21st Century Dracula

112 years after the first Dracula book comes another "Dracula the Un-Dead." it's written in part by Bram Stoker's great- grandnephew.

No More Room at the Amusement Park

Just down the road from Disney World, Mickey has a neighbor, one that can walk on water.
It is called The Holy Land Experience. According to AOL, earlier this month the place was so packed they have been turning people away. So much so, that employees have even been running out of rain-checks.
The star attractions seem to be a re-enactment of Jesus' crucifixion (hopefully a little watered down from the actual whipping and spearing) and a 1200-square-foot model of Biblical Jerusalem.
But, the place isn't new. it has been open since 2007.

So why the sudden rush of the faithful? It was Free.

Turns out to be classified as a religious museum one day a year they need to open the gate for free. Only change, this year the free giveaway got some press from the Trinity Broadcasting Network, which owns the place.

The Gover-Nator's Message

Guest blogger Patrick Baldwin

It Turns out when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes a bill he attaches a message explaining why. Well in his latest message some are reading a not so subtle message. Here is the message courtesy of the State of California website .

To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature.
For some time now I have lamented the fact that major issues are overlooked while many
u nnecessary bills come to me for consideration. Water reform, prison reform, and health
c are are major issues my Administration has brought to the table, but the Legislature just
k icks the can down the alley.
Y et another legislative year has come and gone without the major reforms Californians
o verwhelmingly deserve. In light of this, and after careful consideration, I believe it is
u nnecessary to sign this measure at this time.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger

According to AOL, the target of the message was a Democratic Assemblyman who sponsored the bill and who apparently heckled The Gover-Nator at a recent event. The Assemblyman even shouted "you lie" during the Governor's speech. Sound familiar?

Ticket for not speaking English

Cities have come up with many ways to penalize bad drivers with tickets. Add language tickets to the list of speeding and parking. If you don't speak English, you might get a ticket. Ooops.

Baby Einstein Bust

Anybody who bought a Baby Einstein video in the last 5 years can get their money back.

It turns out those Baby Einstein videos are not so good after all. In fact, Disney says they are not educational at all.

In fact the whole premise of the videos is a myth. Something called the "Mozart Myth." You know, all that stuff about playing classical music to babies in the womb.

Breakfast over Sydney Harbor

Six thousand people gathered for a breakfast with a spectular view. Check out the video.

Legally Blind player scores a touchdown

Chance of a lifetime for one high school student.

Now the Funny Stuff

Here are the out take from the WGN Smoking piece.

For Smokers and Non-Smokers

Everyone has a opinion. Check out this piece from the WGN Morning Show. Then watch the next post for the out takes.

Wierd Travel Stories

Did you hear about the plane that had to be diverted because a passenger stole the beer?

Or, the two Air India pilots who got into a brawl mid-flight?

How about the guy who was stealing women's underwear out of their baggage?

Click here for AOL's list of 14 strange travel stories.

Some are just bizarre, like the airport experimenting with taking naked pictures of passengers, or the fake airline used to cover up a prostitution ring.

But, my favorite, and I'm not really sure it even counts as a travel story, the small Gaza zoo where they dyed two donkeys to look like zebras.

In a quote to Reuters, the son of the owner says "The first time we used paint but it didn't look good."

Costume Controversy

Funny? Or, over the line? You decide.
This Illegal Alien costume has immigrant rites folks furious. Some stores are even pulling the costume.
As you can see, if it an orange jump suit with a green card and an extra-terrestrial mask.

A Really Bad Driver

No matter what your driving record says, there is no way you can touch an Italian man for"World's worst Driver."
According to the AP, the 47-year-old was stopped for 15 violations in 11 minutes.
It all apparently started when he passed an unmarked police car at 110 mph. It got worse when he ignored their attempts to pull him over, then sped through a construction zone.

Sailing Around the World

She's only 16. I wonder how she'll top that at 17 or 18. Good for her!

Who should get a marriage license?

