Bulldozer rampage hits Jerusalem: Posted 07/02/08 by Cybmatt

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Two people are reported to have been killed and dozens injured when a bulldozer crashed into a commuter bus and cars in central Jerusalem.

An ambulance spokesman said they died after the bulldozer driver went on the rampage on Jaffa Road.

The BBC's Tim Franks, who witnessed the incident, said a police officer then shot the driver dead after a struggle in the vehicle's cab.

There was panic in the streets with hundreds running to flee the scene.

Several cars and taxis were run over with people inside, our correspondent said.

The bulldozer, which was heading towards a busy market, came to a halt near the BBC's bureau in the city.

At one point, our correspondent saw two or three men inside the vehicle's cabin, struggling with the driver and causing the cabin to shake violently.

An Israeli policeman, dressed in black, climbed onto the bulldozer and shot the driver in the head.

The driver's body was then slung onto the road.

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Missing cat is spotted on webcam: Posted 06/16/08 by Cybmatt

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A cat which had been missing for eight months has been found with help from a computer user in the United States.

Jerry the cat had not been since shortly after his owners relocated from Staffordshire to Polperro in Cornwall.

They had given up hope of ever finding him until he was spotted on a local hotel webcam, sleeping on the doormat.

Jerry's owner Abbi Rendell told BBC News: "She [the computer user] had been watching the cat and noticed that he looked a bit homeless and lost."

"She noticed there was a cat sleeping on our doormat"
Bill Smith, hotel owner

She added: "She put the two stories together and contacted me last week."

Jerry was spotted on the Claremont Hotel webcam, which is featured on the Polperro web forum.

The hotel's owner Bill Smith said: "When we're asleep, people in different time zones, like in Indiana, are looking on the website.

"The lady had previously read Abbie's post about her missing cat and then she actually noticed that there was cat sleeping on our doormat."

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Street sweep truck sucks up dog: Posted 06/15/08 by Cybmatt

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A street-sweeping truck has sucked a dog up through its bristles on a New York street, leaving its horrified owner holding nothing but the lead.

Robert Machin, 57, had just finished walking his two Boston terriers in the Bronx and was about to load them into his car when the truck appeared.

He recalls being whipped around, only to glimpse Ginger meeting her end in the sweeper's round brushes.

City sanitation officers described the dog's death as "rare and unfortunate".

But Mr Machin, a retired public transport worker, questioned whether the driver had been observing proper procedures.

The truck, he said, seemed to have been barrelling through the street at an unsafe speed.

"It happened so fast," he told the New York Daily News.

"It spun me around, and as it spun me around, I caught a last glimpse of her.

"I was devastated. I was completely dumbfounded and shocked. I mean, I just witnessed my dog sucked up into a street sweeper."

He said he had chased the truck for about two and a half blocks, shouting for the operator to stop.

The driver eventually came back but refused to turn off the whirring brushes that had crushed Ginger until he arrived, the paper adds.

The Department of Sanitation offered its condolences to Mr Machin and his family but added: "It is important for all New Yorkers to remember to maintain the safety of their animals while walking city streets."

Ginger's master who, according to the New York Daily News, plans to contact the Humane Society and hire a lawyer, said his lost dog had been like family to him.

"My children are all grown up," he said.

"These two dogs, they're my life," he added, choking back tears.


Ginger (centre) is seen here with two other dogs of her breed

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Japan woman lived in man's closet: Posted 05/30/08 by 2c4s

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A woman has been arrested in Japan for sneaking into a man's house and living in his closet without him knowing.

Police found 58-year-old Tatsuko Horikawa living in a small storage space in the house in the southern city of Fukuoka.

The house belonged to a 57-year-old man, who had become suspicious after food disappeared from his fridge.

So he installed a surveillance system, which filmed the woman as she walked around in his absence.

On Wednesday afternoon police searched the house and found the woman in her cubby hole.

She had brought a mattress into the tiny space in the closet, police said.

