Bottom of the News… Friday, February 15, 2008

Good morning my fellow Rotarians… Well, as we all know February is the LOVE month, but for some there may have been some broken hearts yesterday and our first story highlights how an enterprising young woman was able to create an opportunity for romance gone bad…

Requiem to a Valentine: Dead Love Affairs Gain "Obituaries"

New York, NY (AHN) -- Finally, someone has an answer to the age-old question: "Where do broken hearts go?" A 38-year-old radio reporter from New York City created what she thought was a fitting resting place for broken hearts and dead love affairs.

Kathleen Horan (not to be confused with our very own fellow Daybreaker!) said relationshipobit.com is a website that can serve as an online memory vault where people can make a final record of romances and relationships that have sadly fizzled out. Guests are encouraged to "bury" their burdens by writing or posting "obituaries" to help them heal and move on. Entries may also be kept anonymous.

Horan came up with the idea when she found it oddly comforting to write an obituary about her two-year relationship which had just ended. She adds that it may sound "goofy" to some, but the experience actually made her feel like she could "finally cremate the thing and move on".
Relationshipobit.com was launched just this week by Horan and quickly became a hot website with nearly 100,000 hits in the past 3-4 days.

Saudi Arabia Prohibits Sale of Red Roses, Other Red Items for One Week

Saudi Arabia (AHN) -- A traditional symbol of Valentine's Day, red roses, were banned again this year in Saudi Arabia until yesterday, February 14th. The prohibition also includes the sale of other red items such as gift wrappers, hearts, and Valentine’s candy that promotes the romantic holiday.

Shop owners and retailers were advised by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to remove all reminders of Valentine’s Day from their shelves earlier this month. The commission believes that these things and Valentine’s Day specifically is considered un-Islamic and (quote) “…leads to relations outside of marriage.”

The prohibition led to a spike in the price of red roses on the underground market. Florists around the country have been delivering flowers in the middle of the night for the past week so they would not be seen during the daytime.

The ban occurs annually; so many couples order red roses a week or two ahead of the holiday and online love greetings have increased as well. Also, many Saudi romantics will fly out to more liberal Middle Eastern countries like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to celebrate Valentines Day.

A spokesman for the Prevention of Vice Commission said they only celebrate two religious holidays in Saudi; celebrations of all other holidays are banned.

Biscuits Wanted for Attempted Murder (the actual AP headline)

San Diego, CA – Linda Burnett, 23, of San Diego, was visiting her in-laws, and made a trip to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries. Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up and with her eyes closed holding both hands behind the back of her head.

One customer became concerned when he passed by the car for a second time about an hour later when he then noticed that Burnett’s eyes were open with a horrified look on her face. He asked her if she was okay, and she replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for what seemed like an eternity!

The man immediately called paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Burnett refused to move her hands. When they finally got in, they found that Burnett had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head.

A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise sounding like a gunshot. The explosion caused a wad of dough to hit her in the head and when she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. Initially she passed out, but quickly recovered and ended up holding on to her “brains” in for over an hour until she could get help.

My thanks to Jim Angstman for passing on this story, however please know that my censors had to remove all political comments before I could present it to you today in an unbiased fashion…

And that’s the strange, the weird and yet often times true… bottom of the news for Friday February 15, 2008. ###