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Oh, The Irony

fluffle said:
with current obesity rates, chocolate could be considered dangerous - and indeed may be legally marketed towards and sold to children, unlike tobacco - but nobody complains about fair trade chocolate.
Perhaps a better example would be soft drinks (or soda, pop, cola, whatever anyone here calls them regionally). They are marketed heavily toward young people and are known to cause obesity and tooth decay. Unlike chocolate, soft drinks have no nutritional value. With all the health problems they seem to cause, I haven't seen any pressure on soft drink companies to encourage children to drink only an 8oz serving day or to drink swiftly then brush afterwards.
 
Chocolate:

If you use the 'good stuff' such as Green & Black's I find that they are so 'chocolatey' that three or four squares is enough, you don't feel the need to finish the bar.
So you end up eating less chocolate and saving money and indulging yourself shamelessly, also it's fair trade so it's great for us middle class liberals.

Right, now on to knitting my own muesli...
 
Ah, but I don't like the dark chocolate or excessively high content stuff, so I find it's actually a waste of money (don't finish it :confused: )

But the soft drink thing I entirely agree with, as my dentist said I'd drunk too much of it at University and I had the tooth enamel of a 60 year old (primarily due to the acid created by the carbonation process, according to him), and that I should only drink tea, coffee, milk and water, as even the acids in fruit juice could be a bit much now. Since I don't like coffee I mainly drink water, as I don't want to know what it's like to get a filling ;) (On a subsequent visit, when I told him I'd only had one glass of Coca Cola since last seeing him, he was rather impressed. Apparently people don't actually listen to their dentist, and yet complain about all the pain and such :p )
 
Colin said:
(On a subsequent visit, when I told him I'd only had one glass of Coca Cola since last seeing him, he was rather impressed. Apparently people don't actually listen to their dentist, and yet complain about all the pain and such :p )

i've never had a glass of cola. not one.
 
You're not missing much fluffle, it's horrible. :cross eye

I have a mate who used to drink at least a 2-litre bottle of it every day. Surprise, she's now 20-odd stone with diabetes and no back teeth. :rolleyes:
 
I have a friend who at one point seemed to drink about a bottle of Diet Coke a day, although it didn't affect his weight. I believe it did give him the need for a few fillings though, one time he told me he was going to the dentist because for a while now it'd hurt for him to chew on one side of his mouth :eek:

I liked the odd Coca Cola, but prefered Pepsi ;)
 
Colin said:
I have a friend who at one point seemed to drink about a bottle of Diet Coke a day, although it didn't affect his weight. I believe it did give him the need for a few fillings though, one time he told me he was going to the dentist because for a while now it'd hurt for him to chew on one side of his mouth :eek:

I liked the odd Coca Cola, but prefered Pepsi ;)

My dentist told me that the worst sweet drink for your teeth is Irn Bru - it's acidity is very high.
 
Originally posted by Colin
I have a friend who at one point seemed to drink about a bottle of Diet Coke a day, although it didn't affect his weight.

presumably because it was diet coke he was drinking. it's only about 3 calories per 100ml isn't it?


people for some reason don't seem to realise that "sugar-free" means "packed with suspected carcinogens". people will buy some stuff because it's advertised as having no artificial sweeteners, like squash/cordial and juice drinks, and other stuff because it's advertised as being sugar-free, like mints and chewing gum. it's somewhat ironic, as if they don't realise that for sweet-tasting products "sugar-free" and "additive-free" are more or less mutually exclusive.

one of my flatmates is in the habit of drinking "fizzy squash" - cordial diluted with lemonade. :cross eye
 
Sprinklers come on during movie, "Singing in the Rain"


MEDFORD, Ore. How ironic is this?

Moviegoers watching the classic 1952 film, "Singing in the Rain" outside at a Medford, Oregon, amphitheater were rained on -- by sprinklers that came on -- and couldn't be shut off.A theater manager says the roughly one-thousand people laughed at the irony of the situation.But since workers were afraid the projection equipment would be ruined, they shut off the film while the sprinklers watered the park.The movie, starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, has been rescheduled for next month.A recent power outage threw off timer clocks for the sprinkler system

http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2062876
 
Dublin clamper fined for bad parking

By James Helm
BBC Dublin correspondent

Drivers who have ever had their cars clamped for illegal parking may find some satisfaction in the result of a court case in Ireland.

A clamper who parked his van illegally on a street in Dublin while attempting to clamp two cars has been fined and criticised by a judge.

The incident happened late at night when a clamper van stopped in the city centre.

The two men inside had spotted some illegally parked cars on the roadside.

Clampers are familiar, if hardly the most popular figures in the city, placing heavy locks on the wheels of illegally parked vehicles.

Owners must then pay a penalty to have the device removed.