"She told police that she had nowhere to live," the French news agency AFP quoted a local police spokesman as saying.

"She seems to have lived there for about a year, but not all the time."

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XXXX: Posted 05/29/08 by 2c4s

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Free weed at tokyo international: Posted 05/26/08 by 2c4s

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An unwitting passenger arriving at Japan's Narita airport has received 142g of cannabis after a customs test went awry, officials say.

A customs officer hid a package of the banned narcotic in a side pocket of a randomly chosen suitcase in order to test airport security.

Sniffer dogs failed to detect the cannabis and the officer could not remember which bag he had put it in.

Anyone finding the package has been asked to contact customs officials.

"This case was extremely regrettable. I would like to deeply apologise," said Narita International Airport's customs head Manpei Tanaka.

Strict laws

The customs officer conducted the test on a passenger's bag against regulations. Normally a training suitcase is used.

"I knew that using passengers' bags is prohibited, but I did it because I wanted to improve the sniffer dog's ability," the officer was quoted as saying.

"The dogs have always been able to find it before... I became overconfident that it would work," he said.

Japan has strict laws against drugs and possession of small amounts of cannabis can lead to a prison sentence.

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US car dealer in free gun offer: Posted 05/23/08 by Cybmatt

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A car dealership in the United States is offering a free handgun with every vehicle sold.

Max Motors in Butler, Missouri, says sales have quadrupled since the start of the offer.

Customers can choose between a gun or a $250 (£125) gas card, but most so far have chosen the gun.

Owner Mark Muller said: "We're just damn glad to live in a free country where you can have a gun if you want to."

The dealership sells new and old vehicles, including General Motors and Ford cars and trucks, and its logo shows a cowboy holding a pistol.

It has sold more than 30 cars and trucks in the past three days, an increase which the owners put down to their promotional offer.

Inspiration from Obama

Mr Muller said that every buyer so far "except one guy from Canada and one old guy" chose the gun, rather than the gas card.

He recommends a Kel-Tec .380 pistol, which he describes as "a nice little handgun that fits in your pocket".

He added that the promotion was inspired by recent comments from one of the Democratic nominees for the presidential election, saying: "We did it because of Barack Obama.

"He said all those people in the Midwest, you've got to have compassion for them because they're clinging to their guns and their Bibles. I found that quite offensive. We all go to church on Sunday and we all carry guns."

The website advertisement for the offer, which continues until the end of the month, mentions that an approved background check on gun ownership is required.

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Something in the austrian water: Posted 05/14/08 by 2c4s

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Austrian family hacked to death
Police carry the body of one of the victims from an apartment in Vienna (14 May 2008)
Investigators are still questioning the Austrian man about all five deaths

An Austrian man has handed himself into police after allegedly hacking his wife, seven-year-old daughter, parents and father-in-law to death with axe.

The unnamed 39-year-old walked into a police station in Vienna and confessed that the bodies of his wife and daughter were in his flat, police said.

His parents were found dead in Linz, 180km (112 miles) west of Vienna, and his father-in-law in nearby Ansfelden.

Police told the Reuters news agency the suspect said he had financial problems.

They said he had borrowed money from his relatives, lost it in business deals which later went wrong and said he wanted to spare them from the scandal, Reuters reported.

Investigators are still questioning the man about all five deaths, Vienna police spokeswoman Karin Strycek said.

Ms Strycek said the killings had taken place on Tuesday evening and that the man's wife had been found dead in the apartment's bathroom and his daughter in a cupboard.

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Pelican swallows pigeon in park: Posted 05/11/08 by 2c4s

i dont understand: Posted 05/11/08 by 2c4s

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Chopped up money dumped in bins

Thousands of pounds in cash has been chopped up and dumped in two waste bins in a city centre.

Police in Lincoln are baffled after finding the £10 and £20 notes which had been snipped into small pieces.

It is thought the money, which police said was beyond repair, was discarded between Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon.

