"MIDNIGHT COWBOY" TO NAKED COWBOY - THE NEW MAYOR OF NY?
Robert Burck is a new name in politics - but not a new name in naked buskers. Currently, Burck can pull in a cool - or sometimes cold - $1000 per day by entertaining New York City residents and visitors by dressing in cowboy boots and a hat, and hanging his guitar strategically.

Dizzy with his estimated annual salary of over $250,000, he's now decided to extend his role to include running the city as Mayor of New York. Which is no small task. Burck is up against millionaire incumbent, Michael Bloomberg, whose multi-million dollar campaign may outstrip Burck financially. But Bloomberg is unlikely to be shedding his suit to outstrip Burck physically.


In one of his first campaign speeches to the UK's Sky News organization, Burck said, "No one knows how to do more with less than yours truly. And that's the kind of thinking I plan on sharing with my fellow New Yorkers when you elect me."

Doubtless the voters of New York City will be looking forward to finding out more about Robert Burck and what he has to offer. So far, he seems to have little to hide and so long as the weather stays warm, he's at least getting to persuade thousands of people every day. However, should the election go into winter...

GAY PENGUINS JUST AS FICKLE AS STRAIGHT
Despite claims by religious fundamentalists that being gay is a choice and that homosexuality only exists in humans, it seems that penguins can also "bat for the other team" and even swing both ways.

At the San Francisco Zoo (where else?) two male penguins, Pepper and Harry, have been sharing a pool as partners for over six years. During that time, both appear to have been faithful and been the very model of gay penguins. Alas, it seems that Harry is not gay but bisexual and has decided to leave Pepper for a female penguin, Linda.


Linda herself has had her fair share of tragedy in that she was happily paired with a male penguin until recently, when her partner died, leaving Linda with a broken heart and ne'er a beak to cry on. Enter Harry, a compassionate and caring soul who took her under his wing - literally - and has now become her new partner.

Pepper has been unavailable to squawk but curator Harrison Edell revealed that following her widowhood, Linda was left with two nests and lots of space within the penguin community. She was, in fact, something of a penguin real estate mogul! As Edell says, "For penguins, real estate means a lot. So as far as penguins go, she was a pretty attractive prospect."

Sometimes, it's tragic to find out just how much the animal kingdom can mimic the human condition.

"THE" WEDDING DANCE VIRAL VIDEO
Before everyone and their dog decide that "they can do better," you should check out this YouTube offering from Minnesota newly-weds Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson. It's the sort of thing that can really only be done once; any that now follow will simply be copycat wannabees.



Please, please - don't try to do this at your own wedding. It's funny once, and once only ;)

YOU PUT WHAT ON FACEBOOK?
The dangers of online social networks have been stated over and over again to the point that anyone who is surprised that their personal details are used against them deserves to be hit with a Stupid stick. Stories of folks who seem to think is is OK to share their last binge drinking session with their MySpace "friends," only to then discover that teachers and potential employers find out are legion.

The notion that Facebook, MySpace, Ning, and other networks are PUBLIC seems to be way to complicated for some folks to grasp. Although it is certainly the case that people are less formal on a social networking site, they still need to remember that everything they say or show is open to the world.

So imagine the surprise of a 31-year-old nun from Turin, Italy, who discovered that her ex-boyfriend had posted naked pictures of her to his Facebook page. The photos were taken during a vacation in the summer of 2006, before she took to the veil.


The nun is now suing her boyfriend who says he posted the pictures to stop her from becoming a bride of Christ. According to her lawyer, Anna Orecchioni, "My client doesn't want money, she only wants that he respects her decision to become a nun."

However, it seems that the nude nun might just work in the church's favor. According to one wag who posted a comment on the pictures, "If all the nuns are like that, I want to become a priest."

Someone should remind him what the word "celibacy" means.

AN IPHONE APP TOO FAR? OR DEAD ACCURATE MARKETING?
There was a time that remembering the dearly departed meant erecting a tombstone and making a visit every now and again to decorate the grave with flowers. The advent of the Internet Age then added on the option to create a web page memorial that could include all manner of media add-ons such as pictures, music, videos etc. At least visitors could go through the full multimedia memorial.

But now it's possible to keep your loved ones in your pocket, thanks to a new iPhone-based application called the Pocket Cemetery. For the totally affordable price of $2.99, you can, "create memorials for dead loved ones or anyone you want to memorialize including relatives, friends, pets and celebrities." Fluffy the kitten may well have been taken from you unexpectedly by a reversing garbage truck, but with Pocket Cemetery, you can create a tribute that will enshrine him in all his mewling and purring glory.


As for celebrities, you can already find Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Billy Mays.

DIY SURGERY NOT RECOMMENDED
We've all seen the TV and movie trick of using a pen for an emergency tracheotomy. And no, a pencil won't do if you can't find a pen. Similarly when the hero loses a limb, he manfully unstraps his belt and wraps it around the stump, thereby stemming the flow of blood.

But there are limits both mentally and practically. And the limit was crossed at the end of June, 2009, by an unnamed young man from Stevenage in the UK. Following a call to the emergency services, the man was taken to the Lister Hospital with wounds to his penis. For an as-yet undisclosed - and possibly unfathomed - reason, the Bris-happy boy decided to snip off his foreskin using the closest surgical tool to hand: a pair of nail clippers.

According to a Master-of-the-Obvious medic, "This is something we would advise men never to attempt. The results can be quite horrific and long-lasting and have quite an affect on a man's sexual performance." Well no shit, Sherlock!

He went on to say, "Using a pair of nail clippers must have caused excruciating pain, even if he had had a few drinks beforehand." Having experienced, like most men, a "zipper malfunction" in the past, this is clearly an understatement. Snipping away methodically at "the Hooded Man" is not exactly the sort of thing most sane men think of doing, drunk or not.



Still, maybe there's a fortune to be made by re-branding nail clippers as "field surgical technology. Any takers?