Obstruction

As they began to carry out their work, a passer-by complained to police that the clamper van was itself blocking the oncoming traffic.

A policeman asked the van's driver to move his vehicle out of the way but he refused.

He seems to think he has the God-given right to do these things
Judge

So, in a case which may perhaps raise a cheer amongst many motorists here and beyond, the clamper was fined around 347 euros (£230) after he admitted dangerous parking and obstructing the traffic.

The judge at Dublin district court said of the clamper: "He seems to think he has the God-given right to do these things."

The court was told that the clamper's work had made him the victim of attacks and that he had recently had his foot run over by a taxi.

The company which operates the clamping service says it will be reviewing the case.



BBCi News 30/07/04
 
Dunno if this is the right place for this. Maybe the Gobsmacked thread would be more suitable.

Rapist serving life term wins lottery £7m

Iorworth Hoare, 52, was jailed for life at Leeds crown court in 1989. He was on temporary release from a Middlesbrough bail hostel when his numbers came up in last Saturday's Lotto Extra draw.

'Hoare, formerly of Seacroft Gate, Leeds, was convicted of attempting to rape a 60-year-old woman in a park in the city, after a series of crimes which included one rape, two attempted rapes and three indecent assaults.

According to the Sun, Hoare began a series of sex attacks while he was still in his 20s and was sentenced to a total of 18 years between 1973 and 1987.

Home Office guidelines allow prisoners in open conditions - such as day release or community projects - to take part in the lottery and claim any prize they may win.

Hoare was on weekend leave from Middlesbrough's South Bank bail hostel when he won his £7,039,469 fortune.

He was jailed in 1989 after he was trapped by a photograph he sent to a television station in an effort to be chosen as a contestant for the Winner Takes All television quiz show.

A Prison Service spokesman confirmed last night that a prisoner had won the lottery.

He said: "We are aware a prisoner on release on a temporary licence has participated in the lottery and we understand that he has won a substantial amount."

After his the win Hoare was moved to a closed prison for "security and his own safety".

It is understood a reassessment of his security status is being carried out.'

On Sky News it was said that he was packing a case to do a runner when the police turned up! :D
 
The Manchester Evening News had a story at the weekend about a
company boss who had lobbied the council for years to have yellow
lines put on the road around his business. Eventually, he took the law
into his own hands and painted them on the road himself.

You've guessed it. He got a parking ticket! His whinging that the
lines were not "real" did not seem to move the authorities one bit!
:p
 
Balcony suicide horror

By SUN ONLINE REPORTER

A WOMAN has died after apparently jumping from a balcony in a hotel which was hosting a convention on suicide prevention.

The 62-year-old victim fell from the fifth-floor balcony into the hotel courtyard in Virginia Beach, USA.

The incident was witnessed by a couple attending the conference who told investigators the fall appeared to be intentional.

Police spokeman Don Rimer said the victim was not part of the convention and added that she was taking medication after recently undergoing a serious medical procedure.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004400030,00.html
 
Body of missing Sara Lee executive found frozen

Friday, September 24, 2004 Posted: 0505 GMT (1305 HKT)




SEVIERVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A retired Sara Lee executive missing since he met with a couple about buying his sport utility vehicle was found dead Thursday, frozen in a rented storage unit. The couple was arrested in what federal authorities believe was a bungled carjacking.

James Dale Cockman, 71, of Greenville, South Carolina, had been missing since September 14, the day he was to meet David Wendell Edens and Jennifer Annette Holloway.

Authorities believe Cockman may have suffocated from duct tape that Edens, 34, and Holloway, 27, used to cover his mouth. An autopsy will be performed.

"The interpretation I have right now is that his death was an accident," R. Joe Clark, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Knoxville, told a news conference Thursday.

Edens and Holloway were taken into custody at their rural Smoky Mountains home and charged with carjacking. They appeared in federal court Thursday in Knoxville and were being held by U.S. marshals.

Additional charges for kidnapping and possibly for murder were expected, Clark said. State kidnapping charges were filed in South Carolina.

Cockman was last seen buying a cup of coffee at a convenience store near a parking lot where he was supposed to meet a couple interested in his 1996 GMC Suburban. The Edens and Holloway gave him a 0 deposit the day before and were to pay him the remaining ,400 the next day.

In a statement to authorities, Holloway said she and Edens met Cockman, forced him into the Suburban, placed duct tape over his mouth and drove directly to their home.

"When they got here they realized their victim was dead," Clark said in Sevierville. "Mr. Edens put him in a deep freeze and took the (body) to a storage facility and left it there. Why, I don't know."

Clark said the FBI was able to identify Holloway's cell phone number and track it to Sevierville. Authorities obtained a search warrant and went to the couple's home.

Clark said Edens refused to talk to authorities, who recovered Cockman's Suburban at the home.