The pieces had been stuffed in the bins near the Barge on the Brayford and in City Square, Lincoln.

Detective Constable Nick Cobb said: "The money has been cut into many, many pieces - each individual note.

"Somebody spent a great deal of time physically cutting up the money."

He said even a "jigsaw fanatic" would probably not be able to put the money back together again.

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100% Only in America: Posted 05/09/08 by 2c4s

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Taser parties a growing US trend

Talking and target practice at the Denver "Taser Party"
By Rajesh Mirchandani
BBC News, Denver

In a downtown loft apartment in Denver, Colorado, a group of 30-something women is having a party. They joke easily with each other about men, cats and botox.

It's more Sex and the City than Psycho, but party organiser Dana Shafman would have them believe they could easily be victims of violent crime.



She runs a company that sells Tasers, the electric stun guns used by security forces around the world.

In Colorado and other US states, it's legal for ordinary people to own them. Dana's marketing them to women as the ideal personal protection device.

"I've been to everyone's Avon-type tupperware-style parties, purse parties, clothing parties, boutique parties and I felt like why not have a self-defence party? Why not have a Taser party, because without self-defence you won't have any of the other stuff."

'Take it to the gym'

She gives a presentation, including worrying crime figures for Denver.


This is an unusual party, to say the least - there's food, but no alcohol, and much of the time is spent listening to disturbing statistics

But she also goes on to show off the different colours that are available (bright red, soft pink and electric blue are all on display) and the fashionable accessories you can buy, including a carrying pouch made of fake leopard-print fur.

"I sometimes carry mine with me like this to the gym," Dana says.

You can order your Taser at this party. It'll cost you US $350 to buy (about £180), and you'll have to pass a background criminal record check first.

Dana says she sold two Tasers in the six months before she started the parties. Now it's one a day.

This is an unusual party, to say the least. There's food, but no alcohol, and much of the time is spent listening to disturbing statistics.

'Deaths in custody'

The lone male party guest is Kevin Sailor, an off-duty police officer, brought in to demonstrate how a Taser works.

Tasers in leopard print and pink
The latest models are designed to appeal to women

Like many a partygoer who doesn't really know anyone, he spends much of the time on his own, slightly awkwardly standing with his (soft) drink. But he holds court later, when explaining the device and how best to use it.

He's a firm believer that Tasers are not permanently harmful - but civil liberties groups voice concerns over this.

The American Civil Liberties Union argues there have been a number of deaths in custody, following Taser use by security officials. They want the devices more strongly regulated and oppose proliferation among civilians.

But when I ask Kevin Sailor if he thinks America would be a safer place if everyone owned a Taser, he says: "Everybody that's a law-abiding citizen. Obviously cirminals or convicted felons, no I don't want them to be armed with one."

He talks of levelling the playing field, and the party guests listen patiently and ask questions, but really they are just waiting to get their hands on a Taser and have a go.

Dana talks them through how to hold one, load it and fire it and then it's their turn.

By the way, they're aiming at a target pinned to a cork board, not each other.

'It kinda scared me'

The first guest steps up, fires and runs to other side of the room, smiling, pleased with herself. Everyone else claps. The metal-coated paper target lights up as the current surges through it.

"Don't touch the wires," warns Dana, "they're live."

Later she shows everyone the vicious metal barbs: "They're even harder to pull out!" she announces.

The next guest, Amanda Moseley, puts her baby daughter in another room, then takes her turn.

She fires, squeals and says: "It kinda scared me."

Later she tells me she would consider buying one, because guns "are not really [her] thing".

Growing phenomenon

Veronica Sword looks pretty excited to have a go. "If it wasn't in a party atmosphere, I probably wouldn't have ended up learning about Tasers," she reveals.

Lena Guare, whose apartment this is, takes her turn and says: "I thought there would be more of a kick to it, becasue I've shot guns before, but No, it was cool."

She tells me she would consider buying one, because it might make her feel safer, especially when she goes running alone.

Parties like this are a growing phenomenon.

