£3billion) clearing up the spill since April 20 when a blast killed 11 people. The hazard card in the two to four player game reads: ”Blow-Out! Rig damaged. Oil slick clean-up costs. Pay £1,000,000′.
Players compete at exploring for oil, building platforms and laying pipelines to bring offshore oil back to the their home country. The rare mint condition set, made by Scottish manufacturer Printabox, was donated by a private collector to The House on the Hill Toy Museum in Stansted, Essex, last week. Museum owner Alan Goldsmith said he was bowled over by the similarities between the ”very obscure and hard to find” game and BP’s current crisis.
He said: ”The parallels between the game and the current crisis out in the Gulf of Mexico are so spooky. The picture on the front of the box is so reminiscent of the disaster with the stormy seas, the oil rig and an overall sense of doom. I was just knocked over by how relevant this game is, despite being made some 35 years ago, to BP’s troubles today. It’s amazing when you think that their own game predicted this big oil slick – although sadly not the extent of the cost involved.”
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Convicted Felon Arrested For Buying Rifle to Stop Alien Invasion
courant - A Fairfield man was arrested on Thursday morning after buying a high powered rifle to stop an alien invasion, police said.
Fairfield Police Sgt. James Perez said Dane Eisenman, 57, responded to a classified advertisement for a .30-06 rifle about a month ago. While filing out the paper for the rifle, police said, he mentioned to the seller what he would be using the weapon for. "He said he was going to use the weapon to kill aliens," Perez said.
The seller was unsure if Eisenman was referring to space aliens or illegal aliens, Perez added. Sgt. Perez said Eisenman told the seller of the rifle every 36,000 years, aliens who live under the sun come to Earth to kill humans, and he needed to be prepared because "They're going to be coming soon."
After the sale of the rifle, the man reported Eisenman to police. Sgt. Perez said Eisenman, who is a convicted felon, is legally prohibited from buying or owning a hand gun or rifle. Eisenman turned himself into police on Thursday morning and was charged with charge of criminal possession of a firearm. He will be arraigned in Bridgeport Superior Court on July 9.
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Too Much 'Beaver'?
UPI - A scene painted on a beaver statue struck some observers as female genitalia, prompting its removal from a public art walk in Bemidji, Minn., an organizer said.Deborah Davis of Blackduck says her piece of art, one of nine fibreglass beaver sculptures painted by area artists, was meant to portray a praying woman's hands.
But about 20 people who sized it up as they took in downtown Bemidji's Sculpture Walk called city officials to say they saw something entirely different when they looked at the beaver's belly. And so the offending statue disappeared from the public space on Thursday by order of City Manager John Chattin.
Al Belleveau, president of the Bemidji Sculpture Walk, said he transported the sculpture to his yard until the City Council rules on its future on Tuesday.
But removing the beaver stirred emotions in others who are upset the sculpture was removed. Davis said a group of people had gathered at the spot where her statue had stood carrying signs that read "Censored" and some of the other beaver artists covered up their own works in solidarity with her.
"My intent was to paint Mother Nature, Mother Earth," said Davis, a former kindergarten teacher. "I didn't understand that some people saw genitalia. ... I understand people see different things in art, and they need to be free to do that. ... My intent was to paint a praying woman."
NOTE: Praying hands? I'll leave it at that...Lon
Fortean / Oddball News - 7/6/2010
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