Bus Stops - January 30

Tony Perkins: Star Wars ‘surrenders to gay empire’(Raw Story) 

(An evangelical leader is calling on his army of followers to take action against a software company for allowing same sex relationships to be represented in a new Star Wars video game. Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council — a hate group, according the the Southern Poverty Law Center — took to the radio to denounce Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. “In a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists!” Perkins announced during his daily radio commentary. “In a galaxy not so far far away, Star Wars gamers have already gone to the dark side. The new video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has added a special feature: gay relationships.”)

Body was in Clearwater storage unit since 1995, police say (TBO) 

(When a manager at a Clearwater storage business told a family they were going to have to auction off the contents of a rented unit for back rent, the family said there would be just one problem: a relative's body was in storage there. The woman's body had been stored there since 1995, the family said. The strange announcement brought a swarm of investigators from the Clearwater Police Department and the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Officer to the U-Stor Self Storage, 1217 Lakeview Road.)

N.J. camel predicts Giants will win the Super Bowl (The Telegraph) 

(People use all sorts of ways to try to predict the winner of the Super Bowl: comparing regular season records, judging who looked stronger in the post-season run-up to the big game, or watching the betting lines from Las Vegas oddsmakers. But the closest thing to a sure thing may come from a camel in New Jersey.)

New Jersey Man’s Boat Turns Up In Spain Years After Nantucket Accident (CBS) 

(It looks like the tale of this fishing trip wasn’t quite over. In August 2008, Scott Douglas, of New Jersey, and his brother-in-law were fishing off Nantucket, Mass. in dangerous high seas. They were thrown from his 26-foot pleasure boat, the Queen Bee, but survived after swimming two hours to shore.)

Three Women Vying for Ownership of $1 Million Lottery Ticket (ABC) 

(A winning $1 million lottery ticket picked out of a gas station trash can has become the subject of a three-way legal battle in Arkansas. Sharon Jones was at a Super One Stop in July 2011 in Bebee, Ark., when she went to a trash bin to pick up a handful of discarded lottery tickets, as she had done many times before, according to her attorneys. A program through the lottery commission website allows people to register non-winning tickets for points that they can use to work towards prizes.)

Hercules Family Battles Sex Assault Claim Against 6-Year-Old (WWLP) 

(An East Bay dad claims a game of tag on the playground resulted in his 6-year-old son being accused of sexual assault – a decision he said was an overreaction by school officials. The parent, who asked only to be identified as Oswin, said his son was accused of brushing his best friend’s leg or groin while the two were playing on the playground at Lupine Hills Elementary in Hercules two months ago.)

18th Century mummified kitty falls out of ceiling as house is being renovated (Daily Mail) 

(Bringing old homes up to scratch is nothing out of the ordinary for property renovators Andrew and George Hartley, But this professional couple nearly jumped out their skin when greeted by their most recent form of preservation - as a mummified cat fell on them. The couple got a face full of the ancient feline as they removed ceilings from an 18th century property in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.)

Man dismembered and cooked after sex games (BZ Daily) 

(The BZ daily reported on Wednesday that the deceased, Carsten Srock, was found with his limbs expertly carved off with either an axe or large knife. The body pieces were then wrapped fastidiously in plastic bags and cling-wrap, and left to sit in the two-room flat for around three weeks. His head was found, partially cooked, by the police. Prosecutors on the case told the BZ they believe the victim was “murdered for sexual pleasure.”)

'FEAR FACTOR' Donkey Semen Makes NBC Execs Hot (TMZ) 

("Fear Factor" producers' plans to serve fresh glasses of donkey semen to contestants on the next episode had NBC execs so concerned ... they gave serious thought to killing the stunt, TMZ has learned. Sources involved in the production tell us the stomach-churning stunt was shot last summer -- but NBC honchos were having a tough time swallowing this one as the air date approached.)

Two teens send a Lego man into near space (LA Times) 

(Two Canadian high school students have successfully launched a Lego man almost 80,000 feet above sea level--high enough to capture video of the plastic toy hovering above the curvature of the Earth. Now the results of their experiment have gone viral, racking up more than 600,000 views on YouTube in just two daysand inspiring the young engineers to make their small astronaut his own Facebook page--Lego Man in Space. The Toronto Starreports that the two teens, Matthew Ho and Asad Muhammed, were inspired to do the project about a year and a half ago when Ho saw a YouTube video of MIT students who sent a balloon to near space. Ho wanted to see if he could do it too.)

Canadian dwarf-tossing contest stirs controversy (FOX News) 

(A dwarf-tossing contest scheduled for Saturday at a Windsor, Ontario bar has generated heated controversy but local authorities say there is no law to prevent it. Barry Maroon, manager of Leopard's Lounge and Broil, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. he saw no problem with the contest and even claimed he had been getting calls from little people anxious to attend. He also said any human projectiles would wear protection and would not be in any danger.)