While national security is an important issue in the US presidential race, local elections in America are often fought on the question of personal safety - numbers of police officers, how they are armed and how secure people feel in their neighbourhoods.

In a country with about one gun for every adult, Tasers are sometimes touted as a less dangerous alternative.

While some criticise parties like this Denver soiree for putting more weapons on the streets, several people here, tonight at least, seem convinced it's an effective way to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms.

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Only in american bank: Posted 05/03/08 by 2c4s

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Texan tries to cash $360bn cheque
Texas cheque
The 10 zeros proved to be a stumbling block

A man in the US state of Texas has been arrested for allegedly trying to cash a cheque for $360bn (£182bn).

Charles Ray Fuller had said he wanted to start a record business, authorities in the state said.

The 21-year-old's attempt to cash the money in a bank in Fort Worth failed when staff spotted the 10 zeros on the personal cheque.

Mr Fuller was arrested on a charge of forgery and was released on bail of $3,750 (£1,900).

$1m scams

The man from North Texas said he had been given the cheque by his girlfriend's mother.

The bank said it had contacted the account owner and had been told she had not given Mr Fuller permission to either take or cash the cheque.

Fort Worth police said Mr Fuller also faced charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon and possessing cannabis.

Officers said a small amount of cannabis and a .25-calibre pistol were found in his pocket.

In October last year a man in the city of Pittsburgh was arrested after he handed over a counterfeit $1m bill to a cashier at a supermarket and asked for change.

Three years earlier a woman was arrested after trying to use a fake $1m bill at a supermarket in Georgia.

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penguin raped by seal: Posted 05/02/08 by 2c4s

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An Antarctic fur seal has been observed trying to have sex with a king penguin.

The South African-based scientists who witnessed the incident say it is the most unusual case of mammal mating behaviour yet known.

The incident, which lasted for 45 minutes and was caught on camera, is reported in the Journal of Ethology.

The bizarre event took place on a beach on Marion Island, a sub-Antarctic island that is home to both fur seals and king penguins.


At first glimpse, we thought the seal was killing the penguin
Nico de Bruyn, University of Pretoria

Why the seal attempted to have sex with the penguin is unclear. But the scientists who photographed the event speculate that it was the behaviour of a frustrated, sexually inexperienced young male seal.

Equally, it might be been an aggressive, predatory act; or even a playful one that turned sexual.

"At first glimpse, we thought the seal was killing the penguin," says Nico de Bruyn, of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Pinniped behaviour

The brazenness of the seal's behaviour left those who saw it in no doubt as to what was happening.

De Bruyn and a colleague were on Trypot beach at Marion Island to study elephant seals when they noticed a young, adult male Antarctic fur seal, in good condition, attempting to copulate with an adult king penguin of unknown sex.

The 100kg seal first subdued the 15kg penguin by lying on it.

The penguin flapped its flippers and attempted to stand and escape - but to no avail.

Seal and penguin (Nico de Bruyn)
The seal may have been frustrated in its attempts to find a partner

The seal then alternated between resting on the penguin, and thrusting its pelvis, trying to insert itself, unsuccessfully.

After 45 minutes the seal gave up, swam into the water and then completely ignored the bird it had just assaulted, the scientists report.

Why a fur seal would indulge in such extreme sexual behaviour in unclear.

Sexual coercion among animals is extremely common: males of many species often harass, coerce or force females of their own kind to mate, while animals are also known occasionally to harass sexually a member of a closely related species.

Harassment is common among pinnipeds, the group of animals that includes seals, fur seals, and sea lions; and occasionally it happens between related species.

Male grey seals have been known to harass and mate with female harbour seals, for example, producing hybrids.

"Sexual harassment is often more commonplace in non-monogamous mating systems, and in species where males are physically much larger than the other sex and thus physically capable of coercion or harassment," says de Bruyn.

But this is thought to be the first recorded example of a mammal trying to have sex with a member of another class of vertebrate, such as a bird, fish, reptile, or amphibian.