Holloway had only misdemeanor arrests for shoplifting and forged checks in her past. Edens' criminal history was unknown.

Cockman became chairman and chief executive of Sara Lee's PYA/Monarch division in 1985, then became chairman of Sara Lee Foodservice before retiring in 1992.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/09/24/missing.exec.ap/index.html

And if people don't see the irony: Sara Lee are famous for their line of frozen desserts:

http://www.saralee.com/saraleebrand/division.aspx?division=dessert
 
Hi

couple more stories for you:

Ananova:
13:23 Sunday 26th September 2004

Man crashes after receiving safe driving award
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1117394.html?menu=news.quirkies

A deliveryman crashed his van two hours after his bosses gave him a safe driving award.

Steve Coles, of Ealing, had just received a £100 gift voucher by his employers, reports the News Of The World.

They were impressed at his 12-year accident-free driving record.

The 37-year-old said: "I'll never live it down."

==


Ananova:
10:10 Saturday 25th September 2004

Thief alert sign stolen
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1115888.html?menu=news.quirkies

A sign warning drivers that thieves were in the area has been stolen.

The notice had been up for only a few hours, reports the Daily Star.

It had been clamped on the A14 near Cambridge.

==

Mal F
 
Man Burned Alive for Stealing Gas Cannister


Oct 8, 8:04 AM (ET)

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Indian peasants burned alive a man accused of stealing a gas canister in the latest outbreak of mob justice in Peru's remote southern Andes.

Alejandro Noalca, 54, was taken to hospital and died hours later on Wednesday night, a hospital spokesman said on Thursday. Only the soles of his feet were burn-free.

Chilling television pictures showed townsfolk tying him to a lamppost, beating him and pouring gasoline over him out of soda bottles, apparently after a town "trial."

Noalca was later seen staggering away from the lamppost after his bindings burned through, but a woman poured more gasoline on him and the crowd set him alight again.

Police later took him to a hospital in an ambulance.

Percy Choque, the mayor of Azangaro where the incident happened, told Peru's CPN radio this was the eighth killing at the hands of a mob this year. Locals say these parts of Peru's highlands are largely forgotten by the state.

The attack happened in the department of Puno, where a mob of Aymara Indians in the town of Ilave stoned to death a mayor accused of corruption in April. Across the nearby border in Bolivia, another mayor suffered a similar fate in June.

Source
 
Tacoma, WA - Tuesday, October 19, 2004


Anti-DUI leader accused of drunken driving

STACEY MULICK; The News Tribune
Tuesday, October 19th, 2004 12:01 AM (PDT)

The woman who’s been the driving force behind Pierce County’s fight against drunken drivers for several years was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

A Washington State Patrol trooper arrested Sheri Badger, 36, shortly after 1 a.m. Oct. 9 after stopping her along Pacific Avenue South in Parkland for going more than 50 mph in a 35 mph zone, State Patrol spokesman Johnny Alexander said.

“The trooper went up to the car, noticed an obvious odor of alcohol and suspected Sheri to be impaired,” Alexander said.

Badger, the coordinator of the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI Task Force, reportedly failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody on suspicion of drunken driving. She performed a breath test, which gauges a person’s blood alcohol level, but Alexander did not release the findings of the test because no charges have been filed in the case. The state’s legal limit is .08.

Badger was released to a friend. Deputy prosecutor Kevin Benton said a decision on whether charges would be filed against Badger will be made today.

Badger said she voluntarily stepped down from her position with the task force effective Monday. As the Pierce County employee responsible for the task force, she organized the task force’s monthly DUI emphasis patrols. She’s been reassigned to public information duties in the Pierce County Human Services Department.

“I feel fortunate that nobody was hurt,” she said Monday. “It goes to show it can happen to anyone.”

Bonney Lake Police Chief Bryan Jeter, chairman of the task force, said Badger has been a motivator in the task force’s efforts.

“I’d hate to see it taint all the work she’s done,” he said. “She’s really worked her tail off for the DUI Task Force and a lot of positive things have come out of it because of her work.”

Jeter said no interim coordinator has been appointed. Whether she’ll be allowed to return to the task force remains unclear.

“We’ve got to look long term and what is best for the task force needs to be considered,” Jeter said.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/story/4123001p-3889196c.html
 
Lost Thread

Hello

This is my first post. I have been lurking on this board for about 2 years. Now that I have finally registered I can't find the thread I have been dying to reply to. Maybe one of you can tell me the name and where to find the thread.

It was about irony. The main tangent concerned the Alanis Morisette song "Isn't it Ironic?" and how the song wasn't actually about irony, but rather inconvenience (how ironic, or merely irritating).

Anyway, thank you in advance for your help.
 
