Category: Misc

If you didn’t see the image at the top of this post, it appeared on the photo wires and in many newspapers and other media outlets following the brazen robbery of the Louvre in Paris, where a group of thieves stole jewellery and other artifacts worth about $100 million (some of the thieves have since been caught). But the theft itself isn’t my favourite part of this story — not even the part where the password the Louvre allegedly used for their video surveillance system was the word “password.” The photo instantly went viral because of the extremely dapper individual in the fedora and vest with the umbrella — “please let this be the French detective assigned to the case,” said one post.

The best part was when the dapper chap’s real identity was revealed a few days later: his name is Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux, and he is a 15-year-old who lives with his parents and grandfather in Rambouillet, 30km from Paris. He is a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, and just likes dressing up in that kind of outfit, especially when he is going out to visit places like the Louvre. He just happened to be walking by the police cordon when a photographer snapped that shot. It’s just so perfect, so serendipitous. And he sounds like a terrific young man — he says “I like to be chic — I go to school like this.” But not with the fedora, that’s reserved for weekends, holidays and museum visits.

but nothing beats a good hand-illustrated manuscript, am I right? You know, by a monk who really knows his stuff. Or a good old papyrus for that matter. I mean, it was good enough for our ancestors, right? They did okay with their papyruses and whatnot. What do we need with all these so-called “books.” Dumb word anyway. Waste of time and money.

Two men from North Texas have been charged over violent plans that included an armed coup on the Haitian island of Gonave, according to the Justice Department. Gavin Weisenburg, 21 years old of Allen, and Tanner Thomas, 20 years old of Argyle, along with other co-conspirators planned to murder all men on the Haitian territory before taking over the island, and enslaving the women and children as “sex slaves,” according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday. “The co-conspirators conducted research, reconnaissance, recruiting, planning, and sought training to effectuate their plan,” the indictment reads. “It was the goal of the conspiracy to take military control of the Island of Gonave by murdering all the men on the island and capturing all the women.” Both men are charged with conspiracy to kill or kidnap persons in a foreign country and face one count of producing child pornography. (via NPR)

The man who wrote Apocalypse Now also created the Ultimate Fighting Championship

John Milius got an Academy Award nomination for penning the Apocalypse Now screenplay and also wrote and directed Conan the Barbarian. But, Milius’s larger-than-life persona extends far beyond the world of cinema. For 29 years, UFC has been a juggernaut in the world of combat sports. While CEO Dana White has long been viewed as the face of the organization, it was Milius, along with several others, who helped to conceptualize UFC in the first place. Milius saw himself in many of the male characters that he crafted, which led to him pursuing several high-octane activities, including shooting guns, surfing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Milius’s teacher was a man named Rorion Gracie, a skilled BJJ practitioner whose father Helio actually helped develop the now widely-popular self-defense martial art. Eventually, Milius’s interest in Brazilian jiu-jitsu morphed from a pastime to a lucrative business opportunity. (via MovieWeb)

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Continue reading “They tried to raise an army and invade an island near Haiti”

Just for fun I actually read the agreement before installing the 105-megabyte software update for my Epson printer, which (like many printers) is a gigantic piece of crap that rarely works properly. This is the best part:

SECTIONS 19-23 OF THIS DOCUMENT APPLY TO YOU. SECTION 22 CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION THAT LIMITS YOUR ABILITY TO SEEK RELIEF IN A COURT BEFORE A JUDGE OR JURY, AND WAIVES YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN CLASS ACTIONS OR CLASS ARBITRATIONS FOR CERTAIN DISPUTES