'Too young'

Chinstrap penguins occasionally indulge in homosexual behaviour, and adelie penguins sometimes "prostitute" themselves to get stones for nest-building; while one in seven emperor penguins will change partners from one year to the next.

But generally, king penguins lead straightforward sex lives: males and females pair up for years on end.

Marion Island is the only place in the world where Antarctic fur seals are known to hunt king penguins on land, so the idea that the fur seal was trying to eat the object of its attention made sense.



"But then we realised that the seal's intentions were rather more amorous."

The researchers speculate that the male seal was too young to win access to female seals, and in a state of sexual excitement, looked elsewhere.

But the mating season was nearly over when the incident took place, leading the scientists to also wonder whether the seal's natural predatory aggression toward the bird became redirected into sexual arousal.

Equally, the incident may have arisen because the seal was "play-mating".

"It was most certainly a once-off and has never previously or since been recorded anywhere in the world to our knowledge," says de Bruyn.

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Boys sentenced over Goth murder: Posted 04/28/08 by 2c4s

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Two teenage boys have been jailed for life for the murder of a woman who was killed for dressing as a Goth.

Sophie Lancaster was kicked and stamped to death by Brendan Harris, 15, and Ryan Herbert, 16, in Stubbylee Park in Bacup, Lancashire, last summer.

The pair turned on Miss Lancaster, 20, in an act of "feral thuggery" as she tried to get them and three other youths to stop attacking her boyfriend.

Harris must serve a minimum of 18 years and Herbert 16 years, the judge said.

Miss Lancaster, a gap-year student, cradled 21-year-old Robert Maltby as she begged the gang to stop beating him in the park in August 2007.

Harris and Maltby then turned their violence against her.


Ryan Herbert and Brendan Harris
Your behaviour on that night degrades humanity itself
Judge Anthony Russell

The attackers did not know the couple, who were both Goths, and the only motive was they simply looked different, the court heard.

Three other teenagers, two aged 17 and a 16-year-old were also jailed for the attack on Mr Maltby.

Passing sentence at Preston Crown Court, Judge Anthony Russell QC described the attack as "feral thuggery" which raised serious questions about the "sort of society which exists in this country".

He added: "This was a terrible case which has shocked and outraged all who have heard about it.

"At least wild animals, when they hunt in packs, have a legitimate reason for so doing, to obtain food.

"You have none and your behaviour on that night degrades humanity itself."

'Terrifying place'

The judge described the Goth community as "perfectly peaceful law-abiding people who pose no threat to anybody".

He said: "This was a hate crime against these completely harmless people targeted because their appearance was different to yours."

Goths emerged as a youth subculture in the early 1980s.

(left to right) Joseph Hulme, Danny Hulme and Daniel Mallett
Three other teenagers were jailed for the attack on Mr Maltby

Although initially used to describe a form of music, it has evolved to encompass literature, art and fashion, with its exponents typically dressing in dark clothing.

Earlier, the judge heard that Mr Maltby, who was not in court, now finds the world terrifying and still suffers long term physical and emotional damage.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Maltby said: "I really just like to think I'm now only eight-months-old.

"I'm finding the whole world a terrifying place."

Brothers Joseph, 17, and Danny Hulme, 16, both of Landgate, Whitworth, near Bacup, and Daniel Mallett, 17, of Rockcliffe Drive, Bacup, all pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent on Mr Maltby.


It seems very likely that the attack started as a form of amusement for those involved
Robert Marshall, CPS

Mallett was sentenced to four years and four months and the Hulme brothers for five years and 10 months each.

Brendan Harris had denied murder, but was convicted last month, while Ryan Herbert pleaded guilty before the trial started.

After the hearing, the Chief Crown Prosecutor for Lancashire Robert Marshall said: "Very occasionally, in spite of all the tragic and distressing cases that the CPS has to deal with, we come across a case that stands out as truly shocking.