Re: Lost Thread

ironyboard said:
Hello

This is my first post. I have been lurking on this board for about 2 years. Now that I have finally registered I can't find the thread I have been dying to reply to. Maybe one of you can tell me the name and where to find the thread.

It was about irony. The main tangent concerned the Alanis Morisette song "Isn't it Ironic?" and how the song wasn't actually about irony, but rather inconvenience (how ironic, or merely irritating).

Anyway, thank you in advance for your help.

Yes, should really be called "Isn't it a Bugger?":D
 
How's this for agravating irony?

about four years ago I bought a box fan (the kind which sits directly on the floor). Around a year later, the plastic stabilizing feet which come out perpendicularly from the bottom broke off. For the next two years I had to prop one side up against something whenever I used it.

Finally, this past summer I rounded up the ambition to make new feet for it using the four sided legs from a broken wooden TV tray.

This would be a slight challenge because as a female I simply never bothered to learn handyman skills when I had male family members around in my childhood. I was much too prissy and indoorsy to bother. I regret that as i have learned as an adult that I have an aptitude for mechanical and hands-on work. Thus, I have had to glean every little bit of knowledge I encounter on the subject as I go along.

I put my mind to the task, mulling over every little detail. I made sure the feet were long enough to balance the fan, determined the perfect length of screws needed, long enough to do the job, but short enough to clear the fan blades. I sanded the sawed off ends and I countersunk the screws so the heads wouldn't catch on the carpet.

The results were pleasing; the fan stood up by itself better than when new.

Tickled pink, I pointed out the reabilitated fan with its wooden prostheses to anyone I could.

This lasted about two days. After running for nearly four years and then having brand new feet painstakingly installed about two days before, the geezer quit working. Not trusting myself to electrical repairs, my only choice was to ditch it.:rolleyes:
 
I got married a month or so back. We had an outdoor reception. It rained.

How ironic.
 
Breakfast said:
I got married a month or so back. We had an outdoor reception. It rained.

How ironic.

No. That in itself is NOT ironic.

If you had an outdoor wedding whereby the sun had been shining continueously in the days up to the wedding, and on the day, right up until the proceeding really began - and then it rained... that would be ironic.

Especially if it was sunny for the entire of the next week.:D
 
Rain at a wedding would at least help keep blackflies out of your Chardonnay.
 
Breakfast said:
I got married a month or so back. We had an outdoor reception. It rained.

How ironic.

I'm thinking of the video to November Rain
 
Optimists Club Calls It Quits

Nov 29, 7:35 AM (ET)

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (AP) - It's a glum day for optimists. After 24 years of community service, the Quakertown Optimists Club is calling it quits. They're holding their last meeting on Thursday, citing declining interest.

"I feel sad," club president Bernard Kensky said.

Kensky said that fewer club members were taking part in sporting and scholastic activities for children, and fewer kids were getting involved in club events.

The group worked with schools to hold essay, spelling and public speaking contests for students, sponsored a youth bowling league and organized golf tournaments and football and basketball events.

A bicycle derby sponsored by the club and the Quakertown police department drew only 12 children last year, down from previous attendance of 50 to 70 children, Kensky said.

The Optimist Club is an international organization that formed in 1920. The Quakertown chapter started in 1980 with 35 members, but dropped to 15 members this year.

"Four or five people would come to meetings and only two or three people would help out with the activities," Kensky said. "I don't know why people stopped getting involved."

Quakertown is about 35 miles north of Philadelphia.

Source
 
Lotsa bumper stickers in this town and I always like to read 'em. Car today with one on the back, it's faded so badly I really have to peer closely to what it says. It's turns out to be one of those uber-patriot ones that appeared after 9/11: American flag, with the words 'These Colors Don't Run'.

:roll:
 
McDonald baby born at McDonald's

Associated Press
Jan. 11, 2005 03:36 PM

UNION, Mo. - Ann McDonald knew the baby was coming and there wasn't a hospital in sight, so she pulled over and delivered the child outside - what else? - a McDonald's restaurant.

Chayse Westin McDonald was due Wednesday. But on Sunday, Ann McDonald knew her time was getting near - and fast.

Problem was, there is no hospital in this eastern Missouri town, and the closest one in Washington was 15 minutes away.

McDonald and the child's grandmother, Linda Cuneio, got in the car, but it soon became evident they wouldn't make it to a hospital. So they pulled over at a McDonald's in Union. The baby was born beneath the golden arches. "I was standing by her and I thought I better get something," Cuneio told KMOV-TV in St. Louis. "I better catch this baby. Just at that instance, the (emergency medical technician) walked up."

The irony of the location wasn't lost on mother or grandmother.

"Of course everyone is like, 'Are you going to name him Ronald?,'" Ann McDonald said.

Ann McDonald's husband is serving in Iraq. He is expected home in April.

Source
 
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