Amherst girl freed from vending machine (WWLP) 

(A 13 year-old girl from Amherst is doing fine after firefighters helped her get her arm out of a vending machine. Amherst Fire Chief Tim Nelson told 22News that just before 3:00 P.M. Thursday, the girl had purchased a bottle of water from a vending machine at the Amherst-Pelham Regional Middle School. The bottle failed to drop from the machine, and the girl reached her arm inside to retrieve it. Her elbow became stuck, however, and she was unable to pull her arm out.)

How much was on Wash. café's walls? More than $10K (Seattle PI) 

(Customers at a landmark burger joint called Fat Smitty's on Washington's Olympic Peninsula have wondered for years how much money was plastered to the eatery's walls and ceiling. The answer, it turns out, was a pretty penny. The Peninsula Daily News reports (http://is.gd/7s4YNO ) that Carl "Fat Smitty" Schmidt enlisted Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts to take down the dough this weekend, including many dollar bills decorated by patrons who stuck them on the walls.)

Kevin Smith vs Adam Carolla (Perez Hilton) 

(Well, well, welll!! What do we have here?? Looks like Adam Carolla is being shady again. At least that's how Kevin Smith seems to feel! Both men were working on a pop-culture syndie pilot with Warner Bros. until Adam fell out. And according to Kevin, the way Adam bailed was totes bullshiz!)

Kevin Smith, Adam Carolla feud over syndie pilot (Variety) 

(A pilot being kept under wraps at Warner Bros. Television's Telepictures unit as a potential companion to syndie staple "TMZ" has emerged as the source of a public feud between director Kevin Smith and comedian Adam Carolla. While the untitled project was originally to have featured both in on-air roles, it is continuing in development with only Smith. The circumstances under which Carolla fell out of the project are being disputed by both sides. Carolla took to his top-rated podcast Wednesday along with his agent, James Dixon, to dissect the dissolution of a pact they characterized as a holding deal for Carolla in the mid-six-figure range. But as they described it, the day after Carolla signed the contract, Telepictures called to say the deal was off because Smith had issues with Carolla dropping out of an appearance on Smith's own podcast, which Carolla denied doing.)

Kevin Smith is Live From Behind in Toronto (The Star) 

(“My dick’s small and Bruce Willis hates my guts. What else do you want to know?” Kevin Smith begins an interview like nobody else. But then, he does everything like nobody else, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. The master of gross-out, self-revelatory cinema and conversation is coming to Toronto this week, when Kevin Smith: Live From Behind is broadcast live from the Scotiabank Theatre at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.)

Sundance Smith gives a boost to indie films (Irish Times) 

(Kevin Smith hasn’t gone away just yet. You may remember that – speaking in this newspaper and elsewhere – the rotund film-maker had been threatening to hang up his megaphone. It transpires that Smith has signed a deal at the Sundance Film Festival – which runs until Sunday – to “present” a series of films by independent film-makers under the title Kevin Smith and SModcast Presents.)

Pune's Rogue bus driver sent to mental hospital (Times of India) 

(Bus driver Santosh Mane, who wreaked havoc in the city on Wednesday morning killing eight people and injuring 32 after hijacking a state transport bus from Swargate, was admitted to the regional mental hospital in Yerawada on Saturday.)

Okla. college basketball players sustain minor injuries when bus clips semi en route to game (Washington Post) 

(Several members of an Oklahoma men’s college basketball team have sustained minor injuries when their bus collided with a semi-truck east of Oklahoma City. According to a statement from St. Gregory’s University officials, the accident occurred Saturday afternoon as the bus was headed to Rogers State University in Claremore for a game.)

Utah Mother Allegedly Drags Son by His Belt for Missing School Bus (ABC) 

(A Woods Cross, Utah, woman was arrested for allegedly forcing her 9-year-old son to walk alongside her car as she pulled him along by his belt and steered him toward school after he’d missed the school bus. Police said the boy could have been hit by traffic driving in the opposite direction on the two-lane road and have turned the case over to the Davis County District Attorney’s office, which will decide whether to charge the mother with child endangerment.)

Scientists Trace 'Speed Gene' to Single Horse (Fox DC) 

(Scientists believe they have a winner when tracing back the origin of the "speed gene" in Thoroughbred racehorses. The University College Dublin traced the gene back to a British mare that lived about three centuries ago in the United Kingdom, the school stated. To find the origin of the "speed gene," C type myostatin gene variant, researchers analyzed DNA from hundreds of horses including the skeletal remains of 12 Thoroughbred stallions born between 1764 and 1930. There were also 330 elite performing modern Thoroughbreds, 40 donkeys and two zebras.)

Sperm Can Be Stored In Females' Bodies For Years, Study Shows (huffington Post) 

(SSometimes babies come along at inopportune times - after sex, the human body can only delay fertilization for 3 to 5 days. But what if each woman had her own personal sperm bank? What if she could hold on to sperm until she felt ready to get pregnant? Researchers have found many females in the natural world possess the nifty ability to store sperm within their bodies for weeks and even years. In the past decade, scientists have discovered that female birds, reptiles, insects, and even whale sharks use this uncanny reproductive method. By keeping the sperm on hold, researchers say, a female can start pregnancy at her leisure.)