"The murder of Sophie Lancaster and the vicious attack on her boyfriend Robert Maltby stand out for their utter pointlessness and sheer brutality.

"Worse still, it seems very likely that the attack started as a form of amusement for those involved."

He extended his sympathy to the families and outside court, Miss Lancaster's brother, Adam, 23, thanked people for their support.

"Although the sentences seem fitting and appropriate, no sentence is long enough to compensate for the loss of Sophie," he said.

His mother, Sylvia, added: "Justice can never be done because it will never bring her back."

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Daddy Put In Bye-Bye Box: Posted 03/25/08 by spuit*11

ITHACA, NY—After weeks of being sleepy all the time and never finishing his din-din at night, area daddy Howard Lewis was put in a bye-bye box early Monday morning so that he could go on a vacation with the birds and clouds in the sky.

Daddy, who was tall and strong and liked going to the hospital to play with their fun machines, was put in the bye-bye box at a big, white house where everyone had a party for him even though it wasn't his birthday. According to family sources, Daddy, 36, can't play Chutes and Ladders tonight, but he loved Ryan and his little sister, Rebecca, very, very much, and nothing is ever going to change that.



In Ryan's depiction, Daddy gets to play with
Ryan's teddy bear, Porky, while in his cool
underground box.


"I love my daddy. He's the best," said Ryan Lewis, 5, after watching the box get dropped inside a cool underground fort full of dirt and sand. "I'm going to be the big boy of the house until he gets back. And I have to take care of Rebecca now, even if she doesn't share her toys with me."

Mommy, who said that Ryan and Rebecca could have pizza for lunch today because they're so special and then started crying like the time Rebecca skinned her knee, was not able to explain how long Daddy is going to have to live inside the ground. She also said she was not sure if the bye-bye box has a night-light for when it gets dark, whether there's books inside the bye-bye box for when Daddy gets bored, or why Daddy was wearing a suit in the bye-bye box if he wasn't going to work.

After returning from the bathroom, Mommy, 34, reportedly hugged Ryan and Rebecca so hard that it hurt a little.

While many theories exist as to why Daddy was placed inside the ground, including the possibility that Mommy and Daddy had a big fight, and that maybe living underneath the grass was the only way for Daddy to get a new tummy, Ryan and Rebecca said they would have to wait until he comes back to ask.

Ryan added that he hopes Daddy brings back a lot of presents, like the time he went to Chicago to talk about computers.

"I'm practicing catch in my room so I can surprise Daddy with how good I got when he was away," said Ryan, who sometimes, when sitting in the backyard, likes to dig little holes to try and visit his father. "I'm also making him a card and I'm going to give him all my bath-time toys so that he can have something to play with when he washes up to get all the dirt off his body."

This is reportedly not the first time Ryan's family has received so many fruit baskets and telephone calls after someone has had to go away for a while. In 2003, Grandma Sarah was turned into magic dust and then thrown into the ocean so that she could go swimming again. And last year, Uncle Brian was put in a bye-bye box even bigger than Daddy's after his heart broke into a million pieces one morning.

Although neither Grandma Sarah nor Uncle Brian has visited the house since, 3-year-old Rebecca said she knows that Daddy will be back soon, because she has a ballet recital next week, and Daddy promised he would be there to watch her. According to Rebecca, not only is Daddy going to come out of his hole to see her, but he's also going to have all of his hair back when he does. In addition, Daddy won't be saying all that silly stuff like "I'm so sorry, my princess" and "You're going to have a beautiful wedding one day."

"My papa's name is Howie," Rebecca said. "He's asleep now like Snow White."

When Daddy will actually wake up remains to be seen, but he is probably just having a good time playing with their old cat Muffin right now, and will soon realize that Ryan and Rebecca can't go to sleep without their favorite bedtime story, and will then jump out of the ground and coming running fast, because he is such a fast runner.

As of press time, Mommy was planning to have a big long talk with Ryan and Rebecca, probably about eating their vegetables or tidying up their rooms.