In Louisiana, the answer is not everyone.

Pepsi's Pick-up Problem

Here is blogger Patrick Baldwin

Need to pick up a chick? There's an app for that. At least for now.

Pepsi is facing growing criticism for an iPhone application that promises to help men "score" with two dozen stereotypes of women by giving users pickup lines and a scoreboard to keep track of their conquests.

It was all part of a promotion for its Amp Energy Drink.

The free app is still up.

By the way, some of the stereotypes include "foreign exchange student,nerd or cougar."

You then get possible pickup lines like, "Wasn't I in Space Academy with you?" for the nerd.

Good Genes: Twin Beauties

Here is blogger Patrick Baldwin

This gives a whole new meaning to "the hot sister." The new Miss Washington is the fraternal twin of last year's winner. And get this, back in the day Mom was Miss Washington.

Click here for the video story shot by King 5 in Seattle

Scrubs Actor is alive

After the brarge of celebrity deaths over the last year, it seems people are a little too anxious to summon the hearse. Scrubs star Zach Braff now finds himself in the unusual position of having to convice people that he is indeed still alive.

Birdmen

Ever dreamed of flying like a bird? These guys say they have figured it out.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Au revoir, Gourmet

Very sad to say, but Gourmet magazine will be closing after 68 years of publication.

Rough Night @ the Bar

Amazingly no one was hurt.

NASA Launches Pre-emptive Strike on the Moon Men

Here is blogger Patrick Baldwin

Mission Accomplished!

This morning NASA lived out the dream of every kid with a bb gun. They shot the Moon with a missile.

While I, like every geek who debated Wookies over Vulcans, think the idea of a Moon Base is very cool. Remember when NASA used to be the smartest guys on the planet? Now NASA seems like they are just picking up the latest comic book and saying, "this might work."
Seriously, it was just a couple years ago they tried to catch a spacecraft with a giant hook on the end of a helicopter.

The same guys that lost the Mars Observer, and when they tried again they used English Standard measurements instead of the Metric system.

I realize public support for NASA isn't what it used to be, and a $17.6 billion budget doesn't help.
But you have to think, things would be drastically different if they had just patented some of the stuff they invented. If you sleep on a Tempur-pedic beds you can thank space exploration. Same for the rubber molding in almost every athletic shoe, and even the bar code system at your grocery store.

Perhaps, if we ran NASA like a business and not like NPR maybe we'd all be able to get more exciting about shooting missiles at the Moon.

Moon Blast

Is there water on the moon?

Harry Connick Jr. on Blackface

Spider on drugs

New Alcohol Limits Placed on Race Fans

Spectators who are gearing up to watch the Bathurst 1000, a road race in Australia, will also be faced with a daily limit on how much alcohol they can drink. It's an effort on the part of the police to limit violence, which is thought to correlate with alcohol consumption.

The limit?

For beer drinkers: 24 cans per day per person, or 36 cans per day if drinking "lower strength beer."

For wine drinkers: 4 liters of wine per day per person.

Let's hope these new limits work...

(pictured below: 24 cans of beer)

Fake doctor, real sperm

Warning, you might be disgusted by this story.

Gorilla Surgery

Literally. Gorilla eye surgery. Pretty interesting.

A Tale of Two Brothers (and their shoes)

This is a story about two brothers. Rudolf and Adolf Dassler were born in Herzogenaurach, Austria. They were brothers much like any other brothers. Adolf was called Adi by his friends and he started a shoe-making business. Later, his brother Rudi joined the business. For a while, everything was fine.

But then, trouble started. The brothers quarreled and didn't get along so well. Sure enough, a rift developed between them.

Adi left the business and started another shoe business. Rudi, not to be outdone by his brother, did the same. The shoe businesses the brothers started are around today: Adi's shoe business is called Adidas, and Rudi's is called Puma. Maybe you've heard of them?

Good Samaritan

Who says there are no good samaritans left in the world. Check out this guy.